#And I know there's people who explore into that stuff too while also having agent ocs!

[rassicas]

what do you think of the agents, do you have any ocs for them ?

I do not have agent ocs.

I was talking about this with a friend a while back, but back in the early days of the splatoon oc community it felt like there were a lot more OCs that were just "people living in the splatoon world", who either connected to splatoons story mode in a different way or not at all and were just doing something else in the city of inkopolis. But after Octo expansion it felt like there was this boom of everyone having to have their own 3,4, and 8. Not to say that this is a bad thing at all (the customizable nature of splatoons characters encourages this and there's insanely cool ways people have fleshed out the story modes in fanwork) or that agent ocs didn't exist before then. But if everyone has agents, it's hard to have those agent ocs interact with other people's agent ocs or characters that are connected to them, as the agents are essentially other versions of the same base character. there's only one of each agent in canon. But with characters doing their own thing disconnected from splatoons core story/not filling the role of a canon character, it leaves more room for interaction. But most importantly for me, I like seeing other parts of the splatoon world get fleshed out beyond the craziness of the story modes, and frankly I'm not too invested in many of the canon characters...

splatoon's world is implied to have as much depth as our own. Mundane and boring stuff happens, stuff that's beyond fucked up happens, and everything inbetween. And then theres a bunch of species thrown in and the existence of a food chain and tons of interesting/dubious implications to be drawn from that. What are the adults up to? All kinds of jobs exist. What's going on behind the scenes of turf war? What kind of crime goes on? How about different societies? Cultures of different species? Etc etc I have so many thoughts but that's why I don't have agent OCs, there's so much I wanna see explored in the world that's can be totally disconnected from the new squidbeak splatoon

[ohmygawdyoufoundnemo]

She Plays Bass

Bangchan x reader

•Part 1•

(Brief mention of 'noona', which means older female sibling or older sister in Korean, only because I am a couple of years older than Chan. If you're not a noona, don't worry too much. I just hope you enjoy this read while you're chilling🙏🏻)

Y/N has hit the jackpot when passing her audition and joins Stray Kids on their world tour. But what happens when the leader meets the new girl?

✨

With the adrenaline still pumping through my veins from this whole morning, my leg starts to jiggle up and down waiting impatiently for my mum to pick up her phone. I could scream right now.

“Hello, darling. Are you on your way home?”

“Hi. Yeah I’m on the bus now.”

“Well, how did it go? Did they like you? Did you get it? Actually, tell me when you get back, ok? I’m just shopping at the moment.” I honestly feel like I could burst into tears, one: because I’ve just been running, which I never do, and two: the best news I could get after trying so hard to discover myself and where I want to be. I’m going on tour! Little old me is going to be playing to thousands of people worldwide!

“Ok. I’ll be home soon. Love you ma.”

“Love you too sweetheart.” We hang up and I could literally scream the roof of the bus apart. It seems too surreal to be true. After stressing so much this whole week about this audition, not being able to sleep and wondering what to play, it’s finally come fruition and a weight has just been lifted from my shoulders. The company came to London from South Korea for the auditions for new touring musicians for their groups, and now I’m going to be one of them! But the thing is, I have no idea what band I’ll be playing for or even when.

Later on that night over dinner, I tell mum of the events and some mishaps of everything that happened. She almost broke a rib or two pulling me into a hug when I told her that I would be officially touring with a band once I hear back from my agent.

“That is so exciting! My baby going into the world. I’m so happy for you!” She gives another big squeeze, swaying us from side to side just as my phone vibrates in my back pocket. “Oh! Who is it?” she asks before pulling away and cleaning up the dining table.

“I think it’s them. I’ll be right back. Hello?”

"Hello Y/N, it's Anna." My agent’s voice rang through the phone, easing the butterflies in my stomach for a moment.

“Hi Anna, how are you?”

“I’m very good! I also wanted to congratulate you on your audition today, they absolutely loved you! And we have a position lined up for you.”

“That’s great!” Already? That was quick!

“I just want to give you some more information about the success of your audition and going forward, within the company all travel and accommodation expenses are paid for so you don’t have to worry about anything. And, of course, if you have any insurance with your equipment we can help with that as well.“ This really is too good to be true! “With that being said, we would like to join us in Tokyo, Japan for the start of the tour.”

Wait. What? JAPAN?!

“When? Is there a date when I would have to be there for rehearsals? Sorry, I’m a bit jittery.”

“That is ok. Rehearsals will be on the eighteenth of this month but we would like you to spend some time with us and the rest of the band around the fifteenth.” My feet instantly carry me to my room where they stop in front of my calendar. That’s in six days! “You will have time to explore a little bit of Japan with one of our guides, you will also have your own hotel room set up, you will of course have the choice to explore the city on your own but in regards to security it would be...” I think I blanked out everything else Anna was saying. My ears were ringing, I was getting light headed looking around at all of my stuff in my bedroom. I’m going to Japan to start a world tour with a band I don’t even know. Six days. Six days until I leave my home to bed hop in hotel rooms around the world for god knows how long! “So, what do you say?”

Before I can even think about my answer, my mouth opens, “Absolutely!” Shit! How much stuff should I pack?!

“That’s great news! Before I go, do you have any questions you would like to ask?”

“Is it alright to ask, the band that I’ll be playing with or for...”

“Ah, yes! I thought you’d might ask. Usually we don’t disclose this information until closer to the time but since you signed a contract with the company and will be joining us very soon there are no issues. So you will be rehearsing and being a touring musician for Stray Kids.”

~

Six days came and went so quickly that I could barely focus on anything. I nearly forgot my carry-on luggage, headphones and even my iPad which has all the bass and synthesiser recordings on it. Luckily my mum helped me with the checklist, knowing very well that I will forget something, before leaving me at the airport with Anna. Speaking of whom, after a very long journey, we are on our way to the hotel in Tokyo, Japan. Each part of this experience is so fast-paced with no time to take in the huge shift this has made to my life that I almost cocoon myself in my hoodie in the backseat of the car, yet the Tokyo Dome won’t allow me to stay slumped for too long as Anna points out the venue from where we’ve stopped at the traffic lights.

“It’s huge!” I say to her in Korean, turning to Anna like an excited child seeing Christmas lights for the first time. She laughs at me. The thing about Anna is she’s also my agent as I was struggling to find any gigs in the past three years. The audition was like a big break for me to finally do something I love. She had also been the one to encourage me to learn Korean, when we first started talking while I attended college she had only learned the basics in English not too long before. So to save her more hardship and to learn something new, I took up a side quest to learn her language and she’s just embraced me and shares her culture with me.

“Wait until we get inside in a couple of days.” She says just as she goes to answer her phone. As we get closer, I pull on my Dr. Martens trying my best not to get dirt on the seat as well as getting concussed by the front passenger seat.

The butterflies are throwing up in my stomach.

~

I couldn’t close my mouth as I gawked out the window overlooking the whole of Tokyo. Every day since I’ve been here, I’ve done the same thing, wake up early to gawk at the sunrise, have breakfast, message my mum for a little while, stare out the window whilst getting dressed or brushing my teeth for my scheduled day with Anna, taking picture after picture of the tourist attractions. My legs hurt so much but it’s so worth it!

How am I here? Well, I know how but it’s like an out-of-body experience to be standing here in a hotel room, in Japan, on the same floor as Stray Kids. Rehearsals are tomorrow and my stomach is doing somersaults.

~

I’m still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my body is too tired from the adventures I've had so far in the past three days to lug around my bass guitar on my back. I’m being lead through the maze of a hallway in the arena by a member of staff. Plus I hadn’t slept too well last night, I miss my mum, my cat, now I miss Anna but she’s a busy woman but I’m now left to my own sleepy devises at rehearsals. I had already met the rest of my band mates the other night over dinner. They’re so cool and so welcoming! I also met the stylists for tonight which woke me up a little bit more after seeing my outfits for the next week. Chef’s kiss!

The engineers help me with setting up my equipment and my ear pieces that there's no time to really take in the gargantuan size of the dome. I hear the drums, guitar and keyboard practising the moment I lock them in.

~

The members were getting ready to go to the stage, the stylists getting everything prepared for later on tonight, their manager rushing about making sure everything is all good to go for rehearsals, Bangchan was writing little messages to STAYS on Bubble with some comments making him smile and blush when out of nowhere, Han makes a noise in surprise which causes the others to look up at what he’s pointing to. Chan looks up to see Han gesturing to the TV that was switched on for background noise, it was filming live footage from the stage. Chan gulped down some saliva when he saw a new band member setting up.

Is it warm in here?

“Who’s that? Is that a new bass player NMixx?” I.N. asks while glancing between his phone and the TV. Chan knew the question was to no one in particular but he was taken back to respond. She was pretty, really pretty. The breeze flowing through her hair pushes some strands over her shoulder as the band plays a random tune, the boys stare in wonder only for a few seconds before the camera shot changes to a scope of the venue.

“She was pretty!” Han exclaims as he’s being set up with equipment for soundcheck and being handed a microphone.

“Stop staring!" Minho gently swats at Han, "You’re getting drool all over the carpet!” scuffing up Han’s bed hair, the member of staff helping Han adjust his monitor waiting patiently for them to stop slapping each other.

“Hyung,” Chan finally looks away from the TV too to see Felix holding his spare t-shirt. “Can I borrow this?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Who was she? He asks himself just as she comes up on the screen again. She looks over at the cameraman, shyly waving and smiling. Chan couldn’t help but notice the colour of her big round eyes. Uh oh.

“Wow! Never seen Chan-hyung with big heart eyes before.” Changbin says getting the boys attention, pumping his chest at his leader. Chan just glares at him, trying to keep him at arms length but ends up breaking into a red-faced laugh while chasing him around the room.

~

“If you need help with anything, give us a signal.” He says, making the gestures of signals but I get distracted when I feel eyes on me. I glance over the soundman’s shoulder to see the group of guy’s looking over at me. Through my ear piece just as one speaks into their microphone, I hear, “Hey! Hello.” One waves at me, followed by the others. He walks closer with a huge smile. “I’m Han and these guys are my friends." They each wave again. "What’s your name?” I introduce myself in Korean which surprises them and makes me laugh. “WOW! Oh, are you our new bass player?”

I nod, just as a song starts he jogs away.

"Let's get it!" We start with S-Class and go into Superbowl. The flow is so good! Me and the boys are really happy with it. I sort out my bass synthesiser for the next song just as another member comes into my peripheral.

“Hi.” I feel my cheeks grow warm as he smiles at me.

“Hello.”

“That was really good but I can’t hear the bass so well in my ...”

“Oh, yeah. They said they’ve been having minor issues with it but it should be better for tonight.”

“Cool! Err.... I’m Chris, by the way.”

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.” Is it really that warm out here?

“Hyung! Stop flirting with our new girl and get back here!” Minho yells away from the microphone causing Chan to shy away but ultimately wave at me with a ‘see you later’. Bangchan tackles Lee Know into a back hug with much retaliation.

This is going to be fun!

~

It’s been a couple of weeks since starting tour and it’s been amazing! Crazy busy with non-stop moving and airport travels and hotel bed hopping but other than that I can’t knock this experience. Especially since Stray Kids have taken me in. Almost every night we play, either Changbin, Han or mainly Felix come over and rock out with the band, hyping us up and wordlessly letting us know we were doing a great job.

Almost a month ago, I never would have thought I would be hanging with any of them, but usually Han comes over to play guitar with me playing songs before or after rehearsals. The chaos is real and it’s heart-warming to have so many people around who are so supportive and bring out the best chaos in you.

“Y/N noona?!” I glance up from my iPad taking out one of my airpods, I’m sat on the carpeted floor adjusting bass tones for the songs for the set to see Changbin sitting across from me, all dressed up for later on, which only reminds me that it’ll be my turn soon. Restless, full of bounding energy which he’s been told to save for tonight.

“Dwaeki?”

“Noona! I’m bored.”

“Where are the others?” I’ve only just noticed it’s just me, Changbin, I.N. and a couple of stylists in here. “How long have I been working?”

“Too long! Pay attention!” his whining makes me chuckle, I try to hide it to not upset him but he notices and starts getting irritable. “Stop laughing at me. I’m serious.” He starts smiling, not taking himself seriously.

“What do you want from me? What do you want to do?” he ponders for a moment.

“I don’t know. Help me!” while slumping his head on the table, he quickly retracts it with a small yet dramatic yelp in pain. I reach over to rub his forehead. He slaps the table as if offended which makes me laugh harder.

“Be careful Changbin! You want to be able to remember lyrics tonight.”

“Ah!” he pulls away with a sneaky look on his face. “NMixx.” He points to the live footage of NMixx on stage.

“What?” I ask as he quickly gets up and dances to the start of ‘Love Me Like This’. “I saw the video. You know it. Come on!”

“Absolutely not.” How did he know about that video?

“Noona! Noona! Noona!" I.N. starts chanting. Changbin pulls me up and before I know it, he’s filming us both dancing to the song, all while I.N. sits and watches. The others walk in just as me and Changbin finally finish. I must have gone red in the face when I saw Han and Bangchan just grinning.

“What’s going on?” Chan asks as I quickly go back to what I was doing before.

~

Changbin shows them the video of him and Y/N dancing along to NMixx. Bangchan sneaks a glance over at Y/N who’s too caught up in the new bass system that she’s been obsessed with for days now.

There’s a niggling feeling he just can’t shake off when he’s around her. He likes her a lot! She’s cool, amazing bass player and has a great flow with the band, she gets along really well the Kid's too. It’s like she takes care of them when he's too busy which gives him time to work or gives him a breather even just for a moment. She has a cool sense of style, right now she’s wearing her classic pink beanie, crop hoodie and black denim shorts and barefoot while sitting cross-legged at the table bobbing her head along to what she’s listening to whilst taking notes, there’s just something warm and natural about her. Even when she’s playing to thousands of STAYS, he’s always noticed that glow in her eyes while looking out at them, and her personality never changes. He recently saw a video shared around on TikTok of fans who had been watching our opening acts in quite an unbearable heat and while our set was being put together, she handed out extra water bottles for STAYS.

“Hyung?” Chan pulls his gaze away, not realising he’s probably been gawking at her for a bit, hoping that she didn't catch him doing it. He helps Felix adjust his necklace. “Hyung.” Chan hums in response to Felix as Y/N brings Seungmin his water bottle as he does his vocal warm-up just as Hyunjin tackles her in a side hug. “You’ve been quiet all day. Everything good?”

“Yeah. Really good.”

“You sure?” Felix asks peering over his shoulder with a little smirk, Chan couldn’t help but glance over at Y/N again to see her taking selfies with Hyunjin and Changbin. His heart flutters a little as she smiles at whatever Lee Know said about their poses which gets more of a response out of Changbin. “Why don’t you just tell her you like her?”

This brings Chan back to reality like a smack in the face.

“What are you talking about?” Felix gives him a knowing look. “I can’t just...do that. It’s complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be complicated." Felix turns around to see Y/N giggling at Changbin and Lee Know bickering, nearly breaking out into a play fight. "She won’t break your heart, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Of course Felix would say that. The Kids practically adore her.

