#kiddy west

[princessesaphi]

Compilation des petits croquis RPZ que j'ai fait depuis 2022 !

[spottys-rathole]

Jour 7 (A) - Voler

Wow je l'avais pas dessiné depuis genre Avril ????? En tant qu'humain bien sûr sinon ça fait depuis hier

[manglechanbluh]

Kitties !! Ca fait 2 jours que je suis matrixée par l’au LGDC de RPZ donc on a :

une partie de la montazac family ( j’ai eu la paresse de dessiner un design pour Fab :( ) qui prend un bain de soleil, les croutes arrivent pas à rester tranquille. Du marcelliam tout soft et une petite Haylie qui chasse :3

Tout ces magnifique designs sont de @mllenugget !!!

[licensedfool]

aw man turns out my doomed yaoi was actually doomed

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

So random but I want a Horizon kiddie book for no reason😪❤️

[new-revenant]

For the amusement park au

Danny convinces people that the yetis and other ghosts are just in really good makeup and costumes. There's a kiddie section for Youngblood and his crew with a pirate themed and a wild west themed play area for super young kids along with rides. There's a water park area of the park including rides inhabited by sea serpant ghosts and there are regular swimming pools and slides, the areas connected to the realms has a cloak on it to appear completely normal.

Yes yes yes, 100000%! I love reading these! I literally have nothing to add! But I’m sure you lot sure do :)

Gosh, I can’t imagine what would happen once the Batfam return to the park after Danny fixes it up and ghostifies it. Even if they don’t notice anything, a magic user or two might

[yall-batman-fanfic]

Valerie's First Birthday | Batfam x Batsis x Batmom

Synopsis: A kiddie party with supers, what can possibly go wrong? A lot, apparently.

Time sure flies. One day you’re pushing out a melon-sized human being out of your… out of you, and now you’re celebrating their first birthday. Vivian knew that Valerie won’t remember a thing on this early stage so she opted for a small celebration for Valerie. Bruce suggested they throw a big birthday party for their daughter, considering it was a huge milestone that she’s turned one, but Vivian said that they can just save for future birthdays instead, besides didn’t want Gotham to be part of it, she wanted Valerie to be surrounded by family and friends, and it just so happens that the only friend that Valerie has in Gotham was Bunny Vreeland. Her other friends? They were a bunch of supers, and it’ll be too risky to have them all mixed up for that. 

But then Veronica had a plan. And how can they say no to that? So they agreed to do two things: share a birthday party with Bunny since they were born days apart, and then have another party in the manor with those who they were close to in the Justice League. 

Vivian and Veronica shared in the responsibility in handling their daughters’ birthday party, which was hosted in some playpen for toddlers, and Veronica was pondering the theme that had bunnies, rainbow, and princesses and witches. 

“So, Valerie and Bunny’s birthday party theme is basically Easter?” Tim commented.

“I see it more as the Wizard of Oz,” said Dick. “What do you think, kiddo?” He asked his sister who sat on his lap with her pet gargoyle, who she named Geg – Greg or Gregory, but the girl still can’t pronounce her “Rs”.

Vivian looked at the mock-ups that Veronica sent to her again. “We’re going with the Wizard of Oz, I’m calling Ronie.”

“So, I guess Val’s going to be the Good Witch?” Bruce asked, already checking Glinda’s costume online.

“No!” Jason exclaimed. “It’s like you didn’t read Wicked! She ain’t gonna be Glinda!” 

“I haven’t read Wicked, Jason,” Bruce stated.

“How about the Broadway show? Did you watch that at least?”

“Does it look like Batman’s one for broadway musicals, Jason?” Tim snickered.

“Whatever – Val’s not gonna be Glinda! I don’t care if that Rabbit is gonna be Glinda, but not Val.”

“Rabbit?” Duke asked, completely lost.

“He means Bunny Vreeland,” said Damian.

“Oh.”

“How about Dorothy?” Bruce asked.

Alfred hummed. “I think the character of Elphaba would be more suitable for Ms. Valerie with her magical background,” he picked up his granddaughter and handed her a sippy cup with her drink. 

“She’s the green one, right?” Bruce asked.

Jason groaned loudly and said, “Yes, Elphaba is the green one!”

“But isn’t she the bad guy in the Wizard of Oz?” Stephanie asked.

Jason pulled out the book from their shelves and handed it to Duke while saying: “She’s the Wicked Witch of the West, but she’s not all that bad! It’s society that made her wicked! There’s a difference between internally wicked and becoming wicked because society made you one! That’s the whole point of the story!”

“He seems to be very passionate about Wicked,” Steph whispered to Cass and Tim.

“Vivian took him to see a lot of plays, ballet, and Broadway. It’s their bonding time,” Bruce said to them. “But this is the first time I saw him like this too.”

Vivian returned to the sitting room with the announcement that they were good with the Wizard of Oz theme, and Veronica wanted Bunny to be Glinda. 

“And I think our little Val would be a perfect Elphaba, but we’re not going to cover you in green pain,” Vivian snapped her fingers and a black witch’s hat landed on Valerie’s head. It was the perfect size. 

Valerie giggled and made grabbing motions at her mother.

“Did you have that all this time for this day, Viv?” Stephanie asked.

“No, this was mine when I went to school for witches,” Vivian started humming the song Popular from Wicked while dancing with her daughter.

“You didn’t say that you went to a witch’s school –”

“She’s messing with you, Brown,” said Damian.

“Oh.”

The party went well with Bunny and Valerie wearing Glinda and Elphaba costumes – respectively – and playing with the other children. Since it was a shared birthday, the two mothers chose a date that was right in the middle, for Bunny it was a few days after her actual birthday and for Valerie it was days before her actual birthday. 

During that party Veronica insisted everyone wore costumes too. Dick was in charge of choosing the costumes of his siblings… not everyone was happy with what was assigned for them. 

Jason was the Tin Man.

Tim was the Scarecrow.

Duke was the Cowardly Lion.

Damian was freaking Toto.

Dick was Dorothy… yes, he wore a freaking dress too. 

Cassandra and Stephanie decided to wear something that was similar to the movies and the show, as the people in Emerald City; Barbara and her father were invited and came with the former as the Wizard of Oz. 

Vivian and Bruce, on the other hand, came in as the couple in the Broadway show. They dressed up as Elphaba and Fiyero. But really, Bruce just wore a blue suit to follow the character’s costume, and Vivian wore one of her black dresses. But when they saw their family all dressed, especially Dick and Damian, and Alfred who wore the winged monkey uniform from the movie, they felt bad for just picking out something from their closets.

“Shame!” Dick told them. 

“I know,” Vivian said as she held back her laughter when she saw Dick and the others. “That dress… hold on, is that my maternity dress?”

“Cool, right? I just made some adjustments,” said Dick.

“And is Duke wearing my faux fur coat?”

“Dick said that he already asked you, Mrs. P,” Duke said.

“He didn’t, but go ahead… and Damian… Toto?”

Damian glared at Dick. 

When Alfred  came down with Valerie all dressed in her Elphaba costume, she gasped and squealed when she saw her family all dressed up. Putting her down, Alfred held her hand as she waddled towards the crowd that perfectly dressed up as the characters of the Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Even when she didn’t know that yet, she was happy to see the colors and how funny they looked. 

Immediately the glares that Damian and Jason had on Dick disappeared and they were just glad that their sister was happy.

The highlight of the party was when Valerie and Bunny played around while wearing their costumes and were the perfect cast of the two characters. The two were inseparable the entire time. They held each other's hand as they roamed around and played, and even when they blew the candles on their cake they did it together.

When the two girls thought it was time to go home when Bruce and Veronica were about to pick them up for a photo, the two hugged each other and pouted.

“No!” Bunny said and held Valerie tight.

“Stay – Bunny!” Valerie made her point and glared at her father.

By the end of the party, the two girls were tired and were asleep on their mothers.

~*~

The party for the Justice Kids – and Vivian called them — was held on Valerie’s actual birthday. It was just a small one in the manor with food and games that Dick would be hosting for them. They extended the invitation to everyone in the League and the families of the Leaguers too. 

“I swear, Kent! Drop her, I will bring out my Kryptonite sword!” Damian called out to Jon who was flying around with Valerie in his arms, happily enjoying it.

“I'm not going to drop her, Damian!” Jon told his best friend but so Damian won't pop a vein, he went down and placed the girl on the ground. Valerie was confused – why did the ride stop? She was having a great time! When she saw Damian about to get her, Valerie turned to Jon and said: “Again!” While hugging his leg.

“Come on, Val. You can play at the swing instead,” Damian attempted to get her, but Valerie hid behind Jon’s leg and pouted at her brother.

“Fly,” Valerie said. “Want Jon.”

Jon laughed awkwardly and took Valerie from the ground and tried to hand her over to Damian, who was stunned with what she said, but the girl wouldn’t go with her brother. She really wanted to fly. 

“Jon!” Valerie hugged him. “Fly?”

Dick and Tim winced at the sight of Valerie preferring to go with Jon than Damian.

“I'll go make sure he doesn't kill him,” said Dick.

“Good idea,” Tim muttered. Wouldn't want a murder in a kid's party.

The Kents were the first to arrive at the Manor – not surprising. In fact, Bruce and Vivian were used to them popping in out of nowhere. Following the Kents were the speeders, with Barry driving all the way from Star City with his family to celebrate and so Valerie would also meet his own children. The twins: Don and Dawn Allen. Following them was Diana, then Hal came. Roy arrived too, with Lian.

Valerie was well acquainted with Lian and happily dragged the older girl to where she was playing with the other kids. 

But then Bizzaro and Artemis came and Valerie's attention were on the big guy who was a sweetheart and gifted her with a toy doll. 

“Not happy birthday,” Bizzaro greeted her.

“Bee!” Valerie hugged him and his gift. 

When Artemis was about to give her gift, Jason took it first as it was a weapon. 

“She's a kid, Artemis!” Jason told her. “You can have this after I teach you how to use it,” he told his sister.

The Outlaws were followed by Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance with their own son – who was a year older than Valerie – Connor Lance-Queen. 

Soon the backyard was filled with people and kids running around, playing. And while Vivian would have wanted to invite all of their super-friends, she knew that they can't just drop everything and come to the party too. Someone has to stay and watch over Earth and protect it from local and intergalactical threats. Hence the Titans staying at their tower, but Raven came with Damian's invitation. Well, he told Dick that he wanted Raven to come. 

