#i have too many story ideas in my head rn and need to focus on ONE instead of many

[novasintheroom]

alright, i need some story counsel.

i found my first official chapter for the prince!vash x princess!reader story i started last year. i'm actually super stoked about how it came out!

however, i'm struggling with coming up with tension in the story. there's obviously the whole 'i married a stranger and now i'm slowly falling in love with them' tension, but i feel like it needs more than that, you know? it's part of the reason why i stopped working on it - just couldn't come up with something satisfactory!!

so what would you guys suggest? i have the idea of a foreign kingdom coming in and demanding a divorce between the two so that their prince/princess can marry vash/reader for power/money/whatever, but i feel like that's a bit of a cop-out?? plus with vash's side of things, they'd probably demand nai marry their royalty first since he's the only heir without a spouse. kind of a moot tension builder due to that.

idk idk dm me or message mee or reply here with what you'd like to see tension-wise or just in general!!

(also also i knnoooowww i have asks about this AU in my inbox still THIS ISN'T ABOUT THAT. this isn't about that.)

[myreygn]

If you're still doing the First Impressions Character ask game:

Askeladd; Tanizaki (bsd); Tendou (haikyuu!!); Akaza (demon slayer)

-soda

uaaah so many characters at once :D thanks for asking soda!! already did askeladd here

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Tanizaki

First impression

aw man he's cute too bad he's a terrorist

Impression now

i'm so soft for him i'm not even kidding, he's adorable to me and i'm so invested every time he does anything remotely out of his comfort zone because i just want him to succeed

Favorite moment

hands down when he threw himself out of a moving car and kenji caught him i'm so normal about this scene

Idea for a story

i really really really wanna write some atsutani, this ship took my heart by storm and just anything cute and fluffy for them is on my writing bucket list (also i have this nsfw draft of soukoku ft tanizaki sitting in my drafts that i'll never finish but psht)

Unpopular opinion

despite some of their scenes being uncomfortable af his relationship to naomi is actually really sweet and i wish they left the creepy stuff out so i could enjoy them without having to explain myself 💀

Favorite relationship

love tanizaki and kenji actually, they're besties in my head

Favorite headcanon

strikes me as someone who stress bakes

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Tendou

First impression

funfact tendou and makoto tachibana from free! have the same german voice actor and because i watched both of these shows in german my first reaction was turning to my sister like "holy shit is that makoto"

Impression now

he's so fun to me, i never have a bad time watching tendou do anything. i'm reading the manga rn and his commentary throughout the karasuno vs nekoma match is my favorite thing in the world

Favorite moment

it doesn't matter if you don't understand what he's saying it's all about the delivery

Idea for a story

oh hmm... good question actually lol. something tensemi idk i don't write him often

Unpopular opinion

he deserved to be bullied for that bowl cut (I'M KIDDING)

Favorite relationship

i mean we all love the ushiten dynamic but honestly tensemi will always be special to me, i live for their dynamic

Favorite headcanon

with haikyuu i never know what's canon and what's headcanon- i like to think that he got his buzzcut on a whim and then spent 10 minutes crying in front of the mirror, cradling his hair in his arms

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Akaza

First impression

i was so scared for kyojuro lemme tell you but his soundtrack was too cool i couldn't resist the epicness

Impression now

there's rarely been a character that's both so funny and so sad to me. everything about him cracks me tf up but if i think about him for more than five seconds i will start crying

Favorite moment

the moment when he sinks into koyuki's arms kills me. every. time.

Idea for a story

i really wanna do a character study with him at some point and focus on his relationship to humanity/monstrosity i just need a scenario i can weave this into

Unpopular opinion

idk what to put here so i'm just gonna say PUT SOME GODDAMN SHOES ON I DON'T NEED YOUR FEET IN MY FACE EVERY OTHER PANEL BY GOD

Favorite relationship

i fuck so hard with him and douma because douma holds all the cards in that relationship and i live for toxic imbalanced dynamics

Favorite headcanon

idk why but i like the idea that he sleeps every now and then just for the heck of it. and when he does he dreams but he never remembers them when he wakes up

[translightyagami]

15/18/25!

How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

i feel a bit like a fraud answering this rn because I have been in a stop/start cycle with all my smut wip lately. but maybe breaking down the process here will help me connect with my roots, so to speak.

my first step is the idea. usually i think of something that'd be hot - idk, spanking, daddy kink, deep vulnerability - and build out from there. often the real heat of a sex scene comes from the context it exists in. take, for example, the final sex scene in "give it to me." yeah its like L moaning and Light having a huge dick, but the real hotness is in the power reversal, the way Light has locked them into mutually assured tragedy for the promise of more sweet detective bussy.

next, i write the dang thing. very sloppy first drafts, right down to writing place-holder dialogue. all i need at this point is to have my little dolls in their "places" so that when I come back, the only thing i have to focus on is refinement. when i do come back for edits, i usually rewrite and reconfigure the entire story with an eye toward sentence construction. this is also when i comb out any really horny tangles. you guys think you're getting the pure unfiltered heart of my erotic ideas? absolutely not. its not a blanket recommendation for everyone to do that, but ya know not every horny impulse makes for compelling reading.

i do write from a visual place. obviously i can see exactly what i want to convey in my head, but i'm only so talented. that's why word choice is so important, as is keeping an eye on craft stuff like diction. readers should be utterly immersed in my erotica to the point that they don't even notice they've been jerking off for an hour. details are more tricky, as too many details are distraction and honestly boring to write. the more details, the less space for the imagination - which is the MOST important part of erotic literature. as a reader, i like the space fill in my fantasies and so as the writer, i try to extend that courtesy to others.

its not that important to be realistic. that's what reality is for. sorry to the people in the audience who are like "eight inches is too big for Light's dick!" i'm an artist and i do as i please.

Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

always after. when i start my fics, i'm not as big of a planner as many more prolific writers are, which also means i'm not yet sure of what themes the work will tackle. usually, i like to reach for a phrase from the fic that also acts as a summary of the story. but ultimately its a gut thing. when you know you know.

What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

several, to be honest. I never really felt like my Bottom L fics got as much traction as I wanted, which is probably bc 1) the fandom leans toward bottom Light which is also partially my own doing lol and 2) most people aren't willing to put their public stamp of approval on the sort of sordid shit i write for Bottom L. i'd love to see Making a Scene get more love, and honestly, it'd be very very cool to see people rediscover and enjoy my two t4t bottom L fics i wrote on my avoidfilledwithcelluloid account. Both "Christmas Wrapping" and the "hierophilia/skirts" chapter of my kinktober 2021 collection have trans masc fucking i am super proud of. i'd like to become even better at soon.

[polyamorouspunk]

I really try and focus on my followers for my sleepover fridays because I like talking to you but I kind of just need to get my thoughts out rn so please excuse me and feel free to ignore.

The idea of maybe going to med school is kind of a trip. I mean the other day when I got a 98 on my test I started to realize maybe I could and like should I go into nursing because on places like tumblr you hear all these horror stories of being treated like shit by cishet nurses and how people want doctors and nurses who “look like them” (aka POC, queer people, fat people, etc. people they can relate to besides the image of an upper class white girl) and I’m like maybe I should do that and later that day I ended up talking about what I did want to go into and I realized this is my passion and I really want to persue this.

But my OTHER passion really is infectious diseases and I always said to myself “well I’m going into psychology because I can’t go into med school” and I always had an excuse, you know as a kid it was “well I want to be a vet but I have a fear of needles so I can’t do that” and then it was “well I’m bad at math so I can’t go into med school” and now it’s like “well I’m going into psychology so I don’t need to go into med school” but like. I’m interested in the medicalized side of psychology. I don’t really care to sit in a room and have people tell me their problems, though I’m totally fine with that, and I’m thinking maybe when I’m older like 50s that might be good to like “retire” into, what I want to do is find out WHAT causes pedophilia and HOW we can try and stop CSA from that angle. Like I want to go into prisons and be the Mindhunter but with pedophiles instead of serial killers. I want to look at scans of their brain and find out what’s different from you or me- if there even is anything. And honestly we may already know all this (last time I did a paper on pedophilia was like 2018 so that was 5 years ago and of course in medical terms 5 years ago is already outdated for some things) but more research isn’t going to hurt. Like you can’t have too much research. And I wouldn’t even mind being some sort of therapist for child victims of CSA to hear their side of things too.

But I love, love, love infectious diseases. I’ve had a lot of people tell me I should go into English and be an author or a teacher because I’m “good at it” and I’m like yeah but I have no interest in making a career out of it, and I’ve had people tell me I should go into epidemiology and I go yeah but I’m not smart enough to or I would. But like. Maybe I am. Like honestly maybe I could. And there’s totally ways out there to combine my love of psychology and epidemiology. Like I just answered in @/safety-pin-punk’s ask (go follow) I just saw an interview with a neuro-something psychologist talking about the effects of true crime and why people love it (very complicated reasoning but I’m one of those people [who RESPECTFULLY consumes true crime]) and it’s like if you’re a neuro-something you need to have some medical training. Not really sure pedophilia and infectious diseases really fit together besides like I know you can literally “become a pedophile” after a head injury so it’s not that far of a reach to say you can “become a pedophile” if some sort of infectious disease messes with your brain but like. I mean honestly for years the dream has been to like be a forensic anthropologist (I LOVE Bones, that show influenced me a LOT) and then kind of switched towards like loving epidemiology and like honestly yeah sometimes I day-dream about being able to work in Hot Zones and be on the ground in Africa combating Ebola outbreaks I mean MAN what a dream but like… it was always a dream, you know? Not a reality. Like I read The Hot Zone and I was like oh my god this is SO COOL and like I watch WAY too many Outbreak-type movies because they are my favorite genera of movie besides war movies (Contagion? 28 Days Later? Literally any zombie out break movie ever? LOVE LOVE LOVE). And like *flaps hands* AH I just love that shit but like fuck man. Idk. Idk. Like obviously I’m going to start looking into what it takes to actually really do that which is just… something I never did because I never seriously entertained the idea beyond a dream. I just don’t know. I love both ideas. I had picked psychology because it was easier and I didn’t think I could do epidemiology. But maybe I can.

Edit: yeah like you need like a fucking doctorate and I’m like do I really want to go and get a doctorate or should I just settle for psychology-

Edit 2: I might need a doctorate for psychology research anyway so like fuck man idk maybe I should just work in retail until I’m 65-

(Also my mom keeps telling me this is why I need an advisor, I do not have a good college advisor, she didn’t even register me for my classes, some random guy did 😑)

So I guess I really need to talk to an advisor yeah 😑

Edit 3: like if I already need a doctorate for psychology should I just say fuck it and switch idk yk? I would have to redo a lot of schooling though because I’ve tailored my classes as best I could to psychology but like at the end of the day I’m only getting a BA in Arts. Man I need an advisor skhdkdhsjs.

[zenith-impact]

i don’t know if you’re still accepting may prompt requests, so if you aren’t, just ignore this!

could i get either memory lane + xiao or albedo + homecoming? i adore your writing btw!! you’re probably my favorite genshin author as of rn. i hope you have a great/day night— oh, and happy anniversary to you and your husband!! 💞

Thank you so much ☆ ～('▽^人) Reading that really made my day!

I went ahead and did both prompts! Albedo's half will be under the cut. Thank you for the request!

The rain drizzles off of the roof of the inn, catching the light from the sun as it slips gently out of the sky. A rainbow curves in the distance, but it too is starting to fade. Some, like the people standing on the balcony below, might call a day such as this beautiful. Others, like the guests curled up by the fire or locked up in their rooms might call it a bother. For Xiao, it was a time to reminisce. A time to think on the centuries he's lived and piece together the small things that keep him going. The voices in his head retreat, leaving only the sound of the water plopping against the wood. His skin is covered in droplets but he ignores them, preferring to stare into the horizon.

Memories were difficult for Xiao. Not because he has a bad memory, but because he doesn’t have very many good ones. Meeting Rex Lapis was a shining beacon in a sea of violence and chaos. Darkness is often the only thing he sees. A haze in which he is disconnected from the pain he suffered in his early years. Other times his memories are crystal clear- something the voices that plague him make sure of. He reflects on all of this, ignoring the rain as it seeps into his skin. He is an adepti. The cold doesn't bother him, nor will it ever.

And yet, as he tries to focus on the karmic debt he holds, he finds his mind drifting back to you. The moments you share are much more recent. They are events that he never thought he'd experience. Memories that he never imagined would be his own. Laughter that makes his heart race. The gentle caress of fingers on his battle hardened skin and scars. The feeling of your hand in his, squeezing as you tell him another story of the life he has become a part of.

Years ago, he almost rejected you. Now, he can't imagine a world without you in his life.

"Xiao?"

