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magugbigug · 4 months ago

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My Analysis of Voltron: Legendary Defender and Its Legacy - in Particular Regards to Keith and Lotor.

My father introduced me to Voltron: Defender of the Universe when I was four years old, around 2010, because he grew up with it in the 80s. Voltron became my first real obsession. When I was about ten, DreamWorks announced that they would be partnering with Netflix to remake my favourite show. Naturally, I was excited. But when I finally watched Voltron: Legendary Defender (LD), I was confused.

At the time, I didn’t know about Beast King GoLion, so I was full of questions: Who’s Shiro? Where’s Sven? Why did they change Arus to Altea? Why isn’t Keith in the Black Lion? I cannot tell you how furious ten-year-old me was when I discovered they had given the Voltron Force the “wrong” Lions (Lance in Blue? Preposterous). After Season One, I actually quit watching because it felt so far removed from what I knew (they made Pidge a girl? How dare they!). It wasn’t until Season Eight had already been released for quite some time that I went back to give it another go. It was… alright.

I’m not new to Voltron, but I am new to fandom, and Tumblr—only recently realising that you can talk to people about your interests over the internet instead of just in the schoolyard (my friends got so bored of me talking about Voltron). So what I’m about to discuss may already be old news, but these are my thoughts on Legendary Defender and how it compares to Voltron’s legacy.

The Role of the Black Lion and Leadership

Whilst scouring the tags, I’ve seen a recurring debate within the Voltron fandom regarding whether Keith should have been in the Black Lion or gone back to Red. Some argue that he was unfit for the position, but this perspective overlooks the franchise’s long-standing tradition. Since Defender of the Universe in the 1980s, Keith has been the Black Lion’s pilot and the leader of the team. The Black Lion has always been the heart of Voltron, piloted by the one who holds the team together and leads them into battle.

To claim Keith isn’t fit for the Black Lion is to disregard not only his character arc but also the very structure of Voltron as a franchise. From the very beginning, Keith has been the pilot of the Black Lion, just as Optimus Prime has always been the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership in Transformers. The Black Lion choosing Keith in Legendary Defender is a natural continuation of a forty-year tradition, not a sudden or undeserved shift.

However, LD wrote itself into a corner by bringing Shiro back and sidelining Keith for almost two seasons. While this allowed for Krolia’s introduction and the addition of the space wolf, which I enjoyed, it disrupted Keith’s development as a leader. Instead of organically growing into his role, Keith’s transition to leadership felt abrupt and underdeveloped. Previous versions of Voltron, such as Defender of the Universe and Voltron Force, dedicated time to showcasing Keith’s leadership qualities, making his role as the Black Lion’s pilot feel more natural. By contrast, LD’s decision to remove him from the team for an extended period created an inconsistent leadership structure that ultimately weakened his arc.

The Absence of Voltron in Voltron

One of my biggest issues with Voltron: Legendary Defender is how little the titular ‘character’ actually appears in the show. There are entire story arcs where the audience goes multiple episodes without seeing Voltron at all. This is a stark contrast to the previous Voltron series, where the lion mechs formed Voltron at least once per episode, making the giant robot a central and consistent presence.

After reading Bob Koplar’s opinions on LD, I find myself agreeing with him. Even though I was quite young when Legendary Defender first came out, I had already seen all the previous Voltron series thanks to my father. Even then, something about LD felt off to me. It wasn’t until I read Koplar’s insights that I fully understood why—it simply didn’t feel like Voltron.

And to be clear, I’m not saying Legendary Defender is a bad show. It’s a well-produced series with high-quality animation, a solid voice cast, and some genuinely good storytelling. It also brought more awareness to a brand I love, introducing a new generation of fans to Voltron. But despite its strengths, it often felt disconnected from the essence of what made Voltron special.

In every previous iteration, forming Voltron wasn’t just a moment of spectacle—it was a core part of the show’s identity. The lions coming together, the transformation sequence, the blazing sword—these weren’t just iconic visuals; they were essential to the Voltron experience. In LD, however, Voltron often felt secondary to character-driven subplots and political intrigue, which, while interesting (most of the time), took focus away from the giant robot action that defined the franchise.

The Absence of Vehicle Voltron

Voltron: Legendary Defender was marketed as a love letter to everything that came before it—a grand tribute to the Voltron legacy. But in reality, it wasn’t.

Of course, Lion Force Voltron (adapted from Beast King GoLion) is the most well-known and beloved version of the franchise, so it makes sense that LD focused on it. But if the goal was truly to unite all Voltron ideas under one roof, then why was Vehicle Voltron (Armored Fleet Dairugger XV) completely ignored?

I understand that Vehicle Voltron is more obscure, but it was still an essential part of Voltron's history. The original plan for Voltron as a franchise was that there would be three Voltrons:

Defender of the Far Universe (Lion Force),

Defender of the Middle Universe (Vehicle Voltron),

Defender of the Near Universe (Gladiator Voltron, based on Lightspeed Electroid Albegas).

However, after Vehicle Voltron proved less popular, instead of introducing Gladiator Voltron as planned, World Events Productions doubled down on Lion Force Voltron with a second season and a TV movie, Fleet of Doom. That movie featured both Lion and Vehicle Voltron teaming up, and it remains one of the most awesome moments in Voltron's history.

If LD had truly been a love letter to Voltron, it would have acknowledged all of Voltron, not just Lion Force. It would have recognised the legacy of Vehicle Voltron and drawn from its rich history instead of awkwardly repurposing its best elements. Instead, the show attempted to reinvent Voltron while sidelining key parts of its past, losing much of what made Voltron special in the first place.

Lotor’s Redefinition: A Flawed but Ambitious Adaptation

Lotor’s characterisation in Legendary Defender marks a significant departure from his portrayal in Defender of the Universe. In DotU, Prince Lotor is a sadistic, irredeemable villain. He was a brutal conqueror, a mass murderer and a serial rapist. He saw Allura as a prize rather than a person. His cruelty extended even to his own subordinates, reinforcing his role as an unambiguous antagonist.

LD, however, attempted a more complex interpretation of Lotor, depicting him as a strategic manipulator with seemingly noble intentions. He positioned himself as a reformer of the Galra Empire, standing in opposition to Zarkon’s tyranny. This reimagining was ambitious, but the execution faltered. His eventual descent into villainy in Season 6 felt rushed, as though the writers were unsure whether to portray him as a tragic anti-hero or a monstrous antagonist.

This brings me to another major problem with Legendary Defender’s handling of Lotor. If the writers wanted to create a sympathetic, deserter, reluctant ally figure, then Lotor was the wrong character to use. In Defender of the Universe, Lotor is a sadistic, cruel warlord obsessed with conquest and domination, especially when it comes to Allura. He was never a misunderstood antihero—he was pure villainy.

A far better choice for this arc would have been Commander Hazar from Vehicle Voltron. Hazar was the noble commander of the Drule forces, who realised that his people’s war against the Galaxy Alliance was doomed and sought a peaceful resolution. He had a compelling redemption arc, going from enemy to ally as he struggled against the more ruthless elements of his own empire. But instead of introducing Hazar, LD simply took his story and gave it to Lotor—likely because Lotor was the more recognisable character.

This ultimately backfired. While a sympathetic or morally ambiguous take on Lotor could have been compelling, the series failed to develop him in a consistent manner. Instead of an outright sadistic monster, LD initially portrayed him as a cunning, strategic manipulator who appeared to have noble intentions—at least on the surface. He positioned himself as a reformer of the Galra Empire, criticising Zarkon’s rule and striving for a different vision of leadership. He surrounded himself with female generals whom he treated with apparent respect, further distinguishing him from his DotU counterpart. This version of Lotor was crafted to be more sympathetic, even charismatic, to the point that Allura herself developed feelings for him, a massive departure from the horror and revulsion she held toward him in DotU.

However, the execution of Legendary Defender’s Lotor was deeply flawed. The narrative spent seasons portraying him as a potential ally, only to suddenly reveal in Season 6 that he was not only unhinged but had been engaging in horrific experiments on Alteans. His villain turn felt rushed and unearned as if the writers couldn’t decide whether they wanted him to be a tragic anti-hero or an irredeemable monster. This abrupt shift wasn’t organic—it was the result of executive intervention. According to reports, when Bob Koplar (who oversees Voltron at World Events Productions) found out the writers were trying to make Lotor good, he stepped in and pushed them to course-correct, leading to Lotor’s sudden descent into madness and atrocities.

By trying to blend Lotor and Hazar into one character, LD weakened both. Lotor lost the defining villainy that made him iconic in past series, while Hazar’s compelling redemption story was distorted by being attached to a character with too much villainous baggage. LD wanted Lotor to be both the misunderstood antihero and the ultimate evil, but in trying to have it both ways, they ruined the integrity of his arc. The greatest casualty of Lotor’s inconsistent characterisation was Allura’s arc. Instead of developing their dynamic meaningfully, the show oscillated between presenting Lotor as sympathetic and suddenly making him irredeemably evil. In DotU, Allura despised Lotor and stood firmly against his advances, representing strength and defiance in the face of oppression. In LD, she was manipulated into trusting and even falling for him, which not only contradicted her instincts as a leader but also made her later grief and anger feel hollow due to how abruptly the story shifted Lotor back into full villainy.

The Missed Opportunity of Keith and Lotor’s Rivalry in Legendary Defender

One of the biggest missteps in Voltron: Legendary Defender, I felt, was its failure to develop Keith and Lotor’s rivalry into a meaningful, ongoing conflict. In past incarnations, particularly Defender of the Universe (DotU), Lotor viewed Keith as his greatest obstacle—not just as Voltron’s leader, but as the one standing between him and Allura. He recognised that Allura harboured feelings for Keith, which fueled his hatred and provided some of the most compelling personal conflicts in the series.

In Legendary Defender, however, Keith was largely absent for two seasons, leaving little room for an adversarial relationship with Lotor. Instead of building on their natural opposition, the show reduced their interactions to a handful of confrontations, missing an opportunity to add depth to the overarching narrative. Had Keith remained with the team instead of leaving for the Blade of Marmora, his dynamic with Lotor could have taken one of two fascinating paths—either leading to a devastating betrayal or reinforcing Keith’s instincts as the voice of reason.

Keith Trusts Lotor Completely (and is Devastated by His Betrayal)

Had Keith stayed, he might have bonded with Lotor over their shared half-Galra heritage. Throughout Legendary Defender, Keith struggles with his identity, and without the Blades to guide him, he could have been drawn to someone who truly understood what it meant to exist between two worlds. Lotor presents himself as refined, strategic, and pragmatic—qualities that might have resonated with Keith as he tried to grow into his role as a leader.

With Shiro compromised by Haggar’s manipulation and Allura torn by grief and duty, Lotor could have positioned himself as Keith’s closest confidant, someone who could help him make sense of his Galra side rather than viewing it as something to suppress. This trust, however, would have made Lotor’s eventual betrayal all the more soul-crushing. It wouldn’t just be the loss of an ally—it would be the loss of the first person who made Keith feel like he didn’t have to choose between his human and Galra lineage. Given Keith’s history of abandonment—his mother leaving, his father’s death, and Shiro’s repeated disappearances—Lotor’s deception could have broken him in a way few other betrayals could.

Instead of reacting with pure anger, Keith’s devastation could have manifested as bitter disillusionment. No longer willing to trust easily, he might have hardened himself further, becoming even more closed-off and reluctant to open up. This would have been a poignant subversion of past Voltron incarnations, where Keith and Lotor were always enemies. In DotU and Voltron Force, there was never any question of them being on the same side—Lotor was a power-hungry prince, and Keith was the noble leader standing in his way. Legendary Defender could have played with audience expectations by making Keith believe Lotor was different, only to have that belief shattered.

Keith Doesn’t Trust Lotor at All (and Becomes the Voice of Reason)

On the other hand, Keith’s blunt, no-nonsense attitude and strong instincts might have made him the first to see through Lotor’s deception. Keith is an intuitive fighter—he acts on gut feelings, and more often than not, those instincts are correct. He was the first to suspect something was wrong with Shiro, the first to push for finding the Blade of Marmora, and the first to embrace his Galra heritage when others hesitated. If Keith had remained with the Paladins, he might have immediately sensed that Lotor wasn’t as noble as he claimed.

This would have led to a compelling internal conflict within the team. Shiro (or rather, his clone) trusted Lotor. Allura, yearning for hope, wanted to believe in his sincerity. The rest of the Paladins were hesitant but willing to follow Shiro’s lead. If Keith stood alone in his distrust, it could have isolated him, forcing him into a position where he felt like an outsider even among his own team. This tension would have mirrored his past struggles with authority—just as he distrusted the Garrison and later the Blades, he would have once again found himself at odds with those around him, questioning an alliance everyone else was willing to accept.

This slow-burning antagonism between Keith and Lotor could have been an excellent way to preserve their classic rivalry. Instead of being immediate enemies, their conflict could have simmered beneath the surface—Lotor, ever the manipulator, attempting to win Keith over, while Keith steadfastly refused to be fooled. When Lotor’s true nature was finally revealed, the impact would have been far greater, as Keith would have been proven right—but at a cost. His relationship with his team could have suffered in the process, with the others only realising too late that he had been the only one who saw Lotor for who he truly was.

Both of these potential storylines would have strengthened Keith’s character arc—either by forcing him to confront betrayal on a deeply personal level or by cementing his role as an unshakable leader who sees through deception when no one else can. More importantly, they would have restored the weight of Keith and Lotor’s rivalry, making it more than just a handful of scattered battles.

Instead, Legendary Defender kept Keith and Lotor largely separate, missing an opportunity to explore their ideological clashes, personal similarities, and the devastating consequences of Lotor’s deception. By discarding their dynamic for two seasons, the show ultimately failed to capitalise on one of Voltron’s most compelling rivalries—a conflict that, in past versions, had always been at the heart of the story.

My Issue with LD’s Canon Romance

If there’s one franchise where the canon pairing didn’t work for me, it’s Voltron: Legendary Defender. Normally, I’m content with canon ships—I love Hiccstrid (How to Train Your Dragon), the Doctor and River Song (Doctor Who), Kataang (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Anakin/Padmé (Star Wars). But in LD, the decision to end with Lance and Allura felt like a fundamental misunderstanding of Voltron as a whole.

For over thirty years, Voltron consistently paired Keith and Allura. Their romantic tension was a recurring element in Defender of the Universe (second season), The Third Dimension, Voltron Force, and even the Dynamite comics. Legendary Defender, however, sidelined their dynamic and abruptly pushed Lance and Allura together at the last minute without meaningful buildup. Their relationship lacked organic development, making it feel forced and unearned.

I, like many fans found the canon ending unsatisfying, but instead of Kallura, the most dominant ships in the fandom became Klance (Keith/Lance) and Sheith (Keith/Shiro), which honestly baffles me. Sheith, in particular, feels uncomfortable—not just because of the age difference, but because Keith explicitly refers to Shiro as his brother. Their dynamic is built on a strong mentor-protégé bond, which makes any romantic interpretation feel… wrong.

Klance is equally confusing to me. Keith and Lance spend most of the show at odds, their relationship defined by rivalry and bickering. I've seen arguments that Lance is bisexual and Keith is gay, but I could find no actual evidence in the show to support this. Lance openly flirts with multiple women (Allura, Nyma, Plaxum), but never once shows interest in men. Keith, on the other hand, isn’t depicted as romantically interested in anyone, male or female—though there are moments where he subtly notices Allura (noticed by people far smarter than myself). On my first watch, it seemed to me that the writers were setting up Keith and Acxa.

I will say that I don’t like these two ships, but it's fine if you do, I’m not judging. I’m just curious to hear from people who do ship these pairings. What is it about Klance or Sheith that resonates with you? Is there something in their dynamic that I might be missing? Maybe my perspective is limited or some gay subtext that my stupid hetero-focused brain can't process, so I’d love to understand why these ships became so popular.

Conclusion

Voltron: Legendary Defender set out to modernise and reimagine a beloved franchise, and while it succeeded in some areas, I felt it ultimately fell short in honouring Voltron’s full legacy. The series introduced fresh character dynamics, impressive animation, and ambitious storytelling, but its execution often felt inconsistent. Keith’s arc as the Black Lion’s pilot was hindered by narrative disruptions, Vehicle Voltron was ignored despite its historical significance, and Lotor’s character was muddled by conflicting portrayals. The rivalry between Keith and Lotor, a defining element of past iterations, was underdeveloped, missing a key opportunity for deeper storytelling.

Despite its flaws, LD reignited interest in Voltron for a new generation and expanded the franchise’s fanbase. It brought new perspectives to familiar characters and offered an engaging, if imperfect, reimagining of the classic series. However, by disregarding core elements of Voltron’s past, it failed to fully embrace the legacy it sought to celebrate.

Disclaimer

Everything stated in this post is purely my opinion. I’m sharing my personal thoughts and interpretations, and I understand that others may see things differently. Feel free to discuss this respectfully. Upon re-reading this, I realise it might sound a bit gatekeep-y. I'm not using this as an excuse to bash anyone else's opinions or claim my own as superior. I'm simply using it as a way to perhaps educate about what came before and understand what is now. Like what you like and don't what you don't, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone. If you’re interested in learning more about the previous Voltron series (mostly DotU), I highly recommend checking out @voltronfandomhag. They haven’t posted anything in a while, but they are an absolute treasure trove, and their insights were invaluable to me while writing this.