The Young Justice too were there but wouldn't be staying too long as they also had to look after their domains. Tim was the only exception since he was in a family event.

Coming to his wife's side, Bruce handed her a slice of cake and sat beside her. “Is everything alright?” He asked.

Vivian hummed, turning to him, she said, “Yeah, everything's fine. Why?”

“You’'ve been staring at them for a while now.”

“I'm just happy, that's all. I’m glad to see everyone here – relaxing. Dad's there with Alfred, having a pint. Superheroes get to enjoy the life they fight to protect and be with their families. You're here with our family.”

Bruce wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss on her temple. “She's growing up fast. Too fast,” he whispered as he watched Valerie play with Connor Lance-Queen, and the Allen Twins. 

“She is,” Vivian sighed. “And I'll be back to work.”

“You can always not go back.”

“I know, but I want to… but I also want to be here with here — if I can, I would put her in my bag and we'd be at Gotham University.”

Bruce chuckled. “I know. Sometimes I also want to bring her to work.”

“Which one? The office job or the Bat-job?”

“Both…” his smile fell when he realized the clothes his daughter was wearing. It was a Batman costume for kids. “I don't want her to have to put on a cowl, Viv.”

“Bruce?”

“I’'m doing everything I can now to make sure that she never has to be in this line of work.”

“It's not really our decision to make, my love. It's hers when she grows up.”

“I know, but as much as I can, I will fight so she doesn't have to.”

Vivian had Bruce face her and kissed his lips. “I know, and I'd want that too… but if it means losing you to Batman's war, I don't want that. I need you, Bruce. Val needs you. Crime won't disappear, we both know that, and if it comes to it and she decides to take the cowl… then we'll be here – all of us — to make sure she knows how to continue this fight.”

Bruce rest his forehead on his wife's and closed his eyes as he felt her magic envelope them. 

“Dada!” Valerie ran to him and tugged on his pants.

Bruce picked up his daughter and lets her sit on his lap. “Tired, Val?” He asked.

Val was sweaty from all the running and hungry. Very hungry that she tried to reach for the cake. Vivian was quick to have it away from her reach and had it floating in mid-air beside her before summoning Valerie's own plate with her carrot bites and other party food.

“I will not get used to that,” Lois said as she watched the plate and drink float beside Vivian.

“You will, eventually,” the familiar voice caught their attention. Appearing from the portal was John Constantine with Zatanna Zatara, and their son, Zachary Giovanni Zatarra. “Sorry, we're late. Zee had a last show before the party.”

“Making an entrance as always, Zatanna,” Bruce got up with his daughter in his arms. He and Vivian went to the new arrivals and greeted them.

“Well we are performers, Bruce,” said Zatanna.

“She is,” John said, pointing his thumb at Zatanna. “And this little bugger, too,” he gestured to his one-year-old son, who he held in his arms. 

“Happy Birthday, Valerie,” Zatanna handed the gift to Vivian.

“Happy Birthday, love,” John greeted the girl. He then turned to his son. “Zach, remember, do not touch the shiny looking one,” John pointed at Valerie who looked at him confused.

“John, come on, they're kids,” Zatanna told him.

“I agree with him,” Bruce said.

“Bruce!” Vivian chastised him. “He's our godson!”

Zachary turned to Valerie and waved his hand at her. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Valerie waved back. “Carrot?” She offered the one she had in her hand.

“Okay!” Zach took it to eat.

“Oh, so you eat your vegetables when it's from her, eh?” John playfully glared at his son. “When it's me or yer Mum, it's a bloody war.” He placed down his son, and Vivian took Valerie and put her on the ground too so she and Zach could play with the other kids. 

With the kids gone in the garden, Adam got up from his seat and approached their little group with Alfred.

“John fucking Constantine,” Adam greeted him.

“Bollocks,” John hissed. “You didn't tell me your Dad will be here.”

“And if he was?” Vivian raised a brow.

John sighed. “Adam, good to see you again — looking old.”

“John!” Zatanna chastised him.

“I am old, love – don't worry,” Adam reassured Zatanna, his gaze returned to John. “You got old too.”

“Well, can't stay sixteen forever, can't I? When was the last time I saw you – thirty-something-years ago?” John was about to light a cigarette but Zatanna and Vivian confiscated the stick.

“Something like that, all I remember was finding you in my daughter's bedroom and chasing you out into the street with your tail between your legs.”

Barry and the others froze with what they heard.

“Say what?” Hal asked. “You mean to tell me those two dated in high school?”

“They did,” Clark explained.

“Hold on – Batman dated Zatanna, and Vivian dated John… and now the exes are dating each other's exes?.” Oliver massaged the bridge of his nose. “How come we're only hearing about this now?”

“We thought it was pretty obvious since John and Vivian were close,” said Diana.

“We thought they were friends!” Said Barry.

“I think it’s interesting that you’re best friends with your ex and your husband’s ex,” said Dinah. 

Vivian sighed. “Dad, please don't.”

Adam nodded. “Sorry, love. I just didn't expect John fucking Constatine to be here.”

Turning to Zatanna, John said, “This is why I didn't want our kid to have my name.”

“That's the reason why I agreed to that too,” said Zatanna.

“Why, because you just made the name Constantine shite with all your bullshit?” Vivian pointed out.

“You know that’s the truth, Vee,” John conjured a bottle of ale and started drinking. “When’s the other family coming over?”

“What other family?” 

“He means your Endless family, love,” Adam said. “I wouldn’t mind if Dream comes over. I’d finally get to meet him.”

“I don’t know, Dream tends to just come around if he’s needed. And I think Gregory the Gargoyle is already his birthday gift for Val.” She pointed to the tiny gargoyle who was following Ace, Titus, and Haley around. The gargoyle even tried barking, mimicking the three dogs. “And no offence, but I don’t think any gift from Desire and Despair means anything good, considering they wanted to kill me the last time we saw each other.”

“Especially Death – unless, our little Goth-girl wants to make Val here immortal,” John pointed out and handed Vivian a pint. “What about Delirium?”

“The best gift she could give is probably sanity… Destruction’s been doing some art.”

“He’s not really Picasso or Van Gogh, Vee. I wonder what Destiny would give.”

“He doesn’t really interact with us… unlike with the others.”

Barry approached Bruce and asked about what they were talking about – he was confused the moment they said Dream, and then Vivian and John kept mentioning words or names that were Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction, Destiny, Death. Everyone was just confused now.

“So, Clark hasn’t disclosed it to the team,” Bruce said.

“It’s not really my story to tell,” said Clark.

“Last holidays, Vivian was attacked by wraiths from Hell. They were sent by beings called the Endless are anthropomorphic representations of the powerful natural forces they embody – Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Delirium, Desire, Despair. Vivian also met her father then, who happens to be an Endless – the Lord of Dreams,” Bruce explained. 

“How did we not know about this?” Asked Hal.

“It was an isolated incident. Vivian dealt with it within the night. Since then, Dream has been visiting occasionally, especially when Valerie has been showing that she has inherited Vivian’s gifts. She’s been seeing ghosts everywhere. Dream was also the one who gave her Greg..”

“Who?”

“The Gargoyle. Val has a pet Gargoyle.”

“Not really something you can bring to show and tell, huh?” Barry chuckled as he watched the Gargoyle follow Valerie around. 

“I can’t just call Dream for a kids party, John. He’s already got his hands full with Hell,” Vivian told John.

“Hold on, what’s going on with Hell? What’s Lord Morpheus got to do with it?”

“Oh, you don’t know? Luci retired.”

“He can’t do that – can he do that? Can the Devil actually retire?” John turned to Zatanna for answers.

Zatanna shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“So, any danger we should look out for with Luci now who-knows-where?” John asked.

“No. Dream said Lucifer is now vacationing at Australia… he just got tired.”

“Fucking finally! I’ve been trying so hard to get that fucker off my back!” 

“You and I both,” Vivian clinked her bottle with his. 

As the party was ending, many of their guests left. But Clark and the other members of the League stayed a little longer to help with the clean up, and because Valerie and the other kids were having so much fun showing their powers. The twins were showing their speed force abilities, Zach was showing the little magic he can do. Raven was entertaining them with the magic she can do. Jon was enjoying the magic show with the kids. Valerie, being the youngest of them all, has yet to show her magic. So far she can only see ghosts and those beyond the mortal world. 

In the middle of cleaning up, Valerie called for her parents by saying: “Mumma, Dada! Birdie!”

At first they thought she was referring to her brothers, but Valerie kept calling them, so the adults went to the sitting room where a raven perched on the shelf. Vivian and Bruce knew that raven anywhere.

“Matthew,” Bruce greeted.

“Hey! Hi! Glad you remember me!” Matthew flew down and stood on the ground. “Boss,” he greeted Vivian.

“I’m not your boss, Matthew,” Vivian reminded him.

“Well, you’re the boss’ daughter. Ms. Dream?”

“No.”

“Dreamling?”

“I will throw you in the oven.”

“Alright, sheesh. Anyway, the boss sent me to say that he’s running late and to get ready.”

“For what?” Bruce asked.

“Well, rumor spread in the Dreaming that today is  this one’s birthday,” Matthew nudged Valerie. “And let’s say, Cain and Abel were trying to make a present. Same goes with Mervyn Pumpkinhead. Lucienne also prepared something for the little Dreamling.”

“That’s nice of them,” Vivian sat on the ground with her daughter. 

“She’s talking to a bird,” Lois sighed. “This house is never going to be normal, isn’t it?”

“You should be used to it by now,” said Clark. 

“Oh! The boss is coming,” Matthew said.

From the corner of the room, a figure appeared. Dressed in black robes that were more contemporary, Dream appeared and greeted the guests with a nod. His gaze turned to Vivian and Valerie but the sight of Adam caught his attention.

“Adam Royce,” he greeted.

Adam got up and approached the Endless. “Lord Dream, pleasure to finally meet you.”

Dream shook his hand and bowed his head slightly. “An honor to meet the man who raised my daughter.”

“Well, always saw her as my own,” Adam patted him on the shoulder. “I think Mads and I did a good job.”

“You both did,” Dream smiled, slightly. 

“The birthday girl is right there,” Adam pointed to the direction where Vivian carried Vivian with Bruce at her side. 

Dream strolled across the room and greeted his daughter and his granddaughter. 

