#he's an A grade antihero

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

So the world is full of problems and being a naive 12 yo, Dani thinks she can fix those problems.

So she follows the best example.

Red hood

And she becomes a crime boss.

And she’s far better than anyone would think. Discreetly taking over various mafias around the world.

Eventually, the anti ecto acts are put in place worldwide.

So Dani (17) and Jazz (21)move to the only place that has citizens that would willingly lie to the government. Danny is in the ghost zone, attempting to evacuate all ghosts on earth dnd then get to work trying to dismantle the AEA. A process that could take over a year or so.

So Dani moves most of her forces to Gotham.

In my mind, Dani’s mobster name is Fantasma btw and her henchmen/loyal workers are called the Draugur.

But Gotham is cursed and over run with violent ghosts, and because Jazz has collage (transferred from Central Collage) and has to keep a job she can’t handle the ghosts.

So Dani is now moonlighting as the vigilante Wraith.

And Jazz is making her go to school during the day (Gotham academy)

While she’s in Gotham, Fantasma catches the attention of the bats because they’re not going to miss what is obviously a big player with a reputation coming into Gotham.

So they send a bat to go undercover

Damian

Damian is like 17 and has just transitioned out of Robin (you can decide whos Robin in his place) and is now (what we vigilante you what him to be, but I’m using Nocturne in this post)

For his first solo mission, he goes undercover as a henchman in the Draugurs. (He wears a mask so he doesn’t get discovered at a Wayne/bat). The only information the bats have is that Fantasma is around his age.

Unsurprisingly, he’s really good at undercover work.

He (undercover name is Crow) quickly makes his way up the ranks.

And he eventually meets the boss Fantasma and becomes her right hand.

And eventually begins to fall for her.

At the same time, he’s trying to catch the new antihero Wraith, who is a very flirty pain in the butt. He’s also been assigned to be the partner of a new student in his class, Danielle, who is incredibly ditzy and clumsy. But she’s not stupid, Damian knows better than to assume that. Especially when she scores highly than him on their geography test.

Basically an entire love hexagon AU including

- henchmen x boss

- vigilante x vigilante/antihero

- academic rivals AU

Relationship guide

Fantasma x Crow- boss that trust her second hand with her life despite not know in his real name. Henchman that is slowly catching feelings and becoming very guilty for lying to her

Nocturne x Wraith- vigilante is getting increasingly irritated by the new Antihero, who thinks the vigilante is hot and flirts with him the entire time they’re together

Dani x Damian- klutzy, clumsy, and popular student ends up having a rivalry with perfect, cold, and outcast over grades and tests. They hate each other.

I love this prompt, and there’s so much I could add to this.

Any thoughts? Would love to hear them!! :))

[banj0possum]

Sweet Hero Of Mine

Yandere! Antihero x GN! Hero! Reader

im back little stinkers <333

Edit!! Nsfw mentions removed! Replaced with..Elias being a dork ?

CW: Stalking, Creep behavior, Suggestive talk about reader, slight masochism

🪲 Elias was never into the whole Superhero thing.

🪲 He hated the constant swarming of reporters and fans screaming for his attention. He didn't want to be treated like a celebrity; he just wants to fight crime where people refuse to help.

🪲 That's why he avoided ever displaying himself like that. He preferred to stay in the shadows and kept his deeds out of the picture, but there are always rats scurrying around ready for another big scoop.

🪲 He could only scoff amusingly as he sees his little escapade last night being reported on tv with a blurry photo of him on the rooftops with the words "Mysterious Vigilante Strikes Again!"

🪲 He can admit, seeing them being so absorbed in what he does is pretty entertaining, he can feel his ego go up a bit.

🪲 Soon enough he gets tired of the incessant yap of interviewees talking about him and reaches for the remote.

🪲 His body freezes though when the reporter mentions some 'new hero' and he turns back to the TV.

🪲 His eyes are blessed with the cutest sight of a person dressed in a hero outfit with a logo on their chest. Their warm smile seems to radiate happiness as they talk to the reporter. Is this the new hero they've been talking about recently?

🪲 They ask for their opinion on the vigilante situation and he almost melts over their soft voice.

🪲 "I believe this guy has good intentions. Which is great and all but if it's endangering people and their properties, I think it's time they think about how running around and punching people in a suit isn't being heroic, it's being obnoxious!"

🪲 There goes his ego..

🪲 And perhaps his clean pants..

🪲 He starts researching all about this new hero. Who do they think they are?! This little brat has to be taught a lesson!

🪲 He stalks your social media, every fan account, every news atricl about your deeds, everything.

🪲 For for blackmail of course! Maybe he can find some dirt on you..in this fan account that makes thirst edits of you..

🪲 Soon enough he starts tracking you and your appearances. Every fight with a villain or any burning building with people that need saving, he's there with a high-grade camera that can snap all the rips and tears in your suit...for blackmail!

🪲 He's real happy that he wore a trench coat to your most recent battle or else everyone would have probably seen his growing boner whenever you throw a punch that connected to your opponent.

🪲 He's combing through the photos he took of you and shivers over your sweaty form and aggressive face.

🪲 He imagines meeting you, perhaps having a battle of his own, being pinned down by you, having your arms grappling and squeezing on his body. Perhaps you'd even say something degrading to him with that sweet voice of yours..

🪲 So that's what he does.

🪲 You were doing some last-minute night patrols after a long day of crime fighting and interviews when you hear a deep gravelly voice behind you.

🪲 "Hey there hero~"

🪲 You look back and see a large muscular man in a suit that looked like the armor of some insect.

🪲 "Huh, didn't expect to meet you here vigilante!" I joke.

🪲 "Oh please, call me Beetle~" He smirks as he walks closer to you. God you're even cuter in person..

🪲 "Well, Beetle, you are aware that you're kinda sorta wanted for a lotta stuff right?"

🪲 "Is it worse than the shit those pieces of scum done? Unlike youre pretty little ass I'm actually gettin bad guys off the streets.~" He teases, putting a hand on the wall and leaning close to your face. He's trying not to swoon over your stern face.

🪲 "Unlike you, I'm keeping people safe! Although I do commend your...unique sense of justice.."

🪲 *internal squealing*

🪲 He's a little surprised that you're so nice, unlike some other douchey heroes he knows.

🪲 He lets out a chuckle "That's new..Thanks goody-two-shoes.."

🪲 You give him a teasing face "Hey I'm not that much of an angel!"

🪲 "Oh~? Well o me you are, sweet hero of mine~"

🪲 You two become quick friends, even having missions together.

🪲 His obsession got worse from there.

🪲 Riding in your superhero vehicle, he rarely looks anywhere but at you driving, explaining to him the mission that he barely cares about other than the fact that it's an excuse to be with you.

🪲 Every time you take his hand to lead him somewhere, he makes sure to burn the feeling into his mind. Oftentimes he's the one doing whatever it takes to have physical contact with you, but it's way better whenever you initiate it.

🪲 You love taking pictures together. Of course he never smiles when you take one but when he's back at home, he's staring at it with the biggest, goofiest grin.

🪲 He loves taking pictures too, only he prefers ones with you and you alone. Sometimes it would be things you like so he wouldn't forget.

🪲 You blush, flattered over him remembering your favorite drink.

🪲 He'd memorize anything you say and put it in a top secret file named "My Love"

🪲 Oh my god please degrade him jokingly.

🪲 Bully him, push him around, be playfully rough with him!! Sure it's all in good fun but he's feeding his guilty pleasure whenever you treat him like shit while also being so sweet to him.

🪲 Pull him down suddenly by his suit's collar whenever you want to whisper something to him or show him something, he loves it. Although be warned, he might moan a little..

🪲 He's crazy for you, insane even, bonkers almost!!

🪲 He comes home seeing you in a superhero gala at one of the fanciest buildings in the city.

🪲 The bone-breaking grip on his beer bottle almost cracks the bottle when he sees you being accompanied by some other hero.

🪲 They're being all close with you and making you laugh, he can feel his jealousy rise within his body at the sight of your adorable smile, one that wasn't because of his jokes, his company!

🪲 Maybe it's about time he gives this superhero thing a try..

[total-drama-brainrot]

josé becomes a part of Team Chris because chris thinks it's super funny that he somehow got both of the burromuerto brothers that applied for dirtbags on his show, and alejandro is so desperate to have him voted off immediately that he forgets about the eel comment and tries to rally the rest of his team against the "interloper". josé, meanwhile, is laying on the Burromuerto Charm real thick with the rest of the cast (including the rest of Team Chris) to surprisingly successful results- only heather, noah and alejandro himself aren't charmed by him, though josé 'explains' that his "baby brother al" is probably just jealous of his 'cooler, hotter older brother'.

after watching him schmooze his way through an elimination ceremony- josé convinced owen to vote for alejandro, and both noah and alejandro voted for josé leading to a tie (tyler voted for noah) but chris was too amused by the situation to eliminate either brother- noah conceeds that josé is worse than alejandro and agrees to team up with him to get his brother eliminated. to varying results.

