#did this make him into a stoic hero who never talks about his own suffering but just supports his people/protects his nephew? no fucking wa

[llycaons]

'poor heroic tragic saint jiang cheng' is actually my favorite jc misinterpretation it is just so fucking funny. I'll watch the man advocate to abandon a group of political prisoners to mass murder, constantly yell about his issues, threaten his nephew and everyone else around him, and abuse his power to intentionally trigger his traumatized brother bc he's mad at him and I go online and see posts about how he's so strong and noble and a great parent/leader despite suffering so much. LIKE

[guardianspirits13]

I wanna talk about Natsuo Todoroki for a second here.

tw// mentions of abuse, self harm, and suicide

Natsuo visibly has the most emotional trauma out of anyone else in his family (Touya not included), and I really wanna talk about why that is.

For starters, we haven't seen him really smile since he was introduced in chapter 187. He's introduced as having a friendly, easygoing persona and it's easy to imagine this is how most people outside of his family know him. However, every time we see him appear since then, another layer of his trauma is revealed and expanded upon, and it cuts DEEP.

I think the main reason that Natsuo still seems so vulnerable compared to the rest of his family is different than what you'd assume. Fuyumi and Shouto both spend a lot of time around Endeavor, and have been in close proximity to his (relatively recent) decision to atone. They have seen his growth firsthand and come to terms with it. Rei has obviously taken a very different path to healing- not entirely voluntarily- but she has been working with doctors and therapists for years to change and recover and reconnect with herself and her children. Natsuo is off at college, and takes every opportunity he can to avoid Endeavor. He (understandably) wants nothing to do with him, and shows stagnant resistance to his attempts to atone.

The reason why Natsuo can't move on from the past is because his trauma didn't come from Endeavor. It came from Touya.

Now initially we were led to believe that it was simply Touya's untimely death that still bothers Natsuo, and it makes sense seeing how Endeavor drove him to the edge. Losing his best friend and brother as a young kid without parents to support him or any therapist to speak of can absolutely been the source of persistent emotional damage, but the more and more we learn about Touya's situation, the more evident it becomes that Natsuo's trauma is much much deeper than even grief.

Touya, as we know, was driven by an ambition instilled in him by his father and experienced extreme rejection sensitivity when those ambitions were no longer realistic. Touya's relationship with his parents could be described as insecure attachment, a psychological term primarily regarding how kids react and respond to their parents and other close relationships. As he was raised, Touya learned to equate his potential to be a hero with his personal worth and similarly confounded attention with love. The difference being, of course, that love is unconditional, but even attention was being continually directed away from him as a punishment for continuing to train and burn himself so he could once again become worthy in his fathers' eyes.

This is where Natsuo comes in. At first it was assumed that all of the Todoroki children were born out of Endeavor's strong-willed desire to have a child that could surpass All Might, but we learned that this isn't exactly the case. I'd argue that it was narratively poetic on Horikoshi's part once this was expanded upon. Fuyumi was born to support and encourage her brother, and that is the exact role she plays 23 years later, keeping her family together.

Natsuo's case is even more intersting.

It was bad enough if Natsuo was only born for the potential of his quirk, but it's even more sinister that the sole intent behind his birth was to discourage Touya from his ambitions. I'd say it was to replace him, but it was more to promote the idea that Touya was expendable than to raise aonther kid with the same ideals but the potential to actually achieve it, although that was definitely a secondary motivation.

The parallelism in this is how much Natsuo's life revolves around Touya. He was born because of Touya, he looked up to and took care of Touya as a kid, and the absence of Touya in the present continues to drive him and his decisions in life (but more on that later).

I continue to pray that we will eventually get more solid backstory on Natsuo and Touya's relationship as kids and where it cut off, wether on a bad note or not, but there are a few things we know for certain. One, Touya was mentally ill. Yes, he was rejected by his parents but he seems to have been particularly vulnerable to this compared to any of his siblings since he was the first of them and thus relied only on his parents for validation in his early years. He shows early signs of a variety of different mental disorders, particularly BPD, which I have previously written a whole analysis for on its own. Touya is shown self-harming both by the very nature of his quirk and even by very directly ripping his hair out. He was incredibly self-destructive.

This is why it is so much more concerning to me that Natsuo, who was AT LEAST four years younger than him, was his primary source of comfort. Natsuo was too young to have known anything more than 'my big brother is sad that daddy won't train him anymore' and he obviously wasn't equipped in any way to handle Touya's severe mental illness. Touya most definitely needed professional treaatment as his forms of coping were abnormal even for the neglect and rejection that he experienced. Natsuo comforted Touya through breakdown after breakdown, and more than that Touya relied on him and came to him voluntarily for support. Natsuo was the best option he had, and he took full advantage of that. The main source of Natsuo's trauma was Touya's reliance on him.

Not to say at all that this was in any way Touya's fault- he was mentally ill and desperately in need of some form of comfort to keep him sane; it was almost a survival method at this point since neither of his parents really acknowleged him at all anymore. Touya's instability hurt Natsuo more than parental neglect ever did, but it was the neglect that enabled it and striped Touya of the supportive atmosphere he would have needed at this point not only to prevent but to heal from the mental damage he had already suffered.

Natsuo dealt with this for years and you can see how much it hurt him to see Touya in so much pain, not only from Endeavor's rejection but from his own self harm as well. For Natuso to know that his brotherly love would never be the same as having loving parents; would neve be enough- but at least it was something so he continued to love and care about his brother for little in return- is indicative of the kind of character he is.

(Edit: After the events of chapter 302 we know that Natsuo's relationship with Touya wasn't perfect. I will elaborate more on this in a different post, but I just wanted to clarify that although we were shown a very high-tension scene between them, it is implied that this was a regular occurrence that Natsuo was usually more receptive too but tired out of, in addition to Touya's spiraling mental health. It fit with the natrative to show the tension Touya was feeling with his family from all directions, but Natsu and Touya clearly had a stronger relationship up to and before this point, evidenced by their sharing a room and playing together regularly.)

He is incredibly selfless, and it's interesting to note how many of his positive qualities as an adult stem from negative experiences as a kid. He never really felt love from his parents, so he relied on Touya (and likely also Fuyumi) for that as well. If he grew up learning he had to give love in order to recieve it back, it absolutely influenced who he became in the future, a solid example of this being the responsibility he feels to reach out and have a relationship with Shouto and further regrets that he wasn't able to help his abuse in the past either. Another aspect of his character that intruigues me is how gentle he is. Personality-wise he seems about as opposite as he could be from the awkward, stoic, emotionally-stunted person that is Endeavor.

There are a couple of reasons for this, beyond what I've already discussed.

One, he had little to no contact with elements of toxic masculinity growing up, especially not from Endeavor.

Two, most of the influence he did have growing up was from Fuyumi, who is established to have endlessly cared for him since he was a literal baby.

Three, he grew up in a household where almost everyone around him was in much more literal, immediate pain than he was so he developed a very strong sense of empathy that might also have been tied to early survivor's guilt.

Now I have one important distinction to make, and that's the temptation to label him as a 'softboy' or something of the like after seeing him caring for his family and more pointedly, watching him break down in tears during chapter 252. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with men being soft or vulnerable (on the contrary it's actually so so important and relevant that Hori is writing characters like this in a mainstream shounen manga but that's an essay for another time), it is unfair to label him as such based on a moment when his trauma is being exposed.

Because his truama stems from such a young age, there is a blurry line between just being born with more emotional intelligence and the situation he was in fostering those traits. You know, the classic nature/nurture thing. My point being, it's important to tread carefully when discussing the nature of his personality to avoid invalidating his trauma; I have no doubt that he is very strong for having survived these things, and the moments we see of him onscreen are definitely among his most vulnerable.

Another thing that people less familiar with Natsuo's character might assume is that he is hot-headed and argumentative. I thought that at first too- after all, he doesn't seem to shy away from yelling at Endeavor when given the opportunity. However, this doesn't seem to be the case at all.

The first real scene we see him in with Endeavor, the man walks into the room and Natsuo decides he can't handle it and goes to leave. However, Endeavor happens to be blocking the doorway. Endeavor physically stops him and provokes him to his face, asking him to say whatever is on him mind. While Natsuo is notably not confrontational, Endeavor is. I think it's fair to say that he felt at least uneasy at this gesture. Natsuo is very honest with his feelings, and it's obvious that he's pissed at the audacity of Endeavor to be so oblivious to his own son. This is presumably one of the first real interactions they've ever really had, and at this point Natsuo has been dealing with trauma (caused by Endeavor!) on his own for years, and Endeavor seems completely oblivious to his pain and dismmisive to the rest of the family's as well.

Again during the internship arc Natsuo tries to get along with Endeavor and this time he actually gives it a fleeting chance. Tensions are high, however, and the conversation very quickly becomes uncomfortable, at which point he leaves. It is continually implied that Natsuo is uncomfortable being around Endeavor because his very presence brings up painful thoughts and memories of a time when sharing the same space as him was a warning to run and hide. This is later directly confirmed by Natsuo as he says that every time he looks at Endeavor's face he remembers Touya and the pain he was in.

I feel like an important side note is that we have never seen Natsuo outside the context of his family, which is understandable, as the role he plays in the story directly relates to them. However, if you take a look at Shouto, even though his experiences have shaped him to become who he is, he definitely acts differently when Endeavor's not in the vicinity.

Back to Touya's death, it would be very rare that someone would mourn a death for an entire decade without finding closure unless there are other factors preventing it, and uncomfortably this seems to be the same thing for both Natsuo and Endeavor: guilt.

This is getting incredibly long already, but it's important to note that Natsuo probably felt an incredible responsibility to take care of Touya and protect him because of his empathetic nature. His love was never going to be the same as having loving parents. His encouragement was never going to be the same as having support from Endeavor. Even further than then neglect and abandonement, it was not being able to save Touya that really made Natsuo feel worthless.

He seems to try and remedy this inability to save Touya and diminish his guilt by doing everything he can to be better. He reaches out to Shouto to be a better brother, he consistently pushes his limits to entertain Fuyumi's notion of a happy family, and he's working hard towards a degree rhat will allow him to help people like Touya (and Rei) because he failed to do so in the past.

His bio mildly implies that he didn't have much of a direction he was heading in after high school, but Fuyumi's encouragement led him to seek out his current college career. This goes back to Natsuo's 'purpose' in a sense revolving arount Touya, from his birth to his relationship with him to his death, after which he lost his direction. They were always rather inseperable, so naturally their seperation hit Natsuo hard. He lost his direction in life so when Fuyumi encouraged him to rediscover it, he thought of helping people, because that's ultimately what he was born to do.

Thank you so, so much for reading this if you made it to the end! I clearly have a lot of thoughts on this. Let me know what you think about it as well, and hopefully we'll get more info on this soon in the manga :)

[ticklishfiend]

The Persuasion Machine (My Hero Academia)

Lee!Bakugou / Ler!Class 1A Girls ⚠️PLATONIC⚠️

(A sequel to “Pure Gold”: read that first!)

A/N : sorry it took me a while to get this one out! school has been terrible and i’ve been sick with migraines for days but hopefully this is good enough! i’m working on another mha fic rn so hopefully i don’t quit on it lmaoo. hope u enjoy!

Summary : Bakugou begrudgingly attends the girls sleepover Mina has invited him to so she doesn’t blackmail him with incriminating material. When he doesn’t answer one of their gossipy questions the way they wanted, they decide to use a little persuasion to guide him their own way (leading to some interesting results).

Word Count : 3461

REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!! MWAH <33

-

Bakugou had been dreading today from the moment he agreed to attend this stupid ass sleepover in the first place. Since when did he start caving so easily to puppy-dog eyes of all things?! His friends were starting to make him go soft, and this is NOT something he needs hanging over his head while trying to become the world's number one hero. Especially not from someone who now knows his deepest, darkest secret; he absolutely loves romance anime.

He couldn’t help it, the stories were always so compelling and they drew him in every single time without fail. Sometimes he’d catch himself getting emotional at the worst of the worst shoujos out there, but dammit if he didn’t love a good confession scene, alright?! There’s just something so satisfying about the build-up, the angst, the tension, all of it is just enough to make the stone-cold, stoic future pro-hero shed a few happy tears. He really couldn’t help it. Especially considering he’s been having feelings of his own for someone recently, so that mixed with those heart wrenching scenes..it’s impossible not to cry, okay?!

But now that he’s got someone else who knows this secret about him, he can’t allow it to get out there in the world. Mina is one of his most trustworthy friends, but she’s also the most inclined to gossip. She’s not one to turn away from good blackmail material, and now that she was lying on this pot of gold there was nothing that could turn her away from it, not even good old-fashioned tickle torture like he had already tried. It seemed Bakugou’s real, true, only option at this point was to attend that dumb fucking sleepover and get this shit over with once and for all.

So that’s what he did. Even though he tried his best to ignore the nagging dread building up as the day slowly dragged on, the moment he heard that excited knock on his door at 6 that evening, he knew there was really no escape. He was being forced against his will to have...fun.

With an exasperated sigh, Bakugou trudged from his bed over to his dorm door, throwing it open only to be attacked in a vicious hug by a flash of bright pink. The girl held his arms tightly against his sides as his eyes drooped in annoyance, Mina letting out an excited little squeal as she tired bouncing the boy up and down in her hug.

“Eeeee! I’m so excited, Blasty, you have no idea! Tonight’s gonna be the best night ever!” She giggled giddily, finally letting him go before grabbing his wrist and quickly leading him out into the hall towards her room. He growled at the contact, though didn’t put up any resistance. Better to just get this shit over with and let the little nuisance have her fun, Bakugou thought as they finally reached the door to her room. He could hear chatter from the inside, assuming the girls had been hanging out for a few hours before Mina had decided it was time for her little guest star to arrive. She placed him a little ways away from the door, standing in front of it and facing him with a wide grin. He was taller than the girl, having to look down to her in order to see the bright smile that seemed to be plastered onto her face at all times.

“Okay, so, here are the rules for tonight: don’t be mean. This is a FUN night, I don’t want you ruining it for the rest of the girls, got it?” She pointed an accusatory finger up towards his face. Bakugou only lowered his eyelids in response, obviously annoyed. She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Okay, fine, you can be a little mean, but only because we find it kinda funny sometimes. Just no making anyone cry!”

Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and throwing his eyes towards the ceiling. “Fine. No one will cry.”

“Good. Next: actually try to have fun with us! Don’t just sit there all mopey like you’ve done during dorm game nights. Actually try!” Mina entangled her fingers together and held them up to her cheek, giving Bakugou the biggest, most pathetic little puppy eyes the explosive teen had ever seen. “Pretty pleeeeease?~”

“Good god, Pinky, I get the fuckin’ idea! I’ll try, alright?! But if you show that video to ANYONE, so help me god you’ll never see another sleepover for the rest of your damn life!” Bakugou shouted, and though his screams would be terrifying to anyone else, Mina only chuckled in response, throwing up a thumbs up towards her taller counterpart.

“Get ready, Blasty, cause this is gonna be great.”

-

Bakugou couldn’t help it. He was stiff when he first arrived, feeling awkward and out of place. This wasn’t his territory, wasn’t his environment. He was surrounded by giggly girls who wanted him to play their little games and gossip, and it just felt...wrong at first.

And it just kept getting worse.

“Soo...Hagakure...any new interesting developments with Ojiro?” Mina grinned towards the floating pair of pink pajamas rested on a purple bean bag. The other girls all giggled, Tsu even shoving at Mina playfully with a funny scowl on her face. Bakugou knew what they were talking about, and he was not interested in this conversation at fucking all, and for more reasons than just general annoyance.

“I mean, just the same old same old I guess. Not that that’s a bad thing! I’m loving how we are right now, he’s just so sweet and loving and...yeah. It’s going good,” the invisible girl shifted in her seat, and though they couldn’t see her, the smile on her face was blatantly evident in her voice. “Have you guys got any crushes you wanna discuss?”

Jirou’s face turned bright red, though she remained silent and frozen in place. Mina spoke up first. “Nope! Not for me, at least. Still waiting for the day I’m a pro and can finally try to win some with Hawks. God, that’ll be the fuckin’ day,” Mina sighed happily, and Ochacco just giggled and punched her shoulder playfully.

“You won’t get within two feet of the guy before he files a restraining order,” Uraraka said snidely, making the girls laugh. Even Bakugou had to stifle a small chuckle behind his palm.

“Hawks, huh?” Bakugou finally spoke up, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his legs on the bed. He decided the best way to speed tonight along was to engage in their conversation. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

“Ohoho yeah. What, you tellin’ me you don’t think he’s hot?” Mina chided, looking up towards Bakugou from her place on the floor.

“Didn’t say that. And I didn’t say I was shocked either. ‘Course you picked a pro to crush on and not anyone you actually know,” Bakugou said mockingly, but it only prompted a sadistic grin to appear on Mina’s face.

The pink girl quickly popped from her spot on the ground and up onto the bed with Bakugou, Momo, and Jirou, leaving barely any room on the space. “Hey, what the f-!” Bakugou started, before Mina plopped herself cross-legged right in front of his face, and evil look glinting from her eyes.

“Who do you have a crush on then, Blasty?” Mina’s grin was face-splitting, and the look in Bakugou’s eyes gave her everything she ever could have wanted.

“Crush?! Why would I of all people have a fucking crush!? I don’t like people!” Bakugou shouted, though from how close Mina was to his face right now, it was impossible for her to miss the small tinge of blush on his cheeks. She was striking gold again already.

“I don’t believe you~” Mina sung, her two index fingers wiggling at his chest in teasing mockery. “C’mon, Bakugou, you’re so easy to see through! Just tell us and noooo one has to suffer!”

“The fuck are you talking about?! I don’t like anyone, end of discussion, okay?!” Bakugou shoved Mina away from him (not too forcefully, of course, just enough to shove her towards Momo sitting on the pillows). Mina sighed with a smile, shaking her head with tuts of disappointment.

“Y’know, I didn’t want it to have to come to this, Katsuki Bakugou, but you really leave me no choice,” Mina looked around at her friends with a knowing but evil shine in her eyes, and they all perked up with understood smiles, and Bakugou couldn’t help the tinge of fear he felt shiver down his spine. “Girls...I think it’s about time we introduce our guest to the ‘Persuasion Machine.’”

“The fucking what-!? -hey! The hell do you think you’re doing! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” Bakugou shouted as all the girls pounced on him at once, all grabbing at him for an arm. Tsu, Uraraka, and Hagakure all took his left arm, while Jirou and Momo prompted for his right, each of them holding onto his limbs back tightly enough where he was restrained. Mina plopped herself down on his outstretched thighs, now uncomfortably close to his face.

Mina wiggled her fingers out in front of the boy’s face, and all at once Bakugou understood what was about to happen. This wasn’t just persuasion. This was revenge for last night.

“You’ve got one last chance to talk, Katsuki. Who do you have a crush on?” Mina spoke in a low interrogator voice that would usually be amusing to Bakugou if it weren’t for the fact he was very obviously about to be tortured by tickles.

“NO ONE, PEA FOR BRAINS! LET GO!” Bakugou pulled at his arms, but in all honesty...he chose not to put up that much of a fight. He wouldn’t let the girls know this, of course, but...if he’s here to let them have fun, then dammit he’s gonna let them have their fun, even if that means sacrificing his dignity even just a little. At least it’s these girls and not anyone who’d actually judge him.

“Fine. Have it your way,” Mina smirked, looking towards her friends restraining Bakugou on both sides. “Girls, pin him.”

Before Bakugou could even blink, the girls had him pinned on his back against the bed, now sitting on his arms.He tried to move them, really move them that time and...nothing. Shit. Oh shit. He was actually restrained now. He really couldn’t move at all.

Fuck.

“Pinky, I swear to god if you fucking touch mE-” Bakugou grunted, locking his jaw together when he felt those evil, evil acrylics scribble on his belly. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, tossing his head to the side trying desperately to distract himself from those skittering fingers that never relented.

“Ooh, little ticklish, Bakugou?~” Mina teased, pushing his black tank top up just slightly to reveal his toned but quivering belly. She scratched her nails along his sides, making him grunt out a giggle much to his dismay.

“NO! I’m nohot!” Bakugou giggled as her index finger scratched right below his belly button, his face twisting up in a smile he absolutely despised. “FUCKIHIHING QUIT IHIHIT!”

“Wow, he must be really ticklish. He broke pretty fast,” Tsu spoke bluntly, and though she was only rationalizing the situation, her words somehow felt so teasing to him in the moment, making his giggles go even higher pitched than before.

“Right? Mina’s barely touched him and he’s already giggling,” Jirou chuckled from her side, her eyes never leaving the giggling boy below her. “Can’t wait to see how he reacts when she really gets going.”

Without warning, Mina began kneading her thumbs into the sides of Bakugou’s belly. The explosive teen threw his head back in mirth, cackling and just barely kicking his legs out behind her.

“NAHAHA! STAHAHAP! FUHUHUCK YOHOHOU!” Bakugou spat out between his cackles, prompting Mina to gasp in mock shock.

“Well I never, Bakugou! Is that really how you would speak to your bestest friend in the whole wide world?” Mina moved her fingers up towards the bottoms of his ribs, sending him into a whole new wave of giggles and cackles, digging his heels into the bedsheets. “Aww, are your ribs sensitive, Blasty? You real ticklish here?~” Mina pinched at his bottom ribs quickly, and Bakugou was hysterical.

