#and the idea of me and my emotional support middle aged man somehow being just a state away makes me feel a little better about feeling tot

[tarot-by-tabitha]

Hello! I am interested in your past life reading🤍

I am V.H. and scorpio sun. I was a vulnerable person in the past and now I am working to be strong and confident. Sometimes I reminisce about my old self to remember and how strong I was despite the challenges that I faced and still kept going with the support of my spirit guides.

I still admire my old self somehow despite the fact that she hated herself for being weak.

Thank you so much for this opportunity🤍

Hiii 🌿 thanks for sharing your childhood memories 🌟

So your spirit guide is showing me one of your past lives in Early Bronze Age which is around 3300-1200 BC.

Your Life in India during the Early Bronze Age

In your past life, you lived in India during the Early Bronze Age, a time when societies were growing and new tools and technology especially made from metal were being developed. You were a young man living through this exciting yet challenging period. Your community followed a polytheistic faith, worshiping many gods tied to nature, the skies and the land. Life was centered around these beliefs, with rituals, festivals, and offerings to keep the gods happy and the community safe.

You weren’t just an average person in the village. You were involved in something bigger, connected to the creation of new ideas, military advancements and tools that would change the way people lived.

A Love You Couldn’t Have

In this life, you fell deeply in love with someone but sadly it was a case of unrequited love, they didn’t feel the same way. This was hard for you to accept because your feelings were strong and you believed that this person was meant for you. You spent a lot of time thinking about them, hoping that one day they would see you the way you saw them. But no matter how much you hoped the love you longed for never came.

This unrequited love left a deep emotional wound. It wasn’t just about romance, it made you question yourself and your place in the world. It felt like there was always something missing in your life because you couldn’t have the one thing your heart wanted most.

Imprisonment and Feeling Trapped

At some point your life took a sharp turn and you found yourself imprisoned. This could have been for political reasons or perhaps you were caught up in something related to new technology or military work you were involved in.

During this time, you had a lot of time to reflect, to think about your mistakes, your loves and the world around you. But the confinement made you feel powerless and it added to the emotional pain you were already carrying from your unrequited love.

Your Role in Military and Technology

One of the most important parts of your life was your involvement in military work and the development of technology particularly weapons. The Early Bronze Age was a time when people were learning how to use metal to create tools and weapons and you were right in the middle of this development. You helped design or create new weapons, thinking that these advancements would help protect your community or bring honor to your people.

However, over time, you began to see how these new technologies were being misused. Instead of bringing safety and progress, they were used for destruction and violence. You witnessed how power-hungry leaders or rival groups took the very weapons you helped develop and used them to harm others. This left you feeling conflicted, proud of the work you had done but also regretful about how it was being used.

A Connection to the Sea and Military Expeditions

You were not only involved in the development of weapons but you also had experience with ocean travel. The Maritimer card suggests that you took part in military expeditions or sea journeys either for trade, conquest or perhaps even piracy. You were familiar with life at sea which was both exciting and dangerous. These journeys may have been part of your military service or connected to the technologies you were working on.

Being at sea also gave you a sense of freedom, a break from the constraints of land. But even the freedom of the sea couldn’t fully release you from the burdens you carried.

Feeling Between Worlds: A Life in Transition

Throughout this life, you often felt like you were in an in-between state, like you didn’t fully belong to any one place or role. The Bardo card represents this feeling of transition, a sense of being caught between different worlds. You were a part of the new technological advancements but saw their destructive side. You were involved in the military but didn’t fully embrace the violence it caused. You loved deeply but that love wasn’t returned. All of these contradictions left you feeling disconnected, as if you were constantly searching for where you truly belonged.

This “in-between” feeling may have made you question your identity, your purpose and what really mattered in life. It was like living in the gray space between who you were and who you wanted to be, never fully grounded.

How You Died: A Sudden Accident

Your life ended in an accident, something unexpected. It could have been related to the very technology you were developing or an event that happened during a military mission. The accident was not just a physical event, it also represented the internal conflict you struggled with throughout your life. You were living between worlds, torn between your roles and your emotions and this sudden end brought no real closure to those struggles.

Your death came quickly, leaving many things unresolved, your feelings of love, your regrets about the misuse of technology and your questions about where you fit into the world.

The Lesson: Responsibility with Power and Technology

The greatest lesson you carried from this past life was about the responsibility that comes with power, especially the power of technology. You learned that advancements, while useful can also be dangerous if not handled carefully. In that life, you saw how the tools and weapons you helped create were used for harm and it left a mark on your soul. You realized that progress isn’t always good if it’s used for destructive purposes and this lesson is something you carry with you into this life.

How This Affects Your Current Life

In this present life you may feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to new things whether it’s technology, power or leadership. You probably think carefully about the consequences of your actions and decisions because you know deep down, that power can be misused if not handled properly. This is a reflection of the lessons you learned in your past life where you saw how easily progress could turn destructive.

You might also feel like you’re often caught in in between phases of life, always in transitions or feeling like you’re balancing between different roles or identities. This comes from your past life experience of constantly living between worlds, between love and loss, between creation and destruction.

I hope you like your reading and please leave a feedback 💓 thanks

[ikyw-t]

alex gaskarth tweets one time that they would listen to "cardiac arrest" by bad suns before every show. and now i listen to this song bc he said he liked and i think about how at some point we have heard the same song and we may think about it in totally different ways but despite all the distance and the fact we literally dont know each other it is the same song we're hearing and maybe that makes me feel a little closer to someone in a time when it's incredibly difficult to feel close to anyone

[feralaot]

GIVE ME. FRIENDSHIP/RELATIONSHIP DYNAMIC HCS

for example AruAni gives off “I hate everybody but I hate you less” energy

literally any duo/trio/group you want just plz. I love them and I have my own ideas but wanna see yours ✌️💋

ohoho here we go.... this is gonna be a long one

AOT pairings + their dynamics

no warnings

eren / mikasa (romantic): the crime fighting duo

they can and they will mess up anyone and everyone who fucks with them. the kind of duo that seems to bond the most when they’re being violent and they want to make you scream “JUST CONFESS YOUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, FOOLS” and the slowburn is far too painful on the soul

eren / armin (platonic): the bad guy and the virtuous ray of sunshine

armin is the sweetest creature to grace this world and eren is literally the opposite but somehow they’re compatible. eren acts emotionally unavailable but good god armin brings out even the most buried emotion in him through his blinding rays of obnoxious joy and caring. obviously this didn’t last forever

eren / levi (platonic): the obnoxious child and the tired parent

somebody please give levi a break. it’s difficult being a single mother of six especially when you’re a middle aged man and one of your children is a war criminal.

sasha / connie (open to interpretation): the dumb & dumber mutual enablers

where one goes, the other goes. what trouble one gets into, the other gets into. they enable each other’s chaos and general misdeeds and will sit next to each other in a jail cell awaiting levi to bail them out while giggling and saying “wasn’t that fun?”

sasha / reiner (platonic): the eccentric girl and her emotional support himbo

one is a ball of chaos with a soft spot and the other is (relatively) normal but is also a chaos enabler. they feed off of each other's energy and are just about the closest thing you can get to the human equivalents of a bull and a matador but they also rely on each other for emotional support

armin / annie (romantic): pure looking (but hella shady) and scary looking (but actually a softie)

they are definitely not what either of them appear to be. the gentle little ball of sunshine is actually a scheming bastard and the one that looks like she’ll beat you up just for looking at her the wrong way is actually very soft at heart. and they are in love of course

jean / armin (platonic): the delinquent and the keener

jean used to skip, get bad grades, and get in trouble a lot but eventually worked on becoming a lot better because of armin’s enthusiasm and borderline annoying encouragement. on the other hand armin loosened up a lot and became less strict thanks to jean’s easy going attitude and they help each other improve themselves :’)

jean / connie (platonic): the dumbass and “oh god I guess they’re MY dumbass”

connie is like a dog without a leash and jean is the wrangler that desperately tries to keep him at least relatively tame. although sometimes it’s hard to keep somebody in check while also not wanting to give into their shenanigans and enable them

connie / reiner (platonic): the idiot and the idiot in progress

one has been an idiot since birth and it shows. meanwhile the other is losing more brain cells the more time they spend together. they feed off of each other’s energy and channel it into chaos and misdeeds

historia / ymir (romantic): the loner and the popular chick

historia is one of the few people who actually notices ymir, who doesn’t get the hype about her at first but warms up to her over time. they seem like polar opposites to anyone on the outside so it might be hard to tell that they’re very compatible with each other and lowkey enable each other

hange / levi (open to interpretation): the hooligan and the voice of reason

hange is the big bad conniving bastard and levi is the poor sod that has been dragged into their mess and was hit with a sudden and painful realization that he’s in deep trouble in every possible sense of the word. they are of equal strength except one has rabies

erwin / levi (open to interpretation): the kind giant and the bundle of repressed rage

one will make impulsive decisions on a dime and the other is the only one that can keep him grounded, at least most of the time. one is easy going the other is seething with buried anger and they balance each other out. however both would throw hands if anyone got between them

levi / zeke (open to interpretation): enemies to acquaintances to friends to ???

nobody knows what they truly think about each other and they probably don’t either. they’ll be fighting tooth and nail one moment then probably go out to get lunch an hour later. it’s a bit rocky, but they’ll figure it out eventually

reiner / bertholdt (romantic): two bros chillin in a hot tub 5 feet apart because they won’t confess their undying love for each other

literally everyone can sense the mutual pining from a mile away but they’re both so dense and oblivious for the longest time until they get things sorted and confess. one has too much pride to risk losing and the other is scared to ruin their relationship. this pairing will test both your patience and your sanity

reiner / eren (platonic): rivals to dumbass bros

most of the time they can’t stand each other and will argue with no end in sight but other times they’ll be slumped against each other or one will be sprawled out across the other and they’re having deep conversations and watching tv. it’s really a hit or miss situation

reiner / ymir (platonic): the gay solidarity

the mlm and wlw solidarity is real and it shows. they’re both jerks who only really have each other in terms of close friendships but by all means it’s an unbreakable bond

reiner / armin (platonic): honorarily deemed “one of the boys”

they have some kind of solidarity but neither of them really knows what it is, they just get along really well for some reason. thus reiner has deemed armin officially one of the boys and is included in activities w the boys e.g. movie night. they have a lot of inside jokes

reiner / zeke / bertholdt (platonic): the pining couple and the third wheel

reiner and bertholdt won’t admit it to his face because it would boost his ego tenfold but they’re lowkey kinda scared of zeke. but zeke is just a himbo that kind of hangs around and judges them and can tell they’re in love and is just waiting for the day they admit it

bertholdt / armin (platonic): the pessimist and the optimist

they’re both very pure sweet besties except one is a cynic and the other focuses on all the joy in the world. fill in the blanks.

pieck / porco (open to interpretation): the cinnabun and the hothead

one is too sweet and wholesome to be alive and the other is perpetually angry but is still cute. the contrast shows but they’re still sweethearts that are obviously meant to balance each other out

porco / reiner (platonic): the bastard and the accidental bastard magnet

they started as enemies and slowly evolved into something vaguely reminiscent of... friends? yeah, friends. reiner doesn’t know how he keeps attracting assholes like this but for some godforsaken reason he puts up with it.

[quickspinner]

Marinette meeting Luka right after she “saved” Master Fu in Origins because he saw the whole thing and came to check on her. They end up talking a bit more and get along really well. Cue them having feelings for each other from the start.

I think this is the last one for today, but thank you so much for all the love and support, and I’ll be keeping the other ideas I received for sometime in the (hopefully near) future!

Marinette darted out the door and only just registered the oncoming car before dashing into the crosswalk. She stopped barely in time, and then jumped as a hand landed on her arm, steadying her. 

“Careful,” said a soft voice, and she looked up into the smiling face of a boy several inches taller than herself. His eyes were blue and his hair dyed blue at the tips, and though his chin and nose were sharp, there was a roundness to his cheeks that suggested he was around her own age. Marinette relaxed a little, and smiled back at him.

“Thanks,” she said, looking back towards the intersection. “I guess I was a bit—oh no!” Marinette darted into the intersection, grabbing the arm of the elderly man who was in the middle of crossing just in time to pull him out of the path of an oncoming car and drag him back to the curb. She tripped, but the same blue-haired boy caught her, though he couldn’t save the box of macarons from crashing to the ground. 

“Are you two all right?” the boy asked, helping Marinette back onto her feet and looking at the old man in concern. Marinette nodded shakily, her fingers digging into the stranger’s arms as she tried to slow her heart. 

“Thank you, young lady,” said the old man, seeming unbothered by his brush with danger. “Oh, what a disaster,” he sighed, looking at the macarons scattered on the ground.

“It looks like some of them are okay,” said the blue-haired boy, gently freeing himself from Marinette’s grip to pick up the box. He handed it back to Marinette and smiled. He had kind eyes, she thought, and she smiled back as she took the box from him, feeling a little more recovered from the scare. 

“It’s okay, I’m no stranger to disaster,” Marinette shrugged, checking the box. “Besides, there are still a few left.” She offered the old man the box, smiling at the way his face lit up as he selected an undamaged macaron, and then she shyly held the box up to the blue-haired boy. That earned her another smile as he plucked a macaroon delicately from the box with long fingers.

“Thank you,” he said in his quiet, smooth voice. It was a nice voice, she thought, calm and soothing. “That was really brave,” he added, just as Marinette was shutting the box, and she almost dropped it again.”You’re a quick thinker.” 

“O-oh I—” Marinette gasped, her head whipping around as she heard the bell ring. “Oh no, I’m gonna be late, um, nicetomeetyoubothbye!”

Luka smiled as he watched her dash across the street and around the steps of the school across the street—the same one he’d just dropped Juleka off at. He wondered if they knew each other. She had nice energy. Juleka could use a friend with that kind of warmth. 

Luka felt foolish for standing there like an idiot as the girl dashed out into traffic, but his attention had been focused on her, and he hadn’t noticed the old man’s danger. Stupid. She’d just been so pretty, and he’d lost track of his surroundings for a moment. 

Like he was about to lose track of time, he reminded himself, trying to come back down to earth before he stood there staring into space and missed his first class. Luka started to turn away, and then looked down as something under his foot crunched. He stared for a moment at the broken cookies littering the sidewalk, and then at the one in his hand. The logo on it was familiar, and he looked back to the bakery behind him. 

She must have just bought those fresh, and so many of them got ruined. 

Luka didn’t question the impulse, he just turned and went into the bakery shop. He paused and cleared his throat a little awkwardly. The couple embracing in the middle of the bakery seemed to be having an emotional moment, and he suddenly felt like an intruder. He glanced back but the sign clearly said open, so…

“Oh, forgive us, dear,” said the petite lady, moving away from the big man. “It’s our daughter’s first day of school today and we’re just a little emotional. What can we help you with? Although…” she frowned. “Shouldn’t you be at school too?”

“I’m on my way,” Luka replied without concern. “I just—someone gave me this and I was hoping I could maybe get a box, if that’s okay?” He held up the green macaron, and the shopkeeper blinked at him in surprise.

“Oh,” she said. “Oh, of course, no problem. Isn’t that just like her, dear?” she chuckled and turned away. “Give me just one moment, I’ll get a box packed up for you. You’re sure you won’t be late?” 

He would be, but he didn’t care and neither would his mother, so Luka shrugged. “I walk fast,” he said, which wasn’t a lie, really. 

The big man gave him a friendly smile and retreated to the back while the nice lady packed up Luka’s order. He paid for it and left, the single cookie still in his hand. Once he was outside, Luka stuck the cookie between his teeth to free his hands so he could get the box into his school bag. Then he took off at a brisk walk, biting through the cookie as he reached up to grab it. It was really good, he noted with mild surprise, and he smiled to himself as he ate the rest of it. 

***

It was the cap on a day full of weird, bizarre moments, as Marinette watched Adrien walk away from beneath the folds of his umbrella. She felt suddenly nervous and jittery, and...was she blushing? That was weird. As weird as her stammer a moment ago. What kind of— 

A quiet cough made her jump, and she whirled, eyes going wide as she recognized the  the blue-haired boy from this morning. She hadn’t seen him because he was leaning against the stone wall of the doorway, wedged into the small space where he was sheltered from the rain. 

“Hi,” he smiled, pushing off the wall. “Sorry, I would have let you know I was there sooner, but—” he waved vaguely in the direction Adrien had gone. “You were busy.” 

“Oh, it’s, um, that’s, uh—” What was wrong with her? “Why are you here?” she blurted, and then slapped a hand over her face. “I mean—”

“It’s okay,” he said, in that same soothing voice she remembered from the morning, and some of the tension buzzing in her veins seemed to ease. “I know it’s kind of weird to show up here, it just...well, I wanted to give you this. I was hoping I’d be able to bring it by at lunch but—” He made a vague gesture that somehow encompassed the weirdness of the day, and then started to dig in his bag. 

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Marinette sighed, and then she giggled, shaking her head. “What a day, right?” 

“Seriously,” he grinned, and then he stepped closer, holding something out for her. “Anyway, here. To make up for this morning, since so many of them got ruined.”

Marinette stared at the familiar box in his hand, and then looked up at his face. “I—don’t understand.” 

“These are for you,” he repeated patiently. “For the ones that got ruined this morning.” 

Marinette reached out mechanically and took the box. Bracing Adrien’s umbrella under one arm, she opened it to look at the rows of macarons, still perfect despite being in this boy’s bag for who knew how long. “You...you got these for me? And you came all this way to—but—” 

He shrugged. “My sister goes here. It’s not really out of my way. That’s why I was there this morning. She doesn’t like me to come all the way to the school with her. Too cool to be seen with her big brother, so I’m not allowed to cross the street.” He grinned, and there was no resentment in it, only quiet amusement. 

“Still…” Marinette said wonderingly. “You don’t even know my name.” 

He chuckled. “Well, that can be fixed. I’m Luka.” He tilted his head slightly, blue eyes shining with amusement between the shaggy strands of hair. 

She blushed. “Marinette.” 

“Marinette. Now I know.” He smiled, and Marinette giggled nervously. “I’ll admit I wasn’t counting on the rain, though,” he added, looking up at the sky with a sheepish small. He winced as there was another crash of thunder. “Or the lightning. I actually thought I’d missed you, and I was just hanging out hoping this would let up. I’m glad I was lucky enough to run into you.”

“Lucky enough to get caught in the rain,” Marinette snorted. 

