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#and i want to see more of my superpowered kids
fluentmoviequoter · 2 days
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Crushes Aren't Just for Kids
Pairing: Bruce Wayne x fem!JL!reader (Justice League Unlimited!Bruce)
Summary: When all adults are banished from earth, you join Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern in a unique fight to save the world. Along the way, some hidden feelings are revealed.
Warnings: spoilers/rewrite for Justice League Unlimited 1x3 "Kid's Stuff", fluff, mention of beheading, canon-level violence and action
Word Count: 3.1k+ words
A/N: I can't tell you how many times I've watched this show because Kevin Conroy's Batman in the DCAU tv shows is unmatched (and the kids who did the voice acting in this episode did phenomenally). I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!🤍
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You are in a unique position for several reasons. Being one of the only human members of the Justice League, you find yourself pushing yourself to be the best you can and ensuring that you can keep up with your superpowered teammates. Plus, you are one of the only people who knew Bruce Wayne before you knew Batman, and no matter how much he denies it, you knew after one look that the man under the cowl was none other than your favorite billionaire. When you first arrived on the Watchtower with your fellow vigilante, you wondered if any of the superheroes (especially those who had unique mind powers) could tell that you wanted to be more than fellow crime fighters with Batman. If they did, no one said anything, so your secret crush has remained secret as it grows stronger.
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“Bats,” you warn as you duck away from Cheetah’s claws.
Bruce flips away from Deadshot’s line of fire before rushing up beside him. He punches under his jaw, and you watch as Deadshot lifts Bruce off the ground. Bruce throws a batarang, and you slide away from them as Deadshot falls to the floor.
“Guess that’s a wrap,” Green Lantern says. At Bruce’s look, he adds, “Sorry. Been hanging out with Flash too much.”
“I don’t see how that’s a bad thing,” you tease.
You look away from John and see three police officers entering the vault. A pink wave follows them inside, and your eyes widen when the officers disappear. Bruce pulls you to his side as John creates a forcefield with his ring, but it fails nearly as quickly as it appears.
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When you open your eyes on a floating rock, you’re still tucked against Bruce’s side. You step back quickly and look around. Dozens of rocks surround you and each holds numerous people; adults only, you notice.
“It was judgment day,” Copper exclaims, “and- and we got sent to the bad place. The bad place!”
“Where else were you expecting to go?” you ask sarcastically.
“Snap out of it, Copper!” Cheetah demands as she slaps him.
“Yeah, calm down,” John calls. “We’re probably just in another dimension.”
“I don’t see any children,” Bruce says.
“You would be the one to notice,” you murmur. “It’s not a bad thing,” you add when he directs his bat glare at you.
“That’s because a child is responsible,” a woman wearing a mask interjects as she hovers above you.
“Morgaine Le Fay,” Bruce greets, though he’s prepared to fight rather than exchange niceties and introductions.
“Great, magic,” you mutter as you fall in line between Bruce and Diana.
“I mean you no harm,” Morgaine assures. “My son Mordred has wrought this treachery. Banishing all adults to this shadow realm.”
“Do you think Flash is here?” you whisper to John.
“50/50,” he answers.
“After I spent millennia feeding him, bathing him, preparing him to be a king,” Morgaine continues. “Where did I go wrong?”
“You’re a sorceress. Can’t you just undo his spell?” Diana asks.
“No. He’s got the amulet of first magic. He’s too powerful. But if we all work together…”
“You want us to defeat your own son?” Bruce clarifies.
“So don’t trust me. Let him rule the world and all your children. Here we will stay. Forever.”
“But what can we do? We’re stuck here, aren’t we?” Diana says.
“Please don’t say-“ you begin.
“Not exactly,” Morgaine answers.
“That,” you finish as your shoulders slump.
“The spell only banishes adults.”
“I don’t like where this is going,” you and John say together.
“It’s the only way,” Morgaine says.
“We have to do it,” Clark announces.
John exhales deeply, and you step back to be at Bruce’s side again. Magic has never been your preferred battle, and as Morgaine directs her spell at you and everything turns green, you clutch Bruce’s cape in your hand.
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When you arrive in Mordred’s amusement park-turned-kingdom, you’re ready to leave. Being turned into a kid again wasn’t exactly on your superhero bingo card, and as a human, you don’t bring much to the fight anyway.
“I hope this is temporary,” Bruce complains.
You look over at him and feel butterflies in your stomach. Despite de-aging, you still have a crush on Bruce, but it hits harder and faster. You tear your eyes away from him and try to calm your racing heart. Each moment you live as a kid, you’ll start acting more like one.
“You sound weird,” Clark says. “Whoa. So do I.”
Diana looks between Clark and John before straightening her shoulders. She towers over them and smiles. “I kind of like this.”
“Why are you squinting?” you ask John.
Bruce, Clark, and Diana look over after you ask, and you drop your eyes to avoid looking at Bruce again.
“I wore glasses as a kid. Guess I need ‘em again,” John answers.
A pair of oversized green glasses appear on his face, and he jumps in surprise. They’re nothing like what adult John would create, and you stifle a laugh at the sight of them.
“I didn’t even try to make these!” he exclaims.
Clark laughs as Bruce says, “I hope not.”
You pat John’s back as he focuses on making nicer glasses. Once he’s ready and Clark compliments his new look, Diana reminds you that you’re supposed to be looking for Mordred.
“Bet the little punk’s in there,” Bruce says.
He points to the castle looming in the distance and begins running. You run behind him and watch as Diana, Clark, and John fly past you.
“It’s not a race,” Bruce grumbles.
He speeds up, but you keep your pace and make it to the castle all the same. Despite the earlier teasing about John’s glasses, none of you have mentioned any differences between the kid and adult versions of one another. You’re thankful, though, because reliving your childhood is not your favorite pastime. When you enter the castle, you stay behind Bruce as he stands beside Diana.
“The Justice Babies!” Mordred calls before laughing.
“What are you laughing at, precious?” Bruce asks.
“Precious?” you repeat.
“You,” Mordred answers. “Mother sent you, didn’t she?”
“Maybe she wanted a chance to have a normal kid,” you taunt.
“She shouldn’t send a boy to do a man’s job,” Mordred tells Bruce.
He grabs the amulet, and you watch as a young boy’s toys come to life. They grow until they’re giant, and you stumble backward before running for cover. When Clark flies into one of them and is knocked to the floor, you begin questioning if it was truly a good idea to become kids to fight a boy with powerful magic.
“Bruce, batarang,” you request.
He hands you one before running toward Mordred. You wait for one of the toys to run toward you before sliding between its legs.
“I’ll make a laser cannon. No, a missile launcher,” John says above you. “Oh! Oh, I know.”
“Just pick something!” you and Bruce yell together.
You dig the batarang into the back of the toy’s leg and roll to the side as it collapses to the ground before disappearing. Bruce and John take one out, while Clark disables the other with his laser vision.
When you hear Bruce grunting and see him dangling from his cape in the grip of the last toy, you gasp and run toward him. Diana beats you there and catches him.
“You okay, tough guy?” she asks.
“Let go. I’m fine,” Bruce demands as he struggles to get out of her hold.
His shoulders drop and his cape surrounds him as he sulks. You don’t ask the same question Diana had but thank him for the batarang as he passes.
“That’s not fair,” Mordred complains.
“Get him!” Bruce calls.
You run behind Diana and aren’t surprised when you’re all encased in ice. Mordred is powerful, and you and your fellow “Justice Babies” seem to be forgetting that. When you fall into a dungeon and are freed from the ice, you scoot toward Bruce. One of the cells opens, and red eyes glow within. You clutch Bruce’s cape and watch as a small demon walks out.
“Etrigan?” Bruce asks.
He steps away from you, and his cape slips through your fingers. You stay behind John’s forcefield as Diana lifts Bruce out of the way of Etrigan’s flame. Diana has been closer to Bruce during this mission than usual, and the butterflies in your stomach start causing more pain than happiness as you wonder if they’ve been hiding feelings for one another in the Watchtower, too.
“Don’t hurt him!” Bruce yells as Clark pulls Etrigan away from you and John.
Etrigan bites Clark’s arm, and he calls, “Tell him that!”
“C’mere,” you tell Etrigan. You crouch to the floor and pull him into your arms. “Stop!”
He calms down, and Diana helps Bruce up as Etrigan cries. You look at Bruce and shrug.
“He’s just a baby,” Diana says.
“And he needs more than a hug,” John adds, waving his hand in front of his nose.
“Now, that is a job for Superman,” Bruce says.
Bruce takes Etrigan from your arms and passes him to Clark. When Bruce takes your hand to lead you out of the dungeon, you nearly trip over your own feet. You’ve never been more ready to grow up before, you think.
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Mordred’s new kingdom is comprised mostly of children doing what they were never allowed to do before. When you walk through the paths surrounding what used to be the center of the park, you are surrounded by children doing dangerous stunts and breaking rules.
“You two, knock that off!” Clark demands when he sees two boys playing with wooden swords.
“What are you gonna do? You’re just a kid,” they taunt.
Clark shoots a laser between them and answers, “I’m the kid with laser beams coming out of his eyes.”
“That’s just gonna scare them,” you interject before they run away screaming. “You can’t threaten kids the same way you threaten criminals.”
“Then what do we do?” John asks.
“Tattle,” Diana answers. She flies to an elevated area and yells, “That’s enough!”
Everyone freezes, and you find yourself reaching for Bruce.
“You can’t tell us what to do! You’re not our mom!” someone replies.
“No, but I promise you we will find all of your moms and I’m gonna tell!” Diana answers.
“Well, what should we do?”
“Go outside and wait for your parents. Now!” Diana demands with a hand on her hip.
“Man, your girlfriend sure is bossy,” John tells Bruce.
“Shut up,” he replies before leaving John’s side.
Those butterflies in your stomach become dead weight. You stall behind John, but he turns to look at you.
“You like Bruce,” he accuses.
“What? No!” you answer too quickly. “We’re friends.”
“Mmhmm.”
John gestures for you to come with him, and you follow Bruce together. You know that John knows more than he ever lets on, and if anyone found out about your crush, you suppose you should be glad that it’s the one who can keep a secret. Better him than Wally.
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“He’s almost asleep,” Diana whispers as you look into Mordred’s hideout. “We can take him.”
“I’ll make a lawnmower and chew him up,” John suggests.
“A lawnmower?” you repeat incredulously. “Why?”
“I say we get that amulet away from him first,” Bruce says. “We’ll split up and sneak behind him. Then Lantern can do his thing. But no mowers.”
“Why?” John questions.
“Because it’s stupid,” Clark answers.
“He’ll hear it, too,” you whisper with much more kindness than Clark.
“I guess I’ll go with Clark,” Diana says. “Unless I should go with you,” she tells Bruce.
“Whatever,” Bruce answers.
John sees your eyes drop and says, “Clark can go alone. I’ll go with Diana.”
You appreciate it but shake your head because you don’t want to be left alone with Bruce.
“Whatever,” Bruce repeats.
“Go,” John whispers.
You lead Bruce around the side of the cave, and John shakes his head as he watches you go.
“What’s with them?” Clark asks.
“Really?” Diana questions.
“Man, for somebody with fifty different kinds of vision you are so blind,” John responds.
“What?”
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“Is that a claw?” you ask Bruce as John tries to get the amulet.
“Unfortunately,” he answers.
He may be young, but his sarcasm hasn’t changed a bit. You lean against him when John’s claw wavers before disappearing. The amulet falls to Mordred’s chest, and Bruce moves you carefully as he calls, “Get the amulet!”
You join Bruce, Diana, Clark, and John in a failing attempt to hold Mordred down and take the amulet. He uses his magic to grow and throws Bruce and Diana off of him before standing. A young girl is standing nearby, and you take her hand to lead her to safety as the others fight Mordred.
“Bats!” you yell, just as you had as an adult this morning.
Bruce looks back and sees the living gargoyle chasing him and John and directs John toward a small bridge.
“Close the door!” you yell as Bruce enters the castle.
Diana closes and locks the door behind him, and you listen to John come up with complicated plans to stop Mordred as Bruce thinks.
“Forget it!” Bruce calls after John mentions giant handcuffs. “We’ve got to focus on…” Bruce’s eyes lock with yours and he says, “Never mind what I just said. We’ll take care of everything else. Lantern, you go crazy.”
“What are you going to do?” you ask.
“It’s time for all of us to grow up,” Bruce answers.
He takes your hand before running toward another area of the kingdom. Your butterflies begin reviving, and you wonder if anything will be the same after this.
“Go!” he yells to Clark.
Clark pulls the amulet from Mordred’s neck while he’s distracted by John before tossing it to Bruce.
“This is the most dangerous game of keep away I’ve ever played,” you yell as you take the amulet from Bruce and run it to Diana. Diana throws it to Etrigan, and you flinch when he bites into it. The wave of purple magic that escapes it is unsettling, but you don’t take your eyes off Mordred.
“I already absorbed too much of the amulet’s power,” Mordred says as he stands.
He uses his magic to suspend all of you, and Etrigan, upside down in the air. He pulls a sword from a nearby stone, and it turns purple before reappearing as a curved blade.
“I’ll take care of my kingly duty myself,” he declares.
“Is he really going to behead us in an amusement park?” you ask with your arms crossed over your chest.
“I’m scared,” the girl you helped earlier says. “I want my mommy.”
Mordred lowers his blade to say, “You don’t need a mommy. You’re better off without one. Trust me.”
“Ooh, mommy issues,” John muses. “Those ain’t easy.”
The girl begins crying and Clark taunts, “Some king.”
“I’m not impressed,” Diana agrees.
“What’d you expect? He’s a boy doing a man’s job,” Bruce finishes.
“You don’t know what it’s like being stuck as a kid,” Mordred says.
“Since you’ve had all that power, you could have been a man anytime you wanted. I think you’re too chicken to grow up.”
“Yep, big chicken. That’s what you are,” John agrees, flapping his arms like wings. “Bock, bock.”
“Face it, precious,” Bruce continues. “You like being a little mama’s boy.”
“I’ll show you!” Mordred yells. “I’ll show you all.”
“Sure, you will,” you agree with an eye roll.
“And when I am a true kind, I’ll start with the human!” Mordred adds, pointing to you.
Bruce looks at you, but you keep your eyes on Mordred as he spreads his arms and is surrounded by purple ribbons of magic. Etrigan claps as Mordred’s spell spreads, and he reappears as a man.
“I’m older than you now,” Mordred says as he turns to face you.
The magic released his spell, and you catch yourself as you fall from the air.
“You sure are,” Bruce says.
Mordred disappears, banished by his own spell. As an adult, he couldn’t stay, and now you can only wait until Morgaine does her part. Bruce steps to your side and you turn your face toward him.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yes,” you answer just before Morgaine appears.
“A bargain is a bargain,” she says as she waves her hand before you.
The spell is lifted, and you are an adult again in only a second. You hadn’t prepared for the change in size however and are pressed against Bruce’s chest with the sudden growth. He makes no move to get space from you, though.
“Mommy,” Etrigan coos at Diana.
She drops him and steps back. You chuckle at the scene and Diana looks at you with furrowed brows before smiling and rolling her eyes.
Morgaine opens a portal, and Bruce places a hand on your hip as he steps around you.
“Wait,” he calls. “What happened to Mordred?”
“My spell gave him eternal youth but now that he’s broken it all he has is eternal life,” she answers.
“Circumstances aside, it was kind of enjoyable to be a kid again,” Diana says.
You walk to Bruce’s side and watch the happy reunions of children with their parents.
“I’m sorry,” you offer softly.
“For what?” he asks.
“You just- you didn’t get to be a kid like the rest of us.”
“Perhaps Diana was right. It wasn’t completely unenjoyable.”
He turns toward you, and his arm is pressed to your shoulder.
“You’re telling me the big, bad bat had a little bit of fun?” you tease.
“You never talk about your childhood,” he deflects. “So, I’m sorry if this brought up bad memories.”
“Just dead butterflies,” you answer.
Bruce glares at you, but it’s the one unique to when he’s reading you.
“Is that why Lantern sent us off alone together?”
You look down as you nod.
“My butterflies are alive and well, and happy to wait for you,” Bruce murmurs.
“Butterflies or bats?” you ask.
“Should we be having this conversation in an amusement park?”
“You’re right. Let’s go to Metropolis and make the cover of the Daily Planet so Clark has to write all about it.”
Bruce sighs, but he takes your hand as he leads you outside the amusement park. He presses a button on his utility belt and the Batmobile pulls up a moment later.
“Bruce,” you say once you’re inside. “You were a really cute kid.”
“You were really bad at eye contact,” Bruce counters. “Or was that just with me?”
“I guess crushes aren’t just for kids,” you muse.
“Maybe Diana will stop pestering me to ask you out now.”
You nod as you watch the road before you. It takes a moment, but you finally understand what Bruce just said.
“What?”
