#like why were they acting like this teenage girl is responsible for her own death hello???

[pinkfey]

rachel amber haters were literally like ugh i can’t believe she cheated on chloe with these two grown ass men twice her age, one of which being her violent drug dealer, the other being the guy who literally groomed drugged kidnapped and murdered her….. what a manipulative snake!!!!!

[mswyrr]

an object in motion wishes to stay in motion: corrupt societies and the Capitol adults in THG

I wrote about here and here that I think of Ballad as a powerful depiction of the acculturation of a young person into a corrupt society. IMO, the quote from Frankenstein Collins chooses to start the book with very much supports that view. Coriolanus is still in formation, on the cusp of adulthood. He's deciding who he will be and his choices are all shaped by his society. But I think it also shows us, through the adults, what that looks like once it's become ossified. The adults show us why these books are about teenagers and their agency in how they treat other kids, rather than the adults.

They've become such a part of the perverse incentive structures of their society that they act them out almost thoughtlessly. Even Highbottom, who hates what he's done, sees no other choice besides slowly killing himself with morphling as he nonetheless perpetuates this thing.

In that sense, while the adults are responsible for what they do in shaping the next generation--and, with Snow, actually helping shape someone who will make things worse--they're acting out decisions made long ago. They help create a future that is in keeping with the sins they, in their turn, chose when they were young. And it's all for nothing; within a short period of time, this system will become so hollow that a slip of a girl with a bow can light the spark that sets it ablaze. It won't even outlive this child they're shaping. There's an overtone of dramatic irony to all of it.

1-Highbottom is a morphling addict who is rarely, possibly never, sober. When he looks at the child in front of him, all he sees is Coriolanus' father. There IS a possibility for things to go better - but he's so absorbed in the horror of a decade of watching children die due to his idea (an idea he NEVER meant to be realized) he can't see it, he won't do anything but push things further.

He's given up on life and just drags himself through the day, lashing out at the image of a man he hates in the face of a child. He is not capable--he has made himself and been made incapable--of the self-awareness and inner strength to change this story. That's partly why his death has bitter dramatic irony too it: Coriolanus kills him with the morphling he was slowly killing himself with anyway.

2-Strabo Plinth is a war criminal and an arms manufacturer who refuses to really connect with his own son, his only child. If he did, he'd have to look at what he is and what he's done. In many ways, his son is lost before his death because Strabo refuses to see; he wants the resources and power of the Capitol and refuses to see what a death of the soul it is and how someone like Sejanus just... can't live like that the way he can. There's too much truth in his own child's eyes. Like Highbottom, at first all he sees when he looks at Coriolanus is his father. In the end, though, Strabo gets the perfect Capitol scion son he always wanted, a boy who would never challenge him or make him look at his own sins; he gets that son in the form of the boy who got his own child killed.

3-And Dr Gaul -- obsessed with war and the necessity of control, her only legacy to find and shape a child to make sure the spirit of the war continues as long as possible. She's pretty clearly neurodivergent and seems prone to sadistic impulses. HOWEVER, there are plenty of neurodiverent, low empathy people and/or people who are sadists who never commit any crimes, who are decent people. I can only imagine what being neurodivergent in the kind of society the Capitol was in her youth was like. It's the kind of society that rewards people like Coriolanus' father. For someone with her brain - well, I can see why she came to believe people are fundamentally chaotic and violent and need to be controlled. It explained the things she must have gone through and it justified her desire to inflict pain on others. The war, as she says, was a gift. It proved her "right" about people and it made her skills in science very important. Finally, people saw the world as she saw it. Finally, nobody could push her around. She wants the Hunger Games to continue because she wants to keep pushing on other peoples' trauma so they don't forget she's right and don't stop seeing her relevance as someone who designs weapons.

And I think it's important that this idea of control that she believes in is one that Collins references in another quote, to Hobbes' Leviathian. As I wrote here, that kind of idea isn't simplistically evil at heart - other people historically irl who had seen war and chaos have truly believed in it too. There is evidence she's not seeing, about how she's applying pressure and creating the "human nature" she believes is there already - but it's not as if there's not plenty of experiences and povs of people who see it too. It's not as if the horror and trauma of how people behave toward each other (especially if, for some reason, a person feels cast outside the circle of community and acceptance) isn't a real thing people experience.

However, I think there's a bitter irony for her too - ultimately, Snow makes the Games such a success as an entertainment that younger people in the Capitol lose track of it as a memory of war, an object lesson. He keeps it alive, but her intent dies over time. Someone like Seneca Crane truly doesn't understand what this thing IS, what it is for, not even--in the films--when Snow tries to outright tell him the realpolitik of it. The thing Gaul feared happens: people forget and "chaos" overcomes her beautiful, violent order she wants to keep alive in Snow as an instrument of legacy.

4-Adult!Snow's legacy himself is of failure. Unlike Gaul and Strabo, he actually doesn't have a legacy for someone else to continue at all. Nothing of the schemes and ideas he gave his entire life to survives to rule. The chaos he feared wins and, specifically, it wins in the form of someone who is able to break the cycle truly - if the Games with Capitol children had been allowed to go forward--and it's entirely possible they could have! That's the thing; they're not "insane" people basing their bs entirely on nothing, there's reasons and experiences and a whole social structure of very real rewards and punishments motivating them-- that would have supported Gaul's and Snow's beliefs.* Instead, they are repudiated by Katniss ideologically as well as practically.

Why don't any of them do better in Ballad? For the same reason 84-year-old Snow cannot and will not: he's already committed. He doesn't even really see what is possible in the now, he's so stuck in the rut he's made for himself. Adults can change, sometimes, but they find it harder and harder to as they walk deeper into their lives, build themselves and their identities and their material comfort around certain ideas and practices. They are responsible for their actions, but they also made themselves instruments of this society, serving to perpetuate it for the survival of their own sense of self and for their material survival.

That's why, on a meta level, the main trilogy and the prequel have to focus on the choices of children coming of age. Psychologically and sociologically, they have a period of decision and possibility - not without intense pressures on them, but with more flexibility and room to change than most adults who are already committed and most prone to doubling down. And it's important that what Katniss ends is the Games - and that is the key thing Coriolanus kept alive - not exploitation, not greed, not the tendency of corruption and cruelty even within democracies. It is a challenge scaled to their age, about other people their age and younger, and fits with Collins' refusal to do superpowered YA leads.

Beyond the scope of the Games, Panem finds democracy and change. But not certainty. That doesn't exist in history, in their world or ours. We, like Katniss, simply have to remember "every act of goodness I’ve seen someone do" and choose and choose and know there's always a price to be paid, so you might as well pay it for what truly matters to you--as Katniss and Peeta did--instead of living in fear, as Coriolanus did. Choose and hope.

*It's not as if there aren't plenty of examples of revolutions where that does happen. If the only reason you're being moral is because you think other people will be nice and fair and just if you do, that -- doesn't necessarily hold out long when it meets reality. Reality doesn't "reward" decency like that. You have to do it willing to pay the price and not expecting a reward - that's why Coriolanus choosing not to pay that price is human even as it is awful and why Katniss kills Coin believing she will die for it.

[angelofthepage]

Memory Joey - What is your source?

Hi I did not get my full eight hours of sleep, and I am chomping at the bit with a new thought, so prepare for a slightly unhinged Kat theory about Joey.

Last night I was chatting with my partner in crime Beth about a number of Bendy things, but one of my many takeaways from that conversation was a new angle of looking at Memory Joey. So, recently I shared that I was frustrated with the narrative shift of Henry and Allison being ink copies, because it feels like it cheapens the original BATIM and doesn't do anything to serve the Joey Drew Redemption Arc (tm) narrative. We as the player know the man has a body count. Even if you take these two characters out of the mix, he's still responsible for the deaths of multiple other characters, mostly in the books, but like, come on, the whole "I own thousands of them" comment about souls in BATIM? The coffins with secret names on them? Joey you ain't slick. We spent too long establishing that Joey used his employees for their souls across MULTIPLE MEDIUMS to suddenly throw all of that out the window, and I don't entirely buy the idea that these two aren't the real deal. Granted, it still leaves us with questions about how the ink demon works given, there was also time dedicated to establishing that he was imperfect because he's soulless, but that's for another day.

But then, last night we talked about how none of these characters know Audrey is the daughter of Drew. And if they did know that, would their reactions be different? Would they still try to help her? I'm not sure. But it got me thinking about how there's a lot of things we the player know/believe that the characters don't. And that's when it hit me.

Memory Joey's story wasn't for us. It was for Audrey.

Now, that sounds obvious, like no duh, he's talking to Audrey for the whole scene, of course it's for her. Memory Joey doesn't know we as the players exist, he's got nothing to prove to us. But hear me out: that sequence wasn't meant to give us as players new information or prove he's a changed man, we weren't the ones who were supposed to believe in it. Audrey was. He has EVERYTHING to prove to Audrey. That's the daughter of the man he came from, his precious little girl, the first time he made something with the ink machine out of love, and she doesn't even remember that he's her father. Joey Drew, throughout his lifetime, cared a lot about how people saw him. Having shoes and a suit that didn't make him look poor, appearing financially stable to investors, the nasty things he had to say when he thought he wasn't being recorded, acting like he had control when everything he knew was falling apart, Joey was always trying to keep up appearances. And while I'll believe that he can mostly let go of that with time and growth, I don't think he could deal with Audrey, his daughter, seeing him as the bad guy. Especially when she doesn't remember Joey? Trying to make a good impression, sharing that yes, he did bad things, but he wasn't all bad? That he changed? That's covering Joey's ass something fierce.

Audrey isn't aware of Joey's body count. She doesn't know what happened to his employees. How Sammy became a cultist, how Susie was mistreated and manipulated to be desperate to be Alice. The entire story of Buddy Lewek and Norman Polk. She knows NONE of it! She doesn't know what he did. She doesn't know there were so many teenagers, just a little younger than her, that DIED because of his machine. And until you get the note about the kids that came before her, she has no idea she's not the first.

I often give Memory Joey a pass, he doesn't strike me as someone who would want to lie, especially to Audrey since he clearly cares about her. He delivers his slideshow presentation so earnestly, it feels like he truly believes this is what's true. But then I'm left questioning, what is his source? Why does he believe that they're clones? But maybe...maybe he is lying on purpose. I think it could be an equal opportunity for both. Joey was a liar in life, he lied about so many things (which is frustrating when he's the one giving us most of the information we look to to figure out how the heck ink works, Gent can you please give us some notes to cross reference?). Why wouldn't he lie to appear better to his own daughter? Memory Joey making that distinction for himself, that he himself cares for how Audrey sees him and Joey, would be a really valuable detail for his character, but him not knowing and believing all the information that someone like Joey left behind for him (since I'm assuming that's where his understanding of the cycle comes from) would also be interesting for his characterization.

But here's the kicker: by introducing the idea that Henry and Allison are not truly their human counterparts, if that turns out to be untrue, you've made a grave mistake Memory Joey. Audrey doesn't know any of these people were human before they became ink. I mean maybe she can deduce that other humans are in here given Allison's whole "I remember my first day" speech, but then Memory Joey throwing this at her, Allison is a creation rather than someone who was once alive? Who's to say she'd think twice about it? Wilson treats everyone like they're just ink and not worth caring for after all. But if she finds out about the sacrifices? That many of these ink creatures were once human? Oh Broseph my dude, you are gonna have a lot to answer for, more ways in which her trust in you will be utterly broken. That is a very messy, delicate balance. I kind of want to see that. I want to see him have his world view turned on its head, learning that he was wrong about Henry, and have him genuinely not know that he was fed bad information. Let him process that, let him struggle, and let Audrey grapple with the truth too.

Yeah, I don't necessarily think Henry and Allison are clones. Inhuman, yes, but clones? I think we need more than Memory Joey's word to know that for sure. So I ask again, sir, what is your source?

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

hear me out!

single parent reader x commonwealth daryl

i feel like this can be very very very cute

༉‧₊˚. 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 || 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧

― pairing: daryl dixon x plus size!reader

― era: season 11

― summary: even though you've been a long-time resident at the commonwealth, you

― warnings: mentions of death, dead baby daddies, lowkey trust issues but not really.

― wc: 874

⋆ a/n: it's the way i had begun to write this as soon as it hit my inbox. anon are you a genius or what? thank you so much for giving me this idea, you're literally the best!

masterlist | AO3

Being pregnant and on the road wasn’t easy, and back when you had no idea whether you would have a safe place to give birth made it even worse. You had made it this far only to allow a night of desperation and lust to practically doom you. Figuring out that you were pregnant was already a big enough hit to take, but him dying only days after made it even bigger. Your old group was quick to shed you, and you knew that they considered you dead weight, someone that would only drag them down. So, you were on your own until you were discovered by the Commonwealth and their soldiers.

At first it was intimidating, scary even as they put you through trials and tribulations for you to be granted residency, but you seemed to have passed all their tests. You were set up with an apartment, one with just enough room for you and your baby, and when your water had broken, you were no longer worried about the if’s, and’s, or but’s, just about the arrival of your baby girl, who was healthy thanks to the medications and accommodations the Commonwealth had made for you.

The only downside about the place was that it was a copy and paste of the old world, you were now stressed about work and money, but it wasn’t as bad as back then, though. From what you had told them, they placed you right in the bakery, and you couldn’t have been happier.

That meant that you oversaw the new employees, and the newest one, Carol, was very sweet. She felt like a mother to you, and you were quick to entrust her in babysitting Victoria sometimes. And that’s when you met him. Daryl Dixon. The rough and tough newcomer that was quick to be employed under the military, and you couldn’t help but take interest in him, especially when he was around his kids, but you were quick to learn that they were in fact his best friend’s that passed away. It was a noble thing to do, to take on the responsibility of children in a time like this. Many others were quick to forget about what was going on outside the walls once homes, electricity, and food were involved. But you weren’t, you never did.

You wanted to get to know him, but you couldn’t help but shy away when he would visit Carol, only biding him a quiet ‘Hello’ before running off to the back where you would mentally kick yourself for acting like a teenager. You were a grown woman. A mother. So why were you acting like this? Maybe it was because the first time you trusted a man, he got you pregnant and then died, or maybe you were nervous about sharing your life with someone new. It had just been you and Victoria for the past three years, and you didn’t want to risk bringing Daryl into your life and something happening to him or to your relationship. You didn’t want to risk disappointing her.

You just hadn’t expected him to approach you.

It was like you were hiding behind a wall of shyness, keeping him at arm’s length. You were able to keep up the guise of being busy with work until you couldn’t anymore.

You were sitting on a picnic blanket in the park, basking in the warmth of a new morning, your little girl playing with her dolls mindlessly across from you, and you couldn’t help but smile at her. Sometimes she looked just like her father, as if it was like looking into a mirror.

“G’mornin’.” A rough voice greeted you.

You stuttered on your words, struggling to keep your beating heart quiet, and the butterflies out of your stomach.

“Morning.” You said nervously.

“What are you doing here?” You asked dumbly. He scratched the back of his neck, “The kids- they uh… wanted to try out the new slides.” You nodded to yourself. Obviously, he was here because he had kids too idiot. “Victoria isn’t old enough to enjoy slides sadly.” You joked, watching as the corner of his mouth twitched up into a grin. “How does it feel being official?” This was your piss poor attempt at making small talk, but it didn’t seem to bother him. “I don’ feel official.” His playful words made you smile. You had half the mind to finally stand up, picking your daughter up. You were surprised she didn’t whine, but it seemed as though she was heavily distracted by the barbie doll in her hands.

“Well, I think your uniform looks nice on you.” The compliment caught the older man off guard, the tips of his ears reddening as well as his cheeks. “It suits you.” You added. “Thanks. Ya look… ya look nice too.” You were wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, but you looked gorgeous to him. “Thank you.” You said quietly.

“I’m going to sound totally lame, but do you want to go on a walk? To get to know you better… maybe?” There was a shy smile on your face, and despite the apprehension deep within your soul, you were surprised to hear him say, “Ya, I’d like that.”

