#idk maybe he saved a hero in the process

[dakotac0le]

been thinking a lot about Dakota and autonomy and heroism lately

[thesmollestsnek]

Death echoes

So a while ago, i found this dp x dc post that had a really interesting lore headcanon for Danny’s ghostly wail. Idk if I’ll be able to find it again, I’ll link it here if I do, but essentially it posited that every ghost has something called a “death echo”, which is an ability unique to them based heavily on their deaths. These echoes are the most powerful move in a ghost’s moveset, but they’re also extremely volatile and draining, typically damaging the ghost in some way when used, with Danny’s being his Wail because he died screaming. The original post then went on to some really cool halfa!Jason ideas based on these death echoes, but for this lil snippet with an extremely long intro I’d like to focus on Danny a bit more.

Edit: Apparently I may have extrapolated a lot of the actual lore behind these death echos myself? The inspiration post was a lot longer in my memories. Or I might've mushed multiple posts into one mental box and then forgot lol. So a lot of the actual detail from this point on is seemingly mostly original material? I think? Idk man, sometimes my brain spits out information without giving me any clues as to where it got that information. Anyway, this post got kinda long and since I'm... decently sure this is where I shifted from summarizing @ailithnight's post to writing all my own thoughts I figured here would be a good place to throw the cut lol.

So! with all of the context-for-the-context out of the way, let’s move on to the actual context for what I’m writing cause I can’t be bothered with writing an intro XD

Essentially, this is an au where Danny is an established member of the Justice League, or maybe one of the teen hero teams? I’m a slut for eternal teenager Danny, but maybe he’s enough of a powerhouse to be on the main team despite him both looking and acting like the dumbass fourteen year old he died as. Either way, he’s on a League/League-sanctioned mission and things go bad. Like, everyone-almost-dies bad. And so as a final desperation attack, Danny uses his Wail, a power he’s never told anyone on the league he even has. And it works, and they make it out, but after the fact everyone has. Questions. And because in this au death echoes are deeply personal, Danny dodges those questions, but the league coughbatmancough isn’t satisfied with that. So they push for answers. Answers Danny’s not willing to give, because. In my mind death echoes aren’t just based on how a person died, but also their experience of that death. What their last thoughts were. When Danny died the only thing that he could process beyond just an all-encompassing painpainpainpainpain was the sound of someone screaming. His screaming. And so his death echo is the sound of a fourteen year old child screaming in deathly pain and terror weaponized, which definitely gave the league Even More Questions than they would’ve had already. Which finally brings us to the actual snippet, which is a conversation between John Constantine, who was brought in for his experience with the supernatural once it became clear Danny wasn’t going to talk, and Danny himself. 

~~~~~~~

“So, kid. Batsy tells me you’ve been hiding some of your abilities, wanna tell me what's up with that? Call it an occultist's intuition, but somethin’ tells me you’re not just being stubborn for the hell of it.”

“It’s... complicated. And not anyone’s business, either!”

“Kid...”

“Why does it even matter?! It’s not something I want to or am even able to do on a regular basis! I saved the mission, can’t they just accept that and move on???”

Sighing, Constantine reached up to start massaging his brow. “Kid, you and I both know that ain’t gonna be enough. Now I know that some things are better left alone, but the rest of these idiots? They can’t accept that, Batsy especially. That man’s never left bloody well enough alone in his life”

He looked up just in time to see the otherworldly teen shrink into himself, looking every bit the child he was. “I know but... why? Why do they need to keep asking questions? And why do they only ask the ones that hurt to answer?”

A sharp glance. “The fuck kinda questions are they asking? Batman was speaking in more grunt than word, so I didn’t really catch all the details of what this power you’re supposedly hiding even is.”

Phantom shrinks even more into himself at that, and responds in a voice so small it’s more sigh than speech. “I... I can scream. And it breaks things and pushes people back. But it, it sounds. Bad. And it brings up bad memories and I don’t like to do it or listentoitoreventhinkaboutitandtheywon’tletmeforgetand-”

“Breathe kid. I know you don’t need to but just take a deep breath with me. Don’t you go getting lost in your own head on me now., Constantine reassured the kid automatically, the sheer hopelessness prompting action long before the words themselves could be understood. Then the rest of him caught up, and he had to pause. Looked up at the kid, saw just how distressed he was. A picture was starting to form in the back of his head, and Constantine didn’t like what he saw one bit. A last-resort power that the normally open Phantom was strangely reticent about. A scream so horrible sounding the rest of the league would not to stop asking questions about it. Terrible memories to match said scream. And one truly miserable child who couldn’t bear to even think about any of it. 

“Phantom... is that your Echo? Screaming?”

A miserable nod is his only response, the tears that had been welling up in the kid’s eyes finally starting to fall. Cursing softly to himself, Constantine stood to leave, bracing himself for the Bat’s inevitable questioning. “Well then you just take all the time you need love, and leave the rest to me. I’ll make sure the rest of those idiots know not to ask you about this ever again.”  And with that Constantine turned and strode towards the door, leaving the quietly sobbing child to collect himself in privacy.

~~~~~

I had a whole-ass lore dump conversation between Constantine and Batman planned here, explaining how death echoes are deeply personal, and asking about one is a taboo on par with, potentially even worse than, asking a ghost about their death outright. Because they are formed from an amalgamation of how a ghost died, their last thoughts, and their final emotions, in some ways asking a ghost about their Echo is like asking them to describe their death in painstaking detail. But uhhh... inspiration bug left. So yea. Side note, I’d like to apologize if my depiction of Constantine’s accent was Bad, I’m but a lowly USAmerican whose only exposure to British accents is through tv ^-^’

[vxmpyree]

hiii!!! Hello!!!! What is your thoughts and headcanons on Rodion?

Ik he is on the same team as Nikto (or used to be, it says on the wiki that nikto is awol so idk :33), so i was wondering if you have ever thought about any of the other Spetznaz members!

sure!! i think i got all of them but if not let me know <3

[ever (foreign flag) - team sleep]

[ rodion ]

he has his heart in the right place, but he's still a little fresh. he rose in the ranks quickly, but he's still a rash 26-year-old. he wants nothing more than to be part of a cause. maybe he has a bit of a savior complex. he likes helping others so that he can be "the good guy." i feel like he'd be a typical sports bro if it he didn't choose the military. lots of gym time, rugby, weightlifting, boxing, you name it. relationship wise? i think he'd want someone good-humored and light-hearted, someone silly ^-^ he's one of those guys who can pick up anybody. he def likes picking you up, like using you for his bicep curls or letting you sit on his back while he does pushups. it's a little ego boost for him. speaking of his ego, it's inflated. his love language is somewhere between words of affirmation (mostly compliments,,) and physical touch. he loves someone who strokes his ego and makes him feel like this good, tough hero.

[ nikto, formerly ]

he likes fucking with people. if he catches kids staring at him, he'll make scary faces. when people ask him about his scars, he'll switch up the story each time. and oh, he loves Halloween. i think he'd dress up as a werewolf or maybe a zombie. he takes fistfuls of candy out of bowls when he's only supposed to take one. he comes back wrong after surviving torture from zakhaev. he's always been an egregious man, but his stares linger in certain places for far too long and he now shares a brain. the man his team once knew is gone, and in his stead is a man set on revenge. he tries to crack jokes, but not a lot of people like them because they're just,, dark and weird. he doesn't mind showing his face, but he keeps it covered like most other operators for the sake of privacy. but when he isn't on the field, he'll show his face freely. let people think what they want. he won't stifle himself for the pleasure of others. dating him is troublesome. sometimes, he'll stand you up on dates or cancel last minute because it's difficult for him to get out of bed or leave his soldier state. and he isn't a good man either-- he's killed the enemy for the thrill or because he can, not for justice. but if he loves you, he'll certainly try to make an effort to impress you. maybe he'll wear something decent.

