#makes me want to watch penguins now too in canon order

[ixnova]

That last episode of AHKJ: Exiled was really awesome and cool, but it’s also left me with a few more questions that go unanswered so now i’m just kinda sitting here pondering it all like

Anyway if any of my followers want to hear me ramble on about the fucking lemurs from one of  Madagascar’s spin off show click that read more link.

Okay so like one thing that’s developed into a theory early on for me is that I’m pretty fucking sure King Julien is a Demigod. Let me explain why. So like I know cartoon logic is a thing and all but throughout the show Julien relies a lot on luck, he does posses a niche skill set and is able to fight, but he does so rarely. Most of his antics, is pure luck. He’s more lucky than any other character in the show though, I know he’s the main character and all but like, there’s something off about his levels of luck. Furthermore he seems to be aware of his luck, as he often doesn’t worry too much about danger, leaving it up to “the sky gods” and “Frank” to decide his fate. Given the show up until this point I’m going to have to side with him that yeah, he really doesn’t have to worry. Now he mostly can’t just sit still and be fine, he does have to at least dodge and be active, (of which. KJ is very agile and i’d add that to his list of skill sets, though he is a lemur so it’s a given he’s able to duck and weave around a lot of obstacles with ease) but for the most part as long as he’s trying to save his own skin or help others he’s going to be okay because yes, he is apparently blessed by the sky gods. The main reason why I believe he is a Demigod is because he has been chosen by the sky gods to be the new king to replace the previous King Julien (Whom was Current Julien’s uncle so to avoid confusion the show, and I, will use “Uncle KJ” when talking about him.) The history of the Julien Kings have proven that all of them haven’t seemed to be very faithful or good leaders. Uncle is a tyrant who kept the ppl miserable and dull, living in fear of the Foosa, something we were introduced to on the first few episodes. Later on we learn about other Kings such as King Julien the Terrible who turned his people into slaves. and hell even KJ’s own parents are complete douche’s who don’t care for their people. Julien was different though, he was the first King to actually care about his people. Sure he’s reckless, takes awhile to realize danger and caused a few accidents here and there but overall KJ has been the best King to take the crown to date in the Lemur Kingdom. The Sky Gods were probably watching him and just waiting for that faithful day when Masucoura (sorry if I butcher some names) would scare Uncle into giving Julien the Crown. She probably knew that the King wouldn’t get eaten, and she put in motion whatever plans Frank and the Sky Gods had for Julien. Taking the crown from his uncle and not dying, meant Julien didn’t have to give it back when his uncle returned, and thus he remained the King. Following this he liberated his people from the Foosa, and has since went on to make history for his Kingdom. The Fact that Julien doesn’t die from a lot of things he should though is because of that goddamn luck of the Sky Gods, they want him to be king! He only gets a battle scar from the Foosa, they do things like strike lighting when it’s convenient, have a sacrificial Balloon fall just when Julien needs it to, etc. They are sending him signs that they are watching over him and he’s damn well aware of it by now and is taking advantage of it. He even made reference himself that they didn’t need to worry during the war because “The Sky God are giving us luck right now!” This is only part of the evidence that he’s a Demigod though. Given his knowledge of his luck I don’t believe King Julien is actually aware of the power he possesses. The thing that stands out the most to me that Julien was chosen to be this Demigod is the fact he has canonically, DIED, and come back to life MULTIPLE TIMES, not to mention was allowed to fight for his life on trial one of those times and was granted life again once he proved that he truly does care for his people, even the one’s he’s accidentally killed. While he may coward out when the chips are down, when the problem is actually serious and Julien must act on his own he will. He tossed himself out of a blimp to fix the issue that was preventing take off, dangerous but he did it - he went after a monster in a sub, or what he thought was a monster though, by himself, to get his friends back. One of the time’s he died was a willing sacrifice to save his friends. Julien, if it’s the only option, will lie down his own life for his people, (he offered a few times to give himself up to Koto and other times when his capture would result in freedom for his people from more minor Villians) and that is what the Sky Gods need in a true leader. A king. Julien fits the bill.

But wait we’re not done here though, outside of his insane luck which Is actually not luck but his blessing from the Sky Gods, Julien does have some fighting skills of his own. He’s actually able to be quite bad ass if the moment calls for it, and a lot of it though I heavily head canon is based in his ability to dance. He needs a beat to unlock his true potential which explains why a lot of the times he sits on the side lines and has either Clover (usually) or the Gods do the work for him. But that first goddamn episode, He kicked some Foosa ass with the power of music. He has skill. He’s done it a few more times too with his own beats. It actually makes me angry they didn’t write him fighting more often because Julien CAN fight, and I wanted to see more of it. He pulled off a few punches and took out some mountain lemurs in a small clip from the final battle, and that was fucking awesome! Did I mention Julien is actually really smart though too? Well clever. He’s very dumb when it comes to some basic stuff, social skills, etc, but when it comes to things like, escaping capture or out thinking his enemies hes damn good at that too. He’s very sneaky when he wants to be and skilled at manipulating other people. I’m convinced he’s the type who’s just playing stupid so that people never expect more from him, so that when he does more, it’s a surprise and gives him the advantage. That said though, no he really is stupid in regards to being self-centered and arrogant and doesn’t know what half the bullshit he says actually means though lol. Its a fair trade off. Okay so like going back to my main issue with the final episode that caught my eye and makes me go HMMM and ties into the Demigod theory. Julien accidentally killed Koto by dropping the rocks from the statue on him once Sage had defeated him (the whole Exiled arc really does wonders for Sage as a character too btw and I now love him as a result.) and I would also like to point out Julien has only ever killed accidentally but that’s a subject for another rant - anyway at the end when they pointed out the ghosts were also celebrating - Koto’s ghost appeared with the rest of the ghosts, but these ghosts were only the ghosts from “Frank-ra-lah” (Their version of heaven). Julien clearly stated that him not seeing Maurcie’s ghost when he was on trail and saw these other ghosts, must of meant he thought Maurice was in their version of hell, (it’s never named, just referenced as “the other place” and a dramatic shot of ground) so therefore, Koto was sent to heaven even after all his wrong doings and misdeeds, and this just makes NO sense to me because Koto was evil right? He did bad things. He took over the kingdom caused lots of people to die, etc. What fucked me up the most is King Julien saw his ghost and the two made eye contact and... Nodded and smiled at each other? FUCKING NODDED AND SMILED? AS IF, TO SAY, A JOB WELL DONE? I guess it could of been seen as Koto’s very honor-bound and just saying “you were a worthy foe, Julien” but the fact Koto’s ghost is in Heaven, makes me think... Was it all a test? Was this SET UP? Sure Karl mentioned he set the whole invasion up but did he really? I think he’s lying about some things and I’ll see more about that when finishing up the main show, as he said he’s not finished yet, but I don’t think this was Karl’s doing. I truly honestly think this was the Sky God’s testing Julien. The ultimate test, to see if he’s really fit to be a ruler. Koto was a ploy by the Sky Gods and served his purpose well that’s why he was let into heaven. And I almost feel like, given the fact Julien nodded back in response? It’s like he realized? He knows it was a test and he passed. He’s finally (maybe?) aware of his status/relation to the Sky Gods? And like it makes a whole lot of sense though given that Julien’s people were finally willing to put their lives down for him the same he would for them? They accepted him as the one true king of Madagascar. THIS WAS ALL A TEST, AND HE PASSED, AND I JUST- Listen, Marty, Alex, Gloria and Melman really didn’t know what the FUCK they were getting involved with when they washed up on the shore of Madagascar is all I’m saying.

[revoleotion]

escape route

canon divergence: Yukio didn't join the Illuminati and instead visited an old friend.

_____

The first thing Liu asks him after he makes it up to his apartment door is, “You’re not wanted for murder, are you?”

It’s odd, to say the least, to see him like this. And if this situation were any different, Yukio might spend some time reflecting on that; the penguin on Liu’s shirt, his bright red slippers and the way his hair is falling over his shoulders. 

“I might be,” Yukio replies. 

Liu glances over his shoulder, then steps to the side to let him in. Yukio makes it just past the doorstep, into safety, before it all hits him. 

“I-” he starts. 

Liu catches him when he starts crying. For a while, he feels nothing but the other man hugging him and rubbing circles across his back. 

“It’s alright,” Liu repeats over and over again. “We can fix this. Look at me.”

Yukio pries himself out of his embrace to look him in the eyes. Liu’s eyes are dark, he noticed that before, and they seem to pull him in. Yukio wants to believe him so badly. He wants to believe that he didn’t just burn the last bridge he has. 

He has nothing. He ran away with nothing but his wallet and the things he has on his person. He has nothing to believe, no place to stay, no place to come back to, no place that ever, truly felt like home. 

“I ruined everything,” he whispers. 

“Okay.” Liu shrugs, seemingly unbothered. “Take off your shoes. I’ll make you some tea.”

Yukio follows the order, mostly because he’s too perplexed not to. Liu guides him to the sofa, where a cup of tea and a bowl of ramen have been abandoned. He was obviously watching something on his laptop but has put it on pause for now. 

This, somehow, hurts even more than everything Yukio has seen in the last hours. More than everything he has done. Seeing this: a man he barely knows having a normal life. Knowing that Liu, someone he wanted to impress so badly, puts on videos to eat. Seeing his choice of decorating, the clothes he wears when he’s off work, the small rainbow flag on a dresser, the books on the shelves. 

“I’m sorry,” Yukio tells him. “I should go.”

“Please don’t.”

Yukio frowns. “Why. Do you want to turn me in?”

“Naturally. I have to keep you here for as long as it takes the Order to arrive,” Liu deadpans. “Just kidding. Sit down. Drink some tea. We will fix this. Sometimes all you need is a second to look at things from another angle.”

And because Yukio is tired of running, he sits down. 

[sashi-ya]

{+18} – Cherry Blossom & Tangerines – Trafalgar Law x Y/n – Part 5

Modern AU. Trip to Jeju Island, SK. No spoilers.

Female reader. No physical descriptions. Everybody is +18, canon ages. Chopper is human.

Tw: NSFW, blindfolding, soft sub/dom, unprotected sex (this is just fiction, pls wear protection). Fluff. A little bit of ZoSan

A/N: I haven’t had the chance to visit South Korea due to Covid, so everything included is pure research. Excuse me in advance if there is something that’s not 100% accurate! Keep in mind is purely inspired ♥

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31059467

Word Count: 4.5 K

» List of parts: {P1} {P2} {P3} {P4} {P5} {P6}«

Chapter 5

“Y/n it's our turn, let’s sing!!” Vivi told me, while pulling me from my arm. “Vivi, wait”, I said. I kept watching how Law was still hugging the girl. “What is it?... Oi!”, Nami said, also witnessing the scene.

“Don’t go, just… wait”, I begged my redhead friend who was ready to kill him. I saw how the mysterious woman and Law laughed together. Zoro didn’t even care, he was more drunk than anything else.

The girl was ruffling his hair, pinching his cheeks. Law didn’t even look at me. I didn’t know if he was just simply so amused about the girl that he simply forgot about me, or, he was doing this on purpose, knowing that I’ll be watching, maybe to let me know he wasn’t going to commit to me in any way.

“That’s it. I’m leaving”, I stated. Vivi, Robin and Nami insisted on me shouting at Torao, but I couldn’t. I was so hurt, and, besides that, I wasn’t even his girlfriend, so I had no right to reproach anything to him.

The girls came with me, and we drove home. The boys didn’t realize we had left until long after we weren’t at the karaoke bar, when Sanji texted Nami asking what the hell had just happened. “Sanji, you should ask your stupid ass friend Torao, what the hell is he doing with a bitch?, plus, go get your boyfriend too, she is right next to him”, Nami said via audio.

Sanji sent an audio back, “Nami-swan! Zoro is not my boyfriend… wait, you were talking about him, right?, whatever, Torao is still with her, I’m gonna see who the hell is she and kick the hell out of stupid Law for hurting Y/n-chwan”.

I drove as fast as I could, at that point I only wanted to bury myself in bed and cry my eyes out. I was silent all the way. My friends knew there was no point in saying anything else, so they just strung along with me.

We got home, and Robin offered me some tea, yet, I politely turned the offering down and headed almost running to my bed. I covered myself up to my face, and pitiful tears sprouted from my eyes.

I heard my cell phone ring several times, I knew it was probably my friends asking if I was all right. But I didn’t have the strength to even see the screen.

“Why did you choose to hurt me like this, Law?” ... I whispered to myself, unable to understand why I was in that position, why after all the romantic stuff he has done for me he didn’t even care I was there…

I reached my phone and simply turned it off, I was fed up with it ringing. Some minutes, perhaps half an hour passed until I fell asleep, crying.

Suddenly, Nami’s loud screams woke me up. “TORAO, WHAT THE FUCK? WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS SLUT HOME?”.

I didn’t hear Law’s voice, but I did hear someone climbing the stairs, quickly, almost running.

The door opened suddenly with a loud sound, like someone kicking on it. I was still in bed, and the bang of the door made me take an upright position instantly.

There he was, the villain of my story with tears on his eyes, hopeless, shaking. “Y/n-ya!!! it’s not what you think, let me explain…” “STOP, what type of lie are you going to spit out from your stupid mouth?, plus, what the hell? I heard Nami saying you brought that girl home. Have you been drinking? Are you drunk? what the fuck?” I shouted at him, also crying.

Suddenly, before Law could say anything else, I saw a brunette, tanned, tall girl, with big eyes that resemble Law’s ones. She looked at me, smiling and peacefully said, “Hello Y/n, my name is Lami. Trafalgar, Lami”.

I opened my eyes, and mouth… “Trafalgar?”.

“That’s right! I’m Law 's sister! Nice to meet you! I’m sorry if you got things wrong!” she said to my stunned me. “Oi, brother, she is so pretty!! Even more than in the pictures!”.

“Oh God…”. I was somehow relieved that Law wasn’t flirting with a girl, yet mortified because not only me, but all my friends had called Law’s sister a slut… a bitch.

“I am… I am really sorry… And, uhm, N-nice to meet you…”, I said, wiping the tears on my eyes. “It’s ok, darling! I’m leaving you alone so you can talk in peace, I’ll be downstairs!”. “O-ok”, I said sniffing.

Law slowly approached to the left side of my bed and sat there, next to me, in silence. I wasn’t capable of saying anything to him, either. I had put up a show, he probably thought I was a toxic girl, jealous or even worse things. I had mistrusted him. It was probably the end of something that hadn’t even started.

Suddenly, Law hurled himself on me, hugged me and nuzzled on my lap. “I thought you wouldn’t believe me, I’m sorry, I really do. Lami lives in Jeju and I wanted her to meet you because she is not traveling to Seoul any sooner, we just decided that we will be meeting at the bar so… so you could get to know her”. He said, still with his head buried onto my legs.

“Law…”, I began to cry again. I petted his hair and told him “I am the one who should be sorry. I- I thought you were a bad guy, a typical man that doesn’t care about the girls. I am sorry…”. I felt horrible.

I could hear downstairs my friends laughing, Sanji and Zoro fighting, Luffy shouting. Luckily everybody would make Lami feel comfortable, after all. Law was still sobbing over my lap.

After several minutes I decided to speak up. “Law, stop, you are not the one who should be crying asking me for forgiveness. You did nothing wrong. I was completely mistaken. I hope you will be able to forgive me someday”, I said, gaining composure in order to make things clear.

He sat back, looked at me with teary eyes and asked, “someday? There is nothing to forgive. I want to be with you, I … L…”

“Oi, you two, stop crying, Lami is leaving”, said Nami leaning on the door frame, smiling at us. As she left, and Law wiped the tears off my cheeks, we stood up from bed. I was still dressed so we headed downstairs right away.

“Sis, let’s go, I don’t quite remember how to get your home from here, so you tell me”, said Law. Lami looked at him with loving eyes, and said, “My big brother is always taking care of me, I missed you doc”. Law’s cheeks became red, and he hid under the white with black spots cap he was wearing.

Lami said goodbye to everybody, except me, “she probably hates me”, I thought.

I was going to wish her a good night, when Lami held my hand and pulled from me. “Let’s go sister-in-law, come with us!”. I followed them into the car unsure if Law wanted me there, because he was still embarrassed as hell.

I let Law’s sister sit on the passenger seat, and I sat on the back seat behind Lami. A few seconds after Law started the car Lami said, “Oi, Y/n! did you know that Law has never ever introduced a girlfriend to the family before?”. I choked a little when I heard her say “girlfriend”, and simply chuckled. Law told her to stop, but Lami continued telling me how “emo” he was when he was an adolescent, making fun of his sibling.

We finally arrived at Lami's house. It was a traditional Jeju stone house, with big windows and a typical korean roof construction. On the entrance was a tall guy wearing a cap with “PENGUIN” written on it, waving at us. Law parked the car next to a black Hyundai Ioniq.

“Oi!! brother-in-law!!! How are you? It’s been a year my dear friend!” the guy at the door told Law. We descended the car, and the guy hugged Law in a way “man” do. Lami introduced me to the man, he was his boyfriend, and they had been living together for a few years, and apparently before dating Lami, Penguin knew Law since they were little.

We went inside, and had coffee while chatting about everything. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any moment, Lami and Penguin were really warm people.

Law’s sister and I headed to the kitchen. It was a perfect opportunity to ask her about their parents so I thought of the best way to bring up the subject. I didn’t need to, because it was the first thing that Lami mentioned.

“Y/n, I’m sure my cold brother didn’t tell you anything about our parents… right?”, she said. I was helping her putting some mochi onto a plate, so I looked at her and said “Not really… At first I thought Rosinante was his father, but then I realized that his surname was Trafalgar, not Donquixote”.

“That’s right, Rosinante is something like Law’s dad. When my brother was 10 years old, my parents passed away in a car accident. They were both doctors, the best ones of this city. Law looks exactly like my dad when he was younger…”, she stopped for a little, and continued, “We stayed with our grandparents at the moment. After two years, Law became really ill and had to be taken to Seoul for some doctors to cure him. Luckily, Rosinante was a volunteer at the children’s hospital where Law was being treated. After six months of intense treatment, he recovered and forged a friendship with “Corasan” who took care of him… Oh sorry, I meant, Rosinante. Corasan it’s just a nickname Law gave him during… the chemotherapy...”, she concluded.

“Oh… poor baby…I’m sorry for your loss too, Lami” I said, feeling a lump in my throat. “Don’t worry, we are all right now, time has passed”, she said, grabbing my hand softly and smiling. She continued, “but let me tell you something, I’ve never seen Law with that type of twinkle in his eyes in the 24 years I’ve known him. He loves you; I can sense that. Plus, when you left the bar earlier, he became so desperate, he was truly worried about losing you”.

I blushed instantly, yet, I was so happy of hearing how he probably loves me that I giggled. And Lami, too.

From the living room we heard Law calling me, “Bab… Y/n-ya, let’s go home it is pretty late”. “Ah… my sweet loving brother and his ways…”, Lami said with a sarcastic tone, rolling back eyes. We both laughed and headed where the boys were.

“Oi Penguin, do you have a bottle of cold water? I tend to get thirsty when I drive”, Law asked Penguin and looked at me with some sort of look I can only label as… horny?. “Right, bro, let me get you one”, said the cool cap guy and headed to the kitchen. “He gets thirsty?” I said to myself a little confused, but dismissed the thought as my attention went to Lami who was showing me a photo of his brother when he was a little baby.

The happy couple invited us to the lantern festival that was taking place the next night at the historical center of the city. They told us to bring all of our friends too. We were excited about it, so we accepted the invitation and left the house.

During the ride along a road by the sea, Law asked me, “Babe, can you please turn the GPS on?, I don’t really know where I am going…”. I searched for my phone in my pockets, but realized I’ve left it at home. “I didn’t bring my phone… give me yours”, I told him. He grabbed his from the black jeans pocket and gave it to me. “Law, your phone is dead…”, I said, trying to turn it on.

“Yeah, my battery died after calling you twenty times when you left the bar…”, he said, kinda joking. “Oh…”, I gasped, and continued, “Well, let me enter the address on the car sat nav”.

I approached my hand to the little screen when Law stopped my hand and smirked. “It would be a shame if the computer wouldn’t work and we ended up lost…”.

“You clearly had this planned, right?” I said arching a brow. “Me, planning things? that’s not something I usually do…”, he said in a sarcastic way, but with a sexy tone that made me somehow fidget on my seat.

I came closer to his face and almost talking next to his ear I said, “Let’s get lost”. Law licked his lips, placed his right hand over my lap and said “Heh, sure… I can’t resist myself anymore”.

He suddenly turned the wheel and took a little road that took us to the beach. Finally, my lover parked the car, luckily it was a deserted zone, a cliff area, and there weren’t any houses or places nearer.

The beach ahead of us was lightened by an intense moonshine, the sea was choppy so the waves hit hard on the cliffs.

Law threw his seat back and patted his lap, “Strip for me, and come here, baby”. “Ah, so we are fucking on the car, nice…” I thought and began to take my clothes off.

“Don’t take that off, yet. You know that little bandanna you have on your head could help us…”, he said to me after I jumped over his lap. I felt a rock hard bulge under my core, he was already so ablaze for me.

He then untied the cloth that was holding my hair, smirked at me, and said “may I?” while covering my eyes with it.

“Lay you back on the steering wheel, baby girl”, he ordered me. I remember instantly how he likes to dominate me, so I followed his order to a “Yes, sir”.

His fingers ran from my mouth to my neck. He kept lowering them softly caressing my flesh. I could barely feel the touch of his fingers over my skin. He wasn’t talking, and I was unaware of what was coming next, I was blindfolded, but surrendered completely to this man.

All of a sudden I felt a cold sensation over one of my nipples, “Uhg…” I moaned, throwing my head back. Then the chilly stinging feeling moved to my other nipple. God, what is that?... and suddenly remember Law asking Penguin the cold water bottle. “Damn you, Law”, I said to myself but only being able to verbalize moans and grunts.

He began to trail an icy path from my breasts to my lower stomach. My heated skin mixed with the cold water that began to melt over my flesh, felt like a sweet torture.

“Your hot body is making the icy water melt and wet my jeans… or is it perhaps your own arousal for your Master, baby girl?”, he said to me, while running a thumb over my clit.

He then penetrated me with two fingers as he only knew how to, took them off and asked me to open my mouth. “Taste yourself, baby girl”, he commanded me, and I opened my mouth and sucked.

I heard - and felt- how he unzipped his jeans, and slowly took his member out. I could feel how he began to softly hit his manhood over my sex. He was playing with it, but my body couldn’t wait for it to be inside of me.

“Is it getting hot in here, huh?” he said and unbuttoned his black shirt. I knew it because he then grabbed my hands making me caress his skin. My hands wandered along his chest, but my mind was only focusing on how much I wanted to be penetrated by this man.

I was drowning in lust, I needed him to do something, but he didn’t. “Law… Sir… What are you doing?... fuck me, I want you to fuck me…”. He laughed, and violently but gently enough he pinched and twisted one of my erect nipples. A strike of intense pleasure hit my center, and it was so unexpected that I only purred at it.

He then ran his inked fingers through my hair and pulled me closer to his face, this time he wasn’t being gentle, he was being rough… and I loved it. “What do you think you are doing? I am the one who gives you orders in here, are we clear?” he said, whispering with a grunt in my ear.

“Y-yes sir, I- am sorry…”, I said, stuttering. “Good”, he said and kissed me. We made out, hard, feverishly. I could feel over my entrance how his sex became even harder.

He suddenly put his hands on each side of my waist and lifted me up a little bit, so I could place my knees on each side of the seat. He used his right hand to guide his pennis inside of me. It was just the tip of it, he was enjoying how I was probably miming the words “fuck me” repeatedly. After a few seconds of torture, he grabbing me again from my waist, pushed me down against his lap. “Ugh..” I said, opening my mouth, throwing my back to the steering wheel, so hard that I made the car horn sound.

I wanted to be penetrated, and he did it so roughly, yet so pleasantly.

I began to ride him, back, forward, up, down, tracing circles with my pelvis. My left knee hit the emergency brake handle, it hurt but I didn’t care. I placed my hands over his strong abs, letting all of my senses focus on the pleasure, imagining the expression he had on his face when I heard him groan.

Law pulled my hair and threw my neck back, again making me hit my back on the wheel, and used his hips to bang me, hard, burying himself into me. Every thrust made my body react with little spams; I was being sent to heaven.

Law untied the bandanna that was covering my eyes, and said in between the thrusts and an agitated voice, “I want to see your precious face when I make you cum”. My eyes slowly returned to its functions, admiring the sweaty thorax of Law, the way his stomach would go up and down picturing his rapid breathing. His face showed a red glowing, he was more than aroused. I was too, and as I reached for climax, placing my right hand over the steamy glass of the car window, Law did too with a hard “Huh”.

He bathed my insides once again. I remained still enjoying the warming sensation inside of me, trying to erase any worry at the time.

Law placed a hand on my back and pulled me closer to his chest, while lying his neck over the headrest of the yellow Sonata.

I rested my whole tired body over his, enjoying the touch of our warm skins, the scent of his body, with my lips wandering along his neck, leaving soft kisses over its skin.

“We should go back home; they might get a little bit concerned…” I told Law, still over him. “Yeah, you are right, let’s go back…”.

It was 4 am so once we got home and opened the door, we entered stealthily. I walked behind Law when he suddenly stopped, and I fell over him. “What is it, Law?!” I whispered, “I don’t know, this is kind of a slumber party…”, he whispered back at me.

Suddenly all the lights turned on. Everybody was sleeping on bare mattresses on the floor of the living room.

Little by little our friends but Zoro and Sanji woke up.

“Oh my god, finally…” said Nami and everyone began to laugh. They weren’t laughing at us, but at Sanji and Zoro who were sleeping cuddled.

Law looked at them and looked at everybody else and said, “Excuse me, is this something new to you? Oi Mugiwara-ya, tell them every time you three get to sleep at home they do the same”. Luffy nodded, still laughing.

No matter how much noise they made, nor Zoro or Sanji woke up, they seemed to be happily enjoying sleeping like this, so we didn’t want to bother them anymore.

“Let’s go back to sleep, guys. Y/n and Law you can sleep upstairs, we left Law’s bed intact”, said Franky winking at us. “Thank you!!” I said, and we went upstairs jumping through the multiple legs of our friends.

We climbed up the stairs, and went into the boy’s room. I was undressing when suddenly Law offered me a big loose t-shirt. “Don’t get me wrong I love your naked body, but what if the boys enter the room and see you naked?”, he said. “Oh, Law, are you jealous? hahaha”, I mocked him. “Well, let's not discuss jealousy…”, he said frowning.

I grabbed his white loose t-shirt with some kind of black power ranger called “Stealth Black” printed on it and put it on, giggling. I could have sworn he was a geeky nerd, and that was the proof.

Law and I jumped into his bed and muffled up with the bedding. He hugged me, kissing my head. “Thank you for making this the best holiday of my whole life…”, he said. “Thank you for paying the bus ticket that time…”, I whispered with my face pressed up against his chest. We both laughed and soon after fell asleep.

I woke up with the sounds of some birds chirping on the window. Law was still asleep beside me, with his ruffled hair, his cheek pressed against the pillow with his mouth open, snoring softly. I couldn’t help but drool over that image, so handsome even like that, the intimacy, the person I wanted to wake up to each morning.

I placed my head over the tattoos of his chest, following with my index finger the lines of ink on his skin. I remained there for a few minutes hearing his heartbeat, drunk of his skin scent.

Softly he began caressing my cheek, still without opening his eyes. He was probably half asleep yet.

I felt a million butterflies trapped on my stomach, I was so in love, I had fallen for this guy, hard. I felt a little guilty, I mean, how was I supposed to fall in love so quickly with a man?... I guess it was just love at first sight…

Law’s hand stopped moving, and suddenly I heard him mumble something like, “Mmmm- hum - I-I- love you Y/n-ya”. I widened my eyes, “did he just say he loves me? “I was completely surprised and even unsure if that was what he said or if it was just my imagination.

Some minutes later, he opened his eyes, slowly. “Good morning, baby girl”, he said, kissing my forehead. I was immobile, watching his face still trying to process what he had just said. “What is it?, are you sleeping with your eyes open? you are gorgeous but that would be a little creepy”, he said, surprised.

