#he's such a jackass

[one-winged-dreams]

This guy was a key (heh) component in the entirety of the kingdom hearts story a good thousand years before sora was even born byw

[wingodex]

it’s been two weeks since 1079 but i’m still thinking about kid and just spinning him around endlessly inside my head. he sucks so bad but he compels me so much anyway. truly terrible. the thing about kid is that he’s a character told through contrast. we only learn things about him by comparing him to other characters, and I love that, I find it so fascinating. the other two members of the captain trio are the ones he’s usually contrasted against, with luffy being the most important one to the understanding of his character because he’s literally in the story to be luffy’s foil

kid’s not luffy’s only foil in the story, with blackbeard clearly being set up as a foil as well, but both kid and blackbeard serve different functions in the story. while blackbeard is supposed to be the worst kind of pirate, the opposite of everything luffy stands for, kid is more like the evil mirror version of luffy. he’s the kind of pirate luffy could have been, if things were a little different. he’s a pirate captain going after the one piece and aiming to become the pirate king just like luffy, and he’s the only captain with a crew member who is also a supernova. they’re brash, impulsive, a little stupid, and loud, with unbreakable wills and crews who will die to protect them and their dream. they're both competitive and voracious eaters. kid even apparently grew up in a scrapyard, not unlike the gray terminal. on the surface they’re almost the same, but with one crucial difference; luffy is kind and draws people together, while kid is uncaring and unwilling to work with others.

now admittedly, we don’t actually know all that much about kid even though he’s been in and out of the story for 500+ chapters, but most of what we do learn is specifically to highlight the difference between him and luffy. as i mentioned earlier, kid is meant to be luffy’s foil, to show the kind of pirate luffy could have been. the most obvious contrast between them happens at the end of their first encounter in sabaody after luffy declares that he’ll be the one to find the one piece and kid calls out to killer instead of responding to him.

it’s a callback to luffy’s first encounter with bellamy in mock town, when luffy very deliberately didn’t fight him for mocking his beliefs and dreams, which was already referencing how shanks handled the bandits in foosha village. when compared to kid, you can see a version of luffy without shank’s early intervention. luffy tried to fight the bandits to defend shanks’ pride as a young child, and he easily could have turned into the type of pirate who would always be willing to do that, always getting in worthless fights against people without the guts to believe in anything. he could have been the kind of person who jumps to violence first, every single time.

kid’s aggression and tendency to pick fights is actually the way we’re introduced to his character. he’s trying to kill apoo for staring at him? i guess? huge asshole behaviour, for sure (in contrast to kid and killer fighting the other supernovas for no reason, law’s introduction involves him watching a fight without intervening and then taunting the person who does intervene). it’s not even just that kid won’t back down from a fight though, he and his crew clearly go make problems themselves. shakky reveals that the reason kid’s bounty is higher than luffy’s is because his crew attacks and raids civilians.

while the strawhats aren’t interested in being heroes themselves, they also don’t go out of their way to harm people. in fact, they often make it their problem to keep civilians out of harm when they’re fighting antagonists, like when luffy stopped the mayor from fighting buggy, or the villagers from fighting arlong’s crew in cocoyashi village. luffy, sanji and usopp even got mad at conis for putting herself in danger to tell them the truth. it’s because of this kind of behaviour that the straw hats often end up leaving an island with everyone considering them heroes anyway, despite not purposely seeking that recognition themselves. i’m also reminded of roger not allowing his crew to attack civilians either in chapter 966.

kid’s crew is obviously not like that at all, seeming to be more like typical pirates, stealing and pillaging villages, and attacking without provocation. while we don’t know any details about the kinds of trouble the kid pirates got into before sabaody, i think it’s probably safe to say that kid and his crew tend to leave islands worse off than they found them. their actions are never to the benefit of the people living on the islands they stop at, and they certainly don’t have parties and banquets thrown for them before they leave. with one notable exception... wano. but i’ll come back to that later.

one of the big things that kid and luffy have in common is that both of them hate people who abuse their power. kid’s presence in the auction house is marked by his comments on how distasteful he finds the whole thing. kid is a character who we have seen directly criticize the world government and celestial dragons, both here and during marineford.

what sets kid apart from both law and luffy is that kid doesn’t care. he doesn’t get involved until he has to, despite how much the situation pisses him off. because it’s not his problem. he calls it a farce when saint charlos purchases camie, but makes no move to do anything about it, where luffy jumps in and punches the celestial dragon immediately. we even see law freeing jean bart, but kid spares him no such sympathy. similarly, while law heads for marineford when the broadcast shuts down, kid does nothing despite expressing disgust at the situation. he feels for things and understands things in a way that luffy doesn’t but he doesn’t care enough about others to do anything about it. 

in similar situations, we often see kid responding with ruthlessness while luffy responds with kindness and empathy. when kid encounters a weak pirate crew in the new world trying to flee, he crucifies them for being cowards, apparently brutally murdering all of them. when luffy encounters brownbeard on punk hazard, a former pirate who had given up on that after being defeated, luffy shows him empathy and protects him from ceasar. he even eventually calls him a friend. what’s especially telling about this moment though, is that kid seems to echo words we’ve heard luffy say before but in a situation that places him in the opposite position from when luffy said them. it reveals them as harsh and sinister when being reflected upon by the person who is victimizing others rather than the one risking everything in the face of their potential destruction.

now, i need to take a brief moment aside to talk about kid and his crew killing people. he almost certainly kills people. it’s definitely implied that he kills people. i’m mostly inclined to believe that he does kill people, but you can’t fucking trust oda to kill anyone in the story so... you’d think his partner and best friend being named killer would be a clear indication of the fact that the kid pirates murder people and yet. i would say that that’s another way that kid’s shown to be different from luffy, law and their crews because they all allegedly don’t kill people, but i think it’s insane and makes no sense that they don’t kill people, so i consider this a very weak contrast. still, it’s there. i guess.

when law makes an alliance with luffy to take down kaido, kid makes a similar alliance with apoo and hawkins to take on shanks. luffy and law come together relatively easily, but kid clearly enters his alliance without any real desire to do so, and is completely distrustful of his compatriots. it’s only because of killer that the alliance happens at all, while luffy joins up with law despite protests from his own crew.

the way their alliances play out are interesting points of comparison too. kid is hung out to dry by hawkins after they’re both betrayed by apoo and sold out to kaido. law doesn’t betray luffy outright, but he does hide his intentions, mislead him, and try to use him to accomplish his own goals. And yet, luffy’s alliance still manages to hold out, despite law’s attempts to end it, with both luffy and law being fully and completely committed to each other and their final goal at the end. the way kid and luffy react to people who want to work together with them to accomplish their goals is vastly different too. even before being betrayed, kid was reluctant to work with others, but afterwards he is completely unwilling to even consider an alliance with luffy, even though he knows how reliable luffy is. kid considers the very act of trusting others to be the reason his crew had to endure so much in wano and he views his refusal to form another alliance to be his way of protecting them. His temporary alliance with law against big mom is only made under duress.