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karmacharmeleon18 · 2 months ago

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different anon, but wow I also super agree with your kevin takes! i can’t believe you’re getting so much hate over it….i wanted to ask if you felt like there was any other path for kevin in the new trilogy, bc while what he did to jean pmo, i also can’t imagine him doing anything else. on one hand, he left jean to suffer kevin’s own consequences (in part) by leaving him, but also jean even admits he would never have let kevin leave, thus kevin wouldn’t have been able to get his revenge and freedom. it’s the same issue over and over again—why is kevin allowed such selfishness and isn’t as punished or criticized by the fandom (maybe even the narrative? i can only hope the final book actually does something with kevin, since unlike many i doubt we’re getting another book after tsc3)? do you think it’ll be addressed? Nora’s addressing of jean’s trauma seems well crafted enough to suggest that kevin and thea’s callousness would also be addressed. kevin still clearly cares about jean, but its not enough, i think, for not only the betrayal (which is nuanced and very sad) but the continued attitude he has towards him afterwards! kevin will do stuff that shows he cares for his “friends” or whatnot, but this stuff could also clearly be seen as self centered and watered down by his constant insults. he’s an interesting character for sure, but oh wow do i understand jean’s love-hatred of him from his POV. he’s an asshole who feels like he’ll never heal or grow emotionally from the ravens and riko, which is a very unsatisfying and upsetting thing to see from such a crucial character in the series. but i also don’t know how he would move one without losing his ego, which is probably the only thing really keeping him alive now that his revenge has been fulfilled?

sorry if this was repetitive to what you’ve said before or long! love your analysis/thoughts. :)

You know, anon, the og characters being different in this new trilogy was actually a fear of mine. It’s been 10 years since AFTG and I thought, Nora can’t be the same writer she was 10 years ago, and what if she’s changed her mind about this or that character? What if she uses the new books to retcon the old ones? What if I can’t recognize these characters???

But thankfully I could. Thankfully Nora is a very consistent writer and she has not changed her mind about anyone (save for Jean and Jeremy lol).

So taking all of this into account, no, I didn’t expect Kevin to act any differently. irl it’s been 10 years but in-universe it’s been no time at all from TKM. Kevin Day is Kevin Day and at this point it’s pointless to hope for change lmao

To be completely honest, I don’t think it’ll ever be properly addressed. Kevin is allowed to be selfish, and callous, and condescending because he’s Kevin, simple as that. The narrative, the characters have accepted that a long time ago. And most of the fandom has too. Those of us who have a problem with it are destined to suffer lol

Maybe Jean will confront him in the last book, but honestly? It will go in one ear and out the other.

Kevin might “care” for Jean in his own way, but he doesn’t care enough to change his behavior. And I think Jean knows that.

Jean also doesn’t care for apologies, an “I’m sorry” will not change the past. Maybe the Trojans have changed his mind about that, maybe not. Realistically it’s far too soon for such a change.

But what Kevin could do is apologize for his recent/current behavior. Maybe that would give Jean some satisfaction in the moment, it would make him feel vindicated to see and hear Kevin Day admit he is wrong. But after that initial reaction, nothing will have changed.

The best way to take accountability is to change your behavior. And Kevin never will. Because he’s Kevin Day.

Jean can’t hold Kevin accountable because Kevin doesn’t care about him enough.

So who could hold Kevin accountable? What would accountability look like?

Nora said Kevin doesn’t have friends, Thea is the closest thing to one he has. But even with her, he was willing to completely shut her out of his life when he left Evermore. Besides, him and Thea are far too similar for her to be the catalyst for a change of conscience. The only time Thea will ever call him out is when Kevin is thinking too much like a victim: Thea doesn’t tolerate that and pretty much tells him to get over his trauma. The same way Kevin expects everyone else to get over their trauma and just focus on the damn game.

Kevin and Thea will never hold each other accountable for their callousness, their selfishness, their disregard for the feelings of others.

At the end of the day, the only things Kevin truly cares about are Exy and… himself, which by extension means his public persona, the way people see him.

So, what would accountability look like for Kevin Day? Some sort of public reckoning? Ex Ravens coming out and telling the media what really went down in the Nest and the role Kevin played in the hierarchy? How he was the prince, the future legend, the little god of Castle Evermore, as Nora said in the EC. How he was above the general abuse, the suffering all around him, how he only had to answer to the Master and the King, and he had long learned how to keep them calm and himself safe. And how, when it all came to a head, he used the memory of his old, dead friendship with Jean against him, guiltripped him into distracting the monster so that he could escape. How he left Jean to be tortured to death.

But I don’t think it’ll happen, because the shockwaves of that would be monumental for the sport, the hero falling from grace again. And having that happen in the last book of the series simply can’t do it justice. If it did happen though, that would be the narrative holding Kevin accountable.

The alternative would be Kevin himself calling a press conference, of his own volition, and admitting to all of this. That would be a great way to take accountability: acknowledge what happened, what role you played in it, how fucked up it was. That would be Kevin holding himself accountable.

But that’s never going to happen either.

Because that would destroy his ego, and as you said, that might be the only thing he has left.

He is Kevin Day the Son of Exy, the future of the sport, a legend in the making, the hero that led the Foxes to win the Championship against the Ravens, the martyr that sacrificed his childhood for a chance to be Court one day… and he can’t be seen as anything else. It might kill him.

Waymack is possibly the only person with a concrete chance to get through to Kevin, to make him fully realize how much of an insensitive asshole he is to everyone around him and how that’s not fucking ok. But Waymack loves Kevin too much, like he loves all of his Foxes too much. He might give them advice, nudge them in the right direction, but I don’t think he’ll ever directly challenge them. Maybe some of the Foxes. But with someone like Kevin (or Andrew) it would go sideways really fast. Better to just let them do their thing and keep the peace. He lets the Foxes drink and fuck around with court-mandated meds, he provides Kevin with alcohol to use as an emotional crutch. It’s honestly a small miracle how none of the Foxes have died because of their own actions (Seth included since we all know he was murdered). David Waymack is a great character, but I’m not sure he’s a great coach lol until Neil showed up, the Foxes were an absolute dumpster fire. Neil had to meddle, get in everyone’s business to get them to cooperate. But we all know such behavior is “above pay grade” for Coach. So I don’t think that’s a possibility.

Besides, the Foxes’ story is over. This is Jean’s story. Any type of reckoning for Kevin must come from his side, Jeremy’s side, the Trojan’s side. And I don’t think it’ll happen.

It’d be nice to see Jeremy, Captain Sunshine of all people, call Kevin a bastard, because we know how much Kevin cares about his opinion. But idk that seems unrealistic. And it would sound too much like Jeremy fighting Jean’s battles for him, which I don’t like.

Kevin will never truly heal, he will always be a Raven. Like Thea will always be a Raven. They are the worst possible thing for each other. But at the same time, they can’t be with anyone else. Thea will never let Kevin heal and recover from being a Raven, but she is also the only person Kevin can be with.

From the EC we know that for Kevin the grueling practices, the 16h days, the abuse, the torture Jean suffered, were all part of the deal. He accepted those conditions because in return he would get the Perfect Court. And all the Ravens (Thea) believe the same.

But his hand was not part of the deal. That’s the one and only thing that made Kevin want to leave.

Had that not happened, he and Thea would almost be the exact same person, Raven apologists through and through, callous, condescending, solely focused on Exy to the point that if someone gets hurt, their first and only thought is “When can they play again?”

And if you don’t like it, that’s your problem.

So the best possible thing we can do going into the next book is to expect absolutely nothing lol

I hope this made sense, anon. To me it looks like a whole lot of rambling nothing, but maybe you can make some sense of it 🤦🏾‍♀️

#jean moreau #anti kevin day #jeremy knox #jerejean #aftg

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 8 months ago

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Sorry if this seems confrontational, but for the life of me I can’t get into your “Chloe has no growth” point when the show itself retracts growth from everyone and is inconsistent with everyone. You saying “The show just lays down basic character traits in Chloe” doesn’t make sense when her basic character traits are supposed to be her being selfish and spoiled.

S2 built off of that and despite what you say, had Chloe doing things that in S1 she wouldn’t have done. She apologized multiple times to the people she wronged, she willingly put herself in harm’s way to help the people she cares about and she was openly vulnerable to Ladybug in “Malidiktaor”. Something S1 Chloe wouldn’t have done. If there’s a distinct difference between a Chloe back in S1 and a Chloe in S2, then growth HAS taken place. But it doesn’t stay because of the formula (and the writers just don’t want her to keep that growth)

So what I’m asking is…what do you mean “Chloe doesn’t have growth”?

I can understand the “No arc” argument because an unfinished arc feels like there’s no arc at all (even though they are fundamentally not the same)

I wouldn't say that the show retracts growth from everyone. It's more that no one is ever supposed to grow. Every episode resets the cast. That's just how pure formula shows work and Miraculous is being sold as a pure formula show. The characters are meant to be static (one of the writers literally compared Miraculous to Dora the Explorer).

That static nature is why pure formula shows normally avoid giving their good-guy characters major flaws. It's the wrong medium for that type of thing specifically because the characters cannot change in meaningful ways throughout the show. They can learn little lessons that don't really change them and maybe have big change between seasons via a special or movie, but that's about it. Thus things like the season four conflict working so poorly. It's just a terrible choice for a formula show! The conflict is literally not allowed to develop properly because of the chosen format.

But sure, let's talk about Chloe and why I will die on the hill that she never demonstrated meaningful improvement even with the issue of the inconstant writing. In fact, seasons-one-to-three Chloe is one of the most consistent characters in the show. For this discussion to work, we need to start off by discussing character development and the two main forms it can take: character establishment and character growth.

Character Establishment

When the audience meets a character, they know nothing about said character. It's up to the writer to guide the introduction process. To choose when to reveal already existing elements of the character's personality, skills, and backstory. This is called character establishment. It is the writing telling you who the character is on a baseline level. Those reveals don't need to happen at the start of the story, though. They can be - and often are - held back for when the time is right.

When these reveals are delayed, it's important to remember that these elements were always part of the character. The reveal isn't changing who the character actually is. It's just changing how the audience views the character.

For example, we spend a good chunk of season one uncertain why Gabriel is doing what he does. Then, in Origins, we learn that it's all for Emilie. This is new information that adds depth to Gabriel's character, but it doesn't change him in any way. This is who he always was. We just know him better now and can recontextualize past events with our new understanding of his motivation.

Character Growth

Character growth is when writers take a character's personality or world view or even just their skills from point A to point B, allowing the audience to watch the character change and become a new better - or lesser - version of themself. This is usually part of a larger character arc where all the moments of growth add up, but it can take the form of small moments of growth that don't fit into a bigger picture, too. I'd probably still call that an arc, but we'll use the word "growth" a lot in this post, so let's just call it growth to be consistent.

Miraculous doesn't really have either arcs or growth because - once again - formula shows don't allow characters to meaningfully change, so I'm going to have to make up an example here. I'll use one that illustrates how character establishment and character growth can and do intertwine as that's an important thing to acknowledge to help guide this discussion.

Let's say that we have a character who lost their family at a young age. We'll call this character Mary. Mary's loss guides her character throughout the entire story, but the other characters and the audience are never told that this is what's going on. We just know that Mary acts in seemingly illogical ways at times and that she trusts no one.

Throughout the story, Mary learns to trust her costars, leading to a big, dramatic scene where she finally tells them - and the audience - about her past. This big dramatic scene is both the culmination of a character arc and a piece of baseline character establishment that allows us to understand Mary's character better no matter what part of the story we're reading.

Because these combo growth and establishment moments are so common in stories, it can feel like character growth when we learn new things about a character in a dramatic moment, but that's not always what's happening. Sometimes dramatic moments are just there to reveal what was always there by forcing a character to act differently than they usually do through the power of extenuating circumstances. These extenuating-circumstances moments are not character growth because, once the moment is over, the character resets to their normal self. The moment wasn't there to let them grow. It was there for the sake of the plot.

This is actually a really important thing that writers need to know how to do. Figuring out what circumstances will make a character say or do a thing they generally wouldn't say or do is part of how stories work. I have started stories with characters acting wildly "out of character" because I put them in the a situation where the behavior suddenly was in character!

Oh, you don't want to talk to this total stranger because you're an introvert with social anxiety who has yet to learn how to love yourself and open up to others? That's nice. Your leg is broken now and you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. What you gonna do sucker? Lie there in the dirt or talk to the nice lady who wants to help you? Your choice! (Spoiler: he talked to the nice lady. He even let her physically support him when he'd usually never let a stranger touch him!)

As soon as that scene was over, the character reverted because it wasn't growth. He didn't become a more open person. He just did something he normally wouldn't do because the situation demanded it. It was extenuating circumstances so that the freaking plot could start.

This is what happened with Chloe in season two. Everything that people call growth is really just extenuating circumstances that reset by the end of the episode or even by the end of the scene.

Let's Talk About Chloe

Chloe does not have a character arc, aborted or otherwise. She is never taken on a journey where we watch her change. All we get is delayed character establishment via extenuating circumstances, but it's given in ways that make some people feel like she was being given an arc. Let's talk about why that is.

Season one Chloe is a one dimensional mean girl. She has almost no depth. She's just here to be petty and cause akumas. She is not a fully realized character.

Season two takes those traits and keeps them, but also gives Chloe a lot more depth to round her out and make her feel like a real character. She's just as petty and mean as she always was, but we're finally allowed to see her in some moments that make her feel like a well of potential to become something more, which the writers basically had to do if they wanted to let her be a hero. The audience needed to feel like Chloe could be good in the right situation.

The feelings evoked by her newly discovered depth are why people go "oh, she had a character arc! My feelings about her changed in a big way!" But she didn't have an arc. You just got to know her better by seeing her in moments where she was forced to be vulnerable. That's not growth. Growth is meaningful, lasting change, not situational change. Everyone changes based on the situation! It's why the "True Selves" stuff is such nonsense. It implies that there's one set way that we're supposed to act in order to be authentic and anything else is some kind of lie which just isn't how the world works.

Let's look at some examples to drive home what I mean.

Season one established that Chloe idolized Ladybug. It's why we get things like this moment from Evil Illustrator:

Ladybug: Fine! You stay! Later! Cat Noir: What do you mean later? Ladybug: I mean, you're the one who wants to protect her, so you don't need me. So, later! (swings away) Chloé:(looks over balcony) Ahhh! Ladybug! Text me! OK!

And this confession from Antibug:

Ladybug: [Chloe] pretended she was me?! How often does that happen? Armand: She idolizes you.

So Chloe adores Ladybug and wants to impress her/be her best friend. Cool. Got it. That never goes anywhere in season one because season one doesn't see Chloe and Ladybug interact much. The most we get is Ladybug saving Chloe from akumas, which doesn't allow for deep conversations. I don't think that they're ever alone in a moment where they can actually talk.

That changes in season two. In season two, they get to interact a lot and it's often in moments where there's a big threat and no one else is around, letting us see a new side to Chloe. But that's not Chloe changing. It's just the writers revealing that Chloe has more to her than the mean girl stuff because of course she does! Pure mean girls don't exist. Everyone has depth. We simply never saw that depth before because Chloe was never put in a situation where she needed to be open. We can't say that season one Chloe wouldn't confess things to Ladybug or chose to sacrifice herself to let Ladybug win because she never had the chance to do those things!

In fact, I'd go so far as to argue that season one Chloe probably would have done the same things as season two Chloe because season two Chloe doesn't really contradict season one Chloe. Antibug showed us that Chloe was pretty desperate to be loved and welcomed the way that Ladybug is loved and welcomed:

Chloé: Jagged Stone! Jagged: (thinking she's the actual Ladybug) Ladybug! What are you doing here? Chloé: Um… when I find out you were here, I knew you'd wanna see me! I had to come say hello. (Sabrina waves at Jagged)

and Chloe has always been a stubborn girl who stands up for what she wants even if what she wants is something bad. Antibug also showed us that Chloe can be genuinely nice to the people she cares about. Her and Sabrina's relationship is shown to be complex with them often having a lot of fun together.

Similarly, Origins sees Chloe showing her father genuine affection after she's saved from Stoneheart:

[Image description: Chloe and Andre hugging and looking very happy to be together]

Origins is the baseline episode that tells us who the characters are on day one, so I never once doubted that Chloe loved Andre, but Andre didn't get akumatized because of Chloe's actions in season one. He didn't even get akumatized for something that Chloe had nothing to do with! His first akumatization is in season two, so it's not shocking that we don't get a Malidiktaor type scene until Malidiktaor.

Chloe was vulnerable with her personal hero when her beloved parent was in danger, but not before? Shocking! Who would have guessed?

Me. I would have guessed. I didn't even realize that people were reading it as some sort of character growth because it clearly wasn't. Malidiktaor didn't feel like something new for Chloe's character. It just felt like the writers were leaning into things that we'd always known about Chloe and using them to better establish her character as someone who genuinely cares about select people. She just doesn't show most of the time.

The same thing goes for Chloe's sacrifice and apology in Zombizou. Chloe only sacrifices herself when there's no one left but her and Ladybug. When the choice is to let the terrorist win or take the hit and let you personal hero save the day. Brave? Sure, but also not growth. Chloe is team Ladybug for all of seasons one, two, and three! She wants Ladybug to like her! Plus even a petty brat can have moments of goodness where they pick a hero over a literal terrorist.

This honestly would have been a damming moment if Chloe didn't sacrifice herself. She functionally had no other choice here. The entire episode builds itself to the self-sacrifice moment so that Chloe is forced to make that choice even though she's been her petty bratty self throughout the whole attack. It's genuinely solid writing.

Then, in the heightened emotions directly after the Zombizou win, we get this:

Miss Bustier: But I hurt a lot of people... Chloé: No... I did... I forgot your birthday, once again. And when I saw everyone had prepared a gift for you, I totally lost it. Because I, too, would've liked to offer you something. I'm sorry, Miss Bustier. Miss Bustier: Thank you, Chloé. Those words are the best possible gift you could ever give me. (hugs Chloé) (Chloé hugs her back, forgetting herself for a moment.) Chloé: Huh?... Uh, yeah. Okay then, we're all good.

A brief moment of vulnerability that quickly ends and does not stick around because Chloe's change was situational, not true growth. The next scene of that episode starts with Chloe being her usual self:

Chloé: Me? You want me to apologize to the entire class? Ridiculous! They should be thanking me for saving everybody.

And ends with the reveal of Chloe's gift to Miss Bustier, which was given in private via a note.

Once again, nothing new for Chloe's character. She acts as she always has, being mean to everyone while having moments of vulnerability when things get tense. Remember that hug between her and her father that we talked about earlier? Same concept. She had just almost died from an akuma attack and so she needed some emotional support, leading her to act more openly loving than she usually does when he's around. Once the moment is over, she reverts to the petty mean girl default.

