#i just love how similar they are but how different their executions are

[ofbatsandballads]

Yay! I’m so glad you take requests. Feel free to decide if you want to write this or not, it’s fine either way :)

So, I was thinking about Jason dating civilian!reader, and her coming home all disheveled and horrified. Since she knows about him being Red Hood, she can confide in him. She had just killed someone for the first time, whether it was an accident, self defense or whatever, you decide.

I was just wondering how Jason would handle this situation since usually he’s the one doing the killing.

Thank you <3

oh, this is amazing food for thought. I actually think he’d be the very best person to come to in such a situation because he has experience with killing. who’s gonna understand you better than him? literally nobody. had something similar to this in my drafts but now my mind is whirling in a whole host of directions. excellent prompt, nonnie!

jason todd x f!reader. warnings include graphic depictions of violence and killing (in self defense), attempted and failed sexual assault, the aftermath of both events (reader’s in shock), hurt/comfort. this one’s got heavier subject matter so please do mind the warnings, folks. i did way too much research of the Gotham Knights map for this, but it’s my favorite depiction of the city so so be it. also reader and Jason live in the Belfry bc i said so (personal hc that i may or may not elaborate on some time). and one last thing! the romanized Arabic at the end is “حياتي ” which translates to “my life”. I love the idea that Jason picked up Arabic terms of endearment from Talia calling Bruce just about every one she could.

Jason wakes up to soft afternoon sunlight shining on his face. He grumbles out a gravelly hum and scrunches up his face in protest against being awakened when he was sleeping so nicely. He reaches out to find the comforting warmth of his beloved beside him, to pull you in and bury his face into your hair so he can hide from the morning for a bit longer.

All he finds are cold sheets and an empty pillow.

He bolts upright. Something’s wrong. You never, never wake up before him. He doesn’t even register the way that the sudden abundance of light stings his eyes. He takes stock of his surroundings, his training executing on autopilot. The open layout of the Belfry lets him get his bearings in seconds. He doesn’t see you anywhere from the bird’s eye view of your loft bedroom. There’s no smell of food in the kitchen nor any mess that would indicate you’d been working in there. The living room space, fully visible below, is empty too. The only enclosed space in your home, the bathroom that’s just around the corner from your bedroom, is dead quiet. No running water, no sweet singing, no familiar coughing from swallowed toothpaste. And without so much as leaving your bed, Jason’s already come to a conclusion that sends his heart pounding and dries his throat. You’re not here.

He’s up and grabbing the 9mm taped under your bedside table in the span of a few breaths. He moves through your home methodically, like he’s clearing one of Gotham’s criminal hideouts. There’s no sign of a struggle. Nothing’s been disturbed. He’s not surprised by this—barring Wayne Manor, the Belfry is the most secure building in Gotham. That’s precisely why Jason had moved you both here once you decided to live together. He checks the coffee table and sees that your phone and wallet are gone. A different type of fear takes over now. One that makes his heart ache. What if you’ve finally had enough, finally seen that he’s not good enough for you, not worth sticking around for? It makes him sick. He swallows hard and tries to clear the blistering thought from his head. No, that’s not you. You’re not cruel. You’re kind and gentle and loving. You wouldn’t hurt a fly. And you wouldn’t hurt him.

The sight of gears turning in his periphery catches his attention. He sees the cables pulling and the security panel go green, and he’s running to the elevator doors damn near ready to pry them open. He hastily tucks the 9mm into the waistband of his pajama pants, easily within reach if he needs it. Relief floods him when the huge metal doors grind open and he sees your pretty face on the other side. Then his heart drops when he realizes that that pretty face is scraped and splattered with blood.

Your hair is tangled and wet, dripping dirty water down your neck and staining the bright red of his your favorite hoodie. Your hands, which shake as they reach blindly towards him, are stained crimson and battered too. But it’s your eyes that haunt him. You look broken.

“Jay,” you croak out, unable to summon anything but a plea for the one person who can keep you safe.

The tears fall from your eyes at the same time that you collapse into Jason’s arms. He drags you inside and locks down the Belfry. Jason wants to panic but feels a strange sense of calm about himself. As loathe as he’d be to admit it, he finds himself falling into Bruce’s habit of assessment and action.

“Baby, what happened?” he asks, voice steady and assured.

You don’t even hear him. You’re digging your hands into his shirt, clinging on to him like he’s the only thing keeping you tethered to Earth. He may very well be. He feels you going rigid and cold and he knows he has to get you stable before you descend further into shock.

“Listen to me,” he says firmly, adding on and enunciating your name for emphasis.

That sparks some semblance of lucidity. Jason hasn’t called you by your name in months, much preferring you be his baby or his sweetheart or his doll, or simply his. If it jars you back to reality, so be it.

“I need you to tell me what happened,” he demands gently.

It all pours out of you like a flood.

You’d woken up early by chance this afternoon. Normally you’d just close your eyes and snuggle closer to Jason to catch a couple more hours of sleep, but you wanted to do something nice for him. So you’d gotten up and gone to Lemay’s Flower Emporium in Gotham Heights. You’d bought him the prettiest bouquet of red and pink roses, so big that you had to hold on to it with both arms. The taxi ride from the Heights back to Coventry Station went fine. You were almost home. So close that you could see the clock tower where your heart was sleeping peacefully.

Then you stopped at Commerce Avenue Station. You just wanted to get him some pastries from the little bakery tucked away on 3rd Street that you both love. It was a decent walk; you knew that. You also knew that Jason wouldn’t want you to go out of your way by yourself. But it was morning and you were a grown woman and you could handle yourself, right? Well, that’s what you thought until a pair of hands clamped down on your shoulders and yanked you violently into a side alley.

Jason had prepared you for something like this. You’d spent countless evenings with him teaching you self defense techniques in the training area of your home. None of it mattered because the man that had you by the shoulders slammed you so hard into the brick wall that all your thoughts went hazy. Before you could regain your footing, you were shoved to the ground. The bitter sting of your palms scraping open pierced through the fog, as did the crushing weight of the vile man on top of you. Fear shot through you as the man started tugging at his belt and you realized that this wasn’t intended to be a mugging. You tried to scream but a grimy hand clamped over your mouth, hitting your head against the ground and soaking your hair in dirty rain water and blood.

Your eyes darted around in search of someone—anyone. But no one was coming. You felt fingernails scratch against your stomach as clammy hands curled into the waistband of your sweatpants and suddenly you saw your savior. A brick from the damaged alleyway laid within reach. You didn’t even think when you grabbed it, when you swung it as hard as you could into the side of the man’s head. The corner hit his temple and he crumbled to the side. You rose to your knees and hit the man again. And again. All you could remember were Jason’s firm instructions: if someone makes it a choice of you or them, you make sure that it’s you no matter what it takes.

“I don’t r-remember anything else,” you sob into his chest. “There was so much blood, Jason. And his head—oh, God.”

Jason shushes you gently. He holds you tight in his arms like he’s terrified that if he loosens his grip even slightly, you’ll fade away on him.

“Don’t think about it, baby. You did what you needed to do. You protected yourself. I’m so proud of you.”

“I killed someone, Jason. I killed someone.”

You look at him wide eyed—afraid, horrified, guilty. No. Jason won’t have that. You will not feel guilty over some lowlife scumbag who wanted to hurt you, who probably would have killed you. Jason can’t even stomach the thought. He wants to put a bullet into whatever’s left of that predator’s head. No, the only shame in you killing that man is that you got to him before Jason could.

“I need you to listen to me,” he says, repeats your name again for emphasis. “You. Did. Nothing. Wrong.”

“Someone’s dead because of me, Jay,” you argue, gripping him tighter as your panic rises.

“Baby, do you know how many people are dead because of me?” he asks. “Far, far more than I’d ever want you to know. Do you think I’m a monster, honey? That I did something wrong?”

He knows it’s an apples to oranges comparison. But you’ve used this same tactic on him so many times that he also knows it’s effective. Every time he demeans himself for something, you ask if he’d treat you the way he treats himself for the same thing. The answer is always no.

“No!” you reply emphatically. “You protect people. You do it to keep people safe.”

“You did it to keep yourself safe.”

“But—”

“No buts. Or ifs. No ands, either, just in case you get any ideas,” he says lightly, brushing a speck of blood off your cheekbone.

You smile at his stupid little comment and he feels the tension in his body release just slightly. As long as there’s light back in your eyes for even a moment, he knows that you’ll be okay. He picks you up, lets you cling your arms around his neck and bury your face in his chest as he carries you to the bathroom upstairs. He runs you a bath and, after asking repeatedly if you were okay with it, undresses you and washes the blood and grime from your body. He wraps you in a big fluffy towel, dries and brushes your hair, and tends to your injuries before he bundles you up in his comfiest hoodie and pajama pants. He soothes you when your tears make their return and never leaves your line of sight because he knows he makes you feel safe.

The thought gnaws at him throughout the day. It outright scalds him as he lies in bed with you after deciding to skip patrol. He’s failed you. Failed to protect you, failed to ensure nothing harms a hair on your head. He’s failed at taking care of you, the one thing that matters more to him than anything else. He’s seconds away from spiraling into self hatred when your sweet voice comes calling, soft and pleading.

“Jay…please stay with me,” you say softly.

Your eyes are clear and focused again. You squeeze his waist tight where your arms are wrapped around him, like you’re physically trying to anchor him in place in your bed. The look on your face says that you know exactly where his mind was headed. You see right through him. It makes him feel more vulnerable than anything else, and it surprises him how much he loves the feeling. And Jason, as always and for eternity, can’t bring himself to deny you. So he pulls himself together and shoves all his self loathing down. He can deal with it later—you need him more right now.

“I’m right here, hayati. Not goin’ anywhere, I promise.”

He kisses you gently and feels some of that self hatred wash away when you chase after him for more goodnight kisses. He feels it dissipate even more when you fall asleep in his arms with a soft smile on your face. It’s all but forgotten as he drifts off too, safe in the knowledge that you’re here with him, that he can feel your heart beating pressed tight against his own.

