#it was like people’s best friends had personally betrayed them instead of people making a questionable business decision

[ebp-brain]

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[mothwingwritings]

Hrnnnngh because the whole Yujiro stepdad mindset will never leave me, I keep getting possessed with this thought: What if Baki and Jack had misguided feelings for their little step sis just like their father does???

(Warning for stepcest and noncon mentions, proceed w/caution)

Baki would be in deep denial over it. His feelings over you are natural. He just wants to protect you. That’s why he fantasizes and plots about luring you over and caging you in in his underground training room. He knows firsthand how threatening the outside world is, how much danger lurks around each corner, and now that Yujiro is seeking you out specifically, that just makes everything THAT much more dangerous.

You’re so pretty and kind, trusting of people even when they don’t deserve it. He was an absolute idiot for not seeing the dangers that put you in earlier. Living with him you would be safe and cared for, gluing himself to your side to personally assure that. He could barely contain himself when he thought of you nestled in his arms each night, snuggling close, so incredibly thankful to have such a loving and strong brother to protect you. With how much you revere and care for him, surely you’d have no objections to his hands roaming your body, or his lips stealing a kiss as a small show of thanks. You’re so sweet and he loves you so much that all he wants to do is give that affection back to you tenfold, even if you struggle to accept it.

Jack is much more cognizant that his feelings towards you are abnormal, but he warps it in his head to fool himself into believing that his intentions towards you are just that of a loving (albeit overprotective) older brother. Though not by blood, you are still his little sister. It’s natural for you look to him for protection and guidance, and truly that is all he is trying to provide. And as your elder brother he knows best, so you really shouldn’t be questioning just how much he hovers and inserts himself into your personal affairs. How else would you have known that that guy you were crushing on was a complete asshole, or those friends of yours were talking about you behind your back? No need to hurt yourself further by looking into his claims, just believe what your big brother says. He would never betray you like that.

He loves you and would never want to cause you intentional harm or discomfort… But when he thinks of another man touching you, holding you, kissing you, fucking you it sends him into a spiraling rage of all consuming jealousy. No one loves you like he does, no one can protect and provide for you like he can, and he’ll be damned if he lets someone else try and take you from him. The world isn’t deserving of the light you bring to it, and he’ll do whatever it takes to lock you away from the cruelties of the world, even if that makes him an even crueler person in the process.

And when Baki and Jack find out what Yujiro had done to you, how he had staked his claim and had his way with you while they remained none the wiser… Enraged doesn’t even cover it. How DARE he assault you, their precious and perfect little sister? How dare he ravage you, rip you apart in a torrent of carnal desire, violating you and forcing you to the brink of unwanted pleasure… It made their heads spin, their skin crawl.

There was no doubt that the sins their father had committed against you made them furious, delirious with hatred over how he had hurt you. But more than anything the distress they felt stemmed from the single sickening belief they both shared-that instead of Yujiro that night forcing himself inside you, fucking you to oblivion, it should have been them.

[exculpateinteractivefiction]

"All suffering originates from craving, from attachment, from desire." - Edgar Allan Poe

Exculpate: The Fall from Grace is an upcoming 18+ action packed and fantastical interactive fiction novel. Loosely inspired by media like “My Hero Academia”, “Bungou Stray Dogs”, “Jujutsu Kaisen”, “The X-Men” and “Titans”.

Tags: [Urban Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Romance, Drama, LGBTQIA+, Textbased]

The Astra. In the years after the war it was a name that had grown familiar. A select group of individuals who had gained special abilities after the…incident. They are powerful. They are talented. They are gifted.

And you’re one of them.

Or at least you were around a decade ago. Before you made the mistake.  The type of colossal fuck up that blows up your apparently  flimsy life in a matter of minutes. The kind that has you running away and starting completely over. That kind.

Now instead of using your worthless ability to save people, you are stuck using it for much more…aggressive work. More effective work. Or at the very least work that pays better. The only cost seems to be your sorry excuse for morals. Trading your soul and sense of justice for a paycheck. What could go wrong?

It was manageable. Meaningful even. Something that gave purpose to the now shattered pieces of your life.

Everything was great.

...until you got a hit for the strongest hero in existence. Wonderful.

Play a former hero turned assassin turned…“hero” but not really .

Customize your character’s name, appearance, personality, and gender identity.

Develop a better understanding of your dreadful ability.

Explore and navigate complex relationships with six unique romantic options.

Kill your former best friend and betray old allies and new ones alike!

Come face to face with your past (both the choices you’ve made and the people in it).

Repent for your mistakes…or continue making them.

The Hero (Your Target): Maverick “Mav” Kingston (He/Him)

Maverick Kingston, your current target and the strongest member of Astra. The strongest, period. He is unstoppable - unreachable - unattainable. You would know as his (former) best friend.

Appearance: Maverick is the embodiment of “perfection” and that crosses over into his looks. He is roughly 6’1” and is quite lean. He has vibrant light blue eyes and a head of messy blonde hair that seems to always fall perfectly into place.

Personality: Maverick’s greatest flaw is undeniably his personality. To put it bluntly, he’s the best and he knows it. He manages to come across as nonchalant and egotistical on a good day - often just messing around or teasing both his enemies and coworkers alike, and while he can be quite charismatic, his laidback and annoying disposition tends to steer most people away. Although, you get the feeling that there seems to be something deeper lying beneath the surface even after all these years…

The Strategist: Carmen Reyes (She/Her)

Carmen Reyes, lead strategist of the Astra and to put it bluntly the only one with any common sense. She is an intimidating presence - although that might just be due to her title of the best hand to hand combatant of the Astra. You used to be co-workers and classmates but that was a long time ago.

Appearance: Carmen’s beauty is just another thing that adds to her imposing nature. She is roughly 5’11” and has spent years building up her muscular physique. She has curly dark brown hair that rests just below her chin and surprisingly sharp hazel eyes that seem to track your every move…

Personality: Carmen can be considered reserved and wise at best and completely distant at worst. She has a professional air to her that most officials and authority respect, but it can come across as aloof or boring especially when comparing her to the loud personalities that the rest of the Astra has. That’s not to say she is uncaring though - in fact she is arguably the most moral of the group - or at least she was back when you were a member…

The Heart: Silas Jones (He/Him)

Silas Jones, arguably the kindest member of the Astra. He’s excitable and naive - if not a bit endearing. He tends to act as the mediator between the public and the other members of the Astra when necessary. You don’t remember being particularly close with him back when you were in the Astra so it’s surprising how desperately he seems to want your attention now…

Appearance: Silas is roughly 5’8” and has dark brown skin with glowing silver marks scattered across his body. He has black locs that have been dyed red at the tips and dark brown eyes that seem to pull you in wherever you go…

Personality: Silas is easily the nicest of the group and can be quite soothing especially compared to the harsher personalities of the other members and higher ups of the Astra. He is incredibly open and energetic, if not a bit naive. He cares very deeply for the people around him and that clearly extends to you even after all these years. It does make you wonder why he is so interested though…

The Healer: Juno Aceso (She/Her)

Juno Aceso, head of the healing and medical department at Astra. She isn’t what most people expect when they hear the words “doctor” but she is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the group. You were close with her back when you were in the Astra…or at least as close as you can be with someone like her.

Appearance: Juno is roughly 5’5”. She has deathly pale skin and dark eyebags that frame her murky green eyes. Her straight chestnut colored hair lands right at her chest, though she usually keeps it up in a bun.

Personality: If Carmen is distant and Maverick is nonchalant then Juno is on a whole other level. She is practically apathetic with her laidback nature and tends to be quite removed from everyone else. That’s not to say she has no personality though. She can be incredibly snarky and sarcastic when she wants to be. Unsurprisingly, she seems the least invested in your return. Although you get an odd feeling whenever she glances your way…

The Star: Payton Monroe (They/Them)

Payton Monroe is nothing if not a star. They embrace the celebrity status that comes with being a member of the Astra with open arms. You weren’t particularly close with them back when you were in the Astra but you heard the rumors of their exploits…

Appearance: Payton is roughly 5’7” and seems to make it their life’s goal to make themself as appealing as possible. They have ivory colored skin and dazzling lavender eyes. Their hair is shoulder length and white with streaks of pink going through it.

Personality: Payton is someone who has no issue embracing the finer things in life. They are far more interested in the public image aspect of being a member of the Astra and that comes across in nearly every interaction. While they are quite flirtatious, they seem to hold no interest in pursuing an actual relationship. Maybe you’ll be the one to change that…

The Newbie: Amari Gray (Gender Selectable)

Amari Gray, the newest member of the Astra. Not much is known about them - they joined after you left and they don’t seem exactly interested in getting to know you. They tend to be annoyed with you more often than not but you get the feeling that they are that way with most people. Although, their constant avoidance towards you specifically is quite odd…

Appearance: Amari is roughly 5’3”. They have tan skin and sharp gray eyes that seem to be set in a perpetual glare. They have thick white hair that is currently styled as a short undercut. They have a few piercings and tattoos.

Personality: You don’t know much about Amari but one thing you do know is that they don’t like you. They are either actively avoiding you or are going out of their way to pick fights with you. They seem incredibly familiar which makes their determination on making your life miserable even weirder…

DEMO TBA

[tubbytarchia]

Wild Life Session 4 smallidarity thoughts (+ some Scar and Lizzie)

See it was all fine, nothing to worry about!! Joel couldn't bring himself to kill Jimmy, he barely even harmed him. I'm pretty sure he shot him just once (after Jimmy trampled their crops so. fair)? Joel calmed down, he rebuilt his car, everything is fine. He says at the start that he's wary of Jimmy because of him going after Joel last time, and that's about it for the time being

Jimmy dies and Joel makes a deal out of it and calls him a muppet. As per usual. Meanwhile Jimmy is still adamant to get at Joel whilst Scar tries to deter him because they want to be an alliance

He and Jimmy meet up at some point after their brief interaction at the start where Joel shot him, and they just banter. And Gem and Scar are just standing there like "guyss we're a family come on" meanwhile Joel and Jimmy's exchange goes as follows: Jimmy: "you're the ones with tasty lives!" Joel: "yeah bet you wish you could have a chunk of me!" "Oh I'm having a chunk out of you!" "Yeah and you know where to take that chunk out of!" "Oh I'm gonna take it! I'm taking it!" "You should!" And then Gem and Scar tell them to break it up and Joel goes "we're just flirting!!" ? what the fuck? Genuinely WHAT are they talking about. is this an innuendo of some sort. is this another ambiguous smallidarity sex scene sorry who said that

Jimmy gets a double kill (in the most adorable way btw. The way he weasels his way in there and backs off and comes back to try again all crouched. animal) and goddd people hyping him up is so so sweet. He deserves this. He's also a little bit evil, he's getting the murder rush but I'm happy for him. He needs to kill more people, he needs to get this out of his system, he deserves this, things need to get worse before they get better. ANYWAY Scar all "that was the greatest kill ever on the life series" is so cute. And man I gotta agree. There's more unique and funny and impressive kills but I would not mind calling this the best just for the fact that it's Jimmy. He's competent, he can do shit like this, but it feels like most everyone and the world is continuously against his survival, but here he is... my son...