Giving gifts to placate people is also something that we've seen before. A pretty similar thing happens at the end of Evil Illustrator, it's just played less sympathetic towards Chloe because the writers weren't giving her depth back then:

Sabrina: Too late. Chloé and I are doing the project together. Marinette: You mean, you're doing the project? Sabrina: Well, of course! After all she's been through... Marinette: Ughhh.... Nice new beret, by the way. Sabrina: I know, right! Chloé lent it to me. She really is my BFF! Chloé! Your geography homework's ready!

For any of this to be character growth, we need to see Chloe act differently over time. For her to be put in similar situations and get different outcomes, but we don't see that in part because Chloe didn't change and in part because season one didn't do much to develop Chloe's deeper side. We rarely see her alone or in moments of extreme vulnerability, but you need those moments to show her depth. That's why Despair Bear had Chloe crying alone after Adrien threatened to end her friendship and not before. Chloe is very reluctant to openly show depth. You have to force it out of her, which perfectly fits the character we met in season one.

Even her standing up to Hawkmoth and rejecting the akuma isn't character growth in my opinion. Chloe has always stood up to authority and demanded whatever she wants. She has wanted to be Ladybug's friend and be seen as a hero since season one, so it's not shocking that her extremely strong will would allow her to defy a terrorist. If there is anyone in this show who can stand up to a terrorist on shear "no!" power alone, it's little miss I-always-get-what-I-want. I could see a variation of this happening at any point in the show, just change Chloe's reason for defying Gabriel to match the situation. Rework these lines to be about a party that she wanted to go to and I'd still totally buy it:

Chloé: No, Hawk Moth! I am a superheroine! I am Queen Bee! Ladybug will come and get me when she needs me! I WILL NEVER JOIN YOU! (throws her photo onto the ground as the akuma exits it... and pants)

Chloe acted like a hero here because she wants all the perks of being a hero and can't believe that Ladybug would actually bench her. That's impossible! Ladybug wouldn't do that!

As soon as Chloe accepts that she won't be a hero again, Chloe stops acting heroic because acting heroic wasn't growth. It was her playing a part the same way she played a part in Despair Bear. She was doing what she needed to do to be Queen Bee again and not because it's the right thing to do. This would only be real growth if she rejected the akuma after accepting that she wouldn't be Queen Bee again, but that's not what happens. As soon as she accepts that she's out, she no longer has any reason to play nice. She never grew into a character who did what's right for the sake of doing the right thing. It's always been about getting what she wants or being seen how she wants to be seen. Until that changes, she hasn't changed.

So no, Chloe didn't have an aborted arc. They didn't start to redeem her and then change their minds. All they did was make Chloe one of the most complex characters in the show only to then not do anything with the character they wasted our time establishing, ignoring the complexity they gave her while also cranking her mean dial up to the point of absurdity where she's not even fun in her original role anymore.

I get why it feels like she had an aborted arc. The fact that the character establishment was delayed makes it feel like something shiny and new about Chloe. There's also the fact that the character establishment we get in season two is the kind of character establishment that you'd do if you were setting up for a redemption arc, but that doesn't change the fact that it was all establishment work. None of it was a true arc where we watched Chloe grow. We just saw her put in situations that revealed hidden depths.

Her showing depth is not her growing because when in the world does she show off this supposed growth? She only acts differently in the type of scenes that we've never seen her in before or around characters that we've never seen her truly interact with before. When she's around the established teen characters or in her usual scenes, then she acts the same way that she always has. We never see her be genuinely nice to Marinette or something like that. She's only nice to Ladybug and she's still rude to Chat Noir. That's not character growth! That's character establishment that can then be used to guide character growth!

Same thing goes for the stuff in Despair Bear. We learn that Adrien can push Chloe to be better, but he never does it again and she reverts as soon as he lets her off the hook, so it wasn't character growth! It was just Chloe establishing that she can play nice when she needs to. This means that she could grow if the story chose to take her down that path because we've established that she knows what being nice looks like. Fake it til you make it plot go, go, go! But the plot never went, went, went so meh?

Add in the fact that season one was a bit of a test season with lots of elements that got dropped and the fact that characterization in this show has always been wildly inconsistent from episode to episode and I'm really not seeing a strong argument for Chloe having an intentional arc that somehow got aborted. People just saw the potential for her to have one and argue that potential is the same as an aborted arc when it really, really isn't.

To give an analogy, Chloe's story is like walking into the kitchen and seeing grandma laying out the ingredients for her famous chocolate chip cookies. We get excited because, hey, cookies! Then we come back an hour later and there are no cookies. Nor is there some other sweet that uses the same ingredients. There's just ingredients, sitting unused in their original packaging, making us wonder what the heck grandma was up to. At the same time, she never really started making cookies. She just set out ingredients. They're still there, totally unused, waiting to be made into something, so we can't call them a failed cookie attempt. That implies a level of commitment that was never there. She didn't even say that she was making cookies! We just assumed she was because we, understandably, wanted cookies and wanted to believe that grandma had a purpose to her actions.

#ml writing critical #ml writing salt #chloe deserves better #I did initially think that they were going to redeem Chloe #But they only ever did the initial setup work #They never committed to anything #In fact I though Queen Bee's intro was the writers saying that she wouldn't be redeemed #And that the hero Chloe thing was just a fakeout to make people watch season two #Which is still what I think Queen Bee was #The writers love cheap fakeouts like ending a season on a mass reveal that then goes nowhere #Chloe's writing is par for the course and not anything especially bad compared to the rest of the show #Queen Bee was just an excuse to make you keep watching #Chloe was never getting redeemed or even properly damned #Is that deeply frustrating? Yes #But it's also the most logical read of her story with strong backing in the text itself #I'm not a fan of the conspiracy theories about the writers sabotaging her on purpose #That's just not how this goes #Sorry to disappoint but occam's razor applies to writing too #Bad writing is just infinitely more logical than a bunch of writers purposefully risking their careers to get back at online randos #Chloe stans are just not that important or influential #I can point to so many shows where people came up with insane theories to justify the bad writing and it's just...#I get the desire for complex reasons to explain why a thing you loved failed you but that's just not a logical conclusion in most situation #Nor is it all that healthy to go down those conspiracy rabbit holes. That's just going to damage your mental health #Curious to see the reaction to this one #Remember we're talking about fiction here and play nice please #Formula show problems

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nadiajustbe · 4 months ago

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No guys I just have to note how marvellously well Bartimaeus is actually written. Not just the plot, but the structure, the style, the writing itself.

I currently have a pleasure of rereading the series in it's original language and Stroud's style is so tasty you actually want to eat the pages for dinner. The metaphors, the comparisons, the way the words used reflect the personality of the POV character — for example, small 6-years old Nathaniel's sentence structure is really simple, somewhat repetitive in some causes when he starts to get nervous, with a lot of "yes" and "no", thus going along with fantasies and not that many of pompous word, because he is a little kid and therefore his very way of thinking, the inner monologue is different from what we might see in an adult. As he grows his PoV becomes slightly more special, filling the gaps with modest words magicians often use, both in his inner and outer dialogue, showing him slowly immersing into his new role and growing up.

Bartimaeus' PoV is really detailed, filled with words both new and old, long, piled with dust, flooding with the very feeling of knowledge at times as his experience is shown, with a lot of explanations, long-distance memories and paragraphs that sometimes explain something extremely unrelevant for how the story actually unravels in the end (like explaining the plans he's never going to use), but shows his character with all his glory, also adding a lot of specific comparacements that fly across the centuries of his life. It is also the most hilarious. And the footnotes. Finding the in-world explanation for the footnotes is such a genius move.

Kitty's PoV, as far as I remember it, is a bit more straightforward, sharp at times, as it reflects her personality and the amount of action she finds herself from time to time. Her written PoV goes along with her words and actions, leaving her and the reader wonder about certain things, feeling as with her anger and her confidence.

And all of this while remaining in one really descriptive and colourful style that makes the book fell consistent.

The amount of literally tricks combined in this book is astonishing — there's the footnotes, change of PoV, change of scene, division into parts, flashbacks and the change of the person (this being both fist and third person narration) used between the PoVs, all of this in one book. Yet the author manages this so well it feels organic, almost as you have reading it this way for all your life, almost like you are the part of the world and all this jumps and footnotes do not distract you nor it makes the writing feel messy.

This is also the first time I see the "person" narrative changing through PoVs — surely someone has done that before, but certainly not in this combination. It changes from 1st person (Bartimaeus) to 3rd (Kitty and Nathaniel) thus making the reader to see the situation more from the "outside" when needed and found out more about Bartimaeus himself.

And the fact that this change is used deliberately, too? All of the narrators all unreliable, as they are heavily relying on their own experiences and emmerse them through the page, but the 1st person point of view is known to be the most deciving out of all and for this reason it is given to Bartimaeus — he is the only one talking directly to the reader, as If aware of our existence, changing and juggling with facts whenever he pleases If it benefits, while still delivering the story in greatest detail, therefore leaving the reader wondering where the thurth stops and the lie starts.

Nathaniel and Kitty's PoV are still giving a ton of their perspectives into the story, but allows the reader to step a bit out of it and look at the story under a slightly more special of a light — and you truly feel this light difference between the unreliable narratives when rereading.

The devision into the PoVs is made with an idea in mind too. It allows the reader to see the story through the eyes of three main groups of the society — magicians, commoners and spirits. Too view the world through the lenses of oppressors, consumed in their mindset and to feel the pain of the oppressed. It allows us to see the situation in this world as a whole, fully and then draw our own conclusions out of it, while presenting the outstanding character from each group to achieve it.

There's simply no other book that would give me so much joy as a writer, really.

#it's 12am I have to desire to write out the tags I just love the book sm #like it's the most originally written book I've ever seen really #CHANGING THE POVS AND THE PERSON OF NARRATIVE AND-#AH #bartimaeus #nad rereads bartimaeus #bartimaeus sequence #hmc #bartimaeus trilogy #kitty jones #nathaniel bartimaeus trilogy

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 9 months ago

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The thing that gets me about their "upgrade" (besides how they got it, you don't just. decide to "grow up" and even if they did "grow up," they clearly didn't grow enough considering Marinette still keeps secrets/making decisions for Adrien and Adrien still has no self worth besides being Marinette's trophy) is that I can believe the writers would change up the rules for that in later seasons because they do just make shit up as they go along. They might even revoke those upgrades or give random upgrades to people at a whim if they have a cool idea they want to make work without actually putting in the work for story consistency. I mean look at the potions. Never heard about them again.

I'm not saying determination isn't a good lesson to teach kids, but you need to do a better job integrating it into the story.

For comparison, Kamen Rider Wizard did something very similar with its lead character, Haruto. See, Haruto gained his powers thanks to preventing a monster known as a Phantom from taking over his body by resisting despair. However, in one episode, his Inner Phantom was destroyed, meaning he lost his powers. Even when thing seem bleak with Haruto having no powers and not being able to use his magic to prevent the girl he loves from dying (think Eda's elixirs from The Owl House, something she needs to survive), he doesn't give up, reviving Dragon, his Inner Phantom, and getting his powers back with a new form to boot.

Haruto getting his powers back becuse he refused to give up hope works because the show clearly establishes that hope is what allows humans to use magic, so it makes sense that having hope is how Haruto gets his powers back.

Here, even though the "Grown-ups only" rule was established around Season 2/Season 3, there's still very little we know about it. That's a big part of why it's hard to buy Marinette and Adrien supposedly growing up: We don't even know what the hell "Growing up" means!

Even if you want to go along with that, there's no way the show is going to let them keep those upgrades due to how easy it is for them to mow through any Akuma. My best guess is that the show will either take the Ninjago route and just have them stop using those powers while assuming the audience will just forget, or the Digimon Adventure 02 route and say they gave them up for some plot reason.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir

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very-random-human · 27 days ago

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『

~{my orv rp ocs}~

𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹

[Constellation 'Random Dyslexic Reader']

Short form: dyslexic

Dyslexic was created for the sole purpose of being a medium for the creator to impart their will onto as well as being an avatar to interact with other worlds

Dyslexic is aware of this fact and that they won't be allowed to die unless the creator got bored of them and decides to make a new avatar until then they would just be remade over and over again

They often act childish and cutesy but at times would have mood swings that seems out of character

They have an extreme liking for dirty jokes particularly dick jokes they find them hilarious

Dyslexic has a short girlish figure with the height of 4'11 they have short black hair and a shadowed face that seems to suck the light around them leaving only one eye visible despite not being able to see it they actually do have two eyes

Their wardrobe mainly consists of hoodies and comfortable flowy pants

They are often used in text interactions and art and is the main avatar of interaction

𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹

[Incarnation 'Demonic Human']

Short form: human

Seeing dyslexic grow bored and wanting to make things more interesting the creator allowed dyslexic to create an avatar to keep themselves company in the form of an incarnation and thus human was created

However due to dyslexic's lack of knowledge when creating human they cannot be fully considered an incarnation they can't be considered a constellation either dyslexic doesn't fully know what they are but is happy with the result either way the creator thought that this was an interesting outcome and allowed human's continued existence without change

When being created dyslexic's lack of knowledge in human biology had cost them to lack many bodily functions and organs that normal humans need to survive that doesn't seem to affect human tho in fact it made them even more powerful

Despite being ageless and genderless human looks most like a teenage girl of 5'8 height with purple slicked back horns and a tail even though they have perfect eyesight they prefer to wear glasses for the aesthetic

Their wardrobe consists mostly of dark fancy frilly outfits with bows and ruffles reminiscent of the gothic lolita style

Sometimes when dyslexic is bored they would throw human into random worlds to see how they will interact with that world's inhabitants

Dyslexic is also quite possessive of them sometimes and would scream and destroy things when they think someone is trying to take human away from them

They would occasionally appear in text interactions and art

𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹𓁹

[Constellation 'Writer House of Gemini']

Short form: writer

Writer is a constellation avatar that the creator had personally created for their precious beloved

Not much is known about her

She only occasionally shows up in art

』

#orv rp #orv #omniscient readers viewpoint #omniscent reader #omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader's viewpoint rp #roleplay #oc rp #rp #orv oc #ocs #my ocs #oc

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shadesofmauve · 4 months ago

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Author Ask Tag?!

(Punctuation interpretation: Apparently we don't know if it's an author ask tag or not, but we do know it's very excited about it)

Thanks to @fenmere for tagging me. I haven't answered any of these in a while, but wow, do I need a distraction. And I'll tag @swaps55.

I'm going to answer for the original idea I'm working on, even though I'm barely working on it and it's barely a thing, because I think it might be helpful.

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

I started with a character, not a lesson. I usually have characters and places I want to play with, rather than core conflict, lesson, or plot — that's why most of what I've written is fanfic. I think this idea has legs because I DID come up with a core conflict, but it's not as interesting an answer to the question.

What I definitely have are big goals that I wouldn't call lessons. I want to write a sci-fi novel starting on another planet with a character who feels about her home the way I feel about mine. I want a vehicle to show the depth of connection humans can have to place — and eventually, to show that sometimes instead of 'you can never go home' you find 'you can go home and appreciate it more because you've experienced other places'. I want to play with more utopian societies, and the idea that someone can work to become native to a place, in terms of how they interact with it. (Yes I adore Robin Wall Kimmerer, her work will come up again later).

I also want a bisexual amputee lady to shoot an asshole with a giant tranq rifle.

Y'know. Goals.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

I've been noodling on two planets (one of which we never see in the story, but that don't stop me) and the general interstellar human culture. Sadly, as the plot developed, I seem to end up with a lot more time in space than on Moira's home planet, which is where I WANTED things to be rooted. Like, shit.

Lots of cool things about our own environment with one dramatic change went into Moira's planet. Robin Wall Kimmerer's book on moss provided an entire biome with the simple "Okay, that spore dispersal method, but a hundred feet tall" transformation. There's another that started with "What kind of environment would allow a barnacle-like filter-feeder to exist in air instead of water?" It all develops outward from there, in an apparently chaotic but functional series of little growing tendrils. Like a slime mold.

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

Moira's trying to not have humanity go to war with aliens we've hardly met, and to get back to her home and her life.

I'm trying to fuck her up enough to keep it interesting.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

How does anyone know that?! It's a mystery! I won't know until I'm polishing the epilogue, if it even HAS an epilogue. (I don't think it has an epilogue, actually. I've already written the end. Three paragraphs of it. This thing only has 4000 words and 200 of them are the end.)

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original, and let's not get ahead of our selves. Also I agree with @fenmere; sick of the word 'content.' It's fiction. My visual art is visual art. It's not grist for the content mill.

When did you start writing?

4th grade! I hated writing homework. Total block. One afternoon when class got out I noticed the teacher had a converse shoe keychain, and made up shit on the spot about a little guy who lived in it. She said, "See, you make stories! Try writing that one down!" So I did.

(I don't think it had a plot, either. At least I'm consistent.)

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

I'm going to quote @fenmere's wise words, here:

"Look for the aspects of writing that grip you, and celebrate them, roll in them like a dog that’s found something stinky, eat them like a fan of picture books, smear them all over your face, wear them for clothing, and then, feral and ravenous for more, go hunting."

Does that seem like a cop-out? Yes! As Dorothy Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey once said, "A felicity for quotation covers the absence of original thought."

#Shades writes #writing game

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mayhemhq · 7 months ago

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I would love to write and plot more but feel I get ignored. I don't think it's fair that I could be removed because I'm ignored by people. Changing muses doesn't help. The group feels more like a clique of a few and they don't include others in their interactions.

it can be frustrating to feel left out, but if you’re actively engaging, it doesn’t make sense for you to be removed. there are many ways to get involved and develop your characters, like writing self-paras, joining group activities, or creating posts to reach out for writing opportunities.

if you’re constantly switching muses, it can be hard for your characters to grow and for others to invest in long-term connections. characters need time to evolve, and that requires consistency and follow-through. if people see you constantly picking up and dropping muses or even plots, it can be hard for them to invest in plotting with you. as that cycle repeats, it’s difficult for others to feel like there’s long-term potential in the interactions. it’s about building consistent connections and seeing things through over time.

the group has been welcoming and people have gone out of their way to offer help and encouragement. you’ve just got to meet the group halfway and actually reach out. showing interest in others’ posts or simply starting a conversation can make all the difference. don’t just wait to be tagged—take the initiative. when you actively engage, it invites others to do the same and that’s how genuine connections are built. show interest in others, respond to posts, and start conversations. by actively engaging, you encourage others to do the same.

simple things like checking the starter tag before posting your own and responding in ways that allow for easy follow-up and being just thoughtful with your interactions can keep conversations flowing and build stronger connections. when replying, try to give something for the other person to respond to—whether it’s a question, an idea, or a small detail that invites further discussion.

remember, just because characters are close IC doesn’t mean the people behind them are as well—it’s all about the effort you put in. the connections we form in the group come from how much we reach out, engage, and invest. you are responsible for your own RP experience and what you get out of the group.

still, if you feel like you’re not getting the interactions you’re hoping for, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, and we can brainstorm ways to make sure you feel more involved!