[ minotaur ]

imagine saving the lives of countless people and "losing" your brother in the process. and that fucks you up, making you leave the military career you've meticulously nurtured for years. this man is a girl dad-- he had four kids while he spent 10 years operating in southeast asia until his brother, who he thought was dead, hunted him down and convinced him to join the allegiance. then, he had to go away for longer than he promised his girls to fight al-qatala. i think he was a present father, and that he just wanted a fresh start after all the shit that went down at kurbanov hospital. he still writes letters to his partner and children back in southeast asia while crouched beneath a tarp, trying to avoid the humidity in verdansk. he's a tough parent-- he and his partner have a good cop-bad cop routine. he's the one telling them to put up their toys and go to bed or they'll have to do more chores tomorrow. but he doesn't let anybody lay a hand on his girls, either. seeing his own brother bleed out made him fiercely protective of the ones he loves. he will not let any of his blood "continue his legacy" for as long as he lives.

[ bale ]

he laid awake late at night often, writing letters to his brother that he would never send. but something in him kept him from sending them, so he stuffed them into the drawer of his nightstand. as the years passed, the thought of contacting him grew harder and harder to consider. but when general barkov let him go, the guilt was a ton heavy and needed to be relieved. this man got shot in the spine and FULLY REHABILITATED in five years. he isn't afraid of anything, but that doesn't mean he goes around making rash decisions like rodion does. he takes rodion under his wing and guides him. he can't end up like him, bleeding out on the floor all because he got too impatient-- he might not get so lucky. i think he really likes hot food and drinks, like an old man. he'll drink black coffee and bitter teas. he likes dark chocolate or an orange as a little treat after meals :] i think he'd be okay with any partner as long as they make good coffee and prefer quiet getaways like he does

[ofallthingsnasty]

tags: noncon spanking, power imbalance (boss/employee), exhibitionism, f!reader, reader wears a skirt + is implied to be chubby, this is just about being disciplined by sir crocodile pffft sorry idk what got into me with this one mini disclaimer: I haven’t been up to date with one piece since 2015 + I just finished the alabasta arc during my current re-read. this is pre-canon but please forgive me if I’ve missed anything. pairing: sir crocodile/f!reader word count: 1.4k

“Are you stupid?”

The clipboard in your hand shakes at the harsh words. You owlishly blink at the source of them - your boss, whose upturned eyebrows tell you just how  annoyed he is. Crocodile isn’t someone who you should try to talk back to, especially you - too soft compared to him and still fairly new to this job-

Yet you can’t help but bristle at his tone.

 “Excuse me, Sir?”

“I've excused you quite enough, haven't I?”

He clicks his tongue and his cigar dips with it, ignoring your indignant face.

“You don't listen, woman. I let it go yesterday but here you go again, staring off into space.”

Oh. So he noticed. 

It pains you to admit but you’re still starstruck over working for Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea - and somewhat of a hero to your people. Helping him operate Rain Dinners might be weirdly mundane but being close to the man who has saved the people of Alabasta countless times is something you’re still not quite over. You know you’re too old to be that naive, that blue-eyed - but who can fault for wondering where he got that scar in his face from, or how he lost his hand? Working for someone like him would spice up anyone’s life in Rainbase. 

“Ah”, he sighs - heavy and exhausted as though you’re some kind of mutt, refusing to be properly trained -  and puts out his cigar. “It's no use.”

Okay, now you’re starting to sweat. Your eyes rush to the manager - who just blinks back at you, a cryptic expression on her stony face. 

“Over my knee.”

“Sir-”, you stammer out, glad that the words are even coming out despite the cold shower that is running down your spine. “This is entirely inappropriate- In front of other employees, no less-”

A wave of his hook interrupts you.

“A learning opportunity, then.”

This has to be some sort of nightmare - if it weren’t for the curious little head tilt of the other woman in the room, you’d try to pinch yourself awake. Your mouth opens and closes while you try to process this situation, try to make sense of it. You should leave, quit on the spot, tell him to fuck off-

You surprise yourself when you set down the clipboard with shaky hands. 

Maybe it’s because deep down, you don’t want to lose this job or because of the way his voice leaves no more room for discussion - but you lower yourself over his legs, feeling very much like a rotten child and not a fully grown woman. They dig into the fat of your stomach and press the waistband of your skirt uncomfortably against it but you don’t even dare to adjust yourself, you just grip the edge of the chair weakly and try to soothe the sting of humiliation by scrutinizing the texture of the floor beneath you.

You know what comes next - still you startle as your skirt is hiked up by his rough hand. He lifts up your midriff ever so slightly while he pulls the piece of clothing over your ass, the sturdy fabric holding almost all of your weight for a short second. Luckily, it stays intact - contrary to your tights. Thick fingers hook themselves underneath the band that helps them stay in place and you can only let out an indignant squeak as he digs into the thin fabric like it’s butter, ripping large holes into it. At least he leaves your panties where they belong.

“You’re going to count for me”, he says from somewhere above as though he’s telling you how he likes to take his whiskey and not about to spank his employee for a minor transgression.

You just nod with too much enthusiasm and a burning hot face.

You’re stock-still and tense over his knee - so acutely aware of the impending doom. He’s not going to be gentle with you, you have no pretense about that, you know that he’s going to make you feel his frustration, every bit of it.

He lifts his hand from your ass - you hear the fabric of his clothes shuffle, strain - and brace yourself.

It doesn’t hurt at first. You only register the smack of his palm meeting your flesh and feel the force that is behind it, that pushes you forward and shifts the content of your stomach uncomfortably over the bone of his thigh. A split second passes and then- it burns. 

You can’t suppress the shocked whimper that leaves you as you press out the count. “One.”

“One, what?”

You grit your teeth in utter shame but promptly rectify your mistake. 

"One, Sir. And thank you- Sir"

Your words are rewarded with his hand rubbing the skin beneath it - maybe it’s to alleviate the pain, maybe it’s to cop a feel - you cannot tell.

The next four hits come rather quickly. Your head is thrown down with each one and you can feel the snot building up in your nose, blood accumulating where branches of both the external and internal carotids meet, the skin hot and sticky. Still, you count each and every one of them, your voice getting wispier and wispier from the pain.

“Having trouble holding that thick head of yours up?”, he asks after the fifth one, thumb digging into now tender flesh. It’s an entirely rhetorical question.

“Let me help you. Don’t move.”

Not moving turns out to be rather difficult when his hook moves to your neck, that sharp, glinting tip too close to the soft organs of your throat. The cold metal settles right where your suprahyoid muscles connect to the bone, just above your larynx. 

It’s not enough to choke you - but the discomfort keeps your neck straining, instinctively trying to shield that small brace of bone that forms the hyoid.

