Oh, so the Kelpies have learned how to use Social Media to lure people in now! Good for them.
If I can recommend you do 1 low-effort thing for the love of God it is this:
Keep 5 cards in your pocket. One will say "yes", the second will say "no."
If you lose your voice, or lose speech, or want to make a dramatic embellishment at the right time, it is an elegant and efficient solution that is right there at hand.
But what if people question you from there? "Why do you have that card? Why would you do this? How long have you had that in your pocket?" For this, or whatever else they say, the third card: "I don't have a card for that."
"What the fuck," they ask. They laugh. They are bemused. You bring the energy back down with the fourth card: "I have laryngitis. I've lost speech. My throat hurts". Whatever you expect to occur.
The joke is over. Rule of threes. Now they are curious. They wonder about logistics. "How did you know I would say that? Is everyone so predictable?"
As a three-part bit, nobody ever sees the fifth card coming.
"I have powerful wizard magics."
Gets them every time
Itty Bitty Timmy becoming Superman obsessed instead of Batman obsessed
And he somehow still manages to tail Superman for photos without Superman knowing.
Like, his parents move to Metropolis instead of Gotham. He gets saved by Superman at three instead of watching the Graysons die.
He fixates.
He pinpoints where Superman appears to start from during emergency vs where he starts from via regular patrol based on the level of crime stopped and manages to find not only the Daily Planet, but also Clarks goddamn apartment building.
He manages to get a list and pictures of all reporters at the Daily Planet.
He figures out who Superman is.
Superman only realizes he has a child following him around when said child almost gets too close the the action.
And then he does it again.
And again.
In the middle of an argument, the same one that would have driven Jason away, Superman flies into the cave holding a windswept Tim.
"Please teach him how not to die." Was probably not the best opener, but Clarks suffered multiple small heart attacks thanks to the kid, and he needs help from the only completely human hero he knows who can go toe to toe with gods.
The other option was Green Arrow, but Tim's need to solve mysteries fits more with Bruce than Ollie.
another Nimona fic, are we really surprised?
Nimona doesn’t know what to make of Ambrosius.
Of course she knows who he is, everyone knows the golden boy, the descendant of Gloreth. Her first instinct is to hate him, to snarl and growl whenever he gets close. And at first she does. But that makes Ballister upset, he wants her to like him, even though she can’t see a single redeemable quality in him.
So she keeps her glowering to herself and snarls at him whenever Bal can’t see it. Plus it’s fun to see him jump when she breathes fire a little too close to his hair.
Eventually, she gets more used to him, but she doesn’t like him. It’s hard when they’re all living in the tower together, but she still finds ways to let Ambrosius know that he’s on thin ice with her.
The first time her opinion of him shifts is when she is a cat walking through the tower. She can hear Bal talking and follows his voice, fluffy tail swaying behind her. She pads down the stairs and peers into the makeshift living room.
Perched where they can’t see her, Nimona sees Ambrosius and Ballister sitting on the couch. Bal is curled against his partner’s chest, tears visible on his cheeks as his whole body shakes. Ambrosius holds him tight, murmuring softly words that Nimona can’t hear.
“I feel so useless,” Ballister says softly.
“I’m sorry,” Ambrosius murmurs, running his fingers through Bal’s thick hair. The look on Ambrosius’s face is what gives her pause. In addition to love, there’s clear guilt. It sits in his brow and in the tension of his jaw.
Nimona’s eyes fall to the metal arm sitting on the coffee table. It doesn’t take much to understand why Bal is upset, the robotic arm has been glitching more and more recently.
Nimona watches them for a long moment, she watches how Ambrosius wipes away Ballister’s tears and the strength in which he holds him and the way his comfort seems to diffuse all the tension in Bal. If Ballister feels so safe and comforted around him, maybe he’s not so bad after all.