(also josé's attempted flirting leads gwen and courtney to realise they like each other because they both get Mad Jealous when josé flirts with the other. maybe even gwourteather endgame?)

trying to think up some good fic ideas to post in astro's discord but honestly all i can think of is, like, an au where gwourtney kidnaps josé in london instead of duncan (the burromuertos were in london for diplomatic reasons i guess?) and alejandro reflexively beats the shit out of him when he's unveiled on the jet.

[darkscaleswriter]

palinoia for the director's cut asks? 👀

(ask for a director’s cut on any of my fics!)

omg I haven't re-read Palinoia in years, when I opened my doc for it I got slapped in the face by times new roman bc this is from before i switched to writing in calibri instead lmfao. anyway time loop fic!! i had a lot of fun experimenting with style in this one, trying to capture the low-grade horror of being trapped in time and dying again and again and again. not sure i totally succeeded, but i liked writing it at least!! i'm especially proud of the bit that's a series of vignettes that descend into repeated "reset, reset, reset" lines, i think that part really conveyed what i wanted it to. it's still satisfying to read again after 6-ish years :D

(continued under the cut)

shadow link is so fun to write, he's a classic antagonist turned antihero type character and i love it. i also have a huge soft spot for him bc loz four swords was one of my first fandoms and is probably my oldest one at this point, so he's an og blorbo for me haha. (clenches fist) someday I will treat myself and get physical copies of the manga. someday…

at any rate, i'm re-reading palinoia and kind of laughing at myself about how the key to shadow breaking out of the timeloop was just. teamwork makes the dream work, lol. including using items from past Heroes bc i like the idea of items from previous games still hanging around odd corners of hyrule. i don't think i planned it that way but it's extremely in line with the themes i tend to write ^.^'

and zelda gets to join in! past me even left a helpful note on the doc explaining that zelda gets to be there bc instead of sending that dark cloud thing to take her like in the manga, ganon got distracted by vaati being vacuumed and wasn't able to stop the links from breaking her out. i am also now realizing that i never explained what happened to vaati beyond "vacuumed into a giant gust jar" and if i had plans for that, I didn't write them down. so… i guess he just lives there, now? maybe the links go back and smash the mirror after shadow's fully revived as his own being without being tied to it? maybe the jar was sealed away to become the next hero of courage's problem??

if I was going to rewrite this fic, i think it would be interesting to add a section where shadow gets desperate and tries to recruit vaati. maybe there would be 2 villain turned antihero characters surviving to the end…? or vaati is too power-hungry to go for it and betrays shadow at the last second, if he doesn't refuse and/or kill shadow outright for being a traitor. i think the last minute betrayal version would be a good loop to lead into a deleted scene where shadow straight up just hides in the dark mirror for a loop and refuses to engage, up until the links make it to the tower and are like "hey tf is this giant mirror and should we break it or something"

that deleted scene never got finished, i'm guessing bc it was leading up to shadow letting the links smash the mirror without ever revealing that he was inside (rip). based when where i was in life when i wrote this fic, i probably wasn't in a headspace to get quite that dark. i think there's a difference between considering your death an acceptable sacrifice in a fight to prevent a supervillain from taking over the kingdom and not caring about your death happening bc depression, y'know?

there's another deleted scene where shadow has a much more dramatic death that involves him fighting vaati in single combat himself, and ending the fight by chucking a bomb at the dark mirror to kill them both. i think that was vaguely what the final loop was supposed to be before the gust jar idea, and there was a whole bit with vio where vio is extra upset as shadow is dying in his arms bc shadow promised earlier not to kill vaati via the mirror. whoops, he lied! he went after vaati on purpose and planned that from the start! what a normal and mentally stable thing to do, shadow.

that ending was cut more because it ended up too close to canon, i'm pretty sure, and i wanted the final loop to be something more unique. shadow needed to do something different than his original ending to break out of the loop, so the full canon divergence had to happen.

shadow still died very briefly at the end of the final loop, when zelda had him throw a bomb full of triforce light at ganon, but at that point the goddesses were like "okay we'll call that having learned your lesson" and brought him back quickly enough that nobody realized he was gone. potentially including himself! i'm not sure that shadow ever consciously realized it was the goddesses farore, nayru, and din that put him in the time loop, but after it ended, he was just glad to be done with it and decided not to ask too many questions that could potentially make them change their minds haha.

re: the goddesses, i think the reason they took an interest in shadow to begin with (self-sacrificial death for the four sword heroes aside) is because shadow was created using the power of the triforce. he's one of theirs, sort of, at a sideways angle to how link and zelda and ganon are. close enough for them to meddle with, and idk maybe din was being extra salty at this incarnation of ganon for creating an entire sentient person and then treating him Like That. rip ganon for annoying his triforce piece's patron goddess, lol.

shadow was created from the dark mirror using the triforce of power as wielded by ganon, and my general headcanon is that shadow link literally did not exist until the events of the four swords manga when he is born from the dark mirror. he doesn't have link's memories, but he knows link's personality and remembers feelings/impressions/etc. and, since shadow was created with the triforce of power, he carries of sliver of it with him in a similar way to how each of the links carries pieces of the triforce of courage. part of the reason he's drawn to the links is because like calls to like. shadow was made in part from the triforce of power, but in the image of the bearer of the triforce of courage. the only part he's missing is wisdom, but at the end of his final loop, he does get caught in the blast of zelda's triforce power bomb, so… :3c

at the end of the fic, when shadow notes that he has the triforce on his hand, i left it deliberately vague about whether that was actually the full triforce or not. i don't remember if i had a clear answer in my head for this, but i suspect he shares pieces with the other links and zelda, bc i like the idea of them being all connected like that. regardless, what triforce piece(s) he has are what allowed him to sever his connection to the dark mirror and hang out in the sunlight without burning up like a vampire. he takes a lot of catnaps in sunbeams now that he doesn't have to worry about that haha.

anyway thank you so much for asking about Palinoia, it was really fun to go back and remember how much i enjoyed writing it. and i'm SUPER flattered that you read my fic to begin with!! i am so in love with your god of war time travel au, it lives rent-free in my head at any given moment.

thank you again!!! :D

[kathleenkatmary]

Noirvember: Mysterious Intruder (William Castle, 1946)

(This review contains spoilers which, while kept incredibly vague, might make certain developments in the plot less surprising)

The main reason I chose to watch Mysterious Intruder was because I wanted to watch something for Noirvember but had limited time, and this was only about an hour long. But it ended up being a pleasant surprise. It's a mystery, part of the mostly loosely connected "Whistler" seris, with some decent twists and turns, even if there could have been a few things done to make the mystery come together a bit more in the end. But I really liked that even though there was a murder, the murder wasn't the mystery itself, just an aspect of it. 

The actually mystery is, I think, creative and interesting enough to set Mysterious Intruder apart, even if just a bit, from a lot of the cookie cutter low budget noir and noir-type movies from the era. The mystery centers on a girl and the reason the murdered shopkeeper wanted to find her. There's a really solid Macguffin at the center of the mystery, and it's kept a mystery for, in my opinion, the absolute perfect amount of time. 

Really, I think despite the fact that it might not on its surface FEEL as nasty as some other noirs, there really is a lot of bleakness and nastiness to this one. A big reason for that is the characters, which I think ends up being bit of a double edged sword in the end. Richard Dix's dishonest cheat of a private detective is not one to sympathize with. He's not even in the category of noir antiheroes who are messy, or even bad people who end up being compelled to do the right thing. He's just a really awful person with selfish motivations throughout the who thing. I think that makes a great central character for a noir, and it's kind of surprising and even brave to make the central character so impossible to root for. Most of the people we spend significant time with are awful, which makes for a fascinating watch. But it does make it kind of hard to really grasp onto. The only two decent, sympathetic people - the shopkeeper who is murdered early on and the girl he's looking for, who we don't meet until well into the runtime - aren't around much or for long enough to really develop any kind of attachment, and that makes it really hard to connect with the story on an emotional��level.

Still, though, I kind of respect that bold decision to mostly just let us spend time in an ugly world. It's deeply bleak, and it has an appropriately bleak ending. It also has one of the best twists I've seen in noir, and it happens pretty early in the movie. It's also really gorgeously filmed, and even though it's definitely a low budget noir, there are a lot of points where it looks more like one of the A-grade studio noirs like Double Indemnity or The Lady from Shanghai rather than one of the B-grade noirs like Detour or Night Editor. 

I feel like the biggest problem with Mysterious Intruder is that, because the mystery is so focused around the girl and Macguffin, a big part of the mystery is killed when we're just introduced to the girl and shown where she's been the whole time without any of the characters actually discovering it. And since the focus of the mystery is on those things, once we meet the girl and discover why the shopkeeper wanted to find her and what the Macguffin is, there's no mystery surrounding who's looking for them and who's done the murdering. Which makes the climax feel pretty anticlimactic, even with its terrifically bleak ending.

I feel like Mysterious Intruder could have been a B-noir classic alongside stuff like Decoy and Detour if it had just a little more runtime to cook with. As it stands it's definitely impressive and worth the watch, but in the end it doesn't live up the what most of the runtime built up to.