“Vivian,” Dream greeted. “And Valerie. She has grown since I last saw her… and so has the gargoyle.”

“She named him Gregory, but she calls him Geg for now,” said Vivian. “Do you want to hold her?”

Dream was hesitant but nodded stiffly. Vivian handed Valerie to him, who went with the Endless without a fuss. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Dream, curious. He didn’t feel like Mumma or Dada, or Grandpa Alfred nor Grandda. He was very different. She reached out and touched Dream’s cheek to see if he was real, and he was. 

Dream smiled at her touch and said, “I am real, Valerie Pryor-Wayne. And I am also your grandfather.”

“Gampa,” Valerie whispered. She then started to whimper and reached for her father. Dream handed her back to Bruce, his smile never leaving. 

“She’ll get used to you,” Vivian said to Dream. “We still have cake, if you want.”

“I shall be off. I simply wanted to wish Valerie a happy birthday, and to leave her these,” a wave of a hand and pile of gifts appeared at the corner of the room. “From those of the Dreaming. Death too has found something for Valerie — she mentioned it is what children these days like – and Destruction created an art piece for her. Delirium also gave her a gift.”

“Well, thank you for these and to everyone in the Dreaming, and to Destruction, Death, and Delirium… it is upsetting that you’re not staying.”

“With Hell still not having a steward, I’m afraid that I cannot stay any longer.”

“Good luck with finding a new steward for Hell… thank you, Lord Dream.”

Dream reached out and tucked a piece of her red hair to the back of her ear, and then disappeared. Turning to her daughter, Vivian took Valerie and said, “Want to see what Gampa Dream and the others gave you?”

“Me mentioned Cain and Abel,” said Bruce.

“I’m sure it’s not a bloody rock, Bruce.”

Sitting on the ground, Vivian showed to Valerie the gifts from the Dreams and Nightmares, and the other Endless. There was a book in the pile, and it was from Lucienne. Domain joined them on the ground and started handing Valerie one of the gifts from the pile and then handing Jason the things they think were not entirely for toddlers (Mervyn Pumpkinhead gave her a mini pitchfork; Cain and Abel gifted her a gardening set). 

As the family looked through the gifts with Alfred and Adam, and the other Robins and children, the rest of the Justice League watched and tried to process what happened.

“So, that was Dream — is he the same with Morpheus?” Oliver asked.

“Yes — I think so,” said Diana.

“Does that make Vivian a half-god—demigod, too?” Barry asked.

“Well,” Stephanie joined them with her ice cream. “Last we saw Dream, he said Viv has the power of creation and life. So, I guess Ariana Grande was right — god was a woman… or in this case, god is their mom.”

“Does that make the squirt,” Hal referred to Valerie. “A quarter-god? Batman has too much power in his cave.”

~*~

“I think it’s adorable,” Zatanna said as they watched Valerie and Zachary play in the middle of the sitting room. With the two toddlers was Haley and Greg. “I think they’ll be best friends.”

John scoffed. “As long as they stay friends.”

“I have no idea what your problem is if Zach and Val…” Vivian shrugged.

“She’s not going to date,” said Jason from the couch where he ate cake. “Not when I’m around.”

“Agreed,” said Damian.

“That. That’s why,” John pointed at the two brothers sitting on the couch watching their sister closely. 

“They’re joking, John,” Vivian told him. “Bruce, either you stop it or I gouge out your eyes.”

Bruce turned to his wife and sighed. He pulled her to sit on his lap and then took a bite from the piece of cake she had on her fork.

“Hey!” Vivian pouted.

“If she starts dating then it’s official, she’s growing up way too fast,” Bruce said to her.

“Nothing we can do about that, my love,” Vivian leaned down and kissed him. “We just have to be here and watch her grow up and make sure she makes good decisions, and not play with OUIJA boards during slumber parties.” She kissed him again. “We’ll be fine. She’ll be fine, Bruce.”

He hummed. “Seventeen more years.”

Vivian pouted. “Seventeen more years.”

“Mumma, Dada! Look!” Valerie called for them. 

Turning to their daughter, they watched as she grinned at them, then she grabbed Zach’s face and placed a kiss on his lips, then said to them: “Kiss, kiss!”

Bruce and John held their breaths. In fact, all of the Robins were holding their breath after seeing that. 

“Relax, it’s just an innocent kiss!” Vivian told them and joined her daughter and Zach on the floor. “But Val, next time when you kiss Zach just on the cheeks, like this,” Vivian called for Zatanna, and when the woman joined them, she kissed her on the cheeks and Zatanna returned the gesture.

Wanting to try, Valerie kissed Zach on the cheeks and giggled. Zach too wanted to try and kissed her on the cheeks.

Damian was about to get his batarangs but Jon stopped him.

“Don’t teach them, Ma!” Jason told her.

Adam chuckled and patted Bruce on the shoulder. “Got no one to blame but yourself. You and Vivian are not really discrete.”

Bruce groaned and ran his hand down his face. This was not what he wanted to see on his daughter’s first birthday.

[zepskies]

Break Me Down - Part 13

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Female Reader

Summary: You’re a private investigator by trade, but now you happily sit at a desk — leading a surveillance team at Supe Affairs. After managing to end Homelander in New York, Soldier Boy escapes custody. You are recruited for the manhunt, joining Butcher’s team.

Truly, you joined the S.A. for the right reasons. But after you become his accidental hostage, Soldier Boy will break down every single one of them…

💚 Break Me Down Masterlist

Word Count: 6,500

Tags/Warnings: Peril, hurt/comfort, angst, and a deal… 

Part 13: A Generous Deal

Frank, Ben’s former henchman, gave you a quirking smile.

Beside him was Loco, who tossed you a wink. He carried a semi-automatic weapon in his hands. 

“You look good, corazón,” Loco said, reaching for your sister. “Let’s get you guys out of here, no?”

“Who the hell is trying to kill us?” Louisa said, accepting his hand after you guided her up from the ground. Frank covered you all while firing back at the shooters. 

Loco snorted in amusement. “Vought. Who else?” 

“Jesus, fuck,” you muttered. “What do they want with me? It’s Ben they were after.”

“Who’s Ben?” Louisa asked. Meanwhile, Loco guided you both out of the apartment and down the stairs. Frank covered you guys from the back as he followed. 

“El capitán, Soldier Boy,” Loco supplied as he pointed to himself and Frank with his gun, “Our boss.”

“Soldier Boy?!” Louisa shot you an incredulous look. You gave her a wan smile before you glared at Loco, pointing his gun away. 

“Watch where you aim that thing,” you reminded him. Loco just scoffed. He covered you when you stepped out of the apartment building, leading you to a black SUV parked illegally on the side of the road. 

Right now, you were grateful for that as bullets seemed to rain down from everywhere. But with Frank and Loco’s expertise, the four of you made it into the car. Frank was your chauffer, and he sped off down the street.

“How the hell are you alive?” you asked Frank. “You were shot point blank in the chest.” 

“Was wearing Kevlar,” he said. “And I was on V24.”

“So he fucked those mall cops in the ass with hot lead and broke me out of prison,” Loco supplied, shooting you a grin. 

You smiled back at him, but when you looked over at your sister, gripping the inside of the car door for dear life with petrified eyes, you grabbed her hand to steady her. 

You turned back to Frank. “We need to pick up my mom. If they’re after me too, then she’s not safe.”

“Where?” he asked. You gave him the address of the hospital where your mother worked. Frank turned a corner sharply in order to change course, making you grip the car handle yourself. 

“Jesus, Frank. Go a little smoother on the wheels, yeah?” Loco quipped. 

“You want a nice kiddy ride, or you want to get there alive?” Frank retorted. “We’ve got a narrow window, even less now that we’ve got a second stop.” 

“It’s not that far. Lower West Side,” you said. And you continued to instruct him through the New York traffic. He was an adept driver, but he wasn’t a New Yorker. You pointed out the best roads to take to get there within half an hour. 

Loco stayed with Louisa in the car (albeit, first with a lot of reassuring that she would be safe with this perfect stranger that she could only suspect was a criminal).

Frank escorted you inside, where you found your mom at the reception desk (thankfully) on the first floor. Her eyes lit up when she saw you. 

“Oh my God, you’re back! How are you, sweetheart? Oh, come here,” your mother said, getting up from her desk to pull you into a hug. You accepted it with a smile, but you grabbed her shoulders firmly and made her see the sense of urgency in your eyes. 

“Mom, I need you to come with me,” you said in hushed tones. She looked around, from you to her confused coworker at the desk beside her.

“What? Honey, I can’t. I’m at work—”

“Now, Mom. I’ll explain later.”

“Marie, you going on lunch break?” asked her coworker. 

“Yep, I’m taking her out,” you supplied, looping your mother’s arm with yours. “Come on! I found this cute little French bistro a few blocks away.”

“Honey,” your mom tried to whisper. She didn’t like the look of Frank hovering beside you. He was a tall man, broad and wearing a long black trench coat—and a gun concealed within. 

“Just trust me,” you told her, gripping her hand tight.  

Somehow you made it to the car without incident. But once the five of you were on the road, with all three women squished in the backseat, Louisa turned to you. 

“So you’re actually helping Soldier Boy now?” she asked, and with a sly raise of her brow, “Or should I say Ben?”

Your face began to heat up, but you clung to your stoicism. 

“Soldier Boy,” Marie gasped. “Didn’t he kill Homelander?”

“May that prick get fucked in the ass for all eternity in hell,” you muttered. Once again, your mother gasped. 

“Young lady. I don’t like that,” she said, with all due side eye. 

“You don’t like anything, Mother,” you quipped.

“Wait, wait. You’re not getting out of this.” Louisa leaned over and grabbed your hand. “What’s the deal with you and Soldier Boy? I thought the whole point of your mission was to arrest him.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. 

“I was on the job, things went sideways, I got captured, and things got…complicated.” 

Frank huffed. “I think the kids are calling it Frenemies with Benefits.” 

Louisa uttered an incredulous laugh while simultaneously freaking the fuck out, especially at the word captured.

“Excuse me?” said Marie. You gave the man a withering look.

“Don’t help me, Frank.”

An amused smile tugged at his lips. But then it was wiped away. 

“Incoming. Three tails,” he said. Loco looked in the side mirror, and his muttered curse was a confirmation: they were being followed. 

“Where are we headed?” you asked. 

