#all of the guardians are like a LITTLE in love with her for various reason

[spookberry]

magical embodiment of sapphic homoerotic friendships gives you magical girl powers, what do you do?

[kissme-suguru]

You and Their Kids

˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺ JJK Gojo, Nanami, Geto x Fem Reader

Warnings: Non Curse Au, mention of menstrual cycle,

A/N: I'm such a sucker for dilfs. This is like a drabble mixed with headcannons based on what I think the main aspect of their parenting style is. part 2 maybe?

Gojo Satoru ♡︎

Becoming the guardian of Megumi and Tsumiki at the age of eighteen was no easy feat, still being a kid himself he grew with them and sometimes acted more like an older brother than a father but that didn't stop his (sometimes overbearing) affection.

When he first introduced you to Megumi you coulda swore the kid was raising Satoru and not the other way around. His level of maturity was off the charts which Satoru tried to take credit for (lies). Megumi liked having you around for the main reason of his guardian having someone else to bother, constantly stating how he likes you more than him. The boys bickered pretty often and it always made you laugh.

Satoru loved to watch you and Megumi interact, seeing a nurturing side to you warmed his heart to the core. Megumi began seeing you as a guardian as well when he witnessed you taking care of Tsumiki in the hospital, which was a part of his daily routine he didn't really like to talk about. And for that they both appreciated you immensely.

"Megs!" You called out to the navy haired boy as he walked with his peers, turning around at the nickname. He stopped in place waiting for you catch up. "I brought you lunch, I didn't want you to be starving after training."

His hand accepted the bento box with a nod of acknowledgement.

Suddenly the sound of Satoru's singsong voice caught your attention. He quickly jogged up to you two, wasting no time wrapping his arm around your shoulder and placing a kiss on your head. "You didn't tell me you were coming today, babe."

"I was just bringing Megs some food real quick." He look offended.

"And what about me??" You rolled your eyes with a slight smile at his pouty words.

"How could I forget?" Reaching into your bag you pulled out another bento and handed it to Satoru, making is eyes light up dramatically.

"Ah! You're the best. Just in time for training, thanks babe." He pressed another kiss to the top of your head before letting you go and walking ahead to talk to Yuji and Nobara.

Megumi lingered back for a moment, wrapping his arms around you in a soft in embrace. Your hand stroked his hair softly with a smile on your lips. Although he didn't convey his emotions often it was obvious this little gesture meant a lot.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Geto Suguru ♡︎

Similar to Satoru; Suguru adopted his girls young, bringing Mimiko and Nanako into his care not long after graduating. He had such a soft spot for the girls and never failed to cater to their every need.

As the girls grew into their teen years Suguru had even more trouble saying no to them, practically bending to their every request and spoiling. He allows them to drag him into various malls and restaurants and of course he carries their many bags with a smile on his face.

The girls took to you very quickly when you entered the picture, happy see their dad smile more than usual and excited to have a woman's presence around the house.. You really played the mother role well, giving them tips on makeup and taking time to do their hair. You were the one they came to when they got their periods and it was times like those were Suguru was glad you were around to educate them on the things he couldn't. Suguru took pride in your mother like instincts, often just watching the three of you quietly with a smile on his face.

His ability to say no diminished even further when you two started dating, the girls often let you in on their schemes knowing he couldn't turn down all three of his girls.

"Can we go get ice cream? Pretty pleeeeasee?" Nanako intertwined her fingers as she pouted.

"Pretty pleeeeasee?" Mimiko followed suit, matching her twins pouting.

"Yeah Sugu, Pretty please?" A teasing smile lingered on your lips as you followed, making Suguru itch the back of his neck with a groan.

"What am I gonna do with you girls?"

"Take us to get ice cream?"

"I vote for that."

"Yeah me too."

He shook his head with a smile. "Alright, alright. Put the puppy dog eyes away."

Kento Nanami ♡︎

Nanami wasn't exactly Yuji's dad but he was the closest thing the boy had to a father figure, allowing him into his home under his protection. Despite his sometimes stoic personality Nanami cared for the boy deeply and wanted to see him succeed in life. Although it did take a bit of effort for him to bring his walls down and get out of his comfort zone when it came to his interests.

When you and Nanami started dating his softer side to him began to grow, taking more time to spend with the two of you and relish in the presences of his loved ones.

As much as he didn't want to admit it he loved that you and Itadori kept him on his toes and brought new found excitement into his life. The fact that you and the pink haired boy had similar personalities always made him chuckle to himself, the two of you were like peas in a pod and that made it even harder to say no.

"Y/N, tell Nanamin that we have to go see the new Human Earthworm 4!"

"I just don't see the appeal in those types of movies, they're too hard to follow ." Nanami didn't bother looking up from his newspaper while you and Itadori baked cookies.

"It's entertaining, hon."

"But the story doesn't make sense." "How could you not get it?! It's a tragic love story between a girl and a human earth worm, you can't get a better plot!" Itadori's eyes practically sparkled as he talked about the movie, making you chuckle.

You finished putting the cookies on the sheet allowing Itadori to put them in the oven while you walked behind Nanami and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting your head on his. "Come on hon, I heard this was the best movie out of the series."

He sighed, setting down the newspaper and rubbing the bridge of his nose. The blonde's eyes glancing back and forth between his lady and Itadori who held a small pout.

"If we must."

"Yay! Thank you!!" The two of you said in unison as Itadori also wrapped his arms around Nanami. The gesture made him crack a small smile and lean into the affection.

"Mhm."

[sassasafreeaction]

It’s time to talk about the Laudanum Lesbians, Elspeth and Wee Morag. Right away, it’s pretty obvious that you’re supposed to draw parallels between them and Aziraphale and Crowley. When the viewer first meets Elspeth, we get this gruff girl who threatens the two of them and is established to be doing something “morally wrong”. Life hasn’t been kind to her, and she clearly doesn’t trust people. To really drive it home, she and Crowley are on the exact same page while they’re talking to Aziraphale and wheeling the body to the alley. 

Then we meet Wee Morag, and it becomes apparent that every decision that Elspeth makes is to better their life together. She offers Wee Morag food (which is something our favorite demon is wont to do for his partner) and specifically oversells it as something fancier than it actually is. Wee Morag calls her an angel. It’s meant to be a little tongue and cheek since it’s in the presence of a literal angel, but it also serves as a way to show that while Elspeth may not be a Good person, that she at least cares about the person close to her.

Now for Wee Morag at this moment, we don’t get much from her aside from her obviously being the moral compass out of the two of them. She tells Elspeth that she's going to Hell literally two seconds after referring to her as an angel. The more important part of this interaction I would argue is Aziraphale’s response to Wee Morag. Some part of him recognizes a kindred spirit in her. He takes off his hat in a show of sincerity and says that it was lovely to meet her. This is important for later in the episode.

After they fail to sell the body, all three of them end up back in the alley with Wee Morag. Elspeth is again choosing to not trust Aziraphale despite his change of heart to do what he now knows is actually a good thing. Wee Morag starts off on the fence, worried about those souls that won’t get into Heaven. Elspeth tells her that she promised to help, and through everyone’s various methods of convincing (tempting may even be the better word as there is a demon sitting next to her when she agrees), Wee Morag says that she’ll do it because that’s what friends do. Regardless, she’s now had her change of heart. Although I would say hers is more driven by the same thing that drives Aziraphale to help with the Antichrist. It is fundamentally for her and Elspeth’s benefit, not the Greater Good per say, but she needs that reframing of doing the moral thing of upholding her promises and potentially helping people.

In the graveyard, Elspeth does all of the hardwork and Wee Morag holds the light both to assist how Elspeth sees, but also likely to help her keep watch. She’s filling a guardian role for Elspeth. Later when Elspeth sells her body, she even says “She only wanted to look after me.” Upon seeing the actual body (a priest’s body no less), Wee Morag realizes with horror what they’re doing - the potential moral ramifications stare her in the face. She ends up caught in the crossfire of a gun, and she dies for it.

Originally, I thought that Wee Morag’s death sets Crowley up to worry about what might potentially happen to Aziraphale in the future. In a way, I still think it does. She was the Good character helping the Bad character, and she pays dearly for it. His line “It’s a bit different when it’s someone you know, isn’t it?” while pointed at Aziraphale can be felt by everyone in the room. Elspeth has been dealing with death this whole episode, but her whole life is turned on its head when her ‘pal’ dies. Crowley recognizes that it’s the knowing part that actually causes something to hurt. (It’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t have many human friends. He does have a friend though, and it would absolutely gut him to lose him.)

The episode isn’t over though. We still have to watch someone else pay for stepping over the imaginary boundary of Good and Evil, except rather than it being Aziraphale, it’s Crowley. Like Wee Morag, he steps out of his usual role and helps Elspeth, and for that, he pays dearly. He gets dragged off to Hell to have whatever Demons do instead of a rude note done to him. After everything that’s happened, it’s no wonder why you get that panicked shout of “Crowley” from Aziraphale. They just watched the worst case scenario happen for people like them. 

Also as another quick fun aside, both sets of characters are bound by something that allows them to not be able to carry out their actual dreams and goals. Elspeth and Wee Morag were bound by poverty while Aziraphale and Crowley are bound by their respective Head Offices.

[leggerefiore]

we've seen drabbles/hcs of ingo or emmet, even cyrus when their partner gets isekai'd to hisui, but what about the others? Like nanu, larry, giovanni or grimsley??? THINK OF THE ANGSTTTT 💔

why not all of them lol

cw: angst, comfort at the end, dealing with a missing partner,

characters: Nanu, Larry, Grimsley, Giovanni

You had left quickly, excusing yourself out to a nearby convenience store in walking distance. He thought little of it. The experience was common enough, and he did not feel particularly like joining at that moment for various reasons. Everything felt normal. It was a regular evening… Until far too much time had passed with nothing from you. No text, call, or your return. Suddenly, he felt his brain kick into action…

🐈‍⬛️Nanu❤️‍🩹

🌑 The Kahuna grumbles and knows better than to outright panic. This was precious time if you were missing, yes, but there was little evidence of that, even if it felt apparent to him. Really, Alola was a peaceful place. He knew that. You, as his partner, also had the protection of Tapu Bulu. The guardian deity taking quite a shine to you… Your remark about them having similar personalities on his mind. He found himself at the store to ask about you, but the clerk shrugged and shook their head. They had not seen you. Nanu's breath hitched. He gave a nod and began his search around the area you would have travelled, asking those he passed careful questions. A few had seen you, but claimed you suddenly disappeared, even when you were clear to overtake them by walking. He felt truly worried now. A search was soon formed.

🌑 It had come up with nothing. Your bag had been found in a bush, undisturbed. He went through the items carefully, but nothing was missing. Apparently, you had just vanished in the ether while walking. It made no sense… Even the Aether Foundation stepped in to confirm or deny whether an Ultra Wormhole was involved – His worst possible nightmare. The idea of you pulled away to some strange foreign world while under his protection brought out for too many negative feelings. Even his Persian bunting, her head against him hardly could snap him from his stupor. Only the confirmation that it was, in fact, not anything to do with UBs calmed him slightly. But, then it worsened again. What had taken you–? The Aether Foundation detected something similar, but not anything related to UB energy.

🌑 He fully threw himself into finding you, no matter what. The old man could not recall the last time he had felt so impassioned about something. Nothing could deter him – Nothing could make him happy. He felt lost. Another situation… Another failure. His heart ached. Tapu Bulu cruelly denied his request to leave the islands. He needed to – The International Police offering back a position and offering their aid in his plight. But, he was stuck. There was no fleeing. He felt stuck in time. All he could do was everything he did before, and it felt like a knife was being twisted inside him as time passed. Why had he let himself feel love? It felt so idiotic. He wanted to despise himself for making such a choice. (But, when glanced at a picture of you two together, his heart softened. His negative feelings faded for a moment. His love for you, all that remains inside him.)

🌑 Then, one day – nearly a year later, a knock rasped against his door. It was quiet… Uncertain. He grumbled and walked over, expecting a child asking for their first pokemon for their island challenge. Instead, his heart stopped. You stared at him, a small smile on your face. Your clothing was odd – reminding him much of what a certain friend of his had taken to wearing. But, there was little time to question it when the tension of his muscles that stopped him from moving faded in an instant. Arms came around you as he held you tight to himself. The embrace was immediately reciprocated by you. A shaky breath left him. Soon, he would demand to know everything. Soon, but not now– No, for now, he just wanted you close to him so he could continue to know that you were real – not some hallucination thrown up by his desperate subconscious. Your voice was his name, was his only tether to reality. Finally, he left himself smile again.