He looks down, realizing that the balcony is now empty save for you and the towel in your hand. The rain has ceased as the sun dips below the horizon, giving way to the full moon. You are as captivating as ever, drawing his attention like a moth to a flame. "Why are you here?" He says.

You smile. "Because you are."

He huffs as he hops off the rooftop. "And if I wasn't?"

"Then I would have waited for you."

"For how long?"

"As long as it took."

Satisfied, he leans on the railing overlooking the Dihua Marsh. You join him, still smiling. "I can fix that you know."

"Fix what?"

You gesture to him in a dramatic fashion. "All of that."

"Are you implying I need fixing?"

You roll your eyes. "I'd just be drying you off, silly."

"I do not need your help," He says, though his dripping hair betrays him as water slithers down his face.

"Please," you say, holding out the towel. Your Hydro vision glitters, taunting him. "Water is my specialty."

Xiao huffs, crossing his arms. "Do what you will." You were moving before he even finished his sentence, dropping the towel on his head with little fanfare. He glares at you, but you just laugh as you massage his scalp. He feels the water seeping into the towel, drying his hair in record time. You leave it there as you take a step back, drawing a circle in the air with your finger. Water rises off his body and clothes, gathering in a ball in front of him. You reach your hands out, directing the ball to float between them as you draw more in. The dampness on his skin fades. His clothes return to their normal softness. The last of the drops that cling to his mask slip away. You grin, mesmerized by your own handiwork.

Xiao's expression softens as he watches you, committing every detail of this moment to memory. The way your eyes glisten. The way your skin and muscles move with every small flick of your wrist or twist of your arm. The way the clothes fold and stretch with your body. The rising moon that fills the background with silver light and accentuates everything about you. The grin you give him as you make the water disappear. "Come on " you say, looping your arm in his. "Let's get out of the cold." With that, you guide him back to the room that has become your second home. Xiao follows, his heart yearning for you every step of the way.

Of all the memories Xiao has tucked away over the years, he decides that you will always be his favorite.

Albedo liked to think he was good at managing his stress. Experiments often went awry and he was always there to calm everybody down and get it under control. His time on Dragonspine was inherently stressful but he never let it get to him as it was just another experiment but in colder weather. Oftentimes he didn't even acknowledge things that should have been stressful to begin with. He doesn't have the same worries as someone like Sucrose or Timaeus. Albedo simply focuses on the task at hand and gets it all done.

But today was the day you were coming home after nearly two months away, and Albedo felt nothing but sheer anxiety.

"Albedo?" Sucrose said, peering over her notes. At first he said nothing, staring down at his sketchbook without actually seeing anything. He swore he heard his name, but his brain doesn't connect the dots. It wasn't until Sucrose cleared her throat and tried again that he was actually able to listen. "Albedo!"

"Yes?" He said, glancing up at her. His posture was rigid. His hand was tight on the pencil. His eyes felt the urge to dart around the room as the rest of him wished he could pace to relieve some stress. It is an uncomfortable position to be in, and Albedo couldn't help but feel bad as worry flickered across Sucrose's face.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Albedo sighs. “They are coming home today.” Sucrose nods, her expression flickering to understanding.

“Why does that worry you?”

“It’s been so long…”

“Two months isn’t very long.” Sucrose puts a finger to her chin in thought. “Actually… this is the first time that they’ve left Mondstadt, isn’t it? Usually its you that has to go on these excursions.”

“That is the most common scenario in our relationship, yes.”

“But they’ve started coming with you,” Sucrose said.

Albedo nodded. “During our last two investigations.”

“But you had work to do for the Knights.”

“Yes.”

“Are you worried they won’t come back?”

He ponders this. He is not worried that you ran away or something like that. Your entire life is in Mondstadt. Not just your relationship with him, but your family, all of your friends, your livelihood… you weren’t the kind of person to abandon everything on a whim. You’d even been slightly nervous about the trip, as it was rare for you to leave the city without him or your family by your side. You were a capable person, yes, and you’d trained for years to defend yourself. Anything life threw at you, Albedo was confident you could handle. So, he said, “No I’m not.”

“Are you worried they don’t love you anymore?”

Albedo froze at that statement, but quickly parsed through it. The two of you had been together for quite some time now, and he had long since gotten over his fear of losing you. He couldn’t think of any glaring holes in your relationship. You had left for this excursion on the best of terms with both of you taking a few days off before the event to enjoy your time together. You had even expressed sincere regret that you could not take him with you. So, once again, he said, “No I’m not.”

“Then what is there to worry about?”

Albedo didn’t know, yet his stress didn’t dissipate. Sucrose seemed to notice this, for she just tilted her head and smiled. “You’re worried about seeing them again.”

“I… don’t follow.”

“It’s been so long,” She said, putting her notes down on the table. “You probably want everything to be perfect.” She sat at the seat next to him, reaching for her own pencil. “You probably imagine them running through the gates of Mondstadt and straight into your waiting arms. Maybe you’re even holding flowers or a nice gift. Maybe you’ve planned the perfect dinner or cleaned the house. Maybe you just want to spend time with them, just the two of you.”

“None of that is inherently stressful.”

“But the idea that things might not be perfect is to you,” She said. “But you know them. They’ll want to return to life as seamlessly as possible. No fanfare. No worries. No problem.” She pointed the end of her pencil at Albedo. “You just want them to know how much you love them.”

Albedo glanced down at his sketchbook where an unfinished drawing of you lay. It was one of his slowest drawings to date as he worked between his experiments, only committing to paper what he was absolutely certain was perfect from his memories. He’d started it the day you left, reflecting on everything that made you, well, you. He’d taken multiple pages just sketching your eyes, your hands, your feet. He’d spent an entire day working on the various ways you might mess with your hair during the excursion and imagined the clothes he knew you took with you. But even now, the day you were meant to come home, his image wasn’t quite done. He needed to see you again. Commit another version of your form to his memory so that the image was as perfect as you were.

“Perfection,” He muttered.

“Don’t worry about that,” Sucrose said. “Just be yourself.”

Albedo turned back to his drawing and got to work, pulling on the images that filled his mind on a daily basis. He drew the gates of Mondstadt, open and inviting. He drew the dandelions floating in the wind outside and the grass just on the edges. In the center, he finished his sketch of you - bright eyed and smiling like you always did. He picked apart every detail down to the laces on your shoes. The more he drew, the more his anxiety slipped away. This was his comfort zone. This was what reminded him of the person he was waiting for.

“Albedo?”

He rose at the sound of your voice, sketchbook in hand as he rushed to meet you, his stress finally forgotten.

[mageofseven]

hi!!! i just requested this on another blog too but i am FIRED UP rn abt the angel event, and i was wondering if you could do hcs for the brothers with an mc who is SUPER pissed off abt the bangles and stuff (bc its just wrong on SO many levels), especially bc they have religious trauma of their own (its the internalized lgbt-phobia for me 😎) AKRHWJRJE thank u

Yeah...this became a rant that I had no idea I was holding within myself. I've put it all under a Read More thing for those who haven't seen or finished the event for whatever reason. The actual content asked for is below this rant so feel free to skip over it for the real reason y'all are reading this 😅

Okay, people seem to be very...negatively passionate about this event. Don't get me wrong; I understand and agree with why everyone is upset. Playing with the brother's trauma (well, most of the brother's trauma since Satan wasn't alive at the time and Asmo seemed pretty chill with the whole angelic thing) for sake of an event? That's fucked up.

On a story level, I was at first mad at Diavolo. I mean, surely, surely that man knows what horrible stuff Lucifer and his brothers went through or at least part of it, because the ending of it all is what brought the brothers to him! And maybe he thought the costume change was okay since Asmo requested it? But even so, the consent of one brother does not equal the consent of all brothers to dress up like their past selves!

Then bangles. Simeon knew what they did and still gave them to the brothers. Okay, upsetting, but Michael told him to give them to the brothers and maybe he can't refuse an archangel? I dunno but fuck you, Michael.

I'll admit though, those bangles helped the brother do good things and get past their gnawing insecurities (Mammon selling his stuff and donating the money to charity, Asmo know longer stressing over looking perfect and finding peace with his looks and ultimately, learning to truly love himself in a way he never did before), but such things happened for the wrong reasons. I want those good changes for our boys, but I don't want it forced on them like it has been in this event. I want them to reflect, see that a changes is need, and choose to work in themselves and self-heal.

This event was just a lot of me smiling uncomfortably and screaming in my head "what's happening to my sinny boys??". It honestly broke my heart when Luce said he didn't have any fond memories of his time as an angel and I was so worried about all of the bad memories that must be flooding his mind because of this, especially his since his brother, though began with anxiety in the beginning, fell into what's practically mind control quite easily, and only Luce was left fighting it's affects.

Some parts of the event were cute, I won't deny that, but it wasn't them. We didn't truly have our boys during this event and instead had to watch them revert to state they likely never wanted to and it hurt to watch...

Okay, I started this rant trying to make a point that I thought the rest of the fandom felt too strongly about this event and now I'm like...ouch, I had a lot more feelings in me about it than I originally thought. So ya, I understand now. Imma just hide in the corner and hug my Luci...

~

Lucifer:

Truly surprised to see MC so worked up

And lowkey touched that they care so much about both his and his brothers' wellbeing to the point where they'd get so mad on their behalf.

However, he cannot allow for them to speak to Lord Diavolo in such a manner.

Pulls them to the side and tells them enough is enough, consequently bringing their harsh comments towards Simeon to halt as well.

Getting worked up is not going to fix anything and he tells them this.

Mammon:

Whoa, whoa, hold up! Enough!

No need to get that mad, human, honest!

Yeah, this isn't gonna be easy for them, but he doesn't need MC digging their own hole in this situation.

Immediately works on comforting them, saying things like he and his brothers will get out of this in no time so they don't have to worry.

Essentially lies to them and feels extra guilty about it thanks to the bangles, but no stupid bracelet is gonna make him admit that and hurt his human worse!

Overall, MC's outburst forces him to focus on them and not his own current issues.

Leviathan:

Another brother so worried about them that he has to shelve his own worries to comfort them

...or at least, he tries to.

Basically agrees with everything Mammon says (the bangles make that a hell of a lot easier for him to do) and anxiously fidgets in place.

He has enough to worry about and now his Henry is acting like this? Things just keep getting worse.

Satan:

Sighs

"MC, now is not time for this."

You know when the Avatar of Wrath says you shouldn't be giving into angry right now that you really shouldn't be.

Appreciates that the human is so worried about them, but really doesn't need their yelling on top of the current issue.

Whether this is his own logic talking or the calming effect of the bangles, the man cannot discern.

Regardless, this situation is more of an inconvenience to him than anything else.

He never was an angel nor went through the trauma his brothers have. At best, he just has a small, vague patchwork of Lucifer's memories of that time.

He becomes increasingly unsettled as time in this form goes by, but doesn't struggle in the same way his brothers do.

Asmodeus:

"Oh stop, it'll be fine!"

The only brother to try to remain positive in the situation.

I mean, at least his outfit is cute, right?

The bangles do raise up a kind of anxiety that he doesn't want to deal with, but if he just smiles and pretends things are fine, maybe all of his issues will go away?

Doesn't like MC getting so angry because it reminds him that this is indeed a problem and he doesn't want that.

Beelzebub:

Sad baby boy.

More worried about MC than he is about himself tbh.

Please don't be mad, MC, it'll get fixed somehow 🥺

Despite being one of the afflicted, feels like he needs to watch over the human during this time.

Belphegor:

Ugh, stop.

Yeah, he's pissed too, but enough yelling about it.

Agrees with everything they spew out at the demon lord and angel.

Devil, just fix this, someone.

He doesn't want to be forced to be like his prior self, as if the loss of his sister never happened because it did happened.

Fuck Diavolo for always doing whatever the hell he wants. Fuck Michael for still wanting to control them even now. Fuck everything that's going on right now.

[space-blue]

Star Wars is just… driving me insane rn so I’m disappearing into fanfic and I was reminded of ur Ahsoka&Tarkin idea. I was curious how that was going, no prob if there’s no updates, I’m just looking for distractions

URGH do I ever feel you Anon.

Half the fandom is screaming for joy as if chaining cameos like beads on a string of fan service is what BoBF should be all about, and the other half has gone from writing fan fiction to coping mechanism fiction. I too can't wait for all the fix it fanart that blithely disregards the Filoniverse. As far as I'm concerned Cad Bane never made it to live action, I'm not interested in facts and I can't hear you AAAAaaaa—

In the meantime... Yes. I still plan on writing the Ahsoka and Tarkin fic. I still have the early chapters written. It still lives in my head rent free.