“Supe Affairs,” Frank said. He took evasive measures, banking on corners and doing his best to beat the cars tailing them through traffic. 

Until the mid-size SUV was side swiped by an even larger black one. It slammed into your side of the car, making it spin out. You all screamed as the car flipped over once and managed to land. 

You had to blink drops of blood out of your double vision, but when it cleared, you saw Black Noir had landed on the hood of the car. Your eyes widened. 

Noir raised his gun and shot through the windshield, but while Loco shot right back at him, Frank put the car into reverse—into the path of a coming bus. 

He actually sped towards it. And at the last moment, he sharply turned the car to try and fling the supe off the hood. 

It worked, somewhat. Noir was forced to stop the bus from hitting him directly, causing the front of the bus to fold up like an accordion against his hands. And while he was distracted, Loco threw a projectile at the supe’s face. 

Noir caught it with ease, but he didn’t expect the way it erupted with nerve gas in his face. Before it could affect the normal humans in the car, Frank reversed again and finally managed to dislodge the supe. 

He turned the car around and was able to get the car back into Drive, but the entire windshield was gone, and breathing felt like agony once again. If you had to guess, it was your broken ribs flaring up after the initial impact. 

Your shoulder also ached like a bitch. You didn’t think it was dislocated, but at the very least, severely bruised.

Not broken, at least, you thought bitterly. 

“Oh my God. You okay?” Louisa asked, gasping once she looked over and saw you clutching your arm.

You could also feel blood dripping over your brow and down the side of your face. Your mom also had a knock to the side of her head, but she and Louisa looked more or less fine, if scared out of their minds. 

“I’m okay,” you said, giving them a reassuring smile. You directed it at Frank next, when he glanced back at you with concern.

You fished into your pocket and found your cell phone unscathed. Letting out a relieved breath, you found Grace Mallory’s personal cell in your contacts and started the call.

She picked up on the third ring. 

“Who is this?”

“Grace, it’s me. I—”

“How did you get this number?” she asked.

“Stole it from M.M.’s phone,” you replied impatiently. “Listen, I have a situation—”

“You’re already on thin ice,” she said. “This better be fucking good.”

At that, the narrow thread of your temper snapped.

“I’m playing bumper cars with Black Noir in the Lower West Side. How’s that for fucking good?” you said, raising your voice. “He’s trying to kill me and my entire family. I need your help, right now!”

A beat of silence, and Grace replied. 

“Understood. What are the cross streets?”

“We’re in a black SUV,” you replied, and you gave her the closest streets as they passed by. “We’re heading toward the S.A.”

“Backup will arrive shortly,” she said. Then she hung up on you. 

It was a good thing too, because you lost your grip on your cell when another car bumped into the SUV, this time from the driver’s side. Your eyes widened as you saw Black Noir again, this time with a grenade launcher. 

“Heads down!” you screamed, reaching for your sister.

Just as he would’ve shot at the car, a helicopter flew overhead and shot directly at the supe. CIA units swarmed in in various cars, and it allowed Frank the distraction he needed to slip away from the supe.

Frank and Loco escorted your family to the double doors of the Supe Affairs building. You hung back real quick once they were inside, knowing the men couldn’t go in. They would likely be apprehended. 

“Thank you,” you told them. Emotion made your eyes glassy. Loco gave you a smile and rubbed your non-injured shoulder.

“Just get yourself checked out,” Frank said. He gave you a scrap of paper with two cell phone numbers on it. 

“Reach us here if anything changes,” he said. With Soldier Boy, his tone implied. You nodded and took the numbers from him. Loco left to start up the car, but you grabbed Frank’s arm, holding him back a minute.

“Why’d you come find me?” you asked. “You guys…didn’t owe me anything. You don’t even owe Ben.”

“He does technically owe us,” Frank said. 

You nodded at that. “Well, you could just cut your losses…is it that good a payout?”

His dry smile told you yes, it would be that good.  

“But that doesn’t explain me,” you pointed out.

Frank considered you, as if contemplating the reason himself. 

“We knew if Soldier Boy was going to break out, it would be because of you,” he said. “We happened to be watching you when we saw Black Noir casing your building.”

“Doesn’t totally explain why you’d risk your lives for me,” you said. 

Frank seemed uncomfortable with the question. So you let him off the hook with a smile. 

“Thank you. Again,” you said. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

His lips curved at that. “Me too, kid.”

You ushered your mom and sister through the S.A. building, ignoring the odd and concerned looks from people going about their workday.

You knew the three of you made quite a sight, especially when your face was literally dripping blood, and your arm was pinned to your side. 

You noticed Butcher striding down the hall with M.M., and you called out to him loudly.

“Still think Black Noir isn’t a fucking priority?” you shouted.

Both men noticed you in surprise, but while Butcher was mostly curious, M.M. was concerned. You then ignored them and started guiding your family up to Grace’s office. 

As it turned out, you didn’t have to. She stepped off the elevator and led the three of you into a private office. She had already requested an on-call doctor for you, and he was there waiting with his supplies. 

Marie helped you into a chair, where you let out a shaky breath. The doctor came over to check your shoulder, during which Marie stroked your good arm and Luisa brushed your sweaty hair from your face.

“Not broken or dislocated,” he confirmed. “Just bruised. You’ll need to ice it for a few days.”

“What happened?” Grace asked at last. You met her blue-eyed gaze.

“I told you. Black Noir tried to kill us. I assume I was the target, because he found me at my apartment,” you said with a wince, rubbing at your aching ribs while the doctor wrapped your arm in a temporary sling. He next worked on blotting and stitching up your head wound, which he remarked was shallower than it seemed.

What you needed were some painkillers. 

“I want my mom and my sister placed in protective custody,” you told Grace. 

Both women protested at first. 

“What are you going to do?” Luisa asked incredulously. “You can’t do this by yourself.”

“We’ll take care of this,” you tried to reassure her. 

“And what about school? I can’t just drop out for God-knows how long.”

“I’ll talk to NYU, get them to let you complete your classes online.”

“What about me? My job isn’t so flexible,” Marie pointed out. You frowned, at a loss for what to say. Your guilt was growing by the moment; not only had your family been put in danger because of you, but their lives were about to be completely uprooted. 

“We’ll work it out with your employer as well,” Grace said. 

You gave her an appreciative look. Grace could be a bitch, but it seemed she wasn’t a complete asshole.

When you turned back to your family, hot tears welled up in your eyes and slid down your cheeks unbidden. 

“I’m so sorry,” you choked on a sob. “This is on me.”

Luisa tearfully shook her head, holding your hand. Your mom was in a similar state as she wiped your tears away. 

“I just want you to be safe,” Marie said. “Promise me you’ll be safe.” 

You nodded, but you couldn’t force yourself to lie to her this time. 

In a few hours, you saw your mother and sister off as Grace directed them into protective custody. They would be taken to a safe house tonight, and would remain there until the matter of Black Noir was settled. 

You were exhausted, in pain, and emotionally spent, and you were going to need a safe house of your own. But you agreed to spend the night here at the S.A. building, where there were cots available upstairs for when supes where occasionally held overnight. 

You debated the idea growing your mind, whether it would be good for you in this moment…

But you couldn’t help yourself. 

You had to see him. 

Your steps were slow, but you eventually made it to the “cellar.” 

The guards raised their brows at the state of you, still with dried blood, bruises, and your arm in a temporary sling. Your hard gaze warned them to mind their fucking business. 

“Open it up,” you said, raising an expectant brow. After glancing at one another, one of the guards shrugged. He pressed the button to disengage the outer walls, which parted for your entry. 

You stepped inside, this time grateful for the way those walls closed behind you. You knew the guards would be watching regardless, but the semblance of privacy was enough for you.

Ben was sitting up in his cot, back against the wall with his arms crossed. The stance was familiar to you; he was probably awake, but trying not to fall asleep due to the nerve gas making him drowsy. 

His eyes opened when he heard you coming. His mouth opened, poised to be snarky, until he actually caught sight of you. Whatever acidic words he’d been about to say died on his tongue as he took in your injuries, from stitched and bandaged head to your arm in a sling. 

He got up and approached you, until only the glass separated you two by a few feet. 

“What the fuck happened?” he asked. His voice was gruff, but you thought you detected concern behind his green eyes. 

“Black Noir,” you rasped.

You explained to him what happened from the very beginning. Your sister showing up at your apartment, followed by Noir shooting at you, then Frank and Loco showing up to extract you from the building.

“Those fuckers are still alive?” Ben noted with surprise. You could see that he was pleased by the news, and you smiled. 

“Yeah, they saved me,” you admitted. But then, your lips trembled. “Black Noir tried to take me out. Me and my whole family.”

Ben watched you tear up, his jaw tightening. The fury lighting in his blood gave him new energy as he contemplated just how slowly and painfully he’d take Stan Edgar apart for this. He had no right to sick that damn bootlicker on you. 

And probably just to get to him.

Ben began to pace. He had no other way to vent his frustration, other than hurling up his cot against the wall with a guttural sound of rage. (Which he did, not seeing how it made you flinch.)

He was in this cage, and meanwhile, you were out there. Unprotected. Taking bullets that should be his…and his alone. 

He wiped a hand over his mouth and looked back at you. You were wide-eyed, vulnerable, not sure what to make of his reaction. 

Ben wanted to continue blaming you for his imprisonment…but deep down, he knew you weren’t the one who put him here. He also knew why you wouldn’t break him out either. 

You were stubborn about your convictions—something that frustrated him to no end. But ultimately, he admired you for how you always held your ground, even against him. 

Especially against him.

But right now, you looked exhausted, in pain. He just couldn’t do anything about it. And that irritated him, he discovered.

“Did your dad order the hit?” he asked. “Stan said he was still alive.”

You tilted your head, like you hadn’t thought of that before. Despite your lingering tears, your expression briefly became cold as stone.  

“If my father knew about this, he’s a dead man,” you said.  

Ben inclined his head in agreement. It looked like even you had a limit on what was forgivable.

You sighed and stepped closer to the cell. You implored him, first with your eyes, and then with the truth. 

“Ben, I need your help,” you said. “As long as Stan Edgar and Vought still stand, it’s a target on your back. Now it’s on mine too. My mom, and my sister. Please.” 

Ben seemed to consider it, as his gaze left your face. 

Then, he came up closer to the glass window. 

“Call your boss. Tell her it’s time for a talk,” he said. 

