#but also my normal lb design

[c10v3r]

i think more people should draw lightbulb just like completely zonked out of her mind tired as hell ur telling me she wouldnt have sleepless nights. ur wrong sry /SILLY

[shimadadoctor]

Few plushies concept designs I made

The darker plasma ball design belongs to WinterWing1 on Twitter!!!

First two is cuz I don't like new fan and TT plushies, they look kinda like bootlegs sorry 💔

With fan

I THINK HIS ROUNDNESS BOTHERS ME THE MOST?? I KNOW FACES ARE SUPOSTED TO BE SHOW-ACCURATE BUT TBH I LIKE SIMPLE FACE DESIGNS on PLUSHIES THAT JUST LOOK SILLY

Like look at em they just look more fitting with lb and pb like that

^ how would they normally look, if u prefer original versions over mine that's fine DW! My version is truely my preference

OH AND ALSO

small paintbrush plush made by my cousin!!! I need to show it cuz it's so CUTEEE

Cw bright colors? Eyestrain (idk how to tag stuff on tumblr sorry)

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I painted my keyboard to fit my desk AND I KNOW "G" IS UPSIDE DOWN

[ggomos-maribat]

Secrets, Masks, and Family Gatherings

Cross posted from AO3

It had been nearly a year since she moved to Gotham City, but the skyline seemed new each time she went out for night patrol. Ladybug zipped to another building with Red Hood to gain a higher vantage point. Her wings fluttered slightly with the breeze behind her.

"All clear here." Red Hood pressed on his comms.

"Okay. We'll wait for an update from Robin and Spoiler then we're finished for tonight if there aren't any problems," Batman replied.

"Yeah, it's a miracle we get to finish up early." The vigilante rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms. "So LB . . ."

"This small talk again?" Ladybug groaned.

Red Hood put his arms up. "Hey, I'm just curious."

"What is it now?"

"I was just wondering what made you transfer to Gotham." He perched on the ledge right beside her. "You defeated your city's villain, right? You had nothing to do anymore."

He's not wrong. She often thought about it herself. Her past and responsibilities clung to her like unshakeable nightmares. Ladybug knew the moment she gained guardianship that her life had no chance of reverting back to 'normal'.

"I think you know how it feels," she said.

"How what feels?"

Ladybug sighed, slumping. "When we defeated Hawkmoth, I thought we could finally rest easy. But I couldn't. I was restless, and between that and taking care of the aftermath, I realized I was missing the superhero life." She shrugged. "That's why I'm here now---it's inescapable. As the guardian, I decided it was better for the Miraculi to be used for good instead of sitting unused."

"Ah, classic PTSD like all the Bats." Red Hood nodded.

She snorted. "But that doesn't mean I still live a restless life. In fact, I've gotten used to life in Gotham."

"But why Gotham of all places?"

"The Miracle Box told me something. I can't divulge anything more."

"Just like you don't divulge anything about your civvy life."

She rolled her eyes, elbowing him on the side, which caused him to flinch dramatically. Bats and their nosiness. "Hey, we're not that close yet for me to reveal my identity. And it's a fair game. I don't know any of you either."

"I'm surprised B hasn't dug up anything on you. And he has contingency plans for all the JL members."

"I told you, the glamor protects us."

At first, she'd been hesitant to work with the vigilantes and at the same time, Batman had been wary around her especially when she was entering their territory. But she had gotten to know them well over time, despite not knowing who were behind the masks. She could also tell they'd grown to trust her like one of theirs.

"All clear near Crime Alley," Spoiler reported over the line.

"Good. Thank you for your help tonight, Ladybug. Everyone else, back to the cave."

Ladybug stood up abruptly. "Thank you too. I'll join the Signal during the weekend. He mentioned he might need some help."

"Oooh, you seem in a hurry to get back home." Red Hood tilted his head.

"No, I'm not spilling anything about my plans for the night," she huffed. "And I need to go because I'm hungry and my timer's running because you forced me to use my Lucky Charm to win that bet with Red Robin."

"The look on his face was priceless."

Ladybug threw her yoyo. "Good night, Hood."

After double checking that none of the others had followed or tracked her, Ladybug detransformed and walked back to her apartment building. She could practically hear the coffee calling to her; she'd drown in it endlessly whenever patrol nights ran late and she needed commissions to finish afterwards.

In the empty elevator, Tikki hovered up to her shoulder. "It's a good thing patrol ended early, Marinette."

"It's not a good sign, Tikki." She smiled grimly. "I think something big's going to happen. A massive breakout or a big plan by the Rogues."

The kwami hummed. "You can try to get plenty of rest before that happens."

"No promises. I have twelve designs I have to submit to Audrey by next week."

Just as she headed to her apartment door, her phone rang a familiar customized ringtone. Tikki also gasped in excitement upon seeing the caller's name.

Marinette tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder while jamming her keys through the doorknob. "Hey, Adrien. What's up?"

"Hey Nette. Done with patrol?"

"We finished early tonight. The Rogues are suspiciously silent. How are you? How's Plagg?" Marinette stepped into the room and Tikki turned on the lights.

"Currently pigging out on cheese. As always." She could almost see her best friend's eye-roll. "Anyway, I called to tell you that I'll be visiting Gotham on Friday. Wayne Tech is partnering up with our brand and Chloe and Kagami are coming with me."

"That's great news, Adrien! I'll bake something special---or should I take you out to a restaurant? I know some good ones near my place."

Adrien chuckled. "Pick anything you want. I'll tell Chloe to send you our schedule so we can reserve lunch or dinner with you and----no, Plagg! I'm not telling her to buy extra cheese!" He heaved out a breath. "At night we can have a short . . . run. You can introduce me to your new partners."

"They're not my partners. It's just you, kitty cat," Marinette said pointedly. "We're just allies."

"You gush about winning prank wars against them."

"It's fun being around them but that's it!"

He laughed. "It's okay. I'm glad you're enjoying your time over there. Send my regards to Damian."

A knock suddenly sounded on the door.

"Speaking of Damian, I think he's here. Gotta go, and say hi to Plagg and the others for me!"

"Pfft, you keep stroking his ego."

With one last goodbye, Marinette threw her phone on the couch and ran to the door. She hadn't expected her boyfriend to drop by, but she was glad he could make time for her. She knew Damian was as busy as her and she was worried he'd end up not taking care of himself like she always did.

"Dames, I thought you had work at the company for the whole night." She gave him a tight hug and a light kiss as soon as she opened the door.

Damian pecked her cheek, winding his arms around her waist. "They let us go early and I thought I should surprise you."

"Good, because I'm surprised," she beamed. "Are you staying the night?"

"Of course, habibti."

Damian Wayne had been an unexpected addition to her Gotham life. They had met in the park while they were working on their sketches---him, a portrait drawing and her, an inspired dress design. Before she knew it, she was with someone who she believed she could spend the rest of her life with. Damian was her support, her confidant in all aspects except her secret identity (though the thought of finally telling him had crossed her mind too many times).

"Are you hungry? I haven't had dinner yet and I was just thinking of cooking instant ramen . . ."

"We can have dinner together, but . . . there is something I need to talk to you about." Damian rubbed her arms, gazing at her intently.

Marinette's heart quickened as she subconsciously thought about all types of bad news. Did he get hurt? Did I do something? Is he going to break up with me?

"Habibti, love, I can already read your thoughts." He kissed the tip of her nose. "It's not anything terrible."

"What is it?"

Damian took a deep breath. "I think it's time for you to meet my family."

Marinette felt her jaw drop. "Your . . . your family? Are you sure about this?"

For the longest time, Damian had expressed his distaste at the thought of her meeting the Waynes. At first, she'd thought that it was the status difference, but he seemed more worried about his father and brothers doing something crazy.

On the other hand, they had both flown to Paris four months ago for Damian to officially meet her parents and friends. It had gone smoothly, and Damian was convinced that the opposite would happen if she met his family.

"Yes. I've thought about it." He sat down with her as she ran her thumb over the back of his hand. "They're already asking about you and if I stall for any longer, I know they will start prying into your life."

"Oh . . ."

Damian had talked about his brothers before, and Marinette saw them sometimes in news and tabloids. In her impression, they didn't seem too bad.

"But don't worry," he assured her, "I will be with you the whole time. We'll have lunch at the manor tomorrow---"

"Wait, tomorrow?"

"Is it too sudden? I worked with your free schedule and---"

"No, no, I'm definitely free tomorrow." Her eyes widened. "Let's meet them tomorrow. It just caught me off guard. I have to prepare my outfit and buy a gift and----oh no, what would your brothers like? What about your father and Alfred?"

Damian smiled gently. "You don't have to concern yourself with that. You’ll make a wonderful first impression."

"But---"

"I have to warn you about my brothers instead." His lip curled. "They will be a handful."

She laughed a little. "You already warned me a million times."

"Because I can't overstate how troublesome they'll be."

Instead of her reply, Marinette's growling stomach echoed in the room. She blushed as Damian pulled her from her seat, kissing her cheek. "It seems that we have an emergency to take care of first. I'll help you cook."

---

Marinette smoothed down the remnant wrinkles on her skirt. She'd chosen a simple pleated dress to wear to her first family lunch with the Waynes. At the same time, the car pulled up in front of the Wayne Manor. It was just as intimidating as she remembered---she'd only ever been to the manor once, to wait for Damian.

"Nervous?" Damian touched her hand.

"Should I be?"

"Never," he replied firmly. "If anything, I should apologize ahead of time. Also, there is no reason to be nervous. If they aren't busy acting insufferable, they'll be impressed by you."

Though the words were warm, they did little to calm her heart. These were the Waynes, royalty of Gotham. She even found it hard to believe that she was with Damian in the first place.

"Come on." Damian helped her out of the car and guided her to the front steps. He pushed through the large wooden doors and they were both met with a broad-shouldered man rushing down the main hallway.

"Todd," Damian called out. "Where on earth are you going?"

The man---Jason, she assumed---stopped, glanced at them, and gave her a quick once-over. Marinette noticed the motorcycle helmet he held on one hand.

"Demon brat." Jason tilted his head. "I have work to do."

"But lunch---"

"I promised to drop by. I didn't say I'll stay." He gave Marinette a single nod and went off.

"I bet he had another fight with Father," Damian muttered under his breath. Marinette squeezed his hand.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Don't apologize. Let's go," she told him softly.

Damian led her to the dining hall where the others were already sat around the table. Curious stares burned through Marinette, making her duck her head away. Damian himself was unfazed, wearing a half-scowl as he helped her to her seat.

"Master Damian, Miss Marinette, welcome." Just in time, Alfred strolled in with the food. She gave the butler a meek smile.

Then, she took a look at the Waynes one by one. The poised Bruce Wayne was at the head of the table, his presence the most prominent  in the room. Across from her was Dick Grayson, who looked like he was studying her. Positioned beside him were Tim and Stephanie, both whispering to each other. Finally, Barbara was at her other side, offering her a small smile of comfort.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Marinette," Bruce greeted. "Damian talks a lot about you."

Marinette momentarily eyed the array of silverware near her plate which she did not know how to use. "The pleasure is all mine . . . sir."

"Please call me Bruce." He gestured to the food at the center. "Go ahead and help yourself. Alfred cooked a feast for us."

She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Bruce."

"How did you both meet?" Tim questioned.

"In the park, Drake. We were both drawing. I already told you," Damian butted in.

Tim waved him off. "I want to hear it from her, not you."

"I---"

"It's okay, Damian." Marinette nudged him a little. "I was sketching in the park when Titus came to me. Damian was drawing a picture of me while I was absorbed in my designs and accidentally let go of his leash. Titus led me to him and it all started there."

"You design?" Barbara asked.

Warmth crept to her cheeks. "It's my dream to become a fashion designer. I just do a few commission pieces here and there. I'm trying to take small steps to reach my goal."

A quick glimpse at her boyfriend told her that he was radiating all the pride in the world.

"Little D mentioned you came from Paris?" Dick sipped on his drink. "Why did you decide to leave?"

"Oh, please don't get it all wrong. I know Paris earned a bad rep after the Hawkmoth fiasco but that was years ago. I just decided to move here to find more opportunities for myself," Marinette answered smoothly.

"Why Gotham of all places, if I may ask?" Bruce chimed in. "Admittedly, this isn't the friendliest city in the country."

"Father, stop with the interrogation," said Damian.

"It's okay, Dames, I don't mind. Promise." She squeezed his hand under the table.

"Fine. But do not answer anything if you're not comfortable."

Marinette looked at Bruce. "One of my friend's parents who works in fashion suggested Gotham. There's a low competition among the designers here so it might be easier for me to make a name for myself."

"That's not a bad move actually," Tim remarked.

"So back in Paris, did you get to meet any of the heroes?" Dick leaned in.

"Grayson," Damian warned.

"That's---"

A sharp ring blasted out, cutting off her statement. Bruce fished out his phone, a muscle on his face twitched, and he abruptly stood up. "There's an emergency at WE."

"Emergency?" Tim peered at his phone as well.

"Yes, Tim. You're needed. Also Stephanie." The eldest Wayne looked around the table and uttered monotonously. "I apologize for cutting this short. We have an urgent matter at the company---"

"Father."

Bruce shook his head. "This absolutely cannot wait, Damian."

The three filed out of the room in a flash. Marinette, stunned at the sudden interruption, saw Dick also checking the emergency.

"Sorry, Babs and I need to go." He stood up and picked up his coat, going around the table to help Barbara. "It's nice to meet you, Marinette."

"Let's go out for drinks sometime, okay?" Barbara reached over and patted her shoulder before they left.

