#I just feel like he would immediately become part of the morales family

[thejadecount]

So I recently just got into Miles x Mikey (Shellshocked my beloved) and I just can’t help but to imagine Mikey getting ahold of a cloaking brooch and meeting Miles’ parents for the first time.

Rio: You can stay for the night if you li—

Jefferson: YOU CAN STAY FOREVER!

[gatorbites-imagines]

um could I request Conner Kent with a male reader who is just like him. Reader is a clone of another hero made by Cadmus, but the reader is a year or two older. When Conner and their first meet is during his initial escape and him coming apart from the team, and them bonding over them being clones. What would their relationship be like.

Conner Kent x Plastic Man Clone Male Reader

Headcanons

Reader is a clone of Plastic Man, cuz I love him.

Heyo my Hatchlings, how has everyone been doing? I finally finished up my assignment and I’m finally back. Did you guys miss me?

As a clone of Plastic Man, you put a good amount of people on edge when you appeared. Seeing as Plastic Man is very much immortal and unbeatable in the long game, they feared if you were good or evil, as there wouldn’t really be any way to defeat you if you turned out to be bad.

Luckily for them, you turned out to be as good of a guy as a clone of Plastic Man could be. You weren’t completely black and white, and sure you stole sometimes, and had a habit out of causing problems for corrupt people in power, but who were they to blame you.

You lived with Patrick Obrian, since he’s the closest thing you have to a family, and he never even had the thought of rejecting you because of your clone status. If anybody knows what its like to be judged and struggling to exist, its him.

Patrick plays an active supportive role in your life, and he teaches you how to use your powers. You end up being very skilled at the shapeshifting part of your shared powers. Sure, you still stretched, grew or shrank in size, anything Plastic Man could do, but you enjoyed shapeshifting the most. You even got a hang on switching colors, something Patrick struggled with.

When Young Justice was cooked up, you were one of the first they placed on the team. Mainly because of how powerful you were, and since part of them wanted to keep an eye on you, just in case.

You never took anything too seriously, it just came with the territory of being a clone of Plastic Man. Live life and all that. You did get into some arguments with different members of the team when it comes to morals, but that’s to be expected of a team.

When the team finds and rescues Conner, you immediately feel a level of kinship with him. Your clone status isn’t known outside of the league, so the knowledge Conner was born with doesn’t let him know you are a clone too.

As everyone tries to figure out what to do with Conner, you just settle down beside him, your stretched limbs dragging closer to you until they’re the normal length, where you offer him a snack or something to drink.

“Youd think they’d be better at dealing with clones, huh?” you joke, chewing on your own snack as he just looks at you, still confused and on edge about everything.

At his questioning glance, you lift your goggles and wink at him, pointing a thumb at yourself as you almost proudly declare yourself a clone of the best member of the justice league, if you were to be asked anyways.

As the league tries to figure it all out, you sit with Conner and just talk his ear off, never letting him wallow to far and making it harder for him to overhear the negative things said about him. Only Patrick knew, but the League fearing that you’d turn evil still weighed on you, and you didn’t want Conner to deal with the same thing.

Its only after you’ve made him smile and laugh that you accept that you’ve done your duty. When its time to leave you give him a way to contact you, and give him another cheesy wink before pulling your goggles back on, telling him that you clones should stick together.

Over time you become one of the people Conner is closest too, especially when he isn’t as welcomes by the people around him as he had hoped. This angers you and by extension Patrick, but your father figure just rolls his eyes and says he isn’t surprised.

In the beginning Conner spends a lot of time with you and Patrick, but mainly you, since you are closer in age. To be someone to look up too, you even stop with your petty crime for a while, just so your bad reputation won’t rub off on Conner.

Seeing him mingle better with the team, you take a happy step back and let him build the relationships he craves. Because of your different opinions and looser morals, you never became much more than acquaintances with the team, but seeing your fellow clone happy is enough for you.

But even as Conner gets closer to the team, he still holds onto you, since you were the first person to show him casual kindness without any suspicion or wanting something in return. You also have a lot more life skill than he does, so going to you for advice is normal for him.

When the time comes, you were most likely the one to leave the young justice team first out of everyone. You just don’t fit into their dynamic, and you run best on your own or with your father figure. Its hard to be an immortal who would never get to experience true normal life on a team of people who could.

You don’t leave the league, but you become more of a contractor, someone they call in when they need the help. You keep beating up bad guys, but you also fall back on the familiar feeling of crime. You only steal from those that deserve it though, and use your shapeshifting to easily get away with it.

It becomes a bit of a running gag, as the league always sends the young justice team after you since you aren’t an actual lethal threat. It kinda becomes training for them, and since Meghan can’t ever find you through mind powers, they have to work hard to find you.

When Conner leaves the team you to go out for drinks. Who cares about your ages. Seeing your father figure, you could be thousands of years old and never age physically, so it didn’t matter to you.

If your relationship was romantic, this would most likely be where it developed further, since Conner would be less tied to the team, and he could spend more time with you.

If your relationship isn’t romantic, it would still develop from here, just become more brotherly. You always joke you’re the batman to his superman, always shapeshifting into batman when you do, much to Conners fake annoyance.

Honestly even if it became romantic, youd still transform into batman and make kissy faces at him, since superbat is probably a running gag in the league.

You guys go on dates, even if its platonic, just to spend time together, maybe travel the world a bit, or even travel space, since you could easily survive away from earth. Theres probably also some very deep conversations about existence and your worth, since being a clone and always being treated like one weigh heavy on anyone.

When it truly hits Conner how much you struggle with your own role as a clone, he’s a bit surprised. Hed never imagined you were just completely fine, but you had always seemed to let the comments and suspicion roll off your back.

All in all, you two have each other’s back, always. The bond you have is deep in the way only two people created the same place for the same purpose can have. So, no matter if its romantic or platonic, you two become a familiar sight on and off the battlefield.

[8siangemini]

You Sly Cat Pt 4 (Miles Morales x Black Cat!Reader)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Summary: After finding the identity of the great Spider-Man you have been planning your great heist with your father. The night has finally come, the dance and the heist.

WARNINGS: Intense kissing, makeout, hickies

Author’s Note: Hiii pookies!! There is a plan to have either one or two more chapters to You Sly Cat butttt before the finale I hope y’all enjoy this chapter :)

That night you immediately ran home in disbelief and maybe even heartbreak but also shock. You went home with so many confusing emotions. In your head you kept on having the image of Miles and Spider-Man in your head side by side. Those times where you were on top of him, when he pressed against you from the back on your debut, it was all Miles. The image of plain Miles in all of those situations made you feel flustered.

But something about knowing Spider-Man’s identity and knowing that it was someone that you are becoming involved with gave you a thrill.

Throughout the whole week of the dance you were excited and over the moon for Friday. You would be going to the dance with the guy that you like and you would be pulling one of the most important heists in your family.

Today was Thursday and you had no school tomorrow due to the dance being tomorrow night. You were currently in your studio art class with Miles sitting next to you with your guys’ easels in front of you. After the teacher gave you instructions everyone went to work and began painting. It was sort of a free day so you were allowed to paint what you wished.

You knew what you were going to paint, who you were going to paint. You pushed out black and red paints and began to paint the person next to you. Just in a different alias.

As you began painting you see that in the corner of your eye you see Miles painting while keeping an eye on you. You look back at your painting with a smirk.

“May I help you Miles?” You ask as you look over at him with a smile.

“Nah I just can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.” He answers.

He smiles at you as a small blush comes to your face. He has been making you more flustered recently due to your discovery last Friday. You could not get the image of him, Miles, pinning you down and being so close to your neck like how he was just last Monday.

He leans closer to your easel to see an outline of black paint of a person in an acrobatic swinging pose. It was a rough outline but he knew who you were painting.

“Whatcu paintin’?” He asks.

Your hand continues to smooth the brush on the canvas as you fill in the figure with black paint.

“Brooklyn’s knight in shining armor.” You answer without taking your eyes off of the painting.

You knew what you were doing. You were going to press his buttons about him without him even knowing.

“O-oh,” Miles says as he goes back to his painting. “Spider-Man huh? Great guy!”

“Hmm I guess so.” You shrug off. Now you have Miles’ attention.

He looks at you with shock and confusion. In your head you knew you were being devious.

“He’s just… an amateur,” In the corner of your eye you see Miles looking at you in shock as his paintbrush in hand stays still against the canvas.

“An amateur?” Miles scoffs. “He’s been Spider-Man for like over a year now. What is he an amateur in?”

You knew how to press his buttons now.

“In acrobatics, like I was doing stuff like that when I was seven.” You scoff.

At the corner of your eye you see Miles looking at you, waiting for you to continue. He was fuming, fuming that the girl he likes made fun of him without realizing it. But in reality you did know. It may be messed up but the way you were playing aand teasing about his alias was fun to you.

“But,” Miles’ expression changes to hope. “I do have to say he is smooth with it.” You set your hands on your thighs with a smiles as you look at your painting.

“What do you mean?” Miles continues painting. “You say he’s an amatuer but then you say he’s smooth.”

“Even though he is an amatuer in his ability he makes it up with his style.” You begin to explain. “Let’s say he was a fighter with his same abilities but without his playful nature, he would be so boring. So I have to give that to him.”

Miles finally takes his eyes off of you and looks at his painting with a smirk he tried his hardest to hide, but couldn’t.

The rest of class went off in silence as you listened to music. The bell finally rang and you put away your supplies in the designated spots in the classroom. As you pack your bag you feel a large hand gently place itself on your upper arm.

You look up and smile seeing that it is Miles. He was so close to you it almost felt like he was towering over you.

“See you tomorrow chica linda. (pretty girl)” Miles smirked.

He planted a kiss on your cheek and you happily smiled as his nose slightly tickled your cheekbone. This sort of public affection, the small touches, the nicknames, you loved it. The way Miles made you feel like you were his and he was yours made you happy. But you would be happier if you two actually made it offical.

