#what if this was my final straw and my villain origin story. what then.

[scalpelsister]

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[opbackgrounds]

So I finished the live action and have taken a little time to get my thoughts together, and I'm very much of two minds about this show. I don't seem to be quite as high on it as some other people and the parts I didn't like I *really* didn't like, but I think the bones of the show are good and that the problems I had could be improved upon in future seasons.

More detailed thoughts under the cut

I've said all along that the live action will need to carve out its own identity if it wants to survive, that it needed not to copy the source material, but rhyme with it.

I feel like the first four episodes do that best. There was a lot to cover in the East Blue, and the more disconnected, episodic nature of the manga wasn't going to work. The solution was to combine and condense the manga content, and then add a significant B plot with the marines to help tie everything together.

The problem I have is that the addition of the marines takes away too much time from the Straw Hats without adding enough to make it worth it in the end. While backstories and story arcs were rushed to hell for our main crew, everything with Garp slogged, with the final payoff being nonsensical and poorly executed. I get what they were trying to do with Garp, shifting from childish temper tantrums to laughing maniacally, but it just doesn't work. Garp just doesn't work. Which is a shame, because I think that the growth for Koby and Helmeppo had a lot of potential and the actors exceeded my expectations. The material they had to work with just wasn't good enough.

Syrup Villiage worked best for me, because of all the arcs in the manga it was the most dragged out and poorly executed. It benefits from being condensed and leaning into the horror vibe over the generic shonen battle of the original was inspired. Plus, it validated my head canon of Kuro poisoning Kaya, which is always a nice feeling.

But even here, there's a knock-on effect of what came before it. Because Shells Town and Orange Town were cut down so drastically, Zoro's backstory and some of Nami's development were kicked on down the line, making Usopp more of a bystander in the arc where he should have shined the brightest. Later on the Baratie, Sanji's inner turmoil and struggle to follow his dream is reduced down to a "hey, the chore boy offered me a job, I'm gonna bounce".

And for what? So we can spend a painfully long scene of Garp eating a fucking steak?

The show needed its original ten episodes of runtime to let the characters just breathe. The chemistry amongst the crew is great, there are cinematic moments that took my breath away, the soundtrack is fire, the fights were enjoyable, and the set design is fantastic, but the depth of the manga is flattened. In the East Blue, every villain--even the shitty ones--acted as double foils. For example, Captain Morgan's narcissism contrasted with Zoro's willingness to throw away his good name in order to follow his dream, where his more villainous nature foiled Koby's heroism. In the show, Morgan barely counts as a villain, with his more disturbing and evocative acts such as telling his subordinates to shoot themselves (and more chillingly, them willing to do it) are cut out entirely, and it makes Garp's decision to later tie him up to the same post as Zoro seem almost insane.

Of all the arcs, Arlong Park left the worst taste in my mouth, which is so frustrating when it's supposed to be the crown jewel of the season. The changes they made to Nojiko are baffling and the one time I honestly don't understand why a change was made. Nami's backstory, the most powerful in the East Blue, was chopped into pieces and condensed so much that I felt nothing when Bellemere died. Luffy's decision to actually listen to Nami's backstory, while it made sense for this version of the character, went so against the spirit of the original that it took me out of the moment, as well as removing one of the aspects that makes Luffy such a unique character in the first place.

And for what, so the season had time to end with Luffy fighting Garp in a hopeless fight, only for Garp to let him go because "it was all a test"? Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. The whole point of the East Blue is to establish the Straw Hat Pirates. They shouldn't be playing second fiddle to anyone, let alone this deranged, poorly written version of Garp.

I said that the bones of the show are good, and I stand by that. The Straw Hats are the Straw Hats. The One Piece world is the One Piece world. I do remain hopeful for improvements should there be a season two, because the marine B plot with Smoker is already in the manga, and the overarching story of Alabasta gives the writers the ability to be more flexible with the limited time that they have. I have to believe that it's easier doing one big story over the course of a season than it is trying to shove 5 origin stories into 8 episodes, but I'm not a TV person so I might be wrong.

However, my concern is that in some ways season one benefited from the pandemic. The series was in pre-production for like 7 years, and all the interviews I've read have credited the extra time the series had in the developmental oven for my favorite aspects of the show--particularly the sets. That's not going to necessarily the case going forward, and my worry is if future seasons aren't given the time to get it right that it's all going to fall apart. At the same time they can't wait too long, because that's not how live action works.

The live action isn't a bad show, but it isn't a good show, either. I'm glad that it exists, even if it's only to point back to the original. I wouldn't be devistated if it were cancelled, but would certainly check out season two should it get renewed.

Just, please. No more Garp. I'm begging Matt Owens and Oda himself, please. Just let the man do cool stuff off screen for a couple seasons, and when he's reintroduced pretend all this never happened. Your show will be better for it, I promise.

[inspiredrawaw]

The Eclipse team!

Myrvin McGrove a star mage apprentice and next in line for fox protector of the local forest.

Jaxie Richard a knight in training who also works really hard to have a social life

Lemon “Lemy” Blixt a lemon orchard farmer who is very tired and is the life that gives you lemons

Charlotte Richard, a sneaky rogue of the land and also Jaxie’s sister!!! Family dinners are a bit tense

And now things I’ve changed for the design and whyyyyyy and how it fits in the storrryyyyyyyyyyyyy

First off! I had no desire to draw these characters for a while which told me that I needed to change some things to make them exciting to draw again.

Now originally this story was set in a modern world and the characters were placed into a fantasy world. I apparently don’t like modern settings for my stories so full on fantasy we go! I’m also a SUCKER for fantasy give me full control of the world to sandbox in

Because of this some designs were changed.

I changed Myrvins deer mask to fox because I feel like it’s a better insight into this guys character and there is a fox constellation! I also already have a deer character in my other story Opal Reapers and I didn’t want repeats

And due to my experiences with (hopefully temporary) vision loss I wanted to change a bit on how Myrvins vision loss worked. Such as having a short white ID cane that’s great to help with depth perception and having his mask cover 1 eye to make things easier for him. I did change his scar to be more star shape and his cape to look like that of a fox!

Now Jaxie, jaxie has been the one name from when these guys were septic ego OCs that kept the name so I also switched it and put an x in there. X marks the spot for Myrvins affection apparently and also probleeeemmmsss. He needs a break! 👏👏👏 went for more knight armor but kept some elements from his previous design such as ginger hair and his double lit candle tattoo. And the red hoodie that is his STAPLE

LEMY!!!!!! I love Lemy. So I never shared this character but they were suppose to be a guide for Myrvin in the original fantasy world. But now they don’t need that and I still wanted a reference to the original title dealing with orchard. But we already got our red character so yellow it was! Our sour lemon lantern orchard farmer. I designed her hat to look like a straw hat but still be part of her head design I am so happy with it. Also gives scarecrow vibes

AND CHARLOTTE!!!!!!!!! GOD SHES FINALLY BEEN GIVEN TRAITS DEAR STARS. So originally went from being Jaxies brother, to goth sister named Charlie, to now Charlotte problem was that I didn’t know what role she played in the story. She’s a lesbian mess with a knife I love her. She’s a rose both pretty and will slice ya. Big dramatic anime villain vibes for someone who is not a villain. Both Charlotte and Jaxie are trans because I think it’s funny to think that they were told to share as kids and shared everything including their gender and never asked for it back.

