#i haven't thought much about her backstory sorry

[cnth-rb]

What if gege wasn't a coward?/jk

I honestly just saw this and couldn't stop thinking about it.

[thesearchforbluejello]

I fundamentally do not understand this show. The Dominion War was RIGHT THERE. Like, RIGHT. THERE. Why did we need some whack Romulus-blew-up backstory when the federation was already decimated by the war?? A follow up on the fallout of that and how the ceding of territory, the betrayal by allies, and the xenophobia of threats from both within and outside would have been SO much more interesting to me.

And they're so busy pulling half developed plotlines out of thin air that they're not even pounding in their anchor points for it all. Like, case in point, Jay looking for Icheb's cortical node. SEVEN HAS IT. IT IS LITERALLY IN SEVEN'S FUCKING HEAD. Like, okay fine easter egg? Maybe? But a major plot point isn't exactly an Easter egg?? Like obviously Beyer knows a shitload about Voyager, so at least one of them must be aware of that, so I assume it's implied... but not everyone has seen every Trek and that is from one specific Voyager episode, and Seven had the perfect opportunity to rub that in Jay's face... And are we not going to talk about Seven becoming a Ranger which is HUGELY antithetical to where she was at in Voyager? Because the fact that she became an individual on a ship that was what, 1/3 Maquis? Um, that's a super fucking important fact? Love that for her, but Christ alive nail. these. plot points. home.

idk I guess these two are nitpicks, but I have so many more and just don't feel like writing a novel expounding upon what I perceive as their many (MANY) failures in writing this show. But this show is just full of those moments and I don't understand their choices. Easter eggs only work when there's actually something semi coherent to hide them in (hence why most of M*rvel's fail nowadays, just saying). This feels almost as incoherent as Renegades, and I am SOOOOO very sorry to be actually saying that because woooooof that is not a compliment. Like... it's the Romulans, it's the androids, it's the Borg. It feels like whatever unholy combination is happening with Applebee's and iHop right now. Like... Okay I guess? But it's just a weird combination and very unnecessary. Just fucking pick one and go from there.

I do however need like a lot more ex-Borg bonding that was such a good moment okay thanks bye

[etherealising]

chapter one | a berzatto family christmas

masterlist | next chapter ↣

pairing(s): carmen berzatto x fem!reader : platonic!michael berzatto x fem!reader : platonic!richie jerimovich x fem!reader

summary: you reunite with carmy years later at the berzatto family christmas party.

warnings: language (cursing), blasphemy, angst (maybe?), spoilers kinda (if you haven't seen season 2 don't read), the berzatto family, not dialogue heavy, very subtle hints to mikey being suicidal, probably ooc!characters, idk what else but if you find something let me know please! not beta’d and minimal editing so sorry for any mistakes. i also wrote this overstimulated on caffeine so if it doesn’t make sense or it’s repetitive then we know why : )

semantics: no use of Y/N: reader goes by the nickname Baby it has a backstory and its literally so simple, if this bothers you idk what to tell you, sorry : (

wc: 4.7k

You were standing on the sidewalk, nerves filling your body as you hyped yourself up to take the few steps left to the porch and ring the doorbell. You shouldn’t have been so nervous, you knew that but your mind was spinning with the myriad of scenarios both good and bad; that could play out once you stepped foot past the threshold. In all honesty, it wasn’t so much that you were nervous to enter the house itself, it was the fact that you’d be face to face with your childhood best friend for the first time in you didn’t even know how long. Maybe childhood best friend was a stretch you had only been introduced into each other's lives due to circumstance, and because of that forced proximity, you both took comfort in having someone stable around.

The two of you weren’t friends because you had chosen each other, or because you had met in kindergarten and shared toys in the sandbox because the other kids were stingy. No, you met because as a single mom, your mother needed all the shifts she could get even if that meant working the graveyard shift at the hospital, and only seeing you a handful of hours throughout the day because most times she was too dead on her feet to be conscious for more than a few hours. And when she could no longer pay the babysitter her next best option was the eccentric woman across the street who had children close in age with you.

Enter Donna Berzatto, a woman who came to feel like a second mom to you. It's not that she replaced your mom, no one could ever replace her, but she was the only real mother figure you knew for a time in your life. Who took you in as her own when your mother needed a new babysitter, and not just you but integrated your mom into the family as well, when she was spared the time off from nursing. Donna Berzatto who never sent you home empty-handed, and always made enough food for you and your mom to last throughout the week, just so your mother wouldn’t have to worry about fitting grocery shopping into her already hectic schedule. Donna Berzatto who, even when you were old enough to no longer need a babysitter, would send Carmy across the street to fetch you for family dinner, or even just invite you over because she thought you needed company.

Now that you were thinking about it, it seemed like you were more friends with his mom than you ever were with Carmen Berzatto. But then that would be a lie wouldn’t it?

You and Carmen Berzatto were friends due to circumstance, maybe even best friends. You weren’t just friends at his house, but you were school friends, you were everywhere friends. He really was your only true friend, of course, you had school friends, but that’s just what they were. You saw them Monday through Friday for a mandatory education, never an hour before school started or a minute after the final bell. Which didn’t necessarily bother you, but sometimes you longed for a weekend invitation to hang out, not that it ever came. And it wasn’t like you were shunned or unpopular in school, you were just average, you didn’t see a point in making friends with people you weren’t actually interested in befriending.

That’s what made Carmy so different, yes maybe you were only introduced due to circumstances but that didn’t stop the two of you from latching onto each other for dear life. Your mom always wondered how you two even established the friendship you did, with both of you being shy and never feeling the need to go out of your way to make friends. Include the fact that you had been neighbors practically your whole lives and never once taken an interest in each other aside from shy waves and curious childlike staring when either of you would be outside.

Your relationship with Carmen progressed as any childlike relationship would, you befriended each other, had your incessant petty arguments and fights, nothing ever serious enough to actually cause damage just childish antics. And it continued to progress through middle school and high school, the two of you were each other’s person, you just understood each other, the two of you let the other understand you, and wanted to be understood by each other.

You could also recall what you explain as a minute change in your friendship. As Senior year approached and you and Carmy continued to grow into yourselves, you developed a slight crush on the boy you had grown up with. It obviously wasn’t as small as you thought it was if you were standing in front of his childhood home giving yourself a pep talk just to ring the damn doorbell though was it?

The unsolicited card and wrapped present weighed heavy in your tote bag, as your breath was made visible by the chilly Chicago weather.

It was Christmas and for all intents and purposes you had been planning on mailing the present to Carmen’s New York address, but after visiting The Beef on your way back into town Mikey and Richie had let it slip that indeed the infamous Berzatto sibling would be gracing everyone with his presence this holiday season.

It was moments like these you wished you had picked up on the Berzatto family’s horrible smoking habit, thankfully your mom had taught you just how vital having functioning lungs was.

Your head shot up as the sound of loud rambunctious voices drew your attention to the front door opening and closing revealing a face you were all too familiar with and actually relieved to see. The oldest Berzatto brother stood on the porch, hands on his hips as he gave you a goofy smile. You could feel your lips stretching into a smile of your own, the infectious aura that Michael Berzatto exuded doing wonders to calm your racing mind.

“I know you didn’t come all this way just to stand outside staring at my family home like a fucking weirdo Baby.” Mikey’s smile grew in size as he teased you.

You rolled your eyes at the childhood nickname you wish hadn’t stuck as Mikey opened his arms to wrap you in one of his signature hugs. The two of you stood on the porch embracing each other for what felt like hours, you needed this hug as much as he needed it, you knew it and Mikey did too. That was the thing about you and Mikey although not blood-related it was as if your souls knew each other in a past life. Of the Berzatto siblings, Mikey was the last sibling you developed a relationship with. Growing up he was always just Carmy’s older brother but as you grew up surrounded by him, he became your surrogate older brother as well. And when Carmy dashed off to pursue his culinary dreams in New York, you and Mikey grew even closer.

You stepped back from the embrace, your eyes finding Mikey’s as he looked at you with a knowing glint in his eyes. “You not standing out here cause of a certain Chef in that house are ya?” Mikey asked, smirking down at you.

You chuckled “The only reason I come around anymore is for Mama Donna.” You joked doing a poor job to convince Mikey.

He nodded, tossing his head back with a laugh, “You were always a shit liar Baby. Carmy’s an idiot, don't let him ruin your Christmas.”

You let out a sigh head resting against Mikey’s chest as you tried to let his words soothe you even more, “He’s not ruining it, you just know things have been kind of stilted between us, and I don’t know this whole situation just feels awkward.”

You raised your head to look at Mikey again, “It’s awkward right? Am I making things awkward? I don’t wanna ruin Christmas Mikey, I know how your mom is and I know how Carmy is, I don’t wanna ambush him.”

The worry in your voice was evident as Mikey stood there listening to your ranting. His hand reached out as he used his thumb to massage away the frown between your eyebrows. “Calm down Baby, you know Ma is expecting you, and she wouldn’t take it well if you missed Christmas. She looks forward to seeing you every year, you give her a piece of Carmy when he can’t be fucking asked to come home and visit.” His hand moved down to cup the side of your neck rubbing soothing circles where his thumb rested, “Do it for Ma okay? Let Carmy be fucking wonder boy Carmy a’ight.”

You laughed nodding your head as best as you could with Mikey’s hand holding it, he smiled giving you one last hug before dropping his hand to grab your wrist and tug you into the house. You stopped him by placing a hand on his arm that was connected to yours.

“Hold on Mikey, I got you something.” You moved to start rummaging through your tote bag stalling because you were too nervous for his reaction to the present.

“Awe you didn’t have to get me nothing.” You turned back to him with the present in your hands as he held his own hands over his heart mockingly. You knew Mikey didn’t do well when it came to sentimental things and the best you would get out of him was a joke as opposed to anything else.

