#finished my hero mode run and being so normal about it

[alltheoutsinfreeeee]

Have I ever told you that I love A Link Between Worlds' final cutscene? Zelda and Link making a shared wish, the cut to Lorule, (Ravio falling over due to the earthquake, the goober), the music starting to swell at the reconstruction of the Triforce, the simultaneous cleansing of it, Hilda and Ravio's reactions when they realize what's happening, the triumphant music at the shot of the renewed Triforce with Lorule changing to softer colors in the background, Hilda crying in disbelief and gratitude...

Ahhhhhh, I love it! It's so well done! I've seen it so many times already but it still makes my heart warm and my eyes sting. Hilda never needed to go to such lengths, all she had to do was ask... [screams into pillow]

[phantomskeep]

okay so yet ANOTHER big brain move with the queer moms meet lil danny phantom. Because I can't help myself I simply love the idea of this.

fair warning, this contains spoilers for the harley quinn show seasons 1-3 (which btw my fellow dp fans who kind of know a little bit about the dc universe via fanfiction/fan content and are able to watch a show with lots of blood, gore, and adult human: watch the show. its so good. a 10/10 for me). Because while I personally haven't finished it I have an idea on what's going on.

So, we have established that danny's found in an alley near the dead mall by ivy and harley doing some uhhh adult fun. but let's change it up a bit, shall we?

The Soon-To-Be moms just got back to gotham from Edin. but like when ivy takes a walk before coming up with the Big Bad Plan to takeover the world/terraform it into basically the prehistoric age. she ends up finding danny in an alley near the mall on her way back from like a park nearby. she's a bit confused on WHY a barely-teenaged kid was near a known supervillian hide-out so late at night. especially when ivy and harley's return to gotham was via public transport. and when the kid sees her and doesn't immediately start screaming/running in the other direction she's a bit confused. when she notices the kid has a bunch of dried blood all over him and torn up clothes she's now both confused AND worried. why? because in the show poison ivy actually really does care about people its kind of sweet. lady really just wants to chill in a garden and live her best life.

BUT danny and ivy meet like that. she very awkwardly questions wtf danny was doing out and about when injured. he kind of off-handly jokes that its because his parents want to rip him apart molecule by molecule so he's just trying to find a nice dumpster to nap in. this causes ivy to go ham into protective mode, since in the show her entire backstory is her dad being a piece of shit and beating her. so she kind of kidnaps danny like "dude i live in an abandoned mall with my girlfriend and squad come join us" and danny's a lil sus but eventually decides that well, if all else fails he can legit dip the hell out of there at any time. ivy and danny go back to the mall and ivy sets him up in one of the spare rooms/shops (maybe dr psycho's old room?) and then runs down to tell about/show the squad danny. they're all kind of freaking out over this lil boy, asking him a bunch of questions as they do, cue bane walking in for his pasta maker. because this show is on five different types of cocaine.

danny, ofc, is watching this whole thing freaking out a little bit. he's getting ready to run away so he can throw down with bane. but then bane's all like "you didn't get married give me my pasta maker back" and the squad all eating their pasta not-so-gently telling him fuck no then he leaves. so while this is going on danny's trying to put the pieces of this puzzling universe together. Green lady, funky clown lady, lump of clay, talking plant, talking shark, and some super buff dude that would put dash to shame wearing a weird full-body suit? and for all the "revenge" he talked about not even doing anything about it? just walking away? it's not looking good for danny's idea of what "normal" is for the DC universe.

BUT he hears that they're planning on breaking into a museum to steal a Jurassic Park style mosquito to take over the world. that's not realllyyy his style but harley's kinda up in his face excitably asking him if he wants to join them! because it would be so fun! so danny's like "uhhh yeah maybe I guess" while planning on sabotaging them. cause he's a hero doing hero stuff. yeehaw.

the plan in action, however? goes to shit. ivy ends up ditching the squad + danny when the guards start shooting, the squad + danny manages to catch up to ivy, then they escape but barely because ivy tends to panic under pressure.

which is a mood.

ivy makes the eden serum using the mosquito in order to resurrect the dead plant matter in the earth. if anyone else has watched the show; you KNOW that shit looked like some dp ectoplasm. the plant comes to live, walks around a little bit, then turns into a horrifying ecto-monster. it's speaking in jumbled ghost speak/plant speak asking anyone to just kill it already because its in pain and it hates whoever brought it to life so danny smacks it with an ecto-blast, causing the ghost-plant to fall into the barrel of toxic waste. in ghost speak, the plant tells danny thank you and dies. again?

ofc the squad freaks out a little bit about danny's powers but ivy runs out and harley follows, leaving danny with the rest of the squad.

aaannnddd that's all the ideas i have right now but mmmmm im loving writing this. im not gonna say its a fic because i SWEAR i can write better than this. better grammar, capitalization, less random lil notes scattered around - the whole nine yards.

but this is fun and I love the idea of ivy and harley adopting danny with king shark, clayface, and frank being his weird uncles and catwoman being his fun wine aunt.

ALSO I've heard rumors about a danny phantom fan discord? anyone have information on how I can join it? ;)

[waterfallofspace]

27 and 61 for E/rasermic with Mic being the sick one?