You pat his chest and fix his tie slightly until you bring your hand up to his chin and carressed it slightly. He began to blush profusely, this being the first time you are showing PDA.

“Better be ready handsome.” You say before planting a small kiss on his cheek.

You pull away and laugh as you see a small print of brown lip liner and lip gloss on his cheek. Before he could do anything you pulled away from him and walked out of the class.

——

Miles waited anxiously in front of your door with his parents behind him. He was appauled by your big grand house spanning about a whole block and beautiful folliage. He was slightly scared and intimidated by your home alone.

“Do I look fine?” He heard his father ask his mom behind him.

“Bigger question is do I look fine? She’s my date.” Miles said nervously.

“You look handsome mi hijo.” Rio says as she places a kiss on Miles’ cheek which made him feel slightly better.

But he was soon frightened by who he saw through the double doors that were opened by your doorman. Your father stood in the center of the clear marble floor with a pair of staircases going down both of his sides.

They all walked into the cold and clean home with a shining chandelier on the ceiling. Miles walked up to your father as he trembled slightly. Miles reached his hand out and your father shook his hand.

“Hello Mr. (L/n). I’m Miles Morales.” Miles stook to the script that his dad made him practice with him to meet your father.

“Ahh the lucky man.” Your father commented with a smile.

Your father then looked at Miles’ parents.

“This is my dad-“

“Officer Jefferson.” Your father interrupted. Jeff looked at your father in shock as they shook hands. He then looks at Rio and shakes her hand. “You must be Rio.”

Both of them were surprised that he knew of them.

“(Y/n) could not stop talking about you guys.” Your father said with a smile.

“Dad!” You say embarresly.

You finally looked down and meet eye with Miles. Miles wore a beautiful and clean all white suit with a simple black tie. He looked handsome as he looked up at you. Miles felt as if he was looking up at a goddess. The way you made the simple yet elegant black dress look so graceful with black Louboutins heels and long tight black velvet gloves with silver chrome nails that looked like claws.

You walked down the stairs as Miles looked at you in awe. He walked towards the bottom of the stairs almost like a robot and held his hand up for you. You reached for his hand and he helped you the rest of the way down the stairs.

You came to Miles’ side while your hand was still in his. You then lean into his ear.

“Hello don’t you look handsome.” You whisper.

You look at Miles with a smile and he looks at you up and down and smile too.

“Well look at you hermosa (beautiful).” He compliments and you begin to blush as you smile.

——

You and Miles walked into the museum and the main lobby was decorated with elegant crystal chandeliers and hanging jewels. Music was playing and a few students stood around talking to their friends before the dance actually started.

But it seemed that had all changed when you and Miles walked in. It was like time had stopped and everyone now had their eyes on you two. You and Miles walking in with you arms linked together.

“Everyone is staring.” Miles whispered to you as you guided him to try and find Roxie. “What if they think of stuff, what if they start talkin-“

“Miles,” You stop and you two meet eyes while still having arms linked together. “Let them stare.”

You smirk and Miles’ worry melted away.

——

You were overjoyed at how the night was going. You were dancing till your feet hurt and your face hurt by the amount of you smiling. And what made it better was that yourhand was in Miles’ the whole night.

The music died down from upbeat and turned into a slow song, a romantic song, Perfect by Ed Sheeran. Your heart began to race but then you felt a tug on your hand. Miles pulled you into his chest and placed his hands on your waist. Your hands made its way to his neck and you rubbed it slightly as you two swayed back and forth.

Your eyes stared into each other, getting lost in each others. You two were so close you could feel Miles’ heartbeat against your chest. All you could do was smile at Miles and his smile matched yours.

As the song began to end you finally got the light signal as you peeked out the window behind Miles’ shoulder. It was now or never. Just as the song ended you gave a quick kiss on Miles’ cheek.

“I need to go to the restroom real quick.” And before Miles could answer you went out of one of the exits.

You followed the route your father planned out for you and the whole heist was as easy as child’s play. You finally made it to the door of the Delvadian Spider. It was a large sliding door but there was a flat dial lock in the center. You crouched down to it and pressed your ear against it as you turned the dial.

Click. Click. Click.

You were in. The door slid into the wall and across the room stood the display. The Delvadian Spider.

The gold idol shined in the moonlight as it was displayed in the glass. A round oval shaped gold spider with rubies and sapphires on it. Your family’s next biggest heist. Behind it was a window that you had just carved out a circle with your clawed glove.

The setup and security was pathetic. As security knew that it was only teenagers coming into the museum at this time there was no security besides the cameras. Which you father has altered by this point as he sat in the car down the street waiting for the prize to come out of the window.

You touched your gloved hand to the glass and pressed your index nail firmly on the glass. You scratched a circle on the glass and and pushed the glass into the display. Your heart raced and pounded as you touched the idol. Just then the fangs of the spider clamped down on your hand and piecered your hand through the glove.

“Fucking a.” You muttered as you grasped the spider but yanked it out of the glass case suddenly.

You looked around nervously, hoping that a signal or alarm won’t go off. None did.

You all of a sudden felt like you could hear everyone in the building. Your face began to feel hot but somehow not like how it felt when you were sick. Your sense of smell also became more lively. Your head began to ring profusely too.

“(Y/n)?” You snap your head towards the door in fear but see none other the your date. Miles looked at you with confusion but also heartbreak.

“Shit.” You mutter underneath your breath.

“W-what are you doing?” He asks as he takes a few steps towards you.

As he tries to walk towards you you put your hand up while the other stayed on the Delvadian Spider. Miles stops in his tracks and puts his hands to his sides with his chest high. His eyes went from you to the relic and then back and forth. He was piecing it together and after a couple of seconds he finally understood. The hair, your mouth, your touch, it was all so familiar. Familiar from those nights where you two had interactions, fights, flirts. He was hurt and you knew it.

“You lied to me, Black Cat.” Miles spoke with his chest. Your eyes narrowed as a smirk came to your face.

“Now come on darling. I know that I am not the only one keeping secrets, Spider-Man.” You say with a wide smirk.

Black Cat was coming out.

Miles’ eyes widen as you two stand across the empty moonlit room, just you two. You walk up to him as your heels clicked against the marble floor with the relic in your hand. You came up to him and lifted your free hand up to his chin as you two were eye to eye with one another. With or without the masks he was Spider-Man and you were Black Cat. A smirk came to your face as you gloved nails caressed his chin gently.

“Miles, you were drawn to me as a civilian because I was seen as untouchable. Correct?”

He does not respond but the way his shoulders fell as ease gave you an answer. You looked down at his chest and your hand traveled down from his chin, to his neck, to rest at his chest.

“And Spider-Man, you were drawn to Black Cat because of her cunningness and confidence. Correct?”

Miles did not respond again but you did not need him to. You began circling around him slowly as your dress trailed behind you. Your hand stayed up near his neck and placed itself on the nape of it as you plant yourself in front of him again. You two were close, you were chest to chest close like how you were when you two danced. Your heartbeats beat against each other.

“Well Miles, with me you get both.” You look at his eyes and then his lips and he looks at your eyes and lips too. “Not many have noticed but both me and Black Cat are both untouchable in ways. I cannot be touched due to my status and Black Cat cannot be touched due to her reputation.” You begin to explain as Miles comes closer, if that was even possible. “We are both confident. Black Cat is confident in her abilities and decisions and I am confident in my being.”

Miles hands come up to your waist and pulls your waist closer to him until there is no space between you two.

“Then let me tell you about me and Spider-Man.” Miles whispers. “I am clumsy lucky mother fucker that somehow bagged the golden girl.” Miles says as he looks at you up and down. You let out a small laugh and Miles returns it. Miles then meets back to your eyes.

“And Spider-Man is the knight in shining armor of Brooklyn that has been entranced by Brooklyn’s top rising villain.” One of Miles’ fingers begins to trace up and down at your spin. Miles stares at you as you shiver underneath his touch. A smirk covers your face as you stare at Miles’ lips then his eyes.

“So tell me Miles,” Your lips are just a couple inches away. You two switch between from looking at each other’s eyes to each other’s lips. “Are you willing to dance with an angel and the devil?”

Miles tilts his head to the side slightly and you follow suit. Both of your guys’ eyes narrow as your lips get closer. A smirk comes to Miles’ face.

“You’re gonna be the death of me.” He whispers with a smirk against your lips.

“Then I promise I’ll bring you to heaven and hell.” You respond with a smirk.

Miles’ lips finally crash into yours. You smirked into the kiss and kissed back. It was slow and smooth until you opened your mouth and his tongue darts in. That is when everything became hot and fast. Your hands began to wonder around his neck and his chest and his hands gripped your hips and waist tightly and he pressed himself against you.

You head began to ring so profusely and your heartbeats began intense with Miles. Almost like you and Miles were syncing up to the same breath and heartbeat. Everything began to go so fast. Miles wrapped his arms completely around your waist and your arms wrapped around his neck as you fingers tug at his coils slightly. You both leaned into each other, still trying to fight for dominance.

Grunts and groans mixed into the kiss as you two turned your heads back and forth. One of Miles’ hands make it to the back of your neck and his lips slowly lowered down to your neck. Back to where they were last Monday but they finally connected to your neck with deep wet kisses. Miles’ tongue escapes his mouth and begins sucking and nipping at your neck. Your eyes slowly fall shut and your mouth opens as gasps escape your lips.

And you knew for a fact that Miles would be leaving this room with part of your burgundy lipstick smirred on his lips and you would be leaving with a hickey on your neck.

But what Miles forgot was that he was still Spider-Man and you were still Black Cat. And in the middle of the kiss Black Cat had thrown out the Delvadian Spider out of the open window for her father to find and run off with.

Taglist

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[sapphickocho]

What if, instead of Amane finding Muichiro and Yuichiro, Kokushibo finds the twins first?

