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whump-and-other-misfortunes · 5 months

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Whumpuary 2024 Day 1

1. (Jan 01-02) Captivity / Snow / Secret Revealed

cw physical whump/injury, whumper turned caretaker, captive whumpee

Villain glowered at the struggling captive at their feet. “Well, isn’t this something. When Supervillain said they had a present for me, I was shocked enough as it was. Imagine my surprise when I found out they had managed to capture the pesky little snitch who’s been mucking up all my plans. Selling my information to Superhero and almost getting me caught at that jewel heist last week.”

A weak noise of protest came from their enemy, likely muffled behind a gag. There was a cloth bag over their head, concealing their identity, and their hands were bound behind their back. It was an exhilarating sight to finally have them kneeling at Villain’s feet, completely at their mercy.

“What was that?” Villain taunted when they attempted to talk around the gag. “You’ll have to speak up, sweetheart. I’m busy thinking of all the fun I'm going to have with you.”

They kicked the hero sharply in the side, knocking them onto the ground. With their hands tied behind their back, they had no way of catching themself and their head smacked into the concrete, followed by a choked noise of pain. The hero curled in on themself when Villain’s foot connected with their stomach. It felt so unbelievably good to finally let out their anger on this nuisance who had been giving them so much trouble.

Villain knelt beside them, grabbing onto the hood that concealed their enemy’s identity. “Now,” they drawled, “let’s see who’s under here. I want to see the fear in your eyes and watch you cry while I teach you a lesson.”

They pulled the hood off and felt their blood run cold. A familiar pair of eyes blinked up at them, teary and full of betrayal. “Hero?” they asked in disbelief.

Hero whined, flinching away when Villain hurried to remove the gag. There was a nasty bruise forming on one cheekbone and dried blood under their nose—clearly Supervillain had already had a turn with them before dropping them off at Villain’s lair.

“Oh my god, Hero, I’m so sorry,” they apologized, hands shaking as they helped the other sit up. Thank God Villain hadn’t gotten any farther. “What’s going on?”

Hero sniffed, looking up at Villain with a mix of hurt and anger. “You were about to beat the fuck out of me, that’s what’s going on.”

“No—no, I…” Villain focused on untying Hero’s hands—if they ended up punching Villain once they were free, well, Villain knew they deserved it. “Supervillain told me they had caught the person who’d been selling me out to Superhero. I—I had no idea who they were bringing me.”

“Supervillain is a filthy liar and an opportunist, don’t you know that by now?” Hero said, rubbing their wrists once Villain finally undid the rope. They hissed in pain, glaring at the angry red marks on their skin.

Villain pushed their hair back gently, inspecting for damage where Hero’s head had hit the ground. Luckily, it didn’t look too bad—they'd probably just be sore for a bit. “So you’re not the one who’s been selling my info?”

“You think I would?” Hero asked earnestly, meeting the other’s gaze. “Of course it wasn’t me. It was Supervillain, you idiot.”

Suddenly, the pieces all fell into place. Fuck, it was all so obvious—Villain really was an idiot, weren’t they? “They were trying to frame you—shift the blame off themself and get me to take you out at the same time.”

“Two birds,” Hero agreed.

“I’m going to kill them,” Villain growled, eyes darkening with rage. “I’m going to torture them slowly until they’re begging for my forgiveness and then I'm going to kill them.”

Hero smirked and punched their arm halfheartedly. “I told you no killing, remember?”

“Ugh, you’re no fun.” Villain sighed melodramatically. “…Is a little torture okay, though?”

Hero rolled their eyes. “A tiny bit, I suppose. But can you take me home first? I’m so tired.”

Villain frowned, cradling Hero’s face in their hands. “Yeah, of course,” they said, more quietly. “I'll take you home, and get you cleaned up and tucked into bed. I’m sorry about all this.”

“Thank you.” They let Villain pull them into an embrace without protest. “Just make sure to give Supervillain my regards.”

“Anything for you, Hero.”

#whumpuary2024 #whumpuaryno1 #captivity #secret revealed #hero x villain #whump #whump writing #physical whump #injury whump #whumper turned caretaker #accidental whump #captive whumpee #hero whumpee #villain whumper #villain caretaker #snippet

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sunnynwanda · 1 year

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Errors in translation

"Herzchen, stop that," Villain frowns, dodging the car that flies right over their head. "That asshat needs to die, you know that better than anyone."

"The fuck did you just call me?" Hero catches a piece of debris mid-air, stopping it from crushing the man shaking on the ground. Pathetic. "That asshat is still a governmental official. You can't just kill him off."

"It means idiot in my mother tongue," Villain makes another attempt to crush the corrupt judge, failing when the Hero covers the aforementioned asshat with their own body. "He let a serial killer go!"

"I know that!" Hero screams at the top of their lungs, pissed off both at Villain and the judge. The latter deserved every torture Villain could inflict on them. Hero couldn't deny that. "Killing him won't fix it."

"It will if his successor knows what happened to him." They weren't wrong, though Hero would never admit to it. But they needed Villain's reputation to be clean of murder. Ever since they had agreed to collaborate in ensuring safety for the city. Villain's official reason was their desire to be the sole criminal of the city. Hero knew they wanted a safe place for their little sister, that now lived with them. And Hero would have less work to do, making it a win-win situation.

"Let me deal with this, okay?" Hero requests, gracing Villain with their pleading puppy eyes. Always works.

"Ugh, do whatever you want, just stop looking at me like that!" They exclaim, taking a step back. "You're disgusting."

Hero shakes their head to keep a smile from forming on their face when they hear a whimper from behind them. Ugh, the asshat.

"I have no idea what you did to him, but I applaud you,Herzchen" Villain smirks, striding towards the edge of the roof. Hero shrugs, placing a hand over their eyes to cover them from the sun. "I heard he got arrested."

"Sure did," Hero is smug, and they know it. "Told ya, let me deal with it."

"Killing him would still be more effective," they claim, no longer hiding their grin. Hero nods, getting up to continue their nightly patrol.

"Next time you feel inclined for homicide, call me first?" They step off the building but remain floating in front of Villain. "I might convince you to stop."

Villain watches the streets beneath their feet, lights blurry because of how tired their eyes are. "If there's anyone who can do that, it's you, Herzchen." They whisper, part of them hoping the wind will conceal their words from their rival's acute hearing. It does not.

"Stop calling me that!" Hero's exasperation brings an unwanted smile to Villain's face, so they shake their head standing up to leave the meeting point before it forms on their face.

"It's not "idiot", is it? That thing you keep calling me." Hero's voice almost drowns in the wind. They know Villain won’t tell them. They also know that they won’t be able to sleep today. That’s what they get for crushing on the ‘enemy’.

Villain freezes in place, a soft smirk fighting its way onto their face before they leap into the darkness. "’Course not."

Masterlist

#villain x hero #hero x villain #hero and villain #villains and heroes #villain #hero #pining #might be mutual #should I do a part two?#languages #native tongues #any idea what it means?#terms of endearment #villain and hero #writers on tumblr #women writers #writeblr #requests open #sunnynwanda

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fantastic-nonsense · 2 years

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also before anyone gets the wrong idea about my Jason response, I wasn't trying to say that Jason doesn't care about women and kids or that a well-characterized Jason wouldn't respect women. The point I was trying to make is that while Canon!Jason is perfectly happy to shoot rapists or abusers or drug dealers dealing to kids because he thinks they're scum, he's not shown as someone who like...specifically sets out to protect the unprotected or thinks it's his actual mission to do so.

Post-Crisis!Jason had exactly two life goals as Red Hood: make Batman's life a living hell by creating chaos and prove he's "better" at crimefighting than Bruce. Even taking over Gotham's gang scene was largely a means to an end for him. He kills all those guys because he genuinely thinks the world is better off without them, but his primary goal is not actually to clean up Gotham for the sake of cleaning it up or to protect other people from suffering his own fate; it's to fuck with and piss off Bruce by showing him that his way (killing people and becoming a crime lord) is a "more effective" way of solving crime. And in doing so, he often fucked over or blatantly used people he would have previously died to protect when he was Robin.

And whether or not you agree with that characterization, Judd Winick has been very open in interviews about how Jason's hypocrisy is something he genuinely enjoyed writing, so it was clearly a deliberate choice on his part to portray Jason that way even disregarding the various awful OOC characterizations of Jason we had to deal with in other post-Crisis stories:

As we saw in the original run, he’s also comfortable controlling crime and even becoming a part of it. He can’t kill everyone, nor does he want to. So, along with handing out his own brand of justice, he does believe that crime can be controlled. Batman had said it makes you a crime lord. Jason doesn’t think it makes him a crime lord at all. He thinks it makes him a much more effective Batman. Yes, Jason sees what he’s doing as making himself into a better Batman, the Batman that the world actually needs today. But some of that is just Jason fooling himself. The truth is, all of it is based in the fact that Jason is just damaged and tortured and angry with Bruce. And this is a constant revenge upon him..... ......I also like the fact that Jason’s actions aren’t black and white. Sometimes he functions in that gray area, and it gives you the license to be somewhat hypocritical, because he is. I used to do that with Oliver Queen in Green Arrow, and people would go crazy, because I thought it was interesting to explore that sometimes he’s a bit of a hypocrite. I find that likable about the character. And in Jason’s case, he professes that he’s trying to be a better Batman and he’s trying to rid the world of evil, but then he’s also just trying to stick it to Batman. It’s very much a man-child thing going on. [x]

Warning for victim-blaming Jason for his own death in this one:

Jason can do a certain level of good in one arc and a horrible in the next, and none of that would be out of character. He’s very unpredictable. Maybe that’s what makes him kind of interesting. He’s someone who is tortured, he’s someone who is damaged, he is someone who has been through a lot and is still just trying to find his way. You could say he’s a good man who does very, very bad things, and it’s not always the case that he’s doing bad things for the greater good, sometimes it’s doing bad things just for the bad. Killing villains in his opinion isn’t a bad thing. There is somewhat a message and methodology to what he’s doing, but at the same time he lets his emotions get the better of him. It’s what got him killed. It’s the sort of thing that Jason, in a way, wouldn’t surprise me if he is viewed as somewhat heroic for a fashion, but then falls back on bad behavior, which could happen from year to year, you don’t know. From anti-hero to villain to back again, I don’t know. [x]

So that's the opinion of the man who brought Jason back to life, wrote his debut arc as Red Hood, and also wrote the one other post-Crisis story Jason fans universally like (Lost Days).

Meanwhile post-Flashpoint!Jason is generally too busy dealing with his own trauma and his teammates' issues to actually dedicate any significant, consistent effort to protecting and saving vulnerable populations like sex workers, abused women, and orphaned children. Wanting to save them is usually his response when he stumbles upon something happening, but reboot!Jason generally does not consider it a core moral mission to seek out opportunities to protect or save these groups. Writers other than Scott Lobdell occasionally gave him stories featuring him doing so, but they were incredibly few and far between since Lobdell was Jason's primary writer for nearly a decade. Not to mention Lobdell's blatant misogyny led to a Jason that repeatedly objectified women and engaged in casual sexism on a depressingly regular basis...which despite being theoretically antithetical to Jason's childhood and Robin-era characterization is a characterization he maintained throughout the majority of his post-reboot appearances. So like...that's also a thing to consider.

