#but this dark ending would make so little sense no way the same writer who gave us the previous 426 chapters would write something like this

[haine-kleine]

Can people please stop using the 'atone' argument for the villains not getting a happy ending?

If Horikoshi wanted to make this story about atonement, then Grand Tortilla would have been dead long time ago instead of cheering on Shigaraki's murder and Allmight wouldn't be consoling Izuku saying it was fine to let Tomura die.

Enji says he will take all the public backlash on himself. He is already atoning! He had accepted that everything that Dabi did was a direct consequence of his actions and this is the only time in the last chapter the narrative pats him on the back by having Natsuo admit that he thought his otou-san (not Endeavour) was cool for the first time in his life.

The war happened because the heroes actively oppressed the minorities and kept the status quo until it all blew up in their faces. The second war arc didn't even give the heroes any serious consequences. Having the villains slaughtered and put in prison takes any logical meaning of the story away. It was the League who was punished in the second war arc: separated, silenced, severely injured, brain damaged, having lost their friends.

The heroes just going back to the status quo after defeating the minorities they have been ignoring all these years would make this story extremely depressing. It's time for the heroes to take responsibility and make amends, not demand that their victims atone for not being able to take it anymore and fighting back.

[mejaemin]

nonchalant - jeon wonwoo

wc: 0.9k

summary: clingy wonu /ᐠ - ˕ -マ

warnings: streamer!wonu, writer!reader, fluff, not proofread !!!

an: i can think of so many ways to make a pt.2 to this… will i? nope!

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the letters on your laptop’s keyboard are surely to start fading any time soon, but it’s worth it. especially right now. there’s yet to be a single time where you’ve felt this much inspiration in your entire career, so you refuse to let this go to waste. your eyes flicker to the notebook sitting next to you, information on the paper translating in your mind and being typed out into coherent sentences on the document.

you’re really proud of what you’ve written so far. you had your boyfriend read your unorganized thoughts you had set out for the plot and what not, and he thinks it’s good too. once your brain felt ready to start writing the real thing, your fingers were flying. you slipped your headphones on, essentially blocking out the entire world as you worked. you started when it was still light out, and you’ve only gotten up to use the bathroom, really. it’s dark now, and although he’s not working quite as hard, you can still sense your boyfriend moving around the house, making commentary as he pre records gaming content.

he’s left you alone so far. he’s not the type to nag you too much about taking care of yourself, especially when he’s already learnt his lesson about interrupting you when you have one of these moments of inspiration. not to mention he has times like this too, even if it was for something like a long term livestream. still, he treats you how he would want to be treated in the same situation. by that he means undisturbed… with the occasional interruption, of course. he likes to have his game time but if he isn’t filming he still wants to be with you.

your phone is on do not disturb, keeping wonwoo’s obnoxious friends and their instagram reel notifications from disturbing your work, so when a message notification dings through your headphones you know who it is.

won🖤: Are you almost done yet?

won🖤: I’ve finished recording.

you: no, sorry love :( i still have some left in me.

you: just a little more, okay?

won🖤: Just a little more. I try not to be that guy, but you really should stop soon. Eat something

you reacted with 👍

setting your phone down, you crack your knuckles with a sigh. you were reaching the end of your inspiration spark, so you really wanted to rush to get whatever you could in. it’s extremely rare that this happens, and you couldn’t stress it enough. you’ve got deadlines to meet, and for this to happen to you was literally perfect. you’re basically set, and might even be able to take a day off tomorrow.

you’ve gotten back onto your groove, putting the music on high while you work. you’re typing word after word, paragraph after paragraph flawlessly. everything you’ve been mapping out for weeks is finally coming to fruition, and it’s doing so perfectly. you’re so zoned in that you don’t notice when wonwoo comes in, only taking note of his presence when the weight shifts on the bed and his head lands on your shoulder.

you pause, pulling the headphones off your head. “do you need something?” you ask, hand instinctively coming to brush through his hair.

he looks up at you, and you’re sure he doesn’t notice the way he’s pouting. it’s rare that he’d be like that voluntarily. “how far are you? you’re almost done?”

“mm, i don’t think so.. sorry. i really need to make the most of this or else i’ll never get this finished.” you kiss the top of his head, and as soon as you put your hand back towards the keyboard he grabs it.

“you’ve been sitting here all day.”

“yeah, i noticed. but i’ll do just a little more, ‘kay?” you kiss his crown and return to work.

you finish the second to last plot point you had mapped out, and now you’re just revising what you done so far. even by your own standards you’ve done enough, and since wonwoo is indirectly begging you to spend time with him (in his own way) by clinging to your side, you suppose you can stop for now. it hasn’t even been that long and you can see him looking from his phone to you every three seconds. it’s cute really, how he’s trying so hard to be nonchalant about it when he wants to spend time with you so bad. every time he wants your attention, he sort of hovers around you and stares at you until you give it to him. he’ll never say it out loud, but he’s definitely going to be obvious about it in other ways.

you shut your computer and set it on the night stand, turning towards him fully. the corners of wonwoo’s mouth twitch as he tried to hold back his smile, but you know he’s happy that he’s won.

“you’re done now? are you gonna go back to work, or are you really done?” he asks, sitting up and readjusting his glasses.

you giggle at his cuteness, kissing his cheek. “yes, nonu. you’ve got my full, undivided attention now, ‘kay?”

he’s already up before you are, rambling about how excited he is to spend the rest of the night with you, even if it’s already late. he’s walking into the kitchen to make ramen for you, talking about eating it together while watching something, and then stopping to ponder about what to do after. you trail behind him, a smile on your face. your nonchalant, black cat boyfriend who uses very few words will throw it all out the window if it means getting your attention and keeping it for a good moment.

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[sokkastyles]

I read that post you reblogged about Katara using bloodbending to heal Zuko during the final Agni Kai, and honestly I would have loved it if that happened too. I've mentioned before in a previous ask that I wish bloodbending had been explored more in the narrative, especially Katara's complicated feelings about bloodbending. This is going to sound a bit morbid, but I'm kind of wondering if, after the encounter with Hama, do you think Katara would be kind of hyperaware of the water flowing throughout her own body or anyone else's? Would she feel tempted to try bloodbending again? Even though the first time she had to do so was to prevent Aang and Sokka from hurting each other, so she bloodbent Hama, and she found the whole thing disturbing, there's a part of me that wonders if Katara would still have a bit of morbid curiosity about bloodbending anyways. I know this sounds like I want Katara's character to be a bit darker, but what I really want is for Katara to be allowed to have these thoughts or this type of curiosity without her being made to feel like she's a bad person for it. Idk if any of this made that much sense, but I'm curious to know, what are your thoughts?

Katara unconsciously being hyper aware of the water around her and in other people's bodies after Hama is something that has made itself into my fics. Because bending is depicted in atla as part of who the person is, and I think keeping a bender from bending is like keeping someone from being allowed to move their arms and legs.

And once Katara knows this ability exists, not just bloodbending but everything Hama taught her that goes with it, like how to find the water in everything, she will find it impossible to not have this completely alter her bending and how she sees the world.

And, like with firebending, it's not the bending itself that is bad, it's what you do with it.

I love zutara fics that include bloodbending, not just the dark ones, but something I've explored a little in my fics is how it makes her more aware of Zuko's body and heightens her physical connection with him.

Bloodbending can work as a metaphor for consent, because it's not that it's inherently evil to have that kind of knowledge of another person's body, but it's about consent and trust. I see no reason why bloodbending can't be used to heal the same way that medical knowledge can be used both to heal or to kill and torture. (I'm thinking of that particular analogy because I'm reading Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer currently).

Like, I get that the show writers were trying to add complexity by showing the dark side of waterbending with Hama, but the thing is that while waterbending was always portrayed as good before, it was also portrayed in a very limited way. Katara is the last waterbender of her tribe, who had to learn on her own. "Some waterbending is bad, actually," isn't really a lesson she needed to learn, especially not from the only teacher she's ever had who can actually tell her about her own heritage. The unintended message is that Katara exploring a culture heritage that has been denied to her through war is bad, and it actually ends up limiting things instead of making them more complex. It's also another weird way the show dichotomizes combat waterbending and healing. Despite Katara gaining Pakku's respect, she is still getting the message from things like the Hama episode that using her bending for combat and not healing is wrong. The obvious solution is to make waterbending healing a form of bloodbending, and now that Netflix has made healing an actual learned bending form instead of something Katara is naturally good at, I have hope that this connection might actually be made. And this is a win win, because making healing a form of bloodbending actually achieves the complexity the original show was going for.

[erisweekofficial]

Today we're highlighting @shadowsandlint, another wonderful Azris writer! SL has such a way with words, so much of it reads like poetry. You can't go wrong with any of her fics, but here are a few to start with.

If you need a place to start, try SL's favorite fic she's written (and our favorite too) Autumn Winds Across the Sea

What did Azriel say to Eris at the High Lord's meeting? Your Scars on My Pulse has all the answers!

If you want a cute Azris fic that'll make you feel warm and fuzzy, read O Holy Night! The Stars Are Brightly Shining.

Read on to learn to learn more about @shadowsandlint and if Eris is going to win a battle against Loki and Lestat!!!

Give us a name for one of Eris's Brothers!

I haven't named any of his brothers in my fics yet, but I would like for them to be in the same vein as Eris'. He is named after the Greek goddess of strife, and is one of Zeus' many children. So maybe Arcas, the hunter, or Horai, after the goddesses of seasons.

Give us a name for one of Eris's hounds!

I've named one of the hounds Erebos in Your Scars on My Pulse! In Greek mythology, Erebos is the personification of darkness, which I found fitting for a smoke hound.

What drew you to Eris Vanserra as a character?

The masks he wears. He has so many layers! When we first met him after under the mountain, I immediately got the sense that he was more than he seemed. He was too well thought out to only be a flat character, with little quirks and hints to a world beyond the surface. What is he hiding? We have gotten some answers, but I want SJM to answer it all!!

Do you think Eris had any childhood friends?

Yes, I think he did before he got old enough to fully understand his role and the expectations that came with it. But after he and those around him made that connection, I think those relationships might have ended up being only superficial friendliness, in order to not have any weaknesses to be used against him.

How does Eris deal with the expectations placed on him by his court and family?

He probably reminds himself of the end goal quite a lot, like a mantra, repeating that it'll all be worth it once Beron is dead and he can shed his wicked persona. And lots of alone time in the Autumn woods with his hounds. Doggie cuddles make everything better!

Eris v Loki v Lestat. Who is winning?

I fully believe we have not been shown the extent of Eris' powers yet (the incident with Feyre and Lucien on the run was too suspiciously easy for them), so he might have enough tricks up his sleeve to take home the victory. I mean, how did he find and capture Azriel? And this is before becoming High Lord, so we can only imagine how powerful he'll be then.

[bobbydagen24]

If you could make any changes you wanted to the finale what would they be?

Personally I'd remove the years long time jump and have the show at most jump ahead maybe 6 months or a single year

Just to the point where the immediate aftermath of the final battle has gone by but not to the point where these may as well be different characters

Given the amount of implied development they've undergone off screen that the show is basically teasing us that we'll never actually see ( because the writers chose to use what screen time they did have to show us other stuff instead )

and just end the show with the characters going to school showing them just living the normal mundane lives as regular kids aka what the hex squad was fighting for.

maybe show them all attending Grom together and that way we still get the big party to show all the characters saying goodbye

But the writers didn't need to ruin the ending for the sake of jerking off to fancy new character designs fanart is its own thing separate from the actual works someone higher up really needed to tell the owl crew that ffs.

Also I'd probably also give Hunter a final scene with Belos as ending their relationship on thanks to them just leaves a sour taste in my mouth tbh.

