#so following this law & justice is kinda Whatever

[fierceawakening]

I just read a post on Pratchett that explained what someone loved in a really moving way that I think accidentally shed light on what doesn’t work for me.

In the post, they were saying that as a teen they became cynical and started to see human nature as fundamentally bad. Were gross, were ugly, were mean, what’s the point, etc? And they read Guards! Guards! and found it revelatory, because it agreed “you’re absolutely correct, people suck! But help them anyway, because it’s the right thing to do.”

And that was a revelation for them.

Which is awesome.

But it’s a revelation that needs to be phrased in a certain way to work for me.

For me “we’re not good, but we should be good anyway,” doesn’t quite add up, even if you tack on “that’s what makes us good” at the end. Because if our fundamental nature is non good, then there’s no hope. All we can be is what we are, even if we defy it sometimes.

So I landed at “we’re neither good nor bad. We can become good, or we can become bad. We do this by existing in the world and watching what’s around us and deciding what we value. Those of us who are good are people who choose good values (this is very broad and varies person to person. I’m just closing the door on “so is a sincere Nazi a good person?” His sincerity might be admirable, not being wishy washy takes strength, but no, he’s unfortunately a bad person, as he devotes himself deeply to corrupt things) and act on those values even when it might be difficult.

So I’m not “seeing that people are bad but helping them anyway.” I’m thinking people aren’t actually anything, and thus they never lose the potential to become good, and that’s why I’m helping. To show someone it’s worth it to become good. Not because I’m inherently good, but because I’m inherently the same. I’m trying my best to do the same work.

“People are bad but so what?” is uplifting for some! But it doesn’t work for me, as I just go “people are bad? Then there’s no point, time to lay down and rot.”

I think I have similar issues with that famous quote from Death a lot of people love, where he says justice and mercy are “big lies” that we need to survive, so we use stories to teach them to ourselves.

I get the point, that we need stories to learn the virtues. I agree!

But framing them as lies pings my head in the same way. If it’s a lie, that means we’ll never get it right.

And there’s a certain sense in which that’s true. Every trial is a bunch of flawed people guessing what they didn’t see. Every law is a bunch of flawed people trying and failing to think of every contingency. None of that can be Justice.

But again, PERSONALLY my brain doesn’t quite vibe with answering this conundrum with “Justice is a pretty lie.”

My brain wants “Justice is a thing we do, a skill we practice. There is no perfection, but every time we do something big like abolish slavery or give women the right to vote, we’re doing Justice. There’s Justice in the choice we made. That makes it real, and not a lie. Calling it a lie would be ‘no, it wasn’t just to free the slaves. It was kinda good, but we’re not just, because we can’t get it all right in one fell swoop.’”

Stories are fictional and they teach us important things. But it’s not their being fictional that makes them special. It’s that reading a story is like practicing doing justice, or mercy, or whatever virtue. It’s play that helps us learn by experience what the virtues are.

Like a kitten pouncing to learn how to hunt, but we’re doing it to learn to be good.

And what we learn IS Goodness. It’s not perfection, no, but no one looks at a rock and goes “there is one true rock shape and this isn’t quite it. It’s only rockish.” People have known that doesn’t work since Plato proposed it, my guy.

We learn what the good is by looking at instances of it. (Or by looking at instances of the bad and rejecting them, that works too.)

Some of those instances are stories, from which it follows that we need stories.

No need to wonder if goodness is real.

[five-crows-in-a-trenchcoat]

Can u tell more about Tangelo's, Pardalote's, Miu's, and Suvi's personalities and their relationship (like how they know each other (if they do), and what's the dynamic between them like)? ^_^

Sure can!

I made a little bit of a non-spoilery relationship chart for the basics of what they all think of each other

In terms of personality, here’s a summary for tangelo and suvi under the cut bc it’s kinda long.

Tangelo:

She’s a very chaotic and messy person and a master procrastinator, but generally very cheery and positive. She remembers every small thing anyone has ever done for her and cherishes everything. She grew a pot full of just plain regular grass because she’d never seen it before and thought it was amazing. She’s a very hands-on person and likes trying lots of different things, as she gets bored doing the same thing over and over and struggles paying attention. As long as she’s having fun, she doesn’t care if she isn’t very good at whatever she’s doing.

She hates anything ‘perfect’ or organised, and if she gets something brand new she usually dents it or sun-bleaches it to give it character because she finds things ‘heartless’ if they’re left untouched. She prefers hand-me-down clothing rather than new stuff because it has the air of something that’s been loved. She loves whimsical things, music, and bright colours.

Suvi was the first person to ever really give a shit about her so she’s very attached to him; not only because he cares about her, but because he’s very willing to encourage her endeavours rather than just say it’s a stupid idea. She does most things on a whim and doesn’t ever really plan things, but she’s willing to follow the plans of someone she likes spending time with.

Because of where she came from originally, she doesn’t know what laws are, so has no concept of things like trespassing because she’s used to just going wherever. The only ‘law’ Tangelo follows is the justice she philosophies in herself (and what Suvi thinks as well). She’s got a lot of old scars along her arms from fighting because of it. She wields a stop sign with ‘never’ spray painted on it so it reads ‘never stop’ which she thought was very clever, and it’s pretty much the only thing she carried over from her original world.

In the words of Outside by Bill Wurtz; ‘I can’t go back to where I come from, cuz im not *welcome*, and it’s not *fun* there.’ (She probably relates a lot to that song)

Suvi:

Saying too much abt his past would be pretty spoiler-y (same with Miu and Pardalote) but like Tangelo he’s been lonely and starved for affection for a long time. Regardless to say, he’s happy to have a new little sister. He’s also quite a tactile person, but due to the fact that he’s blind that’s pretty to-be-expected. He’s got some chickens that tangelo doesn’t like, and grows a bunch of fruits n grains n vegetables. He’s got a beautiful plum tree so he makes a lot of jams and plum pie which tangelo is a MASSIVE FAN OF. He likes carving into things too, and he can sell those at markets too, and teaches tangelo how to make stuff as well.

After being blinded, Suvi no longer cares about his own safety, so he only wears what’s comfortable, even when operating machinery he really shouldn’t. He’s a talented cook though, and despite his short and wiry stature from malnutrition growing up, he’s surprisingly strong from climbing and manual work in the gardens.

He has a bad history with dogs, so instead of a guide dog he has a temperamental albino lynx named May (short for Mayonnaise). She certainly makes sure nobody takes advantage of him.

Suvi likes to sit outside in the rain a lot, but he gets quite sick when the air gets dry in the middle of winter or the middle of summer. He usually makes lots of soup in advance.

I don’t wanna bother too many people with a post that goes on forever so I’ll post some stuff abt Pardalote and Miu tomorrow :> however I do love all these asks, it makes me very happy to see someone take interest!

[lewis-winters]

If there comes a Sherlock-esque fic for BoB... Who would be Sherlock and Watson between

1. Lewis Nixon and Dick Winters

2. Carwood Lipton and Ron Speirs

3. David Webster and Joe Liebgott

And what kind of Sherlock and Watson on each ship.

I love how this is worded like you're running a survey for an upcoming fic you're making anon HAHAHAHHAA are you 👀👀👀👀??? I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

1) Winnix

Lew is Sherlock of course. It's the addictive personality. You could probably do something very Elementary-esque with this one, and have Dick come into his life as his sponsor. People forget that in-canon, Lew may have been lazy but he was brilliant, a damn fine intelligence officer, and Dick himself said that. The only thing you're gonna have to explain away is his laziness and his motives for wanting cases.

I guess you just have to also remember that every iteration of Sherlock Holmes is always driven by a search for the truth. Not justice, mind you, though that's my personal interpretation of the character. I prefer my Sherlocks to operate outside of the scope of Lawful Good, and I think Lew's iteration of him would, too. Which I think would be perfect for a Sherlock Holmes!Lewis Nixon iteration, because something about him just SCREAMS chaos. And also his upbringing would lend that world view some credence.

Literally, I could see him as the embodiment of "I'm of the opinion that people shouldn't go to jail for objectively funny crimes." Which would clash with Dick's sense of justice nicely, especially if you'd like some commentary, in text, about police brutality and the failures of the justice system. They would clash, with Dick being an ex-military man and Lew being... whatever he is. But I also think Dick becomes kinda blind to Lew's shortcomings, I mean. He always has. He's definitely the kind of Watson who thinks, unironically, that Nix is the smartest person in the room. And Dick's blind faith in him could probably pull Nix out of the grave he's found himself dug into. He would always want to be the type of man who deserves someone like Dick Winters. WHICH now that I think about it, would be a VERY interesting motivation for him to solve mysteries, as it were.

2) Speirton

Ronald Speirs. And this Sherlock WOULD be a cop. Lmao, sorry Ron, but like even in canon Ron is following rules to a tee because that's how he sees the world and that's how he knows, for sure, that he's going to keep the people he cares about safe. That's why his reactions to Carver was a big thing right? I've already said it before, but his sudden deviance from order and chain of command in episode 10 (when in all the other episodes the worst he'd been doing was stealing) was his whole breakdown and an illustration of how the war was capable of fucking even his unerring moral compass/alignment. But I digress.

His Sherlock would be a cop. I say that with as much love in the world as I could (lmao ACAB amirite). If Lewis' Sherlock was anti-copaganda, Ron's would be copaganda the likes of Law-&-Order. You could go down that road too and make Lip like... the ADA who thinks he's brilliant, despite how unorthodox his methods may be, and works hard to transcribe Ron's deductions into something that could feasibly hold up in court. Ya know? Have fun with it!

3) Webgott

David Webster. And this Sherlock is AUTISTIC as they all fucking come. He's a disaster. His morbid curiousity gets him off the wrong foot with everyone he meets. He's an asshole. His flat is a disaster only he can navigate. He has body parts in his fridge. Dangerous chemicals in his cupboards. He is the embodiment of every picked upon nerd in high school except he is a grown ass man with a PhD under his belt. He's an anarchist but he was also raised rich. He doesn't like to do his own dishes because he touched wet food once and it sent him into sensory overload so bad he switched all his plates to disposable ones.

In contrast, Joe's Watson would be much like the Watson from that russian Sherlock Holmes-- no not the 1980 version, the 2013 one, where Sherlock is a nerd with glasses and there's an emphasis on Watson's POV and his motivations as someone who is a doctor AND a soldier. It was really interesting, actually, and you should give it a watch! Anyway, Joe's Watson is definitely a fighter. You will not forget his Army background. You will not forget that this man has seen Horrors. You will not forget that this man is brilliant, too, just in different ways. He sees things Web misses, but he also gives credit to Web where credit is due. However begrudgingly he might do it.

Their coupling would be like two sides of a coin, or two puzzle pieces, I think, but they'd have a rough start. Web's too arrogant, Joe's too tightly wound. They fight a lot, because Web's been alone for so long that he's forgotten to share, forgotten how to articulate himself well enough for another person to understand-- but that's the thing. Joe Knows him in ways Web thought he'd been above wanting. Web doesn't quite understand Joe, but the fact that he's so willing to try despite being so difficult, previously, is not lost on Joe, either. They both say trust is difficult for them to cultivate but they trust each other explicitly, almost as soon as they meet each other-- which annoys them to no end. They literally DO NOT want to think about how quickly the other has become their ride and die because they'd rather bitch about it than have any self-reflection, bless them. But you can't deny that their Old Married Couple vibes is there from the beginning.

Their Final Problem would be devastating. Just saying.

[mistydeyes]

Hey I was hoping I could get a cod pairing? Sorry I haven’t done this before.

Umm as for appearance I am 5’4” I have layered curly brown hair that comes to just above my shoulder, blue eyes, freckles pale as hell, a few scars here and there that I’m kinda proud of (from various causes) I don’t really have a specific style it can range from a tank top and sweats to t-shirt and jeans or something completely wild, color coded decked out in jewelry, skirts, layers the whole bit. Relatively active build, used to be a gymnast until an injury now I just workout twice a week w a friend. Interests; I like movies top five rn probably Scream (1996), Spiderverse, 10 things I hate about you, the last unicorn, Dead poets society, +Star Wars cause I can’t leave it out. I like playing chess every now and then, I’d say I’m pretty good but I still have a ways to go. I’m also an artist, and I like music I can’t do anything music related I just like listening to it, all kinds. I like baking when I’m stressed, typically cookies during finals week at 2 am. My future prospects, or at least what they are currently, is just going to law school, after that I’m not really sure, I’ve thought ab going the military route, both of my parents served/are serving, so I’ve thought ab the possibility of being a military JAG or something in Intel, but I’m still feeling for it, I mostly like law cause I’m pretty good at it and I like knowing more than people. I’m Bi so my taste in Men/Women varies. As much as I’d like to say I don’t have a type, hot people are hot, there have been patterns in the past few fictional guys. Tbh my taste in men is shit, like I don’t have daddy issues, I have a great relationship with him, but my past fictional crushes say other wise. But basically, capability is HOT, if they’re good at something to the point of mastering it I’m entranced. Women are just pretty, there’s not much there. I’m relatively paranoid, even describing myself like this online is strange, I think it’s just growing up around military but I’m typically just cautious. That and trust issues. I’ve done some martial arts/self defense and I think sparring is really fun I just need someone to teach me. Also I am a huge simp (with shit taste as my friends say) I’m an ambiavert, so I like to be pretty adaptable depending on who I’m around. I’m also German/American but more American than anything else, I ‘grew up’ in south Germany and we still have family there but since we moved here I’ve forgotten most of it. JFC in hindsight I am SO SORRY about all this I got carried away. I hope it didn’t come across as self absorbed 😅😭 sorry again

thanks

John Price

a/n omg at one point of time i thought of going to law school instead of pharmacy so this was so interesting to see what could've been lol

How you met: Civilian as of rn ;) Here you stood, a second year of law school done and accepted into the US Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. Or I guess I should say, here you were physically but not mentally. When you applied from your cozy apartment, you hadn't expected the internship program to be such a challenge. But here you were in your second choice location of Washington DC (curse whoever got the Germany placement). It was your second day and you were already tired from the 6am wakeup time followed by whatever your trainer saw fit. Today was a grueling 4-mile run. Needless to say, you were exhausted by the time you entered the Military Justice office. As you entered, your attorney joked, "you look like hell." You rolled your eyes and tried to smooth out your hair. "Here take a break and make some copies for us," as he handed you a pile of papers. You looked and saw they were drafts for an attorney's prosecution memoranda. You left to make your way to the copier when you bumped head first into something. As you looked up, you realized it was a someone. Somehow this man had miraculously caught all your papers. "Sorry love, perhaps you could tell me where I would find a General Shepherd's office?" he asked in an enchanting, deep accent. You could feel the air fill with cigar smoke with each word. You silently pointed in the direction of the office and the man went on his way. "It gets easier, soldier, someday you'll be an officer," he called out and you smiled as you got up from the floor.

