#i know he gets amnesia in book 8 and i NEED TO KNOW if there's a bit about him looking over all the scars he's gained

[sad-girl-hours23]

This started as a writing exercise for "first lines" and I wrote this first line without any notion of a story: Buck stares at the wedding invitation he received in the mail for a Mr. Eric Williams and a Mr. Thomas Kinard, and says, “what the fuck.”

But then I thought to myself, why would Tommy send him an invite to his wedding and well, this idea was born. Pay no attention to the plot holes and general lack of logistics lol also I did not re-read this so know that going in.

TLDR: Post break-up, Tommy gets amnesia, loses the last 8 years of memories. Doesn’t tell anyone, fakes it with his boss & Lucy. Quits his job & moves to Pennsylvania. Changes his number. Gets a boring desk job and falls in love with the first man he meets. They eventually get engaged & Tommy, wanting to have familiar faces on his side of the aisle, invites Hen, Howie, Sal, Bobby, and Lucy. He doesn’t remember them, but he also sends invites to Eddie and Evan (whose information is in his address book)

Cut to Buck receiving a wedding invitation from Tommy 2 years after he broke up with Buck and never spoke to him again.

Buck/Tommy amnesia fic where Tommy goes out of town and he gets into an accident shortly after the breakup and forgets the last 8 years.

 His emergency contact is his captain who, to Tommy’s memory, he’s only met a handful of times since he remembers his transfer to Harbor being approved, but he doesn’t remember ever working there. He doesn’t remember why he was out of town, but something is telling him he needed to get away. The thought of trying to fit back into a life he doesn’t remember gives him anxiety, as does the thought of asking strangers to fill in the blanks. He doesn’t tell his chief or anybody about the amnesia. Maybe this can be the new start he craved.

When he gets back to LA, he quits his job and prepares to move. He finds a house to rent in Hershey, Pennsylvania of all places. He doesn’t know why, doesn’t ever remember wanting to go there, but it sticks in his brain. Maybe it’s his sweet tooth.

He wonders if there is anybody he should contact before he goes. His phone was lost in the accident, so he had no call history or text messages to go off of. All he had was an address book, with some names he recognized, Howie and Hen, and others he didn’t, an Eddie Diaz and an Evan Buckley. There’s an ache in his chest he can’t explain. Maybe it’s that the only phone calls he’s received in the last two weeks since his accident have been spam or from Lucy. He wishes he remembered her. She sounded skeptical when he skirted things he couldn’t remember, surprised but ultimately happy for him when he told her about the move. Told him not to be a stranger, but he knew he would be.

He gets to Pennsylvania and takes his time settling in. He gets a boring desk job. After a month, with no contact from anybody, he changes his number to one with a Pennsylvania area code. He still thinks about reaching out to Hen and Howie, but he chickens out every time. He does reach out to Sal and finds relief in finally being truthful about his amnesia. It feels like they pick up right where they left off and Tommy’s grateful for the friendship, even if Sal can’t tell him anything about his life (apparently they hadn’t kept in touch often).

Tommy can’t explain why he saves Evan Buckley’s information in his phone or the fluttering feeling in his chest he gets just looking at the name. It’s the same feeling he gets when he finds himself driving down a residential road and catches sight of a white house with green shutters. He can’t explain the way it feels like his mind is trying to retrieve memories that never come. He composes texts that he never sends, isn’t sure what he would even say. 

 He meets a man named Eric, who sweeps him off his feet. He’s just sweet enough that Tommy chooses to ignore the ways Eric can make him feel small and ashamed at being new to dating men. He is new to it as far as his memory is concerned, so he pushes the feeling down. 

He toys with the idea of getting recertified to become a firefighter again, but Eric won’t hear of it and Tommy doesn’t want to lose him, wants the life and marriage that Eric’s talked about. Even if deep down, it feels like there is somebody else out there for him. 

Tommy & Eric get engaged and Tommy leaves all the planning to his fiancee. The only thing Tommy doesn’t want is separate sides for friends and family, considering the fact that Eric and Sal are all he has, but Eric insists. So Tommy decides to send an invite to Howie, Hen, Lucy, and Bobby. He also sends an invite to Eddie and Evan and hopes it isn’t a mistake.

Cut to Buck receiving a wedding invitation from Tommy 2 years after he broke up with Buck and never spoke to him again and Buck is like, “what the fuck?”

[adamnablelittledevil]

hellooo I just saw your post about you agreeing more with vampire chronicles book opinions before you read them vs now, and because I’m messy: what kind of opinions/takes do you mean? care to spill the tea (if you feel like it)?👀👀😂

Hey. 😅 So keep in mind that I have read 8/13 TVC books + Pandora and am currently on Blackwood Farm. Opinions might change later on. This also will contain some spoilers...

So, there are many takes that I disagree with or even agree, but still believe things are way more layered so reducing it to a one-line sentence feels almost dishonest. But here are some:

P.S. I'm not trying to be mean, but whoever disagrees, please just ignore or block me if you want. I don't want this to become a discussion or debate. My only intention here is to answer a mutual, that's all.

I don't think Armand is this stereotyped one-dimensional classical villain. Sure, he's done awful things, but it's important to know the context. He was kidnapped, taken from his family, raped, traumatized to the point he had amnesia and prayed for God to let him die, had a weird grooming relationship with Marius, was attacked, kidnapped by the Roman Coven, saw many of his friends from Marius's palazzo (some were only 7) be killed in front of him, had their ashes thrown at him, was tortured, starved, then they threw his best friend for him to eat and at that point he was so dehumanized that he had dissociated and couldn't fully process what was going and who that was, was fully brainwashed... No wonder Armand was such a dark character, he's been brutalized and brainwashed from such an early age, then turned at 17 as an attempt to save his life (because someone got rejected and tried to murder him), is stuck in puberty which is already a hard time for people who live in privilege and comfort, now imagine how that is for someone that has been traumatized left and right for centuries, even when he was still human? And he's also highly autistic and BPD-coded, so to have all of that exacerbated once you become a vampire, it is no surprise he became a monster at some point (and I haven't even listed everything because this is already long enough). Still, I think he is Anne's most complex character so far and the one with most reasons to explain his actions. And yet he also has the best development, the journey he goes through on TVA is amazing. I've never seen a character grow that much.

Lestat doesn't "fall in love with everybody". Look, I get it's annoying to have Anne making him make out or have sex with basically everyone he meets, but that's just another proof of how he's terrified of being alone. He was abused by his family, even Gabrielle that was the best out of them, neglected him. Loneliness has always been his biggest fear even as a human. And he also isn't the best at separating romantic, platonic and familial love. That's why I believe he has so many "lovers". I get it's exhausting to have that happening on so many books, we could've had three cases and that would've been clear enough... But even with this satured trope, to say he "falls in love with everyone" feels reductive. It's way bigger than that.

That's also how I mostly feel about him and Gabrielle, I don't see it as something romantic or even that sexy, for me it was mostly his need to have someone. At that time, he was completely alone and then he turned Gabrielle and that was the only company he had. Same goes to her. And the whole time there were moments they referred to each other as mother and son... They basically tried to be each other's lover, parent/child, friend, ally etc and it obviously didn't work because you can't have one person playing all the roles in your life.

This isn't exactly something I disagree with, but I think it might be possible that Lestat behaves as a rape victim trying to recreate his trauma sometimes and that maybe another reason for him to 'offer' his body so much in insecurity. Because he was kept illiterate for so long, I'm not sure he considers his personality compelling enough to attract people.

That said, I don't see Nicki and Louis as the only people he had/has romantic feelings for either.

I don't find Gabrielle to be such a bad mother, or at least I don't consider it a bad thing, because it seems like she never wanted to be one to begin with. She did what she could with the reality she was forced into.

And Lestat also had his needs as a child because he didn't ask to be born... I see them both as victims of frustrating circumstances.

Marius is only happy when people agree with him, whenever someone shows a sign of personality he gets irritated, so I don't see this great, noble person he is supposed to be at all. And I'm yet to see him do something truly relevant. Maharet and Mekare are way more relevant, for example. So far he's unnecessary to me.

