#where has the boi been

[larissa-the-scribe]

Terrarium Lights, Pt. 3.1

Last time on Terrarium Lights: Samuel was taking his state of unbeing rather hard, had a literal lightbulb moment, and vanished into thin air. (Next part >>here)

Gail was beginning to get concerned.

That night, she had cleaned up the mess in a mixture of confusion and worry, carefully scouring the floor for broken glass, and wondering what in Heaven's name had happened.

This seemed similar to the first time he had vanished, so perhaps it was a way of him processing what was going on. She wondered how many days it would take for him to reappear this time, and hoped he was doing okay, wherever he was.

It was almost a week, and he still hadn't shown up.

Michael had been delayed, again, but in the Lord’s mercy he was due back in the next couple of days, so maybe he'd have some idea of what to do about the situation. But for now, Gail worried.

Something had happened, clearly—Samuel had been startled and upset by something before he’d broken the terrarium—and, well, how does one track down a ghost? There was the possibility of searching obituaries, or the hospital in town, but those had limited value. They might give her more information (and that was a powerfully vague 'might'), but they were unlikely to tell her where Samuel had gone, or, more importantly, what had happened to him after his presumed death.

Finally, she decided she had to do something, so she went by the church and the graveyard in the off-chance he went back to visit the graves. No luck; he wasn't there.

It had been an unsure shot, but it was disappointing to have it miss.

She took a moment to pray in the chapel again, squared her shoulders, and headed back for another day of waiting.

On the way back, the distant lighthouse caught her eye. Gail remembered what she had been trying to the other day, when they’d been writing information down and forming plans—they had meant to go to the lighthouse.

She stood for a long moment at the crossroads.

It was something of a trek to get there, and it was only a faint hunch. She didn’t even know if Samuel remembered that the lighthouse existed. He hadn’t brought it up since the churchyard visit, at least.

But she had come all the way here because there was an itch in her bones, and the thought of sitting still and waiting when there was an option to explore flared it up again. Still was not an option for her right now, and even if it didn’t do anything, a long walk would be good for her. She was searching, and by golly she was going to do a thorough job of it.

Straightening her hat on her head and offering an extra prayer for guidance and wisdom, she strode out towards the lighthouse to find what might be there.

*

The lighthouse was not as secluded as some lighthouses often were. It was decently close to the city, and along a prominent coastal road (if a tad off the beaten path), so the lighthouse keepers also ran a sort of bakery café for passerbys. Both Mr. and Mrs. Seward enjoyed baking, so it was a good passtime for them, and a decent way to bring in extra income for upkeep and the like. Mr. Seward mostly attended to his duties as the Head Lighthouse Keeper, but when he had the time and energy he would help in the kitchen, while Mrs. Seward ran the bulk of it. It being both a pretty area and a distinct landmark meant they got rather more business than one would expect, and soon became a fairly common spot for smaller cultural events and gatherings.

There were not many people about as Gail made her way up the path—a peddler with his steamwheel, a horse, plus a gearmount or two—so it did not encroach too heavily upon the quiet air of the woods, or the swooshing of the sea waves just beyond the tree line. The closer she got, the stronger rose the enticing smell of fresh bread from the windows of the café, built against the side of the lightkeeper's house.

Gail was at the door, wondering if she should go in—after all, Samuel had expressed discomfort with the idea of being around people, so it was likely he would be in a more isolated spot—when a scramble of movement, disappearing around the corner, caught Gail's eye.

If it wasn't anything related to her quest, it was at least bound to be something interesting—she hoped—so she quietly made her way around the edge of the café.

Samuel was hovering uncertainly in the corner between the back of the café and the house, as messy as she had ever seen him, curled into himself and with wide eyes like a rabbit that's just been targeted by a hawk.

Gail stopped short in shocked recognition, before putting her hands on her hips, the part of her still wading through the surprise half-wanting to give him the piece of her mind that had sprouted at her surge of relief and confusion. The rest of her quelled the impulse, more concerned at his scared state.

