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nonbinaryeggrolls · 2 years

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Nephophilia pt. 1

Pt. 1, Pt. 2

Aizawa x POC! Reader

Synopsis: You're a 20 year old sophomore university student from NYU. All your life you've wanted to be a hero , but a law in the US has banned the use of mind control quirks in the hero field and labeled them as too dangerous and "violate the concept of free will". To pursue your dreams as a hero you move to Japan and enroll in an international mentor ship program to get your overseas hero license. On your first day you meet your mentor, Shota Aizawa: he's aloof, rude, and irrational, but what starts of as a clash between two polar opposite personalities turns into a romantic relationship that you didn't expect.

Quirk: Servant Hero name (Maestro) Y/N has a second voice with a hallucinogenic rhythm, when ever you speak to someone while using your quirk they instantly fall under your control for 15 minutes or until you say "stop". The only problem is you can only give them one word commands (Example: retreat, sit, freeze, jump, cry etc.) On ONE occasion you can give a person a multiple word command. If you tell them "obey" they will follow anything you say for the full 15 minutes or until you say "stop". But you avoid saying "obey" whenever you can because it can become too dangerous if the directions are not specific enough.

Warnings: Smut, bullying, strong language, attempts at sexual coercion and other forms of manipulation, racism, descriptions of violence and blood

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

“I'm not inadequate. I can be a hero. I do NOT have a villains quirk. I'm just as capable as the other students."

"I'm not inadequate. I can be a hero. I do NOT have a villains quirk. I'm just as capable as the other students."

You repeated the mantra back to yourself over and over again like a bible verse. If you repeated it enough you'd believe it right? There you stood outside principal Nezus office awaiting a meeting to discuss your mentor ship at UA. You had applied relentlessly day and night for the past 2 months hoping your application for the international hero training program would be approved. When the acception letter came in the mail you nearly jumped out of your skin, but deep down we're you ready to meet their expectations? It made you sick to your stomach with uncertainty, was this the day? We're you finally getting everything you ever wanted or are you just going to mess it all up? Will they think you're villainous and toss you to the side like the US teachers? You smoothed out your wrinkled skirt with your hands before knocking on his office door

Knock Knock

Nezu: “Come in!”

Y/N: "Hi...are you principal Nezu?"

Nezu: "Yes, you must be the University student from America Ive been eager to meet you! Please, have a seat...thirsty?" He asked, walking over to the corner of his office and getting out an ice tea for himself

Y/N: "Yes, I'll take coffee please, black." You plopped down in his squeaky leather lounge chair across from his desk

Nezu: "Miss L/N your a little young to be drinking coffee dont you think?"

Y/N: "With the amount of homework I have coffee has become a regular part of my diet." You giggled as he handed you a cup of black coffee. Involuntarily your leg started shaking with nervousness. While he sat across from you examining your file you examined his features. Is he a bear or a mouse? He sifted through the Manila folder throwing out an occasional "hm" and "interesting" it made your muscles tense.

Nezu: "Your academic history is outstanding Ms. L/N: all straight A's through high school, perfect attendance, and charity work! With a record like this I'm amazed that your not in the top hero school in America...why is that again?"

The amount of tears you wanted to shed as he spoke about your academic history, it was always difficult to hear how hard you worked and how it was basically for nothing. No matter what you did, back home you’d never be enough.

Y/N: "Um…well, unfortunately sir in the United States quirks that manipulate a persons free will and free thinking are outlawed from ever being in the hero commission. They're considered inhumane in the eyes of our government."

Nezu: “I see…and I presume you’re overall goal is to change that stereotype? You want to use these abilities for good, correct?”

The air filled with your light sniffles, you couldn't hold back the emotions anymore as small teardrops fell from the corner of your eyes.

Y/N: "I just want to prove I'm not a villain, I can show that I’m kind and helpful if people just gave me a chance. I don't want people to be afraid of me anymore..." you said between sniffles, you were so embarrassed that you actually let yourself cry in front of him it was definitely not courageous or hero like.

A fuzzy feeling hit against your arm, you opened your eyes and next to you was Nezu holding out a box of tissues for you to which you gladly accepted.

Nezu: "I know it must be hard for you Ms. L/N, psychologically manipulative quirks are never easy to have. You're labeled a villain from the very beginning. Where others have to work to be heroes, you have to prove you even deserve a chance. It's far from fair and I want to help fix it..."

His loving words filled your heart with warmth and hope, no one except your parents had ever spoken so confidently about your quirk before

Nezu: "Starting now you're an apprentice at UA" he said while hopping back into his chair behind his desk, "you'll gain a full year of experience from one of our esteemed teachers and at the end of the year you will take the written and physical hero-licensing exam."

CRASH

Nezu: "Oh goodness-

You were so stunned by what you just heard that you didn't realized you dropped your entire cup of coffee onto the floor.

Y/N: "SHIT!— I-I MEAN SHOOT! I'm so sorry principal Nezu! I'll clean this up right away!" You scrambled to find a dry cloth or paper towels. In a frantic hurry you took off your jacket and used it to sop up the coffee

Nezu: "Y/N that's really not necessary dear mistakes happen!"

Y/N: "I just...a-are you sure you're not making a mistake? I've wanted to be a hero for so long, but maybe there's a reason I wasn't one in the first place." Your head hung in doubt as you continue to wipe up the coffee with your now damp and soggy jacket

Nezu: "My only mistake was not acknowledging your talent sooner, and for that I apologize. I want you in this program Y/N. I want you to become a hero..."

You beamed with happinesses, it was finally happening. You didn't have to prove to anyone you weren't a villain anymore, learning at the top hero school in Japan would prove that you were just as good a hero as anyone else. You jumped to your feet and did your best not to let the joyful tears fall out.

Y/N: "I won't let you down Principal Nezu! I'm going to do my best!" You we're about to turn and walk out before he stopped you

Nezu: "W-wait Mrs. L/N there's one more thing, we need to discuss the teacher you'll be assigned to and your living arrangements for this year. He should be here any minute to discuss these things with us-"

A knock on the door interrupted you both

"You wanted to see me Principal Nezu?"

Nezu: "Yes, you're here just in time" he turns back to you as the tall dark haired gentleman walks over to the desk and stands beside you

Nezu: "Y/N this will be your mentor...

...Shota Aizawa"

You didn't like mentoring with Aizawa. As a matter of fact, you HATED mentoring with Aizawa. All summer long you've been getting him coffee and watching him fall asleep at his desk, the most hero action you got is when you broke up a fight between a few summer school kids that he was too lazy to handle. You were nothing but a glorified secretary at this point. It didn't feel like you were learning, it felt like you were working, and frankly you were sick of it. Luckily the new school year was beginning and the new arrival of Class 1A kids was finally going to be your chance to make a real contribution. Nezu granted you academic leave from NYU for the year so you could spend the days in class 1A shadowing Aizawa, to make up for it you did your classes online at home. It was harder but it was worth it if it meant you had a chance at obtaining your hero license.

Your alarm went off bright and early at 8:00 am. After washing yourself and filling up on blueberry pancakes, you threw on a black pleated skirt, black thigh high socks, and a knitted maroon sweater to match. You grabbed your black vans and quickly put them on as you looked around for your book bag. Once found, you grabbed your keys and headed out in the direction of the school.

Ding!

1 New Message from snowball❄️👻🥰

Good luck babe, do your best today!😆💕

You smiled at the words of encouragement from your boyfriend. You replied quickly:

I will! I'll make you proud Nat! 🥺

With that you put your phone in your pocket and made your way to Class 1A with 2 black coffees in hand for you and the caterpillar man

Y/N: "This is it Y/N. New year, new beginnings. Just do your best even if you don't like it and you'll have a hero license in no time..."

Knock Knock

Y/N: "Good Morning Mr. Aizawa! I brought you your coffee!" You said putting on your best fake smile to hide the fact that you wanted to chuck it at his face. He sat at his desk reading through the files of his incoming students.