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mcflymemes · 1 month
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PROMPTS FOR CURIOUS HYPOTHETICALS *  assorted dialogue, adjust as necessary
do you think you would have liked me if we met back then?
if i asked you to marry me... right now... what would you say?
could you ever imagine us together?
what if we're not meant to survive this?
if you found out you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?
what if your life went differently? where do you think you'd be?
i bet we would have been best friends as kids.
could you imagine a world like that?
would you say yes if i asked you on a date?
what if only one of us gets out?
i wish we'd dated sooner.
what if they don't like me?
what superpower would you choose, if you had to pick one?
i wonder what that would be like.
i bet we'd be married by now, if things had gone differently.
i'll never stop considering the "what-ifs."
have you ever pictured us as a couple?
what does your perfect future look like?
do you think you might see me as more than a friend?
ever thought about the future?
what if we're not meant to be together?
but what if there's only one bed? what then?
if we get through this, what's the first thing we should do?
where do you see yourself in ten years?
if a higher power exists... i wonder what they think of us.
maybe we could try going on a date. see what happens.
i've always wondered if you'd ever look my way.
what words would [name] use to describe you?
what would be your strategy for an apocalypse?
could you ever see me as something more?
if we ever make it out of here, where will we go?
what do you think lies ahead?
what if i'm not meant to do this?
if we get trapped, we need to come up with a plan.
have you ever wondered what our kids would look like?
is there more to life than this?
do you ever wish we'd met each other sooner?
i always wonder what would have happened.
if you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?
if you could snap your fingers right now and be anywhere you want, where would you pick?
do you think we have any chance of surviving this?
i'm trying to picture a world where we get through this in one piece.
what if this doesn't end well?
what if we get stuck there?
if a genie gave you three wishes, what would you ask for?
what if everyone stares at me?
what if i'm not cut out for this?
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after the events of season 4, steve just wanting SO BADLY to be friends with eddie. just LOVING the idea of them getting closer and having eddie as a friend because hell yeah! a close male friendship with someone that is actually my age, and who i don’t have a weird history with involving bruised eyes and love triangles? count me IN! and eddie is FUN, he is actually hilarious! the way they share the same glances of understanding when dustin is being an absolute shit head, rambling on and on about some obscure topic, expecting everyone to always be on the exact same page as him. of course. and, although steve suspects that eddie actually probably is keeping up with everything dustin says, much better than he ever could, he knows that above it all eddie can appreciate the antics for what they are, and roll his eyes with steve at dustin, i concur, you dustin henderson, are a total butthead.
steve just about junps RIGHT IN to being friends with eddie. hey man, what’cha up to tonight? wanna watch a movie? get drunk, smoke a bit? hey eddie, how have you been, man? he starts calling eddie up on the phone regularly just to check in, shoot the shit, he loves it! he loves having this new friendship with eddie munson and he loves how much the other boy has surprised him with how much he actually enjoys being around him. he’s not a freak, really, well ok maybe he is a little bit, but only in the best ways. he’s kind, thoughtful, and is always looking out for the people he cares about, which is something steve can really respect in a dude. but he’s also so funny? steve never could’ve anticipated just how much eddie has managed to make him genuinely LAUGH over their short amount of time spent together. and he’s really, out there? with the way he presents himself, the way he takes up space with these big THEATRICAL movements, leaving no room for regret or shame or god forbid embarrassment. steve isn’t even sure munson is capable of feeling it at all.
eddie munson is a good dude, and steve could use a bit more of that kind of person around him. he loves all of his friends, the weird little bonded family he’s found himself apart of, and they are all good people, but it never hurts to have afew more added in here and there. it never hurts to know there are more good people out there to find.
so steve is all over eddie, it seems.
at least, from where eddie is standing. nobody else seems as phased as eddie does at this sudden change in steve’s demeanour, in his interest in what eddie munson spends his time doing these days. it seems like, to everyone else, to steve, it’s just a natural progression in their relationship, after being sort of role model figures to the same group of kids, both being the two single dudes, who fought the same monsters together last spring, it seems nobody questions too much that they’d start casually hanging around eachother more. especially since eddie has found himself to fit into his own special spot as one of the group now after it all, after he unwillingly became tangled in this whole upsidedown-superpowers-supernatural-monsters and demons debacle, and tangled quite dramatically at that, the rest of the group that’s been with this since the beginning seemed to find no trouble in taking him in and seeing him as “one of them” now.
so, steve asking eddie to smoke, to watch movies, to go for a drive with no real end destination, it’s not really something that earns them too many double takes. dustin makes a comment or two in the beginning, because steve since when did you like hanging out with eddie? you guys are like so opposite, you don’t like any of the same stuff he does? and steve barely gives a shrug and a dismissive yeah yeah whatever man in response, with a signature eye roll, and dustin had said it seemingly also not too seriously, poking fun at steve wherever he can, not really meaning anything by it, as he fidgets around and rambles in the backseat of steve’s car, eddie riding up front. after that, though, he’s dropped it. it’s never brought up again. part of eddie thinks, too, that dustin would actually be enjoying that his two older friends are becoming friends themselves.
robin seems to be the only other person to look a bit harder at their situation, lingering stares at their interactions, all squinted eyes and eyebrows raised, though from her all this seems to be almost always and only ever directed at steve. eddie’s not sure what to make of that. isn’t he the weird one? i mean, he’s the one that stands out, right? he’s the odd denominator that makes their friendship strange. why would steve harrington want to hang out with Him? HIM? but robin doesn’t spend her time studying eddie to try and search for what about him could possibly have piqued the interest of cherished steven harrington, no, shes always looking at steve. like she’s seeing him differently, almost. eddie doesn’t even think that steve notices it, either, because he doesn’t seem to be questioning or doubting anything odd or strange or out of the ordinary with their newfound time spent together. and maybe, maybe robin is seeing him differently. eddie knows he definitely has been. seeing him more, intensely. deeply. human. seeing the person that steve is, as just steve, not this idealised version of a boy that eddies starting to question ever really even existed at all, or if everyone around him just needed to believe that he did, and who was steve if not happy to comply to the wants of the people around him for who he should be?
eddie likes having steve as his friend, too. don’t get it twisted. he loves how unexpectedly expressive steve is about everything, even really small things. steve LOVES to raise his voice, rest a hand on his popped hip, scolding the kids for something stupid with no real heat or malice behind it. and steve is, like, kinda bitchy too. eddie knew he had the capacity to be a real asshole when he wanted to be, that’s all he knew steve for back in the day, when he was back in high school, hanging around tommy h and the basketball boys, the jocks. eddie would spend his days hearing only whispers and gossip in the hallways of the parties at king steve’s house and the fights king steve had started and won on the court or out in the fields, only ever getting as close as a shove into a locker with the guy at the time, but eddie knew how it could go. he knew all about what steve had done to jonathan, what he’d said to him, the words he’d used. eddie knew it all. he’d seen enough, and been through enough himself, to know how these guys acted in response to guys like him, like jonathan, people who were lower on the social food chain. so, eddie knew about steve’s “mean streak”, if you will, but this kind of snarky bitchiness was something new to him. harrington was almost, sassy, when he wanted to be. it was less so cruel and more just, just sass. if he’s being completely honest it kind of blew eddie away, at first. he thought steve was one of those dull headed jocks who thought with their fists more than their actual brains, but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. steve’s insults were well thought out, they were FUNNY, he was smart with his words. and silly. oh my god steve harrington could be so fucking silly, real honest to god goofball when the moment called for it, when he felt comfortable enough. eddie had caught on multiple occasions steve mimicking lightsabers to play fight with dustin, or the stupid fucking shit he would do or say just to make robin laugh, singing along to a song playing on the radio with a funny voice.
it was all a little, intoxicating, to watch. eddie didn’t know what gave him the right to be in on this now, to get to see this side of steve and better yet to be at the other end of some of his best qualities. it was fun, all the time they spent together, but there was always something else tugging inside eddie everytime they spent close time together, too. something, he knew steve wasn’t aware of. something he knew steve wasn’t equipped to deal with. something he knew, was him. was him, making things something more than they should be, because, nobody seemed to be questioning that they could become friends, so why ruin that? why disrupt it?
- robin and steve
“Steve.”
“-but then like, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to watch it I just thought, hey, y’know, let’s try something different for a change, but then he- oh my god he honest to god TACKLED ME Robin — I mean, it was so fucking funny and it happened so quick — and all over a fucking Tom Cruise movie-“
“STEVE.” Robin lightly slammed a hand onto the counter. She had been standing behind it for no short of 20 minutes, watching Steve as he paced around, supposed to be stacking tapes onto shelves, but ended up spending the whole time going on and on, and ON, about how movie night went with Eddie last night. She thought she was bad…
Steve jumped, almost running into a shelf and knocking down his hard work, and seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had found himself in after starting to tell Robin a story about something funny Eddie had done last night.
“Shit, sorry. Sorry, what were you saying? Were you- were you saying something?”
To this, Robin just rolls her eyes and let’s out a laugh, “You, sir, are goddamn hopeless.”
“Sorry. How long was I talking for?” Steve wandered his way over to lean his arms onto the counter from the opposite side.
“Oh, I dunno Steve, just about half an HOUR?”
“That is an over exaggeration Robin, it’s only been like-“
“Honestly, man, i’m concerned for you. You are like next level OBSESSED with Eddie. Eddie Munson. You do realise this right??? You are obsessed with him, Steve.”
To this Steve sputters, lazily waving his hands back and forth.
“No, Robin, what the hell are you talking about? I am not OBSESSED. No need to be jealous, alright, Stevie-Boy here can have more than one friend. Your spot in my heart isn’t any less special now that it’s beginning to be shared by another.” He bats his eyelashes up at her, holding both hands over his chest as if to cradle his heart.
“Oh my GOD! You even SOUND LIKE HIM!”, she playfully slaps his shoulder. “Steve. You are obsessed.”
“I am not obsessed! He’s just a really great guy, alright-“
“Blah blah, yep whatever you say, lover boy.” Robin quips, plopping down onto the chair chair infront of their staff computer, turning herself to face it.
“Wha- what? Lover boy? What the hell Robin, that is not- that doesn’t even make any sense!”
She is just smiling at him now, enjoying seeing him spiral like this. Steve let’s out a sigh as he puts his hands on his hips, and shakes his head, looking at her right back.
He opens and closes his mouth afew times, like he’s really thinking about what he wants to say next. Or like he has no idea what to say next, and his brain is not moving fast enough to formulate the next sentence his mouth knows he wants to say. He wasn’t obsessed. That’s not- that’s like- no. No he was not, Robin was just playing around with him, she knew how to get on his nerves. Get him all wound up over little things just to see him react like this.
After a minute or two, Robin realises Steve was not going to reply anytime soon, so she turns fully back toward him. Saving him from his spiral.
“So, what are you’re plans for tonight Steve-O?”
He lets out a chuckle and walks around the counter till he’s behind it with Robin, leaning his back against it so he can stand across from her and face her.
“Well, not really sure. Parents aren’t home, no early shift tomorrow, might drink afew beers, listen to some music, —“
“See what Eddie’s doin?” Robin finishes for him, quirking her eyebrows up and down as she does it.
“Oh shut up!” Steve just laughs and softly throws a tape from the counter at her chest. “As a matter of fact, yeah I will see what he’s up to. Because we are friends now, Robin. Is that a problem? Actually I was also gonna ask you what you were up to after work, too, but you know what after this I’m having second thoughts, I mean, the way you’ve been treating me lately-“
“Oh my god, you are the worst. Yes, I’m free, of course I’ll hang out with you dingus. You and your tweedle dee.”
Steve laughs at this, then tilts his head.
“Wait, does that make me dumb? Tweedle dumb?! That’s how you see me?”
“Yeah it is actually, got a problem?”
“Oh wow, she’s feisty today. Can’t believe you think I’m dumb, Rob’s. When you come knockin’ tonight, do not expect a warm greeting at my front door.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll take my chances.”
- later. steve’s house. to be continued?
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Text
MY LONG AWAITED SUCCESS STORY PLUS RANT/YALL NEED THIS STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND READ
First things first
I’m tired of being nice
I have took time out of MY day to help you guys
EVERY DAY
I have given tips methods
Advice answered questions
Replied to countless amounts of DMs
Etc etc I’m not providing false hope here I AM trying to help you guys
I’m getting so many different suggestions and asks
Let me say this
STOP
from now on
No more questions
If it’s urgent
Like you really wanna know something
DM me
I WILL respond
No more questions asking how to enter the void
My account is literally talking about HOW TO ENTER THE VOID STATE
Are instructions not clear?????
Get off your butt and fucking do it!!!!
Stop procrastinating stop being lazy stop asking questions you spreads know the answers to
And for the love of God
STOP ASKING ME TO ENTER FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!
I’m doing what I can to help you all manifest
But it’s YOUR job to make it happen
Y’all used my kindness against me and it’s pissing me off I’m tired of people not even asking anymore
Just begging me
I AM NOT A MAGICIAN
I was literally YOU
not too long ago
I am a nice person but I am at my limits
Stop repeating questions
Look at my page for the answers you need
Stop asking me to enter for you
If it’s not happening
DM me for ADVICE
I used to be the kid that got asked by others to do their homework for them
If I didn’t put my foot down
Y’all were gonna drive me insane
Literally
I love y’all but stop depending on me
Just ask
For advice
But stop treating me like a Genie
And I manifested for someone and it doesn’t work
Then what
Am I a liar now???
Am I fake??
Like are you serious
Bruh I’m serious when I say
I’ve had enough
Read this story to see how YOU CAN ALSO
Transform your life
I literally went from
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️
I went from slitting my own wrists and going in my closet trying to hang myself EVERY FUCKING NIGHT
I used to stare in the mirror
Crying about how my body looked
I used to go to school scared because I was getting abused by guys there and bullied by girls
All my friends turned their backs on me and I literally said
FUCK IT
I don’t deserve this fucking life so you know what I did????
I changed it
It’s so easy it’s insane
I too over complicated it
I too was desperate
But your desires are yours
They just are
Ignore them MF negative thoughts
Matter of a fact don’t even call it that
You are giving your “intrusive” thoughts power by saying they are negative
Don’t label them as intrusive thoughts
THEY DO NOT EXIST
THEY WILL NEVER MANIFEST
And I’m not just saying that it’s true
It’s soooo fucking true
By labeling them as “intrusive” or “negative” you’re giving them power
To take over and control your life
When this is not what you want
Don’t fear your own head
Bitch it’s YOUR BRAIN
It can’t NOT listen to you
Change your goddamn assumptions
You are a bad bitch you’re hot beautiful
You’re THAT bitch
Bad bitches don’t beg we make shit happen
Get off your cute ass and go get your dream fucking life
Bitch you can have it all
You can marry Shawn Mendez
Be the sexiest model on the planet (but you’re only 5’3) OK ANDDDDD
Marissa Rose is the first 4’11 runway model
You mean to tell me it’s not possible???
They have plus size models
Shirt models
Models with tig ol biddies
Models with tattoos models with piercings models with scars etc
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
You can get a call back from that job
Better yet fuck 9 to 5s
Bitch YOU ARE RICH
You are literally Jeff Bezos
Don’t manifest “small shit” cuz if you can get an apartment and a job
You can also manifest $100 million and 2500 square feet mansion
You can have superpowers
You can be a master manifestor
You can become a celebrity and overnight
You can meet your favorite celebrities at awards shows
You can sit next to Ice Spice at the Grammys
EVEN SHE MANIFESTED HER DREAM LIFE
There’s proof in her old tweets and in your interviews
YOU CAN HAVE HARRY STYLES TICKETS FOR WHENEVER HE DECIDES TO DROP AN ALBUM
YOU CAN BE THE NEXT BEYONCÉ
YOU CAN MEET OR EVEN PERFORM WITH TAYLOR SWIFT
YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOU WANT
YOU CAN SHIFT TO ANOTHER REALITY AND MEET MICHAEL JACKSON
YOU CAN HAVE THE SINGING VOICE OF AALIYAH OR MF MARIAH CAREY
YOU CAN MANIFEST THAT YOUR DOG NEVER DIED OR THAT
YOUR EX STILL MISSES YOU
KANYE WEST MANIFESTED KIM K
TOM HOLLAND MANIFESTED ZENDAYA
YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU CANT HAVE
MICHAEL B JORDAN WAITING ON YOU HAND AND FOOT????
YOU CAN ENTER THE VOID MANIFEST YOUR Sp
AND WAKE UP NEXT TO YOUR CRUSH
YOU CAN MANIFEST BEING IMMUNE TO BAD SHIT BEING A GODDESS BEING SO BEAUTIFUL THAT PEOPLE FORGET MEGAN FOX EXISTS
YOU CAN MANIFEST LOOKING LIKE MARILYN MONROE
OR MADISON BEER
YOU CAN MANIFEST TALENT
BITCH ITS ALL POSSIBLE
You OWN THIS SHIT THIS IS YOUR LIFE BOO
Go fucking get it!!!!!!!