He froze upon spotting her, with a wild look, like he was about to dart away again. Gail got the impression he was scared of her.

Gail pursed her lips, regretting not knowing his full name. "Samuel, lad, young man," she said as the pieces stopping whirring about and suddenly clicked together, "have you been keeping away from my place because you feel bad about that terrarium?"

He winced visibly.

She shook her head, unable to quench a laugh. "Good heavens above, you think I'd get mad at you for an accident like that? It’s a small matter in the end, and can be redone. More importantly, where have you even been this last week? Are you alright?"

At her laugh, he shrank back in confusion.

"Well…" he looked at her pleadingly. "You had worked really hard on it and had been keeping it and taking care of it for so long, and then I ruined it because I messed up and overreacted to a different thing, which was the lightbulb, which was something you were kind enough to provide me with—and also you've been doing so much and going out of your way to help me after I invaded your garden, and I've just been a drain on you throughout all of that and haven't given anything back. And then I broke the terrarium. So I thought I should try and figure something out on my own instead of leaning on you too much and maybe breaking something else in the process or just continuing to inconvenience you while you’re just trying to live your life."

Gail put her hands on her hips. "Well, young man, it seems as if you've got a lot to say for yourself and not a lot of sense about the matter. Why, you didn't ask me for any of that. You weren’t somehow imposing your will on me, I was the one that volunteered—if I hadn’t wanted to or couldn’t have or had some reason to keep you away, I could have simply not helped you. But I did, because I wanted to. So please believe I'm being honest when I tell you that I helped you because I wanted to, and I still want to."

There was a noise from inside, like someone calling out questioningly. She realized she was standing behind the building and talking loudly at what might possibly look to others as empty air. Taking a few steps further towards Samuel, she pulled her voice back to a more normal volume. "We can go talk this over somewhere else, if you'd rather. Don't want to scare the locals." She winked at him, hoping to lighten the mood.

The miserable droop of his shoulders and face indicated that he did not share her amusement.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered. "They can't see or hear me."

"Ah.” She stopped chuckling, letting her pang of sadness at his response manifest on her face. Cheerfulness would have to be put back in her pocket for when he needed it. “So you tested it out?"

He nodded, and did not meet her eyes.

Previous

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[polin-erospsyche]

I love the difference between Pen and Colin. She’s loved him for years, silently but unwavering. While he’s just come to the realisation that somewhere along the line he’s fallen completely head over heels for her and he is UNHINGED about it. All I’m saying is Colin wouldn’t last a minute in the asylum where they raised her.

[fan-a-tink]

Something about how loudly Edwin says Charles' name in this scene has been driving me insane and I think I've finally figured out why.

When Charles finds Edwin in hell, Edwin is rolled into a little ball of misery, covered in blood and quietly sobbing. It's probably a position he's developed over decades, making himself as small as possible, being as quiet as possible, trying to take up as little space as possible. He's almost pretending he doesn't exist in order to stretch out the moments before the spider finds him and the loop starts again.

And then Charles says his name and Edwin looks up and sees Charles, and it's like all of his defenses just vanish. He doesn't whisper Charles' name, he says it, loudly, as if he has completely forgotten where he is and that they need to be quiet. He gets up, unfurls his limbs, slowly standing up to his full height, taking up space again. Every instinct in his body should tell him to stay hidden and as invisible and silent as possible, but Charles has just smiled at him, and Edwin speaks again, asking "Is that you?" and letting out a shaky breath of relief.

He is completely vulnerable and exposed now, like Charles' arrival has made him completely forget that they are in hell and that he could be ripped apart by a spider doll demon at any moment. All the defences he has built up over literal decades just completely crumble as soon as he hears Charles' voice.

And then the spider comes and rips him away, and I don’t think it would have done (at least not yet), had Edwin not alerted it to his presence like that. I think that’s why this moment wouldn’t let go of me, because I always thought it shouldn’t be this easy for Edwin to abandon a survival tactic he has developed over decades of torture. But all it takes is Charles being there, and Edwin forgets everything else.