“GAHAHAHA! NOHOHO! I’M NOHOHOT! QUIT IHIHIT!!” Bakugou laughed, tugging at his arms restrained by the girls on top of him. “MINAHAHAHA!”

“Oh my god! He never calls me by my actual name! We’re actually getting through to him!” Mina shouted in excitement, slowing her tickles til she was just resting her nails on his ribs in teasing warning. He breathed heavily at the relief, but his cheeks were flushed in embarrassment and he only opened one eye to look up at his interrogator. “You ready to talk yet? Cause I know there’s gotta be a love interest in that mean little head of yours somewhere!”

Bakugou growled up at her through bared teeth, still breathing harder than he wanted to be. “Fuck...you…” He grumbled at his interrogator, clenching his fists in anticipation as he felt those nails just barely start to move again. They moved at an agonizingly slow rate, making him squirm but not yet giggle.

“Maybe we’re not being mean enough. Jirou?” Mina looked up towards the grinning purple-headed girl in front of her, who already knew what she had to do.

“With pleasure, Mina,” Jirou chuckled, extending her earphone jacks down towards Bakugou’s exposed armpits, just barely letting them touch the bare space. Bakugou’s eyes widened in excited fear at the sensation, his body jerking involuntarily.

“NO! Fuck, no, wait!-”

“You wanna talk?” Mina asked, nodding her head at Jirou, alerting the girl to begin moving her jacks in his underarms. She just barely tickled the area teasingly, but he was a puddle of giggles in no time. His teeth were clenched shut and eyes screwed tightly closed, but the high-pitched, breathy giggles that made his chest shake were unmistakable.

He shook his head in answer to her question, before barking with loud laughter as Mina dug into his upper ribs right below where Jirou continued her teasing onslaught of tickles.

“NAHAHAHA! STAHAHAH-” Bakugou cackled, his words getting lost in the mess of laughs and shrieks as the girls continued their torment on his sensitive body.

“Aww, he’s so ticklish! I really didn’t expect this from him to be honest,” Uraraka cooed, using one of her free hands to scribble one nail down his exposed neck on her side. Bakugou let out a surprised squeal, scrunching his head down to shoulders, effectively trapping her finger in the terribly sensitive area.

“GAHAHAHA FUHUHUCK! QUHUHUIT! I SWHEHEAR!” Bakugou screamed with his own aggressive form of pleading, kicking his legs out in playful agony.

“All you have to do is say one little name, Bakugou~” Mina teased, her right hand staying to squeeze at the hypersensitive spot on his ribs, while moving her left to down to vibrate her index fingers into his very lower rib, the exact spot and method he had used on her the night before.

Bakugou lost his mind.

“FUHUHUCK NO PLEHEHEASE! STAHAHAP IHIHIT! GAHAHA SHIT NOT THEHEHERE! NOT THAHAHAT!” Bakugou screamed, bringing his knees up towards Mina’s back in a desperate attempt to curl up, before resorting back to his hysterical kicking like before.

“Tickle tickle, Blasty~” Mina cooed, turning the cackling boy beneath her a bright shade of red.

“Oh, he’s blushing!” Momo awed excitedly, pointing down at the boy’s face.

“NO I’M NOHOHOT!” Bakugou howled, squeaking when the finger Momo used to point began wiggling in his pit along with Jirou’s jack. He threw his head back in mirth, shrieking and cackling at the overwhelmingly ticklish sensations on his body.

“Somebody can’t handle being teased, huh?~” Hagakure pointed out.

“Nope. Poor thing’s gonna break in a minute, I promise you,” Mina spoke as if Bakugou wasn’t even there to listen, which only added fuel to his flustering fire. “So you ready for a break, Explosion Boy?”

“YEHEHES! GOD FUCK PLEHEHEASE!” Bakugou pleaded, gasping for air when all the ticklish sensations stopped at once. Tired, breathy giggles tumbled from his lips, his chest rising and falling in giddy exhaustion. “Fuhucking hell…”

“Crush, Bakugou. C’mon,” Mina crossed her arms, only resulting in Bakugou to roll his eyes.

“Is it that big of a fucking deal?!” Bakugou groaned, jumping with a yelp when he felt a single finger poke his belly button, “FUCK OKAY, OKAY! NO MORE! I’LL FUCKING TALK!”

“Finally,” Jirou muttered, chuckling when she saw Bakugou slightly blush from his spot under them.

“Just...this can’t...this can’t leave this damn room, you got that shitfaces?!” Bakugou’s insult wasn’t laced with his usual fiery aggression, and the girls knew he was serious.

“Bakugou, you would be surprised by the extensive list of secrets that have yet to leave these sleepovers,” Momo placed a non-tickly hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and she could feel the boy deflate relaxingly under her touch.

“Seriously! Nothing leaves this room, Blasty,” Mina gently grabbed Bakugou’s chin, turning his head to face her. His eyes finally met hers, and she nodded. “Nothing.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, again refusing to make any eye contact with the girls. “Fucking fine...but not because I want to…” he sighed roughly, shutting his eyes tightly before lowering his voice into a whisper that was just audible enough for the girls to hear. “It’s Kirish-”

“YES! I KNEW IT!” Mina threw her hands in the air with an excited screech, making Bakugou jump a little from surprise.

“I kinda thought the same thing, kero. Just wasn’t positive,” Tsu spoke with a finger on her chin before gently climbing off the boy. The other girls followed, and once he was finally free he pushed himself back to his spot against the wall, bringing his knees to his chest to lay his arms on top.

“So fucking stupid...why did you wanna know that shit so bad anyways, huh?!” Bakugou still couldn’t make complete eye contact with any of the girls out of embarrassment.

“Just thought it would be cute!” Mina smiled widely, before turning to face all the girls again. “So, anybody up for Just Dance?”

-

“Aw, really? You’re turning in already?” Mina whined up at Bakugou who was already making his way towards the door.

“Pinky, it’s 1 in the goddamn morning. I’ve already been tickled to death, played Just Dance, painted Kermit’s fucking nails, watched a shitty-ass horror movie, AND told you my who my stupid fucking crush is; I think I’ve got the whole damn sleepover experience,” Bakugou grunted before turning his body back towards the door before pausing his hand on the knob. “Actually, uh...come out here a minute, Horns. Gotta ask you something.”

“Already told you once, Blasty, they aren’t horns!” Mina said as she got up from her spot on the floor and over towards the door with Bakugou. “I’ll be back guys!”

“Alright. Night Bakugou!” Uraraka waved at the pair with a wide smile. All the other girls said their goodnights as well, Bakugou only nodding in response.

The pair made their way into the dark, quiet hallway together, shutting the door behind them. “So what’s up?” Mina asked in a whisper.

Bakugou pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “How...how did you know?”

Mina’s brow quirked. “What?”

“You said you knew I liked him...how?”

Mina couldn’t help but smile. She shrugged. “Pretty obvious, Blasty. He’s the only one you tolerate. I used to think it was just cause you respected him, but when I found you watching that romance last night, it all just kinda made sense,” Mina chuckled, enjoying the slightly embarrassed silence Bakugou gave her in response. That was before Mina gasped suddenly.

“Oh goodness, I completely forgot! I’ll delete it right now, promise!” Mina took out her phone, when Bakugou made a small confused noise.

“Huh? Delete what?” the boy asked.

“The video I took of you. Y’know, the whole reason you came here tonight?” Mina turned her phone around to show Bakugou the clip of him crying at the screen of a romance anime, which made the boy blush in the dark.

“Oh, yeah,” Bakugou huffed. “You, uh...you do that.”

Mina just giggled before deleting the video for good. “Goodnight, Bakugou.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Bakugou rolled his eyes with a small hint of a smile, poking her once in the tummy. “Night.”

Mina watched as Bakugou trekked his way back to his room, and couldn’t help but smile. She knew, without a doubt, that that explosive kid with no friends…was definitely her friend.

-

A / N : thank you for reading, i hope u enjoyed!! sorry it took so long to get out, i’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff in my personal life lol. pls leave a like and pls pls reblog if u can!! <3 xx

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2021 anime overview: Quick Takes

Now for my Spring 2021 anime thoughts! I’ve decided from now on if a season’s like, 20- to-24 episodes I’m just going to wait ‘til it’s done to review it unless I feels super passionately, so though I watched To Your Eternity (it’s good!) and MHA (eh), I’ll comment on them next time. Also, for the record, I watched the first eight eps of Joran: Princess and Snow of Blood but I dropped it because it had clearly crossed the line from entertainingly dumb to boring dumb. 

I will probably give Supercub and some other stuff a shot later, this was a stacked season! May give updates on all that later, but this is what I have for now.

ODDTAXI

Quick Summary: A mild mannered middle-aged walrus taxi driver is drawn into a case involving a missing girl, yakuza, Youtube clout-chasers, manzai comedians and idols with big secrets.

It’s rare to walk away from media and be like “that is a singular experience I will definitely never see repeated again” but ODDTAXI is definitely one of those. A tense noir thriller murder mystery starring cartoon animals that spends an entire episode detailing the one (cat)man’s very fall into darkness triggered by addiction to gacha games and an online auction for a novelty eraser? Also there’s a porcupine Yakuza who speaks entirely in rap? Also there’s tons of meandering conversations about stuff like manzai comedy and the struggle to go viral on Twitter?

Admittedly, I had a hard time getting into the first episode, the dry meandering humor not being enough to hold my attention while I was sitting still, but once I watched this while I was working out at the end of the season, I found it an easy binge. A ton of characters with dark secrets or dangerous ambitions, each with their own part to play in a tableau of intersecting events- and it all actually comes together really well.(As for the female characters, it’s a pretty dude driven story, but they do get nuanced characterization and even some good heroic moments from one of them.)

 It’s a great example of a carefully planned narrative paying off, with all the twists appropriately seeded and foreshadowed to reward viewers who paid attention. Even when it ended on a perfect “OH SHIT” moment and denied me closure, I couldn’t help but respect it. If you that all sounds interesting to you, definitely check out the first couple episodes and see if you like it- you’re likely to have a memorable, satisfying experience!

Shadows House

Quick Summary: Emilyko is a ‘living doll’ who’s told she was created to act as the ‘face’ of her shadow master, Kate. The shadows and their ‘dolls’ all reside on the mansion and are required to pass a ‘debut’ to prove they’re a good pairing. If they don’t pass, they might be disposed of. And so the mystery of the Shadow mansion grows...

This slice of gothic intrigue was my favorite of the season, tied with ODDTAXI. With an interesting premise, slightly tense undertones and a strong focus on character building and relationships, it kept me hooked the whole way through. And for any squeamish fans put off by the hype about it, don’t worry, while there are some suspenseful elements, I wouldn’t qualify it as horror. I thought the relationship between Kate and Emilyko might end up being a completely sinister one, but it’s thankfully a lot more complex than that and it’s really interesting to follow how both their characters and relationship grow. The focus of the show is, unsurprisingly, on the “dolls” slowly discovering their autonomy and personhood as they struggle under the rigid system imposed on them by the mysterious elders of this weird Victorian mansion. Can they develop a more equitable relationship with their shadow “masters” (who are also shown to suffer under this system)? There’s a lot to dig into there, and the show has the characters develop through learning to understand and appreciate each other, which is pretty heartwarming. Our hero, Emilyko, is the typical plucky ball of sunshine (they even nickname her sunshine), but she’s also shown to be clever in her own off-the-wall way and she bounces off the far more subdued and cynical Kate well, not to mention the other ‘dolls’ she ends up befriending. 

What’s more, the show spends plenty of time to developing several other character pairings and combinations, and they all have their own interesting dynamic that makes you want to see more of them. Same-gender bonds are at the forefront of this show, and many of them are ripe for queer readings (I definitely appreciated the healthy helping of ladies carrying ladies), but even outside that it’s nice to see a show where a strong, complex bond between girls is at the forefront. My only real complaints about the show are the anime original ending is noticeably a bit rushed (though it’s not too bad, and leaves room for a season 2) and I wish the animation used the whole “shadow” theme more strikingly (like the opening and endings do)- instead the colors are a bit washed out which makes the shadows blend into the background sometimes. The “debut” arc also drags a bit in places, but it makes up for it by having a lot of good character integration.

I hope to check out the (full color)! manga soon and see more of this quirky, shadowy story. There’s some physical abuse depicted, sad things happening to characters and naturally the whole “oppressive familial system” thing, but otherwise not much I can think of to warn about. I give this one a big rec, especially If you’re a fan of gothic fairytales and stories of self discovery.  

Zombie Land Saga Revenge

Quickest summary: In this sequel season, everyone’s favorite zombie idol group must claw their way back into prominence after a disastrous show- the fate of the Saga prefecture LITERALLY depends on it!

This was a fun follow-up to the first season- if you liked the first zombie-girl romp, you’ll probably enjoy this one. In fact, there were a couple areas it improved on- namely, Kotaro failed, ate crow and embarrassed himself a lot more this season, which made him more likeable (as did the fact the girls gained a lot of independence from him). This season also shed more light on what the ‘goal’ of this zombie raising project is and what kind of shit Kotaro got involved with to make this happen, and it’s appropriately off-the-wall and ridiculous. We finally got some backstory for Yugiri too! I wish it had focused on more of her interiority, but she got to be a badass in it, and it was a treat to see this zombie idol show turn into a period piece for a couple episodes (also her song ruled).

 Tae also got a cute focus episode and there was a particular SMASHING performance early on! Also That revelation last season that had the potential to turn creepy hasn’t yet, and hopefully never will. The finale was heartwarming with big hints of more drama to come- I’m definitely down for more zombie hijinks!

Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song

Quickest Summary: A songstress AI named DIVA (nicknamed Vivy) is approached by another AI named Matsumoto, who says he’s from the future and they must work together to prevent AI exterminating all of humankind 100 years from now.

This show is absolutely gorgeous visually with some really nice action scenes, but when it comes to the story my feelings basically amount to a shrug. It’s fine! I guess! Vivy starts out as an interesting layered character- and I guess still is by the end- with her stoic but stubborn determination bouncing off her fast-talking bossy partner Matsumoto well. She never listens to him, which is delightful. The way the show took place over the course of 100 years was an interesting conceit as well. However, it bought up a lot of themes and then sort of... dropped them. For instance, Vivy interprets her mission (PRIME DIRECTIVE if you will) as protecting humans at all costs, no matter how destructive said humans are or what their fate is supposed to be, and is perfectly willing to murder her fellow androids to do this, showing she inherently thinks of androids (herself and her own people!) as less worthy. Which is a little alarming! There’s a very dramatic point in the show where they bring this up as a potential conflict for her character but then it’s sort of...dropped. Pretty much.

Actually, despite the premise, the show doesn’t dip into the “AI rights” as much as you think it would with the main theme being more about Vivy’s search to find her own creativity and discover what it means to ‘pour your heart into something’. Vivy herself doesn’t actually care if she has rights or anything. Which is in some ways fine, because ‘AI as an oppressed class’ has been done to death, but IT’S ALSO KIND OF IN THE PREMISE, so that means that the show just shrugs really hard at a lot of the questions it brings up  basically just going “humans and AI should work together probably” and that’s it. There’s a lot that feels underexplored. The antagonists in the show also either have motivations that don’t really make sense or have boring hackneyed motivations. In the finale in particular, it feels like a lot of things happen “just because” and it falls a little flat.

I also have to warn that one of the arcs focus on a robot ‘pairing’ where the dude-coded robots actions toward his partner are straight up awful and rob her of her autonomy, but it’s played like a tragic love story. I suppose you could read it differently too, but it definitely made me go ‘ew’ the story seemed to want me to sympathize with this robo dude,

Overall, I wouldn’t anti-recommend this show, it’s an all right little sci-fic romp (and definitely SUPER pretty). My favorite element was definitely the episodes where Vivy develops an entirely new (an loveable) personality, because it played with the idea of of an AI getting “rebooted” really well and interplay between her two “selves” was done really well. But there are a lot of other parts of the show that just feel...a little underexplored and empty, making me have an ‘eh’ feeling on the show overall. It’s definitely an ambitious project, and while it didn’t quite stick the landing, there’s something to be said for a show that shoots for the stars and falls short over a show that just languishes in mediocrity.

Fruits Basket The Final

Quick summary: The final season of that dramatic drama about that weird family with a zodiac curse and the girl who loves them.

It’s very weird that after not cutting a lot out, they kinda sped through some material for, you know, the finale. I guess they thought they couldn’t stretch this final arc to 26 episodes? Or weren’t cleared for another double cour? However, though there were a couple places that felt awkward, despite being a bit condensed it mostly held together pretty well for a D R A M A T I C and ultimately heartwarming conclusion. I was really disappointed they kept the part where Ritsu cut their hair for the ‘happy ending’, I thought  their intro episode not showing them in men’s clothes meant the anime had decided their presentation didn’t need to be “fixed” but WELL I GUESS NOT. That was the only big upset for me though, otherwise the adaptation went about how I expected, sticking to the source material. Furuba has a lot of bumps, from weird age gap stuff to ...gender, but it also has a lot of important feels and great character arcs. It was a gateway shoujo for many and has its important place in animanga history, so I’m glad it finally got a shiny, full adaptation.

[yellowocaballero]

Percy Jackson meets a Landlord, a Tax Accountant, and a Tree Growing in Brooklyn

“Golduck, use hydro pump!” Percy whispered. He moved Golduck so he hit Batman on the chest, and then hit Batman a few more times for good measure. “Die, landlord!”

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing with toys?”

Percy almost fell out of his chair. 

He twisted his torso around, looking behind him with wide eyes. But the only person there was a white girl, no older than him. She was wearing a really severe expression to match her tight little blonde ponytail, and she was carrying a clipboard in both hands. There was a piece of string tacked to the clipboard, with a pen tied around one end. She looked like she asked the school librarian if she could help shelve books. 

Percy decided instantly that she hated him, so he decided to hate her back. 

“Aren’t you a little young to be doing your taxes?” Percy sneered. “Buzz off.”

That made her mad. The girl’s angelic little chubby face twisted in rage, and her grip on the clipboard turned threatening. “I’m accounting the chores! And I could do taxes if I wanted!”

“Yeah?” Percy asked, unimpressed. “Name one tax.”

“Sales tax,” the girl said instantly. 

Damn. She got that one.  

Short fic that I am considering extending into a much, much longer fic. Thank you Ami for the translation of the card (I would definitely translate it yourself, it’s important). The entire backstory and premise of the AU isn’t immediately apparent, but if I extend the fic it’ll be more explained (spoiler: Luke Castellan, age 14, said fuck Olympus and moved all of Camp Half-Blood into Brooklyn to live in a child-run utopia). I haven’t reread Percy Jackson since I was 10, I barely remember anything that happens or any of the characters, so don’t expect much - but aren’t the best children’s novels the children’s novels that live in our head, anyway?

Rest under the cut. 

2005

180 Olive Apartments was a dump. Batman said so.

Batman felt very strongly about this, and as a result Percy did too. It was not Percy’s own, private, personal opinion. Batman informed Percy that the apartment complex was shabby, gross, not in Staten island, and smelled weird. Batman made a very convincing argument that they should live in Staten Island instead, which Percy had done his best to relay to Mom. Mom hadn’t been impressed. 

“This is the best place for us, Percy,” Mom had said, with that pinched look on her face. It was the ‘Percy’s Making My Life Really Hard’ face. Percy had been seeing that face a lot lately. “Let’s just try to make this work, please?”

There was no ‘best place’ for them, and Percy and Batman knew that. But that was another thing Mom didn’t want to hear. 

So Percy had suffered in stoic silence as Mom dragged him out of the motel, made him miss the new episode of Pokemon, and forced him to ride the subway forty minutes into smelly Brooklyn so he could sit in this smelly chair outside of some smelly office in a smelly apartment. From inside the office, Percy could hear the faint rise and fall of voices: Mom’s, light and lyrical and very polite to people who were not Percy; and some landlord guy. His voice was really light and high too, but he was probably a real jerk.

Percy was so bored he could die. He sat up on his knees, turning around so he could prop his elbows against the dusty windowsill with grimy frosted glass. He plopped Batman down on the dirty windowsill, smearing his chipped feet through the tracks of dust. Parkour. He unzipped his pocket and grabbed his slightly dusty Golduck rubber toy, putting it in front of Batman. Golduck was from McDonald’s, so it had a bad attitude. 

Percy waggled Batman. You have a bad attitude, Golduck. You can’t live in my house anymore, because you get water all over the tile and you make the wood go bad. 

Golduck jiggled when Percy shook him. It wasn’t Golduck’s fault that the water went everywhere! Water just goes places sometimes. Golduck was a water type, so water followed him around and got into wood and made the wood go bad and made other people mad at him. It’s not Golduck’s fault, so don’t make him move!

I don’t want to hear it, Batman said. I’m going to make you live in a crummy motel and make your Mom go on a lot of boring websites looking for new places to live. The motel’s bananas are going to taste weird. Mom’s going to cry a lot. And it’ll be all your fault because you’re a bad kid. 

“Golduck, use hydro pump!” Percy whispered. He moved Golduck so he hit Batman on the chest, and then hit Batman a few more times for good measure. “Die, landlord!”

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing with toys?”

Percy almost fell out of his chair. 

He twisted his torso around, looking behind him with wide eyes. But the only person there was a white girl, no older than him. She was wearing a really severe expression to match her tight little blonde ponytail, and she was carrying a clipboard in both hands. There was a piece of string tacked to the clipboard, with a pen tied around one end. She looked like she asked the school librarian if she could help shelve books. 

