#but for now the biggest problems you get is still teenagers in trouble

[stormxpadme]

When I say I like the upcoming chapter, that’s why btw.

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 269 (spoilers)

(TCB still doesn't have their own translation but some parts of this need to be cross checked with more translations. I'll do that tomorrow.)

We start the chapter with an ominous flashback that brings Mei Mei to an old woman before we make a hard cut back to where we left off last chapter

To my pleased surprise Yuta managed to get his body back though truth be told I did NOT understand the minute details on how that happened. Need to read up on that.

Megumi still feels the aftereffects of Gojo's UV that had crippled Sukuna's DE. This could mean Megumi himself will have trouble expanding his domain but would that be a short term problem or possibly even a long term problem 👀

(Way back when, I had also made a speculative post that Gojo's UV that hit Megumi's soul might've left Megumi with Gojo's ultimate knowledge from all his life but that doesn't seem to be a thing in the end.)

The first years are told not to feel guilty about anything and to be teenagers again. This echoes what Gojo said in the beginning on how children should be able to enjoy the spring of their youth.

We learn then how Yuta survived: because of Rika who independently kept his body alive. When Kenjaku's CT burned out after Yuta used Gojo's DE, he should've died because he couldn't keep the connection to Gojo's body.

Kenjaku shouldve had the same problems but they speculate that he circumvented that with barrier techniques.

Now comes the part where I need better translations because what's said here is too confusing: which CT recovered and was Yuta now dead or unconscious when Kenjaku's CT burned out?

The next question is: how did his consciousness end up back in his body? All this time I thought Kenjaku transferred his entire brain from body to body but that's not the case apparently? 😄

Also, the biggest question right now: what happened to Gojo's body?

I made a speculative post on how this body hopping through Kenjaku's CT might actually end up reviving Gojo.

The main point for that theory is that Kenjaku revives the bodies he transfers into. Second and third points are that the revival is a one time thing and isn't bound to the continuous use of the CT (speculation) and that Yuta "dies" through the end of the CT and through other means

Say what you will but this about Miguel and Larue was extremely funny but also give Larue some respect, Sukuna was in love with him for a few seconds.

The part where everyone discusses their battle strategies is interesting. Gege does sth here I have done while writing fanfics as well: acknowledging how varied and complicated the choices in the plot where and have the characters discuss it.

This gives the chain of events that did end up happening in the end a grounded feel and here it also gives the characters room to interact with each other.

My complaint about these scenes are that they downplay Sukuna's threat and power

Talking about what they should've done differently and how they could've won more easily is ok, but for me this entire conversation was too couched in "we won because of course we did, this was easy but it could've been easier"

Higuruma is alive though but I had that on my bingo card already, his apparent death was pretty vague

It's a funny reveal how the watch room was Rika this entire time, and apparently Yuta/Maki is basically canon

We also learn that it was indeed Miwa who clung to Maki and used Simple Domain against Sukuna to stop his MS. Todo managed to get her and Maki out with his CT at the end.

Without Ui Ui the battle would've been lost, so he really is the MVP

Now comes the part about the New Shadow Style: Simple Domain that was interesting but also added unneeded elements into the story this late in the manga

Some parts of this was mentioned previously like how you made a Binding Vow to learn NSS. There was a woman in a wheelchair once that resembled Miwa in parts who was probably one of those people who's lifespan was sapped away by the Shadow Head.

But did we really need to give this so much panel time? I guess with the mention of Tengen (who was apparently the one who told the good guys who the Shadow Head was) we'll go back to what happened to her and the merger in the next chapter.

What we also got was commentary on how JJ society hindered itself from becoming better because of the greed of people who wanted more power.

Mei Mei speaks of sorcerers who could've survived with Simple Domain and she probably means Nanami. Their stories in Shibuya acted like foils to each other (without that or them being in conflict with each though) so it's relevant to Nanami what she said here.

Overall I think some parts of this chapter should've been cut so close to the finish, especially when this really is the end of the manga. I still have hope for Part 2 though, this chapter was (as I expected) ambiguous about that happening or not.

[deadnymph8]

AEGON II TARGARYEN X READER

content warnings⚠️ loss of virginity (for you), small age gap (3 years), slightly older women/younger man, p in v sex, aegon being a pervy loser, we love it though, small use of Y/N, chubby aegon, always drunk aegon, small bit of public groping, no protection

Notes: Posted originally to ao3 but I took it down and fixed it up a bit. Still this was like my first fanfiction in 7 years so be nice or I'll cry (also haven't used this app in like 8 years forgive me)

In you're teenage years you were the next door neighbor to one of the richest family's in westeros. You weren't necessarily born rich you only lived next door because you're mom ended up re marrying some rich CEO millionaire and swiftly moved in with him.

You're step dad was pretty close with the owner of the house next door Viserys targaryen and due to that you had become accustom to all his children.

You were older then all of them closest in age being the eldest boy aegon, he was three years younger than you but you were close enough in age to get along and become somewhat friends.

You assumed that was why alicent the mother of the children and Viserys's wife came to you and asked you to babysit her kids for a weekend. You were a trusted friend and while yes they could hire a nanny you were told the last one ended up quiting after only a month. newly turned 13 year old aegon broke into the wine cabinet and got plastered.

You didn't get details on the rest but you knew it must have been a bad night since they were struggling to find a new nanny who could stay longer than a month.

Alicents last resort was to ask someone she thought could connect better with the kids, mainly aegon since he was the biggest problem. She needed a strong role model and someone aegon was familiar with. after seeing how aegon behaved in you're presence she thought you to be the perfect candidate for the job and so you accepted.

"I don't need a babysitter I'm 13 for fucks sake!" Aegon argued to his mother as you stood behind her.

"You aren't responsible enough to be trusted alone and that's the last of it!" His mother yelled back. Looking clearly frustrated and exhausted as if she had done this a million times.

You stood to the side of alicent now already feeling uncomfortable. You'd probably be upset aswell if you were in aegon's shoes but alicent insisted she needed a good influence like you.

Aegon stormed off slamming the door of his room. "I'm sorry dear, he won't bother you I've made sure all alcohol is put away...all you need to do is keep him in the house" alicent spoke giving you the rundown on you're job. You took in everything she said, she told you that you wouldn't be completely alone.

They still had a housekeeper that would come in mornings and clean up and you didn't need to worry that much.

That night actually went pretty smooth. Aegon was grumpy and hid in his room most the night while you played with the younger kids on their xbox. Things actually went so well that alicent asked you to come back again.

It actually felt nice getting some of you're own money aswell and to be independent for once

Babysitting had become a regular occurrence for you for awhile. Alicent always praised you for just how well you did with aegon.

Eventually though you turned 18 and you got into college, not the one you wanted but it was only a few hours away and finally gave you a chance to escape you're house and live on you're own.

And how did aegon feel about this? He should feel happy, You were nothing more than a neighbor his mother hired to hover around him and keep him out of trouble. He resented you for that, he hated how pretty you were, how sweet you were to him.

He should be cheering knowing he would have some freedom but with you gone the only thing he felt was this overwhelming feeling of emptiness and loneliness.

He always found himself searching for you're praise. He'd actually get himself to do homework just so he could hear you talk about how proud you were of him.But now with you gone he didn't have a reason to try anymore and almost immediately he fell back into bad habits. Drinking, partying, drugs and sex. He did it all and no matter how much he did over the next three years he could never get rid of that aching empty feeling deep down.

When aegon turned 18 his mother began demanded he go to college. Demanded he make something of himself. He didn't bother trying with any of the big colleges he just found the closest one and decided that was good enough for him to keep his mom off his back. Even if he didn't get in with his grades he'd get in easy being as rich as he was. His father could just drop a generous donation and he'd get in with no problem at all. So when he arrived of course aegon joined the biggest frat on campus. The partys, the girls and the drugs. It all came so easy to him now.

When his frat decided to put on yet another rager he didn't think much of it. After three months here it was becoming his normal. He walked passed the group of drunk college kids, a drink in his hand as he wondered through the halls of the frat house probably long faded by now. originally his mind was set on getting wasted and maybe he'd bang a cheerleader if he was still able to stand.

He turned to the kitchen wanting to refill his cup when his eyes wondered on the back of a girl grabbing a soda off the counter. Something about her was so familiar but he couldn't see her face to find out why.

Mabey one of his many one night stands? or an old classmate oh his? She wasn't dressed like the other girls around. She was dressed casual, Wearing some jeans and a baggy sweatshirt. She definitely looked out of place compared to the small crop tops and short dresses most girls chose to wear.

He began taking a few steps closer. He didn't know why but he felt drawn in to her and when she finally turned around nothing could have fully prepared him for what he saw. You.

It was you. an uncomfortable and nearly sad look on you're face as you opened up your coke and took a drink, eyes wondering around the room full of dancing college kids until they fell on him. For a moment you both just stared at each other, neither really knowing what to say.

"Egg? What are you doing here?" You finally asked breaking the small awkward silence that fell between you both.

That stupid little nickname. Hearing it after so long made his heart race a bit. He always hated when you used to call him that but now hearing it again after so long he'd grown to miss it. Crave it even. Aegon didn't know why but a part of him almost felt embarrassed. Shame even. Her seeing him absolutely wasted after three years of not speaking.

"I'm uh- I'm in the frat" he responded and snapped himself back into reality. "and why are you here? I mean clearly you don't want to be" aegon swiftly added leaning against the kitchen counter in an attempt to go back to his normal self.

"was it really that obvious" you thought to yourself self. "My friend dragged me here...said I should let lose or whatever" you sighed. "And are you? Letting lose?" Aegon couldn't help but smirk at the idea.

He always had a weird fascination with you. All those times you slept over and he'd sneak into your bag of packed clothes and steal you're little white lace panties.

All those times he'd jerk himself off into them imagining himself buried deep inside of you're soaked cunt. All those times he'd spy on you changing through the crack in the bathroom door.

All those dirty dirty memories rushing back to him all at once.

"Absolutely not" The truth was you never cared for partys, you stuck to you're studys and kept to yourself. If it wasn't for you're best friend Tina you'd never consider coming to a place like this on a sunday night before class. You haven't even dated anyone before. You went on a couple dates but ultimately you decided love had no place for you right now.

You needed to focus on you're studys not a relationship

"So...why haven't you left? If you hate it here why not just go home and watch those hot vampire movies you love so much" Aegon always did love teasing you on you're intrests.

It used to annoy you to no ends. "My friend is my ride and she's...busy" you sighed again remembering how you're friend Tina decide to completely ditch you to go off with some guy Leaving you to try and waste time as you waited for her to get done with her boy toy and take you back to you're dorm were you could sleep off the day and this party.

"Why not walk? The dorms aren't far from here?" He asked making you laugh slightly "Walking alone as a woman at night isn't the safest idea eggs" you had pepper spray yes but you really didn't want to risk any trouble especially with a bunch of drunk frat boys all over.

"Why don't I walk you? I need some fresh air anyway" aegon knew he wanted to talk to you, he knew he couldn't let you walk away so easily and now he finally had his excuse. He had spent the past three years missing you're presence and he wouldn't waste the opportunity to get it back.

You took a second to agree but as you looked around at the room of drunk people dancing and making you you knew what you're awnser would be

"Sounds good to me get me out of here" you smiled at him. Gods how he missed that smile. You followed him out of the frat house feeling a sense of relief to be away from the crowd and the loud music blasting in you're ears.

"Soo how's college been?" Aegon hummed walking side by side with you. He looked so smug he always did but what did you really expect from a rich kid who got everything handed to him.

You almost hated how attractive it was. Before you never thought of him of like that but seeing him now, grown. It was like something just broke inside you. It couldn't be attraction? Right?

"It's been fine I guess just a bunch of the same for me, studying and learning and more studying" you rolled you're eyes already feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

"So no boyfriend I'm assuming?" Aegon's smile grew wider. You couldn't tell if he was teasing you or mocking you but either way you rolled you're eyes and refused to give him a response.

He laughed seeing you go quiet "I knew it" he crossed his arms acrossed his chest making frown in annoyance.

"You don't need to rub it in eggs" you sighed as the two of you approached campus and walked up to the dormitories.

"I'm not rubbing in I'm actually glad you're single makes things easier for me" he hummed almost immediately his words made you tense up.

"Excuse me?" you tried to act calm seeing as you couldn't tell if he was being serious or if it was just another one of his many games.

You remembered aegon was always a bit of a flirt even a creep at times with the few times you had caught his eyes wondering to you're chest or hips.

You told yourself he was just a horny teenager and it didn't mean anything.

"Come on Y/N I know you heard me" he said back as you both walked down the hall of the dorms stopping as you reached you're door.

"What are you trying to do here" You finally asked but in response aegon only smirked at you

"you're a smart girl Y/N don't act clueless with me" Before you could speak aegon stepped closer and backed you into you're door frame making a small gasp slip from you're lips.

You told yourself it was the alcohol or whatever drug he could be on that was making him this bold but the way he looked at you let you knew just how serious he really was.

"Do you even know how much I've missed you these past three years how much I have yearned for you" aegon whispered his hands now wondering to you're waist while his head moved to you're neck planting small kisses on you're skin.