Thank you again for the requests!! (I've said this on previous ones, I'll say it again, as I'm thankful for them all!!) Writing M/ic as the sick one was new for me, so I hope I did a satisfactory job! I adore E/rasermic, so it was quite fun to explore their dynamic some more! Hope you enjoy!! <3 1.9k words, prompts 27 and 61, story under the cut! 27. “How long have you felt like this?” 61. “I can tell you’re sicker than you’re saying.”

~~~~~~~

By the time Aizawa gets home, it’s well into the evening. Class had ended on time, but several students had questions about assignments. Because of that, grading papers was pushed till later, leaving him exhausted, and running several hours behind. As soon as he sprawls on the couch, Mic walks into the room, giving a gentle, albeit slightly strained, smile.

“Welcome home!”

“Thank you. I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a minute.”

This week the long days had quickly turned into long nights, with Aizawa spending all of his daylight at the school, and pulling all-nighters to catch up on hero work. Mic’s been supportive, but they both feel the strain of not seeing each other as much.

“Dinner?”

Aizawa manages to pry open his eyes to look at his husband as he approaches the couch. Mic’s signature smile is on, but his sunglasses are off, and his hair isn’t gelled up, just messy. ‘Probably laying down before I got home. 8pm is a touch early for him to be going to bed though, maybe just a nap, or watching a show?’ 

“I’m okay, had something while I was at school.”

“Was it enough?”

“For now. I don’t have patrol tonight, so I’ll eat breakfast with you in the morning, I promise.” 

“Alright, love.”

With that, Mic presses a kiss to Aizawa’s cheek, before walking into the kitchen. Aizawa hears the familiar sound of the coffee pot being filled, ‘Mic’s making coffee in the evening…? Maybe he wants to stay up talking, it has been awhile since we’ve gotten a free moment together.’ before a not so familiar sound starts up.

“ihhngt’shii-! ehhgnt’iee-!” 

“Mic, everything okay over there?”

“Yep!”

The answer is short, and Aizawa feels his mind slipping into teacher mode, trying to calculate every possible reason. ‘Those were likely sneezes, but for some reason he’s stifling. Trying to hide them, probably. His voice sounds normal, but he’s keeping his responses short, that’s not like him… making coffee in the evening… looking like he was sleeping before eight…’ Realization dawns across Aizawa’s face, a game plan starting to form in his mind. 

“Hey, you brewing some coffee?”

“Yep, want some?”

There’s a layer of congestion to Mic’s words that wasn’t there a minute ago, Aizawa pretending not to notice as he strolls to the kitchen, cuddling up against his husband and taking the pot from his hands.

“Let me do it instead. Your coffee is okay, but we both know mine is better.”

Mic just hums in approval, letting himself lean against Aizawa for a second, before quickly straightening up. Aizawa gives him a questioning glance, before letting a smirk replace it. ‘His nose is twitching. He’s trying not to sneeze again. I’ll give him an out, just for now, only to get him out of the kitchen so I can switch this coffee for some tea.’ 

“Why don’t you wait for me on the couch? Pick something for us to watch before we head off to sleep, I could use a little time to destress.”

“Of course, Sho. Rough day?”

“Not particularly, just a lot of questions to answer. Those students may be great heroes one day, but they’re still teenagers for now, and some of them are struggling with the most recent course material.” 

“eh’kNG’shhii-! hH’INktt’shiew-!”

Despite hearing the double quite clearly from the kitchen, Aizawa lets Mic continue believing they passed unnoticed. Finishing up with the kettle, he walks back into the living room, heart fluttering at the sight waiting for him. Mic has one hand pinched against his nose, the other fanning his face, eyes closed, head tipped back.

“Need to sneeze, Mic?” 

Eyes snap open, Mic’s hands dropping into his lap, a red flush starting to lick at his cheeks. His nose, revelling at its newfound freedom, starts twitching. ‘He looks a bit like a bunny in this state.’ Aizawa lightly chuckles to himself, a grin starting to pour over his face.

“N- no… heHhh-!”

“Really? Sure looks like you do. Your nose is trembling, dear. Almost like there’s a tickle building, spreading deeper-”

“ShhAhH-! Shota d- don’t…” 

“Like a feather, brushing every ticklish nerve, sending the itch across your face, buzzing through your sinuses… until all you can do is-” 

“heH’EISSHH’IIE-! EIICHH’IEW-!”

“Bless you, Zashi.”

“eschh’ieww-! aiSHH’iee-! hEh’ESHH’iee-!”

Aizawa slips onto the couch beside his husband, kissing a blessing into his soft hair. Stroking his hand down Mic’s back, he lets out a sigh at the tension. Letting his voice soften, he tilts Mic’s chin up till their eyes meet, not missing the guilt waiting for him.

“How long have you felt like this?”

“N- not long… It’s not that bad, just a few sneezes, and a touch of a headache. Really it’s n- nothi… s- sorry gottasneez- ZZISHHIEW-! aH’AISHhh’iiee-!”

“Blessings. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You were ju-” 

Mic breaks off into a cough, deep and chesty, knocking the wind right out of Aizawa’s lungs. His hand resumes its earlier motion, rubbing tight circles as tears spring to Mic’s eyes with the effort breathing now requires.

“Easy, shallow breaths, just let it out, it’ll be over soon.”

The words are surprisingly calm considering the panic dancing through Aizawa’s chest. Mic’s hand reaches up, finding Aizawa’s and giving a tight squeeze. Managing to open his eyes in between spasms, Mic lets out a hoarse whisper.

“I’m.. okay..” 

“It would be more reassuring if you could breathe as you said it, Mic.” 

A strained laugh breaks free from the coughs, Mic letting his fist playfully brush Aizawa’s arm, prompting a light sigh from the tired man. ‘He doesn’t seem worried about the cough, which means it’s probably happened before… how sick has he been- more importantly, how did I not notice…’ Aizawa thinks, letting the guilt he’s all too familiar with seep back into his brain. 

“Hey.”

The word breaks him free, his focus lowering back to Mic’s level, noticing as his hand stills that the coughing has ended. Mic’s eyes look worried, though Aizawa can’t figure out why he’s the one receiving that glance. At least, until he realizes the hand holding Mic’s is shaking, in fact, his whole body is trembling.

“I’m okay, Sho. heH’inGHSHH’iie-! Bless me, sorry.”

“You’re not okay. I can tell you’re sicker than you’re saying. That cough was… how long have you been this way, Hizashi?”

“aieschhhh’iew-! heH’IESHH’iee-!”

“Bless you, but you’re not getting out of the question so easily.”

Mic gives a guilt soaked shrug, eyes starting to water as he meets Aizawa’s calm gaze. Aizawa gives his arm a light squeeze, reassurance dripping from his smile. He lets his other hand cup Mic’s chin, lightly bringing him in for another kiss, before letting him respond.

“I was telling the truth earlier, it has been not long, just a few days… but maybe I was exaggerating how slight the symptoms have been…”

“Love, it’s just me here. You can tell the truth, I just want to help. Your voice is starting to sound as rough as mine, so I know you’ve got a cold. I just need to know if it’s more than that?”

“Don’t think so. Just… hhaHh-! hAH’EISHH’iee-! eeaschhh’iew-! nngeSHh’iee-!”

“Blessings.”

“Thank you. It’s just the cough that’s bad, but you know colds tend to settle in my chest and throat. There was no fever last time I checked, and I don’t feel warm, just sore… and I keep- keep… eH’GNSshh’ieee-! which doesn’t help my throat.”

“I’m sorry, I should have noticed sooner.”

“It’s not your fault, Shota. We’ve barely seen each other, plus, it’s not like I wa- was… heHh-! eH’GNshhiee-! aischhh’iew-! Bless me! Not like I was broadcasting it. I didn’t want to worry you, you looked so exhausted when you got home from your jobs...” 

“Hizashi, my most important job is taking care of you. Let me do that, okay~?”

A whistling cuts through the apartment, Aizawa rising to answer it. Pouring himself and his husband each a glass of tea, he spoons an extra dash of honey into Mic’s, along with a few squeezes of lemon juice. Handing the warm mug to Mic, Aizawa plants another gentle kiss on his forehead, relaxing as there’s just the usual warmth that comes from the energetic man.

“Drink this, love. It’ll help your throat.” 

Mic takes a few sips before setting the mug on the table, gesturing for Aizawa to join him once more. Doing as he’s told, Aizawa settles onto the couch, Mic sliding in next to him, head resting against his chest.

“You’re quite the trickster you know. Switching the coffee out for tea behind my back?” 

At the remark, Aizawa chuckles, the sound vibrating through his body, straight against Mic’s face. The sensation triggers another sneeze, Mic having nowhere except Aizawa’s shoulder to aim it, a pink hue spreading like wildfire against his face.

“hEH’AIESHH’IEE-! Oh- I’m so sorry, it surprised me I jus-”

“It’s alright, Zashi. Just lay down again, I don’t mind. Try to rest, I’m sure some sleep would help, we don’t want this getting any worse.”

“Thank you, Sho…” 

“Let’s just both be glad there’s no fever yet, I don’t know if I’d be able to keep my eyes open for that long after a week like this.”

Mic giggles lightly, letting out a faint groan at the memories, burying his face into Aizawa’s chest. ‘It’s lucky Mic’s quirk isn’t activated by the volume of the noise he’s making. It’s a conscious choice he has to make to start using it. However… that also means when his mind is too fuzzy, or sometimes if the tickle is too intense, it’ll break free.’ 

A memory flashes across his vision. They had been on a hero mission together when an unknown allergen had decided to make Mic its target. The first few sneezes had been fine, he was still able to stay in control, but the allergen had seemed unsatisfied with that result. Eventually they had managed to capture the villain, who had seemed deeply distressed by the sonic beam screeches Mic was letting out with every sneeze.

‘I had to keep his quirk erased for almost an hour after that. We never did figure out what brought it on, but it was certainly hilarious to watch the villain squirm as Zashi let loose towards an open field. I doubt he was planning on his heist going down like that.’ 

Aizawa casts a fond glance down at the man snuggled in his lap, recalling the flush in his cheeks was not too different from the slight tint living there now. ‘I should remember to check him for fever in the morning, and set out some meds. I assume he’s taken some already, so I’ll have to ask-’ 

“I… love you…”

The sleepy voice drags him out of his own head, Aizawa laughing softly at the tired fighting it’s way into the congested tone. ‘Just sleep now, Hizashi. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.’

“I love you too.”

With that, Aizawa lets his hand run through Mic’s loose hair, starting to hum lightly. He doesn’t sing often, but with Mic being such a music focused person, it’s become a little routine. Same as how Mic will often stand watch for him as he falls asleep, giving him the security to do so, Aizawa softly hums songs from the playlist Mic made for them. It gives him something to focus on, other than the discomfort, and is guaranteed to get him to fall asleep.

“hehh’eishh’iuhh-!” 

“Blessings, my dear.”

Aizawa slowly feels his own eyes start to get heavy, hands slowing in Mic’s hair as he slips into a deep sleep too, curled in his lover's arms.

Not a safer place in the world.

[sundove88]

Project Link Up Transformation Sequences (Part 1):

Because my Poll from yesterday did really well, Have Some Transformation Sequences for Project Link Up! (They’re mostly of the main protagonists.)

Shonen Jump Power Linkage (Aaron Shelby):

Inspired By: Cure Sky’s Transformation (Hirogaru Sky PreCure)

Aaron: Power Linkage… Activation!

(Aaron scans his Linkage Card into his Watch, and the transformation begins)

Goku: Aaron, let’s do this!

Aaron: You said it!

Aaron: Heroic Hop! (His dark teal undershirt pops on, and so do his shoes and belt)

Goku: Extreme Step! (The orange part of Aaron’s Gi appears)

Both: Sparking Jump! (Aaron’s wristbands pop on, and his hair gets golden tips)

Goku: The linker of the Super Saiyan…

Aaron: …I’m Aaron Shelby!

Super Smash Bros. Power Linkage (Celestia Haruno):

Celestia: Power Linkage… Activation!

(Celestia scans her Linkage Card into her Watch, and the transformation begins)

Kirby: Poyo, Poyo Poi! (Let’s do this, Celestia!)

Celestia: That’s what I’m talking about, Kirby!

(Celestia begins creating her outfit to replace her old one. Her t shirt changes into a pink t shirt with a yellow star; with her overalls becoming fluffy pink casual shorts. She then gets red high top sneakers with stars on them. She also gains socks- one long pink one with stars and one short white. Her hair comes last; with it being dip dyed pink and bunched into pigtails- with the hair ties becoming shooting stars.)

Kirby: Poyo Poyo Poyo Poi… (The Linker of the Hero of Dreamland…)

Celestia: …I’m Celestia Haruno!

Genshin Impact Elemental Linkage (Terry and Tara Wilkins):

Terry and Tara: Elemental Linkage, Go! (They insert the Linkage Charms into their Elemental Amulets)

Aether and Lumine: Let the elements of Tevyat flow through you two!

(Terry and Tara do as their partners say and allow their clothes to melt away and their hair to change their style. The siblings’ brown hair gets blonde tips and their outfits begin to take shape- Terry gets Aether’s shirt and pants, while Tara gets Lumine’s dress and Lily hair accessories. Finally, after their shoes come into being, they allow themselves to take up their swords and finish the transformation.)

Aether: The linker of the male traveler…

Terry: I’m Terry Wilkins!

Lumine: The linker of the female Traveller…

Tara: I’m Tara Wilkins!

Both: The Elemental Linkage… is here to save the day!

Cookie Run Sugar Linkage (Cedric Grimsley):

Inspired by: Cure Whip’s Transformation (KiraKira PreCure Ala Mode)

Cedric: Sugar Linkage… Decoration! Gingerbread!

(He places his Linkage Treat in his Tasty Compact)

Cedric; With Bravery…

Gingerbrave: …and Sweetness…

Both: …It’s time to mix it up!

(Cedric lets his normal clothing disintegrate as he does a backflip onto the cookie, allowing his auburn hair to get white streaks. He also allows his new sneakers to become Gingerbrave themed, and draws out his outfit- a gingerbread colored t shirt with skull candy buttons and shorts. He then puts his Tasty Compact into its carrying case, then takes his Candy Cane in hand.)

Gingerbrave: The linker of Crispy Bravery…

Cedric: …I’m Cedric Grimsley!

Overwatch Power Linkage (Hannah Smith):

Hannah: Power Linkage, Activation! (Scans the Linkage Card into the Overwatch Connector and the Transformation Begins)

Tracer: Let’s get started, Hannah!

Hannah: You bet, Tracer!

(Hannah does something akin to a street dance, allowing her current outfit to disintegrate. Tracer helps launch her into the air, and Hannah gets an outfit similar to that of her partner’s. As flashes of blue light fill the air, her hair also styles itself up and she gets a visor like Tracer’s. Finally, as she gains her partner’s signature pistols, she lands on the ground feet first, but not before she puts the Connector into its carrying case.)