“N-No, uhm, I am awake, yes. Good morning”, I uttered. “Are you ok, Y/n-ya?”, he asked with a confused expression. “Yeah, uhm… Law… Do you sleep talk?”, I inquired him. “Oh… did I? I’m sorry... I do, yes. Sometimes. What did I say?”, he said this time with a worried expression. “Oh, no, nothing, I thought I heard something but I don’t know. It’s nothing”, I said, trying to settle the matter.

We remained cuddling up a little bit more, until we heard movements downstairs. They were probably waking up, so I decided to go to my room and get ready for the day.

“New pajamas”, I thought while taking off Law’s shirt. I folded and put it on my suitcase, I wasn’t willing to give it back to him.

I went ahead and showered. I let the warm water bathe my skin while thinking about Law saying “I love you” while he was asleep. Was he really? Did he really feel that or was it just a dream?... I guess I should wait…

After the bath, which clearly made me more anxious than relaxed, I went downstairs to the kitchen where Sanji was already preparing breakfast. I decided to help him with setting the table while chatting about the lantern festival of that night. Nami, Vivi and Robin joined us and were pleased that Lami and Penguin invited us to such a pretty event.

Our last day in Jeju passed with us visiting the Samseonghyeol Shrine, which is the oldest historic site in Korea. That place is considered as the birthplace of three demigods of the island, founders of the Tanma Kingdom that governed Jeju Island before the Joseon dynasty took over.

At noon we came back from the city and began to get ready for the festival that night. I received a message from Lami, “@TraffLami.06 > hello Sis! How is the day going? Is my brother treating you right?. Listen, we usually wear “hanbok” to the festival. If you want to too, you can rent them from a friend's shop. I send the location. See you tonight! ♥”. I got super excited for it, I loved cultural clothing and I wanted to see Law wearing those clothes too. I told my friends and we all agreed on renting one. Law, being the warm boy he was, wasn't so sure about it, but with a little kiss and a little begging I could convince him.

The night came and we all drove to the historical centre of Jeju. The place was all garnished with paper lanterns, string lights hanging from some bridges, lit inflatable displays, food courts, typical music being played that mixed with the buzz of hundreds of attendants that were enjoying the night.

I was wearing a hanbok in yellow and orange tones, while Law used a green and black one. He looked like a typical groom; I couldn’t help but fantasize a little about us getting married someday.

Luffy of course ran to the food stalls followed by everybody else, Zoro went ahead and attacked the stall where they were offering some kind of soju and Law and I waited for his sister and Penguin to arrive at where we were.

Law was more silent than usual and his face showed concerned. I thought at first about him missing his parents or family, maybe the festival triggered some memories, so I held his hand without saying anything. He squeezed my hand, and began to sweat.

“Are you ok, doc?”, I asked. He looked at me, I could sense he got really nervous and finally mumbled, “Y/n-ya we need to talk…” …

Part 6, FINAL

[universalfanfic]

DC!Sutton AU: Part 1

Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, this is all Ink’s fault and I’m still so mad. 

In this, Sutton is part of the DC universe, which I don’t know enough about to take on but here we are. Characters are probably a bit ooc, and I’m mixing canons because I can and I’m thrifty like that.

If that bothers you, my condolences.

Gotham wasn’t the sort of place anyone really wanted to raise a family, and it was where Sutton spent the first half of her life. Which was how she knew it was the exact place she never wanted to return to. She knew people who’d, in a desperate bid to leave the city, done the equivalent of a trapped animal gnawing off their own foot to escape a trap. 

Yet her grandparents needed someone to live with them now, and they declared that they were both born Gothamites and they’d die that way before they were chased out of their city by hooligans in garish costumes. And she’d rather take on The Penguin by herself than see her little brother Tyrese finish growing up in the country’s darkest city. 

So, she dropped her classes, packed up her things, and reassured her mother she was okay with it as she willingly moved into her grandparent’s old brick home at the city’s edge. 

It at least wasn’t an apartment near one of the banks. 

Sutton made sure lunch was prepped and in the fridge ready to go, the medications were lined up correctly, and the thermostat was up a couple degrees before she left for work. 

The café she managed to get a job at was within walking distance which made life a little easier. Eventually she’d have to look for something that paid better, especially if she wanted to go back to school, but there was too much to worry about still settling in and making sure her grandparents were okay. 

Sutton threw on her green apron and slid behind the counter as her coworker, Kevin, prepped the till. 

“Nice not to have to bring in a gas mask today,” Kevin said in way of greeting. 

Sutton glanced over from pouring beans into the grinder. 

“I give it two weeks. Joker and Scarecrow always manage to get out. I swear Arkham doesn’t have locks.” 

Kevin snorted. 

“Makes you wonder what our taxes are going towards.” 

“You mean ‘who’?” 

They both laughed drily, knowing neither of them were really joking. 

Sutton eyed her purse under the counter as she set up. She didn’t have a gas mask, but Howard had given her a collapsible baton as a gift before she moved back to Gotham. He thought it was funny to have “Gotham’s Finest” engraved on the end of it. 

Sutton was glad she hadn’t needed to use it so far. 

The morning flowed normally, with regulars grouping up at their usual tables and people running in for breakfast on their way to work. Sutton let herself zone out as she made drinks until Kevin announced his break and she took over the cash register. Her smile turned genuine with the next customer in line. 

“Mrs. Heubert! I didn’t think we’d see you again until after your knee surgery.” 

Mrs. Heubert was a thin, delicate woman in her early seventies who always ordered a sixteen ounce coffee, extra cream, and a dash of vanilla syrup. Most days she planted herself in the back corner and typed away on her mini laptop writing mystery novels she swore she'd publish once she finished the whole series. 

Sutton hadn’t been working at the cafe nearly long enough to put that together herself, but Mrs. Heubert could be an extremely chatty customer. 

“They postponed the surgery.” Mrs. Heubert said. She sounded miffed. “After that last incident at the hospital, they’re having trouble getting a new surgeon.” 

Sutton nodded in consolation as she poured her coffee. 

“I’m sure the Wayne donation will help. But I hope you’re not walking down here still! I don’t want you to hurt yourself over a cup of coffee.” 

Mrs. Heubert waved a hand. 

“No, no. There’s a taxi waiting outside, otherwise I’d never make it.” 

“Alright; good.” 

Sutton made her drink and rang her up and watched as Mrs. Heubert shuffled out the door. Her knee pain was obviously growing worse with the way she was limping and Sutton frowned. 

A figure rushed forward on the sidewalk and knocked Mrs. Heubert to the ground. She fell with a cry and coffee splattered across the sidewalk. Electricity shot through Sutton’s body as she watched the person struggle to rip Mrs. Heubert’s bag from her grip. 

She usually carried her little laptop in her bag with her. 

Sutton wasn’t exactly thinking as she scrambled for the baton in her purse and lurched around the counter. 

The man looked up in time to see her coming, but Sutton got a decent hit on his arm anyway when he lifted it to protect his face. He reached for the baton and Sutton hit lower on his stomach and kicked at his knee when he got his hand on the baton. It at least got his hands off Mrs. Heubert.

Luckily the scuffle was already drawing in attention and the thief let go and took off as a couple other men stepped forward. 

Sutton dropped the baton to help Mrs. Heubert, both of them were breathing heavily, but Sutton tried to settle herself for the older woman’s sake.  

“Hey,” Sutton said. “He’s gone now. You’re alright. Let’s get you up and a new coffee, okay?”  

***

“That was quite the display outside.” 

Sutton turned as a flush enveloped her. A middle aged man, probably in his fifties, stood at the counter; she had to crane her head back to look at him and guessed he was over six feet. His clothes were professional and polished and he held the air of a serious business man who could handle himself if need be. 

“Oh.” She sputtered. “You saw that?” 

He tipped his head in affirmation and his eyes were… unnaturally piercing. 

“It was brave of you to jump in without any training. Your will is admirable.” 

He had an accent too; Irish, if she guessed right. 

Sutton winced, feeling more sheepish, and she fiddled with the ends of her hair as she shrugged. 

“Well, I couldn’t just do nothing. Mrs. Heubert didn’t deserve that. Besides, it was a low level thug, no one in costume.” 

“And if it was?” 

The question caught Sutton off guard, and she let out a nervous laugh. It didn’t feel like the man was joking. 

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t think a baton would cut it then. Maybe I should look into getting a carry permit.” The fact that she was implicating she’d consider shooting even a criminal hit her, and Sutton laughed nervously again. “Sorry! You probably want a drink. What can I get you?” 

He was silent an uncomfortable moment before he responded, 

“Black coffee, please.”

She held up a sixteen ounce cup, figuring a man his size would want more than a twelve, and he nodded his approval. Part of her wondered if he’d have nodded for whatever size she picked. 

She could still feel his eyes on her as she walked over to the brewed coffee.

“If you don’t mind, you have me curious. Can I take your statement to mean you’re in favor of capital punishment?” 

Of all the strange conversations Sutton had to trudge through before with customers, this had to be steering towards one of the strangest. Generally people just wanted their caffeine fix. Not to know if you agreed with the death penalty. She weighed her response as the coffee filled the cup. 

“Um, yeah? Kind of.” The man gave her a prompting look and Sutton continued. “Some people are bad and they won’t stop being bad, Gotham knows that better than anyone. People like the Joker, they just keep breaking out, killing people. And, you know, I just- think it’d be…. better.”  

The man’s gaze sharpened and Sutton looked away, cutting the coffee stream before it started to spill over the cup. 

“Alright, that’ll be three dollars; unless you’d like anything else?” 

“The coffee is all, thank you.” 

He passed over three bills and slipped a fourth into the tip jar. She handed the cup over to him, but he still didn’t move away from the counter. He was lucky that he came during a lull and no one was behind him, but Sutton couldn’t help but feel torn that she didn’t have an excuse to cut off the conversation. 

“Sorry to distract you,” he said. “But you look familiar.” 

“Oh.” She didn’t quite know what to do with that. “Well, I don’t think we’ve ever met. Sorry.”

He smiled politely. 

“Perhaps a look-alike or a relative, then.” 

Sutton let out yet another awkward laugh. 

“Maybe if it was my mom, she’s the only one I look like. But she’s never-” 

The words stopped on the back of her tongue, because she couldn’t quite say, “but she’s never mentioned meeting an Irishman” honestly. But explaining that entire story wasn’t something Sutton exactly wanted to go through with a random customer. 

Her stop didn’t go unnoticed, but the man didn’t press and took a step back as she shrugged.

“Well,” he said, “I hope the rest of your day goes better than the morning, Sutton.” 

A shock of alarm ran through her a moment before she remembered the name tag pinned to her apron.

“Ah, thank you. Me too.” 

“Henri.” 

Henri. Henri. 

Her breath caught. 

It was a common name. She told herself not to overthink it. 

[][]

Henri came back.

It was impossible to stop the absolutely ridiculous questions his presence brought creeping to her thoughts. 

He made sure that she specifically helped him despite Kevin not being on his break this time, and she couldn’t help but try to study him from the corner of her eye as she wrote his name on his cup. 

“You have his eyes,” her mother said. “I’m sorry there’s so little I can tell you.” 

This Henri had blue eyes too, but blue eyes weren’t rare. Sutton told herself she was being ridiculous and silly. The odds were astronomical. 

“I’ve seen the real one in person. In the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.” 

Henri’s comment pulled her from her thoughts, and Sutton followed his gaze to a painting on the wall. It was a cheap print of Van Gogh’s work, The Starry Night. She tugged at her hair. 

“I’m sure it looks amazing with actual brushstrokes.” 

Henri shifted back to study her again and his face was neutral. 

“Have you been to Europe before?” 

“Oh, no. Maybe someday if I’m lucky.” She paused, debating continuing for a moment, but decided to plunge forward. “My mom has been, though. She actually saw that painting too.” 

He was locked onto her and Sutton couldn’t look away even if she wanted to. Her heart was pounding behind her ribcage and it was stupid, stupid, stupid, but her body didn’t care what her mind insisted. 

“Did she?” Henri tilted his head. “And she didn’t take you?” 

Sutton made sure to breathe. 

“It was twenty six years ago. I wasn’t born until… shortly after.” 

Something flashed in his eyes and Sutton’s hand shook as she tried to flip the tab for the brewed coffee.

“Did your father see it with her?” 

The question felt pointed and blunt and it felt like electricity raced through all of her limbs as she managed to grab a lid. 

“Technically, yes.” She said, but she couldn’t manage to say anything more than that. 

He’d already paid Kevin, so Sutton slid him the drink on the pick up side of the counter and managed to look up at him again. It didn’t seem like he’d looked away from her this entire time. He took his coffee, his eyes lingering over her shaking hands, before he spoke again. 

“At the risk of sounding untoward, I feel like this isn’t the best place to hold a serious conversation. Would I be able to speak with you outside of work, at a public location, of course.” 

Her stomach flipped in a freefall. Light danced in her vision. In any other circumstance she would have said absolutely not without hesitation, but pressure was growing in her chest and she had to know. 

So she agreed. 

She met him after her shift at a small hole-in-the-wall Thai place down the street that still managed to create a level of ambiance despite most likely being on a budget. Henri was already waiting for her and they were immediately seated at a booth in the corner which let her see the exit while offering a bit of privacy. 

Nausea threatened to climb up her stomach, but Sutton swallowed it back down. If this wasn’t what she thought, if this Henri guy was just a freak looking for a younger woman, she could bolt. It wouldn't be a big deal. 

“Thank you for coming,” Henri said, breaking the silence. “I know this is unusual.” 

Sutton shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. 

“I never do this.” 

“What can you tell me about your father?” 

The question felt like a blow. Not because it was blunt or personal, but because it was a huge neon sign that his thoughts were on the same track as hers. Sutton shoved her hands under her thighs. Her throat felt tight. 

“Not much. My mom only met him once; on the one reckless night she had on her backpacking trip. She said-” She had to pause to swallow. The moisture had evaporated from her mouth. “She said he was tall. Irish, probably. She said his name was… Henri. And I- I have his eyes.” 

Her face was hot, hot, hot and the silence was thick and heavy. Henri didn’t say anything and when Sutton worked up the courage to look at him again he was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher. 

When he did speak, he told her the same story her mother had. About meeting a

stranger in a museum gallery and striking up conversation. Of dinner and drinks and more that ended when the sun rose and they parted ways. 

He remembered her mother’s drunken compliment that there was a starry night in his eyes.

The air was thick and Sutton blinked, her eyes growing hot. 

“You-you’re my father.”

“Yes, I believe I am.” 

[][]

His full name was Henri Ducard and he asked if she would be comfortable staying in communication so they could get to know one another. Sutton’s answer was a resounding yes. 

Her entire life she’d wondered who her father was, what he looked like, if he’d be nice or rude, or uncaring that he had an unknown daughter in the first place. 

But the fact that he wanted to keep meeting filled her with the hope that he did care, and he did want to know her; and the idea was nearly overwhelming. 

They met up for dinner, generally, or for a walk in the park. Always decently public places so she didn’t feel uncomfortable. She learned about him. That in his youth he’d done work as security for hire and traveled abroad. That he now worked in some form of management, though he wasn’t exactly specific and Sutton assumed it wasn’t as interesting as traveling and security. 

He was especially interested in her opinions of Gotham and seemed to approve that she had less than glowing reviews. It was so stupid, because most of Gotham would tell you that Gotham was the dregs, even if they refused to leave, but his approval still made her puff with pride.

“What would you do to save Gotham?” He asked. 

Sutton gave the odd question the thought it deserved, even if her knee jerk response was to say she didn’t think any one thing could. 

“What would I give or what could I do?” She countered with a short laugh. “I don’t think I could personally do anything to help. There’s just- so much. Organized crime has quieted down a little since Batman showed up, but it’s still there. Not to mention the internal corruption.” 

She tapped her fingers on the table and tilted her head in contemplation.

“Though,” she hedged, “it might help if they, you know, stopped putting guilty criminals in Arkham.” 

“How do you mean?” Sutton took a breath and made eye contact. 

“Well, you know. Just because someone commits a heinous act that I can’t wrap my head around doesn’t mean they’re insane; that they don’t know right from wrong. Most of the costumed people around here revel in how bad they are. They know. So why are they being put into a mental facility and not prison? It doesn’t make sense.”

“So justice itself has been corrupted. And it needs a fresh start.” 

There was a timber to his voice, like he wasn’t asking her opinion anymore and merely commenting. Sutton brushed the thought aside. 

“It certainly feels like that sometimes. Too bad things aren’t that easy.”

“Nothing is impossible for those that have the conviction to act.”

The statement settled over the table and Sutton mentally noted that besides being able to hold his own, he was a man that probably didn’t tolerate excuses. 

“I guess that’s true,” she said. “But it helps to know what you’re doing. Will can maintain you, but you need knowledge and have the power to actually enact change to make any real progress.”

His lips pulled up into a small smile then and Sutton couldn’t stop the bubbly feeling at her father thinking she’d said something smart. He raised his glass marginally and tipped his head. 

“With the proper training, I believe you’d be capable of more than you’ve dared to dream.” 

And she still didn’t know him very well, but he felt like a man that didn’t carelessly hand out praise. She took it eagerly and tucked it away.

[][][]

Walking home in the dark was not a recommended or usual practice in Sutton’s book. Maybe in a cleaner, safer city like Metropolis one could get away with it, but in Gotham there was always a more than healthy risk. Either you would run into some rough trouble or you could run into the Batman, and no one was quite certain which was worse. 

But her grandmother hadn’t been able to control the shake in her hands when she tried to open her pill container and it’d sent a week’s worth of pills down the sink. Sutton was trying to pick up a couple shifts to pay for the early refill. 

They lived away from the city center. They weren’t near any banks or labs. Sutton told herself the risk wasn’t as high. 

But every groan of the wind sent her heart skittering and the light from the lampposts wasn’t enough to chase the darkness away.

The sound of wings fluttering, or of rippling fabric, behind her sent her running. She didn’t make it far before something knocked her in the side and sent her tumbling into a nearby alleyway. There was a burst of air and more fluttering. Sutton’s wide eyes darted around the darkness as a scream threatened to work its way out. The alleyway was open, light spilled over the sidewalk like an unreachable life raft. She made a dash for it, but the darkness swelled up in front of her. Up and up into a human-like shape. With glowing eyes. 

She stumbled backwards and her scream was trapped, stuck as she tried to breathe around it. 

“What are you planning with Ra’s al Ghul?” 

It was him. It was Batman. There was ice in her veins. The light from the street silhouetted him so she could see the outline of his helmet and his shoulders and none of the details of his face. Or whatever of his face may show.

Sutton didn’t answer and he took a threatening step forward.

“What,” he emphasized, “are you planning?” 

Sutton’s brow furrowed and she held out a hand to halt him. 

“Wha- Wait. I- I’m not planning anything! Please, I-I I don’t even know who you’re talking about!” 

“Ra’s al Ghul.” His voice didn’t even sound human. Was he human? “You’ve been meeting with him for the past few weeks regularly. Tell me.” 

“I’ve never met a Ra’s al Ghul! I swear!”

It went quiet. Unnaturally quiet. The darkness spread, wider than the reach of the streetlight, and before Sutton knew it her feet were out from under her and she was upside down; her head dangling over the pavement. 

She shrieked then. 

“Don’t lie to me.” The voice came from all around her and the blood rushing to her head didn’t help pinpoint the location. 

“You’ve been dining with him at a different location every time you meet.” 

“No, no! You’ve got the wrong person. The only person I’ve been meeting with is a man named Henri Ducard.”

“I’m aware of his alias.” 

Another rustle of fabric came close to her head and Sutton shrieked again. 

“What are you talking- it’s not an alias. Please, there’s been a misunderstanding here.” 

She was grabbed by the front of her jacket and yanked up until she was right side up again and staring directly into Batman’s face. The only thing visible was his mouth and chin, but it was only made more disconcerting by the snarl he currently wore. 

“Every establishment you’ve met at has criminal ties, do you expect me to believe that’s a misunderstanding too? Tell me. What use does he have affiliating with you? A barista.”

Sutton’s hands gripped the leather of the glove around her jacket on instinct, even if she could breathe perfectly fine. Her insides felt like they were liquefying and nothing made sense. 

“I don’t understand.” She said. Oh gosh, she was going to cry. She was going to cry in front of Batman. “He’s- he’s my father.” 

Batman said nothing. The glowing lenses were his eyes would be just stared into her as if he were trying to read her mind to see if she were telling the truth. 

She actually didn’t know if he could read minds or not. 

With a twang the line was gone from her legs and Batman dropped her to the ground but didn’t let her go. 

“Ra’s al Ghul is your father.” 

“Henri Ducard,” she insisted.

Batman let go of her. Part of her was tempted to run again, but he’d shown that was a pointless endeavor, and she’d only embarrass herself if she did. 

“Please,” she said. “I’ve never committed a crime in my life.” He said nothing. “Okay, I might’ve jay-walked once but that’s nothing! If I go to jail I’d never see my family again and who’d take care of my grandparents? My family would have to move back here with Tyrese and I would never let that happen, not when-” 

“Enough.” 

Sutton’s teeth snapped together. 

Batman’s voice was low, controlled. She’d venture a guess at violently irritated if she didn’t know any better. 

“I don’t know what your part in his plan is, but Ra’s al Ghul is a very dangerous man,” he continued. “If you’re ignorant of that, stay away from him. Trust me, you don’t want to get mixed up in whatever he’s doing.” 

He shifted then and the darkness followed him. Sutton still couldn’t get her heart to slow down. 

“Go home.” He said. “You won’t meet any more trouble. Tonight. But know that I’m aware, and I will uncover whatever you’re hiding” 

The street light beckoned and Sutton eased around the mass of darkness towards it. Nothing stopped her this time. She was just on the sidewalk when his voice called out again. 

“If you’re telling the truth, I’m sorry he’s your father, Sutton.” 

She knew she wasn’t wearing a name tag this time. 

Sutton ran the entire way home. 

[][]

It was incredible how things could go from meetings of fate to a panic inducing nightmare. One moment she was getting to know the father she’d hardly known the name of, and the next she was being interrogated by the Batman in an alley. 

She didn’t know what to think. 

While Batman wasn’t a bad guy by any means, he was still often scarier than the criminals of Gotham, and many people weren’t sure what to do with him. It was easy to categorize and trust a hero like Superman, who showed his face and smiled and waved. But half of the things she’d heard about Batman would probably be considered urban legend or hearsay, and it wasn’t helped that he was known to get a tad more violent with the criminals he faced. 

And he thought she was some sort of bad guy. 

She was still struggling to figure out if she believed him about the Ra’s al Ghul thing. The idea was ludicrous. The father she never knew, and had met by incredible chance, was some sort of Batman level criminal? 

They’d met several times now, and Henri had never made her feel unsafe. He was a bit stern, possibly, but if anything it made him feel more stable. More capable. 

If Batman was so off about her being bad, he could be wrong about Henri too. 

She did debate heeding Batman’s warning out of fear. She almost did. But they’d made dinner plans before Batman’s threat and every time she picked up her phone to try and cancel, she couldn’t. And anyway, didn’t Henri deserve the chance to explain? Or maybe get a heads up so they could sort this all out?

They met at a French restaurant. Sutton noticed that the places they ate at kept getting fancier every time they met. This one was on the richer side of Gotham and even had chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 

Henri knew something was off with her right away. She could tell by the shrewd way he was looking at her with the faintest downward tug of his mouth, like he disapproved. To be fair, Sutton was never great at masking her emotions in the first place.

How could she possibly ask him if his name was actually Ra’s al Ghul who did shady stuff, according to local vigilante Batman? He’d probably never speak to her again. 

“Something is causing you distress.” 

She couldn’t do it. 

“No; no I’m-I’m fine-” 

“And your skills of deception are woefully lacking. From what I remember, your mother had an honest face as well.” 

Sutton let out a lungful of air as she rubbed her temple. It’s not like it was the first time someone had called her a bad liar. 

“You’re right,” she said. Henri waited as she collected her thoughts. “A couple nights ago, well, something happened. I was interr- questioned?” She growled under her breath and ran her hands through her hair. 

“Batman was looking for me.” 

Henri’s face didn’t shift. He still looked as pulled together and as unruffled as he usually did. 

“Was he?” 

“He- he has you confused with someone else. He kept calling you Ra’s al Ghul, and told me to stay away from you if I wasn’t working for you. I just-” 

She looked up at him, desperate for him to be as confused as she was. Desperate for him to confirm that Batman was wrong and this was a very strange case of mistaken identity. 

Henri didn’t look confused. Instead he sighed. 

“My name is Ra’s al Ghul.” 

Sutton stared. 

“What?”

He leaned forward then, seemingly intent on pinning her in place with his gaze as he explained. 

“I had hoped to not overwhelm you,” he said. “I am older than I look, and your family has a rich, lengthy legacy. There’s much to explain. But it seems Batman would like to rob you of knowing who you truly are.” 

She sat back in her seat, unable to organize her thoughts and put them into words. 

“I’m so- I don’t understand.” 

“I’m sure he told you I was dangerous.” 

She chewed on the inside of her cheek and nodded. 

“A weak man will always find a man with conviction dangerous. Which is why I’m sure he left out his own connection with me. I taught him everything he knows, but he lacked the will to complete his training.” 

It was too much at once. No one else in the restaurant existed anymore and Sutton struggled to grasp onto something normal that made sense. There wasn’t much for her to grab hold of. 

“You, you, trained,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “Batman?” 

“I’ve trained many.”  

Sutton mulled the statement over. It ricocheted around her skull along with everything else. 

“Trained them to what purpose?” 

Henri smiled, his expression almost indulgent. Like it was a right question.

“To serve true justice.”

[][][]

Nothing should have shocked Sutton after everything that had happened to her since moving back to Gotham. 

She’d found her dad. 

She’d been accosted and accused by Batman. 

She’d found out her dad allegedly trained Batman.

What could possibly be left? What more could happen to turn her world upside down than that? 

Apparently being snatched up by a line, rocketed onto the roof of a nearby building, and finding herself standing before two Robins. 

It wasn’t even fully dark yet. 

“WHAT the heck?” 

She blinked and caught her breath as she stared at the two figures before her. One was clearly a child. 

“Red Robin and Baby Robin?” 

The child stepped forward, his hands in fists.

“No one calls me baby Robin!” 

“I do?” “Well desist. I won’t be patronized when I can take on men far more skilled than the likes of you.”

“Smooth your ruffled feathers, Robin,” said Red Robin. “Remember why we’re here.” 

“Oh,” said Robin. “You mean like when you remembered we weren’t to engage?” 

Sutton waved her hands to get their attention. 

“Hi, yeah, right here! I don’t appreciate being yeeted onto a roof when I didn’t do anything.” 

“Wonderful,” said baby Robin. “Another one with a penchant for slang. Perhaps some time with Grandfather would do her some good.” 

“What,” Sutton interrupted, “is going on?”

Red Robin looked at her and put his hands on his hips. 

“You were warned to stay away from Ra’s al Ghul.” 

They were keeping tabs on her. Batman and his Robins.

“Just because I didn’t doesn’t mean I’m guilty or up to something! I was giving him a chance to tell his side of the story.” She defended. “He said he fights for justice too.” 

“You’re new to this,” baby Robin said. She couldn’t tell if his tone was patronizing or consoling. “But apparently it’s considered wrong to raze a city no matter how wicked it’s become.”

“He wants to raze Gotham?”

Red Robin pointed at her.

“Wow. That almost sounded genuine.”

No. Sutton put more distance between them. She wasn’t going to have some insane discussion like this with youths. Besides, Henri- Ra’s, he’d never mentioned doing anything to Gotham to her. She hadn’t asked, but it wasn’t exactly something she’d thought needed to be brought up. 

“I’m not arguing with either of you,” Sutton snapped. “I know you don’t have warrants or any dirt on me, because I didn’t do anything; and I’m definitely not going to stand up here and be lectured by a kid who can probably barely vote and another that should be home playing with Transformers or something.” 

“I could kill you in two seconds.” Hissed baby Robin. 

Red Robin pointed a stern finger at him. 

“Hey, what did B- Batman say about threatening to kill people?” 

Baby Robin crossed his hands over his chest and pouted. Red Robin turned back around, but he looked no more impressed with her. 

“You were being tailed, by the way. So, you’re welcome.”