☾ A Tokito Traitor Au ☀

What if Kokushibo heard whispers of his descendants whereabouts and is interested to see where his family line has gone, and to see if he should end it once and for all. However when he arrives at their house, he finds Yuichiro on the brink of death and Muichiro who is holding his own against a demon. Impressed by his skills, Kokushibo effectively kills the demon and saves Yuichiro before he looses too much blood. He is very much intrigued by them, and Muichiro sees him as their savior figure which gives him an opening to properly manipulate them.

At first he want to turn them into demons immediately, since they do not seem threatened by his appearance. He even convinces them that being a demon is better then being human and that the demon that attacked them were not representative all demons and that demons like him did not eat human flesh because he was one of the chosen strong ones, uncorrupted. Yuichiro especially falls for that because therefore his arm can regenerate and he can protect his brother forever. However after Muichiro mentions Amane, and her offering them to join the demonslayer corps, Kokushibo decides to train them as slayers to infiltrate the corps as spies. By then both of the twins live with Kokushibo and see him as a second father figure, almost completely trusting him. Sadly the twins will not learn mist breathing, but instead Kokushibo trains them in moon breathing. Muichiro is able to master it, while Yuichiro struggles with only one arm, and instead creates a form known as eclipse breathing that works only for his body.

Muzan allows them to kill as many demons as they want to enter the final selection because he sees them as expendable, despite absolutely despising Kokushiobo's new set of twins. especially Muichiro, who reminds him too much of Yoriichri. Meanwhile Kokushibo is drawn to them because they subconsciously also remind him of his twin brother, even though he would never admit it. I do not think they would be able to become hashira, or at least not in less then six months like the original canon because Muichiro does not have his rage from his brother dying and Yuichiro, well, does not have his arm which is hard the adjust too, so they would be part of the kamaboko squad. Still they succeed to sabotaging many of the corps missions, causing the lives of many slayers.

Muichiro cant help but feel guilty, but he is loyal to Kokushibo (not Muzan, just him.) and the reward for trading information is that Kokushibo will give his blood so they can become demons like him. However in truth, unlike Yuichiro, he has no desire to become a demon. Soon he makes friends in the corps, with the other hashira and his fellow peers like Tanjiro and Genya. Soon, he begins to have a moral dilemma for betraying his friends. Therefore, Muichro begins to see the lies that Kokushibo has spun and is suddenly torn between two sides of people that he cares for.

I mean I just love the idea of bad guys becoming accidental parents. I think it'd be interesting to see how different they'd become due to not only being raised by a demon, but one who's morals were from 300 so years ago. old timey Tokito twins, would be kinda funny.

And imagine if they get invited to uppermoon meeting? Imagine how chaotic that would would be?

Akaza: Listen, you guys are too young for this. Kokushibo is not good with kids. Blink twice if you need help and I will get you both out of here.

Muichiro and Yuichiro: *continues to stare at him unnervingly without breaking contact*

or

Douma: Awww how cute Kokushibo I didnt know you had kids. They even have your eyes! who is the mother-

Koku: No

And

Kokushibo holding both of the twins upside down: I'm a single mother now

I just think all the uppermoons would be glorified babysitters for them and I cant help but think it would be hilarious seeing them all interact.

those two fighting some high-up demon, which obviously takes a while, only for the two to randomly stop cuz "dad said to be home by 10 or dinner will get cold". Just Kokushibo, being known as the worst father playing the role of father AGAIN.

Kokushibo to the twins: I am your great great great great great ancestor so just call me dad.

We just know the twins would talk shit about all the upper moons to there FACES and wont give two shits because that was just how they were raised. But not kokushibo-he could ground them.

(Anyway this Au has been consuming my mind lately so expect a fanfic coming out soon)

I mean Muichiro wont be the only one having a dilemma, what happens when Kokushkibos apathy starts to crack-and he begins to care for the twins?

[sambhavami]

So, I'm going to rant a bit about Krishna and Arjun now.

**Just a note: this is based on my personal interpretations of MB/SB/HV, none of which I have access to right now, so I might misremember some facts. Thank you!

So, in my understanding, Krishna and Arjun were both very lonely people. Both of them were stripped from their childhood homes and families, and forced to grow up amidst hostility and constant conflict, when they met after Draupadi's swayamvar, they instantly latch on to each other. I mean, yes, both Krishna and Arjun had brothers who went through the same kind of issues, but at some point, you encounter a boundary with your immediate family, such that you can't really tell them everything that you're feeling. A friend peering in from outside is a much 'safer' choice. I'd imagine it's roughly the same kind of thought process that makes people talk about their personal struggles anonymously on social media instead of with their families.

In this process, they both also become extremely possessive of each other. For Arjun, we see this when he sheds all his inhibitions at Kurukshetra not when he hears the Geeta, but rather when Krishna gets wounded the first time. That's when the Kaurava side finds out exactly how dangerous Arjuna can be. And that's when Krishna is barely scratched by an arrow, and thankfully we never find out what Arjun would have done if Krishna actually got hurt. Arjun was fighting only half-heartedly in the beginning, but once Krishna is targeted he becomes fiercer, now actually concentrating on the battle, and then finally when Krishna almost murders Bheeshma, that's when Arjun becomes fully activated, so to speak. Also, he would've totally murdered Shishupal during the rajasuya (to hell with the 100 offences), if not for Krishna stopping him...this is a rare kind of aggression for Arjun which he doesn't show even in the dice hall!

Krishna, on the other hand, shows his devotion in a slightly different way. So, for most of MB we see that he is partial to Arjuna, and he never really hides it. He gets Subhadra married to Arjuna, takes him on picnics on Kailash and shows him Vaikuntha just for fun. Moreover, he technically didn't need to participate in Kurukshetra. With Subhadra married to Arjun and Lakshamana married to Shamba, he could've easily cited an algebraic cancellation and got out of the whole mess like most of the other Yadavas. But he chooses to go to Matsya, and moreover offers to part himself from his beloved, personally trained army! I mean it was kind of genius to bait Duryodhan into thinking he won that bargain (if Shakuni mama was there, he would've definitely chosen Krishna, and immediately have him thrown in a dungeon and use him as a hostage to force the Pandavas into surrendering)!

Krishna is not just partial to Arjuna, but he is downright desperate to protect him from anything and everything. From personally waiting on Arjuna in Dwarka during happier times, to breaking every moral code he's ever stood for during the war, Krishna's love for Arjuna outshines every other horrible thing that happens. 

Krishna is quite open about his decision to get Arjuna out of the dharma-yudhha mess alive. In fact, he makes it clear to Draupadi herself that if it came down to choosing between Draupadi and Arjun, Krishna would choose Arjun always, without a second thought. We see this in action when he offers to have Draupadi marry Karna in exchange for his support to Pandavas, thereby averting the whole war. We see how Krishna doesn't care how many people he has to sacrifice (Abhimanyu, Ghatotkach, upa-Pandavas, his Narayani sena, Parikshit, and borderline forcing Shikhandi to detransition, although the source/validity of this I can't quite remember right now), how many times he has to endure the Vaishnavastra, how many times he has to make Yudhishthir lie, how many times he has to forget his vows, how many times he has to make literal celestial bodies bow to his will, all of it is taken in stride just so Arjun lives to see another sunrise. At one point, I do feel he stops caring about preserving Arjun's feelings through this (point: sacrificing his kids) and just making sure he's alive, no matter how broken or hopeless. It's almost as if Krishna's just on auto-pilot the whole time.

His whole life, Krishna asks Arjun for just one thing, which is to get the citizens of Dwarka out of the island/coastline alive before the tsunami hits. Even that, Arjuna is informed of only after Krishna is no longer on the earth. And Arjuna also is ironically one of the only people (except maybe Nand-Yashoda, Radha and gopas/gopis) to never ask Krishna for a favour! No matter how tough their life got, Arjun never asked Krishna for anything for himself. I can imagine how Krishna, the human god, would constantly be bombarded with prayers and requests literally wherever he went, so I can see why people like Arjuna would be somewhat of a relief. Even during Geeta, Arjun is like, "I can't do this!" and not "You can't make me do this!" And Krishna likewise is not like, "You have to do this!" He's just like, "You can do this, but only if you believe you can!" Krishna basically goes over all the pros and cons of the available choices but ultimately leaves the final decision to Arjun.

[bougiebutchbitch]

happy izzy headcanons, off the cuff:

ed's adhd ass remembers the most random shit about him that he said one time, like that his favorite color is green, he doesn't like sweets, and he used to feed a stray cat when he was a kid (despite not remembering ostensibly more important things / things that were repeated or told to him directly. RIP iykyk etc)

he called the cat Miss Lady and sometimes to get out of "playing" with "fellow" "children" and other such tedium, he would claim she was his boss and he had to go to work for her in her estate (he's like ≤8yo or something when he pulls this)

still has not gotten much better at lying than that tbh

his parents loved each other and him and his big sister very much. they were as happy as they could be in their level of poverty, and iz's youngest years were filled with unconditional love

he and his sister both got their first jobs at the same little shop, but izzy was immediately and comically fired for being crass and rude to customers lmao (also for wearing pants)

he was part of the navy for an astounding one (1) year before being discharged - equally comically - for being the singular most insubordinate little shit ever seen. regular punishments had absolutely no effect on his behavior, and though they threatened to do worse by that point they could not catch him.

his criminal record is just as long as ed's, but the bulk of his charges are morality based. he fucks so severely it is a crime. (not that hard to do really, at the time, but he's proud of it lol.)