Tracer: The Linker of a heroic time jumper…

Hannah: …I’m Hannah Smith!

Brawl Stars Battle Linkage (Devon Starling):

Devon: Battle Linkage, Engage! (Inserts the Brawl Gem into the Battle Compact)

Colt: Ready for action, Devon?

Devon: Heck yeah, Colt!

(Devon allows his normal clothes to fade away into light. As he uses the Battle Compact, he allows his new clothing to form- a pale blue shirt and jeans + belt, purple cowboy boots, a denim vest, and then his hair gains a pinkish-red dip dye exactly like his partner. He then turns two orbs of light into his revolvers, and places the Battle Compact into its carrying case)

Colt: The Linker of an unlikely Brawler…

Devon: …I’m Devon Starling!

Sanrio Dream Linkage (Hanami Tanaka):

Hanami: Dream Linkage, Awaken! (Inserts the Dream Crystal into the Dream SmartPhone)

Hello Kitty: Let’s do this, Hanami!

Hanami: You said it, Kitty!

(Hanami allows her clothing to fade away and for her hair to come undone. Once she does that, she allows her long black hair to bunch itself up in girly pigtails and to gain a gorgeous red Hairbow, which also turns the lower half of her hair white. Then, she creates a striped t shirt and cute overalls-with apple and bumblebee patches. She then creates her sneakers- white with red bows. After this, she places the Dream Smartphone in its carrying case.)

Hello Kitty: The linker of sweetness and bows…

Hanami: …I’m Hanami Tanaka!

Transformers LinkSpark (Mateo Driver):

Mateo: LinkSpark, Roll Out! (Inserts the Energon Gear into the Auto-Gauntlet)

Optimus: Mateo, it’s time.

Mateo: Here we go, Optimus!

(Mateo allows his normal clothes to turn into light. With his Auto-Gauntlet he begins to create his armor that looks exactly like Optimus Prime. As he lets his armor come into being, he also makes sure to get his shoes- Warrior ready boots. He also adorns himself with a visor and face mask so as to protect him from any dust in battle. The finishing touch is the headpiece, and with that marks the end of his changes.)

Optimus: The linker of the Autobot leader…

Mateo: …I’m Mateo Driver!

More will be coming in Part 2, so look out for that!

[frankiehagg]

writing journal: i'm restarting my manuscript from scratch, again

i just finished the fifth week of my second go at grad school. i am studying to become a translator! it is so great and uses my skills as a researcher, writer, and editor SO well, in ways i hadn't predicted. it has also, until this week, DECIMATED my capacity for non-school reading and writing. it's been so nice to pick up a non-assigned book, of fiction, about people who aren't real. missed this.

as my skills develop away from the crisis mode of learning a new skill, lean into my existing editorial skills, and leave me more free time, i find myself having time to fall into The Bad Mood, which happens when i'm not being sufficiently creative. so tonight is my rip roaring friday night of... starting the seventh draft of my six-years-in-the-making book manuscript, from scratch, again.

some FAQ about my intense journey with this manuscript:

Q: WHAT KEEPS GOING WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?

A: fundamentally, nothing. the story was too character-heavy in its first incarnation and dealt with themes that have been progressively less interesting to me. more accurate to say that my skills develop at a pace faster than the manuscript does. i don't mean this as a flex; i've averaged ~7k a month on this manuscript for years & other projects have naturally developed my skills along the way

Q: SEVERAL OF YOUR LAST DRAFTS HAVE ONLY BEEN 5-10k BEFORE YOU SCRAPPED THEM. WHY? ARE YOU *SURE* NOTHING'S WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?

A: i uh... ok, everything's wrong with this book. the themes are wrong. the beloved characters i have retained along the way no longer fit the story—at least one of them, the main character as i imagined her, needs to join the 350k pile of killed darlings, and the others need to undergo serious relevance editing. the logic of the setting is quite thin. my style is also "broke" on the scale of broke to bespoke; my skills are better now, so now every time i write this piece the voice is unbearably weak and uncompelling. fixing voice has been the main impetus for these endless restarts, and i haven't found one that both sounds good and works with the setting.

most egregiously: as the themes and setting are developed, the plot breaks and breaks and breaks.

i've been aware of these issues for a while and i hoped writing through them would fix my problems. not so. now that i've had a nice monthlong break from writing (at least, anything that wasn't translated from the original french), i opened my document and... didn't like what i saw. i opened my wiki and didn't like what i saw. i opened my file of short story ideas and—saw a theme. a theme that works very well with the setting i've been trying to develop, overhauls everything, and gives me a fresh lens from which to spawn new characters or refresh old ones with new purposes.

the first thing i am doing is scrapping everything. all meta material—gone. new scrivener file. new wiki file (i use obsidian for wikis, which i wrote at more length about here). i'll keep the old stuff for reference, but this is a new world for a new story. i am entering only with a vague understanding that this is a science fantasy story, both hero's journey and tragedy, and... isn't NOT about the john searle–jacques derrida debate.

it'll be good, i swear!

the second thing i am doing, for the first time in my life, is attempting to write a COMPLETE, COMPREHENSIVE outline—i am normally a cheerful planner-pantser combo—before i write a single word of prose. i am hoping this will help me identify areas of weakness before i invest a ton of words only to meet a dead end. since my time is at more of a premium than it used to be, i'll be able to mull things over longer-term and hopefully come to the file on weekends with developed ideas.

the third (and final?) thing i'm doing is to identify elements of style that i particularly vibe with in *reading* and make a point to run 20-minute style drills when i can carve out a spare moment, and keep them in a separate file for reference when it comes time to actually put down prose. i'm hoping this will help me hit the ground running with a style that motivates me to keep writing it, and prevent more style-related dead ends as well.

there are a lot of different ways to outline. beat sheets have helped me in the past, including save the cat and romancing the beat. increasingly i am moving away from beat sheets as structural crutches, but having a visual guide for the outline stage is still useful to me.

there's the kind of intensely complicated outlining tool like MOTT, but every time even i, a detail-loving methodical research type, open this spreadsheet, get scared, and close out again. instead i'm going to try a combination of the snowflake model and the ring structure as i try to feel my way toward a setting-relevant plot: my snowflake is going to have five act-sized points to start, and from there i will develop smaller and smaller details until i have a narrative outline that is also symmetrical for that "the hero comes home but they can never come home again because their home is NOTHING LIKE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS" kind of journey i'm going for.

i do NOT know if this is a good idea, it might NOT work, i might wind up with a rambling scrivener outline that is basically just a summary of the plot the way i have tried and burned out of in the past. but it'll be fun! let's try new things! failure is liberating in that failing again doesn't feel that bad! that's true, right? that's definitely true.

if you don't hear from me again i've gotten lost in the outline mines, but know i died as i lived: upset that my manuscript still isn't working.

(first posted in a slightly simplified format on mastodon).

[somethingforsenro]

lol i am in the smallest possible group. not that it's a surprise that no one who joined in s3 cares about team past but still.

im really only in that group as a technicality. i've been into splatoon since long before chaos vs order, so i would normally be in the ‘team past, s2’ box, but i just never really bothered to actually buy a splatoon game until a year after s3 dropped. which is weird, bc story-wise, s2 hero mode is actually my favorite (despite it usually just being the weird unpopular middle child overshadowed by the dlc in its own game)

i didn't come in late. im not a newbie who never got the chance to really bond with the older characters, like most s3 players are. i know the old characters. im interested in the classic octarians. im interested in the lore. i want to learn how we got here. and if i don't get to see our fan favorite characters again, im actually ok with that, bc frankly it's clear that nintendo is running out of ideas for them, and it's time for the fandom to take over.

i know what it's like to try and add more to a story that you intended to be finished. it's not good. it's never good. i don't want that to happen to splatoon, and if that means saying goodbye to everything we know about the franchise and going somewhere and somewhen else, that's fine by me – fair trade, imho.

and considering how that seems to be the direction the franchise is going after s3, i would rather we go into the past, and maybe get some old questions answered, than yeet off into the future where there really is nothing to be had on the original games.

but that's happening simultaneously to me coming onto the gameplay scene at the very end of aforementioned arc, and the numbers show that's just a weird spot to be in. what can ya do?

(maybe even explain your decision in the tags, love hearing peoples thoughts 👀)

[lefortunes]

003 # adults aren't our heroes.

i'm a millennial. born between the 'flower power' generation and the era after marcos. i grew up with tiger parents, a mom who didnt allow sleepovers with friends and a dad who would constantly comment that my face was dirty when i started getting breakouts -- i was twelve, and just started getting my period. aunts who didnt allow me to be in my pajamas when i ate breakfast and always had something to say when i woke wake up late, even on the weekends. teachers who always questioned why i was late for school, and made me stay in class way after dissmissal time because i couldn't finish my quizzes. these events all took place long before the term "tiger moms" were even coined by Times, long before some of the disciplnary actions brought about by the martial law babies - actions, which are now considered abusive in nature - by you.

for the most part of my life i have been an observer and subject to this kind of polarity, and saw how quickly it had changed seemingly, overnight. you'd be surprised that from where i come from, adult children are not a phenomenon but an extremely normal occurrence. children who lost (a) parent at a young age, or children who's parents were too old by the time they were born. so, by pure chance some of us are just big kids in adult bodies, 16, 18, 40, 60, or sometimes even a 100. forever unscathed by the hands of time, or by lucky chance, god's grace, (or whatever.)

but a standard is a standard. from the time we are born, we are fated to live our lives with what is expected from us. unfortunately? this isn't always the case. as we all come to know by now, everyone's life path is different. there are delays, setbacks, misadventures, obstacles or sometimes even roadblocks that prevent us from getting where we want to be. or rather, where we should be. either way, we learn later on that society expects a lot from us and that is due to society having structuter, a status quo, a mode of conduct, a moral concept.

i'm fortunate enough to have witnessed a kind of environment wherein i've grown up, experiencing first hand, the imperfections in the behaviors of adults. while these adults were extremely flawed, this kind of vulnerability only made me look at them with a sort of strength, but it wasn't the kind of strength that wasn't invincible. it was the kind of strength that made you look at a person and realised they've been through so much, and it made you respect them more. experience.

but at the same time, these adults, who were so flawed by design, who'er slowly being eaten up by the ravages of time, yet they remained, no less reveared in their stature. adults whose inner demons can give you a run from your own but were not afraid to be themselves. adults who have gone through hell and back but still remain the most kind and least judgemental, adults who taught me as early as seven years old that age is just a number;

who at times can definitely be improper, throw tantrums, and develop bad habits. i've come to an understanding that adults are not always our heroes, because more often than not ? they are hurting and need hugs too. that they can curse, cry and scream when they've had enough. that adults can make really big mistakes but still be absolved, because god is supposed to be a forgiving force, right? adults can get into fights, feuds and sometimes after an argument, wished they could've said more, yet at the same time, can still regret that they've said too much.

in their own right the adults in my life have showed me that at times, they too can be insecure, territorial, and sometimes even downright defensive, the ego has no timespan. the ego has no expiry date. adults won't always have their propriety on a leash, and whether they have a job or money is irrelevant. they can be extremely petty when they want to be. (because when the mama bear senses a threat to their pack, they'll do anything to defend it right?)

when we are young, we put these adults on a pedestal. we expect so much from the generation before us. to have it all figured out. but what if i told you, they are also still trying to figure themselves out in this world too ? because, no one really stops learning as long as we're here. and now that i am basically in an matured body myself, i have come to understand, that at our big old age, to assume that an adult cannot err; cannot fight fire with fire, lose their decorum, or is expected to always, always take the higher road and not start "beef" by default is just as shallow as expecting results that we want from them. in the end, we only lose via frustration when it's not met. every weekend, my dad would meet a friend and the takeaway would always just be chismis. he told me once that the issues, the problems, (the 'beef') and drama don't go away. "in fact, the plates only get bigger." ( he said this verbatim, right after he just made 'kuwento' about the recent drama he's overheard from two people in [redacted] ) . apparently, even boys in their late 50's - 80's can be chismos(o) too. once, a friend of my mom refused to meet with her in a certain place because a person she didnt like was also there, we had to meet her in another area. ( and, oh yeah, she's 60. ) to this day, my mom still burns bridges of friendships she's had herself.