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy

[chloe-caulfield94]

Bay Max as a modern-day sin-eater

Sin-eating was a religious ritual practiced in various times and places, including the 17th and 18th century British countryside. The ritual was performed shortly after a person’s death. A piece of bread was placed on the body of the deceased, to absorb the sins they committed throughout their life. The bread was later eaten by a person designated to be the sin-eater. The purpose of this was to free the deceased from the burden of their own sins, so that they could go to heaven. But the burden of their evil deeds would not be lost. It would instead be transferred to the sin-eater, who would have to answer for someone else’s sins upon their death.

I can’t help but see Bay Max sacrificing Chloe as Max acting in the role of a sin-eater, consuming the many sins of the dwellers of Arcadia Bay.

I think the discussion surrounding the question if Max is responsible for the coming of the Storm misses one important fact – Max rewinding time to save Chloe from being murdered on Monday was just a last link in a long chain of events. Max only reacted to things that had been in motion for years.

The seed of the Storm is not Max’s noble instinct to save a stranger’s life. The seeds of the Storm are the sins of the dwellers of Arcadia Bay.

Mark Jefferson choosing to derive sick pleasure from the suffering of others.

Nathan Prescott choosing to become an accomplice in Jefferson’s crimes.

Nathan Prescott acquiring such a taste for Jefferson’s repulsive “art” that he chose to perform photo sessions of his own, with Rachel and Chloe as his models. Nathan choosing to attempt a photo session with Chloe even after he overdosed Rachel, clearly not bothered by the possibility of overdosing another girl.

Frank Bowers selling drugs to underage school kids. Frank selling sedatives to a teenage boy known for violent outbursts, even though anyone with half a brain would suspect he needs them to date rape someone.

Victoria Chase, witnessing something that any rational observer would deem to be a date rape in progress, but instead of putting a stop to it, choosing to laugh and record. Victoria choosing to lie that Kate got herself drunk, even though she knew Nathan “hooked up” Kate with “good shit”.

Principal Wells choosing to sweep Nathan’s violent outbursts under the rug, in exchange for bribes.

ABPD officers taking bribes from Sean Prescott to look the other way when Nathan peddled drugs at school.

Hatred, disdain for others, cruelty, callousness. Over the years, they accumulated and created a perfect storm. A storm which could be stopped. But it required two things:

Firstly, a sacrifice in the form of a girl who never chose to hurt someone else, but who often chose to hurt herself. And who was willing to choose to hurt herself that one final time. Chloe was called upon by cruel fate to serve as this sacrifice.

Secondly, a sin-eater who would accept the crushing weight of all that evil on her shoulders. Who would carry the incomprehensibly heavy burden of the sins of others for the rest of her life. Max was chosen by cruel fate to perform that task.

Should Max choose to willingly consume the sins of Arcadia Bay, the town would be spared. Nathan and Sean Prescott, Frank and principal Wells would live. Victoria, Steph and Mikey would continue their lives, without tasting the bitterness of loss. Unaware that Max is carrying on her shoulders the grief and sorrow they should be experiencing. And Max would be left wondering what could’ve been if she hadn’t taken her love and friendship back at the last moment.

Why would anyone choose to become a sin-eater? In the times and places where that ritual was practiced, was being a sin-eater a respectable calling? Where people like that appreciated for their utmost sacrifice?

No! Sin-eaters were recruited exclusively from among those most reviled by society. Almost always they were beggars, so desperate in their poverty that they were willing to damn their souls in exchange for a dirty six pence coin and a piece of bread. Because with an empty stomach now, it’s very difficult to think about what comes in the afterlife. There was no gratitude, only disdain for the sin-eaters of old. Just like there would be no gratitude for Max, who would have to suffer in silence for the rest of her days.

Why would Max trade her very soul for a dirty six pence coin? At the moment she makes her final choice, she’s already the richest person in her world. Because in her hands, she holds the greatest treasure that anyone can ever discover – love.

By going back to Monday and erasing the events of the week, Max would simultaneously:

Discard the greatest treasure – love.

Accept on her shoulders the most crushing of burdens – the sins of other people.

Why would anyone choose such a fate?

I know that the theme of innocents suffering to expiate the sins of others is present in many cultures. We are conditioned to see it as something noble. But I can’t see it that way.

If I did something truly evil, something deserving of a punishment, the last thing I would want would be for someone innocent to suffer that punishment for me. That wouldn’t wash away my sin. It would make it much, much worse. My guilty conscience wouldn’t be relieved. It would torment me twice as hard. There’s a saying attributed to emperor Justinian the Great, that it is better for someone guilty to walk free than for someone innocent to be punished. The thought of someone innocent being punished for the sins of others offends my sense of right and wrong on a fundamental level.

I find nothing noble or heroic about two teenage girls being punished for the evil of others. The mere thought of it I find revolting.

[jasontoddssuper]

I was feeling sillay and my tism was acting up so i made this!

This is me having fun,people with weird anti-selfship mentalities please just scroll past

Unlike most other sidekicks,Summer Kent wasn't introduced in a run of his mentor to be brought back later.Instead,he premired in his own series in 1983 with the writers purpose with him being to show what it would be like for Clark to take Bruce's route and adopt an orphan to raise them as both his own child and a protege.He gained what were called 'mixed reviews' but in reality was just a mix of love from black,latino,queer and autistic comic fans,female ones especially,and hatred from bigoted ones.Summer has gone through multiple,let's say,'seasonal changes' personality and design wise and this was made to help you read on when,how and why!

Sparks:Secret Origins-The solo series in question!43 solid issues,a great introduction into his character and let's you get a good grip on what he was like as Sparks,as well as his familial relathionships and longest running friendships

The New Teen Titans-A major recurring character in this run due to Dick and Kory's mentorship of him(be warned of secondhand embarrasment when it comes to his self-aware crush on Dick showing and him thinking he's just jealous of Kory when he's actually crushing on her too)

A Death in the Family-For the final interactions between him and Jason before Jason's death

The Last Day of Summer-His accidental death at the hands of Mr Freeze,DC's response to people saying Sparks and Robin don't work without eachother

Ember's Ashes-His ressurection and journey to herohood.70 issues of character development and not a single page was wasted as he grew from an angry,violent and gothic little girl to a bubbly and openly kind young adult with a love for femininity in a transgender way as he realized his genderfluidity.This coming of age tale includes his first relathionship with none other than Rose Wilson,Deathstroke's daughter and the fourth Ravager,which ends on odd but good terms.(See also Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen as they heavily overlap with this run,including him gaining his kryptonian name as 'Va-El',given to him by a newly ressurected Clark)

Steel(1994)-Same situation as NTT,him being mentored by the protagonist and appearing as a major supporting character as a result

Superboy(1994)-Summer trifels with his greatest battle yet:Being the oldest sister to a teenage boy.Hilarity,sibling and parental angst and bonding ensue in this series,along with Summer teaching Kon-El how to make his way in the world and beating up a couple of predators in the process and him giving him some Kryptonian hybrid powers tips in thanks.Here and in Ember's Ashes is when the rest of the Superkids(Chris/Lor-Zod,Mia/Cir-El and Jon Lane or 'Laney')join the Superfamilia

Young Justice(1998)-44 to 45 and 48 to 55.Pops up in World without Young Justice as otherworld Jason's s/o,a childhood friends to lovers hero/civillian romance,and the gang convinces Kon to get him to tag along as a 'dorky babysistter' as the Boy of Steel put it after seeing how strong he is in action.This is the first time Summer thinks about mentoring younger heroes other than his adoptive siblings

Robin(1993) and Batgirl(2000)-128 to 130 and 26-38 + 53-62.Summer said 'fuck Tim,Jason's MY Robin' before they even met and Stephanie didn't get any better off until them and Cass decided to team up and now they're girl best friends(actually platonic for them and Summer,the regular meaning for Stephcass)

Lost Days-He's on Jason's mind a lot during this run if Jaysumm is your thing

Supergirls-Starring the Superfam girls as an ensemble cast,this rotates between 'Girl Power media that's actually pretty feminist and fun' and 'Weird,weird and MORE weird'(and that adds on to the feminism and fun).This includes a special crossover issue where Summer and Mia get Cassie Sandsmark to re-embrace her butchness

Under The Red Hood-Sparks and Robin finally reunite but not like they expected!Summer is heartbroken at his best friend's new found darkness and wants to save him from it but Jason just wants to patch things up.And they both get what they want in:

Ember/Red Hood-World's...strangest...ROMANCE⁉We get to see this lovebird and loverfang take the first steps to finally getting together in this 29 issue wildride!Much romance,comedy,inner torment and rubbing off on eachother(not like that!!Mind out of the gutter,people!)gets done but sadly no actual kissing

Tiny Titans-Shows up pretty often thanks to being Superman's oldest kid and the second Superkid to debut in canon,usually as an mc and is in a comedic love square with Jason,Eddie and Rose as the center

We are Robin-3-9.Gets very close to the 12 year old Duke Thomas and to his gang to a lesser extent and is the reason he gets adopted by Bruce and made the official 5th Robin(Overlaps with Ember/Red Hood)

The Bird and The Dragon-Mini 13 issue series of him and Damian becoming found siblings and him Damian's first friend(Overlaps with Ember/Red Hood and Batgirl(2009))

Batgirl(2009)-Appears in every other issue so it's best to just read all 60 of them!Many epic black girl friendship momence between Summer and Stephanie + Jason comes in from time to time to cause problems on purpose(and to flirt with Summer)

Red Hood and the Outlaws-Summer finally joins a team and never like he thought he would.Jason's influence on him turned him into a different person again like when they were sidekicks but this time making him into the brightly destructive vigilante Ignite,hated by Metropolis once more for his antiheroics and turning over a new leaf because of it!This 92 issue series brings back familiar faces from Jason and Summer's pasts and tons of new ones,stacked with fantasy elements,trauma,jokes,epic fights,genuine bonding that a good chunk of them don't care to admit to,fanservice that caters to bisexuals and Jaysumm's canonization!But only near the end because ✨drama✨

The lineup for this team is:Jason Todd as Red Hood and briefly a Star Sapphire,Eddie Bloomberg as Red Devil,Rose Wilson as Ravager and eventually Willow,Summer Kent as Ignite,Artemis of Bana-Mighdall simply as 'Artemis',Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern,Pepper Jackson(@moonage-gaydream)as Star Sapphire and Thaddeus Thawne as Inertia.The team technically disbands by the end but they all remain best friends and keep in touch!

Gotham Academy:Second Semester and Gotham Academy/Lumberjanes-Major support once more(and main character in the latter)but this time finally in the mentor role!Maps and he in particular are linked(This is a special tool that will help us later)

All New Teen Titans-Damian's Teen Titans generation has come and their mentors are Jason still as Red Hood,Duke as The Signal,Stephanie freshly new at being Batwoman and Summer as Superman,taking over his Papí's mantle in the meantime as Clark is in a coma from rescuing Jon from Ultraman.Damian's lineup is him(Shadowbird),Maya Ducard(Nobody),Surren Darga(Fang),Jon Kent(Superboy),Nell Little(Batgirl),Maps Mizoguchi(7th Robin),Colin Wilkes(Abuse)and Kathy Branden(Beacon)

Their adventures are much more light-hearted than the Outlaws' but no less impressive and their bonds are all over the place in both bad and good ways and by the end,they've become family(Jason and Summer taking on the 'Team Parents' role and with additional romances in Damimaps,Surnell and Mayakathy).This run is 55 issues and lasts two years in-universe

New Ember Days-An ongoing slice of life epilogue that shows him being as beloved as Clark after going back to Ember,with a slightly adjusted costume(thank Jason for the pink domino mask,same as the black one for Ignite)and eventually comes up to him and Jason having their first bio kid after getting married,a girl named October with a mix of Kryptofang and Lazarus Pit dna and a bright attitude and love for most things.Action is frequent in this one and as always,humor is too

Wayne Family Adventures-He gets passing mentions in the earlier episodes and debuts in Dirty Little Secret,where Damian discovers him and Jason are dating while looking for Jason's weakness and returns in Belonging to comfort Stephanie after a call from her and does the same for Jason in Strong Enough while visiting Wayne Manor,slowly becoming a major recurring character from then on

Dead Sidekicks Force-Completely optional,this is an au that dives into what would've happened if Summer,Jason,Stephanie and Damian got even closer earlier and decided to form the titulary team as based on them being 'Dead Sidekicks' and recruting honorary members as they went along.Similar to the animated Teen Titans adaption in tone and to a lesser extent in artstyle too

That's about it for comics but for animation and video game fans,he also has big roles in the Utrh movie adaption,Ditf 2020,Lego Batman:Family Matters,the aformentioned Teen Titans cartoon(which has Dragon Rose as canon since they're both Dick's age in it and there being no Jason),the Injustice game series and Lego DC Supervillains and will be in season 2 of Batwheels along with Clark and Lois!

[geewintg]

okay despite me hating on mlb for how they butchered the series' plot bad, I'm still kickin and gigglin over the halloween special LIKE

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

man, the alternate universe's characters slap in every bum. The role reversal with adrien and gabrielle, with how gabrielle was more accepting of his wife's lose while adrien was stuck on his mother's death and he hated his father for moving on. This dynamic made more sense in my opinion because adrien, a teenager, a boy who lost a mother-figure when he was young, would be bitter about the loss, not knowing how to cope yet with certain emotions and seeing his father who looked moved on already amplified it further because in this sense, it made him lonelier. Gabrielle would have prob tried to talk to him but knowing how the usual mentality of people in this age goes, they would stubbornly believe and cling onto their own wishes and wants, seeing his father's act of acceptance as betrayal and already forgetting about his mom. He doesn't have the mental and emotional maturity yet to cope with the loss hence he walked down the path which was clawnoir. Unlike in the orig series where gabrielle was the one hell-bent trying to get his wife back while adrien just wanted his father to spend time with him.

I mean, it's not like this dynamic did not make sense. It's just that I saw the appeal more with the role reversed as this is how things with the lost of a family member goes. AND CAN I JUST SAY,

IT HAS THE TROPE OF MR POPULAR HAVING A CRUSH ON A NORMAL BAKER GIRL AUGHHHGHHGH it's tickling my brain in all of its weak spots I CAN'T this is just so cute honestly

that act of "admiring you in a distance" is so 😩😩 PLEASE WE COULD HAVE SEEN MORE but then in their masked forms, it's "I'll punch your face the moment I get an opportunity" they fight so badly it's not even what you can say a banter, they fight with raw emotions that scrapes your ears like chalk scratching on a board exactly just like teens who are going through a lot and the moment they revealed their identities, there was a hint of comfort that clawnoir awkwardly tried to portray because in the end, he realized, they were just two people underneath the mask who have rough things they're going through, added the fact that emo!marinette said she'd wish to replace marinette of this universe just so she could experience the good things here (of course it's also the fact that she's his crush which was another major factor to consider but I wanna pretend that the former is the explanation for angst factor xd)

they literally had this enemies to lovers trope going on, partners who are only forced to cooperate by a higher rank but could care less about the other. Can I just say that the emo!duo had more character arc than our mains for so many seasons? In this little flashbacks and small trinkets of what happened in their world, we are able to see more depth to their characters and progression to their plot. If only we could have focused more on the emo au, I would have jumped right into that ship to sail me away! Instead, we got an ending that focused on the actual au that we have. LIKE I DO NOT GIVE AF! Would give anything to see about the father-son angst of the emo au instead, like imagine, having to see that you've been fighting your son all along and because gabrielle, being the way that he is, would be crushed knowing that his actions are partly responsible for his son's path to darkness

also, I wanna tackle about emo!marinette's, when she said

that means that these two never have been formally introduced but she showed her frustration about adrien agreste being a menace and arrogant. Meanwhile, adrien only talked about specifically being mean to nino. But it's prob a chloe-marinette dynamic with adrien being stuck up to everyone but only targeting nino specifically. That's why shadybug groaned when hearing adrien agreste despite having no one-on-one interaction with him because as we saw, he became timid when he saw her identity. There would be no way he'd harm her theoretically. He may have struck a conversation with her sure, but considering his already-bad reputation, emo!marinette would have thought of him as a bully much like chloe, knowing they're childhood friends and would want as much to avoid him (this is literally what happened in s1e1 with adrien trying to remove the gum off marinette's seat that chloe did) emo!marinette is basing it off on two-peas-in-a-pod friendship, plus with what he did to emo!nino, no doubt marinette would see it that way.

also! I just wanna add that what if, what if the emo!adrien is dressed like we see him as is because of marinette who took on the emo aesthetic (if we did not include the halloween special vibe lmao), he did that style in order to get close to her and to have some ground topic to start a conversation. People tend to stick with people of the same interests after all.

man, there's more I wanna say about this halloween special but let's leave it at that for today. I also wanna hear what you guys think about this special episode? Because honestly, there's so much potential for this au and the fics AUGHHH THE FICS JUST IMAGINE

[pansyboybloom]

"In 2002, teenager Gwen Araujo was brutally murdered by four men who bludgeoned her to death because she was born male, because she was a transgender woman. But this is not another piece about the horrors of hate crimes or another desperate rant about violence, ignorance, or prejudice. No, this piece is about the myth of deception.