He nodded and took the coffee cup from my hands. That's all he ever did, no "thank you" or "good work" just silent nods and coffee slurping to fill the empty air. If this was his way of teaching humility then he needs a knew method. But you pushed those thoughts to the side and did your best to be as friendly and welcoming as possible to the man that held your future in his hands.

Y/N: "So how’s your day been so far?" you inquired with a small smile

Aizawa: "Fine."

Y/N: "Mines been okay, I think i'm gonna go to the aquarium with my friends on Friday or maybe an art museum but I’m not too sure yet. What about you? Any plans for this weekend?"

Aizawa: "No."

He answered your questions with no eye contact or interest whatsoever. "Does he have no manners?" you thought to yourself. In an annoyed manner you slouched back in your seat to fiddle with the lid of your coffee cup and return back to the uncomfortable silence that always lingered around the two of you.

Thankfully class started, and soon the room was filled with fresh new faces. They were all so adorable, their excitement reminded you of your first year at high school. Gosh that was years ago it makes you feel like an old lady.

Aizawa: "I'm Shouta Aizawa, your home room teacher. And this..." he motioned for you to stand up, "Is my apprentice, Y/N L/N, she's an American International student and she'll be helping alongside me for the year."

Y/N: "Hello..." You waved slightly. You felt like a deer in headlights standing in front of them all, it's been a while since you've had to do introductions. The room starting filling with small whispers which you couldn't help but interpret as judging.

Y/N: "I look forward to helping you all become better heroes!" You said giving off your most confident smile to hide the fact that you wanted to shit your pants with fear

"What's your quirk?!" a cheery red headed boy asked with a more excitement than you could handle. After that, the questions and statements came flooding in...

"Are you a student too?"

"She can't be a student she's not wearing a uniform!"

"So you're like our second teacher?"

"BAKUGO PLEASE REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM THE DESK!"

"What's it like in America?"

"Wait is she our age? I need to know if I can hit on her or not?"

"Is he going to quiet them down? Should I?" you thought to yourself as the class continued to get louder and louder. You peered over at Aizawa and froze, to your surprise he was staring back at you already with the same emotionless expression he always had as if he was waiting for you to take action. His cold gaze could make anyone's heart stop but you knew what he was getting at, he wanted to you to be assertive. You cleared your throat and prepared yourself to talk to them all

Y/N: " q u i e t "

The roomed instantly fell silent as all they're eyes began to turn jet black

Aizawa: "That took too long for you to take action, a hero knows when to jump in and handle a situation." He spoke down to you like a child

You bit your lip in annoyance

Y/N: "With all do respect sir, they're kids not serial killers or bank robbers. I don't think it's that serious." You turn to him with your arms crossed

Aizawa: "Are you questioning me?" He crossed his arms and walked closer to you, his eyes turned red and his hair levitated, your bodies were inches apart as he now stood towering over your smaller frame. His eyes poured into yours with unmatchable intensity. You hated how easily he was able to tear your confidence down.

Y/N: "N-no sir." You hung your head in defeat yet again

Aizawa: "Good. Tell them all to get in their uniforms and get to the field now." He walked past you and made his way to the outside, leaving you alone in front of a bunch of brain dead zombies. Luckily they could only hear you and no one else while under control of your quirk so that means none of them heard the full embarrassing ridicule you just endured.

Y/N: " o b e y " they all sat up straight, black eyes pointed at you, "all of you go to your assigned lockers: Boys head to the boys locker room and girls head to the girls locker room. Put on your gym uniforms then meet out on the field with Aizawa and I."

All: " y e s m a s t e r " they all stood up from their seats and marched out of the room to the locker rooms. You shivered a little when they spoke those words, this was the part of your quirk you hated the most it made you feel manipulative and evil. It made you feel like a villain...

"What? How'd we get out here?"

"How'd we get in our uniforms?"

"I AM EXTREMELY CONFUSED!"

Y/N: “No need to panic, I used my quirk on you guys to get you out here in an orderly fashion. Motherfuckin Hero Style!” you said, letting a bit of your immaturity accidentally seep through. Thankfully the kids seemed to enjoy your unashamed liveliness”

“This chicks pretty cool, I already like her more than the gloomy guy—

Aizawa: “Something to say Ashido?”

Mina: “N-Nothing Mr. Aizawa sir!” She blurted, nearly jumping out of her bubblegum skin

Aizawa: "Quiet down now all of you..." You made sure to take thorough notes as he performed a quirk assessment test with all the students. You made sure to take down all their quirks and visible weaknesses and strengths as well as Aizawa's teaching strategies. He was a bit to stern for your liking, definitely needed a refresher course on how to deal with teenagers, but I guess callousness is what you need to make a strong hero, right?

Holy shit these kids had impressive quirks, one could control gravity, one shot lasers out of his stomach, one could even harden his entire body. They were definitely a lot more intense than the the kids you were used to back home—

Aizawa: "L/N you're up." He said tossing a baseball to you, which you were barely able to catch without dropping your notebook.

Y/N: "But Mr. Aizawa I'm not—

Aizawa: "You're a part of this class then you're a part of this assessment. Step up to the circle."

You could feel your head spinning, feeling dozens of eyes on you as you made your way up to the white circle. It'd take a miracle for you to throw it nearly as far as the others. Carefully you scanned the crowd of kids until you landed on the spiky haired boy with the explosion quirk.

Y/N: "Just a second", you said to Aizawa as you jogged over to the boy, "Hi can I borrow your body for a second?"

Bakugo: "What the hell kinda question is that?! No, fuck off—

Y/N: "Thanks!" Ignoring his crude comments, you grabbed his wrist making his cheeks blush light pink. You dragged him over to the white circle and handed him the baseball. Aizawa brow arched in confusion wondering what you were planning.

Y/N: " t h r o w " you commanded the young boy, his eyes turned jet black and he immediately used his quirk to throw the ball with all his might. You could feel the heat radiating off of his hands as you watched the ball travel out of sight. It made you so proud inside, even if you didn't throw it yourself, you still put your quirk to good use. After releasing Bakugo from your quirk he returned to the other kids in a low huff.

Aizawa: "Again." he demanded

Y/N: "What?"

Bakugo: "NO WAY IM DOING THAT AGAIN THROW THE BALL YOUR DAMN SELF!"

Aizawa: "No you'll be doing this by yourself", he tossed you another baseball

Why was he doing this? Is he purposely trying to embarrass you? He knows you can't throw it far without assistance so why is he making you do this to yourself?

Y/N: "But you know I can't—

Aizawa: "We're waiting."

Now panting, you took the baseball in your hand, unknowingly squeezing it so hard that your knuckles turned white. The pain in your knuckles compensated for the tears you so desperately wanted to release. No. You weren't going to cry. You were NOT going to cry. You wound up your arm and threw it with everything you had in you, even if it wasn't very much. But it was no use, the ball landed at a measly 12 meters. The small snickers of a few students filled your ears. Was it possible for a heart to sink and shatter at the same time?

Aizawa: "Alright that's enough for today. Let's all head inside."

All together you heard their shoes scuff while walked back into the building, leaving you and Aizawa alone. You couldn't even turn your back to face him, all you did was stare at the baseball on the ground with your body shaking in a mix of anger, humiliation, and sadness. The fabric of your skirt clenched between your balled fists. Who knew all those years of building up your self esteem, pep talking yourself in the mirror, telling yourself you were good enough—could all be disproven in a matter of minutes. A shaky sob slowly left your lips.

Aizawa: "Come inside L/N. It's just an assessme—

Y/N: "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A DICK ALL THE TIME?!" You turned to him with puffy and red eyes, your light crying turned into heavy sobs as you came undone right in front of him. He stood still, stunned by your sudden outburst and crocodile tears.

Aizawa: "Dont be so dramatic is this how your going to act as a pro h—

Y/N: "YOU KNEW I COULDN'T THROW IT FAR ON MY OWN BUT YOU STILL WENT OUT OF YOUR WAY TO HUMILIATE ME. GOD YOURE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!"

