#supervillain spotlight

[gloriousmonsters]

well on one hand another popular blog is going to piss me off seeing me on my dash now. on the other hand it's for being transandrophobic so like, at least there's some variety from the tankies?

[venus-haze]

Homelander x Supervillain!Reader Headcanons

Note: Mildly fem-coded reader, but no other descriptors are used. This is mostly from Homelander's perspective. I always thought it was interesting how apart from the "superterrorist" arc in season one (and into season two), supervillains aren't really a thing in The Boys universe, pretty much everyone with superpowers is affiliated with Vought.

Warnings: Violence, some mentions of sex, Homelander being Homelander. Do not interact if you’re under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.

Your powers emerge later in life, so you aren’t one of the many lauded child prodigies who accidentally burned down their own birthday parties or took out a school bus, but almost as soon as you spit at a cat-caller and the side of his car melted from the acid, Vought had its eye on you

Unfortunately for them, you aren’t interested in the slightest. The money’s good, but signing your life away to a mysterious corporation was never in the cards for you. Why let a bunch of suits call the shots when you were the one with powers? Pretty soon you’re melting bank vaults, wreaking general havoc, and living on the run. You love every minute of it

Homelander knows he can take you on, but to his shock and fury, he finds himself in a meeting with Stilwell and the marketing team who tell him that having a supervillain “arch-enemy” would further mythologize him. As much as people love having someone to root for, they’re just as intrigued by the evil thing that goes bump in the night. Besides, you mostly damage property, not people, so they figure you’re not too much of a threat to the general public

He thinks it’s ridiculous, not letting him laser you in half or snap your neck makes him look weak, or even worse, that you’re as strong as he is. The first time he takes you on, you spit at him as a Hail Mary, and to both of your shock, he hisses in pain and his skin blisters–comparatively mild to the outright bone-melting your toxin was capable of, but it cements your space in his mind as his arch-enemy

To his frustration, the suits at Vought are right, social media posts that mention you in regard to Homelander get a lot of engagement and the general public sees him even more as an otherworldly protector figure

You don’t have a supe name, but Vought dubs you ‘Rosethorn’ because you’re “beautiful yet deadly.” They slap your face on comic books that fly off the shelves. You find it ironic that Vought still finds a way to make money off of you despite your refusal to work with them

Homelander isn’t nearly as amused. The first time he sees one of the Homelander Vs. Rosethorn comics he sees red. “More like thorn in my fucking side,” he growls at the cartoonified version of you. He resents you for taking half of his spotlight, but part of him knows his resentment comes from the fact that you don’t have to answer to anyone. You do whatever the hell you want, and some people regard you as a kind of anti-hero rather than an outright villain. He doesn’t understand, you’re a criminal. You rob, cheat, and steal, and just because you hand out fistfuls of dollars every once in a while, you’re turned into some kind of underground folk hero? 

Social media is buzzing with theories that you’re actually a Vought plant to make Homelander look good or that you’re stronger than him and holding back. Naturally, people begin shipping you because of course they do. He has mixed feelings the first time he sees #Roselander trending on Twitter. It doesn’t help that sometimes you leave notes at your crimes scenes that read ‘Give Homelander my regards, XO’ 

Despite the internet frenzy and Vought marketing, you and Homelander have only been face to face a few times following the first encounter, each one giving more fuel to Homelander’s fire as he broods, stewing in his resentment toward you. You laugh at him, taunt him, literally spit at him, and he can’t do shit because Vought says not to

He definitely fantasizes about hate-fucking you, they’re all extremely deranged and elaborate. Overall, he has a lot of really complicated emotions when it comes to you. There’s some underlying affection that he’ll deny to anyone who asks. Sometimes he lets his mind wander, and in the ideal situation you’d reform and join Vought and–who the fuck is he kidding, part of him wants to break the invisible chain that keeps him tethered to Vought and see if the grass is really greener on the other side

Homelander decides he’s going to end your reign of terror once and for all when Vought indicates they want supes in the military. They now think your existence is just one of the barriers standing in the way of that, making the other Vought supes, but especially him look weak and incapable. With you out of the way, it’ll show their supes can handle military missions

Easier said than done, because when he finally corners you, ready to laser you in half like he should have all those years ago, he hesitates, and that’s all it takes for you to pounce

“Why do you let them tell you what to do? You’re stronger than them. Why do they call the shots?” you ask, and he doesn’t miss the conniving ass twinkle in your eye. He knows what you’re doing, and his gloved fists ball up at his side as everything in him screams to just kill you already. He knows you’re right. He’s the one with the real power, but he lets them order him around like a dog

“Shut the fuck up,” he hisses through clenched teeth that he wishes were clamped around your throat–except he doesn’t, not really. You’re giving him an out, but he can’t take it, he’s too afraid to. After all, who is he if he’s not The Homelander?

You give him a sad smile, the kind old friends give to each other in movies when they see each other for the last time. He lets out a shaky breath. He won’t miss you. He won’t even think about you once Madelyn hears what he’s done and he gets supes into the military and Vought a lucrative contract with the Department of Defense. Another success for Homelander

“I really do like you,” you say. “I just wanted you to know that before you kill me.” Your heartbeat is steady, gaze locked in on his glowing red eyes. No one’s ever looked him in the eye upon facing their certain death from him before

He grabs your face, resisting the urge to squeeze it hard enough to break your jaw, “You’re a real piece of work. I don’t answer to anyone, got that, Rosethorn?”

You whisper your name to him, your real name, and he repeats it softly before letting go of your face and taking an unsteady step back. “You owe me. I didn’t kill you, and now you owe me.” You nod in understanding before disappearing into the night

He returns to Vought covered in blood, claiming victory over his arch-enemy once and for all. He never played poker, but you’re an ace up his sleeve if he could ever have one

[saintvainglorious]

10 Best Black Sails Fics I Read in 2023

In honor of Black Sails' 10th anniversary, here's a list of my top 10 favorite Black Sails fics I read in 2023, in order from shortest to longest. Most Black Sails fic rec posts I've seen are now around 2 or 3 years old (though not all, bless @jaynovz and your #jay's esoteric rec lists tag) so nearly half of the recs in this list spotlight newer fics. It's amazing to see fantastic fics still being written and updated years after the show ended - y'all are keeping this fandom alive!

I didn't read that much Black Sails fic this year, comparatively speaking, so I'm sure there's plenty of newer gems that I missed. All the fics in this rec list are Silverflint unless otherwise stated.

1 - Gone To Port Royal by Apetslife (G, 3k) - a delightful oneshot from Gates' POV where they all go to a pirate afterlife. every scene is perfect. endlessly re-readable and never fails to make me smile.

Definition of Valhalla 1: the great hall in Norse mythology where heroes slain in battle are received 2 : a place of honor, glory, or happiness: heaven

2 - i’ll be seeing you by youatemytailor/@annevbonny (NR, 19k) - this is THEE post-canon Silverflint reunion fic. the anguish, the rage, the quiet jokes, the tenderness, it's all devastatingly in-character. particularly the chapter 5 climactic unspooling leaves me in awe upon every reread.

Silver is out of his chair and across the room before he knows it. He has a grip on the barkeep’s shirt before he knows it, and he’s pulling him up, hauling him eye-level, only to head-butt him to the ground again. The barkeep’s mouth is thrown open in a wail, but there’s no sound, Silver thinks, no sound at all, save for the blood rushing in his ears as he looks at the other man on the ground, watches him roll to his side with a groan. Flint, Silver thinks, and nothing else. It beats around the knife in his gut like a drum. Flint. And then Flint is looking at him.

3 - The Dark Lord Proprietor by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (M, 19k, Silverflintham) - a fuckin hysterical supervillain AU. Thomas has amnesia, Flint is pining, Silver tries to get them back together. what could go wrong? could not stop cackling.

A year ago, James Flint was in a stable relationship and was within spitting distance of taking over London. Now he’s single, with a dubiously loyal henchman, a lairmate determined to learn his every weakness, and a Secret Past with the new supervillain on the scene. And thanks to a new government program, it’s all a race to the bottom.

4 - the cross dimensional nassau bar of getting izzy hands laid by FortinbrasFTW/@fortinbrasftw (E, 19k ~WIP~, Flint/OFMD Izzy Hands) - a Black Sails OFMD Flint/Izzy Hands crossover. the very best kind of smut-as-character study. funny, gripping, and endlessly re-readable.

The first thing Izzy realizes is he looks absolutely fucking furious — which yeah, alright, fair enough. He’s got shorter ginger hair. A beard like Izzy’s but kept neater. Earrings like Izzy’s but worn simpler. Bleeding like Izzy but, well, maybe a bit less. And he’s handsome. Izzy realizes it suddenly and slowly somehow all at once. Bit like a bloody painting even. The kind you saw up on walls in rich folk’s houses. Only, well, no painting had eyes like that, did it? You’d have to be mad to keep a painting with eyes like that in your home. They were bright and clear and looked — honest-to-fucking-Christ — ready to set the whole damned world on fire. Izzy's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night takes an interesting turn thanks to a completely different sort of pirate captain.

5 - frail and fragile bars by Ajaxthegreat/@francisthegreat (E, 21k) - Silver realizes, post-shark date, that he's in love with Flint. an instant, iconic fave fic. SO many delicious scenes and quotes that live rent free in my head. just read it, you won't regret it.

“I think you fuck,” Silver says. By which he means, with great intent: I think you are human. I know you are human. I see you.

6 - the whole estate of mortal man by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (T, 43k) - Creature Silver AU where he'll grant wishes in exchange for souls. first read this fic in 2020 and cried. reread it this year and cried again. the nature of the AU intersects so cleverly with Black Sails' themes, and the end result is devastating.

Silver has a limited memory, an unlimited lifespan, and a need for human souls. He spends months trying to buy Flint’s.

7 - our feast is but beginning by x_etoile_x/@etoilesombre (E, 55k) - Flint teaches season 1 Silver how to cook. they're definitely not dating. no, really. this writer writes dialogue so in-character that it cuts like a knife. features sensual cooking, Flint being a queer mentor for Silver, fun genderfuckery, and Them Being Real Tender.

Flint should walk away. Silver can figure out how to feed the men, it isn’t his problem. But roasting a pig is so easy, and when was the last time he had a hand in creating something rather than destroying it? Anyway, what else is he doing, with Billy taking the crew in hand with such annoying competency? He absolutely does not think about why he is reluctant for this interaction with Silver to end. “Go get another pig,” he says before he can reconsider. “Do exactly as I say.”

8 - With Strange Aeons by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (M, 60k, Silverflint + Flinthamilton + Jackanne) - Came for the Silverflint, stayed for the Silverflint but also for holy fuck Jack and Anne are sent to Savannah and break out of there with Thomas to battle literal Cthulhu. How can you NOT read this. I don't typically read Flinthamilton, but by god Thomas is amazing in this.

After the disappearance and presumed death of Captain Flint and Long John Silver, Max smuggles Jack and Anne to Oglethorpe’s plantation. Thomas learns that not only do the three of them have a friend in common, but he is not the only one whose dreams are haunted by a strange city and a terrifying name. Meanwhile, Flint and Silver try to escape an island trapped in time, impossibly built and impossibly old. Along the way they’re forced question reality, each other, and themselves. And in his house in R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.

9 - The Salt and the Sea by x_etoile_x/@etoilesombre (E, 60k) - a between season 2 and 3 recovery fic. i still remembered months after reading that chapter 4 in particular left me undone. a harrowing journey into the ruins of post-leg loss Silver's mind, plus exquisite hurt/comfort.

John Silver was always able to make the best of a situation. If this particular situation had started to feel complicated, well, a vast fortune ought to prove clarifying. Whatever he might have imagined he’d seen in Flint, the reality was they had used each other. And he had been set to walk away on top. Except now he couldn’t. Now he was trapped.

10 - the straight walk home by vowelinthug/@vowel-in-thug (E, 73k, Silverflint + Jackanne + Maxanne + Billy/Vane) - A western AU and one of the best long fics in the fandom. Excellent comedy, amazing AU twists on our favorite characters, found family vibes, nail-biting action, and a fucking fantastic climax. Also, I can't believe this fic got me invested in Billy/Vane.

Let me tell you a story, about a vaquero named Vasquez...

[sonic-oc-showdown]

ROUND 3

Roller belongs to @technoria

Cessare belongs to @pactwraith

Find out more about them below!

Roller the Ferret:

Roller is a very strange individual. He refuses to share anything about his life before meeting Flare and Frill and vanishes at random during the day.

Roller was made for combat and channels this into fighting its own nemesis, an aspiring supervillain snake. It doesn't tell its roommates about this because it knows they won't go as easy on them (and he enjoys having something to himself)

Cessare the Idol:

Cessare the Idol is a well-renowned pop star who performs under the name Love☆Sick, known for her over-the-top performances and outfits just as much as she's known for her catchy music! Her public persona is bright and peppy, interacting with fans and the press in a way that makes her come across as personable and friendly. Behind closed doors, this mouse is actually terribly shy, and has gone into the worst career imaginable for someone with horrible stage fright!

Chasey's true passions lie in fashion design and charity work, but her stage presence is the thing that got her out of a life of petty crime and into a far more comfortable one, so she's rather stuck in the spotlight for the forseeable future. She's determined to tough it out and maintain her safe lifestyle … but between pushy invasive fans and old criminal colleagues trying to blackmail her, things don't look to be getting any less complicated anytime soon!

[heliads]

Hiya Lisa my love!! I think this may be the first request I’m sending you (omg!?) But I am so excited to do so, and of course for our best boy Jack Wilder <3

Okay this one’s a little silly but I’m thinking Jack Wilder x reader where the reader is part of the Horsemen, but Jack and her don’t exactly get along all too well (enemies/reluctant allies to lovers). I’m thinking they’re sent off together to check out and map a location for the Horsemen’s next big act (maybe a fancy gala! That’d be so fun!), but the whole time they’re just bickering and shooting jabs at each other and the other guys are on comms and are just So Tired™ of their bullshit 😭

amber i love you for this

masterlist

You don’t think you’ve ever seen the magical enigma known professionally as J. Daniel Atlas and familiarly as a pain in all of your asses as stressed as he is right before the start of a new job. The Horsemen are world renowned for their intricate performances and flawless setups, which only serves to increase the pressure on all of you to keep one-upping yourselves every time you appear in the spotlight. Danny has taken it upon himself to make sure that all of you stay perfect, and that responsibility is manifesting itself in the form of a lecture right now.