[...] Nobody ever questioned how next-to-impossible it would be for two of Gwen’s killers to have had anal sex with her without ever coming across her genitals. Nobody was willing to even consider the possibility that Gwen’s murderers knowingly had sex with her. Why challenge our culture’s myopic view of male sexuality when it’s so easy to blame it all on one deceiving tranny? And why question the psychotic paranoia with which many men defend their masculinity when it’s so convenient to trash one young trans person’s gender identity? The truth is that the myth of transsexual deception is merely a ruse, a smoke screen designed to hide societal complicity in this tragedy.

[...] As I said, this piece is not about hate crimes, violence, ignorance, or prejudice. It’s about self-deception. It’s about the assumptions that people like me live with on a daily basis. Because like Gwen, I was born male. I am a transgender woman. And if we were to meet and if I didn’t immediately share that information with you, would that be an act of deception? Could you accuse me of telling a lie if you were to see what you wanted to see with your own eyes and I decided to simply keep quiet? And if I were to presume things about you that were not true, could I accuse you of misleading me too? Or would such careless accusations of deception merely be expressions of callous pride, a stubborn refusal to acknowledge our own mistaken assumptions?

[...] It is time to move beyond pseudoliberal sound bites about how we all need to accept people who differ from us. Mere tolerance is insufficient. If we are to learn any lesson from Gwen Araujo’s death, it’s that we each need to take personal responsibility for our own presumptions. We should stop buying into the myth of deception because the truth is that every day, each of us is guilty of committing countless acts of assumption."

-- an expert from Chapter 13: Self Deception in Julia Serano's 'Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity'.

Listening to Chapter 13 of Whipping Girl made me pull over my car to take a moment to breathe, and then to grieve. Grieve for Gwen, for Serano, for the lives taken by transmisogyny, and for the other trans people who have suffered by cis hands. for the true selves never realized because of the self-deception and assumptions of cis people. For myself. I don't talk often about my fears of the disgust of cis men, but it follows me any time I dare to flirt, to give a number, to accept an advance. We're constantly told we have to Disclose when we interact with cis people with the intent of something more, and the word is always said with an air of nausea by cis people as they shudder at the thought of fucking a tranny unknowingly. I want to live in a world where disclosing is not a matter of life and death, let alone any importance. Where, if a guy wants to kiss me or sext me or sleep with me, my eventual man-made penis doesn't put my life in danger.

I want to live in a world where little trans girls grow up into old trans women. I have a hard time picturing this world. May you be remembered for the girl you were and loved by whatever is on the other side, Gwen. You deserved better.

[imaginationmess]

Dabi (Todoroki Touya) X Fem!Reader

Blur/Snippet/Drabble whatever

!Manga SPOILERS!

The biggest headlines throughout every news channel, among the media and newspapers. It was the enormous news that broke the news. The infamous villain, Dabi had killed the Number One Hero Endeavor. He broke out of the hospital by kidnapping a Pro Hero named Remedy, a staff member at U.A. It created all kinds of conspiracy theories.

A staff member who worked closely with Recovery Girl due to having similar quirks in the form of healing. A teacher who her students loved within the heroes department. A Pro Hero who was always called on by Hospitals for severe injuries.

The same one who stepped in to save her student, Midoriya Izuku from death, and purposely went against orders. She refused to let the responsibility of killing Shigaraki Tomura fall on a teenager's shoulders. With the help of her student, she was the one who killed him by taking his life force, which was used to restore her life energy due to the repetitive regeneration.

You were the reason why there weren’t any casualties when Dabi had ‘kidnapped’ you. You had made any Pro heroes pass out by using their own energy with hints of her own to heal their own wounds. Such as Hawks got his wings to be fully healed. Aizawa's eyes were completely healed which means he was able to use her quirk once more.

It was the bizarre case that drove everyone insane. No one could figure out why would Dabi kidnap her. The thing was you could have easily taken him down if you truly wanted to unless you were beyond exhausted after causing people to faint whoever tried to stop you. There was no kind of trace behind to follow along the tips from the public had stopped coming in on any sighting of them within the first week. It was like the two just vanished to the ends of the world.

Dabi now known as Todoroki Touya gets put on the most wanted criminal worldwide if he has traveled out of the country with the kidnapped hero.

Unknowingly, Todoroki Touya no longer had purple skin with stables to his skin. He no longer had the identifying ear and nose piercings. His skin was completely cleared and normal. He looked like another person completely. His healed body and looks are now under a different identity.

The conspiracy theory that was corrected was the two of you were lovers.

A Hero and Villain.

Now, he is living out of the grid with you on his side until everything calms down. You had an alternative appearance in order to not be recognized. You did eventually send a letter to your family to let them know you were okay. You attached a picture of the two of you at the festival.

Your family already knew who Touya was before he eventually became Dabi. They were surprisingly supportive. They were the ones who got the official documents with your new identities. They did not say anything at all and acted clueless to the authorities.

They knew you were more capable of taking care of yourself, especially having him beside you.

Love makes you do crazy things.

I had to write out of my brain because I couldn’t focus on my school work or sleep. I had to get out of my system.

[hostelsbigbro]

A post on why I hate Heather!

Jokes aside, I want to "rant" about that, again. If you are sensitive please keep an open mind, or just not read it at all. Remember, I am not responsible for the way you choose to react!

Tw - Rape, Abuse, Death

So, I remember that hey, a lot of people don't realise that Heather raped Eli. That's concerning. - also, no, her being a girl or underage does not mean that she cannot be a vile human being.

Now, I know that is a wild, serious statement to make, and that they are fictional characters, but I don't think people realise what actually went down. I am always baffled when people praise Heather because to me, she isn't all that great. And I will tell you why!

For a fact; I don't mind Yenna being born, she is an angel and teenage pregnancies happen due to lack of education and neglect of said teenagers, I also do understand that Heather was neglected emotionally.

I mind how Heather's actions are brushed aside. Let me put it into context for you so you understand better!

Heather is a 15 year old girl, from a rich family, with at max an abusive mother who wants her to focus on academics. While this can make her depressed, it doesn't make her perspective on consent and boundaries distorted. She also has great access to education - exactly because of her mother, whom I hate btw. - and sex ed as well.

While Eli is a 16-17 year old boy who ran away from home around ages of 6-10 - I don't remember exactly - having no access to education at all, especially not sex ed. He also did not have friends to talk or learn from. Throughout all his life he experienced extreme beating for small things, verbal and emotional abuse. From everyone who should have been his family, and even on the streets when adults found him they didn't take care of him exactly, just lead him to commit crimes and teach him how to fight. Meaning his intimate, emotional and general intelligence was that of a child's.

I am not saying his mental age was low, but his intelligence was on the level of a child's in many ways due to extreme abuse. You can still be your biological age mentally and have lacking intelligence. While this certainly improved because of Gun, Krystal, Sally, Warren and Zack, he still requires gentle care, he still needs a lot of consideration when it comes to interactions. - consideration towards him, I mean. -

That after 1-2 years after Yenna was born. Well, at least based off of Sally's comment in chapter 406 - ? - that Eli still lives with his trauma and the fact that hey, yenna can walk.

If he still lives with his trauma in such deep way - which he will for a long time - then imagine a few days or few weeks after meeting Heather.

Around the time he met Heather he still thought that hiding from his mother then getting beaten was hide and seek, and that if a boy and girl hold hands they will get a baby.

So, to him, these beliefs were normal. He had the intimate intelligence of a child, or less - he was clueless to say the least.

He did not understand the heaviness of sex, or have any idea what it actually was.

If a person doesn't understand the act, they don't have the ability to consent even if they say 'yes' because they cannot comprehend what will come after that.

Eli clearly never had any experience with sexuality, have an idea of what it might be or even if it happened to him before it was in ways he wasn't able to consent.

Heather on the other hand was always portrayed as smart and responsible. While I understand that she had strict parents, that doesn't mean she is an angel child, although I don't think she would have had the ability to understand the consequences of her actions or how messed up it was. Remember, she still went to a public school with lots of kids whose parents differed from her own, and she also had friends, who are obviously not completely clueless. - like Sally for example. - so, even if she wouldn't have had sex ed, she would have had that at least.

Eli was also clearly very nervous of having a child due to adults in his life beating him up for even being in the same room as a girl. So, Heather would have had to go out of her way to somehow convince him " It's okay, we will not have a child if we do this. "

Also, I highly doubt Heather didn't know what condoms are. If she thought about sex, she must have thought of a lot of aspects of it.

I don't know if she was responsible for her death, or if it was a result of child birth, but either way, she left a teenager with the intelligence of a child with a baby... who was also afraid of having a baby.

Of course, Eli since then became very educated and smart in many ways, I am not trying to imply anything of him having the mental age of a child, because that's completely different. He has clearly changed a lot.

Either way as I said, I don't think Heather realised what she did, but it's still fucked up.

You do not have to agree with me or anything of the sort, I was just always shocked it's treated as something so minor, although I understand a lot of people are not very educated on the many forms of abuse. I just wanted to let thoughts about lookism off my chest to be able to just run away from everyday life, is all.

If you think this post is dumb, great! Move on! Absolutely don't expect you to see the world through my eyes. If you don't, that's great too, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Remember at the end of the day you can like or dislike whatever character you want, other people's opinion on them should not let your view waver unless you want it that way.

My next post will probably be about Samuel because I love the dude, probably more than just one! Either way, thank you if you have made it this far <3

[whereismymindnow]

Twin Hearts Chapter 5

Author's Note: An extra long chapter to make up for the wait. I’ve started a new therapy-type-thing and I explained that I’d lost interest in so many things that I used to enjoy – writing being one of them. So, I now have weekly/monthly goals involving my writing to try and get my mojo back and to heal some parts of me that I’ve neglected.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Pairing: Niklaus Mikaelson x Twin!Original Female Character

Warnings: 18+ due to mature, darker themes. Twincest. Smut. Strong language. Death. Miscarriage. Murder. Vampire/Hybrid violence. Please read responsibly.

If this work is found anywhere other than Tumblr (@whereismymindnow) or Archive of Our Own (Mikki19) then it has been posted without my permission.

Twin Hearts Masterlist

---

Chapter 5: Just A Little Game

Pia thanked Kol sarcastically as he opened the door to The Grill and motioned for her to step through.

“Of course, my lady.” He snickered behind her.

Pia froze immediately after entering the establishment. Her heightened senses were instantly assaulted on all fronts; cheap lighting made her scrunch her eyes, the smell of onions cooking in the kitchen made her grimace, the noise of the 23 customers grated on her nerves, the feeling of a slightly sticky floor from a spilt drink under her expensive red bottomed shoes caused her to sigh in disgust, the taste of the cheap beer being served turned her stomach… but most of all?

The sound of the little doppelganger made her blood boil.

She quickly had to remind herself that it wasn’t her, but one glance over to the booth that the teenager occupied with her friends made her want to vamp over there and rip out her pretty eyes. Those pretty eyes that had haunted her for centuries. Those pretty eyes that had fooled her brothers on multiple occasions. Those pretty eyes that had caused so much heartbreak.

Kol, who noticed how tense his sister suddenly was, wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed lightly. He eyed up the table that had caught her attention as he spoke. “We can leave, if you aren’t ready.”

“No.” Pia painted on a smile and sauntered over to the table, inwardly laughing at the dark-haired vampire that stood protectively in front of the brunette girl. She bit her lip and looked him up and down. “Hello.” She said calmly and extended her hand in greeting as he clenched his fists.

“Let me guess, you’re the rejected sister?”

“Oh, ouch. That almost hurt my feelings… let me guess, you’re the weak-willed vampire that decided he’d go for the human since Katerina wasn’t interested any longer?”

“Let’s just g-”

“Ah, Caroline. Of course, you’re here.” The young vampire paused as Pia addressed her. She didn’t want any trouble, she just wanted to get Elena out of here. “You do get around, don’t you?” Pia teased with a wicked grin.

"I'm surprised that your lover-brother has let you out." Pia let out a laugh as Damon's sarcastic tone made bubbles of excitement rise in her stomach. She could already tell that he would be fun to play with. He acted like he was invincible, but he had proven on numerous occasions that his heart was delicate and easily wounded – from what Rebekah had told her. Kol, sensing that his sister’s playful nature had just been triggered, walked over to the nearest humans and began compelling them to leave. They didn’t need an audience for this.

"Why did you come here? Surely you can see that you're outnumbered." Stefan's even tone interrupted her thoughts and she cocked her head to the side and observed him. He was quite attractive, but something told Pia that he was already back under the influence of his group of friends.

"Already back on the bunny hunts, Stefan? That is disappointing. With everything Nik told me, I was expecting someone with a bit more oomph!" She walked closer to him and put her hand on his chest; his heart pounded beneath his skin and revealed his current stress-filled state. He was hanging on to humanity by his fingernails. He just needed a push in the right direction. "You know, I've never really turned it off. There’s just another part of me that starts to scratch inside my skull after a while… I think you’ve heard of her. I cannot imagine what it must have been like as Nik took away all of your control… perhaps you can become my little friend and show me how dastardly cruel you can be?"

It was the clenching of Stefan's fists that made Damon vamp forward, grab Pia by the throat and throw her across the bar. Pia's laughter rang out from the heap of wood that had once been a table until her body had crashed into it. She pulled shards of wood from her hair and sat up with a grin as a deep laceration in her forehead was already knitting itself together.

"That was great!" She applauded the oldest Salvatore making him frown. Why wasn't she attacking him yet? "Oh, Damon, you do not disappoint. Perhaps it would be better if Nik had his best friend back and then you can become my pet? I think we could have a lot of fun together.” With that her smile dropped and she raced forward to stand in front of the two siblings; Kol appeared by her side seconds later with a dark glare.

"You truly are stupid, aren't you? You think that you are important enough to place your hands upon my sister, Damon? Do you wish for me to kill you slowly?" By this point Elena had been ushered out of the grill by Caroline and Bonnie, Pia did not miss this and sent the doppelganger a look over her shoulder.

Pia glanced back up at Damon in wonder and bit her lip whilst swaying from side to side like a cat about to jump on a mouse. We really could have some fun, darling. As though she agreed with her own thought, Pia nodded and pounced on the dark-haired brother. Kol immediately grabbed Stefan's shoulder and threw him into the bar; bottles and glasses rained down on top of him as Kol leisurely strolled over to where he was.

Pia aimed a hard punch to the side of Damon's head which was returned shortly after. The hybrid quickly got to her feet as did Damon; a growl left her lips before she dove at him again. Her legs clenched around his waist and she locked his head under her arm. Damon tried to shake off the small female but found it impossible to get her to let go as she squeezed her knees into his ribcage. Pia tightened her grip and smashed her fist into his back a few times with a smile. This was fun!

"Agh!" Kol and Stefan exchanged punches before Kol picked up some of the broken glass and threw it at his opponent's face. Stefan fell backwards against the bar and struggled to clear his vision. Kol gave him no chance to recover and sent a powerful fist to the side of his head; as Stefan hit the floor, a second hit made him gasp as Kol kicked him so hard that he slid a few feet away from him.

“I expected mor-” Stefan cut off the Original’s taunt and dived forward, spearing Kol into one of the tables. Both men panted and scrambled up off the floor whilst holding their sides as their ribs healed themselves.