I wouldn't want Hunter to actually kill Belos or even witness his death as that would just be even more angst for him

But I would probably have him show up just as Belos is depowered and he's trying his little possessed by dark magic lie to Luz

maybe he tries to get Hunter to back him up saying that that he saw what the curse did to him and how it "" made him do bad things "" but same as Luz Hunter's just having none of it

and he turns around and walks away while Belos is calling his name maybe at first he's pleadingly calling after him only for him to eventually get angrier and shout his name but it makes no difference

and after he's left the rest of the scene plays out the same I just feel after the sad ending of thanks to them Hunter should have gotten a final chance to defy Belos and stand up to him.

and the final change I'd make is that I'd just have the Collector stick around in the end as I just feel it makes more sense for him and everyone else.

he's a god like being who still currently has the emotional intelligence of a kid and who has been manipulated and used by bad people in the past

keeping him around so they can continue to teach him right from wrong and help him grow just makes more sense to me than him going off on his own especially when he was terrified of ending up alone again like he was in the other realm so like why would he leave just as he was starting to find people he could actually trust?

anyway what changes would you make if given the chance?

[theonceandfuturequeenoftarts]

Thank you for the tag, @mosiva! ♡♡♡

"Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free to pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗"

Four of these were easy choices and one was trickier, but in no particular order...

thrown into the nest (T, 10,565 words, WIP)

This fic possessed me. The first chapter took over my entire life for ten hours during which I came up with and wrote the whole thing -- I couldn't stop until it was done and posted. Two or three days later, the same thing happened with the second chapter. It's like I was exorcising demons into a doc file. It's also notable because maybe a week or two before I wrote it, I told a friend I would never write ABO fic. More fool me.

I love this fic because it drew together so many ace people -- I've never felt a greater sense of community than I did in the hours after this fic was posted, seeing the comments of people who saw themselves in Harry and Tom's experiences. It blew me away, and I felt so happy to have done justice to some small part of the ace experience. It was a different type of joy, and a bit more cathartic, to write compared to other fics of mine.

VII (M, 2,609 words)

I think I've said it before, but I honestly thought this would be one of those weird little fics that I wrote for myself and maybe five other people would like. It's grown beyond what I originally meant it to be, and while I really, really love the sequel too, this one holds my heart. It's disjointed and dark (for me), and it's one of the few that I've written that actually has Harry and Voldemort start out hating each other and move through it. (What can I say, I mainly write crack and fluff.) They're both feral and damaged and violent and cling to each other all the tighter for it by the end. I also like making the Unspeakables ethically (and morally) dubious and research-obsessed, and this was my first foray into that.

naïve melody (G, 2,904 words)

The Ferris wheel fic; another fic that I thought maybe five other people would enjoy. I'm still proud of the wistful tone it has, and some of the turns of phrase, despite the crack-tastic premise. It's sweet and silly and it makes me feel warm to re-read it. It might also be my favourite Voldemort characterisation of all the fics I've written.

engrave the silhouette of you (M, 10,480 words, WIP)

Look... I just like hurting them, okay? I used the "angst with a happy ending" tag because I need everyone (myself included) to know it's gonna be alright in the end. I have made myself a crying mess multiple times in the course of writing or plotting out this fic. This is very much a "how would the characters react in this situation if X happened?" fic that has grown legs. It's fun (and painful) to put myself in Harry and Voldemort's headspaces and then put us all through the emotional meat-grinder. But it's going to be fine. Eventually.

Capsized (M, 948 words)

Fun, not-previously-shared fact: this fic started out as a way for me to process my maladaptive daydreams and suicidal ideations through Harry. All of the things he imagines or considers are things that I have, as well. (This makes the one comment that says "MAKE HIM SUFFER YASSSS" really, really funny to me.) I wasn't sure if I would ever post it -- it took me five months to decide to do it, because it's extremely personal. But it felt good to put it all into words and make it... "pretty," I guess? It's probably as raw as I can make it while also trying to fit it into the HP world and have it be enjoyable to read.

(Honourable mention goes to Prompt-ober 2023, because it almost killed me to do it, but it was so much fun to write everyday for a month and have the same folks comment each day and chat with them throughout the month (I love you all ♡♡♡). However, that's like twenty-five different fics in one, so it doesn't count.)

Tagging @liquidluckandstuff, @i-dream-of-libraries, @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger, @aglassroseneverfades, and @hikarimeroperiddle

No pressure, do it if it will be a fun distraction! ♡♡♡

(Note: I recently locked my account to registered users only because of an AI scraper targetting Ao3. If you don't have an account and would like to read any of the above, just send me a message and I'll provide a file ♡)

[goodluckclove]

Author Ask Tag?!

hey @goldfinchwrites tagged me in a thing! cool! thanks, man! i'll use this as an opportunity to share a little bit about one of two projects i plan to work on starting in march while I wait for migration patterns to be beta'd. i'm playing around with an episodic radio show-style series that i'm calling sunderland forever.

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

so sunderland forever centers around the end of the world, seen through multiple, perhaps unconnected individuals. starting in portland, oregon, reality has started burning away. it started with a small black hole hanging in midair, seen in an abandoned lot near the columbia river. but it's slowly growing. and there are rumors of additional "cue marks" as some call them being found in other parts of the city. places that touch the cue mark as it expands are suddenly wiped from memory, even if they haven't yet been fully eaten by the void. the same goes for people - maybe.

there's nothing anyone can do. no one's really reacting in a way that makes sense. it's more mundane than anyone would ever expect from the end of the world.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

smart writer answer: I was fascinated by what I've read so far of Christopher Brown's A Natural History of Empty Lots. Portland is a city with it's fair share of abandoned structures - some spent years in limbo before suddenly being vanished into vacant concrete and gravel seemingly overnight.

We also have a lot of living things we either struggle to understand or choose to push aside entirely. Sunderland, a semi-industrial neighborhood in Portland, has been home to an RV Safe space for unhoused individuals to get their vehicles off the street and congregate for easier access to crucial services. This park, built to be temporary, is set to close at the end of March to give space for the Bureau of Transportation to store maintenance equipment. Despite plans for a new RV park opening nearby, the entire situation reads as an odd reshuffling of a very prominent problem.

You wouldn't think it would be so easy to avoid a 25k-square foot building, much less a growing population of human beings. And yet it happens so often. So it's an intriguing concept to explore what it looks like when reality starts taking over the forgotten, much like how nature takes back an abandoned structure. What does that look like, and what - if anything - changes when the forgotten is no longer our decision?

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

honest writer answer: i've missed writing scripts and this seems like a cool way to get back into that. you can also do more with radio plays, despite the obvious limitations. this concept is like kind of satire and it's potentially more timely than i'd prefer. but i'd still be aiming for a sort of dark absurdism akin to eugene ionesco's play rhinoceros.

uh but no one's trying to achieve anything. if they do try it might not really work. that's kind of the point. reality is literally burning away in a way so unfathomable that most people eventually have to shift focus and keep on going to work and taking care of their children or whatever.

i don't have a lesson. i don't have anything i'm trying to prove. it just seems like a cool concept to explore.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

chapters = episodes

episode length = maybe like twenty minutes? definitely one-act length.

answer = who fucking knows

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

original concept! it'll probably be on soundcloud or something. maybe my patreon. wherever i post it it'll be free.

When did you start writing?

writing anything? twelve. i wrote a 10k novella. wrote my first novel at thirteen. wrote and produced my first script at sixteen. published at - eighteen, i think?

wrote this? i haven't. i'm still percolating and reading to develop different concepts. i have till end of february to finish migration patterns and then i can switch gears.

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

write a lot. don't be afraid of failure. you're going to fail, that's part of the thing. failure in art doesn't look the same as it does in life unless your failure is also an act of public bigotry or literal crime. write a lot. like, write something right now. be indulgent and weird and too into your material. get comfortable with a silent reception because in original fiction you're going to have a lot of it and it's fine. enjoy what you do. also take breaks and live life so you can enjoy that too.

uh i'll tag some cool folks that are also wonderful writers you should groove on!

@mushroommanchanterelle (his lore drops on penumbra lately have been legit wild)

@xarrixii (flash/burn is fantastic it has been such a wonderful confusion having to engage with a serial that isn't finished yet)

@afyerarchive

@holfelderwrites124

@fenmere

(i know there are more of you but i'm trying to think of people i'm pretty confident have active projects. if you have one also just get in on this you are tagged too! tag you're it!!)

[lil-ms-darkness]

Distance and Doughnuts - Goldilocks Fem!Reader x Bigby Wolf [Part Five]

A/N: Okay, finally part five is out. Whoo boy, this was meant to be out so much sooner. First it was the end of December, then it was beginning of January, then the 11th of January, and I swear this was arguably the hardest chapter to write. Between writers block, work, and more personal life events, the universe was determined to delay this part. But I managed to get it done. Better late than never, oh and one of my darling readers asked me about the rating of this story, so from now on I will be including a rating just above the page break so if any of you would like to know what kind of contents will be contained, there will be a rating as well as any content warnings.

Part six will have some backstory/flashbacks, so look forward to that. Until then, happy reading!

𝕷𝖎𝖑 𝕸𝖘 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘 🥀

Rating: Mature (MINORS DNI)

Content Warnings: Sexual themes, implied arousal, dead bodies, murder investigation

The room is dark, only a pale moonlight peers through the window pane as she opens the curtains. 

It's not her apartment in New York, not her treehouse in the homelands, it's somewhere she's never been before. A vast garden of trees and the smell of the woods creeps through the glass. It's home. A home she's never been to before or yet. 

Arms wrap around her middle- strong, hairy, large hands resting on her belly. She thought she was alone, but she isn't afraid. She doesn't know who it is, but at the same time she does. His chest presses against her back and she leans back into him, her eyes falling closed as she relaxes. He lets out a low sound, something like a mix between a growl and a groan. It's delicious.

One of his hands raises to cup her jaw and turns her face towards her right shoulder. His fingers tighten against her skin, and she lets out a quiet gasp. His breath fans against her exposed throat as his other hand wanders over her body. 

She lets out a soft gasp as the tip of his tongue grazes her throat, feeling herself throbbing already. His hand moves higher, ghosting over her left breast, but he doesn't touch her. He lets her jaw go and she turns with his help to look into his face. Despite the moonlight that reflects his face, she can't make out who he is. His face is a puddle of rippling water and smoke, only blurry lemon yellow eyes peek down at her. She sees stained teeth appear in the strange visage before he lunges for her. 

Her eyes open quickly and she blinks away the sleep. Her heart is racing in her chest and she looks around. It's not her apartment and it smells like cigarettes and wet dog. She crinkles her nose before a voice catches her attention. 

"Bad dream?"

The Sheriff

Was it a bad dream? She can't remember. But the sticky feeling in her underwear suggests otherwise.

She looks over at him at the table against the far wall, a little further down from the TV set. He's not looking at her, focusing on his file on the table. 

She realizes she's in his recliner, a blanket over her. When had she fallen asleep? She blushes at the thought of him laying her in his recliner and covering her with a blanket. 

"I don't really remember. It's...kinda blurry." She rubs her eyes, "may I use your restroom?"

"You don't have to ask." He motions loosely towards an open door. 

She nods, "right, sorry. Thank you." she makes her way into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. As she pulls down her pants and panties, she blushes at the mess. Grabbing some toilet paper, she gets to cleaning it up. 

And that's when an even more embarrassing realization hits her- Bigby is a wolf. A werewolf, now. He's used his sense of smell to track down many things, connect dots, find her. There's no way he didn't smell this. Her face is red and burning as she flushes the evidence, her mind racing with thoughts of what he might be thinking. He hadn't reacted to it, hadn't shown any kind of reaction. Maybe he didn't smell it? But what if he's-?

Does it matter? It's normal. Animals do it, humans do it, Fables do it. Hell, even Mr. Toad has a son. Unless TJ was the product of magic, he had to- oh jeez, why is she even thinking about that?!

It's normal. Bigby doesn't care, so why does she? Is it because she's worried about his perception of her? Because she wants him to like her?

She looks at her reflection.

That's silly. She washes her hands and pushes the thoughts back, walking out into the apartment.

Bigby’s attention doesn’t leave the file, a few pages littered about. As he jots down notes on a notepad, she moves closer, noticing the square of his shoulders, the wrinkles between his thick brows, and the cigarette that hangs from his lips. She stands beside him and glances at the papers beside him. It’s names she recognizes, The Woodsman, Amelia Star, FlyCatcher, Riding, there's more, and she realizes it’s a suspect list. 

