#his outfit is canon-adjacent

[floofanflurr]

AND NOW FOR STEP TWO! ASK THEM ON A DATE.

HUMAN! WILL YOU—WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?

[steviewashere]

Pumpkin Pie

Rating: Teen and Up CW: Recreational Drug Use (Marijuana), Alcohol, Inebriated Steve Harrington Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Sad Steve Harrington, Insecure Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Eddie Munson Takes Care of Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson Loves Steve Harrington, Kisses, Cuddling, Sharing Food, The Intimacy in Sharing Pie From the Same Tin on The Same Fork, Sappy Ending For @steddie-spooktober Day 24 Prompt: Pumpkin (My probably only fic for spooktober because it got away from me)

🎃—————🥧 Eddie wakes up to a cold bed next to him and a bladder that’s screaming.

It’s not unusual for Steve to get out of bed in the middle of the night. Sometimes from a nightmare. Maybe because he needs a glass of water. Occasionally for the bathroom. But for his side to stay cold? That’s what’s unusual.

He pulls up his pajama pants, washes his hands, and makes it out of their ensuite bathroom. Well, it used to be just Steve’s ensuite and bedroom, but it’s theirs now that his parents have completely moved out of Hawkins. Leaving their too big house in a trust fund—the only thing that’s in the trust fund, it seems. Steve agreed that he’d pay the bills, so long as his parents didn’t fully sell it; surprisingly, they gave in.

The downstairs is completely dark. No life in the living room. No flushing toilet from the downstairs bathroom. Nothing. It’s almost as if Steve isn’t even home. Though, the back porch light is on. And in the light layer of autumn fog, glowing from the pool lights, is Steve laid back in one of the pool loungers.

Heaving open the heavy sliding glass door, Eddie chances stepping outside. The cold bites him—teeth marks, flesh missing. His t-shirt and fleece pants aren’t going to fend off the chill. And Steve’s outfit won’t do any better either. Considering the fact that he’s in nothing but some ratty sweatpants. How can he sit out here, Eddie briefly wonders. A waft of something skunky and earthy flares his nostrils alive. He shuffles over so that he’s in the adjacent pool lounger, sitting on the edge, arms wrapped tight around himself. Looking on at Steve’s profile, who is completely zoned out, bringing the joint to his lips mechanically. There are goosebumps on Steve’s shoulders, his cheeks bright red, the area under his nostrils a little shiny. He’ll get sick out here.

“Steve?” Eddie softly calls. Though, it startles Steve anyway. Hazel eyes meet his: bloodshot, glistening, his pupils expanded to their full extent from how dark it is. There’s dark circles under his eyes, heavy eye bags. His skin is pasty underneath the flush. Already looks sick. “What’re you doin’ out here, sweetheart? It’s warmer inside.”

A sniff. Shrugged shoulders. Steve looks back out towards the pool, but his eyes aren’t bouncing over the water—from where Eddie follows them, they appear to be mapping out the horizon line, a blue expanse coated with fog. “My parents called”—he takes a deep pull from the joint and the cigarette paper crackles into use, breathing it into his lungs, puffing it lightly from his nostrils—“they aren’t coming,” Steve croaks, the rest of that smoke billowing from between his chapped lips.

“They called at midnight?”

Steve gives a heavy nod. Another drag. Billowing smoke. “Motherfuckers are in London right now, livin’ it large with all their stupid business friends. Mom’s tryin’ to keep Dad from chasing tail.” He blinks slowly and lets out a longwinded sigh. “It’s whatever. Tried to keep in touch with my family, made them a bunch of nice food, and this is what I get. Fuckin’ whatever.” Steve’s smiling by the end of that sentence, this humorless, lifeless thing. He goes back to the joint again on autopilot, lips wrapping around the end, taking in another big hit, letting it settle, and blowing it out with his next sigh.

Eddie looks around Steve, the crumbles of burnt joint on the lounger, what looks like a near empty glass bottle resting near one of the legs, another smoked roll but it’s just the filter at this point. He purses his lips and furrows his eyebrows. Looks at that bottle again—Smirnoff. He takes a deep breath, oh boy. “Don’t you want to go inside, sweetheart? We can talk about all this in bed, y’know. It’s warmer,” he tries again.

“Nah,” Steve drawls. “I’m warm already”—another fucking hit—“’t’s fine.”

“How much have you had to smoke, Steve?”

He shrugs again. Nonchalant like none of this is worrisome. Whatever that phone call was must’ve shaken him up pretty bad. Especially for him to come out here and party like it’s 1983? Yeah, must’ve been pretty fucked.

A cloud of smoke. “Dunno,” Steve says, “put some money in your…your lunchbox. Gutted some of my cigs. Bada-bing, bada-boom, right?” He puts the roach out on the arm of his chair, leaving a shallow crater in its wake. Steve points loosely towards the leg of his chair. “Hand me the…the uh…the drink?”

“No, Steve,” Eddie responds firmly, “I’m not gonna give that to you. We should go back to bed. Talk about that phone call in the morning.”

Steve scoffs and hefts himself up enough to come off the back of the chair, just barely reaching over into Eddie’s space. His eyes are glossier than they were before, heavy lids, Eddie can smell the alcohol on his breath when he speaks. “What’s there to talk about? They don’ fuckin’ love me. ‘M not enough for them to stay and now they’re startin’ over without me.” He collapses back. A wet breath from between his lips. “It’s whatever,” Steve spits. Swallows and sniffles and—

The first tear rolls down his right cheek.

“Steve,” Eddie breathes.

“Nothin’ to talk ‘bout.” He wipes aggressively at his cheeks with the hilt of his palms. Mutters, so quiet Eddie almost doesn’t hear him, “Don’ fuckin’ love me.”

Eddie’s silent for a few minutes. Sour in his stomach from Steve’s soft sniffles, the tears he won’t admit are there. He looks out at the forest, the dark expanse of sky. Lets out a calm, solid breath. “Are you hungry?” Eddie asks quietly.

“Sorta.”

“You want some of that pumpkin pie I made?” Steve nods to that. “Okay,” Eddie whispers. “M’gonna get you some water, too, alright? Enough of the weed and alcohol for tonight.”

“But”—

“No, Stevie, baby,” he shoots down as gently as he can. “It’s not gonna help.”

Before Steve can protest again, Eddie swipes up the bottle of vodka and retreats back into the kitchen. He pulls the tin of pumpkin pie from the fridge, grabs a fork, a bottle of water, and heads back outside. Along the way, though, he snatches a hoodie of Steve’s and some socks for the both of them.

The water and pie are set in Steve’s lap, fork laying gently across its top. He scrunches up the hoodie and pulls it over Steve’s head for him, guiding his arms through, letting it fall loosely over his stomach. And he treats the socks with the same reverence, a pair for each of them. Finally, he digs a bite from the center of the pie tin—a hideous scrape of fork prongs in the center of what he made—and brings it to Steve’s lips, who takes the scoop gingerly.

Steve hums with his eyes closed. “You’re a good baker,” he mumbles with a full mouth, “best…best boyfriend in the world.”

He snorts. “Mmm…that’s funny, I was gonna say that you’re the best boyfriend in the world. My favorite person, too.”

“Really?” Steve looks to him with his eyes as wide as they’ll possibly go, pupils still dilated, still glossy, but surprised. “Am I really?”

Eddie combs his fingers through the front of Steve’s hair, swooping it back off his forehead. “Yeah,” he murmurs, “sweetheart, you are more than best to me. You’re everything, Steve.” He offers another bite to Steve, watches as it disappears behind his lips.

There’s a small, pleased smile on Steve’s face. The corner of his eyes crinkled lightly, sparkling. He looks down at the pie tin, a crease worming between his eyebrows. Gently concerned, “Are you eatin’, too? ’T’s your food.”

“Two for you, one for me. I’m not that hungry.”

Steve hums. Still watching Eddie, as he finally takes a bite for himself. And then watching with more intent as he gets another bit of pie. There’s a smudge of pie on the corner of his mouth. Eddie wipes it away reverently with the tip of his thumb. He receives a kiss to it for his efforts, which he chuckles at.