Aizawa: "L/N!" He yelled trying to keep you from running off but before he knew it you were fleeing in tears, around the corner of the building and then out of sight. He sighs in frustration, partially at you but mainly at himself. With his head back, his eyes now looking up at the scattered cloud pattern

Aizawa: "Nice going Shota, you're a real ladies man"

You locked yourself in the bathroom stall and cried until your sides hurt. Hours went by one by one, you didn't care that you were missing out on Aizawa's teaching you were determined to stay in there until you met up with Natsuo at the end of the day when he came to pick you up. You'd stay in there for days, weeks, months if you needed to, if it meant you never had to see Aizawa's face again...

All characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi. Story belongs to @nonbinaryeggrolls do not steal

#shoto aizawa #mha #aizawa x reader #aizawa x y/n #aizawa angst #aizawa smut #mha smut #bakugo katuski #hawks fluff #my hero academia hawks #shoto torodoki #midoriya izuku #aizawa x poc!reader

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fortunatelylori · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on Otis Molyneux

I hesitated somewhat before making this post because the fandom seems to have settled on Otis being “a good man who made one terrible mistake” and who am I to rain on anyone’s parade?

Inner goddess: A very opinionated woman … that’s who … No one keeps baby down!

Well … since you put it that way …

My very first meta on Sanditon revolved around the idea that this show is Andrew Davies’ homage to Austen’s entire body of work. And since I discovered a very interesting link between Otis and one of the more misinterpreted Austen characters, I couldn’t resist. Particularly since every time I read a remark on Otis, I end up going:

He is a most fortunate man! Everything turns out for his own good! He meets a young woman at a watering place, gains her affections, she consents to an engagement! He treats her abominably, she bares it like a saint! His aunt is in the way, his aunt dies! He has used everybody ill and they are all delighted to forgive him! He is a most fortunate man indeed!

Emma is perhaps Jane Austen’s most transgressive novel and, while it is not my favorite (that’s Persuasion in case anyone was wandering), I think it’s the clearest indication of her genius. In Emma, Austen not only spoofs herself, as the old maid Miss Bates, but also pulls off a master stroke in concealing her villain, Frank Churchill, not only from the characters but also from the audience.

Austen villains are usually charming, fun and attractive, most of the time far more so than the hero that will eventually win the heroine’s heart. What Austen does with the likes of Wickham and Willoughby is show that superficial charm and a pretty face are poor substitutes for substance, integrity and a value system.

In order to drive that point home, her villains usually suffer a fall from grace: Wickham gets exiled to Newcastle (the degradation!) and is stuck with Lydia for the rest of his life; Willoughby gets ousted by his aunt, told off by Eleanor and publically canceled by Mrs. Jenkins.

Whatever it may be, all of her villains suffer some consequences (even if it’s just not getting the girl as is the case for William Elliot in Persuasion). All except one: Frank Churchill. As Mr. Knightley’s frustrated speech above shows, Frank is so fortunate that by the end of Emma, he gets everything he’s ever wanted and everyone continues to love and cherish him as if nothing had happened (with the exception of Emma and Knightley).

And because the characters move on from his betrayal so quickly you can barely get a glimpse into their POVs, so does the audience. By the end of the book, most of the readers are as pleased with Frank as the people of Highbury.

I can just imagine Jane Austen cackling with joy at our silliness.

Just because there are no consequences for Frank and because all ends well despite his efforts to the contrary, it doesn’t follow that he should be absolved of responsibility. For all his professed love for Jane, Frank involves her in an imaginary extramarital affair, flirts with Emma in front of her and ultimately humiliates her at the picnic. For all his friendliness and affability, he is less than generous to his father, uses Emma for his own motives and is secretly chopping at the bit to see his aunt, the woman who raised him, dead so he can inherit her fortune. Despite what his endgame would suggest, Frank Churchill is an immature, selfish man who is used to getting his own way with little thought or care about how that might hurt other people.

Which brings us to Otis “I fell in love with your soul” Molyneux.

But, but … I hear you say … Fortunatelylori, he did suffer consequences. He lost Georgiana!

To which I say don’t bring out the pity parade just yet. Because in losing Georgiana, Otis’ actions are reduced to an unfortunate youthful indiscretion by the characters (Georgiana and Charlotte) as well as by the people watching. Because he shed some resigned tears and spoke prettily about how much he loved Georgiana’s soul, everyone is “delighted to forgive him”.

But just as with Frank, is his love for Georgiana enough to absolve him of his wrongdoings? Should we cheer for their potential reunion or think she deserves better, the way Mr. Knightley thinks about Jane? And while we’re on the subject, what are Otis’ crimes? He clearly never meant to cause Georgiana’s kidnapping so what’s the big deal?

What gets lost in Charlotte’s “you are insensible of feeling” rebuke of Sidney is that Otis isn’t a victim of circumstances nor is him honestly being in love with Georgiana a get out of jail free card. Otis is a gambling addict who has amassed debts so vast that the man who is trying to collect them resorts to kidnapping a teenager to get his money back. And that’s just one guy he owes money to.

Does he love Georgiana? Yes, in his own way he loves her just about as much as he loves losing money at cards. What do you think would have happened if they married? Because me thinks Otis would run through that 100.000 real quick while simultaneously loving the hell out of Georgiana’s soul.

Which brings me to Otis’s less than agreeable character traits: lying and manipulation. He lies to Georgiana from the first moment he meets her. Worst yet, he takes advantage of her vulnerability and he encourages her to rely solely on him for emotional support:

Georgiana: I was uprooted. Lost. In despair. Otis restored me to life. Those 3 months were the happiest I’ve known.

That sounds great and all but what happens after he’s gone from her life is that Georgiana feels like she suddenly has no one and nothing. Because her entire sense of self was tied to Otis.

He also allows Georgiana to believe that her guardian is a racist monster who is keeping them apart because of the color of his skin when he knows full well that’s not the case and also that Georgiana needs to have a good relationship with Sidney for the foreseeable future at least.

In order to keep up the charade, he takes active part in poisoning Charlotte against Sidney and very much enjoys playing the wronged party in this whole scenario:

Otis: But then your friend, Mr. Parker, took it upon himself to rip us apart.

Charlotte: However painful that might have been, Mr. Parker must surely have had Georgiana’s best interest at heart.

Otis: Then you clearly don’t know Mr. Parker as well as you think.

Lying is so ingrained in Otis’ modus operandi that he can’t help himself from doing it even when there’s not even the slightest chance that he can get away with it:

Beecroft: Oh, yes! The famous Miss Lambe! Mr. Molyneux speaks of little else. Miss Lambe this, Miss Lambe that.

Otis: That is a lie! If I mentioned her it was only in passing …

Beecroft: I’m not the liar here. You told me a wedding was imminent. That her fortune was as good as yours. I never would have let him run such a debt otherwise.

Otis: All I wanted was to buy a little time … If I had known even for one moment …

What was that about Sidney not having good reason to keep you away from Georgiana, Otis?!?

Also look at him running the eluding responsibility obstacle course like a pro:

Otis: He’s sold her! The villain has sold her!

Charlotte: What?

Sidney: In return for a promise to buy his debt, she’s been handed to some dissolute named Howard. Even now he’ll be dragging her to an altar.

Charlotte: An altar? But that cannot be allowed without your permission.

Sidney: No. They have no such laws across the border. There they will marry you with impunity.

Otis: Had you only allowed us to marry!

Otis has gambled himself silly, bragged about Georgiana’s money to the worst possible people, disappeared from public view (he hasn’t picked up his mail in weeks because he’s in hiding from the debt collectors) and his reaction is to put all the blame on Sidney. That is not the behavior of a well-balanced adult. This is the behavior of a gambler who thinks he can talk his way out of anything because he has “game”.

This brings us to his last scene with Georgiana when everything comes into focus. If you really think about it, there is not a single moment during their relationship where Otis isn’t lying to her, including the romantic separation that hit everyone in the feels:

Otis: I’ve gambled. That is true. But whatever they tell you, I never gambled with your name.

Notice how the first thing out of his mouth is manipulative. “Whatever they tell you” i.e. turst no one but me. I’m the only one who is telling the truth so listen to me as I lie my ass off right now.