"Come on!" Stefan met Kol halfway and blocked the blow that would have knocked him back down. "Is that all you've got?" Stefan taunted as he broke the hand that Kol seemed to favour when fighting; he followed up his attack with a rough uppercut and this time the older vampire was the one that was sent back into the bar and onto the broken glass.

Pia's body crashed into another table, breaking it into pieces as Damon stumbled backwards away from her. She was breathless for a few seconds as pain shot up her spine like a red hot poker. Now, she was annoyed. "You can do better than that." She hissed before quickly standing up and landing a hard kick to the man's abdomen. His body was propelled backwards and he let out a yell of pain as he met the hard ground and skidded back into a wall. Pia gave him no time to recuperate, pulled him back up to his feet and threw him in the opposite direction. Damon groaned in pain as he hit the floor and landed precariously close to a broken table leg that threatened to pierce straight into his side. He heard the click of heels approach him and quickly tucked the makeshift weapon under him for future use. The hybrid appeared in an instant and straddled his waist. "I thought you'd do better." She smiled as her amber eyes broke through the blue and her fangs dropped. Tauntingly she pressed her lips to Damon's throat and laughed to herself as he swallowed hard; his hands came up beside his head as he made no move to touch her and begrudgingly surrendered. This was far too close for comfort.

"Okay, let's talk about this…" Damon's voice had lost its confidence as he mentally relived the last time he had felt werewolf venom run through his veins. He did not want to repeat that experience if he could help it.

"Talk? Okay, then." Pia did not remove herself from his neck and instead licked some blood that dripped down his jawline. She giggled to herself as his stubble tickled her tongue. "Why Elena? Don't you think it's weird after all of the Katerina business?"

"Elena is not like Katherine." Pia hummed and sat up so she could look down into his blue eyes.

"Hmm, let's see about that. She's got in-between two brothers? Check! She's already had them both in her bed? Check! She thinks the world revolves around her and her problems? Check! People have died trying to protect her? Check! She sounds pretty damn similar to me."

"Elena is not like Katherine." Damon repeated, although his voice had lost some of its conviction. He wasn't blind; he could see the similarities just as much as he could see the differences. "There's one thing that is drastically different: Elena doesn't enjoy breaking hearts and causing misery."

"Neither did Kit for a time." Pia couldn't even believe that she was defending the bitch, but somehow she felt like she had to. Other than Elijah and herself, no one else would ever remember the innocence that Katerina had once possessed. "It's my mother's fault, you know? She destroyed our humanity, and because of Nik's need to break his curse; we in turn destroyed Katerina's. It's a vicious cycle and I have no doubt that we will somehow be the cause of your precious Elena's humanity crumbling as well."

"I won't let that happen." Damon took her moment of distraction to plunge the shard of wood into her side. Pia cried out in pain and stumbled away from the younger vampire as her hands grasped at the stake lodged into her ribcage. "I won't let you win." He jolted to his feet as the hybrid let out a vicious laugh, pulling out the stake as blood gushed down her dress.

"Oh, really?" Before Damon could blink Pia kicked his legs out from underneath him and sat on his waist yet again. She grabbed his right hand, the one that had grabbed the table leg, and bent it back until a satisfying crunch echoed around the room and it dangled at an awkward angle completely dislocated. "I was trying to be civil."

“Enough!” Elijah’s voice rang out through the destroyed bar causing Pia to huff petulantly. Nik appeared beside her with a frown; he outstretched his hand and motioned for her to take it. Unfortunately, Pia wasn’t in the mood to obey, and so with the elegance of a feline, Pia rose to stand by herself. She sent a wink to the Salvatore at her feet and walked towards her elder brother. Her innocent smile made Elijah's blood boil so much so that he pinned her to a table by her throat in a blink of an eye. "Leave, Damon." His cool stare bore into Pia who squirmed underneath her brother's tight grip.

Klaus, unable to believe how his sister had snuck out from under his nose, turned his attention to Kol who had let go of Stefan and thrown him in the direction of the exit. "How dare you! You know that she was not allowed out of the house yet!" Klaus shouted at Kol who smirked from where he was perched on the dishevelled bar; the younger sibling took a sip of bourbon from one of the few intact bottles and shrugged his shoulders. "She could have been hurt!"

"Oh, please, Nik! We both know that Pia is more than capable of looking after herself… besides, Damon threw the first punch at our beloved sister."

"He did what?!"

"Now, is not the time, Niklaus." Elijah interrupted the conflict and made his way over to his brothers; his hand was still around Pia's throat as he kept her pressed back against his chest. "You should not have allowed our sister to lose control, Kol."

"She hasn't lost control, she was merely letting off steam. Don't be such a killjoy, Elijah. No was going to die. It was a game. We were making sure that Team Doppelganger knew exactly who they were up against. They need to be kept on their toes. This is the only way we’d make sure they knew we were serious."

"And, you…" Elijah turned Pia to face him, his hands harshly gripping the tops of her arms. "…was this just a game to you also?"

"Well, I may have wanted to nip Damon to see what he was made of, but he looks like far too much fun to kill. I wouldn't have let him suffer for very long."

'I wouldn't have let him suffer for very long.' Elijah swallowed and stared down at his sister in disbelief. Was that supposed to make him feel better? "Do you apologise for causing such a mess?"

“Kol compelled all the humans and we can replace all of this. I need to be allowed to breathe, Elijah. I didn't slaughter an entire village!"

"Don't you see how much danger you put yourself in?"

"Oh, why don't you just dagger me and get it over with? That is what our family does best, right?" Her uncaring tone and look of defiance in her eyes proved to be the last straw. A loud crack echoed around the grill as her neck was broken and Pia's body fell. Elijah caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.

"Rebekah, help Kol to clean up this mess. Myself and Niklaus will take care of Pia." Elijah gave his youngest brother a disappointed look before disappearing from the grill with Klaus in tow.

"Why on earth did you allow for this to happen? Everything was just getting back to normal." Rebekah frowned and huffed as she began to clear away one of the tables.

"Pia was climbing the walls at that mansion. She needed her freedom."

"Had you only asked then we would have come out together. She needs stability.”

"So, you're taking Elijah's side?"

"Elijah knew that the distraction of getting her relationship back on track with Nik was blocking any thoughts of leaving the mansion and confronting Elena and her merry band. She needs us to help control the outside world so that she can ease herself back into normal life; she may hate being under house arrest but you know that it is for the best. There are far too many dangers out here for Pia to just be let loose."

"You never took such precautions with me."

"We did not let you just run outside though, did we? Kol, we can’t just let this happen. It will be like decades ago when Mikael was tracking us and you were causing havoc. It risks exposing us to him. We all know that he will go after Pia in order to break Nik. We need to be smart.”

Kol looked at his feet for a second before helping Rebekah move a large chunk of wood.

"Shut up." Rebekah smiled slightly. That was as close to Kol saying sorry as she was going to get.

-----

Pia groaned and rubbed the back of her neck as she woke up. She moved her head from side to side and let out a deep breath as the soothing crack evened out the awkward pain that had been shooting through her bones.

"How do you feel?" Elijah's voice echoed from beside her. She was in her room, lying on the bed with Klaus perched next to her and Elijah in a chair to her right. She glanced down, in an effort to avoid Elijah’s stare, and noted that she was now dressed in her silk pyjamas and the blood had been cleaned from her skin.

“I just couldn’t resist. The pull I felt when looking into Damon’s eyes became too much. I just wanted to…”

“You wanted to what?” Klaus asked despite being nervous of the answer.

"I just- I needed- no, I wanted to feel free again. I have been daggered for centuries and then when I wake up, you keep me under lock and key. I'm only allowed to go out to exercise my wolf but as soon as I am back in my body again, my need to be free as a vampire is still there. So, yes, maybe I made a mistake in going out with Kol, but he gave me a chance to not feel detained so I grabbed it! Can you blame me for wanting to go outside again? I wanted to feel the breeze on my cheeks and the sun caressing my hair. It's not enough to just be let out into the gardens no matter how many beautiful flowers you put around the gazebo."

"Yes, but we have so many enemies here; Elena and her friends would do anything to destroy us, Mikael is still out there somewhere and then… then there is the beast that our mother created to kill us. We can see and keep watch on Elena, but how are we supposed to know when Mikael or Alaric will suddenly appear? What if you were out there on your own and none of us knew where you were? We could lose you within seconds and not even know about it."

"Do you want me to lose you so soon after getting you back?" Klaus was so close that his lips touched her ear as he spoke; his arms encircled her so that she could not wriggle away.

"No, I know…" Pia was exhausted as she felt the pure emotion that was pouring out of her brothers' pores and soaking into her skin.

"I'm sorry for breaking your neck." Elijah murmured as silence fell over the room.

"I'm sorry for not thinking." Pia muttered with a shy smile that her brother returned.

"Let's forget about what happened today."

"Agreed." Pia whispered as she felt Klaus cuddle her even tighter. She just wanted to sleep now. A yawn left her lips before she could stop it.

"I will leave you both." Elijah kept his voice quiet as his brother seemed transfixed with how close Pia was letting him be with her. It had been a long while since he had seen such a happy, untainted smile grace his face. As long as Pia remained true to her word, then he would let this one incident go.

-----

“Come on. This is the perfect opportunity! We take out the newest sibling and go from there.” The eldest Salvatore seemed certain that they could take down the Originals once and for all, but as always, his little brother was there to stop his fun.

“Damon, it’s not that simple. We did not see what happened when we left!”

“Elijah burst a blood vessel, that’s what happened.” His sarcastic tone rang out as he argued with his brother.

“Look, we’ve fought before and somehow managed to make it back to being on the same page. Who is to say that they can’t? It’s not the first time that they’ve seemingly broken apart in front of us!”

“This is different. You saw the look on Elijah’s face.”

“Yeah, I recognised that expression for the amount of times I’ve aimed it at you!” Stefan clenched his hands into fists and took a deep breath before releasing them. Damon could be so frustrating when he wanted to be. “Let’s just wait until Bonnie figures something out, alright? Lashing out now because they’ve had an argument will only put everyone in danger. For all we know, they could have reunited as soon as they got home.”

“Or they could have pushed each other further away…” Damon drawled as he left the kitchen with a lazy smile on his face.

“Don’t do anything!” Stefan’s voice rang out full of frustration making his brother laugh.

Siblings… who needs them?

-----

Pia had been fretting all night. She had spent a few hours resting with Klaus, but ever since she had awoken she had been anxious. Her brother sat on her bed watching as she paced around her bedroom; her fingers fiddled with the ends of her hair and she bit at her lip.

“Pia--”

“I know that you are disappointed, but I can’t say that I did not enjoy myself earlier. I-I understand that you think keeping me here is for the best… but I cannot stay within these walls until you deem it safe for me to be let out. My urges shall only get stronger and it will be harder for me to fight them.”

"I understand. I’ve trapped you and I shouldn’t have. You’ve always been a free spirit.” He caught Pia’s hand and pulled her to stand between his legs. “I’ve also met Damon on multiple unfortunate occasions and I understand just how frustrating he can be.” His dimpled grin made Pia let out a soft laugh.

"Why are you so calm?"

"Because you are my mate and I have failed you far too many times. My wolf is beside himself to see you so upset when you need not be. It's not the first time that they have witnessed us fight each other… and we shouldn't have kept you locked away here... I should have known that Kol would do something to set you free." Immediately her gaze locked onto Klaus, pinning him in place as he became enraptured by her amber eyes.

"Don't blame Kol. I was just as much at fault." She hissed at him before willing away her hybrid features.

There were a few moments of silence in which they both just looked at each other. Klaus wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms, but judging by how tense her body was, that was the last thing she needed. So, instead, he kept the conversation flowing and asked a question that had been burning within him for a while. "If you had wanted to go out, why did you not ask me?" His voice was quiet making Pia’s shoulders slump forward. It was one of the rare times that he sounded vulnerable and worried about the reply she would give.

"I- I wanted to be free for a little while. I would not have been free with you because you would have been looking over your shoulder at every moment to see if someone was coming too close to me. Kol was the simpler choice out of all of you.” Nik exhaled as he listened to her words.

“I always thought that I would be your first choice for everything.”

“There was a time when that was true, but much has happened since then.” Klaus nodded solemnly.

“I shall make it up to you. I swear it.” Pia smiled softly and cupped his cheek with her hand.

“One day at a time. Niko. Let us take it one day at a time.”

Pia left her brother in her room, allowing him to have a moment to gather his thoughts, and made the journey to the living room where she had heard whispering. Kol and Rebekah were both sat on the same couch and speaking quietly. All talking stopped as she entered the area.

"Well, if it isn't troublemaker number 2."

"Number 2? You know that I am number 1, Rebekah." Pia dropped onto the sofa opposite them. "What happened today must never be repeated."

"Ugh, don't tell me that the fun police got to you?" Kol, as always, seemed annoyed by his older brothers’ attempts to make them all behave.

"Kol, I shouldn't have done that today. We shouldn't have done that."

"Why not? It's not like you didn't enjoy it."

"I did enjoy it, but that isn't the point. Just because we can do something, doesn't mean that we should."

"Honestly, I am looking at you Elijah, but you look an awful lot like Pia these days." Kol joked as he saw the familiar scowl cross her face; Rebekah hid her laughter behind her hand as Pia raised a brow at her younger brother. They all knew how serious it was, but somehow, Kol always wanted to find the funny side.

"This isn't a laughing matter." Pia smoothed down her skirt and looked at her brother seriously. "We have so many enemies beyond these walls that losing control like that is not an option anymore."

Klaus and Elijah silently approached their siblings. Klaus sat next to Pia and gripped her hand; he gave a single squeeze which she returned just as tightly. Elijah sat on another chair to the left.

"We had made so much progress over the last few weeks. Let us get back to that.” Elijah spoke up as he watched his youngest brother carefully. He was fidgeting which meant he was either ready to get up and run or begrudgingly agree with them all.

“I do not believe it will last.” Kol argued with a frown.

“If it doesn’t, then at least we tried.” Pia sent him a smile that made him groan. “We said ‘always and forever’ so let’s show everyone that we actually mean it.” Rebekah nudged him as he huffed and nodded to them all.

Pia looked to Klaus and saw him staring back at her. He slowly moved forward and pressed a single kiss to her forehead before leaning back.  She sat still for a moment as he waited for her reaction. Pia let out a deep breath and moved her head to his shoulder; nuzzling herself against his warm skin.

Let’s try again. No one ever got it right immediately.

I see a bad moon rising I see trouble on the way I see earthquakes and lightning I see bad times today Don't go around tonight Well, it's bound to take your life There's a bad moon on the rise ---Bad Moon Rising by Mourning Ritual---

[charmixpower]

What if everyone is so out of character because they are dealing with PTSD after everything that they have been through in S1-3?, teenager should not be the ones saving the whole magical dimension they didn't even ask to do it, they just randomly got involved in the whole mess, but before they were so busy with school to think about it (I belive Alfea and Red Fountain are super demaning) but now that they are graduated they are such a mess that they don't know what to do. The first time I watched S4 I got the idea that the girls wanted to stay on earth because their obligations as guardian fairies where to heavy to bear and they wished for a break, but they know that they can realy scape from them.

Back then I got the theory, that S4 was a farewall for the original winx club and the start of a reboot with a new group of girls leaded by Roxy, that is why her character ovelaped with Bloom, and the girls wanted to stay on earth because the new club was going to protect the magical dimension, but evantualy the writers give up on the idea, and instead of scraping and redoing the episodes they just got ahead and messed everything, that would be why they killed Nabu and pretended Brando proposal didn't happen, so the six girls could stick together for more seasons

~~

Ehh, no

Stella encouraging Bloom to cheat cannot be explained away with PTSD. Bloom stealing Musa's dream cannot be explained away with PTSD. That literally not being Musa in any way shape or form cannot be explained away with PTSD. Aisha's personality being sanded down cannot be explained away with PTSD.