The story is still gonna revolve around the Solar and lunar Eclipses drama and poor communication skills and take up Myrvin and Jaxie as there champions as celestial entities DO. Which I shall design….. eventually

ANYWAY if you made it down here thanks for reading let me know what you think.

[deadite-central]

Funny thing I’m rewatching Punk Hazard with my friend while working on the punk hazard posts. I love this arc, like genuinely it’s one of my favourites

As the arc begins you immediately can sense another adventure as this is an island that doesn’t appear on the log pose, and of course, we have to go there to unravel that mystery, as well as the one around the Wano samurai attacking people. Smoker appears for a bit in the end of Fishman Island, but here we get his and Tashigi’s proper reintroduction, and seeing old foes appear again in One Piece is always great. So is seeing a whole ass dragon

Punk Hazard is the first time we meet Kin’emon, who will be spending a lot of his time and development with the Straw Hats, which is something I never expected going into One Piece originally, I thought he’d simply be a side character for this arc. We also meet the kids, the mystery surrounding them is really compelling, because why is a bunch of huge children here? Are they really sick? How do we get them out of here? And fortunately we’ll get answers for that soon enough, as Nami decides to help them, once being a child that needed rescuing as well

Besides the reintroduction of Smoker and Tashigi, Law appears for the first time since Post War. He still seems mysterious at this point in the story, and the show of his powers here is magnificent

Speaking of his powers, one of the biggest comedic highlights in fantasy/sci-fi stories to me are body swaps. I’m on the floor whenever any of these people interact with everyone else. You can pair up a body swapped character with anybody and I promise you it’s funny

It takes us some time to get there, but we also finally get introduced to the villain of the arc, tho I will say to me it feels like he shares that role with Monet, but that’s a talk for another time. Caesar is first set up by Brownbeard as a much nicer guy than he is, but it’s clear that cannot be true by everything we’ve been seeing on this island so far. And when we see how cruel he is to his subjects, people that genuinely would do anything for him, it all creates an image of an absolute mad scientist, a villain trope that shockingly works very well in One Piece. Caesar himself is a great mix of evil and hilarious, because while what he does is completely disgusting, he is so goddamn funny that I cannot not like him

[softguarnere]

Please share more about Chiara. She looks really cool😎

Aaaaahhh, thank you, Anon! 🥹🫶🏽 I enjoy putting her into situations, so I hope other people will enjoy her, too!

Some Chiara origin story/fun facts below the cut 🤭

So me being me, of course this is another Indigenous OC, because representation is important and I'll never ever shut up about that :)

Her full name is Chiara Kahhori St. Claire because I'm OBSESSED with that episode of What If . . . ? and I think Chiara and Kahhori would be so much fun together. In this essay I will --

A member of the Mohawk tribe, she was born and raised in upstate New York by her mom and grandma. Mostly by her grandma, because speaking of her mom!

Chiara's mom, Monica St. Claire, is a super successful lawyer who's pretty much always traveling for work

Monica may or may not have worked for Stark Industries as a legal advisor back in the day. She also may or may not have had a secret enemies to lovers back to enemies relationship with Tony Stark during that time. She may or may not have quit and fled back to New York when they broke up. And Tony may or may not be Chiara's biological father -- who's to say, since no one has been brave enough to run a paternity test?

(Slightly off topic, but sometimes I mess around with an au in which Chiara is raised by her father instead of her mother, and that shit is WILD lmao. They are a complete disaster and I love that.)

ANYWAYS

Chiara can be a menace. Are her actions cries for attention? Absolutely. Still a menace, though!

This girl basically terrorizes the Catholic school she goes to growing up

Ex: At age twelve, she refuses to do confession because "I literally have Saint in my last name, I'm basically already halfway to canonization." Age thirteen, she begins referring to the priests solely as "Pops" and/or "Daddy-O." And of course, at age fourteen, the final straw that gets her kicked out is stealing wine before Communion with some older kids.

Also at age fourteen!

Everyone forgets Chiara's fourteenth birthday. She's devastated. That night, she sees a shooting star go overhead and offhandedly makes a wish that she were important

The next thing she knows, she's got very villain-coded powers. She can manipulate/animate shadows, travel though them, take the light out of rooms, etc. Oops.

Now at age fifteen, she's been moved to Queens for a fresh start after getting kicked out of her last school, and she's trying so so hard to hide these weird-ass powers because they lowkey terrify her, and she's pretty sure that her "importance" is supposed to come from being some sort of villain -- because no hero would have such dark powers . . . Right?

There's definitely more thoughts, but at the risk of accidentally making you read a whole novel length list of ideas, I'll exercise some self control and end here for now

[maximoffhimbo]

Origin story | The Villain

Tw: murder, blood, broken bones, sex talk

Continuation of my one-shot, ‘origin story’

-

Four months had passed since you murdered vision. You had fled the compound, now completely alone and causing as much havoc and anarchy as possible. You had lost yourself completely, you were no longer Y/N, you were the being of chaos that Wanda Maximoff had created.

You had become the avengers enemy, killing shield agents willy-nilly. Your entire existence fuelled only by anger and grief.

-

Eventually all anger and grief would burst through the surface, right? Destroying the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building. You were truly on a roll. The avengers desperately wanted to stop you however part of them felt empathy for you. The entire team blamed Wanda, unbeknownst to you Wanda had become practically hated by the entire team.

-

The final straw of your chaos came when you blew up a shield base and held them hostage as you tortured them.

“Y/N!”

You snapped your head from the bloody agent on the floor. Eyes meeting the one and only Captain America’s. “Oh wow this really is going to be fun” you spoke with malice. You were a being of mass destruction and most people knew not to get in your way.

“P-please.” The agent on the floor beneath you began to whisper pleas for his life, his eyes bloodshot and afraid. You turned back to him and pouted sarcastically. “Are you afraid of me?” A dry chuckle left your mouth.