Things like that start to happen more and more. Nimona notices how gentle and kind Ambrosius is with Ballister, even with her. He’ll touch Bal’s back or her head as he passes behind them, he learns how to make her favorite foods. But more than that, he is accepting.
Every time she shifts in front of Ambrosius, she expects him to look at her in fear and disgust. Instead he smiles, and far too seriously says, “Metal.” She and Bal are rubbing off on him apparently. She can’t say that she doesn’t like it.
When Ambrosius is making dinner, he’ll always let her steal some of the ingredients, he won’t even snap at her, which takes away half the fun. Ballister will hug him from behind and kiss the back of his head. They’re so mushy together, it’s gross sometimes.
But her feelings about Ambrosius change completely one night.
She’s in the middle of a nightmare, rapidly shifting between animals, curling smaller and smaller in on herself. And suddenly she’s shaken awake. Expecting Ballister, she barely even opens her eyes before throwing herself against his chest.
Ambrosius lets out a soft, “Oof,” but holds her nonetheless.
When she realizes who it is, she freezes and tries to pull away. Ambrosius lets her, but looks down at her with a concerned frown. His hair is braided back out of his face, allowing her to read him more clearly. His voice is almost unbearably gentle as he says,“You’re okay, Nim. You’re safe.”
She swallows thickly and pulls her knees to her chest, shifting into the younger version of herself almost instinctively. She’s not sure why, but being like this makes it easier for her to accept comfort.
Her hair falls into her face and Ambrosius reaches out and smooths back her hair with a soft touch. “Want to talk about it?”
She shakes her head and asks him, “Why are you here?”
“Because you were having a nightmare,” he tells her gently. “I got up to get some water and I heard you. Is that alright?”
Nimona’s heart clenches in her chest. He came to wake her up, to comfort her even though he used to hate her, even though he called her a monster. He cares about her, he must or he wouldn’t be here. Maybe he’s not so bad.
Ever so tentatively, she leans back into his chest. Just as slowly, Ambrosius embraces her again, pulling her into his arms. He’s warmer than Bal, she realizes, but not as soft. But just like Ballister always does, he cradles the back of her head. Despite herself, the gesture brings her an immense amount of comfort, chasing the nightmares all but away.
Maybe, she thinks, she could be his sidekick too.
So
I want to talk about one particular thing and it's the context of Goldenheart's first onscreen kiss (probably not their first kiss ever since they'd been dating since the start of the movie) and compare it to other kisses in other media, like say Disney, and how they handle showing a couple's "first onscreen kiss."
Not to say that these kisses were very bad or poorly timed. Nope, nothing wrong about it at all.
I mostly wanted to talk about how when Ballister and Ambrosius kissed in the end of the movie, there wasn't any grand event or climax that prompted them to kiss each other. Ambrosius just showed up, embraced Ballister in greeting, and they shared a laugh before kissing.
It's like... "Have I told you today that I love you and think the world of you? No, okay, let me kiss you then to translate it."
Disclaiming that I don't think there's anything bad with how the other kisses were done and timed.
It's Like I'm Seventeen, Nobody Understands
Post-war, Katniss spends her days inside her home in the Victor's Village, never leaving for fear of something setting her off. Peeta isn't back and footsteps ligher than Greasy Sae's hit the floor.
For the past 6 months, the only person in or out of this door is Greasy Sae.
Clockwork.
I want the clock to break.
I want deviations.
Sometimes I try to leave.
But something sets me off, whether it be a little girl or a blond boy or some blood.
I don’t go out anymore.
But I need someone.
Just someone.
But no one wants me.
Because I killed everyone.
I killed their children.
I killed their president.
I killed their game maker.
I killed families.
I killed their sick.
I killed anyone important to anyone.
The door creaks open. I don’t uncurl from the ball I don’t remember curling into.
I sob harder.
Footsteps lighter than Sae’s hit the floor.
Have they come to kill me?
When arms wrap around me, the realization hits.
“Finnick?”
His sea-green eyes meet mine.