He’s standing in front of you, eyes wild with the fire of what could be creative genius or perhaps too much coffee, and rattling off a series of questions to make sure you know what you’re doing.

“Where are you going?” He asks first.

You meet his gaze steadily. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Specifically the busiest areas during the Met Gala.”

“How are you entering?” Danny queries.

“Two ways. First, as a tourist, to spot the security cameras. Then, I’ll go again at night, to lay some cameras of our own and run some more thorough investigations.”

Danny takes a step closer. His hands are steepled together, making him the perfect picture of a plotting supervillain from one of those bad action movies Merritt keeps playing. “What, specifically, are you looking for?”

You want to roll your eyes, but you learned a long time ago that showing any sort of emotion except for intensity in front of Daniel Atlas during his mad planning sessions is only asking for trouble. So, you keep your cool, or you try to, at least. “The normal stuff. Alcoves and closets where we can hide. Areas with low security presence. Entrances and exits. Janitors. Extra uniforms. That sort of thing.”

Daniel nods once, the only sign that you’re not outright bombing his little pop quiz. “And who is going with you on this reconnaissance mission?”

This time, you can’t disguise your sigh of disgust. “I’m taking a stubborn child.”

Danny gives you a cool stare. “Try again.”

You give him a look, but Daniel is prone to winning staring contests, especially when he’s in this sort of mood, so you cut your losses and give in. “Fine. I’m taking Jack.”

To your side, someone starts clapping. “Perfect response!”

You and Daniel both turn in unison to see your recon partner applauding your sarcastic answer from his chair a few paces away. His feet are kicked up on the table in front of him, and although he had been aimlessly scrolling through his phone this entire time, he’s put the device down temporarily so he can remind you just how strong a bond the two of you share. Which is to say, in no uncertain terms, none at all.

Daniel glances back at you. “You’re not going to let the two of you working together be a problem, will you?”

You fold your arms across his chest, affronted. “I won’t. You might want to double-check with my so-called partner, though. Who, by the way, is free to answer any of these questions on his own. I don’t see why I’m the one who has to know everything while he gets off easy. Aren’t we sharing this responsibility? And by extension, this interrogation?”

Jack just flashes you a thousand-watt smile. “You seemed to have it covered, sweetheart. Besides, I just like hearing the sound of your lovely voice.”

You flip him off. He blows you a kiss, then does the same. Daniel looks ready to burst a blood vessel. “Focus, you two. I want no slip ups. We’re stealing the show of the Met Gala. If we make a mistake, I think Anna Wintour will personally kill us.”

“She’s going to do that anyway,” Jack muses, “We’re interrupting her little fashion show. God forbid someone focuses on us instead of all the celebrities who aren’t even dressing to theme. If I had that money, I could do way better, is all I’m saying.”

You shoot him a perplexed look. “Since when have you paid attention to the Met Gala outfits? Last time I tried talking about it, you told me that was all absurdist nonsense.”

“Maybe I was just talking about you,” Jack answers vaguely. “I’m allowed to, like, develop interests.”

You toss him a glare, then turn back to Daniel, who for some reason looks somewhat entertained. “Can we go back to the plan, please?”

Danny straightens up. “Yes, I’d like that. I’ve briefed both of you on the entrances and exits I need you to scout out–”

“Too many times,” Jack cuts in. He’s not wrong. Danny’s been over this every hour on the hour since you got the call to stage your own show at one of the most famous fashion opportunities of the year.

Daniel, however, seems to think that he hasn’t mentioned the details enough. Now Jack is on the receiving end of not just your glare but Daniel’s as well. “As I was saying,” Danny continues smoothly, “You’ll get in and get out. Try not to move too quickly, you don’t want to attract attention, but don’t linger too long, either.”

“We’ll be fine,” you assure him. “Not our first rodeo.”

Danny nods hesitantly. “I know. Just your first rodeo together in a while.”

That’s no big secret. You and Jack may both be Horsemen, but that certainly doesn’t mean you have to like each other. In fact, you couldn’t be farther from it. You’re not enemies, so to speak, an enemy is the FBI or the CIA, but referring to whatever exists between you as friendship is stretching the truth. You’re more like uncertain, unhappy allies. You’ll work together so long as you get paid and stay in the spotlight while you’re at it, but you’re not likely to grab drinks after a show together.

However, the Horsemen come first above any personal squabble. Always. That’s the one thing you and Jack can agree on. What you’re working on is bigger than the two of you, it’s bigger than all of you. To most of the world, you are magic. No rift between teammates is worth damaging that ideal.

That’s why Jack straightens up at last, and dons an expression verging on solemnity. “We’ll do our part, Danny. No need to worry.”

“There had better not be,” Daniel comments, but he backs off after that, and leaves to track down Merritt to deliver a similar speech.

Now alone, Jack’s familiar cavalier attitude comes back in a flash. “Can’t wait for our little date tomorrow, L/N,” he tells you.

You roll your eyes. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

The next morning, you and Jack wait your turn in the entrance queue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You’re both disguised with baseball caps pulled low over your heads, then paired with sunglasses, and you each have fake IDs in your pockets just in case. It’s surprisingly easy to get around undetected; although the Horsemen are famous the world over, no one expects to see them outside of one of your performances. It makes no sense to spot one of you in a coffee shop or in line ahead of you, so their minds just glance over you as if you were never there at all.

It’s certainly convenient. You could always go to an outside source for intel, but if there’s one lesson you’ve learned throughout your time, it’s to never trust anyone outside of your immediate circle. There are always people who’ll sell off your secrets, or debunkers frothing at the mouth to show how you do what you do.

No, it’s best to keep everything under wraps, even if it makes disguises necessary. There’s a brief moment of panic in which the security guard checking Jack’s bag lingers on his face a little longer than usual, but he’s waved through soon enough and then you’re able to wander further into the museum.

A voice crackles over your earpiece. “What was that about?” Danny, paranoid as always.

Jack shrugs, directing his voice towards you so no one will suspect he’s talking to anyone else. “Probably just a newbie convinced they’ll catch a would-be robber by checking my hand sanitizer close enough. They didn’t plant any bugs, we’re good. Most likely, she was just captivated by my exceedingly good looks and got distracted.”

You scoff. “Or maybe she was just fascinated by your hideousness and wanted a better look.”

Jack clutches a hand to his heart, feigning agony. “My hideousness?” Y/N, I’m hurt.”

“Good,” you smile saccharinely at him.

Daniel sighs in a gust of static over your earpiece. “Focus, you two. Please.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Jack says. “We’ll get to work.”

You and Jack slip through the exhibits, pretending to examine paintings in sculptures when, in reality, you’re looking harder at the security features in each room. The Horsemen already have a rough plan in mind for how you’re going to enter and exit, but the security presence could change which specific entrance you use.

When you loiter a little too long near one oil painting of two nobles dancing at a lavish ball, Jack doubles back to your side. “Everything alright? We haven’t been noticed yet, have we?”

You shake your head, snapping yourself back to reality. “No, we’re fine. Just looking. I love this year’s theme for the gala. If I had an actual invitation, I would have worn something like the dress in this painting. I would want to, at least. Of course, that would only happen if we weren’t breaking in, but. Yeah. That’s what I would do.”

You realize you’re rambling and try to cut yourself off, but you’ve already been going on for a while. You wait for Jack to tease you, but instead, the corner of his lips tugs up in a soft half-smile. “It would look good,” he admits, “You would. Maybe we should petition Danny to let us dress up. We could recreate the painting.”

He swoops closer, placing one hand on your waist and taking yours with the other, spinning you into a waltz just like in the painting. Jack pulls you close in an exaggerated dip just like in the painting, one that takes you a little too near the painting. One of the security guards surges across the room to tell you two to move away again. Jack lets you up, then exaggeratedly apologizing, slapping the guy on the back as a gesture of camaraderie. As the guard walks away, you can see the tracer he’s planted, one that will give you two much-needed information on the paths each guard takes on their shift.

“Nice one,” you breathe.

“Yeah,” Jack says, but he’s still looking at you, as if mentally cataloging each and every place his hands had been just moments before. “I am nice.”

You swat him on the shoulder, and he winks. Rather than give that an answer, you head to the next exhibit. The two of you tag the next few guards you come across, noting janitor’s closets and fire exits while you’re at it. 

It’s easy to settle into a rhythm. You go from room to room, you snipe at each other, you get the job done. Jack passes a sculpture of a nude woman and suggests that be the costume you wear to the Gala, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively; you tell him that you’ll do it only when he’s got biceps the size of the Greek hero statue next to it.

Eventually, you only have one tag left. This one, though, will be the most difficult. The chief security guard has access to the central security station of the museum; by bugging him, you can get the passcode to the main room, which would be a significant help. The only problem is that you’ll have to get close enough to talk to the guy, and he looks far more suspicious of everyone around him than any of the other guards.

You volunteer to do it, and weave your way over to the guard in charge. It takes a heady dose of flirting, but you’re able to get the job done eventually. You do have to shell out a fake phone number, but he’ll only find out the number isn’t yours later that night. No harm, no foul.

Or, not according to you, at least. When you walk back over to Jack, though, your partner in crime has his arms folded tight across his chest, and he looks more annoyed than you’ve seen him all day. At last, something has managed to pierce his armor of sarcastic, joking indifference, but you’re not sure what.

“He seems nice,” Jack says, voice unnaturally calm, “Maybe you do want to take him out on a date after this, like you said.”

You laugh. “We both know that was an act, Wilder. No need to get jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” he insists, “I have nothing to be jealous of.”

“Nothing?” You ask, one brow raised. “So you wouldn’t mind if I went back and gave him my real number?”

Jack slings an arm around your shoulder in a pretense of affection, but it feels more like he’s pinning you to him, making sure you can’t go back and do as threatened. “That would be ridiculous. It would ruin our whole act.”

You grin. “What act?”

“That we’re here on a date of our own, obviously,” Jack says.

“We haven’t done anything of the sort the whole time we were here,” you point out. “It makes more sense for him to think we’re just friends.”

“Then we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” Jack suggests, and although you do notice the glint in his eyes when he says it, you’re still not expecting him to lean forward and kiss you. The kiss is– startling, yes, but not bad, not at all, and when he finally breaks away and looks triumphantly over at the guard who’d been flirting with you, you get the feeling that Jack thought so too.

“I think we should do this all the time,” Jack whispers to you. “Maybe we should ask Danny to change our assignments around.”

“Actually,” a voice crackles over your earpieces, “I’d rather neither of you ever spoke to me again. If I have to think about you two making out one more time, I’ll pour bleach directly into my brain.”

You slap a hand over your mouth to stop from laughing. “Oh, no. Daniel, how long have our comms been on?”

“The whole time,” your showman says, “I hated all of it, thank you for asking.”

Jack snorts. “And you didn’t remind us to turn off our mics?”

“Merritt wanted to see if you’d actually commit enough to do it,” Danny says, sounding supremely unhappy. “Now we’re both traumatized. Just get your asses back here and never bring this up again.”

This time, you can’t hide your laugh. “Alright, we will. Try to stay away from the bleach in the meantime.”

“I make no promises,” Danny grumbles, sending you and Jack into a wave of laughter again.

Jack reaches up to switch off his own earpiece, then does the same for you, gently brushing the side of your face with his hand while he’s at it. “Well,” he says slowly, “We might as well make the most of our time right now, hadn’t we? I’d hate for our ticket money to go to waste.”

You grin. “Quit the theatrics and kiss me.”

Jack Wilder doesn’t usually do as told. This time, though, he makes an exception.

requested by @hiya-itsamber, i hope you enjoy!

now you see me tags: @mayfieldss

[saltydumplings]

Prompt #41

"I wonder what poor soul Supervillain has picked out this year," the thief mused, inspecting the silverware that was laid out neatly before them with some interest before quickly pocketing it.

The villain sputtered a little at their friend's recklessness, spilling wine on their hand as they hastily put down their glass. "You are going to get us thrown out," they hissed.

"So?" The thief shrugged carelessly, gesturing off towards the stage. "It's the same thing every year: they take some rookie wannabe off the street and show them what the consequences of the hero business is really like. Then Supervillain parades them around as their little trophy until they get bored. I doubt we'd be missing anything."

The villain scoffed. "Anything but our lives," they grumbled. "It's a social event. It's about showing allyship--"

"Allyship or allegiance?"

A beat.

The villain didn't have a comment for that. And thankfully the thief didn't have time to pressure them into making one, the stage curtains pulling aside and the room settling into silence as a figure was hauled into the spotlight. Hands bound behind them and a bag over their head, the henchman that held them up quickly forcing them to their knees.

"Here we go again..." the thief murmured.

The villain paid them no mind, instead focusing their attention forward to where the bag was being pulled back over the captive's face, revealing--

They could have choked. Could have cried out in a panic but they pressed their lips together tightly instead - knuckles turning white as they gripped the table before them, willing themself not to move.

It was no rookie that the supervillain had caught: it was the hero.

Their hero...

[mirrored-movements]

The Real World

(Miguel O'Hara x F!Reader)

Synopsis: Earth 1218, a place where superheroes and supervillains were nothing but mere fiction- however with the current rise in multidimensional travel- who's to say someone can't get stuck in another place?

Warnings: None, maybe bad writing again Idk

It’d been a long day in your opinion, work was draining, people were draining- everything was draining.

You had to fight the urge to collapse in the entryway hall of your apartment upon entering trying to roll yourself to at least change into some comfortable clothes. At least you had the rest of the week off- the plus side of taking over some extra shifts you supposed.

Quickly peeling off your uniform and tossing it across the room you dawned some random loungewear set; finding yourself quickly tucked within the corner of your couch. Eyes sleepily watching the brightly coloured movie Netflix had recently added.