💼Larry🏢

🍙 The businessman was perturbed. Medali was not exactly dangerous, but he was not so optimistic to believe that everyone acted with good intentions. He walked the street to the store, looking around to see if you got sidetracked or pulled into a conversation by an overly chatty acquaintance. But, no. The store clerk did not even recall you entering, much less buying anything. Larry felt at an impasse. Was this something really for concern? Did he need to make a stir? There was no real way to confirm that you had something unfortunate happen. He hesitates, wasting precious time because of his uncertainty. Strangely, he sent a message to Rika, wanting advice from a colleague on what to do. She contacted the police without hesitation and told him she would be talking to Geeta about it. He felt his shoulders fall.

🍙 The first search was not fruitful. Little could be gathered, but your bag was found. Nothing was disturbed. His eyes scanned the items, desperately searching for anything that could give him a hint as to what happened. Nothing. He was no inquisitive sort, nor was he some active actor within these things. He just felt lost. There was nothing that he could do. All he could continue to do was be a passive participant in life. While it was everything he had done before, he felt like he was falling deeper into an unreachable state. Why? This sort of thing should not happen to him – to you. You were both relatively normal, he felt. Any attempts by his pokemon to cheer him up failed horribly. He was like an automaton imitating human life. A facade of completely nothing to get through the days.

🍙 But, he searched still. Geeta clearly saw the state of her subordinate and did not feel as passive as Larry did. Without hesitation, she initiated more searches. While she might not act the kindest all the time, part of her really did not enjoy seeing Larry suffering in such a manner. His schedule was rearranged to allow him to join in on the searches and try to find you. Yet nothing came. Nothing changed. It was as if you managed to vanish into thin air. People recalled seeing you one moment but not in the next. It was a maddening kind of thing for the everyman. He was not built to navigate stress more intense than a regular workplace kind. Each passing day brought him further and further from you. All he had, once more, was his work. It all felt tiring, but there was no way for him to do anything else. Idle moments made his mind wander. His usual way of freezing more concerning as he thought of you. Somehow, he had found himself a partner – One that did not mind his difficulties and tribulations. And, somehow, he lost them in the most mysterious way possible. His feet only started moving again when someone cleared their throat.

🍙 Then, one day, Geeta came to him at the Treasure Eatery. It had been nearly a year since everything had happened, and he had adapted as well as one could. A polite smile was on her face as she asked him to cut his lunch short – she had something for him. He relented, his only enjoyable pass time, and followed her. They entered his gym office. Before he could ask what was going on, a voice called out an unwanted nickname. “Larr-bear.” His head snapped in the direction of it. There you stood. You looked worse for wear, clothing clean (albeit odd), but stress clearly having an effect on you. You smiled, though. You smiled brightly. Larry was shocked into silence, dropping his briefcase in response. Geeta stepped aside as you embraced him. Many questions rushed through his mind – Many he could not dare ask. Yet… He embraced you back and closed his eyes. Your warmth was real. This was real. A rare smile broke his face. Finally, he felt normalcy return.

♠️Grimsley❤️

♤ He was absolutely a betting man and knew the odds were off. Not only that, he prided himself on being able to read and understand people. You, especially, as his partner. This was wrong. He knew it was wrong. It was why he acted with little hesitation to follow out where you went a search for you. Was Black City the nicest play in Unova? Absolutely not. He stayed there because it fitted his needs, but a certain invitation from a friend made him make plans for the future. He questioned people casually, checking if anyone had seen you and how far you had made it. Apparently, he quickly found out that you never even made it to the store. Frustration burned in his veins, but he forced himself to remain calm. A search was needed, he knew. Time was precious as it stood.

♡ It was admittedly small. Things like this were seldom taken seriously. Plus, with Grimsley's reputation as a playboy, authorities just assumed it was a scorned lover disappearing on their cheating partner. While that was almost certainly not the case, a volunteer search at least came up with something to validate that and draw attention back. Your bag. It lied undisturbed among some building's potted fauna. He held it closely, observing what was in it. Everything was in order. His stomach twisted as he knew something horrible was afoot. He hated pulling his title, but throwing around his weight to actually make sure things were done felt important. He put it all on the line to make sure it happened. The thought of anything happening to you drove him mad.

◇ Each passing day made him feel lost. His usual haunts were not fun when his heart only yearned for you. This was not fair – Life was not fair. Battling was annoying. Errors kept springing up in his Elite Four battles, and the league took notice. He was forced to take time off to recuperate from the stress of it all. Everything felt like the opposite of his previous reality. The pillars of salt grumbling at long last. His losses stacked up. A big gamble, nothing but pure risk, saw his final downfall. All he could do was walk along the beach and wonder where you were. Were you taken? He had a few debts, but they were nothing serious. Enemies? Well, maybe, but kidnapping? That seemed unlikely. He watched the waves with vacant eyes. You were something truly special to him. A good luck charm, he felt now. His luck was gone without you. He took a step into the water.

♧ A year passed with no updates. Grimsley had to move away from the city, unfortunately. His income was no longer enough to keep up, and he retired from the league, no longer finding joy in lingering there. No, the bright sun of Alola burned his skin as he surfed along the waves. A rebirth of sorts. A muted one. He stood on the beach as he usually did and watched the ocean move. Nanu had asked to meet him here. His eyes closed as he flipped his coins. An internal bet was made. Tails. A fifty chance… He caught it as it fell. Tails. Arms suddenly came around his waist. He tensed up. Turning around, he felt his body feel like it had been dowsed in ice water. You stared up at him with a smile. Your clothing… It was odd. His was, too, now. Nanu... He felt grateful for his connection as he turned to embrace you. So many questions – He would ask them eventually, but it was not the time for it. Not when his good luck charm was finally back with him. A shaky breath left him as he let his face reflect his true emotions. Love burned in his gaze.

🚀Giovanni🐈

🟥 It was called in instantly to his grunts to look for you. Did your bodyguards fail? He wanted to scoff as he got up to organise everything. Viridian was not a dangerous place – Well, he knew the danger and controlled it. You were not under any risk. Yet, you had been taking too long. Worrying was not in his nature, but you liked to draw strange things out of him unconsciously. He waited for any updates. His fingers tapped against his desk. This all felt so dramatic to him. His eyes closed. A report came. You had not gone to the convenience store. People had seen you on your way there, but you never made it. His fist slammed against his desk. Naturally. Something was amiss. His intuition was not him being blind sided by his feelings towards you. Now, he called in a proper search. Someone easily could have taken you to get at him. He would not give them the pleasure.

🟥 He found himself walking the streets, watching for any signs of a struggle. Nothing. It made no sense. No one reported anything. People acted as if you had just been walking among them one moment and then were gone in the next. That was illogical. Had you run away from him? The thought annoyed him, but he supposed that was not impossible. Still, he saw no reason to treat it as that. If you wanted to leave, Giovanni would at least have preferred one final discussion. Whatever line of thinking he may have been following was interrupted when a grunt claimed to have found your bag. He picked it up, observing it carefully, before investigating the contents. Nothing seemed missing. Your ID and cards were in it. A voluntary disappearance exited his mind. He made a frightening expression. Someone had just earned his full attention.

🟥 He waited. He waited endlessly for any demands to be made of him – a ransom, disbandment of his group, for him to die. Nothing came. It was radio silent. He waited. Following searches turned up nothing new. Each passing day felt like a mocking jeer. Had someone taken you solely to drive him mad? His affection for you was not something he plainly expressed – not even among his most trusted executives. Giovanni knew his attachment towards you was dangerous for him. Yet… He did not expect such a thing to happen. His coldness and ruthlessness multiplied. It felt impossible for him to remove himself from his word – Being forced to linger on your absence was a kind of torture he wished to inflict on whoever had taken you. Alongside a few other varieties. He lived on. There was nothing else for him to do.

🟥 But, nearly a year later, a report came to him. A grunt found a strange person lingering around his home. He asked them to be brought in, expecting a petty burglar unprepared for the possible consequence of their actions. Instead, he found a familiar face before him in his office. Archer stood near him as shocked as he was. You looked exhausted but well. No obvious signs of being in an awful situation. Your clothing was odd, but you clearly looked relieved to see him. Everyone was dismissed – He needed to be alone with you. You said his name and smiled at him. A genuine smile. The urge to interrogate you crossed his mind, but he stopped himself. You clearly had still been through something. He sat back down in his chair and pulled you into his lap. You were real. This was not some cruel joke. He held you tightly to himself. For now, he would enjoy the odd comfort of your presence before moving on to what happened to you.

[agent-44mc]

a mission of liberation. 1995. part one

Pairing: Winter Soldier x Red Guardian

Warnings: none, so far.

Summary: Four years after meeting the Winter Soldier, Alexi Shostakov finds himself face to face with the man he once knew. SHIELD assigns him the mission to find and liberate him.

Word Count: 1k

notes: I don’t know where exactly this is going, I usually don’t do this, but I’m so excited about this ship I had to do something. I'm shrugging right now but in a way that i definitely know instead of what the shrug implies. tee hee. because it's so clear they should fuck so it will happen, trust. also this is unedited. i don't have time for that.

edit: why didn’t any of you tell me I was spelling Alexei wrong? I am betrayed and hurt. next chapter postponed.

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

Alexi had a good life, doing what he loved. A nice house, a dog, a job that he loved more than anything in the world, students that maybe hated him, even a potential girlfriend. Everyone knew him to be a kind spirit, maybe annoying at times with his loud personality, but after he walks through the doors of his beautiful house, feeds his dog, eats his homemade all american meal, and lays down to sleep in his goose feather bed, he thinks of someone he misses so dearly. 

Someone he knew as his best friend. 

And it didn’t feel good to think about him , like Alexi would die for it to be. His chest eroded anytime his existence was uttered by his subconscious while his mind was at rest. His “good life” kept the thoughts of him at bay, but every night, the guilt only made it worse. 

A smile shouldn’t haunt a man. Often, when the Red Guardian thought of the brutal brainwashing his lost friend had been subjected to, he couldn't help but think of his smile when he resisted it. 

The worst part, somehow, was that he didn’t even know his name. Neither of them did- but at least “The Coney Island Hero” wasn’t subjected to remembering that someone had given him that nickname. Alexi was left to suffer that. 

But there are many distractions from this- one being that he now leads a double life, working for SHIELD, doing hero-work, an umbrella term to describe anything from shutting down Nuclear Cold-War weapons and saving people from burning buildings- sometimes even cats. The bastardly things. 

Until one day, on a mission, he saw someone he’d been dreaming about. 

Alexi never went a day without seeing the shadow of The Coney Island Hero, which is why he almost brushed it aside, but then, he slapped him right in the face- which proved nothing. He was seeing The Winter Soldier now. The Shadow of The Coney Island Hero laid in him, even if he might not remember it. 

There’s one who does though, and Alexi knew that this time, he wasn’t going to lose him. He was going to liberate him, in a true American fashion.

 Brainwashing goes both ways. Alexi was going to brainwash the winter soldier back to the man he knew. The man that deserved to live a life free. 

And for reasons unknown to him, there was something deeper stirring under the surface of this fundamental belief. Something… personal. 

MISSION REPORT. 1995. 

“Get that crying baby out of here, I’m trying to talk to the woman,” Alexi ordered, slamming a fist on Peggy’s  desk with a scowl. “This is important, little girl!”

The baby mirrored his scowl. “I’m thwee,” she said, sticking out her tongue and holding her Dad’s hand a little tighter.

“You are a  very cute baby, I cannot stay angry for long,” Alexi gave in, waving as she walked out, grinning ear to ear at the sight. “Goodbye baby.”

Silence wavered between them as Alexi smiled silently, staking in the sights of the stuffy brown office that overlooked the streets of New York City, various noises fading into white noise as he let himself drift away to another place. It was subconscious at this point. 

Coney Island. He’d been there several times hoping to run into its hero. 

He stayed there until a British accent woke him back up. “Alexi, you came here very passionate about something, would you like to… elaborate further on what you saw?” 

“Uh, what?” Alexi stuttered, “oh, yes. The Winter Soldier. I saw him there, Agent Carter. I knew him, yes I knew him well. He liberated me.” 

“The Winter Soldier? He’s a myth.. An urban legend. What makes you think you know him?” Peggy inquirered, grabbing her reading glasses from the desk in front of her, holding her files out far enough to see. 

Alexi laughed. “You cannot fool me, Agent Carter. I know you know what you say isn’t true. You may be the supreme leader of SHIELD, but I was a supreme leader of the Red Room. I knew of the Winter Soldier. But then, I knew him. He didn’t know himself though.”

She looked at him through her glasses. “Alright, fine. He does exist. But you aren’t supposed to know that. It’s what we’d all like to keep a secret.” Peggy became somber, setting down her files. “What do you mean he didn’t know himself?” 

“I mean,” Alexi began. “We bonded. He got us French fries, we had jokes, and I tried to help him remember what his name was. The best he could do was Coney Island. That means he was the hero, no?” 