"Aegon-" you whined, hands resting on his chest as if you were about to push him away but you couldn't get yourself to do it.

"Ive probably jerked myself off thinking of you more times than i can count" Aegon's hands began wondering up you're sweatshirt to you're than waist to you're breasts, groping you right in the middle of the hallway.

"We shouldn't do this" You gulped before reaching you're hand to the handle of you're door and twisting it open "Not here" Aegon kept his grip on you while you pulled him into you're dorm hoping it was late enough and no one you knew would have seen what just happened.

Now that you were all alone aegon didn't hesitate to pull you close and slam his lips against yours. It didn't take long for both of you to fall ontop of you're bed while he climbed on top of you, hands wondering up you're hoodie to grope you once again.

You took it upon yourself to pull away from the kiss and yank you're hoodie off you're head.

"You're fucking stunning always have been" he whispered before his hands moved to try unclip the straps of you're bra and pull it off you revealing you're bare breasts to him.

He stared almost in a trance, he wasn't going to lie. he had definitely seen your boobs before during the many times he'd spy on you change but having them up close was something completely different.

His hands moved to play with your nipples making a small moan slip from your lips, he smiled in response pleased with himself.

"I knew you'd be sensitive" before you could say anything he latched onto one of your breasts and began to softly nibble at your soft flesh making you squirm underneath him.

"I uh- I should tell you something" you quickly cut him off making him look up and turn his head up at you.

"I've never done anything like this before" You finally spat it out making his smile only grow more.

Not only was he getting to sleep with the girl of his dreams but he got the pleasure of being her very first. "You're still a virgin?" He questioned and you simply nodding back shyly.

"That's ok don't worry I'll make it good for you" he leaned in and kissed your cheek before discarding his own shirt to the side.

Aegon wasn't the most well built, he didn't have abs in fact he actually had a small bit of a tummy on him. You didn't mind of course, you found every inch of him to be perfect.

You moved your hands to the buttons of your jeans and began pulling them down a delighted look on Aegon's face as he did the same to himself. Before long you were both in your underwear, aegon kissing down your neck leaving small marks as he went along. "People will see those" you whined. 

"That's the plan doll" his hands wondering up you're thighs to the waistband of your panties tugging at them before he slipped a finger inside and began running his finger along you're slit.

"You're so wet" aegon whispered in your ear before slipping a finger inside of you.

You whimpered a bit as he began slowly moving his finger in and out of you and once he felt you were ready he added in a second, thrusting his fingers deep inside you're tight wet cunt.

"Aegon please" you moaned his name Sounding like a angel to him, an angel he could not wait to corrupt.

You arched your back feeling his fingers hit a sensitive spot inside you. "Gonna cum for me baby? You can do it be a good girl and spill yourself on my hand"

You nodded in response the feeling of your peak rising quicker and quicker. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders hiding your head in his chest as you came moaning out against him.

You panted softly coming down from your high as he pulled his fingers back and yanked off your panties finally. Next he pulled down his own boxers revealing his leaking throbbing cock.

"I don't think I've ever been this hard" he gasped as he began slightly stroking himself spreading his precum to lube up his cock. you were a bit worried seeing his size, he definitely was bigger than you expected.

Aegon grabbed your legs opening them up before lining himself up with your slit.

"Be gentle please" you asked making him plant a soft kiss on your lips. "Tell me if it hurts" he replied before he began pushing the tip of his cock inside earning a small gasp from you.

He pushed inside inch by inch until he was fully inside, bottoming out on top you as small moans of his own slipped out. "So good baby- so tight so perfect" he panted a bit feeling you squeeze tight around him.

"So big" you whined as aegon kissed down your neck again, in an attempt to Soothe you're discomfort.

He couldn't remember a time he'd ever been so caring and affectionate with a girl, no that was just you. You did something to him. Something that he just couldn't understand. An overwhelming need to protect you and keep you close

He made sure to wait a minute before beginning to thrust himself, moving his hand to play with your clit in another attempt to help take away your pain. You clung onto him as he picked pace, getting faster and faster.

He knew he said he'd be gentle but you were so damn irresistible he couldn't stop his instincts to just ravage you like a dog in heat. Soon the pain left little by little and it was replaced with pleasure.

The mixed sounds of both of your whimpers and moans filling your dorm room. "So beautiful baby" aegon whispered between his small pants and moans in you're ear "Everything I've always dreamed of- fuck- I need you I need you" his hands grabbed your hips slamming you further down onto him.

"I want you so bad- be mine please baby say you'll be mine" he was a mess he knew he was but so were you. "I'm yours aegon im all yours-" you quickly choked out. The Small tears in you're eyes driving him crazy.

Those words alone were all aegon needed to finally reach his peak, being so caught up in the moment he hadn't even bothered to ask if you were on the pill before spilling every drop of his seed deep inside of you. He continued to hold you a part of him worried if he let go you'd leave again.

"All mine" he kissed your cheek softly still attempting to catch his breath "all yours" you smiled at him, That same smile that he had loved for years now, the same smile he promised he'd never let go of again

[tevanbegins]

~So my ultra-futuristic, utopian endgame vision for Tevan led to this fic (This is officially the second fic I wrote, but the first one I am posting anywhere.) Hope you enjoy, please comment and RB if you like!~

Math Troubles

Summary: On his day off, Buck steps in to help out his and Tommy's teenage daughter with her math assignment, while Tommy is out on duty. Unfortunately, Buck turns out to be more trouble than help, and Tommy has to intervene over the phone.

----

"Dad," Spencer sighed in utter exasperation. "I think your help is taking me longer to do my math homework than if I were to do it on my own!"

"But sweetheart, it's taking longer because you aren't following the exact steps I'm showing you," Buck said adamantly, refusing to admit defeat. The father-daughter pair was sitting on the bed in Spencer's room, with the thirteen-year-old's books and stationery items scattered all around them.

"No. I'm calling Papa right now. Only he can save me from this--- this situation," insisted Spencer. She promptly video-called Tommy despite Buck's protests, desperately hoping he would answer. Meanwhile, Buck ruffled the pages of her Geometry textbook in search of some solid proof to back up his argument. Luckily for Spencer, Tommy's warm and scrunchy smile beamed through her phone's screen in a few seconds. "Hey Spence, my love. What's up?" he asked her.

"When are you going to be home, Papa? I need your help with my math homework, especially with this geometry assignment," Spencer replied, a pleading expression on her face.

"Sorry darling. My shift is on for another six hours at least, so I won't be home until later in the evening. I thought Dad was going to help you out since he is off-duty today?" Tommy enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"There. Thank you, Tommy!" Buck interrupted the conversation, rotating the phone in Spencer's hand horizontally so that Tommy could see them both. "That is exactly what I am doing, but our stubborn daughter refuses to solve the math problems per my methods. She says only you can save her from this situation, because apparently I can't. How humiliating is that!" Buck complained.

"I understand, Evan," Tommy gave Buck a mock-apologetic cluck, trying hard to stifle his laugh. He was well aware that math proficiency was his husband's biggest weak point-turned-self-esteem issue.

"C'mon Dad, you're just over-reacting," Spencer rolled her eyes at Buck. "I love you, but you need to accept that you are terrible at math!" she tried to soothe the burn with an extra sweet smile.

Tommy burst out laughing at Spencer's remark, but immediately pursed his lips when Buck shot him an angry look through the screen.

"No, I'm not!" Buck retorted, turning his attention away from the phone towards their daughter. "Spence. I agree I wasn't always the greatest at the subject, but haven't I told you the story of how I became a mathematical genius after getting struck by lightning?"

"Yes Dad, you have, about a million times. I know that legend by heart, but the genius part is hard to believe when you keep asking me to use the Pythagoras theorem on an oblique triangle!" Spencer justified her stance.

"Well, you won't even try using it before shooting me down like that!" Buck groaned. At that, Tommy felt an instant need to intervene before this Buckley-Kinard family conversation took a more hilarious turn, else his coworkers at the station would think he was going crazy from how hard he was laughing.

"Evan, my sweet, sweet husband," Tommy let out a deep sigh, still unable to get over how adorable, dorky, stubborn, and unintentionally funny Buck could be even after fifteen years of marriage. "You cannot use the Pythagoras theorem on an oblique triangle. It is simply not possible. You know why? Because it doesn't have any damn right angle in it!" he tried to reason.

"What now? The theorem doesn't apply to non-right angled triangles?" Buck gasped in shock.

"You see? Papa knows!" Spencer gave Tommy a thumbs up and a wide victory grin. "That's why I said only he can save me in this situation!" she said, looking at Buck. "Because your knowledge of basic geometric concepts itself seems questionable to me, sorry not sorry, Dad!"

"So you think your Papa is better than me at math? In spite of my lightning-induced mathematical super-abilities? Well, he can't be any better at math than I am!" Buck declared obstinately.

"Hey! Now that's a controversial thing to say. I'm a formally-licensed pilot — it's literally a prerequisite for my job to have good math skills!" Tommy cut in. "Have you maybe considered that your lightning thing was a limited-period offer from the Gods? I mean, poor Pythagoras must be rolling in his grave right now because of you, Evan," Tommy sniggered.

"What a snob!" Buck cried, looking flushed with embarrassment. "Remember, you won't be able to hide behind the phone screen when you face me at home tonight, Tommy!" he added in a stern voice, and then dramatically moved out of the view of the front camera lens.

"Spence darling, what trouble have you got me into with your Dad? I'm going to have to stop at a florist's shop on the way back home now," Tommy exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Tell him that only flowers is not going to cut it. He needs to get a big box of chocolates too, or else he won't be allowed into the house tonight," Buck nudged Spencer to convey the message, but Tommy had heard it loud and clear.

"Yes Evan. Flowers and chocolates it is!" Tommy responded, hiding a chuckle. "Well, I am going to hang up now. Before I can say anything more to piss him off," Tommy whispered to Spencer and winked. "Bye darling, see you later!"

"B-bye Papa, love you!" Spencer blew Tommy a kiss and then put her phone away after the call ended. Looking at Buck's expression, she snorted and got into a wild fit of laughter, so much that her belly hurt. And despite his pseudo-attempts at pretending to be upset over this roast session of his math skills, Buck burst out laughing too, alongside his daughter.

Good at math or not, Spencer knew she had the sweetest, funniest, and the most loving dads in the whole wide world, and she was the luckiest girl ever to have them both.

------

[hurtspideyparker]

Hi, if it’s not too much trouble could you please share some songs you think are Peter Parker coded? No pressure of course, thank you

HOW DID U KNOW I MADE A PETER PARKER PLAYLIST LITERALLY THIS WEEK?

I'll give out the link, it's based on MCU Peter and is vaguely chronological. Heavy on the angst soz. Also I don't have a super broad or unique music taste but I tried my best !

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IeIl3Kj7L1hFoyyTIR21P?si=PkQ3NKseS0eL-sVyUFI5qA

Some specific thoughts on each song and how they relate to Peter if interested:

Boys Will Be Bugs by Cavetown - civil war Peter. just a crazy little guy, absolutely bonkers baby boy kicking super soldier ass.

all-american bitch by Olivia Rodrigo - homecoming Peter expected to be this tidy neighborhood hero for Tony but he's young and stupid and eager for action.

tolerate it by Taylor Swift - Homecoming Tony and Peter. Peter idolizing Tony and doing everything he can to prove himself and catch his mentor's attention, while Tony barely pays attention to him. "You're so much older and wiser and I, wait by the door like I'm just a kid" "I made you my temple, my mural my sky, now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life".

Reflections by The Neighborhood - same theme as tolerate it. "tried to put it out for you to get, could've should've but you never did" - Peter trying to warn Tony about what's going on but Tony not listening. Bonus "I see my reflection in your eyes" (I just wanted to be like you!).

Rose-Colored Boy by Paramore - Peter being this young optimistic hero, slowly losing that spark.

clementine by Halsey - general childish, stubborn Peter attitude. "I don't need anyone! I don't need anyone! I just need everyone and then some."

brutal by Olivia Rodrigo - Peter trying his best and losing so much of his normal teenage life to be the hero everyone demands, but he's never good enough.

All These Things That I've Done by The Killers - Peter coming to terms with the chaos and danger he causes others, begging for a mentor or a helping hand because he's in way over his head. "yeah you know you gotta help me out, oh don't you put me on the back burner" is so Tony coded in Homecoming. "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" Peter has heart but he's only a hero by chance, he didn't ask for the fight.

this is me trying by Taylor Swift - Far From Home Peter reliving all his mistakes and thinking of the people he's nearly gotten killed, Fury berating him, telling Happy how he messed up. Him thinking about Tony a lot, and how he's failing to be the next Iron Man.

Gold Rush by Taylor Swift - this just makes me think about how enamouring and beautiful Peter is.

Social Cues by Cage The Elephant - Far From Home Peter. Literally that scene where Peter gets overwhelmed by the reporters, pressured and frazzled by the expectations of being the new biggest hero. Shy little guy in his Iron Spider suit.

