#“the joker should be an exception” misses the point. there can't be exceptions to the rule. if there are exceptions

[insomnova]

realizing my recent jason posts makes it sound like i hate his character when that could not be farther from the truth. i love my unhinged toxic self sabotaging king. he has so many problems and over half of them are directly his doing. watching people grind down his sharp edges until he's a misunderstood softboy is what gets me up in arms like leave him alone he's doing absolutely horrible things to himself and everyone around him and you're going 2 accept that buddy!!

[0heartangel0]

PERSONA 5 TACTICA IS NOT GREAT: A VERY ODDLY-CONSTRUCTED RANT

Pt. 2: The Phantom Thieves With No Heart

We'll start things off by bringing up what I said earlier about the characters and how I don't think the vast majority of them are any good, with only the three exceptions mentioned previously.

"But wait," I might hear you ask. "You said two out of the three were Futaba and Yusuke. Does that imply that the rest of the thieves aren't as good by comparison?"

And to that, I say, ".......yes."

I don't know what happened here, but the Phantom Thieves aren't Phantom Thieve-ing. And by that, I mean, not only are they written rather bland, but they contribute almost *nothing* to the plot, outside of the obvious combat segments that are just there for gameplay's sake. They might have a *few* moments here or there, but when I say "few", I MEAN "few".

To make things easier in order to get my point across, I'm gonna go down the list of Phantom Thieves that aren't Futaba and Yusuke, starting with:

ANN TAKAMAKI

I'm gonna be honest here: I can't think of a *single* moment Ann had any relevance or contribution to the plot or any character development outside of when she was brainwashed by Marie at the beginning of the game, and even then, you could make the same argument for every other thief that wasn't Morgana or Joker.

There's also the aforementioned Samurai scene, but it's there to run the same joke of, "Ann's a terrible actress". I will admit, it is funny, and Yusuke saves it by spinning it to say she's wasted, but my point still stands. And as I've stated, this is one of two optional scenarios, so you might not even see this scene.

At least in Strikers, Ann gets the first arc, where she relates to and sympathizes with Alice Hiragi, our first antagonist. Tactica leaves her out to dry.

Also, in the first arc, Toshiro constantly brings up her leather suit, and it gets old and uncomfortable real fast.

So, yeah. Ann gets nothing. She loses.

MORGANA

Morgana is the same old same old, but that isn't saying much, because....it's Morgana. He serves as your tutorial guy for the beginning, while constantly correcting people that he is indeed not a cat (except that he is, don't deny what is the truth).

The only thing I can compliment him on is how he calls Lavenza "Miss Lavenza". I don't know, it's cute. It shows how much he respects her (don't know if I should call them siblings, considering Morgana's origins).

Aside from that, I really have nothing else to say about Morgana. I never liked Morgana to begin with, and that still holds true in Tactica.

MAKOTO NIIJIMA

Makoto has never really been my favorite Phantom Thief by any stretch of the definition, but even I can tell that they did her dirty here.

Once again, she does nothing for character growth or plot, and is left for some cheap jokes that usually result in her threatening someone's life. I can only think of *one* time she did something for the plot, which was ask Futaba to hack into Yoshiki's cameras to show the citizens what the camps have been doing to the people taken there.

But aside from that, that's all Makoto really contributes....

...which makes it all the more aggravating when you remember that Makoto's supposed to be the TACTICIAN of the group!

EVEN THE GAME SAYS SO!!

But you want to know the real kicker here? While Makoto doesn't do any strategizing, you know the characters that DO?

Toshiro and FUTABA!

Okay. To an extent, I get Toshiro. But Futaba? She's the HACKER. I mean, in regards to what she should hack and the timing of it, I understand, but not full-on strategy on the WHOLE operation! And even if you want to include Futaba into this, why not include Makoto as well?? If you want to push the idea that she's the strategist of the Phantom Thieves, then have her participate in this discussion!! I love Futaba as much as the next guy, but it's clear to me the writers or someone on the writing team *really* liked Futaba.

What I'm trying to say is, just give Makoto her role back, man! Because apart from that one moment (plus her losing her cool at an aizen during the Samurai/Geisha scene), she really has nothing else.

HARU OKUMURA

Okay, in all fairness, even in the first game, Haru really didn't have much going on. There's a reason "Haru Didn't Get Enough Screen Time" became a meme. She was only ever relevant for the Okumura arc, where she teams up with Morgana during his split with the PT, and after some running around and whining, he makes up, and Haru joins, wanting to change her father's heart. Then he dies, she gets sad over it, and she then proceeds to just fade in the background for the rest of the game.

That isn't to say Haru wasn't a good character. She was decent. The problem is, due to her lack of screen time and contribution (and Morgana), she never really had a chance to develop as a character, especially with her comrades. I'd argue that if you took her out of the original game, the thieves' dynamic and the story as a whole wouldn't change by much.

Then Strikers swooped in and saved her character. Due to the nature of it being a sequel, the game understands that we don't need to reintroduce the characters again, and just lets them have fun. And boy, did they have fun with Haru. Not only did she get two funny running gags - one of which being paid off through means of her almost killing her friends - but she gets an entire arc focused on her, where she reconnects with an old friend that has lost her way due to guilt and blackmail. It's so touching, and shows just how much Haru has grown as a character from the first. Screw the Okumura arc, replace it with the Sapporo arc! Also, she's terrifying.

I was then expecting Tactica to follow through with this, giving us a very adorable, yet sadistic floof ball. But... no.

Just like everybody else here, she serves no purpose to the plot; she's been soul-sucked, giving zero laughs or character development whatsoever-

Okay, that's a semi-lie, because she actually has one scene.

While infiltrating Marie's castle, the gang come across a room, where a projector plays a video of real-life Marie treating Toshiro like crap, even calling him her "puppet". It's here where Toshiro remembers that Marie is his fiance arranged to him by his father, who only did it to boost his political career (and money) due to Marie being the daughter of a rich ceo to a conglomerate.

Marie, however, as shown in the video, has never cared for Toshiro, and only agrees to marry him in order to gain the status and power as a wife to a prime minister.

It's here where Haru begins to empathize with Toshiro's plight, having also gone through the hell of being forced into an arranged marriage with a horrible human being for the sake of the family business.

It's great that the game acknowledges this similarity and uses it to have two of our characters relate to their hardships and grow together as a result.....for this one exchange.

Those four screenshots I showed? This is the only time Haru ever talks about this with Toshiro, or has a moment like this with him. 'Cause after she says this, it's never brought up again. It's such a waste, too, because they could've done something here, but they chose not to. And for what?

Okay, okay! There's ANOTHER moment Haru has in this game. And it's in a Quest she has with Yusuke, where she tries to test Milady's psio powers to drag enemies to her so she can easily take them out due to her axe being heavy to carry around. After the quest, she reveals that when she was a child, she used to try chopping wood in the garden. When her father found out, he got angry and told her not to do it again. In an act of rebellion, she continued in secret. She later found out through one of her helpers that her father had known she was still doing it. Yusuke and Joker conclude that it was probably her father's way of showing his affection and kindness towards her, with Haru agreeing, saying that that's why she's attached to her axe, for it's a reminder of her courage and when her father wasn't a crazed lunatic was kind.

I honestly love this quest for this story. We get to learn more about Haru, and even add a little more nuance into Okumura before he formed a palace, making Haru's determination to change his heart, and sadness when he died make more sense.

I just wish we got to see more of this in the main plot rather than a side quest. Can-

Can we just stop being mean to Haru for once?!

RYUJI SAKAMOTO

*Sniff* Ryuji....what did they do to you, man?

I keep beating a dead horse here, but Ryuji serves no purpose outside of being the comic relief half the time when Toshiro isn't available to be the resident punching bag. And even then, I can't think of a single funny moment Ryuji had in this game, apart from that one quest, where him and Makoto bring back a box from town square, only for it to contain a bunch of Yoshiki merch, and everyone pawns it off on him. BUT THAT'S IT!

And it saddens me because it's RYUJI! If not for Zenkichi, Ryuji would be THE best boi to me. Both P5 and P5S gave him so much, usually being the best part of both games for me. And it's not just because he was funny (although he is). He always had the gang's back and would risk everything for them, like when he almost died when trying to get the thieves a lifeboat when Shido's palace was collapsing (we don't talk about the aftermath of that). In Strikers, he stands up to and screams at a disembodied voice in order to defend Sophia, whom he considered as a dear friend, especially given the voice was calling her worthless and purposeless - something he's heard other people call him all his life (I hate it when people boil this scene down to, "He sAiD tHe F-bOMb, gUys!", 'cause there's more to it).