“Not tailed, idiot.” Said baby Robin. “If he found a new daughter to work with him, clearly she was leading Grandfather’s men somewhere discreetly. And you ruined figuring out where.” 

“Wait-wait, grandfath- new daughter? I- He-? No. Nope. I’m going home. Put me back down on the street right this instant.” 

Both boys, because they were boys, weren’t they?, looked at her like she was crazy. She certainly felt like it. 

“I am going home now,” she said stiltedly. “Put me back where you found me, or so help me-”

Well, she didn’t exactly know what she’d do if they didn’t listen to her. It wasn’t like she really had anything to threaten them with. But luckily she didn’t have to think something up. 

Whatever their mission had been it seemed like they had mucked it up, and so Red Robin fastened a grappling hook to the edge of the building and helped her back down with a muttered, 

“Totally ungrateful.” 

Their voices were still at her back, and she could hear them despite some chatter from the few people out and about at dusk. Two Robins in this area would be more of a novelty than in the city center. 

“Your aunt’s a little weird.” “She’s only my half aunt.” 

[][][]

Sutton finally had a moment to herself. Had a moment away from her grandparents and taking care of them, as much as she adored them, and no run-ins with anyone associated with Batman. And for once, she was the one getting coffee instead of making it. 

The coffee shop she was visiting, a different one from where she worked, was busy and full, and she had been lucky enough to snag a seat before someone else took it. Currently, she was trying to get lost in the conversation of the crowd and stop thinking for five minutes to allow herself to decompress. 

She took a sip of her mocha and watched idly as a mom dragged her kid inside, promising him a cake pop if he stopped screaming. 

The muscles in her shoulders relaxed marginally, and her thoughts managed to drift. Her coffee was gone all too soon. Sutton downed the last few drops and internally sighed as she stood up. The coffee shop was still busy and someone else could use the chair. 

She made her way to the door and stopped sharply as the door swung open and a man nearly collided with her. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” 

Sutton looked up and up. The man was so tall it felt like she’d need a step ladder to see his face. 

“How could you have?” 

The words slipped out before she could stop them and her face immediately heated. But luck must have been on her side because he appeared not to have been able to hear her. 

“What was that? Oh, excuse me; just one second.” 

The woman with the screaming kid was trying to leave the shop now. The kid had a cake pop stick in his hand, but all traces of the cake pop itself were gone and he was screaming again. The man who’d nearly bumped into her rushed to hold the door open for the woman, but slipped on a dark puddle on the floor and came reeling backwards towards Sutton.

She was just able to throw her hands up and catch him around the shoulders before he squashed her into the floor but he was heavy. She’d be lucky if she didn’t leave the coffee shop shorter than she already was.

The man flailed and shot back to his own feet. 

“Oh gosh, oh geez! I’m so sorry!” 

It was a bit of a commotion, which was why Sutton didn’t blame him when he slipped out of the coffee shop right behind her. He was still apologizing. 

“It’s really alright! I drank milk growing up, you didn’t break anything.” 

She laughed but he still wore a sheepish expression with shoulders rounded in humiliation. 

“Please,” he said. “Let me make it up to you. I can- well, you already had coffee. Um, maybe ice cream?” 

Sutton squinted. 

She liked ice cream. 

And, again, it wasn’t her normal to agree to follow strangers around, but. Well, the guy was cute. What with his dark, neatly brushed hair, bright blue eyes behind his square glasses, and dimpled smile when he registered her hesitation. 

And tall. He was very tall. 

And built. 

Which she totally did not care about whatsoever, but she would be a liar if she said she didn’t notice. 

“Um, ice cream actually pairs well with coffee.” She said with a small smile. “I’m Sutton, by the way.” 

The man’s smiled widened. And was- was he blushing? 

“I’m Clark.”

Surprisingly, despite the fact that she’d just met Clark, conversation flowed naturally. He wrote for the Daily Planet paper in Metropolis and liked rocky road ice cream, which was very average American of him. 

“You can’t tell me you don’t like rocky road,” Clark said defensively. 

“I don’t dislike it. It’s just not one I’m going to pick first,” said Sutton. “I like salty and sweet.” 

“Rocky road has marshmallows and nuts!” 

“No, like pretzel salty. With a good crunch. And, if I’m being honest, I’m not a huge fan of marshmallows in ice cream.” 

Clark gasped. 

“I don’t know if I can keep sitting here and listening to this disrespect.” 

Sutton grinned cheekily. 

“Well, I already got free ice cream so-” 

She popped her spoon in her mouth and raised her brows in a look that said, ‘what are you going to do about it?’ and Clark wrinkled his nose. It made his glasses ride up on his face. 

Sutton scooped another spoonful of ice cream and leaned back in her seat. 

“So, the Daily Planet is a Metropolis paper. What brings you to Gotham?” “I could be just visiting.”  “No one just visits Gotham.” 

Clark tipped his spoon at her in a gesture of relent, and nodded. 

“Fair enough. I’m doing a little field work, actually. A friend asked me to help out with some investigative work into some possible criminal activity. Unfortunately I can’t say much more than that.” 

“Oh, no. Totally understandable. I don’t need to be involved in any more weird, criminal situations anyway.” 

Clark’s brow furrowed. 

“Any more?” 

Sutton blinked. 

“I-I mean, any more than, um, Gotham citizens already experience? I mean, I, you know, haven’t lived in Gotham since I was thirteen and then. You know, the last month has just been so- so…. Gotham.” 

Clark rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a grimace of a smile. 

“I can’t say I exactly understand.” 

Sutton pursed her lips and muttered under her breath. 

“Neither do I.”

Clark stared at her and his face was so open, so accepting, it made her want to just spill everything out. Her family knew that she’d found her father; she’d told them after their second meeting together. But they only knew about Henri Ducard. Since all the rest of the Batman and Ra’s al Ghul stuff had spiraled into existence, she still didn’t have the guts to update them.

Especially since she still wasn’t a hundred percent certain what was even true or actually happening. 

“I met my dad for the first time, since moving back.” She said. 

Clark’s brows rose. 

“That must have been a big moment for you.” 

“It was. It’s been crazy.” 

“But,” Clark said, his tone ribbing, “I wouldn’t exactly classify that as a ‘weird, criminal situation’.” 

“No!” Sutton rushed to agree. She used her spoon to cover her mouth and mutter again. “No, gosh, I hope not.”

She was not going to spill her guts and possible family skeletons to the first cute reporter from Metropolis who bought her ice cream. She was not. He was just being nice, making up for his literal slip up, and she would probably part ways and never see him again after they were done eating. 

Which was a real shame.

“It’s just been a lot to process and try to...navigate.” She settled on. “So that kind of weird. For now.” She made an exaggerated face to imply she was joking and Clark gave a small laugh. 

“I’m actually adopted,” he said. “So I can kind of relate with you there.” 

“Oh.” Sutton blinked, unsure of what exactly to say. “Your parents must be pretty cool, then.” 

That made him laugh more heartily and Sutton’s face warmed. 

“Oh, they’re pretty cool.” 

Sutton stirred her melting ice cream around her cup for a moment as she debated pressing her luck. Clark might not tell her what he was investigating, and lord knew there was plenty to investigate in Gotham, but maybe he knew something that could give her clarity. 

“So back to this story of yours,” she drawled, trying to play it cool. “I know you said you can’t tell me what it is, but can I ask you a random question? Off the record, of course.” 

Clark tipped his head, considering, and then waved his hand in the open space between. 

“I’m afraid it’d have to be, I forgot my audio recorder at home.”

She shot him a smile and went back to looking at her ice cream. 

“Have you- have you ever heard of someone called Ra’s al Ghul?” 

He frowned in concentration again as he murmured the name. 

“The name rings a bell,” he said. 

“No, that’d be Pavlov.” 

Sutton smacked her hand over her mouth in horror as Clark stared at her in growing delight. 

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I don’t know where- I’ve been living with my grandparents for the last couple months and their jokes-” 

“No, I love it.” 

An alarm went off on her phone and Sutton shot up out of her seat. 

“Ah, cripes. I have to go; I’m sorry! Grandma spilled her meds last time and I have to help-” 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re being a good granddaughter.” 

Sutton shifted on her feet as she shouldered her purse and waffled. Dang it,she liked him and she didn’t really want to rush off and ditch him like this. 

“If you- I mean, I don’t know how long your investigation is, but I mean, some parts of Gotham are really bad, and you shouldn’t-” 

Her face was growing hotter and hotter and why was it so hard to just offer him her number? She was tempted to run out the door and directly into traffic. 

Clark cleared his throat and stood. 

“Would you mind,” he asked, “sharing contact information? In case I need another contact off the record? Or, you know, maybe dinner?” 

Sutton let out the breath she’d been holding and grinned. 

“Yeah. I mean no. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

[oboevallis]

Can you write a story where Amelia is still pregnant and she is really craving donuts and she tells Link and he gets them for her but when he comes home to give it to her she’s sad maybe because she lost a patient at work or something and then they talk and in the end he basically says that there is nothing donuts can’t solve (sorry if that’s cheesy haha)

shy pt 2

hey! i hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. this is in my unexpected series and i hope it’s okay i incorporated this prompt into it. if you want me to write it in canon just let me know! and this is based off of a true story of how i made my first friend, and we’ve now been besties for 8 years

“Addie you need to let me unbuckle your seat belt.” Amelia told her daughter, worried she was about to make a scene in front of this kids house.

“Please don’t make me go mommy.” She begged tears starting to form in her eyes.

“It’ll be fun.” Scout interjected starting to get impatient, he really wanted to go play race cars with his friend. “Come on Addie, I want to go play.”

“Yeah, it’ll be a ton of fun. And Scout will be there the whole time.” Amelia tried to convince her daughter, reaching to unbuckle her daughters seatbelt.

“NO, I DONT WANT TO GO.” Amelia wanted to throw a tantrum along with her daughter at this point.

“Fine.” Amelia sighed giving up, and walking her son to the door.

“Hey Scout!” Levi, the boys friend, excitedly greeted. “Ready to play?”

“Yep.” Scout smiled walking in the house and running up the stairs with his friend.

“Is Addie joining us today?” Levi’s mother asked.

“I don’t think so.” Amelia sighed looking back to her car.

“I get it, Levi had difficulty making friends and he still has a bit of trouble. Now he has a couple of great friends though, you know quality not quantity.”

“Yeah. Thank you so much, for having Scout over.

“Of course! Scouts always a pleasure to have.”

_______________________________________

“How’d your surgery go?” Link asked as his wife walked through the front door.

“It was okay, the patients stable.” Amelia said whilst kicking off her shoes by the door.

“That’s good, I’m glad.”

“No your pissed at me. Because I didn’t drop her off at that play date.”

“I’m not mad, but we agreed she was going to that play date. So imagine my surprise when I realized she was at the hospitals day care.”

“She just didn’t want to go.” Amelia sighed, walking over to her husband wrapping her arms around him as much as her pregnant belly allowed.

“How about you go to bed and I’ll meet you upstairs in about a half hour.” Link sighed, knowing this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere pretty unless donuts were involved.

“Half hour?” Amelia asked confused, as Link picked up his keys and headed for the door.

“ I’ll be back, so I’ll just meet you upstairs.” Amelia sighed and walked up the stairs to go shower and get comfortable. She laid down in their bed and flipped through the book next to her bed mindlessly. Until she heard their bedroom door open.

“Hey, I’m home.” Link whispered as he walked into their bedroom holding a box.

“Atticus Lincoln, did you get donuts?” Amelia gasped sitting up. “For me?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t go out in the middle of the night to get donuts for just anyone.” Link jumped on the bed passing the box to her.

“These are so good.” The neurosurgeon smiled as she shoved one in her mouth.

“Okay, so talk. Have all your feelings.” Link ordered while splitting a donut in half.

“I’m just worried for her, I just want her to talk to people.”

“Me too.”

“I just want to force her to make friends, I know that’s terrible but I just want her to be okay.”

“I know.” Link agreed offering half of his donut to his wife. “So shouldn’t she stay in soccer then? Shouldn’t she go to play dates? We can’t keep her from doing everything that’s slightly uncomfortable.”

“It’s not “slightly” uncomfortable for her. It’s hell.”

“She needs to be put in situations that are uncomfortable for her.”

“Not to the extent where she’s bawling her eyes out, and screaming.”

“She’s gotta do something.”

“I’m not making her do anything that makes her upset.”

“I know your just trying to protect her, but you can’t coddle her.”

“I’m not coddling her.” Amelia defensively said.

“Whatever.” Link sighed reaching for another donut.

“Yeah, whatever Link.” Amelia grabbed the box out of her husbands reach. Link turned around facing away from his wife.

“Good night.” Link whispered before he fell asleep.

________________________________________

“Mommy can we go to the library today? I need to return a book and get a new one.” Scout told his mother as he walked into her study.

“Umm.” Amelia looked down at her watch. “Yeah we have time I don’t have to go to work till tonight.”

“Yay!” The kid cheered.

“Alrighty then, can you go get your sister and meet me in the car.” Her son nodded are ran off to find his sister, while Amelia made her way to her car. She wanted a few moments of peace. She was still upset with her husbands accusations of her coddling their daughter.

“We’re ready.” Scout exclaimed as he jumped into the car.

“Coolio, need help with your seatbelt Addie?”

“Nope.” Addie smiled looking at her mother through the rear view mirror.

“Sweet, we’re ready to go then. Do you know what book you want to check out?”

“Not really sure, probably a book on baseball. I’ll see what’s interesting.” Amelia rolled her eyes, she hated that her son was so obsessed with baseball. It scared her that her son could get hurt while playing the game he loved so much. “Do you want to check out a book Addie?”

“Maybe.” Addison told her brother while she swung her feet back and forth lightly kicking her mother’s seat.

“Finally we’re here.” Scout exclaimed as his mother parked the car. The three walked into the library together and Scout and his sister ran off to the children’s section while their mother walked through the aisles to see if anything sparked her interest.

“Addie can you go do something? Your bothering me.” Scout complained as his sister tried to read over his shoulder.

“Fine.” The girl sighed, and walked over to the opposite side of the bookshelf. She was about to pick up a book about penguins, until someone picked it up before her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, here.” The boy who seemed to be about her age held the book out for her to grab, she shook her head no and was about to walk away. “No come back. Do you like penguins?”

“Yes.”

“Me too!” The kid excitedly said. “I’ve read this book a lot of times before, have you?”

Addison shook her head no.

“You should read it then, it’s very neat.” He passed the book over to her, and she allowed him.

“I’m Benny. What’s your name?”

“Addison.”

“This book is really cool, but I know where the more detailed penguin books are, if you want to see?”

“Sure.” Addie wearily smiled, and followed the boy to the opposite side of the library where the non fiction section was. He sat down in front of the book shelf and pulled down a heavy book.

“This book goes more into detail about the penguin. Like did you know that the penguin is actually called the spheniscidae in the science world?”

“No.” Addie shook her head, intrigued and looked over his shoulder to get a better look at the book.

“You should start with that book first.” He pointed to the book she held in her hand. “And then go onto this book. There are a lot of words I don’t even know in here. My dad has to help me.”

“Have you ever seen a penguin?” Addison asked, this kid seemed to know a lot about penguins and she was curious to as why.

“No, only at the zoo. When I grow up I want to move to Antarctica and hang out with the penguins.”

“Sounds cold.” The girl joked causing the boy to laugh.

“Your in Mrs Crabtree’s class right?” Addison was shocked to find out he knew which teacher she had.

“Yes. How do you know that?”

“I’m in Ms Bunson’s class we go to recess at the same time as you guys. You never play though. You should play with me!”

“Maybe.” Addie smiled.

“Oh! I can bring my penguin coloring sheets and crayons out! It’s a lot of fun to color them, because you don’t have to follow how they actually look.” The boy ranted excitedly, realizing he had made a friend with the same passion for penguins.

“Coloring is fun.” The girl nodded in agreement.

“Sweet! I’ll see you at recess tomorrow!” The kid said cheerfully as he walked away. Addison then looked over to see her mother and brother in the line for check out and went over to them. She put the book into her mother’s hand signifying she wanted to check it out.

“Of course it’s penguins.” Amelia chuckled it seemed to be her daughters favorite thing at the moment.

“Yep!”

“I got one on baseball.” Scout told his sister. “Hopefully I can play over the summer.”

“We’ll see.” His mother said as she stepped up to the checkout desk to check out their books.

“I’m sure dad will be excited to read this with me.” Scout said once his mother handed him back the book. The three then walked towards the exit where there were some reading chairs.

“Bye Addison.” Benny waved as he sat on the couch looking up from his book.

“Bye Benny.” The girl responded waving back.

“Who’s that?” Amelia asked calmly, even though she was internally cheering.

“My friend. He showed me a cool penguin book today.”

“That’s really great.” Amelia smiled as she buckled her daughter into her car seat.

________________________________________

“Link!” Amelia gasped once she spotted him at the nurses station. “Guess what?”

“What?” Link asked still irritated from their conversation last night.

“She did it! She made a friend! At the library today?”

“Actually?”

“Actually!” Link laughed and hugged his wife as much as her bump allowed.

“This is amazing!”

“I’m so happy. And relieved.”

“I know me too.” Link smiled looking at his wife lovingly. “We should bring donuts home to celebrate.”

“We had donuts last night.” Amelia reminded whilst giggling

“The kids don’t know that.” Link smirked wrapping his arm around her.

[nyotasaimiri]

[update: it is now canon that Nyota sleeps!]

Nuru sat up straight and waved as she caught sight of them. ‘Psst! Hey, Champ!’

‘Hello there.’ Nyota sat down across from her; the campfire felt marvellous after spending so long in the cold, damp Library halls. ‘I wanted to thank you for your encouragement earlier. How have you been?’

Nuru grinned toothily at her. ‘I really like it here!’ she declared. ‘Esther is teaching me sso much about things. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Lumen told you, yeah? One of my friends from a few Hunts ago was looking for a job, and I bet you could use an extra hand now that things are getting rough.’

A new recruit? That was unexpected, but not unwelcome. ‘If you vouch for them, I’d be happy to take them on,’ Nyota said. ‘You seem to be a good judge of character, and we could certainly use another friend at our backs.’

‘Glad you agreed,’ Nuru said happily, ‘because they’re already on your ship.’

Nyota’s thoughts jumped track. ‘Oh.’

Lumen fizzed with laughter. ‘Well dang, these Floran certainly don’t waste time, do they?’

‘No, I suppose not.’ Nyota stood up again, head still empty. ‘Thank you, Nuru. I should probably go greet them.’

Nuru’s grin widened, though she was courteous enough to not laugh out loud. ‘His name’s Namina. You’ll like him, I promise.’

‘As you say.’ Nyota gave her a short, polite bow, and made for the stairs.

Lumen had to hustle to keep up with her. ‘Whoa, ma’am, I got short legs. Guess that ain’t what ya expected, huh?’

‘No, it was not. You would think I’d be used to how they work by now…’ Nyota muttered. She didn’t want to offend Nuru… but this was not ideal. ‘SAIL, kindly make sure that this mystery Floran has not gotten any ideas about ambushes before we get back.’ She remembered one too many incidents with Muthoni dropping from the ceiling, and one terrifying encounter with wild Floran before she reached Earth. No such thing as too much caution, even if Nuru said they were a friend. Floran had a very interesting sense of humor.

‘Already taken care of, Miss Saimiri,’ SAIL said, a touch smugly. ‘The unknown individual is currently locked in the cockpit, and I have temporarily disabled navigations.’

‘Good. We will be right up.’

Exhaustion made the teleportation a lot rougher on her this time. Nyota had to lean against the wall for a minute just to stop the room from spinning. Lumen touched her arm briefly with a sympathetic droning hum.

‘Need somethin’ for it, or just want me to watch yer back, ma’am?’

Nyota made a small dismissive gesture. ‘It will pass. There. SAIL, you may let our guest out now.’

SAIL beeped in confirmation.

The cockpit door clicked open and a vibrant green Floran wandered out, talons clicking lightly on the metal floor. He wore a red Protectorate uniform, probably from the ship locker. It suited him rather well. A heavy battle-hammer rested against the wall near him. Despite the nervous tension in his body, he still moved with practiced, deliberate steps.

‘Yesss? Floran wantss to work for Nuru’s friend,’ he said, shaking lemongrass-green foliage out of his dark blue eyes. ‘Which one is friend?’

‘That would be me,’ Nyota said. ‘My name is Nyota Saimiri. I am the captain of this ship.’ It felt strange, calling herself that. Esther had given her permission, but she did not feel like she had earned it. ‘You are Namina, then?’

The Floran gave her what was probably intended as a disarming smile, which made Lumen swear and put a hand on his gun. ‘Floran is Namina. Pleasssure to meet you! Floran is here for bodyguard role. Or mercenary. Okay with guns and good with big ssmashy hammers. Almost beat Nuru a few Huntsss back.’ He rubbed a small scar below his left eye, clearly proud of it.

Nyota studied him, thoughtful. Floran were harder to read than humans and Apex, but she could still feel the experience from him. ‘Did you? That is impressive. And Nuru spoke well of you. That is a mark in your favour. She seems quite the choosy type.’

Namina chuckled, a sound both reassuring and terrifying, and neither confirmed nor denied that comment.

Nyota found herself smiling again. ‘Very well, then. SAIL, update the crew log to include Namina as soldier-class. Consider yourself on a trial period for now, crewmate Namina. You will take orders from myself or First Mate Lumen.’

Namina snapped off a sharp salute. ‘Yes ma’am!’

Nyota looked around, running a few mental calculations. ‘I suppose I can’t just rely on finding random beds while exploring anymore,’ she murmured, ‘but there is no way we will fit three bunks in this little thing. Lumen, Namina, you can get acquainted while I’m gone.’

‘Where’re ya off to, Captain?’ Lumen asked.

‘I need to have a word with Penguin Pete. I’ll be back soon.’

‘Hey, ya oughta sleep—’ Lumen tried calling after her, but Nyota didn’t hear the rest as the teleporter swept her away.

The word did not go as planned. Pete took one look at her and all but ordered her into the back room of his shop, which was occupied by a worn but surprisingly comfortable old bed. ‘Go crash there before ya pass out on my floor and the boys loot your pockets,’ he told her. ‘I’ll get the details from your SAIL and crew.’

‘That’s not what—’

‘No buts, go sleep.’ Pete nudged her, with nowhere near the force necessary to budge a fully grown Apex. He didn’t seem too put off by that. ‘It’s fine, you’re not the first and won’t be the last. Hell, even that Elliott spent a few nights here before we got his lab set up.’

Even Elliott? Well… ‘Very well,’ Nyota conceded. She sat on the bed and nearly sank back into the soft mattress.

Pete graciously didn’t comment on her little hoot of surprise.

Ears pink with embarrassment, Nyota broke eye contact and made a slight show of inspecting the blanket. ‘You will let me repay you, though. I can help with whatever labour is left when I wake up.’

‘Deal. Now take a dang nap.’

[b-rainlet]

Gotham for the fandom ask thingy.

(I ran here so fuckin fast you have no clue)

Hello anon! :D I will answer this now, so you don't have to wait any longer but also....this would be very nice to answer through gifsets...(maybe when I am feeling up for it).

For now, have this:

(It's not proof read because I just sat at this for several hours and I don't wanna look at it anymore).

Favourite Male Character

You mean...besides the obvious answers?? :D

Ngl, it's S2 Jerome. I love that little twink with his parental issues and his tragic backstory and I wanna see him happy. There's a reason I have a bunch of AUs where he ends up having a family (mostly in the form of Lee as his Mother) and gets some actual help instead of being ostracized for being a mentally ill person snapping after years of abuse.

(This also ties into my very strong feelings regarding the fact that nobody actually helps the people at Arkham. And I don't mean the main villains there, I mean all the inmates who get treated like shit and are left behind on the regurlar (remember in S2 when Arkham was about to explode and nobody was talking about evacuating the inmates???? I do).

Other than that, one of my faves is also Jonathan. Which may be a little surprising because I barely talk about him but he was my favourite character throughout the show and he had way too little scenes.

(Kinda telling that the characters I latched onto are both helpless teens who were fucked over by the people who were supposed to protect them and can both trace their villain origin story back to Jim Gordon not caring enough about them lmao).

But the cast is big and varied enough that I actually like everyone? Butch, Zsazs, Penguin, S1 and 2 Ed, Jervis, Harvey, Jim......I like them all!!

(Special shoutout to 514A too, he was soft and baby and I wanted to keep him safe and sound really desperately).

(Another special shoutout to Barnes!! I didn't expect to like him when I first saw him, given he looked like he was gonna be mean and stoic and all, but I ended up really liking him and his story!)

Favourite Female Character

Let's just pretend Ecco doesn't exist for this answer ajdkaskaslj.

I fell in love immediately upon seeing Ecco but all! the women! are so!!! good!!!!

I especially have a soft spot for the side characters. I mean, upon first watching I got attached to Alice (even though she only features in two episodes lmao), and also Kristen Kringle - who isn't talked about much within Fandom, but she was pretty and her and Ed were actually quite cute but then she had to die for him to become the Riddler which was...pretty much telling us from the beginnning 'The woman here die to advance the men's plots'.

Barbara was also a big surprise to me because I figured she'd be the female love interest and nothing more but!! her and Jerome were the best thing in S2 and also the most entertaining thing about the Maniax Plot. (In several ways, I think I had the most fun watching this show during S2 , it was just. Good).

Also upon being in this Fandom and thinking about certain characters a bit longer I also really like Vicky Vale. And Montoya. And I wish they had kept both around for longer.

(I also wish they wouldn't have made Vicky a love interest for Jim. Or Sofia. No love interests for Jim except Lee and Barbara please).

Also Selina!! I love both Selina and Tabitha with all my heart - which may also be surprising because I barely ever talk about Tabby but I contain multitudes aklskddsm, and while I like sharing my horny thoughts about Ecco, I also love to think about Tabby and daydream about her being happy and exploring her (and Selina's) issues with showing weakness and affection and their strong loyalty regarding people that they trust.

I just.....women. Women good.

(Women also deserve to have more character than just being somebody's love interests and I have enough wips that completely sideline the guys to focus on the woman instead lmao).

Least Favourite Character

I don't have many characters that I hate??

I generally tend to instantly love everybody unless they are specifically made to be unlikeable. (I also spite-like characters who are hated for petty reasons, I just have a lot of love in my heart and not much energy for hate lmao).

But there were characters who annoyed me while I was watching.

For one, I think Gotham has a variety of super entertaining villains, but the main villains of each season tend to be....boring.

Safe for Strange they all kinda fell flat for me. Theo. Kathryn. Ra's Al Ghul. His Daughter. Mostly because their plotlines were less exciting than stuff like Jerome's carnival or Mother and Orphan's Hotel of Horrors.

Or their motives seemed a lot less understandable than the ones of the other Batman villains who pretty much always come from a place of suffering and abuse and break/snap under the pressure that's put on them (continuing this take of Gotham creating its own villains by leaving behind - mentally ill - people that need help, which I think is very true to most - if not all - Batman villains).

And then you have some characters that simply suffer from the fact that the show was cut short - which is pretty much any and every S5 character that had way too little screentime, but in this specific case means Jeremiah.

Because I disliked Jeremiah a lot while watching.

Without wanting to step on anybody's toes, him and Nygma are probably the two characters on this show I ended up disliking the most.

Mostly because Miah felt like a very cheap copy of Jerome and to this day I think it was a bad idea to replace Jerome with him, since Jeremiah - to me - seems like a super flat character.

Maybe if we had gotten him without meeting Jerome first, just having a Joker character introduced in S4, maybe I would've adored him, who knows.

But in comparison to Jerome...no. Just no.

(I will spare you from any longer rambles, but I think if you follow me, I talked about the ways Miah is lacking for me before).

My made up version of Miah though? I love him.

With Nygma it's even worse because I adored him. I instantly liked him. I was 100% behind him right up until the godawful Isabella plot happened and then it just all went to shit so quickly, I couldn't stand seeing him on screen anymore.

It's surprising that I didn't stop liking Oswald but to me, Oswald pretty much stayed the same while Ed became all bitter and hard and I just miss dorky S2 Ed you know?

It actually got so bad, I completely turned my back on Nygm/obblepot as a ship because I was so severly disappointed and I barely talk about Ed because I just can't stand what they did with him.

(Another victim of bad writing).