Like I get what your saying, and I agree that season 4 should of been the season of dealing with the conquences of the past three seasons but like you cannot explain the nonsense in season 4 as PTSD

Riven suddenly acting like a 16 teen year old and the writers pretending that season 2 didn't exist cannot be explained away with PTSD. Nabu being a one note Mary Sue, born to die, cannot be explained away with PTSD. Timmy getting jealous of Tecna off all people apparently flirting cannot be explained away with PTSD. That's also not Helia cannot be explained away with PTSD. No comment on Sky, uhhh he's fucking weird

The idea that Bloom would want to stay on earth and run away from her responsibilities is something that she'd totally do! She does that like multiple times. Having a whole season dedicated to her getting overwhelmed and running to earth only to realize that she won't be able to go back to a normal life yada yada Roxy would be very interesting! It makes no sense for the other girls

Like...Tecna especially. Girl doesn't run away

I also love the idea that season four would make for an amazing break season for everyone to reflect, but I also want to see them attack adult hood in their own way?

I don't think they'd all want to stay on earth?? Because why wouldn't they want to get away with their own families and dreams! Musa, Tecna, Stella, and Flora had really big dreams in the first three seasons! And I think watching them pursue their individual passions while coping with the past three seasons would be a lot more interesting than throwing all of their interests into a blender

I cant even see Aisha running form her responsibility even tho that's why she's in the show in the first place. Sure she'd definitely avoid the media and such, but why would she try to abandon the planet that's probably still going though it for earth! She should be worried half to death about Andros after Valtor kills so many people

And uhhh

I just saw a Winx confessions post about that idea that's gonna be reblogged later today but~ a more nuisanced opinion? I think Roxy getting her own team with the way Winx was going would be much better, as it would be less insulting. Plus is would complete the Roxy~Bloom character arc! Very fun

It would also fit the fact that I don't think that Roxy should of joined the girls, ill explain this opinion in a second, and I think the fact that Rainbow first marketed it like that then realized that it was a horrible idea was just peak dumbass energy for this company

My reasoning is that Roxy would either have to play catch up with all the girls, or skip all the hard parts of Enchanix and such and just gain stronger transformations which just sounds cheap as fuck not gonna lie. People have been pissed that Roxy instantly gains Believix (which that's technically not Believix but whatever) because it feels unearned. Now please image either Roxy running though the first two forms or her just gaining later transformations without getting Enchantix at all. I don't like it ngl. Roxy getting her own spin off show where she gets to be the main character and gain transformations in her own time instead of being forced to play catch up with a well established group that is 4 forms in would be much better in my opinion

[fractured-hq]

BELLATRIX LESTRANGE (NEÉ BLACK)

Birthday: 9 November 1951.

Blood Status: Pureblood.

Gender & Pronouns: Cis-female, she/her.

Occupation: Senior Attorney for the International Magical Office of Law.

Sided with: Death Eater.

Faceclaim: Danielle Campbell.

ABOUT THE CHARACTER

SCHOOL

School: Hogwarts.

House: Slytherin.

Extra curricular: 

Slug Club.

Duelling club

Prefect

Head girl

Quidditch: commentator from 5th to 7th year

BIO

GROWING UP

it was raining when bellatrix druella black made her first appearance in the world, a downpour in the middle of a november night that got silenced the moment she opened her mouth — there was no denying she was healthy, a screaming pink baby that didn't quiet for an hour despite everyone's best efforts, and while her gender was not ideal, she wasn't any less loved. she was doted on and adored, and when less than a year later her younger sister andromeda was born, that didn't change.

they say that heavy is the head that wears a crown, but the weight of the black family legacy never came from above when it came to bellatrix — it came from within. if you were to ask her, she had the perfect life, loving parts, the best sisters, she got to be a little girl and play in large gardens, to hold her own against the world while learning poise and grace, to understand her place in the world and relish it entirely — she was a black. yes, she was keenly intelligent and charming as much as she could be volatile and impulsive, but there was something endearing in that that wasn't cut off by cygnus and druella soon enough, so it remained a part of her.

perhaps it was because she never knew herself as anything other than someone's big sister, someone's first born, but loyalty and protection were always bellatrix's gospel, and in her young eyes the world would have to crumble around her for her family to be dishonoured, or for her sisters to be hurt in any way. she took it upon herself to be the leader and the captain in their childhoods, often barely balancing poor narcissa in one arm as she tugged andromeda along by the hand with the other, and even as those times faded into more proper ones where tricks and playing had to be done quietly and away from adults, it still felt like that to bella. it was her and her sisters against the world, and the world wouldn't beat a black, especially when that black was bellatrix.

she told no one of how much she wept during her first night in the dungeons after writing home to tell them the news of her sorting, missing home and those she loved, and she also said not a word about how for a moment the hat seemed rather serious about sorting her into hufflepuff.

START OF THE WAR

hogwarts simply came to prove what bella already knew: she was brilliant. the castle brought other sorts of growth to her character, from the deep love she grew to feel for slytherin (what is a house if not a family, after all) to the responsibilities she took on — her time as a prefect taught her she cared to be the one with the power, her year as head girl coating her with an air of invincibility that she's never shaken off.

it was a known fact that bellatrix black was either someone you adored for her humour and snappy retorts, her graceful teasing and surprising ability to take firewhiskey shots, or someone you despised for her arrogance, for the way she would turn a blind eye to anything that would reflect poorly on slytherin or her family, for her impermeability to any act of cruelty that didn't touch the ones she loved, or her oftentimes careless dismissal of those she deemed below her. bellatrix was always coated in duality, but she liked that about herself.

the war itself wasn't something the teenage girl concerned herself with very much until it came knocking at her door — she may agree that blood purity would always be important to keep the wizarding world safe, and the noble and most ancient house of black secure, but she failed to see why they would need a revolution for it. there were laws, systems in place to keep them safe, and that's what she focused on as her hogwarts career came to an end. she toyed with internships and plans, but nothing sang to her like wizarding law. it was only after graduation came and went, and the start of a career was having to be balanced with an impending marriage she wanted no part in, that she came to realise just what was going to happen to their world.

she was the oldest child of the house of black, with meda just one year behind her and who she knew whether she wanted to admit it or not, wouldn't be the one to make the sacrifice. cissa was too young, too soft, and her little cousins were still babies. the next heir of their house wasn't even in hogwarts yet, and so someone would need to step up. if agreeing to take part in this war would mean that when it was over, everyone she loved would be safe? happy? taken care of regardless of circumstance? she would sell her soul to keep her loved ones safe, and so she did.

one of the last things bellatrix ever did while holding the name black was to accept that her role was in service of the dark lord, and she believes to this day there was no greater act of love than the life she signed away for them, for her family. because everything bellatrix has ever done has been for family.

when andromeda turned away from them, bellatrix wouldn't say she was entirely surprised — sister's intuition does count for something in her eyes — but it didn't make her any less furious, any less betrayed that she would do this to her, to narcissa, to their parents. to lose someone in death is heartbreaking, but to lose someone in life like that? it's a wound that never closes, and bellatrix resents having to live with it. she gave, and sacrificed, and bled for this family and her closest confidant deserted her… that loss is something bella has never been able to swallow, and certainly one that hardened her.

she still sent a present when the child was born, no note, and pretended it didn't hurt to breathe that day.

PRESENT TIME

in the quiet of her own bedroom at night, bellatrix is perfectly aware that she's done horrible things in the name of the dark lord, things that have kept her up at night and haunt her sleep — she's lost family, friends, and while she has no regrets about what she had to do to try and keep the house of black safe, sometimes she wonders how different her life could've been. then, she pushes it all aside and carries on because bellatrix black was a fierce girl but bellatrix lestrange is a woman made of iron, and she refuses to break under the weight of her own mind.

narcissa still needs to be cared for, someone needs to get through the piles of paperwork in the IMOL office, the household of the lestranges needs to be managed and handled by the lady of the house — bella cannot afford regrets, or doubts, or questions of what could've beens, any crack in her will be a show of weakness she can't live with… perhaps literally.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

rodophus lestrange: marriage is hard in the best of times, but bellatrix avoided the match as much as she could until she knew it was time to bite the bullet and do her duty to her family. whether their relationship has developed from just a contract to a friendship, or even a semblance of affection is up to player but anything works.

the one who got away: someone (regardless of gender or blood status) who deeply connected with her while at school, maybe for a short period of time or maybe for years, but ultimately someone she had to part with when school was over and adulthood hit them in the face. maybe they didn't fit into the life she was building for herself, maybe she didn't fit in theirs, but ultimately feelings are hard to shake off.

Bellatrix is currently TAKEN and played by ANa

[runnning-outof-time]

Keep Her Safe | Tommy Shelby & Daughter!Reader

Request: by anonymous

Pairing: Tommy Shelby & daughter!reader

Summary: (Y/N) Shelby has been through it all. The elaborate plans, the family fall-outs, the violence. This life was all she knew. So she's confused as to why her father, even after 17 years, still wants to keep her as sheltered as possible.

Warnings: language, smoking, drinking, character death (both canon and not), weapons, attempted kidnapping, violence (typical to series)

Word count: 2996

A/N: this is a bit of a rough one...it’s also my first daughter!reader request. I hope that I did well with it. Please let me know what you think!! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR THOUGHTS & COMMENTS HELP ME WRITE!

She was sitting slumped on a chair in the headmaster's office, holding ice on her cheek that would surely be bruised come the next morning.

"She's in here, Mr. Shelby," she heard her headmaster's voice come from the other side of the door.

"Thank you, Mr. DeJoseph. This won't happen again," her father spoke in a firm voice as the door opened then. (Y/N) couldn't stop her head from dropping to avoid her father's gaze, knowing that she'd crack if she met it.

"(Y/N)," Tommy's voice was gruff, and without a word, the teenager stood to her feet and stepped to his side.

"You're free to go, Mr. Shelby. (Y/N), I expect better behavior from you from here on out," Mr. DeJoseph stated, sending a pointed look in the young lady's direction.

"Yes, Mr. DeJoseph," she responded like a child who was admitting guilt. In a way, she was.

"Let's go," Tommy said then, placing his hand on her shoulder before he led her out of the school and to his car. "Fighting in school, (Y/N), really?" he questioned once they were on the road back to Arrow House.

"Yes, really," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared out the window.

"What for now?"

"Someone was talking bad about our family," she grumbled, hoping that he'd not think too much into it. But, of course, she was wrong.

"What did I say to you about picking fights with people because they talk about our family, eh?! Do you know how many fucking people I'd be fighting with if I decided to go after every single person who trashed the Shelby name?!" Tommy let his frustration show through in his words. He had about had it with her antics in school. This was the third time he was being called in in a matter of months.

"I thought that you do that anyway," she bit back, only making Tommy grit his teeth and tighten his grip on the steering wheel.

"The school's grounds are not the place for you to be acting this way. Do you know how that makes us look? Especially since we've been giving the school money," Tommy stated then, finally pulling into the driveway of their home.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dad...I forgot that we're giving money to St. Mary's Preparatory School so that it'd make us look better...make you look better for the polls," (Y/N) seethed, quickly exiting the car and storming into the house, Tommy hot on her heels.

"What's going on, (Y/N)?" Lizzie asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she entered the foyer from the front sitting room. Surely she had heard the commotion outside. She stared between her husband and her step-daughter then, her own child perched on her hip.

"Dad's flipping his lid again," (Y/N) stated, motioning to Tommy, who was running his hand over his face in a stressed manner.

"She won't fucking listen to me, Lizzie," Tommy spoke through gritted teeth, also motioning to his daughter, who was now storming up the stairs with the intent of going to her room. "She never fucking listens to me!" he then called after her, but the girl said nothing in response.

"She's not mine, Thomas. I wouldn't have raised her to be like that," Lizzie remarked. Believe it or not, her words held no pretentious nature. (Y/N) had been well set in her ways...this was just how she acted and there was no changing it at this point. Tommy often blamed himself for it. She had lived with him for practically the entirety of her life - save for when he was in France fighting.

"Yeah, I fucking know you wouldn't 've," Tommy mumbled, moving closer to her to press a kiss to the child she was holding’s forehead, "hello, Ruby," he smiled softly at the girl, although there was a voice in the back of his head saying that soon enough, she'd be acting this same way. "I've got to get work done," he said then as he began the walk up the stairs and down the hall to his office.

(Y/N) was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling when a soft knock sounded on her door. She immediately recognized it as too soft to be from her father, so she called for whoever it was to come in. It wasn't much of a surprise to her when Lizzie stepped through the threshold. She only glanced over at the woman who was now walking towards her before she returned her eyes to the ceiling.

"What's running through your mind?" Lizzie asked her then, breaking the silence as she took a seat at the foot of her bed.

"I just don't understand why he has to be like this, Lizzie...why he always treats me like a child," the younger of the two sighed, her eyes now focused on her thumbs as she twiddled them. (Y/N) didn't call Lizzie 'mom'. She couldn't, because she had been down that road before.

Tommy and a woman - a girl really, had (Y/N) in 1908, back when Tommy was just a stable boy. He met this girl, who was a maid at the same estate he happened to be working at, and they had a brief romance that came to a screeching halt when she found out that she had fallen pregnant - the both of them were only eighteen. Tommy tried to be as encouraging as he could, and promised that he'd be around for her. What he never expected was for that girl to just up and leave (Y/N) at his family's home in Birmingham one night, saying that she couldn't be a mother to this child. So Tommy was given full rights to the beautiful baby girl, and he grew up quickly.

(Y/N) was four when Greta Jurossi came into her father's life. She was the first woman that (Y/N) called 'mom' because she was the first mother figure that the little girl had in her life...besides Tommy's aunt Polly, but she remained more like an aunt figure to the girl. The three together felt like a family, and (Y/N) still remembered the talks that they had about staying a family like that forever, when her father returned from fighting, of course. That 'forever' for (Y/N) was ripped away when Greta sadly passed from tuberculosis. She and her father entered a dark period then. Tommy was struggling from the loss, and also trying to deal with the war that was still raging on, and (Y/N) was only eight. She didn't know how to cope with this woman, who was practically her mother, dying while her father was still off at war.

And then Grace came into the picture. Boy was that a tough few years for (Y/N). Grace was in her life, and then she wasn't, only for her to come back some time later and then sit down across from the now fourteen year old in order to tell her that she was going to be a big sister, and that Grace and her father were going to be getting married. So Grace was the second person that (Y/N) called 'mom'. She watched her father get married to this lovely woman who tried her best to treat the young teenager as her own, even though it was obvious that she really had no clue of what to do. It was also obvious that Tommy loved Grace, and the time that they spent together at Arrow House - the four of them including little Charlie - almost reminded (Y/N) of when Greta was around. But then Grace was ripped away from them. And another dark period fell over the two remaining Shelbys, who now also had to manage a toddler's feelings as well as their own.

So when Tommy came to tell (Y/N), who was then sixteen, that he was planning to marry Lizzie and that she was going to have yet another step-sibling, she made the conscious choice not to get too close and stick to calling the woman by her name. She couldn't risk losing it all again.

"He loves you, (Y/N). He couldn't bear to see you get hurt over something silly like a fight," Lizzie said then.

"He sure has an awful way of showing love then," the younger woman snorted to herself. This wasn't anything new. She knew that her father was a complicated man who had trouble communicating his emotions.

Lizzie sent her a sympathetic look before she spoke, "he just wants to keep you safe."

"Yeah, well I wish that sometimes he would back off a little. I'm about to be eighteen. I can handle myself," (Y/N) spoke firmly and without a doubt in her mind. Lizzie just gave her another look of sympathy. She knew that there wasn't anything she could say to change this girl's mind. Her and her father were one in the same in that sense.

"Are you sure that we're gonna be allowed in here?" her one friend asked her, hesitancy in his words.

"For sure. My dad and his company own this place. I come in here all the time," (Y/N) stated as she proudly and confidently led Mitchell Conway to the front doors of the Garrison. She hoped that this over the top feat would impress him and therefore make her look more appealing in his eyes.

She knew her plan was going south when her eyes connected with her uncle Arthur's just about the second she walked in. "(Y/N)! What are you doing here, angel?" he asked her, making her scrunch her face together at the nickname he'd been using for her since she was a child. "Are you lookin' for your father?" he asked then, eyeing up the boy that was standing behind her.