SUCCESS STORY
I was tired of own shit so I used the method that I created
I already posted it
Go read it
Here’s what I manifested
1. SP
I manifested a girlfriend because I’m bisexual asf
And I created her on my phone
Just write if list of what she looks and acts like
I manifested my dream career
I manifested platonic SPs
As in friendships
Money
A strong intuition
More knowledge
A better self concept
Immunity
The ability to hypnotize with my eyes(OK I HAVENT TESTED THIS OUT BUT IM EXCITED TO)
Meeting a celebrity
Can’t say who but I manifested it for the future
I even got pets now!!! A puppy two kittens and two snakes!!
I manifested lots of cool talents
I improved my dancing!!!!!!
I was insecure about my voice
So I changed it
Deadass I sound kinda sexy now
I wanted a whispery ass voice😭😭
So I got oneeee
I also manifested a LOT of personal stuff that I won’t share
Unfortunately I’m SUPER protective of my soul and just overall self
And I’m not posting a face reveal
This might seem surprising to most
My passive aggressive behavior but this is literally how I am daily
I really am nice but y’all just make me ANXIOUS
But still
I love you darlings soooo much
Like for real
But please just pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Don’t make me your wish granter
Make your own wishes come true
If it’s cool with y’all
I’ll manifest tonight
That entering the void will be easy for you guys
But you HAVE to do it yourself I can only guide you
You got this babe
If you got offended it’s working
That means you needed this
Take this tough love and go use it for good
I better see some goddamn success stories this month or we gon fight
(Not literally that’s just my humor talking)
Love you bitches
Now go meditate before I appear under your bed tonight and yank yo shit
Love youuuu💗💗💗💗💗
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deakyjoe · 1 year
Text
Stormy Skies
Tumblr media
Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader (no pronouns used I think)
Category: friends to lovers
Summary: Din breaks you out of an Imperial prison (loosely based on chapter 15).
Warnings: angst, fluff, touched-starved Din, helmet is off, prison, nasty guards, restraints, bad men, talks of death, separation, loose implication of what bad men can do, pet names (cyar’ika), canon-divergence (I guess??), when I say loosely based I mean very loosely based
Word count: 5.5k
A/N: Sad, brown-eyed, pathetic love of my life. (He's not pathetic but I’ll make him pathetic.) Din is slightly out of character but only because he's head over heels in love and feeling all soft and squishy inside about it. He's also a little insecure. Poor guy. It's purposefully ambiguous about how long reader has been imprisoned, so guess however long you'd like.
Consider buying me a coffee :)
It took three weeks, four days, sixteen hours and twenty two minutes before you realised that the inside of this Imperial prison would be the only thing you saw for the foreseeable future. The three walls and one row of bars now being your home. After that you resigned yourself to the idea that you'd be there forever so you stopped counting the days, the weeks, the... months? You didn't know how long you'd been there and you didn't want to know how long either.
All you knew is that you wanted to leave. Not because you were scared of death or scared of never seeing the outside world again. But because you missed two very important people in your life. The big, scary Mandalorian who had hired you just under a year ago as his mechanic and his strange green son who had weird superpowers who you sometimes babysat. The both of them meant the world to you and the idea of never seeing them again hurt you. You feared for the child's life as he had also been taken at the same time as you but had been imprisoned elsewhere, probably to be experimented on. And you feared for the state of your Mandalorian who would be lost without his kid.
"Food."
The announcement made your stomach lurch as it knocked you out of your thoughts. A small plate, with a pile of something in the middle, was pushed into your cell - probably the most unappealing thing in the galaxy but your only source of nutrition. Your mind strayed to nicer things as you desperately tried to ignore the revolting taste.
You thought of days spent in the Razor Crest, your Mandalorian's ship, as the three of you travelled from planet to planet in order for bounties to be collected. The memories of attempting to teach the child to speak some words in Basic but only getting baby babbling in response, it didn't matter as his eyes always shone as if he knew what you were saying to him.
You ached for your clan of three to be reunited, but realistically you knew that was unlikely. If anything, you just wanted Grogu to be safe. Back with Din and safe. And there was no place safer for him than under the care of Din Djarin.
A guard walking into your cell had you scrambling back against the wall as he took your plate from you and laughed, slightly muffled by his helmet. He kicked at the chain bound around your feet and walked out again, locking the bars behind him.
He was your least favourite of everyone who served in your section of the prison. He didn't seem to like you very much, and wasn't afraid to show it. You feared that one day he'd use the power he had over you to do something awful. So, for now, you tried to play as nice as possible with him.
The sound of low chattering caught your attention, the unmistakable noise of Stormtrooper armour bashing against itself making its way down the corridor. Plastic against plastic made an unbearable racket. You looked up to peek through the bars of your cell and crawled towards the sound, hoping that they weren't coming for you. If you could guess from the sound of them alone, you'd say there were about three or four of them. Definitely more than two and probably less than five.
Your assumption was proven correct when three Troopers turned the corner at the end of the hallway. One was clearly in charge, leading the other two. You thought his name was... you didn't know actually. And you didn't care either. But he was their superior. But the other two... They were low ranking officers, obvious by their uniform and the way they looked around as if they'd never seen the inside of a prison before. Maybe it was their first day on the job? Boy, were they in for a surprise.
The bald one seemed vaguely familiar, although he looked like pretty much any other guy in the galaxy so you didn't dwell on it too much. The other one, however, held no resemblance to anyone you'd ever seen before. He had sad eyes.  That was the first thing you noticed about him. Sad, brown eyes. Along with a strong nose that matched his face. Golden skin. And messy hair along with unkempt facial hair. Very un-Trooperish. You wondered how he managed to get away with it. He was rather beautiful to look at. You pushed the thought away with a reminder of what he was - Empire.
As they got closer, you began to overhear their conversation. They were talking about some battle that had been fought a while ago, lots of soldiers lost. Baldy appeared mildly upset as he disclosed that some of his friends had died. Brown eyes wasn't listening and clearly searching for something. And he seemed to find it when his eyes landed on you.
He paused for the smallest fraction of a second before he carried on walking with the other two. He stared at you but you didn't back down, staring right back through the cell bars. You wouldn't let a Trooper intimidate you, especially not a new one. A sense of achievement hit you when he finally looked away, swallowing thickly and averting his gaze as far away from you as possible. He nudged the bald guy next to him with his elbow and tilted his head in your direction.
What the fuck did these guys want with you? You shivered at the thought, a million horrifying ideas running through your brain. You relaxed slightly when they disappeared around the next corner.
The rest of the day passed slowly, as they all did, and soon enough the lights were going out and all prisoners were warned to stay silent for the next few hours. You shifted to get your body in the most comfortable position possible, pretty difficult when you had chains restraining your limbs, and laid down, resting your head in the crook of your elbow.
You drifted off easily, the low drone of the power running through the walls and the floor lulling you to sleep. With nothing to do all day, zero access to natural light and limited portions of food you were tired all of the time. And the little energy you had was reserved for keeping your defences up when guards entered your cell on rare occasions.
Your dreams were full of Din and Grogu, as usual, and you often wondered during your conscious moments whether your brain was reminding you of happy moments to keep you sane or telling you what you'd had and what you'd lost as a way of punishing you.
What you didn't expect was to be awoken a short time later by your cell door being unlocked, the clanging of the metal shocking you out of your dreams. You sat up instantly, freezing when two looming figures walked in, whispering to each other in hushed tones.
The two Troopers from earlier.
You felt sick.
They were both wearing their helmets now and their heads snapped towards you when your chain scraped across the floor painfully. The broader one, who seemed to be leading the team of two, stalked towards you slowly.
"No, no, no, no!" You kicked at him as he went for your ankles trying, and failing, to fight him off. The breath spilling from your lungs was panicked as you failed to notice the other guy groaning and sticking his arms out to tell you to be quiet.
Your name came through the Trooper helmet in a familiar, reassuring voice. It was Din. Your Mandalorian. You'd never felt such a sense of relief race through your body as you relaxed underneath his touch.
"Mando?" You avoided using his real name around other people, as you'd agreed when he first told you. It was a small price for such a wonderful gift. His name. "You're here. You came for me?"
"Yes." He fumbled with your restraints, managing to get the ones off your ankles and moving to the ones on your wrists.
You looked at the other guy who had slipped his helmet off at some point. The bald guy. "Hang on. I saw you earlier. You walked through here with that guy in charge and-" Your eyes snapped back to Din. "That was you."
He was looking at you through the helmet, you could tell. "Come on, we don't have much time."
"B-but... you... your face." Your voice was weak, mind scrambling back to the memory of him. Brown eyes. Sad eyes. Messy hair. Unkempt facial hair. Strong nose. Golden skin. Beautiful.
He faltered. "I know. I did what had to be done."
"You broke your creed." You were almost crying. "To save me."
Hesitation. "Yes, of course. Come on."
The shackles finally fell from your wrists and you launched yourself at him, embracing him even if you were in a life or death situation.
"Thank you."
He seemed uncertain at the gesture as his arms slowly wrapped around your waist. "You don't have to thank me."
You pulled away quickly, not wanting to push it and make him uncomfortable. "Yes, I do." Looking back at the bald guy as you stood up, you squinted at him. "You're familiar."
"Mayfeld." He had a smirk on his face as he watched the interaction between you and Din, sticking out his hand in greeting but you ignored it. "You're welcome for this, by the way. I'm the main reason we're here right now saving you."
His name reminded you of who he was, a scowl settling over your face. "I appreciate it. But we're not out yet. They have people guarding everywhere. And I mean everywhere."
"It won't be a problem." Din's voice was low as he straightened up.
"How do you know so much about this place, hm?" Mayfeld asked you, stepping slightly closer.
"I may have attempted an escape... once or twice." You shrugged and kicked your restraints away from your feet. "That's why I was chained to the wall."
The two men were silent as they stared at you, Mayfeld looking surprised and Din's gaze burning into you despite being obscured by the helmet.
"I know their rotation schedules, how long of a gap there is between shift changes and which Troopers like me best so will leave the handcuffs a little looser." You looked between the two of them. "What? I had time to plan."
"And what have we got now?" Din questioned, glancing back at the open bars. "Anything scheduled to happen?"
You thought it over for a moment, glancing at the clock just outside of your cell. "Shift change in about six minutes. There will be a thirty-three second gap where the doors are unmanned."
"We can work with that." The Mandalorian replied, producing a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket.
A sick feeling settled in your stomach at the sight of them. "Ah, so I'm fake prisoner. Right?"
"In case we come across anyone." Mayfeld explained, a smug grin on his face. "Need to make it believable that we're moving you to a new cell."
With a nod, you looked back up to Din. "Be gentle, okay?"
"Of course, cyar'ika."
You sighed, storing away the nickname to ask about it later. "Where's Grogu?"
His fists clenched by his sides, the leather of his gloves squeaking. "They still have him."
Bile rose in your throat. "What?"
Why was he here if the child was still missing?
"Maker, why are you here?" You asked him, pushing at his shoulder. "You need to save him!"
"I'm here to save you." He was already bored with you again, you could tell by the lack of emotion in his voice. Maybe he was regretting saving you.
"I could have waited! Grogu's a baby!" You cried, worry settling in your stomach at the thought of your poor, poor Grogu possibly being tortured and experimented on whilst you were swooning over Din rescuing you.
"They had information on the kid's location here as well." The Mandalorian offered.
That made more sense. "Ah, so it wasn't just to save me."
"I would've come for you even if they had nothing on him." He sounded annoyed now, frustrated at your questioning.
"Grogu's priority." You turned to Mayfeld. "Why did you let him come here when the child is still missing?"
His hands raised in surrender. "Hey! Don't turn this on me!"
"Be more grateful." Din stated as he walked towards you and turned you around, pulling your hands behind your back to secure them in place with the cuffs. "I could have left you here forever."
You didn't want to admit out loud that what he had just suggested was your worst fear and something you truly believed until he'd showed up. A part of you thought you'd be there for the rest of your life. But you couldn't tell him that. So you offered a weak joke.
"You know what they say... third time's the charm. I'm sure my next attempt at an escape would have worked." The cuffs clicked into place and you tried not to focus on the feeling of being restrained again. You'd spent too long like this, and here you were about to escape and you were back in the same position. It was almost funny.
Din could sense your unease and placed a gloved hand on the small of your back in reassurance.
"Let's go." Mayfeld chimed and marched out of the cell in front of the two of you.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and followed behind, Din's hands locked around yours to make sure the restraints didn't pull too harshly. Weaving in and out of corridors was dangerous, especially with the guards constantly patrolling. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before you bumped into a couple of them.
"Halt!" They shouted, raising their weapons to the three of you. "What are you doing with prisoner five six one?"
There was probably too long of a pause between the question and the answer that was finally given, setting off the initial seed of suspicion.
Mayfeld stepped in with his sly smile. "We were instructed to move the prisoner to a new cell."
The two guards bowed their heads together, mumbling a quick debate. Your hands twitched with nerves behind your back and you felt the Mandalorian trace a thumb over them in comfort. It somewhat worked.
"We'll need you to come with us to confirm." One of them said, straightening up and re-aiming his blaster right at you.
"I'm sorry, cyar'ika." Din grumbled with a sigh behind you before there was a slight squeeze on the side of your neck and you were out.
When you awoke you were surrounded by the sounds of a humming engine and the whirring of the inside of a ship. You jolted up and almost hit your head on the top of the bunk you'd been placed in.
Wait. A bunk?
You looked around you rapidly to suddenly realise that you weren’t just in any bed. You were in Din’s bed. On the Razor Crest.
You jumped out of it and stumbled once you landed on your feet, leaning on the wall for support.
“Woah, woah! Slow down, take it easy.” A modulated voice appeared behind you as strong arms wrapped around your torso to keep you steady.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” You slurred, still slightly groggy from being unconscious. “How long was I out?”
“A few hours.” Din replied, letting you turn to look at him. He was back in his Beskar armour, looking as shiny as ever. The sight of him made you smile.
“You knocked me out!” You cried but there wasn’t an ounce of real anguish in your voice. In fact, it was rather playful.
He didn’t seem to pick up on that. “It was necessary.”
You waved your hand at him, showing you weren’t really bothered by that. So you approached the subject you were really affected by. “You saved me.”
“Yes.” His voice was a gentle rasp as he spoke the singular word. He was never much of a talker. But you hung on to every word.
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“You removed your helmet to save me.” You frowned at him, like you were annoyed at him for breaking his creed.
Another rasp. “Yes.”
“But-“
“But what?”
You laughed like it was obvious. "I don't understand why. I'm just me."
"And it's just a creed."
Your head reared back. "Just a creed?"
"Just you?" He answered back, imitating your tone and inflection.
"That's- Din, it's your life. Being a Mandalorian is everything to you.” You cried, hands waving in emphasis. “Why would you risk that? For me?"
His head tilted to the side in his usual expression of emotion. Or lack of. "This is the Way."
"No.” You snapped. “The Way is not showing your face under any circumstances. And you- you showed your face!"
"To save you."
"Yes!"
The helmet tilted even further. "What part do you not understand?"
"I'm not worth it." You said, hands wringing together in front of you. And you truly believed what you were saying.
"What?"
"Why would you do that for me?"
"I'd do anything for you."
Your mouth snapped shut, the protest you had prepared dying in your throat.
"You and the kid. I'd tear apart this galaxy for the both of you. You're... you're part of my clan."
A part of you wished he'd left you in that prison. If he'd done that then your head wouldn't be spinning and you wouldn't be overwhelmed with emotions at what he was throwing at you in that moment. His clan. You were a member of his clan.
"Din..."
His name was soft from your lips and he sighed slowly at the sound.
"The only way to explain is-" He cut himself off and inhaled, taking a step closer to you. Placing his hand under your chin, he tilted your head up to face him and lowered his helmet so your foreheads rested together. The cold of his armour sent shivers down your spine. Although it might have also been caused by the action of what he was doing, what he was saying.
Din had explained this to you before when you'd asked about affection between the people of Mandalore. It was a way for Mandalorians to kiss without having to show their faces. It was... intimate, to say the least.
Your eyes fluttered shut when the reality of what he was telling you dawned. "Din..."
Another soft whisper of his name had him sighing again.
Unfortunately, he took it the wrong way and pulled back. "You don't have to- The kid and you are important to me. That's... that's what you need to know. About why- why I did this."
You shook your head and smiled at him, hooking your hand around the back of his neck and tugging him down towards you again so your foreheads touched. "And I was willing to die in that prison to keep you and the child safe."
"They... they were planning to kill you?"
"I kept refusing to teach them how to get the kid to use his wizard baby powers. And I wouldn't tell them where you were either. Or how to contact you."
"What did they need me for?"
"See you as a threat. Or to use me as bait. I'm not sure which. Maybe both."
"It would've worked. You as bait. If I didn't already know where you were, of course."
"Of course." You grinned at him and hoped he was smiling back. You tended to guess what his facial expressions were, normally hoping that he was returning whatever you gave him but usually settling on the fact that he was probably bored and his face would show it. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, cyar'ika."
Your stomach flipped at the Mando'a. "What does that mean?"
"It's Mando'a."