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

Cecio & his fathers family

Cecios' father is an old noble of Andoran, from a family who made the smart decision of backing the rebellion. Taking in his bastard son was a double edged move, on one hand, he's displaying the ideal that everyone is equal, while also displaying the pedigree & faith of their lineage by having an Aasimar son. 

His father mainly pulled this move because rumors were getting loud about how the family had not fully changed to the nation's new beliefs, and were merely paying lip service to them.

His family is made up of four, his father, the patriarch, a noble turned merchant, who does the bare minimum of lip service towards the current principles of Andoran. He's not particularly corrupt, and by the standards of the previous regime, would have been a gracious lord, but his lack of care towards what used to be the lower classes and particularly his bastard son is a stain on what would be an average merchant lord. 

The eldest son, a man who did his time in the eagle knights, and is now working his way up in the government, hoping to take over his fathers role as the one in council seat, a cold and distant man, one who failed to shed his noble air, and thus only has friends among the nobles, neutral or unpopular among most people.

The youngest son, a shirt chasing fool who is currently a squire for a suffering knight, but one can suppose that the coin makes up for it, he's completely unfit for command and will probably spend the rest of his life wasting his father's coin on cover ups and fine food and clothes

The deceased wife, Cecio's stepmother, a woman who was understandably uncomfortable with the proof of her husbands infidelity under her roof, but who took it out on the neglected child, orchestrating the stealing of his finances, leading to Celia needing to fund his training, all as his father neglected him.

The family enjoyed little change in conditions, as they used their power to gain a large share of the artifact and treasure seeking market, not to mention offering their troops to the eagle knights, meaning they have considerable power for a noble family. It seems the new family tradition is the eldest going into government, and the second eldest going into the eagle knights. 

It seems that Cecio will be the one in the eagle knights, as while all three have gone through knight training, the eldest has firmly gone into government, and the youngest is ill equipped to fight on a serious battlefield, let alone take command and rise to the position expected of him. 

So Cecio works his way up through the Eagle Knights, being sent with the knight he's a squire for to the World Wound, and Mendev. He quickly becomes a full knight, and is granted command over a small group of crusaders thanks to his diligent studying. 

He only enjoys command for a year or two, before he wakes up in Drezden on a stretcher. Only time will tell where he goes from there.

[planet4546b]

image id: tags that read ‘#i am MOSTLY a cartoon fan but i do try to periodically get into other mediums too

#books podcasts live action etc etc

#it's Important that i go do shit like hyperfixate on dracula for a couple months

#so that i don't become the type of adult who would like. run a

"steven universe critical" blog

#if you consume media that is all the same genre and medium and intended demographic

#then you end up forgetting that genre and medium and intended demographics are Things that apply to media

#and the way you talk abt said media will make that fact quite clear’. end id.

a mistake that a lot of people make is being a fan of only one kind of media. that's where marvel fan brainrot comes from, that's where gamer brainrot comes from, that's where anime fan brainrot comes from. you need healthy variety to maintain good media literacy

[boygirlctommy]

thinks about my d.smp ocs

[fanfictionismyaddiction]

The Spotlight She Never Noticed

Word Count: 878

Pairing: Toto Wolff x reader

Summary: Y/n, unaware of her beauty, finds herself attracting newfound attention after being with Toto Wolff, leading her to slowly see herself through his adoring eyes.

________________________________________________________

Y/n L/n always considered herself an average woman. Sure, she had her moments when she caught a glance in the mirror and thought, Not bad, but she never considered herself striking. She grew up surrounded by friends and family who treated her with love and warmth but weren’t the type to dwell on physical appearances. Compliments on her looks were rare, and when they did come, she brushed them off as politeness rather than genuine admiration.

Life took an unexpected turn when she fell for Toto Wolff, the towering, charismatic team principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team. Toto, with his Austrian charm, sharp intellect, and undeniable presence, was a man who could command attention in any room he entered. Yet, he only had eyes for Y/n.

Their relationship was a whirlwind. She’d met him during a charity gala in Monaco, where she had been invited as a plus-one by a friend. Y/n spent most of the evening blending into the background, nursing a glass of champagne, and admiring the glamour from afar. When Toto approached her, she’d thought at first he must have mistaken her for someone else. Why would he want to talk to her?

But Toto saw something in Y/n that she couldn’t see herself. Her natural beauty, wit, and kindness captivated him. He was persistent, charming her with his quick humor and genuine interest in her life. Slowly, Y/n let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, she was special in his eyes.

Months into their relationship, Toto began introducing Y/n to his world. The glamorous paddocks, VIP events, and high-profile parties became a part of her life. She felt out of place at first, standing next to models, celebrities, and executives who radiated confidence. But Toto’s unwavering support helped her adjust.

What Y/n didn’t notice—at least at first—was how other men began to look at her differently.

The Shift

At a private dinner in London, Y/n was chatting with one of Toto’s colleagues when she felt an unfamiliar gaze lingering on her. She glanced up to find a young marketing executive staring at her with an intensity that made her cheeks flush.

“Sorry, I—uh—didn’t catch what you said,” he stammered, clearly caught off guard.

Y/n blinked. Was he… flustered? She laughed it off and repeated herself, but the encounter left her puzzled.

Over the next few weeks, similar incidents began to pile up. At a race weekend, a journalist held her hand a little too long while introducing himself. A barista at her favorite café gave her a drink on the house, insisting it was “on him.” Even a waiter at a restaurant Toto had taken her to seemed to pay her more attention than necessary, addressing her with compliments and a lingering smile.

Y/n brushed it off, assuming people were simply being polite or trying to impress Toto through her. But then she noticed something else: the compliments were directed at her, not Toto.

“You look stunning tonight,” the waiter had said.

“Absolutely breathtaking,” murmured the journalist.

At first, she mentioned it to Toto with a laugh. “I think people are just nice because I’m with you.”

Toto frowned slightly, his protective side surfacing. “That’s not it, Y/n. You’re beautiful. They’re noticing what I’ve always seen.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re biased.”

“I’m not,” Toto insisted, taking her hand. “But I’m starting to think I need to keep an eye on you. These men clearly have no shame.”

Y/n laughed, dismissing his concern. But deep down, she began to wonder.

The Realization

It wasn’t until a sponsor’s gala in Monaco that everything clicked for her. She wore a sleek, emerald-green gown that Toto had picked out for her, claiming it matched her eyes perfectly. When she walked into the ballroom on his arm, heads turned.

Throughout the evening, men approached her with compliments and subtle flirtations, even when Toto was only a few feet away. One particularly bold individual—a young driver from a rival team—brazenly asked her to dance.

Before Y/n could respond, Toto stepped in, his arm tightening around her waist. “She’s taken,” he said firmly, his voice low and commanding. The driver quickly retreated, but Toto’s jaw remained tense for the rest of the evening.

On the drive home, Y/n finally voiced her confusion. “Why is this happening? None of this ever happened before you.”

Toto glanced at her, his expression softening. “Because you didn’t see yourself the way others see you. And now, they’ve finally noticed what I knew all along.”

“But why now?”

“Confidence, Schatz.” He smiled, taking her hand. “You carry yourself differently now. You’re with me, yes, but it’s not about my status. You’ve always been beautiful, but now you believe in yourself a little more, and people can see it.”

Y/n frowned, trying to process his words. “I don’t know… I still feel like the same person.”

“You are,” Toto reassured her. “But you’re starting to see yourself through my eyes. And that’s a good thing. Just don’t let it go to your head,” he teased, leaning over to kiss her temple.

Y/n laughed, her heart swelling with love. She still wasn’t sure if she believed him, but maybe, just maybe, she was starting to see herself a little differently.

[authorhjk1]

I enjoyed reading about how each member of aespa would suck dick. Could you also do one for ltzy?

Yeji

Whenever Yeji puts her hair in a ponytail, or simply drops to her knees, without any build up, she always has something on her mind. Which is your pleasure. For her, this is all about you. When you tell her to deepthroat you, she does it. When you tell her to drool and choke on your cock, she makes her blowjob really sloppy. She loves to hear you groan her name, when she is about to make you cum.

Ryujin

Ryujin loves to make life difficult for you. Whenever the two of you are home, she almost makes you beg for it. She acts like a beat, always pretending not to like idea of giving you head, even when you offer to eat her out first.

In public, it's almost like she is a different person. She loves to tease you, when other people are around. Letting her hand graze against your crotch, giving you a seductive smile, biting her finger. And when she finally does convince you to let her suck you off in public, which she always manages to do, she pretends to be at home. As if she has all the time in the world, Ryujin takes longer than usual to pleasure you with her mouth. And loud noises are a must. You've almost been caught so many times, just because someone heard Ryujin gag on your cock.

Chaeryeong

She never initiates something herself. Especially not in public. Chaeryeong always acts shy and innocent, when you ask her anything sexual. And most of the time, that's also how she is in bed. Submissive, shy, innocent, embarrassed whenever you can't help but stare at her beautiful body.

And most of the time, her blowjobs are the same. They always start out with her shyly looking at your cock, before slowly wrapping a hand around it and then carefully sticking her tongue out to give you a lick. But sometimes, after her initial innocence, Chaeryeong shows you a slightly wilder side of hers. It doesn't happen often. But when it does, you can't help but let her do what she wants with you. Her blowjob is quick and executed with precision in these moments. No room for error, often fueled by either intense lust, or anger after an argument. Chaeryeong can look scary sometimes, but it that's her way of getting rid of her anger, by all means...

Lia

Lia is similar to Chaeryeong, when it comes to blowjobs in public. With her, you're often the one who initiates something as well. But from time to time, Lia likes to surprise you. Especially on important days, like your birthday for example. And while she is not a fan of public sex, she really likes to give you head, when the two of you are in a safe place.

