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boldlyvoid · 2 years

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Freezer Burns | Part Four

Chapter Four | Masterlist

Summary: Eddie goes to Steve's house for the first time

song used: The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

Warnings: Steve's dad is a dick, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, lots of kissing, Eddie's mom's cancer mentioned, internalized homophobia, touch starved steve, virgin!eddie, STEAMY makeouts

Word Count: 3.7

He barely sleeps, laying in the living room all night, staring at the ceiling, just thinking about how nice it was to finally kiss king Steve.

He has breakfast with the Buckleys, trying not to think about what happened in this same kitchen the night before. He was so later focused that Grandma Beth could tell something was up, she just smiled at him as she took his empty plate from the table to clean. Gareth and Jeff aren’t up yet, Robin doesn’t eat breakfast with them usually but today she came down. And sat beside him and had small-talk with him, having no idea that last night he was making out with her best friend down here.

“Thank you for breakfast,” he thanks Grandma Beth by walking over to the sink and wrapping her up in a half hug, kissing her cheek. “I’m not going to be here for dinner tonight. I have plans with a friend.”

He doesn’t notice but Robin's eyes grow impossibly large and she has to bite her lip so she doesn’t say anything… completely freaking out on the inside.

He heads out without saying goodbye to her.

He showers and changes his outfit about 4 times back at the trailer, all while Wayne sleeps on the couch in the main room. And thank god, because he couldn’t stomach lying to his face about where he was going for the day.

He wears his swim trunks under his jeans and packs a few of his things into a bag just in case he stays there all night. Not like sexy time things… more like his toothbrush and deodorant and the only brush he has that will go through his hair without scalping him. He spends so long packing and worrying that noon starts to approach and his stomach turns more than ever.

He's so nervous.

He fucking loves Steve and it's killing him from the inside out.

And then the drive over only takes 5 minutes so it’s not like he can listen to something to calm down before he pulls into the driveway.

He parks behind Steve's car, takes a few deep breaths on his walk up to the door and goes to knock right when he’s swinging the door open to tug him inside.

Steve hugs him tight as soon as the door is closed and no prying eyes will be on them. He kisses the side of his neck and breathes him in deeply. “You’re here.”

“I am,” he settles every fear fading as he holds Steve back. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he repeats, kissing eddies cheek lightly as he pulls away. “I have to go get the towels from the dryer, they beeped as you pulled in, you okay waiting here a sec?”

He nods, “yeah, take your time.”

“Thanks,” he steals one more kiss and then rushes out of the foyer and out of Eddie’s sight.

He looks around the foyer, the entrance of his house bigger than Eddie’s entire trailer… he sighed, wandering over to the black grand piano by the spiral staircase. He takes a seat at the bench, noticing the dust on the wood and the decorative runner laid on top of it. He lifts the cover, tapping some of the keys gently to see if they’re in tune, and if they sound okay.

He plays one of the only songs he knows on piano, his mom used to play the piano in her group recovery room, she taught him to play there, he’d never forget it.

The Winner Takes It All, with its easy key progression and sweet lyrics, it was a song his mother loved so dearly, from the moment it was released 6 years ago. Sometimes he couldn’t believe she’s been gone almost as long as it was out.

“I don’t wanna talk,” he sings softly to himself, not even thinking about Steve coming back to find this. “About the the things we’ve gone through. Thought it’s hurting me, now it’s history… I’ve played all my cards, and that’s what you’ve done too, nothing more to say, no more ace to play.”

Steve comes up the stairs from the basement to the angelic sound of the piano flowing through the house. It’s been years since anyone has played it. He didn’t even know Eddie knew how to play… he learns that Eddie can sing too, the closer he gets.

“The winner takes it all, the loser standing small. Beside the victory, that’s her destiny… I was in your arms, thinking I belonged there, I figured it made sense… Building me a fence. Building me a home. Thinking I'd be strong there. But I was a fool… Playing by the rules,” Eddie’s voice fits the song so beautifully that Steve stops in his tracks and stares from the doorway.

His voice echoes around the room beautifully, he’s effortlessly playing the keys like he’s touched them a million times before like his fingers are home. He plays with more intent, louder and more in the zone, it’s quite beautiful.

“The gods may throw a dice! Their minds as cold as ice… and someone way down here… Loses someone dear.

The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall. It's simple and it's plain why should I complain?”

Steve walks over slowly, not wanting to get too close incase he startles him and the song stops. He never wants it to stop.

“But tell me, does she kiss, like I used to kiss you? Does it feel the same when she calls your name?” Eddie doesn’t change the original pronouns, making Steve feel it even deeper in his chest.

What he’s feeling? He doesn’t know yet.

“Somewhere deep inside, you must know I miss you? But what can I say? Rules must be obeyed…The judges will decide! The likes of me abide… spectators of the show! Always staying low!!!” his beautiful voice hits that bravado and Steve’s knees almost buckle beneath him.

“The game is on again! A lover or a friend! A big thing or a small! The winner takes it all!”

He slows almost to a stop, playing softly, humming to himself, like he couldn’t carry on singing that hard anymore like his emotions got to him. So Steve stands behind him, placing his hand on Eddie’s shoulder softly, he jumps out of his skin and hits random keys, “I’m sorry—

“It’s okay— more than okay, even, that was beautiful,” Steve cuts him off and takes a seat beside him on the bench. “What brought all that on? Are you okay?”

He nods, “my mom used to play it a lot… before she died.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve looks deep into his eyes, tearing up just the same as his. “I didn’t know you lost your mom…”

“Yeah,” he takes a shaky deep breath and Steve feels bad.

“We don’t have to talk about it I don’t want you to be upset, this was supposed to be fun,” he reminds Eddie. “I uh, I have clean towels and stuff if you wanted to go swimming still?”

“I just miss her sometimes, but it’s okay,” Eddie whispers, not wanting to change the topic, not minding that he’s being vulnerable with Steve Harrington of all people.

“I don’t know what it’s like to have parents to miss, otherwise I’d say something comforting,” Steve’s honest. “In a way, I’m kinda glad they suck, cause this looks painful.”

Eddie laughs a bit, “yeah, it sucks, but I also have a shit dad so I get that side too.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve touches his arm again, smiling softly to let him know it’s okay. It doesn’t take much for Eddie to feel okay with Steve, but he feels safe when Steve moves in closer, hugging his arm and resting his head on his shoulder.

It’s such a small act of trust, so innocent and pure, like a child seeking safety in their guardians' embrace, Steve feels comfortable with him. Him. Of all people in the world, it was Eddie the freak Munson that he was hanging off of like a scared cat caught in the rain and rescued by his person… it means more to Eddie than he would ever express.

He keeps playing even with Steve on his arm, the same cords as before, finishing the song that fit them so fucking well it was like ABBA wrote it for them from the future. “I don’t wanna talk,” Steve sings instead, his voice so low and different from the key Eddie was used to. “If it makes you feel sad. And I understand. You’ve come to shake my hand.”

“I apologize,” Eddie sings alongside him, soft and gentle and just for him. “If it makes you feel bad. Seeing me so tense, no self-confidence.”

“The winner takes it all!” Eddie belts, louder than before, stunning Steve that he can do “The winner takes it all!” Hitting the keys with passion and fervour, it’s impressive and exciting and honestly… pretty hot.

Still wrapped around his arm, albeit gently and barely holding on as Eddie played enthusiastically, he digs his chin into his shoulder as he tightens his grip and hugs his arm before doing the impossible. He kisses Eddie’s shoulder gently and covers it back up with his chin as if it never happened. Snuggled in, Eddie’s gone still from shock Steve thinks, when really Eddie just didn’t want to move and risk Steve rushing away.

“I really, really, like you, Steve,” he admits, glad he’s not looking at him to see the panic on his face.

“I’d hope so,” he giggles a bit, his laugh vibrating through his body and shaking a smile into Eddie’s face. “I like you too.”

“Should we go swimming now?” He asks, hopelessly embarrassed by the confession and even more so by his confusion. He didn’t know if Steve was just like this with all his friends or if he like liked him…

Steve pulls away and stands up, reaching out a hand for Eddie to take, he does and makes it back to his feet, eye level with Steve. He never thought the colour of his eyes was to be desired until he saw Steve’s matching brown wonders, he gets lost in them momentarily. Swimming in the chocolate sea with content.

“Did you bring any swim trunks?” He asks, breaking Eddie out of his haze.

He nods, “under my jeans…”

“I was gonna say you’re a little bundled up for the end of June,” he teases.

“I have enough clothes for like 4 outfits, I can’t help it,” he explains, “it’s annoying trying that I only have so many ways to mix and match them so I don’t repeat often.”

“You can rummage through my closet? My mom buys me clothes to make up for how mean my dad is to us and I never wear most of the shit, you’re more than welcome to take anything you want,” he explains, “not like a handout or cause I feel bad for you or anything more in a what’s mine can be yours too if you want it? Kinda way…”

All he can do is nod along. His heart almost leaps out of his chest at those words, they sound a lot like what love is supposed to be to him and he wants it so badly. To be loved by Steve Harrington would be a blessing.

—

“Dude…” Eddie stills when he sees Steve’s room. It’s boring and plain, there’s nothing on the walls, the rooms an ugly cream colour, there’s no metals or awards or family photos… there isn’t a single sports banner or album artwork, it’s just a bed and a desk and a walk-in closet.

“What?”

“Your room has no personality?” His heart hurts, “where’s all your stuff?”

“Here?” He points, confused, “why? What’s your room look like”

“A pig sty where a bomb went off,” he quotes his uncle. “Do your parents not let you decorate?”

“It is decorated, there’s wallpaper,” he references to the wall behind his bed that was different from the rest. “And I made that model plane when I was 9,” he points at the old fighter jet hanging from the ceiling in front of his window.”

“i mean like posters, vinyls, nicknacks,” he really can’t believe it. Even his desk was clean. “It looks like you moved in yesterday.”

He shrugs, “it’s just always been like this.”

“I guess I expected it to be more like Robin's room,” he explains. “You know, her room is full of memories, she has everything taped to her walls and it’s so her… I was expecting all your sports awards to be up.”

“I have some participation ribbons and things I put away before you got here, I haven’t actually won anything myself, before,” he admits. “I’ve been on teams that have won, but the awards are at school. I don’t have any real accomplishments here.”

“That makes two of us,” Eddie rests a hand on his shoulder and pulls him into a hug. “Maybe we can get you some things to make it homier here…”

“I’m going to move out soon,” he admits, hugging Eddie back and resting his chin on his shoulder, swaying slightly. “I’ve saved all my money this summer and all my birthday money for years and I steal cash from my dad's desk drawer…”

“Rebel,” Eddie teases. “You should get a trailer… then we’d be neighbours.”

“Or roommates,” he suggests. “It would be nice to see you all the time… we could drive to work together and have dinners and stay up all night watching movies.”

“You’re so fucking cute it makes me want to scream, Harrington,” Eddie says through gritted teeth, squeezing him impossibly tight, he lifts Steve off the ground slightly and spins them around.

Steve laughs, holding on for dear life until his feet hit the ground again. “I’m just being honest!” He can’t help but get louder, his heart was so full that yelling was the only thing that felt right.

Eddie grabs both of his cheeks in his hands and kisses him right on the lips again, after thinking about it all night long, he was finally kissing him again. It's Steve who initiates more, swiping his tongue along eddies bottom lip, asking permission to make out with him.

With his hands searching Steve's back and his tongue making acquaintance with his own, he backs them up slowly until the backs of Steve’s knees are hitting the edge of his mattress. The kiss breaks for a second, Steve drags him into bed, pushing his jacket off his shoulders before he pushes Eddie down against the mattress and hovers over him. Laying mostly on his side, he tries his best not to touch Eddie too much, but Eddie grabs his hips and pulls him flush to his body, a hand on each thigh as Steve straddled him. He was literally in heaven right now.

He gently swipes Eddie’s hair off his face and behind his ear, “hi.”

“Hi?” Eddie’s breathless, shocked that they’ve ended up here as quickly as they have. “What are you doing?”

“Kissing my Eddie,” he whispers. He didn’t want to say friend cause they were more, and he couldn’t say boyfriend because that was too constricting for him right now… so he was now his Eddie.

He leans forward, kissing Eddie on the lips once more, and then his cheek and forehead. Both eyelids, his perfect nose, everything. “I’d like to kiss all of you…” he admits, moving to kiss his jaw and his neck.

Eddie cranes his neck to the side, giving him more room to kiss, “you can’t leave any marks… cause if I mark you up they’ll all know.”

Steve hums against him, his breath hot on Eddie’s neck as he pulls the neck of his shirt down, “you mean more… I have a hickie already, mister.”

“Mhm,” he bites his lips as Steve gently sucks on his collarbone, pulling away with a pop, he blows cold hair over it right after, making Eddie’s breath come out sputtered as he forgets how to swallow properly. He doesn’t even realize his nipples are hard until Steve plays with the left one, the one with a piercing through it.

He gasps, almost choking, “fuck, Steve, stop…”

“Okay,” he stills, afraid to move. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never done anything like this with a guy either… I’ve never even slept with a girl yet,” he admits. “And as fucking amazing as this feels, I have no fucking idea what I’m doing.”

“Okay, so I can show you,” Steve is gentile. “I mean, sex is sex—

“And I’m a virgin,” the words slip past Eddie’s lips as his face fills with shame. “I know it doesn’t seem like a huge thing to you cause you’ve had so many people in this bed before me…”

“Not that many,” he feels defensive. “I’ve slept with a few girls, sue me, but not all here…”

“It's still more than me,” Eddie whispers. “I feel like a fucking loser because of it.”

“You’re not?” Steve reaches out for him again, hand on his cheek, “you’re perfect the way you are and honestly… it will be nice when we finally do something cause I’ve never been with someone who cares about me… like really cares.”

“Not even Nancy? You were together a whole year,” he’s genuinely curious.”

Steve sighs and cuddles back into eddies chest

“Do you remember that party in 84, around Halloween? When Billy first showed up…”

“How can I forget,” he rolled his eyes. “God, it was a shit show, I think someone roofied the punch.”

“yeah… Nancy got so fucked up—

“You spilled the punch on her,” Eddie remembers. “And then you ran off to the bathroom.”

“Where she told me I’m bullshit, our relationship wasn’t ever real and she didn’t love me,” he starts to cry. “She just stayed with me 'cause she felt bad about everything that happened and she led me on for a whole fucking year. I loved her so much, I wanted to marry her… I was going to go work for my dad and stay here for a bit till she graduated and then follow her to school and she just couldn’t wait for me to get bored and break it off so she wouldn’t have to…”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Eddie’s instant reaction is to protect, and from how devastated Steve looks, Eddie wants to kill… “she pretended? For a fucking year?”

He nods, dropping his chin down to rest against Eddie’s chest, “God, I can’t even begin to tell you why… and you wouldn’t believe me if I did? But I could get Dustin to confirm it when he gets home from camp.”

“He said they went through something bad as a group, and I mean, I know the whole zombie boy thing with Will… didn’t Barb go missing around then too?”

He nods, “Nancy thinks we killed her… she was taken from my yard while we were right her.”

“Oh,” Eddie realizes. “So she had sex with you for the first time the night her friend died and that makes you the bad guy?”

He nods, “or at least the biggest mistake of her life.”

“Not to be mean, but girls are fucking dumb in high school, they always say guys are but they can be just as clueless,” Eddie explains. “I mean, with the hormones from having sex the first time and the trauma of losing a friend, I can see why she’d be so willing to get so fucked up at a party… but leading you on like that is so careless and hurtful, sweetheart, I’m sorry, genuinely.”

“It’s okay,” he says again.

“It’s really not… but I get it if you want to drop it?” Eddie stares at him gently, brushing his hair behind his ear and cupping his cheek. He just wants to know where to lead the conversation, never being very good at making a conversation last long without some fantasy, and he can’t do that here.

“Why don’t you tell me a secret?” Steve asks, “I’ve shared a bit, it’s your turn.”

“Oh… I’m a pretty open book?” He says as he thinks about it. “Deadbeat dad, fantastic uncle, dead mom, trailer park, almost high school drop out, drug dealer… not much more.”

“Nothing super juicy in your family line?” He teases. “Did you know I have a half-brother?”

He shakes his head, “no, what?”

He nods, “my dad got some lady pregnant on a work trip and my mom forgave him as long as he never saw the kid… I only know 'cause I heard them screaming about it once when he got a fathers day card in the mail from him.”