[hislittleraincloud]

🕸️🕯️HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU DRUG-ADDLED MADMAN!🕯️🕸️

Without you, we wouldn't have Nevermore or our Raven Wednesday as she is. We would have had to rely on a culture without your poems and stories, and I can't imagine growing up in a world without masterpieces like Annabel Lee or The Telltale Heart. I would have not have won my 6th grade horror story writing contest that creeped everyone out without your influence, and I thank the gods for my introduction to your work three years prior. I would not have snatched up lovely 1890s copies of your poems for the love of my life, since she too had been obsessed with your work from an early age. (An 1892 Thomas Crowell and an 1895 Henry Altemus, according to my ancient eBay receipt.)

And now I must hijack your birthday to bemoan something inextricably tied to you and your work. (But alas, it has done it in just a superficial manner so far.)

Your presence as the basis for Wednesday's setting is why the show is Gothic Horror, not Horror. The complex emotions explored in the whole of the series sets it apart from the fear-evoking terror and violence of straight-on horror, which is perhaps why I am dismayed by the young actress's comments about nudging the show towards horror, since horror deals in terrifying the audience rather than taking them on an even more damaging tour of the various terrible emotions that make us question human morality.

Allow me to quote an L.A. Times critic who reviewed The Following, a show revolving around a Poe expert and a Poe-guided serial killer and his cult:

When we’re meant to observe the creepy gothic horror of [Poe's] stories, it’s the sense of inevitability or fate that gives the reader a frisson, not the gore: someone is buried alive, or dissolves in a moment.

This needs to be explained, considering the news that the show's S2 will 'lean more into horror'. Allow me to defer to Daniel Blackwood's excellent breakdown of the genre (picking out the features here, but all should watch the video for deeper insights):

Emotional Turmoil: "Antagonists are often personifcations of the protagonists' misdeeds or endured tragedies re-emerging as the physical or the metaphysical manifestation of emotional turmoil. In defeating or by sometimes being consumed by these presences ultimately concludes the inner and outer dilemmas of the characters."

That is literally this:

Though no one really talks about this, Sheriff Galpin is a background protagonist (he is in every episode) antihero, because he lacked the courage to face the truth because he loved his son and feared that his suspicions. He is, actually, a main character, and without him, the story loses the greater tragedy that is Tyler Galpin.

Mystery & Suspense: "The genre is pervaded by a threatening atmosphere, usually unseen and felt on an instinctual level. Protagonists may apply logic and rationale to otherwise supernatural happenings or vice versa. This is enhanced by the emotional turmoil suffered by protagonists, which makes for truly engrossing tales as the reader or viewer, much like the protagonist, attempts to make sense of the things around them. "

Again, literally**:

There's just something wrong about this place. And not just because it's a school. ~ Wednesday, Ep 1

Also, Sheriff Galpin knew something at the very beginning, and Wednesday pinpointed that in the second episode (in the previous episode, he and Santiago chat about the murders and how they were to be perceived as bear attacks). Noble also makes mention of bear attacks as well. **I edited this, because I had originally meant to use Wednesday's intuition as the example for Mystery & Suspense.

Ancient Prophecies: "Often connected to the very geography of the story, for example a castle or a forest, prophecies are usually unwittingly brought into fruition by the protagonist's actions or lack thereof. Prophecies are mostly obscure partial or deliberately confusing."

Once again, directly*:

My dear Wednesday, you are the key. Your arrival at Nevermore set the chubby wheels of my plan in motion. ~ Laurel Gates, a.k.a. Thornhill, Ep 8

Metonymy: "Metonomy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something like rainfall or lightning is used to communicate something else such as a mood, for example a thunderstorm being used to communicate impending dread, or using rainfall to denote sorrow. It's used so commonly in the genre that it's now a major staple, and you'd be hard pressed to find a gothic novel that does not use this to some degree."

Wednesday is checking all of these boxes, isn't it:

At least it's turning into a beautiful day. ~ Morticia Addams, Ep 1

Inexplicable Events: "Often supernatural in nature, events such as a knight's helmet falling on a character without logical reasoning or a glass being held at the protagonist by an unseen presence are extremely commonplace in the genre. In some ways these events are explained logically, and in others are indeed supernatural."

Xavier saved Wednesday from being crushed by the gargoyle, which 'inexplicably' fell (but at the end of the ep is revealed as Rowan's work). There are other examples of this throughout the season, like when Wednesday was attempting to summon Goody and the candles were blown out.

Mortality: "The Victorian Era was rife with an obsession with death, so much so that historians have dubbed this era and its people The Cult of Death; with this in mind, it stands to reason why many of the genre's works possess a morbid fascination with human mortality. Many of the genre's works attempt to romanticize the passing of human life while others simply lay bare its effects on those still living."

That is probably the most glaringly obvious and fitting characteristic of our main protagonist's core personality. Wednesday is death-obsessed. She sleeps like that because of it (and we love her for it). Honorable mention is her nap in the morgue.

Human Nature: "Many gothic novels and short stories aim to display the underlying sinister motivations of human nature. They depict the deep desires and passions that lie beneath the façade of socially engineered morality. This is usually done through the use of metaphors."

(No words needed for that one. However, Gates's half-baked actions could also be a metaphor for Wednesday's, which is only part of the reason why "Thornhill" tells Wednesday that they're a lot alike.)

დ

There is zero question that Wednesday (and Burton's other light-hearted work, if we're being honest) is a Gothic Horror Comedy.

It was never meant to be overtly scary or bloody/gory, and Edgar's works more than inspired the show's plotline and its very existence (as thin and clumsy as it was with its handling of the 'mystery'). I shall be bereft if it is cheapened because of a misunderstanding or deliberate dismissal of genres, though we are all hoping that it turns out well and that the change of tone doesn't weigh its comedy roots down (the hope is tenuous, given the near abandonment of satire...Pilgrim World's existence might be the first season's saving grace on that front).

TLDR; Gothic Horror (with emotions and relationships explored within an Old World 'horror' setting, its themes revolving around the complexity of human nature) is not *Horror* (aims to evoke fear in its audience, with terror being its main objective), Wednesday is Gothic Horror, Happy 215th Birthday Mr. Poe 🐦‍⬛🎂🎉

[devilsdiscipleshq]

THE BASICS | nico sinclair

name: Nico Sinclair face claim: Casey Deidrick age & date of birth: 35, November 5th, 1987 hometown: Chicago, Illinois. time in chicago: Returned five years ago. neighborhood: The West Side occupation: Member of Devil's Disciples MC, Enforcer.

THE ANTIHERO | background

Many people find it hard to believe that Nico Sinclair was born a normal kid with a fairly normal life. His mother was a single parent to him for his childhood and while she struggled to keep food on the table for the pair of them living in the South Side of Chicago, Nico's needs were largely met. He was a happy child, a momma's boy, and he passed through school with no issue. However, at the age of 12, Nico would lose his mother.

Her death was seemingly random, something that no one could've predicted but there will always be a part of Nico that wonders if he could've saved her. It was in his nature to protect her and his friends but the world wasn't quite the same back to him. After his mother's death, Nico had family that could've took him in, unfortunately, they chose not to for one reason or another which resulted into him moving into the foster care system. Foster care showed him that families weren't always as loving as his mother. Survival kicked in and one thing led to another and he was heading to juvie for theft and petty crimes. Reformation, as the state would call it, would come at a cost.

The good grades he'd once had wouldn't matter and the lack of support would only turn the man toward leaving it all behind. The recruiters picked Nico up shortly after his release, sending him to training camp and then directly into an assignment. He barely had time to process the concept of being a part of the military before he was whisked away into a new unit of highly specialized soldiers, based on the promise he showed in training camp and his lack of attachments.

Nico ended up being with his unit for over a decade by the time he ended his career, albeit not by choice. During his time on active duty, he was immersed in a life that was kill or be killed. He was trained to be a human weapon, one that held no emotions-- it was the job but it was his life. Unfortunately, there was only so much the man could see, so much he could experience before his handler recommended him to be removed from the program. Despite his successes-- Nico wasn't always present. His nightmares kept him from sleeping and his lack of sleep sent him into fits of rage and flashbacks from previous missions. Despite request after request, Nico continued his job until his handler found a loophole and got him released.

Admittedly, Nico had never intended to return to Chicago. He wasn't stable enough to exactly hold a job, after all, and being a man of war who knew nothing but protect your people and kill anyone who threatens them doesn't lend itself well-suited for civilian life. In spite of that, he found himself a home and sat, his paranoia and symptoms spiraling. He needed to keep busy because a bored Nico was perhaps more of a problem. His friend introduced him to the Devil's Disciples not more than a few weeks after he returned home. It was an outlet for him to use his training. He easily impressed them with his weapons knowledge, allowing him to be a perfect candidate to help evaluate and valuate new pieces, and his ability to blow things sky high.

Five years later, the blackouts haven't gotten any better and certainly not anymore controllable. Asleep or awake, day or night, his memories haunt him like ghosts. But his job as an enforcer at least allows him to be the weapon he was made into, even if it means he'll only be further and further from who he was, with nothing to tether him to himself anymore.