take it from someone who's been in this world longer than you, ( take it with a grain of salt, if you will. ) but whoever said that petty shit should end in high school ? definitely LIED to you. now that i'm weeks away from ending my twenties, i understand these adults now more than ever. most importantly, i think that the true essence of being an adult is more than what is expected of us from society; or more than what the last person thinks of us, and part of adulting is coming to terms that truth: that the ones before us, aren't our heroes. what else is expected? it's just the bare minimum. the rest is just confetti.

i'll be honest with you, dear reader. adults like me? we definitely aren't your heroes. we can be the ugliest kind of petty when we want to be. the kind of petty that make's anyone else's pettiness look like child's play. because? we were raised by a generation with tiger personas, smothering hands, and iron fists, we won't give you a free pass just because you're ten, twenty or god forbid, even thirty years younger. if there's a saying that you can learn anything from anyone - well, then, i'm a usurpur of a generation that raised us not take crap from anyone. i'm a product of a generation that didn't raise sissies. full disclosure; attempting to 'find our keys' or 'push our buttons' will merely be an impetus driving force for us to find yours too.

[mayordeas-clone]

After putting it off for a while, I finally finished this very self-indulgent piece based on the final boss of Miitopia, featuring my OC Kandy as the Great Sage. ...Ok I have a lot of stuff I want to unload about the backstory and context of this piece so read more if you're interested in my probably incomprehensible rambles 😭 Basically I like Miitopia a totally Normal Amount and my newest playthrough made my brain go CRAZY which lead to this piece. Also there will be Miitopia endgame spoilers so ya

Basically the character as I've mentioned is my childhood OC Kandy in her revenge arc. I've been casually inserting her into some of my original work/fanfiction as a mischief maker that just wants some attention. She was originally a Mary Sue that I dropkicked as soon as I got in my "grr Mary Sue bad!!" phase but now I'm just fully embracing her OP-ness. I think it's fitting for her to start as the benevolent, powerful, and well-liked Great Sage who later gets corrupted into the godly Darker Lord, so I assigned her as such in my latest playthrough of Miitopia.

As I was playing this new run though of Miitopia, I decided to write a mini-fanfiction of sorts which just serves as an excuse for my blorbos to cross over and defeat evil together. I've done this for my past playthroughs and this one was no exception. However, since my own original character is playing as one of the most important NPCs in the game (And happens to be the only character not from a specific piece of media), I decided to add a little twist to this pass of the fanfic and make a sort of Alternate Scenario type deal.

In the original Miitopia, the Great Sage got corrupted by the Dark Curse following the defeat of the Dark Lord, which transformed them into the Darker Lord (Love the naming conventions of this game). In my AU, basically the Great Sage knew about the Dark Curse and purposely used the heroes to defeat the Dark Lord and take it for themself.

The Darker Lord ends up being the final boss of the main story of Miitopia, complete with multiple phases that lead up to an utterly BADASS confrontation against The Darkest Lord who is just a giant sun god and UGH IT'S SO GOOD YOU GUYS. And the music??? Amazing as well. I seemed out to recreate that epic feeling the boss fight gave me. But for this piece I decided to turn the Darkest Lord into sort of like a Stand that just menacingly looms over Kandy which she controls. There is a specific design for when the Great Sage goes evil mode in the game, and I did design Kandy's version of it, but I guess I just forgot about it. Plus, having this crazy little guy standing in front of their unfiltered godly form just made a cool visual so! :) I like to think that in this pass of my fanfic, Kandy's Darker Lord demon form probably comes out in desperation after the sun god is defeated, complete with the cool floating hands. This is obviously innaccurate to the actual ordering of these designs in the actual game but it's my fanfic and I get to break as many rules as I please >:)

Ok that explanation was probably pretty underwhelming but the tl;dr is that I started writing a min-fanfic where the Great Sage, played by my OC, is very evil from the beginning and only goes crazier from the power they get upon transforming into the Darker Lord.

I did want to make an accompanying comic where this character absolutely wipes the floor of my Mitopia team because she's just so Powerful and Awesome but that would reveal the types of characters in my Miitopia team, consequently revealing some of the fandoms I'm in and I just don't think the world is ready for that! But maybe when I reject my humanity I will not only make but publish my Miitopia team and them getting along and fighting evil <3 that's my ramble for this stupid art piece 😭

[10ths-writing-corner]

A little late but here a fic for Jackie’s birthday

Patrol had been slow tonight, out of all the nights it had to be slow. The hero exhales in resignation, sitting down at the ledge of the building he had come to take a break. Despite the city buzzing with sleepless energy below him, it was quite mellow for a weekend. Maybe he should head home and… and spend the rest of the night alone.

Is not like he has any friends. Not like he needed friends.

Jackie brings his knees close to his chest, letting his chin rest on top of them. This is the life he chose. He’s okay with that.

“Jackie? Is that you?”

The hero is quick to jump and stand on the ledge, the voice startling him into his fight mode. However, when his indigo eyes set on the person he can’t help but to be slightly confused. “Doc?”

If there was someone he was not expecting to see tonight it was the medical student that had taken the job to look after him every time he came to the hospital with an injury he couldn’t deal with himself. He hadn’t met anyone so stubborn in his entire life.

“Are you hurt?” The German accented voice took him out of his thoughts. Jackie tilts his head to the side, even more confused at the question. He was still processing the fact that the doctor was in the same rooftop. His lips part and then close, not knowing how to respond. Hurt? Not that he knew off? But what did he mean by that?

“Are you following me? Did you put a tracking device somewhere on me?” Or in me?!

The doctor simply blinks before he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I do not know if this is one of your jokes, but it is not a funny one. I will say, only because I have the itch of feeling that you might not know where you are. This is the hospital’s rooftop. Were you not aware?”

The hospital…? Jackie looks down the edge, now seeing the rather large “H” sign in the front of the building. How on earth did he not realize this before. “Huh…” It’s all Jackie has to say before he sits down at the ledge once more, this time with one leg dangling over the edge of the building. “This is ironic.” Jackie whispers more to himself, but of course the doctor is close enough to hear.

“What is?” The doctor asks as he slowly walks closer to Jackie, keeping his distance from the ledge.

“I didn’t know… this was the hospital. I guess it blends in well during the night.”

“Is there a reason why you’re up here and not… running down on the streets?”

Jackie shrugs, “Guess it was a slow night, rooftops are the one place I feel…”

“Like you are safe.” The doctor finished.

Jackie looks at the doctor, now fully noticing him. Wait… didn’t he have that sweater the previous night he was here?. “Yeah..” There’s a pause between them, the wind howling being the only thing heard in the night other than the chatter in the streets and the cars zooming back and forth. It was like that for a few minutes, and oddly enough… Jackie felt like a heavy veil of sadness was lifted from his shoulders. His eyes avert from the doctor, nervousness creeping up his chest. His hand gingerly made his way up to the back of his neck and began scratching it. “Hey, uh, doc…”

“Schneeplestein.”

“Schneep, right. Listen… I-I was wondering— I mean, it’s no big deal, y’know. It’s totally okay if you can’t— Y’know, forget it.”

Schneep blinks in confusion once more. He was so used to Jackie’s sassy attitude, it was extremely strange to see him so… timid. “Is there… is there anything you need to talk about? Perhaps I could be of some assistance.”

Jackie chuckles quietly, might as well just tell him. What could go wrong, right? “Well… today is… today is, sorta, my birthday. I mean, not like I’m not used to spending it alone, it-it’s normal for me…”

“Is it really?” Schneep asked surprised, the doctor taking a step closer to the hero. Hearing him say he was used to spending his birthday alone squeezed his heart. He had no idea Jackie didn’t have anyone. Well… he was surprised for being surprised. “Happy birthday, then.”

“Thanks, doc. I haven’t heard anyone say that… I can’t wait even remember.” Jackie chuckles. “I mean, you’re the only friend I have at this point.”

“You know… I do have a long break coming up. I was going to take the time to take a catnap, but if you are up for it, I know this pub a few blocks down…”

“Oh-! I wasn’t— I don’t want ya to pity me!”

“No no, please, I insist. My treat. Come, come, tonight we celebrate! It will be a good way to start this year, yes?”

“I… I guess I could give it a shot.” Jackie’s eyes lit up, the hero feeling excitement for the first time in a while. He hops off the ledge and onto the rooftop, standing next to the doctor. “I gotta warn you, alcohol doesn’t affect me much. You sure we should be out drinking?”

“Hah! Have you not met a German before? We will see who taps out first.” Schneep laughed. Maybe this year could ge a turn around for the hero.

[pisoprano]

Back when I posted the page before this one, I thought to myself, “I’ve done a bunch of work up front for this next page, so it will probably be out sooner than normal, right?”

Wrong. This page needed so much tweaking to get everything to fit (I shrunk so many things to make them take up less space) and juggle all these characters (especially the spot that’s just Oni-Chan mowing down all the temp heroes) and to draw all the little details (because where the characters are and what they can see are important information instead of just set dressing) and to have it all flow narratively (so many iterations went through for what exactly Carapace and Catwalker would say) and then to try to present it all in such a way to not confuse the reader with all these jumps (I’m still not convinced I got that right, but the transcript should help clarify a few things for anyone who’s scratching their heads)…

But none of that was the biggest obstacle to getting this page done. No, that honor goes to the fact that things in my personal life kept conspiring to keep me from being able to do the work.

(The rest is all just personal stuff, not comic commentary, so feel free to check out now)

First, we have my laptop. It has a touch screen that I can draw on with my stylus and it is what I’ve used to create every page of my comic thus far.

It decided to go into a coma.

So while I wait for it to come back from the repair guy, I took some time off, did a bit of writing for my other WIP on my phone, and then it happened: Loveybug.

What is Loveybug? She’s basically the opposite of Catwalker in that she’s an alternate Ladybug identity who is very over the top in love—me, blur0se, and asukiess all spent way too much time playing with her and the madness has now spread through the fandom here on tumblr. (Go look through the #Loveybug AU tag, she’s very fun and I love her).

About this time, my computer got fixed and I gladly brought it home and promptly started drawing this picture with everyone’s Loveybug designs at the time. I did start work on the comic again shortly after that, but my laptop was back in my possession for only a week when it decided that, no it did not want to deal with my enormous art files anymore and it would rather be dead instead.

I sent my computer back to the repair guy to get it fixed again, but shipping parts this time of year takes forever and I was not likely to see my computer again very soon. Taking advantage of a sale, I purchased for myself the cheapest drawing tablet I could find and plugged it into an old desktop computer that I ended up with when the company I used to work for abruptly closed. It’s a fairly clunky setup that’s uncomfortable to use, but I eventually got it to work well enough to make decent pictures. But still, I wanted my old laptop with its much more familiar drawing setup.

Finally, after a month of waiting, my computer was fixed a second time. Sure most of my files weren’t actually able to fit on the laptop anymore, but the repair guy gave me a hard drive with backup copies so it wasn’t completely lost. And, being the conscientious person I am, I decided to run a scan on the backup hard drive before I started trying to migrate the files back to my laptop.

It became a brick. Again. Not even 24 hours after having it back this time.

So now I am still waiting for my laptop to be fixed for the third time and I have been using a half-baked setup to draw to finish up the comic. I was hopeful that I’d be able to spend much of Christmas to get everything I needed to done to post it the following day.

My stomach had other ideas.

I’ll try to not get too into the details, but for the week leading up to Christmas, my stomach went into full-on boycott mode—it didn’t want food, it didn’t want drink, it didn’t even want water. And when your stomach refuses to let you even drink water, that can lead to this little thing called dehydration. Fortunately the hospital was able to give me something to help my stomach to chill out, but it also meant that all my plans to work on the comic on my day off were instead replaced with many hours with medical professionals trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with my body. Fun.

Fortunately this final delay only pushed me back by a week and I was FINALLY able to finish this page and post it.

Now I turn my face toward the next page in the pipeline and hope that I’ll be able to handle juggling everything I want to have happen in the next phase of this fight—it’s going to be a lot, so I’ll see you guys whenever it’s done.

Part 25. Best Friend Erasure (Oni-Chan 2.0, part B)

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Description below the cut

Catwalker approaches Ladybug as she stands on a roof.  She points off in a far away direction.

Catwalker: Ladybug!  Oni-Chan is back, and this time her powers are—

Ladybug: I need you to go to one of the rooftops way over there and stay right there.

Catwalker: Are you sure?  I could do more here if I—

Ladybug: Just.  Go.

Catwalker: ...Yes, Ladybug.

Ladybug swings towards a rooftop where the other heroes have congregated near a Find Adrien billboard.  Viperion looks up at Ladybug.