“The hero? I doubt he was ever a hero. I don’t know who-“

“But he doesn’t remember. He used to be someone! Someone who is no one wouldn’t remember Coney Island,” Alexi said in confidence, his eyes traveling to outside the window once more. “Even if he wasn’t, he deserves to live free.”

“You’re saying that the Winter Soldier was brainwashed?” Peggy asked, practically in disbelief as her soldiers squared, only slightly looking down at her feet when Alexi earnestly nodded his head. 

She got up and walked around the room, seemingly deep in thought about something, in such a manor that made him twist his fingers anxiously in wait for whatever she was going to say next. Perhaps “you’re crazy, we’re taking your job and your money.”  or worse, “there’s nothing we can do.”.

 Finally, she said, “Alexi, I’m giving  you a mission.”

Alexi shot up like lighting to his feet, turning around the face Peggy, who had her hands neatly clasped behind her back, a serious look of final determination on her aged face. 

“Yes ma’am?” Alexi asked, his heart practically breaking through his ribs. 

“Find and free The Winter Soldier.” 

<> part 2 out now

[fizziepopangel]

Daddy Alastor

Let’s be clear, Alastor is an asexual king, he would fuck no one to become a father, the man would simply acquire a child. Most likely a child from Cannibal Town.

Despite his reputation, Alastor would be surprisingly good with kids. It would shock everyone except Rosie..

Rosie would give him all parenting books she could get his hands on because the usual calm and collected radio demon would basically be shitting himself when he realized that he was a father now.

Although he would dub himself a father, I don’t think he would really feel like a dad until his child actually called him dad for the first time.

Alastor would be very, very protective of any little ones he acquired so he wouldn’t trust just anyone to watch them. In order of most to least trustworthy to watch his child would be: Rosie, Vaggie, Husk, Charlie, and as a very last resort, Lucifer, Sir Pentious or Angel Dust, under no circumstances would he leave his kids alone with Niffty since he still sees her as a child herself.

Lucifer would be a last resort solely based on the fact that he has his own personal beef with the former angel.

His kids would absolutely terrorize Sir Pentious when left alone with him on the rare occasions they were left with him, but they would get along with the egg bois.

His kids would not be allowed to watch tv….  But Charlie and Sir Pentious would be total pushovers and they would end up letting them watch cartoons when their father wasn’t around. Alastor would be pissed if he found out since he would 100% be trying to teach his kids about the magic of radio.

With his own father having been a rather abusive piece of shit, Alastor is very much a gentle parent and does not believe in putting his hands on his kids for any reason. And god help anyone who does put their hands on Alastor’s child.

Teaching his child to cook would be something Alastor really valued because cooking and being in the kitchen was a big reminder of his mother. Each time he was in the kitchen with his kiddo, he would show them a new dish from his childhood, each one accompanied by a memory and story of his mother.

If he had a son, Alastor would have him in a little suit similar to his.

Alastor would be the type of parent to have a bag of everything his kid might need from various snacks to a change of clothes to a little first aid kit, he would even do this when his kid gets into teen years.

Husk would be his go to babysitter for a small child despite not being his first choice since he’s a cat and he would think a small child would absolutely love hanging out with a giant cat…. He would be correct. Vaggie would be his go to choice for an older kid since he would trust her more to watch out for an older kid in a more attentive way, and he would nickname her his child’s guardian angel.

There would be weekly trips to cannibal town to visit aunt Rosie (who would always have a new gift for her favorite niece/nephew).

In the event that Alastor had a little girl, he would threaten Angel Dust within an inch of his life. Not because he’s afraid of his child being hurt by the spider demon in anyway, but because he wouldn’t want his child exposed to Angel’s *cough cough* adult content too early or too often and any daughter he had would absolutely want to hang out with Angel as much as they could because he would be the most extra when it came to playing dress up and giving makeovers, and playing tea party…. And Angel would be the only one who could entice a certain cat to play with them too.

Any child of the infamous radio demon would know all the other overlords well since he would bring them to overlord meetings with him. Alastor would sit them on his lap with a coloring book and some crayons and a few snacks on the table in front of him and when asked why he brought a child with him, he would refer to his kiddo as a future overlord and call it an early lesson in their “family business”. In the event he had an older child, he would have them take notes on what they learned in the meetings.

Despite having his own personal issues with the king of hell, Alastor would go to the man for advice on parenting if he had a smaller child since he is the only one Alastor knows who has really dealt with a small child.

His child would be one of the only people who he talked to without his radio filtered voice most of the time.

He would hang up every drawing his kiddo made, especially if he saw that they had a real passion and talent for it. And when he ran out of room in his room and his radio station, he would make Husk hang them at the bar and persuade Charlie to hang them around the hotel.

This man would absolutely let his child come on his radio show every now and then, and he would 100% always refer to them as the a “very special guest” just to make them feel special.

[okaeri-ossan]

I've been under the weather so I randomly picked up this Alice Soft visual novel called Diabolique. The company is a legend in the industry as is known for creating the (much praised and maligned) Rance series. I haven't played that but I have played Toushin Toshi and Mamatoto, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit. However, I've been really surprised by Diabolique so far...

Diabolique is a pure love story about a demon-ish kinkiller guy named Azulite falling in love with a very punished little girl named Leticia. Tragedy befalls them, and the immortal Azulite travels the land in search of Leticia's reincarnations with the goal of making her happy throughout all her lifetimes.

I was seriously surprised by how pure it all is. There were some lines in Toushin Toushi that made me go "awww" and I assume that's thanks to the writer Tori, who has had her in hand on Alice Soft since the start. There's lots of tooth-rottingly sweet sentiments, like "I'll chase all the bad things in your nighmares away" or "even if you won't speak to me, I'll watch over you so you're happy". They're the kind of straight-forward precious words that I always fall victim to. TOO KYUUUUUUTE! It gives the work a feeling not dissimilar to... joseimuke? But there's a bunch of monster r*pe sometimes too. But also there's cute stuff. So yeah, too kyute LOL

The most moe character isn't any of the heroines, though (even if Leticia and Aria are very adorable). It's the immortal demon protagonist, killer of his own kind. Azulite is the gentlest, sweetest man I have no clue how he ended up in an H-game.

When I said the game was pure love, I meant it. This man is too pure. He starts off the game wandering through the desert alone all badass-like before stopping to talk to flowers ("aren't flowers and humans the same?"). He's timid in front of people and painfully polite, always bowing and saying excuse me, tripping over his words when he's flustered (which is often). He has a genuine deep care for the heroine, promising to protect her from the painful things in her life. It's a promise so strong he follows her into her next lives. It's okay if she falls in love with someone else, as long as she's happy and safe. He tries to do all the domestic chores (FRILLY APRON TIME!), he gets up early to cook for her, he draws her a hot bath if she needs it, and most of all he watches over her when she sleeps so she won't get nightmares. In that case, isn't he like a guardian angel? He's a demon who hates himself and prays to God because he wants to be good, but I think he ended up acting like a real angel. Leticia, the poor heroine who experiences endless tragedy throughout her many lives, will always be loved where ever she goes. I still have yet to finish it but I want them to be happy in the end. And if they can't have a happy ending, then I hope he will continue following Leticia through her many lifetimes...

It's not a game I would recommend for various reasons-- the painfully outdated system, the menu functions that break the pacing in areas, the previously mentioned r*pe that pops up-- but it's got so much wholesomeness (I know that sounds silly after what I've just said) I can't stop reading. Sometimes, you need some sugar sweetness in a brutal world. Sometimes... malewife (╯▽╰ ) Okay time to go see if I can snag any doujinshis of the main couple they are mega totes adorbz KYAHHHH!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[moistvonlipwig]

🔥 for Lena Luthor? :)

anon also asked for this, so here u go anon!

hm this is a tough one...i think i've already covered some of my unpopular opinions about her in other posts, such as - she did actually love james (is this an 'opinion'. it's canon lol), she's not a conservative (many rich libertarian-adjacent ppl still vote democrat, and also, if people tried to assassinate you every 3 months you'd have a different perspective on gun ownership too), and people exaggerate her 'one-strike policy' (the only people she actually cut off after only one strike were andrea, who betrayed her at a particularly bad time in her life, and eve, who spied on her for literal years and shot her boyfriend and tied her up, which, really, should count as multiple strikes).

so i guess what i'll say this time is that i think a huge part of the reason she works so well as a character is directly because she spent so much of the show separate from the superfriends. i definitely agree with other lena fans that the constant will-she-turn-evil teasing was deeply tiring, and that she should've gotten to spend more time with the other main characters individually -- nia and kelly especially -- and that from an in-universe perspective, kara & the superfriends keeping her at arms' length while still being happy to use her expertise was, shall we say, uncool. so i understand why some people would come to the conclusion that the show should've integrated her into the superfriends earlier and had her learn kara's secret earlier. but i think the truth is that on a storytelling level this would've hurt her character, at least in the context of how arrowverse shows and their characters tend to be written.

in most arrowverse shows (especially in the 'big 3' of arrow, supergirl, and the flash), there are a few broad character archetypes that basically all main characters have to fit into. let's take the flash and supergirl as our main examples. you have the hero (barry/kara). you have the love interest (iris/s1 james, s2&3 mon-el). you have the older mentor figure (joe/j'onn). you have the hero's sidekicks who are themselves superheroes of a kind but basically all follow the main hero's lead (caitlin, cisco, ralph, allegra, chester, cecile/winn, s2-4 james, alex, kelly, nia, brainy). and of course you have various villains. occasionally you may have people who don't quite fit these archetypes, like cat grant -- who is very much an archetypal character, but belongs more to the rom-com genre a la devil wears prada -- or some of the wellses like HR (the best wells) or nash, both of whom are a little more unpredictable and trickster-esque. but broadly speaking the characters are going to fit into these archetypes, and if they stop fitting into one archetype -- like james post-s1, when they abandoned the kara/james romance -- then they will be slotted into another, hence the guardian storyline. it didn't make a ton of sense for james's character, but what else do you do with an arrowverse love interest who is no longer a love interest? carve out a new niche for them? hell no, that's hard. just give 'em a suit and a vigilante name and maybe sprinkle in some powers and call it a day.

what made lena interesting right off the bat was that she did not fit neatly into any of these archetypes. she was kara's friend who helped her out, but she wasn't part of her superhero team; she had her own agenda and her own perspective on things. she was morally gray, and her trustworthiness was initially questionable, and even after it was clear she was trustworthy she still made errors in judgment, but she was not a villain. because she wasn't entirely integrated into kara's life -- or should i say subsumed by it -- she had her own line-up of characters to enhance her story: lex, lillian, andrea, sam, jack. because she was A Luthor, and the writers were (for all their faults) smart enough to know that capitalizing on the super/luthor tension like smallville did was a good idea, her scenes & storylines had more tension and subtext. yes, some of that tension was the frustrating teasing of 'will she go evil because of her Luthor Genes? ohoho! tune in to find out!' but the advantage of that is that she wasn't so often stuck in scenes where her only purpose was to give exposition.

the truth is that both team flash and the superfriends were kind of like black holes that sucked its members in and slowly made them more same-y. by the end of both shows, almost everyone had powers and/or an alter ego and was firmly in the main character's corner, and virtually no one seemed to have any kind of meaningful relationships outside of their little hero squadron. by keeping lena at a distance from the superfriends through kara's secret, supergirl spared lena this fate for many more seasons than everyone else.

yes, in s6 she did kind of become just another superfriend -- as evinced most clearly by them randomly making her a witch lmao sorry i just remembered they made her a witch. why'd they do that. someone free katie mcgrath from the making her be a witch industrial complex -- but even then she stood out as the character who most frequently challenged kara and told her not to do stuff like eat the sun. none of the other superfriends had a developed enough sense of morality (storytelling-wise, i mean) separate from kara's to be in that position. imo it is only because lena spent so long being developed as her own character that they were able to preserve her identity to the extent that they did in s6. and even then i would argue she is a less interesting character in that season than she was in s2-4. (we don't talk about s5 okay.)

but she still made it out of the show a more compelling character with a clearer character journey, backstory, and psychology than pretty much anyone else. and i do think that's because, for various reasons good and bad, they kept her away from the superfriend black hole event horizon for so many years, and that allowed them to develop her as a unique character in the arrowverse who couldn't be slotted easily into one of the typical, tired superhero-show archetypes. so yes, while i certainly understand why a lot of lena fans were frustrated with the show's insistence on keeping her in the dark and constantly teasing a villain arc for her and having everyone treat her Like That, i ultimately think that the choice to keep her as a character separate from the superfriends who was doing her own thing and having her own conflicts and making her own moral choices was hugely beneficial to her character's development, and is a major reason why she is such a popular, beloved, and enduring character.

[thatcheesyler]

Blue Justice

Summary: Only a few months after being taken in, Powder Jinx is already causing trouble for her new guardian, Silco. Not too knowledgeable on how to deal with children, Silco assumes that she will obey like his lackeys if he scolds her enough. Sadly, Jinx isn't nearly as scared of Silco than he thought, and is quick to serve up some laughable revenge.