“I understand more and more why my uncle fucking hates his guts every time you tell me more,” Eddie says with a tone of disgust. “Seriously, what a fucking asshole?”

“I hope I meet the kid one day,” he admits. “I’ve always wanted a brother. I think it’s why I love Dustin so much.”

“He’s something else,” Eddie agrees with a smile, he only got a week and a half with the dork before he went away to camp for the month of June. Everyone missed him, he was the life of their party.

Steve, still resting his chin on Eddie’s chest, pulls back and scoots his way up the bed a bit more so he can kiss him. Once, twice, three times before they start smiling, “he’s going to love this, you know?”

“Yeah?” He laughs. “He’s going to like his dungeon master and his babysitter getting together?”

Steve nods, “love it.”

He likes hearing Steve say that word. Love. He wants to be loved by him so fucking bad he’d do anything for it. “Steve… you think you can refrain from talking about him so we can get back to what you invited me here to do?”

He nods, “mhm,” he mumbles against his lips, cupping his face in his hands as he straddles his hips again.

Eddies hands wander up his thighs and over his hips, he slips them into the pockets of Steve’s jeans, cupping his ass as his tongue slips into Eddie’s mouth. Lost in the sensation, they end up in a haze of emotions, slowing time and making the pleasure endless…

It’s the first time Steve didn’t have to have sex to feel truly connected to someone. He felt safe and loved and happy… all without taking his clothes off.

General Taglist

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @wroteclassicaly @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129

Steddie

@nosaladallowed-ao3 @maya-custodios-dionach @wifeyreid @girl-with-an-orange-cat

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington fanfiction #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #steddie fanfiction

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danwhobrowses · 2 years

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One Piece Chapter 1060 - Initial Thoughts

Ho boy have we been through it these last 10 chapters

but Oda likes his numbers, so 1060 looks to not let up at all Just how much more does he intend to escalate things? Let's find out

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release

Colorspread for this chapter, an updated version of an old one

Looks like the Sabo news has reached Luffy, who immediately refutes that Sabo would kill Cobra

Robin, like the fans, are in agreement

All the Alabasta crew are taking the news their own way, while the Post-Alabasta crew want to clarify that this is the same Sabo from Dressrosa

Caribou is also on the ship, trapped in another barrel

Zoro's putting his Vice Captain role into effect though; refuting Luffy's demands to go to Alabasta and Marejois and reminding Luffy that when Ace was in danger Luffy hade faith he'd be okay unless he called for help

Mind you, given that this led to Ace's death it was perhaps not the best example from Zoro

Naturally this leads to Zoro being called names, mainly themed around Wano's enemies

Robin overviews all the news they missed in Wano, including the Cross Guild - which Luffy also notes must be a mistake in regards to Yonko Buggy

Seems there's some other stuff Oda's tight-lipped about, since Luffy leaves Robin with the information to tell him if it becomes important

Luffy mulls more about Sabo's innocence and how it goes against his dreams and ideal, which also leads him saying his own dream...which again we don't get to hear

The reactions are mixed from hearing it, Brook, Chopper and Franky seem to entertain it, East Blue trio are concerned by it, Sanji thinks he's mad and then Robin and Jinbe seem shocked

This elusive dream seems to be believed impossible, and Luffy feels that only the King of the Pirates can help achieve it

Shanks seems to know it too, and laughed so hard he cried

Unbeknownst to Luffy Yamato would also know since Ace told him

The crew do soften to the idea though, noting how they better find the last Poneglyph then, which concerns Robin since they have no leads

Back to the Marines and they're tracking Sabo's call to Lulusia, one of the places where the people rebelled against their leaders

The Gorosei seem to know something we don't...again

Vindication off the bat: Sabo did not kill Cobra

Ah this is the kingdom with the vampire dude and his daughter who was almost kidnapped, both are being imprisoned for 'crimes' by the people

As Sabo reveals that someone sits on the Empty Throne though, something floats overhead as Im crosses off Lulusia on the map

Oh. Oh god.

Im just Independence Day'd the entire island, all its people, including children, and their dogs!

I guess this is what happened to God Valley, wiped off the map never to have existed...

No word from Sabo too, I'd think he survived but given that his call was tracked he won't make the same mistake twice

A few days later Luffy and co are caught up in some monstrous weather, maybe even caused by the nuking of Lulusia

We seem to be near a Winter Island too, and Chopper's got a cute lil straw hat

They approach an upward-warm eddy (so a whirpool but whirling to the sky) and someone's trapped in the middle

Sanji's lady radar says it's a woman

Zoro decides to cut the Eddy, just as Chopper gets caught up and swept by the strong winds

Luffy grabs Chopper but gets swept too, right to the mysterious lady

Bonney! It's kid version Bonney!

Well. I did say the Gorosei and Im would have something up their sleeve, but I didn't think it'd be that

My gut tells me that they have control of a Sky Island of some sort, given how the way it was done was very similar to how Enel wiped out Skypeians but at a greater scale, maybe it's something he observed from them. It's hard to tell if they've always had this too; Enies Lobby and God Valley could be proof of prior existence but then why bother with Buster Calls? Ohara could've been nuked just like this but it wasn't, so if it's new then it may make more sense in that regard.

One must wonder how the rest of the world will respond to this too, people aren't just gonna forget that Lulusia was a place who had a seat on the Reverie. What of marines born in Lulusia? Or simply the good aligned marines? I doubt they'd just allow this to go unchecked even if it meant leaving the Navy, Akainu may approve given how it was to get Sabo (don't think he's dead, he is a Logia after all) but others may not see it that way.

Caribou being locked up implies he will come into play when he escapes, but it is discerning that he makes it on the ship where Yamato and Carrot do not - even if it is as a hostage. I guess given how multiple days pass this time that Carrot is 99.999% not stowed away somewhere on the ship, which honestly sucks because her 'conclusion' was still a weak ass cop-out Oda hasn't tried to course correct like he's done with Yamato. I repeat, Pedro's will was to see the Dawn and help the Straw Hats reach it, that's what he died for. Do I still hold onto that 0.001%? Yes, but it is looking bleaker than ever.

Also Oda is keeping us in the dark still on Luffy's dream, the theories are gonna run wild with this one.

But given that we hit a new island it means that we're reaching the destination of our next arc, and it's gonna be Bonney-oriented likely. I'm not sad about that really, Bonney is an interesting character we know so little about, and she was at Marejois the last time we saw her, perhaps this is how Luffy and co find out what really happened at the Reverie? Perhaps the next island as well is the Sorbet Kingdom - Kuma's place - but we'll have to wait next week to find out.

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jawsofbalmung · 2 years

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my final (detailed) thoughts on the two most controversial games in the aa series, now that im done with them (contains spoilers):

dual destinies

overview: dd is one of those games that is decently fun, but not really that good. you can definitely see the difference in the writing style, and while i think all ace attorney games are good, and i did enjoy playing it, this one is by far the worst one in the whole series. i love simon though, prosecutors are always perfect.

my biases: i had to play dd on a very slow emulator which ran at 30-50% speed the ENTIRE game (slower on trials) so this game, especially monstrous turnabout, took me absolute AGES to finish. also i was... a little spoiled about fulbright, but not that much, honestly.

turnabout countdown: as far as first cases go, this one is fairly alright, but overall just kinda eh. its a bad mix of both predictable and confusing, but it's actually kinda funny in spots and not too egregiously horrible. 3.5/10

monstrous turnabout: i have a personal vendetta against this case. it took me two whole weeks to finish, when a case usually takes me two to five days on average with my pace. the actual content of the case was negligable, i liked the tenma family as characters, but the end result was very predictable (the fact that we were shown the killer in the beginning animation is inexcusable in my opinion). i could blame the length of the case on just the shitty emulator, but the fact is monstrous turnabout took me way longer than any of the other cases in this same game on the same emulator, and i can only blame its penchant for endlessly dragging out every single point, and throwing in many compounding twists when they're really unneeded and the case would be a lot better if it was simpler. they tried to make up for you knowing the killer right away by making it impossible to predict anything else, but it ended up just making the whole case frustrating and obnoxiously long. 2/10

turnabout academy: this is probably one of my favorite cases in the two games. its twists are a lot more satisfying and understandable than monstrous turnabout, and the character value of this case is very high. i love hugh robin and juniper, and i like how their friendship ties so deeply and intrinsically into the mystery of the case. a little cheesy, and as is expected with dd, not the best writing ive seen in ace attorney, but overall a pretty good case, and has probably the funniest killer breakdown. also klavier cameo is very much appreciated. 6.5/10

cosmic turnabout: i feel like there's not really much to this case, since it mostly serves as a bridge into turnabout for tomorrow, so they didn't put a lot of love into writing the episode itself, but honestly i think that's okay, cosmic turnabout does its job well, and i like how it takes the time to introduce important characters and concepts without stuffing too much into turnabout for tomorrow. as for the case itself, its honestly so hard to separate it out, and i feel like it was pretty short compared to the other episodes. 5/10

spirit of justice

turnabout for tomorrow: probably the most controversial case out of the two games in terms of fan opinions, but i frankly love this case. it's engaging, it's high stakes, it's got all the punch and intrigue that a final case should have, and on its own it's definitely one of the best. unfortunately, i wish the fulbright reveal was foreshadowed even a little bit. a mutual of mine said that since they were spoiled about fulbright being evil, they enjoyed turnabout for tomorrow a lot, but someone who went into it blind would probably find it confusing and out of left field, and i have to agree with that. it's definitely a case you want to spoil yourself just a little bit for it to be satisfying as you figure out the rest, because dual destinies seems to be allergic to Actual foreshadowing, and seems to be made up along the way. im also probably pretty biased in a weird way because ive seen a lot of fan content and meta about turnabout for tomorrow that makes it Better and Cooler and Make More Sense in a way that it certainly is not in canon, so that makes me both love it more for what fans have extrapolated out of it, and simultaneously resent that it didn't live up to its full potential. 8/10

turnabout reclaimed: this case sure was.... dual destinies. turnabout reclaimed is one of those cases that gets a lot of publicity in the fandom just for being absurd, but is actually not one of the good ones if im being honest. the twists fall flat, it drags on a bit too long, and it's honestly pretty forgettable. it wasn't awful to play, i certainly had some fun with it in spots, and it was nice to go back and play it after i finished spirit of justice mostly just to see simon again, but overall it's a very mid case, and im not too stoked about how they represented marlon rimes either tbh. 3/10

overall (averaged) score for dual destinies: 4.5/10

overview: everyone seems to hate spirit of justice and i don't know why. honestly, soj is way up there in my list of favorite ace attorney games ever. it feels more based in the feeling of the original trilogy, i love the way all the existing characters are written, and love the introductions of the new ones. nothing wrong with soj in my book, especially once i figured out that the portrayal of khura'in isnt nearly as racist as initially expected. the divination seances are a very fun mechanic that had a lot of potential beyond how they used them, and i would have liked to be able to do them every case if you ask me.

my biases: i am in love with nahyuta to a worrying degree, and dhurke is one of my favorite characters as well. the character value, which is what i automatically focus on the most, is very high in this game, so while im trying to rank these cases by how well-written they are, i can't help but adore spirit of justice for its character work. i also had a few spoilers, but nothing too strongly story-based.

foreign turnabout: once again, a first case is a first case, and foreign turnabout does its job in that respect. it establishes khura'in well, and helps lead into the complex opinion of it that you're eventually supposed to form throughout the game, but i do have to say it starts in a pretty deceptively xenophobic place in this case. kind of an underwhelming case, but ahlbi is adorable and it's certainly a fun start to throw phoenix into a new place out of the blue, and again it does its job as a first case satisfactorily. 4/10

magical turnabout: this case was fun! i like how the second case, while not connected to the overarching plotline, still had the spirit of the rest of the game imbued in it, and while i do think ace attorney shouldn't rely on the Twin Twist as much as they already do, they seem to handle it pretty well and it often makes sense when they slip it in. many funny moments, high stakes, good twists, fits in well with the game, and i love that we get to see trucy as a defendant, because it felt like a long time coming on that. 6.5/10

rite of turnabout: this case is more emotionally hard hitting than the final case of this game, if you ask me. it's juicy, it's strongly tied to the plot of the game, all the twists make so much sense and everything ties together so well, and it comes to a supremely satisfying end, which keeps hopes high for the last two cases. intrigue and immersion are high in this case, i love love love the introduction of rayfa as a weird little girl investigative assistant, and the revisualization sequence in this case is one of the only ones out of the two games where it exists that actually surprised me, and felt both satisfying and exciting at the same time. i haven't gotten a lot of those yelling "OH!!!!" as the pieces suddenly slide together moments since the original trilogy, so this case has to go down as one of the best ones in my book. 8.5/10

turnabout storyteller: y'all, i know this is a filler case, but god damn is it good!! it's enjoyable as hell, the perfect amount of challenging for me, a nice bitesize length that a filler case should be, not too predictable or too random (though i will admit i was spoiled about geiru because of the iconic tumblr posts about her whoops), and i got to see simon again, so i'm very happy with it! plus, the only realistic and respectable portrayal of DID i have ever seen, especially in murder mystery media! i could say so much about this case, and i already have on this blog before, but i do adore it. it's one of my faves tbh, especially for a very non-plot relevant case. 9/10

turnabout revolution (the name of this case still makes me laugh): learning that this was the longest case in the whole series, tied at 12 hours with rise from the ashes, came as no surprise. this is an absolute GIANT of a case. i think it's fun and fresh to split it up between two related trials in two different places the way they did, but i have to say i had a lot of expectations that went unfulfilled. the civil case and its investigation were very fun to do, especially how it seemed to bleed into more of a story-based visual novel format for a while, but i feel like they missed the opportunity to show us everything from phoenix's point of view as well. i adore dhurke, i love how he interacts with apollo and nahyuta, i love slowly parceling out the reveal of his death in a way i haven't really seen in aa yet, i think this case is very carefully and lovingly written and takes its time to stop fucking around and deliver the real meat of this game. unfortunately, i think the very end seemed kind of rushed and flat, and the characterizations of ga'ran and amara needed more work and at times were confusing or annoying. whereas dual destinies was a kinda underwhelming game with a fantastic ending (had it been foreshadowed more), spirit of justice was a fantastic game with a kinda underwhelming ending (that was properly foreshadowed, just not well excuted). but i don't think all of turnabout revolution suffers because of the very end of it, i think its a phenomenal case that brings the spirit of the old games along with the new ideas of the modern ones, and for the most part caps off the game in a way that makes sense with all the other information in all the other cases and closes it out as a very good game. 7.5/10

turnabout time traveler: compared to the other dlc case, this case is a lot more fun and engaging, though it doesn't have the gimmick that everyone talks about like turnabout reclaimed does. the killer is a little predictable right away from the first investigation, but i think the path to get there is fun anyway, and it's a pretty solid aa case with good characters and interesting twists, miles is there, and pierce nichody is hot as fuck, so i'd say it was a pretty good case! 6/10

overall (averaged) score for spirit of justice: 7/10

conclusion: i see a lot of hate and a lot of love for both these games, and while i definitely don't hate either of them, because i do love all aa games, i see where the animosity for dual destinies comes from and can somewhat agree. i think both have their merits, spirit of justice moreso than dual destinies, and their shortcomings. i love all the new characters though and always will, i adore how the waa is expanding and how phoenix interacts with new characters and old, and i think these two games do have a proper home in the aa series and in my heart <3

#dont like. kill me for my opinions or anything pls cjskdkf #as always the dgs duology ranks the highest in my heart #followed closely by trials and tribulations #but spirit of justice is up there #dual destinies is probably.... my least fave so far if im being honest #but thats just my opiNION #ace attorney #ace attorney spirit of justice #ace attorney dual destinies

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saraswatitutorials · 3 months

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Subject-Specific Tutoring: A Guide to Boost Your Learning"

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oneprompt · 3 years

Note

Yooo your writing is so good!!! If it's alright, may I ask for the monster trio's hcs on almost losing their S/O in a fight with other pirates/marines? (Sorry if its a bit angsty among all these fluff fisbg)

authors note: hii <3 im very glad you’re enjoying it , that means a lot to hear ! and yes , i do love me some good angst .. i hope you enjoy ! <3 + zoro’s takes place during enies lobby , luffy’s takes place during wano and sanji’s takes place in whole cake <3 just . thought it’d be easiest to use pre existing arcs ...!