So, with all that said, these examples puts more a perspective of just how butchered he was in this game, since he's never given a moment like this. The closest we get is of a Memo stating he's like this, but we don't see it in action. He's just....THERE. And that's the worst you can be as a character.

Much like everyone else, he gets nothing of importance. Nothing, except some Yoshiki merch.

REN AMAMIYA / AKIRA KURUSU / PEEPEE POOPOO / BABY GIRL / HARRY MOBUS-

(You know what? For the sake of no discourse on the canon name, we'll be referring to him by his codename, ironically the only canon name he has.)

As the silent protagonist, you might think I wouldn't have much to say about Joker. But that's where you're wrong.

Ever since P3, despite their roles as the silent protagonists, each one always gave an air of personality.

Makoto Yuuki (P3 Protag) always went with the flow, giving off an "I don't care" attitude, with a side of depression, for he didn't seem to fear death.

Yu Narukami (P4 Protag) was a friendship-loving chad, who'd do anything for his little cousin, Nanako, and always strived to unveil the truth.

And then there's Joker. While appearing to be an average student, he's really a showboating trickster (God himself even gives him the nickname of 'Trickster'), who isn't afraid to joke around, even when the situation is dire. He'd do anything for his friends and strives to change society for better, even if society views him as the villain.

This personality carries over in Strikers, as you can see in both the way he acts in cutscenes, and a vast majority of his responses throughout the game:

(Watch it - you won't regret it)

So, when transitioning to Tactica, I guess Joker lost his personality along the way because, my God, is he boring in this game.

While I can tell you almost every funny dialogue option Joker has in P5 and P5S, I can't think of a single one here. Almost all of them boil down to the same generic answer, with no charisma or back-talking Joker's known for.

But, nothing, flippin' NOTHING, holds a candle to the most annoying thing they added to Joker. It was something I noticed the first hour or so into the game, and then proceeded to play a little game with myself to see how many times it happens. And it happened EVERY DANG TIME!

You see, at the end of every cutscene Joker's involved in (so, almost all of them), he does this nodding animation to close it off, and I don't know if I should find it funny or annoying.

That's all he does. He NODS!!

JUST-

....how did you butcher Joker?

WHY ARE THE PHANTOM THIEVES HERE?

No, really. Why are they here?

Heck, the game throughout constantly asks the question of why the thieves were dragged into the world of the Kingdoms, but at the end of the game, never provides a concrete answer.

Salmael does state that his offer of salvation "is not limited to [Toshiro]", but the fact he's doing all of this in Toshiro's mind tells me he had no intention of dragging the thieves in to begin with, and was only ever focused on Toshiro (I'll complain about that when I get to Toshiro).

You could make the argument that the reason they were dragged in was because they were in LeBlanc when it happened, and LeBlanc is supposed to be Toshiro's safe haven in his mind. But then, why drag Lavenza and the WHOLE VELVET ROOM then?? Doesn't that just give the thieves more firepower, since Lavenza can provide Persona fusions, and later, FIREARMS?? Why didn't he also drag in Igor, since Lavenza states she was intentionally dragged away from him when it all happened??? WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE THIEVES BEING THERE, APART FROM JUST BEING TOSHIRO'S UNPAID THERAPISTS?!

I'll tell you why! It's so they could label this as a Persona 5 game! And that's all she wrote!

It just disappoints me, because I like the PT, and to have them be watered down to this leaves me feeling...empty. And sad. And depressed.

And this is just the OLD characters. I haven't even gotten to the NEW ones! I won't be discussing them for the next few parts, but just know: I have a lot to say about them, and none of it is good.

Pt. 1, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 4.5, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8

[lazlolullaby]

temporal temp work, a Batman Beyond and WFA style fluid comic canon crossover (but mostly Bruce amnesia recovery/character study)

Bruce lost his memory. He has no idea who Batman is, or what he's done for the past 30 years of his life.

Bruce is still a detective, despite the holes in his memory. He keeps noticing little tells, bruises, signs of lying. He knows he did something in his spare time, he's not sure what.

The batfamily decide that if it's not going to come back easily, then they should treat it as a retirement for Batman. They all came to an agreement, that they would be "as civilian as possible" around Bruce as to not put pressure on him to perform as Batman when he's not ready.

Alfred and Dick had gently explained that they won't tell him anything until he comes to a conclusion by himself and tells the family. If he gets it correct, then they can talk about it. If he doesn't, they can't. The Batcave is still open for him to find.

(he's in the world's most elaborate detective game, basically.)

in the meantime, Bruce focuses more on the company, on bonding with his suddenly large brood of kids, and legal methods of fixing Gotham.

Everyone's backstories remain similar to what the press knows. Jason's case is special, as he's dead. So Jason explains that he did survive, he was mad at Bruce for a while, so he got out to get his own place. They are slowly repairing their relationship.

Damian also flat out goes: "Yeah I was grown in a jar for the League of Assassins." and everyone nods and goes along with it. Jason even says he's seen the jar.

He even starts to bond with Tim, Jason, and Duke again over investigating crime. (well. More for the kids to solve it.)

The ones that fight the most for Batman to come back, the ones that make the most progress in getting Bruce to remember are Tim and Terry, since they were the ones that got him out of his funks in canon.

Bruce has nightmares. Despite losing the context of the fears, he still has them, he still can remember some Caped Adventures. He blames that for his nocturnal sleep schedule.

The Justice League dropped by in capes, trying to get him to remember.

Bruce gets totally suspicious that he's funding an entire space station. It takes him a week to crack every. single. founding JL member's ID, and even some sidekicks...Except Batman and his merry brood of birds and bats. (It doesn't help that the Dark Knight has been missing. no new data.)

The Gotham Rogues are starting to get gutsy. The Batfamily is stretched thin. It gets to the point where either scientists or magicians step in and try to "Summon Batman".

This is where Terry comes in. He gets summoned with Ace the Bathound. They survive on the streets of Gotham, then find Nightwing and Red Robin facing off against a Joker that's "pining for his eternal rival"

Tim is barely in danger but Terry's instincts go full throttle and he starts to roast. They see Ace has a harness with a Wayne Security badge and a license that are both dated for decades in the future.

Dick and Tim take Terry home. Say he's a friend in a tight spot, but Bruce sees right through it. Terry is the seventh black haired kid to be sheltered by Bruce and he knows it's a ploy to jog his memory. He's not having it. Terry also isn't interested in playing along with that either, instead loudly acknowledging he's got family already.

Ace gets along well with lots of the Batfamily. Terry makes a comment that he was trained as a PTSD-support dog. He knows how to sit and block people from getting into your space, how to use his weight as a grounding method. Bruce starts researching getting one for the house.

The batfamily train Terry on the streets for a few nights just in case. Nightwing goes back to Bludhaven. Dick does as well, and Bruce figures the connection quickly. The Justice League is seen with a new Batman.

Terry decides to annoy Bruce into becoming Batman again. Being ever so slightly off kilter, but still dedicated to helping. Always saying "If the guy I'm temping for doesn't like it, he can come out and do the job again."

Terry sees Bruce's psych profiles and list of Batman and Batman II suspects and makes a comment. "You writing a murder mystery or something?"

"Or something."

"What's the seventh rule of Knox's 10 commandments of detective fiction?" Terry asks.

"The detective must not commit the crime?"

"Mmm-hmm. Good thing you're not writing."

Bruce is getting tired of not knowing. Not getting better. Terry talks about how he was an assistant to an old man. That he also had trouble with being less active than he used to be.

Batman II shows up to save a hostage Bruce Wayne, and Bruce plays 20 questions. "why are you here in Gotham?"

"someone has to. And I already promised that I would."

"who did you promise? Why does it have to be you?"

"What makes this work is that I chose it. I work so I won't destroy this legacy. Me. My choice."

"You didn't say who you promised."

"The last guy who wore the bat...he got swallowed up by it. Didn't even think of himself as anything but Batman at the end." He shrugged. "Separating yourself from the mask is important. You know about Superman, yeah? He needs that job. He needs his friends and family, if not to feel human, just to be the best he can. Bruce. You have your friends and family. What are you willing to do to protect it?"

idk i can't figure out a suitably appropriate and dramatic emotional situation where Bruce figures it out. But he does.

Bruce gathers all of the family in the Wayne Study for a Classic Detective Reveal. He goes through the Batfamily one by one an unmasks each of them correctly, even confirming the ones who had other identities.

Bruce takes up the Cowl again, this time with a little more restraint and respect to his Bruce Wayne identity.

Terry goes back to Neo Gotham, stronger and happier that he knows the Batfamily.