"I guessed that. I'm asking for a translation." You rolled your eyes, finally pulling back from the Mandalorian kiss to look at him properly again. "I hope it's something nice."
You could tell he was smiling when he said his next words. They were hesitant, but tender. "It means darling or sweetheart. A term of endearment."
"Oh... that's- that is nice." Mentally berating yourself, you bit on your lower lip to hold back an excited giggle. Nice? There were so many words that were better than nice. "I don't have anything like that where I'm from. If I did I'd-"
He cut you off with a hand cupping your cheek. "I know, cyar'ika. I know."
There was a moment of silence as the two of you just looked at each other. It was broken when Din sighed suddenly and dropped his hand from your cheek.
"I never wanted you to see my face that way."
Oh.
"Din, I-" You cut yourself off to contemplate your words. "I'm sorry that you had to reveal your face. And that I saw. If I'd known... I wouldn't have stared at you."
"No, I didn't mean it like that." He exhaled loudly. "Do you remember? What I look like?"
The memory of his face flashed in your mind. Of course you remembered. Every single detail. And you'd probably secretly treasure it for the rest of your life.
"Yes..."
His head dropped for a second, helmet aimed at the floor, before it suddenly shot back up to meet your gaze. "And?"
"And what?" Having no idea what he was asking of you, your brows scrunched together.
He was so close now that you were sure you'd be able to hear his breathing even without the modulator. "Was I- was I a disappointment?"
"What?" Disbelief ran through you. How could this wonderful, gorgeous man ever be a disappointment? With or without the helmet obscuring his face he had always been and would always be perfect to you.
"Well, you must have had some... some image of what I'd look like in your head."
You immediately disagreed with him. "No, never."
"Don't lie. It's okay. You can tell me."
"I'm not lying. And I am telling you."
"Cyar'ika..."
Your heart did somersaults in your chest. "No, I never conjured up some fantasy of what you'd look like. Because this here-" You gestured at the whole of him, hand waving up and down his body. "-is my Din. This is you to me. Why would I ever warp who you truly are for some made up version?"
"You must've been curious."
You shrugged. "Maybe at the beginning. But who you are on the inside is all that has ever mattered to me."
"So what did you think when you saw my face?"
Your eyes snapped away from his on instinct, embarrassment crawling through you as you recalled your immediate thoughts of him. Thoughts you'd pushed away at the time because you thought he was a Trooper. Thoughts that had resurfaced when you found out that it was really him.
"Oh, no thoughts." Your voice was weak, barely coming out as more than a squeak. It was clear you were lying. "Just that you were a man..."
"Cyar'ika..."
A flush racked through you at the use of the term of endearment. He knew how to make you weak in the knees, how to make you break, you were sure of it.
"Calling me that isn't fair."
"Don't avoid the question." His head tilted to the side. "Tell me. What did you think?"
Unsure at how he'd turned from insecure, sweet Din to a version of Din that had you swooning, you shook your head at him. "I told you. No thoughts."
"And I can tell you're lying. Look at me." He placed his fingers under your chin to angle you to face him. "Tell me."
You started with a small truth. "Your eyes were sadder than I thought they'd be."
He seemed slightly taken aback by that but didn't hesitate too much in answering. "I was scared I'd lost you."
"But I thought you said you didn't know they were planning on killing me?"
"It was always a possibility." He shrugged. "We were getting towards the end of the cells when I saw you. I was... getting nervous. Thought maybe they'd transferred you somewhere else and I'd never find you. Couldn't live with that idea."
If it were possible, you softened even more under his touch. "But you did find me. And I'm here. Safe. Because of you."
"Hmm." He just hummed in agreement, shifting his hand so it moved to cup your jaw instead. "What else?"
You huffed, hoping you'd got out of the line of questioning about your opinions on his appearance. Whilst having openly admitted a whole spout of feelings for each other, you weren't quite ready to declare how absolutely breathtaking he was.
"Don't make me say it."
"Say what, cyar'ika? Hm? I'm just asking."
You leaned into his touch, the warmth from his palm along with the sound of the Mando'a pet name set off a spark within you. When his gloved thumb swooped over your cheek gently you were sure that your brain short circuited.
"You're beautiful, Din."
The statement was breathless but held certainty in it. The Mandalorian didn't reply, too shocked by your confession. He honestly hadn't been expecting you to be so open. And to say that of all things.
So you kept going. "It was never going to matter to me what you looked like underneath the Beskar. Because who you are as a person is the only important thing. But I have to admit that I thought you were gorgeous when you walked past my cell. And then I immediately felt guilty because I thought you were a Trooper." Your head dipped in shame for a moment. "You are beautiful, Din Djarin. Inside and out."
He still said nothing, hands just lifting to the bottom of his helmet.
When you heard the hiss of the seal, your hands slapped across your eyes. "Ah! What are you doing?"
"Taking off my helmet. What are you doing?" He sounded amused.
"Covering my eyes so I don't see obviously." You scoffed and scrunched your eyes beneath your palms.
"Cyar'ika, you've already seen my face."
"So? I might have remembered details wrong."
"Thought you said I was beautiful?"
You huffed, not liking how he was turning that against you. "I did but revealing your identity is a big no-no, Din! That's what the Way says, right?"
"Right." He was holding back laughter.
"Exactly! Doesn't matter if I've seen you before. Might not remember you completely correctly." You remembered him completely correctly. "So we cannot risk you revealing yourself a whole other time."
The way you were so respectful of his creed, no matter how ridiculous you were being at that moment with your hands pressed tightly over your eyes, had Din tingling inside.
"I don't think it's a risk if you've seen me before and you're a part of my clan, hm?"
You grumbled something underneath your breath. "I can't argue with you on Mandalorian culture because you're the expert. But I feel as if you're finding loopholes here."
"Perhaps. Just look."
The sound of his helmet hissing and the dull clang of it hitting the floor had you hesitating before slowly peeling your hands away from your face.
He was exactly how you remembered.
Every line, every scar, every eyelash, every inch of skin, the deep brown of his eyes, the angle of his nose, the unruly tufts of curls atop his head and the uneven patches of facial hair peppered across his jaw and down his neck. This was your Din Djarin. Stood in front of you, everything exposed and exactly how you remembered him. Exactly how you wanted him. Perfect. The whole of him was perfect.
With a stifled sigh of relief, you reached out your hands to cup his face, hesitating for a moment when you realised he might hate that. "Can I?"
He nodded, his eyes looking sad yet hopeful - an improvement from the last time you saw them.
Your palms settled on his cheeks, thumbs swiping over his cheeks and across his bristly stubble. A smile broke across your face when his eyelids closed and he leaned in your touch.
"Oh, Din..." Tears sprang to your eyes yet you couldn't exactly explain why, the flood of emotions was overwhelming.
"Cyar'ika..." He breathed against the skin of your wrist, turning slightly in your grasp to plant his lips against your palm.
You took a step closer to him, encouraging him to duck down and rest his forehead against yours. A Mandalorian kiss, stripped of the barrier between the two of you. He let out a shaky sigh as you made contact, his hair tickling your brow.
"When was the last time someone touched you? Skin on skin?" You needed to know, he was acting like he'd never felt the warmth of physical contact before.
He hummed lowly in his chest as he thought about it, eyes shut tight in contemplation. "My parents, I think."
Your heart ached for him. It had been decades. You wanted more, to give him more, but worried that it might be too much too fast. But you yearned to touch him, to show him how good it could be.
Broken out of your thoughts by a rustling noise between the two of you, you glanced down without breaking away from him to see that he was removing his leather gloves and throwing them to the floor beside you.
You stared at his hands, scars littering both the palms and the backs. You'd never wanted someone to touch you with their hands more.
Din appeared to have the same thought as he hovered them over your sides, fists clenching open and closed. "Can I?"
"Can you what, hm?" You wanted- no needed him to say it, to be as clear as possible between you.
"Touch you. Can I touch you please?" His eyes were still closed but you could see he was restless behind his lids, almost worried even.
"Of course you can."
You expected him to just place his hands on your hips or waist, which he did technically. What you didn't expect was for him to slide his hands underneath the hem of your shirt and place them directly onto your skin, squeezing slightly when he made contact.
You hummed contently in acknowledgement to tell him that it was okay and stepped closer to him, your chest pressing up against the Beskar now.
“Can I kiss you?” The question was sudden, hushed, almost unsure.
You didn’t hesitate in tilting your head upwards and reassuring him of how much you wanted exactly that. “I’m so glad you asked.”
Then his lips were on yours, a relieved sigh exiting him and a content one leaving you.
You moved together in time, like you knew how the other worked and what they wanted. And maybe you did. Maybe you knew each so well, or knew that the other wanted the same thing you did. Din’s thumbs stroked gently at the skin of your waist and yours swiped over his cheeks, brushing away a stray tear that had fallen from his eyes. His sad, brown eyes. You hoped they’d be less sad in the future.
He broke away for a moment to mumble against your lips. "I was so scared I'd lost you."
You shook your head and kissed him again. "I thought I'd never see you again."
“I wouldn’t have left you there.” He promised, hands gripping you impossibly tighter. “There isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t have done to get you back.”
You just nodded at him, believing every word he was saying, and pulled him closer to kiss you again. The way his lips melded against yours and the way your tongues curled together had you convinced that this was meant to be. It was so utterly perfect that it felt as if the stars had written it centuries ago, always destined to happen.
“Cyar’ika…” He hummed to you when you both broke away again for some air.
As much as you wanted this moment to last forever, a thought suddenly re-entered your mind. “Grogu!”
“It’s okay. We know where he is and we’re on our way to get him back.” He smiled at your concern for the child, understanding it completely. He felt the same after all.
You nodded gently, relieved that the child would be back and safe soon enough. Then things really would be back to how they should be again. The three of you - you, your Mandalorian and your green child. Perfect.
A/N: this has been under works for agessss… hope you enjoyed!
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linkspooky · 7 months
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GREAT TEACHER, GOJO
For my final commentary on chapter 236, I thought I'd talk about this panel the starter of a million flame wars on twitter dot com. The big controversy is Nanami stating that Gojo fought only for himself without mentioning his students which a lot of people thought was a last minute reversal on Gojo's character, or character regression.
I'm not going to call anyone stupid, or say if you have good teacher Gojo headcanons you're wrong. However, I'd like to point out that Gojo's always been more complicated than most shonen mentors. He's not Kakashi, and he's not Aizawa, and I'd argue the fact that he's not the standard "I'd die to protect my students" mentor we see in shonen manga is what makes him interesting.
The Springtime of Youth
Jujutsu Kaisen is a shonen jump manga that is very aware of the other manga that are running in the same magazine and uses that awareness to play with audience expectations.
To put it simply if you don't want to use words like Deconstruction - if you're reading Jujutsu Kaisen then things are probably not going to go the way you expect them. It's not Naruto, it's not My Hero Academia, it's a little bit like Bleach except characters actually die.
If you expect things to go one way in Jujutsu Kaisen, then you're going to be thrown a curveball. To name some examples briefly before diving into Gojo.
Yuji Itadori is a normal boy protagonist suddenly dragged into the world of the supernatural.
However, everything goes wrong from there. Jujutsu Sorcerers are not heroes. Yuji is told that much from the beginning by Megumi within the first thirteen chapters. The world of Jujutsu Sorcery is not a good place to be, Yuji is initially excited to be a sorcerer and to be a part of this world and then learns that lesson fast. I mean, imagine if Deku was accepted to UA, and then he immediately learned that students at the school die on the regular and all the adults are either terrible selfish people, or if they're not they die too like Nanami because being selfless means sticking your neck out for someone else.
Yuji's not really special in the narrative. He's just a kid who swallowed a finger. He doesn't have a secret technique. We're hundreds of chapters in and he's still just punching people. If he's cornered in a fight he doesn't unlock a secret technique either, he just loses.
Yuji has a superpowered evil side, like the nine tailed fox, or Hollow Ichigo except it's not really his super powered evil side. It's an evil parasite attached to his soul with a will of its ownt hat will manipualte him. Hollow Ichigo and the Kyuubi can escape temporarily and there's usually no consequence. Sukuna escapes twice, the first time he nearly kills Megumi, the second time he kills thousands.
Yuji is kind of like a main character who is not a main character.
If you still believe he's the main character, then you can agree he's punished for thinking he's the main character and therefore things are going to be easy, because nothing is ever easy in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Megumi is a riff on the chosen one. He's supposed to be the Gojo Satoru of his generation, born with the strongest technique that ca even surpass the limitless and he's nowhere near the level he's supposed to be. This is because Megumi has been continually failed by every adult figure all his life, starting with his father who sold him, then Gojo the man who SAVED* him techically but with a big asterisk that he needed to become his student and do jobs for Jujutsu High School otherwise Gojo would just let the Zen'in take him or let them starve I guess. Megumi has no adult figures to rely on, and has been given very little freedom about who or what he wants to be in his life, and therefore he's a very passive, repressed individual who's riddled with insecurities. Megumi doesn't want to be the strongest like Gojo, or like many hero / rival characters in shonen manga. Megumi doesn't even know what he wants to be, because he's never been given any choice in life.
If you don't think Megumi's a deconstruction of any sort of character type, look at those posts on twitter that are like "Look at the black haired depressed shonen boys" and then look at Megumi, he's never actually like any of these boys because he's much deeper and probably closer to being the main character than Yuji is.
Then we get to Gojo who is very unlike all the other mentors in shonen manga.
If Yuji and Megumi are both riffs on a main character, a hero in a world so cynical he's not allowed to play hero and actively punished for it, and a chosen one who doesn't want to be the chosen one then you have Gojo as the mentor who's nothing like the classic mentor.
The problem with mentor characters in fiction is that number one they die a lot (spoiler warning Obi Wan Kenobi dies in Star Wars just so you know) and number two they're not usually the most complex character in the cast.
What is the mentor there for?
To Mentor (duh.)
What this means is they are usually a fully formed adult who can teach a lesson to the main character, who in shonen manga is typically a teenager.
I say they're usually less interesting because stories are about characters changing, or characters learning lessons. A teacher presumably already has learned his lesson. They are usually at the end of their journey and not the beginning, that's why they can offer wisdom to the main characters. They're not usually their own separate characters because of this - a narrative doesn't have time to waste on a character that's not going to change.
Jung had a term for this character, it's called the Wise Old Man.
In Jungian analytical psychology, senex is the specific term used in association with this archetype. Examples of the senex archetype in a positive form include the wise old man or wizard. In the individuation process, the archetype of the Wise old man was late to emerge, and seen as an indication of the Self. 'If an individual has wrestled seriously enough and long enough with the anima (or animus) problem...the unconscious again changes its dominant character and appears in a new symbolic form...as a masculine initiator and guardian, a wise old man, a spirit of nature, and so forth'.
The role of the wise man archetype is to help other people along with their ego development, because usually they are already fully developed individuals.
Obi Wan is the most typical of typical mentors, and he dies in Star Wars because after he finishes teaching Luke he has nothing to do. This is Luke's Hero's Journey. Obi Wan's already happened offscreen, he's at the end of his journey there's no room for change or growth in him because his story purpose is to exist to advise Luke and to do that he needs to be a fully grown adult figure.
The subversion to this when the mentor has their own agenda (Gandalf), or the mentor is as flawed as the main characters themselves and so therefore he has something to learn.
Gojo is kind of a combination of both, like Gandalf he is the mysterious but seemingly all powerful wizard (er... or rather sorcerer) with his own agenda, and he's also practically the fourth member of the main cast who are otherwise all teenagers. In fact, Gojo spells out his agenda in the same panels that everyone uses to constantly assert that Gojo is a good teacher who only wants to protect his students.
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He wants to make the Jujutsu World a better place (good) which is why he is raising students so he can turn them into his political allies to make a regime change (hidden agenda).
It's a means justifies the end type scenario. In Gojo's mind the means (raising kids as tools in support of his political agenda) justifies the ends (a better jujutsu world for those children). His motivation is still the same. This is what I think people most often get confused about with Gojo's character. I think he is one hundred percent genuine about wanting a better world.
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"I have a dream, I want to reset this crappy Jujutsu World" is his motivation, but not his means. He uses his students as a means to achieve that end. Even if it's purportedly for their sake, he's still using them. I don't even think this is subtext it's text, both Megumi and Yuji call themselves cogs.
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"But senpai, what's your function...?"
You could say in this case that the ends don't justify the means. Is Gojo really protecting these kid's youth, if Yuji and Megumi are going around calling themselves cog and acting like they don't matter in the grand scheme of things? In fact the narrative is inviting you to question if Gojo's ends justify his means.
Gojo's ideals can be one hundred percent real, but he can also pick faulty ways of choosing those ideals that fail to live up to them. In fact most people fall short of ideals, that's why they're called ideals. Gojo is taking these kids in because they have strong potential as sorcerers and he wants to recruit them, that's his hidden agenda. It's confirmed in databooks in Yuji and Yuta's case, and even if you don't trust databooks as canon then look at how he treats Megumi.