Zoro ( Almost ) Losing His S/o Headcanons

• Zoro finished his fight as quick as he could. He knew there was possibly more keys to find... and even if there wasn’t, you all still had to reach Robin. And you.... Zoro was furious at himself. How could he let you linger alone? Not that he thought you were weak, no. You were a force to be reckoned with. But Zoro couldn’t help but worry about which Cp9 agent you were put against, especially considering he struggled within his own fight..

• He’s quick to take his key and run up the crumbling stairs of the Tower of Law. Please be okay. Zoro didn’t look the part but he was so worried, so concerned. Zoro needed you to be safe, he was praying you weren’t put up against any of the big guys...

• And finally, Zoro had found you. The sight was one he had never wanted to witness in his life. He had no clue how to react, truly. Zoro never had a person in his life to call his, no one that made him feel the way you did. So, seeing you doused in blood, the deep slices upon your chest from claws made his blood boil. You had to be alive, right? You weren’t dead. No, you couldn’t be.

• Where was everyone? Where was Chopper? Zoro has no experience with medical supplies, not like that mattered, as he had none. He tried to not stare at you, trying to steady his somewhat shaky breathing. You had been pinned up against that leopard zoan user, hadn’t you? Wasn’t that guy the strongest? Why couldn’t you have been anywhere else?

• The light tears that laced his dark eyes were quick to slip and dissolve as you suddenly touched him. The sudden weight of your hand upon Zoro’s broad shoulder felt heavy, it felt endless in this moment. Were you.. really okay? As soon as he finally looks back at your bloody and disheveled self, he’s greeted with the softest smile he’s ever seen you bear upon your face.

• You want to apologize. Say sorry for failing your battle with Lucci, for worrying Zoro. But Zoro gives you not even a moment to think of what to say, as he pulls you into an almost out of character embrace. It was full of love, of security. Even as the claw marks upon your chest stayed branded on, you cling to Zoro, giving no regards to the scene that was before you both. Zoro was so happy to see you.

Luffy ( Almost ) Losing His S/o Headcanons

• Luffy is immediately engulfed by sudden flashes and memories of Marineford. He’s reminded of the soul crushing despair that engulfed his pure heart as Ace died within his arms. And here it was, happening once more. But not with Ace, with you. You were his most prized shipmate, he loved you a lot. No way was this happening... Luffy couldn’t lose someone he loved so dearly, not again.

• He’s squeezing you, nails digging into your flesh. Luffy is pleading, begging at that point. You had to be alive, you’ve survived much worse then this. You two would make it out of here. You and everyone else would beat Kaido and Tobi Roppo, wouldn’t you? You had to! You all made a promise... you promised to be at Jinbe’s banquet with the rest of the Straw Hats, with the other samurai..

• Luffy can’t help but cry. It’s out of character but with the sight of your body bruised and molded in such a painful state, it’s impossible not to. The way you’re making... you look so peaceful, just like Ace. Ace had the same smile on his face before he fell upon Luffy, adjusting every bit of dead weight onto the younger boy.

• He should’ve been there to help. Luffy couldn’t help but blame himself. Where was he during your grand fight? You must’ve advanced to King and Queen far too quick... Why couldn’t you have waited? Luffy could’ve been there.. he wanted to help, he could’ve helped. Did you die because of him...?

• Yet, the sudden noise of coughing made his sobbing halter, at least in volume. Luffy looked down at you, your bruised and bloodied face now accompanied with the presence of your hopeful eyes. You were alive..? Luffy’s tears cascaded downward, gently splattering down onto your cold cheeks. He couldn’t believe it..

• Luffy is all over you, crying his entire heart out. But can you blame him? He didn’t want to endure a repeat of what happened with Ace, pacing through another heart wrenching death. Your well being meant everything to Luffy, it truly did. He wanted to become the Pirate King with you on his side, he needed you in order to tap into his full potential. Without you, he could never reach his dreams.

Sanji ( Almost ) Losing His S/o Headcanons

• Sanji’s rapid footsteps pattered through the wedding, slamming down onto the cracker tracks that placed themselves throughout the setting. He saw the way you fell to the ground, every inch of you slamming to the candy coated ground as Big Mom had used her devil fruit. You couldn’t be dead... were you truly that afraid of Big Mom? So much so she could suck every bit of life out of you?

• Sanji can’t help but feel completely at fault. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t came here, if he hadn’t treated you all so badly before departing, none of this would’ve happened. If only Sanji wasn’t born, none of you would have to deal with him. It should’ve been him to die, not you. He knew how awful of a man he was, he knew how happier you would be without him on your side.

• It takes him all of his strength to hold in his tears. Crying was for the weak, wasn’t it? Instead, Sanji just stares at you, almost as if he was completely numb and oblivious to the world around him. You’d get up, right? You couldn’t die. No. You couldn’t, he wouldn’t let such a thing happen to you.

• Why did you come here to save him? Why did any of you show up for him? If you all let Sanji be wedded to Pudding, none of this would happen. You and the rest of the present Straw Hats wouldn’t have been put under such dangerous circumstances. Sanji felt at fault. He couldn’t even sell his life away correctly without hurting anyone..

• The sudden embrace around his neck is enough to make Sanji gasp. Was it...an enemy? No. No, it was the best thing it could’ve been. It was you. How had you overcome Big Mom’s devil fruit, you wonder. Sanji doesn’t hesitate to hug you back, not in the slightest. He held you as tight as he could, allowing you to sob into the white suit jacket he wore, your tears seeping into his cotton button up shirt.

• Sanji carries you upward and flees further away from the wedding, all the while giving you reassurance. He feels horrible for what he put through, not just physically. Just suddenly departing, saying he’s wedding another woman, leaving his true beloved behind must’ve been soul crushing for you.. Sanji would never let that happen again, he’d never allow you to feel such a way ever again.

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whirlybirdwhat · 3 years

Note

The strawhats dont know that Jimbe shares the other half of Luffys scar.

Word Count: 2,239

The Straw Hats hadn’t expected it, even as they traced inked lines on newspapers, old and faded with time, watched the news and clips of Marineford, brought by an old enemy’s hands.

They knew their captain would be scarred – saw it in the newspaper, the way his face broke with his brother’s body in his arms, saw it in bloody bandages inked with 3D2Y.

They just –

They didn’t know it would be like this.

Luffy’s scar is a red thing, a bloody thing. It’s roughly healed, clearly gone without proper care beyond the initial wrap, and it lays directly over their captain’s chest. An X, cruel and digging into his skin.

(Legends state that Joyboy, the first adventurer, carved an X on to Raftel. That the poneglyphs are his signature, the X that marks all treasure.

Below this X lies their captain’s heart, burned and flayed by the first of a dog.

It is a treasure that should have never been marked.)

He wears it openly, proudly, as if this X was not in the same place of the wound that killed his brother, as if his hand did not reach up to scratch at it, rest on it, hold it when he stared at the horizon. They have had a day to get used to but still –

Still it is a shock, fresh and unwanted.

(Scars have meaning, and scars have purpose. Zoro has two on his ankles and one on his front, two earned in learning, and one in battle. Another is on his eye, a price paid for being a student who aims to take down his teacher. Nami has scars, covered by blue ink, scars that freed her, scars that saved her. Usopp has nicks on his hand, scars in odd places from trying to repair a dying ship, from fighting his captain.

Lessons learned, purposed gained, willingly, voluntarily.

Luffy’s is nothing like that. )

It stares at them, taunts them, bright and red, a reminder that they weren’t there when Luffy was always there for all of them, wasn’t there when he needed them most, as much as it is a reminder of how Luffy’s brother died in his arms, in a war that should have never been.

(Luffy has scars – he heals fast, but not enough to cover burns from molten gold or holes from warlord’s hooks. But nothing is as vibrant as this one.)

But –

Luffy is here.

Luffy is happy. He smiles, bright and fearless, even if there are new shadows in his eyes and more quiet moments then there used to be. He is still just as strong, stronger even, if more protective of his crew. He’s Luffy – their captain, and their future king.

They weren’t there for him, and he doesn’t care if they weren’t because he’s glad they’re safe but –

Jimbe! Luff cries with joy, when they set a course for fishman island, He saved me!

Someone was.

Fishman island is a bright, happy place. The sun shines even here, and now, with Hordy and Vander Decken gone, the people shine as well. Joyful, smiling faces against scales and skin, teeth sharp or smooth, are all directed to their princess – now revealed to them – and to the pirates that saved them. There’s cruelty in corners, but not here.

Not now.

(Children run along the sea floor in Straw Hats, calling out attack names and harboring no prejudice.

Later, years later, there will be legends about a man in a straw hat, and joy written on all their faces – cruelty nowhere to be found. A beginning is here – one of hope.)

Not with Luffy lying on Jimbe’s side, bandaged and with his crew surrounding him. The party thrown by King Neptune echoes dimly in the background, melding gently with the chattering of his crew around him. Zoro sleeping on the ground by Luffy, Chopper atop of him, Usopp and Sanji murmuring together as they eat, the rest of the crew standing around, gazing at their captain who has given so much for them – who has just returned to them.

(They move in groups, now, and when Luffy left the party to talk to Jimbe the rest of them followed. It’s been far too long since they’ve been together and they are reluctant to part from each other.

Never again, they whisper, never again.)

Jimbe is new to them but not, there when they weren’t. He’s comfortable with Luffy, even if he is surprised when Luffy slumps against his side, curling under his arm to sleep away his injuries. There’s a terrible sort of fondness on his face as he looks at their Captain, one they all know is reflected on their own faces.

Luffy – he saves people. More than just in body, but in spirit, taking their dreams and shouldering them on his own until they are strong enough to carry themselves. Selfishly selfless, forcing people to rise and chase what every pirate holds dear.

A dream.

Jimbe hasn’t said his yet, but he’ll get there if Luffy has to drag him there kicking and screaming like he’s done the rest of them.

Though… his eyes hold nothing but devotion as he stares at the Straw Hat’s captain, so it’s more than likely he’ll just follow Luffy.

All the way to Raftel.

Luffy utters a quiet snore, burrowing close into Jimbe, bandages falling and revealing a reddened scar, and suddenly the Straw Hats find themselves with a purpose here.

But like in all things, Luffy is the one to make the first move. The way he has tugged on Jimbe’s kimono, has pulled it to the side, displaying the tattoo of the Sun Pirates, red and vibrant and –

A mass of scar tissue, burned and dark against blue scales, in the same shape as their captain’s.

It’s like the world goes quiet as Jimbe readjusts.

Like another weight has been added to the shoulders of those who love Straw Hat Luffy but weren’t there when he needed them most. Like chains, like nails down the throat, a horrible, awful realization that at Marineford, it hadn’t just been Ace who took a hit for their captain.

Jimbe had too.

He doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t seem to notice the way every Straw Hat has paled or gone wide eyed or slacked jawed (for those without visible skin or eyes.) He just quietly adjusts Luffy, hand ghosting over the scar on his chest, and settles back down.

Nami swallows, throat sick. “Jimbe?” She asks, knowing that he’ll answer her if no one else. “You were at Marineford, right?”

(Even in his sleep, slumbering away, Luffy winces at the name.)

Jimbe is quiet for a beat, then – “Aye. And Impel Down.”

“And afterwards,” Robin says smoothly, eyes bright with the knowledge of a historian who scoured every source for information about her captain.

Jimbe nods. “And afterwards, until Rayleigh took over.”

Everything. He was here for everything.

“Then...” Nami swallows and blinks back her tears. “You were with Luffy when A-“ His name feels forbidden. Taboo. “When his brother died.”

“Aye.” Jimbe’s words are soft as he lays a hand on Luffy’s shoulder, gently calming him from the twist his face takes, even asleep. “I was.”

Nami wants to ask what happens. She wants to know, wants to hold her captain, wants to say It’s okay, wants to know what hurt him so he will never hurt again, and Jimbe can give her these answers but –

The past doesn’t matter aboard their ship of dreams. Luffy had not listened to her story, not until she wanted to tell him herself. He had freed her from her chains, took her by the hand and led her to the horizon that she could map all her own.

Her throat closes up when she thinks about trying to learn his hurts, when he knew not to bother her own.

She can’t do that.

She can’t.

Instead, she lets her lips remain loyally closed as she watches the way Jimbe cradles their captain, as if he was the most precious thing he could think of.

(And really this man – who had conquered gods and armies and kings, yet still smiled so gently at his nakama and the sea breeze – he is.)

But Jimbe speaks anyway, and it’s not a betrayal of loyalty because he was there, when none of them were.

“I knew Ace, before Marineford.” They all hide flinches at the name. Jimbe gives them a somber gaze, and moves on. “We battled, before he joined Whitebeard’s crew and afterwards were friends. I refused to fight in Marineford for his sake, and was instead bound in Impel down, in the same cell as him. There… he told me about his little brother.” His gaze, impossibly, turns even softer. “He would just chatter on… smiling, in the face of death, as he told me about how reckless this boy was. How foolish. How loyal.” He tilts his head back up to the sky then. “He asked me to take care of his little brother.”

Nami’s heart stops. Usopp gasps. Sanji drops his plate. Chopper starts crying. Zoro’s eyes flash open for the first time.

(Under the hot sun of Alabasta, on a ship aboard a river, a man with freckles and a smile had asked, A little brother like that makes a big brother worry - Take care of him for me, okay?

They failed.)

“I failed,” Jimbe says, simply, but his words are draped in pain and agony, as his hand rises to his chest again, in a similar motion to what their captain has done, several times since they have reunited. “And that can never be forgiven.”

“But you were there,” Robin says, just as simple, her voice cracking. “And you saved our captain – didn’t you?”

Jimbe’s hand loosens its hold. “Ace had just died. We were running from Akainu and… I was holding Luffy. My own body was not enough to shield him – I failed-“

“Stop.” Zoro’s words silence the room, accept for Luffy, snoring gently into Jimbe’s side. “You were there, Jimbe.” He gets on to his knees, sword laying across his slap as Chopper is pushed to the side. “We were not. Thank you, for saving him.”

And then – Zoro, future world’s greatest swordsman, the pirate hunter, the demon – he bows, low to the ground, in a gesture of thanks.

It is brief, and quick, but Nami follows instantly, folding over in thanks as the rest of the crew does the same.

This is their crewmate – their future crewmate, from what he told Luffy – who was there when they were not, and took a blow for Luffy straight through his chest that would have otherwise been fatal.

Without Jimbe, their captain would not have had a chance to live.

What is a moment, bowed over, to something as insurmountable as that?

“I – please, do not bow to me!” Jimbe rushes to say, stuttering, eyes wide when Nami looks out. One hand is held out while the other, always protective, lays around Luffy’s shoulder. “It was my duty to do so, my responsibility, same as any of you. Luffy – he’s the man who will become King of the Pirates. To follow him is enough thanks.” His words ring loud. Ring true.

This is the man Luffy wanted on his crew for two years.

Nami can see why.

His faith – the faith that moves seas, moves mountains, changes the world, the faith in one straw hatted man – that’s the faith of all her crew,

She wasn’t sure about Jimbe.

(He had been the cause of so much of her pain – but he didn’t choose to hurt her. He would never, now.)

She is now.

Zoro, ever the leader, ever the loyal first mate, looks up and settles back down. It reminds Nami so much of Water 7, except here their entire crew is present, and here, they will not be fractured ever again.

(She will make sure that happens – by any means necessary.)

“It is our responsibility.” Zoro acknowledges. “We grew stronger over these past few years, on our captain’s orders – did you?”

His single eye pierces Jimbe, and Nami can see him swallow. But he stares back, unafraid, a true helmsman always following the course.

“Aye,” Jimbe says, and the tension is shattered by Luffy turning entirely over in his sleep, shirt shifting to display his scar, but his face entirely peaceful.

They ease back into their conversations, debts settled, crewmates thanked and now equals. It’ll be a few minutes before Luffy is up, running for adventure with them following on his heels but for now –

Now, the savior of their captains rests easy with Luffy by his side, and everything is okay.

(Later, months later, after Wano and after Whole Cake and after Emperors, Nami will see Luffy sit up at night as they all camp out in the aquarium. He will clutch his chest, and curl in on himself, deadly quiet and pale. His fingers will dig in, and dig in, and dig in, and all Nami will do is watch until –

Jimbe sits up and catches Luffy’s hand in his own, his other mirroring Luffy’s position and clutching at his own scar. He will say breathe, and Luffy will breathe, and –

Their captain will be strong, surrounded by those who were not there, and smiling, if dimly, at the one who was.