The disappearance of the Waynes left her fidgeting with her fingers and wondering what the big emergency could be. She peeked at Damian hesitantly. "Do you need to go too?"

His jaw clenched. "I think so."

"You can go." She cupped his cheek, pecking the other.

"I can't tell you---"

"I know. I won't ask, I promise," she assured softly. He didn't have to explain anything to her; she'd gladly wait for him to open up. "Go."

"I'm sorry."

"Damian."

He pressed a firm kiss on her forehead. "Alfred will drive you to your apartment. I'll come to you later, alright?"

"Okay."

She could hear Alfred offering her food to take home and guiding her to the car, but it was all a blur. Marinette knew she had nothing to do with what happened yet she was afraid that it would sour Damian's relationship with his family. Her fists clenched around her skirt as she looked down, feeling Alfred's keen eyes checking on her through the rearview mirror.

"Please do not take it personally, Miss," Alfred said softly.

"Yes. Thank you," she whispered.

Finding nothing better to do than to check her phone, Marinette noticed the numerous alerts plastered all over her screen. Arkham breakout. Fuck. No wonder it was so quiet last night. There were a number of messages from Red Hood (which was directed from her burner phone), asking her if she could help.

Marinette looked out the window. Sure enough, there seemed to be a racket coming from the other streets.

"Umm, excuse me Alfred?" She searched for a safe alley to transform. "Can---can you drop me off at the cafe over there?"

"Are you certain? There are Rogues running around the city at this time."

"I'll stay inside. Don't worry."

Fortunately, the butler did what she asked and she made a beeline to the cafe as soon as she stepped foot out the car. Transform. Connect comms. Head to the upper east side. The same words ran through her head.

Her phone rang suddenly right before she could say her transformation words.

"Adrien! Can't talk right now. Arkham breakout. Big emergency," she said hurriedly into the phone.

"Oops. Need backup?" He asked.

"Maybe not. I don't know." She massaged her temple. "Can I ask you guys to standby? You can take your power-ups just in case."

"That's fine. Stay safe," Adrien said, "How did lunch go by the way?"

"Gah! Not now, kitty!"

"Right, right, right. Emergency in Gotham. I'll hang up now."

Marinette sighed. "It was a disaster, by the way. I'll text the details later."

"Aaaand Chloe's yelling at me to spill right now. You should go."

---

Ladybug swiftly landed beside Nightwing when she arrived and the Bats had just finished capturing Penguin and his men. On the next rooftop over, she could see Robin with Batman---they were loud enough for her to deduce that they were having an argument but she couldn't make out the exact words.

"What's up with them?" Ladybug frowned. She had always known Robin as the cold, closed-off one in the group but it was her first time encountering a complete outburst.

"Personal stuff. Happened earlier," Nightwing replied briefly. "I'm surprised you came. I thought you had an appointment today."

She bit her tongue. "Uhh, it got cancelled."

Batman told Robin something which had him storming off, grappling away to another direction. Their comms buzzed to life.

"Ladybug, team up with Robin. The Riddler's in the next avenue," Batman ordered curtly.

Ladybug turned to Nightwing with wide eyes. The stress was obvious in the sag of his shoulders and tight grip on his escrima sticks.

"He's mad at all of us," he explained. "It's better if it's you who joins him."

Ladybug only nodded, throwing her yoyo to follow Robin. Her curiosity was growing by the minute, but she focused on thinking of ways to calm down her fellow vigilante. If he became too riled up, he could lose focus and get injured.

She followed him close enough for him to hear her. "Robin, you have to slow down."

"No, I have to get back as soon as possible."

"Get back to where?"

She only received silence.

Frustrated Robin equals not a good Robin. Ladybug leapt to match his pace and blocked his way. He glared at her. "Move."

"Look, this is the Riddler we're facing. He's still dangerous and if we're not careful, we'll get caught in his traps."

"I don't care. I just need to get this over with. Stay out of my way."

When he pushed past her, she had half the mind to wrap him in her yoyo and deliver him back to Batman for a time-out. She huffed as she followed him. You're not the only one having a bad day, grumpy boy. Robin anchored his grappling gun to a faraway building and at the second he jumped off, he careened to the side, swept away by an elaborate trap by the Riddler.

Before she knew it, Ladybug was after him. Her teeth gritted and her legs ran a mile as she groaned out loud. "This is exactly what I was just talking about!"

They were trapped in an empty little box with a puzzle lock on its door.

Ladybug released a shaky breath.

The worst argument I've had with one of the Gotham vigilantes was when I interfered with Red Hood's mission and he got overprotective. She stared at Robin, who was relentlessly kicking the metal walls. But that might change today.

"Robin," she called out. "I understand that you're mad at the others but it doesn't mean you can act reckless while you're in that suit."

"No. You don't understand." He raked a hand through his hair. "I told them. I already told them and they still . . .Do you know what they did?"

She opened her mouth to reason with him again but he beat her to it. "I only wanted at least an hour. No interruptions." Robin clicked his tongue. "For them, there is nothing more important than capturing these criminals even if there are other heroes who will help. And Father had to be the first to run out."

Ladybug gaped. She knew the Bats were somewhat of a family but it was Robin's first time referring to Batman as a father. "Are you sure you should be telling me---"

"Yes, so you know how unfair they acted earlier." He twirled his katanas, looking for a simple way out. "I only wanted them to meet my girlfriend. I brought her home. And they all left for this. Father didn't give a sincere apology and my brothers either don't care or are suspicious of her."

Wait . . .

She thought she'd stumble back, but her feet were surprisingly still planted on the ground. Lunch. Earlier. Girlfriend. Shit. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as she processed Robin's words.

Damian's words.

She wanted to laugh. All this time, she'd been anxious about telling him the truth when he was already living the same life as her. The Waynes, the sudden emergencies, staying out late. Merde, it all makes sense now. It was ridiculous how she didn't recognize her own boyfriend.

"It was a mistake after all. I shouldn't have invited her to come," Robin sighed. "They're wary because she's a civilian---she'll be my weakness if anyone finds out about our connection. They know that, which is why they don't approve."

Her first instinct was to tell him that it wasn't true, but an identity reveal would be too much given their current situation. Ladybug pieced her words with care. "I'm sure they'll listen if you tell them how you feel. Your girlfriend will understand too."

"We don't communicate healthily, in case you haven't figured that out."

Her heart was still drumming against her ribcage. Damn it. Marinette would work better in consoling him. Ladybug's just a colleague. "I know. But a few words can go a long way. Tell them you'll be careful. Ask them to help protect your girlfriend if anything ever goes wrong."

As Robin lowered his gaze, an urge to come up to him and hold his hands washed over her. She counted the seconds of silence that passed. It looked like he was thinking deeply about it.

"I apologize for getting you involved," he said. "And for mindlessly telling you about my personal life."

She laughed nervously. "Ah . . . it's okay to vent out sometimes."

Yeah, and your story definitely did not reveal your whole identity.

Robin turned towards the puzzle lock. "Should we attempt to crack the code in his puzzle?"

It wasn't a simple coded lock---it was a six-wheeled puzzle that was embedded onto the door. "By the looks of it, it will take us hours if we go through that route. I think I have a better idea. Are there any cameras here?"

He surveyed the small enclosure. "I see two by the corners."

"Good. Break them and cover the lens." Ladybug touched her earrings while he did what she said. I have spare cookies in my purse. That should do. "We can't unlock the door by ourselves, but Tikki can phase through and let us out."

"The tiny god-being in your Miraculous."

"Yeah, that's Tikki." She smiled. I'll have to introduce them sometime. "Close your eyes?"

After making sure that the cameras weren't functioning and he couldn't see her, she detransformed, motioned to the puzzle lock and sent Tikki out.

"Before we were trapped, I saw other civilians captured in similar boxes," said Robin. "Riddler should be camped east."

Marinette crossed the gap between them and tapped on the back of his hand. GOOD. RIDDLER FIRST THEN FREE OTHERS.

"Morse?" Robin scrunched his nose. "Are you also cautious about revealing your voice?"

YES.

"Tt. That is too much. Most of us don't even use a modulator." He shifted. "I doubt that I will be able to recognize your voice."

She pursed her lips. We'll see about that.

---

Ladybug was lounging on the top of Wayne Tower as the vigilantes finished up catching the remaining inmates. She used the time to fully wrap her head around her discovery. Damian. Robin. One by one, she also pieced together the identities of the others. It was so stupidly obvious all this time.

She heard a familiar zip of the grappling gun. It wasn't Red Hood who she expected to check on her but it was Robin.

"The Rogues are secured. There are rumors that the Joker orchestrated the entire thing but he wasn't around during the attacks," Robin reported. "The injured civilians are being rushed to the hospitals. No deaths."

Ladybug didn't break her gaze at the horizon. "That's good."

". . . Ladybug?"

"Yeah?"

He sat next to her. "The people in Paris . . . did they get used to these kinds of incidents as well? When Hawkmoth was active?"

"With an akuma attack nearly every week, yes you can say we had no choice but to get used to it."

"Was there a lot of animosity towards Parisians after the truth got out?"

"Only a little." She looked down at her hands. "Mostly we receive pity. The press made it clear how the akumas affected everyone's lives."

"My girlfriend . . . came from Paris too. I always wonder what it was like but I never wanted to pry."

Damian . . . She bit her lip. She had been dodgy about the topic, but she should know better than to withhold her feelings about it. Damn it, this will be so awkward when he finally finds out.

"You're worried about her safety," she said.

Robin nodded. "I wonder if she feels afraid during Rogue attacks. Or just living in Gotham. I never want to find out that she was in a dangerous situation and I wasn't there to . . ."

"You don't have to worry. If she's from Paris, then she's strong. Everyone in my city had been on the edge of death one way or another. Our instincts were sharpened. We can block out our fears and emotions." Ladybug looked up at him. "I'm sure she can handle danger."

"But it's different here. There's no magic to bring things back to normal. It's permanent." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I won't know what to do if something happens to her because of me."

"I think . . . you should ask her first---"

"I should break it off with her."

"What?!"

Ladybug nearly slapped a hand over her mouth. I said that too quickly. Thankfully, Robin didn't seem to notice anything.

"I've been thinking a lot," he continued. "I can't bring myself to tell her about this. About me. The mere fact of her knowing puts a target on her back."

Dear kwamis, please keep me from pushing my boyfriend off this rooftop before gets the chance to find out about me.

"Wait." She began slowly. "Don't you think she deserves to know before you try to make that decision for her?"

"What am I supposed to do?" His eyebrows furrowed. "I . . . I expect her to react badly. I've learned from today that I should keep her from getting involved any further. It's either I drag her into this dangerous life or I keep hurting her with my lies."

"You shouldn't start assuming things without trying first. I'm sure she trusts you and she'll come to understand everything in time. There's always a compromise." Her lips spoke the words before she could think. "You're not doing any good by cutting yourself off all of a sudden."

"If I end it now, she can eventually move on and stay safe. Nevermind how I feel," he argued, "I can let her go and she'll be safe."

"When I told you about how Parisians are strong, that's not what I meant." Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she raised her voice. "She can stay in a relationship with you and keep herself safe because she's strong. Can't you trust her as much as she trusts you?"

"I can't risk it. She's important to me."

"If she is, then talk to her. If you don't give her a chance to decide, you're not any better than your father or brothers."

"How would you even know how she feels?"

Ladybug's face contorted into a sharp glare. "I just know. I know better than anyone, Damian."

Anger morphed into shock as he stared at her. ". . . What did you just call me?"

She made a quick sweep of the area to make sure that they were in a blind spot. Then, she wasted no time standing up on the ledge, shuffling until the balls of her foot touched the edge. Then,  "I'm not defenseless, merde. And I really wanted to wait until the end of the day but . . . Tikki, détransformation."

Marinette watched Robin's face go through a storm of emotions. His jaw hung slack and his fists uncurled while he stood up to look at her.

". . . Marinette?" he breathed out.

She gently touched his cheeks with both hands, peeling off his mask to reveal his glistening eyes. "I can't believe you wanted to break up with me."

"Marinette . . ." He pulled them both away from the ledge and held her, mumbling 'I'm sorry' over and over again. His head was buried on her neck, with his hands pressed against her back.

"You. It's you," said Damian. "Of course it's you."

"It's me." She rubbed down his back. "For record, I only found out because---"

"Because I told you what happened."

She chuckled. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, habibti." He pulled away a little to touch her cheek. "I was going to make a stupid decision."

"Are you upset that I kept this from you?"

He shook his head, kissing her head. "I can't and I don't have the right to be. I was keeping my secret from you as well."

"Come on, let's go home first. Then we can talk about . . . everything."

---

Ladybug swung into the night with a weight lifted off her chest. She and Damian had a long talk about their identities and relationship. They'd both agreed not to tell the other heroes until they were ready to. For her, it was better that they kept their secrets between themselves first and slowly ease into revealing the truth to her friends and his family.

She breathed in the breeze. Robin wasn't anywhere to be seen, but a group of vigilantes were. Nightwing. Hood. RR. What are they doing there?

The three immediately fell into a hush when she landed next to them.

"Hey, LB," Red Robin greeted.

She put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"

The brothers shared a look before Red Hood spoke. "Robin told you about his girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah . . ." she trailed off, dragging the syllable.

"We think something's up with her," said Nightwing.

"I'm sorry?"

"Sketchy stuff," Red Robin explained, shifting on his feet. "Well, we can't tell you who she is---secret identities and all---but she's from Paris. She's friends with Hawkmoth's kid."

Ladybug scoffed. "Adrien? He's not like Hawkmoth. I know him personally and he had nothing to do with that man's crimes. Trust me."