“I love you,” Eddie breathes—easy as pie. “Love you so much, it’s almost ridiculous.”

There are tears in Steve’s eyes again. When he’s inebriated, his emotions are practically free flowing. They always are. It’s a shame he only allows himself to be this vulnerable when he’s like this, but it’s all the same real. Wetly, “Love you, too. You know that? Don’…don’t forget that. That I…I love you, Eds. So much. Love you so much.” His next breath comes out as a little, weak sob. A hiccup, this gentle burble.

He pets his hand through Steve’s hair again, gently swiping it down the side of his head, and cupping his cheek. His face is warm and his eyes are shiny and he’s still so beautiful—so wonderfully Steve—even when he’s like this. “Shh,” Eddie whispers, “I know, baby. I know. And I’ll remember, promise. Because I’m gonna love you for forever, Stevie. Just you and me.”

Another soft cry—delicate. “Kiss?” Steve asks quietly, “can we kiss?”

Instead of answering verbally, Eddie deposits the fork into the well of missing pumpkin pie. He cups Steve’s face with both his hands and gently invites himself in. Steve isn’t very coordinated, his lips too pursed, and his whole face scrunching in Eddie’s palms, but he makes do. It’s a saccharine kiss all the same—no tongue, just their lips, more smear than anything. But when Eddie pulls back a few inches, Steve is still positively dazed. As if it’s the first time they ever kissed, in which Steve looked the exact same: in love, entirely surprised his tactic worked, and still completely pleased with the results.

“I love you,” Eddie murmurs against Steve’s lips, mingling in the same breath, “no matter what, I’m gonna keep loving you.”

Steve rests in Eddie’s palms, going lax into his left hand. His face is squished, he’s flushed and warm. There’s a goofy, lopsided, syrupy smile on his face. “You…you taste like pumpkin, Eds.”

“Yeah?” he laughs out through a breath. “You do, too. You’re my slice of pumpkin pie, Stevie”—he pets his thumbs over Steve’s temples, down at the corners of his eyes—“slice of heaven right here in my hands.”

“Mm,” Steve hums. He moves forward in his chair, coming up off the backing again. This time, though, he wraps his arms around Eddie’s waist and squeezes. Snuggling in as close as he possibly can with Eddie still holding onto his face. There aren’t anymore tears, on his cheeks or waiting in his eyes—the best thing Eddie could’ve hoped for. With the way he moved, Steve’s cheeks are pushed flush to his eyes. His lips are pouty. Eddie can't help it, he plops a kiss to Steve's forehead, right between his eyebrows. Steve's voice is distorted and mumbling when he speaks, “You make me happy, Eds. Make me so, so happy. Love you. Don’ forget, m���kay? Always…always love you.”

For a few minutes more, they’ll be sappy like this. Slow and soft in each other’s space, sharing bites of pie off the same fork, exchanging the same words. They’ll hold close, forgetting about that stupid phone call. And eventually, they’ll head back to bed. Fluttering against each other under the blanket, Steve nestled against Eddie’s chest, drooling onto the same pillow.

In the morning, Steve will wake up, hungover. But Eddie will be right there, a glass of water and some painkillers in his hands. The same words again, “I love you.”

🎃—————🥧

[lumivee]

THE DEITY BOYS ARE BACK, BABY!!!

I decided to give them both a redesign. Hajime didn’t change as much, but I added in some deer elements to give him more of a nature spirit vibe. (I also built his horns around the image on his tie)

Nagito changed a lot more, as I tried to integrate a little bit more of his canon design language, such as the hoodie. Also gave his outfit a bit more Japanese influence with the obi and kimono-adjacent outfit.

Both of them have representations of the other on them. Nagito: sunflower anklet. Hajime: small jar of clouds.

Old designs:

[the-red-butterfly]

French Revolution Inspired Sabo

Sabo (One Piece)

SO, Sabo, new favourite character, hu? Who would've thought that I would love a tragic blond beanpole? Who could've ever seen this coming? Lol.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to notice but Sabo is a very French Revolution adjacent character, despite how British he looks to me. So I was like, haha, I'll frenchify this motherfucker and redesign some new outfits and looks for him. But the more I looked at the clothes of the era the more i went... HU. This is already kind of exactly what Sabo is wearing. Like, I'm sure it's not an accident, but I journey with myself to notice all of these things was pretty fun XD

I learned a couple of things about the historical fashion of the times and that was great. It was a fun tangent that took me all day but I have no regrets XD

The top right outfit was my attempt to make his canon outfit more historically accurate while keeping the key elements of his design. I'm sure it's MESS of different parts of different outfits but that's okay, I'm no expert ✨ (also I didn't want to draw the shot traces with stockings this time, sorry fashion history buffs.)

GUYS. My mind is just inundated with Sabo AUs, what do I DO?? 😭

.

Open for Commissions

[philtstone]

Shawn and Gus, "comforting hugs"

you can also read it on ao3! psych: into the mollyverse coming soon to laptops near you. just kidding. i physically dont have time to fall headfirst into another elaborate kidfic series. which is what i always say, isn't it sort of canon divergence for the movies, tho i guess technically they havent fully committed to anything yet outside of the actors getting too old lol. takes place in the same universe as my great labor of love, "so here we are again" and, alas, i love molly already

Navigating the obstetrics ward in the middle of the night is harder than Gus ever expected it to be. It really feels like a critical failure of signage, which someone needs to be held accountable for. He wonders if there’s somewhere he can make a complaint. Three in the morning, arms laden with fragrant takeout and mildly damp from the mean streets of downtown San Francisco is not his ideal time for busting out the Super Sniffer.  

Thank God Axe body spray is strong enough to survive a full work day, twenty-four hours of labor, and an outfit change. 

He breathes a sigh of relief when he finally tiptoes back into the correct room. 

“Jerk chicken, sourdough donuts, and that weird lychee butter Juliet likes,” Gus whispers, setting down his many bags in a corner. “Shawn, we need to lodge a complaint. This establishment does not have good signage. I almost got lost five times coming back up here! Isn’t that a hazard to infants and mothers and best friends of families who’ve just had babies everywhere? What if someone goes into the wrong birthing room? That would leave random people’s babies vulnerable to the potential criminal element! If I was a babynapper, this hard to navigate hospital hallway system would absolutely serve as a good alibi were I suddenly caught in the wrong place.”

His last year of parenthood and decades of friendship with Shawn have honed Gus’s whispering skills to a finely tuned and precise art; he’s not really worried about disturbing Juliet, who is finally getting some much deserved sleep in the bed adjacent. She’s pretty much knocked out cold, anyway. Shawn had guessed it would take a freight train passing right outside the window or blowing an air horn directly into her ear to wake her up. 

It is a little weird that Shawn doesn’t reply, though. Gus spends the two seconds he spends bent over and rummaging through the takeout bags for forks confused about this. Then he straightens up and looks across the room.

Oh.

They’ve got a little baby crib set up by the side of the bed so Juliet can sleep. There’s a chair right next to the cot, high enough that you can look right in. Shawn’s sitting in it, in the exact same place Gus left him, more or less unchanged except for the fact that he’s sobbing silently into his hands. 

Gus sighs softly, tilts his head, and puts the takeout box on the table that houses their overnight bags before walking over. At Shawn’s side, he pauses, looking down. He’s a little biased – there is probably no baby in the world as perfect as his own, not to mention Selene would kill him if he ever suggested otherwise – but at six hours old, Molly Spencer-O’Hara comes pretty damn close. Squinched shut blue eyes, puckered rosy mouth, and completely bald. Gus loves her desperately.

He pulls up the remaining empty chair beside them and sits down.

“Shawn,” he says gently. 

“It j-j-ust – it all kinda –” Shawn waves one uncoordinated hand in the air immediately beside his head, gesturing vaguely towards himself. His voice is muffled and wet against his hand and he’s barely able to control the way his hands are shaking. “All – at th-the same time –”

“Yeah,” Gus says. “I know.”

“Sh-she’s just so – and I’m – for her – a-and it’s –”

“I get it,” Gus says.

