#even better if this happens at a villain meeting in front of everyone

[shelandsorcery]

Announcing Disney Villains Cursed Café!

After nearly three years of work, I’m really proud to announce the release of Bloom Digital (@bloomdigital )‘s newest game, Disney Villains Cursed Café. I art directed this game, and I’m so excited to get to share the results of all our hard work!

You’ve probably heard me talk about Bloom before – we’re an indie game company, known for our beloved visual novels LongStory and Later Daters. We are a team of people who love telling stories! Getting to put all that energy towards the Disney Villains was a real privilege.

Working with Disney helped all of us hold our work to an even higher standard, and push ourselves as game makers. There’s a real responsibility attached when you get the chance to work with these characters, and it would have been impossible to navigate that nearly as well without the constant guidance and feedback of the team we worked with at Disney. Thanks to everyone there for helping make this game happen!

I have to brag about my coworkers – I don’t think I can imagine a better team than the lineup we have at Bloom. When you have a team that becomes more than the sum of its parts, you get to make games that are also more than the sum of their parts! Huge thanks from me and the artists to Miriam Verburg for steering the ship the whole time, Heather Jackson for making it effortless to bring the narrative into the art every step of the way, Keana Almario for keeping us all accountable to the players experience, JP Stringham for tackling the game design inside and out, and Danielle Russell for facilitating all the communication and oversight necessary to make something like this happen.

It’s important that I tell you how wonderful the art team in particular was! It might be counter-intuitive, but, you’re not going to see a single pixel of my own drawing in this game. As an art director, it was my job to find the best artists possible and then direct them towards bringing this game to life. I had the privilege and responsibility to lead a team of incredible artists towards making this game, and whatever you see in there, I want you to know one of these people made it happen.

Yi Pan was our senior game artist, which means he and I worked together on concepts from the beginning; you can see his brilliant painting and immensely appealing design work up front and center in all our potions, gifts, and in so much of the overall color design of the game. Jey Pawlik (@jeypawlik ) was our character artist and I think it’s impossible to understate how charming they managed to make our modernized villains, no matter their moods! Janiel Lo worked with us across many disciplines, laying out and painting our complex, amazing environments, as well as helping us make sure our beautiful UI felt both integrated into the world and also comfortable and easy to use. Ally Rom Colthoff (@varethane ) made it possible for us to have the environment art of my dreams by coming in and painting the heck out of that cafe! And the game wouldn’t be what it is without Sara Mena‘s concept work, and the contributions of many artists on the Disney side who contributed not only character art, UI, and identity designs, but helped us fine-tune everything that went into the game.

It’s the biggest team I’ve ever had the chance to work with as an art director, and I’m not kidding when I say that these professionals made it easy and fun to come in every day and see what brilliant new artwork awaited me.

Something extra special about this team was how excited the artists were to work with, brainstorm with, and sing the praises of each other. I’m so grateful for this team not just for their ability to make beautiful art but their ability to collaborate with each other, myself, and with the team at Disney. Everybody should be proud of themselves, not only as artists but as game makers.

I want to shout out the narrative team, who made time to be in the art meetings with me and the artists, making it so easy to keep everything absolutely on point narratively throughout the whole development. Heather and Mike took the time to get to know the art team, and made themselves available for quick questions, brainstorming sessions, and pep talks. I think what this did for the game was make it possible for every visual joke and narrative joke to play off each other in ways that could not have possibly happened without that kind of open communication.

To talk a little bit more about the UI process, one of the things that we decided to do early on was make this game’s UI very diegetic, to keep the buttons feeling as magical as everything else that you see and do in the game, and that would not have been possible without Keana’s expertise and dedication to solving complicated UX flow challenges. Her hard work let us get away with so much more by way of magical props, framing devices, and sparkles.

For me, as the art director, I don’t always get the chance to put my own handiwork into a game, and as I mentioned, all of the amazing drawing and painting that you see on screen is thanks to our art team. But what I did get to do, very much thanks to the support of JP, was tackle the majority of the VFX. Getting to be a VFX artist for a chunk of this project was a dream come true, because if there’s one thing this game is full of, it’s magic! Figuring out how to bring life and mystery and humour to all of the magic in this game was an amazing challenge that I am so glad I got to tackle.

As a game dev, launches are always special, but this launch has been outright overwhelming in such a good way. Thank you to everybody who is streaming the game, sharing lets plays, drawing fan art, and just generally yelling about getting to hang out with their faves in our magical Cursed Café! I hope as you play this game it feels like you’ve gotten to visit somewhere magical alongside the villains.

Thanks again to everybody involved for this opportunity. Drop your fav villian in the comments, and stay in touch with me and with Bloom to find out more about what else @bloomdigital has lined up!

[schrijverr]

We’re Adopted?!?

When Bruce’s kids end up on the Watchtower due to a set of unforeseen circumstances, Jason first tries to get the League to believe that they’re all biologically related to Bruce. He tries to avoid having Jason give everyone a sex talk by reminding him that he’s adopted. This leads to all his kids pretending that this is the first time they’ve heard of it, much to the horror of the League and the exasperation of Bruce.

Based on this post.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~

It finally happened. After years of successfully keeping the League from finding out about all the kids he has, they’ve finally met. And in the most dramatic way too. In a way it’s very suited for their family, but that is a detail Bruce had hoped to keep from the League.

However, it happens anyway and now his two teams have met.

They’re sitting in the common area of the Watchtower when the Zeta-Tube suddenly whirs to life and the Batmobile comes crashing into the area. It spins to a stop as if it had been in the middle of a chase, before the teleporter snatched them off the streets.

Bruce gets out of his chair and makes his way over. He isn’t too worried about them, since they’re here and while that might have meant danger before, they are safe with him now. If one of them had been terribly injured or left behind, they would be screaming and yelling already and that isn’t happening yet.

His eyes meet Tim’s, who is standing next to the car, his costume a little singed, hair askew and looking a little worse for wear. Apologetically he greets: “Hi, Justice League, promise we have a good reason to be here.”

For Bruce, this is quite normal chaos and these are his kids, but he notices that the Justice League has formed a defensive barrier around the Batmobile. They perceive his kids as a threat. It’s so absurd that he is quiet for a moment.

In that moment, Superman steps forward and demands to know: “Who are you and how did you get up here?”

“With a car no less,” Hal adds, sounding a little impressed, which doesn’t make Bruce smug in the slightest, no sir.

He is about to tell everyone to stand down when the doors of the car open and his kids come spilling out. It’s a bit of a car clown moment with how many vigilantes fit inside.

Dick nearly falls out of the side, with Damian following after him. Both of them have soot in their hair and scratches on their faces.

A singed Jason stumbling out on the other side as he loudly complains: “This is the last time we’re letting Spoiler drive.”

Steph’s costume is a little flame tattered too as she swings open the driving side and says: “I’d like to see you do better, asshole. At least it wasn’t like Signal’s first driving attempt.”

“Hey,” Duke exclaims, coming out of the car after Jason, looking a little banged up. “Just because I didn’t know where the missiles were, doesn’t mean it was terrible.”

“I didn’t eject anyone,” Steph pouts.

“Yes, you did!” Duke exclaims. “You very much did.”

“Well, not by accident,” Steph argues. “It was part of the plan.”

The other front door is now open and Cass is next to him. He puts an arm around her and pulls her into his cape. Then he decides to step in, because it seems the League doesn’t know what to do when they’re not viewed as an authority.

“What happened?” he asks.

Six heads snap his way, as if his kids had forgotten where they were. It wouldn’t be the first time, so he doesn’t even bother rolling his eyes.

Tim reports: “The Riddler broke out of Arkham, along with like a bunch of b-rate villains. They caused havoc, but we rounded them all up. Riddler took the time it took us to round them up to set up his trap. He went with a fire theme.”

“Is he contained now?” Bruce asks, a little concerned.

“Yeah, no problem, B, we got ‘em,” Steph assures him casually with a thumbs up.

“Sorry, uhm, excuse me, Batman, do you know these people?” Clark asks in that awkward, polite way of his.

Bruce contemplates for a second what he should answer. Then decides that he wants to know what happened and doesn’t want to deal with questions. So he just says: “My associates. Now report, how did you end up here?”

“Associates,” Jason snorts.

However, he is ignored by his siblings as Damian reports: “We have caught the Riddler, however we did so without solving the last of his riddles. So, he sprang his trap after we took him down and we became the target of some missiles.”

“Oh my god, are you okay?” one of the League members exclaims under their breath.

“Tt, of course we’re okay,” Damian spits back. “Unlike you, we have been trained.”

“And we learned our lesson; always solve all of Riddler’s riddles,” Steph grins, giving them all a thumbs up.

“I already said that, but who listens to Red Robin? Nobody,” Tim complains.

Before it can turn into a squabble fest again, Bruce clears his throat and Dick jumps in to get them back on track, explaining: “We tried to get away in the Batmobile, but we couldn’t outrun it forever. So we decided the best way to escape was to use the Zeta-Tube connection.”

“It was great, Spoiler sent replacement flying so he could put in the code,” Jason laughs.

“I wanted to beam us to the Cave, but with the amount of time we had, just taking us to the most recently used coordinates was smarter,” Tim explains. He checks his arm computer then says: “The chatter on the police coms is that the missile made impact where we disappeared. No one was in the area when it went off, but there is property damage. And a few of the new recruits are convinced we’re supernatural, since none of our remains are being found.”

That last bit gets a few laughs from the assembled vigilantes. Most of Gotham PD have resigned themselves to the fact that the protectors of Gotham are humans, who seemingly pull of the impossible from time to time.

However, there are always newer members, who come up with great conspiracies about how they aren’t human and that’s why they pull it off. Bruce knows that it’s a bit of a game between his kids to see who can get them to believe the weirdest shit about them.

So, he just lets them have the moment of amusement after what must have been a highly tense moment.

Then he asks: “Where is Bluebird?” since he hasn’t seen Harper among the crowd, which is weird, because she’s on the night shift, while Duke is on the day shift.

“She the one, who figured out where Riddler was and caught him,” Dick says proudly. “She was escorting him to Arkham when she noticed he was being off. Without her we would’ve never made it to the Batmobile on time.”

Bruce makes a mental note to thank her for saving his other kids when he sees her.

“We also let Oracle know we’re okay, so she can inform her and Batwoman when she gets back from her mission, just in case she saw the news,” Dick goes on.

“Wait,” they get interrupted by Hal. “How many more heroes are you going to pull out of your sleeve? What happened to Mr. I Work alone? Am I being crazy here? Why are you all just standing there?”

Clark says: “Well, it’s obvious Batman knows these people and they do not seem like a threat to us, so I was going to wait until they’d given a report before demanding answers.”

“And we will demand answers, Batman,” Diana adds, making Bruce swallow a little. “We are your friends, we hoped there would be some trust there. You seem to have a whole different team of warriors. That is something you share.”

“Don’t mind, B, he just comes with permanently built in paranoia, it’s nothing against you,” Dick tells them.

In the background, Jason snorts: “Did you hear that guys? We’re his team of warriors. His associates.”

Damian huffs at that: “These imbeciles obviously do not know what they are on about and I refuse to be referred to as such, when I am the blood son.”

“I don’t know, Robin,” Steph laughs. “It almost starts to feel like he cares. I mean, he obviously has been bragging about us.”

“He has not spoken a word about us,” Damian exclaims.

In the background, Bruce can feel a headache coming. He has tried to keep his kids away from the League for their own safety. They can’t use his kids against him, should they become compromised, if they don’t know they exist.

However, they do know now and not only that, it seems like his kids are here to cause trouble on purpose now that they finally get to meet, who they refer to as, ‘his work friends AKA the only friends he has’. Delightful.

Indeed, the League has picked up on the words Jason set Damian up for, because Hal repeats: “Blood son?”

And Clark frowns: “They do seem quite young.”

“Batman, are you employing babes to protect Gotham with you?” Diana exclaims in horror.

“I am highly trained, who dares to call me a baby,” Damian protests immediately and while his siblings would usually laugh at him, they now also feel offended.

All of them have had to defend their age to people, including Bruce. They don’t like being questioned. So all of them are falling over themselves to defend their position as protectors of Gotham.

Bruce decides to help them, explaining: “There are more teen heroes, most of you have or had a sidekick. These vigilantes keep each other safe, they have the safety of back up and I also provide good gear. They’re not running around without a clue of what to do.”

“Ahww, I knew you cared, old man,” Steph coos, while Cass taps a genuine thank you in Morse code on his arm.

“Batman, I appreciate that you look out of them, but most sidekicks have had superpowers that are related to one of the heroes and sought out a mentor to help,” Clark says gently. “You have no powers, where did you get these kids?”

And in hindsight, he should have known better than to hesitate. However, at the times, he does, because the circus, the streets, the neighbor’s and some villains, are not really good answers to that question, no matter how true. And he doesn’t know if he wants to explain.

Still, he has to admit that he melts slightly when Cass speaks up to say: “His kids.”

Plus, it’s kind of funny how most League member jump out of their skin at the sudden voice, since none of them had spotted Cass before. Not even those with superhuman senses. His daughter is so talented.

Arguably the funniest reaction is Hal, who shrieks: “Where the fuck did you get these kids, Spooky!” as he violently startles backwards.

However, Jason jumps on the opportunity, sending Bruce a shit eating grin before he does (he might still be wearing the helmet, but Bruce knows him). He says: “Well, when two people love each other very much, they-”

No, just no. Absolutely not.

The League already thinks him to be a bit of a weirdo, who is steeped in paranoia. They respect him, but they’re always a little wary of him too (which is good in a way, he doesn’t want them close to his secret identity with the threat they could pose). Still, he doesn’t want them to think he practically bred an army of shadow-y vigilantes to protect Gotham. He’d never live it down.

“Hood,” he quickly cuts Jason off, before he can continue with his nonsense. Then he tiredly reminds him: ��You’re adopted.”

“WHAT!” Jason shrieks, ripping his helmet off to reveal a shocked and betrayed face even with his domino mask. “How could you keep that from me?”

It seems like everyone needs a second to recover and process after the outburst. However, Jason is gaining steam and dramatically barrels on: “For years. Years! I lived with you, you fed me, you cared for me. You are my dad. At least you were. Was that all a lie? Some ruse? How- Why- I deserved to know.”

Bruce is shocked, unable to form words. His relationship with Jason has been rough, though getting better. It’s still tentative, though, so to hear Jason refer to him as dad throws him off in one of the best ways. Until he realizes Jason is fucking with him.

Even then, it is kind of nice that Jason is messing with him. When he looks, he sees that Jason is having fun under the mask of betrayal. It doesn’t have a bitter undertone, like it would have a few months ago. Instead, it feels a little like all the times Jason messed with him in front of Commissioner Gordon, back when he was Robin.

So, later Bruce will cut himself some slack for basking in that feeling for long enough that the others catch on and join in.

It starts with Steph, who has never claimed him as her father a day in his life, but will always be committed to a bit. She sniffles: “I can’t believe you’d lie to our brother like that. Soon you’ll tell us we’re all adopted.”

“Spoiler,” Bruce warns, hoping to deter anyone else from joining in.

That doesn’t happen, instead, Dick pulls Duke into a hug and exclaims: “Yeah, next you’ll tell us Signal here isn’t our half brother, like you didn’t leave his mother at the altar.” He narrows his eyes and adds: “I was the flower boy too, I can’t believe you did that to her.”

He sees Duke’s calculating gaze, flitting between Dick and himself and knows it’s only a matter of time before he picks a side, so he grunts: “Signal, don’t-”

“She talked about it until her death. Don’t tell me she made it up,” Duke suddenly says, picking the side of his siblings. Bruce would be more glad about him getting along with them, if it weren’t for the fact that in joining him, he left Bruce.

“You monster,” Jason butts back in again, not having had the spotlight in too long. “Look what you’ve done. You can’t just drop something like that on us. You can’t just pull the rug out from under us. Adopted. Or am I the only one? Huh? Is that it? Are all of them your real kids except for me?”

It’s a little too close to home, so Bruce stumbles: “No, of course, you’re always my kid. But this isn’t news to you. To any of you.”

“So we are all adopted?” Tim shrieks, stumbling forwards to clutch Bruce’s arm. “Those people you took me away from, were they my real parents? Did you lie to me?”

And this is just unfair. They’re not allowed to gang up on him like this and be dramatic. They know he doesn’t know what to do when they get like this. He gave them a home, he kept them as safe as he could, he loves them. What has he done to deserve this?

Dick and Duke are still embracing each other and Bruce is pretty sure Dick is weeping. Steph is definitely fake crying, while Jason is consoling her. Tim is still clutching his one arm, babbling about being taken from his parents.

Cass is his favorite right now, because she isn’t playing along with her sibling, just quietly huddling into his side. Damian would share the spot, but Bruce knows that the only reason he isn’t playing along, is because he doesn’t know what their game is and how he can use it to his advantage.

Indeed, he joins in – though not entirely purposefully – because he asks: “Father, I am your true son right? I am the blood son, not these imbeciles.”

Jason is definitely hiding a snort as a sob and in that moment, Bruce is tempted to disown Damian, just so he doesn’t have to deal with all this.

He can see how shocked the Justice League is, their eyes wide with horror, none of them having truly recovered at the sudden appearance at a gaggle of kids, who are now seemingly breaking down over the surprise news of being adopted.

He should’ve just let Jason give the League a sex talk.

So, he is tempted to not recognize Damian as his own, however, he knows how much Damian values his heritage and how insecure he is about his spot in the family. And he does look genuinely worried about what’s happening. So, Bruce has to sigh and reward the vulnerability that he shows with compassion, saying: “Yes, Robin.”

Jason lets out a pained groan and says: “So it is true? We really are adopted?” then breaks down crying. It’s almost impressive how well he can sob on demand. How well all of them can, Bruce wonders when they learned that and who taught them that.