Yuna

I think it's safe to say that everyone knows how Yuna is. There are barely any smut fics about her, where she isn't a real slut. Which also explains, why she loves to suck you off. Whenever and wherever. Yuna likes to keep it sloppy and loud. Similar to Ryujin. But not because she wants you to be afraid of getting caught, she just can't help herself. She loves whatever position you put her in. During sex, while you eat her out, while she gives you head. She doesn't care. Or rather, the dirtier, the better. Make her kneel, or make her lie on a table, her head dangling off the edge. Use her hair, as a tool to push and pull her onto your cock. Fuck her head against a wall. Yuna would never complain, no matter what you do to her.

[saturnsocoolioyep]

Ultimate Anime Tournament: Round 3, Matchup 32

[always-just-red]

hello <3 could you do number 18 on the prompt list for rafayel or sylus? I just read no.15 that you did and i love your writing style

Hey! And aww thank you so much! I opted for Sylus for this one, hope you enjoy! 🥰💕

Snow Angels

Sylus x Reader 🩸

Prompt #018: falling into soft snow to create snow angels, flailing wildly on the ground.

Warnings/Additional tags: gn!reader, established relationship, some mutual bullying (but it comes from a place of love 😌)

| Word count: 1.3k | Masterlist | Opt-in to my taglist here!

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Love and Deepspace. All work is my own, so please don't repost or plagiarise!

Sylus doesn’t know why you would want to kill him, and he’s running out of time to figure it out.

You walk beside him solemnly, snow crunching beneath your boots while the bitter breeze plays with the upturned collar of your coat. When your lips part every so often— to release a particularly heavy breath— it looks like smoke from a fire he wouldn’t mind burning in. Cold and crystalline. Warm. The warmest thing in these white, wintery woods.

He glances around the skeletal trees, all gilded with silver. It isn’t bad, as final resting places go.

You haven’t said a word for ten minutes.

You stop, fatefully.

It’s time, then, is it? Sylus stops too, letting out his own billow of frosted breath. His hands are buried deep in his coat pockets. He’s been wondering how he got here, ever since the two of you started this morbid little march together. Was it that stunt he pulled at Association Headquarters last week? When he paid you a surprise visit, bundled in a hat and an absurdly long scarf, which was not (you lectured, as you escorted him from the building) cute, funny, or an even passable disguise.

It might have been the arcade. Two days ago. You’d asked for— what was it? — some crow that was somehow different from the two dozen others you’ve amassed between you. He’d won it, hadn’t he? Except no, it was the wrong one, you wanted that one, the one that was— oh forget it, Sylus. This one is fine, too.

Maybe it wasn’t fine. One wrong plushie too far, and you’ve finally snapped. Somewhere above where the two of you are standing, Mephisto caws, as if to add to the suspense. He’s always had a penchant for theatre.

“It’s pretty here, isn’t it?” you say, gazing out over your surroundings, and you must like theatre as well.

“Mmm,” Sylus agrees vaguely. He’s thinking about how preventable this all was.

“Is that Mephisto over there?” you ask, pointing. “Is he in trouble?”

You’re lying through near-chattering teeth, pointing at nothing, and he doesn’t need to look to know it. Mephisto is still perched overhead, betraying your bluff, and you haven’t even noticed. Oh, the irony. Sylus is going to die here because he can’t tell an ultra-rare crow plush from its common subspecies, but you? You couldn’t pick Mephisto out in a field full of gulls, let alone other crows.

You’ve made your feint, though. A distraction: the opening for that knockout punch you’ve been fantasising about throughout the course of this entirely innocent, not-at-all suspicious hike.

He turns, anyway— red eyes following the line of your finger through the white of the woods— and awaits his execution.

Waiting.

Waiting.

You shove him with all of your might, and it…

… Doesn’t move him. Not even an inch.

Your profession is death-dealing, your world is dangerous. Never once has Sylus doubted your ability to survive it, conquer it, walk from the bones of it like its rightful sovereign, but that faith collapses beneath one simple question:

Is that it?

He turns back to you in disbelief, mouth threatening to grin. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Your eyes are wide with guilt and a similar shock. “It was… I mean, it was just…” You give up. “Ugh, you ruin everything! How the hell are you so strong?”

“Born with it, sweetie,” Sylus chuckles— what a stupid question. “How are you so weak?”

“I’m not weak!”

He lifts an eyebrow. “I thought the breeze had picked up. Perhaps a falling leaf had struck me, or a—”

“Shut up!” You stoop, collecting and launching a handful of snow at him, but most of it falls short. “Just shut up, okay?”

You’re actually disappointed? Sylus casually brushes away the little snow that had reached him and dusted the black of his coat. He’s not sure what you expected from a single shove and a half-assed snowball. If you wanted to do this properly, you’d have at least brought a gun.

Still. “Push me again,” he says with a smirk, because look at you: you’re really worked up about this, huh?

You frown at first, but then your disappointment goes like morning frost, kissed by sunlight. Your lips curve with his favourite smile. With your eyes ablaze, you push him again.

He doesn’t fall slowly; he drops.

“Ha!” you exclaim with a gleeful cackle, shockingly free from concern as he lies in the thick snow, thinking he maybe overcommitted to his descent. His body might ache if it wasn’t already going numb from the cold. His eyes are closed. New flakes of snow are settling on him, trying to bury him, but it’ll take much, much more than that.

Mephisto caws above like he’s in mourning.

“Happy, sweetie?” Sylus enquires, opening one eye. A dead man in a play, peeking to see if the curtain’s come down yet so he can finally move.

Instead of answering, you throw yourself down in the snow beside him with a shriek of delight. The snow is so high around his face that he can barely see you. He hears you moving: dragging the snow back and forth with flailing limbs. “Make a snow angel with me, Sy!” Is that what that is? You look like baby turtle, flipped on its shell. “Come on! It looks so cute when they do it in the movies!”

“Cute?” he mimics, unimpressed.

“Romantic,” you offer up instead, and sure enough— with a groan of lament— the leader of Onychinus starts to move his arms and legs. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Mephisto is cawing with more enthusiasm, and it sounds an awful lot like your cackle. Thankfully, the sound is easy to forget with all the swooshing, crunching snow. Sylus can’t feel his hands or his feet, but he’ll never hear the end of it if he gives out first.

Eventually, you go still. No more swooshing or crunching. Mephisto is silent. Sylus goes still, too.

“Sy?” you whisper.

“Hmm?”

“…I’m cold.”

He scoffs, sitting up and shaking his head to dislodge the snow that’s clinging to his hair and back. With another groan, he gets himself to his feet. Looks down at you lying there, staring up at the sky like you’re full of regret. He is also cold, and he’s had his fill of ‘romantic’, so he scoops you up and shrugs you over his shoulder as you squeak with surprise.

You’re facing the wrong way. You can’t see the snow angels, but he can.

“How do they look?” you ask.  

His head slants slightly. Snow ‘angels’ is a stretch. They look like… he doesn’t know what, actually. One is bigger than the other. In the middle, their wings almost meet where your fingers must have almost brushed. He smiles, his free hand drawing his phone from his pocket so he can snap a quick picture.

“Sylus.” You sound impatient. “Cold, remember?”

He chuckles; you are demanding. “Want me to warm you up, kitten?” His phone is away, his hand is on the back of your leg, and you slap at him half-heartedly. It just makes him chuckle more.

“Can’t get the right plushie from the stupid claw machine and now you’re mocking me,” you grumble. Sylus smiles to himself before you continue: “awful at claw machine, awful at letting me ambush you, awful at—”

This could be going on for a while, so Sylus turns, set on carrying you back.

“Awful at singing!” you’ve somehow gotten to.

He stops walking and oh— would you look at that! There's another snow drift nearby: so plain, so pristine.

It could really use a snow angel, and he has the perfect one in mind.

[badgalsasuke]

Something I love about Kishimoto's writing is how he subverted the soulmates trope for Naruto and Sasuke. A more basic writer would've made it too predictable and boring or too contrived as a retcon.

Kishimoto establishes in its most explicit form that Naruto and Sasuke are soulmates in chapter 671. The cover says it all; complementary colors (yellow/purple, green/red, orange/blue), Yin Yang imagery and text, Sun and moon imagery, Heaven and Earth text.

He had also already given us hints of the soulmatism between Naruto and Sasuke with the whole "my wind will make his fire stronger" stuff. Plus all the official art he made where he plays with perspective making Naruto and Sasuke adopt poses that are similar to the Yin Yang symbol.

However, what I like the most is how he subverts the trope: Naruto and Sasuke don't love each other because they're destined to love each other, quite the opposite, they love each other in spite of their circumstances and predecessors.

We look at their predecessors and hatred and lust for power triumphed over love. Ashura and Indra hated each other. Hashirama and Madara had more complex feelings but ultimately Hashirama chose Konoha over Madara and Madara chose power and hatred over Hashirama. One of them always ended up dying/killed by the other one, severing their bond. Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to go down this path, that's the way it always had been. But they chose not to. Naruto embraced this choice, Sasuke on the other hand had more issues accepting the choice his heart had already made years ago when he wasn't able to kill Naruto during the battle at the VoTE1.

Sasuke saw himself and Naruto when he looked at Hashirama and Madara have their last conversation before Madara died for good. Madara and Hashirama were never able to make amends and reconnect their bond, Madara dying with the words right in his mouth. This is what Sasuke had expected to happen betwen him and Naruto. Maybe he thought he would be able to kill Naruto or maybe he thought that at some point during the battle Naruto would finally give up on him and kill him sparing him from the pain of severing their bond, but none of that happened.

We look at the battle and Sasuke never had the resolve to kill Naruto. He closes his eyes when he's punching Naruto because he can't bear to look at the face of the man he loves, he can't bear that inescapable gaze.

We see Sasuke deactivate his sharingan when he's about to give his definitive blow and instead let Naruto beat him. He never had it in him to kill Naruto.

