#he has no idea who these cosplayers were

[mkarchin713]

They are shocked to see some batbait twink giving beast boy and a tiny version of the monster dog a bath with bubbles and everything.

Garfield was just glad to get to slobber off him and this kid gave great ear scritches.

DC/DP Crossover Idea #51

Cujo runs into another green (a-bit not glowing) dog and is like ‘new friend :D’ before proceeding to scruff the lad and book it back to Danny (who had told Cujo to go fetch something before the dog got distracted)

Garfield is wondering what exactly he just got himself into. One that apparently included a giant green glowing dog and a teenager that looked just as surprised as he was.

[whirlybirbs]

i am on my hands and knees begging for a shred of keigo takami baby bird kfc angel content from you, if you write hawks i will finally know true peace

— MEET & GREET ; 1 / 2 ; HAWKS ; 啓悟

summary: you manage to snag two VIP meet & greet tickets for your nephew's birthday. he insists you join him. part one of two. pairing: keigo takami ; hawks / f!reader word count: 3.1k tags: humor, meet-cute, pro hero culture, birbs ignores all relevant timelines yet again, fluff, phone-flirting, hawks is great with kids, t+, relatable pre-hook up hesitation, they will fuck next time a/n: hawks is the chappell roan of the mha universe. stop touching him. this man actually changed my brain chemistry in early 2023 but we don't need to talk about that. anways, this poll was on the ropes all day and i made the executive choice to feed the hawks birblets.

You feel like your face has been set in a semi-permanent cringe all morning. 

In your right hand, you're clutching your half-finished iced coffee for dear life. In your other, you're clinging to your nephew as he drags you through the convention center — one of the bright red wings of his beloved, homemade cosplay has started to go lopsided, and the six-year-old excitedly tugs it back in place as he tries to yank you forward.

"C'mon! We're gonna be late!" 

This really wasn't your scene.

Fan conventions had a way of making your skin itch. The amount of sexy All Mights you've seen this morning alone has to be some sort of milestone indicator for the environment. Whether nature is healing or dying, though, you have no idea. 

If you had it your way, you'd spend the rest of the day mingling through the artist stalls — but, to your nephew Hayami's point, the two of you had somewhere to be.

Your VIP meet-and-greet badge swings as you trip up and laugh. "Okay! Okay, slow down! You're about to yank my arm off!"

It was the best birthday gift imaginable for Hayami. You officially cemented your title as The Coolest Aunt Ever when you managed to snag the two VIP convention meet-and-greet tickets (complete with a professional photo and two signed copies of the convention's annual poster) after a harrowing seven hours in an online Ticketmaster line. There were only a hundred of them sold — and sure, you coulda thrown that pretty hunk of cash into a college fund for Hayami, but he was deeply in his hero phase. 

Originally you expected that Hayami's father, your brother-in-law, would want to go.

But, no, Hayami himself insisted you come with him.

After all, you helped me with my costume, he begged, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!

That you did. Many a hot glue gun burn was suffered at the hands of those damn red feathers. If you squint from far away, the cosplay isn't half bad considering the thrift and dollar-store materials. It wasn't one of those inch-to-inch replicas, but it worked. 

He's like a cute, bouncing mini Hawks. Complete with goggles and wings.

And Hayami is happy. And that's all that matters to you. 

The line is already pretty long, and Hayami runs his gloved hands along the line barriers as he races to his spot, audibly wooshing the whole way — just like Hawks does, probably. His badge jingles, and he hops to a stop as you come up behind him and pat his head. The six-year-old stands up on his tippy-toes, trying to see around the Miss Midnight fan in front of them. 

"Can you see him?" he chatters excitedly, "Ti, can you?"

He's called you Ti ever since he could speak. Auntie was too long, and the shortened version has stuck. 

You hop up onto your tippy-toes, mimicking him — and you swear you catch a glimpse of a crimson feather plumage over the gathered heads of the other meet-and-greet fans. It might be another cosplayer.

"I dunno," you whisper, your eyes darting to your phone's lock screen, "It's supposed to start any minute—"

The telltale roar of fanfare lets you know exactly who has just arrived. 

Hayami's excitement is palpable. Without a word, you're hauling him up and perching him on your shoulders. His hands land in your hair, and you can feel his smile from down here. 

"Ti! It's him!"

The line starts moving not long after, and you finish your iced coffee while Hayami stays perched on your shoulders, utterly starstruck. You weave through the barriers, moving up a few feet every minute, until you're only four or five people away from where Hawks sits behind a long table. 

You have to admit, the guy is pretty cute. 

Cuter than the fan-cams make him out to be, even. 

Sandy blonde hair, sharp gold eyes, and big wings. There's no doubt in your mind he's showboating, but as people approach the table, you notice this hesitant twitch ripple through the red feathers every time someone gets a little too close. 

That cringe from earlier washes over your face again as a girl reaches over the table to roughly run her fingers across one of his flight feathers. 

It's Keigo's least favorite part of all this. 

I mean, there's a part of him that gets it. He's the #2 Hero in all of Japan. He's a big deal. He's top of the popularity polls, he's the people's bird, y'know? He's a marketed commodity that sells out each and every time. 

But, that doesn't mean he likes being touched.

Especially the wings. Hands off the wings.

"Hey, Hayami?" you ask, tilting your head up as you both step forward.

You can feel the sudden nervousness creeping up on Hayami as he nods and looks down at you. "Y-Yea?"

"Make sure you ask for permission if you touch his wings, okay?" you say gently, muscling him down from your shoulders and doing a once over on his mini-Hawks cosplay, "And remember to tell him your name!"

Hayami nods, his nerves palpable as he realizes the two of you are next. 

On instinct, his hand shoots out and grips yours for dear life. 

And then, one of the marketers waves the two of you forward.

The first word that comes to Keigo's mind is MILF. You're cute. Real cute. Definitely not the usual sort he meets at conventions, and definitely not the usual sort that buys a ticket to his meet-and-greets. The kid clinging to your arm is arguably even cuter, and Hawks can't hide the blooming grin on his face when the pair of you step forward.

"Woa-ho!" he yaps from behind the patterned table, "Dude! Nice outfit!"

Hayami is panicking. You can tell from his shocked silence as the two of you step forward. You bend at the knees, squatting to your nephew's height, then encourage him to go ahead, go on. His big, brown eyes bob from you to Hawks. 

"Go ahead, Hayami," you encourage softly, "Say hi."

Oh, shit. You're really cute. Is this your kid? Nah, no way. You're way too young to be his mom. Unless—

You've seriously got him weighing the pros and cons of step-fatherhood and he doesn't even know your name. 

He could do stepdad shit at twenty-six. Right?

"Hi, Mr. Hawks," comes the shy voice of the mini Hawks before him; the sandy blonde's chest clenches. 

This is too fuckin' cute.

"Heh, hey kid," he chirps back, leaning forward on the table as his mouth curves into a friendly grin; Hawks' eyes are trained on the kid's growing smile, "What's your name?"

"H-Hayami."

"It's cool t' meetcha, Hayami," Hawks parrots as your own proud smile grows. There's relief flooding your shoulders. Thank god, Hayami didn't choke the clutch moment, "I like your wings, lil' dude!"

Hayami gives a little turn, wiggling his prized, handmade possession. His confidence is building; the compliment lights the kid's cheeks up. 

"My aunt helped me make them!" Hayami chatters, his eyes brightening from behind the flight goggles strapped to his head, "She says I need to ask for your permission to touch your feathers!"

Keigo's gold eyes slip to your face. You give him an apologetic grimace, your eyes flicking to the girl beyond the VIP area still screaming about how she touched him, she touched Hawks, oh my god. You mouth out a silent apology.

Hawks' finds himself a little speechless. Doesn't happen often. 

He's not used to having some say in how he's objectified and consumed.

A sandy brow quirks as he pushes his yellow-tinted visor up, and into his hair. He seems shocked. It's not an expression you've seen on the #2 before — and in the last few weeks, you've seen plenty of Hawks content during Hayami's cosplaying journey. The reference material is pretty expansive.

"That's real considerate, chickadee — I appreciate that," his voice is soft; his smile is a little looser, "C'mere, Hayami, you wanna hold a feather while I sign your poster?"

This is, like, the best day of Hayami's life. 

Hawks brings his visor back down. 

You stand to full height, wringing your purse's strap, watching Hayami hold both hands out as one of the delicate pieces of plumage floats into his hands on command. He cradles it like treasure, his big brown eyes glimmering with new-found amazement. 

You step forward, and place a hand on Hayami's shoulder as he gently ushers his hands toward your face. "Ti, look, isn't this, like, the coolest thing ever — it's one of Hawks' feathers!"

Hawks' eyes flick up to the two of you as his pen darts across the two VIP package posters. There's a smirk on his face as he pays half attention to the task of signing. 

And scribbling his number on the back of one.

"I see that," you chuckle, leaning in to inspect the beautiful, crimson feather, "Make sure you say th—"

Before you finish your sentence, the very feather in question darts up to tickle the tip of your nose. Your immediate reaction is to scrunch your nose and grin. It's not so much ticklish as it is gentle. For good measure, Hawks gives Hayami a little brush on the cheek, too. The boy descends into delighted laughter, allowing the feather to zip back through the air and into its designated place in his wings. 

Hawks is smirking.

"Alright you two," comes the level voice of the marketer; the camera in her hands is bulky, and a signifier that their time meeting #2 is nearly up, "Let's get in nice and close for a photo!"

The table proves to be a bit of a pain, but you bend down to Hayami's height as Hawks leans over the table and gives you both bunny ears. The camera flash burns bright in your eyes as Hayami's hand darts into yours again. 

"Here you two go," Hawks rumbles easily; he's standing now, and you find yourself yet again struck by how handsome he is. He smells like summer air and some expensive cologne you'll probably never know the name of. Definitely one of his sponsors. 

You take both posters, as Hayami's excitement seems to overflow and he's nearly buzzing with excitement to know he has Hawks' autograph. The boy bounces at your heels as he clutches his signed copy of the annual convention poster. His big, brown eyes are wide with pure joy. 

"Thank you!" Hayami chatters, "You're the best, Hawks!"

"Thank you," you smile, taking your own poster as Hayami's hand rockets back into yours.

"Nah, it's nothin', chickadee. Thanks for the manners," he calls after you with a touch of good humor, "You're real sweet."

"No problem!" you stutter out, thrown entirely by the compliment, as one of the other marketers guides you towards the exit with a hand on your back. 

"Oh, hey! One last thing!"

You flick your eyes back over your shoulder as you're shuffled out of the meet-and-greet.

You watch Hawks mouth 'check the poster', and with a hand held up to the side of his face. Then, 'call me'. 

"You're kidding me."

Hayami is finally asleep — and your sister is closing the door to his darkened bedroom as she hisses the words out. You're leaning against the hallway wall, arms crossed and looking entirely exasperated.

"I can't just call him," you say softly as you kick off the wall and follow her into the kitchen, "This isn't, like, the hot waiter who leaves his number on the receipt—"

"No, it's even better," she chatters, moving towards the unfinished glass of wine that sits on the dinner table, "I swear to god if you don't pick up that phone and call him right now—"

It's your brother-in-law who speaks up from the couch. "What's stopping you?"

"I don't know, being chronically single?" you cry as you throw your hands, "I haven't gotten a wax in months—"

"You seriously think #2 cares?" comes your sister's flat reply.

Your brother-in-law mimics her affectation. He throws a finger in the air. "Real heroes don't care."

The two of them high-five. 

...They're probably right.

You suck your teeth as you cross your arms again and weigh your options.

I mean — it's only eight o'clock. It's early. And it's a Friday. 

It could go two ways — you break your year-long dry spell with the #2 pro-hero in the country, or it's a total bust and he turns out to be a massive weirdo. Both are frankly pretty entertaining. 

You chew your lip.

Then, you decide.

You kick off the wall and move towards your phone in the kitchen. It's sitting beside the poster. 

"Oh my god, are you doing it?" your sister calls from the couch, her hand gripping her husband's arm tightly.

"I'm doing it," you say, ignoring the bite of nervousness in your hands as you type in the cell number that was scrawledhastily on the back of the poster. 

"Ohmygod."

It's ringing.

Suddenly, you have an audience. Your sister and brother-in-law are crowding you, their faces wide and expectant as it continues to ring. You pull your thumb to your mouth, pushing your bottom lip between your teeth. You let it ring, and ring, and just when you settle that you're being sent to voicemail, there's a click and a voice.

"'Ello?"

Your sister slams her hand into her husband's back, the two of them scrambling in a sudden flash of limbs and excitement. You drag your thumb across your throat — gesturing for them to cut it out. 

"Uh, hi," you fumble, "Is this... Hawks?"

Suddenly, there's a bark of laughter on the other line. "The one and only. Who's this?"

A slow smirk tugs at your cheeks. "I checked the back of the poster — a bold move, y'know."

"Convention Cutie!" he practically cheers, "Hold on, hold on — gimme two seconds, lemme just land."