And then Joel coming up to congratulate him... Really blummin cute. In Joel's POV also, he says "I went to congratulate Jimmy and we had a moment" which I wager he might be referring to the creeper incident as 'the moment' but that'd make no sense to call it that. With that tonation. Why did he say it like that. Stop being cute

But yeah Scar tries to blow Joel up with creepers only for Joel to save him from his own creeper and he's so casual about it. He is incredibly kind to the bamboozlers, it's really cute...

And then Jimmy does it!! He gets Joel!! And he gets him real good!! And can you believe that the first person to kill either of the family duo is Jimmy, of all people. Scott has died by this point too and Jimmy is the one to make a dent in the full 6-life alliance. Crazy. I'm so proud of him. It was seriously really good too, see, when Jimmy puts his mind to something and is able to focus he excels, he really does. And Joel, oh Joel is such a good sport about it. He keeps saying how it was good and fair and that he still wants an allyship with him. Tells him "welcome back to green" aww. And they make a truce, Jimmy got it out of his system and now they can be friends and go kill other people instead and Joel is proud of him... Jimmy "Joel, I finally got you, so I will stop now, so let's do the perfect dap" and then they both count down and clap their hands to simulate slapping palms. Awesome. All of Joel and Jimmy is just really cute this time around. Very happy about them being a more proper alliance now, but we'll see if it sticks... Joel can only be so mean to Jimmy at this point though I don't think he has it in him to betray him or anything lol. Can't speak for the rest of them but not too worried for the smallidarity, it's a plentiful crop...

Also a very important exchange between Lizzie and Jimmy at some point: "I just finangled a load of diamonds off of Joel" "Oh? How did you do that?" "I asked him just really nicely" (lie btw she was moreso extorting Joel) "Oh, that doesn't work when I... I guess... you are his wife, I guess..." "Yeah..." "Lucky for some I guess- right (unrelated topic)" I'm not 100% confident that's what Jimmy said at the end, it's a bit hard to make out but. what? Hello?

I also extend gratitude towards Lizzie for being so nice and supportive of Jimmy, she was the one to suggest the cobweb creeper trap that ended up taking Joel out, but she also insisted that he drink a health restoration stew beforehand in case anything went wrong. Jimmy didn't end up doing so (he was full) and Lizzie is all "why?" and "something could have gone wrong". man. Nice to him...

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 5

Propaganda below cut

Venti:

calls the Traveler "his warrior" plus he's like our long-time friend??? He basically asked us out during the alchemy event???? You can choose to bring him up during the fight with Signora????? He's the best idc

He. Is. Amazing. So many layers, so interesting...So much trauma and potential...Not to mention look how AWESOME he is generally!!! He's kind and caring towards everybody, and also carefree and mischievous!!! How can you not love him??

he’s TOO GOOD for this world- he’s just a little guy!! Like he cares for his nation and the people of Mondstadt SO MUCH it hurts when people say he doesn’t. Like, my poor trauma-driven little mega-powerful war god who’s actually just a tiny little wind spirit honoring his dead friend!!!! I love him so much

his lore means he gets brought up almost every patch. he convinced a bunch of the most lethal women in Teyvat to have tea instead of screwing him up. he would always rather take the path of least resistance. he’s the three time best bard in Mond. he never seeks glory, only wishes to offer it to others. he was a better father to Diona than her real one five minutes into meeting her. he gives Glory whispers of what the world looks like so she can navigate. when a nun of his own church denied his identity he decided to run a heist to steal back an item that is only holy because it is his. he keeps his misery and loneliness trapped within, and does his best to bring joy to every person he meets. how can you not love him? 

He's Venti. How do you beat that? Answer: you don't. You can't. 

they say that an nation is most like their archon but is the anemo archon a god that took after the people's traits or did the people take their archons traits (the only correct answer is that venti took after old mond's people traits and it's so disgustingly sweet, he's a lil baby who cared so much that he kept old mond's wishes heard and their dream a reality — of freedom (without a god, as much as he could) where humanity leads trust. he left mondstadt because he trusted that humanity would do that right thing always but then he got betrayed by the Lawrence clan but he forgave them???! the anemo archon gave them no punishment , but mondstadt did . venti has me ugly crying

Kaeya:

He's cool, he's mysterious, he wears an eyepatch, he has a super tragic backstory, he's good with kids, he takes care of his friends, what's not to love!!!

despite all the hardships he’s suffered, he’s still such a kind person 

This is the character of the everyman. Everyone should love Kaeya because he's with you no matter what. He has the great mystery of his origins and his damage with his family and his brother, but he is with you til the end. That's what makes him so special to me

Furina:

girl deserves therapy and hugs and the best life in the WORLD because oh boy she went through a lot!!!! wouldn't pretending to be a god for 500 years with no support mess you up? and yet she still kept on going for her people!! she wanted to save her nation from a doomsday prophecy and she DID

After act 5 she deserves the world :(

“If all the people of Fontaine are on one side, and I am on the other…is it not obvious where the scales of suffering should tilt?” NO IT ISNT YOU’RE JUST ABNORMALLY SELFLESS AND INCREDIBLE AND PERSISTENT. Even the Archons praise Furina’s name and say she is a human with strength and capability worthy of an Archon. That’s not even to speak of Focalors. She snapped at Arlecchino only when the Harbinger implied that Furina had done nothing to preserve her people from the flood. Meanwhile every minute she was working to prevent the prophecy. A month after we took her to court and almost got her killed she agreed to help us direct a play, a favor for a favor

[maleyanderecafe]

When Jasy Whistles (Webcomic)

Created by: Cibeles

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

You probably have seen this one around, but I did find it very unique in terms of the worldbuilding. It can be admittedly fairly slow in some points in terms of pacing though actually the thing I enjoyed the most out of the series was seeing Jasy's siblings and learning more about them. Currently as of writing this, the story has finished its second season and the creator is working on it's third and final season.

The story starts out with Hela, a girl who lives in an traditional/ relatively isolated town outside of modern things who wants to take after her grandmother and become the chief of her town one day. Hela's best friend Rodri is one day taken away by one of the demigods, Jasy, and Hela goes to get him back. Jasy needs a human to help him get through the gate as a demigod like himself is not able to, and promises that if he makes a pact with Hela and gets through, she will be able to get Rodri back. Hela is very suspicious of Jasy as not only did he kidnap her best friend, but there are folk stories about how you should not follow Jasy's whistle, as it lures them somewhere bad. However, with no other way to get Rodri back, Hela accepts the pact and they go on their adventure. They are attacked by one of Jasy's half brothers, Ao Ao, a beast that eats everything and gives birth to children with only the desire to consume. As Jasy is not able to hurt his siblings, Hela must be the one to protect him using her skills in archery. They are able to escape and slowly walk through the land itself. There they meet other people there, trapped under strange circumstances. All of them are cursed to grow until they are adults and are never able to grow old, all while still having to sustain themselves on the few resources they have in the land. Hela wishes to open the gate and free the people there, as they are all fighting over the resources, while Jasy doesn't seem to care whatsoever, as he has a distrust of humans after the previous one betrayed him while trying to open the gate. Despite this, Jasy is able to mostly have amends with the people there, and even meets another sibling of Jasy's, willing to give her face to him so as long as they can go through to the gate safely. In the end, this brother instead wants to have Jasy's face, something that he willingly trades over Hela's, so as long as Hela can stay alive. Hela eventually reaches the gate where she sacrifices herself to open it and allow the people into the land. This greatly affects Jasy as he suddenly realizes how much he had cared for and loves her. To get her back, Jasy goes into the spirit realm to try to save her, and he's able to see her past with Rodri. Jasy is fully willing to stay with her in this forever loop of her childhood, but the two of them eventually come back into the world, and now having opened the world so the humans can go in, recover there afterwards. Jasy and Hela continue to love each other in their honeymoon phase, until Jasy is captured by humans. Hela finds out the humans that caught him are under the leadership of Rodrigo's mother, who had been missing for a while, chasing after treasures. We find out that she is the human that betrayed Jasy initially and attempts to get Hela to shoot him, only for her to free him. The last couple of chapters reveals that Mboi Tu'i, the sibling that has taken care of the realm is actually Rodrigo in some way and wants to take Hela away.

So I will say right now I don't really know that much about South American mythos, so there's a lot of things that go over my head in terms of references or how each type of god acted, but I do feel that I did have a good understanding on how each of Tau's children acted and the kind of possible personalities that they have. It's definitely a unique take on mythos that we don't normally see. The artwork as well is very gorgeous, the characters are very pretty and I'm a fan of the more monster designs of the siblings as well, seeing how each of them came to be and just how much they have to suffer. The world that Jasy and Hela go into is very cool, the idea of humans that basically can live forever is both a blessing and a curse, as they cannot reproduce and they still have to eat and fight for territory. I think my favorite of his brothers is probably Kurupi because I really do like sad monster boys that are shunned because of their appearance. Compared to his more real life depictions in myths he's a lot more sympathetic and tragic, so it's nice to see those incorporated in there. The entire plot seems to eventually go to deal with Tau, Jasy's father, in some point in the future.