The League, meanwhile has also apparently reached their limits and Hal suddenly explodes: “Fucking hell, Bats. Is that how you’re telling them that? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Around him all the others start to nod in agreement and Bruce knows that some of those shaking shoulders of his kids aren’t sobs but laughter at this point. He wonders if it’s wrong to return any of them, despite knowing that he would never give any of them up, even with all the gray hairs they’re giving him.

He does think about it though, especially when Clark cautiously says: “It seems unnecessarily cruel, Batman. They’ve just been chased through the streets by missiles. You could have waited.”

“Yes, it is very cruel,” Diana agrees. “And I do not know you to be cruel.”

Usually, Bruce has an image to maintain, but that image includes him working alone and having no sense of humor or humanity, so obviously it’s incorrect. Besides, any reputation he might have had has just been ruined by his kids. He doesn’t have to take this judgment from his friends.

So, he throws his hands up and, bordering on a whine, says: “I’m not cruel. They all know they’re adopted. All of them were over nine when it happened. Hell, not even all of them are adopted. Not all of them wanted to be. They know! They’re just messing with me.”

It’s quiet after his outburst.

Both the League and his kids blink for a few times. It’s clear that the League doesn’t know what to believe, but his kids are luckily done with the chaos. Though, Bruce doesn’t know if he’s happy with that when he sees some of their faces morph into grins.

Dick decides to put him out of his misery first, letting go of Duke to skip forwards and sling an arm around Bruce, which he grudgingly allows. He never says no to hugs from his kids, no matter what stunt they’ve just pulled.

“He’s right,” Dick smiles at everyone. Then he jokingly tugs on one of the ears on his cowl – something he has done since his early days as Robin – as he teases: “He didn’t mind. Right, B? You are a softie under there.”

“Who cares if he minds,” Jason says loudly. “That was hilarious, did you see everyone’s faces when replacement told them he’d stolen him out of his home. Golden. I’m gonna ask O for that footage the second we get back.”

Now the League is looking at them with even more confusion. Unsure of what to do now.

Bruce wants to let them suffer, but he also doesn’t want to give his kids room to do something else to embarrass him. So, he takes the reigns saying: “Just to clear it all up; this is Nightwing, my oldest.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Dick gives the League a bright smile.

“My second or third oldest – we’re not sure – Red Hood,” Bruce continues on, gesturing to Jason, who just gives them a salute. “And, again, the second or third oldest, Black Bat.” She waves at them, startling some again, since they’d forgotten she was there. Hm, they might have to do another stealth and awareness training day.

“This is Spoiler, she is not one of mine technically,” he continues on introducing everyone there.

Steph grins at all of them and says: “I eat his food and steal his money, but I’m not having him sign shit. All of the perks, none of the accountability.”

“And how you remind me of that,” Bruce sighs, before gesturing to Tim and saying: “This is Red Robin, my fourth kid. He is adopted, but also emancipated. And I did not steal him away from his parents.”

“Technically, he did, because they were kinda shitty, but only legally when they died,” Tim corrects, which is not necessary and Bruce will be answering questions about that for months. Judging by the smug look on his face, Tim knows.

Deciding not to engage for now, he moves on to Duke. “This is Signal, he is my ward. He normally works the day shift.”

“Hello,” Duke squeaks awkwardly.

“And this is Robin, he is the youngest,” Bruce finishes his introductions.

“I am the blood son of the Bat and the one true heir,” Damian exclaims proudly.

“Yeah, yeah, we know, brat,” Jason rolls his eyes. “You were once B’s sperm. Whoop-die-doo.”

Multiple faces contort at that, with Tim and Steph both exclaiming how gross that is and how he didn’t have to phrase it like that and how they never want to hear about Bruce’s sex life ever again in any way, shape, or form.

Hal comments: “Wait, you actually have a kid?”

Bruce fights the urge to facepalm as he deadpans: “Just a second ago, you were willing to believe I had seven or more, why do you seem surprised?”

That renders Hal speechless, which is good, because Bruce doesn’t want to be here anymore. He wants to check up properly on his kids, check up on Gotham, and be as far away from the League and their questions as he can.

So, he uses the silence to says: “Now, as interesting as this has all been, we are going home. I have a city to check on and kids to ground.”

All around him protests start up about how he either has no power over them and can’t ground them or that they’re too mature and well trained fro childish things such as grounding. But Bruce is great at tuning them out when needs must, so he types in the last of the Batcave coordinates and lets the Zeta-Tube take them home.

~~

A/N:

I love coming up with convoluted reasons of why the batfam would be in the Watchtower lmao

Also Alfred totally taught them to cry on command, knowing they would use it for evil <3

[inseobts]

Soft Lies, Sharp Eyes

nico robin x fem!reader

you're a notorious and mysterious pirate captain with a power tied to emotion but then you finally meet your match in nico robin and unexpected softness bloom across a shifting island.

a/n: this was way better in my head, sorryyy o(TヘTo)

words count: 4.0k

tags: enemies to lovers(?), mind manipulation, lgbt

masterlist || ao3 || ko-fi

“Fog?” Franky leans over the Sunny’s rail “That wasn’t on the forecast.”

Brook’s skull clicks “Yohoho, it feels… cold. Not weather cold. Soul cold.”

Robin closes her book “We’ve entered the Mirage Belt.”

Zoro squints “That supposed to mean something?”

“It’s said an island appears and disappears here. Controlled by a woman with strange powers.” Robin’s voice is calm, almost amused “She doesn’t leave witnesses.”

Nami frowns “If she’s real, she’s hiding from the World Government. That takes serious power.”

“Not just power,” Robin says “Intellect.”

Sanji claps his hands “And beauty, I hope?”

Robin glances at him “Yeah but these are just rumors.”

“Ooooh, I'm readyyyy” Sanji asks.

The mist thickens and then you arrive.

You don’t stride out of the fog like a villain. You simply appear, like you were always there, watching. You’re dressed in black, clean, minimal, tailored. Not flashy. Just… right. Eyes calm.

Luffy perks up “Hey! Someone’s here!”

You smile faintly “Didn’t expect to see you, Straw Hats.”

Your voice is smooth, quiet but it carries.

Zoro’s hand drifts to his sword “You the Mirage woman?”

You tilt your head “Depends who’s asking, so yes.”

Robin’s eyes meet yours.

Something sharp and unreadable passes between you. You feel it.

Recognition. From neither of you but of each other.

“Interesting...” you murmur.

Sanji steps forward, roses in his eyes “Mademoiselle, if I could just—”

You raise a single finger.

“I’m not interested in men” you say. Calm. Polite. Sharp.

He freezes mid-swoon.

Robin hides a smirk behind her hand.

“You knew we were coming” Nami accuses.

“I saw your ship half an hour ago,” you say “I gave you time.”

“For what?” Jinbe asks.

“For a choice.”

Brook tilts his head “Choice?”

You step forward. The fog curls at your feet like it knows you.

“I can offer you something,” you say, walking past each of them “Not pain. Not violence.”

Luffy tilts his head “Then what?”

You stop in front of him. Your hand rises not to strike, just to hover.

“Memory” you say.

Luffy blinks. Then, softly he sees Ace.

Usopp gasps as a warm breeze hits him, his mother’s voice, humming.

Brook clutches his chest as a young Laboon bumps against the side of a ship, smiling.

Even Zoro's gaze softens as he hears metal on wood, Kuina’s laugh, distant and small.

Each of them sinks into silence, faces softened with something close to peace.

Everyone... except Robin.

She’s still watching you.

You look at her “Nothing you want to see?”

She smiles slightly “Oh, there’s plenty I’d like to see.”

She steps forward too close. Testing.

“But I don’t trust people who offer gifts without cost.”

You grin “Good. Because while they dream…”

Behind you, your crew moves silently.

Swords vanish. Bags of coin slide from belts. Even Nami’s Clima-Tact disappears into a misty hand.

Robin’s eyes flick briefly to the movement. She sees it all but she doesn’t stop you.

She wants to see what happens next.

You step close enough to brush your fingers against her sleeve. Not touching skin... yet.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” you whisper.

Her eyes meet yours.

“I haven’t decided what I want from you yet.”

The Strawhats are still caught in soft illusions, gentle memories, warm ghosts.

Your crew is moving efficiently in the fog, like shadows.

You hardly need to oversee it. You’ve done this dozens of times.

But now, your focus is… elsewhere.

Robin stands perfectly still, arms crossed lightly. Her eyes are on you. Calm. Unblinking. Studying.

You break the silence first “You’re not like the others.”

She tilts her head “Is that a line you use often?”

You smile “Only when it’s true.”

She walks closer but not slowly, not dramatically, just… deliberately. Like she already knows where this is going.

“You offer people what they miss most,” she says “That’s clever. It’s not just illusion — it’s comfort. That’s harder to resist.”

“And yet,” you say, “here you are. Not falling for it.”

Robin’s lips curve “Oh, I fall for things. Just not cheap tricks.”

You raise an eyebrow “You think what I do is cheap?”

“Not cheap,” she says, stepping into your space “Just… predictable.”

The fog stirs. You stare at her. She doesn’t flinch.

You’ve made admirals flinch.

Your voice lowers “You’re provoking me.”

“Not yet” she says.

Then a flower sprouts from the mist behind you. Small. White. Delicate. An illusion, but not yours.

You turn your head just slightly, caught off guard.

Then another one appears. Then ten. They curl around your feet, up your arms, blooming from nothing but when you reach out to dispel them, they don’t vanish.

Because they’re not made of memory.

They’re made of you.

You turn back to Robin, a flicker of alarm under your calm expression.

“What did you do?”

She’s smiling now. Not cruelly. Just… enjoying herself.

“You’re not the only one who studies minds.”

Your illusions fade slightly and the Strawhats stir, groggy. But you barely notice.

You’re still watching her.

“You read me.”

“I listened,” she says “You touch others to see their minds. I never needed to.”

You exhale, a laugh that’s half disbelief, half… something else.

“I should be furious.”

Robin leans in “But you’re intrigued.”

And you are. For the first time in years.

Someone didn’t just see through your trick. She twisted it. Used your own threads. Turned it into something beautiful.

You smirk, genuinely “You’re dangerous.”

Robin’s smile deepens “I’m flattered.”

The fog begins to fade.

One by one, the Strawhats blink out of their illusions confused, and missing… everything.

Zoro reaches for his swords “What the—?!”

Nami checks her pouch “My money’s gone?!”

Usopp stumbles forward “Wait, what just happened—was that my mom?!”

Luffy blinks slowly “Ace was here. I swear.”

You don’t look back.

You’re already turning away, coat fluttering slightly behind you, voice calm “You can stay the night. The island’s safe for now. You’ll leave in the morning.”

Your crew, tucked into the mist, understands without a word. The heist is done.

You don’t explain yourself. You don’t apologize.

You never do.

But as you step off the stone path, the only sound that follows you is her voice.

Robin. Low. Smooth. Unhurried.

“You forgot something.”

You stop.

Just once you let yourself hesitate.

She walks toward you, hands clasped behind her back, eyes steady.

“You’ve got our maps,” she says “And our gold.”

You glance back over your shoulder “You want it all back?”

She stops a few steps away “Not all. Just what matters.”

Behind her, Nami crosses her arms, clearly fuming “It all matters.”

You look Robin in the eye and smile “I’m letting you stay the night. I’m letting you leave alive.”

Then, softer and slower “I think I’ll keep that small treasure you had.”

Robin’s expression doesn’t change but her eyes narrow just a touch. Like she caught the double meaning. Like she knows what you’re referring to.

She tilts her head “Then give us back our weapons.”

You pause.

Then reach into your coat.

One by one, you pull out Zoro’s swords, Usopp’s tools, Nami’s Clima-Tact, even Brook’s cane, returning them silently.

Franky hugs his wrench like a long-lost child. Jinbe just nods, quietly respectful.

You walk to Robin last.

No weapon.

Just a smooth, black book you hadn’t shown the others.

You hold it out, resting it on your palm.

Robin doesn’t take it immediately “You read it?”

“No,” you say “But I wanted to.”

She finally takes it, fingertips brushing yours. Just barely.

You turn away again slower this time.

Not because you’re being dramatic but because for once, you’re not sure if you want her to stop you again. This time, she doesn’t. She just watches. But you feel her gaze long after you disappear into the mist.

The sun starts to dip. Gold light spills across the trees, the fog finally pulling back like it knows its job is done.

The Strawhats are camped near the edge of the island, makeshift fire burning low, everyone quiet and tired, half trying to figure out what happened, half trying not to admit how peaceful it felt.

And then you return with baskets.

Piled high. Food from the island. Bottles of strange wine. Bread still warm. Sliced fruit arranged in clean spirals like a gift.

Everyone looks up as your silhouette steps out from the trees.

“Okay,” you say dryly, setting a basket down near the fire, “after years of being untouchable and bored out of my mind, I finally find someone funny enough to play me in mind games.”

Your eyes flick briefly to Robin.

She’s the only one who doesn’t look surprised.

You sit cross-legged near the fire like you belong there. Like you’re one of them.

“I could’ve let you leave without another word. But,” you say, opening the first basket with a dramatic flourish, “here I am.”

Nobody moves.

Then:

Chopper whispers, “Did you poison it?”

You blink “I didn’t.”

Sanji instantly sets down the cup he was reaching for and drops to one knee in front of you.

“Mademoiselle, you are stunning, generous, mysterious, a goddess of war and grace—”

You cut in, deadpan “Still not interested in men.”

He collapses in exaggerated heartbreak.

Robin, across the fire, picks up a piece of fruit and inspects it.

Then, quietly, she takes a bite. One by one, the others follow.

Usopp sighs in relief “Okay thank god it’s not poison.”

Luffy’s already devouring everything he can reach “You should steal from us more often if you’re gonna feed us like this!”

Zoro takes a swig of wine “Not bad for someone who robbed us blind.”

Nami mutters “Still mad about the gold.”

You smirk “I told you. I kept something small.”

Nami glares. Robin sips her wine, not reacting.

But when you glance at her she’s watching you again. Calm. Still. Amused.

You tilt your head slightly and she raises one brow.

The food is mostly gone.

The wine is half-finished.

Sanji is asleep with his head on the table. Luffy is snoring in the grass. Zoro’s leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, but his hand still rests near his sword. Old habits.

You sit at the edge of the firelight, cup in hand, relaxed.

Too relaxed.

Chopper’s the first to break the silence.

“So… why do you do it?” he asks, blinking sleepily “The illusions. The stealing. All of it.”

You swirl the wine in your cup, eyes flicking to the stars.

“Because people are easiest to rob when they’re busy crying over ghosts” you say.

It’s honest.

They blink at the answer.

“Damn” Usopp says.

Franky nods, more impressed than offended “That’s… cold. Cool. But cold.”

“Not wrong” Jinbe says quietly.

Nami glares “And you chose to take my treasure?”

You grin “It sparkled the prettiest.”

She grumbles. Robin just watches. Not smiling. Not judging. Just… watching.

Then Robin speaks “What was your first memory?”

You pause.

The fire crackles.

“That’s not how this works” you say.

“It is now” she replies.

You consider lying.

You really do.

But the wine makes your voice a little looser than usual.

“A small dock” you say “Storm rolling in. My mother… pushing my boat away from shore. Telling me to never come back.”

Silence.

Even Luffy stirs, his expression softening in his sleep.

Chopper murmurs, “Did you ever see her again?”

You don’t answer.

Usopp starts to say something else, but you raise a hand calm, final.

“That’s enough.”

Your voice is smooth. Not angry. But colder now. Controlled again.

You stand.

“I think it’s late,” you say “You’ve had your food. Your drinks. And, apparently, your questions.”

You glance at each of them, calm, charming, but just detached enough to pull back behind your wall again.

“If there’s a next time,” you say softly, “I won’t let you leave this island so easily.”

Everyone quiets.

You turn to go.

Then pause.

You glance back, just once, eyes meeting Robin’s. She doesn’t look surprised.

You want to say something... maybe more, maybe less... but instead you just nod once, turn, and walk into the shadows between the trees.

You don’t know she’s following.

Not yet.

The night is quiet once you step into the forest again.

You walk slowly, alone, letting the wine hum in your blood. The island’s trees sway gently. The path is familiar... this is your home, or close enough.

You’re good at silence.

You’ve mastered it.

So when you hear the barely-there crunch of a step behind you, your first instinct is to disappear into the trees. Lose them. Hide.

But you don’t. Not this time.

Because you know who it is.

You don’t turn. Just speak softly, eyes on the moonlit path ahead.

“You’re not here to ask more questions.”

“No,” Robin says, her voice just above a whisper “I’m not.”

You finally stop walking.

She steps into view beside you, not close enough to touch but close enough to feel.

She looks calm. Not curious. Not scheming. Just… present.

For a moment, neither of you speak.

The wind moves the leaves. The air is thick with that soft wine-soaked quiet only found in the middle of nowhere, at the edge of something.

“You could’ve stayed with the others” you murmur.

“I could’ve,” she says “But you left.”

“And?”

She meets your gaze “And I wasn’t finished watching you.”

That makes something flicker in your chest.

It’s not desire, not quite, it’s something smaller. Older. Recognition.

You glance away, then back “I’m not very exciting when I’m not stealing from people.”

“Not true,” she says “You’re even more interesting when you’re pretending not to feel anything.”

Your lips curve.

It’s not quite a smile. But it’s close.

“You always follow people you’re drawn to?”

“Only the dangerous ones.”

You chuckle quietly “That explains the Strawhats.”

You walk a little further. She walks beside you.

Neither of you try to make more out of it than it is.

No flirting. No questions. No mind games.

Just this. Quiet steps in the dark. Two women who see too much in everyone else and maybe, finally, found someone they don’t have to.

The door creaks open under your hand.

You don’t look back to check if she’s still there. You already know she is.

Your house is tucked into the cliffs above the jungle wide, old, and built like a fortress. It’s full of echoes, shadows, and everything you’ve taken from the world. Gold, maps, weaponry, stolen books and silks and tools from across the sea.

And yet tonight, with Robin behind you, it feels strangely… small.

You don’t turn on the lights. You don’t need to.