A peek into your relationship: This was the big day, your graduation from law school. Your time during your internship had paid off, many officers impressed by your ability to keep up with the trainings and your eloquent legal drafts. You sat in your seat nervously and twirled a loose curl as they prepared to call your name. Finally, it was time. As you walked on stage and prepared to get your hood, you could instantly hear your boyfriend cheering you on loudly. "That's my girl!" he shouted and you gave him a kiss from the stage, finally a lawyer. When the ceremony had finished, Price was the first one to greet you. He had dressed in a suit for the occasion but this didn't deter him from picking you up and spinning you around. "I'm so proud of you," he said before planting a soft kiss on your lips.

[katierosefun]

I'll just go ahead and reply to that beyond evil anon about Juwon if you don't mind, you don't have to post this if you don't want.

"In his desperation to catch the killer in order to prove himself..."

See this is where you're wrong, he didn't want to prove himself, he fucking hated himself for what he did, he wanted to seek justice for Lee Geum Hwa. Do you just conveniently forget his words to Dongsik?

"Even if the whole world forgets her, even if no one comes to claim her body I won't forget her!"

He didn't need to tell him that, mid breakdown no on gives a shit about virtue signaling, his dad isn't there and Dongsik's opinion should be the last thing he cares about, it's just him, being a disaster, trying to make things right however he can. He's young and stupid so yes he makes more mistakes but don't just brush off all his attempts at character development, it kinda sounds like you're projecting on him.

Juwon never denies it when Dongsik accuses him of "killing" Lee Geum Hwa, Dongsik just keeps on pressuring him, scaring him that he'll tell everyone about it, that he'll ruin his life and his father's life, forces Juwon to shoot him to silence him but Juwon never falls for it, he can't physically deny what he did, at least not when he's confronted for it by Dongsik. He's just Good. He's a goddamn messy person but he's a Good person. He has all the power and money to be the evilest bastard out there, doing whatever he wants but he has inner moral code so strong he follows them no matter what.

Yes he gets swayed to cover it up because of how much his father and Hyuk suggest it but be doesn't actually do it. Way before Dongsik's constantly reminding him of what he's done He, Juwon, is trying to atone.

Him coming back even more of an insufferable fool after that 3 months doesn't prove your point that he doesn't change. He did change, he softened up and let Dongsik close, Dongsik then betrayed his trust which resulted to him acting like a dumbass which caused more of a mess. No one is denying his wrongs here. The disagreement is on his guilt and remorse being genuine. It's just not fake, he continues to hate himself even more after what happens to Nam Sang Bae, he's the one who pulls his dead body out of the cold waters dude do you think he's faking to himself about how sad and guilty he feels?

He keeps mentioning that he's at fault to manyang people to get them to hate him or cuss him out but they just don't, they don't want that for him to be trapped in that cycle of self hate and guilt, because they see how he really, truly, is feeling.

"This is why to me, his expressions of guilt and remorse feel a bit like virtue signaling, esp. as he’s probably aware he’s unlikely to be punished, and this is what I find annoying (although also a bit saddening, as this virtue signaling is apparently unconscious and an attempt to convince HIMSELF of his goodness, which shows just how much his upbringing has messed him up)."

He hates himself!!! He doesn't want to prove to himself that he's a good person, he in fact Believes he's a Bad person. And your whole thing about "as he’s probably aware he’s unlikely to be punished" just comes out of the blue, like it's a clear projection on your part that nothing in the narrative and his character arc points to it. That's a sentence I would believe about Han Kihwan, not Han Juwon.

"I don't trust you, I don't trust Han Kiwan, I don't even trust myself"

Does this sound like virtue signaling? To who?? It doesn't even make sense and I'm not sorry to say it.

And just a side note

Virtue signaling: the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue.

So no, it's not Han Juwon.

(my ex English literature ass and current law student ass jumped out I'm sorry @ Caroline)

no mineh you are literally so right for this, and thank you for taking the time to write this out. i'd literally just woken up when i got that anon, and given that this person had been really . . . trying to take up my inbox the last few days, i really think i just burned tf out (also, as a fellow ex english lit ass + current law student who's currently writing memos and putting together outlines for final exams that identify fact patterns/issues to defend hypothetical clients , , , i could feel myself just getting very impatient and just like. "bro are u seriously asking me to defend joo won for the 3rd time this week buddy bestie come on we've been over this already")

so. that said. yes, thank you so much for bringing all this up and coming out with all the facts, because genuinely, i know that there are a lot more important things to worry about than like, the interpretation of a character (def Fandom Old for me to say that it's fine for people to dislike characters), but like. man, i would hope that if you dislike a character, you would also at least get the facts correct, y'know? for someone to completely, blatantly ignore joo won's actions and to read them in such a . . . narrow light irked me to say the least. i have now had some coffee and also the boost of literally every single beyond evil fan on twitter yelling about media literacy, so. i think i have some more energy to go off your very insightful points and evidence:

so yes, you're totally right--and i'd also bring up the fact that joo won quietly, privately checks up on lee geum hwa's body down at the morgue. he tries to get her buried/have a real funeral, but then he's told by the mortician that he can't, because only family members are allowed, and joo won doesn't qualify as a family member. i don't think someone who doesn't care/isn't remorseful would go so far as to quite literally check on her body and try to give lee geum hwa that much peace, even after her death.

and also, yes. virtue signaling, thank you for providing the correct definition. virtue signaling is the thing that celebrities and your annoying racist ex-high school classmate will do when sharing a bunch of infographics about #black lives matter on their instagram story, while still turning around and still endorsing racist politicians or something. virtue signaling looks like people clapping their hands and making a huge ruckus about "LOOK HOW GOOD A PERSON I AM, LOOK AT HOW GOOD A PERSON I AM" while deep down doing nothing. at its core, virtue signaling is all about performance, and i think what bothers me the most is to really look at joo won's actions and go "lol he was being so performative" when, in actuality, that was never the case. every single time he was planning with dong sik had always been in private. he tried so hard to never take the credit either (and the fact that he asked to be suspended and was literally planning to step down from the police, only to have dong sik tell him to stay) really goes to show how non-performative joo won is. (it's also worth noting that like. joo won is still just an inspector when he comes around to manyang in the next year. with his credentials, it's pretty easy to think that people would have wanted to promote him, but i'm willing to bet that joo won had turned down any promotions because he didn't want that attention or that potential of moving to seoul, where he wouldn't be completing dong sik's assigned mission for him (finding lost people)).

anyways, thank you for your remarks. i do think i tend to be mostly zen when it comes to beyond evil comments and general disagreements when it comes to fandom, but i was disheartened to find those sorts of comments in my inbox this morning lol (maybe doubly so because today marks 10 years of fandom for me, personally, so there was definitely some irony in waking up and being like "omg i've done this for 10 years", only to be hit with "oh my god i've been doing this for 10 years and people still think it's cool to make me feel annoyed at 8 in the morning, jesus christ").

but in any case: thank you for the remarks!

[ryukyuin]

byi/rules!!

1.) BASIC DNI CRITERIA

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2.) Anti-Proship

Loving reminder that proship means that you don’t harass people over fiction. It’s only a stance on harassment and censorship, and it doesn’t mean you have to like what I do or that I personally approve and enjoy what everyone else does! Quote from fanlore:

"The pro in pro-shipper means for, to contrast with the anti in anti-shipper (anti meaning against). However, possibly due to Fannish Osmosis, in some parts of fandom, the pro in pro-shipper has come to be understood as short for problematic instead.[5][6][7][8] Due to this new definition, many fans (mainly on Twitter) started to insert proshippers in their DNI lists because they do not want any type of contact with problematic ships These fans may also use the term "proship" as a noun to refer to the problematic ship that the proshipper allegedly supports. Others have incorrectly osmosed the word proshipper to be synonymous with pedophile."

So like. Yeah! Dances around. I don't fw most "problematic ships" but I just need pookies to know the actual definition of the term they are using before they start rallying hate mobs.

Fiction DOES affect reality, and you should be aware enough of that to cultivate your own online experience and use the function of blocking/filtering tags, blocking people, and your own common sense to make sure that you stay safe and everyone has fun!!

(Also if ppl block me bc they misunderstood I will scream and wail and sob /lh, DM/toss an ask if you have any questions!!)

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3.) If you can't follow the Three Laws of Fandom/think Dark Media/Dead Dove: Do not Eat/Whump/Yandere enjoyers are normalizing what they are writing about, also shoo. Not the place for you.

I feel like this explains itself, esp since I kinda talked about it above. Please cultivate and foster the online experience you want, follow proper online social etiquette, and realize that just because I find Shaiapouf attractive doesn't mean I want him to gut and eat me in real life. (Most likely. Probably. Maybe. If he asks REALLY nicely and bats his little boytwink lashes and gayass wings /sillyj)

4.) Do NOT compare me with other writers.

They are them and I am me and we both deserve our own little gold sticker stuck to our forehead! I think it's important everyone gets the recognition they deserve and I've been inspired by SOSO many writers on here, so make sure to go send support where deserved!

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WILL WRITE:

JJK, KNY, MHA, GI/HSR, HxH!! Mostly Phantom Troupe + Harbingers + Sampo + Satoru and Suguru + Shouta and Hizashi but like. Throw some crumbs through the tray slot, if I'm interested I will respond.

Yandere/Dark Fiction, reader-inserts, minor character death, non-con/dub-con slash hesitant? (doubtful of my writing skills to bring that justice), body horror/gore, dr**ging, etc...... idk I wanna flap my gay little wings and see whatever horrific shit I come up with /lh

WILL NOT DO:

Detailed pregnancy. I just can't man I don't want kids get those little HEATHENS OUTTA THERE!! I'll consider asks about it/drabbles but don't expect like an entire oneshot about it unless a hybrid AU takes me into a fucking chokehold. Then I might be doomed!

OCs, detailed requests, character/character requests (I can't say character/character as a whole I can feel Satosugu + the other homosexuals beaming lasers into the back of my head), oooomegaverse? Hybrids are neat-o to me but. I think I have Omegaverse PTSD I'll be real, come back when there's a more stable system/lore and less breeding.

SELF-HARM/SUICIDE IS A NO-GO!! Idk not only is it not fun for the reader/mc to just fucking. Croak. Self-harm is just not the way for me I don't think!! I MIIIGHHHT consider it but really don't get any hopes up.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW TO TAG SOMETHING IF IT IS TRIGGERING!! I WILL NOT BE MAD I AM JUST VERY FORGETFUL!! Idm if you ask tbh it honestly helps me find my own stuff once I go back, so win for everyone.

[krotosis]

I am literally the most pathetic person I know.

I don’t know if I’m serious when I say this. I can hear birds chirping outside, slowly. Breathing is difficult, I’m just too tired.

Ever since I was so super small, I have struggled with selective mutism. You’d think the world “selective” would allude that I have any fucking control over it, but I don’t; my lack of control is just my favourite reenactment, I guess, just constantly visiting just to reinforce itself. I can control it most days, it takes a lot of preparation in certain environments. I still can’t talk when classrooms are too loud or full, even if someone looks like they’re about to speak I try hard to stay poised and quiet until there’s space for me. What I never seem to learn is that space isn’t made for you, space is taken, and that’s supposedly okay.

I can’t function in loud noise, I hate that. The buzz of layered speech drives me crazy, usually crazy enough to desperately want to claw my way out of the situation, but that’s not usually an option. My own comforts should never match up to my responsibilities. The worst is when it’s directed at me, especially if it’s hostile, I get violent and panic. I seem to just start hitting whatever is nearest, which is gross. I should be able to control myself by now, I’m just leaking any sense of responsibility I have. Childish. Why am I allowed to do this? I feel like… Something should be assigned to teach me right and wrong. Punish me so I can move on and learn. I never seem to learn. No matter what I do, or how hard I attempt to FINALLY DRILL IT INTO MY HEAD, I never seem to let it through. I guess that’s just what life is like when you’re an incredulously selfish, stupid and nonsensical retard. I am so, so, so incapable, it’s a surprise I’ve gotten this far. It’s through no work of my own, how to other people I seem to be doing reasonably “well” is nothing but an enigma honestly. Getting by on scraps of consciousness, I am an idiot.

There have been so many versions of me, I can’t tell which one I hate or love the most. I have conflicting feelings on all of them. I wish to be like all of them yet would rather disappear then ever relive them. I am an idiot.

The court case for the kidnapper + murderer should be getting released soon. I promise you, when I find out he barely gets any time because his little fucking pathetic excuse of a “gang” all equally take the blame, I will go insane. I will go insane in the way that I will feel crazy yet go on about life as normal, as if it never happened, and it isn’t following me around. When it happened the first time, for what the law liked to call “manslaughter” but I know as murder, I followed along with it. I was just naive. The woman feeding me those stories of innocence and justice was just as endangered as the man before her was. I hate naivety, I hate seeing it in anything. Even animals, like dogs.

