#with one of the most dangerous people in a vigilante crime syndicate

[horizoneffect]

2d6 table for law enforcement methods in D&D

So recently I've been thinking about how to portray dystopias in D&D, which is something that's harder for me to do well than it sounds. Most of the cruelly authoritarian governments I'm familiar with existed post-1900, which doesn't vibe with D&D's fantasy setting... So I've been dredging up my historical knowledge of awful governments, and as someone working on a thievery campaign, this has made me think of different methods of law enforcement.

Feel free to use the table below either as a 2d6 table, or simply as a list of ideas. Something I realized while making this is that methods of law enforcement are intricately connected with details about the town in question: who lives there? What kind of life do they live? Urban or pastoral setting? Large town or small town? What is the town like, socially -- do people put a lot of credence in religion, their neighbors, their in-group or family, the law, reason, or technology? For this reason the table below is intentionally generic.

If anyone has recommendations for other possible methods of fantastical law enforcement (trial by ordeal involving a dark cave and a dragon?), please add them below. Also please share if you have historical inspiration for awful governments (1700s Britain, 1500s Italy, the entire history of colonialism -- seriously, the concept of the existence of a company given monarchical and therefore divine right to rule over an entire nation is ripe for inspiration imo.)

In this town, lawbreakers are detected and apprehended in the following way (roll 2d6):

2 - Everybody knows and likes everybody. There's no need for any sort of law enforcement.

3 - When a crime is committed, the members of the victim's family are honor-bound to discover the perpetrator.

4 - A religious order divines information about criminals in cases of particularly heinous or sacrilegious crime. Then, the order's knights are sent to apprehend the suspects.

5 - Wealthy noble families, who have taken on the role of steward of the town, court mercenary groups to provide security as a favor to the public.

6 - The town is policed by members of the military, who are taken from the ranks of the imperial army, or the army of an occupying power.

7 - Town guards patrol the city. In smaller towns they simply keep an eye out for trouble; in larger towns they are given a set beat; in still larger cities they are assigned to separate locations and perhaps assisted with magical defense systems.

8 - Any citizen who has been wronged can submit an appeal for aid to their lord, who, in exchange for fealty, is in charge of marshaling forces to catch the perpetrator.

9 - Roll again, ignoring other rolls of 9. One of the other systems here is in place, but has gone wrong. Citizens often rely on hiring adventurers to solve crimes, and they must contend with the danger that a corrupt form of justice poses.

10 - Vigilante organizations have formed, which keep order in return for the citizens' respect. Whether or not those organizations themselves are legal is an open question.

11 - There is no real law enforcement to speak of, because no one follows the laws. Citizens pay protection money to the city's emboldened crime syndicates, which compete for territory, subjects, and power.

12 - Crime? What crime? Under the Dread-queen, all is peace.

[haledamage]

OC Interview: Liv Ramsey

a slightly more different interview with Liv XD @captainofthefallen​ open tagged and I didn’t need any much encouragement, so here you go. Gonna put most of it under a cut because it got really long. 

I want to do this with Kira, too, but I couldn’t decide which romance route, and since some of the answers would obviously be different depending, I decided not to. (if someone wants to reply to this and tell me which Bravo Boy you want to see Kira awkwardly pretend she isn’t attracted to, I’ll do this for her as well :))

Rules:

1. Choose an OC.

2. Answer as that OC.

3. Tag 5 people to do the same  I was gonna say I’m not tagging anyone, but I’m gonna actually tag @queen-scribbles​ for one of her Wayhaven Detectives because I love them :3

1. What is your name?

“Raphael.” She grins playfully, as sharp and bright as a blade. She’s fidgeting restlessly with what looks to be a 9mm bullet. You’re unsure if it’s meant to be a threat or if she just needs something to do with her hands. “Okay, not really. I’m Liv. Olivia Ramsey. Charmed, I’m sure.”

2. Do you know why are you named that?

“I don’t know for a fact that I am named that. It’s just what they called me, and I decided to keep it.” She slips the bullet into some hidden pocket in the simple, well-tailored black suit she’s wearing and leans back, picking absently at her chipped blood-red nail polish. “As for Raphael, that’s my rank. Like a callsign, you could say. Or a nickname. I’ve got pretty attached to it in the last month or so.”

3. Are you single or taken?

She scowls. “I never liked to phrase it that way. ‘Taken,’ like I’ve been kidnapped or somethin’.” She pauses, studying your face like she’s trying to figure out how much to tell you. “But I assume you’re askin’ if I’m in a relationship, and I guess I am. Sorta. I’m pretty sure.” 

She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh. “I am in love with a man who is also in love with me and that I sometimes share a bed with. That I share a lot of things with. He’s also technically my boss, and if anyone knew about it, they’d try to use me to get to him. I’d be tortured and killed and that’s if I’m lucky. So it’s, y’know, a bit complicated.”

She leans forward in her chair suddenly, all the kindness draining from her face. “This stays between us, right, sweetheart? I’m not gonna let you put Gabriel in any danger over this.” She sits back and just like that her smile is back. “And before you ask, no. I haven’t seen his face. Everyone always asks me that. It’s not safe yet. No tellin’ who else might be watching.” Her smile softens into something fond, almost sweet. “I can wait. He’s worth it.”

4. Have any abilities or powers?

“I’m a good sweet-talker. Good at gettin’ people to tell me things or makin’ ‘em listen. I prefer to do it with a smile, but,” she pauses, a shadow of something very dangerous in her pale eyes, “well, sometimes people are stubborn. I got other ways to make ‘em talk, too.”

“Besides that, I move fast, I can be real quiet when I need to… or real loud, if that’s what’s called for instead. Pretty good at patching up wounds. Less good at causing them, but hey, no one’s perfect.” She shrugs one shoulder.

5. Stop being a Mary Sue.

She laughs, loud and joyful and maybe a little unhinged. “Oh, I fuckin’ wish. You know what’d I’d do if I had super powers and shit?” Her laughter quiets, but she keeps chuckling. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t.”

6. What’s your eye color?

“Blue. Not much to say about it, really. Lotsa people have blue eyes.”

7. How about your hair color?

She tugs on a strand of her long hair, currently falling loosely around her shoulders and down her back. “It’s red, right now. I change it sometimes, when the mood strikes, but I like red. I think only Mouse and Gabriel know my natural hair color, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.” She taps her index finger on her thigh, thinking. "Maybe Michael knows. I dunno how much Gabriel tells him. I don't think he'd really care about somethin’ like that. Bigger fish to fry and all."

8. Have any family members?

“I mean, I’ve got the Archangels. Beyond them, no. Don’t need anyone else.”

9. Oh? How about pets? 

She brightens suddenly. “I have a kitten! Her name’s Ruby. Here, I think I have a picture.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and scrolls through it for a moment before holding it out to you. On the screen is a picture of a kitten, about three or four months old, with fluffy gray fur and curious blue eyes. It seems to be laying on what looks like a black hockey mask. “Raquel’s probably still a little pissed at me for keeping her, but… well, it did kinda save her life.”

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now, tell me something you don’t like?

“I don’t like being shot at,” she says dryly, then she smirks. “I don’t like when people threaten my friends. If I had a dime for every time someone threatened to hurt Mouse in order to get me to talk, I could retire somewhere tropical.” She laughs to herself, one quick, amused ‘ha!’. “I’d like to see them try. He may be little, and quiet, but I don’t recommend underestimating him. It’ll be the last thing you ever do.” 

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

“I’m an artist. You’ve probably seen some of my work, if you’ve ever been to Manhattan. A couple of them were even done legally.” Her smile is warm, and there’s still laughter in her eyes. “I’m a painter. I mean, when I have time. I got lots of sketchbooks I fill up when I don’t have the time to put things on canvas or concrete. I’m also a pretty good chess player.” Her smile turns a little wicked. “Ask Rook how good I am at it. I wonder if he’s still sore about losin’ to me. I don’t think Bishop’s ever gonna let him live it down.”

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?

“Are you kidding me?” She laughs. “I have hurt people in any way you can imagine and several ways you probably can’t. I don’t like to do it… well, just between you and me, sometimes I do like it.” She straightens the light blue tie she wears. “But either way, it’s part of the job. And I'm very good at my job.”

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

“Oh yeah. Plenty of them.” She shrugs, like she’s not bothered at all by it, but she won’t quite meet your eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, they were bad people. Probably. Most of them were, at least.” She smiles warmly at you, the tension in her expression gone like it was never there. “Don’t worry, we don’t kill innocents or civilians. Even nosy ones.”

14. What kind of animal are you?

“I dunno. Probably like a coyote or somethin’. One of those animals that can survive in almost any environment. The ones that stubbornly refuse to die.”

15. Name your worst habits?

“I run off at the mouth, especially if I’m scared or hurt or nervous. Not, like--” she pauses, as if looking for the right words “I don’t give away information or anything like that. I’m not a snitch. I just… I’m a bit of a smartass, and a bit of a flirt, and in situations where I should probably not be talking, I’m doin’ one of those instead. Michael says it’ll get me killed one day. Sometimes he says he’ll be the one to do it.” She grins. “He doesn’t mean it. He adores me. Don’t let him tell you different.”

She slouches back in her chair, crossing her legs at the knee. “Besides that, I can’t sit still worth shit and I always forget to do the dishes. Also, don’t hand me any important paperwork because I will draw on it.”

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

“Nope. Never really had anyone to look up to. Well, maybe…” she pauses, her eyes distant. “Maybe Kaidan. Never had anyone take a chance on me before he did. He’s the reason I’m here now. The reason I’m an Archangel. He’s kinda my… mentor, in a way.” She smiles to herself. “Him and Gabriel. But I can’t exactly say I look up to Gabriel, y’know? That gets into weird territories, when you consider my relationship with him.” 

17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

“Are those my only choices? ‘Cause those are not the only sexual orientations out there, sweetheart. I’m pansexual.” She spreads her arms out in an inviting way. “I’m an equal opportunity gal.” 

18. Did you attend school?

“Sure. New York public schools. I even graduated. For Mouse, more than for myself. If I dropped out, he woulda done so too, and I didn’t want to drag him down with me.” She looks down, sadness in her eyes for a moment. “Guess I did anyway. Some best friend I turned out to be.” 

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?

“I don’t really care one way or the other about marriage, but if I ever have kids they’ll be adopted. I wanna give some kid the kind of home, the kind of family, that I never got to have. Unconditional and all that shit.”

20. Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

“Obviously.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder dramatically, then laughs. “Nah. If people know who I am, I’m not doin’ my job right, and if people are out there bein’ fans of the Archangels, then it’s Michael and Gabriel they’re swooning over, not Raphael.”

21. What are you most afraid of? 

Her face goes abruptly blank and cold. “Being abandoned. Being alone. I’ve been there before… before Mouse, before the Archangels. I’ll burn this whole fuckin’ city to the ground if that’s what it takes to keep them safe. I’m not ever going back to that. Not ever.”

22. What do you usually wear?

“Usually?” She looks down at herself. “Oh, you’re askin’ about the suit! It’s standard Archangel uniform. Black suit, blue tie, mask.” She pulls a hockey mask out of the inside pocket of her suit jacket. It’s black and has what appears to be a cascade of red roses down the right side of it. “You like it? I designed it myself.”

She puts the mask back away. “When I’m not working, I like layers. Tank tops and flannel shirts and leather jackets. Skinny jeans or leggings or skirts and tights. Dresses short enough to stop traffic. Red and pink and yellow and black. A bit of Archangel blue sometimes, too, these days.” She tugs on her light blue tie again. “Rook told me I looked like a ‘punk rock supermodel’ once. Nicest thing he’s ever said to me.”