A/N: This is a SFW Arcane tickle fic which is basically my interpretation of this art from one of my previous posts, if you do not like that, pls dni. Also there is swearing, but this is Arcane so duh, and I'm sorry if I mischaracterised someone. Enjoy!

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It was a regrettable choice on Silco's part, buying a fresh new set of oil crayons for Jinx so that she could preoccupy herself, whilst he got his work done in (mostly) blissful silence, with the occasional smoke break to relieve some tension.

However, it all went South quite rapidly as the new leader of Zaun took note of pink and blue scribbling all over the walls in just the next hour. Turned out, Jinx loved to draw, but she would much rather use anything 𝘣𝘶𝘵 paper. Which is what led up to her officially crossing the line around five days later. Clearly, the little devil had grown very comfortable around Silco, and thought of no repercussions when she scrawled various patterns and shapes all across Silco's ashtray.

Which, to be fair, he dismissed after a few minutes of staring at it, figuring that if he let her get it all out of her system, there'd be no more vandalism of his personal belongings. Oh how wrong he was.

And on this day, five days later, Silco came to that truth very angrily. She had doodled all over his jacket!! That was it, he didn't care if she was still just a child, such acts could not go unpunished. That afternoon, after scaring off a few smug underlings that dared to scoff a chuckle at the unwilling alterations of his jacket, he had Sevika drop Jinx off in his office, making sure he wouldn't be interrupted until his next meeting a couple hours later.

A sigh, the first sign of his disappointment in the small girl innocently gazing up at him. "Jinx." He started, standing up from his desk chair and walking around to where she was sitting. "I don't suppose you have some kind of reasonable explanation for the pure disrespect towards my reputation and fearful appearance?"

Looking at Silco like he was speaking another language, Jinx tilted her head to one side in confusion, those weirdly modest eyes boring into him and eliciting another short sigh, mainly to keep away any consideration about giving in to her pouty little expression. That was weird, why did he even get that feeling? Whatever.

He shook off the thought, and instead brought some light to what he was going on about, outstretching a pointed finger to the jacket that was slung over the back of his chair, pink and blue lightning bolts and monkey faces in crystal clear view for little Jinx. At the revelation of finding out her actions were wrong, her face contorted into a more irritated and obvious pout, looking to the side as she huffed through her nose.

Good, she knew she was caught. Though, Silco was expecting more of a fear response, instead of subtle arrogance. He had assumed this would work out in the same way that it would when he gave a scolding to some random poor criminal that worked for him. But no, Jinx instantly took the path of not seeing what she had done incorrectly.

Yes, previously he had just offered an honest lecture whenever she acted out a little. However, she wasn't messing with his stuff at that time. Now it was personal, not so easy to brush off.

"Oh you cannot be serious. You know you did this, and yet you don't even care to be guilty. Why's that, hm?"

"..Ugh, I didn't think you'd mind so much, Mr. Silco. I mean, you liked my additions to your ashtray and your walls! Hell, you 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 didn't say anything when I accidentally blew up to the paperwork that was being delivered to your office the other day!" Jinx argued, not even realising what she had just admitted to. It had been a pretty damn significant pile of contracts and work sheets that was lost to flames.

That.was.𝘩𝘦𝘳?! Oh if he wasn't mad before, Silco was definitely fuming now. He held no concerns for her young age and tendency to make silly mistakes, that was unacceptable. "What?! You were the one that burnt up dozens of highly important papers?! Oh for ffff- do you even feel any remorse for that?!!"

The girl in question was taken off guard by his lack of knowledge on the fact that it was her fault. Opening and closing her mouth in an attempt to say something, she instead wound up staying silent with that pout from before, a little bit guilty now, but refusing to show weakness. After a few moments, however, she found her voice again, and took the first chance to use it.

"Yeah well, it was an accident, I didn't mean to! I'm sure your old fart assistant, Sevika, can get you replacements for the paperwork." She countered, getting a bit angry now. She was tired of accusations against her. Oh, 'Jinx is always the one messing up', 'she can't be trusted with 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨'. Well she was having none of that anymore.

Silco wasn't having any of this either, his frustration only rising to dangerous levels at her backtalk. Maybe he could forgive her for the jacket at this point, but that stack of information and deals was 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. At least, as far as he knew. "No, no she can not get me replacements! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I was 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 that I could harmlessly test out my new monkey bomb on the wall of an alleyway! But stupid Sevika passed by just as I threw it, wasn't my fault, you don't have to be so 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 at me for an accident!"

"𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙭!!"

His voice was fully raised, Jinx having stood up from her seat by this point. She never responded well to yelling, it either scared her half to death or made her feral. In this case, I believe it's safe to assume the latter. Considering just a few seconds after Silco had shouted her name, she began building up some kind of territorial roar in dominance. In an instant, Jinx pounced on her new makeshift parent, both of them tumbling down onto the floor.

"Jinx what in Zaun has gotten into you- ack!" Silco was cut off by yet another war cry and the newfound sensation of ten fingers rapidly clawing at his midriff. It was Jinx's 'tactic', to try and scratch her way out of a fight, but since her fingernails had been so chewed on due to her thinking about, uh, 'the incident', her digging caused a very different reaction from the older man.

It tickled, oh it tickled real bad. Silco had to immediately bite down on his bottom lip to stifle any and all laughter, writhing beneath the blue haired demon child that was attempting to somehow hurt him. One hand frantically swatted at any part of Jinx he could reach, while the other went straight to covering his mouth instinctively. Smiling and laughing were a sign of weakness, weakness that he couldn't afford even at the best of times.

"Stopthismadnessrightnowyounglady!" Silco warned through gritted teeth, though it was muffled by his hand, so Jinx barely heard a word and continued her attack, a lot of pent up anger being released in this moment. A moment that, unfortunately, could probably last a longer time than either of them would manage. She was so concentrated on 'ripping apart' his abdomen, that she almost missed the sharp flinch and barely held back giggle.

...Her digging slowed to a brief pause, ever curious about Silco's strange response to the 'violence'. The second her fingers broke contact with his clothes, he wasted no time to indulge in a few relieved breaths, the hand clamped around his face falling limp on his chest and revealing a blink-and-you'll-miss-it smile beneath that disappeared as soon as she caught a glimpse.

Now, she was a child, children knew these kinds of games like the backs of their oddly skillful little hands. At least, Jinx sure did, the mischievous git. So it was only so long before the dots connected like beautiful clockwork in her brain, and her anger dissolved slightly with a smirk. "What's wrong, Mr. Silco? It doesn't look like I did any damage to you, so why are you catching your breath like that?"

Dammit, she was actually very intelligent sometimes, Silco almost forgot with his fit of rage. It was his turn to be taken off guard, any verbal articulation running away from him. But he didn't get the chance to get it back anyway, since Jinx was already digging into his stomach again by the time he had just about built a reasonable excuse. However, she was much more informed this time, and her clawing changed from blind rapid attacking to precise rapid tickling, softening her touches just a tad as well, to see if that pushed him closer to breaking.

And of course Silco already had that same hand back over his mouth again, but he wasn't so lucky with his resolve, as the change in her tactics did absolutely work on him. A couple giggles slipped out here and there, albeit to his embarrassment. Though, Jinx started to think about what had gotten him to flinch so harshly the first time, and then obviously made it her number one priority to find out his weak point.

Jinx was having a great time, learning more about the lead criminal of Zaun than quite a lot of people in an impressively short time. It was exciting. Maybe, if there was a promise of excitement like this every day, maybe she'd find herself at home here, after all. The little girl had some giggles of her own for the silly situation, finding his suffering hilarious and relishing in the way his legs kicked almost pathetically behind her, since despite everything, Silco didn't want to hurt the tiny menace by accident.

But then, she found it. Completely not on purpose, she found his weak spot. One finger made touchdown with the space on his side that lay just beneath his bottom left rib, and it was all over. The normally stoic man practically 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 behind his hand, the dam of laughter breaking at last. "Ahack! S-stohohohop thihihis, you detehestable nuisance! I am 𝘯𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘵 going tohoho tolerate this behahavior, Jihihinx!!"

"Oh, well I wasn't asking for you to tolerate it, so great! Hey, could you hold still for me? I'm in the mood to draw something." She replied cheerfully, keeping one hand occupied with skittering around that weak point of his, whilst she reached the other far beneath Silco's desk and grabbed her emergency stash of crayons. Her victim tried to scowl through his unyielding chuckles at the realisation of what she was planning.

Grinning wide, Jinx picked out her favourite pastel blue crayon and thought about what to draw for a minute, before seeming to clonclude that thought stream and going straight to drawing the outline of her 'masterpiece' yet to come. It was unbearable for Silco, since she just 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to start her art next to the bottom left of his ribs, combined with her free hand still idly spidering across his midriff in unpredictable directions.

"Yohohohou ahare in so muhuch 𝘧𝘶𝘩𝘶𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 trohouble, I swehehehear!!" He cursed, honestly so focused on deterring her verbally, that he pretty much forgot that he could struggle against her, aside from relentless squirming and the occasional swat at her arms. Truth be told, he hadn't been tickled for so long, that his mind was at an utter loss on deciding what to do when the feeling overwhelmed all his senses.

"Yeesh old man, don't you know not to swear in front of a kid?" Jinx reprimanded, that same shit-eating smirk eating away at her cheeks as she chose to take it a step further, the wandering digits of her available hand suddenly shoving themselves underneath his shirt and spreading their cold state along his torso through merciless tracing and skittering, all while continuing to scribble all over the opposite side of his shirt. Silco was going mad with hysterics.

"Ah fu-UHUHUHUCK, GEHET YOUR FIHIHILTHY GRAHABBERS 𝘖𝘏𝘖𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘛 OF MY CLOHOTHIHIHING!!" All this, and his body still didn't know what to do with itself, stuck between defending himself from the Blue Justice on top of him, and diverting his energy purely to keeping his dignity intact by covering his mouth with both hands.

Jinx saw his struggle with ease, her rage basically vanishing at how funny he looked when in such a confusing and helpless position. Thankfully, she was almost done with her crayon picture, adding a few finishing touches solely for stalling purposes. "Okay, almost doooneee! You didn't keep still, like, at all. But that's fine, I like messy art styles anyway!"

"YES WHAHATEVER, LOOK- I'M SOHOHORRY THAT I WAHAS UNNECESSARILY AHAHANGRY AT YOHOU! CAN YOU STOHOP NOHOHOHOW?!!" Apologies weren't Silco's strong suit, but he had a bit of a feeling that it was the quickest way out of this humiliation, without resorting to bribery. Though as soon as the 'sorry' came out his mouth, he was pretty damn sure that bribing Jinx would have been much easier. But he couldn't take it for any longer, that hand under his shirt was freely torturing him and he hated it.

Jinx was a bit surprised at his remorse, as not many people actually felt bad for being angry at her. She couldn't mess this up again, so with the final detail to her drawing, she finally let up, picking herself up into her feet and waited for him to regain his stamina and do the same, since he was too big for her to help up.

With greedy and eager inhales, Silco merely laid there for a short while, embracing his poor abdomen and huffing out any excess mirth. Until at last, he had come to his wits, and followed suit in standing up, only to instantaneously be spun around to face the office mirror, so that he could see the picture she made with her crayons. And damn did his heart practically melt when he saw it, two stick figures holding hands that resembled Jinx and him, a lopsided smile on her face while a neutral frown rest on his, with vaguely coherent words beneath it all that read 'thanks for tolerating my bullshit for three months <3'

It didn't show on his facial expression, but it was with that sweet message, he officially decided to see her as 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. Not Vander's stray, not the cause of a disastrous warehouse explosion, not a singular-purposed part in his grand plan, but his child. Was this how Vander felt when Violet was taken under his care? It was..an indescribable emotion.

However, he eventually came to terms with the fact that he had definitely been staring at the mirror too long, as Jinx was beginning to give him a weird look through the reflective surface. Flustered, Silco cleared his throat and idly checked the time as a distraction, only to whisper "shit.." as he saw that his meeting took place in a couple of minutes.

The picture on his shirt, while incredibly wholesome, would destroy his reputation entirely, so he was swift to cover it with the vandalised jacket, though he didn't mind that so much, as it was all miscellaneous patterns rather than anything specifically embarrassing.

And with that, he gave a goodbye hair ruffle to Jinx, and was off. Within his meeting, Silco did learn that those destroyed papers were actually replaceable and he got mad at Jinx for nothing. Though, if it hadn't happened, they wouldn't have had that...crazy bonding session, and he wouldn't have made the mental decision to never yell at her ever again. Both because he was now a tidbit scared of her wrath, and because she had already been yelled at enough times in her life.