Favourite Ship

I'm just gonna stick to canon ships because I don't ever shut up about my Fanon ships so you probably know which ones I love the most :D

There isn't much romance going on within Gotham if I think about it - apart from Jim - which I definitely prefer. You wouldnt guess it from my blog, but I am not a fan of too shippy stuff because in most cases it just means sex scenes and I can live without those. I want action! Blood! Dead People! Not a two minute make-out session between two bland characters!

I gotta admit that Ed and Lee have some cute scenes and I would definitely ship them if I didn't dislike S4 Ed so much (S2 EdLee tho?? Yes).

Also I thought Jim and Lee was okay and Baby Batcat was quite cute at times but mostly I don't care about the canon ships.

I do ship Barbara and Jim though :D

I remember right before they hooked up in S5 I was like: 'I wouldn't mind if they got back together' and then went 'yay!' when they did and I wouldn't have minded a little more 'Will they?? Won't they??' between those two and them just having the mother of unhealthy relationships on this show.

(Also Jim/Barbara/Lee poly relationship but we can't have everything).

Favourite Friendship

So many good relationships on this show!

I need to rewatch the show soon because I probably already forgot about most of them but from the top of my head: Oswald/Butch and Oswald/Zsazs

Which were both then done dirty lmao. One by having Oswald be overly petty (one of the few times I was like...Pengy...wtf...) and the other by passing up the obvious opportunity to have Zsazs find out who really killed Falcone and just...letting Oswald and Victor never interact again. 

Then of course Ivy and Selina which also gloriously fell apart. Just like Ivy and Oswald. 

(Gotham isn’t the best when it comes to maintaining friendships). 

And the biggest and most grandious friendship of them all: J Squad. 

(Who have too little scenes together honestly and then also simply fell apart after Jerome died. Consistency who?)

Favourite Quote

I don’t know, I don’t have many quotes in my head from the show. Me and my niece mostly reference: “Yeah, that’s a spoon.” - “IT IS ALSO A FORK!!1!!!”

Also: “Gotta Go! Gotta Go! They’re after me and the Scarecrow!”

(There are some dialogue blurps I have written down somewhere because they are inspriration for gifsets but in order to be able to just recite some of them from Memory, I would have to watch this show way more obsessively). 

Worst Character Death

I don’t even gotta say anything do I? :D

But I think the character death that actually made me cry was Jerome’s first death. I clearly remember crying because...he just wanted recognition! And praise! And instead he was used as a pawn and betrayed by someone he idolized and he was only 18! My poor little meow-meow!

Seriously, the only things that make me cry on this show: Jerome’s first death, any and all mention of Bruce as a baby - told by an emotional Alfred, any and all Bruce/Alfred interaction at all and Solomon Grundy. 

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

I seriously need to rewatch this show, it’s been so long :D

But I remember being pretty excited for the J Squad Team Up - because I was like ‘If I were Jerome I would definitely work with Tetch and Scarecrow since they’re also in Arkham atm’ and then he did!!

And I also distinctly remember in S3 that I was close to falling asleep right when they scene came on where Oswald realizes his feelings for Nygma and let me tell you - it caught me so off guard, I was awake instantly lmao. 

(I knew that people shipped them but I was so used to mlm ships being popular when they only have a handful of scenes and are platonic friends that I didn’t expect them to actually have a possibility of being canon). 

From then on I was super pumped for them to deliver on that ship but well....we all knew what happened asnksnndk. 

Saddest Moment

Aside from the already mentioned scenes in the character death column, the scene where Bruce leaves and Selina runs to the airport. I always liked Selina but she wasn’t a priority character of mine (much like Bruce isn’t) but then that scene happened and in an instant, I felt super protective over her. 

She is now my baby. My daughter. My beloved wife. She deserves everything and most importantly she deserves better than Bruce Wayne. 

(Coincidentally that was also the scene where I decided I don’t care much about Bruce asldjkjlj. I absolutely adore early seasons Bruce though). 

Favourite Location

There are so many different locations, I don’t think I can adequately answer this with my spotty memory :D

But I always loved the few episodes where Alice features, because I love how her scenes are shot so probably the little carnival Jervis prepares for her.

Also!! Jeremiah's church!

Or Commissioner Loeb's secret house (Especially the Attic).

There are a lot of cool locations, I gotta gif some of them soon :D

[vikingpoteto]

we don’t have to dance (to the beat of their songs)

Chapter 6 on AO3

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Relationships:  (Gen) Tim Drake & Jason Todd

Tags: Battle for the Cowl, Alternate Canon, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Neglect, Domestic Fluff, Canon is not valid I am, and I want them to be friends goddamnit

Summary: In the middle of their battle, Jason asks Tim to leave the nest and be his Robin. Tim decides it's not a bad idea, after all.

________________________

Normalcy.

Tim doesn’t quite know what that concept entails. Once, it meant taking care of himself in a big house, making sure no one knew how much time he actually spent alone. Another time, it meant solving problems, training hard and answering questions, juggling a double life. Then, leading a team of people who trusted him and whom he failed time and time again. Finally, for a brief period of time, normalcy was running against time to solve an impossible puzzle and being a triple agent.

And now… now he isn’t sure anymore.

It’s a sunny Saturday morning when he wakes up and squints at the window. He wonders how beaten he must’ve been to forget to close the blinds. He scratches his belly and sniffles because less than a few hours ago Ivy freaking bombed a warehouse with allergenic pollen, which was really uncool of her. She didn’t even bother to give them a heads up. She did apologize and gave them an antidote before they parted ways, but… still. Tim wonders if it was less effective on him because… you know.

He lifts his shirt enough to check on the scar. It’s healing well, in spite of everything. He doesn’t bother changing out of his sleeping clothes before going upstairs. Judging by the sun outside, it can’t be later than 11 am, which means…

Ah, yes. Just like he expected: normalcy now means getting out of bed late in the weekend and being greeted by the strong scent of tea, because Jason is a heathen. When Tim stumbles his way to the kitchen, he finds the now familiar sight of Jason in his favorite green hoodie, a mug of tea in his hand, and his nose buried in a heavy looking novel.

“Morning,” Tim mumbles, already searching the cabinets for coffee.

“Food,” Jason orders in lieu of a greeting.

Tim mouths the word food while pulling a face, but obediently grabs a piece of toast from the table. Bickering with Jason over mundane things is part of his routine now, but there are certain things the older boy is absolutely inflexible about. Part of normalcy now means knowing Jason will leave food for Tim and fighting him on whether he wants to eat is pointless. Tim bites into the toast as he prepares his coffee.

“Ivy’s thing worked for you?” Jason asks without raising his gaze from his book.

“Hm-hum,” Tim nods. He’s still sniffling, but it’s true that he felt instantaneous relief when he swallowed the antidote last night. “You good too?”

“Yeah. Still, I can’t believe you just took it when she handed it to you,” Jason puts down his book and glares at Tim.

Tim sits on the counter and shrugs. “If she wanted to kill us, she could’ve left us coughing our lungs out like the rest of the guys in the warehouse.”

“You have trust issues in the most fucked up way, kid.”

“Hey, I happen to trust people who deserve trust,” Tim protests. “It’s not like I would take something from the Penguin. Ivy is pretty chill if you’re not littering or dumping waste in rivers.”

“You have a crush on her or something?” Jason teases.

Tim rolls his eyes but focuses on chewing his toast rather than giving him an answer. Jason takes that as he wants, and snickers, like the idiot he is.

This is normalcy now. Having breakfast in the old kitchen and talking about mundane crap - or at least mundane for them - and it feels… Odd. Tim can’t quite explain it. It isn’t like eating alone in Drake manor. It isn’t like making a mess in Titans Tower - the closest place he ever had to a home - because even there he felt like he had to set an example somehow, to keep everyone in check. It isn’t like awkwardly joining Alfred in the morning, still feeling like Bruce only thought he had to adopt him considering the circumstances.

All in all, this new normalcy doesn’t feel like any Tim had felt before. He doesn’t dislike it.

“I’m probably going to finish the adjustments to your computer system today,” Tim informs him. “I can’t believe we’re finally leaving the stone age.”

“Shut up,” Jason tosses another piece of toast at him. “Also you can stop calling it mine. I hate it and I don’t know how to use it after everything you did to it. The computer is all yours.”

Tim catches the toast and grins around his first bite. “Ooh, look at me, I’m Red Hood, I’m tough and scary, but technology is cursed, Alan Turing was a witch-”

Jason stands. Tim is sure he’s about to either mess up his hair or put Tim in a headlock until he begs for forgiveness, even though he can see the hint of a smile twisting Jason’s lips upwards. Before a wrestling match starts, however, Jason freezes.

“Do you hear that?” he whispers.

Tim listens. He can hear nothing other than distant sirens. Burnley isn’t one of the worst districts in Gotham, but they’re too close to Crime Alley. These streets don’t get a lot of traffic. Not this early in the day, anyway.

Rather than explaining himself, Jason visibly shifts into Red Hood: his shoulders square up and he sets his jaw in a challenging scowl.

“Someone just parked on our driveway.”

Tim’s eyes widen. Could it be that they’ve been found out already? He made sure that the henchmen they got were too distracted by Ivy to notice them, but perhaps he had missed something. Part of him wants to go upstairs and grab his staff - even if that would be a stupid thing to do because he can’t exactly fight Dick into forgetting he lied to him.

Tim follows Jason to the entrance as he is, in his stupid oversized Superboy sweater and with toast crumbles all over his pants. He hadn’t even had his coffee. He peeks through the boards on the window and his stomach drops.

“It isn’t Dick,” he says. “It’s worse.”

Jason reads the worry in Tim’s eyes and lets out a curse. Technically, all the doors to the house are sealed. The only entrance is a block away and it leads to the basement/Red Hood bunker. Jason, however, seems to forget that and grabs the door handle angrily. Tim cringes when he hears the sound of frail wood being ripped because it means Jason’s strength is out of control - which means he’s getting near pit rage.

“How the fuck did you find us?” he barks from the porch.

Barbara Gordon is still adjusting herself in her wheelchair. The icy glare she gives Jason shows that she isn’t impressed by his fury.

Foreseeing disaster, Tim rushes out to put himself between Jason and Barbara. “It’s fine, let me talk to her!”

Jason glares at him. Although there’s a prominent vein pulsing on his brow and there’s definitely a hint of green in his eyes, he grits his teeth and stops. Tim sighs in relief before turning to Babs:

“Damian saw us, didn’t he?” he asks.

“What the hell does the brat have to do with this?” Jason hisses.

“Logic,” Tim shrugs. “I’ve been taking care of our digital trail. If Babs knows about us, it means one of the heroes under her watch saw us. Cass is in Hong Kong. Steph and Dick would’ve confronted us right away. The only option left is Damian.”

Jason groans and his eyes have mostly returned to their usual shade of brown. Tim had somehow annoyed him into calming down, which is a skill he’s getting better at every day. Tim smiles a little.

“Well,” Barbara says, her voice sharp. “You thought no one was going to notice two extra vigilantes running around?”

“Not forever, no,” Tim admits, trying to sound apologetic. "We wanted to be left on our own for as long as we could, though. We don’t need external interference.”

At that, Barbara looks scandalized. “Absolutely wrong. Get me a freaking ramp or get down here, Timothy, I’m going to beat the crap out of you.”

Jason lets out an annoyed huff, to which Tim glares at him. He has no business getting mad at Barbara for threatening them when he promises to beat Tim up at least three times a day. Five, if it’s not a school day.

“Why don’t we postpone the violence,” Tim suggests, his eyes not leaving Jason’s, “and just… have a chat? Inside? Jason just made tea.”

An annoyed grunt is all the response Jason gives him before making his way back inside.  He doesn’t slam the door behind him, which is as good as a yes. Tim rolls his eyes before climbing down the steps to help Barbara up the porch.

“By the way, how did you find our address?” he asks.

“Tim, please,” she huffs. “After I saw the footage from Damian’s bodycam, all I had to do was track your online footprint. You think I couldn’t notice the upgrades you’ve been making?”

That’s fair, and Tim should’ve predicted that possibility. Granted, if no one had seen them, Barbara wouldn’t know there was something to track.

He pushes her wheelchair to the living room where Jason is waiting for them. The older boy is sitting on their crappy couch with his knees spread out and his fingers steepled. It would’ve been an impressive crime lord pose to welcome someone if his green hoodie wasn’t sprinkled with toast crumbs.

Not that Barbara is that easy to intimidate.

“So what the hell happened?” She demands. “You left that night and went to meet the guy that almost killed you and two of your brothers?”

That stings. Barbara wasn’t there that night. Tim wonders if things would’ve been any different if she had been. Would she have listened to his theory or just called him crazy as Dick and Cassie had?

Well. All in all, he knew Barbara would always be there for Dick first. He never blamed her for that, because her partnership with Dick was far deeper than any impact Tim could’ve made in her life. He takes a seat by Jason’s side, farther from her.

“Damian also tried to kill me,” Tim reminds her. “And Dick fired me right after Jason offered me a job. Between the attempted murder and no job, and the same but with a gig...”

She takes off her glasses and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“That freaking idiot,” she mutters to herself. Then, raising her gaze to meet Tim’s: “He didn’t mean to fire you.”

Tim clenches his teeth. “It sure seemed like it when I woke up and saw Damian wearing my old costume,” he snaps.

He feels Jason whipping his head towards him, and he curses himself. He had never revealed the gritty details of his dismissal for a reason. He reminds himself that Dick gave him Robin and it was his right to take it away, he has no reason to be this angry. That only serves to make him more bitter, though.

“I’m not saying Dick wasn’t stupid,” Barbara continues, her brow furrowing. “I already had some words with him about it. It doesn’t mean it was okay for you to just vanish for months, Tim. And then you’re back and you don’t talk to anyone. Not even Steph? Me?”

“Oh, fuck right off,” Jason snaps.

Barbara goes stiff. Tim groans, because now he has to push his anger further away to be able to stop the two of them. Before he can say anything, Jason continues:

“You’re talking as if I fucking kidnapped him. You know damn well how capable he is,” he barks. “The kid made a choice. I swear to fuck, everyone‘s a critic…”

Barbara opens her mouth but closes it again without saying anything. She presses her lips into a tight line. It isn’t often you see Oracle at a loss for words. For the first time, she looks at Jason without any animosity, her thoughts bare in her eyes. Unlike the boys, Barbara doesn’t play games. She doesn’t hide her emotions on purpose. The longing in her eyes is almost palpable, as though she’s seeing a dear relative she lost a long time ago, and she can’t reach them.

“What are you two thinking?” She asks. “What are you doing?”

“What we do best,” Tim says simply. “Vigilante work.”

“You told Dick you retired,” Barbara points out. “Then you ghosted him. He keeps waiting for you to come back.”

“He likes to do that,” Jason says. Now his voice is barely a whisper. “He says he’ll be there if you need him. Who says we need him, though?”

Barbara hesitates. “I told… Never mind. Just… I’m glad you’re back, Tim. And I’m glad you’re not dead again, Jason.”

Tim smiles. Jason looks like he wants to glance around to make sure she’s not talking to someone else. When it becomes clear she isn’t, he somehow looks even more uncomfortable.

“So,” he starts. “What now?”

“We fight for Tim’s custody, obviously,” Barbara smiles.

The peaceful moment ends when Tim and Jason start protesting out loud over one another. Barbara giggles at the cacophony of half-words, something along the lines of fuck off, not a child get your own damn kid responsible for myself-

“I’m joking!” She shouts to be heard over their complaints. “Jesus, you boys get riled up so easily.”

“I’m not a boy,” Tim and Jason say at the same time.

They glare at each other. Barbara rolls her eyes.

“Now,” she continues as though they didn’t interrupt her, “let me see your work, Tim. I’m going to give you guys a free upgrade.”

“Like hell you are,” Jason says. “How do we know you’re not spying on us for Dick?”

She arches an eyebrow. “Funny. I thought you two were fighting rogues, not Batman. Why would Dick want to spy on you?”

“Because he’s a meddler and he doesn’t trust me,” Jason states as though it’s a fact.

“To be fair, you did try to kill Tim. And Damian. And Dick,” she retorts. Before Jason can say anything back, she raises a hand to ask for patience. “It doesn’t matter to me, though. Barbara Gordon is Dick Grayson’s best friend and partner. Oracle, however, is an ally to anyone trying to protect Gotham. I’ll help you two like I help Batman, the Birds of Prey, and even Batgirl.”

Jason frowns. “I thought Cassandra was in Hong Kong.”

“Well,” Tim scratches his own nape, feeling suddenly guilty. “Actually… there might be a new Batgirl in town.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it!” Tim says. “I swear it just slipped my mind with everything else I had to report!”

Jason looks like he wants to grab a cushion and smother Tim to death. Before he can do as much, Barbara clears her throat loudly and says:

“Anyway… Support. I don’t talk about the vigilantes under my watch. Not to Batgirl. Not to Batman.”

Jason crosses his arms and leans back against the couch, his brow furrowed. Tim fights the urge to pat away the crumbs from his hoodie and waits patiently. Technically, this is Jason’s operation and he’s the one calling the shots. Tim has his own opinions, but in the end, a sidekick is supposed to follow orders.

Then Jason turns to Tim. “Replacement?”

He… does he want Tim’s opinion?

“I trust Barbara,” Tim says without hesitation. “And having Oracle’s help is going to be a game-changer.”

Jason considers that for a moment. It’s clear that he isn’t happy about the conclusions he’s drawing but, in the end, he sighs in defeat.

“Fine,” Jason says. “But if you tattle about what we’re doing, you’re gonna regret it.”

“Why, gee, Jason, how kind of you to allow me to help you guys,” Barbara snaps.

The two of them start bickering, but Tim tunes them out for a moment. It isn’t like Bruce and Dick never asked him for his opinion. They did. A lot. He simply hadn’t expected Jason to do the same. And so openly too. Bruce liked to pretend Tim’s input was but a piece to a puzzle he was assembling by himself. It seems like Jason isn’t above taking Tim’s words at face value and explicitly showing that he was part of the decision making.

It’s… nice. Not quite like being a sidekick, but not like having a whole team depending on him alone. Tim decides he likes this.

“Alright, alright, enough,” he says, standing up. “Come on, Babs, let me show you our office. Do you want some tea?”

“Anything but Earl Grey,” she says, allowing Tim to push her wheelchair towards the kitchen. “Don’t tell Alfred.”

“Wha… Does that make me the cook?” Jason complains.

Tim gives him a pointed look. “Do you wanna help her with the computer instead?”

Jason starts grumbling and cursing under his breath, but he still starts looking for something in the cupboards.

Unlike the Batcave, the secret entrance to the basement isn’t very fancy: just a couple of tiles that can be removed and a ladder. Tim helps Barbara out of her chair and she climbs down on her own. He has to admire her core strength. A little juggling with the folded chair later, he joins her and helps her to the seat again.

As soon as she’s comfortable, rather than rolling straight to the computer, she wraps her arms around Tim a little tighter. Surprised, but not much, he hugs her back.

“I missed you,” she whispers. “I’m so, so glad you’re back.”

Tim squeezes her. He always loved Barbara’s hugs. He doesn’t say anything, though, because he doesn’t think he can. There’s a knot in his throat stopping any sound from coming out. He tightens the embrace a little more and hopes she knows what he means without him needing to say anything.

Barbara pulls back first, her expression somber. “Jason looks better.”

“He is,” Tim assures.

“Still… I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do,” Tim says and there’s not a hint of doubt in his voice. “I… I guess I understand why he did what he did. And Jason is a hero too, Babs. I didn’t forget that, even if some of you did.”

She presses her lips into a tight line and at first, Tim thinks it’s due to the implied accusation. Then something clicks, and he thinks it must’ve been because he referred to the Batfamily as ‘some of you’. For a while, he refused to think of himself as an outsider - he was Timothy Wayne after all - but, at some point, it seems like he started accepting he might not be one of them anymore. It still stings.

However, he also realizes he can live with that. Maybe it’s because of how easy it’d been to get used to Jason, to this new normalcy that feels truly normal after so little time. Tim may have left, but it isn’t Red Robin and them. It’s us and them. And, if everything goes according to his plans, they’re soon going to be at least on the same side.

For now, it’s enough.

There was a time in Tim’s life when he didn’t mind making small talk. His mother drilled into his head that he was supposed to be pleasant and polite and that there’d be consequences if he embarrassed his father in front of his associates. Timothy could lose a whole week of his allowance for chewing with his mouth open during a business dinner. It was more about the inconvenience of being scolded than the punishment, really, but Tim learned pretty fast that being sociable and polite was easier.

It’s been a long time, though. Tim’s lost his touch. Or so it feels when he’s unable to shake off one of his annoying classmates.

“...and then you could totally join us this weekend for the tennis tournament,” she says.

Tim refrains from sighing. He thought all of his classmates had been warned not to mingle with that Drake kid. Even if he was Bruce Wayne’s newest charity case, he slept through most of the classes and talked back to the teachers. Unfortunately, Laney Gonzalez didn’t get the memo.

“I don’t think I should,” Tim says tiredly. “I’m not great at any sports, really.”

“Pff, like I’d believe you!” Laney chuckles and latches onto his arm, squeezing his biceps. “You think we can’t tell how muscular you are under this hideous uniform?”

For fuck’s sake. “No, really,” he tries again, gently prying his arm away with an awkward chuckle. “I’m not good at that sort of thing.”

Go to school, Tim, Jason said. You need an education, Tim. Why doesn’t Jason get an education? Then he could hang back after class, even though there are better things to do because Laney freaking Gonzalez decided it was a good idea to make friends with the weird kid. Tim’s attempts to reach the gates seem to go unnoticed by the girl.

“Come on, Tim,” she insists. “You never join us when we do class stuff. It’ll be fun. You don’t have to play or anything, just… hang out a bit?”

What is a polite way to say I’d rather get into a fistfight with Killer Croc , Tim wonders?

He’s about to make up a family emergency - is she going to notice that his phone didn’t buzz at all? - when he notices a small commotion near the exit. A group of students is eyeing the street curiously, and even the ones leaving are taking another glance at… something. Worried, he lets Laney’s speech about friendships in high school fly over his head, and he moves a bit faster. If something big happened while he was in history class, he’s going to freaking kill…

Jason.

Tim stops dead on his tracks because the thing his fellow schoolmates keep glancing at is none other than Jason Todd himself in all of his glory. He’s leaning against the biggest motorcycle Tim had ever seen and wearing his favorite black leather jacket. Tim is already considering the fastest way to kill himself even before Jason’s face splits into a wicked grin and he opens his arms.

“Timbers! Fancy seeing you here!” He says, no , shouts.

Kids in and out of the schoolyard follow Jason’s gaze and find Tim burying his face in his hands.

“Uh…” Laney is now keeping her distance for once. “You know him?”

Tim is already stomping towards Jason.

“What are you doing here?” He hisses.

Still smiling, Jason hands him a yellow helmet. “Picking you up. Not happy to see me?”

“What if Dick sees you?” Tim protests.

Behind him, someone gasps. Tim turns around and curses when he realizes Laney followed him and thought it was okay to listen to a private conversation.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I should’ve noticed it! For the record, I wasn’t hitting on you, if that’s why you kept refusing. I really just want to be friends.”

Jason looks vaguely amused.

Tim frowns. “What?”

“That’s your boyfriend, I assume?”

“No!” Tim hears himself shouting. “He’s my brother!”

Laney has dark skin, but Tim still notices the way her cheeks go a shade darker. “Oh gosh, is that right? I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you had any brothers other than Dick and Damian!”

Tim wants to die so bad.

“Actually,” Jason says, voice soft, dropping an arm around Tim’s shoulders, “I’m a bit of a family secret, so don’t go tweeting Vicki Vale about it, will you? We’ll know if you babble.”

Scratch that. He doesn’t want to die. He wants to kill Jason.

Laney nods hurriedly and makes a hushed promise to keep the secret. She mumbles something about texting Tim later - Tim is sure that she doesn’t have his number - and half-jogs away from them, her ponytail bobbing behind her. Well, that takes care of that. Laney Gonzalez is probably never going to speak to him again.

He turns around and punches Jason’s arm. “What the fuck was that?”

“I have a lead on that case from last night,” Jason hops on the bike. “Get on, loser, we’re going crime fighting.”

“We had a plan. You think Dick won’t notice you’re picking me up from school?” Tim complains. He’s already climbing the bike behind Jason, though.

“Tim, what did I tell you about plans again?”

Tim sighs as he puts the helmet on. He rests his forehead against Jason’s back as though he doesn’t even have the strength to sit up straight anymore. Make a plan. The plan goes wrong. Throw it away.

“Besides, Barbara knows. The Gremlin knows. It’s just a matter of time before we have Bitchard and Brat Girl on our asses.”

He starts the bike before Tim is ready, but Tim makes a point of looping his arms around his waist and swallowing a startled yelp when they go from zero to very fast.

It isn’t until they’re several blocks away from Gotham Academy that Tim fully understands what he’d just done. He told a random classmate he had an extra brother. He told her Jason was his brother. He briefly considers letting go of Jason’s waist and letting himself fall into the asphalt.

“Shit,” he mutters to himself. “I’m sorry.”

Jason eyes back briefly before turning his attention back to the street. Between the helmet and the speed, Tim didn’t catch even a glance of his expression, but he can picture it just fine. It’s been barely three weeks since they started living together, but this is normal for him now. He knows Jason’s mildly intrigued face just as well as his own.

“For what?” Jason asks.

“For saying you’re my brother. I panicked.”

Again, he remembers the early days at Wayne manor. Bruce had sworn off adoptions and Tim could only stay after he promised that wouldn’t be an issue.  Hell, Tim tried to keep his word even after his dad died, and yet…

Jason mumbles something that gets lost over the wind.

“What?”

“I said whatever, man!” Jason snaps. “I don’t think adoption expires after death. Technically we are brothers.”

Tim doesn’t say anything. He should know better than to keep making the same mistake.

But isn’t going after Jason a recurrent mistake in itself anyway?

“It’s better like this, to be honest,” Jason says. “It’d be weird to be living with a random minor, I guess.”

It’s basically an automatic response at this point: “You’re two years older than me.”

“I’m legally an adult. You’re not,” Jason reminds him.

“You’re legally dead, actually,” Tim points.

Jason barks out a burst of laughter. “Look at you, Timmy, saying such mean things. Am I a bad influence on you?”

“Now, that tone is creepy. Drop it or I’ll make us crash. You know I have no regard for my own safety.”

Tim is definitely doing that talking without thinking thing again.

“Ugh, don’t I know it,” Jason groans. “Should’ve considered that before taking a fucking kamikaze as my partner.”

Tim perks up. “Hey…!”

“You’re not allowed to name yourself Kamikaze,” Jason cuts him off. “First, that would probably be racist, and second, because you’re not naming yourself after suicidal pilots. You chose Red Robin. No takesie backsies.”

“Fine, mom,” Tim pouts.

Jason speeds up and Tim takes that as his cue to pretend the purr of the engine is too loud for them to talk.

For once in his life, Tim decides to really throw the plan away and see where this goes. This is just his new routine and Tim is nothing if not adaptable.

The case should be simple enough: someone had destroyed an underground casino and killed the bosses responsible for keeping the place running. All of the workers had been spared. They would consider it an everyday case if the same thing hadn’t happened again somewhere near the Narrows. The two places didn’t have anything in common other than the business they ran - gambling, prostitution… the works.

Tim spent hours thinking of a personal motive and so far he had discarded personal vendetta and random coincidence. The methods didn’t match one of the rogues they knew and, although he didn’t say it out loud, Tim feared they had another Red Hood like vigilante in their hands.

When Red Hood and Red Robin come out that night, they’re following one of Hood’s hunches.

“I still think I could’ve done this alone,” Red mumbles.

“I still think I could’ve done this alone,” Hood mocks in a high-pitched voice.

Red Robin glares at him and, even in the dirty dark alley, Hood doesn’t miss it. He sighs.

“Do you trust Oracle or not?” He sighs.

“Of course I do,” the boy mumbles. “Still, it would be more efficient…”

“To split up and have each of us cover a place. We’ve been over this. Oracle said she’d make sure the other place is closed for the night. If I’m right - and I usually am - our guy is gonna attack here.”