Otis: I never boasted of your wealth. I boasted of you.

Two lines in and he’s already lied twice. You can actually do a play by play of what he says here and what he says in the Beecroft scene.

And then comes the coup de grace!

Otis: It was pride. That is all! And Lord knows, I have paid for it!

As consequence of his gambling, hiding from his creditors and running his mouth about Georgiana’s fortune, the woman he loves was kidnapped, Charlotte almost got raped and Sidney is however many thousands of pounds lighter for paying off his debts. So bring out the waterworks for Otis, guys! Let’s not forget who the real victim in all of this is!

Alexa, play Despacito.

Otis lies so much he has ended up internalizing his lies to such an extent that he has turned himself into a victim. His narrative is ultimately rejected by Georgiana, leaving him pained but that shouldn’t fool you into thinking he’s a good guy. Neither he nor Frank are moustache twirling villains but their flaws and the way they allow those flaws to affect the people they supposedly love speaks volumes about their character.

Maybe, eventually, they both grow up. Maybe Frank becomes more selfless and starts treating others with respect. Maybe Otis never gambles again and becomes the responsible civil rights leader he wants others to see him as.

But as things stand at the end of their story line, I, for one, am not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s sadly too late for Jane to pick herself another husband. But I haven’t given up hope that Georgiana will shake Otis off like a spot of English rain.

#sanditon #sanditon 2019 #my meta #otis molyneux #georgiana x otis

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neshabeingchildish · 5 years

Link

Madame President.

“On today’s special episode of Pipe Up! I would like to introduce Psychiatrist to the Supers…” Charlotte turned the TV down. It was recording, anyway. Piper double majored in psychology and sociology in college, worked as a professional counselor in her office, which was what used to be Junk N’ Stuff, became one of those internet professionals who had a thriving career and an online presence/following for it, not to mention all of her old following when she was a public figure… So it was only natural that her dreams of becoming a television lifecoach came true. She had done multiple talk shows as a guest, documentaries, reality projects for clients that she had who were famous, and for the past several years, after helping Charlotte to found SupesSpace (the mental health network for supers and heroes), she had her own show Pipe Up! Pipe Up was about helping and healing the heroes that kept our world safe, but also highlighted the professionals who guided them through those processes.

It was partially mental health information, from professionals, testimonials from those who had been going through things (often heroes that had been nonconsensually unmasked, or had been forced into the life early - Piper and Charlotte’s soft spots), partially tips for those in need from the very people who did this kind of work, partially backstories of those people, because a lot of times, those not in the field considered them necessary, but rarely knew anything about them or took the time to ask them how they were. Sometimes, Piper’s clients wanted to share their story on the show and it would be special segments.

Today’s guest was the leading supers psychiatrist. Charlotte definitely wanted to see it, but had so much to do today. She was turning over her power to Max Thunderman, of all people. She had no idea that the super community would ever forgive him enough to entrust him with this position, but here they were - he was getting ready to “retire to” President of the Hero League, and she was getting ready to campaign for President of the United States.

There were a lot of people who didn’t like the thought of a super in the White House. Charlotte was tired of the gymnastics that once went into making people comfortable with having her in spaces that “weren’t meant” for her. While, some part of her worried that the Oval office was much too powerful and had too many possible setbacks for her to ever be able to redirect the country in much needed ways (even some of the historically “best” presidents had a tough time of making a dent in the state of things), she still held out hope that she could possibly make some kind of positive difference in an oppressive nation in a world built upon the oppression of others.

Whenever she and Simone gathered to bring or pick up their children from playdates, she would always tell her, “You know that they’re going to suck your soul out in that position, right? It’s the reason that the Hero League acts in the best interest in humanity first and has sovereignty over supers. This country is a wasteland with a gated community of a certain percentile and that office is to keep the waste where it belongs and to go wherever it takes to obtain more for that gated community. Every U.S. President is a puppet and a clown…” Or some variation of it.

Charlotte would toss a shady joke in her direction such as, “Every since you got those goddess locs, you’ve been on your bullshit again.” SImone would just smile and shake her head. Those locs looked great on her. Charlotte thought about them, but it was going to be difficult enough to run for a major office in this country with her natural hair, much less that style, as majestic as it looked. And Simone’s skin was shining every since she shed all the green genes. Max was always posting “My Four Girls,” her, in the middle of the twins and their youngest daughter Meaux (Pronounced “Mo”), now what 8 years old, maybe? They had twin boys in between her and the baby girl (Simon and Maximus Jr), maybe a year younger than Charlie - but Charlotte wasn’t keeping up with ages anymore, just how quickly everyone seemed to surpass her height! Charlie was the only kid of all their bunches that seemed like she probably wasn’t going to be taller or as tall (short) as Charlotte.

Max, with his salt and pepper long hair and beard looked more like a supervillain than president of the Hero League, but insisted that was part of his “mystique.” He was the poster boy for reformation. He was what any villain could look to whenever they tired of their evil ways and for that, people felt somehow safer with him. He was always scrutinized for his past, therefore, they felt like he must’ve been really reformed, to not have had any incidents in nearly 20 years. With this position, Max had goals, but the greatest of them was to “Ride it out here until I die.”

Meanwhile, Simone had not been involved in politics in a long time. Instead, she opened a center for supers who just want to be able to have normal lives. There were all grades of school and there was housing for those beyond school age. It was basically a supers community where nobody was expected to be the hero. She helped people to start businesses - everything from frozen yogurt shops to boutiques. She studied dance and opened her own dance studio in that community. But, The Center of Hope for Heroes (With the general prohibition sign covering the word Heroes) was in the center of the community and was the heart of it. It wasn’t too far from the Mimi Memorial, so Ray settled in the community with Katelyn, and buried her in tree form at Mimi’s grave. It took him a while to allow himself to care for another dog, but he’d frequently go to the dog shop to try to convince himself to do so. He was just tired of losing others and knowing that this was his fate as an indestructible man. He would last longer than most of the people he cared about. It was depressing, but the lady who owned the pet shop made it a little more bearable.

She would introduce him to different dogs, but also gave him the information of a licensed supers counselor who worked with heroes who have lost partners. “A lot of people think that because they weren’t in the field with you that meant that they aren’t your partner, but you came home to her everyday and you took care of her, the two of you took care of each other, for many years. She counts as a partner and a friend and her loss is no less important than if you had lost a child or a romantic partner.” He had lost one of those and the potential other. He never really thought about talking to a counselor about it, beyond Piper, though. After he did, he went to check on another dog, and to check on the pet shop owner. She was single… and interested. He couldn’t stop smiling about the possibilities. Mimi would’ve wanted him to move on years ago, but his heart wasn’t ready. He and Katelyn simply coped until he had to face it - not everyone made it, and that was okay. He didn’t have to bury himself with those who left before he did, and they wouldn’t want him to...

Jasper was going to go ahead and call in his surrogate again. That was cool. If it was gonna be a girl, he wanted her to be called Bushida, which Charlotte told him she didn’t think that was a name and also that the word that he was probably looking for might not be appropriate for his daughter. If it was another boy, he wanted to call him Bucket. “Do you simply hate your children, or…?” He waved a hand at her. He didn’t care about the haters. Bushida or Bucket were gonna be well loved and have at least one dad that made them laugh ALL of the time. Mitch might be an overgrown child, but children loved that about him.

Charlotte had so much money that before she even made her donations to charity, she honestly just made sure that her loved ones had everything that they could need. That meant all friends from the Man Cave, and now the Lady Lair - Piper’s family, their parents, even Jasper’s folks, the Thundermans, the Bilsky’s, The Center of Hope for, the Academy, despite Hamilton’s removal, Evelyn was still an important part of her life, and she believed in the school… She still had much to give away for her charity interests, technological advances, and other cares, causes and concerns. And, she would have enough to run a successful presidential campaign, hopefully while keeping her morals in tact.

Running a country with such a system in place and all of the insistence to continue it for all of the purposes that there were to continue it… She knew that wouldn’t be easy, if she even made it to that point. She did still have a husband and children and thought maybe, just maybe… She should actually take a BREAK, for once.