Idle Worship by Paramore - Fury and so many others expecting the world of Peter when he's still just a kid who's expertise is stopping bike thiefs and helping elders cross the street. They set him so high on this pedestal that when he falls the impact will be so much harder.

The Kids Are All Dying by FINNEAS - Everyone turning against Peter because of Mysterio's lies. Peter frustrated they're so focused on him, just a kid who's trying to do good, that they're blind to the real problems. Everyone is so gullible and maybe Peter is second guessing being a hero considering how angry everyone is at him for it.

Figure 8 by Paramore - "all for your sake, became the very thing that I hate, I lost my way" this song is Peter's frustration at Mysterio and shield in general, how they took him and forced him to be someone he wasn't and how it backfired "I was only being kind but you mistook me for weak" Peter is far more trusting and forgiving than most, but once he's mad... his true strength shows.

Would've, Could've, Should've by Taylor Swift - Peter regretting trusting Beck. "If I was a child did it matter, if you got to wash your hands" Beck doesn't care that Peter is an innocent kid in this, only cares about his goal and hatred for Tony. "but lord you made me feel important, and then you tried to erase us" Beck made him feel seen and special in a time where no one else was (Peter had low self esteem and was easy to manipulate).

Why by Derivakat - another Beck and Peter angst theme (Mysterio is my fave villain sorry lol) "look at what you've done, is this what you call glory? do you still believe you're the hero of your story?" Beck has caused so much suffering just because of his grudge against a dead man. "you act like a judge enforcing your personal grudge. am I to pay for this war you've raised?" Beck admits that Peter is an innocent chest pawn in all this, and still Peter ends up losing the most.

Daylight by Taylor Swift - Peter and MJ anthem 🥺 finally seeing the great thing that has been right in front of him all along. Also- "I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked" hurting his friends because he trusted Mysterio. "Clearing the air I breathed in the smoke" Peter clearing his name from what Beck did to protect his friends, but he ended up poisoning himself (No Way Home ending).

because i liked a boy by Sabrina Carpenter - all because Peter trusted Beck he nearly destroyed the planet and then he lost everyone he loves. "now I'm a homewrecker I'm a slut, I got death threats filling up semi trucks. tell who I am, guess I don't have a choice. All because I liked a boy" change homewrecker and slut into menace and murderer and it's just like what the media is saying, sending Spider-Man constant hate and telling him who he is, and all is happening because Peter trusted Beck and gave him the power of EDITH.

What I'm Becoming by Cage The Elephant - Peter and May :(. "I'm so sorry honey, for what I'm becoming. Everything you wanted, seems so far from me. never meant to hurt you no, never meant to make you cry" May wanted Peter to be selfless and kind, to vouch for second chances even for criminals and villains. Now Peter is the one trying to take Green Goblin's life because he got May killed, and deep down he knows May would be disappointed.

my tears ricochet by Taylor Swift - No Way Home final battle and saying goodbyes. "you wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me... cause when I'd fight you used to tell me I was brave, and if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake. cursing my name, wishing I stayed, look at how my tears ricochet" MJ still wearing the necklace after forgetting. Desperate and making Peter promise he'll get her to remember, sharing tears. They're all haunted by someone they used to know. "I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want just not home" is of course Peter being a free man but at the cost of losing everything he called home.

R.I.P. 2 My Youth by The Neighborhood - basically Peter losing all of his mentor's and support system, leaving school and getting a place of his own - the end to his youth. He steps fully into his role as Spider-Man and with it Peter Parker, the sweet naive kid he was, has died.

Making the Bed by Olivia Rodrigo - "push away all the people who know me the best, but it's me who's been making the bed". Even though it was Peter's decision to erase his name and protect the people he cared about, he hates going back to that dingey apartment all alone each day. "another thing I ruined, I used to do for fun" is about how bittersweet being Spidey is now.

Cigarette Daydreams by Cage The Elephant - "cigarette daydream, you were only seventeen. So sweet with a mean streak" this song's vibes are sweet boy beaten down, still trying to remain gentle in the face of violence :( Peter looking for reasons to remain good while everything crumbles around him.

Your Best American Girl by Mitski - "you have so much to do, but I have nothing head of me" Peter to his friends. He knew being Spider-Man he'd never have a normal life, so he decided to let them go instead of dragging them down with him. "you're the one, you're all I ever wanted I think I'll regret this" is Peter in that coffee shop making the final decision to leave them.

Happy Now? by FINNEAS - Peter's journey as Spider-Man, a post No Way Home Peter reminiscing about his career. I love the line "always such an anxious child, never wild, always worrying". Makes me think about homecoming Peter and how he was giving up all his clubs and time with his friends to be a superhero just because he felt a responsibility (civil war Peter telling Tony why he does this speech).

The Plan (Fuck Jobs) by The Front Bottoms - sardonic Peter, bitter and sarcastic post No Way Home. Him vs. the daily bugle, a broke and mentally unstable young adult. Comic Peter vibes.

Ya'burnee by Halsey - Peter thinking about MJ and how badly he wants to confess to her again who he is and why he loves her. They had so little time to be a couple together, immediately sweeped into a media circus and having their lives endangered time and time again. This song is just a Peter Parker open heart surgery.

I miss you, I'm sorry by Gracie Abrams - bittersweet anthem to Peter MJ and Ned ending their friendship. "nothing happened in the way I wanted... I don't want go think I'll make it worse, everything I know brings me back to us" :(

Matilda by Harry Styles - "you talk of the pain like it's all alright, but I know that you feel like a piece of you's dead inside" Peter is such an optimist. He left that coffee shop with a smile for his friends getting into MIT, but he doesn't allow himself to feel grief for that life he was supposed to have too. I think he deserves to feel his sadness and understand it wasn't his fault, that nothing is wrong with him. "you don't have to be sorry for leaving and growing up/for doing it on your own" I hope he doesn't regret his choices, and that things will get better for him.

[teaberrii]

Chapter 8: Late Night Talk

You and Dan Heng are a match made in heaven until fate takes him away from you too soon. Years later, you think you moved on with a mutual friend who shared your grief and stuck with you during tough times until you meet a mysterious man with a striking resemblance to your past lover and a hidden motive. You’re determined to get rid of him, but how are you going to get rid of a god?

Dan Feng/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail crossover

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

Support my writing

Dan Feng was heading toward the military training grounds when he caught his best friend standing outside the chamber belonging to a general. Her back faced the wall, and when Dan Feng got closer, he heard faint conversations from the room. When he said her name, she immediately turned to him, and that was when he saw how pale she looked.

“Are you looking for Dan Heng?” he asked.

It was the only logical reason why she would've wandered here as Dan Heng spent much of his time training with the growing military. By now, Dan Feng and Dan Heng had known her for years as her father had become a trusted friend and was still their calligraphy teacher.

“Dan Feng…! I—”

The door slid open, interrupting her. A tall, muscular man shot the girl a disapproving look.

“Who are you?” he sternly asked. “What are you doing here?”

"I-I'm sorry! I—"

Dan Feng calmly walked up beside her. “She was looking for my brother.”

"She shouldn't be here," the man said, frowning. "You know that, Dan Feng."

"I came here on my own," the girl said quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble."

Dan Feng took her hand. "I'll keep an eye on her." Then, he led her elsewhere  before the man could ask more questions.

You followed them until you heard another man quietly asked:

“Do you think she overheard us?” You turned back and saw two men. The one who had asked the question stood just behind the muscular man. “It’d be a problem if she did.”

“We’ll deal with her later.”

Deal with her later? What was that supposed to mean? But, you didn’t dwell on the thought as you hurried to catch up with her and Dan Feng.

Once they were a distance away, she quietly said:

“I wasn’t looking for Dan Heng.” Their eyes met. “I was looking for you. The maids said you were at the library, but I didn’t see you there. So, I thought you might’ve been at the training grounds.”

“You just missed me,” Dan Feng said, not fully understanding why he was strangely happy she was looking for him and not his brother. But then, his rationality kicked in. “Why would you take the long way?”

“Oh… That’s…”

Her mouth was moving, but you couldn’t hear anything, despite standing a short distance away. Dan Feng, however, didn’t seem to question anything further. Yet, you saw how he looked at her with warmth and care. It was a gaze that reminded you of a budding, pure adolescent love.

Suddenly, another strong wind nearly knocked you off your feet. Your arms were over your face, and when the wind subsided, you slowly put them down and found that woman standing in front of you.

Okay. This wasn’t creepy at all.

You looked around. Where did Dan Feng go?

“I didn’t mean it,” you suddenly heard her say, and your attention returned to her. “Please… Tell him I didn’t mean it.”

Your eyes fly open, and you immediately sit up, greeted by the shadows on the walls and the soft rain hitting the window. Another dream. That much is obvious. But, why does it feel you’re somehow getting involved? Does that make sense? Are you losing it? Why are you having these weird dreams in the first place?

You think of Dan Feng.

It’s not strange to dream about people you know or have seen. It is, however, strange that you’re seeing Dan Feng and Dan Heng as kids… and now you’re seeing Dan Feng as a teenager when you’ve never met him back then. But the biggest mystery is…

Who in the world is this girl?

Suddenly, it hits you. Are you dreaming about the woman Dan Feng is in love with? Was in love with? Earlier at the elevators, you and Dan Feng are interrupted by tourists. Yet, just before that, you still learn what the woman looks like, and it's eerie that she fits the description of the girl in your dream.

You grab your phone off the nightstand. Before you know it, you have the texts between you and Dan Feng open on your screen. What? Are you going to text him?

Hey, I just had another dream about you and that girl. 

You delete it shortly after writing it. Then, you turn your phone face down on the bed while slightly shaking your head. You remember the curiosity in his eyes when you first mentioned your dream, and his words come back to haunt you.

“Did it mean something? Trigger something?”

Trigger… what? The only thing you can see it triggering is a creepy time progression. You’re thinking about whether or not to mention this dream to him when your phone buzzes.

Are we sending good morning texts to each other now?

You’re confused at the weird text from Dan Feng until you see that you accidentally sent him a heart emoji when you put your phone face down on the bed. 

That was an accident.

You’re biting your bottom lip upon seeing those terrifying three dots that mean someone is typing something.

I’ll take your word for it.

You almost sigh out of relief, feeling glad he won't go on about how ridiculous that excuse sounds. Heck. You probably won’t believe it if someone said that to you.

But you were thinking about me.

Your hands, still holding your phone, fall onto the bed. Unbeknownst to you, your cheeks are a little red. Your phone buzzes again.

What’s keeping you awake? I’m all ears.

Should you tell him about your dream? Maybe not seeing his face will make it a little easier…?

I had another dream.

You quickly put your phone down, remembering to shut off the screen before you do in case of another accidental heart emoji. Your phone buzzes faster than you anticipated.

Do you want to talk about it?

Perhaps now is a good time to continue that conversation about Dan Feng’s mysterious lover.

Yes.

“Are you normally up this early?” he asks as soon as the line goes through. 

"Early or late?" you deadpan. “Trust me, I wish I wasn’t." Your head hits the pillow. “I… didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Interrupted a bathroom break, but I’ll live.”

You lie back down on the bed. “Could you tell me more about that woman?”

“You dreamt about her?”

“Yeah… and you were there, too.”

“And what about Dan Heng?”

“He wasn’t there this time,” you say quietly. “It was mostly just the two of you in addition to two guards? I think they were guards, and…”

As Dan Feng listens to you, the more awake he becomes. He remembers this. Vividly.

“I thought I might bump into you along the way,” she said in response to Dan Feng’s question about why she took the long way instead. “I wasn’t sure if you'd be at the training grounds after all.”

“Well, you found me,” Dan Feng said, noticing a small leaf that was in her hair. He reached toward her but stopped just before touching her. “You have something in your hair.”

“Oh, do I?” She tried to get rid of it herself, and Dan Feng chuckled as her efforts were futile. “Is it gone?”

He took her hand, guided it toward the leaf, and gently swiped the leaf away.

“Now it is.” He let her go. “So, why were you looking for me?”

“I need a model.”

“A model?”

She nodded. “For one of my designs. Dan Heng already agreed to model for one of them, and—”

“You already asked my brother?”

It shouldn’t bother him. So, why did it?

“I’m creating two designs,” she said, a little blush spreading across her cheeks. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have the, um, right figure that will work well with the clothes. Dan Heng’s a little different, so he’d look better with the other clothes I’m designing.”

Ah. So, it was about finding the right model.

“Sure. I’d be happy to.”

“Really?”

Dan Feng scoffed. “No, silly. I lied. You can ask Dan Heng.” She gave him a deadpan look, and he smiled. “Of course.”

“And then she appeared in front of me,” you say, dragging Dan Feng back to the present.

“Appeared in front of you?” 

You sigh. “Look, I’m not crazy.”

“I never said you were.” You hear something that sounds like he’s sitting upright on the bed. “This woman… We’ve known each other since we were kids. Just like you and Dan Heng.”

“Sounds like a childhood love story.”

Just like you and Dan Heng.

“Not exactly,” Dan Feng says after a short pause. “She chose my brother… over me.”

How… What are you supposed to say to that?

“But, in the end, they both passed,” he says after a short pause.