Percy decided instantly that she hated him, so he decided to hate her back. 

“Aren’t you a little young to be doing your taxes?” Percy sneered. “Buzz off.”

That made her mad. The girl’s angelic little chubby face twisted in rage, and her grip on the clipboard turned threatening. “I’m accounting the chores! And I could do taxes if I wanted!”

“Yeah?” Percy asked, unimpressed. “Name one tax.”

“Sales tax,” the girl said instantly. 

Damn. She got that one. Percy just rolled his eyes instead, sitting back down on his seat and stuffing his toys in his cargo pocket. He couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, even if he knew that he wasn’t too old to play with Batman and Golduck. What did tax accountants know, anyway. 

The girl sniffed, and made a show of inspecting the grimy windowsill and carefully making a note on her clipboard. Her pen had a pom-pom at the end. Percy bet she made hearts over the top of her ‘i’s. 

“Nick’s been slacking,” the girl muttered threateningly. “I’m surrounded by incompetents.”

“Why is it Nick’s job to clean the leasing office?” Percy asked, unimpressed. “Don’t you have a janitor for that?” Was Nick the janitor? If this pinched-face little girl was harassing cleaning staff then Percy was going to file a complaint.

But the girl just looked surprised, as if the idea of having a janitor was foreign and strange. “No janitor would even make it through the doors.” But then her eyes narrowed, as if a thought just occurred to her. “Wait. How did you…”

However Percy did what, he would never know. The door to the leasing office cracked open, and Percy scrambled off his seat in excitement. The girl stood stiffly at attention, clipboard on her hip, as Mom stepped out of the office. She looked very tired, but weirdly relieved.

There was a man right behind her, just as white and blonde as the girl. Percy wasn’t surprised: he could pick out a real ‘daughter-of-the-manager’ type right away. The man didn’t look like every other landlord Percy had ever seen - no moustache, for one - and he didn’t look old enough for the part anyway. He wasn’t old, but he definitely wasn’t an elementary schooler. He had a broad, honest face, but he was too muscular and strong looking and landlordey to be trustworthy. 

 Percy decided the weird landlord, with a mop of yellow hair like golden thread and a scary eyebrow with one long scar cutting straight through, was twenty five years old. Clearly the result of nepotism in the landlord industry.

Mom smiled when she saw Percy, who quickly pasted on his most innocent expression. Her eyes caught on the girl, who was glaring daggers at him. The landlord’s eyes caught on Percy’s own wrinkled nose. “Percy, good! Are you making friends?”

It was not an innocent question. It was a ‘please don’t ruin this for me too, Percy’ question. It was a ‘I’m very tired and I need you not to make things hard’ question. Percy was well acquainted with them. But maybe the girl was too, because when the landlord looked at the girl she also abruptly quailed. “I hope you’re being a good host, Annabeth.”

The unfortunately named Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other in silent and instant understanding. 

“Yeah, Annabeth’s really fun!” Percy said instantly. He was not going to ruin this for Mom again. Or, at least, he would try to hold off ruining it for her as long as possible. Even if this stupid apartment wasn’t in Staten island. “She was telling me about -”

“Taxes!” Annabeth said smoothly, a much better liar than Percy. “And Percy was telling me about Batman.”

They both looked very cute and very low matinence on command, the perfect picture of children who did not make their moms live in motels. 

Percy was rewarded when Mom smiled in relief. She put a hand on Percy’s shoulder, squeezing tightly. “I’m so glad. Percy, this is Mr. Castellan. Why don’t you say hi?”

“Hi Mr. Castellan,” Percy said obediently. “My name’s Percy Jackson, I’m in third grade.”

The landlord smiled at him with closed and tight lips, but it was Annabeth who spoke in interest. “Percy like Percival, King Arthur’s knight who searched for the Holy Grail?”

Uh, whatever? “Percy like the Greek hero Perseus,” Percy said shortly. “But I’m not Greek. My Grandma was from Guadalajara.”

Annabeth’s eyes widened. She glanced at the landlord, whose expression was impossible to read. “Are you sure?”

“I know where my own grandmother is from!”

“She didn’t say that you didn’t, sweetie,” Mom said, and Percy guiltily shut up. “Percy, why don’t you and Mr. Castellan talk in his office for a little while? I have to fill out some paperwork, and I think you two have a lot to talk about.”

Percy looked up at her with wide eyes. Mom never left him alone with strangers. And paperwork already? “Are we moving in today?”

“You two talk for a bit,” Mom said firmly. “I’ll be right back.”

When Percy was pushed into Mr. Castellan’s office it felt more like he was a Roman Christian being tossed into the lion’s den in punishment for heresy. And when Mom settled him into an uncomfortable and weird-smelling chair in front of the teetering desk and kissed him on the temple before leaving the office, he abruptly felt like he had jumped into Grandma’s book of Bible Stories. 

Mr. Landlord’s office was as dirty and run-down as the rest of the complex. The big box AC rattled with clinks and whirrs as it shuddered against the sticky summer heat, and the landlord’s desk was covered in thick stacks of paper and chewed-up pencils. When he sat back down behind the stained wood, the chair seemed just a little too big for him. He sunk strangely in it, the vinyl flaking off and floating into the ground. There were a lot of crayon drawings taped to the wall, and there was a light dusting of crumpled post-it notes on the ground. 

Mr. Landlord tried to smile at Percy. Tried being the operative word: when he smiled it was too thin and without teeth, more pained than reassuring. It didn’t reach his watery blue eyes. 

Percy hunched on the rickety chair. This guy set off every alarm bell he had, which was plenty. And no, it wasn’t just because he was a guy, Ms. Brown. For added security and self defense, Percy casually slid a capped ballpoint pen on the old desk in front of him into his sleeve. Batman was always prepared, and Percy was too. He can hack up any creepy guy and protect Mom any day of the week. 

The landlord smiled wider, even worse. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Luke Castellan, and I’m the supervisor here. Running into Annabeth first thing’s pretty bad luck, huh?” At Percy’s unimpressed eyebrow, he quickly added, “Annabeth keeps the whole place running, really. She’s...pretty convinced that this complex rests on her eight year old back, so she’s a little stressed out all the time. If she gets frustrated at you, don’t take it personally, okay?”

So she does help shelve books. Percy was a keen judge of character. “Why does she do it? You can’t make her be the superintendent. That’s child labor.”

Luke Castellan stared at Percy unblinkingly. He blinked about as often as a snake, but five times as quickly: as if he didn’t want to let you out of his sight for even a second. Finally, he said, “I’m fifteen.”

Percy gave Mr. Luke the stink-eye, clearly communicating that he did not trust even fifteen year olds (who were high schoolers, and even less trustworthy than adult-adults) as far as he could throw them. Especially fifteen year olds like Luke: who were too tall, with too-mature eyes and a particularly unhappy expression. Percy communicated perfectly that there was nothing trustworthy about this family of juvenile landlords, but he was just too polite to say so. 

But that just made Mr. Luke sigh, as if he was tired instead of angry. “Annabeth’s my...ward, I guess. I just look after her. But she doesn’t like being looked after, so she makes up for it by looking after everyone else. I’m not saying I do a good job.”

He’s a landlord and he has a ward? Percy finally perked up. “So you’re like Batman?”

Mr. Luke stared at him unblinkingly, before finally saying, “Yes, except Batman doesn’t have superpowers.”

Percy had the sense he was being made fun of. “You don’t have super powers,” he accused, crossing his arms. “Nobody has super powers.”

Mr. Luke smiled, wan and weak. “Not even you, Percy?”

Percy froze. 

Five seconds too late, Percy made himself laugh stupidly. People were quick to believe that Percy was stupid, and sometimes Percy helped them think that. It got him out of trouble sometimes - not always, but enough that it was useful. “If I had superpowers, I’d run super fast everywhere just like the Flash!”

But Mr. Luke just hummed, and flipped through some of the papers in a folder in front of him. Percy abruptly began sweating. Mom had given him those papers. They were records. This was like every time a principal had drawn up ‘proof’ against him in a court of law. “Your mom said that you both had to move out of your Queens apartment because it flooded.”

“I didn’t unscrew the taps,” Percy said reflexively. “They just came loose! I didn’t even touch them! I didn’t touch the boiler either!”

“The boiler?” Mr. Luke flipped back a few pages. “Oh, right. Your school.”

Percy slouched in his seat and folded his arms across his chest, stewing. He always sounded guiltiest when he denied it. He should go back to playing dumb. Pretend that he had no idea what water was. He had gotten away with it when he was six during that one birthday party at the aquarium, but something about being a third grader meant that people expected that you have basic observational skills. 

It was stupid. There was no way to win. If he said that he didn’t do it then he sounded guilty. If he tried to point out how it was impossible for him to break the boiler and destroy the gym or whatever, using facts and logic and a rhetorical argument like the Youtube videos taught him, then they just told him he was making excuses. Sometimes Percy had the impression that everybody just wanted him to supervillain cackle like the Joker and brag about how terrible he was. Maybe he’d give that a shot once he entered middle school. It seemed like an evil teenage thing to do. 

Percy Jackson was a liar, a thief, a cheat, a menace, and a bad kid. There was nothing more to be: not for someone like Percy. 

But Mr. Luke didn’t threaten him, or give him ‘one last chance’ or anything. He just leaned forward, hands folded on the desk. His thumb was worrying at a small starburst scar on his hand, betraying a strange nervousness. 

“Percy, can I talk to you man-to-man?”

Percy, who did not like men, squinted at Mr. Luke suspiciously. “Why.”

“Because this isn’t a topic for a kid. It’s a topic that...kills children, and turns them into little adults. I wish I didn’t have to broach it with you. But I think that you haven’t been a kid for a long time, Percy, and I don’t want to insult you by pretending otherwise.” Mr. Luke frowned, and Percy found himself involuntarily straightening. What was he talking about? “You were right. There was no way for you to have flooded your apartment, much less twice. There was no way for you to ruin your gym, or damage that aquarium. Much less...everything else in your file. No kid is that much of a miniature hurricane when he isn’t even trying. It sucks. It’s not your fault. And now your Mom’s credit score is so bad that she can’t afford another apartment. If it wasn’t for the fact that she saw our really generous listing in the paper, she would have had to move you two away from her home.”

She was thinking of moving them both to New Jersey. Percy’s lips tightened, and he knew that Mr. Luke saw it. 

“This is an apartment building that provides shelter to a lot of special cases, just like you. It’s...full of kids who break things when they don’t mean to. Kids with a parent couldn’t handle them, or who couldn’t protect them. We have a lot of ways to keep families like yours safe, and to give you a home.”

Percy stared at Mr. Luke. He seemed deadly serious, as serious as anybody had ever been to Percy, despite the crazy stuff he was saying. Safe? Safe from what?

Safe from those weird, giant dogs that chased Percy and tore off half his jeans? Safe from that old lady in the deli with the slobbering bag and beady eyes? Safe from broken water pipes, from ruined floors and busted walls, from Percy himself? 

Finally, all Percy could think to ask was, “How do you know that I’m a special case?”

“Because not just anyone could see that listing,” Mr. Luke said. “And - uh, no offense - but you are one of the most obviously inhuman children I’ve met in my life.”

Percy’s jaw dropped in complete, unadulterated rage, and without even stopping to think through his actions he withdrew the ballpoint pen from his pocket. He uncapped it, fully intending on doing something dramatically yet harmlessly violent with it, but he didn’t get the chance. 

The ballpoint pen turned into a gleaming bronze and silver sword. Percy screamed. Percy fell out of his chair. Percy did not get the opportunity to look cool and dangerous at all.

****

And now Percy had Greek god stuff to worry about!

Didn’t Percy have enough problems? He couldn’t stay in a school, they couldn’t keep an apartment, their new landlord didn’t blink enough, and now he was the kid of a Greek god? Apparently he had been spending his entire life running from monsters and he just hadn’t noticed? That explained the stupid scary dog!

Percy knew much more about Greek gods than the average kid, since Mom was a huge fan. Yeah, Mom! Apparently you were a big fan! Jesus, Mom!

What’s this dumb stuff about Poseidon! That had freaked out Mr. Luke, and made him ask a lot of questions like ‘are you sure’ and ‘there’s a lot of minor gods who like to pass themself off as someone more impressive to mortals’. Then Annabeth, who had been listening at the door like a sneak and who ran in all heroically when he almost accidentally stabbed Mr. Luke, freaked out and called his mom a liar. His mom!

Then Percy tried to stab her with his new sword. Mom made Percy apologize for trying to stab Annabeth. Mr. Luke made Annabeth apologize for insulting Percy’s mother. Percy was beginning to worry that he and Annabeth may be mortal enemies. 

Mr. Luke had tried explaining a bunch of stuff about monsters and ‘the Sight’ and why Percy’s life was terrible to him, but Percy already knew his life was terrible and he wasn’t interested. Percy ended up furiously swinging his new sword at a tree outside as Mom signed a bunch of forms and talked with Mr. Luke some more, but she hustled him home pretty quickly afterwards. 

Percy didn’t give the sword back. Mr. Luke, wisely, did not ask for it back.

Mom kept on making a face on the subway back to the motel like she had been waiting her entire life for Percy to ask all of these questions, and she was preparing herself for it. She kept on glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, watching Percy kick his feet against the hard plastic seat. It was obvious. But Percy didn’t have anything to say to her. They spent the rest of the day in silence, just focusing on packing up and getting everything ready to move. Jacksons were practical, Mom said. 

Jacksons were practical. Percy was practical, too. It was only in the deep pits of night, as Percy lay in bed holding up his sword and watching it reflect the soft lamplight above the creaky wooden table where Mom was doing work, that he asked. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The sword was really cool. It was pure bronze, with the middle gleaming pure silver. There was some Greek writing inscribed down the center that Percy had no idea how to read, although he had spent an hour scouring the internet looking for a translation. The handle was tough white cord, stiff and starchy but fraying a little at the edges. 

Mr. Luke said it was named something, but Percy forgot what it was. He had been a bit busy almost impaling the guy. 

Mom’s fingers froze over the keyboard. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn’t see her face, but her spine was stiff and rigid. 

Finally, after a long silence, she said, “I didn’t want you to think that there was anything different about you.”

“So what?” Percy asked, his eyes pricking rebelliously. Stupid water. “You let me think that I was a bad person who ruined your life?”

“Percy, no!” Mom turned around, expression crumpled. The dim light showed the heavy bags under Mom’s eyes in sharp relief. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, baby. None of this is your fault, you understand? That’s what this business with your father means: that none of it was your fault. That’s all it means.”

If that was true, Percy thought, then why couldn’t she have told him before?

But Percy was afraid that if he said that, then he would start crying, and Percy was way too old to cry. Only weak little babies cried. 

“I’m sorry my dad’s a loser who ruined your life, Mom,” Percy said.

“Percy…”

But Percy refused to answer her, putting his sword down next to him and pretending to go to sleep. He kept it next to him in bed all night, gripping its hilt tight, and the firm and cool pressure of the steel in his hand soothed him when the thought of a father didn’t. 

***

They moved in the next day.

The next day! Percy was livid. He barely had any time to pack up his toys into his backpack, and Mom didn’t even have time to help him back up his blue Spider-man suitcase. He had to do it all by himself, and then Mom came in and told him he was folding everything up wrong and that he had to redo it. If she had so many problems with it, she should have helped him and gave him more than one day to move out of their dumb motel! 

When people moved on TV there were always moving vans and buff dudes in baseball caps. But Percy was much better at moving then any of those idiots: all it took was a suitcase (of clothes and toiletries and stuff) and a backpack (of toys and school supplies and stuff). 

Percy’s backpack had the Power Rangers on it, in glossy plastic. Its contents were always the same, through every move: Batman, Golduck, Bulbasaur, Blue Eyes White Dragon, Raphael, a stegosaurus with a missing tail named Hedward, and a little book full of pictures of him and his mom and some cards and stuff. There was a picture of him and Grandma in the apartment in Staten Island that he lived in until he was six, and a 5th birthday card she had given him six months before she died. Written inside, in her looping and faded script, was a sentence Percy had read over and over and over again. ‘Tu angel de la guarda trabaja horas extra por tí. Así que acuérdate de decirle gracias ¿Sí, mi niño?'’

Percy was inclined to agree with her. God should pay his guardian angel overtime. That, or pay one to go to Olympus and collect child support.

The image was funny to Percy - the idea of his angel with her wings and halos showing up at Poseidon’s door and tapping her watch as she held out her hat. It was so funny, it was the first thing he told Mr. Luke when they met him at the gates to the apartment complex. Mom was huffing behind him with her two suitcases, while Percy was busy juggling his own backpack, suitcase, and sword. 

Mr. Luke looked alarmed to see the both of them, although Mom had called ahead and arranged to meet him here. Worse, Annabeth was next to him, still holding a clipboard. She didn’t look alarmed, just mad. 

“Did you bring Riptide onto public transportation?” Annabeth squawked. “You have no sense of discretion!”

Was Riptide the name of the sword? Whatever. Percy would have named it Hurricane. “I know words you don’t know too, you don’t have to brag,” Percy said flatly. 

“Yeah, the gods are filthy little child support evaders,” Mr. Luke said easily, instantly endearing himself to Percy. Mom rolled her eyes as she put her suitcases down, but she was clearly fighting a smile. “Don’t worry, I dragged them to court. Sued them for all they’re worth.”

“How on earth did you do that?” Mom asked, interested. 

“Trickery and rhetoric,” Annabeth said proudly.

“Swords,” Mr. Luke said. 

“What did you squeeze them for?” Percy asked, excited. 

Mr. Luke winked. And he still didn’t ask for his sword back. Maybe he wasn’t all bad. 

The apartment complex itself wasn’t nearly as big as a lot of Brooklyn complexes, looking more like the little apartment complexes in Queens that Percy was used to. It was three separate three-story buildings arranged in a square, with one side holding the small leasing office and a parking lot. It was open-air, with the apartment doors opening directly outside. There was a really big courtyard in the center, and despite himself Percy got a little excited.

It was awesome. There was a huge, sprawling tree right in the center of the courtyard. It was gigantic, bigger than any tree Percy had ever seen in his life. It seemed like it didn’t even belong in New York, like it was a transplant from the California Redwoods or Canada or something. Its leaves were waving in a nonexistent breeze, and something about it just seemed so magical and otherworldly to Percy. 

But that was only half of the awesome things. The other awesome thing was that there were kids everywhere.

The tree provided shade to a couple scattered gangs of kids, sitting around and laughing. There was a rusty set of monkey bars, which some kids were playing on, and there was a big dirt rectangle where other kids were hitting each other on the head with wooden plastic swords. There were groups of girls eating lunch, and a gang of boys playing soccer in the corner that made Percy immediately want to jump in and play too. Percy dominated at soccer. 

“The East and South buildings are where we all live,” Annabeth informed Mom. “The West building is where the training rooms and storage rooms and administrative rooms - that’s my office - and everything is. It also has guest units for the local spirits that like to visit. We just had ten Bacchae stay for a week. They were backpacking to Woodstock. We have very good inter-community relationships here.”

“That’s amazing,” Mom said faintly. Mr. Luke was smiling faintly, eyes fixed on the big tree. Percy found himself staring at Mr. Luke, watching with interest the soft but firm pride in his eyes. “Luke said that this property’s safe from…” 

She glanced at Percy quickly, cutting herself off. But Annabeth just huffed. 

“I almost got eaten by monsters twenty times when I was seven,” Annabeth informed Mom imperiously. “We’re not babies. Connor Stoll says if you’re old enough to get eaten by monsters then you’re old enough to know that they exist.”

Percy decided immediately that he liked Connor Stoll, and maybe even Annabeth too. 

“The tree protects us,” Luke said. “Wherever the tree is, we’re safe. Not even the gods date step foot beyond the leasing office here.”

“Because of the tree?” Mom asked. 

Luke smiled - sharp, piercing, and strange. “Sure, let’s say that.”

But Mom just frowned. She looked over the courtyard of kids - some of whom were already starting to whisper and stare. Annabeth waved at a gaggle of identically blonde children, and for the first time Percy wondered who she was the daughter of. Probably the bossiest god. Maybe Athena. Or, like, Hephaestus. Definitely Hephaestus. 

“You said that there’s nobody over eighteen here,” Mom said to Luke. “Luke, there’s a six year old on those monkey bars.”

“If you’re under thirteen, you live with someone over thirteen,” Luke said to her. Annabeth was still frowning in disapproval at Percy’s sword. He stuck his tongue out at her. “Two people to a unit, we try to pair the oldest with the youngest. Lucy lives with Henrique, he’s seventeen. It’s the best we can do.”

“Surely there has to be someone…?”

“Adults have never helped us. They never will.” Luke looked away sharply. “We’ve been in Brooklyn a year. You’re the first adult who’s made her way here. Most other parents with a kid as powerful as Percy would have -”

He cut himself off sharply, glancing at Percy, and Percy scowled up at him. He thought that Luke was being honest. Maybe he was just another old guy afraid to say what everybody else knew. 

“I’ll help Ms. Jackson settle in,” Annabeth said suddenly. She held out her hands to Percy, who reflexively hugged his luggage to his chest. “You guys are in unit 5. It’s on the bottom floor. If you flood it, then we can fix it okay. Give me your luggage, I’ll put it in your unit.”

Percy stared at her, overwhelmed with that simple signal of care. No threats about if he flooded it, no warnings or sickly sweet faux-concern. Just understanding, and acceptance. 

