#brotp: kill your heroes (and fly)

[brokenhardies]

OC HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE - DAY TWENTY THREE

Hogwarts AU - Amber, Billy and Freddy as the Golden Trio

TAGLIST

@seize-the-droid @anotherunreadblog@ocfairygodmother @randomfandoming1 @myocmultiverse @foxesandmagic @richitozier @vivis-ghost-wife

[docholligay]

A Little Love Story, Part Two: Green Eyes in the Mirror

For her commission, Jetty is having me rewrite an old, old story I wrote here on the blog, that I’ve always wanted to rewrite because I thought i could do a better job of it. It’s lovely BroTP shit! And the original story was quite well liked so I hope this is too. Part one is here. I would love some nice comments! a little over 2,000 words. 

The throne room was wide and tall, and you could almost forgive the dank and damp nature of it for all the grandeur of its sheer size. Mina did not need gold and pearls, at least not anymore. She was certain she had not ever, but only thought that the soft and glowing things had value. She knew better now. Gold bent, and pearls scarred, but she was a creature from a kingdom of iron and diamond, those crisp, cold things, that sliced and cut and killed, and she would bend this kingdom of gold and pearls to her will, now.

It was nothing, to have help from Metalia. She wanted the fall of the Moon Kingdom, and did not care much for the possession of earth itself. She had the rest of the galaxy to take under her wing, and what was one small planet, to her? Mina would rule it in her name, the real princess that should have been, a princess who is unafraid of cost, who will rule and not suggest.

Metalia was a strong queen, and Mina was drawn to her.

To sit at her right hand was to know the feeling of power, and she smiled with pleasure as Metalia’s voice boomed across the expanse.

“Princess Minako, you will, of course, be the ruler of the earth.” Metalia touched at Mina’s hand, which rested on the pommel of her sword, waiting and ready and hungry. “All I ask is that you clear the field of the others. It should be nothing to you. Do only that and then--”

“I will get what is mine.” The sensation send a shiver of pleasure down her back, even as the voice seemed foreign to her.

“Of course.” Metalia smiled. “What you have always longed for.”

It was true and a lie, and even as she was, Mina knew these two things at once, in the same way she had always known she longed to protect her princess and rise up against her. Loyalty was only uncomplicated for the very simple. If it was not Metalia, it would be someone else. If Mina ruled, she could protect the earth in her own way, even if she had to kill every last Sailor Senshi to do it.

Mina was a strong princess, and the world would bend their knee to her.

“If I kill the others,” she said with a sense of detached disinterest, some strange cry in her soul waved off under the promise off all there was to come, “Moon will give whatever it is I want. Even the crystal. I won’t even have to kill her.” She gave a chuckle. “She’ll cry and sob, but she will not raise a hand to harm me.”

Metalia looked over to her, that same twisted smile lurking like a tripwire across her face. “And will you? Kill her?”

“Of course not,” Mina flicked her eyebrow, “Dead, she cannot serve as a warning to others.”

Metalia clapped her hands together in delight. “Truly, I have chosen well.” she sat up straight, pride filling her, “You are intelligent, quick of hand and of mind,” she touched at the edge of Mina’s sword, “ambitious. Your mind was only waiting for the chance to be something more than you might have been.”

Yes, her mind had been waiting for something, and maybe it was waiting still, and maybe the many things that made Mina into whatever it was she had become were all at war with each other in her mind. But Metalia saw her. Her intellect, her skill, her power. She saw and recognized it all, in a way she had never been seen as Sailor Venus.

MIna leaned back in her chair and smiled. It had been powerful, to see the fear rise in the girls’ eyes as she had raised her sword against them. How the cool of the steel had vibrated as it ripped down Usagi’s back, how the line of blood had streamed like a ribbon down her leg, How there had been so many of them, and one of her, and still she had almost taken the princess.

It had been foolish, she knew, but it had been fun. They had seen that she outmaneuvered them in any arrangement, in any space, that they were powerless to stand against her. But now she would be smarter after it, having already inspired the necessary fear. Without her, they had no sense of strategy. Every formation they could create had been dreamed up by her, and she knew its every weakness.

She would take them down, one by one, plucking them off like sweet berries ripened on the vine, and they would crush in her hand. They stood no chance against her.

“I can hold the kingdom,” she said, turning from the thoughts of her work, “I won’t need the protection Moon does.”

“Of course,” Metalia said, nodding to her, “That is part of the reason I find you so very appealing. But I will grant you an army beyond measure, and you will lead it, my Sweet Venus, my Princess Minako of the Planet Earth.”

The stone in her tiara glowed, and Mina felt a wave of nausea fall over her, a thousand thoughts turning inside her head, before being silenced once more under the all-consuming promise of Metalia.

“It really is a shame, you know, that no one noticed your potential before,” She laughed, “Always praising Sailor Moon, never realizing you are the only reason she ever succeeds at all. How many times have a read her name, heard it, and never heard your tireless work mentioned?”

A different wave rose in Mina, then, remembering all the times she had fought alone, diving from rooftops to youma whose strength she had not yet known, but knowing that she had something to protect, that she was the one with the skill to be called hero. How she had worked with the Senshi, all the drills she had thought out, all the battles they had fought with her calling for position. And how Sailor Moon had stood in the middle after all of them, bathed in the light of her crystal, bloodless and smiling, the hero to all of Tokyo and the world beyond.

And she would stand in the back, anonymous, hair wild, skirt tattered, and look at the girl who would be princess.

No longer. Now it was Mina’s time to bring forth whatever came next for this world. She would be a fair leader, she would bring what she had to the earth and she would not be weak in front of their enemies. They would be cautioned for light years around that earth was best to be avoided, that the ruler of it was fierce and terrifying.

“If they can’t learn to appreciate me,” Mina stared out into the deep cave, “They’ll have to learn to fear me.”

She puzzled over which Senshi she would eliminate next. It was a sort of reverse Jenga, trying to figure out the quickest way for the tower to topple. Her best fighters were Mars and Neptune, and they could See besides, a valuable skill Mina would love to remove from the equation. Rei and Michiru, a voice echoed in the back of her mind, but she waved it off, dissipating it like mist. But Mars would be protected, close as she was to the princess. She could not imagine that Mars would be so stupid as to not have Jupiter with her, and Mina did not like the idea of getting Jupiter in close quarters. She required space to move, and would have to be drawn out.

Neptune, though, was a bit of a loner, whatever Mina had tried to teach her as a Senshi, and even if they were all together, it would not be hard to peel her off. Or rather, let her peel herself off. The way to strike with Neptune would be as quickly and quietly as possible, when she stepped outside to simply get away from the flurry of emotions the other senshi often let fly around the room.

Fear. She would see it spring into their eyes,again and again, and like a spring, it would nourish her growth. She felt the thirst for it, the desire to taste their blood on her lips and remember again and again that she had been the best, to hear the people tell her that, to hear the name of Venus, Minako, whatever she was going to be next, said with a quiet reverence and awe.

There were so many things, that would come, if only she would take them.

There are so many things, that will go, if you let them, said the small and weak voice inside her, a candle flame struggling against the wind, and Mina shut her eyes to it once more, let the winds of glory whistle and blow and tell her she was special.

There was a pinprick in the back of her mind, something familiar coming through, the low earthy rumble of a voice she had heard so many times, calling her name even though she did not open her mouth. Reaching into her mind, somehow. No, not reaching, to reach into her mind was impossible, but there was a gentle tapping at the door of her thoughts, something she had not felt before, and she sat up straight.

Metalia looked to her, and Mina met her gaze.

“One of them is here.”

“You can tell,” Metalia considered her a moment, and then nodded, “how interesting. I did not know of these other powers.”

Neither did I, Mina almost said, but could not quite let out of her mouth, not even to this new queen to which she had pledged her loyalty. Better to be a surprise to everyone, better to surprise even herself with these new talents. She had never had a sense of Sight. All Senshi had different gifts, strength or Sight or speed or smarts, in what Mina had considered a diversified portfolio of military talent. Mina had been strategic and quick and deadly but she had never been a Seer, though her skills at reading people were particular enough that you might be excused for thinking so.

No, this was the first time she had heard a voice that was neither hers nor Venus’, but someone else entirely, someone she had heard lying next to her on a couch somewhere very far away, the scent of chicken wings somehow mixing with her voice as it wafted through the air.

An H started off her lips, but was quickly replaced with the name of a planet, the name of a planet that went around on its side as stupidly as the senshi that bore its name, unable to do the most basic job of any given planet.

“Uranus.” She said, the name dripping off her teeth like poison.

Maybe she heard her because she was becoming the princess, now, the guardian of earth and the moon and maybe the system entire, if Metalia got bored with it, and so she would need a fuller complement of powers. That Moon had never had a full hand did not invoke doubt--she had never tried for anything, she had been handed everything, not like Mina, who had sacrificed and killed and died for this world.

Metalia seemed suspicious. “Alone?”

Mina smiled to her. “You don’t know her. She is impulsive and bullheaded. She has all the cleverness of a bullet, and must be fired by another. It doesn’t surprise me at all that she came alone. Or was sent alone. She would be a reasonable sacrifice.”

An image of Mina, knelt by her still side in a dank cathedral, head hung, flashed through her mind like lightning, leaving as soon as it came.

“It wasn’t my plan, but,” Mina shrugged, “I’ve never been one to refuse opportunity.”  

Mina rose to her feet, shoulders back in pride and in confidence, and pressed her palm to the blade, feeling it sing under her hand.

She chuckled.

“It begins.”

[mantra4ia]

My Top/Bottom “10″ Moments of Avengers: Endgame [Spoilers Ahead]

In no particular rank…

The Good and the Legendary Moments (I had a hard time limiting it to 10, clearly there are more)

Cap’s “don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone” and Bucky’s reprise “How can I? You’e taking all the stupid with you…I’m gonna miss you.” He knows his friend well enough through all the years that he understands and accepts (and in that second, we do too) that Cap’s not coming back the fast way, that he’s chosen the slow path to the end of the line.

Sam inheriting the Shield from Rogers with Bucky’s blessing, “go to him.” Because Bucky knows that, even though they are the best of friends and fellow supersoldiers, Sam has kept an eye on Steve while Bucky was MIA, and that puts him in a reasonable position to inherit the mantle.

Post-snap “5 years later” we see Steve taking up Sam’s role as a group counselor, our first hint at the transition of roles later to come, capped off with Sam emerging from the portal with a timely “on your left.”

Hawkeye’s opening: the very real, personal, character driven moment in which Clint is with his family, and shortly thereafter the snap is dragged out of retirement kicking and screaming.

Tony’s and Stark’s intellectual interactions which began as animosity and conlcuded as a kind of mutual admiration “is this the one we win? / if I tell you, it won’t happen (almost apologetically because Strange knows what is about to happen and is letting it go forward anyway),” culminating with “I am Iron Man” and thunderous applause.

EVERYTHING having to do with Tony’s daughter Morgan. From her interaction with Jon Favreau aka Happy about cheeseburgers, to finding her dad’s suit mask, to Stark calculating time-travel while doing the dishes, then swearing, then swearing Morgan to secrecy, and most heartrendingly “I love you 3000.” Tony’s father-daughter relationship is one of those key character pieces that elevates this whole film from a Marvel capstone to a best picture.

Steve’s moment watching Peggy even though he never interacts with her, in 70s at the Pymm/Stark research facility. It’s the most poignant foreshadow of his destination to come. He doesn’t make that mistake twice.

Natasha’s character development. Five years later, even as she falls apart spinning her wheels about deep sea tectonic quakes, and she still cuts her peanut butter sandwich corner to corner as if daring “Nick” Fury to unsnap himself and say “no, let me show you how it’s done.” Two great insights into the depth of their familial relationship courtesy of the Captain Marvel film. Also a shout-out Steve’s subsequent offer to cook Nat dinner. Steve and Nat always carry great character moments, all the way back to CA:WS when she was setting him up on dates.

The small moments of battlefield humor that were just enough not to break the moment: Steve calling out to Parker “Hey Queens,” Peter engaging the Spidey suit kill mode and then him curled up in the fetal position, Wong’s deadpan “were you expecting more?” Jesus, just give Wong an entire act in the next Doctor Strange movie and I will be happy. I adore him. PS: what a pleasant surprise the way the Russos put Tilda Swinton in as Sorcerer Supreme opposite Banner. That was just the right character for the exposition on the perils of altered reality.

