#so its very fun to basically do it backwards!!
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okay i saw the lil fake fic ask game and i think its silly
yes these are all song lyrics [im shit at titles, and thats how i usually title my fics]
"Dead come talking [cant put them to rest]"
"We're at this stumbling phase of the midnight waltz"
"Where I die in, die in, die in your arms"
do with these what you will, i like seeing ur words, i think theyre neat :D /nf
Me when me when me when-
(honestly, mood. I think there's like 2 or 3 fable fics of mine that don't have song lyrics as titles, but the other 40 something-)
------
[Dead Come Talking (Can't Put Them To Rest)]
They couldn't bring her back. They can't. There's no way to. They almost laugh, pulling their wings close for comfort. It's not funny, far from it. They've tried so so hard to fix it; sweep decaying, withering bones out and, in return, have her back. And. They can't.
Or - There's a skeleton in their closet, and a ghost lurking in the corners. They just want to fix it. (They can't.)
------
[We're At This Stumbling Phase Of The Midnight Waltz]
Of the things Rae could do, dancing was not one of them. You would think, prince and all, that he could (or at the least he'd remember he could), but you'd be very wrong. Dancing was up in that category of skills that he did not have.
Or - A traitor and a prince dance under the stars. (Neither of them ever claimed to be good at it.)
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[Where I Die In, Die In, Die In Your Arms]
The med bay is white and dull and pristine. It's a stark comparison to their everything. They twirl a clean shard in their hand, pressing their fingers along the cracks in the amethyst. (They could crack it more. Shatter it into a million tinier pieces. Their wings already shattered and gone; what's a bit more?)
Or - A part of them dies that day, in the rain.
------
Oh those were so fun, me when <33
(I having *thoughts* now)
#i love these#theyre so fun#just coming up with ideas while having the titles is so diffrent /pos#i usually do the or statement. write the fic. pick a qoute for the summary and then do the title based on that#so its very fun to basically do it backwards!!#that second one is so being turned into an actual one-shot#...maybe the third one too-#who knows-#the second one definitely tho#nightingstar my beloved <33#sage answers questions [colorized]
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Good morning!! (It's not morning I just don't know how to start this<3)
I was wondering if I could request a scenario or reactions to the members teasing you about your crush on them but you feel like they're making fun of you so you start distancing yourself.
(Doesn't have to be all members since 13 is a lot 🥲, I'd be perfectly happy with just HH unit or seungcheol or wonwoo) thank you and hope you have a lovely day!!🫶🫶
teasing you over your crush on them - hhu
hhu, vu, pu
content: gender neutral, angst (barelyyyy), fluff, the crush is implied to be reciprocated a lil bit
wc: 819
a/n: shdjsk hehe its okay it was morning for me when u sent this 😭😭 thank u so much for requesting this was so fun to write <33 i did hhu but if u or anyone else wants to request vocal or perf unit lmk <3
masterlist
seungcheol -
he'd get so cocky the moment he realized you liked him. he wouldn't be mean about it or anything like that, but he'd start acting overly confident around you ever since he found out about your crush. he'd 100% be the type to outwardly tease you about it. he'd start calling you pet names just to get you to react or even at some point bringing it up in conversation in front of other people and embarrassing you in the process. he wouldn't do it to actually hurt or embarrass you, but he'd just feel such a huge ego boost over it he just wouldn't be able to help himself.
the moment he felt you start to pull away and maybe avoid him a lil bit, he'd instantly feel deflated at your absence. the same way your crush gave him a daily boost, your distance would make him feel down. and he'd only blame himself over it, slapping himself over how cocky he could get sometimes without realizing. he'd try to work backwards and now be the one to approach you, this time with a much more chill attitude and try to subtly let you know that your affections were appreciated (and maybe even reciprocated).
wonwoo -
he's a little more reserved, so i don't think he would straight up tease you to your face. he'd be kinda subtle about it, maybe testing the waters by acting a lil bolder around you. if he felt like he received a reaction from you, he'd maybe flirt a little bit to get you to react and maybe also sometimes hint at being aware of your crush. at some point he'd probably feel comfortable enough in your friendship to tease you about it, still doing it in a subtle way but also relishing in the way you'd blush and avoid his eyes. he'd find it very endearing, so it'd make him wanna provoke it out of you more and more.
if at some point he felt you begin to pull away from him due to feeling put on the spot or embarrassed by his teasing, he'd feel instant regret. he's such a sweet and sensitive guy, he never would've wanted to make you feel genuinely embarrassed or ashamed because of him. he'd be the type to apologize to you directly, letting you know that he appreciated you and that he'd put your feelings more into consideration from now on. this would, of course, just make your crush on him even worse.
mingyu -
he'd straight up flirt with you and fluster you 24/7 the moment he realized you liked him. he loooved the ego boost. he knew he was an attractive and charismatic guy, so he was used to people crushing on him, but for some reason he just felt like teasing you in specific. he'd directly bring it up in conversation, not caring if there were other people around to hear. he wouldn't realize you were beginning to pull away until a little while later.
the moment he realized you were beginning to distance yourself from him, he'd just be kicking himself about it, knowing he could sometimes be a little too much for some people to handle. he wouldn't have meant to make you feel bad in any way, so he'd be super apologetic about it, basically begging you to please bring back things to how they were. he did like you, so he'd miss your attention and promise to shut the fuck up from now on and just bask in any attention you gave him.
vernon -
he's very much in his own world most of the time so you'd have to be super obvious for him to know you had a crush on him. he also doesn't seem like the type to tease you unless you were like established friends at that point. in this case, he would probably just occasionally laugh at the way you acted around him. if you blushed around him, he'd just chuckle, not even trying to hide his reaction to your flustered state. he'd also be a little more physically affectionate with you, enjoying how shy you would get.
his reaction to you pulling away would be a little confusion at first. he was kind of reciprocating to you, so he'd feel a a bit odd at first, maybe a little dejected. but then he'd reason with himself that he mightve made you feel like he was making fun of you. he'd feel awkward, not knowing how to make things right. he seems like the type to think actions speak louder than words, so i think he would try to show you through his actions that he'd just wanted to reciprocate and bask in your crush on him, never having had the intention to make fun of you. he'd step out of his comfort zone to make you feel his own affections towards you.
#seventeen fanfic#seventeen x reader#svt fanfic#seventeen#svt#svt x reader#seventeen imagine#seventeen oneshot#seventeen scenarios#svt scenarios#svt reactions#seventeen reactions#wonwoo scenarios#mingyu scenarios#seungcheol scenarios#vernon scenarios#scoups scenarios#hansol scenarios
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Archery lessons | Kate Bishop
Paring: Kate Bishop x Reader
Prompt: “I can’t help it, you’re fun to mess with.”
Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 915
You were dressed in your training gear, waiting for Kate at the archery range. You’ve been wanting to learn for a while now and finally gathered the courage to ask Kate to teach you. Kate is your best friend as well as the girl you’ve been crushing on for months now, as well as an amazing archer. The nerves probably stemmed from not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of her, she was so good with her bow and arrow, next to her you’d probably look bad no matter what.
Kate was excited to share her love for archery with you. Not many of her friends outside of archery had gotten her interest in the sport growing up. Therefore, being able to introduce you to archery was something she had been looking forward to all week. She had prepared different exercises to be able to teach you the basics in a fun way.
Unbeknownst to you Kate was already in the archery range, after setting everything up she hid. She loved scaring you and she thought that this would be an amazing opportunity. You were never going to suspect her jumping from the high up platform landing right in front of you. Kate timed it out perfectly, waiting until you had you back towards her. She jumped off the ledge, twisting in the air so that she would be facing you when she landed. Just inches in front of you she lands in a superhero pose, she smirks when she hears you scream. With a hand on your heart, you catch your breath, rolling your eyes at the woman still crouched in front of you, “This was not what I signed up for.” You give her a small push, making her fall backwards. “I can’t help it, you’re fun to mess with.”
You offer her your hand and help her up. “Was this all or are you actually going to teach me something?” Kate thanks you for helping her up, “Oh no, I am actually going to teach you, I’m very excited. This was just also the perfect moment to scare you.” You roll your eyes ones more, “Jerk.” You call her in a loving way.
Kate walks you over to where she set up. "I grabbed you a beginner bow, basically one that is easier to handle than a bow like mine or Clints. This is just for you to get the hang of it, so if you end up enjoying archery we can look for a new one for you." She holds up the bow and shows you all its components. Handing the bow over to you she says, "Show me how you would hold it." You take the bow and hold it the way you think you’re supposed to. “You almost got it! All you have to do is move this hand up a bit.” She guides your hand to where it’s supposed to be. The touch immediately raises your heartbeat. Luckily Kate is too busy looking at your grip to notice the blush that made its way onto your checks.
“Yeah, that’s it! Now you can add the arrow.” She hands you an arrow and tells you how to place it in the bow. Surprisingly, you got that right on the first go. “See you’re a natural.” You laugh, “Just because I’m holding it right doesn’t mean that it’s going to go anywhere near the target.” You pull back the arrow, aim for the target and release it. It lands maybe three feet in front of you, nowhere near the target. “Yeah, okay you’re right, maybe not a natural.” Kate teases. You shove her slightly, “Oh, very motivating, miss Bishop.” You both laugh.
“Here, let me help.” Kate moved behind you. You freeze as you feel her body touching your back. Her arms reach around yours as if she’s holding the bow with you. Helping you to you make the right movements. Your heartrate is rising once more, this time there is no hiding it. It’s beating so fast and loud that you think she might even hear it. In your ear she whispers, “You’ve got it. Just left go.”
You release the arrow and watch it soar through the air, perfectly landing on the target. “That’s my girl.” Kate whispers in your ear. You instantly turn around in her arms. Your faces are already so close together, all you have to do is lean in and your lips would be on hers. Kate noticed your eyes were focused on your lips and smirked. “All you had to so was ask.” She says as she moves her hand up to your cheek to pull you in. Her lips were on yours and it was the most magical thing you have ever experienced. When you pull away from the kiss slightly, you say, “I should’ve asked you to teach me archery way sooner.” In response Kate hugged you tightly. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” You smile, “Me too.”
“Want me to teach you some more?” You lift the bow up again and try to take a shot yourself. It went further than your first try but still not close enough to the target. “It seems like I will be needing more lessons, but my teacher is quite distracting so it might take a lot of lessons.” Kate places a soft kiss on your cheek. “That just means that I will get to spend more time with you.”
#kate bishop#kate bishop imagine#kate bishop x reader#kate bishop x y/n#kate x reader#katebishop#kate bishop fic#marvel#marvel imagine#kate hawkeye#hawkeye
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Thoughts on the welcome home update because YES. Spoilers below the cut.
That sleep aid pill is called remderem which is almost "remember" but the d would be backwards, and its also almost "murder me" while missing the u. Is this anything? I don't know. Im always looking for names of things in args.
We have seen through two puppets eyes. First it was Wally and his discomfort and/or dissociation, and now it's Eddie's discomfort and/or dissociation. Which is fun because we've heard that Eddie would do crafts for the show and you'd just see his hands so that was a fun touch.
First iteration of the website we had mail letters (Eddie) giving us clues. Second iteration had bugs (Frank?) and active drawings (Wally?) giving us clues. Now we have symbols giving us clues and they remind me of stickers a little bit so possibly a connection to Sally? Who else would give the tiny pictures? Questions questions.
At the end of that commercial before his existential crisis, they say Eddie has been invited and they did his job for him so he could rest. Eddie does not seem happy about them doing his job for him instead of letting him do it himself. I am reminded of how clumsy with the mail he seems to be sometimes and how much work they make him do in the other audio clips. I wonder if he is feeling extremely overwhelmed but also unappreciated and that they can do all this work to help and choose not to most days? Sally insists it was easy to do and Eddie does not sound pleased.
One thing i can't stop thinking about and i have to go back and really re-watch the commercials closely, is Poppy. When they invite Eddie to the party they say everyone is there but there's no Poppy in the picture? And earlier they poured gravy on an ornament that, to me, looked very oddly shaped and almost like meat, and we hear Poppy, but we don't see her. So... a pea on a plate..... "P" on a plate? My brain could be misconstruing but did they eat Poppy and is that what he's actually seeing and is that why it's all red? I'd he seeing the reality beyond the mask? Is it more than a pea?