He silently gave her his bags. 

She seemed surprised when she felt how light they were. Percy shrugged awkwardly at her face, crossing his arms tightly around her chest. “Don’t touch my stuff, okay?”

“Sure,” Annabeth said, before pausing a beat. “We have a TV in our place. #1. Do you want to come over tonight and watch Winx Club?”

“Yeah,” Percy said, overwhelmed. “Sure.”

Mr. Luke put a hand on Percy’s back as Annabeth guided Mom to a corner unit. Percy couldn’t help but notice that the door to the unit was already propped open. Wait - there were people going in and out!

There was a tall, buff teenager, carrying two chairs underneath each arm. There was another group of three teenage girls, carrying a table between them. Two other younger kids were carrying boxes and laughing. They were bringing everything into the unit, and other younger kids were running in and out with cleaning supplies. 

From a distance, Percy saw Mom stop in her tracks. Annabeth tugged at her shirt and got her to bend down, whispering something in her ear. A boy with sandy brown hair ran up, taking Mom’s suitcases from her and bringing them into the unit. 

“Your Mom mentioned that you were missing some furniture,” Mr. Luke said. “The Hermes and Aphrodite kids all pitched in to get your home looking like a home. I hope you’ll like it.”

Percy clutched his sword to his chest, speechless. 

Mr. Luke smiled down at him, that same wan and weak smile, and put a hand on his back. He gently pushed Percy forward, towards the tree. “Come with me for a minute?”

They silently approached the sprawling, ancient tree. As they came closer, Percy could see that its bark was gnarled and knotted, with perfect handholds for climbing and perfect boughs for resting in the summer sun. He could already see a few kids resting in high boughs, taking a nap in the humid and sticky sun. 

“Percy, I’d like to introduce you to someone.” Mr. Luke’s voice was quiet, like he was in church. He looked up at the tree, peering far into the leaves as if he was trying to find something hidden within them. “This is Thalia. Thalia, this is Percy. He’s the newest member of the family. He’s also your cousin.”

Cousin? Percy looked up at Mr. Luke, eyes wide. “I’m related to a tree?”

Tilted up at the tree, Percy couldn’t see Mr. Luke’s expression. Maybe that was on purpose. “Thalia’s a kid, just like us. Daughter of Zeus. I used to think that she was the closest thing to an adult I knew, but...I’m as old as she is, now. I guess one day soon I’ll be older than she ever got to be.” 

Oh. The tree was, like, from the ashes of some dead girl. Awkward. Percy stared at the thick and arching roots of the tree, feeling weird.

“Thalia, please protect Percy. I can already tell that he’s going to grow up to be very strong and brave. Please help us make sure that Percy never has to be strong. That he’s never brave. I can already tell he’s going to need a lot of your help.” He looked down at Percy for the first time, and for the first time Percy could see just a little warmth in those icy blue eyes. “You’re going to have to work overtime for him. So make sure to say thank you, Percy. Okay?”

“Thank you, Thalia,” Percy said obediently. He bowed awkwardly, uncertain what to do. The sword scraped awkwardly against his thigh. “Thanks for letting me into your home.”

“Welcome home, Percy,” Mr. Luke said, and for the first time Percy almost believed it. 

[beann-e]

Arranged Marriages With Stoic Guys

female pronouns used for this one !

“ y/n you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to “

“ are you stupid of course I have to “ you snapped at your father who stood hovering over you a slight smirk on his face “ eh thought you’d want to hear what you wanna hear “

you scoffed trying to push his arm off your shoulders this was all stupid you didn’t want to do any of this

“ honestly i’m doing what’s best for you y/n you need this — we need this “ he sighed “ I mean don’t you want to help your family and yourself think about how well set up you’ll be “his eyes went stone on yours “ you need this “

you flinched at the way his sureness slipped into his tone there was no way you were gonna get out of this “ no you need this there is no we right now “

his face hardened as he held out his arm for you to grab “ shut up and grab my arm “

“ i’m not going out there with you “

“ yes “ his voice was threatening and quiet “ you are “

“ I said im no— “

“ look you’ve been weighing this family down for years yet, we’ve said nothing— and now you finally have the chance to help us — to show you belong in this world and you won’t ? are you serious “

His face flew up into a look of annoyance “ you have no other purpose than to help us that is why you were born to be shoved into a family rich enough to secure your own and your families needs and now you mean to tell me you don’t want to do what you were created for “

your mouth snapped shut at his claims

“ are you that disgusting that you can’t even help your family “

you felt your body go cold as he continued to press into you

“ you preach how we’re the bad people yet you do evil shit like this“

he scoffed looking down on you “ i feel nothing but pure disgust to even have to go out there and call you my daughter “

he shook his head in disappointment before putting his arm out for you to grab again “ grab it “ his voice raised “ and you better go out there and put on that glorious look of innocence his father liked “

you gulped as he directed you quickly out the doors and draped the piece of fabric that you wore on your head. Placing it over your eyes and walking you down the aisle that had been so beautifully decorated

you were suppose to be getting married today not that you wanted to but, you had to.

you were the only girl in a family full of knuckle headed boys who just weren’t smart enough for an arranged marriage.

This was your fourth time being close enough to being married off though you hated the other 2 there was one that stuck out to you and that was number three

Your third boyfriend was one your family never liked they saw him as disgusting, vile, and too dirty with his language.

To you he was caring and open and rarely ever talked too harshly to you as long as you managed to never piss him off. You were happy with him and he was the only one you could ever see yourself settling down with until he told you He would take care of you and only you.

That was the nail in the coffin when you brought him over to dinner one night and out of the blue he spoke loudly so everyone could hear him “ look — with this whole marriage thing when I do marry your shitty daughter “

his eyes coming over to look at you and sending a look of reassurance your way making sure you knew he didn’t mean it. Them falling back to look at everyone around the dinner table who moved comfortably in their seats not caring how he talked to you as long as they would get to live lavish

“ i’m not taking care of you guys “ he scooped up the leftover food on his plate “ i’m only going out of the way for her and her only — the rest of you are on your own “

he shoveled the food in his mouth speaking carefully and making sure to watch his words knowing how serious he had to be with them in order for him to be heard by your parents “ you guys are using her for money and I don’t like that i’m not taking care of shitty parents and two brothers who act like they can’t even tell me how to spell yen “

him laughing and turning to your eldest brother a small smile on his face “ hey jerk face “

“ uh huh “ your brothers body wiggled in excitement to be acknowledged “ what’s up “

“ spell yen for me real quick “

“ babe don—“

“ shutup needa prove a point for your asshole parents “

“ hmmm “ your brother thought out loud as your other one jumped in the conversation “ hey dude what’s yen anyways “

your boyfriends mouth flying open as he slammed his hand on the table “ actually scratch that — i’m gonna pay for them both to go to elementary school and be two tall ass bodyguards that talk and say dumb shit like this to scare the kids into learning “

he pushed himself out of his chair kissing you softly before leaving the room. The door slamming as your father followed him anger swirling off his body at not only your boyfriends attitude for not wanting to help them but for coming in his house and making a fool of his family

you never got any of what your third boyfriend promised because he never got the opportunity to come back and your father made sure to have you cut off all contact with him.

So lucky you

free wedding , new guy

“ smile “ you felt your face do what you were told immediately as your feet shuffled down the aisle anyone could tell this was painful or at least anyone who actually knew you and not the 100 paid citizens of japan who sat in your wedding chairs

The guy you were marrying is a hero so, you can see how easy this is for him to pay for. He had to keep this little ordeal in the papers but only so, his father could stay relevant or at least that’s how they explained it to you no one explained that this was your e—

“ y/n“ your fathers voice was sharp “ take his hand“ you blinked finally realizing you were at the end of the carefully laid out carpet “ pay attention don’t make us look stupid “

you smiled carefully at the male before you dragged your foot stepping up and using his outstretched hand across from you “ thank—thank you “

it was silent which you immediately understood you knew he felt no need to talk to you ‘ maybe he’s not that into talking in public maybe he’s a private kind of person ‘

yeah he was so private that he said nothing but his I do’s and his occasional mhmm’s when you tried to get to know him with this continuing all night you never got to. This was all set up between his father and your own. you and him had no knowledge you were getting married today from what your father told you

“ so how— how is hero work “ you questioned as you two sat in the busy hall waiting for the doors to open up to allow people outside into the courtyard for pictures “ I hear you are one — a hero I mean “

you looked up to him as he faced forward his mouth making no attempt to move “ what really no it’s that hard ? “ you looked off speaking to yourself “ wouldnt think hero work could ever be hard“

“ did i just witness you ask and answer your own question “

your body shook as you felt heat rise up in your body your temperature high hands starting to feel sweaty “ oh uh “

“ if we have to get you checked for mental health problems i’d like to do so early “ he never broke his gaze from in front of him even when the doors opened “ I do not want to wake up with a knife to my chest or walk in on you talking to your imaginary friend after work “

you face dropped you understanding you were getting no where in communication with this man. You grabbed his outstretched hand and let him weave you carefully through the many people you didn’t know finally he stopped only to grip your hand tightly “ don’t move and wait quietly please“

you nodded your head as you watched him talk to the photographer guessing they were discussing where you were gonna take your pictures

“ hello there y/n “ you heard a booming voice say turning around only to bump square into a hard chest

“ or should I say daughter in law “ his voice scared you it was something about the way he was so sure of himself something felt wrong here

“ oh um do I— I know you “

“ of course you do “ he pointed to your new husband smiling “ you married my son an hour ago “

you shook your head uncomfortable with being left alone with now not only one person you didn’t know but also two plus a room full of people you couldn’t even name “ excuse me if I seem a bit “

“— lost , ditzy, bimbo like “

“ w-what bimbo? excuse me “

“ it’s ok as long as your quirk is as good as your father tells me I am fine with your intelligence level not being up to par my son is fully equipped with the knowledge to take care of a woman and provide like a man should “

“ I-“ you thought for a moment deciding on if you should go all out on the male that stood before you retracting into yourself when you thought of your father

“ oh y/n i know — it’s the bimbo tendencies? yeah here i’ll make it easier for you is there something you wanted to say“

you flinched at the statement smiling and presenting yourself happily as he smirked down on you ‘ he knows what hes doing ‘

“ no no nothing at all “ you said feeling his large hand pat you on your back “ good girl— get over there my sons kinda dense when it comes to talking to people “

you smiled to hold all the hostility in your voice “ yes i’ve seen so much of his density in our one hour together I find myself wondering how he can provide for me without proper communication skills “

the males eyebrow raising at your ability to speak back to an elder “ hmm he suffers with interaction due to lack of affection— childhood trauma as people your age like to say “

his smile tight and not fully reaching his ears “ I do expect that you’ll show him the proper amount of affection no matter if you got dragged into this or not “

you turned on your heel leaving the annoyed male to his own thoughts your hands coming up to interlock over your new ‘husbands’ shoulders “ hi shoto “

he bristled at your touch his shoulder moving to drop your hands as he pretended to stretch his arm in a small circle side eyeing you carefully alerting you to not touch him without permission again before he turned back to the male in front of him voice low “ I do not understand why I cannot take the photos the way I want to “

“ your father sai— “

“ their my spouse ? “ he was direct with everything he said “ it’s my wedding “

you could feel the questioning in every word he said voice low almost threatening the male in front of you “are you going to believe a 90 year old geezer who just found out beating kids is wrong or are you going to believe your beloved pro hero ? “

you could hear the teasing he held at the very end that even made you want to move just as fast as the photographer in front of you and follow after him

“ how do you want to take the photos y/n “ Shotos eyes looked down on you expectedly as you shook your head in confusion ‘ how did I end up picking our poses he wanted to change the generic one that was preplanned‘

you looked into his face as his eyes morphed into a look you couldn’t quite figure out “ i’m guessing you did this for me ? “

he shook his head slightly “ oh so you thought I would want something different from the basic ph— ok um “ you smiled as you turned to the front “ can we just do a um — maybe a hug but he hugs my waist that’s always a pretty marriage picture “

you moved to look back at him as the photographer agreed shoto moving carefully to stand behind you and wrap his arms around your waist hesitantly “ you can — it’s ok “ you felt as his shaky arms snaked around and sat in the spot that you guided them to your arms moving over them as your hands tried to soothe his jumpy ones

“ hey calm down “ you laughed “ just a picture — not me waging war on you family “

he looked down on your smiling face his own going through so many emotions not able to tell which one he wanted to show “ at least not the rest of them — your father maybe “ he watched as you turned back around the camera clicking as a genuine look of interest for you passed over his face

“ do you guys want to take another one “

“ um I think we’re good he doesn’t um— he doesn’t seem like a photo- e guy and i’m not very photogenic “

the photographer shook his head in understanding letting out a sigh of relief that he held as you moved to walk off your husbands grip tightening on you “ hey I — you can let go now sh— “

“ do you remember earlier “ he questioned “ when I told you to stay put “

your body flamed as you knew you’d done something wrong immediately feeling like you should try to defend yourself

“ why did you walk off “ his eyebrows furrowed “ how — why did you disobey orders “

“ I just—- I didn’t — your father— he — he came up and he— “

“ either way you didn’t listen you moved from the spot I placed you in” his eyes were staring holes into yours daggers really “so no matter who spoke to you — you were in the wrong “

“ I — it’s my body I can move “

“ yes you can in the spot I placed you “

“ I don’t even know you I don’t have t— “

“ that’s how it works “ his voice roared looking to the ground eyebrows furrowed as he was trying so desperately to understand you “ that is how it works in a marriage you listen to me —when I tell you to do something you do it and when I tel— “

“ no it’s not what — I” your face made up in confusion “ who told you these things —- this is ? i’m not a kid I am your wife now—we’re on two equal playing fiel— “

“ no “ you gnawed at your lip as he waited for a rebuttal seeing as though you had been answering him back after everything he said standing up straighter when he seen your tightly closed mouth “ i’m done with this argument I was just curious of something and you answered it “ he unwrapped himself from your body and turned to leave tugging at his suit

you not knowing wether to follow him or leave him be choosing the first option when he turned over his shoulder and stopped his movement

voice coming out short you were so confused with your new ‘husbands’ behavior he expected almost everything from you as if you could read his mind without words “ sorry — sorry “

he shook his head in understanding as he went to get his car from the valet opening the door for you as he opened his own getting in and setting himself up properly for a nice drive

your back hitting the seat hard when he took off your mind racing thinking this may be punishment for your words and anger towards him earlier.

‘ maybe he’s gonna play fast and furious while i’m In the car to get me to shut up ‘

“ I do not intend to scare you if that is what you are thinking “

he looked into his side mirror as he got over into another lane “ but I do intend to build structure where I see there is none “

you knew you should be quiet right now is not the time to fight for your rights in this new relationship not when he was driving like he’d never heard of a car accident

“ and I am not sure about you but I do feel right now is the best time to set that in place seeing as though I don’t know you and I doubt you even want to know me “

he waited on your answer “ when I stop talking that signifies you may speak “

“ sorry yes— no I do want—want to know you “

“ that’s interesting “ he sat back in the drivers seat as he eyed the road carefully slowing down a bit when taking in your answer “ i’d like to think that we were both forced into this “

“ ye-“

“ but that is simply not true “

your eyes refused to blink “ neither of us were “ he slowed the car down even more as he pulled into an underground parking garage “ you were handpicked by myself because I was asked to find a spouse to spark some uproar in the headlines or else i’d lose my title of number three hero and I am not too keen on giving that up right now with my father being number four and only living to climb the ranks “

he turned his car off as he turned to you “ i do not want to give him that enjoyment— “ he sighed “ you are not necessarily wanted nor needed— the only thing I can ask of you is to uphold this facade out there and i will give you and your family— everything i originally signed to in the contract“

he opened his car door as he stood fixing his suit again “ in here — my house you either follow my set of rules or you will be asked to leave and id honestly hate to ask you to leave “

you heart fluttered so he was interested in you

“ because then i’d have to talk to the media and I do hate when they ask me questions they have the material to supply themselves an answer with “

you heard the slam of the car door as you got out yourself hearing the two beeps from his car when locking it following him up the stairs as your eyes blinked several times

no

no no

no

you followed him up the elevator images flashing In your mind as you looked to the buttons remembering the number all too clear as he stepped out and onto the floor opening the door to the pent house your sweaty hands fiddling with the bottom half of your dress

“ shoto”

“ todoroki inside please my love — also “ he moved to his kitchen stripping off his jacket “ baby goes for me —my love goes for you in or out I don’t care — but do not overuse it — you will only annoy me “

you smiled softly trying to rush to ask your overwhelming question that was buzzing around inyour mind “ baby do you um— by any chance do you happen to have a rooma — “

“ who the fuck left the door open “ you heard the voice your ears had missed so much your body wanting to drop to the floor after hearing it “ shitty icy hot always coming in places and just leaving shit open— it’s like you don’t even know privacy “

“ well that is true I have never been awarded such thing as privacy I was off throwing up on tile after a long hard restless day of beatings “

“tch always so quick to spill your shitty trauma — wheres the bitch you set yourself up to marry “ he scoffed as you heard him nearing the kitchen “ marry for hire I mean “

shoto nodded as if the male could see it closing his fridge making his way over to you pushing you to follow him towards the loud deep voice “ she’s here actually though she’s going to be busy in a moment — you’ll have some time to meet her afterwards I promise “

“ god — if it goes on all night I swear — still can’t believe you hired some weird bitch to marry you and the whor—holy fuck “

Your eyes rose to meet his as you saw the tall blond drop his grenades he held in his gloved hands the loud clang echoing throughout the house “ my god I do ask bakugou if we’re going to stay together due to the department , that you do watch how you mess up our house , you have free range to destroy anything you want inside your own room “

“ shut —shut the fuck up ice tray“ his eyes narrowed on yours as he pointed at you “ this is the — the bitch you went to marry today — the one you picked out “

“ yes — I — is there a problem “ shoto turned to look you up and down “ though I did suspect some mental health challenges earlier i’m sure you can’t notice them up front right “

bakugous body shivered as he took a step back from you his body prepared to run

“ bakugou i’ve never seen you this “ your grip tightened on your dress pulling it up in the back hand dipping low to grab at your cell phone knowing you would have to call for help if he decided to be the bakugou you knew and kill you your ears listening closely as shoto spoke “ this afraid it’s quite eventful “

“ you— you dumbass “ he kept his eyes on you “ get the fuck out this isn’t the place for you— go back to your run down shitty cottage or something “

shoto stood confused as bakugou ran to grab you his hand tight on your arm his body stopping eyes made up in sadness face dropping as he felt himself wanting to scream and cry all at the same time. Hand only gripping harder onto your figure

“ what is the meaning of this —- I find this disgustingly rude — bakugou “

he shook his head eyes dropping to the floor your heart breaking he won’t even look at you that’s how bad your father screwed things up for you

Him pushing you away from him and towards the door as he spoke low hurt and pain ripping through his voice “ she’s gotta go “ his body moving to walk away “ now “ he screamed “ unmarry her or some shit—I don’t wanna see that bitch when I come back out here “

“ katsu— “

“ don’t you dare say my name not like that not with tears in your fucking eyes and sounding all sad and shit the last time you said it was the best time dont make me forget that shit “

your body shook in fear as his eyes weighed heavy on you shotos voice pouring out “ god bakugou please what are you saying your just being a bit of an— excuse my language my love but an — asshole aren’t you ? “

his body stalling when he thought back to a few moments ago “ wait how — how do you know his name “

your heart broke as you looked between the two men.

Just your luck that you would have to choose between a man who would most likely give you nothing but pure gentle love and supply your family the same only for one small thing in return or one that you missed so much every night you went to sleep

then again you would have no choice but to be married to someone that you’d already signed away your life to in a binding contract that stated your family and yourself would be very well taken care of and who were you to choose love over protection ?

[yurissweettooth]

Why I Love Bunny/Yuri So Much!

Firstly, they have a lot of canon similarities:

Yuri and Barnaby both canonically talk to their plants (It's mentioned that Yuri does in his trivia, Barnaby actively does it in his schedule).

They both like opera (Barnaby in trivia, Yuri in schedule)

They both have similar personalities (stoic, intelligent, antisocial smartasses).

They have both experienced loss of a parent due to situations out of control.

To a degree they both have trauma surrounding fire.

Both of them faced betrayal by a father/father figure they once had a lot of respect for.

Vigilante tendencies... need I say more?

Neither of them (only initially for Barnaby as he gains one later) have a support system.

To a degree they are both parentless

Second, there's some inherent conflicts between them that also make for an interesting dynamic:

Even with Barnaby's slight leaning towards vigilante justice, Lunatic is still his enemy as a hero so he can't let him slip by. Additionally this means direct combat with one another, even if only one of them knows who the other person is.

Lunatic seems very keen for Barnaby to join him and in the last volume of the manga he actively encourages him to kill his parents murderer. It's the first time he's show to tolerate, let alone endorse, someone else killing someone.

Barnaby is the most heavily commercialized hero and Yuri is disgusted by the state of HeroTV and commercialism

Yuri killed Maverick and initially thought it improved Barnaby's life but, according to the rising, it did not.

Yuri hates mushrooms, they are his least favorite food. Barnaby loves stroganoff, a fish that almost always has mushrooms with it. Ironically it's a Russian dish as well. This isn't really a conflict, I just think it's funny.