Viperion: Ladybug!  Why isn't Catwalker with you?  Did you talk to him about... that thing I told you?

Ladybug: We talked.  He wasn't hiding what you thought he was.

Viperion: Oh.

Ladybug stands in a ‘take charge’ pose right in front of the billboard with Adrien’s face.  Most of the heroes gather in to look towards her, but Carapace looks off towards the direction Catwalker took instead.

Ladybug: And everybody, gather around! You should all know this.  Catwalker is on probation until further notice.

Viperion: Probation?  Isn't that kind of extreme?

Ladybug: I have my reasons.  He's keeping his miraculous, but you're the people I'm going to rely on to beat the akumas.  For now, consider him an observer and just ignore him.

Carapace starts using his shield as a phone to text his girlfriend.

Carapace (texting): Rena, why is Catwalker allowed to keep his miraculous?  We *have* to stop him from causing more damage.

Rena Furtive (texting): I'm watching him, don't worry.

Cut to Rena hiding on a rooftop as she uses her flute simultaneously as a telescope to spy on Catwalker and a phone to tap out a reply to her boyfriend.

Rena Furtive (texting): But if you want to try to get more info out of him as Carapace...?  I'm sure Ladybug wouldn't mind...

Carapace leaps towards Catwalker, who looks at him suspiciously.

Catwalker: Carapace?  What are you doing here?

Carapace: Ladybug said you were alone, and I thought you shouldn't be.

Catwalker: You should go back.  Ladybug needs every hero she can get.

Catwalker perches himself on the ledge of the building he’s atop of.

Carapace: Then why did Ladybug send you all the way out here?

Catwalker: She needs me.  I just... need to wait here.  Until she comes up with a plan for how she can use me.

Carapace: If you want to help, we can always work to protect Adrien Agreste.

Carapace opens his arms wide and tries to give a disarming smile, but he can’t help but show his underlying malice.

Carapace: If you know anything at all, I'm all ears!  Even if it's something you need to keep on the down low, I can be your confidant.  I'm a hero, after all!  You can trust me to keep secrets.

Catwalker, completely uninterested in going through another round of ‘my best friend pretends to like me when I know he’s secretly mad at me’ points his finger in accusation.

Catwalker: I see what you're trying to do and I'm not going to fall for it.

Carapace: Whaaat?  I'm not trying anything!

Catwalker: Nino.

Carapace: How did—I mean, who's Nino?

Catwalker: You forgot to tell Adrien that he shouldn't reveal secret identities to anyone.

Carapace, completely off put, tries to make this new bit of information add up.

Carapace: He told you about me?  Why would that even come up?  Unless...  Did he tell you he had a superhero for a best friend to try and convince you he didn't need you?

Carapace points an accusatory finger at Catwalker. Catwalker tries to placate, but he’s distracted by a burst of red light in the distance in the direction of the other heroes.

Carapace: And then you forced him to leave when he didn't want to and—

Catwalker: You have it all wr—Oh no.

Oni-Chan rapidly teleports between temporary heroes (all of whom had just been staring towards the giant face of Adrien) and hits them with her sword in quick succession: Vesperia, Viperion, King Monkey, Purple Tigress, Polymouse, Pegasus, and Pigella are all frozen before they can do anything to fight back.

Oni-Chan: You!  Won't!  Get!  In!  My!  Way!  Anymore!

Oni-Chan lunges for Ladybug, but she manages to swing out of the way with her yo-yo and escape, unable to be tracked because she was the only member of the group who hadn’t been staring at Adrien’s face.

Catwalker: Come on!  Ladybug needs our hel—

Catwalker leaps into the sky to follow Ladybug, but as he is in midair, a green sphere forms around him.

Carapace: Shell-ter!

After the sphere hits the ground, Catwalker looks up at Carapace, who stands at the edge on top of the nearest building tauntingly.

Catwalker: I don't want to fight you.

Carapace: Good!  Because you won't be able to fight anyone!

Catwalker: Look, we're both heroes right now.  We need to be able to work together to help Ladybug.

Inside the sphere, Catwalker kneels and looks down dejectedly.

Carapace: Ladybug doesn't want your help!

Catwalker: Maybe not right now, but—

Carapace: Why did you think she sent you so far out of her way?  She can't even stand to look at you!  No one needs you.  No one wants you.  You should just give up your miraculous and save us the troub—

Carapace’s attention is caught by something happening across the skyline of Paris: with the Agreste mansion at the epicenter, a flurry of black ribbons launches into the sky, each one racing toward a Find Adrien billboard.  Where each ribbon touches, the place where Adrien’s picture should be has been replaced by an empty white void.

Carapace (to himself): What the...?  ...the Adrien billboards...  All the pictures of Adrien...  He's gone.

Carapace points down at Catwalker accusingly and brings his shield in close.

Carapace: Why couldn't you have just done nothing and let his real friends help him?  Some magic ribbons just wiped Adrien from existence!

Catwalker: That's impossible.  A sentimonster probably just got rid of the Adrien ads.

Carapace: You don't get it!  He exists nowhere!  And I'll prove it!

Carapace uses his shield to navigate to the pictures on his phone.  His hand touches at the shield when it displays a picture of Nino and Adrien smiling together, nothing erased.

Carapace: I'll show you how this picture of the two of us is—

Catwalker: Wait.  Carapace, you need to drop it.  Now.

Carapace (to himself): Huh...?

Catwalker: Adrien is alive, I promise—

Carapace (to himself): He's still here with me...?

Catwalker: —but she's going to find you if you keep looking—

Oni-Chan pops in and out of existence just long enough to stab Carapace in the back, sending his body off the edge of the building.  Below them, Catwalker looks up and destroys the sphere around him.

Oni-Chan: Begone!

Carapace: Ack!

Catwalker: No!  Cataclysm!

Catwalker leaps into the air, arms reaching towards Carapace’s petrified body, all while the shield Carapace dropped in the commotion falls next to them.

Catwalker: I've got you!

Catwalker tearfully embraces the frozen Carapace from behind.

Catwalker: I am so sorry.  For everything.

Catwalker continues to hug Carapace tight as a flood of emotions spews forth.

Catwalker: I never wanted to hide behind a mask, especially not with you, Nino.  You've always encouraged me to be myself.  Even though I've never been able to fully show you everything I am, you accepted the 'me' I could give.  It meant so much to know that you cared, not just about the idea of me, but the real me.  And now I'm less 'me' than I've ever been.  Maybe it would have been better if I did nothing. But when she tried to kill me, I just... ran.  Ran and insisted I was fine like I always do.  And now you're the one paying for my rash decisions and I feel so powerless to stop it.  I hope one day you'll forgive me.

Catwalker places Carapace’s body upright and touches his back in a gesture of farewell.

Catwalker: I wish I could talk to you for real.  But I can't.  I can't leave when I might be needed.  Even if everyone hates that I'm here, I've got to help however I can.

Catwalker gives Carapace a fist bump in one final promise of their friendship.

Catwalker: I'll come home as soon as it's safe again.  I don't know how long it'll take, but I promise I will come back.

Below is the same image as above, only without text:

[mrs-bartowski]

My dudes. My guys. My pals.

I’m about 10 seconds away from going feral.

So, I’m the kind of unfortunate chump whose brain requires continuity. Meaning, when I started thirst watching Supergirl during its mid-season-2 hiatus and came across the realization that it had crossovers with all the other arrowverse shows, my brain tasked me with watching them all. I won’t put you through a recount of this arduous feat, but it does leave me with the certain advantage of having immediate and full-contextual access to any parallels between supercorp and canon CW DCEU couples.

Normally, this is a good thing, because it’s just another crumb to obsess over. But I just finished watching Legends 6x02 and...I. AM. FUMING.

I literally don’t even know where to start, but know that if you’ve made it this far you’re in for a long ride because my entire being is in Scream mode right now and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop typing until it passes.

OKAY. So.

Meet Sara Lance (lol jk y’all thirsty gays know who she is I mean look at this flawless human)

Next, meet her ******* Ava Sharpe (who is literally the definition of white European beauty standards-based perfection because she’s a clone from the future)

And finally, meet Gary Green. He’s...well, he’s Gary.

Sara started out on Arrow and is now the captain of the Legends. Ava was the director of the Time Bureau and Gary was an agent, and now they are also members of the Legends. Sara has been there (and been the show’s effective lead) since season 1. Ava and Gary both came in at the beginning of season 3. 

Gary is (as pictured) an absolute fool, but he is also kind of regarded as the one the Legends Must Protecc. The whole team is considered a family, and, while they are not necessarily labeled as best friends, Gary has been Ava’s longest and most loyal companion, and Sara has a way of adopting him because she’s the best equipped to keep him out of trouble.

So, why is all of this relevant to why I want to go feral? Because it sounds a bit familiar, yes? Member of the team that is somewhat a black sheep, doesn’t get included fully or all the time but often comes in with save-the day type shit (even though with Gary it’s more of a distraction than a save because he’s a mess of a man). Close friend to one of our two main heroes and, subsequently, that hero’s closest companion puts them at the top of their Protecc list. Has little faith in his relationships with the team so he is constantly going out of his way to help in whatever way he can to prove his usefulness. And so on and so forth.

Well, 6x01 marks exactly 3 years since Gary’s first appearance, and what did we find out in that episode? That Gary is an alien. And not just any alien - an alien who was sent (by the woman he was traded to) to get close to Sara because she has been labeled as one of the world’s most dangerous creatures. Not to mention, his species of alien feeds on humans (not him of course, he’s reformed, but nonetheless not a friendly species). And we find out all of this because he and his master abduct her.

Sara finds out in person while Ava and the rest of the Legends solve the mystery on their own. Now, I’ve drawn a lot of comparisons between Lena and Gary to make a point about the time frame and nature of their relationships, but let’s take a look at Sara, shall we? For starters, she’s been “dead” either literally or supposedly about...what, 15 times now? If you think that’s an exaggeration, here’s the link to her fan wiki which says she’s been presumed dead 10 times and actually dead 5. The sg writers tried to sell season 5 as “the fight for Lena’s soul” but Sara LITERALLY LOST HER SOUL when she got resurrected in the Lazarus pit. 90% of Sara’s character development has been based on her certainty that she is too close to death and evil and destruction (getting possessed by a demon, perhaps, had something to do with this?). She was an actual literal assassin and she has left civilization out of anger and pain to go back to that life once before.

She has always believed that she is too dangerous to have real love or relationships or friends. And now she has found and built and led this family through time and space and she’s done so with this goofball by her side that is endearingly attached to the love of her life. So, how does she react when she finds out Gary is an alien? Well, clearly, she goes down a dark path, right? She cries and screams and talks about betrayal because she’s had such a hard time with feeling like she only ever puts the people she loves in danger and now here she is finding out there’s been a human-eating alien in her family for three years that was tasked with observing her and keeping her in check because she is exactly that dangerous?

Yeah...try again. This is how Sara reacts:

And then there's another scene that apparently no one even bothered to put on YouTube where you can see the pain in Sara's eyes when she asks him “why me?” You can see how hurt she is that after 3 years she’s just finding out that their friendships is based on lies and that she has trouble keeping her faith in it. But in both of these instances where are the “crocodile tears?” Where are the fearful, shaky confessions from Gary about his fear of losing the only people who have ever really loved or cared about him and desperate justifications about how he just wanted to protect them and keep them in the dark so his master didn’t come after them? Where is the outrage from Sara about how everything Gary has reassured her about over the past three years when she was scared to let the damaged-soul assassin inside of her out was a lie and he doesn’t get to tell her who or what she is again? Where is the determination from Ava to make Gary pay for not only lying for three years but for ABDUCTING THE LOVE OF HER LIFE TO HAND OVER TO A FLESH-EATING ALIEN??????

Nowhere. Those things...they’re nowhere. There’s anger. There’s pain. There’s doubt and heartbreak and fury. There’s betrayal and helplessness and desperation. But there is no scene with Sara standing on a balcony and Gary looking up at her longingly because he wants to talk to her about the secret and he knows it will change everything between them. There is no scene with Sara and Ava lamenting over what this means for Gary and the team and the world because he’s no longer the person they knew. There are no romantically-scored scenes of them looking teary-eyed at the pictures they took together or reassurances that the others’ intentions are good and trustworthy now that the truth is out in the open. There is nothing to imply that the last several years of friendship are now entirely suspect (damaged, frayed, clouded, maybe, but definitely not voided) because Gary kept this secret to protect them. And Gary isn’t made to feel obscenely guilty or shameful because his intentions were good and he only did what he felt he had to. But most of all, the world doesn’t feel like it’s going to end.

And I’m not talking about we’re now scared Gary will take his master’s side or Sara will suddenly decide that she never wants an alien to fool her or hurt her again so she’s going to make sure he doesn’t have the choice. I’m just talking about the way they address each other. There are no sobbing tears or laments over the biggest mistakes of their lives - even though it’s quite possible Gary could see this as his. There are no screaming matches over betrayal and mistrust and years of doubt and confusion. There will be no episode dedicated to going back and seeing what could have happened - what kind of danger they could have avoided from the alien(s) controlling Gary - had he told them the truth sooner because that’s the only way to save him and the world. There will be no episode where he has to single-handedly save them multiple times as some example of redemption. There will be no adamant looks and declarations about how the team knows his intentions were good and they forgive him. There won’t be any of that. Because Sara is not in love with Gary. And Ava is not in love with Gary. And Gary is not in love with either Sara or Ava. They’re just close friends. Family. Loved ones who mean a lot to each other but whose betrayal and seeds of doubt don’t bring on emotions whose force and ferocity could be acceptable for finding out the apocalypse is nigh.