And he'd be damned if he was going to let anything happen to his little menace from now on. Of course, he got some light revenge later on, but it was all in good fun.

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Wow, I haven't written a full fic in fuck knows how long..

Uh, anyway, hope any lee!Silco fans out there enjoyed this stupid and probably mischaracterised oneshot, soyeahthanksbyyyeee <3

[adarkrainbow]

Romanian witches: Muma Padurii

(Note: I unfortunately cannot add the accents needed for the writing of those names since my keyboard is not equiped. So know that there are accents missing)

I originally made a post about one Romanian fairytale character... which turned into a post about two fairytale characters... which became a post about three fairytale characters... So ultimately I decided to split this post into a whole series because it was getting too big. I want to explore with you three characters tied together in Romanian folklore and all present within Romanian fairytales, but each fascinating in their own right. And I want to begin with the first of these ladies... Muma Padurii.

Muma Padurii means "The Forest Mom", or "The Mother of the Forest" (Muma is an archaic form of "mom").

In fairytales, Muma Padurii is an antagonist. She is an embodiment of the wicked witch, or rather of the hag. She is a very old and very ugly woman (so ugly the expression "You look like Muma padurii" is an insult) who lives all alone in a little, dark and scary house in the depths of the woods. She is not a normal woman: she is a witch gifted with various supernatural powers (including shapeshifting), and she is also an ogress who loves to eat children. It is as a children-predator that she usually appears within Romanian fairytales, luring kids to her house to kill and cook them. One of the most famous Muma Padurii fairytales is the Romanian version of "Hansel and Gretel", which mostly differs by A) having the witch named B) the house not being made of candy and C) the genders are reversed (here it is the girl that is to be boiled alive into a soup, while it is the boy that pushes the hag into the oven).

But the thing with Muma Padurii is that, in a similar way to Frau Holle, she is an entity that was "split" between fairytales and legends. There is a Muma Padurii of folktales who is the evil hag I presented above, but there is also a Muma Padurii of beliefs and legends which is quite different and much more neutral.

This Muma Padurii is still an old, ugly, shapeshifting witch - but she is presented as amoral rather than wicked, with a personality mixing a fairy-like mischieviousness and a pure insanity. The name "Muma Padurii" is also very revealing... In the fairytales this name is used in the typical motif of the witch/hag as the "false mother" or "anti-mother", but in the Romanian mythology, this name indicates what Muma Padurii is. She is the Mother of the Forest, as in the spirit of the forest. Her main role, and the reason for her hostility towards humankind, is her function as the guardian of the woods. She still lives in a remote and hidden location - but it is not always a little cabin, it can just be a tree, and it is usually within a virgin-woodland at the heart of the forest, untouched by human hands. She still brews potions - but they are good potions, that she uses to heal injured animals and sick trees. For Muma Padurii always keeps the forest alive. She does attack humans - but only those who destroy the fauna and flora, or who trespass within forbidden areas where only wild things are supposed to be. This was why those that entered the woods were warned to not go too far and to respect what surrounded them: else Muma Padurii would at best scare them away, at worst drive them to insanity with her magic. As such, it was forbidden to pick up certain wild fruits and berries in the forest during certain times of the year - they were for the animals to replenish their strength, and Mama Padurii made sure this rule was followed. In the most extreme cases she would kill the trespassers and devour their corpses like a wild animal - a bogey-version of Muma Padurii that explains her role as a child-eating crone in fairytales...

Muma Padurii is present all across Romania, sometimes in local variations (Padureanca, Muma Huciului), and this explains why there are so many different incarnations of her. Sometimes she is an angry ghost of the woods, a vengeful spirit which can be heard crying among the trees for all the plants that mankind destroyed, and if a house built near the forest isn't carefully locked up at night, she will enter in them at midnight and kill all those inside... Other times she is depicted as a young and beautiful fairy of light, who will be kind and helpful to children but will trick adults into being lost, having their body paralyzed or dying in various ways. This specific idea of the "young faced Muma Padurii" is notably present in another folktale/fairytale, where it is said that the Muma Padurii is a witch that needs to eat human hearts to keep herself young and alive - as such she takes on the appearance of a beautiful woman to lure young men into the woods, but once they are isolated enough she turns into a giant monster and rips their hearts away.

Her link to the forest is highlighted by how she is often said to disguise herself as a tree, to be a part-tree woman, or a hag clothed in moss (she also can appear as a cow, a horse or an ox) ; her function as a "Romanian fairy" is also highlighted by how in various legends she either makes babies sick, or replaces them by changelings (and as such there were several folk-spells and rituals Romanian country-folks used to protect their babies from the Forest-Mom). But mostly Muma Padurii stays an embodiment of the woods in what they have of dangerous and scary. She can be kind and helpful - but only towards the "innocent", animals, plants and (sometimes) children. However she stays an ancient woman of the woods, the mistress of the wild animals, the embodiment of a state of non-civilizations, and as such she is the fright that drives one mad and the savage force that will kill and eat men. And even then, the fauna and flora itself is not always escaping her wrath - some records say that Mama Padurii knows the name of every tree of the forest, but that she can get angry at some and curse them to fall either by the woodsman's axe or by lightning.

The last interesting difference between the fairytale Muma and the legendary Muma is that, while the fairytale Muma is usually a lonely entity, in beliefs Muma Padurii was part of a large family. Sometimes Muma Padurii herself was multiplied into several "Muma" - there was notably a belief about many of them sometimes visiting the cabins of those that lived near the woods, asking to have their hair brushed and cleaned, with a comb and butter (which isn't an easy feat since she had her hair dirty, tangled in snake-like braids and so long it touches the floor). Anyone who agreed to the task and performed it well could receive a wish from the Mother of the Woods - but the rule was that they could only pronounce three words in total as long as she was here, if a fourth was pronounced, she would take your voice and leave you mute. Sometimes Muma Padurii was given a male counterpart of companion called "The Father of the Forests", or the "Woods Papa".

Muma Padurii was also said to have several sons, which were the spirits of the woods and/or of the night (going by names such as Decuseara, Zorila, Murgila, Mamornito or "Midnight"). She is also linked to a set of female forest spirits known as the Fata Padurii (Fata being of course linked to the "fairies", "fées", "fatum" - but here it is to be understood as "The Daughters of the Forest", "The Girls of the Woods, and fittingly they are said to be the daughters of Muma Padurii) ; and to an entity I personaly do not know much about, "Mosul Codruilui" (she is said to be her mother, and "Mosul" means "old woman")

Finally, there was a certain Christianization of the Muma, as some tales started saying her task as a guardian of the forest was given to her by God, and a modern attempt at explaining how she could be such an ambiguous entity, benevolent and malevolent at the same time: most modern storytellers highlight how protective she is of the fauna and flora, and how she was said to wail and cry for the destroyed wood, to explain her "transformation" as her becoming more and more bitter, and angrier and fuller of hate the more humans destroyed her domain, harmed her trees and wounded her "children". A true ecological fable.

Some people point out that Muma Padurii could be a "Romanian equivalent" of the Russian Baba-Yaga which is... not quite exact and not quite true. The two characters seem to derive from a same old "forest mother-goddess" but there are too many differences between Muma Padurii and Baba-Yaga for them to be consideed one and the same. There is however a interesting link between the two, which will be the subject of my next post... about Baba Cloantza.

[dragongirlie56]

I saw that you opened requests and I just HAVE to ask--

Would you write a oneshot about modern Miphvali? 🙏

PS, I still ADORE your writing and keep up the good work!

Ahhh!!! Thank you so much Echo!! I’m so flattered! 😊

Thanks for requesting!! I had so much fun with this one!!!! I was so excited when I saw you requested Modern Miphvali! I definitely want to write more modern oneshots (and regular oneshots) on them in the future! :) This one’s shorter than my other oneshots but I still love it!

Warnings: None! Just some jealousy.

Headcanon: Another reason Revali dislikes Link is because Mipha likes Link

I humanized them in this one (mostly because I wanted to write Mipha with bangs-) i hope that’s okay haha

I hope you like this! :)

————————————————————————————————

01-Jealous Archer (Request)

What does Link have that I don’t?

The question lingered in Revali’s mind as he glared at his cup of coffee with a scrunched nose. The dark haired boy racked his brain for some sort of answer but he came up with nothing. He was captain of the Guardians Archery Team at the University, he was at the top of his class at the pilot academy, and he had various gold medals from archery tournaments. How is it that Link bested him yet again?

The boy barely ever talked anyways so how was Mipha so invested in him?

Revali never cared much for romance, the thought of it just never sparked any interest in him. In high school he was only focused on archery and his pilot classes. And that mindset carried over into his university days. He always thought Mipha was cute, but he never thought anything of it since she adored the blonde boy.

Usually he enjoyed cafe’s and the homely atmosphere they brought with the plants and the coffee bean scent. But today he was with all of his friends. Which meant Mipha was going to be occupied the entire time with the silent blonde.

Revali ran a hand through his dark blue hair, he was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize Zelda was in the middle of telling a story.

”….Link ate all of the sandwiches in ten seconds. I was in shock!” Zelda exclaimed with a laugh. Revali blinked, how did they even get to this topic?

A small giggle erupted from Mipha. The sound didn’t make his heart warm like it normally did. No, it made him grit his teeth.

He glanced up from his steamless mug. Mipha’s red hair was pulled back into her classic ponytail, exempt from the side pieces she kept out to frame her face. Her bangs rested just above her golden brown eyes. If he could he would stare into those eyes all day. Not that he’d ever admit that outloud. Like ever.

A sour expression took over his face. Those golden eyes weren’t directed at him. Instead they were locked on Link. To make matters even worse she was smiling at him. With her gentle and sweet smile, Revali’s favorite one of hers.

Why did she have to do that? It made Revali’s stomach swirl with… he didn’t even know how to describe it. He just felt sick… sick and annoyed. Very annoyed. Why couldn’t she look at me like that? What did he do to deserve her smile?

”Link, that's so silly. I can’t believe you did that.” Mipha covered her mouth with a hand as she laughed again.

To Revali’s annoyance, Link gave Mipha a small smile.

”I can, the little guy’s got a stomach.” Daruk scooped up some eggs with his spoon before grasping the ketchup bottle and squirting the red sauce on his spoon. Revali scrunched his nose in distaste.

”True that.” Urbosa held up her mug with a light smirk. “It’s why I make an extra course of food for holiday parties.”

A sheepish smile appeared on Link’s face as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Even that’s not enough sometimes,” Zelda teased, nudging Link in the elbow.

Link let out a small laugh as he shrugged. ”I have an appetite,” he replied quietly.

Mipha perked up. “That reminds me of when we were in our first class at the university…”

Revali wanted to stuff his ears with cotton, that would be the only thing to make this conversation more bearable.

He really didn’t understand how she didn’t see that Link wasn’t interested in her. He and Zelda never stopped stealing glances at one another for Hylia’s sake—it was infuriating to say the least. It was so obvious that both blondes were smitten with each other. Anyone could see it from a mile away. Everyone except for Mipha.

Yet she still liked him.

Revali secretly wished Link and Zelda would get together already so then maybe, just maybe, Mipha would see him right in front of her.

“You’ve barely had any breakfast or your coffee. Are you alright?” Her gentle voice reached his ears and he froze as she placed her hand on his. “You haven’t talked at all.”

”Uh…” Revali’s mind blanked as he stared into her warm eyes. He lost his whole train of thought with just a single touch of her hand. How does she have this power over me?

He let out a cough and pulled his hand away from hers—completely missing her hurt expression. “Yes, yes I’m fine Mipha,” he replied as he sank back into his chair with folded arms. It’s not like I’m fighting for my life over here… why can’t you just see me? Am I not interesting enough? He scolded himself for having such insecure thoughts but he couldn’t help it.

Revali bit his cheek as he stared at the cafe walls. He wondered if maybe he and Mipha weren’t meant to be. I mean they couldn’t be more opposite. He was proud (rightfully so in his opinion) and he made a lot of loud, sarcastic comments. She was kind, humble, and quieter than most.

”Hmmm.” Urbosa smiled at Revali with raised eyebrows.

”What?” He knitted his brow.

“Nothing, it’s just interesting.” The gerudo sipped her coffee.

”What is?” His brow knitted further.

She only smirked.

”What’s going on?” Mipha glanced between him and Urbosa.

”Nothing, I’m heading out.” His chair squeaked against the waxed hardwood flooring as he stood up. “Here’s some rupees for my part of the tip and the check.” He slid a pouch onto the table.

“Oh? Okay. See you later, Revali.” Zelda smiled at him.

“Now?” Mipha asked, turning her full attention toward him.

“I have… things to attend to.” He hated how unsure he sounded.

Mipha squinted her eyes slightly but Revali was quick to turn away and head for the door.

”Rev-“ The door and it’s bell cut off the sound of Mipha’s voice. He winced, feeling bad he didn’t just sit down and talk to her but he really couldn’t do that right now.

