#{she's rather miffed about that lol}

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} Alright, it's time for me to head to bed. I don't think I'll be around for anything tomorrow night (12/15) since I've got some last-minute Xmas/Solstice decorating to do around my house and then I'm hoping to finally get around to playing the Silent Hill 2 remake. On Mon (12/16) I'll be over on my multimuse and I'll be back again on this blog on Thurs (12/19) as usual. For now, goodnight! =)

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

i never noticed the hints towards pale Solfef! in light of that, i think it's interesting that Eridan pursued Feferi in the pale quadrant while desperately wanting her to end up in his flushed one, meanwhile Feferi pursues Sollux in the flushed quadrant, despite them seemingly destined to be pale lol guess seadwellers are used to swimming up current lmao

that said, what are your thoughts on Erifef? do you think Eridan actually wants her flushed? or is that another subconscious tactic of his to keep her(someone he deeply cares about) by his side?

personally, i'm of the opinion that though they do care about eachother, they could never work out flushed. i think Eridan -though very enthusiastic about her and thinks they share the same troubles that comes with being so high on the hemospectrum, as well as isolated via physical location and the requirements to meet seadweller expectations- doesn't actually want redrom with her, but he knows pale isn't 'good enough' plus prefers to go to Karkat for all the traditional pale stuff. dude doesn't realize they can just be friends and she won't abandon him(cue Feferi abandoning him the monent she leaves quadrants with him, further exacerbating that fear lol)

meanwhile, on Feferi's end, it's too much to go into here but i think she has struggles with being present with others. so though i think she also deeply cares about Eridan and was absolutely miffed he was going to Karkat for things that she(being his moirail at the time) should have been talked to about, i think she has a lot of character development to go through before she can really pursue quadrants as something she needs and wants and not something she thinks she should do. i think flipping pale with Sollux could have been that catalyst but alas :' ] it seems Hussie changed his mind

So, personally, I do actually think Eridan's flushed feelings for Feferi are real... kind of. The fact that he has 0 self-awareness really makes talking about his feelings difficult because everything needs to be qualified with "this would change if he were capable of taking a step back."

The "kind of" here is because I don't think it's necessarily Feferi, the PERSON, that Eridan's in love with, but rather, the Feferi that exists in his head. To Eridan, Feferi is a bubbly, adorable, cheerful girl who's nice to everybody and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. He literally says that he thinks she might be too nice to have a pitch relationship with somebody, which is definitely not true, as Feferi can be plenty mean, and there's plenty to find flawed about her.

The first reason for this mistaken belief is that that's definitely the way that Feferi believes herself to be, so it's how she presents herself, and Eridan believes people when they tell him stuff. The second is because, in Eridan's shitty, friendless life, Feferi has been his one constant - the person who's always been there for him, the only person who's consistently nice to him (until he meets Karkat, and even then, Karkat is master of the mixed signals, and Eridan implies that death threats and insults are regular banter between them), and oftentimes the one person who cheers him up when he's at his lowest.

I think a lot of people in the fandom are too hard on Feferi - she's genuinely well-meaning, and most of her bad points come from ignorance and privilege, not manipulativeness or spite. She doesn't consciously realize it when she's treating Eridan poorly, and she makes real efforts to be a good moirail to him, even though he doesn't usually reciprocate those efforts. I think she suffers from the Umbridge Effect, where Eridan's problems - being on such the extreme end of trauma and anxiety - almost feel alien and unreal, while everyone knows a Feferi, so Feferi draws in some undue vitriol.

She has a few outbursts at him when he's egregiously rude for no reason, but given she's been dealing with his severe mental illness for so long, and takes his threats and casteism at least semi-seriously, I don't blame her for being exhausted and snapping from time to time. She's genuinely just not equipped to help him with his problems - lest we forget, she's also 13. Otherwise, everything else she does to harm him is something she just genuinely doesn't consciously realize is a problem, because she's got a hard time seeing past her privilege.

For example, using Eridan for feeding Gl'bgolyb without gratitude - the thing is, societally, it's his job, and HAS always been a violet's job. Not only that, but given his... everything, if she asked him if he's okay with doing it, he'd definitely insist that he is, and in fact, that it's HIS duty and HIS privilege. He also started INCREDIBLY young, so it's genuinely just been like this for their entire lives. It's a bit shitheaded for Feferi to not realize how much she benefitted from this arrangement, but, again, it's a crime of ignorance, not malice.

In a similar vein, I think she stayed in her moirallegiance for as long as she did partially because she got an ego boost out of it. She commiscerates with Kanaya over how burdensome he is, and she gets to say things like "we are not better than anybody," which she absolutely doesn't actually feel, given how she won't shut up about being a royal when talking to Jade. She's elated to break up with him, her narration celebrating with a big "you're FREE!!!" and it's not a coincidence that said break-up happens after Eridan's no longer useful to her - she outright states that he can't threaten their species anymore now that they're in the game and everyone else is dead.

BUT, I think she ALSO means it when she says that she stayed in that moirallegiance because she was genuinely worried for him. Both this statement and the above paragraph can be simultaneously true. There's nothing about Eridan that's actually that offensive to Feferi, and I really do think she means it when she says she wants to stay friends. His constant emotional crises have just left her burnt out in terms of sympathy, and she never really knew how to handle him in the first place, but in their first conversation together, she's still genuinely making an effort to get him to open up about his feelings and to cheer him up about his failed kismesistude.

After the breakup and his failed confession, the thing is, he does accept that rejection! ... Kind of. (Again with the kind ofs.)

He outright tells her he accepts that she doesn't like him like that... BUUUT, is trying to get her to go ashen with him and Sollux, instead. THIS is the "trying to keep her with him" angle you're talking about, IMO; I think his flushed feelings are genuine, even if they're aimed at this idealized version of Feferi moreso than the real deal. Without Feferi in the picture, I think Eridan and Sollux would have a completely lukewarm mutual dislike. The sheer lukewarmness is probably why Erisolsprite is so stable - they're completely mid for each other.

The realness of his flushed feelings for Feferi is, incidentally, part of why I think him and Roxy would work so well together - if this idealized version of Feferi (bubbly, adorabloodthirsty, pink, cute, cheerful, and kind) is his Type... well.

I also think he and Feferi would work pretty well as just normal friends; they might have fallen into that dynamic on their own if they'd met later on in life. In a hypothetical golden ending, I think they do fall into it once EriKar happens, since moirallegiances are stated to have a stabilizing effect on a troll's other relationships.

[loudmound]

What don’t you like about the remake? I gotta know

anon i fear you are going to open pandora's box with this question.

since it was revealed in 2022, i will say that my very passionate, fiery, and searing hatred for its very existence has definitely simmered, and what i hold now in my heart for it is a very... cautious disdain.

i'll do my best to break it down for you.

PART ONE: BOOBER TEAM LOL

so... for starters, bloober team, the developers behind the remake, has had something of a muddied history with riding off the coat tails of games past, airlifting concepts from them wholesale, and layers of fear was no different in that respect. there's also the can of worms that is their survival horror title "the medium", which is basically bloober's silent hill 2 before the sh2 remake.

spoilers for the medium, but what can be gleaned from it thematically deeply concerns me as a sh2 fan, i.e. the notion that a victim of csa is simply too far gone and either the player character has to kill her or herself with the adage "you cannot save everyone". not to mention the fact that said victim's abuser was framed in a far more sympathetic light than she was, framing his predatory behavior as a monster controlling him from the inside. it's disgusting and insensitive, simply put.

this theme of "if you're mentally ill or suffer from trauma, you're beyond help and simply better off dead" also appears in their blair witch game, which is... great. from jump, i have had less than favorable opinions on bloober team, not for the quality of their visuals or their gameplay, but what stories they're most interested in telling, and how they go about telling them, exactly.

now, to blanket state that every single person on bloober team are hacks and frauds and don't have a shred of integrity telling the stories that they do would simply be ignorant and incorrect. i wholeheartedly believe that there are individuals working on the sh2 remake right now who want it to be the best that it can be and Very Much Want It To Be Good. it's a shame that these individuals who don't have much in way of creative control are getting thrown under the bus, too.

i can, however, maintain that opinion while also finding their backlog of games prior to the upcoming remake very disconcerting and have that inform my overall level of distrust in their integrity wholesale.

PART TWO: PRESS X TO CRY

i don't think there's anything that makes me more miffed than thinking about when the first remake trailer dropped.

so, we see our friend jim rush into the bathroom, seemingly out of breath, and wash his hands in the sink. we then get a shot of those hands, trembling with fear. he then takes thumb to palm, rubbing circles into them, presumably as a means to soothe himself. we then get him looking into the mirror, seemingly confused and out of place. he touches his face, much like he does in the original.

now, i understand that the notion of jim's emotionality has been a hotly debated topic. some people like it. some people don't. and i'm one of those people who doesn't. at least in this particular vein. in the original sh2, the cold open we get with james slowly approaching the mirror, shrouded in shadow, running his hand over his face as if he doesn't think he's real immediately sets the tone. we don't know who this man is or why he's here. as far as we know, he's just a random guy looking for somebody. namely: We Do Not Know He's Guilty Of Anything.

jim, however, is OOZING of guilt. he literally washes his hands, for christ's sake. anxiously washing his hands of his deed. the fact that it's more obvious that he's a guilty man from the start rather than further re-contextualizing his behavior throughout the narrative and to the reveal is a very classic blooberism.

bloober has a very bad habit of being... heavy-handed when it wants to implicate. saying what something is without saying it outright. this can be found in the most recent release date trailer, where angela desperately tells james that "[she'll] be good for him" ('him' being her sexually abusive dad, of course) in a scene which looks like she's in front of the giant mirror. in the original, it's apparent that Something's happened to her, but we're not sure what until the abstract daddy boss fight later in the game where she says "or you could just force me. beat me up like he always did."

it's not that sh2 wasn't ever blunt or heavy-handed with its storytelling, of course, but it's a matter of when it's appropriate to forego subtlety. eddie, for example, doesn't make vague allusions to or sugarcoat the abuse that he experienced as a fat person, and that's fitting! being candidly violent and more outward in contrast to angela who for the most part is very withdrawn and meek works very well. sometimes, being blunt is the best course of action for optimal characterization/narrative progression.

also, on the topic of jim... i call him jim simply because he does not read as james to me. he's a new individual that's operating within a james-like role; he's just... simply a different person. he's very, very gritty, and VERY visibly neurotic. to me, he's very much anxiety tunnel-visioning: hyperfocused on one thing that everything else seems to fall by the wayside.

i never got the implication that he was dissociating like the original james is, of which i think is a core trait of his, and probably informs a lot of why i do not read jim as james. this is a very take it or leave it kind of opinion, and it's not that i feel super negatively about jim's characterization, either. it's just... idk i don't think screaming and crying while falling to your knees is a very james thing to do. james fell to his knees silently after he screamed, comparatively. shrug.

it's like... james is a herding dog and jim is a sighthound. same animal, different kind.

and then there's maria. but i wrote a whole post on that already, so you can read that here. people have also written numerous think pieces about why her redesign is so nothingburger, too, so i'm not the only one who thinks this way, either.

angela in the remake is alright. i have my gripes, but she's okay. what concerns me the most is the VERY PERTINENT lack of eddie. he has been very notably absent throughout this whole song and dance, and it's getting fucking ridiculous. WHERE IS HE BLOOBER. I KILL ANOTHER HOSTAGE THE LONGER YOU KEEP HIM FROM US.