"Hmm, yeah but she's also close with the mayor's daughter. That one who also sided with Hawkmoth."

"You mean Chloe Bourgeois? She's proven that she's changed." And unbeknownst to the public, she was a hero again, this time under another alias.

"But she's so secretive. There's definitely something going on with her." Nightwing rubbed his chin. Ladybug wanted to bang her head in the nearest wall or groan to the heavens.

"What's wrong with being secretive? Aren't you guys the same?" she narrowed her eyes.

"That's not the main cause of our suspicion," said Red Hood.

"We weren't convinced about her reason for moving to Gotham, so we dug around," Red Robin continued, "She said something about more career opportunities but that's just a cover. We found classified files on superheroes in her apartment, including info on Justice League members. I bet she already knows about Robin's identity."

"You snooped in her apartment?!"

"It was an investigation," Nightwing snorted.

Her eye twitched. A secret had never felt so difficult to conceal. "I can't believe you'd break the privacy of a civilian just because you had baseless assumptions."

Red Robin winced. "Uhh . . . if you put it that way . . ."

She crossed her arms. "No, I know what this is really about. You're being overprotective of Robin; you can't accept that he now has a significant other and you think he's being naive about his choices. You think he's going to get hurt badly." She paused for effect. "Because you don't want him to repeat the same mistakes as you all did."

The look on their masked faces told her that she had hit the target better than any therapist they might have encountered.

Red Hood was first to deny. "We're not protective of the brat. We're trying to eliminate a potential danger."

"His harmless civilian girlfriend?"

"Think about it, LB. Why would she have sensitive files on the heroes?" Red Robin asked. "You can't deny that that's suspicious."

I don't know, maybe because she's a hero herself?!

Ladybug sighed heavily. Damian is really going to kill them when he finds out. "Does Batman know about this?"

"Nope, but we'll tell him when we gather enough evidence," Nightwing answered. "We're just trying to get Oracle to crack into her laptop. The security on it  is so heavy, it's insane."

Why is it a curse that I asked Max to protect my laptop? There are files on the Miraculi in there!

She discreetly took her yoyo and put it on the recording function. "Let me get this straight. So you're all investigating and prying into the life of Robin's girlfriend without the knowledge of Batman even at the cost of your identities and everyone's safety?"

"We're not risking anyone's safety---"

"It's more of research but---"

She pursed her lips. "And you broke into her apartment, went through her things and currently you're trying to hack into her personal computer?"

"Regular vigilante work---"

"Good, we're on the same page then." She smiled widely. Sinisterly. "Tikki, détransformation."

Pale. Pale faces were all she could see as the three vigilantes were engulfed in utter shock. Marinette held her smile, clasping her hands together behind her back. I can't wait to see how they try to make it up to me. Mon dieu! I'm going to mess with them. 

And as a cherry on top, Robin arrived at the scene, immediately putting her behind him when he saw that she was in civilian form. He directed an accusatory glare at his brothers. "What is going on here?!"

[adobe-outdesign]

Lickitung line review

Lickitung is fairly forgotten about in the grand scheme of things, but I do like it quite a bit. The tongue thing is super in-your-face obvious and is a very unique theme (it also might be vaguely based off of an akaname yokai).

But what makes it work for me isn't just that it's a weird abstract creature with a tongue—it's that it's a very organic, cool-looking creature with a tongue. I love how its very vaguely salamander-esq in the face but is also bipedal, with a huge tail that mimics the tongue. It feels like something that could exist, and I always enjoy those kind of designs.

The stomach markings are also pretty interesting; it's an usual pattern that I don't think any other Pokemon sports, and they add a lot of shape to the body. Color-wise, pink is an obvious choice, and the cream works well to accent it. I do wish the pink was a bit deeper or more saturated as it feels a bit washed-out, but otherwise, this is a solid weird tongue thing.

Lickitung also had a beta evo design in the Spaceworld Demo. I like the rolled tongue, mustache, and markings... but the way it's some kind of Indian snake charmer(??) feels uncomfortable, and the body shape needed to change more.

Speaking of evos, Lickilicky is also as a weird tongue thing, but unfortunately it's not particularly well designed. My favorite thing about Lickitung is, as I just said, that it feels like an actual animal—but Lickilicky is anything but. The completely circular body, perfectly straight tongue, and stubby legs make it feel more like a toy.

But my other issue with it is that it doesn't really feel like a progression of Lickitung. Lickitung's thing is, surprise, the tongue, so you'd expect the tongue to be longer or more prominent in the design. Instead, it's shorter. Yes, it can presumably extend to be longer, but why would you de-emphasize the most important part of the design?

Similarly, the markings are reduced down, making them once again feel like a regression instead of a progression. They at least attempted to add something with the markings under the chin being more bib-like, but that's not enough to make the entire design work. Also, the wi-fi markings don't add much at this point and they would've worked at least a bit better in white.

You want to know an easy fix for this problem? Make Lickilicky the pre-evo. It feels weird to imagine Lickitung evolving into Lickilicky, but a Lickitung surrounded by little baby Lickilicky? Adorable! It would also make sense with things like the bib and the little curl of "hair" at the top.

If there's one thing I can give Lickilicky, it's that it at least has better colors than Lickitung. That, and the :P expression is kind of fun. Otherwise, though, I don't think this one works much at all.

(I also have to give a quick shoutout to @inprogresspokemon's Lickitung evo. This, to me, is a much better direction at all—it emphasizes and doubles down on the tongue paralysis thing and it still has a very organic body shape.)

Anyway, overall, Lickitung has a strong theme and a nice abstract design that conveys said theme well, but Lickilicky feels like a step backwards and would've been much better as a pre-evo. Maybe consider putting an everstone on this one.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

TA claimed that miraculous are not indestructible and that the line in Queen Wasp was an error. However, it's hard to believe it when every occasions where miraculous is destroyed/broken, it was using Cataclysm (The bee in Queen Wasp, the rabbit in Timetagger though only mentioned, and the turtle in Optigami)

While the first two can be seen as situational, as Chat was there to fight the bee and the rabbit was an accident, the turtle raised that doubt, since why would LB go all the way to Chat to Cataclysm it if she can just destroy it herself?

I believe the official story behind the peacock getting broken is that it happened in the below scene, so the show does support the idea that things other than a cataclysm can destroy a miraculous:

[Image description: a scene from Fu's memories taken from the episode Feast. In this memory, we see Fu jumping over a chasm full of lava. Feast is seen falling into that chasm along with the guardian's Grimoire. The episode implies that the butterfly and the peacock also fell into the chasm and we do see the miracle box open with several miraculous flying through the air.]

We're going to ignore the fact that the Grimoire should have burned up in the lava and focus on the miraculous-based lore implication instead.

I don't hate the idea that something like lava can destroy a miraculous since that's not exactly an abundant and easily-accessible resource, but I still wouldn't go that route with the lore because it raises questions like: why did the butterfly survive undamaged? And why was the peacock only minorly damaged and not destroyed? And what kind of things can destroy a miraculous? Is it just lava or are their other things that can do the trick? Or can normal things only damage a miraculous, but only a cataclysm can destroy them? If normal, worldly things can hurt the miraculous, then do they get damaged by the passage of time?

I could keep going, but I think I've made my point. It's just so much better for the lore to be that miraculous are generally indestructible with Plagg's power being the only exception. I genuinely think that was the original lore. My money is that Feast was a retcon as they probably hadn't fully figured out the peacock's backstory prior to season three and it would be far better for the lore to be what it was stated to be in Queen Wasp:

Cat Noir: I bet the Akuma's in her Miraculous. Ladybug: That makes sense, but Miraculous are indestructible. We will need your Cataclysm to release the Akuma.

Quick reminder: Queen Wasp came a full season before Feast, that's why my money is on retcon. I'm not even sure if they'd decided that the peacock was damaged before season two since it's not show to be damaged when we first see it back in Volpina and that is a horribly missed opportunity for quality, subtle foreshadowing (ignoring the whole issue of Plagg somehow not being able to sense that the peacock miraculous is RIGHT THERE and - as far as we know - not tied to a holder):

[Image description: the contents of the secret safe behind Emilie's picture. We see a brochure for Tibet, a picture of Emilie, the fully intact peacock miraculous, and the guardian's Grimoire. Plagg is also in the image as this comes from the scene where he helps Adrien break into the safe.]

Meanwhile the Evolution flashback - and every other peacock moment I could think to check - shows it to clearly be damaged as you would expect:

[Image description: the peacock miraculous sitting in Gabriel's hand, clearly broken]

Admittedly Evolution shows us the back while Volpina shows us the front and it's possible that the damage was somehow only on the back in spite of the whole falling into lava thing. There's also the issue that the miraculous design changes from nine feathers to five, implying that the thing in the safe may not even be the peacock? Idk, it's weird. Everything about the peacock story line feels slapdash up to and including how it got damaged in the first place. I think they did have some general ideas that never changed, but I don't think they'd properly worked them out to the level they should have to avoid inconsistencies.

To be fair, if this was the most inconsistent the lore got, I wouldn't have much to talk about because it's not terrible. The pre-Adrien part of the peacock story is decent enough for TV (which is part of the reason I don't watch much TV, lol).

TV shows have pretty limited writing schedules, so it's not uncommon for more minor errors like this to pop up, especially when the writers have no idea how many seasons they're going to have to write, which makes it hard to tell a story well. The writers often don't have the knowledge or even time needed to polish things to a mirror shine. Remember, almost nothing else in the production line can start until the writing is done, so writing is generally a really small early part of total production time. Just the nature of the beast.

[apriciticreveries]

( cough cough ) officially introducing and revealing her and her final design, zhuli ! ! ( @alien-til-i-stage . . i offer you . . my pookie to add to the list . . also . . @solei-eclipse . . new s40 character drop hey . . maybe she could be friends with jiu and they could bond over being sleep deprived ( lili also sleeps kinda weird . . like in a coffin burial type position haha ) and @aakaneeee, i hope you like her ! : 3 )

( i also apologize again in advance rock ( @rockwgooglyeyes ), she came out looking a lot more dull then expected . . : ‘ )

——————————————————————————————————

but yeagh . . she’s my main girlie for s40 . .

although this is how her appearance canonly is now, her accessories, and hairstyle ( not her uniform though ) aren’t actually set on the one that’s shown in particular ! everyone is free to draw her with different aspects to her appearance ! ( this is mainly due to the actual fact that zhuli often changes her appearance in different elements every day ! )

i won’t reveal too much about her right now, due to the combined facts of how, unlike aurien, i want a lot of her character to be unknown at first, with it being unveiled slowly .

the other reason is that im still figuring out her character and most of her lore . . but i think ill have a chance to ponder, actually find out, and reveal some of her lore if some people ask about it ehehe . .

ill list the profile and other official information down below !

name : zhuli

birth date : 2 / 4 ( aquarius )

age : 20

body : 172 cm ( 5 ‘ 6 ) / 62 kg ( 136 lbs )

affiliation : 40 th anakt garden

likes : [ unknown ]

dislikes : change, gossip, teasing, taunting, loudness, crowds, rudeness, lying ( especially her own ), hypocrisy, failure, bragging, pompousness, complaining, overexaggerating, loneliness

special talent : cataloguing and recording

( don’t mind how her likes aren’t even listed and are one word long while her dislikes are 4 lines long . . )

other notable information :

she actually has a condition called prosopagnosia, or face blindness, where you have trouble identifying and differentiating faces . because of this, she often identifies others with different aspects .

( which she notably first struggled at, being overwhelmed with all the others she would see )

and again,

she’s actually registered in anakt for training to be an announcer . as a result of this, she takes completely different classes then her peers, only sharing a small few . she also has a very different schedule from everyone else .

i imagine there are a few others supposed to be in training as well, but the group arent actually with eachother that much, and rarely see eachother .

because of these combining factors she is often isolated from the others, and known as a bit of a mystery to her classmates .

although she wants not to be, she’s extremely disconnected from her peers . when she does interact with others ( as rare as it is ), she often faces them with a reserved and aloof attitude .

though id say that so far, she is a generally quiet, reserved, sensitive ( which she refuses to show since she views it as a vulnerable and weak trait ), stubborn, and short tempered, but softhearted and gentle once you get to know her a lot more . i think the first established relationship for her so far, would be with atlas !

her guardian is named guardian qiran, who was gifted zhuli .

that’s all for now ehehehe

( please let me know on your and potentially your other character’s thoughts on my pookie . . everyone’s also free to ask questions about her, and others on this account, but i will make a side account for my 3 girlies in s40 soon though hehe

and random fact : i actually was planning on just making lili have normal skin, but the more I looked at it, the more she looked uncannily related to solei . . so i reverted it back to what i planned before .

and another fact . . since para motivated me to actually watch spirited away again, i was actually planning to make a character based off no - face .

before realizing that i unintentionally might have made aurien with a LOT of his traits already . . now i might draw auri as no - face . . ( or atleast with an appearance more similar to his ) spirited away au with maybe lang ( @pwippy / @its-langgg ) as haku, solei as chihiro, and aurien as no face . . or maybe swap auri and lang i don’t know . . )

( side note : is it me or do maya ( @cloverandstuff ), zhuli, yumi, and all kioku look vaguely related . . )

edit : oops she came out a bit like kyo ( @bluemoonscape) didn’t she

[supurman]

+ TOPIC : // the npc profile of the krypto you will find on supurman

QUICK SUMMARY: this krypto follows an original origin story but then features a twist when clark goes to college from my own design. i do this because i feel krypto has become a underutilized and eventually forgotten beloved companion of superman. on this blog i seek to make krypto more of a character in clarks life. its HIS dog from his home planet after all. he's a good boy.