[dadswithipads]

As I do with most pieces of media I'm interested in, at the moment I will be reacting. Now I've already seen the movie and the TV show but it's been a couple years since I fully watched the movie scene for scene so.

MY BABYSITTERS A VAMPIRE REACTION:

Ew. Sry straighties. She just like 9 y/o me fr. Ethans voice crack. "High school brotherhood" i feel nostalgic for the beginning of High School. Even though mine was sh!t cause of a certain thing that happened in 2020. Okay Ethan says tomorrow but it's like raining outside and it's supposed to be August I'm presuming if school starts that next day? I don't remember his sister's name but frfr.

If they're starting out high school they're just now reaching teenager. Why is she going out alone. She gonna get k!dna££ed. One of my biggest fears. OMG RED HERRING. wtf was that dialogue. Nvm a cringy teen on 2010s internet would say that. Bro just d!ed. Him gagging lmao. Ew the socks. Wtf.

Oh yes, Twilight. Those girls walking in the hallway watching the movie on their phone remind me of when me and my friend in 8th grade just watch Netflix while we were running the mile. The actress is from Degrassi and plays Manny Santos💜 . Awwwwwwww the old phones. Theme song be kicking. Two nuggets and some fries???? And egg. Nice. The high school looks like a camp Lodge. Ah yes. Benny and his projection to be straight. Overly so. Hey yo it's Canadian Corbin Bleu. What kind of student is just wearing sunglasses and a suit indoors.

What is the logo for the coffee on the cup look like a ball s@ck??? Aww they sweet tho. Ethan being caught up and wanting to you know have a reputation and Benny just being goofy and fun. Its just such a entertaining and sweet dynamic. Feels very queer too. As it is. RORY!!!!!!

Why do they both dislike him? He's such a cutie. Benny shut up. KDKDIEJS9SKWOSIS THAT LINE. K but they're obviously lesbians. That Dynamic just from appearance at the beginning is reminding me of Jennifer's Body. Frfrrfrr. Benny lmao. Aw Rory. Rory saying "Think she'll tuck you in tonight?" LMAO. WLW AND MLM. this is such a nerd convo omg. Bro the closet. Spicy today. Blue looks so good with light blonde hair. Slay Rory.

Yeah no drama club is that emo! The pipeline is there but it's not at the same time. Me and corbin bleu frfr. Awww Rory. Nvm corbin bleu. Frfr. Slayy the mom is always right. Emo music slayy moment Ethan. I don't mean to be the basic white girl but that's all I can say right now is slay. It is a curse. What the frick Benny. That kid is me growinf up fr. Kiss kiss kisss kissss. Erica being taller than Sarah.

Corbin clue. I am too online I'm just expecting the vine thud sound effect to play anytime something happenes.😭😭. Cassie! THATS HER ACTRESS' NAME. He is cute. But erica still a lesbian for that one. Amen Sarah smack that man. Yo that a euphemism?

No way this is outside of his house. LMAO. thud. I know the show likes to show that he has feelings for her or whatever but I really think it's just a weird Crush thing and I feel like they would be way better suited with a brother-sistered anyway for real. Sarah and Ethan would work way better for that. Benny just a goof like Rory but they banish him. Wtf.😭. Justice for Rory. Benny bro stop. Green phone case. GREEN PHONE CASE. 😃. "Im next door" Benny is the girl next door. I don't like the song but antihero by Taylor Swift is stuck in my head right now so I'm going to listen to that and I'll be right back.

Back now. Aw. Benny and Ethan are so close. Like he saw Ethan was upset and immediately dropped everything. Ugh. Slay power gay. Benny YOU the one weirding her out. "She smells funny". Hello if you were me writing this I'd have the grandma like break all her bones doing dance to Revolution when they come back. 😭. Cuz I'm queer it's okay I'm allowed to say this but this boy is raised by his grandma you think he's not gay. He is.

Poor kid. Slay this teen slang. What i like in a show/franchise. I like when it's not talking down to the audience but at the same time it's not like explicit explicit cuz that kind of explicitness gets really annoying for me I like when there's just you know casual stuff you know like stuff that exists in the real world stuff that people talk about not overdramatic look drugs look sex in teen media. Cause her calling him a p£rv is like something that exists but is simple enough to imply understanding about the world.

A publicity stunt only that revolves around you two. LMAO. Benny my son. Me looking for my cats. Aw. They can't run any faster lmao. "Skinny guy coming through". Me fr.

*In Ron Howard voice* "Hey that's the name of the show". Benny being on email mainly is so. Refreshing idk. Its fun to think about. Sarah in her Draculaura era. Corbin Clue could AT LEAST try harder to be interested come on now.

I should just realized the Edward knockoff is also Peter from Degrassi not just Manny's actress. Love Canada. Wtf. Benny lmao. Sorry but that line felt like the opening to a gay pron.

Grandma wake up. Slay bethan hand contact. The bed that easy to move?. "Ryan Seacrest"??????????? Ethan gay fr🌈🌈🌈🌈.

He says notice sign with the restricted area authorized employees only. Lmao?? Aww Ethan smiling after Benny being a goof. That photo id of Rory is so... sophisticated?

RORY MY SON! Aww. Mathletes event lmao? He looks so good in blue. Rory is such a good part of this franchise. Benny sounds like this guy at my school that is like such a gross kid. But its okay cause its Benny and it's different. This is my son. Awwww the eye contact between them here.

Freshmen can't drive lmao. The car looked like it was getting pushed. Sarah save your gf slay. Lmao her "I 💗 boys that sparkle" shirt. Alcohol reference. Gross Benny. Gay reference. Ethana gay panic lmao. Benny too. Awwwwww them dancing. Aww Rory "A wicked hickey" bro no💀. I'm so Gen Z I once again thought there was going to be a thud sound effect after that. Jessie sounds like a nerd. He is so nasally.

Erica lmao. The music too. He he referred to them as girls. That is a queer thing to do. They are queer. Thud. Jessie sounds like a NERD Holy sh!t. Rory my son. Slay Ethan plot. The FX skhahahhahaha. These nerds. Benny. Said. "Wick'" as in Wicked. 😃. Ok.

Bruh the mom just inplied😃... Ok. "Rap music" my son listens to emo music and rap what a bisexual. RORY! love him in blue. No asthma. Lmao. "The big V". "What-what?" 😭😭😭😭 this man. CHURCH. AKDKKDHSHS. That Canadian came in during his "about". I sound like Lucille I'm squealing. Not even laughing just. "AH HAHAH". "Zing" my guy😭.

Dam bro didnt even get a line. Thats so raven. Wiki mention ayy. The looks like such emos. Just in the graveyard in all black with sunglasses lmao. Gross. "Out" was also said slipping that Canadian accent. Drugs lmao. Pretty vague. WOAH WHAT. I hate to Compulsive heterosexuality. Brought his vision right now is just him being a visual learner come on now.

Awww super rory. Gay implied. Ooh Sarah done fell in love. Gross. Rory listens to metal. Amen. Lmao. Aww bethan. Awww thats sweet. 8 year old girls rule the world lmao. Lmao the grandma. Irish dancing lmao. LMAO THE BURN. Bro. Cmon now. Awww she miss her GF.

Why the book just leave? Jessie is gay. He dating corbin cleu. "What a cool show" LMAO. That is illegal Ethan. Ewwwwww what the frick Benny. Smh. It's okay he just want to kiss the female to see if he liked it or not. He still in love with Ethan tho. RORY! Dam she grabbing her a$$. Lmao the cgi. The slow mo omg. Aww bethan moment. Aww. Bro is Ethan crying. Jessie is gay. BENNY! Him yelling "Courage" to go save Ethan. Aww.

Slay Sarah saved by females. Lol Rory and Erica matching. Gay and gay.

[electricprincess96]

I have found this just chilling in my drafts and well who doesn't want more of me bitching about Jason's design (2 of these are literally just that but hey there's some there that's not)

I likely have way more controversial opinions than this but considering this has been laying in my drafts unfinished for a few weeks now I can't be bothered thinking of more to add to here you go.

_____________________________________

Want more ot my controversial DC Comics (mostly Batman) takes? No? Too bad this is my blog.

Red head Jason Todd is a crime against humanity and fans who call for its return can eat my shoe. Jason's designs in DC Rebirth, Under the Red Hood movie and the Arkham series are all perfect blueprints for what Jason Todd should always look like. I don't need them to turn him into a Roy Harper clone (especially not now that Roy is literally one of Jason's best friends). Also the argument that red head Jason is canon bothers me since the origin in which he had red hair was quite quickly retconned and every version of Jason's actual canon origin story he's always had black or dark brown hair in it.

Wonder Woman is the actual darkest and most violent of the Trinity because she can and will go to places and do things Batman or Superman will not. That doesn't make them worse characters than her but the idea that Batman is the dark, gritty one is laughable when Diana will snap a man's neck. Diana has literally went to war, she has seen and done things her colleagues could only imagine.