Other pages with various information, suspect statements, and, based on the near calligraphy cursive, follow ups that look like it was penned in by Snow. She can see his notes, and the scrawly thick writing has piqued her interests, as if she’s reading his mind on a page.

“Wow.” she murmurs as he grabs the ashtray near the notepad, moving it to the other side, away from her, before plucking the cigarette between his fingers, flicking the ash into the tray with rehearsed ease. 

“What?” he asks, “disagree with something?” 

“No, it’s just interesting to see how you think,” she answers, looking through the notes and files. “It’s amazing how you can keep track of everything. You don’t get overwhelmed?”

“No,” he writes another note down, acknowledging that there is a possibility that Riding could have lied about Flycatcher being with her, and that [Y/N] alerting her to his suspicions may have created an issue. She frowns to herself, unsure whether he’s intentionally writing the note as she’s reading so she will see it, or maybe she’s reading too far into it. Neither option makes her feel better. 

The pit in her stomach expanding and the need to leave arising, to avoid her mistakes screaming to life. Should she apologize? Should she leave it alone? 

“[Y/N],” she blinks and looks over at him, finding pools of detachment searching her face, “what is it?”

She shakes her head in confusion, “did I say something?”

“Your face.”

“Right. You’re a Detective,” she hesitates, knowing she can’t lie to him, but she doesn’t know how to approach the subject, either. She looks away from his debilitating eyes, but can feel his eyes linger as he waits. She half expected him to ignore her and go back to reading. She awkwardly points to his handwriting.

There’s a moment of silence, and she assumes he’s reading it. The feeling of uneasiness grows, she doesn’t dare to check, words fumbling out of her mouth. “I did it, again. I really didn’t mean to, I just thought…no, it doesn’t matter.” She wants to hide in her hair, wants to explain that she was certain that telling Red why she’d brought Bigby, was the right decision. If her friend felt [Y/N] had betrayed her, would she say anything the Sheriff would have needed? Somehow, she knows he’d find a way to get the information.

“You know why it’s an issue, right?” Why did he sound so…calm?

“Because she could lie, and I’m biased in trusting her.”

“Well, yes, but if she’s the one doing it, which I have no solid evidence that denies her involvement, aside from…” he moves one page and she can see the note from the Mundies’ body. She shakes her head in confusion, looking over at him. He takes the chance to explain, “at her apartment, the shopping list. The handwriting doesn’t match. If that was her handwriting in the notepad, then she either changed her handwriting to deliberately throw me off the trail, or it isn’t her.” [Y/N]’s eyes widen, he takes another drag from his cigarette before he stops her, “that doesn’t mean she’s no longer a suspect, [Y/N], it just means it’s less likely. But,” he shifts and stands to look at her, “I mean it, do not do that again. Because if she is the killer, you just gave her reason to cover her tracks and make it harder for me to solve this case.”

She nods and looks down. She fidgets a bit and looks around his home, trying to find any way to make the tension disappear.

“Sheriff, why do you live in such a dump?”

He snorts and looks at her, “it’s small, but I don’t get visitors, so it makes no difference.”

“Do you even have a bed?” she follows behind him as he makes his way into the small kitchen.

“Don’t need one. Got my recliner.”

“That I slept in last night, so where did you sleep?” 

Silence

“Sheriff, you did sleep, right?” 

“Are you hungry, or what?”

Her brows knit in confusion, “What?”

“Hungry. You know, eating food? Are you hungry?”

“I mean, a little bit, but that’s not-” 

“I’ll make us something if you sit down and don’t break anything.” 

She folds her arms, but she doesn’t miss the smirk on his face. Asshole but she smiles a bit, unable to help herself.

“There’s not much to break,” she walks back to sit down on his recliner. On the other side of the wall, she can hear him rummaging through his fridge and his cabinets. She looks out the window, leaning back in his chair. With a quiet sigh, she relaxes into the worn leather, running a hand over the arm. The thought that this is where Bigby sleeps both gives her a sense of safety as well as melancholy. She wonders if it’s really that comfortable for him. Sure, he can lean back, but really, what does that do? It doesn’t make much of a change. 

She hears the sizzle of eggs, the scent filling her nose. She remembers how she’d make eggs for herself alone in her kitchenette before her shifts at the Trip Trap, what felt like an eternity ago. As she recalls the fond memories, her eyes widen slightly in realization.

MY ORDERS! HOLLY!

“Sheriff, I need to go home. I have orders I need to get ready.”

“I’m still in the middle of an investigation and need to keep an eye on you,” he calls from the kitchen.

“Okay, so let’s relocate to my apartment, you can do your Detective thing while I complete my orders, and after that I need to go in for my shift at the Trip Trap.”

“I’m not welcome at the bar,” he comes around to be able to see her for a moment, folding his arms.

She huffs, “please, Sheriff? I still need to make money in order to keep up with my payments, and I need to be able to save for my Bed and Breakfast. Every cent helps.”

He examines her eyes, and shakes his head, “What happens if someone were to break into your apartment?”

“While we’re there? You arrest them.”

“If someone is breaking in, [Y/N], it’s not to snoop around. They won’t just lay down and let me arrest ‘em.” He walks back into the kitchen to move the food around the pan, preventing it from burning before he comes back.

“Then let Woody come with me, something. But I’m not willing to sacrifice my means of making ends meet because you’re as stubborn as a…mule doesn’t quite fit, but wolf doesn’t make sense. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What difference will it make where you look at those folders?” His expression is even, unphased, and she sighs, her shoulders slumping. “Please, Bigby?”

His steady gaze meets her pleading expression, wrinkles between her brows more pronounced and the gleam in her eyes hit him like a silver bullet in the heart.

“Are you giving me puppy eyes?”

“Depends,” she juts out her bottom lip a bit, “is it working?”

“Hardly.” He walks back into the kitchen, and this time, he stays in there. She frowns and slumps into the recliner, suddenly feeling very antsy.

Bigby comes into the living room again, carrying two plates of eggs and sausage in his hands. He offers her one plate and, as she takes it, she murmurs a soft thanks. He walks over to the table, lowering himself to sit and starts to eat in silence. As he looks at the files, his mind drifts from conversation to conversation he’s had with each of the suspects. He doesn’t believe Riding is guilty, but that holds no weight. He can’t risk Fabletown or its citizens on a feeling, he needs solid evidence. But what evidence could he use? 

The crunch of sausage and the taste of the fatty flavor erupting on his taste buds is pleasant as he scours the papers for anything he hadn’t seen before. He has to go see Riding again, and Flycatcher. If he can see them at the same time, he stands a small chance at getting inconsistencies. Even so, [Y/N] gave them the chance to establish their alibi’s. He lets out a small huff of annoyance and a soft graze on his hip catches his attention. 

He looks over, finding [Y/N] sitting on the ground beside him, plate of food in her lap as she eats.

“What’re you doing?”

She looks up at him with her warm eyes and shrugs, “just felt weird being on my own in your home.”

“You were less than five feet away.”

“And?” 

He snorts, but it’s not in annoyance much to his own surprise. He uses his foot to push the other chair out, “at least sit on a chair.”

She hesitates for a moment before she pushes herself up to move and sit in the chair, “it’s really good, by the way.”

“Hmm?”

“The eggs and the sausage,” she reiterates, “thank you for making breakfast.” He can’t help but smile, just the slightest bit at that.

“Well, it’s not as good as yours, but it works.” There is another silence, a comfortable one, but Bigby can tell she has something she wants to say. “You have something you want to say?”

She looks over at him, then looks at her almost empty plate. “I think you already know what it is.”

“Say it anyway.”

“I need to go and complete my orders, and go in for my shift at the Trip Trap tonight. What can I do for you to let me go?” 

He sighs and scrubs a hand over his face, “it’s not a matter of me letting you go, you’re your own person, but there are dangers and it’s my job to make sure that the Mundie victim stays the only victim. They glamoured her to look like you for a reason.”

“I know, which means we have no way of knowing whether I’m a target or not, but I can’t fulfill my orders here. The smoke will get into the fabric and will stink everything up.” 

He looks over at her, as she pushes the last piece of sausage around her plate with her fork. Just like he takes his role as Sheriff seriously, she takes her job as bartender and entrepreneur seriously. He can't blame her for that, but he still has to find a way to keep her safe.

“Maybe having your own time will be best, and I’ll continue investigating in the meantime.” [Y/N]’s eyes light up at his words, “but that doesn’t mean you are free to be reckless, you need to have Holly or Grendel walk you home from your shift every night, and to work every morning. Or, you call them while you take a taxi. When you’re home, you keep the music low so you can hear, doors and windows stay closed and locked, and the Business Office stays on speed dial.”

“Of course, I promise,” she reaches out without thinking, her hand covering his. He can see her cheeks flush for just a moment before she pulls her hand away, “sorry, I just got excited. Want me to wash the dishes?”

“No, just put it in the sink. We’ll catch a taxi and we’ll drop you off at your apartment, then I’ll continue on to see Amelia Star.”

“Again?”

“Yes, I have some follow up questions.”

[Y/N] adjusts her emerald dress as she carefully steps down the concrete steps to the entrance of the Trip Trap. She just barely had enough time to finish most of her orders and leave them to cool and set while she went to shower and get ready for her shift. The last four orders should be easy to complete, and she still has two dozen more muffins to make for one of the other orders, but at least she got the most urgent ones out of the way. 

The bar is a quiet hum of soft, familiar voices and, as she rounds the corner to get a full view of the bar, Holly lifts her gaze from the glass she was drying and freezes. Her eyes wide, muscles tense. Gren notices from his spot at the bar and looks over his shoulder, his normally pissed expression softens in equal surprise, and relief. 

“Hey, guys, what’s wrong? You act like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Holly lowers the glass to the counter and walks around, “[Y/N]? But, the Sheriff told us you were…” 

[Y/N]’s eyes widen as she realizes she forgot to call, “OH! Holly I’m so sorry, it was,” Bigby’s words fluttered in her mind, “it wasn’t really me. After everything happened, the Sheriff came by my apartment and I stayed with him so he could make sure I wasn’t really going to be killed. I completely forgot to call you, I’m so sorry.”

She doesn’t miss Gren’s face sour, “you just forgot to call, leaving us to mourn you? That’s a hell of a way to show your appreciation.”

[Y/N] frowns, but knows Gren is right, nor is he trying to be mean. She looks over at Holly again, stepping up and tenderly takes the troll’s hand, “I really did mean to call, there was just so much happening. I had to convince the Sheriff to let me come here alone for my shift.” 

Holly’s brows furrow and her nose scrunch at the idea of Bigby stepping foot in her bar. Even if it was to make sure her friend is safe. What a shitty situation.

“Just,” the silver haired woman starts with a sigh, “get to work. There’s a table over there that I haven’t had a chance to clean yet.” 

[Y/N] frowns, but nods as she walks around the bar to set her bag on one of the shelves underneath. She heads over to the table with mugs and a small saucer with squeezed lime wedges. She gathers the items, acutely aware of eyes on her. A lump forms in her throat, and she halfheartedly reassures herself that giving them their space will make things go back to the way they were.

“[Y/N],” Holly calls, and the blonde pauses in mopping the floor to look over at her. The troll approaches, stopping just in front of her, and [Y/N] feels her throat tighten in worry. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.” The blonde lets out the breath she’d been holding.

“I don’t know if I’m safe, but I’m alive.” 

Holly nods, “just try to keep me more in the loop, I don’t need to plan another funeral.” 

[Y/N] frowns but nods in understanding, leaning the mop handle against the pool table, gently wrapping her arms around her boss and friends slender waist, hugging her tightly. It feels so nice to feel familiarity again, after what felt like years. Holly hugs her back, and Gren rolls his eyes at the sappy display, keen on pretending he isn’t just as relieved to see their friend breathing.

[Y/N]’s feet ache from standing in heels all day, and she can’t wait to get home and rub her aching feet. All of her orders have been completed, and as she gathers the trash, she feels her muscles relax. Almost done, then I can get out of here She wonders if she has enough ingredients leftover to make herself some doughnuts. If she does, she could probably save some for the Sheriff, too.

