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belit0 · 1 year

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Indra with prompt 7 where reader and him have just gotten married?? Btw, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR WORK AND YOUR WRITING IS SO GOOD!! ALSO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WRITING FOR INDRA HE’S MY FAV ❤️❤️❤️

7) Them exploring each others' bodies, but not in a sexual way.

AAAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LIKING MY STUFF!! I FEEL YOU SO BAD WITH THE INDRA SITUATION

He is also my favorite, and it destroys me how he has so little recognition and content to his name. People need to appreciate the hell out of this man HE'S THE CREATOR OF ALL THE CHARACTERS WE LOVE OMG

(Y/N) never heard him speak, at least not directly to her. From the moment Indra chose her as his future wife, she has only heard his voice from afar, addressing her parents or people in her village. He never paused to even greet her, introduce himself, or explain.

Indra came to her small village looking to hire manpower for construction in his territory, having heard rumors (Y/N)'s family was the best in the area when it came to edification. The Otsutsuki had recently become famous after destroying his brother and winning an ancestral war, crowning himself as a man to be feared and respected.

No one wanted to be in the spotlight of his attention, and people preferred to give him whatever he wanted to avoid perishing in the attempt. The man arrived at their home with blueprints to execute his new settlement, having changed his last name so as not to be associated with his father's or younger brother's image.

It didn't take long before he crossed paths with (Y/N) by pure chance, while he was finalizing details with her father on how they would carry out the constructions and with what materials. They were sitting at the main table one night, as she entered her house to go to bed. The girl observed how her father was tense and alert in front of the presence of such a person, and when they exchanged glances, tried to warn her wordlessly to hide.

The Otsutsuki fixed his eyes on her, and that was the moment he decided to take her as his wife. For the remaining days, he continued to make arrangements with her family, and no one could stop him from taking her with him when everything was planned. Saying no to Indra was inevitable doom, and (Y/N) understood she had to obey his orders if she wanted to protect her people.

He took her along with a convoy of villagers from her hometown, who went to the new and recently founded Uchiha territory to lend a hand. The work lasted months, of complicated execution and with no room for mistakes under the frightening gaze of the most villainous man in the world, but it was accomplished.

When everything was finished, her family had to leave, and (Y/N) could not join them.

There was no formal wedding, with the Otsutsuki reluctant to follow such protocols, and simply proclaimed her as his wife in front of the entire Uchiha clan. People knew not to mess with her and respected her as Indra's legitimate wife, but that was all.

Life continued to go on as usual, and the woman had to adapt to her new destiny. Her so-called husband dedicated himself to ignoring her, pretending her existence was unimportant and attending to a million other matters before even looking at her.

(Y/N) did not let his attitude discourage her, and she thrived despite his indifference. She found friends and supporters, and learned about Indra from them. At the moment, the Uchiha clan consisted of all those who supported him on the battlefield and chose him as their leader. Everyone spoke with respect and admiration about the Otsutsuki, and the girl came to know his life story from the accounts of others.

Indra was a tormented and haunted man, someone hurting, and perhaps he just needed space before he could approach her in a concrete way.

She waited, and found a way of life that made her happy in spite of everything. Her husband never limited her or gave her any orders, letting her be free and able to build her day-to-day life as she wished. If she wanted to devote herself to learning ninjutsu, she could. If she preferred to dedicate her time to more mundane tasks or do nothing at all, that was fine too.

It took a couple of months of cohabitation before the man finally got a good look at her, and it happened on a night of a full moon and pouring rain. Usually, the Otsutsuki disappears with the fall of the sun, and (Y/N) presumes it's for training, but with the weather as such, there's no way. The ground turned to mud and there is no visibility because of the rain, the water bringing icy winds in tandem.

Taking no qualms about his presence, the girl continued with her evening routine as if the man was not there, playing the same game of indifference. She finished with all the actions required to get into bed, coolness not helping to keep her away from the sheets.

What she didn't expect was to feel the mattress sink a few seconds after she laid down, Indra settling down next to her for the first time in months. Not speaking to her also came with not sharing a bed, and (Y/N) always wondered where the Otsutsuki slept.

Her heart races and she suddenly becomes nervous, never having had to face this situation in all the time they've been together. She fixes her gaze on him, determined not to be intimidated by the man with whom she is supposed to share her life, and for the first time, she gets a closer look.

He is devilishly handsome, with defined and dreamy features, a sharp jaw, and elongated fox-like eyes. He wears his hair tied in a bun, with a few pieces raining raggedly down his face. Indra is a dream, and (Y/N) gets even more nervous.

"You're agitated...would you rather I spend the night somewhere else...?" According to people's accounts, Indra seems to spit fire when he speaks, but the way he phrased the question carries a hint of teasing and sarcasm.

"No... I do believe it's about time." She decides not to flinch in front of him, and face him with the same level of intonation. They both glare at each other, a duel of stares (Y/N) is not willing to lose.

The girl analyzes the man, sitting on the bed against the headboard and imitating his posture. Indra is not wearing a T-shirt, only some baggy pants. There is a huge scar on his chest, dangerously close to his heart, and looking fresh. Fearlessly, (Y/N) runs her fingertips over it.

It has a terribly smooth texture and decorates his body as if it was meant to fit in that particular spot. "Where did this come from?" she asks without looking him in the eye, sight fixed where her fingers still touch his skin.

"Family squabbles, if you might call it somehow." She can hear a smirk in his words, as the Otsutsuki puts his hand against her cheek, touching a mark (Y/N) has carried since being little girl.

"What about this?"

"Learning to chop wood with my father, if you might call it somehow." She dares to connect with his eyes again and sees him smiling genuinely. The stories and narrative construction people provided about Indra portrayed him as a cold and heartless being, a tyrant with so many murders on top of him as to be uncountable, an evil and sinister man.

Perhaps they were all wrong, and no one really knew him.

Feeling reaffirmed by him, she takes his arm and looks at the skin closely. Another huge scar looking much older decorates the surface. "First time I made use of one of my techniques to defend... someone." There is a hint of nostalgia in his words, and (Y/N) assumes he is referring to a too-distant past.

A huge hand closes over the curve of her waist and draws her close until they are mouth-to-mouth. Surprised by his boldness, she allows herself to indulge in the sweet, first kiss she shares with her husband, feeling his fingers roam her figure over her clothes.

"I wondered what it would feel like to touch you once and for all."

#indra otsutsuki x reader #otsutsuki indra x reader #indra x reader #indra otsutsuki #otsutsuki indra #indra #naruto shippuden #naruto imagines #naruto #uchiha clan #naruto x reader #naruto scenarios

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sytokun · 2 years

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Art by Mikkusushi on Twitter.

I've been sort of entertaining this idea for a while now. Knowing all the unfortunate baggage and mishandling involved with the White Fang, why not just. Make them the good guys?

Say an official rewrite or reboot of RWBY exists in the future - if those two words rub you the wrong way then whatever, basically a clean slate or re-adaptation of RWBY - the fact stands that the White Fang need a heavy revision.

People are smart enough at this point to know that you shouldn't be villainising the oppressed group trying to fight back against a world that is actively pushing them out - if anything the SDC should be more of a antagonistic faction, kind of like the Shinra corporation from Final Fantasy 7 which RWBY is clearly heavily based on, what with Dust and Materia and all that. But that still leaves you with the White Fang and Blake's arc to write.

This has been a large headache point for anyone trying to figure out how to revise RWBY's more fundamental writing flaws, because the WF are such a prominent antagonist faction throughout the Beacon arc and they were such a problem that CRWBY had no choice but to sweep them under the rug entirely after Adam's death. But hear me out here. Do we really need to latch onto that idea so hard? That the White Fang need to be villains?

Like, imagine a RWBY where the White Fang are shown as terrorists on TV and in newspapers throughout Vale, but when you actually meet them, they're a ragtag band of freedom fighters. They're like Avalanche from FF7; the freedom fighters from Sonic SatAM; you start to realise that they're the good guys. They're the embodiment of Chaotic Good or at worst, Chaotic Neutral.

In any other show they'd be the Resistance, the Rebels against an evil corporate empire - they're just not in the main point of view of the story. Going off this change in perception, one would then rewrite everything else based off that foundation.

Putting aside Adam, Ilia and others simply because they're all supplemental to Blake's arc, where does Miss Belladonna herself fit into this?

If we want to keep her backstory as a person atoning for a dark past, then the WF would be more grey in response, but still not outright evil. Revolution is not without sacrifice, and when you're fighting for drastic societal change, conflict is inevitable. While they may fight for a good cause, not everyone has the will or strength to fight, to endure the monumental societal backlash and opposition. Perhaps Blake was one of those people - jaded and burnt out by the never-ending struggle to be heard, losing hope that change would ever be possible - so she runs away in hopes of finding herself, only to be scooped up into Beacon instead.

What would she feel, fighting for the side that, while may not have oppressed the Faunus directly, have remained ambivalent and blind to their struggles? Hunters who claim to fight for human and Faunus alike, but who clearly have more humans in their ranks and would choose to rather save a prosperous human city over a struggling Faunus slum? Would living among humans change her outlook on the fight, where she's torn between reclaiming the hard fight to preserve her own heritage, vs. a relatively comfortable new identity, but one that forces her to assimilate with humankind and live on their terms? Is there a way for her to reconcile these two sides of herself, these two families she's now a part of?

But let's not exclude other possibilities too. Assuming we have a Chaotic Good WF, what if Blake was actually proud to be part of the Fang, and enrolls into Beacon as an unashamed member? Her conflicts would then come from the people around her struggling to accept that - how would Weiss work with someone whose group keeps sabotaging their trains? How would Beacon deal with a public member of the Faunus liberation movement? Would some staunchly oppose her enrolment, while others see it as a possible bridge to better relations with the Faunus? How many Faunus would be inspired by Blake and look up to her as a Faunus-born Hunter, while others would decry and dismiss her as just a hollow figurehead and Remnant's equivalent of a diversity hire?

When seeing other rewrites or revisions of RWBY, I still mainly see people trying to work with the WF as given in canon. They still keep the activism turned to violence and extremism. The WF and thus a majority of Faunus are still portrayed as terrorists and cannon fodder for fights. But what if there's a better way of going about all this?

In the end, this is just an interesting thought exercise, but I leave you with this:

As Blake has said in the manga: "Fangs of pure white need not shed blood." Those words and the imagery they evoke have always stuck with me when I think about the White Fang and how Blake could have been written, and gives such a valuable insight to why the group was named the way it was.

What if they had never strayed from that name? What if they had not been treated by the story as just faceless enemies to mow down by the dozens... but as people from the very beginning?

#rwby #rwde #white fang #rwby au #rwby rewrite #blake belladonna

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maxwell-grant · 10 months

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Reading you post about Seth made me imagine a world where Ryu winds up taking Seth on as a student. I thought Ryu's journey to overcome the Satsui no Hado could give him insight on how to help Seth overcome their own hatred, and meta-textually, becoming the main character student is about as far from trying to be the final boss that you can be

Hmm, you know, that is frankly pretty damn inspired and I don't think it's something we've ever really seen before in a fighting game, a former final boss getting kicked so far down the ladder that they wind up being the main character's student. It's the kind of sheer indignity and downgrade that would destroy most villains, but also, you can't destroy or make Seth less dignified than they already are, and their SFV story opens up a number of possibilities to take them afterwards if brought back. There's even some existing parallels between Seth and Akuma that could be worked into this, and Seth's already dropped out of official villain status enough to not be missed as one.

Main issue I have with this though is that "Final Boss gets beaten by Ryu, changes himself to become more like Ryu, and becomes a redeemed pseudo-ally to Ryu while still being plenty intimidating and arrogant to stay in in-character and remind you they used to be a Final Boss" is already very much Sagat's thing and you are never, ever, on your best day, not coming up short next to Sagat. Honestly even Akuma started heading there a bit in V. And it works for them because their appeal as characters isn't really mandated by them remaining full-on villains, they are cool badasses who get to sit in more morally grey clubs. Seth's humiliated and tragic aspect is what sets them apart from all the other main villains and I wouldn't want to see it done away with, but you can't really have them stay static, especially with 6 being serious about developing and pushing all of the characters forward in a way the series never really did before.