Eddie says "where?" In his crisis as a response to Frank calling his name. People are talking about this as if he doesn't know where he is. I agree this is a likely idea but what if he's asking where Poppy is? Do we ever actually see her in any of the videos or do we just hear her?
Wally has feelings a lot which is good to confirm he has feelings! Eddie also said he would be happy with an apple every single day and my he is an innocentbautism creature wally agenda is flourishing.
The amount if commercials has me fascinated because people used to do that for TV shows (still do but those earlier type ones welcome home is referencing is spot on) commercials for basically everything is accurate and what is funny is the accuracy of what each person is selling. Howdy with the cigarette commercial- he takes every opportunity to sell you something no matter what even if it's not good for you. Sleepy looking Wally selling you sleeping pills happy with the thought of the dream.
Wally being nervous about getting the holiday correct. Is it because he's never done it or ia Home going to hurt him?
Did home hurt Eddie because he was upset during the party? It sure fucking looks like it with home watching him so intensely. Does the chair have something to do with it?
Eddie's scribbled writing reminds me of the people trying to decipher the code on the safe.
On the secret pages it's signed "-W." But it talks as if it's a human person who watched the show and is working either the WHRP team. It also talks too grown up to be wally. Who is this?? Is it the same person from the terrified scribbles of the hidden page previously? It seems maybe so because of referencing needing the cleanup.
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with marching band coming up(for me at least), id like to yap about my hcs for the gang if they were to be in a marching band..(exception of steve because i dont know his character well enough to make decent hcs for him😭)
PonyBoy
-he would play a trumpet, he gives me major trumpet player vibes
-hes also not very good at playing it, he only joined because Soda did
-actually really good at marching
-either remembers all of his music or none of it
-he gets upset whenever the directors seperate brass and woodwind because soda plays a saxophone😕
-he would take football games very seriously
-NO extra playing in the stands
-fighting for his life every practice because marching at 180bpm and playing a trumpet takes a lot of air that he doesnt have
-thinks the uniforms are cool asf
-he almost died at band camp because he forgot water once
-Darry had to walk him off of the field
-Most hated section; percussion(dally hit him on the head with drumsticks once and he hasnt forgiven him)
Sodapop
-saxophone player !!
-he would be first chair because i said so
-WAY too lenient of a section leader but if you aint got your music memorized youre getting scolded
-really wants to be a drum major but he was never able to 'secure' the spot
-he fell a lot during his freshman year
-tries to teach ponyboy his music/drill spots as best as he can whenever pony gets confused
-not that serious about marching band, he's kinda doing it just because it sounded fun
-thought the uniforms made him look like shit(hes lying)
-remembers basically every show he did by heart
-really upset about quitting band when he dropped out
-Most hated section: Flutes/Piccs(Twobit rants about how much the section sucks)
Darry
-Drum major !!!
-he was like an overbearing parent to Soda and Pony during band camp(constantly checking if they had enough water breaks, ate enough each meal, etc)
-played the baritone in concert band and during his freshman year in marching band
-amazing at marching not so much marching and playing at the same time
-he didnt have enough time to practice at home so he only played during band and so his playing was mediocre
-drum major from sophomore to senior year
-he didnt mind the uniforms, he liked the normal uniforms better than drum major uniforms though
-HATED dally during marching band season. only during marching band season though
-director(s) loved him because the band actually listened to him
-got really upset when he graduated but the entire band said they were gonna miss him + the rest of the seniors so that makes it a bit better
-Most hated section: Percussion(Dally annoys him during MB season)
Two-bit
-Piccolo player.
-He thinks it sounds like a dog whistle and likes annoying Dally with it(he gets hit on the head with drum sticks)
-good at playing, bad at marching
-he has overall poor coordination from drinking so often
-his coverdowns suck
-god forbid he's backwards marching
-directors got onto him a lot about it he just couldnt fix his marching, he just sucked
-love/hate relationship w/ his section
-flutes n piccs gotta lot of drama overall, he just tried to ignore it
-(he started most of it)
-he's showed up drunk to a football game and he nearly got kicked out
-^darry had to talk the director out of kicking him out of the band
-annoys johnny all the time during practice considering he likes the clarinet section better
-Constant 'this one time at band camp..' jokes
-he adores the uniforms for some odd reason
-exclusively watches mickey mouse on his way to/from games and comps
-he complained a lot during band camp
-says hes going sober for the season every year(he lies every year)
-Most hated section: Flutes/Piccs(Its his own section, he just doesnt like the other people)(they dont like him either)(im not exaggerating this. flutes have the worst drama ever.)
Johnny
-Clarinet!!
-Takes marching band VERY seriously
-good distraction for him
-out of the house a lot because of practice
-he has to carpool to get back home basically everyday
-really good at marching, surprisingly
-soda was his marching band brother basically
-stayed as close as possible to dally during warm-up blocks
-liked talking about his music and drill to pony whenever practice ended
-dally told him he did good after a show once and hes never forgotten it
-really quiet during practice
-like pony, fighting for his life trying to get air he doesnt have during practice
-usually ends up talking to pony in the lot after football games
-doesnt really like wearing the uniforms but he thinks they look fine
-type of person to cry at championships
-LOVES stands tunes theyre so fun to him
-Most hated section: Trumpets(No hate to Pony, but theres too many.)
Dally
-Percussion - bass drum
-he used to be a snare but he broke 2 of them and the directors gave up
-really irresponsible when it comes to memorizing his music
-he remembers half of the show and just wings it for the rest
-comes up behind people and hits them in the head with drum sticks
-he doesnt even know why hes in band
-he complains about practice every day(who doesnt tbh)
-suffering at band camp
-pale bitch burned so badly its not even funny
-worst mischief during band camp and football games
-annoying the fuck out of darry during water breaks
-Sylvia is in colorguard so its really awkward whenever they see each other
-actually decent at marching
-he just doesnt take it seriously
-he hates stands tunes with a burning passion
-he has to tie his hair up to put on his hat and twobit makes fun of him for having a 'man bun'
-he touched the feathers of a plume with his hands once and darry yelled at him
-hates the uniforms but is convinced he looks good in it(he doesnt)
-Most hated section: Mellophones(He has beef w/ one of the guys who plays one)
#my hcs#yeah sorry i yapped#ponyboy curtis#darrel curtis#darry curtis#sodapop curtis#two bit mathews#johnny cade#dally winston#dallas winston#the outsiders#the outsiders headcanons#marching band AU#😭#sorry guys i have band brainrot#marching band ministrations#dolirants
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So hello hello good evening Budapest. I'm finally home, it's midnight and and and I had the best time of my life!
Many many highlights of the soundcheck and the show:
My question for soundcheck was picked fiiiirst? Hello??? It was absolutely crazy!
The VIP rep, Athena was an absolut angel, big shout out to her! I had a good talk with her after soundcheck and she was he sweetest.
The guys played Long Way Home and Out Of My Limit.
Before questions the VIP rep asked our names and I told her she can say Angie insted of my Hungarian name.
So she did introduce me "someone who her friends know as Angie", and Michael was like: "and what do people call you who you do not consider as friends?" So I had to tell him that basically anyone before age 15 knows me as my real name, and after that, when I started using the internet and didn't like my name I picked up Angie. So he said, okay, Angie.
My question was: what arw you bringing home from tour (souvenir, memory, feeling).
Ash said his mom always asks for fridge magnets and was like "fuck, Mom, no, it would need its own suitcase" and he said he likes travelling light
Luke said a qeak immune system and he stoles keycards from the hotels he sþays in and has tons
Michael said he gets lot of baby clothes and didn't know how much stuff a baby needs
Calum said he has really good memories of this tour
At thw beginning they also was talking about Buda and Pest, as mentioned by Ash in the IG story.
Other questions were about:
How they choose what they wear. Ash and Luke said they try bot to clash with the others and look ridiculous. They basically go by what Cal chooses, becauee Michael goes by him, and then the rest tries not to clash with them. Look also mentioned whatever he can paid up that he didn't do previously, and how he feels that day.
They asked about the Flatline chorus and Luke did listen to the song on his phone to figure it out... but I'm still not sure as they were also unsure lol.
They asked about the RAH orchestra and how it was a bit hard working with them because they only stayed until their time was up, and they are speaking different musical languages.
And lastly they asked about how they feel when they release a really emotional, personal song and if it's hard to do. They said of course, and how everyone has their own interpretation on songs, and sometimes it's best not to know the original thought and have your own on them.
There was also a fly trying to get into Luke's tea and Ashton kinda looked scared of it because he stood up.and took two steps backwards.
Both Charlotte Sands and AR/CO were amazing.
I was on Michael's side, 2nd row.
Ashton was wearing those silly ass chekered sunglasses for like half the show lol. But he has the biggest biceps in the world oh god.
They were cuteeeee. Michael was so precious. So happy.
We got Wrapped Around Your Finger.
They guys enjoyed Budapest, and said it was a special show because it'a in the last 3 for a long time now.
Also, there was a point where Ash said something about Calum abd I was like... boyfriends.
Michael couldn't sing Best Friends because Luke was being silly and they just started histerically laughing.
Michael remembered and made a joke about last year's KFC thing and someone had a fake/plush KFC bucket hat on and they were making fun of that.
He ended up wearing it for the beginning of Outer Space.
(Terrible photo, sorry. Didn't take much pics.)
Saw Ash at the very end on my side and he is beautiful and smiley. I love him. 🩷🫶
Tagging some peeps for story time: @kindahoping4forever @nostalgiabones @whentherosesbl00m @suchalonelysunflower
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SOAR, The Damage Race and Damage Die
(Yes, this is inspired by @makapatag latest post, I like getting into details about what goes on in my design thoughts)
So I've ran a fair bit of games over the years, and talked about a few design thoughts with my good friend Ru.
That experience has lead me to feel opinionated on some stuff or try to fix some "issues" I didn't want in my own TTRPG, namely Damage Die and the idea Damage Race is all that matters.
-Damage Die:
For about a whole year, I have been running a system that uses multiple types of damage die, from d6 to d10, which are bound to its classes rather than abilities (this is Icon, if you're curious), and while i don't think it is unworkable, it made me think about a few things, namely the nature of why we roll for damage in the first place and why so many Tactical TTRPGs want to have critical hits.
In most cases, I don't tend to like rolling for damage with wide possibilities, for example rolling a d8 or a d10, as those are very swingy and hard to make informed decision about, even if they fit a playstyle that's more about pushing your luck, they just don't work for me, I don't like how they control pacing, especially if rolling high on them is supposed to really hurt, it tends to make anything that surrounds them uncertain for basically everyone on the table, and for me it doesn't really do a fun surprise when you do roll good on them.
Critical Hits adding more damage is also a staple of many games, and I think as time goes on i'm less of a fan of that too as it tends to be done in a way that just shines a bigger spotlight on the uncertain damage numbers of some attacks (hi "Double Damage on crit" systems !).
So what I ended up doing, was just remove this idea that your damage die has to inform the damage you do related to its number.
See, I'm a big fan of tables, I love random tables, I also love having some level of control over what you can expect, so I had a fun idea, what if I used a damage profile table for attacks ?
So, in SOAR, when you hit (which you still need to roll to do specifically for attacks, as I like having that mechanical lever to tinker with) you roll a d6 or more if your abilities add some, and you keep the highest one, the number you roll then tells you what you'll be using as a profile for the attack, bigger means better in this case, here's an example:
Weak Hit (1-2): 2 damage, push target 1, move 1
Normal Hit (3-5): 3 damage, push target 1, move 1, push target 1
Strong Hit (6): 4 damage, push target 1, move 2, push target 1, target is dazed
Critical Hit (6,6): 5 damage, push foe 1, move 2, push foe 2, foe is dazed.
A keen eye might have noticed this shares similarities with how FITD handles rolls in terms of spread (being a tiny bit more forgiving), this has allowed me to make sure I know how much damage every attack does while still having room to make the damage uncertain, you can still cheer if you roll a strong hit or a critical hit (you in fact, have a resource you can spend to upgrade a hit to its next step if you want to), as a fun added fact, this type of damage profile idea started off as something I made for a gunfight based game, and worked backward into adding to SOAR, from my, admittedly limited, testing it has sped up play a fair bit while still giving me levers to work with in terms of balance.
-The Damage Race
There's this really annoying feeling sometimes when you play TTRPGs Combats that not doing damage isn't ideal, you see it all the time (death is the best control my beloathed expression) even when it isn't "true".