————————-

There was a light breeze that rustled the trees in the distance. It was only partially cloudy and the sky was a vibrant blue.

Revali sighed and he turned his attention toward his red target as he readied his bow. He pulled the string backwards. He took a deep breath before letting the nock go and the arrow sailed through the air. Even with the small breeze the arrow hit the middle of his target. Like it always did.

Revali liked archery. He was the best at it and he never missed his targets. It was easy. Easy to focus on, easy to understand, and easy to achieve.

It was a lot less difficult than trying to deal with his emotions and feelings.

”I thought you’d be here.”

His eyes flicked toward Mipha and he slowly lowered his bow. He didn’t know if he should feel excited or afraid for her appearance. He definitely felt both.

The breeze brushed her bangs and his face grew warm, he didn’t think anyone else could pull off bangs as well as she did.

She tilted her head with a slight frown, her golden eyes filling with concern. “Revali? What’s wrong?”

He looked off to the side and sighed. Here we go. “Nothing Mipha. I’m fine.”

”Clearly you aren’t.”

“Yes I am.” He adjusted his glove. “I’m fine. Go back and hang out with him- “ He bit his tongue. “-them.”

Her brows furrowed and she stepped forward. ”Him? You said ’him’.”

Great Hylia of course I had to go and slip up.

“I said them.”

“No you didn’t.” She took another step forward. “Are you talking about Link? You’re talking about Link.”

Revali couldn’t stop a light scoff from taking over his features.

”I don’t understand. Why are you talking about Link?”

“Nothing.” He closed his eyes. “Nothing Miph, just drop it.”

“No!” she snapped.

His gaze whipped to hers.

“Sorry.” She winced, folding her arms. “I’m just upset. I hate when you get like this.”

Revali didn’t say anything, instead he walked over to place his bow on his stand.

“I know you aren’t fine. Whatever you’re feeling you can tell me!”

“Not this.” He shook his head. No way in Hyrule. “I’m afraid this is something I need to keep to myself.”

“Why?”

He turned back to look at her and froze. She was so close.

Mipha was staring up at him with her hands on her hips. Her eyes flicked between his own as if searching for something. Searching for an answer he didn’t want to give.

”Vali.”

“What?” He replied, almost wincing at how weak his voice sounded.

“Why are you talking about Link? You said ‘go hang out with him‘.”

“I-“ He clamped his mouth shut and turned away from her.

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

”Because. I’m…“ His tongue felt too large for his mouth. “…jealous,” he nearly spat out.

“Jealous?”

“Yes. Jealous.” His fists tightened at his sides. “I’m jealous of him because you like him.” His nose scrunched at how childish he sounded.

“I do like him.”

He winced, might as well have shot an arrow through his heart; it would've hurt less.

”But not in the way you’re thinking.”

”Wha-“ The words died in his throat as he felt her arms circle around his waist and felt her head rest on his back. He was definitely dreaming. He had to be.

“Vali. Link’s just a good friend who I enjoy hanging out with. Sure I had a crush on him when we were in middle school but I’m over that now. I’m not interested in him.”

”Oh,” was all Revali said.

Another long silence.

“I think my plan worked,” Mipha finally spoke up.

”What plan?”

“It’s silly… but I sort of. Oh, I feel horrible saying this. But I used Link in a way to make you jealous. Well he doesn’t know it but I focused on him so maybe you would have noticed me or gotten jealous. I think it worked a little too well. It’s so silly I know.”

“I can’t not notice you,” Revali whispered.

”Really?”

Revali’s ears burned. “Really. You didn’t need to go through that whole plan. I already liked you.”

“I had no idea.”

“You didn’t?” He thought he was very obvious.

“What? No, Revali, how could I? You always push me away.”

Do I? His brows furrowed.

“Can you look at me please?” To his dismay, Mipha let go of him. But he obliged to her request and turned to face her. “I wish you’d let me in. I never know what you’re thinking.”

Revali sighed softly. “I’m sorry Miph. I’ll try to be more open with you.”

“I don’t want you to be open with me if you don’t want to. I want you to do it on your own accord.”

“I do want to be open with you,” he confirmed.

“Okay.” She offered a small smile to which he returned.

She took a deep breath before speaking. “I really like you, Vali.” Her tilted her head slightly, her long earrings swaying back and forth with the movement. ”More than friends,” she added, holding his hand between her own.

“I really like you too, Miph.” A grin made its way onto his face—he always smiled more with her around. He felt lighter after saying the words, like he was carrying a heavy weight and it was lifted off of his shoulders.

”Good.” She giggled and his chest warmed. “You’re taking me out on a date.”

“Oh am I now?” He raised a brow.

“Of course you are.” Mipha laced her fingers through his.

Revali laughed through his nose. ”Where did this surge of confidence come from?”

Mipha only grinned and began to lead him away from the range.

”Wait- I need to grab my bow and my stuff.”

”Oh! Oh, yes, of course. I’ll help you.”

Revali smiled at her. “Okay, then we can go on that… date.” He scratched his cheek as his face flushed.

”Sounds like a plan to me.” She returned his smile, her own blush dusting her cheeks.

Short and sweet 😉

EEEEE!! I forgot how much I liked Miphvali! I’m so going to write more fics about them! Hehe!

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! Maybe I’ll write their date or something 👀

Status on other requests: I’m working on them as we speak!! Hopefully I can get those out in the next couple of days!

Request page here!

Master lists here!

Thanks for reading!!

[mariacallous]

I wonder if we will come to look back on that supposed great virtue of our age – controlling the narrative – and see it for the cornered form of submission it so often is? I felt nothing but immense pity for the cancer-stricken Princess of Wales before the release of her intimate family video yesterday, and the sheer weirdness of the resulting enterprise has only magnified the pathos of her situation. Watching the three-minute film, shot by some ad man, I wondered who could possibly feel it was anything but sad that a recovering post-chemo mother should feel that this is her best option for keeping “well-wishers” at bay a little longer.

A lot of people could, it seems from the feverish coverage since it dropped – meaning that convention demands I couch the notion that the existence of the video is in any way weird as “my unpopular opinion”. In which case, allow me to chuck in another unpopular opinion: this sort of thing appeals precisely to the grownups who when Diana died demanded that the then Queen leave off comforting her grieving 12- and 15-year-old grandsons in Scotland to come back to London – in effect to look after them instead. The selfishness and self-importance of a certain stripe of loyal subject is at best demandingly prurient and at worst grotesque. We hear a lot about the male gaze. The royalist’s gaze could do with more unpicking.

Hilary Mantel understood this voraciousness where royalty was concerned – recognised it even in herself. Royal Bodies, her epic 2013 essay for the London Review of Books, began with a passage on Kate – itself disingenuously and enthusiastically misconstrued by the tabloids. Later on in the piece, the Wolf Hall author described coming up close to the late Queen at a palace reception. Mantel confessed: “I am ashamed now to say it but I passed my eyes over her as a cannibal views his dinner, my gaze sharp enough to pick the meat off her bones.”

And so to Kate’s video, shot by a man who has also shot campaigns for Uber Eats, and who made Tesco’s Food Love Stories commercials. Something else is being served up here, which for some reason he has decided to make look like a Center Parcs ad. Despite artfully included clips of Prince George asking of a camera “Is this filming?”, the video was not captured by a GoPro on a picnic rug, but by a crew and a significant post-production operation, who made studied use of filters and slow motion, switching from sweeping shots to grainy scenes designed to ape cine film. Unlike the private home movies in the opening titles of Succession, the footage shows a happy family – but for my money, the sense of menace is still there. But whereas the Roys are menaced from within, the menace to the Waleses comes from the outside – and it is the endless and thankless task of appeasing it that dictates that this video must exist at all.

Various media have added to the threats that always beset the throne, and, with its scenes of picnics and secluded country days, this video explicitly echoes Queen Elizabeth II’s famous decision to allow the cameras into her private family life in 1969 for the famous/infamous Royal Family documentary. That was an attempt by the crown and its courtiers to meet the medium of television on its own terms. Decades later, opinion is still divided as to whether it was a PR masterstroke or the moment the rot set in. “It was difficult,” concluded the historian Ben Pimlott in his biography of the late Queen, “once the genie of this kind of publicity had been let out of the bottle, to put it back in again.”

Fifty-five years on, the Princess of Wales’s video feels like an attempt to meet social media on its own terms. Social media is, of course, the arena in which hunting Kate became a jolly global blood sport earlier this year, when – despite having been explicitly told that she would not appear in public before Easter owing to significant illness – the #BeKind brigade grew bored within weeks and whipped up a vicious feeding frenzy of conspiracy theories as to her absence and the reasons for it. Despite condemning the ghouls of social media, sections of the traditional media merely put quote marks round their vileness, running coded versions of precisely the same hounding. Kate tried silencing it with a Mother’s Day photo; minor editing glitches immediately became a “scandal”, for which she absurdly felt obliged to formally apologise. Next, multiple royal experts and headline writers explained that the true problem was that the palace had “lost control of the narrative”. Eventually, a video in which a poised yet fragile Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis was judged the only way to regain it.

Inevitably, meanwhile, the same critics who detest Harry and Meghan’s barefoot California content decline to look at the style of the Waleses’ video and consider that the Meghanisation of the royal family continues apace. Things that are bad when the Beckhams do them are axiomatically good when royals do them, selling the crown being an activity from which the news media arguably profit most of all. This accounts for much of their magnanimity towards Kate’s latest video.

But service is not the same as people feeling forced to serve themselves up. It was often said, back in the mid-90s, that Diana learned to control the narrative. Did she really, though? As David Beckham stagily remarked in infinitely lighter circumstances in a recent candid film of his own: “Be honest.”

[nottoonedin]

*floats into ur inbox*

Hello. Hi. Hello. Do. Do you have any lore to share on any of your ALNST OCs (Isla, Monica, Toon) involving their backgrounds, during and before Anakt Garden? Maybe regarding their guardians or how they act around the other OCs in general? I love your children

(Sorry in advance for the iffy art, these are just first concepts/sketches and I may redesign them in the future, some of them I decided to colour, but some I just left as sketches cause I just wanted it over and done with😭😭)

👏Okay, so!

In this post, I'm going to be focusing on Isla and Monica's Guardians!

They are all currently unnamed (I'm terrible at coming up with names). I may come up with some in the future, but feel free to suggest names for them!

ISLA'S GUARDIAN

• Upper class alien. Owner of a prestigious, well-known restaurant/lounge.

• Originally bought Isla to train her as entertainment for the lounge, but many of her friends and regulars of the restaurant recommended sending Isla to perform in the famous competition: Alien Stage.

• Still has Isla sing in her lounge when not performing in Alien Stage. Isla's Owner hopes that Isla's participation in ALNST will help boost her restaurant's popularity.

MONICA'S GUARDIANS (PAST->PRESENT)

GUARDIAN 1

• Monica's first Guardian. Lives on a lush, garden planet (owns a garden themself).

• First got Monica as a gift for their daughter, but ended up growing fond of the pet human. They liked bringing Monica on walks throughout their garden and tending to the various plants.

• Monica grew attached to her Guardian, and this may be one of the reasons for her big interest in bugs.

• Her Guardian eventually put her up for adoption. Monica never knew why.

GUARDIAN 2

(Note: Unfinished sketch. Design may change.)

• Monica's second Guardian. Lives on a modern, city filled planet.

• Bought Monica because red-headed human pets were the "current fashion." They liked to show Monica off to the other aliens. Monica enjoyed the attention and being fawned over.

• This Guardian was the one Monica spent the least amount of time with. Once she had gone "out of fashion," she was put back on the market.

GUARDIAN 3

(Note: Unfinished sketch. Design may change.)

• Monica's current Guardian. Lives on the same planet as Guardian 2.

• Always looking to make large amounts of money. Bought Monica for the sole purpose of entering her into ALNST.

• Monica's least favourite owner so far, but she still wants to do well in ALNST to please him.

I have talked a little about Isla and Monica's time in Anakt Garden, but I mostly focused on their relationship with each other. You can find that here.

I should probably do a post about their thoughts on the other OCs at some point, but for now have this^^ <3

Tagging a few peeps.. @starry-skiez @paradisedisconcert @solei-eclipse @pwippy @rockwgooglyeyes (if you want to be tagged/don't want to be tagged in my alnst oc posts, please let me know!!)

[teriwrites]

about me: a writeblr re-re-re-introduction

Hello! My old pinned post is officially over a year old and makes me cringe whenever I'm on my blog, so it's time to freshen things up again!

me

I'm Teri, I'm smack dab in the middle of my 20s and figuring out life. My writing is pretty exclusively original stuff, a lot of novels and a lot of fantasy, but I play around with various genres in short stories. Sort of a jack-of-all-trades in regards to hobbies - aside from writing, there's anything from baking to drawing with my ancient art tablet to cross-stitch to playing music to rambling around the patch of woods near my house to watching long-form D&D let's plays.

my goals

I recognize that every time I post something like this, it's with the intention of finally becoming as active on writeblr as I was during the pandemic. I also recognize I've never quite managed that.