Luka smiled. “It’s just water. I’m definitely not afraid of water.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice that made Marinette feel like she was missing something, but there was another crash of thunder and he flinched slightly. 

“Not afraid of water, but not too crazy about thunder?” Marinette guessed, but Luka grinned and shook his head.

“Thunder is just sound. Definitely not afraid of that either.” He hunched his shoulders slightly and admitted. “Lightning, I’m not too excited about.” 

“Oh.” Marinette chewed her lip for a moment, and then decided. “Well, I live really close by. Would you...like to come hang out at my place until it passes?”

He blinked. “You don’t have to do that. It’s just a summer storm. It’ll pass quickly.” 

“You didn’t have to do this, either,” Marinette smiled, making a slight gesture with the box she held. His eyes flicked down to it, and then back to her face, and Marinette suddenly had to swallow, a nervous fluttering starting up in her stomach—but nervous in a warm, pleasant way, not the jittery, mixed-up feeling she’d had a little while ago. 

Luka smiled slowly. “Then, if it’s okay with you, sure. Lead the way.” 

Marinette held up Adrien’s borrowed umbrella, and beckoned Luka with the hand that still held the cookie box. “Here, you take these back for a minute,” she suggested, and when he did, she looped her arm through his and tugged him against her side so that they were both mostly protected by Adrien’s umbrella. Now if I can just keep from tripping on my own feet, she thought, as they started down the steps. 

“Which way?” asked Luka, as they approached the bottom, and Marinette giggled. 

“Funny story about that, actually,” she said, turning him towards the intersection where they had met, facing the bakery.

[nocapesdahling]

As the World Falls Down - Chapter 2

Helmut Zemo x Gender Neutral Reader

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter Summary: In which we hear a little from Helmut Zemo, the city is flying, and you find a baby. Not necessarily in that order.

Rating: Mature (17+)

Chapter Warnings/Tags: Slow Burn; Here there be angst; Accidental Child acquisition; Mentioned child neglect by others

A/N: I made myself sad while writing this chapter, knowing that certain things mentioned will never happen. Here begins the forewarned angst. Maybe once I finish this story, I’ll write a fluffy AU.

Chapter 2: Beneath a Fallen Sky (Age of Ultron) - Part 1

Word Count: 2.1k

Colonel Helmut Zemo repositioned his earpiece. He was not a man prone to fidgeting and never had been, especially on the job, but he had counted his squad after they had gotten clear of the city and they were one short.

You were missing.

His family was safe, his squad was safe, but you were not. While he kept his expression neutral, inside was a different story. You had to be here somewhere. You just had to be. He would not accept any other outcome. Once they arrived at their base outside the city, he searched room after room and asked person after person and could not find you. You were not in the Mission Control Room or in your workshop fiddling with your gadgets. You did not seem to be anywhere, which meant that he had to consider the idea of you still being in the city.

“Q, come in Q. Where are you? Branko is in need of you. He broke his new infrared glasses and Ana tore her body armor. Don’t ask me how she did it, darling. We thought it was indestructible, but you know Ana. She took that as a challenge.” He let a hint of his desperation show in his voice. “Q, please come in.”

All Zemo heard was static before a voice, your voice, answered and he breathed out in relief. “Hey, Boss.” you started haltingly. You sounded tired and out of breath. “Well, I’m still in the city.” Here, you paused and Helmut’s hand clenched into a fist. “We’re in the air, Helmut... I don’t know if I’m going to make it. You’ll have to give Carl his birthday gift from me. I think he’ll like it.”

His smile was filled with clenched teeth and looked more like a grimace. “Even now, you joke, my Q. Even now.”

__________________

You held back a sob at the pain you could hear in his voice.

You had been meant to rendezvous with the rest of your squad at the checkpoint, but had stopped as you passed an orphanage. You thought you had heard a baby crying, but that couldn’t be right. The orphanage looked to be and should be empty. You strained your ears, knowing you couldn’t leave a baby or a child there to die. There it was again, a baby’s cry. You knew your squad was long gone, but you reassured yourself with the thought that you could easily catch up with them after you saved the baby.

You searched through the rooms on the lower floor before finding one with cribs. No baby was in sight. You paused, hearing fighting and chaos outside. Knowing that you had to move quickly, you hoped for another cry. Just as you were about to dig out your infrared glasses from your pack, there it was again. There was a cry coming from behind some hospital style curtains. You pushed them aside and found what looked like a newborn baby or close to it, abandoned before their life could even start.

You didn’t have much experience with kids, but hoped your time as a babysitter would help somewhat. You had been the babysitter for the family with twins that lived in the apartment complex a few blocks over. They had been cute kids, a boy and a girl, but they weren’t babies. You had been on the job when their apartment was bombed and heard the news afterwards. Even with your connections, you had no luck in finding out what happened to them. You assumed they died alongside their parents and mourned them accordingly. You were never able to bring yourself to watch The Dick Van Dyke Show anymore. It brought back too many memories.

You picked the baby up and cradled her to your chest as she blinked her eyes up at you. Well then, maybe not as newborn as you had supposed. Her eyes had already settled on a color that was close to your own. It was a bit uncanny. You smiled at her, tickling heir stomach as you checked her diaper. You crinkled your nose at the smell. “I see that’s why you’re crying, little one. Let me fix that for you.”

You laid the baby down to change her when her eyes scrunched up and she let out an almighty wail. “Oh my, little one. What strong lungs you have. What about a song? How does that sound, hmm?”

The baby continued to cry and squirm, and you knew this needed to be done quickly as the sounds of fighting had escalated outside and you didn’t want the robots to be alerted to your presence.

You began to sing, “We have been waiting for you. Now you are here. More perfect than I imagined. Our house is now a home. No matter where you go. Sunlight shines on you.” You sang the lullaby again as the baby stopped crying and blinked sleepily.

“There. All done. I’m glad you liked it, though I don’t know if I’m much of a singer. My mother used to sing it to me. You should hear my friend sing. He has such a lovely deep voice and my godson loves it when he sings ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’. I’m sure they’ll both be excited to meet you.”

You smiled down at her and searched the room, finding a baby carrier hidden behind some blankets and formula in the fridge in the next room over. You lifted the baby and put her in the carrier, strapping it to your chest and chatting idly all the while. You noted that she must be around 4 to 5 months old as she supported her own head just fine. You fed her the formula, mopping up her chin, and prepared yourself to go outside. You positioned yourself by the window, gun in hand and infrared glasses in place. There didn’t seem to be any robots in the vicinity at the moment, which meant that it was time to leave and catch up with your squad. You checked the baby one last time and were glad to see that she was still asleep.

You were ready. You stepped outside the orphanage and started to jog in the same direction you were going earlier, doing your best not to jostle the baby. Maybe, you could get through this and get both you and your little charge to safety. Maybe, you would see Helmut again. Then, the street behind you began to splinter and crumble and the ground gave a great lurch. The city had begun to rise from the ground.

__________________

You debated what to do and came up with some semblance of a plan that had at least a 65% success rate. That was not in the least bit promising, but it was better than the 0% chance you had if you stayed here. You needed to get you and your new passenger off the city somehow, and this was the only plan you had thought of so it would have to do.

You had ducked down in an alley that you recognized as not too far from one of your favorite cafes when your phone began to ring. Quickly, you picked it up and answered it with a brief glance at the caller ID. It was Helmut. __________________

“... Even now, you joke, my Q. Even now.”

“Well, Helmut, you know me. Always look on the bright side of life, even when the city is flying and you’re carrying an orphaned baby.”

“A baby, Q?” His tone was disbelieving and you could picture what he would have said if he were here in front of you. “Only you, Q, could get yourself into this mess. For someone so intelligent, you can be kind to the point of stupidity. I admire it as I admire you, but you must not let your compassion come before your safety.”

“Yes, Helmut. A baby. I think I’ll call her Alena. Maybe give her Heike as a middle name. What do you think? Oh, and you’ll be the godparents of course?”

You could hear Helmut let out a heavy breath and the slight hitch in his voice when he answered. “We’d be honored, Q. Heike will be thrilled and Carl will love having a new playmate. They’ll be like brother and sister I’m certain, eating Turkish Delights even when I’ve specifically told them not to.”

You laughed a bit wetly. “That’ll be nice. If we can get out of the city. We have something to look forward to. Cavities galore.”

He laughed and when he spoke his voice was softer than normal. “You’ve always had a soft heart, darling Q. My friend, I told you that your compassion might get you killed one day.” There it was. You knew he wouldn’t be able to resist commenting on what he sometimes thought of as a weakness of yours. You also knew that he wouldn’t have you any other way. He sounded composed over the line, but you knew him well enough to know that he was suppressing everything and trying to hold it back for you to keep your focus on your current situation.

On the other side of the phone, Zemo was glad that he was alone so no one could see their leader fighting to keep his emotions contained. Now was not the time to be showing weakness in front of his squad. They needed him controlled and composed.

You were the only member of his squad that he could be soft with anyway.

“I guess you were right, Boss. I guess you were right. But I’m going to do my best to make sure that today’s not that day.” You paused, holding in a sob. If you weren’t careful and if your plan didn’t succeed, then today would be that day.

Over the course of the conversation, you had been walking as fast as you could, without jostling Alena too much, in the direction of your apartment that was luckily in the center of the city. You dodged more robots, and had the brief thought that whoever had made these things had to be compensating for something.

Why else would they have made so many?

You continued, mustering your nerve as you finally came in sight of your apartment. “I love you, Helmut. You know that, right?”

“I love you too, my Q.” He responded without hesitation.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Helmut. The absolute best. Give my love to Carl and Heike.”

You had reached your apartment as the robots all began to fly towards the bridge side of the city, leaving the way clear for you. “Goodbye, Helmut Zemo. Use that exploding pen at least once for me, won’t you?”

With that, you ended the call and turned off your earpiece. You wanted to spare him what could be your final moments and selfishly did not want to hear a goodbye from him. It might be cruel of you to not give him the closure you now had, but a goodbye from him felt too final. It meant you would never see him or the little smiles he gave you, when he didn’t think it would be professional to laugh at your little asides during mission briefings, again.

Just the thought of never seeing Helmut smile or hearing him laugh again made your tears fall, which you quickly wiped away before they could hit Alena. You brushed your fingers through her baby fine hair and checked on her. “Still asleep, little one? It’s been a hard day for us and it’s about to get harder, but that’s okay because I have a plan.” Your eyes filled with determination as you walked towards your apartment’s makeshift workshop. You had just the project in mind for this.

__________________

You were unaware that in your squad’s base, Zemo was staring at his phone in horrified disbelief. You had hung up on him, and he was unable to help you from here. He was a powerful man, and this feeling of powerlessness both stunned and devastated him.

He could not save you.

Zemo threw the phone, smashing it against the wall, and screamed your name. Not Q, but your full name, the name he hadn’t called you in years. He received only silence in return. He trashed the room until his hands were bloody and as he fell to the ground, he finally allowed his anguish to break free and sobbed. He had not cried like this in years. The destruction of the room and his tears weren’t enough.

Nothing would ever be enough again.

He did the only thing he could do as he recalled your last words. “I will, my Q. I promise.”

Tag List: @rumblelibrary​

A/N: I couldn’t help myself with the reference to the Maximoffs. The Sokovian lullaby is the translated version of the one Wanda sings in WandaVision. Please let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list for this series.

[murder-raven13]

My Haikyuu Ships pt. 2

A/N: This is the continuation of my Haikyuu ships and the reason I ship them. 

Warning(s): cursing, somehow these kind of turned into small relationship headcanons for some of them, not proofread, looooong

Word Count: 2,373

Part 1 Part 3

Yaku x Lev

Honestly, the height different is a big deal for me. So fucking cute, like...just what? Plus, Yaku is a grumpy smol and Lev is a happy toll and I just-

But Yaku is grumpy chaotic and Lev is puppy [and a little oblivious] chaotic and them together is just adorable chaotic. Lev irritates Yaku so much in the beginning [which, like, understandable; Lev’s a cocky idiot], but manages to learn how to deal with him. Develops an exasperated fondness for the giant. Lev learns how to control himself a little because of Yaku [this is partly because now Lev has a singular target for his mischief]. They’re just so cute and Yaku is so done [was highkey mad at himself when he caught feelings]. Lev was definitely to type to fall in love at first sight. 

Suga x Oikawa

Okay, Okay, so like I don’t know how this one started for me. But I love them, okay? They don’t like each other at first because they’re rivals, not just because they’re on different teams but because they’re both setters. But then Oikawa also thinks Suga is unfairly pretty [who doesn’t?] and Suga returns the sentiment [the level of pretty in this relationship should be illegal; it has reached critical mass]. And then Oikawa finds that Suga is an instigating little gremlin who physically abuses people as a form of affection. And Suga finds that Oikawa is super dedicated and a literal perfect director when it comes to people [he can literally make anyone sing any tune he wants with his smile]. So, these two get along like a house on fire. Two manipulative meanies. They get into so much mischief together [Iwaizumi swears he’s going to kill them or himself]. But they also are just really soft. Like, Oikawa will burrow himself into Suga’s side no matter where there are or what position they’re in [clingy baby]. And Suga will bury his hands in Oikawa’s sweater whenever they’re cold [loves the way Oikawa will shriek if he touches his skin with his cold hands]. They leave sticky notes in each other’s bags or random places for the other to find [eventually] with little compliments or things on them. Just, they’re conniving, adorable bastards and I hate them. 

Terushima x Daichi

This is another one where I don’t know where the fuck it came from. I’m not even sure I have a reason behind this other than Terushima being a smug asshole and Daichi having none of it. Terushima is a ball of reckless energy and he doesn’t take anything seriously despite being ridiculously intelligent [boy is in Class 7]. And Daichi, bless his soul, is a dad. All he does is take shit seriously and chorale reckless idiots onto the right path. So, when they get together, Terushima ensures that Daichi lets loose and doesn’t forget to take care of himself [by making sure he’s not too stressed or overworking himself]. And Daichi is, like, all of Terushima’s impulse control. Honestly the only reason Terushima doesn’t die. So, they keep each other on track and make sure that each is happy and doing their best. Just a very chill, well-balanced couple. 

Ushijima x Tendou

These are both my babies and I cannot with them. Their cuteness hurts me. Ushijima is so stoic and so single-mindedly dedicated to the things that matter to him and the list of things that matter to him is short: volleyball, his family, and Tendou. That’s it. Man is legit just completely dedicated to Tendou, no questions asked, would help him bury a body. But he sucks at communication and showing his emotions. And that’s never been a problem with Tendou. Tendou never got tired of talking to him, never stopped trying to include him, was never bothered by how little Ushijima talked and Ushijima literally loves this man so much. And Tendou, my adorable little baby, was so lonely and so insecure. He expected everyone to judge him for his appearance or to leave him because he’s annoying or a freak. But Ushijima literally does not care about Tendou’s looks not being conventional; he thinks he’s attractive all the same and has no problem telling Tendou this. And Ushijima has made a sustained effort to interact with Tendou’s interests because he knows it makes Tendou happy [Tendou talks to him about his interests, so Ushijima makes sure he knows all of them so these conversations can happen]. Just, they’re so perfect, I can’t.

Tendou x Semi

Big, energetic Tendou with grumpy, stoic Semi. Gives me life. Semi acts irritated with Tendou’s antics, but he loves them, really. And Tendou knows it, too. Teasing little shit; Semi never gets a break. Tendou helps Semi whenever he’s feeling down because he’s not doing as well as he hoped [Semi wants to be the best but being the best is hard]. And Semi helps Tendou remember that opinions don’t matter; that he likes Tendou for all those weird, annoying qualities Tendou sometimes hates. They’re very sweet and, surprisingly, Semi is the one that initiates most serious physical contact [he initiates their first kiss, their first real hug, their first cuddle session, their first time, all of it] because Tendou wants to make sure that everything is going at Semi’s pace since Semi isn’t as comfortable with touch or intimacy. A very sweet, yet playful couple. 

Shirabu x Goshiki

The small, itty-bitty amount of information I’ve been given about these boys is criminal. But I’ve seen enough to ship this. Goshiki is overzealous and a people pleaser; he just wants to be good enough to be great. One of the ones that wants to prove himself more than anything else. Praise is received extremely well. Shirabu, on the other hand, wants the opposite. He doesn’t want to be the best, he doesn’t want to be the one everyone relies on. He wants to be more of an invisible support beam, a minor cog in an overall grand and powerful machine. He’s not very forthcoming with his emotion, unless that emotion is annoyance or disdain. Goshiki tries to be cool, but can’t really keep his emotions in check very well. So, they, as a couple, play a kind of tug-of-war. Goshiki constantly pulls for more and Shirabu constantly pulls for less, which keeps the two of them balanced, putting out just enough that they’re constantly improving, just in subtle ways instead of grandiose ones. Shirabu tries to pretend he’s not a softie, but he is [only for Goshiki, though, who basks in the little moments Shirabu lets him have of uninhabited affection, whose rarity makes them worth the world to Goshiki]. 

Nishinoya x Tsukishima

This one came about because of the lowkey abusive relationship Noya has with Tsukishima. Noya is like 5′2 and Tsukki is like a whole foot taller. Yet Noya can and will stand up to Tsukki and let him know when he’s being an ass, physical methods used as necessary [most of this is limited to hitting his side or messing with his glasses if Tsukki’s face is within reach]. Noya will also mock Tsukki, playfully, and reminds him of his age, which is good for Tsukki because he’s chronically withering inside his little tsundre shell. Noya is also highkey really supportive. Whenever Tsukki does something good, no matter how subtle it is, Noya is there to give him recognition for it, which, again, reminds Tsukki that he can be nicer and that Noya can see him even when he’s trying to hide. And Noya has fun with Tsukki because he keeps him on his toes; they have a fun relationship built of just the right amount of trust and ‘lets remember to have fun’.

Daichi x Kuroo

My captain babes. Daichi and Kuroo both have very forthcoming personalities. But Kuroo is much better at remembering that it’s important he acts goofy and stupid sometimes because he’s a student, a kid, and carry a lot of stress. Daichi isn’t so good at this. He’s gotten so used to dealing with reckless children that need him to be a serious iron fist that he’s forgotten that he needs to let go sometimes and that that’s okay. Kuroo helps him remember this. And their relationship is built around understanding. When one needs help or a little space to deal with their serious stuff, the other is right there to be the pillar they need. If they need to goof around and forget a little, they’re there and prepped with hot chocolate and bad trivia games that Daichi sucks at. When they’re both stressed under piles of work, they never forget the other. They’ll sit next to each other at the table, on the bed, on the couch, the floor, with their legs or their shoulders or their feet lightly touching, just as a reminder that they’re there. If one falls asleep, the other will save their work and haul them to bed because sleeping slumped over isn’t any good. Out of my ships, this is definitely one of the best, in terms of matching and functionality as a serious couple. 