Lee Know keeps her at arms length but respects her and is fond of her, and her comebacks to his playful insults catch him off guard most of the time, they're not mean but just as good. Changbin see’s her like a sibling, and now a dance partner or someone he challenges when he tries to tease her because she’s our noona which sometimes makes her feel bad yet they have a special bond. Hyunjin has shown her more of his artwork, he even made her a picture for her birthday which she adores and she’s shown him how to create his own music. Han adores her because she works hard to help us sound better on stage and how caring she is to us. Felix, well he isn’t shy to the fact that they’ve become close friends and dotes on her. Seungmin, like Lee Know, shows a lot of respect for noona. And I.N., if any one of them follows her like a lost puppy, apart from Felix or Changbin when he’s in the mood to bother her or simply wants her attention, it’s him.

But where does that leave him? Chan breathes out a sigh. They get along really well but something feels stagnant. He isn’t worried about her breaking his heart though, he’s more worried he’ll explode with professions of adoration and scare her away.

~

“Where are you going?!” Chan calls out as Y/N hurriedly takes out her earpieces and takes off her equipment. The Kid’s keeping a distance from the firing line.

“Out for a walk! Is that ok with you?! God!” Y/N storms off stage, snatching her jacket from it's place on the bass holder on the way out. The others stare cautiously between the two, seven pairs of eyes following Y/N as she disappears around the side stage, then over to their leader who is almost red in the face. Rehearsals just finished but throughout the set, things just kept going wrong which ended up with the soundcheck taking longer than usual. If Chan were to name a few, the boys were more chaotic as usual but for some reason it just got to him today, then the sound system kept messing up which messed up their queues and they had to restart the song, Han and Seungmin’s microphones kept glitching, then Y/N said she had forgotten her iPad backstage which has all pre-adjusted bass tones on it, that was the final straw in the span of the two hours since the minor late start to rehearsals, that’s when Chan snapped. Not at everyone or anything, but at Y/N.

This confused the Kid’s so much after the new revelation they had witnessed over the past few months between their leader and their new bassist.

The air was thick with tension and it wasn’t great to be around. The members were silent, waiting for Chan to make the first move. He took a few breaths before turning around as he removed his ear piece from under his beanie.

“Sorry hyung.” Some of them mumble as he takes off as well.

✨

*So that was Part 1, I hope you enjoyed it! I know it's looooong but I haven't written anything like this in 3 years so I may have gotten a little excited or enthusiastic to get this out of my system*

[victimeyez]

Happy Birthday 🎂🥳🎁 (I also have a September birthday so I think that’s neat)

I think overall, the thing about p/v that keeps me hooked is the intensity of the whump. I’ve read other whump stories before and while what the characters go through in them is horrible, I’ve yet to find another character that goes through the kind of stuff Tommy does. The man’s life is just brutal, and as a avid horror fan I find that deeply compelling. I want him to one day get his final girl moment, even though I read early on that it’s probably not gonna happen.

I think the two whump moments that stand out the most for me so far are the meat hooks and the use of Agent Orange. The meat hooks scene was such a intense body horror moment it almost made me think about quitting, but I also couldn’t get it out of my head. I had to know what was gonna happen next to this poor dude. By contrast, the Agent Orange bit had me thinking to myself, “whelp Tommy and Caius better pray that stuff wasn’t real, otherwise their both dying of cancer lol”

Anyways I’ve rambled on enough. I hope you enjoy your birthday and that you get to do something fun with the people you love. (Tommy sure won’t lol)

Thank you, and happy birthday to you too!!!

Ooh, where to start. A few years ago, I discovered a writer online that wrote the most brutal content I had ever read. To this day, she makes my writing here look quite tame. We bonded over a mutual fandom that was difficult to find content for. One thing led to another, and I ended up helping write and edit her first original book.

I’’d never had someone before that I could talk to about enjoying really twisted stories. I was always admonished for a blossoming interest in horror by my mom, who believes horror is the work of the devil. It is still hard for me to share darker ideas. I get nervous about being judged for going too far, being too much of a freak. 

A big part of what made me decide to write Pro Vic with the design it has is that I wanted to be able to explore lots of different whump scenarios, without things getting too stale of the same things over and over. I have fun with Caius, but I can also explore whatever other forms I want to with clients in my own version of a monster-of-the-week formatting lol. Plus I can throw in extra time with Sam, or Rory, or Michelle, orrrrr whatever! As for the meat hooks and agent orange - Once again, I am sorry, and you are welcome lol. Can I blame Dead by Daylight and weirdly specific Vietnam War nightmares?

I love me a final girl! I actually have a shirt that says FINAL BOY in bloody letters lol. 

I have a long game in mind. Tommy is going through it – that’s not going to stop any time soon. But without wanting to say too much - Tommy has a future ahead of him where he plays a very different role...👀

I cannot tell you how much it blows my mind that people are actually reading this. I’m grateful for the readership, the notes, the tags, everything, I read them all a thousand times and lay on my bed kicking my feet while I write about it in my diary. Okay maybe not literally that, but mentally that is where I am. Getting to be the random person that wrote something you find compelling is the greatest badge of honor in my life. That’s not a joke. Sharing my creative passions has been the one thing I have known I wanted since I was three years old. When I was sitting on the floor of the kitchen, banging pots and pans together for drums and screaming my best “opera”.

[azurdlywisterious]

How would the atompunk trio react if the protags of their games were switched around. Like idk, put Chell in Rapture and the Courier(however you designed them) in Aperture and Jack in the New Vegas Strip. You can decide how the protags are swapped around though

oh ho ho you have no idea how long ive been planning the larger universe this au in my head is set in. so let's tune into the madness together, shall we?

(circutboard divider made by @violetbudd )

Mr. House meets Jack

Mr. House was not expecting a jumpy, uncoordinated young adult to stumble his way into the Lucky 38, but Victor has nothing but good things to say about the kid so he can't be bad. Jack follows order well, which is both a blessing and a curse Mr. House finds out, so he works out a way to get Victor to keep reminding Jack of what he needs to do and it's smooth sailing from there. Would consider working out a deal with the Followers of the Apocalypse to see what is up with Jack after the Hoover Dam battle.

Mr. House meets Chell

Mr. House gets along with Chell quite well. Chell is efficient and creative with completing missions. And she's willing to be paid in only information which cuts down on costs by a lot. He does find that gun of hers rather intriguing, which would turn into a whole cat and mouse of him trying to get the portal gun from her to examine and her not giving him the gun. Chaos ensues.

Cave Johnson meets the Courier

Cave Johnson wouldn't realize that the various people he keeps testing are all the same Courier. But hey, when you're dealing with an anomaly that keeps reincarnating lets you vivisect them, you tend not to ask too many questions (except for why do you keep coming back after you fall into the corrosive water). Certainly keeps the Courier around later on, hoping to figure what keeps them regenerating their body while keeping their memories intact (in his quest to live forever). Sadly, he doesn't figure it out in time. The Courier would then explore the Aperture labs until who knows when. Although thanks to the fact that they can sorta never die (sure their body dies but their memories dont think kinda like a timelord) then they would remember exactly who Caroline was when interacting with GLaDOS. Oh and the angst of finding all the old lab stuff and Cave Johnson's voice logs again at the Portal 2 timeline point of the game that would actually be heartbreaking.

Cave Johnson meets Jack

Cave Johnson loves Jack. Everyone loves Jack! Who wouldn't love Jack? Cave Johnson would be sure to let everyone know that no one gives Jack orders except for him and Caroline. Would treat Jack like the son he never had and also give him cocaine for his anxiety (for science). Would also want to vivisect Jack to figure out how he keeps lighting things like the mantis men on fire. Wasn't seriously considering making combustible lemons until he saw Jack could light things on fire and decided that the same principles could be applied to lemons too.

Andrew Ryan meets the Courier

Andrew Ryan actually gets to interact with only one Courier thanks to the Vita-Chambers. And as luck would have it, he gets to interact with Suzie Fromme (my favorite courier and the one I always think of when I think of couriers). And he would think Suzie is weird and unhinged and way too powerful but not in a cool way but in a way that scares him (you modded a Bethesda protag of course she breaks reality). But since she's an agent of chaos that only wants to help people he would strike a tentative deal with her to take Atlas down. She would agree for the low price of "a room in the prettiest building in Rapture" which according to her is in Fort Frolic(?) which with all the delirious denizens dropping like drones means that there probably is an open room. Did I mention Suzie has the Black Widow perk? Upon finding out how she got rid of Atlas, Andrew Ryan decides that she is not to be trifled with at all and can be Sander Cohen's problem until the city collapses.

Andrew Ryan meets Chell

Andrew Ryan would probably love and hate Chell. Love because she dispatches enemies with efficiency and doesn't listen to Atlas but also doesn't listen to him. Eventually determines that she just wants to go to the surface and leave forever and after doing a couple of missions for him, lets her. Doesn't like that she's playing all sides trying to find the fastest way to leave, but she just wants to always come put on top. Which she does. Would weaponize her bond with Tenenbaum in a last ditch attempt to get her to do what he wants.

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update - 12/24/2023 Christmas Eve

Hey Nerdie! You’ve got some bags there.

I do both under my eyes and Din finally let me look through the ones he’s been using. It’s….Mandalorians are wild.

I feel like they’re not Nerdie, at least not how you’re thinking. Should we even ask?

Has to do with what I’ve written this week:

Weddings 101 with Dieter - chapter 3 came out this week. There was a fight that I still giggle about. There will be more, I’m loving the beef between Dieter and Oscar. There had to be some type of fight in the rom-com. 🤭 There was also cloud smut? I don’t know how else to put it. Ya’ll read it and tell me what it was.

Sard’ika Sessions - In Session Four Din put together something in the reader’s house. They may use it again. Liberties are taken with the Creed and Mandalorian culture though not too crazy. (That might be for an epilogue.) I’d like to thank everyone who’s been reading since Session one (we’ve come so far from thigh-riding) and are now on the latter end where our Session partners are exploring each other but communication as well. It was really sweet to read people’s comments and see that they picked up on how well they communicate with each other while indulging in their sexual appetites. I’d like to think it’s come across how I planned it originally when I scribbled all of this in my notebook at 4am when I couldn’t sleep in November after Thanksgiving of all things. We’ll see how things continue to progress.

I have a poll up for “Weddings 101 with Dieter” to determine what might go into chapter four. I’m enjoying everyone’s comments and options on what should happen with both Dieter/Maya and Dieter vs. Oscar. Click the link above to vote and have your suggestions added. I’ll announce the results and the most voted will be put in. I’ll likely add some of the other suggestions because I like them so much. ☺️

Remember Frankie~ (I read something new and caught up on a few things. Some of which weren’t even related to our favorite pilot. My mind went deep into smut. As a warning, don’t read while multi-tasking! Though I take it as a point of pride to have someone forget their name while on a call. 😉) They knew who they are. 😎 Love ya! ❤️

Nerdie’s Bedtime Stories (Might be a new series for weirdness I think up and might read to someone. This was a Christmas Carol featuring some of the Pedro boys. A Feral Carol as @maggiemayhemnj called it.) @undercoverpena and @morallyinept encouraged me. 🤣

You put a lot of thought into what you write. We really thought it was only the non-smut stuff you thought hard on. You’ve indicated you have trouble with that before.

It’s not so much I have trouble with it. I’m used to doing one-shots and exclusivity writing smut before I joined back up on Tumblr. I’m branching out and trying all sorts of smut and actual storylines (when I can make it coherent to anyone but myself) in my writing now. Even comedy with Dieter though I like to put little jokes in most of my writing.

Ah, so you’re learning as you go on as we all do. Fair. Any current WIPs you’re trying to finish up before 2023 is out?

Well, I have a Pickled Peña to finish. Everyone’s welcome to join in and write about our favorite DEA agent Javier Peña. Everyone who’s participating will post on January 1st and tag their work with the “pickled peña” tag.

I’m also participating in the PMAMC 2024 which is in mid-January. I decided to challenge myself with not only writing about pegging but also writing with a character I’ve only written for once and in his historical setting, because past Nerdie who accepted this was feeling ambitious. 😗 Present Nerdie wonders what was she thinking. 🧐 She also has to review her notes on what may have been used to facilitate pegging during the time period, there’s a long note I have on it. It should be mostly historically accurate, I guess, because that’s what matters. 👀 In pegging - the historical aspect. 😒

I have two Robbie Reyes asks to work on as well as one smut piece I wanted to do for him and one actual story.

There are three Joel pieces that I wanted to write, one will be tabled until next Christmas. I don’t think I’ll finish it by tomorrow. The second was a post outbreak one, I’ve only written post outbreak once so I want to see if it will be a one short or series. The third one might be finished. I need to edit it.

Anything else will likely be tabled until 2024 because I either don’t have ideas for it or I want to wait until I feel good about writing it. 😊

Any last remarks?

I’d like to thank any and all of my beta readers: @avastrasposts @musings-of-a-rose @frenchiereading @theywhowriteandknowthings @megamindsecretlair @pedrodascal @iamasaddie @fhatbhabie and @morallyinept @legendary-pink-dot

Ya’ll saw all the typos, swapped countries and off beat plot points. 😗

Also @linzels-blog don’t worry The Creed is fine. Mostly I believe. Like it will all work out. 😉

I usually add fics I’ve read this week but I’m going to organize them and put them in another fic rec post because I have them saved there already. 😎

The above wallpaper was made by @xxhypersomnia who did two sets of awesome retro Javier Peña edits on her page. 🥰 She even tagged me in the second one which I have to look at later when I’m home.

[doctorweebmd]

Because I’m nosey for the author ask…Hope you don’t mind :-)

🙋🏻‍♀️❌💔💲

ahhh NO THIS ISNT NOSINESS i LOVE oversharing get ready and also THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS!!! it was super fun and distracted me from the agony that is writing plot and remembering that its sunday night 🥺

🙋‍♀️ - do any real-life people know what I write fanfic? Uhhh. My husband does but I've never let him read any of it. I do tell people that I write 'fiction' in my spare time, because its like, my one hobby, but definitely don't extrapolate. i'm making the assumption that most people in the medical field don't know shit about ao3 but i also know for a FACT that there are multiple weeb sleeper agents out there. doing medicine. while weebing. BUT. i'm sure if anyone recognized any of my stuff it would be a 'what were YOU doing at the devils sacrament' situation haha

❌ - a trope i will never write? Probably alpha/beta/omega stuff. Some people do them really well and I've certainly read really great ABO, but its one of those dynamics that I would never want to voluntarily explore. Its actually the one tag I actively filter out when looking for new fic. On that same note, Pregnancy/Kidfic. Babies and parenting give me the major ick (this may be colored heavily by the fact that i dont want children and am at that age where people keep ASKING ABOUT IT.) tbh i'm also not much of a fantasy person or historical person, so a lot of hybrid/mermaid/royalty AUs are a no for me. and, probably most controversially? established relationship. listen i am here for the drama i dont care about healthy loving domestic stuff! i want miscommunication! i want pining! i want discovering each other for the first time! i want fumbling and blushing!!!

.... wow there are a LOT of things i dont think i'd write lol yikes.

💔 - Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart? Not to be predictable but yeah. Zero-sum game. In part because it was a very vulnerable place of writing emotionally - both because i had not, for many years, tapped into my own mental health experiences for fear of it being triggering while writing, but also partially because i was working in the icu during peak covid and everyone was dying and it was so fucking depressing and demoralizing. I teared up at a couple of scenes - this ended up super long so i'm going to break it down by chapter:

Chapter 7 when Katsuki walked by the bar his friends were having a reunion at, Jirou ran out to get him and Kirishima stopped her, saying 'we have to let him go.'

