#BUT it could at least still be a cool and fun mon to use if it wasnt so boringly posed 💀

[patchun]

Delphox in art:

Delphox in game:

[gguk-n]

Transition (Charles Leclerc x Driver!Reader)

Part 2 of Replaced

Summary- After being kicked out of Ferrari rather rudely, Y/N must try to find a seat in the ever changing driver's market in the craziest year at Formula One till date.

{Reader's POV}

After leaving our home in Monaco, I spent the next couple of months regrouping with my team. I visited my family to clear my head; my mother always knew what to do in a difficult situation. She was the brains of the family. After a long and deep talk with her I realised what I wanted with the future. Number 1, I wanted to race in Formula One until I was 60. Number 2, I wanted a team that loved, valued and respected me as their driver. Number 3, last but not the least, I wanted to be paid more than what Ferrari was paying me.

Every team on the grid was open for picking except McLaren. Mercedes was losing their star driver, RedBull had to negotiate with Checo; the two teams I was eyeing right now. If I knew Horner and if I played my cards right, having a female driver on his team would change the dynamic and bring more spot light on the team. If Toto signed me, he would be replacing one iconic person with another; enough to make headlines.

The first race of the season hurt, I couldn't believe the next 24 races would be my last time in red, I couldn't fake the smiles. It hurt every time I saw Charles. We met for the first time since I left a day before Bahrain's media day. He looked as handsome as ever but his eyes held this deep seated sadness, you could see it. "Been a while" Charles almost whispered when our eyes met in the hotel. "It has, I've missed you" I replied. "I've missed you too" he almost cried out wrapping me in his arms. "The last few months were torture. You'll come home now, right?" he asked still holding me in his embrace. "Charles" I began, he pulled away, tears visible in his eyes, "I'll come back soon, mon tout. I need time" I mumbled. "How long will that be, mon cherie?" he asked. I wiped the tear that slipped out of his eyes, "The day I sign a team, I'll move back. I'll know my future and I'll finally be able to look at you without jealousy" I said. "OK" he nodded, kissing me for the first time since we met. "Je vous aime" he stated. "Je t'aime aussi" I replied back.

I finished P2 in the first race of the season. All the media and commentary were going crazy. It felt nice to finish P2. Max was fun to talk to post race during the cool down. He was always the more level headed one in our friendship. Max asked me about how things were between the two off us away from the prying eyes of the media who had already started to announce an imminent break up between the two of us. "He's been shit, since you left" Max spoke. "I'm sorry" I apologised. "oh no, don't apologise to me. I was just stating the obvious." he shook his head. "I heard you're talking to Horner" he commented. "Yeah, we're discussing but like I'm discussing with a lot of teams, honestly." I replied. "As you should, I think it would be fun....if we were team mates." he replied thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind terrorising Charles in a RedBull" I laughed.

The next few races were quite memorable with me on the podium for every race. It was a proud feeling, a bitter sweet one though. Charles only saw me at race weekends but that was the nature of the sport, didn't mean that I didn't love him any less.

The talks with RedBull fell through since I wasn't able to bring in the kind of sponsors they wanted and the dream of driving in one too. Mercedes was very iffy, where Toto wanted to bring a new driver on the grid; while I was still effectively seatless. But Susie was a smart woman, she knew having me on the team after the void Lewis would leave, would do wonders since I was the first and only female driver on the grid in a really long time and having me would bring the similar kind of publicity, if not the same.

After months of back and forth, and negotiating; Toto agreed bringing a junior driver in too early wouldn't benefit anyone. I would race for Mercedes for the next 2 years and if the options opened up I didn't mind letting Toto have his little fantasy. My announcement would happen in Monza, the home of the tifosi. The perfect time and place. I had moved back in with Charles after the contract was signed. I did not tell him that I planned to announce it in Monza. Charles was just happy to have me back.

Mercedes made the announcement just before free practise, effectively ruining any plans the media had, it played in my favour and I had a ball. "You love drama don't you" Charles laughed. "What can I say? I have a knack for the theatrics" I laughed along. "Quoting Chandler are we?" Charles muttered kissing me as he said it. The days leading up to the race were crazy. As both me and Charles got ready to get into the car he said, "Can't wait to see you in black. You look hotter in black anyways" "Hope to be your teammate again in the future" I nodded as we put our helmets on. Charles won the team's home race. I missed the podium by a smidge, but knowing my future was secure didn't make the loss saddening.

As Charles got down from the podium to meet me, Arthur handed him something. "I thought, whether I finish podium or not I'd ask you this but as a 2 time Monza winner sounds so much cooler." he rambled. "What are you talking about Charles?" I questioned. He got down on one knee, the crowd went silent. "Will you Y/N Y/L/N do the honour of making me your husband?" he asked. I had tears in my eyes, "Yes" I nodded. Charles slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me. I could taste the champagne on his lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss while pulling his hair. We pulled away to a lot of hooting and screaming. "Wow" Charles exclaimed. "That's the hottest thing you've done till date, I think I'm hard" he said. "I'm staking my claim." I stated. "I'm always yours, now and forever" he replied. "Can't believe we'll have two Leclerc's on the grid next year." I commented. "Can't wait to race you Mrs Leclerc" he said kissing me again.

[thefandomdirtymind]

Shiny offering

OPLA - Vinsmoke Sanji

Sanji Series - NSFW The small favor

A/N IMPORTANT: I am the little weirdo who's like crows and though that a pirate with a crow would be really cool. So, I'm really sorry if you're scare of bird, but I hope you will find the story funny because I have a lot of fun with it and my new obsession for this man.

* English is not my first language, I tried really hard to correct myself but, I hope you will excuse me if some mistakes are still there.  

If you enjoy my story please let me know.

---

Sanji never had a particular interest in birds. At least not living ones. Once featherless, beheaded and ready to be cooked. He, of course, has a lot of thoughts and recipes about how to prepare them, each idea more delicious than the other. 

But, as the Crow expanded his wings and flew above him for the fifth time that day. He started to wonder if the black bird meat would taste more like chicken and then, be better in a rotisserie kind of dish, or would it be surprisingly more delicate, like the duck. 

A mystery he would probably never know even if he could. Or if he did, not with this precise bird. Because, even if the blond never had a thought about the feathered animal, he has a lot of interest in you and, as irritating as it is, your crow seems to dislike him as much as Zoro does. 

He didn’t attack him directly of course, you would never let this happen. 

Yet, if Sanji is too close to you when you're all on the deck or if you share a moment alone with the cook. The damn winged dinosaur never missed a beat stealing his, lite or not, cigarette that was in his hand or between his lips.

The bird has often even tried to take his ring, but, to this day, never succeeded. However his favorite target was his blonde hair. Golden straw that he could pick few at the time between his beck before flying away as quickly as he could. 

Everytime, as you tried without success to not laugh. Biting your lips in that charming way he liked so much. You assure him that Deimos didn’t really hate him, he was  just a little bit too protective or attracted to the shiny thing on his person. Like humans he needs time to adjust to new people. 

“ I understand Madam, but I don’t see stealing Zoro shinny earring neither and that be a show I would love to see “ He once replied, trying to repress the bitterness in his tone, massaging the sore spot on his head where Deimos had took three of his hair.

“Well, Zoro didn’t have hair similar to pretty rays of sunshine, that’s for sure and I honestly don’t know, they seem to already be best buddy that kinda funny “ You said, your gaze fixed on the strange duo that was Zoro and your pet, napping in a hammock between two Tangerine trees. 

“ That because they have something in common, they both hate me that’s why” 

“ You know, Crows love to collect things who shine and offer them to their partner or their favorite human. Once a crow trusts you, he or his children never forget you, they have a memory that they extend to their children for generations and they will always return to you. It’s amazing”  

“ Then Madam it seem that I will be hate for generation “       

It has been almost five months now that you were a member of the crew and the relentless animal didn’t stop. Although, Sanji couldn’t forget that conversation that you had about those damn birds offering shining things to the person they affectionate. The way you smiled, the gleam in your eyes as if you were sharing that fun fact like if it was a romantic story. Even if it was an anodin moment, he couldn’t forget how perfect you were. Relax, your arm crossed on the railing of the upper deck in the soft light of the morning. 

It wasn’t a secret that the blondie fell for you at the minute that he saw you. He had tried to flirt as much as he could, challenged your taste buds by making you his best dishes and even switched his generic “Madam” for a warmer nickname “ mon coeur”. A sweet name he uses, usually as often as he calls himself the Best Cook of the East blue. 

“ Mon coeur, do you want a kind of food in particular for supper ?” 

“ Be careful Mon coeur, the tea is hot” 

“ You see Mon coeur, one day I will see the All Blue and I will explore it with you ”  

But, nothing had seemed to enlighten your comprehension about his intention. Of course, a more direct approach would give him an immediate answer, still, like in his cooking, Sanji liked a more slow and progressive approche.

It was when thinking about his next move that the strange event occurred.

Busy in the kitchen, peeling potatoes for his famous beef stew, the man suddenly heard a metallic noise, like a utensil falling on the floor. As a chef, it wasn't uncommon, but since he was alone in the room and all his instruments were in front of him, it was indeed, really strange. It was only after his gaze had scanned the room that he finally saw it. 

Perched on the side of the table, under the open window, the dark bird, a spoon in his beck, was watching the floor where a solitary fork was laying.

“ Oh no sir, this place is my domain you will not ruin it, get out” He exclaimed, not without thinking of how ridiculous he must look, talking at this bird like if he was a rude client of the Baratie.

For answer, Deimos only croak once, jumps between two potatoes just in front of him, turns his onyx head on the side and then, under the blue glare of the men, drops the polished spoon. 

The eating tool in itself wasn’t really special, unless the fact that it had been lost two weeks ago, along the fallen fork of course.   

“ Oh so now you steal my utensil. My hair and my smoke wasn’t enough ?” Sanji sighs before reaching for the discarded silver instrument. 

For answer, the crow slowly approached his head to the metallic object and started to admire his own smaller reflection before taking his fly, exiting the kitchen.

Coming back after less than five minutes later, this time with a shimmering shell and one of Nami small hair clips. Same as the spoon, he gently drops them in front of the blonde man, tilling his head, like he is waiting for something.

Like said before, Sanji never had a soft spot for birds, but he had a fond memory of that conversation with you about the way they express their affection. So, little by little, as he watched one by one the glittery, polish, shimmery stuff your crow just bought him, two realizations struck him. First, the damn feathers dinosaur has finally taken a liking for him and second he finally knew how to show you how dear you are in his eyes. 

“ Well, I almost regret now that I imagine you many times in my oven. I admit that you don't seem that bad alive now…thank you” Sanji smiled, putting the stew on the stove, letting it cook and before starting collecting the item for his new plan.   

It was only a long time after dinner that he could put his said plan in action. With a little help from his now winged friend.

As the Going Merry was lazily crossing the water, Sanji was still again in the kitchen, preparing diverse elements. To citrus marinade for supper the next day, to dry leaf for future recipes.  

Nevertheless, he was ready when the flap of the wing followed by footsteps could be heard near his area.  

Deimos was the first to enter the kitchen, taking his now usual place in the left corner of the kitchen island, your bracelet still on his beck. Close by a few steps, you enter at his pursuit, stopping only when you seen the strange show that was the gorgeous chef ,slowly busy pressing a lemon and your large pet, sharing the same space without apparent bickering.

“ Hi Sanji, sorry to barge in there like that. Deimos feels apparently playful today, he stole my bracelet. But look at you both, you finally bound as I can see” You joyfully said, taking a seat in front of the kitchen island. 

“ Hello Mon coeur, well as you can see we came to an arrangement if I can call it that. " Sanji replied, pulling an almond from his pocket and giving it to the bird as he rescued your bracelet “ But I’m grateful that he bring you here now, I also had something for you, a special dessert”  

Turning his back from you for a minute, missing the long glance you give to his perfect ass in his tailored pants, you smile. You weren't stupid, in fact, you were particularly smart. Even if you didn’t understand why Usopp had taken a habit of joking about the fact that you seem blind to love. 

You had noticed the blonde chef the first day on this boat and since then, had developpe what Nami had called a “crush” on him. What’s not love about him ? You like the way he calls you Mon coeur making yours fluster, the way his smile reaches his eyes every time he talks about food and of course the fact that he was always so kind with you. But never you would push those thoughts on him, no, it seems that all his love was for food and as long as you live you will respect that.

The first thing you saw after the blondie had put the bowl in front of you was the beauty of the presentation. Served in a plain white bowl, a delicate pale lilac ice cream was piled, decorated with colorful berries that automatically make your mouth water.

However it wasn’t the berries who’s most caught your eyes. Coating there the side of a raspberry, there in a few pieces the side of the cold cream, there floating lazily like if it were on a river, small gold flakes was highlighting the sweet, giving it the allure of a masterpiece. 

“ Homemade lavender ice cream with berries assorted with flakes of edible gold “ Sanji proudly present, your favorite smile on his lips. “ I had the idea when we were talking about crows and their habit of giving their partner or…favorite person…shiny things” He lied. Never would he admit to you that your bird, trying to fancy him, gave him the idea.  Never on his chef corpse.

“ Sanji, that’s almost too beautiful to eat. The colors, the sweet smell , the…glittery gold” You admiratively said, your joy suddenly catching up with the realization of what he had just said. 

You were his favorite person. 