PART THREE: CONCLUSION, AKA NEVER TRUST A COMPANY WITH YOUR HAPPINESS

all and all, i don't have very high hopes for the sh2 remake, not because it doesn't look good, play good, etc.; the way that a game plays, and even more so how a game looks doesn't matter to me so much as how the narrative is executed. the remake, photorealistically, looks great! the environments are very rich. that's all well and good.

but, again, looks alone cannot sway me. it's nothing that i haven't already seen before done by games past. i'm not excited for a sh2 that looks like a re2r or a re4r, simply put. there was a style developed within the limitations of what the ps2 could handle, and with the massive upscale in technology and photorealism above all else, it's undoubtedly lost. while a matter of taste, of course, i just find myself very straight-faced looking at what teasers we have of the remake. i'm not amazed, nor am i amused! it's as simple as that.

and also, we should mention that at the helm of it all, konami has been milking the silent hill franchise for all it's fucking worth. maybe the members of bloober team are trying to genuinely make a good game for once, but konami wants that money at the end of the day, if the spectacular failures of games past, as well as silent hill themed experiences such as ascension are anything to go by.

also also, this remake is never gonna satisfy every single sh2 fan. that's just the truth of the matter. i think some people are really gonna love it and some are really gonna hate it. realistically, i'll be very meh on it. i can find some things to like about, but that's really it. if i'm cherry-picking things i enjoy about something i'm largely reticent on, i wouldn't call that enthusiasm in the slightest. would you?

anyways, thank you for reading. i hope these answers suffice and satisfy.

[beevean]

I feel kinda miffed about what sonic team/Sega are doing to eggmans character. He is supposed to be an evil maniac that represents the worst of humanity. But recently they sorta utilized him poorly, in frontiers he barely did anything and was given a daughter he may or may not love, then in the anniversary video he felt remorse for Maria, it really feels like sega is listening to those eggmsn fans that view him as a scrunkly rather a evil villain.

I don't like it either. I will always say that whatever intention Flynn had for Sage and Eggman, for him to see her as nothing more than a symbol of his own brilliance, was not conveyed well in Frontiers with the multiple "sweet" moments between them - why would Eggman choke up and call Sage "dear daughter" when she's not even listening anymore? However, I'm willing to wait until the next main game drops, in case at last the two have a more complicated dynamic. (I think that in in the latest Sonic Channel story they sort of pedaled back from this as they called her "his servant")

... really no words for the Maria part, which especially gels badly with the infamous Egg Memo where he was all "how dare they feel bad for a dead girl when I was right there" lol. Again, much like in Frontiers, the issue is mainly with the voice - Pollock sounds too emotional, too invested, so a line like "I took that personally" sounds less like he's saying "how dare they attack a relative of mine" (which is also questionable as Eggman is not exactly a family man) and more like he's genuinely sorry for Maria's fate, which doesn't make sense.

Again, though, there have also been other works where Eggman has been his usual charming self, like TMOSTH, Dream Team and Superstars. That's why I want to wait for the new game after SXSG (since I doubt we'll see Eggman here) to have the confirmation of this new direction.

[zyonzi]

Jonatello fanfic I made ! 🫶

Feel free to give me constructive criticism, I’m 13 years old so I’m not the best at writing lol . Its also kind of sloppy (I think) so idk advice is appreciated

WARNING : angsty af lol, theres some blood but its not very in depth

————————————————————————

Crickets chirped, bugs buzzed. The ominous forest crept with all sorts of exotic, intriguing creatures. It was a dark night, the leaves swaying along in a steady rhythm with the cold night wind. Yet of course, there was a mission the turtles needed to take action on, which was about a new mutant that had been causing a ruckus around the town, always leaving sticks and muddy trails to the forest. Which is how they ended up right in front of it. The blue masked turtle, Leo, was already giving her brothers orders. She was the leader after all.

“Okay.. Mikey, Raph, you two go with each other —“ Before she could finish, Raphael had already interrupted her with an annoyed groan.

“Mikey?! Come on, why can’t I go with Casey?!” He asked in a miffed tone of voice.

“Oh come on dude, I’m not THAT bad!” Mikey said in a playful tone. He wasn’t so affected by Raph’s arrogance, it was normal for him, especially as a little brother. Casey let out a chuckle, but Leo wasn’t having it.

“Enough already! Raph, just go with Mikey. Just follow orders.” Leo demanded, which was followed up with an irritated huff from Raph.

“Alright .. Casey, Donnie, you two go together.” Again, Leo was interrupted.

“What?!” Casey and Donnie both blurted out in synchronization.

“No way! I’m not going with this dull-witted jerk!” Donnie said, nudging Caseys shoulder roughly.

“Hey! What does that even mean!?” Casey fired back at Donnie, looking at him with an annoyed glare.

“Oh, use some context clues shells-for-brains!”

“No way you just said that, you’re the turtle!”

The two went on with their banter for a bit, Mikey and Raph enjoying the show a bit too much. Soon enough, Leo let a light groan escape under her breath.

“Alright, alright, enough you two!” She shouted out. The two boys were practically butting heads, but she pushed them away from each other so this argument wouldn’t escalate.

“Don’t argue too much, got it? That goes for you too.” Leo shot Mikey and Raph a piercing glare.

“Aye-aye, captain!” Mikey exclaimed, and with that, Mikey and Raph ventured off into the eerie forest. Leo sighed, then looked at Casey and Donnie, signaling for them to go too. They obliged, traveling into the uncanny forest.

The two boys stepped foot into the forest, the sound of grass being pushed up against the muddy ground and the snapping of twigs was the only thing heard in the moment. Casey was being his regular cocky self, stepping ahead of Donnie and taking the lead.

“Come on, Don-tron! Don’t pussy out now!” He said in a snide tone. The turtle rolled his eyes, scanning the area for any potential dangers.

“Yeah, okay Casey.” He said back, with a more irritated tone compared to Caseys. The gloomy forest crawled with all sorts of interesting topics, to Donnie at least, but the eeriness of it all kept him distracted. Donnie had a terrible premonition about this path, but he quickly dismissed these feelings in his head. He tried his best to focus on the main task at hand, looking for any signs of the new mutant that had been causing major disruption around the town. No one knew much about this new mutant, other than it was rather big and always made huge messes around the neighborhood.

“Keep up, would ya’?” Casey gave Donnie a huge, snarky grin as he ran through the forest. Donnie lectured him for running, as it was dangerous to run through such a dense, murky forest. Despite Donnies scolding, both boys heard a loud SNAP! from behind them. They both abruptly diverted their attention to behind them, doing a sharp 180 spin around. A dark, black figure was lurking in the depths of the forests shadows. Donnie stepped back, bumping into Casey unwittingly. He turned around out of instinct to what he had just clashed with.

“DONNIE!”

Heavy pants from their own breathing and the sound of twigs snapping, following it up with languid, raucous stomps. The two boys ran for their life through the crammed forest. Out of fear, they stuck to each other like glue. It was difficult to breath, and both of them were gasping for air as they raced through the gloomy forest, fearing for their own lives.

“You .. you know man ..” Casey stammered out through gasps for air.

“I’ve needed to tell you something.” He managed out once more, making sharp turns and dragging Donnie with him. Donnie glanced over at Casey, but then diverted his attention back to where he was running.

“What?! This isn’t the best time, Casey!” He blurted out, not in the mood for any of Caseys foolishness right now.

Casey was reluctant, with his words, and it was almost like he was putting it off. Eventually, he got out the words he needed to say.

“I.. I love you man! Like, really really! Not in a friend way. You .. you know?!” He fumbled over his words, squeezing his eyes shut as he ran through the grim forest. Donnies eyes widened in surprise, he looked over at Casey. Both of their hearts were beating out of their chests. Both for the same two reasons.

“W .. What?!” Donnie blurted out, completely dumbstruck by Caseys impulsive confession. He was so stressed in the moment, he just stopped in his tracks and looked at Casey, dumbfounded. Both of their faces tinted a crimson red color. Caseys pupils dilated, his eyes fixed on the figure behind Donnie.

“DONNIE!”

Emotion bottled up inside turtles body, before the top of the bottle bursted open and waves came flowing out. Tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto the boys paint splattered, torn hoodie. He didn’t even care for the aching pain in his legs, he didn’t care that he himself was covered in immense amounts of blood, he didn’t care that he was trembling. He held Casey close, not letting go for a second.