I wrap him in my arms, smiling.
He pulls me in.
His head rests on my shoulder. “It’s been hard without you. No one quite gets it.”
He.
Moved.
Here.
My arms tighten around his neck.
“I see you’re happy to see me?”
I nod against his shoulder.
“Well, Annie and I were planning on moving in beside you.”
A smile lights up my face—a real one. “You and Annie are moving here?!”
“If you want us.”
“Of course I want you, Finnick.”
“I’m glad. Annie will be relieved.”
“Where is Annie?”
His eyes meet the floor. “She wanted to look around the district and a nice woman named Greasy Sae offered to walk her around. She was walking up to your house with food, so I figured she was nice.”
“You chose a good woman to trust.”
“I’m glad. People look a little… is sketchy the right word?”
“Honestly, it’s really only because of how poor everyone is, but I’d say you can probably trust just about anyone.”
Shock flashes. “Really? 4 is nothing like that.”
“We all recognize poverty. We all know what it takes to survive here. So we all help each other out.
“Wow. I think I’m going to like it here.”
“I think so, too.”
I deeply appreciate how Katniss is portrayed as not at all okay from the beginning. Her dad dying, her mom's catatonia, and almost starving to death already cracked her, but she was determined to survive. Normal people don't think to themselves, "Ah yes, my sister, the only person I'm sure I love." Normal people don't "accept" hugs from their mom.
Prim being picked and the games themselves widened that crack. Having to pretend to be in love with Peeta and not knowing how she felt just further messed her up and left her unable to use supports she needed.
LA's environmentalist lawyers pulling up to Universal:
Update:
Well then, I guess:
Jason's early morning brooding has been interrupted by the sound of loud chewing. He quickly looked over to see a boy eating a sandwich on the other end of the roof.
Upon making eye contact the boy finished his bite before saying, "Just for the record I was here first."
Impossible. Jason would have definitely noticed a kid hanging out on the roof. Especially one as obviously adoption bait as this one.
Jason rested his hand on his gun holster before barking, "Who are you?"
"Geez don't get your panties in a twist," the boy said, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Noff tha I blame you though. Muss be hard wiff all tha gunk in you."
"What does that mean?" Jason growled, his hand tightening around his gun.
The boy looked at him in pity. "Wow, you don't know? Life must have been rough for you."
"Last chance. Who. Are. You?"
Jason was about two seconds away from shooting first and asking additional questions later when the boy finished off the last two bites of his sandwich and got up, dusting off his pants.
"Relax buddy," he said. "Listen because I'm such a kind soul, I'll take care of that for you."
"Huh?" was all Jason managed to get out before the boy was right in front of him, reaching into his chest. The boy pulled out a weird green glob with a smile.
"There. All better!" he chirped.
Jason didn't even have time to process what just happened before the boy walked towards the ledge and jumped off.
His mind snapped into focus at that and he lunged towards the ledge, hoping to save the boy before he hit the ground, only to find there was no one in the alley below.
Jason couldn't help but just stare blankly, his thoughts reeling. What the hell just happened?
Flash: Yaaawn, we’ve been looking through these reports for hours. I’m going to get myself a cup of coffee. Anybody else wants one?
[Green Lantern, Cyborg and Wonder Woman raise their hands]
Flash: Okay, then. 3 cups of coffee coming right up. Hey Supes, Bats, coffee?
[Superman and Batman stop their conversation near the monitors]
Superman: Nah I’m good Flash. Thanks.
Batman: [discreetly tugs at Superman’s cape]
Superman: On second thought, Flash, I’ll come with you.
[Superman joins Flash and they make their way to the pantry]
Flash: Heh. I thought you could stay up without sleep for days.
Superman: Oh, I’m making one for Bruce. He’s fussy about his coffee, and only I know how to make it the way he likes it here.
For whatever reason tumblr won’t just let me post this submission, but these are Egyptian geese! @annoying-and-upset