Barnaby seems to have trust issues so letting Yuri get so close would imply that he has a lot of trust in him. If he knew beforehand that Yuri was a serial murderer he likely wouldn't have put that trust in him.

Yuri wad abused by a charismatic, well loved hero with hundred power. Barnaby is a charismatic well loved hero with hundred power. One who actually beat Legends record no less.

And some headcanons that I like for them

I think one day they'd benefit from packing up and leaving their lives in Sternbild behind for a more quiet setting. No more media stress, no bad memories, no past mistakes, just eachother and new beginnings.

Barnaby volunteers often at an orphanage to help children who lost their parents since he lost his own. I think if they were to adopt some of the children Yuri would also have a mentality of wanting to ensure they didn't suffer the childhood he had. I think they'd be loving (albeit a bit awkward) parents.

Because of how well they (unfortunately) understand each others pain I think they'd find it easier to open up to eachother than to most people. I think they'd find some healing together.

Opera dates, classy restaurants, traveling... I think they'd enjoy many of those things together. However, the best dates are when they spend the night at each other's houses and bake cookies and cuddle on the couch watching crime thrillers.

Barnaby is very allergic to cats but he sees that they're one of the few things that bring Yuri comfort and joy so he just suffers for his sake.

They know each other's boundaries and triggers and are very respectful of one another. Yuri scans through all the movies they watch beforehand so he can check that there's no fire scenes. Barnaby doesn't touch Yuri without asking first and never sneaks up on him. Yuri never complains about doing memory confirmations with him . Barnaby let's Kotetsu know that it's inappropriate to discuss Legend around Yuri and that, while he can't explain to him why, he needs to be respectful of it.

They sleep better next to eachother. It's easier to get to sleep when there's someone that they can trust there holding them and even if they had a nightmare the other one would be there to turn on the lights and groggy check around the house for them, make them tea, or do whatever was necessary to help them feel safe and get back to sleep.

I think they could really bond over their grievances about Wild Tiger. Both of them like and respect him but his antics...

Both of them missed out on a lot of their childhood so, through each other, they could find a way to experience a lot of the things they never got the chance to.

[thebestpersonherelovesbucky]

Falcon and the Winter Soldier Ep. 5 Takeaway

That opening scene was very intense to say the least. John Walker doing everything he could to justify his actions. Freaking out on himself and the entire situation. All that aggression in his grief. 

Both Sam and Bucky trying to talk John down before fighting. 

Their entire fight over the shield, the bloody shield at that. Omg how powerful. Sam fighting John on his own. “I am Captain America.” John ripping Sam’s wings off and then literally almost killing Sam with the shield. WTF, dude??? 

Sam and Bucky working together to get the shield away from him. Perfect.  

Bucky, buddy, I love you and I know you’re hurting, but when Steve dropped the shield for you it was meaningful. You were just acting like a man-child. Sorry. 

Sam wiping the blood off the shield. Holy fuck the raw emotion there. The symbolism. Mackie’s acting is incredible in everything but I think this scene takes the cake for me. 

Joaquin Torres.  “Sometimes there’s nothing to do until there’s something to do.” Can that man be any more adorable?? 

I do have to say that I felt sympathy for John Walker during the hearing. Not so much for him but the scene was definitely a testament to how we treat our veterans.

“I am Captain America.” Hence why I don’t feel for him much. It’s all about the glory for him even if his intentions are noble. 

Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine???? Where the hell did she come from?? What?? 

Oh how I loved Bucky holding the gun to Zemo’s head. Especially knowing that Zemo has been waiting to die and Bucky not killing him and Bucky giving him to the Dora instead. 

“We’re gonna do it our own way.” We’re. WE’RE.

Ayo and Bucky being cool again. 

The subtitles said ELI. ELI BRADLEY!! 

Sam’s visit to Isiah was so rough and heartbreaking. Isiah’s anger and bitterness is just so justified. “If you ain’t bitter, you’re blind.” Everything that happened to him. The lies they were told when given the serum. The fact that Isiah was punished and suffered the most horrible consequences for doing exactly the same thing Steve did in Azzano that made him a hero. The fact that he’d rather remain “dead” than even take a chance letting Sam have him recognized as the hero he is. His reasons for hating the shield and the mantel and never wanting a Black man to take them. 

Sam’s community coming together to help him and his family. No one even hesitated. So beautiful. 

Bucky showing up and just nonchalantly helping but still trying to be all stoic and shit but then just falling into that adorable caretaking role. 

Bucky and Sarah “flirting” omg that charming smile of his. 

Bucky just ripping things up. I love it when someone has super strength and you get to see it used in their every day life.

Sam and Bucky being buddies while fixing the boat. 

Sam “you’re so stupid just stay here before i beat your ass” Wilson

I don’t think Lemar’s sister was too taken by John’s sympathy. Not to mention he straight up lied about who killed him. Still not happy with the white man pain route they took to get here. 

Um. Wtf are they doing with Sharon? I’ve loved this so much and I s2g if they make Sharon into a villain I will burn them down. Seriously. Wtf. 

The contrast between seeing Bucky waking on the floor from a nightmare in the first episode to him waking on Sam’s couch and watching his nephews playing with the shield. That little smile he gets when they’re like “oh shit! we’re caugh! run run run!” 

How naturally Sam and Bucky have fallen into a friendship even if they’re a pair of dopes who won’t say it. 

Sarah Wilson is a gift to mankind. 

Sam and Bucky basically having a catch with the shield. 

The confirmation that Steve and Bucky both spoke about giving Sam the shield. I mean, I inferred that they did based on context clues but it’s awesome to hear it said out loud. 

Bucky finally admitting that he’s been wrong this whole time in giving Sam an attitude about it and apologizing (also adding that what happened with Walker wasn’t Sam’s fault). I also like that Sam doesn’t say “it’s okay” or “you don’t have to apologize” or something like that. Instead he says, “Thank you”, acknowledging and accepting the apology while not lessening Bucky’s actions that led to it. 

Sam and Bucky’s heart to heart. 

“You call me when you have a lead. I’ll be there.”

We’re not friends. Nope. Not at all. Not friends. WE’RE BESTIES!!!!!!

Sarah and Sam’s heart to heart. 

I’d like to thank everyone involved in putting together the Sam Practicing with The Shield montage. The Falcon music. The shots of him slowly getting better with it. The close up of those ARMS. The running. The push-ups. The flips. The shirtless. I’m only one person. How do they expect me to handle that?

Sam’s nephew tracing the star. 

So, I wanted Batroc to come back but I certainly didn’t want it to be with Sharon’s help. I’m...I swear if they do her dirty. No. Just fucking no. 

Karli. I feel for her. I feel her pain. But she needs to be stopped. In Sam and Bucky’s way. Not Zemo’s way. 

Sam finally got his wing from Wakanda! I’ve been waiting for this since the moment they broke in The Winter Soldier. I cannot wait to see them in action!!!

The post credit scene of John Walker making his US Agent uniform. 

I cannot believe there is only one episode left. I have no clue how they’re going to wrap this up and I’m really fucking scared but also super excited. 

[wannaholdhandswithfictionalmen]

Can I send a request for a fic with venti and a gender neutral mc? It's not really meant to be romantic or anything along those lines. I've just been constantly thinking about how the mc was stripped of everything, including their wings when they lost their fight against the unknown god, and how the gliders might have brought them a bit of comfort when trying to get accustomed to Mondstadt.

Something more heartfelt, maybe the mc just talking to venti after a late night out, or just waking up in the middle of the night to take a stroll in peace away from paimon, amber and the rest of the Chaotic knights of favonious.

This is more of a prompt if anything- I dont usually send requests so I dont know how to format them- sorry about that :'0

A/n: first time writing Venti. Oof. Hopes it's alright and anon I hope this is close to what you wanted.

Genre: Angst. Some fluff. (The power of friendship.)

Warning: It gets a bit angsty before it get softer.

Summary: The reality of your circumstances of the trapped traveler get you and Venti offers you some advice and comfort as your friend.

Word count: 1,420

In The Days To Come (How Much Will I Miss You?);

It was a series of perfect events, little coincidences, Paimon got distracted a while back by the smell of food, fluttering off with 'Delicious. Tasty food! Paimon will be back' before vanishing from your side. The knight of Favonius had no urgent problems to ask for your aid with now that the Dvalin has been saved and Mondstadt and its people can rest easy. You finally had time to yourself, time to feel and think of your new reality. 

It was the gentlest tug, pull of melancholy it crept up slowly, slowly, slowly all day nipping at your heels until you felt it from your toes to your head. Numbness, so empty at first then came sadness buried deep, ignored for days for the sake of saving others, making sure others were happy, living in their home, with their family-- while you were still missing yours. It felt unfair. Resentment and anger reared their ugly heads, howling like starving, ravenous beats. 

What an overwhelming torrent of emotion, waves after wave, lapping at your chin, your mouth, your nose. Sinking. Sinking. Sinking. No. Drowning. 

Until there was nothing but a muffled, muted haze of the world around you. 

If you nodded and 'hm', 'yes', 'sure', 'okay' your way through passing conversations no one noticed. Oh, how kind, brave and stoic the traveler was! Our hero! Maybe you didn't want to be a hero. You just wanted your sibling back. 

Gliding from the highest building in Mondstadt in the dead of night, you could close your eyes, imagine it, see it, your wings, the wind through your hair, the laughter of your best friend, your constant companion, your sibling-- 'I am absolutely certain, I can beat you!', 'Ha! How hilarious. You just try to keep up!' 

Then your feet hit the cobblestone of Mondstadt, your eyes snap open and that dream, that wish, all of it shatters into the most fragile fragments, fading away, slipping out of your mind, no matter how hard you try to grasp onto it, hold it close. Gone. 

You just want to cry. 

Figures it would be Venti who just so happens to find you. In the late hours of the night, every minute passes towards that too late but also too early threshold of time. 

He is whistling, then humming a gentle, soft song. Lyrics and melody unknown to you, deft, nimble fingers strum quiet, easy notes from his lyre. 

Quiet footsteps approaching your seating form, nearly hunched over a ledge outlooking most of Mondstadt from this peak near the cathedral and the statue of your friend, it was still a little odd to think of Venti, the whimsical, chaotic bard as a god but easier to wrap your mind around given the fact you had traveled to many different realms and worlds in the past. 

"How lucky I am to find a lone traveler, perhaps I could provide you with some company?" Venti interrupts his little performance to sit down beside you, cradling his lyre in his hands, you don't really have the energy to even answer or protest his presence even if you wanted. 

"Did you catch a bit of my new tune? I must work on something that will blow away even Master Diluc! Perhaps enough for a night of free drinks in the tavern in exchange for the request of my music!" Venti exclaims rather determinedly as always, especially when it came to getting the best wine possible, for free as well. The lengths he'd be willing to go is almost admirable in a way. 

Your answering silence, no laugh, huff or even a scoff at his expense nor a head shake, roll eyes. Nothing. 

"Ah poor traveler, your gloom could bring down even the brightest flowers bloom, what has doubled your trouble?" Even his joking yet sincere rhyming can't bring much of a reaction to your face and that eats away at Venti. Never one to want his friends to suffer, not if he is there to help in whatever way he can. 

Venti loses his playful, mischievous nature for the moment in favor of being serious. It's then he is more Anemo Archon then Venti the bard. 

"What is wrong, friend?" 

One tear is followed by many others, everything rushes to the surface, you shake, tremble, break under the weight of your own sorrow. Sobbing out to the blinking stars far, far away. 

"What if my sibling is gone forever? What if I never find any clues, signs? What if I spend the rest of my life trapped here, searching and searching?" You sound half hysterical with grief and worry, rambling out every doubt, insecurity you have kept so tightly hidden away. Because everyone else had their own problems and all the problems they wanted you to solve. 

"Years side by side, through every trouble, every battle, every adventure, journey, they were always with me. Now? I am alone. My power, my wings, my sibling taken from me." You sniff and cough, squeezing your eyes shut as the world around your blurs and become a mess of colors. 

"I am tired. I am scared. Why do I always have to be brave? Strong? My whole life has been turned upside down and I have barely had time to adjust! To take all of this in, it feels like every person I meet needs my help for something unrelated to finding my only family!" You can't help the way your words turn exhausted and bitter. 

Venti waits and listens to your venting without interruption. It's only once he is sure you have let it all out that he speaks. 

"There is no shame in your sorrow, your pain. You have been thrown into a situation unfamiliar and unless anything you have experienced before and you are being forced to endure this without your closest friend, your sibling." Venti's tone is slow, decisive as if he is giving every single word meticulous thought. 

"You are incorrect to assume that means you are alone. You have new friends here, people who care about you, your journey and your goal. Paimon, Me, Jean, Lisa, Diluc, Kaeya, Amber, we all care for you. And you will have our support whenever you need it. Without question." The finality and firmness of his statement leaves no room for argument. 

You realize and recognize the truth in his words and Venti stays by your side, in the quiet night as you cry and cry, relieving the tangled knot of everything you had let grow, fester and linger for so long, even before you found Paimon. 

Venti plays a soothing harmony, a mellow, delicate dance of the strings of his lyre and his soft voice, singing; something just for you, for the moment of trust and sharing between two friends. It is a lovely, comforting song as your tears begin to dry and the burden on you is lessened for now. 

It's easy to smile and hum along with Venti as if you've heard this a dozen times.

You have no idea what is awaiting you on the journey, what struggles you will face, what obstacles and hardships that will cause you to stumble and fall but you do have friends who will be there to pick you back up again and again.

"Paimon just enjoyed a juicy, sweet, savory meal! (Name) you should have join- wait a minute!" Paimon takes one look at you and her cheeks puff out in anger, it's too cute to be truly scary but the glares she shoots at Venti is fiercely defensive. 

"What did you do tone-deaf bard?!" 

You laugh, reaching out to take hold of Paimon, you hug her gentle. Paimon squeaks out in surprise but you feel her tiny arms gently squeeze your neck. 

"I have done nothing wrong, this time." Venti had paused his private little song, ensuring it was something meant to be shared between you two just like this night would be a shared memory to look back on. 

Paimon wiggles away from you, floating before you, you watch her stick her tongue out at Venti, blowing and making a hilarious show of her disbelief. "Paimon doesn't believe you! Apologize to them now!" 

In the ensuing 'fight' between Venti and Paimon, you watch Venti reach forward and pinch her cheek and the small girl lunged at him in a failed attempt to choke him, you are sure, Venti holds her back with a hand over her face. 

You laugh. 

Yeah, you had friends and you weren't alone. 

[hellflame-for-a-reason]

Ingenium Fracta

Chapter two: New faces, New fears.

Tw: assumed death, guilt, memory loss.

Aizawa stood outside, helping gather his students as they were helping with the attack. He had managed to herd them all to an area away from the civilians, luckily none of the civilians had been killed and only a few were hurt. The students were definitely suffering a few injuries and you could even see the blood from the cut Hagakure had gotten on her leg. He looked out over all of them, noticing that they definitely didn’t have them all, and the headcount confirmed that. The dust from the collapsing building was still thick in the air and Aizawa couldn’t help but fear the worst, “has anyone seen-”

“Mr Aizawa!” From across the grass, Todoroki came running over with Uraraka beside him. They were both dragging Midoriya along with them, the problem child seemed distraught; screaming and sobbing and trying to claw himself back into the building. Uraraka was also crying softly and even Todoroki had slightly wet eyes. Aizawa closed the distance, going to speak when Uraraka suddenly clung to him, bursting into sobs and leaving poor Todoroki to hold Midoriya on his own. Aizawa paused for a moment, contemplating pushing her away before residing himself to the fact that the poor girl was clearly upset, and he was the only mentor figure around. He gently laid a hand on the top of her head, glancing up at Todoroki as he froze Midoriya's feet to the ground.

“What..?”

“Iida’s still inside, the ceiling collapsed on top of him when he was grappling with a villain, we… couldn’t get to him.” He hung his head in shame, clearly also upset by this, but he’d never been one to show emotions. Aizawa was also quite a stoic man, but the idea that he’d just lose a student was overwhelming for him, it was the same feeling as when Bakugo got kidnapped but at least Bakugo had turned out to still be alive… it took all his self control not to pull a Midoriya and run straight back into the building. Instead he sighed, turning Uraraka away from the building and facing the children that looked to him for guidance, it suddenly felt so wrong.

“You will return to your dorm, and you will not speak about this. I will call a meeting once everything is dealt with, am I understood?” The children nodded, turning and getting back on the bus that had brought them there. They were all so quiet, so… small- had they always been that small? Aizawa thought they all looked so much more innocent and fragile then they had a mere hour ago, he wouldn’t dream of putting them in any sort of danger at that moment, he just hoped they were alright.

He slowly walked over to where Rock Lock was talking to The Wild Wild Pussycats, sighing heavily as he gently tapped Mandalay on the shoulder. She turned around with a gentle smile, “hey Eraser, how are you doing, are the students alright? They did a great job, I hope you treat them after this!”

Pixie-Bob nodded, “yeah, the shoppers that were downstairs kept mentioning Ingenium’s baby bro! Apparently he was a real leader down there, you must be one hell of a teacher!”

Oh god… Aizawa hadn’t considered that he’d have to break the news to Tensei, they’d only ever spoken once or twice outside of work, and now Aizawa would have to tell him that… that… he wasn’t sure he could handle this. He knew how much Tensei adored his younger brother, it had been 80% of their conversation subject both times they spoe outside of work, and this was a few years before Tenya Iida became a member of class 1-A so Tensei must have been telling everyone he spoke to about Tenya.

The pussycat’s must have noticed how Aizawa’s expression changed when Iida was mentioned and they were now looking at him in concern, but it was Rock Lock who spoke, “are you alright Eraserhead?”

He shook his head, not making eye contact, “Tenya Iida is still inside the building, he was grappling with a villain when part of the ceiling fell over him. If you’re still searching the building-…”

The three pussycats that were there looked so shocked, and even Rock Lock looked sympathetic as Aizawa heard him mutter, “poor Tensei…” why did it seem like the first instinct most of them had was to feel for Tensei first, instead of for Tenya? Aizawa had never been close to either of the Iida brothers, but he respected Tensei and Tenya was his student, and one of his best students at that- he would go in there himself if he had to. “We’ll do our best to find him, please go back with your students and try to help them. If we find him, we’ll inform you, alright?”

Aizawa didn’t like the idea of abandoning the boy, but his other students did need attending to, so he hesitantly nodded. “Alright, thank you.” He made his way to the bus, replaying the conversation he’d had with Nezu about the children needing to do more teen things over and over again in his head. Aizawa didn’t think he’d ever forgive the rodent for making him take his kids here.

Stepping onto the bus, Todoroki lifted his head to look at him, the other two asleep on his shoulders. Aizawa knew that the entire class’s eyes were on him, and he sighed, shaking his head, “they’re looking, I've been told to return with you.” The look he saw in his student’s eyes when he said that broke his cold stone heart, these poor kids, even the ones that liked to mock him, every single one of them cared deeply about their class president.

_

“That was so fun! Did you have fun Dabi?”

“Will you shut up? I’m trying to focus on moving the rocks.”

Voices, he could hear voices from above him, was he dead? Were those angels? All he knew was he felt incredibly warm and he couldn’t breathe, he was laying on something soft but everything around him was hard. He couldn’t open his and in all honesty he was scared to, he had no idea what he might see.

“Here… we… go!” Something above him moved, letting air in, “eugh! What’s with all this smoke?”

“Smells like something’s burning! Something other than you!” A giggle, that was definitely a giggle, he knew that those were. Whoever this was, it was a girl… maybe Uraraka? Maybe she’d come back for him! If the other person was burning does that mean it’s Todoroki? He hoped so, he really hoped so.

A groan, then a different noise, “oh! Looks like Shiggy made a friend.”

“Aw! He’s so cute! He must be one of Izuku’s friends!”

“Well let's get him out of there before Shiggy wakes up and gets grabby.” Hands suddenly grabbed at him, tucking under his arms, “hup!” He was lifted out like a ragdoll, held in the arms of someone who smelt like five day old burnt noodles and bacon. “Hey compress! You wanna kidnap another student?”

“Oh? But the UA students have already left?”

“They’ve gone?? You mean they just straight up abandoned a kid? Damn it’s like they wanted us to make this kid into a villain.”

He’d been abandoned? How could Todoroki say that..? He was right there wasn’t he? “To… Todoroki..?”

“What??”

“Oh he’s awake! And he thinks you’re his friend, cute!” A hand came down and pat him gently on the head, he was confused, was this not Todoroki?

“Uh… better get him compressed before he wakes up further, Compress, you’re up!”

When he came to, he was sitting, tied to a chair in what appeared to be a bar. Looking around nervously, he saw a figure seemingly made from black and purple smoke, wearing a metal collar on their neck. “Excuse me?” He quietly croaked out, Relieved when the figure paused cleaning the glasses to look at him, “I shouldn’t be here, I’m underage…”

The figure just sighed, glancing up the stairs, “the child’s awake!”

“Oh oh oh!” A small girl raced down the stairs, hopping up to him and beaming, “do you want to talk about Izuku with me?”

“Izuku..?” He repeated her, slightly confused; did he know an Izuku, he couldn’t think of anyone he knew as Izuku- “oh! You mean Midoriya?” The girl nodded and he felt himself light up, “oh Midoriya’s my best friend, I love midoriya.”

“Yeah! He’s so cute right?”