The overarching theme of premonitions as it deals with crossing through the quantum realm into the past, and the ensuing parallels from what we’ve already seen in the Marvel past. Specifically the ‘premonitions’ that past-Nebula had when future Nebula past through time and how they could access each others memories, which puts the interesting and poetic possibility that Tony’s dreams/visions this whole time (ex: Infinity War’s “[Pepper] we had a kid, it was so real”) were never a direct result of Thanos, but rather his travel through time. The Time Travel element also relates to parallels where Howard Stark meets “Howard Potts” and the potshots at his questionable beard. Tony meets Stark Sr. at the exact right moment when Maria is expecting and they relate to the perils and joys of fatherhood: “there’s no manual for this/ there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid / you did your best”, which sets up Howard’s video journal to Tony and Tony’s post-battle video journal to Morgan as even more powerful together, in the context of each other, then when we saw the original Iron Man films. Endgame brings new depth / meaning to those historic moments.

Honorable mention to Thor who, after the “I aimed for the head” reprise, developed a sense of crippling anxiety and notable weight gain within his depressive reclusiveness, and still managed to suit up and be a hero anyway. While I didn’t necessarily like the fact that Thor dealt with his PTSD through hardcore gaming, I like the direction that the Russo’s steered him after subsequently calling him an “Angel Pirate” in Infinity War. The message, by contrast, that you don’t have to look a certain way, or step into the role that everyone expects of you (King of Asgard), or even have your shit together to be heroic - you just have to step your foot out of the door and face the day - is damn brilliant.

Honorable mention #2: Rocket’s speech to Thor “you’re not the only person to have ever lost someone.” Great BroTP, with tha dash of crossover Whovian.

Honorable trifecta: Steve Rogers wielding the Mjolnir and FINALLY. FIN-A-LLY “Avengers: Assemble!” What great standing ovation moments.

OVERALL: What this film misses in building the tension (it cycles down before it revs up), it makes up for by setting up the small, poignant character moments that show off the emotional talent of these actors in a way that I’ve never seen with this impact before: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Civil War being the runners up.

The Disappointing:

The “Smart Hulk” / Ant Man “little man” gag didn’t work for me. The autographs, the tacos, the test time travel run. It got stale very quickly.

Speaking of Ant Man, by contrast to Tony and Morgan, Scott Lang’s reunion with his daughter after 5 years didn’t hit the emotional note it was meant to. It make sense how they use Lang as perspective of “what’s going on / fish out of water” to drive the aftermath of the snap home and to introduce quantum science. But out of all the characters, I was probably least invested in him.

The female-led gauntlet scrimmage in the final act across the battlefield felt like more of a “set piece” rather than really earned emotion by comparison to Infinity War’s female tag team (Okoye, Nat, and Wanda) against Proxima, where Nat defends Wanda and says “she’s not alone.”

I didn’t like the script choice of killing the complex, Infinity War version of Thanos so quickly (while it was unexpected and paid off big time for a hot second when Thor’s said “I aimed for the head”) and taking on Past-Thanos. For me, it undermined and underdeveloped the villain. I would have wanted a deeper understanding of “The Garden” and flashbacks to Titan or young Gamora, or even more interaction between him and his daughter present-Nebula, before the war-torn Thanos gets the 1-2 chop, but I understand the choice given time constraints of a three hour film.

Hawkeye’s ronin montage: his revenge against criminals in the post-snap era, “why are you here, why did you get to survive and my family didn’t?” could have had the ability to be powerful, especially considering that Natasha has been keeping tabs on him and didn’t intervene until critical mass. But instead, I feel like it was mishandled, too thematic, it takes your out of the moment like a set piece.I loved Natasha’s bond with Clint up to and after the ronin sequence, it took two characters that I was on the fence with and got me emotionally invested in them as a team, I just hated the montage itself.

No Vision? What?! Hardly even a mention in this film except for Wanda’s wrath when she is resurrected and brings that house down on Thanos, but even then Thanos essentially said “who the heck are you and what did I do to make you mad?” completely taking the steam out of Vision’s fall. Hopefully Phase 4 addresses / fixes that.

No Loki resurrection? At the very least, no past-Loki dialogue?! Come on. I thought for a second, when Loki escaped STRIKE custody in the alternate timeline with the tessaract, that maybe the team had created a and untrimmed time branch (I still think they did, because if Rogers returned the Stone to 1970, it doesn’t fix the later botched attempt to steal it, so maybe there’s a branch reality where Loki is alive with witty trickster lines and I’ll cling to it). Then I was fooled again when Mjolnir went flying through the air I thought perhaps that Loki Odinson had returned and was worthy to wield it through his selfless sacrifice (I was only momentarily disappointed / awed to see it was Cap instead). Again, Phase 4, give me some help here!

The fact that Black Widow got no proper funeral sendoff, concluding Natasha’s long history of under-use throughout the entire Infinity Saga. Don’t get me wrong: I understand her soul stone sacrifice, and in a way I understand the people who say, “don’t take that away from her, it’s powerful.” It is. She comes from a manipulative, violent background that made her who she is and good at what she does. Throughout her history, she never had family, which she admits: “Red Skull knew my father’s name, that’s more than I ever did.” So it makes the choice more poignant that she built a family around herself and did whatever it took to keep them safe and united. That said, I wasn’t (until this film) necessarily invested in Black Widow like I am the other Avengers characters, but she’s had some great moments with Clint (I still want to see the Budapest mission, and the Iran extraction that Bucky compromised) and Rogers (Endgame: I’ve been telling everyone to move on, but not us. Winter Soldier: their getaway from Hydra-infested SHIELD) and Fury. Which is why I HATE that her only tribute was a bunch of men standing around lamenting over her (while simultaneously being oblivious to the Nebula swap, seemingly incapable of intelligent script development by McFeely and Markus around those two female characters). It would have at least been fitting if they had more regrets “why didn’t we know her better, we were supposed to be her family”, “why didn’t we appreciate her while we could” or her name added to an altered  “fallen” monument. There was no payoff to her chemistry with Bruce, and no final closure with un-dusted Fury to pay his respects, which would have been a small but vastly fitting gesture. WHAT A WASTE. 

Captain Marvel’s use in the film as essentially a ballistic, ship-destroying missile and her anticlimactic Thanos battle. Why use her at all in this film if it’s going to be as a plot device? She could have had potential opposite Thor, and I’ll argue that she should have been Banner’s tag-team person to bring him out of new-Asgard exile. But the Russos and writing team missed that opportunity as well. Danvers’ appearance felt hollow.

The pacing / cycle down of tension post-opening sequence was off-putting to me. I was revved up to level 10 ready to go to 11, but had to dial back down by half (ex: even though I love the montage of Tony and Nebula playing table football, it crawls by comparison to the expectations set right after Infinity War). The tonal shifts between the three acts of Endgame made me feel like I was watching two good films as opposed to the one great, legendary film I was expecting. Perhaps I came in to Endgame too pumped and needed to be more in the moment, because this displaced feeling was very strong on initial viewing, but faded the second time I saw the film.

Honorable mentions: Parts of the alternate reality “time travel” sequence really bothered me: ie the battle of New York (from A1). Hulk smash didn’t work for me, though Hulk “take the stairs” and Stark’s minor cardiac dysrhythmia corrected by Thor’s hammer were funny. Also Cap’s “I found Loki” was priceless. So I guess you have to absorb the disagreeable montages of time alterations to enjoy the good, like Banner and the Sorcerer Supreme, Howard and “Howard.”

Honorable mention #2: This movie did a hell of a job at all the couple / BroTP splitting, WTH! Steve and Sharon never stood a chance, Wanda and Vision, Banner and Natasha, Steve and Bucky, Steve and Sam, Thor and Loki, Gamora and Quill. Dammit, I hope Phase 4 at least patches up a few holes in these ships before sending in the speculated new ensemble of comics characters.

In SUMMARY: as my dislikes wane with time and my likes grow in retrospect with each saga part I rewatch, and each time I revisit A4 in theaters, I think that Avengers: Endgame, while not quite my favorite installment, will stick with me forever. What a decade! And my next great joy will be 10…15…20 years from now, when I get to meet a kid, let’s call her Morgan, who’s never seen an MCU film before and vicariously relive that first joy watching it with them. To the end of the line.

I can’t wait. 

[kushamisaru]

all the class 1-a boys for the "send me a character and i’ll list" one ;B

I fear you are going to be very disappointed with this list since I don’t have super strong feelings on a lot of these boys but I will do my best! I’ll be going by seating chart order:

Aoyama:

favorite thing about them- Being an extra person myself, I appreciate a character who also very extra. I’ll admit I found him kind of annoying at first but on this second rewatch he’s grown on me.

least favorite thing about them- I don’t have anything I dislike about him. I guess I think he could have a better quirk?

favorite line- “You like him, don’t you?”

brOTP- Uh idk? Who does he really hang out with?

OTP- himself

nOTP- Any of the adults I guess? (this goes for all of these kids but I’m gonna say it here and only here)

random headcanon- He practices smooth heroic one liners and poses in the mirror. Sometimes he accidently activates his quirk too and temporarily blinds himself.

unpopular opinion- If people overall tend to like him, I guess my unpopular opinion would be that I didn’t originally?

song i associate with them- Diamonds by Rhianna (but only the chorus. It’s on repeat in his head all the time)

Iida

favorite thing about them- He’s got a good heart and he tries his best!

least favorite thing about them- Nothing now, but in the past he was quick to act based on his emotions :/ Glad he seems to have learned from that.

favorite line

brOTP- Him and his brother, him and Midoriya, him and Uraraka

OTP- Idk if it has a ship name (rarepair is hell) but IidaxMomo

nOTP- Iida and his brother, I guess?

random headcanon- Is the kid that complains that they’re totally gonna fail (insert test here) and passes with an A+ every. single. time.

unpopular opinion- Probably my otp for him. They just have a lot in common and I think they’d be cute together!

song i associate with them -  The distance by Cake

Ojiro

favorite thing about them- He’s a very honourable guy, he works hard and doesn’t take what he thinks he doesn’t deserve. ALSO APPARENTLY HIS TAIL WAGS WHEN HE’S HAPPY OR EXCITED WHICH IS SUPER CUTE

least favorite thing about them- The fact that I had to look this character up to get a summary of his personality because I wouldn’t know shit about him besides his looks otherwise

favorite line- … I got nothing…

brOTP-  just on looks and personality alone probably Rikido?

OTP- I mean, I’ve seen art of him and Toru that’s pretty cute but I feel like people started shipping them when she stripped in front of him or w/e and she was like “Don’t look at me!” which is :///// I just think their personalities would be interesting together, him being a humble guy and her wanting to stand in the spotlight

nOTP- I don’t know this character well enough to have an opinion on this.

random headcanon- see above

unpopular opinion- do people have strong opinions on this character? I would need to know what they think

song i associate with them - talespin theme song

Denki

favorite thing about them- The fact that he’s the best boy

least favorite thing about them- He can be kind of gross and he hangs out a lot with the worst boy :/ but at least he’s like. A normal teenage boy amount of gross instead of that being his only character trait.

favorite line- that noise he makes when he short circuts

brOTP- Anybody really.

OTP- Don’t have anyone I super hard ship him with? I guess him and Jirou is a little cute but I don’t really ship it.

nOTP- none

random headcanon- Pichu main

unpopular opinion- I have one but it’s about events the toonami crew hasn’t reached yet so I can’t discuss it

song i associate with them- Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths

Kirishima

favorite thing about them- He’s so friendly! He literally wants to make friends with everyone!

least favorite thing about them- I guess a fandom interpretation? I don’t dislike anything about him as a character

favorite line-

brOTP- Him and everyone in the class (This time reluctantly including M*neta because unfortunately Kirishima is just that magnetic)

OTP- Kiribaku, I suppose. I also think KiriMina is cute but that’s at least partially because those are my boyfriend and my favorite students respectively.

nOTP- none

random headcanon- Would probably be a skater kid if this was a 90′s cartoon

unpopular opinion- I feel like Kirishima is a lot more layered than your average fandom headcanon gives him credit for. Like yeah, my favorite thing about him is that he’s a sweetheart, but he’s not JUST a sweetheart. He’s a rough and tumble kind of guy. He’s insecure, but working on becoming more confident. He’s a stand up guy, but not totally above mischief. He’s just a really interesting character and oh my god is he becoming my new fave boy? What the fuck is happening?

song i associate with them- Gotta Fly Now (theme from Rocky)

Koji

favorite thing about them- A SWEETHEART! GENTLE GIANT!

least favorite thing about them- This is gonna sound so mean but… his face…

favorite line- I don’t remember the exact words but when he conquered his fear of the bugs to pass that exam… that was good.

brOTP- I guess Jirou?