KRYPTO HC DIRECTORY: 1 ( random summary of krypto facts and hcs )

NAME: krypto ( real name ), spot ( past, secret identity), dusty ( current, secret identity ) ALIASES: krypto the super dog BELONGS TO: kal-el superman, and the house of el family FAVORITE PERSON: kal, but he loves all his el's. AGE: unsure & verse dependent., definitely older than superman by AT LEAST 4 years. doesnt show signs of aging. clark always says he's about 4 for his identities sake. OCCUPATION: live stock guardian dog, guard + attack dog ( always ), protector of metropolis ( current ), trained therapy dog to clark kent, part time guard dog for others if superman allows ( i,e green lanterns ask for krypto )

SECRET IDENTITY: dusty, the normal farm dog. as dusty kryptos high tech collar is black and shows a tag that says dusty. but when he turns into krypto the collar turns red, his tag turns into to the super insignia, and a cape pops out! even without krypto's collar can he blend in as a normal white dog who has no sense of duty and just likes to be content canine.

+ SUB TOPIC : // mannerisms....

krypto is a medium social dog who is only ever excited to see those he has a bond to. hes not overly social to meet strangers muhc preferring to stick with his people. but, he is not aggressive to random pettings from strangers which is completely fine. he more or less will just sit there. he is a friendly dog with a level head and a strong sense of duty as taught to him by superman.

IT IS IMPORTANT KNOW KRYPTO IS A DOG. unlike humans, he doesn't feel guilt to kill. krypto is trained to incapacitate but he also BITES TO KILL. more often then not he is shown in comics to go for the neck. so be sure to tell the dog first if you want him to kill or simply incapacitate. if you try to go for his family or people he is dedicated to protect often times krypto will make his own choice and that is to KILL.

+ SUB TOPIC : // powers ...

EYES: a brown-orange. a common dog eye color... WEIGHT: 157 LBS FUR: white, has a coarseness to it on his back. EARS & TAIL: pointed ears, long paddle tail... prone to happy tail. but his tail wont hurt him it can hurt others like you kicked your beside corner!

krypto is a large white dog who looks like a cross between a german shepherd and a grey wolf. he has the same gait as a grey wolf which promotes calorie efficiency and maximum endurance. when asked by normal clark says his dog is very specific unrecognized breed from his corner in kansas. this is to not make any suspicious how clark seems to always have these very similar looking dogs over the years, since dogs do die but krypto does not !

+ SUB TOPIC : // DOG BREED . . .

BREED: kryptonian shepherd. much like the german shepherd of today they are a versatile breed who can do more then what they were originally intended for. krypto has a innate strong sense of guarding his people, a gentleness with domesticated animals, a high prey and ball drive which makes him great as a working dog. kryptonian shepherds feel happy to do any job. down to the bone this breed is a working dog and seeks stimulation. intelligent. capable of being independent and figuring things out on their own.. has a good 'off ' button so they can be an active dog when needed or a calm and relaxed companion at home after a good days work.

developed on krypton. it was a popular breed that could withstand the lower temperatures the planet could endure in the winter due to the red giant sun being very cool. featuring a white double coat that sheds out in the spring. these dogs only came in white.

sent in a test rocket before the infant kal-el from krypton, krypto was meant to land on earth to accompany his infant kryptonian kal. in a sad turn of events krypto's rocket lost course so he laid suspended in space. after about 12 years krypto crash landed onto the same farm kal, now named clark, had when he was an infant. dog and boy now united they bonded quickly as the 2 only survivors of their destroyed home krypton. to krypto, the destruction of krypton meant nothing, finding his boy again meant everything.

krypto stayed with clark on the farm and just like his kryptonian the dog developed amazing powers under the yellow sun.

when clark turned 18 he sought to bring his dog with him to metropolis so he too made a secret identity for his pooch. clark learned how to train dogs himself , trained krypto, then eventually become a certified service dog so he can readily follow his boy. together, they headed off into metropolis.

over the years, krypto did develop a rebellious stage becoming quite reactive for reasons clark could only equate to not knowing how to go about his powers. the dog would scare lois, and was even aggressive to kara. he was a liability to hurt someone. however, clark always believed his dog was good and never gave up on krypto. going back to square one, clark trained krypto more to properly utilize his senses and powers and hone his focus.

now, the dog is a staple to metropolis having earned the name super dog, dog of tomorrow! his el family now goes beyond just his boy kal but to all his kids as well. life is good for a dog and his boy.

krypto helps defeat atlas and becomes metropolis's dog too ! hes just happy to be here.

rp notes ... : anyone is allowed to direct an ask at krypto, or ask for him ina thread. i am very happy to write out this very intelligent dog and make bonds with him!

puppy

[wisteria-cherry]

forty days and forty nights (day thirty-six) (part one) (bonus)

hello my lovely cherry blossoms <3 as promised, i’ve decided to write this particular part from katsuki’s perspective :) i do keep my (y/n) pretty feminine, so i will be writing this with she/her pronouns. however, if you do go by other pronouns, please just message me, and i will gladly repost it with your desired pronouns!

katsuki, despite what the public said about him, was a very cautious person. each punch, each explosion when fighting a villain was planned and executed with deadly detail and precision, which is part of why he’d risen through the ranks so quickly to become the youngest number one hero in the history of japan. this meant that in almost every situation, katsuki knew what he had to do.

almost.

when katsuki had realized that he liked you— in a more-than-a-friend way— he had no idea what to do. he tried to act normal, which for the most part was pretty easy. however, there were some moments— like when you were acting all awkward for those couple days— where he couldn’t help but feel concerned.

you’d been weird for the past day and a half, too. you kept glancing out the window and at your one coworker’s weird ass boyfriend. your coworker wasn’t even there, why would he be there? katsuki doubted that the man was actually your coworker’s boyfriend. and even if he was, he was a shitty, creepy-ass boyfriend.

katsuki knew you thought he didn’t notice, but he was a hero; he’s trained to notice. he noticed the way your eyes had barely noticeable bags under them. the way you looked around more often. the way you seemed distracted. more distant. it pissed him off because he couldn’t get himself to confront you— even though he never had any trouble doing it before. he just couldn’t explain it.

katsuki was also pretty damn annoyed when some dumbfuck secretary of his had scheduled his patrol in such a stupid way. he had to leave you and the shop abruptly so he could start when he needed to; after all, katsuki was a stickler for schedules. so, he was not at all opposed when you called him during patrol. but you didn’t need to know that.

katsuki glanced in the direction of the noise as he heard his phone ring. clicking his tongue, he took off one of his heavily padded gloves and shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling out his phone.

“i’m on patrol, make it quick, dumbass.” he grunted. he heard shuffling, like something on the sidewalk. not shoes— something softer. fabric? in the background of the call, he heard footsteps, too. weird.

“flower house—“ came your voice, and katsuki was immediately on high alert. you sounded like you were terrified, and out of breath. your voice rose to a shrill cry as you gasped out, “flower- flower house— no!” katsuki watched the screen as the call disconnected, and that’s when it all clicked.

something was wrong.

flower house. that was what you’d called that obnoxiously painted house on the corner, the one you’d pointed out when he was illustrating the streets he’d take every day to you early in your friendship— the one right up ahead on his patrol route.

katsuki immediately picked up the pace.

this was not gonna slide. fuck no.

katsuki found himself getting impatient with his damn legs, despite the fact that he was running. katsuki leaped, and immediately blew himself into the air.

katsuki caught a visual on you almost immediately. there was some loser moving towards you. you were on the ground. this wasn’t going to slide, no way in hell. as soon as he was close enough, he dropped down behind the asshole, stalking towards him. katsuki’s hands sparked involuntarily, something that hadn’t happened in years due to meticulous training to gain the most precise control over his quirk possible. katsuki didn’t mind. he knew he looked scary; that was the whole point of his costume design. he knew that his size contributed damn well to his cause: easily over 6 feet and well over 200 lbs of pure muscle.

“absolutely not.” katsuki snarled, his eyes dead focused on the man. dead like this guy was going to be in a matter of minutes. “absolutely the fuck not.” the guy tried to babble out some shitty excuse, but katsuki didn’t care. you were clearly not familiar with this guy, and you very clearly didn’t like the situation you were in. then he tried to touch you. there was no way katsuki was letting that happen.

katsuki was by your side as soon as the man’s hand moved to grab your wrist.

“i said,” katsuki repeated, lower, slower. “absolutely. the fuck. not.” the man’s nose twitched. disdain. under all that cowardice, this asshole still had the nerve to think lowly of him.

that’s when katsuki snapped. his infamous right hook got the guy right in the face. katsuki heard a crunch. katsuki might’ve broken his nose, but who cared? he was down, and it felt good.

katsuki pulled out quirk suppressors from his belt and secured them around the guy’s wrists, all but satisfied, but knowing they any more might end up badly; an abuse of power. so, katsuki focused on you. he forced himself to relax, letting his lungs take on deep breaths of the night air, and making sure the snarl he knew was there was wiped off his face so you wouldn’t be so scared when he turned to look at you. katsuki popped a squat, immediately looking for signs of head trauma. you seemed alright.

“oi. you call the police yet?” katsuki grunted. you shook your head and pointed at a shattered phone on the sidewalk next to you. your phone. he’d have to buy you a new one sometime.

“tch.” katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. isn’t that the first thing civilians do? call for help? so, what gives? “that explains it.” katsuki stood back up so he could call them himself.

“just gimme a second, sweetheart, ‘m gonna call the police for ya.” katsuki reassured you. he didn’t know why he called you sweetheart, but it felt remarkably comfortable given the situation. he’s content with your nod and dials the hotline, listening to their usual spiel before speaking.

“it’s dynamight.” katsuki stated.

“ah, dynamight, sir. do you need assistance in cleanup?”

“yeah.”

“do you require backup?”

“no, civilian almost got attacked by some fuckwad-“ katsuki gets interrupted. asshole.

“sir, we ask that you use professional language whilst on call. please refer to the ‘fuckwad’ as a civilian, similar to the victim..”

“no, i'm not gonna refer to him as a civilian too, he's a goddamn asshole.” katsuki snapped, already losing his patience with this lady.

“sir, it’s imperative that we use professional terminology so that—“

“goddammit, will you shut the hell up and send some damn police?” katsuki groaned. “someone's gotta take this fuck away, i can't do it right now, i got shit to do.”

“yes, dynamight, but please take into consideration what has been said.”

“yeah, yeah, whatever. fuck you. you got my location or what?”

“yes, we do,” said the dispatcher slightly irritably. tch. if she was getting irritated by this, then they need to get a new dispatcher. “we’ll have the police to you shortly.”

"yeah, okay."

“is the victim alright?”

"yeah, she's fine, just some scrapes from fallin’.”

“so there is not a need for emergency medical services, is that correct?”

"yeah."

“alright. we will have the police with you in upwards to fifteen minutes.”

"yeah, okay." katsuki hung up, then turned back to you, crouching down on the pavement.

“can ya stand up?” katsuki asked, then frowned. you were crying. it just have just begun to set in. “…you’re crying.” you bring a hand to your face, feeling your cheeks for tears blankly.

“oh.” you murmur, your voice cracking slightly. “i can stand up.” you brace yourself on the sidewalk and move to stand up, and you pretty much succeed, but then you collapse almost immediately before you do. katsuki instantly caught you, his hands fitting securely on your waist. his hands. your waist.

fuck.

katsuki immediately shook away the feeling. this was absolutely not the time for this shit.

“hey, easy.” katsuki warned. he figured you were in shock. just to confirm, he eased you down back onto the ground, nice and close to him, and slid his thick, padded gloves off his hands. he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before holding your face. dilated pupils. definitely in shock. katsuki told himself that checking for shock was indeed the only reason he was holding your face like that.

“you’re in shock, dumbass,” katsuki told you. “don’t move yet.”

“okay,” you agree easily, then turn your head slightly to look at the man. you shudder and look back at katsuki, mortified. your breathing quickens and quickens. katsuki’s frown deepens.

“can ya breathe f’me?” katsuki did his best to ground you. “c’mon, deep breaths.”

you nod, and you slowly start to match the pace katsuki had set with his own breathing pattern.

katsuki and you continued to breathe together as the cops arrived. finally. katsuki easily lifted you up, telling himself that the hand he kept on your back was so he could continue to monitor your breathing as he talked to them.

god, he was selfish.

regardless, though, you seemed to like it, so he didn’t stop, even after the cops left.

"you gonna tell me what happened?" he asked finally, seeing that you seemed to be recovering a little bit, at least from the initial shock. he began to walk towards his agency, figuring he’d have to do the report, or at least tell one of those shitty sidekicks to do it.

"yeah." you answered, your voice scratchy as hell. you pause for a moment, then tell him probably the shittiest explanation he’d ever heard for an assault. "he'd been stalking me for days. then i confronted him then ran. he chased me. that's it.”

stalking.

he’d been stalking you.

katsuki was going to murder that man.

but not yet. right now, you needed him. and he couldn’t get angry right now because another pissed off guy is not what you need.

“stalking?” katsuki asked, his voice trembling with fury despite his attempts to keep it level. “why didn’t you tell me? that asshole's being arrested for attempted assault. stalking's a whole other charge to be added." you shrug. katsuki just didn’t get it. didn’t you want the guy to get locked up for as long as he could? katsuki took a deep breath to calm himself.

"well, whatever." he grumbled. "listen... you probably don't wanna be alone tonight, do you? lotta people don't after this kind of thing." you shook your head. katsuki had figured that would be the answer.