[psalmsofpsychosis]

So if Bruce and Alfred's humanity is a disfigured shadow they'd like to have gone, what about the Joker??

Is his humanity a knife made of fish hooks with which he rips parts of people out, taking a little of their humanity with him? He uses it as a tool to hurt others and himself and acknowledges his humanity once in a while, while Bruce pretends to be unfeeling and cold, a monster in the dark that you should be afraid of.

Only the problem is that the Joker can see through Batman's facade and that the fish hook can't scratch a shadow or catch anything on stone. And even if he rips through Bruce's flesh, his shadow is a separate thing entirely, detached from his body, unchanging even if an arm goes missing.

Oh look, I wrote something again. What do you think? Is a fish hook an accurate metaphor or do you have something else in mind? Would love to hear your thoughts!!!

[in continuation of this ask]

❤️ so i'm lowkey in love with how you interpreted Joker's relationship with his own humanity and other people's, there's something so intricate and so right about the way you phrased it— maybe not the knife, but he absolutely works like a fish hook. I think that Joker isn't interested in anyone's humanity, his own or Batman's or anyone else's. To me though, he's in mad love with all things true and real and pure and sublime. He wants the untainted untouched heart of everything in a very idealistic sense, but not necessarily in a good sense. He doesn't want violence, he doesn't want evil, he doesn't want goodness; he wants the unbearable highest point of pure evil, he wants the most sublime expression of unflinching goodness. There's a reason why he works so-and-so in his dynamic with most villains, but comes alive when he's facing Batman. Batman as a persona is an ideal that does not bend to the reality surrounding Bruce, the "no killing" code doesn't adopt or respond to much anything that gets thrown Batman's way, it's almost pure good (except that it's not because Batman can only deny his humanity for so long and when it eventually bursts through the metaphorical door of his mind, both him and Joker hate it.)

So like, yeah, fish hook. I think Joker throws fish hooks into people's psyche and pulls out what he believes is their true, core nature, their essence. It's what he needs, he desperately wants to get to the very heart of existence, so he continuously claws people's core out of them, or what he thinks is their core. And he does it the most with Batman precisely because Batman provides a challenge. I dont think at any given time Batman truly knows what his core is, so he gets to define it. He defines his identity with his bare hands and that's both his biggest strength and his weakness. Strength because it gives him the power of choice, he's not necessarily what you'd call a good person, but he makes the conscious choice to do good and his choice defines him, but also it's a weakness because by choice he's leaving massive parts of himself out of the picture, and he never really... gets to exist as a human being, always present only in carefully curated bits and pieces. That leaves him vulnurable to attack because well, what you dont see and down own you cannot defend.

That also makes him the most fun handmade project for Joker to break, because as you said, Joker is /very/ good at seeing the holistic picture of Batman's identity, and Joker is objectively more oriented towards reality, the reality of their context and where they live. It's part of the reason his insanity is so compelling; it's intentional, not as in he's faking his insanity, but as in, he understands social structures and people's humanity so damn well and he flies off the handle in precise ways that respond to them that brings of of them exactly what he wants, he orients his insanity to different contexts and people very well. He's a paradigm breaker and a people breaker but you can only successfully break what you understand very well.

As for Joker's own humanity? i think he hates it and resents it and fears it because well, it's not sublime and true and pure, it's just human. Actually lot of Joker and Batman's dynamic is built around this sense of idealism and purity really, they both struggle so hard with just fucking being. Joker can't even be an average villain, he has to push it on every fucking front and be the most exceptional vile and grotesque face of evil, only then does he feel like himself.

Honestly if i had to make an allegory for Joker and Batman's relationship with each other's humanity, [tw mentions of suicide attempt] it'd be the story of two children, each one bringing the other a chair and a rope to dangle from the cieling, each taunting the other to hang themselves, not by the premise of dying, but by the premise that "you having your head near the cieling is the closest you'll be to g-d, and you'll be good and true", and they tell each other that the chair is their enemy, they dont need it.

[taldigi]

I see you are also hoping on the "Ren's hometown is Inaba" train. Any interactions between him and the P4 cast you think would be especially fun? Also, would you want them to hear Morgana or not?

So like, genuinely- I know it's not Inaba. It's not yellow enough to be Inaba. BUT on a like.. story level? It's a fun concept.

So I know that p1 and p2 tend to get a little overlooked, but from what I understand- it's established in one of those that the form that the metaverse/shadow realm takes is entirely dependent on the community and it's rumors. So if, theoretically... Ren were to enter the TV world, he wouldn't become Joker- and if someone from the investigation team were to enter the metaverse, they would get hero costumes. That's how I like to understand it.

It's.. I think p4 is 2011 and p5 is 2016-17? Rise turns 20 yeah? The latest I assume Ren returning would be 2018. Nanako is 7-8 in p4.. so... 14 at most, but using fiction magic and pushing her to 15 would make her a new High school student. Inaba is small & tight knit, so everyone is going to be suspicious of Ren.. except a handful of genuinely good-hearted people, and Nanako deffo ranks up there.

I think their friendship could be really fun. People who kinda had to raise themselves in a way and feel profoundly lonely with the people that mean most to them being far away. Piano and Coffee? Basically a walking jazz club already LMAO.

At least half the team would be away from inaba. Yu, Naoto and Rise for sure. I doubt Yukiko, Kanji or Yosuke would leave, since their families have established businesses.

Same with Teddie, who prolly would be happy still working at Junes.. tho, I can also see him with the gag that he has 100 small jobs and is everywhere all the time. Walk into a store? The cashier is Teddie. At the park? Who's cleaning but Teddie..? Maid Cafe? you know it's T- I also think other than Teddie they'd be too busy having to adult or university to be super involved.

I think I recall Chie is working with Dojima to become a detective/cop. I think Ren would kind of hate them, or at least would be insanely distrustful or wary. Which would be a great dichotomy considering that "worlds goodest girl Nanko" is hanging out with "phantom thief and serial mysterious theater kid Ren". Just a lot of odd little moments that could be really fun.

Nanako meets Ryuji when he's visiting (cause you can't seperate Ren and Ryuji for too long they'll die prolly) and keeps thinking of Kanji... Teddie calling him Kanji 2 and annoying him about it. ("Gah! I didn't think anyone could be more annoying than the cat!")

Anime and Game Yu are crazy different, but I can see an event where he's visiting for some reason or another and it goes from "What do you MEAN nanako is hanging out with some delinquent guy several years her senior-" that results in the worlds most intense wildcard-to-wildcard staredown and ends with, "He's good but if she so much as frowns I'll find you and kill you myself "

Cultural exchange program but they go to Shujin. I think Ryuji moves to be closer to therapy I think, so it might just be Ann and Sumi they meet there, but it's a good excuse for a "return to tokyo" thing- and Ann gets to gush over Ren's Yasogami uniform (he wears it like Yu too- at least in the DLC, which is funny tbh.) IDK where Yu is from originally, but in the anime- at least, he has bags from Tokyo- and the wiki & online discussion come to a similar conclusion. It would be neat if they met up with him there too. bonus bonus points if he's aware of what happened in some capacity.

I know technically it's someone seeing Morgana talk and establishing that concept in their cognition which enables him to communicate, but also as long as someone's entered the TV world/Metaverse is a good enough reason. If not, at least Teddie- as a fellow Shadow-adjacent creature, should be able to understand him.

IDK those are my thouughhtsss. I only got into the anime so far, so I'm absolutely missing context and depth. I'd like to play P3 before P4- especially if they make a p4 "reload"

[half-man-half-lime]

Okay, let's talk Netflix One Piece, spoilers below the cut.

Hard to sum up my thoughts, I guess... better than I expected before the second trailer came out, worse than after I got my hopes up? There were a lot of great moments, and a lot of very confusing choices.

Like, casting-wise Iñaki Godoy is great for the role, he really embodied Luffy very well. Same for Emily Rudd as Nami, that felt very natural.

The rest.... Eeehhhhh? Mixed feelings. They were mostly good, although Mackenyu felt like maybe 70% like Zoro? Jacob Gibson as Usopp was okay, but Usopp needs to feel more childish, at least IMO.

Sanji was fine. Less of a disgusting creep, which was nice. (On a similar note, points for not doing tons of fatphobic jokes about Alvida! She actually seemed like a cool villain!)

Funny that they kept Usopp's one-on-one fight with Chew but Hatchan vs. Zoro didn't make the cut, honestly I wish they sold Usopp's internal conflict in that fight better, that was one of the big scenes that originally sold me on his character in the manga. I also missed the Usopp Pirates as part of his characterization, I wouldn't have cut them.