She wonders how he is doing, it had been three days since she had heard from him. Three long days, and she found herself missing his company, no matter how distant he could be. Hoisting the trash bag over her shoulder, she makes her way to the back door wondering how his days had gone. She finds her mind returning to the dream she had in his recliner, how the hands felt so real and pleasantly warm. 

As she opens the door to the dark alleyway behind the bar, the asphalt is shiny like inky pools from the damp New York rain. Making her way to the large dumpster, she feels the light sprinkle of the rain on her skin, the humidity hanging in the air like a wool blanket, and for a split second she lets out a sigh of dread, knowing her hair is going to be insufferable. 

As she lifts the lid, she thinks back about the Sheriff’s hands, the dream fluttering to life again. How could so many people be afraid of him? He’s aloof, and kind of mean at times, but she can’t imagine him hurting anyone. 

Wait, as she drops the trash into the dumpster, dropping the lid closed, turning to walk to the bar, she wonders to herself, is he a virgin?

The toe of her heel hits something and she falls forward, stumbling and barely managing to catch herself, but the heel of her shoe slips on the asphalt and she falls, trying to use the fat of her thigh and her forearms to catch herself. She grunts as she lands and pushes herself up, looking over to see what she tripped over. A massive pale and calloused hand lays on the ground in the damp puddle. 

Her mouth dries and she shakily crawls closer, reaching into her dress pocket to pull out her phone. Turning on the flashlight, she raises it to the space beside and behind the dumpster, her eyes widen and tears well up in fear. Her heart falls into her stomach and she screams out in sadness, fear, and disbelief as she looks at Woody’s body stuffed haphazardly behind the dumpster. Three large slashes across his chest as if some animal had cut him open. 

As her tears fall, she screams again, more like a howl this time./

[pocketmolly]

I love how present Damian is in all of the crisis/events in dc! Like this man is not just Batman's sidekick and it shows I mean of course he won't have the same plot importance as dc trinity or whatever but this guy is shockingly relevant in almost every event (at least in the new52)

1. Dark Knights Metal

The teen titans go to the challengers mountain in Gotham and Damian somehow fucks off from his team (cannon fodder tbh) and ends up inside. There, he meets Green Arrow, Harley, Killer Croc and Nightwing and they fight their way into the (almost?) center. Damian kills dark robin and only through this do the good guys gain the knowledge that enemies can be killed by Nth metal which leads to their eventual victory. (Gotham Resistance)

2. Shadow War

This event kind of centers around Ra's Al Ghul, Talia Al Ghul and Slade after the Robin (2021) so it makes sense why Damian is a major character in it, basically Batman and Robin just kinda hop around trying to stop Talia and Slade from murdering each other. Anyway Damian has a humongous part in the conclusion where he manages to defeat the bad guy himself and Mary Sues his mother into not killing the guy who murdered Ra's. Also this event is kinda goofy where it ends in sunshine and rainbows (Slade is still alive and sets up Dark Crisis) (Ra's comes back as a ghost).

3. Dark Crisis

Dark Crisis gives Damian his little one shot where they portray him as both 12 years old and 34 years old. Anywho, Damian quickly says 'fuck you' to both Jon and Nightwing and goes on his own adventure where his team frees Justice Incarnate (which is the JL of the multiverse) and somehow unlock Dr Light's powers which she uses to stabilise the multiverse??? And don't let the team accomplishments fool you because Damian hacks into a cosmic tuning fork in an ape dimension to find the source of the Darkness??? (Please read Dark Crisis: The Dark Army, it is so good!!)

4. Lazarus Planet

Even the name of this event screams Damian... This event also starts off in Robin (2021) and is the biggest crossover Damian is at the center of. He starts off as a main antagonist where it's mostly a batfam event. Then, at the climax of the event, Damian is converted back to the hero's side when it becomes an international event. He's basically the main strategist and leader in fighting the god, King Fire Bull. There are a bunch of one-shots where heroes are struggling with new or a lack of powers which is why I say it's Damian's first big crossover event, additionally the entire batfam kind of revolves around him, being literally at his beck and call. The ending is also super sweet where Damian rallies the people of Gotham to revive Batman but he also kind of decided to kill Batman in the first place so that's not so sweet. I think this event, though not extremely well written, gives us a taste of what Damian would be like leading the JL (idk if it was plot convenience but everyone just agreed to following orders from a 15 year old) alongside Nightwing and Jon.

5. Night Terrors

In this Damian is revealed to have control over his dreams (which is crazy btw) and he goes to some monk to learn how to resist sleep? Anyway, while the other heroes are snoozing, Damian gets to team up with Deadman, Sandman and his father's unconscious body. It's the classic superhero story where he swoops in to rescue the two and they get the nightmare stone or something. Truthfully, I'm not too sure why they chose Damian specifically to play this role because I'm pretty sure any other hero would have been an okay substitute but I will never complain about Damian content.

This is just off the top of my head and I'm aware Beast World did happen but that event definitely needs its own post because I just absolutely adore it. Anyway, writers have been pushing for Damian to become a major character in DC and I really really hope he gets to be beside Nightwing and Jon when they inevitably (DC will never let them) take over.

[zuko-always-lies]

Rating my list of Azula AUs by how much they appeal/are interesting to me now

It's a long list, and some of these ideas are actually quite old, so I thought it would be worth giving each AU idea a rating out of 10. Note that some of these aren't my ideas and I intend no disrespect to anyone. I just want to rate how interested I would be in a story if someone used the AU idea as a basis.

Better parenting Ursa (8/10)-Would be a banger.

Azula raises Katara AU (and continued) and more (9/10)-I've never seen anything quite like this and would be very interesting.

Azula and Katara get friendly postwar and talk about their brothers. (7/10)-Good idea for a short story?

Mai is significantly older than Azula and Ty Lee AU (Older “sister” Mai) (4/10)-Could be interesting but honestly I find canon Azula-Mai's dynamic plenty interesting on its own.

Jin works at Iroh’s teashop but finds out about his past (5/10)-Perhaps worth a shot.

Zuko tells Azula about the Spirit Water (5/10)-Too close to canon?

Ursa and Ozai get along better, and it’s not a good thing AU (4/10)-A little dark for my tastes.

Imperialist Lu Ten survives the war and tries to regain his throne afterwards (9/10)-Now that would be incredible. Lots and lots drama and lots of lighting fandom takes on fire.

Zuko finds out more about his nation AU. (5/10) Somewhat interesting.

Revolutionary Azula takes over Ba Sing Se AU. (2/10) In retrospect it feels a bit too imperialist in tone.

Three different AU ideas in one (4/10) None of them are really that great.

Favoritism in the royal family is a little different (5/10) moderately interesting.

What if Zuko had a nonbending twin sister (who he doesn’t get along with). (10/10) The Zola AU. One of the most interesting and subversive ideas I've had.

Zuko’s daughter changes how he sees Azula (7/10). Could be worth a short story.

Zuko and Ursa try to isolate Azula (“for her own good”) (9/10). Brilliant dark AU, very subversive of fandom expectations.

Ozai gets exiled and the Gaang stupidly ally with him (6/10). Could be entertaining.

Earth Kingdom ends up with custody of Azula postwar and support her bid for the Fire Nation throne when Zuko starts another war with them. (10/10). Pure, wonderful chaos and Team Avatar are really in a bind.

The Gaang tries to figure out why Zuko joined them. (3/10). Might make a good short story.

Dangerous Ladies find Ursa in Book 2. (10/10). Ursa setting canon of fire is always worth it.

Azula and Toph fake dating (1/10). Not that interested in Tophzula.

Zuko/“world leaders” try to force Aang to take away Azula’s bending and he’s very much not OK with it. (4/10). Not too interesting.

Azula is thrown away to the NWT postwar as a trinket and Chief Arnook adopts her. (9/10). Wonderful idea for how to get a fire sibling adopted by the water tribes and have it make sense.

Comics! Ursa’s letter about Zuko being a bastard gets out. (2/10). Too associated with the comics.

Zuko and Katara lie about what happened during the Agni Kai (4/10). Shrug.

An exiled Azula finds Fire Imperialist! Ursa postwar. (10/10) Absolute banger of an idea, although quite dark. Azula and Ursa unite to overthrow Zuko.

Aang has to save Azula from being executed by Zuko (5/10) OKish

Zuko’s defection during DoBS goes very badly for Mai (4/10)

Zuko joins the Gaang at Ba Sing Se, but it ends poorly (10/10) let's make the writers of all those bad Zvtara fics suffer!

Zuko killed Azula during the Agni Kai, and now he has to deal with the consequences. (6/10). Dark/

AU idea where Zuko keeps Azula permanently imprisoned in bad and torturous conditions postwar, and Izumi finds out about when she’s relatively young, and draws exactly the sort of conclusions about her parents that you would expect. Not to mention being terrified that she might be treated the same way if she missteps… (7/10). Could be interesting.

Ozai never declares Zuko and Iroh traitors (7/10). Clever idea, would destroy canon as we know it.

Iroh-Azula roleswap au (9/10). Would be absolutely incredible.

Zuko asks Azula for help with his firebending. (5/10). I really don't like the fire siblings having a good relationship very much at this point.

Zuko wants Azula to like him but doesn’t get why she doesn’t like him (postwar) (8/10). Good idea for a shorter fic.

Katara has an arranged marriage with Zuko and Azula tries to get into the good graces of her sister in law (7/10). Might be interesting.

“Katara is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Zuko, but she falls in love with Azula instead.” (10/10). No explanation needed.

Another take on Zvtara (arranged marriage) and Maizula. (6/10). Good idea but maybe a little boring.

Azula-Katara AU idea (or: Katara runs into an Azula who has changed a lot in some ways and not very much in others) (7/10). Never could quite gets this to work.

Zuko is actually Ikem’s son (2/10). Enough about the comics!

Firelord Azula ends her brother’s exile 3/10. Nothing particularly interesting.

Azula raises Izumi (it’s complicated) (8/10) Really would be worth engaging with.

“AU idea: Azula commits suicide out of despair, and just about everyone is convinced that Zuko had her murdered or at the very least “encouraged” her to do it.” (3/10). More Zuko angst.

Dangerous Ladies get banished/declared traitors and Azula basically gives up. Mai has to step up her place. (9/10), would be a very interesting look at Mai.

I have to say, “Zuko has to deal with finding out that Ursa very much isn’t who he believed she was” remains excellent fanfic fodder. (8/10). Ursa for the win!

“AU idea: Ursa is more aware of Ozai’s abuse and potential for abuse than in canon, so, right after her exile, she seeks out Iroh and charges him with protecting both of her children.” 6/10. I don't find like Iroh enough to really like an idea which had him be so central.

Firelord Iroh treats Azula in a really screwed up way. 9/10, very dark but could have great payoff.

“AU where Azula dies during the latter stages of the war or right after it, and Mai is the only person who ever morns her as a person, not as a politically convenient symbol (Ty Lee runs away from her complex feelings on Azula as much as she can).” 7/10, could be a good oneshot

Dark idea (5/10).

“Since so much of the fandom is convinced that Azula is Zuko’s older sister, I need an AU where this is true and Zuko is just as throne-obsessed as canon and spends all his time trying to usurp his older sister.” (1/10). Not really an idea which stands on its own.

“AU where Ozai has a heart attack and dies right after the fire siblings return to the Fire Nation, and Zuko and Azula have to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Gaang are plotting to overthrow them and bring the war to a close once and for all…” 8/10. Could be a banger.

King Kuai adopts Azula as his heir 7/10. Interesting idea

Things get complicated, darkly (Azula exiled postwar AU) 6/10. A little convoluted.

What if Zuko tried to be a good brother 5/10. Zuko is boring.

“I really need an AU where Lu Ten returns and is pissed over Ozai’s usurpation, so he kills Ozai, seizes the throne, and continues the war. Of course, Iroh ends up supporting his actual son in all of this, and the conflict in the Fire Nation ends up boiling down to Zuko and Azula vs. Lu Ten and Iroh as the situation spirals toward civil war, at the same time the 100 years war continues.” 8/10. Nice chaotic edge.