Your lips part and you blink. The mental image is a hell of a thing. You swallow down a bought of amusement. "Sure, sure, take your time."

Keigo was starting to doubt you'd actually call him. The convention wrapped up hours ago, and he already made himself busy by exploring the southern city. It's nice here. A little bit like his hometown. Not too much crime, which has made for a pretty uneventful evening.

Until now.

His boots touch down on the nearby rooftop and he settles into an easy squat. His wings tuck themselves tightly against his back. 

You can hear a bit of wind bristle against his end of the receiver. 

"Alright, alright, sorry," he rumbles out, "Now you've got my full, undivided attention—"

You tug on your bottom lip. Your sister and brother-in-law are entirely hooked on the little bits they're overhearing from their spot across the counter. Your sister takes a long drink of her wine.

"Am I... being a bit of a distraction?" you ask, "If now isn't a good time—"

"You've been a distraction all day," comes the smooooooth reply; even Keigo's proud of himself for that one, "I'm just out for a fly. Nothin' too serious. I am glad you called, though."

Oh, fuck. Your knees feel like jello. You white-knuckle grip the counter as your sister gnashes her teeth and mimics biting her fist in silent mimery.

"Yea?" you pry, fanning yourself as you lean farther against the counter. 

"Yea, definitely," Hawks grins as he tips his head back and checks out the stars, "You busy tomorrow night? I'd love to take you out to dinner."

There's a commotion across the kitchen. The two of them are smacking one another's arms, their genuine excitement is palpable as they try to stay quiet. They're failing.

"I'd love that, Hawks."

This is new for him.

Technically speaking, you're not a fan. Your nephew is. So, this doesn't technically qualify as one of those unspoken hero faux pas. Don't date fans. Then again, what does it matter? He can do whatever he wants. 

And you're cute. And nice. And kind. And maybe he's being a sap, but seeing you with your nephew made something in his heart tighten. He didn't even notice he was making a nest of scrapped trash from the posters around his seat until the afternoon was over. 

God, sometimes the evolutionarily deep, bird DNA thing is weird.

Hawks lets out a tight breath he didn't realize he was holding. 

"Cool. Okay. Uh, you... you chill with, like, 7pm?" he fiddles with his visor, "I'm... I'm free whenever so..."

He sounds nervous. Your grin is so bright it could outburn the sun. 

"That works for me," you say as you fiddle with your lip, "As far as dress code goes... Do I, like, need a flight suit?"

His laugh is warm. 

"No, no, I — I was gonna get us an Uber," his voice lilts into something more mischievous, "Unless..."

"Maybe after dinner," you remark easily, swaying side to side, "You can show me what those wings do?"

Oh, smooth. Real smooth. Keigo's face is warm. His wings in question twitch eagerly at the invitation. 

"You gonna ask before you touch?" he teases back into the receiver, his brow raised.

It's your turn to laugh. "Hey, it's called being polite."

"I appreciate it," he rumbles out, about earlier at the convention, "Seriously. People are grabby — these things are sensitive..."

"Making a mental note of that, and filing it away," you flirt openly as your sister cheers silently, "For after dinner, maybe."

Keigo's brain stutter-steps. His laugh is surprised. He's about to comment on how you might just be the girl of his dreams when suddenly the wail of sirens perks up his attention. It's two blocks over. Three fire engines. The wind is carrying the smell of acrid smoke. 

"Hey, chickadee, I, uh... I gotta go," he says, standing and allowing his attention to drift to the scene playing out in front of him; it's a house fire — must be — on the southern side of town, "I'll text you the spot for tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Of course, don't let me keep you," you hush, "I'll... text you?"

"I'm countin' on it."

"Bye, Hawks."

"See ya, chickadee."

You didn't even realize you were sweating until you put the phone down.

Your sister and her husband are there, eyes wide. "So?"

"So," you croon as you laugh and pridefully sway your hips, "I have plans tomorrow night."

Their screaming wakes up Hayami.

As you help the kid back to sleep, you keep it secret that he's a better wingman than you could have ever anticipated. 

[clearwingedmaven]

Alright, so. I've got little time and some ideas, so I'll do a brief thought process on the death of Sherlock Holmes in 1893, and the fandom as a whole.

Firstly, getting this out of the way. Sherlock Holmes was not the first modern fandom. That honor most likely goes to Charles Dickens and his work, especially the Pickwick Papers. There is evidence and record that fan merchandise, like joke books, tobacco, and shoe horns, were made with Pickwick Papers characters, especially Sam Weller.

However, Sherlock Holmes is probably our first instance of a global fandom where consequences quite literally created a literary and cultural firestorm. This isn't an exaggeration.

ACD's relationship with Holmes is... strange. Of course, he wanted to kill off Holmes, and move onto other books. (Historical novels, mainly, or Spiritualist manifesto), but there was always a love hate relationship, and we see that most predominantly through fan letters.

Almost immediately after Holmes’s death in 1893, there was shock. Scandal. Mourning. Fans exchanged letters in newspapers, trying to reach out to other fans to figure out what just happened, and what to do next. Holmes was dead. And for all anyone knew, so was the series.

So how'd they cope?

By creating communities. Discourse communities, to be more apt. They exchanged letters, asked questions, and talked through newspapers. Each one plucked from 1893 and 1894 show grief and confusion: for a fictional character.

People even started seeking out Joseph Bell, the man who inspired Holmes, in order to try to fill the void. There's even record of fans venturing to Reichenbach Falls in costume to pay tribute to their fallen hero. And this kept happening. For years. The world lost not just a character, it was their friend.

Keep in mind! Victorian literature was a family affair. Many people would gather around and read stories and books together, so the firestorm went further.

Until, it made ACD change his mind, and bring back Sherlock Holmes. (Can we call it bullying? Perhaps. I call it a unique circumstance of cultural phenomena.)

So where does it leave the fandom?

Ah, that's the question. This fandom, uniquely, has a distinct honor of being one of the oldest living discourse communities, an exchange of reader response, engagement, and including even more material.

So to the fans: from the fanfic writers, to the game makers, to the cosplayers, to the fans of adaptations near and far, to the editors, to the artists, to the dreamers and thinkers...

It is, given the nature of the fandom, that you are all a part of history, as part of one of the oldest(and still going!) Fandom discourse communities.

Keep that in mind. And keep going. 🙂

[thedeskofaltoclef]

How I became The Desk of Alto Clef.

My response to a SCP Group designed around Hate and Bigotry who have targeted me and others in this community.

Nah, man, my daughter is dead.

It has been brought to my attention that there is a group of people on the internet who are fascinated with my fascination of Alto Clef and Meri. Hurtful and yet cute in a way so I think now I'll choose this time and these screen grabs from their discord to explain how I came to be 'The Desk of Alto Clef'.

My Daughter died six years ago and it sent me spiraling deep into the bottom of whatever bottle I could find.

I was completely prepared to take my own life and even had the things to 'finish the job' because my life had no meaning at that point. What was another statistic going to matter anyways, right?

It was in one of these dark, drunk moments with a gun when I fell across the Volgun's video on 'reality benders and you' and fell into a rabbit hole.

Drunkenly I fumbled around the wiki and learned more about this broken man known as Alto Clef.

A man whom I could relate to in my own way. A man who, no matter what he did, could never see his daughter as I will never be able to see mine. So thus, I became a very, very shitty cosplayer.

I like to believe that over the past four years my acting ability has increased to a sustainable level and as much as I joke about things I do try to stay humble about it. Though I like to think I've become better but I digress.

I love the lore of Clef and Meri, on or offsite, to the point that I am weird about it I know, but that's how I stay connected to my daughter. Writing the Deskverse is how I stay connected to my daughter.

I am also autistic which causes me to hyper fixate on Clef as a coping mechanism.

Because of this group of people I have greatly considered leaving the community and going back to my own personal solitude. Acting, Voice Acting, Cosplaying as Clef gave and still gives me something to live for again. I may not be this group's cup of tea but I do like to believe that I have helped others. My main goal has always been to uplift those who need uplifting. I do not want anyone to ever feel how I felt in my lowest and darkest moments.

The main story in the deskverse is about a father and a daughter torn apart by the actions of an abusive mother. My real life story.

I also have ZERO clue as to why I am being involved with misogyny or yuri things. If I have offended you in any way I do apologize.

I do not plan on posting the more 'suggestive' or 'lewd' responses they have made. Overly sexualized content does make me extremely uncomfortable.

This group of people have broken my heart into pieces. Seeing this list of images and names dragging me through the mud has already smashed my unstable self-esteem as it is.

At this time I do not plan on releasing any names associated with all of this because I am honestly tired of reliving the most horrid event of my life over and over because I, for whatever reason, do not fit what this group feels is acceptable of an actor/writer/fan.

I cannot say the same for the others in which they were assaulting.

In summary Alto Clef is an outlet for the pain I live with every day. I can never see, hold, hear, smell, or speak to my daughter. I have scars on my body from her mother that will never allow me to forget that life I had. I will always remember the taste of gunpowder but thankfully my drunk ass was too weak. If your going to be bad at something, be bad at that I suppose.

I will leave all of this with a final image from the copious list and the one that honestly hurts me the most. I am honestly a shy and reserved person and frankly it takes a lot for me to get out of my comfort zone. Not long ago I went to another SCP discord server because I wanted to meet new people and someone in there was awesome. I truly enjoyed my time with this person and just found them amazing. They were kind, open, willing to listen to my ideas, and gushed over Numberonedoggo. I thought I had finally made a new friend on my own. I was apparently wrong.

Art, from some of my favorite artists, was made for the sole reason of mocking me specifically. To laugh at me for finding joy in something that gives me purpose. Something I use to drive away the darkness.

No age, disorder, illness, or reason at all can be acceptable for anyone to act in this way. You are all a mockery of everything the SCP community should stand for.

-TheDesk

[mintiicinnamonii]

Ok, so, idk if I missed the character limit so I'm sorry if it's too much, I also don't want to put any pressure on you either!

So! What if reader was half human half dragon? (I mean like, How to train your dragon kinda dragon)

Where they can either be human, half human/dragon (like, walking on their legs but being a bit taller than before, having scales instead of skin, wings and tail) and full dragon form (like toothless)

(I apologize if it's too complicated 😭)

Reader: gender neutral

Characters (romantic hc): Sun Wukong, Macaque and MK? (Maybe Mei Mei too if it's not pushing it)

Again, no pressure, and if it's too much I'll understand! Have a lovely day :D

Mei, MK, Wukong and Macaque with a dragon hybrid reader

(notes: MUAHAHAHAH YOU HAVE FED ME YOUNG ONE!! I didnt have much ideas but this was so fun!)

Mei

shes SOOO EXCITED

like?? a fellow dragon? a PRETTY ONE?!!

she asks if you breathe fire, and depending on your species you answer

you two go on joyrides in the sky <33

the second you transformed she was like 🫦

she is in AWE OF YOUUUU

she asks you so many questions about your species and you’re happy to answer them all

her fans think you’re a cosplayer 💀

she demands piggy back rides, and pulls your collar down to kiss you

”i love my tall partner”

she catches you hoarding gems and has a picture saved on her phone

her parents are like 🙌

you have asian parent approval congrats (im viet, so i should know)

—

MK

seductive monster x shy human real!!,

he was very intimidated at first, he thought you would eat him

but when you purr with your lil reptile noises hes SMITTEN

i hc that you pick him up and fly with him

hes happy he can relate to someone who can relate to having this animalistic side of their life

he blushes a lot. like.. you’re HELLA TALL and MK is probably short as hell so… add two and two together

you steal his stuff a lot and hoard it as treasure. he doesnt mind, as long as youre happy

you reach things on the top shelf for him. change my mind.

—

SWK

CUDDLE PILES!!!

you two fly in FFF together

SPIDERMAN/SKY KISSES BABYYYY

he thinks you look so graceful and pretty

you could kick his ass and he would say thank you

you spar with MK sometimes to help him and MK is FLABBERGASTED

imagine wukong getting into a stupid fight and you jsut swoop in and save him

he gives you as many treasures as possible for you to hoard

and when you’re in dragon form hes like 😳

mans thinking of situations. none of them are in the tripitaka/the buddhist bible

he tries to turn into a dragon, he cant do it

”sighhhhh i miss my tall pookie bear”

he leans on your shoulder

—

Macaque

he admires your strength, but not in the sense that Wukong does, more like respect and love

you go on nighttime flights together, its rlly relaxing

he pets you. fight me.

like dragon pookie = cat pookie

scratches, pets, distracting you with shiny things

you get rlly mad and then he just kisses you and youre like 😳

the only man that can calm you down

if you were dating before he joined the gang, POWER COUPLEEE

”hey babe ready to beat up wukongs student” “hold up lemme change firstttt”

he pulls you down with your collar to kiss you

hes still a massive flirt <33

i hc that you make little replite/cat sounds. the first time macaque heard them hes like “wait did you just”

he has teased you for it ever since

the dojo’s kinda small, so you have to duck to enter, and he literally CHANGED HIS DOOR so you can enter easily

[starrieangel]

🍰Mouthwashing Crew takes you to a Character Cafe!☕️

Request by Anon: "... I was wondering if I could ask for some other Mouthwashing headcanons (Curly, Jimmy, Anya, and Daisuke)? Maybe them taking you to one of those cute character cafes like they have in Japan (i.e. Kirby Cafe, Pokemon Cafe, Moomin Cafe, etc.)..."