Harley Quinn is not the most deserving of Batman's rogues gallery for a redemption arc and let's all be real if she wasn't attractive with a sad backstory she wouldn't be constantly being pushed in both the mainstream and the comics as more of an antihero than a villain. Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy are both better contenders for antihero status but they've both been tainted in the mainstream by the Schumacher film.

Back to bitching about bad Jason Todd designs but eh Red Hood should ALWAYS have a helmet. None of this half mask/domino mask bullshit with an actual hood up. The only time a Red Hood design with an actual hood up has looked good was Arkham. The peak Red Hood design is brown leather jacket, tactical vest underneath with red bat symbol, gun holsters in a similar colour to his jacket, military grade trousers with knee and shin guards, boots to match the jacket AND A RED HELMET. More New52/Early DC Rebirth Outlaws design and less Gotham Wars please and thank you.

Barbara Gordon should never have returned to being Batgirl. Now listen I love Babs, the Gotham Knights quartet of Dick, Babs, Jason and Tim are arguably my favourite group of characters in DC comics. But Babs as Oracle was iconic, I'm aware she's still doing her work as Oracle alongside Batgirl but I don't like that, it's making her juggle too much. Babs as Oracle almost put her on an equal or even greater standing than Bruce within the Bat Family. Like ok he was the patriarch of the Family, he started it but Babs RAN it, nothing got done in that family without Oracle's say so. And I just felt that her being paralysed by the Joker, yet still finding a way to work around her injury and continue to help fight crime in her own way, a way only she could was very empowering. Barbara Gordon was the role model young girls needed and while she is still that as Batgirl I think it was just that little bit more impactful as just Oracle.

[laikynmeng]

https://books2read.com/u/4X2dgv

When he gets insecure and asks why you are with him so you make a list.

1. You wanted to know why I was with you, and I think our blunt questions make it easier to see past the facade. Which is why I am with you.

2. In seventh grade a girl told me I wasn’t pretty because my hair was too dark. You stood on your desk and told the whole class she smelled like melons and that was the worst fruit.

3. Sometimes when I have a few seconds to let my mind wander. It defaults to you. Always. In class, right before I sleep, when I’m stressed. I can feel your smile against my cheek and my heart is at ease.

4. Because I fucking want to be with you, asshole. Don’t make me second guess this shit.

5. I’m with you because if I could pick anyone, I would want to someone who chooses me in the same way I choose them. It isn’t destiny, it’s deliberate.

P.s. I love you, Lad. I think I always have, I hope I always will.

#enemiestolovers #bookstagram #contemporaryromance #romanticsuspense #darkromance #alphahero #sportsromancebooks #romancebooks #books #booklover #romance #bookish #bookstagrammer #kindleunlimited #billionaire #coverreveal #bookworm #newadultromance #antihero #MulticulturalRomance #reverseharem #newrelease #love #secondchance #forbiddenlove #romancereader #book #romancereads #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram

[zykamiliah]

@mysteryteacup og sqq's backstory was not meant to absolve him of his crimes but to give complexity to his character. he was meant to be a tragic villain, not a tragic antihero. whether bingge learned or not about his past, og sqq still abused him and other talented disciples. the other crimes he was accused of, killing lqg and perving after nyy, were a lie, but that doesn't erase the abuse he committed.

irt airplane's writing, what sy complains about is that there were plotholes everywhere, there were too many wives, the villains were all stupid for the sake of the revenge fantasy.

sy/sqq is an unreliable narrator about many things, but not so much about pidw. he tells frankly what he thinks about the novel and what he knows of the plot.

what does sy says about pidw?

-that it was tremendously popular, so popular it inspired the creation of countless novels in the same site

-that the male lead was unusual, and despite this managed to trend with tens of thousands of readers

-that it had A LOT of fanservice

-that it was "so stallion, so money-grubbing and overly padded that it left him speechless with rage" (like tell me this is not a familiar feeling, like when shows continue for season after season that make it worse until the popularity drops and they get cancelled)

-that there were thousands of magic flowers and elixirs which amounted to a lot of unnecessary plot devices

-that most of this plot devices where used for papapa or to make the protagonist more OP

-that the cultivation setting MAKES NO SENSE (and trust me i've read other novels and it's true that the cultivation stages are much more complex than svsss makes it look like)

What kind of cultivation world had people using horses and carriages all day? What kind of cultivation world had people who, after achieving inedia, still needed to eat and sleep? What kind of cultivation world had an author who occasionally mixed up even the stages of Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul?

-that the writing is "grade school level"

-that there were so many landmines/plotholes they broke the suspension of disbelief

-that the villains were all stupid, as i said before

When faced with the protagonist, every single character acted like his total edgelord aura had devoured their intelligence—especially Luo Binghe’s master, Shen Qingqiu(...)

and the thing is, imagine reading pidw and never learning about why sj did the things he did. why yqy was so loyal to sj. imagine that neither of the female characters got development aside from becoming bingge's next hot conquest. imagine if there was no old palace master, the secret villain, no tlj, the final boss, no zzl. imagine there was not sj backstory. imagine that all you get from pidw, after it's promising beginning (because it was, and sy acknowledges it!), is bingge doing the same revenge fantasy thing over and over again. the same fanservice, over and over again. no character gets development, because it's not important. all that matters is the revenge fantasy, and the porn.

So why had Shen Yuan started this book, even going so far as to read it to the very end? Don’t misunderstand, Shen Yuan didn’t enjoy degrading himself. The reason he had persisted was also what had caused him the most frustration. This novel had an incredible amount of foreshadowing, plotlines everywhere, mystery after mystery, layer upon layer of red herrings. And at the very end—not a single one paid off! It was enough to make him want to puke a fountain of blood. Why were priceless herbs, spirit elixirs, and peerless beauties everywhere, like they didn’t cost a cent? Why were the villains’ speeches and poses as they dug their graves and got offed all exactly the same? The dozens of maidens barely glimpsed, all of whom agreed to enter the harem, what happened to them…? All right, skipping that last one for the moment—who had been the culprit behind the scores of atrocities? Exactly what was the purpose of the unending list of characters so hyped up for being awesome and without equal? Why did none of them make an appearance, even at the very end?! Towards the Sky-bro, Airplane-bro, “Great Master”: Can we have a discussion? Fill! In! Plot holes! Okay?! (chapter 1: scum)

tell me you wouldn't hate it.

now, it is true that sy feels a sort of entitlement as a VIP reader, and his treatment of sqh's is harsher than the man deserves, and even if it was shitty writing, it still was popular, it still made airplane money. but popularity doesn't equal quality. airplane took out all the "good" stuff from his original outline because he knew it wouldn't be appreciated. no one wants a protagonist that ends up alone and gets no reward for his suffering.

The Original Outline version of PIDW was a tragedy & one I find fascinating. Both as a measure of how horribly lonely and depressed Airplane was…

And–perhaps unintentionally on Airplane’s part?–as a cautionary tale for how trauma, the desire for revenge, and being unable to move on from those things are bitter poisons that will either kill you or leave you with nothing.

Shen Qingqiu allowed his trauma to consume and define him, bitterly taking it out on those around him and paying for that. As a result of his abuse, Luo Binghe killed and kept killing til the point where nothing of his past was truly left standing. He would have even killed his own father eventually if the outline hadn’t been lost (and then the story significantly altered).

–the father who, and this is an assumption on my part, might have been very different than the one we meet in SVSSS. While I can only speculate on the intended timeline for outline!PIDW, if it still spanned 200 years like the published PIDW did? I can’t imagine being trapped under a mountain for most of it lent itself to being salvageable as a person… and Tianlang-Jun was meant to be the final boss, after all.

One who may have even truly wanted to end humanity – or at least die trying.

[blorbocedes]

i only started watching f1 after dts, and at first i had a very fandom interpretation of nico. like i thought that he was spoilt and annoying and obsessed with lewis, but after mentioning it to my irl bestie who's watched f1 religiously since she was little, like she remembers (just) jenson and kimi as rookies, i realised that i had misjudged him. my bestie was a huge fan of nico's when he was racing and was so thrilled when he won his championship. not knowing this, i mentioned how obsessed he seemed and she bit my head off lol. her memories of f1 in the brocedes years (she's never engaged in fandom so has no idea what fanon opinion of him is) are so different to what people on f1blr think and it's so strange. i was really happy when i stumbled across your blog and the nicosphere because it gave me such a different interpretation of nico and made me realise how differently people interpret him to the way he actually is/was. honestly kind of in love with him now, and it gives me stuff to talk to my bestie about, although she's not into the whole fandom thing

omg your bestie's hand in marriage right now 💍

cause she's right!!! she's saur right. nico isn't even as obsessed with lewis as fanon likes to make it out to be like bringing him up unprompted, he's Asked about lewis or his own championship when he's commentating.....like he's just doing his job😭 and I say this as someone who is brocedes inclined

obviously I can't claim my opinions are unbiased. they're not. he's my bias deal with it 🔫 but he really has been done so dirty by fandom characterization that people think he actually is the B-grade villain evil ex from sewis fics 😭😭😭 bc that's the only exposure of him they have, and as a fellow newcomer to f1 I can't blame anyone for not knowing about a driver who retired 7 years ago. i can only offer my humble nicology degree and us 5 other nicologists 🫡 it ain't much but it's honest work.......