Whereas luffy is basically always down to work together with anyone who asks him, including his enemies, teaming up with buggy, galdino and crocodile in impel down. luffy even knows that buggy is gonna ditch him as soon as he can and doesn’t really care. he accepts help from anyone who offers it to him, and often actively seeks out companions who will provide aide in some way. luffy bonds with people quickly and easily, needing nothing more than to witness a kind action from them to throw all of his fighting power behind them. he connects with enemies and allies alike, placing his complete faith and trust in them, and earning their respect and admiration. his very presence inspires others to go above and beyond what they would normally be willing to risk for someone else because of the trusts he affords them

the contrast between kid and law is honestly not as fleshed out as the one between luffy and kid, but it’s still there and worth mentioning. the reason their interactions are so funny and combative is because they’re meant to be opposites in terms of personality. they both have lofty ambitious of turning the whole world on its head but they approach it very differently. law is a schemer, working on plans for years, and preferring to set things in motion and watch the fallout. kid dove right into the new world with nothing but his own ambition and violent tendencies to get him by. he has never planned a single thing in his entire life, and while he’s capable of strategizing in battle just like luffy is, that’s best described as a last resort. law is reserved, often trying to remain emotionally uninvolved, and secretive, keeping his cards close to his chest until the last possible moment, while kid is reactive, honest, and entirely sincere. both of them are so fucking angry, but while law’s anger had been sharpened and directed, kid’s anger is explosive, unable to find any direction at all and being thrown towards anything that gets in his way. in a funny way, the thing they have most in common is that they’re both shit disturbers who like to pick fights, although kid seems to be the one usually throwing the first punch, while law’s the one taunting his opponent into making the first move.

their fighting styles are completely different too. while i’d say that both are pretty versatile in terms of their range, law definitely seems to keep his distance from his opponents more than kid. he’ll usually play defence until he can spot a good opportunity, moving quickly in to strike and immediately pulling back after. kid will get up in his opponents space and stay there, often making himself and his metal creations the target of their attacks. law spends time analyzing his opponents and coming up with strategies to use against them. he takes advantage of his environment and his allies to get the most out of the very diverse utility of his devil fruit. kid is way more of a brawler, throwing himself into a fight without any forethought, and letting his fists lead the way. i dunno if this is an intentional character choice, or specifically an aesthetic decision, or if oda decided he didn’t want to learn anything about physics (extremely based if true) but if kid’s powers can actually do what oda claims they do, then kid is not using them as effectively as he could be, instead deliberately seeming to use them in a way that caters to his own interests in weapons and fighting style. their opposite personalities cause them to clash constantly, but their opposite fighting styles work together extremely well. law’s generally cautious nature reigns in kid’s more impulsive tendencies and protects him from unnecessary danger, while taking advantage of the opportunities they provide to move in and strike. kid’s aggressive approach forces law to make the bigger swings that are necessary to take down an emperor. it’s good synergy.

kid does have one saving grace that prevents him from being a complete villain, and that’s his commitment and love for his crew. this is actually one of the things that luffy specifically recognizes and acknowledges in him, and there's no doubt in my mind that he proposed the alliance to him because he witnessed kid's care for killer in udon. the thing that has set the supernova captain trio apart from the pirates they’re up against is their driving desire to protect their crews, and their utter devotion to them. law differs from kid and luffy in the way he chooses to protect his crew, which usually involves sending them away from the danger he places himself into. kid and luffy seem to be of one mind, understanding the dangers they’re placing their crew in, but choosing to believe in their abilities and strength to make it through because they would rather fight alongside them. the biggest testament to kid’s faith in his crew is the way he relies on them to protect him while he collects metal for his big confrontation. one of the weaknesses of kid’s devil fruit is that he needs to amass a lot of metal in order to fight effectively, and during that time, his crew protects him. kid also throws himself into danger for the sake of his crew. he allows himself to be recaptured after escaping udon just to reunite with killer again, and the driving force behind his desire to fight kaido is revenge for what was done to his crew. as misguided as his refusal to ally himself with luffy is, kid makes that decision under the hovering fear of betrayal after his devastation and fury at what had been done to killer. he’s also oddly sweet and supportive in the way that he makes his crew handle killer eating the smile fruit? like, he just obviously cares about them a lot, and killer in particular.

kid’s devotion is also reciprocated by his own crew, who allow themselves to become orochi’s pawns in order to protect him. killer goes above and beyond for kid, eating a smile fruit and even offering his own life in kid’s place on multiple occasions. kid's crew steps in to protect him from big mom and from the beast pirates afterwards. while kid is absolutely willing to put his life on the line and die, his crew cares anout him such that they're not willing to take that same risk with his life. we see them begging shanks to spare him, even handing over their poneglyph rubbings despite kid's clear desire to die for his pride.

kid’s second encounter with the red haired pirates on elbaf epitomizes the consequences of his unwillingness to work with others and his own violent temperament. if the straw hats had won the coin toss and gone to elbaf, they would have been welcomed. there would have been happy and tearful reunions with dorry and broggy, and maybe with saul. even if they would have eventually fought shanks and his crew, it would have played out so differently because they have so many friends there. kid has never been interested in solving conflicts diplomatically and he definitely hasn’t left a trail of friends behind who would be willing to step in and defend him in a tense situation. there is likely no place that the kid pirates could go where they’ll meet a friendly face. and beyond all that, shanks knows what luffy (and by extension, his crew) is like. even if the straw hats had come in swinging for whatever reason, he wouldn’t have been concerned about the safety of the crews in his fleet enough to demolish the straw hats without a chance to save themselves. where the straw hats reached out their hands in friendship to the people they’ve met during their adventures, kid and his crew have attacked without remorse, leaving nothing but devastation. shanks dealt with kid the way he did, without a shred of mercy when kid’s crew begged for his life because giving kid any leeway at all would have put the fleet under his protection in danger. maybe if kid had ever shown compassion to an enemy or a bystander, then shanks could have felt comfortable enough to let kid fight him one-one-one or even let his crew take him away to safety. but kid never has. so why would shanks extend mercy to someone who has never shown mercy himself? to someone who has never once considered offering that kindness to someone weaker than him? and that’s why the kid pirates couldn’t win. we don’t know why kid wants to find the one piece or become king of the pirates, whether he understands being a pirate in the same way luffy does. but the reason he won’t be the one to do it, why a character like him isn’t the main character of this story instead, is because he can’t see value in other people. he refuses to reach out to others, to accept them as they are and to truly care about anyone outside of his own crew. he’s lacking in luffy’s ability to draw people to him and make them want to help him and believe in him. as mihawk points out in marineford, this luffy is greatest power. that's what’s gonna get him to laugh tale. and kid doesn’t have that