“Is he voiced by Nicolas Cage?” Murmuring to yourself while watching the monochromatic character speak you let out a sigh. The newest addition to the series had come out not too long ago and in your opinion, it was one of the best movies of the year.

Sucks that you’d have to wait a year for part two, but at least there was a plethora of fan content surfing the internet. Specifically edits and art of your favorite character,

Miguel O’Hara. What a man. 

Shaking your head a little at the thought of simping for a 2D character when you were less than capable of keeping a conversation with a real person had you laughing to yourself.

The picture presumably coming off as crazy if you had a roommate or anyone else staying in your apartment, however, it was just you.

Beginning to doze off once again, your eyes barely took in the sight of King pins collider on screen. The bright light of the screen illuminated your entire apartment as though a spotlight had been shining into the room.

The sound of metal clashing against something grated against your ears- you didn't recall having surround sound let alone speakers hooked up to your TV, and why was it so damn bright.

To your relief, the light began to die down, although contrary to the peace and quiet you’d have you were unexpectedly shoved back alongside your couch.

You and the large piece of furniture flipping onto its back skidding across the hardwood floors only stopping once it'd crashed into your dining room set.

Eyes wide and brain startlingly awake now compared to a few second ago you shot up only to duck as a metal pole? Weapon?

No no, it was moving it was moving a lot.

A metal claw had seemingly embedded itself into the wall, the base of it extending in an array of wires inevitably connecting to- the back of a person?

If you weren’t in a state of shock at the moment you were sure your brain could process things better- however between the metal tendrils and claws flying around your apartment and the other sudden intruder clinging to the ceiling- you didn’t think you’d ever recover.

The scuffle they had began to grow one-sided, the other individual who you haven’t quite gotten a good view seemingly winning the fight.

Well, at least you thought they were until the other swung their tendrils around once again, knocking the stranger into the wall where the dining set had been shoved into.

“I had fun really. But I must be going. Tests to run and, other heroes to deal with.” With an almost condescending wave, the perpetrator had opened what you could only describe as a bright orange doorway, their form disappeared just as quickly as the person beside you had shot up.

An irritated yell left them upon being unable to catch the doorway, their tall form standing almost eerily in your living room all the while growing increasingly more annoyed as the watch wrapped around their wrist failed to work in the way they wanted it to.

Careful this time around to peek over the flipped couch your mouth nearly fell open at the illuminated red and blue suit, the man's voice loudly filling the apartment. “Lyla! Lyla, can you hear me? Anyone- Damn it!”

Growing more aggravated he couldn’t help but begin aggressively tapping the face of his watch, only to result in nothing.

A few more low complaints left him before he sucked in a breath beginning to assess the room. The apartment was trashed thanks to his recent fight, however, that didn’t catch his attention quite as much as the sight of you peering over the edge of your flipped couch.

“You,” pointing an almost accusing finger he’d sucked in a breath trying to make his next words less intimidating despite the irritation he felt. “Where am I?”

The question was simple, something he should’ve known however circumstances proved otherwise.

Almost surprised he’d noticed your presence your mouth felt dry, however despite the way your heart thumped and your brain buzzed you answered. 

“Earth. 1218 if you want specifics.”

The eyelets of his mask seemed to widen a little at that, his attention moving around the room once again falling upon the surprisingly still-playing movie. The scene where everyone had joined together to fight the main bad guy to be exact.

Unmoving from your spot you waited for his response, nerves still buzzing and palms beginning to sweat.

Remaining quiet he raised a hand rubbing at the bridge of his nose, the head of his suit gradually disappearing until untamed brown hair was revealed. “This,” trying to figure out what he wanted to ask his head turned back to you, his eyes boring into you. “Actually no. You, know me? Yes?”

Nodding your head in response it seems like that didn’t quite give him any reassurance, so instead you spoke. “You’re Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man 2099.” Finding yourself processing things a little better you'd added a comment. “But the Across the Spider-verse version.”

Nodding his head his hands crossed over one another, the man began to pace back and forth a little in thought.

He couldn’t believe it- out of millions of universes- he was stuck in the one where Alchemax didn’t exist.

Great.

“Was that Doctor Octopus? Or I mean one of them?”

Hearing you speak up once more his gaze moved to meet yours, a hand raising to address you. “That shouldn’t concern you.”

“Ok well if it doesn’t concern me, then why is my apartment trashed and why are you standing in my living room?”

Finding it in you to chime back right after you went to stand only to duck back down behind the couch realizing that the shirt you’d happen to throw on was a printed copy of the man’s suit.

Continuing to stare down at you his jaw clenched, arms coming to overlap one another. 

Miguel had decided to ignore your input for the moment speaking as though he didn’t care for property damage. “Do you have a computer I could use?”

It was a simple question however with a nod you’d hesitant stood up again, this time snagging the blanket you previously had on to hide your attire. “Yeah…it’s uh over here.” 

A bit wary of passing the man your eyes casted across him, a part of you wanting to engrave each detail into your mind while another part still had a tough time dealing with the situation.

He was so much taller than you’d thought- buffer too and much much more intimidating. 

Following with quiet steps Miguel took in the rest of your apartment- quaint really. A little clutter here and there but he supposed it just gave the place some character.

“It’s a bit old but…” “This’ll be fine.” Cutting in Miguel had stepped in through the doorway you held open, large form sticking out like a sore thumb against the small guest room where you’d stuck a computer and desk, trying your best at making an office.

“Password is 2099.” At this point, you could feel exhaustion begin to creep in once more, the adrenaline felt earlier wearing down. “If you need anything I guess just uh call?” 

You really should’ve thought everything out a little more, however, perhaps this was some strange dream and you’d really just passed out at work. 

Either way, you were certain things were going to be fine by tomorrow morning.

---

Waking up and walking towards the main area of your apartment you barely concealed a yawn, tired eyes briefly drifting across the room seeing that the couch was in its usual spot, as was the rest of your furniture.

However, despite wanting to believe everything was a figment of your imagination- the dents in the wall and the man currently staring out the window told you otherwise. From the neck down his suit seemed to still be present, while his face remained free of the costume.

“Morning?” Finding yourself growing nervous once you’d come to the acceptance of a fictional character standing within your apartment, you remained observing him from a distance, sock-clad feet shuffling towards the kitchen where you tapped your fingers among the counter. “Did you want like a coffee or something?”

Taking in a deep breath Miguel's gaze looked towards where you stood through the reflection in the window, eyes sharp yet his form was less ridged than it was the night prior. “How likely is it that I get recognized here.”

The question was simple, something he could guess the answer to given the circumstances however it didn’t exactly hurt to get an outsider's perspective. He’d spend nearly the entire night looking into resources that could possibly help only to come up upon practically nothing.

He was basically on his own here.

Having made a fresh pot of coffee you’d poured two mugs in case the man decided he wanted something, your hands coming to curve around your own as you pondered over the question. Eyes trailing across his back for a second finding that the cartoony and animated look he had yesterday didn’t seem to stick and that he appeared more lifelike- or well, human-like in the sense that someone could just think he was a cosplayer or something along those lines.

“I wouldn’t say that likely?” Watching him turn around from his spot, the man regarded you with an inquisitive gaze, one that practically told you he was trying to gauge what kind of a person you were. “But don’t you have to get back to- you know?”

Seeing the way he noted the implication you were a little surprised as the man began nearing, the wrist that his watch had been wrapped around being lifted above the counter in clear view for you to see. “Do you see this?” With his other hand, he motioned towards what appeared to have been some sort of rust, the corner of the glass screen beginning to become chipped away. “Nanobots. They’re going to keep eating the exterior and interior until nothing is left.”

Now, there was a part of him that didn’t really want to divulge in any information with you- a part of his brain feeling like he should be guarded instead knowing that you knew more about him then he did about you. 

It rubbed him the wrong way- But, it was also a common thing in this universe, so he couldn’t fault you there. If he wanted to get back and deal with things he’d have to make a new watch entirely from scratch, and if he had to do that he needed someone who knew their way around considering he was now pretty much left with only the bare minimum of information around your world.

Earth 1218 wasn’t particularly a place he wanted to be stuck in nor really pay attention to. A fault on his end he will admit.

“So? What are you planning to do?” Hesitant to ask more questions you tried to read the blank look set out across his face, the man’s brows faintly furrowing all the while he’d ended up silently accepting the other mug of coffee you’d made.

A small win in your books.

“I need to build a new one.” Answering simply he stared over the rim of the mug as he took a sip, brown hues boring into your skull as if tempting you to speak.

“And what is your plan there?”

At this point it’s not like telling you wouldn’t hurt, heroes didn’t exist in your world and neither did villains so he supposed the random civilian whose apartment he’d landed in at least deserved at least some explanation. 

“Since the portal opened up in your apartment the interdimensional specks are still present here, they can be utilized to open a new doorway through a catalyst where one will open temporarily back to where the original one had opened up- which was my dimension.” Quickly explaining that he finished looking over your slightly confused look before letting out a sigh, the mug briefly being set onto the counter. 

“When you start a barbeque you turn on the propane first right?” You gave a nod and he continued, “Then you use the sparker to light the propane.” He paused letting you absorb his example, the man right after using his hands to gesture around as if he were talking to a child. “The propane is like the specks and the catalyst is the sparker.”

“Do the specks ever leave?”

“I don’t know,” Finding that he himself didn’t have an answer to that he let out a breath, hand beginning to tap along the countertop. 

“But this is why I need to move fast.”

---

Now, it wasn’t that you didn't want to help Miguel- quite the contrary you were elated to have been able to help him. However, he still was one of your biggest fictional crushes and currently, you’d both been crammed within the confines of your small car. A glimmer of regret sparked across your expression upon realizing how strange the music on your phone was as well as how much of a fan you actually were.

So embarrassing.

Despite your clearly tense form, he seemed rather calm. Eyes taking in as much as they could all the while running his fingers across the civilian clothes he’d swapped into. He trusted your reassurance of people not being able to recognize him, the small mirror within your apartment becoming an item of interest as he noted the change in his appearance.

It was very strange. 

“So do you like, have a mental list of what you need? Or are we just going to walk in blind?” Willing yourself to break the silence you’d pulled into the parking lot of a department store, something you assumed would have at least some of the things that Miguel would need.

“I have a general idea. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Great.” Finding yourself still sitting in the car despite having parked it you watched Miguel slip out through your peripheral, the man’s tall frame stepping away from the car only to pause.

Was…wait, was he waiting for you?

As if realizing this, you scrambled to collect your things quickly slipping out of the car and locking it behind you. Your shoes tapped against the cement as you’d caught up with the brunette coming to walk an arm's length away.

Stepping into the store you’d moved to grab a cart, arms folding over the handles as you trailed behind your newly three-dimensional companion. His sharp gaze scanning each and everything occasionally seeing something of interest into the cart.

“What is the most recent thing that was invented here?” Glancing back at where you leisurely strolled behind him Miguel watched as his voice had caused you to jump slightly, attention trailing away from whatever was on your mind.

“Probably VR? That’s I think the most recent thing. No flying cars or anything like that here- too much of a liability really if you think about it. People are stupid.”

Unsure of what to really take from that answer he couldn’t help but let out a low snort, head shaking from one side to the other in a sort of agreement towards your ‘people are stupid’ bit.

Conversation after that seemed to come a bit easier, the topic ranging from either of you asking a question to the other or just something else mundane.

It wasn’t really much longer till the two of you were back in your apartment, bags in hand filled with miscellaneous items that may or may not help with Miguel's current situation. It didn’t take long for both of you to part; you mentioned how you were going to patch up the holes left in the wall and Miguel just motioning towards your office which at this point had become his temporary residence.

At least for the time being. Only time would tell how long he would be stuck there.

---

“A hologram, it’s a hologram.”

“No, it’s UMF, not a hologram. Unstable Molecule Fabric.”

“But is it actually fabric? I haven't read the comics.” Starring almost too intently down at Miguel's arm that was still clad in his suit you spared him a glance, the tips of your ears nearly burning off at the ‘are you kidding?’ look he’d given.

“If it were fabric I’d tear through it anytime I needed to use these.” Raising his hand small claw-like spikes rose from the pads of his fingers, something you’d nearly forgotten alongside the fact he had fangs.

It’d been about three days since his initial appearance, and a watch prototype was steadily being made however despite the many protests on his end you were able to convince the man to take a break here and there.

Just like a regular person he still needed to eat and sleep and whatnot, and with nobody else there to remind him- namely Lyla, you were the only person left.

He was aggravated about it when you’d first done it, however, the retort of ‘making up for the damage to my apartment’ was what kept his annoyance at bay- he did feel bad at this point for the amount of damage that was caused despite not really caring when it first happened.

You’d been quite helpful- not in the same sense as another spider-person or Lyla but in the sense of a personified conscience.

That and he found it amusing sometimes how you’d often try to hide whatever spider-themed merchandise you had. The look of shock and embarrassment was written across your face when he’d found a mug with the same design as his mask was nearly priceless.

In a comedic sense of course- you were, entertaining.

As if snapping back to reality he retracted the claws, shaking his head a bit-Focus. “I need to get back to working on the device.”

“Alright. You know where to find me if you need me.” Musing that out knowing that he was eager to get back to work you watched him spare you a nod, form disappearing back into the hallway where you’d only see him emerge from once every few hours.

If that guy could work himself to death you’d bet he would.

---

Emerging from the room he’d been in Miguel let out a breath, his watch was still gradually deteriorating while the watch he’d been working on seemed at least a quarter of the way done-there were so many things he still had to do, and had to fix before he could even try and open up a gate.

Raising a hand and running it through his hair he let out a breath, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the lack of light in the apartment spotting the gentle glow of the living room TV. Glancing towards the end of the hall where your room had been he could see that the door was open and nobody was inside leading him to assume you’d been curled up on the couch as he’d noted you often did.

There were a few things you did that he found himself unwillingly taking note of. One of the few being how you always nestled yourself into the very corner of the couch when watching a show or movie, or- as of recently how whenever you brewed coffee or tea that you’d made a second cup.

