Art rebloger, writer.

step 2: become friends with them.

Me, a Leverage Enjoyer: Where there is value there is crime

write fic so that you can write the really good scene idea

write the really good scene idea

realise that you now need to write the rest of the fic

realise that you have no plot & no idea what to do bc you've already written the really good scene idea

8. slap some minimal context in the notes so ppl know what the fic that contained this might have been, and upload it to AO3.

9. the really good scene idea enters the collective mind of the fandom.

you can just post the really

good scene on its own.

The Mark: Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne.

The Con: Frame him for being Batman.

This is back in the days when Batman is still mostly considered an urban legend and the Gotham City PD is pretty unanimously in "if he is real, arrest him" mode. So Bruce turning out to be Batman would be very bad for him, his reputation, and his business.

The crew is split on whether Batman is real. Nate doesn't believe it, obviously, Hardison and Parker do, Sophie thinks its some gangster running a con to get their competitors out of business, Eliot also doesn't believe it.

So Bruce obviously isn't happy when he hears that there's someone out there faking Batman sightings and casting suspicion on him, so he goes out to figure out what's going on. This means that he leaves during a fancy party he was attending, that Nate and Sophie were also at for con reasons. Meanwhile, Parker and Hardison have to infiltrate Wayne Manor for whatever reason, which has unusually high security for just some rich dude's mcmansion, and because Hardison's a genius and Parker is the world's greatest thief, they accidentally discover the Batcave, only to run into Alfred.

While that's going on, Eliot is faking a Batman sighting only to run into the real Batman. He loses the fight because even though we are following the rule of "Every story with the Leverage crew becomes a Leverage episode" and Eliot is very good, there is no way he beats the goddamn Batman. He does recognize his fighting style means that Batman trained with the League of Assassins, though, because "It's a very distinctive style." Though, of course, Batman doesn't get any information out of him and Eliot is still able to get away.

I realized I was queer when I was 14. I had pretty much always been friends with the gay kids and that's when I realized I wasn't just the token straight friend. I questioned my sexuality, realized I was asexual, and decided I didn't care enough to figure out my romantic orientation. In the last few years, I just identify as queer because I feel like I'm somewhere between being aroace, bi, and lesbian. I feel like my gender is a lil queer too, despite being cis. Being an alt queer woman can feel like an entirely different gender sometimes.

Of course, being mormon this created doubts. I shoved them to the back of my mind. I was scared that seeking answers would mean that I had to choose between the queer community and the church and I loved them both. I stayed like this for years. At youth conference, I think my junior year, one of the lessons was about not letting the world pull you from God. The teacher got two ladders and set them up right next to each other, with the steps facing each other and the bottoms touching but the tops leading away from each other. One represented the world and one represented God. He stood on the first steps with no problem. After the second or third step he could't go anymore because they were too far apart and he'd fall. I remember thinking that that's what my life felt like. I felt like I was precariously balancing on the third step of the ladders, needing to pick one in order to continue without falling.

The next summer, during my last year of FSY, we had a lesson about the Family Proclamation in the morning. My friends and I (all queer) were talking about it at lunch. There were a lot of feelings. One of the FSY counselors sat down at our table and started to add to the conversation. We were about done eating and I just didn't like talking about this with non queer people so I tried to leave. I was almost out the door when I realized that they weren't with me so I went back to the table and stood there, not really adding anything, just waiting for them to be done. I remember he said something like "I see the proclamation as an ideal. It's not always what's going to happen, but it's what we should strive to." One of the kids asked "Where does that leave queer people in this ideal world? Are we just not supposed to exist?" I could tell they were mad. The counselor responded with "I don't know. But I do know that God loves you and you belong in this church. We need people like you in this church."

After that we left. I have repeated those words over and over in my head since then. I'm crying even typing this out. Somehow just hearing him say that made me realize that being queer was part of my journey to Christ and not a separate one. My straight and narrow path is painted rainbow.

I found tumblrstake in the fall of last year. I had created a Tumblr account in January and had avoided anything related to the Church because I assumed it was mostly going to be negative. I found a post tagged queerstake and looked at the posts there. I cried. It was genuinely an answer to my prayers. I've thanked God for yall many times since then.