Chapter 12, Katsuki asking - are you afraid? And Zero looking up at the sky saying - Am I afraid? And then reciting that poem. 'Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.' That scene I can see so so vividly in my head, hear their voices, intonations, expressions - and it breaks my heart. The tent scene at the end of Chapter 12, too - 'Do you think that's what love feels like?' 'Fuck if I know.' FUCK ME UP. ARHGHH S.

Chapter 15 - Mitsuki saying 'But you’re gonna eventually have to find a way to love people without hurting them. Or you’re going to end up alone.' and Katsuki having a breakdown after. Then later in the chapter, Inko asking '“… I wonder, sometimes. Who he would become if he never met you.” WHAT THE FUCKKKKK

Chapter 19 - god. Where do I even start. The entire confession scene is like punch after punch to the ribcage. Specifically:

"How does Katsuki explain that the first time in his life he considered he might be in love is when hands he’s dreamt off for nearly twenty years (Now just the one. Half is gone, because it has to be, because to be complete is to give Katsuki more than he deserves) wrapped themselves around his throat, making him wonder if love might be a bit like dying, might be a bit like that last fucking breath when nothing in the goddamn world can feel more cathartic - that last strawberry, the last sip of water, the last bullet in the chamber - and they bled and fought and fucked and destroyed each other and nothing has ever felt to pure and perfect and devastating and absolutely holy - if that’s not love, then what the hell is?"

and

"“Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. I love you and I’m walking away from you and I never want to see you again. Okay? I never want to see you again.”

AND

“…What am I supposed to do now?” Inko Midoriya whispers out to the street. No more fretting, no more restless nights, no more ‘what if’s.’ Her son is back, but despite that, she’s still alone. They both are.

“I don’t know.” Katsuki responds honestly.

“Find something else to live for, I guess.”

Chapter 23 - the proposal scene. Specifically:

'Not because you saved me physically – and you did, you did, you’re always saving me, and I’m always saving you, I fuckin’ know, we’ll always save each other because that’s who we are, but it's more than that. Its more.'

AND

“But you need to know – you need to. That, with all of me, I love who you were, I love who you are, and I love who you’re becoming.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter how short, no matter how painful, no matter how fucking temporary all of this is. I want to experience it with you.”

“Marry me.”

AND. Finally and most of all. The authors note at the end. Even re-reading it now, its so raw. I think about this a lot:

'It all anchors on the belief that you can still be who you want to be. The belief that ‘broken’ people can get better. The belief, the ever present faith - because it has to be faith, because all tangible things are friable but not faith, not this - that you can be found. That you are not irredeemable. That there is a future worth fighting for.'

I have moments from 'we will wait and wait in that space' and 'nothing else fills' that made me tear up, but it still won't match the raw levels of emotion and vulnerability that was channeled in zero-sum. even now, years later, its still my heart.

Wow sorry this got SUPER long. but i loved going through zero-sum and picking out my favorite scenes so thank you for that :) :) :)

💲 - would i ever open commissions? gosh no, probably not. i'm not great at one-shots and deadlines and i work super inconsistent hours and tbh i have minimal confidence in the consistency of my writing to offer it as a service. i'm also very lucky to be pretty secure financially so i wouldn't have that kind of external driving force. but i'm very flattered that that's even a question. 🥺 id happily give away all my mind-vomit for free.

AHHHH i'm sorry this is so long THANK YOU FOR INDULGING ME i adore you ❤️

[overthinkingtaleblr]

Holy shit Woah overhearing things she should not hear but then asking someone a few days later, oblivious to the mood shift. Like imagine her overhearing stuff about CBF or Casket then asking Ghost of all people. He's probably internally screaming and 'how does she know how does she know wtf wtf wtf wtf'

Hell it would be worse if she did it in public or went to someone not in P.I.E. to ask. She drops a bombshell of information and doesn't know why everyone's gone silent.

I wanted to draw something with this but ngl I’m wayyyy too busy for that rn ;w; Take my written thoughts instead, if you will <3

First, I love Woah, she’s is my darling gal… buuut I could totally see her getting her nose into something she shouldn’t hehehe… the options are unlimited, secrets are easy to stumble onto. There’s soo many options, and they can have a variety of results!

In a softer, Slice-of-Life kind of setting with minimal conflict, it would be Really Cute to try to explore how people go about raising a baby who can float through walls and can find wherever you hide her birthday presents. She can also always reach the top shelf and rummage her way to anything her parents don’t want her to get into, and since she’s. A ghost, Colon and Spooker would have to go out of their way to figure out how to babyproof their house. This ALSO means that if anyone wants to hide something from their partner, it Can Not Be In The House because she can just. Stumble onto it and blurt her findings out. Let her be an agent of chaos <3

In a situation where Johnny Ghost is still blocking out memories of Casket and CBF, Woah asking about it may open a paranoia-fueled investigation into what the hell she could be talking about… I say paranoia-fueled because no matter HOW she found out about Casket and CBF, something about it will be a little incriminating without the whole context. The baby should not be aware of a serial killer or (gestures at CBF) with enough detail to worry Ghost without Someone being irresponsible with secrets.. or an Event happening.

During an action/mystery story, Woah picking up on information she shouldn’t have would be grounds to get her abducted by someone who has a vested interest in the little ghost girl not spilling any secrets. Especially disastrous is that she might accidentally spill PIE’s secrets while being held captive. The range of severity of this would depend on the antagonistic force who saw a little girl who knew too much and went ‘yeah i could use that’. Like. Prince Fang would be a nightmare, but honestly, I think Maxwell would have a hard time being evil to a baby.

I want her to learn swears and everyone assuming it’s from her listening to the teen trainee team, and they get lectured, and then while ranting about the situation (with swears) they open a cabinet and see her nestled in there like o3o.

Honestly, I think the character I want to see freak out about Woah knowing about Jimmy Casket and asking about him is Cranky being mistaken for Ghost. Reasonably, Ghost could wave off Woah and assume she read an old case file or something. CRANKY doesn’t know this kid, and in situations where he is working with or is fused with Casket, that would come off as somewhat threatening. I want to see Cranky walking on eggshells around a little ghost girl because she asked the right questions about a name she saw on TV. A close second is Toast— how would he manage to explain what he knows to a child?

Additionally, there’s a chance she knows about these names because she encountered one of them. In which case it’s time to pay for a child psychologist because that is a situation that would leave scars.

If she does drop a bombshell of information in public, I kinda hope the Acachallas are there because they will absolutely catch the sudden tension and just explode into chaos. Possibly literally.

[starry-blue-echoes]

So, I have a concept I've been developing for a whole part-sized JoJo side story.

A post-part-3 Kakyoin is sent on SPW business to a small town nestled in the mountains somewhere in the Maine/Southeast Canada area, along with two other SPW agents.

One of them has a stand that lets them see an object's history by holding it long enough, and is strong & independent enough to be decent in a fight, the other has an incredibly frail stand that can rewrite memories and is nearly invisible even to other stand users, and he uses hamon, though not particularly skillfully, to back it up in combat. These stands aren't named or too well fleshed out yet, and neither are their masters.

Kakyoin's POV, he's leading it, they go to this tiny town with only a single road in and out- there's rumors of pillarman artifacts here, and while them being this far north seems unlikely, it's always good to check.

There's a whole massive cave system in the mountains behind the town, and a pair of local siblings step up to help guide the SPW crew, since the duo know the caves well. (Both show signs of pre-stand potential.) The siblings have mostly their own place, apparently the former mayor's kids before he died, their family has lived here as long as anyone remembers.

The older sister is a goth LARPing horse girl with a fondness for medieval period stuff, named Maria, and the younger brother is introverted and fairly nerdy but loves geology and climbing, named Tobias.

Both have strange tattoos curving up from their chin shaped like tusks.

They go into the cave system with the SPW crew, at one point a massive snowstorm blocks the only road for a while.

While exploring the caves after this, the group finds some old prototype stone masks, and numerous writings in the pillarman languages.

A mysterious presence lurks in the caves, some ancient pillarman ghost who is None Too Happy with these Hamon Aligned Peoples In Their Caves.

Traps get set off, and Kakyoin and Tobias end up trapped in the deepest parts of the caves, and can slowly uncover that a few pillarman, one of whom USED to be a colleague and ally of Kars before his genocidal plans came to light, fled here before Kars could kill everyone, taking as much of Kars' work with them as they could- and some of the townsfolk are descended from them, though Tobias and Maria are the only ones with enough blood left for substantial traits.

Meanwhile on the surface, the SPW employee with the history stand goes on a whole thing about the good the SPW could do using supernatural more freely, the other vehemently disagrees, there's a scuffle, and the mask ends up accidentally activated on the idealist.

The mask was an imperfect prototype, granting them vampire abilities but also zero control and feral bloodlust. Somehow, half the town ends up turning- vampire blood gets into the water supply somehow?

Maria's stand and pillarman powers awaken and fuse, giving her her stand, Powerwolf, a transformation type stand that gives her, essentially, a werewolf transformation supercharged by her pillarman powers while unlocking her full pillarman potential. She gets two long pillarman horns to gore people with, wolf form still with hands and opposable thumbs, has pillarman regen, and is hugely resistant to sun and hamon anyways!

This comes in handy as the winter nights and shadows of mountains and woods let the zombies escalate rapidly.

Meanwhile Kakyoin and Tobias go deeper in the caves, find their way past traps, and confront the ghost of the pillarman who was Kars's collegue. Tobias unlocks his pillarman-power-influenced stand, a draconic transformation named Dragonforce, with some bird and serpent aspects as an aztec mythology reference, and the ability to breathe sunfire. The ghost has a scene with Tobias about being proud of their descendants, Tobias & Dragonforce is the living culmination of their desire to touch the sun made manifest, etc, and the ghost leads them to a special anti-vampire 'magic' spear made to destroy Kars's creations if things got out of hand.

They fade away contented, but turns out they were holding back a bunch of angrier pillarman ghosts, who are now released and trying to possess some of the vampires on the surface to return to the living, giving them a huge power boost in the process.

Kakyoin and Tobias return to the surface to find Maria barely holding the line against a swarm of zombies and vampires, and the other SPW employee turns out to be a government spy in the SPW who WILL blow up the whole town, all of them, the caves, and kill all survivors, to ensure this can't spread if they don't manage to stop it.

Then, there's an epic fight scene with Maria wielding the magic spear on horseback, Tobias flying around in dragon form and breathing sunfire to kill them, Kakyoin getting to be the cool tactician and mentor, and the spy picking off stragglers with hamon.

It'd end after that, with the SPW able to send in more cleanup and Tobias and Maria joining the SPW and Kakyoin getting to be the cool mentor/parental figure/weird uncle for them in the future.

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 YOOOOOOOOO

that's absolutely wild but also sounds So Much Fun and Tobias and Maria sound amazing. Pillarmen shenanigans are always fun to play with

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Pulling on the Strings of Destiny: Act 2 Chapter 13

Summary: Four days pass for Japan, and everyone is on edge.  They wonder, and wait. What will happen next for them? Will Midoriya  keep rising? What sort of things would she face. They all turned towards  the screens, wondering. None more so then the future class 1-A, more so  as they get a glimpse into their first sports festival, first  internship and their final exams. Watch as Midoriya’s future continues  to unfold, as she learns more about her family, society and herself.

Warnings: References to underage pregnancy and the assualt of a minor. References to child harm. Toga Himiko to, she is her own warning.

ON AO3

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The amusement at the crushes shown to Izumi caused Hisashi to chuckle as he watched the screen. Ah, his daughter was quite the catch. Sure, he found the attention on his daughter a bit annoying, but it meant that people liked her. And when he got her back under his wing, perhaps she could convince others to follow.

 If anything, Tomura was the one upset his sister was being looked at like that. He did not enjoy the idea of anyone touching her! That was his sister! They would have to go through him first to date her! More so with Tomoe. His niece needed a good other parent.

  Izumi was oblivious to that, though. Or the bets being made on her future partner by a lot of the country and even the world. No, she was busy ignoring that, along with the snickering of her mentor and foster parents.

 Jerks. 

 However, the screen started up soon, and her mind became caught on the future.

All Might hands Tomoe off to Midoriya, who takes her with a groan. “God, that was embarrassing,” Midoriya complains.

 “A little bit, but it’s good you’re healing young Midoriya.” All Might tells her. “Thinking anyone is attractive yourself?”

 “Not really?” Midoriya admits. “I dunno. I mean, I thought Mirukio was attractive, and Hawks is too, though I honestly try not to dwell on that stuff. More so since Hawks is gay, it feels weird to think he’s cute when I’m a girl then.”

 “Eh, not like it matters,” Hawks mused. “I don’t mind.” It mattered if she tried to get him to change his mind. It had happened before, both with his transgender identity and sexuality, that people wanted to change his mind. The trans thing happened with a dick of a handler who was an extreme holdout who got fired after he’d threatened to ‘teach Hawks a lesson,’ and it freaked out some people on how he said it.

 (Hawks decided he didn’t want to know when he’d asked his new agent. The woman, Ito, had gotten a dark look in her eyes and said it wasn’t an issue anymore.)

 The sexuality thing was from the crazier fangirls. Girls who refused to see there wasn’t a chance or who deluded themselves into thinking he was lying to wait for them. The latter was rare; he’d only met two, but the first kind was widespread. He’d met just as insane men who were fans of him or even Miruko, but those ones weren’t in denial of his sexuality. 

 Midoriya acknowledging her attraction didn’t match his orientation was nice. Maybe more people would do that and move on, other than either claiming they could change it or whining that he was gay. Sure, You could be disappointed, but making a scene annoyed him. 

 “Well, I’m happy you feel you’re in a safe environment to explore those things.” All Might smiles, and Midoriya blinks.

 Oh. It’s not just because he’s arrested. It’s also because I’m out of mom’s house, isn’t it? Midoriya swallowed. Her plans for me… being attractive then meant I’d be a commodity for people to buy. Now it’s just teenager stuff… Midoriya shakes her head as she walks down the hall with All Might. Not something I want to dwell on for a while. I’ll do it tonight when I don’t have a tournament to face.

 It wasn’t. Izumi was safe to contemplate people being attracted to her or to feel her own attraction. But she wasn’t fond of it due to leaving her mother’s house. 

 Why did it have to be like that?

 The screen morphs to show Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu facing each other in the arena.

"Offense and defence in one! The dark samurai and his darker shadow! From the hero course, Tokoyami Fumikage, along with his conjoined twin Dark Shadow, will fight the great creator! She was admitted because of recommendations, and I think we can all see why. Also, from Class 1-A, Yaoyorozu Momo!" Mic announces. The crowd all erupts in shock.

 “His Quirk is his twin?” a woman asks in shock when the screen switches to them.

 “Wow,” her friend says. “I’ve heard of that stuff. Probably Tokoyami’s Quirk is his appearance, and his twin’s Quirk is… well, what the twin looks like. It’s rare.”

 “It’s impressive!”

 “It’s weird. Does it even count as like a Quirk?”

 “Of course, it does!” people all over the crowd chat about the different Quirk. The screen passes to 1-A’s seating area, where Midoriya enters with Tomoe, who holds her tightly.