Quietly trekking through the hallway and into the main room another sigh left him upon seeing the way you’d fallen asleep, three thoughts beginning to conflict one another within the confines of his brain as he’d waited to see if you were indeed asleep.

Which you were.

Muttering under his breath in another language he trailed a little closer; on one hand he should just wake you up and remind you of the last time you’d fallen asleep on the couch and had complained for the whole day. However on another hand, he felt like the sight brought some comfort he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Most of the interaction with you brought some sort of strange comfort- something he tried his damnedest to ignore in favor of dealing with his current circumstances. He knew Lyla for sure would be either teasing or harping on him for whatever reason.

Weighing all his options he seemed to just give in, the man's frame looming before you as he’d leaned down to stick his arms under your curled-up frame, the blanket you had coming along as he’d hauled you up silently.

What was he thinking-

A low hum in what he could only describe as content left you, cheek leaning to the side against him as he’d marched down the hall coming to lean over the surface of your bed where he set you down. Gaze softening only a little as he’d puffed out a breath through his nose.

“Stop it O’Hara.” Remarking that to himself he’d turned on his heel, head shaking from side to side. 

“You have your priorities.”

---

Waking up nestled within the warm covers of your bed wasn’t the first thing that roused you from sleep- no no, the thing that roused you was the mug currently being held in front of your sleeping form. Mouth dry and hair a mess.

“Morning.”

Blinking a few times at the greeting you stared up at Miguel in suspicion, heart thumping softly at how the morning sun that’d crept through your curtains illuminated his defined features.

“Did you- is the watch finished?” Noting how he donned civilian clothes instead of his suit you blinked a few more times trying to figure out why there was this feeling of missing something.

“Almost.” Answering easily he moved to lean against the side of your doorframe, brown hues regarding you with a mix of undecipherable emotions. “Your neighbour came knocking on your door this morning.”

Having taken a sip from your mug you nearly choked at what he’d said, knowing that no matter which neighbour it was that they were nosy as hell. 

“And you didn’t come get me? What did they want?”

At that, you swore you could see the edge of his lip twitch up, shoulder pushing off the doorframe. “She said to keep it quiet. There's kids in the building.”

Setting your drink to the side you flung the covers of your bed over your face, a sort of muffled groan coming out. That was so embarrassing they must’ve gotten the wrong impression by all the noise when the fight had happened- oh god that- as if coming to a realization you flung the sheets back down. “And what did you say?!”

“I apologized,” In the moment he wasn’t sure what exactly to say, attention focused on how you were nearly at the edge of your seat in anticipation awaiting the response- face faintly flushed. “And told her we’d keep it down.”

Why did he say that? He wasn’t sure, it was out of character a bit but the reaction it got out of you made the response all the better.

Maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get to know you properly.

---

As he’d mentioned the watch was finished within a few days. The device now sitting silently ontop of the desk; the plan of using it later being written off for the time being.

In those days you’d taken note of the slight banter that’d happen between yourself and Miguel. Things seemingly becoming more friendly despite the situation and you couldn’t help but be more than enthused about it.

“You want to see some of my favourite places?” Taken aback by the request you stated at him in a mix between disbelief and surprise. “I thought you had to go back as soon as possible?”

“I do, but the window to open a gate is open better around the time it was last time- so late in the evening.” 

Whether that was an excuse or not was up to you to discern.

Pursing your lips together you continued to stare at him inquisitively. “Ok well, uh we could go check out this market? I don’t know how good it is now since I haven’t been able to go in years.”

“If that’s where you’d like to go.”

Side eyeing him once more you nodded lightly, beginning to round up what you needed before the two of you had quickly set off.

The cars atmosphere quiet until he’d spoken. “When all this first happened. What did you think?”

Perhaps it was the inevitability of him having to leave that spurred the question on or had led him to become more open- but nonetheless the question was something he’d grown curious about.

When you’d first met he could tell you were in a state of shock, whether from the fight or from his appearance didn’t matter. Your answers were thought out and yet he recalled how you’d walked around him at a distance, keeping that distance until later on. Disbelief is what he chalked it up to however he was also partially to blame on the distance.

“Well, I thought I was crazy- of course who wouldn’t. I thought maybe it was some weird vivid dream.” Your fingers began to tap softly against the steering wheel. “Also you’re like really intimidating, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Self awareness is the key to happiness.” Pulling into the parking lot outside of where the little market was you quickly popped out, excitement gradually brewing within you.

Shaking his head he himself stepped out of the car, moving to trail behind you as you begun maneuvering through the varying stalls. Little hand carved and hand made trinkets covered each table, the person standing behind sparing those who’d passed by a kind smile.

It was so calm over here- in this world. Compared to really anything he had to deal with. 

“Miguel-“ Brown hues warmly trailed towards where you had emerged from, the man unknowingly having spaced out for a second enough for you to disappeared and come back. “Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

“Just- hold it out for me come on, this is your last day here.” Putting your own had up and trying to coax him to do the same you quickly moved to lace your hand with his once he’d complied, your other hand moving a bracelet from your wrist across your hands onto his.

“There.” Pulling your hand back your face flushed a little at the stoic look he had, eyes fixed on the small accessory. “I tried to pick something that sits flat for you and doesn’t look particularly flashy.”

As you’d mentioned it wasn’t particularly flashy, the design of it was just a collection of chevrons wrapping around the length of his wrist made up of some sort of grey stone.

Forcing a cough into his hand his face turned to the side. “Thank you.”

That small show of gratitude nearly had you bouncing off the ground. A smile that could probably rival the sun bloomed across your face.

“I’m glad you like it, it’s just a little something to remind me by.”

“You’re not that immemorable.”

It seemed like a slight changing of tide after that, the both of your resuming your little stroll through the stalls bringing up some meaningless conversation.

It felt like, now that everything was coming to an end you’d never felt more at home. Thinking back on it you quite enjoyed Miguel’s company, not just in the ‘you were my fictional crush kind of way’ but in the way that a domestic couple would- as much as you wouldn’t say that out loud.

That sort of companionship was something your heart yearned for however it just showed you that fate was a cruel thing- maybe this was your canon event.

Reaching the unattainable and being doomed to fall.

—-

“And you’re sure this won’t blow up my apartment or something?”

“It might?”

“That is not comforting at all.” Rolling your eyes in return at his answer you remained slightly ducked behind the couch while Miguel stood where he first did when he first arrived.

The watch he previously wore was stripped away, the corroded metal being too far gone to savage and in its place was the missmash of parts that made up what you could only assume was the new one.

Watching him tap a few things onto it you couldn’t help but call out, “Miguel,” Turning briefly to show you had his attention you continued. “Thanks.”

“For?”

Your lips curled into a faint smile, “not being a product of my psychosis.”

His lips quirked up at this, head shaking as a low airy laugh left him. A sort of melancholic look crossing his face as he tapped a few more things among his watch, a spark of orange gradually beginning to grow until a portal had opened up. “See you around (Y/N).”

Nodding his way you couldn’t help but wish the portal hadn’t opened up in the frist place- but it did and just as quickly as it’d opened it closed leaving you on your own. 

An almost bitter laugh leaving your lips.

---

Weeks later you found yourself snuggled into the comfort of your bed, hand scrolling aimlessly across some edits. The sound of your phone barely did much in comparison to the quiet thrum of your apparement.

Despite knowing you’d be coming home to an empty apartment you couldn’t help but think deep in your heart that something might be different.

Nodding off a little your eyes barely took note of the light shining into your livingroom, the orange glow disappearing quickly.

Your brows furrowed at this, phone clutched tightly within your hand as you strained your ears to listen for anything. 

Nothing.

Slipping out from beneath the safety of your blankets your feet quietly padded their way down the hall, eyes struggling to adjust to the dark. Your hand followed the length of the wall, heart rate gradually beginning to speed up as you willed yourself to look into the livingroom.

Nothing.

Letting out a breath you tensed quickly as something had pressed against your eyes, your own hands reactively reaching up finding them wrapping around someone’s wrists. Their large hands being the reason for your current lack of vision.

The feeling of someone leaning over your shoulder had caused your nerves to spike, however once their spoke did your nerves spike for a different reason.

“Guess who?”

------------------

<Unedited>

[epiclamer]

Why haven't you posted in so lonnnggg! 🤕😭

Thanks for reminding me that I'm actually supposed to post here.

Newbie

Various weapons of sorts hit the metal table and Hero had to admit the sound startled them more than they had expected. The supervillain halted, raising an eyebrow at the hero's reaction before they continued spreading out their arsenal.

"First time?" Hero nearly had a heart attack when they heard the other speak. They were already fighting the urge to throw up all over their own lap, the last thing they needed was casual conversation with their kidnapper.

Hero gulped, struggling to swallow the acid burning their throat. "Y-yeah."

The supervillain nodded somewhat affectionately (surprisingly enough) and kept up with their work, ignoring the hero further.

Maybe it was a stupid idea, but their brain couldn't come up with anything else to calm their nerves, and Hero was pretty sure one more minute in this tension filled room was going to kill them before Supervillain could get a chance. "Is it... bad?"

That seemed to catch the supervillain's attention.

"Is what bad? The interrogation? The anticipation? The torture?"

Supervillain's eyes felt like a spotlight that pinned Hero to the spot. They were starting to wonder if attempting to ease their worries with chitchat was really worth it.

Again it felt hard to swallow, "T-the last one." but the hero managed.

The criminal shrugged, but a hint of a smile crossed their face. "Depends on whether you talk or not."

That wasn't very reassuring.

Considering that the hero wasn't planning on spilling everything about their agency to their enemy, they had a feeling tonight was going to be long.

Supervillain sighed, seeing the hero and their crushed spirits. “Think of it like a right of passage. Everyone who works in this field experiences it once if they don’t die first. So just be glad you’ve made it this far.”

Hero had sweat through their suit by now, they couldn’t stop shaking, the bonds holding them down had started ripping their skin and their mouth was dryer than the desert. Watching the supervillain choose their demise was awfully unnerving.

“This one will do.” Supervillain held up a small pairing knife, catching a glint off the light hanging from the ceiling. Smirking just slightly at the hero, the supervillain stepped forward. “Are you ready?”

“Go easy on me?” Hero’s voice wavered dangerously close to a whimper, which Supervillain seemed to enjoy.

“I can’t ensure anything.” They were only a foot away by now. “But, if you’re a good little hero, I promise to leave you in one piece for your team to find.”

[wesavegotham]

"Ever since Damian showed up he has been treated as the heir apparent and has been getting all the spotlight!"

Damian was fated to die as a child by his own creator, had characters constantly openly express their doubt that he should be allowed to be Robin let alone Batman one day when he was alive, got brutally killed off, basically vanished from Gotham ever since DC brought him back to life, was the confirmed victim of a planned three-year-long character assassination to turn him into their next main supervillain so Jon and Jace Fox would have someone who made them look good and even now that this plan has been abandoned he still has to share the Robin mantle with Tim instead of getting to enjoy the usual Robin privilege of being Batman's main crimefighting partner.

So shut the hell up and stop spewing made up nonsense.

[oliversrarebooks]

Hi!! so i recently just found your blog and i am literally in love with your work! i recently just saw a prompt that was like a musical villain who has the power to hypnotize their audience (and especially hero) through their stage performance or just by singing, and i was wondering if u you would like write anything based off that? totally fine if not, thanks queen!😁🤍

Excellent taste in prompts!

TW: mind control, imagery of restraints

She had to admit, she was happy to have a night off for a change.

Hero had been working very long shifts lately. Between the glue factory explosion two weeks ago, the string of bank robberies carried out by perpetrators who couldn't remember what they had done afterwards, and the return and subsequent defeat of notorious supervillain Radioface, it felt like she hadn't gotten more than a few hours of sleep in ages, much less time off.

The commissioner had noticed Hero's deterioration, as well. That's why she insisted that Hero take the tickets to the hottest musical act in town, the one that was sold out every night. She'd seen the act a week before, loved it, and decided that the only way to force Hero to take some time off would be giving her tickets she couldn't possibly refuse. After all, they were impossible to get unless you lined up all day or had connections.

So that was why Hero had dressed up in something other than her costume or training sweats for the first time in a long time. She was standing in the crowd near the stage, and everyone around her was buzzing with excitement.

"This is my fifth time here!" said a young woman wearing a bright yellow tank top.

"You're so lucky," said her friend. "I could've never even gotten tickets if it weren't for you."

The anticipation was so thick in the air that Hero felt like she was getting swept up in it too. How often did she just get to be a civilian, dressed in cute clothes among a big crowd, anonymous and mercifully free of responsibility? A night like this didn't come often, so she might as well cut loose and enjoy herself.

The lights cut, and instead of the commotion Hero expected, the crowd immediately went dead silent. The tension hung in the air for a moment before the stage lit up in a kaleidoscope of neon rainbow shapes. Synthwave music was fading in from the many amplifiers, and just as it reached a crescendo, a spotlight hit center stage, illuminating the city's biggest pop sensation, Siren Waves.

Her voice rang out clear and strong above the synths, launching into her first song, and Hero was immediately captivated. Her opening number was an aggressive song about power and control with a catchy beat and a great hook, and her voice was the sort that was borderline addictive to listen to. In her peripheral vision, Hero could see that the entire crowd around her was entranced and hanging on to her every word, and she could see why. She'd have to look up the artist on streaming later so she could listen to this during workouts.

Siren strode across the stage with flashy confidence, her glitter-encrusted outfit sparkling in the multi-colored lights, her cocky grin showing that she knew very well how much the audience was eating out of her hand. She went straight from her first song to her second without a break, this one with an intense, driving bass line that made Hero want to dance. Indeed, a good portion of the crowd was dancing in place to the beat, and Hero felt her own head bobbing before she could stop herself.

It really was fun to lose herself in the crowd, the beat, the colorful light show, and especially Siren's fantastic voice. She was singing about building something, hard work and devotion, and while Hero couldn't follow all of the lyrics, the way Siren sang them just made her feel good.

"Thank you everybody!" said Siren once the song finished. "For this next song, I want to slow things down a little. This is a song about feeling powerless."

A good portion of the crowd cheered.