BUT (for there must be a but, and that one is thicc)

"Distractions" found me before BoBF did. In the shape of a show called Arcane... It's gorgeous, the writing is insanely good, I'm in love with half the cast, and it hurt my soul on such a level I'm in a perpetual "coming home from the war" moment like

I'm still running, honestly. My Muse is in commando gear and camo paint face, screaming "Silcoooo!" — wrote around 100k since mid November, you know, that sort of war on mental health. Try the show at your own peril.

My Cad "Dad" Bane story was meant to be finished before I started the Soka & Tarkin... So as not to have Too Many™ ongoing fics. Now Arcane distracted me from Dad Bane and gave me 5 additional ongoing WiPs.

But I DO have the first two chapters, and I will continue penning the fic, but right now... I need to wrap up some Arcane WIPs so as not to leave fans hanging with the Tarkin fic. I'm afraid I'd post the first two chapters and leave it in limbo. It's better if I don't touch it until I feel like I have the headspace to focus on it.

Alright. All that being said, if you're amenable to a BoBF fic written before the show aired, and honestly better than the show's writing (if I do say so myself) with gorgeous art from Rovent, starring Cad Bane, Meeyan Bane, Cobb Vanth, Fennec Shand, Din Djarin, Boba Fett, Qi'ra, the Pykes, Black Sun and co. and a couple clans of Tuskens, then behold :

It's 12k, completed, and is the work I put the most effort in, as a fanfic author *ever*. It had 3 heavily involved betas, took me over a month to write, and I'm still kinda dejected it didn't just sort of explode. lol I definitely had dreams of grandeur regarding it.

My friend @twinsunstwink is also posting a fascinating Dinluke fic at the moment, and I'm the beta for it. It's fantastic, and I got so obsessed I even made fanart for it! The fic balances unhinged flirting and heavy smut with politics and dark side flavoured angst and it's very chef kiss, very much crop watering and skin cleansing. It updates every Sunday, you should check it out!

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant Anon, even if I'm still holding my Tarkin&Soka to my heart and crying Arcane tears over it...

[psycoweeb]

Amber/Momo Yaoyorozu

Color Prompt: Amber(Most of this was meant to happen in front of a fire...)

Fluff☁

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, cheesy confession, hiking, and my bad writing ❤

Disclaimer: I do not own bnha or any of its characters. Only the story written below.

A/N: I am SO SORRY this took so long! To make a long story short I basically dropped all of my hobbies in order to focus on the last bit of my school semester😅