I've never been super in love with the idea of Ryu sitting down and training a new character to take his place, part of why I'm glad that Sakura turned out the way she did and that both her and Ryu were freed from the burden of the most tired story idea you could possibly think of with them. But there is a world of difference between "Ryu mentors a rookie who looks up to him into a new fighter because, idk he's just nice like that", and "Ryu has to mentor a monster that once tried to kill him and lay waste to the world with his exact power, to help them as he was helped and try to stop them from being consumed by hatred just as he once was". The former is just, eh, you can get a decent version of that by playing World Tour, but the latter, well, there's a pitch there, there's stakes, there's a story worth telling.

Ryu putting himself on the line, abdicating from his journey, possibly getting on really bad terms with people he knows (Is Chun-Li gonna be okay with this after all the work she put into destroying Shadaloo for good? what about Ken, who's JUST had his life ruined to shit by Shadaloo leftovers, how's he gonna feel? At minimum he's gonna have C.Viper and Juri and Abel and Guile on his ass 24/7 because they are not letting this pass), to stop the Shadaloo-Satsui cycles of violence and help a victim of them who can't be trusted, but also can't get up on their own and has no one even trying to save them, no one. Ryu had Ken, he had friends, he has Sagat to eternally remind him of the consequences and push him to be a better man, he had Dhalsim, he had Gouken (which I think was too much, old man should have stayed dead, not a single story in the franchise wouldn't be better served by Gouken staying dead), in the manga he even had Birdie and I like that so it happened shut up, where as Seth has nothing and no one other than people who tried to use them, and people who very justifiably think Seth needs to stay dead and only endangers others by being alive.

Nobody on the planet is gonna think Seth is remotely worth the effort of saving, except for Ryu, who wouldn't wish what they're going through even on his worst enemy. There's like an interesting tension here, of whether Ryu is doing something incredibly stupid because he doesn't understand firsthand what Shadaloo scum are actually like and is just empowering a monster to kill them all eventually (something that Guile would probably say to him), whether he's just trying to help someone the way he wishes he'd been helped and not thinking about the risk, whether he's actually being very practical because redeeming Seth is a net positive for humanity that only he can achieve (well really it should be Dhalsim and Gouken's jobs but, they can't be fucked), how much of this is him acting from pure kindness versus a pragmatic understanding that he is in a position to stop the next Akuma or Bison from forming even if no one is gonna help him do it, the toil it takes on him, and so on.

Again, there's a story here. Not sure if I'd want this like, canonically, but there's something really good here. That could be as good a justification as there ever was for a story to remind us why Ryu is the Hero even when they're not actively at the center of things.

#replies tag #street fighter #fighting games #ryu #sf ryu #sagat #seth #capcom

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ealienkreations · 5 months

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Ok so I just last night/this morning finished Panacony act 2 boss and I wanna talk about stuff.

Spoilers for basically everything that is out for Honkai right now.

So I've been streaming my gameplay to my friends who had finished the boss before I did. Now my team through the entire game has remained relatively the same. Ratio has been on the team the entire game and Natasha and Aventurine since I got them have been main stays with only one member being swapped (I used Dan Heng during the Loufu and Arlen during Panacony).

Now up to that point, I had not struggled with bosses at all. I was accidently 5 levels above Cocolia (I was told she was level 40 not 35) and the second Boss was a cake walk with Ratio and Aventurine on the team. (Like no joke, my entire team took barely any damage until phase 3 of that fight)

So by the time I got to Panacony, my friends were joking that they hoped I struggled.

Which leads me to the Meme. Because that fight took me 3 or 4 tries simply because he kept killing Natasha who I needed alive to keep everyone else running. (Thankfully between all outs and follow ups, I was mostly able to pick who to sacrifice to the snatch.)

But Peacock Aventurine gave my friends so much trouble. We're talking 5, 6 or even 7 runs with multiple different team set ups. And they were both convinced my team would not be able to stand against him either.

Now I went in blind (I guessed the villain was Adventurine because my writer brain be like that and I went "oh he's either dying or the villian") so I didn't know his weaknesses but turns out he was weak to lighting, which was Lucky for me with Arlen on the team.

Something else is I went into that fight at level 50 with only my second Equilibrium. My friends had their 3rd. I had been level grinding all day to get to T40 and get the best relics I could for the team which gave me tons to spare for leveling up the best relics.

But essentially I ended up with everyone over 1000 health with the lost being Natasha at 1666. All my attackers have 1000 or more attack and pretty high defence (I managed to somehow get Ratio to like 300 or 3000 or something which was higher than Aventurine) and a lightning and attack boost on Arlen.

So I went into this fight, not even taking any consumables because this was more a "let's see what happens" kinda run so I didn't want to waste them.

Naturally, Aventurine and Ratio couldn't do much since Imaginary (although Ratio's follow up did do roughly 2% to 3% so that was pretty good.

Arlen was an absolute star in that fight. He was doing huge amounts of damage and stamina breaks. Like I'd only heard that he wasn't a good character to use but I chose him over Serval because I really like Arlen.

I also have no AoEs on the team aside from Arlan's Ult. Although Ratio and Aventurine decimated the dice game with follow ups every time.

So phase 1, while it took a bit (nowhere near as long as the meme though) it wasn't too bad since my strategy was use Ratio as a skill gainer, use Arlen for damage since he doesn't use skill points and he has the weakness, heal Arlen with Natasha and put shield up with Aventurine.

Natasha and Arlen did come close to dying but I was able to use Nat's skill or ult to fix the damage.

Then phase 2 happened and this was what my friends were warning me of (basically saying the dice thing was stupid)

Again thanks to my shielding, Ratio and Aventurine were fine and Arlen was occasionally able to squeak by. ( Plus Peacock Aventurine rolled a 4, 5 and 6 consecutively. So that was a pretty lucky one. Like I thought it was impossible for him to roll below a 7.)

But I didn't even struggle with that phase either because I again just stuck with the same strategy.

And Arlen was able to finish the job and win me the fight.

Like I was genuinely shocked and my friends were both proud and annoyed that I have basically never really had to change my team up that much simply because I built a good one on accident.

The most I did for research was looking at what relics and light cones worked best for each character.

And I also for some reason managed to get Arlen a like 36% boost in every dmg type in the game. I have no idea how, maybe it's from all the relics I fused into his worn set. I dunno.

I genuinely might take pictures of the stats and post them because it was absolutely ridiculous.

I even got a video of the entire fight as proof that it really did happen, it's currently on my PS5.

Like I was actually the one that made my friends realize that, if built right, Ratio is a beast because his follow up attacks decimated so many bosses.

But this time it was Arlen's time to shine and I'm so proud of that.

Oh also side note, my favs are Ratio, Aventurine, Arlen and Dan Heng (both regular and dragon version)

#honkai star rail #aventurine honkai star rail #aventurine #rant #dr. ratio #Honkai star rail Arlen #Arlen #Natasha #Honkai star rail Natasha #fights #is this considered a rant or more of just me talking to the void?

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ninja-muse · 10 months

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November started out bookish, because my Dad came to visit for a few days, which meant a bookstore visit, a poetry reading, and a bookish movie. It then got mundane and kind of time-dilated. If feels like October was three months ago at least and that all the books took ages to get through, which is absolutely not the case. I didn't write much, just kind of lazed around. Maybe that's it?

It was a good reading month, though! Apart from one DNF that was just not for me, I didn't read a single dud and Libby kept on coming through with anticipated reads. I not long have anything actively on hold there, and few things on hold physically at the library right now either, which hopefully means I'll be able to tackle The ARC Pile again next month and burn through a handful of those before the new year. Wish me luck?

I am well and truly going to lose most of my reading challenges this year. There's no way I'm going to hit 140 books, no way I'm going to read the remaining books on my personal "read these 50 books" challenges, and I might have hit 10 Canadian authors but I'm certainly not going to hit the stretch goal of 20. I'm mostly okay with this. Really. At least I finally passed my goal of 40,000 pages. Huzzah!

Also, as you can tell by that stack of six books, I do not have a book acquisition problem. You have a book acquisition problem! Only two of those were purchases though—I've been meaning to read The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and The Mighty Dead comes recommended. The rest of them were out of damaged shipments at work. If the publisher doesn't want them back and we don't have the space to store them, what am I meant to do? Throw them away? Salt Fat Acid Heat is totally writing research, of course.

Somehow, I suspect I'm not going to hit my goal of reading more books off my TBR shelves than I add to them this year either.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

The Water Outlaws - S.L. Huang When Lin Chong is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, she finds herself allied with infamous outlaws.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, genderfluid), mute secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: death, violence, torture, blood

The Night Watch - Sarah Waters

Four Londoners after and during the War, and the melancholiness of life and love.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (lesbian, bi woman), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, queer)

warning: self-harm, abortion, blood, war, suicide

Lay Them to Rest - Laurah Norton

A portrait of people solving Doe cases and their methods.

8/10

warning: missing and murdered people, human remains

Ogres - Adrian Tchaikovsky

The world is a cruel place full of powerful ogres, and you are a peasant with a grudge.

7.5/10

warning: violence, murder, classism, oppression

Turning Darkness into Light - Marie Brennan

Audrey Camherst gets the chance to translate lost Draconean texts but grows suspicious of her new employer.

7.5/10

Black British-coded main character

warning: xenophobia

The Circumference of the World - Lavie Tidhar

A pulp sci-fi novel that doesn’t exist, the real lives it affects, and the secrets of the universe.

7.5/10

albino Vanuatan main character, faceblind main character, half-Guyanese Jewish secondary character

warning: sexist, racist, and homophobic characters

Sleep No More - Seanan McGuire

October is a changeling born to serve her family, and happy in her role. Unfortunately there are people who remember her very differently.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (bi men), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: villains really like their ideas about blood purity

The Innocent Sleep - Seanan McGuire

Tybalt’s wife has been caught in Faerie’s grandest illusion and he just wants to bring her home.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (bi man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (poly, sapphic, bi man), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: eugenics

DNF

Moorewood Family Rules - HelenKay Dimon

Jillian is out of prison and determined to make her con artist family go straight, no matter what.

Currently reading:

A Power Unbound - Freya Marske

Jack, Alan, and their friends must find a hidden artifact and foil a plot. Jack and Alan do not get along.

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (gay, bi), main character with injured leg and chronic pain, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, bi woman, lesbian), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories

major disabled character

warning: colonialism, racism

Stats

Monthly total: 8 Yearly total: 117/140 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 1 Books by women: 5 Authors outside the binary: 1 Canadian authors: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 1 Books hauled: 6 ARCs acquired: 2 ARCs unhauled: 2 DNFs: 1

January February March April May June July August September October

#booklr #bookblr #reading wrap-ups #stacks of books #book recommendations #rec lists #book reviews #my photos #read in 2023

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dailycass-cain · 2 years

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Cassandra Cain Reading Guide Part 2: Modern

Part II of my reading list for Cassandra Cain. This one chronicles the current iteration of the character, and all her modern appearances.

Part I you can view here.

Part III reading guide (Random) you can find here.

Part IV reading guide (Alternate versions) you can find here.

Part V reading guide (PAIN) you can find here.

Batman & Robin Eternal #1-8, #10-14

- #1 features the reintroduction of the character into the Batman Universe. #10-13 is her new origin, with one section not mentioned, but you can easily put the pieces together what it is (aka Cass killed Harper's mother).

#7 is worth the price alone of Cassandra watching ballet for the first time in this universe. As is #13 with GORGEOUS art by Marcio Takara, and is the crown jewel of the entire series for Cass.

The thing is though I can't really recommend the remaining portions. If you want to understand the finale then read #14-26. But-- it isn't as strong like the first fourteen issues (well save the brief period Tim/Jason go to Santa Prisca and are jerks to Bane).