Same with Rika bringing the rice-balls to Zoro in the bar instead of sneaking into the prison yard, that kinda reduced his character in those moments to "being nice to kids" instead of "respecting and reciprocating the effort and sacrifice of a major act of kindness".

The Baratie stuff was... Look, I understand the budget and time constraints that made them cut the Don Krieg fight, he's honestly not the most memorable villain, but those episodes got kinda boring? You could tell when they were padding because it was either "Zoro falls down a well" time or "Zoro is in a coma" time, and those moments fell pretty flat.

Actually speaking of, were there budgetary reasons why there was so little blood when Zoro got injured? Shouldn't be a big deal except they kept remarking on how much blood he was losing, made it more jarring when the script and the visuals didn't match up.

And little changes around the Arlong plot didn't work so well for me. Nami keeping her plan a secret from her sister and the village felt like a pretty good character decision tbh, she sold that self-blaming motive enough that it seemed right. The walk to Arlong Park happening before Nami failed to stop the villagers from doing an uprising was worse, that should have been her breaking point, when she couldn't stop her loved ones from sacrificing themselves. Not a big thing, but yeah. And Arlong hunting Luffy down and fighting him once before also detracted from that final conflict, because Luffy and the Straw-Hats can't really come off as punk-ass kid underdogs when everyone's already taking them seriously, Luffy kicking the door down doesn't mean as much when he's already being scrutinized.

Mostly the aesthetics were a decent blend of silly and gritty, although I would have leaned wackier in a lot of smaller parts. Like I said in another post, it takes serious skill to make characters yelling out their attack names come off as cool in live action, and they threaded that needle even when Buggy threw his crotch at people.

There were some fun choices too! Buggy stole the show, and I never found him all that interesting most of the time. Then again my One Piece OC is from a circus so maybe I'm biased towards certain aesthetics. I dunno, he was over the top in all the right ways. Somehow he came off as entertaining despite dressing like a Mad Max character trying to be the Joker.

Arlong was a good villain too actually! Different kind of hammy villain, but it was fun to watch him be a tough-guy shithead with those ridiculous prosthetics, felt like exactly the right amount of weird and silly.

I liked the more in-depth use of Kaya's mansion as a setting too, it was way more distinctive than just fighting some pirates on an island, and the dark of night made it very atmospheric- some great shots of Kuro's silhouette.

Tonally, it was mostly good! It was fun and silly in a lot of the right places, and the parts that fell the most flat were the ones that didn't have much levity or weirdness to them.

Speaking of... What the fuck did they do to my dude Garp! Look, I tried to go into that subplot with an open mind, but it felt kinda pointless at the end. First off, why is he so severe! Garp is a goofy meathead like Luffy! Why can't they let him be dumb and funny! It was so jarring to see him talking about strategy over a dramatic game of Go, same guy who falls asleep mid-fight and makes his men fix the wall he just busted through for dramatic effect. And it's because... He wants to stop Luffy from being a pirate and/or test him? Honestly who cares! I have no idea why that was what they chose to insert from out of canon instead of... I dunno, anything more relevant or interesting? Bringing in Smoker early as an actual nemesis? Buggy's quest for revenge with Alvida? Some bigger Baroque Works foreshadowing?

But overall, it did catch my emotions in a lot of great moments. Fun, heart-wrenching, exciting, dramatic, all the good stuff.

[chiyana]

God what if Jason went through with his Joker plan and Batman still chose the Joker? The severity of what happens depends on how angsty/serious this gets, but either just knocking Jason out of the way and grabbing Joker or accidentally (or "accidentally") cutting Jason's throat and leaving him in an apartment about to blow up, Gotham is, as you say, L I V I D. Batman and Gotham have what amounts to a knock-out drag-out fight, and everyone beelines it for cover to wait it out because they are NOT getting in the middle of this.

The Joker is thrilled, obviously, until Gotham throws her whole weight against him to try and kill him (while Bruce is trying to get him back to the relative 'safe haven' that is Arkham Asylum, paradoxically), and the man lives, BARELY, but he is pretty much fucked up for life, like that man is NOT recovering any time soon since Gotham practically lobotomized him with a piece of steel rebar.

Jason misses just about all of this, because he cuts and runs after Bruce turned on him. Like he loves Gotham, it's his home, but he knows Batman came before Jason, and as much as she loves Jason, Batman is practically an aspect of Gotham at this point that she can't fully disentangle herself from, so he just bolts (this does not improve the fight back home)

Bonus points if Tim (alone or with any combination of Bats) helps smuggle him out and then try to calm things between Batman and Gotham. (It takes. A While. Gotham is hurt and betrayed by Bruce, she's devastated that Jason is missing, and possibly this is when Damian comes back and part of why she lays claim to him immediately, but then he attacks HER TIM and then FUCKING TALIA shows up, and everything is just... a complete forking mess.)

Eventually Tim realizes they need Jason to come back to stabilize Gotham and sort things out, so he and Young Justice go after the Outlaws and Jason is all ready to take out his anger on Tim and Tim just like... he's SO tired, and it's like No Man's Land all over again except with the addition of a new kid trying to kill him and the League crawling all over Gotham and Bruce has backslid to almost as bad as he was when Tim first became Robin, so Tim just looks at Jason with the most pathetic drowned cat look and tries to get out his speech on why they need Jason to come home (why GOTHAM needs Jason to come home) but all he gets out is this warbling, broken tiny little 'please' and it is SO pathetic that all of Jason's anger deflates at once and he's like "oh baby bird", and Tim's like "no wait I can do this I have a whole professional speech and note cards I can do this-" "Tim, no, you are the single saddest creature I've ever seen in my life, just... go take a shower, I'll make you some food, we can have a good cry over how much Bruce sucks and then figure out how to wrap up this mission and go back to Gotham and sort things out"

(Tim has SEVERAL powerpoints about Gotham. like SO MANY. He has basically an entire learning course of information that he's organized, ranging from boons, what Gotham's favor looks like, how to tell when she's pissed at you, how to tell someone else has a boon, how to communicate with her and the cut off point for when you should just go get Tim to do it, the hierarchy of which Bat she likes the most and who she's most likely to side with in which situations (constantly updating), which other heroes/notable figures she likes/tolerates/hates with a passion, he is like... the world's leading expert on Gotham at this point.)

I had a Batman AU thought that I wanted to share involving eldritch?sentient!Gotham. Gotham is alive, old and deeply rooted magic of ??? origin (that doesn't appreciate being poked and prodded so attempts to discern what she is have ended badly), and she is... mercurial, to put it diplomatically. She can favor or sabotage people on a sliding scale of intensity - basically good or bad luck on the lower side of the scale (finding a $20 bill vs stepping in a gross puddle kinda thing), and on the higher side it's things like a bullet missing when it shouldn't or a piece of building falling onto someone. She also has boons, things she grants certain people - primarily Bats, but there are a few Rogues that have their own boons because again, mercurial. Boons bind someone to Gotham, make them always find their way back and eventually need to come back, but if you're close enough to Gotham for her to offer a boon, it's probably your home.

Batman is her... warlock? Paladin? He's pledged his life to protect Gotham and is in tune with her, and he protects the city and keeps it in balance, and she grants him her favor constantly and has given him a powerful boon (able to hide in whatever shadows there are, even slight ones, and virtually disappear in them even if you're watching him). When he takes Dick in and Dick creates the Robin mantle, Gotham loves it, and Dick gets his own boon (able to land where he intends to, can't be killed/seriously hurt from a fall).

Jason though is her absolute favorite son, her pride and joy. He's born of Gotham, steeped in the city, of it and for it, and he loves Gotham and when he becomes Robin he fights to make her better and bring light to her. She gives him the boon that he knows every part of the city instinctively. He can move through it easily, knows the streets and buildings by heart, knows on some level what's happening in different places (not always exact, usually gut feelings), and he can always hide in it when he chooses.

Then he dies. (Away from Gotham, because if he'd been in Gotham she never would have let it happen.) Gotham and Batman are a wreck together, they're angry and grieving and losing it, everything is coming apart and it's Bad. (The Joker had a boon from Gotham, because he's also of Gotham, and she's not good or evil but simply is. However when he killed HER favorite son, she tore the boon and her favor from him and wrecked what was left of his mind. He still feels chained to Gotham and Batman, but this is no longer a city that loves him.)

This is when Tim pushes to become Robin, and both Gotham and Batman hate it. They both want to lose themselves in the rage and grief, but Tim won't let them. Batman/Bruce comes around first, but Gotham is still seething, and she sabotages Tim at every turn: things that should hold his weight break or creak loudly, shadows never seem to hide him, evidence gets lost or trails go cold when he tries to follow them, buildings constantly crumble around him, goons always seem to get hits on him that he should be able to dodge or avoid, he gets pitched into the harbor CONSTANTLY.