And we all saw during the arc of the Kage Summit how everyone begged Naruto to give up on Sasuke, to let them execute him and Naruto refused every single time.

Even during their final battle when it was Sasuke who was begging him to let him severe their bond he responded "sorry I can't do that because I'm your one and only".

A different man with a weaker resolve would've have given up on Sasuke, would have let others execute him for betraying Konoha or would have let himself be killed or would have had the mercy to kill Sasuke to spare him from loving each other. Instead they chose to not to because they put each other above everything else.

Here is where I'd like to bring back the "my wind will make his fire stronger" theme. Yamato had stated Naruto's wind overpowers Sasuke's lightning, I believe here is where Kishimoto is telling us subtly he's subverting the soulmates trope. Yamato stated the obvious: Naruto could kill Sasuke just like Ashura and Hashirama killed Indra and Madara respectively, and follow the natural course of their destiny as reincarnates. Two opposites going at each other until one of them falls. But then, to Yamato's surprise (and slight annoyance) Naruto declares he'd rather be the wind that makes Sasuke's fire stronger, very important to note it wasn't Yamato who mentioned it as an alternative, y'know like "well, your wind is overpowers his lightning but it can also make his fire stronger". No, it was Naruto who arrived to this conclusion himself, he was told he could overpower Sasuke but instead Naruto chose to be Sasuke's complementary that could make him stronger. Naruto chose to defy his fate.

Naruto and Sasuke were destined to meet each other and fight each other but they weren't destined to love each other, that was of their own accord.

Their love is a conscious choice not a prophecy forced upon them.

[lets-try-some-writing]

On the topic of Jack's dad leaving and the bots reaction to it, what do they feel for June? Because I can imagine the thought of being left to deal with a sparkling all on your own because your Conjunx and fellow caretaker just straight up abandoned you and the sparkling, does NOT leave happy thoughts in their head. Like, having a Conjunx seems pretty rare as it is, especially in the tfp universe. So to know what is essentially the human version of one abandoned June?

I'm new to this. Straight up never sent an ask on Tumblr before, uh, hope this is all right?... 😶

(I'm projecting because my own dad abandoned me, wait whaaaat, who said that??)

I wish I could hug you through the screen, anon. Sounds like you could use it. That said, I can see the bots both being unsurprised and confused all at once.

On Cybertron it was completely normal for a single bot to take on a newbuild or sparkling to mentor. At the same time, it was generally seen as a good idea to have two or more mentors involved in the rearing of a sparkling in order to diversify their education and ensure their health and wellbeing. With this in mind, the bots were not initially all that concerned when it came to June raising Jack alone. Orion Pax was brought up by Alpha Trion and the Archivists. Ratchet was raised by an entire colony of mechs of similar origin, communal style. Arcee was taught by a school for newbuilds who were not taken in by single or paired guardians. Bulkhead had a teacher who took him in when he was young and got him through school before they parted ways. Bumblebee was the collective ward of Autobot High Command and referred to all of them as his Sires, albeit with slightly different tones. Smokescreen was raised by the Elite Guard pretty much the moment he signed on. Ultra Magnus and his brother raised themselves and Wheeljack grew up in a pack of other wild newbuilds.

Simply put, there was no real standard for a family on Cybertron outside of the higher castes. Your family was what you made it. So June's situation wasn't all that jarring... until it was.

Conjunxing was rare in the extreme back on Cybertron. It was to be bound intimately and permanently in a way that even scientists had to admit had some level of supernatural effect involved. To choose to Conjunx was a lifelong commitment, a true contract for the functionally immortal Cybertronians. It was even rarer for Conjunxed partners to break way from each other, often because both parties failed to survive for long afterwards more often than not. To hear that June had been Conjunxed by human standards and then been abandoned after having a sparkling as well?

Completely and utterly unheard of.

That was not to say it didn't happen back on Cybertron, but to leave ones partner AND a sparkling? That was social execution.

To hear that June had endured that level of abandonment shook the team. According to Cybertronian custom, to try and preserve the lives of guardian and sparkling it was widely accepted that the community was to step up in the other partner's absence. And so the moment the team registered the situation and translated it culturally, there was an instant shift in disposition around June in particular. There wasn't much they could do for the human women, but they could step up in place of Jack's Sire, just as tradition dictated.

June found herself being talked to by Optimus about the loss of loved ones, earning her the story of how the Prime lost Elita-1 in an attempt to connect. Ratchet started leaving either cash that he picked up for June to use as needed, a small gesture to make up for his lack of available time. Arcee took it upon herself to step up and teach Jack the lessons a Sire would have taught, walking him through mature topics and offering the wisdom of her long life. Bulkhead did the same, trying to give what wisdom he could in the absence of Jack's other creator and even going so far as to share a few stories of his guardian back before the war to connect to the boy. Bumblebee, not having much experience in the field of parenting, instead chose to be more of a friend. He and Jack weren't particularly close, but he kept near to keep an optic on the boy in case he was having a rough day.

Neither Jack or June understood why the team adjusted their behavior and they didn't need to know. Custom would be upheld, even amidst war.

[jesncin]

Caped Crusader, "Safe Diversity", and Catwoman

We're at a point where it's expected that a new incarnation of any story previously with a white-dominated cast would be reimagined with a "more diverse" cast. This can mean racebending them, genderbending them or making them queer, but for the purposes of this analysis we'll be focusing on racebends. Most of the time, executives will take the "safer" routes with diversifying their cast- pick a couple of unproblematic supporting characters to be incidentally "diverse this time". Other times, there might be "braver" takes where more prominent characters (perhaps even the main character) are racebent. This doesn't necessarily mean racebending prominent characters is an inherently better thing to do.

I've been more than critical of MAWS' portrayal of BIPOC characters but especially their Asian Lois before. Sometimes BIPOC representation is just a decorative palette-swap change for these shows. Caped Crusader however, is different. It's more complicated- but it's rooted in very similar problems. Unlike MAWS (though I can only speak for S1), CC is far more willing to take on political topics: classism, sexism, police corruption and brutality, even beauty standards in the entertainment industry! Yet, in choosing to portray these topics in their stylistically anachronistic 30s-40s set piece- it makes it so the show's reluctance to discuss race intersecting with any of these topics far more apparent.

(spoilers for all of Caped Crusader)

Take for instance, episode 2: "...And Be A Villain". The story is about Basil Karlo, a less than handsome actor who wishes his appearance wasn't holding him back from both love and playing roles saved for better looking people. He makes a deal with Jack Ellman, an experimental makeup artist who turns him into Clayface. This story is set in motion when Miss Yvonne Francis, a beautiful actress, goes missing. Miss Francis is a woman of color (brown skinned, unspecified) played by Lacey Chabert: a white actress. CC goes for a generally colorblind casting what with Stephie (a white girl) being voiced by Amari McCoy (a Black actress) but it always feels icky when a white actor voices a character of color. Prominent characters of color in CC are more accurately casted. However I do think animation should be wary of using their medium to get away with their show appearing more diverse than the actual talent behind it.

The episode's theme is pretty clear on how unfair the entertainment industry is in regards to who it prioritizes in leading roles. Basil is constantly emphasized as a tragically talented actor whose appearance is holding him back. "With your talent you should be a leading man, Basil." Yvonne says to Basil in a flashback. Meanwhile as Alfred is watching through movie clips featuring Yvonne and Basil together, he comments "while lovely to look at, Miss Francis is no Gloria Swanson." So Yvonne has the looks, but not the talent and still gets prestigious roles because that's showbiz. The only time this is weirdly inconsistent is when Yvonne calls out Basil/Clayface in the finale, saying:

"I don't believe your performance. You're chewing on scenery. Relying on makeup effects to enhance weak characterization. It's insincere, Basil. It's not real."

I honestly feel like this scene was just meant to quickly "subvert" Yvonne being a damsel in distress by having her call out Basil's acting. It's a moment that isn't reinforced by anything the episode set up. After all, according to Alfred, she's not as good an actor compared to Basil. That's supposed to be how they foil each other, so this moment feels unmotivated. Again, I get what they're going for, that Basil's performance ironically relies on his newfound appearance so much that even a bad actress like Yvonne can spot his meager acting. But it doesn't work when our protagonists were actually convinced by his imitation of others. She's still a damsel in distress character regardless of her having a bit of attitude when calling her captor out.

What I don't understand is: why make Yvonne a woman of color if this was the story you wanted to tell? It's not like they're paying homage to how her voice actress looks, after all. Why, in your story set in purposely anachronistic 30s-40s era noir, did the character who was meant to represent the epitome of "not talented but gets by the industry because of her conventional beauty and pretty privilege" a woman of color? We're missing the very obvious conversation here where Tinsel Town is a white industry with white biases to what it considers attractive. It doesn't matter how many attractive actors of color exist, they're still pigeon holed into stereotyped and often racist roles (especially back then), and have to work twice as hard to get the opportunities their white colleagues get. Why is Basil, a white man, the only one afforded a marginalized narrative when Yvonne is quite literally a woman of color right next to him? The episode is especially painful to sit through when Basil is afforded so much sympathy compared to Yvonne.

"He didn't have the right look. He didn't have the right face."

"The camera is kind to some, but cruel to others."

This is transparently a colorblind narrative. Yvonne is written and even casted as a white woman. The CC crew just decided she should be a WOC likely because "wouldn't it be neat if the beautiful actress in this story is POC" without thinking about how that would drastically change a narrative already critical of the showbiz industry based on appearances. It's not intersectional and flattens the narrative to being selective of the prejudices Tinsel Town has. This episode is a great example to what CC generally does with diversity. It's not afraid to be critical of society, but it gets oddly squeamish with discussing how race intersects with these topics- opting mostly for a palette-change type of representation.