Charlotte looked at herself in the mirror. She looked… similar to how she remembered. She looked at this version of herself a lot less than she had when she was younger. A lot of times, she had her hair and makeup done by someone else. A lot of times, she ate while she got dressed, or conferenced in on of of Hank’s corporate calls while she brushed her teeth on mute, or looked over assignments to dispatch heroes to while she did her skincare routine at her desk. This woman in the mirror - she was some person who had been much too busy to remember to pause every now and then. Even both of the times that she was on maternity leave, she always had a lot of “not on your feet” work to do and taking on a huge role at this moment would mean that she wouldn’t be able to get that break any time soon. It’d likely be about 2 years of campaigning, and then 4 years in office. She would probably look in the mirror in six years and the patch of gray that had grown across the front of her head would be a head full of gray and maybe there would be more worry creases and wrinkle lines.

Charlie helped her put her hair up and they had a mother daughter spa day, which was usually Charlotte trying to relax while a very excited Charlie, with very expensive product on her flopped around and attempted to tell her 50-11 stories. At the end of it, Charlotte never felt reasted, at all… just softer. She’d put Charlie to bed, check around the house to see if Hank was there (he usually wasn’t). Much like both of his parents, he was quite the workaholic. He was generally in the Danger Fortress, though… That was what Charlie had somehow gotten them to start calling the command center from which Charlotte used to assist Mr. Danger. Hank would work on upgrading things for fun, sometimes with Schwoz’s help or guidance. She found him in there, with four holographic screens pulled up with stats from businesses and with campaign projections.. “Hope you’re wrapping up and getting ready to head to bed,” she said.

“I don’t have anything to do in the morning,” he observed, typing notes on a notepad connected to his waist.

“Fifteen minutes,” she said and made eye contact with him.

“Yes, Mom.” She looked around the room. It felt different, but the design wasn’t new. She just knew that a lot had changed since she set it up. “Miss it?” Hank wondered.

“Not especially. But, I have a lot attached to it. How are Henry’s legs?”

“In perfect shape. I would tell you if anything changed.” He began to shut things down and they left the room together. “Charlie is coming into the lair tomorrow, so I wanted to have everything squared away.”

“Coming in for training?”

He nodded and went into his bedroom, “Homework first though. I told her that I would help her with it because Dad helped her and wound up having to look up all the answers to her math. She got points deducted because she didn’t show the work.”

“Ugh. He’s supposed to grab you when he doesn’t know what he’s looking at!” She complained.

“I was at the site we’re looking at for Page & Thunderman Corp. But, I’ll handle it tomorrow.” He gave her a kiss on the face and went into the room. She watched him for a moment, kick off his shoes, but neatly place them in a shoe rack, grabbed his night clothes and activated his computer to work on verbal command.

She went in and checked the crystals that she knew he only kept nearby because of her. “Interface, adjust Hammy’s room for sleep, not work and replace his crystals and put these with those that need cleansing and charging, please.”

“Yes, Madame President.” She furrowed her eyebrows, and left the room. Henry was doing pull ups in his home gym and she got his attention and tapped her watch at him. He nodded, finished his set and grabbed his towel. “Did you know that Interface called me Madame President tonight?”

“Yeah, we programmed her to do that. Well, Hank programmed her to do it, but it was my idea. You always tell me that you gotta envision and claim and manifest.” She smiled at him and he kissed her on the cheek. “You take a shower yet?”

“No, I was waiting on you, Dude. But, Charlie told me about you planting her a violet garden and getting her a statue commissioned?”

“I’m positive that she said ‘commisionerred,’ because that’s what she said every single time, but yeah. I’m using my allowance card, because honestly, what I promised her is gonna cost me.”

“Stop promising her grand things.”

“She’s my daughter,” he said, as though that settled it. She nodded, so it did. “She wants the garden to have a fence with purple lights, a purple birdbath, with a birdhouse hovering above it and a bird feeder inside the birdhouse - all this is supposed to be purple, so I guess I’m gonna have to decide which shades, because naturally I won’t just have a big violet eyesore on the premises. There’s a place for all of the plants on these grounds.”

“I actually already heard the plans. I just wanna get your hot body into the shower so that I can have my way with you and you can put me to sleep.”

Henry threw his towel away and set his water down and picked her up to go do just that.

They were laying in bed afterward and Charlotte commented, “You make love to me like I’m still as beautiful as when we started.”

“Well, dang… I was tryin’ to do it like you’re more beautiful now than you’ve ever been!” He smiled at her. She looked emotional. “You okay?”

“I’m tired and I feel old, but I have goals and I know that I won’t rest until I’ve met them. I just want to be able to take a break… but I guess that’s what retirement is for. 65 full stop, right?”

“I’m leaning more towards 45, but…” She looked at him and he said, “Just kidding. These legs have another good 50 years. My heart will give out before they will. So… Maybe 65 for me. I already feel old, though.”

“Your work is physical. You really need to start looking for a sidekick, Hen. You don’t want to be old and trying to train someone through a headset.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll start thinking about it. Maybe I’ll create an ad on FaceMask.”

“I think SymBIOsis would be better for it. More range.”

“Yeah, but FaceMask is tried and true. I KNOW I’ll get legit level sidekick there… if I EVEN do that!”

“Well, I just want us to one day be able to take a break, while I still have some life left in me.”

“You… You get some news or something?” He asked, concerned.

“I looked in the mirror. Some old chick was looking at me. Had the nerve to be moving like I was, like she was me or something.”

He smiled and nudged her with his nose, “Oh, her… I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’ve been hitting that for years. She really does it for me. I’m sure she always will, and I just can’t let her go.”

“What if she gets older and older and more old?”

“I’m gonna be tapping it until her hips go bad.”

She cackled at his proclamation. “She must have that good good!”

“The goodest,” he said and winked at her.

Two years later

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States..."

Hank didn’t want to live in the White House. Henry didn’t want to leave the Charteaux to landscapers, even the finest that they hired to keep up with everything. Charlie just wanted to be a superhero and being the President’s daughter seemed pretty close to that, so she was fine with whatever. She was more concerned about her facial adjustments and her body changes.

The first concern was the fact that she had glasses. She had to get them when she turned 11, but she was constantly breaking them to the point that now, she had ones that were much too big for her face, in her opinion and the ones that Hank worked on for her were more like goggles… So those messed with her hair, which was already a lot to take care of! The next concern was NOW, she needed braces! And… she hated the thought of it. She’d have to care for them and clean them and all of that? She hated stuff like that! For what? Straight teeth without gaps in them? For her mom’s perfect set? What could possibly go wrong with her body next?

She hated that she asked! Because not too much longer afterwards, she went to the bathroom and there was blood everywhere. Now… she knew what it was and she had been taught what to do when it happened, but when it happened, she just froze for a moment, then rushed to try to clean up and score protection. She didn’t tell her mother about it. She knew that she’d probably have some kind of serious person talk with her and she wasn’t into that. She told Hank and he got her everything that she needed and then binged movies with her and ate snacks. He was sincerely the best brother and she always loved the fact that everybody else thought he was words like “pretentious” and “narcissistic,” but she only knew him as “awesome.”

They were in her second cycle and their new way of handling it whenever she commented, “I wonder now that Mom’s president if that means that I can start trying to look into doing things through Hero League, since she can’t BLOCK me anymore.” She said it with a lot of resentment that Hank didn’t appreciate, but he understood the frustrations. To this day, he had held himself back from trying to become a super because of his anxiety over what Charlotte would say, do, or think if something went wrong.

“I’m sure that she has Maxi on the lookout for stuff like that, but… I mean, maybe she’d go a little bit easier now that you’re 13 and you’ve reached this portion of your journey.”

“What does that mean? Say it like I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, you know, because you have a superpower, you can register for legal adulthood when you hit puberty, but you already have to be in a position to take care of yourself, for instance have money, powers, or intelligence that makes you capable of supporting your own lifestyle and needs, OR you have to be a registered hero with the Hero League. I can’t imagine that Mom WOULD support you moving forward with it, but if you want me to try to talk to her, I can always remind her that dad started his job at your age.”