 “Sorry guys, she doesn’t want to let go. Teachers say it’s fine, given she’s not in the fight exactly.” Midoriya apologizes as she moves to sit with Uraraka and Iida.

 “Hey, Tomoe’s our mascot now.” Kaminari declares. “Our good luck charm.”

 “Oui, little Tomoe is very lucky,” Aoyama chirps. He winks at Tomoe, who giggles. Bakugou scowls at the two, though he doesn’t say anything. Ojiro, near Aoyama, makes a face but shakes his head.

 “Lucky Tomoe!” Cheered Mina, ignoring Ojiro. 

 “She will be our lucky charm!” Hagakure said eagerly. “She’s cheering us all on!”

 “Her mother most of all,” Aoyama laughed, smiling at the screen. Being forced to spy or not, it was nice to see him able to interact with others to make friends. 

 “We’re all just accepting she’s part of the class,” Sero laughed. 

 “Of course she is!” Mina said dramatically. The class laughed, even Ojiro. 

 “So, Midoriya. You’re good at analysis,” the tailed teen says, drawing attention away from Tomoe. "How do you think this one will end? Any clue?" Midoriya glances to the field and hums.

"Timing is going to be the key thing here," Midoriya replies. Tomoe looks to the field.

 “Shadow?” the toddler asks. Midoriya pets Tomoe’s head.

 “Yeah, honey, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow,” Midoriya tells her. “And Yaoyorozu.”

 “Yao-momo?” Tomoe asks. Midoriya blinks as Kaminari snickers. Ashido, who walks in, also laughs.

 “Yaomomo!” The class cheered. Momo flushed as they all laughed. 

 “Hope you like the new nickname. Doubt you’ll lose it,” chuckled Jirou as she watched the sillier members repeat it.

 “It’s nice to have friends,” Momo admitted with a smile. It was. She always felt set apart from her other friends for her money. Or she would feel weird in the competition that many rich children had. She wanted friends, not rivals. She was happy to have them finally.

 “That’s a good one,” Ashido says as she sits down. Ojiro clears his throat.

"What do you mean by timing?” Ojiro asks.

 “Well, Yaoyorozu is more long-term strategy than short-term,” Midoriya explains. “Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, though… they’re brilliant and used to sudden environmental changes. It’s going to come down to if they can rush her or she can make the match last long enough to think.”

 “So a matter of luck then,” Fumikage mused as he looked at Yaomomo, who nodded her head.

 “Indeed. We will see who makes the first strike!” She beamed at Fumikage, the teen nodding back. They would.

The screen shows the arena again.

 Present Mic's description of Tokoyami was accurate. With Dark Shadow, he's skilled at both attacking and defending. Dark Shadow can appear instantaneously, so there's little doubt they'll start the match with a preemptive strike. If I can make a simple shield, I can block them. But I'll have to be fast about it, or else this fight will be over in a matter of seconds. Just like that. Then, if I have enough time to make... Yaoyorozu thinks.

 “And she lost,” Shouta said to Hizashi, who sighed.

 “Probably yes. We’ll have to work on her reactions.” He agreed.

 “It is possible she could still pull off a win,” Toshinori suggested as he played with Tomoe, having rejoined the adults. The two men gave him looks. “Unlikely but possible. She is quite intelligent.”

 “A chance is a chance,” Shouta allowed. “But the fact she’s thinking all of this right now isn’t a great sign.”

 “We never know,” Toshinori stressed.

"Second match! Begin!" Mic announces, causing Yaoyorozu to gasp. Panic is evident on her face as Tokoyami and Dark Shadow move.

"Go, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami orders.

Dark Shadow burst from Tokoyami's chest, cackling out loud as she did, "I've got her!"

Quickly! A shield! Yaoyorozu thinks as Dark Shadow moves towards her. A shield begins to materialize on her arm, and Dark Shadow slams into it, shoving her back.

 "Now it's my turn to attack!" Yaoyorozu says as a staff begins to form in her left hand. Dark Shadow, however, moves back to attack her, causing Yaoyorozu to lift her shield.

 “Ah… Yaomomo?” Mina turned with a wince to look at the taller girl, who looked lost as she stared at the screen. “Umm… there aren’t turns.”

 “I… yes, yes, you’re right.” The girl swallowed noisily. “I… forgive me, I need a moment.” She walked off soon after, leaving behind a group of wincing classmates.

 “Chess player syndrome,” Iida said. He coughed at the confused looks. “Apologies. My brother calls it that. It’s when someone like Yaoyorozu tries to apply the strategy they know to real life without thinking further. Like a chess player, going by the rules.”

 “… you are not nearly as straight-laced as I thought,” Kaminari said in awe. Jirou rolled her eyes as Iida shrugged.

 “I was raised by pro-hero parents. I like rules and structure. I detest when things go out of plan and get frustrated when I don’t have things happen just how I like them. Admittedly, I’m big on etiquette and the such, though I believe that may fade given how I’m already, as you’d say, ‘loosening up,’” Iida shrugged. “My brother recently told me that he taught me cheap shots, as some would call them, because he’d been trained to do so. I don’t think it’s inconceivable I can adapt.”

 “You’re not wrong,” Jirou said as she looked where Yaoyorozu went. “Should we go after her?”

 “Eh… I don’t think so. She’s probably embarrassed,” Mina said honestly. “I mean, a recommendation student losing because she didn’t think things through?” The girl shrugged. “Even if it’s just our first year, people are assholes.”

 I can't focus on my quirk! Yaoyorozuthinks as Dark Shadow keeps attacking her, driving her backward. Her shield breaks, but she quickly creates a new one before Dark Shadow strikes her again before stopping. Why has she quit? This is my chance! Yaoyorozu thinks as a staff begins to form in her left hand.

"Yaoyorozu! You're out! This match goes to Tokoyami and Dark Shadow!" Midnight announces. Yaoyorozu looks around before glancing down at her feet. The teen gasps in shock upon seeing her right foot over the boundary line.

 Momo flinched, gripping the sink in front of her. She’d escaped to the bathroom while the screen played, giving her a moment of peace. 

 She was so stupid. How could she … do that? She didn’t think things through and made such a rookie mistake! She could hear all their voices, all the kids at her old school. 

 Suck up.

 She bought her way in.

 Lazy bitch.

 She probably will end up on her back, won’t she?

 The thought of their words about her made Momo yank herself away from the sink to the toilet. 

 She was sick at the thought.

"Wow! Another fast victory!” Mic cries over the sound system. “Dark Shadow and Tokoyami are unstoppable, it seems!” Tokoyami bows to Yaoyorozu, Dark Shadow mimicking him before the two walk out of the arena.

"I lost... I didn't even... do anything," Yaoyorozu says sadly.

The screen shows class 1-A. Tomoe is cheering while Midoriya nods.

 “Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had a strategy worked out early, it seems. He obviously caught on to her ‘chess master’ mind and knew not to give her time to create like a bomb or anything.” Midoriya says. “She needs to work on her short-term strategy and maybe on her Quirk. She made that second shield super fast; I think it was instinct. If she could hone her creations to be instinctive…”

 “That’s an excellent point,” Shouta said. “Paintball gun that keeps shooting her at random times?” He asked Hizashi.

 “Yes, and she has to discard her shield each time.” His husband agreed.

 “Followed by adding another gun,” Toshinori said as he pulled out a small notebook to write down the ideas. “So she has to make two at once.”

 “Or armour.” Shouta nodded. “Plus exercises to help her refocus and keep calm.”

 “She can handle calm. I think she ends up overthinking more,” Hizashi said. It was very possible. The girl was intelligent, but she didn’t think things through perfectly. Or when she did, she stuck to one single possibility and couldn’t account for deviations. 

 She very much possessed a chess mind, as Tensei would say.

 “We are so lucky she doesn’t want to be a villain.” Uraraka remarks. Midoriya turns to agree before Kaminari speaks up.

 “Midoriya or Yaoyorozu?”

 “Both.” Uraraka, Iida, Ashido and Aoyama chime in, making Midoriya go red. The rest of the class laughs, though Bakugou scowls.

 The screen moves from the laughing faces to show Todoroki walking through a hallway.

 “If Tokoyami beat Yaoyorozu so easily, would he beat Midoriya?” Todoroki wonders before turning a corner and seeing Endeavor leaning against a wall. "What do you want?" Todoroki asks a sneer on his face.

 No one in Japan was happy to see the man. Endeavour had already decided to stay in his office for the day, ignoring his buzzing phone or the fact his sidekicks refused to look him in the eyes. Burnin’ had even closed her eyes to report to him. Pathetic. None of them understood what he did. 

 He deserved to be the number one. Now more than ever, given All Might had lied his entire career. He would be number one; he knew it. And his training would pass muster. It was harsh, perhaps, but how else to keep his masterpiece alive? He had to focus on Shouto over the others; the boy would be the next number one. 

 A line of unbroken heroes descended from the Todoroki family.

 Midoriya would be at the top for a while, but Endeavour doubted she would stay there. No, when Shouto managed to overcome her, she would step down from heroics, he bet. Take the time to parent her children properly she would have. Endeavour checked his phone. His contact hadn’t answered about the fostering situation yet, but their plans would work out.

 They always did. 

"You're acting disgracefully, Shouto. If you simply used the power in your left side, you would've had an overwhelming victory in both first rounds. It's time to stop this childish rebellion of yours. You have a duty to surpass that imbecile, All Might. Do you understand what I'm saying? You're different from your brothers. You're my greatest masterpiece," Endeavor states as Todoroki walks by the hero.

"Is that all you have to say to me, you bastard? I'll win this match and advance using only Mom's quirk. I won't give you the pleasure of seeing me use yours," Todoroki replies, continuing his walk.

"Even if that works for you in this tournament, you'll soon find the limits of that power," Endeavor growls after him.

 “… I have to say it, but the jerkass has a point,” remarked a civilian to another. 

 “Seriously?” Her friend asked. Kaze, a fellow worker in their office, turned to them. 

 “You’re not wrong. Todoroki refusing to use half his Quirk can have dire biological consequences, or in the future, he could lose a fight badly.” The rabbit-like man nodded. 

 “Exactly,” the first woman said. “Rebellion is all well and good, but he should stick to like dying his hair pink and dressing like a punk over anything else. So Endevaour has a point. He’s also still a bitch.” The group snickered.

The screen shows 1-A again, though Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu were with them this time.

 “Shadow!” Tomoe makes grabby hands at Tokoyami. The teen chuckles as Dark Shadow emerges to coo.

 “Hey Tomoe! Did ya see us?” the shadow asks.

 “Yes!”

 “Good job, Tokoyami, Dark Shadow,” Midoriya says to the two. Yaoyorozu looks small as she sits, hunched over.

 “Yeah, man and uh… gal, that was fast!” Kaminari says loudly. Yaoyorozu shrinks more.

 “Given you were going up to what amounts to a demigod, I guess you needed to be quick!” Uraraka jokes, her eyes flickering to Yaoyorozu. Midoriya and Uraraka trade a look when Yaoyorozu looks startled.

 Izumi nodded. Of course, she’d notice and try to cheer up Yaomomo. Honestly, it did just amount to luck in the end, with Tokoyami taking advantage to startle her enough to get her out of bounds fast. 

 Ochako felt the same, glancing at the door where the taller teenager was. They’d just been told online lessons would start soon and needed to prepare. While they used a classroom the day before, they’d be in the dorms for the classes, laptops and headphones provided. 

 “Ah, then we have triumphed over a demigod like a monster of old,” Tokoyami voices dramatically.

 “Usually, the demigod wins, but yeah,” Midoriya chuckles.

 “I don’t know if demigod fits…” Yaoyorozu voices softly.

 “Are you kidding?” Uraraka asks her. “Man, the only reason Tokoyami got you was because he and Dark Shadow knew better than to give you time to think!”

“Without a doubt,” Fumikage pitched his voice to be heard in the bathroom, hopefully. He didn’t want Yaoyorozu to feel bad or to hate herself. Though perhaps it would take longer than this. Who knew?

 “Indeed,” Tokoyami voices. “We knew your light would strangle our dark if we dared let you have time.” The short teen dramatically bows to Yaoyorozu. “You will one day be a terrifying warrior for the light.”

 “Just got to keep your mind sharp and train your creations to be instinctive. You were fast with the second shield- you didn’t need to wait and think of how it was made.” Midoriya tells Yaoyorozu. “Maybe you can train with Dark Shadow more or try to use a batting range to train your body to make shields on instinct. Along with weapons.”

 “That sounds lovely,” Momo said as she washed her mouth with water, having made a glass. She wiped her mouth with a towel she also produced. 

 She could already tell her phone would soon be flooded with messages from the nastier girls. Perhaps even Intelli was getting her comments in. 

 The thought made Momo want to puke more. 

 But she knew now where her weakness was. She could adjust it. She could.

 Hopefully…

 “I… thank you.” Yaoyorozu smiles gently at the three. They grin at her as Iida speaks up,

 “If you need any other help, I would like to work with you. I have… been reminded I tend to accept that people wish to be fair or are telling the truth, which can lead to destruction..” He frowns to himself.

 “Is this why Hatsume isn’t going to be part of the tournament?” Midoriya asks.

 “Yes,” Iida says. No one asks more as Mic’s voice rings around them.

"Enough standing around. Now, welcome to the ring, our next players!”

The screen shows Sero and Todoroki standing in the arena, facing each other.

"He's got skills! But at the expense of some really creepy-looking elbows. From the hero course, it's Sero Hanta!" Present Mic yells. "Versus, an early frontrunner in the competition who's way too strong for his own good. Someone who rightfully got into the hero course based on recommendations! It's Todoroki Shouto!"

The screen shows class-1A again. Midoriya’s attention was taken to the field, a frown on her face. Bakugou leans forward in his seat; eyes narrowed at the opponents.

 “I’m going to die,” Hanta said. “Endeavour pissed him off, and I’m going to face the consequences.”

 “R-I-P.” Kaminari spelt out. Hanta snorted as Todoroki just glared at the screen. He’d been furious since the scene he had with his dad, and no one had wanted to say anything. 

"And now, for the third match of the finals," Mic says over the mic as the view returns to the field.

"Ready?" Mic asks.

"Well, I don't really feel like I can win this fight," Sero starts saying, stretching as he does so lazily.

"Begin!" Mic yells out.

"But, man. I don't feel like losing, either!" Sero finishes his words, acting quickly. Tape shoots out from his arms, wrapping around Todoroki. Sero twists, aiming to throw the other teen out of the boundaries.

 “Holy shit!” A civilian laughed. “Go Sero!”

 “Kick the kid’s ass!”

"That attack could throw his opponents out of bounds!" Mic yells out amidst cries of shock. “A brilliant surprise opening from the underdog! Way to start off strong, Sero!"

 Todoroki is still swirling around, his hair covering his face, but then he briefly glances up, a dark shadow seemingly covering his face. “My apologies,” he speaks before placing his right foot on the ground. Ice speeds out from the point of contact, rushing out in a burst. Sero cries out as it reaches him.

The screen shows All Might and Recovery Girl in the stadium’s nurse's office. The room rumbles, causing Recovery girl to pause, looking up with a squint.

"Is that... an earthquake?" Recovery Girl asks.

"What the heck is going on? Was that?" All Might wonders.

 “Overkill,” Shouta said. “Bet you anything.”

 “No bet, babe.”