Features: Curly x Reader, Anya x Reader, Daisuke x Reader, Jimmy x Reader

Tags: Fluff, Normal!Jimmy, Curly is a dork (confirmed)

Curly

...takes you to Pokemon cafe!

Curly admires the cute outfit you picked out to go to the cafe, complimenting your favorite pokemon you have on your shirt or dress.

He has some pokemon merch of his own- Not only is he wearing a baseball cap with an embroidered pikachu design on it, but he goes "And wait til you see this-" before lifting up the pant leg of his jeans to show you his pokeball themed socks- This man is just too damn silly..!!

He is just as if not more excited to go than you, and he doesn't wanna be late!

You both get pikachu burgers and share a float topped with whipped cream and a cookie shaped like your favorite pokemon!

(Don't imagine him taking a drink and getting whipped cream on his nose. Don't imagine it because it's too cute and you'll die)

Later, you two get separated at the shop and you sneakily buy him a pikachu plushie keychain. You go to surprise him with it when he reveals that he's bought you the exact same one as a surprise too!!

Anya

... takes you to sailor moon cafe..!

You help Anya get dressed for the cafe! You initially picked out little skirts paired with white sweaters and a colored neck scarf to mimic the look of the sailor uniforms. She loves what you picked, but she decides you should both wear leggings underneath the skirts you picked out... the skirts were very short, oops!

You two decide to share a cheesecake, cookie, and milkshake between you both! (She’s a little worried about your sugar intake, starlight..!)

Anya is more than happy to take pictures of you in front of any cool decoration or with other cosplayers you see!

In fact, she's fangirling quite a bit herself!! I think Anya would love shoujo manga, and probably grew up watching sailor moon!

She would make sure to tell you afterward what a fun day you two had together, and how much she appreciates how much you both have in common!

Daisuke

...takes you to kirby cafe!

He has a surprise- he bought you both matching outfits. So now ur dressed like twins. To go to kirby cafe. You each have a pink shirt with your favorite character on it as well as shoes, shorts, and a kirby themed hat that he bought especially for this occasion.

When you arrive, he assures you you can get anything and everything you want off the menu, he has it covered!! Ok rich boy

He takes lots of photos of you both, taking selfies of you both in front of all the themed decor ~ Like, so many selfies (and tiktoks, he has brainrot)

Buys you more kirby merch than you know what to do with...

He likes teasing you and making you laugh with cute messages, so he sends you memes later of the kirby with a big mouth eating everything in sight and captions it "this is how u look eating that cake today"

Jimmy

...is dragged along to Pompom Purin Cafe!

Look, this is not really his idea of a date... you're lucky you're cute.. and really annoying when you beg

Still, he has an outfit picked out for you- you think it's cute how he lays your outfits out for you before you wake up, ready for you to put on in the morning. Secretly, he likes dressing you up like you're his little doll ♡ This time, he chose something on theme- a yellow dress ! You accessorize with a brown beret.

You two get desserts and drinks at the cafe- a pudding of course and a cake. Jimmy gives you whichever dessert you like more ♡ And you both get drinks with a cute character on them ♡

You explain to him who all the little characters are. He doesn't really get it, but he thinks it's really cute how you're taking photos of everything, you're so excited..!

Well, it's cute until you start taking photos of him (Tbh he doesn't really want evidence that he was there!!) He flat out tells you to delete a pic you took of him with a bit of frosting on his face ♡ (Sorry but that one is a keeper..!!)

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

what you’ve come to find out about the outside world is that there are people everywhere and that everywhere is loud.

people are walking quickly, some of them are talking loudly on the phone. others are walking more slowly, or in groups. they’re even louder.

you’ve been walking around outside for a while now, there’s more noise than when you’re back home. back home, everyone mutters to themselves or are completely silent. the people in the white coats are always behind glass when they look at you and you cannot hear them.

the people here look at you too, but it feel different. they don’t write on clipboards when they do. some eyebrows furrow while others raise. they look at you curiously. you don’t think you like it much. an older woman stops you and asks you where ‘yourmother’ is. you’ve never heard that name before, so you walk away.

you somehow find yourself at a place with people that look like you. they are also in groups. and they are also loud. they play on weird constructions you’ve never seen, you think they might be strange, new training devices.

you feel something cold and wet touch your forehead. you know you’re not bleeding so it must be something else. you look up and another wet drop falls right on top of your cheek.

oh. rain.

the people that look like you are nowhere to be seen now, all running away somewhere else. some of them still scream and smile, running around in the rain. you don’t understand how that could be enjoyable at all.

you’ve managed to find a spot to hide from the rain, it still feels cold. you wonder when it’ll stop. you wonder if father and the others are already on their way to come catch you. it scares you, you’ll probably have to move soon.

“what anime is that from ?”

you jump when you hear someone speak, you look at them and they look at you, so you know they were talking to you and when you’re talked to you always have to respond.

except you don’t know what to say.

your mouth opens and closes, you make a noise of confusion. the person, a boy who also looks like you also looks confused.

“your outfit, what show is that from ?”

huh ?

“you a cosplayer ?”

huh ??

you know he speaks your language, you understand some words. except the last one.

“coz..player..?” you ask. the boy who has red eyes frowns at you. you don’t think you’ve ever seen that color before. you like it.

“yeah..you don’t know what that is ?” the boy with the red eyes looks at you strangely, you don’t like how long he’s been looking. you don’t like not being able to do something right. because that’s bad.

you shake your head, because you don’t know. “what’s with that get up then ?”

you understand that he means you’re clothes. you don’t think there’s anything wrong with them, they’re best for practice missions and training. you simply shrug.

the boy moves around a bit, he clicks his teeth. his red eyes are squinted. he has a bag in his hand and it crinkles as he moves to hold it better. the thing he has above his head is stopping the rain from touching him and casts a shadow over his eyes.

“you’re uber weird.”

you have no idea what that means. but you don’t think you like the tone of his voice very much. you stay quiet.

“you’re parents not here to pick you up ?”

you shrug again, because you don’t know.

“…you got somewhere to go ?”

you look up at him, he’s still looking at you strangely, you realize them you’re shivering because he’s brought his device a bit closer to you.

you don’t know where to go, so you shake your head. his eyes widen just a bit before any surprise is gone once again.

“we can stop by my house, you’re soaked.”

you take too long to answer, because he squints at you and starts pulling your hand and along with him somewhere only he knows the way to.

his hand is very warm, you notice.

[hellfire--cult]

Eddie Munson x Cosplayer!Fem!Reader

18+ MDNI sexual tension and possible smutty filthy part 2 for this

I just needed to show my nerdyness with all of you and I can assure you that Eddie would get fixated with a cosplayer, and much more if she dresses of the stuff he likes.

I will link pictures of the stuff I mention that you people might not know of, but I put descriptive information to the outfits and cosplays.

Plot: Eddie hates conventions, never went to one even, but a certain cosplayer changes his idea of it.

remember to reblog pls thank u.

Cosplay for me

Eddie Munson was never a person to go to conventions.

He never went to one before, in his life. He was never interested in them, but it was because he believed it was too crowded and he was told many times that there is always a putrid smell from sweat. Of course, there’s also memes about it online, so he always thought conventions were dirty, and he decided to never go to one.

That is until Mike Wheeler falls sick and Dustin has an extra ticket for Indiana Comic-Con. Dustin knew there was absolutely no chance with Steve, and Mike was the only one of the bunch that had his license. Eddie always cursed at Dustin for not having a driving license at the ripe age of 18, but the younger man always says he doesn’t really like the idea of driving. 

So he makes everyone chaperone him around.

That’s why Eddie was now in line to go into the building with a very excited Dustin Henderson next to him.

“There’s so much DnD stuff in here Eddie… There are limited editions of stuff too, like figurines with lots of discounts on anything you like!” Eddie just rolls his eyes at his friend, wanting anything but to look at stuff in the stands. 

“You told me that already…” He looked around to see the different types of crowds. You had kids, adults, teenagers and even elderly. He was surprised to see a couple dressed up as Leia and Han Solo and that’s when he noticed the amount of cosplayers that were there. Some of them you could guess it was their first one, and some were extremely detailed, surprising Eddie completely. 

When they finally got inside, Eddie tilted his head with confusion as he thought everything was going to be crowded, but it was very spacious and there were many areas of the different stands, people actually having some respect to not push through to look at stuff. He looked at Dustin who was mesmerized as he looked all around and then his eyes widened as he spotted the sponsor he wanted to show Eddie.

“Look Eds!” Eddie looked at where Dustin was pointing at and his eyes widened as he looked at the stand that was filled with DnD figurines, dice, boards, and everything you could possibly get for the game to be even more thrilling. He was magnetized towards it and he had to hold himself back as he looked all over the merchandise. He settled for a squishy 20 dice that looked cool with all the red and black swirls and then for a resin one that had liquid inside and a moving ball with sparkles in the middle.

“Fucking sick…” Dustin smiled at his friend as they kept walking to the other stands. Eddie was not that excited for the rest of the things his younger friend was showing him, but he couldn’t deny that the small businesses made stuff that official merchandise doesn’t have. He looked towards the Netflix sponsor that was in the crowdest part of the building, frowning at it.

“What are you looking at?” Dustin asked as he followed Eddie’s gaze to see what he was staring at.

“I don’t know, something about a new show being aired soon. Didn’t catch its name. Something about things.” He shrugged as he kept walking and Dustin followed right behind. The next part Dustin was excited to see was the gaming area. 

Eddie didn’t have enough money to get a nice gaming pc, but it was decent enough, so he didn’t mind going into that area to look at the new releases and the many components you could buy for your PC. His eyes caught onto a large mousepad that had the eye of Sauron in the middle of it and he didn’t even hesitate when he purchased it. Dustin bought a new gaming mouse for himself and they left the area contently.

“You still hate conventions?” Dustin asks with a wiggle of eyebrows as they head outside for Eddie to have a smoke. The metalhead rolls his eyes as he puts down his bags to get a cigarette in between his lips and light it up, blowing the smoke into the open air.

“It does smell weird Dustin… One time is enough for me.” Eddie says and Dustin could only sigh at how hopeless his friend was. He really thought Eddie would like going to a convention with him because Eddie was into all of this stuff. 

“Really? Nothing appealed to you?”

“It’s the same sh–” And his eyes caught sight of something white that was walking through the crowd. His heart got caught in his throat as he saw the most beautiful thing he’s seen this whole day and nothing could beat it. The long white hair falling down her back, the elf ears picking out of it on the sides, the elf silver crown over her head, the white dress falling down her body as she kept walking.

Galadriel. From Lord of The Rings.

“Eddie?” Dustin followed his gaze until it finally landed on the Galadriel cosplayer, making him smile proudly. “Oh, that’s actually a famous cosplayer.” 

“What?” Eddie snaps his head towards Dustin and the younger boy keeps nodding and he finally says your real name. 

“She is very good with her fantasy themed cosplays. Here, I’ll give you her instagram.” Eddie didn’t even doubt it for a second as he handed Dustin his phone in order to look you up. His eyes bulged out of his skull as he browsed over your profile. 

There were armor cosplays, DnD cosplays, Legend of Zelda cosplays, some a little more explicit than the others, but it wasn’t bad. He gulped as he stared at one of your League of Legends cosplay. You were dressed as Miss Fortune, and your cleavage was making your breasts really pop out from the edges. He was almost drooling and he remembered he was with Dustin, hitting the follow button and remembering to keep stalking your profile later on. 

You were taking pictures with people and Eddie noticed how you were acting exactly like the character you were cosplaying as. Graceful and calm. Dustin laughed when a group of men, dressed as hobbits, ran over to you to take a picture and Eddie couldn’t help but smile as you all stood in character for the picture. He was amazed at the dedication which was even more than just putting a costume on. 

“Does she always go to conventions?” Eddie asks his friend and Dustin caught onto it, knowing Eddie had finally found something that interests him in the event. 

“She’s always invited. I said she was famous. She has a stand most likely if you want to go meet her and get a picture…” Dustin tries and Eddie immediately shakes his head, taking a puff out of his cigarette. 

“Nah, I’m good.”

He probably spent a good hour stalking all of your photoshoot pictures when he got home. 

He noticed that you also cosplayed stuff from many games and movies, and he almost died when he saw you in a Tomb Raider costume. You had over 52k followers on Instagram, and now he understood why Dustin said you were famous. You were a Cosplay Influencer, but you seemed genuine in your stories, and he couldn’t help but smile as you reposted many stories of people that took a picture with you as Galadriel. 