#m.admins

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thesoftieanon · 10 months ago

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Alright so Dreamlight Valley Reader! I’m gonna try not to spoil too much because I know not everyone has finished the game or has the DLC, plus I want non-players to be able to follow along!

The Basics!

So Dreamlight Valley is Disney and Gameloft’s take on a farming simulator. There are Disney characters you can unlock as friends and neighbors, and they range from Mickey Mouse to Ursula. Yes you can befriend villains, don’t worry about how they’re alive now, it’s Disney

Because it’s a farming simulator, you can obviously grow and farm things, but you can also fish, mine, craft, cook, landscape, play dress-up- there’s a lot okay XD Lemme focus on the important things

Reader has something called Royal Tools that allow them to do things. These tools consist of a watering can, a pickaxe, a shovel, a fishing rod, and a phone (yes you heard me). These need to be upgraded to max potential during the game, but even at base mode they are unbreakable. The watering can never runs out of water, and the phone never runs out of battery. For simplicity’s sake Reader is just gonna have them maxed out already.

The big problem of Dreamlight Valley is Night Thorns; magic purple thorns that cause Reader and the villagers to forget things. They can only be cleared by Dreamlight Magic; magic only Reader has. The magic has a recharge bar like Hyrule’s, but it can be replenished with food, having a seat, or instant refilled by going home. Obviously Reader will not have home access so options are food and rest. Better quality food = more energy

Reader also has a shadow problem. They cause the Thorns. I can’t delve into that because major spoilers. If you wanna know go play the game :3

Dreamlight Valley is a kingdom, they used to have a Ruler but they disappeared. I don’t think it’s spoilers to say who the Ruler is (the tools are literally called Royal Tools), but it is spoilers to say how exactly we got here. Also Reader doesn’t remember.

More on the Dreamlight Magic! It also helps Reader complete tasks for the villagers, but as one can guess by the name, it’s dream magic and doesn’t function on logic. Reader could need something as simple as three flowers or as convoluted and specific as a picture of an animal that only shows up every third Friday night (the game functions on irl time and no, you can’t pull an Animal Crossing and time travel).

Okay so I think that covers all the baseline things you need to know, feel free to tell me if you think I missed something! Specifics!

What the actual frick is Reader’s magic. Legend has been in dream worlds before and not even he can make sense of this. Hyrule is also extremely confused. How does an iron bar and two flowers make a microphone??

They’re gonna need to teach Reader how to fight because despite the high population of villains where they’re from, they don’t really encounter physical fights. Not to say they aren’t fit, they’re literally a farmer, fisherman, miner, constantly running around the valley dealing with everything-

I repeat, a log falls in the path and Reader simply digs up and it turns into a bunch of wood they later use at camp. Legend didn’t even have time to grab his bracelets and he is losing it

Because Reader can do all of these things with their tools the Chain thinks they're actually really strong. But they have absolutely no way of proving it because there isn't a time Reader isn't using their tools for something

Warriors wants to know how they do their hair so fast. Like- it’s always perfect?? And they can just change the color and style whenever they want?? THE CLOTHES TOO?? He has hair and fit envy.

Four would like to know how the Tools were crafted. Maybe he can replicate the process and Wild will finally have a sword he can’t break.

Wild enjoys cooking with them. They share recipes.

Oh my goodness Reader introduces them all to cake because that doesn’t exist in canon-

Wild also relates to the gaps in memory because. Y’know. Amnesia.

Introducing the Chain to Disney characters would be very interesting

Don’t let Wild or Wind near Stitch

Idk what else to add so that’ll be it for now but please share thoughts!

#softie rambles #softie writes #dreamlight valley reader #disney dreamlight valley #linked universe #dreamlight valley and lu #linkeduniverse #dreamlight valley

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beautiful-02-08-18 · 7 months ago

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SoS: FoMT Priest Carter Redesign

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying I am “better” than professional character designers with my redesign. I am just trying to find a middle ground between what the fans want and what the designers want. This was made for fun for a game that came out 4-5 years ago. Additionally, I know that people are “passionate” about the character, so please do not make any inappropriate comments. It makes me uncomfortable. Without further ado, here is my character design analysis.

John 7:24 (KJV)

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.

I joined the fandom of my old farming game love: Harvest Moon, or what is now called, Story of Seasons. After I had been informed about the Split, I went to Reddit and ended up reading about an old discussion surrounding the new character designs of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. What ended up standing out most to me was that people did not like the redesign the designers made for the priest character, Carter.

Apparently, there was a considerable amount of people who used to think Carter was attractive and were pretty disappointed with the redesign. It is not a big deal, but then I went to TV Tropes and it had Carter under “Adaptational Ugliness”. It is one thing if a group of fans thought the design was ugly, it is another thing if it is so widely agreed upon they put it on TV Tropes, a website dedicated to listing tropes done by a certain media. Although, its accuracy is debatable.

Was the redesign actually bad? Carter’s redesign is pretty solid, and most fans agree. His old design had him in a Catholic priest outfit, which does not make sense in the lore. I like religious symbols as a religious person, but why does Carter look like a Catholic priest (and sometimes wears a cross) if he worships the Harvest Goddess? The old design seems to be the effects of Japanese media tending to use religious symbols with no further thought put into it.

Why was the redesign so different? The designers decided to rightfully change his design to better resemble the redesign of the Harvest Goddess, Gaia. In my opinion, they successfully achieved it as Carter shares a handful of design elements with Gaia.

However, they ended up changing his silhouette drastically. A character silhouette is the overall shape of the character design in solid color. This is a crucial part of designing as it shows the readability of a character. Carter’s new silhouette differs so much from his old silhouette. He no longer has his old bangs, nor does he have his shirt and pants, but now wears a robe and a hat with a whole new different hairstyle.

I personally believe that a redesign should resemble the original design as much as possible if the circumstances allow it. (This is why I have problems with Karen but I am not going into that.) In Carter’s case, they sacrificed his recognizability with world-building accuracy, and again, this I agree with. He looks essentially the same anyway, just that he has new clothes, longer hair, and has gotten thinner. This makes sense to me personally, because unless the residents of Mineral Town have been consistently providing for him, I doubt this canonically broke priest, whose one of his self-proclaimed “luxuries” is being able to freely eat the mushrooms that grow in the back of the Church, would be able to eat as much. He still has his signature facial expression, his closed-eyed smile. I adored that, as someone who likes character designs, Carter is still recognizable by his expression alone even if he had changed so drastically. However, I’d argue that the old design would still work if it was tweaked a little. I will go into that later.

On the Harvest Moon wiki, I learned of another priest character, Chester from Hero of Leaf Valley. I thought he looked like a combination of Carter’s old design with his new design. Then I learned about Nathan from Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness, Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands, and Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns. His design seems to be the basis of Carter’s redesign.

I think the original design of Carter was the basis of both of these priests’ character designs, then those designs were used for Carter’s redesign. Chester, who has a similar-sounding name and brown hair, looks like a fantastical Catholic priest. Nathan, on the other hand, has similar clothes as the original and even a similar pose. Carter’s redesign seems to be a combination of their designs but with a leaning of Nathan’s.

He accidentally became my favorite character then decided to try and redesign him.

First off, I do not think that Carter’s design is “ugly,” just the way he was drawn. All of the adult male characters, with the exception of Basil for some reason, were drawn cartoonishly compared to the bachelors. If Carter was drawn in a similar way as the bachelors, I think he looks pretty decent, as shown in an official comic panel. (I edited out the other characters.) Here is my redraw and edit:

I traced a bachelor’s head and used references of different bachelors to mimic the game’s art style and there is a clear difference. The bachelor’s proportions are much more realistic compared to the villagers’. Additionally, I made Carter’s hair push out more to look more natural. It seems he had absorbed Rick’s adorkableness.

I tried to mimic the game’s art style, and I learned that while the art was done digitally, it was colored/shaded as if it was done traditionally. I can see what looks like brush strokes. Combined with the art of Pioneers of Olive Town, it seems the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise creates digital art that looks like it was partially created by traditional mediums, and I love that direction.

Still have no idea why Basil was spared as I can not find any patterns, maybe the designers just like Basil more. Who knows.

For the redesign, as said before, I think his old design could still work if the appropriate changes and justifications had been made. I drew my redesigns in my own art style to make it easier for myself, and here is my 1st redesign:

I leaned heavily on the Catholic priest influence but used the priests’ and the Harvest Goddess’ designs so it would still make sense within the lore. I tried to keep his old silhouette as much as possible and drew him in his old pose to add to his recognizability.

I gave Carter a hat that Catholic priests wear called a cappello romano because I had thought his sprite had him holding one. It was apparently a green book according to his character art, but it seems to be slightly inaccurate though, as his polo shirt was drawn as a green stripe down his shirt. He was consistently drawn holding a book either way.

For his hair, I just combined his old and new hairstyle which worked surprisingly well.

The dark shade of color for his clothes was color-picked from Chester’s clothes but changed to blue. It is not actually black, it was a deep shade of violet. True black can be found on Alice, another character in Hero of Leaf Valley. I gave him white cuffs on his sleeves and pants based on Nathan’s and Carter’s official design.

If Carter were to wear dark clothes he might stand out among the characters, but Harris wears predominantly dark clothes so I do not think it is a problem. Additionally, if Carter wears dark clothes that look almost nothing like what the Harvest Goddess wears, it would still make sense within the lore.

The games keep mentioning tidbits of information that Carter has no idea what he is doing, he himself admits that he is not a real priest. Carter wearing clothes that do not resemble the Harvest Goddess’ would make sense as he is not a real priest, further solidifying that fact.

He’d be more similar to Chester, who was described as being shady, than Nathan, who seems to be the only real legitimate priest of the three.

Speaking of color, my redesign was originally supposed to be green because I thought that he was lacking his Harvest Goddess’, Gaia, signature color. The aforementioned priests have their Harvest Goddess’ signature color, or so I thought.

I color-picked Chester’s stole and Marina’s, his Harvest Goddess’ name, hair. It turns out that Chester’s was a deep shade of purple while Marina’s was a light shade of pink. However, when color-picking Nathan’s scarf and the Harvest Goddess’ hair, it was a similar shade of green. If that is the case, why does Carter not don the signature color of his Harvest Goddess? He and Nathan worship the same Harvest Goddess, after all.

I later noticed that Carter has a saturated shade of blue on his amice, which is a similar shade to Gaia’s new design with her gradient hair. But that would mean if Nathan were ever to appear in a game entry that would mean he would forego the green in his design.

It is also possible that the design element, in truth, has no significant meaning, but I would like to treat it as if it has one for this instance.

As said before, I was planning to have Carter wear green but changed it to blue to further suit the character. I still, however, kept the green on his stole. His stole started on the bottom edges with a blue color that gradients into green, then white. In relation to Gaia, this was supposed to mimic her hair and to keep her signature colors. Additionally, I did this to keep his old design and when his would-be character portrait appears, the white of his stole can only be seen exactly like his old portrait.

I made it have an added meaning too, that while Carter is religious, he is not faithful. Chester may or may not have the signature color of Marina’s but there is no doubt that he devotes himself to her. The definition of “He a little confused, but he got the spirit”. Nathan has the signature color of Gaia and he has dedicated his life to her. But Carter has expressed trying to find a higher purpose in his life. Having the stole fade from blue to white was my way of representing that listlessness.

In addition to that, I had placed the vine-like markings on his stole and used that same color of blue, and included it on his shirt and hat. The medallion is supposedly the symbol of the Harvest Goddess as Nathan also has one so that design element is crucial.

Added some buttons on him, and I noticed that in his original design, his hair is the same color as his shoes so I incorporated that. That is all for now about my 1st Priest Carter Redesign.

Here is my 2nd Redesign:

I took some design elements from his official design but changed it to lean more on Chester than Nathan. If Carter’s official design leans more on Nathan, then this redesign leans more on Chester. Still kept him in his old pose but instead of holding his hat, he is holding his medallion similar to his official design.

I have a similar thought process with this redesign as before.

For this one, I used black with dark blues to still have him resemble Gaia. The dark blue came from Chester’s design as well, just changed to blue. In addition, the curled-up ends of the cincture or sash, which is fully green with a blue gradient this time, and the three scapulars are supposed to callback to Gaia’s curly hair and layered dress.

I still drew him in my redesigned hair style but it is possible the reason why the designers just chopped off his bangs was because it would be difficult to draw Carter with a hat. Not impossible, just difficult. He does look more like a stereotypical priest with his hair on the official design, and it was the designers’ goal to make him more comical.

Speaking of which, for good measure, I drew Carter’s expressions using my redesigned versions. I actually like how the redesign made him much more expressive through his posing. The most expressive sprite he had, the one on the bottom left, was cut in the switch to the GameBoy Advance. Yes, Carter may be a generally calm guy so his expressions would not be that extreme. However, the most expressive he has been is changing his expressions while looking straight ahead or his body turned slightly to the left.

For some touches, I made his medallion longer so the black color would not be as distracting. His scapulars and amice have the same vine-like designs from his official design. Lastly, his scapulars have similar patterns as his hat.

I honestly would love to have Carter as a bachelor, even with his design right now. If the developers were to remove someone like Bon Vivant for example; I do not really think people would complain. They were able to do it by promoting Gordy to bachelor status. Maybe in the Harvest Moon DS: Cute remake, we could marry his descendant or something like in the original. Crossing my fingers that he appears in a game and becomes a bachelor for some reason.

Anyway, I am excited for the next installment of Story of Seasons!

I hope my redesign did not come off as prideful, as I said before this was made for fun. I hope people will like my takes though, so I would love to hear some feedback. Thank you for reading!

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imagine-a-sanctuary-like-this · 5 months ago

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Genshin Problem-Solving Wish List

I, like many players, have been going throuhg a bit of a break-up phase (not to be dramatic, of course) with Genshin over the Natlan patches. The bulk of my problems with the game is with the story and the questionable design choices for both character and environment, but some of them are with the quality of life issues that have become more noticeable to me as the story got bad enough that it no longer compensates. So, here's a list of things that I personally would have liked to see in Genshin, mostly related to gameplay growing boring, the '4 star problem' and the lack of good endgame content (in detail under the cut).

The 4-star problem

Bland protagonist design + more skins

Simple new combat mechanics

Companion interactions

New story mechanic

Different endings for events

The 4-star problem

Which refers to the mismatch between the growing pool of 4-star characters and the fixed number of banners in a year. This dilutes the chances of a specific 4-star featuring on a banner with every new 4-star released. There's been many solutions proposed for this. In an ideal world, I would see these: (1) new characters added to the starglitter shop. This doesn't have to be every 4-star in the game, but the roster available in the shop is long overdue an expansion. Some have suggested a 'fate point' system, but this only addresses half the problem. While yes, this will allow one to guarantee their desired 4-star, there's still the issue of there just being too many 4-stars to re-run with any good consistency.

So, (2) make the 4-stars customizable on a banner. Let the players choose from a roster of 6 which will be on the banner, kind of like charting a course for fate points, and this cannot be changed later.

Addtionally, (3) Honkai 3rd had 4-star exclusive banners at a lower cost. Something similar might be implemented in Genshin - maybe the banner will cost 80 primos/pull. This would turn out quite unprofitable, of course, if the banner features very sought-after characters, but maybe Hoyo could feature those that are less wanted and not extremely good, just so people that want them will have a chance to get them.

Bland Protagonist Design + Skins

To this day I don't really understand why Hoyo has opted to release so few skins for characters, especially so few 5-star skins that change animations. The existing, Diluc's, does not even change them that much - it's actually quite baffling. Adding more such skins would add variety to gameplay, and people would probably pay quite a bit if the new animations are good. Most confusingly, they had this in HI3, so I cannot comprehend why they seem set on creting a skin scarcity mindset in Genshin.

Something similar could be done for the MC, because at the moment the Traveller is just so bland to both look at and play. I would have loved to see a customizable MC, but alright, there's more ways to make them visually unique without changing their physical attributes. The simplest thing would be region-specific outfits, perhaps as keepsakes from our adventures. It's honestly riciculous that the Traveller's stayed in the same clothes this whoe time like they're glued onto them or something. We get the little customizable floaty things (seelies, the oceanid, the dragon, etc.), so why not something like a couple region-specific outfits? Maybe even quest items that are wearable and show up on the model, like everyone was siggesting with the mask from that one Inazuma quest.

There's also more than one way to customize that makes the player feel like they're actually contributing to the way that their Traveller is. I would have loved to see the MC either choose a different weapon or be able to learn other weapons. Perhaps one per region discovered? This would reguire some work for new animations, but it would make the gameplay feel better, in my opinion.

Simple Combat Mechanics

Blocking! Just adding this one mechanic would of course be far from 'simple' in the game dev sense, but imagine how cool it could be from the gameplay perspective without adding anything super-complicated in the gameplay mechanic sense. Perhaps characers might even have unique 'counter attacks' with cool animations that trigger upon a perfect parry (like in Beidou's kit). Block at the exact right moment and be rewarded with a powerful counter. Casual players would not be impacted, but the gameplay would probably feel a lot more rewarding for others.

Another thing that might feel nice on a gameplay level is rewards for dodging an attack at just the right moment. Maybe it triggers an animation or some kind of visual cue, and the enemy gets a disadvantage or perhaps our character performs a different counter to the perfect parry one.