DC finally seems to be moving a little more in the direction of matching Jason's motivations with his pre-death characterization (where he DID consistently showcase a genuine respect for women and desire to protect vulnerable children), but until that becomes a more consistent aspect of his character now I can't in good conscience pretend like fanon's interpretation of Red Hood!Jason as this incredibly pro-woman guy who has a core character trait of respecting and protecting women and wanting to keep children out of the crossfire actually exists in canon. That's the point I was trying to make in my original post about Jason and Helena. Nothing more, nothing less.

#long post #jason todd #jason todd meta #dc comics #queue

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11queensupreme11 · 5 months

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all the posts about the parallels between Percy and Luke made me sad, I'm actually crying because the sadness is injustice is so raw

they were just kids, they ARE just CHILDREN fighting to survive in a world that is fighting to kill them, they are both right in their perspectives

HOW could anyone blame Luke for his disillusionment with the gods? he was just a child who only knew pain and betrayal from the gods, those same gods who were supposed to love and protect their children, as he must have felt when he realized that he and all those he loved were nothing more than pawns in your parents' twisted games? what it must have been like to know the truth that they are just disposable objects that can be replaced more than often? Knowing that their own parents wouldn't even be moved if they died?

I can understand his anger, why should they fight for minimal recognition? Why should they be abandoned? Why did their own parents let them DIE?

demigods are objectified, they are marginalized, they are cast aside as if they were forgotten toys that are only remembered when they are useful and forgotten again until they are broken quando são úteis e novamente esquecidos até serem quebrados

tudo é tão trágico, tão injusto e eu sei que se eu estivesse nessa situação tudo que eu faria seria gritar "PAI, AH PAI, POR QUE ME ABANDONOU" enquanto no meu peito uma tempestade de ódio e tristeza tomava meu coração e alma como um refém

Sejamos honestos, qualquer pessoa nesta situação se rebelaria, o único imune a isso seria o protagonista, mas e aqueles que não têm tanta sorte? aqueles que nunca foram reivindicados? aqueles sem rede de apoio? those who are just cannon fodder destined to help those most favored by destiny? those who are not destined for great things? aqueles que MORRERAM e foram tão rapidamente esquecidos? Existe alguém que não enlouqueceria vendo e vivendo num sistema tão abusivo?

there are SO many parallels between these two, a hero and a villain, Percy and Luke

every villain is a hero in his own perspective but we can really consider him a villain, it's so good to see that the fandom agrees that Luke before being a villain he was a victim, a victim of an abusive system, a victim of the gods , victim of the world

I can't stop crying for all those children, those who were forgotten, those who were tortured by the world, I'm crying for those women who were wronged by the gods, who suffered just for loving

and most importantly I'm crying because all of these books are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

i love the random switch to portuguese in the middle cuz it really shows how passionate you are about this lol 😂😂

BUT ANYWAYS YES YES YES!!!

i remember an old tumblr post that defended luke from the luke haters and they said something along the lines of how if the books were written in pov of luke, we would TOTALLY see him as the hero and percy as the villain.

why? because luke's revolution MADE SENSE. he was trying to change an abusive system by taking down the gods who CLEARLY suck. and we would see percy as the villain because he's the one trying to protect that abusive system (or at least, that's what it would look like to us)

honestly, luke could've been the perfect hero, but his biggest mistake was being so desperate to fix everything that he trusted kronos to help him. the whole thing about gods vs titans in the books was very "lesser evils" coded and the gods were definitely the lesser evil. they were bad, but the titans were worse. because of this mistake, luke became the tragic hero instead

the real villains here were the gods and the titans. the demigods, regardless of whose side they were on, were, as always, just the tragic victims of this whole mess

#👸🏻| asks #👸🏻| arsenic blues

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bigfan-fanfic · 10 months

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How do you feel about Damien’s Mom Talia Al Ghul? Because some people said she’s a victim of bad racist writing and she’s had a bad portrayal in the animated movies. Is Talia really just victim of bad writing or she’s actually a horrible mother/person? I’m just confused because when I read the comics about Talia and the bad things she did and I just assumed that’s was part of her character because she’s a morally questionable villain of course she’s not a “good civilian person.” I knew DC is a dark adult comic book series and I already expected going in that the villain characters like Talia would committed terrible/horrible actions against the heroes. Like for example when she drugged Bruce and took advantage of him, I was slightly shocked but wasn’t surprised. Cuz to me this was the dark stuff DC was known for doing.

Alrighty, so the answer is a little bit of both!

TW for sexual assault mentions, miscarriage, parental abuse, etc.

There's a TL;DR ("too long, didn't read" summary) under the cut if you don't wanna read my report which is pretty awesome and was fun to write.

So, nobody seems to be able to agree on who Talia is at her core, and that's generally par for the course for a comic book character with multiple writers. She's been around since 1971, so that's already 52 years! And like Greek myth, there's just a lot of different interpretations of the character.

Let's get to the nitty gritty before we talk history. In 2006, writer Grant Morrison established that Talia drugged and raped Bruce, conceiving their son Damian (and also for some reason adding a whole unnecessary "artificial womb" thing? I don't get it either). However, this is based off the fact, which Morrison later admitted, that they misremembered the story they based the Batman and Son arc off of, and later comic arcs (in 2012 and 2014) would retcon the incident as consensual. Put a pin in this.

Talia was originally more of a damsel in distress slash prize for Bruce. Remember, this was the 70s. Her main deal is being the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and thus if Batman marries her, he becomes the heir, which Ra's wants. Despite not wanting to succeed Ra's, Bruce and Talia do share romantic attraction and Ra's considers them married. Then, later on, they do actually marry and she gets pregnant, and then Talia realizes that Bruce will always be in danger having to protect her and their child, so she fakes a miscarriage and they dissolve their marriage. She gives the child to an orphanage, and he is given the name Ibn al Xu'ffasch, or "son of the bat". This is the story arc Morrison adapted later.

Talia was kinda badass in the period before 2006, where she was sort of an anti-villain. She breaks out and starts having her own self after Ra's engages her to Bane whom she despises. She, under the name Talia Head, runs LexCorp as CEO while Lex Luthor is President of the United States, and basically not only tips Superman off about all his plans, but sells LexCorp's shares to Wayne Enterprises leaving Lex functionally penniless. Then she gets brainwashed and basically evil-fied by her half-sister Nyssa Raatko who literally kills her over and over, resurrecting her each time in the Lazarus Pit as an extreme form of torture and reprogramming. She usually does more evil shit after this like joining leagues of supervillains and such. However, her motives of helping Jason Todd recover and train are usually ascribed to her love for Bruce and not wanting Jason to kill him.

Then after 2006 she goes full tilt crazy ex girlfriend and murders people, trained Selina Kyle to resist any and all psychological coercion to reveal Bruce's identity, and PLANTS A DEVICE IN DAMIAN'S SPINE THAT LETS HER CONTROL HIS BODY, and reveals that she's started cloning him because she thinks he's too weak and disowns him.

Then comes the New 52 (the part where DC did a reboot to make everybody darker and "more realistic" that absolutely nobody liked, so it started in 2011 and then DC did another reboot in 2016 to make it better) and Talia is just off the wall completely evil. Genocide, cloning Damian, killing Damian, being resurrected, then fighting an ancient alien cult and claiming she's redeemed, then literally rejoining the League of Assassins moments later.

Incidentally, apparently Grant Morrison wrote Bruce, Talia, and Damian from their own experiences as a child of divorce, which is just... wow. Like... that's just a lot to unpack there, but we're just gonna step past it.

As of the DC Rebirth reboot, Talia is more or less sort of back to being anti-villain, still yes a killer, but also more emotionally open and supportive of her son and back to trying for true redemption.

Let's take, as I usually try to do, the sum total of these experiences and from other sources and try to average it out.

Unfortunately, despite the retconning, a lot of people now still see Talia's rape of Bruce as canon. I did too for the longest time, and honestly, although it makes Talia despicable and completely irredeemable in a very visceral way, it also does allow for interesting dynamics for Bruce and Damian, the batfam and Talia, Bruce in general, and allows there to be discussion for the tragically underconsidered circumstance for female-on-male sexual assault, and by having Batman, who is often used by hypermasculine dudebros for their weird ideals of stoic toxic masculinity be a victim, and be vulnerable, and go through this could be a deeply powerful arc that nobody in comics really wants to touch. It does however, deprive us of an interesting and nuanced Talia and instead catapults her right into mustache-twirling evil.

Ultimately, Talia is the daughter and heir of Ra's al Ghul. She sees no problem murdering people, and in fact she usually shares her father's genocidal ambitions of culling much of the human race to help preserve the planet. Ra's boils down to an ecoterrorist and genocidal maniac, and Talia his henchman, though when she does strike out on her own, I can't quite get a handle on her motivations. She does tout a desire for "equality and peace" but there's really no standard she gives for what this means, so I can't really see if she's just crazy or if she has good intentions.

I think, even at her best, Talia is a perfectionist and is very strict, intent on Damian being who she wants him to be. I think she has very little empathy or compassion for others, although parts of her, at her best, regret this and she tries to grow. At her worst, she is irredeemably evil, and at her best she is... morally shady to the point of never really being able to be thought of as a good guy.

I can't speak to whether or not racism plays a part in her portrayal either as mustache twirling villain or whatever. I don't know that it's necessarily bad writing because I don't know if Talia was ever intended to not be a horrible person or morally ambiguous, apart from the early days when she was mainly a figure to be pursued by Batman. When it comes down to it, adding sexual assault to her list of crimes is not going to change much because she's a mass murderer, an ecoterrorist, an abusive mother any way you slice it because she's training her child as an assassin, and generally just not great. A fascinating character, yes, but a terrible person.

TL;DR: Talia al Ghul is a terrible person in general, but the Big Incident you refer to has been retconned and is based off a poorly-remembered story. However, considering she's a mass murderer, assassin, eco-terrorist, and also let's face it classist villain, she's still not great even if you remove that from her rap sheet. She's done some cool stuff like putting Lex Luthor in his place and that one Elseworlds story where she left Bruce and gave her son to an orphanage to protect him, but otherwise, once she was made her own character and not just a love-interest-of-the-week, Talia has been morally ambiguous at best and irredeemable at worst. I can't say if it's racist or not because I don't know the motivations in her writing, but I don't know that it's necessarily bad writing to make her unsympathetically evil.

#talia al ghul #reports outside the fic #comic history #please read I actually did research on this

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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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Here's a thing though, because CRWBY loves doing things off-screen. Neo and Cinder did have to travel for some time together and Cinder did speak to Neo in the Vault of the Spring Maiden. They could've exchanged information and she found out about certain things, especially with regards to Salem.

But there's also the fact that Cinder and Neo binded their time in Atlas, waiting for the perfect moment to be able to nab the relic and how to locate the Winter Maiden. I know this banks on Cinder being a competent villainess but she was in V3. Neo is perfect for information gathering, she can choose to be any one who was around Ruby in the background, watching and waiting but also seeing if there were weaknesses she could exploit to make her suffer. Neo could've learned about how close Penny and Ruby by pretending to be some nobody in the background with the aid of her semblance. Headmaster Ozpin, Lionheart and Clover didn't need to be there, no, for the beat down little red got. But man, do I wish that it was something close to Ruby that'd throw the facts at her, that they made mistakes, they were hypocrites and made things worse. Atlas and Mantle are GONE. They almost cost Argus everything with their plane stealing stunt. Salem now has 2 relics in her possession instead of neither. Just someone should've been able to deliver that to Ruby without getting shut down or pushed into submitting to WBY getting all defensive. It's aggravating that RWBY keeps getting away with things one way or another, can't have Ruby get told off by an ally, noooooo, has to be a villain so anyone can dismiss their (very) on point accusations of her character. Wow, I didn't mean to rant so much....