Something you learn relatively soon in TTRPG design is that even if you don't think something is true, people believing it is will still affect how they interact with it, often in a self reinforcing way, and this was something I wanted to avoid in SOAR as it would be especially prone to this, it is after all a Beat'Em All inspired TTRPG, so it was going to have people come in with that assumption regardless.
So I thought, hey, what if I didn't bother trying to balance Control and Damage here ? What if i had everyone "do both" ?
So that's what I ended up settling on, every Style comes with an attack, which you can use EVERY turn, and a bunch of abilities, which is where a lot of statuses and utility moves exist.
Of course, it didn't come free of problems, I had to essentially make everyone have more HP to account for it, but it also made me free of a problem I was having trouble figuring out: what if someone never attacks and just deals damage through abilities which never need to hit ?
The way i'm doing it now, people HAVE to care about attacks, and it also means that, with it being essentially "free", I can balance around it and make sure fights aren't static, players always have 2 shots at changing things every turn they do.
Thus far in testing I think it has proven to work.
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my tpc headcanons bc why not :D
SOME CHARS I DONT HAVE TOO MANY FOR (IF I HAVE ANY FOR THEM AT ALL) :sob::sob::sob:
[last updated: may 14, 2024]
main chars:
caretakers:
Cube:
trans FtM
he and Lythorus have absolutely been down bad for each other in the past but they never brought it up at all (until really recently now they kis!!!! they kiss!!!!! they kissy k)
REALLY likes cats
has a pretty good tolerance to the cold. all cubes do (in my headcanons anyway) but his is especially great
used to have really bad control over his strength (he and Lythorus HAVE had a pillow fight in the way past and Lyth got smacked into the wall on complete accident)
back when he and Lythorus started dating he tried to rest his head on top of Lythorus's as a way of affection and he proceeded to get stabbed by the spike
Iris:
has a really deep voice. but at the same time he somehow also sounds like a really tired teenager who works retail
Pentellow:
has a british accent
also knows a frightening amount of very unsettling fun facts
shes the tallest out of the non-monster caretakers (so herself, Iris and Cube). why? fuck you. fuck you is why /HEVJ/VSILLY
Pyrare:
he "talks with his hands" >:] i stole this hc from a friend btw/hj/lhj (hi Tea /silly)
he and Ketches are close friends i also stole this hc :3
heroes:
Cyan:
likes to follow people around!!! and also doesnt like being left alone for long periods of time
Orange:
eepy lil guy :D
Tsavorite and him are each other's impulse control. ofc its mostly Orange whos keeping Tsavorite from walking straight into a landmine (/j ofc) but they keep each other out of trouble (most of the time at least)
if bored enough but not eepy enough to take a nap or smth he CAN AND WILL end up somewhere thatll have everyone wondering "HOW DID HE GET THERE-"
Tsavorite:
genderfluid and uses any pronouns. :3c he? yes! they? yes! she? yes! literally any neopronoun(s)? HELL YEAH!!!
also has a british accent
constantly compares Orange to an actual orange (teasingly ofc)
very alert, but "backwards". like. he'll be able to notice a cool beetle from 5 feet away but wouldnt be able to tell you where Orange headed off to despite being right next to him just a few seconds ago
shows affection thru hugs and pokes. basically just. physical touch
adding onto the last one!!! if he cant be physically affectionate they will just give random ass gifts :D
knows a lot abt physical weapons to the point where its honestly a littol unnerving because hOW DOES HE KNOW ABT ALL THIS-
the shortest out of all the Heroes once theyre all matured. and theyre so pissed abt it to this day /silly
actually really likes horror elements in media
can hold intense eye contact for extended periods of time without blinking (and has intimidated multiple people with it on complete accident)
can and will fistfight someone over chicken nuggets btw
HATES the snow. and all the other Heroes tease them (/aff) abt it ever since they all found out bc "we thought you loved EVERYTHING"
owns a shitton of pins i dont take criticism on this one sorry /vlh
does NOT care for formalities. like. at all. like say if he met a "King Guy" he wouldnt say "King Guy" hed just say "Guy"
Gold:
knows Spanish and PSL (Paradisian Sign Language). this is a hill i will die on/j
has bit Tsavorite multiple times for holding him BUT Tsav didnt really care so he eventually just got used to it and now theyre besties :)
tall. tall fuck. everyones confused asf bc hes not physically related to Pyrare so he couldnt get those kinda """genes""" but hes still REALLY fuckin tall (when matured ofc)
does NOT like water AT ALL (self-projection beam GO/j)
VERY SNAKE-LIKE!!! he can hiss. he has fangs. and hes more sensitive to chilly weather and the cold than most other shapes
despite his sensitivity to cold weather he does love snow
whenever hes nervous and/or anxious he just starts singing random songs but in a purposely bad way (haha what do uou Mean im self projecting um)
↓
Cyanide:
has multiple songs pirated on herself. i do not take criticism/j
tall for an unmatured hero :3c
gets attached to people very very easily, but mostly people who show her even just an ounce of kindness :(
whenever she's trying to "hide something", she uses very detailed language,,for example, if she did something like sneaking out or smth she'd say "greetings" instead of just "hi" or "hello"
"lags" more whenever its hot out
being ANYWHERE around her at ANY point in time is a BIG fuckin risk because she can play Never Gonna Give You Up/Whistle/that stickbug gif on herself on command /SILLY
groups:
chipzel:
Purpex:
i dont have any for her as of rn D:
Marcle:
really likes chicken nuggets. its really random but she LOVES chicken nuggets
Squadril:
is CONSTANTLY called short by Purpex and Marcle + everybody in all the other groups (teasingly ofc)
bossfight:
Cintagon:
Round <3
is absolutely dating Circumsphere
bisexual and also polyamorous :D if he was given the choice between getting his dead wife back or staying with Circumsphere he would choose both with ZERO hesitation
Circumsphere:
i dont have any rn :[
danimal cannon:
Quintagon:
very strong for a pentagon (once when she n Hexagram were younger she hit him and he had a big ass bruise for a few days)
Hexagram:
has a very bad obsession with vikings, which is why his corrupt form has a "viking"-ish look
Polyhedron:
i got none rn :<
big giant circles:
Circumuscle:
doesnt swear very often so when he does its a shock to everyone/lhj
a big softie! to those he deeply cares abt tho
he has to be gentle whenever he hugs someone bc hes gonna break someones back someday if he isnt/lhj
Rincle:
IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF CIRCUMUSCLE SWEARING-WISE if she is given a single chance to say Fuck she WILL absolutely take it with zero hesitation at all/lhj
Spheer:
they and Circumuscle have an "older brother + younger sibling" dynamic
has a british accent as well
Cirtunda:
i dont got any for her either D:
other:
Lythorus:
very distractible
also said in Cube's section; he and Cube were absolutely down bad for each other in the past but never actually acknowledged it (untill recently now they smooch)
aquatic flower (explained further in the world-wise "shape related" section)
has a VERY bad fear of insects
hes 6ft. and he and Cube have a running joke with this using his name as a measurement. something's exactly 12ft tall? its 2 Lythoruses tall actually/j/lhj
Heli:
nonbinary!!! and uses he/she/they pronouns :D
he and Ketches r like,,partners. take that in any way possible
has the ability to form a body beneath her, buuuut she prefers to fly
a sweetheart through and through. but when/if they do decide to get silly and start teasing people sometimes he accidentally takes it way too far
Ketches:
absolutely has a "pirate" accent r u kidding me/lhj
also has the ability to form a body like Heli
is an uncle figure to Gold
can honk. not like a duck i mean like a boat. "WOOAOAOAOAORRRR" <- that kinda honk
corrupts:
Dub:
he can purr. i dont take criticism sorry/hj/lhj
he and Barracuda were gay as FUCK i will DIE on this hill istg/lhj
took guitar classes before he and Cuda went pinksauced
left a seat in the tower's "main room" just in memory of Barracuda. little does he actually know--/lhj
Barracuda:
is actually a ghost rn!! after Dub escaped from the seal he just roams around the tower and also occasionally chills next to Dub (even if Dub cant see him at all + has no idea he's even there)
Cubic:
bitch
he and Lycanthropy have BEEF for some godforesaken reason
Cube HAS tried to stick up to him once in the dreamscape(??? is that whats its called???) but Cubic IMMEDIATELY shot him down using a threat against Cyan
Ajaceare:
idk rn D:
George:
his spikes are different from other flowers'; most flower's spikes are pretty sharp, but his never sharpened from childhood, and thus are a little "dull-ended"
Hexacrigon:
idk for her either rn
Cintagram:
manipulative as FUCK. the only person he hasnt ever lied to is Circumcannon
speaking of which. he and Circumcannon still kiss/lhj
Circumcannon:
no ideas,,again😭😭😭
Hexadic:
same as all the others
Lycanthropy:
the only thing keeping he and Cubic from fistfighting each other every time they see each other is that they both know that 1) Dub WILL somehow find out and WILL get their asses and 2) Cubic is strong enough to actually kill Lycanthropy if they fight too hard. and Cubic doesnt wanna fling himself into boiling hot water (not literally ofc) + Lycanthropy doesnt wanna die to THIS bitch's hand
a lot of the other corrupted flowers see him as a "general"/"commander" due to Lythorus being leader of the (uncorrupted at least) flowers
should NOT be trusted with any kind of powertools ever
he can go fuckin insane on the drums
Circubit:
pretty close friends with Macabre
would absolutely dj in his spare time
world-wise hcs:
shape related:
spheres are the speediest out of all the shapes
cubes have a natural resistance to the cold
some flowers have the ability to live entirely underwater, its kinda like a "subtype" for them; theyre often referred to as "aquatic flowers"
flowers have fangs :3c chompers even!!!
spheres are the most likely out of any other shape "species" to be able to grow hair
flowers are naturally tall as shit!!!
flowers' spikes arent as "sharp" when theyre young- they "sharpen up" quite a bit as they get older, though
adding onto the last one, aquatic flowers' spikes are a little more on the duller side
other/unrelated to anything else:
some shapes dont have a "combat ability"
all of the group members of a certain area have meetups sometimes, and occasionally ALL of the groups meet up as a whole (pretty rare considering the size of Paradise, but it still happens at times!)
all the heroes have an odd obsession with going in and out of windows instead of doors. there could be an open door right next to a window and any one of them would still open the window and go right out of it
#the pink corruption#pink corruption#tpc#im leaving the ones i dont have any for “blank” for rn#sorry D:#THE “LYTHORUS MEASUREMENT” ONE IS ACTUALLY AN INSIDE JOKE but its ok its still funny anyway#im surprised i dont have that many for Dub tbh#ive also just come to the realization that i have a lotta flower hcs in the “shape related” world-wise section#its kinda like im inspecting them under a microscope or something/J
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If Heather were ever to write a memoir about being a superhero, she was going to include an entire chapter about what to do when you get sucked into a portal, because it was a surprisingly frequent hazard of the job and was confusing as hell if you didn't know what you were doing.
Fortunately, she’d been through this song and dance a few times, so she started with gathering the basics. Who, what, where, how, and when?
First, who? Some c-lister villain who called himself Vibe. The team had been working on a case of break-ins where banks would be robbed through some sort of portal technology. In and out, easy as pie, with almost no trace left behind. The guy was slick she could give him that.
Nightwing had theorized the guy might have a teleport ray, judging by the tachyon readings they were getting. Further investigation, however, and a quick conversation with Flash had revealed that Vibe was a meta created from the particle accelerator explosion of Central City, which had given the speedster his own powers. It hadn't been too hard to track the guy down from there.
Second, what? Well, bad guy plus warehouse equals superhero fight. It had just been Nightwing, Superboy, and herself who went to track down and capture the meta. The rest of the squads had all been busy on other assignments, and really, how hard could it be to take this guy down with three of their heavy hitters on it?
Apparently, harder than they'd thought.
Vibe, it seemed, was just as slick at evading capture as burglary. The idea had been for Nightwing and Scarlet Spider to wear the guy out and keep him distracted until Superboy could get in a final hit. It had briefly worked, and then everything went wrong.
Scarlet probably shouldn't have antagonized Vibe so much, but it was fun winding bad guys up. She and Nightwing had come up with some good lines as they danced around the teleporter. She had so much experience fighting alongside Nightcrawler that she assumed she could guess this guy's next move without any trouble. He would zig, she would zag. She'd been... a little too confident. Her spider sense had warned her of the danger as she swung towards Vibe for one more kick to the gut, but her momentum had been too strong, and there was no avoiding the inevitable.