So here are some more general goals to get me through 2024:

Finish my 2nd draft of Beyond Alder Creek

Write as cringey and brutally honest as I never allowed myself to as a teenager.

Speaking of, a large reading/writing goal of mine is to go back through every NaNo draft I've ever written (I've participated since 2011). So aside from just reading that and likely turning it into a whole spectacle on here for people's amusement, generally just survive reading through the writing from 8th grade. Stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks lol

Finally, I have a general goal every year of reaching 100K words, between writing and editing and the like, but I'd happily be a little looser with that goal if it meant getting through others.

And now, without further ado:

my writing

Before I get specifically into WIPs, a general overview of the kind of writing you can expect from me:

As I said, I'm a fantasy nerd. I love worldbuilding, both on a large scale (nations and cultures and political relationships) and a small scale (a magic shop in an otherwise contemporary setting).

There's not a lot of romance in my writing, but there Are a lot of transformational relationships and codependency. Friendships, siblings, guardians, general ride-or-dies.

Thought experiments. I've been trying to catch and indulge more in my 'wait, what if?' ideas. Sometimes, that's fun little snippets of silly ideas, sometimes it's a majorly emotionally heavy scene for a story I'll never write. Sometimes, it's coming up with ideas to 'combine genres'. It's all about expanding the range.

wips*

Beyond Alder Creek /// draft 2 /// tag: bac

Winnie Pewitt has never believed in the fae. That is, until her little brother disappears, and she stumbles upon a faerie ring on the edge of town. Inside, a man seemingly carved from gold suggests that he knows who took the boy. With everyone else around their hometown accepting her brother's fate as certainty, Winnie takes it upon herself to craft the perfect deal and enter the realm of the fae with her new companion in tow.

The Lies in the Legend /// draft 1 /// tag: litl

The fictional autobiography of an elven noblewoman who rose rapidly in station and influence from an unremarkable youth to a diplomatic powerhouse. Spanning centuries during the prime of her life, Lady Ghislaine Agassi charts the course of her career and reputation, and highlights the dangers of making myths out of our idols.

*Though these are my primary WIPs, I have a page that covers various other WIPs and projects that I've brought up over the past few years.

I think that about covers everything! As always, I can't make any promises about how the year will wind up and where it takes us. But I will say, I've actually been writing recently, and yk I'm just gonna ride that high.

And for fun, here's some random facts about me:

fun facts

I have degrees in psychology and music!

I've lived across three continents, but currently live in upstate New York for whatever reason lol

The animals I've ridden on the back of include: horse, pony, elephant, and ostrich. The horse was my least favorite. By far.

I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a couple months after Covid landed stateside (in May 2020) and am Always ready to talk someone's ear off about it.

The first story I ever wrote was on PowerPoint and was about war breaking out between humans and aliens that had taken refuge on Earth after their planet was destroyed. I was 8. There was a Lot of Clipart involved.

I've never been published, but I once secretly planned out, wrote, edited, and self-printed a couple copies of a novel about my best friends and our college apartment. They received it for Christmas last year and loved it (or at least were kind enough to tell me they did)!

[pact-if]

PACT - IF

updated 8/28/24

DEMO(TBA) | GENERAL PLAYLIST | PINTEREST | RO INTROS

You're finally doing it. You're finally setting out on your Quest, as is tradition. Though it's been a few years since you technically came of age, this rite of passage will settle it into tradition. The trip has been postponed long enough, and you won't let anything distract you!

Until, of course, you come across a strange creature unlike anything you've seen before. And, somehow, bind your souls together.

A soul bond, a pact, can't just be undone. They can fade, sure, but they're never broken. A pact blends the magic, emotion, and even physical traits of its members. Along with adjusting to the webs that now grow between your fingers, there's a pull in your chest you know is from the creature. It wants you to follow it.

What else can you do?

PACT is a light fantasy IF Game focusing on found family and love of all kinds. Design your character (including name, gender/pronouns, and magic specialty) and explore the bonds that form between life, for the smallest of reasons. The only major warning right now is attempted violence against (fantastical) animals.

ROs:

THE RESEARCHER: Vyn (nb, they/them)

A scatterbrained researcher and magizooligist, who is fascinated to see a creature even they don't recognize. Excitable and driven by their unending curiosity, Vyn insists on tagging along on your journey. They're incredibly smart, and have been offered multiple positions at various prestigious institutes... that they've turned down in favor of spending their time staring at bugs. Vyn’s tendency to wander makes them difficult to form a real connection with, something they’ve insisted they’re fine with—but they’d be lying if they said it didn’t get a bit lonely sometimes.

(Vyn is aromantic. They can be "romanced," but not in a traditional sense. You can be friends, queerplatonic partners, or romantic partners. In a romantic route, Vyn is still aro! They're not going to engage with this relationship like an allo person would.)

THE ACADEMIC: Lyra (f, she/her)

The daughter of the prestigious Augusti family was born with very little magical energy, a stark difference from her family. Lyra has been sheltered and kept mostly a secret since birth, both for her protection and the protection of the Augusti legacy. Though a bit late, Lyra is embarking on her Quest to throw off her family name and come into her own identity as a scholar of magical theory. As gentle as she is stubborn, Lyra has spent her life learning the intricacies of magic, and how she can make it work for her.

THE ARTIFICER: Aster (m, he/him)

An engineer specializing in integrating technology and magic. The only thing Aster loves more than machines is his Phoenix companion—his pactmate is the most important thing in the world to him, and the two are so closely bonded they may as well share a soul. Aster is an open book, and exudes the kind of genuine warmth that makes you feel like laughing with friends around a campfire, but the burn scars that cover his left arm point to his fierce dedication and willingness to jump into fire for those he cares about.

THE GUARDIAN: Eilivur (f, she/her)

Born with enough magical energy to make her glow in the dark, but preferring a greatsword, Eilivur found the life of a knight far too restricting for her. Instead, she protects the places that often fall through the cracks. Her very presence is intimidating enough to ward off crime, but the locals know she's the one to turn to when they need food, muscle, or just a shoulder to cry on. Ei isn't the most open of people—basing your identity and sense of self around being a protector doesn’t exactly lend itself to vulnerability—but she's a steady presence for those who need her.

THE GUIDE: Jae (nb, xe/xem)Parents tell their children stories of an old witch in the woods who will eat them if they get lost. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Jae is a guide of the dead, a ranger who has sworn an oath to silence among the living. Xe’s not bothered by the stories, though—the woods are dangerous, and xe has enough passed children coming to them confused. Xe’s very private, and if people find xem unsettling, that just means xe can do xir work in peace.

[auxiliarydetective]

Evie's One Piece OC Compendium

SO @eustasskidsfattits asked me to make a post about my One Piece OCs, so here it is! I wanted to make this way sooner, but then stuff happened and then I got to show one of my friends OPLA and 8 OCs turned to 9 (oopsies...). Also, the perfectionist in me would not shut up. Yes, this is technically the intro for the three newest ones, so buckle up!

I'm gonna list them in the order that I created them, simply because listing them in the order of their appearance in the story would be fairly impossible with how OPLA likes to introduce characters earlier on lol - These OCs also all exist in their own separate universes, by the way...

So yeah, long post incoming and, for any OPLA-onlies reading this post: Spoiler warning!!!

Not proofread because I just wanna finally get this post out and I am lacking energy

The Guardian: Aether S. Luna

The original One Piece OC and also the one who has gone through the most changes. I revamped her only recently!

Luna is convinced that she's the daughter of the moon goddess aka of Mother Moon herself, and there are some very odd things about her that make that very plausible. She looks like how you would imagine the daughter of the moon to look like, with very pale skin and very light blonde hair, she has magical powers that are charged by basking in the moonlight, she needs very little sleep as long as the moon is out, her strength is based on the moon cycle... Oh, also: Wings. Large, white wings, that don't fit in with any other humanoid creature in the world. So, nobody really has any solid evidence against it either. Well... Nobody who hasn't been to Egghead Island.

She's introduced into the story at Long Ring Long Land (I actually have two fics for that) as a part of Foxy's crew because he won her in a Davy Back Fight. Before that, she was sort of aimlessly travelling the seas with various crews, just trying to find a place to belong. Throughout the Davy Back Fight, Luna ends up befriending the Straw Hats and Luffy, being Luffy, of course won't pass up the opportunity to have someone as weird as her on their crew, so she joins!

Sanji is, of course, very enamoured with this literal goddess. Even more so than usual. Luckily for him, his charm seems to be working on Luna too. She essentially goes from "Oh, you're adorable. You're funny." to "Oh. Oh no. That's the love of my life, isn't it?", at the very latest when she sees Sanji after he absolutely decimates the people on the Sea Train.

I can't really talk too much about her because a lot of my ideas for her are very visual, but I guess I could give some more little facts? First of all, Luna is 18 and her blood group is S. You can take a look at my animanga character sketches for her here and here if you want! Her wings haven't grown to their full size yet pre-timeskip, and she molts like a bird as she grows, so whenever that happens, she's essentially grounded and chronically exhausted. And that happens around the time of Sabaody. Perfect timing, right? Also, she has to preen her wings, especially after battles, and her crewmates keep around her feathers either for practical or sentimental reasons. And in case you were wondering, of course she heads to Whole Cake Island to go after her boyfriend. Big Mom takes an interest in her, Judge wants to steal her lineage factor, it's a very fun time for everyone involved.

The Sweet Tooth: Charlotte Inari

Ah yes, sweet little Inari. Inari is Pudding's twin sister, she's also a member of the Three-Eyed Tribe and she's named after inari-zushi (if you were wondering how she fits into the Charlotte Family naming scheme). She ate the Kami Kami no Mi, Model: Shikigami, which has a very complicated way to how it works, but, essentially, it binds her to a master whose orders she has to follow and, in turn, gets special abilities from based on her master's. That master is the person who last saved her life. The problem with that situation is that she got the devil fruit when she was still very young and travelling at sea with one of her siblings, and a sea battle ensued where chaos happened and she got herself kidnapped. So, she ends up being passed around from master to master for years until finally ending up with Enel. That is, until Luffy defeats him, and she joins the Straw Hats.

Inari, being that she spent her early formative years on Totto Land, has some very interesting ideas of what's considered normal for animals, plant life, people... for everything, really. She fights with two war fans (as well as her devil fruit, of course) and knows how to play the shamisen, both of which she picked up while travelling with a crew of Wano ancestry for a while. Also, she naturally has a huge sweet tooth and loves to make sweets too. It runs in her genes.

Inari's goal while travelling with the Straw Hats at first is to get back home. She's just a kid, she wants to go home, at least to let her family know that she's okay. And her family and her friends will totally get along, right??? That's also why she doesn't fully consider herself part of the Straw Hats for the longest time. She's a member of the Big Mom Pirates, simply by birth right. However, this all gets a bit thrown on its head with the Timeskip and everything after that. Because, during the timeskip, Kuma sends her to Totto Land, and she officially joins the Big Mom Pirates. So, she has everything she has ever wanted, right? Well... She still ends up coming back. She loves her friends too much not to go back to them. And then Luffy ends up starting a war with Big Mom, which is... not ideal? Whole Cake Island is especially fun. And Wano? Oh boy!

Also... remember the special ability of the Three-Eyed Tribe? Yeah. Inari awakens her third eye when she hears the Drums of Liberation, but nobody notices and she doesn't tell anybody until the battle is long over, and even then she only tells Sanji and Robin.

The Tailor: Akaito Coraline

My dear, sweet Cora... We're entering the live action era now! Aka when everything started to escalate and I started drowning in OCs. I freaking love the live action, man... Maybe a little too much.

Anyways, Cora! Cora is the last living member of the Akaito Clan, a tailoring family from the North Blue of world-class fame who was eradicated by Germa 66 when they didn't want to work for their evil plans. Their main identifier is a sewing needle pierced through the left ear, and they can tell a person's measurements just by looking at them. Of course, there are many imposters around because Akaito-made clothes sell for a fortune, but they usually fail at these criteria. Cora was only a baby when the attack from Germa happened, so she doesn't remember anything from that day or about her family, except for her mother, who was selected as the sole adult survivor of the massacre, because she had Cora, and Judge had plans for Cora. Little did Judge know that her mother also had plans for Cora, and that she had given the baby the Akaito Clan's most prized possession: The Sew Sew Fruit (Chiku Chiku no Mi), which gives its user mastery over the entire clothesmaking process and its tools and materials.