“Casey.. wake up.. please..” He pleaded, an imploring look plastered on his face as he looked down at the lifeless boy. The flow of blood from the boys chest was torrential and rapid. Donnie untied his purple mask, holding the bandana up to Caseys wound. The red blood seeped through the purple fabric. Donnies body got weaker, and weaker.. yet he never stopped begging for Casey to wake up. His sobs never stopped. His pleads never stopped. Til his body began to feel numb and tender. He stared at the limp boys body, the way his eyes were bloodshot and open. It was a horrific scene. He winced with pain as he tried to move his body. He looked down at himself, blood pouring out of his own wounds. So he waited there, and waited, and waited. Til a dark black abyss surrounded his mind, and he was finally at rest. With Casey right by his side, forever.

[topaz-mutiny]

I’ve been thinking about the Deanna’s Commune scene from e64 a lot, because I think, for once, it has a lot more nuance than the “are the Gods worth saving” rhetoric we’ve seen ad nauseum beforehand. And I appreciate that!

First, Deanna’s a cleric. One with a complicated relationship with her patron diety, but still a cleric.

She is also direct, to-the-point, and no-nonsense when she gets miffed. Which first happens when she finds out the other half of Bells Hells did some rather disturbing stuff, because of some distrubing stuff perpetuated by her diety.

So of course that’s the first question she asks. I’m paraphrasing here, but “hey, is working with these people gonna help because I just heard some fucked up shit” is kind of important as the first question asked. It implies she still wants to help out, but some of the group’s actions seem to be counterintuitive to helping.

The “uncertain” response she got felt a bit rude to her, but on the sidelines here, it’s interesting. Either the Dawnfather is unaware that half of BH was involved in the killing of a Paladin, a Judicator, and an Angel and ousting his influence from a leyline nexus point, or he is aware and his uncertainly about whether they’ll help or harm the gods has some fascinating implications, such as the Dawnfather seeing BH as not a direct threat despite what they did. If he is aware, he probably is upset that they did that, but based on his answer BH isn’t in “it’s on sight” territory.

So with that out of the way, Deanna moved to the second thought on her mind - the disturbing stuff she heard was done in the name of the Dawnfather. And she received a “it’s for the greater good” response. The “I’m not going to outright say ‘yes’ directly, but sidestep and try to be truthful without actually saying ‘yes’” response.

The cast say “ooh, wrong answer”, but I don’t think it’s because there is a fundamentally correct or incorrect answer to that question (D&D alignments aside, moral greys are everywhere, including in the gods) - I think they say that because it was the absolute worst thing to say to Deanna specifically. She encouraged the temples of Uthodurn to help people when and wherever they could, and encouraged the diarchy of the same, and here is her own God telling her that his people did some harm to some people, but “for the greater good”, which I think is something Deanna seems staunchly against.

This is important, because I think that influences how Deanna’s final question is framed. And I think the final question might have been different altogether if the Dawnfather had answered differently.

“Are you worth saving?” is the question Deanna asks after hearing someone she (essentially) works for, admit to doing something that would piss her off. Based on everything that happened, “Are you worth saving” seems way less like the high-concept philosophy we’ve all grown to get annoyed at, and more like a deliberate, sharp, beautiful reprimand.

Deanna says this, and I think she means “I don’t like your tacit approval of forcing your influence into places where it isn’t wanted. I don’t like good normal people having their lives disrupted because your followers did something shitty and you never told them to stop. I think it’s wrong, I think normal people should be cared about just as much as our followers, and if you keep acting this way I can and will Karen you about it.”

But of course, this is the Dawnfather, and she came in to that Commune intent on matching the intensity of the sun. Which is why I think her final question came out like the sharpest barb in the universe, rather than lengthy nuance.

Maybe Sunny D will start thinking about it, maybe not (he is kind of a dick, so...), but it is now established that one of his own followers admonished him for his shitty behavior (and then he kicked her off of the call, lol). And I think that’s neat.

[kaiartz]

@coolprofessorbagelwinner replied to your post “some recent ninjago arts first one is the skulkin...”:

Whoa!! Tell me about your bikers

OK so i don't know where the idea came from here, i just wanted a biker gang, and i don't have as many lady characters as i do dudes-i hyper focus in on fictional men way too easily its a problem-so i figured i should make em all ladies(or woman adjacent) to combat that problem.

Then i designed Vlatka and fell in love LOL

So Vlatka(the long haired one) is the gangs leader, she has no special powers, shes a complete normie. But she knows the criminal underworld of Ninjago City well, and has been a thief and enforcer for years. The gang comes about as a result of her needing to pay off some debt, and a bunch of ladies she's worked with in the past-who all love her-join her to help out.

Then they get a taste for it, and keep going, then they get into a lot of trouble with a true big bad. They arent necessarily "villains" but they start off antagonistic-the ninja don't understand how a biker gang is giving them so much trouble its kind of embarrassing lol

The lady with short hair and the eyepatch is Rory, who is Vlatka's longtime girlfriend :3

She likes guns and wears a mask on the job that allows her one useable eye infrared or x-ray vision-depending on the setting. Vlatka carries a small grappling hook to get around when not on her bike, and relies on seat of her pants decisions when fighting up close.

The other members either only have an initial lego art done, or no art yet as im still working on that ;u;

Next up is Eda

Eda is a bit younger then the others-and on top of that has a very young face, and short build. She serves as the groups main Muscle-because. well. she has a huge battle arm. Eda's entire idea was "BIG ARM GO SLAM" and i think thats rather fun. You're going to notice that i have not put time yet into fleshing out all these characters oops

I feel like Eda would be fun as someone with a bodyguard dad who she hero worshipped and decided "well i can do that job too" and just. replaced an arm to make her more formidable. like a freak.

Lyn is a singer at her employers bar, her playful outside is complimented by a vicious streak of tearing other people down to make sure she keeps this job(gaslight gatekeep girlboss). The microphone trinket around her neck heightens and amplifies her voice to allow sonic screams that tear through walls and shred peoples eardrums.

Janet is where the lady adjacent part comes in, she's nonbirary and prefers she/they pronouns. They serve as the teams "guy in the chair" of sorts, staying behind to monitor Maps and how the team is handling it's missions. Her prosthetic eye allows them gps locating and searching right from in her head! They're a little no nonsense, being a corporate person herself who's actively a higher up in a tech company.

Briona, or Bri as she prefers is the expert on Breaking and Entering, Scaling buildings, and really just getting in and out of tricky spots. She wanted to be an archaeologist in her youth but wanted to keep everything she dug up and took to crime instead. She's eternally miffed to some degree and will swear up and down that she's only in this gang because she "owes" Vlatka. She's a big softy who loves all her teammates underneath.

​The last biker is Torelei, an honest to god Elemental Master from an influential family. It's her uncle the team gets into hot water with. She feels responsible and pulls away emotionally from the others in response. She's the Elemental Master of Reflection. She chooses to take this literally as a Mirror Reflection(and not the other ways it could be interpreted that she's also totally capable of), and it's because of her that the girlies are able to avoid pursuit so easily. She fights with a metal fan.

(thank you for the compliment in the other reply <3)

[evita-shelby]

🕯️🕯️🕯️(I feel like I already have a pretty good idea based on Look Both Ways and Venor but I'm greedy and want more lol)

imma probably send something in return

So Eva at first doesn't really seem to care that much about Lucy, like they are okayish friends but because Lucy is almost always with Tommy they wouldn't have interacted much if at all since Eva doesn’t officially meet Tommy until like maybe after John's wedding(i figure it happened late summer) when Grace tampers with a shipment of booze Eva’s family had in a Birmingham warehouse headed for the US(this was after eye fucking each other whenever Eva passed Tommy's window for most of 1919).

they have such an interesting dynamic because while Eva can be friends with just about anyone, the fact that both are paired with the same man immediately puts them at odds with each other because Eva is incredibly possessive of her partners especially Tommy.

And then Eva and Lucy we know have rather different personalities, and probably butt heads over things but get along well as long as there is some distance between them(because both women still have their issues and eventually Eva would revert to her mean girl phase over a disagreement). We've talked about how Eva having issues with how devoted Lucy is to Tommy and how it would interfere with Eva advising Tommy away from his worst decisions or Eva taking matters in her own hands and going behind Tommy's back to save their asses, Lucy’s self-esteem issues and propensity for violence would irritate Eva sometimes because Eva (despite being subjected to colorism and racism in mexico, especially upperclass mexico) uses her beauty and confidence as a sword and shield as she rebuilds her life exiled from her country. plus Eva prefers to use her wits ans win with the least blood possible(even if she has killed people when Charlie was in danger) as she has always hated the killing part of spying

Maybe without the element of Tommy they'd be friends amd have no issues, but in Venor! it takes Eva a while to stop seeing Lucy as the obstacle to her happiness with Tommy and try to be friends again(as she first befriended her assuming Tommy would break up with Lucy before Eva became fed up with the two of them). Venor!Eva tries so hard to not give into her darker self especially after Tommy accuses her of Lucy’s murder.

But i do get the feeling Eva would never let them forget they kinda owe Eva Lucy’s life and will not move a finger when Charlie learns why his parents marriage failed(cuz she still wants Tommy to suffer for both not choosing her in the first place and also accusing her of murder despite claiming to trust and know Eva) plus i think Eva's miffed about Lucy still getting back together with Tommy but because she thinks Lucy deserves a husband who won't accuse his pregnant wife of murdering his lover.

in other aus, i don't think they go beyond very loose aquintances but in Venor, they wouldn’t be extremely close (she trusts Lucy to keep Charlie alive and well during the times Tommy gets to have him, but probably not much beyond that) Eva is very Tommy and the Shelbys are your problem now, please only speak to me if its a matter about Charlie's safety, if you want to consult me come to my house as i vowed to never set foot in Birmingham until the day Tommy's will is read(because she will absolutely fight tooth and nail for Charlie to inherit everything as they agreed on their divorce)

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

To the editor,

Thoughts on the various bumps, bruises, and scrapes that the team (TM) must have attained in the course of their adventure? My personal headcanon is that Abigail’s right shoulder is probably a bit screwed up: she did hang single-handed off the side of the food truck door for multiple minutes, and she landed on the same shoulder when she was knocked down and lost the Declaration in traffic. And then there was the whole ‘wooden stairs collapsing under Trinity Church thing’…

Love your work!

Hi Anon,

Thank you so much for your question! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my little project. I definitely have.