OTP- None

nOTP- None

random headcanon- Dinosaurs are his favorite

unpopular opinion- What are the general opinions on this guy in the first place? Idk.

song i associate with them- You know that scene in Shrek where Fiona sings that duet with that bird and the bird explodes. That. Not the actual song, just that rendition of it, in that scene.

Sato

favorite thing about them- idk why but his quirk strikes me as funny

least favorite thing about them- not a fan of his costume. it’s not the worst costume though… I guess

favorite line- just him explaining his quirk

brOTP- nobody right now but I feel like if someone came along with an eating related quirk, or was just a big eater, they’d get along well

OTP- see above

nOTP- none

random headcanon- so canonically he’s a good baker, especially with deserts, but I bet he sucks at cooking.

unpopular opinion- don’t really have one

song i associate with them- cooking by the book (from lazytown)

Shoji

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them- TOL

least favorite thing about them- I’m not a fan of his whole design. It makes me… uncomfortable.

favorite line- not sure

brOTP- I guess just based on personality, Tokoyami? Not sure how much they interact though

OTP- none

nOTP- none

random headcanon- would never lose his earpods but would also never own them

unpopular opinion- idk

song i associate with them- handyman by awolnation

Sero

favorite thing about them- If I’m being perfectly honest, the only reason I like this character as much as I do is because of a mob psycho crossover fic where he and Mob effectively replace M*neta (Mob literally by like taking his spot at UA, and Sero through their similarish quirks). Don’t know much about his canon character traits but if he’s anything like in that story he’s cool by me

least favorite thing about them- that he could replace the bad one mentioned above but does not.

favorite line- none

brOTP- none

OTP- none

nOTP- none

random headcanon- will try to tape anything he can together and call it fixed.

unpopular opinion- I don’t know a lot about how this character is viewed so I couldn’t say

song i associate with them- Tape Song by The Kills

Tokoyami

favorite thing about them- he’s just REALLY funny like he tries to be dark and mysterious but he’s just… not. it’s great.

least favorite thing about them- not something I hate or even dislike so much as something I’m dying to know: what’s up with the head? apparently that’s not part of his quirk so??? what’s going on there???

favorite line- most things that come out of his mouth are gold

brOTP- Tsuyu

OTP- Also Tsuyu! I like them a lot as bffs and bf/gf!

nOTP- none that I can think of.

random headcanon- Meta Knight main

unpopular opinion- I don’t think I have one? I think most people like this character and agree with what I said so…

song i associate with them- Linkin Park’s entire discography.

Todoroki

favorite thing about them- I guess you could say he’s… a pretty cool guy ;^)

least favorite thing about them- HIS HERO NAME IS SO DUMB. SO DUMB. I GET MAD EVERYTIME I THINK ABOUT IT. WHY IS BAKUGOU’S DUMB NICKNAME FOR HIM SO MUCH BETTER. I’M MAD.

favorite line- Not a line, but I liked when he finally used his fire power, reclaiming it from his asshole dad.

brOTP- Him and Momo I guess. Also him and Midoriya.

OTP- If I MUST choose, I guess Tododeku.

nOTP- Notp sounds so harsh but honestly? I don’t ship him with anyone. so kind of sort of everyone applies.

random headcanon- I saw a comic someone made suggesting he likes to do goofy things when only one person is watching because no one will ever believe it happened. I like that.

unpopular opinion- I don’t really like either of Todoroki’s most popular ships. I have a hard time imagining a reason outside of school Momo and Todoroki would ever hang out, and even then I can’t see anything growing there beyond friendship. As for Midoriya and Todoroki… I can see why people ship it I guess, but as someone who came into the fandom knowing that was a fairly popular ship the moment that launched it didn’t even phase me, at least not in that way. It wasn’t until my second watching that I realized that was probably what started the ship and I feel like not a whooole lot has happened between them since? At least not to my knowledge. Todoroki, in my opinion, isn’t close enough to ANYONE yet for romance to be a viable option.

song i associate with them Hot n’ Cold by Katy Perry

Bakugou

favorite thing about them- when he gets bullied

least favorite thing about them- literally told someone to kill themselves

favorite line- DEKUUUU! DID YOU JUST BLINK YOUR EYELIDS?! YOU’RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!!

brOTP- I kind of like the concept of the Bakusquad.

OTP- KiriBaku (though I’m fine with Bakugou just being alone too)

nOTP- BkDk

random headcanon- Dark Pit Main

unpopular opinion- Bakugou is not the worst student and I don’t hate him.

song i associate with them- Boom by Black Eyed Peas

Midoriya

favorite thing about them- A sweet boy! Works his ass off all the time!

least favorite thing about them- His heart is in the right place, but he can be very reckless with his own safety.

favorite line- I’m the Deku that always does his best!

brOTP- Iida, Todoroki (ig)

OTP- IzuOcha!

nOTP- BkDk

random headcanon- Since you wanna be cute and shit this one is just for you: Someone once tricked Midoriya into thinking he ate a pot brownie and he cried for an hour (”What will mom think?! What will All Might think?!”)

unpopular opinion- I’ve seen some people say they don’t like Midoriya as a main character because like… his character is boring? Don’t agree with that. Not sure how popular that opinion is though.

song i associate with them- Zero to Hero from Hercules

Ugh… Mineta

favorite thing about them- Nothing.

least favorite thing about them- The fact that he’s still alive

favorite line- none

brOTP- none

OTP- none

nOTP- none

random headcanon- I try not think about Mineta more than absolutely necessary (meaning he’s either in front of me or being discussed) so none.

unpopular opinion- Mineta is infinitely to the infinite power times worse than Bakugou is and/or will ever be, and unlike Bakugou, does not deserve the character development he’s apparently getting. Since Horikoshi is too much of a perv and a coward to literally kill him, the next best thing would be to let him die metaphorically of irrelevance. But I know he won’t do that either.

song i associate with them- none

[iggytheperson]

34, Iori and Daisuke

[BrOTP ask meme]

34 -  “I think I’m dying.” “Tell me you’re being dramatic, please”

3,000 words

Iori really doesn’’t understand why Daisuke had all but demanded that they pair up, but he really wishes that he hadn’t.

Iori knows how to talk to Takeru. He knows how to talk to Miyako.

He doesn’t even have the first beginnings of an idea on how to talk to Daisuke.

He does know how to do maintenance on some broken buildings, and how to tell Digmon to aim a bit higher, so he tries his best to focus on those things instead of the awkwardness of not knowing how to make any kind of small talk.

Daisuke tries his best to do the opposite, and fails about as much as is humanly possible. Iori thinks that he might lose his mind if Daisuke asks him how he’s feeling one more time.

It’s painfully clear that Daisuke had a reason to pair up with him, and is struggling to articulate it. What that reason could be, he hasn’t the slightest clue. He instead tries his hardest to just focus on the task at hand.

The Flymon shows up from practically out of nowhere, and Iori is taken too off guard to move away from the oncoming attack. 

So it’s incredibly strange when he finds himself flying backwards onto the ground. And even stranger when the crash reveals that something is behind his back, and wrapping around him. There’s a massive weight on his chest and he looks down, only to get a face full of white fluff. He hears a straggled gasp of pain right next to his ear, and with that it clicks that Daisuke is holding onto him.

The world is still spinning as Daisuke gives a pained yell for their digimon’s help, and Iori struggles to put his brain back into gear. He needs to focus, now. What’s happening, where’s the enemy? What’s-

What’s sticking out of Daisuke’s back?

The world crashes down and narrows to that. The sound of Digmon’s “Are you ok?” is fuzzy white noise as he stares at a bloody stinger sticking out of Daisuke’s back. The sound of Daisuke’s shallow breathing sounds like thunder over the sound of the fight starting above them. 

“Daisuke…?” He squeaks, unable to manage anything other than that.

“Hey, hey…I’m ok, don’t freak out, I’m fine.” Daisuke says as he pushes himself up onto violently shaking arms. The position lasts for little over a second before he crashes on top of Iori again. His body goes into a spasm before stopping entirely. Iori almost screams before a gasp signals that Daisuke is not in fact dead.

“I…can’t move…my…body.” Daisuke rasps out through gritted teeth.

Paralysis. A Flymon’s stinger is coated in a poison that causes paralysis.

Iori’s mind goes into maximum panic mode, thinking of every most horrible outcome it possibly can as he slowly tries to get himself out from under Daisuke somehow without accidentally hurting him further. Every little what if. What if they can’t make it to anyone? Can the paralysis kill him? Could it put him into a coma? What can it do? What can Iori do? 

He knows nothing about first aid, he’s useless, what if Daisuke needs immediate medical attention and he dies because Iori didn’t know what to do? What if he lives but the damage is permanent? What if-

“Hey…Get that…scary look off your face. It…doesn’t suit you.” Daisuke tells him quietly. A horribly shakey hand makes it about a millimeter in Iori’s direction before losing movement again. 

With those flimsy words, Iori manages to calm himself. Ok. He can’t freak out right now. Daisuke needs him. He can’t mess up. Daisuke is counting on him. Everyone who needs Daisuke to come home safe is counting on him. He can’t mess this up.

Where does he…start? You…aren’t supposed to take the object out of the wound but…it’s poisonous, so that’s probably different, right? He should get it out so that there’s as little poison as possible. He needs a bandage…

“Daisuke! Iori!” calls Exveemon from above. Iori snap out of his train of thought and looks up to see…a lot more Flymon than before.

“It’s getting dangerous! You guys need to bolt!” Digmon yells, before disappearing from sight behind three Flymon. Iori doesn’t think about it. He hauls Daisuke up the best he can and starts moving. He makes it about five meters before Daisuke pukes. 

It’s not without a little bit of guilt that Iori’s first thought is “Gross.” His friend and leader is in grave danger, this isn’t the time to be worrying about stupid crap like being grossed out.

Though part of him really, really wishes that Daisuke had picked someone a bit bigger to pair up with today.

A buzzing sound that should’ve been getting quieter is suddenly very close and very clear. Iori looks up to see that a Flymon is swooping down directly at them. 

With no other option, he pulls Daisuke down onto the ground. They’re barely missed.

Cover, they need to get to cover. Now.

Iori’s eyes fall on the unstable, collapsing building they’ve been struggling with all day. It’s the only thing close enough. He doesn’t have a choice.

He gives Daisuke an apology as he starts dragging him across the ground towards the building. He doesn’t get an answer.

The Flymon comes down again, this time shaky and unstable from a newly melted wing. Thanks, Exveemon. With the added margin of error, Iori is able to get Daisuke onto the ground a bit less painfully. Though it might not even matter, as his leader isn’t responding anymore. The Flymon grazes past them by far too short a distance and falls onto the ground. It immediately starts trying to get up again and Iori does the same, scrambling to his feet and dragging Daisuke the rest of the way into the building.

The entire infrastructure shakes not two seconds after their entrance, just to make sure Iori knows that this isn’t a good idea and they’re not safe at all. He shoves his feeling of impending doom aside and turns his attention back to the injured party.

It’s inaudible, but holding a hand up to Daisuke’s mouth reveals that he is alive and breathing. Iori is immediately hit by a wave of relief.

Wait, no. No. Daisuke is still in danger. This isn’t the time to be feeling relieved. He has to get to work.

Iori moves over to Daisuke’s back, trying and mostly failing to fight back the nausea brought on by the blood staining into his jacket. Bandage…

In movies, Iori vaguely recalls seeing the heroes rip apart shirts or such to make bandages. A minute of desperate tugging at his shirt reveals that he’s not strong enough to pull that off, though. There’s…nothing he can use. What is he supposed to do now…? 