It's litterly 12am rn so sorry if it seems a bit off at the end (this fic DEFINITELY did not go the way I planned😂I kina like it tho)

~~~•∆•~~~

You tried to keep up as you walked the trail, ducking and dodging branches. 'Why am I here again?' you thought starting to feel your fatigue slowly building.

It was nearing the end of class when Aizawa sensei randomly announced a surprise four day "field trip" that would take place two days later, and it wasn't an option. We ended up rushing to get our parents permission, and pack up.

You were pulled out of your thoughts as you heard Mina groaning loudly. "FINALLY!" The pink haired girl exclaimed sounding relieved. She had good reason to be, Aizawa Sensei had the entire class take a SIX HOUR hike instead of taking the bus up the very obvious road.

You dragged yourself to the clearing along with the rest of the class toward Aizawa sensei, who some how made it up before all of you. And didn't seem the least bit tired??? After giving the class a few hours to rest, thank goodness, Aizawa sensei stood up to speak.

"I'm glad to see you all made it in one piece, however I can't promise you'll leave that way" Everyone internally groaned at this. "starting today we have survival training" He said with a bored expression.

Iida stepped forward, confused by his teachers statment "With all do respect sir, why would we need that type of training? We'll most likely be working as heros in the city, correct?"

"While that may be true" The teacher said turning to him "we don't want other incidents like the USJ. We don't know the extent of their power, therefore we dont know where or how far they can teleport someone. And it was made clear how much you all are lacking in this type of environment at the training camp"

He continued "None of you are used to fighting in a closed off environment with obstacles everywhere you turn, that's what this training camps main objective is, to get you ready for anything. Today we have survival lessons and tomorrow we work on combat, we'll switch off between the days. That means you have two days to learn how to survive in a forest and two days to learn combat in a forest, good luck"

~~•∆(Timeskip by: Momo's delightful tea∆•~~

Everyone sat in silence waiting for their teachers instruction... And by silence I mean bakusqaud was quoting vines while Bakubro yells at them to shut up. (but with more✨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠✨)

Dekusquad was thinking about random strategies they should use if they were ever ambushed (don't jinx it) while also thinking about what they would eat once they get back.

And the rest of the class are sitting in silence minus some mumbling about cold soba and a few poems.

At some point, in the middle of all this, Midoriya decides it's been long enough. "It seems like Aizawa sensei doesn't have any intention of helping us figure out what to do"

"I do believe it's time that we take charge of the situation." Said Iida "yeah but who?" Kirishima asked quizzically

"What do you mean? " Ojiro inquires

"Who should take charge?" You nodded at his answer

"He has a point" You started "It would be to chaotic if we all 'took charge' of ourselves."

"I vote Iida and Momo!" Hagakure beamed "They aren't the class president and vice president for nothing!" she exclaimed, running over to hug Momo's arm.

"Yeah that sounds good"

"I have no qualms with it"

"Yeah"

"I don't see why not"

"I can get behind that"

Mutual agreeance flowed over the crowd of teens in the form of nods and over exclaimed confirmation.

"Okay then" Momo said, sounding slightly nervous.

"ALL RIGHT THEN" exclaimed Iida unconsciously chopping the air, beginning to bark out a few plans and ideas.

×ו∆Timeskip by: Mina's killer moves∆•××

You walk through the trees, glancing around at the ground every once in awhile to make sure you're not skipping over any decently sized sticks.

"How many do you have so far?" You yelled out, not in any particular direction.

"Not enough" Momo yelled back, obviously preoccupied with finding sticks big enough for the fire you both were tasked with building. And by fire you mean bonfire, I mean, it is meant for about 22 people.

So you were kind of disappointed when you found out Momo couldn't use her quirk to make your jobs easier since sticks were considered living things.

You continued to walk forward until you came across a log with a few decent sized sticks protruding from the sides. You snapped them off the log, deciding what you had combined was enough, you both quickly started heading back the direction you came, hoping to get back before it gets dark.

Now, listen. The camp was generally pretty big. I mean, it IS meant for 21 students plus 1 teacher. That being said... why couldn't you find it?!?

You DID come from this direction... RIGHT???

Or.. Was it that way....oh no

"Whats wrong?" Momo walked a bit closer, noticing your hesitant steps.

"Oh nothin', just got a bit turned around" Your voice got higher, trying, and failing, to brush off her question

"Wait so...we're lost???"

"Hey! I never said 'lost'...but uh" You cleared your throat "Yes"

And that my friend... Is when panic set in. You'll never be able to graduate or even try to beat Bakugo and his damn near perfect grades!

"Um... Y/N"

Forget about being a hero! You can't even save YOUR SELF! FrOm TrEeS!

"Uhh"

I'll never be able tell her

That.. That is when you made the worst mistake of your life, you looked at her.

And saw Momo's confused, borderline sad face. You had been speaking out loud this whole time.

'Well, I was mumbling what are the chances she ACTUALLY understood what I was saying??? Maybe I could play it off?'

"Tell who what?"

'Dang it!'

You thought you were packing before? Ohh you haven't seen anything yet!

This is the WORST time to confess! It's not romantic AT ALL and your covered head to toe in sweat! And now, you either have to confess your undying love for the girl you and been borderline stalking for MONTHS! Or let her go on believing something that MY NOT EVEN BE TRUE!

You took in a sharp breath. "Well" She gestured for you to continue "There's this girl, she's smart, pretty, nice, well tempered, a good leader, and most likely WAY out of my league... " You had started rambling "A-and I kind of have a massive crush on her... "

With every word Momo's face slowly fell until she was completely looking at the ground

"Well, it sounds like you really like her"

"I do" You looked toward the sky dreamily

'Wait.She doesn't think. She couldn't really. Oh no.. '

You stopped dead in your tracks and turned toward your classmate.

There is NO WAY are you letting the classic: mIsuNDErsTAnDInG tRouPE get in the way of you possibly being able to get a date with the girl you've had a crush on for basically the whole school year!

"Momo Yaoyorozu!" You unintentionally shouted with sudden confidence. She jumped in surprise "You are the most amazing person I have had the pleasure of meeting and will no doubt become an even more amazing Hero"

You paused "I don't want to end this year knowing that I had the chance to have someone so beautiful in my life, possibly forever, and passed it up." You grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes, she was blushing... HARD.

You low key felt proud of yourself. "Momo, YOU are the girl I like. Would you please consider becoming my girlfriend?" You could feel her grip on your hands tighten.

"Do you really think I'm all those things?" She mumbled. "Of course" You answered without thinking, a confused look on your face.

"Strong, stubborn, creative," She spoke softly, gaining confidence with every word.

"good looking, encouraging, and always able to calm down a bad situation while still being able to bring energy into a room just by walking in"

"That's what you are to me." She was now looking you in the eyes. A bright smile on her face. "So when you ask me if I would consider being your girlfriend, the answer is, I already have. And there is nothing I want more"

Your eyes we're now glossed over with tears, but you didn't feel embarrassed because you could see that hers were too.

You both started to lean in and closed your eyes. Soon enough your lips met. It was as if time had stopped. As if the universe itself wanted to sit and appreciate the beautiful and unforgettable moment.

Even when you consider everything that happened that you didn't exactly enjoy. Even though you were still lost and BAKUGOU of all people was sent to find you. That was the most memorable and magical night you had ever experienced as a student of UA.

[dexi-green]

Okay so wrap up thoughts for ep. 4:

Where is Zemo? Do not let this man loose. Also bless marvel for releasing the longer cut of Zemo dancing earlier 🙏🏽

We love the Dora. However I wonder if the arm thing was a gag or if it’s going to come back. I could definitely see Buck having some questions and beginning to wonder whether they actually freed them or just put him under Wakanda’s control with a longer leash. He obviously has reason to be skeptical about people’s intention with him (see; how Zemo used him) I can definitely imagine them explaining that it was impossible to wipe out the WS controls but rather they just changed them and just never intended to use them, making him a sort of unintentional sleeper agent White Wolf for Wakanda. He is clearly very thankful and grateful to them, and is very close to the Dora, especially Ayo, so I could see that distrust being a good future character arc. But I stand by that with T’Challa in charge they would never seek to take advantage of Buck in that way. Also I was never a HUGE fan of Stan’s acting, I felt he got too hyped up for just brooding, like he was good but not Oscar worthy as some on here tried to say (you can just say you think he’s hot, you don’t have to lie about his acting to justify your adoration of him and watching his whole filmography, it’s okay I promise), but that scene at the beginning was actually amazing. I love the change between fear to relief and realization. Chef’s kiss.

As I mentioned several times, I love that this show is carefully exploring warring ideals, and actually saying them pretty plainly. It’s giving me what Civil War could’ve been. In Civil War there was just too many blatant misunderstandings and things that could’ve been cleared up if the Avenger’s didn’t share one (1) brain cell and it somehow ended up with Peter Parker who had homework to do. In this show, the ideals come from very understandable different perspectives, different lives lived. I know I want a conversation, but that alone won’t truly solve this like it would’ve in Civil War. It comes from very real criticism of our very real govt and society which I thinks helps cement this so much more in reality in a way that isn’t boring to watch like some other comic things that try to be gritty and realistic. The only part that has taken me out so far was the so very subtle cop scene in the second episode, which leads me into my next point

ISAIAH BRADLEY! Loop his story back in, let’s get some backstory and information and all that good stuff. Obviously Isaiah has made it pretty dang clear he wants nothing to do with any of this but obviously that’s not gonna happen, and it’ll be a tremendous waste of an absolute amazing and groundbreaking story to just bring Eli in at the end in some shoehorned way or something. Isaiah needs to be a part of whatever solution this story/season comes to. I’ve seen a theory floating around about either Isaiah being Wakandan (either like killmonger with one or both of his parents being from Wakanda, or more distantly) or perhaps Erskine’s secret ingredient for his serum was derived from the heart shaped herb (which would’ve made Cap White Panther 😬) which I think would be an interesting way to completely tie in Wakanda but perhaps a little unnecessary, specifically the first theory, we don’t need every future black person in the MCU to be secretly Wakandan. I just need his story to be more prominent then it has so far. It’s very important and not something that should just be a basically D grade side plot at this point.

I feel like we have shifted away from much focus on Sam. But I feel like the focus has pulled more on Zemo, Karli, Walker and Buck. Like Sam is doing what he needs but we aren’t getting as much insight into him as we did in the first episode. Which is why I think I liked his talk so much with Karli. We went back to his history of counseling and got to see how it uses it, how he calms down a situation, and his own insight into Karli’s ideals, he agrees but wants to go about it in a different way. We have constantly seen him offering help to others, but hasn’t really received much in return. I feel like now every time the shield comes up it’s just Bucky being all pissy that Sam gave it away which really turns me off his character. Sam already explained that maybe he made a mistake, but also Buck is so set in his way and his ideation of Steve that he can’t for a second consider Sam’s side. Like at this point it’s getting kind of annoying how Buck is being with Sam about it. I want more insight into Sam’s feelings about Steve, and Cap, and all that. Hopefully these last couple episodes with shift the focus back. At this point I feel I know more about Karli and John as people than I do Sam and that’s not great considering the title of the show. This was one of my earliest concerns for the series when it was announced, that it was going to focus too much on Bucky who has had his story almost front and center for almost all of the Cap films, they almost all in some part revolve around Bucky. Perhaps I need to rewatch and there has been some bits of Sam’s I haven’t appreciated enough, but it feels unbalanced, not in favor of him.

Sharon is being sketchy I fear. I do kind of like the idea that she is the power broker, but it’s hard to wrap my head around her threatening Karli like she has been. I mean she obviously has changed a lot, but if she is the power broker her motives have to be something different than what she is trying to lead people to believe. I think what’s more possible is her working for the power broker or perhaps working for/as the power broker as a cover for Fury or some other person/organization. She’s worked undercover for Fury before, she is obviously loyal to him, which might’ve changed since she talks to much about being abandoned by everyone, but I don’t know. It’s obvious something else is going on with her character, and while I love if she had just pivoted to this crime lord role, I just think of her speech at Peggy’s funeral and her loyalty to Cap and Fury in TWS. It’s possible she flipped on a dime like that because everything done to her and what she’s been through, and it may be too predictable for her to have the exact same storyline as TWS but who knows... that or she’s a skrull, always a possibility, can’t be too careful.

John Walker is clearly becoming the actual Anti-Cap. They are getting storybeats to line up. A ‘good’ soldier, turned propaganda tool, turned govt lap dog, serumed up, best friend dies, then what? Switched on by society? I love the moment with him and the flag smasher. It brought me back to when I was in the theater watching Civil War and I swore Steve was going to chop Tony’s head off with the shield. Steve just smashes the arc reactor of course, but John straight up murders this guy. And people are watching, the world is, people were recording. Definitely some purposeful similarities to our very real recording of police brutality irl. Which makes me think what will the govt response be? Will they spin it and try to get him out of this (which will feel really...weird? With the trial going on rn) or maybe will they abandon him completely and leave him high and dry? Hopefully we will see whoever the current MCU president is (prolly maybe Thaddeus Ross??) speak on it as well as the flag smashers and GRC. Walker is obviously not a good person at heart. I theorized before that he had already been given the serum, which clearly isn’t true so he has just taken it but there is something about his background that needs to be revealed. It has to be more than just “‘we did bad stuff while we were deployed” like... yeah it has a profound and damaging effect on people, but I feel like when he was talking to Hoskins it felt like they were remembering what went down slightly differently. I don’t know why, I’ll have to rewatch the scene. Either way, I think there is some stuff we still don’t know about Walker, something so terrible about him that made the serum change him like that. He was already clearly on edge, feeling insecure about people not giving him the respect he thought he deserved just from putting on the suit and carrying the shield, feeling that same imposter syndrome Sam did/does, and his pride was clearly DECIMATED by the Dora. He has this seeming obsession with super soldiers... he’s just giving weirdo vibes.