“I…” was he? He knew he liked Midoriya a lot but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he looked like, “I don't know, I can’t remember his face…”

The girl looked so surprised and upset by that, her gaze seemed even pitying and he couldn’t really blame him, he really wanted to see what his Midoriya looked like- Todoroki and Uraraka too! He couldn’t remember any of their faces, he couldn’t remember anything aside from them though, as much as he tried.

“Do you remember your name?” The girl asked, clearly curious if the way she tilted her head meant anything. Did he remember? He wasn’t sure if he could, it was just on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t quite figure it out. He frowned deeply, trying to force it to come to him.

In a spark of clarity, he answered her, “I’m Ingenium!” Yes, that was definitely his name, he was so proud of himself for remembering. His name meant a lot to him, but he couldn’t quite remember why. Either way, Ingenium was very proud of himself for having such a good memory.

“Your name is Tenya Iida,” a man walked in, holding his phone. This man was covered in burns, with blue eyes that reminded him of Todoroki- had Todoroki had blue eyes? He sat down in a chair, still not glancing at him, “17 years old, presumed dead. Your quirk is engine.”

Tenya Iida… was that his name? He was so sure it was Ingenium but Tenya sounded so much more like his name… did he have two names? That didn’t make sense. Wait, did that man say he was presumed dead?? Tenya looked up at the man, “pardon me sir, but did you say I was presumed dead? Because I appear to be very much alive.”

“We know, they don’t care, they just abandoned you there. They never wanted you, you’re a child and they left you to die.” The man’s words cut like a knife, Tenya didn’t want to be abandoned, why would someone leave him like that? “The heroes needed a tragedy, so they let you suffer and left you to die, your lack of memories? That's the hero’s fault, a tragedy is good for the press.”

Heros… as far as Tenya was aware, heroes were supposed to save people, that was the meaning of the word. “Those heroes aren’t heroes then, they can’t just do that.”

The man nodded, “you’re exactly right, heroes these days only care about how they look on the screen, they need to be put down.”

“Oh I don’t know about murder…” Tenya was quickly getting nervous, he didn’t know these people, but they definitely seemed to know him.

“Haven’t you already tried that?” Another man entered the room, covered in hands and bandages, a crutch under his arm. “You tried to murder a man for hurting your brother, do you not remember that either?”

Oh, it seemed Tenya was a lot more predisposed to murder then he’d thought. He didn’t remember anything aside from his own name and his friends, he hadn’t even been aware he had a brother, but now he thought about it… he could remember a burning pain that clenched him tightly, the pain that came with someone you cared about getting hurt. He could remember that, so it wasn’t too hard to imagine how that would translate into bloodthirsty rage. “I see, my apologies, I merely assumed I was a good person.”

The burnt man laughed at that, “no one’s a good person here kid, this is the shiny villain club.”

“We are not the shitty villain club!”

The girl piped up at that, smiling at Tenya, “sooo, whaddya say, Ten-chan? You wanna live with us? You can room with me if you want to?”

“You’re not sleeping in the same room as a boy,” the smokey figure spoke again, his tone stern, “let alone a boy your age.”

“Oh come on Kurogiri, the boy clearly isn’t gonna do anything, look at him.” The burnt man spoke, it seems the smoky figure was named Kuorgiri, “he’s clearly gay.”

“How could you tell?” Was that his quirk or something? Tenya was genuinely impressed by that, he didn’t think anyone could tell.

“Oh you were right, I did not expect that…'' the man with the hands spoke, his voice sounded so hoarse and it was beginning to grate on Tenya.

“I’m sorry sir,” he spoke up, cutting the burnt man off, “but do you need to go and get a drink of water, you sound like your throat is dry. Hydration is very important and is good for both your insides and your outsides, it’s very good for your skin and could prevent chapped lips.”

The burnt man laughed at that and the other man seemed annoyed. The girl took this opportunity to lean over and hold out a hand, “so, you want to join us?”

“I don’t see why not,” Tenya smiled at the girl, shaking her hand the best he could whilst tied up, “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Yay! You’re gonna love it here, I’m Toga by the way, Toga Himiko!”

[ladyanput]

Seeing Green Ch.15 {End}

Warning: light gore.

Once they landed back in Paris, Marinette felt a sense of finally being home, but it wasn't as overwhelming as it used to be. Part of her yearned to go back to Gotham, to be with Damian and the others, there was a sense of belonging there, now that Paris was once again safe.

Oddly, no one once mentioned anything about Marinette being Ladybug. In fact, when she talked to them, playfully suggesting about Ladybug's identity, they all began saying their thoughts, but not once mentioned her. Odd, but she didn't push her luck. Maybe the Miraculous Cure had been extremely generous and wiped their minds? One less thing for her to stress about.

Once she got back to school, her, Miss Bustier, Lila, and Marinette's parents were immediately summoned to the principal's office. Mr. Arquette did not look the least bit pleased, his hands folded neatly as they all shuffled into his office and took a seat.

"I received many disturbing reports while you all were in Gotham, reports that I should have known would happen since I left those children in your care." Arquette spoke, his voice firm and cold as he glared hard at Miss Bustier. "You abandoned a student in the middle of a dangerous city, you left your students roam as they pleased with no supervision, one student stole the money from another, a student was kidnapped and you never once reported it to myself or her parents, much less the police. You even had the audacity to say that her kidnapper did nothing wrong. Caline, you've been on thin ice for quite some time now, but this gross negligence is the final straw. One of the students was even assaulted at the Wayne event and you did nothing to break it up and just stood back and watched. I don't believe we have a place for you here at Saint Louis anymore, not after your behaviour."

"Please, you don't understand, it's all a misunderstanding! Marinette manipulated Adrien and-" Lila began, looking tearful.

"And you," Arquette turned his steely gaze on Lila, cutting her off before she can try and spin another flimsy web of lies. ", You have crossed many lines. Lying about medical records, of how to contact your mother, long series of absences, and I heard much about your deeds in Gotham. Your mother is almost here, Miss Rossi."

"What?! No, she can't-" Lila was on her feet within seconds, her body trembling. Caline, herself, looked quite shaken as well, as if she were about to be sick.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am greatly sorry for what you've had to endure all of these years. I should have taken a more firm stance on things, I should have gotten someone else to attend the trip with your class." Arquette turned to Marinette, his expression turning to one of regret. He stood, then rounded his desk, kneeling next to her chair. "I take full responsibility for what happened to you in Gotham."

"No, Mr. Arquette, please. No one thought I would be kidnapped, and luckily Batman saved me." Marinette put in quickly, feeling a sense of relief, now that Miss Bustier would no longer be around. That pressure of being the perfect example was finally lifted from her shoulders. "You're a great principal, you couldn't have known. But I appreciate your actions now, you're more than making up for this."

His shoulders seemed to relax and he nodded before returning to his desk. It wasn't long before Lila's mother showed up, and then the show truly began. 

"You've been lying to me? Me?! Your own mother?!" Mrs. Rossi screamed at her pale faced daughter, before pulling a few brown envelopes out of her bag and holding them up. "Do you know what these are?! These are court orders! Court orders from Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and the Waynes! What were you thinking, having your friend slander their names all over her blog?! You basically accused Jagged of being a pedophile by saying he wrote a song especially for you, that you're his muse!"

"She is also saying she's the personal muse to Gabriel Agreste, ever since she became his model." Marinette put in helpfully, and sat back as she watched Mrs. Rossi got red in the face and continued to berate her daughter.

"And now you'll be going to live with your aunt back in Italy, if these lawsuits don't bankrupt me! I'm only a secretary, Lila, what made you think we could travel like that?!"

Marinette merely watched as Lila was reduced to tears, and expelled from the school. Mrs. Rossi dragged her daughter out and Caline Bustier was promptly dismissed to go and collect her things.

"What will happen to my class?" Marinette asked the principal once she and her parents were about to leave.

"Well, they will get a new teacher, it might be a bit difficult with only a few months left before you all graduate." Mr. Arquette admitted, looking thoughtful.  At the tense silence, he cleared his throat. "Miss Césaire will be thoroughly punished for her actions as well, in Gotham. Assaulting another classmate is completely u acceptable. I was told by her parents she is already being punished as we speak."

Marinette left that school, her parents figuring that she needed a day off after all that had happened. So she silently went up to her room and collapsed onto her bed, finally processing it all.

She was finally free of Lila. Hawkmoth was defeated, and she had both Nooroo and Duusu back, after having fixed the Peacock Miraculous. 

When she heard her phone buzz, she picked it up and smiled to herself.

{Damian} I miss you, Angel, I hope your flight landed safely.

{Damian} I miss you already Angel. And Plagg's taste in cheese is the smelliest ever. Alfred is threatening to throw him out.

The smile on her face didn't drop for the rest of the evening, as she spent the entire evening messaging Damian.

…

Ladybug stood firm at the podium, her teammates standing with her as they faced the flashing of cameras with stoic expressions, press members shouting out questions. She merely stared at them, waiting for them all to quiet down. The crowd quickly got the clue and did such.

"Today, I am here to announce that Hawkmoth has finally been defeated. The terror he reigned over Paris for so long is finally over." Ladybug announced, and this only caused the crowd to go into a bewildered frenzy once again. Ladybug waited, and the media was quick to quiet again, realizing they had to be polite with this one. "Gabriel Agreste, formerly known as Hawkmoth, has been arrested and placed into the custody of the French authorities."

"What about his son, Adrien Agreste? Was he in cahoots with his father?" A reporter blurted out, and it took everything in Ladybug not to flinch at that name.

"Adrien Agreste was not in league with Hawkmoth, he and his mother are innocent." Well, as innocent as one could be. Adrien had been arrested, but anyone could see the boy needed mental help due to all of the mental abuse and grooming that had been forced upon him by his father. So Adrien and his mother, who had indeed woken up, had moved out of the country, where Adrien was getting good care in a good facility, not that he'd ever leave it, not after all he had done.

"What happens now?" A young reporter asked. Ladybug recognized her from her school, Estelle Desrosiers, a sweet girl who always sought out the truth, but was respectable about things. So Ladybug gave her a gracious smile.

"Well, Miss Desrosiers, the Miraculous will be retired and I shall be leaving the city. There are dangerous villains in the world and the world needs the help of the Miraculous to stop it. They're here to keep the darkness from taking over." She spoke firmly, and everyone could see the hero they had all grown to love and admire. There was much outcry at her stating she was leaving, but she stopped the noise and set a hand over her heart. "I love Paris, I love France. This is my home more than anything, but I cannot stay, cannot sit by as the rest of the world suffers. So thank you, Paris, and embrace your newfound freedom. And here's my final Bugout!"

With that, she and the rest of her team took off, followed by the cheers.

Back in her family apartment, Alya was seething as she sat between her parents on the couch, watching the live broadcast. That should be her up there, basking in the glory of defeating Hawkmoth with Ladybug, if Ladybug had actually used her head and gave her back her Fox Miraculous! No one was better suited to be a hero than Rena Rouge! Or it should at least be her at the front of that media stand, asking all of the important questions, getting the big scoop. But her parents had made her delete her blog. She had lost every single electronic she'd had, due to her actions in Gotham and her recent attitudes towards everyone. She had even screamed at her little sisters to the point she had made them cry.

The future was not a bright one for Alya Césaire.

…

Graduation had quickly arrived and when Marinette left her class, she didn't once look back. Sure, they had all apologized, save for Alya who had been expelled and needed to repeat her senior year, but they had thrown her aside so easily for a complete stranger. The kind of trust she had had with them was never going to exist again.

As she arrived back at her place to pack her bags, she saw Luka, Kagami, and Chloé in her room, waiting for her. They each gave her a grateful smile, before they began giving the Guardian back their Miraculous.

"I'm going to miss you." Chloé whispered as she nuzzled Pollen, then handed the hair clip over to Marinette, who tucked it safely into the Miraculous box. "And we'll miss you too, Marinette."

Marinette smiled and opened her arms, Luka, Chloé, and Kagami moving in for a group hug. The four of them held onto each other tight, before finally letting go.

"Have fun in Gotham." Luka whispered, ruffling her hair gently before he kissed her temple. "Keep in touch."

"I will." Marinette tucked the Miraculous box into the hidden compartment in her suitcase, then made her way downstairs, embracing her parents tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She was finally leaving the nest, leaving the home that was full of such love and happy memories. But she still felt something deep inside of her calling for her to go back to Gotham, her new home.

Once she got in the taxi, she settled back and glanced down at her phone buzzed, biting her lower lip to hold back a giggle.

{Damian} Once you land in Gotham, go to the Wayne Botanical Gardens. I have a surprise for you, Angel.

"I'll be home soon, mon prince.."

…

Marinette stepped into the greenhouse and grinned at the sight of Damian standing there, next to a checkered blanket and a picnic basket. She dropped her purse and ran towards him, hugging him tightly as he lifted her up and spun her.

"I missed you, Angel." Damian whispered into her ear as he set his giggling girlfriend back onto the ground, then motioned towards the picnic. "I thought I'd surprise you, to welcome you back home."

"And here I thought you and your brothers were gonna throw me a party." Marinette grinned, taking a seat beside him. When he began setting out the food, she felt her smile only widen. "You really spoil me."

"Well hopefully I don't spoil your appetite too much. Jason decided to go into the kitchen today and bake you a 'welcome back' cake. Pretend to like the inedible mess." Damian gave her a wry smile as he poured them both a cup of sparkling juice, before holding his up as a toast. "Welcome home, Angel."

"Glad to be home, mon prince." She tapped her plastic cup against his and took a long drink, unable to wipe the smile from her face. The hour passed with them joking and eating the food Damian had brought, Marinette glanced at the time and sighed. "We should get back. I really want to see everyone, I've missed them."

Marinette stood and stretched her body, groaning softly as she managed to loosen a few tense muscles, then took a step towards the exit.

"Marinette."

She turned towards Damian. Damian met her gaze, then raised his gun. A shot rang out and Marinette stumbled back a few steps, clutching at her chest as a bewildered look on her face.

"D- Damian..?" She dropped to her knees, then was jolted onto her back when he shot her again.

"I thank you, Marinette. The Miraculous are much more powerful than I would have ever thought." He smiled thinly as he made his way over and knelt down next to Marinette, who was choking on her own blood.

Marinette stared up at the boy she thought she was so deeply in love with, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks as she tried to reach up for him.

"I'm glad you were at least useful. You really are a ditz, aren't you?" He stood and ground his foot into the gunshot wounds, making her let out a choked scream.

Marinette's mind was in a whirl, struggling to breathe as her world began to dim.

So she had just been a pawn…? Been used to get the Miraculous…?

He had lied to her?

How could she have been so stupid?

As the light left her eyes, the only thoughts were on betrayal, and the fears of what would happen to the Kwami, to Tikki.

When her body went limp, Heretic grinned.

…

Damian rushed his entire way to the Botanical Gardens, silently cursing Mr. Freeze with every inch of his being. Because of the bastard, he was two hours late in meeting Marinette. He knew she'd understand, but still, no one deserves that. He feared she was angry because she wasn't answering her phone.

He rushed through the roof doors, when a strong coppery smell hit him, a smell he was very familiar with. His body instantly tensed as he reached down the small knife in his pocket, carefully making his way into the greenhouse as his eyes darted this way and that.

And what he saw made his heart stop.

Marinette was sprawled out on the floor, staring skyward, with two gunshot wounds in her chest, a puddle of blood beginning to congele around her. Hovering over her was a loudly weeping Tikki.

"Tikki,what happened?!" Plagg burst from Damian's coat pocket and rushed towards her, hugging her close as his dearest friend broke apart in his arms.

"I- I don't know! I was asleep, I was so tired because I- I'm still trying to help Nooroo through his trauma, and I just woke up! What happened to her, Plagg? She can't be dead, she just can't be! I can't lose her, please, tell me she's not dead!" Tikki wailed.

"Marinette…?" Damian knelt next to the body, cupping her face ever so gently. He felt tears burn his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers, desperately wishing for the reality to not be true. She was gone, he had lost her and he hadn't been here to protect her. The tears began to flow as he let out a sob and hugged the body close. "No, please, Angel, please don't go.."

He sat there and rocked as he sobbed. Eventually, he got the will to call his brothers. They'd have a horrible call to her parents.

…

Tom and Sabine wept as their little girl, their only child, was lowered into the ground. Damian felt numb, like nothing was really worth it anymore. But beneath that numbness was an angry ready to burst forth and cause the death of whoever caused this. The police hadn't found anything, no DNA, no fingerprints, nothing except for Marinette's. Why couldn't they do their goddamned job and find the murdering bastard?!

"Diana, what are you doing here?" Bruce's surprised tone brought Damian's attention, and he watched as Diana Prince approached them, looking grim.

"I am here to honour a brave and dutiful Ladybug. My mother had wished to attend as well, but we did not want to cause much ruckus." Diana admitted, looking down at the casket being slowly covered in dirt. She let out a long, defeated sigh. "But one so young… No one should ever die so young."

"Why would your mother care about this?" Damian snipped, but Diana took no offense, seeing how torn up the boy was. Many people lashed out in their grief.

"She was a previous Ladybug." Diana admitted, noticing Plagg peeking out from Damian's coat pocket. She smiled down at the Kwami and knelt, pretending as if to tie her shoe. "Hello Plagg."

"Hello there, Princess, you've certainly grown." Plagg said rather sadly, before looking away. "Tikki.. She's not doing so good."

"I have no doubt." Diana nodded and stood once again, turning towards Bruce. "What will happen with the Miraculous now?"

"They need to ensure somewhere safe. You said that your mother was once a Ladybug, yes? Perhaps you can take the body back home? I know it would be greatly protected there." Bruce glanced over at his son, who was staring at his ring. "But the Black Cat Miraculous…"

"It can stay here." Diana assured him softly. "You never separate a Black Cat from their Chosen." 

"It was the last thing Marinette gave to me." Damian murmured and Diana felt her heart break at how defeated he looked.

"Keep the ring safe, Damian. And Plagg, help Damian as well." Diana reached down and stroked Plagg's head gently once she was sure no one was watching. "I shall take the box home to Themiscyra."

"Thank you, Diana." Bruce turned his gaze back to the grave, his hands curling ever so slightly into fists. "I know Marinette would appreciate it while we hunt down whoever is responsible for this."

"Once you do find out who it was, make them suffer." Diana hissed, a dangerous threat in her eyes. "Or I shall."

…

That night, Diana took the Miraculous box, sans the Black Cat ring, and returned to Themiscyra.

That night, in a graveyard in Paris, several people approached the grave of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and began to dig.

…

Marinette felt as if she were floating, the entire body full of warmth and strength.

She opened her eyes and realized she was seeing nothing but green.

Then something took hold, something indescribable. She burst forth from the green water, letting out a scream of rage as memories began flooding back, memories of her murder. Eyes almost blind to anything around her, she charged towards a faint figure in front of her and body slammed them. When another person came forward, she flipped them over her head. She broke another man's arm and leg.

"Hold her down!" A feminine voice snapped out, and quickly Marinette found herself being restrained on a cold floor, snarling and snapping, screaming out for Damian's blood.

But eventually, that madness faded and she found herself staring at a beautiful woman who knelt over her.

"Who… Who are you?" Marinette croaked out, her entire body still shivering, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

"Oh Marinette, do not weep. My name is Talia." The woman stroked the hair from the young girl's face, smiling kindly down upon her. "Do not fret, I shall take care of you from now on. You are in safe hands."

{To Be Continued in the sequel}

Taglist: @realrandomposts @interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @2sunchild2 @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie @thepeacetea @miraculous786 @enchanted-nerd @ficsforthestars @emo-elaine13 @caffeinetheory

[justanotherlifeff]

Hey, it’s me again. I showed my friend who doesn’t have tumblr your story you wrote for me and she absolutely loved it. She loved it so much she wondered if you could possibly write something for her too. If so, can you write a Bakugo x FemReader of the reader having a small sized chest and being super insecure about herself because of it. Thank youuu

Insecurities

(I've taken this picture from tumblr cause YA'LL ARTISTS ARE AMAZING)

Ever since you had puberty, you were insecured about your chest. Why? Cause literally every other girl you knew had normal sized breasts while you...well, didn't. Your size was smaller than the rest and to make things worse, you got bullied about it quite often back in junior high. When you joined UA, things changed. No one commented about your lack of size, atleast not infront of you. Probably because you were dating Bakugou. In your first year at UA, Bakugou asked you out and honestly, that changed everything. While the people of class 1A were nothing but nice to you (except Mineta who decided to comment on your lack of tits once and got bitch slapped by Tsuyu), the people from other classes weren’t so generous. However, no one had the guts to mess with Bakugou's girlfriend since your boyfriend was a menace to deal with. However, that didn’t mean that you didn't hear the occasional whispers and name calling. However, it didn't matter as your size didn't affect your love life. That was until now.

You were finally a pro hero and nothing could stop you from saving everyone from villains and living with your head held up right? Well, it seemed like you were wrong since in this certain mission, the agency you and Bakugou were working with decided to send a different woman with Bakugou for an undercover mission even though you were more qualified to go simply because the pro hero you were working under thought you don't look like a good match for Bakugou. While it clearly ticked Bakugou off and he went all out to shout at the certain pro hero (in vain), it brought back all your insecurities related to your body. Bakugou and you were working as sidekicks in one of the top hero's agency to get some experience before opening up your own respective agencies. However, at the moment, the agency was working on an important undercover mission and was short staffed. Funnily, your boss decided to send an intern with Bakugou on the undercover mission instead of you. An intern over a certified pro hero just because apparantly, you "didn't seem like a good match" with Bakugou. You didn't argue with the boss since Bakugou was already shouting at him. You simply told the other interns that you're going home for the day and went home to mope on your misfortune. You wondered if you really did deserve your boyfriend. It wasn’t the first time people mentioned how your boyfriend was too beautiful for you. However, it had been a while since someone said that to you on your face. Besides, you never expected it to affect your work life.