Lifting at the same time your gaze and the spoon, you take a small amount of the ice cream and taste his declaration of love. 

Just like him it was amazing. Sweet, refreshing and addictive. 

“ So...is that to your liking ? “ He inquired after a small moment, unsure if you taken your time to enjoy the dessert or trying to find a delicate way to put him down. 

“ It’s the best thing I ever tasted, here take a bite “ You offer, lifting the silverware at the level of his mouth. 

Taking your offering, your gaze lock on each other, you both couldn’t repress your smile as he let slip the head of the spoon out of his mouth. 

“ Definitely one of my be…” He couldn’t finish. 

His tie caught on your fist, his torso inclined and supported by his strong arms above the kitchen island. Your cold lips had suddenly crashed against his, taking him off guard and at the same time his breath away. 

Sanji, still ,quickly catch up. Adjusting his position to support the back of your head with one of his hands. He slightly brushes his tongues against your sugary lips, savoring them like a peculiar delicacy. But, as your tongue met, exploring and dancing against each other in a french ritual. He became more and more greedy of your lips, throwing away his usual self control at the first hearing of your panting breath. 

Still trapped in the warm embrace of his lips, enjoying the contrast of his warm tongue against your ice cream cold one, you suddenly heard a groan pronounced by none of you. 

“ Great, now the waiter will stop looking like a love sick puppy. But did you really have to expose us to that ?”

Breaking the kiss, you gave a glance at the door where Zoro, his arm crossed on his chest, was rolling his eyes, clearly already done with both of you. 

Biting your lips of embarrassment you still couldn’t prevented, neither Sanji at it seem, to smile. 

“ Nevermind. Come on black chicken “ He calls your bird, who, now used to it ,goes perch himself on one of his shoulders. Before quitting the doorframe to disappear into the ship “ I have to clean my blade and I know they are not clean enough until you watch your reflection in it. “ 

Laughing at the incongruous friendship of the Swordsman and your pet. You returned your attention to Sanji, another tea spoon of ice cream in his hand.

“I’m sorry” You apologize, still laughing. 

“ No need to be embarrassed Mon coeur “ He smile, regaining as it seem, his composure

“ No, I mean, now I don’t know what I prefer between the dessert or your kisses “ 

Taken aback, Sanji slowly smiles, deposing a small kiss on your lips. 

“ Then why not enjoy them both together…I will gladly supply it every time you ask for it”

Smiling you then proceeded to enjoy the delicious cold dessert and the body warm contrast for the rest of the day and more.  

Bonus : 

Not that Sanji was ashamed to tell you, no. But, even after a year after the event of the offering silverware et other shiny knick-knacks.

He still had, hide behind a pile of pots, the many items brought to him, along the years, by Deimos. Because, even after all this, he was still the reason why you were finally in his arms at night and yes, he had to admit it, he had kind of come to like it, that damn bird. 

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - OMG PLEASE STOP SINGING

May 2023 Wk 2 

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Thai Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 4 of 10 (MDL still says 12, but Gaga still says 10) - Jeng trying to improve himself so awkwardly is kinda sweet. I love that Bruce it here & queer! Yay! Chot is my favorite but Pat is my spirit animal, I always sniff people’s bath products. Jeng looking at Pat in the suit = hello, future husband. The irony of Pat running around trying to find Jeng’s weakness, when it’s clearly him. Also WASH YOUR HANDS & NO SINGING. 

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - still loving this one, enjoyed seeing the seme’s side of the meat cute. The miscommunication seems properly vested (although we may be manipulated by the visuals into thinking it’s kissing when it isn’t). But so far I am all in. Also killer chemistry with the leads already. My catnip. BUT... NO SINGING! 

Our Skyy 2 (Vise Versa) eps 7-8 - Each day of the month is a BL trope? That jives. The kid was a fun plot twist - if he had been real and not a lie. I chortled a lot and all the domesticity was nice, but I wasn’t surprised when it was all Pluen lying again. Once a liar, always a liar. Could Jimmy please play a better character next time? Also. NO SINGING. 6/10

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 eps - Amnesia just makes me feel like we backslid and all the previous work of watching 9 eps is for naught. And it was WORK with this show. At least it only lasted one episode, but still, they’re gonna use it to continue the rift? Sigh. 

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 11 of 12 - As much as I dislike these characters being constantly betrayed by the narrative, I really do love Cher. A sunshine sweetheart who is actually a decent honest human, who’s not ashamed of his love or his personality, it’s really rare and admirable on screen. I have to give B&B props for this character, if nothing else. And there is nothing else. This was possibly one of the stupidest episode 11 dooms ever fielded. And I do not say that lightly.

The Promise (Thai Weds YT & WeTV) ep 8 of 10 - This show has got to stop dwelling on the separation, every time they do it it just makes Phu look worse. I legitimately didn’t think that was possible. I LOVE Party so much. Not only is he a good friend, and probably an excellent boyfriend, he’s a great businessman. Khun is lovely too. Happy to have him win Nan’s heart. Really, anyone but Phu. Also Nan = an ace who collects hotties everywhere he goes? Props baby. 

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - Very soap - kinda creepy, too long pauses, bloated cast, and utter confusion. Odd. The captions are insane, one name can (and will) be spelled 3 different ways. It’s a VAST cast and I can only really identify 3 characters: 1. the actor with the (beard?) gf who’s a suspiciously militant ally, 2. The oldest actor in the house with dark traumatic past, 3. The adorable evil femme who needles everyone. I might drop this show, I’m only really still watching bc it’s the only BL airing on Monday. Also: NO SINGING

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I’ve been waiting for this chapter. It’s one of my favorites from the manga. 

Love Mate (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 3-4 of 8 - Aggressive flirting or stalking? These 2 give Lovely Writer vibes. Honestly, I never thought Korea would go so very old school yaoi. Also went quickly to a high heat place I wasn’t expecting (but Japan would). 50% for a sex scene is very gay but wild for a KBL. If this were Strongberry it would’ve ended on this episode and I would’ve been fine with it. Now what? 4 eps of boyfriends? That’s cool but what is this crazy surreal BL world I am living in?

Happy Merry Ending (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 5-6 of 8 - Honestly, Korea, does it always have to be a love triangle? Always? Anygay, timid tsundere & confident sunshine is an interesting match. They’re sweet together, almost kindly. I like the calm ache of this pair. At first I thought it would be too much like Love Mate, but they’re completely different. I really want someone to punch the CEO ex, oh goodie! Battle of the hyungs. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) - very in line with the my cat boyfriend tradition but honestly how can any human look like that? He truly myst be a cat. 

The Day I Loved You (Pinoy YouTube) eps 4-5 of 10 - It’s cute. They’re cute. Truth comes out when locked in a bathroom. Yay a new pinoy BL I actually like for a change. It’s been a LONG time. However BOOO for the doomy  “I want to be remembered, are you dying”. But a nicely dramatic midpoint. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - How can he be so completely unaware of how in love he is? Ah well, I suppose we aren’t yet half way through and it’s one of THOSE JBLs. In yaoi half the time you are husbands before you even confess you like the other person. 

It is unfair for a real live human to be this beautiful. We talking Hunjin-level unfair. WTF Vietnam? Why you gotta broadside us like this? 

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, this pilot holds together as its own little short too.

Stormy Honeymoon (Vietnam)

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) ep 4 of 10 - I bounced.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI) ostensibly starts Thursday but icky is being janky about it, so we shall see - A boy has had a crush on his childhood friend for a long time. Stars Zuho (Kpop SF9 - noted good egg) opposite rookie actor Kim In Sung (the one with the crush).

Happy Merry Ending and Boss & Babe both end. Be My Favorite will be taking the GMMTV Fridgay time slot. 

Coming in May 2023:

5/26 Be My Favorite prev title: You Are My Favorite (Thai YouTube) Adapted JittiRain y-novel (2gether, FUTS, ToL, Vice Versa) one of those “rewrite the past to change the future.” Stars Krist (SOTUS) + Fluke Gawin (DBK, Not Me). Expect this to be v low heat, full of LIES and manipulation. 

5/27 The Luminous Solution (Thai ????) 10 eps - Thana is having trouble at work and in his relationship. He can't seem to catch a break. So he makes a wish to change everything. The wish has a price.

5/27 Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan) - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS (but that has never stopped Japan before) and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I ?????  (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*)

* At least I never have to tell Japan to stop singing. Small mercies. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

House of Cards. I like this character. I don’t have any idea who he is or why he’s so militant of an ally but I still like him. 

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. (Vice Versa’s Our Skyy eps) 

Preach, sweetheart.

Yes, please and thank you. (Both Boss & Babe) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? ONEUS - ERASE ME, I like the concept (suits! corset! kinky!) and it’s catchy enough

[dib-thing-wannabe]

The Evil and The Genius

Chapter Two: Unexpected Outcome

<<<previous

(In this fanfic, Evil Jimmy is mainly referred to as either Jack or Jackson.)

It has been around an hour since Jimmy Neutron and his evil clone, who has just been renamed Jack, have made the agreement that Jimmy would try and reform him, who has already proven to be a pain about the process, despite being the one to have originally thought of the idea in the first place. They have barely even started it, just discussing the rules that Jack would have to follow for, at the very least, the beginning of his reformation.

"C'mon, you can't just take away all the fun stuff, Whippy-Dip! That isn't fair!" Jack whined after they had just finished going over his ruleset.

"Is it fun, or is it dangerous? Because most of what we have discussed was mainly about the safety of you and others." Jimmy said to him, already getting tired of his behavior. He knew that it was a mistake to agree with this plan right from the start, but there really wasn't any other choice to choose from.

"Pfft- Same thing!" Jack scoffed, as if Jimmy was being unreasonable with his statements.

Jimmy sighed as he rubbed his furrowed eyebrows to try and soothe himself as Jack continued to be a pain. "Oooh, will I feel bad for whoever will end up living with you in the future, whether you've changed your ways or not." He mumbled to himself as he slowly shook his head. "Speaking of that, I feel compelled to ask about your living situation currently. Where are you currently staying and sleeping, since you have been here for at least a full 24 hours."

"Huh? Um.. please specify what you mean by that." Jack said awkwardly, feeling stupid about not understanding what he meant.

"I mean, where have you stayed at ever since you got back? Where do you live?"

"Oh, nowhere, really. I've only been here since yesterday, and last night I just slept on one of the roofs in the town." Jack said casually to him as he laid back on the couch in Jimmy's lab, holding his hands behind his head.

"R-really??" Jimmy questioned him, as if he didn't hear him correctly. "Well, if that's true, then we need to change that. Can't just have you homeless at this time." Of course, he meant what he said. If they were as to attempt to give him better morals, they cannot risk him being in a situation where his mental health could lower at all. Not only that, but it's also easier to keep an eye on him if there was a general area that he lives in at and not constantly moving, like he would need to if he didn't have a real roof over his head.

"Alright then, cool. How about I just build myself my own place?" Jack said, still laying down.

"I would say that, buuuut you cannot be trusted to do things like that just yet. I know that you'll add a few rooms that you would use yet shouldn't use if you were to make a house of your own." Jimmy said, turning his back from Jack as he looked at the lab. He really needs to clean this place soon, maybe he should make a cleaning robot once he gets the chance to.

Jack groaned at his statement, yet can't argue against it, as that was his exact plan. "Fine. You make the house then."

"I would have already suggested that if I was able to. I truly am low on all materials to make anything from scratch, so I cannot do that for you at the moment." He told him in an annoyed tone. His current annoyance wasn't necessarily because of Jack in this case, it was just in general.

Jack groaned louder at this as he sat back up. "Then what should I do?! It's not like I have any money to buy one!.." He then got a sly grin on his face as he looked to the side. ".. Unless I rob someone who has a ton of mon-"

Jimmy cut him off by smacking the back of his head. "Ow!" "No, you cannot rob people! That's one of the most simple laws that you know not to do! Besides, considering both your reputation and, more importantly, your age, no one would sell you a house anyways."

"Alright, alright! But seriously, what am I meant to do then?" Jack huffed as he crossed his arms, frustrated that his plan of fooling everyone ended up being harder than he thought it would be.

"I honestly don't know.. but I do have an idea." Jimmy told him, pulling out a flip phone from his pocket. "Maybe if I inform my mom about the current situation, she will be willing to give me the amount of money for me to be able to make you a place of your own!"

Jack chuckled as he heard Jimmy mention his mom. "Awww, is someone calling their mommy for some help?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he got belittled by Jack, dialing his home phone number into the phone. "Shut it, Jackson."

*Riiing* *Riiing* *Riiing*

As the home phone rang, Jack started getting closer to both Jimmy and the phone, as if to listen in on the conversation. "Jack, back away right now-" "No, I wanna hear what she's gonnasay." "Still, no need to be so close to me. Back UP-" "NO-"

"It's taking a while for her to answer the phone.." Jimmy thought to himself as he tried to push Jack away from him. "I can only hope that it's not who I think it is that's going to end up answering the phone."

After a few more rings on the phone, Jimmy heard the house phone being picked up. Instead of his mom though, he ended up hearing his dad's voice on the other end. "Hello? Helloooo? Who's there?" His father Hugh asked through the phone.

"Fuck, not him-" Jimmy muttered quietly yet quickly away from the phone as he realized that it was his dad, not wanting his dad to hear him curse. Jack, taken aback by his sudden cursing, started laughing as Jimmy continued to try and push him away.