It's not entirely fair to say CC doesn't ever touch on the topic of racism. It sort of does: if you read between the lines for why the mayor gives Jim Gordon his commissioner role, and more prominently with the Gentleman Ghost (a rich aristocrat ghost that steals from the poor, believing wealth is his right) being offended that his mansion is sold to Lucius Fox (saying "and you would sell it to rabble like this?")- racism is somewhat present in the world of CC. We see the women in this show experience misogyny, but it's ambiguous if any of their struggles are intersectional with that of race. But that's... just about it. Racism isn't discussed more than it is alluded to, whenever the writers decide it's relevant. Because of this, CC has a spectrum of hits and misses when it comes to integrating characters of color in their reimagined cast.

Here's how I would visualize that spectrum using canonized instances of Asian Lois Lane. I should emphasize that representation of people of color doesn't entail the narrative owing us "a racism arc" or what have you. This spectrum is more used to measure how much racial identity was integrated in the characterization of the character: whether that be cultural identity or history. Being a person of color isn't just "person who goes through racism".

This is how I'd personally place the prominent characters of color in CC on my "spectrum of racebends" chart. Generally most of the characters of color (whether reimagined that way or were originally POC already) are fairly harmless in how they were integrated into CC's world, but none of the characters feel bespoke as a reimagining of the character and are interchangeable with their white counterparts. To quote cartoonist Juni Ba (in a discussion on CC):

"...stripping characters of color in these time period stories of any cultural, [a]esthetic or social signifiers that’d make them true to the groups being represented. Instead they dress, act and speak very western."

In my opinion, the only character that is an exception to this is Linton Midnite (or as he's popularly known as: "Papa Midnite"). Midnite is a character so interlinked with Haitian culture and mysticism that even CC couldn't erase that aspect of his identity (important note: historically, the portrayal of Midnite since his creation is riddled in racism, but that's not my place to discuss here). Midnite at most speaks with an accent, dresses more nonconformingly compared to the western standard dress of all the other characters, and practices occultish stuff (though I don't think there was anything culturally specific in that episode, please correct me otherwise if someone has more insight!). That's a lot more cultural representation than just about any other character of color in CC. Midnite can't be changed to a white character, his African identity is too interlinked with who he is.

There are a few characters I consider in poor taste to be POC- that being Arnold Flass, Yvonne Francis (who we've covered already), and Harley Quinn (who will be getting her own post, as her case is complicated). So let's talk about cops, then.

I tend to be indifferent about media choosing to diversify cop characters because it feels like choosing the most "respectable to society" role for a marginalized character to play. Cops uphold bigoted systems of power at the end of the day, so that's a very comfortable place to represent your marginalized characters. It's why we keep getting gay or lesbian cops, which Batman media absolutely perpetuates as well with Renee Montoya. It's hard to cheer for two women of color being allowed to date and kiss in public when one of them is a cop, y'know? But this doesn't mean re-imagining cop characters doesn't have narrative merit.

In regards to Jim Gordon being reimagined as a Black cop, I'm gonna refer to La'Ron Readus' video on "Fixing the Batman's Copaganda problem" where he goes into detail about the missed potential of Black!Jim Gordon from Reeves' The Batman (2022). Generally, I felt that opportunity was missed in CC as well. While I love that Barbara Gordon is in CC, nothing about her being a WOC is integrated into this version of her. It felt like if either character was white, the story wouldn't be that different. The bigger issue here is the choice to racebend Arnold Flass- a previously white, blonde, cunningly smart, and brutally corrupt cop.

CC follows some of this in their version of Arnold Flass- he's paired with Harvey Bullock (also a corrupt cop). While Bullock is the brawns of the duo, Flass is the smarts. He's cunning and even implied to be willing to frame Bullock if the worse comes to it. It isn't an inherently bad idea to racebend a corrupt white cop into a Black cop. If the writers want to tell a story about how the police force assimilates people of color into the system and forces them to be just as if not more brutal than their white counterparts, then by all means tell that story.

But that's not what CC gave us. By rarely acknowledging race, we don't get to have a conversation or themes surrounding that delicate intersection of identities. We just have "diverse Flass". Look at these panels from Year One for example, can you imagine how Flass' casual disrespect for Gordon by constantly calling him "Jimmy" could be re-contextualized with a race change? Unlike other characters who just feel like missed opportunities for not integrating race into their characterization, Flass is an elephant in the room. To not acknowledge his race in themes of police corruption and brutality is to white wash the narrative with diverse paint.

I personally think the stronger narrative decision would have been to racebend Bullock as Black instead of Flass. Flass could still be the conniving cop, but he encourages Black!Bullock to be the more "violent brute" who does the dirty work for him. It would put a newfound racial layer to how Flass considers Bullock disposable. Then we could have some kind of commentary on how the police force encourages a system of abuse that makes even fellow POC turn on each other. It'd also make it so a certain scene would be better in optics.

I have many criticisms for the scene where Batman holds a gun to Flass in the finale of CC. It's a narratively unmotivated (see my criticisms for CC's Two Face here for elaboration) and weak moment that relies on metatextual shock value to cover up how underdeveloped this take on Batman is. But it's also just very uncomfortable optics-wise. It's a common and valid criticism that Batman as a character can very easily fall into copaganda, with his status, goals, and collaboration with the police force. In many ways, Batman is often written to be committing his own kind of vigilante police brutality.

Caped Crusader wants to be a deconstruction of a Batman tied to power and hellbent on his mission to eliminate crime. But because CC occasionally omits race from its narrative, the scene where Batman holds a gun to a Black cop-a man stripped of his ability to fight back-just falls flat for me. There's no acknowledgement in this scene that Batman basically gets to be an anonymous cop, "warning shots" and all. Batman shoots at an unarmed Black man several times. It's meant to be shocking to us how Bruce is willing to stoop to such a level and indulge in gratuitous gun violence, but it honestly hits too close to real incidents where this is racially the case for me to enjoy the narrative point of this scene.

You know a character who would be perfect for calling out Batman's many privileges? Selina Kyle. Let's talk about Caped Crusader's biggest downgrade.

I've heard just about all the arguments in favor for CC's reimagining of Catwoman and none have convinced me that this was in any way a good take on the character. I see people saying that this Catwoman is a return to her golden age roots, and there's a lot of misconception surrounding that assumption. So bear with me as looking at Catwoman's history is necessary to discuss race and how a character evolves.

Catwoman debuted in the 1940s as a jewel thief who disguised herself as an old lady. She was just called "The Cat" and would not don her more feline appearance until later. True to the mystery woman femme fatale trope she was inspired by, her backstory was left unknown for a long time. 10 years later, in Batman #62 it is revealed that after a plane accident bonked her head, the now named Selina Kyle got amnesia and went on a crime spree. Giving her leeway to reform and be an ally to Batman. This would historically inform how Selina Kyle toed the line between good and evil as an anti-hero.

Her origin would be revisited in 1983, in the Brave and the Bold #197. Although not canon to the mainline universe, it is still a crucial development for her character's history. In this story, Selina reveals that she lied about having amnesia to get out of facing punishment. Her true story was that she entered a life of crime to escape an abusive relationship with a rich man. The only loss her husband understood was material loss, loss of property, so stealing was how Selina fought back.

This crucial re-examination of her character transformed her from shenanigans inducing femme fatale, to a marginalized fighter. Shortly later in 1987 in Batman Year One, Catwoman is reimagined as a street-hardened sex worker in poverty. She is inspired by the Batman to become a vigilante for her own goals and gets annoyed that she's assumed to be his sidekick.

The moment Catwoman became marginalized by power, was the point where she became worthy of solo-character status. She was not only a compelling foil to Batman-capable of going toe to toe with him and make him question his motives even though she did not share his privilege-she could lead her own adventures reflecting a side of Gotham Bruce Wayne's perspective doesn't. She actively makes the setting of Gotham stronger because of how she's evolved as a character.

Catwoman's character would continue to evolve, with some iterations reimagining her as a latina woman and others where she's canonically bisexual.

While Catwoman has been portrayed by Black actresses before, I want to focus on the most recent and prominent iteration of a race-swapped Catwoman. When Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022) featured Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, an explicitly biracial character within the text of the story, we see another step this character evolves. I think La'Ron Readus' video on "Why Race-Swapped Characters Are Not The Full Story" does a fantastic job of explaining why this is a narratively great race swap. To summarize (though I do encourage watching his video as he goes into depth about 2022 Batman's Jim Gordon as well among many other examples) and add analysis of my own: Selina being the byproduct of an Italian crime lord and a Black sex worker is a brilliant marriage of her original backstory (being connected to and abused by powerful men) and her modern backstory where she's poverty stricken (and tangentially related to a sex worker if we're talking about Batman Year One).

We understand why someone of her background would have an affinity for stray cats because of how she lost her mom at a young age, she is sympathetic to fellow people from the lower class, and explicitly calls out privileged white people- including Batman who attempted to over moralize Selina's partner as a sex worker.

"All anyone cares about in this place, are these white privileged assholes."

It's especially that last line that makes it so Selina's character isn't interchangeable with her white counterpart. She's a textually rich character to contrast Bruce in Batman 2022, and we can see how years of history and evolution has brought such an empathetic character to the screen. Interestingly, Readus feels that while 2022 Selina was an example of a race-swap that works, he believes it was great by coincidence, because of the miss that was Gordon's characterization in the same movie. I think with Reeves as a collaborator on Caped Crusader, that assumption was correct.

Selina in CC is back to being a rich socialite, but (unlike her Golden Age counterpart) she's not married into wealth- she's got generational wealth (with a dad serving jail time for tax evasion). Worse yet, she's taking what little remains of her money and spending it on superficially imitating the Batman to create her Catwoman persona. She even has her own reluctant Alfred, a Catmobile, the works. Selina steals things because. She likes shiny things. And is something of a kleptomaniac. Catwoman is instantly discovered to be Selina because of course she's not as good as Batman is with keeping a secret identity (another key difference from her Golden Age counterpart, whose backstory was shrouded in mystery for a decade).