Your eyes widen. “Oh… I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“The fact that you’re dreaming about her… It’s fascinating, honestly.”

“You asked me before if my dream triggered something,” you say. “It sounded like you had something in mind.”

Again, you hear something shift.

“Sometimes, our dreams and memories are connected. I was entertaining the possibility that you were dreaming about something that happened to you.”

You quietly scoff. “Well, okay. I can buy the whole ‘our dreams and memories being connected’, but"—you roll onto your other side—"I think it’s established that the woman I’m dreaming about is not me.”

“Here’s a question. Do you believe in reincarnation?”

“Are you… Are you really trying to have a philosophical conversation with me at like four in the morning?”

A soft chuckle. “It’s the perfect hour for unhinged thoughts.”

“Well, please. By all means.”

“I believe in it," Dan Feng says.

“Any reason why?”

Not that he’s seen it or anything…

“It gives you hope, does it not?”

“Does it?” you mutter, sitting up and leaning against the bedframe. “I don’t know… If it were me, I probably wouldn’t want to come back. Not as a human, at least.”

“Then, what would you like to be?”

“A swan,” you say after a pause.

Unbeknownst to you, your answer surprises him as that isn’t the answer she once gave him.

“Not as unhinged as I thought.”

You chuckle. “You think? Well, what about you?”

“I wouldn’t,” he answers calmly.

“You… wouldn’t?”

“I wouldn’t want to reincarnate.”

“I can see that,” you say after a short silence.

Again, your answer surprises him.

“Going back to your dream…” Dan Feng says. “After she appeared in front of you, did she say anything?”

“Oh, now you’re curious?” you tease. “Um, well… She said she didn’t mean it. To tell ‘him’ that she didn’t mean it. I... Maybe she's talking about you."

Back in Dan Feng’s room, he’s gripping his phone tightly.

“That’s it?” he finally asks.

“That’s it.” Then, after a short pause, you say, “I can’t help but think it has something to do with what that guard said. They’ll deal with her later? Scared that she overheard them? I…” You take a small breath. “I don’t know. It makes me wonder what she overheard.”

“I wonder if you’ll dream about that next,” he finally says.

“I’d rather not,” you mutter. “This is too creepy for me.”

“Too creepy that you can’t sleep even though you got it off your chest?”

“Um, yeah, a little,” you say, sounding like you’re stating the obvious. “I’m dreaming about you and… a woman from your past in some kind of weird alternate reality? Yeah, I can definitely fall asleep after that.”

“Then, why don’t I tell you a story?”

“A story?” you ask. Then, skeptically, “And how good are your storytelling skills?”

“I'll let you be the judge.”

You start making yourself comfortable. “Someone sounds confident.”

“So, are you ready to hear a little about magic?”

Little do you know that he’s about to tell you more about his past life with slight changes to the names.

It was a quiet and cloudy late afternoon. The ground was damp with small puddles scattered around the palace courtyard from the light rain this morning. Everything was as it always was. Quiet. Peaceful. Calm. But that wouldn’t be the case if some people knew what Dan Feng was up to…

“My, you learn fast.” A middle-aged scholar, who was also Dan Feng and Dan Heng’s teacher, was watching the elder brother effortlessly making a feather float at just seven years old. “You and your brother are talented indeed.”

“This is too easy,” Dan Feng said, controlling the feather with his hand and then allowing it to fall gracefully onto the wooden table. “Surely, there’s more to magic than making something float.”

“I know how overly ambitious you are, but you’re already doing magnificently well for your age. And, don’t forget, there are limits to magic.”

“Like what?”

“The more advanced, the more it can take a toll on your body,” the man answered. “There are also a lot of unknowns right now, so we have to proceed with caution.”

“But… You know what else it can do, right?” The old man regarded him with a look that said he wasn’t naive. “I can keep a secret. It’s not like you’re teaching me anything dangerous.”

“I’m not afraid you’ll tell other people,” he said calmly. “I’m afraid you’ll go off and try it yourself. Worse if you drag your brother into it.”

Dan Feng rolled his eyes. “You worry too much.”

“Do I?”

“It’s worse if you don’t tell me,” Dan Feng argued. He put his elbows on the table. “Can we teleport? Or… Make things appear out of thin air?”

Suddenly, the door slid open, and Dan Feng’s mother walked in. Her eyes were sharp, and she regarded the scholar with a look of disapproval.

“This isn’t what you were supposed to be teaching him.”

“It’s not his fault,” Dan Feng said. “We finished our lesson, and I wanted to learn.”

“Magic isn’t something you’re supposed to dabble in. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s just a simple spell.”

His mother sighed. “I should’ve known you’d find other ways to get what you want.” Dan Feng smiled proudly. Then, she nodded at the door. “I’d like to have a word with him in private.”

“He’s not in trouble, is he?” Dan Feng asked, looking from his mother to his teacher.

“No.”

However, Dan Feng didn’t leave right away after stepping out of the room and sliding the door shut.

“I’ve received word that Penacony is developing something big using magic that’s beyond our imagination,” he heard his mother say.

Penacony…? That was the nation on the other side of the ocean of Xianzhou.

“Yes, I’ve read about it," the scholar said. "It’s… a little concerning how much they know.”

Dan Feng slightly turned his head toward the door.

“They’re progressing too fast. We need to start moving faster if we want to remain competitive as a magically advanced nation.”

“I do not want to assume the worst, but it makes me wonder where they’re getting all of this information from. We’ve already restricted their informational resources and supplies to continue testing certain types of magic.”

“Yes… I have my suspicions, and—”

“Brother?” Dan Feng spun around and saw Dan Heng with his hands behind his back. “What are—”

Dan Feng had put his hand over his brother’s mouth and quickly dragged him away before the door slid open.

By the time you open your eyes the next morning, you almost jump out of bed. You slept straight through breakfast, but at least you still have an hour before you have to check out. You just finished your daily morning routine when a knock comes at the door. They can’t be kicking you out already, can they?

But as soon as you open it, you’re surprised to see Dan Feng, and he’s holding some food in a brown paper bag with the logo of the coffee shop close by.

“Before you ask… I almost slept through breakfast,” Dan Feng says. “Got there at nearly the last minute, and I asked if you had already come down. After checking their records, they said no.”

“So… You went through all the trouble to buy me breakfast?” you ask skeptically. “It isn’t poisoned, is it?”

Dan Feng scoffs with a small smile. “It is partly my fault you stayed up so late.”

You take your breakfast from him and let him inside.

“I blame you for leaving it on a cliffhanger,” you say, opening the bag and seeing a medium-sized coffee and a hearty sandwich with a cute pudding cup for dessert.

"At least you fell asleep." You walk past him, sipping your coffee and putting your breakfast on the small counter as he pulls out his phone and leans against the counter. “Bailu keeps asking me if we’re coming together.”

“Why?”

“I guess she misses you, but she’s too embarrassed to say so.”

“Well, why not?” you ask, reaching for your wallet. “Split the cost.”

You hand him money to pay him back for your breakfast, but he just looks at it. You gesture for him to take it, but he asks:

“Did I ask you to pay me back?”

“Well, no… but—”

“Keep it,” Dan Feng says.

You slightly narrow your eyes. “You’re not going to ask for another tour around the city, are you?”

“It’s on me.” He pushes himself off the small counter and walks until he’s in front of you. “The next time we go out, it won’t be because of anyone owing the other anything.”

You aren’t sure why, but you can’t hold his stare. “Sure. Sounds good to me.”

You can still feel him staring at you when you hear him chuckle.

“I’ll let you finish packing,” he says, walking towards the door as your phone suddenly buzzes. “And I’ll call for a cab.”

“Wait.” Dan Feng turns around, but you’re looking at your phone. “Looks like we may know the identity of the creative director I’m meeting.”

Dan Feng walks over until he’s beside you. You slightly lean in his direction to show him a message from your boss that your meeting with Arashi, the creative director, is confirmed for next week. There’s also an address to the office you’re supposed to meet at.

"I found it surprising I couldn't find anything about him online," you say.

“Regardless, it's not a very good cover-up."

“You think it’s one of those people Zhongli and Neuvilette looking for?”

“I don’t think it’s one of them.” He looks at you. “I know.”

It’s then you realize how close you two are. Your heart unexpectedly hammers in your chest; your breath gets caught in your throat, and your face begins to warm until you look away.

“It’s because of the character of his name, right?” you ask.

“Oh? Have you studied kanji before?”

“My father was a language professor. So, he taught me growing up.” You can tell that Dan Feng looks intrigued. “ It’s also how I got into Chinese calligraphy.”

“Really? Well, why didn’t you say so?” Dan Feng asks with a little smile.

“You never asked.” He gives you a deadpan look, and you gesture back to your phone. “Let’s not get off topic.”

He leans slightly closer. “You started it.” Then, he walks past you, grabs the small memo pad off the desk, and writes the character for Lan. “This can mean mist or storm, depending on how you read it. And in Japanese—”

“Storm means Arashi.”

“Bingo.”

You exhale softly and sit on the bed. “Let’s not jump to conclusions so quickly. There’s a chance we might not be right. If he is Lan, I’m sure someone like Childe would’ve told him about you and me. So… Why bother hiding his identity this way if he knows we’d figure it out?”

“You’re assuming that they know everything about us.” Dan Feng faces you and leans against the table. “I don’t know how much Tsaritsa and her family know about you, but Lan and Nanook… They know very little about us. Us… being myself and the others you met.”

“Ah… So, he wouldn’t know about your special ability.”

Dan Feng almost chuckles. “Special ability?" That’s a bit of a stretch.”

You shrug. “It’s a skill, at least.”

“How much do Tsaritsa, Carrothead, and the others know about you, anyway?”

“They know a little about my family like how my father is a professor, but if you’re talking about nitty-gritty details like he was a language professor or me knowing kanji, I never mentioned it to them.”

Dan Feng glances at the necklace around your neck.

“Did Dan Heng ever tell them?”

“He never told me he did. They also don’t strike me as people who’d be interested in that. Frankly”—you frown—”they saw me as someone dating him just for his money.”

“And now all that money is in the hands of people who never should’ve gotten it to begin with,” Dan Feng says, walking towards you. “Perhaps you got lucky that you didn’t marry into a terrifying family. They would’ve come after you next if you weren’t on that plane.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” you mutter, standing.

You’re about to walk past him when he says:

“I’d like to believe there’s a reason for everything.” You glance at him. Is he going to say what you think he’s going to say? Dan Feng turns his head towards you. “Without meeting us, you’d never find out the truth. You’d never be able to move on.”

You turn to him, but the hotel phone interrupts you before you can get a word out.

◆◆◆

You and Dan Feng haven’t spoken much since that little conversation in your hotel room. Yet, here you are, sitting next to him in the taxi as it weaves through the city. You’re sitting on one end and him on the other. The taxi driver looks into the rearview mirror.

“It’s no good for a beautiful young couple to be giving each other the cold shoulder," the driver says, catching you and Dan Feng off guard. "Nothing is healthier than communication!"

You aren’t sure whether to find it endearing or awkward that a taxi driver is giving you advice on romance.

“We’re not a couple, actually.”

“Oh! You aren’t? I’m sorry! It’s just… the vibe you two give off reminds me of when my wife and I would fight sometimes.”

“We aren’t fighting.”

You and Dan Feng look at each other, taken aback by the calm synchronicity.

Once again, the taxi driver looks from you to Dan Feng and back onto the road. “Noted." He smiles. "Not fighting.”

The taxi pulls up to a high-rise apartment equipped with an indoor pool, gym, and a large outdoor garden. As soon as you and Dan Feng get out, you hear:

“Oh! They’re here!”

By the time you have your belongings and Dan Feng slams the trunk of the taxi shut, Bailu is already a short distance away with Zhongli and Neuvilette coming behind her. But, they aren’t the only ones there.

March, Stelle, and Caelus are also not far behind. You aren’t surprised as they told you yesterday that they’d come to help you with the move.

“You two got a whole welcome party,” Stelle says, walking up to you.

“Looks like they were telling the truth after all,” Neuvilette says.

“Why would we lie?” Caelus asks.

“Well, at least the staring contest in the lobby was quite entertaining,” Zhongli adds.

March sighs. “I guess I’ll give it to Bailu.”

Caelus nudges her. “You got distracted by the hot—”

“Anyway,” March quickly interrupts as she walks up to help you with your luggage. “No need for introductions. We already know each other.”

Bailu nods. “The cotton candy girlie is right. We overheard them saying Dan Feng's name, so I had to interfere to see what it was all about!"

Neuvilette sighs. "Bailu gave us quite a scare after we saw her talking to random strangers."

“Caelus,” Stelle says, frowning at her brother who’s blatantly staring at Dan Feng. “What are you doing?”

“I just… Wow. He does look exactly like Dan Heng,” Caelus says, intrigued. “It’s kinda scary.”

“Who are you?” Dan Feng asks flatly.

Caelus puts his hands on your shoulders. “Her childhood friend.”

“The four of us grew up together,” you say, “along with Dan Heng.”

“Yeah, but we came into each other’s lives at different times,” March adds. “I didn’t meet them until our early years in college.”