One thing I noted is that I think this series is taking apart Steve/Cap and spreading him out over several different people, and having them all pick at and dissect what makes/made Captain America the symbol he was, and what happens when you dig a little deeper. Karli seems to be the embodiment of the kindness/concern for others. She is fighting for the people, to protect them, as Cap was. But she is not holding back and is willing to put everything on the line, but where Cap was putting himself in the line of fire to protect people, Karli is putting others. Buck may be the classic idealism and Steve himself, I’m not 100 sure, but he seems to embody the kind of idea that people need something to put hope in, something to lean on, the idea of true good. He always brings up what the shield means and represents, doesn’t ever actually get specific though which is interesting. This may be because Bucky has a hard time separating Steve from Cap, since he saw the two grow up, when he talks about the shield and Cap he IS talking about Steve, there is no symbol or hidden meaning, just the Steve he knew. He conflates it all together. So I guess he represents whether or not the classic ideals can survive, the idea of hope, and Young Steve. Sam I think could be change. Where change is unwavering, like Cap’s fight for freedom never changed, but also where it is inevitable, in Steve and Cap’s place in a time that isn’t their own. How the idea of Captain America needs to be updated for modern times, or whether it should be thrown out altogether. I don’t know this is all ramblings. I though I had something but it’s almost 5am 😩

I believe we have 2 more episodes left so it’ll being interesting to see what they do with it. Fingers crossed 🤞

[shdwwlkrsblog]

Imma do another story of a creepypasta x reader

Green eyes that lost their shine

Liu woods x reader

Warnings: split personality, blood , murder , death , swearing

"liu woods came into the hospital with bad wounds , doctors say there is only a small chance he'll survive " the reporter said and tears rolled down your cheeks . You saw your boyfriend liu the last time 2 days ago . He told you his little brother would come home from hospital and you were happy for him but you knew something weren't right but you didn't want to tell him and destroy his happyness so you kept quiet. And now he is in the hospital and you could have changed something but no you kept qui- . Your thoughts were interrupted by your Telefon ringing you looked at it and it showed a number you didn't know . When you picked up a soft and calm female voice began to speak " hello is this y/n l/n ?" "Yeah it is who are you ?" You asked voice quiet " I'm one of the nurses of liu woods and you were in his contacs saved as babe/girlfriend/y/n (however you want to be saved )and i wanted to give you information about his current state " she explained you only responded a " oh ok " and hoped he was okay " the doctors were able to stabilize him , he's going to be okay and you can visit him tomorrow" she said and the happyness in you grew abnormal and tears rolled down your face . You managed out a " Thank you so much " and the responded a " no problem " and hang up . You still held you phone in your hand and slowly the tears stopped and you were able to focus again , You wanted to calm yourself a bit down and made yourself a coffee/tea and sat down on the couch . Happyness isn't a bad feeling but rn it was overwhelming for you . After some minutes the happyness started to become less overwhelming and you looked at the tv wich was still on showing the weather report " it's going to be " the woman stopped looking to the side and nooding before looking back " i just became another important news , the boy liu woods escaped out of the hospital after killing a nurse . He is very dangerous and if you encounter him run to the next police station or place with many people . He is wearing a green scarf covering his wounds-" you couldn't hear the we oman anymore your son's were too loud , you felt your heart break into pieces and tears ran down your cheeks like a waterfall . 'no this can't be liu he would never do' you thought more tears began falling down your face 'why would he?' and another thought coming into your head and bringing pain with it . You felt yourself getting tired you didn't have any power left . Your eyes felt heavy and your mind was cloudy out the only clear thing was the want to lay down , sleep , and never wake up . Then you drifted off .

After a time that felt like hours you woke up hearing a window shattering and footsteps comming closer to you , you wanted to sprint to the closet but two arms stopped you from behind and a hand placed on your mouth stopping you from screaming "shhhh I won't hurt you for now " a familiar voice said but the end of the sentence the voice suddenly change to a whole different one it sounded crazy "you don't scream when I take my hand away okay? Or you'll die " he spoke and you nooded , now the hand was off your mouth and you let out a sigh , after some seconds you began to speak " who are you? Are you liu ? But who is that other voice ?" Your voice was shaky and it felt like it would break any moment . " Yeah it's me , liu " after that silence filled the room but you decided to break the silence " were you really the one who murdered her?" You asked hoping he would say no "no it wasn't "he answered you relaxed "it was sully" he added a his voice sounded like he would fear what he said but you didn't thought further and asked him who sully was "it's the voice inside my head , my second personality . I have him since I woke up in the hospital " he explained his voice still had a sound of fear but something new came to it , it sounded like he was about to tear up . " Y/n i didn't want this to happen " now you heard him sob , he really didn't want it and you didn't want it too . Your heart ached and you automatically stood up and went towards liu . Liu looked at you and quickly hid his wounds on his face behind his scarf . Leaving Only 2 shineless green eyes staring at you . It hurted you seeing those eyes that were once always shine and bright now dead and darker . And you just closed the space between you both and hugged him . His arms wrapped around you and his body relaxed while you patted his back . "I didn't want this too liu but I still love you " you said and heard how he started crying again but this time crying out of happyness his arms wrapped around you tighter "thank you y/n you can't even image how much this means to me " he cried into your shoulder after few minutes he lifted his head up and smiled at you . " Don't worry about sully he won't do anything to you anyways wanna go and run away from here ? Ik where we can live peaceful" he explained and you nooded grabbing some stuff you would need . Liu waited outside when you finished grabbing the stuff you needed you both went into the woods ....

Guys sorry for that shitty ending but I wanted to get that story done and rn now it's few minutes before 2 am (german time bc i live in germany )

Anyways guys if you liked it let me know

Let also know if you got any ideas for the next story's oh and pls guys say if the idea is for a story or if it is a request bc I'm stupid

Anyways ask box open , have nice day /night

[xcrystalzero]

Hello! I’d love to request a romantic matchup, as I’m an absolute sucker for those. Pls take your with this, and drink some water!

So first of, I’m 18 and het female. Appearance wise I’m a tiny (on a good day) 5’1 with, as of rn, pastel purple hair—I change my hair colour frequently. I have quite the defined hourglass shape, which I lowkey hate because finding clothes is a nightmare... the only feature I really like apart from that are my freckles. Besides that, I love fashion, and i spend quite some time on trying out new hairstyles and clothing combinations. So yeah that’s it appearance-wise.

Personality:

To be succinct, I’m an ENTP-T (HI KIN). I’m usually quite determined, stubborn, blunt, rational, and quick witted, but I try to be softer and more careful with my words around the people I love. My main quality is really just my galaxy brain (yay me, intelligence saves me from being a complete arsehole), although I always try my best to help the people around me (which can sometimes become overbearing, I’m sure). I have random periods where I just... succumb to being a crackhead. I’m not the biggest fan of always being serious, so I want to let loose sometimes. Tho one big issue I have, is that social cues and emotions are just really not my area of expertise. I have absolutely no idea how to act in most situations, and while it’s gotten better (i was unbearable to be around when I was younger) I’m vvv awkward and can easily be rude (accidentally... sometimes at least) djdjdjieks. Also, I’m such an annoying smartass, I’m sorry to everyone.

Hobbies and Interests/Dislikes:

For hobbies, I have too many in true ENTP fashion. Although, I mainly focus on dancing, writing, and... is hanging out with friends a hobby??? Idk, but I love spending time with my loved ones. I also quite like baking and I’m a huge simp for Shakespeare—well, his works that is, and for general English literature. I also love gaming, history, and debate. Another important thing for me is topics like feminism, gender equality and all that good stuff. I’m not really an activist (too much stuff on my hands I guess?) but I’m very passionate about these topics—and easily get into arguments about it. Dislikes—well, the usual ones like unnecessary hate and stuff like that, but specifically, I absolutely abhor when someone judges and condemns someone else—who hasn’t done anything against them—without even knowing their story. Also, ignorance is annoying af.

Some other stuff uwu:

For preferred traits in a partner: First of, my love language is Quality Time (we don’t need a big adventure or anything) and Acts of Service. I’m vvv averse to physical touch in a romantic sense and I need my s/o to respect the fact that it’d take me a long long time to get used to him initiating smth. Trauma tingz... I know it unfair tho, as some people just need that, so I try to compromise as much as possible. Communication is super important to me. Keeping your secrets are alright, and if you’re shy or anything that’s also cool, but if I seriously ask you about smth, I’d rather you wouldn’t lie just to spare my feelings. Also, I need someone who isn’t afraid to voice their opinion if it differs my own. I’m quite into debating—over any topic, really. Thus, I might come off as rudely argumentative (which I guess I am), but it’s mostly just a matter of enjoying the mental thrill and wanting someone to consider my perspective/explain their perspective to me. Patience is another trait I really need in someone. I have ADHD, so even if I try my best to listen, I might have to ask if you could repeat whatever you just said. Also the bouts of random forgetting, my occasional impatience... yeah, adhd things. Beyond that, I believe that if you truly love someone, you can grow with them and work around any negativity.

Can’t really think of anything else rn. Thank you for doing this 💜💜💜 take care and drink some water

Hiiii! Omg I'm ENTP/INTP -T too! We chaotic as fuck. Anywayyy, here we go!

I match you with ... Zhongli!

- Ah yes, Geo Daddy himself.

- I think that Zhongli is one of those people who highly value intelligence. He's been around for a while now and seen a lot of things. Obviously, he knows that most people can't begin to approach the amount of knowledge he has accumulated over time. That's why meeting you is a pleasant surprise.

- He's an incredibly patient and supportive person so he'll have no problem entertaining your crazy ENTP ideas or any of the things that come out of crackhead hours.

- He'd like the interest you have in fashion. There's something charming about the way humans like to accessorize and change up their appearance and you do a good job of it.

- It's a good thing you like history because this guy will 100% go on long tangents about the history of the land. If you try to correct him on something, he might try to fight you. The best part is that he doesn't even realize he's doing it, he just doesn't see how he could be wrong about something like that when he's been around to see it all. Have fun with those debates... Thankfully, he doesn't mind your argumentative nature and tends to deal with it pretty calmly which just calms your down too.

- Imagine though, dates where you guys burst into old libraries or bookstores. You had just disagreed on a certain technicality of Liyue's history at sea and you are determined to be right this time. The two of you spend hours scanning over books and asking the various historians always conversing around the restaurants and at the wharf. You guys actually end up kind of attracting a bit of attention, since people find it cute that you're trying to outsmart THE Zhongli. Plot twist...

"See! I told you it was 254 years ago! You were thinking of something else!" You raise the parchment you have been pouring over for the past few minutes triumphantly over your head before presenting it to Zhongli.

The man in question takes the paper, scanning it quickly before looking back to you. "Hm, I suppose you are correct."

"I win!" Your smug little smile is full of pride as you place your hands on your hips. Perhaps to others, losing such an argument would be disagreeable but Zhongli finds it adorable more than anything else.

"Yes you do my love. Yes you do..."

- His love language is quality time too! You guys spend a lot of time just wandering around Liyue Harbor together, literally just chilling or sipping tea on the veranda, enjoying each other's company.

- Basically you have one of those relationships where you can be both very active and very chill together.

Alright there we go! I swapped out my coffee for water just for you :). Hope you enjoyed!

[koala-otter]

so i have this idea that aang and katara ask zuko and sokka to take care of bumi kya and tenzin for the weekend and i would appreciate if you could give me that 🥺🥺 i love everything you write btw

thank you so much anon!! (and thank you for your patience with this)

I took some artistic license and made it pure Bumi (it came out pretty soft I think as a result, but writing so many kids’ dynamics seemed like a lot for me rn hahaha)

also this is only part 1 of 2 (maybe 3) and is on ao3

a weekend with bumi almost 2k words

Breakfast has just been served on the eastern patio of the Fire Nation royal palace when an attendant rushes over to the Fire Lord’s table. Zuko’s soup spoon has made it halfway toward his mouth while Sokka has been regaling Katara and Aang with a story about his latest trip to the royal tailor—his visits have only become more frequent now that he is officially married to the Fire Lord and has unlimited access to the best silks from Shiruku mountain—and the young parents have been steadily feeding one-year-old Bumi bites of fermented soybean. Zuko returns the spoon to the bowl when he sees the member of his senior staff approaching, the steam of the broth curling up and disappearing in front of his face.

“Yes, Hoshi?” he asks.

Hoshi bows deeply in front of Zuko. “My lord,” he begins, “a messenger hawk has just arrived from the Earth Kingdom.” He rises and turns toward the other side of the table, a scroll held out in his hand. “For Avatar Aang.”

“Thanks, Hoshi,” Aang says, reaching out to take the message. Hoshi disappears back into the palace.

Aang finishes feeding Bumi a piece of sweet potato before carefully placing his chopsticks next to his dish and unfurling the message. The rest of the table falls quiet as he reads, and for a while, there are only the sounds of birdsong and rustling trees from the garden below them. But then Bumi’s chubby hand reaches into his mouth, and Sokka fails to hold in a guffaw as the baby flings mushy sweet potato right onto Katara’s dress. Just as Sokka’s about to let loose into a full laugh, Katara victoriously holds up the napkin preemptively placed on her lap, immediately disappointing her brother. Zuko smiles in amusement. Aang rolls the message back up.

“What is it, Aang?” Katara asks.

“There’s a spirit attacking a village on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom,” Aang says, already rising from his seat. “I have to help them.”

“I’m coming with you,” Katara says determinedly. She shifts Bumi to her hip to stand.

“But, Katara, it’s not safe,” Aang reasons with her. “The spirit’s already ruined half of the villagers’ homes and taken some of them into the Spirit World.”

“Then you shouldn’t go alone,” Katara replies. “They’ll need help from both of us.”

“Okay,” Aang says slowly, “but I really meant not safe for Bumi.” He tilts his head toward the baby boy gurgling on his mother’s hip, his round, little fist once more in his mouth.

Sokka and Zuko watch Katara as she considers her son carefully. Bumi always joins his parents on their travels—they’ve even taken him down the mail chutes at Omashu and on the backs of kangaroos on Kangaroo Island. Leaving him behind seems unimaginable. But a fierce expression lights across Katara’s face, much like the one she gets before endangering their lives to save a village, or when she decides to teach the Northern Water Tribe’s female benders herself. She has an idea, and she will follow through on it.

“Sokka and Zuko can take care of him,” she says matter-of-factly.

Sokka and Zuko exchange alarmed looks as Katara hands Bumi to her brother, and Sokka becomes very concerned with holding the baby up and out from under his arms. Bumi’s always been big for his age, but Sokka’s hands still wrap completely around the upper part of Bumi’s torso, his fingertips meeting across Bumi’s back. Sokka always worries while holding him that his nephew is a very small, very fragile, little human being, but now he feels doubly aware of it, especially as the person suddenly responsible for his care.

“Are you sure—”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Aang says cheerfully. He pulls out his bison whistle to call Appa, but before he blows into it, he turns to the two men still sitting, stunned, on the floor and asks, “As long as you’re okay with it?”

“Of course,” Zuko says, shaking off his surprise. He stands and takes Bumi from Sokka, his arms still outstretched, and tries to hold him in a way that might reassure Katara and Aang that they’ve made the right decision. From their small smiles and intense focus on the sky, however, it doesn’t look like they need much reassuring.