“A-am I supposed to j-just walk around f-feeling like this all the time?” Shawn finally manages. There’s a desperate and hysterical note to his voice, the question nevertheless still drenched in sincerity, and he lifts his head, just enough to maybe breathe properly, and stares at Gus with huge wet eyes full of an emotion that Gus had had no idea what it would feel like to share.

Considering they’ve spent their lives sharing almost everything else, it’s really weird how keenly and suddenly it brings a strong, unexpected lump to his throat that has nothing to do with his usual tendency towards sympathy tears. 

“Pretty much, yeah,” Gus says.

“Fuck,” Shawn says, and cries harder.

His face is splotchy and red and his hair is sticking up stupidly from the last day and a half of chaos. He’s still got the splint on his hand where Juliet sprained his fingers earlier. Without another word, Gus leans over and wraps his arms around his best friend in the world. 

Sighing again, carefully controlling the damp rimming his own eyes, Gus rubs a hand against Shawn’s back and pats his shaking shoulders and waits for the feelings Shawn rarely exhibits so openly to calm down.

“Is he freaking out?” sounds a sleepy, feminine murmur from the other side of the room.    

“In the best possible way,” Gus says, “yes.”

Shawn hiccups in his arms.

“‘Was waiting … f’r it t’happen,” Juliet mumbles. He can hear the fond smile in her barely-awake voice. “It’ll be okay, baby.”

“I hate you guys,” says Shawn, wet and pathetic, muffled into Gus’s shoulder.

“We know, Shawn.”

They sit like that for a few more minutes, the comfortable silence only broken sporadically by Shawn’s wobbly breathing and the soft steady beeps of the machines monitoring Juliet’s vitals. Gus’ll have to head home soon – he’s switching shifts with Selene, and then Henry and maybe Karen will help them settle back home in a few days – but right at this minute, there’s no other place in the universe he’d rather be. 

“You guys better leave some of that jerk chicken for me,” Juliet says after a moment, sounding significantly more awake.

“Are you kidding?” Shawn protests, finally – marginally – less water-logged. He still hasn’t detangled himself from the hug. “Half that food is for you.”

“You know that’s right,” Gus agrees.

From below them, a tiny little voice interjects, burbling softly. Grinning hard enough that the few tears lingering in his eyes slip out, Gus decides to think that she’s probably agreeing, too.

[anonzentimes]

hi zen!! my friends and i are doing a powerpoint night this monday and like any self-respecting person almost 7 months deep in a dangan hyperfixation (i'm never getting out of here) i am using it as a platform for an all-encompassing kmhn infodump. this powerpoint is going to be the komahina bible and i want to hit Every Stop. i will grab everything i can find. no hesitation. however !! the danganronpa franchise is A Lot. so there's always a chance i will miss something. so! as a fellow kmhn understander and enthusiast, is there any particular Komahina Moment or piece of analysis you feel people often miss or overlook? could be big or small, or involve just one of the two of them, but i'd appreciate the input! <3 have a good one :D

OH MY GOD??? I’LL TRY TO ANSWER IN TIME FOR YOUR POWERPOINT LMAO THAT SOUNDS AWESOME?????? You should record it! Well, you probably will, but I’m still saying it anyways just in case you aren’t, because something that fun going unrecorded sounds like a tragedy!

I’ve had ideas of doing all encompassing komahina rambles for a video or something, but I’m already working on other projects so It’ll be a long time before I even try lmao. Makes me happy someone is trying something similar, and with friends no less! I’d be happy to help in any way I can, I hope you and your friends have fun! :D

ANYWAYS. I’ll say a huge ramble of Komahina things and hope it helps LOL.

This is more of a silly statement, but for a FULL Komahina coverage I think it’s most satisfying to cover the different flavors of komahina, if that makes sense? Like, depending on what approach you’re taking you may not cover kamukoma, since to a degree that’s an entirely different ship, but you’d still cover the canon adjacent other flavors. Basically, try including the canon adjacent variations!!! The Dangan island events are good for analyzing their dynamic with less horrible circumstances bringing them to worst and causing them to hurt each other. The stage plays are also great to mention since there’s some komahina content that is play original, and seeing them physically interact is fun! Can’t forget the Komahina CD too Lol. There’s also smaller things like their anniversary outfits, especially the matching purple ones, their animal outfits, and their Danganronpa S Swimsuits!

Little details that are so special to me are things like the parallel of Nagito waking Hajime up being reserved in Danganronpa 2.5, and there’s also how things like Hajime’s grief for Nagito that’s so compelling, special, and telling about their dynamic.

I think my main thing to actually add on properly is that, a lot of people say Hajime hates Nagito which is absolutely incorrect. I don’t think I’d try so hard or care enough to revive and or wait until a person I hated woke up. Hajime displays he actively cares a lot, they just happen to feel hurt and betrayed by each other due to the circumstances. Komahina is unhealthy but it isn’t toxic, if that phrase makes sense. The beauty of it is that they grow TO be healthier, they learn to love each other, understand each other, and in the process learn to understand and love themselves. Komahina is reciprocal, it gets unhealthy due to circumstances, but it is reciprocal and the beauty of it is them becoming healthier together.

Nagito is not a malicious psychopath, and Hajime is not an overly horny person with no personality, I see them misinterpreted and characterized like that constantly It’s ridiculous. Hajime is awkward, conflicted, introverted, caring, and tries to be positive but ultimately is usually a realist. Hajime gets attached to people easily and deals with discrimination, insecurity, and self esteem. Hajime is relatable enough to where he’s empathetic but unique enough to where he’s special.

Nagito is a mentally ill queer coded man who is an antagonist and an anti-hero. He is morally gray when it comes to his unhealthy coping mechanism and has complicated beliefs, he’s honest, intelligent, struggles with insecurity, struggles with self esteem, has absolute beliefs influenced by hope’s peak, is a parallel and warped version of Makoto while being his own person, and he’s very sweet. Nagito’s love language seems to be mostly playful teasing, he rambles a lot and weirds people out just by saying what he thinks is fact. He has tonal issues and usually isn’t self aware, despite this he also worries about the impression he gives off if he thinks it matters. His beliefs are very hierarchy based and he thinks he’s all the way at the bottom, he doesn’t absolutely hate people like him but he thinks they have no purpose other than to help those more capable and projects onto them. Nagito is a very complex character, he is numb to intense situations due to the immense trauma of it being normal for him. He’s optimistic but also pessimistic, he’s positive but also incredibly anxious, he’s well intentioned but also thinks anything is okay if it’s for hope, there’s a lot to Nagito but in the end once it clicks it really clicks. He is contradictory in a way that perfectly makes sense, creating the perfect character. There’s a lot to him but when you understand him there’s no need for words, you just get it. There’s a feeling to him, an understanding, and I think that’s really special. He really is amazing.

Anyways, the ramble on summarizing both of their characters simply is to more expand on points about their dynamic! Nagito and Hajime are sides of the same coin. Nagito is irrational when it comes to Hajime in the way that he defies his normal behaviors because he usually avoids others and thinks he’s not worth the ultimates time, it means so much to me that Nagito just immediately had a feeling and connection with him. I’ve seen some people not think about it, but genuinely Komaeda feels something upon first sight and it’s irrational given his regular behavior it’s so sweet.

This has been just a lot of me rambling, but hopefully some of it helps! I had fun yapping haha, thanks for you ask!

[destiny-in-the-universe]

Into the Ninjaverse: RC9GN AU

Alright, I finally managed to have some time to myself-

I had two different directions for this verse and I've yet to decide which one I want to use. I'll start with one that's more 'true' to the canon of ITSV/ATSV and the idea that OG! Randy takes the spot of Miles Morales (and poor Randy is definitely going to go through it-). I'm honestly thinking that across multiple universes, there are other Ninjas (none of which are Randy, for ahems reasons-). Unfortunately for our hero, he finds one of the Ninjas in his own dimension and decides he needs to help them.