Kuroo x Bokuto

They’re relationship isn’t as serious. Bokuto is a refugee for Kuroo, a place where he can unapologetically turn his brain off. He doesn’t have to be a captain or responsible or the top of his class. He can just be Kuroo and Bokuto has fun with him. They go on adventures and play volleyball together, experimenting with new moves or ideas all the time. Definitely the couple that would regularly go to the amusement park or the fair. Kuroo gives Bokuto his undivided attention whenever they’re together and spoils the hell out of him and Bokuto’s mood swings don’t bother him, he knows what to do. Boys are very committed to each other; they can’t imagine ever not being together because their relationship is just so fun and comfortable. It’s safe and loving, without a doubt, because they are, first and foremost, best friends. 

Yaku x Kuroo

Hated each other at first because their middle school teams were rivals. And Yaku’s a grumpy little gremlin that can be a little too serious sometimes. But that’s just until he relaxes. Once he’s comfortable with people, he gets a lot less serious and just a little less grumpy [he’s an angry smol and my mind cannot be changed]. But he loves Kuroo. Can’t help snorting at Kuroo’s god awful chemistry pickup lines; they’re just that bad. He loves them, though. And he can throw them right back. They have chemistry and physics debates all the time, often while doing something completely non-serious, like Twister or that headband game. Kenma can’t stand being around them because they throw insults at each other like they’re compliments, loving voices and touches and all. Kuroo is always touching Yaku, will literally reach for him completely subconsciously, a fact Yaku mocks him ruthlessly for despite that fact that he always adjusts himself to fit the contact better [because he’s just as clingy as Kuroo, just not as openly]. Sickeningly cute behind closed doors, only mildly affectionate in public. 

Oikawa x Kuroo

A couple that met later in life. I ship them as college students, to be honest. But they would be cute. Kuroo is goofy and a science nerd; Oikawa would alien talk him into a stupor. Iwaizumi is just glad he is no longer the sole participant in Oikawa’s space conversations. These two would casually come up with plans to demolish their opponent’s spirit and have fun doing it. Plot murder together on a regular Tuesday night. Would definitely be able to calm the other down when they began to take shit too far. 

Ushijima x Oikawa

[Can y’all tell I’m a whore for the enemies to lovers trope?]

Ushijima is a huge ball of attractive stoic that doesn’t know how to properly act on his feelings. Has always admired Oikawa as a setter [legit has crushed on this boy since the first time they plated a game together in middle school and Oikawa vowed to beat him]. Ushijima has no problem telling Oikawa how much he admires his playing, his skill, and his determination to win no matter what. Oikawa had no idea in high school that Ushijima’s interactions with him were Ushijima’s way of showing he liked him. He saw it as antagonization because Ushijima thought he was better [Ushijima thought they would have been their best together]. His growing feelings for Ushijima forced Oikawa to face some of his own securities and grow as a person. Had to go through almost an entire identity crisis when he realized he was in love with Ushijima of all people. Iwaizumi wanted to throw his entire phone away Oikawa called him to whine so much. And Oikawa’s lack of understanding Ushijima’s advances forced Ushijima to become more adept at reading others and expressing his own feelings in a concise, clear way. 

Kenma x Yamamoto

This is my favorite Kenma ship and one of my favorite overall ships. Let me tell you why. I did not ship them until season 4 because I didn’t know much about their relationship until then. But Tora and Kenma are another set that didn’t get along at first. Their personalities makes them natural antagonists to the other. Yamamoto is a try hard and always gives 120% in everything he does. Kenma is the type to give a very efficient 70%, meaning that he finds the best ways to get the same results 100% would have gotten, just without as much work put into it. And they have such a grudging respect for the other at first, once they begin to come to terms with the other. That respect grows and becomes the foundation for their relationship. They know that the other is going to do their job and they’re going to do it well. They have complete faith in the other and when they work together, their personalities become magnified. Kenma relies on Tora to be forthcoming and Tora expects Kenma to find the best way to do things. They just, they’re perfect, and I love them. Please, why is there so little content for this ship?

On that note, Imma end this. There will probably most definitely be a part 3 to this because I don’t have free time, but that’s never stopped me. 

[khaotic-kitsunes]

Cast Aside

That’s okay! I usually hate requests that just ask for a character, but this time I thought of something, so it’s okay!

I really hope you enjoy this scenario because it took fucking ages to write, but either way, feel free to come scream at me with your thoughts! Have a great day~

Click Me 

Cheeky Kitsune 🦊💋

.

  You smiled as the gentle breeze washed over you, the sound of rustling leaves filling you with such peace, you could almost forget your current troubles. It was such a shame that your life of freedom was to be cut short so soon, instead, you would be taken by the Kitsune your village worshipped. After that, it was impossible to say. You might not even survive the encounter.

  The only comfort that you were allowed was the fact that you were alone. Though unable to escape due to the wooden pillory that currently restricted your movements, you found that being surrounded by nature and not having the cruel villagers to bother you made it so much easier to accept your fate.

  Until the sound of fallen leaves crunching reached your ears. The moment you heard that sound, unmistakable panic began to fill your body, swallowing you up completely until you were struggling with all your might against the restraints that you knew would never break from your efforts.

 .

  “So, this is what humans will resort to…”

 .

  You went still the moment he entered your vision, standing tall yet relaxed, disgust apparent on his features. A kitsune with hair both as white as snow and as red as the flames you loved to stare at, at night.

  “What is your name? Little human…” He questioned, his head tilting to the side while your eyes ran over his figure, taking in the strange sight of his tails. Half white, half red. Yet the one in the middle, that you could only barely see from behind his head, was split in the middle perfectly.

  Such a strange sight to see before your life ends.

 .

  “…(Name)…”

 .

  You knew it wasn’t right, to give your name to the creature in front of you. Supposedly gods of great mischief, giving your name was practically inviting trouble to your doorstep, and yet somehow, you found yourself unbothered by the idea of the Kitsune knowing who you are, who you were before this humiliation.

  “…Your village offered up human women to my old man. Before he died. Never like this, so tell me” He paused, moving forwards to run a hand over the sturdy wood that held you hostage to the situation, the pillory burning away in an instant; leaving you completely unharmed.

  “Why are you not treated the same? Have your people grown weary?” He pressed, watching you with only the faintest hints of curiosity while you stood to your full height, rubbing at your tender wrists. Standing like that since first light had been unbelievably uncomfortable, your wrists felt like they were burning and thrashing about like you had just before certainly hadn’t helped any.

  “Are you really so interested in my story? I’m just a human” You pointed out quietly, glancing at him in time to see the slight nod of his head, a surprisingly graceful action from a kitsune that seemed so casual.

  “They don’t see me as one of them. My family, killed during the night for claims that were untrue and after that, I was captured, called a witch and punished by being declared ‘sacrifice’ for the kitsune god” You explained, your voice soft as you spared the village a quick glance; even if you couldn’t see the place you had called home all your life, you knew it was there. That they had most likely forgotten about your existence already.

  “Ridiculous. If you were really a witch, you would not have been found out, let alone caught” He scoffed, his ears flicking about from atop his head with each noise that sounded out in the seemingly peaceful clearing.

  “I have refused each offering since the passing of their so-called god. I am not my father, I will not take a human for my needs” He muttered out flatly, turning his back to you swiftly while his tails swayed about behind him. A thick, fluffy wall between the two of you.

  “But if they have casted you aside…you are welcome to come with me of your own volition.” He added, glancing back towards you while you blinked in surprise, not quite able to grasp a hold of the sudden opportunity that had been offered to you.

 .

~  ~  ~

 .

  “Is something the matter?”

 .

  You looked back at Shouto slowly, a small smile tugging at the edges of your lips while you shook your head; memories of your first encounter with the kitsune flashing through your mind. As it always did whenever you thought of the past, before you met him, before you were introduced to a life full of love and warmth.

  “No, no…it’s just…such a beautiful day” You whispered, turning your head back to look at the surrounding scenery, a silent appreciation filling you while strong arms wrapped around your midsection, pulling you back into the well-muscled chest that belonged to your one and only.

  “…Just like that day, right?” He questioned, his lips brushing up against your ear while he nuzzled you tenderly, showering you with the love and affection he would often need to assure you that you deserved. Shouto found it impossible to comprehend, just how much you struggled to love yourself. To let yourself enjoy such a quiet, happy life.

  However, he also understood that the best way for him to respond, would be to support you when you needed it most, to be there for you.

  “Mm, exactly like that day…hard to believe it’s already been five years” You let out a breath, your eyes fluttering shut while you leaned back into Shouto, silently appreciating the way he held you close.

  “Well, time does pass quickly” He reasoned, lifting you into his arms before walking off inside; causing your eyes to snap open while you squirmed within his hold, confusion setting in.

  “Shouto, what are yo—” He cut you off with a heated kiss, stealing your breath away as he always did before laying you down on the modest bed that you shared with him on the nights he didn’t spend wandering around the area.

  Your head spun as you pushed yourself up into a sitting position, only to have his lips against your once again, deep and meaningful kisses distracting you while his hands explored the body that he had explored countless times before now; he most definitely was not afraid to say that he never tired of you.

  You were perfect, at least, you were in his eyes. So perfectly imperfect, human. The love of his life.

  “Just…enjoy this, let me love you”

  Before long, Shouto was between your legs, naked and pressed up against you while your arms pulled him closer still, wrapped around his neck as his lips trailed along your neck, littering your sensitive skin with kisses and playful nips.

  His hips moved at a slow yet steady pace, one that you could not rush and instead chose to enjoy, soft moans making his ears twitch each time he moved just right. It wasn’t often you could enjoy such a nice moment. Usually, he would coax you into a state of bliss before filling you with his knot until you could take no more; but occasionally, when the moment called for it, Shouto would take things slow. So that you might lose yourself in a world of warmth and pleasure, to enjoy a slow build-up of desire.

  Shouto Todoroki was not a kitsune that was very good with his emotions and stating them clearly but for you, he tried. For you, he put in that extra effort and left his comfort zone, if only to see your smile. To hear your happy voice.

 .

  “Shouto…”

 .

  He groaned out quietly at the sound of your needy whisper, his name sounding nothing short of heaven from your plump lips. He could die happy, right then and there, but instead, he merely immersed himself in your body, thrusting his hips until you were moving against him, trying to fit his knot inside of you before he was ready to fill you with his seed. A habit you had developed early on in the relationship; though he didn’t mind too much.

  It felt amazing and admittedly, made him finish faster, having you squeeze down on him like that so soon.

  “(Name), not yet…” He moaned into your ear, moving his hips just a little harder, in hopes of satisfying your need for more; he had plans for you.

  “Not yet, soon” Shouto promised quietly, his tails beginning to wrap around your body once a whine of disappointment began to build up in the base of your throat. You weren’t an omega, just a human. However, hearing such a noise set off his instincts and his instincts would always demand that he comfort you until you were happy once more.

  “Shh, soon…I promise” He whispered, closing his eyes as he buried his head in the crook of your neck, his thrusts beginning to pick up in pace as his knot throbbed, slowly swelling up while he neared his end. From the way you were moaning, whining out in protest, he could tell you were just as close and just as desperate for release as he was.

  “Inside…please? Fill me up…” You bit your lip as you spoke, face heating up in embarrassment when Shouto paused for a moment, his pace immediately picking up seconds later. It was so very rare of you to ask for that, Shouto always knotted you when he made love to you.

  Yet you rarely ever asked him for that specifically. Usually during his ruts to satisfy his instincts; there was something different about hearing it without prompt. It set something off inside of him and soon enough, he found himself burying his knot inside of you over and over again.

  Right up until the point he could no longer pull out of you, his knot throbbing as he released his seed inside of you, spurring on your orgasm; leaving you a panting mess beneath him, your body glistening from sweat in such a way, he found himself moving his hips whilst still inside of you.

  “A-Ah, S-Shouto…Shouto wait!” You moaned out as his hips continued to move, the feeling of his knot tugging at your entrance with each thrust driving you insane while he trailed kisses up along your neck, stopping only to claim your lips in one final kiss, his tongue greedily prodding at your lips; demanding you appease him by opening your mouth to him.

  He wanted every inch of you, you were his and he needed you to know that. You were Shouto’s perfect imperfection, his weakness and his strength.

  His everything.

[hiuythn]

do u have any krbk fics that u can rec? any favorites of urs! ☺️

you’re in luck bc i just made a rec list for a friend so i have this ready for you

also i’ve got over 200 krbk bookmarks on ao3 so feel free to check that out if you finish this rec list.

all (except one) of these are completed. they're in no particular order. i tried to find ones that are less known, bc idk how much you've read but i'm assuming all the popular ones are familiar to you. happy reading! 💖💖💖

Inevitable - Legendaerie - 8k - mature CLASSIC 'bkg thinks they've been together and kiri thinks he's still pining' TROPE. it's INCOMPREHENSIBLE to me why this doesn't have more fucking kudos!!! why!!!

Tiny Truths - Quirk Archivist (OneHitWondersAnonymous) - 4k - teen bkg gets de-aged. kid him reveals sth to class 1a, more imptly, to KIRI, abt some ideas about what it means to open a hero agency together. it's super adorable!!

Punch My Mouth with Your Mouth - QuestCat44 - 4k - teen bkg spars with deku more bc OfA is acting up and he's the only one in the know. kiri gets jealous but he's so good-natured that his jealousy is only bc he misses sparring/spending time with bkg. BKG, on the other hand, is worried kiri is mad for different reasons asdkjfhasdhfa

all according to keikaku........... - carolinaa - 8k - teen the title should already tell you how good this is. I LOVE JEALOUSY FICS WHEN THEY'RE MORE FUNNY THAN ANGSTY AND THIS IS SO FUNNY. kiri gets tired of deku being a pussy around todo and decides to flirt with todo to get deku jealous enough to do sth about it. bkg and todo are both horrified for VERY different reasons DHADSKDFHJS

doll me up - shizuumi151 - 6k - gen kiri gets turned into a doll by a kid's quirk and no one knows. bkg still ends up caring for him :’)

These Words Are Ours - deviance - 2k - teen soulmate au but bkg figures who's going to say his words before it happens, and honestly that's kind of the point. he's not the type to fall in love at first sight. he MAKES the choice to love kiri and that, my friends, is my kind of soulmate au.

all good things need sunshine - shizuumi151 - 3k - teen FLORIST KIRI. BKG WANTS A BOUQUET THAT SAYS  'FUCK YOU'

Flour Power - WingSongHalo - 26k - teen KRBK HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF A BAG OF FLOUR AND PRETEND IT'S THEIR BABY

feedback loop - bigstupidjellyfish - 1k - teen PRO HERO BKG GETS THROWN BACK IN TIME FOR A BIT AND MEETS MIDDLE SCHOOL KIRI AND HE'S SO SOFT TO HIM ASDFHKASDFJ. i am a big fan of bkg being a fan of kiri. i can't get ENOUGH OF IT. can someone give me more fics like this

mixed signals - bigstupidjellyfish - 2k -teen a short 'what if' fic where kiri and bkg went to the same middle school. bkg's still an ass but kiri's still his equal it seems, and is just as good as handling him as ever

Trash Goblin Finds Love - wrunic - 4k - teen COFFEE SHOP AU. BARISTA   KIRI GETS SICK ONE TIME AND BKG MAKES HIM SOUP AND FORCES KIRI'S COWORKER TO DELIVER IT ASDJHFS

Dreaming of a White Mocha Christmas - let_me_wander - 8k - teen ANOTHER COFFEE SHOP AU.  BARISTA KIRI AND HIS FAV CUSTOMER ;) GET SNOWED IN  

Something Warm - let_me_wander - 15k - teen YES FOLKS IT'S A A A ANOTHER COFFEE SHOP FIC, THAT'S RIGHT!! BARISTA BKG THIS TIME. also kr is in a band and writes a song for bkg asdfhksjd

Kneel - deviance - 7k - explicit idk if you wanted explicit stuff but this is pretty light sub stuff, they're not even properly together at the beginning, and there isn’t sex til the end. i just liked how kiri is the only one bkg would rely on for sth this private, and it's more emotional than it is sexual?

Everyone Knows That Cats Are Independent - PurplePersnickety - 39k - teen YET. ANOTHER. COFFEE SHOP AU. but also?? daemons?? katsuki's got a lionness, and kiri has a...i'll let you find out. anyway they become closer and closer and closer and the flirting is so fucking excruciatingly obvious but cute and sdkjfhasdjs it's such a queer experience like 'is he...no he cant be...but what if he did like me - no that's not possible. but what if?' and they get so domestic sometimes i swear i'm about to puke from how cute it is. this is my fav coffee shop au ngl

Broken Bridges - DeathBelle - 68k - explicit plot fic!! krbk loses touch after gradutation. kiri comes back from korea and starts to work together with bkg, dealing with a series of murders and MAN the action is 👌 easy to follow but it hits all the beats, has that Flow. krbk being a power couple will never get old!!

Of Ghosts and other Inaccurate Things - chezka - 56k - gen pretty sure you've seen this one around but STILL. BKG FALLING FOR 'GHOST' KIRI IS BEST. this au really takes FULL COMPLETE advantage of the fact that krbk CANNOT TOUCH and the yearning practically astral-projected me back into the my past life when i was a dung beetle that got crushed under the foot of an elephant. it hurt, basically. but it hurt so good. JUST LET BKG HUG KIRI!!! happy ending ofc.

Catching Bees - MonocerosRex - 2k - teen bkg has to pay his classmates compliments. class 1a hijinks. the krbk in this is short but it made me squeal sdhfkakjl

i'm going to the forest to kick my own ass - WannabeMarySue - 5k - teen TODO PRANKS BKG BUT UNLUCKY FOR HIM BKG IS COMPETITIVE AND ACTUALLY LEARNS SOMETHING

Hair Care 101 - overlymetaromantic - 7k - gen ASDHFASDFHAJKS KIRI MEETS BKG'S MOM BY ACCIDENT AND GETS HAIR HELP AND THEY TALK ABOUT BKG AND IT'S SO. CUTE. AND THEN BKG DYES KR'S HAIR IN THE SECOND CHAPTER AND THEY'RE SO BLUSHY AND SWEET I CAN'T!!