He kind of cursed at himself for not being able to be brave enough to get a picture with you. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Dustin… Though he kind of knew that his younger friend realized that he had hearts eyes for you the moment you walked out in the court. 

He wondered if he would ever have the chance to meet you, maybe even help you in a way. That’s when he saw the donation button in your Instagram page. It said that you were grateful for everyone’s collaboration and that every penny goes into her cosplays and into the fundraiser for Kids with Epilepsy she donates to. Eddie wondered if that was indeed true, because many influencers lie about that stuff.

For some reason though, he really did believe you had a kind soul.

So he donated what he could afford, which was only five dollars– but it was something.

He didn’t have to wonder if you were a kind soul for long. There was an Anime Convention being held in a couple of weeks, and you posted in your feed that you were invited and was going to have a stand to sell prints of your pictures and get to know everyone that wanted to take a picture with her. 

It was a coincidence that Dustin had another free ticket this time saying that he thought Mike liked anime, but it turns out that he didn’t and now he didn’t know what to do with that extra ticket. Eddie wasn’t going to pass the chance and took it without a second thought in mind.

He wasn’t a fan of anime, but the amount of ass and tits that he saw as he entered the building was insane. He knew there were very explicit animes out there, but what he didn’t know was that people dared to cosplay them in public. He almost wanted to cover Dustin’s eyes, often forgetting that his friend is no longer fourteen years old. 

“Holy fuck…” Eddie mumbles out as his eyes went from breasts, to asses, to another pair of breasts–

“Yeah, this is what you’ve been missing out on all these years. I told Steve to come so many times because trust me, I know he would love it.” Dustin chuckles as Eddie follows suit. He knew that Steve was a flirt, and yes, he was stupid for saying no to Dustin. Screw him now because Eddie was the one to always second Dustin to conventions now.

“I don’t know anything about what they’re dressed as…” He points at a few girls that are dressed with very tiny strings and underwear with a lot of plastic armor around them. “But fuck that’s hot.”

“That’s Kill la Kill.” 

“Dustin… I don’t care…” Dustin couldn’t help but laugh, nodding at Eddie to keep moving. He kept walking as his eyes couldn’t stop looking all over the place, not looking at where he was going, only for him to run into someone, plastic crashing onto his chin as he yelped in pain and stepped back in order to hold it. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry!” A muffled voice says, and he looks at the person he ran into, only to see a girl dressed in a black tight motorbike suit that fits her body like a glove. The zipper on her chest was pulled down slightly for her cleavage to show and he almost kept his stare there, but he snapped out as the girl moved and his eyes looked up to see her wearing a yellow cat bike helmet, a very black visor at front and the cat ears pointing up. Eddie can pretty much guess that’s what hit his chin.

“Yeah, don’t– Don’t worry about it.” Dustin immediately got in between them both and handed his phone to Eddie.

“Holy shit, your Celty cosplay is so perfect! Can I have a picture with you?” A muffled giggle was heard behind the helmet and she nodded. Eddie got the camera app out on Dustin’s phone as the girl and him got in position for the picture and Eddie almost laughed at how Dustin was taking his tongue out as she poked his cheek with her black latex glove. Eddie took the picture and handed the phone to Dustin.

“Thank you! And sorry again pretty boy!” She says to Eddie and he was taken aback by how straightforward she was as she skipped away. 

“I love that character, and her cosplay was fucking spot on.” Dustin looked at the picture with a smile to his face and put his phone back into his pocket. Eddie believed that taking pictures with cosplayers that were just minding their own business as they walked was a little bit embarrassing, but they didn’t seem to mind, but kind of seemed delighted by it. Dustin explained to him that cosplayers don’t have to be bothered if seen eating or resting, or if you see them heading for a bathroom. 

Eddie nodded in acknowledgement at that as they kept walking, and he watched Dustin purchase many figurines from animes he liked, and Eddie wasn’t going to lie but there was a particular figure he found interest in. It was a demon looking guy with big black wings, an apple in one hand and he was hunched over.

“Who’s this?”

“That’s Ryuk, he’s from Death Note. I told you to watch that one, you will like it.” Eddie hums in approval, and he acknowledges Dustin’s recommendation noting to watch that later. 

When he finally reaches the cosplayer gallery… His jaw almost drops to the floor. 

There stood that Celty cosplay girl only this time, her helmet was off. 

You were smiling as you signed pictures of yourself as people purchased them from your stand. He cursed at himself for not knowing it was you the person he ran into an hour ago because if he knew, he would have gotten a picture with you as well. 

“Wanna go say hi to her?” Dustin asks as he smirks up at his friend and Eddie just scoffs, shaking his head.

“No. She is just your typical internet influencer, asking for donations for–” He blinked in surprise when he saw a few people walking over to you with shirts that said something in the back. You were smiling wildly as you excitedly talked to all of them. All of these people were grown adults, a few elderly ones, and when he squinted his eyes he could see what the shirts said in the back.

‘Epilepsy Foundation’

They were all purchasing prints for you as you tried to decline it, not wanting these people to buy stuff from you as you shook your head. They all still purchased a picture for you, and then when they all got together for a picture that another cosplayer helped take for all of you, he saw these people with bands over their foreheads that said your name. Eddie’s heart warmed immediately as he saw you wiping a tear away as these people clapped for you. There wasn’t a camera on sight to catch that moment, making it more intimate and more genuine.

“Dustin… I think I fell in love.”

Eddie became a fan.

He knew it and he didn’t care. You were kind, amazing, beautiful and selfless. He was waiting for the next convention to happen in town knowing there were a few ones that were small, just for the people around the area. He also donated any time he could, even if it were two dollars, or three, maybe sometimes ten, but it was always something. 

He was now laying on his bed, scrolling through tik tok and that’s when he got the notification of you going live on Instagram. His eyes almost bulged out of his skull and he immediately, desperately, pressed onto the notification, directing it straight to your live. He almost sighed out in happiness as he saw your face coming onto the screen. There was little to nothing of makeup on your face and he was just mesmerized as you greeted everyone.

He deliberated if to say hi to you or not. He gulped as he typed out a small ‘Hey’ and a smiley face which made him cringe and delete it. Would it be too cold? He wasn’t believing that you would see it anyways, so he just sent it like that. You were still greeting people and your eyes perked up suddenly.

“Oh, hi Eddie! Thank you for donating all this time, I am grateful for that!” 

He couldn’t believe it as he quickly sat up on his bed. His heart was in his throat as he stared at the screen completely speechless. You acknowledged him. You noticed his username is the same one he uses for the donation app. You know about him and… Fuck did he have cringey photos in his instagram feed? He knows he has one with Steve and then one with Dustin but he doesn’t know if–

What makes him think you stalked his instagram page? He shook his head at the thought and took a deep breath in as he typed in another message. You were talking about your upcoming events and he pressed send to his message.

‘Hopefully I have the balls to ask for your picture this time.’

Another message he doesn’t think you will see with over five hundred people watching your live, and that thought was proved wrong once more when you giggled as you fake gasped with a hand over your chest.

“Am I that scary? Also, how’s your chin?” 

Eddie’s jaw fell open, instantly. Holy fucking shit. Holy flying fuck. You remembered him. You remembered him from when he ran into you with Dustin a month ago… You stalked his instagram profile. You did. You obviously fucking did. It seems that you noticed your mistake because he saw how your face flushed as you tried changing subject back to the next event you will be attending. 

He was speechless right now. He was sure that there were many people donating hundreds, way more money than he was able to give out, yet you noticed him for some reason? What does it mean? Why does he feel hopeful? What for? He gulped as he looked at the screen, and confidence rose up in his chest as he wrote the following message.

‘You forgot to kiss it better.’

And his confidence only grew when you responded to him again with a smile to your face.

“Well, remind me of that at the next con.”

He was pissed. 

He was extremely pissed. 

He was being dragged here and there at the convention because it wasn’t just Dustin this time. Mike and Will came along and he didn’t want to leave them alone because they were acting like little kids all over again, going from stand to stand, from game to game, and all Eddie wanted to do was to rush towards the Cosplayer Alley to be able to meet you. 

“I am hungry.” Mike voices out as he doesn’t even ask for the group’s approval as he walks out to the food court that was outside. Eddie groans heavily as his anger just keeps raising up, and he gets the cigarettes out of his pocket and tells Dustin to just stay put at the hot dog stand. He walked away from the tables people were sitting at eating just to be respectful for the smoke and then, when he was about to light up his cigarette, a small voice was heard from behind him.

“Hey… Can I have a smoke?” 

He turned around to clash eyes with colored lenses that were in a blue tone. White hair dripped down again, but this time a half braid was around the head and towards the back. A white dress that had black dragon wings at the torso that held a white cape over her shoulders. 

“Well shit, I can’t believe Daenerys Targaryen is asking for a smoke.” Eddie was surprised he could make a joke as you finally giggle, a smile spreading over your lips, walking closer to him. His hands were shaking as he held onto his pack and opened it for you to take one stick out. You put it on your lips and he raised the lighter up as you leaned forward to light the cigarette up. After a long inhale, you finally let it out, a curtain of smoke filling the air above you.

“Yeah… This costume is… doing something today and I needed to relax a bit.” You say shyly as you look down towards the floor. Eddie’s heart was beating out of his throat, taking a drag out of his own cigarette this time as he looked at you. He looked behind him to see a beverage stand, licking his lips as he squinted his eyes and then back at you.

“You want a beer?” He didn’t even know if you liked beer, but he felt cupid shooting another arrow towards his chest when you looked up at him excitedly with a nod. 

“I would like that…” You both walk to the stand to get a can of beer each, and you giggle as you guide Eddie to move to the back of the stand so that no one could see you in your cosplay having alcohol and smoking.

“So secretive.” Eddie says and he didn’t even care if the others couldn’t find him anymore. Hell, they can get lost and he will most definitely ditch them if it meant to have a moment with you alone. You giggle as you squinted slightly at his face, biting your bottom lip in thought.

“What’s… your name?” You asked it with a hint of doubt behind it but Eddie didn’t notice it, or didn’t think too much of it.

“I’m Eddie–”

“I KNEW IT!” Eddie's heart jumped out of his mouth at your scream, his eyes widening as he looked at you who was looking at him with the brightest of smiles. “I knew it was you! You are Eddie!”

“I mean, I am Eddie…” His confidence was skyrocketing again. You remembered him, definitely, from his face to his hair, and you even recognized him from just instagram pictures, which only led Eddie to wonder… How many times have you looked at them?

“The guy who doesn’t dare to take a picture with me.” You smirk as you take a sip of your beer while looking at him. He scoffs as he rolls his eyes at you, but happiness was just blossoming inside of him as he looked at you.

“I do dare, I just don’t do this convention shit so I was embarrassed at first.” You hum at his words, taking a drag out of the cigarette. 

“If you don’t like them, why do you attend?” You ask him with a tilt of your head, completely confused by his response. He was speechless, his worst stumbling out of his mouth as he thought of an excuse other than just blurting out ‘Because of you’.

“M-My buddy always needs someone to accompany him… For support.” At that you made an ‘Oh’ sound, giving him a nod in understanding.

“The guy that I took a picture with when I smashed your chin?” You ask with a giggle and he felt like dying at the sound of your lovely voice. He chuckles, nodding down at you as he takes a sip of his beer.

“Yep.”  You seemed like you wanted to say something to him but you held back, taking a sip out of your beer and Eddie could feel you ogling him over your cup. He wanted to ask the gods above if this was a trick of theirs, a stupid joke or a trial he had to go through because it wasn’t possible that a girl like you was looking at him with desire. It was impossible.

“Really… Then why did you come here if your friend… is with friends?” You were smirking now as he snapped out of his trance and you gave him a nod towards his back, making him turn around only to see Dustin laughing along with Mike and Will as they sat on a table eating their corn dogs. He winced in embarrassment as he turned to face you again.

“I am their ride.” He lied. He offered to be the ride. Mike told him there was no need, but Eddie refused. 

“And you are drinking?” 

“One beer isn’t going to kill me.” Eddie replies back and you were now looking at him, a small smile on your lips and Eddie had one thought only at that moment. One that he never thought of having. A thought that just came to him and now he realizes it has been a fantasy ever since he saw you.

He wants to fuck you in one of your cosplays.

“Oh… thought you were coming to finally ask to take a picture with me.” You say in a sultry tone as you took a drag out of your cigarette and Eddie immediately felt the tension growing between the two of you. He licked the inside of his bottom lip as he looked down at you. A smirk spread on his lips and he noticed how you straightened up, a small step forward going towards him. 

You were pure in his eyes, doing all this cosplay stuff, doing charity, being incredible with the people that followed you, but he never thought you would ever look at someone like him like this. He never thought you would be this willing at the first interaction you had with him… But if he was reading the signs right, and if he was daring enough, he might get to fuck Daenerys Targaryen. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. So might as well–

“I actually came here to ask you for your picture… and a date.” 

And Eddie’s heart was taken away once more as you smirked at him, taking another step closer to him and you responded in a low and seductive tone that sent shivers down his spine and adrenaline started rushing inside of him. 