You laughed holding the rectangular wrapped present out to him, “I wanted to Mikey, don’t think of this as a gift, think of it uhh…as a show of appreciation yeah?” You nodded feeling your face heat up as you dropped your head so he couldn’t see how unsure you were about the gift.

He smiled, finding your shyness endearing before tearing into the neatly wrapped paper and revealing a frame, his hands engulfing it from end to end. He smiled looking at it before you saw confusion etch across his face, “This is great Baby, yeah but uh what the fuck am I looking at?”

You shove his shoulder before laughing at him and grabbing the frame out of his hands but holding it in front of your chest so he could still see its contents, “It's a trademark certification you dumbass, can’t you fucking read Mikey.” You joked to try and underestimate how big of a gift this was.

Mikey’s brows furrowed before he snatched the frame out of your hands to get a better look at the certificate sitting behind the glass, eyes snapping back up to your face with a look you couldn’t read. You shuffled your feet feeling like you overstepped a boundary you didn’t even know was between you and Mikey, “Don’t worry though I-I, put it in your name, it’s not like I trademarked it for myself or anything. I just know how much this means to you and I, I know shit has been tough lately and I’m sorry if you feel like I stepped on your toes but…Mikey, you deserve good things too okay?” You hadn’t meant to go on a rant, but you could feel the apprehension leaving you as you became passionate in every word you spoke.

“You deserve to be fucking happy Mikey, and I, I want you to know I fucking believe in you and I’m always in your corner. If it's-” You were cut off by Mikey clearing his throat, causing your eyes to snap back up to his, all the emotions he didn’t know how to translate into words swirling in his brown eyes, a small smile resting on his lips.

“Mikey-,” Before you could get another word out you were once again trapped in his comforting embrace, this hug conveying something completely different from the earlier one you shared. Mikey’s head tucked into your neck as you felt his uneasy breathing through your hands clutched around him. Mikey wasn’t the type to get emotional in front of other people, and feeling a tear of his smear against your cheek as he raised his head from your neck and settled his bearded cheek against yours, you weren’t sure if you had done the right thing by giving him the gift or not.

The two of you stood in silence as you allowed Mikey his moment, not wanting to make him feel insecure about you being present while he was being emotional. When he finally pulled away you could see the leftover sheen in his eyes. He tucked the framed certificate under his arm as both his hands reached up to grab your face in both of his hands, eyes finding yours, a whispered “thank you, baby,” leaving his lips as he placed a kiss on your forehead before he grabbed the frame again and wrapped you in another hug.

His head rested atop yours as your face rested against his chest, ear pressed against his beating heart. You lied, you thought the last hug was different, but no it was this hug that was different, while the second hug you shared in the span of 20 minutes was a hug of love and gratitude. This hug felt heavier, like there were things Mikey wanted to tell you but couldn’t, things he only felt he could convey through a hug, things you weren’t sure if you wanted to question or not.

It had been almost 20 minutes since Michael had escaped the house to do whatever the fuck it was he was doing outside. Carmy didn’t know and in all honesty he didn’t actually give a shit either, too busy helping Donna out in the kitchen to try to give any thoughts to whatever had grabbed Mikey’s attention.

He was focused in the corner of the kitchen making Tiff Sprite to help alleviate her nausea symptoms. Anyone else would have done their best to block out the rambunctious noises going on throughout the house, not Carmy though, the chaos fueled him, it grounded him. If the house was quiet it would have been too much for him, to be alone with his own thoughts ping-ponging around in his head, waiting for a chance to drown him. So if he had to listen to his mom list a plethora of things he needed to make sure happened for Christmas dinner to go off without a hitch while he was making Sprite from scratch, he welcomed it.

He finished his concoction just in time for Richie to walk through the kitchen, the older man trying to figure out how the fuck it was even possible to make Sprite from scratch. Gratefully taking the glass Carmy had offered to him, marveling at the carbonated drink in his hand.

Carmy nodded in his direction, “Yo Cousin, where the fuck is Mikey. He just fucking disappeared.” Carmy’s head swiveled around the kitchen double checking whether his brother was there or not, coming up empty in his search. Richie glanced up before settling his eyes back on the drink in his hand still doing the mental math to wrap his head around what the fuck Carmy just made.

Richie jutted his head in the direction of the front door, “Outside talking to Baby.” His eyes finally focused on Carmy’s in time to see the frown grace the younger man’s face, his eyebrows pinching together in agitation, annoyed that his brother was on a phone call rather than inside. Though that’s what Carmy told himself subconsciously he knew he was just annoyed at the fact that Mikey was even talking to you at all. Carmy didn’t think he was possessive but as you and Mikey grew closer through the years, he couldn’t help but feel miffed about the ever growing friendship between the two of you. You and your friendship with Carmy was the first thing in his life that he felt like was actually his and his alone.

It’s funny really for Carmy to think he has any sort of claim over you, or like the two of you were even really friends anymore. When he left Chicago to pursue his culinary dreams, he left you behind to, essentially ghosting the one real friend he did have. It’s not like he meant to, you two just went your separate ways after graduation, and he wasn’t even sure if there even was an “Us” when it came to the two of you anymore. If that was the case the only person he had to blame was himself, it was no fault of yours that your friendship had hit a plateau, Carmy hadn’t responded to a text of yours in years, and the fact that you still texted him to this day caused a slight pain in his chest as he stood in the middle of his mother’s kitchen, frown still etched into his features.

“He’s outside on the phone with Baby?” Carmy questioned the ache in his chest doing nothing to alleviate his irritation. It was Richie’s turn to frown reciprocating the same confused look Camry wore.

“What - No dickhead, he’s talking to Baby, like she’s right in fucking front of him and shit.” Richie swatted the side of Carmy’s head like a child. “Your moms invites her to every holiday, Cousin, and she comes every time.” Richie knew the last bit wasn’t necessary but felt Carmy rightfully deserved it, all anyone wanted from the youngest Berzatto was a visit.

“Dudes been out there for fucking ever though, those to idiots just standing outside like a bunch of fucking jackoffs.” Richie left the kitchen not waiting for Carmy to follow him before heading to the front door. He stopped moving the curtain on one of the side windows to spot two of the people he considered family. He let out a low whistle nudging Carmy’s shoulder who had finally joined his side nodding his head to the window.

“Get a load of these fucking losers hugging on the porch like they’re in some fucking Hallmark movie or some shit.” Richie laughed pointing at you and Mikey through the window. Carmy leaned closer to get a peak at what Richie was going on about.

Carmy hated to admit it, but Richie was right, the too of you looked like the happy couple who just saved a small town’s Christmas or whatever the fuck Hallmark movies were about. Mikey had finally separated himself from you long enough for Carmy to take in your features. He’d be lying if he said the years apart made him forget what you looked like. You were still the same girl he left in Chicago all those years ago except the wand of maturity had touched you, and in his opinion he thought you looked more beautiful than you had in high school.

Carmy was never one to pay too much attention to a woman’s features, and not because he didn’t care, it's just that he didn’t think it mattered. But as he drank in your form he learned in that exact moment why a woman might want people to notice the small things. Like the haircut you were sporting that Carmy felt shaped your face well, not that he knew shit about stuff like that, but he could appreciate art when he saw it. The outfit you picked out doing wonders to compliment your tall form and accentuate your legs. Carmy could look at you all day, scratch that he wanted to look at you all day.

He was torn from his reverie as Richie narrated the scene happening in front of them, “Aw look at these fuckers lookin all in love an shit.” He joked watching as Mikey slung his arm around you and led you towards the door, what looked to be a frame held in his other hand. The two of you walked side by side, your arm wrapped around his torso, hugging him into your side, Mikey’s head leaning slightly down to whisper something in your ear a small smile gracing your face as Mikey pressed his lips onto your temple lingering there for what Carmen swore was forever.

The tightness in his chest intensified tenfold as the realization of just how close you and Mikey had become sank into him. He didn’t know how to feel, his brain not even allowing any emotions to process, saving himself from any conclusions he might come to from a split second interaction.

Carmy left, he chose his path, he knew this, and he had no regrets he would pursue his dream every time the opportunity was presented. He just wished that, maybe if he held onto you as tightly as you still held onto him, it would’ve been him greeting you on the sidewalk on Christmas Day, being the sole object of your attention holding you close to his longing body. He knew overall the decisions he made regarding you were wrong, while he ignored your daily text and calls enough times for you to just resort to monthly check ins asking him about his endeavors and congratulations as you heard about his achievements in the culinary industry, he knew deep down that Mikey answered every text and call you sent his way, made it his mission to connect with you anytime you were back in Chicago.

Carmy couldn’t admit it to himself but deep down he knew his family saw spending time with you as a way to stay connected to him. You were the closest thing any of them still had to Carmy, and even though he had essentially cut you off from his life, his family loved you too much to allow Carmy’s shortcomings to affect their relationship with you.

He was broken from the recesses of his mind as Richie threw the door open stepping over the threshold raising his hands in the air to welcome you and Mikey into the house. The glass of Sprite still clutched in his left hand, a broad smile spread across his face as you left Mikey’s hold to greet Richie eyes not having spotted Carmy who was hidden behind Richie’s small frame.

Carmy’s first up close look at you in years were your hands wrapped around Richie’s torso as he pulled you into a hug, rocking the two of you back and forth, Richie let you go quickly turning his body back into the house “A’ight fuckers you can all stop pretending you care so much about Carmy and his little rat in the chef hat bullshit. We got the real deal here now, Baby's gracing us with her journalist presence.”