"Heeeey dad! Say, is mom over there right now? If so, please hand the phone over to her for me!" Jimmy asked, trying to sound as normal as possible, though there's hints of nervousness in his voice as he gotten worried that Hugh might hear his clone in the background.

"No can do, Jimbo! Your mother just went to go buy some groceries! Say, maybe I could call her and ask her to grab some pie while she's at the store.." His dad answered in his normal cheerful tone, seemingly not hearing anything that Jimmy doesn't want him to hear on their end.

Jimmy sighed out of annoyance and frustration. Hugh usually comes up with a completely different and ridiculous plan then Jimmy's whenever he asks him for help, and it can get difficult to get him to listen at first. But considering that it's involving a villain this time, or rather a 'recovering' villain, it wouldn't hurt to just ask him this time instead of calling his mom's phone, right?

"Whatever, you'll do for now then. To put it bluntly, I need a lot of money. Right now." Jimmy told him.

"What? Why do you need a ton of money, Jimmy? Ohh wait, I think I know! You need money to buy some plastic blue flamingos, right?" Hugh said happily, as if his guess was correct.

Jimmy pulled a face of confusion before shaking his head quickly as Jack snickered at Hugh's terrible guess. "Um- No, dad. I need it to build a house."

"Oh? Jimmy, aren't you a bit young to be moving out? I'm not sure that your mother will be happy about you leaving so soon."

"Well, you see... it's not for me. Let's see, how do I explain it.. do you remember the clones that I made? And how one of them was evil and tried to erase the entire world by making an evil version of it? Yeah. He's back." Jimmy told him in a professional manner.

"Heeeeey!" Jack said into the phone smugly.

"Quiet." Jimmy told him, shushing him with his finger. "Anyways, he ended up escaping the dark matter dimension, but I have a plan for him. I am going to be making an attempt to reform him from a villain. He is now going by the name Jack rather than Evil Jimmy so that it's not only easier to differentiate between us, it's also the start of the process of making him into a better person. Since, y'know, evil isn't in his first name anymore?"

After a second of silence on Hugh's end, he spoke up, not having a single change in his tone of voice. "Aaah, I see, you need to build a house for the clone! Oh, Jack's his new name, you said?"

Jimmy softly smiled, believing that the plan was going to work fully as intended, despite it being discussed with his father instead of his much more rational mother. "Mhm, that's correct! And since he doesn't really have a place to stay at in this current moment, I need to make one for him. So please, can you-"

"Wait Jimbo! I think I have a better idea!" Hugh said, cutting Jimmy off. Jimmy only responded with a groan as he waited for his dad to continue speaking.

"How about you just bring him over here, so that I can see for myself if my idea really is better than your current one, Jimbo?"

This caused Jimmy and Jack to simultaneously raise an eyebrow in confusion and intrigue as they glanced at each other and then back at the phone. ".. Allllright then. Anything else, dad?" Jimmy said with a skeptical tone.

"Nope, that'll be all that I need. Just bring him over quickly! I'll be in the living room waiting for you two! Bye bye!" Hugh told him before hanging up.

"... Sooo.. do we just mindlessly go to him now?" Jack said while looking to Jimmy, still trying to figure out what his plan could possibly be.

"Might as well. Besides, going to meet with him will most likely be the only way to further convince him to give us the money if we prove that whatever his idea is, it's worse than our original one." Jimmy responded as he grabbed Jacks wrist and started walking out of the lab. Honestly, he's just happy that his father is at least trying to test his idea out before doing it. Means that he's learning his place when it came to intelligence.

"Do you really have to drag me to him though?? I do have a few of your memories as your clone, so I know how to get there-" Jack asked Jimmy once they exited the lab.

"It's not that I don't trust that you can't get there yourself, it's that I don't trust you to not run off." He responded, still dragging him towards his living room. Jack mumbled something under his breath about it, but other than that he didn't retaliate against it.

"Dad, we're here!" Jimmy yelled out as he walked through the back door, with Jack in tow behind him. "Now can you please tell us what this 'plan' of yours is?"

"Ah, Jimbo! You two got here quicker than I thought you would!" Hugh said, peaking his head around the corner. "Now, come here.. Jake?"

"It's Jack. Or Jackson, if you prefer." He responded as he walked up to Hugh, still confused about what he was planning but more intrigued than anything.

Gently, Hugh grabbed Jack's face and examined it, as if to check for any marks that he might have gotten from being in the dark matter dimension. Though Jack's face and body language didn't change from his usual prideful and smug look, Jimmy could tell that he strangely liked the way Hugh gently held his face due to his eyes slightly dilating when he grabbed it.

"Hmm... good, good.. Now, tell me, how willing are you about the idea of becoming a better person, Jack?" Hugh asked him after a few seconds of silence.

"How willing am I? Well, considering that I was the one who proposed the idea in the first place, it's safe for me to say that I am infact very willing to do this." Jack answered, glancing over at Jimmy to see if he had any ideas about what his dad was planning yet.

"I can also reassure you that he isn't lying when he says that. He was, infact, the reason the idea was even brought up at all." Jimmy added, walking up to the both of them.

"Oh really? Well, does that mean that you won't be breaking anything, stealing anything, and overall nothing harmful to anyone or anything?" Hugh asked him again, still having a cheerful tone.

"I cannot guarantee that I wouldn't end up doing any of those things, but I definitely can say that I will try to the best of my abilities not to." Jack responded, basically trying to tell him that he probably would end up doing it often without actually saying it. This caused Jimmy to give him a stern and annoyed look, as he could tell what he meant by his words, yet didn't say anything.

Hugh clapped his hands together, looking pleased with both himself and Jack. "Well, that settles it then!"

The two young geniuses gave each other the exact same confused look before unintentionally looking up at Hugh in sync, which make him chuckle as he watched them mirror each other.

"What settles it?" Jack asked, slightly tilting his head as he continued to look up at him.

"Are you referring to whatever your idea is?" Jimmy also asked him. "You haven't even told either of us what it was in the first place."

"Ah right, I didn't! Well, as you know, Jimbo, we recently did some spring cleaning and realized that we had just way too much space then we really needed!" Hugh started explaining to the two. "So, instead of just spending all that money on building an entire place for good ol' Jambo here.." He motioned towards Jack as he says this.

Jimmy and Jack continued to look up at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Jimmy glanced over at Jack, who had an extremely confused look. He was just barely used to his new name, nonetheless having a nickname based on it. Didn't help that the one he decided to give him just sounded so, so dumb. This made Jimmy start audibly struggle not to laugh, eventually having to cover his mouth to try and avoid laughing loudly as Jack side-eyed him, even though he himself began to struggle on not laughing.

"I thought that we can just have him live with us!" Hugh said excitedly, clapping his hands together again.

"What." They both collectively said immediately after, completely stopping their laughter. Jack's voice was filled with confusion while Jimmy's was filled with shock.

"Yeah! It'll help save a ton of money, and we have plenty of room for it to work for everyone involved!" Hugh told them, seemingly looking brightly into this supposed future.

"D-Dad, I don't- I don't think that we should do something like that! You haven't even told mom about it to see if she agrees with it!-" Jimmy objected, trying to convince his dad otherwise about his plan. Jack was already a giant pain in his backside just from this small amount of interaction alone, he doesn't think that he would be able to handle it if he had to deal with it 24/7. Not only that, it also means that he could more easily sabotage Jimmy if they lived in the same house.

"Oh please! I'm sure she will agree with me on this! Besides, I can tell that she's been wanting something new to take care of, recently!" Hugh told Jimmy, patting Jack's head gently, who looks extremely confused and shocked. He had a plan for himself when he talked about 'reforming', but nothing like this was any part of it, especially without any of his own involvement.

"Dad, please-"

"Oooooh, wait! Maybe I should go grab some pie from the nearby bakery as a way to welcome you here!" Hugh cut Jimmy off unintentionally, talking to Jack now as he started walking towards the front door. "You two stay here and behave, okay? Bye!"

As he closed the door behind him as he left, Jimmy and Jack sat in silence for a moment, still processing what had just happened. After a full minute of dead silence between the two, Jack started to silently laugh due to sheer confusion. "U-um, what just-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-"

Jimmy had just started screaming at the top of his lungs out of anger, confusion and a hint of fear. This couldn't be actually happening, it just couldn't be! It had to be a dream, a hallucination, maybe even psychedelics, just anything besides reality. The sudden scream from Jimmy made Jack lose any composure he had left and burst out laughing, to the point where he started to hold his stomach as he laid on the floor because his laughter began hurting his abs so much. Jimmy's screaming lasted for around three minutes until he eventually lost his breath and fell backwards on the floor next to Jack, who is currently coughing because of how hard he laughed.

After a moment of catching his breath, Jack looked over at Jimmy, who's face is in his hands as he let out a soft and quiet groan. "Y-you alright there?"

"No, because he really is going to try and have you live here. I mean, I know that he's below average intelligence, but I didn't think that he'd be stupid enough to try to do this." Jimmy whispered, still hiding his face.

Jack chuckled as he started getting back up on his feet. "Awwww, why so gloomy about it? Do you not wanna be around me?"

"With you being the way you are, no."

"Hmm, shame for you if he ends up succeeding then." Jack said as he gave him a smug grin. "But luckily for you, I recall that your mother has quite a bit more brains in her skull, so there's a very good chance that it won't end up happening."

Jack looked up towards the living room tv and something on it caught his attention. It was playing a movie that looked familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Not really having anything else to do right, he decided to go to the couch but not to sit on it, but he sit down on the floor with his back against the front of the couch. Jimmy looked over at him as he finally got up and saw him watching the first Jet Fusion movie, one of Jimmy's favorite movies...

"Oh shit, Sheen and Carl have probably been waiting on me for over an hour because of the movie marathon thing we planned." He thought to himself before going over to the phone and dialing Sheen's house number. They've been waiting this long for him and had heard nothing from him, so they definitely needee an explanation for his absence. Besides, it'll be the perfect opportunity to also tell them about Jackson and the current situation with him.

"Y'ello?" Sheen answered almost immediately.

"Sheen, hello! You're probably wondering where I've been right now."

"Jimmy!!! Yeah, where are you?! We've been waiting forever on you!!"

".. It's a long story, so prepare yourself."

*5 minutes later*

"Wait wait wait," Sheen told Jimmy, "So you're telling me that the evil clone guy is back, but since you couldn't do anything because you didn't have anything to use to trap him like you did last time, you've decided to try and reform him?"

"Mhm, that's what I said." Jimmy responded to his question, looking over at Jack, who is currently glued to the tv. He doesn't even seem to be aware that Jimmy was on the phone.

"And his new name is Jack?" Sheen asked him, with the sound of a chip bag crinkling on his end of the phone line.

"That is correct, Sheen!"

"... And as of right now, he may or may not living with you, and you don't know which one is going to happen until both your mom and your dad get back?" Sheen asked another question, eating a chip.

"Yes, that is also true. Now, until the living situation is covered and I can do this myself, I would like you to go around telling people about this so that they may prepare themselves for any chaos that may happen soon. Especially our friends, since they will probably be heavily involved in the process. Got that, Sheen?" Jimmy instructed him.

"Alright! Got it!" Sheen respond, before turning away from the phone and yelling out, "Hey Carl! Jimmy just got a new brother!"

"Wha- Sheen! That is not-" Jimmy tried to retaliate against his claim, but is unable to before Sheen hangs up the phone. He let out a soft groan before mumbling, "I knew I should have called Carl instead..."

As he sat in silence for a moment, he heard voices. His parents voices, right outside the front door. Jimmy once again checked on Jack, who is still not paying attention to anything else other than the movie, before getting closer to the slightly cracked open door and listening in on their conversation while also peaking through the crack.

"I mean.. I don't know Hugh, I just don't see how it's a good idea." Judy told her husband, holding her head in her hand as she had a worried expression on her face.

"C'mon, honey! What's the worse the boy could do anyways?" Hugh said as he lovingly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Hah, weeeell, considering that he's the evil clone of our super genius son, who we both know is a handful already, there's a lot of things he could do!" Judy exclaimed, crossing her arms. "I understand your thought process on why you would think that's a good idea, considering our financial situation at the moment, but it also could be very dangerous if we do! In this case, I'm going to need a little more of a reason than just that, Hugh!"

Hugh chuckled softly before speaking again. "Well, if you say so!" He gently grabbed her chin and had her look up at him. "I feel like you're forgetting something very important about the situation as well though; even though he is a just clone, he's still a boy. He's still just a kiddo, honey buns! What would make you think that if the same laws about school, jobs and childcare still applies to our boy despite his incredible intelligence, that they suddenly just wouldn't apply to that boy right there?" He nodded towards Jack in the living room, still watching the tv and unaware of the two adults infront of the outside window.

Jimmy looked towards the ground at their feet as he slightly nodded his head. His dad does have a valid point with the fact that it'll probably be illegal for them to have Jack live alone. But goddamn it, please don't let him live with them.

"... Well, you aren't wrong there." Judy admitted to him, though she still had a worried expression on her face.

"Mhm." Hugh said, nodding his head. "Besides, you wanna know what I personally believe to be true?"

"What, Hugh?" Judy asked him.

"I believe that with a mother's love, anyone can go from their worst versions of themselves to their best!!" He said cheerfully, clearly referring to her.

She looked around for a moment before looking back towards Jack through the window, who started to remind her of when Jimmy was younger. As soon as her gazed softened and a small smile made its way on her lips, Jimmy knew that he was done for.