It gets to a point that Bruce is seriously considering firing Tim purely because it's notably more dangerous for him as Robin than it ever was for Dick and Jason (even though he and Dick both try to convince Gotham to calm down and lay off). Tim eventually tracks down the best place to communicate with Gotham directly (much as she tries to deter him) and they get into a fight (reminiscent of Tim getting into fights with Bruce to make him get his shit together).

Tim argues that if he hadn't stepped in, Bruce would have either gotten himself killed or crossed a line he couldn't come back from, and it would have destroyed him AND the hope left in Gotham. He would have been considered a criminal and likely would have become a Rogue, with no 'Batman' to step up and stop him. He argues that Batman needs a Robin to fight for and protect, and without one he'll backslide and get worse again, and if that happens, Gotham will be torn to shreds. Tim points out that Jason loved Gotham and fought for her, and it's disrespectful of his love and his memory to let everything fall to pieces after he fought so hard for her.

It's enough to convince Gotham to back off on her sabotage, though she's still hurt and sulking. Bruce still isn't sure about Tim not having Gotham's favor, much less a boon of his own, but Tim argues that he'll get good enough to keep up with or without Gotham's help - which he does.

Over time though, Gotham watches Tim fight to protect Gotham and Batman, and she admits she was wrong in how she treated him. She slowly starts to extend her favor to him and eventually approaches him and offers him a boon. Tim, however, turns her down. He's seen how badly Jason's loss and Gotham's grief and anger affected those closely connected to her, and he knows taking the boon will tie him to Gotham permanently. He believes those connected to Gotham and Gotham herself need someone who can be more objective and keep a level head, and he's secretly kind of worried that if something happens again, if Bruce and the Bats eventually tire of him and don't need him, he'll be trapped in Gotham. He also just doesn't totally trust Gotham even though he loves her.

Gotham's hurt, obviously, but she understands and doesn't lash out, recognizing it's her own fault. She does give him her favor though and swears to never rescind it, even when she's upset with him. Tim's gotten this far without her favor or a boon, but it's nice not to have to worry about getting dunked in the harbor for the third time in one week anymore (though she hasn't done that in a year or so).

Then Jason returns, and Gotham is having THE BEST time. Her baby boy! Is back! He's bigger now, and he's a lot angrier and hurt in a lot of ways, but he's! Back! She's a little worried about how angry he is at Batman and the other Bats, but Jason is her favorite and she can't turn him away or deny him. She still favors him, she just... makes sure she favors the Bats enough too to keep them all on an even playing field. They'll work it out. Tim managed to get her to calm down, so she's confident her current Robin will help the family again.

Then Jason goes to the Titan Tower after Tim, and initially she assumes they'll talk and things will be better, but when Jason comes back she sees that he went and ATTACKED Tim.

It's the first time she's ever been angry at Jason, and she drops a brick on his head (while he's wearing his helmet, he's still her favorite), and she threatens to collapse the ceiling of his apartment. They get into a fight. Jason came away from his fight with Tim thinking Tim was impressive as Robin, but he doesn't want him in the suit so he still went through with beating him unconscious. He DID notice Tim doesn't have Gotham's boon, so he doesn't understand why she's so upset he roughed the kid up.

Gotham is pissed and a pissed Gotham is hard to communicate with outside of raw emotion, so eventually after suffering several indignities of light sabotage, getting caught yelling at the street or a building while the manhole cover or windows rattle angrily, Jason goes to find Tim and ask "hey what the FUCK" (haven't fully figured how this changes Jason's interactions with the rest of the Bats, but he is begrudgingly impressed that Tim made it through the start of his tenure with Gotham actively sabotaging him, then argued an eldritch city into behaving, then turned down her boon and STILL came out of it with her undying favor).

(Gotham, in this AU, is NOT a fan of the al Ghuls at all. Primarily Ra's, at first, because he wants to purify Gotham/control her, and she is NOT a fan of that thanks. He's tried attacking her (destroying parts of the city), threatening her, trying to determine the origin of her magic, enslave her, trying to bargain with her, seducing her, and she is having NONE OF IT. Going into Gotham is a nightmare for anyone with the League, because while it can be difficult for her to get a hold of them, once she does she sabotages the HELL out of them. Getting cut on rusted rebar, falling off ledges, sinkholes opening up under them, one of them managed to get bitten by a rat and catch the bubonic plague. Ra's has, on one memorable occasion, been knocked into an open manhole and then almost drowned in sewer water that carried him out into the harbor where something (possibly Croc) tried to eat him, and he broke his arm while climbing out.

Talia got a reluctant pass since she seemed more interested in Bruce than Gotham and Bruce reciprocated, but Gotham doesn't appreciate Talia's attempts to lure Bruce OUT of Gotham. When she finds out Talia kept Jason away? AND convinced him to go after Tim? Talia is on the permanent shit list too.

When Gotham finds out about DAMIAN, Talia can't set foot in Gotham without having SEVERAL chunks of building being dropped on her from above.

Though when Damian DOES show up, Gotham is quick to claim him and offer him a boon. He's the son of Batman, he's a future Robin, and if he's given a boon, he's tied to Gotham and can't easily return to the League (mostly Talia and Ra's). Win win!

Except then he attacks Tim, and learns VERY swiftly that it's not good to piss off the sentient eldritch city you accepted a boon from. He's laid up with a migraine and all kinds of awful symptoms of an illness (nothing fatal but definitely awful) until Tim recovers, and then Tim gets to play mediator between the Bats and Gotham AGAIN as he tries to explain to Damian the nuances of Gotham as an entity and what being one of her favored/booned actually means, AND lecturing Gotham about sabotaging another Robin/giving him a boon without making sure he understood what he was accepting.)

HI 👋 Fabulous AU you've got here.

I particularly enjoy how complicated Tim's relationship with Gotham is. In fact, Tim's later years could be misunderstood by the Bats as Tim being her favorite (hear me out).

If Gotham never states who her favorite is, all the Bats see is that Tim, despite not having a boon, has Gotham on his side against the other Bats (really, Tim just isn't attacking/harming the others like they are to him, but it's about perspective).

It's also kind of heartbreaking that Tim has an additional condition that sets him apart from the Bats. He's the only one to be immediately hated by Gotham. He doesn't have a boon (though later that's a choice). He is consistently reaching out to Gotham to actually communicate and fix their issues.

Might I add an additional part for extra angst? We'll take the fanon idea of Tim stalking his heroes from a young age.

Gotham sees that another being idolizes her paladins and grants him the small boon of his camera never making a sound, being unnoticeable, and the flash never being visible unless Tim wants it to. Tim is okay with being stuck in Gotham due to his parents never taking him abroad with them

After Tim forces his way into Robin, though, Gotham rips this away from him, destroys any need for him to stay (she wants him to leave her alone to her own rumination), and actively sabatoges him.

Because it was taken from him once, because he's felt the pain of that loss, because the sudden emptiness was a gaping hole he had to spend years coping with, he never wants a boon again. He doesn't know if he'll be able to handle the sudden deprivation once more.

This is the start of him not trusting that anything lasts (especially since a retracted boon was so rare it's only been rumored in the past [since Gotham doesn't care for "good" or "evil" it's harder to get on her bad side]).

I'm curious what all of the boons alloted to each person are (very curious if/what Commissioner Gordon's)

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Dangerous Love (Pt. 11 of 13)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman) X Harley Quinn's sister!Reader

Word count: 3K

Summary: You're Harley Quinn's sister, Havoc, one of the many villain's of Gotham. But you've been caught, and has been tortured constantly for an year in Belle Reve. But when your think your life can't be anything else than the nightmare you find yourself into, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, takes you in for a project. He has a program to rehabilitate villains, and you're his lab rat. But soon enough confusing feelings start getting in the way. You know falling for Bruce is stupid. But can you keep your heart under control?

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{Justice League - DC Masterlist}

×

Plans For The Future

You're seated on your knees, on the floor, before the coffee table where several sheets of paper are scattered around. The possibilities for your future. You left the League in the cave to discuss their business and came up here to do this. But it's been twenty minutes since you wrote down the last option, and you're still clueless.

“Any luck?” Barry is suddenly seated across from you, the wind he makes with he's speed messing with the papers. But he quickly gathers them again.

“No,” you mutter, feeling a little defeated. Seconds later the others are here too, and as if they were told to, they sit all around the coffee table, on the floor. Expect for Bruce, who sits on the couch, his legs near you.