"We all feel powerless sometimes," Siren continued. "And what a lot of people don't want to admit is that feeling powerless can be nice. It can be nice to have no responsibility, to relax and float along and let things happen to you. This is a song about that very special feeling."

The music started up again, but even though it wasn't loud and intense like the previous two songs, it was no less compelling. The slower song was a fantastic showcase for Siren's versatile voice. It was if all of Hero's cares and worries were melting away, and the only thing that existed was the music, the flashing lights, and the electrifying presence of Siren Waves.

Powerless... Hero certainly had experienced her fair share of that. Tied up, caught in traps, subdued with power suppressants, injured, knocked out... it drove Hero crazy when she had nothing to do but endure and wait for a rescue.

But...

...it could be nice, sometimes, too.

The beautiful voice and the lyrics were stirring up feelings in Hero. Feelings she normally liked to suppress. The idea that it could be nice to be powerless... that it wasn't so bad to be tied up, helpless, subdued... it wasn't as if she hadn't thought that before. She just had to save any of those thoughts and urges for when she wasn't doing heroics, for obvious reasons.

And these days, she was pretty much always doing heroics. No time for any of that.

No time to think about being powerless... bound... relaxing... letting go...

Siren's voice really was impossibly beautiful. Hero could listen to this all day. Hero could listen to this forever, really.

The thought stirred something in Hero's hazy mind. This voice... this song... it sounded familiar, didn't it? Siren was using her amplifiers to turn her voice into something synthetic, but the underlying quality of it... it was something Hero was increasingly certain she had heard before.

Where had she heard this voice? It was hard to concentrate, especially when it was so nice to stop thinking and drift along on the song. It was nice to think about times when she'd been captured and at the villain's mercy, writhing against ropes and waiting for a chance to escape, the villain whispering threats and promises in her ear.

Wait. Hero knew that voice.

Two years back, Hero had faced down a young woman with an irresistible mind control voice. It'd been one of her hardest cases yet, owing in part to the fact that each time Hero failed to catch the villain, she'd captured Hero and put her under her spell. Hero could still remember so clearly how it felt to be bound and gagged, listening to the villain's sweet hypnotic voice, her mind becoming hazy and floaty, her fight fading away as she succumbed to the villain's control. 

So good to be powerless. So good to relax. So good to stop thinking and be guided under a gentle hypnotic spell. 

Hero shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. This was that same voice, she was sure of it. It was obscured with voice modulation, and the woman had disguised herself in flashy clothes and heavy stage makeup, but that was a voice she could never forget.

But wasn't she still in jail...?

...It was probably fine... she was here to have a nice evening off... she didn't need to do hero work... she just needed to pay attention to the concert...

She shook herself awake again. The amplified music was impossible to escape from, and she was already halfway under its spell. 

Powerless... so powerless...

No...! She wasn't powerless at all. She could storm the stage, take down the amplifiers, even just clamp a hand over Siren's mouth.

She was right in the thick of the crowd, though. All around her she could see glassy-eyed people staring up at Siren with utterly enraptured faces, swaying gently back and forth to the slow song. As she tried to gather herself and get closer to the stage, the zombie-eyed fans were unwilling to budge.

Why fight it...? Why fight it at all? Why fight it when it was so, so nice to just let the beautiful music take her away...

"Hey," said Hero weakly, shaking the shoulder of the woman in the yellow tank top. "You have to let me through. We're all being brainwashed by the music."

The woman managed to tear her eyes away from the stage, blinking slowly at Hero. "Yeah..." she said with a blissful smile. "I just love being brainwashed by Siren..."

Well, that definitely wasn't going to go anywhere. Hero was trapped in the hypnotized crowd.

Might as well give up...

No, she could use her powers to... to...

Sway gently to the rhythm of the music... let her mind relax... give in...

Hero looked up at the stage, the swirling lights, Siren's glittering makeup, and it seemed almost like the singer was singing directly to her. 

And all Hero could think about was how badly she wanted to be captured, to relax helplessly into inescapable binds, to hear that hypnotic voice whispering seductively in her ear. To give up all control, to not have to worry about the fate of the city or the danger she was in, to just let the music...

Let the music in...

A blissful, hazy feeling settled over her as she fell completely under the music's spell, forgetting why she was struggling. Why struggle against something that felt so, so good? The music was filling her head with all sorts of delicious, buried desires. As she stood there watching, letting all the tension drain from her tired muscles, she could practically feel the pull of soft bonds on her wrists, the touch of a hand on her head, the dizzying thrill of being at someone's mercy.

God, yes, this was what she wanted. So perfect.

The mesmeric song came to a close, but nothing was about to break the spell laid on the audience. "Thank you all for listening so very closely," said Siren. "My next number is a song I think a lot of you already know. It's a song about obedience and pleasure."

Hero felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Now, for this song, when I sing 'obey me,' you sing...?"

"Yes, mistress!" called out the crowd in unison. Someone very near Hero was yelling very, very enthusiastically.

"Very good! Let's try that again. Obey me...!"

"Yes, mistress!" 

"Obey me!"

"Yes, mistress!" Hero realized that the enthusiastic yelling was her.

"And we have a very special guest in the crowd today."

Siren was looking right at her and smiling, a wicked Cheshire Cat grin that made Hero weak in the knees.

"Come on up to the stage, sweet thing," she said, beckoning. "That's right, I mean you."

The crowd, which had been completely impenetrable just a few minutes before when she was trying to escape it, parted immediately to let her through. She took a few hesitant steps towards the stage, feeling as if she were sleepwalking, or deep in a dream. Hands were nudging her forward, encouraging.

Siren reached a hand down.

Her touch was electric, being so near to her intoxicating, and Hero helped herself be swept onto the stage.

"My special guest. I'm so glad to see you here," said Siren, and now that she was close, Hero could recognize those sparkling eyes, the ones she still thought about far too often. Without a doubt, it was that same villain. And judging by Siren's cat-that-ate-the-canary face, she knew that Hero knew.

Hero's mind struggled very, very briefly against the chains of trance ensorcelling her, as Siren drew her closer and turned her towards the audience. "Here she is! The city's pride and joy, the most hardworking superhero in the state. Everyone welcome Hero!"

The crowd went wild, and Hero stared out at all the blissed-out smiles, trying to pull her mind into gear. She was in her civilian clothes with no mask, and Siren had just announced to the packed venue that she was Hero. This seemed bad, really bad... but trying to think of how it was bad left Hero's mind hitting a wall of fog.

"I wanted to show my appreciation for everything you've done for the city, Hero," said Siren, pulling Hero in close and petting her hair, and oh, hearing her voice so close, her real voice with no distortion or amplifiers, was like having liquid honey poured in her vulnerable mind. "So this next song is dedicated to you."

Siren wrapped her arms around Hero as she sang the first sweet notes of her melody, and whatever remained of Hero's willpower was gone. Siren was singing to her of obedience, of vulnerability, of the sweet, irresistible pull of submission. 

Hero had been so, so exhausted. So stressed. This was what she needed, what she craved. She needed to rest her mind, let someone else make all the decisions for her. She needed the song to wash all her worries away. 

And she deserved it. She must deserve it, because Siren had brought her up on stage to sing so beautifully just for her.

"Fall to your knees for me," she sang, and Hero sank. The crowd felt like a distant memory as she surrendered to Siren in front of thousands of civilians. It all felt so completely and utterly right.

From her position kneeling at Siren's feet, Hero had the best possible view of the concert. There was nothing between her and the source of her euphoria. Here, she could lose herself entirely in the music, letting her mind ebb away with the hypnotic melody.

Hero didn't know how long the concert went on. She didn't care. As far as she was concerned, it could go on forever, the music driving her further and further into obedient trance, lights flashing all around her as her new master sang.

And then, it was quiet.

"Thank you all for coming!" Siren called out to the crowd, bowing. "Keep an eye on the mail for further instructions or free tickets!"

Hero blinked slowly as the neon light show stopped and the stage lights dimmed. She could hear the crowd shuffling out, far quieter than one would expect for so many people exiting a loud pop concert. 

She felt so disappointed that the concert was over already. It felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. Still, she had to do what her master wanted. She began struggling to her feet, her knees sore from the stage floor.

A hand on her head stopped her. "Oh, no, not you, my little hero," said the delicious voice. "I have a special encore for you and you alone to hear."

Hero's breath hitched with excitement.

"You're going to join me backstage, and I'm going to sing you into being my willing puppet to overthrow the city. Doesn't that sound perfect?"

The music was too deep in her brain for her to say anything else. "Yes, master, yes, it does."

[comicaurora]

Hey Red! Huge fan of OSP and Aurora, my question for you is what animated superhero shows would you recommend?

little bee with an incongruously elephant-themed username, you are officially my best friend

Batman: Beyond

Fifty years after Batman: The Animated Series (which I also recommend, natch), Bruce Wayne has long since retired from being Batman and become a grumpy recluse until hooligan with a heart of gold Terry McGinnis steals the cowl and the fancy suit it's attached to in order to avenge his murdered father and goes on to become the Batman Of The Future, mentored by Bruce. One of the only truly episodic superhero cartoons - almost no overarching plotlines, just character arcs and the occasional villain with their own thing going on. Has a recurring rogue's gallery but also a higher villain bodycount than most superhero shows; villains of the week are not guaranteed to survive their episode, even (and especially) villains from the original Batman run. Exceptionally horrifying plotlines include "man presumed killed in industrial waste accident actually buried alive in horrifying immobilized undead purgatory and animates living humanoid masses of dirt for revenge", "all the cool kids are splicing their DNA and shockingly the dude in charge is evil about it" and "somehow the joker has returned." Also has a surprisingly good follow-up tie-in comic series (and a few less-good ones).

Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited

The first couple seasons (aka just Justice League) are almost entirely two-parters, mostly character-driven, focused in on the main seven founding Justice League members. The finale reshuffles the status quo somewhat, and then Justice League: Unlimited vastly expands the cast and incorporates basically every other DC hero ever written, but somehow doesn't completely fall apart like other shows that tried to follow suit. Most episodes of JLU are self-contained singletons that focus on small subsets of the expanded League - like "Double Date," which focuses on Huntress, The Question, Green Arrow and Black Canary and is well regarded as one of the best episodes. Features seasonal overarching plotlines as well as self-contained episodes that work in isolation. The JLU episodes that focus on the original seven Leaguers are always fun, but it's also nice to see other heroes get spotlighted.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Do you like lancers? Do you like sad bad boys? Do you like starcrossed love stories? Do you like self-loathing jerks with hearts of gold? Do you like it when Green Lantern is also there? Have I got a show for you! I firmly believe this show only exists to justify someone's OC fanfic romance between the world's angstiest bad boy and a sentient spaceship, and there are only Green Lanterns in it because there have to be. And it's worth it. Also features some deep pulls from the Green Lantern canon like Larfleeze, Mogo the living planet and Saint Walker the first Blue Lantern. Only two seasons and the art style takes some getting used to, but man it's got some high points. Extremely overarching-plot-driven with the occasional more episodic adventure.

Teen Titans

One of those shows that oscillates wildly between "so lighthearted it's a little tooth-aching to watch" and "so crushingly dark it's unbelievable that this is the same show as those other episodes," just how I like it. Extremely episodic which makes it easy to skip around, which is good, because a lot of these episodes are kinda dumb. Adapts some of the most iconic plotlines of The New Teen Titans, but it's a very different adaptation of all characters involved to the point where it's hard to think of them as the same characters at all. This is not a bad thing, it's just a thing. A superhero show where it feels like everyone is legitimately friends with everyone else, with shipping relegated to the background in favor of platonic dynamics. Main villain isn't allowed to be called his supervillain name because it has "death" in it and that's a no-no, so he goes by his actual legal name instead. For some reason a big deal is made over his identity and face being hidden despite his identity in the comics being Just A Buff Old Guy and his villain name being his legal name he pays taxes under.

Static Shock

Took me a criminally long time to watch this one, and I've only gotten through the first couple seasons, but it's really good. A solo hero rather than a team, Virgil's fun to watch because his powerset is limited but he's really smart with it. Turns out giving a brilliant nerd electromagnetic powers means he figures out a lot of ways to use them beyond "zapping things" or "magnetizing stuff" and it's fun to watch him figure out solutions to problems he can't just blast his way through. Also while the show had to limit some storylines to just coding and subtext (Virgil's best friend Richie is gay, but the kind of gay that's not allowed to be explicitly stated anywhere except creator interviews) the show is incredibly overt in discussions of systemic racism, police brutality, gang violence, sky-high familial expectations and how Virgil struggles to deal with all those things. Has a very brightly-colored and cartoony palette compared to other DCAU shows, making it incredibly jarring when someone hands Virgil a straight-up real gun in the first episode, which he promptly throws in the bay because he's a Certified Good Boy.

Legion of Super Heroes

Criminally underrated and only two seasons long! Clark Kent, long before he becomes Superman, gets recruited by a superhero team from the 31st century to travel into the future and help them out with a supervillain problem. He sticks around for a while learning to be a better superhero and live up to the legend he'll someday inspire, including acquiring his suit from a museum dedicated to himself. Lots of fun dramatic irony as an audience is expected to know stuff about Superman that even Clark doesn't know yet, like what Kryptonite is and why his powers don't work on planets with red suns. First season is very episodic. Everyone gets timeskipped in Season 2 and when Superman comes back he's actually been Superman for a while and is a lot better at it now. Standout character through both seasons is Brainiac 5, who is typically written romantically interested in Supergirl and in this show appears to have the exact same level of affection for Superman, which implies that his type is "kryptonians who can bridal carry me" and probably confuses the hell out of the remnants of Original Brainiac buried in his sourcecode. His "true form" is a ten-foot killer robot, which means he chooses to look like a twinky blond. In season 2 he uses a holodeck to play out dramatically dying in Superman's arms, which is around the point where "subtext" becomes "text." Superman and an edgy lancer clone of Superman spend the season 2 finale helping him out in a Battle In The Center Of The Mind versus Original Evil Brainiac, a process I am convinced only takes as long as it does because Brainiac 5 has two Supermen fighting for him and he's not gonna let that opportunity slip away. Take a drink every time he uses the phrase "twelfth level intellect" and finish the glass whenever he and Superman play out a scene that would be less romantic if they kissed.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

On to Marvel finally! Rock solid through all of season 1, the writing gets a little shaky through season 2 - some episodes are spectacular, some are just okay, and a couple verge on full-on idiot plots. Still well worth a watch, if for no other reason than the broadly incredible character writing. This show writes Captain America so well that when he's replaced with a Skrull in season 2 the audience can tell that something is missing; Skrull-Cap acts the way Captain America acts when written by somebody who thinks he's boring, while real Cap acts like a real person who happens to be an absolute paragon of heroism. This show also writes Thor really well and respects his status as the powerhouse, and broadly all the characters are well handled and make good, smart decisions for the information they have available. This is what I consider to be the definitive version of The Avengers, and its existence is why I'm not mad at the MCU when it does my faves dirty - I know I'll always have EMH season 1!