[sourtoasterstrudel]

Obligatory gravity falls post because I too had my gravity falls hyperfixation resurrected by book of bill’s release

I’m not super proud of this it took a lot out of me to work on and I kinda tapped out halfway through but despite that I’ll post it because I haven’t shared stuff in awhile

I have a compilation post of stuff I’ve been working on so that’ll probably get shared soon too

[dcxdpdabbles]

Alfred's Boy Part 5

@donesodone said: I just wanted to know. Is there a continuation of Alfred's Boy in the Works? If not, that's fine. I just love it and want to see it continue.

Bruce didn't realize how quiet Danny indeed was until Wes appeared. He suspected, of course, that no child was removed from their home by a super secret ex-spy if it wasn't a terrible, horrible reason, but still, he was shocked to see the difference.

Alfred's foster son had a weight around him, wearing his sadness like a depressing cloak. It was apparent that Danny was just tired. As if though he hadn't gotten a good night's rest in a long time, even when he was moving about and doing his chores like nothing was amiss.

Bruce will admit that he hadn't realized that Danny was so sad. He had no previous reference to compare him to, so he assumed that the boy was naturally reserved.

If he's honest, he also thought it was impressive how Danny could take anything in stride without so much as a blink.

Finding out his boss was Batman? Another Tuesday.

Tim's photo album of him? Danny appreciates the art behind photography.

Damian burst into his room, covered in bleeding wounds, he just had to have Danny bind? He took lessons from Alfred and appreciated the change to practice.

What he failed to realize was through all those events, Danny had had a lukewarm reaction, as if he had forgotten how to enjoy things.

Now, however, watching him with Wes, he realizes that Danny is naturally bubbly. He smiled wide, talked a lot with his hands, and while the same sass he had seen before was still there, there was more ease in him wielding it.

"Fun Fact: Tango was initially invented to be done between two men, " He hears Wes say, as Bruce walks by the viewing room the two boys were in.

Unable to help himself, Bruce peeks into the room, fighting the urge to lecture Danny. The reason for the lecture is that Danny is currently sitting in Wes's lap, his back to Wes' chest, and both are staring at the book "Useless Information" in Wes' hands.

Not dating his ass.

"So what you're saying is: Tango is gay," Danny affirms, cuddling into the blankets tucked around him, and leaning further into Wes. "The dance of our people."

Wes hums, "If only we could dance."

"Boys." He calls because he really wants to step between them, but Bruce is already doing that against his kids, and he is done being the civilian in Jason's novels. "Would either of you like to go to an opera tonight? I have some box seat tickets a close friend gave me, but I had other plans and didn't want them to go to waste."

Bruce didn't, but a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone. He could easily buy them before the kids got to the opera house.

Wes's eyes practically sparkled. Bruce knew they would; he heard Wes play some songs from three famous operas the other day while Danny was showering. "Opera with box seats!? I love to go!"

Danny grimaces, clearly not that big of a fan. "Now look what you did, Master Bruce."

"Please, can we go, Danny?" Wes whines, "I'll let you haunt me if we go."

Danny cracks a smile, and Bruce is stunned by its softness. Had he not noticed how empty Danny's smiles have been until now? "Okay, Okay, we can go. But if I fall asleep you can't complain."

"How could anyone fall asleep at the Opra?"

"Easy. It's boring." Steph snips, leaning on the door frame. Bruce hadn't realized she was there. He frowned in her direction, not missing how Wes rolled his eyes.

"Hello, green-eyed monster. How are you this evening?" He said, making Steph eyes narrow. Danny was swinging his head between them, looking confused, but before he could ask, Wes continued, "Want to go with us? Danny needs more people to cuddle, and my visit has an expiration date."

Steph looks taken back, but her whole face breaks into the largest smile Bruce has ever seen on her face in a while when Danny nods, seemingly embarrassed. "It would be nice to have more cuddles. I, ugh, realized I was going too long without them."