You walk through the halls, your crew scattered asleep in different rooms, too full of wine and food to notice anything. Heavy snores echo faintly down a hallway.

Robin doesn’t speak. Her footsteps are light.

You push open your own door, step inside, and leave it open behind you.

The room is large, quiet. Clean, but lived-in. Papers on the desk. A map half-unrolled. A mirror cracked down one side.

And the balcony doors wide open, letting in the night.

You cross to the balcony without a word and sit on the bench that curves under the rail.

She follows... Of course she does.

You both sit there in silence, the ocean wind brushing your hair back, stars scattered above the black sea.

You try not to look at her but you fail.

She sits like she belongs there. Like this isn’t strange at all. Like she’s sat on dozens of balconies with people like you.

Then you clear your throat.

Awkwardly.

“So,” you say, “is that Sanji man always like that with women?”

Robin turns her head slowly. Her lips curve, barely “Are you really asking about Sanji right now?”

You pause, then sigh “No.”

She watches you. Not with judgment. Just patience.

You stare out into the sea and force a dry laugh.

“I don’t usually let people in… hell, I usually don’t even let them leave this island so easily.”

Robin doesn’t interrupt.

You look at her. Finally. Just for a moment.

“But you don’t seem like you want something here.”

“No,” she says softly “I just followed.”

That silence stretches.

Your voice is quieter now “I don’t know what to do with that.”

Robin leans back against the stone rail, arms folded loosely, eyes on you.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

You blink at her.

And for the first time in a long time, you don’t have a clever reply. You don’t flirt. You don’t run.

You just sit there, next to her, in a night full of wind and quiet and stars.

The air cools as the night deepens.

You and Robin are still on the balcony. You don’t know how long it’s been. An hour? More?

Neither of you have moved much.

You’re not tired. Not really. But the silence between you has shifted. It’s not awkward. It’s not heavy. It’s just close.

At some point, you curl your legs up beneath you. Robin mirrors it.

She doesn’t ask more questions. She doesn’t need to. But her eyes are on you. And that alone feels like being seen.

You exhale, arms folded on your knees.

“You didn’t ask me anything,” you say softly “Back in the jungle.”

Robin’s gaze flicks to yours “No.”

“Why?”

She tilts her head slightly “Because I know what it’s like to guard yourself. And I know how it feels when someone tears that apart.”

That hits too deep. You look away.

Your voice is quiet “You’re the first one who didn’t.”

Robin shifts closer, just a little.

“You say you don’t want people here,” she murmurs, “but you keep bringing me in.”

The words settle between you.

And then… you laugh. Soft, quiet, real.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know.”

Your hands rest between you on the bench. Not touching.

But not far.

Robin looks at them for a second. Then slowly, gently, she reaches over but not to take your hand, but to brush her fingers against the edge of yours.

You don’t pull away.

You let her.

She doesn’t try to go further. Doesn’t take more.

Just that one, light contact.

As if to say: I’m here. I’m not taking. I’m waiting.

You turn your head. Your faces are close now.

Too close for pretending you’re unaffected. Not close enough to close the space entirely.

And then she says quietly, almost a breath “I don’t want anything from you. Not unless you give it.”

That breaks something small and sharp inside you.

And without thinking, without permission, you whisper “Stay.”

Robin doesn’t blink. She just answers, simply “I will.”

You don’t kiss. Not yet.

But when you stand, and walk back inside, she follows you and when you lie down, fully clothed, on the wide bed beside the open window, she lies down beside you.

Not touching, but really close.

You fall asleep to the sound of her breathing, and the quietest peace you’ve felt in years.

“CAPTAIN. SHE WASN’T HERE LAST NIGHT—”

“AN INTRUDER??”

“Captain, do we stab or shoot??”

You sigh, rub your temple “No stabbing. No shooting.”

“But she’s a Strawhat—!”

“She’s Robin” you say firmly.

That shuts most of them up.

The sniper squints “Captain… why is she here?”

Robin, amused, stays silent.

You shrug, casual “I’m just bringing her back to her crew.”

A pause.

You glance around as if you’re noticing it for the first time.

“Also, uhm… if the island looks different, don’t freak out.”

Robin tilts her head “Different?”

You avoid her gaze.

You’re lying so poorly it’s almost charming “Yeah, just— the island’s a little… connected to my mind. So… sometimes it changes. Depending.”

Your second-in-command mutters “It was full of thorns and fog yesterday.”

You give them a look.

They shut up.

Robin’s eyes flick across the trees, then back to you.

“Then you’re in a good mood” she says softly.

You make a face like you don’t understand what she means “I’m not not in a mood.”

She smirks.

Your crew looks increasingly nervous.

You start walking down the hill “C’mon. Let’s get you back before Sanji faints.”

Robin follows. Calm. Beautiful. Dangerous.

Your crew watches in stunned silence.

And one of them whispers “She’s gonna break the captain’s heart.”

Another mutters “Nah. Captain’s gonna break hers.”

But no one says it louder.

Because whatever’s happening between you and Robin is already beyond their understanding.

And they can all feel it blooming, just like the flowers under their feet.

Robin walks calmly into the Strawhats’ temporary camp with you beside her, quiet as ever.

You both step into view.

And instantly “ROBIN-CHWAAAN!!”

Sanji throws himself dramatically forward, almost tripping over Usopp in the process “YOU DISAPPEARED AND I THOUGHT I’D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN—”

“She was gone” Chopper yells “We thought you were kidnapped!”

“I said she just wandered off” Zoro mutters, already bored.

“She’s with her...” Nami says, eyes narrowing at you before you can even open your mouth.

You raise a hand lazily “Relax. She wasn’t a prisoner.”

Sanji freezes in place.

Everyone else freezes too.

Usopp blinks “Wait. Why does that sound like a lie.”

Robin walks past them all without explaining a thing, just calmly brushing some invisible dust off her skirt “I wasn’t.”

“Did you drug her?” Sanji gasps, turning to you.

“I—what?” you blink “No!”

Chopper squints at you from behind Zoro’s leg “Her food wasn’t poisoned?”

You stare at him, deadpan “It was fresh fruit. From the island.”

“Suspicious” Nami mutters.

You shrug like it doesn’t matter, like Robin staying the night didn’t affect you at all.

(It absolutely did.)

Zoro’s eye shifts to you “Why are there flowers everywhere now?”

You start to reply, but Robin cuts in smoothly “The island reflects her emotional state.”

You freeze.

Everyone turns.

You slowly turn your head toward her “You weren’t supposed to say that out loud.”

Robin smiles. Just a little.

Sanji gasps again “Wait. Wait. You’re telling me the whole island was foggy and full of thorns—and now it’s a garden—because of feelings?”

You sigh “That’s not... it's not like that.”

“It’s exactly like that” Robin says.

She’s calm. Almost smug. But there’s something warm in her voice.

Usopp leans toward Nami “You think they…?”

“No” Nami says too quickly.

Then glances between you and Robin again.

“…Maybe.”

You rub the back of your neck “Alright. You’re all alive, nothing’s been stolen, you got a free dinner. Your weapons are intact—”

“AND our treasure isn’t” Nami snaps, pointing.

You glance at Robin.

She just lifts a brow.

With an exaggerated sigh, you reach into your coat and toss a pouch of coins toward Nami “Fine. That was me.”

Nami catches it without looking away from you.

Luffy grins, finally waking up behind them “Did you have fun Robin?”

You and Robin glance at each other.

Neither of you answer.

The Strawhats are almost ready to leave.

The Thousand Sunny is docked, glinting in the sun, and your crew stands nearby watching like hawks, still tense despite the peace.

You're relaxed. Almost smug.

Robin walks calmly up the ramp to the ship without looking back.

You wave lazily “See you soon!”

Half the Strawhats trip.

“HELL NO” Nami snaps, spinning to point at you from the deck “Next time I’m hiding every single coin. You won’t find anything!”

You grin “You think I didn’t let you hide it last time?”

Sanji clings to the railing dramatically “Give me a chaaaance! I can change! I can be whatever you want me to be—!”

“Still not interested in men” you call smoothly.

Chopper and Usopp huddle behind the mast, whispering in horror.

“She’s even creepier when she looks happy…”

“How does she even find us?”

You smirk and raise your voice just enough to reach them “My island reaches every point I want. The Mirage Belt is my mirage, after all.”

They all stare “...what does that mean—?”

“Wait, is she serious—?”

“IS SHE FOLLOWING US RIGHT NOW—?”

Robin finally turns at the top of the ramp and instead of saying anything, she just gives you a soft smile.

You don’t smile back but your expression shifts just a little.

Your crew notices. They're definitely going to talk about it later.

But for now, you simply stand there, watching as the Strawhats pull away from shore.

And Robin watches you back.

Until the sea swallows the distance.

[peggythestrange]

So, summing up what happened, Shen Yuan was now dead. and when he woke up, he found himself not only in the novel he despised so much when he was alive, but he was now about to meat the Peak Lords to be chosen as a disciple from one of them? Oh, bloody hell he didn't want to meet the scum villain himself, he was good like that, he already missed his phone and all the comforts of the modern era. He didn't liked the situation at all, but oh well he would have played his role just hoping that he would be still alive after that masquerade.

When he woke up in that frail body of a kid, he couldn't believe he died only to find himself in another damaged body. The kid was mute. He couldn't talk, he could just try to use the sign language to try expressing his needs and this was... annoying. How could he be chosen by a peak lord? For what? He was sure that he should have made himself noticeable among a lot of kids more talented than him. It could never happen.

But he tried anyway and... shocking everyone and against all expectations, it was Shen Jou who stood up and pointed at him with his elegant fan. Shen Yuan looked at him in disbelief. Great, the only person he wanted to avoid with all his might, he couldn't believe he was so unlucky.

"I want him." Said Shen Jiu, and everyone looked at him astonished. A lot of talented kids shown up and the other peak lords thought that Shen Jiu would have chosen the big boy strong and fierce fierce that had won every strength trial. But he had chosen, in fact, Shen Yuan. That frail mute kid so thin that you could see his bones even from under his clothes and so dirty that he would have pitied a beggar.

There was a kind of similarity in appearance between the two. Shust Shen Jiu was tall, with long chocolate-coloured hair and green eyes and Shen Yuan was of course short, with black hair shoulder-length and with eyes of the same colour. He was like.. an adorable tiny mouse.

"I like him. He's smart, and he can't talk. So he won't be an annoyance. So, if I like him, I'll take him. He's mine."

Shen Yuan wasn't sure he liked that statement. He felt like a cow on auction at the public market place and he couldn't stand it. Maybe his face was telling exactly that, because Shen Jiu looked at him, interested, tapping his lips with his fan. he didn't care anyway, the boy would come with him, in his sect and he. Would. Have. Been. His. Shizun. Whatever the cost.

Eventually, Shen Yuan followed the scum villain and promised himself that he would have done everything to avoid that man to do something nasty. Oh, if he thought he could break him, he was wrong! His chronical illness when he was alive did it so well, he couldn't do anything.

So he spent his days trying to get better and maybe he just wanted to make Shen Qingqiu proud of his choice, proud of him.

Shen Yuan liked his life, he couldn't deny it. And living in that place he discovered he had a talent. Yes, something nobody had. Despite being mute, he was gifted with great sensitivity and he could feel everything before it happened.

This is wonderful, he thought one time he was cleaning around sweeping the floors quietly Maybe I can do something for tha hopeless man with that gift of mine. What if I try to change something in the plot?

So Shen Yuan started wearing the shoes of the devoted disciple. Maybe he couldn't be anybody in that story, but maybe Shen Jiu would have listened to him more willingly if he had trusted him enough.

One day, Shen Qingqiu was undergoing a qi deviation and Shen Yuan feeling that something was wrong, ran in Shen Jiu room while he was shot through with terrible pain. He was undergoing to qi deviation and was trying to not flinch even if the pain was excruciating.

Shen Yuan didn't liked the scum villain, he hated him for choosing him and taking him to his sect. Yes, he was an annoyance for him... he was... oh damn, without even thinking he was kneeling in front of him, laying his head on his legs and squeezing his robes between his fingers so hard his knuckles whitened. Please Shen Qingqiu, please don't let it getting the better of you, he was thinking while trying to pass him some of his qi trying to regulate his a deviation. He felt so stupid, that person never asked for his help and never wanted it, so why he was worrking so fucking much for someone he didn't even care about?

Shen Yuan was praying for his shizun wellbeing without even knowing it and at some point, Shen Jiu started caressing the back of his head, slowly, gently. Shen Yuan didn't know the scum villain could be that gentle, but he was glad he started feeling better, while running his fingers through his hair.

"Thank you. I feel better. How did you know?"

From that day, Shen Yuan started taking care of him every day. He knew what living with pain meant so it wasn't a bother for him and it wasn't hard. Everything was going right.

So, just think what Shen Qingqiu thought when his head disciple started smiling so brightly to Binghe, blushing when that filthy beast complimented with him for his mind, and most of all, started taking care of him too. And when he noticed Binghe was reciprocating that frightening crush!!

[alisonwritesimagines]

Unexpected ~Batfam Imagine~

Summary: You find out something unexpected which makes you worry. Luckily, your family is there on your side to protect you.

Author’s Note: Batmom deserves the world.

y/m/n = your mother's name

BatFamily Masterlist

Reader’s Pronouns: She/Her

Warnings: unexpected pregnancy, mentions of baby loss

Do not repost this anywhere!

You stared at the positive pregnancy test in front of you with a frown. You should be happy that you’re having a baby. You should be over the moon since this is what you have always wanted with Bruce. But after the last time, you felt scared now.

“Ummi? Are you okay? You’ve been in there for a while,” you heard Damien call out. You wiped the tears away before opening the door.

“Hey sweetie. I’m alright. What’s wrong?” You asked him.

“You were crying,” Damien pointed out.

“It’s nothing Damien. You hungry?” You asked as you rushed the two of you out of your bedroom.

Damien knew something was wrong but didn’t want to push it with you. He could always push his siblings and his father’s limits but he knew not to push yours. So he summoned a sibling meeting when you were gone with Alfred one time.

“What is it this time?” Jason asked annoyed.

“Ummi is upset and I’m not sure what it is,” Damien told them.

“Did something happen with her and Bruce?” Dick asked him.

“No. She was in the bathroom for a long time though. She came out with some tears on her face,” Damien explained.

“Why was she in the bathroom for a while?” Tim asked.

“Do you think she’s pregnant again?” Cassandra asked.

“Wouldn’t she be happy about it?” Jason pointed out confused.

“Dude. Remember what happened last time she was pregnant?” Duke reminded him.

“Oh. Right,” Jason said sadly.

“What should we do?” Stephanie asked.

“We should let her and Bruce talk first before they come to us. We don’t want to jinx anything and mom probably feels scared and worried about being pregnant again,” Cassandra told them. The rest of the kids nodded in agreement.

When Bruce came back home, he found you curled up in bed wide awake.

“You okay honey?” Bruce asked as he walked over to you.

“I don’t know,” you tell him.

“What’s wrong?” Bruce asked as he sat next to you. You sat up before wrapping your arms around him.

“I’m pregnant,” you said softly. Bruce hugged you back quickly as he pulled you onto your lap.

“Why aren’t you happy?” Bruce asked you.

“Because of what happened last time. What if we lose this one too?” You asked him as you began to tear up.

“Hey now. It’s going to be okay. If it makes you feel better, we’ll set up extra security and do better to keep the villains in Arkham,” Bruce told you.

“I don’t know Bruce. I’m so scared. I don’t want to lose this one too,” you tell him.

“Me neither. But we have each other. And I promise I’ll do anything to keep you and our baby safe.”

Bruce kissed your head before holding you tighter in his arms. He kissed your head once more before lifting your chin up so you could see him. Bruce kissed you gently on the lips before lying down on the bed, pulling you down with him.

“We’re going to be okay,” Bruce assured to you.

You stayed in bed the next day, not wanting to get out. Alfred brought you your breakfast while Bruce and the kids talked downstairs at the table.

“Why isn’t mom with us?” Tim asked.

“Your mom is having some issues right now and needs some time to herself,” Bruce explained.

“What did you do?” Jason asked him.

“I didn’t do anything bad. She just needs a moment to herself without any more worry.”

By dinner time, you were with your family at the dinner table. You sat on your seat as you took in a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant,” you announced out of the blue. Everyone looked at you in shock other than Bruce and Alfred.

“You are?!” Stephanie asked.

“Yes.”

“Which means we need to keep the villains away as long as possible,” Bruce told the kids. The kids agreed.

“Don’t worry mom. We’ll protect you even more this time,” Tim tells you.

“Thank you. But I think I want to be away from Gotham until I have the baby. I want to be somewhere safe and I can’t be safe here,” you explain.

“Bruce, are you okay with this?” Jason asked his adoptive father.

“I support whatever your mother thinks is best for her. Even if it means being away from Gotham.”

“Where would you stay mom?”

“Maybe back to my hometown. It’s much safer than here and it would be nice to be back with some friends and family I had back there,” you explain to them.

“And we can always visit your mother when we can or when she misses us,” Bruce tells the kids.

“So are you going to miss her giving birth?”

“No. I will be with your mother two months before the due date.”

“Is this what you want mom?”

“Yes.”

“Can we stay with you once in a while? For protection?”

“Of course. I’d love the company while I’m away.”

——

It had been nine months since you found out about your pregnancy. Bruce had been by your side for the last two months as he promised. And now, the kids and Alfred were walking up to your room where you had just given birth.

“You ready to lose the bet?” Dick asked Jason as they walked into the hospital.

“I’m not gonna lose,” Jason insisted.

“Uh huh. Sure.”

The moment the Wayne Family walked in, they found you holding your newborn baby in your arms while Bruce was sitting right next to you.

“Hey guys! Come in,” you say softly. Everyone walked into the room more to see the baby.

“How are you feeling Ummi?” Damien asked as he stood next to you.

“Feeling okay now. Everyone, meet the newest Wayne member of the family. Martha Y/m/n Wayne,” you introduced.