Still, despite this, I feel like the plot at times can be really slow. There are good moments like when Hela helps out the people who are in stuck fighting each other and we see the dynamic of the world, as well as the aforementioned lore of all of Jasy's siblings, but the actual development of Hela and Jasy's relationship is slow, all things considered. Initially, Jasy and Hela are more like enemies, as Hela is extremely suspicious of Jasy and vice versa, only cooperating with each other because they need each other's help. Still as the story goes on the two of them fall for each other and slowly develop feelings for each other. This isn't necessarily done in a bad way, but it is incredibly slow and honestly lost my attention a lot of the times. I'm also a bit surprised that Hela wasn't more resistant considering Jasy actually did kidnap Rodri and only promised to give him back if she cooperated. While again, the romantic moments were fairly cute, they aren't all that interesting to me and to be honest, I'd rather see the actual worldbuilding that the two go through rather than their relationship. Hela as a main character focuses mostly on her desire to run her tribe, and while she initially is fairly competent and active in the story, shooting a lot of Ao Ao's children, she ends up having to rely a lot of Jasy to save her, especially since she ends up losing her bow and arrow after a while. I actually straight up forgot that she could do archery at the end when Hela was forced by her aunt to kill Jasy, which is probably not a great sign. I don't think she's the worst MC in these stories because she does have a lot of interesting points to her, but it does feel like she was hamstringed after a bit, with a bunch of chapters after Hela dies and is revived pretty much being carried around by Jasy as she recuperates. She does have a fairly strong conviction of not only bringing back Rodri but her connection to her grandmother, as well as the development to allow herself to finally decide things for herself without having it taken away from him, but I still feel like she could have used a bit more agency in the story itself.

Jasy as a yandere doesn't actually start out as one so we actually see the kind of decent he gets into. He is a rather light yandere all things considered, but it is always fun to see them descend into yandere behavior nevertheless. Like I said before, Jasy and Hela have a bit of a tumultuous relationship at first with the two of them begrudgingly forced to help each other, while slowly learning to understand each other a bit more. Jasy doesn't understand why Hela would go so far to save Rodri and later the humans that are trapped but has to go along with her anyways since she's the key to him getting through the gate. By the time he does reach the gate, and Hela sacrifices herself, he starts to realize the error of his ways- while initially he viewed her as a tool to open the gate, he now starts to realize that he actually did care about her, and more deeply love her, even to the point of going to the realm of the dead to find her. He even so much is willing to loop over and over Hela's favorite childhood memories forever so as long as they are together. When Jasy does finally retrieve her, the two of them basically have a honeymoon together, where Jasy is extremely doting on her. We do see some of bits of jealousy earlier with Jasy, such as when one of the guys of offhandedly suggests that Hela is actually pretty attractive, but it doesn't really come to full fruition until after she dies. It's a bit hard to say right now exactly how far he'll go considering it feels like it's just the beginning of the yandere arc for Jasy, but it at least is a start. Not sure how far they'll ramp it up in the third and last season, if at all. Like I said though, it's still pretty light and it's very possible that it might stay that way, though with Rodri's reveal, it could also very well go on a darker path.

Overall, I was pretty surprised at the story, but I do have split opinions on it. The worldbuilding and the mythos of the monsters are really interesting and a definite unique take that I haven't personally seen as much before, but I find that the story and pacing for the characters are pretty tedious and dragging at times. Still, it's extremely beautiful and the story itself is something unique to experience if you are interested in such things.

[night-market-if]

Answering some bulk questions

I am getting the same kind of questions in my inbox and instead of answering them all individually, I thought I would just make one long post. Hopefully that can clear some things up.

Why is m!pen white and f!pen black?

Mostly because the character of Pen is death. They have no form. Not a real one. Much like the MC, the image they are presenting is a construct. So, when I thought about that, I kind of thought it would be fun to play around with two very different aesthetics (I think in the final edit I might even write them a bit different). I did this for two reasons. One, because I haven't really seen this in ifs. And two, I kind of liked the duality of it. Opposites, really. It sat well with me for the character of death.

2. Why does nothing bad ever happen to Milo? Stop playing favorites.

Bad things have happened to Milo. More so than the other characters, I would argue. I have a feeling this is more from people annoyed that a very specific bad thing won't happen to Milo. Because Milo has watched Malcolm and MC die. Was beaten as a child. Orphaned. Didn't know where his real home was or who he was. Has a ghost for a sister. (who he also watched die). Has been responsible for keeping his best friend sane for quite a few years. And got the shittiest job in the world. He has also been stabbed at quite a bit. Betrayed. And used.

I do a lot of bad things to Milo. Favorites would be if nothing bad happened to him. And defending your characters decisions is not playing favorites. It is just knowing your characters as a writer.

3. Who is your favorite RO?

I have said before that Milo is not my favorite to write. So inevitably I get asked who is. I don't answer this question because I don't want the complaints.

4. Why don't you have stats?

Because I don't like them. I come from much more of a storytelling perspective than a game mechanics one. And don't get me wrong. People that do game mechanics are awesome. I admire them a ton and enjoy their games (though my field is more video games). But that's never what I wanted the Night Market to be. I just want people to be immersed.

5. Do you feel you have to have inclusivity as a writer?

I don't know why I've been getting this one a lot. Might be something going on in the community. The honest answer is no, I do not. I have never felt pressured to have a certain representation within the Night Market. That all being said, maybe I don't feel that way because I tend to have an organically more diverse cast of characters? But I can't say I have ever felt like I have to put a certain representation in. And I don't believe writers should feel pressure for that. Because a lot of times, if you are just putting in a token character to do it, it becomes a bit problematic.

6. What are your favorite IF's and do you have recomendations?

I hate to say this, but I don't read IF's. I've dabbled occasionally in the past but I find when I read IF's, it messes with my head and my ability to write. Now, I read a lot of novels. That is my preferred vehicle of reading. But as for IF's, I probably won't read a lot of them until I am officially done with the Night Market. I struggle to enjoy stories when I feel like it is a part of my day to day job.

7. Why don't you ever speak out politically?

Because that is private for me. I don't want to. I want to provide an escape from the world. Not add to discussions that are being had by people far more adept than me. I leave my political feelings and responsibilities at home.

8. Why can't you provide (insert numerous topics) to the route?

Because coding and writing are a bitch. There is a lot of work that goes into this stuff that isn't always fun. And sometimes, as much as I would like to put something in or have a new route, I just can't. I am one person. A person who has a pretty hefty personal life. I am doing what I can.

[blackholesun321]

@mega-ringsandthings-world we were talking about Mihawk, as we do, and we came to the conclusion that he has never had someone love him for himself in all his ugly humanness. The world looks up at him and sees the world’s greatest swordsman, a warlord, or a man who can go toe-to-toe with an emperor. But they don’t ever see him. Know him—learn him. Because, well, it’s his fault for building that wall between himself and everyone else. For forcing everyone on the outside of his shell his whole life, and then he reaches the top alone, and... it’s everything he’s ever wanted, everything he ever said he wanted. He isn’t weak; he’s the best in the world, and he’s all alone.

And it’s empty—all of it, every second of it—empty, lifeless boredom. And he searches for something. Maybe he tries peace and lives within that state of half alive, half dead because he’s now convinced himself that peace is something he wants. Peace at all costs. But he’s still bored and alone, waiting for something, someone, anything to happen, and it never does.

Because, ladies and gentle-beings, Dracule Mihawk is a coward. He’s a coward because he chooses the easiest path of least resistance instead of charting a course in his own life and trying to make meaning in the meaningless. Mihawk is a coward, and he’s depressed. And these two things are not mutually exclusive; they are the driving force, the reason for each other. And because he will always choose the easiest path, he will never go after what he really needs, which is companionship.

That boy was good with a sword. He reeks of a gifted child, and maybe he even fell in love with swords and swordplay, but he was good at swords and then worked to be great at them. Somewhere in his history, we know he was betrayed by someone he trusted, and then he decided to never trust again. And, oh look, he runs away from everyone and everything, using the excuse to focus on his dream above everything—except when he achieves his dream. Instead of doing the hard work of trying to find meaning again or reaching out to others, he gives up and chooses the path of least resistance. He becomes a warlord for his so called peace of mind bored with hunting marines but trying maybe to have meaning or fights come to him. And he’s still bored and he’s still depressed.

Mihawk is a coward of a man who refuses to see that what he needs in his life is others to make the boredom bearable. And he doesn’t realize this for years—until Zoro. Even then, in Zoro, he sees a suicide; he sees meaning because he sees his end. But also, he sees how Zoro promises Luffy, how his crew gathers around him. He sees that and knows Zoro won’t fall like he did, won’t reach the top and then stop because he’ll have others reach it there with him.

And that’s why him giving Shanks Luffy’s poster, after years of holding a grudge against Shanks, is such a momentous act in his character arc. Because he’s reaching out to the man he personally probably views as someone he could have let as close as Zoro does with his crew. Now, he still views Zoro as a means to an end for his suffering, not yet as the character motivator to make friends and maybe open his heart up a little bit to others. No, that’s the time skip arc with Zoro and Perona. But still, that moment is him trying for the first time in forever, and it happens to be with Shanks.

In conclusion, Mihawk has hang-ups a mile long, but Shanks will always and forever be someone he loves and can imagine himself opening up to and standing at the top of the world with. But instead, he ran away when his vision of that ending was shattered by Shanks refusing to climb with him anymore and giving up his ability to do so—thus leaving Mihawk heartbroken and, in his eyes, betrayed once again. But the power of gay-autism-stupidity moss ball showed him he was the problem and needed to actually talk to people if he wanted to feel anything.

Also, Shanks and Mihawk made out sloppy style, on the beach after.

[anneapocalypse]

Demands of the Qun, or How the Inquisitor's Choice Answers the Iron Bull's Most Important Question

I was having a chat about the Iron Bull and his personal quest with some friends and one person said in response to something I said that I should make it a Post, so here it is! And a usual disclaimer: this is not about which in-game decision is "correct"--it's an RPG, there's no wrong way to play the game. I just want to talk about the meaning of this decision for Bull's character and for his future.

Dragon Age: Inquisition’s “Demands of the Qun” is, for me, one of those quests where the RPG format of “player character makes major decision for companion character” really works. I do not see this as an example of game mechanics taking away agency from an NPC. I think Bull has agency in this situation.

The Chargers are not Inquisition soldiers. They are mercenaries, and Bull is their commander. If the Inquisitor makes a call he doesn't like, he is free to say "Screw you" and take his people and leave, because they are not soldiers, they're independent contractors, so leaving isn't desertion, it's just quitting. If he were already certain he wanted to leave the Qun, he could simply call the retreat himself, take the Chargers and leave. Similarly if he were certain of his loyalties and willing to sacrifice the Chargers for that purpose, he could do that, regardless of what the Inquisitor says.

He lets the Inquisitor make this choice.

The Iron Bull has had one foot out the door of the Qun for a long time now. But he's gone back and gone back, submitted himself for re-education and done his best to keep serving the Qun, because he believes he needs the Qun. To him, becoming Tal-Vashoth means losing himself, his identity, his purpose, his very sanity, and as the Fade tells us in "Here Lies the Abyss," this is quite literally his greatest fear. Bull could never bring himself to leave the Qun with nowhere to go instead, nothing to give his life purpose and meaning—and no one to entrust himself to should he doubt his own sanity.