Jewish

was taught to read english and hebrew as a kid (Jewish communities at the time had higher literacy on average than other groups & taught girls as well as boys to read, iirc)

can buy and sell in many languages, but can't really converse. is in the process of learning spanish from jim and french from frenchie (with much more unsavory instruction provided by roach, for surprise use on frenchie lmao)

not necessarily about izzy i guess lmao, but i have a scene that runs in my head of izzy telling jim something private in spanish and jim interrupting (but not fast enough) to yell that oluwande is fluent, to which olu nervously says "no, i forgot. those words. don't use 'em much, so. you know. whoosh. gone. didn't understand any of it."

he and anne fake dated way back, to make ed and mary jealous

he and jack tried this also, after it worked for anne but not for izzy, but in the process they accidentally dated for real (jack... might have had ulterior motives lmao)

takes ye olde hrt, in the form of an herbal tea recipe that he got from a midwife who clocked him at 50 paces. they are still friends.

bottom sub leaning, but still a vers switch!!!

explores his gender further, with encouragement and some minor guidance from wee john. he has a little bit of a crisis at first, wondering if he only felt like a man because he didn't make a very pretty woman, but he talks it all through in fits and starts - primarily in out of context ambushes - with john and jim, learns more about drag, etc, and eventually gets comfortable with being a man who pretends to be a woman sometimes and just happens to be very good at it due to certain biological advantages lol

later functionally becomes ed's drag mom, the way john was for him - featuring many more instances of dressing him up like he did for the party in season one

realizes after being folded into the found family that he LOVES cuddling, and physical intimacy of all kinds. like basically discovers acts of service is actually not his only love language. nothing makes him feel more content than being physically in sync with someone.

at some point pete decides he wants to stop being all talk and actually live up to all the shit he's bragged about, but he doesn't want everyone else to know and/or there to be any witnesses to him being bad at stuff at first. so he solicits secret lessons from izzy, and izzy gives them and keeps the secret without condition.

he's basically the gordon ramsay of piracy. if you're learning and you're working at it, he's patient and attentive. if you act like you don't have anything to learn or make claims you can't back up, he calls you a fucking donkey.

grows his hair out. adores having it played with.

takes his job as "unicorn" very seriously. all of his duties are pretty much assigned to him via his own perception of what the fuck being the ship's unicorn even means, but if he says something is or isn't his job everyone goes with it without question. he sometimes abuses this fact, but only with ed lmao.

has each member of the crew add their own x to his tattoo and ends up with a little constellation of slightly differently shaped stars across his cheek/temple

SHRIEKS IN JOY

oh these are PERFECT. Excuse me while i squeal over each and every one.

I KNOW THAT PAIN, ED, BABYBOY, DARLING, PRINCESS WITH A DISORDER. He is theeeee most ADHD gremlin. He will randomly describe in perfect detail a day from 10 years ago that Izzy only has the vaguest recollection of, down to the precise inflection in whatever Izzy said to make that moment stick in his mind - but he still doesn't know Izzy's birthday sldkfhgklsdfhg

oh no. OH NO. Tha'ts horrifically cute. And I love that Izzy is a gritty old pirate who can kill without a moment's hesitation - but he cannot tell a good fib to save his life lmao. It's the 'tism

:cris and holds happy baby Izzy close:

I'm WHEEZING at tiny angry scowly Izzy getting fired from a shop for being a bastard refusing to wear a dress, saying fuck this, running away to join the Navy where the wearing of dresses is not requisite, and almost immediately getting fired for STILL BEING A BASTARD. :chinhands: it's so him

I am just. Imagining. Lucius getting hold of Izzy's criminal record in S1 before they really get to know each other. And just being supremely confused that Izzy has actually walked the walk lmao

JEWISH IZZY JEWISH IZZY JEWISH IZZY :clutches that headcanon very close to my chest:

ohhhhhh gosh I LOVE the crew teaching each other casual little things.... language tutors Jim and Frenchie and co., my favourite. I wonder if Izzy teaches them a tiny bit of Hebrew, too? Or if he keeps that very close to his chest. (I love the headcanon that he and Ed are both Jewish, and it's part of what drew them together~)

SCREAMS at Izzy accidentally Revealing Things to Olu because he doesn't realise he speaks that much Spanish.... And at Jim warning him! I also imagine that like, AS SOON as Jim gives that warning, they get the fuck in front of Oluwande with a knife, juuuust in case Izzy goes for him - but Izzy just glares at Oluwande, jerks a nod, and mutters 'first time I've given a man amnesia without having to hit him in the head'. Oluwande awkward-laughs and flees, but though Izzy's a tiny bit wary of him for a few weeks, he doesn't stab him?? So, y'know, success?

also, as ever, I am OBSESSED with Jim and Izzy being casual quiet trans buddies and helping each other out now and then. :gently pushes my headcanon of Izzy helping Jim acquire Ye Olde Top Surgery towards the fandom on a silver plate:

FAKE DATING FAKE DATING AHHHHHHHHHHH

CJIZZY AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh (I love Jack being like. 'Yeah I'll fake date you to make Ed jealous, Izzy :D Yeah, absolutely no strings attached. Yeah we're not gonna actually fuck or anything. Of course.' then pulling EVERY string available to get in Izzy's pants dsfklghkdsfgkdlsgf

YESSS TO BOTTOM SUB LEANING VERS SWITCH IZZYYYYYY he has the range, darling! I love the idea that he was Ed's service top for ages, and is legit good with a strap~ >:3c Almost as much as I love subby top Izzy who always comes too soon and goes jellylegged so his partner has to sigh and take over and fuck him into the mattress while telling him what a disappointment he is (which, ofc, only makes him wetter). ......Yes, I blame carryme for this one entirely.

TRANSMASC DRAG QUEEN IZZY TRANSMASC DRAG QUEEN IZZY - I vibe with this on a spiritual level. Also: I can imagine Izzy was REALLY rigidly 'I am a man so I have to be masculine' as a result of internalised transphobia/fear of discovery, so this whole process of realising he can do whatever the fuck he wants, actually, involves a lot of unworking of societal assumptions and confronting past traumas and fears, and Wee John only meant to share something transgressive and fun with Izzy but now Drag Hour is therapy hour too. And honestly, it's good for him and Izzy and Jim, and Izzy's expression goes this amazing mix of offended and delighted and terrified and excited whenever he realises that yes, he is allowed to present himself however he likes and he will 'still be a man'. Although I do think he might draw the line at dresses, and keep to more andro drag? Like, he tries on a pretty dress ONCE and it's a bit Too Much when he sees himself in the mirror - but that's completely okay too, and Wee John and Frenchie are more than happy to help with tailoring outfits that he actually likes!

i AM SCREAMING AT IZZY BEING ED'S DRAG MUM YES YES YES YES YES

ohhhhh.... Izzy being just an absolute cuddle magnet.... be still my heart. I like to imagine that he was too awkward to approach anyone at first, but was SUPREMELY touch starved, so he'd sneak into the cuddle pile on deck at night and then try to wake up in the morning before everyone else. But of COURSE, everyone realises and knows and thinks it's very cute and one day when he tries to make his usual escape (moving slow to try and draw out the warmth and the contact, as well as so as not to wake anyone up) Lucius sleepily grabs his wrist and grumbles, "Izzy, staaaaaay". And, well. How can Izzy say no to that?

PETE IZZY FRIENDSHIP AHHH???? I would read that fic in a heartbeat.

Vis-a-vis the Gordon Ramsey comparison: he has ABSOLUTELY called poor Stede an 'idiot sandwich'

LONG HAIR IZZYYYYYYYYY AHHHHHHHH

Izzy wearing each of the crew's little 'x' kissy marks besides Ed's.... oh, be still my heart. This one got to me. That cheek and his neck and chest are just a map of tiny stars and - OHHHHHHHHHHH you know they're all getting gently smooched

[netherese-blorb]

Troubling Thoughts on Wyllstarion from my Wyll Origin Playthrough

I started a new run to fulfill my Wyllstarion fantasies of princely good boy Wyll learning to let loose while teaching manic-pixie-dream-pire Astarion about true love. But I'm near the end of act 1 and as I'm gaining a better understanding of these boys, it's pretty clear that this relationship is going to be bleak.

Putting Wyll in the position of the player character, where he narratively has total agency, but also no pre-determined stances on the events of the story, is oddly perfect for him. My initial read on Wyll was that he's an idealist with a rigidly lawful-good alignment that makes him an easy mark for hucksters. But now I get the sense that, rather than having too strict a moral code, his gullibility ultimately stems from being too weak-willed (no pun intended).

He wants to do the right thing, but other than "self-sacrifice = hero = good", he doesn't have a strong idea of what that means. He doesn't have a clear ideology or divine mandate to guide him like a lot of the other companions do, but he also doesn't have any newfound freedom to embrace like Astarion and Karlach. All he has are fairy tales and an adolescent understanding of his father's politics. His confident bravado thrives when there are innocents to protect and/or villains to slay, but the moment a situation becomes more morally complicated than that, he's totally lost.

It's why Wyll the monster hunter still has dialogue options to immediately offer himself up to Astarion the undead vampire without any real convincing. It's why the drama around Mizora is more about her being an abusive boss he personally has to bear, rather than any larger ethical concern about his work aiding an objectively evil demon's agenda - but also why he's so easily convinced to disobey Mizora and accept Karlach. (Also-also, and this may be a cope on my part, I think it explains why tav/durge has to make the decision for him about selling his soul again in act 3. He truly can't handle it.) There's no need to manipulate a man who's already so desperate to martyr himself, or better yet, to have someone just tell him the right thing to do.

To bring it back to the point, Astarion's seduction is designed to ensnare insecure romantics like Wyll. On top of that, his tortured backstory hits all of Wyll's pain points. The fact that Cazador was operating right under his nose, in his city, while he was off dancing at balls (maybe even with representatives of the Szar family) would send him into a spiral. Did the other nobles know? Did his father know? What more could have been done? It chips away at his reality, and he looks to absolute pinnacle of mental health and stability, Astarion Ancunin, to fill in the gaps.