“you want me to call up pinky?” katsuki asked as he walked, dry leaves crunching under his boots. “she’ll let you crash if you—“

“you.” you interrupted. katsuki stopped and tensed. were you saying what he thought you were saying?

“…you wanna crash at my place.” he confirmed. you nod.

“if i can.” you add, almost silently. katsuki considered. there wasn’t anything that would prevent you from doing so. katsuki exhaled slowly, trying to calm his pounding heart (and head).

“yeah,” katsuki said, trying to feign nonchalance as he continued walking. “whatever, dumbass. you need to get anything from my place?”

“no.” bullshit. you had nothing but the clothes on your back and a smashed phone. katsuki looked at you skeptically.

guess she’ll just borrow my shit, katsuki concluded. he bet you’d look cute in his shirt. he knew exactly which one he’d loan to you if you asked.

goddammit. katsuki cursed. what the fuck am i doing? acting like this when she’s probably just been fucking traumatized.

what an asshole.

katsuki stopped in his tracks. you know what? fuck the report. he was gonna prove to himself that he’s doing this because he fucking cares about you, not just because he likes you or whatever.

“i’m gonna blast us back, got it?” katsuki looked up, surveying the sky. nice and clear. katsuki shifted you to one arm easily, feeling you adjust your grip on him. “it’s gonna be loud, so cover your damn ears. ready?”

“you.”

(feel free to comment + lmk what you think :)

tags: @k0z3me @cherryblossomclarity @jazzafayesworld @failingstudents-blog @stevenknightmarc @faerikitty @deathsmajestysworld

[tinkertechy]

I need to Scream about ChromeOS

It's been a long week and this is something I can rant about without doxxing myself too much.

So I teach kids about computers. And before anyone says 'But they're the technology generation, they know all about it!' remember that you didn't know how to drive a car before you were 16, and cars have been around for over a century. But I digress.

You know why Kids don't know anything about computers? Because we've set them up with the *worst possible computer* to learn about computers on: Chromebooks. Yeah, yeah pandemic and learning form home and all that, but this started well before the pandemic; Shutdowns just exacerbated it.

Chromebooks are designed to be simple. But they're *designed to be simple*. I want to teach kids how to read a file system? Google Drive is all they got. Want to teach kids how to check computer specs and how well their computer is currently running? Nope-you *might* be able to check the RAM if you're lucky. Diagnose how much space is left on your storage? Good luck; Drive doesn't even show how much space they have left. Compare and Contrast different applications for a particular use? It's the Chrome Store or nothing. The entire environment is designed to be a glorified web browser. You never leave the Chrome environment.

There's no native apps on the Chromebooks because they have all the memory and internal storage of a 6 year old with ADHD. Everything has to be through a web browser, and since most of my students are elementary age they can't really make accounts for most stuff without their native school account which, guess what? is through Google. The whole system is designed to be as simple to use with as few buttons as possible. Which, as a teacher managing hundreds of kids, is helpful to a point. But it holds the kids back just as much. When something goes wrong, it's so simple that you feel like an idiot for not being able to figure out what went wrong. There's no room for troubleshooting or critical thinking here.

Oh, and by the way the entire OS is designed at a basic level to be readable by kids who *know how to read*. Teaching the lowest levels how to log in, click on a link for TypingClub or read basic instructions can be grueling. Google Classroom is optimal for middle school and maybe 9th grade and that's about it. They use touchscreens for everything, so it's hard to get them to learn to use a mouse in the first place. (It's also aesthetically ugly, but that's my personal opinion)

There also seems to be fewer resources or standards for teaching about computers; my state's standards are very comprehensive from a programming or analysis standpoint, less so from a 'they should be able to type X words per minute' or 'be able to format a report' or 'write an email with neutral tone' or 'be able to move a file from Google Drive to a flash drive,' stuff that Every student should know how to do. Stuff that most adults take for granted because they were either taught or grew up in an age where everyone had to figure it out for themselves because there were no teachers yet.

And, while this is a more niche one because I don't know how most schools operate, Chromebooks just add to the student's load. They haul them back and forth to EVERY class and were 'supposed to replace textbooks', yet somehow they still have a mountain of textbooks they haul around in a wheeled backpack because *there's so many books they can't use a normal one*. I helped a student lift their bag the other day and it must have weighed 20 lbs! (Definitely more than the car battery I had to haul home from the store, but that's another story.)

I have accounts for kids that can't even spell their own last name yet, let alone know how to type. It's hard to teach about computer security when half the school needs to have a sticker with the username and passwords for up to 4(!!!) different online accounts for various programs. And kids will share that information anyway because they don't think anything major of it yet, and half the time it's not hard to figure out.

(This isn't even getting into side tools and peripherals to teach kids about computers. Anything you want/find is niche and will be extremely expensive)

So how would I fix this? (Because I don't like to rant about something when I can't offer a solution.)

Get them on actual computers and not glorified web browsers.

Assess whether or not Chromebooks are helping students in the classroom or just creating more work. Their primary use should be in the event of a shutdown or virtual school day to allow all students to work from home regardless of personal computers.

Build an Operating System/UI that's designed to grow with the student: Kindergarten and 1st grade are primarily picture based, larger cursor, as little clicking as possible to get to activities. More options and standardized UI appear as the student grows until high school where it's a normal system.

Actual Standards. Not just 'this is a monitor' (Most of my students didn't know this) and 'Here's how to program a thing' (Which is fun, but can be advanced) but 'How to save my work' 'How to write an e-mail' and 'what is a file type?' A minimum typing speed should also be required.

Keyboards designed to teach how to type. Colored keys, letters in a font that match the typing program, maybe a bit bigger than a normal keyboard. And to wrap it up, some fun quotes from my students: "That's not a Computer, that's a PC!"

"That's a TV!" (It's a monitor)

"You're doing a writing challenge? Why don't you just use AI?"

"Ms. Teacher, (That's exactly what they call me) I found a weird thing!" (It was their Drive.)

"Why did you paint all those?" (I pass a hard drive around so kids can see it. They all sniff the yellow paint I sprayed it with last week.)

"I wanna play the ice cream game." (There is no Ice Cream game. They just want to play random internet games)

(Students sign out by turning off the computer)

(A student looks up a minecraft video on YT because he wasn't paying attention when I gave out instructions and thought I wouldn't notice.)

Next rant: The double standards of 'forbidding the use of AI' for students while using it behind the scenes for teachers.

[ifirewrotemiraculous]

1.Marinette

yes. we shall start with the protagonist herself.

I will go step by step with each topic.

1. Character

as the show is showing (get it), Marinette is a sweet, outgoing, young, and joyful girl who loves fashion, her family and friends and is your average protagonist.

I can keep the outgoing and sympathetic traits in Marinette. and I appreciate the writers for adding the low self-esteem, clumsiness and being a people pleaser, much like any other high schooler.

2. Flaws

I have so many issues with this. She's basically what people call, a Mary Sue. aka a character who is portrayed as perfect, can do no wrong, never faces any problems or the ones that they do face, they can solve within a page, as shown that she solves all the problems in the same episode.

Then, I would change the 'obsessive stalker' thing. As a teenage girl myself, crushes are not THIS borderline obsessive, like memorizing schedules and having extreme jealousy even if a girl looks in his direction. I'd change that Marinette DOES have a crush on Adrien, but she doesn't show it out much and tries to act normal to not creep him, unlike the show.

Then is the trauma. I feel that in the show, Mari's trauma is not exactly taken seriously, even though it is. She faced bullying and harassment, mainly from Chloe (I'll be going into detail about Chloe later), nightmares from Chat Blanc and more. those show how she has trust issues and low self-esteem, and it's just brushed off. I would dive deeper into her feelings and experiences as a victim.

3. Ladybug

Honestly, Ladybug is all Marinette wishes to be but can't. she's the sassy, self-confident, strong hero of Paris, and is shown to be 'Perfect'. I would actually add that in Mari like letting her inner LB show more and being what she's trying to be outside of the red-black spotted mask. I would make LB show some characters of Mari and vice versa.

4. Design

I like Mari's design but it's a bit too, simple. I would add some more, originality, like other colours than Pink and Grey. I would make her experiment more with fashion trends and designs, she's an aspiring designer, let it show!. Her pigtails are a nice way to remember Socqueline, but I'd make her change hairstyles often. For LB, I'd make it scream FASHION ICON. the suit is too bland for a designer, add more patterns, style and colours, and take inspiration from other attires like Dragonbug/Ladybee/Pegabug/BugNoire.

I would also add that she is known in the fashion sector, as in my rewrite she gets an apprenticeship under Gabriel, cause he was clearly impressed by her derby hat design. And she was acknowledged by Audrey Bourgeois, who is the 'queen of fashion' and I'm pretty sure she's like the Anna Wintour of the mlb universe, so that would definitely give Mari some more in depth to her dreams and passion for fashion.

That's it for now! if I missed anything type in the comments

BYE!

[glitterpensupremacy]

Now that Adrien’s done (and my brain is ready), it’s time to do the precious bug girl:

Marinette MTS

Like Adrien, she has four categories. They are as follows:

1. General Info

2. Personality

3. Key Relationships

4. Character Growth

1. General Info

Unlike Adrien, whose appearance doesn’t really change, Marinette MTS has a different look from her OG counterpart. She’s a bit shorter and more muscular. As a civilian her eyes are grey and her hair is dark brown. As Ladybug her eyes are still blue (heroes’ eye colors change to match their Kwami) and her hair is black at the roots, blue at the tips (that’s who my profile picture is, btw).

In addition to Marinette no longer being the sole protagonist and the side characters receiving more of a focus, she also won’t become the Guardian in MTS. For those who aren’t aware, the Miraculous will get scattered around the midpoint of Season 2, making the traditional role of guardian… kinda pointless. (There’s also the issue that making LB the Guardian and CN just a holder undermines the duality and balance essential to their relationship in Miraculous: The Series.)

2. Personality

Marinette is a creative, compassionate, energetic, and cheerful young girl. She has big dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but often struggles with prioritizing her ambitions. Regardless, she rarely backs down from a problem, and is willing to go all out when people need her help on both sides of the mask.

Unfortunately, her selfless nature is equally a vice and a virtue, and she will often try to help others even when it’s exhausting her. She hates saying no to people and letting them down. She might also accidentally shut people out when she’s overloaded, missing several things being said to her.

She’s extremely expressive. Whether she’s happy (a joyful person by default, though she’ll sometimes try to seem more okay than she really is to keep people from worrying), anxious (she often stumbles over her words and is less coordinated than normal), sad (she can be a pretty sensitive person, especially when concerned about her friends), or grouchy (just because she wants to help others doesn’t always mean she has to like it—I like to call her mannerisms when like this the “bug grumble >:(”, it’s one of my favorite moods of hers), you can usually tell how she feels just by looking at her.

3. Key Relationships

Chloe: The MTS MariChloe dynamic is drastically different from the original show. Instead of being Marinette’s childhood bully, she’s actually one of her oldest friends; the two have known each other since they began attending the same school. However, Chloe and Marinette’s relationship is still full of problems. Marinette is constantly pressured to help her with various things, along with having to do damage control whenever Chloe acts out toward others. Chloe does care about Marinette, but doesn’t listen to her or support her needs when she should. Eventually, maintaining this friendship becomes too much for Marinette, and she cuts Chloe off. For a while after that, the two have various spats (usually instigated by Chloe) before coming to an uneasy truce once Chloe starts to improve herself as a person. Things are never quite the same between them, as Marinette isn’t ready to renter a friendship with her.

Adrien: She is initially introduced to Adrien by Chloe, and doesn’t really see the appeal. She’s always been more interested in the fashion designers than the models. As she gets to know him, her opinion slowly shifts. Even though Chloe and her have their friendship break up, Adrien still wants to be her friend, and will even call out Chloe when she’s trying to mess with Marinette. His desire to handle things himself, rather than wanting her to help him all the time like many others, also makes her like him more. When she finally falls in love with Adrien, he gives her his umbrella, only it isn’t a perfect picturesque moment where he gracefully extends his umbrella to her. He gives her it, then proceeds to run out in to the rain, slipping on wet pavement multiple times while loudly yelling that “he’s okay”! Even though she fell in love with the flawed human side of Adrien, she’s still worried that he’ll think she’s just another fan girl fawning over him (spoiler alert: he doesn’t), so she’s extra careful not to overstep any boundaries.

Chat Noir: As I mentioned on the Adrien MTS post, they don’t exactly start on the best terms. Due to his rebellious attitude and more abrasive nature, she assumes that he’s similar to Chloe, only worrying about enjoying himself and carelessly ignoring the needs of everyone else. After the two begin working together as a proper team, she learns small pieces of information that help her realize that there’s more going on to him than she thought. Not only does he seem to live a much more restricted life under the mask, but he is actually capable of being extremely empathetic to others (this will be most especially shown in how he helps her through a particularly difficult moment as Ladybug, along with one of the akuma they encounter). She will inevitably friendzone him when he finally confesses, but that does not change the fact that he’s her partner and easily her most trusted ally.

Alya: Like Chat Noir, strangely enough, Ladybug and Alya Césaire do not exactly “click” like they’re supposed to. Alya is much more skeptical of these new heroes in MTS (I’ll elaborate further in her own post, but we decided to explore a pretty different direction for her character) and wants the public to know their identities. As a result, Marinette is pretty cautious around her, so they don’t become friends right away. That being said, Alya comes to be more understanding of the heroes once she’s put in a similar position to them, while Marinette is able to see Alya’s positive qualities (that being her integrity, honesty, and determination to keep the city safe). They finally become friends at the end of season 2. From there the two are able to learn more about maintaining a healthy friendship from each other.