Detective Comics #934-940

- the "Rebirth" era where Cass joins a team that features Tim, Steph, Clayface, and Batwoman. One tiny nitpick with the opening (which I guess goes the, if it ain't broke don't redo it) is Cass is bestest friends with Tim/Steph, and only told she is.

Still, the opening arc features Cass being Cass and has some damn good action moments of her being the "tank" of the team.

Batman #7-8

Nightwing #5-6

Detective Comics #941-942

Now I know some might skip this but x-over "Night of the Monster Men" does feature some Steph/Cass moments. Plus it's the first time in A LONG time Cass is in a crossover and it's the Bat-Family vs. Giant Monsters.

Detective Comics #943-944

- is the foundation of Cass/Clayface friendship probably one if THE hallmark of this entire run by run writer James Tynion IV.

Detective Comics #950-956

- the "League of Shadows" aka the arc that focuses on Cassandra and has her take on Lady Shiva. #950 and #955 are the hallmarks of this arc with an entire issue (#950) focuses on Cass, and the later is a giant fight scene of her vs. the League.

The problem with the arc is it feels like the "Empire Strikes Back", with no real payoff to the ending of it involving the conflicts of Ra's/Cass/Shiva.

Detective Comics #957-962

- has numerous Cass moments sprinkled in this arc. Namely more Basil/Cass goodies (him teaching her Shakespeare) and Kate/Cass taking on a brainwashed Azrael in a BRUTAL battle.

Detective Comics #964

- is the second of a two-part story involving Steph/Anarky/Bruce. But it's this issue that has the apex of Cass/Basil friendship with the later at his breaking point, and Cass is there for her friend. You might need the tissues for the feels.

Detective Comics #969-974

- features the return of the Victim Syndicate (the second arc's big bads) and they have their focus solely on using Clayface to tear Batman's world apart. If #964 didn't rip your heart out, this arc will. But damn is it good.

Detective Comics #975-981

- James Tynion IV's grand finale for his Tec run and Cass is heavily featured in all the issues. But #980 is a big one for Cassandra as she and Stephanie learn of their previous lives being Batgirls and Steph’s time as Robin.

Detective Comics #983-986

- is basically Batman & the Outsiders prelude. #984 has Cass taking on the arc's villain Karma alone. But it's #985 where we get some damn good Cass moments as she, Black Lightning, and Batman foil Karma's schemes.

***Updated note for this section. Shadow of the Batgirl graphic novel. A spectacular reinterpretation of Cassandra's origin story that takes place outside the main continuity. It hits all the beats that are why some of us love Cass and will defend the character. It's a one and done story. Perfect for new readers.

DC: The Doomed & the Damned

Truth & Justice #16-18 (online via DC Infinite), #6 (physical copy that collects the entire story.)

Truth & Justice has a Damian story by Juni Ba that includes the Bat Family celebrating Damian’s birthday, but it is crashed by Ra’s Al Ghul. Has a really cute tiny brother/sister moment between Cass/Damian. Worth it alone.

- A spooky story called “The Hunt” that stars Cass and Orca. The former comes across human traffickers and the fight is interrupted by Orca. A simple but sweet story by Alyssa Wong, (who’d go on to write another fun Cass appearance in Batman: Urban Legends #8).

Batman & the Outsiders #1-17

- (there's an Annual and it's an amazing Katana story but no Cass insight there). This series did an amazing job showcasing why Cassandra doesn't need the Orphan identity any longer.

It also FINALLY gives us evolution in the relationship between Cassandra and her mother Lady Shiva. Because going this route adds many more layers, and more story possibilities now. Instead of the tried standard Cass/Shiva death-match, we've gotten in the past.

Besides the new layers of depth added with her relationship with Shiva, we also get Cassandra bonding numerous times with Duke Thomas aka the Signal. If you've been hungering for brother/sister moments that we haven't gotten in AWHILE.

If there's any negative, is that Duke doesn't get the same attention as Cass does throughout the comic. I still hope beyond this comic that writers remember how close these two are and have a few more adventures.

-Batman: Joker War Zone Event --

Batman #95-98 (No Cass)

Batman #99 (Cass has entered the Joker War chat)

Batman: Joker War Zone #1 (Cass becomes Batgirl again doning a variant of her old costume, Steph slaps a Bat symbol on her Spoiler costume and goes back to a half mask but also goes by Batgirl too)

Batman #100

- For a more continuity friendly version that follows the characters specifically: Batman & the Outsiders #17 (i.e. the Bruce/Cass talk) Batman: Joker War Zone #1 (page 3) Batman #99 Batman Joker War Zone #1 (pages 1-2, 4-8) Batman #100

Cass becomes Batgirl again after more than ten years from dropping the mantle. NUFF SAID!

Batman #103-105

Infinite Frontier #0

Batman Urban Legends #2-3

- Various appearances of Cass that have her running around as Batgirl with Stephanie. #3 of Batman: Urban Legends continues Shiva subplot started in Batman & the Outsiders. The story is flawed, but still worth it for the ending.

There are three issues I'm neglecting in Detective Comics even if two of them have gorgeous art by Bilquis Evely. But the arc is rather meh on Cass. You might see this specific arc pop up on another reading guide for Cass.

Joker #3-4, #7, #9 #11-13, and #15

- Cassandra figures heavily into the Joker ongoing helping out both Barbara Gordon (Oracle) and Jim Gordon in their search to find the Joker and solve the mystery as to why several groups are after the Clown Prince of Crime.

Features Cass vs a Talon.

Highly recommended reading as it is truly a stealth Jim Gordon ongoing.

Batman: Urban Legends #7

- “Hunter or Hunted” is a story starring Cass in the "Future State" alternate future. It's a self-contained tale that tells an exceptional fight sequence with some awing visual treats for the reader.

For those readers who've read Batgirl Vol. 1, this story is the first time in all those years we finally get a story where the artist is allowed to let the fight breathe. You take in every move and emotion.

Detective Comics #1038 (backup story)

Detective Comics# 1039 (one panel but it's Dan Mora drawn-Cass)

Detective Comics #1047-1058 (Shadow of the Bat arc)

#1061 (assists Bruce in the finale to Tamaki's Riddler arc and final issue of her run with Ivan Reis drawn-Cass)

- Mariko Tamanki’s Tec run had Cass appear in the latter stages of it. These are the key areas Cass featured or appeared in. Shadow of teh Bat was the arc she appeared most in.

One Bad Day: Two-Face #1

- Tamaki again writing Cass (and Steph) as they tag on a case with Bruce that involves someone targeting Harvey Dent’s father.

- Batman: Fear State Event -

Fear State Alpha #1 (first appearance of Seer)

Batman #112

Batman: Urban Legends #8 (framed for murder by Seer and team-up with Batwoman)

Batman #115 (secondary story: Batgirls Part 1)

Nightwing #85 (The Clocktower goes boom from Babs/Dick/Tim's PoV)

Batman #116 (secondary story: Batgirls Part 2 aka Cass/Steph's PoV when the Clocktower goes boom)

Nightwing #86 (Babs/Cass/Dick/Tim/Steph team-up extravaganza)

Batman #117 (the main story occurs during Nightwing #86 and after it)

Batman #117 (secondary story: Batgirls Part 3) - Post-Fear State set-up for Cass/Steph that leads into--

Batgirls #1!!

Batgirls #1-6

- Cass & Steph together sharing an ongoing book with Barbara as their mentor figure? Cass truly shines in these first six issues, but the story is hampered with a few flaws (the narration gets a bit too much, Barbara as Batgirl is treated so normal when it should be a something BIG).

Besides Cass, the art by Jorge Corona is more than worth the read. That and the villainous Tutor.

Batgirls #9-12

- Cass/Steph investigate the Hill Ripper, a serial killer targeting at random around the neighborhood they live. The arc has nice twists/turns you just don’t see coming. Add to that, Cass is given two good fights in this arc. A bonus is we get the long-awaited meeting/team-up of Cass with Maps Mizoguchi. Add a fun reinvention of Killer Moth. This arc is a fun read from start to finish.

Batgirls 2022 Annual, #13-15

- Cass/Steph have a body swap episode and have to confront a parental figure of the other’s (Steph with Lady Shiva/Cass with Cluemaster). The arc steps up a rogue sect of the League of Assassins is attempting to set up in Gotham with Shiva trying to stamp it out (by also asking her daughter for help).

An unhinged Cluemaster (alive and this arc drops the Young Justice issue that brought him back) kidnaps his “daughter” in a hope to reconcile. In the end, Cass/Steph get their bodies back.

#14 features a Cass solo story and “silent issue” where she goes on a quest to find Stephanie (now in the clutches of Cluemaster). This issue is (so far) the series best issue bar none. Focuses on the advancement of Cass is with reading and her detective skills. #13-14 features exceptional art by artist Jonathan Case.

The Annual and #13 are kind of weak (retreading plot devices we’ve seen with both Lady Shiva and Cluemaster), but the last two issues more than make up it.

Batman: Failsafe (#125-130 for the arc, #126-128 for the Cass stuff).

- After Penguin frames Batman for his “death” a Failsafe robot is activated (one that Bruce created just in case he ever went “rogue” but Alfred kept switching off until his death) and attends to “save” Gotham and end the Batman & Bat-Family.

Cass encounters the robot in #126 with her and the entire family beaten. #128 is a flashforward where the entire Bat-Family save for Bruce, Tim, Cass, and Duke Thomas have all been captured (along with some members of the Justice League).

The arc is alright. It has a gorgeously drawn Cass by artist Jorge Jiménez. Yes, Cass is one of the few to escape Failsafe, but there isn’t much done in the arc with either her or Duke afterward.

Things just return to normal for Gotham with the defeat of the machine in #130. This is writer Chip Zdarksky’s first arc on the comic and it’s-- alright. Zdarksky falls into the trap of listing only Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian as his “sons” in Bruce’s narration while Cass is neglected (along with Duke).

Batman vs. Robin and Lazarus Planet Event (Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate #1, Batman vs. Robin #5)

- Cass skips out for most of Batman vs. Robin series until the final issue where she teams up with the rest of the Bat-Family (minus Signal and Batwoman) to take on a demonically possessed Batman.

The Family job but Cass is the main member (besides Damian and the wild card Monkey Prince) who provides enough of a fight until mystical shenanigans occur.

Prior to this issue Cass shows up in the Lazarus Planet tie-in teaming up with new mystical hero Xanthe Zhou as they team-up (along with a begrudging John Constantine) to deal with mystical creatures rising up due to the “Lazarus event”. Story ends with Cass getting sent to the Spirit World (see Spirit World #1-6).

Batgirls #16-19

- Closes out this particular series with #16 tying up the loose plot threads from #1, while #17-19 has the three Batgirls tangle with a vindictive sniper.

Has some really sweet Cass moments (and callbacks) sprinkled throughout the remaining issues. Why'd this series end?

Detective Comics #1069-1073

- Assists Batman in his latest case, and that's all I'll say about it because the run is underrated and you should be reading it if you aren't other than... These issues close out the first half of Ram V's Tec run.

Tim Drake: Robin #10

Batman #136

Batman: The Brave & the Bold #4

- Various Bat Family moments with Cass assisting the family. Light-hearted and cute moments.

Spirit World #1-6

- Continues the story that began in Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate #1 with Cass trapped in the Spirit World with Xanthe Zhou and John Constantine to rescue her.

Alyssa Wong returns for a FOURTH time to write Cass and second for 海凝 Haining drawing the character.

Visually stunning from 海凝 Haining with character, set designs, and sequences. Wong ties some elements of this story from Batgirl Vol. 1, but doesn't fully answer the ideas introduced here.

Cass gets an amazing mystical costume for the comic combining her various identities.

Birds of Prey Vol. 5 #1-6 (Mega Death)

- A new Birds of Prey team gets together (Dinah, Cass, Barda, Sin, Mirai Maps, and a rotating team this arc has Harley Quinn and Zealot), and Cass plays a big role in the series. - Friendship with Big Barda is formed and IT IS GLORIOUS.

- We get a glorious fight in #4 between Cass/Wonder Woman (drawn by Leonardo Romero and gorgeous colors by Jordie Bellaire) with the former stalling for time.