Carmy’s brows furrowed at Richie’s dig only slightly offended about being compared to a fictional character named after pasta, too caught up in allowing the sound of your laugh to grace his ears for the first time in what felt like forever. Mikey had finally caught up to you standing behind you with a hand placed on your shoulder, Carmy watched as his brother’s hand glided up and down your arm before giving your bicep a slight squeeze and nodding his head in Carmy’s direction.

If Carmy was being honest it was becoming increasingly difficult to quiet his mind that was eagerly trying to piece everything together. From yours and Mikey's prolonged moment on the porch, to the kiss he placed on your temple, add in Richie’s jokes and the almost constant physical contact between you and Mikey and Carmy was sure he figured shit out.

You looked to where Mikey motioned his head finally noticing Carmy’s figure standing there while Richie ran off towards the stairs after his impromptu introduction. Looking at Carmy was like being in a Time Machine, nothing had drastically changed, he looked more exhausted than what you remembered. But overall he was the same Carmy you parted ways with all those years ago.

A small smile graced your lips as you took him in, he was still your Carmy appearance wise, and right now for you that was all that mattered. You lifted your hand in a small wave gaining his attention, your smile growing wider as your eyes locked with his.

The clearing of a throat broke you from your thoughts, Mikey’s hand giving your shoulder a squeeze as he walked you two into the house before shutting the door behind him. As he finished he stood in front of you so that Carmy was partially covered from view by each brother in your line of vision though your focus was taken up by the eldest. He gave you a reassuring smile before gently knocking his fist against your chin and presumably turning to leave you and Carmy alone.

As Mikey walked past Carmy he gave him his signature grin and a wink before patting his shoulder as left to check on Donna in the kitchen and mingle with the other guests.

Carmy’s face was still set in the same frown it had been in when he first asked Richie where Mikey ran off to. You took a deep breath to settle your nerves before taking a step to close the gap between you, your hand reached out to gently squeeze Carmy’s arm though stopping in midair as you watched him subtly flinch. Your smile faltered, your hand finding its rightful place at your side. You looked up to see the apology in Carmy’s eyes, you did your best to brush the moment off, maybe you came on too strong, maybe it wasn’t fair that you were still pushing for a friendship when Carmy had given you all the reasons to stop trying, maybe the Carmy in front of you was a different Carmy to the one you used to know. Maybe the life where it was you and Carmy had finally taken its last breath and you were just too clingy and desperate to realize.

You cleared your throat trying to alleviate the lump forming from the thoughts that were racing through your brain. The small placating smile on your face there to stop you from having a full breakdown in the Berzatto’s foyer. “Its good to see you Carmen, I hope New York is treating you well.” You lips wrapped around the generic greeting forcing yourself not to say anything you might regret.

Carmy nodded his head rapidly accepting your lackluster words, his lips parting and closing all in the same breath. The man obviously had nothing to say to you, and maybe you just had to accept that. You stayed a moment longer cursing yourself for doing so as the air between you two filled with palpable tension.

“Baby, is that you? My goodness you look fucking gorgeous.” Half of Donna’s body had popped out of the kitchen finally gaining a spare moment to greet you. Her words mumbled through the cigarette between her lips, a ladle held in her right hand while the left was occupied by tongs. Her apron covered in all sorts of sauces and whatever the hell else your brain couldn’t even begin to discern.

You laughed half in amusement and half in relief, you weren’t sure how much longer you could stand there as Carmy burned holes in your body. You waved at Donna quickly, beginning to head towards her to join her in the kitchen. It wasn’t your first choice as an escape from Carmen but you’d rather try and help Donna finish preparing Christmas dinner than be around Carmy for another minute.

Donna waved the tongs in Carmy’s direction, “Jesus fucking Christ Carmen, take the girls bag and coat. Don’t just fuckin stand there.” She huffed eyes glaring the longer Carmen stayed glued to the spot. You handed him your tote as soon as his arm shot out and began hastily shimmying out of your jacket. You gave him a soft smile before laying the jacket on his awaiting arm.

You began to leave the foyer as Donna motioned for you to follow her, mentally preparing yourself for what you were about to walk into. A sudden thought occurred causing you to gently grip Carmy’s bicep as you were walking past him, “I uh, I actually bought you a Christmas present. So um, find me later yeah?” You smiled tilting your head slightly in questioning.

Carmen Berzatto graced you with a small smile, nodding back in agreement as you sent him one final nod and turned to enter the kitchen. The first positive emotion he granted you since you walked back into his life 30 minutes ago.

next chapter ↣

a/n: this is my first fic that i’m publishing and i genuinely have no clue what the fuck any of this is, : ) but nonetheless hope you all enjoy! or don’t i’m just a stranger on the internet. constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated though. please like, comment, reblog if this behemoth tickles your fancy!

also i write for fun/hobby and i'm such an inconsistent bitch so don't get your hopes too high, but this will potentially be a series idk yet though lol.

[dunmeshistash]

Anything about pattadol or cithis? Pattadol has some really funny moments. Plus a few extras comics depicting her eating food.(cause she’s so cute) Her extra on how she perceives being sent off to the canaries paints a bleak picture on how the system works.

Cithis is arguably the most beautiful character in the whole comic. Her backstory of being able to escape the canaries is interesting. It seems from the fact she plans to kill Pattadol that she already has a contingency plan. The only thing that is stopping her is mitrun. And I have no idea how to interpret that. Your thoughts on these two (sorry for the long post)

It's oke I like long asks!

I love Pattadol so much, my beautiful teacher's pet daughter, I really enjoy that she's mostly clueless to "street smarts" while having to work with criminals, no wonder she's always so stressed out <3 Btw she's the youngest of them all, not even 100 yet, and this is her first mission (80 is the age of maturity for elves its the equivalent of being 16 for tallmen, which honestly I didn't notice she was actually that young)

I also love how much Ryoko Kui draws her, she's basically a mascot along with Marcille.

I really have a soft spot for Pattadol, she's doing her best and trying to stay positive, even if she's innocent and doesn't know that much about the world <3

It is bleak but really gives the context for how Mithrun felt being send to be a canary, and its really cute how she rationalizes it into being something positive, my poor girl :,)

About Cithis I'll be honest I haven't thought that much about her, but I really enjoy how overtly feminine she is compared to the other elves, she uses a long dress, makeup, makes sure to have cleavage exposed, it's really fun and different from the other elves, you can really see it in the gender swap page for the canaries, and even gender swap Marcille (who has lived a long time with tallmen) is about the same

From the canaries she's basically the only one that changed, so I believe gender expression is important to her which seems so rare for elves (Otta being the other exception but I guess male Otta enjoys the same style)

I really enjoy the Cithis extra too

The "tentative respect" is really funny, this woman can mind control everyone to do her bidding, and was baffled by the most controllable guy ever saying no to her

About the "Someday I'll kill you" I wonder if she means it, hope she fails LMAO. But I can't really blame her, Pattatol seems to be everything she hates the most personified (Extra funny now realizing she has beef with a 16yo), and Pattadol isn't very respectfull to the prisioners either.

[azurityarts]

1 and 4 for the pmd ask game please.

1. Favourite game(s) in the series?

Jokes aside, my personal rankings for the PMD games are:

Explorers

Gates to Infinity/Super Mystery Dungeon

Rescue Team

Sorry to all the og fans; I just have zero attachment to the rescue team games lol

4. What were your hero characters like before being turned into Pokemon? What did they look like and how were their lives? Do they ever recover any of their memories?

I'll be honest, I haven't thought about this question all too much, so the content here is somewhat subject to change!

(Gonna be excluding Explorers hero in this discussion cause they technically have a canon backstory set in the future and I haven't delved much into that—other folks have though and it's a super neat train of thought!)

I think each of my PMD hero characters probably entered the Pokemon world at different ages; Arcas and Brooke probably got yoinked in the early-teens, but Reese being PSMD Hero is kiiiinda up in the air if we're going with the story's canon (in these doodles she's about the age of the other Serene Village kids though, if not just a little older!)

One funny idea I had for Arcas was just that he was a Team Skull delinquent, but his rather dry humor and lack of expressions probably didn't change that much after getting turned into a Pokemon. Likely got more and more scraps of his old memories back, but overall it doesn't bother him much!

Brooke remembers all of her old life (GTI Hero is actually the only protagonist out of the entire franchise that canonically doesn't have amnesia), and she does not miss it at all—getting turned into a Pokemon probably helped her if anything!

Reese unfortunately kinda ends up in the same boat as Explorers Hero; the game's plot gives them a set backstory that I haven't thought about too much—but I do think she gradually pieces more and more of her amnesia together! it's probably pretty bittersweet?

Ask game questions here!

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

Another Mini Update (9/9/24)

Okay I know you all prefer big updates rather than a bunch of small ones but I can only write in small segments lately and I get a bit anxious if I don't share my current progress in a while. Gets worse when I don't have all the time to answer requests either. 😭

The IF is now at 55,817 words without code and 61,102 with code.

If you haven't read since the last official update, then this is a little more than a 5k word update.

What warranted this update is that I added a June POV in the end, I don't know how I feel about keeping it because I feel like it's too revealing about June's past.

I think I'd prefer to keep June's past a completely mystery for you all to learn about later but at the same time, I wanted to do a deep dive on how the character would be feeling at that exact moment. What was meant to be a little blurb turned out to be a much longer passage that made me tear up a little bit ngl.

Although me crying could just be me fully knowing the backstory lol.

Anywho, I left her POV as optional and I wanted to know your thoughts! Feel free to comment or submit your thoughts to the inbox so I can know to keep this in or not! 💙

Quick Link to Story: Link

Enjoy! Sorry it isn't more! 😅

[wingedcupcaketimemachine]

Heyyyy, I saw your requests open and wanna ask for oneshot Zuko x GN!Reader(who is really-really sweet for a firebender), but they're childhood friends(and Zuko had a crush on them) and reader ran away to Earth Kingdom. Then they meet in some village where Reader lives and make something romantic there!