“Maizula AU where Mai married Zuko, but he died not long after Izumi was born, and Azula and Mai are secretly carrying out a relationship while raising Izumi and ruling the Fire Nation as her regents.” 8/10. Maizula for the win. Could work as a short story.

Azula joins the Gaang with a twist… 7/10.

“The chaos which would result if Lu Ten showed up alive again in Book 1 and launched a rebellion against Ozai in pursuit of “his” throne.” (5/10). Less interesting than the other Lu Ten ideas.

Ursa opposes Firelord Zuko 7/10. More good Ursa content!

Iroh tries to kill Azula during “The Chase” (5/10). OKish.

Mai and Ty Lee on trial for “war crimes”“ and Azula has to save them 9/10, would be wonder with a great Maizulee dynamic.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

A little Comic History and Important Question

Can you take the event out of the character and still call them the same character? 

There are some characters that are defined by their origins. 

Some are defined by the time in which they were created. 

Others still were defined by a single moment in their history in which a writer gave them a story that has become their very core. 

In the world of DC, Batman is defined by his origins. It is a story that DC has played with time and time again in various "What if" timelines and multi-world events. 

Is it possible to have Batman without the death of his parents? DC argues that this is impossible. 

Would Superman still be the same if he hadn't been raised by humble farmers in America with a strong sense of justice? (See Superman Red Son). 

Can you take WWII out of Captain America and still have him be the same American Poster boy? 

Is it possible to remove Vietnam from Frank Castle and still come up with The Punisher? What about the death of his family? 

Can you take the Jewish out of Magneto and still have him be the same Mutant Revolutionist? 

Taking a step back, we turn to the very origins of comics as we know them: 

Superman. 

Created in 1938 by the children of immigrants who fled countries that wanted them dead. Children that grew up with stories of ‘the old country’ and a distinct feeling of being powerless. 

Just a year later, we have Batman emerging in 1939. 

Even in America, Anti-semitism made it impossible to seek out jobs of ‘honor’. 

Comics had been created far before Superman first took his first step. Small funnies that appeared in little blurbs and papers that people scoffed at and considered unworthy of spending time or money on. Most of which were written and drawn by Jewish people who had no other career options than to seek out jobs in publishing and entertainment industries. 

So what was so special about the late 1930s? 

Take another step back. WWI ended in 1918. It did not bring the great peace and prosperity that everyone thought it would. There was a brief flicker of economic boom in the winning countries, but by 1929 the Great Depression had hit hard. 

Famin, inflation, and antisemitism was on the rise. Mass immigration to America in hopes of survival. Stories of those left behind were sent to the families settling in the New country. 

Letters filled with violence, poverty, and death were making their way to the Jewish Immigrants. 

You see, the Nazi party started in 1920. Many saw it as the savior of Germany and even people in America saw the Nazi party as something to stand behind with visions of greatness and superiority. 

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the children of immigrants who read the letters of family left behind in Europe. Envisioning someone that would stand up for the little guy and fight fascism and Nazi beliefs, they created Superman. 

Superman didn’t start with great super powered monsters and villains. He started fighting neighborhood bullies. He broke up gangsters and terrible Slumlords. He took down corrupt politicians and eventual villains like Lex Luthor.

Bob Kane and Bill Finger were not far behind in the creation of Batman. A man who fought for justice and revenge. A man seeking to make sense of the loss of his family. While Batman wasn’t as dark and grim in the original days as he is now, he was still seen as a step further than Superman. A caped crusader of justice that used more violence than Superman tended to. 

Siegel and Shuster started a comic book publishing company that let Jewish writers have jobs as well as tell their stories in their own way. 

World War II broke out officially in 1939 and more and more comics started to focus on stories that spoke out against what was happening in Europe. 

William Eisner created "The Spirit" in 1940. If you aren’t familiar with either of those names boy howdy…. William Eisner, as in “The Eisner Awards”  are awarded for creative achievement in American Comic books. The most prestigious and significant awards in the industry. 

The Spirit was created out of Eisner’s heavily Jewish upbringing and often told stories that came out of his difficult upbringing in the slum-like conditions and severe antisemitism of New York at the time. 

By this time, WWII was in full swing, and despite what we are all taught to think, everyone knew what the Nazi were doing to the Jewish people at this point (just not to what extent). Stories of camps and death had leaked out and Jewish Immigrants lived in terror as they feared for the lives of their families left behind. 

America entered the war in December of 1941… Officially. I say officially because, as all my fellow history buffs know, we were secretly involved in it far before then. 

Propaganda had snuck into the comic book industry before America entered the war. 

In 1941 we saw the creation of Captain America by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Two names that came like a comet to the comic industry. We also saw the creation of Wonder Woman in 1941 (And you should look up that story because WHAT A RIDE THAT IS, but I’m not going to get into that today). 

Captain America was created as a direct response to what was happening in the world, the Nazi uprising, and the failure of America to step up and away from Antisemitism. 

There are a lot of stories about how Captain America is based out of Jewish culture and old stories. That Captain America is the Golem. There certainly are a lot of reasons for this. 

The Jewish Golem was created as a creature made to protect the Jewish people from those that wanted to kill them. The Hebrew word “Emet”, which means “Truth” is written on his forehead. Looking at Captain America, with a giant “A” on his forehead, it is very easy to argue that the A is the Hebrew Aleph letter and hearing him say he fights for Truth, Justice, and The American Way (The American Way part was added after we joined the war for propaganda purposes) is a fantastic argument for why he is the Golem. 

There is also a fantastic write up someone did on how Captain America acts as a Golem when he was first written and even powers down back when his mission is completed. If you are interested, I’ll direct you to that book if you give me a hot minute to find it in my stash. 

There is also an argument I’ve heard on how the shield is NOT exactly the American symbol that it has become in modern times. But that of The Magen David (AKA: The Star of David and symbol of Judaism and Jewish Identity) really means "Shield of David". A symbol of G-d’s protection. 

So we’re in the war, the golden age of comics, the rise of big names and even bigger heroes. 

What happens when the war ends? 

Well, the kids grow up. The comic industry is booming, comic books are becoming a thing, the Sunday papers now have the funny papers, and people that studied under the big shots are now old enough to start creating their own thing. 

In 1939 Marvel Comics was originally a run of comics with superhero features published under Timely Comics, founded by Martin Goodman. 

The Human Torch was the first on the cover. The original Human Torch. Not Johnny Storm. 

Oh… and Namor The Sub-Mariner, an anti-hero and FIRST Mutant. Created by Bill Everett who also helped co-create Daredevil with Stan Lee later on. 

What’s that in the background? Oh… Just a Nazi flag so he can beat up all the Nazi. 

Namor returns in 1962 in Fantastic Four #4. 

With the war over, Comics and war time heroes and propaganda was falling out of fashion. 

Horror, Westerns, Romance titles, and various other Men's Adventure tales were now in fashion. 

Marvel Comics was dropped as a title in the 1950s. 

That didn't stop a small group of Jews from deciding to try their own at creating a comic company. 

In 1961 Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko started up Marvel Comics and published "Journey into Mystery", which was a more science fiction approach to comics. (Steve Ditko would go on to work with Stan Lee to create Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. ) 

Over in DC land, they had The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and the forming team of the Justice League of America to settle out their roster. 

Stan Lee famously decided that he needed to change how Superheroes were presented. He wanted the common man to see himself in these heroes. 

He wasn't writing for the child audiences that were commonly seen as the target. He wanted to write to the adult reader that was looking to see themselves as the hero. 

It started in 1961 with the First Family: The Fantastic Four. 

Striking gold with characters that argued, held grudges, didn't keep secret identities, and often acted petty and selfish, Stan Lee kept his focus on the adult reader. 

The Amazing Spider-Man was published in 1963. 

So what was happening in America in the 60s that made people seek out flawed characters and deep characterization? 

Well, take a step back into the 50s. What’s going on? WWII ended in 1945, after all! How about a very little talked about war known as the Korean War 1950-1953. America’s first failure that was hushed up and pushed aside. 

Not to mention that the Vietnam War started in 1955 and lasted till 1975. 

1947 was the start of the longest lasting standoff known as "The Cold War” that didn’t end until 1989. 

The world had changed and the culture had changed drastically. 

In the world of [rival DC Comics'] Superman comic books, communism did not exist. Superman rarely crossed national borders or involved himself in political disputes. From 1962 to 1965, there were more communists [in Marvel Comics] than on the subscription list of Pravda. Communist agents attack Ant-Man in his laboratory, red henchmen jump the Fantastic Four on the moon, and Viet Cong guerrillas take potshots at Iron Man. - Comic historian Mike Benton. 

So how do the comics keep up with world events? How do they stay relevant? 

Go back and look at all those dates. Notice anything? I’m going to throw a lot of dates at you here: 

Iron Man: 1962 (Original title under Tales of Suspense then given his own title in 1968) 

Doctor Strange: 1963

Spider-Man: 1963

DareDevil: 1964

Lots of young men going off to war and looking for escape. Let’s focus on one I mentioned at the start of all this.

The Punisher was created in 1974. Right at the end of Vietnam when the soldiers were coming home, America had lost, and no one wanted to see the soldiers as heroes. 

The Punisher was created in a Spider-Man comic originally as a sort of anti-hero Assassin and occasional foe to Spider-Man. 

In 1986 he was given a mini series then just a year later "War Journal" was released as the first Punisher series. Followed by War Zone and Punisher Armory. 

You see, there was a Marvel comic run series called "The 'NAM" that came out in 1986 that told the perspective of soldiers involved in the war. It was popular for some time and the Punisher even appeared in it a few times. 

Over the years, Marvel has not known what to do with the Punisher. They lost interest in him in 1995 and canceled the series. 

Here’s the thing, America has been at war almost constantly since the Korean war. Sure, they aren’t big names like Korea, Vietnam, and so on… But Heck, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bosnia, Serbia, Gulf War�� the names just go on and on. 

The comics lost the narrative on how to handle soldiers coming back with no way to deal with their trauma. They lost sight of what made the Punisher so interesting and so broken. 

They changed his story and relaunched right with the Punisher being the leader of an organized crime family. The number of times they ended and relaunched the Punisher in the late 90s is a little silly when you look at it. 

In 2000, Garth Ennis got hold of him and relaunched The Punisher under "Marvel Knights". By 2004, Ennis was given Marvel's first Mature print "MAX" where he kept the story of the Punisher going. 

His look was modified to keep up with modern standards. The superhero aspect was removed from MAX and we got just a gritty, realistic look at an anti-hero. 

But here's the issue: How do you keep the Punisher current? Vietnam ain't getting any younger. 

They have him joining other wars too. He's serving time in the CIA, he's a spy in the KGB, he's in the Middle East, the Balkans, the IRA.... 

In non-MAX titles, they realized that Frank Castle was no spring chicken. They killed him off and had him born again as a younger version. That way they could keep his Vietnam background but still be young. 

But this hasn't stopped the talk about how to keep his trauma and his war relevant to the readers of today. Do they take away his war? 

In one of the movies, he was made a veteran of the Gulf War. 

They've even taken it a step further in more current runs where they take Frank Castle out of the role fully and give it to someone else who takes up the mantle of "Punisher". But is it still the same character? 

Is someone not from the Vietnam war era still capable of being THE Punisher? 

I'm going to take a quote right from Wiki for this one: 

"The Punisher's backstory initially introduced him as a veteran of the Vietnam War. In this capacity, he appeared in the comic book 'The 'Nam', about the conflict. However, this dated the character as the years passed and the war was increasingly in the past. Greg Rucka retconned it to the War on Terror, instead, in 2011." 

"Steve [Wacker, editor on the project] and I went round and round on this, but ultimately, he wanted to make Frank younger because if he fought in Vietnam, he's in his 70s, and I get more mileage out of him being in his early 40s. I don't think that takes anything away from his origin. In the Marvel Universe, the conflict matters only because he was asked to go and serve his country, and he did. When he returned, the society he was essentially defending betrayed him and murdered his wife and children in front of him. The conflict matters less than the fact that he gave his service, and this was the reward. In that broad brush vague Marvel Universe sense there's always 'the war' whatever it was. If that put him in the Middle East rather than South East Asia, I think that matters less for the purposes of the Marvel Universe."