Hmm, that's the fifth time the two have mentioned cuddling since yesterday. Bruce knows he ignored Wes's entrance when he got here yesterday, but maybe he should look into it.

If Alfred allowed, of course.

"I'll go get ready!" Steph shouts, racing down the hall. There is a brief pause before a loud "Hey, watch it!" and quick, distant "Sorry, Jason!"

His second oldest stridden into the room, grumbling at the giant front stain on his shirt. A half-empty cup in his hand lets Bruce know Steph bumped into him, making him spill his precious soda.

"Can't get any peace around here," Jason mumbles.

"I can clean that for you, Master Jason." Danny is quick to say, standing up from his seat. Wes lifts his arm to let Danny wiggle out of his grasp, but Jason only shakes his head.

"Nah, it's fine, kid." With one hand, Jason yanks the shirt over his head. Wes drops his book, and Danny's face goes very red. Bruce has a moment of utter horror, but Jason doesn't seem to notice, throwing the ruined shirt over his shoulder. "I was going to shower after some reading anyway. What are you crazy kids up to?"

"O-Oprea," Danny shutters, staring up at Jason with strange emotion in his eyes. Wes looks like a deer caught in headlights beside him.

Jason's face brightens. "No way! I love the opera."

"You do?" We gasped.

"Yeah, though, I'm more of a play guy myself. I love the theater. Once a drama kid always a drama kid." Jason winks and, oh no, Wes looks to be swooning. What's worse, Danny seems to be swooning too.

"Want to come with?" Wes blurts, and Jason considers the invitation carefully before shrugging.

"You know what? Yeah, I love to. Let me go take my shower then get ready. It's at what time?"

"Seven," Bruce answers, stepping in when both boys seem unable to get their tongues to work. Jason nods, and then a wicked smirk grows on his face.

Bruce is instantly weary.

"Let's make this a family event. You guys don't mind, right?" Jason turns back to the boys, shaking their heads like bobble figures.

"The more, the merrier, Master Jason."

"Perfect" Quick as a whip, Jason pulls out his phone and sends a quick message. He leaves the room, but not before calling over his shoulder "I'll meet you in the main doorway at six-thirty."

Bruce's phone buzzes. He pulls it out, reading the message: Hey losers, Danny wants to see the Oprea. The really romantic one. Do any of you want to join us?

He feels a headache coming on. Especially with Wes and Danny looking at each other with shocked open mouths, looking like they were wordlessly expressing how attractive they thought Jason was.

Tim comes sprinting down the hall. Bruce is unsure what he is doing, seeing as his hair is wrapped in a towel, but he is wearing half of a chicken costume as he runs by. "I want to go, I want to go, I want to go! Don't leave without me!"

Wes squints at the open door hallway before laughing that strange, impish laugh of his. "This place is a riot."

Danny pauses before that same soft smile blooms on his face, and Bruce's heart melts. "Yeah, I like Wayne Manor too."

Maybe Danny isn't as happy as before, but maybe one day he will be. Bruce would be content with that.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Flagrant Favourism.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[forgetful-nerd]

I like the “Rise! Leo is the team medic” head cannon. But I find it super weird when it’s used as a point of contrast between Rise! Leo and 2012! Leo.

[turtleblogatlast]

Every day I’m haunted by the fact the boys happily swim in sewer water

Even if it’s filtered somehow there’s no way it’s not still nasty 😭 Bet they can defeat any of their villains just by accidentally giving them diseases I swear

[fairandfatalasfair]

I know people have posted about this before but it honestly it striking how much the boys do not default to violence as a way of solving problems. They're detectives in the classic sense - they're looking for clues and unravelling mysteries, and most of the time they can handle things with subtlety instead of force. It's not off the table, but it's very much an option of last resort.