He let out a loud and dramatic groan before flopping face down onto the couch, startling Jack out of his trance. "Woah, what happened to you? You're acting as if your life is a living hell."

Jimmy looked at him with an tired and frustrated look before saying, "Because it's about to be." He then rolled over onto his back, still groaning.

Before Jack could question him further on what he meant by that, Hugh opened the front door fully and stepped inside. "I'm back, you two! And I have both the answer to where Jack will be staying and pie!" As the statement is being said, Judy also stepped inside the house.

Jack got up from the floor and mumbled to himself, with only Jimmy being able to hear him due to their close proximity. "I'm guessing that me living with you all is gonna be a no-"

"You are officially going to be staying with us, Jambo!" Hugh said excitedly while Judy chuckled softly at the strange nickname that he already had gave Jack.

Jack had a look of shock and surprise on his face as he looked up at them. He glaced over to Jimmy, who had his face in his hands as he sighed in defeat, and realized what he meant by what he said moments earlier.

"Oh! Why, thank you!" Jack said with a smile, not knowing how else to respond to their choice.

"Oh no, no need to thank us, Jackson!" Judy told him sweetly as she walked up to him. "Now, my question is.. do you really like these hair horns thingys that you have? Or would you like to change it to something different?" She asked him, gently holding his cheek with one hand as she twirled the tip of one of his horn-like hair pieces.

When she held his face, his eyes immediately dilated and he looked to have gotten soft for a second before he snapped out of it and answered her question. "Uh, yeah, I prefer this hair style still."

"Alrighty then! But considering that you still look so much like Jimmy, we need to get you into some new clothes to help tell you two apart!" Judy said this to him as she grabbed his hand and started walking upstairs, with Jack obediently following behind her. "Besides, it's been around a year since you probably were last able to change your clothes! At this point they're probably very uncomfortable and are in a desperate need of washing!"

As they both went upstairs, Jimmy sat up on the couch, still looking as if he was told that he was going to die by next week and there wasn't anything the doctors could do about it. By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Hugh noticed his son's displeasure of the situation.

"Oh, don't be so sour, Jimbo!" He told Jimmy, patting his back as he spoke in his happy tone. "We just got a new member of the family! You should be happy! You have said that you wanted a brother before, after all!"

Jimmy slowly turned his head up at his father and then spoke in a monotone voice. "Father, though I naturally love you deeply and dearly, I despise you with every cell in my body right now."

*15 minutes later*

Hugh was sitting next to Jimmy on the couch, trying to calm him down and see the bright side of it, as Jimmy continued to sulk about the fact that out of all people that his parents could have thought of Jack to live with, it had to be with them. It had to be with him. Once Jack realizes that he could mess with Jimmy even more because of this given position and maybe even get away with it and have zero real repercussions for it, which he most likely already has realized this, he will definitely use it to his full advantage.

"Alright you two, we managed to get Jack into some clothes he likes!" Judy called down to them as she walked down from the top of the stairs. "C'mon Jackson, let them see your new outfit!"

Jack started walking downstairs, now wearing something that's new freshly washed, and more comfortable in his eyes. He's now wearing a maroon turtle neck, a black hoodie that has a large DNA strand branded on the front of it, a pair of loose black jeans, and a pair of dark grey tennis shoes.

"Oh, you look great, Jambo!" Hugh said cheerfully, getting up from the couch. "It suits you well!"

Jack chuckled as he nodded his head at Hugh, as if to nonverbally tell him thanks.

"Now, how about some pie?" Hugh asked, though not waiting for an answer as he walked to the kitchen, with Judy following behind him giggling.

As they entered the kitchen, Jack leaned against the back of the couch, looking down at Jimmy with a smug grin. "Heya there, chief. Like the new look?"

Jimmy glared at him with a giant look of annoyance with it. "Yeah yeah, sure." He then sighed as he held his head in his hands again.

Jack chuckled as he leaned on the back of the couch on his back, looking at Jimmy while he's upside down. "C'mooooon, don't give me that attitude! I didn't do anything to cause this, it just happened!"

After a few seconds of silence between them, Jack ended up flopping onto the couch, holding the back of his head with both hands, smugly grinning up at Jimmy. "But hey, I'm not gonna complain~!"

"You're already planning on making this an even bigger living nightmare for me, aren't you?" Jimmy asked him, taking his hands off his face, but still isn't looking at him and instead looked up at the ceiling.

"Yeeeeep."

"Knew it. And you're not gonna give up on it easily, correct."

"Correct, chief!"

"I hated you before this process started, and I have already begun to hate you more."

"And I'm planning on making you hate me even more~!"

Jimmy finally looked over at Jack and whisper-yelled at him, "... Fuck you, Jack."

"Fuck you too, Jimmy."

next>>>

[adobe-outdesign]

Would you mind talking about the Spinarak line if you haven't already? If you have, I'd love your thoughts on Skorupi! (And vice versa; I did some searching but I didn't see it)

Spinarak is a cute little guy! It's probably the simplest spider design we've ever gotten in Pokemon, but that's a not a bad thing. The blank-ringed eyes convey a sort of compound eye without being too literal with it, and the little fangs and random horn (following in the proud Gen 1 tradition of slapping horns onto things for no reason other than that it looks cool) add just enough detail to prevent it from being too bland. I also love the stripey legs, a feature found in many spiders.

The main draw of Spinarak is the concept of it having a second face on its abdomen. Not only does this make logical biological sense (it would confuse predators), but it also makes for a fun little theme, and increases the cuteness by 20%.

My only real nitpick with the design is that the red fangs feel a bit out-of-place; they could've easily been yellow. Then again, it ties into Ariados' radically different palette and many IRL spiders have different-colored pedipalps, so I'm willing to give it a pass.

It's also worth nothing that Spinarak had a completely different palette in general originally, sporting a mostly purple look. Ariados was also purple originally, which created more design coherency between the two stages. I'm not sure why they changed this. Maybe they thought it made them look too much like poison-types?

While it's a shame that there's little color consistency between the two, there's at least some visual consistency—the horn, the stripe and spots on the abdomen, the fangs, and the striped legs all remain. Meanwhile, the body shape has changed in a way that makes it look appropriately stronger, and its gained a really pair of false legs on the back that no other spider 'mon sports.

Unfortunately, what doesn't remain is the theme. Spinarak's most noticeable feature was its false face, so it's baffling that Aridos drops that in favor of... nothing really. Aridos is nicely designed, sure, but it doesn't really have anything specific to make it stand out. I point this out mostly because this was Aridos' beta sprite:

Most of Aridos' design has been improved from this design; the finalized design sports a much more interesting body shape that looks much more different than Spinarak's than the beta's does, and the face feels a lot more complete in the final with its thinner head and larger eyes.

However, the loss of the face on the back was honestly a travesty. Like I said, the face on Spinarak was its main theme, so using the evolution to advance the face from being a simple smiley face to a full-brown vicious pattern ala Arbok would've made the line much more memorable, and would've created a greater sense of increase between the two stages. Even the final Pokedex entries for Aridos still blatantly reference this earlier design:

If they had kept Aridos' final design but allowed it to keep the false face of the beta, the line would've been dang near perfect. As-is, they're both still enjoyable spiders—just not nearly as memorable as they could've been.

As a final side note, I could see potential in revisiting this line. I don't think a third evolution would be out of the question; maybe play back into the face theme or expand upon the false legs by giving it the ability to flip itself upside-down or rightside-up on a whim.

[tex-now]

okay um im not the best at cheering people up but i know you arent feeling the best so im going to try! but its also okay if you don’t want to be cheered up because sometimes you just dont want to be cheered up and thats okay! but its also okay if you want yo be cheered up and thats why i’m here right now! :determined saki stamp: (also as im typing this in my head im imagining myself on a big stage with a mic and a projector behind me so if you fw that then think about that cauz i think its silly)

(but please tell me if you don’t like this and i won’t do it again)

okay um this is gonna sound like a fourth grader wrote it but thats okay because yeah

reasons why lynnie is very very veeerrryyy epic! okay so for one youre really nice and sweet and always make me smile and happy cry because youre just so sweet and even though we don’t talk a whole bunch which i think should change but im not gonna make anyone do something they dont want to so im just here. anyway as i was saying even though we don’t talk a lot i always like talking to you because youre really nice and fun to talk to and i feel like you know a lot about me but i dont know a bunch about you which seems unfair but whatever! we’re only talking about epic right now! (i would love to know more about you) and i always wonder how you are doing which i guess its a little weird but i pretty much do that for everyone i know but sometimes im like. ‘oh i wonder how lynnie is today, ill send them an ask later’ even though sometimes i might forget to i still have you in mind. okay another thing is you are really cool and from what i know the things you are interested in are super cool! AND YORUE ART your art is so cute its so silly so whimsy so epic its so cute i love your art style so much. i also think youre funny but in the way im funny which is unintentionally being funny or not a lot of people thinking your jokes are funny but thats okay because i think youre funny and thats all that matters methinks. ummm french im gonna compliment you in french! but its not very good because i just started learning! and i had to use google translate for a little of it! and i know you probably could care less about french! but thats okay! okay here goes. Lynnie est mon amie! Lynnie est sympa et amusante! J’aime Lynnie! (Lynnie is my friend! Lynnie is nice and fun! I love Lynnie!) okay i dont want this ask to be too long incase you don’t like it but thats alright i’ll understand.

okay. i loooove youu! (/p) i hope you feel better soon and i hoped i helped at least a little bit! and im gonna make a bracelet for you even though im probably never gonna ever be able to give it to you its the thought that counts, right? sending all the love to you and make sure to drink some water and eat something! but only if youre up to it but id recommend water if anything. i hope you know in this moment you are loved ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ xoxoxoxox

/pos

[axelcreations]

Finished Pokémon Odyssey v3.0 just earlier! Spoilers for whole game below for my review:

This game is honestly a very interesting and fun experience! As someone who hasn't played an Etrian Odyssey game (which this game is quite based on), I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who's into notably-sized dungeon crawlers and Pokémon.

Some points:

Olympia is easily my favorite character. Despite being a robot, she has a great level of humanity and is also fucking hilarious at times. She's the MVP.

Cassian (I think that's the Fourth Captain's name?) being a Redditor is fucking hilarious.

The Etrian forms are a blast to utilize in battle. The designs are very cool, and I used a bunch! Aerodactyl was a cool mon to use alongside Sandslash for SlideQuake abuse, at least until I switched them out for Bug/Dragon Flygon and ol' reliable Tyranitar after unlocking a better grinding method through a Fourth Stratum quest. Etrian Ralts was not a mon I used, but both final evos seem really sick to use with great sprites, and it is also available very early due to being available through the Sea exploration quest rather than in any particular Stratum. Etrian Ampharos was also a very nice mon to use in battle. Finally, Etrian Dusknoir is a really strong attacker, getting Power-Up Punch naturally + Soul Trade for great damage + draining.

To discuss the plot-relevant mons: Plusle and Minun's Abyssal forms are fucking cracked. Minun is the less consistent of the two, being a glass cannon with an equivalent to Beast Boost. I needed to EV train it a bit so its SpA could exceed its Spe without a +SpA nature on it, but once it could pick off kills for free boosting, it could shred opposing mons fast. Meanwhile, Abyssal Plusle is possibly the best support mon in the game, with great bulk + Helping Hand from super early on, you can simply spam the move with a glass cannon and get great dividends depending on the matchup. The duo together rips apart the Fifth Captain so fucking easily it's not even funny.

The way in which the protagonist, Nyx, and those close to her are intertwined with the plot are very interesting, and while I don't find some of these ways perfect, I am still very intrigued to see how things conclude in v4.0!

Olympia is easily my favorite character. Despite being a robot, she has a great level of humanity and is also fucking hilarious at times. She's the MVP.

Cassian (I think that's the Fourth Captain's name?) being a Redditor is fucking hilarious.

The Etrian forms are a blast to utilize in battle. The designs are very cool, and I used a bunch! Aerodactyl was a cool mon to use alongside Sandslash for SlideQuake abuse, at least until I switched them out for Bug/Dragon Flygon and ol' reliable Tyranitar after unlocking a better grinding method through a Fourth Stratum quest. Etrian Ralts was not a mon I used, but both final evos seem really sick to use with great sprites, and it is also available very early due to being available through the Sea exploration quest rather than in any particular Stratum. Etrian Ampharos was also a very nice mon to use in battle. Finally, Etrian Dusknoir is a really strong attacker, getting Power-Up Punch naturally + Soul Trade for great damage + draining.

To discuss the plot-relevant mons: Plusle and Minun's Abyssal forms are fucking cracked. Minun is the less consistent of the two, being a glass cannon with an equivalent to Beast Boost. I needed to EV train it a bit so its SpA could exceed its Spe without a +SpA nature on it, but once it could pick off kills for free boosting, it could shred opposing mons fast. Meanwhile, Abyssal Plusle is possibly the best support mon in the game, with great bulk + Helping Hand from super early on, you can simply spam the move with a glass cannon and get great dividends depending on the matchup. The duo together rips apart the Fifth Captain so fucking easily it's not even funny.

The way in which the protagonist, Nyx, and those close to her are intertwined with the plot are very interesting, and while I don't find some of these ways perfect, I am still very intrigued to see how things conclude in v4.0!

Anyway, here's my final team upon clearing the Sixth Stratum. This game is a blast and I'm excited for 4.0 to eventually come out! For a ROM Hack of FireRed these days that isn't developed on CFRU, this game is super impressive.