Sometimes We Fall in the Dark - timetoboldlygo - 16k - teen BKG TAKING PHOTOS OF THINGS FOR THERAPY. YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HOW YOU PHOTOGRAPH THINGS YOU TREASURE 👀👀👀

Corn Chip - smol_bird - 23k - teen I DONT FUCKIGN KNOW WHY THIS DOESN'T HAVE MORE KUDOS. IT'S LITERALLY SO GOOD. DEMON KIRI IS JOKINGLY SUMMONED BY BKG AND FRIENDS. THEY FALL IN LOVE. KIRI HAS TO LEAVE. BKG IS DETERMINED NOT TO LET THAT HAPPEN. HAPPY ENDING. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU ASK FOR

'cause i love you for infinity - multiclassmaps - 23k - teen SDHFADSJFASD DEMON AU AGAIN. THIS TIME IT'S KIRI THAT DOES THE SUMMONING. BUT WHY DOES BKG SEEM SO FAMILIAR??? WHAT CAN KIRI DO TO MAKE HIM STAY??

to the beat of your heart - drifting_i - 8k - gen BAND AU. KIRI WORKS AT A RESTAURANT AND SOMEHOW BEFRIENDS DRUMMER BKG AND BKG'S BAND CAN'T BELIEVE THAT KIRI GETS AWAY WITH HALF THE SHIT BKG ALLOWS HIM TO

Playing Favorites - vaporeon_ninja - 2k - gen AKSDJFHJADHFKA BKG GETS CALLED OUT ON HIS KIRI FAVOURITISM

(Not Quite) Proposal - imatrisarahtops - 783 - teen DRUNK BKG IS SAPPY WITH HIS BOYF

something worth remembering - bbuggs - 1k - teen DRUNK BKG AGAIN!!! THIS TIME HE DOESN'T REMEMBER KIRI IS HIS HUSBAND AND HE'S SO DISTRAUGHT ABOUT KIRI BEING TAKEN SDFJHSK

A Dragon's Hoard - chezka - 10k - teen kiri gets turned into a dragon bc of a quirk. LOVE HOW DRAGON KIRI STILL LIKES BKG BEST

Love Notes - PurplePersnickety - 5k - teen LOVE NOTES BKG LEAVES LOVE NOTES FOR KIRI IT'S SO SWEET

Define: Oblivious - PurplePersnickety - 45k - teen this is the second part to Love Notes, it's still updating BUT PLEASE CHECK IT OUT TOO BC KIRI DOES STH SO BADASS DURING PRACTICAL TRAINING I LOVE HIM I REREAD THIS NOW AND THEN JUST FOR HOW COOL HE IS IN THAT ONE CHAPTER. also the steady, careful way krbk define their relationship and bkg's demisexuality is so sweet, so good.

The Hard Easy - dirtbag - 4k - teen this one is pretty popular but i still gotta mention it bc. kissing lessons. KISSING LESSONS!!! i love how eagar bkg is askdfhks

Kitsune's Pride - kytrin, Mslead - 147k - explicit okay this was A DOOZY like i???? the plot???? the time travel and the oni and kitsune stuff???? bkg and kiri being badasses??? bkg wanting the best for kiri and angrily supporting him??? this was the first time i kept up to date with a fic when it was still updating and commenting every chapte,r i was so hooked. and ALSO like the authors have written SO MUCH more longfics like this like they have NOVELS and i REALLY rec you check them out like....bro idk how they do they have so much out already and i think and they're updating two more rn and i'm. their bitch tbh

Burden of Proof - kytrin, Mslead - 153k - explicit OK ONE MORE REC FOR THESE AUTHORS. burden of proof is so. so fcukign good. i have adhd and these guys have never one lost me even tho their fics are upwards of 60k. this fic has dragons, it has plot, it has growth and healing and found families and i WISH i could write sth this intricate.

Burger Kings - plantegg - 5k - teen stupid teenage boys being stupid. kiri blackmails bkg into going on a date asjdfhkdsjfakd

Worth a Thousand Words - awareoftheconcept - 43k - teen SDKJFHASKH THIS IS A GUILTY PLEASURE OF MINE I KNOW THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION TROPE IS OVERUSED BUT I CAN'T HELP FALL FOR ANGSTY KIRI AND OMG THE CONFRONTATION SCENE AT THE END IS SO. SO. SO MOVIE-ESQUE I HATE HOW LAME I AM. basically everyone thinks bkg is dating camie asdkjfhskd

Day 6: Fandom - PullingAllMighters, SweetBrew - 9k - mature bkg and kiri don't know each other until they're pro heros and only bc they start a competition to see who's better and they go to each other's signings undercover and develop crushes on each other and deku is an enABLER ASHAHAJFS

Scales Ain't The Same As Feathers - Julietwasanidiot - 2k - gen GOD THIS IS SO CUTE BABY BKG "FINDERS KEEPERS" A BABY DRAGON KIRI SKDHFHD but he thinks kiri is a chicken

Charades - orphan_account - 4k - teen this is just soft....game night....at one point bkg acts out a really romantic word for charades and he's EMBARRASSED SDJFHA. also kiri falls asleep on him and there's some hair stroking....soft...

Cranky-rishima - PurplePersnickety - 29k - teen kirishima is the one with nightmares in this one and he gets CRANKY and BKG has to be the one to reach out and i thought that was such a fresh reversal loved it

No Secrets to Success - kingdoms - 7k - teen THIS IS MY FAV!! MY ABSOLUTE FAV JUST BC I LOVE IT WHEN FICS MAKE PEOPLE GAPE IN AWE FROM HOW SOFT BKG IS WITH KIRI. also krbk forming their relationship outside of school in this au was so??? sweet??? it's just them hanging out together. ALSO KIRI IS SO GOOD AT POKING BKG'S BUTTONS ASJDFHASK

Built to Fall - bigstupidjellyfish - 68k - explicit pro heros fic. they had a bad breakup in third year and oh god the angst is QUALITY. DW THEY TOTALLY MAKE UP AND IT'S SO FCKN WORTH IT. bkg also got therapy so he’s a little more stable as an adult lol

A Name That You'll Remember - heronfem - 33k - mature bkg is a fail!villain. he fell in with the wrong crowd when he was younger. he doesn't actually do anything wrong. in fact, all of his 'crimes' are generally stopped by kiri and somehow all end up exposing corruption anyway, so he's actually helping. kids love bkg. he always makes sure they're safe before he robs a jewelry store or sth. somehow kiri ends up flirting with him in all their fights and bkg has no idea what to make of him. the public can't get enough of them

strawberry mango sweet - redriotinggg - 9k - teen it's just a really sweet smoothie shop au!!! it's good reliable fluff!! what else can you ask for!!

cultivating something so divine - redriotinggg - 10k - teen redriotinggg yet again, i love this au, it's vet!au and kiri is so good at loving animals that bkg hires him and they fall in love and it's also got some competency porn, as in krbk are hella good at their job like power couple ayy

Tension Reduction - acernor - 10k - explicit Kirishima is a massage therapist and Bakugo needs help relaxing.

Mistletoe? Mistletoe. - Tearsaresalty - 2k - teen class 1a keeps making bkg kiss kiri and neither of them really mind wow i wonder why 🙄

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 269: LAID HIM OUT LIKE A BROCHURE

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor, Mic, and Aizawa finally caught up with Crust and Miruko after 19 years to help deal with the High End Noumus. Aizawa used his quirk on them, but Girl Noumu was able to get away and shoot acid at them all, and that one bone-tentacle-y Noumu was also able to attack Mirko with his quirk. Speaking of Mirko, she spent most of the chapter kicking away at Tomura’s Noumutank like those guys with the battering ram in Beauty and the Beast. Or maybe just kicking it one time very, very slowly while we cut back and forth from the scene. It was hard to tell. But either way, she didn’t quite manage to shatter it and instead just left it all cracked and leaking. Anyway so everyone keeps saying that if Tomura escapes that would be Very Bad, and I’m inclined to agree, especially since Aizawa and Mic are looking all serious and vengeful, and I’m really going to need them to not die, ever.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor helpfully and terrifyingly cauterizes Mirko’s wounds while Aizawa holds off the Noumu with his quirk and buys time for Mic to go after Ujiko and Tomura. Mic and our new optician friend Exress race down the corridor and Mic immediately uses his quirk to shatter Noumuraki’s tank, which is the fastest and most efficient action we have seen in this entire arc so far. Mic then CORDIALLY INTRODUCES UJIKO’S FACE TO HIS FIST, which caused me to have an awakening, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for Tomura, who’s now lying on the ground very much not awake and seemingly dead. So I guess that’s it, guys. Looks like Dabi is the main villain now. Good for you Dabi, those are some pretty big britches to fill. No that wasn’t a crack about your height. God you’re sensitive. And so now we get to wait another two weeks! You know what, let’s just focus on the part where Ujiko got flattened like a paper bag.

so this is the chapter that was originally scheduled to be released on Kacchan’s birthday, but what are the odds he’s not even in it. how do you all think the traffic light trio is doing. this has been the world’s longest evacuation. or do you think they already finished a long time ago and are just hanging out now and being all “can’t wait to hear back from everyone else, I’m sure they’re all fine and dandy.” which would be funny, you see, because everyone else actually isn’t fine and dandy at all! do you get it. ahaha jokes

anyway so this chapter is titled “the three of us”, so I’m guessing there’s more Aizawa/Mic/Shirakumo angst on the horizon! so you’re just going to keep on assaulting my battered heart then, Horikoshi. cool. coolcoolcoolcoolcool

HEY NOW

HORIKOSHI WE TALKED ABOUT THIS. I WILL LAUNCH YOU INTO SPACE

fffff -- okay well whatever!! it’s a manga!! she’ll be fine! they have manga science! Recovery Girl can heal her legs and her side and everything else, and get her a nice new robot arm, and she’ll have a cool scar on her ear. happy thoughts happy thoughts

FFDFSF

IS HE TALKING TO ME OR HER. I FEEL LIKE HE’S TALKING TO ME. don’t worry Endeavor I will look away for this part

lol excuse me what now

5 minutes?? by whose reckoning, exactly?? jesus christ. I bet if he turned his flames off we’d learn that he has grown a whole new actual beard. Endeavor. civilizations have risen and fallen. okay you know what, new theory, Ujiko’s basement lair is somehow running on Narnia time

OH MY FEELS HE SAYS HE OWES HER A DEBT AFTER KYUSHU. referring of course to when she showed up out of the blue to save his ass from Dabi. anyways though how nice of him to express his gratitude by setting all of her wounds on fire

I guess we can stand down from red alert now though since Mirko is clearly going to be just fine

somehow she has more calm while getting her horrific injuries cauterized than I do when trying to decide whether or not to sell electronic turnips in a video game

wuh oh

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HE’S A BARREL OF LAUGHS. actually no that’s a lie, you definitely would have had and did have more fun while fighting Mirko

also, this angle of Endeavor’s face, though

AWAKE! AVAST!! HOLD TIGHT YOUR BUNS! IF BUNS YOU DO HOLD DEAR

god damn it as per usual I have no idea what is going on in action panels even when I stare at them intensely for a full minute or more

I don’t even remember how many Noumus are left at this point now. who’s that sunfish-looking one on the right near Mic?? is he a new one?? is that Crust jumping around in the middle, or is he the one standing near the sunfish Noumu? who is it that’s firing that laser or whatnot in the middle?? did this big Noumu in the foreground on the left just get decapitated??

honestly it seems like they almost have things under control at long last. Aizawa and Mic should just head after Ujiko is already and leave the rest of them to it

so Mirko is now giving them all the details about Tomura and how he’s currently chilling out floating in his sensory deprivation tank

and she’s all DON’T LET SHIGARAKI WAKE UP as if she wasn’t the one trying to smash the capsule open in the previous chapter?? or did she assume he would just sleep through all that lol

also the High Ends have apparently still not completely woken up themselves yet. guess we should be grateful

WELL HELLO

if Aizawa Shouta ever cuts his hair I will declare a national day of mourning

anyways though, reinforcements! about fucking time

did anyone else immediately blink right after reading that last sentence, and then feel a profound gratitude for being able to blink freely at will. holy shit. blinking is so great

what happens if he has to sneeze?? oh my god. and what the fuck why is this a one-man show anyway, where the hell is your husband

okay there he is

“I’m here, too,” says Vision Hero: Exress. and so he is. so what kind of quirk do you have, then, x-ray vision? really hope not, no offense. just don’t see how that would exactly be useful right now. or maybe it’s laser vision, in which case yeah okay we can work with that. you heard the man, go on ahead then

this motherfucker is still alive?!

I really cannot express enough just how steep of a cliff Endeavor has fallen off of in this arc. he has not done a single useful thing aside from the cauterizing. so now it’s up to Eyeballs Hero: Sees Real Good to hopefully somehow oneshot this guy whom the number one hero barely managed to scratch

OH MY GOD AN ACTUAL PLOT TWIST

CRUST ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING. took me a minute to realize he was shouting “go” in that speech bubble, as opposed to randomly screeching out his age, 60

Mic and Aizawa are so hot but I’m feeling such impending doom right now

-- oh no. oh fuck. I just realized -- why are they splitting them up?? sir that’s his emotional support hero

ffff for reals though I feel like Mic doesn’t have the same plot protection as Shouta. and I also feel like this is a very stupid decision in general, and that the guy who can cancel out quirks should be included in the group of people rushing in to capture the scary big bad whose quirk is an insta-kill. but what do I know, I’m just a regular person who didn’t go to hero school and get their hero MBA so MAYBE I’M WRONG. but am I

oh shit oh shit oh shit

not really clear on what Mic is doing here since he should in theory just be running like a normal person, but I can’t complain much about the dynamic pose. and meanwhile Ujiko has finally snapped to the fact that he should have woken Tomura up a good half hour ago!

and on top of all that, it sounds like they didn’t destroy all of their supervillain research data either, so if he does manage to escape we could be right back to square one before long. good thing they definitely positively won’t let him escape!!

OH MY GOD THIS SHIT IS FINALLY HAPPENING AHHHHHH

MIC’S VOICE IS SO POWERFUL IT INSTANTLY SHATTERED THE GLASS WHICH EVEN MIRKO’S NOUMU-DECAPITATING RABBIT LEGS COULD NOT BREAK, OH MY BISCUITS, WE STAN AN ICON AND A LEGEND

DID HE MANAGE TO STOP HIM BEFORE HE ACTIVATED THE WAKEUP SEQUENCE OR WHATEVER THE FUCK? IF YES WHAT IS EVEN GOING TO HAPPEN NOW, WILL TOMURA JUST CURL UP IN A LITTLE BALL AND CONTINUE TO SLUMBER PEACEFULLY WITH HIS HAIR ALL WET. HE’LL CATCH A COLD

BUT FOR REAL THOUGH OBVIOUSLY HE IS GOING TO WAKE UP AHHHHHHHH

nghhh everything’s shattering all dramatically and in slow motion

swear to god if this chapter ends with Tomura opening his eyes while we cut to another two week break, I will... ... ...well I guess I’m about to find out though because that’s exactly what’s going to happen isn’t it

(ETA: if you can sleep through Present Mic’s attack you can really sleep through anything huh.)

lol but first

sploosh. down he goes. timber. still a sleepy boi. I take a nap right here

LORD, MIC IS ABOUT TO RIP UJIKO A NEW ONE AND I’VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE?!

CUE HORIKOSHI CUTTING TO SOME MORE FLASHBACKS OF OBORO TO MAKE US ALL SAD. THAT’S RIGHT, I KNOW ALL OF YOUR TRICKS! BRING IT

1) the fuck is he doing, 2) is this the first time we’ve seen Aizawa call Mic by his name??, and 3) WHAT DID I TELL YOU THOUGH

MY HEART IS A STONE! I FEEL NOTHING! YOU CAN’T HURT ME SO GIVE IT UP. please give it up sob

OH NO

UNDONE BY AIZAWA’S SOFT EXPRESSION AND WISTFUL EYES NOOOO I lied I am not a stone at all I am a big squishy marshmallow of feels oh fuck

OH WOW

DON’T EVER LOOK BACK. ON THE WORLD CLOSING IN!! BE ON THE ATTACK. WITH YOUR WIIIIINGS ON THE WIIIND

he straight up ENDED HIS LIFE. holy shit. 4/24/2020. the day I was sexually attracted to Present Mic

anyways now back to your regularly scheduled sad feelings at the reminder of the fact that yep, Ujiko and all of his fucked up experimenting absolutely did make Aizawa cry. not that I’m saying that’s a crime of even greater magnitude than all his other crimes of kidnapping and torture and research using human children. I absolutely am not saying that. just implying it. in a joking manner. semi-joking. partially. kind of

(ETA: also, belated shout out to the fact that his excuse for doing it was so he could verify that it wasn’t another clone. and since it’s Present Mic, there’s a 74% chance he screamed out “CLONE CHECK!” in English too, which, bless.)

I know there’s a particular side of fandom that largely thinks that all heroes are Garbage Scum, but I mean, look at this scene though of Gazerbeam crouching down to gingerly check Tomura’s vitals. idk, I thought this was surprisingly gentle

I should probably be more concerned about that statement, but truth be told, I’m much more anxious about Gazerbeam going the way of his namesake shortly henceforth. please be careful please I know he looks all floppy and wounded and surprisingly vulnerable --

-- okay, very surprisingly vulnerable --

I really do have a thing for the hair covering the eyes huh. I’m learning things about myself!

but still! he could basically just blink at you at this point and you would turn to dust, Gazerbeam. DUST. ASHES. DEBRIS SCATTERED TO THE WINDS

wow apparently that space tube was doing a lot more than I thought

mhmm. sure. Horikoshi. dude, I can see you sitting there shaking with barely suppressed laughter. did you really think this would get us to let our guards down. are we a joke to you. did you think we would just be all “oh gosh I guess he really is dead then, wow, what a twist”

oh!! the reinforcements!!

did you hear that guys. it’s done. the heroes won and Tomura is dead and it’s really over just like that. what a positive ending for everyone. except Tomura I guess

I’ve said before that U.A. needs to add a course about tempting fate to their curriculum, and I stand by that. this is absurd. it’s like y’all want to die

oh look at that Endeavor finally killed one

was that really so hard. could you not have done that earlier

-- GODDAMN IT ARE YOU REALLY DOING THIS AGAIN

“what if... I dragged it out so much that the dragging-out was the cliffhanger?” that’s some galaxy brain you got there dude. let’s just end the chapter on that WHY NOT

anyway. so there you have it guys. just look how dead he is. that’s the smile of someone who is absolutely, certainly, one hundred percent dead. look at him, all at peace. definitely not gonna finally wake up two weeks from now and properly introduce himself to our new friend Gazerbeam and my new we’re-just-trying-something-out-and-taking-it-slow-and-we’ll-see-where-it-goes boyfriend Present Mic!

lol I can’t lie, these last couple chapters have tested my patience a bit! fortunately this chapter had many saving graces in the form of Mirko, Aizawa, Mic, and for reals though Gazerbeam whom I genuinely did grow attached to almost immediately for reasons beyond my grasping. but I’m starting to get an inkling that Horikoshi is just incapable of pacing himself well whenever the story moves to a basement. or maybe I’m just cranky on account of being holed up in lockdown since time immemorial and only getting my new BnHA fix every other week! maybe, that could be it. maybe. ah well. at least Present Mic punched Ujiko in the fucking face

[1dffchallenges]

I Hear A Rhapsody

Written By: @sunsetter96​

Characters: Anne/Niall

Summary: Anne is a struggling actress trying to advance her career in Los Angeles while making ends meet financially. When she meets Niall, he introduces her to his love and world of music, but they struggle to create a balance between their relationship and their desire for success.