Your eyes meet blue ones, just above the edge of Crocodile’s desk. You must look absolutely pathetic to her, you’re sure - but there is no judgment in her face, just a slender knuckle under her chin as her full attention is on you. Every further thought is swept away by another hit to your rear. It jerks you into his hook, crushing the fine cartilage of your voice box, forcing mucus into your mouth. Something pops among the muscles, like the jump of a tendon over bone and you balk at the noise, sure that he’ll break you before he even gets to the end of this.

 Yet you sputter out the number six, voice throaty with strain.

Seven, eight, nine and ten follow quickly - and aren’t less harsh. Every single cell of your body is focused on getting from one moment to the next, of just getting through this.

Whatever it is you do, it’s deemed to be adequate - eleven and twelve come and go - slower, but heavier - and he finally rests his hand on your prickling skin after you croak out fifteen, Sir, your throat tender and ass bruised so deeply that your left leg shakes with it. A few tense seconds pass - during which you’re not sure if he’s actually done or not, but a soft sigh confirms it. 

“Up with you.”

You’ve never moved faster in your life, beaten ass be damned. Trying to preserve the last shreds of your dignity, you tuck down your rumpled skirt with shaky fingers, fighting the urge to rub your sore neck. You can barely look at him, too scared you might find nothing but disdain in his eyes.

“Look at you now. What a nuisance.” He doesn’t sound disappointed - just tired. Like you’re a mess that needs to be cleaned up and he just came home from a long day at work. You shrink into yourself at his tone, relieved that it’s over but still tense, still afraid that there will be other consequences. “Go on. Get yourself fixed.”

You’re dismissed with a simple wave of the very hand you can still feel on your skin - that will make it hard for you to sit in the next few days. 

Robin's eyes follow you as you hurry out of the door, pantyhose ripping even further because you try to clumsily adjust it while walking, your face betraying every single emotion you feel. Hurt, humiliation, even genuine anguish - but you’re still in one piece, even if your ego (and ass) are a little beat up. She tilts her head as she watches the very last traces of you disappear.

“Hm. You've gotten soft.”

He huffs in annoyance and reaches for the untouched newspaper in front of him, not even bothering to light a new cigar. She eyes Crocodile for a second as he pulls the pages taut. Something clicks.

"You like her", she says, thoroughly amused now.

The only answer she gets is a sharp tug at the newspaper.

A/N: It's hard to decipher what non-Baroque Works employees of Rain Dinners call Robin -- but she is addressed as manager, so I stuck with that. I hope it didn't confuse you.

[defectivehero]

Hi recently found your blog it’s so good! But was wondering if you could one where the hero lost there glasses in a fight maybe or just at home and the villain sees them idk take your pick possibly m x m? Ty even if not have a good day!

your wish is my command! (not really, but this is a great idea and you asked very nicely!) here you go, hope you have a great day <3

The hero has grown accustomed to working late night hours at the agency. He's grown used to being the last person in the office, to shutting the lights off and locking the door behind him once he leaves. The hero always feels guilty leaving right at his scheduled time, especially when his job can determine if a person lives as a bystander to a horrible event or dies as a victim. He begins to stay later and later into the night, and it becomes increasingly hard for him to tear himself away from the agency and his hero mask.

This overtime habit is how the hero finds himself hunched over his desk with rather painful crooked posture as he compulsively checks his computer for messages. His agency is one of the first to adopt a sophisticated messaging system that converts audio from emergency calls to text, which are sent as alerts straight to their inbox. The idea sounded morbid at first—the hero didn't want to equate life-saving to checking his email. But the system grew on him. It's convenient and easy to use, drastically improving the agency’s response time.

He squints at the screen in front of him, rubbing his eyes roughly when his vision begins to blur. He's tired.

Perhaps the hero’s exhaustion is the reason why he fails to notice a figure standing in the corner of the room, watching him. “Your eyesight is terrible.” The hero hears, stiffening in his seat and turning around to find his enemy, the villain, lurking in the shadows. It takes him a few moments to process the statement.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” the hero then huffs, blinking a few times as he realizes his eyes feel incredibly dry. His close-up vision is passable, so he's still able to do his job. His distance vision, on the other hand...

The hero has worn glasses since fourth grade. He experimented with contacts but eventually went back to wearing glasses. He's spent an ungodly amount of time in his life wiping his glasses clean with a cloth or pushing his frames further up his nose.

“I’m serious,” the villain sighs. “How can you even see out of these?” At that, the villain steps forward and holds out his hand, revealing a pair of glasses. The hero immediately recognizes the telltale blue gleam that distinguishes his glasses, and reaches out to his enemy. He almost expects the villain not to hand them over, so when the glasses hit the hero's palm, he raises his eyebrows.

"Thank you," the hero feels the need to say, when the silence stretches on to a painful tension. When he puts on his glasses, the blurriness around his vision clears and he can see the words displayed on his screen in sharp, clean strokes. The hero then stares at the villain, several questions on the tip of his tongue. How did the villain remember the hero had lost his glasses? Did he go back to retrieve them? And if so... why?

"It took me a few days to realize why you hadn't shown your face since our fight," the villain answers, as if reading his mind. The hero has to wonder how he grew so predictable. "After that, it didn't take long for me to remember that blow I dealt you—rather powerful, if I do say so myself—and the ensuing clatter of your glasses falling to the ground. So... I went back to the rooftop and grabbed them."

That answers the hero's first two questions. He is still left with the most important query of all: why?

The villain seems to telepathically understand this question too. He takes a slow breath in and ambles around the office in a carefree manner that makes it seem as if he owns the space.

"A win is more enjoyable if it's a complete victory," the villain drawls, tapping his fingers along a nearby desk. The hero has to wonder if his enemy has his power activated—if charred fingerprints will be left as remnants (as tangible evidence) of their encounter. "That means no cheap advantages or hinderances."

Ah. The villain wanted a fair fight—one unimpeded by the hero's poor vision. He supposes he can understand that. The villain is honorable above all else. The hero knows this about his enemy, has grown to accept it. Perhaps he should've intuited that motivation before bothering to ask.

The villain is still lingering, as if waiting for something. The hero's patience only lasts a few minutes. “Well, was there another reason for your visit, or…?” The hero asks, looking at him with sharpened vision. His glasses now provide him with a glimpse of the nuance written in the villain's form—the minuscule pull to his lips, the faded scars tangled around his hands. The hero is suddenly thankful to have his glasses again—but for entirely different reasons than before.

“That was it,” the villain says, his gaze turning scrutinizing. "Why are you in such a rush? Got a hot date?" The latter statement is spoken with a surprising amount of venom.

The hero raises his eyebrows. "A date?" He hums casually, his heart racing in his chest. He didn't expect the conversation to take such a sharp turn into such a convoluted and confusing subject. "At this hour? Of course not."

Something settles in the villain's expression. "Right," he says, something close to relief coloring his tone. "Then, I'll be seeing you." He remarks, turning on his heel and walking out the door. The hero watches him leave, a multitude of different emotions battling in his chest.