23. What’s one food that tempts you?

“Gabriel bakes the best fuckin’ cookies you will ever eat. There is a small chance I fell for those cookies before I fell for him.”

24. Am I annoying you?

She waves a dismissive hand. “Nah. I’ll take any excuse to talk about myself.”

25. Well, it’s still not over!

She smiles that knife-sharp grin again and runs her tongue over her bottom lip. “So when do I get to ask you questions, sweetheart? I’ll make it worth your time.” 

26. What class are you (low/middle/high)?

She tilts her head to one side thoughtfully. “Y’know, I have no fuckin’ idea. I live in a pretty swanky apartment right now, but I don’t own it. I have a decent amount of money squirreled away, but most of it’s stolen. All of the above, I guess. I’m a homeless kid who lives in the penthouse suite.”

27. How many friends do you have?

She stops to think for a second. “Fourteen.” She looks surprised and clearly is counting them again in her head. “Wow. Fourteen. Huh. You know, two months ago the answer to that question was ‘one.’ Even if we’re just talking close friends, the answer’s still eight. I’m not… I got no idea what to say to that.”

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

“I prefer cake, but I don’t mind pie either. Just don’t ask me to bake one. And if I do, I don’t recommend you eat it.”

29. Favorite drink?

“Tea with milk and sugar. Pretty sure it’s Mouse’s fault. That’s how it works, right? Blame your tea-drinking habits on your British friends.” She laughs lightly. “I’ve got too many fuckin’ British friends.”

30. What’s your favorite place?

“I like Father Murdock’s. I like the juxtaposition of it all. Church upstairs, black market downstairs. Nuns carrying AKs. It’s just ridiculous enough that it almost doesn’t seem real.” She sighs and her smile slips a little. “Favorite place used to be the Mill, but I guess we can’t go back there now. Gotta find a new base of operations.”

31. Are you interested in anyone?

“Why, you hopin' you got a shot?” She looks you over slowly, a playful smirk spreading across her face. “I mean, you've already asked me if I was 'taken'. Since I am, it obviously means I'm interested in someone. Or are you asking if I'm interested in someone else?” 

She stops to really think about it. “These days, I'm surrounded by a lot of gorgeous, interesting people. People that, in a different situation, I’d probably be real interested in. But if Gabriel's in the room, the rest of the world may as well not exist. He’s magnetic. It doesn’t make sense for a man to be so goddamn attractive when the only part of him not covered is his eyes and even that’s only sometimes, but I know I’m not the only one drawn to him. I’m just the lucky one.” She chuckles, and that fond smile is back, the same one she wore last time she spoke about Gabriel. “I always thought that 'I only have eyes for you' thing was a bit sappy, but damn if it isn't true.”

32. That was a stupid question…

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” She waves it off like she’s already forgotten about it, then smirks at you again. “If you’re actually interested, though, I got a few friends I could introduce you to. We can talk about it later.”

33. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?

“Ugh. I hate swimming. I’m not really a, uh, outdoorsy type.” She taps a fingernail against her bottom lip, thinking. “I guess a lake, if I had to choose. Less sharks and shit.”

34. What’s your type?

“You sure are askin’ a lot of questions about my love life, sweetheart. I guess it’s lucky for you that you caught me at a time I actually have one.” She chuckles and sits back in her chair, staring at the ceiling while she thinks. 

She’s quiet for a long moment, then leans forward suddenly, her pale blue eyes intense. “You know what’s the most attractive thing a person can have, regardless of gender? Competence. There is nothing sexier than someone who knows their shit and does it well. That confidence someone has when they’re really good at something and they know it.”

She sits back again, some of that intensity draining away. “I’ve never had anything specific physically that draws my attention. Lucky for Gabriel, I guess, since I was already long in love with him before I really saw any of him. He’s got real good shoulders, though, y’know? Broad. Strong. Stubborn.” She laughs at the last one.

35. Any fetishes?

“Dunno. Most of my sexual experience has been pretty vanilla so far. Might be fun to find out.”

36. Camping or outdoors?

“No thanks. I did enough sleepin’ outside when I was homeless for a few months. No way in hell I'm sleeping outside on purpose. I’d prefer a roof over my head, if it’s all the same to you.”

She waits for you to ask another question, but when you don’t she just nods. “All right, good talk. This was fun.” She stands from her chair and straightens out her suit, then offers you a hand to shake. Her handshake is strong and confident, her skin warm. “You need to find me again, go see Father Murdock. Tell Greg you’re lookin’ for Raphael. He knows how to get in touch.” She walks away, steps fast and purposeful and almost silent, and you follow her outside.

She pulls a black ski mask out of her pocket and puts it on, covering her face except for her eyes and mouth and tucking her hair underneath it, then pulls that hockey mask out again and puts it on over it. She takes out a pair of black leather gloves and pulls them on too. When she looks back at you, there’s no sign of the woman underneath except for the pale blue eyes; if you hadn’t just been talking with her, you’re not sure you’d even know she was a woman, the suit and masks erasing any signs of personality or identity.

She waves jovially. “If I were you, I’d find someplace to lay low for a little while,” she says, and even her voice is different: colder, harder, her slight New York accent gone like it had never been there. “It’s not safe around here at this time of day. All kinds of dangerous people around.”

As if on cue, a black SUV pulls up nearby. The passenger-side front window rolls down and the back door opens. Inside, there are four other people wearing the same black suit and blue tie, their faces all covered by hockey masks. There seems to be no theme or color scheme among the masks. You wonder if any of them are the Gabriel that she spoke so highly of.

“Heya, boss,” a friendly, Welsh-accented voice calls from the front passenger seat. “You get what ya needed?”

Liv doesn’t reply, instead just pulling herself smoothly into the open seat in the back next to one very large man in body armor with a shotgun in his lap and one very small man with an open laptop in his. They both nod at her as she sits down, and she puts a friendly hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. He must be Mouse, you assume.

The driver calls out to you, and he also has a Welsh accent. “Might be best to forget you ever saw us.”

“And ya best hope you never see us again,” says the front passenger. Her accent and cadence of speaking are so similar to the driver’s you’re pretty sure they’re related.

Liv nods to you once more, then closes her door. You see the large man hand her what you’re pretty sure is some type of submachine gun. The driver gives you a jaunty salute and then they drive away. 

You stare into the space where the SUV had been for a long moment. You should probably ask your boss for a raise; there’s no way you’re getting paid enough to interview Archangels.

[bigskydreaming]

Hi, I was reading your post about Jason punching Dick in the face when Dick revealed he fake his death was bullshit ( which it was) and it reminded me of an issue/question that has bothered me for sometime.

Why did people believe Dick was actually dead?

I’m not the most avid comic reader so maybe I missed something but it was always weird to me that everyone just accepted this especially given how Bruce was acting or should I say wasn’t acting.

This is a man when his child died another child had to come along and told him sir you are being too violent and emotional you need supervision. When his other child died he went all over the universe to bring him back to life because he knew it was possible ( which was happening at the same time), so why didn’t anyone think it was weird he wasn’t doing that for Dick. Can you imagine Dick really dying that soon after Damian it would be injustice Batman Version. You are telling me that Tim, Jason or Barbara didn’t think it was weird that Bruce didn’t also bring Dick’s corpse to the bring Damian back to life mission or mention it to themselves. Like what more likely Dick dead and Bruce is handling it well or that he fake his death to do something stupid and Dangerous after his partner/brother/ little bit my son the feelings are complicated died after he was knocked out and woke up to his corpse.

Oh man, this is like, the entire nature of my beef?

(Slight derail just to emphasize the fact real quick that Dick DID actually die, he was just revived quickly, but like, the trauma of his death was very real and its not like anyone was clued into Luthor having a resurrection backdoor built into his literal murder of Dick in the actual moment of it happening. So Dick’s death wasn’t fake, and additionally, he didn’t have anything to do with like, telling people about it, because he was literally comatose in the cave and recovering while Bruce was telling people....by the time Dick woke up in the cave, we already know that Alfred at least had already been convinced by Bruce that Dick was dead, so I have a kneejerk need to pushback against the Dick faked his death narrative by reminding people wherever possible that Dick had no agency in the spreading of that narrative. 

It happened without him being involved, and the only actual contribution he ever made to it was just not revealing he was alive before Grayson #12, after Bruce like.....emotionally, mentally and physically badgered him into accepting that doing so would be directly harmful to his family and he didn’t want to be the reason more people died when like, people had just died because he ‘let’ himself be captured and interrogated by Power Woman’s Lasso of Submission, did he?

SORRY TO BE PEDANTIC, just wanted to start this off on a clarification, even though I know the aim of your ask was very much in tune with the rest of my response. A lot of people don’t read the actual comics, so like, I’m never gonna skip over an opportunity to emphasize that the shorthand people use to refer to Dick’s death and the year he was with Spyral, is like, literally just shorthand for describing it. Its not actually an accurate description of how all that went down and who had the most hand in it).

BUT ANYWAY. BACK TO THE MEAT OF THE BEEF.

Okay so like, not only was the entire family and Bruce himself giving Dick shit for his death and Spyral, like, PAINFULLY egregious because it was literal victim blaming in every possible sense of the word....

None of it made a LICK of sense with ANY of their characterizations, and they ONLY all accepted it on face value because the Plot Demanded It, and when you're like, no, as a reader I say The Plot Demanded It is not a good enough reason for me to be like well sure, that makes sense......looking at the characters ACTUAL actions at face value pretty much just makes them all look like assholes?

Like, Tim has never gracefully accepted anyone's death. Ever. This is core characterization for him. He will go to the ends of the earth for his loved ones and to bring them back, prove they're not dead, refuse to let death be the final verdict for them. He was tempted to use the Lazarus Pit to bring his parents back to life. He refused to accept Bruce was dead long before he had any proof whatsoever of that theory. He tried to clone his BFF/future-husband Kon in his fucking basement like, dude was two whole inches away from going Full Dark Side in his quest to bring back a lost loved one no matter WHAT the cost.....and then you've got Dick unmasked onscreen, killed offscreen, and Bruce then reporting to the rest of them with zero inflection 'oh Dick's dead now. Its very sad' and Tim's just like, sure. Sounds legit.

I mean?!?!

And you're SO RIGHT ABOUT THE DAMIAN THING! Bruce LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY went BEYOND the ends of the Earth, like, he full on chartered a fucking space ship to fly his whole family out to APOKOLIPS to bring Damian back from the dead by going to EXTREME lengths.....WHILE everyone else thought Dick was dead....

And not a single person looked at Bruce and was like, okay, not that we're not down to do this for Damian because we miss Stabby Smurf something fierce ourselves, but.....what the fuck is UP with you dude? Why aren't you displaying ANY hint of this same kind of energy in regards to your eldest son that you said you watched die right in front of you?

Like....I don't know that we were actually ever told that Dick's coffin was empty or had a fake in it, but like....this family of detectives who refuse to accept death, defy death, COME BACK FROM THE DEAD....not a single one of them said like, okay, if I'm gonna like, ACCEPT accept that Dick is dead and gone for good, I need to at least just see him one last time? That's literally all it would have taken for someone to realize hey something's a little wonky here. Where's the dead body, Pops?

Since when has Jason ever missed an opportunity to prove Bruce is a) full of shit, b) acting like an emotionless robot and all his kids deserve better especially when they've just like....died, c) just factually incorrect and wrong and jumped to a conclusion before it was conclusively proved, d) lying like a liar or e) all of the above?

Nobody even ASKED if Dick's body could be put in a Lazarus Pit? Yeah, Jason wouldn't necessarily recommend it himself, given what it put him through, but actually fuck that, I take that back, because I'm NOT actually of the opinion that Jason full on hates his life and actively spends every second of every day wishing he hadn't been resurrected, even if it had come with a huge buffet of additional trauma and pain.

