#and they make her mom black instead of japanese

[nightdiary]

first dates with enhypen

word count: 5.4k genre: fluff, gender neutral reader, suggestive bits in jake's and hoon's but nothing too crazy imo author's note: been wanting to write more for enha so this was born... i am down bad for all of them i fear ): also it was almost too easy to get carried away in some spots but i didn't! i'm thinking of making more specific and individual bf posts for each of the members... saving my juicier ideas for then 🤍 as always, feedback is appreciated greatly<3!!!

✧ heeseung - tinder date

you have a routine with all of your tinder dates. after three months on the app, you’d learned how to cycle through the guys quick enough so as not to waste a minute on someone who you didn’t see fitting into your life.

there are three stages to the cycle: one, they had to pass the initial profile check. simple enough, and yet most failed right at the beginning. half-naked photo holding a fish? swipe left. in a douche-baggy frat you’d never heard of? swipe left. 27, not sure what he’s looking for, and republican? hard swipe left.

the second and third stages took the longest, but that’s when the disappointment came in. after a few days of texting, the inevitable message about meeting in person would come. if the guy seemed normal enough, you’d agree, and finally meet. you’d build up the moment in your head and pick out a cute outfit and dance excitedly in your room beforehand, going through the possible conversation starters you could use if it got awkward.

you’d sit through a date with them and wait to be asked questions, wait for them to express some sort of interest in you as a person, but it would never come. instead, you would sit and listen to them harp about themselves for hours. every time, without fail, it was almost as if they didn’t care enough that you were there.

then, they’d presumptuously ask if you wanted to come home with them and, well, your decision couldn’t be clearer.

as much as you hated generalizing, the men from your tinder dates were proving to be pretty shit. they looked good on paper, but when it came down to dating you, they fucking sucked. and you were beginning to lose hope.

you’d sworn that you would take on one last date before deleting the forsaken app. lee heeseung is everything you’re looking for in a man, and you think it’s a wonder he matched with you instantly. the texts you exchange pass your perception of normal, and before you know it, he’s proposing you meet up at a japanese restaurant downtown.

you find yourself sitting across from a man you think god sent as an apology for all of the other 4 billion and some men.

“you are suspiciously perfect,” you frown, squinting at your date across the table. “like it’s weirding me out. what is wrong with you, lee heeseung?”

“quite a lot actually,” he jokes, “but my mom says i’m a good boy. i’d trust her, if i were you.”

snorting, you reach to snatch the last dumpling with your chopsticks. heeseung’s grab the dumpling before yours do, but he’s quick to place it onto your plate and tell you he’ll order more. as he politely calls the waitress over and thanks her when she brings over a new plate of dumplings, you can’t help but think you’re fucked. either your standards are low, or heeseung is just one remarkable man.

but as the afternoon progresses, you begin to lean towards the latter. heeseung takes a genuine interest in your hobbies and work, asking you thought-provoking and personal questions that don’t toe the line of being intrusive and passive-aggressive. you realize that this is the first date you’ve been on where you’ve talked so much, and it feels so weird to not spend the entirety of your date looking forward to going home.

“i think i’ve found out what’s wrong with you,” you tell him once both of you are standing outside of the restaurant. heeseung had paid for the bill no questions asked, and when you’d gotten up to shrug your coat on, you realized with a start that the sky outside was pitch black.

as heeseung hums unassumingly and fixes you with a questioning look, you grin and say, “you hate mint chocolate. you’re a walking red flag, lee heeseung.”

your date bursts out into laughter and shakes his head. the wide smile stays on his face as he offers his arm to you, bringing you close to his side when you take it. “fine, you’ve got me there. can i at least walk you to your bus stop before you block me?”

you pretend to think about it, tapping your chin with your forefinger, before sighing and agreeing with a matching smile. your walk to the stop takes you through a busy central street that’s alive in the early evening, and you can’t help but press yourself closer to heeseung. he steers the two of you through the crowds with relative ease, and you somehow manage not to bump into anyone for the entirety of the walk, all thanks to him.

as you sit on the bench together and wait for your bus to show up, you use the cold as an excuse to huddle up to heeseung’s side. he laughs again, a lilting noise that tugs at your heartstrings, and you quickly realize you’ve gotten yourself in far too deep from the first date.

you have to move off his shoulder when he begins taking his jacket off. confused, you watch as he drapes the material over your back and urges you to slip your arms in through the sleeves so he can zip it up. you notice your bus rolling up to the curb and panic, turning to heeseung with a frown.

“don’t worry about it,” he reassures you. kissing your cheek sweetly, he helps you get up and walks you toward the bus door. “you have to walk home from the bus, i don’t want you getting cold. just give it to me on our next date, yeah?”

stunned, you nod shyly and step into the bus. as you scan your card and take a seat next to the window, you peer outside and grin when you find heeseung waiting to wave goodbye. he’s a bit blurry because the glass has fogged up from the heat, but you can make out the way his face softens when you trace a heart into the window.

with the promise of a second date and heeseung’s cozy coat on your shoulders, you begin making your way home, feeling oddly warm and thrilled beyond belief.

maybe tinder had finally worked out in your favor. you’d make sure to leave a 5 star review when you got home.

✧ jay - rollerskating rink

for what it’s worth, you weren’t the one that chose the location for your first date.

you’d left the decision up to jay, who, in all of his dependable glory, seemed to have chosen the worst possible location– at least for him.

“jay?” you call to the panting boy behind you. “are you sure you’re okay? we can always go sit down for a bit and come back later.”

your date shakes his head adamantly and pushes himself forward using the railing, scrunching his eyes shut like he’s anticipating another fall. he looks awfully adorable in the hot pink skates that the rink had lent him, even if he’s faring worse than a newborn deer with them on. the juxtaposition of his carefully crafted and sophisticated outfit with the cartoonish design of the skates is oddly endearing to you.

“wow, i really thought this looked harder than it actually was,” jay pauses by the railing, leaning down to rub at his ankle with a pained expression. “these skates are beating my ass.”

“why’d you choose this place if you’ve never been rollerskating before?” you can’t help but ask.

“okay, don’t laugh,” jay warns, avoiding your curious eyes. his cheeks are all red as he continues to massage his ankle, and you doubt it’s entirely because he’s exhausted from skating. “your best friend told me you like to come here a lot, but that you never have someone to go with. figured i’d be that person for you, even if i suck a lot.”

the thought of jay willingly sacrificing his comfort and the wellbeing of his ankles for you makes you feel warm all over. you help him stand up and regain his balance without relying on the rail, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his cheek as encouragement. poor unsuspecting jay crumbles down immediately after, clutching onto the rail for support. you can’t help but laugh, though it isn’t unkind.

“just know i appreciate all of your sacrifices,” you tell him. offering your hand, you pull him up and continue to hold on to him as you lightly push backwards with your skates. “we can go slow, i’ll teach you some basic moves to get you moving around on your own.”

jay gulps but nods nonetheless, staggering forward after you. it’s relatively easy to keep him upright when you’re going at such a slow pace, his soft hands encased between the firm fingers of your own. you throw a look over your shoulder every now and then to make sure you don’t run into anyone, but the rink’s empty enough at this hour that you have enough space to move about freely with jay attached to you.

“bend your knees a little– yeah, that’s good, now glide forward one foot at a time, lean into your strides a bit,” you instruct, gaze focused on your date’s wobbly legs. the tight fitting jeans he’d worn are admittedly hot, but you feel a bit guilty thinking about jay’s thighs while he’s trying not to break the bones in them.

as soon as jay gets the basic motions down, you switch to skating side by side with him, your linked hands suspended between the two of you. he’s still slow and careful with his movements, but you can tell he’s fallen into a rhythm that works for him. you don’t mind having to inch your way across the rink with him. if anything, it’s nice having him by your side.

“i think this was just a big ploy to get me to hold your hand,” you tease.

jay flushes and, very tellingly, doesn’t say a word.

snickering, you begin to swing your hands between your bodies. jay’s hand is big and warm, and you don’t want to let go soon. “you should know i would’ve held your hand anyway. next time, let’s hold hands at a place that won’t break your tailbone.”

✧ jake - bowling

“you know what they say about men and bowling?” 

“no, jake,” you deadpan. you knew exactly where this was going, and yet you still decide to give jake the satisfaction. something about being a good date, even if jake has always been a friend you’d teased first and foremost. “what do they say?”

“they’re either good in bed or at bowling,” jake steps back from the lane and looks over his shoulder to wink at you. his arm swings back an exaggerated amount as he walks toward the foul line, sending the ball rolling onto the wood with zero coordination. it immediately goes towards the gutter. “these are mutually exclusive, scientifically proven.”

but in all of jake’s infinite luck, the ball veers towards the middle at the very last minute, hitting the front-most pin and knocking down the rest in succession. above you, the screen plays a cute animation of bowling pins running away from the ball, only to be smothered with a large neon text spelling out STRIKE! in bold letters.

“oh this is so bad for you,” you bite back the urge to laugh. jake’s mortified face turns towards you and you almost lose it at the sight of his heartbroken expression. “you’ve got another turn, by the way. let’s see if you can get a double, babe.”

jake’s next ball ends up in the gutter and he cheers loudly, earning him very confused looks from the kids in the lane next to you. one of them offers their dinosaur bowling ramp to help jake out, but he kindly turns them down and tells them he’s trying to let you win.

unfortunately for the both of you, you don’t hold up too great score-wise either. even with your one lucky spare and otherwise average abilities, jake ends up winning by 20 whole points, a feat he doesn’t seem too keen on celebrating. the light in your lane turns off after the round is over, and jake proposes you two get some well-deserved food.

“do you think this is a lame date?” he asks you once you’ve sat down at one of the plastic benches. you instantly frown at the question and reach out to spear a handful of fries with your fragile plastic fork.

“don’t worry, i think it’s sexy when men are good at sports,” you reassure him, “also it’s cute that you wanted to let me win. and that you bought me loaded fries with extra cheese. it’s super romantic.”

jake snorts, but you notice how his shoulders visibly relax at your words. navigating your friendship-turned-something-bigger was harder than you’d anticipated it would be, and acknowledging your reciprocated feelings was proving to be the easiest part.

you knew that jake was equally on edge about fucking this whole thing up. there was a lot more at stake here than with someone you hadn’t known for years prior. you were afraid of diving headfirst into something that could potentially rip away an important part of you, afraid that one wrong move would send jake tumbling out of your life. you had cherished him long before you had realized you loved him differently.

but as you watch jake chew through a forkful of fries, you realize that there’s nothing complicated about this. things have always been simple with him, and they’ll continue to be no matter if you’re dating or not.

“cmon, next round is on me,” you stand up and wipe the last of the cheese from your mouth. “if you can beat me again, i’ll consider letting you prove that silly bowling theory wrong to me.”

the speed at which jake gets up is dizzying. he’s at the counter paying before you can even catch up to him, sliding a few bills over to the employee and turning to you with a playful grin. “we’re at lane 7, babe. go get warmed up.”

✧ sunghoon - laser tag

your heart is racing so fast you can feel it in your head. clutching the plastic gun to your chest, you press yourself closer to the wall and still your breathing. the red light on your heavy vest has stopped blinking, meaning you’d recovered from the last hit, but you know you can’t risk running just yet.

the undeniable sound of footsteps creeping closer makes you inch toward the corner of the wall, where you know sunghoon is waiting for you. you bite your lip and tense your finger on the trigger, peering over the bricks that are obscuring your vision.

surely enough, even in the darkness of the laser tag arena, you can make out sunghoon’s determined face. he’s crouched down behind a beat-up car, wearily scanning the area. most likely looking for you, but you don’t want to give him the satisfaction just yet.

the blue on his vest has dimmed down– you’d hit him several times earlier and knew this was probably one of his last lives left. your own indicator showed that your lives were also running low, and based on how exhausted you felt, you knew you couldn’t have much time left from the round. you had to move in soon, or risk tying with sunghoon.

in your case, you thought that would be worse than losing.

taking a deep breath, you lift your gun and peer around the corner one more time, and in the split second it takes for sunghoon to notice you, you manage to send a shot straight at his vest. but the light on his vest doesn’t budge, and as you realize you had horribly misaimed, your date takes the opportunity to aim at you properly.

your vest makes a video game-like noise of defeat and you feel your gun power down. you know you have to hide for the next minute to let it recharge, but as you spin around and try to figure out where to run toward, you notice sunghoon already closing in.

“such a shame,” he drawls, holding up his gun with a smirk. you frown, backing up until you feel your shoulders hit a concrete wall. sunghoon’s voice is quiet enough not to draw attention from your teammates, but it sends shivers down your spine nonetheless. “thought you’d finally beat me this round. what happened, babe?”

“i still have one more life left, don’t get all cocky.” you mumble, shaking your gun frustratedly. the minute needed to pass by quicker.

looking over his shoulder, you realize with a frown that you’re in quite possibly the most secluded part of the arena. there’s no hope calling out for help or trying to make a run for it.

sunghoon squints down at your indicator and moves in even closer. you feel your breath quicken when the front of his vest hits yours, and you’re left caged in to stare up defiantly at him. he’s grinning at you like he’s already won.

“i’m not going to let you win,” you lean in toward him and whisper. sunghoon’s eyes flit toward your lips, and you try not to think about throwing your chances out the window and kissing him.

“you don’t have anywhere to run,” he places a hand next to your head on the wall, and to really drive the point home, you feel him press the muzzle of his gun against your side, where you know your sensor is. you’re pretty certain he can hear how fast your heart’s beating, and it makes you flush red from embarrassment. “you ready to admit defeat yet? or are you going to keep being stubborn?”

there’s no reason you should feel this lightheaded, but sunghoon’s so, so close to you that you can’t think properly. he’s practically pressed up against you, warm and solid and he’s barely a few centimeters away, and if you lean in just a bit more, you’ll be able to kiss him.

so that’s what you do.

“sure,” you say simply, and lean up to softly brush your lips against his. you grab at his neck with your free hand, bringing him flush against you so that you can fully slot your mouth with his. he’s surprised– you can tell from the way his gun clatters loudly to the floor next to you, and you try not to smile into the kiss.

seconds later, you distantly hear your gun make a familiar rebooting sound. you hold sunghoon firmly against you as you blindly aim your gun toward the sensor on his side, and with one last peck to the side of his mouth, you pull the trigger.

sunghoon’s vest goes dark. you don’t think he registers this, though, because he stares at you wide-eyed and adorably confused as you pull back from the kiss.

“i win,” you tease, and your date blinks down at his indicator.

“you win,” sunghoon affirms quietly. conveniently, the overhead lights turn on as the round draws to a close, and you can’t help but notice the way he’s reddened all over.

“victory kiss?”