I don't think Armand is using the Spell Gift as much as people do. I don't even believe he's trying to seduce people without his powers. He is just that handsome and characters are obsessed with him. On TVA, his spirit leaves his body for a moment and he is literally surprised that he is actually as pretty as people say because he genuinely never understood their reactions to him? That's not a seductive person lmao, c'mon. He is just existing most of the time and people drool over Armand even when he's not around and just in their thoughts. The closest he does is masking his autism.

Lestat is the protagonist, yes, but mostly because he is the recurring narrator while others only appear once. On TVL, Part V and Part VII of the book are more about Armand and Marius (respectively) than Lestat, TQOTD had a bunch of characters for us to consider Lestat (the only) lead and for me Akasha and the twins played way bigger roles than him, Memnoch is mostly the devil having a monologue and Lestat just listening, on TVA, Merrick and Blood and Gold he doesn't have a POV and barely/doesn't appear at all, as far as I've been he doesn't have a POV on IWTV and Blackwood Farm either... Before reading the books I expected everything was mostly about him, but it's way more balanced than I'd anticipated.

Lestat wanting Gabrielle to present herself more feminine is more about still wanting her to look like his mother and gender envy than bigotry. But I don't have a problem with other gender nonconforming people seeing it that way either, because we're not a monolith. If some took it that way, it's completely valid and people need to respect that.

However, that's a shit situation for both sides and I wish Anne had fixed it. So far she hasn't and from what I've heard nothing changes in future books either.

The Devil's Minion chapter was really cool and that's not exactly disagreement, but I had the impression that would've stuck and it... didn't. I knew they break up at some point, but Armand barely talking about Daniel on TVA and the few times he did making the whole thing feel so doomed surprised me? Someone told me their endgame was more ambiguous than something crystal clear and now I'm confused?

I don't consider Dora an actual love interest for Lestat. I wouldn't even classify Gretchen as that and he actually slept with her.

David was awful on Merrick, yes, but on TTOBT he was basically the only one Lestat could count on?

Louis was a dick on that book. But so was Lestat so idk.

I don't get the whole "Lestat would never hurt Louis" thing because Lestat did attack other people he loves and burned Louis's house once? He raped a woman? He turned a close friend into a vampire against his will? I've read more than half of TVC and find it possible that he could explode and take it out on Louis tbh.

Nothing sexy about Akasha and Lestat, really. But she was cool for the role she played on the book.

Again, not exactly disagreement, but there are way other cool characters, relationships of all kinds and even interesting topics regarding Louis, Lestat, Armand and Daniel than just loustat and armandiel. It would be nice to see more posts about them too sometimes.

I don't see these books as a love story at all.

I don't even consider Anne Rice to be good at writing romantic moments, actually. When there's indeed good stuff, it feels more of a happy accident than anything.

The iconic backstage kiss was so random? That thing is way overrated. Loustat peaked at that quote of having eternity to nurture their love on TVL.

Anne is throwing some polyamorous subtext for (at least) two books now.

I find it funny when people are okay with a lot of problematic stuff and are like "they're all monsters, get over it!", but draw the line on polyamory, really?

I had to divide these in two because of character limit. :p

I actually find it way more realistic and interesting to have vampires who are above gender, sexuality, laws, religion, every social norm, including monogamy.

I also consider it totally possible for people who live forever to actually fall in love with more than individual as you get to know and understand them better, as well as going through key moments of their lives together? I believe that at some point the things would get too blurry and fluid.

I also don't think exclusivity = superiority, so.

And so far Anne doesn't seem to prioritize anything. When characters list their loved ones, the order of the names change. They refer to people they were/are romantically involved as lover, companion, friend. She plays with the idea of a love that can't be classified and transcends definition sometimes. I never got the impression that it was always character A and B, be that any pairing. And every time she tried to do something more traditional it wasn't as compelling tbh. That's why I believe that her best stuff in that area are happy accidents, when she's just following the vibes rather than trying to check a box. And the best comes from lines than actual kisses.

Drinking each other's blood isn't always something 'sexual'? They do it to heal, gain power, even as a greeting sometimes? It really depends on the situation.

Even with everything, there are stuff that Armand did out of his own choice, not because "Marius taught him", but based on his own values. When he was human or a fresh vampire, he was way more rebellious and he eventually got more submissive because of his traumas or as a way to survive.

Morals do matter in this world. Anne's vampires do forgive easier than on the show, sometimes way too easy, but some do hold grudges. The only difference is that their idea of morals is not the same of humans. They're vampires, so it involves the particularities of their supernatural existence.

Some stuff are crystal clear and Anne confirms it with every single word, but many things are open to interpretation. Sometimes people's own opinions get passed around as the ultimate truth, when they're guess is as good as everybody else's. And that's the same for this post, really. Nobody's opinion is superior and that includes my own. They're different, but equally valid and I believe the fandom would benefit from adopting this approach instead of immediately dismissing an opposite take.

Nobody needs to read those books because God knows they can be problematic (and no, you don't need stuff like plantation owners on book about vampires), but if you want to know the lore, you should read the books. Reading wikia pages and asking mutuals don't give you the full picture. Take me as an example, now that I'm reading them myself, my thoughts diverge a lot of the times. Sometimes, even posting photos of pages plural doesn't provide you enough context. You need to see it for yourself. You can still stick to the show, since it exists as its own thing. But if want to know the lore, you need to get all the information and form your very own conclusions.

/lh/nm

[coallise]

Writing Patterns - Hazbin Hotel Edition

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Wasn't tagged but it seemed like fun, @thesupernaturalhouse is who I found it from

Zestial knew he was in trouble when Carmilla’s youngest youngest gave him the puppy-dog eyes without any prior warning. (plush, carmine family fluff)

Alastor smiled, the youngest Vee was sipping coffee all alone. (Jacket a velvette, alastor friendship fic I randomly posted from my wips that idk what the original context was)

Zestial was having a chat with Rosie when his phone rang. (to be a dad, another carmine family fluff)

Skipping my soulmate au stuff cause I'm working on rewritting

Velvette hummed as she worked on some new designs in her office. (Internet alastor velvette friendship fic)

Zestial analyzed the video carefully. (salsa zestmilla/ carmine family fluff)

“Carmilla, will thou marry me? No, maybe, Carmilla mine dear, I wish to join you for eternity. No, that doth not work either,” Zestial paced around his office, a ring box in hand. (will you be our dad, zestmilla)

Odette carefully wrapped some of Clara’s wounds. (mother's heart, carmilla adopting her daughters fic)

Carmilla froze in the sky. (without you, heaven is hell, carmine family, carmilla former extorsist)

I definitely enjoy establishing who is in the scene, and cutting to action makes sense, I write very character focus. I guess I can give you guys some first lines from wips too.

1.The battle was intense. Zestial turned towards Carmilla and his blood went cold. (Amnesia, zestmilla fic)

2. Charlie shifted as she looked at her back. She finally got her wings. (working title uncle, a husk and charlie bonding I guess idk)

3. Carmilla stopped struggling under her husband’s boot. (no title yet, it would be a zestmilla, camilla pregnant in hell)

4. Charlie rocked back and forth on her feet as she waited for Carmilla's answer. (star shower, a carmilla former dominion, sera got her pregnant, daughters visit heaven for a festival word vomit)

5.“Don't worry, Peter, she's my guest today,” Ariana said. (second chance, this is Vaggie being reincarnated into being carmilla's youngest. I dont know how to describe it ok)

6. Zestial huffed as he slowly got off the ground. (this is the remake of my soulmate stuff)

7. Zestial hummed as he did his daily walk thru hell. (Workers, Zestial adopting clara and odette before their mother goes to hell)

looks like I need to play in my meh folder for the last few

8. Music was not an uncommon thing in hell, it was stranger when you did not hear a tune of some kind. (dance, crackfic of carmilla putting zestial under a love spell with her dancing)

9. “Uhg, they call us here and decide to waste our time being late,” Vellvette huffed, “Can't we just leave a note saying, ‘if you really wanted to chat, be on time’?” (No title, but Carmines force adoption emily)

10. For once, from the day he set foot in hell, Angel regretted his sins. (regret, ok, this one, if anyone wants to adopt it from me let me know and i can show you what i have, this was way back i wrote for the pilot and the idea was that when sinners get redeamed, they go back in time to when they first sinned and relive their lives. Angel, instead of sneaking out and loosing his virginity, decides to kill his father, who killed his mother, and then take Molly and runaway to the bayo and convince alastor to take them in.)