“Y/N you need to stop this madness.” Steve sighed restlessly. “So this? This is madness? Tell me Steve, do you know what it’s like to have no one? No family? Hmm? Tell me. Please enlighten me. I killed vision, I’ll kill you if I have to. Do not get in my way.” The way you sneered at Steve had him almost fearful of you. “Y/N/N?” Wanda emerged out of the darkness, her eyes were hollow and dark. A complete contrast to the eyes of your former lover. “What are you doing here?” You spat. She slowly made her way over to you, keeping her eyes locked with yours. “I’m so sorry” she whispered under her breath. “I never wanted to hurt you.” You glared at her like you wanted to kill her. Wanda watched you, you didn’t look like you anymore, your eyes were empty and cold, your once full cheeks were now sunken in and hollow. You weren’t her Y/N anymore. She’d killed you. You walked forward towards Wanda, “How does it feel being alone Wanda? Hmm? Does it hurt?” She looked down then back up, “Y/N I’m here to help you please I-“ “help me?! Help me?! Is that what you’re doing?! Helping me? Is that what you were doing when you fucked Vision?” At the mention of his name Wanda’s eyes filled with tears, “Y/N/N please, I don’t know what happened, I felt a connection to him. Bruce said it could have something to do with the mind stone.” You backed away from her, moving towards the agent you had in your grasp before Steve and Wanda so rudely interrupted you. The shield agent shuffled away as best as he could with his broken legs and beaten up face. You grabbed his face and made him look at Wanda. “Tell me-“ you read his name tag, “Josh, do you think I should forgive Wanda? Forgive her for fucking a robot in our bed?” Josh looked up at you, lip trembling, “I-I don’t know.” You squeezed his cheeks and kicked him in the leg, the scream he let out was blood curdling but you didn’t care. You were numb. “Let me ask you one more time Josh. Do you think that I should forgive Wanda for fucking a red toaster in our bed?” The man looked between wanda and you, debating what answer to give, knowing his life might depend on it. “I t-think you should give her a chance.” Mere seconds passed before you used your powers to blow his head off. “wrong answer Josh” you chuckled to yourself before making your way back over to Wanda and Steve. “I suggest you both stay out of my way.” As you began to walk past them to the exit, you turned to Wanda, “I want you to watch this city burn.”

- tag list: @samallen20062837392

[sunnylighter]

I think this is what counts as the fan mail. Since asks have a character limit… Ask Game!

With that, Master Wu turned to his older brother and said, “Garmadon, Brother, I’m sorry. I am really, truly sorry.”

They all stared at him. What did that mean?

“For what?” asked Lord Garmadon, eyeing him suspiciously.

“For my actions after your transformation,” said Master Wu, looking regretful. “You came to me lost, confused, and needing my help, and I failed you.”

“I didn’t n-ne-nee-NnnnNNNn” Lord Garmadon attempted to say. He was trying to deny it, but the words refused to come out. Finally, he threw up his hands and snapped, “Okay, fine! I needed you! I’d just been bitten, poisoned, nearly died, went through the most painful experience of my life, and just when I managed to drag myself over to you, you attacked me ‘cause I looked like an Oni!” He glowered at his brother with his burning red eyes. “You called me a monster!”

Master Wu bowed his head at his words. “I didn’t realize it was you,” he admitted. “I thought… some imposter had stolen you away and was making a poor attempt to take your place. I thought I was saving you. I did not see the truth until it was too late.” He looked at his brother square in the eyes. “I have never regretted anything more. I am sorry, Brother.”

Lord Garmadon was startled at his words and looked ready to deny them, but a glance at the teapot reminded him of their situation. So instead he just kept quiet and turned away, a contemplative look on his face.

Master Wu sighed again at this. “I do not expect you to forgive me,” he continued. “I merely wanted you to believe me that I wish I could take back my actions that day. That I had been a better brother.”

Lord Garmadon remained silent, but his expression wasn’t as angry, so there was that.

There was a moment of silence as the rest of them absorbed what the two had said.

“Is that why you said you felt responsible for Dad attacking the city?” Luh-Loyd asked, drawing his uncle’s attention to him.

“Yes,” said Master Wu. “Perhaps if I hadn’t rejected him, things might not have come to that.”

ANSWER!

This is kind of my own head canon, but I talked about it a bunch with Kay Hau. 

We wanted to come up with why M!Wu and M!Garmadon are so against each other aside from just the sibling rivalry. Like, there’s so much vitriol from Lord G’s side. I’m pretty sure there had to be something more. I didn’t have the Movieverse have the Great Devourer, so him being poisoned with evil can’t be the reason. 

So I thought, what if Wu fucked up big time. What if when Lord G got bitten by his own snake and grew his four arms, Wu didn’t recognize him. 

What if Wu attacked him.

And then, with Lord G going through what is probably one of the worst days of his life, having Wu fight him instead of helping him might have been the final straw. If everyone, even his family, saw him as a monster then fine. He’d be the biggest monster of them all. 

And that is my imagining of Movie Lord Garmadon’s villain origin story. And Master Wu has regretted it ever since.

[bibliophilicwitch]

I think my favorite new to me book that I read recently was The Book of Bill by Alex Hirsch. I almost didn't pick it up. Even though I'd loved Journal 3, which was also by Hirsch and based in the Gravity Falls universe, I wasn't that interested in a book based on the villain. I should have had more faith. Thankfully, some positive reviews got me to pick up a copy. This book has all the signature quirky humor of GF, just with a little added darkness and creepiness. Also, the book was really cleverly metatextual. No spoilers, so I'm going to keep this vague, but at one point a toothy mouth appears in the text to demand the readers blood. It was chilling. If you enjoyed Gravity Falls and/or Hirsch's Journal 3, I would highly recommend The Book of Bill.

The Book of Bill by Alex Hirsch

Did you miss him? Admit it, you missed him. The demon that terrorized Gravity Falls is back from the great beyond to finally tell his side of the story in The Book of Bill, written by none other than Bill Cipher himself. Inside, Bill sheds light on his bizarre origins, his sinister effects on human history, the Pines family’s most embarrassing secrets, and the key to overthrowing the world (laid out in a handy step-by-step guide). This chaotic and beautifully illustrated tome contains baffling riddles, uncrackable ciphers, lost Journal 3 pages, ways to cheat death, the meaning of life, and a whole chapter on Silly Straws. But most importantly, The Book of Bill is deeply, deeply cursed. Beware: This book travels to dimensions meant for older readers.

Fun fact about me, interactive, metatextual books are what sparked my love of reading as a kid. I am an absolute SUCKER for that shit as an adult lol. This also sounds like the perfect gift for my partner, especially after such a glowing review!

[penultimate-step]

@greatwyrmgold

continued from previous reblog, replying to you in a new post rather than reblogging bc I don't want to derail the OP with my rant about shield hero, haha.

Would you believe I actually didn't mind that part as much? If only because I have a high tolerance for bs, especially if introduced as part of the premise. However, if you did get squicked out by the slavery nonsense and dropped it immediately, I'm happy for you, because it means you dropped it before it could get to the royal execution/punishment arc, which is straight up one of the most embarrassing scenes I've ever seen in fiction.