Daisuke’s jacket…appears to be absorbing at least something. Would that…work? Maybe, just for a little bit. Right. A little bit. He just needs to make this work for a little bit, yeah.

With this in mind, Iori gets to work. It takes him a few seconds to gather enough courage to grab onto the stinger, but once it’s in his hand, he pulls it out easily. Followed by the jacket, then the shirt. This last movement ends up being far more horrifying than it has any right to be. Oh god, why is his skin so cold? Someone wearing a giant jacket shouldn’t be…this cold. Iori feels another wave of painful nausea wash over him.

He manages to hold his cold, ragdoll leader up long enough to get the jacket tightly around his waist, and immediately runs into another wall of what in the name of god am I supposed to do?

…The others. He should call the others.

He has the d-terminal in his hands within a second and is already typing up the message by the next. They’re in danger. There’s a swarm of Flymon. Daisuke is paralyzed. To Ken, Takeru, Miyako, Hikari.

The message doesn’t send. He retries. It fails again. 

Again. And again. Iori feels like ripping his hair out with frustration as he continues trying and failing to send the distress call out.

“I…ori?” Daisuke whispers, so weak that the sound is practically drowned out by Iori’s typing. He makes an attempt to move, but barely manages any more than a twitch. Vomit rises up in his throat, but unable to cough it up, he starts choking on it. This finally gets Iori’s attention, and he gets down to Daisuke’s side again immediately. Daisuke is propped up, and finally manages to cough everything out with the minimal help of Iori hitting on his chest.

“Ah…haha. Sorry…” Daisuke mutters, giving Iori a painfully weak smile.

“I-it’s fine.” Iori says. His apprehension is more apparent than he’d like.

“Nah, not that…I mean. I dragged you out here…’cause I wanted to…be a good leader, and chat with you to be…better friends with you…or something.” Daisuke explains, before stopping to cough up more vomit. “And now I’ve got you…stuck taking care of me. Not exactly…the ‘good leader’ thing to do, huh?”

Iori isn’t quite sure how to answer that. Daisuke had wanted to…chat with him? He wanted to…hear more about Iori? That’s…actually kind of sweet, besides the fact that he’d been completely weird about it.

“Putting aside the fact that you’re a super awkward dork, I think sacrificing yourself to protect your teammate is a perfectly ‘good leader’ move on your part.” Iori eventually says.

“You…make it sound like I’m gonna kick the bucket or something…” Daisuke responds jokingly. Iori can’t really find the humor in any of this. Not knowing what else, he drops Daisuke onto his shoulder and goes back to trying to contact the others.

“Wait...heeeey, who’re you calling an awkward dork?” Daisuke whines softly, apparently only noticing the jab.

“The idiot leader who partnered up with me out of nowhere and tried to get closer to me by asking me about my day like, 13 times instead of just asking me to hang out with him like a normal human being.” Iori says.

“Nooo” Daisuke moans in despair. “My…*cough* reputation as a cool leader is ruined!”

“Nobody ever thought you were cool, dork.” Iori responds, trying to hold back his desire to giggle. Finally, the message sends. Thank god.

“You’re meeeeean.” Daisuke whines, and Iori can’t tell if he’s joking or if the poisoning is making him delirious.

“Alright, well, this meanie needs to go make sure our digimon aren’t dead, so I’m going to put you down, ok?” He says, not actually waiting for an answer and lying Daisuke on his side. Daisuke gives a weak protest to this, but Iori just ignores him and heads across the shaky floor to check outside.

Apparently, the injured Flymon had been waiting in anticipation for him, because it immediately tries to pounce on him the second he steps out the door. Iori lets out a scream as he jumps out of the way. The Flymon crashes into the doorway again, causing the whole frame of the house to shake in a way that makes Iori’s stomach churn. This was a horrible idea.

And now there’s a Flymon between him and Daisuke. God dammit.

Unable to come up with a better plan, he attempts to lure the giant thing after him away from the doorway. He accidentally ends up leading himself right into the heat of the fight. He can’t even see their partners anywhere, but he hears Exveemon’s voice cry out somewhere above him, and sees another Flymon crash into the ground before disintegrating into data.

He tries as hard as he can to not think about it as he darts into a narrow back alley, hoping to loop around back to Daisuke without any pursuers. 

He almost gets away with it, and makes the mistake of thinking that he really has when he sees the house come into view. But apparently, the Flymon caught wind of his little strategy, and climbed up onto the roof with the plan of falling down on him. Iori spots it gearing up to jump down in front of the entrance. Nope, not happening.

Iori breaks into a sprint and flings himself into the house. The thing jumps down, and turns around to screech at him, before rearing up and bashing into the house. A chunk of roof hits Iori in the head.

The Flymon starts wailing on the side of the house, and it becomes horrifyingly clear that the ceiling is about to collapse. There’s nothing to hide under, and Iori’s mind starts spinning as he tries to figure out what he’s supposed to do in this situation. He stares up at the ceiling. It’s…caving in closer to where the Flymon. Banking on this, he grabs Daisuke and drags him over to the opposite corner. Daisuke gives a weak sound of suprise, having apparently been too out of it to notice the commotion around him.

“Iori? What’s-” The roof caves in.

Iori feels like he’s gone deaf as he tries to figure out where up and down are. The thunder is gone in a second, replaced by darkness and dust and the sound of Daisuke coughing something up again. 

When the dust feels cleared enough for Iori to brave opening his eyes, he finds himself in a tiny, cramped little space with Daisuke drawn up in a ball next to him. The only bit of light comes from a tiny crack in the ceiling. He’s less worried about whether they’ll get out and more about how much Daisuke seems to be hyperventilating.

“Hey, hey calm down. We’re going to be fine. The others are coming right now. They’ll be here soon.” Iori assures him. Through the dust, something smells vaguely like metal.

“I…think…I’m dying.” Daisuke whispers shakily. Iori’s brain comes to a halt.

“…Tell me you’re being dramatic, please.” He says, as his stomach ties itself up into a knotted ball. He can’t breathe.

“That…wasn’t vomit I coughed up…just now.” Daisuke rasps. The metallic scent is suddenly a million times stronger and Iori thinks he might vomit himself.

Outside, he hears Miyako scream.

“They’re here. They’re here, you’re going to be ok. Y-you’ll be fine, ok? Relax, you’ll be fine.” Iori says, trying to comfort himself a bit more than Daisuke.

“Daisuke! Iori!” Ken screams. It’s screechy and frantic, but it’s the most soothing sound in the world at the moment.

“We’re over here!” Iori calls back. The protective bubble surrounding them shakes and caves in closer as Takeru and Ken can be heard above them, sounding breathless as they ask if the two of them are ok.

Iori says yes. Daisuke doesn’t answer.

They leave, and presumably Nefertimon and Pegasusmon start to pull away bits of rubble. Iori and Daisuke’s space gets increasingly smaller as everything loosens and starts sliding towards them. Daisuke’s breathing is nerve-wrackingly shallow, and Iori can’t get him to respond. In spite of himself, Iori starts crying.

Soon enough, the glowing holy binding drops down where Iori can see it and pulls a plank of wood away, illuminating the space significantly. Iori can finally see the sky again, but more importantly he can actually see Daisuke again. As well as the blood spit up over his shirt. He starts crying more.

After another piece is dragged away, Miyako’s face blocks out the sun to come check on them. She turns off to the side and pukes upon seeing Daisuke.

“…W-we’ll be in there soon! Don’t worry Iori, it’s going to be ok!” She assures afterwards. Iori’s not sure how he’s supposed to feel assured by someone who plainly doesn’t even believe herself.

It’s a long, painful wait as the rest of the hole is opened up. 

Eventually, the others surround the hole, and Iori lifts Daisuke up to them. Ken and Hikari carry him away as Takeru helps Iori out. He doesn’t get a second to stand on solid ground before his partner pulls him into a suffocatingly tight hug, which then turns into a group hug as Miyako flops onto them, sobbing.

“Hey. You did really great and I’m proud of you, but can you maybe never scare me like that again?” Takeru asks quietly.

“Yeah, ok.” Iori mutters back.

“…Alright then, good! You’re getting a piggyback ride and unlimited access to my snacks stash for the next 24 hours as a reward for being a little hero!” Takeru declares, picking Iori up before he has a chance to protest. Despite everything, Iori bursts into laughter. He hears a click and turns to see Miyako, now smiling, holding up a camera. He doesn’t bother telling her to delete it.

The next day, Iori is at the hospital, with a tub full of Takeru’s favorite chocolate mint ice cream that he’s constantly buying. Daisuke is about as overjoyed about the ice cream as he is about seeing Iori. It’s terrifying to watch him devour it.

Abruptly though, the feast stops, and Daisuke slowly turns his attention back to Iori with a nervous smile on his face.

“Hey I’m…sorry if I scared you.” He mutters. Hit by the sudden whiplash in mood, Iori takes a long time thinking of what he should say. Eventually, he comes up with something good.

“Well I…think there’s a way you could make it up to me.” Iori says with a laugh.

“Oh yeah?” Daisuke says, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Come hang out with me this weekend.” Iori tells him. Daisuke takes a second to process this before bursting into laughter.

“Oh my god that was so cheesy. I think you’re the dorky one, little dude.”

“Nope. Calling me ‘little dude’ just solidified your position.” Iori retorts.

“Oh come on! You let Takeru call you little man!” Daisuke whines indignantly.

“One, only sometimes, and two, Takeru is my best friend, you’re going to need to get some more friendship points for that, mega dork.” Iori claims jokingly.

“Well then I guess I’ll have to come to your house this weekend!” Daisuke says.

“Yup, you sure will.” Iori, trying and failing to hold back a smile.

They push fun at each other for a few more minutes before Iori has to leave, and he goes home thinking about just how much he’s looking forward to hanging out with Daisuke this weekend.

[impracticaldemon]

❄️  Author’s Note: Written as my Hakuouki Holiday Gift Exchange Fic for @akiko-natsuko​ (tumblr)  ❄️

This fic is based on the following prompts from @akiko-natsuko

1) Saitou! [I solidly support this choice] 2) Yamazaki [again, excellent choice] and just a smidge of 4) Hurt/ Comfort /Angst [this story came out as somewhat reflective with hints of action]

Overall, this is a slightly oddball, mostly serious story about one of my own very favourite brotps, Saitou / Yamazaki (with more than a little Hijikata thrown in, because I enjoy writing about these three guys).

This story is intended to be set more or less within canon, and takes place in late autumn, shortly after the assassination of Serizawa Kamo at the end of October. It’s AU to the extent that I doubt that Saitou and Yamazaki could have been absent from Kyoto for the length of time required by a trip to a “suburb” of Edo and back (Kondou and Hijikata’s original village of Hino is now a suburb of modern Tokyo).

🍶  A Special Gift, or The Pride of the Farmer’s Sons  ⚔️

Words ~ 3000 |  FFnet  |AO3

They rarely used, or needed, words. In fact, Saitō had trained Yamazaki and had been an unofficial shinobi (or spy, or assassin—the semantics were irrelevant to Saitō) for the Shinsengumi both before and after the other man had joined. Despite being eager to prove himself as a warrior, Yamazaki had given up the limelight and glory of the bushi without protest once Colonel Sannan and Vice Commander Hijikata had selected him to be an Inspector—a man who spied on his comrades as well as his enemies. If he ever guessed that his impassive, silent-footed sword-master had recommended him for the position in the first place, it had never been discussed.

An almost invisible nod and a quick hand signal told Saitō that there were at least two men in the large house that they sought to infiltrate. They had already had to scale a wall trapped with hidden, wickedly sharpened stakes and topped with shards of stone, and had narrowly avoided being found out by a well-muscled watch dog—an unusual luxury in food-poor Japan these days. The whole set-up was bizarre, since this was a farmhouse, not a samurai’s manor house. Fortunately, they had been warned ahead of time.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the elder Miyagawa brothers [1] still harbour a strong grudge against Kondō-san,” Hijikata had told them, face unreadable in the dim light of the brazier. It was late fall, and the weather had grown noticeably colder over just the past week. Winter was a tougher proposition in Kyoto than in Edo.