I hate dogs. Not in the way that I don’t think they’re extremely loveable or cute or loyal or any of the positive connotations connected to them, but they are just. so. trusting. I don’t like overly eager animals. They are in danger, it scares me that I can’t protect them from people. I use to want a dog shelter, a cat cafe, food banks, all that charitable stuff that I still kinda crave now. I always loved animals, they never spoke, I didn’t have to awkwardly count down the seconds to my eventually strained response. It’s SO CRINGEY, and SO OVERUSED, but that’s just who I seem to be. Pathetic. Dogs should be smarter, animals should be smarter. I hate that people enjoy how animals overly rely on them, how a dog can love you in a matter of days, forgive and forget so easily. It’s just wrong, nothing should ever stay so obscenely naive. Even young children, the capacity of which dogs are often compared to, quickly learn when they’re taught. Why can’t dogs be the same? I hope every mutt grows to be fast, with sharp teeth, at least then they’ll have a backup. It’s why I like birds, they’re feeble but their trust is to be earned. It has value.

I forgot what I was talking about. I’m tired.

Bye, Alice.

[toestalucia]

there was things i wanted to talk about today, but i didnt write them down cuz ‘what if i make a hc post later today’ but then i nvr did cuz i didnt have time to write so now i have forgotten what i wanted to do, so kids rmbr to write down ur ideas

[gallant-basilisk]

Yandere Villain Deku X Pro hero reader

Puppy's the best hero!

[Bit of background information: ]

—Part 1

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a press conference that was the start of something new. You, the new second best hero, Endeavor the number one and the retired number one, All might were the ones the press was held for.

The two men were actually the ones planning it and you were just kinda dragged by the whining of your fans. No one understood why, but there was always a tense atmosphere between you and the number ones. Which was the reason why the event was so fucking packed.

Your sweaty hands gripped the lectern's edges as you took deep breaths, afraid you might pass out from stress. 'Cause damn did those two 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴 made your blood boil, lecturing and calling you out for literally everything.

Like, yeah, you're not a perfect hero who saves everyone, but fuck. It's not as if they're any better! Fucking disgusting liars. Wanting to preach about morals and justice after what they've done...

Everytime you met them or any of their followers, you could always feel more and more sympathy for the criminals and Izuku. Because fuck, they at least have plans they carefully thought out! Not just saving everyone left and right and saying they've changed the world for the better..!

"I'm not trying to insult you, (Hero name), I'm simply stating the fact that you're not acting befitting of a hero." Endeavor huffed with a dry tone, his flames flickering with each word. His eyes narrowed at you, waiting for your reaction.

All might's eyes were filled with pity as he stared at your face, which was pulled into a non-hidden grimace. You pinched your nose and glared at Endeavor, deciding to ignore the blond's sympathetic look.

All the focus was on you, the cameras capturing every twitch in your eyes in HD and how you scrunched your nose at the way your name rolled off Endeavor's tongue, like it was some sort of disease. Fucking stuck up prick.

You grit your teeth as you dig your nails into the wooden stand, the tiniest cracks catching your attention and snapping you out of a possible 𝘧𝘪𝘵, as everyone would call it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Midoriya was watching the live conference, paying special attention to you. The way your facial expressions changed constantly as the two heroes continued with their questions and assumptions about you, or how you seemed to grip the edges of the podium as if you were wishing it was the head of your most hated enemy– in which case Izuku wished it was All might..

The thought of that alone made him feel butterflies in his stomach. He loved his puppy the most, and you loved him too. Which is why it made so happy to know that you were only his puppy, you only ever obeyed his words, encouraged him, you were the only one who believed him and you helped him become someone strong.

If you weren't with him, you were angry, frustrated– being surrounded with only morons every single day's a torture, you would much rather be in his arms, cuddling and listening to his adorable rambling about quirks and fights.

Everytime you rolled your eyes at Endeavour, he felt a tinge of proudness slowly fill his ego.

Everytime you groaned, yawned or snorted at whatever the heroes were saying, his mind was filled up with all the things you would say to him when you came home and crashed into his arms, tackling him into a hug and placing small kisses everywhere on his face, neck, everywhere!

Thinking about how you'll whine about all the things they said, how you missed him were just too good fantasies.

"–the police? It is perfectly legal and checks out with the laws though." The dry tone of the flaming man snapped him out of his daydreams.

"Police? Was it something important? Oh no, did I miss my Puppy's speech??!" Midoriya squeaked and nervously put his notebook in front of his face. A habit that remained from his middle school.

He quickly recognized it and shoved it onto the desk, leaning forward intently as if he could see and hear better if he was closer to the screens.

His face turned into a sad frown as he saw the way your body stiffened, sweat rolling down the sides of your cheeks and your eyes stared at Endeavor with a bewildered expression, filled with fear and awareness.

"Puppy?" Midoriya cocked his head as he always does whenever you call him out on something, after bottling up your emotions for too long.

You swallowed hard and kept glancing between the two man and the many cameras all around you. Murmurs gradually got louder in the crowd, everyone was taken aback by your earlier reaction.

"No, of course not." You hiss out between gritted teeth and shoot a glare at the two. "I just really didn't think I'd have to 'prove' myself after so many years of sacrificing my time and effort into saving people."

You say accusingly and lean forward, holding yourself with your elbows on the wooden lectern. "After all, it's not like you're free of any suspicions either, right, Endeavor?"

He raised a brow questioningly and huffs. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Isn't one of your children... No, there's actually quite a nasty rumour about you and how you treat your family.."

You smirk, your voice dripping with honey as you tilt your head innocently. Jackpot. The media will be all over him after this whole ordeal. And hopefully forget about you. After all, what's more important than the second best? Yep, the first!

"Could you elaborate on that (Hero name)?" "Does anyone else knows about these rumours?" "Did Endeavor make sure to hide these rumours?" "Is the government aware of these rumours or are they actually the ones that tried to hide it?" "What are these rumours exactly?" The reporters immediately started bombarding you with questions and this time, you were eager to answer every single one.

Meanwhile Midoriya couldn't help, but notice the way you rubbed your neck, at the spot he bit you just this morning, he assumed. Your face showed relief and you sighed softly.

You looked so adorable and he absolutely despised how he couldn't just scoop you up right now and hold you. But he'll make up for it later, that's for sure.

He couldn't bother to try to figure what was the topic of your talk, his eyes were fixated on your face, eyes, lips.

He'll be in for one hell of a surprise later. . . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm tired, so I'll continue this later. (─.─||）

[bigskydreaming]

If you were editor of Nightwing's book ever since at least the start of Rebirth to today and you were given free reign, what would your story mandates?

Oh no, this is dangerous. LOL. Hmm, I have no idea what to shoot for here, so I'll try to keep it to ten. That's reasonable right? Ten is good. Yeah. Is fine.

Okay, so, in no particular order:

1) Let Dick be competent 101. None of this him having to play hype man for every other character to pop up in HIS title bullshit. Nope. That's not what they're there for. He's the lead man, LET HIM BE THE LEADING MAN. Like sure, everyone has their areas of expertise, he doesn't need or have to be the best at everything, blah blah blah.....but its about the nuance. All of that is kinda lip service because the thing is, you don't go into MOST comic books and NEED to be reminded of that because the lead characters of those books are all constantly getting saved or shown up or chastised by every guest star in their books, you know? This is a very weird, very niche phenomenon very specific to Dick's character, and I'm super over it. I'm here to read about the guy who has literally been doing this longer than most superheroes twice his age. The guy who's been doing this since before he hit double digits. The born acrobat. The destined ultimate warrior or whatever of Gotham's Ornithological Society Of Murder and Pretentiousness. Gimme that guy. And that guy doesn't need to be 'humbled' every other page, because the thing is, he's not some egomaniac to begin with so the everpresent need to humble him doesn't actually come off as humbling! It just comes off as pandering and not even to actual fans of the actual character, so its like.....wyd DC.

2) Let other people take responsibility for their own crap with Dick rather than always just expecting a mea culpa from him. I'm so unbelievably tired of the words I'm sorry from Dick. I love personal accountability, so I never thought I'd have to say this about a character, but enoooooough. They have made it completely in character for this dude to apologize to everyone ELSE for being brainwashed, getting amnesia, being KILLED, like.....the amount of things he's groveled for forgiveness for when he didn't actually do a damn thing wrong or worse yet, was the ACTUAL victim of is like....pretty damn staggering. And meanwhile, there's nary a peep of apology from the people who regularly insult or belittle him, get physically violent with him, take advantage of him or take him for granted, etc, etc, etc. Its entirely too one-sided and imbalanced, and the pendulum needs to swing the other direction, like YESTERDAY, and in a fairly big way, IMO.

3) None of this Baby's First Social Justice Awakening 101 crap. I'm sorry, but no. Especially not when you go out of your way to acknowledge that Dick is Romani, only to then turn around and act like he's only JUST had his eyes opened to an awareness of like, classism and poverty and the real struggles people face day to day? Sorry not sorry, but especially for other white writers out there, do not use people of color as self-inserts for dipping a toe into Learning To See Past Privilege. And especially when talking about a character who has a history of being actively abused and hurt by the system and institutions of power, or hell, even leaving out that particular origin story, who has still been out on the streets helping people since he was a literal child. You can not tell me that this is his first face to face experience with social issues, or the first time he's had the inclination to try and address those head on. (And its also particularly egregious that the people second-guessing Dick in his own title and giving him reality checks or acting like they have more of an awareness of all this than he does like, happen to all be white? OPTICS. LEARN ABOUT THEM. COMMON SENSE. GET SOME.)

Know what would actually be a better way to approach this? Flashbacks. Show us Dick running into situations that make him think back to a case when he was still Robin, when he and Batman had started fighting over their approaches to things, actually SHOW us those conflicts and how their viewpoints had started diverging, and how much of that was due to Dick not having the same experiences as Bruce, or the same standing in society, no matter what house he lived in. THEN you can jump BACK to the present, with the reminder/awareness that this is something that isn't NEWS to Dick, but that he in the past felt he was forced to make his peace with as something he wasn't in a position to do that much about....only NOW, he's in a very DIFFERENT position, and suddenly it just hits him how he's still acting like he did when he was limited in resources or in having to be part of a chain in command or having to factor other responsibilities into things....now he ACTUALLY has the power and the resources to make meaningful change in the ways he ALWAYS wanted to, but maybe just needed time to figure out HOW.

Like you know what would have made Shawn Tsang's story arc so much better? If Dick didn't just remember her as the Pigeon's one time teenage sidekick he'd briefly fought as a kid, but like.....if he remembered her as someone he and Bruce had FOUGHT about. Because he didn't agree with sending someone to juvie for defacing public property as a form of political protest, when it was someone's LIFE who was going to be irrevocably damaged by that while the damage to the city could be fixed with a check, and what made Dick any more deserving of Bruce's leniency and faith in his potential or underlying goodness than Shawn?

But he was still a kid himself back then, and when Bruce responded with his usual conviction, talking about the importance about rule of law and etc etc, Dick just didn't have the words to get through to him then, to get him to understand that this wasn't just Dick not getting it because he was too young, it was BRUCE not getting it, that Dick was literally just saying well he wasn't too young to have been in juvie himself, and of the two of them, he's the one who has experience there so why was Bruce's opinion on whether this was the punishment that fit the crime the one that got to hold more weight here? When Dick's the one who knows what that punishment actually LOOKS like beyond the abstract, for whom it was a reality that still haunts him in ways that even defacing a few statues of some rich old fucks doesn't deserve?

Or hell, go back FURTHER than when he was Robin. Idk where any of those posts are, but I've always wanted to see something where Dick maybe runs into someone he remembers from his time in juvie, maybe a guard who is like, the source of the reasons Dick mistrusts figures of authority and is so hung up on independence and not being under anyone's thumb, or maybe someone who was in there with him, another kid who looked out for him when he didn't have to, etc. Gimme Dick tackling head-on his firsthand awareness that there's no rehabilitation to be found in a jail for kids, when most of those kids don't even need rehabilitation in the first place and only did what they did in order to survive or escape from worse situations or like, were there purely because of racist cops, etc. Let him go after THAT system, driven by personal experiences and memories that maybe only hit him in full after recovering his memories from the Ric Grayson arc, like they're things that he put in a box in his mind a long, long time ago because he didn't have the spoons or reserves to deal with them when he was a kid still so traumatized in so many ways, like, something had to give and so he put all those memories away for another day and just....never got back to them because life kept hitting him with new and fresh trauma every week.

But now something has him thinking back to those early days in Gotham, and reminding him that not everyone had a Bruce Wayne willing and able to give them an out from that place or acrobatic skills to escape it on their own, and like. You want to do something about the cycles of violence in Gotham and Bludhaven? Why not start with the places that literally MANUFACTURE cruelty on an institutional level, that teach kids that no matter what they did to get put there, even if that was nothing at all, they're all going to be treated the same way and given no reason NOT to do whatever it took to be top dog in a dog eat dog world by the time they got out.

There's SO many better approaches to social awareness in the Batbooks than what we're seeing, and like. Sheesh. The bar is way too low.

4) On a related note, if I'm editor of the Nightwing book, the FIRST thing I'm doing is making it a priority to find a writer of color for that book, ideally someone of Rom descent. Its waaaaay past time to let a Romani writer take the reins on Dick, Wanda, Pietro or Doom, aka some of the only prominent Romani characters out there? You can't tell me that there aren't talented writers who identify as Roma who would be more than willing to add their perspective to Dick's archive of narratives, and if an editor's gotta go looking for them? Go fucking look. DC and its fans have milked a lot of mileage out of the idea of Dick being Romani with very little in the way of nuanced storytelling to show for it in the past twenty years, and if DC wants to trot out little reminders that Dick is Romani every couple years, like in the form of a freaking line that has no follow up or expansion to any degree and is offset by an internal monologue that otherwise reads as incredibly privileged, the least they can do is TRY to expand on that with the narrative perspective of someone they claim to be representing via that character.