And that's kinda what's implied when people just take it for granted that he would never be on board with any scenario involving using a Lazarus Pit to bring Dick back, because it suggests that based even just on his own experiences and feelings, he honestly believes Dick would prefer being dead and not have ANY further opportunities to be with his loved ones, his friends, help save the damn world again at some future point.....that Jason, projecting based just off himself, legit feels Dick would rather be dead than have another shot at life even WITH the downsides of Lazarus Pit usage? Nope. Sorry, I don't buy it.

Speaking of not buying it.....you know what was missing from all those soliloquies the others monologued at Dick about how they felt and were hurt and just devastated by his death, to such a point they can't seem to muster a single shred of happiness that he's NOT dead still -

(seriously, Damian was the ONLY person in ALL THE LANDS OF EMOTION-HAVING who expressed ANY kind of positive reaction to having Dick back. We were so fucking cheated of like.....ANY opportunity to have the characters show just how much they valued him by just being fucking HAPPY he was alive, no matter what else was involved....and then most of fandom compounded that by for years being like mmmm, no, Dick didn't get yelled at enough by his family for what HE put THEM through. Needs more yelling. More punching too. Bad Dick. Bad. This is the only way you'll learn not to die and get shipped off on a mission that you don't want but at least is to protect your family after being beaten into it by your dad whilst victim blaming you for dying in the first place. WHEN WILL YOU LEARN TO THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE AND THEIR FEELINGS FOR A CHANGE, DICK?!?)

- But like, BUT I DIGRESS aside....you know what was missing from all those monologues about how hard DICK'S death and ensuing year of basically exile from his loved ones was for EVERYONE BUT HIM?

We never got a single line of explanation as to what everyone else officially thinks even happened to him in the first place?

Like, did Bruce straight up just say oh bad news kids, your brother umm. Expired. Spontaneously. There's no one to blame, he just keeled over, its all very sad.

Is that how that went down?

You're telling me that the explanation of Dick's death didn't come with a single pointed finger at someone for this family of blame-happy vigilantes to like, BLAME for the loss of this brother they all mourned oh so much, they just couldn't help but blame him for all the hurt it caused them?

The family that in every other fic is like OBSESSED with avenging and being avenged and all things vengeful and even tangentially vengeance-y....like didn't ask for a single detail on whomst the fuck deprived us of our brother-having?

Where were the attempts on Luthor's life by Jason (who I mean, yeah I know it was in a previous continuity, but erasing that timeline doesn't erase my awareness of the time Dick killed Jason's murderer so like.....mmm, just saying, woulda been nice)....where was the rage directed at the Crime Syndicate and references to how seriously and personally the Batfam took making sure that they were PUNISHED for all this and would never be free to wreak havoc on their world or their family again? What did they tell Damian when he came back to life, and how are you going to tell me that this fraternal little ball of fury didn't aim himself like a cannonball at whomever the fuck had DARED take HIS Batman from him when Damian wasn't around to have his back?

Not only does everyone else's desire to be avenged start falling really flat the second you factor in hey maybe Dick feels "mmm what about MY avenging" sometimes, and why doesn't anyone ever care about doing that for him.....but also, y'know what REALLY sucks about the ONLY person we actually SEE being blamed for Dick's death and ensuing absence being like....Dick himself?

Not only were his family all super keen on making all of this HIS fault and HIM the bad guy because of how it made them all feeeeeeel (and meanwhile fuck his feelings, am I right Batfam hfaklshfklahfkla).....

They somehow found a way to justify prioritizing this OVER ever even getting around to blaming some villain for his death in the FIRST place, in the entire year or so they thought he was still dead!

Like, you couldn't come up with a single target in all that time, but Dick's back two seconds, and you don't even give him a chance to EXPLAIN before you're punching him, shutting him down with 'I expected better from you' and turning away with 'I don't want to hear it, why am I surprised Dick Grayson disappointed me again'?

afshklfhalfhalfhla

Make it make sense!

And like, it won't, cuz it doesn't, and it never will, and like I said at the top, the ONLY reason it all played out this way is because DC doesn't give a fuck about character development and deemed it necessary to go down this way for the sake of the plot (which was totes worth it, I mean, glad we sacrificed characters for this A+ plot which was clearly the greatest plot of all time and definitely justified every story choice made or not made around it loooool).

BUT.

BUT BUT BUT.

The problem isn't JUST that DC is stupid, even though that is an eternal mood and quite the problem.

Its that the SECOND large parts of fandom decided to play along with DC and just accept the story at face value, only add to it and play into it exactly as it happened in canon with no significant deviations, and like, heaping on the LITERAL abuse from Dick's siblings while ignoring the LITERAL abuse from his father....

THAT....is when all of this becomes relevant.

Because the second people decided TO engage with the reasoning DC gave for what Bruce did and how and what Dick did and how and just not mess with any of that and have it all play out exactly like that...

The second people are like, okay we're FINE with not just dismissing this story as OOC writing that doesn't make any sense, and actually VALIDATING it to various degrees by engaging with it as is....

That's when 'OOC writing' stops being an excuse or explanation for alllll of the above gaps in character logic and actions.

Because its like, when you had abundant chance to REJECT this story and say nope, this was bullshit from start to finish and I'm not here for it, when you were just as capable of transforming literally ANY aspect of this story you didn't like into something that made more sense to you....

And you chose not to.

That's.....accepting it as valid writing. You were like, okay, I'm game to just treat this as a thing that happened, just like they said that happened.

For the chance to give Dick shit for it, see. For the angst, see.

And that's when I'm like okay cool, so when engaging with this story as is and accepting it on face value and just delving into the characters as they were SHOWN interacting with and around these events......for the angst or whatever....

You guys just all decided en masse to just hop, skip and jump over allllllllll the opportunities for angst inherent in examining even ANY SINGLE ONE of the above lapses in judgment or hypocrisy on the parts of the characters (who don't get to be excused by OOC writing if you're not going to call the story an example of OOC writing, whoops).

And its just like, uh, what's up with that?

[dreamsmp-fanfic-prompts]

Dream SMP Prompt 2 – Superpowers AU

Tommy & Tubbo teenagers with a secret – while during the day, they work at Nikki’s bakery, at night they are a crime fighting duo as vigilantes (a slightly illegal hobby). However, one day on patrol, they come across mysterious young man. His name is Ranboo, and he escaped from a secret government experiment called Project Syndicate – a way to enhance powered people, as well as control them. The experiments were so bad, there have only been five survivors – listed in the files as: Protesilaus, Zephyrus, Harpocrates, Nemesis, Lethe.

Ranboo revealed that he only escaped, because his powers were based on an extinct species whose powers where a mystery: they weren’t prepared when he developed teleportation.

Previous members of the syndicate had escaped at different times - the first three had escaped together in a huge massacre, and the fourth member had been broken out at a later date by the original members.

Tubbo and Tommy decide to investigate this program and hide/protect Ranboo. To do so, Tommy agrees to go undercover at the most dangerous place for a vigilante – the hero organization. Meanwhile, the more they uncover Project Syndicate, the more concerned the trio become. Especially when connections to two members of the most powerful super villain trio, SBI, appear. Even more so when it seems that the government has the heroes looking for Tommy’s alter-ego – for a special part of Project Syndicate called Theseus.

At least Nikki seems to be an oddly understanding boss. And her regular clients aren’t half bad, despite their strange behaviors.  

Bonus Ideas:

Kristan/Mumza is Harpocrates. She is a secret member of the SBI and earned her name because her powers are so dangerous, everyone wants to keep her a secret – she can heal people to the point of being able to revive them, and harm people to the point of being able to kill them with a touch.

The Badlands/Eggpire crew (Badboyhalo, Skeppy, Antfrost, Awesamdude, Ponk, CaptainPuffy and Hannah) are a group of vigilantes that have worked with Tommy and Tubbo before.

Tubbo does not have bee related powers, but his outfit and name are bee related anyway.

Punz is a hero, but only technically. He’s only a hero so that he can legally be a mercenary.

[where-s-all-blue]

Hopeless Heroes

Villain Pack

Akainu

High ranking government official.

Fakes being a good person infuriatingly well.

Is always spouting anti hero propaganda and claims that they're a safety hazard.

Literally had three dangerous people into the hold of the heroes in hopes of them causing enough bad rep to make people hate heroes.

To his dissatisfaction, the trio with questionable morals has been acting way better around the heroes than they did during their government surveillance.

Orchestrated the deaths of Dr Hiriluk, Roger and Rouge along with Ace, Chopper and Sabo becoming test subjects.

Loyal servant of EM.

Caused Corazon's accident and early retirement, the plan was to have him die, but the early retirement thanks to health complications was satisfying enough.

Is the reason why Law is also an orphan as his parents died with Dr Hiriluk.

Arlong

Rough neighbourhoof and discrimination against the animal hybrid mutants caused him to join a gang.

Shot officer Belle ere.

The bullets he favoured was also found from the skulls of Dr Hiriluk and his two assistants, however it is unknown whether or not he was the one who actively pulled the trigger.

Had Nami forcibly join his gang because of her cat burglar abilities and ability to chart buildings.

Was beaten by Rubber Man, Stealth Black and Hunter (Usopp's inventions included).

Big Mom/Charlotte Linlin

One of the more dangerous villains.

Runs her blood family like mafia, won't hesitate to execute her own kin.

Definitely has eaten someone.

Claims to be benevolent and kind, though her criminal record successfully contradicts that especially with the mention of her child abuse.

Megalomaniac, 100% megalomaniac.

Everyone on her turf has been successfully scared into submission.

Someone please save her children and their families.

Just like in canon, Linlin was originally a kind hearted girl who had been led astray by an evil person. In a way she never grew up.

There's some mental illness at play, but it doesn't excuse her behaviour.

Black Beard

This guy. This fucking guy.

Murdered Thatch who caught him red handed trying to break into the archives in order to find out the identities of the heroes.

Set up his own crime syndicate.

Plans to murder White Beard.

Wants Ace dead for some reason?

Power hungry fucker.

Give me a gun and I'll personally erase him from the existence and enjoy it.

Crocodile

Originally a cop who was forced to see his team be demolished by Kaidou.

As his team didn't get justice through legal ways, he decided to find it outside the law.

Sadly his methods were detestable and his lust for revenge drove him to become unhinged, public soon labelling him as a villain.

He believed himself to be doing the right thing and be just up until team ASL was sent to take him down.

During the fight, he managed to heavily injure both Fire Fist and Rubber Man, causing Chief to become an active fire power user.

After Sabo beat him, the blonde had a talk with him, which made Crocodile break down in tears as he finally understood the mistake he'd done and disbanded his group.

As of this moment, Crocodile is in rehab, overseen by Queen and Dragon, who are hoping him to join the vigilante group led by them.

Doflamingo Donquixote

Runs a mafia which is made of disowned people, orphans and former royalty.

He himself is a former royal.

Tried to shoot his own brother, but the aim was off slightly.

Doflamingo's wish is to live forever, which is why his target is the Surgeon of Death, whom he knows to be capable of such feat.

Rosinante's final act as a hero was to have Doflamingo be arrested though he's since then broken out of the prison (with the help of Akainu) while Rosinante himself is hiding and retired.

EM

Shadow King, puppeteer of the UN.

Wishes to destroy the heroes to ensure that nobody stands between them and their plan to rule the world.

Can't stand the fact that there are three nations who would never bow down to them (these being Irish, Scottish and Finnish because everyone knows how stubborn these damned people are).

Honestly there isn't much info.

Probably immortal, the dick.

Hogback

Self declared genius, probably doesn't even know how to operate a good damn lift.

Tried to create an artificial superhuman.

Would cause a zombie apocalypse.