Author’s Note: This is the first chapter to the first story I am writing. Please let me know what you think :)

Warnings: alcohol

2014 — 

It was June, and I'd never felt anything like it before.

Weeks before, I had been driving to an audition for a role in a movie my friend had told me about just a few days prior, and I was in my car, in the middle of possibly the worst Los Angeles traffic I'd ever experienced.

"Please don't tell me it's true," I said to my phone. "Please don't let this be real," I continued, practicing my lines over and over again into the receiver, speaking as if there really was someone else on the line, as if there really was someone there to connect with.

I hadn't had much time to practice in the past few days, only because I'd been so busy with moving into my new apartment. There was that, — and then there was having to start work at the new bookstore location. They had made me acting manager for the first few weeks. I had a long list of things that I had to do in order to help set up the new location, and I think the worst part of it was accounting and payroll. I'm just terrible with numbers.

"Fuck," I said, realizing I had come to a stop in the middle of traffic while rehearsing my lines. Cars were honking like crazy, as if that would somehow make the line move faster, and the man in the car behind me was going wild over the fact that I had come to a stop. I guess it was my fault for being distracted, but at the same time, those 20 feet that were between me and the next car really couldn't have saved us even a marginal length of time with the amount of traffic there was.

When there was enough of a gap to cut through the left lane, he merged and cut me off aggressively before pulling off at the next exit after a few minutes. I was so fucking late, and this guy was pissing me off. 

I got there just minutes before my audition time and almost ran to the door of the building. I think my audition was one of the last ones of the day, so I was lucky they'd even let me in to go through with it. But I went in and made my audition, albeit without enough time to mentally prepare beforehand.

It went well enough, but I could sense right away that I wouldn't be getting a call back from them. I guess it's true that I didn't fit the role as well as I could have. The listing had called for a girl between ages 18-24, for a supporting role in a movie about a group of girls that went to summer camp and did all of that teen stuff, like fall in love and drink and smoke. I did look like a teen, but I suppose I was already on the back end of that age range considering I was 23. I also didn't look like many of the girls that were there for the audition, too — blonde, tan, and skinny — and maybe that's what they were looking for. I was a thin person but not nearly as skinny and fit as some of the girls there, and I had brown hair and brown eyes.

I guess it didn't matter, because I'd find a role that would suit me eventually. At least I hoped so.

*

Later that day I came home feeling like shit, and I didn't even feel like eating or working out. Thankfully I had the day off the next day, so I just laid in bed looking at social media and watched Netflix until I fell asleep.

My roommate woke me up the next day with the sound of her using the blender. I turned around in bed and saw the time. 7:00 a.m. It was too early for this, but I figured it would be worse for me to be depressed and lay in bed all day.

"Cecilia?" I called out after coming out of the bathroom. "Why are you using the blender so early?"

"Sorry dude," she responded. "I'm going out for a run at 8:00, but I wanted to eat something light beforehand, so I made myself a smoothie."

"Oh, that sounds good," I told her. A run actually sounded good despite my tiredness. "Can I come with?"

"Sure," she said. "Let me make you a smoothie, too."

I went back to my room and washed my face and teeth before putting on some workout clothes. Cecilia had made me an icy blueberry smoothie with greek yogurt, and it was absolutely delicious. I think I've always been in love with liquid food (like smoothies or margaritas), because they're so easy. I have a sensitive stomach, but somehow her smoothies have always soothed me, physically and emotionally. 

Maybe I'm just a little bit intense, but I think that's also what drove me to want to act. All of the things that I feel — that emotion and the intensity I seek with others and in simple, everyday tasks — that's what engrosses each line that I act and every character I play. And I hoped in that moment that I could transfer that intense energy to my acting, and maybe one day be recognized for it.

Cecilia and I drank our smoothies and talked about our plans for next weekend. We had been invited to 70s themed party where there would be a live band and an open bar. It was pretty exciting, especially for her, because the guy she had been sort of dating invited her to come and bring a friend.

"His name is Louis," she smiled. "He's a producer, and his company has themed parties sometimes, kind of to help artists network and to celebrate a new release."

"Oh, I see," I said. "Well, I'm just happy that you're enjoying yourself with him. Let's see how this party goes. I'm so excited to get our outfits together and dress 70s style," I laughed.

"I knew you would love that idea! You've always loved 70s rock, so that's right up your alley," she says.

We left the house and ended up running to the park near our neighborhood. I'm actually glad she woke up early that morning, because it forced me to get out of the depressed mood I was in. 

We talked more about what outfits we would wear to the party as we ran, and she decided that she would dress disco themed, while I wanted to wear something more hippie style. My hair was long enough to do the hair style, but I thought it might look nice if I straightened it and wore a flower crown.

"Anne," she said. "I think we should use this opportunity, this party, this experience — to have a lot of fun. It's been so long since we've done something crazy. So yes, we will be drinking margaritas and we will be taking shots this time."

"Okay," I laughed with her. "I'll try to keep up, but it's been a while since I've drank."

We came to a stop at the end of the trail going around the park, and leaned against the rails, looking back at the playground, across the grassy field. In the distance, I could see a couple walking their dog together, holding hands and laughing together. I looked over at Cecilia and she was looking at them, too.

My mind took me back to our past relationships in that moment, and I remembered how it felt to hold someone else's hand like that couple. I remembered that feeling of warmth and security when you held the hand of someone you knew well but also that clamminess you felt when you would first hold hands with someone because you were nervous. I missed that feeling, and I could tell Cecilia felt the same.

We were like that when we were together sometimes. We thought so alike that I felt like she was my other half, and even my soulmate in some sense. I had never felt that for another man, but I did for her, even though I wasn't romantically attracted to her. 

Last year both of us had broken up with our boyfriends within months of each other, and we had decided to move in together after our leases ended. It was interesting how we had both started dating our exes at the same time, when we were just 19, and how we had both spent those three years spiraling in abusive relationships. 

It was sad to think, but somehow I felt that our respective heartbreaks had brought us closer together. We had drifted apart when we got into those relationships, the first long-term relationship we both had ever had, but their ending is what helped our friendship grow even more. She was always there for me when I was grieving, and perhaps it had been destiny that led us to this very moment in time.

You could argue that this moment wasn't anything special, but it was small moments like these that I would always remember.

"I'm so happy you're coming with me to this party," she smiled. "And maybe we'll be able to meet some cute guys there."

"That's true," I laughed at her comment.

We were both looking forward to the party, not just to have fun but to use it as an opportunity to let go of our past, including the pain we had felt for so many years. While Cecilia had dated on and off in the past few months, I couldn't bring myself to open up to anyone yet, especially not to any stranger at a party. It had been months since I had talked to a guy more than casually or as a friend.

"Honestly, I'm just ready to get drunk and forget everything, my inhibitions, all of it," I breathed out.

"Okay, Anne," she laughs. "I'll make sure to be the drink police for you all night. If I don't see a drink in your hand, you'll have to take a shot with me. It's the law — no fighting me and no questions asked!" she points at me.

We both started laughing and talked for a few more minutes, allowing our heartbeats to slow down as we relaxed from our run. When we got home, I spent the rest of the morning relaxing and cleaning up my room and around the house. Cecilia had left for work at 11, so I looked online for more auditions and recorded one video to send to a casting agent for review. 

While I was settling down that evening to eat my dinner, I got a notification from Cecilia on instagram — it was a picture of some guys standing together.

Hey dude, this is the band that's going to play at the party. Louis told me that they're really good.

Thank you <3 I'll check them out, I told her.

I looked up their profile, and they were called "The Breakers." From the picture, I could see that guy Louis had been tagged, and he was posing next to a couple of guys, one of which I guess was the main songwriter who had worked with him. The picture was of them at their studio, celebrating the completion of their debut album.

I ended up looking them up on Spotify and listened to a few of their songs — they were definitely my type of music. I could hear various elements of classic rock and psychedelic music in their melodies, mixed with a bit of pop and even jazz. 

That night, I went to bed listening to a few of their songs through my headphones, letting myself get lost in the melodies, just as I would do when in character sometimes. It was interesting how music informed a lot of my life, and I think if I hadn't gone into acting, I probably would have tried to be an artist.

If there was one thing I was sure about, it's that I needed to start taking my acting career seriously. I had already been in Los Angeles for four years, with nothing coming to fruition, and I just hoped that destiny would take me where I needed to be, soon.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Will the real Taylor Momsen please stand up?

Think you know Taylor Momsen? Think again. After years of personal turmoil and soul-searching, The Pretty Reckless singer is back with a new album and a brand new outlook on life

On the cover of The Pretty Reckless’ upcoming album Death By Rock And Roll, lead singer Taylor Momsen lies naked on a grave. White hair flowing beneath her, gone are the eyeliner-rimmed raccoon eyes. Instead, it’s a stripped back image, one that radiates vulnerability rather than her usual defiance.

Shot by Danny Hastings, who was also responsible for 2013 album Going To Hell's more provocative cover, Momsen is proud of what it communicates. “It’s an untouched photograph," she tells Louder over the phone from her home in Maine.

"That was my intent, trying to show complete purity and baring myself. I wanted to express that you come into this world with nothing but your soul and that’s all you leave with, too.” She pauses. “I’m pretty proud of it, if I’m being honest.”

That vulnerability seems to be something Momsen is starting to feel comfortable with after a lifetime in the spotlight. Now just 27, she started a modelling career aged just two. She later became known as Jenny Humphrey, the Gossip Girl character audiences loved to hate, before leaving to focus on her music career, forming The Pretty Reckless and releasing their first album in 2010. She must be exhausted, we motion. “I don’t know if I feel older or younger," she replies. "I have experienced a lot. I feel like I have lived a billion lives. Some days I feel like I’m two years old and sometimes I’m 107. It depends on the day."

Speaking carefully but freely, Momsen’s answers are peppered with small, shy laughs. She’s spent the last several months locked down, leaving only briefly to film a music video for recent single 25. “I feel like I’ve been handling it relatively well, but I’ve certainly had my moments. I think everyone has their breaking point. It’s a lot! It’s a really fucked up year!” She pauses, before finding her way to a bright side. “I think this is a really humanising time.

"Everyone’s lifestyle is different, and where you come from and how you’re handling the situation is different, but we are still all in essentially the same space and point in time together.”

The peace in Momsen’s voice is hard won after a painful couple of years for her and her band. The first blow came in 2017, when The Pretty Reckless landed a spot supporting childhood hero Chris Cornell. He died by suicide on the tour, shaking Momsen to the core: “After we were on that Soundgarden tour and we played the last show – when I woke up to the news the next morning I was beyond devastated. I still don’t have words to express how crushing that was. I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t in a good place to be public. I removed myself from the public eye. I cancelled everything. I needed to go home and reflect on what had happened.”

She fell into a deep hole, spiralling and cancelling any upcoming shows. In 2018, feeling ready to rebuild her life, the band started speaking to their friend and longtime producer Kato about the next step. Just as they had pulled themselves together, they got another tragic phonecall: “He’d died in a motorcycle accident. That was the fucking nail in the coffin I guess, for lack of a better term."

“I just went so, so down into this hole of depression and substance abuse. I was a train-wreck and I didn’t know how to get out of it, I didn’t know if I would get out of it. I didn’t care. I had kinda given up on everything. I was like, I don’t even know if I want to do anything ever again.”

Eventually, Momsen had to make a decision: “It was either death or move forward. Luckily I chose to move forward, but it was tough there for a while.” She’s candid about how much she struggled: “I was not well. I returned to music because it was the only thing I knew how to do. It’s the only thing in my entire life that’s always been there and supported me. I started listening to records that I love and started from the beginning again.” She sat down to write, finding that it took no effort – Death By Rock And Roll poured out of her, in part inspired by Kato.

The album is named for a song, the first single, that Kato suggested ten years ago: “He said “write a song called ‘Death By Rock and Roll,’” and we started it and never finished it and nothing came of it. When he passed it became very relevant again, and so we finished it.”

The song starts with his footsteps walking down the hall. She’s insistent that it isn’t morbid, but an homage and an optimistic battlecry: “I have one life and I’ll live it the way I want.” The band wondered whether they could even work without Kato – “the hole and loss was so grand”. They chose to, eventually finding a kindred spirit in the producer Jonathan Wyman. “He is the sweetest, kindest soul on the planet, a great engineer and producer, an amazing friend. We called him up and made the record in Maine,” she says, adding that it was the first album she and bandmate Ben co-produced. “He allowed us to be the train-wrecks that we were at the time and let us go through all the range of all the emotions and was so supportive throughout the entire thing. He really helped us to accomplish something.”

The album itself is classic Pretty Reckless: big guitars, old school rock'n'roll influences, with touches of jukebox Americana. But there’s something different, too, and maybe it’s the feeling of “complete rebirth” that she wanted to imbue it with. Around the middle there’s a turning point, with more vulnerable, personal touches. On 25, Momsen breathily sings of her disbelief that she made it this far: 'and all through my teens, I screamed that I may not live much past 21, 22, 23, 24.'

It’s an honest declaration: “We recorded it right as I turned 25. It’s very much just an autobiographical song of me at my lowest reflecting on my life and trying to put that into music somehow. I’m really proud of that song. I’m proud of the whole record, but I think that song was a shift in my writing.” She calls 25 the first “stepping stone towards that light.”

Those moments of tenderness and reflection are wrapped up, of course, in the in-your-face rock and roll that Taylor Momsen has always loved. Cynics and critics have questioned her authenticity, and that of The Pretty Reckless. But ten years into her music career, it’s pretty clear rock runs through her veins. She’s dorky and obsessive, running through rock'n'roll history from the 60s through the 90s, sheepishly apologising when she hasn’t heard of a newer artist I mention. “I don’t pay attention to new stuff. It’s bad, I should,” she laughs. She references music with an ease that only comes to a true nerd, gushing about rock: “It’s ballsy and cooler than everything else. If you’re not afraid of it, you find the freeing aspect of it. Nothing beats it.” True to its word, Death By Rock And Roll is full of heavy guitars and snarling vocals. A true catharsis.

In the last two years, Momsen feels like she’s aged ten. “They were extraordinarily hard. To the point where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through them. I think there’s no way to go through that tragedy and trauma and not come out, if you make it through, not as a different person but with a new perspective,” she tells me. Her fight with her mental health is ongoing, but she’s learned to manage it: “If you don’t, it’s very easy to take a wrong turn and that can be hard to come back from.”

She’s found that music has been her one grounding stone, holding her down to earth: “I can listen to music and it brings me back, almost like meditation. It brings me to reality and completely takes me away, too.”

Momsen is reflective, reckoning with thoughts she had long held. Starting her music career as a 17-year-old girl, she was often indignant about the idea that misogyny impacted her possibilities. With time, though, she’s reconsidered: “I was so in denial for so long about sexism, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realised it exists. Misogyny is a real thing, and it’s unfortunate that it is, but it is. There are a lot of shitty things in life but we have to deal with them, and hopefully we progress as a society and this becomes a topic we don’t ever have to discuss again,” she laughs.

“I’ve recognised it more as I’ve gotten older that there is a boys’ club when it comes to rock'n'roll and it is a struggle to break into that and be accepted and treated with the same respect as if you were a man.”

Recently, Momsen appeared on Evanescence’s Use My Voice, a song Amy Lee wrote when inspired by assault victim Chanel Miller. Momsen is open in her adoration of Lee, who took The Pretty Reckless’ on their first big tour, telling me that Amy’s perspective on misogyny in rock is far “more developed” than hers. “I love Amy, she’s just the kindest person and so talented. We really learned a lot from that experience in so many ways. I have the utmost respect for her, I love her.” She adds that she was impacted by seeing Evanescence when she was nine: “It was very cool to have that be our first proper tour, suddenly I was opening for a band that I had gone to see with my dad. It was very full circle.”

Understandably, after a lifetime of scrutiny, Momsen is at times reticent to answer certain questions, aware of how things can get twisted. She avoids the internet, finding that, “maybe it’s because of how I grew up, but it can get very toxic very quickly.” But she indulges more annoying questions with patience and grace. I ask her, is the 'Jenny died by suicide' line in Death By Rock and Roll a sly reference to her Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey? She laughs: “I’ll leave that to the listener’s interpretation.”

She’s willing to explain, however, in far greater depth, why she feels that way: “I think it’s unfair to the listener when the artist explains things directly, I think it takes away from the magic.”

“Once you put the music out into the world, it’s so exciting, but on the other hand it’s almost sad. The body of work you’ve been slaving over is so precious and it’s so yours and so intimate, and suddenly it doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to everyone else,” she pauses, “I think that’s the beauty of music but it’s a strange thing because it doesn’t matter what the song means to me, it matters how it connects to you and whatever you relate to it." She says that hearing Roger Waters elaborate on Pink Floyd lyrics that meant a lot to her once spoiled the magic: “Since then I’ve been very cautious to not over-explain. I really do think that it’s unfair to the listener. It’s not about me, it’s about you, it’s about the audience.”

Death By Rock and Roll is, conversely, a commitment to life. After a year relaxing at home and three years attempting to recover from a constant succession of blows, Momsen is aching to get back out on the road and see her fans again. “I get to go on stage every night in front of an audience who care and connect to music that I slaved over and worked over and hypothetically move them and give them the experience of a lifetime,” she laughs, calling it the “greatest job on the planet.”