“We named her after our mothers,” Bruce tells everyone.

“Pay up,” Jason told Dick who frowned as he gave Jason twenty dollars.

“I have a sister?” Damien asked in shock.

“Yup.”

“I was hoping for a brother but she can still be a good fighter,” Damien said as he stared at his younger sister.

“Alfred, would you like to be the first to hold her?” Bruce asked him.

“I’d be honored to,” Alfred smiled. You handed Martha to Alfred as he held her in his arms.

While everyone took turns holding Martha, you took a quick nap, still feeling exhausted from giving birth. When you woke up, you saw Bruce holding Martha in his arms. He was having skin to skin contact with her as she slept.

“Where is everyone?” You asked.

“Went to grab some food for now.”

“Oh okay.”

“I’m proud of you honey,” Bruce tells you.

“We finally have a baby in the family,” you say with a sigh.

“We finally have a baby. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me a second chance and for a family.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[gothamhappiness]

The nightclub (Jason Todd x f!reader)

Hi everyone! I had a little cute idea about a girl wanting to open a nightclub on Red Hood's territory, and the man is quite interested in doing business with her.

Hope you'll enjoy these headcanons <3

Warnings: no proof reading, mentions of violence, of injuries, of assholes trying to steal your nightclubs, mentions of drinking alcohol, one or two strong words.

When you opened your nightclub, you did it on Red Hood’s territory.

You were a girl, you weren’t a villain surrounded by goons and you knew that Gotham would eat you up if you didn’t go somewhere safe. And for you, Red Hood’s territory was the safest place.

You didn’t care what the media, Batman and cops could say about him. You knew Red Hood was a good guy. Yes, he killed people and was a crime lord, it didn’t change the fact, you believed in him.

You were a smart girl so you asked to meet him for some business affair. You had to beg his goons to give him the message you needed to talk with him. You couldn’t start your business without being certain that Red Hood would keep your nightclub safe. 

For a couple of nights, you felt eyes on you, but you weren’t afraid. It didn’t feel malevolent.

Then some of Red Hood’s goons found you and brought you to his “public” base. You sat down on a sofa that had seen better days. But you barely noticed it because the infamous Red Hood was sitting right in front of you, his mask peering into your soul. You didn’t dare to speak for a little while, as you were looking at each other.

“So, you wanted to meet me” Red Hood finally spoke and you heard the slight annoyance in his voice “I’m a busy man, so if it could be quick, it'd be nice” he told you and you found yourself nodding

“Thank you so much for having accepted meeting me. I know you you do have a lot of work… Actually I’m here because I want to do things the right way... with you.” you explained

“What do you mean?” he asked, getting curious now

“I want to open a nightclub, but because of the concurrence and because of people like the Penguin, I need to do it somewhere they can’t reach me and my future clients… And this place is on your territory” you told him

You saw that Red Hood was getting interested because he leaned closer to you.

“Go on” he instructed you

“I’ve got the name for it, I even got enough savings for buying the abandoned nightclub of your territory, but I need your approval. I need your protection. Of course, I understand how things work and I can give you some percentage of the business, every month” you told him

“I don’t need your money. But I’d be happy to have somewhere fancy for my own business meetings. And to not have to pay for my drinks” he told you and you brightly smiled at him

“Of course! You agree with the plan, then?” you asked, just to make sure and Red Hood nodded

“Yeah. You can start working. Let me know when you’ll open, so I’ll be there too” he promised you

You did as you were told.

You worked hard for several months because there was a lot to do to make the place suitable. It had been abandoned for so long. 

You got worried about money at some point, you were even about to ask for a delay for paying the firms working on your club. But someone paid them for you. 

One day, some men came and tried to scare you off, as the restoration work was almost done. They wanted to force you to give them the nightclub. They even took a gun out. You told them the place was under Red Hood’s protection and they exchanged a look before laughing.

They told you they wanted all the paperwork done when they would come back in the evening. You nodded, to not get shot.

But you didn't prepare the paperwork, you simply found one of Red Hood goons and told him about what happened.

And the men never came back.

The night of the opening, you had invited Red Hood like he asked you to. You were excited because there had been a lot of ads for your nightclub and you heard people were eager to come. You were also excited because you got Red Hood an office and a booth all for him.

You hoped he would like it.

The first night was a success beyond anything you could imagine. Even more when Red Hood showed up.

You quickly walked to him to greet him. You started to show him around, especially what you had done for him. After a little while, you both sat at his booth with drinks.

“You did good” he praised you and you brightly smiled at him.

After that, your nightclub was also known as Red Hood’s hot spot because the man came almost every night, for a drink, for talking business with other people, for working in peace in the office you got him or for flirting with you.

You didn’t mind the attention and you were quite happy to have him around. You never dared push your luck with him. But you still got a phone number you could call him at and you had a few beepers under some counters and into your office so you could ask for his goons to come and check on you.

Sometimes, you looked after him too. When he was too injured or dizzy to go anywhere else, your nightclub was the easiest place to find. You would settle him in your flat that was just above your nightclub - Red Hood bought you the whole building after a year, as a “reward��� for doing so well.

He trusted you.

At some point, he even let you discover his real identity. It was then things started to evolve between the two of you. You two weren’t anything official, but Jason wasn’t particularly interested in anyone else and you either. You were happy with things that way.

You were the only person he trusted, and he was the only person you would call if you were in trouble.

Everyone knew better than to fuck with you or with your nightclub. You were off limits. The few assholes who tried anything against you, got a very pissed off Red Hood after them.

You realised how everyone was aware Red Hood was spending a lot of time in your nightclub - with you - when Nightwing and Red Robin showed up one night.

Your bartender quickly called you from your office. You greeted the two men with a polite smile. You weren’t afraid of them. It was probably because you were accustomed to Red Hood’s presence, so no one could impress you anymore.

The two vigilantes were looking for your protector and you weren’t too keen on helping them, until they started to talk about the Joker. You didn’t want Jason to take any risks, but you knew he would be mad at you for not having called him.

You excused yourself and called Red Hood to let him know what the vigilantes just told you. Nightwing and Red Robin swore they never reached for Red Hood that easily and quickly before.

After that, whenever the Batfamily needed to find Red Hood or to talk to him, they knew it was easier to go through you.

The first time Batman showed up at your nightclub, you really wondered what your life had become.

And you were quite proud and happy with yourself.

No need to say that with the official protection of Red Hood and the unofficial one of the rest of the Batfamily, your nightclub and yourself were the safest place and person in Gotham.

--

Masterlist

--

Taglist for all my work <3

@blublock404

@wind-canoe

@silverklaus

@couldeatthatgirlforlunch

@tatsuri-zomushiki

@navs-bhat

@randomnamedmira

@winterhi09

@murkyponds

@qardasngan

[goodlucktai]

gently in the cold dark earth

scum villain's self saving system word count: 2k canon divergent / no system au; sy transmigrates into an empty npc role; gray lotus binghe loves his shixiong more than life and he's ready to make it everyone's problem

title borrowed from work song by hozier

read on ao3

x

The first thing Luo Binghe does when he escapes the Abyss is return to Cang Qiong Mountain. 

With Xin Mo secured to his back, the way could be instant if he so chose—the journey of a thousand miles reduced to a single step—but he unsheathes the elegant jian at his hip instead.

Yong Liang sings sweetly for him, the snow white blade still shining and untainted even after years of helping Luo Binghe carve his way through hell. It has never once failed him, soulbound to the one person still on this earth who has never failed him. 

“Take it,” his shixiong insisted, low and urgent. The Abyss was behind them, an even deadlier threat was ahead, and Without A Cure clogging his meridians made Luo Binghe the best choice to wield the only unshattered spirit sword they had between them. “Binghe, take it.”

He pressed until Luo Binghe’s grip curled tight around the hilt, not hesitating to put his soul in Luo Binghe’s hands even with the rosy glow of an unsealed demon mark shining on his face. 

Luo Binghe flies at a pace best described as dangerously reckless, hardly smelling the fragrant spring air or feeling the sun on his face. His robes are a disgrace, his hair a tangled, matted mess, and it occurs to him that he could stop somewhere and clean himself up, make himself presentable, but it’s a brief, fleeting thought. 

Shen Yuan would be furious to find out that Luo Binghe wasted even a single second returning to his side. 

——

He passes through the ancient wards effortlessly, feeling them fall away from him like water. It’s a simple thing to tamp down on his demonic qi, to disguise the parts of him that those so-called righteous cultivators would scorn. He ghosts through the familiar grounds as eagerly as a starving animal bolting down a fresh game trail, but one by one, all of their familiar haunts come up empty, without even a lingering trace of Shen Yuan’s spiritual energy left behind.   

The head disciple’s room is dusted and undisturbed, as if its occupant might walk through the door at any moment, but the lack of clutter and the empty book shelf makes it very clear to Luo Binghe what the truth must be.

If Shen Yuan returned to the peak after the Conference, he didn’t stay. 

All at once, images crowd the front of his mind—his shixiong grieving, pulling away, turning his back on those responsible for his heartache. 

Yue Qingyuan, always only a step behind wherever his precious Xiu Ya sword went, promised that no one wanted to hurt them. They only wanted to help.

He looked so solemn and righteous that Shen Yuan reluctantly allowed himself to be convinced. Luo Binghe, who had gone to the man for help after a bloody whipping when he was a child, only to be given a walnut cake and turned away at the door, knew better. 

He wasn’t surprised when Shen Yuan was wrenched away from him, and shizun sent him staggering off the cliff with a spiritual dagger buried to the hilt in his chest, all of it happening within a matter of seconds—but it still hurt. 

Shen Yuan’s scream followed him all the way down. 

I’m alive, Luo Binghe thinks, with no one there to tell it to. I came back to you. Let me come back to you. 

——

Including time spent in the abyss, it’s three years before they meet again. 

Luo Binghe’s revenge is his second priority at best, but he is nothing if not efficient and knows how to kill two birds with the same stone. Huan Hua affords him ample resources and opportunities to scour the world for his missing shixiong while playing the role of earnest and diligent new disciple. He snatches up each mission that comes along as though  eager to prove his worth to the sect that so graciously took him in, but he takes every excuse to wander, to search, to make conversation with vendors and innkeepers and passing strangers. 

Have you seen my heart? It lives outside of me in the form of a beautiful young man and tends to wander. Very contrary, likes to fuss over people, could argue the stripes off a lushu just for fun. You’d know it if you met it. You’d never forget. 

The days blur together, meaningless and gray, but he doesn’t stop looking. Shen Yuan still exists somewhere in this world, because otherwise Luo Binghe wouldn’t. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. 

And then, finally—an afternoon in Jinlan City, when Luo Binghe arrives in a throng of incompetent gold-clad Huan Hua disciples, to investigate a plague of all things—

He’s there. 

In dark, neutral colors and plain clothes, a traveling cloak with its hood resting down around his shoulders, as if his beauty could possibly be lessened by cheap, shapeless fabrics rather than effortlessly enhanced. His hair falls from its half-tail in glorious waves—he never did have the patience for anything elaborate, only wearing braids when one of his sticky shidimei cajoled and convinced him. Traveling alone, who could he possibly have to roll his eyes at and complain about and sit patiently still for?

A pale green ribbon is all that decorates his hair. Luo Binghe recognizes it instantly. 

“You should spend your allowance on yourself, Binghe,” Shen Yuan scolded him, not for the first time and certainly not for the last. 

“But I did,” Luo Binghe protested, widening his eyes and clasping his hands earnestly, the way he knew worked best. “I wanted it! And now that I have it, I want to give it to you.”

Shen Yuan was too clever by half to be truly fooled by the innocent act, but he always folded like paper anyway. He spoiled all of his shidimei but Luo Binghe most of all. Anyone on Qing Jing Peak would be hard-pressed to think of a single example of Shen Yuan telling Luo Binghe ‘no.’ 

Sure enough, after a second spent visibly wrestling with himself, he blurted, “Oh, fine! Hand it over.” 

He wore it every day since. He’s wearing it now. The wind catches the ends of it, sending it streaming behind him like the tails of a paradise flycatcher. Lovely. 

For a brief moment, Luo Binghe is frozen where he stands, finally faced with the very thing that he’s been missing for years, that he’s been living a miserable half-life without. 

And then he remembers himself and lurches forward. His voice is a tangle in his throat but he manages to choke out, “Shixiong!”

A strike of lightning couldn’t have jolted Shen Yuan into more perfect stillness. He stops mid-step, every inch of him as good as carved from precious jade. He doesn’t turn his head, and the sliver of his face visible from where Luo Binghe stands is very pale. 

Luo Binghe wonders suddenly if this has happened to him before—if Shen Yuan has heard a voice on the road or in the market that was almost familiar, that was almost the one he was hoping for, only to be disappointed when he turned to follow it and found a stranger. 

Luo Binghe shortens the distance between them with a few anxious steps and tries again. 

“Shixiong.”

The older boy whirls around abruptly, as if to get it over with. He’s bracing himself, but Luo Binghe barely has a second to absorb Shen Yuan’s painful-looking anticipation before it bleeds out of his face in favor of something else entirely. 

He looks like the earth has fallen out from beneath his feet, like he hardly dares to believe his eyes. Zheng Yang gleams golden at Shen Yuan’s hip, reforged and whole again.

“Binghe?”  

“It’s me,” Luo Binghe says softly. 

There’s a tableau he’s afraid to break, as if they’re in a delicate dreamscape and a move too sudden or loud might dissolve it. He wants to say I’ve missed you the way lungs miss air, immediately and needfully, I haven’t breathed at all since we’ve been apart. He wants to say you’re my light in the dark, I can only stand in front of you now because I love you too much to ever truly leave you. 

Instead, he tells his dearest friend, “This one made you wait. But your Binghe is here.”

Shen Yuan sprints the rest of the way to meet him, almost before he’s even finished talking, and they collide in a solid embrace that knocks the air from them both. 

His arms wind around Luo Binghe’s waist like steel bands, fingers digging into the back of his robes, precious face pressed into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Luo Binghe doesn’t hesitate to gather him up close, holding him as tightly and securely as he knows how, burying his nose in his shixiong’s hair and breathing in the familiar, beloved smell of him.  

Shen Yuan is a few inches shorter than he remembers. All the better to tuck him beneath Luo Binghe’s chin, to cover and surround him so completely that not even the heavens above can get a decent eyeful. 

He wants to grab and bite and pin Shen Yuan beneath him and never let go. His jaw aches with wanting it. 

“I’ve been looking for you,” Luo Binghe says, eyes wet. “I went home first.” Unsaid goes the obvious but you weren’t there. 

“How could I stay?” Shen Yuan bites out, managing to sound all at once strangled and bewildered and—charmingly—offended. He shakes his head without lifting it, an aggressive nuzzle against Binghe’s shoulder. “After what they did to you, I’d rather die than represent their stupid sect another minute.”

“Step away from it, Shen Yuan,” shizun said coldly. “I’ll put that beast back where it belongs.”

“No,” shixiong said in a voice that was smaller than usual, one that shook. He was frightened, clearly overwhelmed, but he didn’t budge from where he was plastered in front of Luo Binghe like a breathing shield. 

“Now.” 

“No, shizun.”

“Shizhi,” Yue Qingyuan said gently, offering his hand. “Come here. It will be alright.”

Shen Yuan said, “No. You can’t hurt Binghe. He’s not bad just because of who his parents are. He’s as good as he was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. He’s hardworking and loyal and a sweetheart to anybody who gives him half a chance. He’s so good.”

Liu Qingge was behind the sect leader, sword drawn. Shen Qingqiu was quickly losing what little patience he had, face twisted into a sneer, dark eyes stabbing hatefully at Luo Binghe from over his head disciple’s shoulder. There were more figures rapidly drawing closer, the other peak lords following the flare of Yue Qingyuan’s qi. The standoff was becoming more and more untenable, and Shen Yuan was too smart not to see that, shrinking back against Luo Binghe as much as he could without crowding him closer to the edge. 

“You can’t hurt him,” he said again, the closest Luo Binghe had ever heard him come to tears, “he’s my shidi.”

Luo Binghe is unsurprised by his shixiong’s loyalty, because it’s already been proven to him over and over. It’s unremarkable at this point, which is an absolutely remarkable thing in itself. It makes him feel warm with gratitude and affection and ownership. 

Shen Yuan is clever and quick on his feet and always three steps ahead, more knowledgeable about flora and fauna than anyone else Binghe has ever known combined, and probably a force to be reckoned with as a rogue cultivator, where the only rules of conduct he has to adhere to are his own. 

But Luo Binghe hates to think of him on the road alone, without the little martial siblings who follow him like ducklings, without his Binghe there to make sure he remembers to eat all his meals and comb out his hair before bed. He’s a creature of comfort, made for airy rooms with too many cushions and an abundance of sweets and books to read. 

Luo Binghe has fantasized more than once about building a home for Shen Yuan to lounge prettily in. It was, in fact, his favorite flavor of daydream since he was about thirteen. 

If Shen Yuan wants to rogue cultivate, then that’s what they’ll do. But Luo Binghe thinks, if he constructs a palace that’s as comfortable as it is grand, and fills it with trashy romance novels and obscure beasts and his own hand-made meals, he can convince his friend to live in it with him.

Shen Yuan needs to be taken care of. Luo Binghe needs to be the one taking care of him. They’re together now and they’ll never be apart again and those needs can both be met. 

That possessive, proprietary feeling coils dark and deep inside him, undulating lazily like a serpent who’s fed enough for days, reminding him over and over what he already knows:

Mine. 

[aingeal98]

Something I enjoy a lot about Cass is that with a lot of heroes that don't kill it can easily veer into self righteousness. It happens with Bruce a fair amount and while it can make for a compelling character beat if done well, if done poorly it just kind of makes the reader annoyed lmao. Like why am I supposed to root for this guy when he's saying "If you shoot the man who killed your parents your soul will be forever ruined!" and acting like there's no difference between types of kill?