And no, this isn't gatekeeping, this is prioritizing. Its not about preventing other writers from writing this character, like just for the hell of it, its about being proactive about finding a writer who can write specific aspects of this character that have long gone unaddressed or poorly represented. And like. Okay. Its not easy breaking into the comics industry for anyone, but its particularly not easy for marginalized writers. Most every major comic book company just recites 'make your own stuff first and then show us that' but when you're a writer specifically, finding a compatible artist to partner with on creator-owned indie stuff first, when those artists are in the same position as you are and apologetically and understandably tend to have to take paying work over yours if you can't pay except on the back end, like....there are a lot of hurdles to getting your start in comic books, and while there are more and more marginalized writers in comics these days, DC and Marvel kinda fucked up, because you know what?

After being told 'make your own first, then we'll talk,' writers DID do just that....but then found out that well, due to the ease of online distribution and access these days, for any writers who CAN find an artist to partner with, its a hell of a lot easier to get their content out there these days WITHOUT a major publisher behind them.....and for a lot of marginalized writers in particular, its worth it to keep full creative control in exchange for smaller circulation. Especially when they don't have to deal with editors 'softening' their work to make it more palatable for audiences that quite frankly aren't necessarily their primary target. So yeah, marginalized voices are becoming more and more present in comics, but Marvel and DC for the most part are keeping the same voices centered they always have, and what these voices have to say is becoming less and less relevant and outdated. Because much like this arc from Taylor, even when they DO dip their toes into story matter that's of interest to wider audiences, they're doing so to a degree that still puts them years behind the conversations everyone else is having.

5) The same holds true of disability representation. I stopped reading Taylor's run for a lot of reasons but his way of responding to people unhappy with his depiction of Babs was a key one. If I'm editor on a book, and someone tweets at one of my writers that their depiction of a disabled character was hurtful because it feels like they're doubling back on everything Babs has ever said about not being defined by or ashamed of her disability and now its being treated like a dirty little secret, and that writer's response is essentially to just laugh at them and say there's nothing wrong or ableist about their writing of a disabled person, TO a concerned disabled person? That writer's ass is getting fired. Full stop.

Either you give a shit about this stuff or you don't. Don't pay your readers lip service about how important social issues are to you and how much you care about using superhero narratives to inspire people on these matters if you're gonna turn around and show your ass the second you don't feel comfortable and prioritized by the conversation, like it wouldn't exist without your oh so valuable contributions. ESPECIALLY if you don't identify as sharing the same identity of the marginalized character you're writing. You are a guest in someone else's lived experiences at that point, and you think you've got the right to belittle and talk down to the people who LIVE THERE? Fuck off, my dude.

6) Re-center Dick as someone who the superhero community RESPECTS. I love seeing Dick depicted as someone who has an awareness of his own limitations and an appreciation for what others bring to the table, and so I'm not opposed to him calling on others when he needs to.....but I also would like to see more of the opposite. But not in the way we usually see it these days, where he's asked to come help with a crisis and then usually second-guessed the whole way, and then sent back home without so much as a thank you when its done. Yawn. Sorry. I've read that story by now.

You know what story arc I freaking LOVED as a kid, back in the 90s? In Green Lantern, when Kyle Rayner first became the sole GL, one of his very early arcs, before he ever joined the JLA or anything....was him realizing how little he knew about being a superhero. He was like, my predecessors all had a full fledged CORPS to teach them everything they needed to know, but I had a few lines of exposition from a funny little blue guy in a red pillowcase and then I was off to the races. That's not good enough. There's so much I don't know about being a hero, I don't even KNOW what I still need to know.

So he went on kinda a superhero training roadtrip. He went to Metropolis to ask Superman for advice, he went to Batman to learn from Batman and Robin (Tim at the time). He went to Wonder Woman, Sentinel (Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern), etc, etc. And in the end, Kyle very much became his own kind of hero who wasn't just a pastiche of all those other heroes and the advice they gave him, but like....this put him on the road to that.

And I'd love to see something like that happen in Dick's solo title. We've seen him train in a team setting, we've seen him train the other Robins.....I'd love to see like, young superheroes from OTHER books, not ones created by the title, but like names people actually recognize from other franchises, like, guest star in Nightwing's book to learn from HIM, specifically. I wanna see something where Wally looks at the latest speedster and is like, you know what, if you really wanna be the best hero you can possibly be, then Nightwing's who you gotta go to, because there's no one I trust to make a better hero out of someone than him. I want the newest kid on the JLA block to worry that people aren't taking him seriously because of his age or experience, and he's always hearing them talk about Nightwing and how young he was when he started and so if anyone knows something about how to gain the respect of your older superhero peers, that's the guy to talk to.

Gimme Dick's couch being crashed on at various times by a half dozen new or upcoming young superheroes who all heard or figured out that if they really want to up their superhero game, Nightwing's the guy to see.

7) Bring back Bea. There's no long paragraph expansion on this, its really simply. Bring back Bea. She was one of the freshest breaths of air in Dick's supporting cast in ages, most of the current run is based off her character direction in the first place, she's literally the best suited TO help Dick in this venture, and the reasons they gave for writing her out of Dick's life were all bullshit and they just wanted to focus on his previous relationships, which would be fine if they didn't fall into the same two endless cycles of bring back up, go nowhere with, awkwardly avoid each other for years, rinse and repeat. Like. Bring back Bea, please and thank you, the end.

8) Focus on new villains. Heartless is meh, but the idea of new villains is still better IMO than rehashing Blockbuster, Zucco, etc. Like, nostaglia ain't it. If I want to read Blockbuster fucking up Dick's life, I can do that. They're called back issues. The thing is, love it or hate it, the Blockbuster arc WAS iconic. It left its mark. And anything that doesn't leave just as much of a mark, if they're going to bring him up again, is just gonna be a waste of time, you know? It'll just dilute his overall presence when like, what he was - worked fine as is. We don't need Round Two.

The trick to good villains, IMO, is they have to speak to a fight that needs fighting.

What I mean by that is....the best villains are those who resonate on a more instinctive level because they embody something that already exists in a reader's mind as a conflict that needs fighting. Like, if superheroes exist, if the embodiment of larger than life presences and forces devoted to protecting the world from various things are real....then their villains need to embody the kinds of fights or conflicts that NEED larger than life figures to combat them, at least on a one to one level.

Look at Superman and Lex Luthor. Superman at his core embodies the strength of community. He's the ultimate hero of the people, his essence is that he was the last survivor of a doomed race who was raised by two honest, hard working people to see the beauty in just being ONE of them, in using what he had on behalf of all of them and not just himself. In contrast, Lex Luthor is basically the embodiment of capitalist greed, of excess, of the entitlement of being able to have anything with a snap of your fingers and thus assuming that gives you divine mandate to make the kinds of choices that he sees as only his right to make.

He hates Superman, ultimately, because Superman is the WRONG savior of the people. He wants their only savior to be HIM, half the time he honestly believes he's saving the world FROM Superman, but just as often he's perfectly content to be the villain and not shy about it....because Lex Luthor's ultimate motivation is he wants everyone to know when he's dead and gone that LEX LUTHOR WAS HERE. He genuinely doesn't care WHAT his impact or legacy is at the end of the day, just that it exists and it overshadows most everything else...because all that really matters to him is the irrefutable proof that HE mattered. And thus at their cores, Superman and Lex are perfectly opposed. Ideally situated to eternally be in conflict, their own forever war, because their core natures are incompatible. They CAN'T compromise, without compromising themselves and essentially ending up as someone totally other than who and what they are already.

And you can go down the list. The Joker is the chaos to Batman's order, while Mr. Freeze is the stagnancy of that order taken too far, he's what you get when you freeze everything in your grief and refuse to let anything go on, anything new grow, because that would mean having to admit once and for all that what you're mourning is really gone. Two-Face is the ultimate embodiment of Man vs Self, a once good man at war with his own worse nature, and reminding everyone who looks at him how easily they could fall to the same fate.

And so on and so on. What Dick needs, is more of the same. Like, as much as I'm not a huge fan of Talon stories, I maintain that the Court of Owls were a great foil for him - just they tend to be poorly used in canon as well. But I also think how poorly they come off in canon has a lot to do with canon not really touching on WHY they're such a perfect foil for Dick....and that's Dick's history with being outside the system, mistreated and even exploited by the system. Because the Court, their core concept, is they ARE the system. They are entrenched, enfranchised, institutional power, passed down through generations, dynastic control that is a perfect counterpart to the dynastic power of the Wayne family, embodied in its youngest generation in the form of Bruce's FOUND family, the children he adopted regardless of whether or not his peers found them deserving of that honor. The Court, and their entire....thing...about the Gray Son, is the entitled fury of those denied something they deem theirs simply because they WANT it, and who will burn the whole world down rather than admit defeat or let someone else have it instead.

And that resonates. It could resonate a lot MORE if DC would actually lean into those concepts and allow Dick to explore how the Court are nothing he's not used to, they're literally made up of the same people who have looked down on him ever since he came to Gotham, but now they're actually a face and a name put to all those attitudes, something he can literally FIGHT BACK AGAINST. The Court are literally human-sized embodiments of everything and everyone who's tried to confine Dick since his parents' deaths, tried to define him without his permission, tried to make him other or lesser than who and what he is.....and who thus now exist in a form that Dick can literally BATTLE. So that he doesn't HAVE to just take this stuff lying down.

Thanks to the Court, he doesn't HAVE to just passively accept it, that this is just how life is, that some people are going to view him this way and think this about him and there's nothing he can do about it. He CAN do something about it, in superhero stories. He can kick its ASS, in the form of the Court of Owls and everything its members think about him and intend for him. He can refuse to bow down to them, to accept their mark on him. He can say lol, no, and then blow their shit sky high, ideally with a little help from his family. He can BEAT them, in this incarnated form, and in doing so, even though he can't beat everything they stand for and represent, that victory still matters, still means something symbolic to readers it resonates with.

And that's what we need more of. Villains created specifically to embody concepts that are diametrically opposed to Dick and what he represents. The system, yes, but also villains who embody the kind of tyranny and control he fights back against in his constant battles for autonomy and self control. Villains who embody the 'new hopes' of a second generation just like Dick himself is the focal point of the hopes embodied by the second generation of heroes. I'm actually not the hugest fan of multiversal constant Dick Grayson, but I might like it more if he had an opposite number there, someone he was specifically contrasted with. Idk.

But you get it.

9) Dick having a social life. Gimme the Titans and his siblings showing up JUST to show up. We have room enough for at least a couple pages every other issue where we just get to see these characters having some breathing room, taking a beat to stop and be something other than just a superhero, to be human as well. There's more to life than 24/7 fighting, even for them, and that's largely been lost in modern superhero comics, which kinda sucks, because that was what made most of the more iconic and lasting dynamics between various characters like, STAND the test of time. The larger than life battles between good and evil might be what many of us come to superhero comics FOR, but the relatable back-and-forths and ups and downs of their private lives spent with friends and family tends to be what keeps most of us coming BACK. And lately its all just mission, mission, mission, and I'm like blah, blah, blah and its like, meh, meh, meh. Y'know? Give the guy some down time, and let his friends come spend it with him.

10) Boone. This is purely self-indulgent, but if you know anything about me, you know my obsession with Robin: Year One, Dick's brief time at Vengeance Academy, and the hate/hate relationship he has with his brief frenemy from that period, Boone aka Shrike. This character has SOOOOO much potential to be Dick's true archnemesis and rival, and like. *Sobs* I can't get into it all again. Its too much. I can't do it.

Okay, I absolutely can. And will, probably. But like. Later.

BONUS ROUND:

Other thing I would absolutely insist upon if I were Nightwing editor....

GET THAT FUCKING MEME SHIRT ABOUT BRUCE SLAPPING DICK THE FUCK OUTTA HERE.

Like. Seriously. WHAT THE HELL. Why would you double down on THAT? Why is Babs STILL wearing it? (Last I checked, like I think I saw it in a scan from last issue? I'm pretty sure its still there? If not, forget this entire rant, and I am very embarrassed. Okay not that embarrassed. I don't really care if I'm wrong here but like, in case I'm not)...

WHY. Who thought that was funny? No, seriously, on behalf of any other abuse survivors who like me are SERIOUSLY not amused, who the FUCK thinks its FUNNY to have one of Dick's best friends sporting a shirt that no matter what it represents IN universe, to readers OUT of universe, is always going to call to mind the fact that this meme only freaking EXISTS because of all the times DC has obliviously and without acknowledgment written Bruce abusing his children, including the BFF that Babs is literally wearing that right in front of.

Like omg do you hate her, DC? What other possible reason could you have for thinking that would be a cute, funny thing for her to wear around the guy getting SLAPPED, by his DAD, in your shirt's iconography.

Okay I'm done.

LOL.

Sorry, that last one was brewing for awhile. Deep breaths. Woo.

[jikookiekosmos]

Classified & Confidential || kth (Part 1)

➥Pairing: detective!taehyung/reader

➥Summary: It’s been years since your close friend passed away, case going cold due to lack of evidence. You never once believed the story the police gave you, since they classified it under an ‘unfortunate accident.’ Now that there are telltale signs of something similar at play regarding someone else you hold dear, you decide to take things into your own hands. You hire world renowned private detective, Kim Taehyung. And he goes above and beyond everything you expected.