[the-grove]

Powders PokeGang

Okay so I actually am having a really hard time to bringing my team down to 6. Part of the issue is that Gen 9 brought a lot of designs that I like. But there are a lot of older mon I also really really like. So I'm gonna have to make some choices. That being said the first mon on this list is an evolution of my favorite pokemon that made me love it even more so to start off the list

Anhilape (Fighting/ghost)

From an early age our system wan enamored with Mankey, especially Ash's Mankey from the anime. Primeape was a pretty cool evolution of the concept. It was mostly a bigger mankey with bigger muscles but it worked. Monkey's are a favorite animal of mine. In part due to the fact Monkey was a nickname for us growing up. It was associated with our deadname but despite our dislike for that name, Monkey is still a name that bring us joy. Anhilape is a fantastic evolution of primeape, keeping the basic core concepts while also going through a larger transformation then its previous chain. The wild flowing hair, the angry grumpy look(That also kind of looks tired and adorable) the way the fur looks like shaggy wisps. And one of the best details, it lost one of the bands on it's wrist and the other one broke, it's just overflowing with power. Not to mention it's signature move, Rage Fist, is such a fun and powerful concept.

2) Sharpedo (Water/Dark)

I think sharks are cool, I think explosions are cool, it's a shark torpedo. Whats not to love. I love it's aggressive yet adorable face, it's pointy teeth. Sharks are an animal that multiple members of the system love, Princess and I especially. Plus it has such smooth skin. 3) Mimikyu (Ghost Fairy)

Mimikyu is scary and adorable, it's powerful, it's lonely, and misunderstoodd. I love the child like doodle on it's disguise. Mimikyu reminds me a lot of my memories from my source. I would love a plush one that I could hold on days when I feel especially bad. Maybe one day.

4) Grafaiai (Poison/Normal)

Another monkey like pokemon. While called the Toxic Monkey pokemon it's actually has visual inspiration from Lemur(especially the Aye aye) and the Slow Loris. It is also inspired by graffiti artist, hence the wicked cool eyes, and the bright colors on its fingers. It is such an adorable mischievous little creature. Strong Contender for favorite mon. 5) Farigiraf (Normal/Psychic)

Girafarig was a pokemon I hadn't thought too much about. It was cute but never my favorite. It's evolution however is super cool looking while also adorable. The way the heads have combined give it two super cute/cool looks. When the second head is open, you can see the adorable face of the first and it looks Cozy in a Hoodie. When the second head closes its mouth, it looks a bit alien, mysterious and cool. It's a bit spooky but not too spooky. Alright before we get to number 6 I just want to say this last pick was the hardest choice. I had 5 Pokemon I was considering. I could easily see myself switching them out depending on the challenge or what. But I have to have 6 so here we go 6) Infernape (Fire/fighting)

HAD TO DO IT TO EM TRIPLE MONKEY. Okay so Infernape is another one of my favorite pokemon. I am a big fan of Sun Wukong and characters and concepts inspired by him. I also find it interesting how Infernape I feels sort of out of place on the rest of my team which as a darker feel to it. Infernape brings some much needed warmth. So while I do have some favorite types(Ghost, Fire, Fighting, Dark, electric you know spooky types and types that *POP*) my team was picked with not really thinking of typings in mind but rather the individual pokemon without much else in mind. So I want to talk about the 4 honorable mentions that could Have taken Infernapes place. 1) Tinkaton- This new mom is an adorable little menace and I would love to come up with schemes with it. 2) Mr.Mime- I have a love of mimes and clowns so Mr.Mime just seemed fitting, Mr.Mime is actually probably the least likely one to have made it on the final team. That doesn't mean I don't like him, but yeah. 3) Vikavolt- Vikavolt would have been my electric representation on the team and it actually shared a quality with sharpedo. They are both animals that have modern weaponry as a design influence.

4) Gengar- Gengar is the OG Ghost pokemon. I's design is simple yet perfect, chubby little ghost. Would also be on the Menace squad with Tinkaton , Grafaifai and Mimikyu. Probably had the highest chance alongside Tinkaton to make it

-Powder Signing off

[asksavel]

Relationships

Key:

❤ - Friendship 💕 - Romantic 💔 - Dislike 💙 - Regret 💜 - Distrust 💛 - Soulmate (platonic or romantic)

Savel’s Relationships:

Farrow: “I’m glad I saved them.” ❤❤❤❤💕

Lucky: “I’m SO HAPPY you’re back!!” ❤❤❤❤❤

Levas: “I’m really glad I found him.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Scarlett: “She looks like fun!!” ❤

Staccato: “I look forward to seeing him again!” ❤

Lakota / Teacher: “They taught me everything I needed to know, and more. If only they were around more…” ❤❤❤❤❤

Wishmaker: "They’re super cute!“ ❤

Vali: “BESTIE!” ❤❤❤❤❤

Laivan: “How come I don’t sense much Joy from him? He’s so lovely…” ❤❤❤

Lucky’s Relationships:

Savel: “Remind me to never make you angry, eh Savel? Heh.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Farrow: “I love you, and I will protect you no matter what.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Traveller: "It's not every day you can say you share custody of children with an Arceus, heh. Still, she's nice." ❤❤❤

Gladius: "If only I had known you first." ❤❤❤❤❤

Yeong-Ju: ���Stupid woman.” 💔💙

Seirei: “Thank you, and I hope I see you again.” ❤❤❤

Levas: “Heh, you turned out brilliant.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Nancy: “Remind me to take you on a million dates, okay?“ ❤❤💕💕💕

Willow: “I’m glad I could help her out. She’s a nice girl.” ❤❤

Berry: “I like her, she’s funny, but her boss is a dick.” ❤

Cu: “He’s pretty cool. Glad I got to meet him. Hopefully I can pay him a visit in the future. The arctic sounds pretty special.” ❤❤

Ahuahu: “I will end your existence, parasite.” 💔💔💔💔💔

Joule: “To Arceus, I have some explaining to do, don’t I?” ❤

Dysnomia: “He's rough around the edges, but he ain't a bad guy at all. Besides, I like a 'mon whose honest.” ❤❤❤

Dravol: “I'll be watching you." 💜❤

Mari: "I'll do whatever I can for you." ❤❤❤

Farrow’s Relationships:

Lucky: “He is my dad. It's always been that way, at least to me. Glad he finally noticed!!” ❤❤❤❤❤

Dravol: "You disgust me. You better have changed and you better STAY changed or I will make sure you do. Personally." 💔💔💔💜💜

Savel: “She saved me.” ❤❤❤💕💕 

Honey: “They seem nice enough.” ❤

Levas: “I’m happier with him now." ❤❤❤

Amy: “I think we could be great friends.” ❤❤

Traveller: “She’s my mum from now on.” ❤❤❤❤❤

River: “Looks like I have a sister!” ❤❤

Notra: “That’s rather flattering~” ❤❤❤

Laivan: “He really is a wonderful Pokémon…” ❤❤❤❤❤

Levas’s Relationships:

Momoko: “An interesting ally.” ❤

Savel: “It’s impossible to be sad with her.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Farrow: “Gotta admit, they’re okay.” ❤❤❤

Lucky: “I wonder if he realises how much he did for us. Heh, Dunkle~“ ❤❤❤❤❤

Dren: “I’m glad I could help her out.” ❤❤

Solavi: “Gonna ask her to marry me? Be my mate? I’ll figure it out.“ 💕💕💕💕💕

Nivatri: “Pretty sure we were brothers in a past life, the way we get on.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Dravol: “I’ll still kill you if you hurt my family.” 💔💔💜

Dravol’s Relationships:

Xander Sad Fish: “I admire his guts, and still do.” ❤💙

Plegma: “He's so silly~” ❤❤❤

Viola: “I’d like to talk to her again, now I’m back to myself… if she wants…” ❤

Cashmere: "Thank you." ❤❤

Quetzal: “EEEE I GOT A SCALE! I wanna go to that place!! I’m so happy!!“ ❤❤❤❤

Laivan: “I love him." 💕💕💕💕💕

Kyurem: "My Guardian. He did so much for me... I will never be able to express my gratitude enough." ❤❤❤❤❤

Lucky: “At least I know he'll stop me...” 💙💙💙💙💙

Mod Dravidious: “I see why Laivan likes them!” ❤❤

Mod Curce: "They seem like a very nice person, either human or Litten." ❤❤

Zephyr: "He's a fun sparring partner!" ❤❤

Mint: "They're very intelligent for their age! They are a good friend." ❤❤

Laivan’s Relationships:

Dravol:  "I love her." 💕💕💕💕💕

Farrow: “They are very precious to me, and I care about them very much.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Lucky: “He saved me, too.” ❤💜

Savel: “She’s a lovely Pokémon. I like her very much.” ❤❤❤

Darren: "I’m glad he heard my voice.“ ❤❤

Kyogre: “My protector, my best friend.” ❤❤❤❤❤

Quetzal: “They have my gratitude, for many things. But mostly, you made Dravol’s entire year I think~ Thank you.” ❤❤❤

Phlegma: "He's an idiot but he's our idiot." ❤❤

Mod Dravidious: “I like them a lot!” ❤❤❤❤

Mod Curce: “I also like them.” ❤❤❤

Checker / X: “I do NOT like them.” 💔💔💔💜💜

[dragontamer05]

Personally I found the Pokemon Direct, fine.

While I won’t say I don’t entirely understand some of the disappointment some felt but at the same time like to a point especially those who get like irrationally angry/ complain about things that were by and large never even a remote guarantee of being announced - that’s brought about by their own fault.

Nothing wrong with getting excited or even having particular hopes for things you want to see but like you know I think some people need to learn to be reasonable about it.

Especially those hypocritical bunch that complain when there’s no new game (be it main or not) mention but will also turn around and complain and rip on Nintendo/ Game Freak for pumping out yet another game so soon after the release of the most recent. And complain that it’s gonna be so rushed and bad.

1) I have to ask do you get the bored of the games so fast that only after a few months you demand the company pump out something brand new?? If so I think that’s more a you problem then a game problem (Personally I’m still finding plenty of enjoyment especially with my friends)

2) Would you expect that with any other game at all to suddenly announce a new game after only just releasing something I’d hope not- like I wouldn’t even expect a teaser to say ‘hey we’re in the planning for a new thing for the future’

3) As for remakes sure maybe we’ll get them eventually but again BDSP has only been out for like a year i hardly expect anything relating to Gen 5 for awhile

4) Personally confused by the expectations that’d we’d get the old gen pokemon games so soon. Yes with GB and GBA on virtual I won’t be surprised if they arrive eventually but they only just rolled it out and seems like there are still plenty of other games to be rolled out yet as is- including in there add that showed the Pokemon tcg

5) Alright I can agree it kinda is a downer to have to wait so long for the DLC but you know what if it gives them that much more time to polish it and make it fun I’m all for it

6) Holy shit whether true or not I think some may put to much stock in leaks/ or at least get to stuck on one idea - despite it not being a guarantee and could either be fully false or just implying any number of things (i.e like how I get the feeling a lot jumped on the idea of gen5 remakes with that one leak having gen5 mons, when at best it seems like it was just connected to that fact it looks like we’re getting some of them in the DLC stuff.

- Look nothing against theorizing or having wishes of what you’d want to see, hell I do it to but I really think so many need to take a breath, relax and realize that there is every chance things aren’t gonna happen that way- even if it’s something that seems a guarantee to happen eventually.

7) Okay sure I’ll agree this Pokemon Day Direct wasn’t nearly as packed or ‘hype’ if you will, as some they’ve had in the past but at least for me personally it also wasn’t anything worse then I’d expect.

- Generic updates for their various mobage games

- Finally getting proper confirmation on Pokemon Sleep was fun and nice to finally get

- the Tcg collectors things was cool honestly

- and of course DLC confirmation that had always seemed pretty likely

A bit average of a direct with no major reveals but like I don’t think every Direct Pokemon or Nintendo in general needs to be some big, massive packed thing.

And personally I think it ads to the interest of what might happen come next year- perhaps next year will be the year of big reveals where they pull the curtain and tease us with new things being worked on.

Again feeling let down or disappointed totally valid and I get it, while not expected a part of me almost hoped maybe they’d announce later this year pokemon Pinball coming to virtual or something (Unlikely as hell for sure but would have been fun) but going full rage... like that wouldn’t even feel acceptable if GameFreak suddenly came out and announced their final pokemon game or something.

I don’t normally says this, but genuinely I think those that do get unreasonably upset / angry over something as small as a Pokemon Direct not having something they want / not living to expectations need to go out and touch grass, or at least get some fresh air take a deep breath, and realize no matter how frustrating it is it’s not worth getting bent out of shape for.

Plus isn’t the saying No news is good news?

For all we know behind the scenes a select group of people be it in house or outsourced- are in the planning stages for some spinoff or a remake or gen 10, whatever they plan to release next onto their game library but are still in such early stages there’s no point in talking about it yet, have nothing to tease or reveal (I’m not saying they do but hypothetically on the slim chance it is happening just saying)

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} I'm alive, I promise, lol. Mons-Weds this week are the worst days for the start of my summer class. On Mon the course shell opened, so students can see everything, read the syllabus, but the assignments are locked. On Tues, the assignments opened up and they can start working, also it's the first official day of class so a lot of them show up then. And then Weds they have their first assignments due, so that's when a lot of problems/questions will start happening. After Weds it'll probably calm down a bit until the weekend, when they have their first forum assignment due. So that's why I decided to just take this whole week off to give myself a break and make it easier, heh. I hope to be on tomorrow night at least part of the time. I have so much muse for everything here and plenty to do, so I'm itching to chip away at things.