so where do we go from here? shanks destroyed kid’s ship and drowned him and his crew. is that it? well, maybe? we all already knew that kid was never gonna accomplish his goal in the way he wanted to because luffy has the same goal, and i never really thought he had a chance against shanks. as we get into the endgame, oda is juggling a lot of characters and storylines so maybe this was a way to cut out some of the extras, and this really is the end for kid. i hope not, because it would suck if his role in the story was just to hype up the abilities of another character. I doubt oda would kill all of the kid pirates outright because he never kills anyone, so they’ll just stop being in the story, fading into obscurity because they couldn’t keep up with luffy.

if kid and his crew do survive and continue to play a meaningful role in the story, then that means something about kid is going to have to change after this defeat. he can’t keep tearing through the new world in the same way that he’s been doing up until now because it’s not viable anymore for him or his crew. the way i see it, there are two options here, but one of them seems way more likely than the other. the first option is that he could go fully evil and become a real antagonist for the straw hats, aligning himself with blackbeard or something stupid like that. as much as i love how kid is a huge bastard, I think this option sucks, and i don’t think the set up is there for it. kid’s function as a foil for luffy wouldn't exist anymore because his role would fold under blackbeard's, making him redundant. I also don’t think this option is very likely to happen because of how luffy reacts to both blackbeard and kid. luffy and blackbeard are immediately set up to be completely diametrically opposed and incompatible in every way right from the start, and their final clash has been in the making for 900 chapters now. while luffy bickers with kid, he actually seems to actually like him a lot? and we’ve been shown time and time again that luffy is a remarkably good judge of character and extremely emotionally intelligent, so it would just feel kind of out of place. plus, like luffy, kid is very anti-authoritarian and i can't ever see him realistically falling in line with anyone without compromising a critical element of his character.

The other option is that kid decides to make some friends and allies, but for real this time. other people have pointed out the similarity in the wording between the ending of chapter 1079 and 513 in sabaody. since I’ve spent the first part of this post talking about how kid is luffy’s foil, let’s consider luffy at the end of sabaody, and try to extrapolate what this means for kid and his crew.

that moment for luffy is where he finally hits the wall that he cannot overcome. in the east blue, luffy is easily the most powerful person around. east blue arcs go out of their way to prevent luffy from immediately jumping into combat, because the moment he does, the fight's already over. that changes when the crew enters the grand line. luffy starts to really struggle against opponents, only just barely scrapping a win in his fights. sabaody is the first point in the story where luffy is just not strong enough to overcome his opponents no matter what he does. he can’t protect his friends and he loses in a way that he can’t bounce back from. this remains true for the rest of the story before the timeskip. The summit war saga is luffy’s lowest point emotionally but also in terms of his relative strength to other characters. he shows signs of his future potential, like his use of conqueror’s haki in amazon lily/marineford, but he can’t rely on that in any meaningful way. From sabaody onward, luffy is powerless in a way we’ve never seen before. he has plenty of fights, but he doesn’t defeat any of the major antagonists of the summit war arcs. the only reason he survives is because he finds powerful allies to support him. luffy’s ability to make people want to help him protects him when his strength isn’t enough, but even still, it’s not enough to save his brother. that’s why the timeskip happens in the first place, to give luffy the time to recover and become stronger, and to fully harness the potential we know he has.

so now back to kid. In terms of power, kid should be at the top of his game. he’s just awakened his devil fruit, he’s defeated one of the four emperors, and he’s got one of the highest bounties in the world.* unlike luffy in sabaody, kid isn’t powerless at all. the real problem is that he’s a loose canon, a literal fucking railgun aimed at hundreds of people who never stood a chance against him. and despite that, he still hits a wall that he can’t overcome. when you step back and compare him to luffy pre-timeskip, it’s clear kid’s in a similar situation. while both luffy and law waited to enter the new world, kid jumped right in and he’s been scraping by, but only barely for a long time and it’s cost him and his crew. he’s managed to beat down the weaker pirates by being bigger, meaner, and more violent, but every time he’s tried to go against an emperor, it hasn’t worked out. the first encounter with big mom’s crew presumably went badly for him, he lost his arm to the red haired pirates without even fighting shanks, and kaido wiped the floor with him. when you compare what kid’s managed to accomplish in two years to what luffy manages to do in a month after he enters the new world, it’s laughable. it took him two years to increase his bounty 100 million berries, while luffy breaks 1 billion almost immediately. so then what is kid lacking? it doesn't seem like he's hit the limit of his power yet. but you see, i’ve already answered this. the thing kid is lacking is luffy’s ability to find allies and friends. the first real win he snagged in the new world was when he finally made some new friends to fight with. and the second he ditches them, he loses so badly he basically gets a death scene. in wano, kid gets a taste of his own potential, of what he could accomplish, just like luffy did during the summit war saga. kid has the ability and the drive to take on emperors! ...he just can’t do it alone. i hate to say this, because it sounds corny as hell, but the wall kid’s up against is the fact that his power of friendship isn’t strong enough. but it could be! maybe! if he put even a little bit of effort into it. we know that kid has the capacity to care about other people because he is fiercely devoted to killer and his crew. and he can inspire people to follow him and support him because his crew is equally devoted to him! they follow him into battle because they believe in him. they’re willing to subject themselves to slavery and misery or even death just to protect his life and his dream. so he could try to make some friends. i do not want a kid redemption arc, i don’t think he really needs one, like i wanna be clear that i don’t think kid should suddenly become a good person or anything like that. but maybe he could, I dunno, be a little bit nice to someone for once. make a new friend maybe. trust someone. believe in someone. you know. character development and all that. anyway, i’m interested to see where kid’s story goes from here! i really hope oda’s not done with him yet because it really does feel like he’s been laying the groundwork to do more with him despite the ending of chapter 1079

*you could absolutely make a power scaling argument about how he really seems to need to work on his haki because both him and law are kinda lagging behind luffy and zoro, and kid’s somehow even worse than law at using haki despite having conqueror’s haki. so he does still have room to grow and improve. but that’s not the point i’m making, so like, why would you? The point is that kid should’ve been flying high after taking down an emperor of the sea but shanks didn’t even give him the opportunity to fight because kid’s a piece a shit