Megumi is explicitly Gojo's student, not his son. He only intervened in Megumi's situation on the caveat that Megumi work for him. Presumably, if Megumi didn't want to be a sorcerer and just wanted to be a normal kid, Gojo would have either let the Zen'in have him or do nothing. The option of just calling child services and getting someone to foster Megumi until he was older didn't even seem to cross Gojo's mind. There's the help he gives (Food money, rent, protection from the Zen'in) and then the hidden agenda (Don't work for the Zen'in who are my political rivals, you're my student now).
Yet at the same time Gojo is shown going to find Megumi after Geto's defection, probably because of the words he said to Yaga "You can only save those who want to be saved," when he realized it was too late for Geto. Was he intervening earlier for Megumi because he learned from being too late with Geto? Did he think Megumi needed guidance, or did he think Megumi needed protection in his youth so the Jujutsu World wouldn't corrupt him like it did Geto, or did he think he just needed to make it so Megumi was strong so he wouldn't fall behind him because Geto fell so far behind him once Gojo became the strongest. There's ambiguity there, because the hidden agenda is you know... Hidden. That's what I mean with Gojo though, you can look at him from multiple angles, he's not just (I love my students I'd die for them) because that character would only have one purpose in the narrative and that'd be being the perfect mentor who teaches them all the right lessons.
Gojo's not like other mentors, and in fact he's a commentary on the mentors that everyone is always comparing him to and expecting him to be like.
Literally everyone who reads Naruto has the exact same response, "I hate how the manga never talks about how it's a bad thing to send these child soldiers into war, and nobody breaks the cycle."
There are a lot of people unhappy about the same thing in My Hero Academia, "Why does nobody talk about how wrong it is that the adults make these high school students fight on the battlefield."
Well there you go. That's Gojo. His dream is to make it so Jujutsu Society is a place where teenagers can survive until adulthood. His method of doing so is to... raise those teenagers to be stronger than the previous generation, but you know still letting them be child soldiers on the battlefield just stronger ones. He does this because if he's working within the system the his two choices are raise a group of people who can age out and replace the old regime, or just kill everyone at the top.
Everyone complains about how no one talks about the child soldiers in Naruto or My Hero Academia, but here you go, we have a manga that is centered around how messed up it is to send high school students to continually fight these curses before they even turn eighteen. Gojo's sending these kids out there still even if he wants to change things, and it's supposed to be a little messed up and also a contradiction to what his ideals are supposed to be.
Because in My Hero Academia you have characters like Aizawa and Kakashi who are "I will die for my students" but then they just send those teens out to fight in a war, and seem totally fine with that. It's a hole in the writing, but this time it's done on purpose, to ask why these adults are always comfortable sending teenagers out to fight for them?
Jujutsu Kaisen provides two answers, number one the system is inherently corrupt and it sees the youth as cogs because the system is rooted in traditions that keep the elderly in power. Number two, in Gojo's case at least this is exactly what it was like for him growing up as a child. Gojo is just repeating with his students what was done to him, subconsciously.
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The reason Nanami said this, and then repeated it in this most recent chapter is Gojo was born to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is a highly deadly occupation for everyone else, except for Gojo. Not only that but because he's so good at it, and he's so lauded for it he's built his entire identity around it. Nanami's not just saying that Gojo is selfish, he's also saying that Gojo thinks being a sorcerer is a good thing. It is the end all, be all of Gojo's existence.
He doesn't want to make it so sorcerers don't have to fight, or make it so all cursed energy is gone for the world like Yuki Tsukumo, his dream is actually kind of limited in scope he doesn't want the school days of his students to be destroyed by the outside world the way it was for him and Geto.
Gojo looks at the symptoms and not the cause. Geto defected, Haibara died, Yaga wasn't really able to do much for his students in both scenarios. Gojo deduced it was because the elders and regressive policies were holding people back in favor of keeping the regime in charge (correct) and that because of that the sorcerers in Gojo's high school years just weren't strong enough to keep up (this is just what Gojo thinks).
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His words to Megumi are encouraging him to be strong so he won't get left behind, which as I speculated above might imply Gojo thinks that part of what went wrong with Geto was that he simply wasn't strong enough to keep up with Gojo or stay on his level. If not then he still encourages Megumi to get strong before everything else, he's not taking care of these kids emotional needs, he's pushing them to get stronger because in Gojo's mind that's the be all end all solution to every problem.
"Nanami's line was not saying that Gojo doesn't care about children, it's saying that "You live for Jujutsu." It is the lens through which Gojo sees everything, and so therefore he doesn't think of breaking kids out of the Jujutsu World, just making it a place that's slightly more safe for them. Gojo's ego is so strong that he only ever sees things from his point of view, being a sorcerer was fun for him, his high school days were the happiest time in his life before they got ruined by outside forces.
He's trying to protect those days for his children, but he's not arguing against the existence of an institution like Jujutsu High in the first place. He's not saying the teenagers should never be sent out on missions, he's saying we need to make the teens stronger. If they're stronger than they won't die (that's probably true but they'll be even safer if they don't have to go on missions in the first place).
Now we have a reason! Why do Aizawa and Kakashi send out child soldiers into the battlefield if their goal is to protect their students? Because it's a shonen manga and the main characters are all teenagers.
Why does Gojo send out teenagers to fight for him if he wants to protect them, well I just explained it.
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In fact, the entire purpose of Nanami in the story is to give us a character who explicitly treats children like they are children and not miniature adults. Who acknowledges that this is emotionally hard for children to deal with and they shouldn't have to do that.
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Nanami's lines of "I'm an adult you're a child" and "Being a child is not a bad thing." would not have the weight they carry if they weren't so different from the way that every other adult in the story (including Gojo) treats children.
Nanami and Gojo have the same goal of making being a Jujutsu Sorcerer easier for children, but Nanami practices what he preaches. He tells Yuji to stand back and that he doesn't need to fight if he sees an enemy that's too strong, to let the adult on scene handle things first.
When he sees that Yuji is disturbed by the idea of killing former humans that Mahito had changed with his technique, he consoles him. He knows that Yuji is a sensitive kid and tries to spare him as much of that grief as possible. When he leaves Yuji behind he tells him explicitly that he's the adult in this situation, he shouldn't be forcing a child to help carry that burden if it's not necessary.
He also explicitly tells Yuji that being strong or jumping into life threatening situations =/= as growing up. Nanami is a character aware that the problem isn't that the children are not strong enough, but that too much responsibility is being thrown on these children. That there is a difference between what children and adults are emotionally capable of. Gojo doesn't see that difference because he reached enlightenment as seventeen. He even explicitly chose Nanami because Gojo knew he wasn't good at that stuff.
Nanami was not saying that Gojo doesn't care about children, Nanami was saying Gojo lives to be a sorcerer, Gojo who loves sorcery doesn't understand why being a sorcerer is too much of an emotional burden on a child. He just doesn't. He literally says his students are flowers.
Now, here's the kicker. Nanami dies.
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Nanami wanted Yuji to not take on too much responsibility, and he died leaving Yuji with more responsibility than he could ever carry. Nanami failed in his goal, despite the fact he is the most responsible and well-meaning adult in the story who treats children like they're children.
The reason he dies is because this is what happens to people like Nanami in Jujutsu Society. The whole of society is built to condition people into being cogs and Nanami who's just one person can't overcome it on his own. I can write a whole meta on how Nanami's way of dealing with children is way better than Gojo's and yet they do essentially the same thing, throw way too much responsibility onto Yuji even though he's just a kid. They're both too ingrained in the system to make any sweeping changes, and that's why the child soldiers keep on child soldiering.
Gojo as a Character
The second reason as eluded above that Gojo is not meant to be read as a perfect teacher, or even a good one really is because he's the fourth main character of the cast. If you are a main character, then you need a flaw, and an arc where you either improve upon that flaw or you succumb to it in tragic fashion.
Gojo's not the perfect adult mentor, because he's kind of in the same place as the kids themselves. I think there's a reason we never learn anything about Gojo's backstory, we know nothing about his parents, the Gojo clan, because those details aren't as relevant. The most important thing about Gojo is the three years he spent at high school, because that was the only time he felt like a person, and also because he is trapped there mentally.
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There's a reason that Gojo's dying dream is him imagining everyone reset to seventeen years old, because that was where the clock stopped for him in his youth, and that was where all of his regrets as an adult come from. His motivation to help teenagers today only comes from his own youth being ruined, and the adults in his life failing to protect him.
It's very likely that Gojo who lives for Jujutsu probably would never have realized the problems in his current society, if his youth wasn't ruined by those same adults he's now fighting against.
The reason most mentor figures in fiction are not main characters is because as adults they don't really need to grow up anymore. The obvious solution is that you just need your mentor character to just fail to be an adult in some glaring way.
To show how Gojo falls short as an adult, especially in regards to these children and how he treats them is to drag him down from all powerful, all knowing wizard, and make him struggle with the rest of the main cast. Gojo is not a positive adult figure in these kids lives despite having the best of intentions, because he's not really an adult.
I guess if you were already the best and strongest person in the world at seventeen, smarter and more capable than all the adults around you, you wouldn't really feel the need to grow up. Coupled with the fact that you are alienated from other people and do not relate to them on a personal level that's not going to help with your identity formation.
I mean I constantly compare Gojo to Superman, but to be fair to Gojo instead of bullying him like I usually do Clark Kent was raised by parents who raised a boy not a superman, and who constantly tell him that he's just a normal person, his powers don't make him great, it's his heart.
Nanami says that Gojo only fights for himself that ""You don't wield Jujutsu to protect something, you use it solely to for your own sake. What a weirdo" it's likely Gojo only fights for himself because he's never ben told that's he's more than just the six-eyes and more than just the limitless.
The best way to make a mentor a part of the cast, is to make them through some way or another have failed to grow up properly in their youth and therefore they need to do it while the story is taking place. We know how Gojo failed, his springtime of youth ended early, it ended the day he couldn't stop Geto from leaving, the day he can be the strongest sorcerer ever and still fail because sorcerer society is too corrupt for one person to handle alone. We also know he didn't really grow up past this point, because he still thinks the solution is to make people be stronger. Why does he not do anything about Geto for 11 years? In story terms he's basically suspended in time unable to grow past Geto. Kenjaku literally uses the trauma from his youth and the memories that seeing Geto alive would provoke in Gojo again, to trap him because he knew it would make him freeze up. Gojo is frozen in the past, he failed to grow up in story terms and must now grow up while the main story itself is taking place along with the children he's trying to raise.
This is how you make a mentor interesting. You have to make them flawed in some way that makes it worth having them onscreen, because a perfect mentor only serves one purpose to teach a main character and then he's gone.
Dazai Osamu from Bungo Stray Dogs is a character that's almost as massively popular as Gojo. Similiarly, he is a teenage genius who found trouble relating to other people who is now as an adult attempting to mentor two children.
However, Dazai's faults as a mentor are made much more explicit.
Dazai suddenly punched Akutagawa in the face, preventing him from finishing his sentence. Akutagawa flew back onto the ground, his head bouncing off the stone flooring with a thud. "Perhaps I made it look like I wanted to hear excuses. Sorry for the misudnerstanding," Dazai said while rubbing his knuckles. "Urg..." Akutagawa moaned. He'd hit his head so hard that he couldn't even stagger to his feet. "Give me your gun," Dazai ordered one of his men. The subordinate was hesitant but nonetheless handed over his weapon. Next, Dazai removed the magaine from the automatic pistol, took out all but three bullets, then put the magazine back in. He immediately pointed the gun at Akutagawa, who was still on the ground. "I have this friend who's supporting several orphans all on his own, you see," he continued his weapon still drawn and aimed at the boy. "AKutagawa I'm sure Odasaku would've been patient enough to give you the guidance you needed had he been the one who'd found you on the brink of starvation right in the slums. That would have been the 'right' thing to do. But 'righteousness' doesn't take very kindly to me. And there's only one thing people like me do to useless subordinates." Dazai mercilessly pulled the trigger the moment he finished his sentence.
(Don't worry, Akutagawa lived). Dazai is a character who had a troublesome youth he never grew up from. He was too smart for the world as a kid, and because of that joined up with the mafia because he wanted to feel like he was more connected to life and other people by getting closer to death (weird dazai logic I know) and was the best of the best at it, but it only drove him further away from people. He makes one friend, and loses that friend similiar to Gojo. Just like Gojo too, that friend is the one who gives him his purpose as an adult that drives him to mentor young people.
"Odasaku.. What should I do?" "Be on the side that saves people," Odasaku replied, "If both sides are the same, then choose to become a good person. Save the weak, protect the orphaned. You might not see a great difference between right and wrong, but... saving others is something just a bit more wonderful."
Is this not what Nanami said just in different words. Odasaku tells Dazai point blank, I know you're selfish, I know that you don't really have any concept of good or evil but you can choose to save others anyway.
Isn't this what Gojo does?
He is selfish. He doesn't really consider the morality or his actions or get hung up on the idea of protecting the weak like Nanami or Geto do, but he still does go out of his way to live for the ideal of saving children.
Both Gojo and Dazai are characters who are struggling with this ideal of saving the children, because while their ideals are good they themselves as people are morally gray. Adding onto that, they're also children and a good deal of their backstory is devoted to showing why they never really grew out of the mindset that they held as children.
The story doesn't call them horrible monsters for it, it's just saying that they need to grow up or face the consequences of not growing up.
"I have one regret," I said. "I never got to say good-bye to my friend. He was always there for me as 'just a friend.' He was bored of this world and always waited for death to come for him." "That man was in search of a place to die just like me?" "No, not exactly," I answered. "I thought you were similiar to Dazai at first, rushing into battle and wishing for death without even considering the value of your own life. But he's different. He's sharp-witted with a mind like a steel trap. And he's just a child - a sobbing child abandoned in the darkness of a world far emptier of the world we're seeing." He was too smart for his own good. THat was why he was always alone. The reason why ANgo and I were able to be by his side was that we understood the solitude that surrounded him, and we never stepped inside it no matter how close we stood. But in that moment, I kind of regretted not stepping in and invading a little.
Does that sound like the narrative is condemning Dazai for being who he is? No, it's Dazai's best friend offering empathy and understanding for how lonely it must be, and how if Dazai made real connections with people then he could have a chance of growing up like everyone else. That's what the narrative challenges Dazai to do while empathizing with why it's harder for him to and why he's still trapped in his youth, because to take care of children you need to be an adult yourself. Otherwise if you're a child, and I'm a child, then nobody's driving the plane.
Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is another mentor who faces the same moral dilemna that Gojo does. In fact his entire character revolves around the fact he knows deep down he's sending a kid to her early grave.
Buffy is the Chosen One TM. One girl in all the world is chosen to fight the vampires. Much like sorcerer society, there is an entire bureaucracy dedicated to identifying the chosen slayer and then raising her up and guiding her as a weapon to be used against the threat of vampires and demons.
The watchers are all adults. The slayer is a teenage girl. The slayer slays. The watchers watch. Just like in Jujutsu Kaisen, there is a necessity for the Slayer to exist, because the alternative is just letting vampires eat people. Yet even if the slayer needs to exist, at the end of the day a bunch of adult men are sending a teenage girl to fight for them.
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All Slayers die young. All of them without an exception. No matter how good of a mentor is, no matter how much he cares about her, Buffy is going to die one day, and Giles is going to watch. Because that's what the watcher does, they watch. Sending her on missions means Buffy's in danger, not sending her means innocent people are in danger.
It's a scenario that's pretty much like Gojo's, and the narrative of Buffy makes it explicit that Giles really can't be a father figure to bufy in this scenario. A father would have to choose to put their child above the world and keep them safe, not send them out straight into danger.
It is a choice that Giles makes over and over again. He is always her watcher and never her father. There's a season 3 episode where Giles literally drugs Buffy as a part of a test to prove she is "worthy" of being a slayer. A test that deliberately puts her in harms way that he complies with - because the system told him to. A choice to be her watcher and act according to what the council of watchers wanted and not what Buffy wanted. A choice that shatters the illusion that Buffy had of him, showing her that Giles is only there to teach her to be a Slayer, not to take her to the iceapades or buy ice cream with her.
In this scenario Gojo is very much like Giles as no matter how much he may personally like these kids, he is not their father, and there is only so much he can do for them when he's still feeding them into the same system. Giles loves Buffy, Giles wants to protect Buffy, Giles is a part of the system that exploits Buffy. Giles is an adult asking Buffy to risk her life to save the world.
Gojo goes out of his way to recruit Megumi, Yuji, and Yuta among others. Gojo still doesn't let them be anything other than sorcerers, and as sorcerers they're still guaranteed to one day die and probably die young. Gojo wants to revolutionize the system he is, but he still sends out his students to do missions as part of that system. He's not letting them escape it, he's just making them be stronger sorcerers.
Not only is Gojo not a father figure to Megumi, he is exploiting him more or less. The option of Megumi not being a sorcerer isn't on the table. No matter how well-intentioned he may be, or how good his ideals are he's still an adult telling a child to make a sacrifice for the world.