Randy is startled to realize this is the First Ninja, only... different. He doesn't know what to do, deciding he's just flat out bringing him home. I honestly think the reason he makes the connection is either outfit design OR Finja takes the mask off in front of Randy and that's how he knows, but moving on-

So Randy now is finding out other universes exist- this poor kid is a little overwhelmed because he's been the Ninja for less than a year and is struggling to wrap his mind around it. Unfortunately, things spiral out of control when other Ninjas appear- it's now caught the attention of McFist, Viceroy, and the Sorcerer which is a massive problem. The Ninjas will have to face them head on as the final arc, but of course I could still be a menace if ATSV and the "Ninja Society" is integrated into the storyline. We'll be getting to that later!

Option 2 is honestly based off of having OG Randy meeting the different AU's I've created- the problem is just choosing the right ones, or pick the ones my readers (and myself because this is incredibly self indulgent) would be most interested by. I honestly think this could be done as a season finale type thing where I kind of just chuck Randy into a portal and is now stuck in another reality with no way to get home but ends up in other dimensions, and it's a whole mess because reasons

Although genuinely, I'm leaning more toward the first one so! I'm providing a brief depiction of each of the characters- both in the OG and alternate timelines

Randy Cunningham (canon universe)- 14 at the start of ITNV. He's only been the Ninja for a few months and is still adjusting to his duties but overall, he's doing pretty well. He ends up finding an alternate version of the First Ninja and decides to help him (how could he not when he literally finds him unconscious?)

Howard Weinerman (canon universe): pretty much the same as canon! Nothing really changes yet-

First Ninja / ??? (alternate universe/dimension 616): meant to take the role of Peter B Parker, this version of Finja has long since retired from his responsibilities as the Ninja. Due to things going wrong in his timeline, he hasn't been as active as he could be and his meeting with Randy only happens by pure chance

Howard Weinerman/??? (alternate universe): This version of Howard is still in the works, but I like to think he's not the Ninja per se- genuinely thinking of incorporating a version of Howard who works for McFist and Viceroy, or even something to do with tengu! Howard. Only... he's extremely startled and surprised to see Randy (though why?)

Theresa Fowler/The Purple Ninja (alternate universe): I feel like she'd be a little adjacent to Penny from ITSV! Because I said so- there's not really a lot for her right now, but I don't consider Fowlham endgame for this AU at all (i have other things in mind, that's all i'm going to say)

Nomi/Nomicon/??? (alternate canon): y'all are going to hate me for this- or you might not, but I do consider there's the one singular universe where the Nomicon is human and takes on a role eerily similar to Miguel Rivera for... ahems reasons (i think you can figure it out, but for now- consider all of this to be non-canon to the ITNV world! at least for now)

I like to think canon! Nomicon can have a human form but chooses not to reveal themself- as a personal quota to remain cold and neutral to all Ninjas but at the same time, they can't help seeing something different in Randy. This is self indulgent, I'm going to write what I want hahah

There's also a lesser version of this idea where it's more like the Ninjas are still Ninjas, but also have like- spiderman-esque vibes as well? I keep thinking of a fusion between the two, and now honestly I might just switch between the three versions until I settle on one I like!

For now, these are my current thoughts! Please comment on this or something- I genuinely want to see who's interested!

Current Tag List:

into the ninjaverse / ITNV - general tag

ask itnv - for asks about the characters!

itnv talks - responses/answers to the asks

I'm not really expecting this AU to garner a lot of attention but just in case- I have these setup because someone's got to be interested!

[jelmet]

what pets i think fit with the batfam

these are kinda out of order but what evs

tell me what other characters u want (doesnt have to be bat-adjacent)

Dick Grayson

German shepherd maybe a huskey mix too

I know he has Hailey in canon but canon is of my choosing

I feel like his prestict was training dogs and one of them failed the training but hes already bonded with it so he takes it home with him and now he has a dog

he names it after somthing in the cirus

also named nightbite and the dog is considered a vigilante but only comes out to calm down children

Jason Todd

orange tabby

whenever someone meets the cat for the 1st time he spends 15 mins trying to convince them the cat is actually red

named elizabeth, and he forces you to call the cat elizabeth, no lizzie or any other nickname only elizabeth

he found her wandering around crime alley with out a collar and scooped her up and took her home

they become inseparable except when jason is doing vigilante stuff them the cat sleeps in his bed

shes tiny from malnourishment ect. from being on the street

he nourishes her back to health but she never gets to full size

Tim Drake

toad

he wanted a bullfrog before realizing how annoying they are and ended up getting an american toad

he named it either tim jr. or frog

he puts it in a mason jar (no top ofc) with some water and brings it everywhere (non vigilante)

the toad works comms and he tries to get everyone to call it red toad (failure)

he wears gloves when handling it and is very careful not to get salmonella (all reptiles and amphibians are loaded with it)

Duke Thomas

im giving him 2 types of pets

first he has a fish tank with those floresent neon fish

he has the full set up with the black lights and everything

1 fish of each color named color fishie (blue fishie, yellow fishie, ect.)

he also gets a rabbit

specifically a Miniature Cashmere Lop

he names it judy (zootopia reference lol)

he took her on patrol with him one in one of those baby carries that straps to your chest but he bent down and judy hopped out and he spent half an hour chasing her around

she lives on his bedroom floor, he has everything she needs lined along a wall and she just kinda chills all day

Cass Cain

SNAKE

she gets a common brown snake

they are non venomous, typically very docile, and the longest they can get is 13 inches long

she did tons of research on snakes and makes sure it living its best live

names it after her favorite fruit

she keeps trying to feed duke’s fish to it

brown snakes are fairly small so she will curl it around her fingers on one hand and do her homework with the other

Carrie Kelley

Yes shes part of the family

a hedgehog

she keeps it in her pocket

his name is sonic

she made him a blue mask and paints some of the quills blue and takes him on patrol (he mostly stays in her pocket)

one notable occasion she shot him with her sligshot into a thug’s face

sonic was ok the thug however was not

sonic lives in carrie’s pocket

Alfred Pennyworth

mini horse

he named it named fredrick

it stays out in the barn with batcow

he goes out on walks around the manor grounds and the horse will follow him around

helps out around the batcave and works coms with frog

Damian Wayne

i know he already has a ton of pets go away

caribbean reef octopus

i saw a video of one of these guys escaping its tank and immediately thought of damian

either gives it an arab name or names it richard

has an amazing tank setup for it with lots of enrichment

sometimes he takes it out on walks around the manor and damian will carry a little spray bottle to ensure he doesnt dry out

HE GETS 2 ASWELL CAUSE I JUST REMEBERED SMTH

a bearded dragon

he wanted a komodo dragon but they are massive (and venomous) so he compromised on a bearded dragon

he gives her either an arab name or names her timothy

ITS A DRAGON HED BE SO HAPPY!!!!

just like the octopus he takes really good care of her

she has a bunch of differnt outfits and leashes and he takes her on walks all the time

Stephanie Brown

Indian star tortoise

she saw a tortoise mukbang video and decided she needed one (go to animal asmr on youtube)

she named her ravioli

tried to get her a job in the bat med bay but alfred refused to let “ground zero for a salmonella outbreak” into the med bay

she has a massive box with multiple sets of lights despite how tiny she is (hes a baby now and about 2.5 in but adults get to 7-12 in)

as a baby she rides around on steph’s shoulder

once she gets bigger steph puts her in a leash

Bruce Wayne

way too many bats to count

each person has a bat named after them and a bat they have named

the rest are named bat bat

the bats are not allowed outside of the batcave

he also has ace (bat hound) who, from my best guess, is a Doberman

he also gets a fox moth

he raises it from a caterpillar and he loves it (he picks it up off the sidewalk and decides to keep it)

he names it bug

only pet not allowed to go into the batcave

it mostly stays on his head or shoulder when not asleep (even as a full grown moth)

sleeps in a net like cage thing hanging in his room

he cried really hard when it pupated only for a moth to come out a few weeks later

Jarro

why is the starfish here?

because

anyway in Flash 238-243 in the 70’s hal has a pet alien starfish thing named itty

jarro gets his own itty and yeah

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Hi there I have another Roman :3

This is for a royalty au rp :3 he's so cute :)))

I just stuck him in a canon adjacent outfit because I'm lazy but he usually wears dresses and other more fem clothes. I loveee himmmmm.