“You’re in good hands, buddy,” Aang says to his son once Appa’s arrived. He gives Bumi’s hand a little shake. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Katara kisses both of Bumi’s cheeks and the top of his head, and then tickles his neck to make him erupt into a fit of giggles.

“We’ll keep him safe,” Sokka promises, now standing to put his arm around Zuko’s shoulders.

“I know,” Katara replies with a smile. She hugs her brother fiercely, then Zuko just as tightly, and kisses Bumi one more time for good measure. She only looks a little sad when Aang helps her onto Appa’s saddle.

“Be careful!” Zuko calls after them.

“You’re one to talk, Zuko,” Aang laughs as they take off, and Zuko can only smile and shake his head goodnaturedly, watching as Appa becomes only a speck in the sky.

When Zuko looks away, he finds Sokka still staring into the clouds in great distress. His eyes have gone wide, a grimace is plastered to his face, and if his arm weren’t around Zuko, he’d probably be pulling his own hair.

“Hey,” Zuko says in that soft, raspy voice of his, “they’ll be okay.”

Sokka starts. “I know that,” he says, pulling his arm back.

“Then what are you so worried about?”

Sokka uses both hands to gesture toward Bumi, gurgling away in Zuko’s arms. “How are we supposed to take care of a baby?” His voice is high-pitched and nasal, the way it sounds every time they’re confronted with an impending fight, or when one of his plans does not, well, go to plan.

“How would I know?” Zuko spies drool dribbling down Bumi’s chin and does his best to wipe it discreetly with his sleeve. He sneaks a glance at Sokka in case he’s noticed his grimace of disgust, and then clears his throat and says, “He’s your nephew.”

“Hey,” Sokka says quickly, crossing his arms, “as of three months ago, he’s yours, too.” His tone turns borderline academic, and his arm extends in something like an invitation. “Maybe you could come up with an idea for how to take care of him?”

Zuko frowns in response. With Aang and Katara gone, he and Sokka are the only adults on the patio. The leaves of the trees in the garden below shudder in the wind, no figures present to impede them but insects and their wings. Hoshi is nowhere within calling distance, the nearest guard is somewhere on the roof, and the last royal nurse was dismissed years ago. It is just them and the little table covered in dishes that have barely been touched, the bowls of soup still steaming.

Bumi lets out the beginning of a low wail and immediately succeeds in regaining Zuko’s attention.

Zuko pales and begins bouncing his nephew. “We could start by finishing breakfast?” he suggests.

Sokka immediately breaks into an eager grin and reaches excitedly for Bumi, whom Zuko is more than happy to hand over. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he almost chides himself, suddenly balancing Bumi seemingly effortlessly on his arm. He lands easily back in his seat at the table, holding the baby up so they can both survey the spread before them.

From this angle, Zuko realizes, with Bumi’s dark hair and dark skin and blue eyes, he and Sokka look stunningly alike. It comes not only from the clear markers of their shared heritage, but also in the pure emotion of their faces, Sokka’s so angular, Bumi’s soft and round. The look and smell of the food causes similar reactions in both of them, absorbing all of their attention and analysis. Zuko almost wants to laugh at the sight, an unfamiliar sensation bubbling in his chest and filling him with a welcome warmth, almost like plunging into a hot bath.

“All right, Bumi,” Sokka says instructionally. He moves his chopsticks adeptly over the collection of plates. “Your dad might be a vegetarian, but you’re half-Water Tribe, so it’s your birthright to eat meat. And your mom isn’t here to stop me. So.”  

Sokka reaches for one of the plates, only to spy Zuko looking down at him disapprovingly.

“It’s not like they’re gonna find out!” he says helplessly.

“Katara and Aang are his parents,” Zuko says, crossing his arms, “and we promised to take care of him for them.” He sits down and moves the plate out of Sokka’s reach, much to his husband’s dismay. “That means following their rules.”

Sokka sighs. “Fine,” he acquiesces, his eyes closing briefly in resignation. They open suddenly, and he points a finger in Zuko’s direction. “But when we have a kid, they’re eating meat every day.”

Zuko freezes in response. When he and Sokka have talked about children, it has always been in the abstract, and always in a distant future neither can really envision. They both know of the expectations for an heir, but still, the surrounding language has always been “if;” never “when.” Even the last time it was mentioned, three months before, when a very drunk, very off-duty Admiral Chen made a comment about preparing the navy for toddlers armed with boomerangs and fire, Sokka only mirrored the horrified expression on Zuko’s own face.

Sokka barrels on, clearly not having noticed Zuko’s reaction, or his lack of a response. “Change of plans,” he says to Bumi, who reaches out with his tiny hand to lightly smack Sokka’s cheek. Sokka grins in response. “We’re trying fish.”

The words pull Zuko out of his daydream. “Sokka,” he says warningly.

“What? It’s fish,” Sokka says with a roll of his eyes. “It’s barely meat.”

He pulls off a small piece of grilled fish and brings it close to Bumi, whose eyes widen at the sight. He pulses forward on Sokka’s arm with his mouth open wide, waiting expectantly. With a shift of an inch, the fish lands in his mouth, and Bumi bursts into a loud hum.

Zuko laughs loudly at the sound.

“It’s good, right?” Sokka asks excitedly, already getting more for the baby boy to eat. Bumi nods his head, and his wild hair bounces around him, mouth already open again for the next approaching morsel. “Yeah, get the skin, it’s the best part!”

Sokka looks up to beam at Zuko. “This might not be so bad after all,” he says. His eyes sparkle with an energy Zuko’s never seen from him before.

“Yeah.” Zuko leans forward to feed Bumi his next bite himself, and chuckles when his nephew grows impatient and grabs the fish off of the chopsticks, mashing it into little flakes between his tiny fingers. He only laughs more as Sokka desperately tries to keep any of the flakes from falling on his clothing, but soon enough, Zuko grabs a napkin and distracts Bumi with a piece of sweet potato, cleaning off one little hand at a time. Sokka smiles gratefully at him and pulls Bumi back into his lap, while Zuko folds the napkin back up and places it beside his plate on the table. He settles back into his seat and listens to the wind in the leaves, the vibration of insect wings, the little songs of the birds, and Bumi, humming loudly still with each taste of his breakfast, and beginning to converse with his uncle in his special brand of baby talk.

Zuko smiles. “It might even be kind of fun.”

[rigelmejo]

march 3/15/2021

im trying to read through tae kim’s grammar guide right now because i’m officially further in the nukemarine LLJ  memrise decks (there’s tae kim grammar guide sections in there) than i am in actually reading the grammar guide. And obviously these example sentences in the memrise deck would teach me more if i CLEARLY understood why they’re like how they are. which i... need to read the grammar guide section to understand lol.

my goal rn with japanese is? to get further in the nukemarine LLJ decks than i did last time. I’ve already mildly accomplished that (have done officially MORE of the tae kim section than before, have NOT redone the 190 common words i did last time i did this though). there are about 400 more cards in this tae kim section (LLJ 4) and then 1000ish cards in the common word section (LLJ 5). I would love to get them done. 

it would be sweet if i could get them done before April 22?/24? whenever Nier Replicant comes out because then I could play that baby in english and japanese! Then Nier Automata! ToT The Entire thing that kicked me back into wanting to study japanese was my old love for certain video games and desperately wanting to know what their stories/characters are like before translation/localization. So it would be cool if I could play them a little ;-; or at least check out lets plays. 

(which, checking out the kh2 lets play has been going pretty well so far... also that part where namine says “we aren’t meant to exist” and roxas says “how could you say such a thing? even if it were true” he says in japanese like “thats brutal/harsh to say. even if its true.” ...great to know that line is equally raw and heartbreaking in japanese lol. KH2′s localization did real good on like equal vibe to original just like ‘less nuanced’ if that makes sense. also thanks to the chinese hanzi i know now watching the KH2 lets play means i can figure out a lot of noun’s writing even though i don’t catch the pronunciation... also i’m catching a lot of words that mean like ‘beautiful/good’ as in like ‘great move’ and ‘dang’ lol.)

i had to stop myself from redoing the chinese flashcards i’ve done in the past! because i get ‘into a zone’ lol. And i really don’t need to waste time redoing those 2000 cards. i also needed to stop myself from doing the hsk 5-6 cards. because realistically? i know half of them, i should just set a lot to ‘ignore’ on the computer but im too lazy, and i’m learning a lot of vocab from reading right now. i don’t need hsk words to pass any test. The words i’m learning right now in reading are a lot more applicable to the actual shows i watch/things i listen to/things i read. its more useful to me to keep reading. and also to not sidetrack my japanese lol. i have read... 39 chapters this month... this month is only half over! hanshe is truly motivating ToT it also helps the story CONSTANTLY ends on cliffhangers so i keep clicking next chapter. who knows, maybe hanshe will help me kick up my reading speed. it already shaved off 10 minutes per 20 pages - now my 20 pages are down to 30 minutes to read, which is better than a few months ago. hanshe has 155 chapters so i HOPE it speeds up my reading lol.

hanshe is increasing my vocab though, its definitely noticeable over time. and hanshe has really good repetition of vocab which helps with learning and later the payoff means i never have to look up the word in future once its learned while it remains useful to me and i keep being reminded of it. after i get bored of hanshe OR i finish it, whichever comes first, its either back to a priest novel or into another pingxie fanfic written by hanshe’s author. The author did one fanfic that’s only 33 chapters so that would be NICE to do after this one lol ToT

summary of what’s turned out to be my studying methods this month:

Japanese:

reading through grammar guides (the one yue-muffin made and tae kim’s). so just grammar explanation reading.

doing nukemarine LLJ decks (in the ACTUAL order they are in the deck to completion - last time i did like 3 per time and never finished any lol. this is bolded because it’s the primary activity i’m prioritizing). so SRS flashcards. it’s working well right now because i can just put this activity in anytime i have downtime, like when i pause shows (since we know me i gotta take a break from a show every 20 minutes lol). i am bafflingly in a flashcard mood and i’m trying to take advantage of it while i got it. 

*when i feel like it: watching kh2 lets play. so some immersion where i look up words. (and when Nier Replicant remaster releases next month I’m likely to at least a tiny bit try to play it in japanese ToT lol we’ll see)

so grammar reading, srs flashcards covering some grammar/listening/reading/vocab, and some optional immersion.

(a note: i gave up on the japaneseaudiolessons for now because i got bored. its a great resource! i just don’t feel like it right now. and from an efficiency perspective, nukemarine LLJ decks cover vocab, grammar, audio, reading - so I don’t need another resource for that right now).

Chinese:

reading through hanshe. so immersion reading, intensive reading looking up unknown words. (unknown words are happening less so its getting less ‘intense’ lol)

listening to Chinese Spoonfed Audio. so listening to audio flashcards. for building up listening comprehension/repetition to pick up some more common words. (i’ve been doing this during daily walks making it much easier for me to consistently do, doing it mainly to supplement the Reading Heavy study i’m doing, i can drop this and pick it up later if i want since its mostly easy background listening)

*I am slowly rereading the grammar guide on www.chinese-grammar.com for explicit grammar clarification. but this is not a high priority, since I sort of implicitly understand a lot of this and i’m not working on fixing production mistakes yet. i just... miss knowing wtf is going on in the grammar lol.

*when i feel like it: Listening Reading The Glass Maiden/Love and Redemption Novel. I’ve done 2-3 hours of it this past week, but i don’t know when or if I’ll just stop. Thankfully l-r is beneficial somewhat even if i switch up books later. i WANT to L-R you have no idea (to Silent Reading and Guardian REALLY badly lol). But its so time intensive, and requires a lot of focus, and i have to really plan to do it for an hour at a time usually. I am so bad at doing stuff for that long consistently. I was in the mood earlier this week! ToT 

*when i feel like it: watching chinese shows raw. I was super in the mood this month because Word of Honor came out, and Killer and Healer came out, and Rattan came out, and I didn’t want to wait for subs. As a result I watched a LOT of raw episodes this month. However, english subs have caught up and since I’m lazy I’m inclined to just watch the subs - especially since youku ITSELF just put english subs on their most-ahead viewing schedule version of the eps on youku vip. so guess who’s buying youuku vip today? -3-)/ That said... even if I stop for a while, if Rattan subs move too slow I’ll probably watch those raw. And as SOON as 2ha’s drama Immortality drops I am highly likely to watch the raws for that since I likely won’t be able to wait. Watching shows is pretty highly dependent on how much I want to watch something and if subs take a while lol. 

so reading, and listening. and a little listening-reading method too. mainly just working on reading, listening, vocab acquisition. chinese is going good - for a few months now i’ve just had the plan ‘read often while looking up unknown words, and add some listening study activity when i have time.’ It’s simple, and its been working well.  later on down the road i’ll need some explicit grammar clarification again, but this is bare bones enough of a study plan at the moment. i’m clearly picking up words and phrases and hanzi at a reasonable pace. its not the Fastest obviously, but it is causing improvement over time and since i’m enjoying it i see no reason to change it up.

ending things

...who knows WHY i am so well focused this month with so much energy... tbh... i track how many chapters i read a month/audio i listen to/show episodes i watch etc, and this month is like as much as 3 other of my usual months combined. also my japanese has been basically ‘dabbling only’ prior to this month.

 although... maybe in part its how i’ve gotten better at reading hanshe? Reading being easier certainly motivates me TO read more. And watching shows was MUCH easier this month (still not ‘easy’ but following the main plot is) which definitely makes me Want to watch more. Also i am... unbelievably motivated by a challenge. I think i got it in my head that i ‘really want to do more of Nukemarine’s LLJ courses and see how much i understand after them’ and now... i really want them DONE. so maybe the current things motivating me will hold out for a while. 

(On the listening-reading front meanwhile, that activity takes SO much concentration its hard to do if i’m tired, BUT i have so many TRANSLATED novels i want to read recently and honestly its fun hearing the chinese narration and audiobook actors so like... i very much Want to do l-r so i can hear them as i read the translation... immovable object of me tired versus how much i’m interested in them lol ToT).

also thank u thank u @a-whump-muffin for sending me those lets plays because honestly it got me so excited again and its so cool to see them!!! <3 <3 and its so much easier to watch them versus committing to playing a whole game myself just yet ToT 

[woahhiperson]

Making a new au so here we go:

The ‘idk wot to call it yet au’

So Naga and Grima both have religions connected to them, but what if the Cult of Grima disbanded after Grimas defeat by the first exalt? So people stopped believing in Grima. Grima became another myth, another scary story to tell in the woods to unnerve people.

So Robin is born, but he has the same parents as canon. So he ends up with the right lineage and genes to be

The vessel for Grima!

But no one knows that.

Robin grows up as a tiny bean (his mom IS around and validar isnt a meanie because haha no grima to make all those issues and because i need robin to be happy this au might end up really angsty) and then he turns five or somethin and Robin begins to hear a voice in his head. At this age it is very faint, much like a whisper, and he tells someone, but they just tell him ‘thats your thinking voice’. Robin goes with that for quite awhile until he line 9 or 10 and he’s like ‘this aint my thinking voice’, cause 1: he has a thinking voice and this one is very different, and 2: this one doesnt even have his personality. So Robin once again tries to tell everyone and they deny it again (possibly trying to pass it off as an imaginary friend??).