Red rolls his eyes but decides not to argue any further. He’s pretty sure this is punishment for forcing Hood to accept Oracle’s help, by keeping him close and refusing to let him do part of the job alone. Alas. Let Hood be petty for now. He’ll learn soon enough that having Oracle backing you up is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

However, now that he thinks about it, Red Robin hasn’t done anything big alone since his debut. Patrolling and stopping random muggins is one thing, but the attack on Black Mask’s warehouses? The bust of the big drug traffic operation at the harbor? This odd murder case? In all of these high profile cases, Hood demanded that he and Red Robin attacked together.

He makes a mental note to think about the possible meaning of that later. Right now he has to focus on finding suspicious activity, which is surprisingly hard. Once they’re at the strategic point Red Robin picked and getting set for the stakeout, Hood seems to have similar thoughts, because he comments:

“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, huh?”

Red sighs. “We’re not breaking into their office. We can’t risk spooking the murderer.”

The older boy shrugs and they settle down to wait.

This is a part of the job Red Robin was oddly fond of. There’s something about just sitting on a roof and waiting that is calming to him. He loved the adventure and solving mysteries and fighting bad guys and the thrill. That being said, there was something satisfying about taking your time and waiting to act. Just them too high up to be seen, the only witnesses being the cold night air and the certainty that they’re doing something good and saving innocents.

Tim wondered if it was fucked up of him to love this so much. He’s been in contact with the ugliest parts of humanity since he was a little boy, after all. After Cissie retired, he thought about it a lot. Like Cissie, he didn’t have special powers. He was just another boy that got himself into a crazy situation. Why couldn’t he be just another civilian, unaware of Gotham’s nightlife? Enjoy school, as Jason wanted him to? Live a long life, maybe die of old age?

Tim likes to think that the fact that he loves this so much means that he was made for this life.

“What do you think we’re facing tonight?” He asks.

Red Hood starts talking and Red Robin listens to him. Unlike Tim, Jason is all about instinct and passion. Whereas Tim collects clues and puts together theories, Jason understands the reasoning behind them and comes up with hunches that Tim couldn’t dream of. Red Robin loves to hear his hypothesis because it’s almost like having a book read out loud to you, and an enjoyable one at that.

He’s almost satisfied, all things considered.

Hood suddenly stops talking. As fast as lightning, he reaches into his holster and, before Red Robin even thinks of stopping him, Red Hood stands and points his gun at something - no, someone - right behind them. He pulls the trigger.

Red Robin opens his mouth in horror, but, rather than a lifeless body dropping to the ground he watches the invader dodge the bullet as though it’s nothing, almost gracefully. He reaches for his staff, but the invader is already running towards them again and Hood is getting about to take another shot. The invader’s cape flies behind them, dropping from their head and revealing... a familiar face.

Hood’s finger is already on the trigger and Red realizes this time she’ll have no time to dodge. Without thinking twice, he jumps between Red Hood and the woman.

“ TIMOTHY !” Hood barks, pointing the gun upwards.

“I know her!” Red Robin shouts at one of them. Maybe at both of them. “I know her! She’s my friend!”

The woman’s stopped as well. She’s looking at them with her head tilted to the side. Without minding Hood behind him, Red Robin faces her and takes in her appearance. She’s still bald. Still rocking all the scars - maybe she even has new ones? - and she’s still dressed like a grunge-rock singer from the late 90’s. He’d recognize her anywhere.

“Pru?” He confirms. “Prudence Wood?”

Her shoulders relax when she hears his voice. She reaches for something in her pocket - Hood gets tense again behind him - but all she grabs is a piece of paper. It’s crumpled and a bit dirty, as though she’s been walking around with it in her pocket for a while.

Without hesitation, Red takes it from her unresisting fingers and reads the words someone - presumably Pru herself - had hurriedly scribbled:

I knew this would get your attention, the paper says, I’m here to warn you. The Head of the Demon is coming after you.

And, just like that, Tim’s frail normalcy is gone.

[maximumsnow]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: A Hat in Time (Video Game) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: The Conductor (A Hat in Time), The Conductor's Grandchildren, Hat Kid (A Hat In Time) Additional Tags: The grandchildren have names because I could not find a way around it that would be believable, Don't think too hard on them, This was mostly canon compliant until I decided to be self indulgent at the end whoops, Parental Conductor, THIS IS VERY MUCH A FIC I HAD WANTED TO READ BUT HAD TO WRITE Summary: Of all the things that could have happened on the cruise, The Conductor definitely hadn't bet on the ship sinking. He has to find his grandchildren before the worst can happen.

Aka, It kills me that you find The Conductor in an empty playroom in Rock the Boat. There's no way he could have known the babies were safe while he was stuck there, and if he even remotely cared about them, I wouldn't imagine him taking it well.

-

The Conductor hadn’t even spent a full day on the ship, and when he was back on dry land, he was going to file a complaint. He’d been searching for a bathroom for the better part of an hour, and he was extremely lucky he literally stumbled upon a seal who knew where it was.

Said seal was trying to clean a giant mess in front of the only door to said bathroom.

“WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BATHROOM ON THIS PECKING SHIP?!” He was practically jumping with anger as he yelled. The pleasant buzz from the alcohol had long since worn off, and his irritation about the situation was only building to a proper explosion.

“I’m vewy sowwy, but we’we wowking on it.” The seal seemed appropriately apologetic, but was otherwise unfazed by Conductor’s loud anger.

The moon penguin in front of him snapped literally and figuratively, "Stop bothering them! I can't hold on for much longer, and if you-"

He checked out of the tirade the penguin clearly needed to direct at someone. Even though the penguins had a strong loyalty to that peck neck Grooves, he really didn't have the energy to fight them with the same fervor. They weren't the one constantly driving him up the wall, and he had other things to focus on.

Such as getting through that door.

Somewhere between getting called "a has-been director" and "the worst thing to happen to bird cinema since The Birds," the Conductor realized that the seal had made absolutely no progress on cleaning the mess. Every spill that was sopped up with the mop was replaced by a new glass falling out of the cart.

It was like watching the new tech owl trying to wrangle the lights.

Making an executive decision, he decided he would take matters into his own hands and jumped ahead of the still ranting penguin. He heard them squawk indignantly, but he was already bolting towards the wall by the blocked off door.

He used his momentum to climb up the wall and hopped onto the walkway that apparently served as a roof for the bathroom. The seal had ignored him as they continued their neverending task, but the moon penguin’s dropped jaw was hilarious. Apparently they forgot that he still did his own stunts.

Cackling, he turned away and dropped down the other side. There was a tool cabinet flush against the wall, and at the top, he saw what he was hoping for. The opening didn’t even have a vent cover, which made things even easier. Clambering up the drawers as if they were stairs, he was FINALLY inside.

Along with another seal with a dining cart.

He had more urgent matters to take care of though, so he brushed away the question of, “How the peck?!” For later.

He had to pass by the seal again as he washed his hands, so he asked, “Ah, need some help?”

“No thank woo. My fweind will let me out once they’we done.”

He still had a drink with his name on it and, and was not about wast time arguing. “If ye insist,” he casually said before jumping for the vent opening and climbing out. Once he was on the tool cabinet again, he paused as he tried to figure out the quickest way to the bar.

This ship was convoluted, not like his train, which was mostly a straight line. Sure it would get tweaked for certain movies, but for a train to actually go, you couldn’t deviate from the norm. But this thing didn’t have stairs where they should, and in order to get anywhere, he had had to jump and climb.

That was not an easy task while toting around five rowdy little ones.

He hopped onto the balcony so he could get a better look at where the next jump was when the entire ship violently tipped to the side. The Conductor gripped the railing to keep him self grounded, but he nearly lost his grip when the ship tipped the other way.

“WHAT THE PECK IS GOING ON?!” He screeched at a seal that flew by. Whatever was said was lost in the ruckus of the ship tipping once again, and he caught them with one hand as they were flung back in his direction.

One of the bulky Mafia humans on a balcony across from him yelled, “Driver must have lost mind!”

“Captain was on bweak!” The seal helpfully added.

They were jerked as the ship swerved, causing him to scream,“THEN WHAT PECK NECK IS STEERING?” If he wasn’t clinging for dear life, he would be stamping his feet.

Any further conversation was cut short by a loud metallic screech as the ship jerked to a dead stop before tilting. With the side that the Conductor was on sinking straight into the water.

The seal started to squirm before insisting, “Let go, mister! I can swim!”

Given that he couldn’t hold onto the struggling seal with only one hand, he had to take their word for it. The water was already close enough that the fall wouldn’t even faze them, and he needed to get out quickly.

Once the seal was in the water, a few others were already pulling up a lifeboat to their area, and they directed all the passengers towards it. If it wasn’t for the owl and penguin clearly calling the shots from the boat, he would have wondered where the sudden competency came from.

Shifting his grip, he pulled himself upwards so that he was balanced on the railing. At first he was going to make a jump for the lifeboat, before something icy gripped his heart. “OI, PECK NECK!” he yelled towards the boat. He didn’t care which one answered, “Have ye been to the children’s playroom!?”

“No, sir! we’re trying to get everyone close to the water first,” The owl responded. That was all he needed to know, and he jumped for the still intact bounce pad. “S-sir!” He could hear the owl call for him as he used the spring to trampoline upwards, but he had other priorities.

The little ones were in danger, and he couldn’t wait for someone else to find them.

His jump carried him almost half-way up the side of the ship, but there wasn’t an easy place for him to land. Expletives left his beak as he realized this fact, and his claws screeched against the metal as he slipped back down the side. The fall was halted when he managed to grab onto a window ledge and pull himself up.

All he could think was to jump to the next balcony he could see and keep going up. Even as the ship leaned further over, he fought gravity itself to reach the next hand hold.

He couldn’t let them die. He promised his daughter he would take care of the children on this trip, and that they would all have a good time. She wasn’t supposed to worry about them drowning while they were with him. He couldn’t let her down. He couldn’t let them down.

Even if it meant he died trying to save them.

With the speed that had carried him through the opening of Train Rush, he managed to climb nine-tenths of the way up when he saw a problem. There was a patch of pure white and then glass before the railing at the top of the ship.

Nothing to hold onto.

And the water was only climbing higher.

His best bet was to jump and pray that he could reach the railing. With no time to lose, he took his only available option.

Which thankfully worked out; he was able to grip the railing that kept people from falling off the top of the ship and pull himself over. Just in time for several pool toys and floats to slide down and bounce into him.

If he popped one or two out of frustration when trying to get them out of the way, no one needed to know.

With everything turning on its side and sliding, the path to the playroom was perilous. He could even see the icy pool water spilling out and flooding the lower level of the deck. From his position, he could see that the remaining vacationers were scrambling to the exit on the opposite end from his destination.

None of them were carrying little balls of yellow feathers.

All the pool chairs on the upper level where he was were heaping together into a miserable pile. At least one tipped over the edge once it hit the glass. But, it meant there was a mostly clear path to the dome that he knew covered the playroom, and he took off running.

Until the angle became too much for him to keep his feet on the walkway.

His chin hit the boards before gravity rolled him back towards the railing he just left.

He couldn’t fail. Not now. Not when he was so pecking close.

Pulling out a knife, he jammed it into the wood to stop his descent. The pain in his shoulder told him he would feel that in the morning, but he would worry about that when the little ones weren’t in danger.

He tugged the knife a few times to ensure it was well and truly wedged in before pulling himself up and grabbing the edge of the deck. The angle of the ship now meant that once he was over the edge, he could stand on it, and once there, he prepared himself for a dive towards the still open door to the playroom.

The landing was a bit rough, but he was finally in there.

And it was empty.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, he called out, “Ainsley? Maisie? Innes? Rory? Alister? Yer grandpa’s here!” As each name came out, his voice became more desperate and pleading, and it nearly cracked by the last word.

All he heard was silence other than the sound of water leaking in.

Speaking of which, he could feel the chill of the arctic ocean through his shoes, and he clambered onto the desk before the water could soak more of his clothing. Still frantically looking, he noticed that the circular playpen, while still attached to the floor, was tilted so that the opening was hanging over the water that had already accumulated.

His heart stopped.

The little ones couldn’t swim.

He jumped into the water in a panicked frenzy. With frantic movements, he swept his arms around as he searched. His arm bumped into something, and without hesitation, he grabbed it and swam up. Once he surfaced, he got a better look. A part of him was afraid of the answer, but he needed to know.

It was a dinky toy.

“RAAAAUGH.” Screaming in frustration, he threw the toy against a wall, uncaring of where it landed. Which, after bouncing a few times, it slid right back into the rapidly swelling pool. “WHERE ARE MY PECKING GRANDCHILDREN?!”

Any further screaming was halted as he felt the cold bite of the water finally getting through his desperate and angry haze.

He already knew that he couldn’t handle arctic water well after the incident in the pool.

They have no chance of surviving that.

The thought weighed him down even more than his currently wet clothes. Climbing out of the water was difficult thanks to his shaking limbs, and he wasn’t sure if that was thanks to the physical or emotional numbness.

With the ship almost completely on its side, he couldn’t see a way out, so he pulled himself into the concave curve of the glass-like dome that was once the ceiling of this room.

And waited.

He wasn’t sure for what. Even if he was found, would he be able to live knowing that he had failed his precious grandchildren? He shouldn’t have left them to drink for hours. He hadn’t even explored the boat for other activities he couldn’t do with them around. He had just wasted his time in one spot on alcohol and not spending the last few hours of their lives with them.

He was an awful grandfather. An awful father. Maybe his other daughter was right. Maybe he was just a selfish bastard who never cared for his family.

Thoughts continued to spiral as he stood up, and he couldn’t help but contemplate the water before him.

Until a loud splash brought him to the present, and jerked his attention back to the very crooked entrance.

It was the hatted lassie.

She was jumping across the platforms with the skill and speed he expected from her, but he couldn’t figure out what she was doing here. She should have been on one of the life boats! He was about to say as much when she got to him, but she picked him up without any preamble.

He couldn’t help but squawk at the sudden action, and he gave a half-hearted reminder about his feathers that she clearly wasn’t paying attention to.

Unwilling to potentially drag her down with him by struggling, he kept quiet as he let her carry him out of the playroom and to the last life boat. He couldn’t help but shiver as his damp clothing was exposed to the wind, but the minor tremors did not deter the lass.

When they made it to the boat, there was a fair amount of rescues there, including two Express Owls. Who looked overjoyed when he saw them.

“Conductor, your grandkids have been looking for you! We went ahead and sent the other boats on-”

“Don’t wait up for me pup. Get in a boat and scram. This is my dang ship, and I’ll go down with it,” the Captain’s voice echoed over the water.

The immense relief at finding out the little ones were safe was then shattered when the lass started running back to the boat. Likely to rescue the stubborn captain.

“Wait, lass, where yer going? You wanna save HIM?” He shouted at the fleeing child. The Captain was a Walrus for Peck’s sake! He could hold his breath long enough to swim away if he wanted to! And if he didn’t want to… well, the lass shouldn’t be risking her life!

“I’m not gonna hang around a sinking ship! If you don’t make it back quick, we’ll leave without yer!” Some part of him had hoped that would scare her back, but she was already climbing into the top of the ship and had clearly ignored him.

“She saved some of your kids, you know?” The moon penguin whispered to the frustrated owl. “I don’t think she has it in her to leave anyone behind.”

While he knew that was true, it didn’t ease his agitation. The ship was already halfway sunk; they didn’t have much time before they would be endangered too. They couldn’t wait forever.

The boat couldn’t stay so close to the ship and had to move, but between the seals moving some capsized life boats around and some of them staying back to guide, there was a clear path from the ship to their boat. He could only hope she saw it.

Waiting was agony, and there wasn’t much room to pace. “Where’s the lass? The ship is sinking, we gotta get out of here.” After about a minute, he yelled again, “Get over here, lassie, We’re leaving NOW!” It was only thanks to his light weight that he was able to jump up and down to express his impatience.

The Express Owl that had the misfortune of being right next to him rubbed his head to clear the ringing from his ears.

After a minute, the lass hopped down from an icy ledge while carrying the Captain. The sight made the Conductor do a double take. Sure he knew that she was light on her feet and good at jumping, but that didn’t necessarily translate to carrying someone ten times your weight. He hadn’t thought much on her carrying himself since he wasn’t much taller than her and significantly lighter, but this was strange.

The relief returned, however, and overpowered the confusion. She was a strange one, yes, but she was consistently strange.

And safe now.

Everyone gave their thanks to the lass as the boat caught up with the others, and the Conductor threw in his own deeply felt appreciation. “Aye, thank you lass. The little ones haven’t learned to swim yet!”

Speaking of.

He could hear the excited peeps from his grandchildren when they saw him. Alister was waving his rubber knife around with excited glee, and it was only thanks to a strangely alert seal that kept him from jumping out of the boat and towards his grandpa. Of course the Conductor couldn’t help but wave and make a silly face at him.

When he could tear his attention away from the little ones, he noticed something… familiar glowing in the middle of the boat with his grandchildren. A glowing hourglass.

Oh PECK.

He heard the Captain say something about the shiny thing on the glacier, and while that caught his attention, he was a lot more worried about something so dangerous in the middle of his grandchildren.

Before he could make his own path, the lass must have come to the same realization and booked it over to claim the Time Piece to send back to her ship and away from clumsy and curious hands.

The time piece itself vanished in an instant, but the lass remained this time. She sunk onto the bench, and he could tell even from this distance that she looked exhausted.

He decided to hop over now that the lass had claimed her prize, and the little ones immediately started to climb all over him. Unfazed, he picked them all up for the best group hug he could deliver. Maisie was initially reluctant to let go, clutching him as tightly as her beak held her pacifier, so he cradled the little one in one arm as he placed the others down.

With the little ones assured of his presence, he joined the lass on the bench. Innes crawled up to sit on his lap still clutching their sunhat, and the others all hovered around him before settling near his feet and leaning against his legs.

He wasn’t sure why the lass hadn’t left yet; generally, once she had her Time Piece, she would leave as soon as possible. He opened his beak to ask the question, but as he turned, he noticed that she was hunched over and trembling.

Thinking about how they were in the arctic and how she had just been hopping and running around in the water, it concerned him. Quietly, he asked, “Are ye cold, lass? Need anything to warm ye up?”

What he hadn’t expected was the lass to turn her face up to him and for her to be crying. “I’m sorry!” she sobbed before burying her face into her hands.

At first, he was confused. “Why are ye apologizing? It’s not like this-”

Before he could complete that sentence, she wailed, “Yes, it is! I saw that Time Piece and. And.” She couldn’t keep talking before another sob broke out. Whatever she had been about to say was lost, and she instead said, “Almost hurt everyone...”

The puzzle put itself together. The Time Piece. She wrecked the ship and endangered all of their lives for one of those hourglasses? A part of him really wanted to be angry. It was a very loud and vocal part of himself.

But the other part saw a clearly guilt-wracked child, and his parental nature told the angry part to peck off.

He shifted the little one in his arm to the other side before reaching out to gently touch her shoulder. “Ye didn’t mean it to turn out like this,” he stated when she looked up at him in surprise. “Everyone was talking about how the ship couldnae sink, and well. How were ye supposed to know?”

She clearly didn’t accept that. “It doesn’t matter… I still-”

“Beatin’ yerself up over it isn’t gonna help, trust me on that one, lass. We all make mistakes. Some of them terrible. But everyone got off that death trap, thanks to you.”

The lass glanced around at the few lifeboats that were around them. “There’s no way that’s it!”

“Lass, ye saw the way to get on before the boat left the dock. It thinned out most of the crowd since they couldnae get on board. Everyone who got that far had to fly or jump.”

After a moment, the lass leaned into his touch until she let him give a one sided hug. The shaking had lessened by then, he noted.

They stayed in that position for a while, and now that he was still, the dampness in his clothes was making itself known again. The lass noticed and asked, “Why are you so cold?”

“I uh, might have taken a dip earlier. While trying to find the little ones.”

The somber look returned to her face, and he kicked himself at his callous reminder of what they had just gone through. The moment was interrupted by a seal with a penguin perched on top approaching their boat, and the penguin asked, “We got some blankets stored in our boat, need any?”

“YES!” The lass shouted. “He’s like a birdcicle at this point!”

That got a loud laugh from the Conductor. “Ye need one too, lass!”

After they got blankets brought over, the Conductor got the little ones wrapped up in their own so that they would nap for a while. Their rescue boat was still a distance away, and he didn’t want them to get into any trouble before then. He noticed that Ainsley’s white hat was damp somehow, so he plucked it off. She chirped in protest but calmed down when he let her hold onto it like a toy.

With his limbs free, he cocooned in his blanket and watched the lass follow suit with hers. Eventually, she ended up leaning against him again, and he finally said, “Ye could just go back to yer ship, right? It’ll be safer for ye.”

“Not fair to you guys...” She mumbled.

It really didn’t sit right with him that she insisted on suffering along with them, but arguing wasn’t going to change her mind. “… How about ye head back once the rescue boat gets here? We’ll be safe by then.”

The lass mulled it over before finally agreeing. “Sure. That’ll be… fine.” A yawn interrupted the reply, and she jerked away.

“Ye can sleep, there’s not much to do other than wait.”

She must have been tired enough to not argue, because she simply leaned back against him, and her breathing slowed after a few minutes.

With all his charges accounted for and resting, the Conductor smiled in relief. He was tired, for sure, but he would deal with that later.

“Rest well, lass.”

[codedredalert]

paint the flag and fly it high

gen, oneshot | Law & Heart Pirates, Law & Donquixote brothers | 4,138 words

Law had a statement to make, and every warning needed a recipient. (Or, how they got the Heart Pirates name, symbol and submarine.)

Tags: cute heart pirates interactions, trust and friendship, law angst, nightmares, mild body horror, mention of canonical genocide, mention of canonical character death, canon compliant, the law novels have no power over me

(Read on Ao3.)

@mothersea-zine collab with @smarties-art​ whose lovely art can be found here. 

===/\===

.

“Boss,” said Shachi with a tone of great importance. “We need a flag.”

Law turned to look at him, leaving only one hand on the helm of their little stolen fishing boat.

“We have a flag,” replied Law, puzzled. The fishing boat was flying the Spider Miles flag. Shachi knew this, as did Penguin and Bepo. Law had specifically told them to hijack a Spider Miles vessel because Law remembered just enough of the port registry and rules to make a convincing bluff if he had to.

Shachi floundered and waved his hands.

“No, like. A flag to show we’re pirates!” he explained.

Ah, Shachi meant a Jolly Roger. Law had already been considering it, but Shachi was fun to tease.

“If you really want everyone to know we’re pirates,” started Law very seriously and Shachi leaned forward, nodding. “Go take the Spider Miles flag down.”

Penguin started snickering and Shachi scowled. Bepo looked up from his maps and between the three humans.

“Um, I don't get it,” said Bepo. "Sorry, can someone explain?"

"Stateless ships are presumed pirates by the marines. It was one of the anti-pirate measures implemented after Gol D Rogers’ execution," supplied Law.

"Ohhhhh." Bepo’s mouth formed an ‘o’, or as close to one that a polar bear’s long snout was able to manage.

"Wait," said Shachi. He squinted at Penguin, who tried to stifle his laughter and look back innocently from where he was standing beside the depth reader and other gauges. "There's no way you knew that."

"I didn't," admitted Penguin, through badly contained giggles. He flashed the peace sign. "I was laughing at your face."

Shachi half-stood to reach across the table to swat Penguin, who stepped away quickly, laughing. The boat rocked violently and something in the locked cupboards fell with a loud thud.

"Guys!" shouted Law.

Bepo grabbed Shachi with one paw on the chest and one on the back and held him in place. The boat rocking steadied.

"Better sit down, Shachi," whispered Bepo loudly. Shachi sat with a small grumble.

"Sorry, Boss," he said.

"Captain," reminded Bepo.

"Ah, sorry, Captain."

"Yeah, sorry, Captain," echoed Penguin.

Law gave a small nod and turned back to helming. There was a shuffle of papers behind him, Bepo moving maps on the table.

"I thought Shachi was talking about the skull flag,” Bepo started conversationally. He yelped suddenly and Law turned to see Shachi clasping one of Bepo's paws in both hands.

"Bepo," Shachi said dramatically. "You're the only one who gets me. I'm done with these guys. Let's run away together and make our own pirate flag.”

"Umm…" Bepo edged away from Shachi as Penguin cracked up again.

"Good riddance," gasped Penguin as he caught a breath while laughing. Shachi smiled and flipped him the middle finger.

"A Jolly Roger," said Law, turning his eyes back onto the waters. “Jokes aside, we can’t put up a Jolly Roger anyway.”

"What!" cried Shachi. "Why not? C'mon, Captain. It'd be so cool."

Law gestured at the engine gauges and throttle, already maxed out.

“I know it'd be cool. But cool or not, this is our top speed. We’d be sitting ducks for the marines if we actually confirm that we're pirates. And then what?”

Shachi slumped facedown on the table in disappointment. Penguin and Bepo had matching thoughtful frowns on their faces.

"Could we steal a faster boat?" suggested Bepo. Shachi perked up hopefully.

"And cannons," added Penguin.

The three of them turned to Law expectantly. Law felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"I'll think about it," he said, and his crew cheered.

.

.

.

Law was bad at sleeping.

Maybe that was a strange way to put it, but Law had been that way even as a kid. His parents had sometimes teased that he was a difficult baby because he'd only sleep for an hour at a time.

Law wasn’t sure why he had been so restless as a kid, but he knew why he dreaded sleep now.

The frequency of patients in his parents' clinic had increased slowly, slowly, then all at once. Tell-tale hard white patches of toxic Amber Lead bloomed like mould on the skin of all his city's people. In his nightmares, Law tried to shout, to warn everyone of the government's treachery, but they carried on, unfazed ghosts of people who would be dead the coming day. Amber Lead would overtake his throat and Law would watch voiceless as fire befell the White City.

Law would run, because he always ran. That was all he was ever good at–running away and finding himself alone, ashes of the dead on his tongue and forehead, stolen weapons in his childish hands.

Then, he was Doflamingo's and he had been stupid enough to think that was better. Forty-hour wake cycles, passing out exhausted, and chasing fucking Doflamingo's approval had been better.

(And for a while… it sort of had been. It was being seen, being held up to judgment and being found worthy, being found more than enough by someone who had made it and knew what it took. That validation had been headier than drugs in a world of despair and death.)

And then, there was Cora-san. God, there was Cora-san.

Cora-san, who returned Law's knife in his back with protection from Doflamingo. Cora-san, who gave up his secrets to Law freely and in faith just to have Law hold it over him and gloat. Cora-san, who fought his way through every hospital in the North Blue chasing a nonexistent cure for Amber Lead Syndrome when any sane person would have given up.

Cora-san, who died so Law could live.

(It ended badly. Of course, it ended badly. Law wasn't allowed to have good things, and Cora-san was indisputably Good.)

When Law dreamed of Cora-san's death, it always started with Law screaming his throat raw but never making a sound. There was only stuffy, maddening darkness and Cora-san's ragged breathing. A weakening heartbeat, its faintness amplified by the wooden shell of the treasure chest. Doflamingo’s growling bass voice, tone so derisive Law could almost see the man's expression.

Gunshots.

.

.

.

Law sat up in the interior of the stolen fishing boat, breathing hard and feeling sick. 

It took a moment for him to orient himself and take in his surroundings. All the lights were off as per Law's orders, so they were less likely to be spotted. The only light was the moonlight flooding in through the windows where the helmsman could see out of the cabin, and the faint orange and white glow of the various dials and gauges set into the captain's table. Bepo and Shachi were snoring peacefully on the benches along the walls. In the background, the engine hummed softly and Penguin was at the helm, his silhouette backlit against the windows.

Law took a moment to regulate his breathing, letting it return to normal before he got up and went over to Penguin.

"How's the fuel?" asked Law in a low voice. Penguin glanced at him, but wasn't surprised that he was up. Law's crew was long accustomed to seeing him awake at all hours of the night.

“Half-tank last I checked. Hang on." Penguin fumbled for a switch in the dark, and the glowing needles on the gauges dropped just a bit lower. "Yeah, fuel's alright. ‘Specially since we’re going slow and quiet now.”

Penguin flicked the switch back and looked at Law with eyebrows raised in a mix of concern and pointedness. Law sighed.

“I’m fine. It’s just the usual,” Law told him. Penguin nodded.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No.” Law never did, but Penguin always offered anyway. He knew when to back off too, which Law appreciated.