- Nice bonding between Cass and Black Canary too throughout.

#7-8 (Undercover Animals)

- Two-parter (now with Barbara Gordon and Vixen), with Cass/Dinah trying to prevent someone from trying to kill Babs.

- Goes on an undercover mission with the Birds at a fashion show wearing lingerie and kicking butt. Get a tiny Batgirls nod here.

Detective Comics #1077-1080, #1082, & #1084

- Ram V continues his epic run and Cass is along for the ride. This section solidifies again why she is an heir (along with Dick and Jean-Paul) to be Batman. As she keeps the symbol alive with Bruce out of action.

- Her and Babs team up with the Catwomans (Selina and Eiko), Jim Gordon, Azrael, Lian Harper, Cheshire, Solomon Grundy, the Question, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze to free Batman from the Orghams #1077-1080).

- #1082 and #1084 are her trying to keep Gotham safe and as stated before keeping the bat symbol alive as the Orgham tries to wipe the memory of the bat out.

- #1084 she stars in a backup story by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez where she teams up with her mother, Lady Shiva.

- Shiva helps Cass out with the mental fatigue she's experiencing during the story with the constant Orghams threat.

- Features the return of pre-New 52 David Cain to the DCU in a flashback.

Nightwing #106, #108 (backup story by Michael Conrad and Serg Acuña.)

- Cass features in this fun little side story where she has some fun sibling antics with Nightwing (along with Stephanie and Jason).

DC's How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days #1

- appears with Steph in Dick/Babs story.

Titans Beast World Tour: Gotham #1

- Co-stars in a story with Huntress that recanonizes her old NML Batgirl origin.

JL vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5 (one-panel cameo)

#cassandra cain #reading guide #dc comics

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burstofastar · 1 year

Text

Tekken — Random thoughts

It was something that many of us were waiting to happen in a new chapter of the Tekken series, and for a long, long time. And... no, I'm not referring to Jun's return, because although her story has been unfinished since Tekken 3 after Jin's introduction; I didn't care much if she didn't come back this time again.

I'm referring to the inevitable confrontation between Kazuya and Jin. A fight that was destined to happen, and that seems to be definitive considering the first reveal trailer for Tekken 8, which reminds us a lot of the final battle between Kazuya and Heihachi.

youtube

However, I find it terrible that devs have neglected Kazuya too much as the main antagonist/villain, an event that began in Tekken 2. But with these latest occasional trailers, reveals and sneak peaks, I have some hope that the developers will give him more backstory and development. The bad thing? It's just that they do it at the moment when Kazuya will probably die... due the last battle, where just one stands up (as shown in the very first trailer of Tekken 8).

I'm not taking anything for granted yet, but it's hard to figure out what will happen. Or at least in my case, I am not very adept at making many speculations because I like a work (be it a video game, a series, a movie, a book, a comic, a manga, etc.) to surprise me.

What I do hope for is a bittersweet ending, hopeless at a certain point but that at some point a victory can be achieved for only one of the parties.

Let the villain be a villain, he doesn't need to be redeemed if most of what we saw of him has never shown a hint of regret for everything he has done, because he willingly preferred to let himself be carried away by the blood curse and embrace his inner Devil. Which, of course, doesn't mean that I don't empathize with Kazuya, because... Come on, who could stand to have such a sad and terrible childhood because of Heihachi? Those foundations made Kazuya what he is, and while he may be suffering (which I don't deny either), his mentality remains the same: that of conquering the world to prove to himself that he is stronger, even than his own insecurities and weaknesses.

Kazuya was an antagonist in Tekken 2. He was absent in Tekken 3. He was a secondary antagonist in Tekken 4 (since Heihachi was first). He was a secondary antagonist with Heihachi in Tekken 5 (since Jinpachi was first). He was a tertiary antagonist with Heihachi in Tekken 6. (because Jin was first, and Azazel second.) And he was a secondary antagonist in Tekken 7 (because, in my opinion, Heihachi was first).

Not to mention that his endings, although they are not canon, continue to show his aggressive, dominant and diabolical side: in Tekken 2, he uses Heihachi as a human shield to neutralize Devil; in Tekken 4 he takes possession of Jin's Devil to achieve his goal; in Tekken 5 he kills Jinpachi without remorse, in Tekken 6 he kills Jin and claims the Mishima Zaibatsu. Special mention is given to his ending from Tekken 1, where he throws Heihachi off the cliff, and from Tekken 7, where he throws him into a volcano.

Would we all do the same in his situation with the damn old man? Probably yes, but this also doesn't stop Kazuya from continuing his rise to world domination, no matter who stands in his way... even if it's the son of the woman who once showed him compassion and stood by him, trying to cure him during the Second Tournament.

Upon being resurrected (as shown in Tekken 4), Kazuya is no longer able to turn back his ambitions, as he is practically completely corrupted by the Devil Gene. There is no redemption for him no matter how much he wanted it... yet not even he wants to be redeemed either. It has been seen that he only has one goal in mind, since not even the memory of Jun did anything to make him reconsider (he vaguely and barely mentions her in Tekken 6: Scenario Campaign's intro). Her new appearance may surprise him, yes, but I doubt he'll still throw away everything he's "built", because it means admitting that he's weak, in one way or another.

youtube

However, I do appreciate that devs give more meaning, depth and "ability" to speak directly to whoever gets in the way, especially Jin (as seen in the video above). This has an interesting hint of development in his person. Because even if the "irredeemable villain who will always be a villain" archetype seems to have no character development; essentially it is when given a bit of background and different interactions, for example.

On the other hand, I still don't know what role Jun will have in the plot, since my ideas wander a lot about her. However, I do believe that it will not be a vital participation. Yes important, but not so deep.

But most of all, I hope it's not something silly and stupid like everything is resolved by the power of love and everyone lives happily ever after, because it would objectively ruin Kazuya as an antagonist/villain and Jin as an anti-hero/tragic hero, and the respective paths that both have taken in the series.

After all, and quoting someone I read somewhere; it is a video game with a story, not a story with a video game. And the main thing in Tekken is fights and tragedies.

#tekken #tekken 8 #kazuya mishima #jin kazama #jun kazama #random thoughts #Youtube

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nabtime · 1 year

Text

Our Empty Graves VIII

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 8: and ive been the bad guy for so long (im growing tired)

Chapter Summary: Danny has an unexpected encounter in the graveyard. Jason is hunting for someone.

Chapter Notes: title from Villain Of My Own Story by Unlike Pluto Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 7 // Chapter 9 // Spotify

It’d been one of the last times he’d been Danny Fenton. One of the last times he’d kept up the facade of humanity. One of the last times he ever saw his sister.

She was home for break, traveling all the way back from her fancy college to shack up at Fentonworks because she had no other place to go. He knew she hated being there. Hated being around their parents. Hated being around him.

Ever since his accident (where he died, where he became other) she’d alternated between excessive clinging and cold distance. Like she was afraid of something. Afraid of losing him. Afraid of him. The more he went out as Phantom, the more he slacked in his studies and ignored his friends that ignored him in turn, the more he broke curfew- the more distance Jazz had put between them. Then she graduated, got a full ride, and left- never looking back. Only until she had to.

He’d been bleeding from the side, because in those days it was rarer when he wasn’t, and trying to patch himself up to stem the flow of red-green-red blood until his powers kicked in enough to heal it up. Technus had gotten him with a nasty saw blade attached to an old brick phone that he hadn’t expected. He should have been paying more attention, should have been better.

He really should have been paying more attention to the people in his house.

He’d climbed in from the window- all in human form so as to avoid the ghost shields around the house. His parents never noticed or bothered to check in on him if they did, so he’d been careless about heaving himself in. He hadn’t noticed Jazz standing, arms crossed, in the corner until she’d gasped at the sight of his wound. At the blood. Red-green-red.

He’d seen the bright green glare of his eyes flashing reflected in hers. A mirror image imposed over fear and building rage.

“What did you do with him,” she demanded, voice trembling but furious. She left the shadows of the corner and stalked toward him where he’d frozen by the window.

“What did you do with Danny?” she hissed, like a viper about to strike, ready and willing even if the warble in her words belied her hesitation.

He remained frozen, struck dumb by fear and panic, frantically trying to think of an explanation. An excuse. A lie. Anything to make his sister stop looking at him like that. Stop looking at him the way she had for the past few years.

“I don’t know-,” he stuttered out as Jazz moved closer and closer, anger making her entire body tremble with every step. His voice was scratchy and painful. He hadn’t had cause to speak in weeks before this.

“Don’t you start that,” she snapped, looming over him. She’d always taken after Dad, height-wise. “Don’t you lie to me. I’ve suspected for years what you are. That- that green only proves it!”

“Jazz-”

“Stop it!” she grabbed his wrist, grip strong and bruising. The neon light of his eyes lit her face at a sinister angle, casting her features in deep shadows. Twisting it. “I know my brother. I know he’d never be like this. Danny would never hurt people like you do!”

He didn’t hurt people! He didn’t, he didn’t. Never on purpose. Never because he meant to. And yet. People still got hurt. People got hurt around him and it was still his fault, because he was the one that opened the portal. He was the one that brought hell upon Amity Park.

He could see his own reflection in her eyes, caught by monster that stared back at him. Caught by the fear he found underneath. The fury of his sister.

She lunged, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “Where is he?!”

Tears were cascading down both of their faces. The desperation in Jazz’s voice shook Danny to his core.

“I know who you are,” she intoned. She released him when he still couldn’t muster a response, her face falling into a more terrifying blankness. “I know what you are. Ghost. Phantom. Monster.”

He recoiled, struggling in her grip. He wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t. He wasn’t. He was still himself! Still Danny! Wasn’t he?

“Get out of my house,” she said, back turning to face the wall and her voice still flat. “Get out of his room.”

“Jazz, please,” he croaked.

He didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to give up the last shards of his shattered humanity. It didn’t matter how dangerous it was to live with his parents like this, on edge during every second of the day and never knowing when he’d get caught, get torn molecule by molecule. Because if he was still here, if he was still trying to go to school, if he was still trying to keep his life together, it meant he had one. He never wanted to die. Never wanted to come back like that.

She whirled around and any words he’d been trying to gather to plead his case fled at the sight of her face. She was still cast in dark shadow, but her eyes blazed, still wet with tears. She was angry, she was afraid. She was hurt. He’d done that. He’d done that to his sister. The sister that had practically raised him.

“It would be better,” she whispered. “For them. For me. To have closure. You aren’t my little brother. For whatever reason you won’t tell me, he’s gone.”

She turned again, a sob wracking her thin frame. She was so thin. Where once she’d trained with their mother in martial arts and packed on wiry muscle, she was now skin and bone. Tears she’d shed had only emphasized the bags that laid underneath. She was shaking. Her hair was dry and thinning. He hadn’t noticed before. Hadn’t noticed how much the stress was getting to her. How much she was hurting. His parents had remained oblivious. Jazz had not. He couldn’t do that to her. He wouldn’t hurt her like that.

“I don’t know if he’s missing or dead, or- or something else. You won’t tell me.” Her voice was strangled with tears, thin but sharp. “That’s fine. It’s actually not, but I can’t force answers out of you.”

She turned her head, arms clutching her torso in some facsimile of a hug. He could see the fear and apprehension on her. He hated it.

“You’re too powerful. I’ve seen you fight. And I’m no hunter.”

She walked away, towards the door of his room, hand reaching out to clutch the door knob in a white-knuckled grip. “But please, stop pretending he’s still here.”

She left. He left. He never returned to that house.

═════ ◈ ═════

It’d been an all too familiar confrontation when Red Hood finally saw him for what he was. Nothing but a monster. He’d heard the word so many times now, it was imprinted into his very core. Spat in anger at him, shouted in fear at him, whispered in horror at him. He didn’t know why he tried. Why he kept trying to connect. To feel alive again, feel human again. It never worked. He was too unnatural, too beastly. Grotesque.

He died. He was dead, dead, dead. No amount of wishful thinking would change that. He came back wrong. Inhuman. Freakish. The humans feared him and the ghosts hated him. He couldn’t even die properly. Couldn’t be a ghost properly.