➥Genre: strangers to lovers (kinda slow burn), detective au, mystery, angst, eventual smut, fluff

➥Rating: 18+

➥Words: ~7.1k

➥Content Warnings: detective/mystery au, (tw: mentions of death, brief mention of suicide in relation to a criminal case, implied foul play, stalking behavior, non-graphic detailing of a crime scene), slight forensic talk, mentions of nervousness and anxiety, some cursing, mentions of cops/police, unhelpful law enforcement (like they’re kinda terrible with the whole solving this case thing), feelings of unease and tension, we get bestie hoseok, tae is kinda extra but for good reason, no suggestiveness/smut in this chapter but it’s still 18+ due to it involving some of the aforementioned warnings

A/N: This will be a multi-part series that explores some darker themes, and each part will have appropriate content warnings listed; please read at your own risk. This part touches on backstory and introduces the characters, things will start getting a little more intense in the following chapters. I don’t have any kind of specific update schedule but ideally I’d like to get updates out every few weeks at the latest! I hope you look forward to this, and if you wanna be added to a taglist, please let me know~

Thank you @dntaewithluv​​​​ for your constant motivation and support (and for always beta-reading for me, even when we scream at each other about our ideas); hopefully I do Tae justice for you! I love you lots ❤️

taglist: @inlovewiththemoonn @mwitsmejk​ @bangtanhome

⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰

5 Years Ago

The night sky was dark, blanketed by stars as it emitted a peaceful aura. There was no way to bask in the calmness of the night, however, with all the hustle and bustle that surrounded you outside of the apartment complex.

Crime scene tape marked off the area, and many onlookers had gathered to try and get a glimpse of what happened. You were one yourself, but you weren’t there out of sheer curiosity.

Your breathing was ragged, staggered, as you tried to hold yourself together and observed the scene in front of you unfold.

Police wouldn’t let you beyond the tape, despite knowing the person currently covered by the white tarp.

Minutes prior, one of the cops had been politely trying to hold you back as you thrashed around, mind muddled by the vision of your best friend’s face before the tarp concealed it.

“I’m sorry, we can’t let anyone unauthorized come past this tape, please stay where you are.”

“You don’t understand, that’s my best friend, please let me through, please-”

You couldn’t control the volume of your screams, prompting a few of the other bystanders to try and calm you down seeing as you were very clearly distraught.

An unknown amount of time passed before the thickest part of the crowd decided they’d had enough excitement for one night, retiring to their own homes. You stayed planted in your spot, prepared to not move until you got more of an explanation for what was going on.

You’d resigned yourself to the fact that if someone wanted you to leave, they’d have to do it by force, but you eventually complied after two cops convinced you to come down to the station and issue a statement, given your relation to the victim.

They didn’t grill you hard, which was something you appreciated at the time, since you were really in no state to handle a grueling interrogation. You knew you could be marked down as a potential suspect, but everything from their investigation pointed to them believing it had either been an accident or a possible suicide attempt, the latter of which would almost entirely exclude your involvement.

Over the next few weeks, you cooperated with the investigation and helped them with whatever leads you could provide; you were determined that foul play was involved, because you knew your best friend better than anyone, and the story the cops were feeding you wasn’t adding up.

The theory as you knew it was this: she jumped from her apartment window, which was up a significant amount of stories, more than enough to kill a person. A potential suicide note was found at the scene on the nightstand by her bed, typed on a sheet of paper, so handwriting analysis wasn’t an option. The apartment was undisturbed aside from the window having been open.

It almost seemed like a cut-and-dried case, aside from one other small factor: unknown DNA from a hair follicle was found in the apartment alongside the victim’s own.

This didn’t surprise you…at first. You knew Ky had been perusing multiple dating apps and would often invite people over to her place after successful dates. But as far as you also knew, Ky hadn’t recently been on any dates, so there wasn’t a clear reason for that DNA to show up.

Ky had told you in the weeks leading up to her death that she was afraid someone had been following her around, and it unsettled her so much so that she deleted all the dating apps on her phone until she felt safe again.

Sadly, that day never came, and this fact alone caused the nagging suspicion of foul play to burrow itself even deeper into your subconscious.

Since the DNA was unknown, tracing it would be no easy task, but that didn’t stop you. Anything you could do to shed light on what had actually occurred, you were going to do it, plain and simple.

Which is why when the police decided to close the file on the case and label it as an ‘unfortunate accident,’ you were floored.

You begged them to keep focusing on leads when there really weren’t any, offering to aid in any way you could because there was no way that there wasn’t something missing.

Their response?

“Go home, Y/N, there’s nothing else you can do.”

You left the station that day only after you had caused somewhat of a scene, arguing back and forth with one of the lead detectives until you were ‘carefully escorted’ outside. Enraged, you banged your hand against the glass of the door before you slid down the wall beside it, hugging your knees as you tried to compose yourself.

You weren’t sitting that way for long before you felt a gentle tug on your sleeve. You looked up reluctantly and were met with one of the softest pairs of eyes you’d ever seen.

The stranger offered you a kind smile, one that made your heart ache in the aftermath of everything you’d endured the last several weeks. You’d been tackling this situation all on your own, with barely any help from mutual friends or Ky’s family since she’d been estranged from them.

But now, this man stooped down in front of you and smiling at you like everything would be alright…

It almost made you want to believe it.

“Hi, I uh, couldn’t help but overhear about your situation,” he finally spoke up, sounding somewhat bashful. He had bright red hair that peeked out under a cap he wore, and he was sporting a rainbow colored sweater.

A tinge of embarrassment fluttered through you. “Oh. Sorry you had to witness that.”

So this random stranger heard you telling off the police by yelling at them in broad daylight. Way to make a first impression.

To your surprise, he simply shook his head, smile widening. “No, don’t be sorry! I was, uh – happy to be able to listen.”

You quirked an eyebrow. “Ok…may I ask why?”

“Well,” there was that bashful tone again, hand flying to the back of his neck as he looked to the side, “I’d been coming up here for a while, hoping to hear something regarding this case specifically. Usually when I stop by, there isn’t much going on and it’s not like I can just walk in and ask for classified information-”

He stopped speaking immediately once you held up your hand. You didn’t want to be rude, but you were thoroughly confused.

“Is there a reason why you’re eavesdropping for information about this case?”

He nodded eagerly. “Sure is! See, I’m working as a crime reporter, and-”

You scoffed as you pushed yourself to a standing position. “Unbelievable.”

Without sparing another glance to the gentleman, you shouldered past him, earlier hopeful mood soured by the fact that he was just another person looking for a scoop about Ky’s demise.

He was quick to follow, almost jumping down the steps to catch up to you.

“Hey, wait! Please.”

The way he begged pulled at your heartstrings because of how genuine he sounded, and for reasons beyond you, you turned around to face him and decided to hear him out.

You crossed your arms as he sighed with relief.

“Thank you. Ok, to start with, I’m a crime reporter, but I’m not trying to report on this case as everyone knows it.”

Another eyebrow raise from you. “What do you mean?”

The man smiled shyly, brushing away the red hair in his eyes. “I want to bring the injustice of the system to the public’s attention.”

That got your attention. “You do?”

“Yes. And I think your story could help with that.”

“My story?”

He nodded again, this time more eager than the last. “You’re pretty adamant that what happened to your friend was no accident, am I correct?”

Any mention of Ky caused the dull pain in your chest to come back, but at least this time, she wasn’t being mentioned in a gruesome or negative light.

“Yeah, I really don’t think it was an accident. But no one believes me.” You looked down at your shoes, scuffling one against the pavement.

You only looked up again when you felt the stranger’s hand on your shoulder.

“I believe you.”

All of the breath was knocked out of you.

“You…you believe me?”

The smile he gave you this time was bright and sincere as he dropped his hand by his side. “I do. I’ve been following everything posted online or in the newspaper about this case, and some of it just really does not seem plausible. And then after hearing you today, it made so much sense as to why.”

It still bothered you a bit that you were loud enough in the station to be heard outside, but that worry was now being overshadowed by the possibility of having someone else who could stand by you on your conviction.

“It…really means a lot to me that you would even consider my side of things. Truthfully, I think the police only tolerated me this long due to protocol.” You wrapped your arms around yourself.

The red-haired man grimaced at your remark. “Yeah, no kidding. For as long as I’ve been in this line of work, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them take things as seriously as they should.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“About a year. But trust me, I’ve seen a lot during that time.” His determined expression might have made you giggle under other circumstances because it clashed so much with the rest of his soft demeanor.

“I don’t doubt it.” You walked over to the nearby bench seated a few feet away and the stranger followed hesitantly, only sitting beside you when you didn’t give him any indication his presence was unwanted.

The both of you turned toward each other slightly before you spoke up again.

“So, how can I help you with what you’re wanting to do?”

He seemed pleased that you were on board, eyes shining. “For starters, do you think I could interview you? I’d have to ask some sensitive questions, but I feel like I could have a better understanding of the case that way…only if you’re comfortable, though.”

You swallowed as you thought it over. Your participation in the numerous interrogations during the investigation had now proved to lead nowhere, but maybe this time the outcome would be different.

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, to the best of my ability.”

The stranger beamed, looking happy enough to nearly jump out of the bench, despite the current subject matter. “Great!”

His cheerful nature was a little infectious, you had to admit, because you already started to feel a little lighter in his presence. A hand appeared in your line of vision.

“My name is Hoseok, by the way. We haven’t been properly introduced yet so that would be the next best step, I think.”

You did giggle this time at his action. “Nice to meet you, Hoseok. I’m Y/N.” You took his hand into your own to give it a small but firm shake.

“It’s my pleasure, Y/N. Now,” he regarded you with that same soft look he had in his eyes when you first saw him at the station, “what do you say we discuss some logistics over lunch? My treat, of course, since you’re agreeing to help me.”

For the first time in ages, the smile that graced your face was wholeheartedly genuine. “Sounds good.”

Thus, the beginning of a beautiful, long-lasting friendship bloomed that day outside of the one place you’d begun to loathe more than anything else. Over the next few years, Hoseok stood by your side in more ways than you could count, and he was now someone you considered to be one of the best friends you’d ever had.

One of the only best friends you’d ever had.

What you never expected was to be seated with Hoseok at the same diner that started your initial conversation about Ky’s case 5 years later, discussing something much too similar for your liking.

⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰

Present Day

You sipped from your coffee mug, enjoying the warm beverage as you waited at the diner. The weather had been less than ideal, with rain pouring all day long and displaying little signs of stopping.

But Hoseok had been adamant about the two of you meeting up after your voicemail you left the previous night.

As you were thinking about your close friend, you heard the bell above the diner door ring, signaling his arrival. He spotted you across the room and quickly rushed over to your table, leaving rain droplets in his wake.

Hoseok shrugged out of his soaked jacket and tossed in into the booth seat beside him as he shook his head to – hopefully – rid himself of the water trying to slide down his face.

“Hey,” he finally breathed out once he was settled. His usual wild red hair was darker now thanks to the rain, stern expression plastered onto his face.

“Hey.” You responded meekly, attempting to give him a weak smile. Your stomach was churning with unease at the conversation you were about to have.

Hoseok took a deep breath before he folded his hands together and rested his elbows on the table. The coffee you’d ordered for him had been pushed to the side, momentarily forgotten.

He lowered his voice. “Are you sure the pattern of behavior is the same?”

You nodded slowly, going over all the details again in your mind. “I’m positive. The only difference is Yuri waited longer to tell me that she thinks she’s being followed than Ky did.”

Ky. Not a day went by where you didn’t think about her, seeing her smiling face when you would close your eyes at night and try to drift off to sleep.

Slumber came much easier these days than it did those first few months, but every now and then the same nightmare would plague you about the night you saw her on the sidewalk.

You shook your head to shrug the thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time.

“Shit,” Hoseok finally responded. “That doesn’t seem like good news for us.”

“My thoughts exactly. Who knows how long this has been going on. And she’s been receiving the same kind of ‘gifts’ Ky would get, too. Random text messages, voicemails from unknown numbers…she tries to brush it off, but I know this scares Yuri.”

“She doesn’t recognize who’s speaking in the voicemails?”

You shook your head solemnly. “No, they’re using some sort of voice modifier.”

Hoseok cursed again, this time under his breath. “Well, what do you want to do?”

You gulped. Truthfully, you didn’t know the answer yourself. On the one hand, everything currently happening to your friend mimicked what happened to Ky, almost exactly. But on the other hand, Yuri made it known time and time again that she thought you were too paranoid for your own good sometimes.

So, you were at a loss.

Yuri and you were close, in a sense. You’d been friends for the last 4 years, working at the same company after graduating from college and even getting transferred to a new one in the same division so as to not be separated. Outside of Hoseok, you considered her your dearest friend.

But at the same time, you knew that Yuri had those she held very dear in her own life that were there before you, and you’d never try to overstep.

Still…the events surrounding Yuri were too specific to be coincidental in your opinion, and if the hunch you had right now was correct, you needed to do something.

You wouldn’t – you couldn’t – let another person die. Not if there was some way for you to prevent it.

Something you didn’t do with Ky, and that would haunt you for the rest of your life-

Hoseok pulled you out of your thoughts by calling your name, frowning deeply once your gaze focused on him again.

“I…I don’t know. I feel like if I push too hard on this, I’ll also push Yuri away, and I don’t want that.” You worried at your bottom lip, your most infamous nervous habit.

“Be that as it may, this doesn’t seem like something you should ignore either. What’s worse: pushing her away but potentially saving her life, or not saying anything and she ends up in danger?”

A heavy sigh wracked through your body.

Your silence was enough for Hoseok to continue with his own line of thinking. “Well, we could consider going to the police-”

“Absolutely not,” you answered fiercely, with more emotion than you’d displayed the entire conversation, “not after how they handled everything with Ky and how they treated you.”

You and Hoseok had made a name for yourself throughout the town as ‘Public Enemies 1 and 2’ with the local police department. You, due to your persistent insistence that they were wrong in their deduction about Ky, and Hoseok because of the article he published that shamed their name.

The article was the first – and last – one that he published under the company that had hired him to be a reporter, seeing as the police department had enough sway to get him fired afterwards. He wasn’t able to find another reporting job anywhere within the town or those surrounding it.

There also weren’t any remaining records of the article anywhere online or in paper publication, but as a ‘fuck you’ to the department, Hoseok had a copy of it printed and hanging up on his wall for anyone and everyone to see. You had always admired how he handled the situation with grace even though it made your blood boil every time you thought about it.