Even if both of them come into the relationship with the best of intentions, neither are emotionally equipped to move past a victim/savior dynamic. Astarion makes Wyll feel like a hero and Wyll makes Astarion feel safe. No one pushes the other to learn or grow. In act 3, Wyll helps Astarion ascend as a kind of reparation for his suffering, Astarion convinces Wyll to put himself first for once and keep his soul. Even if they rescue Ulder in time, eventually the title will pass down. I don't see this going any other way than ascended!Astarion using his spawn Duke Wyll Ravengard to rule over Baldur's Gate with an iron fist for time eternal.

If my feelings change as I continue the playthrough, I might add some updates, but I'm also interested to hear other's thoughts about this, so feel free to add on!

[cutekittenlady]

I do wish people would have more fun speculating on how Alucards relationship to the rest of the group will play out in season 2.

Like, yes, Maria and Alucard were a thang in the games, but I'm not sure that's going to necessarily follow into the Netflix adaptation. Not because of the pearl clutchy discourse but more because the creative team behind the first series made it clear they weren't doing a beat for beat adaptation and had every intention of doing their own thing with the characters. Plus, thematically speaking, it wouldn't shock me if Alucard and her wind up developing a father-daughter relationship given how Alucard was left off in the first series.

I mean, it is kind of interesting how Alucard comes swinging into the story immediately after Maria has more or less lost both her parents in ways that are way worse than death. (I mean her mom loses her humanity and her dad flagrantly rejected her offer to become a real family in favor of his cause; which is actually way worse than if they were both just dead) And at the end of the first series, Greta makes a point of saying that many of the villages orphaned children were freely calling Alucard 'father' so he's clearly established as a guy who has filled a father figure role in the past.

Plus, Alucard is kind of a fun contrast to the Abbot. I mean, the Abbot is an extremely religious conservative whose conversations with Maria in regards to their idealogical differences are heavily tinged with moralizing and tend to patronize her as a confused little girl. Meanwhile, assuming we keep certain aspects of his character from the first series, Alucard is a half-vampire who leans pretty heavily into science and may prescribe more to a lot of the ideas of the enlightenment movement that helped inspire the French Revolution in the first place. Thing is, I don't see him really agreeing with Maria either, but unlike the Abbot, he'd likely approach the discussion way differently and treat her conviction as something with a real moral core to it. However, I can see Alucard still challenging Maria to think more deeply about her own ideas and what it is she actually wants to achieve.

Like, imagine Maria challenging Alucard to take a hand in something like the revolution. Maybe even asking in a sorta accusatory way as though his refusal to take part is a mark against his character/trustworthiness. Alucard, in turn, asking her if she really wants yet another vampire screwing around in human affairs and potentially manipulating people to their own ends. She might try to argue its for a more righteous cause, but Alucard would be pretty quick to point out that both her father and the vampire think their cause is righteous too. And so on.

I just think, thematically, there is a lot of potential there for Alucard to act as a more sincere father figure to Maria with the added benefit that the two living together afterwards would still feel organic and natural as a result. Thereby getting the same net benefit of Maria encouraging Alucard to interact more with the world, just through a different relationship.

Of course, I mention the father-daughter aspect just because there's a pretty clear theming running through season 1 in regards to parentage and how that can influence/define ones outlook and ideals. (And also a ton of parent related trauma. LIke tooooons of it). The same themeing could be continued given Alucards history with his own dad even if he doesnt play a paternal or romantic role with maria.

Alucard could just as easily be a kindred spirit that Maria just comes to really be fond of. Her bitchy bisexual bishounen bestie, if you will.

[joltyflare]

(Sun and Moon Show Rant #3: Poor Eclipse (AND WTF SUN AND MOON?!))

Wow, since my last rant, it has been proven that Ruin is indeed up to no good but his reasoning I had was partially proven to be correct and I never got to even post that theory here so I'm sobbing... (Not as hard as Solar's death made me sob LMAO). Also, Moon apologized to him and I loved that!

ANYWAY, ON TO THE ACTUAL RANT

Last time I was going on about how I didn't like Moon's treatment of Ruin during the arc where they were looking for who made Eclipse (before he was proven guilty, I mean). Well his treatment of ECLIPSE is even worse! I should've also been going "POOR ECLIPSE!"

But, like, seriously man...poor Eclipse. Like actually. I get that he did some bad things about two lives ago and that he's very prickly and snarky but, like, Sun and Moon's family (except for Earth and Solar) have proven to not be the better people during this arc!

When given the opportunity to prove that they are above Eclipse, they've immediately taken the plunge to show they are lower than what you'd come to expect of them. Sun, who was starting to actually have an arc where he realized how screwed up it was to kill others and how he wanted to redeem others, told Eclipse to kill himself! Since waking up Eclipse has only, what, kidnapped Ruin and forced Solar and Moon to do a puzzle? Oh, and he has said a few salty things, though those aren't worth mentioning since none of what he has said to anyone has been as bad as telling someone to off themselves. They also mentioned hoping he'd killed himself when he had been caught in Ruin's little trap.

He's constantly being told that nobody loves him and the world would be better off with him dead. The people telling him this are supposed to be the people we're rooting for...but every time they interact with Eclipse I find myself wishing he'd stand up for himself and not take the verbal as well as physical abuse (on Moon and Lunar's behalf with the shocking and killing things) that he has been given.

Everyone has proven that they are no morally superior than he is. He hates them because of a grudge he has and they hate them because of a grudge they have. He has acted on his grudge in the past and they didn't like it much and constantly pointed out how evil it was but now they are doing the exact same thing! It feels like they are now the villains and he is the hero. Heck, he even pointed them in the right direction that could've saved Solar and Moon treated him like dogshit for believing it was him in the first place!

Moon felt guilt when he found out that all this happened due to Old Moon abandoning Eclipse in his eyes and he was even going to apologize to Eclipse but he told him to kill himself in today's episode so he must not feel that bad about it.

On the bright side of things: Only Earth treats Eclipse with kindness. feel like this will be important to Eclipse's redemption arc. She is kind to him and feels sorry for the things he's been subjected to and the fact he is all alone. She doesn't hate him or wish him harm and I think he's warming up to her slowly, realizing she truly is different from the others (even in his own words!). I really, truly hope she is going to become an important part of his redemption arc.

I would like there to be a scene where Earth catches wind of the things people say to Eclipse and just loses it. I mean she is very emotionally vulnerable at the moment and she seems to be on the verge of snapping and shouting at someone. She was distraught when she saw Lunar kill Eclipse and admitted that she felt a sense of closure when he came back to life and she got to see him in person again. I feel like she'd not be pleased to hear that people have been telling this guy to kill himself when he has simply been nothing more than a harmless, spicy dude hanging around this arc. This, coupled with the fact she actually lost someone, makes me feel like she wouldn't have it if she heard someone tell Eclipse these things or even hear someone say "nobody loves you" as an insult when he's just there!

He has died a few times now. His last death was one of the most painful ways someone in this series has gone...and he came back to life immediately with the memory. His death before that was actually him trying to warn Sun and Moon of the dangers of Lunar and the Astral Bodies and he had been tricked. It had been the one time he'd tried helping someone and he paid the ultimate price because he couldn't get them to trust him due to his snarky personality still being prevalent.

He has suffered so much this arc and even Lunar's trauma can't compare anymore. He killed and hit Lunar, right? Well, Lunar electrocuted him to death and admitted he fantasized about killing him. He made others dislike Sun and Moon and somewhat contributed to the death of Old Moon, right? Well, he has died twice since then and now everyone hates him and tells him the world would be better off without him. He was also used as a pawn to distract them because their hatred of him was so strong that Ruin knew he could use their hatred as a distraction.

His simple existence now causes people to verbally abuse him in heinous ways. He can't just stand somewhere without someone being absolutely awful. Yet he never loses his temper or uses the magic he was given against them. He just says some snarky things and brushes off their words. What he did in the past was bad but he didn't exactly intend on returning and he's just stuck here. People can deal with it as they will but them saying to kill himself doesn't make them better than him, that's for sure.

Thankfully, Earth treats him like a person. She's the only one who does. I really, really hope that this is important for his arc. I hope they have more interactions and I hope he can actually become closer to her. It's wishful thinking on my behalf to think that she will witness him being verbally abused and step in but you never know. She knows he feels abandoned as well.

I also theorize he's bringing back Solar. I might save that for another post. If he does, I hope it makes everyone realize that he has changed and that they were out of line with the things he said. I really hope they do realize that they have mistreated him as bad (if not worse) than he has mistreated them, especially Moon in particular, who knows he feels abandoned by his former self.

This leads me to something that I'll save for another rant but Moon keeps feeling guilty for things and then repeats them without thinking about it after. Like, he says he feels bad for how his past self abandoned Eclipse or he feels bad for how he keeps being a dick to others but he keeps mistreating them. So uhh yeah.

[spock-smokes-weed]

Re: my last post about Judge in my AU and how I imagine his relationship with Sanji.

Sanji having to deal with his narcissistic father coming back into his life right before he himself becomes a father is actually one of the first ideas I got for this AU. I think Sanji would have a massive fear of fatherhood because of who his dad is, and at the start of the story that caused conflict with him and Zoro. But his part story is all about him over coming that and him figuring out how to be a father. And it’s a massive upset to his psyche when Judge comes crashing back into his life and tries to drive a wedge between him and Zoro.

Zoro and Sanji don’t “get together” once they realize Zoro’s pregnant; they plan to just stay friends and they keep their whole “rival” personas. But over the course of the next nine months they both catch feelings and do this long slow burn pining while literally playing house together. There’s this weird space between them of “what are we to each other” and that gets worse for Sanji when Judge re-enters his life. He finds it hard to explain to this man who should be his father that he and Zoro aren’t together, but Zoro’s having his baby and is living with him.

Judge sees this and tries to seize on it. When he meets Zoro, and learns he’s having Sanji’s baby, he’s livid. Not from like a place of parental concern, like some parents might react to hearing their 22 year old son impregnated someone; but because he’s a narcissist and wants control over Sanji. Sanji having his own family with his own kids makes that a lot harder. Having someone who cares about him like Zoro, makes that a lot harder.