Looking at the mirror, you felt worthless. You felt as if you really wasn’t good enough for Bakugou. Questions like, "is he with me cause he pities me?" were being played on a repeat in your mind. While you were at home huddled up in your bed, Bakugou barked at your boss, calling him a "worthless blind piece of shit" and a "fucking bastard who doesn't deserve to be a hero" before getting himself and you fired from the said hero agency. Packing up your stuff, Bakugou went for your shared apartment, knowing that you’ll be home and that you’ll probably be upset about the entire ordeal. Turns out, he was exactly right and that picking up icecream on his way home was an excellent choice cause you were huddled up on your shared bed, crying. Letting out a sigh, Bakugou sat on the bed, snatching the blanket off you only to find your tear stained face. "Leave me alone..." you croaked trying to get your blanket back but ofcourse, Bakugou wasn’t having it. "You seriously think I'll leave you to mope about whatever the hell that cunt said? Is that how you see me dumbass? Here, take the fucking icecream and let's talk this out alright? You're not getting rid of me just like that." Bakugou told you in a stern expression and you knew that he wouldn’t get off your back. "He was right. I'm not good enough for you. Your fangirls, everyone thinks so. You deserve someone who isn't as flat as a chopping board..." you sniffled, looking at Bakugou only to see a rare soft expression on his face. "Seems like you're getting as blind as those motherfuckers. Well, I don't mind showing you what I and every other normal people with good taste see." Bakugou muttered as he effortlessly pulled you onto his lap. Taking his phone out, he went into his Instagram account and opened up the comment section of one of your couple photoes. "Babe, look at every single comment that were posted by men..." Bakugou muttered to your ear as you looked at the screen of his phone.

"Damn Ground Zero really got the goods...."

"(H/N) is so fucking hot! Ground Zero is one lucky guy..."

"I don't understand why (H/N) is dating Ground Zero to be honest. She can get so much better than a brute..."

"Some of these extras may hate my guts but most of them can see how pretty you are and how lucky I am to have you and I agree with them. These fangirls who bash you up do that cause they are fucking jealous cause you are so beautiful that I would never look their way. The ones who don't agree with me have their head up their asses alright? I mean, look at you. These tits fit my hand so perfectly..." Bakugou muttered to your neck, cupping your breasts in his hand. "You're fucking perfect alright? Don't let the shit those shitty bastards say get to you cause they don't know what they are talking about. And don't ever say that you don't deserve me cause you're literally the only person who deserves me." Bakugou ended and this time you were crying not because you were sad but because you were an emotional mess due to such a beautiful speech from your boyfriend. "Why are you such an amazing boyfriend? It's illegal..." you sniffled, burying your head to his chest. "Oi! Don't get your snot on my hero costume damnit!" Bakugou barked at you. "I take it back. You're a meanie!" you huffed.

"Babe?" Bakugou muttered as the two of you cuddled and watched an action movie as you ate from the tub of icecream Bakugou just bought you. "Hmm?" you hummed in answer. "I got us fired from work." Bakugou stated with a stoic voice and expression. "You What?" you exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief. "What? I ain't gonna work in a place where they can't respect my girl! You won't work in a place where people disrespect you too! Besides, I've got enough shitty experience. I'm opening Ground Zero agency asap cause I've already made enough money for it." Bakugou barked at you. "What about me then?" you asked, curious. "You can be my sidekick." Bakugou said, smirking at you. "Hell no Katsuki! I'm not gonna be some stupid sidekick!" you huffed. "Fine... We can have Ground Zero and (H/N) agency...." Bakugou muttered irritably. "I take my words back. You really are the best boyfriend ever" you grinned at him. "Oi! You're getting icecream on me! Move!" Bakugou barked at you at that moment. "DON'T MAKE ME REVOKE MY WORDS AGAIN KATSUKI!" you barked back.

[Author's note: I'm so glad your friend liked my writing! I personally got bullied for having small breasts and I've been insecured about it too for ages. So, if you or your friend are suffering from this issue, lemme tell you, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL AND DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE SAY OTHERWISE!]

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Kais s/o somehow meets her mother in law and confronts her about Kais childhood Can we get a scenario?

Time to beat someone's ass!!!! :D

"Kai please I beg you..." you whined while he searched for some cleaning product "Just grab any of those..."

"(Y/n)." He growled before scoffing at not seing that thing on there "That thing can kill all the germs. And I refuse to live and even breath on a house that is filthy."

You sighed in hopeless a 'mysophobia' before widening a bit your eyes at seing the familiar bottle and snatching it quickly.

"Found it!" You chirped happily and he turned to look at you, his eyes softening a bit as he messed with your hair.

"Good job angel." He muttered before picking one bag of yours and placing the bottle on it "Next is a romba."

"... are you for real?" He simply nodded and you sighed in despair, accepting your fate and following your boyfriend.

While you walked you accidentally bumped into a woman's shoulder, yelping a bit but quickly turning to her with a apologetic face.

"I'm so sorry ma'am!" You bowed a bit while the woman scoffed, rubbing her shoulder with a disgusted face.

"You should be." She said arrogantly before turning on her shoes and walking.

"Huh. Rude." You muttered in offense before you turned to Kai.

The scene that you got shocked you though...

His eyes were wide open, looking at the woman who had just passed through you guys, as a sheen of sweat started to form on his skin and the hives appeared slowly.

He even seemed to be trembling a bit.

"Kai?" He didn't answer "Kai, love?" You were a bit more loud on this one and went to touch him but he quickly slapped your hand away in instinct.

"Dont touch me." His eyes were still locked with the figurine while he shakily answered you.

Despite the burning in your hand, and the dissaproval looks of some people on there, you reached quickly both of your hands to his face.

"I said dON-" he stopped immediately when he saw instead the woman he despised so much the (E/c) that always looked at him with nothing but love and care.

"Kai. Is me." You cooed sadly, getting finally a reaction of him when he breath out a shaky breath before breathing in and returning to his compusture.

"Apologies... I... losed myself a bit..." he muttered while grabbing in your wrists and putting them down.

"Who even was that to leave you in such a state?" You whispered worriedly while his eyes darkned a bit.

"... The woman who I despise to be bounded by blood with." He growled before taking another breath to return to his stoic expression.

Oh...

His... his biological mother.

You felt your blood turning into fire as your hands turned into fits even despote holding the bags and jaw clenching.

Chisaki trusted you enough to tell you about his past, one of those breakdown he ended up talking about it. And lord, how you had only hate towards them.

A wave of pure wrath consumed you as he still was glaring at the ground.

"... let's go. This place is sick." He suddenly muttered, surprisingly going to grab on your hand.

You knew that he wasn't okay. And this was all because he only saw her...

"Uh... Kai?" You called, dodging his gloved hand and almost regretting when his eyebrows furrowed at the action "Can... Can I grab some ingredients for.. baking?"

He arched a dissaproving eyebrow at you... before just sighing when you brought the puppy's eyes.

"Make it quick. I feel myself getting sick at staying in this place by only one minute more." He growled, you immediately nodded and went after the woman.

"Excuse me?" You almost shouted when you noticed the woman, she immediately turning with a eyebrow lifted up and a scowl.

"You again?" She sighed in annoyance while you stopped.

"Your name once or even carry Chisaki as a surname?" She only arched her eyebrow at you even more.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Well..." you glared at her, venom now dripping from your words "I think that sadly we are related a bit."

"You?" She chuckled ironically "Sweety are you sick in the head or something?" She asked, making your form to shake a bit.

"No. Am not. But I guess you are one considering the fact that you mentally abused your son and called the police on him, abandoned and even contracted some corrupted heroes to see if they got to kill him." You sayed coldly.

The woman's eyes widened in horror at your words, brow hair, slightly white considering her age, falling a bit in her forehead as she clenched her teeth together, stepping back away from you a bit.

"How-How do you know about this?" She growled.

"Not wanting to break the news too soon but-" you tilted your head and glared daggers at her "I am dating him. Chisaki Kai."

You noticed the shiver on her as she gasped at your last words, muttering to herself how was it possible that he was still out there... making you even angrier.

"Why?" You asked "Why after all the torture you and your husband made him go through then do so.ething like that?! Leaving him in the dirt wasn't enough for you?!" You felt your eyes burning while her eyes darkened and recuperated her arrogance.

"Why would I ever want a murderer in the first place? That boy was cursed." She hissed in disgust "His father always was right. The first time that we found out about his quirk guess what he did honey? He killed a pacience of my husband."

"By accident." You growled back "Kids who developed quirks for the first time have no idea how to control them. Even as a quirkless person, I know that." You spitted while her glare only intensified.

"Trying to give a lesson on me whore? He killed his own father. What was I suppose to do? Hug him and tell him it was okay?!"

"Everthing but treat him like garbage dammit!" You exclaimed "Havd any idea how much pain and suffering he went through because of that man and you?!"

"Pain?" She asked coldly and sarcastically "He was diagnosted with sociopathy idiot. He is broken. A broken shell in a human's body. He doesn't and can't feel any emotions at ALL."

It went silent a bit before you bitterly let out a chuckle, placing a hand in your face as you shook your head in disbelief.

"Why the hell are you laughing now?"

"You're really, really don't know him huh?" You let your hand fall with your gaze "Thankfully you didn't stayed with him. You are a terrible and disgusting excuse for a mother you know that?"

She gasped in offense stepping closer to you with a angry frow.

"For some brat tou got some nerves to talking with someone older than you like that." She growled while you tilted your head with a sarcastic and teasing smile.

"I have respect with those who deserved ma'am... not with types like yourself." You lowered your tone of voice threateningly "You think you did the good thing? Greedy and pathetic are you then... At least you're going to burn in hell along with your husband."

"One last thing." You glared at her "You will never, EVER, be able to describe Kai. Because he is the most caring and protect man I ever layed my eyes on, and different from you, I am blessed and thank everyday for having him on my life."

She scoffed and lifted her hand up to give you a slap and you widened your eyes... not because of her actions, but because of the figurine behind her and the gloved hand that grabbed her wrist painfully.

She went to shout at whoever was holding her wrist before she went silent, eyes growing wide in fear as their met angry amber orbs staring her down.

"Sick." He muttered lowly and darkly "Dare to lay your filth hands on them and I will make you regret of ever existing." He pushed her away and let go of her body with a scoff. Making the woman hit the slightest the aisle.

Kai's eyes were now murderous as he stared at her, not even blinking as he standed in your front. You, afraid that he was mad at you, merely lowered your head a bit... before you noticed him turning his back at the woman to cup your chin in his gloved hands and tilt your head up to look at those eyes.

"Are you okay?" His voice was... so soft, so smooth and caring. You felt yourself coming back to your relaxed one as you smiled up at him in adoration, grabbing on his gloved hand as you nodded.

"H-How did you even-?" She didn't finished speaking, flinching when Chisaki glared at her, slowly lifting his hand up to overhaul his glive in front of her eyes.

"Interesting right? After some years someone can get total control of their sickness." He said nonchalantly before touching one part of the wall, making the security camera to break as a spike grew close to her throat.

"I can easily kill you by many ways right here and now for even daring to git my angel..." he growled before making the spikes disappear, also returning his glove back "But I won't do it... at least now."

He urged you to start to walk as he followed close behind, one hand in your lower back, leaving a nervous and shaky elder woman.

"I will call the police on both of you DAMN BR-"

"Do it." He sended her a cold and uncaring one side look "Try to call on someone from the Shie Hassaikai. You will be found dead on at least eight different countries... besides-" he showed his palm at perfect isle and the broken camera above "What proofs do you have?"

She gagged with teary eyes as she looked up at Chisaki, shakily standing up.

"Do not even come close to me or my angel ever again if you dont want to die in the same way that man did countless times." He started to walk again with you... leaving the woman behind without looking back.

The moment you both payed for the things and left the mall, he surprisingly let out a shaky breath as he fisted his shirt.

"Kai?" You immediately holded him "You're okay hon? I'm so sorry for tha-"

"Why you're apologizing?" He said a bit breathless before getting up to stare down at you "My angel, you defended me from that woman... there is nothing to be ashamed or even guilty for."

You made a lovely sound before hugging him, ignoring his grunts and protests when you nuzzled his neck lovingly.

"My brave yakusa man" you cooed, giggling at hearing his breath got caught in his throat "I'm the luckiest person in the world!"

He brough a gloved hand to his covered face, aproaching more his mask to his burning face as he coughed.

"Forgot that we are on public idiot? Stop with this already." He growled while you hugged him even tighter "(Y/N) I swear to god let go-"

"Buuu you're no fun.." you whined while looking up at him with a mocking pout.

"Leech." He growled with furrowed eyebrows, but still lowering his arms even with the bags for awkwardly holding your waist to him.

"Birdie." You poked your tongue out before gasping when in one blink of a eye Chisaki lowered his mask and caught your tongue in his mouth in a kiss.

You responded but he quickly broke away, smirking devilish at your pout and blushed cheeks.

"... my sweet angel." He whispered lowly while rubbing his thumb on your cheek.

"Handsome devil." You completed with a smile before he scoffed and got going, calling for you to be quick.

[alienoresimagines]

Bad Liar | Bill "Hoosier" Smith x Gender Neutral!Reader (part 2)

A/N : I think it can be read without having read part 1 but I wrote it as what happens next, so part 1 can be found here. I hope you'll enjoy this even though I'm not quite satisfied with this😅💞

Warnings : Character death, sad, angst, really not happy, swearing

Taglist : @wexhappyxfew @inglourious-imagines @floydtab @ray--person @punkgeekchic @luz-lovebot @murphyism

Posted : 03/06/2020

Masterlist Taglist Prompts

~As the raindrops hit the ground in a relentless rhythm, you continued to breathe and stop others from doing so. You refused to call what you were doing living. Your life stopped the day you engaged in the Marine Corps, you put it in stand-by for as long as you’ll do your duty as a citizen of the United States of America. But the more you spend time in this uniform, the more you were starting to think your life would always stay on that train station while you were taking the train, watching it slowly disappear as you were passing it by. Unable to stop, you just watched your life slip through your fingers like clear water which seemed redder and thicker as time went by. Hoosier kept watching you like a falcon, knitting his eyebrows together, blue eyes concerned and sad, mouth drawn in a thin line. The others started watching you like this, too. As if you were some sort of broken doll that could shatter at every touch. It was hard enough to face Hoosier, you didn’t need to see Chuckler’s puppy clear eyes, or Runner’s silence as he watched you from across the tent, or Sid’s young face and, god, how could he still look like a kid after everything he’s been through? Leckie was your best friend. He was a good man and an even greater friend. He didn’t look at you like a hawk, nor did he speak softly and slowly as if he were afraid you would break down at any moment. No, Robert Leckie was as miserable as you were, if not more. He didn’t try to be honorable and bear his pain silently like a stoic hero. He gave a voice to his despair, and even when people told him to shut up, including Hoosier, you found it oddly comforting. The simple knowledge that someone was suffering as much as you were, that you weren’t alone. So, you spend more time with Leckie, neither of you speaking much because none of you were up for jokes. The silence carried “I understand"s and "You’re not alone"s, the incessant noise of the rain against the fabric of the tent a constant "I’m here”. If it was Leckie, the Japanese or your demons speaking, you had no idea.

You liked to pretend you didn’t see the hurt in Bill’s eyes.

—–

Hoosier was going crazy. You were slowly fading away; it was like watching a ghost walking away. He felt like if he were to reach out to touch you, his hand would go right through you. Where has his angel gone? His (Y/N) who would make him blush so easily, the one who’d make him smile effortlessly, that person with the brightest smile he’s ever seen. He was smoking more lately, the burning in his throat and lungs a welcome distraction from the crushing in his chest. A warm body fell beside him but he knew it wasn’t yours, he didn’t even hope for it to be. You were just a few feet away from him, pretending to be asleep. The tapping of your fingers against your biceps gave you away, but Hoosier was sure it didn’t matter to you. They got the message : “I don’t want to talk.”. And, even if you weren’t there, across from him looking so small, arms crossed on your chest, knees up, as if you were trying to protect yourself from some invisible enemy, you weren’t so graceless. If you were to sit next to him, you would do it with a feline’s grace. You would say some awfully bad jokes to make him smile or, if it was a bad day, you would simply lay your head on his shoulder, intertwining your fingers with his, resting them on his lap while he drank that brown water they called coffee. A gentle nudge to the ribs makes him turn his head to the left to meet Chuckler’s gaze. Of course, it is. Hoosier knew he had been unfair to them those last few days. He couldn’t hold a conversation without snapping. Not that there was a lot to talk about but still. Actually, there were only two topics lately. Coffee and you. They didn’t mean to speak about you in your back but they were worried. And if they wanted to know if you were alright, then they had to go ask Hoosier, right? Because when it came to you, he was the one with the answers. After all, not so long ago, it was you two against the army and the rest of the world. Holding back a sigh, Hoosier took another long drag of his cigarette, forcing himself to focus on his dark-haired friend. Chuckler has always been an expressive guy. If he were happy, he would laugh loudly and genuinely. He couldn’t have a poker face to save his life. Especially when he was sad or worried. Hoosier blamed the eyes. Chuckler spared a glance at you before locking his bright eyes with Hoosier’s darker ones.

“Are you alright?” Bill thought that Chuckler was trying to mouth it but that man was as unable of being quiet as he was tall. At least he achieved to whisper, in a Chuckler way but Hoosier learned to appreciate the little things in life. War does that to you. However, you didn’t open the eyes and Hoosier couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or not. Not lingering on the latter, he simply shrugged.

“’M alright. Don’t worry ‘bout me.” Instinctively, his hand reached for your hand on his lap but his only reward was a piece of wet and dirty fabric. Gritting his teeth together, he extinguished his cigarette and lit another. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had cancer before this war ended. Beside him, Chuckler sighed, almost as if he were admitting his defeat. Against what, though? Lew patted him sympathetically on the shoulder a few times before getting up and sitting back next to Runner. As the warmth of Chuckler’s hand left his shoulder, Hoosier swore he could hear his teeth squeak. He didn’t need pity. He needed you. You and your cheeky smile, you, and your angelic laugh, you, and your terrible jokes. He needed you as much as he needed air, if not more.

Closing his eyes to stop the now familiar burn behind his eyelids, he threw his head back with a groan. And if the back of his head hit a metal crate, who cared? Not him. And not you.

He liked to pretend it didn’t hurt.

—–

“Hoosie!” Your speech was slurred as you leaned into his embrace, burying your face into the crook of his neck. Holding back a roll of the eyes that would have come out fonder than anything, Hoosier refused to acknowledge the cooing of the men he called friends. He really needed better friends. As one calloused hand came to play with your hair, the other staying on your waist, he lowered his head to speak directly into your ear, the noise of the bar and the music too loud for him to be able to speak at a normal level and you still hearing him.

“Drank a bit too much, darling?” He could feel you frown against his jaw as you shook your head in denial.

“’M not drunk.” Your breath was hot against his neck. Hoosier chuckled lowly, kissing your temple tenderly. You almost didn’t feel it, it was like getting tickled by a feather.

“If you say so, babe. Want to go back to the stadium?” He could get used to it; Hoosier realized. Having you in his arms, kissing you when he wants to, a few bottles of alcohol and good friends. Well, most of the times they were. He didn’t have to be on his tiptoes for Japanese artillery or attacks, he could relax for the first time in what felt like eternity. Too caught up in his thoughts, he missed your answer, only noticing that there was a missing warmth beside him. Frowning at the empty spot next to him, he only looked up when you tugged on his right hand to see you up, a smirk on your lips. He pouted adorably, even batting his eyelashes a few times to make you laugh. The others teased him to no end but it was all worth it to see you almost bounce in happiness. As Hoosier got up, he threw an arm over your shoulder, bringing you closer. Your smile blinded his heart, and your laugh stole every bit of common sense in him. You took then became his everything, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hoosier didn’t want to wake up from that dream. Well, memory was more what you should call it. However, the screams and sounds of gunfire was enough to wake him up fully. Grabbing his own weapon, he hurried outside the tent, rain wetting him immediately, and started shooting whatever was moving. Jumping into the nearest foxhole, which happened to be the one you were in, Hoosier cursed loudly as he struggled with the gun kept on slipping from his grip. Night has fallen, and the rain had started again, the occasional lightnings making the helmets and weapons shine and giving the scene a surreal and frightening effect. It was like a horror movie. Hoosier vowed never to celebrate Halloween again.

“Can you see them?” Shouting above the screams and artillery, Hoosier almost didn’t hear himself.

“Who? Japs or us?" Getting back under cover to reload his weapon, he bit his lip as he tried to have a good sight of you. He did catch a glimpse of you but he sure as hell wasn’t satisfied with what he just saw. He never got to answer your question.

"Corpsman!!” The cry of a broken man reverberated through the forest and the rain, pierced the dark and artillery sounds, before it finally settled into your conscience. Running on pure instinct, you began to hurry out of the foxhole to join the wounded man when a hand caught your wrist. You already had leg out as you quickly turned your head to face him, eyes shining in the dark. The bullets kept whistling in your ears, blood rushing to your heads. Yet, you were still too far away from him so he could only see the shadow of your body, but he knew you had a look of confusion plastered on your face. Even though, Hoosier knew you were as beautiful as ever, it was part of you.