Injuries! Oh yes I have so many thoughts, and like you, they mostly center around Abigail’s shoulder.

Aside from being tired, like just exhausted, nobody talk to me for three days t i r e d, the gang came through their adventure more or less in one piece. For as much as Ian and his crew liked to shoot at them them, nobody got hit, and after the Charlotte exploded, there wasn’t any direct violence of that sort either. The injuries we’re looking at are mostly incidental, the wear and tear of going through an ordeal like that.

Let’s take the trio one by one:

Riley

There’s only one injury actually mentioned directly in the dialogue of the film, and that is:

"Actually I still have this splinter that’s been festering for three months"

So Riley got a splinter. (I think he would be rather miffed if we didn’t acknowledge that up front, lol.)

Other than that, as the tech guy/comic relief, he’s usually a bit removed from the action. There are exceptions of course, like when he’s shot at in the van outside of the National Archives, but in general he comes out okay. He also makes it to safety almost immediately in the collapsing staircase sequence, which spares him most of the physicality of that event. So Riley makes it out with just the base level of exhaustion and fatigue.

And a splinter.

I think it’s safe to say that most of Riley’s scars from this one are emotional.

Ben

Ben’s role in the story is much more physical; he’s the one doing the bulk of the heisting, running, jumping, etc. There are four main point that I see where Ben could have been injured.

The first is rescuing Abigail from the catering truck. While hanging out of the van is certainly dangerous, Ben is in control of what he’s doing. He’s deciding how far he can reach, etc. Not so for Abigail. Since Riley is able to swerve around the oncoming bus, Ben escapes this moment seemingly no worse for wear.

Second is the chase through Philadelphia. Here he’s probably looking at some minor scrapes and bruises, mostly from diving through the graveyard. The gunshots hitting the headstones sent little bits of rock dust flying, which could have scratched up his face and hands. And he doesn’t seem to be cut or in pain after the chase, but if there were sharp edges on any of that scaffolding he could have scraped a hand, shin, etc.

It also clearly hurts when he punches Powell outside the cemetery; he even says “Ow!” as he shakes out his hand. But then it’s off on the chase again. His hand doesn’t seem to impede his ability to climb the scaffolding, and when he’s in FBI custody he’s interlacing his fingers pretty tightly. So the “Ow!” might have been more from the shock, the kind of stubbed-toe pain that’s worst in the moment and then subsides. Still, he might have scraped or bruised knuckles. He also might be feeling the punch later that afternoon or the next day, but after what is to come, it might get lost in all the other soreness.

Third is the jump from the Intrepid. We know that Ben has fairly extensive dive training. He wears a Rolex Submariner, which is a $10,000 watch? Ben, I have new questions about your finances. which is waterproof to 1000 feet. From the FBI’s profile we know that Ben’s education encompasses “Navy ROTC and Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center.” He also breaks out the scuba gear again in Book of Secrets.

Holy shit this led me down a massive rabbit hole into what Ben’s exact relationship with the Navy might be. More on that at a later date.

Without getting into specifics, Ben is an experienced diver. But that’s scuba diving, not high diving. The Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center is the largest diving facility in the world, and it’s possible that depending on what course(s) Ben was enrolled in, he learned jumping-from-height techniques. He doesn’t strike me as a parachuting-from-a-helicopter kind of guy, especially because that likely wouldn’t be necessary for the kind of salvage he was interested in. I’d venture that is more for rescue missions—which is under the purview of multiple military diving regiments trained at NDSTC—but probably not where Ben’s focus was, given that the Charlotte was already long-sunken.

He clearly gets his body into a pencil position before hitting the water, and just the fact the he has the wherewithal to do that while jumping from an aircraft carrier suggests that he has some experience related to this. BUT, that doesn’t mean he’s actually prepared to do what he does.

Still, he surfaces in New Jersey in one piece. When Ian says a “No broken bones? A jump like that could kill a man,” Ben’s response is to play it off. “No, it was cool. You should try it sometime.” That doesn’t mean he wasn’t taking a huge risk in doing it, but he clearly came out of the jump without significant injury. He’s also able to change, meet Ian, and lead the expedition into the catacombs without any visible signs of pain. So while I imagine the jump didn’t feel as “cool” as Ben claims, he doesn’t seem to be hurt. Sore, almost certainly, but whose to say where the soreness from the jump ends and from any of the other adventuring begins?

And last, of course, we have the Trinity Church staircase sequence. Ben ends up hanging on for his life three different times during the stair collapse, first with Abigail trying to pull him up, then holding her up before dropping her on the nearby platform, and finally hanging onto the last board after the elevator breaks in half.

As with the Intrepid he doesn’t seem to be injured, but at this point his body has to hurt. He might not realize it in the moment—or even after the moment, what with his entire life’s goal evaporating and then materializing before his eyes and all—but holding his grip that intensely had to have stressed most of the muscles in his hands and arms. And although he doesn’t bring it up like Riley does, I wouldn’t be surprised if he came away from that with a palm full of splinters. Then he immediately had to hold himself up on a 200-year-old natural fiber rope, which can't be a pleasant sensation even without everything else going on.

So I imagine when all is said and done he’s plenty sore, with bruises and scratches here and there and possibly some minor scrapes, splinters, or even rope burns on his hands.

Abigail

And now to the main event. As you point out in your question, Abigail seems to come away from the adventure worst of the three of them. She’s the only one who appears visibly in pain after one of the action sequences is over.

As you state, in each of the three major action sequences—the catering truck, Independence Hall, and Trinity Church—Abigail take a bit of a beating, and she takes it in the same place: her shoulders.

Let’s go through them one by one.

Catering truck. When she opens the door of the catering truck, she’s immediately flung out and whips almost all the way around the doors. That has to hurt her arms, shoulders, and torso; her body was not prepared to move like that. She holds on with both hands, swings out on her left arm only, then finds her grip again with the (fake) Declaration in her right hand. First she reaches out to Ben with her free left hand, and then does so again after the door swings back and Ian takes the document from her, leaving her right hand holding onto the door. When Ben pulls her into the van, she lands pretty hard on her back.

That had to hurt.

Not immediately. Not the kind of searing pain that can’t be ignored, but the kind that creeps up on you. The kind the stiffens up and settles in muscles you'd never even noticed were there.

Ben repeatedly asks Abigail if she’s alright and she never really answers whether she’s physically hurt. She thinks she’s lost the Declaration of Independence to a truck full of armed lunatics, and that is all she can focus on.

“Yeah well I’m not alright! Those men have the Declaration!”

At Patrick’s house, she keeps her arms crossed over her body most of the time. This is probably a function of being in an incredibly awkward situation—semi-kidnapped and now meeting your accidental kidnapper/intentional document thief/future love interest’s dad, who insulted you at the door??—but you could additionally read this as experiencing some soreness in her arms and shoulders.

When she goes to test for the cypher, her hands seem as steady as could be expected in such a situation, and once the masonic symbol is revealed, she goes all-in on helping Ben reveal and record the rest. So she can’t be in too much pain. Plus, like in the van, the safety of the Declaration and the thrill of cypher have all her attention.

I imagine that it’s when they get on the road to Philadelphia that she really starts to notice what hurts. As she sits in the car her muscles stiffen up, and there’s much less to take her attention from the pain. Not to mention she’s now willingly on the run from the FBI, with these two weird guys she just met, in a dress she probably wanted to be out of hours ago, in the middle of the night, while having plenty of quiet time to reckon with the fact that she just put lemon juice all over the Declaration of Independence and almost certainly will not have a job when she gets home. The physical discomfort only adds to it all.

I’m not convinced she’d even attempt to sleep in such a situation—Riley, sure, but that’d be a lot of trust for Abigail to be showing toward these guys at this point—but even if she did, she might not be able to get comfortable. No matter how she might twist in the seat, her neck or her shoulder or one of her sides would hurt.

Philadelphia. When Abigail is knocked into the road during foot chase in Philadelphia, she lands on her back and right shoulder, and when Riley pulls her out of the path of the truck, she again lands on her right shoulder. While these don’t look like particularly hard falls in and of themselves, after swinging from the catering truck and then having twelve-ish hours for that soreness to build, yeah, those fall probably hurt.

She may also have some raspberries on her hands or knees from when she fell. Again though, Abigail is so focused on the Declaration and almost dying for it, again that it doesn’t even seem to register with her.

Trinity Church. Finally we have the Trinity Church staircase sequence. First she helps pull Ben up from where he falls, and then she hangs from the elevator. She’s holding onto Ben with her right hand, and when he drops her on the platform she falls and lands more on her back and left shoulder. It’s this left arm that she’s clutching even while Ben is still dangling over the pit.

She takes her hand away when she yells, “Hang on!” but immediately puts it back again, which suggests to me that she’s in quite a bit of pain. In the previous instances she’s been so focused on the danger to both herself and the Declaration that she doesn’t acknowledge she’s just been through something that probably hurt. Now, even with both Ben and the Declaration moments away from falling to their doom, she is reflexively holding her shoulder. She’s even still holding it when she runs up to Ben after he swings to safety on the rope.

Maybe if the adventure hadn’t been so rough on her shoulder already this wouldn’t have been such a painful hit, but in any case it’s clearly not something she can ignore.

There’s this little moment that I had never noticed before when Ben’s trying to convince Ian to turn back where Abigail puts her hands on the railing in front of her and noticeably wiggles that left shoulder, as if she can’t quite get it comfortable or is checking to see how bad the damage is.

It’s not broken or anything like that: she’s clearly using both her arms when they discover the treasure, even holding her torch with that left hand at one point. And in the three months later flash-forward she’s holding Ben’s hand with her left and pressing up against him with her left shoulder, so she’s fully healed by then.

Headcanon time

My personal headcanon is likewise that her shoulder is pretty banged up. I imagine that when Abigail takes that jacket off (or when an EMT does, because I’m assuming there’s an ambulance somewhere in with the 300 police cars and FBI vehicles that must have descend on Trinity Church after Ben’s call) she’ll find a nasty bruise. The kind that’s instantly purple and only seems to get worse. The kind that lasts for weeks and turns all sorts of sickly greens and yellows as it's healing.