Why all this about the Punisher? Because it matters and here’s why: 

Magneto was created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 

--- In a 2008 interview, Stan Lee said he "did not think of Magneto as a bad guy. He just wanted to strike back at the people who were so bigoted and racist...he was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson. He was a danger of course...but I never thought of him as a villain." ---

We didn't find out Magneto's background until 1981, in which he was portrayed as a Holocaust survivor.

Much later in 2008, "Magneto Testament" we got his full history. 

It is in this comic that Magneto is finally fully defined. A comic in which real life stories from Holocaust survivors are used to create this man that was never supposed to be a hero or a villain. 

Now, I haven't always appreciated the story lines in the X-men comics (things get so hard to follow sometimes. The shenanigans and who is dating who is just beyond me), but I have always appreciated the overall narrative and have always felt the conversation started by the first X-men comic and carried on in Magneto Testament was an important one that has ALWAYS been relevant. 

But the number of times they have tried to redefine Magneto's story is baffling. 

And the question has risen again: How do they keep Magneto relevant? 

As I write this, WWII ended about 79 years ago. Which would solidly put Magneto in his late 80s. Maybe early 90s. 

If they have an issue with the Punisher being in his 70s, how do they feel about a 90 year old man fighting Wolverine? 

And I’ve heard further talk of people contesting his Holocaust background. How do they update that? If you can take the Vietnam out of The Punisher, how do you take the Holocaust out of Magneto? 

Is their solution just to not have him be Jewish at all? Do they find someone else to be Magneto? Do they just reboot him fully? 

In an industry created by Jewish voices speaking out against antisemitism and hatred, why is there such a push to take the Jew out of comics?

It is easy enough to google "List of Jewish Comic book characters".

Which is exactly what I did.

Considering how much wikipedia is being editited right now and erasing things, I was honestly curious to see what I would get.

You get your classics:

(Marc what are you doing?)

(Billy, I don't think that's Kosher? Is that Kosher? Can you light two candles at once? Can you use lightning? What if the lightning is generated by a person? Where's this argument in the Talmud? I bet someone somewhere argued about it.)

The Thing (Ben Grimm), who is the first one everyone thinks of.

Doc Samson, who Marvel often forgets exists despite the fact that he is amazing and I Love him.

Iceman, Legion (really? How many?), Magneto, Moon Knight (This counts as at least 3….maybe 4….5 on a bad day?), Sasquatch (Oooohh yeahhhh), Kitty Pryde (the most out spoken one next to Ben Grimm), Songbird (Huh), and Wiccan (I love him and it warms my heart to see him being shown properly). There are a few other random figures in the background now and then, but those are the big ones in Marvel.

DC?

(This is just sad)

Kate Kane (Neat!), Hal Jordan (OG!), Harley Quinn (Of course), Phantom Stranger, Ragman (A moon knight DC response), and some random ones.

Thing is… This list used to be longer. I know it used to be longer. And I feel like it has left off quite a few big names from other comic publishers too….

This Wikki article was edited recently and I fear not for good.

So how many characters do we find debating are Jewish? I know Moon Knight is often being debated for various stupid reasons. But the character is Jewish. And I appreciate the writer that makes a point to state this (McKay for the win!)

But at what point does Marvel start to question how much longer they can hang onto the most blatantly and important Jewish character? When does Marvel start to push Magneto out? When is he too old? When is his story too obscure? When does he stop being relevant?

I fear for the next 10 years. 20 years. 50 years.

Don't forget where comics came from. Don't forget where characters come from. Don't try to take away what makes the character the character and continue to call it that.

I don't know how to end this. I don't have any answers. Sometimes characters need updates. Sometimes you see the obvious racism and make it go away. But do you erase it fully or do you acknowledge it was there, it was a mistake, and do your best to fix it? Can you do that with the past too? "Yeah, Frank was in Nam. Sure, that would make him in his 70s, but we aren't here to talk about how old he is. We're here to read about how broken of a man he is and how he will now hunt down justice."

[amethystina]

Hello, I hope you're having a wonderful day so far! 𖡼𖤣𖥧𖡼𓋼𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊

May i ask the following questions from the Fan Fic Writer Asks:

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

20. What’s a favorite title for a fic you’ve written?

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ Happy new year ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Alrighty!

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

I actually looked this up a week ago and the total right now is 24. But that includes some fics that I haven't actually started writing yet. And some are just ideas I want to write but might have to abandon once my sense catches up with me. I guess we'll see?

Either way, it's definitely more projects than I would want, which is why I hope to finish some of them during 2025. Especially since some of the old ones only have one or two chapters left. Or are oneshots I just didn't finish. Like, how hard can it be?

So that's definitely a goal for this year. I want to finish at least five of my current WIPs, preferably more.

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

A couple, yeah. One is The Hat Hypothesis which I figured would just be another one of my appreciated yet still not overly popular The Losers fics but, somehow, it ended up being one of my most appreciated ones? Which is by no means a bad thing! I just didn't expect it, nor do I know why so many people like it more than the others. But, at the same time, that's not for me to know or decide xD

Another is Who Holds the Devil which... well, I didn't really know what I expected with that one but I know for a fact that it wasn't what I got. I was terrified before I started posting it and was kind of hoping to just quietly push it out there without anyone noticing and be done with it. But, uh, that obviously didn't happen. Not just the part where I thought it would go more or less unnoticed, but also how much time and effort I would devote to it. I definitely didn't expect it to become as big as it is now, both in terms of its popularity and its length.

And, to balance things out a bit, Losing You (Is My Supervillain Origin Story) is a fic I expected to be more popular than it ended up being. The premise is a little clumsy, admittedly, but people tend to like a little darkness and, at the time I wrote it, it was the darkest I had chosen to write Bucky. But maybe the depiction of grief scared people off? Or the flimsy plot? Who knows? xD Either way, it remains one of my least popular Winteriron fics (by quite a margin) and I'm still not sure why. But there you go!

18. What's one of your favourite lines you've written in a fic?

There are, obviously, quite a lot of them considering the sheer number of sentences I've written. Many I don't even remember anymore. But one that's always stood out to me is from You Only Live Twice, said by Fury to Tony:

"You might have forgotten how to live in this world, but I'm willing to bet that you still want to save it."

It makes a lot more sense within context, but I always felt that it was a very Fury thing to say and, well, pretty poetic? I think that fic has a lot of banger sentences, in fact.

20. What's a favourite title for a fic you've written?

Again, I have more than one since it's just very difficult to pick. But my top choices are:

Who Holds the Devil - For how utterly perfect it is. Not just because it's a quote from Faust — which is one of the sources of inspiration for the drama — but also because it poses a question that is the basis for the entire fic, even if we all already know the answer. Because it's Ga On, of course. Ga On holds the devil.

Until Death Do Us Unite - Because I like a good wordplay or a twist on an established expression. And this one just felt so obvious considering the drama, the characters, and the premise of the fic. Moon Jo and Jong Woo will be together forever indeed. It doesn't matter that one of them is clinically dead.

Losing You (Is My Supervillain Origin Story) - I just felt very clever when I came up with it, I guess? I like how descriptive it is and the fact that even if the fic could just have been called "Losing You" the sentence within the parenthesis reveals a lot about what the story is actually going to be about.

Hyperborean - Because sometimes I like to be very concise and, in this case, it made perfect sense to just name the fic "it be FECKIN' cold" because, I mean, yeah. It's hella cold xD

These four also neatly sum up my most popular ways of naming a fic. That's to say a) steal a quote from someone else, b) cheekily twist an existing expression to fit my needs, c) a sentence followed by another sentence in a parenthesis that builds on the first one in the most pretentious way possible, and d) the most bluntly obvious and unimaginative — yet descriptive — title in the history of titles.

I think D is the one I use the most often.

Thank you so much for all the questions and a Happy New Year to you too! 💜

Fanfic Writer Asks

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: Epilogue - 2

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Tatsumi, HiMERU

Proofreading: Remi (JP) & honeyspades (ENG)

Translation: Peace

HiMERU: It was laughable to think the world would change for anyone who wasn't a god.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Tatsumi: Why did it end up this way? You and I sought to manage a unit where all would be equal, all would be fair, to create an ideal world just the same.

Yet the moment we stepped onto the road that would lead us to such a dream, the bright future we imagined went dark.

Why is that? Did we do something wrong?

While I was hospitalized, no matter how much I asked such questions to God, I received no answer. Not even my faith could save me.

That is why recently, I've taken to unraveling this twisted world by thinking for myself while learning common sense, all so I don't make the same mistakes I did before.

HiMERU: In the end, it was not a dream meant to come true. It was laughable to think the world would change for anyone who wasn't a god.

HiMERU: (The idol industry was built from the ground up by a generation of godlike Super Idols.)

(But of the innumerable idols who have emerged since then, not one has come close to godhood.)

(Not "that Akehoshi," nor "Priest." None who have yearned for it, have driven towards it, have been able to truly replace God.)

(God is dead. I've heard that the one who strove to imitate God, "Priest," met an unfortunate end during the recent SS as well.)

(Deputy Director Saegusa told me as such, being as I have a right to know.)

HiMERU: (I didn't care much for "Priest" anyway. That man replaced God — known as "Godfather" — long ago.)

(I wasn't fond of my parent's house. I ran away and, due to being slightly related to "Priest," came under the care of that man.)

(I have no feelings towards him. I simply learned from him. In truth, "Priest" was little more than a stranger to me — I wouldn’t care one way or another if he died.)

(I have no love nor respect for an imposter who pretended to be my grandfather or great-grandfather.)

HiMERU: (However, Kaname was different.)

(My poor little brother.)

(He was innocent, he simply wanted to be an idol. His mother, the only one who'd ever shown him love, asked him to.)

(He wanted to live up to her expectations. He wanted to be loved more by his favorite parent. That's the sort of child Kaname was.)

(His mother loved idols.)

(So much so that she was obsessed with them and became a stalker of "that Akehoshi," whom she adored most of all.)

(When the news broke out that "that Akehoshi" was married, she flew into a jealous rage and crowded onto the stage when he was performing, calling him a traitor, a lying cheat.)

(You were a complete stranger to him. You weren't his family, a lover, anything like that.)

(You already had a husband.)

(Kaname's mother had an obsessive love, one that drove her mad.)

(Love and faith can do that to a person. And as idols, we unknowingly spread it as well.)

(What a sinful occupation.)

HiMERU: (... As she went mad on stage, she struggled with "that Akehoshi" and fell off the stage.)

(Unfortunately, she died immediately due to a skull or neck injury.)

("That Akehoshi," who was at the peak of his career, fell fast out of favor due to that incident.)

(Due to the coverage of various newspapers and gossip magazines, he was cited as "the absolute worst idol" and put under fire for killing someone onstage.)

(However, no matter how you look at it, it was nothing but an accident. In fact, "that Akehoshi" was the victim in the situation — harassed by a crazed fan whilst on stage.)

(Whatever force was working behind the scenes, it ended with the man being put behind bars and eventually dying there.)

(And so it became a taboo incident within the idol industry.)

(Even now, the fact that he was that woman's son was enough to cause reluctance in anyone who might have given him a job.)

(Those who tout it around as a worthy reason are the very same who can justify their violent acts against Kaname.)

HiMERU: (Yes, that day that mob surged into the auditorium, they used that fact to erase their wrongdoings and be acquitted for it. I suppose the higher-ups of the school managed that.)

(It's fine to corner and crush someone, since they're the son of a criminal. That's what their superiors decided.)

(When one of the teachers who'd become part of their group told them as much, the Non-Special Students used it as an excuse to get rid of the Special Students they hated so much.)

(They'd never forgiven the Special Students.)

(In particular, they wouldn't allow that abhorrent Special Student HiMERU stand on the same stage as their beloved leader — Tatsumi.)

(So they burst. Their dissatisfaction turned to anger and they weaponized it.)

HiMERU: (That is what happened then. The end of Tatsumi's revolution.)

(Due to meaningless grudges and long-held debts, the ideals Tatsumi held so close to his heart were obliterated.)

(It was, in the end, a dream never meant to come true.)

(Yet, it… is far too cruel.)