But in his work in the south, the Iron Bull has found community and identity and purpose outside the Qun. The very name he has given himself speaks to that, as does his close relationship to the Chargers.

Right from the beginning, there is tension in "Demands of the Qun." Bull remarks that he's gotten used to the Qunari being "over there" during his life in the south. I think Bull has a very potent anxiety when he meets Gatt again on the Storm Coast, and introduces him to the Inquisitor and their party. To me, it very much has the vibes of introducing two friend groups, where you're not only pretty sure they won't get along, but you're also very aware that they know very different sides of you—and neither of them are going to like seeing the other side. Bull's discomfort is visible both when Gatt speaks freely about Bull's work in the Ben-Hassrath, and when the Inquisitor's other companions make disparaging remarks about the Qun. His two worlds have collided, calling into conflict two sides of his sense of self that he has thus far managed to avoid confronting.

And this is likely part of the point. The Qun does not truly respect alliances with any outside the Qun. I wouldn't say for sure that the Qunari set up this whole situation just to test Bull—it's possible they knew exactly how many Venatori would show up, but they couldn't have known precisely how the Inquisition would respond. That, and their desire to root out the Venatori is no doubt sincere. But I do think they are watching Bull's actions very closely throughout this proposed alliance, gauging his loyalty. Gatt tells him outright that many already believe he has betrayed the Qun.

Bull's internal conflict quickly becomes an external one when the Venatori reinforcements show up, and Bull is faced with the decision of whether to withdraw the Chargers or defend the dreadnought at the cost of their lives.

The thing is, Bull is not neutral on this. He tells the Inquisitor what he wants. He wants to save the Chargers. If the Inquisitor says that the Chargers still have time to retreat, Bull agrees. When Gatt tells him they need to hold position, he says in a low, intense tone, "They're my men."

And then, when Gatt tells him in no uncertain terms that calling the retreat will make him Tal-Vashoth, the Iron Bull looks to the Inquisitor.

Again, he is not neutral. He knows what he wants. He is standing there basically begging the Inquisitor with his eyes to save his boys.

So why doesn't he just make the call himself?

Because just as this whole situation is in part a test of Bull's loyalty, this is also a test of the Inquisitor.

What Bull needs to leave the Qun is not simply for someone else to make the choice for him, but to believe that there is a future for him outside the Qun. That he will still be himself, that he will have purpose, and meaning, and that someone else is worth trusting. Bull cannot bring himself to leave the Qun if it means he will be left utterly alone with nothing but his own mind and his deepest fears. And if that's what leaving the Qun means… then in his mind, it would be better to stay.

The Inquisitor's choice will answer that question.

To sacrifice the Chargers leaves Bull with nothing outside of the Qun. He has just watched his closest friends die, and he cannot trust the Inquisitor. With Krem and Rocky and Skinner and Stitches and Dalish and Grim, the new sense of self that the Iron Bull has found in the south also dies.

Of course he turns back to the Qun. He has nothing else left.

But if it's the Inquisitor who makes the call to save the Chargers… Bull can leave. He has friends who care about him. He has purpose. He has someone whose command he can trust. He has hope. None of this makes the choice easy for him. It is quite clearly very painful and difficult, and I don't think there's any way it could be otherwise. But he has a way forward nonetheless. The choice makes leaving possible.

The Inquisitor doesn't force the Iron Bull to become Tal-Vashoth. Instead, Bull implicitly asks a question, and the Inquisitor by their choice gives him an answer.

[yuri-is-online]

Insomnia questions but what happens if there are multiple yuus instead of just 1, what would be their dynamic with each other?

Like what does Riddle! Yutu think of Ace! Yutu? Would Jade! Yutu use Floyd! Yutu as distraction when he wants to get away from Jade when they were still in the future? Princess Tamago being carried around by Uncle Lilia! Yutu

(into the yutuverse lol)

Hmmm. Multiple Yuus who are related in some way, or maybe they're just friends. The sort of people who definitely would have gone missing together, everyone was so happy when they re-appeared so many years later, I could see them being the subject of a lot of cryptid theories. Poor Yutu and Yutuutu get linked a lot of youtube videos about their parents missing persons case.

Jamil! and Epel! Yutu who have a really normal friendship all things considered. I could see this being very positive for Jamil! Yutu actually, I'm in the middle of editing his multiple mental breakdowns for his post but if someone like Epel! Yutu was there to help ground him he probably would hate himself a lot less. Since Epel is still alive he would have been able to answer the questions his Yutu had about him in a much more satisfactory way. Epel seems like he'd be a good dad and Jamil! Yutu could use one of those lol

Jade! Yutu and Floyd! Yutu probably got a long like a house on fire until being transported to Twisted Wonderland. If Jade lost both his spouse, Floyd's spouse, their kids, then Azul and Floyd I think his mind might might have genuinely broken for a while. Floyd! Yutu takes that incredibly seriously when he learns about it, but Jade! Yutu still isn't able to see past how protective his dad is of him. Jade! Yutu feels betrayed, Floyd! Yutu is his cousin and his supposed "best friend" so why is he constantly snitching on him to his dad? Meanwhile Floyd! Yutu is pissed because hello? He has a living fucking father to hold onto why is he being such a little shit?

You already know what Riddle! Yutu thinks of Ace! Yutu:

They have one of those childhood best friends dynamics where they annoy the shit out of each other and are constantly fighting but when someone else tries to join in they team up because hey. Only I'M allowed to make fun of my cousin D:< Riddle! Yutu plays baseball but that sounds like too much effort for Ace! Yutu so I could see him being the team manager. Riddle! Yutu hates it because he keeps making sports anime references that "aren't funny."

Malleus! Yutu who did genuinely think of Lilia! Yutu as an older brother like figure but is so done with him insisting on being called Uncle. Princess Tamago absolutely adores her Uncle and doesn't understand why big brother is so pouty about it. She has two hands and she wants both big brother and uncle bats to attend her tea party (•̀ᴗ•́ )و

Azul! and Deuce! Yutu who were really good friends when they were kids but had a falling out when Deuce! Yutu started being rebellious and formed his gang. Azul! Yutu refused to join and beat the shit out of Deuce! Yutu for making his parent cry, but didn't snitch about what he was doing. When he gets sorted into Savanaclaw and winds up the Dorm Leader Deuce! Yutu makes fun of him for the rest of their time at school. Oh so big boy was too good for his little gang huh? He wanted to be the big boss- hey stop putting him in a headlock it's just a joke!

I had some more but these were the most fleshed out ones in my head lol (into the yutuverse indeed)

[z0mbiew00d]

Life Series Scott is fiercely loyal.

In Third Life, he devotes himself to Jimmy and stays by his side no matter what, even if he doesn’t necessarily agree with his actions (him burning the red banner, etc.)

He makes an alliance with Scar and Grian, and refuses to break it to team up with Cleo even though he loves and trusts her as much if not more than them. However he refuses to hurt Cleo and is loyal to her as well.

He dies stranded and alone anyway.

In Last Life he teams up with Pearl, and immediately is devoted to her. They’re best friends through and through and do everything to keep each other alive. Cleo comes to him asking for shelter and an alliance after she is betrayed, and Scott welcomes her into his home immediately. She dies and becomes red life though before the alliance can be properly sorted, but while she’s a red life Scott doesn’t fear her and still trusts her not to harm him (whereas Pearl runs in fear the moment she spots her, not trusting her despite their previously arranged alliance.)

Cleo joins back in their group once she goes back up to yellow and the three are fiercely loyal to each other until the very end. While fighting Ren he shouts the words “you killed Pearl.” Despite the fact she’s gone and dead, he’s still fighting *for her.*

He wins that season, all he has left of his alliance is Binky but other than that he’s lost his allies and his friends, and he’s alone.

Then comes Double Life, the one season where you’re given a no-choice ally to be loyal to until the end, and Scott understandably is excited and wants to find his soulmate. But they don’t come looking for him. He finds Cleo, and they team up as they search for their soulmates. At the end of the session they meet up with their soulmates, and it’s none other than Pearl, and Martyn.

Pearl who he’d been allied with last season, who he fought to his last breath to avenge. And Martyn, who’d had a hand in his death in the first season.

But Pearl wasn’t loyal, she didn’t come looking for him like he did for his soulmate. So he teams up with Cleo, and is loyal to her and her alone for the entire season. Sure he’s friendly with Martyn and Pearl towards the end, though less so Pearl, but not the unwavering loyalty he has to Cleo.

When it’s just the four of them left, Martyn turns on Pearl and Scott but Scott runs off instead of fighting, because hurting Martyn would mean hurting Cleo and he’s too loyal to do that.

Then Pearl takes out Cleo and Martyn, and what does Scott do? He takes himself out to give his teammate the win, because that’s what he does.

Next we have Limited Life, and it takes Scott a little bit to find a permanent ally but then he teams up with Martyn. Martyn who tríes to kill him in the first episode, Martyn who betrayed him at the end of the last season, Martyn who was part of the final four in Last Life, Martyn who was there as he died in Third Life, letting Ren kill him.

But Scott welcomes him back in the second episode, trusts him completely. All while Martyn is planning to betray him. He lets Martyn have his time on his green life, letting him kill him so the time stays between their pair.

All through Limited Life also, Cleo and Scott are on good terms and are allies.

Martyn betrays him at the end, and Scott is simply happy that his Mean Gill won. The person who he was devoted to and trusted betrayed him and killed him, but he’s happy for him.

And last but not least, we have Secret Life. This time he’s not teamed with any of the Divorce Quartet, he’s made his team with Gem and Impulse, two people he’d never previously allied with. And yet once again he trusts them completely.

When Scott’s tired of being a green life with only one heart, he goes to Martyn. The man he teamed with last season, the man who betrayed him two seasons in a row, and gives himself up to him.

Gem gets the boogeyman curse and warns Scott to stay away, and Scott does as he’s told. When she dies and becomes red, he trusts her not to hurt him. But she does. And after that session, he STILL trusts her. Also during the boogeyman curse apocalypse, he hides Cleo with him up at his, Impulses and Gems base, still loyal to her all the way from the first season.

He gives up his yellow life to her, so she gets the hearts (alongside Impulse). While on red life Gem & The Scott’s and The Mounders team up, finally putting Scott and Pearl on the same team again. But it doesn’t last, his team and Pearls team are the last two standing, and neither of them want to hurt the other but it must be done.