So, there are two character conflicts with two different mentors that both reflect Gojo. Gojo cannot grow up because he's still trapped in the tragedy of his youth. He himself is not an adult, for various reasons (lack of connection to other people, trauma in his youth) he's egocentric like a child but there are children in his life who need him to be.
Gojo also cannot be a proper adult, because he is part of a system that exploits children. We see what the system does to proper adults like Nanami, he shows us just how much well-intentioned adults struggle to help kids under sorcerer society so how about Gojo who thinks being a sorcerer is really fun. A proper adult would never send kids on those missions, they'd find some way to shield them but Gojo cannot do that. Because sorcerers are short staffed and innocent people will die if he doesn't. Because Gojo isn't the sorcer-king of Jujtusu Society and is working within it to affect change. There are reasons, but still Gojo is failing to live up to his desire to protect children because he's not doing what a responsible adult should do in this situation.
Gojo's failures are two-fold, and yet it's because of those failures that he was a main character who got as much special plot attention as he did. If Gojo was a perfect teacher he wouldn't be a character. After all, we relate to the struggles of other human beings we see onscreen in television and in movies so why would we care about a perfect character?
Gojo has a lot more to say about teachers in shonen manga, and also about childhood vs. adulthood as a bad teacher struggling to be a good one, then a teacher who's already perfect. Nanami said those lines because he wanted us to understand the audience that this is who Gojo is, he is a selfish and egotistical person who nonetheless was trying to do good things.
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mrsbuckybarnes1917 · 6 months
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Bucky isn't a fan of children roaming the streets in costumes and asking for candy. But it only takes one little boy to change his mind.
This is my Halloween contribution to the fandom and a shoutout to @jessybarnes, congrats on reaching 500 followers!
Word count: just over 1k
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He had just gotten home. Bloodied and bruised. There hadn't been any time for him to change. In fact, he had barely stepped through his front door when his phone pinged with a notification from you.
Went to the store to grab more candy!
Bucky scowled. Halloween. He didn't have time to think about such mundane things as your favorite pagan holiday. Naturally, you felt otherwise and had taken the liberty of decorating his home for him.
It was lucky he lived in an apartment building. What was the likelihood that any kids would-
"Trick or Treat!" A chorus of voices accompanied a knock on the door.
His shoulders drooped in disappointment. Maybe he could ignore it?
"TRICK OR TREAT!" There was only one voice this time but louder than before.
Bucky was a patient man who knew multitudes of silence and stillness. He would be patient.
"Come on, Mister! I saw you go inside!" The voice of a little boy who was far less patient than he was.
A sigh escaped Bucky's lips. He was exhausted and didn't particularly want to deal with the emotional baggage that came with the way he expected a child would react to his appearance. He knew people still saw him as a monster, despite his pardon. He had no desire to see fear reflected in the eyes of innocence. But the pounding didn't stop.
He looked around wildly for something to give the expectant youth. His eyes finally landed on a bowl beside the door. There was one candy bar left inside.
Well, it was better than nothing. Bucky grabbed the bowl and wrenched open the door. An audible gasp stopped him in his tracks. He looked down to see an eight year old boy dressed as Captain America standing before him, mouth agape.
"Here kid, this is all I've got," he held out the candy bar to the frozen child.
Both Bucky and the boy stood facing each other for what felt like an eternity to Bucky. Neither of them moved and Bucky wondered if the boy's jaw could drop any further. His silence was making Bucky very uncomfortable.
"Look kid, just take this and go," he dropped the bar into the kid's pumpkin basket. As an afterthought he added, "you don't have to be scared."
"Are you an Avenger?" The boy whispered.
"Not exactly, kid."
"But you're friends with Captain America?"
Bucky was loath to answer this question, but he couldn't exactly deny that he and Sam were friends.
"I guess you can call us friends."
"Do you have superpowers?"
Bucky shrugged. He thought of superpowers belonging to heroes. He would never describe himself as one.
The kid smiled and continued talking despite Bucky’s nonverbal state. “My dad lives in Washington DC now.” 
“That’s nice?” Bucky felt the need to respond to the wide eyes which hadn’t left his face since he opened the door.
“I went to visit him over the summer. He doesn’t live with me and my mom anymore.”
Bucky didn’t miss the glaze of sadness which washed over his face, and he didn’t like how it made him feel.
“Did you like it there?” he asked the boy.
“Yeah! He took me to the Smithsonian.”
Bucky finally understood what the boy was telling him.
“I read about you.”
“Oh.” Bucky’s face fell. The kid had read about the Winter Soldier and his past. “Look, I’m not-”
“You’re my favorite!” The kid was positively beaming up at him.
“F-favorite?” Bucky stuttered, utterly baffled by the response he was receiving. “Favorite what?”
“Howling Commando!” He bobbed up and down with excitement. “You’re Steve Roger’s best friend!”
“Yeah,” Bucky’s face softened and he replied softly, saddened by the thought of his oldest friend. He missed Steve. He looked down at the child before him, his bright eyes and blonde hair. “What’s your name, kid?”
"Steve," he smiled. "My mom named me after Captain America because he saved her life when she was pregnant with me. Dad tells me what happened as a bedtime story on my birthday." The light behind his eyes dimmed with his last words. "He missed it this year."
"I'm sorry, pal."
"Next time I see him, I'm going to tell him I met an Avenger!"
"I bet he will be real impressed!" Bucky smiled, choosing not to correct little Steve.
"When I grow up, I wanna be just like you!"
"I don't think you want that," Bucky answered wistfully.
"You don't think I can be a hero?" Little Steve's face fell.
"Of course you can!" Bucky inwardly cursed his use of language. He knelt down in front of the boy and laid a hand on his shoulder. "But you know my friend, Sam Wilson? Captain America?"
Little Steve nodded solemnly.
"He's the guy you want to grow up to be. Got that?"
"Yes sir, Mr Bucky."
"But if you ever tell him I said that, you'll never get candy here again. Understood?" Bucky said sternly, dropping his last candy bar into the kid's pumpkin basket.
"I'd better get going or I'll miss out on the good candy. No offense, but you gotta get something better than this."
"Working on it, pal," Bucky smiled as you turned the corner, arms laden with several bags. He unburdened you and emptied the contents of one bag into Little Steve's small hands.
He delighted in the sight of the boy's bright eyes and toothy grin. "Thanks!" he cried, backing away with his sugary horde.
"Don't eat it all at once!" Bucky called after him. 
You stood to the side watching the way Bucky had spoken to the little boy, giving him a smug smile.
"What?" Bucky frowned.
"What was that about?" You pointed between Bucky and the spot where Little Steve had stood.
"Kids these days, no respect. We didn't have the luxury of being given this much sugar when I was a kid."
"Is that why you gave him half of what I just brought back?"
Bucky shrugged.
"Come on, let's go inside. The kids may think that blood is fake, but I know better!" You steered Bucky into the apartment. "And if you're good, you'll get a treat too!"
“Did I mention that dress looks incredible on you?" Bucky smirked, eyeing your rockabilly cap sleeve dress with its sweetheart neck and flared skirt. True to the Halloween spirit, it was covered in a pumpkin and ghost design.
You put your arms around his neck. “There will definitely be treats tonight,” you purred into his ear.
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estrellami-1 · 9 months
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If I Should Stay
Part 1 | . . . | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Just wanted to let y’all know that I’m about to get real busy for about a week. I’ll do my best to post on the 3rd or 4th, then again on the 7th or 8th. Thanks for understanding! ❤️
Tensions rise the longer El sits, motionless, in front of the staticky TV. Finally, she speaks. “I see her.”
Steve holds up a hand, stopping all conversation. “Is she alive?”
“Yes. Scared. I- I can’t reach her.”
“That’s okay. Is she safe? For now?”
“For now,” El agrees. “But not for long.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. That’s okay. Can you look for Will, or are you too tired right now?”
“I’m tired. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be, it’s alright. I know how this ends already, remember? Here, want me to take the blindfold off?”
“Yes, please.”
“Robs? Tissue for her nose?”
Robin sprints off as Steve kneels behind El to untie the blindfold. “You did great,” he murmurs. “Thank you.”
“I looked.”
“Which is more than any of us can do,” he reminds her.
“Quick question,” Eddie says, raising his hand. “What in the hell is going on?”
“She’s got superpowers,” Steve says. “Hey, El, want us to blow up the labs while we’re at it?”
Eleven manages a shaky smile. “That would make things easier.”
“So, yes?”
She chuckles and leans into him. “I don’t know. I’m very tired.”
“Yeah, okay. Let me get you upstairs and into a bed, yeah?” She nods, looping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. He chuckles. “I guess I’m carrying you, then?” He asks, but stands anyways, shifting her so she’s in a more comfortable position. “We can talk more once I come back downstairs,” Steve tells the rest of them, “as long as you can talk quietly.”
Nancy smirks. “That might be a little difficult for this group.”
Steve grins, shakes his head, and brings El upstairs. “My bed? Or there’s a guest bed that no one uses.”
She yawns. “Yours?”
“Sure,” he agrees, pushing open his door and tucking her in. “Y’want the door open or closed?”
“Open, please.”
“Alright. Need anything before I go?”
She shakes her head, smiling up at him. “Thank you, Steve.”
He winks at her. “Don’t tell anyone, but you’re my favorite.” She giggles and yawns again, and he chuckles. “Okay, bedtime for real. Night, El.”
“Goodnight, Steve.”
As he walks downstairs, he hears the group talking. He rounds the corner and sees Eddie, Nancy, and Robin in one conversation while the boys have a different one. “Okay,” he says, loud enough to get their attention. “First things first, we need food. If anyone has anything against pizza, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He raises a brow when the boys all start speaking over each other, yelling out their topping preferences. “I’ve known you for three years,” he reminds them. “I know what you want on your pizza.”
“Prove it,” Dustin says, spark in his eyes.
Steve rolls his eyes. “You just want me to prove even more that I’m from the future,” he says, but points to each of the boys in turn. “Pepperoni, meat lovers, pepperoni.”
Lucas narrows his eyes at Steve. “Lucky guess.”
“Christ, what is it going to take with you? You like basketball because you watch it with your dad. You want to try out for the team but are scared you won’t be good enough. You are, by the way, and I help you with some of that. Your little sister Erica is a brat and a loudmouth but you love her and her weird obsession with government.”
“Don’t forget about El,” Robin adds. “She’ll want pizza when she wakes up.”
“Yeah. Eddie? What do you want on your pizza?”
Eddie smirks. “What, you don’t know?”
“I don’t, actually, because we meet while you’re on the run from something you didn’t do. There’s not much time for small talk, and you deferred to the kids when it came to food.”
Eddie looks at him for a long second before nodding. “I like pepperoni just fine,” he says, and Steve nods.
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hana-no-seiiki · 1 month
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& what happens when Y/N just. Refuses to accept the baby? I'm actively avoiding having kids, I cannot trust myself to be a parent in any capacity, really. So when they present a child? That they had made BEHIND MY BACK? as a way to GUILT-TRIP ME? Both them & that baby can rot in hell for all I care, if they don't have me locked up already I'm skipping town. God that sounds heartless but I can't be a parent, I just can't -💗
that’s the thing they’ll guilt trip you to death, have people write articles about you, sue you. and you won’t be able to do anything because they’re the waynes.
money is power and the batfam have way too much of it
babytrapping is the mildest thing they can do to you. because at the very least you can somewhat benefit from it. hell you don’t even have to take care of the kid they’ll hire people for that. they just need you to be emotionally attached.
if you don’t want the kid then they can simply make your life hell so that you’ll come crawling to them.
and the best (worst?) thing about them being rich and all is that unless you’re an inherently paranoid person you won’t even know that they pushed you into staying with them. you’ll see them as your saviors as they actively destroy your life in the background.
you can’t even escape them via death cause you bet they have 24/7 surveillance over you.
this is why i often write reader as a vigilante/hero/villain with superpowers so the well- power dynamic wouldn’t be so jarring. some writers like that shit and good for them but im a brat/dom reader person
in anycase
they’re also extremely patient, mostly because bruce is there to hold back his kids with doing something drastic
they can hire actors, even create a completely fake life for you. university, work, or otherwise. and make those actors break you down so that they can pick up the pieces and make you into something that — in their eyes — is more beautiful.
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bet-on-me-13 · 1 year
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Immortal Cop Danny P.2
Part 1
So, we have seen my scenario where Danny is revealed as an Immortal Cop really late in the Timeline, like nearly the entire Batfamily has already been formed kinds of late.
But what about a world where Danny has been on the Force since Batman Year 1?
Officer/Detective Nightingale has been one of the best and most loyal members of the GCPD for well over 3 decades. He didn't hide his "Meta Ability" when he first joined the force, since Gotham hadn't been introduced to all of their Superpowered Rouges yet, and the attitude for Metas in Gotham was nowhere near as harsh as it would be in the future.
He was one of the Go-To Cops in the early days of the Batman, since he had proven to be trustworthy and most people felt comfortable talking to him. Most of the community respected him, although some saw his power of Immortality as unnatural or freakish.
Batman met Officer Danny on one of his earliest cases. Danny pushed him out of the way of a Bullet and saved his life, getting shot in the process.
Bruce will never forget when Danny reached into the hole on his side and pulled the bullet out with his fingers. He didn't even flinch.
Danny has also been one of Commissioner Gordon's best friends and closest confidants for years. He was even offered the job of Commissioner once due to his extensive experience on the Force, but refused since he knew Gotham would never accept a Meta Commissioner, or maybe because he believed that he wasn't the right fit for the job.
Dick remembers the time when Officer Nightingale found out about Robin's age. He will always think of Danny laying into Bruce for bringing in such a young kid as one of his fondest memories.
Gordon remembers being invited to dinner with Danny's mom, a nice if cryptic lady dressed in gothic clothes who thanked him for all the work he did for the city, and for keeping her streets as safe as possible. Apparently she did the same for Batman, who had gone to Danny's apartment for some information and left with a full belly and plenty of leftovers.
He was basically the best Cop you could ask for. Calm, kind, honest, understanding, and he genuinely seemed to be trying to help the people around him.
Barbra calls him Uncle Danny, and he was there to help her adjust when she lost use of her legs.
Commissioner Gordon thinks of Danny as his best Cop/Friend, unflappable and loyal to a fault.
Bruce thinks of him as one of his more trusted allies, on the same level as Commissioner Gordon even.
Robin called him "Cool Cop D". Later, he was one of the reasons Dick decided to become a Police Officer.
Hell, even Damian commended the man's resolve to help the City, which was considered a monumental feat at the time.
Which is why it was such a shock when Danny disappeared.
He just didn't show up for work one day. This in and of itself wasn't too out of the ordinary, but he usually called in to tell them he was gonna miss a day. They thought it was just because he was so anxious lately, jumping at the little things like a guy bumping into him or asking to leave room at the mention of Autopsies
Then he missed the next day. Not that bad, I mean he had been really stressed out recently. Maybe he just needed an extra day, to work off the stress? Nobody was really worried anything had happened to him, he was immortal after all, but they were still concerned.
Then he missed a third day. This was far more concerning. The last time this happened, Danny had been found passed out in his apartment because he hadn't slept in days and hadn't eaten in weeks (what's the point if he won't die either way?).
He had been put on medical leave for a month after that.
So one of the guys decided to visit his house, just to see if he needed some help.
They find the apartment empty. No evidence that he ever lived there. It was like the entire place had been scrubbed clean of anything that even hinted at his existence, and whoever had done it obviously wanted to cover their tracks.
So, an investigation is launched.
And almost instantly, the Feds take the Case from the GCPD and declare Danny as dead a week later.
Seems they forgot to take a look at his Resume...
So Gordon takes this to Bats, who immediately starts investigating the Feds in White who showed up to steal the case.
...
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dollyyss · 5 months
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ok ok if you haven’t gotten any requests yet would you do main four + butters and maybe how they kiss you….
~🍋
Mwahaha thank you for this, idk why but recently butters has just been on my mind and I needed to start adding him. I WANNA SQUISH hisS GOD DAMN FACE AND TWLL HIM HOW MUCH OF A FUCKING CUTIE HE IS I CANT GET OVER HIM
Also most definitely wanna start writing for Craig’s gang too so if anyone wants to see that please let me know!!
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
How the main four + butters kiss you
Established Relationship ₊ ⊹
All characters are aged up! High school AU! ‧₊˚✩彡
Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Cartman and Butters! 𐙚
𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: none!! If there is anyway please let me know!
I think you can tell what two I enjoyed writing for with this one.. I think I almost cried.
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Kyle 🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐
-My gentle boy. His kisses are as stated, so fucking gentle. No day will go by where he treats you harshly. Everything he does he does carefully and softly. His lips are also soft, I see him wearing chapstick so he’s got a slight sweet taste to his lips.
-His normal kisses are quick pecks to your lips, the corner of your lips or your temples. These kisses occur when he sees you for the first time that day wether it be he picks you up in his car to take you to school, dropping you off to any classes you have without him or when he’s saying goodbye when you have to leave at any circumstance or situation. When he gives quick kisses his hands will either be on your waist or he places a hand to hold your arm quickly.