✧ sunoo - picnic

ten minutes into your date with sunoo, you make the most devastating observation ever: sunoo has freckles.

they’re visible for only seconds at time, when the sun hits his face at just the right angle, but it still makes your breath catch in your throat every time you see them. they’re littered across his face like miniature stars, dipping across his cheeks in multitudes and scattering off toward his temples and brow bones.

your hands itch to reach out and trace them.

“–and then once we finally got to the place, it turned out to be super cute and they had some of the best lemonade i’ve ever had.” sunoo’s voice slowly trickles back into your ears, and you blink the world into focus once again.

you find your date looking at you with crinkled eyes, studying your features with amusement. almost like he knows exactly what’s been going through your mind.

“sorry,” you laugh sheepishly, reaching out to grab another chocolate-covered strawberry. sunoo had made them himself for the occasion, that much he’d eagerly disclosed within the first few minutes of the date, and you had found it too endearing for your poor heart. “i got distracted. what was this place called again?”

"auntie lim’s diner,” he answers slowly, smirking when you nod off-handedly. “hey, what’s on your mind?”

“lemonade,” you respond just a bit too quickly, face blanching when sunoo’s grin grows impossibly wider. whining and covering yourself with your hands, you try not to focus on the way his melodic laughter rings out like bells.

“lemonade, huh?” sunoo’s teasing is light-hearted, but that doesn’t stop your heart from leaping up into your throat. “was there some on my face? because you’ve been staring an awful lot for the past few minutes.”

groaning, you duck your head and try to focus on finishing your strawberry. you can feel the heat rise from your cheeks to your ears though, and are certain sunoo’s made note of this when he giggles and leans forward to get a better look at you.

“you’ve got freckles,” you mumble, picking at the leaves of the strawberry. when sunoo doesn’t respond for a while, you look up and bravely gesture toward his cheeks, pointing at where you’d seen the aforementioned spots with a shaky finger. “and like– it’s super cute. you’re super cute. but it caught me off-guard so, like. yeah. sorry for staring.”

sunoo hums. you can feel his eyes roving through your face, but you immediately look away once they finally meet yours. then, you feel something warm encasing your hand, and nearly jerk in surprise when your fingers come to brush against the soft skin of sunoo’s face moments later.

“don’t apologize,” he mumbles, leading your hand down the side of his cheek, where you’d pointed just seconds ago. “i’m really flattered you noticed. and you don’t have to be shy about stuff like this, i’d honestly be a bit worried if we were on a date and you didn’t find me attractive.”

reveling at the supple skin beneath your fingertips, you feel the weight ease off of your chest almost instantly. despite having known each other for a limited amount of time, sunoo’s come to be quick at recognizing when you feel out of place or uncomfortable, and he’s become too good at easing you back into safe waters. he’s too good to you.

“don’t get ahead of yourself,” you tease back instead, unable to handle the growing wave of emotions in you. “i only said your freckles were cute.”

sunoo looks up at you through his lashes, and your hand freezes where it’s fallen by his chin. flitting your eyes downwards, you watch his rosy lips part, almost like they want to voice your hidden intentions. gulping, you subconsciously feel yourself draw in closer, until you can feel his breath wash out against your cheeks like water on shore.

your heartbeat’s in your ears and sunoo’s pretty mouth is right there. glancing back up at his eyes, you notice that he’s also looking down at your lips, tracing the minuscule movement of your tongue peeking out to wet them.

he’s so close. you can almost just lean in a bit and–

“yeah? so then my second date invitation to auntie lim’s diner has been rejected?”

pausing, your eyes widen as you stare back at sunoo in bewilderment. he’s grinning at you slyly, the edges of his eyes crinkling with laughter as his whole body shakes with amusement. you can’t help the string of giggles that bubble out of you almost like second nature. it’s nice, you think, having someone like sunoo to laugh with.

“i mean, i guess i’ll have to try this lemonade you speak so highly of."

✧ jungwon - boba place

in retrospect, choosing a first date location for you and a total stranger was easier than you thought it would be. yang jungwon, as your best friend had briefly introduced him to you, seemed simple enough to enjoy normal things. you already had a place in mind before your friend showed you his photos, but you really couldn’t help it once you laid eyes on him.

“has anyone told you your eyes look like tapioca pearls?”

jungwon’s cat-like features curl in amusement and he pops his lips off of the boba straw. he chews through his last gulp, wiping at the droplet of milk tea that had trickled out onto his bottom lip. you follow the movement with your eyes, coughing when you absentmindedly swallow a pearl without chewing it fully.

“no, but should i take that as a compliment?” jungwon asks, passing you a napkin.

you take it and wipe at your own mouth, cheeks growing red out of embarrassment. “yeah. but now that i think about it, it does sound kind of weird. i don’t want to eat your eyes, i promise.”

jungwon laughs, mouth pulling into an endearingly wide grin. okay, your friend had definitely undersold him. jungwon was cute as fuck.

“why’d you choose a boba place, anyway?” he continues, fiddling with the cup in his hold. he’d finished his drink surprisingly fast, and you have half a mind to offer him some of your own. “not that i don’t like it. great choice, honestly. but why?”

you shrug. “the atmosphere is nice. and if you’re going to go on a date with someone you don’t know that much, might as well go somewhere you can talk. it would be pretty awkward to watch a movie with a stranger, don’t you think?”

jungwon nods seriously, hair bouncing along with his movements. “your friend was right about you being smart.”

“yeah?” now that you thought about it, you hadn’t considered how your best friend had sold you to jungwon. given that he’d agreed, you figured it must’ve been pretty alright. that, and the fact that it was your beloved best friend in question, you had no doubt you were probably oversold, if anything.

still, there was a nagging curiosity in your head that you couldn’t ignore. “what else was my friend right about?”

“that you’re easy to talk to, and that i’d feel comfortable around you,” jungwon muses, glancing down as he traces the rim of his plastic cup. he seems to be mulling over his next words carefully, lips twisted into a cute pout. “they also said that you were pretty. the photos they showed me really were great, but you’re even better in person. not that looks are the most important thing but, y’know. you’re a package deal, basically.”

you feel the way your ears burn red from his words, and you stutter your way through a shocked thank you. jungwon grins knowingly, but doesn’t comment on it further. instead, he asks you if you want to share one of the cake slices in the display window that you were eyeing earlier. you try not to look too eager as you nod, choosing to ignore jungwon’s mumble of cute as he walks away. for your well-being, of course.

jungwon returns with a slice of red velvet and two forks in hand. he waits for you to take the first bite before sinking his own fork into the cake. “your turn. what’d your friend tell you about me?”

you know you have to word your answer carefully, or else you worry you’ll come off as a weirdo. jungwon’s too good to chase off just yet, and you haven’t had this much luck with a date in a long while. or ever, you think.

“my friend told me that the most important things about you were that you’re a psychology major and that you look like that one campus cat,” you trail off, unsure, “charles? was that his name?”

jungwon barely manages to set his fork down before he’s bursting into laughter. you would think you’d said something wrong but his entire face is crinkled with amuse and you can’t help but join in on the giggling, ignoring the glaring teenagers from the table over.

“charlie, yes, of course i know him,” jungwon manages to squeeze in between giggles, “oh my god, i didn’t know people outside of my friend group knew about this joke."

“so you’re the cat that’s always hanging around the quad,” you say, dead-serious, and jungwon meows cutely as if to agree with you.

“okay, so,” he puts his hand up and begins listing off on his fingers, “i look like a boba ball, the infamous cat on our campus, and what else?”

“my next boyfriend,” you say before you can stop yourself, and you slap a hand over your mouth in surprise as your cheeks color in embarrassment.

jungwon grins. “that can be arranged.”

✧ niki - arcade

“okay, now i’m actually convinced you’re cheating,” niki whines loudly, letting go of the controller and slumping back in his seat with a pout.

the game you’ve been going at for the past half hour– a car racing game set in an alternate reality– dramatically replays the moment your character crossed the finish line and won. the stark contrast of the accompanying confetti on the screen next to niki’s misery makes you giggle, and you reach out to slip the tickets that the machine spits out into your backpack.

“will you feel better if i get you something with these?” shaking a strand of tickets enticingly, you watch as your date immediately sits up and abandons his sulking to nod at you eagerly.

the teenager working the prize desk looks at the two of you with such a deadpan expression you nearly mistake him for a robot. gathering your pile of tickets onto the counter, you look up at the various different stuffed animals and boxes on display, frowning once you notice the ticket prices taped onto them, denoted with far too many zeroes for your liking. almost like inflation’s gotten to the arcades as well.

“see anything you like?” you turn to niki, brushing your shoulder against his.

you watch him survey the different rows, expression growing grim once he comes to the same exact realization as you.

“um,” it’s almost comical how you can hear the frown in his voice. “actually nevermind, these prizes are crazy. holy shit, three thousand tickets for a snorlax plushie?”

“right!” you nod, ducking your head and stifling your laughter when the employee sighs out loudly.

with your meager six hundred and thirty-seven tickets, you and niki manage to get a handful of smaller, yet arguably better things: a sticky frog, two chinese finger traps, a whistle that sounds like duck quacks, and three boxes of different pocky flavors.

“i had no idea that coconut pocky existed,” you mumble in awe, reaching into the packet to draw out another stick. you observe it under the fading sunlight, popping it into your mouth with a happy hum.

after you and niki had spent your fortune of tickets, you’d decided to take your business elsewhere (or, alternatively: leave before the employee ended up kicking you out). you found yourselves on a bench right outside of said establishment, going through each of the prizes that you’d tucked away into your backpack.

“me neither, but i really like ‘em. here, have some of the mango ones,” niki holds out a second box towards you, and you eagerly reach in to pull out some of the sticks. 

the sun’s begun to descend down the horizon, and you realize with a start that you’d managed to spend the entire day in the arcade with niki. the date seems to be drawing to an inevitable end, much to your disappointment, but you can’t help and savor the warm feeling that the day has left you with.

“it’s getting dark,” niki seems to read your thoughts. you hear shuffling and turn to see him stand up and collect his belongings, reaching out to offer his hand to you once he’s done. “i should walk you to your bus stop.”

staring up at him, you blurt, “do you want to go get a proper dinner instead?”

the words rush out of you before you can think, but no matter your shyness, you’re glad you’ve said them. niki’s surprised expression quickly morphs into something gentler, and he nods almost like he’s relieved. “oh thank god, i didn’t want to go home yet either.”

laughing, you take his hand and stand up from the bench you’d been sharing for the past hour. but even after he helps you up, niki doesn’t let go of your hand, instead threading his fingers through yours to hold you more comfortably.

you don’t say anything, but when niki looks over at you to make sure it’s okay, you smile at him brightly.

“so– fried chicken?”

[writingwithcolor]

Representing Biracial Black South American Experiences…Through a White/Asian Mixed Race Character in Europe

@colombinna asked:

I have a YA story that's in very early development - pre-alpha, if you will. For now what I have developed is the characters: one of the MCs is a biracial asian queer girl (her dad is thai-american and japanese, her mom's white), she has a medium/dark brown skin, and lives in a very white context in a fictional European country. The contact she has with her extended family is limited to phone calls and regular visits because her dad moved from the US to said fictional European country.

I'm a biracial black queer girl myself, living in a very white community in South America, my extended black family also lives in a different place, and I'm taking a lot of my experiences of being not white and queer whilst living in white communities into her story (the feeling of not belonging, the impostor syndrome, standing out as one of the only POC kids in class, etc) and thinking back to what I've heard asian friends and classmates say about their experiences in the same school/community context as mine. But I want to know how different her experiences as a dark-skinned asian girl would differ from mine and my friends' in a similar context (white community, small number of other asian people - and POC in general - in the social circles, and limited contact to her extended family), and what experiences could make sense if the character was biracial black like myself, but won't if she's biracial asian.

Why not write a biracial Black girl if those are the experiences you want to represent? 

This MC is straddling, like, 3 different cultures. Having multiple immigrant identities in not-Europe is not the same experience as being Black in South America; while both are complex minority experiences, there are too many differences in intersections and histories to compare. Not to mention, it really depends on what European culture(s) you’re basing your not-Europe on. 

I think you’ll find that the written result will ring much more genuine and rich in depth if you either translate your experiences more directly or pick a more narrow focus, instead of assuming that there is a universal for racism and colorism against biracial people that is transferable across contexts. Because there isn’t. There can be overlaps, but if you’re looking to cover the entire range of What It’s Like in general, it won’t work.

This isn’t to say that people can’t use other identities to write about specific experiences of their own, but in this case you need to think about what story you want to tell and what your reasons are. Marika’s commentary will go more into when and how this can be done effectively. 

Also, if the point is to make her a dark-skinned Asian, as a white/asian mix myself, I implore you: why must you make her 1/4 Japanese and 1/2 white? Even with the Thai ethnicity thrown in, Thai people very much range in skin tone and have their own domestic issues with colorism. It’s not impossible for dark-skinned examples of your MC’s ethnic makeup to exist, but still I don’t recommend it for two reasons: 

It's going to make researching people whose experiences fit that much more difficult. Most experiences of colorism, othering, and other forms of discrimination that mixed white asians tend to face are completely different from mixed race asians who tend to have darker skin & features.

There's enough Japanese & white mixed Japanese rep in the Asian rep sphere as is. Consider that this individual could be mixed Asian (not Japanese) with something else (not white)! 

But again, think over your motivations. I’ll spare you the copy/paste of our Motivations PSA, but re-read it and consider. Why do you wish to write a mixed Asian character to tell the story of your experiences as a mixed Black individual instead of a mixed Black character? What does it add to the story? Is it an effective vessel for the experiences you want to convey? 

~ Rina

I think Rina brings up some good points here: I’m not hearing a lot of specificity in your query. As you doubtless know firsthand, the more intersectional and complex an identity, the more of a chance the identity may come with unexpected baggage and nuances that fly in the face of what is common sense for less intersectional identities. This can make writing such characters challenging just because there is so much choice on which identity themes to emphasize. 

I once spent about 15 minutes explaining to a person the thought process I used to determine when I could wear jeans depending on which country I was living in as a mixed race person who is perceived as different things in different places. It might seem trivial, but it’s actually very important to me for the purposes of identity, safety and gender presentation, so I personally think it’s interesting. But will my readers think a character’s multi-page internal monologue on whether or not to wear jeans is especially compelling? Does the writer-version of me want to research the version of myself musing on my specific jeans conundrum to that extent? Or do I want to talk about other things related to attire a lot of other people would relate to? I think those are all YMMV questions, but hopefully, they provide some perspective that will help you be intentional about how you might want to tackle something potentially very time-consuming.

When I say intentional, I mean that when covering a complex identity with which you are peripherally familiar, it will always be more effective and easier to use it to tell a specific story extremely clearly than to be extremely broad in scope and try to include almost everything about your own experiences, especially because some of those experiences might not be as relevant for your character’s background as they are to yours.      