“Do it cowards” comes through the chat, from none other than Cleo. And do it the two teams do, with Joel doing the first hit the two teams are broken apart. Scott is still loyal to Gem and The Scott’s, and still loyal to Cleo.

He gives his life to Gem in an attempt to get her to win, giving her those extra hearts, only for her to be taken out by Scar and Pearl.

No matter what, Scott is fiercely loyal to those he allies with, but also his past allies. Cleo, Martyn, Pearl, even Jimmy (though I didn’t mention him much in this post, I have a whole other ramble post I wanna make about him and Scott at some point). He keeps them in his heart, and is loyal to them until his demise.

[rachetmath]

Favorite Jaune Ship

Okay, let me do this. My Jaune ships. Other ships I’ll do later.

Lancaster/SilverKnight (Jaune x Ruby);

This ship still holds a special place in my heart and to me was supposed to be one of the factors of the show. Jaune and Ruby's relationship started at Beacon. Jaune was Ruby’s first friend and was the first thought of being a part of a team besides her sister. Unfortunately, she was stuck with Weiss and Jaune had a crush on her. Ruby has times when she and Jaune talk but were always cut short for reasons. However, after the fall of Beacon, I was happy to see her and Jaune team up. But my hopes were short-lived when Weiss and Oscar came onto the scene. Now, because of them, the one relationship I could support died because the story tries its damndest to push Whiteknight and Rosegarden together. (Like seriously, this is one of the reasons why I hate Oscar to this day. Volume five, to this day, I believe Jaune should have unlocked his semblance for Ruby instead of Weiss.)

DragonKnght/GoldenKnight/DragonSlayer(Jaune x Yang);

Now normally this is a crack ship. This ship is just two people boning for almost no reason, but I can see a story behind this ship with Jaune and Yang being an alternate version of Tai and Raven. Jaune is Raven because both  have supportive semblances, use swords, and have a distaste for Ozpin’s methods. Yang is Tai due to mainly being raised by him alone. Throughout the story, we see how Jaune and Yang interact and how their relationship differs from Tai and Raven’s. How Tai and Raven fell apart and what they should’ve done to maintain it. How Jaune and Yang handle situations differently they’ll always find a way to bounce back by talking it out and giving each other space. Though I believe Bumblebee fans would be offended and probably say, “Blake could add that same effect”, I still stand by this.

SilentKnight(Jaune x Neo)

Cute, deadly, and very sad. I haven't read the book but I have heard about it. Also, I wish they made a movie starring her or gave us an episode but… okay. Back on topic, I find this ship enduring. They have only one thing in common but that's enough to create a dynamic between them. However what makes the ship sad is that Neo will be the only one hurt. Image Neo trying to be Ruby just to be with Jaune only for him not wanting to be with her. Loving and caring for Ruby more than Neo. Neo hates and becomes jealous of Ruby because unlike her Neo has no friends. Roman died. And Cinder betrayed her. Jaune probably being the best thing in her life but she will never have. So sorry folks, Silentknight was a no-go.

Topaz (Jaune x Emerald)

Same as Silent Knight except it's Emerald’s loyalty to Cinder getting in the way of her having any relationship with anyone. Jaune probably would talk to her but trusting her could be too much of a stretch for him. Emerald might as well be one of the few who could talk to Jaune one-on-one and be real with him but still, I don't think neither of them is looking to like each other.

Knightshade (Jaune x Blake)

These two never had a single one-on-one conversation. Like really they barely interact with each other. I would not be surprised if they both got drunk somewhere and were found sleeping in the same bed by accident. But I believe they are good friends.

Knightfall (Jaune x Cinder)

Okay, this can go either way. Jaune is done playing the good guy to a bunch of girls who are favored by everyone and want to destroy the world. Cinder decides to be a good person and wants to redeem herself. I highly doubt this would happen but I love the concept. Imagen Jaune has to tell Cinder to chill out all the time. Then having to be the most patient with her especially when following a plan. Cinder trying to be nice but pushing her feelings down so she doesn't show weakness is funny, sad, and insane.  

Martial Arc and Nora's Arc(Jaune x Ren x Nora)

You two do not deserve him. You had four volumes to talk with this man but you didn't. Ruby knows your leader better. Yang treats your leader better. Shit Weiss treated your leader better. Ya’ll barely maintain a relationship with each other. How will you two be in a relationship with this guy if you can't contribute or commit to it? F*** the both of you.

Whiteknight(Jaune x Weiss)

Okay, now this may be my f*** all worst ship. First, I’ll admit Jaune was just a fanboy seeing his female idol for the first time in real life. But as he continues he eventually gets over her a bit. Then in some way, he does try to get with Pyrrha, who was an upgrade. What I don't like about this ship is unlike Lancaster it feels forced. Like in volume five Weiss got stabbed by Cinder for no reason. It should have been Ruby considering Jaune traveled and spent more time with her than Weiss. And Cinder hates Ruby. Then in volume seven she basically used the man to get away from Bumblebee. And the only time she ever acknowledged this man was in volume nine when he turned out to be her favorite character in a story. I may be wrong but no, this is not my favorite.

[sweetsugarcakes]

Hi! I liked the last one so much I thought I might just request, like, another one??

An Azula x gn reader again. So, Azula and reader are childhood friends, and reader is the exact opposite of her. They are kind, compassionate and believe in the good of people. And that belief is the only thing that kept reader from deserting Azula even when she turned more cruel over time; they hope that Azula will find her good side some time. Azula is very dependant on reader's friendship as it's one of the only ones she's got, and over time she has developed some more serious feelings, but she doesn't tell reader. However, at one point, probably after a battle, it's enough. Reader can't take Azula's cruelty anymore and, under tears, tell Azula how much they detest her cruelty and want her to change her ways and that they know she has good inside of her, because (drumroll) they have loved her for years but think they will have to leave her once and for all if she can't change. Of course, Azula is devastated. She is happy her feelings are mutual but still, there is drama because of reader's accusations and threat of leaving.

Again, a happy end would be phenomenal.

This is a long ask! I hope you like this one too!

Have a great time :))

hii I’m so glad you enjoyed the other one :)

I love this scenario I’ll totally write it❤️

Azula x gn! reader

How much you saw the good in people, even if they were a bad person. You know there must be a reason why they are the way they are. Ever since you were kids you, Ty lee, Mai Zuko and Azula were all friends. At first you noticed in the small cracks of Azula you saw her a bit mean towards the group. She pushed Ty lee when she did an amazing cartwheel instead of her. She almost set Mai on fire for Zuko to save her. You noticed but brushed them off because she wasn’t so bad. But she’ll get better you hoped.

You also noticed that she never was that mean to you. Sure she’ll give you attitude and make snarky comments at you but you definitely got special treatment among the others. You remember having that conversation with her when you were little.

“[Name], promise you’ll never leave my side? I feel that you’re the only one that understands me.” Azula grinned as she looked at her used to be innocent face.

Your little self smiled widely and nod. “I promise Azula I’ll never leave your side!”

So…you never left her side which meant you saw what she had done. When she tricked her uncle and her brother. Almost burning Ty lee alive and forcing her to join her team. Making Mai abandon her baby brother. Even more things which involved her trying to catch the Avatar. But you stood by it all still thinking “She’s going to be good.”

You even thought that when she burned down innocent peoples villages. You saw how miserable the nations had been because of her doings. Not only the nations but Mai and Ty lee were as well. You can tell by the looks of their eyes, they don’t want to do this. They were so scared to stand up to her. You wanted the Avatar to restore the peace between nations and maybe Azula would be better.

One day, at the boiling rock Mai betrayed Azula by saving Zuko. You watched whole scene unfold with Ty lee. Before the two were about to fight each other, Ty lee chi blocked Azula making her fall. Ty lee looked at you, “Come on [Name].” She stuck her hand out as you hesitated and looked at Azula at the floor . You called the guards over to take both Mai and Ty lee away. The two girl were shocked as you chose Azula over your freedom. You helped up Azula since she was still paralyzed. You looked at as she smiled at you. “I know you’ll pick the right choice” hee eyes were filled with love for you and you had it too. She made the guards take Mai and Ty lee away to be in prison.

You thought about how she was ready to kill Mai and make her two best friends rot in the cell. You and Azula come back from trying to catch Aang as it failed but in the process, Azula had hurt other people, you saw children hurt and crying. You saw their parents crying as well or they were deceased from her ordering the soldiers to get information from them and if they didn’t comply well…

Your head was pounding and your hands were shaking you don’t know what to do. You were holding back from crying. Azula still mad about Mai and Ty lee but having you by her side was everything she needed anyway. You two were back at the palace as you finally spoke up…

“Azula I-i can’t do this…” you muttered out. Azula turned to you.

“What?!” She shouts and confused.

“I can’t do this. I’m can’t be by your side. T-this is too much…” you looked down.

“What are you talking about your staying with me! You promised me you’ll always be by my side [Name]! Why are you doing this?! You’re going to be a traitor just like them huh?” Azula was angry you can tell but then stunned seeing you crying and glaring at her.

“I’m done Azula. I did promise but I saw the good in you. I thought everyday that you’ll change into a good person. But seeing you doing these horrific things… it’s awful but I still stayed because I loved you for years. I-I still love you but I can’t if you’re going to be like this. T-this is just cruel…I’m sorry if you can’t change…I don’t think I wanna be by your side ever again.” You saw her panting hard trying to take all this in. She couldn’t believe you loved her and she never noticed. She gritted her teeth about to attack you but she hesitated. Her love for you was too much to hurt you. She just mumbled “Get out! Get out!” You were stunned as she told you get out. You nod as you left. The woman you loved pushed you away you know she didn’t mean it but you needed to do what you said…you knew it was the right thing to do.

You were nearby where Azula’s coronation was being held you saw how horrible she looked. Her hair cut uneven and her makeup smeared a little. You couldn’t help feel guilty about you making her crazy. You then saw the fight with Zuko and Katara with Azula. You saw Azula getting defeated by Katara as you saw her balling as blue fire came out of her mouth. You couldn’t hold back anymore you ran fast to Azula as Zuko and Katara watched you. You hugged her. “Azula please…” you whispered into her ear as you felt her body all hot as she was surprised you were here.