Even so, some good had come from the whole ordeal. After failing to find another reporter job, Hoseok had made a somewhat notable career as a crime novel author, popular among locals because of how he came to be a novelist, and eventually rising to fame due to his own amazing writing skills.

He enjoyed his career and had a happy life, but that didn’t mean you had to forgive and forget the shitty events that happened to get him to that point.

Hoseok nodded in understanding. “Ok, so no police. Does that mean we try to tackle this whole thing by ourselves?”

“Neither of us have any legit experience with this kind of stuff, so that’s out of the question, too.”

Hoseok tapped his chin as he pondered another idea. The way his eyes lit up as it came to him made your lips curve upward.

“What if we go to someone who isn’t involved with the police but does have experience with that?”

“…not sure I’m following you.”

Hoseok huffed in an endearing way. “Have you ever heard of a private detective?”

The word ‘detective’ made you wince, considering your last encounter with one evolved into a screaming match…but it was also how you met Hoseok, so there’s a silver lining for everything.

“I’m not familiar with a private detective, but I’m open to listening to your idea.”

He grinned. “Perfect. Ok, so in my research for my latest novel, I actually ended up looking into some real-life private detectives.”

“And what did you find?” Your own curiosity was definitely piqued now, as it always was when Hoseok would talk about something so passionately.

“There’s one who’s basically world renowned, like he’s really fucking good. And his office isn’t too far from here, it’s basically in the next town over.”

You took another sip from your coffee, swirling the now lukewarm liquid around in your mouth as you contemplated.

“What else do you know about him?”

Hoseok’s shoulders slumped slightly at that. “Not much. The only information I have on him is his name and how you can contact him. From what I’ve read, he seems to be pretty selective with clients.”

“No idea what he looks like?”

Hoseok shook his head. “None. There weren’t pictures or anything like that, I’m not even sure how old he is.”

You hummed as you pictured this mystery man in your head, automatically defaulting to envisioning an older man, maybe in his 50s with already graying hair. A wise old soul who had seen so much in his long years of investigation work.

“Not like all that really matters, I guess. Do you think I should reach out to him?”

Hoseok nodded around his coffee cup before he tilted his head back to take a large sip. “That’s our best shot right now. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you tried.”

Such a simple statement but it made your stomach twist at the memory of Ky and how you weren’t able to save her because you didn’t know how. “Right.”

Hoseok pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through what looked like Google search results. When he found what he was looking for, he texted you the information.

“Kim Taehyung?” You said the name aloud, making sure you got the correct info.

“Yup, that’s him. If you do decide to contact him, let me know how it goes, ok? I’m already worried as is about you delving into something like this again.”

You patted his hand. “I know, Hobi. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful, and I’ll keep you updated as much as possible.”

He smiled brighter than the sunshine. “That’s all I can ask for, bub.”

⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰

You paced around your apartment, staring at the text that Hoseok had sent you earlier. The rest of your time with him at the diner had been calm and helped to quell your nerves, but now that you were alone again, you were riddled with anxiety.

You had typed in this Kim Taehyung’s number into your phone, ready to call him and just get it over with. The worst he could do is decline your ask for help, but you wouldn’t know unless you tried.

After a few more minutes of useless pacing, you finally hit ‘send’ and raised the receiver to your ear.

You were met with an answering machine almost immediately, wondering if maybe you typed it in wrong until you heard ‘you have reached the number for Kim Taehyung.’ The name had been uttered by a human voice, one that was deep and took you off guard.

You had barely enough time to ponder over the voice before you heard the tell-tale ‘beep’ signaling for you to start your message.

“Oh! Um, hello, Mr. Kim. This is Y/N- well my name is Y/N. I was referred to you by a friend of mine who said you may can help me with a situation I’m having. There’s…some suspicious behavior involving someone dear to me and I’m afraid they could be in danger, but I’m not sure who to turn to. I-If you’d like to give me a call back, you can reach me at this number…”

You finished your voicemail with your contact information before thanking him and wishing him a goodnight. Once you pulled away your phone, you checked the time.

10:36 PM. No wonder you got his answering machine.

The anxiety that had settled down while you were leaving your message started to come back, so to combat that you made the decision to go ahead and get ready for bed. There wasn’t anything else you could do right now, anyway.

You texted Yuri just to wish her a goodnight, and when you received a response almost immediately, you breathed out a sigh of relief. At least she was alright and that was one less thing to worry about for now.

You didn’t dream that night – which was a blessing in its own right – as you thought about the deep timbre of the voice from the answering machine. You’d only heard it briefly, but it left enough of an impact, that was for sure.

⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰

You awoke around 8 AM, your typical time no matter what day it was. It was the weekend, so you could get more sleep if you wanted, but a quick check of your phone had you sitting upright at a record speed.

[Unknown] 6:28 AM: I got your voicemail. If you want to discuss your case, meet me at this address.

Your heart thumped faster as you re-read the words over again. The following message had an address attached, and when you opened it, you noticed how it was for the neighboring town.

With all of the context clues, and taking into account everything Hoseok told you yesterday, you figured that it was Mr. Kim who had texted you. Obviously it would be from an unknown number, and he wouldn’t give out any explicit personal details to lead back to him; that’s just how he did things, as Hobi had mentioned.

And if he contacted you back, that meant he was interested in helping you!

Well…he was interested in hearing you out, at least. Still, you wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity. You quickly crafted a response before you started to make yourself presentable.

[y/n] 8:03 AM: Thank you! When should I meet you?

You had just finished brushing your teeth when you heard your phone chime again.

[Unknown] 8:06 AM: Whenever is best for you. I’ll be here all day and don’t have any other clients lined up.

You clutched your phone to your chest. This was really happening.

Once you were done getting ready to head out, it was just past 9 AM. You called Hobi to let him know what you were doing, and his excitement was tangible even through the phone. He urged you to keep him posted about all the details, which you assured him that of course you would.

The drive to the address you’d been given didn’t take too long, maybe around 20 minutes or so. What surprised you when you arrived, though, was the outward appearance of the building.

It looked abandoned, for lack of a better term, and you checked the text message 3 more times to make sure this is where you were supposed to be.

[y/n] 9:28 AM: I’m here…but I’m not sure if this is the correct place?

There was an eerie feeling settling in your stomach as you waited for a response. Maybe this had been some sort of trick? Had someone set you up?

The sound of a deadbolt clicking grabbed your attention, and the door a few feet in front of you opened up to display an older woman. At first, she seemed a bit disgruntled at having an unexpected guest, but before you could apologize for intruding, her gruff expression was replaced with a warm smile.

“I take it you’re Y/N?”

You gulped and nodded, placing your phone back into your jacket pocket.

“Follow me.”

She turned on her heel to walk back into the building, not bothering to wait and see if you would obey. You quickly scurried after her, only stopping once you were a foot or so behind.

You walked through about 3 or 4 different hallways, trying to remember the directions you’d taken but failing miserably. There wasn’t much to this building…you saw what appeared to be a few offices here and there but otherwise, not much else.

“Here we are,” the woman croaked, gesturing with her arm to a much nicer looking door that had gold lettering on the window.

The etchings were bold, and it was very evident where you were as you read the words:

KIM TAEHYUNG

Private Detective

The older woman rapped on the door 3 times with her knuckles before she walked off. You were standing there, dumbfounded, until you heard a voice softly telling you to come inside.

The doorknob clicked easily under your hand, and as you entered the room, you were in awe of how different everything looked.

The office was tidy and, dare you say, extravagant compared to what surrounded it outside of this room. There were two brown leather couches that had a decent sized coffee table seated in between them; further into the office, you saw the same type of leather chairs, one in front of and one behind a large wooden desk. You also spotted a few plants that looked to be well taken care of, one sitting in a windowsill and the other on a small table next to some black filing cabinets.

Whoever had designed this room clearly had a knack for matching furniture together, because it all meshed well and you appreciated the sleek look to everything.

Your eyes ended their scan as you looked over to the far wall, almost letting out a gasp when you noticed the figure across the room whose back was turned to you.

When you softly shut the door, the other person in the room turned around. It took you a second to start thinking properly again, because he was not at all how you pictured he would be.

For starters, he looked much younger than you thought originally, closer to your own age, which you thought was admirable considering his high status as a detective. He had brown hair parted down the middle that was slightly wavy, with bangs covering his forehead. He had very handsome facial features as well, some of the most handsome you’d ever seen, if you were being honest with yourself.

He was wearing dark jeans and a shirt with black and white print that was hidden underneath a black leather jacket. Everything about this man seemed to scream fashionable and it was throwing you for a loop. You weren’t trying to stereotype him based on your own experience with detectives in the past, but he was just…so not what you expected him to be.

You were wondering again if this might be a prank, until he finally spoke up and acknowledged your presence.

“Y/N, is it?”

You nodded dumbly, scrambling to walk across the office as he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. He sat down in his own once you were close enough, and you shrugged out of your jacket before following suit.

There was a moment of silence between the two of you, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, you felt small under his scrutinizing gaze. He was leaning on one elbow, chin resting in his palm as he stared at you with intensity.

He spoke suddenly, almost making you flinch with surprise.

“So, you mentioned a friend of yours might be in danger?”

You nodded, not sure what to say or if you should say anything.

“Does this friend know you’ve come to a private detective about their situation?”

You opened your mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “Well…no.”

The man nodded, more to himself than you, it looked like. “Alright. That’s not an issue, just have to cover all the basics first.”

“What do the basics entail?”

He seemed amused by your interest as you took the initiative to ask questions now.

His fingertips drummed along the desk, a rhythmic sound that you found to be oddly soothing.

“It entails me finding out as much about your case as I’m willing to before I decide whether or not it’s something I can assist you with.”

He started twirling a pen with his unoccupied fingers, clearly waiting for you to speak first again before he continued.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything you feel is pertinent to tell me.”

You sighed. “Well, to start with, I think my friend is being followed by someone-”

“Proof?”

You frowned. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Do you have proof? Does this friend have pictures or a video of them being followed, or is it just a feeling?”

“To my knowledge…no. It’s more that they sense it than have actually seen it.”

“And you want me to find out if this is happening or not?”

“Um…yes?”

It was his turn to sigh this time. “You don’t sound very confident in your answer, Y/N.”

His tone rubbed you the wrong way. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What it means,” he broke off to look away from the pen to your face again, “is that I need to know what it is you want from me before I can agree to help you.”

You were catching onto his game now. He wanted you to very specifically lay it all out for him, instead of leaving him to figure it out by grasping at straws.

“Well, Mr. Kim-”

“Taehyung.”

“Sorry?”

“Taehyung. You can call me that, if you want. I’m not super big on formalities for myself.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek. Why was his presence so overwhelming?

“With all due respect, Mr. Kim, I’ve never done this before. All I know is something isn’t right, and I don’t trust the police to offer assistance in the way I need.”

You swore you saw something flash in his eyes.

“Why don’t you trust the police?”

You crossed your arms and leaned more into the chair. “The last time I worked with them, it didn’t end well.”

“You’ve worked on the force?” He almost sounded impressed.

“No, sorry, poor choice of wording. I tried to help them with a case before.”

“Ah,” his eyes narrowed as he busied himself with the pen again. “Were you a suspect, or?”

“I was close to the victim,” you said softly, almost a whisper.

For a moment, his expression softened. “I’m so sorry.”

You shrugged, inhaling a shaky breath as you looked at your lap. “It’s fine. Just…there’s your answer. I don’t want to work with them again, so I came to you.”

“If I’m able to take your case, I’ll make sure you don’t regret that decision.”

His tone had you picking your eyes back up. You noticed a fire within his own, one that made you feel like he meant every single word he’d just said to you.

“Thank you.”

He carded a hand through his hair, the action drawing your attention to the silver watch that adorned his wrist.

“Can I ask…could you tell me about the case you were involved with?”

A slow nod from you. “If it’ll help, I can do that.”

He motioned for you to continue. As you started telling him the details, you noticed as his eyes widened. At one point, he politely interrupted you.

“Sorry, just – I remember that case. You were involved with that?”

“Yes.” You were twisting your hands together in your lap. “Ky was my best friend.”

“And the police just let the case go cold, without considering all traces of evidence?”

“I begged them not to, but there wasn’t much I could do. They made that known several times,” you trailed off. You thought you heard some semblance of a growl coming from the detective.

“I always knew something was weird about that…every report they published made no sense, and none of the pieces of evidence seemed to corroborate their theories.” His hushed tone suggested he may have been talking more to himself, but you didn’t question it.

“There were signs of suspicious behavior leading up to her death that they never considered, and any time I tried to bring it up, I was shut down immediately.”

“Are these ‘signs’ something you’re noticing now, with your other friend?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Taehyung hummed. “I see. You want to inspect this before it gets out of hand, so you came to me because the police are a lost cause.”

You nodded feebly, voice softer than ever when you spoke again. “I don’t want to see another person die.”

“You won’t.”

His answer startled you, even if it was as quiet as your own. Your eyes met briefly before he started looking anywhere but your face.

Another hush befell the room, and this one seemed more awkward than the last, considering Taehyung cleared his throat before he rifled through one of his desk drawers.

“Before you tell me anything else, I need you to look over something first.”

“Sure, whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.”

A crooked smile tugged at Taehyung’s lips. “You know, you’re a lot more obedient than most of my other clients.”

You…weren’t sure how to take that.

“I am?”

“Yeah. Most of the time they come in with demands and don’t like to listen when I push back on something. It’s part of the reason why I’ve gotten choosier about who I decide to do business with these last few years. But you,” he fished out a piece of paper from the drawer, “are proving much easier to work with. I appreciate that.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

He chuckled, the sound low. “You’re also way more polite than most people I encounter.”

You smiled at him for the first time. “I’m grateful you’re taking the time to hear me out.”

His eyes lingered on yours for just a second before shifting down.

“First and foremost,” Taehyung slid a piece of paper across the wooden desk that separated the two of you, “if we agree to do business, you’ll need to sign this contract. It lists my stipulations and services I can provide.”