The screen shows the announcers' box. Present Mic and Aizawa stare at the field in shock right before the screen switches to 1-A’s box. A colossal glacier is before them, nearly hitting them as they stare at it. Tomoe whimpers, curling into her mother, tears in her eyes.

 “Cold!” she whines.

 Shouto winced a little. He didn’t mean to hurt Tomoe. He’d just been mad and… reacted…

 The dual-haired teen stood up and stalked out, eyes widening. He’d been mad and reacted. He hadn’t MEANT to hurt or startle anyone, but he had.

 It… it was an accident. Yes, it was. But he needed to be in control. He needed to prove he wasn’t his father. 

 Dabi scoffed at the screen. Stupid little brat, just like Endeavour, wasn’t he?

The screen shows the heroes Death Arms and Kamui Woods patrolling outside the stadium. At shouts, the two look up to see a glacier of ice coming out of the top of the stadium.

"Holy crap," Death Arms says in awe.

The screen shows the arena. Todoroki lets out a breath, his breath misting in front of him. The view switches to Endeavour, who watches the fight with a sneer. He snorts and looks away as the screen returns to the arena, where Todoroki breaks off the tape around him. The frozen pieces fall to the ground in a thump as Todoroki takes another breath.

"Um... don't you think you went overboard?" Sero asks off-screen. Todoroki looks up as the camera turns to Sero. The other teen shivers from where he sits, completely frozen in place.

 “Intense!” Inasa shouted. The tall teenager had been struggling with the reveals of Endeavour. He hadn’t met the younger Todoroki and thought the kid was like his father. Knowing the truth made it hard, but seeing this?

 It made his blood start pumping! It was so intense! Hot blooded! He couldn’t wait to meet him!!

"Tell the truth, Sero. Can you move at all?" Midnight asks as she shivers on the stage.

"Are you kidding? Obviously not. My body is freezing!" Sero replies.

"Sero has been immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round!" Midnight announces.

The screen shows the stands, the crowd staring in shock at what happened. People trade looks before a female pro hero calls out.

"Um. Well, nice try!"

"Nice try!" Another voice calls.

"Nice try!" More people join the chant.

"Nice try!" The entire crowd calls.

"Nice try!"

“Oh, because that’s not embarrassing.” 

 “Damn, I feel for that kid.”

The screen shows the arena again with Todoroki walking up to Sero. The red and white teen places a hand on the glacier holding the tape user. Steam begins to rise from the ice.

"Sorry. It was a bit much. I was angry, is all," Todoroki says softly.

 The screen moves to Midoriya, who looks at the field with a frown, her shoulders slumping as she holds Tomoe tightly.

"As the crowd shouted, trying to make Sero feel better, Todoroki took a moment to melt his opponent from the ice prison he'd created. For some reason, in that moment, he looked very sad to me," Midoriya's voice narrates.

Midoriya Inko sits on the couch in her apartment with her head in her hands.

 “I was wrong,” the woman says, shoulders shaking. “I was wrong.” She looks up with tear-filled eyes and sobs loudly. “I was wrong. God, what have I done to Izumi? To… to Tomoe!” the woman cries as her TV blares.

 “Are you…” Izumi sighed deeply. She put down the trash she’d been carrying to prop her hands on her hips. The sheer amount of whiplash she kept getting was baffling. 

 Her mother ran off; then it was revealed she’d attempted to force Izumi to give up Tomoe. Okay fine. But now this? Just…

 “What do you WANT?!” Izumi screamed at the screen. “What do you WANT, MOM? Do you want me back? Do you feel sorry for me? Are you finally realizing things?” 

 She couldn’t keep going around and around. She just couldn’t. 

 Her father repeated her emotions. He had loved Inko even if Izumi was more important to him. Killing her brought him only a slim amount of pleasure in destroying the person harming his family. Seeing her repent…

 No, it didn’t matter. She still did it. He had to hold onto that. She deserved punishment for her sins. And the only worthwhile punishment was death. 

 The conflicting emotions continued with Mitsuki. She knew Inko. She knew the woman was stubborn and refused to see things that didn’t match her views.

 But she still had hope. Hope the woman will one day realize she was wrong. People could change, and it would be an uphill battle, but they could. She could hope Inko would change. Maybe… maybe the future would show it. Perhaps they would see it. Maybe Inko would come back…

 She wouldn’t allow Inko around Izumi. She’d put herself between them until Inko and Izumi were ready to meet. She…

 She hoped.

"Welcome back to the finals, everyone! Sorry for that long wait! The huge amount of ice from the second match has finally been cleared, though, so it's time to welcome new competitors! We have the dazzling Frenchman- wait, is he?”

 “His mother is French.” 

 “Ah, thank you. Yes. We have the dazzling Frenchman Aoyama Yuuga, the sparkling man of 1-A, facing off against the one and only terrifying frog herself, Asui Tsuyu, also of 1-A!” Mic calls out as the screen switches to the two competitors walking out onto the field to face off. When they reach their position, Aoyama strikes a pose. He places a hand behind his neck and cocks his hip with a smirk.

 “My navel laser will lead me to greatness, mon ami. Perhaps you should give up already?” He asks.

 “Ribbit, I don’t think so.” Asui croaks out. The two face each other as Midnight cracks her whip. 

 “Please limit any large attacks,” the woman calls out. Both teens nod in an answer as Mic begins his countdown.

 “And BEGIN!” He shouts. Aoyama instantly shoots a laser out of his belt while Asui jumps, managing to get over said laser. She lands on the stage and shoots out her tongue to try and grab Aoyama. The teen dodges, shooting his laser at his opponent.

 The screen shifts to 1-A, where Midoriya observes the field with a frown.

 “Sooo, who are you rooting for, Midoriya?” Uraraka asks. 

 “It’s hard to say,” Midoriya admits. “Aoyama and his laser are a bit of a glass cannon, while Tsu is calm and durable. However, Aoyama can shoot his laser faster than Tsu can shoot her tongue out. Though she did one tell me…”

 The screen returns to the field where Asui opens her mouth and coughs hard, her stomach coming out through her mouth. Loud cries of disgust echo around the area, Aoyama pausing in his attempt to use his laser to gag. It gave Asui the time needed to use her stomach to regurgitate acid, spitting it at Aoyama’s belt. It lands on the belt and begins melting it. He shrieks as Asui swallows her stomach and uses her tongue to grab the blonde, throwing him out.

 “… Tsu, that was amazing but disgusting,” Ochako told the frog girl, who shrugged.

 “It worked, didn’t it?” Tsu asked. “Surprised the acid worked so well.”

 “Stomach acid is some of the most destructive acid,” Yaomomo said thoughtfully. 

 “Ick,” Aoyama made a face. “I do not want to fight you again.”

 “Well, you probably will!” Midnight declared as she walked into the common room. “Morning, kids! I’ll be your first chaperone, babysitter, whatever you want to call me! School starts after this episode!”

 “Midnight-Sensei,” Iida began politely, “how will we be able to focus with the screens?”

 “Think of it as a test for the future as heroes when you need to pay attention to multiple things,” Midnight said. “During important parts, we don’t mind, but sometimes you can just ignore what’s happening, or so we hope!”

 Ochako thought it was a wasted hope, but she’d find out. Maybe they could ignore it if needed.

 The screen goes back to Midoriya. 

 “That she can throw her stomach up to wash it. Excellent way of disturbing people. Didn’t know she could use the acid in it like that.” The green-haired girl wrinkles her nose, a hand firmly covering Tomoe’s eyes as the baby babbles. “Though honestly, that is impressive. I wonderwhatelseshecandowiththat.” Midoriya begins mumbling. Bakugou scowls at the back of her head.

 “Shut the fuck up, Deku!” he snaps loudly. “No one wants to hear your nonsense!”

 “Not true!” Uraraka says back. “Though I can’t understand it, what were you talking about Midoriya?”

 “Fucking- would they stop!” Katsuki glared at the screen. Deku was annoying! Why would they want to hear her? Sure, she was right about some stuff, but the muttering drove him crazy. Ugh. Whatever, he’d stop complaining. Just wait until she drove them all up the wall with her stalker tendencies.

 He ignored the voice in his head, repeating that she wasn’t a stalker. He was waiting for the proof he had changed to occur. It shouldn’t take too much longer. He just needed to be patient. After all, they saw Auntie change, and he’d been right! She was a good mom! She just needed time! He was a kid; he just needed time to! 

 Katsuki felt so assured by this proof that he’d already brushed past most of his doubts. Auntie had proven herself. A piece of his world was right, so everything else was right. 

 Katsuki fell upon the idea that he’d been right after days of being told he was wrong. A backslide in his halting steps forward to understand he was wrong. Time would only know if he could change or not. 

  Meanwhile, Shouto walked back into the common room after he’d used ice to create a sculpture. He ignored his future classmates and Midnight, who seemed willing to let him be. They’d already arranged to talk about Endeavour with Nezu in a few days. 

 Not that anything would change. No, his father was too powerful. At most, a slap on the wrist, Shouto knew. The fact that UA made moves against Bakugou in the future and that his unpleasant habits were being exposed now pleased him. 

 They couldn’t stop his father, but they would stop the next version of the man.

 “Ah, honestly, I was wondering what else she can do with her stomach. She mentioned a mucus that stings people too, so is she also somewhat a poison dart frog style with her own stomach acid this way?” Midoriya wonders out loud.

 “Frog?” Tomoe asks. “Like me?”

 “Ah yes, we’re talking about Tsu baby.” Midoriya kisses Tomoe’s head.

 “Wait, Bakubro!” Kirishima turns to Bakugou. “You need to get down to the waiting room!” Bakugou scoffs but stands up.

 “You better watch me, especially you half and half!” Bakugou turns to Todoroki, who just arrived, looking more annoyed. “I’ll prove you chose the wrong person to challenge!” Bakugou growls darkly before he stomps out of the stands.

 “He did!” Katsuki shouted angrily. He’d show them all! He was the best! He wouldn’t fail!

 Meanwhile, Monoma Neito felt very afraid. He walked into his classroom very pale, ignoring the looks of his classmates.

 He was going to die. 

 “Monoma is going to die,” Uraraka says flatly.

 “Bakubro won’t be too bad!” Kirishima disagrees.

 “No, he will,” Ashido says. “He was willing to go after him during the calvary battle, and he’s angry that Monoma dared fight him.” She scowls. “Can’t believe I worked with him.”

 “He’s a good guy!” Kirishima says. “Or, well, he can be! I can tell!”

 “Yeah!” Eijiro insisted. Ashido shook her head as Uraraka and Iida unsubtle stepped away from him. It hurt. It did. But he… he couldn’t just abandon Bakugou! He was a good guy! Eijiro knew it! He saved him after all, and they saw how he’d jumped in to save All Might! It only made sense! 

 His thoughts were mimicked by a lot of the public, who agreed. There had to be some sort of good in him. There had to be an outside reason for his actions; after all, bullies often were abused at home. Or did the school let him down?

 It was more comforting to think that everyone around him was the issue than the idea that a child could be so wrong.

 “What do you think, Midoriya?” Tokoyami asks, his voice a bit loud. Kirishima winces, hearing him speak. Midoriya bites her lip.

 “I don’t want to talk about it,” she says after a second. “But I will say the idea he’s never had anyone to show him the ‘right way’ is wrong. He’s just never faced consequences for his actions.” Kirishima frowns, shaking his head.

 “He was willing to jump in to save All Might! He trusted all of you to be able to fight off the villains! He willingly went to help Aizawa-sensei!” Kirishima says firmly.

 I wonder how much of that was due to him wanting to get even about someone who got the drop on him, though, given he went right for Kurogiri, Midoriya thinks. She doesn’t say it out loud, though, instead focusing on Tomoe, who tugs on her shirt.

 Eijiro hadn’t thought about that. It had to be wrong, though. After all, who'd be that stupid to attack someone way more skilled just because they beat you once? Only idiots would do that. 

 “Potty,” the girl says. Midoriya stands with the girl and nods to her classmates as she walks out of the seating area. The screen moves from her to one of the waiting rooms where Monoma is sitting. He has his eyes closed and is breathing as deep as possible. His hand goes to his pocket and pats it before he lets out his breath.

 “Alright, I can do this.” He mutters. He walks to the door and opens it. Leaving the room, he begins his walk towards the arena. Midoriya and Tomoe appear, walking back from the bathroom as he does.

 “Oh!” Midoriya pauses upon seeing him.

 “Huh?” Tomoe blinks, staring at the blonde boy, who stares at them in shock.

 “Ah! Sorry- I was taking Tomoe to the bathroom when she wanted her rabbit, and this is the way to the stairwell to the locker rooms where I tucked her toys earlier!” Midoriya laughs. “Good luck, your Quirk is really cool.”

 “You truly think so?” Monoma asks her.

 “Well, yeah,” Midoriya says. “I think it’s a super cool Quirk- I like Quirks in general, so a Copy Quirk? Really cool.” Midoriya smiles at him, and Monoma blinks. He glances at Tomoe and then at Midoriya herself.

 “Don’t say something stupid,” Neito muttered to himself. He had a case of foot-in-mouth syndrome, as his mom called it. Just saying stupid stuff without thinking. He tried to tone it down, but sometimes it slipped. 

 “You are not as full of yourself as I thought 1-A would be,” he says, sniffing slightly. Midoriya blinks and then shrugs.

 “Most of us aren’t. But ego isn’t a bad thing; it’s only when it becomes too crazy that it’s bad, right?” Midoriya shrugs. “When you think of everyone as lesser or hurt people… that’s when it’s bad.” Midoriya’s shoulders slump slightly before she places a smile back on her face. “Good luck!” she repeats. Monoma watches her go, a somewhat stunned look on his face before he returns to walking out to the field. The screen morphs to the announcer’s booth, where Mic is frowning.

 “I’m not too certain about this,” he tells Aizawa. “Bakugou was stopped from fighting him in the calvary battle, and he’s got to be mad.”

 “Bakugou’s smart enough to know he can’t do anything on live television,” Aizawa replies. “His parents certainly never had any clue about any of his behaviours before we told them about it and before the battle trials. He knows when not to act up when he can face consequences.”

 That… was something very unsettling to Eijiro. But he couldn’t let himself believe it. People were so mean for no reason! Like… Bakugou was just misled. He acted better in front of his parents cause everyone did! Eijiro acted excellently in front of his dads, after all! And you always put your best face forward in public! 

 Meanwhile, Katsuki scowled darkly at the screen, very bitter. Hobo-sensei could fuck off. He was acting polite. You did that in public. 

 He ignored the voice, pointing out he’d always avoided putting Deku in her place around his parents or when they weren’t in areas he could, like school. It was being polite. 

 “True,” Mic nods before he flicks on the microphone. “Hello festival goers! We’re back with our fourth match of the tournament! In one corner, we have the explosive blonde who managed to make a smooth comeback during the cavalry battle, Bakugou Katsuki from class 1-A. In the other corner, we have the copycat, the blonde with the potential of a thousand Monoma Neito from class 1-B!” Mic cheers as the screen moves to the field where Bakugou and Monoma stand.

 “I’m going to enjoy this,” Bakugou says, grinning. Monoma scoffs.

 “Oh, so you’re that egotistical? Did your feelings get hurt when I called you a damsel in the second event?” Monoma taunts. Bakugou snarls once more as the countdown rings around them.