[writing-nothing-but-spilled-ink]

Joker head cannons

He definitely knows how to sew more then that he knows how to make clothing and he's really good with mending and making dresses if he feels like it

He's bisexual with a preference towards men like he has some attraction to woman but I feel like he more so views woman as easier to manipulate and control then men, tho he does have to find the woman attractive otherwise there's no real point for him to be with them, but even when he has a female partner hes still flirting with men any chance he gets and not just Batman but just some rando mobster he meets at one of the many bars in Gotham

He's definitely borrowed one or more of Harley's dresses and has had to make or order her a custom dress because he got blood on the one he borrowed and she's destroying his layer and killing his goons because it was her favorite and if he doesn't remedy it he'll have no competent goons to do his bidding..

Just like he hates Nazis he hates homophobia even more he can't be bothered with other things like abuse or domestic violence or murder but homophobia no he's hunting you down like a dog if he catches you on his turf dating to be homophobic god help you if you make a homophobic comment about him... I just imagine he just smiles and laughs and then kills you the most brutal way possible and then takes your body and starts parading it around Gotham as his date and even goes so far to go into a restaurant with the body orders dinner for both puts it on your credit card and opens a bottle of champagne like would you like more my love and starts cackling while the rest of the staff are horrified, I feel he'd even go so far as to carve words or something into your flesh and then finally dumps the body as a warning..

In that same vain if he's out and about enjoying a day off or day off adjacent for him and he's at a bar hell definitely be the life of the party mans will be flirting hardcore with any man he finds mildly attractive would definitely shoot you for not laughing at his jokes though

He has a whole warehouse full of custom dresses he's designed and had made and suits and other various costumes

He's a really good cook witch no one expects especially with cooking on a budget he can make like a five star meal out of the cheapest ingredients but if he has a choice hes a bit bougie, also I feel like he'd host a cooking class with his goons because they keep fucking up his breakfast and as he's teaching the class one of the goons burns the egg and he goes "oh sweetie that's not it at all", then grabs the goons face and holds it down onto the burner till a circular burn mark is on his face while saying, "I dont want to punish you but if i don't how will you ever learn". He releases him but and tells him to try again the goon surprisingly gets it right..

NOTE: Now this next one it really depends on what iteration of joker but I'm gonna put this around bronze/silver age era where he's less violent and psychotic and in this little thought Harley still exists yes ik she wasn't written till the 90s this is my head canon shut up also this is canon things mixed in with my headcanons so

But I imagine mid fight with one of the bat kids one of them pauses and is like joker can I ask you a question and joker is kind of like thrown off a bit and a thousand percent expects it to be a trick or sucker punched but he goes along with it and is like sure what's your question and the bat kid is like... "Soooooo your not straight right"?! And joker just fucking starts laughing then pauses and is like "kid what about my outfit makes you think ah yes that's a straight man do you think a straight man would flirt with Batman or go out of his way to arrange such lovely dates for batsy if I were straight ". And joker is absolutely laughing because this is the funniest joke he's ever heard to think anyone ever thought he was straight even harley who he was involved with for years knew this about him the moment she laid eyes on him.. the bat kid just kinda staring at him awkwardly ajd joker just is like why do you ask there's gotta be some reason for this question.. the bat kid is like uhh so then your bisexual right so like how did u know you were bisexual what were the indicators you were the first villain I kind of thought of I could ask and also the most available.. joker just pauses and is like alright I'm putting a pin in this plan and calls Harley and tells her to bring a white board and markers witch leads to an hour long lecture on the different genders and sexualities and what they all mean as well as an explanation that not everyone will be an ally

He also goes on to explain that when he was young it wasn't really a good time to be gay or bisexual so a lot of people were repressing part of themselves due to fear of what others would do to them if it got out and how the kid is lucky that the world is more accepting now then it was then he also explains that he and Harley had different experiences in that regard as they grew up in different times seeing as Harley is younger then joker

To put in perspective when Harley was a freshman in college Bruce was already three grades above her and on the cusp of graduating before dropping out

He's secretly a wine drinker

At some point he went to college and graduated with honors

He doesn't like animals views them as filthy and not worth his time

Hes neutral towards children definitely would beef with a child actually does beef with children (the batfam) I feel like he neither likes nor dislikes children like yeah he killed Jason but that was on a whim

[thatuselesshuman]

Character Introduction: Zero

So uh in the spirit of everyone knowing what the fuck I'm ever talking about, I've decided a character Introduction was in order!

*<- will be used to mark plot details that will be explained at the end of the post

Disclaimer: Bro goes through shit

Name: Zero (originally Kian Whittaker)

Gender: Man

Sexuality: He's fallen in love with one person in his life and then got traumatized out of ever falling for someone again (within the canon time frame)

Age: 634 years old, but he looks like 2 days over 19

Appearance: emo He has chin length pitch black hair, most of it tied up in a bun for a half up half down look. His skin is pale. The top half of his face is mostly covered by a black ornate mask, but you can just see his bright white eyes. He's thin and only 5'10 (but will still kick ass). He has what looks like a black choker at first, but black tendrils spread down from it through his body that look oddly like wires.

Outfit: He wears black pants, a black cropped zip jacket (typically unzipped) with a black shirt under it, and standard issue black combat boots. The jacket and pants have white accents, and the jacket has a white X* across the back. A couple of seemingly normal swords can be seen hanging from his hips. Under his shirt, a small silver chain with two rings on it (one simply engraved and one with floral detailing) hangs.

Personality: He seems very unapproachable (purposely) but if you have a strong enough personality to push past the bullshit he's actually pretty witty and funny.

Affinity: He can control a dark energy, usually used to form 2 twin scythes. His other powers include immortality (the not dying of old age +longer time you can go without necessities kind) and the ability to sense his surroundings. No one lives long enough when confronted to learn his other two powers

Rank: Archreaper**

Public Backstory: Very little is known about Zero, as most people aren't even sure he's fully human. Only one thing is known for sure, he's old enough to rival the country itself. No one knows where he comes from or even what his face actually looks like. Some swear that he was born from shadows and the day he returns to them is the mark of the end.

Real Backstory: (pictures, cause I ain't transferring all that—read the pics from last -> first)

Other fun tidbits:

The ‘choker’ is a control device. It can cause immense unstoppable pain, prevent Zero from taking his own life, and cause every one of his muscles to seize up. It can also send poison to his brain in different doses, either making him lethargic or straight up killing him

He was born with only the whites of his eyes (no pupil or iris) so he can't see. Brother is blind if not for the sight-adjacent thing his Affinity does

*The X is the only required part of the 'uniform' for Archreapers. Archreapers must display the stars (markers of achievement/rank signifiers) they have on the back of their uniform. An X = 500 or more stars.

**Archreapers are the second highest rank in the military, the first being the general. Because of their high rank, they are allowed to wear whatever they want. There are only 9 Archreapers in service at each time, and you have to be specially selected (and exceptionally strong) to become one. After Archreapers are selected, they replace their name with whatever number they were replacing. Their old name is erased from everything and they are banned to ever go by anything other than their number, unless for a mission.