Never feel bad about ranting, anon! I do it plenty lol.

But yeah, full-on agree. That remains my biggest problem with this scene (well, besides the suicide aspect) and why I can't really join in so many other fans' satisfaction at someone calling out Ruby. Because she's not being called out, she's being tortured. The story has taken things that Ruby is at least partially responsible for and framed it so that she comes out looking like the unequivocal victim. Instead of someone trustworthy figuratively knocking some sense into her head (like Qrow, May, or Ren), she's literally getting knocked around by a villain whose ultimately goal is to have her die. There is no version of RWBY in which Ruby comes out of this having learned anything other than her guilt and second-guessing being ~evil~ things that must be defeated. Qrow is threatened into submission. May changes her tune off screen. Ren is ignored until he falls in line. Yang dismisses Ruby and compares her to Ironwood the moment she expresses doubt. And Ruby herself has had those feelings now equated with suicide. If the end result of her going, "Let's stop pretending we know what we're doing" at the start of the Volume is for her to kill herself over that failure, then the message is pretty clearly, "That's a bad thing to believe and Ruby need to improve her mental health by remembering that she's a True Hero who has made the good decisions and shouldn't be doubting her own righteous worth."

By taking Ruby to this extreme the MOMENT she started to question their very questionable choices, the show has written in neon lights what they think of these criticisms. I mean, we knew it already - we've known since Volume 5 - but it really is something else to say, "Ruby's horrific actions aren't something for her to grapple with and learn from, they're the catalyst for suicide and the tools of a villain." Someone else made this comparison already, but the way this is written brings to mind people who have exaggerated, undeserved reactions to someone bringing up legitimate criticism, to the point where suddenly the conversation is about comforting them and ensuring they're safe, rather than actually addressing what they've done wrong. The story has finally gone, "Hey, you did things wrong" and even beyond the fact that this has come from a villain, Ruby has such an EXTREME reaction to that accusation that you feel like an ass for insisting that she still address the problem post-meltdown. The conversation is no longer about how Ruby's arrogance has caused great harm to Remnant, it's about how these things need to be denied/buried/ret-conned/whatever because otherwise she will kill herself.

See? Plenty of ranting XD. On a more positive note, I LOVE that idea, anon. If RWBY really was "planned from the beginning" and we still had to have this encounter, it would have been cool to see a Volumes-long reveal that Neo has been stalking Ruby ever since she left Beacon. She uses her clones to bring up all her mistakes, her failures, intimate moments she'll never repeat because that friend is dead now, and alongside her grief Ruby is downright shocked at the knowledge. How do you know all this? And Neo uses her op semblance to reveal all the background characters that she - and the viewer - had no idea were really her, listening in, biding her time, gathering intel until she could finally use it all to break her.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas #suicide tw

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fractiflos · 1 month

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Because I love villain AUs, what about this? An AU where En, Banjo, and Hikage are all villains. Thank you!

I'm not sure of the age difference between all of them (because Hikage being 40 at death could mean Banjo was like, 39 when he died) so let's just say they're the same age and En is 5 years younger.

Hikage was not a willing villain. AFO saw how close he was with Third and wanted to try and use him against the then current OFA holder, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Hikage just reminded him too much of his Yoichi, so he did the next best thing and kidnapped him before he got OFA and stuck him in the vault. After realizing Hikage enjoyed the isolation of the vault, AFO figured he needed a new torture method to get him to join in villainy.

That method came in the form of a young Banjo, who was yet to become a hero and was still looking for work. AFO basically said he'd pay him to be his son's friend. Not the job he wanted, but he couldn't afford to be picky. After an initial rocky start, the two actually became good friends and Hikage was really coming out of his shell. Then AFO threatened to kill Banjo if Hikage didn't join him in villainy. With no other option, he agreed. Banjo joined him, but he didn't know the true nature of the operation until later.

It was only revealed to him once AFO was sure that Banjo had been molded enough that he wouldn't see anything wrong with what AFO was doing (plus he keeps the really bad stuff away from everyone else). This was also the time when Banjo would meet a young En. He had just started his underground career, but was struggling to make ends meet. Banjo saw potential in him and offered to recommend him to his boss. En agreed, not seeing the harm and found himself being recruited to spy on the newly formed HPSC. As much as he wanted to say no, AFO had the power to get him to a place where he would not only have more spying opportunities, but more money. So, he agreed. And so we have an unwilling Hikage, a brainwashed Banjo, and a poor En all being puppetered by All For One.

One day, Hikage sees an opportunity for escape and takes it, hoping he could get back to Third. Only to see Third's body lying in AFO's arms, a big smile on his face. Turns out AFO engineered the escape opportunity all so Hikage could see the last remnant of his hope die. And it works. He's broken, to the point where even Banjo can barely get him to smile.

As it would turn out, En got OFA early. He ran into Third before the fight because all he knew was that he had something AFO wanted. He was prepared to put on act to get it, but when AFO shows up, Third just shoves his bloody fingers in his mouth and runs off. Stunned, En went up to AFO to tell him about what happened. AFO quickly tries to take the quirk, but can't. He has Banjo tie up En and take him somewhere until he can figure out what to do (which is mainly what Banjo does under his employment).

After figuring out that it must work by DNA transfer, he asks En to do what Third did to him. He really didn't want to, but it was better than the alternative. As he did so, all he could think was "I just want to give him what he wants" which was good enough for the OFA transfer. OFA tried to resist, but En's pretty strong-willed and at last, AFO has his little brother back.

With all of En's intelligence, he's got enough to topple the HPSC and get rid of the heroes Yoichi loved so much. So, he plans to hill him. Mainly because he didn't want more people to know about how he got OFA than strictly necessary. And why have a replacement Yoichi when you have the real one? He plans to kill Hikage and Banjo too, but they run away with En to the forest, thanks to Hikage's Danger Sense. AFO could try to chase them down, but he doesn't care when he has his little brother back. Now it's time to take over the world to make it nice and safe for his Yoichi. He'll find away to restore him back into his body eventually.

Meanwhile, in the forest, there's a debate over what they should do. The HPSC is gone, pretty much all the heroes are dead, and AFO has crowned himself as Emperor. They've all just begun to realize how badly they messed up and Banjo argues they should do something to fix it. En says it's too dangerous and Hikage is just too broken to do anything. He only ran away because he didn't want them to die. In the end, they did the most villainous thing of all: Nothing. They stayed in that forest until they died of old age, living with the guilt of the part they played in society's downfall. And without OFA, they had to live much longer.

...Man this actually turned out really sad.

#hikage shinomori #daigoro banjo #en tayutai #middle may ask game #Why yes I did indeed reference Star Wars

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kozmicmizuu · 4 months

Text

sigh, guess who suddenly got some giyuu/akaza/kyojuro brain worms…. i hate them/affectionate

could be seen as romantic or platonic, whatever you sillies want to believe <3

here’s some headcanons and some silly ideas for them :3

————————————————————————

kyojuro survived cause giyuu was sent in!! he blocked the attack that would be fatal and kill kyojuro, cause giyuu is all about dramatic entrances

akaza became their lil fan boy for them and it’s torture for them. kyojuro is much more passive aggressive when akaza appears, but giyuu? mf is HATING the whole time, he literally wants to be left alone 😭

akaza: giyuu!! become a demon and spare for the rest of our lives!!

giyuu: can’t you just leave me alone…

akaza: what- no, you must become a demon!! don’t be like kyojuro and let ur strength go to waste

giyuu: well, thanks for the compliment???

akaza: no problem

giyuu: so…. can i leave now

akaza: no

the following of these two has gotten so bad that giyuu and kyojuro sometimes can’t even hang out with the other hashira. kyojuro proposed that it’s best that the others are completely unaware of the fact that a whole ass upper rank was fanboying for them, giyuu agreed (he KNEW that sanemi would try smth)

sanemi: what’s up with you two?? you guys haven’t been staying after meetings or anything

kyojuro, sweating bullets (he can’t lie): uh- i- hm..

giyuu, aka the poker face king: kyo and i are busy with demons in our territories. a spike of demons have been causing a lot of trouble

sanemi: fucking demons… alright- good luck with that i guess

giyuu: thanks, let’s go kyo

kyojuro: huh-? oh! right- yes, demon troubles

even if there’s one sided beef with giyuu and akaza and some passive aggression with kyojuro, they get along weirdly enough. the stalking of akaza literally made kyo and yuu bond a LOT and train together way more. akaza is suffering a lot less with the other demons, he’s got some new pals out the mugen train and he’s happy with that.

————————————————————————

new dynamic rn is a passive aggressive poly between two hero’s and a villain guys make it trend/j

i’m so sane about them i promise guys don’t burn me at the stake 🙏

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project-shadow · 2 years

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do you agree with what people say about IDW Sonic? That he's nothing like the game version, and that hes selfish and lets his enemies go without just punishment?

I've seen this take quite often, and even got some questions about this on Discord.

The short answer; No, I do not agree with that statement.

The long answer?

I don't see why people seek to compare the Comics Sonic with the Game Sonic. They're not the same universe, first of all, and second of all, Ian Flynn, who wrote for Archie after Ken Penders left and currently writes for IDW, is also the writer of Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers. He's been writing for Sonic longer than most people in the fandom have even been consuming Sonic media (from 2006-present)

If you hate Sonic's characterization, then you've hated him in any paper media since 2006. And some people prefer Archie over IDW (another take I do not agree with)

If there's any version of Sonic that was selfish, it was definitely Archie era Sonic. He was admittedly a poorly written character, mostly because he was written as infallible most of the times.

IDW Sonic is nothing like Archie Sonic, and probably the closest to the games as we're going to get (excluding Frontiers Sonic, of whom we don't have much information on character wise)

IDW Sonic goes through phases. Yes, he lets his enemies go, but he doesn't do so to the point of "letting them go without punishment". The punishment Sonic gives his enemies is the battle they engage in. And some of his enemies are sent to prison/hauled off to other planets/etc. None of his enemies escape "unscathed" except arguably Eggman. And this itself is explained in the comics.

After the battle that caused Eggman to lose his memories, he became Mr. Tinker. Shadow had come seeking Eggman out to kill him. Literally, he wanted to kill Eggman. Or at the very least, imprison him. The reason why Sonic stopped Shadow wasn't because he was sparing his enemy. He was literally sparing an innocent man. Mr. Tinker had lost all of his memories. He knew nothing of his time as Eggman, and was still dead set on repenting for a side of himself that he didn't even remember. He helped people, built rides for children, and even created Belle, the antithesis to Metal Sonic.

Sonic tells Shadow that if no one is worth redemption and should be killed, then why was it okay for Shadow to be running around free? Shadow understood the logic behind this and allowed Mr. Tinker to continue on. The only reason why this becomes a problem is because Starline (whom no one knew of at the time) wanted to bring back Eggman. He kidnapped Mr. Tinker and tortured him until he became Eggman again, which directly leads into the Metal Virus arc.

In the Metal Virus arc, Sonic is one of the first people to get infected. And Sonic blames HIMSELF for everything that happens in that arc. He apologizes to the victims, he apologizes to Tails and Amy. He even shows some signs of survivor's guilt/depression, because Sonic realizes that if he had killed/imprisoned Eggman or let Shadow handle Tinkerer, none of this would have happened. The world as he knew it and everyone he loved were potentially going to die because Sonic made the wrong call. How in the world can anyone say that's selfish? Or that he doesn't care about his friends or the world he protects everyday with his life?