“I’m free after the event.” He took another step closer to you, and he noticed the intake of breath you took in, making him grin widely.

“Yeah, I think you promised to kiss it better… Didn’t you sweet girl?”

idk man, i just couldn't stop writing this, acknowledgement to all my cosplay girlies out there.

Smutty part 2? Let's hear at what Eddie should fuck her in.

[istharoth]

In love with a 2-D Character?! Vagastrom Edition!

Blurb: In which you are a character in a popular game the Tokyo debunker boys are coincidentally in love with.

↪ Alan Mido:

Also in the doesn't play games category.

He just sees Leo playing the game, and then he sees Tohma play the game and is a bit curious so he downloads it.

There's not much to do, it's a usual tapping game, and he can get behind it!

Cue the character selection screen where he accidentally chooses a random character which just happened to be you.

He doesn't see you until the second chapter, hearing the rumours about you killing someone gets him a bit curious.

THEN YOU COME INTO PICTURE AND GAH DAMN, You're so strong and caring but don't know how to express your love.

You're so. *sigh* He doesn't know how to explain it. He just finds you absolutely adorable and wants to be there with you to protect you.

He tries to get pictures with cosplayers following Tohma's example but he's only gotten a few pictures.

TRADITIONAL ART?! Traditional art. Has Sho take good pictures of his art and posts them on Twitter, very wholesome, very demure.

"The one time you're in love and it's a fictional character." - Leo probably.

His luck is unexpectedly very good. Gets all your editions, sometimes even doubles.

*Cue a card of you in an onsen* The very second someone shows him the picture, that's all he can think of. Cannot wait for when his work is done so he can play the game and potentially pull for your card.

Does not understand gacha rates. Alan: *does a ten pull. Doesn't get a character.* The game is broken, he'll try again at a later time.

Isn't the collector type, you just love him too much so you come home immediately. [his SR warding card loves me more than his SR loves me...alan come home, the kids miss you.]

↪ Leo Kurosagi

Only played the game because his Twitch chat asked him to. He asks them to select a character for him and they choose you.

He does not like you at first glance and selects another character, who coincidentally happens to be your friend.

He plays the second chapter while streaming and when the scene of you whimpering telling the man to put the knife down comes up, he hates you more.

Cue the transition of you being an absolute demon as the chapter passes.

You're an asshole? Sexy. [I read this in Na Jaemin's voice. *head in hands*]

You plan on killing him? and you're smart? and you manipulate?? Okay maybe you're not that bad...you're annoying, sure, but he doesn't hate you.

He's deluding himself into thinking he doesn't like you but every time you appear on screen, he has to stop himself from giggling like a highschooler who has a crush on someone.

He has a crush on you, he just doesn't know it yet.

He's the embodiment of "I hate this character" - puts up posters of the character on his wall.

His fans send him your merch just to spite him because they think he hates you. He doesn't particularly care about his fans, but he's frothing at the mouth whenever someone gives him your merchandise.

He doesn't spend his hard-earned money on you, but he uses the accounts of those old men he scammed to get you.

May or may not have had Sho cosplay you only to tell him he ruins your charm.

↪ Sho Haizono

Very casual player, likes a select few characters, says he plays for the gameplay but plays for the story.

Likely got into it because Leo and Alan were playing it, then he saw Subaru playing it, went "okay, peer pressure."

Based on the selection, he got the idea you were a delinquent, sure, and you had a nice voice. But nothing much about you? he selects you anyway because why not.

THERE YOU ARE IN THE PROLOGUE and he's absolutely loving the attitude. Disrespecting the cat-boy chancellor? Heck yeah.

Plays through the second chapter where you come up, a bit annoyed by your lack of will to do anything but relatable.

He likes your bike though, very cool. 10/10 would go on long night rides with you.

After he learns you like cooking and that your friend is really just like a toxic-ex-significant other, he really starts appreciating you. You went from 'okay' to 'I love you' scale real quick.

Whatever dishes you mention, he's going to make them right then and there, he'll put the game on pause and go into the kitchen just to make it.

He may or may not have cosplayed you once [The Fox Robe does cosplays too, I TRUST. If free clothes then cosplay? yes.] or more than once.

Has a plushie of you and those little mini plushie keychains attached to his keys. Has jewellery based on you, my boy is not down bad, he's just so in love with your design and you.

Probably has more things that remind him of you than your actual merch.

Candles? Candles based on you? Yes.

Prev [Frostheim] Next [Jabberwock]

[notthecutesttrash]

Stop One

Content: On Halloween night you decide to meet up with your friends. Only to be stopped at the train station by a horrible sight.

Warnings: Drabble! Mahito, dark, blood, death, yandere.

Word count: 1151

There’s blood leaking towards your feet. You’re stuck in place, wide-eyed. Quivering helplessly as you grasp the scene.

Abnormally shaped figures that were once normal people scatter on the ground. All sickening sizes and colors range from purple to blue.

Your lips are pursed tight, watching as three- no five figures casually huddle around one another. One man has stitches all over his body, another with spiky hair, and the last wore a purple robe. The other two... aren’t remotely even human.

Where did this all go wrong? 

Just a few moments ago you were getting prepared to go out for Halloween. You just got off a call with your friends who invited you to a party, and you got yourself all dolled up, costume on, ready to go to the train station. Everyone around you had the same idea. Occasionally you’d get a nice conversation out of some funny cosplayers or women wearing catsuits. Hands wrapping around the metal bar, you were so captured in your talk you didn’t notice the train skidding to a stop. 

Your eyes are still caught on a lady beside you who is dressed in a bunny one-piece, adorned with matching ears. “I love your costume,” was the compliment you gave her, and she grinned, making a joke about how it was tight enough to rush off to the ER.

She then waved and you reciprocated kindly, mimicking the focus on the sliding doors. A little ding echoed as they opened and you waited patiently for everyone to begin strolling.

However a few seconds passed, and no one was still moving.

You blinked when everyone appeared rigid. Soon after sounds of shock exited people's mouths. Curiously, you had gathered onto the tips of your toes to see past the tall men in front of you.

You weren't able to see much, but your vision managed to catch a small flicker of red before your feet fell. A scream rushed out of someone nearby and you covered your ears at the sound. Ow, sheesh, did they have to do that now? 

Suddenly a figure pushed you to the ground by shoving your shoulders back. With that, the crowd followed, almost trampling you as they ran through the other door. A clear pathway to the scene was revealed, and you gasped in horror.

Blood was dripping down the sides of the pavement, spreading into a puddle that decorated the train tracks. A blue-haired man turned to the panicked crowd. He had a terribly unsettling ear-to-ear grin, and you rushed to your feet, sprinting the opposite way

A slurred mumbled voice erupted behind you. “Kill me, please, kill me.”

A weight slapped your back and you nearly tripped again. Turning, you saw a teal-morphed monster with mismatched uneven lids that were dripping with tears. Its hanging wide mouth opens to repeat the phrase, and you let out a screech as it neared you.

Your palms met the mush and drove it as far back as you could, dashing to the station's stairs. Others were desperately trying to achieve the same goal, and because of the mutual rush, you were pushed to the side.

Mustering a few steps through the mass, a pair of boots eventually slapped you in the ankle. You tumbled down the stairs and your head smacked against the pavement.

Your vision blurred, and the grunts that made their way out eased into nothing as your head lulled to the side. 

“Ugh, why do they always look the same before they die?” 

“Because they’re human.” 

“Yeah, and this is why I hate them.” 

Blinking groggily, you take a moment before managing to notice the ceiling lights blaring into your retinas. There’s an aching throb in your head and the voices that talk nearby have you wincing. Raising slowly to the sight, a small hiss escapes.

The figures ahead of you are too caught in their conversation to notice you.

At the stairs, there are dozens of bodies cascading against each other. All the people you saw shove you out of the way were lying dead in pools of their own blood. Because of the slipperiness, you're not likely to make a prompt escape there. There is a chance you might be able to dart past the group, but to where? The end of the station? And besides, there are 3 men, and 2... who knows what just standing there like nothing happened. That wasn't a good chance. Might even be worse than possibly tripping.

Steadily your palms press against the floor, readying yourself to stand. The movement of your arm shifts something to your side. Something heavy and slimy. You hold your breath as you observe a slain corpse poking your waist. Their neck is twisted horribly, and their eyes are rolled back, only white revealing. The thud of the head falls near you, echoing loudly. Gagging, you stuff your hand to your mouth, the horrified whimper escaping too quickly.

The room has an instantaneous heavy silence, and the group turns to you, a horrifying scowl accompanying their motion.

“Looks like you left one Mahito," one speaks.

“Aw really? I was sure I got them all.” The one with the rampant stitches glances your way. Sighing, he walks towards you. A gasp escapes as he nears.

You rush to crawl back, but you’re promptly halted by a wet squelch against your neck. Squealing out, the man laughs, pausing to watch the pitifulness. It's quiet as your gaze meets his and he smirks. Your pulse stammers and your mouth opens to plea.

He crouches in front of you, features a few inches from yours. It's then you can see the different colored eyes and the stitches clearly that adorn him. He hums, tilting his head.

"I think I like you. I'll keep you."

You're taken aback, completely frozen, yet he grins almost politely.

A scoff sounds from the group. “Don’t be ridiculous, we have no time for playthings.” 

The one with the spiky hair shrugs, “As long as I don’t have to deal with it."

Then another. The robed one beams nicely, though you struggled to find the sweetness in that one. “I don’t mind. Now, as long as you take responsibility and deal with it when she tries to escape.” 

The man in front of you scoffs. "That not's going to happen."

He smiles and leans closer to you, his fingers curling around your stained hair. “Because you’re going to be my pet now. Won't that be so fun?” He chuckles and you're on the verge of tears.

He pets your locks, almost loving the way it feels beneath his fingers and the way you flinch at the action. The tug at his lips stretches wider as he thinks of all the things he’s going to do to you.

And when you stared into those shameless eyes, you knew this was a fate worse than death. 

[dearweirdme]

One thing that made me stop believing that Taekook is real was when Taehyung posted that Taekook Dream photo on his IG only to be seen going on a late night date with Jennie in Paris a few days after. It made me feel like he posted that TK photo on purpose to feed shippers and keep them occupied while he went to Paris with the person whom he was really in a relationship with.

I know you also think the video was real and not edited in any ways and definitely those were not cosplayers, but then you seemed to convince yourself that everything was just media play even when it was clear that Paris walk was a "soft launch".

I never questioned the bond that Taekook have. We can all see how close they are. I would have love to think it was more than a platonic relationship, but their dating rumors are telling me otherwise and Paris was the last straw for me.

I think Taekook do fanservice as a way to help each other cover up as to whom they are really dating. They do stuff like the Wooga ring, Hello Kitty plushie, the ILY sign, the stares etc etc to feed shippers so when dating rumors emerge, no one would believe in those rumors. Do I make sense?

Hi anon!

I don’t really feel like having yet another conversation about why I feel Taennie isn’t real. I mean, look through my tag system and you’ll find everything I have said on it in the past. I will say something on why I don’t feel you make sense though.

You’re basically contradicting yourself. You think it was a soft launch, but at the same time Tae needed to use Jk to hide his relationship with Jennie. When you soft launch something, you don’t also try to hide it. To me it also makes no sense at all for him to use a rumored queer relationship to hide a straight one. We’re talking about a hugely homophobic country here.

I think your thoughts are heavily based in heteronormative thinking. Because Jk and Tae are just as much a rumored relationship as any of the straight rumored ones. Theirs is the only rumored one though in which we have gotten actual organic clues from (opposed to Taennie which was all fed to us from outsiders).

I would like you to think about this… All throughout his career Tae has been given the narrative of weird/outsider/alienish. When he was a rookie he wasn’t allowed to be visible with the other members until their debut. He then was said to be quirky. His friendships outside of BTS were somewhat used to set him aside. His talk with Jk in ITS was edited in a way that made him look like the one who caused a rift; using his mental health issues. AYS once again put him in a narrative of being a guest.. amongst two people he is super close with. What effect do you think Taennie has had on his image…? It’s once again something that’s made him stand aside. It’s something that for Army’s made him connected to Blinks. It made him part of a dating scandal. In the wider context, Taennie is just another narrative Hybe stuck to him to make him susceptible to fandom criticism.

You are free to think Jk thought about ways to trick shippers before doing his first live in a year.. and came up with the brilliant idea of the Hello Kitty plush.. which ofcourse he made sure to pack up in a convenient place just for this occasion before moving house. I am however convinced that the plushie actually means something to him.

[orangecarton]

Nordic Bunny x Reader WP (W.I.P.)

(Sorry in advance ;-;)

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TW: Swearing

Honestly this isn't your best moment. You kinda got scammed out of 20 bucks for what you thought was a cheap cosplay of an alien soldier and when you put on said costume you got screamed at to "get back to the ship" and got kidnapped by some purple fish looking creatures. Next thing you know you're in outer space in, what you can only assume is, some sorta Ren Faire for space dorks. It looked pretty cool, but people kept trying to put you to work and getting you to larp with them, talking about some "Ruler of the Galaxy" and "Nightmare to Humanity". It was all really charming but right about now is when you were starting to get the munchies, so naturally you went on the prowl for some poor vending machine and/or food cabinet.