You sighed in relief, covering your eyes with a hand as your tears fell anew. You looked up at Ben, trying and failing to get ahold of yourself. 

“Thank you,” you said.

Ben’s anger crumbled that much more. He sighed and pressed a fist up to the glass on his side to lean against it. You laid a hand against the glass, opposite his. 

His eyes met yours. As resentment drained out of him, slowly, his fingers uncurled. 

His hand laid on the glass in line with your smaller hand. You could almost pretend the window didn’t exist between you, and the cold glass under your palm was really his. A moment later, Ben let his hand fall and returned to his cot. 

Soon, you wanted to tell him. 

You would make sure of it. 

Grace’s heels clacked on the metal ground as the fortified barriers disengaged, allowing her entrance into the observing area of Soldier Boy’s cell. 

The man himself looked up at her from where he sat on his cot, his hair falling over his brows. He straightened and stood, and he met her at the forefront of the cell.

She stopped a foot behind the glass and crossed her arms. Ben’s gaze seized her up lazily—the gray pantsuit and white blouse, the coif of blonde hair piled on her head, the light layer of lipstick across her thin lips. She looked even less fun now than she had in the 80s. 

“You’ve gotten old as fuck,” he remarked. 

“As I hear it, a few wrinkles don’t bother you in the slightest,” she countered. 

His lips curved. He’d never fuck this broad on mere principle, but she was still easy on those baby blues. 

“So,” she began, “Two options. One: you can sleep in here forever, until you look as old as I am. Or two: you’ll work with my team to bring down Vought, on our terms. Which means executing approved targets only. Collateral damage kept to a narrow minimum.”

Her gaze was unyielding, clinical at best. 

“Operate within the confines of the law. And if by some miracle you pull all of that off…you can publicly retire to South America, never to step foot in the U.S. again,” she said.

“We will leave you alone, provided you don’t actively create havoc. And if you deviate from the plan in any way, we will hunt you down and bring you right back here. You will never know peace.”

Ben stared at her, almost amused at her audacity. “That’s your idea of a goddamn deal?”

She ignored him, her expression turning thoughtful. 

“Oh, yes,” Grace said, a finger tapping on her arm, as if she just remembered something. She mentioned your name, making Ben’s brows furrow.

“Should you fuck up your end of this generous deal, I will also personally make sure that you never see her again,” she said. 

Ben’s jaw tensed, his green eyes narrowing a fraction. 

But he figured his best play here was to bluff.

“What makes you think I give a flying fuck about that?” he said snidely. 

For the first time, a bit of humor lightened Grace as her mouth tugged at a smile.

“Actually, it seems you do. And a great deal of one,” she said. “That you’re considering this agreement at all is because of her.”

Ben’s lips pressed together.

“The fact of the matter is, Benjamin, I can make her disappear,” she stated, “even more thoroughly than I’ll bury you if you cross me.”

That threat nearly unhinged him. A vein pulsed in his neck as he ground his teeth.

But he managed to keep his cool, smooth as he crossed his arms and stared back at this platinum-haired bitch. 

“See, you can talk big behind that glass. But the truth is, you need me,” he said. “All you bitches do. And you’re all afraid of me. So if you want to threaten me, by all means…just don’t forget who the fuck I am.” 

M.M. carefully watched the archive footage from yesterday between you and Ben from his laptop. He saw the shift in the supe when you walked in, battered with your arm in a temporary sling. M.M. watched the man’s anger build, but for you instead of at you. 

By the time he made it to the end, watching Ben’s hand meet yours on his side of the glass, M.M. sat back in his seat and frowned, resting his chin in his hand. What the hell…

Maybe Soldier Boy did give a fuck about someone other than himself. 

M.M.’s phone buzzed, breaking him out of his reverie. It was Grace. 

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Team meeting,” she said, instructing him to head up to a conference room on the third floor in ten minutes. Sighing, M.M. closed his laptop and made his way up.

Annie and Hughie were already there, followed by Frenchie and Kimiko, and finally Butcher, strolling in to make his entrance as always. 

You were the only one not in attendance, having gone back to full-time in the Surveillance department. Though considering what happened yesterday with Black Noir, he was surprised you weren’t here…

But once Grace started the meeting, explaining what had become of her meeting with Soldier Boy, M.M.’s already precarious mood darkened even further. 

“It’s an insane fucking deal,” Butcher agreed, breaking the steely silence of the room following Grace’s little report. “But it’s one we’ve made before.”

“You’ve made before,” Annie retorted. “This is crazy. We can’t trust Soldier Boy.”

“But we all know who does,” M.M. said. His gaze shifted to the door, where you had just stepped in. It seemed you were invited to the meeting after all.

You were late, quite literally holding Starbucks. It looked like a caramel macchiato, iced, light froth. You sipped it through a green straw and took a seat beside Frenchie, who offered you a smile as he smoked a cigarette. You returned it before you addressed the group.

“Take my personal stake out of the equation,” you said. 

“So you admit it’s personal,” M.M. remarked. You shot him a glance, but you didn’t let him deter you from your point. 

“Ben is our best play against Black Noir. That’s just a fact,” you said. “He was cloned in part with Homelander’s DNA.” 

“Okay, sure,” Hughie said. “Despite all the…potential logistics problems there, what about Stan Edgar? He’s been one step ahead of us this entire time.”

That was a fair point, one you acknowledged with a nod. 

“I think we should look into Victoria Neuman. She turned on Stan once to protect herself, who’s to say she won’t again?” you said. 

“Or, she’ll pop our heads like water balloons,” Frenchie pointed out, letting out a puff of his cigarette. Hughie frowned and waved his hand across the plume.

“Do you have to do that right in my face?” he asked. Frenchie blew a kiss (and a small ring of smoke) at Hughie with a playful smirk. 

Again, you smiled. “Ben can help with that too.” 

Most of them didn’t like the idea. Annie and Kimiko frowned, while Hughie looked unsure. Frenchie might’ve been persuaded…

Butcher actually seemed to agree with you, shockingly. He looked over at M.M., whose stance in all this was obvious.

“You wanna make things safe for your daughter, taking out Vought is fucking it,” Butcher said. It wasn’t what you expected him to say…but maybe the men had had this argument before. 

M.M. was tense, his hand clenching into a fist on the conference table. 

“You don’t have to tell me that shit,” M.M. said tersely. He looked up at Mallory. “I’m assuming as a part of this fuck-ass deal, Soldier Boy walks free after all this is said and done?”

Grace confirmed this with a short nod, though you could see she wasn’t happy about it either. 

“After the work is done, he won’t be allowed to step foot in the U.S. again,” she said. 

You frowned, upset at that little footnote, but you held in your reaction as you watched M.M. rise out of his seat, his chair roughly sliding against the ground. He dented the table with a heavy fist as he strode out of the conference room.  

Ben rolled his eyes as he took the contract. It had been laid on the tray compartment where his meals were usually slotted through.

You, Grace, and Butcher stood on the other side of his cell. You also thought the contract was stupid; you all knew if Ben didn’t comply with this arrangement, a measly piece of paper wasn’t going to do shit. But Mallory was nothing if not thorough. 

He signed it with the pen and shoved both back through the slot. Mallory collected it and turned at Butcher, and then you with her sharp eyes. 

“On your head be it,” she said. Then she departed the cell, where the additional fortifying walls were left open. With a raised brow, Butcher signaled to the guards to cut the nerve gas. 

Once the mist cleared from the inner cell, Ben took his first real breath in a week. He blinked as the heavy fog he’d been resisting for days cleared, and he stood straighter. His green eyes were on you as the cell finally disengaged, sliding open with a hiss. 

You bit your lower lip as he stepped through barefooted. He still wore the clinically white clothing the S.A. provided, like he was the inmate of a psych ward or something. He eyed Butcher warily.

“Ello, gov. Back in business again,” said the Brit. Ben rolled his eyes. 

“Just stay out of my fucking way,” he replied. 

You wanted to pull him into your arms already. But professionalism be damned, you didn’t want to show your vulnerability around Butcher.

Instead, you held up a plastic bag of clothes and shoes for him to change into, meeting him with a smile. The tightness in his face eased a bit when he glanced over at you, then took the bag with a nod.

“Hungry?” you asked. 

Ben’s lips curved into a smirk. “I could eat.” 

You felt heat flare in your face as your mouth dropped open slightly.

Butcher rose a brow as he glanced between you two. He chose to ignore the supe’s blatant eye-fucking. He just wanted to get this over with.

“First off, let’s get something squared away,” Butcher said. 

He then turned his head and released a wet cough that didn’t sound pleasant. The man also looked pale, and if you thought about it, he hadn’t been looking well in the meeting earlier either. You gave him a concerned frown.

“You okay?” you asked. Butcher gave you a side glance.

“Fucking phenomenal. Here.”

He provided Ben with an S.A.-issued cell phone, and you with the address of a safe house.

“His and hers,” Butcher said, handing you the keys. You understood his meaning; since Black Noir was after you as well, it made enough sense to put you and Ben in the same safe house.

“Now, lest you think of pulling another Houdini act, it won’t hurt to remind you that you will be watched,” he said to both of you (but mainly Ben). “I myself, along with other agents, will be checking in from time to time, making sure everything’s on the up and up.”

“Whatever, are we fucking done?” Ben snapped with impatience. He started walking out of the cellar, towards the open door that showed the brighter lit hallway. Once he stepped out though, he wasn’t sure where to go. 

You gave Butcher a parting look before you caught up with Ben in the hall. You laid a hand on his arm and led him to the nearest bathroom so he could change while you waited outside. You texted with the agent that would be your driving detail, making sure the car would be ready. 

After a few minutes of waiting though, you began to get antsy and impatient yourself. You went to the bathroom door and knocked, opening it a crack. 

“Ben, you okay?”

“Yeah. Come in,” he said. 

You paused, not sure if that was a good idea. But you also didn’t know why that was your instinctive thought.

Taking a breath to steady yourself, you hesitantly opened the door to the men’s bathroom and stepped inside. Ben was already dressed, just fixing his belt.

He wore a pair of dark wash jeans, a plain black shirt, and some boots. It wasn’t his normal look, but even this suited him well. He stretched out the shirt in all the right places, particularly the arms. 

But you blushed as you noticed the smirk on his face; he’d totally caught you checking him out. 

“Well, that answers my question,” he remarked.

Your lips flickered at a smile as you drew closer. 