“[N-name]…Please [Name] don’t leave me! I’ll change! I’ll change for you! I love you too! Please just don’t leave my side! I’m sorry” She said between sobs as she just cried harder and clung on to your clothing tight. She didn’t want you to let go. “I promise Azula I won’t leave you again. I’ll be there to help you.” You whisper as cupped the back of her head to make her let it all out. Azula then spoke into your shoulder. “I’ll be good. I have you. I love you [Name].” She said still sobbing. You pulled away for her a little still close as you cup her cheek. “I knew you would turn to be good. I love you too.”

and they lived happily ever after and Azula got her redemption and didn’t go to an insane asylum bc reader was there for her🤭

I hope you enjoyed this one. sorry making this a bit angsty😭 you also have a great day!! <33

[believinghurts]

Their Daughter Part 6

Tenison was high in the dining room of Grimmuald Place as the Black brothers stared one another down. Regulus knew that part of Sirius's anger was because he thought he had lost his child to his brother, much like when they were young, and their parents favored Regulus over him. But this was Sirius's own fault; Ali had tried even after she had been hurt that Sirius went to Harry first. Sirius could not get over the fact that Ali was close with the Malfoys and had taken to projecting his anger to the only person who would love him more than anything if he tried.

Sirius wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was jealous of Regulus. He always had been, but coming back from the hell he had been trapped in to find that his own daughter had chosen his brother over him hurt more than any torture he had ever faced. Regulus had always been the perfect child who everyone adored. He had gotten fewer beatings as a child than Sirius, had gotten better grades in school, and now was considered a dad to Ali. It was only natural for Sirius to go back to what he did during his school years and focus his attention on the people who showed him attention. Harry was his godchild, but Harry also had no one else, meaning Sirius didn't have to worry about being replaced. Sirius also felt awful for the events that transpired the night of James and Lily's deaths and was trying to make up for it.

"If you just gave her a chance, you may find she is much more like you than you think." Regulus sat at the table again, watching his older brother run his hands through his hair. "She is so headstrong and stubborn that I know it revivals yours. And I cannot express enough how she just wants to be good enough for you to love, much like how you tried for years with Mother."

Sirius sighed in defeat, regrettting the painful things he had put his daughter through. "I do love her. I just…."

"Are shit at showing it. I saw the look in your eyes when Ali called me dad; I know that hurt you. But instead of talking about it, you just lash out at her or me or Remus, making it seem like you really don't care at all. I never tried to fill that role in her life. I was and will always be Uncle Reg, and that is fine. Do I see her as my child and love her like my own? Yes, absolutely. I will do anything for her, and if that fills that role as a father, I will. But I don't want to take that from you. You had so much stolen from you in your life, Sirius: your childhood, your parents, your best friend, 12 years of your life. The last thing I want to do is take more away, but I cannot and will not put you above her. She deserves so much in this world, and you should help her get it. We both should. But the question remains: will you put aside your 'every Slytherin is a Death Eater' mindset to do so? Because people have changed and we are close to the Malfoys, Notts, Parkinson's, and the Zabini's. They are not the same people anymore. Things have changed in the war; sides have changed. But you haven't. Ali is loyal to a fault and is a great judge of character; she won't betray the Order, nor will the others. Just give people a chance, Sirius."

"I did give people a chance, and it…..it got my best friend and his wife killed. We trusted Peter. I trusted Peter enough to have James make him the secret Keeper. It got them killed, and he was our friend. How am I supposed to trust that Lucius Malfoy has the Order's best interest at heart when my own friend of 9 years didn't?" Sirius started pacing before his brother. His head is cloudy in memories, tears blurring his eyes as his best friend's dead body flashed in front of him. "I know that I'm shit at showing Ali I love her, and part of it is because I'm scared to get close only to lose her again to someone like Lucius Malfoy. I owe it to James to look after Harry, but that doesn't mean I don't love him like my own because I do. But I love Ali just as much, and I know she has you, Remus, and even Snivillious to love her. And I want to try to improve things with her; I just don't know how. How do I fix what I've done, Regulus?"

Regulus caught the double meaning to his brother's question, "You can't. Sirius, you can't fix what happened to James and Lily. You can't fix how you've treated Ali so far."

Sirius felt his heart crack at his brother's words. He had hoped to get Ali back, but it seemed he had gone too far. He started for the stairs when Regulus continued.

"But that doesn't mean you can't fix it from now on. You can't change the past and bring James back, but you can make them proud by loving and protecting Ali and Harry. I mean, yeah, they don't get along now, but I think part of that is because he has seen and heard how you and James treated outsiders. I know they used to play together as babies, not that they would remember it, but Remus told me. Tell how close they were till everything happened, and bring them back together. Stop being afraid of losing Ali to someone when all everyone wants to do is love her and keep her safe. And maybe you don't trust Lucius or the others right now, but I trust them more than Dumbledore most of the time. And you should talk to Moody about the help Lucius has given the Order even if he refuses to say he has aligned himself with us." Regulus held his brother's shoulder, "Give them a chance. Don't let the other kids make remarks about Ali and her friends. Talk to her. I wouldn't start trying to act like her father, but maybe a friend? Or a really distant uncle. You'll figure it out, Sirius; you're smarter than you give yourself credit for."

Sirius followed his brother up the stairs, going to bed with hope, lighting a flame in his heart for the first time in years.

Days following the talk between Regulus and Sirius, Ali noticed that the golden trio had become slightly nicer to her. She does not make as many comments about her or her friends. She had no idea what was happening but wasn't going to complain. Regulus had come to her that morning telling her that he thought it a better idea if Blaise came to their house instead of her going over there. He believed it would show that the Slytherins were not as bad as all the others thought.

At first, Ali was hesitant about the idea. Still, after being reassured that Remus would be home as well as Regulus, Ali agreed. The thought of Blaise being at her house surrounded by her tormentors made her sick to her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to run away for a few days, but that ship had sailed, and it was only hours before Blaise arrived when Regulus called for 'those who live in this house meeting.' By the time Ali had gotten dressed and cleaned her room, everyone was already in the kitchen since it seemed to be the usual gathering place for the group. She straightened her sweater and did a quick glance down to make sure her outfit was still okay. It was slightly chilly in the house, so she had gone with a Bulgarian Quidditch sweater that was mainly red with black details and a pair of cropped black leggings with matching fuzzy socks. She and Blaise had already decided to stay for most of the day and then go and get dinner somewhere in Diagon Ally so she could change later. Remus and Regulus walked at the same time as Sirius and Harry.

"I'm assuming everyone is confused about why this meeting was called," Remus started. "There seems to be an assumption that Slyertians and those associated with them are all Death Eaters or traitors."

Scowls had overtaken most of the younger one's faces in the room, as well as Sirius's. Ali looked at her uncle, trying to figure out where this was going. She knew the reason was to inform everyone that Blaise would be here for a few days, but there was something else going on; she could feel it.

"After speaking with Dumbledore and getting his permission, not that I technically need the permission as it is my house, but nevertheless. A few individuals will be coming to stay here for the upcoming days, and there will be a couple of visitors as well." Regulus's eye caught Ali's, and gave her a wink just as the sound of footsteps entered the foyer. Ali was too short to see over everyone's heads to see who was there, but from the looks on a couple faces, including the elder Weasley, it was someone they were not fond of.

A flash of white hair caught Ali's eye as the group entered the kitchen. Her mouth dropped in shock as she took in her uncle Severus, leading the Malfoys, Blaise, and Theo towards Regulus and Remus. Cissa shot her a wink while Draco eyed Harry and Sirius up and down; Blaise kept his eyes locked on Ali, and Theo thoroughly enjoyed the shocked looks from the Weasleys.

"Sorry, we're late. Draco took too long in the mirror this morning," Severus said. Draco glared at his Godfather before continuing on with his glare at Potter.

"Well, allow me to introduce everyone. This is Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, which I'm sure almost all of you know. This is Blaise, Theodore, and Draco. Narcissa and Lucius will be in and out for the next bit trying to get caught up on Order business while the latter three will be staying here for a bit." Remus shook Lucius's hand before joining Dora beside Ali, who was bouncing on her toes, overly excited at the fact that it was going to be back to normal in the next couple of days.

"You can't be serious. They are staying here?" Sirius exclaimed, running his hand down his face before glaring at Lucius. "I still remember what you did, Malfoy."

"I don't often agree with Sirius, but Dumbledore said this was alright?" Arthur asked. Ali knew that the Malfoys hadn't been the kindest to the Weasleys in the past, and she felt sorry for them in that aspect, but Lucius was not the same man as he was during her first year. And Narcissa wouldn't hurt a flea.

Remus stepped forward again, "He did. Narcissa and Lucius will be helping with some scooting missions that are coming up since they know that area of town better and are considering joining the Order. The three brats are mainly for Ali, though."

"Did you miss us short stack?" Theo opened his arms for Ali, who jumped straight into them. Theo gave her a twirl before pulling on her braid. She barely had time to catch her breath before Draco had her spinning again and tickling her sides, making her squeal.

"Of course I missed you! What kind of question is that?!" Ali giggled before hugging Blaise despite her uncle Remus glaring at them. Blaise took her hand and gave it a squeeze when they parted before facing the other children in the room. Theo and Draco took the opposite sides of Ali, showing a united front against the ones who had been horrible towards her.

Ali was ecstatic that they were going to be in the house more. Maybe her summer wouldn't end so badly. Sirius was shocked that Dumbledore had cleared this and even more shocked that Lucius would help the Order. He did not trust him and would go on those missions even if he had to go as Padfoot. This was outrageous and downright stupid, allowing death eaters to snoop freely in the Order business. Looking at his daughter, he could see how happy she was to be surrounded by her friends, but he also knew that he would have to keep a closer eye on her than he already was. He had asked the trio to play nice so he had more people watching her. He did trust that she was a Death Eater, and now he was surrounded by them.

"Al, Kreatcher sat up extra beds in your room for the boys. Pansy should be joining later, but she had something come up with her grandfather. Her mother said she would owl when she was on her way." Regulus leveled each of the boys with a look. "You lot know the rules. I don't care if you have fun but clean up after yourselves, and don't be too loud when it gets late. Curfew is at 10pm and no later. If you are leaving the house, go in pairs at least and let one of the adults you know be aware of where you're going. You lot know the food is fair game, and Kretcher has already been instructed to grocery shop more often. The house is also fair game, but be respectful, please."

"Don't worry, Uncle Reg. I'll keep them in line," Draco smirked at the other three before Severus whacked him upside the head.

Ali turned and looked at the younger swarm of redheads and others in the room. She cleared her throat to get the attention on her, which made her take an unconscious step back toward Blaise and Draco. "Everyone, this is Theo, Blaise and Draco. I'm sure most of you know this, but just in case. You are welcome to join our fun, but we get if you don't want to." Ali pulled the boys out of the room after greeting her aunt and uncle. They sat on the living room floor with wizards, chess, and a few other games while a movie played in the background. Kreacher brought out snack trays for them, and the laughter was music to Regulus's ears after all the quiet he'd heard from Ali this summer.