Robbed a grave of an actress he was obsessed with (IT'S NOT LOVE IT'S A FUCKING OBSESSION AND IT'S NOT OKAY! IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE YOU DON'T ROBB THEIR GRAVE AND TRY TO ZOMBIFY THEM).

Needs to be put behind the bars permanently or executed publicly. Please proceed with the execution option.

Just no. This man isn't a scientist. He's a poor excuse of a human being and I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS A SCIENTIST HE'S A DIRTY GRAVE ROBBER AND A CREEP!

Kaidou

There's a high chance that he was born drunk.

Somehow, he's the most powerful villain and he's not even sober when he does shit.

If he is this powerful when drunk, I don't want to see him sober because that'd suck.

Took part in the scheme that resulted in deaths of Roger and Rogue.

Has no issue with killing his own men either.

Nobody can say for sure where he is located, but he did help overthrow a dynasty to place a puppet emperor to rule some country.

If you don't stop me, I can and will attempt to kill him.

[mnetruinedmylife]

Untitled Gang AU

This is just my need to write an AKB Gang AU combined with shameless Yuunaa. It’s written in mostly stream of consciousness writing, so the topic jumps to whatever connection my brain jumps to, it can get a little disorientating at times.  It’s also kind of unfinished, but I didn’t want it sitting in a file collecting dust, so here it is.

Warnings: this piece includes: mentions of violence, though nothing too graphic; traumatic flashbacks; mildly sexually charged scenes, though nothing truly nsfw.

 _____________________________________________________________

The town of Akihabara is a place of conflict and contradictions.

Located in the central ward of Tokyo, it has the highest rate of organised crime activity in all of Japan. The police will claim that there are no gangs in Akihabara – after all, the businesses are flourishing and the tourists come in droves, there is no safer place. Yet, every denizen knows that the infamous 48 Gangs originated in there, and it’s even a point of pride for a few.

If the press interviews a resident, they’ll swear up and down that they’ve never felt safer anywhere else. But more than once has a tourist revealed that they’ve been told by locals scuttling about to either stay on the nearby streets north and west of Akihabara train station after dark, or else not go wandering about at all.

The Akihabara sect of the 48 Gangs themselves are full of conflicting information too.

Sometimes, when the residents manage to acknowledge that they exist, one may hear them whisper in hushed tones about how they’re vigilantes, heroes who do the right thing when the police can’t or won’t. But in the same breath they’d tell you to stay away from one particular café in the Hanaokacho district, and the theatre near Taito station. The members of the AKB sect themselves would laugh themselves sick at the term, all the while shooting a defenceless man in the head without batting an eye, because they’re not heroes. They have their own goals, their own plans, most of which revolve around protecting their own, their members, their family, and if some things extend towards heroism, than that’s just a coincidence, and if some things stretch closer to the other side, well, that’s fine too.

Word on the street says it starts during the days when multiple factions ran rampant all over Tokyo. When kids were recruited right out of high school (and some still in it) into the Project gangs and prostitution rings. Some say a man rose up to create a force that could clean up the streets and keep the gang violence where it belongs – between gangs and not involving civilians.

Aki-P they called him, the man who swept up the capitol’s underbelly.

People say also he’s the same man who created the Sakamichi Syndicate and started the bloodiest turf war Tokyo has ever seen. Some say he did it because he gave up on the AKB sect, when they started losing their way and becoming more dangerous than the gangs they rose up against. Others say he did it after losing control of the 48 Gangs, that he was ousted from the inner circle and so created a rival faction as vengeance.

No matter how different the stories get, they all have one similarity. The 48 Gangs are dangerous, the sect in Akihabara doubly so, and anyone who gets in their way, or harms anyone in their sphere, or dares to challenge their grip over Tokyo, take heed and be on the lookout.

They’ll come for you.

__________________________________________________________)

Okada Nana is fifteen when she boards a train from Kanagawa to Tokyo and doesn’t look back.

Kojima Mako and Nishino Miki are similar ages, and in similar situations when they run into each other, having decided to pickpocket the same mark, and the three of them decide to run together. The streets are a little less intimidating with two sets of eyes to watch your back, and two bodies to keep you warm at night.

Mako’s the devious one, with her heart-melting gummy smiles and disarming laugh, she’s able to charm any passer-by and con them out of their hard earned money.

“Sorry sir, I’ve lost my parents, can I please borrow three hundred yen for the train fare?”

It works more often than not, there’s never a shortage of businessmen willing to play hero and help out a stranded school girl. And if she steals the rest of their wallet when they’re not looking, well they usually don’t notice until it’s too late.

Miki is bolder. She takes items right off of shelves when she walks by, and isn’t afraid to go after other street kids who wander into the space they’ve claimed as their own.

Sometimes she’s a little too bold, “Let’s get lunch from there.”

And that’s where Nana comes in. She’s the cautious one, the voice of reason, the brains behind the operations as small and simple as it is.

“We can’t go in there,” Nana hisses, grabbing the other two by the backs of their collars before they do something stupid.

“Why not? The foods cheaper in there than anywhere else in the city,” Miki points out, not unreasonably.

But Nana is adamant, “Yeah for good reason. That café belongs to AKB.”

The innocuous street side café about a minute’s walk from Akihabara station is something of a local legend in the area. Anyone above thirty avoids it like the plague because of the rumours of it being owned by the 48 Gangs, or perhaps it simply just serves the members of AKB. The little number 48 carved into the brickwork above the café doors is a symbol of that.

However, it is popular amongst the youth of the city for that very reason. With many hanging out there to bask in the rebellious feeling of danger, or on adventurous dares from friends. Whispers fly about AKB recruiting from the youth who flock there. A few yankees even claim to be initiates recruited from there. They’re all bald faced liars. No prospective recruit would be stupid enough to loiter in a known gang-owned establishment.  

A few have, however, been known to have been recruited around the station. Our little trio of street rats like to linger around the area, pickpocketing the stupid school kids, the otakus heading to the Gundam café across the street, and the rich folk visiting the golf club on the other side of the block.

They do that for months before they’re approached by a member of AKB.  

Okada Nana is sixteen when Minegishi Minami approaches her and her friends with an offer they can’t refuse.

Her first job is with Mako and two other recruits. They’re tasked with the simple job of delivering a package and Nana has to wonder what’s so important that there needs to be four of them for this. Or maybe it’s not so important, considering there are four barely trained, fresh faced initiates on the job.

They scuttle about the train line, Mako skipping along merrily, Hikari following behind quietly, with Nana and Ayana bickering the whole way. They deliver the package without any issues worth mentioning to one Itano Tomomi at an upscale bar in the heart of the city. It turns out to be cold hard cash, and Nana goes white at the thought of possibly losing that much money. Or rather, what the gang would do to them if they lost that much money.

The next few jobs follow in a similar manner. Nana gets to know the names and quirks of her fellow runners. Innocent, seemingly useless things like:

Iwatate Saho is stronger than she looks.

“Oh god he’s unconscious…are you planning on joining Team K?”

“No, too dangerous. I’m thinking Team B. You know, manning the cafes and the casinos and stuff.”

Mogi Shinobu doesn’t do so well under pressure.

“What the-!? Mogi-san why didn’t you just shoot him?”

“I panicked!”

“I can’t believe you want to join Team A, you’ll die in a week.”

Murayama Yuiri is stupidly pretty.

“Yuiri-chan…We’re half an hour in the wrong direction. You had the map upside down.”

“Sorry! I’m sorry, usually Naa-chan corrects me when I do this, I mean, I’m not blaming Naa-chan! It’s just she…Naa-chan what are you looking at?”

“Err nothing. Nothing, I got distracted.”

Takashima Yurina has somewhat of a crush on her.

“Naa-chan I bought drinks.”

“Where’s one for the rest of us?”

Uchiyama Natsuki knows a ridiculous amount about the law.

“Article 13: every individual has the liberty of protecting his or her own personal information from being disclosed to a third party or made public without good reason.”

“Somehow I doubt beating him up would fly as ‘taking the liberty to protect our property’.”

Apparently they do a somewhat of a good job, because Nana finds herself selected as part of a joint project between all the 48 Gangs. She, Mako and Miki are the representatives of the Akihabara sect and Nana wonders how the hell the upper echelons decided on that.  

“So, what are your specialties?” somehow it falls to Nana to lead this ragtag group.

The Namba sect representative Shibuya Nagisa is actually the oldest (by a few months) but she’s no more experienced than they are – Nana finds out later, the reason why all of the sects sent their freshest recruits. It’s all internal politics, and a mission too important to turn down, but not important enough to ensure successful. In short, they’re expendable and they weren’t even expected to make it home.

The job is in Tokyo, so Nana takes the reigns by default.

She finds that leadership suits her.

It feels like a natural extension of what she was already doing when they were just three idiots on the street, planning operations meticulously so that they come back in one piece, and utilising the skills of her teammates in the most efficient way possible. There are three more idiots to account for now, but she is familiarised with them soon enough.

Nagisa is the strongest in hand-to-hand combat amongst the seven of them, Sakae’s Ryoha the most accurate shot, Hakata’s Meru joins Miki in being the loud charismatic distraction, while Mako and Hakata’s Mio are swift and sneaky with their hands. It’s the perfect team for covert operations. Which makes sense, considering they’re being sent south of the Kanda river, into Sakamichi territory to gather intel on the new gang that’s popped up by the Roppongi hills.

It seems like a simple mission.

Get in, look around for suspicious activity, get out. There isn’t supposed to be confrontation or combat involved.

But no plan survives contact with the enemy, and no one cares about supposed to be’s when there are guns pointed at their heads.

When she’s desperately wrestling with a knife that wants nothing more than to dig into her flesh, when she’s slammed against the wall, breath knocked out of her, when a pair of hands wrap around her throat and squeeze, and her lungs scream as her legs thrash uselessly underneath, her vision blurs, and the terrifying realisation that she won’t actually get out of this situation alive sets in – oh god is that Miki screaming she hears in the background? – the air is rushing out her lungs and –

“Naa-chan. Naa-chan! Snap out of it, you’re not there anymore.”

Nana eyes fly open, as she dashes up, heart still thudding in her chest. She has to make sure everyone’s okay, what happened to Miki, and oh god Mio was stabbed, and where the hell is Mako, and they lost contact with Ryoha half an hour in, and Nagisa is unconscious, and no matter how deep a breath she takes, it doesn’t seem to be enough. Her chest burns, she can’t breathe and – a hand lands on her shoulder, the accompanying scent of hinoki pine only just barely manages to stamp down the instinct to lash out.

Yuiri’s concerned face drags her back to reality, “It’s okay. You’re home. You’re not there, you’re safe now,” to the little hole in the wall apartment she has (firmly on the AKB side of the Kanda river), to the bed she’s sharing with the pretty distraction on her team. Though, perhaps that would be unkind to say, even if she refuses to think of what they’re doing as anything more than just stress relief, blowing off steam.  

Belatedly Nana realises that she has a death grip on Yuiri’s upper arm, she loosens her grip but doesn’t let go, “S-sorry,” her hands are shaking, she’s trembling and she can’t get it to stop, and Yuiri’s murmuring nonsense things in her ear.

“Why are you sorry? I’m sorry, I’m such an idiot,” Yuiri apologises with a grimace. They’ve established early on that Nana does not like hands anywhere near her neck, that one horrendous mission spoiled that forever, but sometimes Yuiri forgets, and the resulting post-traumatic flashbacks are the most mood-killing thing possible in the bedroom, or sometimes out of it too.