It is laughable to me that CC touts that their version of Harley Quinn has an origin of her own outside of the Joker, only to turn around and make a Catwoman that is completely tied to copying a man as her origin (did they decide Harley's goofyness as a character needed to be replicated in Selina for some reason? In their supposed dark and edgy show?). What a strange choice to fixate on the part in Year One where Selina didn't like being mistaken for Batman's assistant despite being inspired by him and turn it into a quirky bit. It feels like such a regressive take that frames Selina as a sillier, whimsical version of Bruce that just spends money on a whim because women just aren't smart enough to know how to keep track of their money. They're too busy looking for shiny things to steal. The fact that both 2022 Batman and CC have a scene where Selina is looking through her many bills she's yet to pay is wild to me. How am I supposed to care for a Selina that has the expendable wealth to create a Catwoman costume, car, and gadgets, but delay paying her maid? One of these versions of Selina is far more sympathetic than the other.

Again, I get what CC is going for. Batman is characterized to be hellbent on catching criminals, Catwoman is supposed to serve as some kind of reflection of his obsession. They're both self destructive in their goals, but one is vengeance and the other is chasing thrills. But is that really as interesting a foil as having Catwoman be marginalized, just as skilled, and making Batman second guess himself? Is it a take that strengthens Gotham as a setting by shedding light on its lower class characters? Is it a take that makes her worth revisiting as a perpetual rogue and not a one off episode where's she's basically a shenanigans-inducing nuisance to Batman? Evolved takes on Catwoman have talked about her desire to seek thrills and paired it with how she dismantles power. So it's not like CC's take is particularly unique, it just lacks all the depth that usually surrounds Selina's thrill seeking.

In a show that is frankly desperate to make it so Bruce doesn't have a personal relationship to his rogues gallery because he's too busy being "A cold, remorseless avenger of evil, seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, every fiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime." (according to promo) that's how we end up with Barbara as the foil and humanity to both Harvey Dent and Harley Quinn. How the show focuses on the police force more than Bruce. It feels especially pointed that Catwoman is characterized this way. When she doesn't contrast Bruce, she becomes less personal to him as a character that is poverty stricken but still matches up to him in skill. She can't challenge him or his worldview, he can't find her fascinating as an equal, all of their chemistry and intrigue is erased.

All this to say that of the characters revealed for CC, I was honestly surprised that Selina wasn't one of the many characters racebent. CC followed up on a Black Jim and Barbara Gordon, two characters that have been race swapped before in previous media. Most prominently! Harley is Asian in this iteration, something never done before. So why is it that Selina doesn't follow up on the many times she's been portrayed by Black actresses?

It's because it's an actual good racebend if written well. It wouldn't be a "safe" racebend because writing Selina this way means you'd have to acknowledge racism, and it would be much more noticeable if you didn't. There is no canonized version of Asian Lois Lane that parallels her relationship to Superman as an immigrant. But there is a version of Selina as a Black woman who directly calls out white people and is aware of systemic power. It's in something as prominent and mainstream as Matt Reeves' 2022 Batman. So instead it just reads as cowardice to me that CC couldn't follow up on this evolution of Selina.

Not only does it weaken Catwoman and Batman's relationship to regress Selina this way, but it actively weakens Gotham as a setting and the very themes of Caped Crusader. I personally think all the energy that went into Harley Quinn should have been shared with (or straight up gone to) Selina Kyle. Because unlike CC's take on Harley, the way Selina Kyle's marginalization intersects with race and queerness would have actually critiqued Gotham's class corruption effectively. As a Black queer woman, Selina would be among the most vulnerable people in Gotham. We don't have prominent characters in CC that truly reflect the lower class, there are these unnamed characters Harvey Dent sits next to on a train. There are some orphans with Batfam names. A proper Catwoman reimagining that takes advantage of her evolution would have filled this gap in their narrative.

But that's not how "safe diversity" works. CC would rather racebend and canonize the queerness of a character like their take on Harley Quinn. A WOC who gets to kiss a cop and call out powerful men, but not in a way that makes white people uncomfortable.

If I could edit the Sandman quote that "The great stories will always return to their original forms" for Superheroes, I'd say "The great stories will always return to their most resonant forms" because without iterations we don't get characters like the Kents, Alfred or Catwoman as we know her today. Classics are good to look to, but we like these characters because they evolve. In my opinion, none of CC's takes on these characters of color feel resonant. They're not definitive to the level of Mister Freeze's tragic love story in BTAS, among many standout narrative choices in BTAS that continue across media iterations.

In my opinion, CC isn't as thoroughly clumsy as MAWS is in regards to POC representation and race-swaps (all characters of color in MAWS get put in the left side of that chart I made. In the Sunken Place. Where they all Missed The Movement). However, I can't help but see Caped Crusader's take on the world of Gotham as nothing more than an anecdote in the evolution of Batman's story for the modern era. "It's BTAS but superficially more diverse and with less compelling narrative choices."

[yanderes-galore]

Hi, could you please do a yandere platonic darth vader? Thank you!

I can try, sure! If something is OOC, I'm so sorry, I still struggle writing Vader.

Yandere! Platonic! Darth Vader Concept

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Kidnapping, Isolation, Brainwashing, Overprotective behavior, Violence, Murder, Forced companionship.

Vader, or even Anakin, would not be the best father.

If things didn't go wrong, he'd probably be loving to his kids.

Yet at the same time, he'd just make an action at some point to poison that bond.

Vader was under the impression his wife and child died.

Which made him who he is now.

In reality, he had three.

Luke, Leia, and you.

He never found out about any of you until much later.

I think it would be an interesting idea if you took a different path than Luke and Leia.

Like, maybe you went to help them during the Death Star and had no idea they were your siblings. (You could just have been raised beside Leia as a childhood friend or something or found them later)

Unfortunately, however, you end up being taken captive by Vader.

Which leads to Vader finding out you're his kid...

Which begins the obsession.

I'm assuming he knew you were his kid via looks and feeling drawn to you (The Force).

So, as OOC as this may be, imagine this...

Vader decides to keep you alive instead of executing you in order to "parent" you.

You hate him yet Vader feels you're a second chance.

This is before he even knew Luke was his kid.

I imagine it would be similar to when Vader said he could convert Luke to the Dark Side.

To protect your life, he'd tell Palpatine you could be useful in tracking Rebels.

Granted, you aren't going to like his plans...

But as a prisoner, your say doesn't matter much.

It would be even more interesting if you were capable of The Force, too.

Vader might've made you either an apprentice or had you help him in other ways if you were.

It's a hard pill to swallow when you learn the real reason Vader took you in.

He's your father.

Even then, you still struggle to play nice.

Knowing he's your father makes you feel sick.

He's never too affectionate, like he's unsure how to approach you.

Yet he teaches you and garners your obedience through manipulation and fear.

He's a quiet man, the only way you know of his presence is his breathing.

He doesn't expect you to like him, even after the truth.

He doesn't expect mutual love, either.

You make him conflicted... reminding him of his one true love.

Again, you may not care for him, but Vader shows he "cares".

He finds time to train you, he gives you Stormtroopers, he protects you.

He does strange little things that one could consider caring or attentive...

Yet you're so separated from one another that it doesn't mean anything to you.

Vader may view giving you guards as protecting you, but to you they're just wardens.

If Vader could ever will himself to say he loves you, it means nothing to you.

He's not a father to you.

Even if he tried he simply couldn't be.

Vader would end up brainwashing you as his captive.

He does everything he can to make you forget the Rebels.

He may not even tell you about your siblings, just to make it seem like he's your only familial connection.

Eventually you don't have to be kept as a prisoner.

He constantly gives you the option to be something more if you just listen.

He does his best to convince you he cares.

You're the closest thing he has to what could've been.

Luke and Leia want him dead.

Yet he's messed with you enough to confuse you.

Eventually, well, what other choice do you have besides joining him?

He's your father, he cares about you...

By now, he's all you have.

He'll train you to hunt Rebels, to be on his side.

He defends you from Palpatine, keeping you under his wing.

He's not afraid to kill, for both his cause and you.

If he killed in your name, he justifies it.

He tells you it had to happen.

You've seen him kill rebels, friends, those you considered family...

And he tells you it's necessary.

You aren't like them.

Rebels are not the good guys, you belong beside your father.

He'll ensure you know that.

He'll make sure you never stray from him.

That alone is another motivation for him to sear through the flesh of another Rebel with his saber, glancing back to make sure you watch.

You'll never leave his side.

Even if he has to lock you away, it's to ensure you stay with him.

So he never loses another one he loves.

Vader himself knows he's not a good man.

Let alone a good father.

Yet you both know he's your father...

There's no one else you can go to now that he has you.

[demonslayerunhinged]

Unhinged analysis - Sanemi

Why's Sanemi so aggro? (Part 1)

Sanemi is one of the most controversial characters in Demon Slayer and the most misunderstood, along with Obanai. People in the fandom just take him at face value, and it is a disservice to his character. You don't have to love him, but at least try to understand him, his background and how it all contributes to his behavior. So this is a character analysis on, in my opinion, the coolest motherfucker in Demon Slayer. Lesssgoooo!

His introduction

Sanemi's Hashira intro remains one of my favorite in the series. This is because we're fed so much information about him in such a short time.

The first thing we see are the W7s, the uniform belts around his shins, instead of the standard kyahan that other characters wear.

Then we see his back, his white haori which tells us nothing about his breathing style. At least with the others we can make an estimated guess at theirs. The only decoration is the kanji 殺(kill). Which is interesting because it's in the same position as the 滅(destroy) that we see on the backs of other slayer's uniforms.

Then we hear his voice for the first time. His speech is similar to that of a Yakuza member. I'll explain more later.

We then get the first glimpse of our man.

We notice a bunch of things. One is the fact that he's holding Nezuko's box with one hand, which tells us yea, this dude is strong as fuck. Then we see that his uniform is open at the chest, indicating a lack of care for his safety. We see the scars which lets us know that this guy has been through some shit, and he still keeps his chest open??? Nah.