Please and thank you!

Zuko Reuniting With Childhood Friend

Pairing: Zuko x Firebender!GN!Reader

Summary: You and Zuko are childhood friends who grew up together in the Fire Nation.

Warnings: Contain spoilers for some of Zuko's backstory if you haven't seen the show. Also contains badly written kiss scene

Type: Romantic ❤️

A/N: I decided to give the reader a bit of backstory to explain why they fled to the Earth Kingdom. The one shot takes place during season 2 episode 14, "Tales of Ba Sing Se." Hope you enjoy <3

Oneshot starts below cut

Avatar: The Last Airbender Masterlist

Main Masterlist

You had been friends with Zuko back when you still lived in the Fire Nation. You had grown up alongside him and his sister, Azula, as your father was on of the Firelord's more trusted generals.

As a young child, you were never very interested in playing games with Azula and her friends. You preferred spending quiet time with Zuko around the palace.

Zuko never understood how he felt about you.. Of course he liked you. The two of you were friends, best friends even. But, did best friends make a fiery red blush rise from your face to the tops of your ears? Did a best friends cause your heart to stop beating every time you got lost in their eyes?

Even now, as his golden eyes met yours, his heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest. He carefully studied you as you sat in the corner of the tea shop. You had changed. Your hair was different, maybe a bit longer than he remembered, and you had swapped out your red Fire Nation clothes for a simple green dress -- an Earth Nation staple. Most notably, your bright eyes had remained the same.

You studied him as well. This Zuko was much different than the boy you knew as a child. His hair was much shorter, and his once warm golden eyes had grown dull. You wondered, how had he ended up in a Ba Sing Se tea shop of all places? After his banishment from the Fire Nation, you weren't sure if you would ever see him again.

"Uncle, we have a problem," said Zuko as he approached his uncle behind the front counter, "Don't look now, but over in the corner table, it's (Y/N)."

Iroh swiftly turned to glance at your table. He recognized you in an instant. His mind was flooded with the memories of you and Zuko growing uo together in the palace.

"Uncle!" Zuko scolds, "Didn't I say don't look? Now they're gonna know that we're onto them."

Before Iroh could respond, you walked up to the counter with a small bag of coins in hand.

"Thank you for the tea, Zuko," you said politely, "And you too general Iroh."

Zuko felt heat rise to his ears. He had always though you were pretty, and seeing you up close was starting to make him a but flustered. "But why?" he thought to himself. Were friends supposed to think of each other that way?

"You're welcome," said Zuko with red checks, "But you can't call us that here. I go by Lee. And my uncle is called Mushi"

"Sorry!" you said quickly, as your face flushed with embarrassment, "I didn't even think that you would go by different names here. Speaking of which, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Well," Zuko said, "It's not really something we can discuss here."

"My nephew is right!" Iroh said, jumping back into the conversation, "Why don't the two of you go out tonight and discuss how both of you came to be in Ba Sing Se?"

At Iroh's suggestion, Zuko turned even redder, if possible.

"I like that idea," you said shyly before turning back to Zuko, "I know a restaurant in the city if you'd like to go there."

"Yeah..that sounds...nice," Zuko said quietly, "I can meet you in front of the tea shop tonight."

"Yeah," you said with a grin, "See you tonight."

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

After it had gotten dark, you stood outside of the tea shop waiting for Zuko. As you waited, you began to hear muffled voices from inside the shop.

"i'm not so sure about this, Uncle," said Zuko hesitantly "What if they end up hating me after I tell them. I don't want to lose them again."

"Do not worry Zuko. They have a god heart, and so do you. Now get going. You're going to be late."

"Hi," you said as Zuko walked out of the tea shop, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," said Zuko, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Lead the way."

The two of you walked in an uncomfortable silence. The tension between you could be cut with a knife. After a brief walk, which somehow felt so much longer than the short 10 minutes, you came to a stop outside of a small restaurant.

"This is it," you said awkwardly, "Do you wanna go find a table?"

"Sure," said Zuko, before you fell into another uncomfortable silence.

"So," you said after you had settled in your seats, "What are you doing here in Ba Sing Se anyway? I thought you were looking for the avatar."

"I am!" Zuko said quickly, "But Uncle and I got a bit sidetracked. Azula's after us."

Your eyes widened in shock.

"Azula? But what could she want from you? She's already next in line to become firelord."

"My father," said Zuko quietly, "He sent her after me and the avatar. He doesn't seem to think my efforts to capture him are good enough."

"Of course," you said in a rare burst of anger, "I should have known your father would do anything to prevent you from returning to the Fire Nation. That's part of the reason I left, you know."

"Really?" said Zuko curiously.

He had always wondered what made you leave the Fire Nation. Although he had already been banished at that time, he had heard through letters from the Fire Nation that you had run away shortly after his father sent him to find the avatar. Selfishly, he couldn't help but think that you had left for him.

"I never really agreed with the Fire Nation's teachings," you said honestly, "I always wondered why we were taught that our way of life was better than everyone else, when, truly, each one of us should be seen as equals. But when your own father challenged you to an Agni Kai, I realized that we really weren't the heroes the Fire Nation said we were. We were the villains. I came out here to try and make a difference. I can't just stand by while our people destroy the world and everyone in it."

Zuko's gaze met you eyes and he saw the many emotions swirling inside of them. Most importantly the fiery determination that he hadn't seen since childhood. As your words sank in, he though about how he and his uncle had ended up in the city. Unlike you, who, through your unwavering need to help others, had worked the make life easier for the people whose life had been torn apart by the Fire Nation, he had spent the better part of a month terrorizing innocent towns on his hunt for the avatar.

"I always wished I could be more like you, you know," Zuko said ashamed, "I always thought I was doing the right thing by tracking down the avatar, but after seeing all the damage the Fire Nation has caused, maybe I've been doing a lot more harm than good."

You smiled at him before softly cupping his face.

"You're not a bad person, Zuko," you said quietly, "I know there's good in you. You just need someone to help you find it."

You felt Zuko's skin burn under your touch, as you look into his golden eyes, which are filled with hesitation. As you leaned closer, you could hear Zuko's breath hitch as his breath caught in his throat. Zuko began to lean in, hoping you couldn't hear his heart beating at a thousand miles an hour.

Your lips finally connected, for a brief second, before you pulled apart, faces flushed.

"You, know," Zuko said quietly, "I missed you a lot after I left the Fire Nation."

You smiled softly.

"So did I," you said before gently pulling him into another kiss.

[xergoxponderx]

AK! Jason Todd x Vigilante! Reader (pt. 1)

{Lots of setting up for the story. Fighting. Backstory. lol} wc: 785 Synopsis: You're a vigilante siding with Batman, currently on a mission to assist in finding the identity of the Arkham Knight. Amidst the events of the Fear City plan conducted by the Arkham Knight and Scarecrow, you find yourself being taken hostage by the Knight himself. Though he seems oddly gentle...and familiar...

(Y/N) leaps from building to building, grappling her way across Gotham in homes of finding a lead to the Arkham Knight. She was determined to find something, anything. Not only could Bruce not get any leads as to his identity, but neither could Lucius and Alfred. And Barbara was kidnapped by the Knight...so of course that meant she couldn't help. Barbara. (Y/N)'s friend. (Y/N) shudders as she tries to block out what horrible things could be done to her. She stayed focused as she moves.

"I'm closer...I have to be...", (Y/N) mutters to herself as she looks down at the tank drones. The Knight must be nearby, if this area is so important to protect. "What are you hiding....who are you...", (Y/N) mutters as she thinks of the next part of her plan.

"Don't sound too sure...", a robotic voice states behind (Y/N).

She immediately whips her head around and stands up straight. There he was, the Knight. (Y/N) takes out her weapons, two kunai, one in each hand.

"Easy...not that you'd put up much anyways...", the Knight taunts as he slowly steps forward, "What are you anyways...a wannabe vigilante? A little kid hoping to get in the game? Hm...Deathkiss?"

(Y/N) furrows her brows at this. She's the vigilante Deathkiss to others, but to the Knight it feels that he sees her as a joke. It takes her back to old memories. (Y/N) was a poor Gotham kid on the street...no one to help her but one person. Her only friend, Jason Todd. (Y/N) is smart, capable, but too sweet for her own good. Jason is kind, and is willing to use his kindness to fight for those he cares about. That meant her.

When Bruce took them in it was only Jason who trained to be a vigilante, Robin. (Y/N) hung back. Jason tried to get her to show interest in being a vigilante as well.

"You could be something intimidating but sweet...maybe like Deathkiss or something...", he told her one night as they stargazed on the roof of Wayne manor.

(Y/N) didn't take up the vigilante life until Jason was kidnapped by the Joker...and killed. She swore she'd avenge him somehow, and that she'd protect other's from horrible fates that villians may lead them too. All under the name her best friend chose...Deathkiss.

(Y/N) can't speak as she stares the Knight down. Her thoughts of Jason affecting her. Amidst the silence, she takes her chance. She dashed to the Knight, grunting as she sweep kicks at his feet. She then throws a punch at the chin, hoping to stun him slightly.

The Knight dodges skillfully, grabbing Deathkiss's fist. He's quick, skilled.

"So he did teach you. Batman taught you how to fight.", the Knight says as he grabs Deathkiss's other wrist, "I know all the tricks. And I know you won't last in a fight with me. You're weak. You don't wanna fight...", he taunts.

"Don't tell me what I want!" Deathkiss retorts as she lifts her legs, kicking off of the Knight and backflipping away, landing on her feet yet low to the ground.