Companion Interactions

Something that Genshin misses out on is the feeling of the playable characters being part of the world. You cannot see, for exampe, Hu Tao going about her business if you visit Li Yue, or see Yae Miko at the shrine. Imo it would make the world feel so much more immersive if we could, for example, see John Lee drinking tea or chilling around the town, or run into Navia at some locations in Fontaine, or find Alhaitham bickering with Kaveh at the library or next to their house. Imagine walkin around Sumeru and seeing Nilou prectice for performing, or walking around Fontaine and catching Furina at a musical rehearsal. I feel like this would add so much depth to the world, and make it feel like the characters are actually people liviing in it, instead of some constructs that just spawn in whenever the Traveller appears for a quest or an event.

New Story Mechanic

In a similar vein, the format of the character quests locks the player out of doing anything that feels impactful. Yes, there's different ending to the companion quests for 4-stars, but by their nature they cannot be very impactful or interesting. This is fine if we're going for the 'spend some one on one time with character x', but sometimes it feels to me like something's lacking. There are so many interesting lore events to explore that are not directly relevant to the main questline, which are right now locked behind boring NPC dialog and info-dumps.

This is obviously a rough concept, but I'm imagining something like a new quest mechanic. Let's call it a Simulated Memory Mirror, or something of the sort. This magical object might allow you to go into simulations of companion memories or past locations. Think of this as the Pensieve from Harry Potter, but one where you can play out different outcomes. Genshin's done something like this before, where we could go into the past, or simulations of the past, and interact with them.

Perhaps there might be two modes: one where you go as yourself, and one where you can act as the companion whose past it is. This could be a fascinating characer writing opportunity on top of just covering things that the main quests don't have time for. For example, it might help explore some character's regrets, how they might have done something differently, etc. Maybe too we could learn more about dead characters - imagine playing through a memory of Signora's or Capitano's past. Imagine playing as someone who acts the antagonist in the main story - a snippet of their memories, some regret or something that they might have done differenty.

To make this gacha-friendly, maybe you can only access the companion memories for the characters that you have. Now you have incentive to pull, and some interesting lore/character implications to who you're pulling. Sure, this locks these behind a paywall, but if enough are accessable without it (e.g., non-playable characters, villains, dead characters, memories where we go in as the Traveller), this might be worth the trade. And Hoyo is, after all, for profit, so that would make sense.

Different endings for events

To the same point about feeling like what the Traveller says and does is set in stone, it would add a sense of agency to introduce some events/quests where the ending can differ. Something like the Natlan victim count, but for something more interesting (imo). The most trivial way of adding this is just making the dialogue choices provoke different responses. As it is, the Traveller's dialogue basically has no effect on what response we get.

On a bigger scale, this might look like events where the ending will vary depending on what we choose to do. There's much talk about the MC being a self-incert, but when it comes to things that matter, like voicing moral opinions or agreeing with things that characters say, we cannot actually do anything but what the game has set down. I noticed this most recently in Kinich's quest, where there's no option to disagree with Kinich/to say that to kill the green round boi is the better, more mercyful choice. Sure, it all works out in the end, but I'd have liked to at least have a different way of getting to the same ending, if not a different ending altogether.

If adding this much variety/choice in character quests doesn't fit the story, there's always events. Imagine events with actually interesting stories that you can actually personally affect, involving established characters and the option to express different opinions. Now that's something I'd like to play.

#thoughts #genshin impact #genshin #hoyo #hoyoverse #mihoyo #natlan #gacha #gaming #video game

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trumpetnista · 5 months ago

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CMW2/Trumpetnista: Foil

Summary from FFN: FERAL-VERSE VERSION OF THE SERIES FINALE: After months of misery, Jeremiah FINALLY throws down the gauntlet and everyone is more than ready to end his reign of terror. Selina has been re-evaluating her life decisions and has decided to change, leading to the peace and joy she deserves;Rated for language, GOTHAM typical action/gore, and BatCat lovemaking;1st in my 2025 SSS Project

Words from the Hooded GOTHAMITE: Good Aftenoon and Happy New Year, everyone! It has been a very long time since I've done anything fandom related consistently and there are legitimate reasons why. The full story is under my personal tag but here's the synopsis: In late 2020-early 2021, I accepted the religion that I grew up with (Jehovah's Witnesses) was a Cult so I've been in the process of deprogramming and discovering myself. In mid-September 2022, I had a psychotic break that led to an 8-10 day hospitalization and more importantly, my Bipolar 1 diagnosis.

In August 2023, I lost my father due to congestive heart failure coupled with nursing home neglect and my mother is currently dealing with being a widow along with her own growing stack of medical/mental issues that she refuses to go to a nursing home for.

My fibromyalgia has changed in an awful way, which means I'll likely have to go in for more surgeries to deal with it, along with handling the ongoing healing of my dominant left wrist and hand from surgery to deal with Kienbock's Disease. I've recently been diagnosed with arthritis in my ribcage but thankfully, my change in diet and lifestyle is compatible with keeping it in check, as well as more surgeries.

With all of that being said, I want and need to do something that brings me joy and that I have full control over. Writing has always been a part of my life, one of my greatest joys, and I want to get back to it.

Thank you so much for your patience.

The show may be over but my love for it is far from over. GOTHAM has so many characters, so many ideas that deserve more exploration and my Emo kids turned Emo adults may have ended on a hopeful note but the trashy shipper part of me wants better for them.

I still plan on writing them getting turnt together and I’ve finally settled on an idea for the sequel to Positive but this idea won’t leave me alone. We’ll be returning to the Feral-verse here. It’s one of my favorite AUs.

I absolutely fucking despise Harley and Joker’s “relationship”. I always have and I always will but none of the versions were more offensive to me than Jeremiah and Ecco’s. It just...y’all know the meme: “DISGUSTENG”? Yeah. I was more than happy to see her die (Spoilers. Apologies.) but it also made me wonder what would’ve happened if someone actually called out the “relationship” for the toxic bullshit it was. Who better than Selina Kyle? Of course, BatCat will be serving as an imperfectly perfect foil to their nonsense (hence the title...I love making connections like that. It’s one of writing’s joys) and honestly, this fic is just an excuse to bash the life ruining circus freak and write BatCat action plot with porn with healthy communication for flavor.

Also, this fic is gonna go deep into Selina’s head. With everything that’s happened to her and the city, she’s come to some conclusions, conclusions that could (and will) change her life for the better, not just between her and Bruce but in general. I want my Grumpy Cat to have joy and as much peace as the world will allow. She deserves the whole world. She really does.

Disclaimer: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

"Hi, Selina Kyle!"

"...hello...you okay in there?"

"Uh-huh. Everyone here has treated me real nice. I thought they'd be mean but nope."

"Good."

"Can you chat for a while? I'm sooo bored and there are hardly any girls around..."

"Sure, just as long as you keep in mind that if you try to pull a Move on me, you'll have more holes in you than swiss cheese before you can blink."

"Fair enough...so, are you gonna cook me before you eat me or am I gonna be sushi? I love sushi...man, I miss sushi so much. I'd cut someone's pinky toe off for some sashimi right now..."

"Why the hell would I eat you?"

"Because you're a Cutie Cannibal, Curls. The scared little bunnies told me and Daddy all about you before he made them go bye-bye. You ripped Wet Willie's throat out and made them bring it home to us. Lil' Bitch Baby Penguin, Crazy Widow Barbie, Raggedy Andrew, The Song of Ice and Fire Blasters, even Jimmy the Gent watching us over yonder with his loyal posse of fellow do-gooders...they're the Big Giant Heads of this city yet they're all scared shitless of little ol' you. You don't see it?"

"I see it every day but I don't care."

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"How come?"

"None of them matter to me. Okay, Gordon, Bullock, and Barbara do because they're Squad but the rest of them can fuck right off. We'd be better off if they died or left town and never came back."

"Weren't you and The Fire Blaster besties back in the way day?"

"Yeah...The Plant Witch, too but they went their ways and I went mine. It is what it is. Good times or not, when they pull a Move on me and mine again? I'll stomp them like roaches."

"Harsh."

"Yeah, but better them than me and mine."

"...I know a secret about you, Selina Kyle. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Bruce Wayne matters more to you than anybody else in the whole wide world. Oh, you put on a good show of being a cold hard bitch but anyone smart can see right through it. You lurve him. I mean, c'mon. You moved out of Haven to live in sin with him in his lovely little townhouse and big beautiful Manor. You made peace with his manservant and now you're like a daughter to him. You and Brucie run around every day with the coppers, still trying to save the sinking ship and all the sad little rats trapped inside of it. He tells you all his secrets and you tell him most of yours. You're giving him your milk and cookies whenever he wants 'em and you even took a naughty little bullet for him. Mr. J thought that when he shot you down that it'd change everything between him and Brucie for the best. His crazy sexy cool buddy Ra's said that it would before he went up in smoke with the Bridges. Mr. J thought that they'd be best friends and brothers forever because you would be out of the way but instead, capping you ruined just about everything and he's mad about it. Super-duper mad..."

"I can tell. Did he put those fingerprints on your arms? The shiner around your eye?"

"I like it rough, Puddin'. You should give it a try. Get some pretty marks of your own."

"Don't call me Puddin'. Your marks aren't pretty and they're not from liking it rough. They're from your boyfriend being an abusive mouth breathing shithead."

"Well, that's just mean!"

"Not as mean as he is to you. Anyone who thinks it's okay to treat their partner like a punching bag is disgusting and deserves to die in a fire. Period."

"...so me-an...you're not looking at the big picture...you don't know him like I do..."

"I wish I didn't know him at all but alas, poor goddamned Yorick. You do realize that he doesn't really love or care about you, right? If you dropped dead right in front of him, he would just go find someone else. He wouldn't even have a real funeral for you. You're nothing but another sucker that's willing to do his dirty work for him. You're 3 holes for him to bust a fat nut in and that's it. You ain't shit to him and you don't see it. I feel really bad for you."

"Ohhh, grumpy baby alley cat's all of a sudden an expert on true love? You think you can judge us? What do you think is gonna happen with Wet Blanket Brucie down the line? Do you really think you're gonna live happily ever after? You're gonna go around the world with him and be his bodyguard and let him do you in any boardroom he wants? You're gonna marry him? You're gonna be the Lady of Wayne Manor and start popping out his ugly little bouncing billionaire brats? You're gonna be the Queen Bee MILF and make mango mimosas to wash down the magic brownies for your book club on the weekends? Is that what you want from him? That's your dream life?"

"If he's down, fuck yeah. After all the shit we've been through, being together like that until we get dead is a great idea. It'd be fun as hell and our bouncing little billionaire brats would be absolutely fucking precious, thank you very much! I mean, they'll definitely get stuck with my hair and his nose but still..."

"Huh. Well, you just talked so bad about Mr. J but seriously? It's Bruce Wayne, as in Wayne. He could be with any broad he wants. He could drop you like a bad habit any minute now."

"He could but he won't. I'm it for him and it goes both ways."

"You sure about that, pussy-cat?"

"More than anything."

"...you really think you're so special to him? You think that you're his whole world?"

"I know I am because when it counts the most? He shows me. What's yours shown you?"

"The Truth."

"The Truth about what? Insanity?"

"No! Gotham. People. Life. I'm free!"

"Says the broad who's sitting in a cage and is gonna get deep fried at worst or locked in a padded closet at best. Ecco, that bastard hasn't shown you anything but how to completely ruin your life but he'll send someone to come get you eventually. It won't be for love, though. Unh-uh. He'll do it because it'll keep you under his thumb. He'll do it because he knows that if you ever woke up and saw that The Emperor's buck ass nude? He'd be done for. If you were smart, you'd get rid of his bitch ass and run The Dark Zone by yourself. It'd be easy. I mean, all you'd have to do is feed him a good meal, liquor him up, give him the best fuck of his life and then as soon as he falls asleep? Use a shiv to draw a big smile across his throat and let him drown. Then, you'd really be free and what's left of the gene pool would be saved, if you're not pregnant already. Wait, are you? Do you need a piss test? That's one of the few things we've got a ton of..."

"Not yet, sweetums but hopefully down the line..."

"Hopefully never. There have been enough Valeskas. The world and what's left of this place doesn't need another one running around. Did his brother really shoot you in the fucking head?"

"He sure did...and the naughty little bullet's still in there rattling around today. Watch!"

"...your guy isn't worth a pot to piss in but mine is. B isn't perfect but at the end of the day, I'm sticking with him because he's a good person with a good heart, even after all the shitty things and people that have happened to him. There is nothing good left inside of Jeremiah, if there was really any to begin with. I doubt it. He's a mad dog so do yourself and everybody else around here a favor? End it with him and kill him before he kills you. Seriously.”

//////////////////////////

"I knew a lot of folks like her back in the day. They were so hurt and lonely that they'd latch on to the first person that paid them any attention. 9 times out of 10? They would end up in the Shelters and eventually on The Hoe Stroll. A few of them even went missing...and it wasn't always men hurting girls. Sometimes, it would be a woman who'd take a boy in and I just...I had to try."

"I understand. Maybe Ecco will take your words to heart."

"Nah. She's too far gone. She's gonna stick with him to the bitter end and it sucks. It would've been awesome poetic justice if she was the one who did him in but I guess it'll have to be me."

"No."

"Jeremiah's a sick fuck, Bruce. You know that better than anyone around here. You saw how far he's willing to go to get what he wants so how the hell else are we supposed to deal with him?"

"He shouldn't just die. He needs to stand trial for everything he's done."

"All putting his guilty ass in a courtroom will do is give him a chance to blow it up."

"Selina..."

"Okay, fine. Let's say that the trial gets done without another mass murder or bombs going off...where is he supposed to go after it? Blackgate can't hold him. Arkham will just make him worse and give him more idiots to use as fodder when he breaks out. Even if the Feds take him far away from here, he'll bust out and do the same twisted shit or he'll be on Death Row getting 3 hots and a cot for 50 years before he rides the lightning down to hell. He's the reason why this city and everyone in it is fucked so he needs to die sooner rather than later."

"I agree but that doesn't mean that his executioner has to be you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"...it shouldn't have to be you."

"Well, somebody else better step the fuck up soon because I'm tired of him hurting people!"

"So am I."

It had dawned on Selina Kyle during her chat with Ecco that someone was funneling information to The Dark Zone, far more than what was coming out. On the surface, all was calm. Those who managed to get to The Green Zone told a different story. People were being tortured and killed just for the thrill of it. Supplies were strictly rationed out, tied to a system of credits. The credits were earned by causing mayhem or through hard labor.

Smaller gangs roamed the Zone's streets like packs of wild animals: fighting, partying, looting, and fucking nonstop. Jeremiah's stronghold held the biggest number of people. It was the center of the action. A select few were fanatically devoted to him like Ecco. Unfortunately, the place was mainly housing people caught in the middle, just like the ones who had escaped from Penguin's City Hall stronghold and Zone.

They were in a far worse situation and needed to be rescued. Valeska was counting on it happening. He would have all sorts of SAW traps ready to make things harder for everyone. He had been ignored for too long and Selina had thrown down a very public, very bloody gauntlet when she did what she did at Haven.

Jeremiah was looking for a grand Show Stopping Number. He wanted to be the Star of the Show and he would get his wish. People like Jim Gordon wouldn't let the shitty situation stand for much longer. They couldn't. After all, they were do-gooders and stalwart heroes. Their noble work was never done. Plus, nobody deserved to be trapped with a leisure suit wearing off brand Jim Jones with a fetish for domestic terrorism.

Not to mention that everybody, even those who initially benefited from The Bridges Falling, hated the dumb fuck for making it happen with help from Ra-men Noodle Soup.

Mercifully, that twisted bastard was very much dead and would stay that way. The Knife had done him in just before the bombs blew. Barbara had grabbed Bruce and used him to ram the enchanted blade straight into where the man's heart would have been if he had one. After slaughtering all the men, Ra's Al Gul's female followers had pledged their allegiance to her, giving her a devoted Amazon Army, but the damage was done.

Destroying the bridges ruined everything for everyone. Initially, it had been like Criminal Christmas but now, it was after New Year's and everyone was hungover and depressed.

Yes, the bad guys finally got their glorious victory but at what cost? Ruling Gotham didn't mean anything if supplies couldn't come into the city. Ruling Gotham didn't mean anything if the people they wanted to take advantage of inside of it died or rioted before they could. Fresh and packaged food, clean drinking water, safe places to sleep, medicine, ammo, clothes, booze, drugs...everything was running low. There was only so much that could be done before the situation got even worse.

They were running out of options and most dangerously, they were running out of hope.

Selina knew all too well what a lack of hope caused and she didn't want to see it happen again.

Salvation lay in Reunification with the mainland.

No matter what side of the law you were on, no matter what Zone or Turf you lived in, if one had an ounce of sanity left, they prayed to whoever and whatever they believed in for Reunification.

The government was doing everything to avoid making it happen, citing the ongoing danger.

Jeremiah Valeska was hands down the biggest problem keeping help away. If the impending rescue mission went well? If everyone in the city pooled resources and teamed up to take the circus freak's cult down for good afterwards? If they could show proof of Jeremiah's death or proof that he'd never be a major threat again like Sofia Falcone? It would eliminate lots of, if not all of the excuses and red tape. The few good people left in the government plus volunteers from all over the world could step up and come through. Then, they could all work together to rebuild and make the city better than ever.

They could heal and things could finally get back to as normal as Gotham would allow.

Despite getting out of their bed, Bruce hadn't joined her on the window seat and she knew why.

Ecco knew way too much about their relationship to be guessing. That meant that there was at least one spy inside the GCPD, Haven, and a bunch of snitches looking for street cred lurking about. Looking down, the night was dark and still. However, that didn't mean that they were alone. Yes, the 5 blocks around the townhouse were virtually deserted but there were lots of hiding places. Breaking into a house was child's play and spy cameras were better than ever. Valeska had been a brilliant scientist and engineer like Lucius Fox before he lost his marbles. If he really wanted to see and hear them living their lives?

"...let's give them something to talk about. They want to watch us? Fine. I don't give a shit about them and you shouldn't either because none of them matter. We do. We're good and he can't take that away from us. I won't let him."