The first time it happens is in a street by the AKB theatre of all places. It’s after a job with just the two of them, when they’re both high on adrenaline, breaths heavy, eyes glazed, still in the heat of violence, fresh from a near-death scuffle. Nana’s not sure who jumps whom first, but suddenly they’re in each other’s space, hands tangled in hair, and tongue against teeth. Yuiri tastes like citrus that night, some kind of lemon mixed, and the deeper she kisses her the more she can taste the metallic tang of blood and the salt of sweat mixed in.

Nana closes her eyes tightly, a low, throaty moan of approval rumbles deep in her throat as her back hits the wall with a light thud, the moan turning markedly louder as the elder girl’s fingers slip inside the waistband of her shorts and shoves them down over her hips. Strong, forceful fingers dig into her and pull her in even tighter as her mouth is once again claimed in a desperate, hungry kiss.

“Yuu-chan,” she moans, gasping at the feel of the other girl’s tongue against her throat.

“Yes?” Yuiri’s lips curls into a smile against Nana’s, she groans low and deep as Yuiri’s hips grinds into her own.

“Don’t stop.”

It’s easier with Yuiri, they understand each other in ways her other teammates simply don’t. Maybe it’s because the most of the others are like what Nana was at first, just street kids and lowly thieves dragged in way over their heads. When Nana and Mako come back from that FUBAR recon mission with their hands soaked in blood, the others look at them different. With wariness in their eyes, with guarded stances, with hints of fear in their faces.

Mako’s stupid grin thaws their hesitance soon enough. But Nana has never been that kind of charismatic. Not in the way that makes other at ease. She’s always been harder, more serious, and that only makes her look much more intimidating now.

“You’re still here?” Nana raises an eyebrow when she realises that Yuiri is still lingering about. These days, most of her team disappear faster than a blink of an eye the moment the job is done, not wanting to be around for longer than necessary.

But Yuiri only looks at Nana like she’s the one being unreasonable, “Don’t we usually go for kakigori after a job?”

“You want to have desserts with me? What, not afraid I’ll snap and kill you?” Nana asks, sadly only half sarcastically, because with the way the rest of the team treat her, it seems that’s exactly what they’re thinking.  

The other girl snorts and actually has the audacity to chuckle, “You’re going to have do a lot more than be traumatised to scare me. I’m sure I’ve killed more people than you.”

Yuiri wasn’t some street kid when she got recruited. She was born into this world, her family neck-deep in the underbelly of Japan, and she’s no stranger to violence. There’s only one other like that on their team, Nana would’ve overlooked Mion entirely if Yuiri hadn’t pointed her out.

“You can always tell when someone’s killed before,” Yuiri says, “It’s in the eyes.”

The months blur into years, and before Nana knows it most of her team have the same eyes, the ones who are still alive anyway. The ones who are left split off into the different teams of AKB eventually. Mako, Ayana, Mogi and Komiharu are sent to Team K, with their dangerous combat orientated jobs and Nana just hopes they keep coming home. Saho and Saki are off in the relatively safer B, the front jobs, manning the café and the casinos and the above-board stations. Yukari and Mion end up in A, and Nana hopes beyond hope that they don’t lose themselves in there.

Nana and Yuri themselves never leave 4. They’re the ones chosen to train up the newbies, and she has no idea who thought that is a good idea. She never actually does anything too important in the gang – up until the moment she accidentally founds an entirely new sect.

She’d been in Fukuoka visiting Mio and Meru, and it’s in Hiroshima, on her way back to Tokyo that Nana manages to get herself recognised and chased. She hated cults with a passion. Why did they have a problem with her anyway? It’s not like the 48 Gangs had territory claimed in Hiroshima –

Ow.

She falls off the fence the she’s attempting to climb over and lands on her back with a dull thud. The grass is soft at least. She spends a few moments just staring up at the night sky, it’s actually quite breathtaking when you’re far away enough from the city lights to appr—

“Are you okay?”

Oh, there’s a kid in pink and purple. A teenager really. Nana can’t tell ages anymore.

“…m’fine. Sorry didn’t mean to land in your backyard,” she says. An apartment complex’s backyard anyway, she realises when she sits up. It’s a rundown building that’s clearly not in official use. It appears there are kids squatting in it.

It’s difficult to tell in the dark, but when Nana squints she can make out maybe two more teens peeking out from behind a window.

“Wanna come inside?” the girl asks, and Nana really really shouldn’t.

A gunshot sounds in the air though, and Nana quickly scrambles to follow the kid inside. Being noble is all well and good, but it definitely doesn’t beat being alive.

When Nana awakens the next morning, she hears furious whisperings back and forth between the teens – and there’s clearly more of them this morning than there was last night.

“—it’s dangerous, she’s clearly a member of the 48 Gangs! You saw that tattoo!” an unknown voice hisses, and Nana wonders when and how they saw the little 48 tattoo on the back of her neck. That’s not usually visible and she’s usually a light enough sleeper to wake up if they touch her.

“Yeah, that means she can help us!” that’s Chiho, one of the girls she remembers half-heartedly greeting the night before. The one with the bruises on her face.

“We can’t trust a gang member!”

“So what else are we going to do? They took Yumirin, we’ll never get her back ourselves!”

Nana’s always had a soft spot for stupid kids. It’s probably why they never took her off Team 4, and how she finds herself hopping all over the setouchi region, rescuing girls from a fox worshipping cult.

Girls who somehow end up forming the Setouchi sect of the 48 Gangs – Sashihara-san comes down from Fukuoka to make it official and everything.

Mogi never lets her forget it.

“Hey Naa-chan, remember the time you went to visit Mio and Meru and ended up playing prince charming and rescuing ten damsels in distress?”  

 _____________________________________________________________)

Might finish it later, might not. Who knows...

[porthavenhq]

｡✧*  STATS

Name : Blossom Utonium Origin : The Powerpuff Girls Age : December 28, 1996  Gender : Cis Female Faceclaim : Lalisa Manoban Availability : Taken

｡✧*  BIOGRAPHY

Nothing about Blossom Utonium has ever been ordinary. She is the eldest of San Francisco’s literal miracle babies — the seemingly impossible result of injecting magic into embryonic stem cells. For years, Professor Antonio Utonium had researched the possibility of blending magic with science, spending countless sleepless nights in his lab, only to be called a farce by the scientific community. Magic and science simply do not mix, they had told him, and any attempt to do so was unnatural and inhumane. Still, never one to be deterred, the professor worked around the clock until, finally, he had perfected not one, but three samples for volunteer surrogates. In what could only be described as a true miracle, three babies were born from the samples, and the professor quickly grew attached. He no longer saw them as his experiments, but as living, breathing children. His children. His once ever-present desire for scientific acclaim moved to the back burner, and Antonio became the one thing he never knew he wanted to be: a father. Despite the children’s supernatural abilities, the professor did everything in his power to give them a happy, normal childhood — though with dubious results.

Like many young children are prone to do, ten-year-old Blossom adored reenacting her favorite superhero movies, donning a makeshift cape as she rescued her dolls from the scary monsters (stuffed animals) threatening their town (the dollhouse). Unlike many children, however, Blossom was capable of incinerating her bedroom wall with just a simple glance. After far too many incidents (accidentally freezing over her middle school, to name just one), the professor had no choice but to step in. Over the next few years, Blossom was home-schooled, diligently practicing her powers after completing her afternoon homework. Whereas other kids her age went to the movies, she honed her magical abilities in the backyard. Being the compassionate man he was, her father never explicitly forbade her from going out with friends, but young Blossom was determined and refused to let herself succumb to any distraction. Thanks to the professor’s academic credentials and Blossom watching far too many superhero training montages, she came out the other end with a leg-up on her high school peers and a near-perfect control over her powers. From here on out, there would be no more accidents. The red-haired teenager could finally lead a normal life, right in time for her sophomore year.

Of course, there was no such thing as “normal” for a person like her. That first semester at public school went better than she could have ever hoped for. Blossom easily outshined her peers in intellect, cementing herself as that over-achieving goody-two-shoes that high schoolers hated and teachers loved. Unfortunately, those few months must have been a fluke, because soon Blossom and her sisters found themselves sucked into the whirlwind world that is teenage vigilantism. After all, there really is no going back after you accidentally stop an armed robbery with your bare hands. The transition from straight-A student to crime-fighting vigilante wasn’t exactly a smooth one, but Blossom managed the best she could. By the time she graduated high school — as valedictorian, no less — Blossom’s dreams of normalcy were long forgotten, and the super-powered sisters had moved from stopping petty crime to taking down some of the state’s most wanted criminals.

Looking back, Blossom wonders if maybe they shouldhave just stuck with the petty crime and left the big guys up to the professionals. Maybe then things wouldn’t have gotten messy, and they could be living happily in their beloved hometown. But no — Blossom had to suggest going after the major crime syndicate operating in the city’s underbelly. She had to push, even when everyone around her told her it was a bad idea. She just couldn’t let it go. Up until that point, her mission plans were always perfect. This mission may have had higher stakes, sure, but it wasn’t supposed to be any different from the rest. Except it was, and Blossom paid dearly for it. Innocent people were hurt, millions in infrastructure were damaged, and, whoops! turns out some of the most powerful people in the city were also part of the aforementioned crime ring. Soon, the very same powerful people were demanding the police “finally do something about those kids!” and it wasn’t long before every media outlet in the city had turned against them. Angry protestors formed outside their home almost daily. Profanities were spat in their faces. It was as if the years they had devoted to this city meant nothing to these people. And while the three super-powered sisters weren’t in any imminent danger, their clearly mundane father was, and it was becoming clear that living in the city was no longer safe for their family. Overnight, they packed their bags for Porthaven and fled.

Blossom doesn’t hate Porthaven, per se, but she knows there will always be a part of her that longs for home. Rationally, she knows it’s a stupid desire — the city turned on them, not the other way around! She owes those ungrateful people nothing! But despite the anger and resentment, what-ifs continue to linger in her ever-racing mind, and she carries a heavy guilt for leaving the city in such a horrible state. And not that she’d ever admit it to anyone, but she kind of misses the vigilantism too. Brainstorming missions, kicking ass, barking orders… there’s nothing quite like that thrill. She’s trying to make a new life here — really, she got into law school and everything — but leaving her old life behind is a lot harder than she thought it’d be.

｡✧*  PERSONALITY

✓  mature, level-headed, organized ✖  perfectionist, fussy, a bit vain

｡✧*  SPECIAL ABILITIES

Mage :  Enhanced speed, strength, durability, stamina, and senses. Night vision, ice and lightning manipulation, danger intuition, advanced intellect.

｡✧*  CONNECTIONS

Barter and Bonnie Utonium : Adoptive sisters and partners against crime. Antonio Utonium : Adoptive father. He gave Blossom her abilities.

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

this side of jubilee

by livinginlowercase

People disappear all the time in L’manberg. It’s not a well known fact, nor a broadly publicized one. You won’t hear about it on the news. You won’t read it in the papers. It’s not something you are ever told. It’s something you already know, or it’s something you learn, or it’s something you never need care about at all. In the inner ring of the city; where the streets are clean swept, and the buildings shine with white marble and polished glass and steel; the latter is most often the case. In the outer ring; where nothing is shiny under layers of old newspapers and mud, and the buildings are cobbled together haphazardly along narrow streets; everyone knows the truth of it. It's a simple fact, a natural truth of life. Grass is green, water is wet, people go missing.

 or, Their city is in danger. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo intend to do something about it.