"No...we were actually wondering if we could each get a drink?" she tried to stay confident, but she knew from the look that Arthur gave her that her plan was going to crumble fast.

"And make me lose me license over selling to minors? I don't think so, angel. I'm taking you to your father," he blew the mood, taking a step towards his niece then. "You've got somewhere you can go?" he asked Mitchell then, who quickly nodded his head and scurried out the door. (Y/N) sighed as she watched him leave, knowing that she had absolutely no chances with him now.

"I can't believe you, uncle Arthur," she grumbled as she got into the passenger's seat of the car and let him drive her to wherever the hell her father was at the moment.

"She was what?" Tommy questioned, trying to keep his emotions in check as he looked between his daughter and his brother.

"I caught her at the Garrison. Was trying to buy a drink to impress a lad. I didn't let her, Tom," Arthur explained once more, making Tommy's glare hone in on the young woman who was standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Arthur," Tommy nodded to his brother, giving him his cue to leave, before he focused on his daughter again. "I don't even know what to say anymore," he shook his head, letting out a sigh as he took a drag from the cigarette that was sitting between his fingers.

"Then don't say anything, dad," she mumbled, looking down at her shoes for a moment, "uncle Arthur already said he handled it."

"You can't keep doing stuff like this, (Y/N)," he started, letting a sigh out as he spoke.

"And yet you still say something," she rolled her eyes just like a teenager would, the sarcasm in her voice being the thing that tipped Tommy over the ledge.

"That's because I'm your fucking father, (Y/N)! It is my responsibility to protect you. To keep you on a straight path!" he stood from his chair, pointing at the girl who was now sitting in the chair across from him. He didn't care that he was at his office at Parliament's headquarters. He needed to put an end to this behavior that she couldn't seem to stop from doing.

"This isn't being protective, dad...what you're doing is not letting me live my life!" (Y/N) bit back her tears and yelled her own sentiment back, growing angry with her father. "I'm almost going to be eighteen," she remarked then.

"And what's that supposed to mean? Huh?" Tommy asked, his hands on his hips as he looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"It means I'm going to be an adult."

"An adult, eh? As long as you live under my roof, you will be listening to my rules. I don't care if you're eighteen or fucking thirty-eight," he told her, his words laced with strictness.

"Whatever, dad. At least I'm not gearing up to have a child now...like some people were at my age," she stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes as the gears just about fell apart in Tommy's brain. He had met his match...the person who he wasn't able to outsmart or outwit. It was the very girl whom he made, whom he raised.

He could have opened that can of worms, or he could have shipped her back to Arrow House. He chose to do the latter. "I'm calling a driver. He's going to take you back to the house and you're going to go to your bedroom and stay there for...I don't know...fucking ever?" he gave her the rundown, his voice low as he tried to contain his emotions. "Do you understand?" he asked her then.

"Yes, father," (Y/N) sent him a sarcastic smile before she stood up and moved to the doors of his office. Without another word, she pushed past them and moved down to the lobby, waiting there until the driver Tommy called was outside.

It was late, but (Y/N) was still awake. She had been put on house arrest by her father for the foreseeable future, and was only allowed to leave the grounds to go to school. He did give her free reign of the house though, so she spent a good bit of time in the library, getting lost in fabricated worlds where girls her age could do whatever they want without their father there to stop them. She was humming to herself when all of a sudden, the glass to the large window that sat to her left shattered. She screamed at the sudden noise, then screaming again when an unknown man came through the created hole and lunged in her direction.

"Next time you're sitting here alone, make sure you close the curtains, sweetheart," the sleazy man grinned, making the girl shriek one last time before the man took her in his arms, his hand covering her mouth so that she couldn't say anything more.

Tommy was in his office upstairs when he heard the distinct sound of glass shattering. Standing from his chair, he went to investigate the source. Then he heard his daughter's screams. That kicked him into overdrive and he moved to the locked closet where he kept the weapons in the house, grabbing a revolver before he quietly walked down the hall.

It sounded like it had come from the library, and Tommy knew that that was where (Y/N) was, so he made his way down the steps and over to that room, opening the door to find a man dragging the girl back towards the broken window. He immediately aimed the revolver in his direction. "Let her go!" he demanded, having full intention to shoot.

"Mr. Shelby...it's so nice to finally see you..."

"Put my fucking daughter down!" Tommy cut him off, not wanting to have a conversation right now. He waited five more seconds, and when no movements were made, he fired his revolver, striking the guy right on the forehead.

(Y/N) closed her eyes tightly at the sound of the gun going off, falling to the ground then as the man's hold on her went limp. She was sobbing when someone else's arms then wrapped around her, lifting her from the ground and bringing her to sit on the couch. "Are you alright, love?" it was her dad. He still held her tightly against his chest as she continued to shake and sob, holding onto him like her life depended on it. "It's ok, (Y/N). It's ok," he comforted her then.

"I was so scared, dad," she hiccupped once her sobs had softened slightly. "So scared that he was gonna..." she couldn't finish her sentence, the tears ramping up as her father shushed her comfortingly, wiping the tears as they fell.

"I'd never let anyone hurt you. So long as you're with me, you're safe. I will keep you safe," he promised her after some time had passed. She hugged him tighter as she felt his lips press to her hair.

"I love you, dad," she told him then, moving back slightly so that she could see him. She couldn't remember the last time that she had said that to him. She was too busy butting heads with the person who was just trying his best to keep her safe. "I'm so sorry that I've been trying to defy you and have been arguing with you so much."

"I know, sweetie...I know," he nodded his head, brushing some of the matted hair off of her forehead, "I love you, too," he said then, a slight smile on his lips. "I love you, no matter what," he assured her, watching the small smile she had on her lips grew wider. She knew now that he would always keep her safe, no matter how much she got on his nerves or how many times they disagreed with each other.

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts

MASTERLIST

[linkspooky]

The Hands that Will Save the League

In chapter 321 we're reminded once again of the reoccurring motif of hands reaching out to save someone in need, especially with the double spread close-up of Iida's hands reaching for Deku's hands. I couldn't help but think how this could apply to the league of villains. Hand symbolism has always been associated with Shigaraki (duh), both in the fact that his hands destroy everything they touched, and also his reason for being a villain stems from the fact that not a single hand reached out to save him that day. However, we've also had another character in the league with hands drawn up close and personal reaching out to save the others: spinner.

1. Just an Empty Cosplayer

I'm not the first one to make this observation. @codenamesazanka pointed this out long before me, especially in regards to Spinner's importance to the league, but basically, Spinner's role is that despite being a teenage mutant ninja turtle he's also the everyman of the league. He's not connected to the main conflict of the story by bloodline or legacy, the way Shigaraki, Dabi, and Compress are. He's not someone with an incredibly powerful or deviant quirk like Twice or Toga. He is a victim, but he doesn't have the elaborate villain backstories of Twice, Shigaraki, Dabi, and Toga.

He literally is just some guy with a lizard quirk. He has the weakest quirk in the league and the weakest reason for why he joined the league. Spinner faces societal abuse because of his quirk, but what spurred him to action was seeing Stain appear on TV, and a desire to be a less empty person than he was before. Spinner was pushed, he was rejected by society, but I would say as an inverse to the league who are driven by extraordinary circumstances, Spinner is basically an every man who drives himself to keep up with the rest of the league despite seemingly lacking everything "special" they have.

And I believe this every man quality, and this drive Spinner has is what's going to be the key to piecing the league back together. It's because Spinner sees himself as so far behind the rest of the league, and so much less special than they are, that he's driven to try to understand them.

Not only is Spinner a member who has tried to understand every member of the league in one way or another, Spinner is also someone who similiar to Sihgaraki foils every single character in the league despite just being an everyman.

2. Spinner and Toga

While Spinner and Toga may not have the same level of development to their interactions as Twice and Toga, Spinner reaches out to her once but not twice, and there are a lot of parallels you can draw between the characters.

Both Spinner and Toga joined the league for the same reason, an empty admiration for Stain, without really caring about Stain's ideals. Toga admires Stain because he's covered in blood and fighting for something and she wants to become more like the people she admires, Spinner because he saw himself as pathetic for hiding in his room all day and when he saw Stain taking a stand trying to change the whole world on his own he wanted to become that way too. Which means both of them have a tendency to want to become more like the people they admire, because their own sense of personal identity is so weak.

Himiko and Spinner both define themselves by the way society has rejected them. Spinner has internalized the idea that he's an empty person who can't accomplish anything on his own, every terrible thing other people said about him due to his heteromorph quirk he accepted it. At the same time, Toga was somebody born with a "dangerous quirk" who was told to repress it and then did that living under a fake identity as a normal school girl that would please her parents and the people around her for as long as she could. Both Toga and Spinner are taught by the society around them to be self-loathing and to repress themselves because of their quirks. They're also characters who are both defined by a desire for release.

When Spinner asks if Toga still wants to be in the league because of Stain and she responds, Now I wanna become everyone I love. Spinner comments, "You're so free."

Spinner and Toga both claim they joined the league because of love for another person, they both loved and admired some aspect of Stain, but their real reason for joining, or at least the reason they stay is that deep down both of them desire the freedom to be themselves. Toga wrapping her desires up in language like love for other people, and wanting to become them, is because deep down she believes because of her quirk there's no one who would accept her for herself, as the normal girl she believes she is, no one will let her live as Toga thus she tries to become other people. It's the same for Spinner, who believes he can't be anything other than the Lizard Freak, so he too tries to dress himself up and become a Stain Cosplayer. It's only through the league's acceptance that Toga and Spinner slowly begin to learn that they are good enough on their own, just as themselves, and their priorities begin to shift.

3. Spinner and Twice

Twice and Spinner have several backstory parallels already. They are both characters affected by poverty, Spinner lived in a backwater town plagued by old views of heteromorph quirks, Twice lost his parents and began working to support himself at a young age before becoming homeless. Spinner and Twice were also both labeled in a way that stuck with them, after Twice got a criminal charge in an accident on his permanent record he couldn't find another job after being labeled deviant. Spinner was labeled as a deviant because of his quirk and the idea that he's a lizard freak has always stuck with him the same way that Twice has internalized the idea that "bad people don't get saved."

They also both chose to isolate themselves because of the circumstances they faced. Twice's first response to homelessness was to decide to never trust anybody but himself, and he became a criminal who pulled off heists with only clones of himself as team members until that stopped working for him. Spinner's response was also to shut himself away in his room and become a NEET. They both cut themselves off to the society that labeled them as unacceptable, but in the process they also cut themselves off from other people and became unable to trust others.

While they have major backstory parallels, I believe the greatest parallel between them is going to be that Spinner will inherit that role that Twice had for the league. While Shigaraki is the leader, Twice more than anybody else believed the League to be a family, and encouraged everyone to be friendly with one another.

It's Twice more than anyone else who emphasizes the bond of the league, that they're all strays, that they need to take care of each other and save each other. It's Twice who urges Shigaraki to save Giran because he's one of them. He makes the unspoken bond of the league as a group of miscreants into a spoken one, because Twice wants those things, he's well aware of the fact that he wants trust and acceptance and came to the league to find those things. This is the greatest thing that ties Spinner and Twice's characters together, because they both view themselves as worthless, they define themselves by how they help the other members of the league.

Twice's death so far isn't something that has been really capitalized on by the plot, Hawks has yet to face consequences, we haven't gotten to see much of the league's reaction because they were scattered soon afterwards. However, if Twice's death is going to cause development eventually I believe it will be in the vacuum in the league created now that Twice is gone. There is no longer someone who is urging all of them to be together. Twice's death causes most of the league to become less stable. Toga goes on a killing spree, Dabi attacks Hawks, Compress tries to kill himself in a heroic sacrifice, Shigaraki hasn't gotten the chance to react yet but he's also gotten worse considering he's currently possessed. You could even say that Twice's death has caused other characters to double down on their worst habits.

Dabi's worst habit is that he acts separately from the league and refuses to participate in the group dynamic, believing himself to be a solo avenger. Dabi not trusting or telling the league what he was planning on doing with Hawks, as a consequence of his decision to play solo avenger, caused Twice to trust Hawks which led to his death. Hawks was the one who killed him but Dabi played a part, and when Twice dies Dabi obviously reacts to it, but also his decision is to double down on his bad habit, insisting he's only using the league and he doesn't care about the rest of the group. Toga also doubles down on her bad habit, she runs away from the rest of the league and insists she's only doing this for the freedom to do whatever she pleases, not because you know Twice got killed right in front of her. Compress's arc is less pronounced, but he also does, in fact, try to kill himself in a grand heroic sacrifice for the rest of the league.

When twice dies the league begins to fall apart and everyone acts on their individual worst flaws, ignoring that they were always stronger together as a group. However, there is still one person who wanted the exact same thing Twice did, to be trusted, to belong to a group. This is most likely the role that Spinner is going to grow to, someone who is trusted by everyone in the group.

Notably, when Toga is about to run away it's Spinner who reminds her that the league is a place for them to come back to. Toga who was probably the closest to Twice and spiraling the worst because of his death, and Toga and Twice's friendship was the first time we really saw how much of a "bond" the league had formed with one another, because in the camp arc they barely cooperated, only begrudgingly. It's Spinner who who emphasizes that even though everyone in the league is doing this for individualism "doing what they want" that they are also together as a group. Spinner is set to inherit Twice's role as the heart, because one he tries to understand other people in the league making the effort to reach out, and two Spinner is aware of what he wants just like Twice he wants to be trusted by the rest of the group.

4. Spinner and Dabi

This one is a little bit harder because Dabi's character arc really hasn't started yet. We have just now gotten to the reveal of who he is and what his motivations are, after it being a mystery for so long. However unlike the rest of the league, we haven't really seen how Dabi has reacted and changed by becoming a part of the group. Even if his motivation isn't "I'm only using them" and deep down he really does care, I don't think he's even realized yet that he does care or that he's not just using them. Dabi still believes himself to be alone, and therefore he's still isolated from the rest of the league and flying his revenge quest solo even though he's really not.

In that case, the biggest parallel between Spinner and Dabi is that they both had to be won over by the league. They both joined because of admiration for Stain, probably because Dabi genuinely believed in Stain's ideals of taking down impure heroes because it fit his own agenda so well, whereas Spinner is a self-proclaimed empty cosplayer.

Spinner, however, has already gone through an arc where he was dissatisfied with his reasons for joining the league and didn't believe he belonged with the rest of the group. He didn't have anything to love like Toga. He didn't know yet he wanted friends he could trust like Twice already did. He doesn't have a strong backstory motivation like Compress, or Dabi or even knows what he wants out of society. However, the entirety of MVA is Spinner letting himself be changed because of his interaction with the group.

Spinner failed at life, his quirk is worthless and only good for sticking to walls. He also internalized the idea that he himself was a failure, and locked himself inside believing he couldn't accomplish anything on his own. Spinner says he has nothing he loves, and nothing he wants to do. Not only that he feels unloved and unwanted. However, Spinner finds something to love in Shigaraki, even if he can't find a strong sense of individualism and still believes himself to be worthless he becomes motivated to help others. Spinner, the most normal person in the group with the most worthless quirk, becomes the greatest help to Shigaraki, basically once he gets over himself and his preconceived notions of himself. Because, you don't actually have to be a special person or have a strong quirk to be a hero, you have to reach out a hand.

The same way Spinner was won over by the League, Dabi has yet to be won over. However, if that does happen, it's probably going to look like Spinner's arc. Dabi antagonizes Spinner a lot, but they actually have more in common than they do differences. They both have failure quirks, while Dabi has an overwhelming fire quirk he wasn't allowed to use, Spinner is literally just a gecko. They both also were labeled as disappointments and given up on, Enji gave up on Touya, Spinner never had any potential from the start and locked himself away in his room. However, their paths so far have been opposites, Spinner let Shigaraki reach him and became a part of the group, Dabi at every possible opportunity insists he's doing this all alone. He takes every chance he can to separate himself from others. If Dabi's arc is going to be a mirror to Shoto's arc eventually, then someone has to reach him and convince him he can't do this all on his own, and Dabi can only truly find himself when he's part of the group once more. After all, so far Dabi is the one most resistant to change. Toga's goal has changed, Shigaraki's changed, Spinner has changed, even Compress now admits that while they're just a gang of thieves that he cares more about everyone else's dreams than his own. Dabi is still nursing a ten-year grudge against Endeavor and doing everything he can to take him down on his own because he hasn't let the group in. And he won't improve or change until he does let others in.