X-Men: Evolution

So, SO early 2000s! Most of the younger X-Men are de-aged so they can double up superheroics with high school drama, which means this version of Wolverine is a full-on dad and it's great. This show also invented X-23. Also if you watched basically any anime in the 90s there are a lot of familiar voices, which makes certain scenes very jarring - Light Yagami as Nightcrawler is one of the funniest bits of dissonance. Also for new God of War fans, Magneto might sound very familiar. Quality is hit-or-miss in places - the season 1 finale is kind of laughably terrible and the show mostly pretends it didn't happen - but it has some extreme high points, mostly the Wolverine-centric episodes. Almost every conflict could be resolved immediately by Nightcrawler's powers, so unfortunately he gets knocked out at the start of nearly every fight, which circles around to being very funny after a while.

Spectacular Spider-Man

The best Spider-Man cartoon, I think! Very much a solo story - just Spider-Man alone vs his massive rogue's gallery, no other superheroes. Extremely quality banter and arcs - several villains have their origins during the series, many appearing in important roles before becoming proper supervillains. Very much an overarching-plot story, and unfortunately canceled before some of those arcs could be resolved, so it ends on a bit of a bummer, which is fairly standard stuff for Spider-Man, tbh. This is a good version of Peter, which is good, because we spend a lot of the show in his head; we get a nearly-constant inner monologue from him so we always know what he's thinking, so he'd better be likable.

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Crielle ferch Fnwy

[18 April - Aries]

Crielle ferch Fnwy is the matriarch of the An Fnwy estate, a beautiful, evil Machiavellian supervillain who has been manipulating the Seelie Court and her family for tens of thousands of years, while giving the appearance of being a perfectly loving Seelie fae who only cares about truth and justice.

Mother of Gwyn ap Nudd, and aunt of Efnisien ap Wledig, Crielle is actually only rarely seen in stories, but has an explosive impact regardless, due to the trauma she inflicts or causes others to inflict on our main characters.

‘You’re not mine. You may have stolen from our family legacy, you may have parasitised our reputation, you may have even exploited and ruined the things about our appearance that make us – not you – beautiful. But you are not, you have never been mine. If you felt a short, sharp shock when you came into the world, my darling, it was my hands around your throat while your father tried to pull me off you. ‘Imagine, if you will, my dear, reprehensible thing. Imagine the first time you came back to me after we sent you away to play with Efnisien. Oh you were only twelve or thirteen? What a lovely idea that was. And Efnisien had you for hours. I told him to use knives. He liked them so, and he didn’t think he’d be allowed. So precious. And I heard the distant echo of your screams like a faint, familiar melody all throughout my day. A time when they stopped because he gagged you perhaps? Or your voice gave out? Tsk. He is – was – so crude. But still...effective. And do you remember? Oh, my creature, imagine it... ‘You came home hours later, hours after Efnisien. You were broken and cut and bleeding and so, so ruined. And you stumbled into the house, and there I was waiting for you. Breathless, actually. And you stared at me as though I would – what? – tell you that Efnisien had crossed a line, gone too far? Do you remember what I did?’ ‘You smiled at me,’ Gwyn said, his voice rough and rusty.

Game Theory

Game Theory: Introduced as the manipulative, evil, and cruel mother of the King, Crielle starts off with Cinderella stepmother vibes, until you realise that Gwyn's her only son and she can't stand him, favouring his cousin Efnisien instead. A torturer, abuser, schemer, and conniving Machiavellian figure, she ultimately has been puppeting the Seelie Court for thousands of years, and is the cause of Gwyn attaining, and then losing, his Kingship.

It's safe to say that Crielle has never been the Most Valued Player of any story.

The Court of Five Thrones: While Crielle only has a very brief appearance in this story, her presence is felt throughout. We find out more about her feelings towards Gwyn, through journals he discovers in her house after her murder at Augus' hands.

The Drawn Bead: In a story that explores Gwyn's first love, Crielle is there as a forbidding, tormenting figure, ruling Gwyn's life with an invisible, oppressive kind of terror.

The Curse: The only story which features Crielle's perspective, we see her as a child, a teenager, an adult, and learn about her dangerous proclivities, how her family did and didn't deal with them, and the depth of her love for a select few people, a love that she gave to Gwyn right up until the moment he was born.

Fae Tales – Alternative Perspectives: Crielle is only here briefly, but we see more of her dialogue with Gwyn, and more of Augus' perspective about her.

Underline the Black: Crielle here emerges as a cruel villain to Efnisien, in a flipped/reversed narrative where Gwyn is her beloved child, and Efnisien is nothing more than a neglected science experiment. Efnisien's life is at the mercy of Crielle's whims, and she puts him first in Hillview (an institution) to put him out of sight and out of mind, but as soon as he causes too much trouble for her, she won't hesitate to strike him down.

The Spoils of the Spoiled: In which Crielle even in the human world as a human herself proves that she can be just as evil as ever. Ruler of the household, torturer of Gwyn (and later, we learn, Efnisien), and clearly involved in corruption and organised crime, Crielle lives her best life in this story until Gwyn tries to legally emancipate himself from the family.

Falling Falling Stars: In the follow up to The Spoils of the Spoiled, Efnisien - previously thought of as the beloved and protected 'adopted' child of Crielle's - reveals over time the verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse he suffered at her hands through therapy sessions with Dr Gary. Over time, we realise that no one is safe from her influence.

Crielle is very 'classically' beautiful, with blonde hair that has a slight wave in it, that generally falls down to her shoulders. She has azure eyes, a shade of blue almost never found among humans (even when she's human). She wears only enough make-up to accentuate her eyes and perfect lips, and maintains a very 'natural' effect to her beauty. It looks effortless and perfect enough that many who are experienced with beauty routines know she puts a lot of time into her appearance.

Crielle is asexual, sex repulsed, and aromantic.

Crielle is common fae, and while she's affected by the curse that Olphix cast upon the family, I like to think she'd still be pretty awful.

Born into a family in which some members are predisposed to sociopathic behaviour, Crielle was one of the worst and was not encouraged by her parents to be the way she is. Many people assume that she was abused into her evilness, but she wasn't.

To me, the concept or alienness of someone who is as evil as Crielle simply because she was 'born that way' is very fascinating to me.

Incredibly intelligent and perceptive, her few weaknesses are around the (few) people she loves and the way she will indulge them, as well as anything that threatens her reputation.

In Game Theory, when we finally realise that she is at the centre of Gwyn's devotion, standing there watching his humiliation, reacting in disgust to being called 'Mama' in a moment of vulnerability from her own son.

In Falling Falling Stars, Efnisien calls Crielle, and it becomes quickly clear that she holds no love in her heart for Efnisien when she calls him a 'ghost' and reminds him that ghosts are very easy to kill, making it clear she still wants him dead, and only inertia/disinterest is keeping her from following through because she'd already killed him once.

Always really fucking evil and irredeemable.

Frankly dies a lot.

Always a bit of a mad chemist. In Fae Tales she is a literal chemist and inventor of many different poisons. This has carried over even in to her human incarnations where in the Spoils universe she uses her knowledge of science to cultivate, create, or acquire poisons and viruses and bacteria to insert into Gwyn's food. And carries even more strongly into the Underline universe, where she runs one of the most successful synthetic hormone companies in Australia.

Visibly stunning.

Cares a great deal about reputation.

Usually loves Efnisien. Underline is the first series that has flipped the narrative so that Gwyn is beloved and Efnisien is loathed.

Kind of disdains her husband, who has no power over her.

Crielle is a real figure in Welsh mythology, though she was never meant to be an evil figure. Nor is she Gwyn's mother in the mythology. A sign of just how intensely I've bastardised everything for my own purposes.

She is good friends with the Ratcatcher of Hameln.

I wanted Crielle to be an example of how you can't expect that someone perfectly beautiful is a good person. I also really wanted to write a woman villain. I felt like a lot of woman villains at the time that I was seeing or reading were often written as petty or just in ways that made them somehow 'weak.' The appeal of Crielle is that she's an extremely effective villain and the only thing that stops her is her death (with the exception of Falling Falling Stars).

Despite how awful she is, I really love her! I'd write her more, but she's too strong and powerful lmao and she ruins my character's lives too much.

Crielle's colours for me have always been cream, yellow, white and blue. It's hard to imagine her wearing anything else.

‘How perfectly disgusting,’ Crielle purred. ‘A little worm has learned how to use the phone. I thought I had a caterpillar once, that would turn into the most beautiful butterfly, but it turns out the only thing my sister’s loins are good for, are despicable little worms.’ ‘D-Do you hate me now?’ Efnisien whispered. Crielle laughed lightly. ‘Oh, oh, my darling, I don’t hate you.’ A moment of hope, strong and bright, a sudden dawn inside of him. ‘I feel nothing for you. As far as I recall, I killed my nephew, and you are nothing more than a ghost.’

Falling Falling Stars

[jacquesthepigeon]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you hate the miracuclass?

This ancient ask came up while I was trying to find a post! So!

1) I’m not a fan of the dozen kids determined to be worthy of great power all “coincidentally” being in the same class. Sure, maybe two or three might have it in them, but not every single one. And, sure, there is a good message about how everyone could be a hero in there, but I personally think that it could be worked out in a more organic way, particularly as a one-time special event. If everyone in the class had been brought together because they’re a hero, then it would be a different story entirely.

2) It saturates the importance of the role and the powers. ML has a problem with trying to introduce more than its ready to and then doing nothing with it. It’s clear that half of the powers aren’t thought out and introducing even more miraculous beyond that box makes them feel common and unimpressive. The way some of the characters “earn” their miraculous is also ridiculous and lacking. Like, we have Marinette running into moving traffic to save an old man and meanwhile Sabrina gets hers for ?? liking soccer/football???? Talk about underwhelming. It just made it too obvious that they were trying to cram as many classmates as they could into the team without any consideration for whether they actually suited the role.

3) Too much, too soon, too gimmicky. There’re too many characters trying to have their time in the spotlight at the same time, none of them have been given a heroic journey, and the combination of these factors makes them unenjoyable to me. We’ve seen other franchises pull off big groups before, but they’re usually almost always divided into smaller groups and dynamics so everyone gets attention and development and don’t get lost in all the moving parts. I’ve seen it suggested that they could’ve been organized into smaller teams like in Naruto, with each team facing their own villain compatible with their individual powers and occasionally working with other teams. I love that. That could’ve worked. But alas, we’re only allowed one supervillain, one uncohesive superhero group, all stuffed in one class.

I hope this made sense but yeah. I think the miracuclass could’ve worked as a one-time thing where they all come together to help LB and CN during a particularly dire situation or as smaller groups from different schools that work independently but cooperatively.

[theshadowrealmitself]

I hope this is coherent, but other than the Waynes being super rich and well known, I wonder if there’s an extra tragedy in Bruce’s story because he doesn’t know who killed his parents

Like there’s definitely a lot of deaths in Gotham, like a ton, but with the different mafia sections before during and after Batman came along, and the way so many people were quick to become actual supervillains the second they realized it was an option, I get the sense that the murderers in Gotham revel in murdering

So yeah there’s a lot of death and murders, but for many people in Gotham, they might know exactly who killed their loved ones, like it was that douchebag from the mafia gang towards the center of the city, or that evil piece of shit corrupt cop with the birthmark on their neck, or that creep down the street that you warned your friend they should avoid

And maybe that brings them some comfort, y’know? like maybe it helps make it easier to come to terms with it (for some it definitely helps with getting nonlegal justice), maybe their deaths still seem senseless but at least you have someone you can focus your negative emotions on

But that little Wayne boy? Whose family was always in the spotlight? Has absolutely no clue who took out his parents. Despite everyone’s eyes always being on them, no one noticed their darkest day, and weirdly enough, no killer came forward to claim credit, and you know everyone was keeping an ear out, even if they didn’t like the Waynes, it was still the mystery of a lifetime

Idk, I just like to think there was some kind of extra layer to it because even if the Waynes were like, the most popular, there still has to be other rich kids whose parents got killed in Gotham, right? Especially if they were all corrupt and working with underground criminals with bad tempers?

But I also like to think it adds another dimension to his rivalry with Joker, a villain who unlike all the other villains has no known identity before becoming a villain, and to his relationship with his ward, Dick, whose parents were also murdered and he also had to go find out who did it

(And maybe adds another exciting element with other characters I’m not thinking of because it’s like 2 am rn)

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Jubilation

So far, Season 5 has been pretty decent for the most part. Sure, there have already been a handful of plotholes and retcons (to the point where I'm honestly thinking of starting a retcon counter in the future), but at the very worse, the first three episodes were below average at worst. But now we have to see how the Akuma of the day formula will play out now. Can it bring new life to this show, or is that nothing more than a pipe dream?

Let's get into the fourth (chronologically the fourth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Jubilation

The episode starts off with Marinette going for a jog, and shockingly, it isn't in her pajamas, but rather, clothing appropriate for running. She stops to see an advertisement for the Alliance rings, and reminds the audience that she's totally not in love with Adrien anymore because it cost her most of the Miraculous. Marinette is about to continue running, when she sees her principal, Mr. Damocles, dressing up at the superhero, the Owl, while attempting to save a cat from a billboard... even though he learned his lesson all the way back in his spotlight episode, “The Dark Owl”. Before Marinette has the chance to save him from his incompetence, another girl dressed as Ladybug saves Mr. Damocles, though Marinette recognizes her as an old friend. Both “heroes” run off, but Marinette has an idea of who the fake Ladybug is.