I also have a few, Rosie turns alastor into her son fics from before their episode came out. Charlie actually having her name in st.petter's book, a few different soulmate au's, one that might be the precursor to jacket, Alastor having a bad hair day, arranged marriage, and a zestmilla enemies to lovers.

not tagging anyone but, if anyone is interested in anything, feel free to chat. Inbox is always open.

[rangercorpstherapy]

Here was my theory about Arazan’s Wolves. Yes, John Flanagan said Alyss is dead and would stay dead. Royal Ranger is my favorite book, her death made the great ending possible. I was sad Alyss died, but it worked well for the plot. Now Will has not had any character development at all since (and let’s be honest, Maddie hasn’t either) so to bring Alyss back would be a great way to change and grow him as a character. Here were my reasons as to why it was possible:

1. No body.

This one is not the best, given the givens, but an inn fire could not have burned hot enough to completely incinerate a body.

2. The inn was likely partially made of stone, which was common in the area (South Araluen, this will be important later) so as the fire flared up in front of her, she could have fallen through the floor and a combination of roof beams and the stone walls could have protected her.

3. If she was alive, why didn’t she go back home to Will? Head injury causing amnesia and massive change in personality (will be important later)

4. She was in Southern Araluen, very near Celtica where the sorceress was. Not too far to walk.

5. The sorceress controls Wargals. We know from Siege of Macindaw that Alyss was susceptible to hypnosis, and her head injury could have changed her enough to make her even more receptive to the mind control magic system in the books to control Wargals.

6. Head wounds can cause severe changes in personality making Alyss want to rule the world.

7. To rule the world, what one has to do is this: control the Wargals to make the locals mine silver for you, buy a bunch of land in Gallica, take over Gallica, and from there take over the world.

8. The Sorceresse’s name. Arazan. In Nihon-Ja, because the locals couldn’t pronounce her name, Alyss went by “Ariss-san” pronounced identically to Arazan.

Personally I think my theory was far better than the book itself. Comments or questions?

I've never been a fan of 'return from the dead' scenarios in general. but honestly, I think it perhaps could work for in this scenario. Perhaps also because arazan's wolves is set a few books after the royal ranger so the twist doesn't feel as cheap. imagine if will and maddie came back home after the entire jory rhul thing just for halt to be on his doorstep and be like 'uhm your dead wife is alive and evil now, sorry.'

I love the idea of alyss becoming an antagonist with no way to ever get her back to her 'normal' state, which would mean that she would have to die or they will never be together again. and I love traumatizing will further than he already is and also indeed bring some much needed character development.

what i would change about your au is maybe the world domination plot point.

Alyss survived a fire, we can safly assume she will have some pretty bad scarring all over her body and/or face. from the the sorcerer of the north we know the people of araluen aren't the most accepting of people with physical differences. so this alyss who is very badly scarred, has no idea where or who she is and is also being ostracized by the communities she asks for help leaves the country.

maybe she saves a direwolf or a direwolf saves her which leads to her forming connections with them or mind control she's unaware of. this would be the first time after the fire incident she would feel loved and safe. she can create a stronghold in the mountains somewhere in celctica were she can live in peace because at this point she way to traumatized by people, and just let her dire wolves kill everyone who comes to close which would in the end lead to the same thing that happens in arazans wolves; will gets called to fix their issues, and angst ensues.

the similarities between arazan and the ariss-san is SUCH a cool observation. it would mean that alyss, somewhere deep down, can n remember her past, but it's distorted and layered in contexts she can't understand. ouch.

But how do you see this ending on the evil alyss route, who kills her? does will try and can't bring himself to do so which means madelyn has to step in? what happens after?

[ritz-writes]

please please please please I know nothing I’m oblivious who are these funky little lads that are apparently Bruce Waynes kids

Was going thru my drafts and realized I never answered this ask im so sorry!!

I started writing a HUGEEEE thing explaining as much as I could (ended up being over 4k) but I felt that was a bit much so ill just explain the basics on the bat kids. Just a long paragraph for each. Keep in mind that canon changes a lot and there are different comics and shows and version of the characters. Ill just explain what I know the most

Dick Grayson: First Robin. Now goes by Nightwing. Was a spy in one comic and went by Grayson but we don’t like that one that much. Also got amnesia at one point and went by Ric. We hate Ric, don’t bring him up. Was part of the flying graysons in Haley’s Circus with his parents but they were killed by Tony Zucco during a performance (their line broke). Bruce was in the crowd and made Dick is ward. Dick was 8 at the time. When he was 18 he had a fight with bruce and moved to Bludhaven. Thats where he became Nightwing. Hes the oldest kid

Jason Todd: Second Robin. Goes by Red Hood. He lived in Crime Alley by himself (father was in prison (later died) and mom overdosed). Wanted to make some cash so tried to steal the wheels of the batmobile. Bruce was honestly impressed and took him in. Dick was a bit upset at first (bruce give jason robin without asking. In most comics robin was a nickname dicks mom called him) but eventually warmed up to jason. I could go on a whole rant about how jason wasnt the angry robin most ppl say, but I wont. Bruce thinks he killed someone and benches him. Jason finds out his mom isnt his bio mom. His bio mom is in Ethipoia and he goes to find her. She sells him out to joker. Joker tortures him with a crowbar and leaves him in a building that explodes (also kills the bio mom). Talia al Ghul (daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. Hes the leader of the League of Assassins) brings him back to life via lazarus pit. Jasons story is very long so ill just say he comes back angry, tries to get bruce to kill joker, almost kills tim (hes next), kinda becomes the head crime lord in crime alley, and is hella hella protective of the kids and working girls in crime alley. Hes also a book nerd. Wanted to be an english major before he died. He and batwoman (mentioned in honorably mentions below) use guns. Sometimes he uses rubber bullets, sometimes he deosnt. In his newest reboot he uses a crowbar and has a different outfit. Not a fan of it. in some versions he doesnt work with the batfam, in others he rejoins them. i like the latter more.

Tim Drake: Third Robin. Currently goes by Red Robin. (yes like the restaurant. Yes its a running joke in the fandom) The smart robin. Smarter than batman in some universes (most imo). Figured out batmans identity by himself when he was like 8-9. when jason dies bruce doesn’t pull his punches at all and tim is like “he needs a robin.” tries to get dick to come back, but he says no. so tim basically forces himself into bruces life as robin until bruce relents. Tim has a hella messed up storyline that I don’t know very well. Jason tries to kill him, Damian tries to kill him (hes next), theres one story line where bruce is lost in time and tim is the only one who doesn’t think hes dead. Lots of stuff happens. Bascially all his friends die, his parents die, he loses his spleen- its a mess. Hes also the ceo of wayne enterprise in some comics. We also joke that hes an immortal 17 yr old cuz hes almost always 17 in the comics. Tim is bi and has a boyfriend named Bernard (I ship him more with kon tho)

Damian Wayne: Fourth Robin. Trained as an assassin since birth. He’s bruces bio son. Son of talia and bruce. Becomes robin when hes 9 I think. In one story, the bruce lost in time one, dick just gives robin to damian cuz “he needs it.” damian was very…. Murdery at first. Has a sword. Very talented artist. Very very smart. Can take advanced college courses at like age 7. smart boy. He has the most character devleopment in my opinion. Calls himself “the blood son.” is best friends with superman’s son, Jon.

Stephanie Brown: Steph. Goes by Spoiler now. is kinda Robin 3.5. or 2.5 idk when in the timeline she was robin, but she was robin for like 2 weeks before getting fired. Idk much about her. Her father is Cluemaster (villain). Isn’t adopted by bruce, but is his kid nonetheless. She and tim dated at one point.