I don't want to get too much into Cora's backstory here, but she befriended Sanji and thought that he had died, and then her mother died, she helped create and designed the Raid Suits and then she ran away with the help of Reiju at 16 years old. Afterwards, she rose to considerable fame as a tailor in the East Blue, until finally stumbling across Sanji at Baratie, the same day that the Straw Hats also show up there. Shenanigans ensue.

I think, if I were going to describe Cora's personality in only three aspects, it's trauma, kindness, and a huge double crush that she doesn't like to admit. Because not only is she wholly unprepared for Sanji being not only alive but also a pretty and charming young man, there's also a swordsman who she has to stitch back together after a big fight and who she ends up falling head over heels for. The two boys constantly bickering doesn't help much either, and they also bicker over her, constantly trying to out-boyfriend each other. In case you were wondering whose side Cora usually takes in these fights, the answer is: She joins in on the side of entertainment. Whichever side would yield the funnier result. She just thinks their fights are way too funny and stupid. Also, she's constantly touch-starved and also scared of touch. And sleep-deprived. She gets better in the "scared of touch" category over the course of her journey with the Straw Hats, so... Sleepy cuddles. So many sleepy cuddles. If Zoro's taking a nap, she's taking a nap too, no buts. And Sanji eventually ends up with his arm around her waist 90% of the time. His personal space is also her personal space.

So, uh, fighting style! She uses a rapier and keeps explaining to people that, no, she's not a swordsman, she's a fencer. There's a difference. Also, she uses strings a lot, and plagiarizes Doffy's travelling method after Dressrosa. The thing with strings and dyes and whatnot is a whole new can of worms that I won't get into right now but it's super cool.

One more fun fact: Cora is short. She's tiny. And she wears heels to compensate, which Zoro hates because they're not practical at all. Her entire fashion sense gives him minor aggressions, partially because a lot of her clothes are a lot more fashion than function, partially because she looks too damn gorgeous in them and he's constantly reminded of his embarrassing crush and has gotten so distracted by her that he has walked into tables and doorframes multiple times. Sanji, on the other hand, fully supports her fashion choices. Maybe show a little more skin next time..? Pretty please? I have concept art for her and one of the more distracting outfits :)

The Scout: "Desert Fox" Felicity

The baby of the crew. Yeah, she's younger than Chopper. Inari is already young, being 14, but Lily? Lily is twelve. Absolute baby. How did she end up with the Straw Hats? Blame it on Buggy kidnapping her and then kidnapping the Straw Hats on top, letting them bust her out with them. Nami and Zoro pretty much become her caretakers on the spot, Nami consciously and Zoro... well... Turns out he has a bit of a soft spot for little scared kids with fox ears. They bring her back home to her "sister" Kaya at Syrup Village, but then she almost gets murdered by a killer butler, and Kaya asks them to take Lily with them, so... Well, she's with them now! Only about a few days later though, one of her caretakers gets himself almost killed and the other decides to abandon the crew. Good thing that Sanji has pretty much decided to adopt her, because otherwise she'd be crying her eyes out.

Lily is actually half mink! That's where she got her fennec fox features and some of her behavioural patterns (i.e. cuddliness, switching between napping and getting the zoomies...) from. But her behaviour could just as well be caused by her devil fruit, because she ate the Jōi Jōi no Mi, which gives her emotions magical properties. Which ones? No one knows! You'll find out when it happens. Pretty much the only really predictable effect back when Lily joins the crew is that she turns back into a nonverbal five-year-old when she gets too scared. She also has a pretty good success rate of turning into a more anthropomorphic fox creature when getting into the spirit for a battle. She's a mink after all, and minks are born fighters! And in case you're wondering: Yes, she does have electro! And sharp teeth. You do not want to make her upset. Best case scenario is that she bites you, worst case is either some magical shenanigans or she starts crying and her crewmates come to kick your ass.

I haven't developed her too much beyond the first season of OPLA, but I just know that she has to go absolutely feral at Alabasta, because that's a fennec fox's natural habitat and her epithet is "Desert Fox", so it only makes sense for her to get it at Alabasta. Also, it would be peak funny for Crocodile to complain to the Marines about a literal child messing up his plans, and peak funny is also peak One Piece, so you best believe I'll do it. Also, her being this young means I get to watch her grow up over the timeskip. I imagine she maybe gets sent to Zou and starts to really master her electro and devil fruit attacks? Something along the lines of "I'm all grown up now! I have my powers under control!" and then immediately turning back into a kindergartener in the face of danger would probably be her running gag post-TS. Also, I'm so soft for her relationship with Sanji. I could go on for ages about Whole Cake Island, but I'll leave it at that for now. This post is already getting long enough...

The Matron: Dracule Aurelia

Oh boy, you're not ready for her. She's the daughter of Rayleigh and Shakky. Trans queen (thanks, Iva). Raised as a Kuja, got love sickness just like her mother and fell for a red-headed idiot first, then for a certain swordsman. Ended up marrying the swordsman in the most dramatic way possible. Also maybe the second most beautiful woman in the world, after Boa Hancock of course.

Aurelia is essentially the fusion of a mafia boss, a mob wife, and an Ancient Roman patron. She has unbelievable amounts of money and an invisible net of connections that makes her almost untouchable. She's allied with Emperors, Warlords, kings and queens... Her main deal is providing smaller, more inexperienced pirate crews with her protection and support and getting their services in return, for example as soliders, for transportation... Whatever she needs at that moment. She can be as kind as she can be cruel, and people are generally both in awe and scared of her. Her epithet is "Black Widow" both because of her spider net of connections and because all of her lovers keep mysteriously dying as if through some sort of curse. Mihawk is the only one who has been able to resist that curse. Shanks doesn't count because Aurelia claims she never truly loved him.

One of the places under her protection is Baratie, and so she gets caught up in the Straw Hats' shenanigans. First, Nami asks her for help, then she returns to Arlong ransacking the place and essentially kidnapping Nami, then she finds out that Zoro was almost killed by her husband... Also, Sanji is the closest thing to a son that she has, so Sanji joining the Straw Hats is pretty much the final nail in the coffin to her deciding on her own terms that she's going to protect those kids to the best of her ability. You can kind of imagine her as the rich aunt, but a lot more deadly. Generally, she spends a majority in the story picking up her den den mushi and going "Luffy, what did you do this time?" The boy pretty much becomes her most effective portégé when it comes to expanding her territory, because he keeps punching tyrants and asking her to put the newly freed kingdoms under her protection. She also kicks ass at Marineford, of course, helps protect the Sunny during the timeskip, and becomes decorously unhinged when Whole Cake Island comes around because of her own personal history with Big Mom and "That's my son!" and "Luffy, you are not going to kill an Emperor." - so yeah, she pretty much has to follow the Straw Hats to Wano too, lest they get themselves kicked. She's both the queen of the literal universe and the exhausted mother of a crew of literal toddlers. Or. Well. Children and one supercharged toddler who will not stop causing chaos.

Her entire backstory is so freaking great. Growing up as a Kuja, running away from home because she's mad at her mother for leaving the Kuja tribe, her very first murder of a lover who also happened to be a nobleman, her bond with Iva and speedy hormone therapy, whatever the hell was going on between her and Shanks, her relationship with Mihawk, the whole situation with Big Mom and her rules for alliances, Mihawk literally fighting for her hand in marriage, her meeting Sanji and essentially adopting him... There's a lot going on. Wish I could write it one day.

The Mechanic: Lux Jirou

Lynx boi! Kuro tricked him into thinking he had Amber Lead Snydrome but it's actually just vitiligo. Used to be a member of the Black Cat Pirates (posing as the mansion's security guard) but liked Kaya a little too much and figured out Kuro was lying, so he teamed up with the Straw Hats to take him down. Also has the worst crush on Zoro and Zoro has the worst crushback, but they're both too stupid to figure it out. He goes by Jirou while with the Black Cat Pirates but starts going only by his last name Lux once he starts rebelling. Ends up joining the Heart Pirates and working as a mechanic on the Polar Tang.

Once again, so many of my ideas for him are more visual because... big kitty! Huge freaking paws! Cuddly cat naps! Involuntary purring because he has a crush and he's a cat and... Yeah. Also, he's absolutely thriving at Punk Hazard. Lots of snow? No problem! Lynx have built-in snow shoes. Also, his devil fruit (Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Lynx), much like the dinosaur SMILEs of the Beasts Pirates, works with Zoan logic. "Lynxes can walk on snow, so they can also walk on water, right? Since water is just frozen snow. And then maybe they can walk on air too if they train hard enough? Because of the humidity?"

The Siren: Kanyalani

Also known as Kan-chan, because Luffy is not pronouncing her full name. She's a betta fish mermaid and former slave and joined the Sun Pirates after being liberated. She has a romance with Jinbe which eventually turns into a polycule with the addition of Robin and Franky when they both join the Straw Hats. Kan-chan fights with chakrams and uses Merman Combat as well as some Fishman Karate.

Now for some mermaid characteristics: Since she's a betta fish mermaid, she shares betta fish characteristics. This means that she loves her color when she's unhappy and becomes more vibrant when she is happy. She also has a unique ability. Whereas all mermaids have beautiful voices, Kan-chan's singing can lull anyone to sleep, even in the midst of battle. Also, she's over thirty, so her tail is split, but she has trouble walking, so she practically never does it. She prefers using Bubbly Corals to navigate and claims that her very frilly fin makes for bad legs anyways.

The Archer: Shimotsuki Kaede

A Kuina look alike from Ebisu Town who nearly gives Zoro a heart attack when he sees her with her mask off for the first time. The concept for this OC basically came to me in the concept of many What Ifs. What if Kuina was still alive? What if Kuina was even more gender? What if there was a flying squirrel? What if someone pulled a Robin Hood on Orochi?

So, here's Kaede. Regular Ebisu Town citizen by day, dying and mending kimonos, stealing food and shooting arrows at people by night. As Ebisu Town gets the leftovers from the Flower Capital, this also includes the half-eaten SMILEs, and Kaede had the one-in-a-million luck of one of the SMILEs, finicky things that they are, still having traces of the power it once gave. And so, she got the power of the flying squirrel SMILE, making her the "devil fruit twin" of Bao Huang. She practices kyūdō in secret and almost runs an arrow through Orochi's head after Yasuie's execution. She would've hit the bastard too if someone hadn't hit her bow and made her miss.

The Soldier: Roronoa Sonoko

Ah yes, the reason why this post took me so long... She just appeared the moment I saw the scene in OPLA where Morgan tries to get Zoro to join the Marines. Because my brain went: Y'know, what if he actually had? So, I bring to you: Zoro's sister. No, not biological sister. They're siblings the way the ASL brothers are siblings. By exchanging sake cups. They got in trouble for stealing the sake and the cups but it was all worth it. What makes the situation even funnier is that Sonoko keeps on telling people that they're not biological siblings but nobody believes her because she's pretty much Zoro's spitting image. And it's her fault, too! Because she chooses to wear those earrings (more or less, but that's a bit of a longer story) and she chooses to dye her hair green! Yes, among the thousands of people with naturally funky hair colors, Kaede is pretty much the only one who actually dyes her hair.

So yeah, she's a Marine! Freshly promoted to Ensign when Koby and Helmeppo join and Garp's protégé. Her sword training comes from Bogard but she uses Two-Sword Style, so it's more her figuring out techniques and Bogard putting up with them. That is until Garp calls on Mihawk to go catch Luffy. Hawk Eyes comes to the ship to say that he decided not to do just that and Garp, as a payment for not reporting this to the World Government, asks Mihawk to take Sonoko on as a student. Mihawk, being Mihawk, is about to remind Garp that he does whatever he wants and doesn't need a deal like that. But then he sees the spitting image of Zoro in front of him and hears the same last name - and he changes his mind. Maybe it's worth a shot?

Following that, I don't have that many ideas except that Sonoko gets a bunch of promotions, only to go AWOL to warn Mihawk of the dismantling of the Warlords system during the Reverie because, at this point, she's far more loyal to him than to the Government or the Marines. She then completely deserts and dashes to Wano to help her brother and his crew defeat Kaido. In the process of the Raid on Onigashima (possibly while protecting either Hiyori or Zoro), she loses an arm and one of her swords and is just... overcome with guilt and shame. So much so that she can't bring herself to return to Mihawk after this incredible failure. Franky does replace her arm with a robotic one and everyone is super nice and supportive to her, the samurai step in and try to reason with her, but she's completely blinded by shame and anxiety. She keeps training, of course, she keepy going, but she just doesn't see herself as worthy anymore of being the student of the World's Greatest Swordsman. But then Mihawk himself shows up at Wano, looking specifically for her and tells her that she isn't a failure, that he's proud of her for her sacrifice for her cause and, most importantly of all, because she kept going. So, all is well and she joins the Cross Guild. Maybe befriends Cabaji, I dunno.

Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @bravelittleflower @box-of-bats @supermarine-silvally - let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!