Saitō had simply nodded and waited for whatever other information his commanding officer deemed important. Yamazaki had suppressed his natural questions—it was a very strange assignment—and striven to emulate Saitō’s apparently unshakeable calm. He respected Saitō-san a great deal, and it was clear that the Third Division Captain was absolutely loyal to Hijikata-fukuchō, whom Yamazaki admired to the point of hero worship.

“Don’t underestimate the bastards,” Hijikata had continued, the usual crease between his high-flying black eyebrows becoming more pronounced. “They really hated that their bookish, day-dreaming younger brother managed to get himself adopted into a higher-status family and subsequently inherited both the master’s family name and his dōjō.”

Yamazaki had been unable to restrain his surprise. Kondō Isami-kyokuchō’s ability as a warrior was well-known. If nothing else, the tremendous skill of the men who followed him was a testimony to more than charisma—Yamazaki couldn’t imagine that charm alone would have been sufficient to attract the likes of Hijikata Toshizō, Okita Sōji, Saitō Hajime, Nagakura Shinpachi and others. Colonel Sannan was a well-educated, well-trained man from a samurai family, yet he had become a member of Kondō-san’s small dojo and then followed the man to Kyoto. Mind you, the friendship between Commander Kondō and the Vice Commander was obviously something special, as was the Commander’s deep bond with the First Division Captain. It was a pity that Okita-kumichō was always so disrespectful to the Vice Commander.

“Yamazaki?”

“Ah… Sumimasen deshita, Vice Commander.” The shinobi-medic had flushed a little, and could only hope that the gloom had concealed most of his face. He had worked hard to achieve the proper expressionless countenance of a true samurai. “I had never heard or imagined that there was trouble between the Commander and his family.”

“Small town, small minds,” Hijikata muttered tersely. He continued, in a more normal tone, “And it was really just the older brothers. I mean, farmers work hard and they’re supposed to know their place. Ambition and a good imagination aren’t really welcome. They didn’t take his playing around with a katana seriously, and they objected to the way he spent so much time reading instead of doing chores like a proper farmer’s son.” Normal had given way to perceptible bitterness. Hijikata had also been the youngest son of a moderately prosperous farming family.

“I understand, Vice Commander.” Yamazaki, who had been born the son of a practitioner of traditional Eastern medicine, did indeed understand better than many. He knew that a large part of his devotion to the Commander and Vice Commander was that they had given him the longed-for opportunity to become a warrior, despite not being born into the samurai class.

“Well, then…” Hijikata had paused, and then sighed. “Seriously, I know this side-trip is a little unusual, but this will be our first New Year’s celebration with Kondō-san in sole command of the Mibu Roshigumi. I want to make it special for him.”

Yamazaki, who was observant both by nature and training, had noticed what seemed to be a fleeting smile on the Vice Commander’s face, but he hadn’t been certain. Had there also been the slightest pause before the word ‘special’? In his peripheral vision, he had glimpsed a small shift in his companion’s otherwise motionless seiza.

“We will leave immediately, Vice Commander.” Saitō had bowed and risen on the words, picking up his katana from the floor. He always seemed to know when Hijikata-san was done briefing them, and managed to be efficient without being impolite. (He also got along well with Okita-san, which still puzzled Yamazaki, although he attributed much of that to the fact that they needed each other as opponents as well as comrades.)

“Thank you Saitō; Yamazaki. Make the best time you can. This is only feasible because of other urgent business in Edo, after all.”

“Hai.”

“Oyasumimasen.” [2]

Yamazaki was working quietly on the shutter of an upper floor window. Saitō crouched nearby, keeping watch. Confident in his companion’s ability to silently pry open barred shutters while hanging upside-down from an overly-ornamented roof-edge in the middle of the night, the senior officer of the pair was content to scan the courtyard and laneway below. He didn’t so much as twitch when Yamazaki crept up beside him and indicated that they now had a way in. The roof had been trapped—this time with a variety of spikes and even hunting traps—but the intruders were no longer surprised by such extreme measures. On the way across the roof to the window, they had also had to avoid two nearly-invisible strings of scrap metal and ceramic shards, but those had merited no more than an exchanged glance to confirm that the other man had noted of the alarm system.

Saitō had been the first into the room, as previously arranged. Yamazaki still found it odd to see the captain’s katana secured to his back, rather than on his hip, but night-work of this kind required free hands and as few encumbrances as possible around the waist and hips. It was difficult to swing down through a window or other access point with five feet of blade and hilt just waiting to get tangled in your legs or jammed in the opening. Yamazaki hadn’t even considered suggesting that Saitō leave his longsword behind, although he himself usually opted for no more than a wakizashi and a handful of throwing spikes and four-pointed shuriken.

They ran into a problem when they reached the lower floor and cautiously observed the most likely passageway to take them to the below-ground store-room that was their goal. A weathered, muscular man somewhere between thirty and fifty was sleeping in a comfortable-looking alcove just off the corridor. The corridor beyond the alcove was set with more of the home-made alarms.

Even Saitō registered a moment of surprise. What was the purpose of building this rather ostentatious house, if at least one of the owners chose to sleep in an alcove instead of a private room? The man’s resemblance to Kondō-san was marked, and after a moment’s cogitation, the black-clad intruders [3] held a rapid—and silent—conference. Their orders had been clear on this point, if nothing else: no killing, no weapons, no lasting harm of any kind except in case of mortal jeopardy.

“And if I decide that you weren’t in mortal jeopardy, then you will be,” Hijikata had told them. “They’re farmers. If either of you needs a weapon to deal with them, then you need to reconsider your career choices.”

Neither Saitō nor Yamazaki had said a word in response, and the Vice Commander had looked almost embarrassed—almost. Then he’d cleared his throat and added: “Anyway, whatever happens, don’t get hurt, or worse, identified.” Another pause and then a grudging, but sincere, “Tch… just don’t get hurt, okay?”

Saitō covered the distance to the sleeping man in single, silent rush, and had a cloth and gag in the slightly open mouth before his victim could so much as twitch. Yamazaki immediately tied the man into his futon, securing his arms to his sides and immobilizing his legs. To his credit, the man displayed rage at the mishandling, rather than fear—Yamazaki was rather impressed—but after making sure that he was breathing moderately well despite the gag, Saitō slipped out of the room to reconnoitre further down the passageway. Near-amber eyes—very much like the Commander's—tried to burn holes in Yamazaki’s skull, but he had already taken up a defensive position several feet away. When he thought of the prize that Saitō was now hurrying to find, he almost shook his head in disbelief. Since that was not proper behaviour for a shinobi-medic-warrior of the Roshigumi, he contented himself with a frown.

It wasn’t until they’d reached their room and changed out of the dark, close-fitting clothes that suggested—well, announced, really—that they’d been up to shady things that Yamazaki finally asked the question that had been plaguing him since the beginning. He looked over at Saitō-san, who gave him a barely perceptible smile. His white sash stood out clearly in the dark room, and he was adjusting his scarf. Yamazaki recognized the almost-smile as permission to ask questions.

“The Vice Commander asked us to raid the Miyagawa farm for the purpose of obtaining this… special gift? Which is two bottles of Miyagawa-made sake? I apologize if I seem to pry, Saitō-san, but do you know why this sake is special? I have not heard of it before now.”

Saitō considered the question—the final one—and then sat down across from Yamazaki. As always, he sat in seiza, but they knew each other well enough now for Yamazaki to be aware that Saitō did not care if Yamazaki sat more informally under circumstances like these, or when off-duty.

“Kondō-san does not care for sake,” Saitō stated gravely. This was a common and socially acceptable way to say that a respected senior officer or high-ranking individual did not have a good head for alcohol. Yamazaki nodded; he was aware that the Commander rarely drank. “The last time that Kondō-san was pressed to take part in a drinking party, he explained that he has never found any sake that was as much to his taste as that made by his older brothers. Unfortunately, as they do not see eye-to-eye on certain important matters, he is no longer able to obtain his preferred sake. Rather than settle for inferior alcohol, he prefers not to drink at all.”

Yamazaki contemplated this in silence for some time. As usual, Saitō-san did not rush him, or appear to be impatient.

“So… Hijikata-fukuchō did truly want to obtain a gift that would be special to the Commander.” Yamazaki hesitated, but since he had—most unusually—asked such a direct question in the first place, he felt that the least he could do was to try to follow the path that Saitō-san seemed to be marking out for him. “However, it may be that—strictly as a jest between two men who have known each for a long time—Hijikata-fukuchō also means this gift as a way to, ah, convince Kondō-kukuchō to drink with him and the others on the occasion of the New Year.”

“It might be difficult for the Commander to refuse to drink, under the circumstances,” Saitō agreed. He noted a trace of concern in Yamazaki’s clear, violet eyes. Yamazaki didn’t want to see Hijikata-san as the kind of man who would risk his reputation and the well-being of his officers for the sake of a joke.

As though he could not suppress the thought any further, Yamazaki murmured, “That does not seem like something that the Vice Commander would do.” Then he added, a little reluctantly, “Well, he might—since he and the Commander know each other so well—but only if there were another, more important objective.”

Saitō’s smile was more noticeable this time, although just as brief.

“I believe you are correct. The Commander and the Vice Commander were having a discussion that I could not help but overhear, just a few months ago. It seems that during the final rupture with his brothers, the Commander demanded to know what it would take to convince them that he was both the boy with whom they had grown up, and Kondō Isami-sensei, the master of a dōjō, and a man who would one day be a warrior of great renown..”

“…I think I see.” Yamazaki turned it over in his mind a few more times. Yes, he understood it better now. “Whatever it was that they demanded of the Commander—to prove that he accepted his past while also confirming his elevation in rank—had to do with the sake. Those bottles were marked, which is unusual for home-made alcohol.” Saitō’s face gave nothing away this time, yet Yamazaki somehow knew that he was pleased. “Also, on top of forcing the Commander to meet their demands—which is something that no true samurai would ever tolerate from mere peasants—they were trying to shame him into taking something—sake—that could be viewed as as an embarrassment to him.. …Because the Commander doesn’t drink much, I means. I think… perhaps they were trying to make up for feeling inferior.”

Yamazaki became more and more thoughtful, and Saitō’s silence only served to encourage him to continue. “By refusing to take the sake by force—or to punish them for their insolence—the Commander proved himself not to be a true samurai. At least that’s how they saw it, and it salved their pride. …They would not be alone in such views.”

The name Serizawa Kamo hung in the air between Yamazaki and Saitō for a very long moment. He had been the real first Commander of the Roshigumi, even though Kondou-san had been theoretically his equal in rank. Serizawa-san had often ridiculed Kondō-san’s origins, and had implied—or said—that to be the true samurai he wished to be, Kondō-san needed to be willing to enforce his exalted, virtually untouchable social status—at sword point by preference. As an Inspector, though not a member of the Roshigumi’s 'inner circle’, Yamazaki knew virtually all of the circumstances of Serizawa-san’s assassination, which had been carried out by Hijikata-san and his most trustworthy adherents.

“The Vice Commander wished to remove a possible cloud hanging over the Commander’s honour, without forcing the Commander to order a strike against his own family. Moreover, he had somehow found out that the Miyagawa brothers had become completely irrational in their fear that Kondō-san would eventually return and force them to submit.”

“I have always found it interesting that two men as skilled and worthy of respect as Kondō-kukuchō and Hijikata-fukuchō came from the same small farming area just outside of Edo, murmured Saitō.

Yamazaki was embarrassed that he had forgotten that fact. The point was that Hijikata-fukuchō had grown up in the same area, and would have known, or known of most of the principals in the curious tale. In fact, it was not impossible that he’d had his own run-ins with the older Miyagawa brothers. Demonstrating the long reach of the Roshigumi—and therefore of Kondo-san—and shaming those brothers in some way, could have been the Vice Commander’s main goals all along.

"So the Vice Commander likely strove to accomplish several things at once,” Yamazaki remarked, with some pride in his superior. “First, he outwitted Kondo-kukucho’s elder brothers, and now they will have to concede that our Commander is indeed a great man who has moved beyond them. Second, the manner of our strike will be embarrassing to them: they may tell many people the tale of two masked men—two shinobi—who broke into their fortified home in the dead of night, but took only two bottles of sake. Most people will say that the brother we incapacitated made up the tale in order not have to account for the missing sake, which he drank himself of course. As a kind of a bonus, the Vice Commander will be able to have his jest when he asks Kondō-san to drink a toast with his newly obtained, special sake.”