Cassandra Cain: Cass. Goes by Orphan or Black Bat, depending on the comic. Was raised to be a weapon by her father. Idk his name. Her mother is Lady Shiva, another world class assassin. Cass was taught to not speak cuz “weapons don’t have feelings.” she knows sign and when bruce takes her in he helps her find her voice. In some versions she can speak, in others she just says one or two words at a time, and in some she just uses sign. Shes other than jason (by like 2 months) but younger than dick. Not sure if shes adopted or not.

Duke Thomas: Goes by Signal. I know the least about him. Also not adopted. His parents were jokerized (got posioned with joker gas and kinda went insane.) He’s a meta apparently? I learned that recently. Has photokenesis: ability to absorb, redistribute, and manipulate both light and darkness. Is the daytime hero I think.

Barbara Gordon: Used to be Batgirl, is now Oracle. (in some version steph and cass were batgirl at one point) Not adopted by bruce. Shes Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. Very very smart. Very very badass. Is the guy in the chair for the batfam. Joker shot her in her spine when breaking into her apartment and paralyzed her. But she can still kick hella ass in that wheelchair. She and dick used to date.

Honorable mentions: Kate Kane, Batwoman. She’s Bruce’s cousin. Lucas Fox, Batwing. Lucius Fox’s son. Selina Kyle, Catwoman. She and bruce r kinda sorta in a relationship. Its complicated sometimes. Kate Kelly, Robin. Shes in a separate universe I believe. Don’t know much about her at all. She uses a slingshot.

And of course, Alfred Pennyworth. We love alfred. He has guns hidden around the manor in canon. Bruce doesn’t like guns. Alfred knows this and says “youll never find all of them.” hes sassy and we stan.

And those r the main members of the batfam! Sorry this took so long to answer. It comepletely slipped my mind. I probably forgot a few details, but oh well.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

4.5/5. Releases 8/22/2023.

For when you're vibing with... the 80s bonkers classic Overboard!, amnesia with a dash of the hero almost drowning, very hilarious confused rich man antics, and some.... really active sex for a man who just had a severe head injury.

Georgianna Heyford has heard tell of the Earl of Stannis's rakish behavior; but she can't afford give up the chance to cater his expensive yacht party. Unfortunately, a run-in with the earl (otherwise known as Daniel) goes horribly awry, and she's quickly fired... only for the earl to end up overboard, washed ashore, and with amnesia shortly afterward. The only person he recognizes is Georgianna; he just doesn't know how he knows her. In order to avoid a scandal (and perhaps get some sweet revenge) Georgianna claims the mysterious man is her husband... But the more time she spends with Daniel, the more she begins to wish it wasn't all a lie.

Stacy Reid knows how to write a fun, kinda bonkers, super sexy book--she throws caution to the wind and writes what she wants. I can feel the joy in the pages.

Quick Takes:

--I love Overboard!, a movie that is somewhat controversial today due to the premise being "Kurt Russell tells rich bitch amnesiac Goldie Hawn that she's actually his wife and makes her act as a servant to him and his horrible redneck children". I hate the Overboard! gender-flipped remake for many reasons, in part because it doesn't go far enough. This book is a nice middle ground. The gender flip is right here, and Reid wrings it out for all the humor it's worth, because it's honestly fun to see a fancy fuckboy look aghast at this woman's hovel and go "there is no.... way... I live.... here". (Daniel, I'm a huge fan of your work.) The power divide is also a lot stronger in this setting, because, while Georgianna is a gentleman's daughter, she's not doing super well financially and is basically a single woman acting as a guardian to these younger girls in the 1800s, a time in which she has little power and little way to make a living. Which in turn makes Daniel's comeuppance more deserving. It all makes sense, even if the premise is objectively wacky.

--I also really liked how this man had to like? Learn how to do basic household chores? Learn how to DAD in a sense? If there's one thing I enjoy in a historical romance, it's a rake who knows how to fuck but doesn't super know how to do much else. Daniel is not a competent hero to begin with (though he's not, like, a total buffoon either). He has to learn competence, and though I'm not typically one to get all hot and bothered by a man doing basic housework, in this book............ it does a number on you.

--I think that Stacy Reid is also right to basically put most of the fault on Daniel in this iteration. In the original Overboard!, both parties are at fault. Goldie doesn't pawn Kurt for some labor. Kurt gaslights her into being an unpaid housekeeper/nanny (as a prank! It's meant to be temporary but then he falls in love! It's fine!). Mistakes were made. Here, I think that Georgianna's options being much more limited make the heartache more... intense? Because like, yeah, this man's family is looking for him and he deserves to know the truth and so on. But really, she does not have a lot of solid choices here. So her guilt feels more impactful because while she's fucking up, she's a good person who doesn't want to hurt him, and you can feel her falling in love with him, and you know he's falling in love with her but he just! Doesn't! Know! And that takes you to a good angst city, despite the book being in many ways super fluffy and hilarious.

--I love an emotional fallout moment, and ooh, the emotional fallout in this one is delicious. There's pain. There's vengeance. There's trickery. There's some "I was half a virgin when I met you" feeling to it, which I love immensely. Like, dude, if you're gonna be all "she's not my wife", you probably need to, I don't know, stop calling her your wife. Except don't, because I'm living for it.

The Sex Stuff:

Stacy Reid writes a hot sex scene, especially when it comes to her heroes going down, because. The enthusiasm with which a Stacy Reid hero goes to town is truly something to behold. There's also really good dirty talk in this one, a nice mixture of tenderness and hardcore fucking, and like, the best sense ever that this dude is absolutely obsessed with her. Also, there's an excellent scene where he details exactly how he's going to fuck her, and proceeds to do just that. Gotta appreciate follow through. That's what happens when a man has to do work for the first time ever in his life.

I loved An Earl to Remember. It's fun, it's like candy, it's hot, it's a little crazy. It's what I want a Stacy Reid novel to be.

Thanks to Entangled: Amara and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[mugiwara-no-toshokan]

Thrice Prophesized

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

CW: In-Universe levels of violence, amnesia, romance, reader gets some good bad-ass moments, but shouldn't feel Overpowered if I did my job well, surprisingly no smut in this one loves, but it's book 1 of 2.

Still 18+

Chapter 8: Routine

You and Brook returned to the Sunny, and you spent the rest of the day working on your Haki until Luffy and his group returned. You zoned out through most of the conversation during dinner, since they were talking about what they had found regarding the One Piece, but part of the conversation caught your attention.

“There was a lady that turned into snow!” Luffy exclaims. “The cold was making me sleepy, but Robin and Usopp drove her away.”

Drove her away and right into me, you muse to yourself.

“That was Monet,” Brook says. “We ran into her on Punk Hazard when we were assisting Sir Law.”

“Oooh! That’s right – she froze the gas guy before she flew away!” Luffy says nodding. “I remember.”

“When you drove her off we ran into her,” Brook says and you feel yourself flinch a little.

“What? Hey, sorry about that (Y/N), we didn’t realize anyone else had left the ship.” Usopp says, turning away from Brook and looking at you apologetically.

“No, it was fine. She got away from us as well, but it wasn’t too much trouble. Neither Brook nor I can really feel the cold.” You assure him. “Besides, Brook was kind enough to assist only when I needed it, so it was good practice. I got to correct some of the things I did wrong when dealing with Smoker.”

You take a bite of food and a drink of tea before you remembered something important. “She recognized me.”

“She’s an assistant to one of the Warlords in the Grandline Metro,” Robin says. “Their information network is impressive, so it’s not surprising she was aware of your wanted poster.”

“Warlord?”

“I wasn’t going to get into it until we got back to the Metro,” Nami explains. “I’ll show you a map later and get into better detail, but the short version is that there are three powers in the Metro. The World Government, the Emperors, and the Warlords. They kind of… well, keep one another in check.”

“They’re all technically appointed by the Government,” Usopp says as Nami takes a break to eat more. “But while the Warlords are chosen by the Government, the Emperors earn their territories and title by sheer strength and capacity. The Government,” he waves his hand, “reluctantly names them Emperors, but they’re the biggest forces going against one another.”

“But a Warlord has power enough to be in that struggle, and the snow lady works for one of them?” You ask, and Nami and Usopp nod.

“Hm.” You grunt, making a face as you take a drink of something stronger than tea.