[purpleturtle9000]

everyone thinks donnie is unnaturally good at video games (and very peeved by this by extension) and he's not about to tell anyone that he's gotten into all the game source codes to put handicaps on them cause he's a bastard who loves winning

[allthegothihopgirls]

when the batboys get broken bones or other things that can't be fixed in the batcave, and have to go to an actual hospital, they make up the most outlandish sounding excuses for their injuries:

dick (with a broken leg): "well you see, i was actually trying to jump over a river on a pair of rollerskates"

jason (with broken ribs): "i was volunteering at the zoo... feeding the alligators. i fell backwards with the meat in my hands, and one pounced on me. funny how much damage they can do."

tim (with the worst concussion man has ever seen): "oh that? i was walking outside.. and my brothers were playing basketball on the top floor of the house, and one of them accidentally threw the ball out the window, and it landed on my head"

(bruce hears that one and has to reconsider whether or not the version of the story tim told him (getting hit by condiment king's mustard launcher) was the truth or not)

damian (with fingers twisted in every direction): "i play the piano... very violently"

[the-mad-prince-of-denmark]

Can’t decide what’s funnier- Benoit Blanc meeting his husband during a high stakes murder mystery or Benoit Blanc meeting his husband at like, the grocery store

[essektheylyss]

I'm thinking, for no real reason except that I was reminded of it, about Thuron, the Kryn agent the Nein interrogated in the sewers who they initially let take the beacon.

The Crownsguard immediately killed him when the Nein let him go, and they of course promptly stole the beacon back. It's easy to imagine that his soul was captured by that beacon in particular, purely based on proximity. It's not clear whether the case the Nein put the beacon in to avoid its detection prevented souls from leaving the beacon, but let's say for speculatory purposes that it did.

The Nein didn't get that container until the following day, so it is possible that in the time between their taking it and its containment, his soul was bestowed on some infant in Zadash. However, the next place the Nein used the beacon extensively in an urban setting was in Hupperdook, and I think that that's where Thuron should've been reborn, because it is SO funny to imagine that from his perspective when he goes through anamnesis in, idk, forty years.

Like, you're a reasonably high-level drow Kryn agent, probably in the Lens hierarchy, because you were sent with one other agent on this extremely important, very secretive mission on behalf of the Dynasty. You were killed in the streets of Zadash certain you'd failed in your quest of bringing this sacred artifact back to your people. You come to several decades after this and have to process the following:

your death effectively started a war,

the random jackasses who interrogated you and then let you go in the sewers went and stole this artifact back the moment you were downed, for seemingly no reason except impulse, given their otherwise disinterest in messing with the Crownsguard and the artifact itself,

months later they hand-delivered it to the Bright Queen herself, having supposedly walked across the continent,

these jackasses evidently carried it around for a hot minute through a Dwendalian party town known for weapons manufacturing at SOME POINT between these two events, WHILE the war was going on,

and also, you're a fucking gnome.

This has NO business being this funny but god, it is so funny.

[chiyana]

this is the stupidest crossover possible but I want Tim to make House his doctor

yes that House

why? He needs someone who is very good, will not give up or send Tim out to a different specialist just because his medical condition is difficult, will not be overly concerned about the danger Tim puts himself in, and will lie on Tim's medical records AND to Batman/Bruce Wayne/all of the Bats without hesitation or fear.

House is and will do all of those things without hesitation. He has no shame, no boundaries, he WILL get into a public fight with Bruce Wayne if it means keeping that man out of his patient's (and House's) business. He will help Tim lie to and gaslight the rest of his family without hesitation.

in exchange, Tim is his favorite patient. Not because they get along, necessarily, Tim is a know-it-all little shit and they constantly bicker and House hates how practically every facet of Tim's existence is a lie (and Tim thinks House is a smug know-it-all jackass who is needlessly cruel and callous bc he thinks the world owes him and never delivers just bc he's in pain, news flash a lot of people are in pain and manage not to be assholes) BUT, 1, Tim brings him really interesting cases and problems, and 2, Tim NEVER lies to House about his medical conditions or what he was doing when they happened.

He lies about literally almost everything else under the sun TO everyone else, but he is 100% completely upfront and honest about his medical history and what is going on with him with House.

admittedly it takes a while for House to realize Tim ISN'T lying to him because some of the shit he says is completely insane ("the vigilante thing is pretty obvious but what do you MEAN you got the Apocalypse virus TWICE, AND SURVIVED, AS A FOURTEEN-FIFTEEN YEAR OLD")

but once he realizes Tim doesn't ever lie to him, he becomes House's favorite patient because at least TIM gives him all of the data he needs as best he's able the moment he asks. At least House doesn't have to waste his time following up on bogus information or figuring out the truth, he can just get right into the meat of the medical issue at hand.

also it's so fun to lie directly to Batman's face, know the man knows, and know he can't do anything about it

[bacchuschucklefuck]

prayer of the day:

[dekusleftsock]

I think about this sometimes but I personally love that Horikoshi took the Yandere trope, split it in two, and gave one half to Izuku and Himiko.

Like it’s so fascinating how you can just SEE how purposeful Himiko was as a character in hindsight standing next to him.

Himiko is a really interesting subversion of her trope for two reasons:

She hurts people because she loves them, not for isolation or destruction of the competition (gore/blood is love to her, not necessarily a means to love someone)

She’s not possessive. Like at all.

I’ve seen that hc a few times and it always bothers me. Ochako is for sure a possessive character (we saw that with Hatsume around Izuku way back at the sports festival arc), but Himiko? Really?

You mean the girl who had a crush on a boy AND the girl who also had a crush on the same boy? Her?

You mean the girl who doesn’t hurt people who love who she loves, rather actively encouraging it in the first place? That one? Really?

Like it’s such an integral part to her subversion too. It’s what makes her such a weird and fascinating character. Possessiveness is supposed to be whats ugly about love itself, yet her love remains ugly without it. She is ugly because the fundamental ways in which she sees and feels about the world are considered “wrong”, “dangerous”, and “deviant”.

But Izuku… ohhhh Izuku…

He holds this trait like a badge melted to his skin. My man cannot escape these allegations. It’s to the point where it’s honestly a fundamental to his narrative. Izuku does not act nor feel the same without it.

Izuku holds a cutesy nickname that literally every other childhood friend of Katsuki’s has long left behind, saying his real name instead (this is honestly why I’m also uninterested in a scene where Izuku calls him “Katsuki” instead of “Kacchan”, Katsuki doesn’t represent the same things the name Izuku does, imo at least), izuku “give him back to me” midoriya, holds his dead body to his chest on a cover, freaked out on someone either hurting/offending Kacchan.. 3 times(?), keeping big boy ofa secrets…. The list goes on.