"You've learned a bit haven't you? I'm surprised...", the Knight says in his usual calm, almost cocky voice. "Maybe you could take out my men...but not me...and I don't feel like dancing this dance for long."

With a swift motion, the Knight dashes forward and takes hold of Deathkiss.

"Let go!", she calls out.

"Sorry sweetheart.", the Knight says without even feigning pity. He grabs her by the waist with one arm, his hands clinging to her side. With his other hand, he places pressure on a specific area of her neck.

"No-"

Everything fades to black. Her body goes limp as she's placed in a deep sleep.

The Knight gently placed Deathkiss in his arms. Holding her bridal style. He looks down at her. There she is. (Y/N). His best friend. His first love. His...everything. Then came the dilemma.

He knew he shouldn't have kidnapped her. This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't like kidnapping Barbara, to get to Bruce. This was selfish, all for him. He just...missed her.

But she's a vigilante, working with Batman. What would she think when she woke up? Would she look at him with those kind eyes, and admire him like she did before his death? Not only is Jason a dead man walking...but he's a threat to Gotham and Bruce.

He pushed these thoughts aside and shook his head as he takes her to his base. Safe...with him.

a/n: super rushed ik aaa i havent written anything in so long but if yall like it or have ideas plz lmk until next time!!!

[bairdthereader]

Time to pay homage to the Spring Queen, Tori.

[This is a long one, folks. I have lots of feelings. Sorry, not sorry! TLDR can just look at the gifs for the gist of the story.]

Having read Solitaire, This Winter, and Nick and Charlie in addition to Heartstopper, my thoughts on Tori and how she's portrayed in the show are a bit difficult to organize and express. Since we don't get her backstory in the show (yet), we see her exclusively engaging with Charlie's story; this leaves out a lot of her depth and complexity, or at least leaves it to the viewer to piece together. BUT . . .

The specific ways she goes about protecting Charlie say so much about her.

It's established from their first on-screen interaction that Charlie feels safe with Tori, both to be himself and to confide in her that he's ended his pseudo relationship with Ben, a relationship no one else knows about at this point. Tori automatically assumes the fault was with Ben, which is not only peak awesome older sister behavior, but a cue to Charlie that she knows him well enough to trust that he was not only not the offending party, but that the breakup was a very positive move for him. She's affirming and bolstering Charlie without any platitudes or unsolicited advice, a sign of her care and respect for him, as well as her understanding of him and his needs.

In Solitaire, Tori explains that she rides the bus with Charlie when he's dealing with particularly bad mental health struggles, which puts the scene toward the end of S1E7 in a slightly different perspective. She knows that something is deeply wrong, but also that Charlie isn't ready to talk about it. She keeps an earbud out just in case, but doesn't pressure him in any way, another sign of respect and silent support.

And of course the moment when Charlie is desperately vulnerable, scared, admitting his darkest thoughts to her, when she realizes for the first time (in the show timeline) just how deep the pain goes, she takes it seriously. She knows what it could mean. Though we as viewers haven't seen it yet, Tori knows her own version of this particular darkness and recognizes it in Charlie. She grounds him with firm, safe, physical touch and a truth that only she can give--which makes it the truest kind of truth, a bedrock truth for Charlie to stand on--that he is valuable to her and vital to her life.

After Charlie tells his parents about his relationship with Nick (with fairly negative results, but that's a whole other post), Tori's concern for Charlie is immediate. Not only does she remember how terrible the bullying Charlie experienced was, but she also knows how fragile his newfound happiness really is. Charlie misinterprets her question--whether intentionally or not I think might be up for debate--and assumes that her concern is mainly for Nick, asserting that he can protect Nick. Tori knows that Charlie will need that protection as well, maybe more, but also respects his choice to view the situation in this way. [Side note: respect is like Tori's secret love language; she doesn't give it very willingly.]

"Look after him or you die" seems funny, but Tori is dead serious. Her later accusation that Nick doesn't keep his promises feels harsh at first, and he doesn't really deserve it, but we have to see it for what it is. Tori is trusting Nick with a responsibility that she usually puts on herself, and she doesn't take it lightly; very few people can care for Charlie the way Tori does, and to her, failure to do so is indefensible. Nick's failing her test in this moment, though she's a complete enough person to recognize that it's a momentary lapse and trusts Nick with Charlie later in the story.

And of course there's the infamous Nelson dinner party, where Tori does in reality what we ALL want to do in spirit and knocks David down several pegs. She sees in him exactly the kind of person who bullied Charlie and made his life miserable, and she's not about to let it happen right in front of her. No real commentary here, just a deep appreciation for Tori's sisterly rage and complete disgust with David.

And then there's this:

Oh, season 3 Tori is going to be something to behold. I absolutely cannot wait. All hail the queen.

[opalisprocrastinating]

PMD Special Episode 0 Romhack: Secret Cutscene!

NOTE: This post will contain minor spoilers for the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky games as well as a romhack based off of it: Special Episode 0: In a Dark Past Well. This wasn't exactly what I expected for my first post, but I sure as hell ain't complaining! I'm making this post since I discovered something that I haven't seen posted anywhere, so I thought I might as well share it. Sorry if it's a little long! First off, a bit of context: Thanks to numerous fanart, I've begun playing a PMD romhack called Special Episode 0: In a Dark Past. It's a romhack of the Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky games specifically, delving deeper into the backstories of two of its characters: Grovyle and Dusknoir. As a massive PMD EoS fan, I've been enjoying it so far! Highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of these games or characters and the writing is great! You can check out the creator's Twitter here, the hack download should be in a pinned post: https://twitter.com/PKMM_ESPEP0 It was when I got to a fight with a Vespiquen and her Combee that I got a little curious. Before I picked up this hack, I'd already watched a short playthrough of it and knew that you were supposed to lose this fight to continue the story (Vespiquen is ridiculously strong and uses Silver Wind, which basically kills you from anywhere). But I wondered if it was possible to beat it. After all, I had a lot of stun seeds by this point, and Duskull knew both Disable and Hypnosis which could stall the Vespiquen.

So I did. Though I must first confess, I didn't do it 100% legitimately. I don't own a DS, so I play all my games using emulators, including both PMD EoS and this romhack. Thus, I was able to save right before the battle so I wouldn't have to reset and go through the entire dungeon every time I lost. So while I did manage to beat the Vespiquen fair and square from start to finish, I did do a couple resets to save time. But that's not what I made this post for. After beating the Vespiquen, I unlocked a secret cutscene! I haven't seen anyone share this before, so I thought I might as well put this out there for anyone who is curious. For anyone who's read this far, thank you so much, and here it is! (It's quite long at about 7 minutes, but it's totally worth the watch!)

Thanks for reading through this one hell of a first post! Like I said, I really love PMD and from the little I've experienced, this romhack is just as beautifully written. Highly recommend checking it out if you haven't! I wonder if I should start posting PMD fanart of my own...

[bunnyluvx]

genshin characters and how they spend your birthday with you! ♡

featuring: jean, diluc & itto x gn!reader (romantic). xiangling & gn!reader (platonic).

summary: how genshin characters would celebrate your birthday with you!

warnings: implied death mention in jean's part, and kind of an implied spoiler to itto's backstory?? not 100% on that one but better safe than sorry. nothing else!

a/n: HIHIHI MY DARLINGS!!!! it has been quite awhile since i posted and i am so sorry for that!! my mental health and writing motivation are really taking me through the ringer here. but i have more fluffy fluff for u sillies!!!! this idea was given to me by someone who i used to be in a server with, and i really liked it. diluc's idea was inspired by @novelbear! i haven't played genshin in so long and i want to continue it but mannnn i get so overwhelmed whenever i go on the game. i do really like this game though and plan to make more content of it in the future. i have yet to complete the inazuma quests which i REALLY need to do bc man this game progresses a lot quicker than i thought. not proofread, most of my posts probably won't be. also i have opened my commissions and requests, so if you want to send any of those, then please do!!!! all info is on my profile. i think that that's it for this time around, so enjoy!!!!!

divider credit: @isisjupiter

date started: 2:58PM, may 10th, 2024. date finished: 8:36PM, june 6th, 2024.

wc: 4.2k

jean ♡

being acting grandmaster of the knights of favonius is both a blessing and a curse. while she is honored to help mondstadt be a better nation for its citizens and for travelers, her position also needs her constant attention. she can never have a moment's peace before someone is dragging her into a task or a meeting. this has definitely had an impact on your relationship with her. you knew that when you got into a relationship with jean, that she would not be able to spend as much time with you as you would have liked. the two of you had a conversation about this, for she wanted you to understand what you were getting into if you committed to a relationship with her. she worries even now that eventually, you will grow tired of always waiting for her to return home to you and that one day, when she comes back, you'll just be..gone. of course, you reassured her that you were okay with that, and you are! you know that her duties are important for the future of mondstadt. so, you have patience with her. she is grateful every single day for your understanding and compassion, and in turn, she tries to make as much time as she can for you. so, when your birthday came around, she made sure to clear the entire day weeks in advance. and she made it absolutely clear to everyone at headquarters that she will not be available for any work matters for that day, because she wanted to prioritize you.

you awoke on your birthday morning to jean sitting at your bedside, gently caressing your face and running her fingers through your hair. her eyes twinkled affectionately down at you as you peeled your eyes open, their color completely captivating her. she really is a lovesick fool when it comes to you, but it is something that she has come to accept and embrace. she greets you to the waking world softly, and you can't help but smile up at her. with the morning sun bathing her in its glorious light, the sweet smile that tugs on her lips and the look in her eyes as she gazes at you, you wouldn't be surprised if she told you that she came straight from celestia to grace you with her presence. she wishes you a happy birthday and you thank her, then she proceeds to tell you that she cleared her entire schedule for the day to spend it with you however you liked. of course, you were ecstatic, then she brought you the breakfast that she made for you. before you began to eat, she sang you happy birthday. you always loved it when she sang, you wished that she would do it more often. you relish every word that vibrates from her vocal chords so melodiously, and when she was done, she gave you a kiss and told you to eat up. you would need fuel for your special day, after all.