[cutesyangelmoved]

so we not gonna talk about how it was so unnecessary and uncomfortable for kisshu to kiss ichigo

[dirt-grub]

Fuck it might just talk endlessly about the summer camp ep today

[ay0nha]

Strange Days | Stephen Strange

(Shit) Summary: The two are drawn to each other but aren’t supposed to be out of nature. But what happens when opposites constantly and consistently attract?

Pairing: Stephen Strange x femme!OC (antihero of sorts?)

Word Count: ~4K

Warnings: Mentions of inury/cursing/blood/drinking/being drunk/angst

A/N: Had this idea for AWHILE. like years my friends but felt inspired to actually flesh it out.  Hope whoever finds this enjoys.

Timeline isn’t 100% but inspired by. For example with Wong I’m assuming he has done cage fighting for a while and I’m pretending the Stark and Strange know each other before infinity wars. Thank you!

"You know..."  Sofia could feel the warm sigh of his words on the side of her neck as he spoke softly, "It feels like you're getting hurt on purpose with the frequency you're coming to visit me. This is your third visit this month..."

"Don't flatter yourself," She sucked in her breath slightly as the disinfectant touched the fresh flesh wound, "Blame it on the horrendous American healthcare system."

"You mean to tell me the Avengers don't offer coverage?"

"Not when you're only their part-time petty thief."

Stephen's face went expressionless, but his eyes gave away his discontent. She wasn't blind to it either, they were always like that. It had become routine at this point. Sofia would show up at the doorstep of the Sanctum and before she could even think to raise her fist to knock, the door would open because Stephen could sense her on her way. Sofia was starting to think that he used his mystic powers to check on her the same way he knew she'd been pulling her punches to let the fight last a little longer, placing herself in a more precarious situation for the hell of it. Yet, neither would admit their ulterior motives to the other.

As part of their routine, they'd sit in the slightly tense stillness, letting it pass before moving on to the next topic, but Sofia couldn't help but add: "I know what you're thinking."

Stephen hummed for a moment, using his concentration to keep his hands as steady as he could placing the bandage on her neck. Then as he pulled off the latex gloves he said, "I think, you're being reckless."

"I'm making sure you're putting your M.D. to use."

"Cute," He laughed flatly as he cleaned up the remaining dirty gauze and wrapping, "But infected cuts are a little below my pay grade."

"So you're encouraging me to get a brain injury now?" She sucked at her teeth in a teasing way, "What happened to HIPPO?"

She was fully aware she was playing with fire. It had taken months of stumbling in blood for him to acknowledge her, let alone talk about his days before the mystic arts. She knew it was a touchy subject and that it was easier to navigate through humor, something he seemed to appreciate more of as the days passed, but it was always somewhat of a gamble on how he would respond. Today she lucked out as he indulged in her sarcasm.

"You're sharp today."

"That's what happens when you hang out with Wong."

"You two have been spending an...unusual...amount of time together."

She shrugged at the idea, not giving it much thought in the past since it was entirely due to change. She'd met him in passing in Macau, China. It was there she was being messy, enjoying the betting, the drinking, and shouting of the underground ring. Especially when Wong's crackling portals got involved. Then on a particularly good night, she stumbled her way over to congratulate him on his clever win. From there on out, a surprising friendship bloomed which always seemed to ruffle Stephen's feathers. 

"I still think you should join us one of these nights," She smiled, her eye twinkling at the thought. She loved the idea of him being out of place and in her world. He knew she was joking, letting the part of the conversation come to a natural lull.

Usually, now at the end of his aid, she'd already be heading for the door to let herself out. However, today, whether conscious or not, whether Stephen's cloak push him forward or not, followed her to the large front door. While the door opened on its own, a cool draft brushed past Sofia, giving her the breath of fresh air she needed after everything that had gotten her there.

"Well, Doc," Sofia turned on her heel to look back at Stephen from the bottom of the stoop, "As always, appreciate the help."

Stephen let a beat pass after his practiced nod of acknowledgment. She looked back up at him once more, squinting slightly as it was much brighter outside than it was within the sanctum. She could feel the small smile threatening to appear on her face as she watched the internal dialogue happening between him and his cloak as it pulled at his facial hair.

 Finally, not bothering to argue with it he asked her, "Are going to Stark's soiree?"

She laughed lightly at his tone, "Next week right?"

"Yes. Saturday at 9," He recited the details factually, hands clasped behind his back.

"Maybe," She shrugged, sticking her own hands in her pockets, taking a few steps to start walking away. She'd received a save the date and the actual invitation, but didn't bother to RSVP doubting she'd even consider attending. Then with a few more steps she said, "I'll see you around, yeah?"

--- The dress she had on hugged her body tightly, the size fitting poorly. HOwever, that was the consequence of a last-minute decision. Looking around her, the other men, women, and people alike were dressed to the nines with every inch of fabric tailored perfectly to their bodies. They all looked expensive, which was naturally expected of a Stark gathering.

Sofia arrived late, still not convinced she'd even show, but when she did her eyes couldn't help but dart through the crowd. She saw a handful of familiar faces, ones that tried to tell her she could let down her guard for the night, letting her know there was no current mission. But they hadn't realized her mind was elsewhere, look for someone she didn't think she'd find.

"What is he doing here?" Tony approached her with a slightly cynical laugh, "Twenty bucks he's going to tell me that my party is throwing off the fate of the universe."

"He's never come to one of these?" She brought the crystal champagne glass to cover any sort of excitement now that she could spot Stephen, knowing Tony was the type to sniff anything out like a hound. She could already see it in his eyes as the shifted between the two, lips turning up to make a quip, but Sofia beat him to it, "Neither have I."

"Well, that's just because you like to be different," He gave his signature laugh, "But Doc over there, doesn't like me, so this, this is saying something."

"Noted," She looked at Tony expecting more from her. 

Yet as his lips curled up for something witty, he was pulled away for another surface-leveled conversation. He always was a dutiful host, at least when he wanted to be. Tony reveled in knowing people already knew who he was before shaking his hand. However, Sofia avoided it at all costs, coasting through the crowd with only the desire to observe. Like now, she could see how Stephen held himself at a , what she could assume, was a once familiar type of event. She could see how he must of dusted off an old suit that still fit him nicely, if not even better than before as he filled the chest a bit more than he had when I first met him. To anyone else around them, he looked like he belonged, but she could tell he held a slight nervous energy that he expertly covered up with fake charm.

While he chatted with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his still full cup of champagne, he watched Sofia drifted through the crowd grabbing drink after drink from every tray she passed. Then she finally stopped at the open bar for a refill and a point to draw Stephen in, which worked in her favor as he politely excused himself from the people around him. He didn't have to say anything to her as he walked over, she could tell just by the look on his face that he was ready to patronize her.

"That's healed nicely." Stephen was never one for hellos, proving it as he leaned against the counter mirroring my body language while his fingertips traced the barely-there scar on her shoulder. It was an old one, one of the first he had dressed. She wished she had flinched, but instead her body on its own accord took an almost imperceptible shift in weight forward in hope that Stephen would the inspect the others just as closely,  "But this one? How's this one doing?" He tapped lightly on the freshest one, causing her to pull back slightly to his amusement, "Still tender?"

The cut was more of a scrape in comparison to the others he had mended. It was an excuse if anything.

"It's fine," She mumbled, bringing her newly acquired glass to her lips relishing in the alcohols burn as she tried to cover up her flush. It was the type of drink someone ordered to sip throughout the night, but thankfully after sipping her first few, this other one was easier going down.

"Getting drunk is losing control," He let the judgment pass quickly, pushing his still filled glass forward. He was clearly talking from personal experience, but it didn't stop his tone from being intended for Sofia.

"And you always have to be in control?" She countered defensively, her weight shifting back from him. 

"It's preferred."

Their relationship had a natural ebb and flow that could be, but never got to the point of, being volatile. But that didn't stop them from stepping on each other's toes, constantly being on a brink of an argument that neither of them knew the point of.

Therefore she bit her tongue,  giving him a pierced look that last only a moment before she placed a practiced smile on her face to squeeze his shoulder and walk past him to say, "Loosen up."

The two words were enough to set the tone for the night, coming across curt and aggressive. It changed the way she moved that night. She decided to mingle, no longer sticking to the walls. As much as Stephen could turn on his charm, Sofia knew he wasn't conventionally an extrovert. Therefore, she used socializing as he shield from him for the moment knowing he'd rather not interfere than interact.

Sofia talked to just about everyone; she talked to generals, spies, the bride-to-be, and all the plus ones. At this point she was running out of people to use as an escape. She was never one to be nervous to the point where she wasn't sure she was ever capable of the feeling anymore. Feeling Stephen's eyes following her challenged this notion. But she never shied away from a good challenge. She welcomed his scrutinizing gaze unflinchingly, which in turn always bothered him.