Alone. He was alone. And that’s all he would ever be.

He didn’t deserve anything else. He’d hurt too many people. Jazz. His mom and dad. Sam and Tucker. Valerie. Her father. And he hurt ghosts too. Ember, Desiree, Technus. And he’d killed. Ending may not be a one-to-one correlation with murder, but it still wiped a being from existence. If anything the way he’d crushed Pariah’s core was more visceral. The screaming and screaming and screaming. The tearing and ripping and- consumption. He’d crushed Pariah’s core and eaten it. Ghost Hunger, the Fright Knight had solemnly called it. An instinct ghosts had when fighting so viciously, fighting over territory. Pariah had stolen and claimed his Haunt, he’d asked for a fight to the End the moment he’d taken Amity into the Zone. And he lost. And now it didn’t even matter because his Haunt was lost to him anyway. When the people left, so did his reason for protecting his territory. Then, falling into the portal into Gotham had really cemented the loss.

He was just a ghost with nothing to haunt and a long list of people he’d hurt. Red Hood was simply a new name to add.

He wasn’t even sure what triggered it. It had already just been a waiting game, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knew that at some point Red would change his mind, figure out what Danny truly was and act accordingly. He’d been so angry with Danny despite how hard he’d tried to be good this time. He wanted to be helpful, wanted to save people where he hadn’t been. Nobody else needed to know the pain of dying, or the pain of coming back different. But he couldn’t go back out there, out there into the streets. Gotham at large was Batman’s territory and he already knew how the Big Bat felt about him. Crime Alley was Red’s territory and he wouldn’t dare to step foot back there without permission.

It didn’t matter how badly he flinched and had to restrain himself every time he heard a scream.

He wouldn’t leave the sanctity of the tree he’d perched in anyway. Not without the protective barrier of his suit. He’d been in such a frantic hurry when he’d left that dojo that he hadn’t grabbed all his gear. Usually, with it being made of ectoplasm, it would reform if it got torn or ripped. He’d never taken it off though. Not like he had on Red’s request. He could tell that the pants were starting to reform around his legs, but it was taking time. Most of his ectoplasm was going towards his wound from before. It might take up to a week before his suit was fully back. He’d left a lot of ectoplasm back at the dojo by leaving his gear, all of it likely turned to goop by now.

He would just spent the rest of his afterlife (however long that was) in this hickory tree in the cemetery, foraging for nuts when he felt up for it. Nothing much else he could do. Back to square one.

“Yo, Cujo!”

He startled at the shout. Had someone lost their dog in the cemetery of all places? Maybe he could help… No. He’d just scare them. But something about that voice was familiar…

“Ey! I’m talkin to you, puppy dog! Get your florescent ass down here!”

Nadi? Why was she here? And was she- looking for him? She couldn’t be. Sure, they’d ‘talked’ a few times after he’d taken down Charlie for her, but she still didn’t have a reason to track him down. It’s not like he worked for Red Hood anymore. But- Maybe she was in trouble? Did she need help?

Worried, he made most of his body intangible so as not to rustle any of the leaves of the tree and took a peek to check on her.

She stood there among the graves in her usual work clothes, hands on her hips and not a hair out of place. He always wondered how she could walk in heels that tall and if she ever got cold with so little clothing. At least she had on a large fur coat to keep her warm in the chill of the night this time. She also looked kinda pissed though. Charlie hovered behind her, looking nervous and wringing his hands.

It was nice to see the man cleaned up. Access to regular hygiene products and clean clothes did wonders for him. Stable amounts of food and shelter helped him fill out and look less gaunt overall as well. As far as Danny had seen he also took his job seriously, making sure the girls- mostly Nadi- had everything they needed and were well taken care of. He was kind of proud to see the man had come so far.

“C’mon kid, I know you’re up there,” she called, staring straight at the tree Danny was hanging in. “I’m not stupid, baby. Trees don’t glow like that on their own.”

Curse him and his bioluminescence.

Reluctantly he turned invisible and started climbing down the tree, making sure to shake the branches on the way down so Nadi could see that he was coming. He didn’t want her to see him like this, without his mask, without his suit, but he also didn’t want to make her stand in the cemetery all night for no reason.

His feet moved the grass, marking his steps where the sight of his body didn’t. The rustling sound alerted Nadi of his approach and she smiled. It was small and kind of sad but at least she wasn’t screaming.

“What are you hiding for, baby?” she asked softly, looking just past his shoulder. “I’ve seen you before.”

He shuffled in place but made no other move. Nadi sighed and he could see Charlie shifting uneasily behind her. Charlie knew to be afraid of him, even if Nadi seemed naively fearless.

“C’mon now, baby boy. I came all the way out here to see you. It took a shit load of annoying Hood to get him to tell me where you might be, you know.”

And that certainly caught his attention. Hood had told her where he was? Hood knew where he was? He… hadn’t hunted Danny down to throw him out even knowing where he was? Even told one of the people under his protection his location? He had so many questions and no way to ask them.

“Looked like he was gonna blast ya head off if ya didn’t stop, too,” Charlie muttered.

“Oh hush, you,” she said, swatting a perfectly manicured hand towards the other. “Hood wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“You’re fuckin’ nuts, Nadi,” Charlie replied in derision. “Man decapitates people for fun.”

“Mn, whatever,” she dismissed. “Anyway, Cujo, where have you been, baby? I ain’t seen you around at all the past week! And Hood might have told me where you were but he wouldn’t tell me what happened.”

She crossed her arms with a pout, expecting an answer. But he didn’t have one for her. He didn’t want to think about that day in the dojo. Didn’t want to think about the pain. Think about the anger and betrayal he’d seen in Red’s eyes. Danny didn’t know what he did, exactly, but it’d only been a matter of time before Red threw him out anyway. Better now than later when Danny had fully settled in. He didn’t deserve company like this. Didn’t deserve to pretend to be human. Didn’t deserve Red Hood’s generosity.

“Baby,” she said, voice so, so soft and gentle it hurt, “talk to me. Please. I miss my little savior.”

He struggled not to whine with his core, trying to keep the sound in. Her little savior. She missed him. He didn’t know what to do here. Didn’t know what he could even try to communicate. He wanted to disappear on the spot, wanted to leave so she wouldn’t say those kinds of things to him. Things that made him hope. He couldn’t let her do that. But more than that he couldn’t leave. Wouldn’t. He needed to disappear, but more than anything he wanted to stay. Even if it ended in disaster again, he wanted to stay.

His powers flickered with his indecision until he finally dropped the invisibility altogether. He braced himself, closing his eyes even as they filled with tears.

He heard a gasp from Nadi and flinched away. Charlie mumbled a “No fuckin’ way” and he waited for the screaming. Waited for the anger and the fear.

It never came.

“Oh, mi vida,” Nadi cooed. “Look at you. You have a face!”

Charlie, who was standing just behind Nadi and peering around her arm, snorted a startled laugh. He looked disbelieving and wary. But he didn’t look scared. Nadi didn’t look scared either. She stepped closer and Danny held in the flinch at her hands coming close to his face. He almost melted when all she did was cup his cheek and run a hand through his hair. His core rumbled and more tears fell from his eyes at the touch.

He didn’t deserve this. He shouldn’t let her get so close. But he couldn’t pull away. It felt so nice.

“Oh, look at your hair, you poor thing,” she tsked as she ran her fingers through the ragged strands. He’d tried to cut it once, on his own, on one of the last few times he’d been human (pretending to be). He’d been so frustrated with it and he’d already fled the house and it had kept getting in his eyes and its not like he’d had access to scissors. Frustrated ectoblasts did not good hair-cutting tools make. The chunks he’d burned away hadn’t grown back right and the others were growing far, far too long. Not that he’d noticed much before now. His hair stayed under the hood of his suit. Hidden away. Probably why he hadn’t tried to shoot it again.

“This won’t do,” Nadi murmured. “This won’t do at all. Your face is far too pretty for hair like this. It needs to be fixed.”

The words made his face scrunch in confusion. Fix it? Pretty? He was a monster, inhuman. He wasn’t pretty. He couldn’t be fixed.

“Come,” she said, dropping her hands to tug at his arms, gentle, as she started backing up. “Come on. I’m gonna give you a hair-cut, baby. And then we’ll talk about why you’ve been hiding out here.”

He stepped back, phasing his arms out of her grip. He couldn’t. He couldn’t leave the cemetery. If the Batman didn’t hunt him down, then Red would. He’d told Danny to leave. Told him he was a traitor. A monster. He wouldn’t go back into the other’s territory and that’s exactly where Nadi would want him to go.

He shook his head, backing up more to put space between them. He couldn’t. He couldn’t.

“Okay,” Nadi said, holding her hands up. “Okay, mi vida. Don’t go. Please.”

He stopped. Wary.

“You don’t have to talk. But, please, come back with me?”

He shook his head. She didn’t understand. He back up another step, preparing to flee. He shouldn’t have let her get so close in the first place.

“Wait!” she pleaded. And he did. “Is it the hair-cut? Do you not want that? We don’t have to, baby. Just- please?”

He shook his head again. She still didn’t understand. No one ever did. Why was it so hard? This is why he’d never tried before. Never tried to talk. To communicate. No one ever understood. No one except-

He made it to the hickory tree, patting the trunk and looking back at Nadi. He pointedly tapped the trunk again, pointed to himself and then the ground of the cemetery. He pointed to himself, then the direction of the gates and shook his head. Nadi could visit all she liked, but he couldn’t leave. The cemetery, a resting place for the dead, was the only place he belonged anymore. He needed to stop pretending he was still alive and stay in a Haunt he deserved. A place empty and cold aside from the other restless shades.

Nadi deflated, heaving a sigh. “Mi vida, you can’t stay here. This is no place for you. Please, please, come with me.”

He smiled, small and hurt. She was wrong. This was the one place that was for him.

“Okay!” she cried, seeing his intention to return to his new home in the bough of the hickory. He paused. Waiting to see what she would say.

“I’m going to leave,” she declared, hands on her hips. He tilted his head in acknowledgment. “And I’m going to get everything I need. And then I’m coming back and cutting your hair.”

He blinked, not expecting that. She would willingly come back? Willingly see him again? Do a favor for him, even? Why was she so determined? What could possibly posses her to do something like this? What madness had overcome her? This wouldn’t end well. Not for either of them. He shifted uneasily at the thought. She shouldn’t come back. Shouldn’t sympathize with him. Shouldn’t waste her time on him. But it was all so nice. It felt so, so nice. He’d forever be a fool, always falling for the same trap over and over again. Believing he could be with people without it ending in disaster.

Reluctantly, he nodded. He quickly flew back up into the branches of the tree, fleeing at the sight of her smile. He only hoped she wouldn’t get in any trouble with Red on his behalf. It wasn’t her fault she hadn’t seen him as the terrible thing he was yet.

He played with the ends of his wispy hair, the strands floating in the air around him and twining around his fingers like smoke. A haircut, huh? He wondered how she’d even manage that.

It might be nice, though.

═════ ◈ ═════

Bruce stared at the screen for what felt like hours and hours, a question rotating within his mind with no solid answer. Had Jason Todd come back to life? Had his son fallen soldier clawed his way out of his own grave? Had he been alone and confused? Further failed by Bruce when he wasn’t there in time?

Had Jason Todd, his greatest regret, come back just to taunt him? To make sure he knew how badly he had failed? To hurt him so, so completely? He couldn’t sleep for how much it pained him to think that the magnitude of his failure was far greater than he’d first thought. Not only had he let Jason die, but he hadn’t been there to help him when he came back, either.

But how.

The grave was watched. It had sensors. He’d had Jason buried far from the Wayne family plots, closer to the Alley that the boy had grown up in, in order to avoid looting and antagonistically nosy reporters. The grave being further away, he’d put up sensors in order to know the moment anyone not authorized approached. If anyone had tried to disturb his boy’s body after death he should have known.

He hadn’t accounted for Jason getting out on his own.