once you were both ready, you headed out to take a walk throughout mondstadt. it is not often that you and jean get to go out just to appreciate the nation together, so you figured that it was the perfect time to do that now that you have jean to yourself. you started by walking through the beloved city first. the only place that you two didn't pass was the knights of favonius headquarters. the last thing that jean wanted to think about was work while she was trying to focus on you. jean marveled at the townspeople while the two of you walked along. it isn't often that she gets the chance to relax without the weight of her position on her shoulders, so she made sure to appreciate every little thing as the two of you walked along. she was very excited to leave the city and explore with you, maybe more-so than you were. you went to springvale for a quick lunch before exploring the whispering woods and stopping to by starfell lake to take a rest. you soaked your feet in the water and talked for hours, it felt like there was nothing that could have torn the two of you from that spot. another year of your life has gone by, and even after everything that you have been through, you are still able to have sweet moments like this. jean was the one who finally got the two of you up and on your feet again, since she knew that if you stayed any longer, then you wouldn't want to leave.

your final destination for the day was galesong hill. you decided that you wanted to sit under the symbol of mondstadt's hero, and as she loves this place too, she didn't have any complaints. when you arrived, hand-in-hand, you both gaze upon the tree. it is a beautiful symbol of the one who watches over mondstadt, who is sworn to protect its citizens from the high skies of celestia. jean finds herself coming here whenever she is having a problem, it helps her to recollect her thoughts and figure things out. that, and being reminded of the sacrifices that have been made for their great nation motivate jean to be a better grandmaster and a better knight. she releases your hand to kneel before the tree, lowering her head respectfully before opening her mouth to pray, "lady vennessa, please ensure of my dear one's safety. they are adored by the people of mondstadt, by their loved ones..and by me. i want them to have many more birthdays, and many more lives after this one. and i hope that wherever they go, that i will not be far to follow." with that, she rises and turns to look at you and smile. she extends her hand to you as a light breeze drifts across your bodies. "come on, let's sit under the tree together."

you take her hand, and sit under the tree at her side. your backs rest against the bark, and her arm rests around your shoulders to pull you close. your head rests on her shoulder, and her head rests on yours. both of your eyes remain closed as you listen to the sounds around you. the water from the lake, the rustling of the leaves and grass, the wind dancing in the air; if you could have stayed in that moment forever, then you definitely would have. you two spent until sunset like this, just as the sun disappeared from the sky. when you got home, you thanked jean for giving you such a wonderful day, and jean held you close to her chest as you drifted into slumber. she was delighted to be the person to make you so happy on your special day, and she wants you to continue to allow her to make you happy for as long as you see fit. hopefully, that will be forever.

diluc ♡

similar to jean, diluc is a busy bee. he owns the finest winery in all of mondstadt, plus he fights crime by night! needless to say, his schedule is very, very packed, so when he became official with you, you both knew that he wasn't going to give you as much time as you liked. and you were fine with that, because diluc always made sure to show you that he loved you, regardless of how often you were able to see each other or spend time together. so, when your birthday was closing in, he wanted to do something extra special for you. months prior to your birthday, he was brainstorming on what exactly he could do when the idea struck him one night. he found a jar in his cabinets and grabbed some blank papers and a pair of scissors from his office before he started to cut the papers up into small hearts. on every single small heart-shaped paper, he wrote reasons why he loves you. he folded the papers in half and put them into the jar, and when the day came, the first thing that he did was go to the city to find you so that he could give you his gift.

when he gave it to you, he told you to take one heart out of the jar every day until your birthday came. when you started on the first day, you couldn't help but melt. every day that you opened that jar and took out one of those small pieces of paper was a day where you fell even more in love with diluc, as if you didn't do that on a daily basis regularly. the papers talked about how you have always been so supportive of him and his endeavors, how understanding and patient you are, your kindness, how just being around you makes him feel like a better version of himself and how you have changed his life in the best possible way. there is nothing that warmed your heart more than getting to open that jar everyday, and you kept it and the papers long after your birthday ended. when diluc noticed, he was glad to see that you kept it. it meant that he made you happy and that he was able to show you just how much he loved you.

when the day of your birth actually came, diluc left a letter outside of your doorstep to meet him at stormbearer point at sunset. he spent the entirety of that day cooking up your favorite foods and grabbing your favorite snacks that he kept in stock just for you, as well as grabbing your favorite drinks. not to mention, just that day, he was able to introduce a new drink at angel's share. grape juice, and named after you. he brought a bottle of that along with him in the basket that he managed to neatly place all of the food into, then began him fussing over what to wear. very unlike him, yes, but he wanted everything about this evening to be perfect for you. when he did eventually decide on an outfit, he went to stormbearer point and got everything set up.

as he was smoothing out the blanket on the floor, he heard footsteps behind him. he turned around and saw you standing there; archons be damned, worshipping you is his calling. a gentle smile graces his face as he approaches you, greeting you and asking you to come sit with him. when you sat with him, you couldn't believe what you were seeing. so many of your different favorite foods, snacks and drinks, and a bottle of something that you didn't recognize. you asked about it, and you could see the sparkle of excitement in his eyes. he picked up the bottle to show it to you, and when you read your name on the bottle, you felt taken aback. and when he told you it was grape juice? you could have dissipated on the spot. his favorite drink named after you, oh you just feel so lucky to have him. you hug him close and thank him for everything, and his arms come around you to embrace you.

he couldn't have been happier that you enjoyed everything, and as you started to eat, drink and talk, he watched as you became more blinding than the sun with how brightly you glowed. all throughout the evening, you told him how wonderful everything was and thanked him endlessly. he hushed you and told you that everything that he had done was nothing compared to how you have impacted his life. he told you just how much you mean to him, and how you are someone that he wants at his side for eternity. he finds wording his feelings difficult, but he knows that you deserve to hear how much he cares for you, so he tries his best.

"you have been an unexpected change in my life. love has never been a priority for me, and when we first met, i would never have imagined falling for you. instead of falling, i completely tripped over myself. it was like rolling down a never-ending hill. it was scary, i have never been in love before, so i didn't know what to expect. i tried again and again to deny it, to tell myself that it wasn't love, but there was a point when i could no longer turn away from it. you made it easy to feel comfortable with you, and as we became closer, i found myself wanting to be in your presence." he gently takes your hand in his as he continues, "you have always been my biggest supporter. you are patient, kind and gentle. i have never known a gentleness like yours, and i cherish it with all that i am. i cherish you. you are precious to me, and i could never ask for a better partner. happy birthday, my dear. i love you."

xiangling ♡

xiangling is the type of person to keep track of all of her friends' birthdays. she keeps a personal calendar for them, as well as other big, important events like cooking competitions or liyue's festivals. so, when she saw that your birthday was approaching, she knew that she wanted to do something big for you! you have been a good friend of hers for so long, so she wanted to show her appreciation! so, she spent awhile gathering information about you, specifically your favorite foods and drinks. she also made note of foods and drinks that you wanted to try that you haven't gotten the chance to, for one reason or the other. around four weeks in advance is when she began to prepare. she made sure to have all of the ingredients before getting to work. dish after dish, she cooked, and she ensured that everything was absolutely perfect. she even made all of the drinks that you wanted on her own! she wanted to put all of this effort into your special day, because you are a special person to her. and she wants you to remember that forever.

keeping all of her preparations a secret from you was insanely difficult. it was so hard for her not to spill everything out some days, but she was determined to make all of this a surprise. she even asked xingqiu and chongyun to keep you busy on the days that she really needed to concentrate, because she knew that you would have tried to come see her to check in and hang out. the boys definitely did keep you on your toes when they would find you around the city at random and drag you off to do whatever. there were times when you were suspicious, but you never had the time to think too much about it since it happened so fast.

things got really intense the week before your birthday, and as the days ticked away, xiangling became more and more stressed. everything had to be just right for your special day, and she had her heart setting on making sure that you enjoyed yourself. so, when the day came, she asked her dad to close up wanmin restaurant and made sure to completely avoid you while xingqiu and chongyun dragged you around to do things that you honestly don't even remember. you became increasingly more suspicious, but now? you were completely certain that something was up. when the sun was setting, you had gone home to take a nap, but it was very short, for the boys grabbed you by the wrist and dragged you out of bed. you were dreary as you trudged around, eventually becoming more awake since you bumped into several things and tripped twice. and finally, you got to see what all of the fuss was about.

a long, large table filled with a plethora of your favorite foods, drinks, and things that you have been wanting to try. lanterns hung up on strings all around the area, and all of your loved ones smiling at you, saying happy birthday in unison. in the center of it all is a shyly smiling xiangling; she was really worried that you wouldn't like it, that you would think that it was too much and overwhelm you, or maybe you didn't want something as big of this- oh gods, what if you didn't like it?! despite doing her best to hide it, you could tell that something was bothering xiangling, so you asked her what was up. she told you that she hoped that you liked it, and it all clicked. she was the one who set all of this up. honestly, you should have known. all of the questions about your favorite foods and drinks? you feel so silly for not figuring it out sooner. you giggle and tell her that you love everything, and that makes xiangling light up. she gives you a big squeeze, and onto the feast you go! the night is a lovely one indeed. you spent the day with all of your favorite people in the world, eating and laughing together. xiangling was happy to see you happy, and you couldn't ask for a better best friend.