Protagonist dude gets the villain's own mother to legally rename her to "slut," while all the characters around him can't stop talking about how much of a kind and generous man he is for not killing, torturing, or raping her instead. The newly named "slut" is then forced to bow down and thank him for making her a "slut" and "whore", while all the audience cheers.

Just. Come the fuck on. Beyond the completely juvenile middle school level of revenge nonsense, beyond the fact that this is just the series doing a PG-13 version of revenge rape fantasy, beyond all the dozen reasons I can't stand this scene - it's just the most pathetically obvious "we'll have our protagonist fulfil his most base desires, but then somehow turn that around and make that be praiseworthy and have the narrative validate and morally justify him" crap that makes it impossible for me to regard the story with any amount of respect.

That was the final straw getting me to drop the series, but honestly it's more emblematic of the flaws of the series as a whole, and the terrible writing of the protagonist that undermines the whole thing.

I think the concept of the series - the basic premise - is actually quite interesting. An isekai'd hero where the focus is on how by being transported, he no longer has the social connections and safety net of the world he knows, who is immediately othered, ostracized, and betrayed by the new world around him, until his sense of trust in others is shattered. this pushes him to moral rock bottom, engaging in slavery and mistreating even his closest companions out of lingering trauma. To succeed, he must confront his own issues and grow as a person, building a place in this new world and making up for his mistakes.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that if this concept was executed even half competently, I probably would have greatly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, a concept like that inherently requires mature handling of moral wrongs done both by and towards the protagonist - and do you really think a writer who would make the capstone moment of a character arc be "you suck so badly that even your mother chose me over you, and also everybody around you says that you're sexually promiscuous and morally bankrupt" has the maturity to write anything close to what would be required?

Whatever promise the initial premise had doesn't even last ten chapters. After the introductory arcs, the writing loses all sense of ambition - it becomes too afraid to actually have the protagonist be in the wrong, and therefore has to frame everything he does as unambiguously sympathetic, that he is a nice guy, and also say he is somehow "deserving" of the power fantasy that the series becomes. This directly contradicts the character arc he's set up to have - It's difficult to simultaneously have a character be an edgy antihero making poor choices, and also have them be always in the right, and so the series bends over backwards to say all his decisions must actually be morally correct, regardless if they actually are. Which was the type of character writing that OP of the original post was complaining about, and also why I can't stand this series.

I don't know. I have friends who tell me the worldbuilding and plot gets really interesting later on. but I don't have any interest in trying again. I think I gave the series a fair shot and it just made me both angry and uncomfortable. If I wanted a progression fantasy with cool worldbuilding, and sometimes I do, there are plenty of those online to choose from.

(Again, I don't have anything against people who like this series, everybody has different tolerances for certain writing flaws and I don't think it makes one evil or dumb or actually accepting of slavery to like the series.)

[incorrectdnb]

Dandi is, in fact, trolling Exosphere

No quote today, just some information about something I’ve done purposefully with post scheduling.

Two characters who have appeared prominently in a lot of my quotes include Popcorn Edition’s Dandi and Exospheric Corruption’s Exosphere. And I’ve been making the former troll the latter on this blog.

If Exosphere appears in a quote, either Dandi must appear in that quote or in the one directly after it. Story-wise, he’s doing it purposefully to troll her.

This even goes back further to an AI-generated tournament I did once involving Dave and Bambi characters.

Dandi and Exosphere were assigned to go up against each other in Round 1d. To the surprise of everyone, not only did Dandi beat her quickly, he even said what would later become his most iconic, albeit not yet canon, line.

Dandi would later go on to win the whole tournament. Unfortunately, said victory was controversial, especially with the new character added by the AI. His name is Meliodas and he hates Dandi for reasons unknown.

(Also, due to the fact that I was using AIDungeon, I had to make myself a character, so I decided to make myself the referee.)

He would later challenge Dandi to a battle.

And lose. But there’s more to this character than originally meets the eye.

Turns out, Exosphere was still salty about her loss, so she challenged Dandi to a rematch. That she still lost.

But her actions were still justified.

Imagine you are the Goddess of Darkness. You are feared across the universe for your scythe and your power to “corrupt” anyone you choose at any given moment. You’re quite the formidable threat. Maybe too formidable, as your creator, ReeVrze, hasn’t given you any weaknesses whatsoever. All you have are strengths.

You are invited to a tournament in which people from around the universe fight each other for title of The Strongest Dave and Bambi Character. You go because you know you’ll win. ReeVrze made you that powerful.

You look at the brackets and see your first round is Round 1d. Your opponent: some random kid from Popcorn Edition with a pink shirt, black pants and a blue hat that he gave noclip. He thinks of himself as a Big Shot that has a very high chance of making it to the finals. You can’t wait to teach him his place in the universe.

Looking at the screen you see Gorbini from Kirby Dave and Funeralbi from Hortas Edition duking it out.

The battle doesn’t last long and ends in Gorbini’s humiliation.

It’s decided: you want to be a Funeralbi, not a Gorbini.

And then you and the kid, whose name you now know is Dandi, are called out to fight.

Good news: The battle ends with humiliation, just like Gorbini vs Funeralbi.

Bad news: It ends with your humiliation. Dandi just beat you.

No! you think to yourself. This can’t be possible. I’m the Goddess of Darkness, he’s just a mortal.

You are escorted out and can leave the stadium, but you decide to stay. You want to see Dandi lose.

Round 2b: Funeralbi vs Dandi.

Round 3a: Conbi vs. Dandi, the tournament’s only cage match.

Round 4a: The Semifinals, Dandi vs. Gimbi

You boo Dandi as he makes it to the finals. You just hope he’ll finally be knocked down there.

Dandi is scheduled to go up against Dave last. Dave made himself famous in his battle against Punkay from Stadium Edition in Round 3c by giving himself a nickname.

Dave might not be happy about the fact that he’s been avenging you, due to that one time you corrupted him a few months ago, but as long as you don’t say anything yet, he’ll be motivated to win and Dandi will finally have his ego crushed.

That’s it. That’s the straw that breaks your mind. Not only did Dandi beat you Round 1, but he won the whole tournament. What’s his secret?

You decide to take matters into your own hands.

You disguise yourself as a man named Meliodas and confront the referee who declared Dandi the winner of the whole tournament. You launch into a speech about how you’re the world’s conscience and how Dandi is a villain that must be defeated immediately.

The referee won’t listen to reason. So you decide to confront Dandi himself.

It goes poorly for you. Not only did you lose again, but your identity and true intentions have been revealed. And now the entire universe knows you’re a sore loser and an actual weakling. Not even ReeVrze can save your reputation.

It’s just as Dandi said. “You’re not even a real god, you’re just a girl in a dress.”

That line echoes through your head, driving you insane. His insults drive you insane. His voice drives you insane. His very existence drives you insane.