Robin is frusterated but goes along with it. Time passes, and Robin is now a teenager. the voice gets louder and meaner and he still has no idea what it is. Then he turns eighteen. The voice is pretty much equal in volume to his own thinking voice, and its finally able to tell him “I am the Fell Dragon, Grima.” Now of course Robin is just like ‘what???’ So Robin tries to do some research. Robin is able to find one source, in a very old book. Robin reads of how Grima was ‘the god of destruction’ and how ‘he killed many people’. Robin is well, disturbed, and tries to ask the voice if it really is Grima. The voice tells him one thing: “I am the Wings of Despair, I am the Breath of Ruin, I am the Fell Dragon, Grima.” Robin is like: ok this thing might actually be in my head for some reason?? But he is also internally laughing because wile the voice was threatening, it was still quite funny to hear it almost repeat itself. Robin reads the rest of the small amount of information on Grima, and finds out Plegians used to worship him. Robin gets v e r y nervous. He IS plegian afterall. So Robin puts the book away and sits with this information for a while.

Grima continues to say the same thing, it seems only capable of saying that for now even though it used to berate Robin at almost every turn. Robin gets more nervous and tries to tell someone. Whoever it is, they laugh. They tell Robin that Grima is just a myth. ‘Its just a voice in your head. Don’t even worry about it.’ Robin is well, frusterated. He’s even a little bit scared. ‘The voice only keeps getting louder. What if it can take control?’ Robin begins to get paranoid. He tries talking to other people but they all don’t believe him, saying similar lines of ‘its a myth’. Robin feels a need to get to the bottom of this, and he is technically an adult now, so he ventures off with a small amount of gold to go find more information on The Fell Dragon.

He ventures around Plegia, but is unable to find much more information in the places accessible to him. And he even snuck in some places. He finds some buildings with Grima-like markings but they all seem run down and the few markings left were practically unreadable. All the places seemed destroyed on purpose, but destroyed long ago. (They were destroyed by the cult of grima for one reason or another, but robin dont know that) So since Plegia was lacking info, Robin decides to venture to Ylisse, because it seemed that Grima and Naga were connected somehow.

Robin is sttill unable to really find anything, and the people of Ylisse also denied Grima’s existence. Robin thinks there must be information somewhere, so he settles down in a tiny three room shack (he aint got that much money and hes currently more worried about Grima) with a kitchen, bathroom, and empty room. Robin sets up a bedroom in one half of the empty room, and uses the other half for research. He is able to get his hands on quitw a few books and tries to connect the information together. It takes a long time, and he gets little information from it. Robin starts to think that he’s going to need the more valuable history books and scripts for this.

So one day he is on his way the capitol, and is walking through a field. He is almost to the town when he stumbles and falls into the dirt. People find him and one person (yall all know where this is going) offers a hand. Robin takes it and is introduced to Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick. He learns that they are out all patrol and that Chrom and Lissa are royalty. Now this sparks a plan in Robin. He could try to see if they’d let him into the rarest history documents. So he asks and is shot down by Frederick, who is suspicious of someone just wanting access to such important documents. Chrom is like ‘Robin asked nicely so we should let him’ Frederick scolds Chrom for being too trusting. (honestly robin is kinda suspicious rn..) So they part ways.

Robin continues his search, and every once in a while, he’d find another small snippet of information. He begins to gain a reputation of ‘The guy with a weird obsession with Grima who believes the Fell Dragon lives in his mind’ and so people are a l i t t l e reluctant to give information. Robin is able to still get money through small jobs and stuff. Robin gets a little more disheveled as time goes by and Grima only gets louder. He meets Chrom on multiple occasions, and they eventually bechrom friends. Robin gets a ton of information written down and connected. But it still isnt enough.

Chrom can see how Robin is getting more frantic, and begins to worry. Robin brushes him off as he bechroms more secluded. Grima gets louder and is able to once again berate Robin. Grima begins telling Robin how no one will ever believe him and help him, how he’ll never be able to figure it out.

And so Robin goes to Chrom. The thing is, Robin liked having Chrom as a friend, so he never told Chrom about any of it. Chrom only knew he was researching something. So Robin sits him down for a chat. He starts off simple “I think the Fell Dragon, Grima, lives in my mind. Of course, Chrom laughs about it, but he stops upon seeing Robins face fall. Robin tries to tell him about it all, but unfortunately, like everybody else, Chrom was raised to believe Grima was a myth. Chrom is worried, thinking maybe Robin had been alone for too long. Chrom still wants to help, but he doesn’t believe Grima is the issue. Robin gets frusterated and attempts to politely leave, but is a little rude.

Chrom is very worried, and tells Lissa and Frederick. They also worry. Chrom wants to be a helpful bean but this information begins to spread like wildfire. If Robin wasn’t known before, he was now. This ain’t a good thing either. People make fun of Robin, and Robin begins to get more bitter and cold due to bearing constant mockery from Grima and others. Grima is at a shouting volume in Robin’s head, and is able to give Robin a headache everytime he speaks. Things are not going well, but Robin is still too paranoid to go back home.

Then Robin is sitting alone one night, looking over his information. There’s a knock on the door. He gets up to see who it is. Then he collapses. In his head is a low rumble, one that slowly rises in volume until Robin wants to shout at it to go away. His vision blurs, gaining a red tint. In the panic and pain Robin remembers something. It’s his twentieth birthday. He was born some time in the early night. The rumble stops. There’s a dead silence. Then a cold laughter begins to ring in his ears. It morphs into a sentence,”My patience has been tested.. And I won.” Robin is confused as the pain stops, and his eyes focus again. Then its as if a force slams down on him, shoving him down into his own body. His vision blurs again and he goes numb. He tries to turn his head, only to see black. He turns around in every direction. Its all a pitch black void. Everywhere but where his eyes last looked. Then the view changes, as if he’s stood up. A voice comes, slightly muffled,”Robin are you okay in there?!” It was Chrom. The laugh starts again. Its not in his head. Robins hand is brought to his face, sparking with electricity, before being moved away. He ‘walks’ and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Robin reels back as he now has six glowing red eyes, six black wings, and horns on his head. The Robin in the mirror smiles before going to open the door. Robin realizes what has happened. Grima took over. Was there a way to take control again!? Robin is quite frantic, but the void is, well, a void. No end, the only thing in there was the vision. The door is opened and Chrom is obviously taken aback, asking what had happened. Grima laughs and his hand begins to fizzle again. Luckily Chrom notices and backs away before being stabbed with a spear of electricity. Grima begins launching an attack on ‘that wretched Naga spawn’. Robin could now hear Grima’s thoughts. They really had switched places. Robin could only watch as Chrom drew his sword and the two began to fight. Both are hurt, but Robin does live in a town, and people begin to notice. Robin hears multiple gasps of ‘is that really grima??’ And similar lines. Some try to help, but they are kind of useless.

The fight chromtinues. Then Grima charges another spear, and drives it through his stomach. Robin screams. Grima laughs about that. Chrom falls unconscious, but still breathing. Grima rises into the air on his wings and continues to laugh. “You all didn’t believe the vessel, but now you can see, I have returned after so long. I am not a myth, but I am the Fell Dragon, Grima!” And Grima begins to attack the town. After a while he stops and thinks ‘can a revert to my dragon form?’ He tries, only for it to fail. Grima is furious and goes back to end Chrom for good out of rage, only to find the prince gone. Robin by now has found out that Grima cannot hear him unless he actually speaks, so he is able to internally sigh with relief as Chrom might be okay. Grima goes on a rampage and guards try to stop him, only to fail. Grima is not back to full power, but he is still extremely dangerous.

So he goes and begins to try and take over Plegia, and remake his cult. He attacks and stuff and finds Robin’s parents. They are of course freaked out and pained to know that Robin was telling the truth. Grima is able to take about half of Plegia for himself. Soon the Shepherds return and want to defeat Grima. (Haha soon... this is probably like three or four years later) Chrom is luckily alive and is quite angy about Grima taking his ‘friend’. They fight and have to retreat. They join with the Plegians that have been trapped in Grima’s controlled land and use the next 1-2 years to form a full rebellion. Grima has made the dragon’s table his home. He is finally able to conjure his dragon form, but only can keep it for about a day before needing another day’s rest. But his human form is powerful enough gor him to not need the dragon form very often. The rebellion makes its way to the Dragon’s Table, a force of about 2,000 people. Grima has countless Risen guarding and controlling his land, but the rebellion is able to get to Grima.

Grima transforms into his dragon form to end the rebellion for good, but Chrom and a few others are able to make it to him and end up on his back once transformed. They fight the summoned risen and make it to the human form. Chrom once again fights Grima. Robin, still stuck inside his own mind, feels hope. A feeling he truely hadn’t felt in years, but the only way he could think of that would get rid of Grima, was his own death. And he accepted it. Chrom and Grima both were able to go unharmed for quite a long time. Risen kept the others from helping. Then there was a loud hiss from Falchion as it sliced through the palm of his hand. It burned unlike any injury had before. Even the other cuts from Falchion on their first fight hadn’t felt like this. Grima’s vision blurred as he was partially shoved back into Robin’s mind. The dragon almost fell, quickly stabling itself. Robin stood, speechless, as he had regained partial control of his own body. He was distracted, and Falchion was able to leave a deep gash in Robin’s arm as he began to flee. Grima shouts and takes back control. But Robin isn’t completely locked away again. Where he has been cut, his hand and forearm, he could feel a small amount of control. Grima kept trying to fire magic at Chrom, but if it was cast by the right arm, Robin could mess up his aim. Grima figured this out and Robin was rendered almost useless. Robin tried to still help as both Grima and Chrom began to sustain more injuries. Robin was able to mess up Grima’s attacks and dodging. Every wound gave him more control. Soon Grima was barely able to fight, as Robin forced him to be hurt. But Chrom was also starting to struggle, as he has been sustaining multiple injuries as well. Chrom wasn’t aware of Robin’s help. He thought Robin was gone. So he went to try and slash Grima’s neck, convinced that his ‘friend’ was gone forever. Robin had gotten Grima to fall. But Robin couldn’t help but flinch, holding his right hand over his neck. The blade connected and sliced through the glowing mark that stained the hand. A great tremor shook through the dragon. Grima screamed in utter fury and agony as Robin could feel his presence fade away. The numbness turned into a sensation of wind and scales. Grima’s roar died down, his gritty voice gone. Robin felt something he had almost never felt. Emptyness. But.. It was good! Grima was.. completely gone. He couldn’t feel the god’s presence at all. His eyes began to burn. But then he saw a wrathful blade swing at him, and he had to dodge. Finally meeting eyes with Chrom after all these years. Chrom kept trying to attack him but Robin shouted,”It’s me! Grima’s gone!” Chrom only got angrier, believing Grima was just taunting him. Robin kept trying to convince him that Grima was truely gone. Then he decided to tell him,”No one ever believed me before. Please, believe me just this one time..” Chrom stopped and stared at Robin. Stumbling to Robin with wide eyes and dropping Falchion, he focused on his face. Noticing they were brown after being red for so many years. “..Robin...” Robin could only give a smile, as the now dead dragon began to drop from the sky. All the people on the back rushed to the pegasi and flew down. Once making it down to the ground safely, a cloud of dust forming and dieing down from the dragon’s impact, the Risen all fell, dead once more. The rebellion tried to attack Robin, but understood that Grima had no control over him anymore. Chrom once again turned to Robin and enveloped him in a hug as both began to shed tears, but for different reasons. Robin was still in disbelief that he was alive and free from Grima’s grasp, and Chrom could only choke out one whisper into Robin’s ear,”I love you..” Robin froze but nodded, agreeing. “I thought I lost you.” “Me too.”

(Woah that made a big space) And so they go back to Ylisse and make a cross-country announcement about Grima’s defeat and Robin’s return. They get married. But Grima did start another cult. Not everyone who was in Grima’s controlled land was in the rebellion. And upon learning of Grima’s defeat, they wanted him back. So.. is it truely over?

[archonssun]

Bad Timing

Aaaaand here’s that second story I was talking about. This one will also be a little fluffier than the other story. And this might be a weird story; I’m running on minimal sleep rn, but I wanted to get this idea out before it got lost in the void.

And a note: takes place four years after Noct disappears.

Bad Timing

WC: 1760

You loved to surprise Prompto. In the past few years, it had become a religious practice to surprise him with something every morning. Whether it be a kiss, or hug, or something more, you never failed.

Well, until today.

You hadn’t been feeling too hot for the past few weeks, and you had an inkling as to why. Your gut feeling was confirmed early last week when you were late. You had been floored when you found out and were excited, but that didn’t mean you weren’t scared out of your mind at the same time.

It wasn’t the fact that you were pregnant with Prompto’s child that had you worried. No, you always knew you wanted to start a family with the blond. It was the fact that your child would be born into a dangerous world, and who knows if they would ever see the sun.

***

“(N/n)?” Prompto’s voice reached your ears and you panicked, hiding the test in your boot. “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah,” you exhaled, giving him a smile. “I’m okay, Prom.”

Prompto’s forehead furrowed just slightly with a frown before it was wiped off by one of the other Hunters that had taken up residence in Hammerhead.

“Oh, yeah, we’ve got another hunt,” Prompto said suddenly, straightening from where he was leaning against the doorframe. “You coming along?”

Against your better judgement, you nodded, taking his hand in yours and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you guys out there in a minute, ‘kay?” The blond nodded and gave you a kiss in return before leaving the caravan, leaving you alone with a pregnancy test stuffed into your shoe.

***

This was a mistake, you cursed yourself, already feeling a bit queasy from the amount of movement you had down in an effort to down the daemon. Everytime you would roll or flip out of the way, you had to fight back the urge to throw up.

You thought you had done a pretty good job at disguising your discomfort, but your blond lover knew you hadn’t been feeling well. He had snapped at the other hunters when they had asked him to grab you for this hunt, but had wound up doing it anyway. Despite how much he wanted you to be far from the battlefield when you were ill.

Prompto watched you like a hawk, rarely letting you leave his sight. It was around the time that the daemon had been defeated that he looked over and saw your brows furrowed and your bottom lips between your teeth.

“(Y/n),” he whispered, cupping your face as he turned your eyes up to meet his. “What’s wrong? Please, tell me.”

At first you refused to speak, eyes cast down as you thought up a way to get out of answering the question. After a few moments, Prompto sighed, pulling you against his chest.

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna tell me everything,” he began, stroking your hair. “I promise, I’ll help in any way I can.”

“I just miss Iggy and Gladio,” you wrapped your arms around his back as you hummed, pouting when Prompto let out a quiet laugh.

“You wanna go see ‘em?” he questioned. He placed a kiss to your forehead when you nodded. “‘Kay. Let’s go.”