itto ♡

for him, itto doesn't need a calendar when it comes to birthdays. he has all of the birthdays of his loved ones committed to memory. he may be goofy, but he would never forget a day as special as a birthday! so, when yours began to approach, he made sure that everybody in inazuma city knew that your day was coming. this continued before, during and afterwards. he believes with all of his being that you are the most special person in the entire world, and that you deserve to have thousands worship you at your feet. that is his mission every single day as your boyfriend, and the way that he carries it out is very..boisterous. when you two are out and about, like shopping for example, when he is paying for something for you, he always mentions that your birthday is soon. he pretty much tells almost anyone at any given chance that your birthday is coming up. it is embarrassing, but in a good way! you love that he is so unapologetic about your relationship. he loves you so much that he wants everybody to know it, and you're okay with that.

when the day actually came, ohohohohohohohohohohohohohooooooo lord you were in for a treat. itto sent the gang away for the day, for he wanted to be able to spend the entirety of the day with you! he made you your favorite breakfast meal and prepared a tray for you, and awakened you ever so gently. when you opened your eyes, you saw your oni with a big ol' grin on his face and held out the tray of food that he made for you. "good morning, baby! happy birthdayyyy! i made you breakfast!" you sat up slowly and thank itto for the meal while he carefully sets a pillow behind your back to support you before gently setting the tray into your lap. "you are gonna loooovvveeee today. i got the guys to skidaddle for the day, so it's gonna be just you and me! anything that you wanna do today, i am all yours! and hey, after you have breakfast, i have a gift for youuuu." he assures you, and you thank him. he, of course, says it's no biggie. anything for his sweet doll to be happy! he sits at your side and wraps an arm around you while you eat, softly chatting every once in awhile. red eyes watch your every move and adore them, he has grown so terribly fond of you that not staring at you feels like a crime. if he could watch you forever, then he totally would. but alas, the world needs the one and oni, arataki itto. siiiigghhhhh.

after breakfast, you got yourself all ready for the day, once that was done, itto very excitedly gathered you so that he could give you your birthday gift. he tells you to close your eyes, and you do so reluctantly. when you open them, you see two onikabuto beetles! he explains that he was looking around for one when a guy came up to him and said that he was the keeper of the beetles in the area. itto brought up that he wanted to catch one for your birthday, and the keeper agreed to let him keep one. so, while itto was scoping around, he found these two! and it seemed like they were mates! so, of course, itto brought it up to the keeper, and begrudgingly, he allowed itto to have them. itto said that he thought of you when he saw the two beetles in love, and you couldn't have felt like you were more in love with him than in that moment. he really said "these are us!!!"

ohhhh but that wasn't all, no no no. you are never finished when it comes to arataki itto. he tells you once again to close your eyes, and you do so. when you open them, itto is holding a trading card deck box. it is decorated with your favorite colors, and even has your name on it. when you asked him about it, itto said that he got someone to make you your very own trading card game!! you love to play tcg with itto, so he thought, what better way to celebrate your birthday then to do one of your favorite things together? buuuttttt it is much more special with this deck, especially made for you!! you took the box from him and sat down, carefully opening the box so that you don't rip it and began to look through the cards. it was all of your favorite things, and it even included an illustration of you, itto and lil' ushi!!!!! as if you weren't already head over heels for itto????? dear lord, he went above and beyond for you this time around. you thought that your birthdays with him in the past were extreme, but this? this is everything that you could have wanted. you tackle hug itto and squeeze him really tight, kissing all over his face and thanking him for such lovely gifts. he hugs you back and nonchalantly responds, as usual, that he would do anything for you, love.

you two went on to have a lovely day out together. you spent a lot of time getting a habitat for your onikabuto buddies, brainstorming names for them, etc. itto has a good amount of knowledge about onikabuto beetles in order to know what to do to take care of them, but he still wanted to learn as much as he could so that he could give your new babies a good life. so, he spent quite a bit of that time telling you all about beetle care for onikabutos, and you listened intently the entire time. you love listening to him talk about the things that he loves always warms your heart, he is such a passionate person and you admire him deeply for that. you shopped for things for your onikabuto habitat as well as other things, and for awhile, you stopped to play your new trading card game! you had a wonderful day with your boyfriend, and when night fell, it only got better.

while you and itto were out having all sorts of fun, the arataki gang set up a party for you! everything and everyone that you love was there, and you truly felt spoiled. of course, itto was the one who asked them to set all of this up for you. you have a very good relationship with all of the arataki gang, and you all know each other pretty well. so, itto trusted them to take care of it and make everything perfect for you. they did splendidly, no doubt, and you spent the majority of that night celebrating your day. during your party, many of your loved ones gave speeches to tell you just how loved and wonderful you are. obviously, itto did one too. once he steps up, he begins, "honey, you are one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. i am so lucky to be able to have such a gorgeous, lovely person like you as my partner. i never saw myself finding love, i didn't think that it was possible. but you?" he laughs, then continues, "you made it possible, baby! you hurled your way into my life, and i am so happy to call you part of my family. let's keep making lots of happy memories just like this one together, okay? now come on, let's PARTYYYYY!!" the crowd cheers, and he charges over to sweep you up into his arms. he lifts you up by your thighs, just under your butt, and spins around with you before lowering you slightly to kiss you.

you spend the rest of that night partying until you went home to snuggle up with your man. he holds you close to his chest, and you thank him for such a lovely day. "anything for you, honeybee. you deserve to have all of the best birthdays, and i hope that i get to be there for every single one." he places a kiss to your forehead, "now, let's get some sleep, okay?" you agreed, and you both promptly fell asleep in each other's arms. in your eyes, he will always be number one.

@BUNNYLUVX ,, all rights reserved. do not copy/plagiarize any of my works or submit it into ai. any and all support is so very appreciated! <3

[66sharkteeth]

Weekly thoughts!

Hooboy, the big episode! First off, I think everyone knows by now that you probably shouldn't read these if you haven't read the latest episode, but I ESPECIALLY mean that this week! Talking about some way bigger than usual spoilers.

Phew, this was a big one, both from a writing and drawing perspective. I actually spent a full day on that last panel alone, but writing it took way longer than usual too. Going back and forth between Bell's speech and Jericho's backstory played perfectly like a movie in my head, but it was really hard to portray it as a comic and it was one of the few times I was struggling with the limitations of the format. I think I pulled it off though, since everyone seemed to follow along fine! So while it was probably just a neat scene to everyone else, I'm rather proud of that haha.

As for the actual contents of the episode, I'm also glad everything hit w/ the majority of the audience for the most part. I know a handful were confused about if that was Bell or Jericho who did that, but to those people, I remind you it's been loooong established Jericho can control his extensions (Bell, Charlie, and Claude. Remember, they all took injections of Jericho's blank space?). Also on that note, Bell does not have her own scion... Only Rex and Jericho do. Bell, Charlie and Claude all took injections of Jericho's blank space, thus get to borrow some of his power. I recommend re-reading ep 80 if you need a refresher.

I do consider this ep kind of a big reveal of Jericho's true colors. I mean, you guys have known he's the main villain for ages now, but this is the ep that reveals his "better world for blanks" act is kind of a façade and what he's really seeking is a worse world for humans. The fall of humans benefitting blanks is just kind of a bonus. I'm glad a few people caught onto this with the fact that one of the worst horrors he experienced was having his autonomy taken away from him, then he proceeds to do just that to Bell.

And speaking of Jericho's horrors- Before this season launched, I dropped a bunch of hints about upcoming things. One of them was that the most disturbing scene (in my opinion) was coming up. I was actually referring to what happened to Kallie. I'm not sure if it was as disturbing to everyone else (I totally get like if Claude's leg thing fucked people up more), but being evaporated into nothingness but not dying was an existential dread that really fucks me up haha. If it fucked even a couple of other people up, then I did my job.

I don't have too much else to say about the contents of the episode. It was so hard to bite my tongue for weeks as everyone predicted pretty much every character but Desmond was gonna get it. I'm sorry I don't have too much else to say about him right now given what happened, but I definitely will in the upcoming weeks.

I guess the only other note I have is I might as well address something that bugs me slightly- It's definitely a minority but there's a handful of people who seem done with the series because "too many things go wrong." To which... I'm not sure what to tell ya. I'm fine with critique and criticism to be clear, but honestly, this is one thing I'm actually really confident I'm good at balancing. I'm not sure where people are coming from with "nothing good ever happens in this series" when this season alone has had probably the cutest and fluffiest scenes. Rex has a canon girlfriend, he had his first kiss with her, Desmond was reunited with his sister and learned to accept himself, Lyss learned to move past her trauma and accept blanks, Rex was reunited with Shnee, Rex's scion turns out to be a puppy dog w/ a crush. I'm aware a lot of these got kind of crushed with this latest ep...but that's.. kind of. the. point??? That's how you write tragedy and impactful scenes??

I dunno, maybe this is personal to me because it's ALWAYS bugged me when someone tells me they think a show is bad because it's "too dark." Like no... It's not *bad* because it's too dark, you just don't like dark themes, and that's okay. I TOTALLY get if CoB has gotten too dark for some people- it's definitely hit some hard themes and subjects, but I don't like to accept that as a critique. It just means it's not for you and that's okay. There's a ton of other great comics that are more light-hearted! I think the TLDR of this is it will always annoy me when people say something is bad just because it's not their taste.

Now. That said... everyone is completely valid in their hate of Jericho. I, however, still love him.

[ennn]

I've loved reading your meta and thoughts on the Agatha finale, and I was wondering how you felt about the reveal that Billy made the road/the legend was one of Agatha's cons? The backstory and lore about the road was all so cool that finding out it was never real was honestly heartbreaking to me. Plus, we started out with the Road as this symbol of female camaraderie, and something that Agatha clearly craved, and by the end, once the Road reveal happens, it feels like that theme is completely dropped. But you've helped me feel better about other aspects of the finale, so I'm wondering what your feelings on the "twist" are?