And in the Surge arc, Sonic thinks back on his mistakes and the villains he deals with, and STILL CHOOSES TO SPARE SURGE. Surge owes Sonic NOTHING. She wants to kill and replace him. And Sonic still chooses her life and her happiness over everything. Because that's the kind of person he is. He doesn't want her blood on his hands, he doesn't want to be the kind of hero who kills his enemies. He wants to be the kind of hero who always extends a helping hand no matter who the person is.

Sonic the Hedgehog believes in love and friendship. He believes no one is truly evil, and as long as he can be there for someone, hold their hand, show them that there's always going to be a home and a friend waiting there, that he can change their life for the better and in turn, make the world they live in a better place.

Sonic is someone who suffered so much and saw so many people he cares about suffer, and still choses love as his weapon of choice. Not violence, not murder. Love.

How can you sit there and truly think someone like that is selfish?

#sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #shadow the hedgehog #sth #shadow the ultimate lifeform #project shadow files #amy rose #surge the tenrec #doctor eggman #eggman #sonic idw comic #sonic idw #dr starline #starline the platypus #archie sonic #sonic frontiers #mr tinker #idw sonic comic #dr eggman

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marunalu · 1 year

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Izuku should be grateful that AFO wasn't really involved in his life if AFO really is his dad, he's such a terrible person, look at how he treated Yoichi. AFO has all the traits of an abusive narcissist sociopath and he would make a terrible parent. (though being narcissistic and sociopath does not make one automatically evil, AFO just chose to act evil.)

Warning: long post! 😆

So while I agree with you to some point and understand where youre opinion is comming from, there are some points I dont agree with you, mainly your point about afo being an terrible man turning him automatical into a terrible parent. Okay, so dont get me wrong, I think we can all agree that afo will NEVER win a "best dad of the year" reward, no matter what his feelings for his son may be, BUT while afo is absolutely all the things you called him, that doesnt mean he would be a terrible father, if he had been a part of izukus life. So let me explain.

People in mha are more then just pure evil or pure good. Look at all might, even HE had his dark moment in his fight with afo, going for the kill. While his actions are obviously understandable, a hero is NOT supposed to kill and even all might was horrefied of his actions afterwards. But the best example we have is endaevor. Before the whole touya reveal, endaevor was a very respected hero with a huge fanbase. By far not as popular as all might, but still a lot of people loved him. Because they only knew "endaevor the hero" and not "enji todoroki the father." I know a lot of people dont want to accept that, but endaevor is actually a very good hero! He wasnt the nr 2. for no reason. He IS good at his job! Throu out his whole carrier endaevor saved a lot of people and captured many villains. So if we go by that, it means that endaevor is actually a pretty good person, right? Because he saved so many people and while he was always kind of a grumpy guy, he is right there as soon as someone needs his protection. Thats endaevor "the hero". The man other people see. But we readers knew since almost the beginning thats not really who endaevor is. While he is a good hero, saved many lives, he is a TERRIBLE father, a TERRIBLE husband, abused and neglected his children for many years, never gave his wife the support she needed and saw his children for the most part as experiments to fullfill his own lifegoals. So all of a sudden this good man, this great hero, doesnt sound so great anymore, right? Thats because humans are complex creatures and something like pure good or pure evil doesnt exist. Endaevor the great hero and enji the abusive and terrible father are one and the same person. He was cruel to his family, but also saved and protected a lot of innocent people from villains. In other words endaevor is an all grey character. There are good and bad things about him. He has done good things for others, but also treated his family like shit.

So now lets go back to afo and use the same logic here. If a hero, a "good person", someone fighting on "the good side", can have his dark secrets and do evil things to his own family, WHO says an "supervillain", someone fighting for "the bad side", cant harbour some positive feelings for others and treat his (secret) family with love and respect? Is afo evil? Is he a terrible TERRIBLE man? A bastard? Absolutely! But that DOESNT mean he would be a terrible father too and treat his family like shit! History showed multible times that massmurderers, terrorists, dictators etc. While doing unforgivable disgusting things to others, can love the people close to them. Take hitler for an extreme example. I dont think I have to say much about all his crimes, everyone knows them and still hitler loved eva braun and loved his german shepard lady "blondi". In fact hitler loved his dog SO MUCH he cried when he had to kill her, so she wouldnt be shoot or tortured by his enemys. So you see, even the most evil and disgusting asshole who ever set his foot on this earth was able to feel love for a woman and his DOG!

Okay, sorry, I digress from the actual topic. What I want to say is pretty simple: we have absolutely NO IDEA what kind of father afo would be to izuku, because we never saw him act like one to this point. Every time I hear or read that afo "adopted" tomura or that he is his "father substitute", I cant help but role my eyes. Afo IS NOT and NEVER intended to be tomuras father. AFO DOESNT CARE ABOUT TOMURA! When he took tomura in, he made already clear what their relationship will be like. That of an teacher and his student. He told him to call him "sensei" NOT "dad" or "father". Afo doesnt love tomura, he doesnt sees him as his son or son substitute. Tomura is nothing more then afos puppet. A vessel for the afo quirk. Nothing more. Never will be more. He also made sure to have backup kids in orphanages as a vessel, should ever something happen to tomura. That doesnt sound what a father would do, right? Because afo has absolutely ZERO father feelings for tomura or any of the children in the orphanages. You cant be a father to someone, you dont have father feelings for. And now back to izuku. So lets just say dfo is canon okay. Due to the fact that we never saw afo in a father role, we still have no idea what kind of father he would be to izuku. It depends what he feels for him. If he cares and loves him or not. But even IF he loves him, we saw with yoichi what afos love is like. He is able to love, but its toxic and borderline obsession. Still love, not just the way you should feel for someone else.

And because we dont know yet what afos father feelings for izuku are like, we cant say right away he would be a bad father. I dont think he is a "good" father, but personally I believe he was a "decent" and a loving father before he "left overseas". Like, him and izuku playing together, talking like excited nerds about quirks, watching tv together, him tugging izuku in and reading him a bedtime story, fooling around with him and comforting him after he was again beaten up by bakugou and his lackeys (and makes sure that at least one of them gets what they "deserve" in his eyes, for hurting HIS son, right little tsubasa?!) We also need to remember that right now, afo is in his villain modus. Right now he is not hisashi the father and husband, but afo the supervillain. He cant just go to izuku and give him a hug (I would pay good money to see that 🤣), because afo still wants his goals and dreams fullfilled and izuku is trying to prevent that. So while afo choose to be evil, he also choose for some reason to start a family (if dfo is canon). And not only did he decide to marry a woman he STILL IS married to, but also fathered a child with her AND supports them financielly with HIS money. Warns izuku multible times for choosing a thorny path for himself, lures all might in kamino AWAY from the children hiding behind the broken wall, speaks affectionate about the 40 year old macallan (inko) he ordered the aoyamas to bring to him. There are hints that afo cares for his family, but they are subtle enough to go unnoticed by most readers, espicially if you are not fluent in japanese.

Also I just want to point out how we still only got bad fathers with a bigger role in the story so far. Endaevor, kotaro, hawks father (forgot his name). While we have seen fathers of other ua kids like ochakos or bakugous, not one of them plays a bigger part or had more then 10 picture paneltime in the whole manga. We need a counter balance to endaevor and co. Otherwise dfo will just be the next todofam plot in the story and I think after 377 chapters thats just enough. Let dfo be something new. Let afo unlike endaevor be a loving father, who deeply cared for his family and loved them (in his own messed up way) and is ready to burn down the whole world for them. Let afo love izuku so the drama and struggle between them will make the story so much more exciting.

#bnha #bnha dad for one #izuku midoriya #bnha all for one #all for one is hisashi midoriya #enji todoroki #endaevor #whohooo sorry for the long post #that got a little bit out of hand

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ashiristic · 2 years

Text

Snippet 12

The villain stared blankly at the glowing painting in front of him, giving a disappointed sigh before burning the portrait in a whip of his hand. His leg dangled on the golden cascaded armchair of the throne, swinging lazily as elements played with each other above him. He glanced at the windows, counting them one by one, then up to the countless different colored windows above the ceiling to create a man’s portrait.

“Three hundred and eighty-nine, three hundred–UGH!” Frustration fueled his growl as the blazing fire spread through the throne room. The guards protected themself, as a water element began showering the madness with care. He groaned, inevitably falling down the throne again as life seemed too shallow in the villain’s perspective.

“What should I do? Should I just kill myself and kill all of us in here? Or should I try being a good man for once–uh–well, I was a good man.” The villain blabbered, rolling his eyes when the elements giggled at the mention of him being a decent man. He can’t deny that he wasn’t a rule-abiding citizen when he was young, but he at least tried to be virtuously good. The villain sighed as his feet sways lazily in the seat, his thumb and index finger massaging the bridge of his nose.

He can’t think.

“Well,” the air element froze after the water glared at it, then the water danced around the villain’s head before stopping in his ears. “How about your precious hero?” It said, followed by a giggle at the rest of them.

The villain’s eyes widened in realization. Right, his hero still exists. Alive and breathing in the earth's face. He sat up, glancing at the element with his mouth ajar, then a massive grin played on his lips like an eclipse.

“You are all smart!” The villain stood up from his throne, stretching his arms for a different outfit to form in his body. He wore the usual cardigan the hero gave him last time and baggy pants that a slave gave him for free. The elements crinkled in amusement as they prepared themself for battle, then the villain glanced back at them again. Confusion is visible on his face as he pushes them back inside his lair.

“What? Don’t tell me you are going on a suicide mission like an adrenaline junkie!” The air element frowned, cold air rushing inside the room as the villain cocked his head. His face contorted into a face of what-the-fuck expression.

“Hey! We don’t wanna die because of your stupidity.”

“What?” The villain dropped his hand and clutched tightly the other door handle. “Why do you all need to go with me to meet the hero?”

“To fight?”

“To torture?” The earth element said, a chain floating in the air.

“Uh, no? So bye–” the villain tried to close the door, but the earth covered his path. “What again?”

“We are going with you! We don’t want to see you dead tomorrow morning.” The elements nodded in unison, agreeing and dedicated to going with the villain. They will not let their supposed hearts go around and die.

“You are all going to watch the hero fuck me?”

And they all scattered around the throne room, not even caring if the villain will die in the hero’s bed. Hopefully not.

#hero x villain #hero and villain #villain x hero #hero x villain prompts #fantasy #writeblr #snippet #writing snippet #creative writing #writing #villain and hero

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alwida10 · 11 months

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Ok, I know i shouldn’t let myself be baited into arguments. Hrrnng.

After cooling down for two years searching for exchange and considering alternative points of views, I see how Sylvie can be a compelling character. And even from the beginning I agreed that she would have probably been much more compelling to me if she had gotten more screen time, highlighting her past.

All good.

But sometimes I come across posts that say basically Loki would be better seen as a jealous, petty, dude who just don’t consider anyone but himself, gives a shit for victims of his actions etc. One time someone even gave me a list of his crimes, including genocide, slavery, human trafficking, espionage, torture, betrayal of everyone he ever knew (the guy’s time management skills must be amazing) and some other points I don’t remember anymore, partly because of redundancy.

And I mean, I get how villains can be compelling characters, I do. And yeah, knowing their past can sometimes put things into context, yet it will never justify their actions. (I just watched the dungeons and dragons movie and the red magician is such a cool character! She is beyond redemption and doesn’t have a good hair on her, but yeah, good character design!)