“Wait, (Y/N)!” He couldn’t let you go. Not now, not ever.

“What the hell Hoosier?” Opening his mouth to tell something, probably along the line of “Get back into the fuckin’ foxhole!”, he was cut off when your own mouth opened into a perfect “o” as you fell backwards, hair dancing to the wind. None of you heard the gunfire and, next thing Hoosier knew, you were in his arms, blood soaking his uniform from where you’ve just been shot. No, no, no. Not you. Muttering and swearing under his breath, he put both of his hands against the heavily bleeding wound on your right side, pressing as much as he could to try to restrain the flow of blood on his hands. Yours. It was your blood that was tainting his hands, as fast as your love tainted his life with colors even in his darkest times.

“Corpsman!!” His voice was thick with emotions and he couldn’t say if the wetness on his face was from the rain or his tears, but he knew the sound of your whimpers of pain would haunt him for the rest of his life. The moon pierced the clouds, lighting the battlefield in a white glow, however the rain didn’t stop. The cold light of the moon gave you a much paler skin than your usual one, even though Hoosier’s brain knew it was most probably due to a blood loss, it illuminated your face as much as your wound.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” It was like a mantra.

As you coughed and a small drop of blood flowed down your jaw, then another, Bill saw his world fall apart. Even without being trained as a medic, he knew it was bad. Why isn’t the flow slowing down?! Where the fuck is a corpsman when you need one? Cradling your face in his hands, thumbs stroking your cheeks and painting your pale skin red, Hoosier gently but firmly turned your chin so your eyes met his. When did your eyes got so dull? When did it all went wrong? You smiled lazily at him, while all he could see was blurry. He must’ve been crying because you shakily raised your left hand to stroke his cheek soothingly. God, your hand was so cold.

“It’s fine, Bill. It was bound to happen anyway.”

“C'mon, (Y/N), you’re gonna be just fine!” Who was he trying to convince? You or him? “Hey, hey, none of that, don’t close your eyes, sweetheart, don’t you fucking dare die on me!” Please, everyone but them! Take all you want, take me but not (Y/N)! You blinked once again, the grip you had on his hand weakening. “Don’t leave me alone, (Y/N), please, I can’t do it on my own.” This is your fault. If you hadn’t been that stupid and selfish, they wouldn’t be here. You weren’t even looking at him, staring at the invisible stars in the sky, face pale as the moonlight witnessed the scene, cold and white. Squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned in until your foreheads touched, a tear fell down your cheek, leaving a neat trace as it continued its road through the blood on your face. So that was what the burning in his eyes was about.

“You’re gonna be fine, so please, please, don’t give up now. How am I supposed to live, to do anything without you?” His voice was barely above a whisper but it broke anyway. Or maybe it was him. Perhaps that dreadful sound he heard was his world crashing down as you closed your eyes one last time, mouthing a weak “I love you” against his palm, followed by a “It’s okay…”. Sobbing painfully, his throat hurting and his mouth dry, Hoosier whimpered into the night, having for only witness the moon and the trees. With a shaking hand, he took your bloody dog tags, pressing them to where his heart should’ve been if you weren’t gone. Praying was vain, like trying to mend soul and heart.

The battle wasn’t over, people were still dying, but Hoosier couldn’t bring himself to care as he just lost the most important person in his life, the only one that made him complete. Was life even worth living if you weren’t there with him? If you weren’t there to live it with him, what was the point? He didn’t want to grow old without, he didn’t want to live a life without you. His entire being was numb but he kept staring at your face, for eternity. Or maybe it was just a few minutes that turned into hours. After all, he had always said that he’d happily live forever if he had you in his arms. Bill simply never thought eternity was so close to hell.

“Hoosier?” He didn’t flinch. Even when a hand came to shake his blood-soaked shoulder, he didn’t move. It was like watching it all happen from another point of view. As if his soul was above his body, watching as Leckie’s face of concern turned into one of horror, his hand tightening its grip on Hoosier’s shoulder to… bring him back to reality? Hoosier would’ve snorted if he was able to feel things. Even that couldn’t have been created in a nightmare. None of them were ready to say goodbye. But therefore, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years could have passed and they still wouldn’t be ready. Bill took a shivering breath, forcing his hand to relax around your dog tags. Laying you tenderly, he cursed himself for oh, so many things but also for not being able to take care of you like he would have wanted to. Washing your face was all he could do as Leckie watched him silently. Never once did Hoosier met his eyes. He kissed your cold lips one last time before he finally got up from his crouched position, you were looking more at peace than you’ve ever been those past days and Hoosier was more devastated that he has ever been in his entire life. He completely ignored every man he crossed path with Chuckler and Runner, simply looking at the ground, eyes burning with unshed tears and head full of your last words. “It’s okay”. The blonde man felt the piece of metal pierce his skin, but he didn’t feel the pain. Finally reaching the welcome darkness of the empty tent, Bill let himself fall against a metal crate, burying head in his hands, clenching his fists in his hair.

“I’m fine.” The chorus of a broken man fulfilled the empty air with sorrow and guilt and despair. Maybe if he said it enough it would be as true as the first time you kissed him, or the first time he told you those three words. As the time will pass by, the snow will cover the lands to be melted by the sun which will be clouded by the rain. As stories are told and some are forgotten in dark foxholes, one truth will remain. 

You both were awful liars.

[padme-amitabha]

Is Anakin and Vader the same person?

I think I have talked about this before but I’ll reiterate the main points.

Of course they are the same person at different points in life. I don’t choose to follow Disney’s interpretation of anything about Star Wars. They hire writers and pay them to write their own fanfiction and interpretation and it’s far from George’s vision so I don’t see any reason to. Only 1-6 movies are canon to me with few exceptions such as 2003 Clone Wars and a few legends material but I’ll always put more emphasis on the movies.

Now from Revenge of the Sith movie we see Anakin become Vader (and by that I mean undergoing a surgery and being put into the suit). While the mask is being lowered we can see the fear in his eyes and his face is still recognizable. Fast forward 23 years and there’s no reason to believe he’s a different person. The only time he talks about his name is when Luke brings it up and he says “that name no longer has any meaning for me” not “I destroyed Anakin” or something similar to that. He is completely right because obviously it doesn’t hold any meaning for him - everyone who called him and knew him by that name (Shmi, Obi-Wan and Padmé) were all dead and his master called him Vader. And he had gotten used to the name in over two decades. Also, Palpatine probably preferred that he distance himself from his past hence referring to Luke as “the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.” Vader wasn’t a personality; it was just a new name he went by and since the mention of his real name brought back unpleasant memories he tried not to think of himself as the same person as a coping mechanism. This is why Vader tells Luke it’s too late for him to redeem himself - because he knows he commited some terrible deeds and hurt his loved ones and he can’t ever take that back. If he wasn’t Anakin, he wouldn’t feel that guilt or remorse for Anakin’s wife and mentor.

It’s the same as Padmé in TPM really - we see Padmé first as Queen Amidala who is a regal authoritative figure and then we see her true self when she’s in disguise.

Anakin winced, then quickly picked up another holograph, this one showing Padmé a couple of years later, wearing official robes and standing between two older and similarly robed Legislators. He looked back at the first holo, then to this one, noting that Padmé’s expression seemed much more severe here. “My first day as an Apprentice Legislator,” Padmé explained.

Then, as if she was reading his mind, she added, “See the difference?” Anakin studied the holograph a moment longer, then looked up and laughed, seeing Padmé wearing that same long and stern expression. She laughed as well, then squeezed his shoulder and went back to her packing.

Anakin put the holographs down side by side and looked at them for a long, long time. Two sides of the woman he loved.

This is from the AOTC novelization and this can be applied to Anakin as well. (More about similarities between Darth Vader and Queen Amidala in this post.) Just like Queen Amidala is really Padmé Naberrie, in the same way Darth Vader is really just Anakin Skywalker.

The reason why he has a different demeanor in OT is mostly due to his age and because he had years to adapt to his new persona. Vader in ROTS didn’t immediately become all stoic and impassive - he got very emotional on hearing Padmé’s death just like he would as Anakin. Vader isn’t some kind of demon possessing Anakin - Vader is Anakin after he has lost everything and he isn’t holding back as he did as a Jedi. It sounds very poetic to state both Anakin and Padmé died on the same day but Anakin truly didn’t though. Anakin lived on for years and died a redeemed man on the death star. The ROTS novelization supports this and it was approved by Lucas so it’s authentic to me.

And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.

That it was all you. Is you.

Only you.

You did it.

You killed her.

You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself …

I do think it was Anakin who choked Padmé on Mustafar even though some people like to blame it on “Vader”. Anakin was unhinged on Mustafar but even in the beginning of ROTS, he was beginning to show some aggression. Though people complain the first part of ROTS is slow and too much happens in the latter half and he falls too suddenly, that’s not the case. This moment has been building up from the very first movie to the first half of ROTS. The fall isn’t just that one action of attacking Mace Windu, he was gradually falling to the dark side for years starting from his mother’s death and he only made the actual decision in the rumination scene. That’s when he finally sheds a tear and makes the conscious decision to join the dark side.

For the record, I think conflict has always been a part of Anakin Skywalker. The prequels portray him in a negative light, particularly in the last two films. Anakin in the movies is a very, very flawed individual and even meant to be unlikable at times. He struggles with his emotions, he struggles to communicate with others and he struggle to fit in the order. I wouldn’t say he was mentally stable either - he could be unpredictable and his actions depend on his mood. But the movies also show the good aspects of him, especially about people he cared about. He even starts off as a kid with a good heart. The conflict and his flaws cause him to fall to the dark side and his good qualities (like selflessness and loyalty when it comes to family) ultimately redeem him. 

So I don’t think “Anakin” was the good side of him and “Vader” was the dark side. Vader is Anakin after he has lost everything he cared about and since he is not a Jedi anymore he is no longer required to hold back on anything. Ambition and desire to rule the galaxy is often associated with “Vader” but I think people forget Anakin was just as ambitious and in ROTS being denied the rank of Master deeply upsets him and increases his resentment towards the Jedi. He admitted that he wanted more in ROTS even though he knows he shouldn’t. He also told Padmé in AOTC that he would prefer dictatorship over democracy so it’s not like his ideals changed either. Vader until he discovered he had a son had no interest in ruling the galaxy. Later on he essentially offered Luke the same choice he gave Padmé on Mustafar. From the conversation in AOTC, it seems he’s more dissatisfied with the system and being from a lawless and harsh world he sees dictatorship as the solution. While he doesn’t want to actively take part in it, he wants to enforce the system which is exactly what he does later on (and perhaps he preferred leaving the actual ruling bit to Padmé or Luke). I don’t see Vader as “evil” - I mean the only times he killed people were for failure and he did keep Admiral Piett alive since he proved to be competent. Vader in OT (when Luke isn’t concerned) is just doing his job and punishing inefficient people who aren’t letting him do his job. He only serves the emperor and does his bidding. After Luke rejects his offer, Vader still plans to seek him out but in ROTJ his resolve definitely grew weaker and it’s more like he’s imploring him to reconsider than being forceful. 

Anakin as we have seen in AOTC is very much capable of mass murder (and confessed that he felt they deserved it) so should he really be defined as the good side? You could even argue as Vader he killed people for legitimate reasons whereas Anakin killed defenseless people when he was blinded by rage. And even in ROTS he kills Dooku as revenge. I’m not saying Anakin is evil (that would be grossly oversimplying things); I am saying he was a complex character. The reason why he turned out the way he is has already been explored in the prequels but I also believe it’s a combination of nature and nurture. Anakin as a child has a good heart, wants to help others and free the slaves but in TPM script/novelization he lashes out at a Rodian who claims he won the race by cheating, meaning he didn’t handle accusation very well. It might be dismissed as a childish reaction but we see he struggled to control his temper in later years as well. A person has both good and bad qualities and that’s the case with Anakin here, though his negative traits were expressed more. But the prequels are all about exploring his downfall so it was necessary to highlight them. 

Anakin to me was never a “hero” who fell to the dark side due to circumstances; he was a complex character who made some hard choices. If the roles were reversed and Padmé was the Jedi with Anakin’s life at risk, I don’t think she would go that far to commit murder. Sure Palpatine is very manipulative but at the same time he understood that it was in Anakin’s nature to be manipulated very easily. You need to have some form of fear, insecurity and resentment in you for someone to utilize them. 

I blame TCW, Rebels and the fanboyish Marvel comics for dissociating Anakin from Vader. “Anakin Skywalker was weak, I destroyed him” again makes him very one-dimensional than accepting the fact that people can be morally complex. Not to mention the Marvel comics’ tendency to make him react violently and unnecessarily ruthless to prove he isn’t Anakin drastically reduces his character depth for me. It may also have to do with the fact that movie Anakin was not well-received so they are trying to distance him from Darth Vader, whom fanboys worship. Anakin’s story is incomplete without Vader - he made a choice to embrace the dark side and sacrifice his morality so like the tragic hero he is, he has to suffer and face the consequences for his actions. Similarly, Vader’s story is incomplete without Anakin - without Anakin he is a faceless man. Sure he’s mysterious but without his past we would not know what a complex character he was or sympathise with him.

If Vader wasn’t really Anakin, he wouldn’t have felt remorse for his actions or believe it was too late for him. If he wasn’t Anakin he wouldn’t refer to Luke as his son and if he was so desperate to erase any trace of Anakin, he would have definitely killed Luke as he was a reminder of his past. It was Vader who saved Luke in the end and while it is fine to figuratively say “Anakin was back”, taking it literally undermines his sacrifice. It takes a lot to come back from the dark side, face your demons and after being that way for decades, attempt to redeem yourself when you believe you’re far too gone. He redeemed himself as an old man after a long life full of sorrow and regrets, which also sounds much better than saying “he was evil no longer” and that “Anakin was back”. It makes everything seem black and white and the prequels were essentially all about exploring the gray area. Luke didn’t even know “Anakin” and really where was Anakin when “Vader” cut off his hand? Or fought him? Vader’s inner struggle was between accepting he was far too gone and going on as he did for years, and accepting change, letting it go and forgiving himself for his son’s sake - not a struggle between two personalities fighting to take control. If they were different personalities, Anakin wouldn’t have almost all of Vader’s qualities; he wouldn’t be morally conflicted both as Anakin and Vader. George said the reason why he later replaced his force ghost as a younger version was because he stopped being Anakin after he fell to the dark side and I have to say that’s the only time I disagree with George because Anakin in prequels still had dark tendencies so I do believe Vader never stopped being Anakin hence the original version with the old force ghost made more sense to me and the new version does rob some of the depth from his character. I’m sure George has his reasons - he might have wished to preserve the black and white simplicity of the OT but after the complexity of the prequels, it seems more appropriate for the saga to have a more imperfect, realistic ending. In retrospect, it seems to me they are very much the same person when you study his personality and consider his whole life, which was full of ups and downs.

[lumilasi]

UPDATE: added her civilian outfit + updated rest of her bio

Her bio below 

Age: 34 when Kain and Ryuu arrived in her place the first time, 40 now

Sexuality: lesbian

KEI’S QUIRK EXPLAINED

Quirk name: Knight (Pros in normal, cons in bold)

SWORD MODE

When in this mode, her attack will always cause damage regardless of the opponent’s defenses and invulnerability. How severe it is depends on the opponent, but the attack will always have some form of impact.

She can also easily break through physical emitter attacks that require offence tactics, such as Ice or soil-based quirks that aim to immobilize you.

she can switch between her two modes fairly quickly by default, making her a very efficient fighter.

The strength of her attacks depends heavily on her physical health; if she’s feeling weaker, her attack efficiency is weaker too, as well as the speed in switching between her two modes.

She tends to be on her other mode by default, so Kei needs to physically switch herself into the offensive mode, and when she does that, she can’t use her shield mode abilities.

SHIELD MODE

“Shield mode” basically makes her immune/highly resistant to any types of attacks, and this includes non-direct emitters like brainwashing. She has this mode on by default constantly.

Quirk-erasure skills are the only exception to her immunity, though only indirect emitter types; any quirk erasure that requires physical contact won’t work on her.

Like with the sword mode, her defense strength and stamina depends on her current fitness.

RANDOM FACTS

- “Kei” means Knight, and “Reidou” means “mother” and “home” 

- Her new name was given to her by an elderly couple who took care of her for a while after she managed to flee the commission agents after her (by luck), making them think she was dead.

- Her original name basically means “fire heart autumn child”, a nod to her strong willed nature, warm color scheme and the fact she was born in fall.

- She often likes to wear tank tops and cardigans. For shoes she either wears those brown boots or sandals, all the time. Sandals for exceptionally warm weather, boots for any other weather. She refuses to wear any other kind of footwear. 

- She was a very skinny and petite as a child, but due to her quirk grew much more strong framed overtime. 

- Like said, Kei isn’t truly a villain but more of a vigilante. While she’d lost her trust in the system, she wanted still to help people, despite knowing it was risky as it could potentially reveal she was alive. 

- She drinks a lot of coffee, and does frequent a bar Aizawa sometimes goes to with Mic and Nemuri. She has even talked with the pro-hero at times and they kinda get along. Aizawa has his suspicions that she’s a Vigilante of some sort, but never asks questions about it.

- She works in a local coffee shop of the village she’s living in. As a result Kei drinks a shit-ton of coffee, and usually black. She also occasionally suffers from Insomnia.

- She’s not that bothered by Ryuu and Kain’s sometimes brutal and violent antics, because she has seen first hand how the supposed “good guy side” sometimes does even worse bullshit.

- Rankure gives her grey hairs with her gullible nature and tendency to end up mixed up in random schemes, but she loves her anyway. As long as she doesn’t get mixed with the big wigs on either side, she’s fine with her antics.

- Kei was the one who taught Wasabi how to use the staff, because he saw her train with it one day and thought it was cool, so he wanted to learn it too.

PERSONALITY

Kei is pretty calm and stoic for the most part, with a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. She is very distrustful of strangers due to her past experiences, and it takes her a while to warm up to people, apart from those she sees are obviously in great need of help; even with them, she won’t share her personal history easily. It took her a long time to tell her story to Rankure and Wasabi for example. 

She can be pretty intimidating when angry, and overall has big “momma bear” or “Mama Lion” energy as Rankure describes it. 

Because of her past, and guilt issues, she can take topics touching her history very personally, getting overtly aggressive to people’s faces for these issues, such as people being insensitive over death, child abuse, or when people ridicule somebody for questioning things reasonably (namely anything about the hero structure) She’s generally known for having the kind of temper that can go from zero to a hundred in a snap second if you rub her the wrong way.

She’s also not very fond of heroes, but doesn’t really hate them knowing most are just puppets for their leaders, not realizing how badly flawed the system they uphold is. Nowadays she just prefers minding her own business, running the small coffee shop and being the rational one in her found family. 

BACKGROUND STORY:

Kei’s parents were friends with Akashiro’s wife, and she used to babysit Kain when he was very little, before the boy was fully locked up in the facility his dad worked in. 

After his quirk manifested, Kei began to notice problematic signs from the way his father treated the boy, and how often he had to go through “clinical checks” that always seemed to leave the boy shaken.

Initially, the child did not want to tell her anything about what was going on despite her concern, but eventually relented, which prompted the then-teenager Kei to confront his dad about it. He told her to keep her nose out of his business however, stating it was a government matter, the situation with Kain.

She kept arguing over this with Daiki (Kain’s father) for months, after seeing more and more worrying signs in the boy, until one day he lost control of his quirk one time she was visiting the laboratory. After yelling at Daiki’s face she was dragged away and thrown out forcibly, told to return home. 

After this incident, her and her family began to feel like they were being followed, and one day as they headed for a holiday trip, their car swayed off the road due to a sudden storm, and caused it to fall to the sea; Kei managed to survive thanks to her quirk, but her parents died. (she later found out the car had been tampered with as someone *cough*theherocomission*cough* wanted to get rid of her and her family as they knew too much about Dr. Akashiro’s work)

She initially suffered from amnesia, and was taken in and raised by an elderly couple in a smaller more rural town, who also gave her her new name, named after the old woman’s late mother. Once her memory returned couple years later, she initially wanted to find out what happened that night, returning to the capital secretly. She quickly realized that trying to dig into this could be too dangerous, so she decided to leave it be. This trip inspired her to become a Vigilante though, as a bit of a way to make amends over her guilt for what she felt was her fault; her parents dying and an innocent boy being left behind in a horrid situation.

Years later, she ran into a young woman who was carrying a troubled looking child, being chased by a bunch of gangsters. Kei, being reminded of the kid she hadn’t been able to save, decided to step in and managed to drive off the gangsters by sheer intimidation thanks to her strength and durability that her quirk gave her. She allowed the pair to stay with her, not caring that the woman - Rankure - had a bit of a criminal record, let alone what she learned from the little boy, Saname.

She’d seen this all before, but this time, she could help.

Then, many, many years later, she was almost discovered by some government agents who’d heard rumors about a liability still perhaps being alive. Kain showed up however that day, basically steering them away from her and making them fully think it was a false alarm. 

As an expression of gratitude and another form of amend to Kain, Kei allowed him and his friend - whom she knew was a dangerous criminal, if not known around there - to stay as long as they promised to not cause trouble, which both agreed to.