So it’s this main reason that I think their characters are just so. Fucking. Intertwined. I’m glad this has become a more common interpretation because there’s just so much that aligns between them.

Both of them call their “special people” with -chan endings, both by their first names, both deemed deviants/irrelevant by society. It’s no wonder Ochako fell in love with Izuku, just like she did toga, they’re fucking freaks. They’re interesting. They’re weird. They’re overly friendly and socially inept and a little beaten down by the world yet have too much passion to stay on the ground. They’re envious of the ones they love (Ochako of her freedom to be a normal girl, Katsuki for his raw power and harnessed skill), and I guess I just wanted to make this post because I adore how it’s all done.

I LOVE how the yandere trope is used as societal commentary here. Not necessarily as a way to make the main love interest jealous and feel she must protect the main character, nor for some kinky reason surrounding her character, but because the trope is built off of real, ugly feelings that can and do happen. That love can and is considered truly beautiful in all its forms, especially those of queer people.

So I especially love it because it isn’t just limited to Himiko, but Izuku as well. He may never hurt the ones he loves, but he would hurt for them.

A perfect narrative foil on queer and deviant forms of love. Big fan Horikoshi.

[medouse]

there are many. many things. i could say about heracles kindness. but its also the kind of thing that would get him to kill me so maybe i shall keep that to myself for now. but yeah you certainly are zeus' son alright.

[gods-favorite-autistic]

I was relistening to Ruthlessness and I heard Poseidons “43 left under your command” and I immediately thought of the “558 men who died” part of The Underworld and oh my god he remembered to include that one guy who got drunk and fell off of Circe’s roof that’s amazing

[fruityumbrella]

one piece is set in a nautical world with presumably nautical idioms and exclamations to match, right, like swearing by the sea rather than on a god etc. to wit, there's five seas (the four blues + the grand line) so we can assume when you're feeling particularly dramatic, you might refer to all those vast oceans to get your hyperbolic point across.

keeping that in mind, lets live in a stupidly romantic corny ass world for a moment ok? take my hand.

"I swear on all six seas, if you don't shut the fuck up right now—"

"What?" Sanji looks at him like he's stupid. Nothing new, really.

"Ha, even you're going deaf having to listen to your own annoying ass whining all the time, Cook. I was—"

"No, you—"

"Don't interrupt me! Oi!" he yelps as a wooden spoon bounces harmlessly off his shoulder. He's not impressed that Sanji manages to catch it before it hits the counter.

"You said six seas," Sanji states.

Zoro stares back in lieu of an answer.

"Huh, maybe this has something to do with why you're always lost. There's only five seas, dummy."

And ah, now he gets what the idiot cook is on about. He's surprised and a little disappointed, honestly. You'd think the guy would be a little more aware about his own fucking dream, but whatever. He's got that annoying smile, smug and cocky like he's oh so much better than Zoro.

"Would you like me to count them out for you? I know it's a big number, it's probably confusing for a simple creature like you."

Zoro crosses his arms in clear warning, something the cook, as always, blatantly ignores. He's leaning on the counter that's between them now, eyes sparkling with glee. Idiot. Zoro's thoughts do not have a fond tone to them. Thoughts don't have tones at all, thank you very much.

Sanji lifts a hand and proceeds to count off on his fingers with the precision of a drill sergeant.

"I'm sure you at least know our ocean, the East Blue. There's also the West Blue, North Blue, South Blue, and of course the Grand Line," he wiggles all his fingers as he puts his thumb up for the last one like he's emulating fireworks.

Zoro snorts indelicately. "And?"

Sanji frowns with a tilt of his head.

"And?"

Zoro holds up his index finger.

"And," he says, stifling his amusement as Sanji goes cross eyed trying to follow said finger as it arcs towards him, "your All Blue. Dummy."

He punctuates the last word by poking Sanji in the forehead, snickering when he sputters and swats the digit away in a huff. Then Zoro's words finally sink in, and he straightens up almost too fast. It's not endearing at all.

"Wait," he says quietly, "you count it?"

Zoro doesn't like how Sanji's looking at him with an open expression he's not usually allowed. He looks earnest and sincere. Zoro feels suddenly out of his depth.

"Don't you?" he deflects uncomfortably.

"Well yeah, but that's different. You're—" he shrugs half heartedly and looks away. Zoro can't tell if the end of that sentence was going to disparage him or the cook. Odds are likely split down the middle. Sanji keeps looking at him, and he feels pinned. The bright look is gone, replaced by something more reserved but perhaps...searching? Considering, at the least. It's making him increasingly self conscious. He needs to get out of here.

"Okay. I'm gonna steal some alcohol now," he says shortly, striding to the cabinet and swiping a bottle before Sanji blinks out of his stupor.

[deadsetobsessions]

Pt. 3

Again, the timing is icky but pretty much everything about it is icky.

——

Bruce wondered when Talia al Ghul would stop upheaving his life.

He loves Damian, but one surprise child was a lot, considering the cult deprogramming they’d had to do.

A second, older, surprise child? That was a bit overkill.

At least this time, the conception was consensual.

Bruce cradled his head in his hands, still-gloved fingers gripping onto sweat-soaked hair. The glow of the bat computer shone on his lone figure, sat huddled before endless screens of investigations and the unraveling threads of Bruce’s sanity.

How was he to cope with the knowledge that a child- his child, like Dick and Damian and Tim and Jason and- suffered so at the man he thought he had beaten so soundly?

It was his fault, Bruce thought, that Ra’s al Ghul tortured his… Bruce’s… daughter so brutally. It was no doubt, a way to assuage his anger at Bruce’s denial of being his heir.

His mistakes always came back to haunt him, but it never laid its furious eyes and hands on his own person. No, when Bruce made mistakes, his loved ones paid for it.

He tried his best, pushed harder as Batman, in penance. But this… his unknown daughter, trapped in the shadows of the league where it is cold and cruel and brutally painful…

How could he repent for the sin of letting his daughter suffer and chained at the hands of Ra’s al Ghul? How could he show her that the shadows could be kind? That he would rather break his own spine and get lost in the time stream again before he could even fathom hurting her? He found himself stuck in the same loop of thoughts that plagued him when Damian first came into his orbit.

The screens turned black, and Oracle’s call sign flashed onto the dark pixels.

“Oracle. I hadn’t finished looking at the cases.”

“Go to sleep, Bruce.”