One of my favorite childhood picture books is written and illustrated by a Nikkei writer-illustrator team. The book is titled Ashok by Any Other Name (link). The story features a desi child growing up in the US who wishes he had an American name his friends and teachers wouldn’t think was strange. It covers how being othered for his name makes him feel, and how he copes with that feeling. Speaking as someone both Japanese and desi, I think through the plot device of names perceived by the majority of Americans as foreign, this book aptly shows how many immigrant/diaspora creators are capable of relating to the pressures of assimilation experienced by other immigrant, even if the creator, the audience and the story’s subject’s backgrounds all don’t completely overlap 100%. 

There will be aspects of your Blackness, mixed identity, skin color, sexuality and living in a local community lacking diversity as a member of many minority groups that you will find resemble/ resonate with the experiences of mixed-race, Japanese individual in a Europe-themed setting, and I think any story that leans into those themes will be considerably easier for you to research. In other words, instead of asking us “How does my experience differ?” I would approach this issue by deciding what narrative you want to show about your own experience and then research the specific contexts within which your desired story overlaps with elements of mixed-race Japanese experiences. 

- Marika.

[gemsofgreece]

I was reading a collection of Japanese legends and discovered that their author, Lafcadio Hearn, was part Greek by mother and was born in Greece, although he didn't remain there and was raised mostly in Ireland. At some point, he moved to Japan and married Koizumi Setsuko, a Japanese woman. He wrote books inspired by Japanese folklore with the help of his wife, who is said to have been passionate about legends and who apparently helped him both with writing in Japanese and with information about legends she knew. When he became a Japanese citizen, he took her surname and his Japanese name was Yakumo Koizumi. Both of his marriages were controversial by the standards of the time, as his first wife Alethea Foley was a Black American woman and this violated Ohio's anti-miscegenation law at the time and his second wife Koizumi Setsuko was Japanese and at the time Japan was also not open-minded about marriage with foreigners. Apparently, he had some importance in popularizing Japanese stories in Europe and the Americas. My question is: is he known in Greece? It's said that he had a great interest in Greek culture. I admit I hadn't heard of him before reading this collection, so I was curious if he was known in his mother's country. His mother, Rosa Cassimati, at one point annulled her marriage to his father and returned to Greece, as she was suffering from xenophobia in Ireland and missed home.

Incidentally, I found out about him recently in some article about little known influential Greeks. As this already implies, no he is not known in Greece. The attempts to make him known to the wide public, which I have noticed, are very recent and scarce. I have made a mental note to read his works, it will be so refreshing to read a Greek exploring a foreign culture instead of the opposite all the time. (Semi related fun fact: A LOT of the information we have about Wallachian Vlad Tepes, commonly known as Dracula, and especially his father and grandfather, come from his contemporary Greek historian named Laónikos Chalkokondýles. Does this have anything to do with Lafcadio? Well no, except the similarity that the vast majority of Greeks do not know him and I did not either until I made the peculiar decision to read a Romanian historian’s book about Dracula who was citing Chalkokondyles all the time!) Unfortunately Greeks nowadays only appreciate the popularisedTM by the West parts of our history, with few exceptions. A tragedy to be honest with you.

To turn back to him, can we appreciate how the Cassimatis mindset was so ahead of its time?

Lafcadio went against the law to marry a Black American.

He fully embraced his second wife’s culture and adjusted completely to it, to not make their marriage and her situation amongst fellow Japanese people difficult.

He took her surname, so non-typical for a man of his time.

His mom was not having it with the racism, said fook this, dumped the dad and returned to Greece. (Okay basically the marriage was awful in general and she couldn’t tolerate it so much she had to leave the children behind - the children were treated well by the father’s family)

There are museums both in Greece, in Lefkada island (his birthplace - hence his name) and in Japan about him. The town of Lefkada and Matsue city in Japan have become sister cities. So he is well known on an academic and statutory level in Greece but people on average do not know about him and his interesting life, no.

[iloveschiaparelli]

Finding out from my mom that I spoke full sentences at 10 months old and then adding that to all my other memories of being young just feels like a punch to the gut

When I first self dxd autism I knew that my experiences from age 10 up were consistent with autism diagnostic criteria but I only had a very vague understanding of how my early childhood was affected. Like I knew that I behaved the same way but I didn't have any specific examples and at first my mom didn't believe me either, so she wasn't much help. I honestly believed that I must not have presented autism in an obvious way, since it was missed in my childhood.

But since then I've realized/learned several things:

I was speaking in full sentences at 10 months old. Typically that isn't supposed to happen until age 3 or 4.

I spoke incessantly. All the time. To the point where my mom still jokes that they had to "train me to stop talking" (what exactly that entailed I have no idea???)

Throughout my life including early childhood people have asked me to slow down when talking or remarked on how fast I spoke

In my childhood and pretty much through out my life pre-depresion, people would remark on how good my memory was. Especially in my early childhood (4-8 years old) I would get comments like this ALL THE TIME, I just remembered literally everything?

I taught myself to read at age 4. Because I wanted to read the same storybook over and over again for a period of over a week at least, and my caregivers were sick of reading it to me and started saying no when I asked. So I said "fine, I'll just read it to myself." I was reading at a 3rd grade level at least. by the time i was 5. When I was 5 or 6, I read The Secret Garden, unabridged. I remember this because I was really into tinkerbell at the time, it had just come out. TSG was my mom's copy of the book from her childhood and I had to confess to her that I had fallen asleep while reading and the paperback cover had fallen off in my bed.

Despite making my way through the book pretty quickly, I did not understand a lick of the meaning. I just took down the sequence of events.

I often sat down and arranged stones or blocks or my dollhouse elements by category, size, or color. I would also spend times trying to make sure the chains on the swinger were perfectly aligned.

I watched Finding Nemo maybe 30 times when I was 1-3 years old. Like I would beg my parents to start it over again immediately after it finished. At the time my parents owned a wall projector instead of a TV, so big picture. I suspect now that I was seeking out a visual stim because I still find that movie delightful.

Also forgot to mention, we lived in Japan when I was 1-2.5 and I started learning Japanese?? I don't remember it but according to my parents I was already using some Japanese words by the time we returned to the US. And I had learned to use chopsticks.

Dinosaur. Arms.

Picky eating that was explicitly known to be a texture issue. Nobody thought to analyze this further.

When I was 6 or so I was exposed to plush blankets for the first time. It became my dream to own one. I bought my first one when I was 19 and now I own like 10 of them because plush is one of my favorite textures in the world. But girls I would literally sit in bed and dream about owning a plush blanket. For years. Every time I went to summer camp and someone brought one for themselves I would stare at it, forlorn. Yearning.

I would read the science homeschool books excessively. I went into 5th grade Earth Science already knowing everything that we were being taught, because I had pored over geology and physical science books since I was 5. Probably about 5 years old is when I was able to explain how volcanoes worked and the layers of the earth. Also the water cycle.

These science books also included my dad's 100 year complete collection of national geographic magazines. At 2 years old I was able to explain the star life cycle and how black holes formed. As well as what would happen if you fell into one.

Once I gained access to the internet at 14 my knowledge of the cosmos expanded explosively. I became able to thoroughly explain multiverse theory, multiple theories for the origin of the universe, a good deal of the geological history of Mars, Mars's atmospheric composition, and could fully explain how solar flares worked, how Earth's magnetic field protected us, and how Mars magnetic field had disappeared taking the atmosphere with it. I was failing biology.

Transfered schools twice and a year later had to start biology over again, this time aced it. DNA replication was simple as pie.

SUCKED at math. Always.

Sucked at socialization.

Hyperfixated on the Maze Runner movies to the point where I had the 2nd one memorized and would read the credits for fun. Got so into the BTS that 5 years later I went to film school.

LOUD music was my faborite coping mechanism. Just about destroyed my hearing because I would, on a nightly basis, play heavydirtysoul on loop through the Brookstone ear buds I had gotten for Christmas at Max volume until I felt calm enough to sleep. Would also squirm with the music which i now know to be an uninformed attempt at stimming.

Just... how did I NOT get screened for autism as a kid? I was literally a textbook case for what likely would have been diagnosed as aspergers at the time.

My parents were somewhat neglectful at that time because of a lot of reasons, but I don't really fault them for it. Sometimes I forget that they even were but then I remember things like this.

Asked my mom about it yesterday "how did you not think me speaking full sentences at 10 months was weird?!!" And her response was "we didn't know!"

They didn't know my dad was autistic.

They didn't know that hitting your milestones 2-3 years early is NOT normal and likely a sign of a disorder.

They didn't know that repetitive behavior and obsessive organizing is not normal.

If they had known...... my childhood would have been so different. I wouldn't have nearly flunked out of college. I wouldn't have grown to hate myself because of my social skills. I wouldn't have had countless episodes of feeling like I was going to explode out of my skin but shoving it down and chewing on my cheek just to get through the social situation. So much would have been different.

This is why it's so important to spread general awareness of autism symptoms and behaviors. Real and varied examples, not just solely sdtereotypes and nonverbal autistic alone. And not just autism either but pretty much any disorder.

Or at least an awareness about what child development is SUPPOSED to look like, so that parents can flag when things aren't normal.

[kaiaden]

New Ninja Designs (with head cannons)

Okay, so I improved my art style and changed some of my techniques, so now they all have their own face shape instead of looking like carbon copies.

My height HC’s:

Zane: 6’8”

Cole: 6’5”

Kai: 5’8”

Nya: 5’7”

Lloyd: 5’4”

Jay: 5’3”

Yes, I know that Lloyd and Jay are rlly short, it’s purposeful, okay? It’s my head cannons anyways, it’s not like I draw them like twinks, personally, my head cannon is that Jay might be lean, but he has muscle and can still kick ass, same with Lloyd.

I personally made Jay short and Nya tall because I like that dynamic, it’s not seen a lot, I just love it, I feel like Jay gets insecure over his height, and that he’s not taller than Nya, but Nya always reassures him, and makes him feel good about himself, they’re both emotional and mental support for each other.

For Lloyd, I just couldn’t help it, I laughed at the thought of Lloyd being shorter than Arin and Sora, and like, one day, Sora pokes fun of it, and Arin kind of just chuckles, and Lloyd’s like ‘oh yeah?’ And wins in a monitored fight with them easily.

Close ups:

I changed his ears, I kind of just grew out of his old ones, and I like these ones way better, I also added scars on his face, and slight eye bags (bcuz of season 2 of DR), the chocker covers a scar on his neck that he gets slightly insecure of, him, Kai, and Nya have matching ones that the two sibling bought for Lloyd. I only gave him one horn cuz, I dunno 🤷🏻‍♀️ . I personally head cannon that Misako is fully Japanese, and of course, Garmadon is Oni and Dragon as far as we know.

Kai didn’t really change much other than his choker tbh, my head cannon is that Ray is fully Hispanic, while Maya is half Polynesian and half Chinese, Kai looks Hispanic mixed with some slight Asain features, while Nya looks more Polynesian.

The marks on her face are lighter than the rest of her skin.

I changed Jay’s irises, his human looking eye is blue with a regular pupil, while his other is from season 1 when he nearly got turned into a serpentine, the color of it is yellow. His bio mom, Libber, is white, and his bio dad, Cliff, is Korean. He also gained a chin scar from a time where he fell and cut his chin of a sharp piece of metal when he was building something.

Cole didn’t change much either, only his eye shapes. My HC is that his mom was black, while his dad is Japanese.

Was originally going to draw him smiling, but it looked weird. He was designed to look human, but the race he looked more like ended up being Asain, which I kind of just toss Korean around when asked.

Eyes:

Lloyd’s eyes are like a cat, he gets it from the Oni.

Kai’s eyes are brown, but when he uses his powers, you can see hints of orange and red.

Nya’s eyes are a grey, but can look very light blue while indoors, or in shade, if you look long enough. (Jay was the first person other than Kai to figure this out)

Zane’s eyes are just an unnatural icy blue color.

I kept the eyebrow slit, I couldn’t help it, also, when he uses his powers, you can see hints of what looks like lightning.

Cole’s eyes are brown, but when using his powers, you can see hints of orange.

Hope you like it :D

[chibivesicle]

Trigun directly informs the character designs for Kekkai Sensen/Blood Blockade Battlefront

I’ve been thinking about a fun little meta for awhile about how much of the vibes and character style from Trigun translated over to Kekkai Sensen/Blood Blockade Battlefront.  Taking my brain off of hardcore Trigun for a bit let’s have some fun with Yasuhiro Nightow’s character design and how he likes to recycle and reform them.

The Japanese DVD box set volume 3 shows my three favorite charas in a  Norman Rockwell The Saturday Evening Post parody.  Steven drives a car while Chain snacks and K.K. screams excitedly.

The fact that the animation creative team went in this direction meant they were really having fun with the anime, but let’s dig into how Trigun translated more to Blood Blockade Battlefront.

Characters from Trigun and how they relate to Blood Blockade Battlefront

Vash the Stampede = K. K.

That’s right, our pacifist gunslinger is re imagined as the Bratatat Mom, code name K. K.

The character design has the same red duster jacket with tight black clothing underneath.  K.K. even has some finger less gloves for her ease of operating either her sniper rifle or her handgun.  She can also use two handguns at the same time while fighting.  They are tall and lanky, have blonde hair and both can be bubbly at times to cover up how they are really feeling.  Vash’s unique sunglasses became an eye patch for K. K. and she will also cover her eyes with sunglasses to not attract attention to the right eye as well.  Unlike Vash, K.K. is willing to kill a target if necessary and has the most awesome husband ever and two sons.  I very much like her character and wish she were a more involved member of the B3 cast but by her nature, is a bit more of a loner but seen as quite powerful.  She is critical of the patriarchy and has a real axe to grind with Steven who is closest to her and still different from her; this is due to the fact that they are the two senior members of the team over thirty and made different choices in their personal/private lives.

Meryl Stryfe = Leonardo Watch

The very detail oriented and short fused insurance adjuster Meryl is now Leonardo a budding journalist who by sheer luck joins Libra. Considering that Meryl ended the manga as a reporter it makes sense for this to be Leo’s starting place.

Both characters can be quick to snap out a remark of shock or annoyance, are the shortest adult member of the cast and have short dark hair.  Meryl’s hair was black with a purple undertone and so is Leo’s with more purple.  By B3 Back 2 Back, Leo’s hair picks up a more red tone which eventually translates into the anime adaption.  These characters frequently point out how absurd the events around them are while the rest of the cast calmly accepts things at face value.  Unlike Meryl in the manga, Leo is the reader’s entry point into the city and plays a role very similar to the anime version of her.  Like Vash, Leo is not the type of character to take a life and instead serves as support for the rest of the team early on in his time with Libra.  Both respect life and even though we know that Meryl has shot individuals in the manga and implied to have in the anime, she takes it very seriously and treats it with due respect.