Marinette: That fake Ladybug from this morning, I think it was Socqueline, a school friend from last year. Knowing her, I’m sure she means well. But I have to convince her to stop putting herself in danger like that.

So basically, we're repeating the civilian plotline of “The Dark Owl”, but this time, with two different heroes. I'm also confused as to why we've never heard of Socqueline until Season 5, especially if Marinette already knows her. It's not as egregious or forced as Zoe's introduction, but it's weird that Marinette has never brought her up, not even to Tikki or Alya.

Also, why the hell does she look like Marinette? It was at least understandable to reuse Adrien's character model for Felix because they were related, but these two are just friends, and Socqueline doesn’t even have the same name most fans use for the PV Ladybug, Bridgette. What, did you think changing her name would make the reference more subtle? Oh yeah, and even though we already have two Asian characters with the same surname, Socqueline’s last name is also Wang. Because just like the mayor and ice cream man sharing the same first name, this isn’t confusing in the slightest.

Socqueline works at a local arts and crafts store, and before Marinette can ask her for why she's pretending to be Ladybug, she pretends to be buying paint first... even though she could just transform into Ladybug, walk in and say “Hey, I heard you've been impersonating me, so stop it before you get yourself killed, idiot”. But then I guess we wouldn't get an explanation as to what Alliance can do. Like we saw in “Multiplication”, it's basically an Alexa in ring form that totally isn't a front for supervillain activity. Marinette and Socqueline talk about Adrien, and Socqueline assumes the two are a couple after Marinette talks about how close they are, when all Marinette does is recap the whole thing about his mother “disappearing” and that he doesn't want to be a model. Wow, you really know him, don't you?

Eventually, the conversation goes back to Socqueline dressing up as Ladybug.

Marinette: Well, it’s a good thing you’re not trying to be a superhero, because it’s very dangerous to do the same thing they do when you don’t have magical powers and supersuits!

Socqueline: Yeah… Well, what if it’s a relief for Ladybug to have people help her?

Marinette: No way would she want that. It’s too risky!

Socqueline: Yes, but you gotta know when to step in. That’s the only way you can change things in life!

Marinette: I know. You told me that last year, but in this circumstance, it’s Ladybug’s job to take risks, and no one else’s! Because if everyone takes risks, then Ladybug may have to take more risks in order to deal with their risks, which is even riskier!

Mr. Damocles: Sounds like someone’s jealous because she wants to be a superhero.

Marinette: I do not! I’m Marinette! I’m very happy to be a normal girl, with a normal life, AND SO SHOULD EVERYONE ELSE!

Admittedly, this is a decent argument for Marinette and Socqueline to have, but I feel like they're kind of oversimplifying it. Yes, it's obvious that Socqueline and Mr. Damocles can't do much to help Ladybug without any powers, but that doesn't rule out Ladybug getting other allies in the form of local law enforcement or even other heroes with high-tech gadgets like Batman. It's also strange that the whole deal with Marinette last season was that she wasn't willing to trust anyone like Cat Noir, so wouldn't it make sense to call back to that, and consider getting help from people in other ways, like moral support?

While Socqueline tries to console Mr. Damocles, some of the dinosaurs from “Rocketear” break out, so Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug to catch them again, but while she does so, she accidentally brings Socqueline's Alliance ring with her. Turns out that, shock of all shocks, Gabriel is secretly monitoring the Alliance rings, and the data gathered from the step counter app registers the user as moving around far beyond human capabilities. Gabriel obviously assumes that Socqueline is Ladybug, and transforms into Monarch, where we see how the new Akuma routine will go for the season. Sensing Mr. Damocles' negative emotions from believing he can't be a superhero, Monarch uses Kaalki's Voyage to send his Akuma towards one of his masks. When it reaches Mr. Damocles, Monarch uses his Alliance ring to grant him Daizzi's Gift, turning him into Darker Owl.

Darker Owl is basically just the same as Dark Owl, but with some shinier parts, and instead of the campier Batman he was originally themed after, he has a sightly deeper voice, not unlike Christian Bale's interpretation of the character. Nothing special, but compared to reusing past Akuma designs, at least an effort was made to make him look different.

Darker Owl breaks into the paint shop, believing Monarch's claim that Socqueline is Ladybug. Using one of his gadgets with the Pig Miraculous' gift, he traps Socqueline in her fantasy to be recognized as a hero by the real Ladybug and Cat Noir. Before she was trapped however, she secretly used her Alliance ring to trick Darker Owl into revealing where the Akuma is.

Of course, like a concerning amount of episodes before it, we finally get Adrien's first scene, where he's just playing video games until he learns about the Akuma, transforming into Cat Noir. Both heroes arrive to stop Darker Owl, who has taken Socqueline as a hostage, and while Cat Noir saves Socqueline, Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, an old fashioned alarm clock.

After Cat Noir saves Socqueline, both him and Ladybug are hit by Gift, where their shared fantasy is beating Darker Owl and finding Monarch's business card in Mr. Damocles' jacket. After the two defeat Monarch and get the Miraculous back, they grow closer together, and eventually... get married... even though they're still teenagers.

Okay, that's very concerning, especially since Cat Noir's “suit” is just the Cat Blanc model with green eyes, but it's not like they're going to become parents too, right?

Oh.

Ohhhhhh....

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooo.....

Yep. The writers REALLY didn't think this through. I get that it didn't really happen, but I don't get why they had to make the fantasy of Ladybug and Cat Noir being all about them starting a family when they can't even afford new models to show that they're older so they could avoid these implications.

Putting that aside, the fantasy is decently put together, but it's nothing special compared to something like “Perchance to Dream” from Batman: The Animated Series. I like the recurring surreal imagery with the alarm clocks, and the babies looking like dolls could be seen as a way to show how fake this all is. On the other hand, I don't get whose fantasy this is exactly. Yeah, it's implied that since the same Gift bullet was fired at both Ladybug and Cat Noir, they're sharing an amalgamation of their fantasies (Ladybug defeating Monarch and getting the Miraculous back and Cat Noir starting a family with Ladybug), but it feels like more focus is given to Cat Noir's fantasy even though he didn't even get to do anything before the Akuma showed up. They even have the scene with him hesitating to leave the fantasy when it should have been Ladybug struggling to reject it. In fact, I think the reason this fantasy sequence rings hollow for me is because it doesn't really connect to the idea that Marinette wants a normal life. Wouldn't it make more sense for Marinette's fantasy to be a world where Socqueline or Alya is Ladybug instead of her? You could easily alternate between Marinette's fantasy where she lives a mundane life and alternate it with Cat Noir's fantasy where he embraces the superhero lifestyle. It would have made more sense given that this was a Marinette-centric episode,

Even after the two heroes break out, it's Cat Noir who snaps at Darker Owl, not Ladybug. You could have easily had a scene where Cat Noir is the one who has to restrain Ladybug from getting too aggressive while fighting Darker Owl to show how reliable of a partner he is. Instead, well... remember how last episode, Cat Noir felt a lot of guilt for accidentally Cataclysming Monarch when Monarch let himself take the hit? Yeah, he almost Cataclysms Darker Owl out of anger. Yeah, he’s not thinking straight, and he stops at the last minute, but it makes him look like a real hypocrite. It also doesn’t really reassure the audience that he's now the only ally Ladybug has at the moment. This moment would have made more sense if the roles were reversed, with Cat Noir begging Ladybug to not hurt Darker Owl because Monarch was the one who taunted them with their ideal lives.

Ladybug purifies the Akuma, gives Mr. Damocles a useless Magical Charm, fixes the minor damage Darker Owl caused, Daizzi is sent back to Monarch's lair, and nobody ever acknowledges that Cat Noir almost killed a man.

After Socqueline apologizes to Ladybug, and Ladybug gives a vague statement of wanting Socqueline to find another way to help, she goes back home as Marinette. Sabine offers her an Alliance ring, but Marinette decides against it, mostly because of what happened earlier.

The episode then ends to Ladybug talking with Cat Noir about what happened with Darker Owl, how he got the power of the Pig Miraculous, and what happened in their fantasy.

Cat Noir: Ladybug, that power of Jubilation... it’s supposed to show us our deepest desires, isn’t it?

Ladybug: Yes.

Cat Noir: But that was... that wasn’t real, right?

Ladybug: Tell me about it. The wedding, babies, totally… fake.

Cat Noir: Are you sure?

Ladybug: Monarch… must’ve altered it somehow, to trick us. Yeah, that’s got to be it.

Cat Noir: Of course, otherwise, it would be totally super weird, wouldn’t it?

Ladybug: Right. Totally… super… weird.

Yeah, calling what you two lived through “weird” is an understatement.

Overall, this episode was just mediocre, and other than the climax, there wasn't much for me to talk about.

Socqueline as a character confuses me. Do we really need another member of Marinette's friend group, especially when you could have easily replaced Socqueline with another character? Seriously, someone like Alya, Mylene, Kagami, Zoe, or even Chloe would have worked better, as their personalities and motivations would fit a story like this. She's just an unnecessary addition to an already bloated cast of characters.

I will say I liked how the villain side of things was handled. In a world where the use of technology in our daily lives is more common, the idea of the Alliance rings being a way for Gabriel to monitor the public is pretty clever. I’m still confused as to why he even needs to use a Miraculous to give Akumas more powers when he can already do that with Akumas in the first place, but I like how the conflict seems to be ramping up.

I also don't get the point of this conflict, especially since we already did it three seasons ago. Back in “The Dark Owl”, it was unnecessary because Ladybug and Cat Noir were already doing a good job at fighting Hawkmoth's Akumas, but now, he's stronger than ever, and they need all the help they can get. Yeah, Mr. Damocles and Socqueline were endangering themselves by trying to help others, but at least they're doing something after everyone just gave up preparing for Monarch's new wave of Akumas in “Multiplication”. But then again, at least Ladybug didn't call either of them entitled for actually wanting to help people instead of focusing on their own selfish desires like the “hero” in Kamen Rider Geats.

Even the resolution feels tacked on. In “The Dark Owl”, the ending was similar, with Mr. Damocles choosing to stop trying to be a hero, but instead focusing on doing community service, helping people in his own way. Here? Ladybug tells Socqueline to help someone without endangering herself, and we don't get any follow-up on that, not even with Mr. Damocles. It feels more tacked on than anything else.

It doesn't help that despite the episode hinting at Marinette wanting a normal life, the actual highlight of the episode, the fantasy sequence, doesn't really connect to those wishes, as Marinette stays transformed the whole time. From an out of universe perspective, it's obviously because Cat Noir and Monarch can't find out who Ladybug is, but it's not clear why her fantasy is like that. You could have easily thrown in something like that rule they established last episode of Miraculous magic not being able to interfere with other Miraculous, so Monarch and Darker Owl have to make up their own ideal fantasy for Ladybug and Cat Noir to live in because they can't completely read their minds. Well that, and also, DON'T SHOW TWO TEENAGERS BECOMING PARENTS WITHOUT EVEN AGING, BECAUSE IT GIVES OFF THE VIBE THAT THEY HAD SEX.

This episode wasn't really terrible, more boring than anything else. At least I had something to talk about with the past three episodes, but here? Outside of the fantasy, there's not much else to say.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... MR. DAMOCLES

Even though he already learned his lesson three seasons ago, he still didn't get that a man of his age and physique wasn't fit to be a superhero. At least Socqueline was established to be in good shape for her age. On top of that, he easily gave away his cover (even if it was obvious, the joke before was that everyone else pretended to not know who he is) at the drop of a hat, and when he was supposedly confronted with Ladybug's civilian identity, he didn't think to just rip her earrings off, and spent way too much time talking before he zapped her with a Gift bullet.

[comics-and-fanworks]

ML Career Choice Part 3

Hi! I still don’t know how to tag so here’s my best attempt!

@its-maemain, @yasmin-rdz, @marsrize, @pasteile,

@

vixen-uchiha

TW for disasters and mentions of death, and Jason Todd swearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette had never moved so fast in her life. She arrived to see her beloved city in ruins, and their was nothing her Miracle Cure could do.  Buildings had collapsed, sinkholes had split open, and parts of the city had flooded. She could hear people screaming, crying, and everything in between. Buildings burned from electrical fires, and she felt like she was looking at hell on earth. People were dead, she knew it, it would be naïve to assume that no one died in an event like this. Her mind was already kicking into overdrive. People would need to be rescued, the dead will need to be buried, the injured treated, debris cleared, weakened buildings would need to be demolished, plans must be drawn and contractors must be hired. Gotham would get through this she’d make sure of it, so Marinette did what she does best, and made a plan.

Phase one was to take out unnecessary variables, so it was time for Hawkmoth, Mayura, and Chat Noir to go. With help from Tim she was able to hack into Paris’s CCTV cameras, and what she saw surprised her. Hawkmoth, Mayura, and Chat Noir all lived under the same roof, what were the chances. It didn’t surprise her that Adrien was Chat, when she thought about it the two were incredibly similar and were always defending each other relentlessly. She suspected he used his Chat Noir persona as an outlet to behave in ways he never could as Adrien. Jason was still furious, and she resolved to take Chat’s ring first (she did not need more destruction, and a large part of her brain was telling her that Jason would look amazing in a catsuit). Mayura would be second, and Hawkmoth would be last.

Pega-Bug had teleported into the Agreste Manor with the Red Hood at her side. The two quietly made their way through the maze of a house, Tim had disabled the house’s security systems and cameras, but the two still had to be careful. They were about to enter Adrien’s room, when a certain black cat kwamii met them holding a ring. Mayura’s pin was easy enough, she was passed out exhausted. Gabriel turned out to be tougher, as he hid the butterfly broach. After many minutes of searching, they found it hidden in a drawer full of plans on ways to restore his company. “He needs to let it go. His days in the spotlight are over after the shit he’s pulled,” Jason muttered. Nodding, Pega-Bug opened a portal back to Gothem, and the two left just as the sun was beginning to rise and the former cat was beginning to wake.