Well, that seems like that's it. If you have any questions, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ASK MEEEEE WHETHER ABOUT THE CHARACTER OR THE WORLD OR IDC

v Tagging who may care v

@moltenwrites @willtheweaver @wyked-ao3 @katenewmanwrites @agirlandherquill

@the-golden-comet @finleyorion @illarian-rambling

[smilepebble]

Idk is stuff meant headcanons or art or what, but I'd love to know what you think the 8path gang would be dressed up as for Halloween.

really really good question, this one took a while to figure out... answer is under the cut bc it got really long. anyway i enlisted help from my friends hiraya and henry for this one (@/drainbangle and @/thepeacockshallstrut respectively)

ophilia: pretty basic and probably what most other people would say but i do think she would go as an angel. its cute and it fits her! maybe primrose helps make her costume look extra nice or something

cyrus: cyrus and odette go to Ye Olde Spirit Halloween and cyrus gets a fancy looking vampire costume which he likes so much he tries wearing it regularly. this doesn't work because it's a halloween costume. odette is a werewolf to match cyrus. and by "werewolf" i mean she's dressed normally because it's not a full moon

tressa: tressa is dressed as a pirate and is super committed to the bit. to the point that she scares off a bunch of kids. she and noa are supposedly doing a matching couples outfit but noa's costume is so cute compared to tressa's that no one really knows they're matching

olberic: it depends on the context i think... in a more canon-aligned situation i don't think he really dresses up bc he's self conscious about scaring kids. in a modern au though he's totally wearing his LARP costume. regardless of what olberic is doing phillip is dressed as a little knight and it's adorable

primrose: primrose hypes up her costume for a week before halloween and then. actually ill let this message speak for itself

always keep them guessing

alfyn: uhhh. hmm. he can be frankenstein's monster i suppose...?

therion: he's a sheet ghost but specifically the one that charlie brown wears with all the holes cut into it. he thinks it's a clever reference but no one gets/remembers he's talking about and he dies badly

h'aanit: she probably doesn't put a lot of effort into it but she probably has a monster accessory or two. has to make sure she's not getting too into it or else she will definitely start scaring kids off with her acting. linde is dressed as a seer (susanna draped a little cloak on her back)

ochette: she mahina and akalā are all coordinating together and dressing as each other and it's really sweet. ochette dresses as akalā, akalā as mahina, and mahina as ochette. isn't friendship so beautiful

castti; she swaps her headband for a pair of cat ears and draws whiskers on her face. mission accomplished! kids call her costume lazy and she's so brave about it

temenos: a detective. a dead detective... DEADtective. something like that. a couple kids get scared of his costume and he feels bad about it

osvald: idk if he dresses up but if he does he only adds one or two little accessories to his normal clothes. he matches with elena and lets her take charge with costuming

partitio: perhaps something steampunk-esque? he and ori should coordinate they would be unstoppable together

agnea & hikari: im a big agnekari fan so i think they do couples costumes too. in a canon-adjacent setting they're dressing up as like mythological figures and such... while in a modern setting theyre more nerdy about it, with more fantasy stuff and cosplay. nonetheless lots of really cool costumes from them thanks to agnea's dad helping them out with costume making

throné: i think she goes as a bat :) she relishes in the freedom of costume design so she goes crazy with the design. like a mad scientist this one

[t4tozier]

boredom cure coming through via me requesting any thoughts you have on starbreaker, specifically what are your takes on their like. wild ass personality quirks they each unlock about the other after a certain period of time. if that makes sense.

(also, unrelated, but I'm watching succession right now, currently halfway through season 2, and fully understanding so many more of the posts I've seen about it. oh boy it sure is a SHOW.)

WOOO another succer enters the villa. you and my mom are watching at the same time you should text each other <3 feel free to pop in my asks or dms at any point w additional thoughts.

okay yes this does make sense. i’ll do more canon adjacent in a sec but first you get a got it bad fact that you didn’t ask for because she’s on my mind <3 semi related because jace doesn’t find this out until he starts sleeping over. porter has night terrors and sleepwalks. jace screams so loud it actually wakes porter up the first time he opens his eyes in the middle of the night to see porter standing over him with a dead-eyed stare. fun fact chap 5 was supposed to have an extra scene with maverick laying on porter’s chest to ground him and keep him from getting up in the middle of the night but i forgot while i was writing it because the park scene ended up being the main focus and by the time i remembered about it i had already posted it. sad.

okay canon-ish quirks. hm thinking thinking. porter’s incredibly anal (ha) about where his shit goes. like he’s got one side of the bathroom counter and jace has one side. jace has his section of the closet (his is bigger since porter just wears gym clothes 95% of the time) but his clothes better not start getting mixed up with porter’s shit. jace can be a little…absentminded about where he puts stuff down. he’s very much an “controlled chaos” kind of guy. it drives porter crazy.

i’ve def said this before so i’ll give you two jace ones but he listens to true crime podcasts to go to sleep. idk if this is a quirk per se but he listens to them out loud because earbuds hurt his ears if he’s laying on them all night. which means porter has to lay in bed next to him at night, wide awake for at least an hour after he falls asleep, listening to solace’s most gruesome crimes covered by a girl with an annoying voice. he starts putting jace’s fantasy spotify on a timer because jace is out like a fucking light within 5 or so minutes of getting into bed.

a quirk of jace’s that porter actually finds oddly endearing is that he has an app where he keeps track of all his clothes. how much they were. how often he wears it. pictures so he can easily create fits. now porter appreciates a simple wardrobe. but part of that is bc he can’t be bothered to come up with outfits every day. it’s just easier to throw on some form of plain t shirt and gym shorts or joggers. but he knows jace prides himself on his appearance and fashion sense, and at the same time gets overwhelmed when he has too many options. so even though jace has a massive closet, so big that he needs an app to even remember everything he owns, porter thinks it’s kind of cute and funny that of course this is the one thing he can always count on jace to have organized.

[late-to-the-party-81]

Good things come...

AN: The lovely @mrsmischief209 sent me a gif of Billy Russo looking fine and basically gave me either canon adjacent or Professor AU. I’ve gone with the latter and I hope you enjoy.

Beta’d by @lunarbuck 

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and mood board by me

Master list

Summary: Yesterday was your final exam, and today you were planning to relax and recover. What you didn’t expect, though, is to find your very hot History professor standing at your door.

Relationship: Professor Billy Russo x College Student Reader

Word Count: 2k

CW: Power imbalance (sort of), Age gap (reader early 20’s, Billy late 30’s, kissing and heavy petting, implied smut, pet names.

Chill.

Chill!

If you told it to yourself enough times, you might start to listen. You needed to get your beating heart and rapid breath under control before he noticed. He being your history professor, or rather, as of yesterday, your ex-history professor, who was currently standing at the door to your small, cluttered studio apartment, flashing you that disarming smile of his.

“Umm, Professor Russo. How can I help you?” You were standing behind your open door, head poked around the side of it, acutely aware that, because you hadn’t been expecting anyone to visit you the day after your final exam, you were severely underdressed. As in sleep t-shirt and panties only. No pants. No bra.

“Hey there! I just popped by to see how you were doing. See if you've recovered from yesterday. Can I…err?” He gesticulated with his hand to the part of your apartment he could see between the door and the door frame.

“Oh, yes. Umm. Just give me a moment.” You shut the door and flew into panic mode.

You ran towards your bed, but not without first detouring past the sofa to pick up your discarded clothes, including one of your bras, that were littered over it. You skidded in your socked feet on the wooden floor as you dumped your armful on the counterpane. You dug through the heap and dragged the yoga pants you found up your legs, hopping from foot to foot. Padding through to your tiny bathroom, you pulled your sleep-tee off, and quickly gave yourself a once over with a damp washcloth, while scrubbing your teeth. Jogging back through your wrestled with the closest bra and threw a clean t-shirt over your head and pulled the privacy curtain around the bed to hide the worst of your housekeeping fail. It wasn’t the most well put together outfit, but at least you were decent.

Heading back to your door, you hooked your fingers through the parade of dirty mugs on the coffee table and dumped them in your sink. You couldn’t do much about the pile of takeout containers stacked by the trash can. 

You opened the door again, a bright smile plastered on your face and were met with Professor Russo’s mischievous, boyish grin.

You’d been struck by him at your very first History of Warfare lecture. The former soldier turned college professor exuded boyish charm with his sparkling eyes and knowing smirk. You’d had the hots for him the last three years, hanging on his every word and feeling your face heat with embarrassment every time he asked you a question or praised you in front of the rest of the class. You thought you’d done a good job of hiding it though, or rather, you hoped you had.

Holding the door wide, you gestured for him to enter. With his hands in his pockets, he made it to your couch in four long-legged strides and settled onto it like he belonged there. Which was stupid, because, firstly, it was a very ratty couch, covered by a slightly less ratty throw rug you’d picked up at the thrift store, and two, he was your professor. Ex-professor. Whatever. At least he was dressed down today, in a crew neck knitted sweater and jeans. If he’d been wearing one of his suits, you might have expired on the spot.