“... All–” Penguin broke off into a yawn. “Alright,” he started again. “Let’s talk about something else then, I’m falling asleep on my feet over here. How’s the Jolly Roger coming along?”

Law leaned against the wall, resting his head against the edge of the window as he looked out over the dark waters.

"Can't decide whether to go traditional or not," admitted Law.

Penguin chuckled.

"If you end up going with ye olde skull and crossbones, I'll eat my hat."

Law inclined his head and shared a brief smile.

"You're right, I won't use that for the design. But I was thinking about the traditional function of the flag as a warning," said Law. "A Jolly Roger serves more as a marker of identity now, but just thirty years ago, they were warnings to the ships about to be captured–the most common message was surrender or be killed."

Penguin shrugged, taking one hand off the wheel to gesture, palm up.

"How about both meanings?" he asked. "Warning! We're young, dangerous, and incredibly handsome. Give us all your stuff and fall in love with us! Something like that."

Law snickered.

"Something like that," Law agreed. He ran his knuckles over the window, the glass cold against his skin. "For the identity part, I'd like something to do with medicine."

"Yeah," said Penguin. "Sounds good. Maybe that snake sign thing. Or that symbol you showed us last time. Radioactive? Uh, wait no. Biohazard? I don't remember the name but it was cool."

Law contemplated this with a thoughtful frown.

"Mm. Maybe." He shifted his weight off the wall. "I should go sketch a few ideas."

"You should go sleep," corrected Penguin.

Law waved a hand in dismissive acknowledgment and headed back to the table. He turned to a fresh page of the captain’s log and drew the circular prongs of the biohazard sign by feel rather than sight.

Biohazard. Something about that didn’t sit right with Law. It harkened too much to the days where people had treated Law as a disease rather than a person. No, Law hadn’t clawed his way back from the jaws of death so many times to label himself like this. Cora-san hadn’t raged like a lion at every misinformed medical practitioner for Law to take this symbol.

Cora-san. Law really owed him everything. And–Law’s pen dug into the page–Doflamingo had murdered him. Familiar hatred gripped Law’s shoulders, a sour, burning poison, the seductive whisper of vengeance. Over the roar of his thoughts and his heartbeat in his ears, he distantly heard paper tearing as he dragged the pen across the pages of the logbook.

Doflamingo was one man. Law could take him. Law knew the way he thought, and his tricks. Law just had to be smart and careful and lucky. (Too bad that Law’s particular brand of luck meant that only he would survive and absolutely no one else he cared about would.)

Well, Law had a statement to make, and every warning needed a recipient.

 I’m not dead.

 You tried to make me like you. You failed.

 I’m going to use everything you taught me to destroy you.

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.

.

“.......ptain? Captain.”

Law startled awake, arm sweeping a wide arc at the shadow leaning over him. The shadow lurched back, swearing. Law blinked and saw Shachi with a hand over his own ribs, grimacing. Outside the window, the sky had lightened but the sun still hadn't come up.

"That looked like it hurt," commented Bepo.

Law pinched the bridge of his own nose and swept his hand up, pushing his hair back from his face.

"Sorry." He apologised to Shachi, who made a small wave with his hand.

"It's fine. What were you working on anyway?"

Law looked down at the paper before him and circled one of the designs.

"The pirate flag you asked for." Law tore out the page and held it up. Shachi and Bepo grabbed it eagerly.

"Nice," said Shachi while Bepo nodded in approval.

"Lemme see." Penguin stretched out a hand for the paper and Shachi passed it to him. Penguin tipped his hat back and squinted at it.

"Looks good," said Penguin, handing the paper back. "So you went with the radioactive sun idea after all."

Law's face scrunched in confusion. He looked at Shachi and Bepo, who had similar expressions.

"That's just a face," said Shachi. "Right, Captain?"

"Isn't it a lion?" asked Bepo.

"It's meant to be a virus," muttered Law. "Because we're going to use Doflamingo's machinations against him, and spread our influence."

Law took a fresh sheet of paper and drew it again. The Donquixote smiley face without the slash through it, surrounded by stylised glycoproteins. This time, Law exaggerated the lines at the ends of the radiating spikes round the smiley face. Shachi and Bepo leaned forward to watch.

"Mm, I see, I see," said Bepo, nodding supportively. Shachi made an affirmative sound.

"Now all we need is a name," announced Shachi. "Something badass! Like, um-"

Law shook his head and his crew fell silent, looking at him expectantly.

A name was easy. Law had been wanting to pay tribute to Cora-san. When Law had drawn a line in the sand and asked if his crew would follow him, he had bluntly stated that his primary goal was to avenge Cora-san. It only seemed fitting to name a group for its goal.

There were four Donquixote executives, named after the playing card suits in the language of Dressrosa. Corazón, when translated, meant–

"Heart," said Law. "We're the Heart Pirates."

.

===/\===

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Their new submarine ran hot with its engine working at full power. The humans were all sweating buckets and Bepo was dangerously close to overheating.

Law leaned over Penguin's shoulder to look at the complex panel of screens, dials, gauges, and switches.

"Anything on sonar or radar?" he asked.

"Not for the last half hour," replied Penguin.

"Can we please surface, Captain?" pleaded Bepo from where he had given up and just stretched out on the floor.

"Not yet." Law was sympathetic, but half an hour wasn't comfortable enough to risk surfacing and the marines renewing their pursuit. He looked over the instruments, consulted the hefty manual for the submarine's controls, and double checked the map which Bepo had surrendered.

"Shachi, switch our course to the second eternal log pose from the left and lower speed by half."

"Got it," replied Shachi from the helm.

Law walked over and crouched by Bepo to pat him on the head.

"We'll enter winter island waters soon, and easing up on the engine should bring the temperature down too. We'll surface once we get there," Law told him. "Bear with it 'til then, Bepo."

The polar bear mink groaned into the metal grating of the floor but gave a weak thumbs up. From the helm, Shachi groaned loudly too.

"I can't believe you're making bear puns right after we literally stole a submarine from a marine base in the most badass heist ever," he complained. "Bear puns."

"The heat's gone to his brain," Penguin chipped in from where he was monitoring all the instruments. Penguin gestured above his own head, splaying his fingers. "Poof! He's gone and lost it under that fluffy hat of his."

Law hadn't intended to make a pun, but if it distracted his crew from the heat…

"You're all just bear-eft of good taste," said Law with a perfectly straight face. His crew groaned unanimously.

"Captainnnnn."

"Penguin, make him stoppppp."

"Captain, I'll give you fifty beri if you promise to never pun in front of me ever again."

"I'm not that cheap," Law shot back and Penguin laughed.

"True, true. Did you hear what that scientist guy said to that officer? This is the most costly marine ship ever developed. You got that expensive taste, Captain."

"Y'know what's expensive?" interjected Shachi, grinning. "Expensive is how we blew up all their other ships." He raised a fist. "Boom! Man, we really lit them up. With their own explosives too! Hahahaha!"

Penguin gave a supportive whoop and Bepo rolled over onto his back and cheered from the floor. Law laughed. They'd even managed to grab the blueprints, which would help with any future repairs. If any plan could ever go perfectly, this one had.

.

.

.

They surfaced in a rocky bay and opened the door to the summer of a winter island, the sun warm and the air chillingly crisp. Law shivered as the cold air rushed in the door.

"Fresh air!" Bepo ran out and skidded on the wet deck, crashing face-first into the railings. Shachi and Penguin made a collective sound of alarm, and Law started half-jogging over to Bepo in concern. Bepo raised a paw while using the other to hide his face.

"I'm okay," Bepo called with a notable embarrassed waver in his voice. "Don't look at me."

Law slowed to stand in the middle of the deck.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Law. Bepo nodded vigorously so Law looked away, taking in the scenery. The small island they had anchored at seemed deserted. The shore was all dark rocks and sparse wild vegetation.

"Okay, then." Law backed off a couple of steps, and looked back at Bepo. The polar bear mink peeped back from behind his paws. "Keep watch and cool down. Yell if there's anything we need to know."

Bepo nodded some more in acknowledgement, and Law made his way back to Penguin and Shachi.

"Is he okay?" asked Penguin. Law nodded, and Penguin and Shachi relaxed.

"He's just embarrassed," Law told them. "I've asked him to be lookout so he can cool down out here. If you two feel alright, the three of us will explore and take stock of what we have."

Penguin and Shachi looked at each other. Penguin crossed his arms and motioned for Shachi to speak. Shachi scratched the back of his head under his hat.

"Man, why you gotta say it like that, Cap'. Makes us sound like slackers," he complained. "Of course we'll help out. Can't make you do everything, right?"

.

.

.

One exploration and stock-take later, the Heart Pirates stared down at the cans of paint which Shachi found.

"I'm doing it," declared Shachi. "I'm painting our symbol over the marines' mark. I found the paint and it was my idea–"

"No way," interrupted Penguin. "You'll drip paint everywhere, and I don't want to have paint on me. Captain, don't let him."

"My painting would have style though!"

"We don't need so much style that some people think it's just a smiley face with some hair again!"

"I'll do it," said Law, but he was cut off instantly. Shachi, Penguin, and even Bepo, who had been watching the exchange quietly, rounded on him.

"No way," said Penguin.

"Captain, you can't come," said Bepo very seriously. "You might fall into the water when we aren't looking."

"Yeah. Anyway someone's gotta stay on the boat." Shachi realised he misspoke and hastily corrected himself. "I mean, the submarine. For like. Safety reasons. Didn't some people drown recently because they couldn't get back on their boat?"

Law looked at the three of them, who stared back very sternly.

"Alright," said Law, not wanting to argue. It was less work for him. "Penguin's neater, so he'll paint. Shachi is stronger so he can give Penguin a boost. Bepo is tallest, he should hold the paint can."

Shachi grumbled a little, but went along with Law's decision. They lowered the dinghy to the water. With the pulley system, it was lighter than expected, and lighter still with all four of them pulling. The dinghy hit the water with a little splash.

"Are you still going to sit on Shachi's shoulders?" asked Law, watching the waves rock the small boat.

"Yeah," sighed Penguin, looking at the dinghy too. "It shouldn't be too different from picking apples, right?"

"You're going to fall," predicted Law with deadpan certainty. "Just try not to hit your head when you do."

Shachi overheard and grabbed them both round the shoulders, shaking his head and waving one hand as if to ward off a fly.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't curse us like that, Captain! Have a little faith, right, Peng?" Shachi clapped Penguin on the back, lighthearted.

"If you drop me, I'll kick your ass," Penguin promised, tying the orange paint to a rope for Bepo to lower to the dinghy.

"You'd try," corrected Shachi before he grinned and did a flip over the side of the railing. He caught the side of the rope ladder and slid down, pretending to blow kisses like some swashbuckling hero. He landed in the dinghy just in time to catch the paint can Bepo sent down.

Bepo applauded. Penguin caught Law's eye.

"Show-off," complained Penguin loudly in fond exasperation. He passed Bepo a can of black paint to lower and he made his way down the rope ladder normally. Bepo followed soon after and Law was left alone on the deck. He took up a spot by the railing, where he could look down and watch as Shachi hoisted Penguin up on his shoulders.

"Make it big enough to see from marine headquarters!" Law shouted down at them. They looked up at him and grinned as Bepo cracked open the orange paint can.

"Yes, Captain!" all three shouted back, and they started painting.

.

.

.

There was something to be said about afternoons like that on the ocean. The bright yellow railing Law leaned against was warmed by the sun, and the salt breeze was cool against his skin. The voices of his crew calling 'left', 'a little higher', 'pass the paint' were muffled by the wind and the rhythmic waves against the hull of their new submarine. The shore rose picturesque from the crystal blue waters.

As expected, the wind picked up a couple of hours into the painting work and drove bigger and bigger waves into the bay where they were anchored. Penguin was just starting to draw the beginning of a wonky black circle before the little dinghy rocked violently and Shachi lost his balance. Law instinctively reached out.

"Room!" he called, and there was a rush of blue, a sphere appearing in his palm and expanding outwards steadily, too slowly. Law gritted his teeth, and willed his power to move faster, but to no avail.

With a yelp, Shachi and Penguin tipped into the water. The boat almost capsized, and Bepo landed face first in the boat, spilling a good half of the black paint. The blue sphere marking the domain of Law's powers spread over the dinghy a moment later.

"Gah!" exclaimed Shachi as he and Penguin surfaced, spluttering. "Cold!"

"Cold," agreed Penguin through his chattering teeth. He swam over to the side of the dinghy and made an attempt to climb up. He couldn't quite manage and ended up in the water again.

Law glared at his own hand. Too slow. Forget having a chance of beating Doflamingo in a fight, he would just get laughed at if he appeared before his ex-captain at this level. He needed practice badly.

Law grasped the air. The paintbrush that Penguin had dropped started floating.

"Pack up and come aboard before you catch a cold," Law called. "I'll handle it from here." He directed the brush with a flick of his fingers. It started making a slow and precise black line on the hull.

There was a long moment of stunned silence as Penguin and Shachi clung to the side of the dinghy, and Bepo sat up, rubbing the side of his head. Law finished the black circle and started on the eyes of the smiley face.

"You're so cool, Captain!" Bepo commented. His fur was blotched with black paint, on his ears and paws. He looked like a panda. The thought made Law smile as he finished both eyes and started on the mouth of the smiley face.

"What the hell, Captain!" Shachi burst out suddenly. "Say that you can use your powers like that before we end up in an ice bath next time!"

"Yeah, helping a little sooner would be appreciated next time!" yelled Penguin. He swam to the rope ladder. "If you didn't sink like a rock, I'd throw you in the water to see how you like it."

"I did offer to do the painting," Law reminded them. He finished the mouth and started on the radiating spikes of the glycoproteins. "But all of you insisted that I just watch you from here for my safety, right?"

"See if I ever look out for your safety again," grumbled Penguin as he made his way up the ladder. He reached the top and swung a leg over the railing. "Can't believe you watched us struggle like a bunch of fools for three whole hours when you could have done this from the start."

"It's more entertaining this way." Law grinned. It felt right too, that all of them contributed to painting their symbol in some way.

With a few motions of his hand, Law completed the mark on their new home.

.

 ===/END\===

(Read on Ao3.)

[carnistcervine]

Aang and Raava are Separate AU

(AU name WIP)

So a while ago I saw this art. And I was like, d’aww. Then it inspired me to make this AU, and I’ve finally written out all the ideas I have for it.

Lemme just have mah mama Raava ‘kay?

-Quick note for this AU, Raava and Vaatu basically have the same powers. So, she also has an insane spirit laser. And where Vaatu can cause emotional distress to the point of hostility in others, Raava has a pacifying aura. I mean, it's possible that Raava also has these abilities in canon, but if she does, she doesn't use them.

-Raava could already sense a grave danger looming over the horizon when Sozin left Roku to die.

-However she remained idle as Aang was born into the world.

-Unlike Aang, she noticed the subtle changes in the people of the Fire Nation, however, once again she did not interfere.

-Raava has been idle since Wan's eventual death, and the world had managed to get along without her direct interference.

-So when Aang runs away and ends up frozen solid, it's a wake-up call for Raava.

-When Aang and Appa sink below the waves, she becomes desperate, her Avatar is about to die before he can complete his destiny. She cannot allow this. Raava takes over freezing a sphere of air around them, she curls around her Avatar and expends her power sending him and his friend into stasis.

-Raava watches over Aang for a hundred years. She would be with him for all his lifetimes...

-When Katara comes across the globe that rose from the water, she doesn't notice the creepy white spirit also trapped in the ice. But Sokka sees it. He tries to stop her from freeing whatever monster was trapped in there, but Katara doesn't notice the strange flatworm-kite-thing until it's too late and it's forcing it's tendrils through the cracks in the ice.

-Seeing an opportunity, Raava uses the cracks in the ice Katara created to break the icy sphere open completely, and a burst of light is sent into the sky, signalling the Avatar's return.

-Katara remembers Gran Gran's tales of spirits who set traps for wanderers out in the icy wastes and worries that she may have accidentally doomed herself and her brother. However, the spirit that pops out of the ice seems more concerned with a young boy it has cradled in it's tendrils. It lays him down gently in the snow, telling him to rest easy.

-When the spirit turns towards his sister, Sokka steps into action, he points his spear at the thing, telling his sister to stay back. That they don't know what this creature is capable of. The spirit casually knocks Sokka's weapon aside and rests a tendril on his shoulder, telling him to take it easy. Sokka can't help but feel oddly drowsy from the contact, like a soft blanket had been draped over his mind.

-Katara asks the spirit who it is. The spirit introduces herself as Raava, the spirit of light and peace. Raava asks Katara if she's a waterbender, Katara confirms that yes she is. So Raava asks if she'd be willing to teach the Avatar, gesturing to Aang.

-Katara explains that she's untrained and that she's the last waterbender in the south pole.

-A fact that worries Raava.

-Raava vouches to see that both Aang and Katara are trained. She asks Katara to take them back to her village and Katara obliges, much to a still sleepy Sokka's chagrin.

-Raava loads Aang onto the bison and Katara and Sokka get on as Appa wakes up. Raava glides along side the bison as Katara leads them to the village. As they get closer, Raava takes on a human looking form and carries Aang in her arms. It's been her personal experience that humans tend to react better to other humans than to faceless spirits.

-None of the villagers ask who this strange woman is, they simply assume that she's the mother of the child she has in her arms.

-Raava watches over Aang as he sleeps. When he wakes up, he feels a vague familiarity at Raava, but doesn't know who she is. She tells him flat out that she's the one known as the Avatar Spirit.

-When Katara introduces Aang and Raava to the village. Raava can't help but feel concerned about how sparse it is. Also, she doesn't introduce herself as a spirit, she simply introduces herself as Raava. The villagers are not only surprised to see an airbender, but also someone as regal looking as Raava.

-Of course, immediately on Raava's docket is going straight to the North Pole so Katara and Aang can learn waterbending. But Aang wants to go penguin sledding with Katara. Being a spirit, Raava is intimately familiar with the fact that they are actually on a deadline and doom is imminent. But even Raava must relent to Aang's incurable puppy face.

-Raava stays behind in the village, learning more specific details about the 100 years war and the stripping of the South Pole.

-Then the whole thing with Aang booby-ing right into a trap happens.

-Sokka banishes Aang from the village, Katara demands to go with him and Raava feels like it's about damn time for them to get on the road.

-Unlike Aang, Raava has no qualms about splitting up Katara's family.

-Then Zuko attacks Katara's tribe and the trio rush back to help.

-Raava steps up to stop Zuko, and Zuko assumes that she's the Avatar. She corrects him, telling him that she's close to the Avatar, but not him.

-She can see the strings of fate that attach Zuko to Aang, so she lets him off easy, grabbing him and using her pacifying aura to make him take a nap. Only saying that he looked like he needed one.

-Iroh is naturally worried for his nephew, but Raava assures him that Zuko is only sleeping and will be back to normal as soon as he wakes up.

-Skipping ahead a bit~

-For the most part, Raava keeps her true nature hidden. Pretending to be a human woman. As no one alive knows who Raava is, it works like a charm.

-Aang is still captured by Zhao when Sokka and Katara get sick, and Zuko does do his Blue Spirit thing trying to rescue him. But also Raava is goddamn pissed and levels half the damn fortress while the duo escape.

-Quick note about Raava, she calls herself a spirit of peace, but she's technically the spirit of order and goes from 0 to 10,000 pretty much instantly. So yeah, she's less an embodiment of peace, and more an enforcer of it.

-They get to the North Pole much faster than in canon, because Raava doesn't play and is actually able to keep the children on task.

-When Pakku refuses to teach Katara, Raava is fucking PISSED. She cannot believe how selfish he's being. Seriously? He's putting his tribe's stupid culture and traditions above the safety and balance of the world! Katara just stands by, smirking as Raava reveals her true nature and goes off on Pakku. She thoroughly enjoys watching him get dunked on by an ancient spirit.

-Not only does Raava demand that both Katara and Aang are taught combat waterbending, but also healing. She honestly doesn't understand why anyone would be dumb enough to separate the two. 1) The more healers, the better. 2) Having an intimate knowledge of the human body(as would be required by healing) makes you a better fighter.

-Both Zhao and Zuko track the Avatar to the North Pole, but Zhao is forced to hang back until he can gather his fleet to attack the fortress. Zuko just breaks right in and is captured. Raava knows that the North will not have mercy on the Fire Prince and demands that he be released to her custody.

-The northerners correctly deduce that she plans on using the Fire Prince as a teacher for the Avatar.

-Unable to deny the direct order of a greater spirit, Zuko is released into Raava's care. She makes sure to keep him in line and implants suggestions into him that make him question his father and country.

-Obviously he isn't anywhere near ready to turn yet, but the seeds are planted much earlier.

-As for waterbending teaching, the healers welcome Aang with open arms. However, Katara gets it ROUGH from the combat students. Pakku is intentionally harsher than normal on her. He's also super hard on Aang, but Katara gets it double time because she's a girl and because Raava is making him teach her.

-When Zhao eventually comes to the North, not only does Raava decimate his fleet, but she also works with Tui and La to trap him in the spirit world for having the audacity to mess with the spirits.

On a side note, I actually spent some time thinking about this. Now for the story, I kind of picture in my mind that Raava goes full on IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR on Zhao's fleet. Now, Raava also attacked the Pohai stronghold, and even though Zhao is a reckless idiot, he's not so reckless that he'd just casually forget something as important as the fact that the spirit hanging around the Avatar has A POWERFUL FUCKING LASER. So I got to thinking, if Zhao knows that Raava has a spirit beam attack, he'd make some kind of counter measure. Now, before Kuvira builds the Avatar world's equivalent of a nuke, there really isn't anything that can counter such an attack. And even then, the spirit canon was never used on either Raava or Vaatu, so even though I'm sure it would hurt them, I have no clue how much.

So, this leaves a dilemma. Because Zhao would not abandon his quest to kill the Moon Spirit. Now, I suppose Zhao could just wait for the Avatar to leave the North Pole, but Zhao is not a patient man. So, do I have Raava just not use her spirit laser at the Pohai fortress? Have it be a surprise muthafucka moment for Zhao? I mean, a giant spirit thrashing about would create just as much damage. Or, ooor- And here's a juicy idea~ Zhao intentionally suppresses information of the full extent of Raava's power(it would be harder to get people to join him if they knew just what they were up against) and simply amasses a larger fleet than in canon. He has no real recourse or counter for Raava's power, but decides that he'll simply use his fleet as a distraction. Keep Raava busy while he fulfills his real goal, slaying the Moon Spirit. Zhao's plan isn't to counter Raava directly, but to simply use his fleet a bait.

After all, what better bait than fresh meat?

-Of course, this does bring up that idea... Perhaps Zhao succeeds?

-Oh and in case you were wondering, Ozai was 100% on board with Zhao's idea.

-Skipping ahead some more~

-In Omashu, when facing against the dangerous ladies, Raava proves to be a formidable adversary. Mai's knives harmlessly phase through or bounce off her body. Ty Lee's chi blocking doesn't affect her, and physical contact with the spirit causes Ty Lee to feel the effects of Raava's pacifying aura. Raava's aura, as Ty Lee notes is a brilliant radiance, like looking at the sun.

-And in Azula's case, Raava isn't at all intimidated or swain by her. The spirit is hardly fazed by her blue fire, taking fireballs to the face without so much as a flinch. For the first time in Azula's life she find herself an unstoppable force, meeting an immovable object.

-It's equally frustrating as it is exhilarating.

-Azula's found a worthy opponent.

-For Raava's part, the group are hardly noteworthy. Easily taken down by her pacifying aura. However, Raava knows better than to underestimate an opponent. Fighting someone for eons(like Vaatu) instills these lessons quite firmly. So, she notes whatever things she can about the group, instinctively knowing that this isn't the last she'll see of them.

-Aaand, the swamp. The swamp wants the Gaang to come down and join it. Raava wants the Gaang to join the swamp. The Gaang do not want to join the swamp.

-When the Gaang try to fly over, Raava warns them that they've angered it. She does nothing as the swamp forcefully sucks the group down.

-I'm still deciding whether or not Zhao succeeds in killing Tui... But if he doesn't, instead of encountering a vision of Yue in the swamp, the moon spirit confronts Sokka. With all it's creepy faceless glory.

-As for Aang, he chases down the vision of Toph and runs into Vaatu, or at least a vision of him(or maybe it really is him, I'm leaving this intentionally vague). The spirit shrinks down and forms into a black humanoid shape and reaches out to Aang, who flees in terror.

-Yeah, I'm thinking that overall the Gaang's spirit visions/encounters are much longer, more harrowing, and much much more involved. More like dream sequences/quests than simple visions.

-The swamp is alive, it is a spirit. And spirits are dicks.

-When the group reconvenes, Sokka accuses Raava of terrorizing him. If I have Zhao succeed in killing the Moon Spirit, this scene becomes much more personal with Sokka accusing Raava of using Yue to terrorize him. He's livid with the light spirit, claiming that she used the image of Yue to torment him.

-Of course, Raava did no such thing. But she let's Sokka have his moment, utterly unmoved by his anger. She calmly states that she did no such thing and asks Sokka what possible motivation she could have for doing that.

-Sokka's pissed at Raava for a bit after that, but ultimately accepts that she had nothing to do with what he saw.

-As for Raava herself, she has a vision of Wan.

-Skipping ahead a bit~

-For Toph, Raava is a nightmare. Raava is a spririt, so not only does she not create any vibrations whatsoever, but she also lacks a smell and her voice emanates with no clear direction. Toph never knows when Raava is around, where Raava is, or when Raava is approaching. The only time she knows Raava's there is when she starts speaking.

-She's also completely unable to tell when or if Raava is ever lying.

-Without meaning to, Raava makes Toph feel helpless.

-But that's not all, Toph also hates how demanding Raava is. And poor Toph has no recourse against her. She can't see Raava, so she can't throw any earth her way, and Raava doesn't respond to argument or teasing. At least when Toph is annoyed with Katara, she can call her Sugar Queen and throw mud on her. But deepest of all, Toph is worried that Raava will treat her like her parents treat her. As someone who's too weak and delicate to care for or defend themselves.

-From Raava's perspective, she doesn't like how chaotic Toph is, but overall feels the same way that she does for the rest of the Gaang. She comes to love her dearly. As much as she dotes on the Gaang, she doesn't at all think of any of them as being weak. Far from it! In her eyes they're all powerful warriors. They're her powerful warriors. Yes they are, yes they are~!

-Raava pretty much dotes on the Gaang and comes think of them as her children. She basically takes over Katara's role as group mom, which allows Katara to settle more into a role of being a kid.

-Even though Raava spoils the Gaang, she's also the fun police. The Gaang are all chaotic gremlins and Raava just wants them to stop and SETTLE DOWN FOR ONCE DAMMIT.

-Just an all powerful spirit vs the chaotic energy of a bunch of kids.

-At Wan Shi Tong's library, Raava joins the Gaang going inside. It's because of her that Wan Shi Tong allows them to peruse his collection.

-While he doesn't trust or like humans, he isn't dumb enough to defy a greater spirit. Especially not Raava.

-Let's just say, Raava has a bit of a reputation.

-The Gaang are able to spend a very long time in the library, building an extensive plan and knowledge base before they leave.

-Raava insists that Toph come into the library with them, offering to read to Toph whatever topic her heart desires. The idea makes Toph a little excited, but she makes it seem like she's only begrudgingly agreeing.

-You know Toph would take full advantage of Raava's offer and learn about everything her parents tried to hide from her.

-It does provide as an opportunity for Raava and Toph to bond. Toph finds that Raava's voice is nice to listen to, very soothing. She also finds that Raava isn't as judgmental as her parents. She judges Toph for her actions and her strength, not some preconceived notion that blindness=weakness.

-I'll probably have other times like this peppered throughout the story where various members of the Gaang get a one-on-one with Raava where she offers her I've-Been-Around-Since-The-Beginning-Of-Time-So-I-Must-Know-Something wisdom.

-Naturally, this means that the sandbenders are able to steal Appa unopposed.

-Since Appa has been stolen, Raava carries them all to Ba Sing Se. She tries to console Aang in his grief, but Aang shuts himself off from the rest of the group, and even blames Raava for Appa's disappearance.

-When they first find out, he blows up at her, screaming that she should have kept watch to make sure nothing happened to him.