Looks good, you were about to tell him, but nothing came out. Your voice got stuck in your throat as you looked up at him. It seemed this moment was finally hitting you. 

There was still so much unknown shit on the horizon, between Black Noir, Victoria Neuman, Stan Edgar, your family in protective custody, and all the rest. But at least you had helped accomplish one thing today. 

Your eyes stung as they welled up with tears, and you bit your bottom lip to keep it from wobbling. 

The smirk on Ben’s face faded. But then his brose rose in surprise as you surged forward and caught him in a hug. Your arms slipped around his middle, and his arms fell around your frame, mostly on instinct. 

When he felt your tears dampening his shirt, heard you crying softly, felt the tremble in your body, he collected you tighter against him, his hands splaying across your back. Something in his chest clenched up…but then it eased. He dropped his lips to your hair. 

“What’s this now?” he asked, somewhat teasing. You shook your head against his chest, not willing to answer. His hand fell to your waist and gave you a squeeze. 

“Come on, baby doll,” he said. He grinned a little, though you couldn’t see it. “Where’s that steely bitch who didn’t cut me any fucking slack this week?”    

You choked on a laugh, despite the tears still slipping down your cheeks. 

“She’s a good actor,” you replied. Ben chuckled and soothed a hand over your hair. It gave you hope that he didn’t resent you too much. You were just so damn relieved. 

“I’m sorry this couldn’t happen sooner,” you whispered. You weren’t sorry for not breaking ranks to get him out, but he had to know you’d never wanted him to go from one cage to another.

Ben’s grin faded. He stayed quiet, unsure of what to say to you. 

After a moment, your cell phone chimed and buzzed in your pocket. Sniffling, you pulled away from him enough to reach into your pocket and read the text. 

“The driver’s ready to take us to the safe house,” you said, pocketing your phone. But you still clung to his shirt with your other hand. You were also avoiding his gaze. Embarrassed, maybe.

It made him smile. He tugged a strand of hair behind your ear, prompting you to finally look up at him. He then bucked a gentle fist under your chin. 

It got a small smile on your face, because you knew then that he didn’t hate you. The rage and contempt he’d levied at you this week, it hadn’t been the real him. This was the man you’d held out for…the man you’d caught glimmers of over the past two months. 

Ben cleared his throat.

“Well. You ready, sweetheart?” he asked, raising a brow. You nodded and let go of him, wiping your face to make sure it was dry before you stepped outside. 

Once the two of you left the bathroom, you led him out of the S.A. building. The car was waiting, another mid-sized SUV, and the driver transported you both to the safe house, which looked like it was going to be outside the city. 

Makes sense, you thought. You turned to Ben, who sat with you in the back. 

“How do you feel?” you asked. Still drowsy? 

He didn’t look it. The moment the Novichok cleared the cell, he seemed to regain his faculties. Now, you were more concerned about the potential psychological effects. You were worried about how the past week might’ve set him back.

But Ben only gave you a wry curve of his lips.

“Like a million bucks,” he replied. His gaze roamed over you, noting your healing cuts and bruises from the car chase yesterday. 

“You’re not wearing the sling,” he commented. You rubbed your bruised shoulder. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” you said, downplaying a little. 

Pain meds were doing wonders for you though. Frenchie had slipped you some of the “good stuff” this morning, which had the added benefit of chilling you out for hours. You had come off it a while ago, but you had some normal painkillers in your suitcase. 

You’d been escorted home to collect some of your things, and the suitcase now laid in the trunk. You felt bad that Ben didn’t have anything but the clothes on his back…but you were sure the CIA would provide other things for him once you two got to the safe house. 

Ben surprised you, however, by thumbing an outline around the butterflied cut on your head as he examined it. “Doesn’t look deep.”

“It’s not,” you agreed, blushing a little. “I’m fine, Ben.”

His gaze found yours then, sharp as always. His mouth twitched. 

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said. His voice was a rumble, deep and filled with promise. Your cheeks warmed further as you tilted your head at him. 

“What does that mean?” you asked. A smile started to tug at your lips. 

Ben just smirked and crossed his arms, facing the road ahead. You eyed him, but a trill of anticipation ran down your spine. 

It seemed like a small eternity until you reached the safe house, several miles out into Upstate New York. It was a modest, one-story house in the middle of a gated community. 

The outside walls were painted beige with a brown trim. The driveway paved with cobblestone, with a little walkway flanked by small bushes with little red flowers. It was the perfect unassuming place to house the most famous supe alive.  

The driver left you with your bags, which Ben grabbed before you could barely reach out your good arm. He flashed you a grin and waited for you to unlock the front door. 

“Home sweet home,” you breathed as you stepped past the threshold. Your hands fell to your hips while you surveyed your surroundings. 

Behind you, the suitcase and the small duffel bag dropped to the floor. You started to turn towards him, but apparently you weren’t fast enough on the uptake—as Ben hooked an arm around your waist and spun you around.

Before you could even blink, your back was pressed against the door. You’d clung to him on instinct as a gasp fell from your lips. But you looked up into Ben’s smirk, his heated eyes filled with desire, and maybe a flash of relief. 

You felt it too. The sweet craving fulfilled of finally being alone, as he claimed you with a kiss. You made a sound of pleasure, of acceptance as your hand rose to his cheek. 

Your fingers soon slid into his hair as you tilted your head, deepening the kiss. 

Ben braced himself against the door hard enough to shake it on its hinges. It was all you could do to hold onto his arms as his knee pressed between your legs, finding friction against your jeans.

Being with him was a relief, you discovered. And having him inside you was starting to feel like home.

AN: 😏 I know, I'm terrible for ending it there, huh? What did you think of their little reunion here?

Don't worry though, next chapter is the real reunion.

Next Time:

“You need a trim,” you said, letting out a breathy laugh. You kissed his cheek again. Slow, and with purpose. 

Ben let out a sigh through his nose. His eyes closed again at your gentler kisses, your touch. Maybe he reveled in this—being able to hold you back. It felt right. 

If he was honest with himself (and this time, he was), you were somehow able to ease the frayed edges of his mind. Edges that had been starting to unravel in that cell. 

Keep Reading: PART 14

Soldier Boy Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Series Tag List:

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[reeseykins]

I went to an indoor water park yesterday and thought about what the companions would be like in a modern setting, at a shitty indoor water park in west nowhere Vermont.

Wyll is competitive and athletic so he is on the faux indoor surfing water feature looking like a total bad ass. The other people waiting in line are annoyed because you can stay on as long as you don't fall and Wyll never falls so he is on it for like 20 minutes just flexing his abs.

Laezel and Shadowheart are getting competitive about waterslides. One says they can beat the other down in the slides that run parallel to each other, and pretty soon they are racing each other up the stairs and down the slides over and over again until the rest of the group is like, yo chill tf out.

Karlach is worried about going into the water at first because of her infernal engine, but eventually settles into the quiet outdoor pool that no one else frequents. Pretty soon the water around her is bubbling and warm and she has like 3 kids and two older couples congregating nearby absolutely loving the impromptu hot tub.

Halsin was just walking by the kiddie splash pad and some mom was like, "can you watch my kid for a second?" And then all of a sudden there are like 7 small children climbing on him and he's happy as can be making pretend bear growls and chasing kids around.

Astarion is all about sitting in the sun and actually reserves a lounge chair on either side of him, not for his friends but so that no one else will sit next to him and ruin his *~vibe~*

Gale is asleep in a tube just circling the lazy river over and over again. He has had like 2 fruity rum punches and is passed out, head back, snoring as the river just pushes him around and around.

Tav is at the snack bar trying to get enough food to feed this ridiculous polycule she calls her friends but she cant carry 10 orders of chicken tenders and is really annoyed she isn't in the pool or asleep on a lounge chair right now.

Please add to this 😂

[mikedfaist]

Mike x non famous reader! While Mike is off doing press his daughters miss him soooo much and he calls as much as he can to comfort them!

also for the sake of his ask, he has twin girls because that's what we all deserve

One of the reasons why he was dreading the press tour was because he hates any reason he has to be away from his girls. Being a father is his favorite thing, hence why he’s slowed down on the acting thing. He just wants to be present. If there was any part of the press tour he was dreading the most, it was Australia. He’s never been that far away from them; I don’t think he could get any farther from them.

He was 14 hours ahead, and when his girls were getting ready for bed, he was starting his day of press and interviews and photoshoots. When they were waking up and having their breakfast, Mike was finally arriving back to his hotel for much needed rest – rest that he struggled to find because any second he could find, he was calling them.

He knows they miss him; he can hear it in their voice on the other end of the line; he can see it in their faces when he’s able to FaceTime. He even brought one of their blankets with him for this press tour because he seems to feel less homesick when he cuddles with it after a long day.

He shows Josh and Zendaya all of the pictures you send him of the girls, like one of them sitting outside in their small, inflatable kiddie pool with Austin a complete blur in the background as he had the zoomies. Or them in the living room watching Up, in matching pajamas, their hair still wet from their bath. Or his favorite: it’s a video of the girls watching West Side Story (save for the ending; you wouldn’t put the girls through that) and they get so excited when they see their daddy on the screen. One of them starts clapping, the other is pointing and looking back at her mom.

“Is that daddy?”

“Dadda!” She squeals, turning back around to face the screen. “Issa dadda!”

It’s the scene when poor Baby John gets a nail through his ear, but the girls got so excited to see that familiar face.

[princessesaphi]

J'ai lancé ce challenge en avril... Et je l'ai fini en avril aussi, j'ai juste oublié de le poster... ^^"

[spottys-rathole]

Update de certains designs LGDC ? Update de certains designs LGDC.