And the thing about Cass is that while her no kill rule is based on the experience of watching someone die and the horror she felt, and while she does project it into pretty much everyone she meets... It never comes across as unlikeably self righteous to me. Like for Cass every kill is a tragedy and while her no death rule is a moral statement it's also given more importance as an rule that gives us psychological insight into what governs and drives her. Even when she's wrong, even when the villain is so sympathetic and justified that there's no reason to root for her, the narrative always feels very self aware about it. Like when she let that father get arrested despite him just wanting his daughter back. The writer (Puckett of course) wasn't interested in convincing the reader that Cass's judgement was the morally correct choice. He was interested in what it said about her that it was the choice she chose.

And similarly when she approaches people to try and stop them from killing she always lacks the morally righteous air a lot of others carry. She's desperate and earnest and determined to get them to change but it's not because she thinks she's in any way better than them and has the right to pass judgement because of it. It's someone who genuinely believes that she's irredeemable manically trying to save everyone else because if these killers can do the right thing and turn over a new leaf then maybe... Just maybe... there's hope for her?

It's so compelling to me. The desperation and clear projection that happens when she goes out determined to enforce and/or promote her code to as many people possible. Every time she says someone can change she's speaking from experience. Because she views herself as irredeemable and beneath everyone but she's still out here trying to be good so maybe if others make the same choice it's proof that she's not doomed. That none of them are. She doesn't want the hitman to redeem himself by becoming a hero and helping his former victims. She just wants him to walk away, to start a peaceful and quiet new life. And when he fails to do that and they meet again she still won't give up on him. When she stands in front of the victims family she won't declare she knows better. She'll hopefully and uncertainty ask "But maybe... He can change?"

Like there's so much heart behind everything she does and every action she takes. Every time the topic of killing people comes up she's so earnest and clearly projecting her own issues and seeing herself in every murderer and it's so fun. It's so fascinating. I miss Batgirl 2000.

[alwaysshallow]

prompt: You’re a retired S-tier supervillain. After you retired, you married a B-tier hero. You are forced back onto the stage when an A-tier villain attempts to kill your spouse. Ghost x reader

A/N: i don't know if i hate this or i like, so. it's yours to decide lmfao. especially that's a tiiiiny part that i decided to wrote bc i was bored.

Everyone wants to live happily ever after.

Not exactly a quiet life, but not too loud either. A perfect balance, where you have all the things (or almost all of them) to be happy, fulfilled in life.

Life that wanted your mother for you, before it all went down. Before you turned evil, as she liked to say.

You try to tell yourself that you deserve every inch of it, but you still miss the thrill of the hunt, blood on your hands, the way you just ruled the city like you wanted. Unbothered.

When your husband doesn’t look, you take out your mask, hidden carefully behind all those unopened cartons from your wedding. He thinks you burned all of your past, and here you are. Hiding it like a precious possession, so carefully.

It took you long enough to earn it—you don’t think you quite deserve it, but it’s nice to be a wife that can greet her husband every time he comes home from work. Every time he mentions something about you joining him, but it could be quite a laugh, you say.

A retired villain turned superhero. You’d rather die than make it happen, but that’s what your husband doesn’t know.

Well, he doesn’t know a lot of things.

For example, he doesn’t know how conflicted you are. Unconsciously, you think that you sabotage all of those happy moments. Overthinking stuff, asking yourself if you’re really in a good place, if you made a right decision; if a man is worth giving up your career.

Your whole life, if you want to be petty enough. Your whole life changed because of him—hell, you even changed in some way. Less snarkier, more laid back, so you wouldn’t be degraded to trophy wife, burned out villain in front of his friends and family.

Make them proud, he said once, before a meeting with his friends. Meeting that turned to complete disaster, heading home way earlier than you were supposed to because superhero bullshit bored and annoyed you enough.

But you tried to put up with it. Convince yourself that it is your fate, not the villain route that you chose before.

Fate hits you right in the face, when you enter your apartment to see three significant changes.

Your husband is tied like a pig on the table. Tight.

The apartment looks like a tornado went through it.

And three—

“Took you long enough.”

Yeah. That’s three.

You almost want to laugh. A bandit-like balaclava could scare a lot of people, but not you—not when you know him inside out. Not when you basically competed with him your whole life before.

Yeah. Before. Before you met your husband, before you two got married, before you decided to retire. The taste of this decision is bitter on your tongue, just like the thought that you feel excited for the first time in months because there’s potential danger. Something breaking you out of the routine.

“Normal people do groceries around this hour.” You shrug casually, taking a few steps; the intention of untying your husband falters the moment Ghost blocks your way, amused. You raise your eyebrow. “Come on—”

“—What? Scared?”

“No. But he has probably nothing to do with your business,” you point out, harshly. He lets out a scoff.

“Said that he’s gonna call cops on me. Very unfriendly behavior from a superhero, won’t you agree?” He tilts his head with a theatrical manner.

“I’d do the same,” you murmur under your nose, taking out the material that Ghost gagged your husband with. Carefully, your hand lands on the ropes, until Simon stops you.

“We have better things to do,” he says, his voice low. “Gotta step out from that wife role for a moment, ‘m takin’ you. He’s gonna do fine.”

“You’re taking me?”

“I am, yeah. A problem?” He arches an eyebrow, his grip tight on your wrist. Attacking him is useless, especially when he knows how you want to do it; he’s quick to pin you down against the counter. His front is hot against your ass—he laughs, as he’s almost able to feel your humiliation. “Won’t do anythin’ right in front of your husband, don’t worry. Or, will I?” he looks down at you, expression mocking.

“I hate—”

“Mm. Yeah, won’t do me good.”

And then, you’re out.

[igotanidea]

Heartache: Jason Todd x reader

summary: being friends with Jason never came with falling for him. and with confessing it. And with finding out he's already in love with someone else.....

*** What was the point?

What was the point of being​ nice and caring and trying and putting yourself out there when at the end of the day someone ended up alone and hurting?

And what was the point of anything, truly, if that person happened to be you?

***

Being a transfer student in the middle of the school year was as hard as it comes. New people, new town, new everything.

Felt like being torn from the ground with roots.

And to top that up Y/N had to meet the head teacher to make sure she was up to date with all the material and was not going to be left behind. So, one particularly dark and rainy autumn day, which was extreme even for Gotham, she has been sitting on the uncomfortable plastic chair in front of the principal’s office, almost biting her fingernails because of the stress. Truly, she could do without being judged based on her grades from previous school and without pretending like a new kid in school in November was not a disturbance.

She knew well enough she was an event for all the kids craving some, any, attraction.  

And no amount of teachers’ feigned smiles and assurances that she would find a home in Gotham’s high school would make her feel better. Well, she had a little tour around the facility and to say the least, it was almost as depressing and dark and cold as the entire city.

So deep inside, she was hoping that the talk with principal would take as little time as possible and she would be able to get back to minding her own business and – hopefully – learning something without her classmates calling her swot.

But-

She was not the only one waiting for the audience. There was a guy, sitting by the wall on the opposite. A typical high school rebel, with his leather jacket and torn jeans and ruffled black hair with single white strand above the forehead. Seemingly not looking, but Y/N could feel his eyes on her. And it was infuriating. As if she didn’t already feel like an outsider in the school, now she’s been eyed like a freaking prey.

Apparently, he noticed her discomfort but the only sign of the amusement at the fact of making her flustered was a teasing smirk. Who the hell this guy thought himself to be? She was a second from opening her mouth and telling him to back off, but before anything could actually come out her throat another boy rushed into the room.

“Jason!” the second guy looked surprisingly similar to the first, with his dark hair and blue eyes, but his face was far more sympathetic. „What did you do this time? Why am I getting an emergency calls to pick you up from principal’s office?”

Jason didn’t even bother to answer, his eyes fixed on Y/N.

„Jason!”

„The fuck you want Dick?!” Jason yelled not caring about the place or the circumstances

Y/n couldn’t help a chuckle. Was this guy really named Dick? Like for real?

„The hell are you laughing at?” Jason finally turned to the girl, the mix of annoyance and curiosity on his face.

„At the interesting choice of word. If anyone’s a dick here, I’d say it’s you.” she smirked.

Both Dick and Jason raised eyebrows in surprise. She didn’t look like the girl with big mouth. Apparently the appearances were deceiving.

„You got an attitude princess, don’t you?”

„princess?” she scoffed and shook her head „well, I guess, given the fact that this school is a maze and we’ve got enough villains in the city I might as well be. But I’m more Merida than Sleeping beauty-”

„You’ve watched Brave?!” the other guy almost jumped with excitement

„Yeah.. um- didn’t everyone?” she stuttered a bit, but before she could say something else he was already shaking her hand eagerly. Who would have thought that the knowledge of Disney movies would help her make friends.  

„Hi! I’m Dick Grayson. I mean-” he laughed lightly „Richard is my given name, but no one calls me that.”

„Oh! Now I get it. I’m -”

„She’s the new girl. Y/N, isn’t it?” Jason teased her again, clearly hoping to get a reaction our of her.

„Hm. Have you been stalking me or something, Jason?”

„You wish!”

„i got a feeling this is a start of a very beautiful friendship” Dick’s eyes were shining as he nodded, preventing Y/N and Jason from going head to head with each other.

***

 It’s been years since the day they met as two unruly teenagers.

And even though she still thought him to be as stubborn as a mule, rude at times, crude like a freaking Australopithecus, way too teasing and sarcastic beyond limits she accepted those flaws. She was not an angel herself with her sharp tongue and straightforwardness that could match his traits and bring him down a notch at times.

To tell the whole truth, during those years they both found out that the amount of things that made them similar to each other was far bigger than those that divided them. For some crazy reason despite the far-from-prefect meeting they became great friends and made it work.

Yeah--

Great friends.

***

She should have known better.

She should have just kept her mouth shut and her feelings hidden.

So why didn’t she?

Why the fuck didn’t she?!

Maybe she wanted to be fair? Or deep inside she was hoping for a happy ending?

Stupid, little pathetic girl.

One day she;s been casually hanging out with Jason after college classes. As usual, they were doing pretty much nothing, sitting on the ground on the campus, initially planning on working on some literature essay, but ended up staring at the sky and just keeping quiet. It was never weird for them.

Silence.

It just felt comfortable, spending time with a friend without the urge to fill it with words.

Y/N closed her eyes for a second, leaning on the tree trunk and when she opened them and her gaze landed on him --

What was with the sudden wave of heat encompassing her and the unexpectedly accelerated heartbeat?

Why the blush?

 Oh, no....

Oh, holy shit--

She has just became the most cliche romantic story, she always laughed at during classes.

She fell in love with her best friend.

Damn...

Out of the blue, those infuriating white strand of hair she hated, became a symbol of his edgy attitude and rough past. His eyes earned the color of the sky on the sunny day and his whole figure and muscles were screaming attractiveness. And the signature teasing smirk, forming at the moment, made her want to scream cause she started wondering what it would be like to wipe the grin off his face with multiple gentle kisses and feel his lips on hers. Poor Y/N. She’s never been in love before and there was no way she wouldn’t panic.

Something so pure and idealistic like first love, left her trembling and terrified instead of content, hopeful and in a romantic attitude.

For the love of god, she couldn’t let him know. No way. Not ever.

But Jason was perceptive (screw the vigilantes) and once he saw her distracted, there was no way he would just let it drop.

„ See something you like, princess?”

„I did until now.” she muttered

„Oh really, and what might that have been?”

„Your mouth shut.”

„That’s not what you said when I saved your ass on Monday when you forgot the presentation--”

„You’re not prince charming Todd.” Y/N pointed out.

„Of course not, sunshine.’ Jason grinned at her „I’m the anti-hero, remember?”

Oh, if only she could forget that him being Red Hood and patching him up every other night were on of her most treasured moments of the day. But now --and she knew that very well - it was going to be too awkward having Jason Todd shirtless in front of her and putting stitches and dressings on his wounds.

***

He was her friend.

Her friend.

Period.

And she was way too moral and caring and loving and honest for her own good.

No matter how hard she was trying to pretend and act normally and kept on the appearances - in the long run it was just impossible.

She broke after three months...

***

„Hey, Jason can I have a word with you?”

Okay, maybe it was a mistake to reach to him straight after his shower following the training session but in her defence - she was desperate and on the verge of breaking down emotionally. So no, she did not think about the fact, that he would came out to her covered barely by the towel hanging loosely on his hips, still a little damp from the water with those stupidly perfect black strands of hair curling because of the moisture and chest on display.

Shit.. mistake after mistake.

„What did you want to talk about?” he asked casually moving towards his bedroom and she kindly waited until he put some clothes on.

„I gotta tell you something-” she cut off unsure of how to proceed with it. She knew the guy for ages and it was quite unnerving risking the friendship, but what was she supposed to do? It was either being on the square of being a ticking time bomb that might burst out talking about feelings in the least appropriate moment.

Yeah, Y/N could imagine herself confessing her love for him in the middle of the lecture while he was looking over her shoulder at her notes. Or - while doing some homework at the crowded library. Or while hanging out with the rest of batfamily (god forbid, she would confess with Dick around! Grayson would never let her live it down.)

Hell no!

If the cat was supposed to be let out of the bag, it was going to happen on her rules.

„Yeah sure, talking to me kinda requires telling me something, right?” he smirked walking towards the kitchen, leaving her behind for a second before she rushed right after him. In any other circumstances she would probably find some nicely aimed retort that would end up in them both teasing each other and then laughing together but this? This was a serious situation. You just don;t joke when it comes to the matters of heart.

„Mhm.. sure... yeah, well I--”

„Y/n?’ he asked with concern on his face „Are you all right, princess? You look-”

„I like you.” she blurted without any more analyzing.

„Ok? And?”

„What do you mean ok, and?” Y/N’s mind was spinning at the moment. The situation probably could not be any more bizarre.

Here she was, finally speaking her mind and admitting feelings and Jason was just shrugging and being all casual about it, stupidly drinking that stupid bottled water, even though she told him a million times how detrimental plastic was for the environment and --

„Y/N? Hey, hey you there?” he put a hand on her shoulder, leaning to look into her eyes „I know that look, you’re spinning. Come down to earth.” now he was laughing at her and she blushed like a fifteen year old.

„Jason. I like you.” she emphasized the word hoping he will finally get the hint.

And oh, damn, he did.

But this was not the reaction she was hoping for when Jason chocked on his water starting coughing desperately and hitting his chest to get rid of the liquid that went down the wrong pipe.

„You- you what now? Y/N? Are you fucking joking ?”

Shit.

Her eyes were fixed on the ground, she couldn’t brace herself to look at his face, knowing well enough what she’ll see written all over it. Shock, disbelief, confusion. Maybe - in worst care - repulsion. But definitely not love and it made her want to disappear from the face of the earth in any way possible

„Y/N look at me.” god damn that deep voice full of care and concern. „Come on, just look at me.”

„Hey! Got you! Busted!” she laughed but with the amount of affectation dripping from her voice there was zero chances to convince anyone it was true.

„Y/N.” he said calmly, her name falling from her lips, given the situation becoming a curse rather than a sweet word. „Y/N, I’m sorry-”

„No.” she interrupted him „No, please, don’t be sorry.” her smile was way too sad to pull the trick „It’s okay.” Bullshit „I get it” lie „it doesn’t change a thing, right?” she punched his shoulder playfully, even while feeling less than playful. Maybe if she gave him a little more time, let the though of her loving him simmer down and -

„I like Artemis.” he confessed with the smallest voice ever. As if that was something shameful. Well maybe it was and maybe it was her fault he felt like that. Which only added to her sudden urge to cry.  Three simple words and her hopes landed six feet underground, covered with dirt, gravel, concrete and whatever else.

He liked Artemis.

„Oh......” she gasped, even though she probably should have seen this coming.

Of course he liked Artemis.

Of course he freaking liked Artemis.

This girl was fucking hot and it was everyone’s opinion.

Her figure, her hair, her face, her whole outlook - no campus social event could do without her picture being posted and commented. She might as well be a model.

But - she was not just a pretty face - her skills, her brain and rebellious attitude.... Yeah, Y/N should have probably seen it coming, but who comes prepared for a heartbreak?

„That’s um-- „ she gulped „that’s wonderful, really.” hypocrite „does she - um... does she like you back?’

Yeah, Y/n - keep stabbing the knife harder into your heart, you’re doing great work.

„Yeah... Yeah, I think she does. I mean I um - I’ve being seeing her for a while. Casually.”

Casually. Right.

And casual was the reason why he didn’t tell her a word.   

„Y/N....”

„It’s all right.”

„Y/N, please, I--”

„Stop making a fuss around it.” she chuckled, barely holding from sobbing. „just because you’re about to have a girlfriend...” it should have been me!! „... doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out, right? It;s not like some kind of Friends situation when Emily forbade Ross from seeing Rachel, right?” Y/N made a funny face trying to diffuse the tension.

„Of course not! You’re still my best friend, obviously! This little -- well, whatever it was, doesn’t change a thing right?”

„Of course not! Did you think you can get rid of me so easily” she rolled her eyes „I’ll be teasing you even in afterlife. I’ll keep haunting you forever.”

„Oh, so you’re assuming you’re gonna outdie me?”

„Wait, did you really think I’ll give you the satisfaction of you doing something first?”

She was definitely going to die before him.

Being the first person to die from a broken heart.

***

Maybe she was overreacting a bit

Maybe someone who was a casual observer would think she was crazy and there was no point in crying over split milk and she should have just got her shit together and move on.

Huh.

Easier said than done.

Ever since she found out Jason liked Artemis life became an endless cycle of struggle. She couldn’t even find the strength to get out of bed in the morning or to care about simple simplest thing.

Obviously she put on a charming smile and kept on acting like everything she said to him was just a crazy joke, nothing serious etc, etc. But at the end of the day she was left drained from all the pretending.

And the worst part?

Once the secret was out in the open and Jason didn’t feel the need to hide it from her anymore he’s been hanging with Artemis pretty much all the time. To give him justice, he’s been inviting Y/N to join every time, but being the third wheel and watching the guy she liked flirting with another, hotter, girl was just to much to handle.