And, for once, matching scars won’t hurt as bad.)

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thebookwormfairy · 3 years

Text

Captain the Retired Police Dog and His Puppies Part 4

The puppies are here!!!!! The puppies are finally coming!

Captain Masterlist

Part 3

After that Marinette spent the day with Harley, Ivy, and Edwin it seemed they popped up around the Manor more often

Usually it was just to say hi, and in Edwin's case to flirt with Marinette

Not that she paid the flirting any mind she was very happy with Damian and only saw Edwin as a friend

And Edwin was respectful and backed off when Marinette said he had gone to far

And finally it was time!

Ace was having her puppies!

And Marinette was alone!

It was a little past midnight when Marinette woke up to find Damain gone and Ace in labor and Captain freaking out

Marinette jumped out of bed and rush over to the 2 german sheperds

Marinette: Hey it's okay. Calm down

Marinette rubbed Ace's head to comfort her

Captain still freaking out: What should we do Marinette? What should we do?

Ace: Darling you are freaking out more then me. Calm down.

Captain sitting besides Marinette: You're right, you're right. I have to he strong for our children

Captain sunk down and place his head on top of Ace: But what if something happens

Marinette: Dont worry you two I'm sure whatever villian Damian is beating up right now can wait.

Marinette frantically dialed Damian's number

It turns out that the bat fam were in the middle of a taken down one of Penguin's lesser skeems

Robin was literal beating up a henchman when a song about angles blasted from his pocket

It caught everybody so off gaurd that everybody good and bad paused and stared at Robin

Robin: Sorry, I have to take this

Robin pulled his phone out and hit answered

Robin: Hey Ang-

Marinette: ACE IS HAVING HER PUPPIES NOW!!!!

Robin putting his phone on mute: Bathound is having her puppies?!?!

Jason: The puppies are coming?

Marinette: YES! Can you finish what ever Robin business you're doing and come back?

Marinette eyes widen when she realized that she let it slipped that she knew about the Wayne family's nightly activities

Damian's eyes also widen before a now common lovesick grin spread across his face

Robin: Of course you figured it out Angle

Marinette blushing: Sorry I was going to wait until you were ready to tell me.

Robin: It's okay Angle I'll be there soon this really isnt a big deal I've just been playing with this guy anyway. He's completely incompetent

Henchman: Hey that's rude

Robin didn't listen to

Robin: Batman I will be leaving now

Redhood: I'm going with him!

Red Robin: No fair I wanted to sse Bathound give birth too

Batman sighing and turning to Penguin: Any chance we can cut this short?

Penguin: Yeah besides this jewel isn't worth the trouble if we don't

Batman: Thank you sorry about this

Penguin: No problem bats, I do request a picture of the puppies after they're born

Batman: I'm sure the children will make sure everybody they see has pictures of the puppies

When the Waynes got back and changed they rushed to Damian's room to see Ace giving birth to her third puppy

Marinette looked up at the sound of the door opening

Marinette: I'm so glad y'all came back in time. So far we have 3 healthy puppies

Damian rushed over to Ace to do a quick look over of the puppies that were already born making sure they were all okay

Marinette: So far so good they've been coming pretty quickly

Damian grabbing Marinette's face and kissing her: You are truly amazing Angel

The Wayne family and Marinette watch in fascination as 5 more puppies came in to the world in the span of 3 hours

Marinette: I can't believe it 8 puppies!

Captain nuzzling Ace: 8 puppies! Can you believe it my Love 8 puppies!!! You did fantastic! And all our puppies are absolutely beautiful!!!

Ace exhausted: That's wonderful Darling

Captain: Rest now my Love I'll watch over our children

Ace falling asleep: Thank you dear

Captain started sniffing his children nudging them towards their mother so they can stay fed and warm

Tim: They are so tiny! Can we keep them Bruce?

Bruce: Jason we can not keep 9-10 German Sheperds, a Turkey, cat, and cow

Jason: You also shouldn't be able to keep half the kids you adopt yet here we are

Bruce pinching the bridge of his nose: We'll have to see

Marinette: Dont worry Jason even if you don't keep all of them we'll find good homes for them

Harley:We heard the puppies have arrived!

Harley and Ivy burst into the room carrying balloons and plush dog toys for the puppies

Marinette: Harley! Ivy! What are you two doing here?

Harley: Alfred was a doll and called us! Edwin would've been here too but he's hanging out with friends for the week

Damian whispering to Marinette: Thank goodness

Marinette gently elbowed Damian in the ribs: Be nice

Harley: Oh my goodness Iv look at this one!

Harley gently lifts one of the puppies who had brown fur half way up all his legs

Harley: Omg it looks like his paws were dipped in Pudding! Can we keep him?

Ivy: We don't even know if they're up for adoption

Bruce seeing the future if he doesn't find the puppies a home: Please take one

Harley: Awesome! But we'll have to wait 8 week right?

Damian: That's right

The next day after everybody got some rest as the new parents spent more time with their puppies

And Marinette sat down with the Waynes

Damian was sitting besides Marinette as she fidgeted with her fingers

Marinette: So I know you are Batman, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin

Tim totally unconcincing: What?! No... That's impossible....Where would you get an idea like that...

Eveybody in the room gave Tim an unimpressed look

Tim: Okay I'm not fooling anybody. You are good Marinette

Marinette: Thank you

Bruce: I trust that you won't be telling anybody about this

Damian: Father!

Marinette: It's okay Damian. You can trust me Mr. Wayne, because I have my own secret. I'm also a super hero called Ladybug

Waynes: What?!

Tikki flew out of Marinette's pocket

Marinette: Let me show you, Tikki?

Tikki: Ready Marinette

Marinette: Okay, Tikki Spots On!

As Marinette transformed the other inhabitants in the room stared as the girl transformed into her hero form

Damian with a love struck smile: Just when I thought I couldn't love you anymore Angel

Marinette: Tikki Spots Off

Marinette detransforms, but Tikki stayed out were the Waynes could see her

Tikki: Hi my name's Tikki I'm Marinette's kwami

Kaalki: Does this mean I can finally stop hiding my beautiful self

Kaalki came out of Marinette's other pocket that held her miraculous

Marinette: And this is Kaalki the kwami of teleportation

Bruce: I feel like you have a lot to tell us Marinette

Marinette: That is correct but first. I as one of the heroes of Paris officially request assistance from the Justice league with the situation in Paris

Damian: What situation?

@felicityroth @northernbluetongue @mystery-5-5 @sidefrienda @tbehartoo @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @sonif50 @t-nikki10 @dawnwave16 @nach0

Permanent taglist

@immafangirl @alysrose-starchild @myazael @labschaos @meme991001

#Captain the Retired police dog #maribat #daminette #Captain the Retired police dog and his puppies #pet headcanon

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 3 years

Text

The Voyage So Far: Enies Lobby

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

this is still one of my very favorite nami panels. i think she’s really great through all of water 7 and enies lobby in general, actually, even though she isn’t really one of the characters in focus for a lot of it- like zoro and sanji, she stays pretty steadfast and very badass even though everything that happens, and never gives up on robin for a moment despite being one of the ‘weaker’ members of the crew. and it’s always fun to see her playing with lightning.

one of my favorite jokes from the first half or so of enies lobby is the strawhats both being completely unsurprised that luffy charges in ahead of them as soon as they arrive AND being able to find him immediately by following the explosions. they know him so well.

luffy’s never been scared of dying, going all the way back to when he told coby he was fine with dying for his dream back in chapter two or three. that conversation is what his exchange with blueno here reminds me of- blueno asks him how long he intends to keep fighting, and luffy says until he dies, like there’s nothing to it.

it’s always been a trait of his to face death unflinching with a grin, so long as it’s for the sake of something he cares about, be it his crew or his brother or his dream, and i just really like that about him.

i’ll go into it in the dressrosa post too, but i think it’s really impressive just how long oda held off on giving luffy any sort of significant power-up. he gets his first big power boost in the whole series here, forty volumes in. i’ve always liked that oda is very conservative with power boosts like this, because it both keeps the series’ powerscaling in check and makes the times it does happen much weightier. this is a monumental moment, and it feels like it.

also, i love the way gear two is drawn pre-timeskip, especially with the steam. it looks very cool and atmospheric.

i really like how united the strawhat crew feels throughout enies lobby, after all the internal turmoil and discord of water seven. even though the matter of usopp leaving the crew is still unresolved, they’ll all together once more, on the same page, and fully united in the goal of saving robin, whatever consequences it might bring.

the tree of knowledge has such a cool design- it looks massive, and even more than that, it looks old. you look at that tree and you know its been there for easily thousands of years. its seen entire eras of history, and it would be priceless even without the countless books stored inside it.

and then it burns.

i’m so endlessly sad about the tragedy that is robin’s relationship with her mother. they never even got to see each other until their world was ending, and even then only for a couple minutes.

olvia is a very interesting character, because she’s someone who chose her dream over the people she loved. that’s not an inherently good or bad choice, but it is a choice she made, and it’s what led to the ending she and robin had to have. i’ve wondered a lot what might have happened if she chose the other way, if she never left or if she came back sooner or if she chose to flee the buster call with robin, and how different (and almost certainly better) robin’s life would have been if she had.

in a way, olvia reminds me a lot of kouzuki toki. they both die in order to fling a light of knowledge and hope into the future, and they both send their children away and choose to stay behind to choke on ash for the sake of a better tomorrow.

i didn’t really notice until putting these panels together, but a lot of things burn in enies lobby. ohara burns, and the pluton plans and the world government flag, and enies lobby itself, and at the end, the going merry burns, too. if you extend it back to water seven, there’s the galley-la headquarters, too. in an arc that deals so much with the preservation and destruction of history and knowledge, it’s a fitting motif.

the world government flag burning is still to this day one of the most striking panels out of a series full of them, in my opinion. in one act, the strawhats proclaim their absolute defiance against the world government, and their willingness to make enemies of the greatest power in the world for the sake of their friend.

it’s also another one of those moments that’s interesting to think about in the context of luffy’s past. it was a ship flying that same flag that shot sabo down, and while luffy wasn’t there to see it, i don’t think he’s oblivious to that fact, especially given how he says just before this he understands robin’s enemies perfectly.

dadan told him and ace that there was nothing they could do against the whole world, and luffy went and did it anyways.

sometimes i just think about how scary it must have been for robin, someone who’s been weighed down by the shackles of her past with no escape in sight for so very long, to open herself up and let herself hope, for life and freedom and a dream that’s always been out of reach.

franky has a lot of really great moments between this arc and water seven- his conversation with usopp as usopp is working on merry and his talk with robin on the sea train are two others. it’s almost impressive how quickly he becomes an immensely likable character once we start getting to know him, given how he’s first introduced as an absolute piece of shit.

his burning of the pluton plans is a favorite of mine, and i think it might be because, like so many people before and after him, he’s choosing here to stake all his hopes on the strawhats, on luffy’s ability to pull off the impossible and on robin’s goodness. when robin’s only ever been chased and hated and called a demon by the world, franky chooses to trust her and luffy with the legacy his dad died for, and neither of them let him down.

monster point looks SO FUCKING TERRIFYING in enies lobby, and i LOVE it. look at that. franky is seven and half feet tall, and in front of monster point he’s tiny. monster point is huge, and dead-eyed, and a force of absolute destruction. i do kind of wish we got to see chopper go completely feral like this more often. he deserves to be terrifying!

i love how much FAITH all the rest of the strawhats continue to have in usopp throughout enies lobby. he left the crew and they really would have a right to be angry at him if they chose to, but it doesn’t even seem to cross any of their minds. they’re just happy he’s okay, and they include him again without missing a beat, because he’s still their friend and they know down to their bones they can trust him, even after everything.

i’ve always really loved zoro and kaku’s little moment of post-battle banter here- zoro relays paulie’s message about cp9 being fired, kaku says he’s out of a job, zoro tells him to try the zoo, and kaku cracks up.

it feels very real to me for whatever reason, and i think part of it ties back into how well one piece handles morality with its characters- zoro and kaku are genuinely pretty similar people who get along decently, it just happens that they wound up on opposite sides. there are series where you’d never see moments like this due to the lines between good and bad being so firmly drawn, and i love how one piece blurs those lines so much they may as well not exist a lot of the time.

this is the other sequence, along with luffy climbing the drum rockies barehanded, that always makes me physically cringe to look at. it looks so painful. robin is so nearly powerless here, but not quite- she can still buy time for her crew to catch up, even if it’s only seconds, even if she risks shattering her teeth or even her jaw in the process. she’s spent so long giving up and has only just started daring to hope- she’s not about to go gentle.

there aren’t many panels that give me catharsis like this one. there really aren’t.

oda’s villains are usually complicated and awful and often a little admirable, if only for how clever or how terrifyingly powerful they are, but every now and then he comes up with someone who’s just pathetic and cowardly and pointlessly cruel. spandam is like this, obviously, and so is orochi, and the celestial dragons, and i’d argue flampe from whole cake island as well. and there’s nothing like seeing characters like them- weak, cruel people so assured in their own power and rightness- get obliterated.

one of the things i really like about enies lobby is that nobody really gets sidelined- everybody gets multiple chances to shine. luffy, usopp, and obviously robin are the most in focus, obviously, but zoro, sanji, nami, chopper, and even franky all get a bunch of individual awesome moments. oda’s ability to handle his cast satisfyingly is consistently really impressive (if sometimes strained in huge ensemble arcs like dressrosa or wano) and it really shows here, i think.

i just really love the entire climax of enies lobby. much like the arc as a whole, it just feels triumphant, even though the situation is extremely dire. luffy unlocking gear three, robin’s cuffs getting unlocked, usopp shooting spandam and the marines all the way from the tower of justice- it’s all just good, a long chain of much-needed victories and catharses, and it feels very good to read.

i’ll always be impressed by just how much characterization oda manages to give merry, a boat. she’s only really a character in water seven and the end of enies lobby, only about two chapters of which she actually speaks in. and yet i don’t think you’d find a single one piece fan who disagrees that merry’s death is easily one of the most heartwrenching in the entire series.

i love the reactions of the strawhats to robin’s thanks. they’ve just gone through hell to save her, most of them are beat to shit and they all risked their lives, and yet they all just smile, or brush it off, because to them there’s nothing else they could have done. it’s all worth it, so long as they got her back, so long as she’s safe and happy.

merry’s funeral just hits me in the chest every single time i read it. it’s tragic, of course, but there’s also something almost lovely about it, something peaceful about her getting to go out on her own terms, carrying her crew to safety one last time, defying every rule of the universe to do it. just like a strawhat pirate.

oda’s ability to communicate emotion through expressions really comes through here, too. merry has the only lines in this scene, fitting for her death in the limelight, but the shots of every other crewmate’s face let us know at a glance just what they’re all feeling and just how strongly they’re feeling it.

you know, i’d forgotten we only learn the name of the new world after enies lobby. we only get proper exposition about the revolutionary army and the yonkou here, too, despite them being set up since loguetown and jaya (or alabasta, or even chapter one if you count from shanks’s introduction) respectively. oda’s ability to parse out exposition and explanation so we always have just the right amount of information is really impressive- we always have more questions, but we also always have the feeling that those questions have answers, and that sooner or later they’ll be revealed.

points at shanks. i just think he’s neat.

it’s my opinion that one of the great joys of one piece is seeing luffy and the crew rise up in the world, and seeing them gain more and more notoriety. i love nothing they do ever happens in a vacuum- everything has impacts, and there are always outside eyes watching, and often those impacts are things that they never could have predicted.

ace and blackbeard is still, i think, definitely one of the coolest looking fights in the whole series. it’s not all that often we get to see two people with extremely flashy and showy abilities go all-out against each other, and the resulting fireworks are still really something to behold, despite how badly it all ends.

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #long post #arc: enies lobby #arc: post enies lobby #not japanese

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frobin · 3 years

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Hi! Ok, I know it isn't very related to Frobin (except if you decide to mention them in the answer), but I am curious about your opionion on this thing. If the end of One Piece have someone of the Straw Hat crew that can die, who can be? OBVIOUSLY I hope nobody, that this thing doesn't happen, but never say never. There're people who say Luffy to recreate Roger's connection. Someone else Usop (but I miss the reason). Or Jinbe, who has also some problems and enemies from previous experiences?