Ali could feel the stares from those around them, most directed at Draco and her. She could see the disbelief every time Draco laughed or made a joke. This was the side of Draco that was rarely seen by others. An hour had passed before a chess match went on between Draco and Ali. Blaise sat to one side of Ali, and Theo was in the middle of her and Draco, watching the death match continue.

"What dare shall I have you do this time, Als" Draco taunted her while he moved his piece. It was an ongoing rule that when she and Draco played wizarding chess, the loser had to do a dare of the winner's choice. It was always a toss-up in who won, as both were incredibly good at the game.

"Don't think too hard; I wouldn't want to overwork that one brain cell of yours." Ali stuck her tongue out at Draco when she stole his knight.

Draco was about to reply when a shadow came over the top of the board. Looking up, there was the eldest two Weasley children and Fleur. Ali could see the hearts in Theo's eyes before she kicked him in the shin. "She's engaged, you idiot."

Bill and Charlie chuckled, "We saw you guys playing games and were curious if we could join you? I have my board and thought we could do a little tournament."

Charlie held up his chess board. The teens all nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, Charlie's board was all set up. Bill took one side of the board before looking at Theo. "You up for a challenge?"

Theo crawled to the opposite side of the small table. Bill made the first move, and the game commenced. Charlie and Fleur took seats around the rest of them and started trash-talking with them, too. Charlie was on Ali's side, whereas Fleur took Dracos. Regulus, Molly, and Narcissa looked around the corner and had smiles spread across their faces at the sight they saw. It wasn't the younger kids trying to get along with the others, but the eldest and Molly knew that her children all looked up to their brothers, so maybe there was hope in this crazy plan after all.

[heartofwolfe]

Whole reason i made a new blog Can i get a word about eurylochus. Im sure other people have said it but if so then ill gladly add on the noise. I dont think hes as hypocritical and bad as some people have made him out to be? And i want to go over his crimes one by one, to bring them to a less exaggerated ground.

"He was going to abandon those men in Circe's island, therefore he had no right rebelling against Odysseus after Scylla."

I need us all to review both situations for a second. With Circe, Eurylochus witnessed what she's capable of, he KNEW Odysseus wouldn't be able to take her. Between losing his captain (and KING) and "cut their losses", it was probably logical for him to leave those men behind in place of losing any more lives or Odysseus himself. Had he known Hermes would show up to help, I'm sure he wouldn't have been so adamant on leaving. He's the voice of the crew, after all.

But Scylla? Odysseus withheld the information of what they were going to encounter in that lair. Odysseus deliberately made him light up torches (one of which would've been for HIM) that would sentence the 6 men that'd carry them. Of course, upon realizing this was his plan, he'd be mad. And we have to realize the rest of the crew are just as sentient as Eurylochus: Seeing their king give up 6 lives like they're nothing for the sake of getting home to his wife... how do they know they won't be next? The 3 men at Circe could've left like Eurylochus did, it was a slip, but Scylla was a choice. (A choice I think was the best outcome! Im not coming for Odysseus here, and I acknowledge and agree it was probably the safest way to get through Scylla. But it doesn't negate the feelings of the crew).

"He opened the wind bag and it got over 500 men killed! With that body count, he was still hypocrital to critisize Odysseus for sacrificing 6 men to Scylla"

I mean, yeah, if we leave it at that. Why don't we ask Poseidon what would've happened to Ithaca if they arrived at the shore instead of being sent to him directly?

Yes, opening the bag is breaking Odysseus' trust. He did wrong at this. But if we are gonna get nitpicky, Odysseus shouldn't have revealed his name to the Cyclops at all— Or just kill him, like Poseidon and Athena told him he should've done. I think they're both at fault for this, and even then, killing his fleet over the entirety of Ithaca is probably the best outcome somehow.

But like, overall, I just don't think we can use the 500 men excuse to throw bricks at this man. No one, not even Odysseus, realized they pissed off Poseidon by hurting Polyphemus and that's where the storm was coming. It's just cruel and it is very obvious it weighted not only on Odysseus but on Eurylochus as well.

"He killed Helios' cow despite Odysseus warning! And then got mad at Odysseus when he didn't sacrifice himself for the crew?"

I feel like he is a little unfair for getting mad at the end, but it is also just very human. We can think of it logically because it is a story we are witnessing, but most if not all of us would've lashed out and felt betrayed if our lives ended because our closest friend (and person that was supposed to look out for us) needed to see their lover.

And the cow... I need you guys to put yourself in his shoes again. Eurylochus didn't believe they'd make it home, he had given up on life, he couldn't trust his brother in arms to bring him home alive anymore. And hunger is so heavy (sorry). Between dying of starvation or drowned by Poseidon, and dying swiftly by divine intervention for pissing off Helios, he probably didn't care (and, like, if he didn't do it someone else in the crew would've. Is the thing.)

I actually think it's such a well done thing, the way he kills the cow because he gave up but deep down doesn't actually want to die— Which is why he gets desperate and seeks for Odysseus' guidance once again when he realizes what he's done. The cow is probably the hardest thing to defend from him, but i think it is so human. And so tragic.

And I need to clarify again— This isn't against Odysseus! I think he makes so many mistakes and is so selfish but also human in a way, I can see where every character is coming from in this musical. And the Odyssey is about a man losing his humanity in a journey back home, so his actions have to be. Bad. But there's a treatment of this characters that ends up coming off as a disservice to each of them. Using Eurylochus as a scapegoat to make Odysseus look better just feels like missing the point of both and their complexities to me. Cause even after defending Eurylochus here, none of these actions are entirely justifiable! He IS hypocritical and selfish as well, and maybe a bit cruel at times. But he's not the root of all evil. If he were, Odysseus wouldn't be the lead.

This post is pretty over the place, so I apologize!it isn't meant to be read as an essay or anything too serious despite the tone that might come off of it. I'm just mostly voicing my thoughts about these characters re: some takes I've seen here and there in other platforms that I can't go too much in detail about. Would love to hear other thoughts, agreeing or disagreeing, although i might not respond too in detail. Also please befriend me i need friends into epic LOL

[gilbirda]

Friendly neighborhood vigilante. Chapter 29

BatmanxDP crossover. JasonxJazz

[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]

Based on this post

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“We have to go.”

“Do we?”

Jazz giggled against her better judgment. Jason’s breath tickled her cheeks.

“Bruce said—”

“He can wait.” His chest rumbled as he spoke. She could feel it through his suit and hers. “They all can wait.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but the touch of his cold lips on her throat ripped a sigh from her lips instead. Her hand squeezed his bicep and didn’t move to push him away as she knew she should.

It felt weirdly exposed to be doing this in a random alley, but at least they weren’t out in the open. She’d seen worse things happen in the dark alleys of Gotham, and it was somewhat exhilarating to be part of that mystery herself.

Jason’s hand grabbed her face, pulling her back to the present.

“We have to— Mhmp!”

Jason hummed against her mouth, kissing her with enthusiasm. Jazz rolled her eyes, but responded to his kiss and very obvious attempt at shutting her up.

They were supposed to be on their way back to the Cave and meet with the others to discuss the whole “Lazarus Pits in Gotham” conversation they had to have.

Once they were alone, Jason had other ideas. It was in his eyes, in the way they were bright with concern that turned into something else once he made sure that she was completely fine after her encounter with the Spirit of Gotham.

He had always been a little hesitant before, even after she came clean about her secrets and her fangs. She thought he maybe wanted to make clear he wasn’t pressuring her into something she’d regret, which was nice but completely unnecessary. She wasn’t afraid to stop things if she didn’t want to do something.

Jason bit her lower lip. She did want this, she discovered. Oh yeah, she did. It was maybe not the best moment or the best place; but it was so enticing having this tank of a man so desperately seeking her lips like his life depended on it.

Jazz grabbed the back of his head, reveling on how soft the curls were and being thankful once more that he chose to forgo the helmet for tonight. She felt more than heard him moan in the kiss when she pulled the hair she managed to blindly grab there.

Loud beeping interrupted them, making her jump. He groaned, pulling away from the kiss slowly and with all the intention to ignore the phone asking for attention.

He had already disconnected his comms but they didn’t check that his phone was not on silent.

“Answer the phone.” She whispered against his lips, fighting against the impulse to lean in and continue kissing him like she wanted to.

The whine that came out of him was unbecoming of the demon of Crime Alley.

“Don’t wanna.” He turned it off and put it back in his pocket. “Where were we?”

She rolled her eyes. “Someone is excited.”

He hummed against her lips before kissing her again, carefully grabbing her face with his gloved hands.

“The fight did something for you, huh.”

He chuckled. “What can I say? I love my women strong and independent.”

She playfully slapped his chest. “You silly man.” Her nonchalance was betrayed by her red cheeks.

When she confronted the Gotham Spirit she wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Her thoughts were set on staying in Gotham no matter what, and how frustrated it made her to deal with the Spirit. She had dealt with stubborn people in her life, but the Spirit was its own kind of thickheaded nightmare.

She didn’t like pulling rank and doing shows of power to threaten people, that was more in Danny’s and his friends’ wheelhouse, but she knew how to do it when the situation required it.

Apparently, Jason did like her display.

Not that she was complaining.

They did have to go meet the others back at the Cave, though.

Their impromptu make out session got interrupted by her phone this time, the ringtone being a guitar riff that she set as Danny’s personal ringtone. It was a song he enjoyed and joked should be his theme song.

“Don’t.” Jason took her phone from her hands and hung up.

Jazz knew Danny would call again, as many times as it took. Also she knew he would hold it against her if she continued ignoring him like this.

With a tired sigh that channeled all her older sister woes, she made an attempt at getting her phone back. Jason extended his arm away from her.

She raised an eyebrow. So that’s how he wanted to play.

Jazz spared a thought and felt her arms grow stronger under her command over her armor, giving her enough juice to quickly grab her boyfriend by the shoulders and switch their positions, slamming him against the brick wall with maybe a little bit more force than she intended. She quickly checked he was okay, but scoffed when she saw his red cheeks and how a choked “huh” filled the dark alley.

She kissed him one last time, deep and intense, playfully biting his lip before pulling away, her phone in her hand.

Just in time, Danny was calling again.

“I’m no longer asking.” Was the first thing she heard when she took the call. She bit her lip, glancing at Jason recovering from what just happened. “Move your ass to the damn Cave and let’s get this done tonight. Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

“What happened to ‘I can go weeks without sleep, Jazzy’, huh?”