Then we finally see his face and woah! The scary jagged scars, wild hair and bloodshot eyes combined with his rude way of speaking. We come to the conclusion: Oh my God! This guy's a crackhead!

Only kidding! But we can tell that this guy is not to be messed with and from the Jaws music that plays in the background and his signature Hashira theme, we also know that he's going to be trouble for our protagonist.

So let's break it down further with the first aspect of his introduction.

His haori, the kanjis, and their significance

Destruction has a certain impersonal feeling to it, like you destroy bad things not because you want to, but because you have to. Within the context of Demon Slayer, it's no different, the slayers have to destroy the demons because they are a blight on the world and there are no personal feelings about it. We can see it from the way Giyuu almost killed Nezuko, the way he killed Rui, the way Shinobu and Kanao almost killed Nezuko, and the way Zenitsu and Inosuke also killed demons.

Even in this episode where the Hashiras are introduced, their plans to execute Tanjiro and Nezuko show no personal feelings towards the situation, no maliciousness, and no hate. Nezuko is a demon she has to be killed. Tanjiro was harboring a demon so he has to be killed too and something tells me this isn't the first time they had to deal with a situation like this.

Kill, on the other hand, is very much personal and malicious in its intent. It doesn't matter if the target is bad for the world or not. What matters is that the killer thinks they're bad, and that alone is a justification to eliminate them. It's not about duty, it's a want spurred on by hatred, and Sanemi is full of hatred. We can see it from the sadistic way he stabs Nezuko, and the way he laughs at Tanjiro’s pain. Even when he wanted to test Nezuko with his blood, he gives her more unnecessary stabs instead of just simply opening the box.

Honestly, just by the kanji alone, I would’ve been surprised if he didn’t stab Nezuko. A demon can save baby orphans and kittens and sweet little old ladies from a burning building, and Sanemi will still gut the motherfucker.

Then there’s the color of his haori. The haoris, or absence of haoris, of the other characters (excluding Muichiro and Mitsuri) reveal information about their heritage, past, beliefs, and other aspects of their identity that extend beyond their role as Demon Slayers.

Sanemi has no heritage like Rengoku. We’re not given anything that tells us about his past like Giyuu. The kanji for Kill on his haori is in the same position as the Destroy on the standard uniform because, for Sanemi, being a Demon Slayer or more specifically a killer of demons IS his identity. It’s all he cares about, his entire life and the core of his existence. He has a one-track mind, and Kill Demons is the only song playing on a loop.

He doesn’t have time for anything he deems ‘frivolous’, has no special variation to his uniform aside from the fact that he keeps the chest open, and the uniform belts he wears around his legs are probably faster to put on than the standard kyahan.

So from his haori and kyahan alone we can tell that this guy is very strong, very wild and very dangerous.

Extra note: While doing research for this post, I also noticed that Sanemi’s haori is similar to the shirt he wore as a child, which could indicate how much his childhood affected him and how it led to his hatred of demons. Instead of the sleeve stripes, there is now the Kill kanji on the back.

Now let's move onto the other aspect of his introduction

His way of speaking

This part is based on my little understanding of the Japanese language and the research I did. So please don't attack me!

Sanemi kinda speaks like a thug or a Yakuza member. It isn't really noticeable in the English subtitles, but he uses particles and sentence endings that are typically used by men and can come across as rude, unrefined, and uneducated.

He doesn't use honorifics (unless speaking to the Master) when talking to people, even his fellow Hashiras.

He uses sentence endings such as ぜ (ze), ぞ (-zo), な (-na), か (-ka), かよ (-kayo) and だな (-da na) that make his questions and statements sound commanding, rough and forceful.

Not only that, but he often uses words such as:

"Urusee!" - a rough and rude way of saying "Urusai"

"Temee" - a rude way of saying you.

"Ore" - a very informal pronoun for "I"

Sanemi's way of speaking bears a teeny tiny resemblance to the Kansai dialect, which is like the Southern accent in the US. Kansai people are stereotyped as being uneducated, stupid, loud and aggressive.

That's why Tanjiro(bestest boy ❤) was shocked when Sanemi switched up real quick as he was speaking to the Master.

His default manner of speaking, even when it's to those who he likes or is okay with, is rough, forceful, aggressive and sometimes confrontational. It tells us about his personality and most importantly his upbringing or lack thereof.

I'll be going into his background in the Part 2 of this post, I'll also talk about how all these aspects makes our boy act the way he does.

In Conclusion, to be continued?

[synergysilhouette]

12 nitpicks with "Baldur's Gate 3"

This is a game I hadn't expected to love as much as I do--I think it's one of the best I've ever played--but just to play DA for a second, I thought I'd be nit-picky with some things about it (not that I'm ungrateful, Larian!)

Halsin's romance is rushed and lackluster--Halsin can only be recruited if you join the druids and tieflings against the goblins, and his storyline is only covered in Act II of the game with the Shadow Curse. Afterwards, he's just along for the ride, and if he becomes a love interest, you only get one romance scene followed by flowery words from him when addressing Tav, and the nature of your relationship is confusing, since Halsin finds the word foreign, emphasizes (optional) polyamory, and the implication from other love interests is that you're just sleeping with him. Seeing how the game was eventually patched so you could recruit both Halsin and Minthara, I do wish that it was made that way to begin with, with both of them having more pronounced arcs throughout the story. I have heard that they had cut content, so it'd be nice if it was reinstated someday.

2. The female companions are racially more diverse than the male companions--This isn't really an issue for me, but an observation; for female companions, we have a Githyanki, a drow, two half-elfs, and a tiefling, while for male companions we have two elves and three humans. I suppose they didn't wanna experiment too much for male companions, but I could've seen Halsin as a half-orc like Jord, and Wyll a dragonborn--not that I'd trade out their designs as-is; that's just an observation.

3. We get Yenna in our camp, and she adds nothing--After having the spirit of nature AND a tiefling with newly discovered magic powers in our camp in Act II, getting an average human kid in Act III just because felt dissatisfying. Yenna will come up to you, regardless of whether you're invisible or not, when she will tell you that she can't find her mom. After talking with her, she'll appear in camp a few days later and ask to stay. You can say "no," but it's a weird option anyway. Plus if you do as I did and just misty step off the cliff into town to avoid talking to her, she will still be Orin's victim if the others are not available, even if you never meet her (note: I do not know how this works if the other options aren't available and Yenna is dead). And even when you rescue her, there's the guilt because her mom and her cat are dead, so you kinda feel like you have to let her join. I'd much rather keep Arabella, or find a way for Thaniel and Oliver to bond and then separate, with one of them joining us on the journey if Halsin is recruited. Or another option...

4. Lae'zel and Shadowheart have similar storylines--While the details are different, the overall plot is the same; both women find out that they've been lied to by the culture they've grown up in, and have to decide how they feel about it. The difference is that Lae'zel can choose between helping Vlakith, Orpheus, or stay out of the Githyanki conflict, while Shadowheart just gets to choose between following Shar or turning her back on her. That said, Shadowheart's storyline is much more satisfying and emotional since the goddess erased her memory and now she has to decide how to take that. With Lae'zel, she never really evaluates what it means to be independent like Shadowheart does, first swearing loyalty to Vlakith, then joining Voss when she seems to be lying, and becoming intent on freeing Orpheus when she finds out he's been kept away. Only at the end can you tell her to find her own path. Because her culture highlights strength and a warrior lifestyle, the similar arc she has to Shadowheart can't be executed as well. In fact, one unique thing about Lae'zel's storyline never comes into play during the main story: the githyanki egg. She'll mention feeling bonded to it, and will say it hatched during the epilogue, and that she named him and wants him to choose his own path in life (which doesn't really fit if she chose to stay with Vlakith or Orpheus, imo). It would've been nice if Xan was hatched and kept in our camp, or if the egg is taken from us immediately after leaving the creche, and we have the option to rescue Xan from the SoB and let him join us.

5. Astarion's viewpoint/approval doesn't change--I'm in the minority here I'm sure, but given the sympathy people give Astarion due to his past as an abuse victim and Astarion learning to love himself, I do wish the change was a bit more impactful, with Astarion showing more compassion for others and certain altruistic or optimistic choices earning his approval. Even in Act III, there are a couple of times you get to say you can't believe he's letting his family be led to the slaughter or think of harming them. He'll respond that they're screwed anyway or that no one else looked out for him except you. It doesn't feel like as much progress has been made, and even after Cazador's mission, he's still himself, just with less burdens and more closure. His epilogue epiphany of people not minding you committing murder if it's bad people feels like something he should've learned along the way.

6. Romance initiation is based on the afterparty, for the most part--People will say that initiating a romance isn't dependent on the goblin/tiefling party, but I've only had ONE time where I had the chance to begin a romance began afterwards--or at least, one time where it was someone I was interested in (there were a couple times Lae'zel flirted with me). In my experience, it's very difficult to start a romance after the party, despite having a lot of approval. I'd rather there be a perpetual romance option to pick when talking to a companion, and them accepting once you have enough approval, rather than them coming to you.

7. Karlach's only ending is the "bad/sad" ending--As many will tell you, there was a planned Upper City portion of Act III that included furthering Karlach's quest, with the ending we got in the final version being the bad ending if we neglected her quest. I understand cutting content, but since literally EVERYONE ELSE'S fate is dependent on your decisions (Shadowheart and Lae'zel's loyalties, Wyll being a devil or not, Astarion completing the ritual and killing the spawn, killing Minsc and Jaheira leaving, saving Minthara, Halsin's resolving the Shadow Curse or not, Gale giving into his ambition), Karlach should've gotten the same treatment. If a section had to be removed, they could've moved her quests to the sections of the game that we did get.