Milly Thompson = Klaus V. Reinherz

The somewhat ditzy, honest and emotionally mature Milly is now seen in the character of Klaus; a true gentleman and total tank of a character.  Klaus towers over Leo, the same way as Milly is considerably taller than Meryl.

Klaus, gives zero fucks what others think about him, has no bias based on gender, species, affiliation, race etc etc.  He’s one of the most genuine characters who could crush opponents and enjoys a fine cup of tea just like Milly.  They both have more casual looks with ties, suspenders/vest and dark pants.  At first, Klaus was a decent character in my opinion but as the anime progressed, he grew on me and grew on me until realizing that I really do like him and his well balanced approach to life.  He enjoys simple pleasures in life like taking the subway, playing chess and/or prosfair and watering all the plants at the Libra main office.  Klaus is always there to accept Leo and encourage him along the way.  He never takes his strength for granted and can’t say no to others.

Also like Milly, Klaus is emotionally mature and works to help others calm down in sticky situations or encourage them when stuck.  He is frequently paired with Leo who greatly respects him and learns from him.  He also does not appear to have a driver’s license meaning he either ends up in the same car as Leo or trying to fit himself on Leo’s small motorbike.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood = Chain Sumeragi

The amazing werewolf of Libra, Chain is the first version of Wolfwood in B3.  Her character design is female Wolfwood other than her black vs tan shoes.

She occasionally has a small firearm, but was a terrible shot to not become an elite assassin and instead wanted to remain in intelligence.  Chain has the some of Wolfwood’s more juvenile pranks or remarks especially when Zapp is involved with her.  Chain is sarcastic, but it is targeted at one individual - Zapp Renfro and only Zapp.  It appears since Zapp and Leo are frequently together along with Zed, she’ll tease Leo a little but does not hurt him when she lands on him or sits on his head, instead only giving out pain to Zapp.  She has a high alcohol tolerance and will help out characters but doesn’t like for them to realize it at the time.  Like when Leo’s wallet got stolen from him in ‘Day In Day Out’ but she sticks it in his shirt collar as opposed to giving it back to him.  Chain is the sort of character who doesn’t want to be recognized and instead hang back and do things quietly.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood = Steven A. Starphase

The names alone show that these two characters are directly related.  Yet, Steven has a real middle name, Alan, as opposed to the D being whatever Yasuhiro Nightow felt it should be when interviewed in the moment.

Early on in the first volume of the manga, Steven also goes without his characteristic yellow tie with a dark blue dress shirt making him look even more like Wolfwood.  They both frequently are shown with a hand or two in their pockets and can be quite charismatic and friendly.  They have foodie tastes and respect well prepared meals.  Both men also have to deal with darker situations which their partner[Vash]/boss [Klaus] would not deal with.  Wolfwood did not hesitate to kill opponents of Vash to prevent further damage while, Steven will make sure that certain problems disappear before they reach the rest of Libra.  One could say they move in the shadows, but Wolfwood is more of a character who deals with things directly, while Steven has the right person or party on speed dial.    Wolfwood worked within the system of the Eye of Michael making him somewhat legit while Steven is the direct contact to the HLPD, FBI, governmental bodies, and likely organizations that straddle grey areas.  The fact that Steven will go through proper channels indicates a greater respect for the rule of law and civil society only moving into shady areas when absolutely necessary.

Therefore, with the basic character design and personalities it is pretty logical that we get certain pairings to generate enjoyable dynamics.

Meryl & Milly - Leo & Klaus.  The small hardworking realist with a quick temper is teamed up with the honest, occasionally ditzy giant.  Neither character looks down on the other and they are able to learn about themselves and others through their interactions.  Without Leo, Klaus would be unable to seal Blood Breeds.  Without Klaus, Leo would not learn to accept his guilt and gain confidence in himself and helping others.  Leo frequently doesn’t see his own strength since it is through his relationships and not physical force like Klaus demonstrates.

The size difference alone is exactly like Meryl and Milly here!  Leo is the one who is more than aware of what Zapp is planning to do quickly as events unfold but Klaus never even realizes that he’d been played by Zapp.  The two have genuine hearts and respect of all life (that isn’t trying to kill them at least).

One color panel for the manga which really captures B3 well and how close Klaus and Leo are is the following.  They are likely relaxing or killing time at the office enjoying the quiet.  Leo and Klaus are playing video games while Sonic watches next to them.  Meanwhile, the Luddite that he is, Steven loosens his tie while reading the daily paper.

Steven isn’t even paying attention to what they are doing. But Sonic is.  It is clear that Leo and Klaus are having fun and building on their relationship with each other.

Vash & Wolfwood = K.K. & Steven.  The two senior members of Libra frequently are teamed up together even though K.K. is annoyed by Steven (likely because he never lets her take time off to be with her family).  Steven frequently tries to play it cool with his calm demeanor while K. K. likes to tease him due to his rather academic approach to things ‘Dr. Steven-sensei’.  Despite their vocal bickering, the two work quite well together.

In Trigun, it is Wolfwood who is annoyed that he’s assigned to deal with Vash.  In B3 it is K. K. who always scoffs at her partner Steven.  It sort of makes sense, Steven with his Esmeralda Blood Freeze is cold and calculating in his actions but frequently must get relatively close to his opponent.

In contrast, K. K. literally shoots electrified bullets and will do support for Steven.  Their tension also likely comes from the fact that K. K. has a ‘typical’ family life with her husband and two sons to protect and take care of.  The opposite is the bachelor life of Steven in his lonely loft apartment with a great kitchen, stylish decor and no actual friends outside of work besides his housekeeper.  However, they are incredibly similar, angry at themselves for enjoying things in a brief instant related to their family or friends which ended poorly.

Wolfwood & Milly = Steven & Klaus

The Trigun anime really makes this a more important aspect of their character than the manga; Wolfwood and Milly work together more than once to help people out of a tight spot, think of the episode ‘Escape from Pain’ or the entire manga battle between Wolfwood and Midvalley when Milly steps in to help Wolfwood out.  However, the partnership between Steven & Klaus is much deeper than Wolfwood & Milly.  Klaus 100% trusts Steven to get all their ducks in a row and to make sure all of the logistics of Libra are working.  At the same time Steven understands the pressure that Klaus puts on himself and tries to lighten his load even if Klaus is oblivious to it.

The two play chess when Steven is first introduced and Klaus listens to Steven’s concerns about having Leo join Libra.

When Leo is kidnapped, it is Steven who immediately is worried about Klaus.

I like how these two characters have such great rapport and trust between each other.  Steven comments on how Klaus made a joke, something he’d likely say with his quick wit and dry sense of humor.

We seen in ‘Bloodline Fever’ that Steven completely trusts that Klaus will arrive on time to seal the Elder Blood Breed that he and K. K. only had to hold for four minutes.  It also shows that K. K. trusts Klaus as she was his escort to meet the Alterworld mafia don and based on her comments, she’s done this many times for Klaus. 

Steven trusts that Klaus can hold out against the one vampire from the missing hospital long enough for Leo to determine his name and result in his sealing.

The fact that the two of them can communicate when all they need is a single quip from Steven in reply to Leo’s answer and demolish an opponent is incredible.

What I find most refreshing about their relationship is that Steven, the older individual does not mind to be the second in command.  He’s a social enough person with ample skills to network and manage people effectively and does have more experience in the matter.  However, he also knows that he is not the right leader for Libra and finds purpose in his role on the team.  Klaus is too likely to be led on or lied to by others and Steven is streetwise enough to avoid or to use those people for their own benefit.  Klaus is the all to trusting Dad while Steven is the Mom making sure the kids don’t fight at dinner.

I also like the fact that when their main office needed security upgrades, the two of them accidentally invaded, Leo, Zapp (and Zed’s) sacred diner space.

Nothing like finding your bosses in your home away from home Leo!

Honestly, I could go on about this for way longer but I’ll stop it here.  Klaus and Steven are great and I love them.

Wolfwood & Wolfwood = Chain & Zapp? & unrequited crush on Steven

The one character who I have a harder time pairing in a sort of Trigun fashion is Chain Sumeragi.  Even though she is female Wolfwood, the character who she has the most dynamics with is Zapp Renfro.  Which would make her a sort of positive Wolfwood traits meets all negative Wolfwood traits plus manwhore.  Zapp smokes, drinks, gambles and fucks as much as possible.  He has the vices that Wolfwood had (save for the sex) and definitely exists to be a foil with Leo, Zed and well, most of the cast.  Yes, she has a crush on Steven, but the man is absolutely out to lunch on the matter.  In the anime, he’s oblivious to the entire protocol to undilute Chain and how it relates to him.  Then again, if someone screamed and threw a chair at you resulting in injury, it would be hard to call that attraction or affection.  Terrifying would be the most accurate word.  I’ve only read the first two volumes of the manga in English and it is clear that she has eyes for him, but again, he gives off the vibes that work comes first.

Since Zapp hangs out with Leo frequently, Chain ends up in their mischief as well, wanting to help them out but seeming too cool for school.  I don’t know if the anime upped the petty fights between Chain and Zapp more, but it def has that enemies to friends (?) dynamic going on.  I’m curious to see how things unfold in the manga as I read it.

 The fact that B3 Back 2 Back has the following covers seems to indicate a stronger Klaus & Steven, Chain & Zapp, and K. K. & Steven dynamics.

Furthermore, there is only the B3 volume 10 cover where Chain and Steven are next to each other, but Steven’s back is to her.  It seems any potential Chain and Steven relationship is likely not in the cards.  In group covers, Steven and K. K. are next to each other most frequently based on their skills as a two person team.

All in all, I love how elements of Trigun made their way into B3.  It is fun to look at all the angles, from the physical character design, to their personalities and their relationships with each other.  I’ve been a fan of Trigun for over twenty years, so it is hard to say if B3 is better than it - but, I do appreciate the realistic adult relationships, doubts, fears and goals of it more so that Trigun.  The sitcom feel to B3 really feels relaxing and I enjoy the rambling stroll through the city with this quirky cast of characters.

With my disappointment in Stampede, I can at least laugh and cry at how the B3 anime and manga really capture the elements that made Trigun so likable to me in the first place.  And that is all I can ask for - another zany series with lovable characters that you can’t help but root for.

[circledotdestroy]

Retrospective - Chapter 1: My Old Friend, My New Problem

Pairing: Shouta Aizawa x F! Pro-Hero! Reader (slow burn)

Summary: After 12 years, you, Pro-Hero Strife, has to return to Japan. Your objective: discreetly track down and capture Akari Kaneko, a.k.a. Pro-Hero Aegis— your old classmate who attacked you during her visit in America. In the aftermath of All Might losing his power, however, using UA resources has its complications. The most unexpected complication being Aizawa, someone you never expected to see again. Why does your past have to come back to haunt you now?

Masterlist

Next Chapter

Word count: 2380

You shouldn’t be on the ground of your hotel room. Not with all the glass and furniture the two of you broke. Not holding a knife in your abdomen so it doesn’t move. Your old friend shouldn’t be grabbing her bag and limping toward the door like she tripped and you two didn’t destroy the room in a fight.

Akari was panting with her bloodied hand on her ribs. “It was nice seeing you again,” Akari Kaneko said in English. When she was done she turned from the cracked glass, there was blood dripping from her soft smile as she saw you amongst the splintered furniture and broken glass. Akari winced as her hand left her gray tank top to smear the blood away from her chin to match eye makeup on her face. “I have to go now. Find me when the time comes for the next mission, ok?”

When you were young, your mom carried you to bed the night after your first martial arts tournament. When she laid you down, you were waking up. The yellow light of the hallway shone behind her when she persuaded you to close your eyes again.

This wasn’t the appropriate time to be reminded of that. Not when your nerves felt so cold, numb like when you hold snow without gloves on. You should never feel this hollow.

Akari’s face was more serious and her voice was stern. “-we need to work together.” she said in Japanese. Akari Kaneko, with blood in her peach-colored hair, waited for an answer by the door, but threw her duffel bag over her shoulder.

You stared at the blurred image of her focusing more on staying awake, but your head… It was throbbing…

“I’ll see you soon, Pro-Hero Strife” She shouted in English for any other guests to hear before shutting the door behind her, leaving you in the half-lit room for two– gloved-hand holding a knife carefully between two strips of metal, lodged in your abdomen. The back of your head burned.

The warmth buzzed down your spine, hopefully that meant a staff member saw Akari. They’d be more likely to get closer to the disaster zone than the average person. Though if anyone saw the state you were in, it’d make this aftermath more bearable. Taking a deep breath, you dispersed the energy flowing through you. A shaking arm and legs pushed you off the ground without the courtesy of giving you balance. Your left hand tried to keep the knife steady between the bloodied, black plates, as you shifted your weight, despite your tremors. The sting alone almost made you topple over

Few villains have given you punctures, but none of them were like this. You reached out to the edge of the bed frame for aid and it collapsed under the force. A grunt escaped upon the impact between your right side and the piece of wood. While slapping the broken pieces crossed your mind, you knew you didn’t have time for that. Instead you pushed against it and stumbled across the room for the beige telephone in the corner. When you got to the nightstand at the far-end of the room you collapsed into the doorframe with your back.

Dialing for your agency’s medic, you scrutinized the damage the two of you had done. The torn curtain, broken window, a chair and a table that broke into splinters, the glass from the tv screen decorated the floor, your suitcase had busted the lamp on your nightstand. To think, both of you could’ve done a lot worse if you used your quirks on each other.

You sighed as the ringing started and allowed yourself to sink to the floor, still cradling the knife inside you. Did Akari really come all this way so she can leave you like this?

A couple of days later, you wandered the halls of your old school, unsure if the years made you forget how to transverse the hallways or if the floor plan really changed. Good thing you thought to arrive as soon as you could. Even if there was no set time for you to arrive, the security measures implemented into the school, specifically a man with a dog-based quirk and rough voice that was difficult to translate, proved to be a lengthy process to go through itself. When he was done looking at your hero license, passport, and the bundle of documents for your visit, he allowed you to enter the school. Now you were trying to decipher the list of directions given by Hizashi. They were vague, and very blurry on the paper. Even if the hallway was empty, you felt stupid walking around, squinting at text and straining your eyes so early in the morning.

The current principal was nice enough to let you present your case to the current staff to decide if you should have access to their records and library. To your understanding, the school, the first year hero course in particular, had been through a lot in these few short months. If UA were to offer you resources, chances are they could be putting themselves more at risk.

Even if Present Mic asked the principal to conduct this meeting, and he and Midnight– who doesn’t know you’re here– vouched for you, you couldn’t afford to look sloppy. It doesn’t help that you have to wear an outdated version of your uniform either.