***

“Iggy,” you muttered, the blind man turning in the direction of your voice. The royal advisor wore a small frown, and that was when you knew: Iggy knew about the baby. Instead of saying anything more, you walked up and hugged the man, thankful that Prompto was off training with Gladio somewhere else at that moment.

“Iggy, I’m scared.” His hands came to rest on your upper back, rubbing in circles.

“Have you told Prompto?”

“... no …”

“You need to tell him, (Y/n). He has a right to know.”

“I know,” you grimaced, hands fisting in his shirts as you buried your head into his chest. “But I’m scared he won’t--”

“(Y/n), I have known Prompto for many years, so trust me when I say he will be happy,” Ignis said, a scolding tone in his voice for a split second. You heaved a sigh before backing away from the man and looking him in the eyes.

“Okay, I’ll tell him, soon…”

***

Sorry, Iggy. You grimaced. It had been two weeks since you had talked to the man, and you still hadn’t told Prompto. There wasn’t a good time to bring it up, because you two would be out hunting daemons basically all day, every day. Thankfully, though, you had gotten over your morning sickness, so the blond probably just thought you had a bug or something. Now, you were pretty good when it came to fast movements and battle, but you preferred to stay on the backlines with Prompto.

You lifted the rifle in your arms, lining up the shot with the daemon before pulling the trigger. The shot rang out in the endless dark, and you watched from downrange as the daemon collapsed. It was quickly swarmed by the rest of the hunters and finished off, ending your little foray into the landscape outside Hammerhead.

“You good?” Prompto’s hand came to clasp your shoulder, and you nodded, standing and popping your back. You hummed in response and took his hand, rubbing at your eyes. You needed sleep -- real sleep.

Maybe that’s why you didn’t hear it, the sound of an Iron Giant spawning right behind you. Your sleep-deprived brain couldn’t understand what was happening as your body was suddenly flung to the side. Your back hit a rock, stopping you dead and giving a view that made your blood run cold.

“Prompto!” Your screech had the rest of the hunters racing to where you two were, but the damage had already been done. Prompto had taken the hit that had been meant for you, his side now having a fairly large hole in it. You held your breath, waiting for his chest to rise and fall, and when it didn’t, you swore you heard your heart crack.

You couldn’t focus, couldn’t wrap your mind around the fact that Prompto wasn’t breathing, that he wasn’t fighting. You barely remember running to his side, pulling his head into your lap as you slouched over him. Tears fell to his face, cutting through the grime and blood caked on his skin. You couldn’t remember using a Phoenix Down, either; could only remember the rush of relief when the blond began breathing again.

“You can’t die here,” you sobbed, pressing your forehead to his and squeezing your eyes shut. “You can’t leave me, you can’t leave us. Please, wake up.”

“Thank the Six you’re okay.” Prompto’s voice was hoarse, and just the sound of it made the tears fall faster when you met his eyes.

“You can’t die, Prom.” Biting your lip, you decided he needed to know. “I’m pregnant, Prom. Please, don’t leave us behind. Please, stay…”

You always did have the worst timing.

***

Not once did you leave Prompto’s side. Not when he was transported to Lestallum, not when he was brought to the one hospital that could help, not even when he lay motionless on a bed.

It had been three days since he had been injured, and your tears had dried up on the second day. So you sat next to the bed, gripping his hand tightly and resting your head on your arm.

“(Y/n),” Ignis broke the silence as he walked into the room, carrying a small container in his hands. “You need to eat something. This isn’t good for the child.”

You lifted your head from the bed, turning blank eyes to the advisor. You mumbled out an ‘okay’ and Ignis walked up to your side and handed you the container. You were slow to begin eating, but once you had begun you realized how hungry you were and the food was gone all too soon. Once you were finished, you put the empty container on the table beside the bed, then went back to watching over Prompto.

“I can’t lose him, Ignis,” you choked out, grabbing Prompto’s hand again. “I’ve lost too much already. If I were to lose him, too--”

A groan fell from Prompto’s lips, cutting you off as you shot to your feet. Forgetting what you had been saying to Ignis, you cupped the blond’s face, tears threatening to fall. Your face hovered over his, waiting.

“Prom? Please, wake up,” you whispered, thumb grazing against his cheekbone. His face scrunched up, and a few seconds later his blue eyes met your (e/c). A smile split your face and you pressed one kiss after another to his face. You heard the door close behind you and Prompto sat up, his hands resting at your waist. His eyes were downcast, staring at your stomach.

“(Y/n), were you serious? Are you really--”

“I’m sorry,” you cut him off. “I should have told you earlier. Fuck, even Iggy told me that. But I … I was scared of what you’d think.” Silence followed your admission and you felt your hope wither.

“It’s alright,” Prompto muttered as he pulled you into a hug and placed a kiss to the crown of your head. “Fuck, you’re pregnant. We’re gonna be parents; we’re gonna have a family of our own.” He pulled away from you and you were blinded by the smile on his face. “You’ve no idea how happy that makes me. I’d die a happy man.”

***

“Legatum!” Your voice echoed throughout Hammerhead, chasing after your son as his father watched. “You get back here, you little brat!”

“(Y/n)?” a voice you hadn’t heard in a decade caused you to freeze, your head turning towards Talcott’s truck to see a familiar face.

“Noct?” Prompto was the first to voice his surprise, rushing to his best friend with wide eyes. “Is that really you?”

But Noct was preoccupied with the child that was a miniature version of Prompto. The boy -- Legatum, he had heard you call him -- was the spitting image of his friend, down to the barely visible freckles on the boy’s face. Legatum had inherited Prompto’s blond hair and blue eyes, and Noct knew that this was Prompto’s son.

“‘Noct’?” Legatum asked, a puzzled expression on his face as he looked the man up and down. “You’re Uncle Noct? I thought you would be … smaller-- ow!”

You had whacked Legatum over the head, your eyes never leaving Noct.

“It really is you, Noct,” you smiled. “Welcome home, My King.”

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Top 10 Recommended Carnage Stories (pre-Absolute Carnage)

In honour of Absolute Carnage’s beginning I present you with the best Carnage stories if you want to get into and have fun with the character.

My picks here are intentionally excluding anything from Donny Cates’ era partially because his work isn’t finished yet and partially because my hope is this list will act as a primer for people who want to test the waters with Carnage and see if Cates’ current work is worth their time.

This list isn’t ranked at all and nor is it a list of stories that are essential to understanding Carnage’s broad chronology. Like if you read these on their own there will be gaps that will make you wonder how we got from A to B.

Rather this list is intended to give you a general idea of who Carnage is, the types of stories he has or can be used in and what are among the best stories from the character’s POV.

1.       Carnage Origin (ASM #344-345, 359-363)

There are some writing issues with this arc in relation to the F4’s use in the story. However if you put that aside and just focus strictly upon Carnage himself, in many ways this first Carnage story gives you everything you need to know about the character.

We learn most of Cletus Kasady’s backstory, where his symbiote came from, his general philosophy towards life and the dramatic hook he presents as an antagonist.

That is to say what is someone was an unrepentant psychopath...and then  got superpowers. Specifically the same powers as Spider-Man’s then most physically intimidating and scariest enemy...but taken up to 11.

Are there deep psychological layers to Carnage?

Absolutely not.

But that is very much the point.

He’s chaos and death wrapped in black and blood and complete with Freddy Krueger humour and a taste for Metalhead anarchy.

The art is simply stunning, the action is top notch, Carnage’s various abilities and ferocity is expertly sold to readers and just to hammer the seriousness of the situation home, Spidey needs backup from his most dangerous enemy to even hope to bring down Kasady.

So whilst unfortunately not perfect, it is a perfect introduction to the character.

Honourable Mention: Maximum Carnage

I do not recommend you read this if you are new to Carnage, Spider-Man or comics in general. Maximum Carnage is enjoyable to certain fans but for most is something of an endurance test.

However it must be mentioned as it is undoubtedly Carnage’s most famous story. It doesn’t really give us anything new for his character beyond introducing his on and off again girlfriend Shriek and his ‘kids’ Doppelganger, Carrion, Demogoblin, etc. These characters intermittently show up in Carnage’s lore.

The whole story is a series of repetitive action set pieces...for 14 issues!

If you aren’t brave enough to check this out then perhaps consider reading synopses of it or watching recap videos online (RNS does a good one), just so you know the broadstrokes of the story as it is relevant to future Carnage history and Absolute Carnage is it’s spiritual successor.

2.       The Mortal Past (ASM Annual 1994)

Arguably the best written Carnage story within the pages of Spider-Man.

The art is very reminiscent of Mark Bagley, co-creator of Carnage, so visually Carnage looks and ‘moves’ in character.

However the general story, whilst not redeeming Carnage at all, does give us a little more about his past and explores his philosophy from a different angle.

What helps this story is that while it is a Carnage story, the emotional weight of the story is carried by his former childhood friend, allowing for Carnage to neither sell out on his core concept of being a simple killing machine, but also giving the readers something to connect to beyond Spidey and Carnage fighting.

3.       Carnage: Mind Bomb #1

Many Carnage fanatics argue this obscure one shot is Carnage’s ‘Killing Joke’. In a sense they are right as this story is the deepest exploration of who Kasady is and why he is the way he is.

We learn little about his past (beyond a few more early warning signs from his childhood) but this is Warren Ellis’ point. The story is oddly meta as it presents us with a psychiatrist who is looking to unravel the layers of Kasady’s mind, only to learn there really aren’t any.

He is simple. That is the point. He simply sees society and life as a joke, a big lie and that savagery lies beneath the surface. He illustrates this by driving his doctor utterly mad.

This story works because though it takes place in a superhero universe and features a super villain, there is no hero here. There are barely any good guys to speak of.

Rather this issue is in effect a horror comic, the first time Carnage was ever used in this way. This is reflected in the art work, which is definitely R-rated and depicts Carnage very differently. He’s essentially solid red and leaner, more skeletal even.

A good way to look at this story is as “What if Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees sat down and explained to you why they kill people’

Gory and not for the faint of heart, but this issue is the best story you will ever read that spells out for you who Carnage is and why, from his POV, he does what he does.

4.       Web of Carnage (Sen #3, ASM #410, No Adj #67, Spec #233)

Carnage appeared a few times in the Clone Saga but this is his best outing. In general this is one of the more fun and enjoyable Clone Saga/Ben Reilly stories. But as a Carnage story it’s unique as it focuses much more upon the symbiote than Kasady.

The premise is simple yet effective. The Carnage symbiote bonds to Spider-Man/Ben Reilly and he must resist it’s attempts to control him or tempt him to violence, which includes urging him to murder Peter Parker!

The meat of the story is in parts 3-4 when we see Ben’s internal struggle against the symbiote. Visually, the art is not consistent because of different artists, but they are all decent-great and the design for Spider-Carnage is so iconic it was adopted for the finale of the Spider-Man 1994 cartoon series.

A simple yet fun story!

5.       Carnage: It’s a Wonderful Life #1

I recommend this tentatively.

This is because it technically speaking covers much the same ground as Mind Bomb but isn’t as good. I suppose if you read this first you wouldn’t get that impression.

Nevertheless, It’s a Wonderful Life is an even longer and more literal look inside Carnage’s head. Psychedelic, twisted, macabre and full of dark humour the story just about pulls off it’s horror premise. It feels like something out of a 1990s Dark Horse comic.

The one thing that this issue has over Mind Bomb is that it makes an astute observation about Carnage’s core philosophy I don’t dare spoil.

Honourable Mention: Venom vs. Carnage #1-4

This story is in general pretty fun but doesn’t give you much of anything new for Carnage beyond him teaming up with Venom and the introduction of his spwan Toxin, who is a pretty cool character in his own right.

More significantly it was the first major time Clayton Crain drew symbiotes and he’d go on to have one of the most memorable visual takes on them ever.

6.       Family Feud  (Carnage #1-5, by Zeb Wells)

I’m not fond of most of Wells work and have issues with this era for Spider-Man. But when looked at as a Carnage story first and foremost, this series marks an important point in the character’s history.

At the time Venom had transitioned into a more heroic figure meaning Carnage, much as he was back when he was created, was pushed as the face of evil symbiotes within the Marvel universe. To that end he began to have a string of his own mini-series just like Venom had in the 1990s.

In many ways this mini-series is playing cleanup, returning the Carnage symbiote and Kasady to Earth after their presumed death in New Avengers #1. The series however also seeks to build a foundation from which future stories can be told and to that end reintroduces Shriek and Doppelganger too, sets up Carnage’s daughter Scorn.

It does all this pretty effectively to my recollection and has great art by Crain to sell everything.

7.       Carnage U.S.A. #1-5

Zeb Wells in this story tells a story that could have been an event crossover but mercifully was not.

He and Crain return to deliver arguably the most ambitious Carnage story up until then, involving him infecting a whole town with his symbiote.

This again feels very much like a Dark Horse horror comic at times but still contains superhero elements and tones a plenty, finding a decent balance between the two.

Wells continues to world build by reintroducing many of the other Venom spawns (Carnage’s ‘siblings’) and uses them to great effect along with Agent Venom Flash Thompson who meets Carnage for the first time in this story.

Carnage himself is just very on point with his twisted plan and machinations, with this tale being among his more memorable villainous feats.

8.       Deadpool vs. Carnage #1-4

Have you ever seen a Road Runner cartoon? Have you ever seen parodies of Road Runner cartoons by late night animated shows where they use dark humour to make the antics more bloody and violent?

That is essentially what this mini-series is. It’s two wisecracking, red and black clad over the top characters going at it in wacky and violent shenanigans.

However there is also poignantly some stuff in the story that even makes Carnage question his life philosophy in one of the most oddly clever takedowns of his character ever.

9.       AXIS: Carnage #1-3

This story has it’s issues, in particular with who it’s villain is, but that’s more a problem for Spidey and Venom history.

As for Carnage himself this story comes recommended for it’s sheer novelty.

It’s Carnage...but as a...good guy?

The premise of the AXIS event was that certain heroes and villains were ‘inverted’ so that they went from good to bad and vice versa.

The wrinkle in this though is that Kasady is still Kasady. He’s still violent, insane, wisecracking and has a warped sense of morality, it’s just that now he finally has  a sense of morality. He is sincerely trying to do good he’s just not all that aware his methods are somewhat counterproductive and extreme.

10.   The One That Got Away, World Tour, What Dwells Beneath, (Carnage #1-16 by Gerry Conway)

Mind Bomb and It’s a Wonderful life were the first Carnage comics to embrace the use of the character for horror, but Conway’s Carnage picked the ball and ran with it.

Conway said he was in essence doing Tomb of Dracula with Carnage and it shows.

The series revolves around Carnage but the real main characters are the anti-Carnage taskforce assembled to put him down, giving us grounded relatable characters to connect to whilst we follow Carnage’s slaughter. There is a surprising swerve in the story where the story goes from a simple slasher movie style horror into full on Lovecraftian style horror which propels the consequent arcs of the series. The ending is rather rushed and weak I must admit, but the ride getting there is arguably the best crafted Carnage story ever.