Marinette never thought she would do something like this, but with barely 24 hours after the disaster, she needed to make sure Gotham’s villains wouldn’t cause problems. In the abandoned shipping warehouse she stood before Bane, the Sirens, Penguin, and Killer Croc. She wasn’t in costume, she faced them as Marinette, not Ladybug. She could feel her husband’s eyes on her back, ready to swoop in the moment he thought she was in danger. Gotham was still well, Gotham. Supervillains were as common as the rain, and she had to make sure she could rebuild Gotham in peace.

“So why’d you call us here lady,” The penguin sneered. Marinette had to be quick, or Jason would start shooting. Mari took a breath, “As you all know, Gotham is in ruins right now, and I need people I can count on to keep the rest of the rogues under control until we can rebuild.” The villains looked at each other, unsure if they should trust the newest Wayne. “What’s in it for us,” Poison Ivy’s eyes narrowed, the Sirens were more inclined to help seeing as Selina and Bruce were sort of dating, but she knew the others would take more convincing. Ivy had a soft spot for the newest Wayne due to her push for more eco-friendly architecture.

“We’ll rebuild the botanical gardens since they sustained major damage, The Iceberg Lounge is currently underwater so we’ll raise that. Museums are refusing to send artifacts to Gotham so unless you wanna relocate Selina, we’ll have to fix those, Harley for you I’ll condemn Joker’s amusement park and remake it into Harley’s Fun Land. The sewers also have collapsed so Croc you have no way of moving undetected, and Bane your fighting rings are currently broken beyond repair and will need fixing. I can take care of all of that. I just need you all to take care of the rogues that don’t care, like Joker and Scarecrow.” They couldn’t deny that she had a point. After a moment of deliberation, Marinette and the Penguin shook hands. The Gotham Rogues would help her, as long as she kept her part of the deal. Almost as soon as she was out of the warehouse, she was scooped up by her husband, and spent the rest of the night reassuring him that she was okay.

Phase two was clearing the rubble and rescuing trapped people. Marinette was surprised with how smoothly this process was going, since multiple heroes (and even some villains with morals) arrived in Gotham to help. It took a major load off of her shoulders, because what would take a crew of 500 to clear in a month, Wonder Woman could clear in a day. She was also relieved to find out there were minimal casualties. Gothamites’ unique ability to sense oncoming Rogue attacks seemed to work with natural disasters as well. That didn’t mean there were no injuries. Thousands of people were hurt, ranging from scrapes and bruises to broken bones and everything outside and in between. This was nothing that Zatanna and the other magic users couldn’t handle, and Marinette found herself adding to the list of heroes and villains she would be sending gift baskets to.

It was at this time that the League of Assassins decided she should be kidnapped. Of course, with everything going on surely no one would miss her. SURELY she had nothing better to do with her time then sit tied to a chair with a sword to her neck and threats of death if she didn’t rebuild the city the way the League wanted it. She wasn’t really paying attention, so she may have missed parts of it. What she didn’t miss was that the Lazarus Pit was critically damaged. What would that do if it leaked into the soil? Apparently Ra’s al Ghul kept the original plans for the Lazarus Pit, but did not think to use it to keep the original architect alive. Marinette was debating on if this should be her problem or not, when her youngest Brother-in-Law and husband busted in. Damian was getting into a screaming match with his mother and grandfather, while Jason was checking on his wife. Marinette was so caught up in everything that she didn’t even realize her scuffle with the League of Assassins led to a broken arm, Tikki was gonna kill her.

Eventually, she got tired of the arguing and Jason freaking out. “THAT’S ENOUGH! I have too much on my plate as it is! Unless the Lazarus Pit is going to leak out into the environment and make the city a wasteland you’ll need to get someone else to fix it!” Everyone stood silent as Marinette crossed her arms and began to tap her foot impatiently. Talia nods. “That’s exactly what will happen.” Marinette sighed and marched over to the assassin holding the plans. She took the plans and began flipping through them, before pausing, “Did you really have to kidnap me? You couldn’t have started with that?” She sighed. They better have coffee down here, she was going to need it.

Three days later the Lazarus Pit was restored, but the same could not be said about Damian’s relationship with his mother. He was still upset about the League kidnapping his favorite Sister-in-Law, and Talia was furious that he was more loyal to Marinette than the League. Mari was the first person who really encouraged him to pursue his own interests and help him find his own path. She knew what it was like to have a lot to live up to in terms of being a Guardian and also being a hero, and she understood the pressure Damian was under. She didn’t want him to make the same mistakes she did, and decided to help him when she could. She helped him realize that his life was his, and he didn’t have to live to only fulfill others’ expectations. She was happy he was much more confident than she was at his age, and knew he wouldn’t end up falling into the “Everyday Ladybug” trap she did.

Speaking of the past, many of her old classmates reached out to offer help in redesigning and rebuilding Gotham. They were appalled that Gotham was abandoned, Alya in particular got in contact with Lois Lane, and the two made sure the story never left the headlines. The others helped the best they could too, using the influence they gained in their respective careers to hold fundraisers and supply drives to send to Gotham. Chloe even pitched in (she and Marinette and come to a truce in high school) and convinced her mother to make a new clothing line, and donate half the proceeds to the Rebuild Gotham Fund, “Dupain-Cheng, I mean Todd-Wayne- Marinette will want to work with someone when she makes her return to the fashion world. Would you rather that be you, the Style Queen, or another major fashion house? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Tom and Sabine were also determined to help their daughter, and with a little help from Nadja Chamack, The line outside their bakery was always wrapped around the block.

Only three people in Paris were refusing to help, and they were all currently holed up in the Agreste Mansion. Lila was still furious that she was thrown out of Marinette’s wedding reception (that she and the others crashed). How could this happen to her?! She, Lila Rossi, was supposed to be the successful and famous one! She was supposed to be married to a Wayne! SHE was supposed to be the one the world adored! Not Marinette! Unlike the other people in the room, Lila knew that after the stunt she pulled, she had no way of wiggling back into Marinette’s good graces. She also knew that since the public knew about what she did, it would be hard for her to run in the famous social circles she wanted to be in, since her reputation had been ruined and no matter how much damage control she did it would most likely stay that way. Lila was smart, and she always knew when to abandon a sinking ship, and she felt that now would be the perfect time to abandon the S.S. Agreste.

Gabriel was in a daze. His Miraculouses (Miraculousi???) were gone. He’d turned the Mansion upside down looking for the peacock broach and butterfly pin, but they were gone. What he did find in their place was a note, with two simple words on it: ‘I know.’ It was signed ‘L,’ and there was no doubt in his mind that L was Ladybug. He was also dealing with the PR nightmare that was his model, his son, and himself being thrown out of the wedding reception they crashed, not to mention the restraining order they got as well. The Wayne lawyers were a stone wall of legality, and no matter how hard he or his lawyers tried, they refused to budge and refused to let him try and smooth things over with Marinette. Unless something major happened his company would be bankrupt by the end of the year. For once in his life, he did not feel like he was in control.

Adrien was fully in denial as he sat in his messy room. He woke up to find his Miraculous gone, and a note from Plagg. It read, ‘Kid, when I first met you I thought you would be a great cat, and for a while you were. Things started going downhill fast though, you wouldn’t listen or work with Ladybug, you’d harass her constantly, and you would often refuse to help if you didn’t get your way. I tried to tell you, but you refused to listen. Then Lila came along and you chose to sit back and watch as she destroyed Marinette’s life, hell, you helped her. I thought you cared about Pigtails? I thought she was your friend? You sure didn’t treat her like one. You threw her to the wolves, helped destroy her career, then when the consequences of your, Lila, and your father’s actions came back to bite you, you continued to harass Pigtails to fix it. YOU CRASHED HER WEDDING RECEPTION AND DEMANDED SHE FIX YOUR MESS. That’s messed up. Don’t get started on that ‘She’s our Everyday Ladybug’ bs either. Just because someone’s a good person, doesn’t mean you can treat them like crap and expect them to take it with a smile. I’m leaving, of my own accord. Ladybug’s coming to pick me up, and I guess it doesn’t matter now so I’ll tell you this: Marinette and Ladybug are one in the same. You managed to treat the same woman like crap in two different personas. I’m happy Bug’s in Gotham now, and I’m happy she’s found herself a better cat.’ Plagg left him. Marinette was Ladybug. She left him. His Lady and his Everyday Ladybug were the same person, and she was married to someone else. A part of him knew he should never have told Marinette to take the high road, a part of him knew he should have acted better with Ladybug. He had always assumed that both Ladybug and Marinette would always forgive him, and that they adored him so it didn’t really matter, but now he could see how wrong he really was. As he watched Marinette and Jason helping at one of the makeshift hospitals set up in Gotham, he couldn’t help but notice a familiar ring on Jason’s finger. ‘Maybe she really has found a better cat.’

Phase Three was finally ready to begin! Some buildings were able to survive the earthquake, so those had been repaired first, but most of Gotham was lost in the damage. It had taken weeks (and a small graveyard’s worth of pencils) but Marinette had finally drawn up new plans for the city! It was difficult, but she was able to combine Gotham’s iconic gothic architecture with more sturdy, eco-friendly building components. When she pitched her idea to the city, it was a hit. Gothamites refused to be so reliant on the rest of the country anymore, since it was clear that in a crisis, they would not be helped. With people around the world chipping into a construction fund, they had the budget needed to make the dream happen, so with employees hired, the journey to rebuild Gotham finally began. 

Marinette also made sure to keep her promises to the rogues she allied with as well. The botanical gardens were the first thing she tackled, and under a very happy Poison Ivy’s supervision she was able to rebuild and expand the gardens. She brought in wonderful plants from all over the world, and the building had some nice new laboratories as well. It’s crowning jewel was an exhibit of rare orchids from around the world. Next, she decided to tackle the Iceberg Lounge. After deciding that the old building was the lost cause, she rebuilt it, and improved upon the original idea. She added many flourishes like a beautiful crystal grand staircase, and a massive island bar with an aquarium inside. The top was made of strong glass, and acted as a main stage while there were smaller ones along the side. On the ceiling she added light blue lights and a mist maker, which gave the hanging crystals a sparkly, ice-like affect. When the Penguin saw it he shook her hand and said he should have hired her to design the first one as well. It quickly became the coolest club on the east coast. The Gotham Museum got some nice upgrades as well. The building had survived the earthquake with minimal damage, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t need some work. Marinette expanded it, and added a gemstone exhibit, a massive Ancient Egypt exhibit, and a famous jewelry exhibit. The last one was so she could keep an eye out for any missing Miraculous that might show up, but there was another reason as well. She was able to convince many museums to send artifacts, gemstones and jewelry citing Catwoman as the main reason. “It would certainly draw a crowd if you had a piece that was stolen by the most famous thief in the world,” she’d tell them. Sure enough, it worked like a charm.

The Joker put up quite a fight about his amusement park being destroyed, however he was no match for the new Gotham hero Lady Miracle (whom everyone suspected was Paris’s Ladybug) the Bat Fam, and a large chunk of Gotham’s Rogues. He was quickly defeated and returned to Arkham, which had thankfully survived the disaster. By now the city was about 50% complete, and she began work on Harley’s Fun Land. She added coasters, games, rides, a cruelty-free circus, and anything else Harley could think of. There was carnival food, bumper cars, a waterpark, and a Pie the Clown attraction. If you hit all of the dummies that looked like the Joker, you’d win a replica of Harley’s hammer. She was even there when Harley got to cut the ribbon and welcome Gothamites into their new theme park, and she and Jason got to have a romantic ferris wheel moment. She rebuilt the sewers, and added some improvements for Killer Croc. They were now deep enough for him to comfortably swim in, and had multiple entrances he could fit through all over the city. Much to his surprise and delight, she added a nice living space for him, and she even through in some comforts like a TV with various subscriptions, and some consoles with controllers he could use. Bane’s fighting rings were her final project, and she decided she wanted to help him branch into legal fights. Sure supervillains would still duke it out, but now it was regulated and there were safety standards, so he now had a legal source of income. This also meant she could expand the small rings, into an arena. They called it the Colosseum, and in no time at all fighters were lined up hoping to take on Bane. Opening Night’s main fight was Bane vs Kalibak, the Son of Darkseid. No one quite knew how she pulled that off, but she did get him to agree not to go to war with Earth if he lost. The packed house roared as Bane defeated Kalibak after an incredibly long and close fight. The king was back, and stronger than ever. With Marinette’s side of the deal fulfilled, the Rogues who had helped her made a pact amongst themselves: If Marinette needed help in the future, they would help her, and they’d make sure NO ONE harmed their favorite business partner.

After many months, Marinette, Jason, and the rest of the Wayne family stood proudly looking at the new Gotham. The rising sun shone and reflected off of the glass of the new buildings, and many more gargoyles stood watch over the city. It took everything they had, but Gotham was restored, a shining example of just what Gothamites were capable of, of what Marinette was capable of. In Marinette’s purse, Tikki was beaming with pride at her holder. Her Baby Bug has come so far, and still has so much to do. She was so happy her Chosen hadn’t given up, and that she had found her Cat. Tikki could practically hear Plagg purring in Jason’s pocket. As the Wayne’s press conference began, Marinette was given the mic to speak. She spoke of how difficult it was, but that they did it. The resilience of Gotham and the determination to heal, and how she was honored to help the city that had accepted her as one of its own. Finally, she ended her speech with, 

“Well with that, Jason and I have some exciting news to share. I can’t see myself slowing down anytime soon, although it won’t be engineering, architecture, and fashion that’ll be keeping me busy. What I’m trying to say is... I’m pregnant!” And the excited cheers of the Gothamites rang out, the city couldn’t wait to be introduced to the newest, already beloved Wayne.

~~~~~~

Sorry it took me so long! I’m currently a college student so things have been a bit busy! Also thank you so much to all the people who have followed me, liked my work, commented, and reblogged! It means the world to me and I appreciate Y’all so much! Lemme know if I need to change anything or if I didn’t tag correctly!