“Eh?”

“The snow lady said her boss – wait, she called him young master – that he’d have an interest in me.” You explain. “The wanted poster was bad enough, I don’t think the additional attention will be welcome.”

“Donquixote Doflamingo,” Jinbei says. “This crew has run afoul of him a couple times. I used to be a Warlord alongside him. He’s a crafty one.”

“I’ll draw you pictures of the warlords that I know,” Usopp says. “And we have posters of the Emperors as well.”

“Are there pictures of some of the marines? That Smoker was not an easy fight, but he seems unique among most marines. It would be useful to be aware of them as well.”

“I’ll help you with sketches.” Robin offers as Usopp starts to look a little nervous.

“Oh, it’s a lot to draw, it seems.” You say apologetically. “We’re setting sail tomorrow, right? You should have a couple days at least, don’t rush.”

“A week, more like.” Nami says, “there’s some nasty currents where we’re going, and since we can’t burst past all of them it’ll take a little meandering.”

. . . . . . .

You held onto the side of the railing, trying to keep your lunch in your stomach as the ship lurched with the combination “nasty current” and “sudden squall”. You didn’t have the sea legs for this, and it was embarrassing. After things calmed down though, you were going to have to ask the cook how it was that he pushed himself around in the air. It was like he was walking on the wind, and it seemed a useful skill to have.

Especially during a time like this, where getting up the rigging and securing the sails faster was important.

You had been concerned before that there weren’t enough people on this crew for the size of the ship, but their efficiency and capacity was almost terrifying. Nami and Jinbei were in perfect sync, and Franky knew every inch of the ship in order to keep it together. Robin’s devil fruit was ideal for assisting Zoro, Sanji and Usopp as they did most of the heavy lifting, with some light assistance from Brook. You and the small doctor were the only ones without much to do, but Chopper could at least make himself bigger to help anchor things.

All you could do right now was try and keep your barfing from landing on the deck of the ship, with Luffy checking on you every few seconds as he bounced around helping where ever he could. The young man’s energy was impressive on its own, but added with the elastic capacity of his body there wasn’t much he couldn’t do – except swim. You peered over the rail again and wondered if you’d be less sick in the water, not that it was a viable option, the current was shifting before your eyes.

The sudden squall ended just as abruptly as it had started, and you laid out on the grass for a second before you got to your feet. The current was still rough, but since the two ordeals weren’t overlapping everyone else was taking a moment to catch their breath along with you.

“This is normal?” You ask doing your best to walk around the deck so you could try and get your sea legs.

“For this world, yes.” Robin replies with a kind smile. Her hands sprout from your body and help steady you before you topple over. “Are the seas in your world calm?”

“I was not a sailor, but my experience was quite calm.” You admit as you find your feet again. “Ships could be lost at sea, but it was more likely they were raided, and not tormented by the seas themselves.”

The harsh current ended so swiftly you nearly toppled over from that. A single finger on your forehead helped balance you as Zoro walked by.

“Ah, thanks.” You mutter, rubbing your forehead idly. “Oh, hey Sanji – how’d you do that thing earlier?”

“Thing?” Sanji tilts his head as he turns toward you.

“You walked on the air.” You clarify, pointing along a path in the air up the sail. “I would’ve thought such was impossible, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Can you teach me?”

“Eh? Eh?! S-Sure!” Sanji’s face lights up. “It would be my pleasure to assist a lovely lady.”

Sanji wasn’t as good a teacher as Jinbei, but he did try his best. The two of you spent several hours going over the technique of his geppo, you even ended up helping him out in the kitchen to keep the flow of the conversation going. You had just enough time to help hand out snacks to the crew before another rough current grabbed the ship.

You braced against a railing by the helm, as Nami and Jinbei went back to work. You weren’t going to be able to practice much of anything while the ship was traveling like this, but you did pulse your haki when you felt like you could risk it. Having your feet leave the deck when the ship could be whisked right out from under you seemed like a bad idea, so you weren’t going to get any practical training in after all the theory crafting from earlier.

The second wave of rough currents didn’t have anything else accompany it, and so you did make use of the time to stumble around the deck and try to climb the rigging as the ship lurched so you would be more useful later. You could sense someone keeping an eye on you while you worked, but you couldn’t sort out who it was. Franky, Brook, Robin, Luffy and Zoro were all out on the deck, and no one seemed to be watching you directly.

It could be all of them, you realized as you reached the midway point of the rigging and started back down. The crew had amazing awareness, even those that didn’t seem to have any capacity for controlling haki had strong perception. Even though they didn’t overtly act as such, they all watched out for one another. If you ended up stranded in this world there would be far worse people to be stranded with.

Something about that thought warmed your heart, and for the first time since the portal closed you felt at peace. It wasn’t just acceptance of what had happened, but actual peace.

You still wanted to go home, but maybe you weren’t going to be okay with going home as a corpse. You didn’t want to just be buried back home, you wanted to be able to tell everyone the wild ride that this world was. You smile thinking about how your fellow knights would react to hearing about honorable pirates.

“Feeling better?” Zoro asks. He’s leaned against the stairs by the rigging, hands behind his head. He looked like he was grabbing a quick nap despite the turbulent current.

Your skeleton nearly leaps out of your skin, but you manage to restrain yourself to a small flinch. You hadn’t even noticed that he’d settled nearby you were so lost in your own thoughts.

“I… yeah.” You step around and squat down nearby. “Are you sure you’re not at least part demon?”

You can see the vein on his forehead twitch. “Why do you keep asking that?” He growls, looking at you.

“Demons in my world are very strong and can read your thoughts and emotions. You seem to do the same.” You admit bluntly.

Zoro clicks his tongue and looks away. You almost think he isn’t going to say anything else when he finally grumbles at you. “I’m going to be the strongest swordsman in the world, that’s why I’m strong.” He explains. His scowl deepens as he continues. “And… that was a real smile.”

Something about the scowl and the words catches you off guard and when the ship lurches you nearly tumble backward before over correcting and leaning forward. You reach out to steady yourself and feel your hand smack into Zoro’s chest. After you steady yourself you pat his chest a couple times before you snatch you hand back when you come to your senses.

“What was that about?!” He barks at you as you stand up and take a step away.

“Sorry, it was just – it was like – are you sure you’re not-.”

“I’M NOT A DEMON!” He bellows.

You tuck your lip into your mouth and bite down on it to keep from pointing out how much more demonic he looks bellowing like that. Your attempt to spare his feelings was completely shattered by the crew members that were nearby.

“Half of your moves have the word demon in them,” Franky points out as he walks by.

“Koby said you were a demon in the body of a man,” Luffy offers up with a smile.

“You sounded very demonic a moment ago,” Robin teases, not looking up from her book.

“Demonic brute.” Sanji scoffs, coming out of the kitchen.

You nearly choke on a laugh and fail miserably at holding it back. The delighted sound floats through the air for a second before you get your hands over your mouth. You take a few steps back before you’re laughing again, trying to apologize while gasping for air.

Zoro clicks his tongue and closes his eye with a grumbled, “Whatever.” You keep your apology and take a few steps back, trying your best not to continue laughing.

“Ah, (Y/N), come here, I have some drawings done.” Usopp says some moments later as the currents start to even out. Making your way over to where he had been tinkering, he pulls a small stack of papers out of his bag and hands them over. The first four are official wanted posters.

“Kaido, Big Mom – what a name,” you murmur looking through the posters. “Blackbeard, eaugh, that’s a face that makes my soul shudder. Shanks, oh.” You look at the poster for a long time, sitting down beside Usopp. “Do you have more posters of this man?”

“Eh? Maybe? Luffy knows him – oi, Luffy do you have any old wanted posters for Shanks?”

“Nope!” Luffy answers cheerfully.

You tilt your head. Something about the man seems familiar. You’re not entirely sure that you’ve ever actually seen him before, but there’s something that tickles at the back of your mind. You shake it off and move past that to the drawings Usopp and Robin had finished.

“This is Donquixote Doflamingo?” You ask and Usopp nods. “He’s a Warlord? He looks like a peacock.”