While the support team in your agency was able to give it an emergency mending for your trip, the damage the armor endured, especially from your last fight in it, is still noticeable. Even after repairs no one can miss the damage if they tried. One crack on your red breast-plating flowed through your left shoulder, across your chest, and ended where the bottom of your ribcage is. This disfigured the black outline of your broken-heart emblem, and that was only the largest scar of your armor. Honestly, it was a miracle this armor survived its last run. If it was made of lighter material then it wouldn't have stood a chance… but then again, red was your lucky color.

When you walked through yet another identical hallway instead of finding the Principal’s office, you sighed out your frustration then looked back down. The characters on the page started to split and overlap with one another, and that dull ache in the back of your head was coming back.

Fantastic.

You stared at the paper and kept walking. At least you knew the office should be somewhere on this floor. It shouldn’t take that much longer, so you can afford to fight the headache a little longer. While strolling down the hall, red paint on a door, “1-A”, caught your attention. ‘What are the new students like now,’ you wondered. Were any of them like you when you were in that class? You let out a small laugh and shook your head. Noting the turn ahead, you looked back down on the paper.

“Sure hope not…”

When you tried to get your eyes to refocus on the paper, you heard something down the hall. You deactivated your quirk when you identified the sound as footsteps, the smallest spark inside you confirmed there was someone else on this floor. It’s still too early for a student to be at school, especially when it’s still technically summer break, so it had to be faculty. They can give you directions to find the office quicker.

You picked up the pace, not wanting to lose your chance to get out of this maze. Turning the corner a figure was way too close. Jerking back before you collided, you went to apologize. Your eyes rose from the purple floor up to an all black outfit as you were trying to find your words. Then the gray scarf, wrapped around his neck too many times to be standard, because it was never meant to be found on store shelves.

It was a custom-made weapon.

In half a second you sized the man’s frame. Knife on utility belt’s right side. Pale skin. Torn sleeves. Black boots. Baggier clothes, but the same concept since first year.

Straightening out your back, you locked eyes with the man under the sun’s spotlight. This man with dark hair and eyes that once occupied so much space within your mind. Those shrinking flames of memories, the tree-lined neighborhoods, the cold 24/7 stores, and early morning training sessions, were suddenly revived with barrels of kerosene. Now you were left to bear with the rising heat.

After all, those memories were so long ago, and people change, you know you have. The choice your brain and body struggled with, whether to come closer or follow the etiquette rules, left you still. Your last name rang through the air, barely loud enough to echo through the empty hall.

He recognized you too.

“It’s been a while, huh?” Your head tilted as you observed his face. He had a scar under his eye. The peachy rift of his skin indicated a deep gash within the past few months. No other scars could be found– which is admittedly impressive in this field. Not only that, but his hair was longer, including the stubble on his face, and the whites of his eyes were more irritated. If he’d pass you by without the weapon, you’d be blissfully ignorant of the man before you. After everything that’s happened, you wouldn’t expect to see him back here of all places.

“What are you doing here,” he asked.

A bloody and backlit Akari standing in front of you, telling you she would see you soon emerged in your mind. Telling Shouta about all the details of your old classmate out in the open, where anyone could overhear, didn’t seem appropriate. “I’m here for work.”

He nodded with no change in his expression. He was never known for being particularly emotive in the bunch, even then he wasn’t so still.

“Right,” he responded to your obvious answer. In a way, you were relieved that he accepted the answer. Perhaps he was just as off-guard as you were at the moment, you thought.

“The emergency meeting is because of you then.” He said it as a fact as he stepped toward you. If you looked away from him before he said that, you would’ve broken your neck from the whiplash.

You took slow shallow breaths as the words passed your mind again; the current running through you became warmer. “Again, the job brought me here,” you responded.

Did he not get the hint?

Silence fell between the two of you, Shouta didn’t make any attempt to say that he had somewhere to be to excuse himself. The quiet was starting to lie on you heavily as he continued staring you down. “So how long have you been working at UA,” you asked without thinking. The pressure in your lungs was unbearable with how thick the air was. “I remember you being good with children, but I didn’t think you would consider teaching here.”

“You don’t know? I’ve been a teacher for years now. ”

In two sentences all the gears in your brain stopped.

Your world was silent.

It’s not like he told you.

The thought made you break eye contact as your last days in this country caught up to you like a dark cloud. In a second, that small current started running from your brain, down your spine, confirming what you briefly thought.

Then thunder rumbled through the sky.

‘How was I supposed to know,’ you thought, clenching your jaw.

“I’ve been busy…” you retorted back. This was stupid. It’s not like he ever bothered to call you after you left.

“And then you decided to come to UA of all places,” it was hard to pick up on the exact tone of voice. Lack of practice will do that; but the way he squinted his eyes told you he was skeptical. ”I know you’re holding back. What aren’t you telling me?”

The idea that this stranger would know anything about you made your jaw clench. More electricity coursed through your nerves, veins, any and all fibers of your body at his voice. It was filled with blame as he all, but asked, ‘what did YOU do?’

After all this time, what makes him think he had the right—

No.

Breathing out the tension, you glanced at the ceiling becoming all too aware of the dull ache from earlier. It creeped back into your head, vengeful for being forgotten

You stepped back from the man. You didn’t come to Japan for a petty spat, you were too old for this.

“That will be discussed at the meeting,” you grumbled. The ache in the back of your head was getting worse the longer you were standing in front of him. You gave him a slight bow then walked around him to find the principal yourself.

You took a few steps away. Before hearing his voice again.

“We’ll talk at the meeting,” you said back.

Whatever is between him and you has nothing to do with this mission.

The sunlit hallways became narrower as you stormed through the building like dark clouds rolling in. Trying to find the principal became your sole mission at that moment, although you knew that if you were to meet him in your current state, you wouldn’t be making the best first impression.

Although if you were being honest with yourself, you already messed up with whatever the hell that was. You needed to pull yourself together before you screwed up anything else for the mission.

No matter what you had to convince the faculty at that meeting to let you use UA resources. While you were used to working with the bare minimum, that’s not ideal here. This mission had to be done quietly and as quick as possible. There was only so much time you have to figure out what’s going on with Akari.

Your fists unraveled and you shook the electric feeling off from your hands as you breathed deeply.

Don’t get into any more petty spats then everything will work out and you’ll be back to work in no time. Stay cool, calm, and collected, and you won’t complicate your mission.

[t-the-ring-master]

Please may I have a Spy x family headcanons platonic of being the biological son of Yor Briar and his name is Yukio Briar and then Yukio Forger age 8..Yukio means "Snow boy" in Japanese and Yor was 18 when she realised that she was pregnant with her son when she lost her boyfriend in an accident. Yukio Briar is an assassin but he uses less bloody methods and one of them is poisoning his targets food by lacing it with a highly toxic chemical which has immediate effects or he kills them from afar with his guns or he does kill them with the same methods as his mother if neither of his other options work and his nickname is "the Poison Rose" by the "gardener". He joined the Eden academy in sake of helping Loid complete his mission and hopefully befriend Damian with no issues. He was certainly not a weak child and considering how he had hospitalised his uncle Yuri for several months after breaking his ribs and ruptured several of his internal organs and breaking both of his legs..it took a while for Yuri to recover.

Personality:

He always had top grades in every class as he did study properly and he can cook properly and does do better at it with no issues and no. He doesn't poison the family..only his targets. He is a good actor as he showed a innocent naivety and gullible facade when he ran into his targets so they didn't know his intentions and he does catch them off guard. He is greatly immune to poisons as he had eaten his mother's nasty cooking in the past and he had eaten so many that he didn't really care anymore. He is genuinely a nice kid and he is a lovely little boy with a kind-hearted nature and it is rare for him to actually shout or get angry as he is level-headed but once was frightening enough..when a mother loudly criticised his mother's parenting skills to her friends and he naturally lost his temper and stood up for his mother when he insulted this lady about her weight, her friends, her hair and her entire existence and the vicious insults and the colourful words kept on flowing and he could not stop himself and then he said "you are a mean lady if you think that insulting my mother boosts your ego..no wonder why your son wanted to live with his Dad instead!" Was his words..the lady actually got up crying and left. He can be scary when he was being intimidating and his scary assassin gaze matches his mother's. He did have poor art-skills as it was not his strong point and it looks like a toddler had done it and he was bad at it anyway or he had the ability to give people nightmares with his unsettling drawings. He was empathetic though in a way and he tried to help Anya with her homework to make it easier for her.

Skills:

He is highly intelligent and he had a 6th Sense when it comes to danger as he is a skillful fighter with the ability to fight with no issues..Loid even struggled to keep up. Yukio is capable of breaking bones and killing people if so inclined. He had inhuman strength in a way and considering how he is able to split a brick in half..don't pick a fight with him or play football with him. He is immune to poisons of different kinds and he is a good cook and he can frighten the absolute hell out of his targets when he says "wanna play?" Which was the exact opposite of his mother politely saying "can you do me the honour of taking your life?"..but Yukio does try to be careful with his strength off-duty and he may be a kid but he was certainly a skillful assassin

Apparance: *Exactly like in the photograph and he did have to wear glasses due to poor eyesight * and he doesn't look like his mom..he looks like his late father with his moles and blue eyes. He mostly wore a red cardigan with a black t-shirt underneath with black shorts and brown patient shoes off-duty. He wore similar clothing to his mother on duty.

Relationships:

Loid Forger's relationship with his "son"

Yor Briar's relationship with her son

Anya's relationship with her "big brother"

Bond's relationship with his owner

Damian's relationship with Yukio Forger *he did accidentally punch Damian on first meeting and the kid ended up hospitalised with a broken jaw for several days*

Becky Blackbell's relationship with Anya's "big brother"

Yuri's relationship with his nephew

The gardener's relationship with his skillful assassin

One other thing about him:

Yor doesn't know that her son is an assassin..he expressed his wishes to the gardener for him to keep it a secret for his sake.

*That's Yukio Briar..Yor's biological son and the hand on his head probably belongs to a teacher*

Wow, first OC request! I’ll probably just do a mini fic with just the family and their daily routine…. I like the idea of him eating Yor’s food so calmly meanwhile Anya and Loid are just on the ground like:

I’ll also add in the mission. I’m sorry if I read anything wrong and this is not the request but I will try my best to add all the information given.

Thanks for the request!

The mini fic will be added with the headcannons, don’t worry.

[marmorafarms]

So I got some sfw Sebastian head canons to share. I'm curious what you guys think!

My first hc is that Sebby is mixed race. More specifically, white and east Asain. Even MORE specifically, he has Japanese heritage.

He doesn't dye his hair, it is naturally black.

Definitely a pot smoker based on Robin's canon dialog, as well as what looks like a bong in his spouse room. Is it an empty vase? Maybe. But I'm not convinced.

Switches to edibles when you point out that smoking pot is not healthy for your lungs either.

As soon as he finds a helmet small enough, he puts it on your child and takes them for rides on his motorcycle. My grandpa took me on motorcycle rides starting at age 7 so don't say this isn't possible.

While Sebastian might shit talk Maru on the regular, he actually has a good relationship with her. They aren't best friend siblings, but they know they can count on the other no matter what.

Once he no longer lives with Demetrius, he manages to form a sort of kind of friendship with him.

Sebastian's dad died when he was a baby. He was killed by a drunk driver. This is why two of Sebastian's hated items are beer and wine.

He was weirded out by you calling him "Sebby" since it's a childhood nickname. But he grew to love you calling him by that name.

In fact, if you call him Sebastian instead of Sebby, he assumes you're either mad at him, or had a bad day. Or maybe both. He'll ask about it though, and the majority of the time you were in a perfectly good mood, you just felt like using his whole name.

He is good at communicating. Yes he has anxiety, but his mom drilled the power of communication into his skull, so he knows it's important.

He makes an attempt at learning to cook, and doubles down when you have kids. He looked up how to make homemade baby food, and always uses your fresh produce to do so.

He pretends to hate being called a "house husband" but actually really likes it.

His Solarian Chronicals character is a mage who is also a Lizardfolk. He picked this combination solely because he wanted to call himself a Lizard Wizard as much as possible.

He FaceTimes Sam every night. You tease him about Sam being his secret boyfriend. Sam says "who said it was a secret?" Sebastian did not appreciate this, but wasn't actually mad.

He is the first to apologize after a fight.

Calls you his sweet baby frog as a pet name. Everyone except for you finds this strange. But considering his love for frogs, you are extremely flattered.

And that's all I have for right now! Let me know what you think!

[miraculous-magicalconnections]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug and Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir Redesign

When designing Marinette's main outfit, I had a very clear idea of her being in overalls but there was never really a reason for it besides the fact that I liked the idea

I decided to put her hair up in a bun for two reasons: 1. the reason she has her hair in pigtails in canon is because of Socqueline and due to the changes in story, this situation would've never happened and 2. Marinette is constantly working, especially with fabric and sewing, so having her hair up is just helpful

As for the pink shirt and black shoes, they were just there to add a bit of balance and add something from her original design back

Her camouflaged Miraculous hides itself from being too recognizable to the charged version and it's pink to add a bit more color coordination to her outfit

She's pan and poly like many popular headcanons

She's still Half-Chinese Half-French like in canon

With Ladybug's redesign I wanted to further play into the whole "is her hair blue or black" and so it's both!

The Ladybug Miraculous changes the users hair to black no matter what color it is originally to hide their identity in addition to the quantum masking, and while it doesn't always change their height, Marinette is a little shorter while transformed

To help balance her colors, she has a lot more black on her suit with red spots like she does in her Lucky Charm suit in canon but slightly changed

The reason I've kept her with "bare feet" instead of giving her shoes is because 1. Even though it's not visible, she does technically have "shoes" and support since the suits act as that 2. I still wanted her to resemble the original Ladybug so I kept her shoeless and 3. I have plans to make updated suits for someone of the characters post-character arc, so for Marinette/Ladybug, her suit will change

(Also the spots are just kind of there, in the future I may make them make more sense but for now they just kind of exist)

So Adrien has heterochromia! His eyes are light so he wears dark green contacts because his father doesn't want him to appear "different"

He's pan because of popular headcanons plus I personally love the idea of him being pan

His outfit is a similar to canon aside from his shirt being long sleeved now and missing the stripes as well as just being a single shirt instead of an overshirt

He's French, Italian, and Japanese on his dads side as I wanted reasons for Gabriel's friendship/partnership with Tomoe and his reasons for using Lila's services and he's still British from his mom

Also, while not visible, his right arm is a prosthetic as he lost in in the accident that killed him mom, due to his father's connections to Tsurugi Industries, his prosthetic looks almost real, but he still wears long sleeves often to hide it further

Chat Noir didn't change much, I just wanted to add Adrien's heterochromia into the design and add a bit more color overall so I made his inner cat ears green and added paw pads to his gloves

His hair is also a bit more gold to help change up his appearance just a bit more

The reason his left arm is open is because he sees it as a way to show off his human arm and further hide the fact that he's an amputee (Similar to Ladybug, he'll eventually get an updated suit in the story that'll change this)

[sugarbell]

From the Batfam x Neglected Batsis Reader Universe.