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[wonton4rang]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

pairing: bnd x reader.

warnings: none?

summary: bnd as charlie puth songs. broken heart/ broke up ver.

note: i might do a "in love" and "sex" (just the legal line ofc) version for this because i really vibe w charlie's songs and they really fit bnd's vibe for me !! pd. I just changed my phone and idk how to use it properly yet (literally changed it today) so im apologizing in advance if this looks odd 😔

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

sungho; i don't think that i like her

i can physically hear his voice through the whole song, it's not a want is a need that i have to get a full cover by him. i just feel like the whole "i loved you and gave you all of me just to be let down, used and discarded because i'm not 'your type', but i still try cause i wanna love someone" vibe fits him way too much. he's so soft and loving, i feel like his heart might be broken often because he wants something serious and girlies just wanna fuck him :'(

riwoo; hero / dangerously

i feel like he would be so into you, looking for your true self, which you apparently only were when you were alone with him. the whole "don't pressure yourself so much, i'm here for you" and getting a "i don't need a hero, i don't want to be saved" situation fits him so much. you can tell he is kinda mad at you because of that but he forgets when you kiss him to sleep that same night. also, dangerously could fit him because i feel like he would give himself up to just focus on you instead and then end up broken because of it.

jaehyun; that's not how this works

regrettably i see jaehyun as a huge simp, this means that even though you guys are not dating or together anymore, he would let you come back over and over, enjoying your company but feeling so empty the next day when you say "i hate you so much, i gotta go", and what's funny is that you would hit him up and he'll be like "you know that's not how this works, y/n, please make up your mind" just to let you come over again.

taesan; smells like me / loser

okay hear me out i feel like taesan would be so cocky about a break up, hoping you never forget him because you broke his heart, but i also feel like he would be so sad about losing you and would put the blame on himself for letting you go. so "i hope your jacket smells like me" and "how'd i let her go?" would be the lines i find very likely to come out of his mouth or just him thinking like that.

leehan; that's hilarious

he would be so offended if you ever left him for someone else or cheated on him or just did some shit and then tried to comeback omg. he would literally go "are you being fr??" because there was no way you were trying to get things fixed after fucking him up like that. he would laugh at your face and call you a 'joke', asking you if your brain is working properly because ain't no way you think he would still want you after the things you put him through.

woonhak; cheating on you

he is definitely the type to fall in love once and for all to me. maybe is because he's young but he has this picky vibe that makes me feel like he would have a crush on someone specific, date you because he would never give you up, and honestly? it’s woonhak, who would say no? and when you two broke up he felt so empty and alone that his mind couldn't process it. he would obviously try to fill the blank only to notice that when he is with some other girl, he feels like he's cheating on you because for him it was always you, and only you.

[blitz0hno]

This got long so TL;DR: Mikoto acts on autopilot ~%90 of the time, but I believe he planned (most of) his crimes. He has straightforward reasons that align with his actions, but appears purely unreasonable because of his mental state. Kotoko is very deliberate, but acts her most violent out of raw emotion. She appears calculating, but feels completely out-of-control despite her strong "heroic" front.

y'know it SEEMS cliche that John screams like a madman every time he fronts but gee horror tropes aside has Es considered that switching can HURT?? like a lot???? Like idk maybe feeling your body flood with adrenaline and being made to handle that shit the moment someone "pisses him off" is a little bit agonizing? Maybe having no idea what's going on until he can process the emotional flooding adds fear which really doesn't help???

Fuck mannnnn when you read between the lines, John and Mikoto are a REALLY good deconstruction.

... especially since he is contrasted mainly with Kotoko. I say this because I was just struck with an idea.

ESSAY TIME LITERALLY A WHOLE ESSAY CAME OF THIS RANDOM THOUGHT no sources tho pure opinion~

So KOTOKO, despite saving the girl being her primary objective, kicked her victim to death out of anger. At her core, despite all her ideals, she was not acting out of reason or necessity, however reasonable the actual action seems.

Given that prisoner pairs are meant to starkly contrast, that gives me my best reasoning as to why I defend Mikoto's innocent vote while also praying John DOESN'T disappear:

Despite how unreasonable and irrational John acts at first, there's a reason he reacts the way he does. And deep down, somewhere in his mind, MIKOTO knows the reason he did what he did. His motives are real, even if he doesn't remember carrying out such a "dream." This leads me to believe there were REALLY big reasons, and likely good reasons, for killing who he did.

A deliberate, maybe even carefully premeditated act would undeniably lead to the death sentence. His brain knows this even if Mikoto himself isn't consciously thinking of it. But a defense of randomly "losing control?" MAYBE he can keep surviving. Because all he was doing was surviving.

I believe that when one protects themselves, they protect others as well. Perhaps I am biased, but no, abusive people should not go unaddressed and uninterrupted. It's very very very implied that John and Mikoto went after people he felt endangered by. I went over this in my first "Double" analysis, but TL;DR I think the red herring John gave (which is funny cuz that phrase comes from tactics to throw DOGS off their trail) goes SO much farther thematically than I've seen talk about.

John has reasons that he does what he does, as does Mikoto. Systems are wired for survival. The lucky ones do well in academics and even many job environments because they are ALWAYS processing what to do next. Burnout is SEVERE because the brain is basically always "on alert," even when we're checked out. I can find clinically documented sources for this claim and I will if I make a video or something about this, but yeah it sure is an EXPERIENCE when it all comes crashing down. Trying to end a cycle.

As for Kotoko? She is literally portrayed to have a one-track mind. Her ideals and justice. But ironically? She killed out of raw anger and emotion, which is what the wolf at the end of Deep Cover represents. Despite having a very "normal" life overall, SHE is the one who truly loses all control of herself. SHE beats up the people who annoy her. Because it's grating, as she said in Deep Cover, to face the ugliness of humanity and NOT be able to escape your brain's response to it. SHE cannot "disappear" and forget her rage at injustice like Mikoto can. She is at the mercy of this uncontrolled rage and the resulting violence she allows herself to perpetrate. Repeating a cycle.

it's so brilliant. It's SO brilliant. They are the same. They couldn't be more different. Neither is a hero nor a monster. But they are heroes in SOMEONE'S, or arguably MANY people's eyes. And yet in both 009 and 010's cases, when we see their truest and most raw colors, we question EVERYTHING we assumed before.

Mikoto is not telling the whole truth when he says he doesn't get angry or remember anything. John straight-up lied to cover Mikoto's motives for doing so, and possibly out of his own genuine confusion. He is acting on instinct drilled in by traumatic events that the brain is using as reference; however, with how DID works, John is not going to know that. It's not his "job," the protection role he plays in the system , to know that. Yet there are reasons all the same. His BIG reason, which he calls out to Mikoto in "Double," over and over, was to SAVE Mikoto. Meanwhile, Mikoto is afraid of his actions, but presumably carried them out in order to stay alive. Whatever his "dream," he still wishes he could be seen as a good man despite what he presumably felt he had to do to survive. DID is the "sink or swim" disorder; it's literally about saving yourself and being protected from the emotions that come with it. Whether or not his reasons truly make sense is yet to be seen, but either way, Mikoto feels he cannot trust himself. He is cut off from emotions that would make him believe his reasons were "bad enough" to ACTUALLY warrant murder. That is why he split; to forget how bad it truly got. He has NO idea how protected he truly is.

Kotoko firmly believes that she is COMPLETELY honest about what she wants and what she wishes to do about it. She believes her anger is justified completely, and thus her actions must be justified as well. This reasoning allows her to be completely convinced that she is aware of and comfortable with her every choice. Her reaction to her own anger, leaving Lucky behind in that rage, and her reaction to the wolf in "Deep Cover" revealed her awareness and comfort to be a self-imposed illusion of strength. Her ideals are real and she fights for them, yet she's crossed so many lines that she's actually very afraid of what she's become. It's right behind her, isn't it? Something she cannot run from before it swallows her. And having picked apart every other person there? She is alone; but this fear isn't "strong," so she hides it away for the extraction machine to reveal to us as the audience.