5. Spinner and Shigaraki

I love Compress but I'm skipping over him because his arc hasn't been elaborated on yet. If you want a quick summary though, both Spinner and Compress didn't believe the group to be anything more than a gathering of selfish criminals, however, both of them changed because they wanted to see Shigaraki's dream come true. Not only was Shigaraki the one who inspired both of them to change, but also Compress is the one who first sees how close Spinner is to Shigaraki more than anyone else in the group was.

He also sacrifices himself BECAUSE he's come to realize that what he wants more than his own dreams is to see everyone else's dreams come true. I know Compress's backstory is rushed as all hell, but it almost... almost... works because Compress isn't actually doing this because he's Oji Harima's grandson. His motivation changed a long time ago, he just didn't realize it until he was about to lose the league.

There are a few more parallels, they're both dropouts. It's implied that Compress was literally just a retired and failed stage magician before he decided to become a villain. Hopefully we'll become more on that later because the idea of Compress sucking in showbiz so he decided to follow his grandfather's legacy is really awesome. Spinner was a Neet before he saw Stain on television. They also both have more minor quirks, Compress just shrinks people, Spinner sticks to things. They both also are characters who don't seem important at first, but consistently hover around in the background constantly making sure everyone in the group is okay. Compress calls to check up on people, he talks to Dabi a lot, he tries to keep up with everybody in a melee, it's the little things he does that make Compress same for Spinner. They're both cosplaying as legendary villains who are greater than they are, Stein is cosplaying his grandfather, Spinner is cosplaying Stain, but it's unknown whether Compress really cares that much about his grandfather's ideals, I think he cares about the league more. Compress and Spinner are also people who question and try to understand things, Compress lectures the kids that they had their ideals handed down to them for adult, Compress realizes Spinner's importance to Shigaraki before Spinner even did, Compress and Spinner also both try to understand other people's dreams because they're lacking in their own. Spinner doesn't even have a dream, but he's the one who listened to Shigaraki's dream first.

Now it's been directly said by canon that Spinner and Shigaraki's connection is the most developed, and they are the closest to one another. By developed I mean, it changed over time, when it started out they had almost nothing to do with one another. Spinner was just a rank and file league member that Shigaraki used on the hideout raid. They didn't even get a character introduction scene like Shigarki did with Dabi and Toga.

However, Spinner and Shigaraki's characters are extremely closely tied together. Shigaraki's like the main character of the league, his backstories parallel everyone else's, including the main character of the entire story Deku. He's the one who makes the plans, goes through training arcs, he's the one who the league unites around. However, Spinner actually has all of that too. I just spent a very long time showing how Spinner despite not having an overly complicated backstory has strong parallels to everyone in the league. If Shigaraki is the main character, then Spinner is the everyman / the perspective character, hence why he's the narrator of MVA. Shigaraki is a person of extraordinary circumstance, the symbol of society's oppression who everyone in the league deepy relates to because he's suffered the same way that they have and he accepts them. Whereas, Spinner has suffered because of Hero Society too, he's more like a normal guy who makes an effort to understand everyone around him.

However, Deku wasn't saved by his love interest, or even his childhood friend who is apparently his destined rival, he was saved by Iida trying his best to keep up with him.

Spinner and Shigaraki are both the emotional core of the league in different ways. The league all respects Shigaraki, they rally around his ideas, his dreams are what inspire everybody. However, more and more it's looking like Spinner, ordinary, average, Spinner is working to build emotional connections to everyone in a much more normal way. He talks to Toga and tries to understand her love. He even consoles Toga when twice is gone. He challenges Shigaraki directly to his face. Compress who is always sort of watching the league in the background and checking up on them in little ways notices how hard that Spinner is trying to take care of Shigaraki.

Shigaraki accepts people at their worst and gives them a place to belong, but I think by Spinner's efforts to get to know and understand others, we as an audience are shown how humanizing of a presence that Spinner is on everyone else. Spinner, just being a normal guy, brings out the fact that the rest of the league despite their extraordinary circumstances are deep down just normal people to, who want to be loved normally, and live normally. Spinner literally wakes up Shigaraki, because he remembered the one time that he opened up in front of all of them, and cares enough to try to understand Shigaraki's hurt feelings and what he cares about.

If anything from the last arc in the manga, we're shown at great length, how understanding, reaching out, it all takes effort and it's not as flashy as defeating a villain or rescuing someone from a natural disaster.

Spinner is so important to Shigaraki, because while Shigaraki has given everyone in the group a place where they can be individuals, Shigaraki hasn't realized he himself can be an individual yet. He ultimately, shares the same character flaw as Deku. It's because he's decided that he's going to carry out his dreams for the sake of the league and to create a better future for them, that Shigaraki no longer cares what happens to himself, or about his own future. Everyone talks about Dabi's suicidal nature, but this is something that Shigaraki is challenged on over and over again. What are your motivations. What are your reasons. What do you want to accomplish. He always responds with nothing. There's nothing that he wants, there's nothing worth living for, he only wants to destroy and make a better world for the people who are around him. Shigaraki is the most thoroughly dehumanized character, to the point where he just straight up accepts "god of destruction" because that is at least an identity. Shigaraki needs Spinner and his normalizing influence, because Shigaraki can't see himself as a normal person.

Shigaraki shares the same character flaw as Deku, he does everything for the sake of others, with no regard to himself, which leads to extreme bouts of self-harming and fighting alone. Shigaraki faced off against Endeavor, and basically all the heroes alone even though he did call for backup. However, even before that Shigaraki made the decision to get dangerous risky surgery that would be like hell, because he believed deep down he wasn't good enough alone. Shigaraki just does not care about himself and is unable to see himself as an individual, which is exactly why he needs someone to care for him and see him that way.

Shigaraki's greatest challenge to date is that he's been dehumanized so thoroughly, and lost sight of himself to the point where he's lost even his own body autonomy. When Shigaraki is battling for possession of his body as AFO attempts to take total control and make him into a symbol again, denying him his personhood, we're set up directly with Spinner being the one who reminds us that Shigaraki is just a person, who likes video games, and gets along with his friends. It's Spinner who notices right away that AFO is different from Shigaraki and challenges him the same way that he challenged Shigaraki directly in the My VIllain Academia arc. This is all set up most likely, for Spinner being the one to reach out a hand the same way IIDA did, because what Shigaraki needs the most right now, is not a hero who will save him, but rather a normal person who will understand him and remind him that deep down he was just a normal kid too before all of this happened. What Shigaraki is most in need of is a hand that will reach out to him, and Spinner has already done this once putting Nana's hand back on his face when he couldn't wake up, but what he's failed to realize is that it's his own scaly lizard hands that should be doing the reaching out.

[babymetaldoll]

"Victory" (Spencer Reid/ Reader)

Requested: Yes

Summary: Spencer's daughter hates her father's girlfriend. But when he is in prison, life pushes them to finally get along.

Warning: Cursing, a little angst, a mean teenager, and fluff.

Word count: 5,4K

A/N: Hello, pretty people! How are you? I've missed you! Life has been a little messy and filled with angst, so writing hasn't come easy in the lastest weeks. Hope you like this story, and I hope I can bring you a new one soon 😉

Masterlist

»»————-　　————-««

Spencer's daughter hated her dad's new girlfriend. And she wasn't subtle about it. She hated that her father was now dating, 'cos she didn't want to share his love. So now she didn't even want to be around him anymore 'cos he was so happy, it was annoying.

It wasn't that she hated her father, 'cos she loved him. But she was never going to face the fact she was jealous. She didn't want to share Spencer with anyone because he was all the family she knew, and they were a team.

Victoria Reid was twelve years old. She had grown up alone with her dad 'cos her mother had ditched the two of them soon after she was born. Spencer had tried to explain to his daughter her mom had left 'cos she wasn't ready to deal with the responsibility of being a mother, which was true. He, on the other hand, was happy to know he was going to be a father, and he repeated over and over again she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

That was true.

When Spencer and his ex found out they were going to be parents, he was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to hold his baby in his arms and watch them grow. He didn't know his girlfriend had other plans, though, and soon after Victoria was born, she had left the two of them and never looked back.

Spencer wasn't going to lose the chance of being a dad. Even when he knew he was too young, Reid was ready to raise that baby on his own and give her all the love he had.

That's why he and Victoria were so close. Spencer was the only parent she had ever had. He was her world. And though Spencer was only 24 when Tori was born, he had given her his best.

Tori was the BAU's baby girl. Everybody in the team was a part of her life because she had grown up with them. Penelope was her best friend and godmother. Victoria would spend a lot of time with her while her dad was away on a case. Derek was her cool uncle. He helped her train to get into the basketball team and taught her how to dance. JJ was the closest to a mother figure in her life. Tori would spend time with her after school, playing with Henry. Spencer always said JJ was like a sister for him, and that's why they were all like family. Tori actually called Henry and Michel her cousins.

Emily was like her best friend. They could talk about anything, and at least twice a month, they would go out together shopping, just the two of them. Spencer always respected his daughter's relationship with his friend 'cos they were their little extended family. Tori called Rossi "Nono." He had taught her himself, and she loved going to his mansion, 'cos he always had new video games to play with her.

But then came (Y/N). She had joined the team when Victoria was only six years old, and for the first five years, they got along just fine. (Y/N) would come along shopping with her and Emily, sometimes she took Tori out for some pastries, and talked about bands, boys. Victoria loved her.

That until the incident.

She hated (Y/N) after the incident.

Victoria refused to talk to her after THE INCIDENT.

It was a warm spring afternoon, Spencer and (Y/N) had the afternoon off, and they were at his apartment... heavily making out on the couch. That's why they lost track of time.

(Y/N) and Spencer had started dating a few months before. They had been in love with each other for years. Still, neither of them had acted on it until Rossi's birthday party, when they had a little too many drinks and finally confessed their feelings. They wanted to take things slow, but when you make out in front of the whole team, it might be a little harder imagined.

But they had decided to wait for the right time to tell Victoria. But, unfortunately, the right time didn't come soon enough.

- "Dad!! I'm home!!"- Victoria opened the front door and froze in shock at the scene going on in front of her. The twelve-year-old had asked her best friend's mother to drop her home earlier when Penelope told her Spencer had already gone home. In Garcia's defense, she had no idea what was going on in Reid's residence, and if she had known, she would have never let Victoria know her dad was home.

(Y/N) widened her eyes and quickly grabbed a pillow to cover herself. She was shirtless, sitting on Spencer's lap. She still had her bra on (thank god), but anyone could tell that scene was leading to the bedroom in a few seconds.

- "Shit!"- Spencer whispered and closed his eyes as he realized what was going on. (Y/N) held her breath as she stared into the young teen's eyes. Victoria didn't know what to do or what to say, so she simply ran to her room and slammed the door.

- "Ok... so I think Tori knows about us"- (Y/N) tried to ease the mood and smiled at her boyfriend as she put on her shirt. But Spencer sighed and covered his face with both hands- "Oh, come on. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. Let me talk to her."

- "No, (Y/N), let me talk to her first."- Spencer stood up and kissed (Y/N) 's nose- "I know she is mad, and I should be the one dealing with her anger."

Reid knew his daughter well enough to anticipate her behavior. People had often told him he could be a little passive-aggressive when he was upset. And his daughter was just like him.

- "Victoria, open the door!"- he said and waited a few seconds after knocking.

- "Go away!"- the teenager yelled, laying on her bed. She felt betrayed and confused. But most of all, she felt angry that her father had decided to have a girlfriend. He had no right to do such a thing. He had to take care of her and her grandma. No one else.

- "Victoria, we need to talk about this!"

- "You seemed too busy with your girlfriend to talk to me, dad. So go away!"

- "Victoria Marie!"- Spencer knocked on the door but got no answer from his daughter. (Y/N) heard it all from the couch and tried to think of a way to fix things with the young girl.

Sadly, it wasn't going to be easy, and in the months that followed, everything was far from being normal again.

- "I hate her!"- Victoria huffed and left her book aside. Spencer was trying to explain to her why (Y/N) would stay with her and Diana while he took a short work trip for the weekend. But the girl didn't want to hear a word about it.

- "You used to get along with her just fine until we started dating."- Spencer tried to dialogue with his daughter. Still, it was honestly getting harder and harder each time they touched the subject.

- "Used to. You just said it. I have the right to change my mind about people. Why can't I stay with auntie Penelope for the weekend?"

- "Because I want you to make an effort and try to get along with (Y/N) again. Victoria, we've been through this before. I love you, and that's not going to change just because I am dating (Y/N)."

- "This is so unfair! I hate you!!"

Spence tried to stay calm, but after over four-month having the same argument almost every day, he was losing it. Victoria stormed out and slammed her bedroom door behind her back. Maybe it was better not to push it, Spencer thought, defeated, and called Penelope to ask her if his daughter could spend the weekend with her, 'cos he had to travel. Maybe Victoria and (Y/N) weren't going to get along if he forced them to spend time together.

Everyone had already tried to talk to her about what was going on: JJ, Emily, Penelope. But Victoria wasn't ready to give in. She wanted to hate (Y/N), and nothing was going to change that. Or so she thought.

The day Penelope showed up in Victoria's school and announced her something had happened to her dad was engraved in the girl's memory forever as the worst day of her life. Her father had been arrested in Mexico, but Garcia had assured her, the whole team was working to bring him home safe. Meanwhile, she would stay with her in her apartment (she was already there anyway), and Diana would stay home with her nurse.

Victoria's heart was broken. She was basically alone in the whole world. Her father was her anchor. Her protector. Her superhero. Her best friend. And now, all of a sudden, he was gone, and though everybody told her it was going to be ok, she knew it wasn't.

- "Hey,"- (Y/N) walked into Penelope's office and found Victoria doing her homework- "Pen told me you were here, and I thought maybe you'd like one of these."

The young SSA said and handed the girl a box of fresh chocolate frosted with sprinkled donuts and a strawberry milkshake. Her favorites.

But Victoria didn't reply. Instead, she looked at (Y/N) right in the eyes, not moving a muscle, and then returned to her homework.

It had been two weeks since Spencer had been accused of murder, and he had been transferred to Virginia. But the team was far from solving the case.

- "Ok, Tori, please stop this. I know you don't like me dating your dad, but this is not the right time to fight. I know..."- (Y/N) made a short pause and took a deep breath before resuming her idea- "I know how you feel."

- "No. You don't."- Victoria Reid's voice was loud and clear, like thunder, hitting earth with anger. So clear, in fact, (Y/N) widened her eyes when she heard her.

- "You have no idea how I feel. Your dad ain't in jail accused of killing some woman in Mexico. You have no right to tell me that!"

- "My boyfriend and best friend in the whole world is in jail right now, and it doesn't matter if I work myself to death 18 hours every single fucking day; I still can't find the way to help him. I feel lost and alone, and most of all, scared, 'cos I've come to realize I have no idea how to live without him anymore. I'm guessing that's very close to what you feel."

(Y/N) poured her heart with complete honesty to her boyfriend's daughter, fighting the tears back, though you could feel the desperation in her voice. She didn't know if it would be of any use, but she had to take that from her chest. She missed Spencer so much she felt she was going insane. She had no idea what to do.

Victoria stared at her, furrowing her eyes and pouting. She didn't want to cry in front of (Y/N) 'cos she didn't want her trying to console her.

- "Just because you are dating him doesn't mean you have to take care of me. I can take care of myself."- Tori said and looked at the donut. She was hungry, they looked delicious, but the teenager didn't want to accept any gift coming from (Y/N).

- "I am not here because you are my boyfriend's daughter. I thought you were a cool kid way before I fell in love with him."- (Y/N) tried to calm herself down and sat across the table from Victoria- "And I am not trying to steal him from you. I just wanna... make him happy."