He’d hoped. In the beginning. Every day he’d visit that grave and wait. And every night, the death of his youngest soldier still fresh, he’d go home disappointed. Bitter with himself. Feeling foolish for thinking there was even the slightest chance. He known that Jason would never come back. Could never come back. No matter what scheme he tried to think of, no matter what favor he tried to think of to pull, there was no reviving him. The brain damage had been too severe. The boy’s body broken beyond anything. He’d seen the damage first hand. He knew what he’d done.

And yet.

There was a chance he was back. There was a chance that his boy had come back. That Jason, however changed, was alive again.

And he was killing people. Spiting Bruce and all he stood for.

He lowered his weary head into his hands, cowl pressing uncomfortably against his face. Why now? Why like this?

Red Hood wasn’t the only mystery to have fallen into his lap either. The green glowing boy was wrapped up in all of this as well. But he didn’t know how. He’d let his temper, his hurt, get the best of him when the boy had first appeared on Jason’s grave. He’d already been scolded thoroughly for that by Alfred, and he had come to regret it some on his own. But that didn’t change the mystery of the boy’s identity. Hell, the mystery of the boy’s species. He was an unknown variable in Gotham and Bruce couldn’t stand to leave it alone. The boy could be dangerous, doubly so now that he’d taken up with Red Hood’s gang.

All he had to go on were rumors.

Security footage shorted out or was taken over by Red Hood in the first place. The blood that had been left after their initial fight had come back inconclusive. He had no record of whatever substance the boy was made of. His intentions were unknown. His power set was unknown (and he had powers, that much he’d been able to glean). His origins were unknown. And every lead Bruce looked into became a dead end.

He didn’t have the time or energy to dedicate to the case, not unless it directly involved the Red Hood. The Jason Todd case.

Thankfully Tim would be coming back to Gotham soon, a small break from his work with the Titans. He could offload the case to Tim and not think about the immense guilt he felt every time he looked at his latest Robin. He’d sworn after Jason’s death that there would never be another, and yet Tim had wormed his way into Bruce’s life and refused to leave. If he distracted himself with Red Hood’s case and gave another one to distract Tim, maybe they wouldn’t have to interact as much and Bruce wouldn’t have to feel so goddamn sad about it.

He’d give Tim the courtesy of welcoming him back before leaving himself. He’d follow his next lead back to Ra’s and question the man within an inch of his life. If he had had anything to do with Jason being resurrected and then subsequently kept from him, he didn’t know what he was liable to do.

First, he’d wait for Robin to come home. He felt like he was always waiting for his Robin’s to come home, they so often left the nest.

═════ ◈ ═════

Harley was waiting.

She knew she was being hunted and there was no escape. That was fine. She didn’t want to escape, she was here to deliver a message to the newest Bat running in the streets. Oh, Red Hood may bot want to admit he was a new Bat, but Harley knew better. Boy wasn’t exactly subtle with his identity and while Brucie B might have trouble accepting the truth, she knew better than anyone that people could have a habit of coming back from the dead. Her dear Mistah J had managed it enough times. Jason Todd coming back and antagonizing his old man was no surprise. That it took him this long to find her was what was surprising.

“Harley Quinn,” said a voice, deep and heavily modulated. Harley wondered if the baby boy wonder had really grown so much or if it was a mask. Or maybe it was a side-effect of his resurrection. Who could tell.

“Baby bird,” she sang, swinging her hammer up onto her shoulder. “Good ta see ya again.”

“How-”

She spun to face her intruder. She was precariously perched on the ledge of an abandoned building out near the docks. She’d been waiting for Red Hood to show his masked face and he didn’t disappoint. She swung her hammer out towards the boy, leaning back over the edge and using it as a counterbalance to keep herself on the roof. Hood kept his gun on her the entire time.

“Puh-lease,” she said, “you may be able to taunt ol’ Batty boy about who you are, but don’t think you can fool the fool here, Jaybird.” She relished in watching the big little guy flinch. “You’re not exactly subtle, ya know.”

“What do you want, Harley,” he asked, although it didn’t really sound like much of a question. She pouted at him. He was the one to hunt her down and, yeah, she might have caused a little trouble to get his attention, but still. She knew what he wanted.

“It’s not about what youse can do for me, but what I can do’s for you.” She swung her hammer again until it rested on the ledge and she leaned on it for support. “I hear ya been lookin for Mista J.”

And she had heard about that. Rumors wafting up from the underground about Red Hood being on a hunt for the Joker. The other rogues thinking the man was insane, he already had a hit on him from Black Mask (not something any of the usual rogues were willing to touch without testing more of Red Hood’s skill (they were mostly insane, not stupid. No one wanted to battle a guy willing to go toe-to-toe with Black Mask and seemed to be winning.)) and now he wanted to tango with the Big Guy? The Clown Prince of Crime?

Rule number one for Gotham villainy- never work with the Joker. Everyone thought they could control him, predict him, work around his brand of crazy. No one ever succeeded. Ra’s got the little bird killed trying to work with Mister J. Penguin got blasted in the ass the last time he’d tried to hire the Clown for help. Harley was the only one that could match the Joker, the only one that could work with him without it backfiring. She was the harlequin to his jester, the tit to his tat.

“You know who I am,” he said. And she did. That was part of the point here. “You know what I want with him. You’d give me your ‘precious puddin’ for nothing?”

She didn’t like being mocked like that, but she let it go. It wouldn’t do to lose her temper here.

“I wouldn’t say it’s nothin’, Little Hood,” she said, twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger. “An’ sides,” she added, trying her best to look sad, “me and Mista J ain’t exactly square anymore. He hurt me good and I’ma lookin’ to hurt him back. I let you attem an’ we both win in the end, ya see?”

“If he hurt you so bad, then why don’t you want revenge for yourself instead of handing it off to me?” he sounded cautious, but willing to believe her. Sucker.

“Well, deep down somewheres in here,” she pointed to her heart, “I still love the guy.” She swooned, nearly falling off the roof with her dramatics, but she kept her place. She knew how to balance, to walk that thin, thin line. “Wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger. You, on the otha hand,” she stopped to sweep a hand in Red’s direction, “gots plenty a triggers to pull.”

“Don’t play with me, Harleen,” he growled. Ooh, so scary. She’d seen that boy in pixie shorts, chasing crime in his greenie-tighties, she wasn’t intimidated by him. He might have a gun, but she had a hammer. And hyenas if the situation called for it.

“Ain’t playin’!” She said, swaying on the ledge with the force of her denial. “Pinky swear!” she held up a pinky, but kept her other hand behind her back, crossing her fingers.

“Heard ya got a doggy to play with anyhow,” she said, distracting. She knew his little friend had run off without him. Poor boy had never been any good at playing nice.

“Ran away,” he said, voice curt and closed off. Ooh, she’d definitely hit a sore spot.

“Aw, that’s too bad!” she cooed, before stretching her face into a wide, sharp grin. “Was hopin’ we could play fetch.”

“Tell me where he is or get shot, Quinn,” he growled. Oh, maybe the nerve was a tad too sensitive. Oopsie.

“Party pooper,” she pouted. She swung her hammer up onto her shoulder and sauntered closer, ignoring the had tightening on the gun still pointed at her head. She knew he wouldn’t shoot. He needed her intel too much. Boy was too much like his dad for that.

“Alright,” she said, “Mistah J is gonna be havin a little party. Don’t know why, just that he is. And I so happen to have an exclusive in-va-ta-tion.” With that she pulled out a little card and waved it around in the other’s face.

He made a grab for it and she pulled back. “Ah, ah,” she sang. “You gotta promise you let me know when you RSVP. I wanna see you crash his shindig, ya dig?”

“Fine,” he bit out. And Harley could just hear him grinding his teeth. Gosh, she loved riling up the Bats. He snatched the card out of her hand and she let him. He pulled out a grapple (classic Bat behavior) and was about to swing away before she shouted after him.

“Maybe you can bring your little doggie friend too!”

She laughed as she dodged the bullet that embedded itself into the concrete where she’d been standing a second earlier. Oh, what a fun little bash they would have. She clapped and laughed as she hopped down the fire escape, switching to a jaunty whistle as she strolled the docks. She knew why her puddin’ was throwing his soiree. Knew that it wasn’t something the baby bat could crash. Not when he was the guest of honor! Sure hoped he liked the cake they picked out for his welcome home party! And the explosives!

#naps fics #dp x dc #Our Empty Graves #dpxdc

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crystalelemental · 1 year

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"megazardx2: I’m so glad you enjoyed it, especially since you didn’t like the Gen 7 games much at all. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!"

Then this is as good a time as any! Pokemon Sun and Moon anime thoughts, as much as I can stuff in there.

As mentioned in my last recap, the only history I have with the anime is vague recollections from the original seasons, and XY which we watched just before this. And of them, Sun and Moon pretty quickly got itself into top spot. I really like the friend group, and I think Ash works best as just some kid with the others. It feels much more natural to him than the big hero thing of XY, which was overplayed and frankly silly.

This hasn't really gone anywhere. The friend group remains the strongest aspect, I love them. Mallow's probably the favorite of the bunch, but there's not a single one I disliked. Lillie and Sophocles precious, Kiawe and Lana are hilarious, Mallow just vibes the hardest with how I am as a person so like...I get it girl. Even Team Rocket was far more tolerable this season, back to being mostly ineffectual villains with more mild goals and significantly fewer war crimes committed. Bewear helps a lot. I think the decision to swap out their old blasting off routine to Bewear's myriad entries was divine.

Nanu and Acerola had a great little arc. They were a ton of fun while present. I didn't really click with Olivia but she's fine. Same with Hala, who felt like he could've done more. I did wind up liking Hapu, which is very unexpected. Faba's alright, Wicke doesn't really do much, and I have many thoughts, none of them particularly nice, about Lusamine. That leaves the last two clusters.

Kukui and Burnet are a delight. They're adorable, they're hilarious, big fan all around. I am very glad they ditched Kukui's secret just before the final match, I don't know if I would've been able to stomach it through that. The Masked Royal thing was always a bit goofy, and this is naturally no exception. But their whole dynamic is cute.

Guzma. Ooooh Guzma. You got hit with the same bat as Lusamine. From a character in the main games with a lot of going on that you could infer, to...literally just some pissbaby loser who's mad he can't win. Dude, this is like the least compelling villain story. I do like the attempt to use Golisopod as a sort of showcasing of that same mentality, but it's a nice artistic touch on a generally bad approach. I do not like Team Skull at all in this. Or, for that matter, Ilima. Who I legitimately forgot about until this moment. Ilima just doesn't do much of anything. Oh, he's just soft-spoken and nice and talented and all the ladies love him. Sure. But he's no Ryuki. Who wins the award for funniest one-shot character in the series.

The Ultra Beast episodes were solid. I generally like the idea behind it. It's goofy, but it fits functionally. I don't strictly mind why they function in the way they do, but I'd be lying if I said the explanation being "It's the kid in Lusamine coming out" didn't rub me the wrong way given everything else about her character. Mostly I think what the anime nails are character moments. Sophocles getting over his fears and starting to appreciate battles, Mallow getting established as a talented chef in her own right with a strength in reading people's wants, Lana being...genuinely just talented at everything? Like, girl doesn't get enough time to shine because they often pass it off to Kiawe or Ash, but she's legitimately good at like everything they wind up doing.

The tournament was...interesting. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it, given how quickly they belted through top 16 and top 8. But admittedly? It works. It truncates a lot into the critical moments. Watching XY, the battles could be interesting, but often it's sort of a...going through the motions? Like okay, yes, Ash vs Sawyer was generally a good time, but there were plenty of matchups that amount to very little in the grand scheme. Ash vs. Alain, I would be willing to argue, is largely forgettable. Nothing all that interesting happens until the final Greninja vs. Charizard matchup, but I don't really respect Charizard, and I hate Ash Greninja, so it's not like I cared. But it's telling that the entire match and all the episodes in it could've been boiled down to about those 5 minutes with little lost in terms of impact or importance.