Without any helpful signs around to guide you through this maze of Star Wars ride at Disneyworld and Metallica's love child, you got lost. After walking for a while you start to hear shouting. A sign of life, and perhaps snacks (or at the very least water. Because GOD DAMN was it getting hot). Walking closer the shouts got louder and you could make out some words.

"ANOTHER FAILURE! WHO THE HELL THOUGHT CRABS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA?!"

"Um, you did... sir."

"SHUT UP, DUM DUM! Are you calling me STUPID?!"

You reached the door and it automatically slid open, just in time for you to see one of your fellow cosplayers get zapped and turned into feathers by an extremely tall guitar monster. In this life or death situation you know it is important for you do react with dignity and poise, as to survive and stay alive. So you respond in kind,

"HOLY SH*T, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! OH MY GOD?!"

Your panicked state causing you to just freeze in place, stuttering and mumbling utter nonsense.

"Excuse me? YOU DARE INSULT AND MOCK ME?? YOUR FEARSOME RULER??!?"

The guitar man struts closer, is it wearing platforms??? He (???) Raises his hand, the one that shot the guy before you (rest in piece). You stumble back and scream,

"AHHHH DONT SHOOT ME PLEASE!! I HAVE BANANAS IN THE FREEZER I STILL NEED TO BAKE INTO BANANA BREAD. They've been in there for months, BUT I PROMISE I'M GOING TO GET TO IT I SWEAR!!"

He falters, and in this moment you take in his appearance. He had a dark robotic and skeletal build, donning some sick ass platform boots, a leather cap, a red tie, and huge shoulder pads. His face was that of an electric guitar, rocking red eyes and scarlet lipstick, and... wait is he just in his underwear?

"What the- You're a human?!"

He lowers his hand and you let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah... I'm a human. What about it?"

"How did you get up here?! Into my IMMENSELY IMPENETRABLE EVIL HEADQUARTERS?!"

"... I walked."

"...Oh."

You both kinda sat in awkward silence for a bit. The issue from before had presented itself once again when your stomach let out a noise that even Godzilla would be jealous of.

"You uh... got any snacks man?" You asked, the fear from before subsiding and your fallen brother in arms forgotten (R.I.P Nathan). Guitar man™ looks at you quizically, then turns around and whispers to himself (you could still hear though because he isn't a very quiet person).

"If I befriend this human... I'll be able to infiltrate the Earth AND TAKE IT OVER THUS BECOMING THE GRAND IMPERIAL EMPORER AND MOST EXTREME BEARER OF AWESOMENESS WHO HAS LOTS OF FRIENDS AND NEVER HAS TO HANG OUT ALONE!! MUAHAHAHA!!!"

"Sooooo... is that a no?"

He turns back around and smiles wickedly,

"Come now human! I will grant you snacks and in return you will become my friend, hang out with me, tell me all of humanities weaknesses and how to defeat Shred Force!"

"Yeah ok." You shrug.

He grabs your arm and just about drags you with him as he strides down the hallway. You stumble but manage to keep pace.

"Hey what's your name anyway?"

"You, my fair accomplice, can call me Nordic Bunny. RULER OF THE GALAXY AND NIGHTMARE TO HUMANITY"

"Cool cool."

What the hell have you gotten yourself into (Seinfeld credits play)

(Sorry for the bad grammar, here's a little doodle for compensation)

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[ewingstan]

Halloween and cringetober may be behind us, yet I remain, coughing this up onto your back porch. Alec Lisa and Aisha were the only ones who enjoyed the costume party. Individuals and costume explanations below the cut:

Aisha and Brian: Power and Aki Hayakawa Chainsaw Man

This one goes out to the nine-year old I work with who wore a Denji costume for the school Halloween parade. Shoutout to you guy I don't know how you're allowed to watch that its the blood and sexual fantasies show.

I feel like miss suiciding-baiting-people-on-4chan would like Power. Aki works for Brian as they carry the "supposedly normal responsible one of their batshit group who very clearly has something wrong with him" niche of their series.

I feel like CSM is something that Brian and Alec would put on in the background when they were hanging out together. It's not really either of their thing, but it good pizza night fodder. Brian freaks out when Aisha mentions watching it.

Brian agreed to be Aki after he learned he could just wear a suit instead of making a real costume. Brian obviously likes objectively ridiculous costumes but it has to be something strained through 5 layers of machismo and a 17-year-old's idea of professionalism. He'll dress like something that gets painted onto a van but if there's too much whimsy or fun he'll start to freak. So halloween costumes would be weird for him. Aki just wearing a suit and a sword seemed like a good solution for this right up until the point where he had to explain what it was. Its from, hm, y'know, uhhhh this anime that my sister likes I'm just here to match with her.

Whenever he pulls the "I'm just in costume for my sister" thing Aisha makes everyone forget she exists. No escaping the weeb allegations for you Brian.

Taylor and Lisa: Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi, Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Don't know if I need to explain this one, Worm/Madoka comparisons are almost cliche at this point

The costumes were Lisa's idea. Obviously.

The costumes were also Lisa's purchases, and enough was spent on them to make a veteran cosplayer weep. Her refusal to die her hair black would also make them weep but for different reasons.

After taking a look at herself Taylor enveloped herself in a particularly dense bug swarm for the whole night.

She eventually retreated to some side-room she found Brian hiding in and chatted with him for the rest of the party. On the condition that he make a darkness cloud for her.

She started choking on a prawn half an hour in after remembering he could see through his darkness clouds.

Rachel and Alec: Jade Harley and Dirk Strider, Homestuck

They are not going as a matching pair. Rachel does not know that she and Alec are wearing costumes from the same comic. She does not know what Homestuck is. This is one of the many ways she's better than us.

Rachel thinks she should've just been able to wear her usual dog mask for this party. Its a costume. What do you mean it doesn't count.

And why is her usual mask not enough, but the dog ears Cassie was really excited to loan her are fine? Aren't ears less costume than a full mask?

Admittedly apart from the pseudo-mind-control Alec and Dirk don't have a lot in common. Alec probably thinks he's more like Dirk than he actually is.

Dirk is if the concept of being in your own head was a guy, nay several guys, while Alec literally has to outsource getting in touch with his emotions to other bodies. Honestly the closest worm character to Dirk would probably be Krouse, considering the whole "chessmaster-manipulator who puts everything on himself and overmanages all his relationships while self-identifying as the person who can handle being the bad guy" thing, which Alec doesn't have going on at all. However:

It let me put Alec in a silly little fancylad outfit.

(Also they're both SB&HJ fans, so honestly I think its the perfect choice).

[meowmeowriley]

Convention Commotion

With help from the lovely @tactax-art, who encouraged me and drew the art for me, this is a lil continuation of the previous cosplayer AU for my beloved Costume Anon ❤ Hope everyone enjoys 😉 proper art near the end of the fic.

***

What had started as his uncle taking pity on him for not being able to go to a convention by himself, had become a tradition of sorts. Any time uncle John was on leave, he'd ask Andy if there were any conventions. And any time there were, they'd meet up with Simon.

"Ye cannae call him Simon, Andy. It's Lieutenant Ghost, or Lt., or Mr. Riley. Or anythin' else, really. Just show him some respect." Uncle John had chastised him after he'd asked once if Simon was gonna be at convention they'd just arrived at.

"Until he joins the army, Johnny, I'll have none of that nonsense." Uncle John had jumped out of his skin (Andy had too, but that was less surprising. He wasn't a highly trained soldier, after all.) when the big fucker had snuck up on them and began speaking. "Just Simon is fine, Andy."

"Chew ma banger, uncle John." He'd said with a shit eating grin, before ducking out of the way of his uncles swipes.

So they'd taken to meeting up with Simon at conventions. Andy had realized two things rather quickly. One: there was undeniable chemistry between the two of them, and two: neither one of them was going to make a move on the other.

They danced around each other. Flirting, but in a "ha ha, I'm only gay for the joke" kinda way. They stared at one another, getting lost in each others eye's in a sickening display of obviously clear affection. God forbid one didn't catch the other's eye, either, because when that happened the one staring would take on this dreamy dopey smile. They were constantly touching. Brushing up against one another, putting their hands on the other's shoulder, or back, or thigh.

They were disgusting. It was adorable. And he had to share it. Because if Andy could see how perfect they were together, so would the internet. 28,000 followers on tiktok later, and every convention they went to, Andy filmed the whole thing. He'd divvy up the videos and get months worth of content, to tide them over till his uncles next leave. Simon and uncle John had no idea how large their fan base was. Or how feral. Those who weren't hard-core shipping the two together, were vying for the attention of one or the other, or both, in the comments.

For most, though, they'd lose their minds with every little interaction. Every gentle touch, prolonged moment of eye contact, soft smile, or act of service from one man to the other, and their fans were swooning, and it seemed all their waiting was finally paying off. Or, at least, Simon was now aware of John's feelings, though how he'd found out was less than ideal.

***

Soap was ecstatic. After the Spiderman and Deadpool totally-not-couples-costumes went over so well with other patrons at their last convention, Andrew had assured them that their tiktok fans were over the moon for them as well, Simon had agreed to do more comic book stuff with him. While Soap had wanted to be Deadpool, he couldn't deny how well it suited Ghost to be the merc with a mouth. Soap hadn't known beforehand how much the man loved katanas, nor that he even knew how to use them. More important than his skill with the (in this case fake) blades, however, was Simon's ass in that outfit. Which had led him down a rabbit hole of sorts. Yes, it was the source of plenty of wet dreams both before and after seeing him in spandex, but that wasn't what this was about. No, after seeing Ghost dressed as Deadpool with his nearly godly physique, John couldn't help but think of the superior comic book company: DC. Ghost would make an incredible Red Hood, and Soap had wanted to be Nightwing since he was a lad. After voicing that desire, Ghost had agreed, and got to work on the costumes.

At some point during the process, Gaz had found him deep in his work and asked Ghost about it. He then promptly kicked down Soap's door to yell at him for not telling him about their 'convention dates' he wouldn't hear of it that they weren't dates.

"So Gaz is comin' now." He'd said in lieu of greeting when he'd entered Ghost's room that night.

"Mhmm." Ghost had nodded and continued to work away at his sewing machine. "Said he had a matching cosplay. 'Red Robin', he'd called it. Assured me it was different from mine. Tried to tell him I wouldn't know or care, I just enjoy makin the costumes." Soap had made himself comfy on Ghost's bed, and pulled out his journal to doodle. Ghost continued. "Roach is tagging along too, said he has a costume for Blue Beetle. Said it's not Batman related, but it's the same comic franchise."

"Blue Beetle's costume is pretty sick, that'll be cool." Soap had been a little down in that moment that the others would be tagging along, and he'd no longer have Ghost to himself, but he got over it quickly. They were still his friends. "We should drag Price along. Bring the whole team."

"You convince him to go, and just tell me what to make."

And now here they were. The 141, arguably the worlds most elite counterterrorism task force, dressed up as various DC characters. At a cosplay convention. Soap had never felt hotter.

Andy had hit it off with Roach pretty much immediately, the two of them talking at length about tiktok of all things. Soap wasn't aware that Roach had one. They couldn't convince Price to wear a costume, but that was okay. Several people approached him and said his Dum Dum Dugan colspay was cool, resulting in all three of his sergeants cackling at his confusion.

"You can't smoke that in here, boss." Ghost had whispered when Price placed a cigar in his mouth.

"I'm not. It's for emotional support." It fueled other peoples assumptions that he was cosplaying a marvel character, is what it was doing.

As was usual for a convention with Simon and his incredible cosplays, they were stopped by tons of people for pictures, and Andy recorded everything.

"Excuse me." Their group turned around to see a man in red, maroon, and gold robes of some sort.

"Oh, cool! Prince Zuko!" Well at least Roach knew who he was.

"Oh, uh, my friends call me Costume An-... You know what? Yeah. Just Zuko works. Can I get a picture of you guys?" Everyone nodded or gave the guy some sort of affirmative, and he turned specifically to Gaz and Ghost. "Do you know the panel where Tim kicks Jason in the balls? Can you do that? It's my favorite."

Soap knew the panel. Gaz knew the panel. Ghost certainly did not. All eyes were on him. He shrugged. "I'm wearing a cup." Gaz had the most feral grin Soap had ever seen him with. In hindsight, that should've been their warning.

"Right, Lt., you're gonna stand here," Gaz placed Ghost with his back to the cameras held by both Zuko and Andy. He used his foot to guide Ghost's stance wider. "Like that. Perfect. Everyone ready?" Gaz had the cheek to wink at Andy's camera.

He reared back.

And gave it everything he had.

That cup could only do Simon so much good.

Everyone winced as Ghost crumpled. "Gaz what the bloody fuck?!"