In the darkness, deep blue eyes met inquiring purple.

“It is possible that the Commander’s brothers may not choose to tell the story at all,” Saito pointed out, almost apologetically. “Therefore, I believe that as part of our duties, we should mention the tale ourselves to one or two local gossips, and let it go on from there. We will say only that we heard if from a person who heard it from one of the brothers.”

”Hai.“

"Happy New Year!” Hijikata leaned toward Kondō. “I have a special gift for you this year, Kondō-san: I thought you might enjoy this particular sake.”

“Oh, well, you know me,” his victim said with a triumphant smile. “If I can’t have the stuff from home, I just don’t bother, these days.”

“Most understandable, but you are in luck! Look at this.” With that Hijikata brought out Miyagawa-made sake for Kondō-san.

“Now you can finally drink properly to all of this year’s successes! To your good health!”

[END]

[1] Kondō Isami was originally Miyagawa Katsugorō, the youngest son of farmer Miyagawa Hisajirō. This story refers to Kondō’s two older brothers, Miyagawa Otojirō/Otogorō and Miyagawa Kumezō/Sōbei. These men did exist, but this story is completely fictional; I made up everything but the names and basic facts (e.g., location).

[2] Good night.

[3] In fact, Saitō and Yamazaki knew that true black tends to stand out against shadows, and so on, and will often provide an undesirable outline instead of concealment. Consequently, their clothes were made up of dark greens and greys, which are actually far more effective for camouflage in dark surroundings. Black isn’t bad in a pinch, but it isn’t the best

All the very best of the season! @hakuyamazakisensei​ who joins us in favouring the Saito / Yamazaki BROTP and the two characters in general!

~Impracticaldemon

[nyxmuses]

OTP / TAG / VERSE MASTERLIST 

So I was looking for inspiration for a ship name the other day and all I could see really was the same song lyrics, so I decided to make a masterlist of titles and lyrics from some of my favourite bands / albums that I haven’t seen used anywhere and think could be used for OTP/BROTP/Verse tags, anything really. I’ve NOT done them in any in order but each separated by artist / EP / etc. This will be a constantly updated masterlist, as I constantly find new bands I like so I will usually update as often as I can. 

Last Update: May 2017

Please like or reblog if you found this useful! 

CIGARETTES AFTER SEX

“EP” (2012) 

nothings’ gonna hurt you baby it was a perverted thing to say (but I said it anyway) made you smile and look away as long as you're with me, you'll be just fine nothing's gonna take you from my side always ends in a hazy shower scene there is no way out except to watch the love between us die when it brings you down it gives you butterflies now I'm longing for your kiss bet you could read it on my lips think you're just my type now I'm dreaming of you think you’d suit me fine. what can I say to make you listen. what can I do for your attention. when I'm alone I hear & feel you wish that I could reach right out & touch you

“CIGARETTES AFTER SEX” (2017)

“remember when I first noticed that you liked me back i could tell that something had changed how you looked at me then i've been waiting for you to slip back in bed think I like you best when you're dressed in black from head to toe i like you best when you're just with me stay with me I don't want you to leave all I wanna know is if you love her you just can't say goodbye come out & haunt me

OTHER SONGS FROM CIGARETTES AFTER SEX

i’m ready to find you i'm ready to show you how I feel  you weren’t mine. lost and found standing in the rain. you know that it's hard when you look that way when I said that I love you I meant that I love you forever i’m gonna keep on loving you. make love to me inside the darkness i can see you wanna take my hand.

RUELLE 

“UP IN FLAMES” (2015) 

glimmer in the moonlight only shadows there dwell we are keeping on the outside creeping on the edge of the dark we feel warmth in the cold corners we’ll be the last ones standing / last ones standing. sin so thick you can't see the stars i feel it running through my veins i need that fire just to know that I'm awake come to me in the night hours i will wait for you thoughts of you consume. i can’t help but love you. i know that i’d die without you. overcome in this war of hearts in my bones can feel it in my bones. you never stood a chance. ready or not. hit me like a ton of bricks. like a crashing wave. up your sleeve again. can't hide in the den of lions can't move with your feet tied no rest when you sleep in shadows you can't hide from the big guns vanish into the night with me raising heartbeats shadows on concrete set fear on fire awaken in the dark with me

“MADNESS” (2016) 

fraction of a memory waited so long something sweet like this where I belong living in a daydream caught in a daydream there will be blood in the water faith falls hard on our shoulders we could live like legends no turning back waking up from a fantasy all that's left is you and me invincible in a violet sea dare to move, dare to believe how do you fly with no wings how do you breathe without dreams wearing thin the heart beneath there's no place to call our own like a drifting haze we roam a world I can't control down in my soul gripping my bones won’t you wake me up? nowhere to run from all of this havoc nowhere to hide from all of this madness feel the fury closing in all resistance wearing thin

OTHER SONGS FROM RUELLE

nothing is the same a new world calling my name i can't escape this shadows break the dark our fate is beckoning nowhere to run we're coming after you this is the hunt won’t give up this fight caught off-guard by you like a wave I pulled into a feeling I can't fight like a wildfire taking my heart by storm lost in your love i can't hold back anymore torn apart by you a spell I can't undo can't escape it now in too deep to get out no place to hide. feeling like a villain, got a hunger inside. you're running cause I'm coming going to eat you alive heart hits like a drum he chase has just begun monsters stuck in your head monsters under your bed one misstep, you're mine and you better stay clever if you wanna survive once you cross the line you'll be wishing you would listen when you meet your demise we're kings of the killing we're out for blood we'll take them one by one don't know what you're asking for bring on the fire and bring on the storm we'll still be here when it's all said and done burn down the bridges and tear down the walls we'll still be standing invincible thunder in my chest, adrenaline in my veins if you wanna play my game one look at you; my whole life falls in line. i prayed for you; before I called you mine. i get to love you its the best thing i’ll ever do the way you love, it changes who I am. i am undone your heart i will choose it hurts too good to say no you're pulling me in this is how it begins see how much I can take push and pull 'till I break stay locked to the rhythm of my heart everybody wants a hero these iron chains ain't nothing gonna stop us the worlds sitting pretty in the palm of my hand shadows are calling me light in my veins darkness is sinking me lost in the deep end

BLUE FOUNDATION

“BLUE FOUNDATION” (2000)

i will rise and shine in the mornin' light. if you don't watch out she'll get to you i never knew the truth in her sighs came toe to toe with nemesis it left my mind unscathed all i wanted was to bathe in the rays of eternity one is left with piles of ash

“SWEEP OF DAYS” (2004)

history is just beginning met my sorrow, saw her in the eyes we love till the end i won't soothe your pain i won't ease your strain you'll be waiting in vain i got nothing for you to gain feeding my flame shuffling the cards of your game

[raywritesthings]

Shado (as my self indulgent one) but also Laurel Lance and Harry Potter and Zuko

Is this revenge for me sending you all those questions last week? Ok, here we go.

Shado1: sexuality headcanon - we didn’t really see her interact with anyone apart from guys (since we all know there can’t be more than one woman in the flashbacks for any extended length of time *rolls eyes*) but you got me hooked on Shado with other ladies who would treat her better so I’m gonna say bisexual.2: otp - I don’t know if I have one for her. I see the merits of Dragon Assasin, but I’m a big Lauryssa shipper, but then the occasional Shado/Laurel posts you’ve made are also quite compelling. There may be only one way to solve this, if you catch my drift...3: brotp - Oliver and Slade. Sorry, I pretend the romance bs between them never happened because it ruined her character and got her killed so fuck it. What happened to my fun, team-as-family banter from s1?4: notp - Oliver and Slade lmao. I’m also not huge on her and Sara, sorry. But a part of me knows that to introduce Sara into the flashbacks spelled Shado’s doom because of that whole unspoken No More Than One Woman rule these shit-for-brains writers have and it lowkey has me bitter.5: first headcanon that pops into my head - I’d actually be pretty game for a nonbinary Shado ngl. Not sure what pronouns. But it’d kind of tie into my next answer below.6: favorite line from this character - not sure if I have this word-for-word but “My father wanted sons” because it really says a lot about her relationship with her dad. Like, I don’t doubt that Yao Fei loved her (and Mei), but at the same time she clearly knows that there’s some disappointment there, like she wasn’t quite enough as she was. Yet nevertheless she trained and worked to be everything she is and she still worked to find and save her dad and she was better than Oliver, than Slade, than all of them and just gahhhhhhhhhhhhh.7: one way in which I relate to this character - um idk, we are very different. Maybe when she looked at a photo of Laurel Lance and instantly fell in love knew she was the most important woman in the world had nothing but compliments to say about her because, like, same.8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - she was kind of too busy struggling to survive to do anything embarrassing. 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - Any of her “problems” result from the writers using her for manpain in s2, so I’m gonna go cinnamon roll. She was too good, too pure for this show.

Laurel1: sexuality headcanon - she is bi as fuuuuuuck2: otp - Oliver or Nyssa depending on how I am feeling any given day3: brotp - Thea, they are my ride or die sisters4: notp - Laurel/Tommy, can’t get over how he essentially pressured her into dating him, then became obsessed with her and Oliver’s potential feelings for each other, and ended up kind of treating her as this trophy or prize in this weird jealousy game he had going with Oliver. Was kinda gross. They had their moments, but it was never a relationship that was gonna last. I also resent how certain sectors of fandom used it as excuses for why Laurel couldn’t end up with anybody else because her “twu wuv” had died. I see your bs.5: first headcanon that pops into my head - this is very dark, but I think at low points in her life she had very close brushes with self-harm.6: favorite line from this character - too many!! “You and me against an army. I love those odds.” “Hey, if I don’t try to save it, who will?” “I couldn’t be more proud of you if you were my sister.” “Because you’re important to me.” “I don’t need you right now. Everyone else does. So go. Save the city.” “I’m the justice you can’t run from.” “Your job, apparently.” “Fighting for your city isn’t selfish. It’s what a hero would do.” “I know. And then I realized I didn’t really give a damn.” “It’s the hypocrisy I can’t stand.” “Going out there and fighting alongside you guys, that’s what makes me feel alive inside.”7: one way in which I relate to this character - her struggle with depression.8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - I can’t really think of much. Maybe all the times she was wronged by the people she trusted and loved? And that’s less embarrassment and more righteous fury.9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - cinnamon roll, she was better than any of them from the word go and they never deserved her and some day the tears will stream down their eyes when they realize it.

Harry1: sexuality headcanon - also bi as fuuuuuuck2: otp - Harry/Ginny forever bitches3: brotp - Ron and Hermione, hell yes4: notp - Dr*rry, Sn*rry, and H*rmony5: first headcanon that pops into my head - Once Harry retires from the Aurors, then he finally gets to be the DADA professor Hogwarts deserves (and Ginny takes the Flying Instructor position after Madame Hooch so they can live together and take tea with Hagrid and Neville and be cute and disgusting and embarrass many future generations of Potter-Weasleys to come)6: favorite line from this character - so much of his sass oh my god but nothing, nothing, tops “There’s no need to call me sir, Professor.” Also these aren’t exactly lines, but any and all of his internal musings on how beautiful and amazing Ginny Weasley is because it is sheer poetry.7: one way in which I relate to this character - just his general approach to life, I think.8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - oh mannnn he was put through a lot of embarrassing moments, like which to choose?9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - cinnamon roll, he never asked for this prophecy bs but he saved everyone anyway just cause.

Zuko1: sexuality headcanon - I don’t know why but I don’t really have sexuality headcanons for Avatar characters (and I barely started Korra, but I do know about Korra and Asami and I am Here For It), so he could really be anything to my mind.2: otp - don’t really have one3: brotp - everyone in the Gaang, and also his relationship with Iroh is the best4: notp - don’t really have one of these either5: first headcanon that pops into my head - sometime after they’ve brought relative peace back to the world, Katara offers to give healing Zuko’s scar another try, but he turns it down. He’s made his peace with it, and he is proud of who he is today as a result.6: favorite line from this character - oh god, it’s been so long since I’ve gotten to watch anything from the show, but I always cracked up at his little rehearsal pitch for joining the Gaang. Also his reunion with Iroh is precious.7: one way in which I relate to this character - he fucks up a lot but still manages to try and do the right thing? That’s so inspiring.8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - his terrible s1 hair. The worst.9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - ummm maybe somewhere in between? He tries like really hard to be a problematic fave at the beginning, but then slowly his persona is stripped away to find a cinnamon roll underneath.