Words: 2957, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of we're living on a broken record

Fandoms: Minecraft (Video Game), Dream SMP

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Phil Watson | Philza, Sam | Awesamdude, Dream SMP Ensemble, The Crimson Egg (Dream SMP), Karl Jacobs

Relationships: Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Dream SMP Ensemble & TommyInnit, Clay | Dream & Jschlatt & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Jschlatt & Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Other streamers - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Sleepy Bois Inc as Found Family, Benchtrio as Found Family, Found Family, Human Trafficking, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Vigilantism, Vigilante TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Vigilante Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Vigilante Toby Smith | Tubbo, Families of Choice, Family Dynamics, Enemies to Friends to Family, i stole that tag directly from hush now, Complicated Relationships, Dark Sleepy Bois Inc, Possessive Behavior, Moral Ambiguity, Protective Sleepy Bois Inc, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Secret Identity, Identity Reveal, Memory Loss, looking at you ranboo, Trust Issues, Kidnapping, Nonbinary Character, again looking at ranboo, Interrogation, Torture, dont worry about that tag (yet), TommyInnit is Not Okay (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo is Not Okay (Video Blogging RPF), Anarchist Syndicate on Dream SMP (Video Blogging RPF), syndicate but it's an actually crime organization not a book club, Domestic Fluff, Unreliable Narrator, Adoptive Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff and Angst, Angst, we'll see about that happy ending, Manipulation, Human Experimentation, Pandora's Vault Prison, it's not a great place to be, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/39624930

[kintsugi-sheep]

The Schedule of Dr. Julius P. Lieberman

At six in the morning, Lieberman lumbered to his office, his cup of coffee nearly empty but still piping hot, his keys slipping from his tired fingers. “Dr. Julius P. Lieberman” was etched into a bronze plate on the door, embroidered by carvings that resembled climbing vines.

Doctor, he mused. It was easy to get a title if you were doing a job no one wanted.

He stuck his key into the lock and twisted it. This opened the hatch next to the knob where he had to enter his password onto a pad.

Passwords were purged every month, so he would need to make sure to set a new one before the end of the night. The requirements that the password be no less than five hundred characters long, include three different discernable languages, and utilize eight different number combinations interspersed evenly throughout had killed his love for every song he found easy enough to remember and modify for this purpose.

He entered his password, a heavily mutilated rendition of “It’s a Beautiful Morning”, performed the retinal scan, and provided a hair and saliva sample. The unseen mechanisms of the door could be heard whirring and clicking.

The frame cracked open, and Lieberman entered his office.

“Sanctuary,” he said. The lights turned on, reflecting painfully from the steel walls that filled the office. As the gears continued to work, pulling the plates into their respective slots in the walls, ceiling, and floor, Lieberman contemplated what his schedule would look like today.

Eclipse would be his first appointment at seven. Being nocturnal, the end of her day was the beginning of her therapist’s. It was easy for them to reach the conclusion that an hour and a half in the morning worked best for her.

He just hoped she wasn’t bleeding out this time. The once-white carpet of his floor was irreparably dinged from all the people who thought that just because Lieberman specialized in the psychology of heroes, he didn’t mind having them come in drenched in their—or even someone else’s—blood.

At nine, he’d meet with Kid Dynamo for two hours. He didn’t like therapy and made no effort to hide it. However, his parents wouldn’t let him move to the city if he didn’t learn how to get his anger under control.

And there was no telling how upset they’d be if they knew their son was a vigilante. Confidentiality was Liberman’s specialty, and, having raised three teenagers into productive adults, he had no trouble communicating with the boy.

The only concern he had for him was how handsome he was; and how handsome he knew he was. He was going to begin school at the University of Alcides in the Autumn, and the last thing Lieberman wanted was another distraction for his granddaughters.

Once the plates were fully hidden—with additional concealment to their slots in the form of draping plants, Lieberman made his way behind his desk, pulling a mug from his cabinet, and began preparing more coffee for himself.

At noon he’d meet with Bombshell, one of his few villain clients. A decade ago, she’d graduated from the University of Alcides to begin her work as a pharmaceutical laboratory technician. However, when she was unimpressed with her starting salary, she began the slow decline into villainy.

Her ability to generate explosions from affection was terrifying. With her titillating choice of costume, she would turn those aroused by her into living bombs, threatening to detonate them unless they met her demands.

After turning herself in and serving five years for her robberies, she was now on probation and had to attend therapy as part of it. She’d thought to do Lieberman a favor, donning heavy clothes and thick glasses, avoiding make up and not doing her hair, to keep him as unattracted to her as possible during their sessions.

Unfortunately for Bombshell, Lieberman liked his women a little frumpy.

He sat at his desk and looked over his paperwork and groaned in disapproval.

At three he’d meet with Izzy Newton, the child genius who alleged to be from the future, said outlandish things that he claimed his therapist wasn’t smart enough to understand, and laughed mockingly when Lieberman did things like sneeze or scratch his beard.

At four thirty, Brigit Myers would come for her twice-weekly session. The fact that she had sixteen different personalities with unique needs and issues made handling her a challenge, but from her sessions alone Lieberman was able to buy his daughter a new car for her birthday, so he wouldn’t complain.

His last session was at seven, with Carnelian. It unnerved Lieberman how, listening to the complaints and worries from the otherworldly general of Meteor City’s most dangerous crime syndicate, he found a kindred spirit in this client. Their chats were pleasant, often times going on a bit long, but were always a bit spiritually fruitful for both of the men.

Lieberman’s musing was interrupted by a knock at his door.

“Come in.”

It was Eclipse, her uniform tattered, her eye blacked, saturated in the off-color blood of something, who said, “Good morning, Dr. Lieberman. How’d you sleep?”

The doctor watched as alien blood stained his white carpet—again. He kept himself from sighing, gave his client a polite smile, and said, “Safely, thanks to you, Eclipse.”

Prompt: [WP] It’s not easy, superhero therapy. Especially when most your patients can kill you as an afterthought. Still, you won’t let anyone sully your perfect track record.

This story, like much of my writing here, was taken from prompts that I found online. Having seen so many different superhero prompts, I decided to congeal them all into one universe. It won’t make a lot of sense, but it will be fun to write. I hope you enjoy!

[spyral-agent37]

character name: Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson

codename: Agent 37

character age: 26

faceclaim: Cameron Cuffe

species: Human

status: Hero

occupation: Secret Agent

home earth: E19

biography

past:

Richard Grayson started his life as part of a loving family, he was the youngest member of The Flying Graysons, who toured with The Haly Circus. When the circus came to Gotham City, his family were the main attraction, which ultimately sealed their fate. Dick overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid protection money. The owner refused, and that night he watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending them hurtling to their deaths. He felt completely responsible, because he failed to warn his parents in time.

Dick was placed in Gotham's juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services was full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage, where it seemed he would stay until an unlikely guardian stepped forward. Bruce Wayne. Things didn't get off to the best of starts between the two, as Dick was still consumed by vengeance for his parents. One night he sneaked out of Wayne Manor to solve the crime on his own - only to run into Batman. After waking up in the Batcave, he was shocked to learn that Bruce and Batman were one and the same. Working together they proved Zucco's involvement in the crime and Bruce offered the Dick the opportunity to train as his partner. He accepted and chose the name Robin, after the nickname his mother gave him.

When Robin was 17, he was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this scared Batman into ending his career for good. Now completely independent Dick went to work with the Teen-Titans, leaving the Manor and moving to New York. Unsure of who he was meant to be, now he was no longer Robin, Dick turned to Superman for advice. The Man of Steel told him about a Kryptonian hero named Nightwing who protected the helpless and wanted a world ruled by justice.

As Nightwing, Dick spent the majority of his time with the Titans, Outsiders and then later, alone in Blüdhaven. He made firm friends with his Titans teammates and considered Wally West aka Kid Flash his best friend. When the speedster was lost in the battle against Abra Kadabra; Dick felt as if a part of him had gone along with Wally. He didn't fully understand the depth and meaning behind this huge sense of loss until much later. While in New York he was approached by Tim Drake and eventually helped him become the third Robin. When Batman was injured by Bane, suffering a broken back, Dick stepped up to fill in for Bruce while he recovered, developing a strong bond with Tim both as Batman and as an older brother.

With such a hectic Vigilante life, it was a wonder Dick managed to build any kind of civilian life, but somehow he did. Initially he went through Police Academy and joined Gotham PD before transferring to Blüdhaven. However, his desire for justice didn't match with the departments he was placed in, as both Gotham and Blüdhaven were rife with corruption. Dick made the decision to leave and re-skilled as an EMT, he was still helping people, just in a different way.

Batman was seemingly killed during his final confrontation with Darkseid, leaving Dick orphaned again. Bruce leaves a message for him pleading that Dick not take up the mantle of the Batman, due to his belief that Nightwing and Robin can protect the city as they are. Dick agrees with his guardian's last wish, until Jason tries to take the cowl for himself. Dick becomes Batman, with Bruce's son Damian as his Robin, until Bruce Wayne returns from the 'dead' (Tim had actually been right all along, Bruce wasn't dead, just missing).

Damian is murdered by The Heretic, which hits the family hard. Even though they didn't always see eye to eye, and he was constantly being ridiculed by the youngster, Dick is deeply grieved by the loss, being reminded forcibly of when they'd had Jason stolen from them. Bruce resurrects Damian with the chaos shard and things return to some semblance of normality for a while.

Shortly after this Nightwing is captured by the Crime Syndicate. They threaten to unmask him and hook him up to the Murder Machine which would detonate if his heart isn't stopped within a set amount of time. Batman tries to break him free, but to no avail and is forced to allow Lex Luthor to stop Nightwing's heart. Once he is revived, Bruce brings him home to the manor to recover in secret. 

No sooner is Dick back to full health than he's out on another mission, this one more dangerous than any he could find around Gotham or Blüdhaven. Nightwing died on camera, the world thinks he's gone, giving Bruce the perfect opportunity to send someone he trusts undercover into Spyral, a spy ring he had been tracking for some time. Even though it means lying to his family, Dick does as his mentor asks and leaves the manor, heading to Europe and Spyral. Nobody but Bruce knows he is alive.

present:

Still with Spyral, Dick has been working alongside Matron to try and weed out all the corruption from the organization. Stumbling upon an experimental facility which tracked the Speedforce in an attempt to access it. Dick stuck around, working with the researchers in the hopes of finding a way to bring his childhood friend, Wally, back from the mysterious plane of existence. Successfully seeing the missing Speedster in the energy, the attempt to extract him backfires and instead sends Dick hurtling through to the other’s location. Stranding him on Earth 1.

positive traits: Resilient, Kind, Courageous

negative traits: Bold, Selfless, Secretive

para sample:

So far his plan of avoiding other participants in this experiment had gone well. He’d managed to pass through the Cornucopia again without incident; aside from stumbling over a coil of rope and two skyhooks that he hadn’t seen amongst the rocks. Now he was headed down a deserted tunnel, sparingly using his flashlight as up ahead he could swear he saw natural light. Faint, but most certainly there. Unless of course he was hallucinating. Which if he was honest, he wouldn’t discount totally. He was definitely lacking some Vitamin D after spending so much time underground.

This cave was very much preferable to the one where he’d refilled his canteen and bottle (with water, thankfully, not pee), no skeleton for starters and it didn’t smell like a sweet shop exploded. In fact, as he stepped further into the cavernous space, he actually felt almost at home. A familiar rustling came from above, and the somewhat annoyed chitter that followed as his light swept the roof caused a smile to come to his face.

“Hello everyone,” Dick responded to the bats, “nice place you have here.”

Moving forward, his eyebrows shot up in surprise as saw the tree, leaves upturned toward the distant sunlight filtering through the mass of bats at the cave’s roof. Further inspection resulted in him picking a rather odd looking banana. But it tasted fine and was a welcome break from fish. His curiosity kept drawing his attention back to the light far above and the temptation to climb up there grew stronger. It was a tough ascent, he’d have to use all of his skill and his new sky hooks, but would beat sitting around in guano.

[katherineleitchba2a]

First pass

EXT- STREET- NIGHT

LANYON walks down the street. The camera focuses on a newspaper stuck on a wall. The headline reads “Castle Gang on the Rise.”