Danny grumbled on the other side of the call. “Just stop having kinky sex with your boyfriend.”

A chorus of “oooohh” could be heard in the background. She closed her eyes, embarrassed and mortified that this was probably happening on speakers.

“I am not—”

“Didn’t ask, don’t care, lalalalala~!” Her brother sang until she stopped trying to explain. “You have fifteen minutes before I go out there and drag you here. See ya!”

Jazz did a few deep breaths to prevent her from crushing her phone in her hand. Because that was the third phone she destroyed in her time in the Living World, and she didn’t want to spend the money on another one.

When she opened her eyes, Jason was looking at her.

“Mood is ruined, huh?”

She could tell he rolled his eyes under the mask. “Told you not to answer the phone.” He still leaned in for a quick peck on her lips. “Let’s go.”

They grappled back to their apartment in comfortable silence, just listening to wind in their ears and the city noises even so late at night. Jazz enjoyed the trip more than she let on, even if it was weird compared to flying with her siblings. Jason didn’t defy gravity but fought against it, and she could feel it in her gut every time he swung up and down. It was different and new and not at all how she imagined it.

He landed them on the roof of the building next to theirs, right at the alley where the bikes were stored.

Bikes. Because Danny had finally given back her modified ecto-motorbike since his own was finally done. He brought it over when he arrived, expecting to find her in her apartment to show her his gift, but that was when he panicked and went on a hunt to find her. With the excitement he forgot about it, but the shiny black and teal machine was parked in front of the apartment building when they arrived on Saturday afternoon.

She decided to keep it next to Jason’s in the alley and out of the way, but hadn't had a chance to drive it yet.

“Wanna drive tonight?” Jason asked her, pointing at the bike with his chin.

She nodded. “Actually, yeah. Barely had time to try it when I got it.” And could be a good chance to re-learn what all the functions were.

After a quick debate, they decided to each drive their own bike, and she’d follow Jason to the hidden entrance of the cave. He watched her get on the seat, waiting for her to turn it on. She just twisted the accelerator handle, the motor roaring to life as green fire was expelled from the exhaust.

“Oops.” Jazz giggled.

She focused a bit and recalibrated how much power she directed to the engine, satisfied when it went back to a soft purr that was within normal performance and there wasn’t more fire coming out.

“That’s pretty rad.”

She hummed in agreement at Jason, watching as he got into his vehicle and turned it on. “It doesn’t work on gasoline, just ambient ectoplasm and the driver’s power.” She tested the accelerator, keeping the gear neutral, nodding when everything sounded right. “Only people with enough ectoplasm can even get it to work.” She tested the brakes. They were good. “I think you could do it, actually.”

He walked the bike to the alley opening, considering. She watched carefully in case she said something wrong — Jason was still a bit touchy about not being fully human, and after Danny’s confirmation they haven’t addressed it. She definitely made it worse when she fed him pure ectoplasm, even if it saved his life. She knew they had to talk about it, but the moment simply never came up.

“Maybe.” Was all he said. “Let’s go.”

Jazz swallowed the discomfort and got ready to make the drive to the Cave.

Gotham that night was tamer, and as they got out of the Narrows and into the nicer parts of the city it was quieter and quieter. She was still mesmerized at how beautiful the city could be from up high, it didn’t matter how many times she would make this trip or climb the tall buildings — it was just so different from what she was used to, be it Amity Park or the Infinite Realms.

They quickly made it to the secret entrance for vehicles and into the Batcave, the temperature rising slightly now that they were away from the chilly fall night.

“Finally!”

Danny, still in ghost form, didn’t look pleased as he floated closer to the parking area of the cave. He had his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, as if he was the parent catching a child doing something they shouldn't.

“Oh, shut up.” She rolled her eyes, turning off the bike with a thought. “Like you haven’t been late for a meeting because you are too busy making out with—”

“Nuh-uh,” Danny interrupted her, cheeks slightly green. “We don’t talk about that.”

“Then you can’t talk about me and Jason.” Jazz smirked, looking down at her brother, knowing she had won.

Danny scoffed, glanced at Jason, who was biting back a smile, and floated back to the others with an eye roll.

Jazz hummed when her boyfriend looped his arms around her waist. “That was pretty hot too.” He softly whispered against her ear.

“Ancients, stop!” Danny’s voice echoed from the other side of the cave.

Right, the couple remembered. Superhuman hearing.

They held hands as they walked closer to the Batcomputer, where the Bats plus an annoyed Danny were waiting.

On the screen there were multiple recordings playing — Jazz was mortified when she saw her own face from multiple angles as she got the beating of her life by the Spirit of Gotham. She froze, watching herself fending against the colony of bats that bit her and carried her towards the sky, remembering the feeling of getting shocked by her own weapon.

She rubbed her arm, not really liking how it felt.

Jason pulled her hand and made them walk closer towards the table with a hologram map of Gotham, where Bruce was mumbling under his breath, typing something on his wrist computer.

“So,” Jason started, “what’s this about a Pit under Gotham?”

Jazz looked away from Bruce as he looked up. She knew she was supposed to pay attention — this was her mission, after all — but she got distracted watching the video of herself facing the Spirit and releasing her power. Ancients, it felt so ridiculous now, making a huge speech about her titles and her accomplishments. She had tried to aim for what Fright Knight would say, channeling how the ghost always felt so sure about himself; but all she could see was how scared she had been in her eyes, how desperate she felt about staying in Gotham, and staying with—

“Earth to Jasmine.”

She blinked back to reality, looking back to the table. Everyone was looking at her.

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. “Sorry.”

A few smiled, knowing what she had been distracted with.

“That was a pretty cool thing you did there.”

“So you did end up fistfighting the city for Jason’s hand in marriage.” Stephanie nodded in agreement at Duke, crossing her arms. “I would have liked to see it from up close.”

Jason didn’t acknowledge the comment, just rolling his eyes. Jazz’s cheeks got warmer.

“I didn’t—”

“I am Crown Princess Jasmine. I’ve protected the Keep against invading forces for seven days and seven nights straight.” Now it was Dick who chimed in, fists on his waist, striking a pose. His eyes glowed and his smile was blinding. “You kind of reminded me of Starfire for a moment there.”

“I know right?” Jason chimed in, nodding enthusiastically.

Jazz tilted her head. The name was familiar, but she didn’t know who this person was. Probably a hero, given how familiar they seemed to be with her.

Dick saw her confusion and opened his mouth to comment.

“Focus,” Bruce interrupted the conversation, finally stopping typing in his computer, “we have a task at hand.”

Jazz giggled, but didn’t say anything about Dick sticking his tongue and imitating the older man’s expression behind his back.

“I have investigated the Lazarus Pits in the past—” he barely paused when he said it, but they all noticed some kind of hesitation — “and I got readings inside Gotham. I know the general location and have a few guesses on where to start looking, but I never had enough time to actually do it.”

Or, Jazz considered, he abandoned the project when something related to Jason happened. She squeezed his hand, but didn’t turn to look at him.

“Ok. Where do I start?”

Bruce nodded, his tense shoulders slightly relaxing. Jazz didn’t miss how he tried hard to not be too obvious that he was glad she kept on topic and didn’t ask what they were all thinking.

The hologram of Gotham in front of them moved around and separated into layers like some kind of an exploded view showing the underground levels. She marveled at the tunnels that could only be the subway system, and what she guessed was the sewers.

Before she could ask more about the amazing and detailed show of technology, the hologram focused on a part of Old Gotham she wasn’t familiar with, down and down, way under the first subway lines that had been abandoned when the city grew in a different direction.

“My readings concentrated somewhere deep under Old Gotham, and I have a few ideas of using the old metro station and starting from there.” He paused, looking up at her. “I’m… not sure what could be down there. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Somehow she understood that Bruce not being sure of something meant really bad news. Fortunately for everyone, Jazz was used to bad news and even worse odds.

She smiled. “Sure! What could go wr—”

“Don’t jinx it.” Danny slapped a hand on her mouth. “Remember our curse.”

“Curse?” Damian perked up, interested.

“We are not cursed, Danny,” Jazz groaned, removing the hand. She was half tempted to lick it, but she didn’t think it was proper for the situation. “It’s a silly family joke.”

“It’s no joke. We are cursed. Who knows, maybe our great great great grandpa pissed off the wrong witch.”

That raised a few eyebrows and a pair of chuckles. Jazz sighed, exasperated.

She wanted to agree so badly with her brother. The Fentons sometimes felt like they were cursed. She spent so long trying to find a logical answer to why things seemed to always happen to them; but even after she discarded bad luck, meddling ghosts, hubris and clumsiness, she had to agree there were unexplained situations. Specially when the words “what could go wrong?” were uttered.

She remembered thinking that before her first date with Jason.

Huh.

Maybe Danny was onto something.

Bruce cleared his throat and decided to pin the conversation for another time. “You should wait before venturing down the tunnels.”

“Why?” She asked.

“You need to be prepared.”

Jazz waited for a moment, trying to understand what the man probably meant to say. She had already gathered he was not very good at communicating his thoughts, but she thought she was owed an elaboration.

Of course, that never came.

“Prepared for what.”

“Gotham is not— You are clearly trained, but you don't understand what you are up against.”

She frowned, trying to follow.

Besides her, Jason sighed. “What Bruce is trying to say,” he rolled his eyes, like he couldn’t believe he was acting as the other man’s translator, “is that Gotham is its own kind of weird, and you should get used to moving around before facing the unknown.”

“But I’ve lived here for months…” She trailed off, seeing almost everyone around the table shake their heads or purse their lips. “Okay. Okay.” She sighed, pulling back her loose hair. “You are the locals. I made a deal. Gotham’s rules, Gotham’s way.”

She clearly wasn’t excited about it, but she knew that if she wanted to stay, she had to be on her best behavior. Making the Spirit mad was the best way to get banished from the city forever.

Jazz felt Jason squeeze her hand in solidarity. He understood the city, he had talked about it plenty of times. She always thought it was kinda cute how he went on rants about the people, the flow of the city, the way things worked around. He loved it, but he also respected its dangers.

In a way, Jazz wondered how much of Jason she’d understand once she got to understand the city.

“Very well. Your training will start tomorrow.”

“Training?”

“Training!” It was Stephanie who jumped to hold her other hand, practically shaking with excitement. “Welcome to Batfam 101: speedrun edition!”

Some of the others chuckled, but by the way their smiles hid their secrets, she wasn’t sure if this “training” would be anything like she had known before.

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