“College is still considered one’s childhood?” Neuvilette asks. “Surely, one must be old enough to handle themselves by then.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” March says, rolling her eyes.

“Anyway,” Dan Feng says, gently pushing you forward, and making Caelus drop his hands from your shoulders. “Let’s go.”

Caelus quickly catches up to you. "We're not getting introductions?"

"Later," is Dan Feng's nonchalant reply.

◆◆◆

A few days later, Lan arrives at the office where a white envelope is waiting for him on the top of his desk. He picks it up and flips it over. No name or address. As soon as he sits down, he calls the front desk.

“Yes?” a woman asks as soon as the line goes through.

“Did you ask someone to deliver something to me this morning?”

“No, sir. No one has been up there. Is something wrong?”

“No,” Lan answers, putting the envelope down. “Don’t worry about it.”

After the call ends, he slowly tears open the envelope and sees just two words written in cursive.

Time’s ticking.

Chapter 9

End notes:

Man, I feel like I'm behind on my updates. This chapter took me longer to write, and I'm not sure why. This felt like a... 'Getting to know each other' chapter plus some more lore. Things will start picking up in the next chapter when you meet Lan, and more hints about our mystery man will be revealed, too. A hint is that it's a man who I never written for before. Idk if that helps since there's a bunch of people who I've yet to write for lmao but this guy hasn't appeared in any of my stories yet.

Also, I noticed a funny typo in one of my earlier chapters where I wrote 'contact' instead of 'contract' lmao. If you spot any typos or odd punctuation, please let me know LOL it's likely an editing blunder that I missed.

Tag list: @lunavixia @sunsethw4 @boomie-123 @aerithsthingss

[romanarose]

Darkness on the Edge of Town: Chapter 1

Joel Miller X Reader

Chapter 2

Masterlist

Summary: While heading home for a mandatory lockdown, Joel stumbles on something he wasn't supposed to see with FEDRA guards and steps in. This, unfortunately, lands with him spending unexpected time with a young woman. Oh, and there's only one bed.

warnings!: attempted gang rape, physical hard with a gun, mentions of blood, canon typical violence, lmk if I missed anything! EVENTUAL SMUT

A/N: This was supposed to be a one shot. Now I'm not sure how many chapters we're looking at. Three minimum. Also, I KNOOOOWWWWW this follows the biggest Romana trope: Protective! Man protecting a woman. I will not apologize.

EDIT: This was originally posted as an OC fic, because I had bigger plans for it, but I honestly lost a lot of steam on it. I was going to give up on it tbh but someone sent an ask asking about a chapter 2, and I hate to disappoint! So I'll be condencing the story and making it a reader fic. hoping you guys like it! ****************************

As the sun was setting, Joel walked to his home, trying to savor the last of the outside he’ll have for the next couple days. The local government had made a mandatory few day quarantine for no discernible reason other than to exercise control, remind the citizens who was in charge. A week, give or take, without work wouldn’t be great by any means, but Joel and Tess at least had a partnership, so they weren’t completely on their own. This week, however, Tess was gone. She was making a trade with Bill and Frank when the lockdown announcement came out, and Joel had to radio over for her to stay there until it ended. This meant that he had a week alone in his tiny apartment room without Tess knocking on his door for one reason or another.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” A woman shouted from the alley he was passing.

Joel’s survival instincts said to keep walking; wasn’t his business, wasn’t his problem, wasn’t him or Tess or any of their allies. He didn’t need to get involved. But Joel knew right from wrong, and as much as he liked to pretend to himself he wasn’t a good person, that he wasn’t the same person he was before Sarah died, he couldn’t keep walking. Plus, Tess would kill him if she knew he walked away from this. Turning down the alley, he saw you being pushed and pulled by some soldiers; all men. One pulled you by the shirt so you were flush against him, and you shoved him off yourself, making the young man hit the alley wall. This action earned you a pistol whip, causing blood to come out of you forehead as you cried out, stumbling backwards into the arms of another man, and Joel couldn’t stand back any longer.

“Hey!” He shouted, striding further into the alley. One of the soldiers grabbed your arm, keeping her to him and away from Joel. “What’s goin’ on here?” He said, eyeing the men. He was more or less familiar with them, some he knew their names, some he didn’t but recognized their faces.

One man he had dealt with, a trouble maker who liked to use his power to his benefit and was surround by rumors of his treatment of women. Nothing could be proven, and no real accusations were made; they wouldn’t go anywhere if there had been. His name was Ross, a younger man than Joel was by a few decades, one of those who had been teenagers when shit went south. That age had been terrible in the ‘before’, a time of confusion and soul searching for anyone, and all that had been interrupted by losing everything. This created a lot of inner turmoil that never settled for most. Some killed themselves, some managed it, some became god awful people.

Ross spoke, eyeing Joel with a smirk. “Curfew, Joel, you know the rules.”

“She’s still got ten minutes.” Joel spoke firmly, his stare intense on the younger man, letting him know he wasn’t backing down. His eyes connected with yours. Joel wasn’t an idiot, he knew there were different dangers in this world for women, something he’d likely never have to worry about outside of concern for Tess.

Not phased by Joel the way many others were, Ross continued his hold. “She lives on the other side of town, she’s not getting there on time. But don’t worry” He laughed lightly. “We’ll escort her”

If Joel wasn’t certain what they were planning, the way they laughed and smiled at each other told him. With a grunt, you kick your leg hard against his shin repeatedly, causing him to shout and push you off of him to stop the assault on his leg. Joel took the opportunity, grabbing your dirty shirt and yanking you back behind him. Surprisingly, you smack his arm in return. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

“I’m trying to help you” Joel grumbled to you.

“I don’t need it” But none the less you stood behind his broad body.

Ross was less pleased now. “Lockdown is in 5 minutes, how you gonna get her home before then, Joel?”

Joel hesitated. This was the last thing he wanted this week, a week where he had an excuse to stay home, be alone and wallow in his own misery, but there was no way he could live with himself if he just left you. “She’ll come with me”

Ross eyed him, obviously irritated that he’s losing. “You didn’t seem like the type to take in a charity case… or do you have some ulterior motives.”

Joel didn’t play games. Turning on a heel, you were now in front of him and he pushed you forward and out of the alley quickly. “Go”

You shoved him off you, whispering harshly. “Stop fucking touch me!”

“Go” But he kept his hands off you.

As they turned the corner, he heard Ross call out to them. “Four minutes Joel!” His voice echoed mockingly. “Better hurry!”

But Joel was already speed walking.

“Where are we going?” You scrambled after him.

“My place.”

You stopped in your tracks. “I’m not going with you.”

Turning around only briefly, he took one long stride towards her, pointing his finger. “You have two choices. Go with me to my shithole,” He pointed back towards the alley. “Or you can do with them. Up to you.” He saw you glare at him as he turned back around; he did his part and you were an adult, you could make her own stupid choices.

He heard you footsteps. You quickly followed him.

Joel and you barely made it in time.

The room was… a room.

One bed, a beat-up old lounge chair, a dresser, table and two chairs. The ‘kitchen’ was a small stove with a single burner, but it didn’t look very used; the microwave did. To the left there was a door, presumably to the bathroom. You stood in the doorway awkwardly, body tense and stiff.

Joel gestured vaguely around the apartment and grumbled something she didn’t quite understand, but she assumed it didn’t really matter what he said.

“Nice place” You said, looking around.

Looking slightly defensive, he replied. “No one’s making you be here”

You frowned at him. “I was trying to be polite, but fine, you live in a shithole.”

“Yeah, well, this shithole is where you’re stuck for the next few days, unless you wanna risk it with Ross” He said with a little bite, before feeling just a bit bad. When he glanced over at you, you were harshly glaring at him. “I’m Joel” He muttered under his breath.

“Yeah” You scoffed. “I picked up on that between you yanking me around”

Joel turned to face you, crossing his arms in annoyance. “You’re welcome” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Undeterred, you crossed your arms back, hips cocked as you stood in defiance, seeming to consider your next words. Then, as nervousness flickers around your face, you seemed to realize the position you were in. Looking away and to the floor, you spoke softer. “Thank you. I know this isn’t… ideal”

“Don’t worry about” He grabbed a flannel shirt and sweats from his drawers and tossed them abruptly at you, then motioned for the bathroom. “Showers o’er there. There's… um…” He hesitated. “Under the sink.”

You furrowed your brow, confused. “What’s under the sink?”

Running a hand through his hair, Joel turned away and pretended to be suddenly very interested in the lamp. “You’ll see.”

“Sounds like a threat, but okay.” You murmured as you shuffled into the bathroom before stopping and turning around, telling him your name.

He gave a nod, barely acknowledging you as you disappeared into the bathroom. This was going to be a long fucking week.

When you took in the dingy bathroom, you decided to see what he was talking about beneath the sink. When you opened up the small cabinet, you found possibly the last thing you were expecting to see in the bathroom of the world's grumpiest man. Pads. The initial surprise you felt was quickly overtaken with a swell of warmth. You wondered about the type of man he was before the outbreak. The last 20 years had broken some of the best people down, the need for survival tearing people apart… but you firmly believed good people remained good deep down, someone inside them, even if it only came out when necessary. And today, as you faced down a group of men with evil intentions, it was clear that this was a situation he couldn’t ignore. You’d seen a lot in your years, more than enough for several lifetimes.

The bath felt nice, even if it was cold, as did his clothes, as well worn as they were. When you padded out into the one room place, you saw him standing over what could barely be called a stove.

“It’s just shitty canned soup, you can have some. I don’t got a lot here, but enough to get us through.”

“Thank you. I can pay you back once I get home”

“Hm.” Was his non committal answer.

A pause.

“And thank you for stopping-”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I mean it-”

Joel whipped around, his eyes intense and alight. “I said, don’t mention it.”

You shut your mouth but glared at him, letting him know he was being a dick. And yet, you really weren’t in much of a position to complain, were you? He had saved you from an attempted gang rape, the act of which caused him to have to put you up in his home, share his clothes, his water, his food… All the while giving no indication he had any ill intentions of his own. How many people would do this for a stranger?

He got his food, sitting at the table and once again gesturing vaguely towards the ‘kitchen’, prompting you to get food for yourself. You didn’t feel you weren't exactly wanted at the diner table, so you looked around for another place to eat, moving over to the chair. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d sat on, but it wasn’t the best either. A new problem was glaring as they ate in silence.

There was only one bed.

You piped up. “I can sleep on this chair.”

“Yeah” Was all he responded.

Clearly, he meant for you to sleep there anyway. It was going to suck, but it was better than whatever was planned for her in the alleyway.

Wordlessly, he walked off and shut the door to the bathroom and it wasn’t long before she heard the water running to take his own cold bath. Amazing bedside manner, really. Top tier. You tried to remind yourself you were looking a gift horse in the mouth, and brushed off your bitterness. When Joel immerged, he didn’t look at her as he walked past.

“So,” You started.

“No.”

“How long have you-”

“No.”

“Do you at least-”

A loud groan as he scrubbed his face, signaling you to stop.

You sat there, staring at the wall while Joel went about his business before you heard him call to you. “Hey. C’mere”

You turned around, eyeing him suspiciously. “Why”

“If you want your fucking forehead infected, that’s on you”

“Wait!” You scrambled up, walking over towards him where he had some basic first aid. “Sorry, I-”

“Sit” He directed to the chair at the table, not making eye contact.

Doing as you were told, you sat down at the table, looking up at Joel as he bent over you. You winced as he applied the disinfectant. “You could sit-”

“No” Despite his harsh tone, his touch was gentle, careful, and moving away when you winced.

“So” You tried to start a conversation again. “Joel. That’s Hebrew, right? Are you J-”

“Stop.” Joel briefly put his hands down, standing straight up. From your view on the chair, you suddenly realized how tall he was. His eye contact, when focused on you as it was now, was all consuming. “We’re not friends, we’re not going to come out of this as friends, we’re gonna be lucky if we don’t rip each other's head off. So how about you stop talking, and I stop wondering if I can drown myself in the bathtub every time you ask me a question.” When you didn’t argue, he oh-so softly applied a bit of antibiotic ointment, careful not to waste the little he had.

“Well, that was a bit blunt” You commented as you studied his face. Handsome, older; graying but not falling apart. His accent was southern, but where? You could not place, but that would explain his sense of duty.

“You asked if I was Jewish an hour into knowing me, and out of nowhere. I don’t think I’m the blunt one here” Joel muttered again, but this time there was a hint of… something else. Not quite playful, there was nearly no change in his tone, he was just as gruff as before, but the way he spoke indicated it was almost a joke. Almost. But not quite. He stood up without another word and washed his hands of the antibiotic cream and remaining blood that had oozed out. Grabbing an extra blanket from the drawer, he tossed it at you aimlessly and hit the light.

“Go to bed”

“It’s 8pm”

“Go. To. Bed.”

“Old man”

This received no response from him, but you laughed to yourself.

“Good night Joel.”

A loud sigh was the only response you got.