“Can I get you a drink, Professor.”

The smile on his face didn’t waver.

“Just some water would be fine.”

You moved around your small kitchenette inelegantly, trying to find one of your ‘good�� glasses and before realising you’d have to wash one up. You did so briskly, popping the kettle on the stove as the faucet ran so you could make yourself a cup of chamomile. You felt in need of its soothing effects.

You decanted some bottled water from your fridge into the now clean glass, poured boiling water over the teabag in your favourite mug and nervously made your way back over to the sofa. The entire time it had seemed that Professor Russo was observing you with mild amusement. Placing your mug on the coffee table, you passed him his glass and then curled up on the opposite end of your sofa. He was twisted in his seat, so he could see you, right foot resting on his left knee and his left arm running along the back of the couch. He didn’t say anything, just looked at you from over the rim of the glass as he took a sip. 

“So… Professor. You just doing the rounds and checking on everyone?”

“Something like that, yes. I had to check that my best student was doing okay.” You felt the heat crawling up your face at his compliment, and you distracted yourself by leaning forward and snagging your mug of tea from the table.

“Yes. I’m fine. That last question had me stumped for a bit, but hopefully I managed to get the important points down on the paper. We’ll find out in a few weeks, I suppose.”

“I have no doubt that you expressed yourself most eloquently.”

You took a sip of your tea as he finished his water and placed his glass on the coffee table. Then, to your surprise and confusion, he plucked the mug from your fingers, put it down, then shifted closer, taking your hands in his. You froze, eyes wide and gaze locked on where his long fingers caressed your wrists.

“P-Professor?” How you managed to even say anything astounded you.

“Please, sweetheart. I’m not your professor any more, am I? My name’s Billy. Do you think you could call me that?”

Sweetheart? Oh! That pet name did things to you.

“Umm, okay. Billy. Erm, what are you doing?”

As you said his name his eyes closed, his lashes kissing his cheeks, and a tremor ran through him, before he opened his eyes again to look at you.

“I really hope that I’m not misreading this, but I couldn’t go a day more without saying something. I like you, my little Sunbeam. I like the way you turned up on your first day, full of enthusiasm, smiling, interested. I like the way that you always had spare pens for anyone who needed, and that you never, ever turned up without that extra large ‘to go’ cup. I like how you’re kind, and smart, and funny. I like how you duck your head when you’re embarrassed by my praise, just like you’re doing now. My ray of sunshine.”

One of his hands came up, the pointer finger catching under your chin and untucking your head so you had no choice but to look him in the eyes again.

“I like you a lot, and I’m wondering if I could kiss you?”

“If you could… what? Me?”  

This wasn’t making sense. You? He liked you? You had to be dreaming, right? You must have tripped on your rug going to open your door hitting your head on the coffee table, and this was all some figment of your now damaged mind. It had to be. Because otherwise, Professor Russo - Billy - was currently sitting on your sofa asking to kiss you, and that couldn’t be what was actually happening.

A chuckle broke through your internal crisis.

“Earth to Sunbeam? Have I broken you, sweetheart? And there I was thinking that I hadn’t done a good enough job of hiding how I felt.”

“I - I..” You shook your head and couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that made its way up your throat. You pulled your hands from his and fanned your face, uncaring of the embarrassment now, because it couldn’t get any worse. “Okay. Umm, well. I’m sorry. I’d like to say I’m normally more put together than this, and that you caught me off guard, but… umm… surprise, I’m always this much of a disaster.”

He laughed again.

“You’re not a disaster.”

“You caught on to the fact that I have the hots for you, but I had no idea you liked me back.”

His smile was wide and full of amused affection as he shuffled a bit closer.

“I’ve just had more experience hiding it than you. But you’ve not answered my question? Please, can I kiss you?”

The arm that he had along the back of your couch was only inches away from embracing your shoulders, his other hand so close to touching your leg. He was leaning forwards and his face, his lips were so close, so tempting. Why were you so worried? You liked him, he liked you, and as of yesterday, he was no longer your teacher. There was nothing wrong here, so you just had to bite the bullet.

“Yes…”

You breathed out the word on a sigh, and although quiet, it was still the consent he obviously required from you.

His lips descended onto yours, as your hands found his sweater, your fingers curling into the soft fabric and using it like an anchor before you were buffeted away on waves of sensation. Yes, Billy’s lips were soft, but his kiss was firm, with no hesitation. It was a claiming, a brand. He was etching himself on your body with only the smallest touch. It was so much more than you’d ever imagined in your private moments and yet it wasn’t enough.

Whether it was your unintentional whimper, or the way you moved closer, your fingers tightening even more on his sweater that let him know, but Billy picked up on your need, leaning over you, pressing your body into the couch as he cupped your face and deepened the kiss. He tasted your mouth and swallowed your noises of pleasure, and your hips pressed up against his.

He ripped his mouth away, looking down at you with a feral expression on his face. You reached up with a hand to brush a lock of his brown hair away from his eyes, smiling at him, like a lamb who has no idea they are being led to slaughter. But you did know, and you couldn’t wait for what was to come.

“My Sunny-girl…”

His head lowered once more, but fell to your neck, licking and sucking over your pulse point. Your fingers tangled in his thick hair, not knowing whether to hold him closer or push him away. His own hands slid down your torso, toying with the hem of your t-shirt, until you arched up again and gave him verbal permission to continue.

“Please. I want you to touch me.” 

Billy groaned into your skin as he pushed up the well-worn cotton, baring your stomach and your bra-covered breasts to his eyes and questing fingers. Both traced over your skin, taking in every swell, every scar, every mark. 

“I knew you’d be beautiful.” His thumb brushed over one cup of your plain, grey bra, watching with interest as your nipple hardened, before doing the same to the other one. You squirmed under the intensity of his gaze, caught between wanting to hide and wanting to bare yourself to him further.

“Professor…Billy…”

“Shh.Shh. I know, darling. I know. I want it too.”

He leant back, and in one motion pulled his sweater over his head, and you marvelled at his sculpted chest. You reached out a tentative hand, skimming it over his pecs, his dusky nipples and towards his abs and the trail of hair that led down under his jeans. He watched you explore and, emboldened, you sat back up, pulling your t-shirt free and discarding your bra. You stood and he followed suit, arching an eyebrow at you.

You smiled, looping your fingers into the belt loops of his jeans, and backed towards the curtain shrouding your bed, drawing him along.

“Just pretend you don’t see the clutter, okay?”

“Sunny, I’m not gonna see anything except you…”

Tag list: @jobean12-blog @tuiccim @sidepartskinnyjeans @wheezy-stucky @doasyoudesireandlive @pono-pura-vida @peaches1958 @luxeavenger @yarnforbrains @krissy25 @bodeckersdiamonddoll @writing-for-marvel

[milgramfessing]