So, if you like Sylvie or Mobius, why (WHY!!) would you want them to be together with such a dick? And a clown, talking from Sylvie’s perspective (and she’s right). Like, don’t you want your fav to be with someone who is nice? Who’s redeemable at the very least? Because someone who attempted to murder their own family without caring the tiniest bit and succeeded killing his mother doesn’t really seem to be a good match for a partner?Such an abusive man who cared only for himself for 1.5 millennia might show a bit of care in the beginning of a relationship, as long the victim isn’t attached properly. But when the victim is emotionally attached? The abuser will simply go back to torturing them. (I recommend the book “why does he do that?” It’s educational and will help you to realize how an healthy relationship looks like. Which seems like an easy thing, but trust me - it isn’t when emotional manipulation takes part). Like, if you really think interpreting Loki like that, I cannot imagine how you think your fav could be happy around them. People can change, but especially narcissism is so hard to overcome it certainly won’t disappear within days. Not after 1.5 millennia of using everyone and everything to their own benefit. That guy is a monster and even if (and that’s a big IF) he should change his behavior his past crimes are unforgivable and the best he could achieve is a heroic sacrifice for the real heroes.

Man, i really prefer giving him the benefit of the doubt, keeping in mind he was abducted as a child, raised by a racist and imperialist and made decisions in emotional turmoil without considering or seeing all the consequences. Do I consider him jealous? Sure. I’m jealous of people who are rich without having done anything for it. Do I consider him petty? No. Because I keep in mind how Goffrey (GoT) would have acted in a similar situation. Do I consider his pain being justified? Yes. Do I think he loved his family? Yeah, because why else would he have spared odin’s life twice and rescued Jane? Do I think he supported Thanos willingly? Just as willingly as gamora and nebula did. Do I think he never did anything wrong? No, attempted genocide is horrible, murdering a ruler of a nation at war is -while not criminal- not a good thing when you want piece without people dying. But sabotaging the coronation (if he really tried to voice his concerns before and wasn’t listened to) was a desperate act of loyalty. And that’s what matters.

#fandom discourse #will probably delete tomorrow #Loki series negativity #Loki series criticism

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birlwrites · 2 years

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Isn't that hero corruption post just James Potter finding out what will happen to Sirius Black after his death and then making it the magic world's problem?

not to play devil's advocate but you have given me a fun shiny new thought experiment and I AM GOING TO EXPERIMENT IT so please don't take this as me shooting you down or anything like that, i just like exploring possibilities. also this is all my opinion and literally everyone's opinions are heavily influenced if not completely driven by their personal taste, so do not assume i think i am spouting facts here, i'm thought experimenting

(in general like - THESE ARE INTERESTING QUESTIONS TO ME THAT I WANT TO THINK THROUGH IN DETAIL, AND I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO BE SURPRISED OR HURT BY THE IDEA THAT I MIGHT NOT TOTALLY AGREE WITH THEM. that applies to literally every ask i answer. me disagreeing with an ask does *not* mean that i think it sucks or anything like that. in an ideal world we're having a literary discussion where nobody is or thinks they are the Official Truth-Sayer™)

ok so the interesting thing to me is: the hero corruption post requires, essentially, something that's going to push said hero down a loooong path. like, if we're getting to the point where the villain thinks 'oh that's fucked up,' no matter who you think the villain is, that means james has to get PRETTY FUCKIN CORRUPTED because there are a lot of villain or potential villain characters in hp that are like. i mean voldemort's fully pushing for genocide and bellatrix tortures people for fun and dumbledore is......... dumbledore (insert long paragraph rambling about different interpretations of him here)

so let's break down what happens to sirius after james's death in canon:

sirius finds lily and james' bodies (and perhaps voldemort's as well? does he leave a body the first time around? hmmmmm much to think about)

lends his flying motorbike to hagrid to get harry out of there (does he know where? does sirius know that hagrid is taking harry to dumbledore, and does sirius maybe expect not to come out of this conflict with peter unscathed? fascinating questions outside the scope of this post)

chases down peter

peter blows up a dozen or so muggles, frames sirius for lily and james' deaths, and vanishes

sirius gets arrested

sirius is thrown in azkaban without a trial

twelve years pass. sirius escapes azkaban, goes to kill peter yay!

dumbledore deigns to lift a finger to prevent him from receiving the dementor's kiss

sirius goes into hiding

sirius remains in hiding

sirius continues to remain in hiding

(without custody of his godson, btw. nor did he get to kill peter, who FUCKING ESCAPED AND RAISED VOLDEMORT A G A I N)

sirius dies attempting to protect harry, who was lured into a trap by voldemort using sirius as bait

okay let's pause and reflect on how absolutely fucking tragic that is. like, my head generally lives in the marauders' era, and since i almost exclusively write AU or canon divergence, i don't actually think a lot about sirius's canon fate. it's not even azkaban i'm referring to so much as everything after

sirius goes through SO MUCH, first of all to avenge lily and james (and he fails - peter gets away and resurrects the very person responsible for their murders), and second of all to protect harry (and he fails - dumbledore locks him away in grimmauld place and keeps harry with the dursleys, and then the newly resurrected voldemort immediately sets about trying to murder harry. iirc, sirius dies before dumbledore even shows up at the ministry, and also before voldemort like... okay to be totally honest i've read so many fanfiction versions of this scene that i don't remember what's canon and what's not, but i'm quite sure voldemort harms harry in some way. like that seems plausible yes?)

basically he goes through a ton of shit and it is all for nothing. yes, eventually harry does manage to kill voldemort/get voldemort killed, and live a fairly peaceful and safe life afterwards, but he literally died to do it. sirius could not protect him from that, much less care for him in the way that lily and james wanted him to

okay anyway back to the thought experiment. so, if james found out about all that, what would happen?

i think, anon, that the point on which we differ is that i don't see this as a slippery slope in the way that i think you do - imo, almost everything bad that happens to sirius after james's death is a direct result of the actions of voldemort, dumbledore, or peter

like yes, sirius did go to azkaban without a trial, but is that enough for a corruption arc for james? i would think that would be an anti-corruption arc involving pushing the ministry towards transparency, and tbqh i think james would be so preoccupied with peter's betrayal that the 'no trial' thing would be a contributing factor as opposed to its own thing

if i continue to guess what you were thinking of (and do let me know if i'm guessing wrong), my assumption is that you mean that in a quest to preemptively avenge sirius, james would want to go after those 3 people i mentioned earlier (voldemort, dumbledore, peter), and *that* would induce a corruption arc

that, i think, depends a lot on the characterization of james, AND the people around him. he has friends he trusts and values a lot (rip), all of whom could either be encouraging him or pulling him back

i think something really drastic would have to happen in order for james to not take those voices into account, and i don't think it would work if it were framed in future terms, because a 'this will happen' isn't as powerful of a motive towards anger as a 'this happened' or a 'this is happening right now'

now, if voldemort came to the potters' house on a different night, perhaps a night on which james was out for some reason (fidelius notwithstanding), and killed sirius instead? (among potential others - remus and lily come to mind as options who could also die) *then* i think james would shred peter, and then voldemort, into tiny little itty bitty bits

but not dumbledore, because dumbledore's role in this whole mess comes about ~12 years later

if james somehow saw the future, again, i think his reaction to that really depends on your james characterization - personally i don't really interpret james as a 'tear it all down and start over' person, seeing as he's fighting for the side of the status quo in canon, but i could see how someone could take that angle with something more focused on the 'no trial, life sentence' thing

ig a better way to frame that is that since i tend to interpret james as being constructive rather than destructive in his use of violence ('constructive' as in working off of what exists, 'destructive' as in aiming to tear that down for a blank slate), i think it would take a lot for him to go on any sort of corruption arc - regardless of his *actions*, like, a corruption arc is really a state of mind and i think that's what would require something drastic for james

but in general i don't think revenge arcs make for very good corruption arcs because once you get your revenge........ then what

like, i think a corruption arc needs a more general motive, more along the lines of why voldemort and dumbledore do what they do. that's not super tied to any one person, which means it doesn't carry that risk of *ending*. like, principles that are taken to an extreme - i'm a big fan of that. and i think a corruption arc works best in conjunction with ambition - specifically a 'road to hell is paved with good intentions' type of ambition, and since i don't interpret james as a particularly ambitious character, i think sending him down that path would take a lot more than, say, sending lily down that path would

but that's me. just because revenge-driven corruption arcs are less interesting to *me* doesn't mean they don't hold merit or interest for other people, and just because i interpret james in this way doesn't mean everyone does

#if anyone has more thoughts by all means jump in!!#this is the same energy as me putting discussion questions in the author's notes afjskghkjsf #hp #like genuinely if you disagree explain why i'd love to know!!#should i make an inbox tag

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the-great-lightwood-bane · 2 years

Text

villains or heroes (or something in-between)

Malec | Rated general | tw canon-typical violence, body manipulation of antagonists

Day 13: “Are you here to break me out?”

Summary: Magnus Bane, also known as Warlock, son of the world’s most infamous supervillain, found Archer on a rooftop.

Or, another superhero AU, this time featuring Magnus' self-worth issues.

A/N: apparently this is the month of superhero AUs. hope you like this.

EDIT: Now with an amazing moodboard (above) by Hika!

Read it on AO3 or below the cut.

Magnus Bane, also known as Warlock, son of the world’s most infamous supervillain, found Archer on a rooftop.

He’d been spying on the vigilante for a while, of course, trying to figure out how to approach him. He hadn’t managed to figure out where Archer lived, but he’d seen him sitting on this rooftop every day for a week, so it was there that he slipped out of the shadows and greeted him. “Hello, Archer.”

Archer spun, his surprise not preventing him from pointing an arrow at Magnus’ throat in less than a second. Super-speed, Magnus supposed; Archer’s powers appeared to be improved strength, speed, and accuracy.

Magnus didn’t want to get an arrow through his throat, so he raised his hands above his head in the universal gesture of surrender. “I just want to talk.”

“Warlock,” Archer growled through the voice distorter in his plain black mask. “Give me one good reason not to kill you right now.”

“I can help you take down both Edom Inc. and Circle Corp.,” Magnus replied. “Kill me, you loose my information.”

“And why would you betray your father?” Magnus could practically hear Archer’s raised eyebrow.

Magnus took a deep breath. It’d only been a few weeks since he’d learned that Edom Inc. was not opposing Circle Corp., as he’d supposed, but helping them; the realisation had been the final straw to make him leave his father’s enterprise. “Because he’s complicit in torturing people to give them powers.”

Archer huffed. “You’re his son. That’s not exactly a surprise.”

“Believe me,” Magnus said, letting a hint of his fury and betrayal leak into his voice, “it was a surprise to me.”

“I don’t believe you, actually,” Archer told him. “You’ll just lead me into a trap.”

“If I wanted to get rid of you, I’d kill you where you stand,” Magnus returned. “You know what I can do.”

Judging by Archer’s silence, he knew it well. Everyone did; Asmodeus had spent the last twenty years bragging about his son’s prowess. Magnus hadn’t known until recently that it’d been his father who’d given him the power he’d always half-hated, half-loved.

“Why are you here, then?” Archer asked at last, though he still sounded sceptical.

“I need your help to take him down,” Magnus said, truthfully. “I can’t do it on my own — I’ve tried.” And barely escaped with his life. Magnus’ power relied on emotion; as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t want to kill his father enough to go through with it. He needed Alec to kill Asmodeus for him, while he distracted Circle Corp.