Vibe had realized the game they'd been playing with him and grabbed Superboy as he'd tried to sneak up from behind, flinging him over his shoulder and into her. They'd crashed into Nightwing in a pile of tangled limbs and curses.
By the time Scarlet Spider looked up, Vibe had a new portal open behind him. "As fun as this has been, I'll be taking my leave now. This earth has always been a little too hero-happy for my tastes," the man smirked and saluted them, stepping backwards into the swirl of blue and white light.
If Heather had a nickle for every time she made a very stupid last-minute decision, she and Bruce Wayne would be in the same tax bracket. This was just another five cents in her fictional bank account. She sent a webline to the ceiling, propelling her up and off of her teammates and into the portal, which promptly closed behind her.
Third question, where?
On the other side of the portal, it dawned on Heather very quickly how stupid she was as she found herself free-falling. High-rises and skyscrapers rushed past her in a blur as she struggled to orient herself.
Some part of her brain that sounded a lot like her step-father screamed at her to throw a webline, and after two desperate attempts failed to land on anything, her third try caught a gargoyle. Her arm wrenched in its socket from the abrupt change in trajectory, and she gritted her teeth to stifle the howl of agony that crawled up her throat. She looked around desperately and spotted a rooftop not far away that she could reach.
Her landing was less than ideal, tumbling head over heels before rolling to a painful stop on the tarmac. She lay for a moment to let the panic subside, panting heavily from the spasms radiating from her arm and down her torso. She stared up at a smog filled night sky and the glowing neon sign of an office building as her brain rebooted.
Once she could hear more than just her own heartbeat thundering in her ears, she took stock of her situation. While she'd torn a few muscles in her arm, the damage was minimal compared to being a smear on the sidewalk. She'd twisted her ankle when she'd landed, and it throbbed in a familiar way - not broken, but definitely sprained. Everything else seemed negligible; cuts, scrapes, and general bruises. She would deal.
She sat up slowly and frowned at the office building's sign, declaring it to be one of Wayne Enterprises' headquarters. Why Vibe had thought running to Gotham was a good idea was anyone's guess.
She checked her comm, but only received static in reply, no matter what frequency she tried. Maybe it had been damaged in the fall? Her phone worked, but had no signal at all, not even wifi. That was strange; WE had public wifi available at all there buildings. She needed to reach the team somehow to let them know her status, and that despite her best (very stupid) efforts their suspect was in the wind. She wasn't sure where the closest zeta beam was from here, but maybe she could reach Nightwing a different way.
Did Heather feel bad breaking into the department store? Yes, a little, but desperate times and all that.
She'd grabbed a pair of jeans, a belt (because of course the jeans didn't fit right, but she didn't have the luxury of time on her side to find a pair that did), and an oversized sweatshirt. She dropped a pre-paid credit card on the counter with the tags of the items she was stealing, hoping the owners wouldn't be too mad at her. She then made triple sure that all the cameras she'd covered in webbing were still technically functional -just ineffective for a few hours - and grabbed a shopping bag from the register to stuff her gear into it.
Outside the store, it had begun raining, because this was Gotham and she had Parker luck. It was only natural. After trudging through the rain for a few blocks, Heather finally hailed a cab in a more populated part of the city. The clock on the dash of the taxi read a little after four am, and the driver looked like he wasn't thrilled to have found a customer.
"I need to get to Bristol," Heather told him, trying to be short but polite.
The cabby raised an eyebrow at her, blowing smoke from his cigarette out his cracked window. "That's going to cost you, lady," he told her flatly. "If you hadn't noticed, this is the Diamond District, that's a long drive."
"If you can get me there quickly, I'll pay you double the fare in tip," Heather promised.
Both eyebrows went up at that. "You're the boss," he shrugged and pulled away from the curb.
Once they reached Bristol, Heather had the cab drop her off at the Drake Estate, a few miles from Wayne Manor. She didn't think the cab driver really cared about where this woman in ill-fitting clothes was going at the crack of dawn out in the most expensive neighborhood in Gotham. But just in case someone asked him about it later, she didn't want him saying he'd dropped the weird woman off at Brucie Wayne's mansion. Never could be too careful.
True to her word, Heather had tipped extra generously, and the cab had taken off as soon as she was out of the backseat.
She glanced down the Drake's long driveway to where their modern estate could be seen peaking out between the tall trees and frowned distastefully. Shaking off her feelings towards Tim's parents, she settled into a fast walk and headed towards Wayne Mansion in the thinning rain.
By the time she reached the front gates, the rain was just mist that was slowly being burned off by the morning sun, and she was soaked to the bone. Wiping water off her face, she buzzed the intercom and hoped Alfred wouldn't be mad at her for the early morning call.
"Wayne Residence, may I help you?" His British accent came through the intercom sounding slightly tinny.
"Good morning, I need to speak to Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne. It's Heather Reilly."
There was a long pause, too long. "Do you have an appointment?"
Heather frowned. "No, not exactly. Listen, I know it's early, but I really need to talk to Dick or Mr. Wayne."
"Master Wayne is a very busy man, young lady," Alfred began, in a clearly dismissive voice.
"Wait, please! It's..." she frowned harder, brow furrowing as an uneasy feeling filled her gut. "It's Heather, Mr. Pennysworth. You know, Heather? Dick's friend? We've... I mean, don't you know who I am?"
"I'm afraid your name is not familiar to me, and young Master Dick no longer resides here at the manor. Good day, young lady." The intercom clicked off and Heather stood blinking at it for several seconds.
"What the actual fuck?" She finally muttered.
Alfred Pennyworth did not know who she was. He had dismissed her with the same polite but frosty way she'd seen him dismiss hopeful gold diggers who hung off of Bruce at parties. As her brain processed this information, something else occurred to her as well.
Vibe. He had said something just before he disappeared. That their earth was too hero-happy. Their earth. As if there was more than one.
"Well, shit," Heather sighed sharply, rubbing at a pounding headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.
Apparently, Vibe wasn't just a teleporter like her fiance, and perhaps their assessment of him as a c-lister villain was a bit hasty. Because apparently the sucker could warp not just around the world, but also apparently around the freaking multiverse?! And Heather, dumbass extraordinaire, had followed him to a parallel universe. Which meant that the only way she was ever going to get home was to find the bastard again, and there was no way she'd be able to do that on her own.
Fourth question, how?
Heather felt significantly more guilty sneaking onto the Wayne Manor estate than she had breaking into the department store.
She hoped that her Dick and Bruce - if she ever saw them again - would understand that she hadn't meant to memorize the defenses around the estate. Really, it was more Bruce's fault than hers.
She'd spent so much time working for the man, digging through the batcomputer's files and doing the menial grunt work to help hone her skills, that of course at some point she'd gotten bored and started studying the layout of the grounds and where all the motion detectors were hidden. She was only human... well, kind of. Sort of. Not important right now.
She didn't know for certain that this version of Bruce Wayne would use the same layout for his home's defenses. Hell, she wasn't even certain that this version had even become Batman. Maybe the man actually was a clueless socialite in this universe. But Heather had a gut feeling that she couldn't shake.
Like, sure, maybe there were universes out there where that was true. But... could there really be a universe where Bruce Wayne had never become Batman, and yet he'd still taken in Dick, who then would coincidentally also have a falling out with the man and move to Bludhaven? The whole reason her Dick had moved to that awful city was to establish himself as Nightwing.
Heather knew she was holding onto a thin string of hope here. But if she was wrong, she might never make it back home, and that possibility was too terrifying to even consider.
Her universe had found multiple ways to kick her in the teeth and drag her down, over and over again. Yet, that universe was her home, and she was still standing. She'd gotten back up each time with the help of her family and friends. She would figure this out, and she would come home to them.
There wasn't an option for failure.
By the time she was standing in front of the massive doors of the manor, her shoulder and ankle were starting to throb in time with her heartbeat. The sun had burned off the remaining rain and she estimated it was closer to six or seven am now. Despite knowing she looked like a drowned rat, Heather attempted to have some dignity as she straightened her clothes, pushed back her slick hair, and reached up to knock.
"I'll get it, Alfred," She heard a young male voice on the other side of the door, and she had just enough time to think Tim when a seventeen year old boy with dark hair opened the door.
Heather blinked. This... was not her Tim. Her Tim was still thirteen and only recently reached her shoulder in height. Yet, the haircut, the blue eyes, the sharp features, all of it definitely screamed Tim Drake.
The boy frowned at her. "Can I help you?"
"Uh," Heather floundered for a second, unsure. She hadn't anticipated speaking to anyone other than Alfred, Dick or Bruce. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It's um, it's been a rough night. My name is Heather Reilly. You're Tim, right? I'm a friend of Dick Grayson's, and I really need his help."
"You again?" Alfred was suddenly behind Tim, wearing the most severe frown she'd ever seen on the man.
It immediately made her step back a half pace and her shoulders hunch. No one, not even her own parents, could make Heather feel like a small naughty child the way Mr. Pennyworth could. There was a reason even Batman deferred to him. "I was quite firm young lady. How did you manage to get past the front gate?"
Translation: How did you avoid all of Batman's security? Heather thought, but of course they wouldn't know that she knew about any of that.
"Please, Mr. Pennyworth, if you just let me explain the situation," Heather began, trying not to wither under his stony stare.
"How do you know Dick?" Tim interrupted. He looked just as suspicious as Alfred, but there was something else in his stare, curiosity or something like it. Tim, like Bruce, was a detective and Heather could tell she'd piqued his interest.
"Dick and I are old friends," She said quickly, latching onto Tim's interest like a lifeline. "We met when we were teenagers. We, uh, had a lot in common. Listen, if Dick isn't here could I at least use your phone? I lost mine, and if I can't talk to Dick, then I need to try and call another friend."
"Are you in trouble?" Alfred asked, looking a modicum less severe than before.
"Very much so, sir,'' Heather nodded, shifting her weight only to wince as she placed too much onto her bad ankle. "Shit," she hissed, unable to keep the curse in.
"What happened?" Tim asked, opening the door wider.
"I... fell," She said lamely, scratching the back of her neck. How could she explain that it was from a height of several stories? Oh, right, she couldn't. "Twisted my ankle. It's fine, I'm a fast healer."
Tim and Alfred exchanged a long look, and only years of working with the bats helped her parse out its full meaning. They didn't trust her, clearly. They thought she might even be lying, but they weren't going to leave someone soaking wet and obviously injured outside on their doorstep.
Alfred hummed, still displeased, "You may use the phone in the library, follow me. Master Tim, would you please bring me the first aid kit?"
"Sure, Alfie," Tim sent one more scrutinizing stare her way before disappearing into what she knew was a supply closet.
She followed the butler into the library, wincing as she dripped rainwater onto the expensive rugs. He led her to an antique secretary desk with a rotary phone on it, because apparently in every universe Bruce Wayne was that kind of old money rich, and insisted she sit down on the oak desk chair. Tim reappeared shortly, carrying both a first aid kit and a towel, the latter of which Heather took gratefully as she sat her plastic bag full of gear onto the floor.
Heather carefully squeezed water out of her hair, mindful of her shoulder as Alfred looked through the kit. "If you would remove your boot, Miss Reilly, I will check your ankle."
"Oh, I mean, you don't have to-" Heather began, the towel now draped over her shoulders.
"I insist," Alfred said firmly but not unkindly.
"You might as well let him look," Tim said with a chuckle. He was leaning against one of the many floor to ceiling bookcases. "He won't take no for an answer."
"Right, I knew that," Heather muttered, shaking her head. She missed the puzzled frowns Tim and Alfred shared as she reached down and started unlacing her combat boots.
Spider-Man and her father preferred their costumes with matching boots and gloves, the web design visible from top to bottom. But she'd long ago chosen steel toed black boots and fingerless black leather gloves for herself. She liked that it made the uniform her own, along with a modified version of her father's blue hoodie - cropped, slightly darker in hue, and made of a resilient Kevlar. The Scarlet Spider silhouette was still recognizable as the one Ben Reilly once wore, but she'd made it hers, and she knew her dad would have approved.
She got the boot off and peeled off her wet sock, hissing as the fabric stuck around the swollen ankle joint before finally coming free. Of course, it was the ankle she'd broken previously, that was just her luck.