I've also been re-immersing myself in Silent Hill stuff to prepare to work on my fanfic again. I haven't touched that fic since 2016, so I'm slightly rusty on lore, locations, etc. The first movie, which is how I structured the fic because it simplifies things a lot for me, leaves Netflix after 5/31, and the second is on Tubi, so I may watch them back-to-back either Weds or Thurs. The second movie is... terrible, but I like the first movie a lot. I figure I may as well watch both since that's a lot faster than replaying games, and that'll help me get back into the world and mood to write my fic.

And now some blabbing about maybe having Silent Hill as a muse, heh, and about SH in general for anyone who is interested... below the cut.

I may do some posting over on my multi at some point, since the fic concerns a muse I have there, but I am considering? having Silent Hill as a muse. The whole town, heh. Not necessarily any characters in it other than creatures, and the evil or demon or whatever you wanna call it, only because that could get crazy, there's a lot of characters who live there. But the idea would be to let people put their muses in the town and then I throw things at them just like would happen in the games, and it's... designed to push your muse into some realization about themself or admitting something to themself that they're in denial about or that's difficult for them to come to terms with. That's... the very simple way of putting it.

It does... require me to know a LOT about your muse, that's the one catch. Because I have to know what the skeletons in their closet might be, what scares them, what the evil of the town might want to latch on to in order to try to capture their soul. So it has to be a canon character or OC that I know pretty well for this to work. But hey, even if no one's interested in it, it'd still be pretty fun to just write up the info post for it, haha. Yeah, I'm that level of rp dork. I don't know, I haven't decided yet, we'll see how it goes. It may be more work on my part than it's worth and that there's interest for from my writing partners. I am going to try to finish the fanfic sometime soon, though, at the very least.

If you're not familiar with the Silent Hill movies or games, watching the first movie will give you a nice nutshell version of it. It'll help you understand the "universe" better, how it functions, the main story behind it, and will introduce you to a number of the main characters, the creatures, and the locations from the games. And the music! Silent Hill has very iconic music. It's very atmospheric, a little creepy, edgy... and the person who does the majority of the vocals is actually really cool, heh. I met her at a con once and she was just the coolest chick. But, I digress. The first movie used a lot of the music from the games, and that really helps create the same kind of atmosphere as the games. So yeah, if you want the quickest path to understanding the SH universe quickly and simply, I recommend watching the first movie... BUT...

SAFETY DISCLAIMER BELOW!

...I do want to say... and when I post about it over on my multi I'll say the same thing... that if you do decide to watch the first movie, and you're going in cold knowing nothing about SH, please be careful! I don't want anyone to go in not knowing what to expect and being seriously triggered by it. If you have any triggers at all, assume they are in this movie. SH is a violent, heavy, emotional, and raw survival horror world. It's like the GoT of survival horror, heh. No punches pulled, nobody's safe, good doesn't necessarily win, everything terrible you can imagine, it's in there. The game and movie universes hinge on being fear factories for those trapped there. The evil in the town deliberately drives at your deepest fears and worst self-denials, that's the point. So that's why it's so intense. The origin story of how the demon/evil/"dark one" came to be in control of SH in the first place is pretty horrific and triggering too.

If you have any triggers you're concerned about and you want to check with me before you watch it, I'd be happy to let you know if it's in there. I'm only saying all of this because I would never forgive myself if I ended up triggering someone really badly because I didn't properly inform people ahead of time. So please do take care when watching or playing anything SH related if you aren't used to the survival horror genre, and to the level of gore and rough themes that are common in the SH world.

Having said this, if you're into horror imagery, horror symbolism, really fantastical creatures, life after death, and a lot of psychological commentary on human nature, hypocrisy, religion, and the definition of good and evil, then you may enjoy it. Here is the trailer, if you'd like to see, which doesn't have anything too bad in it, but just in case, trigger warnings for a car crash, fire, insects (roach-like), flashing images, and a bit of twisted-body creature imagery.

Also, if I do bring the town to my multi as a muse, of course I will not be venturing into offensive, triggering, or cringe content with threads. The goal would be more of a softened fantasy-horror experience, letting your character encounter creatures, placing them in stressful or puzzling situations, trying to test and frustrate them, giving them clues to things, etc. I wouldn't go into anything too bad, and I wouldn't do anything to your muse without asking you ahead of time. And like I said, I'm still deciding whether to take it on as a muse, or whether it's too over my head as far as amount of work. I've wanted to do it for a while, but I'm just not sure how go at it I'd be. *shrugs* We'll see.

So that's what's up with the lack of activity on here, I've just been working and revisiting Silent Hill stuff. If I'm not back here on Weds (5/29), I definitely will be on Thurs (5/30)! =)

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 32 - Unbreakable Wings

[AO3 version]

Digimon evolution only happens when it is needed, or when a digimon reaches a certain “growth” and unlocks it. It’s a mysterious phenomenon that sometimes can only be reached by human-digimon potential… And some forms become only acquired at least in rare cases, if not only once in a digimon’s life.

A new evolution is about to happen.

“Hey, you think it’s OK to leave things to Noel-kun and the others?” Takeru asked the other five in the group.

“If something happens, we will stop everything and come to help them quickly,” Daisuke smiled, “Relax, we need to have some fun at least once.”

Ken, however, was lost in thoughts: Those bad guys are after me and me only, so if I’m not here for a while, they might not attack. Or rather, they might follow us and attack us in an isolated area, which would prevent more victims--

“Ken-kun?” Miyako put her hand on his shoulder, “Are you ok?”

“A-ah? Y-yes, I am.”

Miyako raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I am sure.”

“Joe-san, isn’t it a bad idea for you to be here while you had to be studying for your entrance exams?” Iori asked, and yes… Kido Joe was there with them, with Gomamon as company. He drove them to the summer camp.

“Don’t worry about me, I need a break from studies too,” Joe smiled.

“Yeah, we will be here buggin’ y’all with our ol’ man’s tales!”

“Oooh??” Armadimon exclaimed, “What kind of tales, dagya?”

“Well there’s the one about…”

Hikari was sitting on the bench, with Tailmon on her lap. The other digimon (V-mon, Wormmon, Hawkmon and Patamon) were also next to them, eating breakfast. Daisuke and Takeru then joined in:

“So, what do you want to do today?” Daisuke asked her.

“Hmm… I want to enjoy the view” Hikari smiled, “I want to take more photos for this year’s album. And you?”

“I uh… I’m fine taking photos too!” he laughed nervously. Takeru and the digimon took a deep sigh.

“And you, Takeru-kun?” Hikari asked the other next.

“I want to take a walk around,” Takeru answered.

“I want to build snowmen!!” Patamon said cheerfully.

“Me too!” V-mon and Wormmon added with a nod.

“Hey what if we do all of those together?” Takeru suggested, “Hikari-chan could get her photos and we can play with the snow.”

“F-fine…” Daisuke blushed, “Are you ok with it, Hikari-chan?”

“Yes, I can take cool pictures of everyone.”

 

But Ken was still having troubles and this didn’t give him time to enjoy their trip. Every single moment he tried to cool off, something would remind him… He was the main character of those events. He’s the cause of the misfortune. He was…

“Hey, Ichijouji-kun.”

Ken had his thoughts interrupted by… Takeru? He looked at the blonde boy in silence, something in the lights of the cottage behind Takeru felt as if Takeru was some sort of angel coming from the heavens to aid him in his path.

“You have been too quiet today… Joe-senpai is telling us a funny story about the time he and Sora-san faced a Bakemon king.”

“Oh… Right, I was… spacing out again?”

“Yeah, you were,” Patamon, on Takeru’s arms, replied “Are you ok?”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

“HEY KEN, COME MAKE SOME S’MORES!” Daisuke shouted from the kitchen, “Y’KNOW S’MORES RIGHT??”

“Ah, Mimi-san told me about that!” Hikari commented, and then she and the others started chatting about camping and winter season food.

The next day, Ken went out with Wormmon for a jog in the morning. The moment he stopped to drink his water bottle to hydrate, someone tapped on his shoulder -- Wormmon and Ken looked back and saw Nokita Yuu behind them.

“Yo, we met again Ichijouji.”

“...” Ken did not answer with words, he just nodded his head.

“Ah, I didn’t know you liked to come to the mountains during winter break. Cool, me too. My friends’ cottage is nearby. Come to visit me, if you would like to.”

“Right, but… for what purpose?”

Nokita laughed lightly, “Just to hang out and have a chit chat. Don’t worry, I’m not kidnapping you.”

“...”

“I want to know you better, or are you not comfortable with someone having interest in you?”

“... I’m sorry, but if you want to be my friend you need to be more direct.”

“Oh… Then, the proposal is up. Go hang out with us later, prince detective. See ya,” and then Nokita left. 

“What did he mean by what?” Wormmon and Ken looked at each other.

“I don’t know, but… I hope this is just a coincidence.”

At a good distance from Ken and Wormmon and that they could hear or see him now… Nokita turned back, to the direction he met Ken.

“Insect.”

“You know it has been a while we don’t get all out for fun,” Joe commented with the kids, “Thank you for inviting Gomamon and me.”

“No, we are the ones being thankful that you could come, Joe-senpai” Iori replied with a smile. Everyone agreed.

“Huh, where’s Ken and Wormmon?” Gomamon asked, looking around the cottage, “Didn’t they return yet?”

“Now that you mentioned it…” Hikari looked at the clock, “You’re right…”

“Should we go out and look for him?” Daisuke asked the group.

“... I will go out and take a look,” Takeru offered immediately and out of the blue, “You guys try to call his phone,” then he and Patamon got up and left the cottage.

“Right,” Miyako and the others nodded.

“I… I will go with Takeru-san. Just in case they need help,” Iori got up, bowed and went after Takeru.

Outside, Iori met with Takeru, explained the same point he made to the others and then they and the digimon left, trying to detect Ken’s digivice with theirs.

 

“Ken-chan!!”

It was a sudden attack from a giant digimon made of minerals -- Blastmon -- that sent Ken and Wormmon to a crack in the ground. During the fall, Ken hit his head on the soil and passed out. Wormmon had been trying to wake him up since then.

“Ken-chan, wake up!! Please!!” Wormmon gently shook Ken’s torso with his paws, but no success. He then looked up and noticed a shiny object on the digimon’s body, something not following its patterns -- A faux Digimental shard perhaps?

“... I have to tell the others…!!” Wormmon reached Ken's D-terminal on the boy’s pockets from the jacket and took the device out of it. He opened the D-terminal and started typing.

Wormmon typed as fast as he could, but the lack of hands made it harder. He then heard the D-3 beeping, as if someone was around. He took the digivice and recognized those two colored dots -- one yellow and one green. He then rushed to finish the message and send it to Takeru and Iori.

“Hang it there, Ken-chan…!” Wormmon said in a low voice to Ken, trying to not get the attention of Blastmon.

Takeru and Iori were nearby and then their D-Terminals beeped.

“Do you think it’s Ken?” Patamon asked, on the top of Takeru’s head. The boys checked their D-terminals and then found a message.

Ken-chan and I got attacked by a Blastmon! We fell into a crack on the ground… But Ken-chan hit his head and passed out! We need help!! -- Wormmon.

“Yes, it’s them” Takeru confirmed, then looked at Iori and Armadimon, “Should we contact the others?”

“If Ichijouji-san is hurt, then we have no time for this. We have to do it by ourselves.”

“Alight, dagya! Evolve us to Shakkoumon, dagya!!”

The boys nodded.

Armadimon and Patamon evolved into Ankylomon and Angemon respectively. Then, the digivices’ colors changed, becoming a matched pair and then released lights which formed the Jogress Holy Ring for its execution -- Ankylomon and Angemon turned into light beams and waltzed in a helix shape. Once the lights hit the Jogress Ring, Shakkoumon emerged from its top.

Shakkoumon went to face Blastmon while Takeru and Iori stopped in front of the crack. The digivice signal was stronger there, so they believed it was that one.

“Ichijouji-kun, Wormmon!” Takeru screamed.

“We’re here…!!” They heard Wormmon's voice.

“Hold on, we will find something to take you two out of there!” Iori shouted this time, and then he and Takeru looked around, trying to find something.

Until then… Iori shouted again, “Wormmon, use your sticky net as rope! Wrap Ichijouji-san with it and climb the wall. We will pull him out of the crack!”

“Alright…!!”

Blastmon’s body was resistant and none of Shakkoumon’s attacks seemed effective. While the kids and Wormmon helped an unconscious Ken to be retrieved from the crack (Wormmon made a cocoon around Ken’s body and even a thick helmet to protect Ken’s head), Shakkoumon had to locate the faux shard without any help.

 

“Ichijouji-kun!”

“... Ugh, what…” Ken finally woke up, and sat on the floor, “What happened… Why am I wrapped in sticky silk…”

“Ken-chan!” Wormmon gasped, “You’re okay??”

“Yeah, sort of…”

“Can you walk?” Takeru asked Ken, while Iori turned back and saw the giant digimon fight in the background.

“I… I think I sprained my leg” Ken informed the blonde boy.