Over the years, Selina had made the common mistake of equating femininity with weakness. She was a kid and later a woman on Gotham's mean streets. There was no room to be soft. There was no time to be weak and really, if she had a choice between swiping a carton of milk or a tube of lip gloss? It would be the carton of milk every time. She had to be practical. She had to be strong at all times...but that way of thinking was wrong. Selina was strong and badass no matter what she wore or stole. Nothing was stopping her from being soft yet strong except for her own bullshit. Having come to that realization, she had started making slow but permanent changes.

Soft fabrics and textures, brighter colors, makeup and nail polish...Selina had always appreciated pretty things. If she wasn't stealing basic things for survival, she would take jewelry, particularly diamonds. Nowadays, she indulged that side of her through her loungewear. She still wore Bruce's clothes but mainly, she donned nightgowns and robes when at rest. The robes were soft and warm, some even having deep enough pockets to hold multiple weapons. Her nightgowns ranged from hip to floor length. They had lace detail, pearl buttons, and satin bows to be tied or untied. Some of the gowns were thick, preserving her modesty and others were silky sheer, leaving very little to the imagination.

Selina had also started putting her hair up again. As wild as her curls had become, it was the only option other than a buzz cut. She was sure that she would look great with short hair but she wasn't brave enough to reach for the clippers yet. Her hair being up most of the time meant that she had a growing collection of pins, brooches, clips, and barrettes. Her favorites were a gift from Bruce. The large pins were platinum with raised cat's paw black diamond detail. Where and how he had gotten ahold of them was anyone's guess but she adored them. They were strong enough to keep her mane under wraps without pain. They doubled as lock picks and in a pinch, they could be weapons. They probably wouldn't slit a throat but when she went for the eyes?

Before Bruce could get settled, Selina was already invading and annexing his personal space.

He laughed at her audacity and laid back, happily letting her use him as a mattress.

Bruce was warm and smelled like safety. He had run out of his toiletries and while she did miss the spiced pine, he still smelled like home. His lips pressed against her temple and Selina hid her face in his chest. The full moon was bright in the smoggy skies and they were as safe as Gotham allowed them to be at the moment.

When times of peace came, it was best to grab onto them with both hands. How and why Bruce saw her as a part of his peace confused her to no end but Selina felt the same way about him.

That feeling of peace also added to her protectiveness over him.

People were always trying to take him away. They were jealous of his high social status, angry at him for interfering with whatever questionable and illegal stuff they did, or just plain nuts.

They wanted him dead and gone. They wanted him maimed and they desperately wanted to bring him down to their level to break him beyond repair. Bruce hadn't given in to any of them. He had made mistakes but he was still good to the bone. He genuinely wanted to be a good person and he wouldn't give up his light without a fight to the end. If Selina had a say in the matter, she would be fighting right by his side.

Bruce being Bruce would try to stop her but she would shut that shit down with prejudice. She did what she wanted whenever she wanted. Nobody could tell her what to do. No matter what happened, at the end of the day, they were in it together. She and Bruce were their best selves together. They could take on the biggest threats and win, even when one or both of them got hurt. Even at her angriest at him and vice versa, when it counted the most, they were a team.

No, they were a family.

"...everything you said to Ecco about our possible future earlier...did you mean it?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you felt that way?"

"A while. I just...I figure that if I'm gonna be happy down the road, like legit happy? Then, you're in the mix and if I wasn't serious about us sticking together, then I wouldn't be here with you right now. Does that make sense?"

"It does."

It was hard for her to trust. It was even harder for her to talk about her feelings but Selina wanted things to be crystal clear. Most of the problems between her and Bruce started with a misunderstanding. Not only that but Selina had seen what happened with other couples when they weren't honest with each other about themselves. It led to drama and all sorts of heartbreak that she didn't want either of them to feel again.

Outside of her relationship with Bruce, Selina didn't want to wake up 10, 20 years from now and have nothing to really show for her life but regret. She needed to change her ways and mean it.

Many would call her wrong to change. They would say that she was being stupid and weak.

She wasn't. She had thought long and hard about it.

Being trapped in that damned hospital bed gave her plenty of time to mull over her options.

At the time, the only endgame she saw and wanted for her future was death. She was a cripple, a burden, and she wanted out. It was no less than what she deserved, she figured. She had been playing Russian Roulette with her life for years and the bullet had finally been in the chamber.

Selina had given up and had expected everyone else to do the same. That hadn't happened and against all odds, she got another chance. She had been knocked down but not out.

Bruce had gone into the belly of Ivy Pepper III's poisonous plant covered beast to get help for her. He had stood up to a very angry, witch hunting mob and to Ivy herself more than once. He had risked life, limb, and what precious little sanity he had left just for her. The Root had fixed her spine and Selina was back on her feet almost immediately. She could stand, walk, run, and jump again. She was stronger than before, faster than before, smarter than before and she could do anything without feeling awful burning, numbing pain. Her dreamy words to Bruce before they embraced each other were absolute truth: she was better, better than ever before.

With her new abilities, Selina could become the undisputed Queen of Gotham's Underground. Either that or she could be a top tier Thief for Hire, taking on Jobs and pocketing big bucks.

Choosing either of those paths would set her up for failure.

They would make for a hollow and sad life, filled with nothing but danger and stress.

She would spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for the cops or the Feds. She wouldn't have any true friends or family anymore. She would end up murdered in a street war. She would get hurt worse than when Five shoved her through the window and when Jeremiah shot her combined. The best outcome for her if she kept going as she was would be Exile, never able to set foot in Gotham again out of fear of rotting in a prison cell or bullet to the head.

She didn't want that.

Selina had witnessed the Rise and Fall of many of Gotham's rulers, people who seemed to be indestructible. Those people ended up locked in a cage, on the run, and dying violently. Not only did they end up betrayed and dead, their downfall always came about because of someone they trusted. Either someone they trusted or someone they underestimated. Mainly, their end came from someone that they had fucked over and didn't kill or make amends with afterwards.

Selina wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life next. She had been a Thief for almost as long as she could remember but enough was enough. It truly was.

She had messed up a lot. She had been selfish, bitchy, and lost good friends. She had backed the wrong players in Turf wars, leading to people dying and getting hurt who didn't deserve it. She had hurt people who cared about her and honestly, there was only so much dumb/good luck left in the world for her. She had gotten more than her fair share of it.

It was time to straighten up and fly right before it was too late.

Selina only had 7 of her 9 lives left and she would be damned if she wasted them.

8 Days Later...

"I thought you'd be Jim."

"Yeah, me too but he's got his hands full with Lee right now."

"That better be fucking literally. The woman risked it all to get herself and those kids away from those tunneling psychos because she believes in him: not the GCPD, not the government, but him. Even after all the bad things that happened between them, she did that shit so he needs to take his head out of his ass and be with her forever. He's never gonna do any better and as awesome as Lee is, she won't either. They're it for each other. They tried to pretend that they weren't and made things bad for themselves and everybody around them. They can't get a do-over but they can move forward and they should. They'll have to work their asses off for it but it's doable. They're good together so they need to stop being dumb and start being happy before it's too late."

"...you ever consider writing an advice column? You'd make a killing."

"Anything's possible. Wanna come up?"

"Nah. I've had my fill of roof ledges and of being hypnotized. I should've shot that twisted little rhyming freak in the face when I had the chance."

"You'll get another one real soon. Tetch always follows the craziest ones and ain't nobody in town crazier than Valeska, not even Barbara, which is what you're here to talk to me about."

"Yeah."

"...when he tries to kill B and Lurch again, I'm gonna do what I gotta do to protect them but we're going to The Dark Zone to save people and to take as much loot that we can carry with us. I can keep my cool."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm-hm. I'm not gonna let him win, Harvey. It's part of my whole "know better, do better" Master Plan...plus, I don't wanna end up like Tabby. She let revenge get in the way, dropped her guard, and now she's Gone. I mean, she, her brother, and Butch did some fucked up shit to Penguin and his mom that definitely needed to be paid for with blood but she still didn't deserve to die like that. She should've had a fair fight. Yeah, he would've got her in the end but he'd be dead too so it would've balanced out, y'know?"

"Yeah...speaking of keeping things balanced, could you get down from there?"

"But why, though? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Giggling, Selina did two flips in quick succession before rising up on her steel clawed fingertips.

"Knock it off! See, this is why I hopefully don't have kids..."

The Twelfth Precinct was a buzzing hub of activity. At midnight, a trio of emaciated children had shown up in the lobby with haunted eyes. None of them had said a word but a note had been pinned to one of their dingy red and white striped shirts. Letters from various magazines had been glued to the yellow legal pad paper, spelling out the words COME SEE ME. I'M BORED. Underneath was a picture of a deranged clown's grin in purple Sharpie, surrounded by laughter written in blood. Whose blood the HAs had been printed in was a mystery but the message was clear: Valeska was more than ready for his closeup.

At least the bastard had the decency to throw down his gauntlet before winter arrived. It was going to be hard enough getting everyone in and out of The Dark Zone alive. The last thing they needed was someone to slip on some ice or for a blizzard to be going on, too. Maybe if things went well, the government would take their heads out of their asses before Christmas.

After downing the last of her water, Selina went towards the file room. There was a loose vent cover and she could fit into the surprisingly clean air ducts with ease. The Twelfth's basement had a boxing gym inside of it and Bruce was down there preparing for the raid. She wanted to make sure that he was okay but also didn't want to break his focus.

He needed to be at 110%.

Jeremiah wouldn't go down without a fight nor would he go down without a one on one confrontation with Bruce. It just wasn't in his nature. It wasn't in not so dearly departed his evil twin Jerome's either. Everything they did had to be dramatic. Everything had to be big, loud and the more bloodshed, the better.

God, Selina was looking forward to him being gone for good.

The world would be better off without him and his followers running around. Jeremiah being gone meant that there would be one less demented asshole trying to hurt or kill Bruce. That was always good in her book...

Getting to her destination, Selina stretched before replacing the vent cover. The basement locker room was co-op but only slightly bigger than the ones upstairs. It was used for storage mainly but people could still get a quick, lukewarm shower or a nap if they needed to. Years of practice kept her light on her feet and she sat down on the bench in front of the first row of gray lockers. The room was dark but the gym's overhead lights shone through the exit's frosted glass window, highlighting all the shadows.

"...you're worried."

"I'm not just worried. I'm terrified. I don't want her within a mile of him but Selina is one of the best fighters we have, if not the best. Plus, if I tried to tell her to stay here, she would not only come with us anyway but she would literally whip my ass for bossing her around outside of our bedroom. No, thank you."

"Smart man. Selina's not going to risk her life without a good reason. She never does."

"I know and she's right. Jeremiah needs to be stopped for good. His death is the only way that we can be sure that he and his followers don't hurt anyone else, at least for a little while."

"But?"

"...I don't want her to be like I was after killing Ra's. She's already been through so much and I don't...I know that she's killed before. I know that but it's different this time, Alfred. Everything is different now and I can't lose her. Not her, too."

"You won't lose her."

"How do you know?"

"Faith."

Faith was another concept that Selina had trouble coming to terms with. The nuns at the orphanage had spoken about it all the time, as had the priests during the sermons she had attended. Street kids called it Sermons for Supper because after every service, there would be a hot meal and supplies from a food bank offered to them.

Faith was held up as the key to ultimate happiness and salvation, which she believed to a point but at the end of the day? The only faith Selina had was faith in herself.

Putting faith in others was a risk that usually wasn't worth it. It was just another way to get fucked over and heartbroken. Maria had taught her that lesson. Her interactions with Gotham's Rulers and her Squad had been a harsh teacher, too. Don't put faith in anyone for more than a few minutes at a time. Any longer and things would go wrong.

That was Rule Number 2.

Rule Number 1 was to Look Out for #1.

But Alfred had faith in her now. Gordon and the other cops did, too and Bruce? Bruce thought the fucking world of her. He really did and Selina just didn't get it. What did he see that she didn't? What did the others see that she didn't? She really should ask them one day but honestly, Selina was afraid of what they'd say. Another Rule of survival was to make sure that no one had any expectations of her outside of the bare minimum. She had broken it before.

Hell, she was shattering it now.

She had chosen a side and was open about said loyalty. Before, Selina kept her options open and made sure that everyone knew she was going to save her skin first, no matter what happened. Now, she had cut off all ways to make a clean break from everyone around her and more importantly, she didn't want to. Selina wouldn't be any better off if she left Gotham behind nor would anyone else. She would miss her family so fucking much and they would miss her too because she mattered to them.

Selina mattered to people as herself now.

Not as an elite Thief, not as a glorified Errand Girl, just herself.

Would she ever get used to that?

Deciding to save the rest of her existential crisis for later, Selina joined them in the gym. Bruce was sitting on the staircase, head bowed. He looked as if the world was resting on his shoulders. Alfred had his pistol up but as soon as he saw that it was her, he lowered it immediately.

The relief in the man's body language said it all and Selina nodded, removing her jacket.

"I got him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Jim was looking for you. He says he wants you to team up with the Sniper Squad."

The ball was in her court now. Bruce was expecting her to make the first move and Selina wasn't about to disappoint him. However, she was going to do it differently. That was another part of her new lifestyle: being unpredictable in good ways. Also, Bruce was in a very dark place at the moment so her usual methods would shut him down. She didn't want that. Neither of them needed that. Soon, they would be facing the monster in the closet head on. If they weren't at their best, Jeremiah would run roughshod over both of them and Selina would be damned if she let that happen.

The asshole had won his battles but he wasn't going to win the war.

In a smooth motion, Selina had her bull whip unfurled. The tip of it hit the boxing ring's bell dead on, clanging it. She did it twice more before taking 5 steps backward, aiming again. Her next target was a large string of half lit Christmas lights. They fell from their place in the corner after 2 strikes. For the next few minutes, she picked random objects in the room to hit, continuing to add distance and speed to her movements. Accuracy and agility won fights or at least bought her enough time to run away from whoever wanted a piece of her most of the time.

Once Selina was warmed up, she began running through her repertoire of combat moves. Many of them had been taught to her by Tabitha but Selina had come up with a few attacks on her own. She had been meaning to teach them to her but so much happened before she could.

She started hanging around Bruce after his Spiral ended, cutting into her time on the Streets and at Siren's. Tabitha had gotten caught up in what would end up being the last round of her war with Penguin while trying to get help for Butch Gilzean's Frankenstein infection. Sofia Falcone went off the rails and started her own war with Penguin before Lee's headshot made the snooty bitch into steamed broccoli. Raise da Roof got resurrected and went on a magical rampage.

Shortly afterwards, Valeska had set up his Little Warehouse of Horrors, making her have to save Alfred and Bruce from Scarecrow's upgraded terror gas. Valeska shot her in the spine and paralyzed her. The Bridges Fell and then the shootout after the helicopter crash happened...god, if Barbara hadn't already laid claim to the little shit stain's life, Selina would take it herself!

Penguin had raised so much hell leading up to The Bridges Falling and the way he killed Tabitha was just plain wrong. Her sister deserved a far better death than the one she got. Then, his Marie Antoinette behavior towards the people living in his Zone, the trouble he had caused until the attack at Haven...

"I'm sorry, Selina."

The defeat in Bruce's voice melted and shattered her heart in her chest. Selina joined him on the staircase and rested her head on his right bicep.

"Why are you sorry?"

"...I don't know. I'm just am."

"You told Alfred how you really feel about what's going on and that's good. You need to do that more often. Holding that kind of heavy stuff in isn't good for your brain, especially nowadays."

"I know. I've been working on it. Cat, I..."

"Stop. I get it. I'm scared shitless, too."

"You are?"

"Duh. Bruce, saying that I can keep my cool is one thing but actually doing it while rescuing a bunch of traumatized people from the sickest fuck that's ever slithered out of the swamp is a whole other ballgame. Jeremiah is sick, twisted, and all the way wrong, even by Gotham's standards. He's a monster that hurts people because he thinks it's the right thing to do, which is way worse than him just doing it for funsies. You don't want me within a mile of him? Well, I sure as shit don't want him or any of his minions to be on the same planet as you. None of them deserve to breathe the same air as you and I fucking hate it when you're in pain."

He snorted rudely at her last declaration and Selina chuckled before clarifying.

"I fucking hate it when you're in pain that I didn't cause or when you're in pain that could put you in a padded room or body bag. Jeremiah hits all of those marks and then some."

Bruce nodded in agreement before closing his eyes again. He looked exhausted and like he was fighting through one hell of a headache. Wanting to help, Selina slowly made her way onto his lap, purring softly. Once she was straddling him, she removed her gloves before letting her nails rake over his scalp. Bruce rested his head on her shoulder to give her better access and she settled in. His hands easily spanned her waist and his fingers locked, holding her fast.

The Root fixed her spine and changed everything else about her. Selina was still human overall but as time passed, more feline behavior and thinking came into the mix. The changes were most obvious when she was angry and especially when it came to showing Bruce affection. She would purr at him, sit on his lap, ambush him, rub against him, and groom him when he would let her.

He always let her.

It made them both feel better.

Life was better when they were together.

It still sucked but having each other made things much easier.

Bruce's hair was getting long. It wasn't hair metal long but it was longer than she had ever seen it. Honestly, she didn't mind. The length gave her more to hold onto when they were really going at it and it was silky soft. It was silky soft, fun to play with, and annoyingly manageable. All he had to do was wet it and take a comb to it before he would be good to go. Meanwhile, really tackling her hair took hours of strength, courage, and at least three tumblers of bourbon.

"Ooh, I'm starting to see some silver fox action...are you getting old on me, Master Bruce?"

Her imitation of Alfred was completely spot on and never failed to make him giggle.

"Any gray hairs that I have now and in the future are entirely because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you!"

"What the hell did I do?"

"What the hell haven't you done?"

"I can think of a couple of things...speaking of us getting old and gray, I'm actually 20, not 19."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. I got bored while Vanessa's crew did a supply swap so I went down to Gotham General's file room and found the O.G. print of my birth certificate. The rest of my birthday's the same but I'm 20. It didn't say who my father is but given Maria's fabulous taste in men, he's either a filthy rich dipshit that she trick-rolled after a Gala or a wannabe hustler she decided to share body heat with to get by. Either way, I don't wanna know. Not anymore. As far I'm concerned, I'm the twisted rage filled root of the Kyle family tree and that's A-OK with me. Hey, that rhymed!"