Archer tilted his head to the side. “Why approach me? Why not Viper or Seraph? Their powers are a good deal more impressive than mine.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate yourself,” Magnus replied. “Your powers come in handy. And your siblings are too impulsive. They wouldn’t trust me, knowing who I am.”

“I don’t trust you either,” Archer pointed out.

Magnus acknowledged that with a nod. “Fair. I suppose what I meant to say is that they wouldn’t agree to work with me.”

There was a faint amusement in Archer’s tone. “You assume I’ll agree to work with you.”

“Why would you still be talking to me if you weren’t planning to?” Magnus returned.

Archer sighed and lowered his bow. “Alright. What’s the plan?”

Six days later, the newspapers printed the biggest news of the decade: well-known companies Edom Inc. and Circle Corp. were working together to create new ‘superpowered individuals’ through traumatic treatments that left their victims scarred. The vigilante called Archer, famed for working outside of the law to stop crime, was responsible for their downfall. While Valentine Morgenstern had been killed in the battle, Asmodeus Bane had escaped and was on the run; his son, the vigilante known only as Warlock, had been killed, which was certainly a relief to the city’s law-abiding citizens.

Magnus set down the newspaper with a sigh, careful not to overextend the burned skin that covered half his body — a last souvenir of Valentine’s pyrokinesis. In some sense, it was true that Warlock had died in that fight; Magnus didn’t want to be known as Asmodeus Bane’s supervillain son any longer. He’d stripped off Warlock’s mask and cape and stuck them in the back of a closet, never again to see the light of day.

As Warlock, he’d spent years working under his father’s control, believing he was doing good when really, he’d only been helping on Asmodeus’ nefarious plans. He clearly wasn’t fit for this vigilante business. Why should having superpowers mean he had to be a vigilante? Magnus could set aside all that Warlock was and work on figuring out who he was, instead.

He could have a normal life. The idea seemed vague, almost impossible, but why shouldn’t he reach for that? What was left to stop him?

Magnus smiled, and started searching through the newspaper for job adverts.

He met Alec Lightwood a few weeks later, when he bumped into him and spilled coffee down his shirt — and it was clichéed, but Magnus had gathered his courage and asked him out on a date.

It’d originally been a first attempt at that normal life, an experiment and nothing more, but weeks rolled into months and one day Magnus woke up in Alec’s bed and realised that he’d fallen in love.

He had a minor crisis over it, of course — there were still demons in his past that haunted him, and he’d done so many bad things. He didn’t deserve to be with somebody like Alec, somebody good and kind and sweet, somebody who could strike Magnus speechless with the simplest things.

But, for some unaccountable reason, Alec wanted him, and far be it from Magnus to deny Alec anything he wanted.

So, when Alec woke up, blinking open those gorgeous eyes to look up at him with a smile, Magnus didn’t hold back the “I love you” that rose to his lips.

Alec returned it, and all — for a time — was right with the world.

“There’s something you should know,” Alec said, hesitantly, a few weeks later. “I — you know how I told you that I’ve got a crazy schedule because of my job?”

Magnus nodded. Alec had explained as much, with apologies, the first time he’d missed a date; the unpredictability of his schedule was now no longer a surprise, only an occasional inconvenience. It’d been easier since Magnus had moved into Alec’s apartment.

“I don’t actually have a job with crazy hours,” Alec started, looking down at his hands. “I mean, I kinda do, but I’m not really getting paid for it, so I don’t know if it really counts—”

“Slow down,” Magnus said gently, holding up a hand to break through Alec’s rambling. “What’s your sorta-job with crazy hours?”

“I’m a vigilante,” Alec confessed in a low voice. “I work at the law firm part-time and track down criminals the rest. I — you probably know me as Archer.”

Magnus froze, jaw dropping in shock. “You’re Archer,” he said, more of a statement than a question, thoughts whirling.

Alec’s constant drive to do good. The few times he’d accidentally snuck up on Magnus and startled him. The ease with which he’d catch something Magnus dropped, moving faster than should be possible. The insanely unusual hours for a law firm. It all made sense.

“Yeah,” Alec said, his breath too even to be anything but controlled. “I know — well, you definitely didn’t sign up for this, I’d — I’d understand if you didn’t want to… date me, anymore—”

“I’m not breaking up with you,” Magnus said unthinkingly, because if there was one thing he knew, it was that having Alec in his life was something he wasn’t willing to give up.

Alec let out a breath, shoulders slumping, and Magnus kissed him.

Alexander Gideon Lightwood was Archer, and lying awake in bed that night, Magnus tried to think.

He wasn’t going to break up with Alec for this — that much he knew. But he’d tried so hard to make himself a normal life; could dating Alec pull him back into the world he’d tried so hard to leave behind?

Perhaps. He’d met Alec as Archer, after all, though they’d only known each other for six days; it was a connection he couldn’t shake. But Alec had no idea of Magnus’ past; he couldn’t drag Magnus back into it. Loving Alec was well worth losing a bit of his normality.

Anyway — he’d figured out already that being normal was a bit boring. It was much more fun to stand out, in bright colours and makeup; none of that made him any more like the person he’d once been, and dating Alec wouldn’t either. If anything, it made him better: Alec could see so clearly, wanted to do good so much, that Magnus felt like a better person with him — felt less like Asmodeus’ son and more like Magnus Bane.

But something was still nagging at him, and he eventually realised it was guilt: Alec had given him his secret, but Magnus wasn’t returning the favour.

“I’ve done… bad things,” Magnus said, likely completely out of the blue from Alec’s perspective, although Magnus had been thinking about this moment for days. “In the past. Things I don’t care to remember.”

“You know I’ll always support you, love,” Alec told him immediately. “I don’t care what you’ve done. I love you as you are.”

“I love you too,” Magnus replied, reflexively, then frowned. “I don’t — I can’t—”

“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to,” Alec said, leaning forward. “Magnus, I trust you. Don’t tell me anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Magnus felt tears rise, inexplicably, and swallowed back a sob. “I love you. I don’t deserve—”

“You deserve the world,” Alec replied with an unwavering faith that Magnus couldn’t bear to destroy, so he let Alec gather him in his arms and hold him close.

Magnus didn’t tell Alec that he’d once been Warlock, but the guilt abated a little at Alec’s assurances that he didn’t need to tell him anything. Alec didn’t even seem hurt; he clearly understood that this wasn’t about Magnus not trusting Alec, but something deeper, and he didn’t pry.

So Magnus let the secret remain a secret. It was in the past, after all; it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as though he’d ever put on that mask and cape again.

Or so he’d thought.

Only three weeks later, the shadows of his past rose up again to torment him — and, more pertinently, Alec.

Asmodeus Bane was back in the city, and he’d kidnapped Alec as revenge for destroying Edom Inc — Alec, along with Izzy and Jace, known to most as Viper and Seraph.

Magnus had gotten to know them, first as Alec’s siblings, then in their superhero identities after Alec had revealed his own secret. They were impulsive and reckless, but they were also surprisingly fun, and he didn’t want to know what Asmodeus would do to them to hurt Alec.

He couldn’t allow himself to think about what Asmodeus would do to Alec.

The destruction he’d wreak upon his relationship with Alec was secondary. The only thing Magnus could do was save him.

The mask was dusty, but he blew off the worst of it before slipping it over his face, where it fit like a second skin. The feel of it was both foreign and familiar, worn every day for years and then taken off for what should’ve been the last time. He shook out the cape, too, still a bit burned from Valentine’s attack all that time ago, but perfectly serviceable.

Magnus left the apartment without looking in the mirror.

He strode up to the gates of Asmodeus’ hideout, not bothering to stay in the shadows as he’d learnt to do under his father’s tutelage. There was no need for that here; he was the most dangerous person in the building.

Magnus’ power was fuelled by emotion, and now he had rage enough to level the city.

Two guards were standing at the doorway. Magnus twitched his fingers, and one dropped like a stone while the other opened the door, then dropped beside his fellow.

He’d forgotten the thrill that using his power gave him, the sheer strength that poured through him as he took control of their bodies like a puppeteer. Magnus had spent a long time fearing his power, fearing that he’d kill somebody else the way he’d killed his stepfather; he’d spent even longer hating it. But there was no denying that it was familiar, and that it was his.

There was a reason the city had breathed a sigh of relief when Warlock “died”. Magnus’ power had no equal when he was enraged, and now, fury raced through his veins more than blood.

A hallway. He dropped the guards with a flick of his fingers. Finding Asmodeus’ hideout hadn’t been hard, thanks to his knowledge of his father’s habits; it was equally clear that Asmodeus would set up camp in the centre of the building he’d chosen. Magnus moved without hesitation, with nothing but a clear-headed certainty.

He came out into Asmodeus’ main room, where about fifty guards awaited him. Magnus had never controlled more than five people at a time; now, he made half of them turn on the other half, and let them kill each other without remorse or struggle.

There were four other people in the room, and Magnus’ eyes went to Alec first. He was in his Archer getup, but with his mask ripped away; there were bruises on his face and he was chained to the floor, but nothing worse had been done to him — yet. Izzy and Jace, also unmasked, were chained in front of him, and both bore bruises as well.

Asmodeus stood in the centre of the triangle they made, pausing in mid-punch when Magnus came in. “The prodigal son. I’d thought you’d died.”

“Unfortunately not,” Magnus said cooly. “Free them.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” Asmodeus replied. “You know you can’t muster the anger to control me.”

“Can’t I?” Magnus smiled beneath his mask, and he knew the amusement bled into his voice. He waved out a hand and the hearts of the twenty or so remaining guards stopped in their chests. Then he raised a hand and forced his father’s bones to obey his will.

Looking somewhere between shocked and terrified, Asmodeus reached down and unlocked Alec’s chains, fingers clumsy but efficient enough to do the job. Magnus moved him on to Jace and Izzy, next; their chains clinked free after a moment of fumbling.

“You won’t kill me,” Asmodeus ground out, struggling to move his jaw against Magnus’ hold. “I’m your father.”

In answer, Magnus clenched his fist, and Asmodeus Bane never took breath again.

“You’re alive,” Alec said, climbing to his feet. Magnus realised that he didn’t recognise him; as far as Alec knew, Magnus was no more than the supervillain’s son who’d switched sides. Still, Alec was smiling at him — not the smile he reserved for Magnus alone, but a happy smile all the same. “I thought I’d killed you, Warlock.”

A surprising jolt of guilt shot through Magnus. He hadn’t realised that Alec had cared enough about Warlock to feel guilty for his “death”.

He couldn’t let Alec go on smiling at him like that, though, not when he was lying to Alec with every breath he took. This would stop short any love Alec held for Magnus, and likely any liking for Warlock, but it was all worth it to save Alec.

There were police sirens outside, and Magnus knew he’d be taken into custody once they found him here. Perhaps that was for the best; he wouldn’t have to see Alec again, wouldn’t have to bear that particular heartbreak. He’d face punishment for his crimes.

Magnus reached up and pulled off his mask, meeting Alec’s eyes for what was perhaps the last time. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and turned away before Alec’s shock could morph into anger.

Magnus’ cell was cold and quiet.

The police officers had been terrified of him the entire time, which was a reaction he hadn’t encountered in a while. He’d cooperated, to their surprise; now, he was wearing ability-restricting handcuffs and chained to the wall, and they’d calmed down slightly.