Lanyon walks up to a large house and knocks at the door

 INT- JEKYLL’S HOUSE- LIVING ROOM- EVENING

Lanyon sits in an armchair next to the fire. JEKYLL is sat opposite him.

Lanyon- So [pauses] any reason for your last-minute dinner invitation?

Jekyll- It’ a rather special occasion. I [pauses] have been appointed chief inspector for the investigation of London’s crime syndicates.

Lanyon- That’s wonderful news. It’s about time someone did something about it. It hardly seems safe with these hooligans running around.

Jekyll- Don’t worry. I will make London a safe place again.

Camera flashes. A newspaper appears on screen. The title reads “Notorious criminals behind bars.” More newspapers drop on top of each other one at a time, each one has a headline referring to gangs being arrested. The last one reads “Detective Jekyll- the City’s saviour.”

 INT. LANYON’S HOUSE- LOBBY- NIGHT

TIME CUT- Cut to the inside of the front door. Someone is banging on the door desperately. Lanyon hurries to answer it. He’s in a dressing gown.

Lanyon- Calm yourself! What kind of madman comes pounding at one’s door at such an ungodly hour?

Lanyon opens the door. A police officer is supporting Jekyll, who has been badly beaten.

Lanyon- (gasps) bring him inside! Quickly!

 INT. LANYON’S HOUSE- BEDROOM- MORNING

Jekyll wakes up in a bed. He’s covered in bandages and bruises. Lanyon is sat in a chair by the bed.

Lanyon- Good, you’re awake. Can you tell me what happened?

Jekyll- I was attacked. Some unruly youths, disgruntled because I’ve arrested all their friends.

Lanyon- You must be more careful. I fear for your life now.

Jekyll- As do I.

 EXT. DARK STREET- NIGHT

Lanyon is walking alone. Suddenly, a group of four young men surround him, two in front and two behind him. One pulls out a knife.

Lanyon- What do you want?

Thug 2- Give us all your money and you won’t get hurt.

Lanyon reaches into his pocket. A WOMAN shouts from behind him.

Woman- Oi! Leave him alone!

They turn to look at her.

Thug 3- Aw. What are you gonna do about it little girl? Are you gonna fight us in that frilly dress of yours?

The woman smirks and punches him in the face. He falls over, unconscious. She karate kicks thug 2 in the head. She ducks around Lanyon and punches Thug 3 in the stomach. He falls to his knees and she kicks him in the face. The final thug points a knife at her.

Thug 1- You’ll pay for that bitch!

She runs towards him and roundhouse kicks the knife out of his hand and uppercuts him. She turns to Lanyon.

Woman- Are you alright?

Lanyon is stunned speechless.

Lanyon- I… yes. I’m alright. Thank you. Who are you? I’ve never seen a woman do that.

Woman- My name is Erica Seek and I’ve had quite enough of these thugs having free reign of our city, so I have decided to put a stop to it.

 INT- LANYON’S HOUSE- OFFICE- EVENING

Lanyon is sat at his desk looking out of a window. It’s raining.

Lanyon V.O- It’s a shame my dear Jekyll had to step down from his position of chief investigator. No one else will risk putting themselves in danger and now we’re depending on a woman to keep those crooks at bay. At least she’s doing a half decent job.

Cut to a comic book style montage of Erica fighting crime.

Lanyon V.O- The only reason it’s safe to go outside now is because any criminals are too scared to face this woman.

 EXT- STREET- NIGHT

TIME CUT- Lanyon and Jekyll are walking down a street together.

Lanyon- You didn’t have to walk me home. I’m sure if I was attacked that vigilante woman would protect me.

Jekyll- [chuckles] I’m sure she would. But this is a big city and I would never forgive myself if my oldest friend came to harm when I could have prevented it. You know I care about you.

They stop and look at each other for a few moments. A group of men walk up behind them and surround them.

Thug 1- Well, well. What do we have here?

Jekyll- I am an officer of the law! If you harm me or my friend there will be severe consequences!

Thug 2- Oh we know exactly who you are Mr Jekyll. We’ve been wanting to have a little chat with you.

Jekyll- Still upset that I put most of your friends behind bars?

Thug 1 grabs Jekyll by the collar and pulls him close roughly.

Thug 1- Yeah. And we’re gonna make things even

Jekyll punches the thug on the nose, knocking him over before grabbing Lanyon’s hand. They both run away from the thugs.

Thug 3- Oi! Get back here!

The thugs begin to chase them. Lanyon and Jekyll run into a back alley.

Jekyll- (still running) My dear friend, I have a secret to tell you!

Lanyon- Surely there will be a better time!

Jekyll- I’m afraid there is no better time than now!

They both turn down another alley and hide behind a pile of rubbish. Jekyll takes a vial out of his pocket full of sparkly purple liquid. He unscrews the lid and drinks the liquid.

Lanyon- What the hell was that?

Jekyll grins awkwardly at him while holding his stomach. Jekyll begins to shimmer and transforms into Erica Seek.

Lanyon- How did you? (beat) What was (beat) You mean you’re.

Erica puts a hand on Lanyon’s shoulder.

Erica- I never stopped my investigation.

She is pulled away by the thugs. They’ve caught up with them. Lanyon stands up.

Thug 1- Looks like your friend abandoned you.

He turns to look at Erica.

Thug 1- And you’ve dragged this poor woman into this. Shameful.

He walks up to Erica and grabs her face.

Thug 1- Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll go easy on you.

Erica is unimpressed.

Erica- Why, how kind.

She proceeds to beat the thugs up.

Lanyon- I don’t believe it! You’re Erica! But how can you be two different people?

Erica- (beat) Not here. We should leave before anyone discovers us.

 INT. LANYON’S HOUSE. BEDROOM.

Lanyon sits on the bed. Erica stands by the door.

Lanyon- How is this possible?

Erica looks at him and sits next to him.

Erica- After I was attacked I went to visit someone. A friend of a friend. Someone who knows a thing or two about chemistry and they gave me this potion.

FLASHBACK- INT. JEKYYL’S HOUSE. BEDROOM.

Jekyll stands in front of a free standing mirror and drinks the potion. He collapses in pain before transforming. He looks into the mirror and sees that he’s turned into a woman.

Erica- No, no, no! This wasn’t what it was supposed to do!

She punches the mirror, which flies across the room. She looks at her fist in surprise.

Jekyll V.O- It turned out that I was just as strong as a woman as I was as a man. Except now,

Erica is pushed aside by some criminals.

Criminal 1- Get out of here, little girl.

Erica glares at him and leaps towards the camera. She stands surrounded by unconscious figures, lying on the ground.

Jekyll V.O- People saw a dainty little woman and never expected her to have such strength. Getting the upper hand was easy. One by one, they came and fell.

BACK TO PRESENT.

Erica- Besides, turning into someone else entirely means that no one will ever be able to find me, so they can’t get revenge.

Lanyon grabs her by the shoulders angrily.

Lanyon: Are you insane! Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been?

Erica looks sad. Lanyon calms down.

Lanyon- But (beat) if anyone can get rid of this syndicate, you can.

Erica smiles at him.

TIME CUT. Cut to comic book style. A man is sat on a chair and Erica is pointing a gun at his head.

Lanyon V.O- Later that year, Jekyll tracked down the syndicate’s leader and cut off the head of the gang.

Fade to black.

THE END

[porthavenhq]

Welcome to Porthaven, Marie! We can’t wait to meet Blossom Utonium!

Please look over the acceptance checklist and submit your blog within the next 24 hours. If there is a problem or a prior obligation and you need more time than provided, just message the main and we will gladly extend!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　OUT OF CHARACTER　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Name: Marie Pronouns: She/Her Age: 21 Timezone: MST Activity Level: I’d say either a 4 or 5? I probably won’t be online every night, but I try my best to be active! Triggers: N/A Anything Else: so ?? I wasn’t quite sure how to write this without dictating some aspects of Barter and Bonnie’s backstories? I tried my best to focus on just Blossom but I don’t think I really succeeded tbh. I am definitely open to editing this later if future Barter/Bonnie applicants want to change some things!! also this got so long and i am so sorry

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　CHARACTER INFORMATION　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Name: Blossom Utonium Age: December 28, 1996 ( currently 23 ) Gender: Cis Female FC: Lalisa Manoban ( Lisa )

Character Biography

Nothing about Blossom Utonium has ever been ordinary. She is the eldest of San Francisco’s literal miracle babies — the seemingly impossible result of injecting magic into embryonic stem cells. For years, Professor Antonio Utonium had researched the possibility of blending magic with science, spending countless sleepless nights in his lab, only to be called a farce by the scientific community. Magic and science simply do not mix, they had told him, and any attempt to do so was unnatural and inhumane. Still, never one to be deterred, the professor worked around the clock until, finally, he had perfected not one, but three samples for volunteer surrogates. In what could only be described as a true miracle, three babies were born from the samples, and the professor quickly grew attached. He no longer saw them as his experiments, but as living, breathing children. His children. His once ever-present desire for scientific acclaim moved to the back burner, and Antonio became the one thing he never knew he wanted to be: a father. Despite the children’s supernatural abilities, the professor did everything in his power to give them a happy, normal childhood — though with dubious results.

Like many young children are prone to do, ten-year-old Blossom adored reenacting her favorite superhero movies, donning a makeshift cape as she rescued her dolls from the scary monsters (stuffed animals) threatening their town (the dollhouse). Unlike many children, however, Blossom was capable of incinerating her bedroom wall with just a simple glance. After far too many incidents (accidentally freezing over her middle school, to name just one), the professor had no choice but to step in. Over the next few years, Blossom was home-schooled, diligently practicing her powers after completing her afternoon homework. Whereas other kids her age went to the movies, she honed her magical abilities in the backyard. Being the compassionate man he was, her father never explicitly forbade her from going out with friends, but young Blossom was determined and refused to let herself succumb to any distraction. Thanks to the professor’s academic credentials and Blossom watching far too many superhero training montages, she came out the other end with a leg-up on her high school peers and a near-perfect control over her powers. From here on out, there would be no more accidents. The red-haired teenager could finally lead a normal life, right in time for her sophomore year.

Of course, there was no such thing as “normal” for a person like her. That first semester at public school went better than she could have ever hoped for. Blossom easily outshined her peers in intellect, cementing herself as that over-achieving goody-two-shoes that high schoolers hated and teachers loved. Unfortunately, those few months must have been a fluke, because soon Blossom and her sisters found themselves sucked into the whirlwind world that is teenage vigilantism. After all, there really is no going back after you accidentally stop an armed robbery with your bare hands. The transition from straight-A student to crime-fighting vigilante wasn’t exactly a smooth one, but Blossom managed the best she could. By the time she graduated high school — as valedictorian, no less — Blossom’s dreams of normalcy were long forgotten, and the super-powered sisters had moved from stopping petty crime to taking down some of the state’s most wanted criminals.

Looking back, Blossom wonders if maybe they shouldhave just stuck with the petty crime and left the big guys up to the professionals. Maybe then things wouldn’t have gotten messy, and they could be living happily in their beloved hometown. But no — Blossom had to suggest going after the major crime syndicate operating in the city’s underbelly. She had to push, even when everyone around her told her it was a bad idea. She just couldn’t let it go. Up until that point, her mission plans were always perfect. This mission may have had higher stakes, sure, but it wasn’t supposed to be any different from the rest. Except it was, and Blossom paid dearly for it. Innocent people were hurt, millions in infrastructure were damaged, and, whoops! turns out some of the most powerful people in the city were also part of the aforementioned crime ring. Soon, the very same powerful people were demanding the police “finally do something about those kids!” and it wasn’t long before every media outlet in the city had turned against them. Angry protestors formed outside their home almost daily. Profanities were spat in their faces. It was as if the years they had devoted to this city meant nothing to these people. And while the three super-powered sisters weren’t in any imminent danger, their clearly mundane father was, and it was becoming clear that living in the city was no longer safe for their family. Overnight, they packed their bags for Porthaven and fled.