 “BEGIN!” Mic cries out. Bakugou launches himself forward, and Monoma slams his hand into his pocket before yanking it up, his body turning steel.

 “And it seems that Monoma got his hand on some Quirks to help him in this match!” Mic calls out. “Tetsutetsu’s Quirk is giving him a hand here!”

 “So MANLY!” Tetsutetsu shouted with his fists in the air. Monoma seemed so cool! He couldn’t wait to meet him, even if Kendo wasn’t cool. He bet the others were super cool!

 “Fucking weakling!” Bakugou roars as he blasts Monoma. The copy teen winces and then attempts a punch, Bakugou dodging it. “You’re pathetic, needing to rely on others to be a hero!” Bakugou growls out.

 “And you’re just a lowlife who needs to get the upper hand on everyone!” Monoma shoots back as he gets out of the way of a blast from Bakugou. He switches Quirks, his hand expanding as he swats at Bakugou. A call of ‘Kendo’ rings out from Mic, pinpointing the owner of the Quirk. Monoma surprises Bakugou enough to startle him, knocking the blonde aside. It’s not enough for it to work, as Bakugou manages to use his Quirk to stop himself from being knocked out of the ring, causing explosions to push him away from the edge.

 Monoma responds by shrinking his hand to shoot some explosions at Bakugou, having copied the Quirk himself. The copy Quirk user winces, shaking his arm after one large explosion that Bakugou had to dodge.

 That hurts. Bakugou must have worked on strengthening his arms a lot to be able to do that. Monoma frowned. Damn it, I knew better than just to assume I could use a Quirk I copied right away, even if I hadn’t had an issue with a brief use before. I learned that years ago.

“Why do I always forget that,” Neito asked himself.

 “Cause you’re a lazy copycat,” a classmate mocked. Neito snorted at them.

 “Says the one with the intelligence Quirk they purposely got a license to use in everyday situations.” He mocked back. “When it only activated if you drink tea.”

  Intelli Seiko flushed, glaring at the boy. It was unfair! First, that ridiculous Yaoyorozu got into UA despite her scandalous Quirk and now this brat? So unfair! 

 She hadn’t seen herself either, which meant the school was foolish enough to ignore her. HER! The most incredible mind since Nezu! She’d show them! She’d beat them all! Perhaps she would even meet Midoriya herself and win the girl away from them. Allying herself with the future number one was the best idea, after all. 

 The screen turns to the stands.

 “Damn, the copy kid is neat,” a hero says to her seat neighbour. “Think I can bug my agency into accepting him as an intern?”

 “Sounds cool. I like the explosion kid, though. He’s got fire.” Her neighbour says.

 “Dunno, explosions like that?” a hero behind them says. “He’s a walking collateral damage sign. Rather go for the copy kid.”

 “I stand by that,” the hero on the screen said. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I cause enough damage with Metal Fists; I don't need any more.”

 A few others agreed though others thought if the kid could learn to control himself better, he'd be a good choice. He had the power. He just needed control.

Neito smiled to himself. He'd never heard that before, that someone chose him over someone else. It was always ‘we'd rather have the actual person with the Quirk than a cheap copy.’ It was nice to hear that someone chose him. It made the voice inside him that kept saying he was useless shut up a bit.

 Though for the explosive teen himself…

 “WHAT THE FUCK! THAT’S BULLSHIT!”

 “KATSUKI KNOCK IT OFF!”

 The screen returns to the battle where Monoma is steel once more as Bakugou launches a barrage of attacks. It’s a war of attrition as long as he’s focused on me like this. Monoma thinks. I have a time limit, and even steel will collapse to explosions. I should have tried to figure something out with Bondo. Gluing this guy’s hands together would work!

 Bakugou is close enough to the other boy that Monoma manages to kick at Bakugou, knocking him back, but he has no time to do anything else before Bakugou recuperates quickly. The explosions are getting bigger and bigger, the ground ripping up from around Monoma.

 “Done talking, huh?” Bakugou taunts. “Pathetic.” Monoma’s hands clench in response.

 “… I am going to wipe that smirk off his face,” Neito decided. Intelli scoffed, but Neito ignored her. He would make that boy regret his words.

 Yeah, and I’m not going to win. But I will make sure he loses that smirk. Monoma thinks as he takes another kick at Bakugou. Bakugou dodges, but as he does, Monoma switches the quirk. Instead, scales develop up his arms, and he clenches his fists. Some of the scales shoot off his arms at Bakugou, who yelps.

 “It looks like Monoma has switched to Hiryu Rin’s Quirk Scale!” Mic shouts over the crowd as Monoma continues to shoot at Bakugou.

 The named boy grinned. He made it into UA! That was so cool! And hey, Monoma was using his Quirk to show him off! Awesome!

 The screen swaps to Midoriya, who is watching on a TV screen in the locker rooms.

 “He’s giving his classmates a hand up by showing their Quirks off,” Midoriya remarks as Tomoe cuddles her bunny. “It’s impressive.” She kisses Tomoe’s head when the toddler pulls on her tank top. Midoriya pauses after she does. “Ah, I need a new overshirt.”

 “There’s some in the public lockers,” a voice says. Midoriya jumps and turns to see the ponytail girl, who gives her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m Kendo Itsuka.”

 The screen pauses on the girl as Mic speaks up, “Kendo Itsuka! Quirk: Big Fist! She’s able to enlarge her hands while also increasing her strength. She’s a fiery redhead with a bit of a temper!” The screen continues.

 “I don’t have a temper!” Itsuka said, insulted even as some classmates exchanged nods. Fit her to a tea.

 “Nice to meet you,” Midoriya says, bowing her head. “You were the big hand Quirk, right?”

 “Indeed,” Kendo agrees. She frowns. “Is Monoma bothering you?”

 “What? No.” Midoriya shakes her head. “He’s been weird, but I think he’s hyper-aware not to say anything wrong.”

 “Huh,” Kendo blinks. “He’s been snappish about 1-A for a bit, though Tetsutetsu managed to calm him down without me stepping in. I thought he was doing it secretly.”

 “Well, he’s probably been snarky to others, but I think he’s unwilling to say anything to me.” Midoriya shrugs.

 “At least he has some tact, then.” Kendo sighs. “Sorry, I just find him annoying.” She admits.

 “That’s rude,” Izumi said. She began grabbing trash again, wanting to focus on something other than her emotions spiralling inside her. Her mom realized she was wrong. No? After she crossed the line of no return? 

 Or was it the line? Could Izumi accept her mother again? Could she go through with the pain of dealing with her mom? Or not?

 It confused Izumi too much, so hauling trash and focusing on the screen was better. More so, given that Kendo was acting rude. Why would anyone just out and say they found someone annoying like that?

 “Everyone’s a little annoying,” Midoriya says as behind them, the TV shows Monoma shooting more scales, Bakugou forced to use his Quirk to destroy them rather than dodge. “Monoma strikes me as someone who has always been compared to others. He was startled when I said his Quirk was cool.” 

 “It doesn’t give him a right to whine and moan about things,” Kendo sniffs. She shakes her head. “Just tell me if he’s being a pest, I’ll set him straight.” Midoriya pauses.

 “Didn’t… didn’t it say she hit him?” a civilian asks a friend.

 “... I think it did.” swallowed the other, the two trading looks. What the fuck? Did the girl hit someone for being annoying? What kind of person did that stuff? 

 “How would you set him straight?” Midoriya asks. Kendo lifts a hand and mimes a chop.

 “Discipline,” she says. “It’s the only way to get boys to listen.”

 “So you physically assault people because they’re annoying,” Midoriya says. Kendo blinks and shakes her head.

 “It’s not-”

 “It is.” Midoriya grabs an overshirt and pulls it on, juggling Tomoe. “Excuse me, but I’d rather not be near a bully.” She leaves the locker room, Kendo standing there looking puzzled.

 “What?!” Itsuka shouted. “I’m no bully-”

 “Yeah, you are,” one of her more common victims said. “You smack me constantly when I’m arguing with Chano, my FRIEND, and we play argue. You refuse to listen to us when we tell you you’re wrong.” Itsuka scoffed at the boy.

 He had to be lying. They all were; she wasn’t a bully. It was discipline that she would smack people who were annoying others or being pests. It wasn’t bullying. They were all lying because they hated being pointed out as bad people. 

 She wasn’t a bully!

 The screen morphs once more. Monoma is glaring; teeth bared as he shoots scales, dodging around Bakugou as the other teen blasts away. The copy teen ends up near the edge of the boundary line. He glances down and then up. Bakugou’s face is pulled into a terrifying grin, eyes on fire as Monoma’s arms slowly descale, the scales landing on the ground.

 “Oh fuuuuuuck,” Neito muttered, staring at the screen. 

 In his home, Katsuki smiled like a shark. He was going to show them. He’d put the rat in his place and enjoy it.

 “Out of time, huh, copycat?” Bakugou barks. “I’m going to enjoy this.” He grins ferally.

 I want that smirk off his face, Monoma thinks angrily. His hands shake as he glares back. He glances down one more time, and then he smirks himself. I wish I could prove my superiority over this bastard, but I must consider how my abilities are lacking in some areas. However, I know just how to put him in his place. The next blast from Bakugou causes Monoma to step back right over the boundary line.

 Silence hovered around Japan and those watching elsewhere. 

 At least until the first person snickered in each area, for Neito’s classroom, it was the teenager himself. For I-Island, it was Melissa who giggled. At the beach, Shouta snorted.

 People began laughing hard. In disbelief but also amusement. Monoma had lost on his terms; he’d stepped back and let things happen. It was something that, while petty, everyone found funny. 

 Even Hisashi in his lair laughed as Tomura cackled, high-pitched. Both greatly appreciated the boy for his actions, putting the explosive brat in his place.

 Only three people didn’t laugh. Mitsuki and Masaru had exchanged looks before looking towards their son’s chillingly silent door.

 “Monoma is out of bounds!” Midnight declares. Bakugou freezes. Monoma makes sure to lock eyes, a smirk on his face before he plasters a disappointed look over it. Bakugou’s face goes still as he stares at Monoma, who bows. A roaring sound echoes around Bakugou, and it looks like Midnight is speaking.

 But Bakugou only stands there, eyes widening as Monoma walks away. A look of rage passes over his face, and he steps forward with his hands crackling, but the sharp snap of Midnight’s whip breaks through the roar.

 Katsuki exploded. “THAT RAT FUCKING BASTARD SON OF A BITCH! HE FUCKING STEPPED OUT ON PURPOSE! IT’S HORSESHIT! I DIDN’T WIN! HE CHEATED!” The teen let out bursts from his hands, screaming his rage at the screen. He didn’t destroy anything; it was his own home, and he wouldn’t want to break his things. 

 But he made plenty of noise as he screamed out his rage. It wasn’t fair. He was supposed to show the world that he was the best! He was supposed to force UA to acknowledge he had to go to their school! Yet this copycat freak decided to step out of bounds! 

 He was going to KILL HIM!

 “You won, Bakugou,” she tells him. “Go.”

 He does wordlessly, rage still apparent on his face even so. His shoulders shook as he stomped away, the screen shifting to the announcer’s booth.

 “Our next opponents will be on the field in a few minutes while we fix the damage,” Mic says into his microphone before he turns it off. “So, did Monoma purposely step out?”

 “I’m about forty percent sure he did,” Aizawa agrees next to him. “If so, I don’t know why.”

 “To annoy Bakugou?” Mic asks. “I can understand the wish.”

 “Wow,” Mika muttered as she wiped her tears away. “Even the teacher?” 

 The sentiment was carried by many. A few felt it unfair, given the boy was a teenager, but others only felt agreement. The kid was annoying on screen. Few would be able to put up with his attitude in truth. Screaming, yelling, and verbal abuse just wasn’t something they could deal with. He wasn’t the type of person they liked at all. 

 Katsuki himself just yelled even more. Who did that cockatoo bastard think he was?!

 “Hizashi, you’re supposed to be a neutral teacher.” Aizawa reminds his husband.

 “I am, but I can’t really like him,” Mic admits. “He’s annoying, and while the kid is at least good at English, he is offended he’s not the top scorer. Have you seen how mad he gets whenever he hears that someone is higher ranked than him?”

 “You’re already giving out rankings?” Aizawa asks.

 “Usually, we wait till midterms…” Shouta looked at his husband, who shrugged. 

 “Don’t look at me right now. I give them out if asked, but I don’t know what’s happening.”

 “Only for those who ask. Bakugou demands it once a week and is furious whenever I tell him he’s still only fifth in the class. He knows someone is fluent but hates that he’s not second, at least,” Mic replies. “It’s concerning how personal he takes it. I was wondering if I should direct him to Hound Dog.”

 “You think there’s something mental going on?” Aizawa asks.

 “EXCUSE ME?!” Katsuki shouted. He wasn’t crazy! He was perfectly sane, thank you!

 His parents looked at each other again. Their son wasn’t crazy or anything. But… they honestly were wondering this now, too. How could he do all those things and not think they were wrong? How could he act like he was without thought? Maybe some disorder? 

 They didn’t want to think their son was just like that. It hurt too much to think their son could be so selfish and cruel.

 “I’m thinking that there’s got to be some sort of complex the kid has, and while we have him on the Red Flag, I don’t know if just giving him consequences will fix his issues. The kid is a brat who was allowed to do what he wanted, but I actually do wonder about his issue with not being the best,” Mic says.

 “Could just be that he was top of the class before,” Aizawa suggests. Mic shakes his head, frowning as he stares at the field, Cementoss fixing up the arena.

 “Not like this,” Mic says. “He gets offended and furious about it. Not just upset or annoyed. I had to threaten him to get him to shut up after the first test, where he cornered me after class and demanded to know who cheated to be better than him.”

 “He actually thought som… no, wait. He thought Midoriya cheated to get in,” Aizawa says. “He doesn’t like it when his world is shaken, does he.”

 “Doesn’t look it,” Mic says. “Kid’s going to need a reality check and a full-on hand-holding. Don’t know if UA can help with that.”

 “Or if it’s something Hound Dog can help with,” Aizawa says. “He’s not a full therapist after all.”

 Hound Dog shook his head. He wasn’t a therapist at all. He knew a few people he could call and ask for help, but he wasn’t sure who would be willing to work at UA. Honestly, Second Chance sounded to be the best route for the boy. He had issues upon issues from the sounds of it, and Hound Dog couldn’t handle them. The therapists at Second Chance could, though, given they specialized in dealing with borderline criminal teenagers, cases of abuse, anti-social personalities or more.

 In all honesty, Hound Dog thought Second Chance rivalled UA for their programs. It was just that no one considered them viable because they were a reform school. You would be surprised by how many kids they got, though. Some were there because of discrimination, but a majority were kids who had gotten big heads or were violent. Bakugou would fit it. He had a big head due to how society treated him, with the lucky break of having been praised for a strong Quirk rather than despised for an explosive one, which led to him using his Quirk how he wanted to without care. If it was just how he was raised or a mental condition making his traits worse, they would figure it out and help. 

 Hound Dog just felt happy the kid could get that chance. As long as Bakugou didn’t screw up now, SC would accept him. If he did screw up in the new timeline, bad enough that they wouldn’t let him in, the hero feared what the boy would become.

 The screen changes to Bakugou, the teen snarling as he stomps down the hallway.