Both are driven by larger-than-life emotions that can only come from raw existential anguish; emotions repressed until they explode. Neither are anywhere near what they seem to be on the surface. Both are unknowingly dishonest. Neither knows what to do about it.

I wanna say there's hope for them but you know. Superhell.

[mettywiththenotes]

I sorta want the first years to be used next chapter. I want the difference shown between their new exciting high school hero experience vs the serious traumatic stuff our kiddos went through

Imagine first years going up to Bakugou and thanking him for ending AFO, exclaiming how cool he was and stuff. Maybe getting too close and not listening to him telling them to stop and making his heart hurt because he's supposed to be staying calm, doctors orders

Or imagine the first years approaching Izuku all bubbly, asking for his autograph and thanking him for killing Tomura, inspired, awed, and Izuku feeling so distant from it all

Idk if we're going with the whole "things are back to normal (not really but it sure looks that way rn)" thing, then I sorta want the "entertainer on a stage vs the audience" briefly shown again, but this time its shown as unsettling. The emotional distance between happy thankful first years who are ready to be heroes inspired by their idols and senpais who just saved the world from villains and the new second years who nearly broke themselves to win, and especially all of that with Izuku who temporarily lost his arms, killed a villain he wanted to save, and on top of all that lost and is still in the process of losing his quirk

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

Fun tip from your local oc hoarder: if you have old ocs or concepts that never went anywhere, didn't quite grab you, just didn't quite work - re-insert them into the world as the npcs. The background character. The side cast.

And here's why, in a nutshell - it'll help your world feel more cohesive, to you and to anyone seeing it.

Yeah, sure, you can hastily slap together a bland shopkeep during a shopping scene, or slip in generic fan designs at a concert. But if you have someone Established, specific, someone who doesn't Have to reoccur, buuuuut... maybe the main characters always go into the store during so-and-so's friday shifts, or maybe you have concert scenes frequently enough that you'd start picking out the same fans who always attend for their favorite band... Adds to how natural it all feels, you know?

Does it have to be an old oc? Can't it be someone made to fit, I hear you ask? Well, sure! And obviously if you only have one or two ocs that aren't active, you'll have to anyways. But it's a two birds with one stone exercise - because now you've streamlined your process for having an established npc. You already have an idea of how that old oc looks, or talks, or acts. You may already know what setting they'd likely frequent, or even miscellany like what music they like or hobbies they have. Your generic npc doesn't have to have speaking lines or relevance - but if they needed to or you wanted them to, now they can. They'll have substance that keeps things from feeling too flat.

And idk, obviously some people don't pay much attention to things like that - but I've found that it makes a huge difference to me even when I hadn't realized it. It adds some extra depth to the world in small ways, that you may or may not ever use, but that way it's already built in. No scrambling or extra work to project traits onto some faceless character who talks to your protag about musicians for one scene.

This is also helpful for subverting "kill your darlings" a bit, for those who struggle a lot with that concept in their writing and worldbuilding - because for me, my problem tends to be that it's not that the darling is Entirely Pointless, it's just that they aren't a good fit. Killing a really good idea and banishing it to the drafts forever can suck. But learning how to Recycle the darling helps keep it in relevance, but by plugging it in to a better purpose than the original draft. That makes it easier to cut ideas out of my writing - because I can rest easy knowing I have it in reserve for its time to shine elsewhere.

I'd imagine this won't work for everyone, but I've found as I work on my hero story that it's added a lot of joy. Characters who fell to the sidelines or into obscurity simply because they weren't cut out for hero business now have time to shine in other small ways.

I have a girl who realistically will end up just being a background jogger. But she's also on a track team, and likes handmaking pottery in her spare time. I have a guy with weather powers, but he's focused pursuing being a talented violinist, with minimal active involvement in the hero business beyond happening to have heroes who are fans of his work.

Heck, one of my favorite characters is a duo of guys sharing a body that are just waiters at the local diner. One of them can reverse gravity or even practically rewind time with the snap of his finger if he so chose. These are powers that he studies endlessly for so he can hone and refine them better. But all he cares about is protecting his family and friends, so all you typically see him use his powers for is preventing glasses from being broken or saving his crush from tripping.

It makes me happy to see my kids just going about their day, filling a role in the background. Will they be more relevant? It's possible! But even if they aren't, there will always be glimpses - of the redhead jogging down the street, of someone in the middle of listening to a track from a classical violinist, of a waiter effortlessly stopping plates from being dropped in the middle of taking an order - all in the backdrop of whatever panel or scene or what have you that comes up.

It helps it all feel more like a world everyone belongs in, rather than a staged play. You know? And it's a very fulfilling feeling for me, both as author and as reader.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to recycle those old ocs. Tweak or streamline them if you need, but if you hold them even a little dear to your heart and can get them to click, I promise you won't regret it.

[nebulousfishgills]

As much as I love playing embrace Dark Urge runs (discussion in therapy pending), there's something so narratively satisfying about how a Resist Durge playthrough can go once you get to the Bhaal Temple. Your character steps into the ring with Orin, it's intended to be a duel, but odds are you're getting eviscerated pretty quickly. You then switch to one of your other characters in your party and throw an attack, effectively breaking the duel and setting the whole temple upon you.

(Adding a cut because this ended up being longer than I thought)

But, I think it's a very satisfying way to play. Your party members have grown fond of your Durge, seeing them as a friend, a family member, even a lover. They've watched you and your pain over your Urge and what it makes you do or want to do. Maybe you've slipped up once or twice, but you've been trying so hard to be the hero they know you can be, that Faerûn needs. So, when it comes time to finally face your demons and you're getting so horribly hurt in the process, they can't help but rush to your defense. It'll put all of them in danger, but it doesn't matter because they want and need to help you, their ally and companion.

Bonus points if you select your character's romanced companion as the savior/duel interruptor to make it extra delicious. They've fallen in love with you, stayed with you when your Urge craved their blood the most, maybe by this point in the game you've helped put their demons down as well. They see you in pain, a final valiant effort to overcome your Urge against the power of Orin, a whole cult, a god of murder himself. They want to protect you, save you as you saved them.

I'm also fond of the extra beauty of Astarion being your Resist Durge romance since it puts the two of you in very similar situations. Fighting against the will of your masters, finally defeating your demons with your newfound companions' help and being offered the greatest power you could ever fathom... only to deny it, ignore power in favor of your party and your love.

This isn't even mentioning just how goddamn good the Withers resurrecting you cutscene is. This skeleton in your camp with unknown and unfathomable power (also apparently supposed to be Jergal himself if I've done my research properly?) is able to bring you back to life, free of your Urge. The line along the lines of "Bhaal could only destroy what of you that he knew, but because you've grown past your Urge and become your own person, he couldn't destroy that new growth" is just so weirdly powerful narratively. Tav may be a default character for you to create upon making a new save file, but Durge is the canon protagonist and I think that entire scene shows it the best. It's a beautiful secondary climax of the narrative (primary being battling the Netherbrain of course).