So she’s been spending time by herself, swimming in the sea of misery, cursing herself for not noticing anything earlier. For not saying something earlier.

Stupid little girl.

Life was unfair, people were leaving and in the end someone always ended up hurt.

And what was the point of anything, if despite all the efforts, that person happened to be you?

Would you be willing to destroy someone’s happiness only to get what you wanted, regardless of the cost?  

Would you?

Or would you just keep on suffering in silence?

[allykakamatsu]

Twisted Hearts 1 Chapter 2: Tricks and Masters

<First> <Previous> <Next>

Story Summary: When an unknown incident lands the students of NRC in a strange new world, they have to travel across worlds to find each other as well as trying to vanquish the darkness. Sounds.... easier than most of what they've been through this school year at least, but nothing is ever that simple, and a pair or adopted siblings will once again find themselves at odds.

Chapter Summary: Barely escaping the Queen of Hearts with their heads on their necks, the groups attempts to breathe are interrupted by a powerful Heartless. Meanwhile at Hollow Bastion, Riku meets the other villains and fully realises what he's in the middle of.

(Chapter Underneath Read More)

“Riddle, that was awesome, but what the hell is that thing?” Ace asks as I get a better look at Riddle’s new weapon, a red claymore with three claw shaped blades at the bottom with a handle surrounded by a thorny vine themes hand guard, and a vine pattern in the middle with the four card suits and a crown along it.

“I have no clue admittedly!,” Riddle answers, “I was just filled with this determination, like when I get angry usually but more… controlled I suppose, and I just felt something in front of me to grab, so I did, and next thing you know I have this thing! Surprisingly not that heavy given the size of it but this is quite bizarre!”

“What the he-!! That’s a Keyblade!!” Donald gasps in shock as he jumps into Riddle to get a better look.

“Three, two.” Cater counts down but before I can ask why I see Riddle’s face turning red over Donald climbing all over him and that tells me all I need to know.

“GET OFF OF ME!!!” Riddle screams as he throws Donald through the door out of Wonderland…. Okay.

“That’s one way to open the door.” I quip as I break the stunned silence as the rest of us run through.

“I always forget how strong Riddle-Senpai is even without his magic…” Deuce mumbles as we all make it to the safe side and we quickly close the door. That… was way too close-

“Guys, where’s Alice?” Goofy asks as he helps up Donald, prompting us to look around and, unfortunately she is missing, zooterkins.

“When was the last time anyone saw her?” Sora asks as he gets panicked.

“She was with us right as we ran away from the trial,” Cater answers, “the soldiers were still down for the count thanks to Riddle’s #brutal attack so I don’t think she got grabbed at least, so she probably just got separated from us and hid somewhere.”

“I’ll go back in and check to be safe.” I state as while Cater’s probably right I don’t want to risk it… but as I try to open the door it won’t budge?

“Wait, what?,” Trey asks as he tries the door as well but he doesn’t have any luck either, “that… that’s a problem-!!”

“Whoa-Trey!!” Riddle yelps as Trey pulls me and him to the ground right as it starts shaking?

“What now?!” Donald groans in frustration as everyone else gets onto the floor.

“Wait… this feels like what happened when that heartless showed up in Traverse Town-!,” Sora yelps before getting cut off by a… purple and pink heartless thing holding batons appearing?!, “Heartless!! Everyone, be careful!” 

“Aha, what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Cater asks with an uneasy laugh as we all square up for another fight.

“Anyone have a plan for this thing or are we just charging in?!” Trey asks as we all back up to avoid an attack.

“Get the darn batons away from it!! BLIZZARD!!!” Donald shouts before casting an ice spell at one of the batons.

“Sounds good to me!,” Ace agrees as he casts his own spell, “fire shot!” With that he fires the spell at the baton… only for the Heartless to not even flinch as the baton is set on fire, and it then lights up the other one before charging us again. Uh oh.

“ACE!!!!” Riddle and Deuce shout in frustration as we run away to get some distance and they both cast water spells at the Heartless. 

“Well excuse me for not knowing it could do that!!” Ace fires back as he casts a water spell this time.

“Argue later, for now let’s just try not to get burned al-!” I tell them before pushing Sora out of the way of a fire blast.

“Ah!! Thanks again Silver-! Watch out! FIRE!!” Sora thanks me before casting a fire spell at the Heartless which was about to whack us, and thankfully that doesn’t set anything else on fire and just stuns it enough for us to back off.

“Guess we’re even now huh, nice cast,” I compliment making Sora smile as I get an idea, “Riddle! We can use our keyblades to cast! Let’s try it so we don’t build up too much blot!”

“They can-?!,” Riddle asks as he barely dodges a fire blast from the Heartless before checking his pen, “well, I suppose it can’t hurt to try! On three!!”

“Right!,” I say as we line up to fire… which includes Riddle mounting his keyblade like a rocket launcher… okay then!, “one, two, three!!”

“FIRE!!!” We both shout as I feel the magic come out of the keyblade just as naturally as it would if I was using my pen, though I feel a tingling, slightly draining sensation instead of the usual mild blot accumulation, and the fire spell hits it’s target, as does Riddle’s though his is somewhat comically oversized, and it makes the Heartless fall to it’s very stretchy knees.

“Let’s get it fellas’!” Goofy shouts as we all use the chance to hit the Heartless as hard as we can with our weapons and spells, and it looks like it’s almost dead-

“DEUCE WHAT ARE YOU DOING-?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!” Ace screams as Deuce somehow throws Ace at the Heartless’s head, and that’s apparently enough to kill it as it dissolves into darkness, leaving behind it’s heart.

“That…. Is for lighting it’s weapons on fire… and making that more complicated…..” Deuce explains in between pants of exhaustion.

“Deuce, that was nice and Ace admittedly had it coming,” Cater tells him after we all recover from that attack, “and I know you said you wanted to be more like Rid’s, but I don’t think people throwing is the part you wanna emulate.”

“Wait, what?” Sora asks as everyone who wasn’t there for the incident looks confused.

“Long story short,” I explain, “on our first day, another one of our classmates touched Riddle’s hair cause he’d never seen anything that red before and he was curious without much care for personal space, and Riddle responded by setting collaring him with his unique magic, setting him on fire and throwing him across the room.”

“…..Wow, and you said Grim and ‘Zia caused a commotion on our first day, what they did is tame compared to that.” Ace quips as Riddle is looking embarrassed, Trey and Cater are hiding their laughter (though only the former is remotely successful at it) and everyone else stares in disbelief.

“I I In my defence, Floyd really shouldn’t of grabbed me like that, I I just panicked.” Riddle fires back once he’s mostly calmed down.

“Yeah, but,” Deuce adds, “well given how he is, no wonder Floyd-senpai doesn’t leave you alone now Riddle-senpai.”

“Teehee, you can say that again.” A new voice chimes in, and when I look up to see who it is, I see it’s a cat beastman about our age with purple hair, but notably the same type of tail as the cat who bought us time during the trial.

“Chen’ya!,” Trey shouts in surprised relief as all the Heartslaybul students eyes show some degree of recognition, “glad you made it out okay.”

“Ehe, gonna take more than an angry queen to pin me down,” Chen’ya assures him as he jumps down from the table with a bottle, “was eavesdropping during your introductions so I already know all your names, pleasure to meet you all. Sorry I couldn’t make it out sooner to help with whatever that unbirthday reject was, I was trying to figure out where in Wonderland Alice vanished off to.”

“Wait, she’s gone?!” Sora asks as the panic starts rising again.

“Yup,” Chen’ya admits, “she got split from you guys by some darkness stuff and ran into the lotus forrest, I ran after her, but after a few corner  turns she was gone. Checked the place from top to toe but no sign of her.”

“Oh for the love of the Queen…,” Riddle mumbles in frustration, “does anyone have any ideas what could’ve happened to her?”

“Darkness….,” Sora hums before looking worried, “she might of been sent to another world like Riku and Kairi were.”

“Great, another kid we have to keep our eyes peeled for.” Donald groans in frustration.

“Chen’ya, can you keep your eyes open for her just in case.” Trey asks as he goes into what I’ve heard Idia call ‘mom mode’.

“Will do,” he agrees before giving a slightly sassy smirk, “but since you asked me, I assume you’re all going together to look for her and little Sora’s friends?”

“Hey!! I’m not that short!” Sora refutes with a pout which gets a snigger out of Ace.

“And to answer, unless someone wants to stay back as well I believe we are,” Riddle replies, “if nothing else I’m going, Liddell-san was in this mess with me, I feel obligated to at least ensure she makes it out of this.”

“Well, if you’re going, then you can count us in too Rids,” Cater adds with his usual smile, “right guys?”

“Right, Heartslaybul’s gotta stick together!” Deuce adds with an eager expression with Trey and Ace also nodding in agreement, though the latter does so a bit awkwardly. Heh, I heard about how rough things were for them on the first week of school, it’s nice to see them getting along a lot better now-

“Um, guys, what’s that?” I ask as I point back to the wonderland door… where a glowing keyhole has appeared in the already existing Keyhole…. Okay then?

“That’s the Keyhole!,” Donald explains as he and Goofy look both relieved and excited, “once we seal that the Heartless shouldn’t be bothering this world anymore!”

“Alright then!,” Sora says eagerly as he pulls out his Keyblade a bit awkwardly, “so, how do I close it-! Whoa!!”

“Like that apparently.” Ace quips as a laser beam fires out of the Keyblade and goes into the keyhole, making it vanish.

“I see, so the world trotting is also for a good cause, all the more reason to tag along then,” Riddle says likely thinking out loud before turning back to Chen’ya, “will you be alright on your own?”

“I’ll be fine, plus if I get bored I can probably figure out how to catch up,” Chen’ya replies, “but you’d better not forget about me while you’re gone.”

“Aha, I’d think I’ll be dead before I ever forget about you.” Trey assures him with a laugh which the cat beastman returns before vanishing.

“Do you really think he’d be able to world travel and find us?” Goofy asks as he takes a sip from the bottle Chen’ya left for us and it turns him back to his normal height.

“If it was anyone else I’d doubt it, but underestimating Chen’ya is a plan that usually just leads to getting jump-scared.” Riddle answers as he drinks up next and we all pass around the bottle and drink up, but as we are I can’t help but think. 

It’s nice to have some back up, but this world hasn’t given me any leads on Father, Malleus or Sebek, and now we have to find Alice in addition to them and Sora’s friends. We managed to do some good while we were here but, I hope wherever we go next is a bit more fruitful in our search.

POV Switch, Riku:

“Come along now, we can’t be late.” Malleus says as he ‘leads’ (though it’s more accurate to say he’s all but dragging) me into the meeting room, and honestly, while this will probably be hell in it’s own way, I’ll take whatever is gonna happen in here compared to being trapped in a tiny bedroom with Malleus asking me way too many questions to ‘jog my memory’.

“Right, sorry.” I tell the insane dragon to placate him as we walk in, and the first thing I notice is the door we came in from is the only way in, so unless I learn how to teleport out of nowhere getting out is going to be easier said than done, though probably still easier than leaving the bedroom with Malleus inside it.

The other thing is the meetings attendants themselves. There’s… well there’s a woman with octopus limbs where her legs should be, a living sack, a guy who looks like he was ripped straight out of one of Sora’s pirate books, a guy with blue skin and his hair on fire, a tall man wearing a style of clothing I’ve never seen before, and what I assume is a teenage boy with his hood pulled up so much I can’t see his eyes who is desperately trying to not look at something.

“Hmph, I was wondering when you were going to arrive.” The tall man says as Malleus takes his seat at the table and I’m somewhat dragged into sitting on his lap.

“Apologise for the delay, I had to get reacquainted with my missing brother after all these years.” Malleus explains, putting all eyes in the room squarely on me, great…. Wait…. The boy looked shocked when he saw me but then he I think looked up and tensed? What in the world is going on?

“Ha, if I known it was bring your pet to work day I would’ve brought my poopsies,” the octopus woman says with a chuckle, “maybe even those dears who follow me around like lost sea puppies.”

“Don’t tempt me Ursula, if I bring in my little squad this whole castle will get trashed.” The sack man adds with a slightly sadistic laugh, and I notice the boy flinch and desperately try to shuffle away. Ah, so he’s trying to not look at the sack man, got it.

“I believe we were told that we weren’t allowed to bring anyone?” The pirate points out with a grimace, either he’s annoyed by the rule breaking or the fact he wasn’t allowed bring someone. Either way, he’s a mood because I am very annoyed by this entire situation. That and terrified but I won’t give the universe the satisfaction of admitting that.

“Riku is a guest of myself and Malleus, and Jaffar’s little assistant is fully joining us, so exceptions have been made,” Maleficent explains as she teleports in, “now then, I have called you all in for a specific reason.”

“Yeah yeah, can you make it quick, my plan to kill Wonderboy is almost ready and I’d rather get on it-!,” the fire man says dismissively but becomes annoyed when he barely dodges a lightning blast from Malleus (escape is becoming a bigger mess by the minute), “hey!! What’s the big idea?!”

“How unbefitting behaviour for a member of the Seven,” Malleus sighs before turning back to Maleficent, “continue, auntie.”

“Thank you dear,” Maleficent replies before getting focused, “while things are progressing smoothly, a hiccup has occurred. The Kingdom Key has been claimed, and the one who’s wielding it is travelling the worlds, which may be a problem.” With that she summons I guess a magic picture to show what she’s talking about-!!

“Sora!!” I shout involuntarily as I see my friend on the table, and while I slink back into my seat when everyone starts staring at me, I let out a massive sigh of relief as I do. Sora’s alright, thank goodness, and with how much he and Kairi stick together like glue she’s probably alright too. That’s the first good news I’ve gotten since I’ve got here, but by the sounds of it he could be in trouble now that these weirdos might be going after him. Hopefully he’ll be fine for a bit but this is all the more reason to get out of here.

“So, you all called us here so we knew who to gun for?” Sack man asks and even with the lack of proper eyes I can tell his intent is murderous. Sora please don’t run into these guys before I find you idiot….

“Primarily,” Maleficent admits before smirking, “though it was also to give you all an update on our plan.” Before anyone can ask what she means, she snaps her fingers and a blonde girl who’s even younger than Sora and Kairi appears.

“What…. Where am I…? This isn’t Wonderland! Who are you people?!” The girl asks extremely confused and panicked, but no one answers as everyone is now smirking, save for the boy who looks at me and even with his eyes covered I can tell he’s concerned about whatever is about to happen.

“Another Princess found,” the tall man who I think is Jaffar says with a smirk, “I believe that means there’s only two more to go, Jasmine and whoever the last one ends up being.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being that damned Peter Pan’s little friend, or a certain someone’s ditz of a princess.” The pirate chimes in which makes the octopus sigh in agreement.

“Regardless, let’s deal with the one we have right now,” Maleficent says as she grips the panicked girls arm, “my dear, as always.”

“Of course,” Malleus agrees as he sits up and leaves me in the chair, “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, what are you going to do to her?” I ask getting very tense and ignoring the sacks comments about me being Malleus’s baby.

“Just what we need to, don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” Malleus answers as he starts casting a spell, which does nothing to lessen my panic and evidently the same is true for the girl as she starts trying to squirm away.

“Let me go, let me go!!” She shouts as she tries to get out but it’s not working, and…. Fuck it.

“No!! I don’t know what you’re doing but you’re going to hurt her!” I shout as I jump out of my seat and grab onto the spell arm to try make him stop. Is this dumb, yes, but it’s not the dumbest thing I’ve done in the past twenty four hours, and at least in this case the only one I can hurt is myself-!! OW!!

“Jeez, got a real beacon of heroism there.” The fire man quips as I pull myself off the floor after receiving a slap from a very angry looking Maleficent, oh boy.…

“What… what the hell is going on?” The hooded boy asks, finally speaking, with a tone of confusion and dread and that makes Malleus give him a look of shocked recognition. Great, now someone else is going to be dragged into this mess.

“Boy don’t cause a scene, you don’t want to end up like that fool.” Jaffar tells the boy with a hiss as I try to stop whatever the hell this is, but I… can’t move?! What the- shit Maleficent’s using a spell to keep me in place this is bad! Um, is there anything I can throw?!

“And to answer your question Viper-san,” Malleus replies as he turns back to the now trembling girl, “we need the hearts of the Seven Princesses of Heart to complete our plan, so I’m just adding the next one to the set.”

“Her heart- WAIT!!!” I shout as I try to process what’s happening, but before the words even fully register in my brain Malleus puts his spell hand on the girls chest, making a crystal like heart appear which Maleficent grabs right as the girl falls over.

“What… what… what the hell did you do to her?!?!” I shout as I try to get out of this spell. They… they just killed a child… how…. How could they…?!?! I’m… I’m going to kill them-!!

“Apologise for my brother, he’s always had a good heart and this isn’t an easy thing to see.” Malleus apologises as I see that I somehow broke free, but now I’m stunned on the floor…. My hands are also faintly glowing a wispy purple which great, this is even worse somehow…

“It’s alright dear,” Maleficent says with an exasperated sigh directed at me, “but bring him back to your room for now so he doesn’t cause any more scenes. Now, where were we?”

With that Malleus picks me up and takes me out of the room, and I try to move, or even say anything, but I just can’t, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is the boy, Viper, looking in my direction with concern as he tries to move the girls body.