Lila: The other reason Alya and Marinette don’t become friends right away. After ending things with Chloe, Marinette is somewhat fragile, and doesn’t have a lot of friends (there’s Kim and Adrien, also technically Chat Noir, but he knows Ladybug better than Marinette), with most of the class being wary of her due to her previous connection to Chloe (they don’t realize just how much Marinette actually kept Chloe from being worse yet). Lila, being a master manipulator in this version, instantly takes advantage of this vulnerability to befriend her. Their new friendship seems strong, even if Lila occasionally gives strange advice on how to get closer to her goals (though she’s quick to play it off as a joke if Marinette gets concerned). Slowly, cracks in Lila’s facade become more visible, and Marinette is forced to come to the horrifying realization that her new bestie is actually the supervillain Volpina. (Needless to say that this messes her up for a while.)

Other key dynamics include her parents (important to her but doesn’t affect the plot as much), Kim (another long story), Luka, Gabriel, Hawk Moth, Zoe, and Kagami (I might make them their own post tbh).

4. Character Growth

Marinette principally has two major character arcs (though there’s also a little something else done with her confidence as Ladybug in the final season, but that kinda leads into the finale so I’ll probably discuss it at another time).

Her season one arc is (as you might have guessed) learning to set limits with other people. Much like Chat Noir’s prime ability Wildcat is slowly damaging his mind, Ladybug’s prime ability, the Miraculous Ladybug (or the Miracle Cure if you prefer), is slowly consuming her energy. The fact that people are constantly asking her for favors as Marinette and she has to save the day as Ladybug is pushing her to her limit. Eventually, she can’t take anymore, and has to renounce the Miraculous Ladybug ability (this essentially restores her energy, but undoes all of the fixed damage from fights; we probably won’t tackle the concept of people dying from akuma attacks because we want to keep this as a kid-friendly show). Marinette then to cope with the guilt from all the damage she won’t fix (the fact that this Tikki is pretty self-righteous, and is constantly berating her for not doing so doesn’t help matters). After coming to terms with this, she’s learns to let others solve the problem sometimes (as the heroes try to limit damage from battles and the city rebuilds on its own), accept support from the people who care about her (notably Chat Noir and her parents), and accept the fact that she shouldn’t be responsible for everyone else’s problems (stops being Chloe’s friend due to her tendency to unfairly rely on Marinette).

Marinette’s long term arc largely revolves around her struggles with friendship and trust. I’ve already mentioned the Chloe and Lila problems, but these two different toxic friendships have two pretty different effects on her. The Chloe friendship she manages to process, and be okay with Chloe’s attempts to improve herself even if Marinette isn’t ready to rebuild that bond. Getting to know Sabrina and watch her and Chloe become friends is also a large part of this growth, especially since Marinette unlocks her new ability, Amulets that ward off akumas, at the end of season 2 after Sabrina’s second akumatization as Miraculer. The Lila friendship however… like I said, it hurts her pretty bad. Having two consecutive “friendship screw ups” makes her doubt herself and others. Since she was friends with Kim, Adrien, and Chat Noir before the Lila mess, those friendships remain stable: as does her friendship with Alya due to her getting to know her during the whole ordeal, but she does have a rough time making new friends. Zoe, a young girl who seems to have good intentions, but is quite dishonest (much like Lila) is the first example of this issue, and the two aren’t able to become friends until Zoe proves that she’s willing to be honest with others. Marinette and Kagami also have a rough start (due to Marinette not being sure what to make of this mysterious, intense girl). Fortunately, they still become good friends and Marinette is finally able to start moving past this fear (basically, the episode where Tomoe gets akumatized is gonna be the equivalent to Sandboy for MTS Adrien in terms of MTS Marinette’s development). (There’s also her slowly befriending most of the class, but those plots are much more self contained.) Either way, Marinette ends the show with a stable group of friends who want support her just as much as she wants to support them.

Conclusion:

That pretty much wraps up my notes on Marinette’s character. If there’s anything about her you’d like to know more about, feel free to send me an ask! (Also @dumblr-account, if there’s something you think I should have included, let me know.)

After this I’ll probably post a poll asking people about what (of three ideas I’m planning on talking about first) they’d like to see next, so stay tuned (if you want to, at least)!

[aqueousablution]

(January 2023) Éclair Orage

Original post body under the cut:

This chost was originally going to contain a full bio for Éclair, but I've decided to relegate that to a reply to this, since that's taking forever to write and Cohost lets you show replies in tag searches under certain circumstances so it's not like it'll be lost to the ether; I'll retain the "quick facts" section in this chost since I already had that and most of its footnotes written, but the main body of prose will be in a follow-up chost

Quick Éclair Facts™:

Name: Éclair Orage (she/her)

Species: Human (has distant vaati ancestry)

Age: 27 (born the 17th of Kordan¹, approx. August 7th)

Height: 5'5"²

Class: Heritor Knight³ Fighter 10⁴

Stats: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 14

Weapons of choice: Schnepf⁵, longbow, bolas⁶

Spells of choice: Elemental sheath⁷, mage armor

Alignment: Neutral Good

Overall Vibe���: Irritable gay older sister who's getting really tired of having to babysit her unruly siblings (read: the other party members), but who would cut a bitch to protect them

Notes:

Being the turbonerd that I am, I wrote up a calendar that my group uses (used?) for our settings, with the months named after various deities (mostly from the Nentir Vale/Dawn War pantheon). The new year starts roughly on the vernal equinox, which is a standalone month-agnostic day, and then the start of each season is also its own standalone month-agnostic day, with each month being exactly 30 days, along with a leap-day right between New Year's Day and the start of Spring (which is - say it with me - yet another standalone month-agnostic day). For a time I had a week being 5 days, but that's a logistical nightmare for so many reasons, so we went back to 7-day weeks, because fuck that. If I ever get back to actually playing D&D I'll probably revamp the names of the months as part of my plan to rework my setting to be less shit, which includes creating a proper pantheon instead of just borrowing deities from D&D.

She's actually currently 5'0", but she was planned to take a feat⁸ at level 12 that would represent her ancestral vaati traits intensifying, and that would have been accompanied by her eyes turning white (normally they're storm grey) and her suddenly growing a bit taller, inspired by the fact that vaati have pure-white eyes and are quite tall. She'd also have gotten a haircut around this time, as a sort of "well fuck it, my appearance just changed a bunch anyway, might as well lean into it" kind of thing, and so all of those visual changes are reflected here.

As explained in a previous chost, "Heritor Knight" is my homebrewed sorcerous version of the Eldritch Knight subclass; originally she was just an EK that used Cha and the Sorcerer spell list, but I've since done more to distinguish it as a distinct subclass, along with having versions for Druids, Clerics, and Bards, which can be found here alongside equivalent Arcane Trickster variants for each fullcaster (balance not guaranteed on account of little to no playtesting)

She's currently level 10, and considering the indefinite hiatus may end up that way indefinitely, but I've been drawing her as she'd appear at level 12+ (on account of the aforementioned feat changing her appearance). She also doesn't yet have the bracers of defense I keep drawing her with (which I redesigned for this drawing, because the previous design was kinda fucking lame), which she's saving up to buy from the local magic item broker.

A Swiss saber, as we'd call it in the modern real world, though of course that term is anachronistic and the setting Éclair is from has no Switzerland anyway. In my homebrew documents I list it as a "snipesword", which has the following stats: cost: 35 gp | damage: 1d8 slashing | weight: 4 lb. | properties: Finesse, versatile (1d10) Normally two-handing a versatile weapon fucking sucks compared to just using a one-handed weapon with the Dueling fighting style, but with my DM's permission I rewrote the Great Weapon fighting style to suck less, so it comes out to roughly the same damage (while looking a bit cooler, IMO).

Given that her main livelihood for the past decade has been bounty hunting (mostly small-time stuff; she started the campaign as a level 1 character, after all), having a way to stop a fleeing target - without, y'know, killing them - is pretty valuable for her, and so with the DM's blessing I wrote up 5e stats for bolas: cost: 2 gp | damage: 1 bludgeoning | weight: 1 lb. | properties: Finesse, special, thrown (range 20/60)

When you make an attack with bolas, you may choose whether to deal damage or to immobilize the target. If you choose to deal damage, the target takes damage as normal on a hit. If you choose to immobilize the target and hit, it can’t use any movement speed that relies on its legs, and it must make a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone, the save DC for which equals 8 + your attack bonus with the weapon. Bolas have no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger. A creature can use its action to make a DC 8 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 3 slashing damage to the bolas (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the bolas.

Also explained in a previous chost. Basically divine favor meets elemental weapon but a little more user-friendly than either of them (I also rewrote those spells to be a little more user-friendly, particularly elemental weapon because hoooooo boy was that a rough one)

Elemental Sheath 1st-level transmutation You wreathe a weapon you touch with elemental energy. Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. For the duration, the weapon deals an extra 1d4 damage of the chosen type when it hits. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can touch a creature instead of a weapon, imbuing it with elemental energy. Until the spell ends, the creature deals an extra 1d4 damage of the chosen type when it hits with a weapon attack.

That's right, we've got footnotes within footnotes! The feat in question is a relatively minor (and DM-approved, of course) retooling of Fey Touched from Tasha's Cacophony of Powercreep, taking mage armor as the chosen spell instead of a spell from one of the officially allowed schools (divination or enchantment, neither of which contain any spells remotely appropriate to Éclair's concept) but keeping misty step per the vanilla version of the feat, with the idea being that it's "Storm Touched" instead on account of her vaati ancestry. She already has both of those spells from her subclass, but they would have been retrained ASAP to mirror image (which she used to have until I decided that misty step provided way more utility and survivability, and given the small size of a third-caster's spell list I didn't have room for both) and her homebrew signature spell, Éclair's branching bolt⁹, to avoid redundancies.

Gotta be honest, I wasn't originally planning to nest a footnote within an already nested footnote, but then I realized one of the spells being retrained because of Storm Touched was homebrew. WHOOPS!! Anyway, the idea with Éclair's branching bolt was to have it be conceptually akin to Melf's minute meteors; i.e., a more granular version of one of the big 3rd-level evocation nuke spells (lightning bolt and fireball, respectively). Because Éclair isn't actually at a high enough level to cast the spell, it technically doesn't exist yet since she won't have invented it until she can cast 3rd-level spells. I actually made a series of physical guides to use when casting the spell out of toothpicks, each one 2 inches (10 in-game feet) long and two toothpicks (~1/5th of an inch, or 1 in-game foot) wide. The text of the spell:

Éclair's Branching Bolt 3rd-level evocation A branching bolt of lightning blasts out from you in a direction you choose. The bolt consists of six segments, each one a line 10 feet long and 1 foot wide. Each segment must connect with another segment. Creatures in the bolt's path must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The lightning ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level of higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd, and the number of segments in the bolt increases by 1 for each slot level above 3rd.

[transgymbro]

Hey! Sorry if you've answered this question before, feel free to ignore this or link the ask/post answering it but did you have any trouble starting going to the gym? I really want to start but I'm self conscious about not knowing anything about the machines and etiquette (and a little bit about which locker room I should use). Do you have any advice on any of these?

PS I fucking love trans gymbros

Honestly this is the first question I've had about the gym at all, so no worries! And thank you!

Okay so, cultures tend to vary from gym to gym, but these things will remain consistent:

ALWAYS RERACK YOUR WEIGHTS. If you are using dumbbells, PUT THEM BACK IN THE PROPER PLACE WHEN YOU'RE DONE. It's especially important to put them back in the proper place because if you put 45 lb dumbbells where the 20 lb ones should go, the person using the 20s might not be able to move them out of the way to their proper place.

Clean the machines you were using. This is how you prevent ringworm, COVID, etc. from spreading. There are usually spray bottles/paper towels/wipes around the gym for you to grab and clean your machine with

Don't spend longer than necessary on a machine. Generally people don't mind you being on a machine as long as you're working out. It's one thing to log your exercise/meals but don't be sitting on the machine texting a friend for like 10 minutes.

If a water bottle or other gear is on or near a machine, it's being used. Come back later. This is normally how people say "I'm not done here, but I had to get up to use the bathroom/get water".

If you don't know how to use a machine, ask a staff member or another gym goer. Seriously, gym rats are much friendlier than people assume and they WILL infodump to you, especially when they hear that you're a beginner. Staff members are there to help and they can show you how to use the machines. Also, in some cases the machines will have the instructions written on them. I'm going to put my tips for machines below somewhere.

Here are some things that are more nuanced:

Noise level - Some gyms (looking at Planet Fitness) require you to keep the noise level to a minimum (don't go to these gyms. Screaming/grunting has been scientifically proven to help you grind out that last rep). Others allow you to scream as loud as you want. You can ask, or you observe how much noise other people are making and go based on that.

Locker rooms - My gym allows you to use the bathroom of your preferred gender and despite not binding my large chest I've never gotten shit in the men's locker room. That being said, given how transphobic some laws are, this will depend entirely on your area. My advice here is ask the staff, and if they respond in a transphobic manner, then this isn't the gym for you.

How much to talk to other people - This depends on not only the gym culture but the individual also. Some people don't mind being approached, others want to be left to do their workout. In the very least, if you want to compliment someone on how much weight they're lifting ("damn bro you strong af" "that's anabolic as fuck") you can absolutely do that though. Also, if you are just asking if someone is using a machine, don't be afraid to do so, in my experience this is an interaction no one really minds.

More tips about machines:

Start light - Learn how much weight you can handle before trying to push yourself. Generally, if you can do 15 reps on a weight, you're ready to move to the next heaviest one.