“That’s bad!!” Wormmon frowned, but then he looked at the boys “I saw a broken porcelain on Blastmon’s body! It might be a fragment!”

“So, it’s a victim” Iori mused, “Ichijouji-san, can you assist us…?”

Ken nodded, then took his digivice from the pocket, “Wormmon, use your speed to guide Shakkoumon to the shard you saw, ok?”

“Alright, leave it to me!”

Wormmon evolved into Stingmon and then left the group, flying towards the fight. All they had to do was just remove the fragment and whoever got corrupted by it would turn back to normal, right?!

But Blastmon kept being too stubborn, and Shakkoumon attacks were ineffective against it.

From a safe distance, Nokita watched the entire battle. He glanced at Ken and realized the boy was struggling to walk. He clenched his fist, but did not leave his spot.

 

“How can we remove the fragment if nothing can hit it!, dagya?!” Shakkoumon (Ankylomon side) panicked, and then they just saw Stingmon flying into their direction, “Stingmon??”

“Can you distract Blastmon for me?” Stingmon asked the giant dogū -like digimon.

“Uhh… It’s a bit harder to do that when nothing we’re trying here is working…” Shakkoumon (Angemon side) shrugged.

“Not even… holding it while I take the shard off its body?”

“Uh...”

“Alright…” Stingmon facepalmed, “Just hold it for a while, let me do the rest.”

“I won’t let you do that!!” Matadrmon appeared and attacked Stingmon.

“Not now, you jerk!” Shakkoumon growled and then grabbed Matadrmon and threw it away. Stingmon gulped -- he almost was caught too, luckily he dodged in time.

Blastmon then attacked the two -- By firing the crystals from its body with a punch (a la Angemon’s Heaven’s Knuckle technique) and forcing the digimon to get hit by those shards while they shielded their human partners.

“Shakkoumon won’t stand for much longer…!” Iori warned everyone, as they all saw the giant digimon shielding them with their body. Cracks over the dogū digimon were starting to be seen.

“Then, we need to retreat…” Ken mused.

“We can’t leave whoever has been corrupted by that shard on the loose!” Takeru argued, staring at the other two boys, “We don’t know what happens when someone keeps using those fake shards for much longer. It could cost their life…!!”

“I understand that,” Ken said with a serious voice, “You have a point, but we’re risking our lives here and our digimon are in danger as well. A strategic retreat is our best option now.”

“But…!! Iori-kun, do you agree with it?!”

“I…” Iori frowned, he glanced at Ken then at Takeru and finally at the digimon. It felt like his opinion would decide what they should do. It felt like he was the one who should find a solution to their problem.

But Iori didn’t want to leave now, could they be able to stand up and fight…? Could they call Daisuke and the others for backup…?

“We… We will stay…!!” Shakkoumon’s Ankylomon voice said with some difficulty. The cracks were getting bigger and bigger.

“Sh-Shakkoumon…” the youngest boy watched his and Takeru’s partner suffer to keep them safe.

“...” Ken sighed, then he turned to Stingmon, “Stingmon, can you go  back to the camping site? You’re the fastest here, bring Daisuke and V-mon so we can get Imperialdramon in time.”

“What??” Stingmon exclaimed in indignation, “And leave you injured here!?”

“Shakkoumon won’t resist that longer with those attacks!” Ken stared at his digimon, “I will be fine, go NOW.”

Stingmon clenched his fist, but he nodded next. And then he took another route away from Blastmon’s attacks. Shakkoumon stood up again, and tried to destroy the rest of the crystals shot by Blastmon with his laser beams and projectiles.

“We can still fight…!!” Shakkoumon (Angemon side) shouted.

“Shakkoumon…” Iori repeated again, this time impressed with the digimon’s determination.

“Give it your best, Shakkoumon!” Takeru shouted.

Then… Takeru’s and Iori’s digivices released a prism light on Shakkoumon. It was as if the boys’ hearts and the digimon’s core were resonating and sharing a heartbeat. That light…

The evolution light.

Shakkoumon, ultimate-evolve!! Dominimon!

A beam of light surrounded Shakkoumon and then other two lights in green and yellow danced in the shape of a helix as the digimon jumped into the red Jogress ring. From there, an armored angel -- Dominimon -- came out of it. Their holy light purified the land, and also healed Ken’s leg.

“Dominimon?” Takeru and Iori exclaimed in awe.

“...” Dominimon glanced at Blastmon, and used their sacred energy to generate the shape of a sword.

“My leg…” Ken turned to the leg he had sprained, “Is not hurting anymore…?”

“We will stop you, Blastmon.” Angemon’s voice came out of Dominimon’s mouth. Then, the angel-like digimon flew at high speed.

Blastmon growled and then released more and more shards from its body.

“Zero Heavens!!”

Dominimon however, released ultra-high-temperature lasers from their shields on the shoulders, destroying every shard while they shielded the boys.

It was when Iori noticed a strange coloration in Blastmon’s knee, something not part of its armor or mineral body.

“Aim at Blastmon’s right knee!!” The youngest boy shouted, making the angel spot the fake shard. Dominimon nodded. 

“Final Excalibur!!” And then in a flash they used the energy-like sword to slash the faux fragment. The shard was destroyed and then Blastmon reverted into a Sunarizamon .

“We won? We saved them…?” Iori asked rhetorically, and then the boys went to meet Dominimon and Sunarizamon.

Dominimon healed the small digimon in their hands, and the digimon ran to a small ginger kid who they suspected to be the digimon’s partner.

“...” Ken noticed someone was watching them from a distance though, but too far from his eyesight.

 

“KEN, IORI, TAKERU!! ARE Y’ALL ALRIGHT?!” Daisuke and V-mon came in with the others and Stingmon.

“We’re fine!” Takeru smiled, and then he turned to Dominimon.

“Whoa, a handsome angel digimon with giant shoulder pads!!” Gomamon exclaimed.

“Shakkoumon evolved,” Iori explained, and then he mused, “But how…?”

“Wow he’s so cool folks!” Daisuke chuckled, “But glad you are okay. Stingmon said we should hurry so…”

“I guess we weren't fast enough,” Hawkmon shrugged.

“At least everyone is saved now,” Miyako commented, then looked at Ken, “Is your leg ok? Can you walk?”

“Yeah, Dominimon healed me, I guess,” Ken answered, moving the now healed leg.

“That’s good,” she smiled.

“Then we should go back, we were about to eat some breakfast!” V-mon said to the trio and Dominimon, “I’m hungry!!”

“Sure, let’s go back” Takeru chuckled. Meanwhile, Dominimon reverted back into Patamon and Armadimon.

 

“They evolved…?” Nokita whispered to himself, “Interesting…”

Why was Nokita Yuu doing there though??

[jimblejamblewritings]

little situation | part 23.

Summary: For years, HYDRA had been trying to use the samples of Steve’s DNA to make another super-soldier. They finally succeed and when S.H.I.E.L.D. breaks her out, Cap is forced to come face to face with his kid and figure out parenting on an Avengers’ lifestyle.

Warnings: maybe potential childhood trauma but nothing really

Pairing: Steve Rogers x blackdaughter!reader, avengers x child!reader, peter parker x black!reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

“Wait, so, Uncle Tony got pissed at you?” You asked, walking with Ned and Peter to the bodega before heading to Peter’s.

“Mainly that I almost drowned. He says I should stay the friendly neighborhood spider but the problems are coming into the neighborhood,” Peter said frustrated as he looked at the drinks in the fridge.

“I think he’s just worried. Sometimes he doesn’t even like when I go on missions alone, you’ve just got to prove that you can be an Avenger.”

“If they ever let me.”

“Don’t say that, of course they will. You said you found Chitauri weapons, don’t let a setback like Uncle Tony’s temper tantrum throw you from your job. Was the party fun at least?”

Peter shrugged. “It was fine.”

“He actually talked to Liz,” Ned offered.

Peter shook his head when you gave him an excited yet questioning face. “She’s cool.”

“Cool? That’s it, I thought this was the girl you had been crushing on since freshman year?”

“Crushing was a strong word.”

“You know what else was strong, your staring.”

“It was cause we hadn’t seen her since last summer. I talked to her, she’s cool. I guess I still like her, just think I’ve started to notice someone else.”

You guys made your way to the checkout. You and Ned both questioned Peter but he didn’t say anything. He grabbed the snacks out of your hand and paid for them before you got the chance to take out your wallet like usual. Peter blinked in surprise when you suddenly were right in his face.

“I’ll find out who this mystery girl is. You can’t hide her from me forever… damn, can’t come over anymore,” you read a message off of your phone. “I just made Prima in company.”

“When did you join a real ballet studio?”

“Well I didn’t. Aleisha Dupont, from France did… now if you boys excuse me, I have a wig to change into, some prosthetics to put on and a headmaster whose face is about to meet the end of my pointe shoe. Bye, Ned, Peter Parker.”

You gave both boys a peck on the cheek and darted out the bodega where Happy’s car was pulled up. Happy drove carefully so you could apply your makeup and secure the black straight wig with bangs. It was a small mission technically but you loved any mission that let you do solo work. Not because you didn’t love the team but team missions were usually always smash a few things and lots of fighting, solo missions for you tended to be spy work and if someone has to die it’s discreet without much of a fight.

“Aleisha!”

You ran to your friends and hugged them.

“We heard about Prima, the whole company is talking.”

“It’s too bad I can’t enjoy it.”

“Can’t enjoy it.”

“Mon pere, we’re moving back to France. Today’s my last day.”

“No, really? Well, we should celebrate our 24 hour prima. Let’s go, I want a good spot at the barre.”

You stayed behind when everyone else had cleared out to talk to the headmaster. Well, there wasn’t any talking. You hit him upside the temple with the pointe shoe when he was in the hallway and dragged him back into his office to prop him up in his chair. Humming the Dance of the Little Swans, you turned on the electric kettle and poured him a cup— making it the exact way you’ve observed him do it for the past few months.

The headmaster started to wake up so you hit him with your shoe again. While the tea cooled, you took off the wig and makeup. You sat on the desk and waited until S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had come in to take him away. You sipped on the tea as Sharon and Maria entered to help look through files.

“You know, he might be evil but this cup of tea is nothing but heavenly. I’m definitely stealing this recipe.”

The two women looked at you and you stretched out the cup towards them.

“You want me to make you one?”

Sharon laughed. “I think we’re good. Your dads are outside with the car.”

You put on your other pointe shoe and hopped down from the desk. The agents tried not to laugh as you danced out of the office and towards the front door. Steve and Sam were waiting in the car so you guys could drive to the airport for vacation. Principal Morita had signed off on your document that stated you’d be out of school for Thursday and Friday. They shook their heads as you danced all the way to the car, stopping on the steps for the ending of your performance. Both men clapped, unenthusiastically, when you finished. You connected your phone to the car’s Bluetooth system. Sam and Steve looked at each other when your music came on.

“And this would be?” Steve asked.

“Britney Spears… All eyes on me in the center of a ring just like a circus!”

Sam and Steve were subjected to the whims of their teenage daughter all the way to the airport, a ride made unnecessarily longer due to traffic. Your music taste was diverse and often along the lines of Steve and Sam but that particular car ride you only wanted to listen to your pop divas. So Beyonce, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, and Diana Ross were a few of the artists they had to listen to.

You pulled up to the airport, Steve paying for the days the car would be parked there, and found a nice spot currently away from all the other cars. You asked Sam to record a video for you to send to Ned, MJ, and Peter. You turned the volume all the way up in the car as “I’m Coming Out” started to play. Sam filmed as you stepped out the car dramatically in time to the words and did a goofy strut until you approached the camera.

“Hope you guys win decathlon! I’ll be sending you nothing but good vibes from sunny California!”

Steve felt your head practically slam against his shoulder as you fell asleep halfway through the flight. You were thinking maybe you guys shouldn’t have tried to be normal citizens and should’ve taken the quinjet instead because you were not prepared for the flight time to still be so long. When you guys landed you turned off airplane mode on your phone to see a couple texts had come in. You opened the one from Peter that was a video.

“Have fun in Cali, wish we were there with you.”

“Liz asked Peter to the dance!” Ned popped up behind Peter. “Right in front of everyone on the team.”

“Ned, I’m sure Sarah doesn’t care… it’s not that big a deal. Gotta go, we’re still practicing. See you soon.”

The video cut off rather abruptly. The other messages were from Ned and MJ that were just texts thanking you for the good luck and hoping you enjoy your vacation.

The Big Thunder Suite at the Disneyland Hotel wasn’t as bad as you thought. You wanted to stay in the FairyTale Suite— Steve and Sam did not. But the copper tub in the suite was a good enough consolation prize for you. You flopped onto the bed with excitement before changing into sweats and joining your fathers downstairs for dinner.

“I’ve got the whole park planned so we can see everything!” you said excitedly, barely chewing your food before swallowing.

Steve gave Sam an amused smile. “She’s got the whole thing planned.”

“Whole thing?”

“Whole thing.”

“I hate you both.” You rolled your eyes while both men laughed at your expense.

The first day did not go as planned. You, Steve, and Sam had the uncanny ability to forget that you were well-known Avengers resulting in lots of kids coming up to you three— especially Sam and Steve. You guys had sat down to get lunch when one child recognized Steve first. You and Sam had ducked your heads down but the kid took one glance and recognized you too.