Masterpost

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[ragnarokhound]

Trick or treat!! 🎃🍫🍬🍭

Happy Halloween! Spooky season naturally got me thinking about ghosts... which got me thinking about ghost-type pokemon... :^)

When Tim got into this line of work, he'd said to himself it would only be temporary. Something to do while he was figuring it all out. Dropping out of your gym challenge is supposed to be temporary, but sometimes you get so distracted fixing an infamous glitch in the Burnside PC branch that you're scouted at seventeen. What was he supposed to do? Turn down the opportunity of a lifetime just to drag his Alakazam into more battles it hates? He knows he could have gone further, but Tim isn't the most motivational trainer on a good day. It would have been miserable for everyone involved. These days, Alakazam prefers meditating in an easy chair. Which works out, because these days Tim is practically chained to his office desk chair. He still doesn't know why he can't work from home (or from anywhere) because his work is digital, but apparently making yourself irreplaceable is a double edged sword; you must also be available for people to find you so they can talk to you. Tim has had so many conversations that could have been emails. (Babs makes fun of him for this constantly.) Over a decade after the fact, Tim still wonders what his life would be like if he'd pushed through. If he'd said thanks, but no thanks, and gone for his last few badges. Instead, the closest he gets to training these days is the Sinistea he picked up on a fanciful whim, thinking he could make time for it. He's watched his friends' advancing careers from the other end of a television screen, catching Kon's gym battles between code launches and admin meetings. Sometimes he'll see Jason. Not that he's looking for Jason specifically. It's purely professional interest. Crime Alley's gym challenge used to be notorious. Always cast as the villain with a rep for fronting most of the gang activity in the region, it only started to turn around after Jason took over. He'd scowl if you suggest it, but Jason's work with ghost-type pokemon is unparalleled. His work in general is unparalleled. Better programs, better outreach. Tim sees the numbers. Tim's the one who crunches, analyzes, and predicts the numbers. He knows that ghost-, dark-, and poison-type catch and retention rates have spiked in the last five years. And those numbers correlate suspiciously to the bump in trainers completing their gym challenge, trainers whose town of origin is-- wanna take a guess? So, yeah. Sometimes Tim will see Jason on the news, or catch highlight footage of his latest E4 sub-in. His Zoroark is really something else. It is purely professional. Tim was a trainer too, once upon a time. He can appreciate skill and talent in action, and he can maybe wish that he had the time to see it in person more often without it being a huge deal. It doesn't have to be a whole thing. This is what he tells himself on one of his rare days off, minding his own business at a public training ground at the park-- when who does he see but Jason fucking Todd. In the flesh. He can be casual about this. Really, he can. He knows when Jason spots him, because Tim is staring like a moron, and he watches Jason's expression morph from straight-faced, public disinterest to smirking recognition to-- Something he doesn't catch, because that's when Sinistea gets fed up with being ignored, and blasts him in the face with scalding hot water. Under his own loud, pained cursing and Sinistea's whistled scolding, he thinks he hears Jason laugh at him in surprise. Tim's face is hot and red, and he knows it's only mostly to blame on his half-trained ghost pokemon. Oh god, why is Jason even here? He's the only person on this whole fucking continent who might feasibly be busier than Tim. Why is this happening to him? He should have stayed at the office.

(For the trick or treat ask game! Send me a trick or treat ask and I'll share jaytim WIP snippets, or new 3-sentence -paragraph fics, etc :^) through the 31st!)

[luvscrazy]

"I can save you." Pt4

Katsuki Bakugo x Fem reader (Enemies to lovers)

Summary: (Preview if you wanna overlook the series idea, the quirk, and the timelines that will occur.) You were born with a medical quirk called Life-Link, which means you can transfer your vitality to others at any time. You decide to take it upon yourself to apply at U.A. What will happen with your non "Heroic" quirk, at this school? Will you achieve your dream of becoming a hero? or are you just useless, like you've been thinking?

Warnings: Minor Language. Mentions of death, most will be gory. (For future reference.)

Word Count: 692

Parts: Part1 Part2 Part3

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A spark in the flames.

💥 As the day progressed, we were called onto the training grounds. The area was filled with various obstacles, mock villains, and battle dummies designed to push us to our limits. Class 1-A was also there along the battlegrounds. Our instructor explained to all of us that we would get a chance to showcase our potential. We’re divided into teams to tackle different scenarios that test combat, strategy, and teamwork. 

💥 I wasn’t assigned to the combat section. My part was to watch and observe everyone and provide support if needed. That’ll give me extra points to bond with everyone..hopefully. I was paired with Kendo and Shio on a team. This will require me to evaluate and heal any injuries they might get during training. While I was working with them I got a sense of their personalities and quirks. Kendo is enthusiastic and determined but brings motivation to everyone. Her quirk is cool, and it's big on combat. I like the martial art moves she can do, maybe later I'll ask her to train me. Shi, on the other hand, is thoughtful and strategic in guiding her quirk Vine. Her hair is made up of vines. They are spikey can capture someone, and are pretty tough to get out of. That's a good quirk to have within combat and catching villains especially. 

💥 I watched as they used their quirks. I was also spotting in class 1-A. Their quirks were so cool. A boy could harden his body, it sort of reminded me of TetsuTetsu, Maybe their cousins? A girl with pink skin had an acidic quirk. I watched as her quirk melted the dummies down. Lastly, the one I watched was a boy with an explosion quirk. It's hard to miss his quirk since it's so loud. 

💥 It's impressive how many dummies he's knocked down in a second. I focused my attention back on Kendo and Shio. Once training was done, the explosion boy was walking behind me as he muttered something, clearly looking pissed off. As I was waiting for Kendo and Shio to get done, curiosity struck me as I looked at the boy, he looked pretty beat up. Before I knew it was following quietly behind him. He sat down by a nearby bench, and I stood in front of him. 

💥 He gives me a death glare.

 “What do you want?”He grumbles not in the mood to converse. I take a deep breath and try to remain composed. 

💥 “I saw you fighting, and your injuries looked pretty bad, so I'm here to help if you want it,” I said with a slight smile at him.

 He glares at me but doesn’t refuse as he takes off his gauntlets. He lets me inspect his arms and hands. As I'm working on him, I can feel the tension in the air. There's an awkward silence as I work on him, but we manage to make some small talk. 

💥 “Look, I know you think my quirk isn’t suited for combat,” I say, trying to keep the conversation light, “but it’s not just about fighting. Sometimes, being able to heal and save lives is just as important.”

💥 Bakugo’s eyes are narrow as he processes your words. “You think you can just come in here and change things? This is hero training. You better not get in our way.”

💥I meet his gaze firmly. “I’m here to support and help, not to be a burden. I believe we all have our roles to play, even if they’re not always obvious.”

💥 “Look, I don't know who gave you the idea that a MEDICAL quirk can come in and be a pro hero and defeat villains, but you're not going to make it here, or out there. Should’ve gone to a regular boring high school, for I wanna be a hero like you.” He yells. 

💥What an asshole. I ignore his words as I keep working on him. Once I'm done he pulls away roughly and doesn’t even give me a thank you as he picks up his gauntlets and heads over to his class. I glare at him slightly. 

💥 “What an asshole!”, I repeat to myself.

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[mortalepithet]

making a post for my veilguard gripes so I can keep track of/add to them:

in general could have been much longer, needed way more time between story beats, way more transitional parts, way more conflict, everything just needed more

companion story arcs are set up as this grand thing by the Varric storybook pieces (which I love btw) and don't actually live up to how exciting they frame them as

not enough interaction with Rook at the lighthouse. if we can't talk to the companions whenever we want, we shouldn't be excluded from conversations when they happen in the lighthouse as this disincentivises you from spending time there

sooooo many awkward facial animations. that half-grin/smirk is haunting me in my dreams and appears at completely inappropriate moments

sooooooooooo many awkward body animations. Recycled hands-on-hips animation in almost every interaction really kills it for me

animations and facial expressions completely not matching the tone of the scene or sentence

so many of Rook's dialogue options don't match the option you pick in the dialogue wheel or are completely different from what the option suggests Rook will say

a lot of messy, very awkward dialogue that could have been written much better. I can only hear Rook say "I'm so sorry" so many times without it seeming like a fall-back when they could have said so much more or said things differently according to the context of the conversation

forces you to be monogamous but keeps in flirting between companions if you're romancing one of them

Rook feels completely disconnected from the factions and companions in terms of power. A lot of the forward action in the game is just "hey [companion] go get me a contact/set up a meeting", lots of the connections happen off-screen "oh hey Rook this person wants to meet"

obvious favouritism for certain Rook backgrounds. Playing as LoF Rook felt like my background didn't even matter, might as well have picked nothing

SO. MANY. UGLY. ARMOUR. SETS.

very minimal ways to customise your armour

previous game characters handled as cameos akin to marvel post-credits scenes

every single decision felt too easy. characters just go along with whatever happens like they've got a word count limit

not enough time with the bad guys. narratively they felt like brooding cartoon villains in a big castle that would occasionally come down to throw a fireball at the siege at their gates then go back in

SO MANY OBVIOUS TUTORIAL NPC ASS LINES THAT DONT EVER STOP. I KNOW I CAN OPEN THE DOOR NOW. I KNOW I HAVE TO DESTROY THE CRYSTAL. I KNOW WE CAN GO DOWN NOW. SHUT UPPPPPP

not enough characterisation for Rook. like they couldn't decide whether they wanted to create an established character for you to play or for you to have a sandbox character to leech your personality onto, and it resulted in an awkward half-character that failed on both fronts

spirits being blue glowing people now. I hate it

severe lack of so many things but why the hell do we hardly see, hear from, or interact with the Dalish

story so bad we have to get crumbs from fired writers' twitter/reddit/bluesky/etc. (fyi entirely framing this as an executive issue, not a writer issue)

reducing "the south" to a few letters from the inquisitor

most of the hair options are ugly

everything is so peachy and bright and righteous like nothing bad ever happens and we're all the good guys and we forgive everyone (cough, crows). it's like the game wants you to be convinced no one around you is ACTUALLY doing anything bad, oh we don't ACTUALLY hurt or steal or kill it's all harmless :)

forces found family but doesn't actually let you enjoy the found family

the whole "we're distracted" thing came out of NOWHERE and was NOT at all what I thought coming out of weishauppt. there was zero set-up for it and it was so unbelievable, could have been handled way better

can't believe I'm saying this but not enough religion. just everywhere, in everything. how can you deal with religious themes and fail to put any in

such an offensive lack of awareness for mixed race/culture peoples in Taash's storyline

also on that note, gross stereotyping even in a game with revolutionary progression

so much of the banter between companions is just full of nothing. you could've used that precious resource to build character, deliver lore, but there's so many empty and wasted words. so much of it feels like padding and without purpose.

Bellara's storyline kind of came out of nowhere. it just felt like "oh btw I have a brother and he's doing some shit" and we deal with it and it's over. the best part of that storyline was the funeral

every mention of events, people, or other things from previous games just feels like someone's poor attempt at saying "hey remember this? :) pretty cool right? :)" and not wanting to do anything more than making a cool reference

the archon choice feels literally useless. happens at the end of the game, zero payoff, zero consequences, why even bring it up

[qpjianghu]

Do u have any thoughts on the writing of Shan Gudao? I think earlier on in the series I was pretty excited that maybe Li Xiangyi really did , through his own hubris and difference in the way of seeing the world drove a wedge between him and his brother. Even after he was revealed to be alive I kinda wished he became ‘evil’ through a complex set of emotions and circumstances. I’m not saying SGD is completely 2D I just wonder if we could have had a more of a ‘Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian drifting apart (ie; not pure inferiority complex)’ style tragic slant. Li Xiangyi truly #did nothing wrong, but I kinda wish he was a little #more wrong.

Anyway, I’m sure SGD is still thematically very coherent, but is there anything you’d change/ponder changing about his storyline with LXY, or just your thoughts about this topic.

This is a great callout @lei-llustrations!! The short answer is that I agree, and if I had one criticism of the writing in Mysterious Lotus Casebook it would be this. Jiang Cheng is an excellent example of a protagonist foil with more internal complexity, and Shan Gudao is definitely very one-note. I wonder if part of it is the performance -- Jiang Cheng always projects this sort of buttoned-up rage, whereas Shan Gudao's jealousy presents itself as sadistic glee, which is just not as relatable (and believable) an emotion.

But at the end of the day I still enjoy the character of Shan Gudao as exactly what you said, OP -- a thematically coherent foil even if he's not a realistically coherent person. Because of MLC's overarching exploration of meta-narratives, I think his character works as a performance of villainy -- and maybe it even works better because it's so over-the-top and slightly divorced from reality. In fact, it's interesting to see the shift in the character of Li Lianhua after Shan Gudao's treachery is revealed, and specfically after Shan Gudao outs him as Li Xiangyi in front of all of Tianji Hall in episode 33: Li Lianhua suddenly transforms into the badass hero everyone imagines Li Xiangyi to be. You can actually literally see the change in his eyes from world-weary to steely when it happens:

(Cheng Yi, you are a marvel)

Or, I should say: When he decides to make that shift. Shan Gudao's grandiose display against Tianji Hall, and his specific call to arms against Li Lianhua, necessitates a turning point for LLH: Now that he's been exposed, will he once again take up the mantle of the heroic Sect Leader Li Xiangyi?

In this moment, he does, but by this point in the show we know that it's just a performance. However, at the end of the day, Li Lianhua still has a kind heart, so he reluctantly puts on the mask of the hero Li Xiangyi in order to save the people of Tianji Hall. As Shan Gudao pontificates about the show's MacGuffin, Li Lianhua agrees to stage the hero/villain performance with him. It even looks like he's literally stepping out onto a stage when he separates himself from the crowd to confront Shan Gudao and his army:

The scene is badass and triumphant... but it's also, on rewatch, devastating and tragic -- because it marks the moment where Li Lianhua seemingly becomes fatalistically trapped by the narrative he's been so desperately trying to escape. (And that's why I love love LOVE @redemption-revenge's post about Li Lianhua finally escaping the narrative at the end! Importantly in a "bonus" episode, which is... not a "literal" part of the show itself. ;)) Since Shan Gudao is performing as a paragon of villainy, Li Lianhua / Li Xiangyi must rise to meet him. (Yin and yang, in a sense.) And that's why Li Lianhua becomes so fixated on vanquishing Shan Gudao for the remainder of the show, though it feels quite out of character for him -- it's so like a prototypical hero. Shan Gudao's performance of villainy necessitates Li Lianhua's equal and opposite performance of heroism.

Which is so interesting and juicy!!!! because of Li Lianhua's series-long internal struggle trying to escape the hero narrative so many characters try to fit him into. (As @redemption-revenge also talked about here -- clearly we're brainrotting on the same wavelength lol.) In a weird way, I feel like the overall lack of nuance in Shan Gudao's performance of villainy actually allows for even more shades of grey in Li Lianhua's character. Not only does he have to reckon with in-world conflicts and consequences, but he's sort of engaging with the meta-narrative as well: can he escape the narrative that the other characters around him and also the show itself is trying to thrust upon him?

As a potentially controversial aside, this is why I actually loved the Nanyin royal blood reveal. It's so dumb and cheesy and predictable and part of the traditional hero narrative (maybe I'm looking at this through a very American "rags-to-riches" narrative lens, but bear with me here) -- but that's the point, according to the meta-narrative. Our reaction as viewers is also Li Lianhua's reaction. For Li Lianhua, this is the exact opposite of a gratifying, triumphant, and redemptive moment. I haven't gotten up to this in my rewatch yet, so I don't have have specific visuals in mind, but I do remember even from my first viewing the look of utter devastation and resignation of Li Lianhua's face in this scene. It marks the final nail in the coffin of Li Lianhua trying to escape the narrative. Like in epsiode 33 when his identity is finally revealed, Li Lianhua once again resigns himself to following the script of the traditional narrative, which is how/why he ends up heroically sacrificing himself for Fang Duobing and his family.

But anyway, back to Shan Gudao as an effective foil: In addition to serving a purpose for the meta-narrative, I also think Shan Gudao's one-dimensionality also works well with Li Lianhua's internal conflict regarding his feelings of guilt and self-blame. You're right, OP: I wish there was a bit more actual blame to lay on LXY -- though I think we can still blame him for being arrogant (to borrow the loaded iqiyi subtitle term) since he was clearly blind to his shixiong's real feelings, and blind to the feelings of those around him as well (including Qiao Wanmian). Though even if you take the track of Li Xiangyi truly never did anything wrong in his life ever (*heart emoji*), this makes his arc even more tragic. This is why I love him so freakin' much -- he feels less like a character and more like a real flesh-and-blood person. And the reason he feels so real is because he acts in ways that are often contradictory and self-sabotaging and illogical, because he's decidedly not following the traditional (heteronormative hero narrative) script. Even when there is a Grade-A villain right there in front of him to take all of the blame, Li Lianhua doesn't take the bait. He has a prime opportunity to look at Shan Gudao and come to the logical conclusion that he (LXY/LLH) actually did nothing wrong, that he's not to blame for any of the terrible things that have happened to him and to others in his name... but he doesn't take the out. He still refuses to forgive himself, he still internalizes all of the guilt, he is not suddenly "cured" from his trauma. He is so real for that, and it's gut-wrenching.

[leggerefiore]

Opposing The Villainous Team Leaders

cw: angsty as usual, questioning of trust, sort of happy endings?

characters: Lysandre, Cyrus, Archie, Maxie

🔥Lysandre🍷

☕️ He was well aware of the trainer interfering in his team's plans. It was also known that they resembled you, his lover. Lysandre truly did not believe it was, however. There was no reason for you to do such a thing. You were, of course, a member of Team Flare yourself. Not an active one, no, he would not have you so deeply involved. Your membership was simply understood. At least, to him. It was mostly him trying to convince himself it was a misunderstanding or that some person had disguised themselves as you to harm him.

☕️ Which is why he felt confused when one of his admins had reported your presence at the Pokeball Factory. A picture was undeniable proof. Your pokemon party was something he knew well. A shiny Pyroar featured in the picture was a gift from him. His heart burned. It must have been a misunderstanding. You would never do such a thing. Your support for his creation of a beautiful world was something he had heard many times. Long conversations between the cusp of slumber and consciousness, or over a cup of coffee in his café. This must have been you thinking they were doing something cruel. Your heart was too fragile; exactly why you were not an active member.

☕️ Another image came to him of you in Frost Cavern, stopping Team Flare from taking a Mamoswine. His patience was growing short, but he understood your heart was in the right place. You were truly kind. It was a reason he had fallen in love with you. That was why he kept his true plans a secret from you for so long. The frustration of his scientists and admins was bleeding into him, however. Your interference could put you at risk. Lysandre subtly tried to distract you with assorted dates and meetings in Lumiose.