Form - You don't have to worry about this so much on the machines, as you tend to be less likely to injure yourself due to their design. However, this will depend on the machine. Therefore, it's good to keep good form anyway. You can check by reading the machine's instructions carefully, asking a staff member, or knowing what it's supposed to be working and making sure you feel the right kind of pain in the right spots (i.e. you should be feeling strain in the muscles you intend to work and nowhere else, in general). Listen to your body most of all, and if you have any sharp pains, stop.

Feel free to message me if you have any more questions, and if anyone else has good pointers or if anything I said was wrong, please say something in the reblogs/comments!

[flnpushy]

Helios stories return

Due to interest I will begin re-uploading the Helios stories

This is the first story of many in my new sci-fi birth series.

Disclaimer: This story and this series is science fiction. It is fictitious and for entertainment purposes. The scenarios of these stories are not of real humanity but for birth kink enjoyment. Thanks

The year was 3031 and the full sized city of Helios had been established on The moon. The Moon had been terraformed slowly to become more suitable for human life. Other planets had taken precedent over the moon so it was a slow development. With the city mostly staffed by scientists and terraform workers, it was time to increase the population. A group of women from earth were selected for their genetics that would be best suited for the new world and were impregnated on earth. With travel from Earth to the moon only taking a few days they would arrive roughly 3 months into gestation (ensuring pregnancy was established) and be cared for at the new Helios Birthing Facility. 

As women evolved over the last 1000 years they statistically had less children. Evolution responded and changed their bodies over time. Gestation periods were now 11 months to 1 full year. Women’s hips evolved to be smaller making birth a longer and more difficult process. Bigger babies with longer gestation and smaller birth canals made birth a very long process. Centuries before having a baby was not easy, but now labor could last a week or more, birthing the head could take 12 to 15 hours or more, and freeing the shoulders could take several more hours or even a full day of pushing. It was common now that the average birthing from labor start to placenta birth was a week long process, especially for a first time mother. Babies were commonly 15 to 20 lbs at the time of birth. 

As Kara landed on The Moon, the landing craft made a loud hiss as the thrusters guided the craft in for a safe landing. The loading bay opened and the new moon environment was clear to see. Hundreds of buildings, agricultural domes, and research facilities stretched out on the surface of the moon. She was immediately greeted by birth center staff and shown a room in the new state of the art birthing facility. The facility was amazing. The size of many football stadiums. The Moon Base Alpha Association (the moons established government) was absolutely obsessed and found it to be critical for growing population. The Helios birthing center was filled with private rooms, gardens, pools with waterfalls, and so much more. It was designed for pregnant and birthing women to be in utmost comfort while pregnant and birthing babies on the new world. Because birth was now such a long and hard process, mothers were given free reign of the facility and told to contact staff if they were having issues or complications. It was found with science and evolution that allowing women to birth completely natural and slowly was ideal for the development of the child, and for the safety of the woman. 

As Kara was only 3 months along she knew she would be here and getting comfortable for a long time. Her private facilities were lavish. A Huge bedroom, combined with a kitchen, large birthing tub, and bathroom facilities. The room was also equipped with birthing stools and squat bars. Kara felt as she was in luxury, even knowing she had a difficult birth to come, she felt honored to be selected for this mission to grow the population in Helios. As her genetics were selected she was happy to be impregnated to help advance the moon civilization.

Kara unpacked her things and decided it was time to check the place out and meet other mothers. She left her room and set out. Once in labor and birthing it was common for women to walk the facility unclothed. This was normal as women were encouraged to birth anywhere they wanted to in the facility. The floors of the facility were a soft and self cleaning membrane. Comfortable on the feet and safe if a baby was to be born onto them. Kara boarded and elevator and found another mother to be on board. She was completely naked and supported a huge belly. She had medium size frame, brown hair and brown eyes. Kara guessed her to be in her 30s.

“Hello, I’m Kara” Kara introduced herself. 

“Hello and welcome, you must be new here, 3 months along?” The girl asked.

“Yes, 3 months.” Kara replied. 

“I’m Martha by the way, I’m at 12 months and in the birthing process, I like your cute little bump, can’t believe I was like that 9 months ago.” Martha said. 

“Lovely to meet you, where are you headed?” Kara asked. 

“Heading down to garden 31, a private garden to hopefully birth my babies head.” Martha said. 

“How long have you been in birth?” Kara asked.

“This is day 4, past transition, and have seen the head a couple times now, here I can show you.” Martha said.

Martha held up her bump and pushed. A tiny tuft of hair came slowly into view in her opening before receding back in after the push had ended.

“Oh my, thats wonderful!” Kara said. 

“Yes, it hurts but its so good to be a part of this mission here on Helios.” Martha said with pride. 

“Could I join you in garden 31?” Kara asked. “This is my first baby and I don’t really know what to expect.”

“Of course!” Martha said. “Its actually encouraged that mothers help each other here.”

“Wonderful!” Kara replied. 

The couple made their way down to the second floor where the expansive flower gardens were. Over 50 gardens in total, all of which were in bloom and lavish with color. The gardens had paths with benches and birth stools encouraging mothers to enjoy as they labored. 

“See that rock over there?” Martha asked. 

“Yes its a lovely spot.” Kara replied.

“Right next to it is a water station and birth stools, lets go there.” Martha stated. 

As they made thier way through the garden they walked over a lovely foot bridge with water running below. The trickle of the water was mesmerizing as it blended in with the garden surroundings. About 50 meters from the rock they ran into another birthing women sitting upon a birth stool backwards in the garden. Martha approached first. 

“Oh hey Bridget!” Martha said.

“Hey girl, how are you today?” Bridget replied 

“Ahh you know day 4 and no head out yet, getting there, You?” Martha replied. 

“Doing ok, as you can see.” Bridget said as she turned around revealing herself.

“Woah! Good girl getting her right out of their!” Martha said. 

Between Bridgets legs was a tiny baby foot protruding out. She was having a breech birth. A definite rarity now days, and an even longer birthing process. 

“Bridget, let me introduce you to Kara, Shes new to the mission here and just arrived this morning.” Martha said turning to show Kara behind her. 

“Nice to meet you!” Kara said. “You are so beautiful!” 

“Thank you, and nice to meet you as well, you about 3 months?” asked Bridget.

“Yes 3 months along.” Kara replied 

“Well its a pleasure having you here on Helios here with us, I’m sure you will bring a beautiful baby into this new world.” Bridget responded. 

As Bridget turned to face Martha a contraction overtook her. She bore down and both Martha and Kara could see the little baby foot protrude put farther. She pushed again popping out a her babies leg. 

“Whew, tough one, Well little by little.” Bridget said as she reached down and touched her babies newly born leg. 

“Your doing well Bridget, just keep pushing as we always say.” Martha said. 

Martha and Kara continued toward the rock. 

“So is this your first baby?” Kara asked. 

“No, I have been here for 3 years, I made this my fulltime mission, this is my third baby.” Martha replied. 

“Wow good for you!” Kara said. “You have provided much to this mission.”

As they arrived at the rock, Martha grabbed a drink from the water station. She sat upon a birth stool and Kara joined her upon the one next to it. 

“Hmmm never sat on one of these before.” Kara said. 

“Yes they are unique, I have had all my babies on a birth stool, They really help progress things.” Martha said. 

As Martha sat she endured a contraction, Kara watched as Martha pushed. Her babies head just inside her opening, bulging as she strained. Martha pushed again and the head come into the opening. 

“May I feel?” Kara asked. 

“Of course.” Martha said straining to push. 

Kara reached over touching the babies head. It was soft but fairly dry to the touch. 

“Oh his head is dry!” Kara said. 

Martha ended her push, the head slowly retracted back inside Marthas belly.

“Yeah the head has been dry for the last few times its come forth, I have been pushing the head now for 12 hours.” Martha said. 

“Wow your so strong!” Kara said. 

Martha had to push again, she grunted and strained. The head slowly appeared again in her opening. This time the head protruded quite far, and stayed down with the end of the push. 

Kara looked on in awe.

“So what will you do after this birth.” Kara asked. 

“Well after 3 babies you are given a choice, You can either keep being impregnated or you can join the midwife academy here and be a birth assistant.” Martha said. 

“What will you do?”  Kara asked. 

“Well I like being a mother, but after 3 births I may join the mission academy.” Martha said.

“Good for you!” Kara said. “Thats what I will probably do to, Either join academy or impregnate and go to another colony on Mars or Alpha Centari.” 

“Oh my, not sure about Alpha Centari, they don’t have facilities like these.” Martha said.

“True, If I was to impregnate after 3 I’d prefer Mars.” Kara said. “But thats a long time away, I have 3 babies to provide before then.” 

Martha was hit with another contraction. The babies head was slowly coming more toward crown as she pushed.

“Yes looks like I may get the head out today.” Martha said. “That was my goal.” 

“Good for you!” Kara said. “So once the head is out how long till the baby comes?”

“Can vary, my first two births the shoulders took 15 hours.” Martha said. 

“How do you get around here with a baby between your legs?” Kara asked.

“You can either waddle around, or request a two wheel electric scooter.” Martha said.

“How do you request one?” Kara asked.

“Just press your com-link button and tell them your babies head is out, they will bring one to you.” Martha said.

Martha had another contraction. Kara watched the opening bulge as Martha pushed. The head came farther forth yet getting Martha to a full crown. 

“Oh man, that sting.” Martha said. “Wont be much sleep now for the next 20 hours or so, I have never had much luck sleeping with babies head out.”

Martha pushed a few more times and with Kara watching in awe, the baby was slowly coming in and out with each push. The head came forth with a push, but retracted slowly back at the end.

“Yeah this is how this morning was to, I Can get the head to crown, but it always goes back inside when I stop pushing.” Martha said. 

“You almost had him out earlier?” Kara asked. 

“Yeah, I tried pushing him out earlier but couldn’t, So I stopped and went back to my room for awhile.” Martha said.

“You couldn’t get him to come out?” Kara asked. 

“No, I watched that head go in and out at least 30 times. Every-time he just went back inside my belly. Oh well, I like having his little bum in my tummy, Makes me feel full.” Martha said.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see what my little bum is like.” Kara said rubbing her tiny belly.

Martha began pushing again bringing the babies head farther out, only to have it go back inside. She was persistent though and kept going. She was experienced and knew that babies wouldn’t birth themselves. 

“Would lubrication help?” Kara asked.

“Not really, I’ve tried them before without much luck.” Martha said. 

Martha pushed again brining the head forth once more. She held the push and the head continued to squeeze its way out. She was so close now to freeing the head.  

“Uggg the head is always so hard.” Martha said. 

“How long have you been pushing the head.” Kara asked.

“Well I first saw a tuft of hair about 15 hours ago, but I have stopped and taken many breaks in that time, every break I took had the baby all the way back inside.” Martha replied.

Martha tried again and progressed the head to its farthest spot yet. 

One more push had the head finally out. The baby immediately tried to retract, but couldn’t. 

“Well now comes the long wait till the shoulders come free.” Martha said. 

Kara grabbed a towel nearby and cleaned the babies head for Martha. The baby was big, it had big cheeks and a large forehead. 

“Whats it like having a baby hanging out of you?” Kara asked. 

“Its very unique, You can feel the baby moving trying to move its shoulders in the right place to come out, but yet its so strange having the babies head in the world. Its having a life half inside you and half out.” Martha said. “Its actually my favorite part, Once the head is out for awhile the pain subsides and it just becomes your new normal for about 15-20 hours. I usually like to go swimming when the head is out. It feels neat being weightless with a baby in between your legs.”

“Wow.” Kara said. “I have so much to look forward to.” 

Martha reached up and touched her comlink. 

“Head out in garden 31.” She said.

“This is central academy, we will be there shortly with conveyance.” The com-link said. 

“Swim?” Martha asked.

“Sure!” Kara replied. 

A few moments later two staff arrived on electric scooters.

“Wow, beautiful baby coming there!” One staff member said. 

“Thank you!” Martha replied. 

The two stafff members waked away as Kara and Martha boarded the scooters. 

“Pool 41, here we come!” Martha said. 

Kara followed Martha toward the exit of the garden. Watching Martha on the scooter with a baby between her legs was quite the sight. As they weaved out to the main hallway there were more mothers coming to the gardens. Kara waved and nodded and she went by. Just down the hall Martha boarded an elevator. They were whisked to the 4th floor where one of the main birth pool decks was. They exited the elevator and headed down the passageway to pool 41. Kara noticed that the ceiling was all glass and as she looked into the great beyond she caught a glimpse of Earth far below. Just then Martha stopped at a large airlock style door. Kara parked up and followed her. Martha waved her com-link at the doors computer screen. The screen lit up and began talking in a calming women’s voice. 

“Welcome to pool 41, What is the reason for your visit?”

“Just a swim.” Martha said. 

“Are you in active labor or birth?” The computer asked.

“Yes active birth, head out.” Martha told the computer.

“Ok, one moment.” The computer replied. “The pool is clean and ready for birthing.” “There is zero persons using this pool currently, none in birthing stage.” 

The door opened and Martha walked in, Kara followed. The pool room was open on the top with a glass ceiling. Above were thousands of stars and the bright brilliance of the sun. The room was totally white quartz, with large pillars on each of its edges. The pool itself was only shallow at one end, and about one meter at its deepest. The pool floor was all illuminated making it easier to see a baby being born if necessary for staff intervention.