She gasped and asked, “HE DID???”

“Yeah… Dad used to be Kid Danger, didn’t you know that?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that he was an actual KID, I thought it was a nickname like that funny guy you listen to on old podcasts! Kid Fury! Dad was a KID kid when he was Kid Danger? That means that I’M ready to be a sidekick too! He’s been looking for one, but he’s been training one the whole time!”

“I don’t know… I was thinking more along the lines of you speak to them about becoming legal, getting your inheritance turned over to you and safely living freely until you’re actually old enough to be a superhero.”

“I AM actually old enough to be one! You just said it! It’s legal and it would be hypocritical for them to refuse me! Daddy did it!”

“I don’t think you’re getting the moral of my message…” She zipped out of the room and he massaged his temples, “Mom is gonna be piiiiiiiiiiiiissed.”

Mr. Danger was appointed to President Page by the Hero League for the first ever Head of the Super Secret Service. The Secret Service would still be in effect, but it was unprecedented that an unmasked super was President of the United States and therefore, getting non-pow humans to guard her life seemed unfair and unethical to her. She had never even had bodyguards before, save Mr. Danger, so an entire team felt like a lot for her. But, if they were supers, she felt better and if Danger was in charge of those supers, well - that was the best case scenario. The children had non-pow secret service, simply because she certainly didn’t want to put any of these dutiful people out of work.

Charlotte was in meetings with Mr. Danger posted outside whenever Charlie got her guards to bring her to him. He thought it might be an emergency, but kept a calm face. “Charlie, what is it?”

“Hank told me that you began being a superhero when you were my age, which means that I’m eligible for being your sidekick and I won’t take no for an answer, because that would be unfair!”

“We have to discuss this later, Sweetie,” he said and gestured for them to lead her back to her room.

“Just tell me yes right now. We shouldn’t have to discuss anything, Daddy. You say all the time that I’m way better at what I do than you were when you were younger! I didn’t know that you HAD THE JOB when you were underqualified! I am over qualified then and you need a sidekick…”

He nodded his head, “Okay, Sweetie, but Mommy’s in here working and Daddy has to guard and keep a lookout, so please, let them bring you back to your room…” She squealed and hugged him and rushed off, telling her guard about how she was going to be a sidekick. Wait.. Had he said that to her? He replayed the conversation in his mind…

Her: just say yes…

Him: Okay, Sweetie… but…

“Oh my God… Charlotte’s gonna be piiiiiiiiiiiiised,” he whispered to himself.

Charlie handed Hank her designs for her costume and her notes of the features she needed, “You can do this, right?”

“No, Charlie! Mom is not gonna let you be Dad’s sidekick. I don’t care what you think he said to you today,” He looked at the designs, “But, this is excellent work. You… must’ve gotten mom’s fashion bug.”

“Mom? Fashion?” She busted out laughing. “Anyway… So, see here, that violet will be what we can use to keep me tuned into the Interface… And I will actually settle for goggles in costume, since I can’t imagine going to battle with these!” She pointed to the glasses on her face. “This getting a period thing kinda rocks. I know what they mean when they say you become a woman…” She looked at Hank. He was still studying her plans and apparently hadn’t heard her.

“And the schematics are properly done to scale.”

“Ummm, you bug me about details all of the time.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect you to pay attention. I’ve been bugging Dad about details since I was a kid. He still tells me stuff like, “Just take it in a little in the middle and make it a tad longer in the back. I blame mom for knowing what he means by non-measurements and just making it work. But… I need to go to the Danger Fortress…”

“I’m coming!”

“No, we can’t both go. Mom will flip out.”

“Why would she? We’ll have those secret service dudes for decoration and me for protection! I’m a sidekick now, Hank.” He sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing her hand to help her up. “Should we clean this up before we go? Mommy says it’s rude to just leave a mess, even when there’s a maid.”

“We’re coming back.”

“You’re gonna stop doing a project to come back here?”

“Good point, make it snappy and meet me at the car.”

“Will you leave me if I’m not quick enough?” She asked. He smirked, but didn’t answer, so she hauled ass to clean up their mess and rushed to meet him at the car to go back to the property and work.

Charlotte came out of her chambers hours later and all she wanted to do was kiss her husband, hug her kids and try to settle for the night until the next obligation. Mr. Danger was pacing, and not wearing his mask.. Which - technically, he didn’t need it because the world knew who he was, but he still wore it because of work and stuff. “Hey, you okay?” She asked. He yelped at the sound of her voice and smiled at her, “Okay… Tell me what’s going on.”

“Okay. Well. I. May. Have… Possiblyyyyyyyyy… Perhaps… Mayhaps, even… Perchance…”

“Henry!”

“I told Charlie that she could be my sidekick!” He gasped right after he finally said it out loud and covered his own mouth, like that was going to have him to take it back.

She looked relieved, “Oh. Jeez. You scared me for a moment. I thought it was something serious.”

“She and Hank are at the Danger Fortress working on her costume.”

“Wait. Right now? You told Charlie that she could be your sidekick right now? At her age? In this time? While I’m the president and you’re supposed to be working here on my behalf?”

“That’s the beauty of it, right? If she’s my sidekick, then she’s just at my side in the White House and stuff. We won’t have an assignment assignment for like 4 years!” He cheered, having just thought of this right now.

“Only, that’s not true. You’re one of the Hero League’s best operatives. Max isn’t just letting me HAVE you for four years. You’re creating a system, showing this group how to on the job and I’m sure that within months, maybe even weeks, he’ll have you in the field, on assignment! You… You gotta go tell her that you made a mistake and it can’t happen!”

He sucked in air through his teeth and clasped his hands, “I’ve tried to, but she keeps bringing up great points and now, I don’t know… I’m gonna just give it a shot…” Her face went on a full journey through emotions that he knew, ones that maybe she didn’t even know, and ones that terrified him, before she smiled and blinked her eyes and asked, “Why would you do this?” She clenched her fists and then held out her hands, honestly awaiting an answer.

“Hey, I started at 13 and I was fine.”

Almost immediately, she lost her entire cool, “Ray broke child labor laws, not to mention behaved morally and ethically questionable in hiring you! You were too young and it wore you out! It was incredibly hard for you and he didn't even cut you slack! If I thought for one moment that you would follow in his footsteps, I wouldn't have given you my support in your hero’s journey and certainly wouldn't have bore your children!”

He hated when she did this. She would get mad and go off on him and say something just nasty and hurtful like this. “Char, you're angry, so you're being mean…”

“You're darn right, I'm angry. Our daughter hates me enough already and now I have to go tell her that I'm forcing her not to be able to do what you promised her. Damn you, Henry, for making me have to make her hate me more!” Her voice was loud and high pitched and she knew that she shouldn’t be doing this in the White House, because somebody somewhere would have something to say about it, but her nerves were bad about this. The relationship with Charlie had been struggling since she was a little girl and whenever Charlotte began working towards being the president, a lot of Charlie’s ways and habits just… would no longer fly. She didn’t understand why SHE had to be a presentable aspect of Charlotte’s life and whenever Charlotte explained how difficult it was and how hard on her the public would be because of her marginalizations - race, gender, superpower, it would be even harder to gain their approval. But, Charlie couldn’t comprehend why she would WANT approval of anybody that she worked hard to get it from. Why not just be herself and they could take it or leave it. Hell, Charlotte playing the game was how she was even privileged enough to feel entitled to people receiving her. She was floating on Charlotte’s respectability and...

“Charlie does not hate you. She loves you. You two just don't have much in common. She wants to impress you, like Hank does. She thinks this is the only way to do that. If she can't do it, she won't hate you, but she'll be worried that you'll never see her the way that you see Hank.”

“This is unfair, Hen.” She whispered it, and her voice sounded almost like begging. It was breaking his heart, but of course, he would fix it. Of course, he would answer whatever plea her words couldn’t form.