So right when she was finally ready to approach him with something smart-alec to say, and old colleague of her that she didn't think she'd think she'd see anytime soon, let alone ever again. Rumor had it he died, but he was always slippery, always able to find a way out, a weasel. It was the way people like him and her worked, luck just seemed to like them a little more than the rest.

"Sof!"

"Klaue," She smiled despite disliking the nickname, "Bold of you to be here."

"I like to play with fire, you know that," He smiled, revealing his gold tooth, "Plus, the bride and husband-to-be are too blissful to notice someone like me... Don't worry, I just like to look."

"Stephen," She introduced him to the conversation, a desperate attempt to get herself out of the conversation, "This one has stickier fingers than I do, keep your eye on him."

"Stickier than you?" Klaue laughed heartily, "She ever tell you the time she got all those books?"

"Books?" Stephens's eyes lighted up slightly at idea. He had always teased her about books.

"Yeah, we don't need to reminisce tonight," Sofia nervously chuckled, hoping he'd drop it.

"No, no," Klaue wagged his finger, "It's my favorite one. She was working with me, right? In comes this guy with bad makeup," He gestured wildly to his eyes, "Horrible, absolutely horrible. And this ponytail...But he was good with magic! Go on, Sof, tell the man! Tell him how he stabbed you just for a few pages!"

"I..."

Sofia's words stopped when Klaue's hand was on her shoulder, as he always was an animated talker. She didn't miss how Stephen's eyes followed Klaue's every move. He was ready to step in if he had to, he almost looked like he wanted to, but continued to refrain. Oblivious to the other man's feelings, Klaue continued, snapping his fingers in front of him to figure out the name on the tip of his tongue, "What was that guy's name?"

Sofia watched in real-time how Stephen's facial expression changed as began to connect the dots of the information that was laid out in front of him.  Sofia tried to step in before it happened, but the action was already in motion, "What about that time we found Wakanda by accident, that-

"Kaecilius?"

"Bingo." Klaue snapped and pointed his finger at Stephen as if he was the man of the hour. It was a long time ago before Sofia was even approached by Shield. She was barely a blip on their radar or anyone's, "You know him?"

"That was you?" Stephen shot her an icy gaze. He had never explicitly told her about Kaecilius, but being in the Sanctum more than once she overheard plenty of the continual mess he had left behind.

"Let me clarify," She spoke calmly not knowing what Stephen's look entailed, but not blind to the fact it wouldn't be good, "It was just a job."

"People died," Stephen's words were clipped, then he added, "And you got a check."

"It was supposed to just be easy money," She said defensively even though it only did a poor job pleading my case, "I thought it was another rich guy looking for a collectible to auction off or something, not, not...Look, it was before I knew you."

"Would that have changed something?" His question was cold. His posture was stiff, exactly how it was when they first met. It could be described as stoic, maybe even cautious.

He looked at her as if all those years ago they were allies like they were now, "It was a one-time thing, I- I didn't understand it all then..."

"You still don't," He noted easily as if it was something he wrestled with on his own time and things had finally become clear for him, "And I'm not sure you ever will."

Her eyes shifted back and forth looking at his own, trying to see if there was any sort of crack, lee-way, but he just stood there, hands clasped behind his back, shut off.

"Klaue, let's get a drink for old time's sake, huh?" She turned to him, wanting to end any conversation with Strange, "You owe me for the vibranium bracelet you stole from me."

--- Sofia could hear it before she could see it. That familiar crackle of a portal was always followed by a stunning orange ring. She hadn't seen them often, really only seeing them in passing or something quick happening in her peripheral, never in her own home.  In the same way, she'd never seen Stephen there, but as he stumbled through, foot almost getting left behind, she froze.

She could see, even in the slight darkness, that he was still in his suit, but he was partly disheveled. The tie had been loosened, the shirt no longer as crisp, and the jacket in his arms. He was mumbling nonsense to himself as if asking himself how he had gotten there, looking around at the new environment.

Rather than greeting her, his eyes went to his right. She was now understanding what was going to happen, "Stephen..."

"You know, I knew you stole this," Stephen touched the dress that now hung from her closet door, the tags still attached. Once he finished inspecting the stolen item, he shuffled closer to her bed. 

"Anyone ever told you it's never safe to drink and Sling Ring?"

"You lie," He stated bitterly, pointing a finger at her angrily, "You lied to me."

"You're quite sensitive, aren't you?" She copied his tone, sitting up in her bed as he slumped against the frame of it for support, "Stephen, I didn't even know you then...I didn't-

"Don't," He stopped her, falling slightly as he spoke at her, "You-You're just, so ignorant."

"I don't have time for this," She started to pull at sheets from her bed, "You need to leave."

"Honestly, I was thinking about it. Everything you do is just plain moronic," He continued as she pulled him up by his arm with the brunt of his weight falling on her as he stood, "You happily put yourself into these situations that never benefit you. It makes zero logical sense."

"Mhmm." She hummed, not really paying too much attention to what he was saying as she shuffled them to the front door. The conversation wasn't unfamiliar territory, but Stephen always held back. It was only little comments here and there passed off as a quip, never full commentary and judgment. They were walking on thin ice for months and finally, they had fallen through.

"You're wasting your potential from the inside out," He continued slurring his words, but making, even in his inebriated state, his point clear, "You need to clean yourself up, stop with all the-" He hiccuped loudly in his tirade, "-All the childish things. You can do so much better."

"I've already gotten enough speeches from Steve," She said while propping him on her hip slightly and opening the door in order to push him out of the apartment, "Take note from him, he actually knows how to give a good one."

"So it's him then, is it?" He said as if he made the newest  discovery, only to correct himself hallway through, "You, you deserv- need...better."

"And that's you? Hmm?" She challenged him despite his stupor. She could see him confusing himself now as he caught his underlying contradictions, "You think you can fix me? You're the only one who wants that."

"Don't be ridiculous," He scoffed, turning to leave only to add more, "You're a glorified pickpocket and I'm a doctor, Sofia. It doesn't work like that."

"I've been waiting for this side of you," She laughed dryly, crossing her arms as he used the frame of my front door to stand, arms positioned above her as he leaned in slightly, "I thought you might have lost that arrogance. Seems like everyone else gets the opportunity to see it and I've finally gotten my turn. I have to say, Stephen, it really suits you."

"No need to get offended, it's not like you were asked to be an Avenger."

"How long have you been waiting to bring that up?" She cocked her head, easily able to remember numerous times in which they'd skirted around the topic, "Why do you even care?"

"Funny that you think I do."

—-

"You called Wong?" Stephen's voice practically bellowed as he descended the staircase at record speed.

Her eyes ached as she watched his face distort into anger only for her to frown at Wong, "You told him?"

"We had lunch plans," Wong shrugged in response. He was also tired of the two of them using him as their in-between as they hadn't talked in months.  It wasn't the most convenient way for the two to reunite, but he did what needed to be done.

"Wong is supposed to be protecting the sanctum, he doesn't have time to-

"Please, not now," She cut him off as she held the Wong had handed her to her eye. Her head was pounding. It was a heist gone wrong. She was double-crossed, knocked hard on the head, and thrown into a cell with one phone call.

Naturally, Stephen didn't listen, instead,  going straight into medical mode. He reached forward to assess the damage as if she hadn't been avoiding medical advice since the last time she'd seen him.

Sofia quickly brushed his touch off, even though she wanted him to check for a concussion to say, "Look here-

She was cut off by an enormous crash coming through the ceiling. Stephen's cloak went around her in an instant, pulling her away from the destruction and the person that had fallen through, before returning back to Stephen who was already on the defense. 

"Thanos is coming."

The news was overwhelming but Stephen was already in action, using his ring to find a resolution. Sofia knew her problems would be shelved as they didn't nearly compare to what was happening now. She was slightly grateful to be able to place herself away from the center of attention to help ease the pain spreading through her hip and back. The three men spoke amongst themselves, then settled on picking up another through a portal.

"Tony Stark. I need you to come with me," Stephen stepped through then added, "Congratulations on the wedding by the way."

His comment made her wonder if Stephen had gone to their wedding as he did to the engagement party solely on the gamble if she were there or not. Sofia thought of going, but her pride wouldn't allow it in the off chance Stephen was also invited.

"I'm sorry are you giving out tickets or something?"

"I need your help," Stephen got to the point, " It's not overselling it to say the universe is at stake."

Sofia watched everything unfold, her brain trying to piece things together as if she knew what was going on. But each minute brought on more confusion to muddle the situation.

"What are you? Are you alright?" Tony pointed at her, stepping through the portal, confusion in his voice trying to figure out the chain of events for himself.

"Fine," She mumbled out, avoiding Stephen's pressing gaze.