I have many, many more feelings about this but right now I’m going to go write things that will make me feel better and not things that make me want to gather every writer from every CW show in a line and run down the line smacking them all in the face while the Legends writers watch and cheer. But I’m fuming. THIS is what it looks like when a years-long, heavily weighted lie is revealed between close friends/family. So, in conclusion, Supercorp endgame or die.

[theodora3022]

How bnha boys would ask you out (Big three edition)

Request: Since you watched Season four, can I have some Mirio and Tamaki headcanons? Similar to your "how they ask you out" post before.

I assume you mean separately because I am not comfortable with writing poly.

Pairing: Mirio togata x reader, Tamaki Amajiki x reader

Notes: Reader is their underclassman, a student of 1A, met them during the work-study arc. Condition: the reader is single. Female reader I guess.

Warning: Just big Fluffs.

Mirio Togata

Before

Sunshine. That is what Mirio is, a pure package of warmth and enthusiasm. If you are shy like Tamaki, you would probably envy his outgoing spirits.

He notices you as soon as he first sets foot in your classroom. You sat there with a hand underneath your chin, looks up to your senpais with those shiny eyes. He seen you around the campus before, also seen your exceptional performance at the sports festival.

When they were introduced as the big three, he did not miss that bright light of admiration in your eyes. Congratulations, you successfully peaked Mirio’s interests. During his short speech, his eyes would circle around the classroom, resting on you for a few more seconds.

When he trained with you that afternoon, whether you are a long-ranged or melee combatant, Mirio would knock you down the first chance he got. Would not want you to hurt yourself recklessly, right? He also thinks how you try to counter him is absolutely adorable.

Nejire and Tamaki notices the extra attention Mirio is giving you. While Neijire would tease him and jokes about it, Tamaki just silently assess you with his intense glare. Mirio is happy that they both think of you as a hard-working kohai, and their approval is just icing on the cake.

After the beat-up training, Mirio approaches you causally and ask you to train together sometime. To make his intentions seems less suspicious, he also extends that invitation to Midoriya.

After a couple of training sessions, you start to warm up to him. You no longer seen him only as Togata Senpai, just Mirio the friendly upperclassman. But he is still not satisfied with the result.

His quirk is made for stalking. I do not accept counter arguments. You all seen how he scares Midoriya Izuku. Probably stalks you as a pastime, you wonder if you are losing your sanity since you always feel like someone is watching you.

During

After another intense afterschool training session, Mirio would ask you to get dinner with him in the city.

“You’re working so hard lately; you deserve a break! Why don’t we go get a bite in the city? My treat.”

You accept delightfully, did not think of it as a date. Just your upperclassman friend treating you with something tasty. You chatted with him about all sorts of things, such as your homework. It feels nothing more then hanging out with a pal.

It is when he tries to kiss you on your way back, you realize something is off.

If you accept, he will become eccentric. You thought the normal Mirio is energic enough, but this mode, good gracious.

Lifting you up by the knees with his strong arms, he will give you a bright smile that can make you blind. “Oh! My dearest (y/n)! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We’re going to be the cutest couple!”

If you flinch and distance yourself from him, that is another story.

“(y/n), not going to kiss your date goodnight?”

When you explain you see him nothing more then a friend, Mirio would laugh. It honestly creeps you out since you expect him to yell, or even show you a hint of anger. Then he would bid you goodnight as if nothing is wrong.

The next day you found an elaborate flame rose bouquet on you desk, without a single clue of who the sender is. Mina would start rambling about how sweet your secret admirer is, but you just felt shivers down your spine.

You texted him. “Can we talk?”

“Of course, anything for you.”

When you meet him in a nearby café few hours after, his usual enthusiastic attitude is still present. The sunshine boy sure knows how to hide any stormy clouds.

Mirio urges you to reconsider, sing you praises that made you blush like mad. You told him you would. “I just never thought of you in that way, but I guess there’s no harm in trying.”

Once the sunflower got you, he will spoil you, probably not with expensive gifts, but with all of his attention.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tamaki Amajiki

I relate to him on so many levels, you have no idea

Before

If his best friend is the sun, shines proudly with endless energy, Tamaki is the moon, shy and would hide behind clouds. (I love this analogy you cannot blame me)

Just like Mirio as soon as he saw you in 1A classroom you got his attention.

Nejire and Mirio would notice how his gaze linger on you more then others, and tease relentlessly until Tamaki is flustered mess.

He asks Mirio to go easy on you on the beat-up training, but Mirio said if you want to get strong, he should not.

It takes a while to get Tamaki even say hello to you, however his eyes will not be left you when you are in the same room as him.

Surprise, surpise, it’s Nejire who come asking for your number, when you ask her why she needs it, she just tilts her head and say: “Tamaki said he wants to train with you sometimes! Here’s his number for you.”

If you are aware of the surroundings you could find a red-cheeked ravenette hiding in the shadows. You wonder why you, out of all your classmates who all have just as much potential.

Tamaki likes to observe small details. How you wave at your friends, how you dash through the hallways as the bells rang, how your sight follow pretty butterflies, how the rice sticks on your chin at lunch time. He got it all down.

You need to text him first, no doubts here. “It’s kouhai (y/n). Hado Senpai said you want to train together? When are you free?”

He felt he has been run over by a train. Is this what having a crush is like? No wonder why people act so stupid while in love.

His reply would be short. Tamaki is not doing that to be rude, he is just at a loss of words. Even though you would never ignore him even if he made typos. 

When you offer him a bottle of water after training, he would freeze. After ten seconds or so, he would snap back, take your gift, and mutter “thank you” before running away, leaving you there confused.

From then on you two would text on a regular basis. You ask him to help with your homework and training, he would ask you about how to deal with social anxiety (if you are outgoing like his best friend). You figured he is a lot more expressive through texts then in person, even though you still need to initiate conversions most of the time.

Tamaki starts to check his phone so often, even when he is at work with Fat Gum. The pro hero would also tease him (poor him, just endless teasing) about his “little girlfriend”. The older man laughs as Tamaki stutter how you two are only friends.  

During

After he answers some of your questions concerning an assignment, Tamaki offers to buy you ice cream. You met him by the gate, in your casual clothes.

As you two are walking back licking your treats, you notice how his dark hair has fallen in front because of the afternoon breeze.

“Ah, your hair is getting in the way. Let me help you.” Your fingers brush his face lightly as you tug strands of raven hair behind his pointy ears. His blush confirms your suspicions. Rumors has been swirling around about you two being more then regular friends, since Tamaki never spends much time with anyone apart from his two best friends.

“(y/n) ...” He dips his head as he finishes the ice cream, screaming inside. What if you say no? How is he going to face you afterwards? What if you say YES by some insane fluke?

“Would you...consider d-doing this s-some other time? W-with me, I mean.” Tamaki instantly regretted it as soon as it comes out. He seen enough rom com to know this is not how you ask a girl out.

If you said “Yes, of course!”, Tamaki would panic. He was not expecting you to, he seen how the other boys in school gazes at you. “Can you pinch me, please?” The sharp pain confirms this is all real, not some wild dream. Very insecure, he would get jealous easily. If you have male friends, he will not interfere (you need your own space too). but if you are being hit on in front of him, Tamaki would like you to kiss him on the cheek and proudly proclaims that you are taken.

If you turn him down, Tamaki’s expression turns grim and he said he understand. Of course, who would love him when they got so many other better options? 

Tamaki would not attempt to court you like Mirio. To him your happiness is his top priority, his personal feelings comes after. If you are happy, Tamaki is content. To him if you love someone, you need to ensure they are happy no matter what (such selfless love is true love).  If you eventually come around, he would be over the moon. Tamaki would bury his face in your chest, saying “thank you” over and over again, and hug you like he would never let go.

The shy ravenette may be timid and emotionally vulnerable, but Tamaki is the kindest soul you will ever find. Treat him with lots of affections and he will give you triple in return.

These boys are just so lovable aren’t they? Honestly I won’t say no to either of them...

[lofitojii]

ONE SHOT: What is Meant to Be

AN: I'm going to try something out here, bare with me. If you’re not a fan of anime, then that’s okay, you don’t have to read. I want to expand the people I write about and I want to include anime characters I feel closer to. Going to start off with this one-shot and go from there! 

Summary: You have been kidnapped, waking up in a dark room to be met by a member from the League of Villains, because of their main target, your boyfriend and number 2 Pro Hero, Hawks. You happen to have history with your kidnapper.

Word Count: 1.9k

No warnings, minor swearing.

The musty smell of the cold wet room tickled your nose, although your breathing was being restricted by a black bag cinched tight around your head. You were trying your best to stay calm, knowing your boyfriend would be able to locate you based on the small red single wing feather you kept hidden in your underwear string. 

You were confused as to why your boyfriend was being targeted. Was there a mission he wasn’t telling you about? Did the League have something against him? There really were so many possibilities, the more you thought about it, the more annoyed you grew with Keigo with how reckless he was. 

The door slowly creaked open, footsteps thumping against the ground as the figure made their way towards you. In one swift motion, the bag was untied and slid off of your head. You looked up, the silhouette blocking your view of who was standing above you. “Hmm,” he hummed, taking a step back and leaning up against the wall. 

“Dabi?” You asked, your thoughts racing with many possibilities. He smirked, a stupid grin forming across his face. “What the hell is this all about?�� 

“What do you think it’s about Y/N?” He asked, keeping his calm composure. “That stupid bird of yours won’t stay out of our business. Gotta shut him up somehow.” 

“You really think taking me hostage will make him stop whatever it is he’s doing?” You couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. “Do you even know him at all?” Dabi’s demeanor flipped going from his casual, calm self, to a more dark and silent mode. He slowly walked towards you, hand reached out to stroke your hair. His touch was gentle yet you were sweating. Every time his hand was placed on the top of your head, you flinched. 

“What?” he cooed. “You scared?” You ducked your head, avoiding his contact from reaching you. He frowned, forcibly pulling your head back so you were eye to eye with him. His bright blue eyes shined like a star as he stared at you, the staples holding his scars together catching the single light force in the room. A sinister grin creeped across his face, his blue eyes deepening with his mood. “You should be.” 

“I know you won’t hurt me,” you struggled to spit out. He didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by your comment yet you knew your statement was true. Dabi released his grip, letting you rest back in your original position. He let out a sigh, leaning his body up against the wall again, like he had done before. You couldn’t help but admire his figure, the way his grey shirt loosely fit over his well fit body. He wasn’t wearing his jacket this time you normally would see him in. “No jacket today?” You decided to comment on it. He smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Ripped it,” he responded. “Where’s your little feather necklace you’re usually wearing?” 

“Broken,” you lied. Keigo told you not to wear it around your neck for a while, until his mission he was currently working on was finished. Not much of a help when you’re friends with one of the bad guys. 

“Liar,” he smirked. “I don’t know why you try to lie to me Y/N. I’ve known you longer than anyone.” 

“Then why did you need to kidnap me? To get Keigo’s attention? To get revenge on some long lost grudge you have against him?” You couldn’t help but laugh at your guesses. Dabi didn’t find them all too amusing, his look becoming more sinister as you laughed. 

Dabi slowly walked towards you, a stone cold feeling swarming in the room. He leaned down in front of your face, meeting you at eye level. He lifted his hand, tracing circles on your cheeks, stroking down your neck to your collarbone. “I can feel you trembling. Are you scared now?” Your face went bright red, impure thoughts running through your head as Dabi softly traced your skin with his finger. “Different type of tremble?” His smirk pissed you off, the joy he was getting out of it was pissing you off. 

So then why didn’t you tell him to stop? 

He continued to trace small circles, crouching down so he was more eye level with your torso. His fingers played with the end of your shirt, rubbing the material in between his fingers. You were shaking, but not in fear. Dabi let out another sigh, resting himself in between your legs, looking up at you. “I took you because I wanted to.” 