- "We were happy,"- the teenager's comeback was like a slap on (Y/N) 's face, but she did her best not to take it personally. She knew it was useless fighting with a teenager.

- "I have a visit scheduled for tomorrow. If you'd like, we could go together."

Tori held her breath. She hadn't seen her father since he left for Mexico. Of course, Victoria wanted to see him and hug him. It was all she wanted in the whole world. But... she didn't want to be friendly with (Y/N).

- "If I go... it doesn't mean I like you."- the young girl whispered.

- "I know"- (Y/N) nodded, feeling already triumphant.

- "And it doesn't mean I'm ok with you dating him."

- "I understand. I just know you miss him, Tori. I really know how you feel, and I'm gonna help you whenever I get a chance."- Victoria didn't answer; she just sighed and grabbed a donut. (Y/N) tried not to smile, feeling she had a small victory.

Spencer couldn't believe it when he saw his little girl waiting for him sitting next to (Y/N) instead of his lawyer in the small grey room. Victoria stood up and ran to him the second the door opened and wrapped her arms around her father as tight as possible.

(Y/N) looked at the guards, thankful neither of them had tried to stop the teenager.

Spencer kissed his daughter's cheek a few times and whispered how sorry he was to put her under those circumstances. He didn't know what to do or what to say. He was speechless. A part of him hated the idea of his daughter visiting him in jail, but he also missed her too much to argue with (Y/N) for bringing her over.

- "I'll go fill a few forms. Be right back"- (Y/N) whispered and saw Spencer's warm smile as he mouthed "Thank you," still hugging his daughter. She whispered, "I love you," and walked outside the room. She knew Victoria would appreciate a few minutes alone with her father, and she didn't want to take that away from them. She really wanted to make Spencer and Tori happy, and spending time together was what they needed.

- "I know this is hard, peanut, but we'll get through it. I'll be out in a few weeks. I promise"- Spencer held his daughter's hands as they sat across the table.

- "I miss you"- her voice was a soft whisper, as she kept trying not to cry anymore. She didn't want to make him feel guilty, sad, or anxious.

- "Me too. How are you? How is living with aunt Penelope going?"

- "Ok... we watch a lot of movies."

- "And school?"- Tori shrugged.

- "Ok, I guess."

- "Victoria..."

- "I got a C on my history paper."

- "Baby..."

- "I know, I know, I should have tried harder, but I really didn't want to do it."

Spencer was torn between lecturing his daughter for getting a bad grade and actually telling her it was ok, 'cos they were going through a rough patch. It was obvious she might get bad grades, all things considered.

- "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you"- it was all Spencer managed to whisper.

- "Don't say that, dad. I'm sorry I slacked off."

- "You know, you could ask (Y/N) for help,"- Spencer suggested, but Tori just rolled her eyes, annoyed- "She has a master in the subject..."

- "Dad, please don't force me to talk to her."

- "I'm just saying... you don't have to be her best friend, just ask for help when needed, especially when it comes to school. Besides, it's clear she isn't a bad person if she brought you here today."

- "She just wants to win me over."- Tori mumbled and crossed her arms on her chest. But she knew her dad was right in one thing: (Y/N) had done a pretty good thing taking her to see her dad and letting them spend time together on their own.

Victoria thought she was losing her mind after three months had passed and her father was still in jail. It didn't matter that (Y/N) took her every Saturday morning to visit, played her favorite music, and bought her all the pastries she loved. She needed to live with her father again and do all the small things they loved: making breakfast together, playing scrabble, taking long walks in the park, eating ice cream. Tori even missed her father's annoying habits. She missed his rambling and how he always had an answer for everything, even for the things she didn't want to talk about with him.

Spencer was an amazing father, no questions asked, and Victoria Reid knew she couldn't ask for a better dad than him. She just wanted him back.

But things weren't going to improve soon.

When the team found out Diana Reid had been kidnapped, (Y/N) had to take a minute and lock herself in the bathroom to cry her heart out. She felt bad things were never going to cease, and she didn't want to tell Victoria. The girl had already been through so much, adding the abduction of her grandmother wasn't fair. Tori was just twelve. She shouldn't be going through all that.

- "Victoria?"

Prentiss decided she was going to be the one to tell the girl what was going on, and (Y/N) offered herself to look for her. She was in Rossi's office, reading a book curled on his comfy couch. That poor kid almost lived at the BAU by then.

- "My homework is done."- she replied, not taking her eyes from the page she was reading.

- "That's good. And what are you reading?"- Tori sighed and showed her the cover- "Something Wicked this way comes," I love that book"- (Y/N) smiled and took a look around.

- "Figured my father forced you to read it."

- "Actually, I read it when I was ten, and it's one of my favorite books."- (Y/N) looked at Victoria, but the teenager kept pretending to read, ignoring her- "Emily needs to talk to you."

- "And why are you here? Why didn't aunt Emily come? Are you her secretary?"- there was something about Victoria's attitude that reminded (Y/N) of Reid.

- "I wanted to see you, see how you were doing, and take you to the conference room"- Tori sighed and stood up. She hoped Emily had good news about her father, 'cos she was honestly going insane.

But of course, Prentiss didn't have any good news.

- "I'm sorry, Tori, but... you are going to have to stay here tonight"- the girl frowned, confused, and looked at the whole team around her. Everybody looked like they hadn't slept in days. Which, by the way, was very accurate.

- "Why?"

- "'Cos we are going to have to..."- Emily paused and held her breath, staring at her niece's eyes.- "I'm sorry, Tori, but this is the truth: the woman who framed your father has kidnapped Diana, and I'm scared she might try to get you too. So until we catch her, the safest place to be is here, at the BAU. With us."

Tori gasped and covered her mouth with both hands as tears filled her eyes in a second.

- "Nana? Is she ok?"

- "We don't know yet, but we are working to bring her home safe as soon as possible"- JJ caressed Tori's arm and tried to hold her, but she pushed her away mad frowned.

- "You keep saying that, you keep telling me you are working to bring my family home safe, but so far, you haven't done anything!! I am still alone! Dad is in jail, and everybody knows he is innocent! And now nana is gone too!!"

- "Baby, we know it is hard, but..."- Emily wanted to explain to Victoria everything was more complex than they had expected, but the girl covered her ears and shook her head, yelling as she stormed out of the room

- "I don't wanna hear you!! I want my dad!!"

It was painful to hear those things, 'cos the team was doing the best they could for Reid and his family, but they could understand the frustration and, most of all, the fear that little girl felt.

- "I'll talk to her,"- (Y/N) said and turned to Emily- "You guys continue what you were doing. I'll try to calm her down."

- "Are you sure you wanna go?"- Emily asked and cut (Y/N) a short smile.

- "Yeah, for once, she is mad at all of us, not just me."

The young SSA walked to Garcias's office, where Tori was hidden underneath a desk, crying.

- "Hey."

- "Leave me alone."

- "I know I'm the last person you wanna be with right now, and I am sorry I can't do anything to make you feel better. I can only promise you this: we are doing all we can to bring your dad and your grandmother back home safe." - (Y/N) whispered as she walked slowly towards the girl, who sobbed, whipping off the tears from her eyes.

- "Just leave me alone. I want to be alone,"- Tori mumbled and wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing.

- "I'm not gonna leave you alone, Tori. You are not alone here with us."

- "I am alone!! I want my daddy!! I need my daddy!!"- the girl continued crying her eyes out, hidden underneath the desk. (Y/N) kneeled next to her and sat on the floor.

- "Come here"- it was a bold move, 'cos (Y/N) knew the girl was going to reject her, but she didn't care. She couldn't deal with her sadness, and it scared her to think how bad the child was feeling. So, (Y/N) opened her arms and moved the teen closer to her.

Surprisingly, the girl didn't reject her. Instead, she cried against the fabric of (Y/N) 's sweater and sobbed, shaking, as (Y/N) caressed her hair carefully.

- "I swear, we are not gonna rest until he is free and until Diana is home."

- "I want my family back,"- Victoria mumbled and sighed.

- "You'll get it. I swear, I'll do everything I can to bring them back to you."

That was the first time since (Y/N) started dating Spencer that Victoria let her close. In the middle of the mess they were all lost into, it felt like a little break of peace. Another small victory for the young woman.

(Y/N) didn't mind spending the whole night awake going through an endless pile of files if it meant there was a chance to bring Spencer back home. Tori stayed in Rossi's office, where she made something that looked pretty much like a fort on the couch, with blankets and pillows, to hide from the rest of the world.

It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, looking at the girl hidden there, trying to read, trying to draw, trying to do anything to take her mind from reality. Penelope brought her something to eat, but she rejected it, saying she wasn't hungry. Emily and JJ had tried to talk to her, but Tori kindly said she wanted to be alone. Even Morgan had called her and announced to her he was taking a plane from Chicago to help the team looking for Diana.

None of that cheered Victoria up.

- "I bought you this,"

Around ten, (Y/N) opened Rossi's door and walked in, holding a box of frosted chocolate donuts with sprinkles.

- "They always cheer your dad up, so I'm counting they will do the trick with you too"- the young woman tried to joke but found Victoria crying quietly insider her fort.

- "Please, just leave me alone,"- she whispered and hid her face with both her hands. (Y/N) didn't pay attention and sat with her inside the fort.

- "Not a chance."

- "I really don't wanna do this now, just leave me alone,"- the girl sighed, defeated, and continued crying.

- "Come here, I told you, you are not alone."

- "I am alone, (Y/N)! My dad is in jail, my grandma is kidnapped, and my mother left me 'cos she didn't love me!"

- "No, baby, don't say that"- (Y/N) wrapped her arms around Tori and kissed the top of her head.

- "I know my mom didn't want to have me, and maybe she was right... maybe I am cursed, and all this is my fault."

- "Victoria Marie Reid, you are talking senseless" (Y/N) held the girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.

- "You are an adorable young girl who deserves the best in the world. Why did this happen? I don't know, bad shit happens in life, and we must try to learn something from it. That's it. There's no reason or cause. Shit happens, baby, but we must raise stronger than before. You are an incredible young girl, and I know your dad is proud of you. I am proud of you, 'cos you've been so courageous and brave."

- "You are just saying that 'cos you are with my dad."

- "No. I would say that even if I hated your dad. You know why? 'Cos I am not lying, you are awesome, and I love you, get that into your head. And you are not alone, 'cos I am here, see?"- (Y/N) ran her thumb on Tori's cheek, whipping off a few of her tears- "I'm here even when you don't want me to be, so I don't know if you can tell, but you are doomed, you can't get rid of me now. I'm like a disease, but a good one... I don' know if there's a good disease. I'm sure your dad would have the answer for my random comment right now."

Both Victoria and (Y/N) chuckled at the same time, and the girl nodded.

- "He definitely would..."

- "He would also lecture me why I shouldn't give you sugar after dinner, but he is not here, and I am not telling him, so please don't tell him 'cos he is going to be mad at me... and at you."- (Y/N) handed Tori the box of donuts, and the girl smiled.

- "I won't tell him."

- "Great, we have our own little sugary secret. Eat all the donuts you want; I'm going to be with the team in the conference room. Emily has a meeting early morning with the judge."- (Y/N) kissed the top of Vitoria's head and stood up.

- "If you need anything, I'm across the hall."- the SSA said, and the girl nodded, chewing a donut.

- "Thank you, (Y/N)"

By the next day, the miracle had happened. Victoria couldn't stop crying when (Y/N) announced she was taking Spencer back home. Tori stood in front of his father's girlfriend and felt how the tears filled her eyes in less than a minute. Happy tears, for once.

(Y/N) smiled at her, glad to know the young girl was going to have her life back. It surprised her when Tori hugged her, wrapping her arms around her tight. (Y/N) stayed still for an instant, trying to understand what was happening. She hugged Victoria and kissed the top of her head. The child was crying, and suddenly, so was she. The nightmare was over. At least a part of it. They still needed to find Diana. But the fact they were going to have Reid back was already giving everybody the peace of mind they needed to finish the task.

(Y/N) held Spencer's hand tight all the way from the prison to the BAU. He kept his eyes locked on their hands, fingers tangled together. He couldn't believe it was actually happening. He couldn't believe he was a free man.

- "How's Tori?"- he whispered and turned to his girlfriend. Penelope and Luke were in the car with them, but somehow, Spencer could only register the presence of his girlfriend. Not because he didn't care about his friends, but because he could only take just a small amount of information at the time. It was all too much for him at that moment.

- "Good. She has been incredibly strong."

- "Did you tell her about mom?"- Spencer was afraid to ask but needed to know what was going on with his daughter. (Y/N) nodded and sighed.

- "We decided it was better if she knew what was happening, we had to keep her at the BAU, and she was going to get suspicious she couldn't go to Penelope's... sorry."

- "Don't be. You did what was best for her."- Spencer turned to his girlfriend and smiled at her for a second. It was a short, sweet smile. Almost shy. But it was enough to warm her heart and wake the butterflies in her stomach. She was so in love with Spencer Reid, everything he did fluster her.

Victoria thought her heart was about to burst as he waited for her father to arrive. Spencer looked at (Y/N) one last time, and she squeezed his hand kindly, smiling when the elevator door opened, and all he heard was:

- "Daddy!!"- Tori yelled and ran to hug Spencer as soon as she saw him. He couldn't even step out of the elevator when his daughter nearly tackled him, wrapping her arms around him tight.

- "My baby!"- he whispered and spun her in the air a few times- "Are you ok?"- he held her face with both hands and took a good look at her. She was crying but smiling as she nodded.

- "I'm so happy to see you, dad."

- "I missed you so, so much"- Spencer kissed the top of her head and sighed. (Y/N) smiled, and whipped off the tears from her eyes as she stared at the scene. Garcia and Luke stood next to her, enjoying a brief moment of happiness and peace.

- "Me more,"- Victoria whispered and hugged Spencer again- "I swear I'm never going to fight with you again."

- "I'm taking a mental note of that,"- he answered and felt her body shaking as she giggled. Spencer hadn't heard his daughter laugh, giggle, or even watched her smile in the three months he had spent away from her. And that sound was sweet and warm, like a balm to his soul.

- "I'm sorry, Spencer... but, we have to..."- Emily interrupted the moment and smiled at her friend. They all knew they still had to do one more thing before celebrating. They had to take Diana Reid back home safe and sound. Victoria let her father go and smiled at him.

- "I love you, dad."

- "I love you too, princess."

And as the team walked to the conference room to brief Spencer about the case and update him with the latest information, (Y/N) felt someone hold her hand.

- "Thank you,"- Victoria whispered and cut her a smile that warmed her heart.

- "Come here,"- she answered and turned around to wrap her arms around her for a second. Spencer looked at them, and for once, he didn't know what to say. Victoria and (Y/N) just stood in the middle of the hall, hugged for a few minutes, and Reid couldn't believe it. It was so heartwarming and emotional; he really didn't know how to react.

- "Come on, dad!! You are going to miss the movie!"- Victoria yelled and set the popcorn on the coffee table.

- "You can pause it!"- Spencer yelled from his desk, where he was finishing writing a letter for his mother.

- "Or you can hurry!"- Tori answered and sat on the couch.

- "Here's your tea, your highness"- (Y/N) walked to the girl holding a tray filled with cups and more snacks- "Come on, honey! We are not waiting for you!"

Three months after prison and life had never been so good for Spencer, Victoria, and (Y/N).

- "I had never seen you so eager to watch a Marvel movie, since when are you two fans of Thor?"- Spencer walked to the living room, hearing his girlfriend and daughter laugh.

- "Always, huge fan."- (Y/N) smiled and tapped on the couch. Reid sat between his two women and sighed.

- "I can smell the sarcasm in the air."

- "No, honey. We love Thor, right Tori?"

- "Yes! Big fans, huge, the biggest fans"- Spencer looked at his daughter and raised an eyebrow.

- "Ok, I'll buy it. Let's watch the movie."

(Y/N) and Tori giggled at the very same moments like they were sharing a secret joke Spencer couldn't understand, but he didn't really matter. He was happy, his heart was content, and there was nothing more perfect that minute, 'cos his family was all on the same couch, watching a movie, enjoying an afternoon together. Like he had always dreamt of.

----

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