“Isn't there anything you would like to do?”

“I can't really picture myself doing anything.” Running a hand through your hair, you sigh.

“You were so excited about it in the cave. What changed?" Diana asks, and you notice how everyone seems focused on you. In the last week, since they got back from Washington, the League seems very interested in you. There's a lot of effort to make you feel comfortable, and engage you in their conversations.

“Am I going crazy or are you guys like... Trying to make me get used to normal human interaction again?” Crossing your arms, you have your answer by the way they all exchange a glance and then stare at Bruce. “I knew it.”

“How did you find out?”

“Well, right now everyone is literally seated around the coffee table with me. Except for this weirdo here.” You elbow Bruce's leg, making Barry and Arthur giggle. “You're planning to take me out, aren't you?”

“You're very perceptive.” He says as he moves to seat on the floor with you, an arm around your shoulders. “I've been thinking about it for a while.”

“Do you think I can deal with the real world?” You ask him in a lower voice. You haven't been on the streets yet, and you're not sure how you'll feel among the people.

“Yes, I do.”

“You know people will think Bruce Wayne has a girlfriend, right? If we go out and you do things like hold my hand...” You bet it won't take half an hour for his name to be on the headlines again, and the news channels will talk about it. The world will know about your existence, and every girl who has her eyes on Bruce will know they lost their chance. “You'll have to keep a distance.”

“(Y/N), we're dating. I won't keep that a secret so yes, people will have to find out eventually.” He places a soft kiss on your nose before his lips connect to yours.

“Uhm... We're still here...” Barry mutters, reminding you of the public.

Weird how it only took half a second for you to forget you have company. “So... Now that I know why you guys are still around, help me find something to major in.”

“Let's see what you have here.” Diana starts, and everyone takes a piece of paper or two. “Doctor?”

“Nope. That was just a joke.” Bending over the table a little, you take the paper from her hand. “Moving on.”

“Nurse," Arthur says.

“Vet.” Clark reads.

“All jokes.” Wanting something isn't enough, you have to feel like you can do it. And you don't think you can.

“If you become a nurse you could patch him up.” Arthur gestures at Bruce who nods.

“Sweetheart if this is what you want you just need to say and I'll help you.”

“Me? A nurse? No way, it's too much for me. I need something easier.” You're not saying you're stupid, but why put effort into something on which you'll probably fail? No need to hurt your feelings.

“So you don't think you're smart enough?” Clark asks and you nod.

“If you weren't smart you wouldn't have survived this long as a criminal. And wouldn't have escaped the prison twice. Or fooled the Joker so many times.” Bruce says, and you tilt your head to the side a little, thinking. It did take some brain to do this stuff, calculations, memorization, and some random knowledge.

“It looks like this is what you want,” Arthur mumbles, elbows on the coffee table.

Nurses help people, and that's the exact opposite of what you did. You never really enjoyed hurting people though, at least not normal civilians.

“Yeah... I've been thinking about being a practitioner nurse.”

“You've been doing some research on the subject then.” Wonder Woman raises an eyebrow.

“Yes. They can diagnose diseases, initiate treatments, and prescribe medications. They're more independent.” Shrugging your shoulders, you lean closer to Bruce. “But I don't know. Maybe we should keep looking into the other options.” Pretending you're not insecure is useless. Building a life is both exciting and terrifying.

“No. I guess we found what you want to do.” Bruce says and kisses your cheek. You bite back a smile, but it escapes anyway. “Anything as long as you're happy.”

“I can die in peace now,” Arthur says, and everyone turns their heads to look at him. He simply gestures at you and Bruce as if it would explain everything. “I lived enough to see Batman being soft with someone. The rest of my life will be dull.”

It took long enough for the funny comments to start. “Let the man be, Arthur. Everyone softens when they find love.” Diana adds.

“Aren't you a little too young to be dating Bruce actually?” Barry asks, shrugging his shoulders. “Just-just saying.”

“I haven't really thought about that,” you say.

“I have,” Bruce admits.

“Obviously. In this relationship you're the morals part.” You start gathering the sheets of paper, making a small pile. “I'm the impulse part.”

“Impulse part?”

“I did kiss you out of impulse. I was trying to control myself for quite a while but the thought of another suicide mission finally made me give in.” Looking at him, you smirk. “What would you do if I didn't kiss you before the mission? Were you planning to tell me about your feelings?”

“Shouldn't we discuss that in private?” He raises an eyebrow, and you give the guys a glance before looking back at Bruce.

“We don't mind. Go on.” Barry mutters, getting an annoyed stare from Diana.

“Let's give them some time." She says before getting up. The others soon follow, but Barry is the last.

“The fast one seems very curious about Batman's love life,” you say in a sassy tone when you're left alone.

“He turned the mission in Washington a nightmare the moment I mentioned you.” Bruce moves closer, caressing your cheek.

“And how was that?”

“I told them we had to make it as quick as possible because I had someone to go back to.” He places a soft kiss on your lips and you can't help but smile. You can't believe that someone was you. “Then he just wouldn't let it go. And yes, I was planning on telling you how I felt.”

“What would you do if the feeling wasn't mutual?” Wrapping your arms around his neck, you move to sit on his lap.

“I was pretty sure you felt something for me.”

“Really? I was trying so hard to hide it.”

“Miss Quinzel. Master Bruce. Dinner is served.” Alfred announces and you're just about to stand up when Bruce lifts you up with him.

“Because that will make Barry stop sassing at you,” you tell him, not even bothering to ask him to put you down. He can carry you all the way he wants. It feels funny though, and good to float like this. But the best part is how close your faces are, so you take the chance to kiss him as he takes you to the dining room.

Dinner goes on very well. The chattering is constant, and you manage to get into the conversations. You do feel like you're getting along with the League. Maybe you'll do well with other people too. If you can deal with the supers, you can deal with regular humans. It gives you hope, makes you a little more excited to go out. For dessert, you have brownies, one of your favorites, with vanilla ice cream.

“(Y/N), you said something about a suicide mission?” Barry asks after Diana gives you more details about the Washington mission. “What was that about?”

“Yeah... It was a terrorist attack in New Mexico. They mounted a base there but we never knew their plans.”

“They send you in a mission completely in the dark?” Diana furrows her eyebrows.

“We're the Suicide Squad. Well, that's what we call ourselves. The official name is Task Force X.” You move in the chair a little, but you notice you're not as uncomfortable as you were before talking about it. Bruce says you have to accept who you were in order to be free to restart. Trying to ignore it will only allow the past to haunt you. “When the soldiers can't deal with it but it's still not bad enough to call the heroes, they send us. The whole point is that it doesn't matter if we die in the process. The order is to finish the mission. We're... Spendable.”

“I never heard of anything like that,” Clark says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Nobody is supposed to know. But it doesn't matter anymore. The mission was a success and I'd be fine with it if the guards didn't beat me up on my way back here.” You say it without really noticing what it means, but by the way they exchange glances with each other, there are questions in their heads. “Some of them knew me from Belle Reve. So they knew I was going back somewhere they wouldn't be able to punish me for my crimes. They said it was a taste from home.”

“Everyone who was in that van was fired.” Bruce's voice is heavy with anger. “And I doubt they'll get any other job in Gotham.”

“If you're in prison to pay for your crimes, why did they beat you? Isn't the confinement the punishment?” Barry raises his eyebrows, and Arthur nods.

“Uhm... Yes. In any other prison, yes. But Belle Reve is different. It's like we're not on Earth anymore they... They can do pretty much anything they want. Every man and woman who acts as our guards are military or ex-military. Soldiers... And they have so much hate for us.” The memories come back in flashes of lightning, flooding your mind. The pain is still a vivid dream, the darkness is still terrorizing. “I can only speak for myself but I'm sure almost everyone who gets there tries to fight, to run away. I did. And maybe... Maybe I deserved it, maybe what they did was right.”

“(Y/N), don't you think for a second that you deserved what they did to you. Just because someone is a criminal doesn't give them the reason to treat you like an animal.” Bruce takes your hand over the table, and you smile to feel his fingers brushing against the soft skin of the back on your hand.

“They don't treat animals like they treat us.” The acknowledgment is dark and heavy, and you feel as the atmosphere gets tense. The League seems uncomfortable, perplexed.

“What the hell happens in that place?” Diana is the first to speak up after several seconds of deep silence.