And, perhaps it's just an oversight on Larian's part or something that'd be a bit difficult to work into the cutscenes mechanically, but I think that it could only get more impactful if your companions could comfort each other during these moments. Everyone and their mother wishes you could hug Astarion after he kills Cazador, but also imagine your romanced companion cradling your body after Bhaal kills you. It seems just a little odd that they all (meaning your party) kinda just stand around staring at your corpse, especially with how close y'all have gotten.

Idk, I have a lot of thoughts about this section of the game in this particular type of playthrough and some of them are hard to articulate into words. It's just such a damn good narrative peak and can really make you feel things.

I've completed I think two resist Durge runs and just hit this point on my third and it really stuck out to me this time (then again my new antidepressants are kinda fucking with me so that might be playing a role). I left it as my last mission before dealing with the Netherbrain and I think it helped build the anticipation of that moment. Everyone else has been helped by you, and now it's your turn to come into your own. I really felt so connected to my character walking into the temple, feeling like everything has been building to this, that regardless of what happens our suffering will finally end. And you have your party there to help you in your time of greatest need as you've done for them.

There's a reason this game was Game of the Year, the narrative is just so powerful and the replay-ability is just insane. I've beaten this game ten times, heading for my eleventh and it truly just never gets old and never fails to make me feel so many things so strongly.

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament Entry #23

Wally Mobius Manhattan West

[ID: Cropped comic panel of Wally West as the Flash but in a blue suit sitting on the Mobius Chair. He has one hand to his head, and the other conjures an image of a house. /END ID]

What Happened?

Alright. So. The Mobius Chair. In post-Flashpoint continuity, the Mobius Chair wasn't made by Metron, but by Mobius the Anti-Monitor (which I have beef with, but will set aside for the time being). So it was already all powerful. Then Metron took it across the multiverse in his pursuit of knowledge, and the chair gained basically all the information that's ever existed in past, present and future, as well as in realities that didn't end up coming to exist. Then one day when some other shit was going down, Wonder Woman lasso'd Metron out of the chair and Batman took it for a while. Then finally Metron got it back and made a deal with Owlman on the moon to give it to him. So at this points it's changed hands a number of times, and all the while has absorbed a shitton of knowledge in the process. Next thing you know, Metron and Owlman are steaming piles of dust. The End. Or is it?

Cut to everyone's favorite, Heroes in Crisis. We're not going to get into all that because it's not the point here, but it matters because it's why Wally was in jail at the start of Flash Forward and was at a pretty low point in his life. But not to worry, the Mobius Chair told (?) Tempus Fuginaut to do some shenanigans to convince Wally to sit on it (and also save his family and this and that, you know how it is). Though reluctant, Wally does decide to sit on the chair. When this happens, he is imbued with ALL the knowledge the chair has absorbed. So like, that's a lot right? Yeah. But what we weren't shown because it was implied, is that Dr. Manhattan was the one who took the chair on the moon, so not only does Wally get everything the chair already had, but ALSO Dr Manhattans powers. Wally immediately becomes blue and starts sitting like the biggest douche in history because I guess that's just what the chair does to people lmao. And he becomes not only the fastest man alive, but also the most knowledgeable and arguably most powerful. He literally fixes the multiverse.

And then it's like "To be continued in Generation Zero" which didn't even get put out because free comic book day got all hecked up due to Covid. But it did get printed in the Flash Forward trade paperback, and idk the Batman Who Laughs shows up, and tbh that's about where I lose steam on this whole thing.

BUT the point is... even though continuity got kind of rewritten, Wally in his infinite ability to transcend reboots, has been hinted at (or maybe even outright said) that he still retains the Mobius Chair/Dr Manhattan knowledge in current times. So that's pretty darn fascinating.

--

Tournament polls will be posted after all entries are up. As always you can find all posts related to the tournament using #dc-polls-trh

[seaweedbraens]

GIRL AHSGRKAKAGSJSLSGDSJSJSHDDGDGDGDGDGDHDGDGDGDVXBCBBXBDHSHSHAHHAHAHSJAJAJAJAJA

The last chapter ??????? Annabeth's eye????? (Actually share your thought process for that decision me is interested) APOLLO ARE YOU OK? THE BATTLE OMGGGGGG

BOW BITCHES YOU NEED TO TORTURING MY LITTLE BABIES LIKE THAT

Glad to see that luke is not proclaimed a hero because tbh he isn't maybe he turned good at the end that doesn't make him a hero that doesn't excuse all the people who died because of him turning good at the end didn't justify Silena's actions they don't justify yours either. I said what I said.

Thank all the gods he didn't ask Annabeth if she loves him that was wild af

Tysm for the therapists

im impertinent gold

Smalltalking??? smiling??? Are we sure these are the same gods 💀

He's follow her straight through the gates of Tartarus if he had to, and he'd do it with a smile.

YOU DO THAT IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE ACTUALLY.

Also love how that references the title in a way

I am shooketh this feels like the end of an era honestly tysm for this gem I haven't read the epilogue yet but I'm sure it will also be earth shattering good too

Also THANK GODS PIPER AND FRANK ARE OKAY ASUGSUFSUSUGSGIGS

Still not over the deaths of others i absolutely hate you for that ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ (no I don't)

I love you sm for writing this gem

ufafugkgjg i end my rant here ty for coming to my very *eloquent* ted talk lmao

idk how i missed this!!! but AAAH thank you thank you ily <3 and i LOVE that you caught the title reference! i actually had that line be the title exactly, but i scrapped it because it was way too on-the-nose haha

the 'did you love me' line from luke...not gonna lie i did consider putting it in just so annabeth could like definitely clarify that she loved him like family and that it was never ever romantic, but like you, i hated that line in canon so much that i couldnt keep it. it's...it's just bad.

and omg i did wonder if i made the gods too...smiley? but i think the situation called for it. like they were on the edge of extinction (to some degree) and it didnt fit for them to be haughty and hoity-toity. like. they AND the demigods know who saved their asses. i think they'd be thankful for it (at least for a while). i do think they'd truly try to change and be present and all of that, but if i'm being honest, over time i think they'd slowly pull back to something like we see in the canon pjo series. like they're there but definitely not parental. but that's okay, because like we see in the fic, the demigods know now how vital they are and they intend to create a world for them. they'll be okay.

this truly does feel like the end of an era. it's so weird waking up and not having to put something into my planner related to writing this fic. it's very emotional and while i know this fic isnt perfect, i am so proud of myself for finishing it. i wish i could put it on my resume haha

as always tysm for the support <3 it means the WORLD fr. ily <3333

[sunshine-zenith]

Aight, I’m invested I guess. Here’s my Far Fetched Probably Inaccurate More Speculation Than A Theory theory for Wish: Magnifico isn’t completely human or a shooting star like the Star we see — he’s either a manifestation of a wish Amaya made or Amaya once used a wish to save his life

Magnifico specifically says “it’s genetic, I got these genes from outer space!” about himself, which is very specific wording — either he’s completely from space, or magic from space warped his genes. He also has a magic book and I can’t think of a reason he would if magic is innate to his very being, down to a genetic level — maybe it belongs to his Not Innately Magic wife?