“I really miss it. There’s nothing else like it, that high that you get from playing a show, that adrenaline, that feeling. It’s the best drug on the planet. I feel like an addict and I’m going through withdrawal.”

The last few years have taken it out of Momsen, but she has come out of the other side with peace and an enriched perspective. That growth is audible as she speaks, and it’s woven into the fabric of Death By Rock And Roll.

“You can’t beat that feeling of complete rebirth,” she tells me. Maybe for once, she doesn’t seem either two years old or 107, but a very wise 27.

[rivalsforlife]

I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE DOING COMMENTARY hope it's not too late to ask for The Scene at the end of chapter 5 of the catch up game?? if no one else has asked?

It is never too late to ask!! Genuinely you could probably ask me six months from now and I’ll ramble on about all this, I’m generally down to talk about my writing all the time. (And I’m actually a little surprised nobody asked about The Scene yet... oh well haha)

First though: have you seen this art yet? If you haven’t you should. It was going around twitter again lately and I love it a lot so I wanted to advertise it while I had the chance.

Anyways, keeping under a “keep reading” here:

So. The Scene. First I’ll present my notes from the outline when I was trying to figure out this fic:

Miles lets his feelings slip, Phoenix doesn’t take it too well, they part on a kind of awkward note.

Somehow “kind of an awkward note” ended up being uhhh that!

Anyways before we get into this I want to say that I really did not think it would have that much of an emotional impact? I got a much bigger reaction than I thought and that’s around when people really started talking about it on the narumitsu discord and stuff, so I ended up for the rest of the week soooo stressed out that I’d accidentally gone in a completely different direction than I’d planned and set people’s expectations too high and they would be COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTED IN THE REST OF THE FIC but uh luckily that didn’t happen! I think. At least if anyone was super disappointed they didn’t tell me about it!

And it was probably partially that I am not very uhh good with emotions and also probably that I got pretty desensitized to my work but I genuinely did not think it was that bad until I saw Ro’s art and then went “ohhh suddenly I am consumed with so much guilt...” (and also doubted how in character this scene was. how can ANYONE say no to that face --)

Most critically though, this scene distracted everyone from whatever the hell was going on with the casefic earlier in the chapter, so overall I think it’s a success.

Sorry it’s taking a while to get to the actual scene, but I wrote a few drafts of this thing beforehand and modified it a lot trying to get it right. I needed it to be sufficiently dramatic but I didn’t want it to seem like... I was just adding it in there for extra conflict? Like you know sometimes you read stuff and you’re like “where the hell did this sudden argument come from” yeah. I wanted to avoid that if I could, so partially this was supported by the weight of chapter 4 to explain Phoenix’s reasons for the rejection and then chapter 6 is supposed to elaborate more, but I still needed this to stand fairly well on its own.

The overall theme of this chapter was “Opposites”, and again, here’s what I had in my fic notes:

I want to contrast how Phoenix sees Miles and how Miles sees Phoenix. Because they both kind of see each other as an amazing person while seeing themselves as failures. Maybe at the end Phoenix is kind of putting himself down and Miles argues about it and then they have a slight argument. Miles lets his feelings slip, Phoenix doesn’t take it too well, they part on a kind of awkward note.

I couldn’t really find a way to integrate this conversation in naturally, so I could only get Phoenix’s perspective in there a little bit. Originally Miles’ confession wasn’t supposed to be planned, just a spur of the moment in the middle of an argument where Phoenix kind of goes “I don’t understand why you keep hanging out with me, why are you spending so much time with me, I’m not struggling, I don’t need you worrying about me” and Miles interrupts with a “Because I love you, you idiot!” ... But I couldn’t get that to work because the buildup into the argument felt too abrupt. 

Last little bit of something just before the argument (some of the dialogue here went into the chapter 4 dinner conversation instead):

Miles: (quietly) I’ve spent most of my life trying to climb higher in my career, in order to fight corruption as best I could. And I have, and every day my mission is growing closer to completion, or at least as much as it can. But after that… (staring at some kids’ toy) what’s left for me? I’ve taken a rather unconventional path through life. I’m starting to wonder about opportunities I’ve missed.

Phoenix: (jokingly) Is that some long-winded way of telling me you’re planning on settling down?

Miles: I’d never settle. But in some sense, I suppose so.

Phoenix: (stopping in his tracks) You’re kidding. L-Like, what, in a year or so I’m gonna walk in to your office one day and find you with a wife and kids?

Miles: (rolling his eyes) You do know that I’m gay, don’t you? And why would I keep them in my office? There’s no need to be so melodramatic, Wright.

Again couldn’t fit it in I just found it funny. ANYWAYS FINALLY MOVING AWAY FROM THE DRAFTS AND TO THE ACTUAL THING, I’ll skip ahead a bit to just before the confession:

“How long has it been since I came here?” 

“I dunno… since before I got my badge back, probably.”

“That sounds about right.” Edgeworth sighed and leaned against Phoenix’s desk. “I’ve barely gotten the chance to see you, since you got your badge back and I took my new position. I’ve missed going up against you in court.”

“I don’t,” Phoenix teased, slipping his case notes into his desk drawer. “You’re a nightmare.”

“You’re one to talk.” The corners of Edgeworth’s eyes crinkled as he looked over at him. “You can be so infuriating, but I do like working with you. I had fun today.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “Fun? You?”

“I suppose age has softened me up.”

“I didn’t think anything could soften you up.”

“You’d be surprised. I often have fun when I’m with you. I always…” He trailed off, averting his eyes and gripping his elbow. “I’ve been… thinking, a bit. On our earlier conversation.”

So basically... Miles got preeetty close to confessing during their dinner in chapter 4, but kinda backed out at the last moment, and he’s been agonizing over this ever since. Because the way he interpreted their conversation was sort of “We both want to move forward into a relationship but don’t know how to take the steps to do so”, whereas Phoenix interpreted more as a consensus that “We could probably start a relationship and there are feelings there but it wouldn’t really work out so we just won’t ever talk about it”.

And Miles throughout this fic assumed that Phoenix has been in love with him for a while and only holding back for Miles’ own sake, and waiting for Miles to signal that he’s actually ready to move into a romantic relationship. ... Which is very much not the case. What makes today different though is that Miles got to watch Phoenix solve mysteries, and I’m of the opinion that Miles considers Phoenix at his most attractive when he is uncovering the truth!! so Miles pretty much just saw him solve this case and go “I must kiss this man on the lips Right Now” but thought he should clear some things up before he did that.

which is good because if he just walked up to Phoenix and kissed him without preamble I’m pretty sure Phoenix would have died, so.

Something imperceptibly changed in the atmosphere. It made Phoenix’s heart race faster in anticipation. “Oh? Which one?”

“The one we had during the last dinner we shared.”

“O-Oh.” That had been weeks ago. Surely Phoenix had forgotten something.

“Everything has changed so much, over the course of my career, between us.” Edgeworth’s eyes flickered up to him briefly before settling back down on the desk. “I’ve never been afraid of moving forward, but this, I want…” He exhaled, shakily. “Give me a minute. This is… difficult.”

Phoenix kind of... knows, subconsciously, where this is going, but he’s trying to deny it until the last minute because he’s very unprepared and has no idea how to deal with this... which will become very clear by the end of the scene.

Miles is tricky to write in a confession scene because he can be kind of weird with emotions? Sometimes he’ll give these Grand Speeches about how much That Man means to him but at the same time he struggled a lot with talking about his feelings during the trilogy and I think he’d still struggle with it now. Especially something as raw and vulnerable as a love confession.

And Miles is also someone who is, at least by the Investigations duology, determined to pursue what is Right and what is the Truth without any sort of hesitation. However pursuing Wright is different. (insert horrible forced laugh track)

“W-Well, don’t strain yourself,” Phoenix insisted. “We can talk another day. I-It’s getting late, after all, we should —”

“We should stop dancing around the issue.” Edgeworth’s eyes snapped up and locked with Phoenix’s, pinning him in place. “Don’t go easy on me now, of all times.”

oh man I have to admit I got really into Persona 5 Royal for like a few weeks around the time I was writing this and that “don’t go easy on me now of all times” is looosely inspired by a similar line in there that’s like “do you think I’d be happy with being shown mercy now, of all times?” because although it’s a different dynamic than narumitsu I was uh. intrigued.

... sorry it’s so vague I wanted to avoid spoilers anyways, moving on,

Phoenix’s mouth ran dry. Edgeworth couldn’t possibly be planning to —

“Everything has changed between us,” continued Edgeworth. “I want things to — to continue to change, I-I want to be closer, is—” He sucked a breath in through his teeth “— is it not obvious?”

Hadn’t they agreed, in that way they could agree without saying a word, that they were never going to talk about this?

Phoenix broke his gaze. “No. It’s not. I— I don’t want to argue with you. It’s late.”

Pretty much same as previous notes: Phoenix in extreme denial that this is actually happening whereas Miles is just trying to force it all out.

Phoenix is kind of trying to talk Miles down from confessing; Miles is sort of interpreting it as “Wright isn’t going to let me get away with not actually saying this so I need to be more direct.” 

I’m sure that later when Miles is curled up on his bed wondering where he went wrong he’ll think of that :)

“Phoenix.”

The use of his first name forced Phoenix to look up again.

Edgeworth stared at him for a long time. There was something impossible swimming just under the surface of his grey eyes.

“Phoenix Wright,” he said. “I am in love with you.”

HE DID IT!! He’s so brave I’m sure that nothing can go wrong!!

Gossip was one thing. Lingering touches and stolen glances, Phoenix could deal with those. The knowledge that Edgeworth was interested in him in a not-so-platonic way… that was more than enough.

This, hearing Edgeworth say the words out loud, was another thing entirely. Even if Phoenix already knew. Nothing could have prepared him for — for whatever this was, for Edgeworth, looking at him all open and vulnerable, and — and saying —

“Wh… What…?”

Edgeworth tilted his head slightly to the side, causing his bangs to fall into his face. “Surely you’ve figured it out already?”

“I-I don’t understand…”

At first there was a line right after “Even if Phoenix already knew” that was “Even if he felt the same”, but then I decided to make it so Phoenix can’t even admit his feelings to himself, so I cut that one out.

Anyways this is shocking to Phoenix partially because of Denial but also because he didn’t expect Miles to actually come out and say something like this. He’s used to Miles being closed off with his emotions and doesn’t think him the type to ever directly acknowledge them, so it’s got him totally off guard, too. It’s unpredictable for someone who is supposed to know Miles so well so it’s very unnerving for him.

“I… I think you are incredible,” said Edgeworth. “Your single-minded dedication to truth and justice. Your compassion. Your mercy. The way you… brought light, brought life, back into my world. You can be so frustrating, and stubborn, but that’s part of why I have always admired you so much.” The corners of his eyes softened. “You saved me a thousand times over, and I want to spend the rest of my life by your side… however you want me.”

Miles generally people go on at least one date before proposing marriage but okay.

One thing I find interesting about Miles as a character is that he’s very much an all-or-nothing kind of person... he doesn’t ever really half-ass things and he doesn’t know how to do things gradually haha. He won’t allow the truth to be covered in darkness for even a moment even if it makes things easier for him in the long run. Saying “I think you’re great, maybe we should go on a few dates and see how things end up?” is probably the SENSIBLE thing to say, but Miles puts 100% of himself into everything that he does post-character development; and he’s secure enough in his relationship with Phoenix that he doesn’t really feel the need to test the waters. Plus Miles is allergic to uncertainty, so by the time he confesses he’d need to be absolutely certain that he loved Phoenix Wright and was prepared to pretty much go all in with him.

after all Phoenix feels the same way right!!

Phoenix stared. His heartbeat was reverberating in his ears. “I don’t know what to say. … Me.”

“Who else?”

“Who — a-anyone else. God, Edgeworth, what even is that shit, about me being i-intelligent, and dedicated, and compassionate, and — and — incredible, geez, I’m a wreck! I—” His voice wavered into a fit of near hysteria. “The only reason I’ve gotten this far is ‘cause I’ve always had amazing people by my side, and — and once they’re gone I’m back to whatever I usually am, I-I only have this one suit, I still haven’t got my freaking driver’s license, I don’t think I’ve eaten anything but instant meals in a month—”

(And he looked to Edgeworth, desperately, but Edgeworth was still gazing at him, expression gentle, gentle yet unyielding, not taking back his words or expressing an ounce of regret — why wasn’t he changing his mind —)

“You’re describing yourself more than me,” said Phoenix weakly. “Really, I’m not — I’m not like that, okay, I’m not…” He forced himself to take a deep breath. “Why are you telling me this?”

This is the one part that stayed consistent throughout all drafts of this scene haha. Some of it is echoes from what Godot told him back in Bridge to the Turnabout about him always needing someone to swoop in at the last minute to the rescue; others are sort of a loose refence to his behaviour during the beginning of RFTA and Reunion and Turnabout where he couldn’t really function without Maya there to look after.

This part sort of ties more into that objective I had with this chapter of contrasting how they see themselves; they both see each other as incredible people, because they don’t really get to see inside each other and see how much of a wreck they feel.

Also the very first sort of script of this confession had Phoenix saying “I thought you knew me better than this!” but that just seemed way too cruel for this haha.

“I know that I… that I have difficulty with these things,” said Edgeworth, fingers gripping the edge of the desk. “I’ve never been the most open of people and we’ve — we’ve always been so distant, for so long. I wasn’t there for you when I should have been, and I want that to change. Because, ever since we met… you’ve been such a major part of my life. I never thought I would live to be older than my father. I never thought I would be happy with myself. But you, you came into my life, and you changed all that.”

(That wasn’t you,) a voice in Phoenix’s heart whispered. (You only started it. The rest was all him.)

“But I don’t want to be satisfied with what I have right now. I still want more. There’s still a part of life I want to explore, and… I want to do it with you.”

(He’s always been fine without you. One day he’s going to realize it too, and then…)

“I’m tired of hiding my emotions and being too afraid to upset the status quo when it comes to relationships. I refuse to be scared of that anymore.”

(Why isn’t he scared, too?)

ugh this was the hardest part to write I think...? Trying to figure out a way to get Phoenix’s internal feelings across where it doesn’t come out of nowhere. I settled with a lot of internal thoughts that are just like... self-loathing, pretty much.

Meanwhile Miles has prepared this whole emotional monologue that Phoenix is only half listening to, basically about what a huge impact Phoenix has had in his life and how he’s sort of... now that he’s presumably made large steps to fixing the justice system he’s turning to more personal goals in life, and one of those goals is spending his life with Phoenix, if he can be brave enough to do it.

Phoenix isn’t paying attention though because he’s too busy panicking...

“Most of all, I… I couldn’t hide anything from you for long. I’d trust you with the world. You’re my equal, and my opposite.” Something resembling a shaky smile crossed Edgeworth’s face. “And I love you.”

me shoving the “theme of the day” in there awkwardly

But he smiles!! This is one of the rare occasions where Miles kind of does smile... there’s a lot of “almost-smile”s or brief smiles and Miles is scared out of his wits here but he’s happy. he finally got that off his chest. he was brave and he told Phoenix how he felt and they’ll be so, so happy together, nothing can possibly go wrong,

The words knocked out any breath Phoenix had managed to regain. His skin suddenly felt cold and clammy, and he was faced with vertigo more intense than standing on rooftops. What was happening to him?

There was something he was supposed to say to this. He should react to this normally. His mouth was drier than a desert. His tongue felt unsightly and awkward in his mouth.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you that if I have somehow misinterpreted, I won’t mention this again.” Unease and uncertainty flickered behind Edgeworth’s eyes. “And I would never be upset, as long as you tell me the truth. I want to take the next steps of my life with you. … Do you feel the same way?”

oh yeah this part was a little tricky too. Pretty much Phoenix is on the verge of a full-blown panic attack and cannot think of a response, even a nice polite rejection... and finally Miles starts realizing that something’s off, because before he was just running on adrenaline to try and get his feelings out that he didn’t stop to examine Phoenix’s reactions, otherwise he would’ve started overthinking and psyched himself out. But now that he got it out and seeing Phoenix pretty much in shock he’s starting to worry he’d made a mistake.

Also “unease and uncertainty” is definitely an “unnecessary feelings” reference because I’m shameless.

Yes, Phoenix wanted to say, yes, I do, and say what he felt, what he wanted. But the words wouldn’t come.

Why couldn’t he say it? It should be easy. If he truly wanted this, it should be as easy as breathing.

His vision swam with pink butterflies, he ran his tongue over the scars in his mouth, his breath caught jagged on the edges of chains —

Aaaand if either one of them had the magatama right now there would be the psyche-locks! I was gonna elaborate on this a lot but this is so far waaay longer than I intended so I’ll spare you and give a brief summary.

Essentially there are three locks. I wrote them as sort of representing each issue that Phoenix needs to acknowledge for them to break -- not necessarily fix, because that would be a super tricky thing, but acknowledging they’re there is a start. They’re pretty much “Trust”, “Abandonment”, and “Vulnerability”. Later I realized those issues are pretty much tied up in each other so instead I just made it so that each one is set by a traumatic event, and then acknowledging those events is what breaks them.

The first is an obvious “Dahlia and Iris really screwed up Phoenix’s ability to trust a partner romantically”. I love Iris but she really did mess him up as well. Phoenix kind of convinced himself he’s over this issue now since Iris was a good person! but really he’s still messed up about it. (And that’s where the butterflies + scars in his mouth sort of come from). Talking to Iris and acknowledging that he’s still hurting over it is what breaks this one.

The second is more directly related to all the times Miles himself has abandoned him particularly throughout the series. Some of the hurt when Miles prosecuted him in Turnabout Sisters, and definitely a lot regarding “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death”, it’s pretty much him being scared to get /too/ attached to Miles because he fears Miles might abandon him again. This one breaks in chapter 7 when he has the whole realization that Miles might die and leave him regardless, and acknowledges how afraid he is of Miles leaving again.

And the last is more of acknowledging his need to be needed by people and help people but they move on without him and not don’t really him in their lives. This built up more gradually... with littler things like Apollo leaving the Agency and Maya not being around as much and Trucy moving out. Neither of these are Big Bad Traumatic Events like the other two but it’s still an issue Phoenix has that he needs to acknowledge. Trucy’s letter breaks this one by telling him he’s never going to be alone and they all love him and are there for him. And that’s why right after reading the letter he can tell Miles that he loves him.