“No, there is still work to be-” his voice, dipping into the growl, died a quick death when Barbara cut him off.

“Your daughter is coming tomorrow. So, unless you want to look like a disheveled grease racoon when you meet her, go shower and get some actual sleep.”

Bruce paused, feeling oddly offended. His eye bags weren’t that bad.

Bruce caught sight of his reflection in one of the blacked out monitors.

…Nevermind.

He sighed. “…Thank you, Barbara.”

“Anytime, Bruce. I’m always here to kick your ass into gear.”

Bruce huffed, but obligingly got up to change and shower. Alfred silently appeared at the elevators, polished shoes tapping against the stone floor as he raised an imperious eyebrow at Bruce.

“I see Miss Barbara has managed to persuade you to retire at an hour common to regular man, Master Bruce.”

“Ah, yes, she… did.” Bruce felt the urge to apologize, because if Alfred’s up because of him, it’ll wear down harsher on the older man’s health. If there was one thing he took seriously, it would be the health of his loved ones. “Sorry, Alfred. I’ll head up to bed soon.”

“See to it that you do, Master Bruce. I will warm dinner that you had missed by many hours and bring it to your room.”

Bruce lingered as the butler turned around and began making his way back to the main house.

Alfred paused and turned around once more. “If I may offer you some advice?”

“Please. Always.”

Alfred sniffed delicately, most definitely thinking of the times Bruce decided not to take his very well reasoned and seasoned advice. “You have done well with Young Master Damian.”

“Most of that was Dick,” Bruce interrupted, man enough to admit that he wasn’t a present or a particularly good father figure before his jaunt through time and space. Alfred shot him a chiding look, reprimanding him for interrupting. Bruce rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Perhaps, but you have put in effort towards all of your children in a way that I have yet to see since Master Jason had… gone.”

“I’ll never make that period of time up to Tim.” Bruce whispered. Another thing he was guilty of. Tim still avoided some spaces in the manor, even when Bruce had-

“That is because you sit here, wallowing in your guilt,” Alfred returned. He added a belated “Master Bruce,” and it sounded like ‘you utter buffoon.’

“But…”

“You must take the first step, Master Bruce.”

“What if she hates me? What if I’m not ready- what if I can’t help her?”

“You will try. She deserves that, at the very least. You must try. Even if you are not ready for the day, Master Bruce, it can not always be night.”

“… You’re right.” Bruce straightened his shoulders. Time doesn’t wait. He, of all people, knew that.

“You will find that I am hardly ever wrong.” Alfred primly rested his hands atop each other.

“Thank you, Alfred.”

“Of course. It was also meant literally, Master Bruce, for the sun shall try its best to peek out of Gotham’s smog in approximately three hours and fourteen minutes.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Bruce grouched.

——

Her mother gave her a slow, cautious hug, akin to approaching a wild animal.

She huffed, and pulled her mother into a crushing hug. She allowed herself, for the first time in a long time, to linger and cling onto her mother’s shirt. Another tendency that Ra’s had thought he’d beaten out of her.

“Be careful,” the reincarnation whispered.

“You as well, my beloved daughter.”

‘You do not have to remind me that I am beloved, mother. I know.’

Talia al Ghul tucked a strand of the reincarnation’s curled hair behind her ear. “No, I do not believe that you do. But that is… my own fault. I will tell you and remind you that you are beloved to me as long as I can. I have two decades of it to make up to you, habibti.”

The flight attendant- a League operative- returned from placing her bags onto the private plane.

——

A sleek car made its way up Wayne Manor’s winding driveway. She’d declined the offer to pick her up from the airport. She had wanted a vehicle of her own, and some time before she met every one else. No doubt, knowing what she knew of her brother and Bruce Wayne, not to mention the little photographer, they were most likely tracing her path to Wayne manor obsessively.

She tapped her nails on the wheel as she drove towards her brother. Brothers. And… Bruce Wayne. On one hand, she’s kept them safe. On the other, she’d sacrificed years of getting to know them. It was odd, to feel this intensely awkward and nervous after years of intense hatred or apathy sprinkled by the the occasional love and fondness for Damian and her mother.

“Hmmm.” She hummed, slight smile spreading a bit more as the sound came out without pain. Two weeks, and the novelty of freedom had not worn off. She thinks that it would never wear off. She cherished it.

The gate had opened without needing a code, so they most definitely knew she was here. It’s a good thing she had prepared gifts in advance. Dodging Gothamites as they drove and jaywalked had been a rather unforeseen ordeal that she was not looking forward to repeating.

She rolled to a smooth stop at the front doors, giving the intricately carved oak doors a passing glance. She huffed a laugh as she saw Damian, flanked by Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth, staring proudly outside at the front door. They’re anticipatory of her arrival. Warmth spread through her heart, and for the first time in a long while, it wasn’t the heat of rage.

She opened the doors with a quiet click and hiss, stepping out onto the heated paved driveway, and closed the door. At the steps, the two older men had frozen but Damian had come walking quickly towards her.

“Damian,” she whispered as he came near her, suffusing as much fondness as she could into his name. Her little brother all but sprinted towards her, screeching to a stop in front of her with excited eyes.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, ukhti.” He said formally. Her eyes softened and she pulled him into a hug.

(yā waṭawāṭī alṣṣḡīr is the phonetic spelling.) ("وطواطي الصغير" is the actual spelling. I think.)

“I have missed you, ya wat-wat alssgirr,” she whispered. The familiar endearment, “my little bat,” rung warmly like a warm crease ruffling his hair. The silks of her clothes and the ever present warm sand and candle scent wrapped around him like a hug… like the hug she was currently giving him.

(Her clothes were in blues and silvers. It suited her, she who had been forced in green and golds and cuts of black.)

“I still can not believe you all but told me who father was and I still could not figure it out until mother told me.”

She pulled back. ‘Damian, you were five.’

“I have little doubt you were smarter at my age, ukhti, so do not lie to me.” Damian grumbled. Nevertheless, he stepped back.

‘No, you were smarter.’

And to her, he was. It’s not like Damian had the edge she did, and he wasn’t the one trapped for twenty something years. She had foolishly thought that Ra’s wouldn’t dare to harm her too much, seeing as she was his blood, but Damian knew from day 1. She made sure he did. If she was half as smart as Damian, she would have bent her knee and obeyed, no matter how she felt about killing. She would have taken warning Ra’s issued and soaked in the poisonous praise to bide her time to escape. She could not- she did not- do what Damian found effortless, and paid the price for it.

“Unlikely,” Damian said, turning around fully, but she could see the tips of her brother’s ears burning. Ah, perhaps she had been to stingy with compliments if he was shy hearing a mild one, sincere as it might have been. “This is Alfred Pennyworth. He is the butler, and an integral part of the family.”