He immediately tries to insert himself into the situation. He makes sure to keep calling himself the baby’s “grandfather”, and insisting on the importance of family. Zoro sees through its, especially with how the longer Judge stays, the nastier he becomes to Zoro.

Now there’s also gonna be a big through line of Sanji trying to quit smoking. It’s his own kind of moral quest to devolve better habits because smoking isn’t good for babies or children to be around. But when Judge rolls into town he doesn’t give a shit about the boundaries of others. He lights up around Zoro, and Zoro gives him this look like “can you put that out? Sanji doesn’t want anyone smoking around me. He’s trying to give it up I don’t think he needs you to be doing that here.” and Judge gets into his personal space like “I’m his father, boy. Just ‘cus you spread your legs for him doesn’t mean shit. Don’t act like you can boss me around when it comes to my son.”

After that Zoro and the straw hats try to devise a plan to try to get judge to leave town, cus it’s clear he’s just trying to sink his claws back into Sanji and ruin his happiness. Everyone, even Zeff despite his promise, is ready to step in and make judge leave and never come back. But in the end Sanji does that himself when Judge finally lets slip his true intentions and feelings about Zoro.

This is all just the vibes I have for how I want this arc to go, and I’ll figure out more specifics later. But yea I just wanted to post more of my ideas :3

[gatorbites-imagines]

Reader being a vigilante or criminal and Batman sees him and is determined to make him part of his family but reader is very confused

Batman/fam and reader (platonic)

Headcanon

I feel like one of the very best ways to catch Bruce’s attention is to steal something of his. Like passing him when he’s out as Brucie Wayne and stealing his watch right off his wrist or something like that.

Or if you’re feeling really bold, go Jason’s way and steal the tires right off the batmobile. But unlike Jason you actually succeed and make off with the wheels. Jason would have such a field day with this fact, and make the first comment about adopting you into the family.

Depending on your age it would take some more for Bruce to decide you needed to be part of the family. If you are a minor, he would immediately be more likely to just pick you up like a stray kitten and bring you home. This is especially true if you don’t have a very happy homelife.

If you are older, he does some more background checking, especially if you’ve done other crimes. To his joy you don’t deal with the rogues and mainly run solo, this has placed you in some hot water with some of the gangs and other criminals though.

He goes out of his way to keep an eye on you, and he’s honestly really impressed with how skilled you are without training. You are able to sneak under most people’s noses, even his own at times if he wants actively keeping an eye on you.

You are honestly so confused when Batman starts popping up near you, and at first you think hes gonna rearrange your ribcage like he does other criminals, but he’s actually? Asking if your, okay?? And offering you first aid???

You are even more confused when you get hurt during one of your attempts to steal from one of the rogues, and Batman brings you to a doctor? Just like that?? He even stays until you’re good to go, and you’re pretty sure he followed you home just to make sure you got home safe.

You probably end up going the vigilante way all on your own without batman’s help, because you are already on most of the gangs shitlist, so why not actually get them caught right?

Little did you know, Bruce was waiting for this very moment to swoop in and play great teacher and moral compass.

You honestly can’t say what happened. Because from one day to the next you have bats hanging around you when you go out as your own vigilante title.

Nightwings pretty cool, Red Hood tells you to just get used to Batman being like that, Red Robin is chill to be around, Robin definitely does not like you whatsoever, at least in the beginning.

After getting extremely hurt during one of your stakeouts, you aren’t brought to the doctor you have been brought to in the past. You pass out from blood loss and wake up in a medical ward, in a,,,cave???

Batman is there and he actually seems worried for you, and it honestly means something as the Bat has just somehow wormed his way into your heart and you into his. The whole Batclan piles around you as you have woken up, and one thing leads to the other and you learn their identities and move into the Manor

Congrats you’ve been adopted by Bruce Wayne and have become one of his many crime fighting children. He will definitely make sure you are better trained and have better gear when you go out form now on though.

[bestworstcase]

on reflection i’m betting the identity arcs in v9 will turn on the fulcrum of the discussions in 2.9 & 2.10 regarding why the kids wanted to become huntresses—in part because the emotional contours of those discussions align quite closely with the emotional crises set up for yang and ruby in v8, and in part because those discussions also laid the foundations for the identity arcs weiss and blake went through in v4-5.

so--oobleck asks yang, weiss, and blake why they chose to become huntresses, rejecting yang’s first answer (that she did it to fight monsters) because “no, that is what you do. i want to know why you do it: the honest reason as to why you want to become a huntress.”

their answers are:

YANG: The honest reason? I’m a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can, and if I help people along the way then that’s even better. It’s a win-win, you know?

&

WEISS: It’s exactly as you said, I’m a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty.

&

BLAKE: There’s too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption—someone has to stop it.

OOBLECK: Very well. How?

BLAKE: ...I—uh.

he, notably, does not ask ruby the same; but she does ask him, and this is how he answers:

OOBLECK: Look around and tell me what you see.

RUBY: Lots of old buildings... uh, empty streets—

OOBLECK: I see lives that could have been saved. As a huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I am able to take knowledge—the most powerful weapon of them all—and place it into the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland and see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be.

and the distinction between his response and those of the kids makes his reason for asking quite clear: the kids have these emotional needs, these abstract goals that they are trying to fulfill through the act of becoming huntresses, because it feels right to them, but they don’t really know how to fit the pieces together. in contrast, oobleck is able to immediately, succinctly articulate exactly how he understands himself and his place in the world, what being a huntsman means to him, and say ‘i am this because this is what i want’ with an absolute confidence that the kids don’t have yet.

the apparent implication—certainly this is how the kids take it—in oobleck declining to ask ruby this question is that it isn’t one she needs to hear; that she, like him, has such a clear and profound sense of purpose that she doesn’t need to be prompted to think about why she’s here.

but!

there’s another layer here that emerges in the next episode, when yang, blake, and weiss try to talk about the deeper underlying meanings behind the answers they gave and as a consequence end up sharing their deepest insecurities with each other:

WEISS: When I said I wanted to honor my family’s name, I meant it, but... it’s not what you think. I’m not stupid. I’m fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral... grey area. [...] Which is why I feel the need to make things right! If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn’t have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it.

&

BLAKE: All my life, I’ve fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner, named Adam—more of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place, but of course his idea of a perfect future turned out to be... not perfect for everyone. I joined the academy because I knew huntsmen and huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world, always fighting for good, but I never really thought past that. When I leave the academy, how will I—how can I undo so many years of hate?

YANG: I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You’re not one to back down from a challenge, Blake.

BLAKE: But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a faunus, I didn’t know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my semblance—I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself, an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away.

both of these statements, as noted, lay the emotional groundwork necessary for the arcs of personal change and growth that weiss and blake undergo in v4-5; weiss ultimately cleaves herself from her father and strikes out alone to carve her own path, and blake sheds the self-hatred adam left her with and finds the courage and confidence in herself to stand and face what she’s afraid of.

which makes what yang has to say pretty tantalizing for v9—not just with regards to yang herself, but also ruby:

YANG: At least you two have something that drives you. I’ve always just kind of... gone with the flow, you know? And that’s fine, I mean—that’s who I am, but how long can I really do that for? I want to be a huntress... not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won’t know what tomorrow will bring, and that will be a good thing. Being a huntress just happens to line up with that. I’m not like Ruby; she’s always wanted to be a huntress. It’s like she said—ever since she was a kid, she dreamt of being the heroes in the books, helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything in return. Even when she couldn’t fight, she knew that’s what she wanted to do.

two things here:

1. yang expresses some latent frustration with this rootlessness that she feels and this painful dichotomy it creates in her of feeling simultaneously insecure and uncomfortable in that rootlessness but also wanting it--she wants to be unsure of where she belongs or what happens next but for that feeling to be good somehow, instead of bad, and she’s latched on to ‘adventure’ as a way to achieve that. she is at once proud of being a go-with-the-flow kind of person and terrified that it isn’t sustainable, and being a huntress to her is a way of trying to reconcile those contradictory feelings. which she still hasn’t done by the end of v8--all that’s changed between this discussion and now is that yang has added real moral conviction on top of this stuff.

2. on the face of it, ruby would seem to be the closest to oobleck’s “i am a huntsman because there is nothing else in this world that i would rather be”--but i think it’s important that we hear this from yang, not from ruby herself, because while it does align with what ruby said about herself in v1, this is less about ruby than it is about yang’s perception of who ruby is. and that makes it part of the unrelenting drumbeat of characters putting ruby on this pedestal of being the perfect huntress-in-training, the leader, the ideal they all want to emulate, to such an extent that by v8 this thing she’s wanted to be for her entire life has become the suffocating burden that is slowly breaking her. and that means that she is at once facing the question of what she does now that she’s achieved her dreams and been so deeply harmed by that success and how she navigates that internal struggle in the face of the absolute, unwavering faith her teammates have in her ability to lead them and be the ideal they want to follow.

which brings us to the last beat of the discussion in 2.10:

WEISS: Well, she’s still just a kid.

BLAKE: She’s only two years younger. We’re all just kids.

YANG: Well, not anymore. I mean, look where we are! In the middle of a war zone, armed to the teeth—

BLAKE: It’s the life we chose.

WEISS: It’s a job. We all had this romanticized notion of being a huntress in our heads, but at the end of the day, it’s a job to protect the people, and whatever we want will have to come second.

this was simultaneously something that it was important for the kids to come to grips to and also a line of thinking that makes it really dangerous for them to think of being a huntress as their identity and the thing of preeminent importance in their lives, because as long as they conceptualize the job of being a huntress in this way they are huntresses first and people second. and that is something that the narrative of rwby is clearly aware of--the importance of taking care of oneself first is a major plot point earlier in this same volume, and the trauma of continually sacrificing personal well-being for the sake of performing the duties of huntresses and huntsmen is made the emotional centerpiece of v7-8--so i think the identity arcs in v9 are probably going to involve a degree of reckoning with what being a huntress actually means and trying to conceive of a new way to be huntresses without destroying themselves in the process.

because it’s a job but it’s also a lot more than a job--it’s an identity, it’s an enormous part of who they are, and six volumes later the kids still haven’t figured out how to integrate that identity with the rest of themselves in order to achieve the balance and confidence that oobleck expresses when he answers the question of why.