Magnus was being charged on several counts, most of them racked up under Asmodeus’ tutelage but several more from the last twenty-four hours. He’d killed well over fifty people; the fact that they’d been either Asmodeus or Asmodeus’ hired guards didn’t really play into it. A vigilante like Alec, with a reputation for doing good, might’ve been able to make a case, but not a villain like Magnus.

And on top of it all, Warlock’s powers were beyond frightening; there was no way the legal system would let him free.

He wasn’t even sure if he wanted it to, because if he were set free, he’d have to face Alec again — have to face the world again. He’d tried so hard to build a normal life; he should’ve known that wasn’t in the cards for somebody like him.

With a sigh, Magnus let his head fall down between his knees. He had no regrets since meeting Alec. This was nothing but the reasonable consequences of his own actions.

When footsteps sounded in the hallway outside Magnus’ door, he at first assumed somebody had come to bring him to court. But there was no light shining through the grate on his window; why would they want him in the middle of the night?

Keys clicked against each other as the door was unlocked. The hall was dark, but Magnus’ eyes had adjusted to the night, and there was no mistaking the figure in the doorway. “Alec?”

A nod, scarcely visible against the dark. Why was Alec here? Did he dislike Magnus/Warlock so much that he wanted to take revenge himself? Did he have last words to say?

Alec came into the cell and took another key, bending down in front of Magnus. “Here. I’ll unlock your cuffs.”

Magnus felt himself freeze. “Are you here to… break me out?”

“Why else would I come?” Alec asked with a huff. “Now, let me unlock your hands.”

Obediently, still stunned, Magnus held out his wrists, and the cuffs fell away with a clink. Alec moved on to the chains stretching from his feet to the wall; those came free as well, and then Alec stood and held out a hand.

Magnus took it, and Alec led the way out of the police station and into the night.

They didn’t talk until they reached Alec’s favourite rooftop — the place they’d first met, though they’d both been masked then and had gone by different names. Magnus followed Alec’s lead in silence; Alec didn’t start a conversation.

Seated side by side on the roof of the building, however, Alec spoke. “You didn’t think I’d come.”

“Why would you?” Magnus asked. He still couldn’t understand what had driven Alec to break him out of prison, to take him here, to talk to him like this.

Alec turned to meet his eyes, face bare without his mask. “Because I love you.”

Magnus felt his heart skip a beat, treacherous hope igniting in him. But whatever Alec said, he couldn’t possibly love Magnus still — not knowing all he’d done, all he’d killed, all his power.

“I love you,” Alec repeated, still softly. “I love Magnus Bane as he is, regardless of what he’s done. I’d already forgiven Warlock for following the man who raised him. I’ve heard all the stories of what Warlock has done, I’ve seen you kill in front of my eyes, but none of that is going to stop me from loving you. Magnus Bane or Warlock, you are the man I fell in love with months ago and have loved more deeply every day since, and I’m not going to leave you because of your past. I love you — I love all of you.”

“I love you too,” Magnus said, helpless to say anything else, a sob rising in his throat at the sheer devotion on Alec’s face — devotion which Magnus was unquestionably unworthy was, but devotion that he had all the same, and he would hold Alec’s love to his chest with all he had.

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus, holding him close as Magnus cried into his shoulder, all the pain of the last few days crashing down amidst a rising tide of relief and love. “I love you,” Alec said, again and again and again, every repetition patching over a bit more of Magnus’ heart.

They went back to Alec’s apartment, the apartment Magnus had never expected to see again, and Alec kissed away his insecurities even before they rose to the surface. Alec loved him, and that was everything — that was enough.

It was two days later when, just as they were preparing to go out for dinner, Alec got an alert for a bank robbery downtown.

That kind of alert wasn’t uncommon, and Magnus resigned himself to an Alec-less evening while his boyfriend (his boyfriend, Magnus could still scarcely believe he could have this) went out to fight crime.

Until Alec turned to him and held out a hand. “You wanna come?”

Magnus blinked at him. “You… want me to come? Warlock?”

Alec nodded, hand still held out between them.

“The police are still after me,” Magnus pointed out.

“They’re after all the vigilantes,” Alec replied, hand unwavering.

“You’ve got a much better reputation than most vigilantes,” Magnus returned. “If you’re seen with me, people will—”

“I don’t particularly care what ‘people’ do, or think, or say.” Alec smiled at him, a small, private upturn of the lips that was solely Magnus’, as confident and certain as the hand still held between them. “I want you to come. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’d like to have you there — to share this part of my life with you, too.”

To share this part of my life with you, too. The words seemed to ring in Magnus’ head, shining like a bubble that might pop if he reached for it, but Alec had shown time and time again that his feelings were not so fragile.

He’d strived to forget Warlock, to have a normal life — but Magnus had never been normal, and he realised now that he didn’t want to be. Warlock was a part of him, just as his powers were; his relationship with that was complex, but he couldn’t be himself without being all of himself, and Warlock was part of that.

I love all of you, Alec had told him, and Magnus wanted to learn to love all of himself as well. He wanted to use his power for good, to associate it with something new, to save lives rather than taking them.

Magnus smiled, and took Alec’s hand.

#whumptober2022 #no.13 #are you here to break me out?#fic #my fic #tsc #tmi #the shadowhunter chronicles #the mortal instruments #canon typical violence #body manipulation of antagonists #magnus bane #alec lightwood #alec lightwood bane #magnus lightwood bane #malec #magnus x alec #alec x magnus

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fanatichistory · 2 years

Text

The Dark Within Part 19

*Edited

Masterlist1 Masterlist2 Part20

CW: Violence, character death, beat down, burn gore mentions, slight torture mention from Deimos’s past, Deimos is villain caretaker but only to Maven, Maven is Sidekick/former hero,

The villains and their respective sidekick or two began showing up one by one and formed a collective group in the warehouse Deimos had told everyone to meet at.

A couple villains had brought a Hero or two which earned some glares and Maven already had to mediate a stand-off.

If Deimos was willing to work with Maelstrom to take down the Academy then there's a chance he would be willing to work with them too so she made it known that no one present in the warehouse was going to make that decision for him without him present.

As if on cue Deimos entered the warehouse through a portal of shadow, the warehouse instantly fell silent from it's hushed murmuring and quiet conversation from earlier as their boss took the floor and commanded the room.

"Thank you all for coming on short notice. I know preparations are still underway but the Academy knows we're coming. That we are preparing to attack them."

Deimos paused as the collective gasps and shock took over the gathered group of criminals and the like, two heroes he just noticed were present, nervously met his gaze with an affirmed nod that they were with him. Which surprised him considering he slaughtered a bunch of heroes the other night and only a handful remained in the city that weren’t a part of the Academy holed up there.

He noted whose hands they were holding as the lightbulb clicked on and he put the matter aside for the time being and nodded back, allowing them to fight alongside their romantic partners as he continued the debriefing.

"Surprise is a short window of opportunity and that opportunity is now. That is why I have called you all here. Now I'm not going to sugar coat it and I'm not going to lie to you all..."

Deimos walked slowly around in a circle the group was gathered around, back straight and hands clasped behind his back as made eye contact with each person.

"The Academy has killed people like us before and they won't hesitate tonight either. If they do take you alive, they will experiment on you again like they have before. I'm not trying to scaring you, seeing as I need each and every one of you to fight with me tonight, but you need to understand the risks of being in this city."

Maven noticed a couple of the younger ones puff out their chests, one gulped at the mention of experimentation, but overall the group followed along to his every word. Even the two Heroes present seemed to follow along word for word.

"Make no mistake, they have already labeled you... villains, criminals, heroes or just plains rogues... It is only a matter of time. It could be tonight, fighting for your freedom and your place in this city, or tomorrow." Deimos stopped in the center and held out his arms.

"Who's ready to fight tonight?" He shouted and Maven couldn't hide her smile when the answering sound of applause and fight chants filled the air. After a minute or so, he held up an arm and everyone quieted to listen again.

"I just want to make one thing clear. The children present at the Academy are not to be harmed. Make no mistake, they are being trained as soldiers so do not underestimate them, but if one child is so much as scratched tonight....all of you die. They do not know any better and death will not teach them any better, is this agreed?"

Maven let out a breath when there was quick agreement. What's more is not one person here, far as she could read, wanted nothing more for the children at the Academy other than to get them the hell out of there. To prevent another generation of broken Heroes and Villains.

Maven was more than prepared with the intel she collected on everyone the other night to hunt down each and every villain and hero present, sidekick or otherwise, if they broke the rule Deimos just laid down for them.

Deimos was boss and what he says goes. Whether they liked it or not.

It wasn't long after that before everyone had they're teams and were positioned around the Academy with their coms in their ears, waiting for the signal to strike from their perspective strategic positions.

With around 30 villains total, everyone was divided up into five separate teams of 6 people, with the heroes tagging along with the villains they came with to prevent further friction. There was a team placed at each entrance, which were three, leaving the remaining two teams to restrain and rescue the kids.

Deimos and Maven were a separate and final team, going straight to the top floor to take on the Academy's administration by themselves, the core of the city's laws and rehabilitation programs Maven had recently learned the horror’s of and so Deimos could keep her close to him.

There was a lot she was kept in the dark about growing up but she was learning fast thanks to Deimos and what she was learning and picking up from the energy and memories of the other villains not to mention their experiences too.

She liked to think she had a pretty good handle on it now but Deimos would just chuckle in response so she knew she was still thinking ‘Sidekick’ like that and had to keep training and improving herself before he was going even think of promoting her.

"Mic check, everyone ready to rumble?" The deep gravelly voice of the big sumo wrestler guy broke through the silence of the night. The villain, Bulldog, who Maven really didn't count a villain since he was arrested by the city for killing a group of thugs who were doing some dog fighting.

The real villains were the thugs running the dog fights and, personally, she thought Bulldog was more the Hero type. Especially because of his name, he rescues dogs and breaks up animal fight rings. Though he does it just as violently as he did the first time and runs his own fight rings but with the people instead. It was beautiful really and she admired his work.

A lot of villains didn’t take him seriously because he was big and bulky, typical of a biker well past his prime. But he definitely knew what he was doing. She saw it in his memories too.

"Ready when you are Bulldog!"

"That's A at the front entrance, Team B answering now for ya and we're ready as well. Over."

"Roger roger, ready when you all are. Team C reporting for duty hahaha."

"Team D...uh...Over...I mean, we're ready too..."

Maven looked up giggling at Deimos at the coms responses while he tried to keep a straight face.

"Lets go. Team A and B, commence attack. Team C, once the Academy responds to A and B, rush them. Team D and E you get those kids safe, even if you have to restrain them or sedate them till the fights over, their safety is top priority. GO!"

Deimos reiterated the plan just in case, knowing everyone was tense and emotions were running high. He had shouted Go! at the last moment to spur everyone into action and it worked, everyone leaping into action and starting the attack.

The guards at the entrances were quickly overpowered and the alarm untouched so far as Teams A and B pushed inside while civilians ran for cover or hid behind tables and closets.

Team C made for the stair well and began to clear it out and hold it while Team A and B began to clear the Academy floor by Floor from the stair well. Team D and E made straight for the kids and had them all cornered on the same floor, thanks to the design floor the Academy built to contain them, it was all just a matter of containing their powers and restraining the children without hurting them if they couldn't convince them first.

Which, to Maven's surprise was actually kinda working? At least half the kids were more than happy to comply with them.

"Little hero, we have a job to do ourselves." Deimos nudged her shoulder in warning to snap her out of her trance. She was getting good at following the energy of others and reading it remotely from a distance but she was also getting pretty bad at being aware of her present surroundings whenever she did so.