[theexperiment-hq-blog]

Conner Kent / Superboy, played by Basil

OOC Info

Name: Basil

Age: 20

Pronouns: they/them

Triggers: [redacted]

IC Info

Muse Name and Alias: Conner Kent/Kon El

What is your primary canon(s) for this character? 90s Comics

Approximate Age: 23, but looks barely 18

OTPs, BroTPs, NoTPs: all of the ships do it go

Give us a bulletpoint outline for what your character’s history might look like:

Conner was made in Cadmus labs by Lex Luthor using his own and Superman's DNA. He was initially to be a replacement for a 'dead' superman, which ended up being a complete failure given his lack of actual kryptonian abilities as well as not responding to mind control and being broken out early and escaping.

Conner is mixed and on the darker end of the spectrum, which is why he draws so much attention compared to friends like Bart who are on the same wavelength of obnoxious. On top of it, he's very out about being bisexual, which is a huge problem for most people since the last thing you need is someone who looks like a perpetual party boy kissing other boys on TV broadcasts. It's why some people can't stand him, even if Superman's initial stance on him didn't affect them. It's a race and queer thing, and he knows it is, but is very unapologetic about who he is.

Conner is closer than Lex than he is Clark for a variety of reasons; Clark initially rejected Conner, which forced him to go to Lex instead for practically everything from parental comfort to getting a piercing gun that would make it's way through his skin. He does easily find himself at odds with Lex given they both have different goals, but when it comes down to it, he knows he can count on Lex to have his back. He did initially get closer with Clark once he realized Conner wasn't completely terrible, but if he had to pick, Conner would still side with Lex in terms of the preferred parent.

He doesn't have superman's powers at all, but rather tactile telekinesis, which allows him to manipulate anything he touches, including himself. That's what gives him the ability to 'fly' and have 'super strength'. He is technically half kryptonian, meaning kryptonite weakens him, but he's 'normal' aside from that compared to other kryptonians.

Interview (Must be answered in character, third person, including both narrative and dialogue. Answer these as if you’re responding to a roleplay reply. Feel free to write as much as you like, but make sure there’s at least a good paragraph for each.)

What would it take for you to switch sides? (hero to villain; villain to hero; neutral to either)

"Well... Honestly?" Conner asked quietly, slouching back in his chair as if he was overly comfortable rather than off put at the question. "It's kind of something I quietly fight with all of the time." He admitted softly. "Heroes and villains are kind of this concept of right versus wrong, and if a lot of people think doing the right thing is wrong, then I guess I'm a bad guy." He quietly laced his gloved hands over his torso, as if preparing to settle in for a long nap. "Like with all of the current stuff going down on earth... Like Kaepernick for example-" He started, sitting up and holding his hands out to explain as if the answer was right in front of him. "The football guy who takes a knee over standing for the anthem? There are people who literally send this guy DEATH threats because of what he's doing. People think he's in the wrong- that he's a bad guy all for KNEELING because people are being KILLED. So again..." He shrugged quietly, as if it were obvious, yet terribly painful. "It's all perspective, so... it doesn't really matter- to some people we're ALREADY the bad guys. I'M already a bad guy..." He corrected softly, slouching forward on his knees and lacing his hands together, eyes locked on the floor. "As long as I'm doing what I want, it doesn't really matter... does it?" He asked, quietly looking up with a grin on his face, yet nothing about his expression said he thought this was funny- everything about it said this topic hurt.

How would you describe yourself? How would your friends describe you? How would the public describe you?

"Describe myself?" He asked with a laugh. "Dude, I’m a FULL TIME superhero and ‘Superboy’ is TRADEMARKED- Like there is an honest to god TM there, I'm a walking billboard for myself! Like I have friggin merchandise and shit, my guy. I don't HAVE to describe myself, Google me." He said with a hearty laugh as if this was genuinely funny to him. "My friends would probably say I'm a big meme, but it's whatever. If the worst they think I am is funny then I lucked out given genetics." He joked as if proving the point, giving a wide, brilliant smile. "The public's opinion can be swayed depending on the media they consume. I'm sure to some people I'm this really obnoxious punk kid who needs to get shot in the head," He made a gun motion and put it to the side of his head, sticking his pierced tongue out. "And I'm sure to others I'm a roll model- which is wild considering, but also at the same time like... I could be seriously worse." He leaned back with a wide grin, having fun with that question in particular, more than willing to show off his narcissism.

If you could gain any superpower/swap your superpower for another, what would it be and why?

"Oh man- actual Supes' powers, hands down." He quickly answered. "Like I'm basically a knock off man, everyone knows that. So like having legit xray vision that aren't in my shades or like heat ray vision or frost breath? A total package- the powers, I'm already the whole 9." He snickered, showing off his perfect teeth with a wide grin. "Sooo, this is where I make a plus one joke if you're free sometime." He added, winking at the interviewer.

What is a secret you have never told someone?

He paused, considering this. "...I mean a secret is generally something you try not to tell people, but... I mean considering, I guess now is a good a time as any to bring it up. Even people with super powers aren't like... invincible and unaffected. At the end of the day, we have to go home and deal with what happens, good or bad... and there's a lot of bad shit in there, you know?" He grumbled softly, shaking his head and resting his elbows on his knees. "Like you don't see the stuff we do- know people are being hurt and that you can help but for some reason couldn't and just... walk away from that unscathed. It messes you up. It's why good people go ape shit- they just can't do it anymore. You get PTSD and depression and like... I should probably be on meds or whatever, but..." He leaned back in his chair. "...Sometimes there are just days where I can't do sunshine and good times acts. Sometimes I gotta sit there for a week in the same shirt and not do my hair and live in a blanket cocoon while beating playing GTA seven times with some weird movie on in the back. I'm not always okay... and I guess the first step to handling that is to talk about it. I'm used to making a big scene, so... may as well let other people know that even superheroes need help some time, right?" He offered, giving an almost apologetic smile as if it was his fault he wasn't okay.

If there was one choice in your past you could change, what would it be?

He paused to think, reliving a few moments. "...I duuno. There's a lot of shit I probably shouldn't have done or changed." He admitted with a laugh. "Is this just one fuck up or can I fix a few? Because some part of me always regrets the firecracker incident." He said with a soundless snicker as he covered his hand with his mouth. "Uh... I'm not... gonna say what it is, but even though it's funny now it put my stupid ass in the hospital for a little bit because I'll basically let Tim talk me into anything because he's my favorite kind of cute." He couldn't help but snicker the entire time he was talking, occasionally pausing to wheeze at the memory. "Ohhh, man... I cannot believe I'm still such a hot mess, I'd probably still do that now if I got trashed enough because it's so funny. So I guess never mind on that? I dunno man there's serious shit I can think of too but like... Jeezus christ I can't even think now." He dissolved into laughter again, covering his face with his hand while he couldn't stop himself from laughing so hard.

If you had one day where you could do anything you want, free of consequences, what would you do?

Conner paused, thinking quietly about all of the good he could do. How he could handle the root issues of wars. How he could have Tim help him hack into obnoxiously rich people's bank accounts to solve socioeconomic issues- literally fix things like world hunger with that alone. How he could hurl some people into the sun- kiss girls and guys and anything in between without them getting upset for some reason or another. How he could take a damn day off without feeling guilty about it- maybe catch up on playing some NES games he hadn't touched in a while. So many ideas came to mind at the concept of it being 'consequence free'. But no. He could do something much more devastating. Something that would state the little terror that was always nagging at him to shove someone off of a roof or punch someone into a yard or steal a dog just because it was cute. A wide grin grew on his face that said he was very much Lex as he was Clark. "...I'd give Lex Luthor a wedgie so hard he's underwear would rip and then would leave him hanging from some really public place where everyone could see him." He couldn't help but laugh half way though his sentence, the idea fucking hysterical to him.

Extras

https://uppers-and-90s-bullshit.tumblr.com/

[swimmingferret]

But as an Overwatch fan, have you seen those new voice lines with Genji and Mercy? How he gets her chocolates? I've noticed a lot of the fandom is pissed about it

Okay, I wanna make something clear from the start- in the Overwatch fandom I am very much in the ‘let people ship what they want’ category. Also I’mma censor G/ency since I don’t want my annoyance to show up in the ship tag.

Well, I will have issues with people who ship Tracer, a canon lesbian, with men for obvious reason but that’s another kettle of fish. Otherwise I’m fine. Same with Torbjorn- let them have their beautiful, loving wives in peace.

But with Mercy/Genji....like I can see why some people like it but I also know why people are getting annoyed with Blizzard pushing it via those voice lines. Personally I would love it if they were major BROTP mainly because the doctor/patient dynamic isn’t really my jam and it’s like...cliched as hell to ship them because of that which is what Blizzard is coming across as. And that is such a boring foundation for romance. So yea, I don’t like them in a romantic sense.

Personally I wouldn’t mind learning about the relationship between Genji and Mercy because they have been integral to each others current state- that isn’t debatable since we know Genji would’ve died without Angela’s intervention but we also know Genji had extreme issues with self-hatred after she saved him.

So I wouldn’t mind seeing that expanded on and you could read the new VA lines as platonic- I mean, I’ve brought chocolates for my friends before? So Genji could be doing that and they have a personal enough relationship with each other he can call her Angela, since using someone’s real name instead of their ‘hero’ name in Overwatch seems to show a great deal of familiarity (be it good or ill- Like Ana calling Reaper by his name Gabriel and etc) and I don’t mind them being close friends, but I am so sick of the running theme that a man and woman cannot be close friends without it becoming romantic at some point.

Like I WANT to see Genji and Mercy caring for each other- I WANT to see them hanging out and having tea at cafes and sending letters to one another and being happy to visit one another but I so badly want it to be platonic because do you know how rare it is to see deeply close and trusting friendships between a man and woman in media that isn’t romantic? Because it’s damn hard to fin it and I so want that to be the case between these two. And as friends I think those two would be so much better, since it has the personal nature of their relationship but we also get the closeness and love- platonic love, which is hard to see between a man and woman who isn’t related and it’s actually fleshed out and not ‘someone is pinning but being quiet’. So basically I am so for an epic BROTP between Genji and Mercy.

But like...in terms of everything else, I would 100% gay robots with Genji and Zenyatta. Or well Bi/pan Genji since he was a playboy before being shoved in a woodchipper and going Batman brooding before some cute robot helped him out. Also we know Omnics have a lot of opposition in the Overwatch verse and people tend to treat them as things and everything and imagine if instead one of the characters becomes boyfriends with them?? Like Zenyatta and Genji already have cute as hell dialogue with one another when you interact with them and them getting a relationship upgrade would be 100% more interesting that Mercy and Genji, since Genyatta comes with all the Omnic issues which is a fairly big issue in the Overwatch verse. Anyway, I came up with some potential dialogue for Genyatta that Blizzard should totally do to give someone subtle hints about it-

Zarya: *at Zenyatta* Watch your back, Omnic

Genji: Don’t talk to my boyfriend like that.

Torbjorn: I hate working with those talking tin cans.

Genji: Say that again and I’ll kick your ass, Gimli.

*In the spawn room at the start of the match

Genji: Hey everyone, this is my adorable boyfriend Zenyatta. He’s great and I love him.

Angela: Yes Genji I know, you sent me over a dozen letters that simply said ‘Hey Angie, I love Zenyatta so much’.

Genji: Well it’s true.

But on a final note- as Mercy player I frigging hate Genji’s. Enemy Genji’s kill me so often and stalk me everywhere, and if there is a Genji on my own team they’re usually completely incompetent, lousy at defending me, demanding or spam ‘I need healing!’ while on the opposite end of the map and then get prissy when I can’t magically teleport over there and heal them while they’re in the middle of a fight. So from a game-play standpoint Genji/Mercy is probably one of the worst pairings for her, right next to Widow/Mercy ‘cause like if you ever played a game while as Mercy with either of those you’d be like ‘FINE THEN JUST DIE’ at the end of it after they rage-spam I need healing! but conveniently  forget you’re a squishy as hell target and they run around a lot or never stay near edges so you can fly to them.