“Char… Just, give me the chance to have her as my sidekick. Of course, I'm not gonna follow in Ray's footsteps. She'll be fighting crime with me, but I'll be protecting her while we do.”

“She'll be an easy target for any villain with half a brain!”

“I won't allow it. I promise… Char, I promise you, on us - on my love for you, on our family - that I will never let anything happen to Charlie, in the field, or otherwise.”

“On us, huh?”

He nodded once, “On us.”

She sat in that for a while and he rocked on the balls of his feet, eager for some confirmation that she believed in him and trusted him to do this properly. He was a great father, but he was also a great superhero and with mixing both of those things, yes - he full well knew that it would be much tougher when he had one of the loves of his life in the thick of danger with him, but he wanted both of his girls happy and both of them healthy. “Well, that's a grave promise. Because, if anything does happen to her, Henry, you're dead to me. I mean it.”

“I know. If anything happens to her, I'm dead to me, too. I wouldn't be able to live another day.”

“I want her happy, but I want her safe.”

“We'll make sure that she's both.”

#henry danger #hd fanfic #Nesha HD Fics #Family Danger

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Victor Zsasz Actor Alex Morf’s Journey From Gotham to Batwoman

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This Batwoman article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3.

Classic Batman villain Victor Zsasz burst onto the scene in this week’s Batwoman with what is simultaneously the creepiest and most fun villain introduction on the series yet. Tricking his way into a hotel suite with a bottle of high end champagne, the notorious hitman took out a high roller and his mistress by order of the man’s wife, telling them so as he chased them around the hotel room and killed them, making sure the mistress knew Zsasz’s client splashed out more than her now-dead husband.

The scene is full of snappy dialogue, juxtaposing Zsasz’s charm with the brutal surety with which he does his job and the sickening creepiness of rearranging the bodies to look like they’re sleeping soundly in the hotel bed. It’s also the perfect introduction to the latest iteration of a character that Bat fans have loved for years, played here by Alex Morf, who spoke with Den of Geek about his performance.

“I think [episode director] Holly Dale did a great job of guiding us and directing us. It’s a great intro to sort of the combination of his lightness and playfulness and the ease with which he has at this point in his career after becoming a master at what he does,” Morf says. “And also, the abruptness of his violence and how quickly he can strike. It’s an exciting, unpredictable cocktail, really well-boiled down in that first scene.”

Morf is a longtime fan of all things Batman, citing Michael Keaton’s portrayal in the Tim Burton films as one of his favorites. He took the job because of the character, whom he knew from playing the Arkham Asylum video game and from Anthony Carrigan’s “brilliant” portrayal on Gotham, on which Morf guest-starred as gang leader Sykes in 2019.

“I was on Gotham during the last season. And in some ways, there was something that was a little bit less than satisfying about playing that part because in my head I made up all kinds of backstories and, you know, trajectories and stuff like that and the script had an endpoint. At that point, you know, they knew it was the last season. I never felt like I got to explore that character much from a personal standpoint.”

While it’s obvious to assume an actor from Iowa and a killer-for-hire character who tallies his murders on his skin have nothing in common, another reason Morf took the role was that, in Zsasz, he saw an opportunity to play a fun, juicy part that fit him pretty well. As Morf puts it: “It’s always a weird thing to feel that as an actor, but as much as you can sort of like find the places where any character sort of like sits in your body, it’s helpful.”

“We’re both independent contractors, you know,” Morf adds of his similarities with the character. “We’re hired for a specific field [for a job] that we’ve been doing for quite a while now. We take a lot of pride in what we do. We both like to have fun. We both enjoy life. We’re both curious about people. When I started thinking about it, there was quite a few things. And I was like yeah, I could be this guy, if he wasn’t a murderer.”

Victor has a noteworthy experience for any character in a superhero show: he interacts with Ryan both in the suit and out of it. Presumably he has no idea that they’re the same person, but it adds to their relationship dynamic nonetheless, even if that knowledge is one-sided.

“I think he likes people,” says Morf. “I also think he really values his privacy. And when he meets Ryan in that bar, I think at first he thinks it’s just somebody who’s trying to bug him and I don’t think he has any interest. And then, when he finds out that she dated Angelique – I think Victor has his ear to the ground, especially in criminal circles, and knows what’s going on.”

Victor also has something of a history with Ryan; he knows her ex, Angelique. This is the first we’re hearing about her, but next week’s episode, “Fair Skin, Blue Eyes,” seems like it will shed a bit more light on a woman from Ryan’s past who’s apparently intimidating enough to get Victor’s attention.

“The fact that [Ryan] was able to break someone’s heart so severely instantly makes him really curious, because I think Victor’s kind of obsessed with pain, and even emotional pain, not just cutting himself,” Morf says. “I think that he’s obsessed with the idea of finding somebody who’s capable of destroying him. And so it just makes him lean forward.”

While Victor doesn’t know that Ryan and Batwoman are the same person, he seems to be responding to the idea of a person who might be capable of destroying him in each set of interactions.

“When Victor’s paying attention to you I think he’s pretty perceptive. So, I think that same thing is true in the interaction with Batwoman. He’s instantly interested in her because I think he misses having an adversary and he’s a little nostalgic for the old days [before Batman disappeared] of having somebody capable of hurting him. And I think he sees potential in Batwoman.”

One of the best lines of the episode has to be Victor’s self-professed love of lesbian drama. Coupled with a certain effete affect throughout the episode and as part of the same pop culture that recently saw Chris Messina and Ewan MacGregor dance around making their Zsasz and Black Mask sexually or romantically involved in Birds of Prey, it raises questions. Is Morf playing with Zsasz’s sexuality here?

“Definitely. I mean, not really like overtly, because I don’t think that that’s completely in the episode,” Morf says. “One of the things I think is so cool about this show, and makes me feel proud to be a part of it, is that it’s not afraid to lean into the complexities of sexuality and human nature.”

The action work this episode was especially good. Zsasz is known for his knife work, which some versions of the character do from afar, or only once they have their prey tied up, but here, Victor vaults over furniture, physically takes people on, and even fights with Batwoman. Morf has experience with hand-to-hand combat and was a wrestler for 21 years.

Morf says, “It was really fun, especially to get to spar with Javicia a little bit, she’s such a powerhouse. We really enjoyed getting to learn that choreography and lock horns a little bit.”

Batwoman has some unusual interactions with Zsasz – both in and out of the cowl. His observation that she doesn’t seem to be comfortable in her own skin (e.g the batsuit) leads her to realize that she needs to take ownership of her role, as demonstrated by changing up the suit and wig to fit her. It’s a great moment for Ryan’s growth as a hero, and it’s intriguing that the Batwoman writers made Zsasz the catalyst.

Morf says, “I would certainly not take credit for it, because I think Ryan’s the one who ultimately pulls that trigger and makes that decision and claims her own space.”

Still, he thinks it reflects something interesting about their relationship: “If they weren’t a villain and a hero, part of me thinks maybe they have some stuff in common, which is always I think a little scary for a hero too, to be seen by somebody who’s their adversary, you know, to be presented with something that maybe they weren’t expecting.”

There’s a great moment during the climactic fight when ever-resourceful Mary whacks Victor and manages to make a mark on his head. For a guy covered in scars of his own making, he doesn’t seem keen on the idea of someone else leaving one, and his chase with Mary is perhaps the most riled he gets in the episode.

“I like that moment too because you know anybody who’s anybody who has killed that many people, you know that there’s some serious rage and darkness underneath,” Morf says. “For a lot of that episode, he’s a pretty cool cucumber. And it’s nice to see some of that boil up.”

This episode made a point of introducing one of Zsasz’s traditional allies, Black Mask. While the two never interacted, that certainly hasn’t been ruled out.

“I hope that that happens in the future. But, I don’t know, I can’t. That’s something that I actually like, I don’t have that much information about yet so I can’t say too much about it but that would be really fun.”

While Ryan had a satisfying victory over Zsasz, we didn’t see what happened to him afterwards. Does that mean he’ll be back for more fashion tips and lesbian drama with a side of murder?