“I can only tell what happened to me. By the rumors, it depends on who we are. Killercroc, for example, is left alone in a hole on the ground. Me... I always fought back.” Taking a deep breath, you revisit the endless days you spent in hell. The longest year of your life. The terror was usually suffocated by anger, burning rage, but it was always there, creeping through the walls. “I was kept in the dark. The only light source came from the small gap under the door. It had a blueish glow. My cell was open three times a day, at 10 a.m., 04 p.m., and 08 p.m. The two first were to feed me. They put a straw through my nose all the way down to my throat and fed me with some kind yogurt.” You cringe at the memory, a shiver rolling down your spine. “The last one was the shower. If you can call that a shower... They made me take my clothes off and back up into a concrete wall and blast me with water from a hose. If the weather was hot, the water was ice cold... If it was cold, the water was so hot that it burned my skin.” As you speak, Bruce moves his chair closer to you, putting an arm around your shoulders.

“You don't have to tell us anything if it makes you feel uncomfortable,” Clark says in a low voice.

“No, it's ok... It's good to say it. To... Let it out.” Holding it inside has only screwed you up over and over again. Dealing with it alone has isolated you. And you don't want to be alone anymore. “Before or after the shower was usually when the beat me. Men, women... They didn't really mind if they were a 6ft tall man kicking me. The drugs, the... Several different kids of drugs they gave me numbed the pain, but it was worse, at least to me.” The tears are rolling down now, as you're looking at the table, holding Bruce's hand as if he's your anchor. “I knew my body was being broken, sliced, bones being fractured but I only felt the impact. It's a psychological torture they play alongside the physical one. They liked to know that I was feeling my body being hurt, but I could never feel it... The drugs never wore off, so they never treated to my wounds. I was always left there, in my cell, as the blood dried, as the darkness threatened to suffocate me but I always told myself I was Havoc. I was freaking Havoc and I did not only deserve that, but I also could deal with it. That I was used to the pain...”

“Alright, that's enough.” Bruce raises his voice, and you notice you were yelling. He pulls you close and you hide your face in the crook of his neck.

“I speak for everyone here when I say we're very sorry for everything you've been through,” Diana says, and you feel a hand on your shoulder. When you look up, you see that not only her but all the others are standing around you and Bruce. “And I'm sorry I brought up such terrible memories.”

“Thank you.” Your voice sounds terribly weak, and Bruce dries off some of the tears with his thumb. When you get up, Diana holds both your hands on hers.

“I want you to know that you have me now. To talk, to ask for help, anything.” Your eyes quickly fly through the others when they nod.

“More than Bruce's friend, you're our friend now,” Arthur says.

“So now you not only have friends but superfriends.” Barry steps ahead and pulls you into a hug. You're surprised at the sudden affection, but it feels nice. The others join you soon, and you're in the middle of a group hug.

Not for a single moment in your life you thought you'd ever had anything like this. “Guys, you know you don't have to do this,” you mutter because you can't help but think you don't deserve it, that you're not the victim. Guess you still have a lot to work on, and Bruce is right to still give you some therapy sessions.

“Of course we do. You're an incredible woman who overcame so much. And you truly seem to want to leave the past behind.”

“Clark's right. You're the proof that villains aren't too far beyond repair.” Arthur says with a smile.

“Thanks again.” You're blushing a little because you think they see you as more than what you are now. But it's good to know they believe you.

An hour later, you're on Bruce's bedroom, getting ready to sleep. You're reading about Gotham's University as Bruce brushes his teeth, getting a little confused by how complicated it seems to be accepted there.

“Bruce, all these papers... I don't know if I have them.” You complain, suddenly losing hope.

“I'll deal with them, don't worry.” He comes to the bed, sitting beside you and resting his back against the pillowy headrest. “Worry about studying.”

“And about the fact I'll be surrounded by people all the time.” You sigh, putting the tablet on the nightstand. “It's still confusing, you know. Terrifying sometimes.” You're used to making people fear you, and when that's not possible, they just hate you. Hurt you. You're not sure how you'd manage to stay in between. To be normal.

“The classes only start next semester, so you'll have some months to get used to people.” Bruce pulls you to lie down, and you lay your head on his chest. “Tomorrow we're going out.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. We'll walk around, buy you some new clothes, eat at a nice restaurant...” He caresses your hair, making it hard to keep your eyes open. “I'll be right there with you, so no need to get anxious.”

“Okay...” Noticing you're a little thirsty, you roll your eyes as you get up. “I need water. Do you want some?”

“No, thanks.”

“I'll be right back.” Crawling out of the bed, you make your way downstairs, straight to the kitchen. You hear low voices, so you walk slower, making sure you won't interrupt anything. When you get there, you see it's Diana and Barry, who's eating your ice cream. “Hey, guys,” you announce yourself.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Diana says as Barry waves with the spoon.

“You know this ice cream is mine, right?” Raising an eyebrow, you try to look mad. It apparently works because he gives an apologetic look and lowers the spoon.

“Sorry.” He mutters as you walk around the island, getting a spoon for yourself, sitting beside him and starting to eat too.

“Relax. It seems that I have to share now.” You keep the sarcastic tone, but Barry still doesn't seem to understand. “I'm joking. You can eat it, it's just ice cream.” You smile when he starts eating again. “Don't you want some, Diana?”

“No, thank you.” She raises the mug she's holding. “I usually just drink some tea before going to sleep.”

“Yeah. I just eat. I need a lot of calories.” Barry says with his mouth full of ice cream. “What about you?”

“Actually I just came to get some water. Bruce is waiting for me upstairs.” You forgot about the water, but now you feel thirsty again, so you get a glass and head to the fridge.

“You guys sleep together?” He asks.

“Barry.” Diana reprimands him, and that makes you giggle a little.

“We share the bed.” Shrugging your shoulders, you speak as you pour some cold water on the glass, closing the fridge and making your way back to where you were seated. “I have... Nightmares. They were more often before, but they still come. But when I'm with Bruce it's just... It's better.” You feel safe, secure, but you're too shy to tell them that. It's too much that you're telling about the nightmares, but it's a good sign that you're able to open up, even if it's just a little bit.

“You love Bruce, don't you?” Diana asks in a low voice.

Looking down at your half-full glass of water, you nod. Love isn't the word you use to express your feelings for Bruce, but that's just because you're way too scared to let those three words flow out. ‘I love you.’ You've been biting your tongue for quite a while now. Those words hold power, you know it, and you're scared that he doesn't feel the same way. “Don't tell him,” you beg, looking up at Diana.

“Why?” As she asks, Barry takes the ice cream and gets up, leaving the kitchen.

“Girl talk.” He mumbles on his way out. And yes, you feel a little more comfortable knowing it's just Diana.

“Because maybe it's too soon and... If he doesn't feel the same I'm afraid it'll push him away.” Your feelings for Bruce only grow, and even though being in love with someone is something new, you know how things should play out. Or you think you do. The fact that he's Batman and you're Havoc, a villain he tried to catch before, only makes everything worse.

“I know Bruce. He would never officialize a relationship if he wasn't one hundred and ten percent sure of his feelings.” She moves from her place at the table to seat across from you on the island. “And I understand that what you did before may get in the way but it only makes me even more sure about his feelings towards you. So yes, I think he loves you and there's no reason for you to be so scared.”

Taking a deep breath, you try to accept that. “How could he love me?” You inquire in a low voice because you can't help but go back, to remember who you were and what you did. You do regret it, and you do want different things now, to have a whole new life. But... Sometimes the fear of losing Bruce hits hard, and you start going back to your shell.

“Why don't you let me answer that?” His voice makes you jump, and you stand up abruptly. Your heart beats so fast that you can hear it on your ears, like drums.

“I'll get some sleep. Good night, (Y/N). Bruce.” Diana stands up and leaves the kitchen, as you stand there, looking at Bruce.

“You weren't supposed to hear any of that,” you mumble.

“But I'm glad I did. Let's head upstairs. We need to talk.” Nodding, you start following Bruce. “I need to make things clear with you, sweetheart.”

×

@fionanovasleftnut @glitterypinkkitty @mybabyboytony @chipster-21 @agustdpeach @yaakimoon2 @chloe-skywalker

[stareyedmoonchild]

Late Night Ideas

Ok, picture this, a Maribat story but with a Boys Over Flowers plot line.

For instance, we begin with Marinette making a delivery of baked goods to a student at Gotham Academy. She rides up on her bike, the guards let her in as this isn't her first delivery to the school.

She sees a crowd looking up at one of the buildings, and fallows their gaze. Seeing a boy who is about to jump, she rushes up their to stop him. She even takes note of his name from the students she pushes past, and realizes it's the person she's making a delivery to.

Marinette tries talking him out of it, but he says that it's no use. Telling her the W4 is too powerful, and once you get the Joker card from them there is only suffering that fallows afterward. It was what he deserved for defying them.