“Don’t let that fool you, the Warlords aren’t to be taken lightly.” Usopp warns. “No matter how odd they look.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You mutter as you flip through and take note of the faces of Kuma, Mihawk, Moira, Boa, Crocodile, Buggy. “I know you said what you said, Usopp, but… Is this man a clown? Or does this world not have jesters? Do clowns often become pirates?” You ask, pointing to Buggy’s drawing.

“Buggy is Buggy.” Usopp says with a shrug. “Clowns are a thing here. He’s known as Buggy the Clown.”

“Well.” You shake your head as you flip the page. “Akainu? He doesn’t look like a pirate.”

“He’s a big-name marine,” Usopp explains. “The biggest name one, actually. I haven’t drawn any others yet, but if you see him or hear the name, you need to just run as fast as you can. Another name I’ve heard for him is Sakazuki.”

“It’s a hard face to forget.” You admit, tucking the page behind the stack and seeing the start of the stack. “Thank you Usopp, this is a lot of help.”

He hands you one more page, but this is nothing but a list of names. “I’ll draw them when I can, but if you hear any of these names, they’re bad news too.”

“Borsalino, Issho, Aokiji– ah, he’s not a marine anymore according to your note, but he’s still troublesome it seems. Monkey D. Garp. Eh? Eh, isn’t that-?” You’re already looking for Luffy when the reply cuts your question short.

“He’s Luffy’s granddad.” Usopp admits. “He was hot on your tail when we first rescued you.”

“Oh… Oh, I know his face. He got closer than I would’ve liked. If the squall hadn’t nearly toppled his ship, I wouldn’t have gotten away.” You admit. “What a fearsome man. You said he’s Luffy’s granddad, is Luffy’s father another of these marines?”

“Ah, heh, no. Luffy’s dad is the leader of the Revolutionary Army.” He says sheepishly.

“Rev-…” You pause for a moment to consider the last few bits of information. “A marine, a pirate, and a revolutionary. Quite the family.” Your eyebrows raise in surprise before you add the name list to the stack of drawing. “I imagine family reunions are rather tense.”

“Yes and no.” Usopp says with a laugh. “We’ve had an amicable conversation with Luffy’s granddad before. I mean, he hurled cannonballs at us the next day, but that’s kind of how it goes. We haven’t really dealt with the Revolutionary Army, but one of Luffy’s brothers is an officer, and he keeps in touch. Luffy’s other brother – and none of them are blood relatives – has been traveling with the remnants of the Whitebeard pirates, who are trying to rebuild after their captain was killed. Whitebeard was one of the four Emperors before all hell broke loose last year.”

“And here I thought noble family relationships could get complicated.” You smile as you jot down notes on the empty space on the page of names. “What’re their names? I don’t want to mistake them for a threat if I run into them by myself.”

“His dad is Dragon, and the brothers are Ace and Sabo.”

“Dragon? Does this world have dragons?”

“… Technically.”

You close your eyes and shake your head. “No, no, don’t clarify that right now. I have enough in my head. I’m going to put these away for now and train. Thank you Usopp, I really appreciate it.”

“Aww, you’re welcome, I’m glad I could help.”

After you secure the posters, you train your haki, deal with the currents and random weather conditions, and that’s how the week goes. Eat, sleep, panic, train. By the end of the week, you’re really good at moving around the ship when it’s unstable, and you even managed to get both your feet off the deck practicing the geppo Sanji tried to teach you. Your haki was improving as well, and you were training it further by keeping it active for longer and longer. You doubted that you’d ever get to the point of being able to have it on constantly, but you wanted to be as adept at it as possible, in case you were separated from the crew again.

The only natural phenomenon that you experienced, the second to last day of your travels before reaching the island, that you absolutely hated was called a Knock-up Stream. Your only comfort was that Nami was amazingly adept at predicting them, and avoiding them, and Franky explained all the other options they had if they did get hit by one. It made it a little less terrifying, but before you had seen the event, you had assumed that whirlpools were the worst things in the sea.

Soon, the seas would be the least of worries. Knock-up streams or not.

[meikostan]

OK finally watching oshi no ko anime, it turns out all i needed was to go outside for like an hour and im normal again

my thoughts under the cut (writing as i watch) (long) (lots of thoughts) (beautiful and true?) (manga reader) (don't read if anime only) (spoilers) (seriously) (i talk alot) (lots of thoughts)

at this point i've reread oshi no ko enough times that even if i didnt already know japanese i could probably make it without the subs SDJLF but its so cool to see lines and panels that im so familiar with brought to life!! i also liked goro's death scene, especially the way they used static and cut between shots. i keep on pulling out my physical copies of onk (well mostly vol 1) and pointing at my screen and the corresponding part of the book like

2. AIIIII little known fact about me is that ai is genuinely my favorite character... WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE SHE DIES IN THE FIRST VOLUME. seriously we only ever get to see her after this when a. her name or demeanor is invoked by another character b. aqua has his numerous mental breakdowns or c. flashbacks (including but not limited to aqua's mental breakdowns). i am always down for ai content!!!

3. its so much easier to ignore the weird vaguely sexual stuff from their babyhood because i know the rest of the series is normal and cool and not into that sort of stuff👍

4. speaking of normal yayayay it's aqua back when he was actually normal and not "normal" :D like he is just a baby. do you think now that oshi no ko is popular people will get into internet arguments about whether you can ethically have aqua as your favorite character post-normalification. actually wait this may already have been happening in the dark depths of some discord server out there.. but i dont use discord so im blissfully unaware

5. OH i dont think ive seen all of the OG b komachi before? or at least not in high detail. epic!

6. infant ruby telling people on the internet "kys" before age 2... truly a model twitter user

7. not gonna lie i havent really ever liked the way babies are drawn here (including manga)... idk their heads just look way too big like adult heads drawn on toddler bodies then ""cutified"". but this is a personal gripe

8. do you think because of infantile amnesia the twins forgot about the whole pretending to be amaterasu moment. do you think miyako still remembers. can you imagine being the foster mother of two kids who you believe to be gods sent to earth. do you think she remembers that she was "charged by the gods with keeping ai's secret" and then aqua. you know.

9. imagine: you married the ceo of a mid production company because you want to date hot men. there are no hot men in sight. you have to watch over one of the idol's twin infant babies. they reveal to you that they are divine messengers of god and also they can speak normally. there are no hot men in sight. you tend to their every need because you don't want divine retribution. you explain the intricacies of the idol industry in detail every couple of days when they complain about the injustices of the world. there are no hot men in sight. you become their foster mom after they witness the traumatic death of their mother, whose secrets you where charged with keeping safe. at least 12 years pass. they never mention any of this again. you manage the idol group one of them is in. there are still no hot men in sight. your name is miyako. every day you wake up.

10. i like how gotanda gives his business card to a toddler. whats he gonna do, call you on his fisher price dial phone? well actually nevermind aqua is probably the only other toddler (alongside ruby) who could make use of a business card

11. KANAA LETS FUCKING GOOOOO but also nothing will ever top 'lick a lying snitch/flick a crying switch'...... nothing ever... :( also taking the opportunity now to say ive always found it hilarious she assumed 'aqua' is his stage name and not his actual legal name, that's how ridiculous it is DSKLFJ

12. sobbing at the ruby ai dance... dont even have that many words i just really like it.. do you guys think ai was thinking about her own mom [& abuse/lack of relationship thereof]? not even just in this scene but in her more serious moments when she's thinking about her kids it's like "i want to make millions so they can go to the nicest schools and have the nicest things" "i want my daughter to dance freely and happily and i will support her in this" which ig can also be excused as 'thats just what a normal parent wants' but idk i like taking into consideration her own past and lack of parental support when looking at the way she tries to raise her children (not that she exactly got a chance to, even while still alive)

13. also i realized at this point that ep 1 is like an hour long not just because of the whole 'we gotta make sure no one drops this before the reveal that shows what this story's actually gonna be about', but also because it would be kinda awkward to have cut any of these scenes out? or not like out completely but like from each other. like if we had ended ep 1 at for example where they do their silly baby dance and go twitter viral (chapter 5 aka the midpoint of vol 1). that wouldve been terrible. but we can't cut it any earlier, or any later. ai's death feels like the natural conclusion to this problem. also i can't really see much of the other sections being stretched out to fit a full episode length being done very well. having ep 1 be a full 90 minutes lets them be as long as they need to be, aka a 1:1 adaptation of the manga.