Price was barely keeping a straight face. He used his hand to grab his cigar and hide his failure. "Haven't heard your voice that high since you enlisted, Simon."

"He's dead." Soap whispered.

"You're dead." Roach informed Gaz as he made his way away from Ghost, who was still crouched on the floor.

"I'm dead." Gaz agreed, albeit with a shit eating grin. "Worth it, though. Bastard used me as a training dummy for forty-five goddamn minutes yesterday!" Soap had seen the aftermath, Ghost was pissed at some rookies and dragged poor Gaz into the ring to blow off some steam. The bruising all over Gaz's body were no joke.

"You said you weren't going to hold it against me!" Ghost wheezed.

"I lied!" Gaz shot back.

"Dude..." Andy definitely felt bad for poor Ghost, as did Soap.

"Man I needed those working." He bemoaned. Talk about foot in mouth, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Oh, d'you two get your shit together? I'm sorry, I guess." Gaz laid a hand on Soap's shoulder.

"You'll apologize to him and not to me?!" Ghost's voice was marginally less strained and more angry.

"I was apologizing for accidentally cockblocking you two. I didn't know." Well neither did Ghost! John thought angrily.

"WHAT?!"

"GAZ!"

Gaz clearly realized his mistake, because Ghost was on his feet, and Soap himself was fuming at being outed like that. He bolted. Soap gave chase, and could hear Ghost charging after as well.

***

Andy turned to their new buddy, Zuko. "You'll send those to me, right?" He asked.  He didn't really feel like Simon deserved that, but damn was it funny.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Zuko asked.

"Ghost has taken worse hits. Gaz might need medical leave when they catch him though." Roach said while laughing. Soldiers were weird. But damn tiktok was gonna love this. Maybe they would finally get their shit together after they finish breaking their friend's legs.

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Shopping trip (What is cosplay?)

Self-Aware! Nikolai Gogol x GN! Reader x Self-Aware! Doppo Kunikida

Description: Set after BSD gang got into your world.

Your new friends/roommates love exploring your world. You keep them company. One day, you and Kunikida decide to go to the mall. Gogol wants to accompany you two. The problem is... He doesn't want to disguise himself. He wants to go in his normal attire.

...

Maybe, everything will be alright, right?

Fluff (for the most part). Everyone thinks that Gogol is a cosplayer. He is ready to throw hands. But he is holding for your sake. People can't mind their own business, they have to discuss, how terrible anime fans are. Karen. Kunikida, as a former teacher, has something to say about looking after the kids.

Prequel to Surprise

Warning: OOC. Rude people. Annoying people. Karen. Rowdy unsupervised kids. One person try to touch Gogol's thighs. But not on your watch. Unintentional lockdown joke. English is my second language.

BSD cast love exploring your world. They love going for a walks. They love visiting cafés. They love going to the festivals. They love to be in places, where they can see other people.

You understand, why they doing it. If one day you woke up and find out, that streets are empty, and then lived in this environment for a few month (even, if you life with few other people), when streets became bisy again, you also would spend all your free time outside. With other people.

You accompany your new friends as much as you can. So many new good memories.

The mall became one of the most visited places. All this shops, cafés, people... For BSD cast, this place seems perfect.

Each time you and someone from BSD cast visit the mall, it became an interesting experience.

You visit the mall not only to have fun, but also to buy necessary things.

Today was 'necessary shopping trip day'.

________________________

Doppo was sitting on the sofa and rechecking the shopping list for a third time. He wanted to make sure, that everything is going to be according to plan. You lazily stretched out and sit near Doppo.

"Hey, Kunikida," greeted you. Man smiles at you and nodded.

"Good morning, [Y/N], Hope, you are ready. We will go to the mall in thirty minutes. The shopping list is complete and has been re-checked a few times."

You hum, showing, that you have heard him. You take a quick glance at the list.

"I see, Thank you, K..." You saw Kunikida's expression. He was waiting for something. You take a breath and spoke again. "Thank you, Doppo"

It was a little bit hard, calling BSD gang by their first names. It feels strange, to call Dazai 'Osamu', Goncharov 'Ivan', Poe 'Edgar' and so on. But, cast want you to call them by their first names. Slowly but surely you were getting used to it.

Doppo nodded, he seems pleased.

"Don't mention it. Be ready in half an hour. We three are going to..."

"Wait!" Interrupted you. "Three? Who is going with us?"

Kunikida's gaze became irritated.

"Nikolai Gogol."

Kolya, of course. He was one of the weirdest of your friends.

And by weird, you mean, your friendship with him start weird.

_______________________

It's been a week, since BSD gang got into your world. That day all of you held the meeting. You wanted to discuss, what they are going to do now, when they got into your world.

Meeting was normal, for the most part. But, Gogol decided to start talking about his freedom and that he will do anything to reach it.

"What I mean, Little Bird, if I want to break the law, I will break the law," Gogol leaned towards you. He looked smug. Like he was challenging you to say something.

You didn't look amused. You noticed Fyodor's expression during Gogol's speech. Dostoevsky looked annoyed by Gogol... Actually, everyone looked annoyed at Gogol. Well, you won't let him win.

Your idea was... weird. But, to be fair, the whole situation with characters from your favorite anime/manga been self-aware and in your home already was bizarre.

"So, you really value freedom, right?"

Asked you, looking Gogol right in the eyes. He grinned and nodded.

"Well, in that case," you booped his nose. "I also value my freedom. And right now, for me, freedom means booping your nose."

Gogol blinked. He opens his mouth. You booped him again. Gogol tried to say something again. You booped him again. This time, you left your finger pressed against Gogol's nose. He squinted his eyes. "[Y/N], what are you doing?"

You tried your best to mimic Gogol's voice.

"What I mean, Big Bird, if I want to boop you, I will boop you"

The room was silent. Everyone was looking at you and Gogol. Suddenly, you saw a golden glow near your stomach. Before you can react, Gogol used "The Overcoat" and trapped you in his embrace. Gogol was laughing. Gogol jumped towards Fyodor, still holding you in his arms.

"Fedya, Fedya, their reaction was priceless!"

Fyodor took a breath.

"I still don't understand, why did you decide to test them. You never planned to cause trouble here."

Gogol only grins. He looked at you. He looked much friendlier, than before.

"You are my new friend now, we will eat something tasty later"

For the rest of the meeting, you were in Gogol's embrace. It took combine efforts of Fyodor, Sigma and Fukichi to pry him off you.

____________________

You smile at the memory.

"Well, with his help we could buy more things. Don't you agree?"

Kunikida grumbles something, but nodded at agreement.

"I guess so. Anyway, we should start preparations."

______________________

In thirty minutes, both of you were ready to go to the mall and were standing near the front door, waiting for Nikolai.

You changed into suitable clothes for today's hot weather.

Instead of his normal clothes, Kunikida was wearing a green t-shirt, dark-brown shorts and flip-flops. He decides to keep his hair as it normally was.

Kunikida started to become impatient. Gogol was late.

"This clown... He himself wanted to go, and now he is late" grumble Kunikida. You put your hand on his shoulder and squeeze it.

"Easy, Doppo, it's not that bad. Maybe, he is trying to disguise himself better. His looks are quite recognizable.

It was one of the first things you taught to BSD gang. They were recognizable. That's why they should wear different clothes, when they are going somewhere. If they don't want to deal with people staring at them.

Kunikida grimaced. He doesn't like unplanned events. And Gogol was an embodiment of chaos. Kunikida turn towards you.

"I know, but still, he should be ready"

You pet Kunikida's shoulder.

You heard the sound of steps coming towards two of you. Gogol, with a few empty shopping bags in his hands, walked towards you two.

You were glad, that Kunikida didn't see Gogol right now.

Nikolai Gogol was standing there, in his normal attire and hairstyle.

You are a patient person. But, right now, you wanted to attack Kolya.

To lose some steam, you decide to indirectly quote O. Henry.

"Doppo, there isn't any heart disease in your family, is there?"(1)

Doppo looked at you, puzzled.

"I don't think so... Why?"

You looked at him. Your gaze was a mix of pity and anger.

"Then you might turn around, and have a look behind you."(1)

Kunikida looked around and saw Gogol.

Kunikida closes and opens his mouth. He looked like he was ready to combust.

To help him, you asked Gogol.

"Gogol, why aren't you ready? It's time to go."

Gogol smirked.

"Birdy, I am already ready. You know why? Right, I want the rest of the free world to accept free me! My clothes also part of my freedom."

Kunikida hissed.

"Do you forget, what Our Guiding Light told us? We are recognizable in our normal clothes! Everyone will stare at you!"

You nodded

"Doppo is right, we would attract unwanted attention."

Gogol waves his hand.

"Oh, don't worry, it can't be that bad. Everything will be fine."

You signed and try again.

"Gogol, please, you need to listen to me. Please, wear a disguise."

Gogol grimaced.

"[Y/N], please, stop it. I tell you I want to go in my normal clothes."

You facepalmed. Before Kunikida can start shouting at Gogol, you raised your hand.

"Fine. You can go in that. But don't blame me, for what's going to happen."

Kunikida wanted to protect, but, after noticing your gaze, changed his mind. Gogol looked triumphant.

You open the door.

"Be ready to be called cosplayer, Gogol."

You heard Gogol's quiet "What is 'cosplay'?", but you ignored him.

Hopefully, people at the streets won't be that annoying.

__________________

You jinxed it.

You haven't reached the mall yet, but twenty people has already annoyed Gogol into taking pictures with him.

The five-minute walk from home to the mall became a fifteen-minute walk.

You had a feeling, that everyone wants to have a photo with"cool cosplayer".

At first, Gogol was fine with having his photos taken.

But then you run into a group of rowdy fans.

They crowded around Gogol, pushing you and Doppo from their way.

"You looked like a real one!"

"Cool costume, dude!"

"The scar looks so real!"

"How much have you paid for the costume?"

"Do you want to read my smut fanfic about Fyolai?"

"Can I grab your things?"

Doppo's eyebrow twitched.

"[Y/N]... Is this normal behavior of 'BSD fans'?" Spited Doppo. You shake your head.

"No, of course not. This people are just jerks."

Gogol looked annoyed. He agreed to take some pictures, so the group will leave him alone.

Unfortunately, the group wasn't satisfied with simple pictures.

They started to demand him to make poses. Dubious poses... They clearly made Gogol uncomfortable. You noticed, that Gogol was holding himself back from attacking the annoying people. You decide, that it's time to intervene.

"Okay, everyone, move away from our friend, stop making him uncomfortable! No poses, no pictures."

You and Doppo squeezed through the crowd and stood near Gogol, like two bodyguards. The crowd try to protect, but one heavy look from Kunikida make them shut up.

You and Kunikida tried to take Gogol from the crowd. With the conner of your eye, you noticed, that the same person, who asked if they can grab Gogol's thighs, were trying to touch Gogol's thighs. Immideatly, you turn towards the jerk and hit him in the face with all of your might.

"Hands off, parasite!" Growl you.

The Creep fell down, sobbing. His friends tried to attack you in return. But, before any of them they can take a step towards you, Doppo dealed with them.

Never underestimate Fukuzawa's trainee.

All group members were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

You three left the Creep and their friends behind.

___________________

When you finally reached the mall, you signed.

"Okay... It was something. Is everyone alright?"

Kunikida adjusted his glasses.

"I am fine"

Nikolai stay quiet. The look in his eyes was dangerous. You feel chills running down your spine. He was angry. Then he spoke.

"I am not. I want to hurt them. But," Gogol looked at you. His gaze soften. "But, for your sake, I won't do it. I don't want you to get into trouble."

You squeeze his shoulder.

"We can find a quiet place for you to stay, while Doppo and I are going shopping."

Gogol shake his head.

"No, don't worry, I will be fine."

Kunikida huffs and take the shopping list from his pocket.

"We have lost quite some time. We need to split up, so we can buy everything faster. I will go find cleaning supplies. [Y/N], can you and Gogol buy meat, fish and fruits?"

You nodded.

______________________

Good news, you haven't run into anime fans anymore.

Bad news, you run into people who hate anime.

You and Gogol were choosing fresh fish, when you heard their conversation.

"Look at this weirdo. Does the Freak thinks he can wear this clown costume in public like this?"

"Yea. He must be a screw loose."

"All the anime fans are perverts. I have heard, all of them likes little girls. Really likes"

"Bro, you will make me puke!"

Gogol's eye twitched. You quickly grabbed his hand. You whisper.

"Nikolai, please, stay calm."

Gogol squeezed your hand.

You have noticed a golden glow in one of the fish tanks. In this tank there were alive crabs. Five of them.

You blinked. All crabs disappeared.

The sound of something falling. Shocked cries of "Where did crabs come from?" The pained whines of the company that was talking about Gogol.

Crabs didn't like their new company.

____________________

After you finally buy everything you need, all of you decide to have some coffee, before you go home. The day was hard, all of you need some rest.

All of you were sitting at the same table, drinking coffee.

But, it seems, that today trouble didn't want to let you go.

At first, you heard a loud scream.

Then something ran near your table.