"Okay, it's a little worse than I thought," she admitted quietly as Alfred examined the injury.
"You seemed pretty confident it was just a sprain," Tim observed casually.
Bruce hasn't taught him all his tricks yet, Heather thought as she considered how to answer Tim's obviously prying question. "Not the first time," she said as she watched Alfred pull out a roll of bandages. "I'm clumsy."
Before Tim could form his next question, a voice called out, "Drake? Pennyworth?" This was followed shortly by a boy, maybe fourteen years old, coming into the library. He was also dark haired, but much tanner than Tim and his eyes were brown. There was something oddly familiar about the kid that Heather couldn't put her finger on.
"Who is this?" The boy demanded.
"Manners, Master Damian," Alfred chided him as he finished wrapping Heather's ankle. "It's best you remove your other boot as well, Miss, to give them a chance to dry out."
Heather nodded, "right, thank you, Mr. Pennyworth."
"Damian, this is Heather. She says she's a friend of Dick's," Tim explained.
"Richard has never mentioned you," Damian said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He spoke with the slightest accent, something Middle Eastern that Heather couldn't pin down, and the more she looked at his face the more she was sure she knew him from somewhere.
"We're, uh, very old friends," Heather explained awkwardly. "We haven't seen each other in a long time." Or ever, in this universe's case.
"Tt," Damian scoffed, sharing glances with Alfred and Tim. He wasn't even attempting to hide how suspicious he thought she was. It was sort of refreshing. "Richard isn't home. He's running errands with Father."
Now Heather was narrowing her eyes, her head tilting to the side as a memory came to her. Of a painting that hung in her universe's version of Wayne Manor featuring Thomas and Martha Wayne posing with their young son. Bruce was solemn, even as a child, and Damian had the same set to his jaw.
"Oh my god," she breathed as it clicked, suddenly standing as she pointed at the boy. "You're Bruce's kid. Like, his bio kid, aren't you?"
The others gave her various confused reactions. Alfred raised one eyebrow, Tim frowned, and Damian crossed his arms haughtily.
"Of course, I am," the younger boy snapped, like he thought Heather was an idiot. Which was fair. She kind of was most days, even she could admit that. "How do you not know who I am?"
"I -" She dropped her arm and rubbed her neck. "Right, yeah, that's an excellent question." She sighed. "Okay, truthfully? I am friends with Dick, but... not your Dick?" They frowned at her, and she couldn't blame them.
"Look, I'm going to level with you. I'm not from this universe. I work with Dick on my earth with a team of heroes. We were fighting this guy - Vibe? I did something monumentally stupid, and I ended up here. I didn't realize until I was already talking with Alfred that I was even in the wrong universe because my Alfred has known me for years. I worked with Batman for a while when I was a teenager, back when Dick was still Robin, and-"
"What are you talking about?" Tim interrupted her nervous ramblings. "Why do you think we know anything about Batman?" He added angrily. Damian looked ready to commit murder, and Alfred had disappeared at some point.
Heather groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, let's just cut past the song and dance, okay? I know all about Bruce, I have for years. In my universe, he gave me almost full access to the batcomputer's files. I trained with Robin in the batcave. I know about the entrance behind the grandfather clock in Bruce's study-"
Heather realized a few beats too late that was probably not the best way to break the news.
Damian was suddenly in her face with a knife at her throat pulled from seemingly nowhere. She reacted instinctively, grabbing the boy's wrist, twisting it down until he dropped the dagger. She pushed him into Tim, who'd been pulling out his collapsible bo staff. She'd turned with the intention of escaping through the library's other exit, but only made it a few strides when the sound of a shotgun being loaded stopped her dead in her tracks.
Right, that would be Alfred, she thought numbly, lifting her hands up as high as her injured shoulder would allow before dropping to her knees.
"Do not move," Alfred ordered.
"Yes, sir," she said.
"How did you disarm me so easily?" Damian demanded, stomping around to glare at her.
Heather gave him a small smile, which only made him angrier. "You remind me of my sister," she said instead of answering.
"I don't know what your game is," Tim told her, "but we're not playing. What do want with Dick?"
"First, poor word choice," Heather smirked at him over her shoulder. He glared back at her flatly, and she rolled her eyes. "My Tim has a much better sense of humor. I already told you exactly why I'm here. I'm in the wrong universe, and I need Batman and Nightwing to help me get home."
"Why do you keep insisting my father is the Batman?" Damian asked.
Heather sighed. "Look, we could keep going around and around on this all day, but I don't have that kind of time. Either call up Dick and Bruce so we can discuss this like adults, or-"
"Or what?" Alfred asked, suddenly reminding her there was a very protective butler with a gun pointed at her.
Heather pursed her lips, considering. "Why don't you take me down to the cave? You guys probably have a holding cell like my Batman does. You can keep me under lock and key until I can convince you I'm telling the truth, or until you can get someone from the League to come down who can wipe my memory if I can't."
"Or we could take you to Arkham Aslyum now," Damian suggested.
Heather took a deep breath, trying to be patient. Not like it could hold me. "It's up to you," she finally said.
Damian walked behind her so the three could share a whispered conference. Heather tried very hard not to hear them by humming under her breath, but it was a lost cause. Damian was coming up with some very creative forms of interrogation tactics, but was ultimately overruled by Tim and Alfred.
"Alright, let's go," Tim finally sighed. "Hands behind your back, and just keep in mind Alfred is a very good shot." She saw him pulling a pair of handcuffs from the corner of her eye.
"You're going to want to use something stronger than that," she told them mildly as Tim grabbed her wrists and yanked them behind her back. Tim hesitated for a moment, before Damian handed him something she couldn't see. She bit back a hiss of pain as they used what felt like metal cording from a grappel gun to bind her hands, then used the remaining cord to wrap around her arms and chest.
Better, she thought as Tim and Damian pulled her to her feet, but still not enough. Ah well, I'll let them have this one.
They blindfolded her before taking her to the batcave, maybe so they could still have plausible deniability. Heather let the boys lead her to the elevator, her spider-sense keeping her aware of Alfred's shotgun aimed at her chest. When the elevator stopped, her bare feet were treading the rock of the cave's floor as the boys prodded her along, her injured ankle really resenting the cold seeping into her bones. She couldn't surpress a small shiver, suddenly aware of her still soaking wet stolen clothes that were clinging to her.
"Relax, we're not going to hurt you," Tim murmured, misinterpreting her shudder.
"Unless you give us a reason too," Damian added, less meanly than he could have.
Huh, maybe the kid wasn't as blood thirsty as he seemed. I wonder who his mom is? I don't think it's Selina. He doesn't look anything like her. Heather pondered this little mystery until she heard a metal cage door opening and she was gently pushed inside the holding cell. Someone pulled off the blindfold before they locked her in. She blinked her eyes to help them adjust to the new lighting, taking in the somewhat familiar landscape around her.
"Good to know the giant penny and t-rex are consistent in every universe," Heather observed. "Still ridiculous, but consistent."
"Master Bruce and Master Dick are on their way," Alfred said, lowering the gun slightly but not putting it away.
Heather nodded. "I figured. So... bio kid, huh?" She added, conversationally.
Damian narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't reply.
"I totally see it now," Heather admitted, taking a seat on the cot in the cage. She brought her legs up to fold beneath her, trying to get comfortable. "I thought at first that Bruce's adoption habit was worse in this universe."
"What makes you think I'm adopted?" Tim asked, taking a seat on a stool he'd brought over.
Heather blinked in surprise. "Oh, my mistake, sorry. My Tim Drake is, so I guess I assumed."
"What happened to your Tim's parents?" Tim frowned, but there was something in his expression that Heather couldn't read.
Heather pursed her lips, considering how to explain. "They were very neglectful. At first, Bruce just had emergency custody of Tim while the state investigated why he was being left alone for long periods of time with only a maid checking on him. When they realized how shitty the Drakes were, that's when he put in the paperwork."
"So they're... still alive?" Tim asked in a much quieter voice.
Heather's heart stuttered painfully. "Oh... I'm so sorry."
Tim shook his head. "Not your fault," he said it like it was something he told people a lot, which only made Heather feel worse.
"I really am sorry. This world is so different from my own," Heather said, mostly to keep the conversation moving. She'd always hated awkward silence. "My Tim is younger, and I've never even met him before." She tilted her head towards Damian. "I mean, he might exist on my earth. Who's your mom?"
Damian tutted again, which she was beginning to suspect was a habit. "Not that its any of your business, but my mother's name is Talia Al Ghul."
Heather blinked and sat forward. "I'm sorry - the daughter of the Demon's Head is your mom? One of the most dangerous women in the world, and the next leader of the League of Assasins?"
Damian gave her a haughty nod. "I see my mother's reputation precedes her even in another universe."
"Okay, mental note," Heather muttered. "Interrogate Bruce when I get home to make sure he actually knows how condoms work."
Tim let out an involuntary snort and Damian's pride disappated back into disdain as he muttered something in Arabic that she was sure was unflattering.
"Alrighty, anyway," She sighed. "I'm assuming you have questions you want me to answer?"
"I am not sure what we could ask you that could prove your worthiness," Damian snapped. "You are a stranger to us."
Tim nodded reluctantly. "I've never heard Dick mention anyone like you." He picked up the plastic bag they must have brought from upstairs that had her gear in it, pulling out her mask and frowning at it. "What's with the spider webs?"
"On my earth, I'm called the Scarlet Spider," Heather explained, waiting for any hint of recognition on his face, but nothing came. "You know, ally of Spider-Man? Friend of the Avengers?"
"Who?" Damian asked.
"Whoa, okay, I didn't think our earths were that different," Heather shook her head. "Wait, if Spider-Man and the Avengers don't exist in this world, does the Justice League exist?"
"Of course," Tim and Damian answered almost in unison, then glared at each other in annoyance.
"That's a relief. So the team must exist too," Heather said, only to receive another frown.
"You mean the Teen Titans?" Tim clarified.
"No...? I mean the team. We work for the Justice League? But, like, covertly. We handle missions that the League doesn't want a lot of attention on, but that still needs a lot of skill." Heather explained, "There's me, Nightwing, Superboy, Miss Martian, Robin, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Beast Boy-"
"I only recognize some of those names," Tim admitted.
"Weird," Heather muttered.
"This is a waste of time," Damian exclaimed, "She's clearly lying, Drake, we should take care of her before she can reveal our identities to anyone."
"Let's pump the breaks on the murder, alright Shortstack?" Heather couldn't help but snap. "Does your Batman actually kill? Because that's seriously messed up."
"He does not," Alfred confirmed, giving Damian a reprimanding glare.
Damian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, muttering to himself. Tim and Alfred couldn't hear it, but Heather could perfectly. "This never would happen with Mother and Grandfather."
Tim's phone suddenly chimed at the same moment Heather heard tires crunching on the gravel outside the manor. "I'm guessing Bruce is here?" She asked Tim as he checked his phone.
"How did you-?"
"Lucky guess," Heather deflected.
Alfred finally lowered his gun and left, presumably to meet his employer and pseudo son at the door. Damian seemed to take this as an invitation to take out another dagger from some pocket and begin fiddling with it. Heather guessed this was his way of intimidating her, or it could have been a nervous habit. She didn't have the heart to tell him it was more cute than anything else.
The kid looked like he'd barely hit puberty. He reminded her of her own little brother and sister, which just made her homesick. She wanted to pull her phone out, just so she could see her photos and reassure herself that they were still out there, waiting for her, but she stopped herself from snapping her restraints. She needed this world's Batman to trust her, or she'd never get home.
"I'm assuming you're a meta human?" Tim asked her after he finished sending another text. He put his phone in his pocket so he could focus his attention on her fully.
"In a sense," Heather said reluctantly. "It's complicated."
"I have a friend who's the daughter of a demon, try me," Tim challenged.
"It's not that I'm refusing to answer the question, it's just seriously complicated," She explained. "Does this world have stable cloning technology?"
"Are you somebody's clone?"
"No- well, yes and no," She shook her head when he gave her an exasperated sigh. "Complicated! Ugh, okay, so my story starts way before I was born. On my earth there's a hero called Spider-Man. He was a regular guy who was bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him super powers."
"Usually when someone has a backstory like that, they turn to a life of crime, at least in my experience," Tim commented.