Blossom doesn’t hate Porthaven, per se, but she knows there will always be a part of her that longs for home. Rationally, she knows it’s a stupid desire — the city turned on them, not the other way around! She owes those ungrateful people nothing! But despite the anger and resentment, what-ifs continue to linger in her ever-racing mind, and she carries a heavy guilt for leaving the city in such a horrible state. And not that she’d ever admit it to anyone, but she kind of misses the vigilantism too. Brainstorming missions, kicking ass, barking orders… there’s nothing quite like that thrill. She’s trying to make a new life here — really, she got into law school and everything — but leaving her old life behind is a lot harder than she thought it’d be.

Headcanons

After what happened back home, Blossom is extremely hesitant to use her powers. Although Porthaven is much more accepting of … people like her, she can’t help but be cautious. With how little she uses her powers, she could almost pass for a mundane, if it weren’t for the pink eyes.

When she isn’t in class, Blossom works as a part-time archivist at the local library and is prone to picking up books on her downtime. This, combined with her photographic memory, has given her an impressive breadth of knowledge on even the most obscure of topics.

As a child, Blossom would sooner be caught dead than be seen without a large red bow atop her head. Although she eventually grew out of wearing the bow, she still rarely leaves her home without putting effort into her hair. A high, sleek ponytail held by a thin ribbon is her go-to style.

As far as Blossom is concerned, she is always right. She is physically incapable of letting a logical fallacy or grammatical error go unnoticed. Reading random wikipedia articles and correcting them is, embarrassingly, one of her favorite past times.

She keeps a planner with her at all times, and, yes, it’s color-coded.

Her biggest secret? She can’t cook to save her life. And the fact haunts her everyday. Blossom is someone who prides herself at being good at everything. But cooking is the one thing she can’t hack.

Inspiration

pinterest — i’m currently locked out of this acc and yes i’m in tears about it

spotify — this isn’t my playlist but it popped up when i searched “blossom powerpuff girls” and it brought back so many visceral memories that it needed to be included. i wrote this entire app listening to this playlist.

[bigskydreaming]

How would you go about a good Spyral Dick Grayson storyline? I like the idea but not the execution (if it was stated he was acting like an idiot I'd like it better). Also in the same vein how would you do DickTiger/how do you think it'd work?

I’m side-eyeing you a little anon, lol, because I’m not sure what you mean by it’d be better if it was stated he was acting like an idiot. Because see, as far as I’m concerned, nothing about Dick’s actions was out of character....so long as you center Bruce’s actions as the real driving force behind Dick ending up stuck undercover at Spyral. Dick’s actions make perfect sense....as the fractured attempts at recuperating from a massive trauma without any semblance of a support system or any time or space to actually dedicate to acknowledging and accepting what he’d just been through before leaping right back into danger.

It remains extremely troubling to me that even WITHOUT taking into account Bruce’s victim blaming him for his own death, emotional manipulation and physical beating...all of that only stacks on top of what should already have been the takeaway, IMO:

And that is that its absolutely ridiculous to think that Dick could have remotely been emotionally and mentally composed enough to make an informed, non-coerced decision about undertaking the Spyral mission AND keeping it from the rest of the family.....mere days after being extensively tortured and then briefly died.

He wasn’t in a sound state of mind to make that decision with full awareness of all the implications and repercussions like he would have at other times. Nobody would have been.

And the rest of his family might not have known about him dying, but they did know about him being tortured for days and then unmasked, since they literally saw that on TV....and they know, post Dick’s return, that Dick had been in place undercover before his funeral was even held...the same week he was thought to have died. It should have been obvious to a family of geniuses that all choices made in a matter of days after being tortured and unmasked and who knows what else might have happened offscreen that they could only know about by ASKING him about his ordeal instead of jumping straight to punching him for the choices he made while in the immediate aftermath of massive trauma....like, point is, even without knowing he died, there was always more than enough info they were privy to that there’s no real excuse for their response to his return being judgment instead of concern for how the hell has he been coping with all of that, out there all on his own without anyone he could fully trust, let alone unburden himself to.

None of them spared a single thought for what any of that had been like for him, because they were too focused on their own hurt, and I’m always going to be pissed about that, lmao.

Anyway, apologies if none of that was anything you intended with your word choice, but to be perfectly honest I need very little excuse to go off on a rant about how even the rest of his family’s response to that storyline was like, fundamentally flawed.

NOW. On to your actual question! Because I do have an answer as I’ve thought about this particular thing a LOT, and my ire at both the Spyral storyline and the amnesia storyline coalesced into conjoined seething frustration because of how EASILY they could have avoided making all of the Batfam seem shitty, EVEN BRUCE, and like, also avoided them driving Dick further away rather than bringing him back closer to the family.

All you gotta do....is smash those two stories together and do them both at the same time.

LOL, a few months ago I actually literally wrote out a whole post outlining it in detail here:

https://bigskydreaming.tumblr.com/post/187334221591/if-dc-had-just-combined-their-spyral-and-amnesia

And I’ve copied and pasted the content of that post below the cut here too, just to keep it all in one place for convenience.

As for Dick/Tiger - that’s a whole other post I don’t have time to get into at the moment, but in a nutshell, I’m hugely a fan of their pairing but in specific ways...I mostly see them as each other’s angsty kinda ‘the one that got away, that they could never shake how they got under their skin, but can’t find a way to actually be with, longterm.’ Because the thing is, so much of their dynamic and interactions with each other were clouded by the layers of deception they both wore at all times, and how many different lies they had to tell in service of their whole reason for being there, and how much of themselves they had to hide.

Like, I tend to picture them as kinda both wistfully thinking if they’d met in another life, in another way, without all the cloak and dagger and lies from the very start...they could absolutely be happy together. But as it is, there’s no getting around that they both feel in any kind of relationship, there’d always be some part of them, even if just deep down, that was always keeping an eye open for a crack in the other’s mask, a sign that once again, they were not what they professed to be.

So I see them as being very much that spy vs spy trope, even after Dick goes back to vigilantism and civilian life and even when he and Tiger are theoretically on the same side.....like, I could see them having very emotionally charged, physical, almost desperate kinda encounters in secret whenever they’re in the same city or whatever....because they’re past denying that there’s definitely something between them, always has been, probably always will be...but without even talking about it, just with mutual understanding and implicit agreement, they always know these encounters are just for the night....and then its back to reality. With them thus becoming a kind of escape and fantasy for each other, all rolled up in one and thus inevitably romanticized even further within their own minds...

But they’re also both very pragmatic people, and used to taking what they can get and making the most of it. Its nice to picture the could-have-beens in a world where they met under more honest circumstances, but they live in this world, and here, this is what they can make of what they have, this is what they can make work. So its not all terrible, because if they both ultimately decide this is one of the better outcomes resulting from where they began, which neither of them can change...then it becomes more possible to appreciate what they have for what it is. Even if its not ideal. Or conventional. Or even forever....because I think they both are prepared for it to end if either one of them meets someone who can give them those kinds of nights and still be able to be there in the morning...

But none of that means that what they do have isn’t real, isn’t significant, isn’t as powerful and worthy in its own way as any more conventional relationship.

After all, neither of them are conventional people. They wouldn’t even have met if they were, making a lot of those might-have-beens a moot point. Probably wouldn’t even be as drawn to each other if they were other than what they are, because so much of their dynamic is tangled up in their respect for each other’s skills and convictions and more along those lines.

To be honest, I imagine both of them value and prize each other’s acting ability, their skills with deception and subterfuge....even as those are the very things at the root of why they’ll never be that conventional, longterm couple.

Because it keeps things even between them, and thus even when lying to each other’s faces, there was still an honesty to their dynamic, a balance. Neither is burdened by excessive guilt for deceiving the other, because they both were doing it and they understand why. Thus even when outright deceiving each other, there’s a weird kind of balance there that wouldn’t exist in relationships they had with others who couldn’t match what the other brought to the masquerade, so to speak.

Idk. I have a lot of thoughts on them obviously, lol, and totally meant that all to be another post but got carried away as usual, but I’ll leave it on that note for now, lmao.

How To Make The Spyral Storyline Work (If You Ask Me, which someone literally did so I can get away with saying this).

Ahem.

So. If DC had just combined their Spyral and amnesia stories into one, instead of like the mess we got, we could’ve actually had a good story.

Like, literally all you gotta do is back during Forever Evil, find some way to separate Bruce and Selina from Dick’s body BEFORE Luthor revives him….so Bruce too is of the belief that Dick’s dead, and Luthor being heralded as the one who saved the day from the Crime Syndicate protects him from Bruce or the Batfam’s reprisals.

Then all you gotta do is…instead of Dick getting amnesia like a year later from being shot in the head by KGBeast….Dick gets amnesia from complications in how long it took Luthor to revive him. And of course Luthor capitalizes the HELL out of this.

And then, you can pretty much do everything the same….without it being ANYONE in the Batfamily’s fault, or anyone taking anyone for granted?

You can still have Dick go undercover in Spyral, be Agent 37….only now its on Luthor’s orders, because Dick woke up with no memories and all he knows about himself or like, anything, is whatever Luthor tells him.

And he knows SOMETHING’S not right about everything, like, something’s off about the person he feels like he is and the person Luthor claims that he is, but Luthor’s savvy enough that he’s not forcing Dick to do anything that might trigger some buried memories or built in moral resistance to an order, he’s invested in keeping Dick as fully cooperative for as long as possible, because he knows Dick will be way more effective if he’s on board with stuff than actively fighting things. So Luthor has Dick sold on the idea that he’s infiltrating Spyral on behalf of the good guys, like Dick thinks he’s fine with doing morally gray stuff but isn’t full on trigger happy so Luthor doesn’t force him to kill people on his behalf and thus Dick’s time in Spyral and his character conflicts with Helena, Tiger, etc, remain largely the same.

And meanwhile, Dick’s in the dark about his real identity and past because not having any clue he’s alive, the Batfamily reluctantly has been doing their best to bury details of the late Dick Grayson, no matter how much they hate it, because they have to worry about the living members of their family and try and distance themselves from Dick post being-unmasked, so nobody connects the dots to all of them.

And then of course, eventually one of them runs into someone who reminds them suspiciously of Dick on a case, like his face is still all swirly because of the Hypnos implants but he says or does something that’s so quintessentially Dick Grayson that they can’t NOT wonder. Because here, Dick doesn’t KNOW to tamp down on his natural quips and banter or mannerisms around the Batfamily, and so they give him away even as he remains faceless, and there’s not really any way Luthor could have seen that coming or prevented it, without like….scripting everything Dick says or does in every possible encounter he has, which of course is impossible.

And so THEN ultimately, you can have one or two Batfam members pursuing possibilities that Dick’s alive on their own, and then eventually comparing notes and realizing Dick really IS alive, what Luthor must have done, and that Dick didn’t come home because Dick literally doesn’t remember where or what home is…..

And then whammo ka-blammo, its Fully United Batfamily To The Rescue as they basically just invade Spyral and blow it to Kingdom Come whilst convincing Dick that he’s their brother/son/friend and belongs with them and Lex Luthor is a lying liar who lies, SEARCH YOUR HEART, FEEL YOUR FEELINGS, YOU KNOW WE SPEAK THE TRUTH and blah blah blah et cetera et cetera et yada yada.

And nobody ever has to read Tom King and Scott Lobdell’s like…..*gestures disgustedly in the general direction of their utter tripe*….That.