**************************

I'VE NEVER WRITTEN FOR JOEL SO PLEASE BE NICE! I don't know a whole lot about this universe or the world building so I'm so sorry if this is wrong. But I love Pedro so so so so much and I love TLOU so far!!! Please leave a comment if you like what you see so I know people want more, and reblog if you are so inclined! It's the only way to spread my work on this sight!

Shocker. The fic is titled after a Springsteen song. Joel Miller Listens to Springsteen, Melloncamp and Petty and I will not be taking criticism at this time.

And! Be sure to check out my other Pedro character fic, Take Your Time with my boy Frankie Morales! Tagging some I think may be interested, if you aren't interested in Joel fics just comment to be removed!

My love, @welcometostayingawake @trinkets01 @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @luciannadraven33 @howaboutcastiel

[i-loveoldermen]

JOHN SOAP MACTAVISH X READER

🎀WARNING: slight mention of blood and swearing. Little angst. Good ending.🎀

You and soap are probably the only ones that known each other before the crew. Which is also the reason why you two are so close. This friendship goes all the way back to high school when you two first actually met.

It felt like yesterday, two young teen, still fooling around and causing trouble. The first few months of high school had just started and this was your first year. You were really bad in new places and having to get into a huge place with a bunch of judgemental teenagers was the worst nightmare for you. Walking around the halls you look around the place trying to spot your own locker. You walk around and find the right number. You take out the keys you were given when signing your name, and opened the locker. You face scrunched up in disgust when seeing the inside. Did they seriously forget to clean the lockers during the summer? It looked like 10 different animals lived here and each leaving a horrible mess behind. You quickly shut the locker and made a mental note to come and deep clean the locker since you weren't going to risk smudging up your new notebooks.

Your ears caught the horrible sound of teenage laughter and your head turned around meeting a small group surrounding a shorter boy. You took gentle steps towards the boys as not to alert them and started listening.

"Weren't you already weird enough that you had to have a weird hair cut to add to it?" The tallest of them all shouted with a ugly grin causing what seemed to look like his minions laugh.

The young boy who was the victim just looked down without any specific emotion on his face and tried to ignore them. You didn't understand what they were talking about. The mohawk seemed to suit him very well in your opinion and made him look quite attractive.

You weren't really feeling like putting yourself in some sort of situation especially on your first day, so you decided to just wait around just in case anything gets-

"I'm fucking talking to you!" The tall one hissed as he aggressively took a hold of the boys collar and leaned him closer towards him.

Without hesitation, the boy punched him right on his nose causing him to let go. The boy groaned in pain while holding his bloody nose and glared back at the victim.

"You're going to fucking regret that" he yelled and his minions held the poor boy down for the big one to beat.

There was already a circle forming around the group, many which held up phones to record it. Without thinking you pushed your way through the circle and made your way towards the center.

Looking horrified, you watched as the biggest guy beating up the poor boy. So without thinking you shouted.

"Hey dude what the fuck is your problem!?" You yelled and glared right at the one who was beating the poor guy.

Everyone's eyes were on you now, including the group in the middle. This situation made you gulp and instantly regret it, especially when the guy stood up suddenly and started stomping towards you.

"What the hell did you just say to me?"

"I said what the fuck-" Feeling nervous you quickly went to respond but was cut off by the loud ringing of the bells. The guy glared at you and walked away with his group without a word. The now uninterested circle went to hurry towards the classes, which only left you and the poor beat up guy. You gently crouched down next to the poor guy and helped him up.

"Are you alright?" You spoke gently helping him to his feet.

He let out a few coughs before speaking.

"Yeah, thanks, if it weren't for you, I'd probably be talking without teeth" he chuckled causing a small smile to form on your lips.

"Whats your name?" He asked changing the subject.

"Y/N L/N, you?" You responded.

"I'm John MacTavish, but I prefer being called Johnny," he said shrugging and smiling towards you. Smiling back you started walking to your class, you had discovered you both have the same classes, so Johnny decided to be a gentlemen and guide you through the whole place, this was his third year in hight school and had gotten known everything.

After that day, your friendship blossomed. You two became inseparable and hung out during ever break. It took no time before you two became best friends and shared everything together.

There were still times where people bothered the both of you, and you had become known as 'the weirdo's girlfriend'. But being together made it no problem for you, if anything, it made your friendship stronger.

After Johnny graduated, he stood by your side and supported you till the end. It was no problem as Johnny told you about the exams and taught you everything you needed to know.

After your own graduation, you both decided to join the military force, and when the leaders noticed your skills, you were quickly put to a crew.

The 141, had welcomed you both with open arms, and you two had fit in without a issue.

It had passed 6 years since then, and now you feel like a family, and feel the closest to Johnny.

But these past few days, Johnny had been acting really weird around you, which made you concerned and you thought maybe you had something to upset him. You had tried many time to communicate with him, but each time he would find an excuse and leave you. You started feeling frustrated, but decided to give him space. Maybe he had gone bored with you? That thought alone made you break. Did he have enough with you? Did he feel annoyed by your presence?

You started to feel disappointed and eventually gave up on trying to talk to him.

The depressing days passed, and it was the night were you all were finally off and could enjoy yourselves at a nearby bar.

Everyone was having an amazing time, and so did you. And in a long time in a while, you felt happy. But you couldn't stop stealing glances at Johnny. You caught him staring a few times but shrugged it off.

You were having a small laugh with Ghost at his little story he was telling, about how he managed to scare Price and how hideous he looked when gotten angry.

You chuckled at the story, but your eyes caught the angered Johnny leaving the bar.

Your eye brows frowned and you excused yourself to go to him. It was time to finally give him a piece of your mind. How could he just let you go so easily? Especially when you had gotten feelings for the troublemaker. You had found out about your feelings 3 years ago, but pushed them away, as you didn't want to ruin the amazing friendship you and him made.

So walking towards him, you noticed him standing and staring off the distance.

"What are you doing here?" He asked without looking at you, which made you even more angry.

"I was here to solve what ever is made" you spoke as you now stood next to him. His eyes slowly trailed from the shining starts towards your upset eyes. His eyes softened at your expression and a soft sigh escaped his lips.

"There's nothing to solve Y/N..." He said shrugging looking the other way to avoid your gaze.

"What!?" You said laughing sarcastically.

"You seriously think I'm going to believe that? Seriously Johnny, what is going on!? Why are you avoiding me?" You said now your eyes slowly forming tears.

He let out an annoyed groan and finally stared at you.

"You know what? Yeah, I've been avoiding, but isn't it obvious why? It's literally obvious doll, open your pretty fucking eyes!" He finally let out causing you to step back from his sudden outburst.

"Yes, yes! I'm extremely dense! why are you ignoring me? Did I do something?" You said your voice becoming softer after each word.

The man before you, sighed once again and placed his hands on both of your cheeks.

He gently raised your head to meet his gaze and your tears had now slowly run down.

"Just, just don't say anything. Just look at me and try and find the answer yourself." You didn't say anything and just stared at his beautiful bright blue eyes and your eyes softened at the look in them.

The looked so, peaceful.

Then it hit you, your eyes widened and your mouth opened.

He was in love.

With you.

How could you been so oblivious? The way he would ignore you when you're around and nervously avoid your eyes, or how he looked annoyed when another member spoke to you. And how his face reddened when he spoke to you.

It was all there.

John could tell you had find the answer, and without speaking he slowly leaned your face closer towards his face with his hands still on your face.

His lips was slowly placed on yours, and you had never felt so magical before. You had never exprinced this feeling before.

Johnny was the first men that you had ever grown fond of, and his lips being on yours, was the most perfect thing for you.

Slowly, you relaxed and your hands held into his vest, trying to bring him closer.

This was your first kiss. It was so prefect. It was under the shiny stars and moon, in a beautiful weather during night, and with your ideal and dream man. Nothing could beat the feeling.

Slowly pulling away, he just gazed in your own eyes. His eyes filled with pure love. So was yours small smile was formed on both of your faces, and his thumb on both sides of your face, started to slowly rub you, and you gently falling towards his touch. This night truly felt magical. Your so happy this happened and that you finally brought back the man you once stood up for.

Neither of you spoke, just looked at each other. But it was no bother, both of your eyes told each other all it had to be said.

:)

[linkspooky]

My Hero Academia, Chapter 376 Thoughts

Short chapter this week so there is not much to say, besides the obvious question. The heroes strategy with divide and conquer has failed, Hawks does not face Twice directly but rather chooses to go after AFO. Hawks announces to Enji the change in strategy and that he will have to be the one to take care of Toya now. Enji seems to be finally facing Toya, so what will he do with his son, try to battle him, or try to talk him down?

1. Let's all Take Bets

@transhawks and I have a running bet on what exactly Enji is going to do next because our opinion is the exact opposite. I am on the side that Enji is not really in a mental space where the first thing he's going to try to do is talk Toya down. I think the requirement to do that would be Enji finally beginning to view Toya as his own person which I am going to argue below he still has not done yet.

We have seen a peak inside of Enji's head fairly recently, so let's review that scene. The first thing Enji focuses on when he's self reflecting is how taking on the burdens of atonement for his past has made him even weaker than he already is now.

The biggest flaw in his thinking is shown right away with the way his younger self phrases what his problem is. Enji seems to think the source of all of this, the very origin of the decision to abuse his family and use his children for his ambition to surpass All Might is that he was too physically weak. That if he had been strong enough to surpass All Might on his own merit, that somehow, none of this ever would have happened.

I'm actually going to express an unpopular opinion, I don't think the flashback we see of Enji's origin story is unnecessary here I think it adds to his character. Enji feels abandoned by his father at a young age, because his father was too weak to save the girl from the criminal he was fighting against.

His father's flaw was being too weak to play hero, and his attempt at a good deed not only left Enji traumatized by the sight of his father's corpse, but also with no father figure for the rest of his developmental years. He is wearing a UA uniform in this flashback, and it's said in side materials (the light novels) that Enji's insane and toxic obsession with All Might started as early as UA.

If his father's failure was being too weak to defeat a villain, it almost makes sense in a twisted way, that in Enji's own headspace being stronger than villains, and being a competent hero and a provider for his family is him doing his job as a father.

This is as far back as the Pro-Hero Arc, Enji feels a sense of accomplishment from defeating the High End Nomu and surviving the battle, and comes home to find that nobody cares that he did a good job winning the battle. He expected that being a good hero that Shoto could look up to, would somehow fix their relationship so far.

That's actually a good origin for Enji's toxic mentality, and explanation for his behavior, he despises any weakness within himself, and the trouble he has with his atonement arc is that admitting to fault within himself counts as showing that weakness. He would rather be a strong hero than a failure of a father. All good, it's just after this scene Enji doesn't really progress. The way to go would be "Weakness = Okay" because all people are weak. You learn to get healthier by showing emotional vulneraiblity, which is just what Enji was raging about because admitting his mistakes and his atonement makes him vulnerable in a way he doesn't like. However, instead of doing that, he decides to continue "raging against his weakness." Of course, if his weakness is like "I did bad things in the past because I was an emotionally weak person and took it out on others" then yes, he shouldn't see that as a good thing. But like, Enji literally talks about how his weakness is just "not being a superman".

Enji's actions in his mental space don't really indicate the fact that he's moved on either, the thing he does is strangle his teenage self, and considering that Enji projects himself onto his children hard having this relationship with his personal weaknesses isn't the best thing.

He tells Natsuo that he was never trying to neglect them, but like it was a pretty clear and deliberate action on Enji's choice, he even physically seperated Shoto from the rest of his siblings and hired a nanny so he wouldn't have to take care of them. Enji even phrases Toya's death as a "mistake" in his recollection, again not a deliberate choice on his part to neglect him for years.

As I said above, Enji has trouble admitting when he's done something wrong, because that is admitting to a vulernability and he can't show any of those, no siree!

There's just a lot of negative foreshadowing in the way that Enji sees Toya. From the start he always pictures him in his head as Dabi smiling maniacally, not the twelve year old boy he continually let down. There's this scene where Shoto mentions that they have to handle Toya together, even referring to him differently than he usually does (I think he uses otousan rather than oyajii) but Enji only sees Dabi's maniacal face once again and averts his eyes.

He pictures Dabi the same way on the hospital bed, when he's expressing reluctance to face Toya on his hospital bed, he automatically jumps to having to fight him, like there isn't another way this could work out.

As far back as Dabi's reveal itself, Enji's first reaction is that Toya could have been the one to smash away all of the ugliness in his heart. Which indicates a deeper underlying problem.

Once again Enji projects himself onto his children, he puts all of his positive traits onto Shoto, and his negative ones onto Toya, after all Toya was the one born weak, who's body was too weak for his quirk which made the overheating flaw that Enji was trying to avoid even more of a problem for Toya. Enji avoids Toya because Toya himself reminds Enji of all of his worst flaws, and this happens even in early childhood. When Toya continues to train, Enji only sees it as "he got that stubbornness from me." Toya's unwillingness to give up is Enji's. Dabi himself is Enji's mistake. Dealing with Dabi is Enji's duty. Enji has not really walked outside of his own head to understand Toya himself as both a person, and a child, because ultimately it is about him, his duties, his atonement.