I imagine that when Abigail’s sitting watching Ben talk to Sadusky, all the pain and stiffness she’s been pushing out of her mind comes creeping back on her. Aching soreness in her back, her shoulders, her neck. And that left arm hurts. The longer she sits there, the more she realizes just how much it does.

I especially like to think that the paramedics give her a sling that she’ll have to wear for a few days. There’s not much they can do besides immobilize her shoulder and let it heal. I don’t imagine she needs any kind of dramatic treatment like surgery, but maybe some physical therapy when she gets home if you’re so inclined.

What I like about the sling is that it’s highly visual, and Ben would already be on his way to Boston by the time she gets it. So while Riley is probably there to see how bruised Abigail’s arm is, Ben gets to be surprised when he sees her the next day. I also headcanon they have to stay in NYC for a few days being debriefed by the FBI. And he gets to feel terrible because he’s the one who dragged Abigail into all this, however inadvertently, and yet she’s the one who ends up hurt.

That sweet, sweet angst, you know?

So in addition to the incidental scrapes, Abigail has a wicked bruise on her left shoulder, and possibly others on her back and right arm. Depending on how severely she wrenched her muscles in the catering truck or staircase sequences, she might have some longer-term pain as well. It's possible that those shoulders will never be quite right again, and sitting poorly at her computer or spending long hours hunched over in the preservation room might cause it to flair up again. And given her job, she may have chronic neck, shoulder, or back pain already.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this adventure hurt. Abigail may have sustained the only semi-serious injury, but the guys will be feeling this tomorrow as well.

Running. Jumping. Falling. Holding on for dear life.

Sore muscles. Scrapes. Cuts. Bruises. Scratches.

Remember, they’re nerds. Ben has to have a certain level of fitness to do all that diving, but all three of them are fundamentally nerds. Riley sits as a computer all day, Abigail sits behind a desk, and this particular week in his life to the contrary, Ben Gates probably spends most of his time looking at books, maps, archival records, etc.

Not to mention they’ve been awake for like 24 hours now with unknown amounts of food and water and probably all have massive headaches.

Prescription: Ibuprofen all around.

Well, that's all from me for now. Thanks so much for your question! Feel free to send another any time.

[doctorguilty]

Long cartoons ramble lol

That was from my queue but making me think abt s2 my biggest fear is s2 is simon being like out of the main story like as a character that just sometimes comes up not just because I like him like yeah but way more importantly I really liked how the dynamic and friendship between him and fionna and cake developed because it was like so extremely important for the entire world building and I get sorta miffed when people are like, uhhh it's fionna and cake not fionna cake and simon get over it 🙄 let other characters (finn gets brought up a lot here) take the spotlight, like firstly you're contradicting yourself because I don't see Finn in the title either, and not to say I don't want to see more of him (I do! And I anticipate more of him!) But he was NOT actually a major part of the story! And isn't actually all the relevant to fionna he NEVER was in the og series, ice king was, but lemme back up. . .

From the beginning, fionnaworld existing in Simon's mind, was entirely impacted by his feelings, which wasn't just the lack of magic it was the fact he was depressed and getting to his wits end, feeling out of place, that's why fionna was so sad in her world, "I'm not feeling like myself today" etc, it wasn't like in a vacuum she was 100% intertwined with him (always was! Ice king wrote her stories!) And the beginning of their relationship was this sort of hostility like simon being angry to know she even existed and wasn't just a foolish machination of the insane ice king, and his peers are like ohhhh we loved those comics ice king wrote, and meanwhile simon is like repeatedly attempting suicide (which would have killed fionnas entire world. Btw.) Fionna is a little more open to him, but leaning towards her self interest of the fact that if he dies her world does, cake meanwhile is like damn this guy sucks.

By the end of the journey though, fionna genuinely cares about him so much she'd rather risk losing the battle to save her and her world than for simon to destroy himself for her (and she does this twice actually! The first time when they were with the lich and fionna had secretly picked up the crown and tried to hide it so simon wouldn't put it on, she even fights with cake over it, her bestie cake), simon cares so much he (ALSO TWICE) tries to go against Betty's wishes to save fionnas world with the crown, and at FIRST it was like a convenient excuse to psychologically off himself like welp I don't care if I live or die, if I throw my brain awake this person lives, then it's settled. Later its like, he so genuinely wants to make the sacrifice he tries doing it in front of his chaos God wife (when originally.. the plan was to see her, apologize, and die with her)

After fionnas world became it's own thing separate from simon.. like, the parallel cannot be missed here, the fact that her world was represented by a dandelion she wished on to save, the fact that Betty blew simon away like blowing like a dandelion wishing for him to go back home and live, he and fionna stay in contact across the multiverse to be friends. And their friendship and love for one another peaked at this point, when they are no longer like involuntarily bound together, they both chose to make the best of the lives they have (fionnas being letting go of the magic she wanted to have, and learning to appreciate her world as it is .. which is better because the way it is, simon is not suffering (as ice king ) for it to exist. That's what her nightmare about the freezer was about.)

Like all the themes and parallels between fionna and simon are so fucking intertwined I cannot even understand why you'd want to see less of that :[ even if it's not the main focus of like, whatever stakes will be introduced in s2, their bond should still be like.. very prominent I feel?? To be like "well we don't need simon anymore since fionnas on her own" kinda like dumps out all of the stuff I was just talking abt yknow?? And idk like rip to you but I'm different ig but was it not super sweet and cute for a peppy 30 year old failwoman, her sassy talking cat, and a 59 year dorky widower with a heart of gold to be adventure buddies like..? :[

"Well Simon's story with betty concluded" I hear a lot well, okay! First of all the conclusion sucked but w/e that's a hot topic of debate, but more importantly, that's fine, that part can be concluded and. The conclusion was (the better part of it) that simon should stop letting his grief about betty kill him from the inside out and instead live the life she sacrificed herself for him to have. So... that.. lines up? Perfectly in fact?? that sets him up for s2 to have more than not a clean slate on one of the most major parts of his character since forever (betty) like if his journey is no longer about her then. He's like pretty fresh to do whatever. And what was ADDED to him was his relationship with fionna and cake. And as much as I WISH he got a happier end with betty, it is what it is, I'm very much ready for simon new game+ where he's happier and (especially since s1 set him up as like being pretty alone and isolated even from the people who love him b/c they're living their own fulfilling lives) gets a reprise with fionna and cake and they're like, his next closest people, and she like, gets another adventure with the person connected to the world of magic she wanted (who himself isn't even magic he's a human like her)

I don't wanna see that shoved to the side it would be heartbreaking!! They're friends! They care so fucking much about eachother! 😭 it's not just me right?? I can't be the only one who doesn't feel like their friendship is integral to the story 😭😭

[ratsoh-writes]

Ann planned another family dinner for tonight. It will be bigger than everyone's wildest dreams. Ann invites the usual people, along with Orion, Sans and Harley. She makes big food and dresses like a champagne whore.

Rosie attacks Red, Sans bugs Red, Ann asks Red when he's going to give her godbabies. Ahh, family!

Harley and Willow are seated together, and Ann shoots looks at Harley to confess her undying love already.

Lilac and basil came this time as well. Basil gave Ann a bunch of garden veggies to cook with so her selection is beautiful today.

And some new guests! Lilac invited (with permission) Pluto and Jupiter. Pluto and sans ended up talking science the whole time giving red a break. And Jupiter and lilac were chatty with every one. Jupiter and edge got a bit competitive and had a foot race in the backyard to Rosie’s delight. Jupiter won the first one, edge barely won the second, and Jupiter won the third with Rosie on his shoulders. Edge was a little bit miffed and vowed to rematch him later lol. (He had fun though)

Red gets super blushy and huffy when Ann asks about babies. Oak (and edge?) look rather thoughtful though. Ann and Orion bully red more than sans does this time

Harley is joking and chatting with willow of course, and noir to his annoyance, but she really ends up hitting it off with basil who (writes) shares some of his gardening tips

It’s a good family dinner

[feralgodmothers]

Hmmmm. I like Marty. I don’t like how the writing in season seven changed him. Although. I do kinda understand why he pretended to not know Rory. It’s the whole mars/venue double standard thing I hate. So really I’m just miffed that the writing fell back on a tired trope.

Mitchum had a point. And it didn’t really matter if he sugarcoated it or not. Either way. Rory was gonna spiral. Remember the incredible sinking Lorelai’s? She doesn’t like failing. However minor. So yeah. Mitchum had a point. And Rory was gonna go nuts however he said it

I agree about Marty. I liked him, and then s7 made him really weird for no reason. I kinda shipped him with Rory (because he came along when I was still watching the show with hopes that Rory would do what I wanted her to do, rather than just seeing how things played out). I remember thinking that the way they met was really cute, and would be a funny story for their hypothetical future children once they got old enough. Like “You know how we always said ‘we met at college’? Well, here’s what really happened…” 😂 But idk. I liked how chill and straightforward he was, but I guess that’s not Rory’s thing. I think he’s pretty underrated in the fandom. (Like how are there more people who ship Rory with Tristan than with Marty??? If you’re gonna ship her with somebody she’s not into, then the least you could do is ship her with the guy who didn’t bully her, lol)

I kind of agree about Mitchum too. I’ve seen arguments from every side, and I see where they’re all coming from - but my gut says that he was right, and maybe what drew him to that conclusion was wrong. Like - no, I don’t think he needed to sugarcoat it. He wasn’t even that harsh - it was just blunt and seemingly out of nowhere. I don’t know much about the journaling business, so I don’t know how likely it is that someone like Mitchum could discern the “it factor” in interns. Maybe there’s something to it, idk. Maybe it’s true that some interns do put themselves out there and shove their way into places they “don’t belong”, and that that’s a good indicator for success in the field. But I would think that - just like with most fields - there would be naturals, and there would be those who could train themselves to be whatever they needed to be to do the work. So yeah - maybe Rory wasn’t the naturally ruthless go-getter she needed to be for this career, but she had the potential to learn imo (if we ignore AYITL lol). Giving her a head’s up of what was expected might have been nice, but Mitchum’s not a nice guy. And that’s the thing - some people aren’t nice. She had to deal with Paris in school, who (at least in the beginning) actively tried to tear her down, and Rory persevered exceptionally through that. I can only figure that this was the first time Rory had to face someone in authority doubting her abilities, and I can sympathize with her to an extent on that, but… GIRL. Having a full-on crisis over it was insane, and watching her essentially prove him right for a period of time was disappointing. I was very happy to see her return with renewed zeal after she put herself back on track though. That’s what gave me hope that she could eventually become who she needed to be for this line of work. But honestly - the thing that had me doubting Rory’s journaling skills the most, and was never really addressed - was the fact that she would cave every time she was confronted about an article she wrote. Again - I know virtually nothing about being a journalist, so I can’t say whether the pieces Rory did on the ballerina or on trust fund kids were “good” from a journalism perspective, but if I remember right - the kind of journalism Rory wanted to do would have been very controversial, and would have had lots of people become angry with her (including powerful people in authority). So if anything, Rory really needed to develop a crazy-strong backbone, a clear head for what was right to report, and a readiness to stand by the things she wrote. And for me - that’s what she didn’t have, and I’m not so sure she learned it either. I would have liked to see her succeed, but it just… didn’t happen.