(... The woman who ended "that Akehoshi's" career as a Super Idol is dead.)

(But that woman had a husband and child.)

(Her husband had split from her a long time ago, and so he lived alone.)

(But it seems that fans of "that Akehoshi" took to blaming him for the incident, condemning him daily, even though he had cut ties with her; they were practically strangers at that point.)

(Innumerable fans who weren't satisfied with the outcome of the incident took to acting like he was the villain and, due to the constant barrage, the earnest man grew mentally sick.)

(Sick and broken.)

(Taking pity on the man, the Godfather offered him protection on a piece of land he owned. Perhaps he couldn't simply abandon the man, seeing as they had a blood relative between them.)

(Or perhaps he'd wanted to see the broken form of the man who'd been married to the woman that'd stolen his favored "Akehoshi" from him. Who could say?)

(It's too late to ask why; God is dead.)

(The husband never fully recovered, and later was often found half-dead, wandering the premise of the missionary school that would become Reimei Academy.)

(It was as if he was a ghost or the undead, simply roaming about.)

HiMERU: (Maybe it was to atone for his wife's misdeeds, but it seems he was rather kind to the young idols who attended the academy.)

(As he roamed, he cleaned up here and there without being asked.)

(It seems he regained his mind at times, such as when he contacted me.)

(I am Kaname's half-brother. I was one of that man's sons, and so—)

(Kaname and I's father was married to a different woman before he wed the one who ended "that Akehoshi's" career. She had me before she died from illness, as I understand it.)

(As a child, I was fixated on my mother. That's where we're similar; we're brothers after all — Kaname.)

(So when my father intended to remarry someone else, as if he'd forgotten all about her… I thought of him as a traitor. I hated him for it.)

(My feelings worsened over time, and in the end, I ran away from home and left for overseas.)

(I didn't know what had happened to my father after that, nor did I even care.)

(I received letters from him sometimes, but I would throw them all away without reading them. That is why I never knew that he remarried that crazy woman and had a child with her — that he had Kaname.)

(That's why at first, I was perplexed. It couldn't even occur to me that I had a younger brother.)

(However after much begging and pleading, I decided to help my little brother. When I first contacted him, he'd said he missed me so innocently. He called me big brother and turned to me for help.)

HiMERU: (It made me happy, Kaname.)

(I thought I would always live on my own.)

(But I was wrong.)

(Kaname gave to me what my parents had not.)

(And so, I wished to repay him for that.)

HiMERU: ......

(But it was all for naught. I wasn't able to turn Kaname into the idol he'd dreamed so long about becoming.)

(My father asked me to take care of him, and Kaname asked me to help him achieve his dream; I did everything I could to succeed in both.)

(Until that moment, I thought of myself as a great man. I thought I could live alone, that I was strong and amazing enough to do so.)

(However, that failure shattered my self-confidence entirely.)

HiMERU: (... That is why I am here now, working to make my brother's dream come true for him.)

(It's simply for my own peace of mind.)

(I failed. That is a fact which cannot be undone.)

(Kaname most likely doesn't want me to do this, but...)

(That is why this is just for myself and my pride.)

(I'll become the idol that he always dreamed of being.)

(The vision that we created together, HiMERU, will become a true idol.)

[ ☆ ]

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[immoralimmortals]

I’ve been watching some shojo anime recently and it got me think, what would was Takaras high school experience like, and what would’ve happen if the akatsuki was with her

So I've had this in my ask box for a while, and I've been staring at it and it stares at me. It's always difficult for me to extrapolate and imagine scenarios about school because my school experience was so uncomfortable. However! What would a good writer be if they weren't willing to attempt to broaden their perspective? So let me give this a shot.

If we're doing high school in specific and the Akatsuki are there, Takara's gotta be a new student. That makes the most sense to me in comparison to the original story she's in. Maybe it's a scenario where she's a shy goody two-shoes and she runs in with different members of this bad boy group. What if they all individually thought of her as having a special relationship with them while they all were looking out for her? What if she hangs out with them and each member has a little thought bubble that says "Thank god I'm here to take care of her, these other guys would eat her alive"? That's simultaneously cute, dramatic, and funny as hell.

So that's the scenario that comes to mind when I think of the Akatsuki being there, in the same world. In her personal experiences as her own character in the ASWTN canon? I know for sure she was lonely. She was lonely, misguided, directionless, and unknowing of her own self. Her experiences maturing being so stagnated really fall in line, in my mind, for the kind of adult she became and the unfortunate decisions she ended up making. A fucked up little kid that became a fucked up little adult that had no idea how to begin to explain what she needed, despite the necessity to grow up and take responsibility. Really that's the root of it all-- responsibility. Takara is as unassuming as possible (at least as much as one can be) if she is uncomfortable, therefore avoiding ownership over others disliking her. She'd be alone in the library a lot. She would attempt clubs and leave when no one is looking. She'd sing to herself in the hallways when no one else is there and shut up as soon as she hears footsteps. The dichotomy of being known and being embarrassed-- the responsibility over your own actions and no control over others' reactions is a defining struggle for her character, and I imagine it was even worse in high school than it is as I write her now.

Halfway writing this I realized something I should probably bring up: Takara in high school if she abruptly fell into the Naruto world is literally the fantasy I had when I was that age! I never published it, but I daydreamed and wrote about it extensively, as if it could save me. I have a little tidbit in a recent Kisame-centered chapter that goes like this:

“Please don’t be mad at me,” she asks him, preemptively, seeing the shock in Kisame's expression. When faced with his silence, she goes on to confess. Her cheeks, even in the dim light, are so very, very flushed. “Every night I was alone in the dark, in the closet or the attic...I dreamed. I fantasized about...things that would take me away. People that weren’t...human. Evil, and mean...and soft just for me. It was...the only way I figured I could make it out alive. If someone saw I was hurt, scooped me up and took me away. Someone who...was capable of anything. Even...take care of someone like me.”

I don't know if I'll ever be as close to my personal feelings and motivations as I was writing this. So I guess, ultimately, whatever situation Takara is in that the Akatsuki are, too, they're meant to take care of each other despite being in pain.

[scaly-freaks]

I love love love dark stories. I don’t know why but they just itch my brain perfectly. Your stories I swear are thoughts I’ve had (let’s not get into that) and written out in a way I couldn’t fully conceive.

I’ve been practicing some writing just as a hobby and I think for me to write dark stories it feels like I need to fully cross a wall of some sort to out those thoughts on paper. Not sure how to overcome it but I’m trying.

But yeah idk why but the sadder and more brutal a story is the better and I think it’s because on an emotional level I can just connect with it if that makes sense?

Anyways this is just a long winded way of me saying that I love your work and appreciate the effort you put into fleshing out characters and having us connect with them in that way. (I also love sappy moments too but idk with dark stories they feel earned in a way like we worked for it and achieved a short lived reprieve)

Also just a quick little question, how would an interaction between Daemon and Amara go? This is gonna sound terrible but when you mentioned the stepdad au my mind went to him before our Egg boy.

No because...same. I write dark stories and revel in them the way people revel in comfort media. I understand them, and the necessity of finding light amidst the darkness is something I've lived with all my life so familiarity breeds comfort in me. Sometimes I get a little startled because someone will read what I wrote and be like wtf how does this happen? How is it ever allowed to happen? And I'm like yeah...why did that happen to me? Why was it allowed to happen? But then I turn off the switch and dive back into fiction to cope (as I think many people who create art out of trauma will profess to - it's a way of distancing yourself but acknowledging it).

That wall (I know what you mean) will be crossed eventually I think. Just stay aware that it's not a wall you want to cross often or live beyond all the time. It's somewhere to retreat to, but always remember to climb over it and return to the other side otherwise it can get too much.

Thank you so much for this ask though, it makes me feel so seen and appreciated. I often worry that I'm upsetting people with how abjectly miserable my work can get, and force myself to lighten it up so it'll be more palatable. But the AU idea I posted yesterday named 'fuck puppet' is mostly what I write well and consistently (Amara does kill him in the end, so there's no romanticisation there, it's just pure victim vs abuser, beast vs human, and she wins).

And HMMM okay, so if you asked me about Daemon and Amara two years ago, I'd be like ew no. He really irritated me as a character when everyone was defending him, but the defence of him as stopped being as cloying and the writers have dug into the pathetic aspects of his nature more so I'm open to exploring him.

Plus, ironically whenever he interacted with Amara in my fics even when I hated him, there were readers who pointed out that there was sexual tension there (which I didn't even intend!) So clearly, there'd be something there, what with her daddy issues and his ability to appear put together and intelligent in front of a much younger woman.

I think where it takes Aegon longer to identify Amara's childishness and immaturity (because his own outshines hers a lot of the time), Daemon would snap at it in an instant. Eventually, Aegon gets there and is like okay, my turn to take care of you but Daemon reaches the destination immediately and does softer things to figure out whether she sees him in a remotely romantic/sexual way. So maybe a gentle hand on her waist to move her aside, resting it on the small of her back to comfort her (but only for a second) or giving her that odd little smile when she's yapping that has a twinkle of endearment in it. I think she'd fall for it pretty fast, and get a kick out of all her friends being disgusted by the idea of her having sex with an 'old man' (because obviously to them he is). She doesn't see it as exploitation, and she doesn't have to. When she's in his bed for entire weekends and he's using every trick in his extensive book of sexual tricks on her, she barely has time to think never mind wonder if this is right. I think he probably would need Viagra though bc canon Daemon strikes me as the type to wear out pretty fast, but Amara would be the insatiable party and well...there we go.

Anyway, over time, she is a little flighty, and her friends' constant judgement does weigh on her, along with the fact that Daemon's immaturity isn't like her immaturity. He's still ahead of her in experience. He can gaslight her into believing his pettiness is actually adult wisdom. So if he doesn't like her hanging out with boys her own age, he'll cut at her intelligence and make her feel diminished and stupid for thinking those boys could possibly want her for anything more than sex. And she'd fully believe him. She'd probably be reduced to tears after screaming at him for being a dickhead, and then accept his palm caressing her face telling her it's fine, and that he didn't mean it, and has she seen herself? She's so beautiful, anyone would want her. He just loves her and is worried someone will take advantage. And then that of course leads to sex and her feeling relieved Daemon cares so much and giving him everything she's got to make sure he feels the pleasure in return. Thus, the whole cycle starts again.

I can't believe I'm saying this but...Aegon might just have to be the rescuer in this situation LMAO. Daemon would not let her go easily.

[spencerfuckngreid]

· T H E A R T O F G E T T I N G T O K N O W | S P E N C E R R E I D · PT 1

I'm sorry if some jokes don't make much sense in English, as they were originally written in Spanish. I'm not very good at English either, so this might not be the best translation. Sorry! This fanfic is just an experiment, so please don't be too harsh... I'm not a writer; I just want to have fun. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!

· Pairing: Spencer Reid/OC · Category: Fluff · Warning: None · Words: 2650 · Parts: Pt 2 · Pt 3 · Pt 4 · Summary : Eli, a psychology expert and old friend of Luke's, joins the UAC as a consultant and quickly bonds with Spencer Reid. As they delve into a complex case, Eli and Spencer find themselves drawn to each other on a deeper level. · Note about Eli: Her neurodivergence (She is autistic) is implied but it's never really said. · Spanish on Wattpad. English isn't my first language, be kind!

· Masterlist

· P O V E L I ·

Eli was sitting on the backrest of the bench. She took a sip of coffee and looked at her friend.

—Hey, give me a pastry, Luke. Are you going to eat them all or what? We always have the same fight over breakfast… if I didn’t love him… well, and if I wasn’t so sleepy…

—Haven't you already had one? —the dark-haired man protested.

—Hey! I really hate you sometimes. Don’t move the box away again! —Eli complained as she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her wavy, black hair. It was quite cold, especially this early.

Sometimes we had breakfast together before work. I work as a professor at the university; I studied psychology and forensic sciences. And Luke… well, he's a criminologist, working in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.

—Seriously, give me a damn pastry. I’m hungry, and you’re such a glutton! —She jumped off the bench and tried to grab them.