"Yeah, well, he didn't. I mean, he used his powers to win money in wrestling matches at first," Heather admitted, rolling her eyes. "He was young and dumb, don't worry about it - not important. The important thing is years later, Spider-Man gets a new rogue who called himself Jackal. The guy was crazy, but brilliant."
"We are familiar with the type," Damian commented quietly.
Heather snorted. "Trust me, I know, but unfortunately he was way less Nygma and his puzzles, and more like Crane with unethical experimentation. The guy manages to clone Spider-Man, except - plot twist - Spider-Man suddenly has a case of amnesia and he and the clone can't remember which of them is the real deal."
Tim whistled, "complicated."
"Oh trust me, tip of the iceberg," Heather complained, shaking her head. "I'll skip forward, or we'll be here for hours. The clone, he went by the name Scarlet Spider, eventually comes to a truce with Spider-Man and they become allies. In the meantime, Scarlet Spider and the woman who was once Spider-Man's fiance fall in love. Eventually, they have a kid." She shrugged as much as her restraints allowed her to.
"That was you," Damian guessed.
"Yep," Heather nodded. "Again, I'm going to skip forward for brevity's sake. I developed powers as I aged, but then suddenly one day my body freaks the fuck out. My DNA wasn't completely stable, being half human and half - er, clone slash radioactive meta slash freak lab accident." She sighed. Sometimes she couldn't believe this was her life. "My body mutated."
"It didn't kill you?" Tim asks, surprised.
"It almost did," she admits quietly. "Spider-Man saved my life. I was only nineteen."
"How old are you now?" Damian asked, almost politely.
"Almost twenty-four," Heather smiled. "My fiance, Kurt, is trying to plan a surprise party for me with my Dick Grayson's help. They're not succeeding, but it's adorable to watch so I'm letting it go for now."
"You weren't lying when you said you were close with him, were you?" Tim said, almost sounding like he was talking to himself.
"Robin was always one of my biggest heroes," Heather admitted. "When we finally met, he became one of my closest friends. He's practically my brother."
"That's why you were sure he would help you," Damian concluded.
"He's my best shot," Heather admitted as Bruce finally stepped into the cave, Dick right behind, followed by an Asian woman with short dark hair, and finally an African American teen about Tim's age.
Heather tilted her head at the woman and teen in confusion. The woman only smiled mildly and waved, while the teen mirrored her frown. Well, that's definitely new. Maybe this Bruce does have more of an adoption problem than mine.
"You got my message?" Tim asked.
"Yes. We've been watching the security cameras," Bruce muttered, eying Heather like she was one of the Riddler's newest puzzles. Which, ow.
"Hello," Heather said, giving a cheery smile despite the increase in suspicious eyes on her. "I'd get up to greet you, but..."
"Oh, this one has jokes," Dick said, coming to gently take Damian's dagger away. "That's refreshing. Last time we got someone from a parallel universe, they weren't any fun. Remember Bruce? The Stephanie doppelganger?"
"Dick," Bruce reprimanded before his eldest could go off on a tangent.
"Oh yeah, no, that one was no fun," Tim agreed, ignoring Bruce’s sigh. "This one says she's known you since you were Robin."
"Hey, I have!" Heather protested. "C'mon, we were all getting along so well. I mean, aside from the stabby child over there... but I have a feeling he's like that with most people?"
"We're trying to break him of the habit," Dick commented dryly.
"Did Damian stab her?" The black teen asked.
"Not quite," Tim shrugged. "She's fast."
"Aw, thanks Tim" Heather beamed. "That's like the nicest thing you've said to me all day. When I get home, I'll be sure to tell my Tim you were nice. Even if you do need to lighten up a little."
"What makes you think you're going anywhere?" Dick asked, but Heather couldn't hear any real threat in the words. She had a feeling this Dick had just as big of a heart as her world's.
"Look, obviously me being here is upsetting for multiple reasons. You guys love your privacy, and you hate having someone around who compromises that, I get it. Not to mention, it's probably not a good idea for someone from the wrong multiverse to stay here long term. I mean, I'm a biochemist not a theoretical physicist, but I'm assuming it's probably bad," Heather shrugged as much as her bonds allowed. "So, the way I see it is, you help me get back home, and we're all happy in the end. Right?"
"How can we trust that you're telling the truth?" Tim asked again, but she could tell Bruce was thinking it over.
"I don't know what you want me to say, Timmy," Heather told him honestly. "I mean, I could sit here all day telling you things that are true of my universe? Like, I know that Dick’s first pet was Zitka, the circus elephant. I know that my Tim basically blackmailed Batman into making him Robin. I know that my Alfred never uses cloves in his cooking because Bruce is allegic, which is why he never drinks the eggnog at the Justice League's Christmas party. Is any of that true in this universe? I don't have a clue. What I do know for certain is that you all are my only shot of getting home. If you won't help me..."
Heather swallowed, staring at nothing as the despair of that possibility hit her full force. "I'll never see my family again, and Kurt will never know what happened to me. Please, I'm begging here, help me get home."
Bruce crossed his arms and looked at the Asian woman that hadn't said a word so far. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, a little younger than this world's Dick. Heather had tried not to let it bother her, but the younger woman had been watching her intently the whole time they'd been talking. Heather couldn't help feeling like she was missing something as she watched the woman turn to Bruce and smile.
"Not lying. I trust her," She finally said.
The words were stilted in a way that normally Heather would associate with learning a new language, but the woman had a distinct Gotham accent. It almost reminded Heather of how her little sister used to talk when she'd started speech therapy, like the woman wasn't sure how to put her thoughts into spoken words.
"Okay, as much as I appreciate the vote of confidence, I have to ask - who are they?" Heather asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
"You don't have a Cassandra Cain or Duke Thomas in your world?" Dick asked.
Heather shook her head, "Doesn't ring a bell, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Like I was saying earlier, my timeline seems a little skewed from this one. My Tim is younger, and as far as I know, my Bruce doesn't have a bio kid. It's just Dick, Tim, Babs and me around."
"What about Jason Todd?" Bruce asked quietly, and if she hadn't known another version of this man so well she might not have heard his trepidation for the answer.
"That's... I mean..." Heather blew out a somber breath. "Jason was murdered by the Joker," she admitted reluctantly. Every face in the room fell, but there was an air of recognition to the grief. Clearly, the same fate had befallen their Jason as well.
Heather continued after a moment, "That was a few years ago. Recently, he, well... came back. Things are still a little delicate, so he's been staying with me and Kurt for the time being."
"Why isn't he home with us?" Dick asked.
Heather grimaced. "You have to understand, he wasn't in his right mind. He - well, he attacked our Tim and hurt him pretty badly. They're both doing better, but Jason hasn't forgiven himself and still has things to work through, and Tim needs time to recover mentally and emotionally. We're giving them both space until if and when they're ready to be in the same room."
"Wow, what a concept," Tim deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Bruce and Dick looked uncomfortable. Heather narrowed her eyes but decided not to ask. Not her circus, not her monkeys. She could only do so much for the Wayne family in her own universe; she couldn't possibly fix an entirely different one as well. Especially when she didn't have the complete picture.
"Ya know, I kind of wish we had a version of her," Duke spoke up. "That's like the most level headed decision I've heard from someone in this family in... no, scratch that, ever."
"Don't give me too much credit," Heather smiled, but it was self-derogatory. "I've had my fair share of screw ups, too. Sometimes, you just need an outside perspective." She sighed, wishing she could rub her eyes. "Look, I get that this is a lot to ask, but I have to track down Vibe before he disappears from this world, too. I can stay right here if it makes you all feel better, but I need help finding his tachyon signature so I can catch him and make him take us home. The batcomputer is my best chance."
"Quick question," Dick lifted a hand, frowning at her. "What do you mean by 'make us feel better'?"
Heather clicked her tongue and stood up, walking to the far wall of the cage, opposite the door. She flexed her muscles, snapping the metal grappeling cord like it was dental floss. As the cord fell into a pile on the floor, she reached forward and using two fingers on each hand, bent two of the steel bars towards each other into an 'x'. She stepped back from the cage wall and put her hands behind her back, shrugging sheepishly.
"You could escape at any time, couldn't you?" Duke guessed.
Heather nodded, chewing her cheek.
"You could have broken in here without alerting anyone, gotten what you wanted, and left without a trace," Tim added. "Just like how you got passed all of the security on the grounds."
"Well, I don't know about completely leaving without a trace," Heather hedged, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm not Kurt, I can't teleport, and I don't have invisibility either."
"Hn, perhaps you could explain your powers to us in detail while we start searching for your missing rogue," Bruce said.
She didn't know this Bruce or what had happened in his life to alter it from the man she did know, but she could hear the world's greatest detective in his voice and it made the anxiety in her chest melt. They weren't going to abandon her, they were going to help.
The only question left, was when?
#fan fiction#my writing#rae writes#young justice x marvel#dc x marvel#spider man mentioned#oc heather parker#dick grayson#nightwing#bruce wayne#batman#tim drake#red robin#damian wayne#dc robin#cassandra cain#dc orphan#dc signal#duke thomas#alfred pennyworth#dc multiverse#parallel universe#aka heather fell through a portal and has a bad time#scarlet spider#ben reilly#oc heather reilly#part 1 of ?#i may post this to ao3 i havent decided#ao3 writer#wayne family adventures
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Character Introduction: Mashal, lucky number six
For a moment, Mashal wondered if a brief spring rain had passed overhead, turning the leaf litter glistening and wet. It wasn’t until the light from his eyes hit the shimmering ground that he realized all the moisture was red.
Strewn about in a fiendish halo were the remains of the two bandits. A hand here, a face there—less than mincemeat, really. He could see a leg crushed in the exact approximation of his jointed grip. Mashal felt as if vomit should have been flooding his mouth, but his only reaction was the faint whir of gears. Guts dripped from the trees…. Iron in his mouth….
“Mashal!”
The robot whirled toward the sound of Astra’s voice, heady and rich even when strained by terror. There was a prickling pressure around his eyes, though he didn’t know why.
“I–” He paused, trying to wipe the dirt from where it clogged his vocal output, but the joints of his hands were caked in a slurry of bone and gristle, trapping them in closed fists. That cold was back now, trapping him in its suffocating embrace. “I’m over here!”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Mashal regretted them. He was dangerous! He could still feel that icy voice slavering away in the back of his mind. Kill her, run, hide, anything, do whatever it takes!
Yet, words could not be unsaid. Faint it might have been, but Astra picked up on his voice and soon the witch pushed her way into the glade-turned-abattoir. Her piebald face was shadowed with fear and speckled with a bloody constellation of its own. It was her eyes though, that made Mashal take a step back, that made his excuse for a heart crumple in like tin foil. Because reflected in them was a shining devil, bathed in gore. Riveted and rusting, like some mechanical horror that had torn its way out of a man’s skin.
The sensation crept back in—the ice, the pain. I shouldn’t be feeling pain. The acid-needle ache in his arms and legs, his everything. It wasn’t a malfunction. Nothing ever is, ever was. Mashal felt sick as he looked down at his trapped hand. Hands that couldn’t be his.
No, no, the sensation was worse, so much worse. It was a memory.
So, I'm going to do this introduction a little backwards. Mashal's backstory contains some pretty big spoilers for the whole of Mystery of the Mortal God. Feel free to keep reading if you don't mind things like that, but you've been warned. The backstory will be at the very end.
I'll start with his personality. Mashal has no memories beyond waking up in Astra's wagon, so many of his quirks and habits are a mystery to him. He's a kindly, honorable man, with a strong sense of what's right and wrong, and a desire to protect people. Yet, he's not brash in the slightest. He's soft-spoken and appreciates even the smallest beauties in life. Probably, this is connected to his stellar artistic abilities. He enjoys listening to stories, hoping to one day be able to tell stories of his own.
Darker things lurk in his mind as well. It frightens him, how paranoid he can sometimes be around magic and its practitioners. It can also be alarming how certain he is in his morality. Mashal makes decisions based on what he knows to be right, sometimes to the detriment of those around him, especially when he doesn't understand the whole situation.
As for what he looks like, Mashal is a human-shaped robot standing at a towering 6'10". His face has some basic mobility (he can move his eyebrows, eyelids, and the corners of his mouth) but nothing special. His plating is bronze with steel underneath, and his eyes glow white. He wears loose-fitting, highly concealing clothes and a bandana over his head. These are usually patched, because he tears clothes easily. He covers as much bronze as he can due to a strange sort of robotic body dysmorphia.