Marinette tells him there are better options than jumping. That he should fight back and give them a taste of their own medicine. It causes him to chuckle, and he tells her to not loose her spunk. That he'll remember her in the afterlife.

Just as he takes a step off Marinette is already running full speed, and manages to catch him. She saved his life that day, and went viral when the pucture of her saving him was posted onto every social media platform. It got so much attention that many people were starting to protest against the school and Wayne Enterprises, as they were the school's biggest sponsors.

Bruce was not happy with his son's. He honestly did his best to raise them and this is what they become? A gang that can't even keep their activity quiet enough for it not to blow up? The disappointment was very much evident on his face. He told Alfred to give him the girl's information and offer her a scholarship to the school.

Anyways, long story short she ends up going thanks to her parents persuation. On the first day she was teyikg to figure out her way to class, when the doors open to reveal four boys. As they walk in, the student body seems to part like the red sea, all except one girl who held out a cake to the tanner one of the four.

She told him that she baked it herself, and went as far as to admit her feelings for him. Marinette had to admit the girl had guts, but when she saw the guy take the cake and drop it on thw floor, she decided he was a prick and that she could care less. Like damn rich kid attitude turned off whatever little appeal she may have had for him.

She mutters curses under her breath, but the girl next to her tells her that she should be careful with what she she says, unless she wants the Joker card. The girl then goes on to telling her about who each boy is, and who their father is.

"The on the far left is Dick Grayson, the first adopted child. He's nice and all, but can be a total goof and a flirt. Meanwhile, on the far right is Jason Todd, the second adopted child. Kind of edgy and went missing for a while before showing up out of no where. We all thought he died to be honest. In the middle left is Tim Drake, the third adopted child. He's crazy smart, and lives off of coffee. Word has it, he once didn't sleep or a year. To his right is the only blood related son, Damian Wayne. He honestly showed up out of know where and has some crazy combat skills. The four of them together make W4."

Marinette remembers the boy she saved and him mentioning W4 and the Joker card. Putting two and two together, she figures out that those four boys gave him the card and she gets an even worse impression of them.

"I don't give a fuck about who they are. They mess with me, they get their asses handed to them on a cheep plastic plate, because they don't deserve anything better than that."

After that she the girl become friends, and hand out a lot. Marinette likes watching out for her and becomes the mom friend. One day while the two where hanging out, Marinette's new friend accidentally spilled he ice cream on the Damian's shoes. Marinette's friend froze, and taking it upon herself she appologized on her friend's behalf.

Looking toward the the friend he tells her that if she's really sorry, she would get down on her hands and knees and lick it. Marinette is astonished by this, and says the appolgy should be enough, and hand him a fucking napkin. Damian is quickly loosing his temper and his brother's are just going with this though Tim points Marinette out as the girl who saved that guys life. Using this to his advantage, Damian tells her if she doesn't want her friemd to get the Joker card.l, she could lick it in her place. Marinette although feeling somewhat conflicted makes it seem as though she's going to do it (much to her friend's protests) bur instead she round house kick Damian to the floor, and take out her wallet and gives him a few bills before walking away saying, "That's for the shoe cleaner. Make sure to time the person well."

After that, Marinette caught the attention of W4, and their was no way out of it.

This could either be: damimaritim love triangle or damimarijas love triangle. Barbara could be Marinette's childhood best friend that helps out at the bakery while going to all girls private school, and somehow falls for Dick.

I don't know who the girl that becomes Marinette's friend at Gotham Academy could be, so yeah... Let your imagination run wild now.

[spacedace]

You're totally right, I just think he'd be amped and suspicious of Jazz herself and Concerned™️ that she might be Up To Something™️ because the math is just not mathing in terms of what his very in depth background check on her is showing (in this AU I'm imagining the Phantom gang has made new identities for themselves and scrubbed all evidence of their original identities in order to get away from the GIW or something similar).

According to everything any of them can find, Jazz should just be a blandly normal, if very intelligent, psychiatrist from the Midwest. And for the most part she is.

Except for the fact that she scaled a ten story building with her bare hands just so she could give Mr. Freeze her business card. Or the fact that she - with the help of a goth girl with an equally bland background - talked(?) Poison Ivy's plants into chilling for a few minutes so she could walk up and reschedule an appointment since Ivy had missed their last one. Or the time she wandered through a wall of Scarecrow's fear gas completely unaffected to drop off a script he'd apparently forgotten to grab the last time he'd seen her.

Then there's the network no one can hack. Oracle can't get in, and after trying her computer oozed green goo and she ended up in an ongoing war with the person who made the system to begin with, though admittedly the hacker seems content to keep it to increasingly unhinged memes rather than attempting to cause harm to their own various systems.

And no one can forget the time the Joker set his sights on the new doctor in town, and ended up...well.

He's still alive.

Beaten to within an inch of his life, haunted by figures of his victims no one else could see and - what must have been the worst thing of all to the clown - entirely stripped of his voice and unable to speak - or laugh - seemingly ever again.

The point is, Batman probably would be absolutely ecstatic to see his rogues getting real help and recovering, but I think he'd be paranoid that Jazz - with all these things that just don't make sense about her - would end up being a threat and causing incredible amounts of harm. Not just to Gotham, but to the rogues that put their trust in her to help them.

So I've seen a lot of "Jazz works as a therapist at Arkam" in the dp x dc fandom, and while I like the concept, I also feel like Jazz would take one look at the place and immediately be like "what the absolute fuck" at just the everything of the place.

Like, she either nopes out after the tour during the interview or quits not too long afterward starting there, not because she can't take it but because she's so appalled by what's going on there and can smell the corruption rolling off the place and knows no one sent to there is ever actually going to get the help they need.

So Jazz decides to open a private practice instead while still being absolutely determined to work with the various rogues in the city, she is here to help and nothing is going to stop her.

So she just starts showing up at known hangouts of rogues and during their heists/schemes/sprees, and even fights between them and the batfam, just like

"Hi! It’s so nice to meet you! My name is Dr. Jasmine Fenton/Nightingale/whatever last name she’s using and I was hoping we could talk!"

Casually kicks a baterang away without looking because she's being polite and professional!

"I understand that your experience with therapy through Arkam has been nothing but atrocious and that you are rightfully -"

Kicks Batman away without breaking eye contact or a sweat.

"Suspicious of attempting therapy again, and Idon't want to force anything on you, therapy should be on your terms after the experiences you've had but -"

Grabs Robin out of the air as he leaps at the rogue she's talking to and tucks him under her arm, ignoring his feral hissing and all attempts to break her hold.

"-I really think that you'd find it beneficial, even if I'm not the right therapist for you."

The rogue in question is having the time of their life and takes Jazz's business card - and a few extra to pass around - not really intending to actually ever book a therapy appointment with her but way too entertained and excited to share this madness with everyone else.

But then one of the rogues actually looks up Jazz's website and sees all the various safe guards she’s put in place to ensure that any villians that come to her will be protected while seeing her - soundproof therapy room, regular sweeps for listening and tracking devices, the most insane firewalls and protections anyone has ever seen on her network, and ooh she provides snacks and drinks!

So someone finally books an appointment with her, half convinced she's either going to turn them in or is a villain herself intent to experiment on them, but then it’s actually really nice??? And they feel a lot better afterwards?? She doesn't even say anything to indicate that she wants them to stop being villains, she just wants them to be okay??

So more and more rogues start going to her, and Batman was already losing his mind about this woman before - Oracle can't hack her system?!? And her background check shows a totally normal Psychiatrist?? - but now half of Gotham's heavy hitters and a dozen or so other minor league villains are seeing her regularly and every time he tries to get info on any plans the rogues might be scheme via her office it fails utterly. Nightwing got knocked out with something called a creep stick and when he tried to break in himself to get answers she just appeared out of no where and gave him the most scathing lecture about doctor-patient confidentiality before bullying him off her property and threatening to sick her brother on him if he tried again?

And because she's become such a figure in the Gotham underworld, she gets the attention of Joker.

And everyone, rogues and Bats alike, are terrified that she’s going to try and take him on as a patient like she has so many other villains in the city and that's just a recipe for tragedy.

But then the Joker is on his way to the hospital with two broken legs and the fear of god beat into him babbling about eldritch nightmares and whenever anyone asks Jazz what happened she just shrugs and just says things like "I refused him as a patient, he's not my problem." Or "My brother doesn't like clowns." And just, does not elaborate.

Batman is losing his mind over it all. Jazz is just happy to be able to actually help the rogues. Arkam is less happy about how she absolutely destroys their reputation.