☕️ It seemed as if it worked. You were too busy to act out and kept in his line of sight for careful monitoring. He felt relieved that the misunderstanding had been resolved. It truly must have been an unfortunate case of your kind heart leading to you accidentally opposing him. You were a beautiful person who could be the one to claim Lysandre as a lover. It was why felt confident to release his message and truly begin his plans. The key was nearly his for the Ultimate Weapon.

☕️ Then, you showed up in his labs with a horribly aggressive expression. Your eyes landed on him as he stood in front of the elevator. Had something happened? He was about to ask when you snapped at him. “What in the world do you think you're doing?” you shouted and brought out a pokeball. He felt offended. What did you think you were doing? “I won't let you do this,” you continued and tossed out your pokemon. He stood in even more offence. You… You couldn't be truly intending to…? Lysandre sighed. He engaged you in battle with little hesitation.

☕️ Your victory made him more upset. What had got into you? This behaviour was simply unlike you. He watched as you stepped towards him. Your eyes met his. “... Lysandre, please stop this,” you begged him, “This is insanity! You truly can't intend to kill everyone but Team Flare!” Your kind heart again… Oh, how your hurt expression wounded him deeply. He shook his head. It was far too late to back out from his plans. You simply were fighting the inevitable, but having you in the way would be painful. The risk of you leaving a safe location was also something he considered heavily. Distracting you by letting you play the hero seemed best for now.

☕️ Which is how he allowed things to continue. The weapon would be used whether you wished it to or not, you just needed to allow him enough time to prepare it. He even let you make the choice in an attempt to appeal to your better nature. Unfortunately, you guessed the button to stop the weapon. He had already long gone from the labs at that point, however. The final phase was upon them. Lysandre knew you would follow after him, too. Your safety was still ensured. He would bide more time when you got here.

☕️ Your opposition grew more and more frustration as the end drew closer, yet closer. The way you argued with him about this, feeling more like a lover's quarrel than something of philosophical debate. The resulting battle failed to buy him enough time to activate the weapon, and his loss had him stand aside. His admins and grunts would have to be the one's to halt you, it seemed. Before you left down the staircase, he felt his stomach twist painfully. Of all people, you being so foolish was not expected. Your rejection of the beautiful world he wished to create was something that burned him painfully.

☕️ His already ruined mood was pure rage as admins alerted him that you managed to awaken and capture the legendary pokemon despite numerous attempts to stop you. He rushed down to retrieve it, tired of letting you play hero. They were ninety-nine percent done with the absorption. There was no more reason to let you keep playing these games. Lysandre would unfortunately have to crush the hope that had coasted you along thus far. He stood stiffly before you as you glared at him. “My love,” his voice was commanding, “Return the pokemon at once. This is for the best. I know you have your reservations, but I do not wish for this to become any more difficult than it already has been.” Your silent head shake spoke louder than words could have been shouted. When this was over, he would force you to see his plans were the right thing.

☕️ The moments after the battle were a mess of rage and pain. He screamed and threats were issued. You were unaffected by it all as you simply dragged him away from the darkened chamber of nothing but wire and ominous dull light. His contingency plan failed, as he watched the weapon's attack fall back toward it and destroy the hideout underneath. Lysandre wished he could have been smothered under the rubble rather than face the failure of his plans, but it seemed you were not for allowing that either. He ordered you and you to an isolated retreat as he recuperated from the ordeal. You had ruined everything he had so tirelessly worked for. Yet, he could not even bring himself to hate you. He stood beside you as you gazed at a lapping ocean from the sanctuary of a balcony. “... You have chosen a world of conflict and suffering,” he sighed, “This beautiful world will rot.” You just leaned into his side in reply, silently nuzzling into the soft fabric of his robe. Lysandre bit his tongue. For now, the topic would be postponed.

🌌Cyrus🛰

☄️ The Galactic Boss had heard about the trainer who kept interrupting his team's activities. At first, he opted to ignore it. His subordinates failings were annoying, sure, but it was no actual hindrance to his plans. The trainer could keep playing hero, he did not care. His underlings complaints and descriptions did not even draw his curiosity. It was this apathy, in retrospect, that made the actual situation have such an awful impact on him.

☄️ Celestic Town was supposed to be an intel gathering trip. He still needed to confirm a few theories and possibilities before completely putting his plans into action. One of his grunts, there to assist him, was being loud suddenly. He came to investigate why and felt himself freeze. Of all people… His posture became horribly stiff. The Galactic grunt, an old lady… and you. He tried to maintain himself. So, what if you were here? You were free to go wherever you pleased. Cyrus was not restrictive towards his partner.

☄️ Your battle with the grunt was over in an instant. The moment your eyes met, he could understand everything. The grunt looking mortified to have been defeated in front of him to you staring at him with widened eyes. “… Beloved,” he said simply, “This is unfortunate. I had not wished to involve you in this.” It was obvious you were not listening to his explanation for why he was doing this, which worsened his now ruined mood. The battle that followed caught him off-guard, despite being the one to initiate. His loss must have been due to the affection his pokemon held toward you. Cyrus forced himself to ignore the discomfort your glare singed into him. Temporary, he reminded himself.

☄️ The stories of a trainer interfering in his team's work now haunted him as he headed back to Veilstone. Had you known it was him that lead Team Galactic before then? It did not seem so. Your reaction was that of genuine surprise. Every negative emotion this situation wrought forth from the both of you would be gone with the completion of his plans. Still, he felt strangely… upset. His chest felt tight in a way it had not for many years. It was not a surprise to find you had packed a bag and seemingly left the apartment you both shared. The tightness in his chest felt suffocating.

☄️ His commanders' frustrations about the trainer came through their lines of communication after the awakening and subsequent kidnapping of the legendary pokemon of the lakes. You were not making this easy. Everything was nearly done. His stress was already high enough as it were. All of his commanders being utterly defeated by you made him ponder what this was leading up to. The tightness in his chest grow painful. His hand grasped his shirt over it. The disgusting incomplete spirit forced inside was nothing but torment.

☄️ A last speech to his team left him with a dry throat and tired mind. Forcing himself to speak publicly was always exhausting, but even more so when he saw you attempting to hide just out of sight. Cyrus still was not entirely sure how the following confrontation would fare for you both. It was little surprise when you stepped into his office. Your face was fierce… Until, it was not. Part of him wished to mock the fleeting emotions, but another piece that he wished to suppress the painful expression that fell across your face.

☄️ The battle between you both was one of willpower on both sides. Your heart was entirely in the battle, desperate to stop him, but he could not back down. Not so close to the realisation of his ideal world. You simply did not understand the peace this world would hold. All your conflicting emotions would fizzle away into nothingness, allowing you to finally be at ease. He, too, would be at ease. His victory felt hollow. Your tears nearly made him hesitate. They would no longer matter, he had to remind himself. This new world was mostly for him… But he would not lie and say he failed to consider the benefits of it for you. He left the building with the red chain securely in his possession. You would understand.

☄️ Your opposition saw you even to Spear Pillar. Mars and Jupiter barely managed to buy him enough time to force both the legendary pokemon of time and space out. Your panicked yell could only echo out as a third shadowy pokemon emerged. Annoyance filled Cyrus, but he already prepared himself to call upon the power of time and space and make his perfect world. You would be forgiven for opposing him. Soon, this will not matter at all – The uninvited pokemon came down over him.

☄️ His upset and rage only led to more upset and rage. Emotions, vile and consuming, swirled inside him. His plans were almost finished. You had made everything worse, grabbing onto him right before it had dragged him here. He was going to initiate another battle when you grabbed his hand. The heat of it sank into him. Your eyes were big as you stared at him. His hatred of spirit only grew harsher when he saw you in pain. “Cyrus… Stop, please," you begged him, “Do… Do you truly want to live in a world where we can't even love each other?” He froze.

☄️ You battled the pokemon, Giratina, not long after. He turned away after you captured it and returned to his side. Cyrus would not leave this world yet urged you to. There was no reason for you to remain here. You refused, naturally, and found yourself pressed to his side. There was nothing he could say to make you reconsider, he already knew. A final message to Saturn to not look for him and do to what he wished with Team Galactic left you both together in the strange dimension. He had no intentions of stopping pursuing his goals. “I will not stop,” he had warned, and you just smiled. A tight embrace from you told him everything without saying a word – Neither would you.

🌧Archie🌊

💧 Truly, when he saw you battling his grunts at the Oceanic Museum, he just shrugged it off. Battling was fun, and maybe they had done something to frustrate you. No big deal. You just did not get what they were doing because he had not told you. That was on him. Which why he squeezed you into a tight hug and explained what they were doing. You would get it, he trusted. His Luvdisc knew he would only act with good intentions for the bettering of pokemon and the oceans. Your expression still seemed a bit sceptical. Well, that was fine. You would come around and let it go.

💧 Then… Mt. Chimney happened. The investigation was going well until Maxie decided to have his grunts interrupt. It was annoying, but not something that would stop him. No, what stopped him was you. Beating Shelly, you rushed over with a pokeball still in your hand. What, had you missed him? He had been a bit busy for you lately. Before he could start to apologise, you demanded to know what he was doing with the meteorite. His explanation did not seem to please you, unfortunately. What was up with you? The pokemon you sent out told him you wanted a battle at least. He engaged you instantly. Your victory left him confused, but the meteorite plan was left behind with a message from Matt.

💧 Well, he may have been a bit in denial still, but a third confrontation kind of sealed your intentions to him. Your harsh expression as you demanded he stop was haunting, honestly. You being upset was not a sight he particularly enjoyed. Which is why it felt worse with the nearing of his plan's completion. He told Matt to handle you as he made off with the Blue Orb, not wanting to be swayed over by your pout even a little bit. Did you not believe in him? It stung, but he supposed everyone was entitled to their own feelings. Archie just wished yours did not lead to you opposing him so fiercely. He had to dodge your hand reaching out for him as he ran off. Your expression became something of hurt.

💧 You showing up at the harbour and demanding he stop this finally sealed it. Yeah, you had entirely disagreed with his intentions to wake up Kyogre. That would make you the second person in his life to explicitly call out his plans and go out of your way to attempt to stop them. He and Shelly got away in the submarine, while he felt deflated. Come on, why did it have to be you? He could stand Maxie doing it, but you were just salt on the wound. You seemed to love his interest in helping save the oceans and pokemon before, but when he actually has a fathomable goal, you start going against him? He crossed his arms. Great, now you had him second guessing himself.

💧 He had wanted you at his side for this. You would stand with him, just like Matt and Shelly, grinning as he awoke Kyogre from its slumber to set this world back to a pure state. But, instead, he had you upset with him and demanding he stop. Archie knew you would feel dumb when his plans were completed and everything was better. He would forgive you without needing an apology and put this period behind you both. It would be a nice change. As it was, he hated this. Your support was something he craved. It was not needed, but it would be pleasant to have you smile at him and tell him he was doing something good.

💧 When you burst into the cavern right after he beat Maxie, he felt in between a blast of pride at beating his rival and getting ready to awaken Kyogre and upset. You were trying to stop him again! He was absolutely not letting you this late in the game. Alright, he did not want to have to crush you, but he could not let you even think of stopping him any more. Your battle was intense and full of clear emotions. No matter the outcome, he was awakening Kyogre. Your victory still stung, though. More of your opposition digging into his heart. Shelly suddenly turning against him completely caught him off guard.

💧 Archie was mortified by what followed. The heavy downpour coming down hard on the surface nearly brought him to his knees. This was not what he had wanted at all. A world flood? Absolutely not. He found himself holding you in a tight hug, and he apologised for not listening to you. Instantly, he worked with you to stop the super-ancient pokemon. The Aqua Suit was handed off to you, while he could only hope for your safety as you headed deep into the cave. His relief came when the clouds departed from the sky, and you returned alive and well with the beast captured.

💧 The both of you ended up at his room in the Aqua Hideout some time afterwards, exhausted from the insane events of the day. You laid down on his bed while he took a seat beside you. He felt a bit too lucky you were there to stop him. If you had not been so aggressive in stopping him… He shuddered. This world would not be in a liveable state for anything. “I'm sorry,” Archie said with little hesitation, “I got too caught up in everything… Guess I wasn't thinking straight. It should have been obvious when you AND Shelly started sayin' it was a bad idea.” You looked at him curiously.

💧 Pulling him down, you forced him into a cuddle. He eagerly gave in, happy to finally have some precious alone time with his Luvdisc. Your hands came to cup his face, burying themselves in his beard. He chuckled a bit, but your expression was stern. You squeezed his face. “Bad Archie,” you told him, “You wanting to protect the oceans and pokemon is a good, noble thing, but if you try to flood everyone again, I'll leave you for Maxie or something.” He gasped. You would not! He hugged you tightly. That threat held some heavy weight.

💧 While your opposition had been upsetting, he was ultimately glad that you had done it. There was some kind of madness he would admit having lost himself in, and you being constantly on him about it made him actually be able to realise the errors of his actions. Plus, it was always good to know his partner was fully ready to stop him from doing something stupid. Next time, he hoped for a discussion from you and him to actually sit down and listen, however.

☀️Maxie🌋

🪨 When he had encountered you battling his grunts at the museum, he had thought little of it. His assumption was that you were confused by his intentions. Understandable, truthfully, as he had yet to sit you down and converse about the ultimate goal of Team Magma with you. Despite being his partner, he had yet to involve you. While he may have chosen to stay in his hideout with his team, you did not live there. He sighed and apologised for any ill behaviour from his grunts before explaining his goals. You had nodded along, so he assumed that you understood that he was not up to anything malicious. Maxie expected this situation to be a one-off thing brought on by confusion and misunderstandings.

🪨 That, however, proved to be a wrong assessment on his part. Your presence at Mt. Chimney was unexpected. The fact that you seemingly went out of the way to defeat every single grunt – with the annoying aid of Team Aqua – in order to stop him from using the meteorite he had taken as a possible way to awaken Groudon. He barely had time to question just what you were doing before you tossed out a pokemon for a battle. Was this truly how this was going? Why were you opposing him? Did you not understand? He supposed he would simply have to show his intentions with a battle. Your victory left him astonished. Maxie was not unaware that you were a trainer, but he did not expect to be bested so easily. The volcano plan was begrudgingly given up.

🪨 Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence… A third almost certainly shows purpose, despite how he wished to deny that possibility. Maxie truly did not want to consider the idea that you opposed his goals. Why would you? Surely, you must have understood how important they were to him and trusted him enough to make a good decision. He felt his face genuinely drop at the sight of you at Mt. Pyre. A determined look shined in your eyes. His stomach twisted. Why was this happening? He kept up his facade as he excused himself and ordered Courtney to instead battle you. His plans were nearly completed, and he did not to risk losing time or sanity here. The look you glared into him pierced him deeply as he walked away.

🪨 Your appearance at the harbour truly forced the complicated feelings to set in. Your voice calling out to him and shaming him made his breathing fall uneven as he and Tabitha departed in the stolen submarine. When he felt alone, he ran a hand through his red hair while pondering your intentions. You had not said a word to him about disapproval or disagreement with his interesting in evolving humanity and aiding in overall progress. Suddenly, as soon as he decided to express interest in expanding the landmass, you started harshly and aggressively standing against him. It made him falter.

🪨 Truly, Maxie had wanted to invite you to join Team Magma and stand beside him as he brought his ambitions to fruition. That was simply impossible as it stood. It hurt to lose yet another person in his life to his plans. You would forgive him and apologise for your opposition when he had finished his plans, however. He took off his glasses and sighed in the cramped space of the submarine. Your support would truly do wonders. Only you could make him second guess himself, even with the endless support of his scientists, grunts, and admins.

🪨 You showing up in the Seafloor Cavern was utterly tormenting. Maxie had just defeated Archie as you entered the chamber with an upset expression on your face. He sighed. This was not time for proper discussion, alas. The look in your eyes told him that you absolutely felt the same. Groudon was within his reach. He hoped this defeat would convince you to his side. His loss frustrated him endlessly as he turned away from you. The painful feelings were enough from just having you against him, much less being defeated by you. Apparently your opposition was contagious, as Tabitha then decided to oppose him, too.

🪨 He was not one to admit when he was wrong. Maxie was headstrong and stubborn. Described much like his favourite choice in pokemon, but he even he felt obligated to apologise when he saw the world-ending scenario he had brought upon the world despite your continued attempts to stop him. He did not feel the horrible feeling in his chest subside, even after you risked your safety in trying to quell Groudon. You even managed to catch it. He bit his tongue for so long.

🪨 When it was finally you both alone in his room in the Magma Hideout, Maxie felt his trained posture drop as he gazed at you. You sat on his bed with your arms crossed. He took a seat beside you. His eyes could not meet your own from the shame burning in his chest. “I apologise,” he managed to get out after an uncomfortable silence, “… I still wish to pursue my goals of bettering humanity, but I see that my intentions with Groudon were short-sighted and dangerous.” The redhead finally moved to look at you. You seemed less upset.

🪨 Your arms came around him to pull him into a hug, making him freeze for a moment. The affection was something he had missed during this busy and stressful period of his life. The embrace was returned slowly. “Maxie, I love you a lot,” you softly told him. He felt his heart race. The words were reciprocated instantly, desperate to show that he still cared for you, too. “Now, you're a scientist, right,” you moved to look into his bespectacled gaze, “How did you not consider the possibility that Groudon would eliminate all water through its drought? Or even what offsetting the current balance of the earth would actually do short-term and long-term?” Maxie felt his cheeks burn. You were unfortunately right again.

🪨 Thankfully, your opposition was mostly understood after the high of summoning Groudon subsided. You understood his heart was in the right place, but he somehow lost his critical thinking skills along the way. There were some slight concerns in trust, but a proper discussion between you both helped soothe the worries away. He felt glad, too, secretly. Maxie would come to trust that you would call out his bad ideas when others may hesitate.