When he sees Shoto marching off to the future, Toya isn't really included among those people. Does he think Toya has a future? Does he think Toya has a chance of coming back? Nothing he says has clearly indicated that, all signs point to he still considers Shoto the success, the one with the future, whereas Toya is the failure and Enji's greatest mistake.

As for Toya himself, he may just be baiting Enji into fighting him as a last ditch method of making his father fail. If he can't kill Shoto in front of Enji to ruin everything Enji tried to do, then he can at least make it so Enji's atonement can never truly be complete by killing himself. That is part of Toya's speech during Dabi's dance, he wanted to give Enji the chance to feel like he was doing better as a hero, and a father, before tearing the rug out from under him. Dabi's lines here also remind me heavily of Nine's just before his death.

Dabi's biggest goal of all is to ruin Enji as a hero, so if Enji cannot save his own son he's failed both as a hero and in his atonement considering Dabi says he can't truly complete his dream now it might be a last ditch effort.

My only argument against this is Toya probably doesn't consider himself one of Enji's "precious things" because the whole reason he turned into Dabi in the first place, is that the Todorokis buried him and very little changed about the family like he never existed to begin with.

The language Hawks uses when instructing Enji what he's supposed to do is "Stop" once again rather than save, which is what Shoto said before failing to get through to Toya "just stop already".

So, like I said this can go one of two ways. If Enji follows Hawks plan then he is most likely just going to try to face Toya in a physical fight and "stop" him physically rather than reaching out to him emotionally. Or, Enji goes against Hawks plans and tries some other way of reaching out to Toya, and at that point I believe Transhawks theory is the most likely.

[we-pay-for-everything]

I've watched all available episodes of Nancy Drew and am rewatching season 3 (can you tell I ship Nace), and here are some of my thoughts no one asked for:

The biggest plot twist was the reveal in season 3 or 4 that Nancy's mom hasn't even been dead for a year. It's fucking crazy how each season spans a few weeks?? You're telling me that in less of a year Nick and George fell in love, got engaged, and then broke up? And Nick's on his third relationship. Bess fell in love 3 times?? She loved the FBI agent, called Odette the love of her life and is now seriously in to the new girl? And how many boyfriends has Nancy had? Nick, Owen, Gil, Park, and soon Ace? Plus she had a thing with the other detective? And now Ace is the love of her life? Carson really started dating that cop as soon as his wife died and is now seriously dating someone else? He's probably still paying for his wife's funeral. Do normal people move on this fast? Also, in less than a year the gang decided they would die for each other, unquestioningly? Intense.

Season 2 was a mess. Season 1 was legit fucking scary and the plot was amazing. After season 1 the show felt completely new. Season 2 was the worst because they did a whole concept change with the case of the week format, which imo didn't work. The episodes were all dry and there was nothing driving the story forward. Seasons 3 and 4 are a mix of seasons 1 and 2, with the episodes having some continuity and still standing on their own.

Season 2 also had the issue of Odette. I hated that storyline. The actress honestly did a very poor job. I couldn't connect with her at all. Season 4 is way better so far.

It's fucking weird how it was an issue when underage George dated Ryan (ewww), but Nancy (or the show) doesn't apparently see a problem with three grown-ass men being into a teenage girl? She's so smart but doesn't think it's inappropriate for them to date her? Especially the cops??

I'm sure Nancy gets on everyone's nerves, but she really has the unfortunate main female lead syndrome. She's insufferable most of the time. She's always getting everyone in trouble, never listens, puts herself and her cases first. When Ace got in trouble and asked her to solve the chocolate box riddle, she literally ignored him while he still asked about her case and told her to be careful. Although he was scared and in danger, he didn't mind being told no and stopped to talk with her. The hilarious thing is that she later solved the riddle in like 2 seconds lmao. The show takes it too far. She's smart but her photographic memory is ridiculous.

To be fair, the characters were also unfair to Nancy when they blamed them for their death curses in season 2. They said it was her fault because she was selfish, but they literally insisted on going with her to call on the Aglaeca. She told them not to.

Bess's best love interest was Odette. I didn't like the actress's performance, but it was cute anyway, and that one kiss they shared was magical.

I started noticing something between Ace and Nancy in season 2, and now I ship them, but it's also weird seeing them together. They fell in love even when they were dating other people?

One of the best lines in the show was when George's grandma said something like "It's not a path if it goes nowhere. That's a hole in the ground." Made me laugh the two times I heard it.

I wish the show had stuck with the season 1 format.

I shipped Owen and Nancy and he's still my second favorite boyfriend of hers after Ace.

Nancy saying Ace isn't letting her move on in season 4 is absurd. How is her stopping her??? But the dude shouldn't have let the ferret go just because he got jealous. He went through all that trouble just to catch it.

I still don't fully understand why George and Nick broke up.

I love Ryan and Carson's dynamic, and their dynamic with Nancy. It's like found family, with a twist. Ryan is Nancy's biological dad but he literally just found out and Carson raised Nancy but she's not his biological daughter. It's also cute how Ace is tight with Carson. He was really nice to him.

After Nancy absorbed all the lust in the chastity dress, she later said it was refreshing to just feel desire, but that was so cheesy. I'm sorry, but when does she not allow herself to feel desire? That girl is not repressed in any way - only emotionally.

I'm not super fond of George either. My faves are Ace, Bess, Ryan and Carson. Nick and George's sisters are cute too.

I had other things I wanted to say but I can't remember them...

Also, if anyone wants to chat about Nancy Drew, my ask box and "DMs" are open!

[sirjuggles]

Worm Reading - Part 6, Arc 6 Tangle

Ah we’re lying to dad again. Can’t keep this up forever. Also can we give a shout-out for a sec to Danny for being so incredibly supportive and understanding? He’s a single dad, his teenage daughter has been going through heart-wrenching trouble at school, she gets caught in a terrorist attack and wounded badly enough to be bedridden, as soon as she’s better she starts disappearing and not coming home for long stretches of time with little details about what she’s doing, and through it all he’s just like “I love you and I’m worried about you but you do what you have to do as long as you stay safe.” Like ok admittedly she’s super not safe, but he’s trying his best and giving way more than I think you could reasonably expect from someone in his situation!

Hrmmmm while reading the news, we get “...a brief update on a twelve year old girl that had gone missing two weeks before the ABB situation started, that was now presumed dead...“ Maybe my literary paranoia is too high, but sentences like this one set off my alarm bells like a TV News Report in the background of the diner talking about a “mysterious new virus sweeping the nation.”

Uh-oh Lung’s still at large, even without his eyes. So it’s almost like his power is working on a grander scale here: every time Taylor has fought Lung she has violated his body on a very personal level (intentionally or not), and this is only going to serve to make him a more dedicated enemy for her.

Actually, hah, I don’t know if this is really a thing among villains, but at this point Skitter is legitimately Lung’s Nemesis! She is the one who keeps foiling his plans and leaving him broken!

Building furniture with Brian. Seems like he’s got a nice apartment. Awww Taylor has such a crush on this guy. God between her mom passing away and the bullying at school she has zero romantic experience doesn’t she? Oof that’s such a tough time. Hope she doesn’t do anything too stupid...

Oh Aisha is a problem. That’s a girl who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut and enjoys attention. Alarm bells ringing, she is gonna get herself into something.

Alright, we have a dangerous mission proposed. I really don’t see any good that can come of this. The opportunity to meet the Boss as a reward feels like something that is being dangled specifically to convince Taylor to stick around. I’m wondering how much of that is Tattletale knowing more than she lets on. I’m not yet fully convinced that I’m wrong on the “Tattletale is Boss” angle.

Oh ok we’re just diving into a party fully of superheroes. Uhhhh this feels massively unwise.

Well, honestly this has gone more successfully than I expected, and still seems to have completely failed.

Ok we knew Armsmaster was a badass but he is very clearly on a whole different level when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Dude is Batman with fancier weapons.

Ooof got out of that one by the skin of their teeth!

Oohp fight has moved to the parking garage! Can I just say, the Travelers are absolute nightmares in a fight!! I don’t know what their whole social drama is, but they have such a potent combo of distraction + offense that it is legitimately scary.

Oh. So the mysterious Boss was Coil. Ok, that’s... kinda obvious in hindsight. Almost anticlimactically so.

Interesting. So, if Coil is to be believed, he is basically right on the edge of successfully controlling the city. To hear him tell it, it sounds like a perfect solution. My biggest concerns are that he seems to be implying that individual teams such as the Undersiders and other capes will basically rule over their own territory. That is a sketchy form of governance, and is easily open to abuse. Also, he makes it sound as though a disorganized Protectorate would be a non-issue, but I’m not convinced that such a large national organization is going to sit by and just let a villain rule a whole city like this.

Oh Wow confrontation with Danny. That just sucked all around. The worst part is... I think I mostly sympathize with Danny. Just like I said before, he has been incredible supportive and flexible for his young daughter while being kept completely in the dark. As a parent that’s a nightmare scenario and he has given more freedom and understanding than many parents would. I get that Taylor doesn’t really feel like she has a choice, she can’t tell him the truth, but... I can’t help but wonder what would happen if she did? Of course no parent wants to hear their kid is a villain, has fought and hurt people. But after all the love and support he’s shown, even when she lashes out, I can’t help but think that he could maybe begin to understand that just because she’s not a Hero doesn’t make her a Bad Guy. Though to be fair, objectively she is committing crimes and hurting people, as much as Lisa would like to brush over that. It’s really easy to get taken in by that narrative isn’t it?

Interlude 6: Canary - Yeesh this is nightmarish. Though of course, in this case as in real life, the real nightmare is the justice system and incarceration system!

As soon as we heard the descriptions I went “OH it’s Lung and Bakuda! Honestly, they’re both monsters, but I do kinda hope they pull this escape attempt off.”

Yeah Bakuda is a psycho but you gotta give her credit for being tough and having determination. Almost got out of that truck too. It was a good plan.

I think I like Dragon.

Yeeeeesh that is a... shame of an ending. Like I said, both Bakuda and Lung are monsters but... in a story like this, they’re both entertaining monsters in their own way. I have some very small wonder as to whether we’ll see either one of them pop back up again at some point. That ending was not technically explicit for either one of them.

[the-starfleet]

Hello again! I'm really bored right now, so I'm going to send you another ask. What are all the tugs' biggest fears and insecurities? I know it's a big, deeper kind of a question, so please don't feel forced to answer it. If you do want to answer, it's here. By the way thanks for replying to my first ask, and you're welcome! 😊

no problem dude,, i like asks and i've kinda been getting back into the series sooo yeh-

i've never considered it up until you asked so these may change over time, but for now here's what i have!

more under the cut.

let's go with the Stars for now, shall we?

at first, Ten Cents claimed he wasn't scared of anything but he was always kind of scared of failing his fleet. he was scared they'd reject him and kick him out of the fleet even if he made one minor mistake, this was something he was always scared of since he was a kid. his relationship with his biological parents may or may not have solidified that. since Munitions, he's developed a fear of fire and explosives, a slight fear of explosive/flammable materials as well. the explosion scarred him so badly (more so mentally) and nearly killed him, the whole incident also caused him to develop PTSD as well so that only made his fear of fire/explosions even worse. he's trying to overcome his fear of them but it's been hard, but he's confident that one day he won't be scared of it anymore.

Big Mac was and still is scared of losing any member of the Stars. in the time he knew them, he saw them as his second family and the thought of losing any of them scares him to no end. especially O.J. and Warrior.

O.J. used to be scared of dying when he was younger, and even though he's not as scared of it now, he still is. only because he doesn't want to die alone. he wants to die peacefully, surrounded by his family and his wife.

Top Hat acts like he's not scared of anything, but he's scared of a lot of things. he has a huge fear of being abandoned or left behind, which developed when he was a teenager. he's terrified of the prospect of losing someone he loves or them abandoning him, he desperately wants attention from everyone but he's not going about it the right way.

Warrior is really scared of failing everyone around him and "not being good enough," he's dealt with that since he was young and it really gets to him whenever the Zeds tease him about his flaws because it just reminds him of those fears and he hates it.

Hercules is also scared of failure, he knows that the fleet looks up to him in some aspects, and for him to fail just upsets him to no end. the only other thing that he's scared of is losing the people he loves. the Munitions accident terrified him to no end because he thought Ten Cents was dead. that he lost someone who was basically a son to him.

Sunshine (like Warrior and Herc) is scared of failure and losing those he loves. he wants companionship and when he almost lost it because of the Duchess incident, he broke.

Grampus isn't scared of death, but he is scared of the people he cares for getting hurt or in trouble as a result of his actions. he wants everyone around him to be safe and in good health, and if they suffer for it because of him then it breaks him.

i feel so bad not answering this until now i'm so sorry for the wait!