14. oh boy chapter 9 time

15. i don't have anything to say about ai's outlook that has not already been said but this is the scene that made her my favorite character. not being able to tell at what point your lies become reality.. not really knowing if you've ever loved or been loved truly because your entire concept of 'love' was based off insincerity necessary for survival.. and now not ever being given the chance to explore what 'real love' means to you. FUCK

16. aww i love all these little family moments they added! very cute ^_^

17. yayy go kids get traumatized ^_^ also for some reason i remember the stalker as having really light hair o-0 fascinating. i remembered his name though!! just like ai fr

18. speaking of hair i also did not realize saitou was blond i thought he had brown hair..

19. hey the bandana (? i forget the word) guy holding the ai fan sign during the news montage is from one of the intros to the vol 1 chapters where hes like 'oh yeah i wonder where those dancing babies are now'!

20. another part of that montage shows a house with a wii in it, which came out november 19 2006. characters are shown using twitter which started earlier that same year; it was a pretty popular website even in 2008, but the mobile app only became a thing in like 2010. i'm seeing a mix of flip phones and smart phones so this has gotta take place sometime around 2010. it's kinda difficult to tell exactly what age the twins are in the main story because like the first page of vol 2 has ruby listing her age as 14, but - and the proof is not at my finger tips rn - i swear to god they're like 16 at this point. i have legitimate reasons to believe this but i need to grab exact proof adding to that we also have 15 years of lies, which if im remembering right would be referring to the twins age? i was trying to logic out exactly what year oshi no ko takes place in even though i already know the answer is 'in the modern day' but anyway yeah i'll just finish my episode and move on

21. THE IPHONE RUBY IS HOLDNIG HAS A HEADPHONE JACK. i want so badly to say that's an iphone 4 but there's like a separation between that and the power button. i also dont have an iphone 4 with me so i cant check it irl :( but anyway the iphone 4 was released in 2010, meaning the evidence is piling up for this part of the story taking place some time around 2010. or maybe i'm looking too deeply into this and should go back to actually watching the episode.

22. this is reminding me i was gonna write a fic specifically about this time period where the twins go to therapy and have to adjust to life without ai, having miyako graduate from fake mom to actual mom, aqua faking being fully recovered from the incident so he'd be released from therapy (fic concept was inspired from him stating this in like vol 6), etc. i never did because i spent like 3 hours researching play therapy and never got anywhere with it.. but maybe...

23. THE KIDS HAVING TO WATCH HER FUNERAL THROUGH THE FUCKING CAR WINDOW... I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF

24. YESS AQUA NORMALIFICATION COMPLETE

25. AM I INSANE OR IS THAT AKANE? HER HAIR COLOR IS THE SAME BUT IT'S SO SHORT

26. MEM!!!!

27. AHHH POST CREDITS AI MAKING HER VIDEO FOR THE TWINS "i don't think i'll still be an idol by then" YEAH BUT AT WHAT COST 😭

FINAL THOUGHTS: i liked it alot ^_^ i dont really watch that much anime anymore (not that i watched an incredible amount before, but i am familiar with it) but i really liked this. i think they did a very good job of adapting the first volume! i know the rest of the episodes will be not-film length which does make me a bit sad because i think it would work out well, or at least not badly, if they were. it does also make me really excited for the future, seriously i will actually explode when i see the theater arc in full. cannot wait to see aqua mental breakdowns and ruby evil arc and and and and

the only thing i would've liked is if they could somehow have found a way to incorporate the pre-chapter intro scenes from the manga where they're talking about 15 years of lies, interviews with their pre-school teacher, etc. though both the pre-school teacher and the aforementioned bandana guy appear which may have been their way of doing it? like adding a fun detail for obsessives like myself to point at like 'my god it's those guys from exactly 2 panels in the manga'

tumblr ate my post and erased everything up to #2 while i was writing it and i was about to flip but it turns out that it automatically saves posts while youre writing them now and it was in my drafts safe and sound soooo crisis averted ^_^ anyway those were my thoughts on ep 1

[astarionancuninswife]

For the Tav Ask questions: 8 from the general list, 3, 5, 6, 10, 13, 15 for the story list, 1, 2, 6, 7, 11 for the romance list. let me know alllllll about miss luci <3

Ooo, big list of questions!! Let's get to it then!!

Companion!Tav Ask List | askbox

General

8. What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp? How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

When being asked to stay in camp: "Aw, really? But we're adventure buddies!" (Please, just stay.) "Okay, fiiiine, but if you find any neat books, I call dibs before Gale!" When being asked to come adventuring again: "YES! I mean, lead on! Ever at your service, friend!"

Story Specific

3. How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

"Oh, he's a vampire... Huh, I would've never thought, I didn't realize they really existed. Wait, you let him what?! ... Interesting." (Luci approves.)

5. How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

"Okay, now, I'm usually always for trying new things and eating anything but... nah, that's just gross. There's no sugary way to say that."

6. Will they stay with the Player Character regardless of siding with the goblins or the tieflings, or is it possible for them to leave the party permanently?

Luci will leave if the player sides with the goblins, considering she's a tiefling herself. She may not have been raised around other tieflings, but those are still her people. She gets a significant boost of approval if they side with the teiflings, though!

10. How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

"... I would've done the same, I can't even judge you for that. Huzzah for curiosity, I think?"

13. How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

If Astarion ascends: "Well, let's hope this doesn't bite us in the butt... or the neck." If he's convinced to spare the 7000 spawn: "I'm proud of him, he's come far from the Astarion we first met. Maybe I'm, err I mean we're rubbing off on him."

15. How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

"... Okay, so what we're going to do is sit here and talk this out. What are we thinking right this second? And do you think you can just... I don't know... just not act on them? Or maybe give me all your weapons..."

Romance

1.Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

I think Luci would definitely be a romanceable character!! I think you just have to go with the kinder options, but also be adventurous to get her approval up.

2. Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

She would have to be flirted with, I think, but her options would be very obvious because she's a bit oblivious. She would approach the player if her approval is high enough though!

6. How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

"Oh... I, hm... Give me a moment, please... I appreciate your honesty and value the fact you hold enough respect for me to tell me how you feel. You deserve the world, and if I'm not the one to give it to you, I'm glad at least [other character] is able to have a chance to. But once he/she steps out of line, come to me. I'll straighten them out, these claws aren't just a fashion trend, ya'know?"

7. What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test?

"A jack of all trades, what is her favorite hobby she has picked up?" (Reading or traveling.) "Such a bright light in the world, but behind the glow, there's fear. What is she most scared of?" (Being alone.) "Luci had a tough beginning to life, but she was saved by a wise teacher. What's the most important piece of advice she hass internalized?" (Just as kindness and respect can be given, it can be taken away as well.)

11. What are Tav’s plans for the future? Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

Luci would suggest marriage, but also be sure to make it known she'd be happy with them either way, and she'd prefer a few more adventures before a wedding or anything. She does want to keep traveling for as long as she can, so either way, she'd going to keep planning journeys around Faerûn with or without the player!