Your life has been ruined, all thanks to Dandi from Popcorn Edition.

It is then when she came to a realization that she knows ReeVrze would not like.

Exosphere is just a regular villain. Dandi, on the other hand, is a supervillain. The difference is all in the presentation.

[silver-ink-iron-words]

Omg I love your stories um can u continue sunnyside?

Thank you so much for the request! It means so much to me that people like my stories. I hope you enjoy this one too :)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Sunny Side, Part 4

When the hero was a child, they loved pomegranates.

They could sit for hours, eating one after the other, letting the juice stain their hands bloody. Even though the fruit was expensive, their mother would buy them by the bagful. Because, after all, they made her child happy.

--

The hero had tried to get away. Honest to god, they had. They had met the villain’s eyes. Started to raise their hand.

What they hadn’t done was account for the possibility that the villain’s henchman could be right behind them.

Now they were once again riding in the villain’s car, with their arms tied firmly behind their back.

They tugged on their restraints. It was the first time the villain had actually tied them since they’d made their deal, weeks ago. While the lack of trust was completely justified, it still (for some strange reason) hurt.

The villain spoke first, unprompted into the silence.

“I needed some help to capture you, originally.” They stared at their fancy ball-handle cane. “You were staying in the Hero Association’s facilities. Inaccessible to me.”

They looked out the window. “There was a supervillain. Enchantress – perhaps you’ve heard of her. She was as interested in your capabilities, in your potential, as I was. So we struck a deal. She helped me acquire you, and I was responsible for bringing you to our side.”

“I don’t think I like where this is going.”

The villain gave the slightest smile, but it never reached their eyes. “She did not exactly approve of my methods with you. Felt that I was taking too long. She had many . . . creative ideas as to how to make you succumb faster. I always did my best to hold her off.”

The hero tried not to imagine what her methods might have been.

“Your escape was the final straw for her,” the villain continued. “She has decided that I am incapable. Now she is coming for you, and wants to handle you in her own way.” They glanced over to the hero. “This is why you need to stay with me, [Hero]. I am the only one in this city with both the ability and the motivation to protect you.”

“How do I know you’re not lying? This could just be a ploy to recapture me.”

The villain shrugged. “Don’t believe me, if you’d like. It doesn’t change the fact that you will be staying in my care.” Their grip tightened around their cane. “She is never getting her hands on you.”

--

The pomegranates had been sitting on the counter for weeks. They were attracting flies. Their flesh had gone squishy. Their sweet, tangy scent had turned rancid.

The hero opened the door to their mother’s room. She was in bed. Still.

The rain outside fell cold and grey.

--

A crack shot through the house, and the hero heard the villain hiss in pain.

“Where are they?” Enchantress asked.

“I am still not quite sure,” the villain said, “why you think I know a damn thing about their whereabouts.”

“Oh, sure. Your most prized captive escapes, and instead of looking for them, you come to this remote mansion to do a little camping. That makes perfect sense.”

“I am looking for them. Or rather, my staff is. I do not need to physically be in the city to secure them.”

There was another crack, as Enchantress slapped the villain again. “Liar.”

The hero huddled in the closet’s secret compartment, staring into the complete darkness, arms wrapped around their knees.

They heard heavy footsteps amble up to Enchantress’s spot. “We’ve searched everywhere, boss. Can’t find ’em.”

“Keep searching. They’re here somewhere.”

“I’m curious,” the villain said, “what you’ll even do if you catch them. They’ll just put you to sleep, same as me.”

Enchantress laughed. “Unlike you, [Villain], I’m not stupid. I’ve cast a spell protecting myself from any and all sleep charms. Your little pet hero can’t do anything to me.”

“You’re at least a little stupid, if you’re so quick to underestimate them.”

Another slap sounded across the room.

--

“Did I make Mommy sick?” the hero asked.

The adults had said she’d gone to the hospital. That’s where sick people went.

The superhero – the one they’d seen on TV – hesitated. 

“Yes,” they said, their voice quiet.

The hero nodded.

Tears welled up in their eyes.

“Hey! Kid!” The superhero raised their hands, a startled look on their face. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You didn’t even know what you were doing.”

Their hero whimpered, their tears falling harder.

All of a sudden, the superhero pulled them into a hug. The hero tensed.

“It’s going to be alright. I’ll teach you, okay? I’ll train you, so that you only make people feel good things. You’ll never have to hurt anyone with your powers ever again.”

The hero relaxed into the superhero’s embrace, and they sobbed.

--

The hero emerged from their hiding place.

Enchantress noticed them first. “Finally,” she said, flashing a smile.

The villain noticed them second. “[Hero], what on earth are you doing?!”

There was a bruise already forming on the villain’s face. The hero stared at it, a pang of guilt reverberating through their chest.

Enchantress held out a beckoning hand. “[Hero], be a good little prisoner. Come here.”

The hero looked over to her. Her eyes were round. And a soft, earthy brown. Just like their mother’s.

God, why couldn’t her eyes have been literally any other color?

The hero held up their hand.

And Enchantress screamed.

Part 5

[carveredlunds]

just finished reading the “dorothy must die stories volume 1″, and “heart of tin” by danielle page, and i wanted to share my thoughts, because i’ve thought about them constantly since. i don’t want to read “the straw king” or “king of the beasts”, because i was a little disturbed by the body horror at the end of “heart of tin”, but i might read them someday. anyway, thoughts:

danielle page had a really interesting idea, and it’s a shame that the main series focused on amy gumm as the protagonist. i literally stopped reading “dorothy must die” because of the boring romance subplot

the series would have been much more interesting if she’d focused on the original book/movie characters (dorothy, the wizard, the tin woodsman, the scarecrow, the lion) and really explored their various declines at length, instead of just making them all evil in short novellas

she really didn’t give any of the eventual villains any development, huh? it’s just “red magic mist and now they’re evil because magic corrupted them”. i don’t know if they’re fleshed out more in the main series, but from what i’ve read, i don’t think so

wow the body horror was a lot. that final description of what happened to norbert the winkie was horrible. page seemed to really revel in the grotesque description, and the suffering. i’ve read online from people who read the main series that the whole series is full of gore and body horror. i vaguely remember some from “dorothy must die”, but something about the horror at the end of “heart of tin” just hit me

i want to know glinda’s deal. i checked the other prequel novellas, and i don’t think she gets an origin story, which is a shame. she’s clearly the main villain, controlling all the others. what’s up with her? does the mains series explain?

oddly, the wizard’s narrative voice was my favourite. i was really fond of him by the end of his story, and didn’t want to stop reading. it would have been so much better if he’d had a true change of heart, and he’d been the “prophesied” one from the other place who was supposed to defeat dorothy, instead of amy

again, it feels like there’s just a better story hidden inside this series. i may one day try the main series again, but for now, i think i need a break from the grimdark of it all

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7h5uM_9nXs

This just.. feels like the origin story song for the crazy twins. Like that one song where the heros learn the villains motivations.