She had totally forgotten all about her boss and what they were supposed to be doing, and the embarrassing redness she felt spreading on her face pretty much told him as such too.

"Right. S-Sorry boss, let's go get them!" Maven shook herself free of the residual energy of the others she was previously attached to and prepare for her own upcoming fight.

She had to focus on protecting her boss and herself.

Feeling the gentle, yet warm, hum of energy around her, she directed her energy back out into the air like tendrils of her own, like antennas waiting to alert her to danger that may close in on them. Visible only to her she wagered.

The Tendrils were like wisps of a faint smoke, being made of energy as they were and very hard to see, but Deimos could not hide the faint smile he had when he did notice and that they resembled his shadows. That she was not only learning from him but taking after him as well.

Like a true protégé.

As they neared the doors to the council room at the end of the hall, her steps slowed and he noticed her eyes looking around as if the board members might jump out of them. Deimos slowed his pace as well, wondering once more to himself if he should have left her back at base.

He shook himself at the thought. He was the mentor, the boss.

End of story.

"Maven. Focus, remember you're training. My training. " Deimos spoke low so as not to be heard by the heroes in the room. Well, hopefully.

The board members ranged from Civilians with political standing, Heroes with good public standing and celebrity status (for better or worse depending on your point of view according to his little hero) and Superheroes.

Maven opened her mouth to respond when the council door opened and a blast of electricity arced it's way through the door and down the remaining space of the hallway to him and Maven.

Before Deimos could teleport them to a different spot in the hallway out of the path of the lightning blast, Maven stood in front of him with her arms outstretched and a cry of determination and fear.

He could feel her energy reach for the lightning arcing its way towards them as if the whole scene was in slow motion, beat for beat, as the damage path slowly altered direction to the side of them.

But only just. Deimos felt the burning heat lick across his face and arm as he grabbed Maven about the waist and did what he had meant to do the second the door opened in the first place.

Move across the hall.

Depositing Maven in the corner and out of harms way for the time being, he descended upon the Hero with lightning abilities, trying like hell to dodge the blasts and strikes that were, for all intents and purposes he was sure, were lightning fast. If memory served their name was Electron in deference to their abilities.

This hero was quick, as fast as the lightning powers they manipulated and generated, and while Deimos struggled to get the shadows to incapacitate and restrain him, Maven had turned her attention to the remaining people inside the room who had begun to lay in wait for them.

They had set booby-traps and power dampeners, the Civilian board members scurrying to leave out the back as their energy signatures faded from reach.

Maven took slow deep breaths and reached within to her energy core. Feeling it's calm and finding relief in it's stillness despite the chaos of battle going on around her. Staying connected to her core she reached an arm out to the dampener field that was anchored above the door, directing the same still calm at it.

In theory, if the sensors stayed calm when they sensed her energy then they wouldn't dampen her energy. It was a hell of a day to find out.

Satisfied that the sensor was loaded with enough information about her energy and sent it to the other sensors, Maven stood up and made her way back out into the hallway from the corner Deimos had safely put her in at the beginning of the attack.

She was impressed that the Electron was keeping up at all really. Normally heroes would be dead and gone by now but she felt the need to capture and restrain as many heroes alive as possible considering how friendly most of the villains were with the lot of them.

Deimos’s need for politics that she still didn’t quite understand left her uneasy with making the impulsive decision to just step in an kill Electron when Deimos was obviously holding back himself.

Maven shook herself loose, unnerved, when Deimos finally caught hold of the Hero after cornering him with shadows and beating him unconscious, grabbing the hero's ankle and dragging him off to the side before meeting Maven at the door.

She shook her head at him showing her confusion, wondering why he didn’t just kill Electron when they were going to kill the other board members anyway.

“I’ll explain later.” Was all Deimos said, body shaking in anger as he spied the people within the room through the doorway and stalked his way towards them.

The waiting council on the other side, the civilian members having fled and all, only 2 Superheroes and 1 Hero remained. Trusting in their security measures to dampen the enemies powers while exempting their own.

Deimos and Maven stood just outside, Maven having stepped into his path to block him from entering, staring each other down instead as his anger got the better of him.

"Problem? Sidekick?"

"We talked about this boss."

"That we did but apparently only one of us was listening." Deimos moved to enter the room again but Maven held her arm to grip the door-jam to stop him.

He raised a brow at her, surprised but doing his best to mask it from the enemy.

The only time she forcibly stopped him was when he was about to either endanger himself or foolishly make an enemy out of a Hero he didn't know would be formidable. So it was always worth pausing and entertaining her even if he was the boss. She was usually the ‘follow the leader’ type.

"They didn't come out to help their ally earlier." She stated simply as if that explained everything.

"I figured that was the basic motive for Asshole Incorporated?" Deimos was bitter and sarcastic and Maven didn't have to look at the the Heroes in the room through the door to see their smirks and shifty reactions. They were getting what they wanted.

Deimos was reliving his nightmares, his 'rehabilitation' program that he had mentioned that the villains were forced to go through upon arrest. That was where the anger and venom was coming from. Even though Maven knew that, felt it and for him, it made him a liability at the moment.

And just like that a lightbulb went on in her head.

The gas station store clerk. What if she could do to the board members what she did to the the store clerk? To drain them...take their power, their life even. That way there would be no danger to her boss. She could protect him the way he had protected her.

The Heroes shifted again and one of them stepped forward from the table to stand in near the door.

"As much fun as this stand off is getting to be, either give you're terms of surrender or die now." The one speaking in front of the door extended an arm, a wave of frequency emitting making everyone cover their ears as the glass rumbled and cracked before he lowered his arm and the sound stopped as he smiled darkly.

Deimos snarled and went to meet the challenge when she stopped him again.

"Mav-"

"I got this boss. The power dampeners they have set up will hurt you." Maven chose her words carefully, purposefully, pushing him back a few steps to allow herself entry.

Deimos pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tight with his jaw ticking angrily but surprisingly to Maven he otherwise complied.

Maven knew the clock was ticking on his self-control. He was a good fighter even with power dampeners so she knew she didn't have long before he hit his fuck it button and jumped right in swinging.

Especially if she was going to drain their powers so completely and for that she needed touch....this will be fun. She thought sarcastically.

Without a second more Maven walked right in and grabbed the Hero's arm and connected to his energy just as he started emitting the sound frequency again.

Maven knew they figured that she would physically fight them hand to hand since she warned Deimos about the security measures they had taken, but they had no clue that she could use her abilities too.

The other two heroes in the room were unaffected from the sound waves which meant they were being purposely left out by their ally, which would be surprising considering how they left Electron to fend for himself earlier out in the hallway. Or they had a way to protect themselves and after the display from earlier had it turned on.

Maven extended her arm and connected with their energy as well, halting their bodies in their tracks before turning her attention back to the Hero with the sound waves and flowed the energy backwards away from the center that powered the hero and started to drain it, the sound fading and stopping.

Everyone had an energy center. That was where the life flowed, their abilities, their memories, their health, all of it. Finding and connecting to it was easy because she was trained to do it in order to heal Jason her whole life, to read memories and gather info for the team.

And as she changed the direction of the flow of energy to halt the sound of frequency, while simultaneously keeping the other two in check and in place, she began to drain the sound hero's power as quickly as possible and flow it into her own.

Which...unfortunately made it maddeningly painful for the both of them as memories, emotions, and yes, their abilities, flooded into Maven's energy core and thereby overloaded it with information.

The Hero dropped with a loud thud to the floor as Maven caught her breath, panting, sweat trickling down her forehead. Her grasp on the other two Superheroes slipped then and allowed them the freedom to attack as they cried out their anger and revenge.

Without thinking Deimos rushed into the room, knowing he'd be without his powers, and threw himself in between the two Superheroes and Maven as a fireball crashed into his chest and sent him flying into her.

He curled his larger frame around her as more fireballs burned and crashed into his back. Making him scream and cry out in agony with each blow as the smell of burnt flesh and hair filled the room and he hoped none of it was his little hero's.

Maven was shaking into him, no longer trying to escape his hold as his screams of pain deafened her ears. She could halt their movements again like earlier, but the amount of energy Deimos needed to heal would break her concentration and would put them in the same exact position again. She couldn't do both at once and he needed healing.

If she healed him now, then the Superhero with the fireballs would just keep raining down on them until Maven couldn't keep up with the healing anymore.

Deimos stilled against her and the attack finally stopped. The other Superhero, who had yet to participate, chuckled darkly and nudged his burnt body which elicited a pained groan and he pulled her closer on instinct.

"Now that's just adorable."

Maven glared up at them as she began to heal Deimos, subtly and quickly, trying to numb some of the pain as she repaired the layers of nerve damage done to his skin by the fire. Unfortunately, there is nothing subtle about healing but she was betting on them noticing anyway so that they may get close enough to touch seeing as Deimos' protective instinct wasn't letting her up off the ground anytime soon.

"I remember him when he was just a kid, scared of the dark and pissing his pants anytime I entered the room." The superhero crouched down next to Maven as he continued to torment Deimos, poking his burnt and charred flesh. Smiling whenever a pained groan escaped from her boss as he flinched away.

It pissed her off. And it helped her understand why Deimos was so hell-bent on his mission to destroy this Academy and all it stood for, not to mention why he just about lost his cool earlier. It wasn't like her boss to leap into a room without thinking first.

The Superhero with the fireballs crouched down on the other side of her boss's torturer and smiled. "Looks like someone isn't just observant with an incapacitating lethal ability, but one that can heal too."

"You're just full of surprises." The torturer gleamed as he reached out to pull her away from Deimos. She pretended to fight them, to not let on that it was what she was planning, and the other grabbed her other arm to assist their ally in restraining her.

Now she had contact with both of them. Perfect.

Deimos protested meekly, barely conscious as he felt his little hero being ripped from arms. The pain of the burns returning tenfold, slamming into his body like a jackhammer that his teeth on edge and made him nauseous.

This plan was going south. He had to get her out of here. Yet... when he opened his eyes to find her sitting in front of him, smiling wickedly with her eyes closed, he couldn't help the cold shiver that passed through him despite the fire damage to his body.

The two Superheroes held each of her arms yet their heads were hung back, mouths agape in a silent scream and eyes wide with terror.

He knew her, knew the way she thought and the way she plotted during their training sessions.

She was making them pay. For him. For what they just did to him.

But it was more than that he noticed. She was doing so much more than just showing them their worst nightmare, he knew she could take too. She was draining their energy...and she wasn't stopping.

Just like before with that sound wave hero and that chill was back in his bones. Maven was shaking after that, incapacitated and vulnerable which is what led to her break in concentration in holding the others that led him to leap to her rescue.

And as the bodies of the two Superheroes fell to floor with a thunk, Deimos reached a shaking burnt arm to her still sitting form. Was she alright? Why was she so still?

He didn't get much time to ponder before black spots swept across his vision once again rendering him unconscious.

Maven, however, was unaware of his predicament.

Her energy core, overloaded as it was, not once but three times.

She didn't know who's memories were who's. Flashes of colors danced across her eyelids in a painful strobe-like fashion so she had no way to decode or identify the new abilities. Their emotions, their sickening emotions, were a lot on their own and she found it ironic that there was so much of the same kind of emotions.

Just a lot of it.

She couldn't move as her body convulsed, flashing colors shooting across her vision. Maven would have screamed if she could and was thankful when her vision went dark and gave her a break from the blindingly bright flashing colors that she couldn’t decode or keep up with anymore as she slid into unconsciousness as well.

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