I think that's what Sun and Moon nailed best in this arc. The battles are just the parts that matter. Ash's Rowlet has one real rival, and that's Hau's Decidueye. Just do those two, and it's a nice, condensed fight. That ends kinda lame because man it really kinda feels like Hau should've won that, or they should've waited to call it a while so it didn't feel like taking something from him. Mallow has low confidence in her battling and tries to shy away from a battle she expects to lose, and Lana calls on her to make an effort. We only need the one Pokemon for that. Sophocles is learning to put his all into battles and wants to stand his ground against Kiawe, and again, we can do that in one. We need a showing of Guzma being a vicious trainer in how he battles, and boy do you get the point in the 1v1 with Lana. They do really well at linking up just the emotional connection part of the battle. Even in 2v2 matches this holds, as they quickly get to Kiawe's ace in Turtonator, and eliminate Scizor in two seconds for a story beat. It's well done! Even Kukui and Ash, which is a much longer fight, leads off the the big emotional showdown of Torracat vs. Incineroar, but both are recalled before a victor is decided leaving you waiting for the return and how that'll play out. Even after that, they manage to pivot into Tapu Koko vs. Pikachu, which was another battle that needed to finish (though I am slightly sad we don't know Kukui's actual sixth Pokemon).

The Pokemon just feel like they have real connections, not just within their team but with their rivalries. Which is...more than I can say for XY. Every major rivalry in Pokemon was Greninja vs. someone else's ace. None of that team mattered otherwise. They had cute dynamics, I really liked Hawlucha and Noivern. But what role did Talonflame play once it evolved? It ceased to matter. Why bring Goodra back? Ash just needed a sixth Pokemon, no other reason. Comparatively, when Naganadel comes back, it doesn't have a strict rival, but it's the first time it's battling and it came back through dimensions to see them again, and you get how much that means. This season did really well with connection and emotional impact for pretty much everyone involved, and it did it in a cute slice of life-y way rather than trying to big up drama to make someone matter. Which I generally vibe with a lot more.

I'm trying to think of other things to talk about but am kinda running dry. I'm sleepy, we did a lot of chores. The point is, Sun and Moon was really good. Big fan. Unfortunately, my wife and I discussed where to go next. And we have reached consensus. My wife never watched anything before this. And Journeys is more of a recap thing from all accounts, visiting characters and places from everywhere. So we will, unfortunately, be going all the way back to the beginning. I have acquired veto power over episodes if I remember them sucking shit. The original Kanto stuff is only two seasons, so hopefully this will go quickly, but from here it's sequential. I think the intent is to actually go through everything. Brace for impact. And salt. Because save for exactly five episodes I look back upon fondly, I don't know how I'm going to tolerate original Ash, or Brock and Misty.

#megazardx2 #pokeani

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eaamon · 2 years

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Perspective | Part 2

Warning: It has spoilers from manga so don't read it if you aren't caught up.

Word count: 2.1k

Pairing: Touya Todoroki x Reader (Female)

Synopsis: Touya has become a hero, fulfilling his father's wish. He wanted Endeavor to be proud of him. Then why is this emptiness chasing him everywhere? Why can't he fit in with everyone else? Is this really what he wanted? All his thoughts and concepts about the hero society are left in chaos when he meets a certain villain.

Note: There is just Fuyumi in this story because Touya has achieved what Endeavor wanted.

Touya was mopping in his room with his face covered in bandages. His face was turned towards a wall as he let out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't believe he was on house arrest. His family, especially his father was worried sick of his disappearance after he ran into the bank which had now turned into ashes. He hit his forehead lightly against the wall a few times. He stopped only when he heard a knock on the door. He sighed as his shoulders dropped. “I said leave me alone. How many times do I ha-“ He didn’t get the chance to complete his sentence because his father barged in. He was surprised that his father even considered knocking this time. “Touyaaaaaaa!” Yelled his dear old daddy as he stomped towards him.

He remained quiet and didn’t make a move to turn towards him. “Your house arrest ends today thanks to my connections! So get up! We have a lot of work to do! You’re the best one at my agency and in the past week, the ratings have dropped. We have no time to waste right now!” He felt his father’s hands on his shoulders. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself out of his grasp. He turned around with a glare. “. It is always about you and what you want! Leave me the fuck alone for once.”

With that, he stomped out of the room. Fuyumi and Mother came rushing towards him as he walked towards the main door, trying to stop him but all he saw was red. He grabbed Fuyumi’s wrist to push her hand away from him but he didn’t realize his quirk activated because of his unstable emotions. He saw her eyes widen and pull away from him. He quietly but swiftly walked out of the house. He was staring at his hand which he used to burn his own sister, guilt creeping inside him as he walked away from the house. He used the same hand to push his bangs away. He ended up lighting a cigarette as he beelined to the same facility. He felt at peace there. He didn’t have to force himself to act a certain way. He could say or do whatever the fuck he wanted without any consequences. At home and in the hero world he had to walk on eggshells.

He slammed his foot on the main door and walked in like he owned the place. Every time he came here before was in his hero suit. This was the first time he was wearing casual clothes. A simple hoodie with jogger pants. He sauntered over to her room and opened it without knocking. He saw her stiffen and look up from the drawer. “Yo.” He watched the expression on her face get sour. She slammed the drawer shut and glared at him. “You’re supposed to knock and didn’t we agree that you won’t come again if I stay with you?” She scanned his face with narrowed eyes. He just shrugged in response. He was surprised even now that she agreed to stay with him that day he got a injured while saving her but placed a condition which he knew he won’t ever fulfil. He sat down on the revolving chair with his feet on the table. He blew out a ring of smoke on her face when she walked over to him. He watched her cough and wave the smoke away from her face. “What do you want, Touya?”

“You.” He said simply and watched her stiffen. He smirked at the response he got. “What do you want me for? Your wounds are already treated.” He watched her avert her gaze while saying that to him. “Won’t you ask where your dearest Touya got them from?” He watched her face scrunch up in disgust initially. “I was wondering why you didn’t show up in the past week. That’s the longest you’ve been gone.” She asked while turning away from him. “Awe, you really missed me, Y/N?” He made sure to use her name. “You’re high.” She said simply and started walking out of the room. Like a baby duck following its mother duck, Touya stood up and followed her.

“I was on house arrest after my feat at the bank. I fought back and tried to get away but I ended up with this.” He pointed at his face. He watched her nod while wearing gloves. She was getting ready to check people in the ward. That’s how he spent many hours with her without realizing it and completely forgetting all the worries at home. He stretched his back even though she should be the one doing it after checking countless patients but she seemed fresh and active. “How long do you plan to stay?” She asked him while sanitizing herself. “For as long as I can.” He replied with a shrug. He watched her turning towards him with a knowing glint in her eyes. “You know you could have just said you had a fight with your dad.” He blinked at those words. He didn’t expect her to guess this but then again he has done this in the past too many times. For her to acknowledge that and see the pattern meant she thinks about him and that made him happy.

He was too shocked to reply so she gestured with her head towards the stairs that lead to her place. “Wanna talk about it?” Those four words had a lot attached to them. She would pull out two beers from the fridge and they would go to the balcony. They would talk about their worries while drinking away the night. That was when he had nearly kissed her. Since then, she stopped suggesting that and he was too scared to ask her about it. So, he was surprised when she suggested it this time. Without thinking things through he nodded and followed her up the stairs. He waited for her to take out the beers from the fridge and they made their way to the balcony. He was done with his cigarette hours ago so he pulled out two this time. He handed her the second one and lit her cigarette with it. He then pocketed his lighter and leaned forward after placing his cigarette between his lips. He touched their ends and inhaled causing his cigarette to light up.

He had seen her wide E/C orbs shining in the moonlight. She nearly dropped her cigarette because of her parted lips. “Careful,” he said while holding the cigarette for her. He saw her delicate hands take it from him while firmly holding it between her lips. He leaned away from her and they both stared at the night sky quietly.

“It was the usual. That man thinks this world only revolves around him.” He heard her scoff. “That’s nothing new. Heroes need to come down from their high horses.” He watched her turn her head to look at him. She flinched suddenly and waved her hands in front of her. “I didn’t mean you…or you being the same as other heroes.” She seemed flustered which made him smirk. “Oh? You think I am different from other heroes? Better, I suppose? Considering your reaction.” He received a deadpanned face in return. “Worse.” She turned away from him while saying that. That made him laugh out loud. He flinched as a light gasp left his mouth. He glared at Y/N who had touched his neck with the cold beer bottle. Even though his body had more durability for cold, he had been in much higher temperatures because of his quirk so he still wasn’t used to cold and she knew this weakness of his which she exploited every chance she got.

He pouted while taking the bottle from her. He hit it on the railing and opened it easily. He handed the open bottle to her and took the other one from her. He opened it for himself and took a large swig. “This time was different.” He looked at his empty hand and clenched his fist. “I hurt Fuyumi out of anger.” His shoulders dropped contrary to all the emotional baggage he dropped on her. “I don’t know how to face her.” He looked back up and chugged the rest of the beer. He looked at her only to find a frown on her face. “What?” He asked out of curiosity. “That’s it?” She countered him. “What do you mean?” He saw her shaking her head with a sigh as if he did something dumb. “Just buy ice cream and soap operas. Then apologize to her.” He watched her with an incredulous expression on his face which turned into a scowl quickly. “Ice cream and soap operas won’t fix those burns on her wrist!” She shook her head. “It won’t fix the external injury but it will fix the internal one.” She said while placing a hand on his chest which caused him to freeze. “And that is more important. You can help her ice the burns later too.” He blinked at those words. Before he knew it, he had his arms wrapped around her tightly. He buried his face in her hair only to be met by the familiar scent of cocoa butter. He was lost in that scent and familiar yet unfamiliar touch to realize what she said. “Oi! What do you think you’re doing?” He felt her hands pushing him away. “I ain’t helping her ice the burns. It is already embarrassing enough.”

He finally let her go but his hands still rested on her shoulders. He looked right into those familiar E/C eyes that held so much warmth in them that he could feel it melting all over him. “Thanks, Doll.” She shrugged in response. “Thank me once it actually works.” That caused his eyes to widen enough for them to fall out of the sockets if they weren’t connected in the back. “There is a chance it might not work?!” He was louder than usual as he shook her. She swatted his hands away from her. “Nothing has a hundred percent probability of working. Even if your sister is so caring and kind-hearted.” He groaned at that and turned away from her. “Just give me another beer. I’m crashing here.” He was surprised that she remembered everything he told her about his sister.

“No, you’re not. You’re gonna buy what I told you to and go back home. Trust me. Has anything I told you to do gone bad till now?” He shook his head. She was correct about that. Every advice she gave him, no matter how ridiculous, worked every time. It was like she had a Master's degree in Touya and knew every remedy to fix things for him. “Fine. I’ll do it. Only because I trust you, Doll.” He turned towards her and flicked her forehead. He watched her cover her forehead with a groan. “You’re the worst!” With that, she stomped inside because he was laughing at her cute face.

He left the facility and went straight to the shop where Fuyumi liked to shop for soap operas. He bought a few new arrivals. He knew every director and actor she liked so he picked according to that. Then he went to a convenience store where he bought ice cream for her. He could feel his stomach doing flips the closer he got to the house. He swallowed hard as his finger rested on the bell. After rehearsing everything in his head a hundredth time he pressed the button. As soon as he did he heard loud quick footsteps rushing towards the door. He saw a worried Fuyumi on the other side of the door. As soon as their eyes met, she jumped over him and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re okay! I’m so glad! I was so worried for you!” He had frozen in her embrace. It took a while but he slowly melted in her embrace. When she pulled away, he had forgotten everything he had rehearsed in the past hour.

He stuck his hand out which held all the goods. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” He looked away because he could feel smoke coming out of his ears and his cheeks were burning. He wanted to set fire to himself and turn to ashes when Fuyumi giggled and accepted the ice cream and soap operas. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. “Let’s watch this together!” He groaned because he was responsible for torturing himself. He realized he turned into a masochist after meeting Y/N but he felt relief along with it. Her advice worked. The guilt, anger and frustrations that he carried with him while walking out of this house had disappeared into thin air as if they never existed. It seemed like Y/N possessed a deadly quirk to get rid of all the negative emotions.