Hey there anon!

No worries about asking questions. This is a FRobin blog but it's also a One Piece blog so it's fine to ask all kind of questions about One Piece. Even though I wouldn't consider myself much of an *expert* so everything I write is very much influenced by my own impressions.

But you're asking for my opinion anyway so that disclaimer is not necessary in this case. XD

---

Okay, first of all: I'm no fan of death flags. I never see them and when I read about them I feel like people pull them out of nowhere.

So I don't think any of the Strawhats will die before or even while the big end fight. Also it's not like they will reach their goal and then just drop dead (don't forget the dream are very different too but more about that later). Like what kind of life would that be?

Also we can't forget that Oda still believes he is writing this story for 14 year old boys. So, even though death is and will be a theme I don't think he will kill off the main crew.

That would not be very clever story wise and is not how to tell a story about adventure and fulfilling dreams for young boys.

Right now it's very "fashionable" to let characters die for shock value. But the more it's done the more annoying it becomes and less of a shock and Oda won't stoop so low to use this kind of element. Why do I think that?

So far we had three deaths in OP and they all shocked us a lot. But they were also used as motivator for other characters. Whitebeards death was a motivator for a whole new Generation of pirates, as well as his crew to try to save Ace and his little brother. Ace's death was a launch of character development for Luffy, Sabo, Garp and even Sengoku and probably more. Pedros death was a motivator for Carrot and other Minks. (Even the fake death of Pell was a huge motivator for Vivi. Interestingly compared to other deaths his sacrifice did not stop the war, which would have been an adequate impact. So him coming back alive actually makes sense.)

But look how few and far between they are. Of course there was more death but the important ones are kept as those.

Why am I talking about that? Who would benefit from a Strawhats death?

Literally no one. They are all already motivated to go until the end for each other. It's more likely that a death would cause Luffy to just give up, him becoming catatonic again.

Who would Luffy fight for if he even loses one of his crew mates? Or maybe two?

If I were a Marine I would try to make Luffy think that his friends are dead and then catch him but that is beside the point.

But for One Piece, a Strawhat death it would not move the story further. There is no additional motivator needed and that would be the only reason to kill one of the crew.

Killing a Strawhat makes no sense in my opinion.

A death would only make sense after they reached their goal.

So it is possible that we see the Strawhats die but long after the story came to an end, them reaching Laugh Tale (if that is the end). And yes, I think all of them will die of natural causes and/or sickness. Most of them at an old age. I think Luffy, Zoro or Usopp being the firsts because of the trauma their bodies had endured would make most sense.

I hope that answered your question anon... and anyone who does not want to read even more about my nonsense can stop here.

But let me break down why I think that all Strawhats have plot armor against death flags, behind the read-more.

-> It is very important that I think the huge clash with the Blackbeard Pirates, which will be the end fight, will happen right before Laugh Tale. And Laugh Tale is the end-goal and the end of the main story. (I MIGHT BE WRONG!!!)<-

Everyones own story can only end after they reached their goal so let's look why I think that these dreams give the Strawhats Plot Armor.

Luffy: Become the king of the pirates. That means he has to reach Laugh Tale. I often hear that Luffy will die early because of the parallel to Roger. That does not mean he won't reach his 40s or 50s. Even after reaching Laugh Tale Roger lived a bit longer and even had time to "make a child" so, killing off Luffy in the end fight makes no sense. So maybe dying after the fight, on Laugh Tale? That could happen and would be the earliest death of any Strawhat imo.

Zoro: Become the strongest sword fighter. That means he still has to kill Mihawk. I don't think Mihawk will go and look for Zoro. So, Zoro has to survive and then return to Mihawk and have his duel. No sense in killing off Zoro. I am 100% sure that he will survive until then.

Nami: Drawing a world map. For that Nami has to travel the world many times more. After they reached Laugh Tale, Nami has only finished part of her dream. She has to visit all of the Blues, travel the Grand Line and the New world multiple times. Drawing a Map of the world will take a lifetime. Her dream will take the longest to be fulfilled.

Usopp: Become the great warrior of the sea. Now here we have a dream that is not really tangible. Usopp will be a great warrior as soon as he realises that he is one. In my opinion he already managed to become a great warrior. Time and time again he has shown how amazing he is but this is all about his own self image and so hard to grasp. This actually makes Usopp the most likely to have a death flag BUT we can't forget that he still has to return home and tell his stories to Kaya and the Usopp pirates. It's part of a promise that is only secondary but for me it's enough to think Usopp too is safe until he did that.

Sanji: To find the All Blue. Sanji thinks that the All Blue is something physical. We can't know that and if it is physical we can consider that it's maybe a part of the New World near the Red Line where all seas somehow come together. So again, until Sanji found that place he hasn't fulfilled his dream. And since I think that would be BEHIND Laugh Tale, again I think Sanji is safe. Alternatively the All Blue is just a metaphor for something completely different but I can't hink about what.

Chopper: To cure all illness. Here too, this is something that takes time. Chopper is still only at the beginning of his career of being a doctor. Finding a magical cure for every illness that exists is not something that just happens. Logically he would need to talk with many other medical experts and together they might be able to find it. When and how and if that happens is impossible to say but again that would be something that would fit best in the time after reaching Laugh Tale.

Robin: To find the truth of the void century. Right now we figure that she will find that at the end of their travel, on Laugh Tale. Maybe it will happen earlier in case the Strawhats storm the World Government. Either way she will learn the truth. But that will not be the end to her. After learning the truth it's up to Robin to bring it to the world, to write it down, to teach, to make people understand that they can't erase history and that they have to learn from it. Again, that is something that takes time and so, truly fulfilling her dream.

Franky: To travel the world in the ship of his dreams. Again that is a vague dream. But it would mean to at least return to Water Seven, so that Sunny has traveled the world once. But even then it's only been a small part of the world and traveling the world would mean to visit at least every of the seas. So far, Sunny had been in two to four, depending on how much you take the movies into account. But to fulfill Franky's dream he needs to survive a bit longer and so does Sunny.

Brook: To meet Laboon again. This is simple. But for that Brook has to reach the end of the New World and then get over the Red Line again. What he will do after that is hard to tell. But again, the Red Line is behind Laugh Tale and so I'm sure Brook too, has to survive... even though he is already dead YOHOHO!

Jinbe: Equality between merfolk and humans. Again this is something that is no easy feat and will probably take more than one generation. Also it is not only up to him and more to Shirahoshi and the World Government. This dream is about teamwork too, but who could be a better ambassador for the merfolk than him? Losing Jinbe would be a huge backfire for the cause. Jinbe too is safe in my opinion. If you have reached the end of the post, let me tell you again my headcanon about FRobin: After the main adventure Franky and Robin return to Water Seven where Franky helps to turn W7 into a boat and after that is done, they travel to the island where Ohara used to be and there they rebuild the island. More people return and it again becomes a hub for scholars and history.

#Not FRobin #One Piece meta #One Piece Fandom #One Piece Theory #One Peace Death Flag #Long Post #Text #Some Frobin at the end #ask #Meta #In my opinion no Strawhat will die #kon

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opbackgrounds · 4 years

Text

Alright, friends, you know the drill by now. Here’s Part III of Sarcasticles’ overblown thoughts on sexism in One Piece. If you haven’t already, go read Part I and Part II before proceeding.

I promise after this I’ll be done. By hook or by crook, we’re getting through the point of the original question. To the Anon who originally sent the ask, sorry it took this long to get here, I hope it’s helpful.

Also, I allude to some very, very minor Wano spoilers, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing here’s your warning.

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about character designs, when, funnily enough, it’s one of the aspects I pay the least attention to when it comes to deciding if I like how an author portrays their characters. I personally don’t care for fanservice, never have and never will. But unless it’s particularly egregious, I tend to ignore it because there are other factors I think are more important.

The secret sauce for building characters is hard to define, because a good writer can take a concept that has no right being any good and turn it into something incredible (Oda does this all the time) where bad writers will seemingly slot all the right information in the right holes and still have their characters come out of the developmental oven flat and under cooked.

One of the biggest buzzwords floating around these days is agency. Is a character active in their own story, or are they jerked around by the needs of the plot? Is their voice heard? Is their voice unique, or do they blend in with the background?

This is particularly important, because the term Strong Female Protagonist has been warped into shorthand for “girl who fights a lot and looks pretty doing it”. You can have a girl strong enough to lift mountains and still have her be a shit character. You can write a girl who’s main motivation is to get married and have babies with phenomenal depth. What matters is execution.

The Petition to Call A Group of Rescue Arcs a ‘Damsel’

Both Nami and Robin had to be rescued, their main arcs bearing similarities that are impossible to ignore. But these aren’t copies of one another as much as variations on a theme, and with the existence of Marineford and Whole Cake Island I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that One Piece’s rescue arcs are a girl’s thing. At this point it’s a feature, not a bug.

Which makes sense given how fundamental the idea freedom is to the series. Hell, the first thing Luffy does after becoming a pirate is free Coby from Alvida’s tyrannical reign. Then he frees Zoro from an unjust authority that would have killed him had Luffy not intervened.

Notice a pattern here?

One Piece is written like Pachelbel Canon, in that a very simple core of ideas are repeated over and over with layers of complexity and nuance added over time, examining the same themes from every possible angle.

And when you look at the Four Big Rescue Arcs -- Nami, Robin, Ace, Sanji -- you’ll see that it’s Ace who’s given the least agency throughout his arc. Nami chose to hijack the Going Merry, repeatedly chose to push away the Straw Hats until she reached her breaking point, at which she chose to ask for help, with Luffy only intervening once she does.

Robin is a little less obvious, but during the post-Water 7 party chapters, Aokiji makes the interesting observation that Robin could have escaped CP9, but chose not to

Remember that before Robin’s backstory was shown, Luffy specifically said he didn’t care if she wanted to die or not, so long as she was with the Straw Hats when she made her decision. No one bullied her into “I wanna live”. It was a choice she made of her own volition after realizing the depths the Straw Hats would go on her behalf.

I know there are people who disagree with me, but Nami and Robin are well-written characters. I’ve expounded enough on my reasoning both here and on my main that I don’t want to spend the time belaboring the point. What I do want is to note that Luffy wouldn’t be able to attain his dreams without them. Nami keeps them on course while also severing as a sort of moral compass for the crew -- remember she was the one who insisted on saving the giant kids at Punk Hazard -- while Robin’s ability to read the poneglyphs is what’s going to get the crew to Raftel.

Robin admittedly doesn’t have the same presence within the Straw Hat Pirates as Nami, but I would hardly call that sexism. Since Water 7/Enies Lobby she’s been pretty content to go with whatever Luffy says, and the fact that she’s literally quieter than anyone else in the crew means she doesn’t get as much focus. I think there could be more scenes with her using her specific skill set, like her investigations in Wano and the forensic anthropology scene in the pre-Jaya chapters, but I’m okay with her being a supporting character.

The East Blue Crew have consistently gotten the most focus of any of the Straw Hats. They are the core of the crew, something Oda admits in a roundabout way in the Color Walk where they all appear together for the first time in a color spread

With the main cast as large as it is, not everyone is going to have the same amount of focus or development. Robin is given a unique voice within the story because she doesn’t overreact the way literally everyone else does. Through her silence, she stands out. I find there to be very meaningful character development when she feels comfortable enough with the Straw Hats to start calling them by name in Thriller Bark, relaxed enough with her friends to comitt her first facefaults in a series lousy with them in both Dressrosa and Wano.

In an ideal world, Oda would better rotate through his cast, much like how Brook was the unsung MVP on Whole Cake Island (where Nami was also excellent in a supporting role) but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to juggle almost a dozen different people in a story that’s bloated exponentially over time. To his credit, Oda has handled his expanding crew better than most writers.

I also find it hard to judge this aspect of the series because the manga’s not done yet. I don’t know how Robin and Nami will be used in the future. I mean, Robin never got a chapter title declaring her “The Seventh” which I find suspicious, so Oda could very well have events in store that completely turn our perceptions upside down. It’s impossible to say.

I will acknowledge that the lack of big fights is somewhat disappointing, but neither Robin nor Nami’s dreams revolve around them getting stronger. Robin doesn’t need to use her power to make people explode from the inside out, Nami doesn’t need to fry end-game bosses with her lightning stick. That’s simply not their narrative purpose. With the exception of Tashigi, I’ve found that the female characters advertised as fighters have lived up to their billing. Hancock came out of Marineford unscathed. Carrot’s sulong form was awesome, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The whole climax of Whole Cake Island revolved around surviving Big Mom’s wrath. Not beating her, not fighting her, it took all the Straw Hats had to just survive. Once again you’re left with a number’s game where where there just aren’t enough female characters to even pretend things are balanced.

All said, I think if you’re going to complain about the lack of Robin fights then I think you also have to complain about the lack of Brook fights, and that’s just not something you hear about, especially after Whole Cake Island. You can’t have it both ways. Either there needs to be more even distribution of major fights throughout the entire crew, or you have to acknowledge that a character’s worth isn’t dependent on their fighting prowess.

One Piece is a battle manga, and I do think that it’s fair to criticize when a character isn’t allowed to fight when they’re perfectly capable of kicking ass. But it’s also an adventure story, and that opens up entirely new space for a character to occupy, and that’s where I think Nami and Robin (but especially Nami) really shine

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

I’ve spent so much time defending Oda’s designs and characters that it might seem like I’m perfectly okay with everything that’s portrayed in the manga. To be clear, I’m not. If the messages and comments I’ve gotten over the past several days have taught me anything, it’s that many fans share the same sticking points I do, namely in regards to some of the gags.

I again want to be careful here, because I’m hardly an expert on Japanese culture and it’s really hard to tell if Oda writes his jokes because he thinks they’re funny, or if he thinks his audience will find them funny. I’m again going to default to somewhere in the middle, because if Oda truly found the perviness distasteful he probably wouldn’t have included it, and I’ve read enough SBS to know the guy likes his dick jokes.

First and foremost, one must address the culture gap. Japan ranks last among G7 nations on gender equality, In 2004 two-thirds of Tokyo women in their 20-30s reported to being groped while on public transport. There are numerous barriers that make it difficult for a woman to succeed either in the workplace or politics.

From what I can gather, some of these trends are reversing, albeit slowly and with great resistance. Contrary to what many people seem to believe culture is not always value neutral. And I say that as an American, recognizing there are plenty of things about my culture and country that are really fucked up.

But who gets to decide who’s right and who’s wrong?

When inside that kind of environment, that kind of culture, it’s a lot easier to understand how a character like Sanji can exist. It’s easy to understand why Momo shoving his face into Nami and Robin’s boobs might be played for laughs. It’s not an excuse, but an explanation. And with Sanji failing more often than not, being the butt of his own joke as he slowly turns into a parody of what he once was, one could almost say Oda is pointing those types of people and saying, “Look how pathetic this guy is. Now go laugh as he gets a nosebleed so bad he needs multiple blood transfusions in order to not die.”

I say almost, because Sanji is never condemned for his actions, nor does he learn from them. Instead you have this character who’s supposed to be one of the kindest characters in the series decide to immediately go peep on a woman’s bath house after gaining the power of invisibility.

Stay classy, Oda.

As distasteful as I find it, I don’t find fanservice to be an inherently evil thing that must be eradicated at all costs, and with Oda doing things like putting his entire cast, male and female, into skintight leathers you can hardly say that he’s excluding the men.

Everyone will have their line in the sand, and mine goes back to agency. When Nami did her Happiness Punch way back in Alabasta, that was of her own volition. When Nami and Robin dress in clothes that show everything but the nipple, that’s something they chose and feel comfortable in.

But when Smoker and Tashigi swapped bodies at Punk Hazard, Tashigi specifically asked Smoker not to strip, and he did anyway, opening her coat and removing her bra. This is especially egregious as Tashigi is one of the very few women in the series who is always shown wearing very conservative clothing. Oda specifically showed Tashigi getting upset at Smoker’s actions, and Smoker repeatedly refusing to listen to her.

That’s where I draw my line.

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else

Thought The First--Oda has an interesting habit of turning his most despicable, scummy pieces of flaming human garbage into the butt of the joke. Villains like Crocodile and Doflamingo are certainly evil, but it’s the idealized, cool type of evil that makes you almost admire them. There aren’t very many real-world Crocodiles, but just about everyone knows a Spandam, or an Absalom, or a Vander Decken. These kinds of villains aren’t scary because of their physical prowess, but their unyielding obsessions and the power they’re able to wring from the system, and -- surprise, surprise -- all three are either actively trying to be creepy sex pests or coded as such with the visual language of the comic.