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“The thing about Victor is, I think you never, I would never count him out. You know he’s, he’s a survivor, and you never know when he’s going to pop up.”

The post Victor Zsasz Actor Alex Morf’s Journey From Gotham to Batwoman appeared first on Den of Geek.

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damienxhunt · 7 years

Photo

Basics:

Full Name: Damien Joachim Hunt

Nickname/s: None

Age: appears 30, is actually 850+

Date of Birth: 13th November 1128

Gender: Male

Preferred Pronouns: He, Him

Species: Vampire

Birth place: England

Current living situation: Living alone in a loft type apartment

Occupation: Owner of The Sanatorium

Appearance:

Height: 1.85 m / 6 ft

Build: Mesomorphic

Skin Tone: Fair

Hair Color: Brunette (dark brown)

Eye Color: Blue (has heterechromia iridum)

Glasses or Contacts: He sometimes wears glasses for vanity

Birthmarks/Scars: None

Tattoos/Piercings: None

Left handed/Right handed: Left - handed

Most Prominent Feature: Cheekbones, Jawline, Eyes

Clothing Style: Effortlessly stylish. His dress sense varies from well-tailored and relaxed suits to simple tees and Henley shirts paired with jeans; oxford shirts and denims are also included.

Face Claim: Henry Cavill

Relationships:

Parent’s Names: John and Mary Hunt

Relationship with Parents: Mary adored her first born son and it could be said that he was her favorite; for each mistake he made, if she could, his mother would shield him from his father’s beatings. Aside from Ruth, Damien is her constant companion to mass, teaching him the hymns and how to read the bible where his love for music and architecture began. John Hunt had always been a stern man though never unjust, he showed his affections through more practical things by teaching him various skills. Their biggest momentwas when he stepped in to defend Damien’s wishes to join the crusades, his mother wanted him to enter the monastery and devote his life to faith in a non-violent way.

Sibling’s Names: Ruth (deceased) Kai and Matilda

Relationship with Siblings: Strained; with eight hundred years of history and fratricide under his belt, Damien doesn’t have the best relationship with his surviving kin. While Matilda is ever patient and caring, it can also be quite suffocating. His relationship with his younger brother is volatile for many reasons, with animosity mostly coming from Kai. He was closest to Ruth as she was only a couple of years older; they often skipped chores and made a mess in the town, playing and fighting with other children. She was a vivacious child and doted on Damien who showed him how to enjoy their supposedly short life.

Pets: He rescued a cat with Clarice Dagny that she proceeded to call Freebie. The cat is with her though he often gets updates via photos and videos from the small vampire.

Best friends: None

Foes: No one that he cares enough about to be considered a threat

Relationship Status: Single/ Widower. Damien has been married numerous times with all of them ending up dead or missing with most of their wealth willed to him.

Sire: Brand Frost

Fledglings: His siblings, Violet Blair (ex-fiancee) and a handful of others who perished, went missing or killed by his own hands.

Personality:

What would be their Character Archetype: The Byronic Hero and The Pragmatic Villain

Strongest Character Trait/s: Charming, Flirtatious, Nonchalant, Generous and Apathetic

Weakest Character Trait/s: Conscientious, Faithful, Tempestuous, Compassionate and Religious

Phobias/Fear/s: He experiences mild discomfort when flying, even when he is traveling first class or by private jet.

Biggest Secret/s: That he is not his father’s son but of a knight named Greyson Saint-Clair

Bad Habits: Drinking, Smoking, Adultery, Lying or telling the truth when it suits him

Obsessions: Alcohol, A life of luxury, Satisfaction

Religion: Non- practicing Catholic

Sexuality: Biromantic Heterosexual

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Moral Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Opinion on Drug use: He is not opposed

Opinion on Alcohol use: It is one of man’s greatest pastimes

Opinion on Swearing: Good during sex

Quirks:

Hobbies: Drinking, partying, eating and traveling…very mundane. Museums and art galleries are also frequented when in the city where likes to get around by walking or driving. Here in Ashbourne, he spends his time at The Convalescence at The Sanatorium, behind the bookshelf in the Red Room and playing the piano during off-hours. He has also started taking up photography using vintage cameras that he purchased at the flea market, preferring to take black and white photos of his subjects either in public or more intimate settings.

Language/s spoken: Damien can speak and write fluently in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, as well as Japanese and Mandarin. For everything else he is able to understand and converse though he’s been out of practice for the more obscure languages.

Outdoors or Indoor Person: Both

Instruments they play: Several though he is most proficient with the piano

Favorite Type of Music: Classical, Jazz and Blues, Rock and some Bossa Nova too

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Italian and most desserts

Favorite Animal: He likes all animals and thinks that they’re better than humans

Favorite Place to Travel: Cenote, Chichén-Itzá, Mexico & the island of Madeira, Portugal

Favorite Holiday: Halloween

Favorite Book: Paradise Lost, Dante’s Inferno, The Metamorphosis, L’Étranger and The Little Prince (from Simone) and other notable authors,

Favorite Movie: He likes to watch old films, classic Hollywood movies and the likes

Favorite Scent: Bergamot and other fruity scents; he also likes the smell of tea

Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr Handle: @thesanatorium is his business account; Damien probably has a personal social media account somewhere that he keeps secretly.

What does their voicemail message sound like: None. If you have his number, that means you have for it a reason, and if he doesn’t answer, then he doesn’t want to talk to you.

Past /Future:

What were they like as a Child: Damien was a normal child though the amount of adoration bestowed upon him by his mother may have changed his view on himself and his effect on the world. With round, flushed cheeks, full lips and wild curls, the boy looked like a cherub and his boyish features often commented on when he joins the choir during service. He was charming, playful and boisterous and his bright eyes and mischievous smile would get him out of trouble from those who knew him and his mother. People were generous to him and whatever he got he shared with his siblings. Damien would not shed his boyish features until much later, with his angular features that would resemble that of a Greek statue.

Did they grow up Rich or Poor: The Hunts were a poor family who worked under a nobleman. They were farmers who tilled the land and cared for animals; the men would hunt and the women would sew and the family would try to sell what they can. Sometimes, Mary would work at the castle as a servant and the boys were also offered for labor in the village in exchange for coins or goods. Eventually, Ruth and Matilda would be sold off in marriage while Kai remained elusive, becoming more of a vagabond while Damien fought in the wars.

Did they grow up Nurtured or Neglected: Nurtured. With two women doting on him, and a whole village singing praises, Damien had a wonderful childhood.

What did they want to be when they grew up: An adventurer, Damien longed to see the world but his mother wanted him to enter the monastery. The opportunity to explore came when he joined the crusades and after he became a vampire.

Smell that Reminds them of their Childhood: Tilled earth. Mary liked gardening and Damien would stay by her side and watch her.

Best Childhood Memory: On his thirteenth birthday, Ruth and Matilda made him a cake that was really just bread, decorated with wild flowers; Kai gave him a dagger that he stole from a merchant and his mother gave him new clothes and a bible. His father took him to the mountains to see the stars where they talked about heaven and redemption.

Worst Childhood Memory: When his mother told him the truth about his father. Damien was conceived out of a brief and tumultuous affair and Mary Hunt was smitten with a knight who came to see the nobleman that their family worked for. His name was Greyson Saint-Clair and his mother would carry her sin until she admitted it to Damien before he left for the crusade.

Future goals: None. He is quite pleased the way he is and where his life is at.

Are they/do they want to get Married: Damien has been married one too many times for various reasons; while he considers himself a romantic, the vampire doesn’t seem to be able to commit.

Do they have/want to have Kids: He is unable to reproduce and has never really thought about it.

Do they want to grow old: Definitely not. Turning into a vampire possessing youth, beauty and immortality is one of the best things that has happened to him, though the thought of redemption and heaven and hell sometimes plague him.

Will they ever settle down somewhere: Probably in Madeira, Portugal or somewhere in France or Italy, he may enjoy the tranquility, but Damien will be unable to stay away from nightlife and the vibrant city life.

#cursedbloodtask #( about )#{ hero and villain -- i have been both }

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