So that’s that. Moving back to the actual story now...

“Phoenix?”

Edgeworth still stood so close, too close, and when Phoenix breathed his senses were assaulted by the scent of his cologne and — and he was too close, and his words were too much, Edgeworth couldn’t be in love with him. Attracted, sure, but love — how could he so easily say love?

This wasn’t like Edgeworth. This wasn’t how things were before, this wasn’t how things had always been, every time things changed too fast something would go wrong, every time things changed too fast Edgeworth would leave again —

(— and right now Edgeworth’s body was coiled tight with tension, like a spring, ready to take off at any sudden movement —)

— and Phoenix couldn’t say a word.

Fairly self-explanatory I think: basically acknowledging that fear that Miles is going to leave again.

Phoenix was standing on the edge of a turnabout. Somewhere he’d have to take the plunge for victory, for the truth. He’d never shied from them before. He’d always accepted the risks. And they’d (almost always) paid off.

But something had Phoenix in a vice. Dark chains that wrapped around his chest and constricted his lungs. Something that would drown him if he took the plunge. Something that whispered that he could not risk this, his heart and his life in one. There was too much to lose. It was all too much.

That little (almost always) there is referencing that one time he presented the critical case-changing evidence and got disbarred for it; his disbarment messed him up pretty bad too, I guess it’d fit in the category of the third psyche-lock.

And of course the second paragraph references the psyche-locks more directly before they actually show up.

The words came. They weren’t the ones he wanted.

“No,” said Phoenix. “No, I don’t.”

The rattling in Phoenix’s head cut out. Silence fell over the room.

Pretty much once Phoenix stops pressing the issue the psyche-locks stop shaking. I imagine they’re a pretty terrible thing to break directly; he can’t do it on his own like this.

“... I see,” said Edgeworth, and something snapped shut, drew tight, rigid, back to a statue. “I thought… nevermind.”

Miles kind of draws back into himself all tightly-controlled, less open than before, because that really hurt him a lot. He’d probably prefer it than Phoenix being all evasive and sort of reassuring because he prefers people just cut straight to the facts, but that was direct even for him.

And of course he thought that Phoenix did feel that way about him. He was certain of it. So hearing Phoenix didn’t and he was completely wrong is... not good.

He’d gone so still. At the sight of it, whatever spell was holding Phoenix in its grasp broke, and he came back to reality — this wasn’t right, this wasn’t good, he had to fix this, somehow, bring things back to the way they were, “Edgeworth—”

And the sight of Miles completely freezing up and closing himself off is enough to break Phoenix free of the initial panic, because he does care a lot about Miles, and seeing him withdraw worries him.

“It’s getting late,” said Edgeworth, and only someone as experienced as Phoenix could detect the waver in his voice. “Thank you for being honest with me, Wright. I’ll talk to you later.”

The remark stung worse than a knife would, he couldn’t let it end like this. “I—”

The office door shut, none too gently. Phoenix was alone.

“... I’m sorry.”

That “thank you for being honest with me” wasn’t SUPPOSED to be a jab, of course, because Miles would prefer that Phoenix was honest than lie to him. But Phoenix did lie and that’s what bothers Phoenix the most throughout the next couple of chapters; they both value the truth so highly that lying to each other is inconceivable.

And Miles probably should have stuck around for a bit and heard Phoenix out and maybe Phoenix could have managed a half-decent explanation of “okay I don’t know what that was but this was very sudden and I’m panicking, can you give me time to process?” but if Miles stayed for much longer he probably would have started breaking down and that’s the last thing he wants to do right now, especially in front of Phoenix, so he left as soon as possible.

I think he managed to repress enough that he could get home safely, but the moment he crossed the threshold into privacy he probably had himself a good cry... curled up on the couch and watched some Steel Samurai with a tub of ice cream... but he was pretty emotionally devastated by this. It took a lot of effort for him to open up and be honest about his feelings so just being shut down like that... hurt a lot. He’d never admit it though.

anyways I also have this short bit of writing I posted a while back about Miles actually getting a hug after all this, because he really needs one.

And that’s the scene!! I think I said more than enough so I’ll end it here haha.

[cinaed]

Red vs Blue Season 3 Rewatch

Slowly making my way through my DVD collection of Red vs Blue!

"You can't die! I'm bored!" Donut is so ruthless in the earlier seasons and I love it. 

We really needed more Tex and Sheila girltime, talking about gender inequality and workplace harassment. 

Simmons actually calling himself Simmons 2.0 manages to be both hilarious and sad.

Yes, Sarge and Caboose team up! Season 3 has some of my favorite odd couples, and Sarge and Caboose is one of my favorites. Sarge being furious that Doc has a higher body count than he does, Caboose's dedication to nap time. 

I love Caboose's moral boost! He's great at compliments even if Sarge doesn't appreciate them. 

I know these zealots were like a mostly one-off joke, but also like...they could be a creepy potential experiment in making soldiers that can't die, which I wouldn't put past anyone in the Halo universe. 

I love the blame game of who came up with the plan that ended up with everyone scattered across the galaxy. Sarge: "My only choice is to blame Grif, for coming up with such a flawed plan. Stupid, stupid Grif." Grif: "I should have never listened to Donut's stupid fucking plan." 

Church and Grif in jail is one of my all-time favorite things. 

Simmons is such a tech savvy guy, reworking the teleporters to make them communication devices as well! He just wants some love and support.

Caboose getting angry. I mean, who wouldn't get angry at kittens with spikes that you couldn't cuddle?

"Simmons, you get an F in efficiency. But I have to give you an A+ in dramatic timing."

I do love O'Malley and Doc's dynamic. The Do Not Call list!

I love Tex's half-truths about the Freelancers. 

Also love Sarge calling Caboose a little rascal and Simmons just seething with jealousy. And he's also jealous about Donut! 

Church: There's no "I" in team, Grif. Grif: Yeah, there's no "U" either. So I guess if I'm not on the team, and you're not on the team, nobody's on the God damn team. The team sucks!

I may or may not quote that to myself on a weekly basis. 

Again, just Church and Grif together in that prison cell is sheer perfection. As is Church going "Wait, the people outside sound like they're winning, that can't be our teams."

Tucker likes Sheila so much! And she packed them food! Well, the AI equivalent of food, but it's the thought that counts! Just the sheer affection in Tucker's voice as he promises her they'll be back gave me emotions. 

And another good moment of Simmons being the one to suggest they track down Grif, because no one else was going to. 

In retrospect, Grif has clearly watched some prison pornos. Like... Buddy.

Wyoming calling Tex Allison has so many interesting implications. 

Simmons re-engineers stuff, Sarge makes a weather control device. Where's the AU where Sarge is a mad scientist.

Simmons asking Grif if he's okay after prison. Just loving the slow build of friendship between them.

Also big parallels of Church's "Misery loves company" and his willingness to let the bomb blow them all up together to later seasons stuff.

I still love that everyone's go-to explanation for stuff is "time travel."

Donut is too thin-skinned about criticism for his play. He'd never survive on Broadway, lol. But I love everything about the time travel show.

How is Tucker the smartest person in this group? But also Tucker being so worried about Church. I am having a lot of Tucker feelings this season. 

I love Grif's devotion to cheesy disaster movies. 

Caboose: Look what I found. Donut: I found it! Caboose: Look at what I took credit for finding.

Poor Donut! A grenade to the head and now his hand got chopped up.

Grif: Hey, what're you doing? Simmons: What does it look like I'm doing, I'm getting in the jeep. Grif: What're we, on a date? Get in the back. Simmons: Oh you're so insecure.

I would've watched an entire season of Doc and O'Malley and Lopez's Lair Improvements. And when Doc mentions a real estate agent all I can think of is an AU where Doc meets Kai because she's running her business on the side while in the military. But also Doc's motivational powers in the living room, O'Malley's belief that the cat won't hang on until Friday, it's great.

The iconic jeep conversation is still good now as it was back then. Re-enacting Dukes of Hazzard! "I can tell you what we weren't doing." 

Grif's mind immediately going to gay stuff as a favor from Tex. Between this and his prison conversation with Church, someone is protesting way too much.

Sarge's plans are so amazingly terrible. I love them.

Grif getting choked up over hating Blue Team and Tucker and missing the days where they all just stood around and talked a lot.

Tex sounding genuinely concerned when Tucker falls into the hall. Luckily he gets a cool sword out of it!

Tex's conversation with Simmons about shooting Lopez's head is a great example of an eloquent helmet look. Tex doesn't even say a word and you can feel the disbelief and rage when Simmons implies she may have missed.

Church: Caboose, I know you're there. I'm leaving this message from two thousand years in the past. Whatever you do, don't, touch, anything. Apparently you're this culture's version of the apocalypse. You're going to destroy this building, and somehow bring about doom for their entire race. Caboose: Mmmmmmnooo... that doesn't sound like me. I like people. And buildings also.

Time for some actual time travel or at least a simulation. But I do love Butch Flowers, haha. Whose greatest enemy is apathy! Love watching Church just make his own life worse. Also love the bit about Sheila having been made in Mexico. 

"Man... First I kill myself, then I realise I'm a honkin' dork. Not a very good day to be me."

Church: I learned a very valuable lesson in my travels, Tucker. No matter how bad things might seem- Caboose: They could be worse. Church: Nope, no matter how bad they seem, they can't be any better, and they can't be any worse, because that's the way things fucking are, and you better get used to it Nancy. Quit yer bitching.

Grif and Simmons and Sarge talking about the Blues, and Simmons saying he's not looking for friends and doesn't like his current crop AKA he just accidentally admitted Grif is his friend. Grif just didn't realize it.

Between the warthog and monkeying about discussions, Church and Grif really are on the same wavelength. 

I love the scheming versus plotting conversation.

Ugh, the arrival of Andy. I hate him so much.

Haha, Simmons lying about his math skills is great.

Uuuugh, Andy. :/ Freckles is SUCH a step up as Caboose's AI murder buddy.

"Do we really have to seize destiny? Can't we just invite it to join our online circle of friends?"

I love Lopez's little rebellion-- he might be under O'Malley's control, but he's also going to sabotage O'Malley as much as possible. And tricking O'Malley into insulting himself in Spanish.

I really forgot that Tex straight up tried to steal Tucker's sword. 

Military law is very clear in regard to the "not it" methodology for making decisions. Sorry, Donut. 

I forgot that Donut can speak Spanish. In fairness, so did the show. 

Hello, Crunchbite! 

Next up, the PSAs! 

Some of these have aged poorly... Like, uh, jokes about 2004 politics do not land well in 2020. And uh jokes about colds and flus. ...Okay, the Christmas PSA where Church destroys the Reds' Christmas tree, tells Caboose the truth about Santa Claus, gives everyone knock-off coal, convinces Church that Santa is now wearing blue and working only for the Blues, and scams Tucker out of a $350 gift is pretty funny though.  

I enjoyed Burnie playing himself in the outtakes by putting words he can't pronounce in his own script. And Grif singing Happy Birthday to Church in prison. Also poor Geoff being told to adlib and immediately having Grif start to tell Church "You're looking buff, man, have you been working--" and being immediately booed by everyone, and someone says they'll use it for an outtake and Geoff is like "It's funny! And I didn't even get to finish!" And everyone trying to figure out Tucker's sword and him accidentally killing everyone in various outtakes. And in the deleted scenes Tex keeps making fun of O'Malley's plans to rule the universe, haha. Also the deleted scene that's just another Simmons' self-insert fanfiction, just as a video instead of a fake game in the Fan Guide.

It also gave us character profiles! I'm sure a lot of this has since been contradicted in canon, but interesting that we got specific hometowns for a few people: Donut in Leggatt Plains, Iowa, which doesn't seem to be a real place; Moscow, Iowa for Sarge, which actually does; Tucker's from Detroit, and Delta Commune for Doc. Oh, is this where we get Caboose grew up on the moon, with his hometown being labeled as Low G Colony, Moon? And hey, I always had him be a middle child, I like that this one did too. Tex likes money and scars and dislikes Donut. Okay I know that's definitely not real, but the idea of Allison growing up in an orphanage hurts me a little. Okay, and I know for sure that Simmons would die of happiness at the fact that Sarge's likes are battles, fringe science, and Simmons. Lopez likes oil and unions, and hates capitalism. My kind of guy. Last but not least, I actually really like Simmons as the son of a bunch of right-hand stooges (who probably wanted power for themselves).

[theannaredfield]

This is for @marchworm because I’m a simp for good ships and aaaaaaaaaa

Summary: SereV One-shot

“I met her when I was at my weakest... a child. Alone in the world of terror, having just survived a deadly attack from which there was almost no survivors.” V began, looking toward the bird who didn’t realize what baggage he begun unraveling. The she gets spoke of, was none other than the beatiful Angel known as Serephina Halvorie. She had beautiful, long and full locks of gold, and the most lovely of emerald eyes. She had this innocence about her, not understanding the norms of the human world, along with a wonderful maternal kindness. She was also very sweet and just.. loving.. caring... he could gush all day about how beautiful she was, inside and out. She accepted him no matter what he did, stood by his side and showed him the love the world refused to give. However she was not just a blind follower. She was smart herself, and knew a thing or two. She could recognize a suspicious character and fight tooth and nail if she needed to. For all these reasons, he fell in love with her. He wanted to protect her from the cruel world. Protect his Angel who showed him the love and protection he desired. She was... perfection.

But it had been 20 years now... and he was no longer him per say. He was a new man, a completely different and unrecognizable person, but he retained all memories from his before life. All the wonderful memories his complete self shared with her. And she... well she hadn’t looked like she aged a day, which was not really surprising considering the orb the demon king had locked her in as punishment. She was completely suspended in frozen time for all those years. It was quiet funny in comparison; their two children now seemed older than both them were. All that aside, she was back now. Their daughter had saved her, and their son had defeated Urizen earlier than anyone had suspected. They had their chance now to live a happily ever after... except he had to break the ice to her somehow.

“Well why don’t you just dance your way over there and introduce yourself, Shakespeare. I’m sure she’d love one of your sappy poems.” The oversized chicken suggested, little did he know it was the perfect idea. V looked down at the book in his hand, knowing she’d heard some of the poems before, after all he knew them by heart. However he’d need to show more in order to convince her that he was her presumed dead lover; She wasn’t gullible. He walk toward her, holding his cane by the leg. He didn’t feel as though he needed it’s support

“Excuse me, my lady, I don’t believe we’ve met before... you can call me V.” He smirked, bowing his head slowly and holding out his hand to her. She slowly gave him her own, smiling with a friendly charm,

“I’m Serephina, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She greeted, before feeling the shock as he lightly kissed the back of her hand.

“I was wondering, if you’ll join me, would you like to go somewhere with me?” He asked, being as nonchalant as he could. However deep inside he was a nervous mess. Sure, he knew how to flirt and ‘talk dirty’ but he wasn’t sure how to do it when he meant it seriously. Usually it was just taunts used on demons... luckily for him, she agreed. Hesitantly but she did agree. He held out his arm for her and she slowly wrapped her own around it, following him as he walked her into the forest. At first, her tension was noticeable, but she slowly relaxed as she became familiar with the area, and they stumbled upon the familiar gazebo. “Do you remember this place?” He asked, causing her to look at him with confusion, but she did nod.

“I... when I first came to this world, I met this boy. We were both very young and we stayed here for shelter when we first began our travels. It was one of the few places we could take for shelter.” She looked around at the area, remembering her childhood almost clearly.

“And we’d play a constant game of ball with what we could find around, being as close to the park as we were... the moon perfectly lighted it, so we never had to be worried about being scared of the dark.” V continued, looking at her with a soft smiling, hoping she’d catch on.

“How... do you know that?” She asked, raising a brow and stepping back. he smiled, resting his cane on a nearby tree and sitting down.

“The powers of Yamato were truly a wonder. Able to split the man from Devil. That.. is what Vergil did. And I am what remains... with all his memories and emotions”

“But lacking in terms of demonic heritage and strength!” Griffon piped up, appearing out of the air. V sighed in annoyance, preferring the moment he just between the two. Serephina gasped in surprised at the sudden appearance of the gigantic bird. “Sorry I just couldn’t help myself. But ya. He’s Vergil. Vergil’s him. Yadda yadda. That’s why he brought you here.” The avian creature continued, trying to hurry the formalities along. Serephina was agape, trying to comprehend the fact that her lover was.. right in front of her but at the same time not. However, this was the living proof that the good she saw in Vergil existed.

“Vergil..?” She asked hesitantly, he nodded slowly,

“Well... V now, but yes.” He looked up at her, before picking himself up and walking toward her. With much hesitation, making sure there was no recoil on her part, he hugged her. His 6’4 frame almost completely covered her 5’3 figure. “If you’ll please humor me, may we spend the evening together?” It had been 20 years since they last got a moment alone, and they had quite a bit of catching up to do. They strolled through the city of Redgrave, talking and having what could only be described as a little date, much to the surprise of Dante, Nero, and the rest of the gang.

They walked late into the night until they came back to the Gazebo, laughing as they reminisced their childhood and talked about the events of the day, going through their inside jokes. It was as if they were young again, and didn’t have to worry about a search for power or demons coming for them. The moon had began to rise, shining brightly on the gazebo over the trees. V had brought Serephina to the middle, wrapping his one arm around her waist and holding her hand with the other. Waltzing her around before slowly pulling back, a smile on his face. She smiled back at him happily, feeling as if she knew him her whole life. From a certain point of view, she did. V placed a hand on her cheek, lifting her head up to his own before giving her a soft kiss. The world seemed to melt.. stop in place.. it was silent, not even Griffon was commenting. As he pulled away, he spoke with a sigh,

“I got to fall in love with you twice in one lifetime...”