Kara was getting jealous of all this beautiful birthing around her, she wished she was farther along in her pregnancy. However at best she had 9 more months till birth. Kara and Martha decided to get in the pool. The water was bath warm and felt good on Karas body. It was even better for Martha as the water calmed her aching perineum, Her babies head still hanging out between her legs. Martha and Kara hung out in the shallows. Kara admired Martha, her beautiful body so open and free. Her babies head hanging from her as she swam. A couple hours had gone by. Martha’s baby showed no signs of coming out at all. The babies head contently hanging out between Martha’s legs. Martha had occasional contractions, but none strong enough to get the baby out. Martha occasionally pulled back her legs to push in the water, but no progress happened.

“Im starting to feel more pushy.” Martha said. 

“Is it time for baby to come out.” Kara asked. 

“Not sure about out, but time to move a bit.” Martha replied.

Martha swam about the pool with baby in between her legs, it was an awesome sight Kara thought. She made a few laps until she decided to leave the pool and return to the gardens for the actual birth. The babies head had now been out for 8 hours and she knew the birth should be coming to a close soon. Kara and Martha climbed back aboard the scooters and returned to Garden 31. Martha selected a different spot this time. 

“This is where I’ve had all my other babies.” Martha said.

This spot was in the corner of the garden near its edge. The edge of the garden was all windows and you could see the rest of Helios from them. The spot had 2 birth stools, a water station, and was surrounded by beautiful tall flowers. Needless to say it was a birth paradise. Martha approached and took a seat on the birth stool. Kara sat beside her. Martha spread her legs on the stool fully opening up around the babies head. She began lightly pushing and nudging her baby out. The baby responded from the extra pressure of the pushes and made tiny movements trying itself to become free. Martha moved to a birth pad set next to the birth stool. The birth pads were a place to lay down and birth if a mother felt it was right. The pads were heated membranes and extremely comfortable. Martha laid back and pulled her legs up tight to her belly, the babies head bulged as she pushed. When she stopped pushing the babies head retracted back close to her opening. Martha let out a huge push. The baby surged forward and the first sight of a shoulder came and went. Kara could see that Martha was clearly struggling to free the baby.

“Is the baby stuck?” Kara asked.

“No he’s just big, My last birth it took me three hours to push the first shoulder out.” Martha replied. 

“Can I pull him out.” Kara asked.

“No. no, you must not pull, babies must come naturally.” Martha said. 

“Oh ok, it just looks like your really struggling.” Kara said.

“Well yeah, thats what us mothers do, we struggle to bring life to a new planet.” Martha said. 

Just then another girl approached. She was a small framed, red head young girl supporting a large belly.  As she approached the others she stopped and squatted to push. Kara could see that as she pushed her opening was just beginning to bulge. 

“Just starting to push the head out?” Kara asked the girl.

“Yes, just stating to feel it come.” The girl replied. 

The bulge retracted as she ended her push. The girl continued past them to another birth station. Martha began pushing once more. She was fighting hard and the baby was finally starting to move. 

“Come out little man!” Martha said aloud.

“Keep going girl, hes so close!” Kara encouraged. 

Finally one big push popped one shoulder free. The next push had the other shoulder out. Now just the body remained inside Martha. 

“My goodness the baby is huge!” Kara said.

“Yes, evolution had it this way, in 12 months of pregnancy the baby gets very large.” Martha said.

“Wow I hope my baby isn’t that big, It won’t fit out of me!” Kara said.

“Oh it probably will be that big, you’ll get her out of there, first births are always the hardest.” Martha said.

Martha pushed once more. It was smooth sailing after that. The baby came forth into the new world. 

“Wow that was my fastest birth to date!” Martha said. 

Martha pressed her comlink.

“Central command, how may we assist?” 

“Birth in the back corner of garden 31, station 15.” Martha said.

“Will be there shortly.”

“Well I will be taken back to my room now for post birth physicals and the placenta birth, It was wonderful spending time with you Kara.” Martha said. 

“Here take my room number and information, please stop and visit me.”

“I will!” Kara said. 

Just then the central command came and carted Martha back to her room on a bike fitted with a stretcher.

“See you soon girl!” Martha said. 

Kara had seen plenty on her first day in Helios Birth Center. However curiosity over came her. She decided to walk along the path and find the redhead girl…

[deebeeus]

1998 #GibsonNighthawk#ST2 (with 1963 #Fender#Princeton and 1965 Gibson #GA17 RVT Scout #amplifiers).

You didn't think I could go more than a day without posting the #Nighthawk did you? Not a chance...I love it! 😎

On a previous post @mikecenright made the hilarious comment that this model looks like the product of a marriage between first cousins (😂). Its design is an acquired taste no doubt, but I am convinced this is the perfect guitar for me! Of course I also have a soft spot for the oft-maligned ES-325, another #Gibson "floor sweep" model (a perfectly descriptive term that I also picked up from Mike's comment referenced above. It means a guitar put together from leftover parts around the shop lol), so maybe a pattern that speaks to the perhaps iconoclastic aspects of my inner psyche is developing here? Or maybe I just have bad taste.🤣

Oh sure, if I had designed the Nighthawk the neck pickup would be covered, and it wouldn't be slanted*, and that band of red in the sunburst wouldn't be so...erm...obvious (lol). In fact, if you made the bridge pickup more normal looking, and toned down the the clownish aspects of the burst, this guitar would look just...like...a regular guitar!

From a playing perspective though, it has absolutely everything I want in an instrument. It is compact, lightweight (7.26 lbs), resonant, comfortable to play, and can produce a wide variety of both Gibson & Fender-esque tones.

I think I will keep it...haters be damned!

*although I am finding the slant away from the bridge actually makes it sound warmer that a regular bridge pickup, so the funny looking design may actually have some merit!

[crexalbo]

Extremely Strong Shower Bench

I've gotten feedback from the community asking me to share my plans, so here it is. If you want to build your own shower bench, this is how you do it. Make sure to ask a thinno for help, this will not be easy to do!

This is an extremely strong shower bench with a 1000+lb capacity. The floor under you will fail before the bench does! This shower bench is designed to remove you from the shower and basically have you sit on the ledge. You will need a couple feet of clearance away from your tub's ledge for it to work.

The top of my tub's ledge is about 1' 3⅜" up from the ground. If yours is taller/shorter by more than ¼" or so, you will need to make some adjustments to measurements down below.

This is a photo of the materials I used to make this build. I got everything I needed at my local hardware store. My build wasn't perfect though. I would suggest you learn from my mistakes and acquire a slightly different material list though:

1x 2'×4' plywood sheet. Get something pre-sanded and rated for outdoor use. I recommend ¾" thick.

2x 8' 2×4s. Most any wood type will work, so get what you like most. I just got some normal 2×4s and made sure they looked pretty. If you don't want to bother with staining or weatherproofing the structure of your bench, get pressure-treated 2×4s.

4x 2' ½"×½" square dowel.

4x Simpson Strong-Tie RTC2Z. Get the black-powder-coated ones if you can.

2x Simpson Strong-Tie LUS24Z. These will be used for the cross beam.

4x Simpson Strong-Tie FB24Z. These will be the feet.

1x Simpson Strong-Drive SD9112R100 #9×1½" 100ct Connector Screws. You won't use the whole box. It comes with a bit.

4x 3" common nails.

32x 1½" common nails.

35x 1" brad/finish nails.

200-220 grit sandpaper.

Oil-based high-gloss polyurethane.

Small dense-foam roller & roller pan.

If you're applying stain, oil stain & staining brush for oil stain.

Liquid rubber. Get something that will provide grip.

Rubber-foam weather stripping. The thicker and wider, the better. I got 20' of 1¼"×7⁄16" and it worked great for me.

4x paper clips, hair ties, or something to hang the feet from.

A plastic tarp, thickness is more important than size.

As for tools, you really only need two things:

Hammer

Drill, ratchet, or socket screwdriver

OPTIONAL: File or knife

I also highly recommend some PPE. Get some cheap/disposable cleaning gloves, a mask of some type, hair ties for your hair, and an old change of clothes.

If you don't have access to a table saw at home, *don't leave the store yet!* You need to cut your wood at the store. Many home improvement stores will cut your lumber for you, either for free or for a low price.

Ask an employee to cut the two 2×4s like this:

2×4 #1: 38", 38", 17"

2×4 #2: 33½", 33½", 13", 13"

NOTE: If your tub ledge was taller/shorter than mine, then for every 1" difference, lengthen/shorten each 33½" cut by TWO inches.

Then ask them to cut two dowels down to 20½", and two down to 24".

You should also ask them to take 6" off the short side of the plywood, so it's 2'×3½' instead of 2'×4'.

You're not ready to leave yet! You need to make two more cuts, and the store employees will not help you with these. Many home improvement stores will have a DIY handsaw table where you can cut moulding down to length. You'll need to use this to make the last two cuts yourself.

You need to make an ANGLED cut into the 33½" boards. Lay the first 33½" board down flat as shown. On the edge closest to you, mark a point 1' 5⅛" away from the left end of the board. Then on the edge farthest from you, mark a point 1' 5¼" away from the same left end of the board. Position your saw across both points, and cut through the board. You may need to roll the board over to finish the cut.

NOTE: If your tub ledge was taller/shorter than mine, then for every 1" of difference, add/remove 1" from the 1' 5⅛" / 1' 5¼" measurements above.

For the second board, *do not measure!* It is more important that the cuts in the boards be identical than it is for any one cut to have exact dimensions. Lay the second board down, then set one of the cut pieces on top so the ends of the two boards are aligned, then use the existing angle in the cut piece to start the cut in the second board.

When you are done, you will have four boards, two slightly taller than the others, with the exact same angle cut in all of them. In the above photo, the boards are resting on their angled ends. These pieces will be your long and short legs.

NOW you can bring everything home.

First, lay down your tarp somewhere. Ideally you'll have access to a 5'×10' flat area outside.

Then you need to sand *everything* (except the big faces of the plywood, and the pressure-treated wood if you went that route). Pay special attention to the corners and cuts in the wood.

Now you need to attach the square dowels to the outside of the plywood board. Choose a face of the board to be the "up" face, the one you'll sit on. Put the 24" dowels on top, right along the short edges. Choose a long edge to be the back, and squeeze the two shorter dowels in along it between the side dowels. Nail everything down with the finish nails.

Next is staining, if you chose to stain. Apply according to the directions on the tin. You will likely have to do multiple coats.

Now the truly hard part, applying polyeurethane. I recommend using the foam roller for this and applying many coats. You can prop up the plywood sheet using the 2×4s if you like so you can get all the way around the edges in one pass. You'll still need to flip it over and do three more passes when done with the top, so you can protect the underside from warping.

While waiting for your polyethylene to dry, you may as well make the rubber feet. Grab your four FB24Zs and tie something through one of the holes in the end. Open your can of liquid rubber and follow the instructions to fully submerge each one before leaving it out to dry. One coat should be enough. Once dry, try to remove excess rubber from the inside using a file or knife.

When everything's had a good long dry (at least a day after final coat), it's time for assembly.

Grab your two 38" boards, your two 13" boards, all four of your legs, and your four RTC2Zs — everything except what's highlighted red in the first photo above. Set the 38" boards down on their narrow side along the long edges of the board, and the 13" boards down on their narrow side along the short edges of the board. Bring them together to form a rectangle, then set the RTC2Zs upside-down on the corners. Each RTC2Z has an L-shaped hole in its bottom; the top/bottom of each L-shaped hole will be filled by the ends of the 38" boards, while the center and left/right of each hole will be filled by the legs. The ends of each 38" board will butt against the wide side of the legs, while the ends of each 13" board will butt against the narrow side of the legs. Now make sure everything is pressed firmly together as you use the Strong-Drive screws to attach the RTC2Zs to the 38" & 13" boards. For each corner, four screws go into the 38" board and two screws go into the 13" board. *DO NOT ATTACH THE LEGS YET!* The legs are just here for spacing right now. Remove the legs when everything is attached.

Grab your 17" board and your LUS24Zs. The 17" board should squeeze in nicely right in the middle, turning your blocky 0 into a blocky 8. Straighten out your LUS24Zs if needed (mine were bowed outwards too much), set them down over the ends of the 17" board, and use 4 screws each to attach them to the sides of the 38" boards. Now grab your long 3" nails and use two on each LUS24Z, installing them at a 45° angle into the remaining holes. They'll nail at an angle into the 17" board and go straight through into the 38" board.

Flip everything over such that the plywood board is now resting good-side-up on top of the mostly-complete frame, with the whole thing resting on the rounded bottoms of the RTC2Zs. Center the frame between the left and right sides of the plywood (should be ½" overhang on each side); let the plywood's back overhang ½" off the back of the frame, and its front overhang 3½" off the front. Now use the 1½" common nails to nail in the plywood into the frame. I used four lines of nails, one for each outer board; measurements are in the second photo above.

OPTIONAL: Apply a final polyurethane coat over the nail heads. This will need a day or two to dry.

Screw the feet into the ends of the legs. See the third photo above for a reference. Try to make the feet as straight and snug as you can get them.

Insert the legs into the holes left from step 1. The short legs go in on the front side, and the long legs go in on the back side. You should have a bench that tilts slightly forward, to allow for water to drain into the tub. Use some sort of material as a spacer as necessary to adjust each leg to level out the bench. Don't be afraid to introduce gaps between the legs and the plywood; the metal connectors are what hold the weight. Once everything is nice and level, use six screws on each leg to attach then to the RTC2Zs.

Apply your rubber-foam stripping. I applied stripping all along the length of my tub's ledge AND along the underside of my bench.

And you're done! Your bench will look different than the photo above, I hadn't yet added the stripping, the wooden dowel siding, or the feet. And perhaps you chose a different stain color, or made your legs out of pressure-treated wood! In any case, this thing is built like a tank (made with actual home framing materials) and shouldn't break easily. I hope it serves you well!