Damian glanced at her, taking in her suddenly impassive face, and nods. Good. His attitude towards Pennyworth when he first arrived was… mildly shameful. His ukhti was smart enough to know that and therefore he won the argument.

On her part, the reincarnation followed along like she hadn’t mildly stalked this family for decades. It was nice to see excitement rearing on her brother’s face. It was rare in the league and Gotham’s gloom had ironically cheered him up far more than the suns of desserts ever did. She nodded at Alfred Pennyworth, who had admirably recovered from his earlier shock.

“And this is… Bruce Wayne. Our father.”

She tucked a strand of curled hair back, impassive blue eyes meeting her… father’s.

She offered him a short nod.

——

“My word,” Alfred Pennyworth muttered as his charge’s (his son’s) daughter step out of the car. Her steps were silent, graceful, and lighter than a gazelle.

The way she moved, even as she hugged young master Damian, whispered of leashed lethality and treacherous waters. She moved like if grace had a form and Alfred was willing to bet his entire career that not an iota of air got close to her without her knowledge of it, and it reminded the aging man of the young Miss Cassandra. He knew then, that she could have pretended to be unassuming and that he would have had a hard time equating her with danger. That she showed them her potential for death was a sign of trust.

But it was not the way she claimed death as her own name that caught the former spy’s attention.

No.

It was her blue eyes and the way they ever so slightly crinkled fondly as she laid eyes upon her younger brother. It was the way her hair, curled in a nostalgic style, that curtained her face as she spoke to the young Wayne heir, though he could not hear her voice. It was the way that she tucked Damian against her side, protective but encouraging.

It was the way that she, despite Talia al Ghul’s features, resembled his dearest friend, Martha Wayne, in her every movement.

Alfred Pennyworth felt like he was decades younger, standing before Martha as she fondly tucked Bruce against her side and successfully needled Thomas into going to see Bruce’s favorite movie.

It felt like he had his best friend once more, just a little.

From the way Master Bruce stared, it seemed as though he thought the same.

Alfred straightened when young master Damian introduced him. He was the Wayne Family Butler. And she was definitely a Wayne.

Master Bruce stood there like a lout as his daughter greeted him. Alfred shot him a scathing look- he had taught Master Bruce much better manners than to gape, the nerve!- before smoothly directing the attention away. His hands moved as he spoke.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, Miss-”

She made a sharp motion to cut him off and signed something. Alfred might be a tad rusty in Arabic sign language (like he and the rest of the family hadn’t spent the last two weeks frantically memorizing and brushing up on their sign language) but he knew a name sign when he saw one.

“al Ghul.” Damian recognized. He did not use regular Arabic Sign Language with her often, vastly preferring their own established sign, but that did not mean he slacked. “You may call her al-Ghul.”

‘Or nothing at all,’ Damian’s sister signed. She looked at him like she was waiting. A test, Alfred realized.

Alfred pushed the slight twinge of disheartening disappointment away. He had wanted to call her Miss Wayne, to perhaps indulge in a bit of nostalgia for a while longer. But he shan’t do it at the expense of his charge.

“Miss al Ghul,” he continued, not missing a beat, imitating the name sign with pin point accuracy. She lifted her chin. Alfred sighed in relief. He passed. And now, perhaps he should revive Ra’s al Ghul and have a nice, entirely civil conversation about Miss al Ghul’s expectation that her wishes would go ignored.

Alfred will bring his shotguns and most likely would abandon pretenses as soon as that old goat got into his crosshairs. Old as he might be, he was still a very good shot, and civility was reserved for those with honor.

“Please head inside. I am sure young master Damian would love to guide you on a tour,” Alfred continued like he didn’t think of violent second deaths for Ra’s al Ghul. “Perhaps Master Bruce will join you, if you are amendable, once he has managed to stop imitating the rather life like form of a smooth brained sloth.”

Alfred congratulated himself on the small crinkle of humor that graced Miss al Ghul’s otherwise expressionless face. Well, expressionless to those that did not know where to look. Fortunately, Alfred and the rest of the family were used to stoic caveman micro expressions, courtesy of Bruce, and therefore it would not be much of a problem.

“I will bring your bags up to your room.”

She scrutinized him and then dipped her head.

‘Be careful. There are dangerous things in there.’

“I assure you the utmost privacy in regards to your belongings,” Alfred said.

“Pennyworth will not peruse your belongings, ukhti. He has more honor and respect than that.”

Alfred would like to interrogate Talia al Ghul to see who he must introduce some lead to, that clearly disrespected Miss al Ghul’s privacy like so. But for now, he will bask in the warmth of young master Damian’s implicit trust.

Miss al Ghul nodded. She opened the trunk of the car- the interior of which Alfred could now perceive to be entirely customized and of extremely quality material. She handed the keys and gave him access to her luggage. Then, placing her hand at young master Damian’s shoulder, followed the young master into the halls where she ought to have been raised. Or, at the very least, ought to have taken a step in at least once before today.

Master Bruce lingered at the doorway, torn between following the siblings and helping Alfred with the luggage (read: running away.)

“The daylight is wasting, Master Bruce.”

Master Bruce skittered in behind them like a newborn colt, wobbling and anxious.

Well, it’s time for Alfred to do his job. There was only a single duffle bag.

Hm. He’ll have to tell Master Bruce to take her out for necessities. He hardly doubted that a single bag could last her very long. And Alfred Pennyworth was hellbent on convincing his granddaughter to stay, may the gods have mercy on whichever poor soul that tried to convince her otherwise for he won’t.

——

She followed Damian as he led her deeper within the walls of a home she knew by heart from afar. She was like the little photographer in that way. Bruce Wayne trailed behind them like a particularly awkward ghoul, and she found it amusing to equate this turtle necked man was the illustrious Dark Knight. How dangerous.

“This is the first parlor. It is for guests of the… regular persuasion.”

Ah, for the civilians. She nodded.

“Ah, the silverware was selected by Alfred.” Bruce interjected, gesturing to the display silverware by the door. Their cabinets were intricate without taking away from the paintings upon the delicate ceramic.

She looked at him, wondering why he was following before giving up and nodding. It was his house.

(Bruce, for his part, felt like his daughter had laid judgement upon him… and found him lacking.)

‘It is… adequate.’ She sighed to Damian. Damian tutted.

“It’s fine to say quaint, sister. It could hardly compare to the palace.”

Bruce jolted, plans for converting the manor into a palace already in the making.

No, he couldn’t. Alfred would murder him with his favorite dish.