Read First!

Age List:

Alfred: Undying

Bruce Wayne: 45

Barbara Gordon: 26

Dick Grayson: 24

Harry Osborn: 24

Jason Todd: 22 (he’s been drinking for way longer)

Tim Drake: 20

Stephanie Brown: 20

Cass Cain: 19

Lana Lang: 17-18

Damian Wayne: 16.

Clearups: This may become a yandere/dark fic story in the future, and it may not, I’m not sure yet.

The However be warned, this fic may possibly contain the following:

Yandere

Gore

Noncon

Dubcon

Death

Blood

Murder

Suicide

Stepcest

Smut

Underage Drinking

Underage Romantic Relationships With Adult Characters

-a lot more I can’t think of right now, but if any of this stuff deters you than you might wanna just skip this story. For those of you who it doesn’t deter, and if this is your kind of thing then please enjoy!-

(Also no, mc is not actually Lana Lang from the DC Comics, but I did use her name because I thought it was ✨pretty✨)

Also, mc is Japanese-American. She has a white mom, and a Japanese father. She has freckles, long dark hair, a petite and short build, medium-small sized breasts, pinkish-red lips, and slender doe eyes. If it bothers you than again, you might want to skip this story.

Harry Osborn, let’s just say him and OsCorp are in DC in Gotham instead if Marvel, okay?

Cast List?

Alfred: Michael Gough

Bruce Wayne: Christian Bale

Eleanor Joy-Lang: Adelaide Kane

Barbara Gordon: Megan West

Dick Grayson: Steven R, McQueen

Jason Todd: Jacob Elordi

Harry Osborn: Dane Dehaan

Tim Drake: Timothee Chalamet

Stephanie Brown: Chloe Grace Moretz

Lana Lang: ???

Damian Wayne: Aidan Gallagher

Also, I will die with my grammatical errors. Some I may correct if I find the time, but a lot I probably won’t because I’m too busy writing.

This page will update regularly, and you can use it as a sort of reference guide just to make sure that you don’t get confused with certain characters, (for instance, Harry) that may belong in other universes but are being moved here. Some characters hero names may be changed in order to fit the story.

(For example, Black Canary. Just for the sake of the story, I’m changing her hero name to “Songbird.” In this universe, it always has been, always will be. Reason for this is because reader’s hero name will be Red Canary, however, reader isn’t Black Canary’s protégé or anything. They may know each other later on, they may not.)

—I think that’s about it! Enjoy!—

[b0nten]

BLOOMING FLOWERS SPRING CAN’T FEEL

[SYNOPSIS] ˚⁀➷｡ what more is there to hate when life takes away the one you loved the most?

[NOTES] ˚⁀➷｡ for my bae @insomniac-jay <3, took so long because i tried to do the best research i could, and because i never liked what i wrote until today. also! if you squint, it’s slight naoto x reader but it doesn’t really matter. i hope you like it!!!! not proofread

you still can’t grasp it, it sort of feels surreal.

just like this morning felt, when you put your kimono on, and did your hair. hina loved the way you looked in traditional clothing, she said it made you shine.

and albeit you two’s pictures flooding the tachibana home, you were still surprised when her mom rang your doorbell to gift you a box, feeling slightly heavier than the last silk garment they had given you while you and hina were still in high school.

“please wear it, y/n-chan, ” ryoko’s voice was just as gentle as you remembered it growing up, but it was sad, “they make you…shine.” and full of anguish.

you could only nod, swallowing back the thick saliva that was gathering in your throat, blinking back the tears with the same eyes ryoko knew how to read as if they were her own daughter’s. reaching out for your hand longer than usual, she only smiled.

you still didn’t quite grasp it, not even when you put on your pearl necklace, and locked your front door, heading down the apartment block’s stairs, like usual.

it was like your normal way to school, and later, uni, and even later, work, walking exactly 100 meters and riding for 7 minutes and a half, before switching lines at otomachi, and riding for another 5 minutes. this time only, you had to take the south exit instead of the north one, and stroll for thirteen minutes, passing by a park, a bakery, two liquors shops and some sky-rise towers.

“welcome.”

it was different, because you entered the funeral home, where the assistant, ready to guide you to the high-school colleagues category, was interrupted by naoto. he simply took your hand and walked you over to the rest of the family. you were used to seeing naoto on saturdays, not fridays or the both of them. you had seen him yesterday, at the wake, when it was friday, so it almost went like any other day. or that’s at least how your mind put it.

and when you were sitting down, eyes glued to the monk’s back as he chanted out the prayers, naoto’s hand still found a way to get to yours, firm touch against glass skin, afraid he’d break it any minute now.

and now you sit between your younger brother and his mother that took you in when you were at flourish in your heydays, deafly listening to a monk chanting a sutra for hinata. you glance over at her and can’t help but think how beautiful she looks in the matching kimono, and how much hina resembles her. resembles, not resembled, she’ll now forever keep her beauty.

you heard japanese people experience three religions in their lifetime: birth as shintoism, marriage as christianity and death as buddhism, but you didn’t even go through one. hell, hina herself only went through two.

and whereas ryoko always told naoto to stop hurting the table because even the piece of wood had its own life itself and the boy silently complied, you were stuck figuring out what it is that you believed in. you believed in kindness. the kind of kindness hina showed you, that was the firm conclusion you accepted, so now you could only pray that the afterlife was going to show her the same gentleness and love she gave the world, her journey smooth in crossing over the sanzu river and mind clear in choosing the paths she takes, making it easy for her soul to find serenity.

you wake up once you’re signaled to join the incense rite. with slightly shaking fingers you pinch up the dry fragrance, touching it against your forehead. amidst blurred vision and hours of unslept time, you see masato wipe a ghost of a tear with the back of his crisp black suit. you set the incense in the flame bowl, and walk away, next to the parents, pupils blown and face puzzled, as if you don’t know what the world you live in is. you see familiar faces; old classmates and family friends of the tachibanas’ that you got to meet long time ago, cousins, teachers, and ex-coworkers. you think you notice some of them staring at you, what is she doing here? — what is she doing there? — next to your best friend’s family.

naoto definitely sees them, he definitely notices their judging looks, but today he can’t do justice. he won’t, because he likes to think he’s partly come to terms with his sister’s death, but no matter what, police academy never prepares you to lose your sister when you least expect it.

he throws a quick glance over his shoulder, reassuring himself you’re still there although you don’t look or feel like you’re there at all, bones wrapped in flesh, wrapped in soft black silk. you start to think maybe there is something wrong with you.

grief is a weird emotion with no textbook manifestation. there is no right or wrong way to feel following a loss. but why don’t you feel anything? why do you know that it’s happening, but you’re not fully in yet? why can’t you scream or cry or whimper or fake a smile. why has your whole face been frozen this whole time?

people come and people go and like an old charlie chaplin movie on repeat, the same action you have done repeats itself a million of times fast forwarded until your mind goes blank. you feel black-and-white.

naoto taps your shoulder. “do you want to see the body?” he eases you into it. he was always such a gentle soul.

you try to say something but choke on the words. he sees, eyes widening as his muscles tense. you only nod, and he walks with you to the casket.

maybe if you see it, your mind will take on it. you’re given a flower, the white chrysanthemum you dreaded to even think about, and the same happens to naoto.

the people in front of you all put their flowers in the casket, small step by even smaller step allowing you to approach her face. it’s just the same, except it isn’t glowing, or happy or doing anything. she’s not singing, she’s not moving. she’s dead. you know it. but why can’t you acknowledge it?

you reach into the deep inside pocket of the kimono, a neatly kept, small picture grazing the white coffin. you don’t ponder, and lay it next to your friend.

naoto freezes when he sees it. he took it, the day is burned into his memory so deeply that if he were to ever lose his reminiscence, this is the only recollection he’d have. it’s you and his sister. you’re dressed in kimonos — that was your first time wearing it — and you were excited. just fresh into spring, you both chose to wear pink: hina’s dress had delicate camellias on it, scattered playfully all around the fabric, while yours had orange blossoms intricately all across. it also was your first time wearing getas; your feet hurt so bad he had to call his dad to carry you home by the end of the festival. he didn’t mind it though, because you had fun that evening.

he reaches for the picture and looks at the back.

“doesn’t this kimono make her shine, naoto?”

“yes, it definitely does.”

scribbled on the thin paper are some almost unrecognizable kana and kanji, but naoto knows what they say by heart. he slips the square into his sleeve and puts his flower in his sister’s casket instead.

not long after everyone is done saying their goodbyes, the tachibanas and you head to the crematorium. ryoko holds your hand as she picks up the bones and sets them in the urn, and you try your best to soothe a mourning mother’s aching heart.

once everything is done, you pass the envelope to the receptionist. it’s a little over a million, and you see it on the woman’s face that she knows it too, by the width of the wrapping. you didn’t notice how much money it was until you recounted it, half an hour before leaving your apartment, so you just left it all there. no 10.000 bills, no crisp bills, at least that.

she hands you the little bag with salt, tea and snacks and you bow before leaving the crematorium.

“y/n, wait!” a voice you know very well shouts after you, tall silhouette speeding from the building into the same darkness you’re headed into.

“mom said to walk you home.” naoto looks down at you gently, as if he’s your big brother and not the other way around.

“you know you’re not actually my older sister, right?” he interrupts your exact thoughts, “we’re the same age, you were fortunate enough to be in the same grade as hinata, that’s all.” he taunts, taking you back to your salad days.

you smile approvingly and he doesn’t hesitate to take the gift bag from your hand, and walk right beside you.

the air is grim and you still feel a little bit unreal. you feel limitless, but like a void, rather than the young shoujo manga protagonist you always dreamt of being, and you can feel it in naoto’s breath too, how he tries to not let the anger drown him out. you know it’s unbearable for him too.

halfway through the walk, he breaks the silence.

“i’m glad you finally learned how to walk in getas.” he admits, and you look up. a genuine laugh stifles from your throat and his face lights up.

“naoto,” you say, “these are zoris. i wasn’t going to attend a funeral in geta sandals.” explaining, you watch his face drop in embarrassment.

“yes, i totally saw that…!”he stutters but continues to joke, hinting at the past, talking of hina as if she’s still there, next to you. in passing moments of silence, you feel overwhelmed, guilty.

faith’s a game of cat and mouse, and you play it just like you want. you laugh with naoto and you realize it’s nice to feel this sense of .. belonging. in between numbness and denial, he made your day a little better. he took some of the burden off, he ripped some of the weeds growing between your lungs, letting you breathe normally again, granting you a peaceful moment in what felt like a lifetime since your best friend died.

you step foot into the apartment building, giddy and smiley, but it all vanishes once you look around. it’s dull, it’s ugly. and you feel like you’re right next to hinata. that’s how she made you feel every time you came back from a night out in the city, arm slung around her shoulder laughing at everything she said, almost knocking over the both of you.

you look around as you climb every step and somehow, the laughs and the joy all seem to disappear in the place you spent some of the most time with her.

when you reach your front door, it feels almost surreal again, because instead of hina behind you, it’s the boy you grew up with. he looks nothing like her — he takes after his father — but he feels so familiar that when he stops you from entering your home your breath hitches a little.

“don’t forget to throw the salt.” he reminds with a slight lecture in his voice, like his sister once said “don’t forget to change your shoes.”

so, when your wrist brushes past your shoulder-blade, your zoris break under the memories you shared along the way and the ones etched into the walls of the hall.

you tug at your necklace as you finally let yourself cry.

you finally know it’s real, even more so, because you feel not one, but two familiar presences engulfing you in warmth.

one strokes your hair with the palm that keeps you pressed into his shoulder, while the other hand looks at an old photograph, and the second hugs you both, wanting to lecture you with the love and gentleness of an older sister that didn’t get to say her part.

[auburnitzy]

Idk if anyone has ever told you this but I am stupidly excited every time you post something abt Nawa

I was never exposed to Filipino Mythology as often like Greek or Chinese. It kind of made me lose touch with the mythology my mom grew up on.

So seeing your character and the mythology she’s based off of really got me going to get into Filipino creatures :^D

aha!! same!! i don't really see much media of philippine mythology outside of the country, and i didn't want to accidentally offend people when i make a chinese oc because i made a mistake

below the (read more) option is some concepts and early designs of nawa!! (mostly me just rambling ab nawa's history as a character)

february 2022, the earliest known design of her was made in gacha club.

she wasn't filipino yet (chinese-japanese actually) and was named "yurei zhou"

i didn't even bother researching the last name because i was that ignorant.

we don't talk about this era because i am ashamed of it. what an embarrassing time.

if anyone is reading this i'm sorry for doing that :(

this was created march 4, 2022 according to my ibispaint x files, and is the very first naotian/lunarnoodles art i made.

by this time, i was simping for mk because i loved dorks (and still do to this day)

back then, she didn't really wear the sleeveless turtleneck thing, it was a black turtleneck dress (WITH SLEEVES!! 🤯) underneath a a short jacket/vest.

her name was also changed to "yue zhou" because at this point, i realized that "why the heck would i name her yurei zhou if i'm not japanese? that's weird."

i also haven't decided whether she was purely filipino or filipino-chinese

she had red shoes and frankly, i don't know why i chose that. honestly it was an eyesore.

next up we got a more-LEGO looking concept (dated march 8, 2022)

her name was changed to nawa (no last name yet), because i realized "wow, i am not chinese either!!" and said "FILIPINOFICATION BEAM ACTIVATE!!! 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭" and now she's turned fully filipino

for some reason, her horns also changed to black like thoma's from genshin.

by march 30, 2022, her horns had turned to gold with violet edges, with two slits. however, her shoes were still red, and had gold pins on her jacket.

she still had no bell because there was no backstory formed for her at the moment.

october, 2022 came, and i went "ooo i don't wanna misinterpret chinese mythology" so i turned to filipino mythology instead

her backstory used to be something like this;

"chang'e used to be best friends with an ancestor of nawa's (even gave the ancestor the bell as a gift), until that ancestor tried to eat the moon so the celestial realm banished that ancestor inside the bell and was passed down to her descendants. nawa tags along with mk in s3 to return the bell as an apology to chang'e because the ancestor had wanted to apologize and was haunting her descendants to do that for her"

obviously that's not the backstory and plans anymore, and lualhati (the ancestor) was eventually scrapped

her last name, "elyas" was eventually formed and taken from the character "elias" from one of jose rizal's (a hero in philippine history) book's noli me tangere, because at the time, a show called "maria clara at ibarra" aired at october 3, 2022, and i got so hooked on the show that i made her last name elyas.

then february, 2023 came and i was like "my gosh,,, her backstory is garbage,,," and revamped everything.

i wanted her to be more fleshed out, but i still didn't think of a full backstory yet-

and because I was impulsive and not thinking, i still made her a reference

late february, 2022 came and i said "so, she has bakunawa blood, right? why not give her a DRAGON FORM?"

at this point, i made her accidentally kill her sister (she was being silly and goofy guys) (YOU SINK INTO MY CLOTHES 🐺🐺🌙), made her despise her bakunawa heritage after that and gave her trauma (because that builds character!!!)

i also made her mother (who was originally kind in the fanfiction) into someone who blames her for her sister's death and be the one to give her the bell

and now we land here, early march of 2023, so i said "what if she actually recovered from that trauma i gave her? 👉🏽👈🏽 and what can i do to make her more associated with the moon?"

so the idea of mk helping her heal and love all of herself and her "imperfections" was born!!