Hi Anon!

Sorry this Ask took some time to answer because it inspired a monster of a meta post with my thoughts on what you asked about. Check it out, it may be what you’re looking for.

More to your second point, I absolutely get where your feelings are coming from. I would love Agatha to find a community, coven of witches (of women, of all genders) to belong to. I think that's still her fundamental character arc.

In Episode 9, you see Agatha admitting to Nicky that she can't heal or protect him, or divine death's arrival – that's what her coven of Jen, Alice, and Lilia can do. You see her not dealing well with her grief over Nicky especially because she was alone (it's complicated with Rio).

I think the message of the show that a witch needs a coven is still true. That theme is still there. Alice, Lilia, and especially Jen show that growth and learning. They effectively complete their arcs because of the coven (and that includes Billy with his telepathy-powered-Road Hex).

For Agatha – and I feel comfortable saying this because Schaeffer has said as much – her arc ain't done. This lady did not arc out. And I get why that's a bitter pill to swallow for a series protagonist, given that we're usually expect some kind of redemption arc.

Agatha simply has so much more calcified damage to break through compared to the other witches. I could probably do a whole post on what I think we got with her character progress.

But she is making progress, and Billy is in the best position now to help her heal. If you haven't read it, I've written about the complexity of their relationship here. I do appreciate how it's not only because he reminds her of Nicky, although that is a core part of it as well.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not telling my mom about my heart surgery?

I already know this is going to be a bit long winded so sorry in advance, there's just a lot that I feel is relevant here.

I (21 M) had a heart surgery about a month ago now. It was cardiac ablation, and for anyone wondering, it went just fine and I'm already fully recovered and walking around like normal. I had known about it for weeks prior and of course had been calling my dad and keeping him updated about all this. However, I hesitated to tell my mom, and ultimately never brought it up to her. I still haven't.

For a bit of backstory, my parents split when I was 16 because, to be blunt, my mother was being abusive in just about every avenue. She was mean and cruel and sometimes violent. I don't want to get into all the details because I don't think it's really necessary, but know it was bad. After she finally left I went no-contact with her, as did my dad and older sibling. This seemed to really upset her and she repeatedly tried to reach out to me, sent me expensive gifts, etc. After a while I made it clear to her that the only way I would ever even consider speaking to her again would be if she went to therapy and sorted her shit out, then gave me a real apology for her behavior, and even then she'd be lucky if I spoke to her afterwards.

And, being perfectly fair to her, she did it. She went to therapy, she did the work, and from what I've seen she has really put in the effort to change. She wants to keep me in her life and once I made it clear I wouldn't budge, she got her ass up and did it. She even gave me an apology I wasn't expecting, where she admitted that she only stayed with my father because she was afraid of being a single mother, and she took that resentment out on me and my sibling for most of our lives. Over time, I've maintained contact with her and we have a relationship now. Not sure how great it is, but we have one. She takes me out to lunch sometimes and I actually answer when she calls me.

Back to the topic of my heart, I've always had palpitations here and there, usually three times a week. I thought it was normal. Then after a pretty scary morning that landed me in the ER and lots of testing, the doctors decided surgery was the best option for me. I called my dad, like I said, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell my mother. And it wasn't out of fear or anxiety or not wanting to worry her. I just... didn't want to.

My dad said she had a right to know as my parent, if I was keeping contact with her. I spoke with my therapist about it, and while he didn't outright say I shouldn't tell her, it felt very much like he was leaning that direction. In the end, I never said anything to her, and she's still unaware it even happened.

It's been weighing on my conscience a bit. I had no reason to not tell her. There was nothing stopping me from being up front and honest with her. So I wonder, am I an asshole for not telling her?

What are these acronyms?

[nerdycanible1]

Am back! :D

Omg guys! Almost forgot I had this ((joking)) but nah seriously! It had been years since I've posted anything here! 💀

Anyways imma go back to my roots!! Y'all remember the days of Legend of Korra where I've only simped for Lin Beifong? 👀 But I've found a new lady, well not really but I've got a new love!!

So y'all remember (if not don't worry about it) the whole genderbent au thing I've created and it was female Tenzin and male Lin and stuff like that? Well I've got some stuff for y'all!

So first and foremost, this is Tenna. She is genderbent Tenzin (female Tenzin). She is literally so hot and I cannot stop drawing her! Currently working on the backstory and this will be nothing like tLoK, actually it will in some places but yes! A lot will be changed!

But look at her! She's gorgeous! 🥺 Also I just wanted to show y'all my improvement of art over the years! QwQ it has improved so much and I'm so proud! Anyways I'll stop rambling and let ya get to the photo!

Tenna: 55 years old

Tenna in swimsuit enjoy 🗿

Side note: Tell me this isn't the most Tenzin expression ever xD

Anyways, my thoughts are simple. Make hot women. :D I am smooth brained and frankly I've been a simp for my genderbent Tenzin for years.

I wanted to update her concept instead of the one I've created years ago (plz forget that 💀) and frankly I love this version better. She looks kind, soft, hot, and first and foremost Tenzin-ish.

What I have for her so far:

She is 51-50 just like Tenzin in tLoK

She has one confirmed boy that I've come up with and one confirmed girl.

Their names are Jin (Jinora) and Ming (Meelo). I haven't come up with anything else for the kids as of yet.

She is pansexual. No discussion on this xD

She is currently in a relationship with Peng (Pema). But ma'am is known to wander around.

Tenna is also more in tune with her nomadic life style instead of the whole business stuff.

Tenna left RC at the ripe age of 16, leaving Ling (Lin) in the process but no hate. It was a mutual break up. Ling wanted to keep RC safe and promised Tenna that everything would still be up and running whenever she wanted to settle down.

Tenna fell in love with an air acolyte (whom I haven't decided to name as of yet) and stayed there for a year before the world called for her once more. It was a short but painful romance, one that Tenna often thinks about.

Once she was back on the road she fell in love with a non bender (Not Peng yet), got pregnant and went to RC for Air Temple Island. She stayed on the island for a few years raising her newborn son Jin.

Ling helped with all he could, being there for Tenna, taking care of her and feeding her and dealing with her grumpiness. He took care of her and once the baby was born, Ling knew he would protect the child as if he were the one to help make the baby.

Tenna couldn't have thanked Ling enough and felt horrible she was "holding him back" from finding his true love. Ling wanted to confess right then and there that he loved her but knew it wasn't the right time.

During the time of the whole pregnancy and the raising of Jin, Ling and Tenna fell into a romance. Stealing kisses, sharing deep secrets, touches that crossed the very thin line of friendship.

It wasn't until Jin started talking and walking that Tenna thought it would be a great time to start exploring the world. Jin barely being the age of 3 or 4. Ling confessed to her that he loves her and that she wished she'd stay for him but told her it was a selfish request. He instead kissed her goodbye and told her to look at the Northern Lights for her on one of her trips. Tenna never felt such sadness and sorrow but she promised to keep in touch. She watched as Ling got smaller and smaller as the boat began to leave the harbor and leave behind her very best friend and lover.

Sorry friends but this is where imma stop it before I bore you! Let me know if you want more Headcanons or if you want more art of this fine wine of a milf!

Send me asks, or ask simply in the comments or Dms about any of this au. I'm happy to reply and I'm excited to say that I'll be posting here regularly soon! And you know of course that there's gonna be more Lin Beifong art so prepare yourselves!

As usual, all art belongs to me. If reposted please credit. Thank you!

[itsnothingofinterest]

So I know this is the farthest thing from a lot of our mind with the current fight; but it's been a while so I want to talk again about my faves in the League, & their heroic foils, and how their saves have been going so far. Because looking at how the past few fights have been concluding, well I just don't think the saves have been going as well as some of us hoped.

Dabi is heavily damaged, still suicidal, and still hates his family. That’s not great. Dare I say I’m afraid I gotta give Shoto a fail for that one. I can't really say he's saved his brother in this arc if he effectively ended in as bad or worse a state than he started.

I know some people read Touya & Shoto wanting to argue more as a guarantee that the whole Todoroki mess will get sorted off-screen; but I take that as no more than a sign they need to talk far more on-screen.

I thought Uraraka was really close, but it turns out she kind of, technically, drove Toga to suicide. No matter the noble intentions on all parties involved, I gotta give that a fail.

Toga coming out of this wanting to save Uraraka is good, but this level of self-sacrifice is not. And her complete lack of faith in hero society even with Uraraka’s influence is also of note, especially given how much evidence points to her being justified in feeling this way.

And Shoji…barely talked to Spinner (or rather Spinner could barely hear him and then just moved on from the conversation), so he's largely unchanged from their meeting. And what he said to the rest of the crowd, that prejudice will stop if they're all nice & inspiring enough, amounts to what heroes already do. It's also what Shoji did as a kid in his backstory, and it kind of proved proved his plan doesn’t work. I'm afraid in terms of saving your opponents, that’s a fail all around. Sorry buddy but you can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

So we’re 0 for 3 here with generally few solid signs of further progress after the war arc. All three of these hero kids have talked down a mob, stopped a bomb, or halted an army of clones; impressive feats for some future pros well on their way to standing with their predecessors. But they haven't really saved their villains, and they don't looks like they're really surpassing their predecessors as much a lot of us expected they would by now. Or much as I think they need to.

It's a big reason why I'm still holding out hope for that My Hero part 2 I keep talking about; so it'd give everyone a lot more time in the character development oven so the kids can get better at talking to their villains and addressing their real problems. Even if I were confident in Deku doing better at saving Tomura than his peers did their foils, I’d still be hoping for a part 2.