-To which Raava rightly points out that not only is Appa a ten ton bison fully capable of handling himself, but also they don't know what happened to him, and leaving someone behind could have meant loosing two team members instead of one.

-Aang is upset enough to trigger the avatar state, but Raava uses her ties to him to pacify him instead.

-By the time Raava reaches the walls of Ba Sing Se, the city's generals have collected along with several soldiers. Being a giant, luminescent flatworm, Raava isn't too hard to spot. Even at a distance.

-Of course, the Gaang are all knocked out from prolonged contact with Raava so they're useless at the moment.

-The generals soon recognize Raava as being the one that brought down Zhao's fleet, and slightly concerned she'll do the same to the city, comply with her demands that the Gaang be given adequate shelter.

-The Gaang all wake up in a very nice house in the upper ring, Raava is quietly reading a play.

-For a while Aang resents Raava, feeling like it's her fault that Appa disappeared. Raava, understanding that he needs to time to process his grief, leaves him be.

-Raava actually likes Ba Sing Se. As a being of order, she sees the peaceful, orderly city as the way the world should be.

-She feels Long Feng's methods to be effective.

-This does drive a bit of a wedge between her and the Gaang, as none of them can properly comprehend spirit morality. Aang kind of understands, but he's kinda pissed at Raava.

-Raava decides to be patient with them, by this point she's realized that sometimes humans need time to understand things.

-Raava and Long Feng come to have an understanding.

-Even still, when Appa goes roaming out into the dark night, it's Raava and not Long Feng that he finds at the end of his journey.

-Aang is very happy to be reunited with Appa and apologizes for being cold/harsh with Raava. Raava just hugs him.

-Thanks to Raava and Long Feng's understanding, they manage to get a meeting with the Earth Kingdom generals to talk about the invasion of the Fire Nation.

-Since they get to Ba Sing Se earlier than in canon(again Raava is pretty good at keeping the children on task and getting/keeping them out of sticky situations) the drill appears much later during their time in Ba Sing Se.

-The Fire Nation didn't know that Raava was in Ba Sing Se, but figured that their reinforced drill would be tough enough to withstand- it's not.

-Raava just wants to blow the stupid thing up and be done with it, but Aang doesn't want Raava to do that because then a whole bunch of people will die. Raava doesn't care, a few human casualties is nothing compared to the havoc on the world's balance that the Fire Nation taking Ba Sing Se would bring.

-But Raava relents and decides to pull the drill apart, a slower and much harder process, but one that would be much less likely to harm anyone inside.

-They notice right away that Raava is attacking the drill, so Azula and her two friends go out to fight Raava and the Gaang.

-Mai and Ty Lee have learned their lessons about physical contact with Raava from the last time they fought.

-Azula uses her lightning on Raava, which while not deadly like it would be on a human, does actually hurt Raava.

-After being hit by multiple bolts of lightning, Raava lets go of mercy and trashes Azula.

-Thoroughly crushed, Azula and her friends have to go home with their tails between their legs.

-In this AU they never visit Kyoshi, and Appa's with Aang, so there's no one for Azula to disguise herself as.

-Azula also starts to crack a little bit earlier due to her complete inability to even pose a threat to Raava. As this forces her to reconsider deep aspects about herself and her own failings. After all, almost isn't good enough.

-Azula does try to tell herself that he usual tactics aren't working on Raava, because she's a spirit and spirits are fools. But deep down, she's always considered herself above the spirits. So it's not easy for her when this is called into question.

-The dangerous ladies do eventually manage to sneak into Ba Sing Se. Azula's plans remain more or less the same as canon.

-Though, I have started thinking that maybe Azula adds another to her posse, perhaps someone with spiritual expertise? No one can counter Raava in terms of power, but perhaps she can be countered in terms of spirituality?

-Either way, Azula fails to sway the Dai Li to her favor. In their eyes, Raava's favor of Long Feng means he's the one that was chosen by the fates to lead.

-So the dangerous ladies are arrested.

-I'm still deciding whether they break out or get brainwashed. I’m leaning towards epic jailbreak. But IDK.

-Iroh invites Raava to his tea shop, flirts and makes pleasant conversation with her. Much to Zuko's dismay, Iroh invites her back to their apartment to discuss a firebending teacher for the Avatar, as well as the Day of Black Sun.

-Oh yeah, Raava knows that Zuko and Iroh are Fire royals. She also knows that they're the only good options to fill Ozai's place when he's removed from power.

-All that said, the eclipse goes soooo much better than in canon. The Fire Nation legit don't know what's coming so no trap can be lain.

-Ozai is stripped of his power by Raava and thrown in jail.

-Zuko is crowned and rules with Raava constantly leering over his shoulder.

-Some notes about Raava's characterization in this AU; a pretty strong case for good is not nice. Raava can be very blunt and abrasive, also she nags and chides literally everyone. She absolutely loves and adores her Avatar, as well as the companions he travels with, but is overall critical of humankind. While the amount of people she likes is vanishingly small, she also doesn't really hate anyone(not even Vaatu). She's more like the tired kindergarten teacher who stares into the void as her students tear the classroom apart around her. Of course she’s also about a planc length from taping all the children to the floor.

-And if you think that's the end and everything just wraps up nicely and it's all happy good times from there...

-I admire your optimism.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Reunite (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Gen Warnings: set post-canon so probably AU Characters: Penguin, Shachi, Law, OC

Penguin and Shachi hung over the railing of the Polar Tang, staring at the looming shape with nervous anticipation. The rest of the crew left them alone, giving them some space as they bustled around, fidgeting with the sail to bring it to where they wanted it.

It had been Law's idea to come back. With Mugiwara finally the undisputed Pirate King (or as undisputed as the title could be), and their own position as his allies firmly cemented (Law had never been able to shake the rubber nuisance after Punk Hazard and had finally given up trying), there was nothing keeping them in the Grand Line. Oh, sure, technically, they were a Yonkou crew now, but as Law had reasoned, if Akagami no Shanks could make side stops all the way to East Blue, they could just as easily slip back into North Blue for a little while. Mugiwara would keep their territories and allies safe in the meantime.

Their captain had wanted to go back to Minion Island, he'd admitted. With Doflamingo a distant bad memory, the island was no longer a nightmare but a grave and he'd wanted to visit it again. The crew had no complaints, aside from the fact that it meant pushing through the Calm Belt and kairoseki hull or not that would always be hair raising, but for Penguin and Shachi it had meant so much more.

They'd always wanted to go to Minion Island. Seeing it on the horizon their entire childhoods, it had been the target of their daydreams and desires. One day, they'd promised as young children, they'd go there. No longer would it be a distant sight, but solid ground beneath their feet. Law had denied them that, all those years ago, refusing to return to the island for reasons it took him years to admit. It seemed ironic that, despite being the neighbouring island to where they'd grown up, they had sailed the entirety of North Blue and the Grand Line before finally setting foot on it.

There had been no fanfare, no sudden celebration. All in all, after everything they'd seen and done it felt anticlimactic, but still, it had been their childhood dream. Fulfilling it had been special, traipsing through the snow with laughter and the energy of their child selves. Law had watched them with a smile on his face, and the entire crew had been drawn into the snowball fight that followed.

They hadn't stayed for long. There was nothing on the island, still largely uninhabited after the tragedy caused by Doflamingo all those years ago, so once Penguin and Shachi's childhood selves had been satisfied, and Law had paid his respects to the unmarked grave of his saviour, they'd bid the island farewell and settled back onto the Tang.

Bepo had been the one to mention Swallow Island, looming through the mist on the horizon. If they were visiting places of nostalgia, then he reasoned that Swallow Island was important. After all, it had been where the Heart Pirates had first formed, even if their name and flag had come later. The rest of the crew, of course, were ecstatic to visit their origins, and had begged Law to give the order.

He'd refused, instead looking to Penguin and Shachi for the decision. Faced with the eager expressions of the crew, they'd agreed, but as they watched the familiar swallow-shaped mountain loom in front of them, knots tightened in their stomachs.

"You didn't have to say yes," Law murmured, coming up between them. They sighed in unison, tearing their eyes from the mountain to look at their captain instead.

"They've probably forgotten us by now," Penguin shrugged. Shachi made a noise of agreement.

"They won't recognise us," he said confidently, before he slumped again. "I'd like to visit Mama and Papa again, though," he admitted quietly. Penguin nodded silently, and Law lightly squeezed their shoulders reassuringly as the Polar Tang effortlessly glided into the small port, completely dwarfing all of the small wooden fishing boats.

Cries, likely of alarm, rose from the shore and they watched the fishermen scrambling into the forest, following the well-trodden path back to the village.

"Well that was to be expected," Penguin muttered glumly, peeling himself away from the railing. "Coming here with our jolly roger on display like it is." Not that there was anything they could have done about it when the Polar Tang herself wore it proudly on her sides. Beside him, Shachi let out a sigh with an undertone that resembled a whine before pushing himself to his full height.

"We're here now," he said, in a tone that betrayed how uncertain he was that it was a good idea. "All hanging around on deck is going to do is delay it." Side by side, the two of them led the Heart Pirates off the ship and onto the shore. The crunch of snow beneath their boots, despite being identical to on Minion Island, was nostalgic and they paused at the sound.

"Stop where you are!" a man ordered, gripping a fishing rod tightly. Behind him a boy cowered, clearly the man's son. He didn't look any older than seven. The crew paused, eyeing him curiously. Penguin and Shachi let out a hiss, abruptly cut off. He was older now, twice as old as when they'd last seen him, but they recognised him nonetheless. He'd never beaten them in a fight, not for lack of trying.

"We're not here for trouble," Law said smoothly, stepping forwards to the head of the crew but no further. He even went as a far as holding his hands up placatingly. Kikoku had been left in his quarters.

"Then what are the Heart Pirates doing so far from the Grand Line?" a sharp female voice demanded. The owner was a plump mature woman, who forged a path through the snow towards them with a fearless purpose. Bundled up firmly against the harsh weather in a thick winter coat and furred hat it was difficult to discern much of her appearance, but Penguin and Shachi visibly recoiled. "Surely it isn't because two little runaways finally realised they owed someone an apology."

"An apology?" Law asked, quirking his eyebrow. "I was not aware anyone in my crew needed to apologise to anyone here."

The woman came to a stop, hands firmly on her hips, right in front of Law. He towered over her, but she wasn't cowed as she met his gaze unflinchingly.

"Fifteen years," she said bluntly. "No word. Not even a note left on the door saying they were going out. We didn't even know they hadn't been killed until two years ago when their bounty posters made it this far. And you say we're not owed an apology?"

Law stiffened and turned to fix Penguin and Shachi with a glare.

"I was under the impression they had told someone they were coming with me," he said pointedly, watching them squirm for several seconds. "Although, considering how idiotic they can be, that was foolish of me."

"I… We… Oops?" Shachi offered, shifting until Bepo was between him and his captain. The mink promptly moved out of the way, wisely deciding that it was not a confrontation he wanted to be in the middle of.

"Oops?" the woman demanded, striding past Law to stand in front of the two men. While not as tall as Law, they both stood a head above her, but that counted for nothing in the face of her disapproval. Law turned to watch, but made no move to interfere, even when she reached up and simultaneously clipped the pair around the ears with enough force to make them wince.

"Boots and coats gone, no note, not even a goodbye!" she scolded. "Injured, with those Donquixote Pirates around. I thought you'd been killed! The entire village was out hunting for you two for weeks, and all you can say is oops?"

"Noona-" Penguin began, only to get his head clapped against Shachi's.

"Don't you Noona me young man!" she interrupted. "Fifteen years with nothing except a bounty poster to tell me you were still alive? You think you can Noona your way out of this like you did when you were children?" Her hands shot out and the two flinched as she grasped hold of their collars firmly.

"We-" Shachi was cut off as she violently tugged the pair forwards into an embrace, crushing them against her chest awkwardly.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered hoarsely, clutching at them tightly as she sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I thought I'd lost you forever."

Slowly the two of them returned the hug, mindless of their nakama watching silently.

"We're sorry, Noona," Penguin apologised.

"We didn't think," Shachi added, falling to his knees to be at a better height despite the snow immediately soaking through his clothes. Penguin followed suit, the woman joining them last as she clutched at them.

Several minutes passed before she released her grip on them enough to let them stand again.

"Well, now that you're home, it's time for dinner," she said brusquely, the effect somewhat ruined by her smiling, tear-stained face. "And then you two owe your parents a visit."

Penguin and Shachi hesitated, looking back at Law and their nakama.

"Noona…" Shachi began awkwardly. "We're not-"

"Of course you're not staying for long," the woman cut him off. "You think I can't see that? Adventurous spirits like your mothers, the pair of you. But as you're here, you may as well have dinner. Your friends too." She turned back and grabbed hold of Law's arm as if he were a lost child and not one of the most wanted men on the sea. "Come along now."

"Obaa-san," Law began, "I don't think-"

"None of that Obaa-san nonsense," she interrupted. "Call me Noona. And of course you're coming to dinner. I haven't thanked you for looking after my little ice storms yet, young man."

Law looked at Penguin and Shachi for confirmation, and after a moment they nodded. He carefully extracted his arm from the woman's sleeve, and she slipped her arms through Penguin and Shachi's instead, leading the procession of Heart Pirates into the village, where they were greeted with gusto, more than one man clapping Penguin or Shachi on the back with a cheerful 'welcome home!'

[sashi-ya]

{+18} - Law x Fem Best Friend ♥ CH.3

♥ Daily living with the Heart pirates crew AU  ♥Spoilers after Dressrosa Arc. Law´s backstory.  ♥Female reader. Little physical description. Everybody is 18+, canon ages.  ♥TW: Heavy NSFW. Unprotected sex – this is just fiction, don’t forget to take care of you and your partners while having sex! . A bit of toxic behavior from Law. Drama (a bit much). No further warnings. If you think I should include some feel free to tell me ♥Thank you for the likes and follows, I appreciate it them so so much! If you wanna know when I’ll be updating the next chapters, you can follow me on Twitter @LawIsMyWaifu, come interact I love to have mutuals that love Law and One Piece as much as I do 

Word count: 3.1K

» List of parts: {CH1}  {CH2}  {CH3}  {CH4} {CH5} «

Chapter 3 

Little moans escaped my mouth, as he pinched and twisted, softly, the most sensitive parts of my breasts.  “Can I show you something?” he asked, now looking at me with lasciviousness. “Uhum”, I moaned, desperate to know what he was going to do. He then slipped a little sexy laugh and said “ROOM” and quickly the circle of power was surrounding us. I’ve always told him that inside of it my senses enhanced, this time wasn’t the exception. He then expressed “counter shock”. I lost my breath, because I knew how deadly that attack was, but instead, a soft electricity ran through his fingers through my nipple, making me squirm.

Every little shock my skin experienced, was slowly sending me to heaven. Pangs travelling directly to my core every time I heard his seductive laugh. He was enjoying this; he certainly knew what he was doing. 

Law then crawled over me, placing his tattooed, well defined, tanned arms at each side of my face, kissed me and ordered me “stand up”, with a lustful smile.  

And without questioning, I did as he told. I stood up in front of him, who also stood up and told me to wait right there. He reached his katana, looking at me with almost a wicked look. “I hope you don’t get cold”, he said and unsheathed the Kikoku. Widening my eyes, I heard him express “Scan” followed by a movement of his hand that took all my clothes, even my underwear, right away. 

I was left completely naked in front of him. My cheeks turned to red, and I wasn’t able to move. He approached me while slowly taking his shirt off, exposing the perfect anatomy of his torso. I traveled with my eyes every single black line of his tattoos, the way they garnished his skin, his abs, the little scars that remained from fighting at Dressrosa. Oh, so tempting, so enticing. I was so needy for him. I wanted to get railed by this man, real hard. 

Law licked his lips subtly, while looking me up and down, when suddenly violently grabbed my neck with his right hand. He was not choking me, nor caressing my skin. He applied just the perfect pressure to the sides of my neck and with his knee roughly separated my legs. 

The skilled fingers of his free hand reached my sex. “You are already so wet, Y/n-ya”, he said, discovering how aroused I was. “I want to get you even more wet”, he whispered next to my ear.  I could only say his name in between gasping breaths. I couldn’t focus on more than primal desire.

He began to move his fingers in circular motions over my clit, and slowly introduced his thumb on me. In and out.. In and out... and with every moan I let out, he increased the pressure on my neck. 

The surgeon let go of me, knelt and started kissing my stomach softly, downwards, arriving at my thighs, kissing and biting the inside of them. I stretched my head back and instinctively grabbed his hair. Law loudly growled and placed his mouth over my sex, licking up and down, tracing also circles, enjoying my flavor, as he said, “you taste delicious”. My legs started to get weaker. I was groaning, heavily breathing, until I let myself go, when he made me reach the peak of my pleasure. 

“Now, let me show you how skilled I am with my mouth, too”, I said, slowly putting my hands onto his hips and pulling him to me so we could be facing each other more closely, Slowly kissing first the commissure of his lips, and then placing a kiss onto his lips. I noticed he was breathing more heavily and when my stomach met his I could feel his erection against my lady parts. I pushed him into a big wooden couch. I hopped onto his lap. Being over his lap made me feel his sex pressed, rubbing against mine while I started moving with an exquisite motion. We kept kissing, touching, feeling our flesh spellbound from his scent, that now has turned into the mix of his sweet perfume with hints of sweat. 

Kissing first his neck and then leaving a trace downwards, his collar bones, lower… lower. I stood up and kneel at his feet. 

I took a long time to enjoy his well-defined abs going lower till getting to his navel. My ears were blessed with his low moanings, the little spasms that his muscles did every time I came closer to his skin with my mouth and how he got his head thrown back. I followed the happy trail of little hairs that took me to his pelvis, perfectly determined by the V shape his lower abs formed.

I stopped as he bended down, placed a kiss on my forehead and then onto my mouth, I gave him another in return and put my head down. It was time for me to show him my oral skills were serious shit. I was delighted with how he groaned and came arching his hole lower back from the pleasure my mouth has given to him. 

Outside the blizzard was still intense, as I could see through the window, after Law not letting me rest a bit was behind me pushing me against the wooden wall. My cheek was pressed on the cold glass of the window, that slowly fogged with the steaming heat of my skin. 

Law grabbed my chin, passing his arm from behind brushing his thumb softly over my lips. I opened my mouth softly, receiving his finger into my mouth, slowly sucking it. 

I could feel his hard rock bulge against my ass, so I reached for it, passing my hand back. “Fuck me, Law”, I said begging to be filled with his member. “That’s what I’ve been waiting to do for so long, Y/N-ya”, he moaned. 

He rubbed his manhood, first over my buttocks, then in between and finally over my vagina, softly lubricating it with the fluids of my arousal. 

My "best friend" inserted his dick inside of me, softly, slowly, but not completely… it felt like a sweet torture and I, begging said, "just fuck me already, please, I want you".  I sounded - and I was - desperate to feel the sensation of his hard sex fully invading my insides. He laughed, with a side smile, that I could not see, but that I felt on the skin of my back, because he was pressing his face against it. And with a big thrust stretched completely my walls. 

He moved his hips in a certain way, not so violently but firmly, in and out. ” Mh.”... I didn't want to be loud, because hearing his accelerated breath, his groans, was heavenly.  “Faster, faster please”, I asked him to increase the rhythm of the pounding. He did. Beads of sweat covered both of our bodies while we got there. I finished followed by Law, who filled me up with all of his love juice.  The sensation of being full of his fluids inside of me was delectable, I even remained still just to feel it flow and drip from my insides into my thighs. 

Both were sweaty, exhausted but drunks from each other, so we moved to bed. And after some more hours of letting ourselves indulge in the pleasure of lust, our bodies fall into exhaustion… The storm was not near to be over, outside the blizzard was still violent, and the strong winds have destroyed some of the pines of the forest. Law put his left arm around me, bringing me close to his chest and I placed my head on it, as well as my hand over his abs. He kissed my forehead and we both went to sleep… 

A patch of sunlight hit my eyes. Lying next to me, Law was still asleep. I stood up slowly, trying not to wake him up because I know how exhausted he gets when uses his ope ope no mi. And he certainly did waste a lot of energy all night long with the little shocks of his “counter shock” and maintaining the “room” active, just for me, to feel even more intense every little sensation. 

The logs of the fireplace were no longer burning, so I got a little cold. I saw Law’s shirt on the floor, picked it up and put it on. It was long enough to cover half of my thighs. I was spellbound from his ambrosial scent. 

My stomach was growling as the hunger took over, when suddenly I heard someone knocking on the door of the cabin. Outside was sister Alley, a few children and Gerald with a big basket. Quickly I grabbed my jeans and opened the door slightly. “Doctor Y/N!!” shouted one of the girls trying to force the door to be completely open and peeking through it. “Where is the tattooed doctor?!! I wanna see him!! the other kid asked, almost shouting. Gerald told them to be quiet and handed me the basket with a look of complicity. I thanked them and they came back to the main building. 

Inside the basket there was a bunch of food for us to have breakfast. I started laughing when I saw a big baguette, because I remembered how much Law hates bread… God knows why. 

While preparing some tea, I watched the man that sent me to heaven a few hours ago, peacefully sleep. I could have stayed there forever, just the two of us.  No worries, no responsibilities, no danger.

“Puru puru puru”. Rang my Den Den Mushi. “Gatcha. Y/n, where the hell are you both? it’s morning already! I’ve called you several times but somehow this thing won't connect”, reproached Penguin. “Shh stop yelling, Law is asleep. We were supposed to return yesterday, but the storm got worse than we thought. We will be there in a few hours. Enjoy the island a bit more until we get there”, I told my crew member. “You both slept in the same room again, Y/N? When are you going to announce the wedding? hahaha!”, Penguin mocked me. “It’s not what you think, don’t be stupid, she’s like my sister, we are done with the chatty. We’ll be there in a few hours, prepare to sail”, Law suddenly appeared from behind taking the speaker of the transponder off from my hand, reprehended his subordinate and hung up. 

“She is like my sister” ... those words hit me harder than expected. I’m not your sister… I’ve never… Oh lord… I shook off the thought and gave him a smile, followed by a “Good morning, I made you some tea”. “Thanks”, he expressed almost apathetic while brushing his hair with his fingers. “Can you give me my t-shirt back?”. My smile slowly disappeared. Why is he being so rude?, I thought, and a feeling of upset was installed in me. “Yeah, here, take it” I said, taking off the shirt and almost throwing it at him. I was naked, both of my breasts were exposed, I wasn’t ashamed anymore, I was mad. “Cover yourself, Y/n-ya.” He voiced and directed his gaze to the window. A few tears began to blur my vision, I felt used, I felt like I was nothing but a toy for him. 

I grabbed my clothes, put them on, and left the cabin slamming the door. Outside the sun was shining, the forest showed the aftermath of the blizzard, the level of the snow was considerably higher than yesterday and a cold, almost icy breeze played around with some sections of my hair. I started walking, I needed to be alone. 

“Y/n-ya where are you going?” I heard Law calling me from behind, but instead of turning back at him I kept on walking. “Y/n-ya!”. I decided to ignore him. I was so mad, so hurt I didn’t even know what to say to him.  

“Room… Shambles!” I heard and suddenly the log in front of me got changed for Law. “Where the hell are you going? the orphanage is the other way!” he said out of breath. “I’m not going there, I am not allowed to take a walk… “brother”?”, I articulated while a sting of sorrow hit my heart. 

“Stop it right there, Y/n-ya. What happened yesterday was nothing, ok? let’s forget about it.” he said, strongly. 

“Forget about it? Are you kidding me? You basically used me… I’m your best friend!... why did you....”, I suddenly stopped, I realized that despite him acting like this, I wanted that. I was guilty, too. He was my best friend… and what we did, probably will change our relationship, forever. 

Tears started flowing from my eyes. I wanted him to hug me, to comfort me, to wipe my eyes as he has always done. But this time, he didn’t. Instead he started walking away, turning his back to me. 

I stayed right there a few minutes, after falling into my knees on the cold snowy ground, while I saw him zooming off from my vision, expressing an inaudible, full of sorrow, “Law”. Holding the necklace with one of my hands, so hard it almost hurt my skin. 

Why does it hurt so much?, is it because he had wounded my pride? Or because I felt guilty?.... It's none of that.. All of a sudden it strikes me that I was in love with him. I’ve always been. And I repressed the feelings so many years convincing myself it was just fraternal love, for the sake of the relation and the crew. The shock produced by this whole situation made me realize I can’t restrain my feelings anymore…

I started walking back to the cabin, the cold breeze was almost crystallizing the tears over my cheeks. The icy wind, the immensity, the loneliness of the mountain scenery was the perfect metaphor for what I was feeling right now. I’ve always felt safe, protected knowing Law was at my side, but now… it’s probably over, I felt alone, for the very first time in ages. 

I could only hear the sound of the snow under my feet with every step I took mixed with me sobbing, thinking If I should leave the crew… Will I be able to handle loving him, yet treat him as a brother?, or even maybe just a crewmate? 

When I got to the cabin, Law was waiting outside, crestfallen and probably upset. I decided to ignore him and entered the place where a few hours away our bodies merged as one. Grabbed my bags with the sweaters I had bought yesterday and headed out. 

We walked to the orphanage, no talking, not even looking at each other. 

A few kids hugged me, and that type of pure love somehow warmed my heart a little bit. While Law was giving the nurses some more indications to follow for the treatment, Sister Alley noticed my red eyes and nose and asked, “You seemed so happy this morning, are you ok? Have you been crying?”. I couldn’t help but tell her -half of- the story. I trusted her, somehow she reminded me of the noon Law always remembers from Flevance. “Calm down, darling, give time to time. I’ve seen how he looks at you. Even if he says no, his eyes show different. I’m sure he feels the same way as you. Be calm and you will see”. Calm… ha, my favorite power from my devil fruit, I thought. 

I thanked her for the advice, hugged her and asked Gerald to take us to the city center   

During the whole ride I remained silent, choking back tears, and repeating the noon words over and over. “I’ve seen how he looks at you”, how does he look at me?... 

Law was calm as usual and exchanged a few words with our driver until we got to our destination. 

“Thank you so much doctors for all of your help, I hope to see you again someday. We will be happy to have you here in better conditions”. “Thanks for your hospitality, and send my regards to your wife, I hope she gets better!” I said, waving at him goodbye. 

We started walking downtown heading to where the Polar Tang and the rest of the crew was waiting for us. “Oi, Y/n-ya…”, my “best friend” said grabbing my wrist. 

I violently moved my arm for him to release me. I expressed coldly “Don’t worry, I’m not saying anything, forget about it”. 

Bepo was on the port waving at us, yelling our names. I don’t know why but I ran directly to him, hugged the big polar bear and sunk my head on his soft belly. “Aya aya, Y/N! you missed me I see. Well, have some garchu!. I missed you and captain too!”. 

We boarded the yellow submarine and I headed directly to my room. I jumped into bed and cried my eyes out. 

The day passed, and I didn’t get out of the room during the whole day. I excused myself, stating I was tired of the hard work we did with the sick children of the island. 

The night came and my stomach was growling from hunger. Yet, I didn’t want to face anyone, especially Law. But suddenly, someone knocked on my door. "Y/n-ya, you have to eat, open please I bought you some food". Said Law, from the other side of the door. “I don't want it, I’m not hungry”, I lied. “Don’t be such a whimsical baby, open the door.”, he ordered me. “I’m not opening, GO AWAY”, I expressed this time shouting, to which he replied, “I’m still your captain, open the door right now”. Bastard… I opened the door with the worst of the attitudes. He entered my room with a plate in his hands and sat on my bed. 

“Stop acting like this, Y/n-ya. You don’t see the problem? We’ve been like brothers and sisters for more than half of our lives. What happened yesterday shouldn't have happened. It's just… It’s not ok. You, you are my little sister…” He yelled at me with a cracking voice. “We are not siblings, Law. Sure, you are my family, but we are not brother and sister. Why don’t you see? We have no blood ties. We have kissed before, you even told me yesterday how much time you’ve been wanting to fuck me…” I made a pause, and even If I wouldn’t want to say it, my mouth didn’t hold back... “I love you, that’s it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle this, I LOVE YOU”.

Law gasped, widening his eyes. We looked at each other. His eyes said, “me too”, but his mouth expressed words that stuck into my heart as arrows… “I don’t love you, I wanted sex, ok? that's it. I was horny”.