-but his deep kisses.. oh now those.. are different. He’s slow, while you sit beside him on his bed; heart pounding blood cells inflating your heart and racing out to the rest of your body as he inches closer. His hand will slowly come up to your face, his cold palm soft against your cheek as he gets close enough to just trace his lips against yours, your breathe playing with his. His eyes will linger for a moment your noses brushing before his lashes close with his eyes and his lips are pushed against yours in a gentle manner. It’s until you move closer wanting more that he gets just a bit more aggressive, he’ll push a bit harder until you have to grip onto his shoulders as he continues to hold your face. He’ll move to get even closer, pulling your face just as close. These moments are out of desperation. Not in a silly awful way but in ways that he just needs you. He hasn’t seen you in some time? He’ll kiss you like this to remind you how much he’s missed you. When he feels the mood is right and feels things will go further then just making out these kisses become more heated, more touchy, more whiny.
-when he’s comforting you, his kisses have more meaning behind them. Not that they never do but these are special kisses to when they are needed. Almost like his very own superpower for you. He kisses everywhere he deems perfect. Your forehead, temples, nose, collarbones, shoulders. Anywhere just to hear those soft giggles again.
-Kyle mother fucking Broflovski. I love this hot headed motherfucker. P.S I was listening to only by RY X to write this bit.. and I fell more in love.
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Stan .° ༘🎧⋆🖇₊˚ෆ
-another Gentle kisser, but only in times when he feels quiet. Small even. Or when he knows you just need him or in just simple greetings and goodbyes. His lips are a bit chapped but not crazily, more or so from biting them so much due to pent up frustrations or anxiety.
-he’s a nervous kisser. As a kid puking when around someone he likes was fairly common, but he grew out of that a bit. He still curses himself though when your lips are on his because he feels that same core in his stomach tightening and his throat growing heavy. You just don’t know how nervous you make this boy. He’s nervous in many ways, but his normal kisses consist of a kiss to the forehead and or lips. He’ll have you curled against him while you watch something he’s been really into recently, or watching him play a game and every once and a while he’ll turn to place a warm affirming kiss to your forehead. Sometimes before class he’ll push back your hair to place a kiss to your head and chuckles at your grumpy grumbles you give him as you try to fix your hair again. And when he kisses your lips, he lingers, not wanting to let go from yours as they feel so soft against his like they fit so perfectly.
- When he’s feeling needy, his kisses become a bit more hungry and linger far more. They become curious even. His lips want more, why are you pulling away? He likes to swipe his tongue under your lip slightly just so you can gasp softly and he pulls you in close by your hips devouring as much as he can get. Like Kyle he becomes more desperate, much needier.
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Kenny ₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉
-mmmm Kenny. I promise you he was sweet moments. He’s just so infatuated with you he can’t help himself at times? Surprisingly he’s lips are quite soft, might I add softer then kyle’s.
- a common kiss from kenny are also out of nowhere. He randomly grabs your face and places a trillion kisses to your lips. Squishing your lips so you look silly while he gives you such wet kisses. It annoys the hell out of you when he starts the squishing but how could you say no when he laughs against your lips when you roll your eyes at him, when he smiles that pretty smile just to give you a kiss to your cheek and let you get to your class, dropping you off at home or seeing you. Denying him is like denying you life. He’s a silly kisser for sure. But it shows that he doesn’t just do this to get off, just to have your lips on him. No he wants to. He wants you to know that you’re more then that to him, and if he has to give you a trillion and one kisses he will.
-But this is Kenny we’re talking about so his kisses differ when the mood changes. When you’re underneath him, gripping his arms and so desperately trying to reach up to his lips he chuckles so devilishly. He’s a teaser.. and he knows how badly you love his kisses so when you can’t get them.. and suddenly he’s suffocating you with his kiss the world pops. And then pauses. Everything in you rattles as if he’s taken over you. It’s sloppy, so deep his tongue will dance with yours, exploring your mouth.. And Yet.. he makes it so meaningful all at the same time? He’ll bite your bottom lip before smirking and letting go, placing a gentle kiss to the bite mark and continuing on.
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Cartman 🎧✮🧺✧˖°
-It’s Cartman. He’s not much of a kisser but when he does it’s always for a reason. There never is not a reason. But he won’t ever tell you that oh no no no cartman keeps this to himself, though it really isn’t hard to catch onto his reasoning for many things. He never puts reason to anything unless he genuinely is invested in it, and you happen to be one of them.
- His normal kisses are quick, to the point and not as meaningful these are to say hello, or goodbye when he sees you throughout the day. They aren’t anything special. But when you’re angry? He’s quick to swallow his pride and grab your wrists pulling you into a kiss in hopes to calm you down, he lingers for a moment before pulling away and giving you the “are you done look” it’s more to cover up the fact that he just wanted to help calm you down. Having a panic attack freaking out over god knows what he’s quick to grab the sides of your face and place a kiss to your lips, slowly presses kisses to your cheekbones. He always tells you he’s just kissing you to just.. kiss you but.. it has to mean something. It’s cartman something always means something.
- Anything sex related completely different story. He’s a mess, his hair his all over the place, cheeks flushed and lips plumped due to your excessive kissing. This is one of the only times he’ll fully admit why he’s doing it. Why he’s being so missy so.. lovey. So unlike cartman. These kisses tend to come out because he can’t help himself. He can’t contain himself any longer and will admit to the fact that he needs your lips on his.
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Butters ˚☆🐈*๑
-he’s so loving. He’s so.. he’s just so RAWRRRR. He’s such a sleepy kisser, such a dopey love sick puppy for you and your lips. He tends to taste like sweets.. ahh don’t say anything he wasn’t supposed to have that slice of cake from the fridge.. he’ll get grounded.
-He’s so in love with you. Like Cartman in one way and one way only. He’ll kiss you when you ramble. I think for him it’s more that he can’t help himself, he watches the way your lips move and he just needs them. He watches them so intently and so carefully so he knows when to kiss you so he doesn’t cut you off from your story. He waits to you finish taking your breath and dives in to kiss your lips. Please.. please run your fingers through his hair.. he melts into your lips so quickly if he feels your fingers curling his straight strands. His kisses are sweet, happy. Filled with so much trust.. he’s almost tooth rotting how fucking soft he is. How sweet he is. When you’re studying at his place he asks if you want some water, getting up to place his hands on the back of your chair and placing a kiss to behind your ear. He kisses you to just kiss you. There’s never an evil meaning behind it never a vile meaning by it, not even in this intimate moments. He kisses you when he greets you, drops you off anywhere in these moments he places a kiss to your lips then to your nose before going back to your lips. And it’s a must. If you forget to do it in your greetings and goodbyes.. he’ll be so sad. In any other moments he kisses you all over, you always end up smiling so happily while he kisses you, as he’s quickly giving you big smooches on your cheeks and listening to your pretty laugh.
-in intimate moment he’s the same. His kisses never change, they’re always loving. Reassuring, trusting. They always felt like home. They always feel safe. Feel genuine. He won’t even go any harder unless you feel him you want him to be aggressive.. because he wants whatever makes you happy.
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harunayuuka2060 · 10 months
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Kid MC: *is now seven years old* Are we going to Majolish again, Papa?
Simeon: *chuckles* Yes. We need to buy you new clothes.
Kid MC: *pouts* But we bought some clothes the other day.
Simeon: Did we? Papa can't seem to remember.
Kid MC: *pouts even more*
Simeon: *laughs* *carries them up*
Simeon: Papa will buy us matching outfits. That sounds great to you?
Kid MC: Hm! But you need to cover when you're trying on clothes, Papa!
Simeon: Why?
Kid MC: Women are drooling when they see you.
Simeon: I— Where did you learn to speak that way?
Kid MC: Uncle Asmo!
Simeon: Hm-hm. Looks like I have to lecture your uncle.
Kid MC: It's true though! They're visibly drooling!
Simeon: *slightly embarrassed* MC... *chuckles*
Lucifer: Has anyone seen Simeon?
Mammon: He went shopping with the lil' nugget.
Lucifer: Ah, I see.
Lucifer: ...
Lucifer: When he arrives, just tell him to go to my study. There's something I would like to discuss with him.
Belphie: Is it about the Celestial Realm asking him to come back?
Mammon: No joke? They haven't stopped?
Lucifer: Unfortunately, they're being persistent.
Simeon: What is this important matter you want to discuss?
Lucifer: The obvious one.
Simeon: Really? *frowning a little* I had already given them my answer.
Lucifer: Raphael will be paying us a visit.
Simeon: ...
Simeon: Just great.
Lucifer: Do you want to stay in the Demon Lord's Castle for a while?
Simeon: Yes. I think that would be better.
Kid MC: *entering the study* Papa!
Simeon: *smiles* Yes?
Kid MC: *runs to him* I received a letter from Uncle Luke!
Simeon: *a bit shocked* Really?
Kid MC: Hm! But it's a secret message and I can't read it! *giving the letter to him*
Simeon: Oh. *chuckles* Let's see— *his face turned serious*
Lucifer: ...
Kid MC: *jumping in excitement* What did it say, Papa?!
Simeon: *forced a smile* W-Well... It says that he might visit us in the near future.
Kid MC: Like a vacation?!
Simeon: Y-Yes...
Kid MC: Yay! I'm writing a reply to Uncle Luke! *runs out of the study*
Simeon: ...
Lucifer: *gets the letter from him*
Lucifer: *glares at it* Please tell me they're not being serious about this.
Simeon: ...
Luke's message:
I overheard the conversation between Michael and Raphael.
They want to turn MC into an angel.
Isn't that going to be a painful process for them, Simeon?
Kid MC: Why are we staying in the Demon Lord's Castle, Papa?
Simeon: The brothers had destroyed some parts of the house.
Kid MC: But they've always been destroying stuff.
Simeon: *chuckles* Yes.
Kid MC: Can't they just fix the house?
Simeon: The renovation will take some time.
Kid MC: Uncle Tantan could fix it in seconds.
Simeon: *chuckles*
Barbatos: *welcomes them at the entrance*
Barbatos: Good day. The young master is waiting.
Kid MC: Uncle Barbatos! *goes to hug him*
Barbatos: *smiles* *lifting them up* Why, hello? You've grown so much.
Kid MC: We just saw each other last month, Uncle.
Barbatos: Oh. Did we?
Simeon: I apologize for the sudden notice.
Barbatos: No need to apologize. We were expecting you.
Diavolo: It seems they're targeting your child.
Simeon: *has asked Barbatos to play with MC while he's discussing things with Diavolo*
Simeon: So it seems.
Diavolo: ...
Diavolo: You must be so afraid for the safety of your child.
Simeon: ...
Simeon: I'm sure everyone in Celestial Realm thinks they're doing me a favor. Except with Luke, of course. *smiles bitterly*
Diavolo: ...
Diavolo: We will protect you and your child. Just as what we have promised to you when you first arrived here.
Simeon: Thank you, Diavolo. I really appreciate it.
Kid MC: Uncle Barbatos? Do all demons have superpowers?
Barbatos: I think so. Yes.
Kid MC: How can I know what's mine?
Barbatos: It depends. Why are you asking about superpowers anyway?
Kid MC: I want to make Papa smile!
Barbatos: Hm? Isn't Simeon always smiling?
Kid MC: Yes! But Papa doesn't smile like his real smile! Sometimes he's faking it!
Barbatos: ...
Barbatos: Well, adults get tired sometimes. And of course, your father doesn't want to show it in front of you.
Kid MC: Really?
Barbatos: Yes. Really.
Kid MC: Hmm... But if I get my superpowers, I want Papa to be really really happy!
Barbatos: *chuckles* I'm sure he is already since the day you were born.
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cenittxnadir · 10 months
Text
Morning talk with SingleDad! Miguel O´Hara
This is the next part of the series of SingleDad Miguel, hope you like it. I appreciate every comments
It is well known that Miguel has terrible sleep hygiene. He lasts whole days without sleeping and when he has the opportunity to do so, he does so in an uncomfortable chair in his laboratory. He doesn't always manage to get home to have a well-deserved rest, many times he is caught up in things at work or finds himself in some dimension dealing with some anomaly and not to mention possible time changes between dimensions.
They are the worst.
But for Miguel the most difficult thing is to see how little by little he is losing his daughter, he is not always in the best conditions to take care of Gabriela and that is something that little by little kills him inside. Despite the fact that Gaby has made it clear in multiple times that she doesn't mind that her dad can't always be there for her as long as you're present.
For Miguel and Gabriela your arrival was more than a blessing, many would think that they are exaggerating but it is the truth, Miguel felt that he was failing as a father and he felt that he should do more for his daughter, he knew that he had to ask for help but O'Hara was a proud man.
"Of course I can take care of my daughter, have a stable job, protect my city and why not, also safeguard the multiverse and go to my daughter's training sessions on weekends."
Everyone could see how the world was coming down on Miguel, except him.
After you met him at that party, you began to hang out and when you realized the big problem he had, you offered to help him a little, you didn't have superpowers and you weren't a genius, but for Miguel you always had the power to make him feel better about himself and you always managed to keep Gaby happy, and, if Gabriela was happy he was too.
So when Gabriela found out that you would live with them, she was so happy that she kept telling you what their weekends would be like and how they would spend time together non-stop.
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Today was one of those rare days when Miguel could spend the weekend at home with his little family. The night before, he had promised Gaby that he would take her to school next day. Today is the other day and Miguel had fallen asleep making Gaby late for school.
Those mornings were chaotic but without a doubt you would never change them.
After Miguel memorized all the commands and instructions that you left in the refrigerator, he took Gaby and put her in the car, starting the car in record time.
During the journey to school they were silent, probably both were still half asleep, neither of them managed to comb their hair. Miguel was the first to break the silence.
"So... how do you feel with her at home? you are happy?" Miguel asked as he leaned his head towards his daughter waiting for an answer without stopping to see the road.
"I really like having her around, also, her food is very tasty. More than yours." Gabriela said between laughs. She liked to tease his dad from time to time. He took food very seriously, it was his way of showing his affection when words did not allow it.
"More than mine..." Miguel repeats in a low voice "Okay, it doesn't bother me. I didn't want to cook anymore anyway." And the drama begins. "It's not like cooking is our favorite thing to do together. No, not at all."
"Just kidding, I like your food, but you have to admit that mom's food is good. You always fall asleep on the couch after eating what she makes" Gaby had the biggest smile he had ever seen.
"Mom? Since when did you call her mom? What am I missing?" Miguel stopped the car at the red light, turning to see his daughter.
Gaby's cheeks were a little red. "Well... I started calling her that after it slipped out by mistake at one of my soccer practices. She said it was fine as long as you and I felt comfortable."
"Mom huh? And what do you think about that? Would you like her to be your mom?" Miguel's tone was definitely serious.
"Yes" Gaby didn't hesitate for a second to answer, it's as if she had already had this conversation in her head over and over again and in none of them would she have said no. Every time she thought about it, you always showed up, at her training sessions, at her school events, God, even she had already thought about how her first mothers day would be with you there at her festival.
"I think she's good for you Pa and if she's good for you and makes you happy, so am I." At that moment Gaby was speaking from the bottom of her heart. "Besides, you're getting old, you're lucky she noticed you" And there it was, the usual Gaby was back, bothering her father in the most affectionate way possible, in the only way a daughter like her and a father like him could show their affection.
"First of all, how dare you. Second I'M NOT OLD, it's the stress. What makes you think I'm old." Miguel kept driving as soon as the light turned green. On the other hand, Gabriela was laughing. "Well, the other day I heard you tell mom that your back and knees were starting to hurt. That's for old people"
"For the sake of my health, I'm going to ignore the fact that my precious daughter called me old. What I mean is that if I ask her to marry me, would you be okay with that?"
"Definitely, if life had given me to choose who my mother would be from the beginning, I would choose her, in this and in all universes. If one day you two separate -I hope not- I would choose to go with her. I think that that makes it clear what I think."
Miguel remained silent for a while, getting closer and closer to the school entrance. "Well, I think the decision has been made" Miguel said as he accelerated.
"You just passed the school entrance" Gaby was confused "Where are we going?"
"To the mall" Miguel just shrugged his shoulders as if it were something obvious
"For what?" Gaby only saw how her school was moving away from her sight
"To buy an engagement ring"
"That's good because I was going to tell you that I forgot my backpack at home"
"AY GABRIELA!"
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barrenclan · 5 months
Note
is it weird i’m thinking about a werewolf cormorantpaw au?? is that normal to think about werewolf cats??
(This was my Patreon illustration for October 2023! Go check it out if you feel like giving me a couple dollars)
Okay so fair warning, I have slightly hijacked this ask to talk about my MHA AU instead! I came up with it in a feverish pitch on the Discord this summer. But it's basically a REVERSE werewolf AU so it's fine!! WEHEHEHE ANYWAYS
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I'm sure all of you know the basics of MHA, everyone has superpowers and there's heroes and villains and whatnot. (I have my own problems with MHA but it is such a fun world to play around with. And it has Shigaraki, which is a notable point in its favor. Regardless) The backdrop for this AU is basically the human AU for PATFW - ratty small Nebraska town, Defiance is a secret cult in the woods, etc. You can read more about it in the 'human au' tag.