Before Sam and Steve could process what was happening, you left the area, forcing them to deal with the growing line of kids wanting pictures with Captain America and Falcon and the apologies of their parents who tried to tell them that the two men just wanted to enjoy the park. Sam and Steve were glad to take pictures and sign autographs. You thought you were in the clear until you stumbled into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Both men looked around once the line had gotten smaller and tried to find you. Sam grabbed his phone to text you when he got a message sent from the PR team, it was a link to Twitter. Someone had posted a photo of you at the boutique and a line of children now wanting makeovers from America’s Darling. They scrolled through Twitter, your name now trending, and saw various photos and videos:

You gasped when you saw the little girl with (f/c) hearing aids approach the station that the employees let you have. She gave you a little wave. You pointed to your own hearing aids and she nodded excitedly.

We match!

You looked up to see her parents.

She begged for your color, it’s not even her favorite, her dad signed.

You’ve given her so much confidence that she can do anything, her mom signed.

You looked back at the little girl. I think one large Avenger sized makeover is what we want.

Another video popped of you getting asked questions as you left the salon, not getting farther than the bench right outside.

“Is all the glitter because of pixie dust?”

“Glitter?”

“Your skin!”

You laughed when you realized they were talking about the diamond. Whenever you got hit with something, you see the sparkle of the diamond briefly upon impact as the area became super tough to stop the damage. The kids looked at you patiently, expecting an answer and you weren’t about to spoil magic for them in the middle of Disneyland. Their fifth grade history class can do that for you.

“Yes. My mom was a fairy.”

The kids gasped in amazement.

“Was your mom a tinker fairy? Is that why you’re so good at making things?”

When you nodded the children started chanting ‘TinkerDarling’. Steve laughed when he heard on the video one kid say in wonder that Captain America was once married to a fairy.

“Should we go save her?”

“Probably.”

They got to the area where you were but saw you already had another savior approaching.

“Peter!” The kids yelled, making you turn your head to see Peter Pan.

“Hey, kids. Tink and I are needed in Neverland, Captain Hook is back to his evil ways.” He made a face causing the kids to gasp. “We’re sorry to leave you but remember to always have faith, trust, say it with me… and pixie dust! Come on, TinkerDarling.”

Peter Pan stuck out a hand that you gladly grabbed and he whisked you towards the stand labelled Maurice’s Treats where Steve and Sam were. He dropped you off.

“Thank you.”

“Any time, TinkerDarling,” Peter Pan broke character for a moment. “You know that’s staying.”

“It’s already trending,” Sam said as he held up the phone.

Your phone rang and you answered it while waving a goodbye to Peter Pan. Tony’s voice came through the phone.

“For the record, I got the Tinkerbell nickname I wanted.”

“Bye Uncle Tony.”

“Bye, TinkerDar—”

You shoved the phone back in your shorts’ pocket. The park saved you guys as it came on through the speakers that the Avengers were in the park for a mission to stop HYDRA agents hiding in Disney and that if any children see through their disguise to pretend they don’t know you— as well as report any HYDRA looking activity to another Disney character and they’ll find the Avengers right away. You were able to move through the rest of the park relatively seamlessly, children pointing and shushing each other or giving you all winks excited that they were assisting on such an important “mission”.

You made Sam and Steve take lots of pictures, complaining that you’d have nowhere to post them— instead of buying into your guilt trip, Steve simply sent the pictures to the PR team and said now they’d be posted. Rolling your eyes, you followed the two of them to the next ride, Sam’s pick. The park had you absolutely worn out by the time you guys left on the night of Day 2. You flopped onto the bed of the hotel room.

~~

Peter smiled looking at the text from his phone. It was a video from you once you had gotten back home from the park.

“Hey Peter Parker, guess what happened. I’m officially a Disney fairy. Well, not really but for about two hours I was the fairy leader of a small army under the age of ten that wouldn’t leave me alone. And you’ll never guess who my savior was? Peter Pan! Don’t worry, you’re still the cuter Peter. Have fun at decathlon, do your best! I hope you guys win. I know you’re smart so it shouldn’t be a problem. Knock ‘em dead, Spider-man. I’ll send a little pixie dust your way, just for luck.”

You laughed as you wiggled your fingers.

“This is your TinkerDarling, signing off.”

He needed something to boost his morale as he watched the rest of the decathlon team have fun at the pool. He had a job to do. Yeah, being with other students was fun but he had a job to do, to prove to the other Avengers especially Tony. Peter pulled on his mask. Knock ‘em dead, Spider-man ringing through his head.

~~

“What if you had a Disney wedding?” You asked while you guys waited for the Animation Academy drawing class to start.

“Babydoll, I think you’re the only one who is that obsessed with Disney here.”

“Yeah, I like Disney but I don’t think I want Mickey officiating our ceremony. How about the beach?” Sam asked Steve.

“Beach is fine or maybe a barnyard venue.”

“We could ask Clint, doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

They continued to talk about ideas quietly, you offering input at certain ideas, while the animator taught everyone how to draw Pooh Bear.

~~

You hit Peter in the chest when you saw him with Ned in the hallway as everyone cleared out to head to their last class of the day.

“Ow, what was that for?”

“Washington? What the hell, Peter?! Why did I find out from the news instead of you that the Washington Monument almost collapsed?”

“How’d you know it was me? I cleared the area before anyone showed up.”

“How long have I been an Avenger… Ned told me.”

“Well you were on vacation and I didn’t want you to be distracted.”

“Next time, distract me, I don’t care. And how am I supposed to cover for you if I don’t know what to cover for?”

“Well it wasn’t exactly planned.”

“I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll text you after.”

“Thank you. Oh, I got these for you two.”

You handed Ned a pair of Mickey ears and presented Peter with the Peter Pan hat, making him laugh. You adjusted the hat on his head.

“Thank you, TinkerDarling.”

“I’m gonna let that slide only because I’m about to say the dumbest thing ever.”

“Does it involve you telling me you’re actually made of pixie dust… you’re joking.”

“Not quite pixie dust, but twirl me.”

Peter grabbed your hand and spun you. He and Ned wowed as you made your skin glitter.

“The kids got me thinking about if I could harden the diamond on command, without having to get hit, you know.”

“Oh now I’m really not letting it go, Tink.”

“Then you and Ned are my Lost Boys.”

“Of course.” Peter twirled you one more time.                

“Alright. I have a free period so I’m going back to Neverland, would ask if you wanna come but heard you got detention?” You smirked while Peter rolled his eyes at you.

You gave Ned a peck on the cheek and the Peter.

“See you tomorrow, Ned, Peter Parker.”

(Part 24)...

[adobe-outdesign]

have you reviewed cloyster yet? 😶

Shellder is super simple and not too different from a regular clam, baring some spikes on the shell and the color, but it does have a real charm to it. This is mostly due to the face—those empty eyes are fun and the tongue is a nice nod to mollusk's radulas that they use for feeding. I also like the detail that it remains out even when the shell is closed:

The most interesting part of Shellder is actually not Shellder itself however, but rather its connection to the Slowpoke line. When a Shellder bites a Slowpoke, not only does it cause the Slowpoke to evolve but it also changes appearance itself in various ways, suggesting an evolution. Personally, I really wish this had gotten represented in some way. We almost had an intriguing idea in the Spaceworld beta, which has a creature that seems to be a Slowpoke evo minus the 'poke.

I could easily see this line being a split evo, wherein presenting a Shellder with a Slowpoke tail will cause it to evolve into the above 'mon, while exposing it to a water stone causes the standard Cloyster evo. At the very least, it would've been nice to see Slowbro and Slowking registered as Shellder's evolutions as well instead of solely Slowpoke's.

As for Cloyster itself, it still doesn't have much of a theme beyond "clam", but it does at least become a considerably more interesting monster at this point. (It's also very yonic, but we won't blame it for that part.)

The entire body has changed to be vertical in orientation, its added two layers of shells, and its covered in much more prominent spikes. I also think that it's neat that the "body" in this stage isn't just a black space, but seemingly a black pearl, which is a cool concept. I do kind of wish it kept the tongue of Shellder, but it did look pretty goofy, so I get why they dropped it.

My only nitpick is that I'm not sure about the top horn. It's extra detail in an already fairly busy design, and it doesn't really attach to the body in a meaningful way. Also, the design is a bit low-contrast. I feel like it looked best in the DP/BW sprites, wherein the purple is brighter to make it stand out from the gray inside shell and the horn is white (though granted, the pearl could've stood to be a bit darker):

Still, as a whole, these are some fine clams. While their biggest claim to fame is their connection to a another unrelated Pokemon, they at least have pretty straightfoward designs with some interesting elements in there. I wouldn't mind seeing a regional or convergent 'mon for these guys one day (side note: missed opportunity to not give them a Galarian regional to go along with Galarian Slowpoke).

[saberies-stuff]

If you were to rewrite any season of Supergirl which one would it be and what kind of changes would you make?

Ooh, this is a super fun question! I’m tempted to say Season 6 right off the bat, because we all know my feelings on that gosh-awful shoddy excuse of a finale, but that’s a lazy answer so I’m just going to take that disaster out of consideration and focus on the rest.

The first three seasons were actually pretty solid, in my opinion. My favorite was Season One; the show just had this goofy, fun, comic-book vibe that got lost when it moved to the CW and never really came back, but 2 and 3 actually weren’t bad. It’s the last three seasons where things went off the rails, and if I had to pick a worst offender, it would probably be Season 4. Season 5 at least had a couple redeeming moments (and some instances where Kara remembered she possesses a backbone and put her foot down about a certain somebody’s BS). But Season 4? I can remember almost none of any of it. Literally. None. It’s a blank void in my head. Things happened, but I couldn’t tell you what or how or why anyone should care.

So yeah. I’d pick that season to fix. As for how I’d fix it, I think a big part of where Season 4 went wrong is that it was the point where the show started trying to do too much. It got super preachy and political and forgot that most people were watching it for a fun, goofy superhero show that wasn’t as off-the-wall as Legends but also not as grimdark as Flash and Arrow were getting. Not to mention that it tossed in a bajillion characters who didn’t really need to be there at the expense of the ones that the audience already cared about. If I had my way, I’d lose the Legion thing- I love the Legion, but that plot went nowhere- and keep Mon-El around. One criticism that SCs love to make that I actually agree with is that the show spent too much time on Kara’s relationship drama, even after Mon-El was gone. And that’s because the writers were way too obsessed with the “having it all” thing. If you ask me, the question should never have been whether Kara could have it all, that’s sexist and dumb and I hate it because no one ever asked that about Barry or Oliver or any of the male heroes, but how she was going to have it all, how she was going to take all the different sides of herself and build the life she wanted out of them. I think a good step towards that would be to give Kara a stable partner who supports her and is in her corner no matter what, and leave the romantic side there. This wasn’t a romance show and it never should have been treated like one (and that includes insane shippers who look at everything including the actors through their headcanon goggles).

As for the rest of the season? I think the show really needed to tighten up and focus on the bonds between its core characters. We can keep Nia, we can keep Brainy if we really have to, I’d even like to have Winn back as long as he had a decent storyline and wasn’t just there for the sake of expositioning and cracking jokes. And for heaven’s sake, find someone who knows how to use James properly. But all the other random characters who were thrown on board? J’onn’s brother, Agent Liberty, Red Daughter, Colonel Whatever Her Name Was, get rid of them. Some of them were cool concepts, but the way it was executed was either too preachy or just too much. The show didn’t have enough breathing room to explore anybody well because it had to keep so many balls in the air. I would have liked to see a different, smaller-scale threat be the “big bad” of the season, something that really tested the bonds of the Superfriends and forced them to figure out who they are and how they still fit together with all the changes they were going through. There was so much untapped potential in that team that never went anywhere because the show was too busy tossing in everything but the kitchen sink. Maybe we could see some of James grappling with the new fears that come with being a hero in his own right instead of a sidekick. Maybe we could see more of Nia as Kara’s protege, because that really got lost. Maybe we could get a glimpse into all the emotional trauma that Winn has going on under his permanent comic-relief-ing. Maybe we could even find a way for Brainy not to be so incredibly annoying, although that one might be pushing it. I just really would have liked to see a season that quieted things down a little and narrowed its focus to really showing us who its core characters are and what makes them such a good team. I think the show could have really benefited from taking a breather from the world-ending threats and giving us a chance to get to know the characters on a deeper level before the next near-apocalypse came along.

As for the Luthors, I’m just going to come right out and say it. CLOSE THAT CHAPTER ALREADY. Lex was a really, really good antagonist, but that whole saga just went on far too long, and Season 4 is where Lena went from “oh great, here’s this girl again” to “I’m so sick of seeing her stupid face.” Just figure out how to close that chapter and move on to something else, preferably after putting Lex back where he belongs as Clark’s nemesis instead of Kara’s, and taking away whatever golden get-out-of-jail-free card Lena was holding and introducing her to the concept of consequences. The Luthor thing was just milked for all it was worth, and Season 4 was where it became infuriating to watch. Ideally, I would have liked to see the Luthors bow out in the first few episodes of the season, and that smaller-scale threat I mentioned take their place for the rest of it. I think Season 4 really just needed to clean house and get rid of the extra stuff, and spend some real quality time with the characters who made the show great to begin with.

Holy cow, this is on its way to being a dissertation. But it was a really fun question to answer! It made me want to start up my Random Ramblings again; between my fic-writing and being a theater major in the middle of show season, I’ve really fallen off the wagon there. Thanks for asking this, lovely friend!