Note: I hope you all like this chapter. I did say the schedule for this story won't be consistent but this was a bit too late so I apologize. I had exams and then I got busy with family. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. I am now in the last year of my degree which means my schedule will be packed.

#todoroki touya #dabi my hero academia #touya fic #dabi fic #Touya x You #dabi x self insert #dabi x you #touya x reader #dabi x reader #touya x y/n #mha endeavour #rei todoroki #fuyumi todoroki #mha touya #bnha writing #villain reader #touya #dabi

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cannolicorgi · 2 years

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//rant abt scara hate

it is so weird to me how certain ppl will go to hell and back to defend Dottore and Signora (Childe remains forgotten unless it’s mister Gindi speaking in which case he’s out for blood but it’s ok because he’s funny and lighthearted abt it) when one hasn’t gotten any development other than “very evil” and the other died before her story could make it out of artifact description hell and then they shit on scara simps for liking him when he’s been in the story for 2 years, has 1.2 artifacts dedicated to his story, has been featured in many events and has have others give small but very important information on him, got to be a minor part in one archon quest and a major in another, now has an S tier teaser, and is going to get 7 character stories and a whole load of voicelines + other speculated content to come. I have absolutely nothing wrong with liking a character just based on looks, I mean, I fell in love with Scara in 1.1 where he basically just appeared, told us the sky is fake, then insulted us and left, but what’s with the hypocrisy? I’m gonna say it. Some reaction videos only exist to be a dipshit with. Istg I have never seen them used in a way that is not just to poke fun at someone else or someone’s interests. No, not even “poke fun” because poking fun is supposed to be fun! Teasing is enjoyed by both parties, if only one party enjoys it it’s just bullying douchebag behaviour. “I hate him because he’s mainstream”? im sorry that is petty junior high bullshit. wasn’t funny then, isn’t now. I don’t really like Ganyu but I don’t throw a fit every time she’s in a cutscene. I don’t really like Signora but I don’t call Signora mains drooling perverts under every slightly Signora adjacent post. I don’t really like Dottore but I don’t say Dottore fans endorse child abuse. And omg the generalizing. Liking a certain thing does not automatically make you good or bad. “Idc abt scaramouche but I hate scarafans”. why? there is no common link between all scarafans other than the fact that they like scaramouche, so are you saying you dislike scaramouche so you can’t stand ppl who like him, or are you being a petty bitch? I have nothing wrong with liking characters based purely on appearance, and I have nothing wrong with liking villains, I honestly get annoyed when people do, but I get even more annoyed when people are hypocritical about when it’s ok to be ok with it.

alright got most the little bitch out of me so I’m gonna go touch some grass maybe go on a little walkabout go pee because I’ve been holding it in just to write this-

#corgi-speaks #scaramouche #genshin impact #discourse

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thevindicativevordan · 2 years

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Comics this week?

Since no one asked last week, and this week was pretty light for me anyway, I'll throw in a couple from last week that I want to talk about.

Action Comics #1048 - I love Bibbo, I love the concept of this ex-tough guy who manages to bond with Superman, and I'm fond of the trope where the guy with a checkered past has a way with kids. Heh that callback to Bendis was fantastic and well implemented. Perkins' design for Metallo was a solid evolution of the basic Terminator knockoff look, I'd be ok with this being his appearance going forward as long as it got a better color scheme, but Lex says it's just a stopgate measure. Speaking of Lex and Metallo I love how Metallo was able to get under Lex's skin, and then seeing the lengths Lex will go to get Metallo back under his thumb reminds you what a bastard he is.

Catwoman: Lonely City #4 - Pitch perfect Catwoman story. She sacrifices so much out of love for Bruce, only to discover that the mission is always going to come first for him. Even his dying words to her were just an attempt to come back so he could fight his war for a little while longer. First story to really make me buy Selina and Eddie as a couple, and Chiang's art was beautiful the whole way through. Well worth the wait between issues.

DC Mech #4 - No clue why reviewers are tearing this a new one, it remains sold and entertaining for me.

DC vs. Vampires #10 - Never in a million years would I have guessed that this would be the best follow up to Russel's depiction of Jayna in his Wonder Twins mini.

Detective Comics #1065 - Remains enjoyable but the decompression is really dragging this story out.

Human Target #8 - Weakest issue of the series thus far, almost like a recap issue which feels pointless given this is meant to be read in a trade.

A.X.E. Judgement Day #6 - Probably the best Marvel event since Hickman's Secret Wars, and one that managed to shake up the status quo in a way that feels meaningful, while still not fundamentally upending the status quo. Even this limited application of Krakoa resurrections for humans feels like it's on borrowed time given Fall of X is coming next year. I enjoyed this event as an attempt at doing an event that still gives the end of the world threat, while also providing an opportunity to do more small scale storytelling about the people in the MU (not that many writers took advantage of it). The judgements offered an opportunity for characters to examine themselves and really ask the question if they were living up to what they were meant to be. Most writers just used them to shill their characters as awesome, only Gillen himself actually failed anyone, and that was disappointing if unsurprising.

Strange #7 - Glad that we skipped right over the angst and got right to Clea and Strange reconciling and joining forces.

Batman #129 - Incredibly dumb but no less enjoyable for being a story where Batman builds a robot that can solo the DCU (again). Backup continues to be the better story, which isn't a slight against the main story.

Poison Ivy #6 - Hm. One of the reasons I enjoyed this was that it seemed committed to Ivy being a villain. This issue pulls back on that and I can't say I'm a fan.

Gotham City: Year One #2 - I'm a little offput whenever writers establish that there were a bunch of expies of famous Batman characters before the time of Batman, I think that detracts from the insanity of the super-crime era Batman ushers in, but this remains the good Tom King shit.

X-Men Red #8 - Ewing lays out Brand's plan, and picks up and delivers on a Hickman plot threat that the man himself isn't around to do any longer. Doesn't do it in the way Hickman planned I'd wager, but it's still a "holy shit" reveal that delivers a sense of stakes and scope that has been lacking since Hickman departed.

Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #2 - I picked this up initially just because Rosenberg seems to be getting a push at DC, and surprisingly I've enjoyed it. I'm guessing one of the two Jokers is Clayface.

The New Champion of Shazam #3 - Wish this book was less grounded so we could see Shaner cut loose with the magic, but Campbell's voice for Mary remains on point. That teacher might as well have walked up to Mary and told her hey I'm the villain who has your parents.

Hulk #10 - Yawn. Too derivative of past stories, obviously there's the Planet Hulk repeat, but the whole "Bruce is suffering from terminal brain damage that will kill him" is something I've seen in Jason Aaron and Jenkin's runs before too.

#weekly reviews

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mermaidsirennikita · 2 months

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ARC REVIEW: Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

3.5/5. Releases 9/3/2024.

The Vibes: Caraval but make it adult, ghosts who fuck, necromancy, haunted houses but maybe the true haunting is mental health issues

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

After their mother dies, Ophelia and Genevieve are left with the shocking discovery that they're on the brink of losing their ancestral home. Also, Ophelia has taken on the mantle of their family legacy: necromancy. An argument with her sister, however, leads Genevieve to disappear into Phantasma, a multi-level game for a mystical prize... during which many people die. Setting out to find Genevieve, Ophelia makes a deal with the mysterious phantom Blackwell... And finds that the web of Phantasma is much more complex than she originally thought.

The Review:

I was actually immediately hooked with this one. The writing is evocative, and you have this super quick story trigger. Love plunging into a book like that. And then we have the sisterly bond, the spooky game, the ghosts, a SEXY ghost, a DEAL with a SEXY GHOST... It's all a great setup. For the first 25% of this book or so, I was fully committed to the ride.

So—why isn't the rating higher?

First off, while I think Caraval is probably a good comp for this novel (for marketing purposes, at least) I wasn't comparing it positively or negatively to that story. In truth, I don't remember many of the details of that book, aside from the fact that I thought it would've worked better as an adult novel. (And to be clear: This is definitely meant for adults.) I did find myself comparing it to Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco... another story of witches, devils, and fundamentally, sisters. Well, fundamentally romance, but also SISTERS.

And what I got from that series I missed here. A valiant effort is made to balance Plot Plot with romance plot, but while both were entertaining, I feel like that balancing act resulted in neither one getting the full serving it deserved. There are a lot of characters playing the Phantasma game, and you're basically attached to none of them aside from Ophelia and Blackwell. It felt like I was supposed to care about a few, in positive and negative ways. I didn't, and I found their page time a bit annoying as a result.

I did care about Genevieve—she's an immediately fun, intriguing character. But she's off the page after the first bit, and remains so for much of the book. I also found the entire idea of the Grimm family lore interesting. A lot of compelling things were here, but the main plot setting and focal point is Phantasma, right? So Phantasma should be as interesting as those things. We definitely got peeks of characters that I think would have made Phantasma more interesting, but we don't stay with them long enough. And their interesting qualities only reminded me that...

Well. Blackwell kind of isn't that interesting.

Ophelia isn't this bangin' heroine who got my heart. But she does have things going on that make me invested. Blackwell is... sexy. It's true. He's charming. I definitely wanted to know more about him. However, he kind of read like a side character who's going to have his own story later. Not like a romance hero. And I kept thinking—this would be more interesting if he was outright villainous. I won't spoil exactly where his morality lies, but he really doesn't like... act villainous. He acts charming, and snarky, and after not spending much time with Ophelia, he's all "THE LADY SAYS NO" about it.

Which I normally like. But I also feel as if this book suffers from something that has been plaguing a lot of romance novels lately, which is: "This should have had multiple POVs". There's really no reason why we couldn't have had Blackwell's POV in this. This is a third person novel. We needed that extra insight. I needed to know him better. I needed him to be a bit grittier, a bit darker. He's just very gentlemanly for the setting, right?

(This is another point where the Kingdom of the Wicked books came up in comparison. The heroes in that series are just a lot more dangerous, and it really fits the setting.)

I also feel that he could have been introduced earlier. While I loved the setting of the scene, it takes a bit longer for this book to get to Phantasma than it should have. Not long, but you know—when it comes to pacing, especially when you're writing a romantic relationship... Time is of the essence. Especially when a book is plot-heavy.

However, I was interested throughout, and I did like this relationship. A lot of the skeleton was there. It just needed more fleshing out. So with that in mind, I plan on reading more Kaylie Smith. But in order to really separate this from the pack and create something edgier—which is what her writing style gave me—and more truly adult, versus "adult that still reads a little YA" I feel like she needs to focus more on character development and reeeeeally lean in.

That said, if you just want a spookedy time that also features lots of kissing and a hot ghost man, this could be right up your alley. I can be a bit picky, and I know this will be a crowd pleaser for many. Keep that in mind.

I also really appreciated that this novel managed to compellingly portray OCD. The way that Smith plays with the supernatural elements against Ophelia's very real mental illness was one of my favorite parts of the book. Super clever—I don't want to give too much away.

(Also: This is paranormal romance. There is a ghost hero. There is a necromancer heroine. No dragons, alternate worlds, castles, gruel, or overly long descriptions of herbs to be found. For the love of God, it's set in New Orleans, paranormal romance central. Grimm Manor is probably right across the street from wherever the Valkyries were hiding out at one point in IAD. Big Romantasy, you will not gaslight me into saying this is a fantasy romance. Save paranormal romance!!!)

The Sex:

I really did like the sex in this book. There's P in V! There's sex with blood (not exactly bloodplay though, it's more on the supernatural side). And I would also like to add that they kind of begin hooking up casually? To take the edge off during the death games?

I mean, it made sense to me, and I liked that even though Blackwell and Ophelia were clearly into each other, casual sex was endorsed. More, please.

Not a slam dunk for me, but an introduction to a author who shows promise, and a book that will definitely please people who are less prone to nitpicking (which is valid, I support you, you're happier than me probably). And I do hope we see more sexy ghosts in general.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever/Second Sky for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #arc reviews #netgalley #books

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