—What the…? What do you mean by glutton? What’s that? AHAHAHA

—It means you eat a lot, that you eat everything, smartass… —Eli commented, narrowing her dark eyes.

—Really? Now you’re part of the Royal Academy of Language?

—Since when are you so sarcastic? I hate it when he makes me grumble… seriously, pff… By the way, aren’t you supposed to stay in shape for the FBI, oh “super smarcle agent ”?

—“Smarcle”?

—It’s a play on words, little brother. Do you know what that is? Smarty + muscles —the girl smiled mockingly.

—Uh, you’re so funny, shorty… If you keep laughing, you’re going to choke…

—You love it when I give you nicknames. Smarty is my favorite —she smiled broadly, tilting her head to look at him.

We’ve known each other since we were kids, we’re like siblings. I know he adores me, though sometimes… Well, our relationship is like that. I guess we love each other, but we can’t help it.

—Stop calling me that… I hate it…

—Oh… I’m sorry… did I hurt your little pastry-filled heart?

—Seriously…? hahaha you’re the worst… —Luke shifted and gave her the last pastry.— I knew he would do that… This idiot always makes me smile in the end. —Hey, changing the subject… have you thought about what I told you? Let me talk to my boss, seriously, your help would be great on this case.

—Seriously, Luke, I’m swamped with work…

—Eli… I know it scares you, but on the other hand, you’re motivated to try new things. It’s an opportunity to help a lot of people, and me… come on…- That pouty face… ugh…

—O-Okay… Yeah, yeah, I can do it, but if I get overwhelmed with work, I’ll have to drop it, you know that, right?

—Yes, yes, a thousand thanks, babe! I love you! —And I…

—I know —she said, raising an eyebrow before taking a sip of her coffee, as if it didn’t matter.

—Stop acting tough, dummy…

· P O V L U K E ·

Luke arrived at the BAU and greeted his colleagues, who were already working in the bullpen. He was a little late because he got held up with Eli.

—JJ, his blonde friend, greeted him quickly and commented—: Hey, I hope at least you brought something for breakfast, slowpoke.

—What’s up with all of you today? —Luke laughed—. Stop giving me a hard time for a bit, will you? Sometimes a guy has a heart —he said, pouting.

—All of you? —JJ’s eyes widened—. Uh, who’s the girl giving you a hard time…?

—Very funny, JJ… I wish it were that kind of thing —Luke joked with a smile.

Spencer chuckled, watching the scene, and Rossi held back his own jokes.

—I’ve been with Eli. She’s like my sister, so cut it out with those kinds of comments, will you? It’s… ugh, almost incestuous —his friends reacted with some laughter; they’d heard of her before but didn’t know her—. Anyway, I have to go talk to Emily, see you in a bit.

—Yes, sir… and he dodges work again… —Rossi commented.

—How’s that crossword coming along, Rossi? —Spencer couldn’t resist adding with a grin.

· P O V E L I ·

The hustle and bustle of the UAC headquarters was more overwhelming than I had anticipated. I accepted Luke's offer, but now that I was here, surrounded by strangers in an environment that seemed so alien to my world, I was starting to have doubts. "What kind of mess have I gotten myself into?"

—Eli, come here! —He greeted me with his usual carefree smile, the one he wears so well and that always made me feel a bit more at ease, but that also had the power to get me into trouble from which I didn’t know how to get out, because the truth is I’ve never been good at saying no and Luke tends to be very persuasive, he’s always been like that since we were kids. "Okay, Eli, you can do this. Just hold on a bit, meet the people, and then go back to your safe zone."

—Guys, this is Eli —Luke said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, trying to appear calm and confident. "Okay, breathe, smile, and greet. Everything will be fine..."

—Hi, it’s a pleasure. —I tried to smile warmly, but meeting new people isn’t exactly my strength. So I’m not quite sure what my face looked like at that moment... I’m not too fond of having my personal space invaded and suddenly find a blonde girl 10 cm away from me... I almost died...

—Hi! I’m Garcia, Penelope. Oh my God, are you really friends with Luke? Do you put up with him? —I liked that she had a lot of decorations in her hair and wore so many colors. It was like she illuminated the room.

—Well... actually no, not much.

I tried to joke, but I think I was more serious than I intended, although she laughed. "Damn Luke, I shouldn’t have let him talk me into this. I think I’m having a panic attack right now, there are too many new people here..."

—Haha... so funny, Eli... I think what Eli means, Garcia, is that I put up with her. Let me introduce you to the others. Rossi, JJ, Matt, and... Where’s Reid?

—He said he’d be late today, he’ll be here in a bit —JJ, the long-haired blonde with clear eyes, added—. Let’s start without him.

"Great... come on Eli, take it step by step... Be cordial, do your job, smile, kill Luke, and go home. Not necessarily in that order."

Luke took me around, introducing me to the rest of the team. I tried to keep my composure, but my mind was a mess. "I’m smiling, right? Touch your face subtly and check... Okay, no, damn it, smile, your serious face is scary. Okay, good, now yes. Be beautiful, be a damn Disney princess."

Finally, Luke led me to his desk, and I sat down, grateful for a moment of rest. The atmosphere was pleasant, yes, but also overwhelming in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I need a lot of preparation, and new environments overwhelm me too much. Just at that moment, I heard Luke’s soft voice breaking the silence.

—Don’t worry, Eli, you’ll do well here. Besides, you haven’t met Reid yet. I’m sure you’ll like him —he said with a reassuring smile.

—Yeah... It’s not that... Too many people all of a sudden... All unknown... —I replied with a somewhat forced smile, though I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable. Hopefully, I could handle the situation without seeming like a complete rookie.

—Come on Eli... You can handle this and more. I trust you, so trust yourself too. I love you, okay? —I smiled at him, trying, in part, to feel better about myself.

· P O V S P E N C E R ·

I arrived later than usual, and when I walked into the office, the first thing I noticed was the new presence in the room. Luke was talking to a woman who, by her posture and the way she looked around, seemed a bit out of place, but still maintained a smile on her face, a smile that looked forced.

As I approached, I could see that she was making a visible effort to fit in. Luke spotted me immediately.

—Reid! —he called out, pointing to the new arrival—. Come here, let me introduce you, our new external consultant. My friend Elisabeth Jackson.

Elisabeth looked at me, and for a second, our gazes met. I don’t know what happened in that moment that threw me off completely. She smiled shyly, and something in her expression made me smile too.

—Hi, Elisabeth. It’s a pleasure to meet you —I said, trying to sound as friendly as possible. Her dark, intense eyes sparkled with an intelligence that seemed to want to analyze every little detail. But also a hint of nervousness that made me smile, recognizing in her someone who, like me, might prefer to be in a quiet library rather than in the midst of a group of talking people.

—Hi, Reid. —She said with a friendly tone, though I perceived a slight tension in her voice. —Eli is fine... —she hesitated.

—Okay, Eli... yeah, sorry... —I don’t know why I got nervous, suddenly felt like an idiot for apologizing.

We stood there for a moment, exchanging tense but cordial smiles, until Luke broke the silence to continue with the introductions, and we went back to our daily routine. However, I couldn’t help but glance at Eli a couple more times during the morning, curious, not knowing why she intrigued me so much.

· P O V E L I ·

Spencer Reid's arrival jolted me out of my reverie. The prodigy in his field, well, in many fields, I knew who he was, and of course, I was familiar with his work, but I didn’t recall his eyes, and that they would impact me more than his publications. "Girl, what are you thinking...?"

Yes, I knew him from college, just from a couple of classes; we crossed paths occasionally, though he doesn’t seem to remember who I am, to be honest. Understandable, on the other hand.

We sat together during the meeting, and although I spent most of the time in silence, feeling like an outsider in a new environment, Reid made the atmosphere a bit more bearable. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, his words carried a weight that made them seem more significant.

He looked at me with his brown, curious eyes, as if he were trying to decipher who I was. *He did this repeatedly throughout the day and I tried not to seem too nervous; I didn’t want them to think I wasn’t up to the task. "He’s uncomfortably kind, analytical, looking for something... and my abilities drop to -1000 when someone is watching me, damn it..."

The day went on, and despite my initial anxiety, I gradually started to feel more comfortable. Garcia was a whirlwind of positive energy, and although she intimidated me at first, I soon found that her enthusiasm was contagious. Spencer, on the other hand, was a calm and constant presence, someone I knew I could share deep conversations with without feeling judged.

The first day was going quite well. "I need a break..." I went to the common room and sat down to eat something, not before getting distracted by making little paper balls with a napkin and scribbling in my small red notebook. Spencer walked in just as I was stacking several objects on top of each other, trying to see if I could balance them. Me and my brilliant mind.

—Sometimes, a break is just what you need to think clearly. —He said as he pulled a sandwich from his bag, looking at Eli with amused curiosity and sitting down across from her.

—Eli jumped and knocked everything over, not without letting out a small scream first. —Oh, crap... —She turned beet red as she looked up and began to pick everything up.

—Spencer chuckled quietly. —What are you doing...?

—I... uh... n-nothing... It’s just how I am. —She opened her eyes wide. "What are you saying?! How are you like this?! Are you dumb or what?"

—He couldn’t hold back and let out a small laugh. *—*He seemed entertained, certainly... an improvised 3D puzzle.

—Well... yeah... —He cleared his throat, biting his lip, fiddling with the napkin. —I like puzzles.

—Yeah, I can tell. —The brunette gave a smile, leaning a little toward her, almost instinctively. —I guess this job, like psychology, has something to do with puzzles.

—Eli smiled softly, feeling more at ease and forgetting the previous incident, then hesitated before continuing. —I’ve always been interested in human behavior, patterns... Since I was little, I’d observe how people acted. In fact, when I was in college... —She paused for a few seconds, hesitating. —I had a class in criminology with you. You were... well, like you are now: brilliant.

—Really? —He asked, furrowing his brow slightly as he tried to remember, looking up. —What was the class?

—Advanced Psychology. —She murmured uncertainly. —You were always at the front.

—Advanced Psychology... —he repeated, then his expression changed as if something clicked in his memory. —Row four, seat six... was that you? You always had a notebook... yes, like that one, red, and you sat near the window.

—Oh! —She exclaimed, surprised and a bit flushed. —Yes, that was me... I can’t believe you remember so well. "Don’t get too excited, friend, he has a super brain, it’s not because of you."

—I have eidetic memory, but... —he smiled slightly, somewhat embarrassed. —It’s not always so clear with people. What seems odd to me is that you noticed me, I mean, hmm... well, you know... that you specifically remember me... —Spencer trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

"I need to scream and process everything he’s telling me. Are there any hidden messages here? Can someone translate all this for me?!" —Uh... Well, it’s that I’ve always played at that, really, I like observing and learning. I memorize what people do, how they are, how they might be... So I remember weird things at absurd moments, I suppose —she admitted with a soft laugh, now feeling more at ease. —You always seemed so focused, so... in your own world.

—It’s funny... —he said, looking directly into her eyes, with a sincere smile. —I always thought I was completely alone in that world, but maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

—I’m glad to know I wasn’t so invisible after all. —She said, holding back a sigh.

—Definitely not. —He said softly, smiling —And now, I’m really happy that we’re here, sharing something more than just a class.

—And I... —she replied, feeling the conversation flow naturally, though she felt like running through the halls screaming and completely red. She wasn’t sure if she had a kind, panicked, or clownish expression. "Oh God, I’m losing it. What’s happening? He’s adorable and I want to die!!"

The case would continue its course; Luke provided me with constant support, he knows my difficulties, and for me, the most important thing at that moment was to adapt, to find my place among them. With a bit of luck, I might feel settled in this new environment. "Come on, Eli. Just one step at a time." · Requests via DM ·

----

Well, the first chapter. I had an introduction, but I decided to combine it with the first chapter since it felt too short. I hope you like it; I'll try to update soon. I'm really enjoying writing the conversations, to be honest. There’s still quite a bit to go, I don’t know how many chapters there will be, but my idea is for this to be very FLUFFY, you know, kisses, intimacy, cuddles... we'll get there. If you have any comments, contributions, or questions... you know where to find me. That will come soon, I’ll speed up to get to the important stuff, I promise.

Kisses!