‘I like it, even if it is smaller.’

“….you do?”

‘You are happy here. It is warm to you. I like it.’ She repeated.

Damian latched onto her sleeve. “I- I shall show you my art. And then introduce you to the rest of the bumbling fools we have for brothers-”

She tilted her head. Bruce paused as well when Damian’s words cut off.

“If… you want them as brothers. It would be… helpful, to integrate.”

She waited.

“But… I am the first. Your blood. And-”

‘I will make room in my heart for them, if you wish it. I already know some of them.’ She allowed a small smile to show. ‘But that does not mean you will ever lose your place, little bat.’

Damian felt extremely thankful that father had not managed to pick up their version of sign language yet.

“Well… as long as you’re aware.” He marched further into the manor. She followed, once more, a look of fond indulgence gleaming in her eyes.

——

She stood in front of a painting her younger brother had done.

‘I made it two weeks ago,’ he’d told her, fingers curled into her palm.

It was green. She hated green. And gold. And ominous. Rage. Harsh, bold strokes and spots where the texture of the canvas were either globbed over or painfully showing through.

Her hands traced the single stroke of blue amidst the turbulence of green.

She tucked Damian against her side and realized that perhaps he understood after all, what it felt like. Perhaps not all of it, but enough.

——

“Here is your room, ukhti.” Damian stood watch as his sister scanned the room. She quickly removed three listening devices as Damian sighed.

‘You’ve gotten better.’ She crossed the room and plucked the listening bug from its place on the door frame.

“Clearly not good enough.” Damian huffed. “But I have beaten your knife game record. What do you think of the room?”

His sister rolled her eyes and handed him a blade she pulled from somewhere on her person.

An implicit challenge.

“No cutting your fingers off, please.” Father interceded.

“Begone, father. We are doing sibling bonding, something I remember you insisting that I participate in.”

Damian shut the door on his stupefied face, matching his sister’s sharp smirk as he splayed his hand on the dresser and raised the blade.

——

Alfred walked in with a covered plate and paused at the sight of the dresser.

Then, he looked on as Damian sat at the desk, rapidly signing to his sister in their own version of the language as said sister pulled out an entire wardrobe and a half to fill in the walk-in closet.

Alfred made a note to study some more magic.

“Miss al-Ghul. I bring you a snack that young master Damian made and to inform you that the others will be arrive en masse, within an hour.” Alfred paused. “Might I interest you in a mat before the two of you decide to… take a gander at furniture redecoration in the future?”

“Of course, Pennyworth. Apologies.”

“I’ll try to make sure they won’t overwhelm you. They can be a lot, at once.” Bruce said from the doorway. Miss al Ghul glanced at him and dipped her head in thanks. Her eyes wandered right back to the dessert.

Alfred made another note.

‘You made this for me?’ She asked, switching to standard.

Damian grumbled. “Do not eat it. I could not get the spice quite right, no matter how many variations…”

‘I am sure it will be good.’ She took the plate from Alfred’s hand and uncovered it.

They all had the fortune of witnessing a true, genuine wide eyed smile from a stoic face.

Alfred inhaled sharply. He had thought Master Bruce and young master Damian had inherited Thomas’ dimples. But she had inherited his entire smile.

‘Bstilla!’ She turned to Damian. ‘My favorite! You made this?’

“I know that. I am not incompetent as to not notice when you snuck three of them from the palace kitchens. You must give me the recipe from the cooks. I could not get it to taste like the spices they used. I even imported spices!”

Miss al-Ghul, like she had forgotten he and Master Bruce were there, stabbed a fork into the pie and put it into her mouth.

“Ukhti! Don’t- do not eat that! Spit it out! The pastry is too thick and-”

She held up her hand. ‘It’s good. I know what it is missing.’

She strode to her magic bag and pulled out a bottle.

She sprinkled flakes on top and offered a forkful of b’stilla to the young master who, shockingly, did not insist on his own utensil.

His expression lightened. “This is it. What is it? You know of the chefs’ methods?”

She sprinkled the mysterious spice on the food. ‘You’ve never eaten anything the chefs have made. I made your food by hand to prevent assassinations and inoculate you against toxins. Also, this is poison.’

Alfred stiffened.

“It’s what?!” Bruce spoke up, rushing into the room, finally to try and look Damian over.

‘It is fine. He has been immune since he was three.’

Miss al Ghul placed a piece of poisoned b’stilla in her mouth and ate. Young master Damian batted his father off, saying that poison inoculation was hardly a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was something else.

“That is- you- you’re the one who made my meals?” Young Master Damian demanded, looking guilty. “But- I- why did you not tell me? I made all of those demands in the middle of the night- what about the time I sent back the knafe fifteen times?”

She nodded.

“Why would you- why did you not tell me?”

‘You knew what grandfather thought of women. And besides, it was the only time I was allowed sweets. He did not want me to ruin my figure as it would lower my marketability.’

Alfred itched for his gun.

“You are not a commodity,” Master Bruce stated, intense as he tended to be. Miss al Ghul blinked at him.

‘… I am aware. But… thank you.’

“Ah. Yes. Of course.” And there went the emotionally intelligent Master Bruce. May he rest in peace until the next time he decides to make an appearance.

“I believe today is a chocolate chip cookie day, do you not, young master Damian?”

“Yes, Pennyworth, I believe it is.”

‘I have never tried it before.’

“You will love it. Pennyworth’s cookies are the best in the world, as is expected.”

Alfred watched as young master Damian tugged his sister out and marveled. The sides of his grandson they rarely get to see was so easily pulled out by his older sister.

——

Y’all I wanted to write her meeting the siblings but Alfred came out of no where and went haha nope feel the angst of a man who lost his best friend and had to raise her vigilante child.

Alfred, seeing Bruce put on the bat cowl for the first time: martha, why have you forsaken me

——

Me: what would baby assassins play as a binding game?

Me, remembering my past as a kid: I Spy, but with trackers and bugs. oh wait… THE KNIFE GOES CHOP CHOP CHOP

——

Also, I think B’stilla was food meant only for royalty and was probably rooted in slavery, so I thought it would be a meaningful nod to her position of privilege and how she are like a king but was treated as a… bed warmer and a slave. Yeah. If anyone knowledgeable on food history wants to school me on b’stilla, feel free to do so. I did like, a cursory research at best.

[kimquatz]

i think it's so funny to remember Jishen is Hunter's deadbeat dad in another universe.

but even Funnier to consider that human!Jishen is just him without depression

[taeiris]

new semester new saga of ari class doodles

[1yr4b3ll3]

found this on pinterest. i KNEW this bitch wasn’t 5’8