Like, being infected and then discluded to the point where they feel completely isolated had a major role in how they became infected. As they were infected together and had each other to reign in their behavior, they were actually able to fight it off for a while. Whenever Sun would get too cruel towards the kids and the other animatronics, Moon would step in and play it off as a joke or a lesson. (he has to be fast with it sometimes, and when that happens the best way to stop him from doing something mean to someone is to just drop from the ceiling onto him and clamp around his face while cackling, which is a good way to relieve the tension)  When Moon was too strict Sun would cut him off before he hurt someone (mostly by throwing a pillow at him or doing something else dramatic and goofy to break his train of thought, like playfully threatening to organize his library from shades of blue which works hilariously well. It just confuses the shit out of him while also making him be like “you goddamn sausage don’t you dare touch my books”) But something had to give, and that thing just so happened to be the others, who began to ignore them. Suddenly they were being suspected for anything unusual that was happening around, and it became clearer with every day they were considered outsiders. it hurt even more because Freddy had always tried to stress that all the animatronics were apart of a family and would be there for each other no matter what. Whether they are a wet floor bot or a main attraction, they all play a part. They are all important. 

After the meeting Freddy said that exact thing, the band went to hang out at the dance floor. They asked where the group was going; Monty and Roxanne just looked away while Chica and Freddy tried to be polite essentially saying “we’re just going to hang out, but I’m sure you two are too busy to join us and we wouldn’t want to bother you.” They aren’t dense, they know exactly what that means, and it was the final straw. 

What’s the point of struggling to contain the virus when the daycare is closed, and the people who claim that they’re all “a family” wants nothing to do with them? Is scared of them? They’d been trying their best to do everything they could to remain normal, and yet kept being treated like monsters for a virus they couldn’t control. A virus that the maintenance team wouldn’t do a thing about, didn’t even care enough to investigate further. 

They want villains, they’re going to get villains. And by the time the others realized it, it was too fucking late. And this song? It’s essentially a slap in the face to Monty and Freddy, who hadn’t even thought about how they might’ve contributed to their decline into madness until now.  

[candreloup]

Hey! I heard you were looking for asks so I was hoping you could write about a hero with social anxiety who everyone thinks is shy, but in reality they actually have a lot to say and they are super sweet and considerate. And if their nemesis could be a suave villain who knows them better than anyone (and maybe even has a soft spot for them) then that would be amazing. Have a good day!

I am having a good day, thank you!(maybe it's because of your well-wishes :D) Have fun with this one too, this prompt looks super interesting. I'm excited to write it! Also I'm trying to write at least one snippet every day, but I might miss some days(depends on amount of stuff that day, inspiration, etc)- but for the summer I can actually have a consistent schedule! (Ignore the fact that today's is a bit late, haha) But anywho- on to the story!(wow that's like my catchphrase now)

Edit: also i have realized this may not be exactly what the original ask is about... so I think I'm going to do another one mor accurate to the request hehe

Hero gazed out of the window, staring into the rainy drizzle outside. It was a gray day, overcast and chilly with just the right touch of gloomy. The perfect day to sit inside with a cup of tea and listen to music. Instead, Hero was stuck inside, waiting for the rain to abate and sweating in the too-warm room. The temperature was just a touch too high, barely a few degrees over comfortable. It was a nice gesture, but in someone's over-eagerness to please, they had switched the discomfort to the other side. Oh well. Hero thought. At least the rain seems to be stopping soon.

The rain in question was slowing to a drizzle, the sky lightening and the sun beginning to peek out of the dissolving clouds. The inside was beginning to swelter, filling with heat faster than the dripping rain could cool it off.

Hero thought, "Here it comes."

The next few seconds came in flashes, going in and out of Hero's field of perception. The door slams. Flash. Windows shatter. Flash. A sweet smell drifts through the broken windows. Flash. A smooth voice fills Hero's head. Flash.

"Hello, Hero. It's nice to see you again."

It was over before Hero knew it. The sudden storm of sound, sight and smell flooding Hero's senses vanished in an instant, whirlpooling back into the singular figure in the center of the room, sitting languidly on a velvety chair. Villain.

Hero walked forward mechanically, feeling... numb. It had been years since they'd seen Villain, long before they became "Villain" and ceased to be "Friend". Hero could remember, clear as day, when that familiar face had appeared on the TV screen of the cold cafeteria. Along with a headline that read, "Dangerous criminal at large: 9 dead in lethal attack on Organization." And when the alarms started to wail, filling Hero's muddled mind with even more confusion. They'd struggled to process it, at first; it took them longer than it perhaps should have to realize that that smiling young child was no longer so young, and definitely no longer smiling. No. Instead they looked angry, resentful at the world for the cards they'd been dealt. Not like before. Not like before, when despite all the hardship and suffering that had been thrown their way, Friend had still seemed to love life. To cherish it and fill it with as much happiness as they could, as if to make up for the lost joy in other places.

What happened to you, my friend?

That all vanished into nothingness when Hero saw Villain sitting in front of them, fiddling with some small trinket in their fingers. Waiting. Waiting for what? Hero wondered, staring at the different, but still recognizable face. Waiting for... for...

Villain looked up. Hero stopped, waited along with Villain. What are they waiting for? Villain spun the trinket in their fingers and with a deft movement flicked it back into the dark recesses of their jacket.

"Waiting for you, Hero." Hero flinched. That was new. Hero sighed. They hadn't bothered to do research on Villain. Stupid! They'd been so naïve, believing that this clearly changed person sitting in front of them would still act the same, talk the same. But it was too late for that. All that they could do now was grasp at the small thread they had, hope beyond hope that they could figure out a way to bring Villain back. Now all that was left to do was try to understand, try to puzzle out what happened to that little kid they'd played with. And to try to bring that bright soul back.

"I know what you're thinking." The sudden noise startled Hero, jerked them out of their thoughts.

"Oh?" Hero struggled to stay as neutral as possible. Villain chuckled.

"You're so transparent, Hero. Just like I used to be. A dumb little kid. And you're wondering: What happened?" Hero hid their surprise as best they could. It wasn't enough. Hero could tell, could see the glee in Villain's eyes at Hero's confusion. It was a malicious joy, so different from that happiness they used to have.

"Now you're thinking that I've changed. Again. I did change. That's true. But I'm still the same person."

Hero cleared their throat, struggling for the right words to say.

"...No, you're not."

"Oh yes I am. I'm still 'Friend', even if I"-Villain gestured to their face and body-"changed in appearance. And perhaps personality."