"It did and it was wonderful...are you sure?"

"Mm-hm."

"All right. But if you ever change your mind..."

"I'll let you know and we'll go looking for him...do you feel better now?"

"Yes. Thank you, Cat."

"You're welcome. Do you want me to get off of you?"

"Not yet."

"Okay, then...wanna make out?"

"What else did you find?"

"Another first aid kit, 8 mason jars, a half empty bottle of scotch, and some big ass bundles of yarn, like really good yarn. I think it might be cashmere."

"Let me see...it is."

"Groovy. We can use it to make socks and patch blankets or the docs can use it for surgeries. Whatever comes first. Do you know this place? It seems like you would know this place..."

"No, but after things get back to normal, I'll be sure to find out who it belongs to."

Even though word had likely spread about the impending Raid, everyone involved in it kept things as lowkey as possible. There was a sense of urgency in The Green Zone and amongst its allies but there had been no showing off. They would leave all of that to Valeska.

Everything went into battening down the hatches. Everyone had a job to do, even some of the kids (not by force, never ever by force!) and they would face whatever was to come head on. Gotham was no stranger to crises. Over the years, it had been the center of absolute mayhem. From gas attacks to magical curses to torture disguised as Frankenstein "science", and so many fires, so many explosions. The Bridges Falling was just the latest example of it. The city had been rocked to its foundations and while it was battered, it was still standing. It was ready for more rounds in the ring and whatever happened? Happened. The city would survive and recover or go down swinging. At this point, there were no other options.

As grim as that fact was, it was also comforting.

One way or another, it was finally going to be over...

Selina joined him at the window, standing tall next to him as always.

"We've got it. Tomorrow Night? We'll get it done and we'll get help from across the river."

"You don't know that."

"If you go into a fight or Job thinking that you're gonna get your ass kicked, then you will. As far as I'm concerned, Jeremiah is as dead as Raisin Bran Crunch. They'll burn in Hell together forever and the government will be out of excuses for staying away from here. They'll help out or we'll go to the Media with both barrels to make them. You know how Foxy and his Crew figured out a way to get radio messages out to folks overseas?"

"Yes."

"Well, somebody found a video camera to go with it and people are already telling their Stories. Once they get to the general public, I give it less than 2 days before the government shows up fashionably late with fake apologies and a blank check for everyone's troubles. Nobody wants to be known for breaking those nifty little Geneva rules, after all. At least not in a way that they can be pinched."

"Since when have you been such an optimist?"

"I'm not. I'm just stating facts."

"...I hope you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Debatable."

"Even when I'm wrong, there's enough right to be had in what I say and do so things work out."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You understood me, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then it makes sense. Now, are you gonna keep brooding or are you gonna come to bed?"

"...both."

Bruce had a playful side. It was usually hidden but when it came out? God, it was fucking awesome. It was also a way of letting Selina know that life's hard knocks hadn't gotten him all the way down. She laughed as he tackled her to the mattress, holding him to her. Her hands went to his shoulders as he turned them to the side, keeping his back to the locked door.

She didn't have to ask why.

Bruce felt guilty for being unable to protect her in the Study. He shouldn't but he did. Valeska's actions were his own and he had been so determined that even if he had been able to cover her, all it would've done was get them both shot. They didn't need that. Neither of them deserved that.

God, they had been through so much that they didn't deserve.

It was a miracle that they were alive and mostly sane.

Intercepting his hand before it could bury in her curls, Selina pressed a kiss to the back of it before resting it right where her heart was pounding. Bruce's gaze was painfully soft, open and full of love, desire, worry, always the worry...

"Everything is gonna work out the way it should. You'll see."

She would not accept another outcome.

"He'll slow you down."

"He already has but y'know what? I would rather be slow as fuck with him than fast as fuck without him. I'll get where I need to go regardless."

"You feel that way right now but wait until he..."

"Stop."

"Selina..."

"Look, if I haven't been able to talk myself out of being with him by now, then you're sure as shit not gonna do it so just let it go. Please."

"...fine. You want another?"

"Yeah, but I can't. Not until after."

"It's a suicide mission. All of them are heading into a death trap."

"You're not wrong."

"But you're still gonna go with them? You want to get even with the ginger that badly?"

"That and people in The Dark Zone need help, Barbara. They've already been ditched by the Feds. They don't deserve to be ditched by the few decent people left around here. They really don't and if I don't go on the Raid, B will definitely do something overly noble and fucking stupid before they can stop him and then we'll have to deal with Strange's bitch ass to put his pieces back together again. That little Frankenstein bastard makes my skin crawl and he'd definitely try to force me in all of my plant based catgirl freak of nature glory to be his next test subject as payment. Fuck that shit."

"Since when have you been such a bleeding heart?"

"Since always. I'm just more open about it now because I'm too tired to keep pretending. Don't get me wrong: I'm still a cunt. I will be until the day I die and I kick Tabby's ass down in Hell because she's on my throne..."

"Not if I do it first!"

"...I would pay top dollar to see that...the point is that I care. I care and I wanna use whatever time I've got left on this piece of shit rock that we call Earth to do more good things than bad. I should be dead or trapped in a wheelchair right now but I'm not so I gotta square things with whoever's in charge up there for giving me a second chance. Well, third, if you've been keeping score at home. I'm not saying that I'm gonna turn into the next Mother Theresa but..."

"I get it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Just...I don't wanna bury you, too, Kitty-Cat. Do your best to not let that bleeding heart of yours put you down before your time but if it does? Take them all with you. Burn it down, burn it down..."

"...all the way to the got-damned ground!"

"That's my girl...so, is this the part where we hug?"

"It could be. It's up to you."

"Then it is. Bring it in."

"I'll see you soon."

"...y-you promise?"

"I promise."

///////////////////

"Y'know...it's a just damned shame. You're a damned shame. You had a chance to be different. You spent so much time in your secret hideout maze, doing kickass science things and you threw it all away. You could've been like Lucius and used your mind to help people live better but you didn't. You could've asked for help after you got hit with a Nutfluenza money shot or come up with a Cure but you didn't. You decided to act just like your piece of shit Evil Twin and make the whole city suffer. Actually, I liked Jerome better. Sure, he was a psycho with way too much time on his hands but at least he wasn't a fucking pedophile."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh, wait, I'm sorry. I meant an ephebophile. B falls right in that age group for freaks like you. Where's Chris Hansen when you need him? Why don't you have a seat over there?"

"You can't sit there and judge me. You're nothing but disgusting street trash and..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I've heard it all before and from people better than you. Get better material, Pennywise."

"You ruined everything!"

"Oh, did I? I can't imagine how. You want some aspirin? I mean, getting caught in and half buried in rubble after a big ass explosion has got to hurt more than your pride..."

"I don't want or need anything from you."

"Obviously, you do or you would have tried and failed to kill me again by now."

Another tunnel operation had been found but instead of trying to get across the river, the route had led to Wayne Manor. Jeremiah and Ecco were long gone but the tunnels were ready for use. While everyone else had been debating (arguing...) about what to do next, Selina had gone forward, unwilling to wait for them. The bloodlust from had been soothed by dealing with the minions who tried to stop the mission but curiosity itched and burned underneath her skin.

The tunnels had wooden supports and lanterns, along with stacks upon stacks of crates. Some were plain wood, holding various supplies, but what stood out to her were the red plastic cubes. Selina was no scientist or demolition expert but typically, bright red screamed kaboom at the top of its lungs. Stepping through the exit, she had been both impressed and horrified to recognize the hallway leading straight to Thomas Wayne's Study. What the fuck? Why would Valeska dig a tunnel leading there? He could've easily made a functional tunnel to get himself and his disciples free.

In fact, that would've been the best move. Anyone who could find a way out of Gotham's ruins automatically held all the cards in the deck and if Valeska had a fraction of common sense left, he would've immediately contacted all the Zone Leaders to do business from the other side of the river.

He had nothing but obsession left in his mind. Selina was no stranger to that mentality and had put the pieces together. He wanted to use the tunnel to access Wayne Manor so he could destroy it like the Bridges. The red containers were bombs or had explosives stashed inside of them, likely both. Whether Bruce was supposed to be inside was unclear but given how Valeska liked to operate, Selena would say that he was trying to blow Alfred up. Despite the Townhouse being Home Base, he still came to the Manor every weekend to check that no one was squatting and to clean.

Attacking the city, destroying the Bridges, shooting her...it was a Game to Jeremiah. Everything was a sick, twisted game to him and if Bruce wasn't going to play with him, then he had to be punished. But, why now? That was the Million Dollar Question: why was Jeremiah making so many major moves in so little time? It was like he was preparing to host a formal Gala or birthday party...or an anniversary...

"...it's because of what happened to his parents. The tunnel, all the bombs...you were gonna blow him up on the Anniversary and just wipe out the whole Wayne family, including their home. Damn. I guess if you can't have him, nobody can, huh?"

"You're not seeing the big picture...I should've been there...it would've been for the best.!"

"You wanted to be there? I was there. I saw...I heard...if you gave a damn about him, the only way you being there would've been for the best, is if you found a way to make sure that they were able to go home as a family! I was there that night and I didn't help them. I couldn't because I was too scared and too selfish. Well, that and because it happened so fast. They were...they were just trying to go home. They were in that alley because they were trying to go home and because of this city's bullshit, because of this city's Elite's Illuminati on meth bullshit, they were shot down in front of their baby and he ain't been right ever since! My word isn't worth a lot but I can promise you that you did not want to be there!"

One of Selina's biggest regrets was her lack of action during that night. She had only been 15 at the time, yes but she could've tried. She could've thrown the carton of milk or the wallet she had lifted. She could've screamed, drawing the gunman's attention, and given the Waynes a chance to run. She could've...but she couldn't have. Her heart screamed otherwise but her mind...even if she had made a move, it wouldn't have made much of a difference in the long run. Knowing what she did now, it would've just ended up with her and Bruce in the grave, too.

Thomas and Martha Wayne had pissed the wrong people off. They hadn't meant to do so but they had. They had kept deep dark secrets, big ugly secrets that had been on the verge of coming out, and things had to stay status quo. Dead Men Told No Tales so the Hit had been called.

Simple as that.

It was nothing personal.

It was just business.

The idea of someone recreating that awful night made her want to tear the whole world apart but Selina would be glad to settle for the prowling "man" below her. Valeska was currently pacing the catwalks above the vats of bubbling foaming mystery fluid. Given that they were currently in Ace Chemicals, Selina could assume that the main ingredient to the frothy white fluid was acid. Acid and other scientific things that could destroy anyone or anything. That had been the other part of the plan. Valeska wanted to poison what little fresh water was left with a truck full of acid bombs and fireworks. Fortunately, the destruction of the Wayne Manor tunnel and Gordon getting the truck away from him had prevented that from happening.

Now, it was a waiting game. Selina had claimed a spot near the roof, giving her a clear view without being in easy range for a bullet. It was wonderful to see the surviving bastard responsible for everyone's misery unraveling in real time. Up until now, he had a Master Plan, a Mission that he had taken great pains to accomplish. Valeska wanted Gotham to be a shell of itself forever and he wanted Bruce to be a part of his fantasies.

Since Bruce had proven more than once that his answer would be a firm 'NO', he decided to target those who meant the most to him as punishment. Valeska had scored some critical hits against all of them but at the end of the day, he was doomed and he knew it.

"...they're coming for you, Jeremiah. Everybody knows where you are and that you're not untouchable anymore. You might as well put the bullet you should've put in my head in yours because if the Zone leaders or Feds don't get you, the whole city is gonna tear you to shreds for getting us into this mess. Raise da Roof used you like he did to everyone else and left you holding the bag."

Before Valeska could retort, several smoke bombs rolled in and detonated. The sound of sirens and angry Gotham citizens soon followed. A grin lit up her face at the terror on stupid fuck's face.

Ah, the calvery...

The Next Morning...

"He had it coming."

"...he did."

"It was either him or us. It wasn't going to be us."

"He shouldn't have threatened you. He knew that I would..."

"You did what any person worth a damn would do to protect yourself and your family."

Jeremiah Valeska had fallen into one of the vats of mystery chemicals. More accurately, he had been kicked off the catwalk he had claimed for himself by Bruce.

Bruce being Bruce had gone full out. As soon as he was inside, he was taking the stairs two at a time. He hadn't let Valeska say a word before tackling him and slamming an elbow into his face. Selina had descended from her hiding place and unfurled her bull whip, cracking it in challenge. Even if Jeremiah managed to get away from him, he wasn't getting away from her.

Every time the demented clown managed to land a hit on Bruce or tried to run, he got a lashing from her, enraging him further. He yelled that he was simply trying to bring truth to Bruce, to all of Gotham and she kept ruining everything. He called her every name under the sun and vowed that not only would he shoot her in the head as he should've in the study, by the time he was done with her, she would beg for him to do so.

That had been his last mistake.

To give Valeska a little bit of credit, he hadn't screamed when he went flying. A noise that could've been one escaped him as he went under but it was mostly gurgling. The blaring of alarms filled the factory and whatever kept the vats bubbling shut down immediately. On the surface of Valeska's vat was a thick layer of makeup and slowly, slowly, his limp body bobbed up to the surface. The sight of him was utterly repulsive, the stench choking, but even as Selina knelt with Bruce, even as she hugged him from behind as he wept, she smiled.

Just as she had told Ecco, it was better for the enemy to die than her family.

Ecco was dead. Not only was she dead, Valeska had killed her himself. Well, he had given her a coup de grace shot. Once the prisoners realized what was happening, they began to fight their captors with everything they had. Ecco had been trampled in the chaos and someone had slashed her just below the ribs, mortally wounding her. She had gotten up and limped to Valeska who had been about to make his escape. According to witnesses, Valeska had hugged her before shooting her in the head again, this time center mass.

Then, he left in his purple Lamborghini like it was nothing because to him?

She was just that.

Nothing.

Nothing but another pawn to sacrifice. Nothing but a bedwarmer and an ego boost.

Sometimes, Selina hated it when she was right.

It was such a fucking waste.

The sound and sight of military helicopters going past the windows was welcome but infuriating. Just as Selina predicted, as soon as the full truth of what was happening in Gotham reached international ears in power, the government quickly got into motion. The minefield that had been illegally placed was gone within 4 hours and ships were already docking. Some were evacuation ships. Other were supply ships. Still others were converted into medical ships and dormitories. People were getting in contact with loved ones and the outside world for the first time in nearly 3 years. People were eating fresh food again. People had fresh water again. Not only that but the streets were filled with Jeeps, tanks, delivery trucks, soldiers, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers...

They should have shown up sooner.

Despite the euphoria of finally getting the help they've needed, that was the overwhelming sentiment in the air. Gordon being Gordon said it straight to the Head Honcho's face and to the man's credit, he had readily agreed.

There was no getting around it. The Fallen Bridges crisis had been mismanaged and there was blood gushing from the government's fingertips. Selina wanted every coward involved to pay for abandoning them. They deserved to pay with interest for what they had allowed.

They deserved to suffer like the bastards who had directly caused the crisis.

Ra's Al Gul was dead forever, reduced to ashes and his empire in ruins.

Through the window, they were looking at what was left of Jeremiah Valeska.

He had survived his fall but alive wasn't a word that anyone could use to describe him. He was heavily sedated with an IV drip providing fluids with a feeding tube in his nose, and an oxygen mask over his face. His wrists were handcuffed to the railings and he would be under constant supervision via cameras. He would spend the next few months in the locked hospital room until a custom-built cell in Arkham's deepest depths was ready. No medical personnel would be allowed to tend to Valeska without armed bodyguards present.

The vat of chemicals had made Jeremiah into a cross between a zombie, a broken mannequin and beef jerky. His hair was crispy and most of it had fallen out. His face was destroyed from his injuries, swollen and sunken in all at once. His hospital gown engulfed his skinny body and his blankets were clean but far from comfortable.

It was way better than the bastard deserved. They should've just thrown him in the harbor.

"You were right. We took Jeremiah down and outside help is finally here. We're safe."

"We are. See? I told you everything would be..."

"Selina."

Bruce's solemn hessonite gaze had something new within it, something that made her pulse pick up. Selina knew in her bones that Bruce would never hurt her outside of defending himself and even then, he refused to do real damage. Why? Because he was a gentleman, an aristocrat, even. Also, because she was precious to him, the one who he wanted and needed to be with him. Selina didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone. She wanted to have true friends, a Squad, a family...

His arms snapped forward and Selina's gasp morphed into a deep moan as his lips crashed down on hers. The amount of passion in his kiss, the greedy possessiveness of his hands on her ass, his scent, his warmth had her rolling her hips against him, trying to feel more of him, all of him. God, she wanted to feel all of him! Someone, the worst someone, had tried to take him away from her again but had failed miserably. They had faced the sick fuck head on and beat him to a pulp. Bruce was still alive, still with her, still himself and she just...

"...need you, baby."

"...find us somewhere private."

That would be simple. Selina had made a point to learn the blueprints of every major landmark in Gotham while growing up. The knowledge had saved her life and others many times. Gotham General had been one of the first places she memorized plus her experiences in the building as a patient and visitor gave her everything she needed.

Bypassing the elevator, she led him into the stairwell and after descending 4 flights, Selina whimpered as Bruce pulled her flush against him. She rested her hands on the arms wrapped around her waist and tilted her head in offering. His kisses were tender and her knees threatened to give out as he nipped her just underneath her earlobe.

"I love you. I love you so much... mon chaton... mon ange... je t'aime tellement putain...(my kitten...my angel...I love you so fucking much...)...want to give you everything...whatever you want, Selina, it's yours..."

"You...I just want you...I-I love you, too...so fucking much...god, B, stop...let me...we need a bed...please, baby..."

"I love it when you call me baby..."

He was hers. Selina had done everything she could to fight against it, to guard her heart but Bruce Wayne was utterly irresistible to her. He brought out the best in her and it went both ways. She had hurt him in the past. He had hurt her, too but they knew better now. They knew what not to do and had accepted that while they were excellent apart, together? They were unstoppable. They could create miracles and help people and just do good things.