I've sent two negative confessions and one positive one, I need to balance that out lmao Uh, this is very obvious from my profile picture, but I love Kotoko. She is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. I'm like, kind of surprised a character like her even exists, a character that is so unbelievably fucked up in terms of their morality and beliefs but is not only treated humanely by the narrative, but has people actively sympathizing with her and wishing she would become better. Like that's something that can exist?? Besides that, I love her shamelessly corny-ass 2010s edgy-ass design and all of her funny little outfits, I love how Aimi voice acts her (especially in Yonah, she was crazy for that shit), I love how she is presented in general in terms of how she's drawn because she either looks badass or a wet cat on the street and I love it I love how when you pull back all the curtains, Kotoko Yuzuriha is just a regular ass girl who felt dissatisfied with the state of the world and wanted to fix it, but ended up getting sucked into fascist-adjacent ideologies in the process. I love how relatable she is in her desire to fix a broken world because it makes her actions in the story so much more compelling and leaves you questioning if you too are capable of Doing That (spoiler alert: you are). A question that echoes through every character in Milgram, but especially Kotoko I love her relationships with the other characters, my favorite to think about being her relationship with Fuuta. I could write a whole other confession on how I view their relationship but it would require four different trigger warnings and I'm not quite sure the rules of this place so for now I'll just say I fucking love how they both clearly know that they're the same person in a different font but neither will ever fully admit it. I also love her dynamic with Es and how she projects her dream of a world where wrongdoers are served justice onto them and forces her values onto them, how she clearly loves them, but also has no problem targeting them where it hurts and manipulating them if it means getting what she wants. That also applies to her relationships with the rest of the prisoners by the way, she straight-up admits that she is fond of the other prisoners, yet she will still abuse them in pursuit of her goals, which is fucking TASTY I eat that shit up so bad I love how Kotoko's family-life mimics the standard nuclear family structure, with a breadwinner father, a housewife mother, and two kids, because it not only hints to Kotoko's generally traditional beliefs, but by her grandma also being included in her family structure, which (though depends on the culture) isn't typical for nuclear families, it goes to show how these dynamics can still be present even if the mold is not filled exactly. Also as a younger sibling, I like that Kotoko is canonically the youngest in her family, I think its cute I love her role in the narrative as a parallel to the prison itself and the ideologies it as a facility is built upon, and how all of it contributes into how Milgram critiques punitive justice and its unhelpful-ness when it comes to actually serving justice to criminals which I fucking looove, and I especially love how in that aspect, just like Es is the stand-in protagonist, you could call Kotoko the stand-in antagonist. She represents all of the ideals of the prison, it's black-and-white mentality, it's bigotry (ableism), the dichotomy of a good person versus a bad person, and how all of it is the main obstacle standing in the way of the prisoners achieving actual redemption, understanding, and clarity, or as we call it: The Therapy Option. I love how I have met so many people who think exactly like her, showing that Yamanaka was absolutely successful in his goal of making the characters feel like real people with 2-dimensional physical appearances. And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head !! In general, I just love her. Look at her, she is so silly

literally the silliest woman ever !! look at her !! No matter how her character climaxes in trial 3, whether she gets worse (please let her get worse its entertaining) or she gets better, I will love her all the same Thank you, Yamanaka, for making this incredibly silly woman lmao I am so sorry for when you get this in your inbox

there are no rules about confessions; I'll post anything. && no worries I love reading longer confessions !!

[addox]

janAUary #1 - record store

ship: dewmav

word count: 1144

summary: maverick pops into dewey's shop to look around. he hopes that he catches their eye instead.

(dew works canonically at a record shop, so why not change up the meetcute -- what if they met at his workplace instead of theirs?)

He notices them when they walk in, but it's not until they're flicking through the 'New Releases' cart just adjacent to him that he truly notices them.

He can't help it, not when their clothes drape so perfectly over their shoulder, which quickly is exposed by the sweater they're wearing and showcases the mass of freckles that pattern their skin there. Or the way the light hits the top of their head just enough that the bluish hue they've tinted their hair shines deeply in contrast with the brighter tones of their outfit. It didn't help he caught the way their stockings were awfully tight as they scooted down the line of albums.

He's seen them before, many times actually. A frequent visitor, but normally only in the very early parts of the day -- the times where he's only barely half-awake, wandering in fifteen minutes late to his shift anyways, and they're too busy with their head buried in the tracklist of whatever album they'd just bought to pay any semblance of attention as they slink past him holding the door open for them.

He decides that maybe he's looking at them now because he expects a ‘thank you.’ Even if they'd never noticed him before. 

And it's not until their gaze slowly rises, head still bowed towards the bin of vinyls that he realizes he's staring.

“Uh. Hi.”

It's when they stand back up, sightline flicking around the shop only to realize how clientele-barren and open it was, that they respond.

“...Hi?”

His head is propped on his hand, leaning over the counter lazily, the other brushing through his hair before rejoining its partner on the glass casing that holds the more valuable records in the store.

“Looking for something specific?”

They shake their head, turning away slightly “Ah, no, not really.”

Dewey raises his voice slightly, craning his neck as he leans just a bit more forward, “Well, if you change your mind, I’ll…Be here.”

They don't respond to him, and in an awkward motion, he turns around, bending down and pretending to inspect the bulk of crates and boxes stored behind the counter. He tries to be anywhere, look anywhere that isn't at them. He wanders from behind the register, slipping down any aisle they're not.

When they say something from the other side of the shelving, he suddenly reappears rather quickly from his makeshift hiding place, popping his head around the corner.

“Huh?”

“Oh, sorry. Just talking to myself.”

“Right. Yeah, okay,” he nods, but continues to peek past the thin barrier between them.

They sigh, “I guess a second opinion isn't the worst thing ever though, if you have one.”

“Dewey Finn, music connoisseur at your service, dear loyal customer.”

“Maverick will do, thanks,” they smile as he approaches. 

He bows, making a show of the whole scene before he takes a look at the two albums they've pulled.

“What's on your mind?”

“Been trying to get into some older stuff lately. But I’m not quite sure where to start.”

Dewey nods towards the gray-stained cover of Who's Next. 

“No question on that one. Their best album, for sure. You into rock at all?”

“Newer stuff, heavy stuff mostly. I, uh -- I’m in a band, they want me to,” they pause, throwing up air quotes, “Broaden my horizons, or something. Like I don't know most of the classics already.”

“No shit, you play?”

“I mean, for fun. We don't really…Perform a lot.”

“That's fuckin�� awesome, though. I play too,” they share a moment of solidarity, and a smile before Maverick cuts it short, tucking the vinyl under their arm and putting the other back.

“We could…Maybe hang out sometime. For a jam sesh, or something.”

“Maybe,” Mav turns away shyly. They scurry towards the counter, Dewey rushing back just behind them, a little discouraged from the hesitant quasi-rejection.

Their gaze passes him as he rings them out, taking his time as he still tries to make pleasant conversation. They quickly cut him off, reaching out and grabbing at his wrist, in effect stopping him. He looks over at them, baffled, but somehow not upset that their hand was still on him. They gasp. 

“Is that the special edition of White Pony?”

He glances back, to the small pile of things lining the hanging shelf behind him, “Uh, yeah.”

Their expression immediately lights up, “You're lying! I -- I've been looking for it for ages!”

“Well,” he scratches at the back of his neck, pulling at the hair there. He doesn't have the heart to tell them it's behind the counter because it's on hold for someone else, “It's um…That's it.”

“How much?”

He shrugs, knowing damn well they won't accept no for an answer, “Dunno if it's up for sale yet --”

Their voice drops low, “I’ll do anything.”

His head snaps back. He swallows the nervous chuckle creeping up his throat and sees the way their expression falls serious.

He looks behind him again. It's definitely his ass if his manager finds out. But…

“Like, maybe even a date?”

Maverick seems confused, at first. Not quite what they'd expected. However, as they look him over again, the lopsided smile he wears, the disheveled outfit, the wild hair, it’s almost endearing. Kind of cute, even.

“Maybe even a date.”

“You're serious?” he tilts his head. He didn't actually expect them to agree -- nor was he going to admit that he probably would have sold the thing to them either way. 

But hey, he shot his shot, and he didn't miss, for once.

They stop, think, then fail to cover the giggle that overtakes them, “Sure. Why not?”

When he turns around to grab the vinyl, he pauses, pretends to be rearranging the rest of the shelf for balance, tries to hide the way he's smiling and can't stop. To be fair, he's also trying desperately to think of what to say now; He didn't expect to get this far. The beep of the register draws him back as he finishes cashing them out. When they take the bag from him, their fingers brush his. They lean just a bit closer to him.

“For the record, I would have said yes even if the vinyl wasn't at stake.”

He laughs nervously, a little louder than he should have if he wanted to seem calm, probably. “For the record. Like, because --” he gestures vaguely to the album, and when he realizes it wasn't an intentional pun, he bites his tongue and forces a smile, “Yeah. Okay, well, I'll pick you up at seven, then. If that's cool.”

They turn just before they reach the door, “I'll see you then, Dewey. Don't be late.”

“I'm never late,” he shrugs. 

“Sure you are. Every day I see you, you're late.”

And with that, they leave. He watches them walk down the block, disappearing shortly into the lunch-hour crowd.

“...So you did notice me.”