“So.. It.. It has nothing to do with Hawks?” You asked between breaths. He shook his head, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. “What do you want with me, Dabi?” His other hand traced the lining of your pants, slipping a single finger in and out of the band with a quick movement. You could feel your face flare up with every swipe of his finger. 

You were quickly brought back to reality when he slipped his two fingers into the lining of your underwear, swiping the feather from your possession. Dabi shook his head, lighting the feather up in blue flames. “You’re an idiot. He’s going to know where you are now.” 

“I took you because I knew you wouldn’t talk to me if I asked,” he ignored your statement. He turned his back, letting out a deep exhale before speaking again. “I.. I miss you Y/N, and it kills me that you’re with that dumb bird now. I had written you letters in hopes to form what I’ve wanted to say to you but I ended up burning every last one.” 

“Dabi-” 

“I know you won’t leave him,” he cut you off. “I’m not asking you to leave him.” You were shocked by his sudden confession. It had been years since you had last talked to Dabi, let alone dated him. He broke your heart, letting his anger consume him. Shortly after you had ended things, he had joined the League and you had gone off to school to be a school teacher. You had met Keigo at a local bar, knowing who he was when you approached him. You had fallen in love with Dabi once upon a time but your love belonged to Keigo now.

Dabi turned around, his eyes lost within the anger he had felt inside of him. You hadn’t seen this type of vibe from Dabi, it had seemed like a completely different person standing in front of you.

“Then what is it you want, Dabi?” 

“I won’t stop until I have you again. If that means killing that damn bird, I will.” 

“Good luck with that.” Dabi turned around, meeting the face of Keigo. Keigo just smiled, pushing Dabi out of the way with one full forced shove. He was quick to swoop you from your hostage state, breaking through the nearest window, using his wings as a protective shield from the broken glass. Everything had happened so fast that you hadn’t realized that you had landed until Keigo moved hair from your face. He was still holding you, just staring down at you while you tried to regain your thoughts. 

He set you down but had yet to unravel you from his arms. “You weren’t hurt, were you?” you shook your head in response but you couldn’t speak. Dabi’s words just kept playing in your head, like some sort of record player stuck on a single track. “I didn’t catch the whole conversation but I did come in at the right time. I knew you dated a villain but Dabi?” He seemed to be shaken at the thought. 

“I was scared that if I told you, you would end up killing him.” You didn’t want him to die. You knew he had hurt a lot of people but you had seen a side of Dabi that he kept hidden from everyone else. 

“Of course I would kill him,” Keigo boomed, not in anger, more in a joking tone. “Trying to steal my girl from me like that? Yeah, that bitch dead.” He could tell his jokes weren’t working this time like they usually did. He let out a small sigh, taking a seat and placing you on his lap. “Baby bird,” he whispered. “Talk to me.” 

So you did. You told him everything. How you dated, what he was like before he joined the League. How you had to force yourself to leave, how it was something you wouldn’t truly get over. You also told him how in love with him you were in this moment with Keigo. You mentioned to him that you don’t have intentions of returning to Dabi, which Keigo believed. He also knew what you felt for the villain and had promised he wouldn’t kill him but if you were ever put in danger, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. You knew that was true so you agreed to his terms. 

Dabi’s words played over and over again in your thoughts that following night. You got in the shower, rubbing your wrists under the warm water. They were sore and slightly bruised from the restraints Dabi had tied around you. As you traced the bruise, you thought of Dabi. Not the Dabi you knew but the one who presented himself to you today. He seemed more mature, not as temperamental with his anger. You had grown up a lot yourself, not even thinking of Dabi as you were doing so.

What would it be like now if you were to go back? Could you get him to leave the League of Villains? Would he hurt you again? He said he missed you, does that mean he wouldn’t hurt you this time? Is he actually different or are you just imagining what you want to happen? 

“Baby bird, are you wanting take out or do you want me to make something here?” He popped his head in through the shower curtain, waiting for your response. 

“Can you cook something? I don’t want you to leave.” He smiled, agreeing with your statement but had yet to leave. “What?” 

“Nothing,” he smiled, his cheeks becoming red. “You’re just beautiful is all.” You leaned over, leaving a wet kiss on his lips. He turned around after pressuring you for more and getting what he wanted. “I got the hottest baby in town! You heard it here first!” He rushed out, the speed blowing a few of his feathers onto the wet ground. You shook your head, thinking to yourself how adorably dumb he was. 

You knew you loved him, more than anything. You had a strong feeling he was your one, the one you had been searching for. No matter how in love you were, no matter how sure of your decision you were, he would always be there in the back of your mind. 

You love Keigo. 

Love.

You loved Dabi. 

Loved.

[hains-mae]

Flowers

(Damian x Reader) Soulmate AU

Rating: T

Ages: Damian and you are 16, everyone’s ages follow after.

Summary: Soulmate AU where the wounds on your soulmate turns into a flower tattoo on your skin, if it heals with no scars the tattoo goes away, if it heals with a scar then the tattoo stays. You are just an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life, so one might think it only makes sense that your soulmate is just as ordinary as you. But that isn’t the case. Especially not when your body is constantly littered with flowers. Some of them fade over time, some stay, but one thing is for certain – your soulmate seems to get hurt. A lot.

Notes: Hey there you guys. Recently I’ve been caught up in a Batman fever, and I can’t do anything about it. I ended up creating a challenge for my friend @mrevaunit42​ which was an “Character x Reader” Soulmate AU. Seriously, it was all in the name of fun.

And then I got caught up in it, perhaps a little too much – and created this. I’ve never written a soulmate au before, though I really wanted to. (Now I have! Yay~) So please forgive my writing since I’m a little rusty, and I hope you enjoy.

Stay safe everyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own DC. If I did, I wouldn’t make it as confusing as it is now.

I woke up to a burning sensation on my lower ribs in the middle of night. Hissing in pain I slowly pushed my feet out of the warm covers and turned on the lamp beside my bed. Pulling up my shirt I assessed the damage.

It was purple lilacs this time, stretched across the middle of my torso going horizontally to my side. I winced as the tattoo completed itself and just as the heat came, a cold chill ran through it and down my spine. Somehow it soothed the burn.

God, another one? I frowned at the beautiful flower and sighed. It worried me that my soulmate was prone to getting hurt. Sometimes the injuries made sense, like when I found them on my knees, I could easily chalk it up to falling and scraping – but injuries like these were more difficult to decipher.

How does someone normal get hurt this way?

They don’t.

“Unless they’re a criminal.” One of my friends stated dryly days ago.

“Or a hero!” Another said quickly.

Needless to say, I wasn’t in a rush to find out. Whoever this person was, I knew from the start that they were trouble.

The next time I woke, it was to the early morning rays that escaped my curtains and played a fiery dance on my eye lids. I groaned and pulled the covers up wishing I could sleep in for a couple more minutes, but I knew I couldn’t.

A few weeks ago my school, Gotham Academy, announced that they were holding their annual science fair at a convention centre as opposed to the regular school gymnasium, because surprisingly enough, Wayne Enterprise offered to fund the event.

It was no secret that Gotham’s economy was hitting below the desired margin. Many people don’t have jobs which resulted in an influx of crime in the past years. And so Wayne Enterprise collaborated with Gotham’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to raise awareness and encourage young minds to strive for a better, innovative future. They shouldered the expenses needed and created an international affair, to top it off; Wayne Ent. also offered scholarships to future college goers and internships in all their branches.

Which was why I couldn’t sleep in today. I had project to work on. In line with our team of sponsors, I decided to invent a weapon that could help the GPD when catching criminals. A gun that projects thin plastic case marbles filled with a chemical concoction that erupts into a quick hardening foam upon impact. The foam itself is not toxic, but it works with catching and detaining. It turns as hard as stone but there was another type of compound that I was in the process of creating to counter act it as a measure of safety.

I got up and started my day.

“Good morning sweetheart.” My mom greeted as I entered the kitchen. She smiled warmly at me as she placed a plate of eggs and bacon on the table.

I couldn’t help but return the gesture, walking up to her and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Morning Mom, are you working tonight?”

“I have to, but don’t worry I’ll be leaving something in the fridge for dinner.”

I thanked her and took my plate into the living room. Turning on the T.V., I easily found the news channel and watched the latest reports on Gotham’s activities.

Mom sometimes had to work on weekends just to make ends meet, which was one reason why I was so hard to get that scholarship and hopefully the internship as well. The other reason was…

A family picture caught my eye in the middle of the news and I bit back a sigh. My dad, my mom, and me. We all were smiling at the camera.

Dad was part of the Police force and died during a heist. Reports stated he was running after the criminals and got shot before he could capture them. That was another reason I chose this as my project. Dad always wanted to fight for justice, hopefully this invention could help.

I finished up my breakfast and helped my mom with chores before I slipped into science mode and continued tinkering with the project. The projectiles were complete and I was able to make 3 in total, which I stored in a small box encased with extra padding.

It was around evening after my mom left that I got another burn. I dropped the screwdriver I was holding and bit my lip. Gasping for breath I pulled my sleeve and watched another flower blossom on my forearm.

The pain was gone in an instant and the cold tickled the skin that was branded. I sighed and slowly straightened my poster. This person, after all these injuries, they better not die before I meet them. I grumbled to myself when I realised I was short on supplies. Poor planning on my part.

I grabbed my bag and locked the front door before I headed out to the nearest hardware store, careful to keep my marks hidden from view. I’ve lived in Gotham my whole life, and I knew that standing out, even in the smallest way, would lead into trouble.

The walk to the store was short and uneventful, thankfully. There were only a few customers. I manoeuvred my way between the isles and picked up what I needed. After paying at the counter I hauled my goods and ducked back into the streets. I almost wished I didn’t stop when I heard that woman cry out for help. I was unarmed, unprepared, and every cell in my body screamed at me to walk – no – run away from the scene that was unfolding before my eyes.

But she was helpless. Clad in a trench coat and rain boots, she didn’t look like much but her bag was definitely designer. The thieves in question had a knife pointed at her face. There were 6 of them. All were towering and bulky next to her petite frame. Their menacing stares struck a cold shiver in me and my hand involuntarily clutched the projectiles I was working on in my pocket. I had a feeling it would be safer with me than it would be at home, however this was not how I imagined I’d first be using them.

The woman screamed again and I clenched my palm.

I sucked in some air and got ready to shout at the perpetrators – until I felt the wind rush past my ear.

In a flash someone had swooped into the scene and kicked the man holding the knife to the ground. The sound of blades being drawn stole my attention. It was Robin. He took a stance between the woman and the men.

“Run. Now.” He told the lady.

She whimpered and scrambled up to her feet dashing towards me, towards the entrance of the alley. She zipped past and didn’t stop running till she turned the corner. I should be running too. But my eyes were fixed on the fight that was about to happen.

Robin seemed no older than me. In reality there was no way he could win against 6 huge men. But then again, this was Robin. No normal teenager.

“6 against 1.” He mused, the grip on his katana tightened. “That hardly seems fair.”

The one who held the knife, possibly the leader of the gang, growled thickly. “Get‘im boys.”

They all rushed towards him at the same time, hands in the air and weapons ready. Robin whipped his blade and easily knocked two knives down, the remaining used their strength and threw punches that looked like it would strike anyone straight to next week. The masked boy effortlessly dodged all their hits. Crouching, jumping, twisting, exactly when needed and not a second too late. His movements were precise; a quick jab below the rib striking the kidney with the handle of the sword, a sharp slam of his elbow to the chin, and to close the deal with a blunt blow force to the side of the neck. The goon fell like a tree that’s been cut down.

I gaped in awe.

The others rushed to avenge their fallen comrade, but Robin was quicker and used his blade to disable them. He kicked one of them into the brick wall, a sickening crunch echoed as the goons’ head smashed into it, then a howl of pain when Robin sliced his back. I cringed at the sight of the blood. It was a superficial wound, at least from my vantage point. The cut was deep enough to hurt and draw red, but not enough to kill.

The next lunged himself and grabbed Robin’s wrist, the boy growled and kicked him the face, forcing to free himself. He couldn’t see the other one running towards them from behind, the weapon aiming straight for Robin’s back.

“Robin!” I found my voice and screamed. “Behind you!”

He did a roundhouse kick and slammed the head of the one holding his wrist, then using the momentum back flipped and kicked the one who was behind.

I sighed in relief.

“What are you doing just standing there?!” He shouted at me as he readied himself again. “I said run!”

That got all the men’s attention. The ones that fell got back up and huffed angrily.