A single teardrop fell from my eyes and while it ran through my cheek I said, “Law, I’m leaving the crew” ... 

Chapter 4

[supercasey]

So I watched Batman Ninja with my buddy Jason the other night...

Under a readmore because I'm screaming and y'all normal people don't need to see this shitshow.

So, like, to begin with; the animation is gorgeous- I will in no way try to deny that- and does a lot of cool things with the art style. You can tell a lot of work went into this movie, and while I personally find it so bad that it's funny, I'm not gonna shit on anyone who likes this film more seriously. (Also, I'm gonna shit on the outfits a lot, so sorry if that comes off as unintentionally racist. I am white and stupid.)

However, other than that... What the shit??? Was that??? I'm still reeling 48 hours later.

The basic plot of this wild ass movie (that I could figure out): Gorilla Grodd has built a time machine so he can go back in time and rule over Feudal Japan and change history (it never really specifies why he chose Japan of all places but go off, DC). He brings Deathstroke (my fav obviously), The Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and The Joker + Harley Quinn (because if you want your plans to work you should absolutely bring in the disaster piece of shit that is The Joker).

Also Catwoman is here but from what I can tell it was accidental on her part/I think she's the one who fucked up the time machine??? Unclear.

So everyone goes to the past, including Batman, Alfred, and all the Robins (Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Damian Wayne as Robin) (none of the girls but let's be honest, I think they dodged a fucking bullet).

Batman ends up behind everyone else during the time traveling??? Not really explained, but now everyone has been in Japan for two years and Catwoman has depression.

Okay onto me rambling:

They have this scene where every villain gets a title card/one-liner, and everyone else but Deathstroke gets a line that fits their shtick. I feel like they had no idea what to do for a pun/joke, so there's just a literal pause then "... Yeah :)" from Deathstroke. I straight up scream-laughed so fucking hard.

All the Robins look so fucking stupid except for Tim. Nightwing looks like Goku, Red Hood has the tallest bucket on his head I've ever seen, and Damian's hair... good fucking lord.

Also, Damian is completely out of character. The people making this movie, I think, have never read a comic with Damian, and just made him into "annoyingly happy child character that is annoying as all fuck and talks to animals for no reason except Baby" and let me tell you, I got such whiplash from seeing that. Also Damian and Red Hood are apparently voiced by the same guy and my buddy Jason is freaking out about it lmao.

Joker's fucking UGLY next question.

Harley sounds low-key annoying in this film but that might just be me... feels like a lot of people who try to voice her make their voices as high-pitched as possible and it's very grating after awhile.

There's an amnesia plot??? Where Harley and Joker get amnesia after a boat fire??? Red Hood beats the fuck out of them and while I feel bad for Harley, fuck Joker, he can die. They get their memories back by seeing a plant... that looks like Joker's face... as my boy Deathstroke would say: "... Yeah."

There's a clan of Batman ninjas from the past and, tbh, they look pretty fucking cool and I thought they were a really neat concept. Doesn't excuse the bat ghost thing.

OH GOD THE ENDING FIGHT

Through a series of unfortunate events, Gorilla Grodd and all the other villains start fighting each other in giant mechas in order to decide who will rule Japan because of course they do.

My favorite parts from the villain fights:

Two-Face's robot is the shit of nightmares. At one point Deathstroke and Grodd are going at it, Two-Face gets between them, then FLIPS A COIN FOR WHO HE'LL BEAT ON (very in-character I guess but I was still screeching). Btw, he chooses to attack Grodd, and Slade just stands back like "... Yeah :)"

Can you tell that I'm not over that stupid line yet?

PENGUIN HAS SEMI-SENTIENT PENGUINS WORKING ON THE INSIDE OF HIS ROBOT WTF!?!? WHERE DID HE GET THEM!?

Poison Ivy is beautiful, next question.

Okay, back to everything in general:

Grodd reveals that he has been low-key mind controlling all of the other villains this entire time, and that he's the one who made everyone build giant robots. He attempts to take full control of everyone, but Joker does instead. This is maybe the most sane part of this entire goddamn movie.

ALL OF THE ROBOTS MORE OR LESS FORM VOLTRON, LADS!!!

So now our heroes (Batman, the Batsquad, and the Batclan) need to take on this giant robot... so what's a boy to do? Well, if you're Damian Wayne in this movie, you get a magic flute from Grodd after he nearly dies for you, and with the help of your baby monkey friend, summon an army of millions of monkeys that form a giant monkey.

This is a Batman movie. Just thought I'd remind y'all of that.

At first it doesn't work, but don't worry! Another monkey (wearing a pink bow to remind us that she's a girl and the other monkey's love interest) comes and helps Damian play the flute better so the monkeys are better.

Monkeys still aren't enough, so with the power of bats and probably a lot of weed being smoked, the bats that came out of literally nowhere form a giant Batman to punch Voltron.

(Side note: they destroy the arm that Deathstroke was controlling so I don't know why he isn't dead. Never explained. He isn't even really hurt!!!)

The Robins enter Voltron to fight the villains because Joker loses control of everyone: Nightwing vs Penguin, Red Hood vs Deathstroke, and I forget the other match-ups, but nothing matters except that Red Hood walking up to Deathstroke and saying "Tell you what... I'll let you take the first shot" was badass and the best part of the movie.

Too bad we didn't get full fights scenes between everyone 🙃

Batman nearly died??? But lived??? I was so lost at this point and probably should've been paying better attention, but I was too busy trying to convince myself this wasn't a fever dream.

They got back to the present and everyone lived happily ever after, the end :)

Notes: I'm sure I missed some shit but Jesus fucking Christmas, it was a wild ride from start to finish. It was, like, not that great storytelling wise, but it was so bad it was funny??? It was the "The Room" of Animated Batman films.

Batman is a fucking HIMBO in this movie. I dunno how to exactly explain it, but he makes so many stupid ass decisions throughout the movie, it's so funny. When he's trying to blend in with the townsfolk HE LITERALLY CUTS HIS HAIR TO HAVE THE BATSYMBOL ON THE TOP OF HIS FUCKING HEAD!!! WHO APPROVED THIS MOVIE!?!?

I have decided that Deathstroke didn't die because trans rights. Is he canon trans? Well, he is in my heart.

Jason Todd's voice actor did a great job with him, tbh I wish he had been more prominent in the movie.

I literally forgot Tim and Dick were there most of the time they were so unneeded in the plot.

I hated Damian but whatever.

I honestly did enjoy the movie, but probably not for the reasons the creators wanted me to. Again, nothing against the creators, but this was such an odd movie for 90% of it's run time.

7/10 would watch again, if only because it was so funny and nonsensical.

Ratings all together:

Animation: 10/10

Voice Acting: 7/10

Story (If taken seriously): 2/10

Story (if not serious): 8/10

All together; watch this if you're a Batman fan that feels like having a hilarious time and doesn't mind seeing your favorite characters be OOC or doing weird shit. I feel like this movie is best enjoyed on call/while hanging out with friends.

[tonystarkbingo]

Week 5 Roundup!  Keep reading to see the spectacular stuff everyone got up to this past week!

Title: Not Your Damsels In Distress Collaborator: katling Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Damsels (and others) In Distress Ship: FrostIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: not Team Cap friendly, not IW compliant Summary: The Rogues make a very, very, very big mistake when they decide to crash a certain girls' day out. Word Count: 719

Title: this undoing of the first end Collaborator: deathsweetqueen Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Skrulls! Ship: Bucky/Steve/Tony/T’Challa Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, dubious consent due to identity issues, PTSD, implied/referenced child abuse Summary: “Sir?” “Yeah, JARVIS?” Tony mumbles, skewering his screwdriver through the gauntlet. “It appears that Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes and King T’Challa have returned,” JARVIS informs him. Tony jumps out of his chair. “Well, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” “I told you the moment they arrived!” JARVIS argues. “Not soon enough,” Tony huffs. “I believe it is time to form a union, sir,” JARVIS snipes. “Oh, come on, don’t be such a baby.” “I simply cannot work in these conditions,” JARVIS sighs, exasperated. “Baby,” Tony sings, as the elevator doors close around him. Word Count: 10347

Title: Flutter Collaborator: mortenavida  Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - flutter Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: No powers AU, meet-cute Summary: It's couples night at the drive-in, but Tony shows up alone (as he always does). They won't let him in without a partner, but before he could drive away upset, a stranger hops into his car and says, "Hey babe, sorry I'm late." Tony rolls with it. Word Count: 859   

Title: From Russia with Purrs Collaborator: tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - free square Ship: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker Rating: Gen Major Tags: cat sitting, friendship Summary: Spider-Man doesn’t always get called in to help with the Avengers stuff, but when Peter is given a special, urgent mission from the Winter Soldier, he needs to call in backup Word Count: 2505

Title: Memory Lane Collaborator: buying_the_space_farm Link: AO3 Square Filled: R5 - Kink: Mind Controlled Sex Ship: FrostIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, sexual roleplay, consensual nonconsent, BDSM, rough sex Summary: The past cannot be changed. But with a little roleplay, overwriting haunting memories can be easier than it seems. Word Count: 3269

Title: I would've bought you dinner first Collaborator: Bill_Longbow Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Kink: pornstar/rentboy/sexworker Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: No Powers AU, pornstars, explicit sexual content, fluff, meet cute Summary: Steve meets Tony on the set of a porno movie. A porno movie meet cute. Word Count: 2131

Title: It's Not The Perfume that You Wear Collaborator: chase_acow Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - kink: crossdressing Ship: Tony Stark/Sam Wilson Rating: Teen Major Tags: crossdressing Summary: "I've been waiting for someone to wander by," Tony said, flippantly gesturing over his shoulder as if Sam wasn't standing a foot away having a midlife crisis. "Zip me up, would you?" Word Count: 2084

Title: Trying to be the hero (like always) - Chapter 2 Collaborator: alexisriversong Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 -  puzzle Ship: Stuckony Rating: Mature Major Tags: polyamory, angst, fix-it Summary: So... This got longer than I thought... This is literally a full chapter in wich Tony is in a coma... Word Count: 4255

Collaborator: famedglory Link: Pillowfort Square Filled: R4 - Asgard Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: art, Tony Stark, Heimdall Summary: I can't see Tony visiting Asgard and not asking this.

Title: Lost Boy Collaborator: Politzania Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - Edwin Jarvis Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: canon character death Summary: After the funeral of his former employers, Edwin Jarvis comforts their son, Tony Stark. Word Count: 751

Title: You're Just What I Needed Collaborator: chase_acow Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 Costume Porn Ship: Tony Stark/Sam Wilson Rating: Teen Major Tags: costume kink Summary: "Uh, believe it or not," Tony said, having to clear his throat when it threatened to close over the delicious things Sam was doing with his tongue to Tony's neck. "I actually need your help down in the workshop, not a quickie before dinner." Word Count: 1801

Title: we were written in the stars you and i Collaborator: Sbiderslut Link: A03 Square Filled: K5 Ancient Civilizations Ship: Tony Stark/Peter Parker Rating: M Major Tags: Major Character Death Summary:  Swept up in Mnemosyne’s current, Tony Stark and Peter Parker remember their past lives. Word Count: 2381

Title: [Podfic] take my hand, take my whole life too Collaborator: only_more_podfucs (only_more_love)  Link: AO3 Square Filled: Square K4: Never meant to hurt you  Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: asexuality, fluff, podfic Summary: Podfic for take my hand, take my whole life too," by FreyaS. "Tony stands in front of the mirror and nervously adjusts the cuffs of his bespoke suit. He fiddles with the cufflinks shaped like the atoms of the element he created (a present from Rhodey for his forty-something birthday) and tries to breathe in slowly and calm his nerves. This is his fifth and probably last date with Steve and he wants to commemorate the moment with his most polished look. The suit is his armor and it’ll carry him through to the bitter end."

Title: Damsels Lacking In Distress Collaborator: katling Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: FrostIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: not Team Cap friendly Summary: You asked for it, my muses decide to play ball - What happened to the ladies in Not Your Damsels In Distress. You probably should read that one before this. Word Count: 1884

Title: John Wick AU Collaborator: feignedsobriquet Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S1 - revenge Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: art, guns Summary: The Winter Soldier is on the run, but even he is aware of the rumours in the underground about the Continental Hotel. Anthony Edward Stark went missing, presumed dead shortly after the deaths of his parents but Antonio Carbonell is the Sommelier at the Continental. They might just end up being each other’s best chance for revenge..

Title: Happy Feet Collaborator: calmena Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Magic Ship: Tony Stark and Loki Rating: Teen Major Tags: magic Summary: Tony didn't expect to end up on Jotunheim. He also didn't expect Loptr, or to be turned into a penguin, but what can you do. Word Count: 1311

Collaborator: lbibliophile-mcu Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R1 - Canon MCU (Pre-CA:CW) Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: gifset, PTS Summary:  gifset of Tony's PTSD and relationship with Pepper

Title: S1 & A5-Frozen Together - Chapter One Collaborator: Thudworm Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Loki Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: huddling for warmth, there’s only one bed Summary: Thwarting Loki's latest attempt at world domination leaves two Avengers stranded in a frozen wasteland. Word Count: 1363

Title:  Let’s be Together Collaborator: Alexisriversong Link A03 Square Filled A3 Freesquare Ship: Peter Parker/Tony Stark Rating: M Major Tags: Age gap, non explicit sex, drunken confessions Summary:  Peter loves Tony, he tells him and then runs away and gets drunk because he thoght he had no chance. It’s not exactly like that. They both have issues but they can face them together. Word Count: 1359

Title: T2 Maria Hill Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Maria Hill Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: panick attacks, PTSD, mock battle Summary: Maria misses the days when she got her hands dirty on a regular basis. That was the good part about being a regular field agent. She knows she's more valuable where she is now, working at such a high level for Stark, but she does miss it. So, she'll watch the agents train sometimes. It's enough, just to observe quietly. It keeps the itch under her skin at bay. Word Count: 2226

Title: The Kids are All Right Collaborator: 27dragons Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - Next Generation Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: Dad!Tony, pranks Summary: The kids are going to drive Tony mad, he’s sure of it. Or, three times Tony despaired of the next generation, and one time he didn’t. Word Count: 2520

Title: Gladiator - Chapter One Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Ancient Civilization AU Ship: none Rating: Explicit Major Tags: blood, violence, gore, canonical character death, slavery, gladiator AU Summary: “Remove your helmet,” Anthony orders. James hesitates for a moment. He was arrested for Rumlow's lie that he'd murdered the emperor's parents. He hadn't, of course, but that didn't seem to matter much. Rumlow was close to the Praetor, and he'd said James did it, so James had been arrested. He'd expected to be executed, but then Rumlow had fucking sold him into slavery instead. He's only glad he wasn't executed now, because it gave him the chance to get his revenge. Word Count: 2802

Title: Gladiator - Chapter Two Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: T4 - Slave fic Ship: none Rating: Explicit Major Tags: blood, violence, gore, canonical character death, slavery, gladiator AU Summary: “Remove your helmet,” Anthony orders. James hesitates for a moment. He was arrested for Rumlow's lie that he'd murdered the emperor's parents. He hadn't, of course, but that didn't seem to matter much. Rumlow was close to the Praetor, and he'd said James did it, so James had been arrested. He'd expected to be executed, but then Rumlow had fucking sold him into slavery instead. He's only glad he wasn't executed now, because it gave him the chance to get his revenge. Word Count: 2802

Title: Last Chance Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 - last chance Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Dark Tony, memory suppressing machine/The Chair, assassination Summary: “Last chance, Rogers,” Tony said, holding out a newly printed copy of the amended accords...“No, Tony,” Steve said, shaking his head. “I can't sign something like that. I don't agree with it.” Word Count: 2790

Title: Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Picture of Stark Industries Ship: none Rating: Mature Major Tags: Full Metal Alchemist, fusion AU, human transmutation Summary: “Heard you fixed automail.” “Best in the East,” Tony said, not a bit arrogant. He knew he was good at what he did, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. Word Count: 3534

Title: Resolve Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - Resolve Ship: WinterIron, Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: suicide, temporary character death Summary: God, Tony could go for a drink. He just wanted to resolve all this shit and go home. But it wasn't that simple. It never was. Word Count: 11375

Title: It must be a Friday - Chapter Two Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5- Royalty Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Brooklynn Nine-Nine AU, past alcoholism Summary: Spiderman gets arrested while chasing down a thief, but he winds up outside of Queens and in Brooklyn... and he gets picked up by the 99. Word Count: 4685

Title: Morgan Stark - Chapter 4 Collaborator: rainbowshoes Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 - Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier Ship: WinterIron, Pepperony Rating: Mature Major Tags: AU, PTSD, cheating Summary: Tony wakes up and finds himself trapped in another reality that sort of reminds him of the freakin’ Matrix. He’s married to Pepper and has a kid in this universe? What even is this? But it turns out that everything isn’t sunshine and roses in this reality. He still loves Morgan, though, and isn’t that odd? He’d never wanted a kid before... Word Count: 12935

Title: Dealer’s Choice Collaborator: summerpipedream Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S2 - Tony/Jan (Picture) Ship: Tony Stark/Janet Van Dyne Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: “So, are you in or are you out?”  Tony rolled his eyes, “What, start an underground, very illegal, gambling ring to pay off our large mountains of student debt? That at the very minimum we’d get expelled before getting tossed in jail?”  “Only if we get caught. Which we won’t if you help me.” Tony scowled. “You’re lucky I wouldn’t let you do this without me. Of course I’m in.” Cut off from their families’ fortunes, Tony and Jan work together to start a student underground gambling ring to pay off all their student debts. Juggling courses,  group projects and papers, can Tony and Jan tip the odds in their favour?

Title: Confessions Collaborator: anthonystarhk Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2- Confessions Under the Influence Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: Tony and Wanda have issues Summary: During training Wanda digs a little too far into Steve's mind and uncovers one horrifying secret about the Winter Soldier and Howard and Maria Stark. Unable to believe her Captain would keep such a secret she tells Tony Stark. Many nights later she and Tony have confessional with each other. Word Count: 1592

Title: Fuel Collaborator: NastyBambino Link: AO3 Square Filled: R3 -  Alcoholism Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: alcohol abuse/alcoholism, moodboard Summary: Tony drowns his sorrows in as much alcohol that his body can handle (and sometimes as much as it can’t).

Title: Unexpected Sights Collaborator: mortenavida Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - witness  Ship: Tony Stark/Mystery Man Rating: Explicit Major Tags: no powers AU, middle school AU, first person, explicit sexual content, voyeurism Summary: There's someone in the back of the library office and I go to inspect it. I didn't expect to see two men in the middle of getting their rocks off, but that's what I came across. I should have kicked them out. I watched instead. Word Count: 814

[inappropriatefangirlneeds]

Gotham s5ep4 “Ruin” Personal Review

“There goes the element of surprise..”    Warning spoilers below (ahaha not this week, boy am I late, not that anyone would have missed this though, also little meta content this week)  

What I loved about the episode is that it´s the “apocalypse” and then it comes down to a crime scene investigation! I would take much more of that! Much more!  Just less of a bloodthirsty MOB. Like would they really want Zsasz hanged? The evidence was pretty clear, Jim Gordon really got no reason to lie to them, actually it would greatly benefit him if he did. Do they really not want to see the real culprit punished? I´m not a fan of lynch/mob law in general but does it make sense for the mob to want the wrong guy hanged, that way the police probably will think / claim everything is settled and call it a day, which means the real culprit is free to do that again, but then again I wonder how many people know about Zsasz and him having been a hitman, did some of them have had relatives that got into Carmine / Sal Maroni crossfire, was this partly a he´s a guilty filthy criminal *anyway* thing?  * “You don't need to smuggle in explosives when you can detonate 250 gallons of highly pressurized heating oil that's coursing through all the floors.”  Ah damn, they really had Edward Nygma do it, I kind of didn´t want them to follow that route. Also why put that running guy with bomb in there then, huh .. damn exploding herrings.  HOPE goes on and off this week:  “But whoever destroyed that building can't destroy the hope we've built. Not unless we let them.” “I told the people it was safe. I made them into a target.” “Jim, you gave 'em” “Don't tell me I gave 'em hope. They're dead.”  * It´s GOOD vs. EVIL “This city will never be what you want it to be, Jim. It's always gonna belong to the bad guys, like me.”  “People like you are always trying to own this city. But you never will.” * It´s GOOD ft. EVIL Oswald Cobblepot poses as if he was the synthesis of both those opposites: A bad guy that cares. “I lost people, too, Jim. People you lured with promises of safety and security, only to have them incinerated.”  Oswald arms the GCPD talking about working together just to take over and get his own trials and justice going. He´s claiming to provide what Jim can´t. While both Barbara Kean & Oswald Cobblepot claimed their help came no strings attached Oswald´s help does not include staying aside and letting them do their work. Although to be fair he said “Save for the one that we will cinch around the neck of the Haven bomber.” What is it with people that it always needs a couple hundred dead people that they can focus on nice things. Anyway everyone is appropriately appalled with this atrocity. They also gave all the villains some selfish reasons. OSWALD COBBLEPOT wants people and their cheers. EDWARD NYGMA wants the file of the inmate.  “I've been putting out feelers.” BARBARA KEAN is worried Sirens might be next, making her probably the least “selfish” one because she seems to care about the people that she protects and might not demand the same level of praise that Oswald does. (I know probably other things but unless canon proves me wrong I headcanon slightly differently) She feels hurt but understands Jim would suspect, even for a moment that she could be responsible for the destruction Haven. They slowly get her back on suitable for Jim Gordon to kiss track, which phu idk. I liked her and their relationship in S1,  but there´s just so much happened in between. And plenty in Barbara´s characterization I didn´t like so it´s nice to see her on a more reasonable track now but how about they just gave her an awesome relationship with Tabitha ........  Characterization questions aside I really loved that she did not and could not kill Oswald in the light of the explosion! That was a touching moment!  Also her outfit is nice, although they toned down the make up. And Jim gripping her arm during the kiss almost gives old timey movie vibes. I´m sure I don´t need to write on Babs / Oswald paralells, I assume I just can reblog better words on it from someone ..  * Also something tells me if JIM GORDON  had gotten that shoot out with VICTOR ZSASZ, that kiss would not have happened …… “Inmate number 1215 knows! Knows what???!!??!” Ha, distressed, puzzled, annoyed EDWARD NYGMA is a joy to watch. I don’t really have to say more on that. Edward snatching the blanket from the woman when walking into the GCPD makes me wonder, what would he have done if that woman hadn´t been there? Just walked in? Did he have a stupid disguise and was like, oh no wait that´s better.  He and LUCIUS FOX were a delight. Edward trying to snatch the file from him and run was wonderful! Him preening in pride when his expertise is wanted was delightful! Lucius claiming, he´ll deny having said the praise he gave Edward in the end, precious! Lucius playing him like a fiddle, and moving him with barely more than his fingertips, damn! Just that the whole thing was shot like when Ed pursued Kristen Kringle!  Their dynamic is just wonderful: “Impressive. Calculated the angle of incident to follow the trajectory through the window, into the fuel oil tanks.” “Yep. That, and the RPG case is right over there.”  * One thing that stressed me was Ed sending the Files flying around him on the rooftop. Like at that moment he didn´t yet know that the woman he saw in the window was connect to the note he put down on his hands. Even when the inmate was dead there could have been some hints in the file or who knows in hid grave. Like, no Edward! No! Go run and pick them up.  * Someone needs to do a Parallel Meta for 5x04 & 4x12  when Ed found out he hired the hit on Leslie Thompkins. * “I did not make that building go boom, Jim.”   Yeah, that´s a VICTOR ZSASZ line. Love him. * ““Hey, do you guys have any canned peaches? Man, I'd trade an arm and a leg for that right now. Not mine, somebody else's.” Food and cut off limbs, that´s another one. Love him. * And that one: “Do the math.  If I blew up a building full of people, I would have covered every inch of my body in sweet, sweet scars.  You guys want to do a strip search?” “I'd let Alvarez do it. He's handsome” * Him shooting Oswald´s head on the major poster after he said something was a great detail! * Him drinking while waiting for the bullet hail to stop as well. * I´m gonna make a post about the Gunman magazine that fell on the floor, after Jim tackled him so majestically ...  * Zsasz usurping the applause afterwards, and later was adorable. * “Is this about Sofia Falcone? Because you should really move past that. It's not healthy.” DOES HE KNOW SHE KILLED CARMINE, DOES HE OR DOES HE NOT ???? They had him express sympathy towards Carmine in Season 1, they showed that he cared when Carmine got killed. I get that he might abandon issues like that in the current environment but they can´t open up such a plotline and then just drop it. Does he know that Oswald didn´t kill Carmine? Like honestly .. I know it´s the Jim Gordon show but I would have loved it if Victor Zsasz just had saved himself!! I would have loved it even more if along the way they somehow figured out the whole misconception, Zsasz would recognize that Sofia and not Oswald is to blame and maybe even apologize. * But hey Oswald´s “Well said” about the mumbled last words was mean but awesome. * Soooo who went in the trashy local torture museum to get the guillotine? * How does Zsasz work? There where zero people shown around him. What is it like to live on Zsasz turf? * Zsasz mumbling must have been bewildered that they aren´t honouring the tradition of the last meal before an execution, like he got his order ready, that was the last silver lining, if he´s really going to face his end at the hands of penguin in those halls at least he´s going to get his teeth into something juicy and tasty before it happens ..  SELINA KYLE, (Bruce Wayne), JEREMIAH VALESKA, ECCO * Sykes and the Soothsayers digging a tunnel for Jeremiah Valeska. Is that poetic justice? Also is this a new tunnel, when the Soothsayers had the children dig it they went out of their way to state that their cruelty is even more infuriating because the whole endeavour is very likely futile.  Like they made it damn clear that the TUNNEL is not going to go anywhere. Also would Jeremiah, who made the bridges go boom want a tunnel that remedies that  issue partly? Only for himself? His cult? Is he doing something else altogether? Is it about what he can get into the city through it? Is he better at static issues and remedied the tunnel digging plan? Was he involved before?  * “Yes you certainly have set a very high bar - for devotion.” Fucker gave me an earworm, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio & Spiritual Front - A Song 4 Hate and Devotion (live) I mean quite a fitting mood considering all the other portrayals of the Harley and Mr. Jay relationship, but maybe they give ECCO and JEREMIAH VALESKA a different path. Aside from that the little dance was slightly nice. * “Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Curls Or is he the sidekick?” Yes! Ecco got the right spirit. I wonder if Ecco sees herself as sidekick?  “You see, a river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.So what do we do when we feel like giving up?” “Dig a little deeper.” “And what do we do when we can't possibly go on any longer?” “Dig a little deeper.” “And what do we ..” “Deep enough?”  I´m afraid it was not deep enough, I´m afraid it was quite shallow because the show is not as clever as Ecco, I bet that he isn´t dead, if he was it if could have actually been just about her. Honestly, I would love that. All the BatJokes built up and then it´s about Selina. And she has plenty right for it to be about her, Jeremiah almost killed her. What else does it need.  * SELINA KYLE keeping in the shadows investigating, disguising herself as one of the people there, then getting close to Jeremiah dressed as Ecco: She´s good! She´s awesome! * That GCPD woman that was doing PAPERWORK when Ed sneaked into the building. Do they do regular paperwork? Cause damn, considering the governmental neglect if Jim got them to bother to do the regular paperwork he must have given one hell of a speech. Or is it paperwork related to organize a place like Haven? How do they do things? * Oswald destroying all strategy with a megaphone: “There goes the element of surprise.” * “Elevated position, back to the sun.” * “Never ever ask me to do anything like that again. Pull yourself together.” Harvey does not approve of Wild West Jim  * “ I know the wheels of justice turn slowly, so I'm here to provide - a modicum of grease.” / “I did not expect you to go soft, Jim. Actually, I did.”  / “By the power vested in me by well, me, I sentence you, Victor Zsasz, to die.”   * “One of the areas in which I excel is the loosening of tongues.” “No. He's mine”  Oh damn I thought Jim said “it´s mine” as in he´s better with interrogations. Well there goes my whole comparison with the Edward Nygma & Lucius Fox expertise quip:  “So, the second smartest man in Gotham needs my help.” “Explosives are not my expertise.”  “Didn't realize you had one.”  *“Jim Gordon cares more about protecting a murderer than he does about protecting you!” Okay look who is projecting ....