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

06/09/2024 – 06/15/2024

Sunday

Week 18 of missing Cipher Academy

I re-watched Everything Everywhere All At Once with my friend and her brother who’s seeing it for the first time, and everything about it just hits me as hard as it did the first two times I saw it in theaters years ago. The themes of choosing joy in the nihilistic chaos that is being alive coupled with an Asian family trying to reach through generational and language barriers in order to connect…yeah, it kills me every single time. I was basically non-stop crying for the last forty minutes.

Undead Unluck very good and cute this week. I love the choices for the backing band (and I hope they’ll play a more pivotal role than just comedy) and Nico’s unethical training practices are so funny to watch. And I’m fascinated by this new connection between Kaede and Kururu, I love how Undead Unluck moves its characters around so freely and spark all these unexpected relationships.

Monday

I finally finished She Who Became the Sun…I think this is the first time I’ve truly seen an anti-hero protagonist that I enjoy reading about… Zhu’s killings near the end feel so brutal, but I can see why they were necessary. I really wish Zhu and Ma could’ve had that domestic bliss, but I suppose that was never going to happen. And speaking of things that were never going to happen…yeah…obviously Ouyang and Esen wouldn’t live happily ever after…but it would’ve been nice…and their final scene is so painful…it’s fine I’ll just imagine fix-it fics in my head… Overall I really enjoyed She Who Became the Sun. It’s been a long time since I’ve read an adult fiction book that truly captivated me, and I think it came down to a perfect intersection of a setting/aesthetic I like and a writing voice that I love – I love that it sounds like it was translated from Chinese, it adds to the vibes so much. (I feel like a major gripe I have with modern fiction is how bad the writing voices are…but I digress.) At the same time, though, I do sense some weaknesses from this being the author’s debut. Zhu’s motivations were understandable when they were literally life or death, but as they moved up in the world it became less and less convincing. I bought that they feared retaliation for not being Zhu Chongba so they continued on that path to greatness, but once that problem was out of the way I found it a bit difficult to stay on Zhu’s side as they did all these ruthless things in the name of a goal that I don’t believe that they want. I guess this is why Parker-Chan emphasized the “I HAVE to achieve GREATNESS” internal monologue so much, but it didn’t really solidify Zhu’s motivations in my mind. And for being a war novel, there’s shockingly little fighting or war-time strategic battles…a lot of the time, Zhu relies on using the environment around them rather than deploying their soldiers in specific formations or anything… I guess I was hoping for Hunter x Hunter Chimera Ant arc levels of back and forth but oh well lol I really loved this book…and I’ve already borrowed the sequel so I can read it while I’ve still got all the character and place names in my head. If Parker-Chan can stick the landing, I’ll probably buy a copy of the duology for myself, so for now I’ll give She Who Became the Sun a 9/10.

Read the new SpyFam because I’m enjoying this Henry/Martha arc so much, and while I’m a little miffed that the air sirens were just a false alarm to conveniently prevent Martha from confessing, I’m obsessed with the rest of this chapter… Endo’s writing and comicing is really incredible throughout, but I love love love the sequence of Henry facing his own obstacles and slowly awakening to his feeling for Martha…the letters they exchange are so heartbreaking, and then the panel where his hands and thoughts betray his gentlemanly image is so beautifully impactful. This is honestly the most I’ve been enjoying SpyFam since the cruise ship arc happened in the manga, so I’m really excited for the next chapter.

Tuesday

Ummm

Wednesday

Two more Simpsons episodes as I try to work…it was a bad idea, because I just got irritated with the show lmao. Bart the Daredevil was a pretty straightforward episode in terms of the arc/jokes, and then the episode about Marge campaigning against the violence in a kid’s cartoon just reminded me of the current puritanism streak in media and left a bad taste in my mouth…I mean I guess the episode ended on the side of artistic expression, but I feel like it flattened the discussion too much.

Thursday

Caught up with Hibi, Kimi and it’s as pleasantly cute as it’s always been.

Akuheki…the freaky sex scenes feel a little silly now that they’ve resolved all their backstory hangups and have an otherwise wholesomely romantic relationship, but whatever lol.

Friday

Absolutely nothing

Saturday

I’ve been going through my entire chart of all the anime and manga I’ve experienced in my life as part of work (don’t ask), and I found a few that I wanted to revisit, but the only one I actually read through was Nennen Saisai. And wow I have zero memory of ever reading this (as it happens with most of the BL I read), but revisiting it as an adult was really rewarding now that I know about rakugo, because I didn’t mention it at all in my earlier notes. This was such a tightly written love story between Jugemu and Shinigami…I love the transition of Jugemu going from staying by Shinigami’s side because he wants to die and then wanting to live because of Shinigami’s companionship… And then the final twist that his name truly holds the power of immortality and how he uses it to cheat death, not to mention how he was probably inadvertently replenishing his own lifespan just by going to rakugo performances…that’s so cute and funny. It was enough to bump my score from an 8 to a 9. It’s been a bit of a weird week lol I’ve been so obsessed with work that I can’t focus on anything else…not even the weekly manga I usually keep up with. I can’t promise to do better next week, but we’ll see.

[darthkvznblogs]

Now that it's over, how do you feel about MCU Phase 4?

Well, to be honest, I haven't watched like half of it! Overall, I liked what I watched, but it's hard to deny that the MCU has been struggling to find its footing after Endgame. I'll tell you my take on what I did watch (briefly, I'm not a reviewer haha)

-Black Widow: I liked it! Kinda too little, too late for Natasha's character, to be honest, but it was a neat adventure. Yelena was the standout there, great addition to the MCU. I even kinda liked "Taskmaster" (though, yeah, not at all what I would've hoped for a live action Taskmaster) Still miffed the Widow is dead, though.

-Shang-Chi: Loved it. Could call it formulaic, origin story and all, but I don't mind that, personally. The new characters are all great, the return of Trevor Slattery was very funny, the fight coreography was excellent, and I really loved Wenwu and the reimagined Ten Rings (though I wouldn't mind if they turned out to have some of their comic-accurate powers later on wink-wink)

-Eternals: I liked the mythos it brought to the table, and the visuals are incredible, but the romance that's core to the story couldn't have been more bland if it tried, and the Deviants might as well have been an environmental hazard rather than antagonists.

-No Way Home: Loved it! I'm a sucker for that kind of fanservice, not gonna lie. Almost all the returning villains were amazing (except Lizard, he was kind of just...there), but my god, Green Goblin was crazy good. The Multiverse craziness was kind of contrived, and it had kind of a downer ending, but that's the Parker luck for you.

-Wandavision: I liked it, but I feel it didn't go weird enough. Also, you can't convince me that this Wanda and MoM Wanda are the same character. No doubt, Wanda was in the wrong in the show, but there's a far cry from that to going on a legit killing spree. I hated that choice, it felt like character assassination, and it pissed me off enough that I outright refuse to watch MoM.

-Falcon and the Winter Soldier: I guess I liked them. Bucky and Sam were great, and their struggles were very interesting to watch through. John Walker was very good, too, nailed the role. The rest was, uh...well, there's not much there to talk about, unfortunately. Also pissed about Sharon Carter, but she's probably been replaced by a Skrull, in which case I'll allow it.

-Loki: very cool, though I have to say I expected a bit more fun to be had with time travel and alternate timelines. Kind of transparent that this show exists only because Loki's so popular, lol.

-What if...?: kinda hit or miss. Refused to watch the zombie episode because I have a phobia there. Also: poor Tony can't catch a break in that series, lol.

-Moon Knight: pretty great! Like Loki, it's pretty obvious that Oscar Isaac carries the show, but I can't complain. I could see how it'd piss off die hard fans of the comics version, though. He's pretty dang different, from what I know.

-She-Hulk: I've only watched two eps so far. It's funny, and I really like Tatiana Maslany as Jen Walters, but I'm actually really not a fan of the Hulk ever since Endgame. I know the show gets pretty nuts later, so I'm curious to watch more, but who knows when I'll have a chance.

The rest of Phase 4 I haven't watched either from lack of time or because there's something about it that turns me off. I'm sure I'll catch up eventually though!

[luminnara]

alpha!erasermic x pregnant!reader | ABO fluff

Request:  Hiya! i’m wondering if you can do an alpha! erasermic x pregnant! omega! reader? maybe when both alphas leave their lunch at home and she goes to bring it to them. the reader and both alphas collectively have custody of hitoshi and eri, and the reader is heavily pregnant. preferably a female reader please, and none of class 1-a have met her. this is my first time requesting stuff so i hope i did okay! 😅

You did wonderfully! I love writing cute fluffy stuff like this, and it’s my first time writing any kind of erasermic thing even though I love them so much, so hopefully I did okay! Idk where exactly this sits timeline-wise, don’t worry about it, it’s omegaverse and I can do what I want lol. I took this prompt and sort of RAN with it, too

*also Mirio has his quirk back in this because it’s fun, and the reader has kind of a dodgy past because i wanted to add a little SPICE*

Warnings: a/b/o, pregnancy, the implications of Aizawa’s scarf and all of its uses

You sighed, resting a hand on your swollen belly. “Those two...”