And Oda turns them into a mockery.

While there are some who feel like not treating serious issues like sexual assault seriously are doing a disservice to people who have endured similar experiences I think there’s merit to turning them into a laughingstock. As someone much smarter than me said once, if an opinion cannot withstand mockery it’s revealed to be ridiculous, and these scummy-scum villains are certainly ridiculous.

Thought The Second--It’s hard to say how much sexism is a thing in-universe. Kuina is the only one who is explicitly told her dreams were impossible because of her gender, but with the recent reveal confirming that her family came from Wano, which in turn is based on Feudal Japan, it’s hard to say how widespread these beliefs are. Tashigi brought it up again at Loguetown and Bellemere specifically told her girls that they lived in an era where “girls needed to be strong, too”, but otherwise it’s not a topic that’s been explored in any depth

Thought The Third--The in-universe fetishization of mermaids has some implications that I think are unintended but worth discussing. Shirahoshi has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in the world despite not leaving her tower for over 10 years (she’s 16). Mermaids whose tails have split are worth less on the slave market than those whose are intact. Even Zoro erased Kokoro from his memory after meeting the more attractive Caime. It’s one of those odd things that when combined with the more obvious racism themes could have some unfortunate implications, and I think could have been avoided had Oda show a little more restraint with some of his jokes. Unintended consequences are still consequences.

Thought The Forth--There are many other instances throughout the series that people bring up with talking about sexism in One Piece. I feel like a lot of these can be explained away individually -- for example, both Belo Betty and Rebecca’s stripperific outfits were inspired by other media, the painting Liberty of the People and Red Sonja respectively; Lola chasing after an obviously abusive man makes a whole lot more sense when you meet Big Mom; Hancock’s love sickness could be seen as an emotionally stunted woman experiencing her first crush, etc., etc -- it’s when they’re all put together that they begin to read as “Problematic”.

It would be impossible to go over all these individually, but I tend to fall on the side of leniency. In the end, everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own values. I’m hardly unbiased, and my enjoyment for the series will undoubtedly make me look the other way when another might call the exact same incident The Worst Thing Ever. The thing is, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most are convinced that theirs don’t stink. I include myself in that statement. In the end it’s a comic for kids. It’s supposed to be fun.

Thought The Last--I have spent entirely too much of my time writing this up, but in the end I guess I have to go back to what I said when I talked about my thoughts on Sanji: Everyone has their own personal line of acceptable bullshit, and for me Oda does more good than bad. Sanji specifically gets very little leniency from me because I don’t like a lot of the gross behavior Oda passes over as a joke. But the female characters themselves, generally speaking? They’re fine. There are other mangaka that have more equal male to female ratios or have women play more active roles in the story, but Oda does a lot better than most other shonen titles I’ve read.

It’s okay to be critical of media you enjoy. It’s okay to complain. But remember that One Piece is a very long series, and there are some fans who have been a round for literally decades. I myself started reading weekly around the time Duval was introduced, way back in 2008. Every time a new batch of fans comes in the same old arguments get stirred to the top of the pot: Sanji is a creep, Oda can’t draw women, why doesn’t Robin ever get to fight?

It can be exhausting to go through the same hoops time and time again. So if you’re someone who is being critical and feel like no one is listening, or that a bunch of fans are going out of their way to defend Oda, that could be one of the reasons why. They’re tired of having a series they enjoy be shit on.

There are other fans who legitimately don’t think that Oda’s done anything wrong, that jokes are just jokes. If you happen to fall in that category, remember that not everyone feels that way. Art reflects life, which in turn reflects art. One Piece is a few million copies away from outselling Batman. To say it isn’t influential to young readers, both in Japan and abroad, is beyond asinine.

I thank everyone who’s taken the time to read this so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how civil the discussion and my inbox as stayed. Even if I didn’t respond to your message, I promise that I did read it.

I wrote as much as I did because I know this is a topic a lot of people care about, and also so I hopefully don’t have to write about it again. A lot of hours has gone into this project, and it’s been exhausting, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. I’m ready to put it to rest.

I was joking with some friends that I think I’ve hit just about every hot topic issue now, so hopefully I can go back to fun questions like speculating if Wapol can eat a person and poop out a devil fruit.

Until then, Sarcasticles, out

#sexism #one piece #long post #sarc talks

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gideongrace · 4 years

Text

Like Catnip

(for day 2 of harringrove week of love - mutual pining + for @demi-don for Harringrove for Australia)

Cheap beer, cigarette smoke and sweat - if Steve had to pick apart and identify what main scents make up the way Billy smells, that would be it, those three things above all else. They don't sound like pleasant smells and they shouldn't be; it shouldn't be appealing. With scents like that he should be comparing the way Billy smells to the smell of a dive bar and not a nice one, either. No, this would be, should be, the sort of dive bar with sticky floors and dark walls and no hint of a theme anywhere in sight.

It should be.

But it isn't.

The way Billy smells is like catnip, driving Steve to distraction any time he so much as gets a whiff of it.

It's awful.

He can't think.

He can't study.

He hasn't been able to write his paper even though he's been trying for the past four hours.

Not that he's ever been good at writing papers anyway, but the room seems to be drenched in the scent of Billy more than it normally is and Steve can't take it.

He looks across the room at Billy's unmade bed and wonders when the last time Billy washed his sheets was. Probably never, considering Steve can't remember ever seeing Billy struggling with putting clean sheets on his bed and they've been roommates for almost five months now. And again, that should be disgusting but instead, something about it makes Steve's mouth water, makes him want to crawl into Billy's bed and roll around in it, to drown in the scent of Billy and his cheap cologne.

Billy's not even going to be back for over an hour, so Steve could do it. He could do it and he could get away with it.

He could.

But.

But if he did there's the chance Billy might come home early and there's the chance Billy might catch him and there's the chance Billy might try and do something about it.

They live together in a very small room and Steve's spent enough nights out on the couches in the common area to know about the sorts of things that Billy gets up to.

And Steve knows himself well enough to know he doesn't like those sorts of things. Not really.

Like sex is fine. He's tried it a handful of times both in high school and in college, both with boys and with girls and every time it was just like, well… this is fine but could we go back to the kissing? And the touching? Because that was actually fun.

Sex is just sort of… boring for him and it would probably be easier for other people to understand if he had a reason for that, if he had some trauma or something he could point to and say, "Yep! That's why I am the way I am!" but he doesn't. Sex isn't traumatic. It isn't scary. It doesn't hurt.

It just isn't any fun. And at first he thought that maybe the problem was girls, that maybe he was gay, but that's not it, either. He likes girls. He likes boys.

It's just that he likes making out, likes touching and that's it.

And, apparently, he has a thing for the way Billy smells.

He's pretty sure Robin would call it a kink.

Not that he cares.

Not that he can do anything about it, anyway.

Unless…

Maybe…

He picks up his laptop and stares at Billy's bed for long enough that the heat from the bottom of it makes his hands start to sweat. It's practically taunting him, Billy's bed; the dark navy sheets and the thick, cozy, ocean blue comforter are all but screaming, "Sit on me!"

So he does.

But he just sits. And types out more nonsense, padding out the word count on his terrible essay for his terrible sociology class with the terrible professor with the terrible droning voice and the blonde TA who seems like she's more invested in what color nail polish she's going to pick out next rather than in helping anyone.

He doesn't rub his head on Billy's pillow.

He doesn't moan.

He's an adult. Or he's close enough to being an adult, anyway. He's not a child, at least. He's not a weirdo.

So he sits on Billy's bed and he writes his crappy essay.

And Steve ignores the way Billy's eyebrows climb up his forehead when he gets home and sees Steve sitting on his bed.

Steve's done it before. They sit on each other's beds, they share each other's clothes and take up space in each other's lives like it's as natural as anything, like they've always done it, like it's always been this way. And it's odd, maybe, the way that happened. The way, after less than a week of being roommates, it was like a light switch flipped. They didn't talk about it and it wasn't any one thing in particular but it was like… it felt like in a matter of days, maybe even a matter of minutes, after getting to college that all their high school bullshit didn't matter anymore.

After leaving the close (and closed-minded) confines of Hawkins, none of what they'd been trying to be had mattered anymore. They could just be themselves and it turned out that being themselves happened to mean they were really good at being roommates and even better at being friends.

Which is why Steve also ignores it when Billy sits down next to him. Which is why he also ignores the way Billy's leg brushes up against his own, ignores the way Billy smells and the way his curls fall from his ponytail, the way Billy's forehead is damp with sweat and the way those loose curls stick to it.

Billy leans in and looks at Steve's laptop screen and Steve actively struggles to keep ignoring him but ignoring Billy is almost impossible and the game he's trapped himself into playing is one he's almost certainly doomed to lose.

Billy's warm, solid weight pressing up against him is even more distracting than the way he smells and then to make it all worse, Billy lays his head on Steve's shoulder and heaves out a breath that tickles at Steve's neck but still, somehow, Steve keeps typing. He thinks, no, he knows, he deserves some kind of freaking award at this point for his near superhuman levels of control.

Maybe he's not doomed to lose.

Maybe there's a way to win this game (and to keep their friendship intact) after all.

Billy huffs out another big breath and he runs a hand up to the back of Steve's neck, his fingers tangling in Steve's hair.

Or, Steve thinks as he stops typing. Maybe not.

He takes a deep breath and closes his laptop screen then disentangles himself from Billy and crosses the room to sit on his own bed. It's barely two seconds before Billy is following him, pressing in close again, driving Steve to the edge and then shoving him over as he says, "Come on, you have to know," his voice all low and deep like it gets when he really wants something.

And Steve doesn't know. He doesn't know anything right now. In fact, he's pretty sure that if asked, right now, right in this moment, he wouldn't be able to repeat his own name.

Billy's hand creeps up the back of Steve's neck again and every muscle in Steve's body goes tense and it's something Billy can clearly feel because the next words out of Billy's mouth are: "If you don't-" and Steve doesn't know what it is he's supposed to not, what it is he's supposed to do, but something inside of him cracks and leaves splinters with the sharp way Billy's words break off at the ends.

"If you don't…" Billy's hand slides down from Steve's neck, suddenly leaving him feeling unmoored, not unlike like a boat drifting in the ocean without anyone to steer. "If you don't…" Billy says again, this time inching away from Steve.

Moments pass as Steve's brain spins hopelessly in circles. If he doesn't what?

Billy huffs. "Damnit Steve, say something! I'm drowning here!"

Steve reacts on pure instinct, snorting harshly and saying, "Yeah, you and me both," because yeah, he's pretty sure this is what drowning must feel like. That and a thousand other terrible things because this moment is a thousand terrible things all neatly wrapped up into one.

"So you don't, then?" Billy says and he sounds… wrecked. Just completely wrecked. Like, to continue the train of thought from earlier, if Steve is a boat lost at sea with no captain, Billy is a boat that's capsized and sinking.

"Don't what?"

"Like me."

That's it. Two words is all it takes to completely flip Steve over.

"What?" Steve's voice cracks and crumbles over the single word like it's more than that. It isn't pretty.

"You don't like me," Billy says it like it's definitive, like it's a fact.

"You…" Steve's brain stops spinning, instead deciding to freeze up entirely. All he can come up with is, "You have a lot of sex."

This time it's Billy saying, "What?" but he says it like he's pulling his hand back after accidentally touching a hot stove, like he's been burned.

"Well, you know," Steve says, his cheeks heating up to roughly one million degrees. "If you're wanting to have sex with me, that's not something I do."

"Okay, first," Billy says, everything in him from his facial expression to his tone to his posture suddenly bristling with coarse irritation, "I haven't had sex with anyone in two months. Second, I've been throwing myself at you for weeks after pining over you for years and third, some asexuals have sex, Steve. I do. I get lots of judgement for that in lots of places but I never thought I'd be getting it from you."

"You're - are you telling me - that you -" Steve's voice gives up as his throat dries out.

Billy huffs again and his nostrils flare. "Are you telling me I need to explain how being ace works to you? Some asexuals have sex, it doesn't make them less ace. It just means that sex isn't a need for them, isn't a driving force. It isn't for me. It isn't something I need or something I look for but sometimes, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll take it because sometimes sex can be kinda fun. Only I haven't taken up any offers lately. Not for two months."

Where Steve's brain has frozen solid his heart kicks into overdrive. Two months. Billy's been…

Throwing himself? At him? For two months?

"I repeat, what?" Steve's voice comes out sounding ridiculously pitchy and not at all like his usual self. He's lost absolutely all of his cool.

"Look," Billy snarls, charging past irritated and straight into infuriated. "I'm into you. I don't know what else you need from me to get it. Do you want me to do this sixth grade style? Do you want me to leave you a note on your bed saying 'Do you like me? Check Yes or No?" And he sounds fully pissed off but…

But…

But when Steve looks at him he's got this look on his face that says, "because I will." And that's when Steve finally gets it.

Billy really would do anything to make him get it. He'd be as persistent as necessary for as long as necessary for Steve to get it and that… it… It does something to Steve. It gets him feeling all hot and tingly all over in a way that has his long frozen brain just giving up entirely and his body taking over all control.

He needs to kiss Billy.

He's never needed anything more.

"Well?" Billy snaps. He's halfway through some big, expressive hand gesture when Steve tackles him to the bed, kissing him with enough passion and enough force to make sure Billy gets it.

Because while it might have taken him an embarrassingly long time to catch on, now that he has? Now that they're on the same page? Steve fully intends to scribble big, fat, messy, stupid pink, red and purple hearts all over it.

He wants Billy to know. He wants Billy to get it, even if he can't properly put it into words yet, that he's been pining just as long. He's been pining since day one, too.

When they finally break apart, Billy is smiling. "Took you long enough," he says.

"Oh, shut up." Steve doesn't give him long enough to reply before he's kissing him again.

Kissing is going to be a thing that they do a lot from here on out. Steve's going to make sure of it and from the way Billy is moaning enthusiastically under him, he doesn't think Billy's going to mind.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things #harringrove for australia #gideonwrites #asexuality #asexual steve harrington #asexual billy hargrove #harringroveweekoflove

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misc-headcanons · 4 years

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Ace+Robin+Zoro witnessing their kind and loving s/o’s dark side during battle. When unleashed they’re the metaphorical or “literal “? definition of a demon, one who sheds so much blood,thus making it the reason they didn’t want to enter a relationship due to possibly hurting them if that makes sense.

(Under the cut because these got a bit long when I put them together)

Ace

Ace was always worried when you were fighting alongside him. You were so kind and gentle, and he didn't want an enemy to exploit that and wind up hurting you. He'd been so distracted trying to find you that he didn't notice the enemy that was about to stab him from behind, until...

A snarling swirl of black and fangs and demonic energy rushed the enemy, and Ace fell back as he saw the creature's claws slashing his attacker's chest and face before tossing them aside. Flames formed along his hands; this...thing...may have saved him, but it was still dangerous.

When the creature's glowing eyes locked with his, it blinked slowly and its form began to dissipate and shift into a more humanoid shape. Before Ace knew it, the creature had turned into...____!?

His flames immediately disappeared and he wrapped his arms around his s/o, sighing with relief now that he knew they were okay. He ran off to safety with you before asking what the hell had just happened; he had a million questions, but he didn't want another close call like before.

____ explained their dark side and said that they had been afraid to enter a relationship with him because of it, his eyes widened.

"It's related to my emotions, and when I'm too overwhelmed by them, it just...comes out. I've killed so many people when all I wanted to do was protect the people I care about, and sometimes I even hurt them too."

The moment they started to lament the fact that they were a monster, that they could only hurt people, he shut them down immediately and hugged them again. He knew what it was like to call yourself a devil, and even if he believed it when he described himself as one, the thought of you being a monster was just impossible.

"____, I don't care if you've got fangs and horns or anything else. You're not a monster. You're....you're ____!"

He promised that the two of them could find a way to deal with your condition if they started to transform again, and from then on he would check in on ____ a lot more often. After the two of them explained your "condition" to Pops and the others, they assured ____ that they'd make sure they didn't lose control on the battlefield. They're your family, and family always looks out for each other.