What she said to Barbara at Siren's was the truth. Selina had spent her childhood in Gotham's Underground, doing whatever it took to survive and to gain respect on the streets. She was tired. She had faced the karmic justice she had earned for her misdeeds but she had been saved, restored and made greater by the man she was hurriedly leading down the main hallway.

She had a fresh start, a blank slate and while she had decided to permanently change her ways, one thing always would be the same: Selina did whatever she wanted, when she wanted, and nobody could stop her.

She wanted happiness.

Everyone deserved happiness.

She had a chance for happiness, for genuine joy, and she was going to grab it with both hands. As soon as they finally got to an on-call room, Selina barely got the door open before grabbing Bruce's jacket lapels and meeting him halfway. A delighted laugh escaped her as his hands cupped her ass again and she locked her limbs around him, letting him carry her. As much as she teased him for showing off his physical strength, she loved it. Bruce was strong, he made her feel safe and what woman didn't like to feel like a princess sometimes?

Plus, him lifting her more often would give him practice for their wedding day and night.

Resting her left hand where his heart pounded, she asked a simple but potent question.

"Do you think we can find a priest before we skip town?"

Bruce being Bruce picked up on what she was truly asking immediately and slowly, his left hand went to where her heart was. His smile was brilliant as tears of joy brewed. Their kisses softened into slow sweetness and nuzzling between removing articles of clothing. Skin. She wanted skin. She wanted to feel him, all of him for the rest of her life...

"I'm lousy with rings unless I'm using them as brass knuckles so it'll be better to buy a pendant for regular days but getting a wedding set for special occasions and public appearances is a good idea. Despite all the pain and bullshit attached to being a Kyle, I still wanna hyphenate and we deserve to have a huge wedding cake, goddamn it! It's the least that those goddamned cowardly sons of clap ridden bitches can do for us, given that we spent almost 3 years doing their jobs for them while they fiddled like Nero."

"Will you...I know you typically don't like wearing dresses but..."

"There's no fucking way that I'm not wearing a wedding dress. I'm only getting married once and I wanna do it right. Besides, I look hot in lace. You know that."

"All too well. I love you, Selina Kyle-Wayne. Always."

"...show me."

////////////////////////////

"B, you've already heard me say how I feel about you in my own very special and delightful way over the years so instead of reciting regular Vows, I'm just gonna share one of my favorite poems because it's better than anything that I could ever come up with:

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep."

"...Pablo Neruda's 17th sonnet."

"Uh-huh...o-other than that, I just wanna say that I love you a-and that I wanna be with you as long as this fucked up world lets me and you're my best friend and I promise that I'm gonna be a good wife to you. The best wife."

"You already are."

It was a good thing that she had rejected all makeup except a magenta lip tint because she finally lost her battle with her tears. Bucking tradition, she embraced him and Bruce held her like he never wanted to let go. There wasn't a dry eye in the 12th Precinct turned wedding hall and Selina refused to feel embarrassed about being so open with her soft feelings. It was her wedding day, the only wedding day she would ever have. It was a day of joy and the biggest Fuck You they could give to everyone who ever hurt them.

Living well is the best revenge.

"I know that Shakespeare gets lots of props for how he writes about soft feelings, which is valid but to me? Pablo is way better than him. It's not even close. I found a 'Greatest Hits' book full of his work at The Flea when I was 10. Sonnet 17 always stuck with me. Despite Maria ditching me and Gotham being Gotham, I still hoped that one day, I would find someone that I could feel the same way about. And I did. I didn't mean to but I did...does this count as us saying 'I Do' because he just called me his wife in front of everyone and lemme tell you, Padre, I just really wanna kiss my husband right now..."

"That's up to the two of you."

Their first kiss as husband and wife was sweeter than all the ones they had before.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to introduce you all to Bruce and Selina Wayne. Congratulations to you both. Live well. Be happy."

"We'll do our best, Father Matthews. Thank you."

Selina looked down at their entwined left hands, taking in the sight of rings on their fingers. Like her beloved hair pins and wedding pendant, they were platinum with black diamonds. The diamonds were embedded in Bruce's while hers was a 4-carat princess cut, flanked by two white pearls. She still didn't know where he had gotten all of the pieces but Selina knew that the pearls were a tribute to his mother.

After all, Martha Wayne had been known for her pearls and she had been a formidable woman, a fighter to the end. Selina appreciated that and like she had just promised, she was going to be a good wife to Bruce, worthy of helping him rebuild the Wayne family.

It was standing room only so the afternoon's spread had to accommodate them. The menu itself consisted of fresh fruit and vegetable platters, charcuterie boards, lemon chicken with mushroom risotto or turkey meatloaf with mashed potatoes both with confit byaldi as sides. There was ice water, sports drinks, and a variety of protein shakes and bars. Every Gotham citizen had malnutrition. If one was lucky, they had survived on MREs, bottled/boiled tepid water and what crops that had taken root, mainly tomatoes and potatoes. And booze. Lots and lots of booze, mostly homemade and caustic.

Their wedding cake was in the center of two vanilla sheet cakes for the guests. It was a simple lemon cake with white buttercream frosting with black frosting roses. It was 3 tiers and made by a posse of older women who had made their nursing home apartment complex into a smaller version of Haven. The people rescued from The Dark Zone lived with them, benefiting them all.

The Leader, Ms. Mabel Johanssen, or Mama Jo as she was called, had taken it upon herself to help Selina find her wedding dress. She, along with Lee and Barbara, had followed Mabel to the wedding boutique she had passed down to her oldest daughter (who had thankfully been out of town when The Bridges Fell) and it had only taken 30 minutes for Selina to find everything she wanted.

Her princess style dress left her shoulders bare, had three-quarter sleeves, and the bodice was white lace with pearl buttons, the lace holding a pattern of snowdrops. The bottom of it was ankle length with had just the right amount for material for swishing while dancing and to take flight when she spun. A pair of plush white loafers finished the look. Her manicure was a simple matte black with magenta french tips.

Her 'something blue' came from the electric blue nail polish she had painted on her toes and the cerulean dress color she had chosen for her bridesmaids. She had left the dress design up to them. Lee and Barbara were more than capable of dressing themselves. Barbara had chosen a one-shoulder bodycon dress that stopped at her shins and Lee had gone with an ankle length, sleeveless empire waist dress with a sweetheart neckline. Black stilettos completed their looks.

Her 'something old' was a 3-way tie between her Bowie knife, the gold studs she had kept since before Maria abandoned her, and Alfred.

Her 'something borrowed' had been Jim from Lee so he could walk her down the aisle.

His investigation into what happened to Thomas and Martha Wayne had led to where they were today. Were it not for him making her one of his street contacts and annoying her enough to want to be a good person every once in a while, she wouldn't be Selina Kyle-Wayne. Plus, walking down the aisle by herself didn't just feel right and far be it from her to pass up on an opportunity to tease Gordon in the future.

He had taken to the task with military precision while crying the whole time. It was sweet but she wouldn't be her if she didn't bust his balls about it. Hell, he would be worried if she didn't...

"Are you okay?"

"Yep. Are you okay?"

"I'm almost as amazing as you."

"...quit being sappy and help me cut this cake, douchebag. I'm hungry."

The members of the press that were present had their cameras working overtime but only Alfred and Barbara could get the best footage. As soon as Selina stepped into Siren's for her owed drink, the blonde had bowled her over in a hug. Between her sobs, Selina heard her thanking Tabby for not letting the universe take her away too. Of all people to be her Guardian Demon (because there was no way that Tab had even glimpsed at the pearly gates...), Tabitha was perfect for the job. Other than black being Bruce's trademark, she had picked her wedding manicure with her fallen sister in mind, as well as her lip color.

Once she heard about the wedding, Barbara had declared that she would be the videographer. Alfred could film for the family but for the official video, she would take charge. For all its campiness, the commercial she put together for Siren's had done its job so Bruce hired her. Plus, giving her such an important job guaranteed that she wouldn't cause trouble, especially since Lee was in the wedding party.

Any romance between Jim and Barbara had been rightfully put to rest ages ago. However, Barbara would occasionally have the same attitude about him as a child who didn't want a toy anymore but didn't want anyone else playing with it either. Plus, the two women had their own issues outside of him. Whenever they interacted, there was always a risk of violence.

Pleasantly surprising everyone, the pair were getting along just fine. If one didn't know better, they would assume that the women were close friends, maybe even Besties.

Time healed most wounds.

Finding out that Lee had purposely gotten herself captured by the tunneling psychos so she could rescue the enslaved 30 children and 15 adults had given her tons of street cred. Couple that with her using her status as Queen of The Narrows to help people and not hurt anyone who didn't deserve it? It was best to squash any lingering Beef, if not just for business purposes.

The best part? Lee acted the same as she did as before it all happened.

The camera shutters and flashes went even faster as Selina happily accepted a forkful of cake. Bruce chuckled as she purposely smeared some frosting over the tip of his nose while feeding him. After cleaning up with a napkin, he passed her a square plate to fill and that was the signal for everyone to start eating, drinking, and being merry. It was a reception, after all. Speaking of that...

"Dancing's mandatory but there aren't gonna be any toasts, right?"

"No."

"Thank God."

"I like what you did with your bouquet."

"Mama Jo said that she didn't want cash but she never said that we couldn't pay another way. Throwing the bouquet is a dumb tradition, anyways. How did it even get started?"

"While a bride carrying flowers and certain herbs has been a tradition for centuries, tossing the bouquet was a way in 19th century England to distract the crowd from chasing her."

"Why the fuck were they doing that? Did she owe them money?"

They both giggled before he pressed a quick kiss to the back of her hand.

"Not usually. On her wedding day, the bride was seen as the luckiest person in the area. People would want to touch her or take pieces of her dress and hair to make charms. Whoever caught the bouquet was seen to be next in line to get married and it also served as a fertility blessing."

"That's weird but also kinda wholesome. Now, eat. You'll need the energy for later."

"Yes, dear."

"Shut up!"

"My husband's standing right behind us."

"Hush, you."

"My vows to him were literal poetry but you're still going for it? Wowww..."

"Stop."

"No can do. Blushing Bride or not, I still gotta meet my daily quota of shit talking and if I didn't bust your balls right now, you'd be worried that you're sending B off with a clone."

"...she's not wrong."

"Annoying, isn't it?"

Grinning, Selina stepped back from them and watched the pilot shake Bruce's hand before he went in to prepare for takeoff. Although she knew that she was far more likely to be killed in a car accident, watching Final Destination at the age of 9 hadn't been the best idea. However, Bruce himself did not hire incompetent people and Foxy had personally vouched for the plane's safety so she'd suck it up.

It was fucking hilarious that she was afraid to fly while having no fear of leaping between buildings or climbing suspension bridges. If she had to guess, it was more about the lack of control but again, she'd suck it up. Where Bruce went, she followed and vice versa.

Plus, getting out of Gotham was necessary for them to truly recover and rest.

They wouldn't stay away forever. They had too many people they loved to do so and regardless of the new beginning, at the end of the day? Gotham was Gotham. The players in the game changed constantly but the city's Ways were in its foundations. The GCPD were outnumbered 50 to 1 and outgunned. Good cops rarely lasted long in the city. They either joined the other side, quit before the end of their first day, or they were collateral damage during a Maniac of the Week's temper tantrum.

Now that Gordon was Commissioner and had the government by the balls, those statistics would certainly change but there would always be a need for something more, for someone... for people firmly on the side of good who could operate in the shadows, who could dwell in shades of gray to get what needed to get done faster.

Everyone had a role to play.

But for now? It was time for her and Bruce to leave. They needed to leave Gotham behind to rest, recover, and explore the world together. Plus, if they were really going to commit to protecting the city from eternal darkness or whatever the fuck, they needed to go through years of extensive training so they could do it right.

They couldn't do that locally.

Once Bruce was released, he joined her at the bottom of the staircase.

"Are you ready?"

"Yep."

Just before entering the jet, Selina waved before happily flipping their father figures off.

The warm evening breeze carried the sound of their laughter as the door shut behind her.

"...so much for joining the Mile High Club."

"You needed your rest."

"Obviously. You got to carry me over the threshold and get a half marathon in. Why the hell is this place so huge? Were your multi great-grandpas compensating for something?"

"Cat, you know better than anyone that there's nothing to compensate for."

"Just because you can fill a pussy like an eclair doesn't mean that they could."

"Selina!"

"Would you have preferred if I said split it like a peach, my darling husband?"

The images on the big screen were loud. Images of Gotham Before and After, heart wrenching clips from viral interviews of survivors, people tearfully reuniting with loved ones, exhausted yet smiling children finally being fed properly, trucks of rubble being cleared, a stone-faced Jim Gordon glaring at the Head Honcho as he spoke outside of the reclaimed City Hall...the decorated military man had a black eye and a split lip.

See, not only had Gordon said to his face that they all should have shown up sooner, he said it after falcon punching the son of a bitch in the bullpen. The punch had been a thing of beauty, something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie!

As the news broadcast kicked off, a large collage of government officials was put on display for the world to see. The End of the Fallen Bridges Crisis was the hottest topic and would be for months to come. Their faces were out there but it wasn't enough to just show them. As if on cue, the camera zoomed into the collage and the screen smoothly transitioned into a slideshow. Name, State, Political Party, and how their negligence/cowardice made things worse for everyone trapped in Gotham, each remaining on the screen for 10 seconds each.

"Their families don't deserve it."

"I'll have The Board release a statement. What happens afterwards isn't my responsibility."

The TV was turned off and Selina grinned as he scooped her up in a fireman's carry.

"Who are you and what have you done with Bruce Wayne?"

"You're not the only person who can change their Ways and mean it, Selina."

Changed Ways or not, Selina could feel the Restlessness bubbling under her skin. It needed to be dealt with. Revenge needed to be dished out along with Justice. Not today, not tomorrow, not even a year down the road but eventually. Playing the long game made victory sweeter and just because living well was the best revenge didn't mean it was the only one.

Since she had far too much to lose now, Selina wouldn't kill anyone outside of another survival situation but that didn't mean she was out of options, especially since Bruce would be on board when she read him in.

It wasn't just The Fallen Bridges. There were other catastrophes that had been mismanaged. Gotham was Gotham but Selina knew that the inquiries would uncover at least one Cabal who made tons of money from the constant chaos for decades if the investigators had the balls to dig deep enough. Hell, maybe they wouldn't have to dig at all. Two baker's dozen worth of Geneva Laws had been shattered and justice needed to be served. Nobody wanted to get into that sort of trouble, no matter how tough they claimed to be. There was going to be a race to get to the best PR teams, the best lawyers, the best places to live in Witness Protection...

After reversing their positions, Selina captured his mouth, smiling as his hands slid underneath her top. She had woken up still in her wedding dress sans shoes but waiting on the vanity was one of Bruce's cashmere sweaters. That was what he wanted to see her wearing and she smiled as she put it on. Although Bruce was the poster child for overthinking, there were times where he was simple.

Men loved it when their companions wore their clothes...and when they could take them off.

Sitting up, Selina rested her head on his shoulder, chuckling to herself as she loosened the buttons of his shirt. Once his shirt was unbuttoned, instead of an undershirt, her hand rested on the bare flesh where his heart pounded below. After the shirt was off, Selina gave him a light shove so his back was resting against the headboard. His hands spanned her bare hips and held on tightly, his gaze riveted on her as she shed the sweater. She opened her mouth to say something but Bruce's lips captured hers, making her slump against him. His hands wandered over her back, caressing and massaging until she began to purr.

Skin. She wanted more skin, more of his warmth against hers, more of everything!

When they broke for air, Bruce helpfully lifted his hips and they chuckled as he struggled to kick off his pants for a moment before rejoining their lips. Better. Much, much better. No more barriers, just skin and love and safety. Familiar lips, familiar hands, familiar and delicious scent...her man, her mate, her everything...

"Like this?", he murmured while lining them up.

"Yeah...my favorite...want you..."

All the breath left her lungs as her husband pulled her down to meet his firm upward thrust into her and she shuddered. Selina's senses were engulfed by him, her husband, her love, her fucking everything...

"You are divine... mon doux ange... (my sweet angel..)"

Her response was to nuzzle him before dipping her head to suck just beneath his collarbone. Bruce liked it when she left marks on him. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was part of his masochism, maybe it was because she was claiming him, giving him and the whole word proof that he was taken, wanted, needed, loved so fucking much that it hurt...

Selina cried out as he increased his pace and green tinted her vision as she peppered kisses to Bruce's jaw before nipping his earlobe. Her fingers bent and locked, her nails beginning to leave imprints in her mate's tender flesh. Not too hard, not too deep, she didn't want to hurt him in bad ways. He was Bruce, not an enemy to be dispatched or a toy to rip apart. He was her husband, her partner, her best friend, someone to be cherished, protected at all costs...

Selina kept her arms around him as her back hit the mattress and she shivered as his hot mouth found her nipples, moaning his appreciation. Closing her eyes, she let him his way with her, moving harder and faster, meeting him halfway. He felt so good, so fucking good, perfect, her favorite, her only...

"Look at me."

She whimpered.

"Look at me."

She moaned.

"Look at me!"

She obeyed and immediately fell over the edge, taking him with her. Pulling him down, she kissed him deeply, nipping and sucking at his lower lip. She could feel his smile and she smiled back, cupping his face. Bruce's full weight rested on her and she relished it. He was warm and smelled delicious, both of himself and their lovemaking. Despite the sunlight streaming through the balcony doors, a bone deep drowsiness had her sinking deeper into the mattress and pillows. After yawning, Selina helped him pull the bedding over their cooling bodies and Bruce pressed soft kisses to the beauty marks on her chest. She pecked his brow and squeezed him.

"Get some sleep, B."

"Are you sure? It's our honeymoon and..."

"Shhh...we have all day and I'll be here when you wake up. I'll be here for as long you need me."

"...promise?"

"I promise. Sleep, baby. I got you."

#happy new year!#CMW2 came back before we got GTA VI!#thank you for your paitence!#fanfic #GOTHAM #GOTHAM fanfiction #babybatcat #bruce x selina #otp: bat & cat #otp: whenever you need me #batman #catwoman #bruce wayne #selina kyle #AU fanfiction #foil #ex jehovah's witness #deprogramming #my healing journey

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