[elfie-eats]

my biggest regret: i ran a pro-ana blog.

i haven't posted to tumblr in years but i just needed to get it off my chest.

i used to have an ed account with THOUSANDS. of followers and it is my biggest regret.

yes, i was 15 and in the grips of an ed and didn't really understand the magnitude of what i was doing but then again, how fucking stupid was that. there was some good within it; giving myself and my followers a safe space to talk and vent about our problems, i had a lot of online friends i spoke to daily which was refreshing as i had very little friends in the real world. However, accounts and platforms like that never end well and it usually becomes a breeding ground for triggering posts, tips, grooming and toxic relationships cemented in active ed behaviours.

i hate the pr0 ed community.

when I ran this account at FIFTEEN years old, I was contacted by multiple people claiming to be "pr0 ana coaches"; the best way to describe them, they are self-proclaimed mentors that would help you stay motivated and on track to hitting your 'ugw' by telling you what to eat, when to eat, and by sending you abusive comments about your weight and how fat you were, which is pretty much a dream come true to a fifteen year old with an eating disorder.

all you had to do was update them daily with your weight, stats, and send half, sometimes full nude photographs to these people who would often disguise themselves as other teenage girls, when in fact they were typically grown men over the age of 21.

i personally got tricked by these 'coaches' and realised after seeing a mutual follower at the time talk about their experience. When I had confronted the coach, they had threatened me and told me they would leak the photos and contact my parents. i was so scared, i couldn't stop crying and i thought my entire life was over.

i deleted my account immediately; though looking back i wish i would have reported it to the police or at least tumblr. i had no idea what i was supposed to do in that situation and i was terrified of getting into trouble.

these men are probably still out there getting child p0rn off vulnerable, mentally ill minors who are not thinking clearly.

if there are any minors that read this post; and have similar experiences, please report them and keep yourself and others safe!

i am in active ed recovery now and i have a heck of a long way to go but it's worth it. i have a very beautiful life ahead and my eating disorder is the least interesting thing about me. i wish i could have understood that at fifteen.

fuck the pr0 ed community.

[aburruso-capstone-uhwoacm]

Progress Report #2

Quite a lot has happened since the last update, some good, some bad...

First of all, there’s the pre-production phase.  Last time, I mentioned that I had to do the color schemes for Sasha and the obstacles.  To be honest, that was much harder than I anticipated.  The first issue was that I switched to digital for the color scheme.  I am still not good at drawing on an iPad, so it took a while to finish the drawing.  Then, there was actually figuring out Sasha’s colors.  I had decided early on that her main color would be green.  Beyond that, though, everything was difficult.  I experimented with a lot of different colors schemes, but they were not working.  At one point, I figured out one reason why I was having trouble: Sasha’s boots were messing with the balance of colors.  So, I redesigned her to have longer pants and sneakers instead.  Not only did this make her palette work better, but I feel that this makes Sasha look more like a vigilante teenager (versus the boots, which I now think made her look more like a professional soldier).  The palette on the far right (not the transparent one :P) is the one I decided to stick with for the time being, though for reasons I’ll explain soon, I may change it again…

I also did the color schemes for the firewalls and servers, which was much easier.  Then, I worked on the UI.  This is where I encountered yet another issue with the color scheme.  I originally wanted the floor of the play area to be a light color with dark grid lines.  However, I found that the opposite (dark with light grid lines) works better.  The only problem is that now, the servers, firewalls, and even Sasha don’t stand out enough against the floor.  This is clear when you look at the grayscale version of the UI: Sasha and the obstacles are already dark, so they almost blend in with the floor.  Since I already decided that the floor needs to be dark, the only solution will be to change the color schemes of Sasha and the obstacles… hopefully, I can find some time to do this.

Okay, but enough of the bad news.  Let’s get to the good news.  Save for adding the concept art, I finished the game design document (or at least the first draft… I’ll explain pretty soon).  I also got started on the first build of the game!  I have included a video showcasing what I have so far:

That being said, I am not completely finished with this build yet.  As you can see in the video, Sasha (the blue square) moves and shoots at the same time.  However, I want to make it where she will only shoot once she has finished moving.  I think I will be able to figure this out rather easily, though.

Of course, making this build didn’t come with its challenges.  The first obstacle involved following a tutorial I probably didn’t need to follow; although it was useful for creating the grid, I realized that it also involved a movement system that my game would not use.  Once I realized this, I decided to stop following it. 

A bigger issue involved Sasha’s movement.  I encountered so many bugs when trying to program it, such as:

Sasha not being perfectly aligned to the grid when she stopped moving

Sasha shaking uncontrollably whenever she stopped moving (and even when I just booted up the game)

Sasha not even moving at all

Sasha respawning at the wrong area when she ran into an obstacle (she is supposed to respawn at her last position)

Fortunately, I was able to solve all of these issues.  Right now, besides making Sasha shoot after she finishes moving, my biggest issue involves the respawn mechanic.  I originally had it where Sasha immediately respawns.  However, my plan was for her to have a short “hurt” animation beforehand.  The only problem is that Sasha seems to get stuck inside the obstacle.  This means that the collision code keeps triggering, meaning that Sasha will never get a chance to respawn.  I think I can find a way around this, but it may involve changing the animation I had planned.

Speaking of changing plans, I have decided to remove the eviction bot from the game.  Considering all the trouble I’ve been having with the code so far, I do not feel too confident that I can properly implement this feature.  The main reason I had the eviction bot was to force the player to keep moving across the grid; now, I’m thinking that I can do this just by placing the servers and firewalls in a certain way so that the player cannot shoot all of the former down from a single position.  I’ll have to update the game design document to reflect this.

That’s everything that has happened up to this point.  In the next few weeks, I’ll finish the build and redo the color schemes (I’m also thinking of changing Sasha’s hair style… we’ll see…).  Then, it will be time for some playtesting.  Let’s see how things go from here…

[firstdivisiongirl]

Please may I have a One piece kinda funny scenario of when Luffy and you (Sanji's teenage daughter who is a good cook and everything) went on a water boat ride and Luffy thought he was being a good captain and promised to protect you and everything when you are more than capable of looking after yourself because you are Sanji's kid. You were forced to come with him because your father and the others dealt with him enough today and to be practically made to come on a boat ride called "Monster Mansion"...you may as well as go into a dark tunnel which is exactly what this ride is involved in..it was fair to say that you felt reluctant about it when your captain actually got surprisingly spooked halfway through and start to cling to you like a lifeline when the atmosphere got unfriendly and you were unfazed about it despite how terrified Luffy was *cue the giggling from the riders who were entirely distracted by a terrified captain who was clinging onto you..you were understandably annoyed about it..he practically dragged you onto this boat ride and he was terrified of this boat ride?!*

(How it came to this to give you more insight. The crew decided to do something fun as a good break from fighting enemies and you decided on a waterpark and it seemed fun and so everyone agreed..and of course Luffy caused enough trouble to last a lifetime and no one wanted to watch him today and you had to. That was how you ended up coming on the monster mansion boat ride with him)

Bonus: How would the other crew members and your Dad react to a terrified Luffy clinging onto you after the ride was over and you were practically forced to carry him for some reason.

https://youtu.be/Sp5TwoWeivk (this was the ride that you and Luffy went on)

No pairings. Just Luffy acting bold at the start of the boat ride and getting scared halfway through when he obviously clung to you like a lifeline and you were not fazed by a ride like that.

Hi! It’s so nice to hear from you again. Of course, you can have this. I always enjoy a good funny scenario story, and this scenario was super funny. Please enjoy!

The Leader of the Monster Trio is Scared of the Monster Mansion?

The Strawhats needed a break.  So what’s a better way to relax than a water park?  That’s right, nothing!  The day you all picked was perfect.  It wasn’t excruciatingly hot and there were no clouds in the sky.  There was something for everyone here today.  There were bright pink and orange lounge chairs for Robin and Nami to lay out and tan on.  Of course, there were sweets for Chopper, cola for Franky, and booze for Zoro.  Your dad, Sanji, brought food for everyone.  However, he spent a ton of time trying to get Luffy away from it before he ate it all.  And for you there were rides!  You were an adventurous teenager, so you were set to go.  But, there was one ride you weren’t sure about, the Monster Mansion.  You weren’t necessarily scared, but it still made you a little uncomfortable going on it.  “Zoro,” you asked, “can you come on this ride with me?”

“No, ask your dad or something,” he answered without hesitation, each word dripping in annoyance.

You sighed, “I already asked him.  He said no.  Everyone said no!”

“I did say no,” you turned around to see Luffy pointing to himself, “I’ll protect you.”

“See, take Luffy.  He’s been enough trouble for the world, let alone us.  Go with him.  He’s now your problem.”

“Sure,” you said to Luffy, just before glaring at Zoro.  You finally realized why your dad hated him.

You and Luffy arrived at the entrance of the ride.  Luffy placed his straw hat on your head, trying to make you feel better.  It was just going to be you two on the ride.  You two were strapped in, and the ride began.  “See it’s not bad at all,” your captain said to you with the biggest smile.  The ride continued and you were unfazed by everything.  Why did you think it was so bad?  About halfway through the ride, something jumped out, and you felt someone wrap their arms around you, clinging to you.  You looked to your right and saw Luffy, scared.  You started laughing hysterically, this boy fights sea kings and warlords completely unfazed and some water park ride scares the boy.  The rest of the ride was just like this.

You exited the ride, with Luffy still clinging to you.  You walk back over to the rest of the crew.  Sanji is the first to see you, “how was it Princess?”

“Well dad, it was fine for me but I think Luffy hated it,” you say pointing to Luffy.  Everyone started to laugh.

“Are you kidding me Luffy,” Zoro asked yelling at Luffy, “some little ride scared you?  How is someone who isn’t afraid of death afraid of something like that?”

“Shut up,” Luffy whined, taking his hat from your head, “it was scary.  You’d be scared.”

The two kept arguing for a few minutes.  Nami and Robin walked up to you.  “I guess it looks like the leader of the monster trio can’t handle the monster mansion,” Nami said.  Robin chuckled a little before brushing her dark hair behind her ear.

“Come on guys,” you interrupted everyone, “let’s eat.”

Everyone got up and headed to the picnic tables to eat.  The day was a success, but Luffy will probably never suggest a water park for a relaxation destination ever again.

[chestharrington]

I think my biggest problem with Nancy is that her behavior towards others is excused in the show, for some reason she can treat others like shit but everyone is still worshipping every step she takes. If her behavior would be treated as bad behavior, like having consequences for her actions I wouldn't mind her so much. But because she can't do wrong in the shows narrative I feel kinda gaslit by the show because she's portrayed as a holier-than-thou person with flaws that will be excused.

Like why tf would Robin be so eager to befriend her after she treats her like garbage and as Steve's bff she has to know how things had ended. If I were Robin I would be vary of Nancy and def wouldn't encourage her to get with my bff again.

But I think Steve still doesn't have a clue that that Nancy cheated. Yeah he saw her with Jonathan but I doubt he knows they slept together two days after their fight. Plus because she was never honest with her feelings towards Steve, Steve is under the impression Nancy fell out off love because he couldn't be there for her, and not because he was always the second choice and as soon as Jonathan would have made a move she would have immediately left him. She literally admitted this in canon but everyone brushes over it because they were rooting for Jancy, even though that relationship was born out of cheating. Big L from Jonathan's side as well, he knew Steve was in the picture at Murray's but he still had sex with her.

But you can't discuss this, even though it's canon, within the fandom because you're labeled as a misogynist. Literally the amount of people who see nothing wrong with Nancy's treatment of Steve in s2 is astounding. S2 Steve is not S1 Steve, he was literally trying his best but he was also a dumb teenager trying to navigate through his own trauma and quite literally high school. People call him horrible because he brushed over Nancy's needs meanwhile Nancy was emotionally cheating on him for a year, both were bad for each other at that time. To paint Steve as a villian for trying to distract his gf, so she doesn't spill confidential information that could get them and their families killed by the government, is weird. If Steve would act like Nancy people wouldn't even questioning cheating, like they would constantly bring this up.

And now she kinda cheats on Jonathan with Steve again, idk also didn't like that Steve encourages this as well. Like bitch you know how you felt please stop. Nancy is not worth that trouble, she will never pick you because you will be always the second choice. I still don't know how to feel about the kids speech, inherently it's not as bad as people make it out to be. After all he confessed thinking he is about to die but he never forces her to suddenly become the mother to his kids. It's also telling how little he knows about Nancy, because she probably wasn't honest with him throughout the relationship so he has this idealized image of her. Again he soley blames himself for the failing of their relationship and having a new perspective, he dreams of the what if possibilities, completely unaware that the relationship hugely failed because Nancy never loved him from the beginning.

You’re absolutely correct.

I think what is frustrating is as people who consume this content we are well within our right to demand well-written complex women. And Nancy could have been that had they chosen to hold her accountable for some of the ways she’s treated Steve, Jonathan, and Robin. But they don’t so it makes it hard for me to really appreciate the way she’s written outside of what she adds to the plot.

Again it’s really frustrating to me because I absolutely loved Nancy before I liked any other character. With love and care they could have kept her as she is (an intelligent, strong-willed badass who doesn’t sacrifice her femininity) without excusing every kind of shitty that she does to the people around her. Real people have conflicts and dilemmas and do shitty stuff and great stuff. I think that’s where Nancy lives like in the better version of stranger things that lives in my head. Nancy wheeler IS a great character and I think she deserved a lot more attention and care than the writers room gave her.