Soon, everyone's attention was on the two sorcerers. Wong and Stephen took turns explaining the stones, creating an image in front of them as a visual. Even with the visual, Sofia couldn't comprehend what was going to happen. No one could, it sounded fake, unheard of, unimaginable, unfathomable. While Stephen spoke, she read his face. Even though he was explaining the situation, his mind was elsewhere as if trying to piece together something else, something completely irrelevant to the ongoing situation. Wong noticed it too, stepping in every so often to help explain to the others. When Stephen chest started to glow green to reveal the time stone Sofia's stomach dropped as she got a sinking feeling about what was to come next.

"Thanos," Bruce repeated the name, "He's a plague, Tony..."

Sofia's ears started ringing because of the news, tuning out her surroundings. That was until something was felt throughout the city. Commotion erupted immediately and could be heard when Tony opened the Sanctums doors. From the little she could see, Sofia watched as people ran by, tripping over themselves to get as far as possible. Her body was slow-moving, not quite catching up to the immediate situation but she snapped out of my daze slightly when Stephen approached her.

"Stay here," Stephen instructed her, following the rest outside within moments.

"Where do you think you're going?" She trailed after him quickly as his face shifted into concentration assessing the already done damage. He quickly glanced back at her realizing his attempt to have me stay behind failed, "Stephen!"

He was ignoring her the way she ignored the pain shooting through her body. Tony was the first to call for emergency aid but Stephen was quick to catch up, moving everyone in front of them to a hopefully secure location far away from any danger on its way. He glanced back at her, his eyes cracking his expression slightly with a worried gaze before snapping back.

"Stay behind me." He was telling her what to do but was also begging her to follow them.

Stephen's tone was stern, his focus on the imminent threat and not on her protests towards him. Sofia knew he had sworn to protect the world, keep the time stone, and be sorcerer supreme, but she wanted him, for just a moment, to drop it all . As a hero, as a protector of the realms, he would never, could never. It was the nature of their relationship. She was selfish in comparison to him, in it for the money, the thrill, for anything but the sake of the world. The world for all she cared could screw itself.  She would, could never be torn the same way he was.

"Bring me the stone."

Almost simultaneously, Stephen opened a portal, "You need to go. Now."

"Stephen," She grabbed his wrist, begging him for something she wasn't sure how to verbalize. The two of them balancing carefully between the portal, one of them on each side, "Please."

"I can't."

[incorrectbatfam]

Stepmom!Selina?

She sees what she's getting into from a mile away, but she welcomes it because Bruce's kids are a part of him, and she loves all of Bruce.

The kids all see it coming too, and while some (Damian) take longer to warm up to her, she's welcomed into the fold with open arms.

Selina's got a heart as big as her partner and while she's not always perfect, you can see how much she cares.

As a former foster child herself, Selina understands Duke's unique experiences and traumas from the foster care system, so whenever he needs to talk, she's the first one he goes to. Sometimes he doesn't want to (or need to) talk, so they'll watch boxing matches or she'll teach him little bits of Mandarin. If the kitchen isn't busy, they'll try their hand at new TikTok recipes, and film themselves either succeeding or debunking the original poster.

Being raised in isolation to be a human weapon meant Cass missed out on a lot of the things daughters typically learn as children/teens. The evening of Cass's first gala, she didn't know the first thing about doing her own hair and makeup. She's braved assassin armies, but her self-made disaster of bobby pins and eyeshadow nearly drives her to tears. Selina swoops in, wipes Cass's face with gentle reassurances, and walks her through step-by-step.

Selina considers it a privilege to have watched Dick grow from the spunky little Robin to the man he is today. Even though he's taller than her, she still ruffled his hair when he does a good job. She also keeps the first ever birthday card he gave her, which includes a pop-up bat signal and scented stickers, and remembers all of his favorite radio stations. Also, when Bruce does something, Dick goes tattling to Selina.

For a while, Carrie mooched off of her siblings' Netflix profiles, but everyone got tired of her messing up their algorithm and she was forced to make her own. She soon realized how much freedom she had because no one could see what she was watching. Selina caught on to the power trip and started researching and watching snippets whenever a new show comes out. That's how she stopped a bunch of preteen girls from watching Squid Game.

Tim often gets overlooked as not just the middle child, but the child who appears put-together and regularly takes on adult responsibilities. Selina, however, remembers that he's still a teenager. She regularly checks in and gradually teaches him that it's okay to let go and act his age. Selina encourages him to call his Young Justice friends outside of missions and take small acts of rebellion against Bruce. When Tim and his boyfriend snuck out to a famous lover's lookout, Selina gave them the car keys and covered for them.

She noticed that Jason really enjoys hanging out with Harley Quinn, bonding over not just Joker trauma but other shared interests like music taste. After Harley turns to the antihero side, Selina discusses with Bruce and they start inviting Aunt Harley and Aunt Ivy to dinner. The first time they do that, Harley is so excited that she baked a three-layer cake just for Jason. Literally, in strawberry frosting, it said, "THIS CAKE IS FOR JASON ONLY." Finding someone that Jason can relate to remains one of Selina's proudest accomplishments.

She's trying her best, but she makes mistakes too. For instance, although Wayne Manor has plenty of kitchen space, Selina does her cooking at Harley and Ivy's because Ivy can offer her fresh plant-based ingredients that suited Damian's needs. When Alfred's not available, she sends Damian to school with healthy, flavorful vegan lunches shaped into Cheese Viking characters. One time, she was tasked with bringing brownies to a PTA meeting. Incidentally, Harley was simultaneously baking a... different kind of brownie for a block party (you can see where this is heading). When an angry superintendent demanded to know who was responsible, Selina wisely kept her mouth shut and thankfully, so did Damian.

Cullen loves concerts, but he's a huge introvert who gets anxiety when he's left alone in a crowd. Selina becomes his concert buddy, and she'll go as all-out as he does. Sometimes that's showing up to a garage band dressed-down in hoodies and sunglasses. Other times it's painting their faces and looking like they just came out of a Hot Topic blowout sale. She even listens to the discography beforehand so she can blend in. Selina learns a lot about Cullen through this, because nothing says more about a person than the music they listen to.

Harper, though looking rough around the edges, turns into a giddy little kid at interactive science museums. During one of these trips, Harper got distracted by the giant Newton's Cradle so she didn't notice a fourth grade field trip sweeping up Selina. When they reunited at the gift shop, a chaperone had given Selina a school t-shirt and she was put in charge of grading ten kids' assignments. Harper laughed so hard that she spewed lemonade on the museum owner. Neither of them will let the other live that day down.

Selina and Barbara openly talk about guy stuff, and Selina is more than happy to offer advice in times of need. They're both pretty liberal talking about that stuff, and one time they did a tier ranking of all the Gotham Rogues based on how effective their gimmick is (Joker was the only S-tier). They then proceeded to get into a debate on whether or not Man-Bat and Killer Croc should qualify for the list, which led to them staring each other down at dinner while the other family members sat around them confused.

Steph's school offered a Mother's Day breakfast. Although Crystal Brown was doing her best and wanted to make it, she was scheduled a double-shift that the breakfast fell right in the middle of. Selina reached out to Crystal and with permission, went in her place. Afraid that Steph would publicly reject her, Selina sat in the parking lot for ten minutes as Bruce amped her up over the phone. Steph, thinking that no one would no up, was ecstatic and said that she couldn't have thought of anyone better. They enjoyed stacking up waffles and making the girls who bully Steph envious.

Long before she and Bruce got married, Selina made it clear that she would not be relegated to the gender-typical role of a homemaker, and Bruce happily concurred because it's 2021. They knew that to give Alfred a break, they'd have to take on some chores themselves. Instead of dividing up a boring old chore chart, they find ways to make cleaning fun and collaborative. They'll dance around the halls in mop slippers, play "guess the stain", and race their roombas. The kids see this and start modeling the behavior in their own ways—Dick swings from high places to dust them, Damian trains his pets to pick up garbage, and Cass and Duke compete to see who can clean the most bathtubs.

Some parts of the Manor are due for redecorating, so Selina and Alfred make a day trip out of interior design sketches, flipping through furniture catalogues, and looking at paint swatches. It sounds boring at first, but the menial tasks meant they had plenty of time for conversation, and she finally understood why everyone respects him. They also made room in the afternoon for a stroll through the park and afternoon tea, where he told her and her only the secret to a perfect scone.

The other Justice League partners welcome her into the group too. Whenever Selina's in Metropolis, she joins Lois and Ma and Pa for Sunday brunch where they share what their kids have been up to. Iris shows her life hacks to cooking large batches of food in a short time. Selina and Dinah discover an online store dedicated to selling vigilante gear and go on a Cyber Monday spree for their whole families. Steve Trevor, Diana's partner, teaches Selina how to fly with the invisible jet so she can surprise Bruce with the batplane.

After overcoming their initial conflicts, Selina and Talia hold a high amount of respect for each other. Talia sees Selina as not just a capable combatant, but a worthy partner to her former beloved and stepmother to her son. Selina, after spending all that time with the kids, understands the motherly love that Talia holds for Damian and makes it abundantly clear that she would never try to replace Talia in the boy's life. Regardless, looking after all those kids is hard, so they are very much open to the idea of co-parenting.

(Selina doesn't know it, but all this makes Bruce fall in love with her all over again.)