 “That bastard! He stepped out! He gave up!” Bakugou growls. “COWARD!” Bakugou roars.

“He is a fucking coward!” Katsuki screamed. The shit was not facing his due punishment. How sickening! The little shit had whatever happened to him coming!

 That bastard is nothing more than another pebble in the road! Yet I couldn’t prove that I was better than him! Bakugou thinks angrily. His hands shake as he stomps down the hallway. He looks furious as he glares at nothing.

 Everything is wrong. I didn’t get first place at all in the past two events! I’m the best! I’m the future number-one hero! No one can beat me! Bakugou growls as he finishes his thoughts.

 “I’m going to win,” he vows darkly. “I’m going to win this tournament and remind all the extras who is better than them! And then I will find that copy-bastard and show him never to step out of bounds again purposely!”

After that, the screen went to the timer, and Neito laid his head on his desk. 

 “I’m going to die in the future… at least the smirk is gone,” he muttered. He ignored the voices around him of his classmates, just focusing on his thoughts. He had lost the fight but also won in his own way. He chose to step out of bounds, not face being beaten by Bakugou.

 It felt good to know he had managed that. Maybe it put in a good word for him at UA now that he had been able to face the teen head-on without worry. Maybe heroes saw and thought he did good.

 Maybe Midoriya saw; wow, he should not be thinking of that. Probably. Even if she was kind of cute.

 (UA did take notice, with Nezu drafting an email to accept the boy into the school immediately. Without Bakugou or Mineta, 1A was lacking two students, after all. 

 Some heroes did take note, too, writing his name down for the future. A kid who won in his way was a good choice for internships. It showed he was willing to do what it takes to win and could think outside the box.

 And as for Midoriya? She noticed, too. And was very impressed by someone pulling one over on Bakugou.)

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Notes 

Hey! Sorry for the long wait. I took a mental health hiatus over the summer after trying to do some pride stories and realized I couldn’t think. I could not write and felt majorly off. I’m better now, particularly now. School is coming back, and I quit nights, which probably helped. But I’m back, baby!

Fun facts before we start:

 This originally was two chapters. I put them together due to their shortness.

And I got two comments complaining about how I wrote Kendo on the last chapter… and I deleted them both, followed by blocking one of them because they basically ranted about how I ‘needed to check my facts before putting my headcanon here’ and ‘Kendo is in the right to hit Monoma’ never mind YOU NEVER PUT YOUR HANDS ON SOMEONE LIKE THAT. Also, my fic, my rules, ya’ll don’t need to read (ALA, that one dumbass who also went: bad Inko, all I need to know is not to read this drivel, which… it’s in the tags?!)

 Kendo smacking Monoma is NOT OKAY. I don’t care about the justifications. Hitting someone because they’re ‘annoying’ isn’t okay. If I have Bakugou in trouble, why wouldn’t I address Kendo? No, seriously, why? Why do we have a double standard of female-on-male violence being okay while male-on-female violence is not? Smacking someone so hard they pass out is horrible, and Kendo is a bad person for doing it, so she gets stopped early in this fic. (And Vlad SUCKS for not stopping it in canon) Seriously, I was surprised I got those comments, but none about the Hatsume stuff or Nighteye. Or Dabi.

 This also led to me adjusting some stuff. Kendo will get redemption, but the comments, added to the fact that I wasn’t happy with how I was going about it, led to me having it take much longer. 

-Ochako and Izumi there to save the day with their minds because Yaoyorozu needed a pick me up!

-Bakugou back sliding was due to him just not wanting to admit he’s wrong still. He can’t admit it to himself at all, and latched onto the idea of Inko proving she’s a good person as proof he was right. That he isn’t a bad person. That he still gets what he wants. Recovery is never linear, and backsliding happens.

-Can Tsu spit her stomach acid out like that? I dunno, but here she can. With her extra training with Izumi, she figured it out.

-I saw a translation of the original Japanese saying Endeavour used the word ‘brothers’ rather than siblings in his speech here. So I changed it here. Endeavour is aware women can be heroes; it’s just in his mind, the perfect legacy is male. He’s the sexist, saying, ‘Yeah, they can, but not as good as men, and they should focus on raising children.’

-Monoma’s crush on Izumi is more of a ‘she saved me, I found out she’s been through shit, she’s skilled and smart, AHHH’ sort of thing. It’s superficial, honestly. Honestly, half the crushes I have planned are partly: teenagers are weird and gain crushes at the drop of a hat sometimes, and the rest is ‘I am so damn tired of the double standard where it’s okay for the male to gain the attention of all the girls in a series, but it’s not for the female.’

-The fight with Monoma feels lacklustre because I went in with the idea of it being a black mark for Bakugou and then had to stop because, like Aizawa pointed out-, Bakugou is smart enough know to avoid being caught by people who’d care about his bullshit. Then I was like, what if I instead had the fight be still brutal but ended up nixing that to because I felt like Monoma would recognize when to bow out? He’s a little shit with low self-preservation, but in the end, he’s not dumb. Plus, being able to piss Bakugou off more? Priceless. Bakugou knows Monoma purposely stepped out of bounds, but no one else will. Bakugou did not get the fight or the revenge he wished for.

-I also used the idea that Monoma can’t use a Quirk perfectly right away, but instead of him JUST learning it here, I was like: this kid definitely used to try and copy a lot of Quirks from a young age and realized that early. He forgets a lot.

-In this AU, Kaminari is fluent in English. He’s number one in that class, followed by Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Todoroki. Bakugou is next, then Midoriya.

-While writing another fic, I realized that Bakugou calling Izuku ‘Deku’ for ‘dekunobu’ as in useless wooden doll is… malicious for a toddler. Especially how he said it, and yes- an adult wrote it, but canon, it’s freaky. It startled me to realize this, and I had to sit down and think about it. Typical toddlers don’t do that shit. Plus the drive to be number one, Bakugou’s attitude- it makes me wonder, you know. Mic also picked up on this because, again, this attitude about NEEDING to be the best is strange for the ‘bad boy’ vibes he tries for. So, Mic is wondering if something else is going on.

-You cannot convince me that Bakugou WOULDN’T think this. He is obsessed with being the best, and everything so far has shown him that he isn’t. The USJ almost did, but then the sports festival, the fact ONLY one person tolerates him, Monoma stepping out of bounds to have Bakugou feel he won in the wrong way… He’s close to the edge.

[marshmallowprotection]

It doesn't seem likely that Saeyoung would be okay with an MC with kids during his own route, but how do you think he would react to meeting someone with kids after the events of Ray's AE? I can see it working out a lot better in this context

Alright, Anon, you've found the loophole. In the context of this situation, there is nothing that would make this an impossible scenario.

Part of the reason why it's so difficult to imagine an MC with kid(s) in Saeyoung’s Route is due to how much danger you’re in. Not only was it stupid to go to a secondary location, but it's also that much more stupid to take somebody who is a child into a situation like that.

His trust in you would be slim to none at that point given how much he wants to protect children from ever falling into a situation that they don't need to be anywhere near. On top of that, he is afraid of hurting innocent people, and having you and a child in that situation that he's in would not mesh well. He wouldn't be able to trust you or he wouldn't be safe later on in the stress of his route since he would be adamant you stay with Jumin until he saved his twin.

But, if we were to imagine him meeting somebody with children after Ray Route instead, that seems to be the safest and most reasonable option. He isn't going to be afraid something bad is going to happen because every threat that could have gotten to him will be more or less taken care of.

There are always people who he pissed off when he was an agent in the years he was trapped, but the threat of those people is a lot less terrifying to him than Saejoong or the Agency were. He can handle a single threat a lot better than a large threat. The devil he knows is so much better than the devil he doesn't. His paranoia has him prepared for a nuclear war if we want to get right down to it.

Since he doesn't have to be afraid that something is going to go horribly wrong, that means he's going to have an easier time settling into a relationship with someone. Of course, this isn't something that's going to come without a lot of work. He needs to work on himself for a while before he's ready for any relationship.

He has to figure out what he wants out of life because he no longer has to live solely for his brother. He can make a life for himself and that's terrifying because he's never thought about that before. Sure, there was a time when he had dreams and aspirations, but he never let himself get too far into them.

It's hard to say how long it's going to take for him to figure out what he wants out of life. He probably needs to do what Saeran is doing. Saeyoung needs to travel and explore his options so he doesn’t feel like he’s been left behind. He's the kind of person that is always doing for other people because he's just that self-sacrificial.

So, he needs to learn how to be selfish and want things for himself before he can settle into a relationship. There are a lot of factors that are going to affect him when he gets into a relationship, as well. It's not just the stuff we know... like, how he is insecure and afraid of his reflection in the mirror.

He needs to learn how to take off his mask and since he isn't sure who the person is underneath all of those layers of trauma, it's going to be difficult to know who he is as a person by himself, much less in a relationship. 

All that aside, how likely is it that he'd fall in love with a person who already has a kid(s)?

The likelihood of him falling for somebody who already has children is just as likely as him falling for somebody who doesn't have children. The only difference in this situation is that if you already have a child, he is going to have to confront a lot of things ahead of time that he wouldn't have otherwise in a relationship with somebody who didn't have children.

That is to say, who is he if not a man who fears becoming his parents?

His worst nightmare is doing something horrible to somebody just as it was done to him. The last thing he wants is to be his mother or father. Even if there's no chance that he would ever be anything like them, it doesn't mean he's going to stop being afraid of the likelihood that it could happen. That's going to be a problem for him. A major kind of problem that doesn't go away in a day.

This is going to be a problem for him no matter what the context is for having children. It doesn't matter if you're having them, adopting them, or what have you, he's always going to be dealing with this internalized fear that many abused children have when they become adults and they consider having a family of their own. Saeran will be likely to fear the same thing, too.

Falling in love with somebody is the easy part. 

It's everything that comes after that that'll be difficult for Saeyoung. Strangely enough, he's great with kids and he really has no sort of reasonable backing to think otherwise. He knows how to make a kid laugh and make them feel comfortable. It's that part of him that leans into his joking nature to cope and hide how nervous he is.

It's easy to put on that mask again and play the part of a fool to amuse somebody. It works when he's looking after some kids. The hard part is learning how to be more than just the funny guy who makes the kids laugh.

He can be very supportive and make sure that a kid doesn't feel like they've been forgotten because he knows what that feels like. The problem for him is when it comes to serious discussions because he gets overwhelmed with the fear that he might say or do the wrong thing which would put a kid in trouble later.

What if he says the wrong thing?

What if his advice is bad?

I don't see him having any problem with falling in love with somebody because he is somebody who loves a lot and once he's comfortable with it, there's no doubt in my mind that he would be able to enjoy it.

I only see him having a problem with confronting his fears and paranoia. That can be a lot for somebody to deal with, not just himself. So, it doesn't matter if you have a kid or not, be prepared for the fact that having a relationship with him means that you're going to have to confront a lot of things that you might not have ever considered, and you need to be willing to be patient with him as he learns how to be human. You're not putting all the work into this, though, he is going to have to put in as much effort as you do since this is a mutual relationship that goes both ways. 

Tackle his insecurities with him and see if it works out, that's the only advice I can give for somebody who wants to be in a relationship with him.

[neptunzs]

⊠    ɪᴅ  .  .  .  ʟᴏᴀᴅɪɴɢ    ››    mercy  headquarters  is  pleased  to  officially  introduce  MALEE “MAY” PAWITYAKUL.  they  have  been  apart  of  the  organization  for  six  years,  serving  as  A  INTELLIGENCE AGENT  and  has  been  assigned  the  codename  AGENT  NEPTUN.  it's  worth  noting  that  their  file  indicates  they  have  not  undergone  the  solaris  treatment  and  DO  NOT HOST  A  MUTATION.  according  to  our  dossier,  the  agent  exhibits  a  combination  of  ADVENTUROUS and  OVERCRITICAL  traits,  fitting  for  someone  reminiscent  of  the  sight  of  a  soft  hand  offering  help  while  also  wanting  to  fight  in  solitude.  prior  to  embarking  on  any  mission,  they  find  solace  in  listening  to  the  song  “borderline”  by  TAME IMPALA.

template credit: oppalus

GET TO KNOW THE BASICS FIRST !

full name:  malee "may" pawityakul / code name: neptun date of birth:  march 1st, 2023 / age: twenty-six ( 26 ) zodiac sign:  pisces sun, moon and rising to be determined  gender:  cis woman / pronouns: she/her birth place:  bangkok, thailand ( moved to the us during her teen years )occupation: intelligence agent for mercy current location:  apex city, united states family: parents ( both alive ), two siblings languages spoken: thai, english, more tbd

LOOK AT HER… CLOSELY !

height:  1.75m faceclaim:  mint ranchrawee eye color:  brown / hair color: brown dominant hand: right  other notable features: n/a

NEWS WOULD SAY THAT…

people know her as: the girl who is always willing to lend a helping hand. she’s sweet, tries to welcome everyone into her life but she’s also careful and over analyzes everyone before trusting them fully. overcritical of herself, not others. into risk-taking and new adventures. 

BACKGROUND AND OTHER FUN FACTS…

born in thailand but raised in california during her teen years;

grew up with a middle child mindset of being mostly ignored by her parents and literally doing whatever and still not being good enough for their standards;

the type of girl that would fight off bullies with the most serious face but was also known as the sweet, all smiley, princess that everyone loved and looked for when needed help;

started doing soft hacking and coding when she was still in high school, mostly as a way of revenge/finding out stuff of those bothering her or her friends/siblings ( she did get in trouble in the beginning because god knows, she knew shit about what she was doing );

but may truly never had many goals in life and barely even knew what she wanted to do when she reached the age to get into college. eventually was doing freelancing ( programming ) after she finished high school, much to her parents disappointment;

not having many goals and into exploring new things: may thought it’d be worth a try, when she was reached by mercy, even if she didn’t get in. the main goal of the organization kinda spoke to her heart and she thought it’d be cool to be somewhat of a hero ( of course she didn't really think much about how it'd be a tough journey at first )

went through her training and her junior agent era and then joined the intel division ( it all made sense, she didn't even complain )

i kinda had usagi from alice in borderland in mind when i thought about her personality because in my mind she wants to help others and she’s probably the first one to offer help to anyone new in the organization and all that but, at the same time, she works super well alone. she wants to fight the bad and bring good things to those who need it. she wants people to feel understood and to feel like they have someone to count on. may is very passionate about those things. and she’s super nice and sweet but also very strong and direct when needed to be.

she crochets to get over the stress, just a fun fact. she is very nerdy in the sense that she knows too many useless facts about a lot of stuff, so i had in mind that her code name came from that, facts that she would probably let out during the day about planets and stars ( but she wanted to be cool and so it became neptun and not neptune... because the e makes a huge difference lmfao... i totally didn't make a typo in the app... totally! )

didn't take the solaris drug because, despite being very intro trying things and into adventures, the thought of having a superpower of some kind scared her way too much

WANTED CONNTECTIONS…

will be adding them, little by little !

[im-smart-i-swear]

What's your favourite FNIN book and why?