“Get the girl!” The leader shouted. “We can use her.” His leer sent bile rushing up my throat.

I squeaked as 3 of them started to chase me. Finally my legs listened and I dashed across the street onto the other pavement.

They were too fast though, their thundering footsteps grew closer towards me. My lungs burned as I tried to inhale some much needed oxygen, physical sports like running really weren’t my thing. I nearly tripped on an uneven tile as a scream rippled out of my throat. I braced myself for impact but it never came. Instead I felt a rush of wind across my face and a lightness below me. The ground was getting further and further away.

I realised I was being carried. Looking up, I was face to face with Red Robin.

“God thing I saw you when I did or you’d be dead meat.” He said dryly as we landed on a roof.

“Th-thank you.” I breathed, trying to gulp in as much needed air as I could. “Robin – he –“ But I didn’t know how to articulate. The adrenaline rush was messing with my head, and I could barely think straight.

Yet Red Robin nodded, understanding. He jumped off the roof and shot his grappling hook. I peered down and saw the fight started to move, from the alley to the side walk. The goons cornered Robin into a store front and were relentless as they threw punch after punch. The other 3 that were chasing me were already fighting Red just below the building that he deposited me on.

I watched in horror as the glass shattered everywhere around them. They weren’t just normal gangs I discerned, they knew how to fight. And unlike the birds and bat, they didn’t mind taking a life.

Clutching the projectiles again in my pocket, I brought them up with trembling hands.

“I hope this works.” I whispered to myself and pulled out my elastic hair tie.

Hooking one of the orbs onto the elastic, I aimed for the goons attacking Robin, and pulled as far as the band could go. Willing my hand to stop shaking, I said a silent prayer and released my hold.

Time seemed to go into slow motion as it flew across the air. I held my breath.

It hit the ground between two goons and burst into a big foamy cloud of vibrant cobalt, instantly seizing the men and solidified their prison as the concoction cooled.

Both fights stopped for a split second, as they watched the chemical reaction, which now looking back was a mistake on all parties.

I gasped and thanked whoever was listening.

The leader roared and pulled a pistol. I felt my throat tighten as the gun set a bullet free.

Robin and I cried out in pain as the bullet dug into him. Tears threatened to roll down my cheek as I clutched my burning shoulder.

A birdarang zipped towards the leader, catching his wrist and making him let go of the weapon. With a grunt, Robin kicked him hard across the chest stealing the perpetrators breath and with a quick turn, smashed his foot onto the mans jaw, cracking it before letting him fall with a loud thud.

The fight continued and Robin easily subdued his last opponent. Then he ran across the street to finish up with Red. Both of them moved in fluid motions like well trained dancers as they fought while protecting each others weak spots. They took down the last 3 goons and tied them up just as the police sirens blared within the distance.

I jumped up from my spot and turned to run but stopped when I saw the two Robins in my path.

“You.” The younger one started. “You were the one who shot the…”

I nodded wordlessly, still feeling the adrenaline coursing through my body. A nasty red splotch caught my attention and I believe they both noticed as I glanced at it. My own hand went up and clutched my shoulder unconsciously, a cold sensation rippled through where the bullet was.

“Oh my god.”

---

to be continued...

Part 2, 3, 4, 5 (end)

[kurooskorner]

class 1-A but in sex ed :D

this was based off a drawing I saw by @anxioussailorsoldier and I will take it down if she wants me to! that being said let's get into it!

AIZAWA & ALL MIGHT

please these poor guys are paired to teach the class 100% just because Nezu likes torturing humans 😁

nezu be like: well since we also have to be a normal school, you two will teach sex ed!

aizaw & all might: 👁👁 but you did this for what-

naturally aizawa is the more 'serious' one, but he still gets SUPER flustered and puts on his goggles so he doesn't have to make eye contact with any of the kids

all might doesn't have that luxury so he's just standing there teaching and is as red as a tomato

keeps accidentally making eye contact with midoriya

both will stutter over their words when explaining things but inevitably push through the lesson

they just keep reminding themselves, "we have to do this because they live in dorms and we don't want baby bakugou's or baby todoroki's running around"

MIDORIYA, IIDA, URARAKA, TSUYU, KODA

my innocence babies omfg pleaseeee

blush mode activated x1000000

a literal mess omfg

sitting in their seats having a whole panic attack because they aren't sure what's going on but don't want to hear it any longer

midoriya is literally spasming-

he keeps making eye contact with all might who is also spasming and it's making them both just freak out so hard

uraraka is a mess as well, she's just staring at midoriya blushing profusely and then looking away when tsuyu points it out

iida is trying his hardest to be calm because "A CLASS REP SHOULD NOT BE FLUSTERED" but he is failing 100%

i picture tsuyu being the calmest of the three but still equally flustered!

same for koda except he stays completely silent with his head down the entire time because...well yeah who wouldn't

BAKUGOU, TODOROKI

okay both of them wanna be mr. super suave

flustered to the NINES but try not to show it at all because they're big and bad 😡

bakugou is probably trying to shut out both the teachers because it's "so not cool" to have two PRO heroes (one he even looks up to) teaching him this stuff when he's been taught it already (yeah momma bakugou doesn't wanna be a grandma rn so she sat him down and told him ALL about it)

todoroki idk man he's just sitting there no expression on his face except a small blush on his cheeks but even that you can't really see...

I'll be honest I bet his siblings have tried on many occasions to tell him about the importance of being safe during sex but he's just like ??? dude stop

sits in his seat with no readable expression at all

KIRISHIMA, DENKI, JIROU, SERO, ASHIDO

the "this is so funny" group

continuously making jokes to hide their embarrassment

kiri thinks aizawa is very manly for teaching them about it tho

PAIN I FINISHED WRITING THIS BUT IT DIDN'T SAVEEEE and I don't remember what it SAIDDDDD AHH okay it's okay

MOMO, TOKOYAMI, SHOJI, SATO, TORU, AND OJIRO

my respectful BABIES

sit through the class with disrupting

just want it to end because yes respect but also very flustered

(I wrote something but forgot it ahhh)

take notes in case of a pop quiz because you never know with aizawa

and my brain is fried so I'm sorry this is short

AOYAMA

tunes out immediately

grabs his little handheld mirror and stares at himself to pass the time!

straight vibes

he's just like "wow look at me ugh"

the moment you've all been waiting for

MINETA

ugh yes okay so he SWEARS up and down that he knows this stuff already

and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually does little perv

takes detailed notes for uh...research purposes

everyone is trying their hardest to not look at him because he will stare back with that little smile yk the one I'm talking about

overall his usual mineta self but x10 :D

[drazzilder]

Happy Birthday Endeavor

By Drazzilder 

Happy Birthday Endeavor

Endeavor’s gaze is broken as he hears the piercing sound of his office phone. He picks it up and gets word that there is an emergency in the southern part of Musutafu. After putting the phone down, Endeavor looks back at the picture that kept his gaze for so long. It is of his family, but he is not in the photo. They look much happier since they moved out last year, without him. It was the only thing he could think to do to make them happy. He goes back into hero mode and bolts out of the agency in a roar of flames.

“PLEASE! HELP ME!” a woman cries from the grip of a villain. He has her held tight in his 4-armed grip. He takes one of his massive hands and covers her mouth to silence her. The robbery on the jewelry store didn’t go as planned so the villain took a hostage. The police are in a standoff with the villain but they are afraid for the hostage’s life to do anything. What feels like forever until a flame spear strikes the head of the villain and he releases to woman. Endeavor flies in and strikes the villain once more and handcuffs him.

“Thank you so much! I thought I going to die.”

“All part of the job. The police will take over from here.” Endeavor says as he rushes off again. He is all over the city today, saving citizens at a speed only the number 1 hero can achieve. This goes on for a few hours until he decides it a good time to take a small break. He grabs a quick bite from a combini and stands atop a building, watching the streets bellow for trouble. A shadow flies overhead but he knows who that belongs too.

“Endeavor, long time no see!” Hawks quips as he lands next to the number 1 hero.

Sounding exhausted “What do you want, Hawks?”

“I saw you were on break and wanted to say hello. Is that too much to ask?” Hawks replies in a cheerful tone.

Sounding gruff “I suppose not.”

“Also, I got you this. I know it’s not much but you deserve at least a card on your birthday.”

“Oh…thanks.” The words almost being forced from his mouth. He takes the card from Hawks, looking down at the envelope in his hands.

“You don’t sound happy, what’s wrong?”

“I…honestly forgot it was my birthday. I…. thank you.”

“Forgot it was your birthday? That’s crazy! At least open the card.”

The hero slowly lifts the envelope and rips the top open. He pulls out a handmade card. The thick card stock is covered in glitter and confetti. It has a silly drawing of Hawks on the front with the words “Hope you can fly high on your special day!” He then opens the card and it has another drawing, this time of Endeavor himself with “Happy Birthday!” spelled out in glitter glue.

“I know I’m not much of an artist but I thought something handmade would be more meaningful.”

The man takes a moment looking at the card before he finally speaks. “It’s very thoughtful. Thank you, Keigo.”

“Glad you liked it. I’m guessing you don’t have anything planned for today since you forgot it was your birthday and all.”

“Just a normal day for a hero.”

“As always I guess…. Well, I got to run. Happy Birthday, Enji.”

A gust of wind signals that Hawks left. Endeavor just looks at the card again and puts it in belt pouch and rockets off again to save more citizens. The rest of the day goes like normal: saving citizens and stopping villains. It is after dark when Enji gets off work and heads back to his home, alone. Even though his family is happy living without him, he still lives alone in his large estate. Arriving at the front door, he lets out a long sigh knowing the home will be empty when enters. When the door opens, he is surprised to see lights are on in the kitchen. Flames surround his hands as he slowly walks down the hall. Turning the corner, he drops his fists in shock at what he sees. His children are in the kitchen, cooking. He can’t even say a word when Shoto finally notices the man standing in the door frame.

S: “Hi dad.”

F: “Oh, hi Dad!” she says in surprise.

E: “W-what are you doing here?”

F: “It’s your birthday, that’s why we are here cooking you a nice meal. We even got you a cake.”

E: “But…. You are here?”

N: “Yea, some of us reluctantly.”

E: “I thought you didn’t want to ever come back here?”

F: “We want to be here for your birthday, and we know you wouldn’t want to go out to dinner with us so we decided to bring it to you.”

Enji just stands there, still in shock at everything that is playing in front of him. Fuyumi walks over and takes his hand. He still is in a trance when she pulls him to a chair and he sits down. The kids finish setting the table while the man sits in silence. After all the food is laid out, everyone digs in. Enji eats quietly while the kids talk amongst themselves; laughing and smiling. Fuyumi notices her father is getting red in the face when she brings out the cake.

F: “Are you ok, dad?”

N: “You don’t look so good?”

S: “Dad?”

The man just stands up leaves the kitchen without a word. The kids just stand in silence, watching their father leave. He goes to the living room and sits down with his hands over his face. “Why are they here? Do I deserve this? Why do I feel like this?” His thoughts race as he sits there. He doesn’t notice Fuyumi sit down next to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t deserve this.” He responds almost unsure of what he saying.

“What are you talking about, it’s your birthday.”

“No, I don’t deserve to have you all happy with me here. I hurt all of you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. The reason I had you move out is because….. I don’t know how to say this.”

She grabs his hand “You can try, its ok.”

“I-I kept having a dream where you all were happy, but I wasn’t in it. It started before the nomu attack and then it got worse. The only thing I could think to do was have you all move out so you could heal, without me.”

“What?! Knowing how bad you are with your emotions; I know why you didn’t tell us. Aren’t you lonely here?”

“If being alone is part of my atonement, so be it.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way. We can see you are willing and trying to change. Here, have some cake. Maybe you will feel better.”

She hands him a plate. He just looks down at the slice of cake. Almost unsure, he takes a small bite. A faint smile forms on his face from the flavor. He takes a few more bites, still confused by everything before he speaks again. “Thank you. I honestly forgot it was my birthday today.”

“Really? You’re always so busy with hero work.”

“I know, but I just don’t really care about it. I just want you to be happy but that only seems to be without me.” The smile on his face goes back to the stone-cold look he had earlier. Fuyumi responds by hugging him. He drops the plate in shock and slowly puts his arms around her.

“Of course we want you in our life. Just give it some time. We all still need to heal.”

“But I am the one who caused everything.”

“And those dreams you told me about, they tell me you have regrets. You need to heal just as much as the rest of us.”

“I…. Thank you, I needed to hear that.”

The two go back to the kitchen and Enji finally opens up to his kids. They understand he is still hesitant so they go easy on him, just keeping everything casual. The rest of the evening continues like this until it is time for the kids to leave. Soon, Enji is alone in his house once again. He gets ready for bed and sees something is off. There is a card on his bed, made by his children. It’s just a simple card that says Happy Birthday with a new picture of his children and Rei inside. He remembers the card he got from Keigo in his pouch. He takes both cards and places them on his dresser. He goes to bed with a small smile on his face, the first time in a long time.