The first time we meet them they're dealing with a ghost that is actively trying to kill them, and they're not fighting, they're running. While trying to figure out what happened so that they can go back in with a better strategy. Even when the cursed ghost catches up with them, Charles hits it exactly once, to get enough breathing space that they can get back to the office and get the resources they need to break the curse. Their plan with Becky was to slip in and out while Esther was distracted - they only ended up in a fight because hauling Edwin and Becky out of the magical void took longer than expected.

And as much as Charles comments in Ep. 3 about puzzle solving being "Edwin's way" and hitting things with a cricket bat being his, that absolutely goes for him as well. In the flashbacks where he confronts his friends, he pulls them off and puts himself between them and the kid they're beating up - he doesn't continue the fight once the victim is safe. In the Devlin house he's visible shaken and upset from the first round of the cycle, but it's not until they've witnessed the murder several times and Edwin's plan to break the loop has failed and he's confronting the possibility that there may not be another option that he tries to fight Devlin directly. Most of what he does with his cricket bat is pull it out and plant himself between Edwin and whatever he's decided is a threat.

I suspect that's part of why Edwin was so rattled by the first encounter with the Night Nurse - not because it was wrong or unjustified, but because it's not normal for Charles to hit first.

And these are not normal circumstances! Charles has been pushed pretty hard at this point, and has just been assaulted in a way that Edwin probably isn't fully cognizant of, and was acting urgently to stop the Night Nurse from doing the same thing to Edwin. I think his reaction was absolutely justified, and possibly necessary. And I think Edwin's response, whether it was intended that way or not, did read as condemnation - at least to Charles who is already beating himself up for not being able to protect the people he loves and doubting whether he's a safe, trustworthy person.

But I also think it's notable that the next time he deals with the Night Nurse - after he's processed some of his feelings of anger and helplessness, after he's been reassured that he's still the best person Edwin knows - he takes a different tack. She's still imminently threatening to split them up and send Edwin to hell, which is probably Charles' worst nightmare. But this time he turns to negotiation, to appealing to her sense of justice, to looking for a loophole that could let them stay together. He's back to trying to solve problems by working through them.

And in fairness, the fact that she came back after being eaten by Angie is also a pretty strong indication that trying to fight her wouldn't have worked. But I do think it says something about Charles' attitude to the world that despite describing himself as "the brawn" and thinking of himself as the fighter between him and Edwin, his reflex is still to problem solve first, to use force defensively and only when necessary. That yes, he's angry and justly so, but unlike his father, or the boys who killed him, he doesn't choose to turn that into an excuse to hurt people. That his use of force is judicious and careful and is always, always about preventing harm.

[bakudekublogblog]

the way katsuki just IS izuku's first love drives me nutty. like he just had a big ole crush on him with his huge-ass heart eyes and he chased him around with maximum puppy-love smitten energy

[kacievvbbbb]

You do get the sense that the fallout of Roger's death and the Roger pirates disbanding not so much traumatized Buggy and Shanks indifferent ways but instead generated such drastically different reactions to the trauma.

While the trauma of everything seemed to push Shanks into the future, always constantly waiting for something, putting plans on hold and then later in place, for this great moment, this great coming that he sees on the Horizon. For Buggy it rooted him firmly in the past keeping him trapped in this grief masquerading as anger.

While Roger's death forced Shanks to grow up fast, it kind of arrested Buggy's development keeping him stuck in those same feelings, rooted int that same place.

You get the sense that Buggy's whole east blue schtick is just one long overdue rebellious phase one big fuck you to Roger and his ideals. He's rebelling against Roger's principles. One of their rules was don't steal from innocent people and Buggy was keeping a whole town in poverty. If Roger and Luffy's pirating styles are diametrically opposed to someone like Blackbeard, who might be the most literal pirate in the entire series, then buggy is the parody of that Blackbeard piratism. He is playing up cruelty, being the most piratey pirate possible, hell he's literally a clown on a stage. It's all a show! It's his own special way of trying to "get back at Roger" of trying to discard everything Roger taught him for this overacted, over exaggerated clownish cruelty. Mentally he never left that execution square. He is still 15, alone and scared.