Fun facts now!:
He's great with animals, especially horses, though no horse could support his weight for riding.
Graphite is his preferred medium, and landscapes are his preferred subject for art.
Despite his anxiety around it, Mashal is actually getting pretty good at picking up runes and mechanics.
He speaks Skysheerian Elvish and has no idea why.
He hates the rain because he's scared of rust and frightened of the sea because he knows he'll sink to the bottom with no way to get back up.
He has a bit of a stutter when he's nervous and his voice tends to go a little static-filled.
He's very curious about Unitian-made robots who were raised around other robots.
His hypothetical favorite food is honey. He just likes the way it looks.
He once scratched the paint job on Astra's wagon, painted it back in the night, and never told her. This is the one time he's ever lied to her and he feels terrible about it.
He teaches Mercher's Day (a fat tortoiseshell cat) tricks when Astra is asleep.
Now's where we get into the meat of things. Spoilers will follow.
Sir Mashal Darezsho was born in the Sulu'Okan city of Bouerco as the second son of the noble Darezsho line. With his older brother taking care of the whole heir thing, young Sir Darezsho was allowed to do as he pleased. Most thought he would go the path of the scholar due to his modest sorcerous talent, however, the young man was enraptured by the sword from the moment he was allowed to hold one. When he was sixteen, he enrolled in officer training for the Sulu'Okan army, the fiercest fighting force within the Republic's grander military. When he was twenty, he was knighted by High Lady Zuli N'Jogu herself.
Sir Darezsho served his people by protecting the roads between Sulu'Oku and Skolan with both sword and sorcery. The borderlands is a crime-ridden area, so he had his work cut out for him between bandits and selkie raiders. Thanks to the efforts of him and his company of fellow knights though, the borderlands became a marginally safer place to travel through. He ensured that they all upheld the Sulu'Okan military code of honor to the utmost degree.
Things changed with Sir Darezsho when he accepted a small assignment in the border town of Bekridge. An alchemical distillery had been experiencing a string of thefts and wanted someone to investigate. Thinking the job would involve scaring off a petty thief at most, Sir Darezsho went to stake the place out alone. This mistake would cost him his life.
That night, a door appeared from thin air and a figure stepped out, a half-moon grin glowing from under a shadowed cowl. Sir Darezsho tried to fight, but he was no match for the powerful sorcerer. Vermir spirited him away into her demiplane. And there was where Sir Darezsho died.
Mashal wakes up some time after this. All he knows is his name and that he is lost. And that his metal body feels so terrible cold. He just wishes he knew why....
Hope you all enjoy my sweetheart robot! Lmk if you have any questions. Next up will be blueboy, Ivander Montane!
@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff
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I'm here to help with your bad mood!! Ten thousand hugs coming your way stat! 🫂🫂🫂💕
If you need something to take your mind off of things, and if you have the energy for it, maybe you could write something about Gale with a Cleric! Reader who worships a deity of light that he's never heard of. Bonus points if they actually have some of that deity's power and totally save his ass with it.
(This may or may not be inspired by my Cleric of Hylia OC where my Tav's name is Sheik and she worships Hylia from the legend of zelda. Idk how much you know about Zelda so sorry if you're unfamiliar with it ;-;)
I really really hope tomorrow goes better for you, and every other day after that. You deserve the best and only the best, sweetie. Have some cake 🎂
Sorry it took me literally *forever* to get to this, but I hope you like what I came up with.
For context, I decided on using Sarenrae (which I know is a Pathfinder deity, not a D&D one,) but I assumed that Gale would at least have some BASIC knowledge on every known deity in the Forgotten Realms so I wanted to lean into something that would be truly known. Sure, I'm crossing the streams, but it's a system I am semi-familiar with, and thought it would be a neat touch. (plus, I thought it would be cool asf for our cleric to call upon her, and basically level up on the battlefield. because...ya know. turn that badass dial up to 11.)
Also, even though i grew up with Zelda, i was not allowed to play video games as a kid so I know NOTHING about it. Should I play it? perhaps. Will I? probably not. I barely have two braincells to rub together half the time, and I use them both on writing or sleeping these days lol. So, I hope you like the bit of creative license I took with this one.
Regardless, THANK YOU so much for the ask! This has been so fun to take these prompts and stretch my writing abilities a little, diving into ideas I never considered (except for the Sagora x Gale one...i really ran to the moon with that lmao).
So here you go! Cleric!Reader x Gale, saving Gale's ass in the shadow cursed lands. (I kept it neutral as to their relationship so it could be seen as friendship if said reader was not interested in the romance aspect of things).
cw: some canon-typical/D&D-typical violence
You and your companions ventured into the Shadow Cursed lands, overwhelmed by the depths of emptiness and darkness that lurked throughout. As you walked you could almost feel threads of your very soul being tugged on, draining you piece by piece.
You stop, closing your eyes – which normally wouldn’t be a good idea, but your companions had your back – and you did your best to focus all of your energy on anything that wasn’t the curse. Your connection with the divine was barely able to break though enough to guide you to a familiar sensation.
Last Light.
“This way,” you call out as you open your eyes and begin to walk forward, your companions following you. It isn’t long before you make your way into an ambush, surrounded by vine and needle blights.
“Shit!” You hiss as you’re struck by a cluster of spindly thorns from afar. You brace yourself, weapon drawn, and spells at the ready, prepared to defend your friends.
You do your best to fight them at a distance, finding out very quickly that the needle blights explode on death, and spray out a flurry of needles as a last attempt at retribution for invading their land.
“AH!” Gale cries out, his shield spell flickering out as about a dozen or so needles jut out from his robes sending him reeling backward.
“Gale!” Before you can reach him, he backs up directly into a vine blight, its spindly arms wrapping around him tightly. He lets out a blood-curdling scream as it constricts around him, and pushes some of the needles deeper into his flesh. You watch in horror as he loses consciousness knowing you can’t help him just yet lest you succumb to a similar fate.
Your eyes light up like a bronze fire, a guttural incantation emerging from your lips. Desperate. Angry. Surrounding you is the manifestation of your rage in the form of spiritual guardians, bathing you in a soft glow as they purge the evil around you and your friends.
For a brief moment, Gale groans, his eyes fluttering open as a surge of deep golden light flashes before him, and his body falls lip to the ground.
Behind shut eyes, he’s aware of that light…how it fades, then brightens again.
“Hang on, Gale! I’ve got you!” Your words sound more like a desperate plea than a promise, words he can scarcely make out in his daze.
He draws in a sharp breath as you and your fellow companions pluck the needles from him one by one, his eyes thrown open from the pain, but all he can see is you. Bathed in the brightest light he’s ever seen, and the color of a Waterdhavian sunset, your hands are outstretched towards him, his breathing begins to settle as you chant to your deity.
Sarenrae? Dawnflower? What are these names?He’s not familiar with either of those names, but you keep chanting them, and each time you do, he can breathe a bit deeper, see a little clearer.
“Gale??” You whisper as he sits up, and the radiance that surrounded you has dimmed once again.
He lifts his hand to his chest, clutching his robes. For a moment, he simply sits in silence, wrestling with his own mortality. When he finally looks at you with disbelief.
“What was that? What you did just now?”
You ponder for a moment, not even entirely sure what it was yourself. After all, these abilities were new to you, a new blessing from your goddess. Not that you never healed anyone before, but your light was stronger, brighter, more radiant than even you had ever experienced.
“I – I’m not entirely sure. I just called upon Sarenrae…The Dawnflower. Our lady of healing light. It is with her blessings that I shine so brightly.” You pause, taking in everything that just transpired before you give him a gentle smile. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
You stand and help him to his feet, allowing yourselves a moment to dust off your clothes, and check for any other immediate injuries.
“You have my most sincere thanks.” He bows before you, and smiles as he straightens up again.
You bow your head and offer a half-smile in return. “You’re most welcome. Now, let’s find our way to the Inn, shall we?”
#ask mira#mira's ask box#asks answered#writing prompt#my writing#treato#gale dekarios#gale of waterdeep#bg3#bg3 gale#baldur's gate 3#gale#baldur's gate gale#baldurs gate#Cleric!Reader
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so funny when gotcha retards bring up "the militant feminists in latam" excuse to explain why american/evro women shouldnt care about bathroom discourse or whatever. brother the reason why the militant feminists in latam are focused elsewhere is bc the bathroom issue has gotten very lttle attention here from the average, regular woman. seeing as to how the average latin american woman bristles when so much as a short haired woman (me) walks in to piss, theyre not about to let random males in there just for fun and so the "discussion" is really a basic "no". the average feminist here is focused on two things: femicide and/or abortion. since a good chunk of the first world has somewhat "dealt" w those (tho american women do seem to be in denial abt their failure to protect their right to abortion uhh pleaseee fix that?) and is largely much less socially/culturally conservative to the degree where theyve managed to push gender "inclusive" shit a bit too hard, theyve mostly moved on to less urgent concerns like who gets to piss where. whatever my point is the "latam feminists dont care" isnt a good gotcha its just weird backwards scapegoating. focus on your problems whch sadly do seem to include getting rid of womens bathrooms and laws which might seem kind and nice in theory but in practice seem to just let rapey men get away with a lot of insane shit under the guise of personal identity rights...a little bit too often for comfort.
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i really enjoy all of your works and so i have to ask, how do you write such long fics???? or do you have any writing advice at all?? i have a lot of trouble focusing on writing cause i can't seem to find a flow to it- it's so impressive to me reading all of your stuff cause of how well the story progresses in such a neat way!
aaaa hello!!! first of all ahhh thank you so much!!! ahh!!!! i'm so happy you enjoy my fics!!! that means so much to me ahshlkdhjfsd !!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
as for writing advice... i dont know if i have anything specific, but some of the main things i do are 1) outline pretty much everything first before i start writing; i keep a big master doc with my outline + any ideas that may or may not make it into the story, and i dont start writing-writing until the outline part is complete. and...
2) i write out of order! i do something i call the spiderweb method, where i start with the climactic scene or somewhere in the middle and then work outward from there until i have the rough framework of a story, then i go back through and build on that skeleton... if that makes sense? someday ill sit down and explain properly how this works but basically!! yeah!! i never write in order! i just write what i feel like writing and then when my first draft is finished i go through from the beginning and clean everything up.
usually by the time i get back to the "first" scene i wrote, i change it entirely (its just a draft, after all), but ive always found it extremely helpful to know exactly where im going when i write things. if the "place i want to go" is already laid out, then working backwards through the "getting there" is much easier for me. even that isn't always in order--i tend to jump around a BUNCH!!! this is the main reason why i post stuff all at once instead of in chapters, heh. sometimes i write the very first scenes last!
i think struggling to find linear flow is a pretty common thing, especially when building mid-size or longer stories, which is why i tend to avoid it altogether during the writing process. its much easier for me (personally) to see the shape of a story when its in pieces, so i know exactly where to cut or where i need to fill in gaps!! and also... i think its just more fun in general to only write what you want when you feel like it, yknow? why torment myself trying to write X part because its "next" when today i really want to write Y part because im inspired, etc etc.
it doesnt work for everyone, obviously--and its definitely not a method you can do easily if you skip "step 1" (the outline part), but ive had good luck with it over the past few years and its made writing much more fun :3
#answers#also i write in comic nueue. and indulge in substances regularly. but idk if thats real advice.
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Heartstopper 2x01 Family:
Oh shit, parent teacher meet.. everyone is being well students but Charlie is very much "distracted" with other things (Nick Nick Nick)
Loving seeing papa Spring speaks Spanish
You Need To Start Focusing On Your Schoolwork Charlie baby
The Spring's are very not Nick's favourite fans now days
I Love Nellie Nelson
David, so if we'll wait long enough, Nick's going to look sorta like this "rockstar trash"?
Nick isn't comfortable with him and it's shown, how dare you take his Nintendo?
Nothing like drumming to not do your school work huh Charlie?
Obviously, texting your bf is always fun.. "the universe is pulling us apart" well, not in this life time it won't
Running together to Paris with Nellie, now that's a dream we can share my Narlie friends ❤️
Sharing is caring 😔
Imogen and Ben? Now that's seems kind of toxic, don't play with my baby's heart please
P-R-O-M-!