You picked up the paper, not quite sure what to expect.

“Take your time to read over all of it carefully, just so everything is clear on both our ends.” He leaned back in his chair, the sound of squeaking leather breaking your concentration for a moment.

You scanned through every line, all of the contract terms seeming straight-forward and easy to agree to-

-but the last line caught your attention.

“Could you explain this last part, please?”

Taehyung leaned over to look at which line you were pointing to before he let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, that. My #1 most important rule. Never get involved with clients’ personal lives.”

“But don’t you have to sometimes?”

“For work, yes. But this is more referring to what happens outside of that. Things can get…messy.”

“You talk like that’s happened before.”

Taehyung smirked but offered nothing more to that specific conversation.

“So, are we in business?”

You didn’t have to ponder long before you signed the contract with a flourish. When you passed it back across the desk, Taehyung smiled.

“Perfect,” he stood up to shake your hand, “I’ll be in touch with you shortly, once I’ve reviewed your case.”

You returned the shake. “Thank you, Mr. Kim.”

He squeezed your hand once before letting it go.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

You waited to see if there was anything else he might need from you, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. He leaned down and sifted through his drawer once more, this time pulling out a Manila file folder.

“I use these to get the typical information needed for me to start my research. It just asks for client’s name and contact info, as well as a summary about what you’re wanting from me and other names of those involved. In this instance, it would be your friend. You can give me as little or as much info as you think I need.”

He handed the folder to you, and upon opening it up, you saw everything he had just mentioned to you on a sheet of paper stapled to the inside.

“I’d prefer you fill it out now so you can leave it with me, but of course I can’t force you to do anything.”

His tone suggested he was teasing, but you were quick to sit on one of the couches and begin filling out the paper. It didn’t take you very long, and when you were done, you noticed he was sitting on the opposite couch, elbows resting on his knees with his hands folded.

“Finished?”

You nodded as you slid the file across the coffee table, his pen placed on top. He accepted both and smiled at you.

“Alright, if that’s all you want to discuss, you’re free to go. As I mentioned before, I’ll be in touch with you after I’ve looked over everything and have some sort of plan on how to proceed. And of course, all of this information is strictly classified. You read that in the contract, but I always reiterate it anyway, due to some problems I’ve had in the past.”

“Of course.” You agreed with no hesitation. Honestly, you couldn’t fathom just how much he’s had to endure in his line of work, how many times he’s probably had to change locations and phone numbers.

Hell, Kim Taehyung may not even be his real name, and you’d never know.

“Any questions for me?”

You mumbled some form of ‘no’ as you shook your head. Taehyung walked over to the door to open it for you, and you certainly weren’t expecting the same woman from before to be out in the hallway, but there she was.

“Ms. Choi will show you out since this place is a bit of a maze,” his tone was light, a sheer contrast to the mood that had settled over the two of you from when you stepped into his office. “Don’t forget: I’ll contact you.”

“Yes, sir.” You couldn’t help the authoritative term as it slipped past your lips, and you walked through the door before you could see the look on his face. You thought you might have heard some sort of laugh from Ms. Choi as she escorted you back to the front, but your imagination liked to play tricks on you sometimes.

Besides, Taehyung said he wasn’t one for formalities, so it didn’t really matter that much, did it? He had to be older than you anyway…right?

You spent the entire walk through the building trying to justify in your head what had just happened, and Ms. Choi gave you a soft smile as she held the door open for you to leave.

When you settled back in your car, you gripped the steering wheel and took a deep breath, leaning your head back as you shut your eyes.

You still couldn’t quite believe that the last 30 minutes or so had happened. Taehyung had proven to be quite different than what you anticipated, but he was truthfully better than you could have hoped.

He seemed driven and motivated about his line of work, and the way he reassured you when you had your doubts-

-it made you feel…safe. Like this was a step in the right direction after all.

As you called Hobi to fill him in on everything during your drive home, you started to believe that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out alright.

⊱──────── ✬ ✬ ✬ ────────⊰

➥Part 2

➥Series Masterlist

➥All Works Masterlist

[jayteacups]

i'm intrigued by the title 'The Creed of the Godless'

Ooo I was wondering if someone would ask about it! It’s still a tentative title but if it grabbed ur attention I must be on the right track haha

I mentioned it to @koulakoukoula2003 recently so I will tag u Koula if that’s alright ☺️ and Lulu too who was the first supporter of this idea!! @the-attic-writer <3

(Buckle up this is kinda a long response sorry guys)

So this fic is a Levi x OC work set in canonverse. It’s currently still being planned, I haven’t started properly writing it (send help 😭). I wanted to expand on the worldbuilding, titan lore and politics of AOT, fill in missing gaps and explore a few ‘what-if’s. For example - what if a ‘minority bloodline’ descendent sought justice and revenge for their people? I thought it was pretty messed up that the royals ordered the persecutions, and also the whole human trafficking thing that happened with the Azumabito descendants got glossed over WAY too quickly. I know it’s not a main focus of the story but DAMN. And then you start thinking about how really messed up the Paradisian government, pre-coup, is. (And post-coup if we consider the Jaegerists in S4 lol) Like the Culling??? That was messed up and I wish the story had touched on that more.

And hence, the concept of my OC, Zheng Nuwa, was born - in this fic, she hails from the AOT equivalent of China, which I’ve ever-so-creatively named Zhongguo (which is literally Chinese for China… I thought about naming it Huaxia, which was a very ancient name for China, but that felt a little like ripping off Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow so I didn’t lol). She was going to be an Azumabito like Mikasa at first because they’re already established as canon, but as Chinese diaspora I felt like I could do so much more with an OC who’s also Chinese diaspora 😂 so yeah. Gotta write what u know, I guess, even if that includes doing more planning to make it work 😂

Basically Nuwa’s backstory is: her parents avoided persecution (the reason why they were persecuted is a little different to the Ackerman and Azumabito persecution hehe) by fleeing to the Underground. They turned to a life of crime (mostly as smugglers and thieves), using a bar as a cover for their criminal business. They eventually become one of Kenny’s associates since they supply him with weapons and information (and his favourite drinks lol) and that’s how Levi and Nuwa meet 😌 gotta love a sweet long childhood friends to lovers slow burn 😌😌

The plot can be summed up as follows. Nuwa grows up angry at the royal family for the injustices done to her family and for their neglect of the Underground people. So she schemes her way through the echelons of society to get closer to the ones in power (including building an underground crime empire to piss off the government and also so she can quickly get enough money and information to permanently live aboveground and pull off her plan) so she can: find out why the minority bloodlines were hunted and get revenge, and to reform laws to give the innocent Underground citizens the rights they deserve. There’s going to be so much mutual pining between her and Levi as they both are dedicated to their duties with him fighting on the front lines as a Scout and with her navigating the political landscape and the nobility, neither can catch a break 😭 All whilst there’s an Ackerbond side plot on the side which doesn’t help with the pining lmao (yay for lore exploration!!) and some Paths fuckery going on because I’m HC-ing that Nuwa’s the first non-Eldian in history that an Ackerman has bonded to, which must have some interesting implications for how the bond itself works. I know the Ackerbond was technically disproven and that everything Eren said to Mikasa at the table scene was BS, BUT it’s such an interesting concept that I’m going to work with it anyway 😌😌 it’s fanfiction and I can do whatever I want LOL.

Oh yeah this ask game also includes snippets 😂😂 so here’s something I haven’t yet posted

“The ghost of his gentle touch haunted her incessantly. She was drunk on the long-gone sensation of his fingers softly tracing patterns into the small of her back. Such an achingly familiar memory belonged to a time lost to the ages, and she longed for nothing more than to rip apart the seams of time and space to feel him next to her once more.”

If you read through all this anon, thank you 😭I’m sorry this response to my ask was so long akskdkfk I just got excited!! You can check out more stuff about this fic here, though it’s largely out of date as some of my plans have changed since those updates - I’ll post some more stuff soon.

Ask me about my WIPs!

[uttraashadha]

Hi there hope you are having a wonderful day 💖

I have Atmakaraka Mars in 2nd in Libra and my mercury, venus and Jupiter are in 7 th in uttarabhadrapada nakshtara. Since I am a Virgo rising and my lagna lord is in 7th along with this stellium and Libra Atmakaraka. I can't stop wondering if majority of my chart talks about me being married and emphasize on marriage and partnerships? Can you help me with this.

(Please note, whatever interpretations I'll be making will be depending on the information and positions you have given me. As I dont know your whole chart. This interpretation can be a hit or miss kinda deal)

Nonono

Definitely 7th house placements dont only show about JUST relationships. Relationships is a big part of it yes. But not all of it.

I believe , yes there will be aspects to your life to how you manage yourself with others. How you work with others.

For me 7th house in a way presents the entire world or everything outside of YOU (Aries). Uttarabhadrapada are people who love to be the followers of law and order or atleast live by the rules of society without any issues. Libra, represents law and order. UttaraB, might not care enough to be this rebellion or make much changes but accept the society for what it is, and in return, society sees them and accepts them just as much. Tbh in today's society in my opinion it's interesting how UttaraB people look at things. They understand how stupid our world is and tbh they accept its flaws and then think of survival tactics within the world we live in. And I find this to be so intriguing. And Uttarabhadrapada,being so accepting of wickedness and weirdness can actually make good listeners lmao, and people just know it.

"If I go tell this person my weirdest story. They wont judge so hard and instead accept me <3."

And tbh to some Uttara B natives can instead give this relief to people who are in fear of constantly being judged. And even if they judge, it's not at extremes. And with your Jupiter, Venus being in there I believe it's a beautiful position. People might just love you.

Because you have a Stellium in 7th, your life will not just be about relationships but also about your expression and creation. You may get into justice field? Law? Or love to fight for others or if not fight more like, accept others and make them feel loved.

Your perspective on life would always be about looking at both sides.

You dont take sides of people just for the sake of relationships but instead you will take in side for WHATS RIGHT.

Now this may contradict in your case specially if your other placements are afflicted and your sense of self maybe a bit lost and you might have tendency to lose yourself in relationships. And hence you might do the opposite instead and only live by the relationships doesn't matter right or worng and doesn't matter how toxic. This can also lead you to be OVERLY accepting of toxic behaviours of people and let them treat you bad. So your sense of self and awareness is extremely important here.

Mars in 2nd, Libra

Again takes me on to the topic of your VALUES. I do heavily believe you're extremely creative and pls direct your energy into it as much as you can, you might sing or have beautiful voice.

I believe you're here to create, love, and accept.

And fight for what's right.

Its definitely not just about relationships. You're more than that and more beautiful than just that <3.

- shakti..💸

[archer3-13]

some manfred von karma HC's i guess:

- obviously comes from old money, and i mean VERY old money. that said they arent the richest of those kinds of families around so they make up for it in connections and social standing. as such the extended family are generally hellbent on being the best in whatever field they pursue.

- manfred has been stated as having been a lot more well intentioned to begin with but got bent as time went on. i would assume that he was never exactly pleasant though, haughty and full of himself in that assumption of inherent superiority kinda way. he was very interested in law and justice back in the day however, and took to prosecuting quite naturally out of a desire to send 'evil' down the river.

- however that desire also worked against him overtime as he got more experienced and importantly more jaded and full of himself. it was a black and white binary view on law in the end, that morphed into an arrogant and obsessive assumption that even being sent to trial was a crime worthy of punishment in of itself, which eventually morphed into his win at all costs mindset as he lost sight of justice and the truth entirely.

- now an established name hes pretty rightly feared as a walking demon capable of burning down anyone's career should they cross paths with him. and for a while that indomitable reputation holds. then gregory comes into the picture.

- theres the penalty on his perfect record obviously but theres also a mixture of other factors that lead to von karma making the choice he does. the trial being dragged out for a year, the embarrassments of being so blatantly caught on the backfoot, being taken to task by some no name podunk defense attorney, and not even being able to destroy the man in court as recompense. its a volatile cocktail that explodes just right with a little bit of confusion, exhaustion and pain into coldblooded and uncommonly impulsive murder to the methodical man.

- his reputation never quite recovers after his vacation. hes still feared as a demon attorney, and he does quite a lot to 'make up for the embarrassment' but theres always going to be that chink in his armour to remind people hes not that hot. his extend family have a tendency to needle him about this to his frustration.

- despite being an 'exemplary von karma', manfreds not very close with others in his extended family outside of the minimum obligations. part of it is how busy his work keeps him, part of it is how tiresome he finds most of them. he has a few exceptions such as his unseen sibling but even then hes clearly kind of stiff about it.

- met his wife later in life, around the peak of his career before dl-6. genuinely infatuated with her in his own way to the point of blowing off an arranged marriage, in part because he and his wife share a lot of hyper competitive and perfectionist behaviors. his wife is a well known police officer in his home country, which is how they met. and like him shes regarded as something of a terror with a shady as hell reputation [forging evidence together is so romantic]. following manfreds conviction shes put under a lot of scrutiny herself and eventually gets convicted as well, albeit not on murder charges.

- well hes a begrudging pride of the family, the von karmas generally pretend he doesnt exist after his conviction. in part because of embarrassment at him getting caught in part to save their own reputations.

- the extended von karma family generally hated edgeworth and questioned manfred on his adoption of the boy all the time. manfred for his part did the usual responsibilities of a parent but had a tendency to be distant to edgeworth, especially early on, treating their relation as more of a mentor student one then a parental one. the sheer stratospheric rise of edgeworths career is in part a testimony to manfreds ability as a mentor.

- never the warmest of people, he practically doted on Franziska by his standards especially because of how much later in life he and his wife had her. eventually acted a bit warmer to edgeworth in part because of Franziska's insistence.

- dislikes children's birthday parties but that wont stop him from throwing the perfect birthday party out of stubborn pride.

- loves to brag about the most innocuous of talents and things in other people. "my protegee edgeworth can whistle all manner of songs in perfect pitch, and yet he is not even a singer! that his the depths of his talent in all things!"