8. Getting Minsc when we could've gotten Rolan--While Minsc is a neat companion to have, his lack of a storyline (outside of his recruitment) and being a non-romanceable companion makes him feel almost like a wasted slot to me. If we wanted to add another male companion, I definitely feel like Rolan would've been a better companion, coming across as a cross between Astarion and Gale due to his cockiness and ambitious nature. It'd be fun if he was recruited in Act II after rescuing his siblings; honestly, he wouldn't be on any worse footing than Minthara and Halsin for having limited content, but Rolan has the added benefit of having family that we can interact with, joining Wyll and Shadowheart as the few companions who do. In fact...

9. Only plot-relevant backstories--Okay, this is a real nit-pick, but that's the title of the post! For the most part, characters only mention their past in relation to their quests, though there are brief exceptions: Wyll, Minthara, and Karlach mentioning their mothers, and Tara mentioning Gale's mom. Maybe I just didn't get the dialogue, but I do wish we got more about each character's childhood/backgrounds--and not just in a one-convo-type thing like the aforementioned individuals. I guess I have to give Astarion a pass since he says that after being a vampire for centuries, he can't even remember his eye color, let alone his life before, aside from being a magistrate (which I find SUPER interesting). Plus it'd be interesting to hear more about old flames like Gale and Halsin mentioned, and the conquests Astarion reunited with as spawn.

10. Act II slimming down the number of tieflings--If you do nothing to help the tieflings or side with the goblins during the raid, all of the tieflings die. However, even if you side with the tieflings and defeat the goblins' leaders, several tieflings will die anyway. When cultists corner them in the shadowcursed lands, Zevlor is distracted by the Absolute while the other tieflings are kidnapped and brought to Moonrise Towers, find their way to the Last Light Inn, or are killed on the spot--or in the case of Arabella's parents, killed after escaping the cultists and trying to hide. While these things happen in war (or cultist territory), it felt disheartening to see that the people you went through all the trouble of saving died anyway. It's almost a waste.

11. To be young--This is really scrapping the bottom of the barrel, but I do wish we could make Tav look a bit younger (I think you can look younger than this picture, but this is just a visual aid). I also have this nit-pick for some of the companions, but I'm sure a mod for that will eventually be approved.

12. Getting companions to romance each other--This isn't something I need as much as the other things, but it's still something I thought about when watching origin playthroughs. To my understanding, they're all pansexual (personally I imagine Karlach, Astarion, Lae'zel, Jaheira, and Minthara as male-leaning pansexuals and Gale, Wyll, Shadowheart, Minsc, and Shadowheart as female-leaning pansexuals while Halsin is middle of the road; no idea why, just the vibes), and it'd be fun to pair them up together. Not saying there are endless combinations; I can imagine Gale/Astarion wouldn't be something that exists in the Tav route (especially after Astarion straight-up told me he doesn't want an open relationship/polycule with Gale), but Karlach/Wyll, Lae'zel/Shadowheart, Jaheira/Minsc, Karlach/Gale, Gale/Wyll, and Astarion/Halsin are ships I think of being possible.

Don't kill me! I already love the game as-is, but I did want to point these things out. I was also gonna include a other nitpicks such as the option to have kids/discussing it and Aylin/Isobel being active companions and not just space fillers at camp, but maybe I'll save that for another nitpick post.

[puckleberryfinnie]

hii loved ur duke dennis fanfic! could u pls write something similar but about fanum :) thank you so much 💜

AHH YES FOR SURE!! thank you for sending this cutie I absolutely love fanum right now and i'm soso glad you liked the other one <33

fanum x reader thoughts!

You guys meet at the most random spot- I'm thinking like a restaurant or something similar. He's ordering something and you give him a recommendation- BOOM he's in love with you instantly.

He lovesss treating you with expensive things. You mention wanting a new bag? There's three at your door the next day. But when you thank him he starts getting all goofy and sly about it (he loves seeing you happy omg).

He WILL still steal your food sometimes, but more gently than with other people. That's how everyone knew he was in love. One time his chat went crazy when you told him no to eating your burger one time on stream and he proceeded to just take a small nibble before giving it back to you.

FOOD. DATES. You two are always out and about trying new things and just having a fun time.

You two adopting another crazy animal together and raising it as a team while streaming. Chat is legit just watching him fall in love with you while you hold and feed your animal child <3

He can get so goofy around you at times. You both just push each other to be completely insane when you're together and it's really funny for everyone around you.

That also means that he gets really calm when he's around his friends, then. Sometimes he'll be so worn out from spending the day with you that he'll fall asleep right on the living room couch. Ultimately, all his friends love you for this!

OK I HOPE THIS IS OK ENOUGH <3

request are wide open for anyone who'd like something different!! I can do something more specific and longer too if ya'll have any ideas you want executed (though I can't promise it'll be very good sadly lol)!!

LOVE YA!!

[grandline-fics]

Hello. I love your works <3

Can i request Candlelight Dinners with Crocodile?

DESCRIPTION: Candlelight Dinners- What could possibly go wrong when a grand romantic gesture is planned?

WARNINGS: none

CHARACTERS: Crocodile

WORDS: 1,056

A/N: Another entry in the Valentine's Event. Thank you so much for the request @sagyunaro! I hope this was to your liking

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

DIRECTORY | PROMPT LIST | KO-FI | VALENTINES EVENT MASTERLIST

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Crocodile prided himself on being a man of action. Of setting his sights on something and doing all in his power to obtaining it. In any of his business practices-both legitimate and criminal- were he to see an issue or place for improvement, he executed it without a second thought because wanting to be successful meant having the highest quality results and there was no room for any sort of lacking in his life. That mindset held firm in his personal life too. Granted a romantic relationship had a lot more nuances and different steps to running a business but at its core it was similar in its give and take. 

As he opened the door to his shared room with you, his gaze immediately fell to the bed. Namely how your sleeping figure was completely on his side of the bed, arms around his pillow and face buried against the fabric, trying to cling to some trace of him. He knew he’d been busier lately with work because of Cross Guild’s rising notoriety and that meant seeing you less. Seeing each other during the day hardly counted as any sort of quality time since you both were working. Crocodile gently used the curve of his hook to tilt your head and his eyes narrowed slightly to see the dark circles under your eyes. You’d tried to stay up to see him, even if it was just to say goodnight. 

As he readied himself for bed he began to formulate a plan on what to do. Crocodile hated any sort of imbalance and the last time things were truly out of synch with you both was during his time in Impel Down and the subsequent months after when he readjusted to his freedom. Not entirely his fault but still. Dispersing himself into sand, he reformed in the bed, replacing the pillow you’d been clinging to. He allowed himself a small smile when your body reacted in your sleep, already sensing the difference. Crocodile settled his arm around you, now knowing exactly what to do. 

The next day you were confused from the start. Crocodile wished you a good morning but apologised and said he wouldn’t have time to join you for breakfast before leaving for his office. That wasn’t the peculiar thing, you were used to Crocodile’s busy schedule. What confused you was how…off he seemed. Determined but tense. You knew that calculating look in his eyes anywhere but you just didn’t know what was going on. You didn’t get your answer until the afternoon when Crocodile appeared beside you and wrapped his arm around your waist and led you down the corridor. “Croc, what’re you-”

“Sir Crocodile!” You looked behind you to see one of the subordinates hurrying towards you both. You glanced at Crocodile’s hand on your waist tighten harshly in annoyance and frowned. The subordinate hadn't even said anything yet to bring out his anger. “I know you said not to um-” The subordinate hesitated when he saw the fury in the former Warlord’s eyes and quickly got to the point. “Uh-um there's an emergency! Mihawk’s asked for you…please?”

“It’s okay, love.” You smiled, sensing Crocodile’s hesitancy which didn’t help your confusion. “The sooner you deal with it, the sooner it’s over.”

“Fine, you’re right.” Crocodile nodded, pulling his arm away. “I’ll wrap this up quickly. Wait for me in my office okay?”

You nodded and smiled, heading in the direction of the office while Crocodile stormed off in the opposite direction. Still you tried to wrap your head around your lover’s behaviour. Nothing had gone wrong today that you could think of but you knew it was in Crocodile’s hands so it would be sorted efficiently. Content you finished the walk to Crocodile’s office and stepped inside, stopping to see his desk was cleaned and covered with a simple green covering now adorned it with two glasses and a bottle of wine chilling on top. Stepping closer you smiled broadly but you resisted the urge to pour yourself a glass. You would wait for Crocodile. So you got comfortable in his large office chair, able to throw your legs lazily over one of the armrests and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Just when you were about to get up and go look for him, you looked to the door as it slammed open and shut. Your lips quirked when a wall of sand formed against the entrance to block anyone else coming to bother him. 

“Absolute morons..” He growled out, smoothing back his hair, grumbling to himself more than anything. “I did not work through everything in my schedule just to be interrupted constantly by those overgrown children. Sorry about that, darling.” Crocodile sighed out as he stopped beside his desk, watching as you got to your feet to stop in front of him. When you were in touching distance he curled his fingers under your chin and tilted your head up so he could lightly press a kiss against your lips. “The last thing I wanted was to make you wait again.”

“You cleared your schedule? Why?” You asked, your smile unmoving and eyes bright at you stared at the man you loved curiously. 

“I wanted us to have a few hours to ourselves. The last thing I wanted you to think was that I valued the Guild over you.” Crocodile explained, though that plan well and truly went out the window when Mihawk and then countless others cut into that time greatly with their insignificant problems and reports. “Even if it was just sharing a bottle of wine without being bothered, I wanted you to feel reassured in my feelings for you.”

“Your feelings were never in doubt, love but thank you.” You smiled, touched that Crocodile would even think to do such a thing for you. “Now pour me that wine, I’ve been eyeing it since I got here.” 

Crocodile chuckled and lifted the bottle, immediately opening and pouring the dark liquid for you both. One of your most admirable qualities was your patience he thought. Through everything thrown at you you were the steady one, willing to wait for as long as possible if you found it worth waiting on. He counted himself lucky every day that you considered him worth it.

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