You had only just gotten Eri out of bed, and, upon heading into the kitchen to fix her some breakfast, you saw two lovingly-prepared bento boxes sitting on the counter. Shota and Hizashi must have forgotten them in their hurry to get to UA earlier that morning, and while you knew they could very easily grab something to eat in the cafeteria, you hated the thought of these meals going to waste.

Besides, your inner omega was a bit miffed that they hadn’t taken your home cooked food to work with them. Was Lunch Rush’s food so much better than yours that your alphas would rather eat at school? You refused to believe that, even if his quirk was cooking. There was no way that he could make your alphas a meal that could compare to the kind you always cooked for them, and maybe it was the pregnancy hormones making you extra bristly about it, but you were determined to march right on over to UA and bring them their proper lunches. 

Even if you were heavily, heavily pregnant. They’d probably have something to say about you leaving the house and waddling around Musutafu with only Eri as company, but you were tough enough to fend for yourself. And besides, it was only a quick train ride to the station outside the school, and if you did get yourself into any kind of trouble, the city was chock full of pro heroes and their sidekicks, many of whom you were on a first name basis with. 

“Eri!” you called, grabbing a bag to carry the boxes in. “Are you dressed yet? We’re going to visit UA!”

You could heard a thump, followed by the sound of little feet thudding as she ran to meet you. When she appeared in the doorway, her eyes were wide with excitement, her long hair falling around her shoulders messily. “Yes!”

“Go brush your hair and then we’ll go,” you laughed, ushering her towards the bathroom. 

“Why are we going?” the little girl called. 

“Hizashi and Shota left their lunches,” you explained. “We’re bringing them so that the food doesn’t go to waste.”

“Can we visit Deku and Togata?”

You paused to think. You hadn’t actually met any of Shota and Hizashi’s students before, your alphas always preferring that you stay home and away from the sometimes dangerous school they taught at. Well, you knew Hitoshi, of course, and since he had yet to move into the dorms on campus, he still lived at home with the rest of the family. At least he had remembered to grab his lunch. Would your adopted son be embarrassed to see you appearing at his school? Hitoshi always carried himself in a very collected manner, and the thought of being able to show up and pinch his cheeks and coo at him made you laugh. 

And you knew that everyone in Class 1-A would be over the moon to see Eri. The little girl that had been rescued from Overhaul was popular amongst the young heroes-in-training, from what you’d heard, and if you were going to go all the way to UA, you’d be damned if you didn’t let her see her friends there. 

“Of course we can,” you said with a smile as she came running back in, her hair significantly less tangled. “Ready?”

“Ready!” she beamed up at you.

“Do me a favor and carry this?” you offered her the tote you’d tucked the bento boxes into and she took it from you eagerly, bouncing towards the door. 

You grabbed your purse, made sure your keys were inside, and followed her out, taking her free hand. Together, the two of you made your way to the nearest train station, a few neighbors waving hello as you passed. There were no villains to be seen or head of, and the pros you saw out on patrol all looked happy and relaxed. They all knew who you were, some of the betas and omegas approaching to chat about your pregnancy and ask how things were going. The alphas hung back, calling greetings or offering waves, none of them wanting to get too close to a pregnant, mated omega and risk the wrath of your alphas if their scents happened to cling to you. 

The journey went smoothly, Eri sticking close to your side the entire way. You were both excited to be going to visit UA--Eri, because she would get to see Deku and Mirio, and you because you hadn’t been to the school in years--and as you stepped off the train and the gates finally came into view, you let out a happy laugh. 

“Ready?” you asked Eri, leading her towards the entrance. 

“Mhm!” she nodded eagerly, pulling you forward. “Let’s go! Let’s go let’s go let’s go--”

“Hang on, hang on,” you waddled after her as quickly as you could, fishing around in your purse. When you finally found what you were looking for, you pulled out an ID card, holding it up towards the sensor atop the UA Barrier gate. “You have your card?”

“Yep!” Eri said, grabbing the card hanging from the lanyard around her neck and mimicking you. 

“Special ID accepted,” a robotic voice chimed. “Welcome to UA High, (y/n) and Eri.”

The gate opened and you led Eri through it, the big school looming just past it. The special ID cards you both had were a result of Shota insisting that you be able to get to UA if you ever needed to. With the upgraded security measures, and so many of the students living in the dorms, it wasn’t easy getting onto the campus without either a student or guest card. You probably technically weren’t even supposed to have one, but no one was going to argue with Aizawa and Yamada when it came to ensuring their omega would be able to get to them in case of emergency.

This wasn’t exactly an emergency, but it was still an important mission, so you had absolutely no qualms about using your special ID privileges today. You just hoped nobody else would be mad about it.

 “Hey, is that Eri I see?” a voice called. 

You turned to see a blond haired, blue eyed boy jogging towards you and recognized him as Togata. He was dressed in a PE uniform, and as he stopped in front of you, you could see that he was panting. 

Eri immediately set the bag down and rushed toward him, running into his open arms. “Lemillion!”

Mirio laughed as he scooped her into a hug. “What are you doing here? Aizawa didn’t mention anything about a visit!”

“Aizawa forgot his lunch today,” you said, nodding towards the bag Eri had dropped. “So we thought we’d bring it and visit.”

Mirio straightened up a bit when he realized you were there. You had to be absolutely covered in your alphas’ scents, and even if they never told any of the students about you, there was no way that Mirio hadn’t figured it out by now. Besides...your bond marks were very big and very visible, one on each side of your neck just below your scent glands. There was no way Mirio didn’t know what that all added up to. 

You had never officially met him, but you’d heard plenty about all of UA’s Big Three, and after he and Deku saved Eri from the Shie Hassaikai, you’d heard even more about him. He was selfless, going so far as to sacrifice his own quirk to keep Eri safe and get her away from Overhaul, and for that, you’d always feel a little indebted to him. He’d luckily been able to get it back, but Aizawa had told you that there had been a long period in which nobody was sure it could even be returned to him. 

“Oh, s-sorry!” he bowed to you. “I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced! I’m Togata Mirio, I was there at the Shie Hassaikai raid--”

“I’ve heard plenty about you,” you laughed as he straightened up again. “I’m (y/n). I’m the stay at home omega that keeps Shota and Hizashi from starving all the time.”

Mirio’s laugh was probably one of the most raucously happy sounds you had ever heard. “We’re all grateful for that! As for me, personally, I’m really glad Eri has such a great mom now, too. And you’ve got more on the way!”

“Sure do,” you groaned, a hand on your lower back as you tried to lean and stretch it out some. “Due date’s in just a couple weeks. Can’t wait to get ‘em outta here.”

“Well, at least you already know how to do the parenting part!” Mirio was still all smiles as Eri grabbed for his hand and he took it, picking up the tote bag as well. “Come on, it’s my free period so I’ll take you to 1-A’s classroom.”

“Thank you, Togata,” you said, hand on your belly as you followed him into the school. 

“It’s no problem!” he beamed at you over his shoulder as he led the way. “It’s almost lunch, too. Perfect timing!”

“Is it really?” you glanced up at a clock on the wall, and sure enough, it was nearly noon. “Wow. Guess we took longer than I thought. But...ugh, I didn’t bring any food for myself or Eri...”

“That’s no problem! Lunch Rush always has tons of options in the Grand Mess Hall.” at your slight glare, Mirio added, “...But I’m sure even his best cooking is no substitute for a homemade meal!”

“That’s right,” you growled, waddling along down the hall. 

When the three of you reached the 1-A door, Mirio used his permeation quirk to stick his head straight through it rather than knocking, and judging by the resounding scream of surprise that nearly shattered the windows, he had scared Hizashi half to death.

Mirio pulled back and opened the door, revealing a room full of groaning students, all clutching their ears. Hizashi was the only one who seemed unbothered by the sheer volume of the scream he had let out, clutching his chest instead. 

“Why can’t you knock like a normal person, dumbass?” a blond boy snarled. 

“Bakugou! You shouldn’t swear in front of esteemed upperclassmen!” a black-haired boy with glasses said. 

“It’s not just me you’re swearing in front of!” Mirio said, still smiling, like always. With a nod of his head, he tugged Eri into the room.

Everyone lit up, and you even caught Bakugou’s harsh expression softening some at the sight of her. 

“Eri!” a freckly, green haired boy exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. 

“Deku!” the little girl yelled happily, letting go of Mirio’s hand to run towards him.

You watched as he knelt down to greet her, the rest of the class all getting up, or at the very least leaning over in their seats to say hello. All except Hitoshi, who looked up, made eye contact with you, started to roll his eyes, and then sighed. 

Oh, you were so going to embarrass him today. 

Hizashi was still trying to catch his breath, but now, with the students all distracted by Eri, he finally had a chance to notice you. You could see his nostrils flare as he recognized your scent, his head whipping around to spot you standing there in the door.

“BABE!” he rushed toward you, pulling you into a hug. 

“Hi, Hizashi,” you laughed into his shoulder, clinging to his jacket as he rubbed his scent gland over your hair. 

He immediately pulled back, holding you at arm’s length as he looked you over. “What’re you doing here? Everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” you chuckled. When he glanced down at your swollen belly, you added, “we’re fine.”

He let out a relieved breath. “Okay. Okay, good. Had me worried there for a sec.”

“They came to bring you lunch!” Mirio said, holding up the bag he had carried in for you. “I ran into her and Eri outside while I was out for my daily jog.”

“Togata here was very helpful,” you said. “He even carried that bag for us.”

“Gotta help everyone who needs it, whenever I can!” the teenager gave you a thumbs up. 

“Thanks, Mirio.” Hizashi said, putting an arm around your shoulders and pulling you up against his side. “Means a lot to me that my family stays safe.”

“Family?”

You turned to see all of Class 1-A staring at you. 

Hizashi cleared his throat, the sound practically echoing. “Everybody, this is my mate.”