Zoro

When he sees his s/o unleash their true self on the battlefield, he's so surprised that he just stands there and watches for a moment before pulling himself back to continue fighting. With them in the battle, it's over in just a few swings of his sword and a few slashes of claws.

They get back to the ship and to your surprise, he doesn't bring up the whole "my s/o just turned into a fucking demon" thing. You'd confront him later while he's napping and ask if he was alright after seeing that (and if he had any questions about it, like most people would). He sits up and simply says that if you didn't want to tell him, you didn't have to. It was your business, after all.

You explained how your dark form is related to strong emotions, but bloodlust and anger are the ones that power it the most. You'd been trying to keep it hidden from the others to avoid scaring them, but the sight of the blood on his sword finally pushed it over the limit.

Zoro knew that his blade was cursed with an insatiable bloodlust, and part of him was guilty that it was what had caused you to change like that against your will. He wouldn't say any of this, but it would be on his mind for a while.

In the end, he'd make sure to fight far away from his s/o so that they wouldn't accidentally transform if they didn't want to. If his s/o ever became distraught and started to say that they were a monster that shouldn't have someone like him, he'd bluntly shut them down.

"If you ever turn on me during a fight or something, I'll just knock you out and throw you back on the ship or take you to Chopper. It's not a big deal."

He really doesn't see any problem, and every time you talk badly about yourself and your power, he just pulls you against his chest and holds you for a bit. He's not afraid of any demons, even if they're his s/o.

Robin

Robin would be alarmed at how savagely you had started to take out enemies on the battlefield once she saw you transform. This wasn't like you at all, and she didn't know what was happening.

She'd use her Devil Fruit to pull you back and lead you away from the fight, and cover you with more and more arms to wrap around you until you finally calmed down and transformed back. Once she saw your sweet face again, she'd hold you close and ask what had happened.

She listened intently as you described your inner "demon" as you called it, amazed (and a little hurt) that you had been keeping this part of yourself hidden for so long without her noticing. When you said that you were afraid of even dating her in the first place because of how you might hurt her, she almost teared up and her chest felt heavy; she knew that feeling too well, and she hated that the person she loved most would feel that way.

"Whatever this is, it doesn't make you a devil or a monster. Please, please tell me that you know that."

She would refuse to let you talk about yourself like that, and she would be extra tender around you for a while afterwards when you two were together. The two of you promised to keep each other from hating themselves; any time one of you starts to get a bit too self-deprecating, you two have a signal where you squeeze each other’s hand and you immediately stop talking to just hold each other for a little bit until those negative thoughts pass.

She would also try to research your power and see if her books/archives mentioned anything similar to it so she could learn how to help you. Whatever it was, the two of you could face it together.

#one piece #one piece headcanon #one piece headcanons #ace #portgas d. ace #zoro #roronoa zoro #robin #nico robin #mine #I kept switching between second and third person but it's all good lol #Anonymous

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incoherentbabblings · 4 years

Text

Take Back the Cake, Burn the Shoes, and Boil the Rice (3/11)

Within two months there have been two murders of Gotham newlyweds moments after the ceremony. The only connecting factor was both brides wore the same designer’s work. Needing to establish who exactly is behind the crimes, Bruce enlists Tim and Stephanie to have the biggest wedding Gotham high society has seen in decades, putting a target on their heads not just for the killer, but Gotham society too. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

Ao3 Link Here!

Bruce couldn’t help it, he did a double take seeing the ring on Stephanie’s finger when the pair returned from their engagement dinner. Stephanie’s face was dirty, like she had been crying, and there were black smears down Tim’s shirt.

Well, Tim said he would speed things along.

Bruce cradled the batman suit’s cowl as the two stepped forward. Stephanie seemed a little shell shocked.

“Nice ring.” Bruce quipped.

Tim laughed uncomfortably. “I got it from Donahue's… the guy said your dad used to shop there.”

This was not news to Bruce. “He did… A bit overpriced if you ask me. You bought a new ring?”

Tim tilted his head like Ace did when the dog got confused. “As opposed to?”

“Your mother’s –”

“No.” Stephanie interrupted before Bruce could shoot himself in the foot. She watched Tim’s body tighten, then relax as she spoke. “I wanted this. Mrs Drake’s jewellery belongs to Tim, and it’s not to be gifted to me for a mission.”

Tim was staring off into the middle distance. His mother had come from old money and had carried forward pieces that everyone loved. His father had admired them for the craftmanship, whilst Tim had loved them because his mother always looked lovely in her necklaces, rings, bracelets and brooches. Of the two or three times he’s seen her wear that beautiful tiara, Tim had gawked like a fish. She had been buried with her engagement and wedding rings, for whatever that marriage meant to her, appearances mattered more. His father had deeply mourned her, if only for a moment.

Bruce put on the cowl, changing the subject.

“I want you both to follow. Watch from a distance and see if you see anything I miss.”

Tim moved towards the costume cases. “You’re talking to the designer?”

“She’s our only connecting factor. Best place to start.”

Stephanie brushed at her cheeks, impossibly smearing her face even more.

“Give me a moment.”

When she left, Tim looked back at Batman.

“Where are they? My mother’s jewellery.”

If he were honest, he had lost track of his parents estates and what he inherited in the year after his father’s death. So much had happened, so much had gone wrong, things like inheritance tax and photo albums, clothes, jewellery and debts had gotten lost in the rush.

He had trusted Bruce to see it all through after Tim was adopted, and look after it Bruce did.

“In the family vault. I can send Alfred to collect pieces if you would like.”

Tim nodded.

“Hurry up and get dressed.”

The designer, Rebecca Andrews, was a woman in her forties. Stick thin, as many designers seemed to be, and owlish in expression. She had almost grey skin, and had bigger bags under her eyes then Bruce on his worst of days. Mousy brown hair and eyes, she reminded Stephanie of her own mother a decade ago. Someone sick with worry, and someone who had turned to other means of coping.

Through her large open windows, it seemed she was trying to hang up on someone on the phone, before Batman interrupted her night. She was afraid.

When she finally put the phone down, Red Robin and Batgirl watched as Batman entered the apartment.

Batman did his usual, catching the poor woman off guard, allowing her to jump a mile and spill coffee everywhere. When she recognized the shape of the cowl, she began to sob.

“Oh God! No please, I haven’t hurt anyone I swear.”

She began to sob, shoulders heaving with the intensity of her crying.

“Who then?”

“I don’t know! I swear I don’t know.” Seeing Batman was only here to talk, she continued to cry, pacing wildly back and forth, arms swinging around. Completely dramatic, but she was a fashion designer, Stephanie and Tim supposed internally. “My dresses… I don’t know! My poor brides! I don’t know if it’s a pissed off former bride of mine… a nasty colleague – but no, everyone likes me – or just…someone who hates marriages. Or me. But why me! Why those poor couples!”

“Are you married yourself?”

The question seemed to surprise her. “No. On and off boyfriend. But he would never –”

Her phone began buzzing aggressively. She gulped, trying to ignore it.

When it stopped, she opened her mouth to speak, but the phone lit up again. Batman stared pointedly at it. Mumbling to herself, she answered the phone.

“Honey, please… I’m okay. Listen… I’ll call you back. No, I’m not alone. I’m okay, but someone’s with me. Yes… yes… okay. Love you too. I’ll call you in a bit. Okay. Bye. Love you. Bye.”

She hung up, and looked guiltily at Batman, who remained in the shadows of the wealthy apartment.

“On and off boyfriend?” He asked, voice deliberately and threateningly quiet.

Rebecca nodded. “He’s worried about me. People will notice the connections. My business is going to take a hit… It’s so difficult to stay afloat in the fashion industry and something like this…”

Stephanie blinked and tilted her head while she listened.

“I don’t think she’s self-sabotaging.” Tim whispered. She inclined her head to indicate she heard and agreed with Tim, and then continued watching. The pair were perched on a neighbouring roof, peering in, picking up on the conversation through Batman’s little microphone that was designed for this very purpose. The night had gotten a little cold, and Tim and Stephanie whilst waiting had ended up leaning towards each other. At one point Tim had reached over her for something, and when he had pulled back, his cape had remained around her shoulders. Stephanie didn’t throw it off.

Rebecca had taken a step closer to Batman, suddenly hopeful. “Are you going to investigate? Make sure I don’t get accused of something I haven’t done? My reputation as a designer, my relationship with the men and women I work with…”

“Six people have died.” That was reason enough for Batman. Andrews blinked, remembering herself.

“Yes, yes. Of course, I’m sorry. Those people deserve justice. I’m sorry.”

Her phone began buzzing again, and when she looked down, she cringed.

“Ms Andrews.” Batman spoke over the buzzing phone, demanding she ignore it. “You have no clue who could be targeting the women and their husbands who purchase your bridal wear?”

She only looked down at her phone. She then deliberately shook her head.

“Please help me.” She pleaded. “Before anyone else is targeted, before I sink and everything I’ve spent decades building falls to dust.”

Just by looking at the woman, all three vigilantes could see she was no threat, so nothing more could be learned on this night. The insistent boyfriend was annoying, but it was possible that he was just nervous for the frail looking woman’s health in the aftermath of what would no doubt be a massive scandal.

The buzzing phone finally got to be too much for her, and she walked away from Batman to answer it.

“Sweetheart please I…”

She turned back around, and Batman was gone. Tim and Stephanie watched as she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hmm.” Tim groaned.

“She knows something.”

“She does.” Batman agreed, appearing behind the two. Looking at Red Robin, he stated, “You’ll make a public statement tomorrow at work to confirm the engagement.” He turned to Stephanie. “Try to go to college as normal tomorrow.”

“Try?”

Red Robin sighed at Stephanie’s confrontational tone. He pulled out his grapple, ready to shoot away.

“Batgirl… if it gets to be too much, call one of us, we’ll come pick you up.”

Stephanie watched the two men go, then connected on her line to Wendy and Babs, beginning her own night of patrol. It would give her the chance to think of something else other than Tim and that ring that currently sat nestled in her shoes back at the manor.

Stephanie refused to look at her phone the rest of that night. The following morning, when her alarm went off and she clicked it silent, she saw so many notifications and messages, out of sheer panic, she ignored all of them.

Feeling overwhelmed, she begrudgingly put on the ring, got in her car, and went to college. She had a lecture and a seminar in the morning, then work on a presentation in the library to occupy her mind. She sat in the very front of the lecture hall, off to the side, so no-one could pass or catch her eye outside of the professor, so she managed to get through the lecture with no one noticing she was sat at the front.

When the lecture ended, she waited a couple of minutes before she got up to leave. When she did though, the professor waltzed over to her.

“I saw the news last night,” She whispered. Stephanie froze, hand buried in her backpack, hiding the ring from sight. The lecturer only seemed pleased for her, though, and Stephanie held her breath. “I just wanted to say, congratulations, Stephanie.”

Stephanie couldn’t help it and smiled at her lecturer. “Thank you. Tim is…he’s…” She found herself unable to finish, but it seems Professor Choi seemed to think her speechlessness was from a bursting sense of happiness, and not a knot at the base of her gut, stifling her brain of any quick-witted thought.

Professor Choi smiled widely, then left Stephanie in her seat. Staring at the large projector screen, she shuddered herself into the present, got up from her seat, and bolted to her seminar.

She was early, very early, but decided waiting like an overly keen first year in the corridor until the room was emptied of its occupants was the preferable option. She instinctively checked her phone, in a routine movement to distract herself, and was met by her dozens and dozens of notifications. Messages from people she hadn’t spoken to in years, who had hunted her down on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, private messages and public posts. Congratulatory, accusatory, all of them questioning. Doubtful.

She had hoped that the large and mighty Waynes would have made a statement by now: so happy so pleased but please respect Stephanie “She’s a private citizen so back off” Brown’s space. But as far she could tell, browsing through endless gossip sites, nothing official had been released.

She resisted from reading any of the comments. She didn’t hate herself that much. One article had taken to using screenshots of tweets scattered through the page. Every moment, every comment – negative or positive – made her feel sicker and more cornered.

“Stephanie?” She looked up from her phone to see gathering members of the class staring at her.

Her expression, frozen in distress, made her classmates uncomfortable. Twitching, she neutralised it, and pocketed her phone. One girl blinked, then started with a,

“I saw yesterday that Ti—”

“Did you get a chance to look at the Derrida article?” She interrupted, shuffling in her bag for the printout. She wouldn’t let anybody else make her feel small. “I swear to God I can’t understand a word he says and that’s after he’s been translated.”

“Christ, that’s a rock and a half.”

Before she could derail the conversation to college classes, one of the boys had come up behind her and grabbed her left hand, tugging it towards him. Panicked, she ripped it back.

“Don’t do that.” She said, thrusting both hands in her coat pockets. She tried to keep her temper in check.

Another girl looked on sympathetically, and tried to sound happy for Stephanie, but instead all she felt was patronised. “I heard he did it at dinner? You’re so lucky Steph.”

Stephanie knew now she was going to have to lie. She was going to have to be happy. Over the moon. In love and without a care for who knew it. She swallowed.

“It was a long time coming, I think.” She tried to giggle.

The guy who had grabbed her hand forced his way back into Stephanie’s eyeline. He didn’t believe her. Funny, considering they had never said more than hello to the other.

“How long have you been dating?”

“On and off since he was fourteen.”

Oh boy. She better let Tim know that apparently was their dating story. For all she knew he had an utterly different plot in mind.

The guy looked more than a little taken aback. Another girl (Clara? If Steph remembered right, which she probably wasn’t), gasped.

“You’ve known him that long?”

That, Stephanie didn’t have to lie about.

“Mm! We went to different high schools at first, but I ran into him in town one night. Spent a lot of time together after the quake. We both went to Gotham Heights before he…”

“Dropped out to live the high life?”

Stephanie tried not to bark back. Gritting her teeth, she ground out, “It was a difficult year for him.”

It was enough to make one girl look embarrassed.

“Well, congrats anyway. Enjoy the WAG life.”

“She’s not a footballer’s wife, Dan.”

If it was supposed to be a joke, Stephanie couldn’t bring herself to laugh. The questions and stares did not stop, not even after the classroom emptied and her own seminar began. The number of people she felt staring at her left hand in the small room made her feel increasingly claustrophobic. She tried to focus on the discussion but instead her mind wandered, as it was prone to do, and instead she felt increasingly paranoid that people were watching her. She could feel her phone continue to buzz as more and more notifications came through. People were wanting her to say something, as if she owed them anything.

But that was the point. This was supposed to be grand and attention grabbing and fully in the public eye. But why hadn’t Tim and Bruce taken control? They were the ones in the public eye, not her. What were they even doing up that black bricked tower of theirs? Stamping title deeds? Whenever there was a lull in the conversation, someone would invade Stephanie’s personal space, whispering conspiratorially as if she knew or cared who they were. Like they were old friends ready for some gossip.

“How did he propose anyway?”

“Didn’t you see? It was at The Golden Bell.”

“No way. Place is fancy.”

“Told you. WAG.”

“Shut up, Dan.”

“Can’t believe you’re gonna have Bruce Wayne for a dad-in-law.”

“Or Dick Grayson for a brother-in-law.”

“Keep dreaming, Mel.”

“I will.”

Stephanie smiled like a skull, teeth bared and eyes empty, as the conversations went through her. She contributed nothing, confirmed nothing, denied nothing, and just smiled.

The seminar ended, with not much productive being discussed. Stephanie told herself it was because the writing they were to study was impossible to decipher anyway, and it had nothing to do with the large sapphires and diamonds on her left hand.

She knew she had work to do, so needed to head to the campus library for the afternoon, but it seemed the university was not off limits to nosy people with cameras, who had started to put together who the mystery blonde was that Mr Drake was engaged to. Mr Wayne. Whatever.

Stephanie wished she had a hood to pull up, or sunglasses to put on, or something to help hide her face, but instead she was accosted by people she had only ever seen once or twice on campus. They seemed curious in a good-natured way, but Stephanie knew how quickly that could turn around. She gripped her backpack tightly, forgetting this only served to put the ring on full display, and made her way to the library, crossing campus with a retinue of strangers asking questions and dozens of curious stares and photos.

Honestly, it sucked.

It was Jordanna, of all people that came to her rescue. It was entirely self-serving, Stephanie knew it as such instantly, but still, a shrill voice telling people to fuck off was really channelling Stephanie’s inner mood.

People began to dissipate, Jordanna throwing the stink eye at anyone who dared look at Stephanie for more than two seconds.