J’ai altéré certains markings sur le visage de Haylie, parce que c’est pas faute de me l’avoir répété mais comme dirait mon prof de Concept : il faut vraiment dessiner un même personnage sous plusieurs angles avant de te rendre compte que c’est d’la merde - Chrissou 56 ans

J’lui ai mis des larmes de guépard en combo avec ses rosettes de léopard- un design que læ moi de 15 ans aurait adoré /s Et aussi j’ai continué la raie sur son front sinon elle avait l’air blonde et ça lui allait pas du tout

Sinon j’avais jamais dessiné Kim en dessous du buste alors je lui ai ajouté des taches blanches, et maintenant la tache sur son poitrail est en forme de lune parce que c’est moi qui décide

J’ai enfin choisi une couleur d’yeux pour Kiddy : les deux en même temps Bravo l’hétérochromie, maintenant quand il regarde vers le bas on dirait qu’il a les yeux bleus, et quand il regarde vers le haut on dirait qu’il a les yeux jaunes (la vérité j’ai trouvé ça par accident et je trouvais ça rendait rigolo)

Ensuite Miguel je l’ai refait de A à Z, il a plus rien à voir bonsoir gros pavé incoming

C’était un vrai casse tête parce que je voulais le garder crème, mais je voulais qu’il soit un peu pétant - parce que Miguel il attire l’attention tu vois il est excentrique. Je me suis inspiræ de sa tenue « Vagos Record » avec son manteau à fourrure, je lui ai rajouté une crinière Puis j’ai songé à lui mettre des rosettes comme les motifs de son fute, sauf qu’on m’avait déjà dit qu’il ressemblait à Haylie avant que je change son design à elle. Alors si je les change tous les deux pour en faire des bengals chui pas dans la merde

Alors j’ai songé à lui ajouter des rayures, sauf qu’on se rapprochait un peu trop de Lenny, puis je me suis dit que j’allai garder les motifs de son premier design avant de me rendre compte qu’il ressemblerait trop à Kenneth Alors j’ai fait appel à ma bonne pote OngakuK, et comme c’est un putain de génie elle m’a débloqué de ma situation et m’a envoyé des superbes refs (oui encore un colorpoint j’fais c’que j’veux)

Elle m’a dit que le noir ferait mieux ressortir ses yeux, cacherait ses sourcils et les marques blanches sur les babines lui donnerait constamment l’impression de sourire + la trace sur son front se remarque beaucoup plus que celle de Lenny et le fait passer pour le chef alors que c’est juste une marque au pif

Donc maintenant il a le logo Carrefour sur la tronche. @manglechan1204 avait aussi légèrement réinterprété son vieux design, et j’ai essayé de garder les quelques taches blanches qu’elle lui avait donné parce que je les trouve cool

Oh bah je viens de me rendre compte que je l'ai pas uploadé sur Tumblr lui, tiens téma c'est Lenny (j'aime pas ce que j'ai fait avec sa queue mais trop tard je retouche plus la colo)

[dresden-syndrome]

Whumpers of the state:

1) How did you acquire your whumpee? How hard it was?

14) Your favorite torture method?

Whumpees (class IV):

8) How would you describe your whumper?

36) What does your whumper usually force you to do? Which of these things do you hate the most?

1) How did you acquire your whumpee? How hard it was?

14) Your favorite torture method?

" There's nothing complex in getting a class 4 traitor for personal use. If your position is high enough and you want to take a more... personal approach to breaking the enemy, you choose a subject, file a request and he's yours; he will be stated in the list of your State-supplied personal belongings along with your home, car and radio. And unlike a house or a radio, the State grants you the right to use him however you want. Those traitor boys can be obtained either at a facility using class 4 subjects or a class 4 detention unit - in that case you'll need to wait before the detention time ends. I've picked mine at detention; I needed exactly him so the wait was worth it." "Favorite method of torture? First, I appreciate your language, comrade. You don't seem like one of those humanists pitying the most vicious enemies of our socialist order; those have no place in State Security. Their barbaric actions are a torture to our peace and prosperity, torture is what they rightfully deserve. Ever since the old days of firing squads and bourgeoise vermin left from the past and battles for West Berlin, I've done my help at bringing the counter-revolution to my knees. One of my favorite ways was exactly that: bringing to their knees. Then lay them down and press my boot over their head. Step at them. Make them kiss it. They need to know for sure who's in power. They need to know their place." "Now I don't interrogate at our detention prison that much; I have my own pathetic traitor boy struggling to learn who he belongs to. Same method with him. He knows how our new military boots feel like, even when he acts like he doesn't. Wait there, comrade. I can bring him for you to see." -Erhardt Wilhelm Günther, Minister of State Security 28/X-1963.

8) How would you describe your whumper?

36) What does your whumper usually force you to do? Which of these things do you hate the most?

"Scumbag. War criminal scumbag. Look, if anyone, except our allies, saw what he's doing it's gonna be a new war crime trial for all Europe to see. Can't wait for that. Can't wait for that sicko tyrant in cuffs for crimes against humanity, like they did in Nuremberg back when I was in my momma's stroller. This fucking country needs it again, really. Look what he's done to me. It's so... I'm sick of it. Look at that dog collar, look at that fucking branding tag like on a cow... I'm trapped with him and everyone's fucking glad he's torturing me here. Honestly for now it's the worst, he's the worst..." "You know what he forces me to do? Ok, ok, I know I'm a piece of garbage, I'm helping those sadists and making them happier when I should fight for our people to be independent and make them free... No? Just because I'm forced to? You're kidding me. They wouldn't have anyone to fall on his knees and sitting on anyone's lap at parties if I wasn't there. Can I not tell what's the worst they've been doing to me please? Just beat me up for being a fucking collaborator if you want. Next time that sicko demands something - whatever, lay under the table, get on the knees, sit still when he pets and kisses me, wear those disgusting kiddie pants, talk in German, read "The State and Revolution" or something - I won't do that, I'll run, I'll bite if anyone touches me. It won't end well, I'll have to do that. But I need to try again. Maybe I'm a collaborator but not the easy one to break." -Class 4 subject SB-7067 (Radím Štušek) 28/X-1963.

[licensedfool]

hes out of practice

[msweebyness]

MiracOlympus- The Science Deities

Here's the next round of MiracOlympus Deities, the science kiddies! Enjoy, and as always, @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27!

Marc:

(Persephone)

God of flowers and the Spring

Very close to his older sister, Mylene

Has the power to restore life

Fell in love with Nath instantly, and went to the Underworld by choice (Mylene ships them)

Soft, sweet boi

Zoe:

(Selene)

Goddess of the moon

Considerably more humble than her sister

Frequently exchanges gossip with Chloe. (She sees everything during the night, like Chloe does during daytime)

Watches over mortal children during the night to keep them from harm

Trying to figure out how to make a lunar rainbow for Cosette

Denise:

(Gaia)

Godex of the Earth

The most Zen of all the deities, great at mediating conflicts

Sees literally everything that happens on Earth, gossips with the sun/moon sisters

Is considerably grumpier during the Winter months

Helps Simon to keep his cool

Simon:

(Ouranos)

God of Space and the Cosmos

A FAR more benevolent version, obvi

Has a bit of an issue with needing routine and anxiety

Another member of the gossip squad

Fascinated by human technology

Cosette:

(Iris)

Deity of the rainbow

Everything it wears is an explosion of color

Official Olympus makeup artist

Rides between Earth and Olympus on a rainbow

Helps Alix with messenger duties

Aurore:

(Zephyrus)

Goddess of the West Wind and warm months

Can actually kick up a hell of a storm when mad

Creates warm winds with her parasol

Still a bit of a perfectionist

Has wings like a dove's

Mireille:

(Boreas)

Goddess of the North Wind and the cold

Temperature drops 20 degrees when she arrives

Only shows emotion around people they trust, like Aurore

All the snow-themed accessories

Has wings like a snowy owl's

Ismael:

(Pan)

God of mischief and the wildlands

Alix's brother in prankster supremacy

Really enjoys freaking out mortals in the woods

VERY protective of nature, like Mylene and Juleka

Is a boss on the reed flute

Also, he has the legs of a goat

Reshma:

(Nyx)

Goddess of the dark

ROCKING that cloak of stars

Mortals fear her, though she wishes this weren't the case

Besties with Ismael, helps with a lot of his pranks

Can talk to shadows

Jean:

(Thalia)

Muse of Theater, specifically comedy

Gets along well with his eight siblings, but loves their sister, Evie (Erato), and twin, Jesse (Melpomene), the most. (Don't tell the others)

The most dramatic deity you will ever meet, lives for the theater

Has a ton of superstitions that they follow to the letter

Is writing a romantic play for his boyfriend, Austin T.

Lacey:

(Nike)

Goddess of Victory

Very competitive, but her friends reign her in

Often attends mortal sporting events

Enjoys doing parkour on the peaks of Olympus

Laurel wreaths are her signature accessory

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[s10127470]

What If One Piece had an LA-based Dub? (Part 1)

So recently, I’ve been talking with some friends on Discord about One Piece, specifically about its’ English dubs.

And essentially, we feel like that One Piece hasn't really gotten the best treatment when it comes to English dubs.

Like, we already know the travesty that was 4Kids.

But this also applies to their long-standing and current dubbers, Funimation.

This is probably a controversial opinion, but I don't think they were the best choice to dub One Piece.

Like, yes, they are of much higher quality when compared to 4Kids.

But even then….

For starters, I feel like there's a lot of miscasting here. Even among the main cast.

Probably the most obvious being in the case of Christopher Sabat as Zoro.

He just makes him sound way too old. He's suppose to be a young man.

I can't be the only one who thinks that it sounds too much like Piccolo.

And finally, I feel like Funimation's dubbing is a bit too…..straightforward (if that makes sense).

After rewatching the 4Kids dub, I've grown a sense of appreciation for it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not that good.

But I feel like there’s some elements that they do better than Funimation.

In contrast to the Funimation dub, a lot of the performances have a little more life and energy to them.

Even if they're not all that good…..

One thing I really like is that many of the characters have accents, which just feels right given how the whole premise of the series is about traveling the world..

This is made even better when you get remember the Netflix adaptation, which gave a lot of characters accents, including the main ones!

Plus, 4Kids is just much better at handling the frequent comedic and silly moments.

Hell, why do you think this scene blew up in popularity?

Plus, they did a slightly better job at translating some scenes to English and not having them come off as a direct, one-to-one translation.

It's a little hard to explain, but essentially they keep what was said in the original Japanese version and kinda give their own flair to it.

But with this discussion, being the idea man that I am, it gave me the idea of an alternate timeline.

One where One Piece wasn’t picked up by 4Kids or Funimation.

But instead, it was picked up by Viz Media, who would commission an English dub out of the voice acting capital of the world: Los Angeles, California!

I feel like this alternate timeline would not only give us a much better dub than the other two, especially 4Kids.

But also do the franchise a LOT of favors....

If you know One Piece, you'd known that the series had a hard time catching up in popularity in the West.

It was 2000s. The decade was all about making everything cool, hip and edgy.