Hell he literally never left either, while I'm pretty sure Shanks' booked it out of the east blue as fast as he could, Buggy never lef, might have never left, if not for Luffy. It's part of why Luffy bothers him so much, he's just like Roger everything that Buggy is trying hard to forget and here comes this kid, whose never even met the Captain but is wearing his hat, shoving it right back in his face.

It makes sense that he never leaves the east blue till Luffy literally forces him out of it (fucking with Luffy gets him captured and imprisoned) and it makes sense that it's Luffy that literally breaks him out of prison, literally sets him free, and on the path to greatness that maybe he was always meant to achieve (even if he trips his way into it). This boy that is tragically so much like his old captain but so beautifully unabashedly himself, is what Buggy needs to start letting go off the past, to start trying to move forward.

Maybe that's why Buggy, at what could arguably be described as his lowest moment, gets the strength to free himself from his own self imprisonment, realizing that even back then he was locking himself away and pinning his own dreams on Shanks. And, maybe for the first time ever, Buggy really own his dream. He declares to his tormentors and his crew and the entire world that; actually He wants to find the one piece, him, as captain of his own crew, this crew, not just a part of someone else's. That's his dream and he's willing to turn the world upside down to do it.

[dreamyfreakout]

a commission I made for @gnotknormal ^w^

this one is one of my faves! if you'd like a commission, hmu!

[seilon]

i think the fact that edwin is like. mildly misogynistic in a period-appropriate way is a really really funny character flaw

[rillils]

Oh, my love when will you come to look for me?

Tom McRae, Still lost | @catws-anniversary

[niamh-writes-things]

hang on a sec, what if instead of dead boy detectives we had vampire boy detectives!

Edwin's circumstances of death would have to be different of course, but Charles can have the same but instead of chilling and waiting for him to die Edwin bites him.

as undead beings they can still see ghosts and all and therefore still try to help them. their reasoning is that they are trying to balance out the evil they do when biting people. they probably have a policy of only biting animals or proper bad guys like murderers and abusers and people who are dicks to women, and they probably steal from the hospital every so often. as much as i like my crazy murder guys, edwin and charles just arent like that, they would want to avoid biting people as much as possible and try to avoid it until they absoloutely have to.

this would make the dynamic with Esther really interesting. she would probably say something like "how are we any different, you feed on the blood of humans, killing them, and my snake feeds on little girls, killing them and giving me beauty!" and instead of an iron cane and an iron collar it's silver. when charles has to go into the snake pit he can just smell all the blood from the girls and he can have a mini crisis.

also they would probably have to rent a room because people can actually see them. jenny probably just thinks theyre fellow alternative people. niko and crystal would definately be a bit afraid, but warm up to them. the interactions with the cat king would have much more tension and stuff.

the story would probably get much darker as our boys actively kill people, but the threat of the knight nurse and edwin returning to hell wouldnt be there. it would probably be replaced with what if one of them is staked, or if we still want the night nurse, she's after them because they werent supposed to be turned, they were supposed to di and go to their seperate afterlifes and she's trying to trick them into goingt to their afterlifes anyway via some kind of magic or a deal with death or something. again with the show being darker, maybe when theyre on a case theres a guy whom was accidentally killed by his abusive father and charles goes a bit mental on him.

charles still gets his crisis because hey, his dad enjoyed inflicting pain on others and he feeds on blood which causes pain so are they the same? can he ever really be a good person as a vampire? is he a horrible person like his dad was?

OOOh and clothes! edwin can keep his outfit because he just isnt comfortable in modern clothes but charles probably embraces the campire aesthetic and goes even more punky than he already is

guys i'm gonna be honest i just really like vampires and i really like dbd and now i need to write a new fanfic

[ryllen]

i thought / m a n / these girls are quite heartless 🤣 when i accepted the quest at /clearly/ inconvenient time to swim & dive