I didn't include descriptions for Cormorantpaw and Pinepaw's Quirks in the drawing because I wanted to explain them a little more - they're a bit complicated. Pinepaw's Quirk, Seeing Eyes, allows him to form eyes on any part of his body, and up to around 20 at one time. However, any more than that and he starts to get overwhelmed; and unbeknownst to him, he starts getting prophetic visions. Corm's Quirk, Beastform, lets him change into the design you see in the drawing, basically a big Set animal with heightened senses and strength. But since his Quirk activated, the longer he stays in the form, the longer it is before he change back.
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(Daffodilpaw, Asphodelpaw, Slugpelt, Rainhaze, Nightberry, Deepdark)
These are the rest of the main characters that I came up with Quirks for, although I do have some vague ideas for a couple other characters.
Applying Quirks is the main AU thing that changes here, and it's a big one with Corm! So in short, Thrasher (Dustin Turner) in this AU would have been a thief villain whose Quirk was having wings and talon-like hands and arms, but eventually one of his wings gets ripped off and it destroys his career. So when he starts having kids with Hush Puppy (Hope Turner), he’s super Endeavor about it and begins testing them all for training. Cormorantpaw (Cesar) becomes his favorite because of his Beastform Quirk, so he really starts hammering on Cormorant and doing his canon typical horrible abusive training.
They don’t realize at first the limit on Corm’s Quirk, since it's super short and unnoticeable at first, but eventually they realize that each times he changes it gets longer to change back. Once Hush Puppy dies, there’s nothing stopping Thrasher and he forces Corm to constantly train and do crimes for him in his Beastform. So by the time that he’s dead, Cormorant is essentially stuck in his scary beast form, and everyone assumes he was just born with a really fucked up physical Quirk. And then he comes to BarrenClan town! That's where the "plotline" of this AU would kick in.
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And I did have to throw in an actual werewolf Cormorantpaw drawing. Mostly so I can justify my unhinged anime AU.
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Text
A Critique of Riordan's: Neurodivergency
tldr: Rick made ADHD and dyslexia superpowers in the books which fit the time he wrote the books, but it's not accepted now cause it diminishes neurodivergent struggle. At the same time he made autism coded characters the 'annoying' ones and had a very racist thing of having the only neurotypical be Frank.
He tried to fix it in the show. It worked for about 3 seconds.
TW: Ableism, Autism speaks mention, r slur, anti-schizo stuff.
This paragraph is useless so don't read if you don't want to: Sitting in my drafts are 3 different 'A critique of Riordan's' posts i made as i tried to redo my full critique of the Riordanverse with a little more positive feedback and a little less Rick Riordan is the devil spawn. I have decided to not do it in order because because i watched the show and i noticed some things which were iffy and others which were great. So yeah neurodivergency first. Enjoy and think Critically.
Books
Research and Diversity
The books were written in the early 2000s for Rick's son who has ADHD and dyslexia
As a result, it takes on a very "your ADHD and dyslexia is a superpower" message which were popular during the time, but we recognise now has delegitimised neurodivergent struggles
Also as a result, the books were very focused on his son's symptoms, and represented ADHD as a monolith which quickly turned into stereotypes (e.g jumpy, impatient and fast reflexes becoming the connecting feature of half-bloods)
It got so unresearched that at one point he said:
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He also talks about coffee in a similar way, despite sugar and coffee not making us more hyperactive and instead making us sleepy. Unless all the scientists and people with ADHD are wrong i really don't know this works.
and also said this: "Leo was extremely ADHD even by demigod standards" Like what
But the worst part about the PJO books was that the neurodivergency was limited to the first book. Percy's ADHD and dyslexia magically vanish and honestly it's only really brought back up in HOO every now and then (not very well might i add)
Ways he could have improved:
He could have given other characters, like Annabeth, more diverse symptoms of ADHD. It wasn't that hard, For Annabeth recognise that she as a 'gifted kid' is more likely to have undiagnosed and so have to face the issues related to being undiagnosed and/or being both a gifted kid and having ADHD, and then also give her more symptoms common to girls like being really chatty or frequently daydreaming.
Continuing having ADHD (and dyslexia) as constant parts of the novels rather than throwaway lines. Build it into the characters actions and persona rather than add it on like an accessory
Research. Never stop researching. Always reach out to people with the disorders and ask them to help. Writing is nothing without research.
Get sensitivity readers
Grammar
This is really minor, but he keeps say ____ was ADHD, and like gramattically that's a no. I am not a disorder i am a person with a disorder . Note for autism, the prefered grammer is Autistic person (aka turn into adjective and describe, something we can't do with ADHD)
Nico and Leo
Making Leo and Nico the 2 characters who were annoying and unlikeable (to everyone else not to fans) was really weird cause these 2 characters were the autistic coded ones.
NOTE: I did see a post explaining it better in the past, and i will link it when/if i find it again.
Tyson and the R Slur
I genuinely think he tried to make the r-slur scene show that it was bad, but the way Percy reacted to it wasn't quite right. Especially for childrens books these things need to be really clear. So it was good to make a bad bully character who was hated say it, but he could have made it better by skipping Percy saying "He’s not r*tarded" and go straight to "I had to try really, really hard not to punch Sloan the face."
The scene was ok, it could have been better, but again these were written in the 2000s, we have to acknowledge that.
Percy and School
Now this is interesting because this is more recent. Percy tried really hard in school and was smart, it was part of his characterisation. But he never did well in school, because that's how his disability affected him (especially since it was the American school system which we all know is shit and even more shit for people with learning disabilities).
The problem stems from TSATS, where Percy is made out to skip school, and not try at all (feeds into people with ADHD do bad cause they don't try/are lazy)
credits to @aroaceleovaldez
Racism: Frank Zhang
Frank Zhang the only Asian member of the 7 has no form of neurodivergency, despite the rest of them all having. It must be a just coincidence that there's a stereotype that asians are really smart and good at maths and the fact that the rest of the Romans have dyscalculia/s.
It's not weird at all that the character instead has lactose intolerance, which is really common in East Asia unlike dyslexia, ADHD or dyscalculia, which has such a low rate of diagnosis because there is a large stigma behind the disorders and because white people don't think Asians can have learning disabilities/s. No not weird at all that the dude is described with symptoms of dyspraxia but Rick refuses to recognise he is not neurotypical/s
I'm stepping out of sarcasm speak to remind you that Asians with learning disabilities are significantly less likely to get diagnosed with anything because:
because their parents won't let them until they have no other choice (glares at my parents) because there's a massive stigma behind intellectual/learning/development disorders in these communities
When we do try to get diagnosed our claims are diminished because of racist stereotypes and the belief that booksmarts/giftedness = no learning disability. It means most psychologists and psychiatrists (who are usually white) think that all Asians are smart so they don't ever have any form of neurodivergency and we're left to struggle.
Schizo Rep
Octavian. Villain. Schizo. Again.
Do i even need to explain this?
Show
Not actually a specific disorder - Percy just has a learning disability
Interestly Percy's dyslexia is just never talked about, And even his ADHD is never mentioned by name. He's got a random learning disorder which isn't specified. At first i assumed it was still ADHD cause the books, but watching more, you realise they aren't actually focusing on what learning disorder he has and what he has to deal with as a result of that. It's just a generic learning disorder.
Which is weird because learning disorders are all different and we all face different things, even with the same disorder. So placing all learning disorders in the same group? not good. Don't know what i expected from disney, but it wasn't this.
Autism Speaks
So the show tried to acknowledge that Percy was constantly told he was special and heroic when he really wanted to have help for his issues and for people to recognise that he has problems and those are bad. It also represented less stereotypical adhd symptoms (though whether that's because the disorder is no longer adhd or whether they wanted more inattentive symptoms to be present, we'll never know)
but then it went ahead and used a broken puzzle metaphor for his neurodivergency?
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Puzzle piece metaphors when talking about any form of neurodivergency are a no go because the creators of the metaphor literally want Autistic people dead.
I DON'T GIVE A SHIT THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE AUTISM, WE ARE NOT ALLIES TO THE AUTISM COMMUNITY IF WE USE THE LANGUAGE AUTISM SPEAKS CREATED
Not only that but a broken puzzle is not a good way to represent us anyways because NEURODIVERGENTS AREN'T BROKEN.
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oceanic-sunsets · 7 months
Text
Mike around El and his very obvious Not-Crush
I want to start this off with a disclaimer: I interpret Mike as gay, so this analysis and the points I’ll bring up were written with this in mind. Now, let’s begin! 
Since my first watch, I always thought it was kind of weird-funny how Mike never showed any kind of shyness towards El, unlike the other boys, who the audience and characters in-universe never think of as having a crush on El. 
So they know El is a girl pretty early on, so when she first goes home with Mike and he lends her dry clothes, everyone freaks out when she tries to change right there in front of them. Pretty normal reaction for anyone, especially 12 year old boys! So, even in the middle of their freak out, Mike remains as the most well composed of the boys.
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He doesn’t turn around, instead, is quick to stop her, even reaching out towards her arms, and explain she should change in the bathroom, because, well, privacy. 
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He even guides El towards the bathroom door, and we know that he tries to close it but El stops him. So, he understands, she’s still scared, and again, explains she can keep it mostly closed, leaving a small gap open so she feels safer. 
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And then Mike goes to talk with Lucas and Dustin, who are still freaking out and talking about how she’s crazy, Lucas remarks “She tried to get naked” and Dustin makes the same hand gesture three times to really drive his point across. 
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And Mike? remains calm, really, his head is elsewhere, not stuck on the fact that a random, weird girl tried to change her clothes in front of them. Instead, his gears are turning, he’s already coming up with a plan so they can stay out of trouble, so she can be safe, and they can keep looking for Will: El has to stay the night, which Dustin finds insane.
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So, I first interpreted these kind of scenes as Mike being the more mature one of the boys. He NEVER goes “but she’s a girl!” the other characters are the ones who keep pointing that out to him. But really, Mike just treats her like a human being (and then he discovers she has superpowers). 
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And really, it’s funny how fascinating they keep finding this, but not surprising. Again, this is a normal reaction! that’s why I thought Mike was just the logical, more mature one. But that’s not really why: he just never made a distinction or a big fuss to separate THEM, boys, and El, a GIRL, until later on when people kept bringing that up. For Mike, El was just another kid just like them, he shows her his house, his TV, his toys, and has no issue getting close and just treating her like another friend. 
There’s another reason that points to the Duffers being aware of what they’re trying to do. It’s subtle if you’re not looking for it, and really, it just flies under most people’s radars, including our own! 
So we all know this scene, right?  
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The first instance of Mike being directly told he has to have a crush on her, because… he is nice to her, and she’s a girl. So, clearly. And then the bullies arrive, call Will homophobic slurs and Mike gets hurt, we know how that one goes. But you know the scene that plays directly before this one? 
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It’s Nancy. They’re making fun of her/shaming her because she hooked up with Steve, and we know how this plot goes too: the girl is slut-shamed and the boy is praised/admired for “getting” her. Nancy is worried because she left Barb alone and the next thing she knows, her friend is missing too. And she doesn’t feel guilty just because she dismissed Barb, she feels shame, and the kind of comment she’s receiving just adds to the guilt. 
And all this? it’s part of heteronormativity too, and all its social standards of what’s expected of people based on their gender and sexuality. Nancy? A slut for hooking up with Steve. Will? probably killed for being gay! The boys? get bullied just as Lucas is hugging Mike, even if it’s part of a joke. Mike? must like El, because he is a boy who is nice to her, and she’s a girl! See where I’m going? 
Next scene I’m going to talk about is this one: 
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And… It’s a great scene, really. But nothing about it is romantic. The boys help El dress up, and Mike even does her makeup and doesn’t mind! and, I’m sorry, but what 12 year old with a crush is NOT nervous to be that close? he’s just 100% concentrated in what he’s doing.
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And then El comes out, full makeover, and Mike’s reaction is just very sweet and genuine. Dustin hesitates: “She looks…” and Mike immediately goes “pretty”. Now, some people interpret this scene as Mike finally Realizing El is Actually a Girl. I both agree and disagree. 
I agree because that’s how it probably goes for Mike, just now in the sense most people expect. We should keep in mind the previous scenes: Mike is now aware of what other people think/what is expected of him. So he goes “pretty”, and oh, no, she’s a Girl, I can’t say that! they’re going to think I have a crush on her! “...pretty good” saved it:) but wait. That just makes it look even more like a crush! So maybe it is a crush, right? So, I think of this scene as the moment of Mike deciding that yeah, it must be a crush, making now a distinction between “friend” and “girl”.
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Other people have mentioned how particular this choice is: why would they have Mike next to El in the mirror? in the same scene where she’s presenting herself as Actually a Girl for the first time, wearing a pink dress, next to Mike, a Boy, who is even wearing blue! I don’t even think this analysis classifies as far-fetched for the same reason I mentioned earlier: the themes of the show are clear since the beginning, and plots like Nancy’s, Will’s, and later on El’s (and Max's) support that. Mike’s, however? it comes across as subtle (because really, it’s not), but it’s always been there, and the way the Wheelers are portrayed as a family confirms that too. 
 I don’t think he consciously makes the choice to pretend, more like it makes sense for him too, and the future events of the show just keep reinforcing this idea: she’s a girl with superpowers, who saves him and his friends many times, and people keep telling him he likes her! why wouldn’t he like her? And then there’s also survivor’s guilt but uhh… Let’s not go there, that’s another whole analysis. 
It’s now time to talk about my least favorite topic: mlvn’s kisses. They have never been portrayed as genuinely romantic to me, even if I did think the snowball one was sweet when I first watched it. But that’s the thing: it’s cute, I guess, but it’s just there like a point you have to mark as done in a checklist. Entirely different to Lucas’ and Max’s scenes: Lucas hesitates when he asks Max to dance, and he’s clearly nervous, exhaling before asking, and their kiss is awkwardly endearing, genuine, and realistic for their age unlike anything in Mike and El’s relationship and… The beginning of s3 is proof of that. It’s almost like they’re kissing to prove a point: El is older now, and Mike is her boyfriend, they kiss like in the soap operas! (for Hopper’s and the audience’s dismay) and for Mike, well, El is his girlfriend, that’s what he’s supposed to do, right? (as he takes her hands off him). 
Going back to the snowball, Mike plays the “date” role too perfectly. He does exactly what he should: he tells El she looks beautiful and asks her to dance, again, no hesitance. They dance and he kisses her… You guessed it, no hesitance. You could argue that it’s because it’s not their first thing, but the thing is… That one was a mess. It was out of nowhere, after talking about being family, as if Mike suddenly thought “yeah I think I should do this” and went for it. And… Did El even know what a kiss was? 
Anyway, back to s3. They break up and all that, supernatural shit happens and oh! Mike tells a whole room of people that he loves El! how can that not be proof that he at least has a crush? well. Because Mike is not lying, just as he wasn’t lying when he called her pretty. He does love her, wants her to be safe because she’s his friend, and feels responsible for her safety (for many reasons). The thing is… Mike is aware of the Implications of the word.
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He is being honest. He’s also confusing his feelings for romantic ones, just like he has since mid-s1. What’s the difference between the “ily” plot in s3 and in s4, then? wouldn’t that just be a repeat of the same? 
No. This is a point of debate and I know we have different opinions on “When Did Mike Realize”, but for me, the contrast between this plot in s3 vs s4 is that s3 Mike is unaware, while in S4 he’s IS aware Throughout s3 (and before) he genuinely thinks his feelings are romantic. Until THIS happens
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 …and suddenly he’s confused, thinking it makes no sense. I choose to interpret it this way because it’s supported by the S3 script, which portrays Mike as confused and wondering what is wrong with him. This would’ve been a great moment to portray Mike as endearingly nervous/shy: they’ve been broken up and it seems like no one had said anything that hinted at a romantic relationship during that time. If Mike had romantic feelings for El, he should’ve been thrilled, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t close his eyes, doesn’t even smile. But it’s not disgust, it’s confusion. He’s starting to question things. To what degree? we do not know. 
We can, however, infer from the events of S4 that he knows something. 
The airport scene is as sad as it is funny, because this is probably the first instance in the whole show that we see Mike Wheeler acting nervous-shy in the way you would in front of a crush: 
(Exhibit A)
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(Exhibit B)
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ok, Mike, Will didn’t imply otherwise? are you trying to convince him or yourself? 
(Exhibit C)
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(Exhibit D)
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This whole conversation is so insane because everyone is so focused noticing Will’s crush that they miss Mike’s behavior? Mike, who during this conversation hesitates a lot, chooses his words carefully, exhales, you can see him swallow and just. He looks more nervous here than in the entirety of ALL his scenes with El on the show.
I could keep going on about s4, really, because there’s a lot to unpack there. But this is getting too long!
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