When Stephanie finally made it to the library and through the barriers, out of sight of anyone who wasn’t a student, Jordanna practically ripped Stephanie’s left arm out of its socket.

“You bitch!” Stephanie heard the happy tone, but the word still cut right through her. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been dating one of the Waynes?”

“I didn’t want people to judge me.”

“Too late for that! Lemme see the rock.” She pulled at Stephanie’s arm to inspect the ring. She whistled, impressed by its size. Stephanie tried to take her hand back, but Jordanna was insistent. “Can I try it on?”

“No.”

“I’m your maid of honor right?”

Jesus, no.

Stephanie laughed, trying to keep the mood light. Internally, she felt close to shitting herself. Who was her MoH? Cass? Probably Cassandra. Did Cassandra even know about this? Did she approve? Did she even know how to help plan a wedding?

“It’s early days you know. Not even been twenty-four hours yet.”

Jordanna continued to inspect the ring, musing something over. Stephanie turned every now and then when she felt eyes on her, sure enough always catching someone turning away a slither of a second too late. Her gut bubbled in an explosive mix of nerves, anger, and guilt.

“Well,” Jordanna finished her analysis, dropping Stephanie’s hand finally. “Ignore what anyone says, yeah? You’ve hit the jackpot, and – coming from a jealous bitch – people are gonna be jealous.”

“…Thanks, Jordanna.”

“Call me your bodyguard for the rest of the year.”

Stephanie smirked. “Want anything in return?”

“One on one meeting with Dick Grayson. Or Bruce Wayne. I can go older.”

“Ooft.”

“Deal?”

Stephanie nodded slowly, walking back towards the opening elevator. “I’ll personally introduce you at the wedding.”

“Oh, so I’m def invited?”

Stephanie stepped inside, laughing for real this time. “Pinkie swear.”

Jordanna responded by flipping her off. “I want more details tomorrow!”

The doors closed before Stephanie could respond. As she rose up, she stared at the floor. There were two other people in the lift, and thankfully they kept themselves to themselves. Elevator etiquette kicking in. She collapsed at a spare desk away in the back corner of the floor, away from windows, discussion areas and shelves, and tried to focus on work.

Tim meanwhile, was on the receiving end of a bit of a stressful day. He had ordered Thai takeout for lunch, only to find he was not going to get much time to eat it. Various people from HR to Marketing to other members of the board were suddenly calling him.

“Please confirm your engagement is real this time.”

Yes.

No.

“Please give the name and any relevant details of your partner.”

Stephanie Brown, 20, high school sweetheart, private person.

Please leave her alone.

“How long is the engagement to last?”

Have no set plans yet. Hoping for a larger wedding all of Gotham can enjoy with us.

Won’t last the end of the year.

“Will this impact your role in the company?”

No.

Tim tried to read over a report to help plan the next local community group he wanted to set up, but every five minutes another head poked through his door and interrupted his train of thought.

His bland smile was starting to crack.

Giving up, he prodded at his noodles for lunch in his office. When he’d eaten enough, he threw open his window and trashed the overpowering smell of the curry. He went to hunt down Bruce.

As he walked through the offices, assorted folk poked their noses out from their cubicles of frosted glass to offer a quick congratulations. Some were more aggressive in their questions.

Who the fuck is Stephanie Brown? Their tone implied.

None of your business, Tim tried to stop himself from biting back.

This mission required them to step into a role of high society sweethearts, when what Tim wanted more than anything was to be curled up in the corner of a café with her, or sat on the highest roofs watching the world go by. He didn’t want to have to speak about her and them to publications, he didn’t want photographs of them online for strangers to see and comment on as if their opinion mattered. Putting on the Wayne persona was bad enough. He understood better than ever Bruce’s dilemma. At no point during the day or night did he not feel like he was wearing some sort of mask, and he was becoming exhausted from the emotional labour it involved. He briefly thought about his stressful nightmares, if they were a contributory factor or a result.

It was a weight he didn’t want for Stephanie. Batgirl was who she was as much as Stephanie Brown was Steph. Future Mrs Tim however…

Tim glared holes into Bruce’s office doors, working up the courage to knock.

He wanted to be with Stephanie, but he wanted it to be real as much as she did (or at least, he strongly suspected that she did, breathless declaration of love last night providing the most recent hint). But he didn’t want her to lie like he did, to feel tugged in two or three different directions until you couldn’t even remember what you truly felt anymore. It was a feeling Tim had grown increasingly aware of – a complete disassociation from the expression on his face and words from his mouth versus what was going through his head. Sometimes his thoughts would match what he put out to the world, until something in him jolted, and his real feelings shot to the surface – uncomfortable and angry that they had been disregarded. Real Tim was becoming a novelty to himself, let alone his family and friends.

And here was a related problem. Both he and Steph were deeply private people. They enjoyed the company of others for a time, sure, but a small group of close friends was always preferable than many acquaintances.

Stephanie especially. She didn’t have many friends period. For whatever reason, people didn’t really take to her. There was Cass, of course, and Kara… Tim blanked thinking of anyone from her university. Was she lonely?

Not for the first time, Tim wondered if he could introduce Conner, Bart and Cassie to her. Properly. Without involving her being dangled off buildings or awkward small talks about how she wasn’t dead.

Tim continued to stare at the dark wood plaque announcing BRUCE WAYNE in all capitals. It seemed that Bruce sensed someone was outside his office, as he opened the door with a bemused look on his face that quickly became sharp when he saw it was Tim lingering outside like a lost kitten.

“Okay?”

Tim started, unsure how to answer the question aside from the obvious – no.

“Need your help.”

That was the right thing to say. At the end of the day Bruce loved to help, especially if it meant taking control of a situation, and Tim watched as Bruce’s eyebrows twitched. He backed into his office, Tim following and shutting the door behind them.

“What is it?”

“Can you make a statement? About me and Steph.”

Bruce squinted, like he didn’t understand what Tim was asking. Blowing his hair off his forehead, Tim tried again.

“I’ve been trying to put one together and getting nowhere, and now loads of people are up my butt about it and I messaged Steph but I think if her phone is anything like mine it’s gotten lost in the crush of notifications and I can’t call her ‘cause she might be in class and… I just think, people will listen and take this all more serious if it comes from you.”

“You think people take me seriously?”

That made Tim chew on his tongue. He and Bruce entered a staring match.

“A statement would be appreciated.”

“Hmm.”

“Please?”

“Hmm.”

Tim’s relationship with Bruce just seemed to be tumbling down into a gorge ever since he was sixteen and he didn’t know who was more to blame or who should make the first step at healing. With Dick and Bruce, it had been Dick consistently offering an olive branch, sometimes of his own offering, then sometimes with Tim or Babs’ encouragement. It took Bruce’s broken back and everything with Bane and Azrael to really kick start the process. Tim hoped something as traumatic as that wouldn’t be necessary to mend bridges.

Time to play dirty.

“You said you would defend her. Do it pre-emptively.”

“I also said I would leave the details in your care.”

“And this is a detail I am telling you to do for us.”

“Telling?”

“Asking.” Tim backed down, dry swallowing. “Begging.”

Another stare off ensued. Then Bruce’s office phone rang, and Tim breathed when Bruce broke off the eye contact.

“Morning Meghan!” It was eery how Bruce’s expression had not changed, but the voice that spoke into the phone was light and carefree. “Oh. Afternoon. Yes, sorry.”

Tim checked his watch. Half two. Bruce looked up at Tim, a cheeky glint in his eye. “Is she? Of course, please let her up. Can you add her to the list of people who can be let in regardless of appointment? Yup. Yup. Thank you.” He hung up then and ran a hand across his face, looking a little stressed. “Cassandra is here.”

“Okay?”

This wasn’t anything odd. Cassandra should have had free reign of the building anyway.

“She brought Stephanie.”

Immediately Tim was out of Bruce’s office and into the main workspace. He rushed past many people sat within the open workspace to get to the elevator, whereupon when the doors opened, Stephanie took only a moment to register it was Tim standing in front of her, and threw herself into his arms. He caught her, a little thrown off by her desperation and sudden appearance.

She looked a state. Cassandra looked a little too angry at him. People in the office were staring.

“Hey…”

“I’m sorry. I know this is probably crap timing or…”

“No. Come on. It’s fine. Bruce is in his office.” Tim tried not to think about how often she had apologised to him the past few weeks. It wasn’t like her.

And Cassandra promptly went straight to Bruce’s office. It wasn’t too unusual for the Wayne children to pop in and out of the office as they pleased. This organisation had its nepotistic perks and yet somehow continued to turn massive profits. But still, this was a little unusual, having a fiancée come crashing through looking more than a little stressed.

Stephanie clung to Tim for a moment longer. She was shaking. Instinctively, protectively, he buried his cheek into hers, trying to be a reassuring wall for her. He felt her hands tighten around his shoulder blades.

When Stephanie caught people staring at her over Tim’s shoulder, she panicked, and let go of Tim.

“I’m sorry. This isn’t… I’m sorry.”

She wasn’t normally this out of it or unsure of herself, so immediately Tim knew that something had gone wrong this morning. Holding her hand, he led her to Bruce’s office quickly, not letting anyone get a good look at her.

When they got inside, Cassandra shutting the door and putting a glass of cold water into Stephanie’s hand, her anger sparked. Stephanie threw the water on a nearby potted plant. Tim groaned. It was a fake plastic one, and just resulted in a sad wet patch on the floor. Stephanie ignored it, huffing.

“Why hasn’t there been a statement about this yet?”

She was directing it at the room, and Tim’s shoulders tensed.

“I was just asking Bruce to put one out for us!”

“Why didn’t you have one ready?”

“Because I wasn’t supposed to propose last night and –”

“And what? There are twenty-four hours in the day and you just waltzed into work this morning with nothing to show?”

Cassandra had moved to stand behind Stephanie whilst Bruce watched Tim and Steph argue back and forth.

“I’m telling Bruce now –”

“I got chased out of campus.” Stephanie said, turning to Bruce. Her eyes were red, still a little damp, and her cheeks were flushed with colour. Cassandra glowered behind Stephanie, upset at her friend’s distress. “I can’t even bury myself in the library ‘cause people just won’t leave me alone and I had to call Cass because both of you were too busy and not answering your phones… You said you wouldn’t let this happen.”

Bruce watched as Tim’s face flushed red. A shameful minute passed with nothing being said, Bruce seemed to have been deep in thought. Finally, frustrated with their unhelpfulness, Stephanie tugged off her backpack. “You got a place for me to work?”

“Pardon?”

She rolled her eyes like Bruce was missing the obvious.

Ever since Bruce had come back from his whirlwind tour of time, and ever since Steph had slapped him in the face (sorry Bruce) she had shed much of her need for his validation. She had found it in Barbara, in Leslie, in Cassandra and Tim, and in Gotham itself. So old fuddy duddy in a bat mask (hers was better) didn’t mean much to her anymore.

Or so she told herself.

She put her foot down. If she was having to go through such a stressful mission, Bruce was going to have to endure her as a daughter-in-law. She almost felt sorry for him.

“I am going to sit here and study whilst you make your statement about how happy you are to have me join the brood.” She looked around Bruce’s imposing build to look at his desk. It didn’t look particularly comfortable. “Where’s your desk Tim?”

Tim jumped to action and held out a hand for her to take. “I have my own office. Come on.”

“Wait.” Cassandra called. She came forward with a wet tissue, dabbing under Stephanie’s eyes to remove the puffiness. “You came with me.” She explained, looking deliberately at her father and brother. “We had some chores to run in town, and we ended up staying for a bit.”

Stephanie sniffed, staring at the mascara streaks on her tissue. “That works.”

Tim took the tissue from Cassandra and tugged Stephanie out.

The office immediately hushed when they made their way down the hall. Tim smiled gregariously at folk, Stephanie looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact.

Tim’s office was bright and clean, with two bookcases lined with folders and reports, and a glass desk which had a very nice-looking laptop perched in the centre.

“You mind sitting on the couch? I need to be near the phone.” He took Stephanie’s bag from her and rested it on the leather seat. Throwing the tissue in the bin, he pulled out more for Stephanie, as well as a large bottle of water. Sitting down next to her as she unpacked her stuff, Tim tried to apologise.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mm.”

“Steph… we can stop if you –”

“No.” She glared at him, firm. “I am not going through all this for nothing. People won’t let me study, fine, I’ll get Bruce to defer my last semester a year and make him pay every penny towards my fees, or I’ll make him put barriers everywhere on campus so only students can get in, and make him give a fat legal threat for anyone who looks at me the wrong way. Or I’ll drop out and demand he gives me two million a year for the rest of my life or –”

“Only two million?”

Tim’s interruption made her snort a laugh. Tim smiled at her smile, glad to see it on her. She exhaled and leaned back against the leather, her pile of papers waiting to be attended to. Tim watched as she closed her eyes and calmed down, her chest rising and falling steadily.

“I don’t know how you do it, Tim.”

“Do what?”

She opened her eyes and looked straight at him, head still resting on the back of the sofa. Her blonde hair was splayed out over the dark brown leather. He could not stop staring.

Her lower lip was chapped.

“Put that young CEO smile on your face. That public figure you inhabit. Lying to the world all the time…I’ve been going potty from one morning of it. I don’t know how you cope.”

“Honestly Steph…” He sighed, and Stephanie’s hair fluttered. He hadn’t realised he had moved so close, practically leaning over her. “I don’t think I do. I am pretty… Split into so many fractures. Getting harder to know which one is really me.”

That made Stephanie sit up, Tim moving back so their heads didn’t bump.

“Is that… Tim.” Stephanie seemed unable to find the words. Frustrated, she turned to physical comfort, and not for the first time did Tim note how quickly she abandoned her own difficulties for someone else’s. Tim was weak, though, and allowed her to do so. Steph reached out and rested a hand on Tim’s bicep. He responded in kind to a hand on her waist. Her hand crept up and her fingertips pressed to his cheek. Not quite a caress, but it was something. “Tim, I know you. Even if you don’t. I won’t let you forget.”

Briefly he remembered her rant when he had returned to Gotham. Who are you? She had screamed. He had so nearly completely lost his way, and she had been so frightened for him. But then she had also said in the past that she would love him regardless of Robin… regardless of that suit.

Tim somewhat doubted this was true, as he doubted that she knew him.

And yet, why else would she had been so desperate to know who was behind that mask after she had given birth. Robin hadn’t helped her with that, Tim had. Except she couldn’t put a name to that boy. When he had that split second of giving up on Batman after his sixteenth birthday, she had been the only person who wouldn’t have been cut off from either side of his life. She knew him. She’d learned to insist on it.

Stephanie’s eyes fluttered, as she realised they were gazing at each other. She also realised it was the first time in a while that they were alone. Tim also seemed to realise this simultaneously. Her hand shifted, slowly, fingers moving back into his hair, repeating the motion over and over again, a comforting caress. It felt good.

“Steph,” His hand twitched on her waist. “Last night…”

“Mm?”

“You said that you lo—”

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Tim cursed himself for not speaking sooner. He just wanted her to talk to him…

Bruce entered, holding a phone in his hand. Stephanie stood up as if she had been caught doing something naughty, whilst Tim tried to not let his upset of her moving away show. Bruce held out the cell phone to Stephanie.

“A new phone, new number. Use it for the family and your mother. People who matter.” Stephanie took it gratefully. “Also, Tim and I have made two separate statements.”

“Have we?”

“We have.” Tim reluctantly stood up to stand behind Stephanie. “Check your phone Tim.”

Doing as he was told, Tim brought up twitter, seeing on the trending page that there were some fluffy words: “constant companion”, “proud”, “lucky”, “want to share out happiness”, “please consider”…Honestly to the two of them it sounded like garbage, but the replies were, for the most part (Stephanie didn’t miss how quickly Tim scrolled past those), positive.

“Humm.” Stephanie said, reading the screen, casually holding onto Tim’s thin wrist as she craned her neck to look at the two statements. Black text on a white background, Bruce’s monogram decorating the bottom. Very formal. Very quick. “Thank you.”

“Get going with the planning. No more deaths. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” She uttered. She could feel Tim’s dagger glare burning over her shoulder at his father.

Day one had gone the very definition of amateurish. With Bruce gone, Stephanie looked down at the work on the table, sighed aggressively, and pulled up a list of wedding planners. College was going to have to wait.

#timsteph #tim drake #stephanie brown #dc #my fic tag

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