Amaya is a unique character in Disney canon in that she’s the Major Big Bad’s spouse — most classic Disney villains in their major animated movies are single or widows, while Amaya is very much alive and well. So she must be important, otherwise what’s the point of her character? Marketing also had super downplayed her, which tells me she has a major role in the story that they don’t want to give away

Amaya’s few lines in the trailer focus on Magnifico (surprise surprise, they have two minutes tops to market this thing and a focus on the hero and villain takes priority over showing rounded out characterization). Still, she seems big on praising him in a similar way he praises himself — calling him handsome and seeming impressed at what she thinks is his work. Yes, there’s being a supportive significant other, but there’s a strange vibe to her words, like she has a personal investment in his achievements beyond just being married to him. I also saw her giving Magnifico concerned/protective looks, like she’s specifically worried about his well-being. Idk I feel like someone finding a shooting star and not sharing it isn’t necessarily worth giving “who’s messing with my hubby” death glares — maybe she’s worried about this shooting star undoing the wish she used for him

She’s noted to be his sounding board/the person who keeps him in line in marketing, so she must know what he’s up to and helping him hide it from the people of Rosas

Magnifico is cocky and self obsessed, but I get the impression that this isn’t the reason he grants so few wishes. He gets super serious and even solemn when talking to Asha about it. He’s kinda a dick where his kingdom is concerned, but he takes wishes seriously. He genuinely doesn’t seem to be holding back granting wishes out of selfishness, because he does grant quite a few — fourteen in a year might be just a drop in the ocean, but that’s still a solid amount. Imagine fourteen people going viral during an internet challenge, or fourteen people on an organ registry getting transplants, or fourteen people getting their degrees, etc, etc. That’s genuinely not a nothing amount of people! Maybe being alive due to wish magic gives him a different perspective on it and what he deems necessary vs unnecessary (and whether or not he’s a hypocrite would make for a compelling character dimension)

Listen this isn’t “evidence,” I just want Amaya to have autonomy in this story, and the only other ways are if she’s a Plot Twist Villain working with/above Magnifico (badass, but I’m pretty sure this was specifically scrapped by the writers early on in the process) or if she hits him with a stack of divorce papers (iconic behavior, but imagine a theater full of five year olds with complicated family dynamics watching this — I don’t see them celebrating with the characters on screen like they might’ve when, say, Anna decked Hans in the face). Her specifically being the reason Magnifico exists and the complicated feelings all around that would result from this are amazing to imagine, plus it can go with both Good!Amaya or Evil!Amaya

Idk maybe Amaya had a cross between Aladdin and Encanto moment — she consciously or unconsciously wished for a handsome king to save her from whatever and since a king needs a kingdom Rosas was created. Or Amaya stumbled across a dying boy who wanted to create his own kingdom and made a wish for him to survive, with that wish giving him powers in the process

[faif-girlcel]

Been playing Mass Effect lately and have to say it's so interesting how paragon Shepard is the definition of a "good cop". You're upholding a racially hierarchical regime where some aliens are explicitly stated to be seen as lesser and incapable of self governance despite being literal spacefarers with their own personal governments, and the actual emphasized incompetence of those supposedly "capable of governing", the council allows for all sorts of excesses and brutality among it's guard seemingly, and chooses on whims whether or not to aid certain species in their struggles based on favoritism, there is, from the councils perspective, *literal* slave labor used on the citadel that they're indifferent to because again, lesser species (they don't know that the keepers are designed to upkeep the citadel they just see them as an alien race to take advantage of at 0 cost), there is seemingly overt misogyny present among most races that is in no way tackled or challenged, limitations on free speech, genocide apologia from the highest ranks and engrained into educational databases, and throughout all of this, Shepard can't offer any institutional critique, despite being the good guy hero jesus person, because she's incapable of analyzing the system she exists in and actively serves and furthers. sure she criticizes individual actions of the council and can be rude to them, but ultimately she remains beholden to them, and carries out their missions, choosing to resolve them as a good cop or bad cop, which again maybe individually means saving a life or committing police brutality, but she still ultimately reinforces a system built upon extremely blatant oppression and never seriously questions this, not even when she leaves and joins Cerberus briefly.

And then there's the crew, barring Liara (who incidentally is the crewmate least linked to the military, and who,, is less excluded from this list in ME2,, but i wanna focus on 1) Mass Effect 1 feels like Bad Apple fixer simulator, you start with

Garrus: genocide apologist (thinks the genophage was justified) who LOVES extrajudicial murder

Ashley: groomed into being a would-be klan member

Tali: zionist who hated AI before it was cool (in a genocidal way)

Wrex: war culture mercenary super chill on war crimes

Kaidan: shown as the other "good cop" and generally the most reasonable person barring Liara, but also he did just murder someone in boot camp in a fit of rage

Through your actions, you can fix them! You can make the bad apples good apples (kinda) but like,,,,

2 of course moves away from this theme a bit while still never properly tackling corrupt institutions in a way that undoes the actions of the first game, but its focus is elsewhere and the crew is more diverse in its outlook

Ultimately i just find it interesting how Mass Effect is a game showcasing how a good apple or whatever is capable of making individual changes for the better but is ultimately still a tool of an oppressive system and can't do anything to fundamentally change that, even if they're the most important good apple in said system.

Worth noting maybe this'll change in Mass Effect 3, which i have yet to play as im in the process of finishing 2 currently (im a dragon age girl) but idk i like how it's handled at first i was iffy on it but no it's actually pretty cool.

Also sorry if this is super retreaded ground im new to mass effect discourse this is just my takeaways from it lol

[summertimemusician]

*downs coffee like a shot* Before we go back to our regularly scheduled Linktober/Linktober Shadow (because I don't leave things unfinished if I can help it), I gotta get the idea of Revenant First out of my system and y'all get to suffer with me until it eventually ceases being an idea and it turns into an actual story. For some reason we talk a lot about First already being alive or already a ghost by the time the Chain meets him, but I don't think I've ever heard someone talk about him actually coming back to life and so y'all get to suffer with my insane ramblings like I'm an 1800's psychic ward patient who believes themselves to be a witch.

Can be x Reader or not idk just an idea that won't leave my mind.

Might expand on this later so Part out of I/?

Revenant First, who died for his people and in the name of his Goddess. All alone on the surface, fighting, fighting, fighting, always fighting. Just to make the land a little safer before the next hero arrives, just to contain the Imprisoned for a little while longer with likely nothing than a ordinary, common sword to his name and a slowly rusting armor.

Always giving so so so much for his people, always doing his best to protect them, though they scorned him, loathed him, didn't believe or support him, rejected him.

With a spirit so strong and lovely that a Goddess fell for him, hated herself for having to manipulate and put him through such horrid experiences just to save the many, just to turn the diamond of his soul into an unbreakable lonsdaleite blade agaisnt a mad deity.

Someone whose will would be enough to keep him going, just one more fight right? Just one more kill right? Forward, forward, ever onward, it doesn't matter if the flesh decays, if the blood drips drips drips until he is dry of it, if the liver doesn't process nutrients, if the lungs don't draw air, if the nerves feel nothing but the cold cold numbness of the winter of his final years, if the heart doesn't beat. If the armor rusts or the sword breaks. He must keep going, he must keep fighting.

To keep them safe he must have faith, faith that he can keep going, to grasp onto that one.single.thread of purpose until the day that fiery, indomitable, determined will finally burns out. Even if his Goddess may have forsaken him knowingly or unknowingly, even if his people have rejected him to the point he isn't even human anymore, even though they reviled him, even if that rejection should by all intents and purposes chained his spirit to the land or ground the jewel of his unbreakable soul into dust, he still loves them, still adores them, still wants to protect them.