...i also think the “no, that is what you do; why do you do it?” theme is likely to make a return with regards to the huge importance denizens of the ever after appear to place on one’s purpose in life. “what are you?” is an easy question. “why are you?” is harder, and “who are you?” perhaps even more difficult than that.

[noodletime]

THE PIZZA TOWER POST THAT NO ONES BEEN WAITING FOR EXEPT MYSELF, ABOUT A SPECIAL CHARACTER!!

( BRACE YOURSELF BECAUSE I AM ABOUT TO INFODUMP *ALOT*!!)

THE TOWER.

Now, everyone knows what it is, no? The big tower pizzahead owns? Well, boy. I have a story for you. This tower used to be well known for something else rather than just BEING THERE, no, it was a person.

Her name is Evelyn Pillar, AKA "The Tower".

Mother of the pillar bros, John and Gerome, and one of the more famous gods among the earth (making John and Gerome perhaps demi-gods..maybe??). She was well known for being a powerful god with a kind heart, and when I say she was powerful she was POWERFUL. She had many many powers of which she would share with the many mortals on earth, well, if they had good morals. If they had bad morals then they would be banned from her domain, never to ask for her power again.

HER BACKSTORY.

When she was born, all the gods praised her for the range of powers she was born with, yet there was one slight problem. The gods had always been known to have a purpose of existing, for friendship, love, war, death, etc. But they never found out what the towers purpose was for, they couldn't find out, and so, dubbed her useless to the family.

One day, her parents led her to a valley of rainclouds above the world, where they had asked her to wait on said valley. As she stood, the parents cursed the rainclouds to break, and spirit her away to the mortal realm, earth. Once she had arrived she was hopeless, cold, and miles away from her home, but luckily, her apeerance had caught the eye of some lucky humans. They took the strange girl made of stone, and kept her as their own daughter, raising her to become one of the most famous gods on the earth for her apeerance. As a sign of sympathy, they made an observatory for her, where she would try and figure out a way to get back to her home, of course this did not happen but she wouldn't stop until she did find a way. Yet with homesickness, comes with longing for a family, and of course, she had just the right tools for that.

THE CREATION OF THE PILLAR BROS.

When the tower grew older, she longed to have a family, so, she started to experiment, to see if she could create new life.

Now, the tower did not have the correct organs for this, nor did anyone have feelings for her, despite her fame, so she decided to use her powers to create life. At first she tried and tried again to create the perfect children, yet nothing worked, until one day. While she experimented, she decided, what if she used stones? And so, combining human blood and ancient stones she had found, two children of hers were born, Gerome Pillar and John Pillar (John being oldest and Gerome the youngest).

She was incredibly happy to have had created a new family for her, and perhaps she could take them to her old home once she found out how? Well, as they grew older, and the years went by, something very, very terrible happened.

THE TERRIBLE CURSE.

One day, while the family were relaxing and chatting to eachother, a strange fellow came across the 3. His name was PIZZAHEAD, and he wanted to speak with both Evelyn and John. He had given them a deal for the two, quite a fishy deal, but still seemed innocent at first, but as soon as the two shook his hands, thats when the curse immediently set in.

The curse quickly transformed the two, Evelyn transforming into THE TOWER of which pizzahead with reside in, and John became the support beams/life support for it. As for Gerome, he was forced to work as the janitor inside the new residence, and the curse was forever to be set there for a long, long time..

As Evelyn was in her tower state, she was sort of in a type of deep sleep that was both like sleep paralysis and a fever dream. She could sometimes hear the people in the real world in different parts of the towers inside, sometimes talking, maybe arguments, sometimes the bosses or even the two brothers themselfs. But ultimately she was stuck between a dream and reality.

Until HE came along.

AFTER THE CURSE WAS BROKEN.

As soon as Peppino came along and knocked down the tower, the brothers were happy to have been freed from both the curse and pizzahead, yet their mother was assumed to be gone..all the two could do was push on after their loss..or well, for now. A few months after the pizza tower events, something strange happened one day, and the tower would awake from her deep sleep, forcing her entire body to re-form and wake up. Of course the results were not like before, her body was more broken than before and her powers did not work as well, she even forgot some parts of her memory, yet despite all that she was back and she was alive. It was a BIG shock to everyone considering the tower was assumably not even alive..but they grew to learn she wouldn't be that much of a threat at all, she was still the kind and caring god that some people knew from before..

PERSONALITY WAY BACK, BEFORE & AFTER.

When Evelyn was way younger, and John & Gerome were only 5-6, Evelyn was easily worried about ANYTHING that happened around them. She would constantly keep her eye out for them, weather it be just at home when they're playing or outside in town where theres a LOT happening around them. Yet a little further forward when the bros were atleast teenagers, it was a little like the other way around. She didn't have to worry about the two of them for now, since they were older and probably could handle living on their own by now (but choose to stick together). This takes a GREAT weight off of Evelyn's shoulders and she no longer has to have so many worries about them!...This also causes Evelyn to become even more energetic and (slightly) more chaotic- She was willing to experiment on herself, to do something she'd never do if she were younger! ..For example, the few times Gerome had found her clinging onto the ceiling like a cat and the one time John and Gerome failed to convince her to NOT strap fireworks on a merry-go-round and ride it while the fireworks were activated- It's like that meme with the guy struggling to hold the two dogs on a leash but its the pillar bros trying to hold back Evelyn-

As for how she acted in the present, well, she was WAY more broken than before. Her body was in a very critical state and she only had a limited power to use to revive herself, so she did what was best and tried to rush her revival, it didn't work as planned, but hey! She can still walk and talk and other things! Well..aside from the walking part, ever since all those dead john blocks in john gutter were just..left there, without a body to move their souls from (and their peices of their own corpse getting caught up in the revival process), they had to reside in Evelyn's body, which created a new person, Twitch. With Twitch's arrival, Evelyn's body would sometimes start twitching for no reason, or maybe she'd loudly blurt out something without her control. Yet after all of these events, the way she acted wasn't as bad. She was way kinder and a little more forgiving than before, a little more softer but can easily handle a few insults. She acts a bit like Toriel from Undertale, but only when she's around the people she thinks she can trust.

OKAY finnally I can do the part where I show you pictures of her- Ive been waiting for a LONG long while now, hehe-

her before & after events vvv

her reforming vvv

her in the past doing dumb crap vvv

her in the future fighting pizzamancer vvv

& her in some photos with Twitch! vvv

hopefully you liked my infodump, cos it is A LOT off my shoulders!

oke byeee

[ae-azile]

Azile's OC Round Up, Part 3 - Progression OCs.

Since I am actively updating this story, I decided to make the list of my prominent Progression OCs. I will likely add Fern and Milan to part 4.

Vice

Introduced in: Chapter 1 of Progression

Age: 36

Profession: Major Family Bodyguard

Characteristics: hardworking, morally ambiguous, loving brother, quick to feel resentment

Importance: Chay's first sexual partner.

Origin: Ex-cop, orphan. Became a bodyguard to bail his troubled younger brother out of jail. Became enamored by Chay's growing confidence, abilities, and muscles. Despite their age gap and first time being sudden, they slept together a few more times. Chay declined the offer to go out on a date, then slept with Vice's roommate not too long after. This was a problem because Vice has been in a FWB situation with his roommate for a while, so he felt betrayed by both of them.

Sand

Introduced in: Chapter 9 of Progression

Age: 26

Profession: Major Family Bodyguard

Characteristics: Loyal, quiet, friendly, relatively strong moral compass despite job

Importance: Chay's previous sexual partner, the only one he considers a friend.

Origin: Has very little family outside of the compound. Comes from foster care. Took the job for stability and a place to live, stayed for the friendships. Would have been open to dating Chay, but okay with being friends too. They work out together and sometimes have semi-heartfelt conversations. Honestly a pretty good guy.

Lane

Introduced in: Chapter 7 of Progression

Age: 33

Profession: Psychotherapist

Characteristics: Patient, understanding, trustworthy, calm, professional

Importance: Kim's therapist, and she has actually made some strides with him.

Origin: Lane is the older cousin of Tay. She is his mother's sister's daughter. While her immediate family is not directly involved with the mafia, she grew up close enough to Tay to know some of the traumas that occurred. Kinn already knew her and was on good terms with her due to Tay, so he reached out after it became clear Kim needed extensive treatment in order to feel better. Kim genuinely likes her, and would probably not be able to switch to a new therapist easily, or possibly at all.

Malai

Introduced: In Progression, Tankhun mentions visiting her in Chapter 20, and she is introduced in Chapter 22 officially. Versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 34

Profession: Litigation Paralegal

Characteristics: Kind, ambitious, maternal, excellent multitasker

Importance: Arm's older sister

Origin: Malai as a general character was first introduced in 5, 3, 1, and On, which is a novel length prequel to Giant Dancing Hedgehogs are Nightmare Fuel told solely from Arm's POV. In that, she lives with her younger sisters and is characterized as a hardworking sisterly/motherly figure due to rescuing Arm and the girls from the human trafficking situation they were all in. In this universe, she is more career oriented, but still a motherly figure at heart. She adopted her foster siblings after becoming of age from a really abusive and traumatic household. Arm is six years younger than Malai, but the next oldest and the only boy in their family. He often feels a need to make up for her sacrifices, but she makes them happily. A year before Progression, she had a close friend pass away, leaving behind twin toddler girls. While she balanced the motherly/sisterly role with Arm, Hansa, Nalin, and Preeda, she sees Tida and Priya as her daughters now. She doesn't have much interest in marriage or romance. A history of abuse partially plays into this, but it just isn't her thing. She likes being independent in that regard.