(according to the wiki, mk thinks that there is perfection in imperfection, goofy lil dude <33)

her hair turned white because nawa came to love her bakunawa side, and because of that- she became more in tune with haliya's (the filipino moon goddess) side (who loved bakunawa so much to the point that it still resonates through her descendants.)

i also gave her fins, barbels and a tail cuz why not?

of course, her natural hair color is still brown/auburn, but it only appears when she's "de-powered" or something happened to take her powers away (it takes away her bakunawa features too)

and i think that's the stuff i can recall at the moment,,, i'll add more stuff once i remember

[supernovasilence]

The Song Stuck In My Head

Late, but I'm determined to keep going with Futuristic Four Week. Prompt 2 was Role Swap, so please take this offering of time traveler!Hiro, actor!Wilbur, superhero!Penny, and scientist!Violet. I just want to get this posted so this is rushed and wildly unedited; I might clean it up before posting to ao3.

Summary: Something is wrong with the timeline. Gen/friendship, drama, mention of injuries but nothing super graphic.

Hiro’s hands shook, but he gulped in a deep breath and forced them steady. He couldn’t afford to spill any fuel.

He only had enough for one jump left as it was. If he ran out mid-travel…

Well, one way or another, he wasn’t redoing this.

He finished loading in the fuel, triple-checked that he had everything packed, quadruple-checked he had the right coordinates punched in, and drew in another deep breath.

A photo beamed at him from the dashboard: an old-fashioned polaroid, faded and crumpled now, the faces of the four kids in it starting to blur. The energy from repeated jumps was corroding the film. Sometimes it felt like it was doing the same to Hiro’s memory.

He pushed activate.

~

Flash!

Wilbur grinned into the light bursting across his face. He waved, paused for another storm of flashes, and kept weaving through the crowd. Flash—flash—flash; it seemed to take forever for him to reach the sanctuary of a bathroom.

Thankfully, it was empty. Wilbur exhaled hard and leaned on the sink. Looking up, he saw his reflection staring back at him. He was still grinning widely.

He shook his head like a dog shaking off water, grin dissolving somewhere along the way.

“Come on, Wilbur, keep it together,” he told himself.

He didn’t know why he felt so off tonight; premieres were easy. No acting to do except act like a cool, handsome TV star, and that Wilbur Robinson didn’t have to fake. Smile and wave and make sure to be seen by all the cameras, and don’t say anything rude to anyone. Easy peasy.

He was just…tired of events right now. He’d just come off a flurry of interviews to promote the new season, and now had bunch of premiers to attend (movies from the same studio they wanted to drum up publicity for), and after that they were jumping right back into filming for next season—Wilbur couldn’t remember the last time he’d been home.

One of his family members was always with him during shoots, of course, and he called the rest regularly, but it wasn’t the same. And just hanging out at the mall or park or chargeball court with friends seemed like a dream anymore.

For a moment, it really did seem like a dream. The mirror in front of him shimmered, and instead of pretentious tile, he saw funkily patterned carpet and neon lighting. A retro-style arcade, a Japanese boy with a robot hoodie leaning against a pinball machine, the redheaded girl playing scolding him not to make it tilt, mouth moving silently across the glass while the boy laughed just as silently, and the black-haired girl walking up to them with bags of gummy frogs and popcorn turned and looked back at—

Wilbur was standing in a glitzy bathroom staring at his own reflection. He felt dizzy for a moment, and then he had a headache, but by the time he rubbed at his temples, it had already gone.

“What the—”

He tapped the mirror. A second later he looked frantically around, but luckily the bathroom was still empty.

“Okay, I think that’s enough soda for one night. There’s no way I actually…”

Actually saw…he’d seen something right? He couldn’t remember what he’d thought was so strange about the mirror now.

Shrugging, Wilbur splashed some water on his face, checked his hair was perfect (it was, of course), and went back to rejoin the paparazzi party.

~

Penny climbed in her window and closed it as quietly as she could. It was harder than usual; her shoulder throbbed angrily. Peeling off her supersuit, she saw a nasty purple-black splotch across her upper arm.

She groaned—quietly; her mom did not need to know Penny was sneaking out to fight supervillains—and dug around for the first aid kit she kept under her bed. Crouching down and stretching out her arm didn’t play nicely with her tired body, and she teetered. A wave of vertigo swept her.

She fell, and while she fell her hands rubbed antiseptic into a cut on a girl’s arm, serious scarlet-and-black supersuit tied about her waist to reveal a cheery bubblegum pink tank top and a circus of bruises across her skin.

“Ow,” yelped one of the boys beside her, the one in the purple armor, as the one with hair like a black cockatoo’s crest tried to pull the armor off without jostling the other’s sprained wrist.

“This is exactly why you need our help,” complained the crested boy. “If you let us fight with you, you wouldn’t come home all banged up.”

“You don’t have any powers.” The armored boy shook his head. “It isn’t safe.”

“Neither do you!”

“I have genius intelligence and high-tech armor.”

“So why can’t you make us armor?” Penny asked.

“Do you really want to go through this every day?” the girl said, gesturing at her scraped up arm, as sarcastic as she was kind. “You two should—”

And then Penny slammed onto her bedroom floor, breathless and stinging with rugburn.

She just lay there, her shoulder aching and her eyes watering, but a moment later she realized her mom might have heard the thump and come to check on her. She grabbed the first aid kit and jumped under the covers with it.

When fifteen minutes had passed with no sign of her mom, Penny decided she was safe, and climbed out of bed again.

It took a bit of willpower; her bed was soft and she just wanted to go to sleep. She wasted no time changing fully out of her costume and into pajamas. Something flicked inside her head as she opened the first aid kit, pressed against the inside of her skull as she scrubbed dirt from her skinned palms and raw knuckles.

Crime-fighting would be so much easier in a team, she thought—and then was struck by how familiar the question was, like she’d asked it a dozen times before. Whatever it was pressed harder against Penny’s thoughts.

She almost had enough energy let to be curious about it. But the feeling came with a sense of vertigo, and she’d already fallen enough tonight. She shook her head, and was surprised to find her eyes wet; they shouldn’t still be stinging from her fall. She wiped them and pulled out ointment for her aching shoulder. A thought tried very hard to get into her head as she rubbed the ointment into her arm, but it wouldn’t come clear, and she was too tired to chase it. Maybe it wasn’t a thought at all, only exhaustion.

Shoving the first aid kit back under the bed, Penny climbed back under the covers. This time, she didn’t fight her weariness.

~

Violet rubbed her eyes, then looked at her worksheet again. The numbers refused to come clear. She glared at them.

“Oh, sure,” she mocked her past self. “I’ll just do a quick little investigation into the weird readings, even though Mr. Harrington told me it was just the sensors glitching. How long could it take? It’s not like being a teenager in college is hard enough.”

She sank back in her seat and sighed in frustration.

The thing was, the sensors were getting weird readings. And these weren’t the local weather station’s thermometer and windsock. These were state of the art pieces of equipment from a college science department—and a pretty good college, too; Violet’s scholarship afforded her that. Atmospheric pressure, gravitational shifts, a dozen other things that shouldn’t all be interconnected but were, somehow, in some pattern Violet could not figure out: they all said something was strange about the world.

Violet was pretty sure they said something was wrong.

But she couldn’t prove it, and if she didn’t do her actual homework, she was going to flunk right out of her scholarship. Shoving her hair angrily back from her face, she turned to grab her calculus notebook.

The cover shifted as she reached for it. It shook again, and again, harder each time, and then it flew open. The pages flipped past at high speed and the papers she had shoved inside it went flying. Violet shrieked and grabbed for them, but the whole room was suddenly filled with papers and empty chip bags and clothes and everything else light enough to be swept up by the wind buffeting the walls. Violet leapt for the window only to slam into cold glass; it was already closed. She whirled and stared at the room, clinging to the windowsill.

There was a flash of light—a deafening silence that left her ears ringing. And then everything was still. Lying on the floor in the middle of the room, where the chaos had been worst, was a small, metal object.

Violet walked over cautiously, waiting any moment for the laws of physics to go haywire again. They didn’t. She crouched down and peered at the object. It looked a little like a cellphone, and a lot like a prop from an old sci-fi TV show, assuming that prop had spent the last few decades being dropped and tossed in basements and dug out by kids who repaired it with duct tape and aluminum foil so they could use it to play space invaders. The cracked screen was blank and dark.

“You better not be giving off radiation,” Violet muttered, and picked it up.

The screen flickered to life.

“…ome in…nny? Wilbur? Anyo…Guys, if you’re there, please come in.”

Violet yelped and almost dropped the whatever-it-was (a communicator, apparently).

“Hello?” The crackly, compressed voice came again. “Is someone there? Hold on—”

The static covering the screen jerked, wavered into a different pattern of static, jerked again, and cleared enough for Violet to see a boy her own age looking out. He had either ash or a bruise smudged over his cheek, and around him Violet saw glimpses of tangled wires and control panels askew in their settings in…what? A machine? A lab? Wavering, distorted images moved nauseatingly on a glass panel behind the boy’s head.

He looked up from whatever buttons he was worrying over and at the screen with a rather desperate expression. His entire face lit up.

“Violet?” He laughed in disbelief, then whooped, pumping his fist in the air and directly into the glass overhead; it must be a dome, because the entire thing bonged ominously. He flinched away, looking fearfully at it, but nothing happened. He shook his hand. “Ow… Violet, are you okay?”

“Who are you, and how do you know my name?”

He stared, and then his frantic look came back.

“No, no, you have to know me. It wasn’t supposed to be this long—you should still remember—”

“Remember what? Who are you?”

The boy looked at her, and for a moment she thought he might cry. She was left breathless at how much it hurt. Something inside her sat up and whispered inaudibly along as the boy said:

“Hiro. I’m Hiro Hamada. I’m your friend.”

“I’ve never met you before.”

“But you should have; don’t you get it?” Violet just stared at him. He shoved his hands into his hair. “We’re best friends—us and Wilbur and Penny. But something happened, and now everything’s wrong.”

He stopped to draw in a breath. This was Violet’s chance to tell him whatever he was mixed up sounded dangerous, and if he kept stalking her, she was going to call the police. And then turn off the communicator. But he looked so upset, and the communicator had appeared in her room in the middle of indoor storm. And something was wrong. She knew it was.

Hiro was the first person who’d believed her.

She sat on her bed and tightened her grip on the communicator.

“What do you mean, ‘wrong’?” she asked.

“I don’t know exactly.” Hiro gestured in frustration. “I think the timeline got changed. I just keep getting weird readings on everything, but I don’t know what they mean! I think maybe time travel’s not actually my field, so I don’t really know what I’m doing. Except I don’t know how I know that, and—”

“What’s the tensile strength of steel?” Violet blurted.

“Uh—” Hiro blinked at her. “It’s, it’s not a constant. It depends on the grade of the steel and thickness of your material.You want to consider yield strength and elongation percentage, too, so depending on what you’re building…”

He trailed off, then drew in an uneven breath. He looked at Violet with wide eyes. She looked back with a hammering heart.

“Let’s not go off in a spiral,” she said, snarky tone rather shaky.

“How did you know to do that?” Hiro asked.

Violet shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and then she watched determination spark in Hiro’s eyes.

“Something’s wrong with the timeline, and now I have to put it right. We have to put it right.”

“Who’s we?” Violet asked, even though part of her felt she already knew, lost names on the tip of her tongue…

“You and me, Wilbur, and Penny. I—” Hiro suddenly looked sheepish. “I don’t really know who they are, or you. But the anomalies all center around the four of us, so either we did something in the original timeline, or someone else was messing with time travel and we’re involved. Does that makes sense?”

“None of this makes sense.” Violet’s head was spinning. “How do you even fix a broken timeline?”

“I think we can if we put things back the way they were. There are rules about time travel—key events? I’m kinda guessing here. I was hoping you’d know.”

“I don’t know.” Violet hesitated. “Maybe one of the others does.”

“You see what I’m dealing with?” Hiro cried. “I know things, but I don’t know how I know. I definitely think one of you knows more about time travel than I do. I was trying to fix things, but I messed up. The last jump stranded me…whenever this is, and now I don’t have enough fuel to get out. I barely managed to get the comm out.” He looked around at the swirling colors. “I think I’m between whenevers, actually.”

Violet realized the wavering scenes weren’t on the glass, but behind it. A shiver of horror went down her back.

“Is there anything you can do?”

Hiro looked back at her, and the fear in his face softened away again. He grinned at her.

“I have a plan. But I need your help—Wilbur and Penny, too, if we can find them.”

Violet hesitated again. This was insane. And if it wasn’t insane it was wildly dangerous, not just to her but potentially to the entire world—the entire time-space continuum. But she liked Hiro’s grin. She felt like she could take on the world with that grin at her side. Maybe the four of them had, in the old timeline.

“I’m going to be grounded for a decade if we destroy the universe, you know,” she said. “What do you need me to do?”