IM GLAD YOU ASKED-

its 'trzecia kuzynka'!

it just really stands out of the series, starting with the setting: - instead of Warsaw, a big city, the whole book takes place in the polish mountains(which ones??? who knows. i dont). usually the action of fnin books takes place in a big city(there are exceptions to this rule ofc) but this time the closest urban area is a small town.

the feeling of uneasiness also shows itsel in the book's cast. in most books we have a bunch of reoccuring characters: felix and net's parents, teachers, classmates - but here the only other familiar person is manfred(and even still hes not as prevelant bc theres no internet and stuff). just like the trio, the reader doesnt know anybody. theyre alone. everyone and everything here is strange and the lack of familiar faces only makes it more apparent. theres also the fact that when usually the trio are the best informed and oriented people in a given situation, here theyre.... lost. everyone(alright maybe not everyone, but you get the point) has secrets and hidden motives.

another thing is how the trio separates - although thats not uncommon in fnin, the way they do it is dffrent from usual - instead of net and felix having another one of their dramatic breakups, its nika who distances herself from her friends. thats also another thing i love about 'trzecia kuzynka' - the way it focuses on nika and her relationship with f&n. the change of setting allows for the common 'what if people find out nika is an orphan' thing to fade into the background for once, wnich means theres room to explore other aspects of nikas life and personality. her lack of friends aside from felix&net, her emphaty and selflesnes, her persistance to do the right thing - all those qualities are allowed to shine here and its great!

this book subverts expectations of a long time fnin reader and it feels so fresh and unique beacuse of that. the way the tension gradually builds up as more and more weird things happen makes it so fun to read! and, in a truly shocking twist, morten isnt behind everything this time!!(i know, impossible). even the fact the trio is separated during the finale instead of sticking toghether as per usual - 'trzecia kuzynka' flips the typical fnin formula on its head and i love it.

the new side characters are pretty cool too! when i first read this book, i thought laura's very cool - and honestly i still think that - she has a motive here, shes doing her own thing, and also shes hilarious. the others are pretty entertaining too! oh, and how could i forget - the 'false trio'. oh my frickin god the reveal of them being secret fucking agents was glorious-

and one other thing i have to mention - the horrors. there are times while reading this book when i have to stop and ask myself 'wait.why is this actually scary.' in other books there are moments or longer scary scenes, sure, but the one is dripping with tension and anticipation from start to finish, and the finale is the perfect culmination of that. there are so many scenes that just stuck with me - the graveyard, laura's mam-moth(get it) story, the whole castle sequence(i was a bit uncomfortable tho..), the reveal of the giANT FUCKING *THING* UNDER THE HOUSE-, and of course the entirety of nika's side of the finale!

i have no idea what other people think about this book, but i absolutely love it!(crap now i want to reread it for the gazillionth time)

thank you for the ask!

[brawlqueen]

checklist / note to myself *

gonna work this month on all fall related, halloween too , asks , so if anyone wants to send some, the meme is HERE ! don't be a stranger , i follow people for a reason ! i know i owe in that meme which is my focus because shorter things right now are my bread and butter , trunks, kizzy , etc ! it's still open all this month , as i'm someone who will write holidays long after the holiday is due .

in the past i used to punish myself a lot for just . . . not feeling it writing-wise. that doesn't mean i think i shouldn't say sorry if i have been keeping others , but just not to make it something toxic ; like a punishment or measurement of my worth as a writer.

i also think once i clear some of my drafts , feel comfortable enough to , i'd like to ask for a lot of people's interest trackers . i need to be more initiative (no pun) into getting to know new mutuals , all of you whom have tons of talent . that includes me plotting in time, mizuki's psyncing into your muse's brain if ... you'll let her . and don't worry, mizuki is sturdy as hell she's definitely equipped to see the unexplainable horrors . . she's lived it too.

i'm still working slowly on my thoughts, as my mizuki is aini divergent 90 percent , save aiba is her partner at present , shared with date of course ! but usually since she's more active in my canon , mizuki is someone i think would be a great longterm ABIS agent, but also someone who wants to go to college, and should . she's above average IQ in spades , but with running renju's talent agency and sunfish pocket , and also being a special agent to a secret organization within the police force ? she's busy.

of course there's also so much so so much to explore with her in the original, which is in my top five. lots of things i want to explore and many wishlists to be had . so yeah , i think mizuki needs a break before she starts college at some point, learns to balance all her responsibilities while still enjoying being a teenager .

that verse will probably be a long time in work , and aini will need to be replayed , and i'll try to keep the high salt about it turned more into something . . . productive ? like worldbuilding and story building for mizuki ! but yes , i love exploring all the ages she's been listed as, at present she's probably in the middle of being 18. i have to check the times of the games whoops. but please know if you're expecting only one version i switch between both equally . if you met her at 12, you'll likely get more of her at 12 unless we plot a timeskip. if you met her at 18 you'll get her at 18 ! rewinding to 12 might be a little weird unless your muse is a hidden psyncer boss didn't tell her about .

so yes, fall memes, draft clearing and some dropping, mizuki aini divergent verse , wish-list (over time) and reaching out to an interest checker or just honestly, send me an ask anytime. i may not get to it fastest , but i will . i have drafts as disorganized as i am. but this is kinda stuff that i'll be focusing on in the next few months, fall memes and fall things the primary for this one, albeit with some drafts !

please remember i followed you out of interest ! if we haven't interacted we just haven't found a chance !

i know this is long but i'm a lil foggy so this is as much for myself as others honestly ! i'll also at some point do a permissions post , so i know it's okay to do certain things with miss queen of the brawl. it's a long list, but i've divided what i aim to do and if i don't do it all in the time i set ? it's okay. thanks for being patient with me . for those that i haven't interacted with but i like your posts etc ? that's just lily giving you a little note of one, interest, two, i will work up the nerve to get to you !

[awritingcaitlin]

About me!

My name is Caitlin! I love cats, and they're my writing buddies often. When I'm not writing, I'm curating one of dozens of playlists, making aesthetics for my WIPs, or playing a video game. Currently it's still Tears of the Kingdom because there's just so much to do!

More under the cut!

I've been writing since sometime in elementary school. I completed my first manuscript in high school (a YA magic school novel) and tried to query it. It did not go over well, largely because I didn't actually edit it! (But also because I was floundering with no idea what I was doing with subgenres, similar titles, if my opening pages were the issue, if the query was the issue, if the agent I queried actually repped that category and genre... etc.) (Do not be me.) I may one day return to it, but for now I'm content to let that one stay on the shelf.

I ended up burning myself up over the project unfortunately. After that, I was in college where most of my writing was fanfiction for one of five different fandoms. (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasies 7 and 8, Dragon Age, and Undertale.) I did NaNo a couple of stories, but never actually made it as far as querying again until much later.

Currently, my co-writer and I are revising an adult epic fantasy about marines on a mission, magical brainwashing, and a sorceress who walks the line between trying to stop the religious fanatics but also not painting a target on her back.

I had been trying to revise that alongside my fantasy heist novel, but there's too many different plotlines (not to mention characters that are in both but 5 years removed from each other) to keep track of for that to work. I can do edits and draft at the same time, but I can't draft two things at the same time unless they're a different genre. Or heavily revise two things at the same time.

I first dipped my toes into writing in elementary school. I would take composition notebooks lying around the house and fill them with stories. I vividly remember my first written story about two girls from a medieval time who got sent to the present day, but they kept trying to go back in time so they could save their mom. I've since lost that composition notebook, but if I ever wanted to rewrite that based on vibes alone I probably could.

My mom always supported me and wanted to read what I wrote. It was really easy to share stuff with her as a kid and a teenager who didn't feel particularly embarrassed about my work. Even as an adult, writing adult books with adult themes, I kind of just go "fuck it." She's an adult, who makes her own choices.

I've always been drawn to writing fantasy. I love the appeal of swords and magic (mostly magic.) I like writing epic motifs where the characters are up against seemingly impossible odds and are able to overcome. I like interweaving "real world" issues into fantasy too. Because queerness and disability is not something that only exists IRL.

I love writing characters who are bigger than themselves - people who find their magic spark; people who rise to the challenge; power so deep it's barely understandable but people try anyway; a pantheon of gods who doesn't know what they're doing and end up as characters in their own right. I love weaving in storylines, making connections, dropping in references. Etc.

I am really good at dialogue. I love writing it and it shows. Exploring how characters interact with each other is honestly one of my favorite things to do and dialogue is one of the biggest extensions of that.

To be honest, sometimes, all I have is dialogue that I throw up on a page and have to fill it out with actions and descriptions later. Sometimes, it all comes at once. A lot of it depends on where I am when the dialogue strikes me. If I'm on a bike ride or in the shower, I'll get a back-and-forth dialogue in a vacuum that I have to flesh out. This can also happen when I'm on the computer, but usually, if the dialogue is coming to me while I'm already at my computer, it's also coming with actions.

As far as outlining and researching goes, I usually start drafting and then come up with an outline of where I want it to go or plot points I want to include. At one point, I did an entire zero draft for a YA contemporary, which contributed to me writing 80k in five weeks. Still not 100% sure how I manged that in the end. But, for the most part, I have an outline that I'm drafting from, then I get a shiny idea and work to include it, so I adjust my outline and begin writing again... and then this process repeats near-on indefinitely until the end of the book. So my project folders start looking like this:

I'm one of those people though who, more often than not, will come up against a question I have while drafting, and be unable to continue until I've answered the question. I probably should get better about putting notes in brackets or footnotes and coming back to it, but at the same time, I don't think it's terribly detrimental to my process to take an evening off as a research evening. I've learned some pretty interesting stuff this way. (That said! I'm better about footnotes this current draft as me and my co-writer figure things out.)

One of the best things about writing is when I have readers telling me that they loved it. Or that they laughed. Or that they felt things. I might enjoy drinking readers' tears as they tell me I'm a terrible person for doing horrible things to their favorite character.

Writing scratches that creative itch. It makes me feel whole and complete. On the flip side, when I'm having trouble writing because of real life... I feel upset and anxious.

If I could manifest anything into the publishing world, it's a nine-book series out of this with spinoffs to expand the world indefinitely. (Why worldbuild more than once?) It might not be the most feasible thing ever, but I can dream.

If you've made it this far, have some writing advice. Which is basically... find what advice works for you and do that. Also, what works for you might not work in six months. Don't be afraid to change it up. If writing 2k words a day is super feasible because you cleared the whole month of November, great! But come December if you're feeling burnt out, it's okay to only write 100 words a day... or even take a break altogether and let your creative juices refill. If writing in the mornings works great in the summer but writing in the afternoons is better in the winter, do that! You, the writer, the creator, is more important than some arbitrary goal. (Unless you have a contracted deadline, in which case, may all the motivation be at your disposal!)

[poeticpains]

Why I Decided To Write Canon Divergent Post-Season Three Fic

Hi folks, as you all may have seen from my incessant posts about my series on AO3, the long way is the only way home, I'm a fic writer writing a series that focuses on Joey and Matt after Everlock.

Obviously, in canon, Matt, Nikita, and Joey join the Society Against Evil, and some unspecified amount of time later they go on the rescue mission that composes Season 4. Relatedly, at the end of Season 3, Joey obtains the crystal from the Carnival Master's chest, which is the linchpin for the Season 4 mission (and most likely the entire reason he and the others became Society agents).

I don't hate this story. In fact, I think it's a pretty good storyline, with heavy themes of never being able to truly escape what Everlock did to them and how it changed their lives. You can even hear it in the music playing as Joey picks up the crystal: "'Cause no one truly escapes the night / Oh, won't you help me escape the night?" (Good song, by the way; No One Escapes by Catherine Keithley.) Trauma has a way of getting people stuck like that, and I think the decision to have Matt and Nikita become SAE agents and fight with Joey to get their friends back is a good choice for their characters and their stories as opposed to, say, Tyler and Andrea, or even Oli and Eva.

But even though I like this story, I didn't want to write it.

A bit of a personal moment here, but I know how it feels to go through trauma. No, I haven't watched my friends die in front of my eyes, but I've gone through some stuff that I would rather not have. I spent a long time being stuck in that time of my life. In a way, I still am, years after the fact. And as I'm sure anyone else whose also gone through trauma can say, that's not fun. All I want is to leave it behind me.

Do I always write fic for wish fulfillment? Not necessarily. But the long way is the only home is definitely an exploration of Matt and Joey's trauma, and as someone who is forced to explore their own trauma, I don't want to be stuck in it forever.

Matt, Nikita, and Joey joining the Society is them never letting Everlock go. It's them letting the promise of getting their friends back consume them, with the assumption that they've given up their lives for the sake of the Society. Now I am reading this seriously, and applying real-world mechanics to a fictional web series, but imagine how much work it would take to join a secret society of magic-wielding field agents. Personally, to me, them choosing that route feels like them trying to make it seem like they've put Everlock behind them when it's really still all they can think about, because they're joining the Society to get their friends back.

While this is an understandable mindset to have, and I wouldn't be opposed to perhaps someday writing a series or fic that follows canon more closely, it's just not what I wanted to write. I wanted to write Matt and Joey healing. I wanted to write them living their lives again, even after it felt like their worlds had ended, because somewhere there's a part of me that needs to know that, too. I'm sure I'm not alone in this feeling, especially not with...certain world events.

As a less heavy answer, I write fanfiction to explore things that canon does not. Canon already explores Matt and Joey becoming Society agents! (Well, "explores" in quotes, because it's basically three lines and a costume change, but I digress.) I write them shunning the Society for the same reason I write Joey as trans and deeply in love with Matt. Canon doesn't have that!

So, as a TL;DR: Because I want to see people who have had their worlds destroyed being able to heal, and also, I want to see things in fanfic that canon doesn't show.

[bthearst]

update #1.

My Nano project really crashed and burned in an explosive spectacle for a variety of reasons, one of them being that I just do not write contemporary romances. I don't read them (for the exception of Red, White & Royal Blue), so it makes a lot of sense to be unable to write them. I was adamant to at least get the story down on paper because it was more of an exploration of both latine culture and romance through the lens of transness but it just wasn't enough for a full story. So, naturally, I talked to several people about it. People who know my writing style. Here's their advice:

make it an urban fantasy

make the love interest fucking Bigfoot

have an alien invasion happen smack in the middle of it (which, I kinda liked but not the point)

I toyed with the idea of making it into a play rather an a novel, using structural constraints as a means to readjust the plot, characters, and locations to something more cohesive and "poignant", but I'm still on the fence.

Unless I buckle down and decide to turn this into a 2022 version of Stephen King's Misery, this project might have to sit in the backburner for a while longer.

This decision will likely refocus most of my attention to Wiles, getting a couple of rewrites in and actually writing the song for it, but it might also allow me to work on some low-energy stuff. I've been cranking out a couple of ten-minute plays for both fun and study, but I'm also flirting with the idea of writing shorts and novellas for the hell of it. Unbinding may also need some tweaking but I'm still waiting to hear back from my beta readers.

On the query front:

I got a little cheeky and took a shot on a high profile agent that only marginally represents works of my type and, while open to unsolicited submissions, they shot me down in less than four weeks which is, imo, a record given the current state of the industry. Feels like I've earned an ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED badge for this one.

The foundation for my query packet wasn't as solid as I wanted it to be when I hit send at the end of October, given as I didn't have the luxury of having it critiqued and polished by professionals in the industry (which seems to be a pretty common thing among some circles on the bird app), so I'm not expecting too much from this batch. And that is okay! I'm taking this as an opportunity to test the waters, so how shit works, recalibrate, and try again once I have a firmer grasp of the madness.