Hero shook their head. "No. The friend I knew would never murder someone. You... you aren't my friend. My friend is gone." The bite in those words seemed to sting Villain, the hurt in their eyes barely visible. But it was quickly covered up and replaced with cold humor.

"O sentimental fool! You really believe your little friend was so great, huh! I almost feel bad for you."

"No. I know my friend was a good person."

"Ahhhh, you knew your friend so well! I see. Then tell me this, Hero. How is it that you never knew where your little friend lived? Or chose to ask? And how is it that you never noticed the deadness in their eyes or the tear stains on their cheeks? Tell me, Hero!" Villain spat. The venom in their voice was audible now, cutting through the smooth, smug tone as Villain glared at Hero. "And tell me, little Hero, how you never saw the bruises and scars on your friend's body? Tell me how you never, not once noticed how isolated, how totally alone your friend felt?" Villain was standing now, advancing slowly towards Hero with rage in their eyes. "Tell me how, Hero. TELL ME!" they half-screamed, standing almost nose to nose with Hero.

Hero kept their calm. Strangely enough, this was almost better than before, better than that slick villain sitting elegantly on the chair. Hero preferred unhinged to silence. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, the little Hero is sorry! Ha! What a joke! Well, little Hero with the oh-so-great-friend, explain to me your reasoning when you left me!!"

Hero snapped. They'd been calm, silent, reasonable this whole time. Kept their cool, kept their patience. Remembered- this is a person in pain. They are in pain because of me. I used to love them.

But the last line was the final straw.

"Oh, Villain, you want to know about leaving??" Hero yelled, standing on their toes and staring directly into Villain's wide eyes. "You want to know about loneliness, about feeling betrayed? You know, Villain, JUST BECAUSE YOU FELT ALONE DOESN'T MEAN I DIDN'T!" Hero screamed, filled with an uncharacteristic amount of rage.

"Hero, calm-"

"NO. For every time you hid things, every time you made me feel like I WASN'T THERE FOR YOU despite my CONSTANT PRESENCE, I'm going to tell you. You want to know, Villain? You REALLY WANT TO KNOW? Every SINGLE time I asked, EVERY TIME I BEGGED AND PLEADED WITH YOU TO TELL ME, you know what you did?"

"Hero-"

"TELL ME, VILLAIN. DO YOU REMEMBER?"

"I-"

"YOU RAN AWAY! So don't sit there, with your chair and suit BULLSHIT, and try and tell me that I WASN'T A GOOD FRIEND. Don't. Do you know how many times I tried, Villain? And god damn, COULDN'T YOU SPARE A SINGLE THOUGHT TO TELL ME? But no, you NEVER SAID A WORD. You just pranced around, acting happy until I left. Because APPARENTLY, EVERY SINGLE THING I THOUGHT I KNEW ABOUT MY FRIEND IS A FUCKING LIE."

Hero was breathing hard, still bubbling with anger. How dare they, how dare Villain accuse Hero of not trying. God knew they tried. Every. Single. Day. But even through all of that Hero had faith in Villain. They'd believed Villain was still good. But then that news report had come out. And now, Hero realized that their entire childhood had been a façade.

"I... I'm sorry." The words were almost a whisper, so quiet Hero could barely hear it. But they still heard it.

"Sorry won't cut it."

"I know."

"You know, Villain? Do you really?"

"I thought I knew."

"I loved you, Villain. I almost still do." Hero whispered into the room, feeling their words bounce off the bare walls. "I loved you..."

Villain looked up from their chair, eyes wide. "...You did?"

Hero started crying softly, tears rolling slowly down their face. "You idiot. You lovable fucking idiot." Villain stood slowly, looking ashamed. "Come here." Hero opened their arms to Villain, sobbing when Villain fell into the comforting embrace. "You idiot. I missed you," they whispered, tears falling onto Villain's shoulder.

"I missed you too," Villain murmured softly, quiet tears gently falling onto the floor.

It sounded like rain.

[jasmariswonderland]

Danica’s VDC Dress SSR Story+Voice Lines

When Summoned: “No more hiding, it’s my turn!” 

Summoned: 

Groovy: “Black swans are just as beautiful as white ones. Care to see what this black swan can do?”

Set Home: “Don’t I look amazing?” 

Home Idle 1: “I understand Vil’s concerns, but I’m not a child anymore. Why can’t I decide for myself what I want to be?”

Home Idle 2: “All of my teammates have a special charm unique to them, like the facets of a radiant gem. Together, we’re gonna put on a showstopping performance!” 

Home Idle 3: “Initially, I just wanted a costume in our school colors, but Farron went above and beyond to create something so gorgeous! I’m so happy with the final result!” 

Home Login: “As a performer, my greatest hope is to capture the hearts of my audience. Be it joy, sorrow or…other feelings, if we can stir passionate emotions, I’m certain the Black Swan Quintet will win.” 

Home Idle Groovy: “My seniors were surprised watching me dance outside of ballet. Hehe, I have a lot of different sides to myself!”

Home Tap 1: “Such an intense eight weeks. The second this is all over, I’m running back to my room and crashing face first on my bed! I might not wake up for a hundred years!” 

Home Tap 2: “It was wonderful seeing Minette again! We were in an idol club together in middle school. Even if they loose, I’m sure the RSA Divas will put on a fantastic show too.”

Home Tap 3: “There wasn’t anything wrong with what we originally planned, it’s just that our new song better suits everyone’s personality and talent. Also, I wanted to do something more reflective of my growth, does that make sense?” 

Home Tap 4: “Ione has such a beautiful voice, but she thinks so lowly of herself. She’s proven herself more than capable and I wish I could show her just how incredible she is!” 

Home Tap 5: “Vil pulling Sidonie off the team was the final straw for me, I’ve grown to like everyone on my team but that was uncalled for! If he thinks I’ll always be a gentle white swan, he’s in for a surprise once we take the stage!” 

Home Tap Groovy: “The Black Swan might have been the villainous foil to the White Swan, but she still had her charms. And what if she truly loved the prince in her own way? I’m sorry, just one of many things I’ve been contemplating since the training camp begun.”

DUO MAGIC: 

Danica: “Thank you for all your help, Farron!” 

Farron: “Spread your wings, Cygnet!”

[spacedikut]

fourth time lucky ; spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid (criminal minds) x reader

summary: spencer keeps failing at getting numbers and a very pretty girl is witness to an embarrassing encounter. 1398 words

a/n: my villain origin story is the lie that not everyone is in love with spencer reid

Derek Morgan, you are the bane of my existence. Spencer thinks as the tall girl, long brown hair curled to perfection that shines like it was dipped in glitter, awkwardly scuffles away from the painful conversation.

With a sip of his water, he turns to where Morgan is too busy with three girls to realise that Spencer, once again, failed to impress a random girl at the bar. After fifteen minutes of encouragement from his fellow agent, he was sure his third attempt at getting a number would be successful. Clearly, it was not.