No matter how long he must keep going for it. He wishes to see those he holds dear happy, though they cursed and imprisoned him once.

The Chain getting dropped into a completely empty, desolated and undeniably dead version of Sky's Hyrule, only to find the only living thing besides monster is a single man, with rusted gold armor and an old sword, a faded tunic of green with a long, crimson scarf like a bloody banner. With hair and eyes like theirs, undeniably a Link. But so very frigid, so very silent they almost didn't notice him, that they can't help but wonder just how many years he has spent there, eroding away, ruined but still kind, kind, so very gentle. A shadow of his former self, yes, but still himself, still so so so good, doing all he can until Sky's Era comes and maybe, just maybe, he can finally rest.

Or maybe not, after all, someone has to keep the land safe until the Hero after Sky comes around, no?

Just Revenant First in general.

Or maybe we give him the House in Fata Morgana treatment, the House in Fata Hylia Au if you will- *collapses from sleep deprivation*

[omegasmileyface]

ok i think its a good thing that sky high never got a sequel because they said what they wanted to say and explored their fun plot and setting in that movie and if they made a sequel it would be pulling at strings and a useless cashgrab and we would all have wished they would just let the fiest movie's closure rest. BUT. if i were in charge of a sky high sequel heres what it would be like

plot centers around the superhero community's weird thing where they feel more kinship with villains than civillians

thus, it starts with there being some serious schoolyard fight (maybe even... outside school hours?) between the protags and speed+lash, who are still sort of... majoring in villainy. protags get in trouble with administration for fighting, and theyre like "??? im sorry, these guys were being EVIL. you know. like VILLAINS." and the school is like What they do with their education is not up for us to judge. distrust sows.

will is dragged to a "party" (its like a bbq or something) that some of his parents' colleages are holding bc of like. a big. win. in superheroing. idk. anyway so there are a bunch of superhero families there in their civilian identities. will (and any friends that might have come) start talking to this other kid at the party

they ask why they havent seen her at school, and she says she doesnt go. why not? she scoffs and says that she would just be tossed aside in every class. protags tell her that the school is working (slowly... but working) on the sidekick/hero division thing. she says shed get tossed aside anyway. "why? whats your power? i promise you can make use out of any—" she doesnt have any powers.

oh! well. still. Ron Wilson didnt have any powers "yeah and he became a bus driver. i know Ron Wilson. hes a family friend. he shuttles superpowered kids around twice a day for minimum wage. even if you have an "in" in the community, if you dont have powers, youre just there to clean up ater people that do."

will thinks about it for a bit. he realizes he was sort of pushed aside before his powers developed... but it doesnt sink in and he pushes back (tells her he agrees but doesnt) because he was just so happy to get his powers. that couldnt be unfounded! and... and superheroes only step up because they have the power to make a difference. she should feel lucky that she doesnt have that responsibility attached to her life. she can go off and do whatever she wants without feeling bad about wasting power.

anyway laila gets radicalized again by this obviously. she is, in fact, now so against this division that she quits sky high and transfers to a civilian school to protest. she and will try to keep dating, but it really doesnt work with all that tension and they break up halfway through the movie.

the school laila transferred to is also the other girl's. lets call her toni. laila is really annoying to toni. whenever theyre away from observers, shes trying to use her powers to "help" toni, and other such annoying ally behavior. eventually, toni agrees to do a little interview on her experience with the super community if laila will leave her alone. laila agrees.

meanwhile, the rest of the friend group are having their own adventure discovering just how... ok the super community is with villains. obviously its not. like. ACCEPTED, thats why warren was so ostracized. but yknow. one day someone asks in mad science class if dr medulla is evil and he doesnt have a good answer. someone asks if lash and speed should be allowed to be the villains every time in save the citizen, and boomer says he cant force them to make their team choice. etc

laila goes in to interview toni at her house, in the process realizing that one of her dads— who was at that big superhero barbeque and whatnot— is a known supervillain. she panicks and awkwardly leaves the house trying to hide her discovery, and rushes to tell will

will doesnt know what to do with this. he attempts to subtly ask his mom, and gets an answer like "yeah, i dont get it. [sigh] but if he doesnt hurt anybody out of costume, and the others want him around... what am i gonna do about it?" he does the same with his dad, who says like "oh jimmy! yeah he was pretty cool in high school. definitely a rebel. i dont know why he got into the villain game, but its not my spot to judge him! just to stop him by force and send him to jail when its relevant."

will freaks out. this is all very strange. obviously there are problems with villainy, otherwise superheroes wouldnt exist! right? ...is toni going to become a villain? i mean, she hates the hero school system so much now, is she going to fight it when shes older?

ok im getting tired so im gonna fast forward through the rest and its gonna be all bones no meat. lets go

something happens to will that seriously injures him, and he thinks its toni's fault somehow. even as he recovers, it leaves him with a permanent disability that his powers dont help with. he considers himself useless again

laila and toni end up creating some kind of vigilante non-superpowered hero force, who swoop in to save the day alongside the powered heroes at the end of the movie

the protagonists discover that the super community doesnt differentiate between villains (fighting for the greater good but against heroes and/or the law) and villains (actually doing evil things) because hero licenses (which are a thing now ive decided) and villain classifications are given based on breaking the law

additionally, supervillainy, within certain ethical bounds (yknow if nobodys getting killed or anything) is sort of considered... a sport. half of major league superheroing is... recreational. like sparring.

but! and you'll never get this! non-supers described as villains get punished WAY WORSE than supers described as villains (again, within certain ethical boundaries)

laila plans to transfer back to sky high to encourage them to start a mandatory ethics course

whatever big fight scene ends off the movie, it has "villains" who have a sense of ethics fighting alongside less-legalist heroes, against actually evil villains and legalist "heroes". the villain-type students from the first movie (penny etc.), who still go to sky high, are fighting alongside the real villains until the end when they figure the whole thing out and decide to switch

will ends uo at the center of the Big Fight bc of course he does. he tries to fight Main Enemy (still havent decided at all who this is) on his own, for pride reasons and to prove that his new disability doesnt define him. but it does cause him to fail, and he gets ready to like. die in battle or something idk i never went to superhero school. but his friends save him, and he realizes that just because he cant shoulder as much weight as he used to doesnt mean he cant help in certain ways, and that even when he CANT help he doesnt have friends who are willing to fight for him and whatnot

its a disability metaphor. did you get that part? bc i believe the first movie was a disability metaphor.... except that the thesis was "simply stop being disabled" so im changing that.

also for legalism and police corruption. that too. there are two metaphors. :)

in the epilogue we learn that sky high is working to start providing course plans for students with no powers, and several adults in the community have become activists fighting for... i guess to make it so superheroes' and villains' intentions arent seen as an extension of lawfulness? idk this parts harder to solve. still

as for little details that arent plot-relevant:

theres strong subtext that ethan, magenta, and zach are all dating and thats fun

warren and magenta have joined a civilian poetry club that they go to after school

theres a student who exclusively refers to will as "billy"

there are NO REFERENCES TO MARVEL. i dont CARE if theyre both owned by disney. im keepin em SEPARATE. no cameos or easter eggs. you can have the incredibles playing on a tv somewhere but thats THIN ICE

there is however an astro boy reference :)

ron wilson bus driver reappearances. he refuses to take relevance in the plot hes just there. and big now.

i just think itd be funny if one of the characters had a Real Gun. i havent decided who or why