[ssjumi]

It's been literally 20 years since I wrote the YGO fic that to some regard still defines how I view my favorite OC babygirl Aileen to this day 💕✨

So this is a gift for teenage me, who would've probably pretended to be too cool to care, but would have absolutely lost her shit seeing our girl in the style of the show (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

For those curious, here's a little (updated) character profile of Aileen:

Aileen Noda

18yo (half a year older than Seto, so a class ahead of him)

🇯🇵 (dad), 🇮🇹 (mom)

her dad got sole custody after her parents (never married) split; she's not close to her mom but they're on friendly speaking terms

—

heiress to a multimillion dollar software company that was in business negotiations with the Kaiba Corporation at some point when it was still headed by Gozaburo

moved around a lot as a kid before spending her tweens and most of her teenage years in South England, when business took them there

fluent in English and Japanese (although a bit rusty when it comes to not sounding too direct/impolite with latter) - had one year of German and almost three years of Mandarin before moving schools - knows just enough Italian to survive as a casual tourist

not rly interested in daddy's business at the time/shortly before our story, but figures she still has many years to live her own life and find her passions before she has to step up anyway

(spoiler alert: nope, she does not)

—

has a driver's license and drives just well enough to not get it revoked but not so well that it's a joy to sit next to her

pretty pragmatic with a dry humor

comes off as very confident and independent

loses her dad tho shortly after they've moved to Domino and went into new negotiations with the KC, which rly fucks her up since she hasn't made any friends there yet and her dad was basically her entire support system, which she never realized until he was gone

develops a socially encouraged kind of unhealthy relationship to food and working out, which is not helped by the smaller sizes considered standard in Japan

—

for some reason falls for Seto Kaiba of all people and even ends up with him unaware that she could do a lot better but alas, who am i to tell my daughter No

A while ago I gave rewriting the earlier mentioned fanfic a try, but since YGO isn't my active main fandom anymore, I'll probably never finish it and if I do, it will have a very different format than the original story.

But since we're already in Long As Fuck Read More territory, I've included the prologue and another tiny snippet here, for those who are curious:

Surprising as it may seem, given how his face is plastered all over the city they live in, Yugi and his friends don't really think much about Seto Kaiba in their everyday lives.

They're doing their thing and he does his. … Whatever his thing is.

Building theme parks probably? Yugi remembers him mentioning something like this the last time they spoke but he's not sure anymore. The fact that Kaiba's been gracing class with his presence for the past few days probably means that things are going well enough for him to have the spare time. Although he's spending most of that time on his laptop anyway, not participating in class at all and left alone by the teachers as well.

No, really. Neither Yugi nor his friends know what Kaiba's thing actually is.

So they're a little surprised when after class, during cleaning duty, a girl in another school's uniform slips through the door and makes a beeline for the desk in the far corner of the room where Kaiba, true to his famous team spirit, is still fully focused on his personal work instead of helping his classmates.

One of her long, black pigtails slips over her shoulder as she snatches a glance at his laptop screen. To which Kaiba just reacts by closing said laptop and shoving it into his schoolbag. Which in turn puts a slightly too sweet, almost teasing smile onto her lips. "Want me to give you a ride home?" He sighs and mumbles something that sounds a lot like "There are worse ways to die, I guess" before getting up and following her outside.

It finally becomes apparent why a few of the guys in the class have spent the past couple minutes at the window - the car Kaiba follows that stranger to is a red Porsche cabriolet that looks like right out of a Hollywood movie.

Jounouchi doesn't know what to be more scandalized about - that Kaiba of all people is getting picked up by a cute girl while he doesn't or that some of his female classmates seem completely unimpressed by all of this because "everyone knows he has a girlfriend, duh". He and his friends exchange confused glances.

Seto Kaiba is weird in occasionally dangerous but usually just a little annoying ways and overall just not that interesting. And, as far as they're aware, he's also completely uninterested in making friends or even just understanding the basic concept of friendship - or interpersonal relationships in general.

And yet.

Seto Kaiba has a girlfriend.

It went like this:

A girl had a friend who wasn't allowed to have friends, who wasn't even allowed to have a brother. But allowing him to spend time with her made her father more agreeable in business negotiations which in turn worked in favor of her friend's father. So he grudgingly allowed it for the duration of their business meetings.

Truth be told, it was a pretty one-sided friendship.

Her friend had already started to shut himself off from the world by the time she met him. He didn't start or even push forward conversations on his own accord, didn't answer most of her questions and didn't seem to have many, well, any hobbies. He was easy to taunt though, almost always falling for her dares, never willing to accept defeat and pretty blind to the fact that she usually didn't care who won - that ultimately, by the virtue of having gotten him to interact with her, she was the actual winner anyway.

It was a short friendship, lasting only a couple of weeks, and as soon as the grownups had concluded their business it was over again.

If you're still here: Congrats! You earned yourself the secret knowledge that this fic by the way isn't just Seto/OC but also YamiYugi/Seto, as in: Seto is gonna cheat on her with Atem, as soon as he finds out that he can not just play intense card games with the guy but also have sex with him - which never even occured to him until he already had Ati's hand between his legs.

Aileen will break up with him over it.

In the timeline of the original fic from 20 years ago they did end up back together and even marrying though and it wasn't even too bad for a while but became a very unhappy relationship over time, during which she fell for (and had one passionate night with) Seto's assistant Isono. She got pregnant from him and Seto is kind of aware that it is likely not his child and she knows that he probably knows... while Isono tries very hard to tell himself that this kid surely can't be his, nope, no evidence of this one night means it never happened and he never wavered in his loyalty to his Kaiba-sama, it's fine, he's fine, they're all fine.

(It's still mostly him raising the child since Aileen soon realizes she has no idea where exactly to fit a child into her life and Seto... to his credit did manage to not have Mokuba die on him while responsible for him in his teen years, but if we're all honest here that was not by virtue of him being a responsible and trustworthy parental figure.)

I haven't made up my mind yet if Aileen and Seto would also end up married in/after the rewritten fic tho.

Who knows.

Not me.

... Ah, yeah, and I also ship her with Ryou Bakura's dead sister Amane :D so there's that as well.

Anyway.

YAY @ drawing of her I'm very very very satisfied with （￣︶￣）✨💖

[ilovebeingcringe]

Just putting this here for context about the lore of tmnt oc I have on TikTok 👀 This is ridiculously long sorry 🙃

Full name: Nicolette Hoffman

Ethnicity: German American

Languages: English, German, Russian, Spanish, French, Japanese

Age: 16

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 142 Ibs.

Skin color: Pale

Eye color: Green

Hair color/style: Hot pink, emo fringe, pixie cut

Personality: Very unhinged, risky and borderline insane, but an incredibly smart prodigy and very skilled mixed martial artist. She has a cocky and prideful personality and almost never takes anything seriously. She's disciplined and wise beyond her years and can give good advice when asked for it, but mostly stays on the sidelines and watches things go down instead of intervening. She loves to crack jokes and push people's buttons. Getting her to take something seriously would require doing something that'd really make her mad. She secretly hates herself for many reasons and tries not to attach herself or tie herself down to anyone. She's afraid, more than anything, of making a connection only for it to fall apart.

Backstory: Nikki's parents were both overachievers and highly respected people. Her father was a very famous German MMA fighter and a war hero. He was seen as an inspiration to all. Her mother was one of the smartest biochemists in the U.S. and has received many rewards for discovering and creating new cures for the incurable. While Nikki wasn't as well known as her parents, her mom and dad were seen as picture perfect and the ideal couple. But in reality Nikki lived an unhealthy home life and her parents treated her horribly. They wanted to continue upholding their family name once Nikki was old enough and expected her to be just as smart, strong and skilled as both of them combined. Nikki's father-who was also secretly a mob boss-put her through cruel, torturous daily training on top of constant stressful studying and high education levels, insisted by her cold, workaholic mother. Nikki was expected to train and study every second of everyday. Throughout Nikki's training, her father had her come with him to and from Germany for many years of her life to participate in underground training programs that involved putting Nikki through insanely dangerous expeditions and assignments. She was forced to do terrible things that she's still ashamed of that include murder and theft and she thinks of herself as a monster. With the constant stress and pressure, her mental health had deteriorated the older she got and she would often rebel against and lash out at her parents. As a troubled teen wanting attention from her parents-whether it be good or bad-Nikki quickly grew to find immense joy in the reactions she'd get from them. She'd dye her hair, wear crazy clothes and purposely start fights. Ashamed of their daughter, Nikki's parents would keep her hidden from media.

She took advantage of her knowledge and education, using what she learned as the daughter of a biochemist, to create her own poisoness weapons. This included jelly pellets laced with chemicals that she'd shoot her enemies with, using black and pink guns she built herself. They can burn through solids, explode, stick to things, blind people, etc. Or they can just hurt really bad and feel like a punch in the face. She also had many small hidden, custom, poison-based weapons she created, hidden within her utility belt. Which is why she wears her gas mask and goggles-so she can protect herself. Her main weapon she used for hand to hand combat was a spiked mallet.

When Nikki was 13, the Kraang discovered her mother's work as a scientist and wanted to use her for testing. They broke into her family's home and kidnapped Nikki's mother, leaving her father distraught and spiraling. Because the police weren't any help, he went out of his way to look for Nikki's mom himself. He sent Nikki to live her aunt in the meantime. Her dad completely stopped contacting her and went missing while on his journey. Unbeknownst to Nikki, both her parents died at the hands of Kraang.

Nikki's aunt on the other hand hated her father and disowned him several years prior. She wasn't prepared to take care of Nikki and couldn't get over how much she looked like her dad. Her aunt was a successful multimillionaire and ceo, who was always busy and often traveling. She thought it'd be a bad situation for both of them if she had to drag Nikki along with her, so her best alternative was to buy her old apartment in NYC for Nikki to live in. She'd send money, taking care of all of Nikki's expenses while expecting Nikki to take care of herself. If Nikki's aunt was ever asked to be present for any important events-such as a parent/teacher conference for school-her aunt would have her assistant substitute in her place.

Nikki spent the next two years in her new home learning how to take care of herself and attending the same school as April and Casey. She was often outcasted due to her insane behavior and scary personality, as well as rebellious tendencies that none of the staff had any patience for. Meanwhile, Nikki was secretly taking after her father's poor decisions and was looking for her parents herself. As much as she hated the way they treated her, she was still a conflicted teenager and they were the only family she had. She didn't want to be alone in NYC any longer than she needed to. After hearing many rumors about mutants hiding in the city, Nikki went undercover as a secret assassin who'd take up jobs from underground gangs and businesses, such as the Foot Clan, Don Vizioso, the Purple Dragons, etc. She'd use this persona to sneak around and gather any information she could find about the Kraang.

In the earlier seasons, when Karai was still considered Shredder's daughter, Karai-impatient and vengeful-secretly hired Nikki behind Shredder's back to stalk the turtles and uncover their secret base. The turtles wound up catching Nikki stalking them, and tried fighting her off. Nikki, however, was too skilled for them. She found immense joy in teasing them and pushing their buttons, while avoiding their hits and punches. As they fought, she mocked and ridiculed them while cracking wise jokes until they'd blow a gasket. After being beaten, the turtles ended up having to retreat and run away to their lair before Nikki could catch them in time. She was intrigued and very interested in the fact that they were mutants, thinking they could somehow be connected to the Kraang, and wanted to continue secretly working under Karai so she could learn more about them. Nikki eventually became one of the turtles many regularly known villains. She loved getting a rise out of them and taunting them until they'd lose their tempers. This led to Master Splinter teaching them the importance of patience and control and that it's best not to give Nikki a reaction. After lots of practicing and planning they finally defeated Nikki and caught her with April and Casey. They tied her up and interrogated her in an abandoned warehouse, which Nikki did not take seriously in the slightest.

April and Casey were both fascinated and surprised that their classmate was a full-fledged assassin. Nikki was more than capable of escaping, but humored them anyway and took the situation as an opportunity to learn more about the turtles and possibly getting information on the Kraang. After lots of back and forth, they finally dropped the bomb on her of their knowledge about the Kraang. Nikki demanded that they gave her more information, immediately standing up from the chair she was tied to, that she had already secretly escaped from prior. They refused however and tried to fight her back, only for her to immediately fight them off and run away so she could gather more intel. They were all very confused and curious. As one of her peers, April felt empathetic and suggested they tried befriending her. Casey and the turtles immediately dejected the idea though.

Weeks later, while sneaking around in a Kraang base to look for data that Donnie needed, the turtles, April, and Casey ran into Nikki who also managed to find the base. There was lots of back and forth bickering, as Nikki didn't want to admit she was there to look for her parents to a bunch of strangers, until April and Leo convinced everyone to stop arguing so they wouldn't get caught. They convinced Nikki to work together with them so they could all find what they were looking for. Reluctantly Nikki and everyone else agreed. After lots of sneaking around they found a computer room to hack into and look through all the Kraang's files. Nikki couldn't help but antagonize Donnie and compare their knowledge and hacking skills with each other, boasting how much smarter she is than him.

Donnie eventually found the data he needed and gathered it in a specialized usb he made as Nikki continued looking through all the files of the humans the Kraang had captured and used over the years. In doing so, she discovered under both her parent's files that they were dead. They were all surprised and slightly impressed upon discovering that she was the daughter of two very famous and highly respected people who went missing two years ago. April, who genuinely felt bad, tried to console Nikki, but Nikki snapped back at her and everyone else. She felt dejected, angered and enrage. Nikki and the turtles went back to bickering. She scolded them on their nosiness and prying, insisting she told them over and over that her intentions with the Kraang were none of their business. They argued back that she was a sketchy assassin and they needed to know what she was up to. They're arguing alerted nearby Kraang droids which led to them

getting cornered. Nikki's rage for her parents and psychotic risk-taking tendencies overcame her and she fought the droids single-handedly. Her skills and bravery allowed her and the turtle crew to escape the base safely. However, after they escaped, the many hits and blows Nikki took all caught up to her at once and she collapsed from exhaustion and pain. April insisted that they should help Nikki with a strong and firm-toned lecture about their petty rivalry, and the turtles finally gave in and brought Nikki to their base to ask Master Splinter to help heal her.

Nikki woke up after a few hours in the dojo, surprised and on edge, only relaxing after being given a brief explanation as to what happened. Knowing she owed them for saving her, Nikki reluctantly explained what happened to her parents and what she was doing in NYC. They all empathized with her and offered their friendship. Nikki was very hesitant to get close with anyone, but felt inclined to accept their truce anyway, brushing them off as "acquaintances" instead.

After a few years of being close "acquaintances" fighting along side each other, etc. Nikki gradually grew closer to the crew and developed relationships with each of them. She spent a lot of time with Donnie in his lab-much to his dismay-constantly teasing and tormenting him, while silently watching the strange love triangle between him, April and Casey on the sidelines. She felt very conflicted and uneasy upon discovering her little crush she had on April as well, but never intervened, knowing it would only make things more complicated. She also was too hesitant starting a romantic relationship with anyone, afraid it'd conflict with her traumatic past and self-hatred, on top of her constant fear of losing more of her loved ones. Over time, Master Splinter became somewhat of a father figure to Nikki as he was the only adult she ever encountered who had enough patience, care and understanding for her.

Throughout even more time, Nikki slowly let her walls down, letting the weird little bunch of mutants become a more integral part of her life. Through a very slow burn, she and April eventually began a relationship and Nikki eventually considered the rest of the turtle crew as the loving family she never had.