- to an extent the conviction came as something of a relief to the mental house of cards manfred had built. perfection, failure, the murder, the von karma name, now none of it would matter for however long he had left. in that manner it was the relief of being well and truly beaten for the first and last time.

[thatrandomartistjavi]

Listing the Aladdin characters that I think are autistic for Autism Acceptance Month

I'm only including the main characters of the musical. Cause Aladdin is a big franchise and I mainly hyperfixate on the musical. I first wrote all of these on paper cause I got a cool new notepad and wanted to use it. So yeah I'm just transferring stuff and changing some things from there. I first listed the things I notice from the actual show and then listed hcs I have. Some have more than others. But whatever, tis life. Anyway enjoy

Aladdin:

stimming by jumping and fidgeting with his bag

takes things literally

(K: Babkak's right! How about you share the wealth? A: The wealth? B: The dough? The kind that's been formed into a loaf and baked?)

slow at processing things

(A: So say I'm slow for my age. Also the scene before Friend Like Me.)

"My mother always said if I only applied myself, if I only believed-"

difficulty at lying

strong emotional reactions

one track mind

scripts

(The scene where he meets the royals was definitely scripted. Why do you think he failed miserably when Jasmine fought back? Cause it wasn't in the script he made in his head.)

feels disconnected from people

(mans only had 3 friends)

attention to detail

(A: I don't know. Solid gold earrings, satin cloak, not a speck of dust on her shoes.)

impulsivity

difficulty in social situations

imitation

(I originally put the dance break in Somebody's Got Your Back but that's a shit example[kinda]. The example I should've gone with was in Friend Like Me where Al, at random, imitates the movements of Genie and his back up dancers.)

difficulty focusing

HC:

has a special interest in the art of thievery

has no sense of personal space

fez is a comfort item

infodumps a lot

black-and-white morality

sensory issues with fabrics

masks really good

low empathy with people, high empathy with animals and inanimate objects

likes routines

Jasmine:

stroking her hair as a nervous stim

blunt way of speaking

sensory issues

(M: I don't know princess. For someone like you, the outside world might be kinda overwhelming.)

strong sense of justice and morality

strong emotional reactions

takes things literally

(A: Sorry, did I cross a line? J: No, the line was back there.)

impulsivity

meltdown

(J: Well, I'm not a child anymore!!)

avoids eye contact but also intense eye contact

feels disconnected from the world

(She, like Aladdin, only had 3 friends)

difficulty in social situations

difficulty with following rules/instructions

hyper-empathy

HC:

has a bunch of special interests like history, language, economics, tigers, books, and art.

infodumps a lot. more than Aladdin

declarative memory

her necklace is a comfort item

likes to stim by making circles under the water with her hand

difficulty with social cues

Iago:

slow at processing things

strong emotional reactions

(I: Girls get so moody over the smallest things! Chipped nails, bad hair, people murdering their BOYFRIEEEEEEEEEENDS!)

stimming through maniacal laughter

sensory issues

(I: No, not the dungeon! I'm very sensitive to mildew!).

low empathy

trouble with idioms

(I: Oooooo, you're so machiavellian! Whoever that is. [Don't worry I thought they were a person too Iago])

meltdown

(You can count him complaining about Jasmine a meltdown but also

When he hissed at the one of the guards trying to take him to the dungeon.)

attachment to an inanimate object

(Pee pee poo poo man's staff)

no volume control

overstimulation

(When Spooky Voice was like being loud, Iago put his hand on his head as if he's having a headache but also I: I just wanted to get the ball rolling! I can't be creative if I'm not in a safe space!)

echolalia and imitation

(Jf: The law clearly states that she must marry of royal blood and we are running out of princes. I: Running out of princes. Jf: It is a quandary, my lord. I: Quite a quandary. Quite a quandary! Jf: Really Iago?! Must you parrot everything I say! Also he imitates Genie's dancing after Prince Ali.)

HC:

special interest in knives, dark magic(courtesy of Jafucking bitch), and the violin

touch-aversed

Omar:

one track mind

(He got Al roses and baklava for Jasmine even after he said that he didn't need them)

hyper-empathy

stiff body language

strong emotional reactions

strong sense of morality

(O: Maybe we should all clean up our act. Everytime I pick a pocket, I feel awful.)

sensory issues

(His ears started to hurt because of his own singing so much so that Al had to soothe him for him to continue

awkward in big groups of people

whatever the fuck he's doing here

verbally stims

(He scats in the demo for Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim. Yes I'm counting that as a stim, fuck you.)

HC:

he likes pressure like

He would have a weighted blanket in modern times

special interest in literature, poetry, and flowers(thanks to his sister)

partially nonverbal

(By this I mean that he doesn't speak at times cause it's too much energy. He can speak full sentences fine, just that it takes a lot of energy. I didn't know how else to describe it. I considered saying he's selectively mute but selective mutism and autism aren't inherently linked. They can be comorbid but it's not really an autistic trait. Idk I just wanted to specify why I'm using that. Anyway moving on)

doesn't like to make eye contact

his comfort item is a bunny plushie that Genie gave him after returning from his world tour

I already mentioned sensory issues but I also wanna say that not only is it with noise but with food as well

shutsdown when really upset

also very prone to overstimulation

you know that necklace the gang have? well they're also chewable and Omar likes to chew on it as a way to stim

takes things literally

he likes rules/instructions so breaking them is a big fear of his and it's doubled cause of trauma

definitely daydreams a lot

he knows sign language to be able to understand his sister(she's nonverbal) so when he's too overwhelmed or tired to speak, he uses sign language

Hamed:

intense eye contact

difficulty focusing

(That scene where snake man is like trying to convince him to not have Jasmine marry anyone for definitely not notorious purposes, man is not listening to him AT ALL)

resistant to change

(H: We must uphold the ancient ways dearest.)

one track mind

blunt way of speaking

meltdown

(H: You think I don't know that! Now go to your room!)

can't read a room

comfortable clothes

(He legitimately wears the same outfit throughout the entire show)

uses his hands a lot when speaking

imitation

(Hamed does the foot tap when saying Prince Ali's name in the wedding)

HC:

his turban is a comfort item

he has a special interest in mechanics and toymaking

hyperfocuses a lot when making toys

stims through clapping

has a lot of sensory issues with noise, smell, and fabrics

scripts so much

CEO of masking

will infodump if asked

raptor hands!

difficulty at processing emotions

doesn't like being touched unprovoked, you must ask permission

has a lot of routines and will cry if you break them

intense fear of breaking rules

he switches from hyper-empathy to low empathy

emotional attachment to inanimate objects

very prone to overstimulation

You don't agree with this? Well then, keep it to yourself. I don't have the time and energy to debate. Hope you enjoyed all of this

[thedivinedemom]

An AU of DC with a mass crossover of PS4 properties.

Provisional name: Players Searching for Detectable Changes (Get the pun?)

The setup:

This is the future of DC, a world where the old guard has slowly withdrawn and the newer generations have risen to the occasion. The original Titans in particular, most of which have formed the new Justice League while many other, very similar teams had started to form across the world. One of which was a resurgence of the Teen Titans, led by an older and purified Raven. She wanted to make the Teen Titans something akin as it was for her, a place to belong and learn to use one's powers.

The first 'class' of such individuals include:

Stargirl (of the now-disbanded JSA and still getting used to the Starrod)

Blue Beetle III (Freshly attached to his alien symbiote and freaking out a bit)

Robin V (to work on his anger issues, mostly at the new Batman's request)

Kaldur (a half Atlantean half metahuman who is struggling with his identity and the surface world, Aquaman feels a kinship for the boy seeing their similarities)

Static Shock (a promising new hero but little experience working outside his city or in groups)

Mary Marvel (she's... she's going through alot. Fresh from a coma, her brother is distant as he acts as the new Wizard, and she may be, sorta kinda, being corrupted by Black Adam's gifted power)

The team was rough and there was plenty of head butting (Mostly between Stargirl and Robin/Damian as one is almost the unanimous leader while the other thinks he should be) but they were getting there. They were more of a clean up crew for the Justice League, they did more than the "kiddie missions" that the Outsiders didn't do, and they meant more than the PR grab that was the International team. Though they didn't seem to amount to more than that. They still did their best, pushing past the silent ridicule, as they went about their missions.

This may be why tempers were so high that day.

One day, outside a little city by the name of Weller's Point, the prisoner transport for the villain Plasmus had an "accident". Released and awakened the creature went on a rampage, heading ever closer to the populated area. Luckily, the mentor of the New Teen Titans could teleport. The new team did fairly well in the fight, though they did struggle a bit as Plasmus was not a being where simple brute force would work. It made the fight tricky and more than a bit... messy.

Messy enough that juvenile and emotionally compromised Mary Marvel lashed out against the downed villain but was stopped by her teammates... things escalated from there. Restraint turned blows and the whole team struggled to stop their powerhouse without hurting her. The ones who do the best are Raven, Stargirl, Blue Beetle, and oddly Static.

While both of the former could use their abilities to restrain her to a very effective degree Static was actively draining her of strength, or at least of the electic aura she was radiating and blasting with. Frustrated, done with the situation, and a bit petty Mary launched her largest attack yet by saying her magical word.

SHAZAM.

Virgil did what he did best, he handled that lightning as it came crashing down towards Mary and the Titans restraining her. Well, he tried. The bolt was just too powerful, too unlike anything he had ever encountered. He could not handle it and it was dissipating, if anything it clung to him or tried to jump towards the girl. He had to get rid of it and he had to get rid of it quickly, safely too if he could help it.

He shoved it into the ground, into the power lines. He did it as carefully as he could, trying to prevent overload or flashover as guided the charge into the power grid.

What happened next was a combination of a few things. 1. The Mystic and transformative properties of the Lightning, 2. It is effectively being filtered through a bang baby, 3. The kryptonite power plant owned by, provided by, and operated by Lexcorp.

This interaction, this new charge, cycling through the power grid interacted strangely with a number of devices but none more so than PlayStation 4s and the devices connected to them. This new electricity changed things, literally. It brought fantasy into reality.

Whatever game was loaded into became a part of our reality in a small way. Sometimes TVs, Controllers, and even the system changed to reflect items from the game but the bigger change came with the Players. If a person was playing their console during the surge then they would become a metahuman with abilities based on the playable character they were playing.

The city, the county even, was now flooded by an abundance of metahumans and items of varying power of devastation. Static felt horrible.

He couldn't help but compare what has happened here to what happened in Dakota City but on a wider scale. And this time it was his fault. His sense of responsibility wouldn't, couldn't, let that stand. He had to fix his mistake and his team was dragged along for the ride.

The story to follow is a mix of Final Crisis and Kingdom Come with a bit of the Young Justice cartoon in events and themes, a few twists and likely a bit lighter in tone but to the DC geeks this should give a rough idea… Maybe a bit of Marvel's Civil War but hopefully not the rushed knee-jerk mess that that ended up being.

But it's here that I start having issues with my planning. One part in worry as outside the set up we start to follow the perspective of OCs (something rarely smiled upon) and another part in wondering which OC to focus on.

Now, one thing I love in fiction is progressive powers and the conflict escalating from the different paths people take in said progression. In that vein, I have a pair of protags in mind as well.

The main two/co-protagonists:

The Lawkeeper- a cop before the change and now a member of a task force made up largely of those affected by the surge. A gamer, a man of color, and a believer of the spirit of the law. He doesn't always get along with his fellow officers but he believes in what the blue does. He believes that an organized response is what is best.

His abilities are based on those of Jesse Fades of Control. Meaning he has tremendous psychic potential but he needs 3 things to reach his full potential.

1.Items to bond to so he can generate these psychic abilities. Jesse's used altered items of her universe to get thematic abilities from them (ex: a safe to generate a shield, a carousel horse for a dash ability, ect). Here he can use items generated by the surge.

2. A patron/partner entity to help guide, give insights, and empower. It also let's the user enforce reality, basically becoming an anti reality warper.

3. A bonded morph weapon or a weapon to come to his hand when called.

The knight- a recent college graduate who instantly decided to go the route of the caped hero. She, after figuring out how to get her powers to work, instantly went the route of a caped crusader. Going out to the streets, saving lives, stopping instances of surge item abuse, and (in the humble opinion of the local Police Department) getting in the way of operations. In her opinion they were taking too long to get things done.

Her abilities are based on those of Prince Noctis of Final Fantasy XV. This means she has tremendous physical and magical potential but like the above she has a number of check marks needed to gain access to the character's full power.

1. A gem/crystal to draw power from.

2. 13 magical weapons to boost strength. The generated game weapons will do and I have most picked out in a way that likely would help the plot progress.

3. The blessing of 5-6 gods.

4. A power ring of some king to channel all this power.

I keep debating the two above as I do like the idea of both of them climbing in power and clashing over conflicting ideals of what to do with their power. At the same time, I think that just smooshing aspects of both into one (which is actually where they started, a single character) and play off the different ideologies of how best to help people from within her friend group and precinct along with internal conflict. Maybe have the one be a fellow officer they butt heads with because of the... precarious nature

Another OC I was thinking on, keeping with the theme of what to do when you have power, is a thief who played Persona 5. Like both of the above they would be crippled in their ability to use their abilities without a way to fake the connection to. In this case, without the Mementos App, they would need an item that could affect or enter the hearts of others. Luckily, more unlucky really, there are plenty of items floating around that can do just that. Namely Keyblades.

Most other Players are an odd mix but most are variations of the Shooter build. Peak physical humans who heal quickly and often have bullet time. But there are enough other variations to cause trouble. Demigods of unreal strength, men and women who can easily tap into a patron for powers from the outside, 2 variations of spider powers, cat eyed men and women who can cast magic with simple gestures, and so much more. But the real issue was the first two, the demigods without a parent to protect them and those easily connected to a divine source.

The disembodied New Gods of Apocalypse were very happy with those groups. For how bad this can be please look at what happened to Mary Marvel in canon Final Crisis.

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.