It’s not like Spencer’s desperate. Really, he isn’t. He just sees JJ and Will, Morgan with… everyone, and now there’s rumours of Hotch and this Beth girl… he gets a little jealous. He wants some love, is that so bad? Apparently so, cause he can’t seem to get a number to save his life. No matter his approach, whether he goes with the Morgan-esque pickup line or pet name (which he hates and simply cannot pull off), or the Hotch just-smile-and-they-fall-in-love route, he can’t win. No name, no email, not even a fake number!

“That.. was painful.” A voice says.

With his shoulders hunched, Spencer turns to face the mysterious voice and is faced with a very attractive girl, who sips a very red drink through a straw. He resists profiling her (“profiling a girl at a bar is not sexy.” Garcia voices rings out) and instead takes in her appearance as innocently as possible.

She’s gorgeous. Spencer immediately gets nervous.

“Not well-versed in the language of love, huh?” She teases. Her smile is bright in the dim room, and it makes her eyes sparkle – Spencer knows it’s the alcohol making her eyes glassy, but it’s beautiful regardless. He wouldn’t mind getting lost in them.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Like I said, painful.”

They both laugh. She sticks her hand out, Spencer winces internally, and she introduces herself. Y/N. When Spencer just stares at her hand and opens his mouth to spew about germs spread through handshakes, she beats him to it.

“Not a toucher?” When he lightly shakes his head to indicate no, she shrugs casually, unphased. “The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It’s actually safer to kiss, so I get it."

Spencer almost falls off his stool in surprise – did she really say that? He stares, eyes blown and mouth slightly ajar, and it sends Y/N into a panic. Why was he looking at her like that? Did she make him uncomfortable by mentioning a kiss? Why did she say that? Does he think she meant they should kiss? Why would you invite a stranger who literally just tried to hit on the girl next to you to kiss? Why-

“I didn’t mean- I didn’t mean we should kiss. Even though we’re in a bar, and two of my friends have already gone home with strangers, the third probably grinding on one right now, I didn’t mean we, us, two strangers, should kiss. I’m sorry. I’m drunk. I’ll be quiet now.”

“No- no. I didn’t think you meant… we should kiss,” Spencer hesitates, “The pathogens thing. I’ve said that before.”

With an ohhh, Y/N visibly relaxes.

“Did you hear the whole conversation?” Spencer scratches his neck, “Between that girl and I?”

“The whole thing.” She grins.

He groans and pulls an uncomfortable face, “Yeah. I’m not good at this stuff, I don’t know why I bother. See that guy over there?” Spencer points to the table Morgan sits at, still surrounded, and Y/N nods, “That’s my best friend.”

“No way.”

“Yup.”

“He’s got game.”

Spencer laughs. “He’s been trying to teach me, but he can’t help it that he’s a magnet. I’m hoping he didn’t witness possibly the most embarrassing encounter of my life, so that leaves just you and that girl to remember it.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen worse-“ She pauses, and looks at Spencer is shock. “You didn’t tell me your name.”

There’s butterflies in Spencer’s stomach when she asks and, although he knows its common courtesy to ask for someone’s name, he can’t help but get excited at the thought that she wants to know his name for some reason other than decency.

“Spencer.”

“Spencer. Nice.” Y/N surveys the room, “Where are your other friends?”

“Probably at home.” Spencer wonders if she’d be weirded out by his perfect recall of what she said her friends were doing (two gone home with strangers, one grinding on stranger somewhere in bar), so he cautiously says, “All your friends are.. busy?”

Y/N chuckles, “Yes. We’re celebrating a breakup, so they’ve gone all out. I’m.. treating myself to too many Bloody Mary’s.”

Spencer’s interest in piqued, “You’re celebrating a breakup?”

“It’s a long story. My friend’s cheating ex got dumped by the girl that was way too good for him, so we’re honouring her with drinks.”

“Fun!”

Y/N beams and Spencer notices how her eyes scan his face. He’s not sure if this is the first time she’s done it (it’s not) and blushes profusely, hoping the dim lighting works to his advantage. Despite initially being terrified by her looks, she’s got this warmth to her. It’s obvious that the alcohol has helped her loosen up a little, allowed her to be more herself, and Spencer feels honoured that she’s talking to him out of everyone in this bar. Now, if only he could gather the courage to…

A figure tumbles into Spencer and Y/N is instantly in action, a “whoa!” jumping from her kissable lips (Spencer blushes again at that thought), and swaying before the pair is another pretty girl who is considerably more drunk than Y/N. From the way Y/N’s brushing her hair back and asking her if she’s okay, Spencer assumes this girl is one of the friends.

The girl mumbles something and is clearly too drunk, and Y/N is no longer relaxed, affable, instead slinging one of the girl’s arms around her shoulder and turning to Spencer with a grimace.

“I’m really sorry to do this, but could you help me drag her to a taxi? I’m weaker than I look.” There’s a joking lilt to her words. Spencer agrees immediately.

With Spencer’s help it doesn’t take long to carry the dead weight of a blacked out girl outside, and they both visibly sigh when they place her on a bench outside the bar. Y/N hails a cab fairly quickly, and Spencer panics.

You can do this. Spencer thinks. If you let this girl go I will be so mad at you Spencer Reid.

After a little struggle Y/N’s friend is stretched out in the back of the taxi. Y/N closes the door, checking she hasn’t hit her knocked out friend, and turns to face Spencer, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.

“Thank you, Spencer. This definitely isn’t how you planned to spend your night, but I appreciate it so much.”

The sincerity in her voice nearly makes Spencer physically buckle over.

“You’re welcome. I-uh,” Spencer touches his throat nervously, “Talking to you was way more fun anyway. Guess I’m glad that girl rejected me.”

Y/N giggles. It’s infuriatingly adorable. “It’s her loss. Trust me.”

There’s a pause as he stares at her, and she bites her lip. Ask me, she thinks.

“Can I have your number? To make sure your friend survives, of course.”

Tension flies from Y/N’s body and Spencer can’t help but profile her – she wanted him to ask her. And now he has, she happily reaches for her phone and reads out her number. She asks him to text her right then so she has his number, too, and Spencer is ecstatic – Morgan won’t believe this! Spencer’s got game, too!

When he finally sends Y/N and her friend off, Spencer wishes he had the confidence to maybe hug her, but he decides he’ll save that for the first date.

“Reid! You dog!”

Morgan’s stepping out from the bar, surprisingly no girl on either arm, and Spencer grins goofily.

“I did it. I got a number.” He waves his phone at Morgan who slaps his shoulder.

“I saw! I saw. I’m so proud of you, pretty boy. She looks like a damn princess.”

Spencer twirls his phone in his hand, worrying his lip as he wonders if it’s too soon to text you already. “Yeah. She’s pretty great.”