Elle x Tao is not even a slow burn, just burns
I remember taking those damn GCSE's and it was very dreadful
Holding eachother through a pen
Ben is hopelessly in love with Charlie
David kinda trying be a big bro but no, he has his intentions .. and know he knows about "Charlie"
Why in hell dose Charlie needs your approval men? Why?
This hug is everything, I know it's like only few days since last they hugged or saw eachother but my poor gay heart
Jumper, he gave him his jumper, it's basically like giving him an organ
Nellie is so pretty and they play so beautifully and its all your world now, no wonder you want to capture it Nicky boy
They kiss and the world spins once more and wow, they've learned to get in sync which is perfect
Paradise indeed
Wow Elle, you look beautiful ❤️
Elle new friends group seems fun and she's very fitting as always, perfect
Tao's mum is an Elle x Tao shipper, I call it like I see it
Imogen is so very bubbly sometimes wow but don't hurt her Nick! Although you're just trying to protect her
Oh shit, Math, I Felt the very same when I took it
Charlie comes by, that won't end well but the hug and small lift up is so cute
Elle's mum also a shipper "Your Boy" you know it mama
Tao pushing forward but Elle just pull backwards.. it hurts seeing them as that when you knoww but they don't know
Narlie and Nellie cuddles
Since when nice cup of tea makes you an old man?
David, you bitch, stay away from Charlie, he's the sweetest cinnamon roll you'll meet so fuck off!
Oh snap, Nick is out once more but not the way he would like
Fuck off David! Fuck off
You're upsetting Nellie and that's the line! Stop it!
Charlie.. it's not your fault
No Paris?? Noooo
Charlie ED is showing and I feel triggered as shit but deep breaths, I'm okay
At least they'll always have eachother texting
Wowww that's a nice body here Nick, thank you rugby !
He recorded to him.. it's new and it's so very from the heart
It's not easy to come out and we all know that
Tao is so worried for his heart and upset and he doesn't know why.. that so hard
Mama Xu is the best!
Oh Tao baby, finally, the REALISATION! now .. what you gonna do about it??
#heartstopper series#heartstopper spoilers#heartstopper season 2#heartstopper 2x02#netflix heartstopper#heartstopper#nick x charlie#nick nelson#charlie spring#nellie nelson#tao x elle#elle argent#tao xu#issac henderson#tara x darcy#darcy olsson#tara jones#narlie#heartstopper thoughts#imogen heaney#ben hope#heartstopper cast#kit connor#joe locke#alice oseman
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im sorry i have to rant im so fucking pissed
my exams end on 19th and I have to get rid of some books and buy some books which are quite pricy online so I had planned on going to college street on 20th and selling my books and buying the new ones at a cheap price and i was frankly really excited about it because all I get is a one day break to relax bcz i have to start studying for entrances from 21st so all I have is 20th and i wanted to spend it at college street and then get some food and basically have like a solo date kind of thing.
and i was so so excited about it i told my boyfriend about it like 500 times bcz i kept forgetting i've already mentioned it and it was literally on my mind a lott so i kept bringing it up and ik it seems like not a big deal cz i can just sit at home and chill too but i literally do not get to go outside my house. like- the last time i went out was new years eve and after that the only time i've gone out is to school or to give my boards that is it. my mother has some weird like problem wiht me going out like even if i tell her that i just want to go to our terrace for 5 minutes just to get some fresh air she won't even allow that she'll be all suspicious and like sTaNd In ThE bAlCOnY aNd TaKe FrEsH aIr like she herself doesnt leave the house (and blames it on me and my brother ???? when have we ever stopped you bro, she said I HaVe To Be HeRe To KeEp An EyE like im 18 i dont need to be watched 24/7 stop blaming me for choices you put upon yourself) and i just feel so suffocated ALL THE TIME i feel so overstimulated and im so sick of rotting on my bed and i dont want to wait for some birthday party or friends meet up to be able to leave my goddamn house i just wanted to go and have a fun day and get me some books thats it.
anyway so initially the plan was that my mom would go along but something came up so she wanted to postpone it to 21st and i didn't want to bcz i'd already be missing 3 days bcz of my boyfriends birthday, holi and my brothers birthday (all of which are important and i dont want to miss which makes me the villain apparently bcz i should "adjust" and cancel my "parties" instead of trying to stick to my plan bcz that makes me too demanding and selfish apparently) so i suggested that ukw why dont u go do ur thing which came up and i'll go to college street by myself...which is when the solo date idea came which i had really wanted all along but didnt bring up bcz i knew she'd say no but now there's a valid reason for me to go alone so like, its a pretty easy fix i can just go alone but noooo. First of all,
I've been to college street multiple times before so its not like its an unknown area to me
im going by metro which is quite safe
im going when there is stark daylight and i will return home much much before it gets dark and im literally 18
she never lets me go anywhere alone, not even take ubers alone if i want to get back from somewhere my bf has to come drop me everytime and then go backwards to his house which is so so so stupid and i never get to go out alone unless accompanied by family or by a male friend, so obv when i said i'll go to college street alone she refused to let that happen and started screaming about how 'if its so important to go on 20th bcz u dont want to miss a day of studying then cancel ur 'parties' and study then' and i was like no its not about missing a day its just that there's a very easy and logical fix to this problem which is i go alone and its not inconveniencing anyone so why cant i just do that but she will not listen to that bcz im 'adamant' and 'everything has to be according to me' bcz i found a viable solution to the problem. so instead of letting me just go she was literally ready to pay much more money and buy the books online, like.....why cant i just go bro??? (and she keeps telling me im a waste of her money bcz i will amount to nothing in life and my education was a failed investment or wtv so like now why are u wasting more money??? im literally trying to save the money that u 'waste' on me so just let me ???)
anyway i called my dad last night and told him and he was super ok with the idea he said its a good idea that i go alone and that he would speak to her but then today when i asked her if dad spoke to her she said yes, we'll go on 20th and i was like .....we? so apparently she CANCELLED her previously immovable thing for which she wanted me to cancel my 'parties', she cancelled that and agreed to go with me on 20th just so that i dont get to go alone- like ???????????????? what is ur problemmmm
so obv i was super annoyed and i went on a whole ass rant about how i literally struggle to even cross roads bcz i dont know shit about basic travelling bcz all my life ive been in a car and its a running joke with all my guy friends that i 'cannot navigate' and 'dont know any places' and obv??? if im never allowed to go anywhere then how tf will i know the places- the only places i know is bcz recently i've been paying a lot of attention and asking my dad stuff about what roads to take to reach certain places and when i go out with my friends i kind of try and learn a bit but thats it i've only ever gone alone completely alone to two places which is my beauty parlour thats 5 minutes away from my house and one bazaar one time that was 2 bus stops away, thats it. thats my extent of public travelling alone. and now im supposed to go to a whole new STATE for college and i cant even call myself an auto without struggling. and like- is this not a basic life skill??? like ok yeah its not rocket science and i will probably figure it out even if i start later in life but why not now? most of my guy friends literally go everywhere alone, why not me? and my dad agreed with all of this but my mom was just like "you'll be in the hostel only, no need to go out of the campus" like ARE YOU FOR REAL????????? and she's like "if u want to learn skills learn how to cook" like ok yes i will also learn how to cook for sure but i wont have a fucking kitchen in the hostel but somehow cooking is an urgent skill i should learn but going places by myself is unimportant bcz i should just never? leave? the? hostel?
anyway after much screaming and shouting my dad gave up and just cut the call bcz he doesnt want to get into an argument with my mother and my mother was being all suspicious like why do u hAvE tO gO aLoNe AlL oF a SuDdEn even though i literally explained why i want to do this alone but she doesnt think thats valid. so she refuses to let me go and i asked her for one reason why i shouldnt cz usuallt its always "no u have exam what if smthn happens" but now i literally dont even have exam so whats ur excuse now? streets will always be unsafe forever so "what if smthn happens" is not a reason to never let me go out without a man so just gimme one reason and she couldnt give me a single reason she just said "i said no, thats it".
and now she's gone off about how im useless and blah blah and "high maintainance" bcz i want books and "everyone else (some pishi's son) just studies online" and so the whole option of college street is apparently now cancelled and she's trying to set up a whole ass kindle account (half the books i need arent even available as ebooks) just because i wanted to go by myself.
#in our house kids dont stay outside past 6:30pm'' but now all of a sudden its fine for my brother to play#till 10:30 at night#she literally stopped me permanently from going down in the evenings since i was in class 7-8#this is why ive never had any friends outside of school bcz she wouldnt let me leave ths fucking house#and now that my brother is in class 7#he's allowed to be out playing with his friends till 10 freaking 30#he comes home an hour late sometimes...45 minutes and almost always at least 30 minutes late at NIGHT and she says nothing except like#one sentence#yeah im only the villain i only keep u locke#up in the house its all my fault#this is just so damn unfair#like literally insulting#im not a child what is her problem#what sort of fucking solution is 'never leave the hostel' like ok even if i do that what happens then??? after i graduate?#i'll be a 24 year old who doesnt know shit about going from one place to another without a man present]#and then this woman preaches how she 'always raises her son and daughter equally' like srsly shut the fuck up#my whole life i've been told abar late?''#and for me bcz i would come home 5-10 minutes late nd i did it maybe once or twice she made me completely stop going down to play#5-10 minutes late from 6:30 wherein he comes an hour late from 9 fucking 30#and this sounds so stupid bcz im an 18 year old now and i dont give a fuck abt how long i got to play but its just unfair dude#with me it was always smthn or the other either exams or she gets miraculously sick every time i want to go out to play#im not even kidding she did a whole “i have fever and ur going to leave me like this and go play?” on me one time bcz i was adamant abt goi#after months of not being able to go bcz of exam or smthn or the other#she did not have any fever it was fucking bullshit#and how am i supposed to help with ur imaginary fever anyway im literally 12#its so fucking annoying man and then if i say anything at all she'll go on a tirade about how#like YOU DO THOUGH??????? im sorry ur feelings are hurt bcz i said you do smthn that u LITERALLY DO#istg not even 2 days ago she was having a fight with my dad abt how he should teach my brother to learn how to cycle so that he can go buy#groceries#i can cycle
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I admire the way Neil Gaiman managed to subtly circumnavigate and subvert the preexisting structure he was operating in when writing Sandman. Many people (including myself occasionally) always say, ugh it's so Judeo-Christian heavy, why are they so important and powerful and correct compared to the other Gods? (other than Sandman being a part of a preexisting DC universe and therefore being stuck with it). Well, They are and they aren't, not totally anyway. At least according to Sandman 40. It is HEAVILY implied and outright stated that all the biblical figures we come across aren't what we think they are on the face of it. And actual religious people would, I think, not find any of this very Judeo-Christian at all.
Cain and Abel aren't just the first "human" Victim and Murderer. They're literally just the first Victim and the first Murderer period. Who knows what species they were, what culture on what planet they came from, what they actually sacrificed, what they actually fought over? What their real names are? It's a translation of a translation of a translation of a basic primal story. Whoever or Whatever the All Highest Creator is, they have reinvented themselves time and time again, these are just the faces and names they're wearing right now, the ones that fit. It was different before and it'll be different in the future.
And it's like a fun, weird, confusing Chicken and the Egg situation, since according to the DC database that I just checked for The Presence:
The Presence said it was shaped by external forces which author Mike Carey clarified as the collective dreams, stories, and beliefs of humanity that change reality backward and forward and create the gods they worship.[45] This concept was first introduced in The Sandman: A Dream of a Thousand Cats, where it is said that cats were originally the dominant species on Earth, giant beasts that hunted humans. However, mankind's collective dream of a world where humans ruled over cats altered reality from its very beginning, making it so that humans were always larger than cats.
So Humanity dreamed up an omnipotent being (or influenced a preexisting omnipotent being that was previously Dreamed up by others?) And it wibbly wobbly timeily wimeily has always been so solely because of the power of belief and Dreams. (There's an interesting story right there, what was the DC universe like BEFORE that collective Dream?!) We've done it before and We can do it again. There are other versions of the Universe where other Gods reign supreme but they've been "Dream of a Thousand Cat'sd" This is just the one we have access to a glimpse of.
Does this make sense or do I need to go Visit Dream's realm in order to escape Delirium's?
#sandman#dream of the endless#dream of a thousand cats#fables and reflections#sandman 40#theology#neil gaiman#sandman meta#sandman theories#sandman comics#sandman comic spoiler
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