Hansa

Introduced: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 26

Profession: Horticulturist/Florist

Characteristics: Quiet, Non-judgmental, cautious, kind, carries a lot of trauma, but has been doing better

Importance: Arm's younger sister, Pol's love interest.

Origin: Roughly 18 months younger than Arm, Hansa was the person he was closest to growing up. In both this story and in 5, 3, 1, and On (although she had it even harder in 531). But in Progression, they grew up in an extremely abusive home where they were all traumatized, but the foster father took a particular interest in Hansa. Arm is protective of all of his sisters, but particularly her. She has been hurt a lot and struggled with her mental health when she was in her late teens to early twenties, but found solace in gardening and watching things bloom. She wants to find love, but the last time she tried went horribly. Other than Arm, she struggles with feeling comfortable around men. She was surprised to find Pol so friendly, fun, and approachable. Now that Arm and Tankhun are together and reach out more to spend time as a group, they often bring Pol. She actually looks forward to seeing him.

Nalin

Introduced in: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 20

Profession: Robotics Major, student librarian at university library

Characteristics: Highly intelligent, quick witted, smooth, tech-savvy, a romantic deep down.

Importance: Arm's younger sister, Macau's love interest.

Origin: Basically a mini female Arm, but more charismatic. Her main interests lie in further integrating and advancing robotics when it comes to the medical field and to help those living with disabilities live more freely and comfortably in their day to day lives. While she works hard and is a top student at her university, she is occasionally known to have fun. She did meet Macau at a party and had a night with him that felt magical. Is he an idiot for dropping his phone into a grate? Yes. Did she hold a grudge so she wouldn't feel sadness and rejection? Yes. But that's cleared up now, and they have been talking multiple times a day since her brother's party. She doesn't know if Arm will be thrilled about her potentially dating his boyfriend's cousin, and she loves and looks up to her older brother so much. But she likes Macau, so...🤷🏻‍♀️

Preeda

Introduced in: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 18 going on 19

Profession: Gap year. Looking into colleges, having fun until then.

Characteristics: confident, flirtatious, indecisive, attention seeking, challenging, family-oriented.

Importance: Arm's youngest sister

Origin: The youngest of Arm's foster siblings. Despite being the youngest when removed from their abusive situation, she witnessed a lot, which has caused certain rebellions, impulses, and avoidances in her. Her family worries, but keeps communication open. This helps, because she feels free and happy to talk with her siblings and share things with them. Came out as a lesbian at 15 and never looked back. Wishes Arm were more flamboyant and obvious in his own gay-leaning tendencies, so she's glad he's dating Tankhun, who is fabulous.

[hackerqueen]

Another Love

Chapter 7: Hostage

Previous <-

warnings: mention of blood

Jake's POV

At first I thought that the day I had to leave my family, home and everything I cared about was the worst day of my life. Then another shadow came in the form of my sister Hannah being kidnapped. The fear of losing the only family I had left was paralyzing. Worse yet, it happened right in front of my eyes. In truth, through a video call, but the more anger and fear was greater because I couldn't do anything.

However, these two days of my life had no comparison to the one where MC went missing.

I immediately abandoned my plan to leave Duskwood. I didn't care about the consequences, being caught or being recognized. The only priority at the moment was the MC. The woman who took over my whole life. It may have been two years, but my feelings for her have not diminished. Yes, I left her, but I did it for her sake. I know it was selfish, but from the beginning I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew our relationship wasn't going to work, that's why I resisted it for so long. Unfortunately, I did not foresee that the heart is a dictator and not a servant, and I was unable to resist my growing feelings for the brown-haired woman for so long. I broke her heart with many things. A fake funeral, leaving, a declaration of love. But I couldn't tell her to her face that we had to part ways. I knew that if she asked, she would say even one sentence - I would agree. And this would put her life at risk.

The people who want to get me are not gangsters who will forgive your mistakes for even the most sincere apology. They are people who thirst for blood. They want to spill as much as possible, and I was the one who particularly got under their skin. Over the years, my morale has made me many enemies. And the government was just one of them. I became convinced of their brutality and not forgetting old mistakes. Because they never forgot, much less forgave.

The day after the news of the disappearance of MC dragged on mercilessly. I tried to separate emotions from reason, although with each passing hour more and more feelings and panic began to take over my brain and body. I was looking for any clue that would bring me closer to finding the MC. But she literally disappeared without a trace. It was as if she had melted into the cool, rainy air.

Was she scared? Was she able to defend herself? Or was she unable to do anything because she was shackled? Did her captors treat her with brutal violence? Did she realize that I was doing everything I could to find her and that I would never leave her like this? Has she lost hope of being released? Has she lost hope in me?

Was loneliness killing her? Has the silence in the dark loneliness become louder than the screams?

All I knew was that if loneliness was going to drown me, I'd like to die with her. Wherever she was. Because even during the short time in which we met, loneliness was no longer as onerous as it used to be.

In the afternoon, while I was intently searching for any camera that could record the MC's whereabouts, I heard muffled voices and screams from the hotel corridor. I tensed, listening to who the voices belonged to. Moments later, I heard a sharp tug on the doorknob of my room and a loud bang on the door.

– Open or I'll break the door! – she screamed, pounding harder and harder – I'm not joking!

I hurried out of the bedroom and opened the door. And in front of me stood an angry Jessica with Dan and Thomas. The redhead was flushed with anger, and Dan seemed just as upset, even though he hid it better. Surprised, I didn't realize when Jessica, entering inside, pushed me hard.

– Why has it all started again since you came back? – she asked, looking me straight in the eyes, and the hatred that flowed from them was hard and overshadowed everything else. – History comes full circle. Someone close to me has gone missing. And it's all because of you!

I stared at her with my jaw clenched tightly. I listened and couldn't stop because she was right.

– Jessy… – Thomas began

- No, not Jessy! – she interrupted him with a scream. – I thought you were worth it all! That she will be fine with you, that she will finally regain the love and light she lost! But Dan was right when he said you're just a son of a bitch. You had everything and you left her. You shouldn't go back. You came back and she got lost because of your problems and people looking for you! You never deserved her. You don't deserve a good and loving person like her.

At one point, Thomas grabbed her and began to drag her towards the exit. But the redhead kept throwing accusations at me that hurt all the more because I knew she was right.

– I hate you! – she kept screaming, thrashing like a captive animal. – And I'll hate twice as much if you make me lose MC too!

Thomas took her down the hall, and Dan finally gave me a look. Surprisingly, there was no hate in him, just an unspoken plea.

– Promise you'll find her.

I swallowed.

– I promise.

But that day, Jessica came back to my room in the middle of the night crying, repeating like a mantra that we both didn't deserve her. She was right about that too. We didn't.

* * *

Honestly, after a day of searching, I was even hoping that the government had found her. They could be brutal, but they'd make a deal to take me and let her go. However, this hope evaporated when two days later I found a small box under the door of my room. I opened them and the sight paralyzed me.

Inside lay a bloody finger with a medium-length red nail on which was a ring. Exactly what the MC wore.

There was also a piece of paper with a chic, elegant handwriting.

Hurry up and find your lover because she already has many buyers for different parts of her body. ;)

[rollercoasterwords]

you rly weren’t fucking around with the morally grey sirius huh !

he tortures and kills people for a fascist government i think we are past morally grey lol like. what he's doing is just straight-up immoral!! not trying to beat around the bush with that one

in all seriousness tho this is why i put my little warning spiel on the first ch of the fic abt how this story is like. not intended for a broad/general audience. sirius is not a good person!!! you're getting the story from his pov, which is obviously limited, and while he feels largely ambivalent towards voldemort + his family + can even recognize some of the wrongness, he is for the most part resigned to his work as a death eater. he has never deeply questioned any of the underlying, foundational beliefs that uphold pureblood supremacy, and he actively benefits from the privileges it affords him. he feels some level of guilt for what he does but does nothing productive to address it; instead, he buries it and hides from it and tries to alleviate it by projecting it onto situations where he can "do the right thing" without actually endangering his privileged status (see: remus lupin).

and the thing is, sirius doesn't think of himself as a villain. he doesn't think of himself as "dark" or "evil" or even "morally grey." we get more backstory on how and why he joined the death eaters in ch 7, so i'm gonna refrain from saying too much, but like. the narrative he has internalized is basically that things are out of his hands; he had to become a death eater, and he has to marry dorcas, and he has to have heirs, and he has to carry on the family name. he feels trapped and resents it, but refuses to acknowledge that he could walk out of the cage if he really wanted to, because to actually do so would place himself in danger. at the end of the day, although he himself suffers in certain instances under voldemort's regime, he is also granted immense wealth, privilege, and power--at the expense of those less privileged, like remus.

and the point of all this is not to say that you should be reading sirius as a villain--because he's not. i think the category of "villain" in and of itself is not a very useful tool for approaching this story, because my focus is less on like...a Single Figure of Evil and more on systemic oppression. as a writer, i want readers to sympathize with and relate to sirius because i think it's important to understand that determinations about whether a person is "good" or "bad" which are based on evaluations of like...nebulous internal morality or intent are rarely reflective of the ways in which a person's actions materially contribute to systems of oppression. like--if sirius in ch 4 went "oh yay i love killing people" then everyone would immediately go "oh he's a bad guy!!" but because he went "oough...i am a gutted fish....i have no choice...." he becomes "morally grey." the outcome of his action is the same: he kills. the material impact is the same. so why would we place the emphasis on the internal mindset behind that action? in doing so, we lose the focus on materiality that is necessary to address systemic oppression, because the truth of the matter is that many "good" people contribute to and are invested in these oppressive systems.

anyway this has become a whole rant lol i'm so sorry but basically just....yeah. sirius is not a Good Guy. that's the point!!