Two six-year-old kids. Boy and girl.

They were running around the café, screaming and grabbing everything they can see.

Their mother wasn't paying attention to them. She was talking to someone on her phone.

You three tried to ignore all this noise. Kunikida finished his coffee and put the empty cup back on the saucer with a loud clatter.

"This kids... Why parents didn't do their job? At first, parents forget about parenting, then this 'parents' have the audacity to blame teachers for their kid's terrible behavior."

You looked at Doppo with a soft look.

"Have you remembered your teaching days?"

Doppo nodded.

Gogol let out a loud yelp. Then the kids noticed Nikolai's braid and start pulling it. He turned around and growl at kids.

"Back off, you brats!"

And mother finally decided to do the parenting. By starting yelling at Gogol.

"You creep, don't you dare yell at my children!"

To be fair, Gogol tried to stay civil.

"Mam, your kids were pulling my hair! I shouted at them to make them stop."

Women glares at Gogol.

"You could let them do it! They are just kids! They are allowed to do anything they want! Wait... You... What are you wearing... Is that... one of this anime characters?"

Without letting Gogol answer, she hit him with her shopping bad.

"SATANIST! You are a satanist who is watching Chinese porn cartoons. Useless member of society!"

You had enough for today.

"Miss, watch your..." You didn't finish your phrase, when mom hit you with a shopping bag.

"Shut up! Don't interfere!"

Kunikida snapped.

"If you watched your kids..."

And Kunikida was also hit with a shopping bag.

And security finally escorted the woman and her kids from the café.

You feel, that the day was ruined.

_______________

You finally were home. After putting your bags in the kitchen, three of you sit on the couch in the living room. You're in the middle, Doppo on the right and Kolya on the left.

All three of you were silent. Gogol was the first who spoke.

"It's all my fault. You warned me. I didn't listen. I am sorry."

You stay silent. Then you whisper.

"I am also sorry. I should have tried harder to make you change your mind."

Gogol chuckled.

"[Y/N], don't blame yourself. I am also an adult, I should understand the consequences of my actions."

You take a look around the room. There must be something that can make them feel better.

You had a plan.... Maybe, it will work.

You called.

"Hey, Kolya, Doppo"

Gogol's eyes light up. It was the first time you called him by the short version of his name. He looked at you.

Doppo turn his head towards you.

"Want to have a movie night? Choose anything you want to watch, I will make snacks. How does is sounds?"

Both guys agree.

____________________

Three of you were covered in blankets. Doppo was carefully petting your head, while Nikolai was tracing lines along your hand. The movie was on. The snacks were on the table. You were snuggled between Doppo Kunikida and Nikolai Gogol.

At least this time, everything was right. Everything was better.

__________

A/N: (1) Changed quote from "The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry.

[catbountry]

It's been a year since the premiere of Trigun: Stampede. The series, despite the fears of the fans of the '98 anime, actually turned out really good; Yasuhiro Nightow is a big superhero comics nerd, and wanted to have this new anime adaption be an adaption similar to the adaptions of the MCU, back when those movies were consistently enjoyable, and I daresay a bunch of the people watched Trigun probably were either already anime fans, or they were nomad fans who may have been really into the MCU at one point.

I have a lot of thoughts on an American perspective on Vash the Stampede as a character, with a lot of comparisons to American comic book superheroes. And while Trigun wasn't my first anime, I was hooked on it, as someone who grew up around Batman and Spawn's 90's popularity. During my first Otakon in 2001, I must have seen a dozen Vash's and Wolfwoods. I remember the year there was a Wolfwood cosplayer whose Punisher gun was shaped like the Star of David instead of a cross, making him a rabbi. That shit was amazing. The larger point is that I've loved this character for more than half of my entire time being alive, and I haven't seen a lot of discussion of Trigun viewed from a more political lens, and why it resonates so much with Americans (or at least me, who is an American) in particular

Buckle up, kids, this is gonna be long and rambly.

There was a period of time where I watched nearly every single new MCU movie in the theater. It was exciting seeing adaptions of comic books that would have probably never gotten a movie before the success of The Avengers. And I don't think it's a mistake that the most comic book-y of the movies are usually the best; Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel remain as probably my favorite MCU movies. Nightow was working directly with the studio making a new Trigun anime and reportedly got the crew to watch a bunch of Marvel movies to set the tone for the anime as an adaption; it's why Vash got a completely new redesign that freaked all us old fans the fuck out. Though it appears that once again, Trigun tried and failed to get that massive Japanese audience that most successful anime have. But boy, oh boy, do us westerners fucking love Trigun, especially us Americans. Nightow's love of superhero comics bled into Trigun, and it just so happened that he was incredibly influenced by Spawn, Hellboy and Batman as much as he was influenced by Akira Toriyama and mechanical art. McFarlane Toys released a Vash figure that is McFarlane'd the fuck up. Nightow loves all superhero comics but especially the Blade trilogy.

Just look at this and imagine being 13 years old and seeing this on a screen for the first time with the instrumental hard rock opening.

Also, I wouldn't actually get around to reading Spawn until I was an adult, but you know what? It's pretty good. The writing is definitely weaker than the art, but holy shit, that art goes hard and I still think that shit's cool as fuck.

As stated before, around the early 2000's Trigun was considered peak anime, though it's been more overlooked in recent years in favor of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that has aged gracefully by comparison. But while Bebop has that sort of timeless cool and level of quality that drew the attention of filmmakers like the Wachoski sisters, Trigun has that very specific kind of adolescent sense of coolness that comic book fans get, especially back in the 90's before this sort of thing would be smothered to death by MCU's Joss Whedoning of superheroes. Spawn, Hellboy and Batman are still cool. And Trigun also has a shitton of guns, obviously, given that Vash being an incredibly OP gunslinger in a world where everybody has guns.

And America loves guns.

I think the contrast of Vash's pacifism while still wielding a gun is extremely interesting because it's not something you see very much (I bet if I watched more westerns, I'd have a better idea if this is a trope in them at all). Batman does not use guns and doesn't kill people, which is why there's still discourse around Tim Burton's Batman films to this day still; I don't think Kevin Smith has budged on this. Other more morally grey superheroes will use guns (by this definition I'm counting The Punisher even if he doesn't have any superpowers, unless you count severe PTSD as a superpower). And a lot of them had huge surges in popularity in the 90's around the time Nightow was making Trigun. Vash posed like Batman or Spider-Man looking brooding (like the gif above) happens a lot in the earlier issues even though that's not really his character.

Several years ago, there was an attempt by a conservative thinktank to discredit a bunch of Hollywood actors saying that gun violence in America is a serious issue and contrasted their statements scenes of them shooting guns in movies, but if we're being real here, gunplay in movies can be really fucking cool. Again I invoke The Matrix, or movies by Robert Rodriguez and John Woo. Look at video games, and compare the decline in violent crime that's been happening here since the 70's and 80's, as culture warriors bemoan movies and video games for becoming more violent. Remember when Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, brought up fucking Splatterhouse as a reason why Sandy Hook happened? Do you know what Splatterhouse looks like?

It looks like this.

You know how these guys constantly say the only way to counter a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? Usually, the inference is that if the "good guy" with a gun shoots, he's shooting to kill. Deadpool and the Punisher would shoot to kill. But Vash is constantly trying to avoid it. And I remember as a teenager finding that really cool? And the manga and anime don't shy away from how impractical Vash's pacifism is. It's a bit more realistic than Steven Universe's ending, but also Steven Universe was made for children.

I know Avatar: The Last Airbender is often invoked when criticizing Steven Universe's philosophy, but I haven't really seen Vash's similar philosophy criticized in the same way, and I think a lot of that has to do with the presence of Wolfwood, who is the "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy" guy. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen art of this yet. I may have to get on that. I already drew Vash horrified at the Trolley Problem.

Vash is a character designed with maximum coolness in mind, but also an overpowered being who is capable of killing millions, and in the anime, he somehow destroys July City without killing anyone directly, but the destruction of the city led to a bunch of people dying. He's so deeply committed to not wanting to kill anyone that he's probably killed more people than he would have if he just shot Knives. The best Batman stories acknowledge that Batman's refusal to kill Joker has similarly results in the deaths of people Batman could have prevented if he killed one guy, and this could also apply to Vash's relationship with his brother Knives, who was kind of destined to be a mass murderer with a name like that, let's be real.

Online, we tend to joke about bringing out the guillotines, or justify not feeling an sympathy for billionaires who die in a sub trying to view the Titanic. But if you were given a gun and a real human person begging for their life, what would you actually do? Do you honestly think that you would be the ethical Death Note user?

Vash has guns but he chooses not to kill people; he prefers to not even use them unless he has to, instead opting to run away and look cool doing it somehow.

He really, really doesn't want to kill people. He doesn't become numb to people dying. It hurts him every single time he watches someone get killed. In reality, most of us that aren't sociopaths would be distressed at the thought of killing someone. The only reason armies in real life work is that they become inoculated to the idea of violence and dehumanize the enemy. Vash is no soldier. He is idealistic, he is empathetic, and he sees every human being as a person worthy of life. Batman refuses to use guns, as that's how his parents were killed in front of him. Vash has to use guns in order to protect people from getting killed. He has the ethics of Superman but the tools of a comic book antihero. He's the logical conclusion of an shonen anime protagonist in a world that chews up anyone with that kind of optimism and hope and spits them out. And yet... he still keeps going. He remains committed. He's still cheery, goofy, lovable Vash.

Batman used to kill people, in the earliest comics. With the Comics Code Authority, no superheroes could kill people. In the 80's, comics were getting darker and edgier, taken more seriously. While Alan Moore's Watchmen delved into the moral complexities in a world with superheroes that was similar to ours, Frank Miller was keeping Batman consistent, even as Gotham got darker and uglier.

Batman is a vigilante. The police can be helpful or they can fuck up everything, depending on what's needed for the story. In Batman Year One, there's a scene where Batman crashes a party attended by the elites of Gotham, politicians and mobsters mingling.

Seeing this during the Bush presidency blew my mind. I don't want to get into just how perfectly the members of his administration seemed to resemble a rogue's gallery of sorts with the shared goals of making a lot of money and bombing the shit out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I was extremely anti-war even before the 2000 election as a very opinionated 14 year-old watching, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and feeling relieved that a grown-up was able to see through all the bullshit; it helps when the guy who's against the war and killing people is funny. I remember writing in my diary at 12 years old after Columbine happened that I wanted to take all of the guns and melt them down in a pot, similarly to that scene in Superman IV where he throws the entire world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But also that same year I would fall in love with The Matrix... and not long after that, Trigun.

Again, we come back to the idea of someone using a gun, a weapon designed to kill people, and using it in pursuit of the exact opposite. That resonated with me. I myself was very idealistic, and the political climate of my teenage years seemed to do almost everything to stamp that out of me. Things feel just as fraught two decades later, but in slightly different ways. Pacifism is looked down upon, as indicated by the backlash to the ending of Steven Universe, and how one crazy lady called Rebecca Sugar, a Jewish person, a Nazi for writing it that way. But for Steven, things worked out. For Vash? Well, he still has hope somehow, despite everything. I think the fact that he strives to protect human life, even when someone is a complete monster, is admirable in that it cuts to the very basic desire to not see people hurt. But we're also selfish, and scared, and sometimes it's hard to conceive of a solution to a problem that doesn't involve violence. Seeing dead bodies on TV or the internet upsets us, but we're often paralyzed by feeling like we can't do anything, and even if we tried, we'd likely perish in the attempt. We desire revenge, punishment for those who transgress by inflicting violence, and we can rationalize using it against the right targets. Vash the Stampede would have a fucking breakdown dealing with the state-backed violence that's been a part of geopolitics pretty much as long as there have been states and geopolitics. Vash would try and solve the bombings of Gaza with an impassioned plea for both sides to stop fighting before he would somehow wind up making things worse and it would eat away at him inside, no matter how brave a face he puts on as he tries to find some kind of hope in a hopeless situation. And... you know what? I kind of wish more people would be like that. Maybe if there were enough people like that, these sorts of things wouldn't happen in the first place. I wish more people could look at human suffering and feel compelled to try and stop it, not discriminating against one side or the other, trying to understand why people are doing what they do. Seeing anti-war protestors in Tel Aviv brings back memories of protests against the start of the War on Terror, and how hated America was internationally during those years, even when most Americans approved of the war. Michael Moore was booed at the Oscars for condemning George W. Bush and the War on Terror. It's terrifying that those in power want us killing each other and have conditioned us to support it. I want so badly for human beings to come together to just stop the violence, but it feels impossible, like we're destined for failure, like we might somehow make things worse or become worse versions of ourselves full of hatred and ugliness. But we should want to try, even if it's hard or unprofitable or we have no idea how to even do it. Somebody actually dedicating themselves to trying to fight our violent impulses out of love is appealing, and if they're more powerful than use, and can do more... well, I want the biblically accurate angel with every mental illness willing to martyr himself over and over again. But it is more fun when he's Bugs Bunny about it.