So on a gameplay aspect I hate G/ency as a ship because Genjis ingame are fucking annoying for a Mercy

[brokenhardies]

Amber 💞

okay, here we go!

-Nate - Her best friend! They’ve known each other since Amber moved in and she immediately latched onto him! They’re surprisingly close, all things considered, so close that Amber winds up telling him about her powers!

-Billy - Her ward and his sidekick! The pair originally got off on the wrong foot, but now they’re pretty much best mates! Amber will literally protect him from just about anything bad, and Billy will do the same for her! They’re both still snarky af tho :’D

-Virgil - One of her partners (both in love and in crime) and the one she teases the most! They often will compete to see who has the cooler electrical powers, mainly bc Amber thinks static electricity is ‘too niche’ while Virgil says “AT LEAST I CAN ATTACK WITH MINE!” They’re both absolute disasters lmfao

-Jaime - The other of her partners (both in love and in crime) and the sweetest bean! She will literally fight the scarab if it tries to harm her boy, but lbr Jaime can handle himself! She tries to train Jaime just in case the scarab refuses his end of the bargain bu its kind of stuck to him so like.... good luck with that Amber :’D

-Black Adam - “NO WE DO NOT KILL PEOPLE THAT IS BAD”. She’s trying to teach him how to be a hero again! It’s not working but eh, it’s the thought that counts! She also now knows to feel like she has a very angry bodyguard watching over her and ready to fire at will at people who are trying to hurt her! 

[brokenhardies]

*Crashes though the roof* Hey Ron. Hey Billy!

There are like 5 OCs who fit this vine but lets be real - this is legit just Amber and Billy when Billy’s in Shazam mode

[brokenhardies]

brotp for ur most recently written platonic ship?

technically my most recently written platonic ship is the high school misfit club BUT im gonna cheat and go with billy and amber bc i havent talked about them!

who steals french fries off the other’s plate

Amber!

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple

Neither! 

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail

Billy! Amber is the more likely of the pair to end up in jail, ironically enough.

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues

Amber! She’s much more of a shoulder to cry on for Billy and helps him figure himself out!

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes

Amber! Billy in Shazam mode does this a lot as well (like when they’re playing Mortal Kombat he just does it and Amber elbows him in teh gut lmao)

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk

Billy!

who starts and who wins the pillow fights

Amber starts them, and she often wins them!

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush

Billy! He’s more likely to throw that kind of humor out there

(gif by @x-zacharylevifan-x)

[brokenhardies]

A: *Locks B in the car.* Act like a child, get treated like a child.

B: What? Isn't it illegal to leave a child locked in a car?

fuckin hell this is Amber and Billy. bonus points if Billy is in Shazam mode when this happens

[brokenhardies]

dceu oc masterlist

(gif by @anotherunreadblog​)

Name: Amber Talbot

Alias: The Emissary

Title: Electric Feel

Faceclaim: Paris Berelc

Relationship Tags: brotp: kill your heroes (and fly) - billy batson, family: if you mess with me (youre messing with my family) - shazamily

Summary: Babysitting was just a quick job to pay for video games and school supplies. What Amber Talbot didn’t expect was that one fateful night of babysitting the Vasquez’s would lead to her becoming the mentor for a rookie superhero who showed up in the backyard.

Name: Nathan ‘Nate’ Dugan

Alias: None

Title: Electric Feel (intro story), TBA (stargirl story)

Faceclaim: Tom Holland

Relationship Tags: TBA

Summary: TBA

[theexperiment-hq-blog]

Shota Aizawa / Easerhead, played by Rin

OOC Info

Name: Rin Age: 17 Pronouns: He/Him/His Triggers: (redacted) Second Choice Character:  Fumikage Tokoyami Discord: (redacted)

IC Info

Muse Name and Alias: Shota Aizawa “Eraserhead” What is your primary canon(s) for this character? Boku no Hero Academia Approximate Age: 30 OTPs, BroTPs, NoTPs: N/A for OTPS and NoTPS. I like any BroTPs between Shota and his students or coworkers. Give us a bulletpoint outline for what your character’s history might look like:

Since BnHA is still ongoing, I’ll be going up until the end of the School Trip arc. I’ll also not be going much into his childhood/teen years, since there isn’t much known, so far. (I will include everything known, though.)

Attended U.A. High school, where his hero name was chosen by a friend since Shota couldn’t decide on one.

A year prior to teaching, Shota was called into a meeting with other pro heroes and an officer to discuss the citizens being injected with Trigger–a drug to enhance an individual’s Quirk (i.e. superpower). During this meeting, he was encouraged to apply as a teacher by one of the other pro heroes there. Despite perceiving it as a joke at first, Shota ended up being recommended to the principal of U.A. by the hero who brought it up.

Years later, when Izuku Midoriya was a freshman, Shota gave the Quirk Apprehension Test to measure the new students’ abilities, prefacing the test by warning them that he would expel anyone who fails.  During the test, he used his Quirk to disable the Quirk of one of his students, as they were about to injure themselves. This revealed his identity as Eraserhead to the class, along with prompting Shota to intimidate the student into using their Quirk better. The student was able to control their ability upon their second throw. This impressed Shota, who then confesses that he lied about expelling any of the students and dismissed the class. He is confronted by a new teacher to the school as he leaves, however, and they claim that he had planned to expel someone in the first place, as he has expelled entire classes before. Shota simply admits that the student he intimidated before doesn’t have “zero potential.”

Once the news that the new teacher was the most famous hero in Japan, the media swarmed U.A. High School, and Shota confronted them, demanding they stop disturbing the students. Once they were dealt with, he returned to his class and informed his students that they would be going to rescue training with him and two other teachers. They took a bus to the rescue simulation, where only he and one other teacher are present. (It turned out that the one missing, who happened to be the new teacher, had used all their power and had to step out.) Moments after arrival, the class is interrupted by a swarm of villains who are out to kill the missing teacher. A fight broke out, and Shota ends up with a disintegrated elbow, a crushed torso, and a cracked skull.

While recovering, Shota acted as a commentator for a school-wide sports festival. (The point of which was to allow pro heroes to scout for talent.)

Two days after the sports festival ended, Shota had his class come up with their own hero names. He also explained that, due to his class fighting off villains during their rescue training, they would be drafted into internships. On the first day of the students’ internships, Shota met his class and instructs them to respect the heroes they would be working under and to be responsible. Once the internships ended, he informed his students that anyone who passed their finals would be able to go to a lodge over summer vacation.

A week before finals ended, he informed his students that they would be having a practical exam to check for their improvement in fighting. He then oversaw his students’ written exam.

The teachers met up a few days before the practical exam to discuss it. The meeting resulted with the exam remaining unaffected.

The practical exam occurred in a controlled environment, where students were to be put into pairs and had to face off against a teacher. Shota was against two of his better performing students, and the students had to either capture him or retreat out of the testing area to pass. He was able to best the students for a while, but eventually was captured in a cleverly put together trap.

The following day, Shota reveals that all of the students would be going to boot camp instead of a lodge, but the ones who failed still had to do remediation.

Shota and his students travelled to a remote forest area, where the students met their camp instructors. The camp was smooth for a few days, but villains soon flooded in and attacked the camp. Shota allowed his students to fight, although he would be punished for this action. After fighting off a few villains, Shota was entrusted with a student, who he took to safety as soon as possible.

A few days after the camp attack, Shota was interrogated by the police.

Interview: What would it take for you to switch sides?

Shota answered almost immediately.

“Nothing.”

Really, would he put himself through four years of a prestigious high school just to turn evil or ignore the problems of the world? No, of course not. There was also his students and their reasons for becoming heros that wouldn’t allow him; they had stars in their eyes when they would talk about their inspiration. Those kids had the drive to do good in a world that was slowly becoming more fucked up, even if it meant dying for it.

There were his coworkers–his friends–too. They had a strong sense of justice and morality that was, frankly, a bit infectious. Neither of these groups would be swayed into villainy, so why the hell would he?

Apathy was a bit different, but it mostly hinged on the same concepts. Though he had times when he struggled through it–depression kinda did that to him–but it never went anywhere.

Really, he didn’t have a choice to turn on the ideals he had lived up with to this point. He wouldn’t allow himself.

How would you describe yourself? How would your friends describe you? How would the public describe you?

Shota blinked idly for a few seconds.

“I guess I’d describe myself as logical and tough on my students,” he dryly replied. “Depressed too. At least according to my medical record.”

He paused to think on it.

“I’m unafraid to speak my mind. That’s about it for me. As for my friends–I assume coworkers count as well. They seem to think I’m a little rough on my kids.” He ended the sentence with an idle shrug.

“I disagree. They applied to a prestigious school, so they should expect to be put through the wringer.”

Shota sighed and sat back, crossing his arms.

“But they can think what they want. They at least seem to like me otherwise, though.”

As for the public…

“Don’t think most of them know about me anymore, but my students know me well. They seem to think the same as my coworkers, for the most part. But it wouldn’t surprise me if some of them hate me.”

If you could gain any superpower/swap your superpower for another, what would it be and why?

Shota rolled his eyes.

“Where I come from, switching our Quirks would be a disaster. It already takes long enough to get used to the one we have at birth. It’d take twice as long to adapt to a brand new one.” His voice wasn’t its usual mellow tone; it sounded annoyed, as if he was asked a question too stupid to answer.

“I guess you wouldn’t know that though, even if it is pretty damn obvious.”

Even if he was to answer with something that wasn’t blatant snark, he couldn’t really think of one that he–

Wait. Yeah there was one he’d find useful.

“I guess making things on the fly. One of my students has that, and she was able to catch me off guard during her final exam,” he mentions, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

“It’d probably keep my eyes from drying up as much as they do now too.”

What is a secret you have never told someone?

A secret? He didn’t really have any that would be worth mentioning–if he wanted to in the first place. There was one, though: just fitting enough to answer, but not some sort of major reveal.

“I’m clinically depressed. I have been since I hit my teens. I take medication for it, but it’s still a thorn in my side.”

He never really told anyone about it. He wasn’t really ashamed, but it wasn’t anyone’s business. Plus he didn’t have emotional breakdowns in public like he did as a teen, so it wasn’t too obvious. The drugs he took, although sorta numbing, prevented that from occurring again. The worst that could happen was that he’d miss a dosage and be on edge for the day or just lose his will to function normally. It was also the reason for his constant tiredness and desire to nap.

If there was one choice in your past you could change, what would it be?

He never really did anything so catastrophic that it’d make him regret it immensely, but there was two events that popped into his mind immediately.

“I led my kids to danger this past school year. Twice. Some of them nearly died during it,” Shota admitted, feeling his chest tighten a bit. “I regret that, even if it did let those kids grow and experience important things. But those kids… they aren’t even eighteen, and most of ‘em have had near death experiences. No kid deserves to go through that at their age. Some of them will bear the scars from that for the rest of their lives. If I had known what would happen, I wouldn’t have taken them into those situations. At least then they could have been normal, worryless teens for a little while longer.”

Once he finished his tangent, he ran a hand through his hair to push some bangs back.

“At least none of them died.”

If you had one day where you could do anything you want, free of consequences, what would you do?

What an easy question.

“I’d want to sleep all day.” Shota quickly said, a dull sparkle in his eyes. “I swear if I got one day to myself I wouldn’t be so damn tired all the time.”

He knew it wasn’t exactly true, but it would help him immensely, if only for a day. His medication and mental illness wasn’t kind to him, and he’d just like a day to give into their demands of “sleep all day.” Plus, no consequences, so he wouldn’t be fired.

Extras - Not really a headcanon since it’s told in canon, but Shota carries eyedrops with him everywhere, since his Quirk causes his eyes to dry out quickly.

- Shota’s Quirk, to be specific, allows him to temporarily disable certain powers as long as he has his eyes open. However, this dries out his eyes extremely quickly. Due to recent injuries, he now has to wait a short while before he can use his ability again. He can, however, erase multiple Quirks at once.