And anime was one of the prime contributors to this trend.

Plus during that time, a lot of anime fans had this stigma against Western animation, seeing it as nothing but kiddy shit.

These people are the one of the reasons why we have crap like this.....

And since One Piece is famous for having an incredibly cartoonish art-style and world, it did not do it any favors.

Made even worse with the 4Kids dub, which infamously kidified the anime to absolute HELL.

However, I feel this dub would counteract that.

The dub itself would premiere on June 2nd, 2003 on Cartoon Network as part of Toonami.

And although the would probably have some censorship, it would be NOWHERE near the level of 4Kids.

Plus, from what I've seen, anime that aired on Toonami was able to get away with a lot more explicit content due to it's clear aiming at older audiences.

For the East Blue Saga, the dub would air new episodes every week, Monday through Friday.

That's what we're gonna be covering for this part.

As we go through each arc, I'll be sharing my voice choices for the major characters in each of them.

So without further ado, let's set sail!

Romance Dawn (June 2nd-June 4th, 2003):

Starting off this showcase we have our main star the future king of the pirates himself, Monkey D. Luffy!

When thinking of a voice for Luffy, I wanted him to still be voiced by a female.

And one of the major female VAs, I've come to a tie on who would be good voice for Luffy.

And that tie is between Colleen O'Shaughnessy and Kari Wahlgren.

Between the two of them, I think their voices both perfectly fit the type of voice Luffy would have.

Pretty goofy and silly while still being able to do the more serious and emotional moments well.

And while you can still tell they're a woman, they're still able to convincingly sound like a boy.

I think the coolest thing about this choice would be that in the case of Kari, this would be one of her earliest voice acting roles, as she entered the realm of voicework in the prior year of 2002.

And about a year into her career, she would find herself becoming the official English voice of one of the most famous and revered protagonists in anime/manga history!

Next we come to Koby, who would be voiced by Pamela Adlon.

Oh yeah, let’s talk about that real quick.

In contrast to other anime dubs, this one would primarily feature voice actors typically found in Western animation.

I feel like this would make One Piece stand among the crowd, and it kinda fits since the main character himself does draw heavy influence from the Golden Age of Western Animation.

As for why I choose Pamela, especially since Koby pre-Marines was shown to have a whiny sounding voice, was because I was coming at this with the knowledge of his post-Marines look.

I’m not a fan of how the Funimation Dub gave him a new voice after we were reintroduced to him, whereas the original Japanese version kept his voice actress.

So I wanted to do the same thing they did.

I feel that Pamela was the best option.

She’s known for having a noticeably deeper and hoarse voice when compared to most female VAs.

Hence she’s famous for voicing a lot of male characters, particularly boys.

As for her performance as pre-Marine Koby, it would be pretty similar to her performance as Otto Osworth from Time Squad….which is funnily enough, a Cartoon Network show.

Now we come to Alvida, who would be voiced by Wendee Lee.

And yes, she would voice both forms of her.

Her original fat form, and current slim form.

Now we've come to the second member of the Straw Hats, Roronoa Zoro!

He would be (at least for now) voiced by Ben Diskin.

His performance would be sound like a slightly more serious version of, and I can't believe I'm actually referencing this guy, Ban from The Seven Deadly Sins.

One cool thing about Ben voicing Zoro would be that he would bring a lot of authenticity to the role, since he would've been around Zoro's age at the time of dub's release (20-21 years old).

Also, this would really funny to think about since around this time, Ben was voicing Numbuh 1 and 2 on Codename: Kids Next Door, another Cartoon Network show.

Rika would be voiced by Kath Soucie, essentially sounding like a slightly older Lil Deville from Rugrats.

Helmeppo would be voiced by Jeff Bennett, who would definitely sound like the recent gay shipping icon as of late, Bradley Uppercrust III.

Like, you can't tell me that his voice wouldn't fit Helmeppo like a glove.

And in just you don't believe me, here are some clips to prove my point.

Next we come to his father, Axe Hand Morgan, who would be voiced by Jim Cummings.

And for his role, Jim would definitely use his serious voice that he uses with characters such as Mister Moloch in Project G.e.e.K.e.R. and Hernán Cortés in The Road to El Dorado.

Now to come to Red-Haired Shanks, who would be voiced by Steve Blum doing a Cockney accent.

Yeah, he's basically gonna sound like a swashbuckling Spike Spiegel.

Which actually sounds pretty cool....

As for the rest of the main Red-Haired Pirates.

Benn Beckman would be voiced by Wally Wingert.

Lucky Roux would be voiced by Bill Fagerbakke.

And Yasopp would be voiced by James Arnold Taylor.

And finally, we have Higuma, who would be voiced by Rob Paulsen.

Orange Town (June 5th-June 10th, 2003):

First start off come to the third member of the Straw Hats, Nami.

Nami would be voiced by Kate Higgins.

Who weirdly enough, when it comes to LA voice fan-casting for One Piece, she's always the one to get picked for Nami.

And I can totally see why.

She would definitely fit the character.

Next we come to the big bad of the arc himself, Buggy the Clown.

Originally, I was gonna have Mark Hamill voice him.

But I figured that would've been too easy and too obvious.

So instead, I decided to choose Steve Blum as the voice of the character.

His performance would be pretty reminiscent to that of The Green Goblin in The Spectacular Spider-Man, but a little more silly sounding.

Even his laugh would be pretty similar to Gobby's.

Plus, Buggy's casting choice is pretty funny to think about since as I mentioned earlier, Steve would also be voicing Shanks.

Which would make Buggy's pure adulterated hatred for him even funnier.

As for his main crew members.

Mohji would be voiced by Liam O'Brien, essentially using the same voice he used for Zazz in Sonic Lost World.

Cabaji would be voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, using an Eastern European accent.

And Ritchie would have his vocals provided by Frank Walker.

As for the one notable characters of this arc.

Chouchou would have his vocals provided by Dee Bradley Baker.

And Boodle would be voiced by Tom Kane.

Who was also voicing Professor Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls around this time.

Syrup Village (June 11th-June 24th, 2003):

First we have the fourth member of the Straw Hats, Usopp.

Just like with Luffy, I have two VAs in mind that could voice the God himself.

James Arnold Taylor and Jason Marsden.

Both of them would strike that perfect balance of being able to sound silly while knowing when to take it seriously.

Also, if JAT was voicing Usopp, he would essentially sound like a younger version of his own dad.

Kaya would be voiced by Tara Strong.

The Usopp Pirates would be voiced by Grey Griffin (Ninjin), Colleen O'Shaughnessy (Pilman), and Nancy Cartwright (Tamanegi) respectively.

Jeff Bennett would also be voicing Merry.

Dee Bradley Baker would also be voicing the big bad of the arc, Kuro.

Jango would be voiced by Phil LaMarr, who would doing a what could be best described as a knock-off Michael Jackson impression.

Which, let's be real, would fit the character perfectly.

Phil would also be pulling double duty as Siam, with the other half of the Nyaban Brothers, Butchie, being voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

And finally, we have Gaimon, who would be voiced by Charlie Adler.

Baratie (June 25th-July 10th, 2003):

Starting this off we have Kuina, who would be voiced by Grey Griffin.

Shimotsuki Koushirou would be voiced by Phil LaMarr, essentially using the same voice he uses for Samurai Jack.

Now we come to Johnny and Yosaku.

Johnny would be voiced by Nolan North, while Yosaku would be voiced by Mikey Kelley.

So essentially we have Raphael and Michaelangelo tagging along with the Straw Hats.

Finally, we've come to the fifth member of the Straw Hats (and the last one as of right now), Sanji.

Sanji would be voiced by Josh Keaton.

And just like with Ben as Zoro, Josh would bring a lot of authenticity to his performance (given that he would've been 23-24 at the time)

Also, we all know how Zoro and Sanji are rivals.

This would be funny to think about since this wouldn't be last time Ben and Josh would voice a duo of rivals.

Zeff would be voiced by Clancy Brown, essentially sounding like a slightly more serious Brooklyn version of Mr. Krabs.

We would also have John DiMaggio playing double duty as both Don Krieg and Fullbody.

Ghin would be voiced by Crispin Freeman.

Patty and Carne would be voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Tom Kenny respectively.

Pearl would be voiced by Jess Harnell.

And Hawk-Eye Mihawk would be voiced Lex Lang, doing a French accent.

Arlong Park (July 11th-July 31st, 2003):

Starting this off, we have Arlong himself, who would be voiced by Fred Tatasciore, which will be really funny to think about once we get to you-know-who.

As for the rest of main crew.

Kuroobi would be voiced by Doug Erholtz.

Hatchan would be voiced by Bill Fagerbakke.

And Chew would be voiced by Jeff Bennett

Nojiko would be voiced by Michelle Ruff.

Genzo would be voiced by Cam Clarke.

Bellemere would be voiced by Vanessa Marshall.

Which would be really weird to think about since she was on Cartoon Network's latest original series at the time, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, voicing this guy....

Well I'm pretty sure I just ruined Bellemere's death for most of you now since it's hard not her with the voice of Irwin now......

Anyway, Nezmui would be voiced by Tony Oliver, essentially sounding like an evil version of Lupin III.

Or how he was in the original manga....

And Moomo would have his vocals provided by Frank Welker.

Buggy's Adventure (August 1st-4th, 2003):

I don't really have anything to say for this one except that it will be part of the dub.

Roguetown (August 5th-12th, 2003):

Starting this off we have Smoker, who would be voiced by James Arnold Taylor, essentially sounding pretty similar to Walker from Danny Phantom, but without the Southern accent.

Next we have Tashigi, who would voiced by Karen Strassman.

Daddy the Father would be voiced by Jeff Bennett.

Five-Alarm Carmen would be voiced by Candi Milo.

And finally, we have Dragon, who would be voiced by Dave Wittenberg.

Well, that's all I have for now.

It's not the most detailed post I've made, but I thought it was fun to do.

Plus, I always like to showcase by knowledge of voice actors.

Which speaking of, I'm not sure how this post will do since I'm not sure how knowledgeable of voice actors any of the potential viewers are.

But hey, I'll just have to wait and find out.

Anyway, let me know what you think about this alternate timeline I created.

And for the two choices I had for Luffy and Usopp, who do you think would be the best choice for them?

And finally, I really hope @mysticalchildsuit actually likes this post since the last time I made a post about One Piece....they were.....