The room suddenly erupted. 

“Who is she?”

“Is she a pro?”

“Can’t believe anybody would put up with him...”

“Bakugou, quiet! Don’t be rude!”

“But, wait...” Deku said, still kneeling with Eri. “I thought Eri’s been living with Mr. Aizawa..?”

The students all glanced to each other before their eyes swiveled to you and Hizashi. 

“Oh, Hizashi,” you teased. “You never told them?”

“I, uh...” a slight pink tinged his cheeks as he blushed.  

Luckily, before he had the chance to stumble over his words any longer, he was saved by the appearance of a very tired, very disgruntled, Eraserhead. 

“What the hell is going on and why the hell are you screaming in my classroom?” he growled from the doorway. 

Hizashi turned the two of you to face him, and you saw the anger immediately drain from Aizawa’s face. 

“...What are you doing here?” he asked, his bloodshot eyes full of concern. “Everything okay?”

“Hi, Papa!” Eri chimed from her spot next to Deku. 

“...Hello, Eri. Why are you also here?”

“You both forgot your lunches,” you said, practically scolding them. “I worked hard on those!”

“So you came all the way here just to bring us lunch? You realize we have an entire cafeteria here, right?”

“Don’t even think about it,” you growled. 

“You shouldn’t be walking across Musutafu without at least Hitoshi with you. It’s too dangerous.”

At the mention of his name, everyone’s heads swiveled to look at Shinso. He sighed, slumping back in his chair and dragging a hand down his face. 

“You know, if you wouldn’t forget the lunches that I so lovingly put all that hard work into, I wouldn’t even have to go all the way across Musutafu to bring them to you.” you said haughtily, nose up in the air as you stared your alpha down. “And besides...you know better than anyone that I can take care of myself, and Eri, no matter how pregnant I am.”

Aizawa sighed. He knew there was no arguing with you when you got in a mood like this, and besides...you were already there. 

And you were right.

Before he could even come up with something to say, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch, and soon, you were walking down the hall between your two alphas, Eri riding on Deku’s shoulders as Class 1-A flooded out along with you. 

You ended up sitting in the mess hall with the students, sandwiched between Hizashi and Shota. Shota didn’t seem entirely pleased with it, mentioning several times that he’d much rather be in the teachers’ lounge where it was quieter, but Eri was far too happy to be with Class 1-A for him to actually tear her away from them. She was across from you, sitting next to Deku and a brown haired girl you learned was named Ochako. Mirio had left to go find his own friends, the other two members of The Big Three, and you could see him just a few tables over, laughing loudly with a blue haired girl with a boy with pointy ears looked like he was trying to will himself out of existence next to them. 

“It’s so exciting that Mr. Aizawa has a whole family!” Ochako said. 

“And with Present Mic, too,” Tsu, the frog girl, said from her spot next to her. 

“How long have you been together?” the pink girl, Mina, asked.

“Don’t ask so many personal questions! We should respect their privacy.” Iida said, in true class rep fashion. 

When Shota only offered a grunt in reply, too focused on his lunch to actually talk with his homeroom class, and with Hizashi already stuffing his face, you took it upon yourself to chat. 

“Oh, I don’t mind the questions!” you said with a good natured laugh. “I met Hizashi and Shota when we all went to school together. Then we lost touch, because I...well, I sort of...chose a different life path than they did.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Hizashi slurped up his soba. 

“Here.” you looked up to see Hitoshi had brought you and Eri each a tray of food, setting them down in front of the two of you. 

“You’re so good to your mother,” you cooed, reaching up to grab his cheek. 

He dodged you expertly, ducking out of the way and going to sit with Bakugou and his friends on Deku’s other side. You narrowed your eyes at him, making sure he knew that he couldn’t run forever, and as Denki watched the exchange, he spoke up. 

“...Wait. You didn’t become a pro hero?” he asked. 

“I took the hero course here at UA.” you explained, grabbing your chopsticks. “I ended up dropping out before graduation. This is actually my first time back since then.”

“So...” Deku seemed nervous. “Were you, uh...”

“A villain?” you asked. 

When he nodded quickly, you laughed and offered a nod of your own. 

“Yeah, I suppose I was. My quirk used to be wild, and hard to control...I got so frustrated when I wasn’t making any progress with it that I decided to just leave school. I was mad at everyone, and I fell in with people who felt the same way. One thing leads to another, and next thing you know, I’m running from the loudest, most obnoxious pro hero in the city.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Hizashi, who was doing his best not to choke on his lunch. 

“And he never caught me,” you said adoringly, leaning against his shoulder. 

“I never caught you on my own,” he corrected. 

“Made my ears bleed a few times, I think.”

“Yes, and I don’t regret that.” he pressed a cute, fluttery little kiss against the tip of your nose. “You were absolutely going to kill me.”

“Not absolutely!” you protested. 

“I had to rescue him.” Aizawa spoke up, his voice gruff and tired, like always. “Had to cancel your quirk and keep you tied down until the others could get to us.”

You smirked at your first memory of his scarf and what it could do, and as you did so, he realized that he had just admitted to tying you up with it in front of his idiot students.

“And that’s when I fell in looooove,” you grabbed his arm, batting your lashes at him obnoxiously. 

“Not another word.” he growled. 

The students were all staring at you with wide eyes. All except Hitoshi, who was rolling his. 

“I guess you could say I was reformed,” you said, grabbing some noodles. “Then one thing led to another, and...here we are.” You patted your belly. 

“That’s so romantic,” Mina sighed, leaning her chin on her hand. 

“What’s your quirk?” Ochako asked. 

“I could show you!” you said eagerly, moving to stand.

“Absolutely not.” Shota held onto your arm and forced you to sit down again. “You are due in two weeks. No nonsense until after the pups are born.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes now. 

“Fine,” you mumbled with a sigh. “I never get to have fun anymore.”

“But pups are so exciting!” the invisible girl, Hagakure, said. 

“Yeah!” Mina agreed. 

Then, the rest of the girls bombarded you with questions. 

“How many are you having?”

“What day are they coming?!”

“Can we meet them?”

“Mr. Aizawa, please can you bring them in to the dorms??”

“--But Mr. Aizawa, this is the safest place in Japan. There’s no way anything bad would happen to them--”

“--And besides, (y/n) has a super strong quirk, right? She said so!”

“Come on, just let us see the brats when they’re old enough to travel.”

The sound of Bakugou’s voice had everyone staring at the blond boy. 

“...What?” he bristled. “It’s not like I care, I just want the girls to shut up.”

“Uh huh. Sure, Bakugou.” Kirishima snorted. 

“...maybe.” Aizawa relented, eager to shut them all up. 

That was enough for the girls, and they immediately began talking chattering about the cutest baby clothes, the best toys, and then the differences between their own upbringings. You enjoyed listening to them throughout the rest of lunch, and by the time the hour had ended, you were sad to be leaving. 

“Hang on, hang on,” Hizashi said as you took Eri’s hand to leave. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home,” you furrowed your brow. “Why?”

“We told you,” Shota said, standing with his hands in his pockets. “We don’t want you wandering around the city.”

“And I told you, I’m fine--”

“Just stay here for the rest of the day.”

“...What?”

“We’ll all go home together later.” Hizashi smiled. “You and Eri can hang out in the lounge. I bet Midnight would love to pester you about the bump, too.”

You smiled, walking towards your alphas. “Alright. Alright, yeah. That sounds nice.”

As Class 1-A lingered at the end of the hall, watching for as long as they could get away with, Denki elbowed Hitoshi in the side. 

“Dude, your mom is--”

“Don’t you dare say hot.” Shinso growled. 

“Actually, I was gonna say badass, but that too--”

The purple haired boy glared at him. “Shut up, Denki.”

“What? It’s a compliment!”

[feroluce]

Ingo attending some festival or celebration at the main pearl clan settlement in the icelands. It's more a thing for younger people but he's curious about their customs and goes anyway. Some of it involves people dancing and he starts to look really deep in thought, so Irida asks what he's doing. Ingo says he thinks there was something similar where he came from, but it's kinda fuzzy, especially since it was a two-person thing and he can't really reenact it himself. Irida doesn't want him to miss the opportunity of a memory, they come so rarely, so she asks him to dance with her and show her.

Ingo has Irida stand in front of him, and then pauses while he tries to remember. Finally he awkwardly directs her to put her hands on his shoulders and settles his own on her waist (Ingo starts to blush like a maiden at this point because he'd forgotten how close you're supposed to be for this- Irida gives zero shits lol). Ingo tries to take a few steps and Irida tries to follow his lead, but it's hesitant and awkward and Irida starts to get miffed after the third time Ingo accidentally steps on her foot.

Ingo finally just huffs and gets over his embarrassment, lifts Irida up and sets her standing on the tops of his own shoes so he can do the steps himself without having to try and direct her. Less distraction means the memory comes a little easier, and he starts to finally move less hesitantly and awkwardly. Irida had been looking at their joined hands, and she looks back up at Ingo to say something about how his people have odd ideas about dancing, but when she sees him she nearly bites her tongue off in an effort to stop herself. Because Ingo has his eyes closed, looking content for once, he's even humming some strange tune to himself, and she can tell he's not really present right now. He's here physically, but his heart is obviously elsewhere, and Irida would rather take a tumble down the cliffs than interrupt it. So she just kinda lays her head on Ingo's shoulder, listens to his humming through his chest, and lets Ingo whirl her around for a while longer.

Eventually Ingo kinda comes out of it and loudly apologizes before setting Irida down back on her own two feet again. Irida tells him it's unlike any dance she's seen in Hisui before, it almost just feels like walking at some parts? And Ingo gets all thoughtful again, mumbling to himself, "Walking...walk...? Wal...t. Walt. Waltz. Waltz!" and makes his frown that means he's proud of himself. Irida asks what else he remembers, since he seemed so into it. Ingo cocks his head at her. He doesn't get what she means. Irida cocks her head right back. Does he not realize he was spacing out the whole time???

And somewhere, somewhen, miles and centuries away, Emmet dances in circles around his living room, long black coat clutched against his front, humming his and Ingo's wedding song.