[ask-the-chan-family]

Star Wars story for De-Writer and Wind-the-mama-cat

Somewhere inside the Jedi Academy library, Jedi Master Marchhare D’Writer was in the middle of reading some important documents, which regarding some information for the coming up meeting at the galactic republic. While reading the documents, Master D’Writer notice that his communicator was going off. He normally have it off while inside the library, but he had it on for a moment, since he was waiting for someone that he was meant to speak with. Master D’Writer grab his communicator, and then activate it. From the communicator show a hologram of his apprentice, Jedi Knight Wind Whisp. Master D’Writer was pleased to see her again, especially since she had been gone for an important. He started to speak with her, and see how she been doing. Master D’Writer: Ah Wind! It so good to see my old apprentice. It almost felt like forever, since we last chat with each other. Wind Whisp: it only been two months master, D’Writer, but it good to see you too. I do apology for the long wait to send you some messages, but I’m still in the middle of dealing with an important mission, and I don’t have much time to chat. Master D’Writer: Oh! And what sort of mission your dealing with? Wind Whisp: One of the Jedi Master needed my help to be their guide at my home planet of Cathar. Apparently we had some information that Count Dooku send some spies to cause some trouble in the area. To make matter worst, one of the clone soldiers were able to spot some battle droids form a base, and might try to attack one of the nearby villages. Master D’Writer: oh dear, that does sound like a busy mission your dealing with. You sure you don’t want me to help you out there? Wind Whisp: that would be great, but I have Master Thomas, and his daughter Jedi Knight Mia Writer to help me out. Master D’Writer: that good to hear, with Thomas, and Mia there you should have no problem dealing with the situation. However, I’m sort of surprise that his youngest daughter, Mia is there, and not Dashie. Wind Whisp: you mean his eldest daughter, Dashie. She actually still at the Jedi Temple. Dashie is having some trouble dealing with her little sister, Rebecca. Master D’Writer: I’m guessing it had something to do with her twin sister, Mia on a mission, and she is not with them. Wind Whisp: how did you know? Master D’Writer: I don’t need force ability to sense something is wrong. Wind Whisp: *she laugh*and that why you’re the Jedi Master. But yes, I spoke with Mia, and she told me that her twin sister didn’t past test, and become a Jedi Knight. Master D’Writer: Rebecca not passing the test, the girl have a lot of potentials to be Jedi Knight, especially being the only few people that Mace Windu would respect, and that man is hard to impress Wind Whisp: I would believe it, even Master Windu have a hard time dealing with my attitude at my younger years. But seriously though, I didn’t get the full detail of why, Rebecca failed the test, but it might have something to do with her emotions. Master D’Writer: you think her Force is unstable? Wind Whisp: maybe, but you know my hunches Master, they tend to be true, but in their odd way. Master D’Writer think for a moment before he answer back to, Wind Whisp. Master D’Writer always trusted, Wind hunches, including the past mission they were on, which most of her hunches were able to saved them from danger situation. This hunch, Wind was feeling, might be something in the Force, but he need to speak with, Rebecca, and get a better answer. Master D’Writer look back to Wind, and tell her that he will speak to her. Master D’Writer: I’m going to listen to your hunch, and have a little chat with, Rebecca. Maybe I might get a better answer, and see if I can help her. Wind Whisp: are you sure you can handle it master, you not exactly at your prime these days. Master D’Writer: just because I’m old, doesn’t mean I can handle myself. Besides, I prefer to use my words, then any combat. If I know Thomas daughters, they are willing to listen to a friend of their father. Wind Whisp didn’t say anything else, but trust in her master, like he had with her. Wind wave back to her master, and turn off the communicator, and continue with her mission. Master D’Writer think for a second to see what he need to do, before he can confront with, Rebecca. He use his communicator again, and see if he can chat with Jedi Knight, Dashie. He was able to find her, seeing her hologram self, standing by what look like the main doors to the Jedi Temple training grounds. Master D’Writer wasn’t sure what going on, but speak to Dashie anyway. Master D’Writer: Dashie, is everything going alright? Dashie Writer: greeting, Master D’Writer. I wish I could say that things are fine, but just having a tiny issue with my little sister, Rebecca. Master D’Writer: she trap herself inside the Jedi Temple training ground. Dashie Writer: yes, and she somehow was able to lock the doors as well. I try to bypass the security door, but nothing happening, even using my force powers not working, since she must be using something to block my ability. Master D’Writer: able to block Force abilities, that something I never heard off before. Dashie Writer: which is why it sort of stop her from becoming a Jedi Knight. Master D’Writer: what do you mean by that? Dashie Writer: …. Sigh, I shouldn’t tell you this, since dad told me to keep this a secret. But you see, Rebecca, and Mia mother wasn’t an ordinary person, she was one of those ancient Jedi that study both the light and the dark. Master D’Writer: wait, are you saying that their mother a Grey Jedi, as in something that, Qui-Gon Jinn once study on. Dashie Writer: yes! Rebecca, and Mia mom use to be one, and learn some of forbidden arts that the Jedi Order don’t use anymore. Before she disappear, she left them some scrolls, which had the teaching of the forbidden Force powers, but dad told them to never use them, no matter how good they were. Master D’Writer: I see, Thomas must the known about these forbidden Force ability, and wanted to make sure that his daughters would never give them a try. But I still like to know why, Rebecca went against her father wishes, and done it anyway. Dashie Writer: because, Rebecca wanted to be a Jedi Knight, and be her father guardian with Mia. But, Mia was a lot more skillful in both combat, and the force, which gave her the edge she needed to be a Jedi Knight. Master D’Writer: and because of that, Rebecca try to use her mother trump card, and gain a tiny edge to be a Jedi Knight. There is an old saying that I once told my apprentice, whenever we use a trump card attack. Dashie Writer: I remember, a trump card come in handy for tight situation, but it never the ultimate weapon. Father always tell me that every time I tried to come up some good ideas for training. Master D’Writer: you see, I always give good advice. But now I want to give your sister some advice as well, if she is willing to listen. Dashie Writer: she would, but the only way she going to open those door if dad was there to speak with her. Unless you have a bright idea in mind, I’m all ears. Master Writer: hmmm I think I might. Do you still have that training droid that you build for Jedi combat training? Dashie Writer: you mean the prototype. I think so, but why you ask? Master Writer: I have an idea, but I need you to get the training droid ready for this plan to work out. Dashie Writer sure why, Master D’Writer want the droid for, but she did what he said, and go back to her quarters to get it ready. Somewhere inside the Jedi Temple training room, Padawan Rebecca Writer was sitting in the center of the training ground, trying to meditation. Each time she tried to clear her mind, but the event of what she did from the Jedi trials, kept on coming back, forcing her to remember for what she did. Rebecca open her eyes, and slam her hand on the floor out of anger. Without warning, Rebecca didn’t notice that her anger accidently release her force push to knock down a few items in the area. Rebecca sigh to herself, knowing that she let her anger came out, something that she been trying to keep control. At a young age, Rebecca had a hard time to control her anger, especially knowing how dangerous her anger can be, when she mix it with her force powers. Rebecca always relied on her friends, and family for support, and in time she was able to have a better handle with it. But once she learn that one force move from her mother, Rebecca emotion had change a bit, made her think about the whole thing of the Jedi Order ways. Rebecca grab her lightsaber she had on the side, and activate it. The pure light from the saber was showing a dark shade purple. Rebecca remember getting the purple crystal from her mother as a gift, before she gone missing. She wanted to use the green light saber like her father, but yet part of her felt that the purple saber was calling to her. Before she got the chance to think a bit further, Rebecca felt someone was inside the training room. Rebecca thought she had the whole place sealed, but they would find a way. Rebecca didn’t bother to look, just speak to them, thinking it was her older sister, Dashie was here to see her. Rebecca Writer: if you came here to lecture me elder sister, I’m not really in the good mood for one. Wind Whisp: well then, lucky for you that I’m not really the lecture type. Rebecca was shock to see her friend, Jedi Knight Wind Whisp was here. She remember that she left with her and twin sister not too long ago, and wouldn’t be back for months. Rebecca got up from the floor, and speak to Wind more. Rebecca Writer: Wind! I can’t believe you’re here. I though you was on an important mission with my father, and twin sister. Wind Whisp: I was, but when I heard rumors that some Padawan was using some forbidden force powers, I need to stop by, and have a little chat about it. Rebecca Writer: Sigh, not you too. Look, I already apology for using a force ability during the trial. Wind Whisp: I know that you apology, but it still doesn’t excuse you from doing it the first place. Rebecca Writer: I know, and I felt terrible for what I did. But you of all people should understand why I had to do it Wind Whisp: of course I do, Rebecca. You’re the type of person that work really hard, and want to become a Jedi Knight. Rebecca Writer: not only that. I also wanted to be father protector. I know it sound strange, but Mia and I made a sworn oath together that if we become Jedi Knight, we will father only protectors, and no one will try to harm our family. Wind Whisp: I see, but now you felt betrayed that your sister became a Jedi, and left you behind you done everything in your power to become a Jedi Knight, you willing to use a forbidden force power, even if to break your father trust. Rebecca stood quite for a moment when she mention her father, she think a bit longer, knowing that she broken her father trust. Whisp look at, Rebecca seeing that she not moving at all, which give her the opportunity to get close. Once she reach up to her, Whisp sat down on the floor in front of Rebecca, and try to talk to her more. Wind Whisp: listen to me, Rebecca. I know you didn’t meant to harm the person from the trial, or try to break your father promise. But you got to remember that there is no such thing of short cut to reach success. If you want to be a Jedi Knight, you had to remember the fundamental of becoming a Jedi. Rebecca: I know about the fundamental of becoming a Jedi, I study them every day. The oath, the training, the studies, I did everything that needed to be a Jedi. But no matter how much I try, I wasn’t enough. Wind Whisp: I know you done those thing, but there was one thing that you were missing from your training. Rebecca: what that? *she notice that Whisp held her hand, and place it by Rebecca chest* um what are you doing. Wind Whisp: pointing where you were missing. Rebecca: really! But I don’t understand what it meant. Wind Whisp: *she laugh* it the heart, Rebecca, the number one thing that every Jedi need is the heart. Rebecca: the heart, but I don’t see that in the studies. I though all Jedi need to keep their emotion to be sealed away. Wind Whisp: it true, but in the olden days, there was a time where the Jedi Knights once relied with their emotion to help them in tough situation. I know the emotion can lead to anger and hate, but emotion can show happiness, and love towards the people they care about. That how your twin sister was able to reach the rank of Jedi Knight. Rebecca: ……. I see, even with all the knowledge I had learn to be a Jedi, my sister was lucky enough to had her emotion the right path to help her. But I had my emotion on the right path too, it should had help me to become a Jedi Wind Whisp: true, but you were impatient, and your emotion lead you doing something that was the wrong path. Rebecca: …… Wind Whisp: ….. Sigh, Rebecca, you got to remember that you’re a good Jedi, and you can reach being a Jedi Knight. All you have to do is try again, but you had to promise not to use that force ability again. Rebecca: but what if I try to do it again, all I want is to be a Jedi to protect my family. Wind Whisp: the use that feeling. You one of the smartest people that I know, much smarter than most of the Jedi Councel. Rebecca: smarter than Master Yoda? Wind Whisp: ok maybe not at his levels, but still, you will do well, just don’t bring yourself down for what you done. Rebecca smile at Whisp, and gave her hug, thanking her for the kind words. Whisp hug her back, but before she could say anything, her entire body started to phase out, which showing nothing more than a training droid. Rebecca look at the training droid, and she was a little upset to see it in front of her. Rebecca got up from the floor, and demand the training droid to tell her what it doing here. Rebecca: training droid, what the meaning of this. What are you doing here, and where is Whisp? Training Droid: my apology Master Rebecca, I was following orders from Master Dashie, and help De-Writer to speak with you. Rebecca: speak with me, you telling me I was talking to Master De-Writer who was acting like, Whisp the whole time. Master De-Writer: indeed you were, and I had to say my little plan actually works. Rebecca jump a little to see, Master De-Writer was inside the Jedi Temple training room. She was about to move a bit further, but she felt someone was standing behind her. That someone was happened to be her older sister, Dashie. Dashie smile at her, letting her know that she was going anywhere. Dashie Writer: nice try Becky, but you not going anywhere this time. Rebecca: sister, but how you were able to get inside? Master De-Writer: while we were talking, you must the lower your guard down a little, which gave your sister enough time to unlock the doors, and gain access the training room. Rebecca: I can’t believe you guys would do something like this. Dashie Writer: we didn’t need to do that kind of tactics, if you just let us in, and we can talk about it. Rebecca: I know, but I just needed some space is all. I’m not in the mood to be lecture all the time. Master De-Writer: we know, that why I talk to you in more of a friendly approach. Course I had to use the training droid, and use the holo image of my apprentice. But it got the job done. Rebecca: of course it did, but your words were wise as always. Thank you for talking to me. Master De-Writer: my pleasure, Rebecca. Just remember that you have friends that will help you, and the force to guide you as well. Rebecca: Indeed. Dashie Writer: but that force won’t protect you from all the trouble you had done. The next two weeks you’re going to be mopping the Jedi training room, and double training as well Rebecca: oh come on, can you give me a little break. Dashie Writer: want me to make three weeks? Rebecca: …. No mam Dashie Writer: no mam what Rebecca: no Master Dashie Dashie Writer: that more like it. The End. this story was done for @ask-de-writer and @wind-the-mama-cat

[sumukhcomedy]

I’ve Talked to Black People So I’m Not Racist

I sat on the bus with my teammates as we traveled for a middle school basketball game. At one point, one of my teammates said to a group of us, “Why can’t Stevie Wonder read?” We shrugged. And he said, “Because he’s Black.” The other kids laughed. Internally, I didn’t react well but I’m sure I chuckled just to continue my acceptance and survival as the only kid who wasn’t white on this bus.

Why do I remember this moment? Why is it one of the few moments that stand out from that basketball season? It’s because racism and its power stand out to you years later. And, now, as I and hopefully many others evaluate the depths to systemic racism, it stands out as a moment of systemic racism. We were barely teenagers and yet somehow my teammate gained knowledge of this racist joke. He passed along the racist joke to us. These kinds of seemingly innocent racist moments and even my place in them to feel as if I could do nothing shows you how far systemic racism goes.

These moments have been a part of me for my entire life. This is what happens when you grow up as a person of color in a predominantly white environment. I’m back at it again as I find myself, in these times, educating white people. This is the great issue of being BIPOC in white environments: you become accepted enough to hear racism but powerless by the system to be able to correct it.

I as a Brown person and certainly Black people get used in systemic racism to comfort white people into believing that they are not racist. For so many I have been “their Brown friend” or “their Indian friend” or whatever. This has also strangely made me a conduit not just to all Indian people but all Arabs, all Asians, all Black people, all Indigenous people, and the list goes on and on. That’s been the case in so many environments including even in comedy as I have written about previously. I have no idea what white people have equated me to be to comfort themselves. It could be anything from close friendships with them to a Facebook friendship to a stranger smiling at me to seeing my comedy show. Any of these can allow white people to feel like they are not racist because they simply have interacted with me.

The fact is that I could be the same way as well. Growing up in such a system means that I am just as white and privileged if I wanted to be. I could say nothing in the current situation that we are in and I would be just fine. Systemic racism and growing up in a white environment can train you to want to support white people and even defend them somehow. It’s particularly the case for Asians, who as the “model minority” get extra bonus points from white people for their success. We are the exemplary immigrant and person of color. So, it becomes easy for some of us to reciprocate white comfort and cozy up with white supremacy because it continues to benefit us.

I can’t say why but I knew, even at a young age, that even though I was in a white environment, I was seen more as my color than I was as white. So I knew I had to better understand that experience on a deeper level. I educated myself on Black issues, Indigenous issues, South Asian issues, and race theory while in college. I interacted with a Black community that ceased to exist where I grew up. I established friendships and valued real conversations on racism inside and outside of the classroom. I’ve done the same since graduating and moving into the strange world of stand-up comedy and in the business world. This effort allowed me to learn and I’m still learning.

An example to express how easy it is to not see systemic racism and white comfort was a video that went viral of John McCain campaigning prior to the 2008 presidential election. A woman in the crowd says to McCain, “I can’t trust Obama. He’s an Arab.” McCain quickly takes the microphone after shaking his head and says, “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is all about.” Everyone has applauded McCain for his decency handling the situation but no one appears to ask the deeper-rooted questions. First, how did this woman get to this point that she’s thinking that way? How did she believe Obama was Arab? What does “being Arab” mean to her (clearly, terrorism, anti-Christianity and perhaps even worse). And, clearly she is not alone, as there was applause from the audience to her concerns. All white people, including McCain (stuck between a rock and a hard place as a politician having to accept these people still needed to vote for him), excused these comments. They brush her off as crazy and racist. But they never addressed why this kind of craziness and racism existed in the first place. They have never dealt with the fact that this kind of racism is a part of even them. Neither McCain nor even YouTube comments years later truly condemn such a question even existing.

53% of white women voted for Donald Trump. This is a stat that gets consistently brought up particularly by white feminists. But this stat hasn’t been dealt with at all. White women are caught in systemic racism and it’s clear, when push came to shove, they chose being white over being a woman. On a purely superficial level, they chose “grab ‘em by the pussy” over the first woman president in the country’s history. The reality is that some of these women (and white men) voted for Obama. How could they vote for Obama and then vote for Trump? It’s because, for so many, it was easy to brush off Obama’s election as the “end of racism.” But, the “end of racism” then signaled a quick move to voting for someone enacting blatant racist policies. Many people got comforted voting for Obama, so comforted that it allowed them to then vote for a man who accused him of not being born in America.

It’s not particularly fair to compare race and gender but I’m not sure how else to do it in these situations to drive home the point. As even a well-meaning man, I no longer tout myself as a feminist as I did in college. It’s a heavy, misunderstood word. But I listen to women, I support women, I speak up when I feel it’s right to do so and then I keep my mouth shut on the topic and keep learning. The same cannot be said of race in this country. So many people (men and women) are getting highly emotional and overwhelmed about it over the past few weeks, but rather than listening and learning, they keep talking. They behave in ways that only white people afforded the benefits of being at the top in systemic racism could have the opportunity to behave like. They speak with the same perspectives on race that systemic racism presented to them. And, when we do bring gender into it, we should understand how particularly difficult it is for Black women and the Black trans community within this system.

If you want to begin to reflect and address systemic racism, perhaps think about the moments in which you experienced it or took it for granted. Maybe it’s something you experienced when in school. Maybe it’s how you behaved with your “Black friend.” Maybe it’s when you watched McCain’s reaction in the video above. Maybe it’s the feeling you had when you voted for Obama. Maybe it’s the feeling you have when presented with the stats on Trump. Either way, we’ve finally reached a point of understanding where we all need to push away the thoughts that we are not racist and embrace how systemic racism has existed in our society forever, how it’s had an effect on us to make us racist, and how we change that.

If we allow ourselves to listen, reflect, and analyze before speaking up, we allow ourselves to get on the path of being antiracist as opposed to “not racist.” Otherwise, you can still applaud yourself for your one Brown friend talking to you or the two times you voted for Obama.