[nonsubstantial]

2023 Book Log (part 3/3)

++++October++++

Mort (discworld 4) by Terry Pratchett ~ Adventures in the Discworld continue!!!! I still haven't been completely captivated by any book in this series yet, but they're never too disappointing either. It's just reliably fun sci-fi fantasy. ~ my rating: 7/10

++++November++++

Witch King by Martha Wells ~ This book was kind of like solving a puzzle. You're suddenly dropped into this fantasy world, and every character there understands what's going on, but you as a reader are just staring at all these pieces and trying to put them together until you get a picture of the book's setting. That aspect of discovery and worldbuilding worked well for me, but I didn't feel like it was properly coupled with down to earth character moments. In other words, the world was interesting but the characters were not, in my opinion. I think I liked the way that the narrative swapped between the past and present, but it's also worth noting that I felt like the past story was not as strong as the present one, and I sometimes felt like the chapters were too short and it swapped between them too soon. Anyway, I had fun, so if Wells writes in this world again I will probably read it. ~ my rating: 8/10

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield ~ This book is about 1/3rd horror story, and 2/3rds tragedy about coping with death. It is a concise and beautiful attempt at expressing something very difficult. Though it was a heartbreaking and terrifying journey, it also ended with a celebration of love, and a little cosmic horror to boot. I don't know how many times I've read short fiction online about "the horrors of the deep", and felt like those stories were missing something. Well, while it may not incorporate EVERYTHING I'd like, this book still manages to feel like nice mosaic made up of many of those great short form ideas. Two well rounded characters, and their relationship, form the glue that holds all those ideas together. I highly recommend this one, for many reasons. ~ my rating: 9/10

Shards of Honor (vorkosigan saga 1) by Lois McMaster Bujold ~ I enjoyed this book immensely at first, and upon finishing it I still have to admit that Bujold is extremely skilled at writing drama that is both exciting and easy to understand. She had no scruples about letting major plot events happen off screen, for the benefit of only focusing on what, I'm sure she believed, were the most exciting parts of her story. However, I might need additional convincing to continue this series because this book comes across as very conservative and problematic by my standards. I get that it was published in 1986, but even for its time I felt like there were a few unexpected trip-ups that make it difficult to enjoy today (the main characters referring to 'fetuses' as 'people' raised some serious red flags, for instance). I know it's a sci fi staple, and I have friends who still like it, but I'm willing to bet that there are some other books out there that I'll enjoy more. ~ my rating: 5/10 Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle ~ I love Chuck Tingle's spirit and all the ideas that he crammed into this novel. I didn't find his writing entirely believable, and there were a lot of events that didn't feel earned, in my opinion, but I did like it overall and I felt like the second half of the novel was stronger than the first. That's probably because I have an aversion to stories based around amnesia (which was a big reason why the first half was losing me), and I thought that Saul was an interesting foil to Rose, so my interest spiked after he was introduced (in the second half). In the end, despite the story kind of feeling like a stream of consciousness rather than a well sewn together narrative, I still think that Tingle's good ideas carried it a long way and I actually had a lot of fun with it. ~ my rating: 7/10

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ~ Honestly, this book lacked even a modicum of substance, and the only emotion that it managed to stir in me was bitter disappointment. I wrote several paragraphs (on goodreads) about why exactly I hate it, but even they fail to do justice to just how worthless and frustrating the experience of reading this book was, on every level. Congratulations, worst book of the year. ~ my rating: 1/10

System Collapse (the murderbot diaries #7) by Martha Wells ~ I love Murderbot!!!! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ The conflicts in this series are always so cathartic to read about. As always, Murderbot is extremely relatable and groundbreaking as a character. I really need more authors like Martha Wells, who can write good neurodiverse characters outside of the gender binary (bonus: even neopronouns were featured in this book). This did not disappoint. ~ my rating: 9/10

++++December++++

README.txt by Chelsea Manning ~ It's unbelievable to me that this book hasn't picked up more of a focus in the American cultural psyche. I've been casually interested in Chelsea Manning's story since highschool, and this book is a stunningly well written and levelheaded account of what Manning (hopefully) believes are the most crucial parts of her singular life narrative. I feel like Manning's story has got to be one of the most important stories about American identity, propaganda, and foreign policy, of the last three decades. Also, Manning did a great job narrating the audiobook. I feel like I should recommend this to everyone I know. ~ my rating: 10/10

[kudosmyhero]

The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #58: To Kill a Spider-Man!

Read Date: January 15, 2023 Cover Date: March 1968 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciler: John Romita ◦ Don Heck ● Inker: Mike Esposito ● Colorist: {uncredited} ● Letterer: Sam Rosen ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● yesssss, Mecha JJJ is back, y'all! ● Ka-Zar has lost his nipples but gained a Spider-Man! ● aww, Zabu got left behind again. Kitty might start taking that personally ● Bondi Beach: Ka-Zar Edition #IYKYK ● the shock of hitting the water cured Spidey's amnesia ● (pg 3) Professor Smythe is on the phone for JJJ ● Smythe has improved his method to "completely crush the web-spinner" and "this time--it can't fail!" ● meanwhile, Col. Jameson has his orders to go overseas, so he can't stay behind to help Captain Stacy clear Spider-Man ● (pg 4) Gwen and Harry are with Aunt May in the hospital. (Gwen actually looks like a normal person here, and not the long-lashed, wide-eyed, ever-smiling sex kitten she's usually drawn as)

● (pg 5) Spider-Man has relayed his story (off panel) to Ka-Zar, and somehow living in the jungle makes Ka-Zar a lie detector, so he believes Spidey ● (why do so many people have white irises? It's creepy!) ● warning roar of Zabu below ● Zabu was running amok because he couldn't find Ka-Zar. K steps in before the police can shoot kitty and destroys some cops' guns in the process ● (pg 6) now Ka-Zar is on a rampage (and someone says that K's estate in England has enough money to settle for damages) ● finally Ka-Zar and Zabu leave ● (pg 7) Spidey remembers Aunt May and needs to get to her fast, but he's out of web fluid ● first he has to go back to his apartment to change clothes ● JJJ goes to Smythe's to see what he has to show ● (pg 8) the Invincible Spider Slayer

● JJJ says, "Nobody's talking about murdering him! I just want him captured, see?" / Smythe says, "I just took poetic license, Mr. Jameson! Spider Slayer sounds so much more dramatic." I mean… he ain't wrong. ● (pg 9) aww, Col. Jameson came to say goodbye to his dad before he ships out, but JJJ is out of the office. Kinda sad that they'll miss each other. ● (pg 10) Spider-Man is feeling too woozy to wall crawl all the way across town and decides he needs a ride; he hops onto the top of a bus; it's slow, but it gives him a chance to rest ● but someone in a building above sees him and starts shouting for police ● (pg 11) the Spider Slayer is on the move, and Smythe and JJJ follow it in Smythe's car ● Spidey gets to his apartment, tries to call May (no answer, of course), starts undressing for bed, then his Spidey-sense starts tingling like mad ● (pg 12) he looks outside and sees the Spider Slayer walking up the wall. Mecha JJJ says, "We got him dead to rights… burglarizing someone's apartment!" ● (pg 14) Smythe and JJJ fumble over the controls. Smythe tries to hit Spidey with a deadly ray, which alarms JJJ ● (pg 16) the robot follows Spidey into a garage; Spidey tricks Mecha Smythe into shooting out the main support beams with the laser ● Spidey gets out and the robot is trapped under the rubble, but Spidey doesn't think it'll hold it long. He takes off to find Smythe's lab ● heh, Spidey looks up Smythe's address in the phone book ● (pg 17) but he doesn't know Smythe's first name, and there are a couple dozen listed in the phone book ● but apparently the word "scientist" is listed after the name, so Spidey has found the right one ● (pg 18) the robot catches up to him at Smythe's lab, and now the controls aren't working ● (pg 19) Smythe increases the power to the absolute maximum ● all the spiders in Smythe's lab made the robot short circuit ● JJJ angrily throws Smythe out of his office ● Spidey goes back home, still can't get hold of Aunt May ● goes out to find her, runs into Ka-zar and Zabu ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Having defeated Spider-Man in battle, Ka-Zar takes Spider-Man to the rooftops to learn the truth about why Jameson hired him to capture the wall-crawler. When Spider-Man revives, he finds that his memory has been restored, and so he tells the whole story. Ka-Zar believes Spider-Man but soon departs when Zabu is threatened by police officers in the area, Spider-Man slinks away during this altercation between the police and Ka-Zar.

Meanwhile, Spencer Smythe has contacted J. Jonah Jameson because he has created a new Spider-Slayer robot for Jameson to use in his quest to capture Spider-Man. They send the robot out, which tracks Spider-Man down to his apartment where he is about to change back into Peter Parker. When he notices the robot, he battles it across the city. When Jameson proves unable to capture Spider-Man, Smythe takes control and sends the robot after Spider-Man determined to kill the wall-crawler. This is more than what Jameson wanted and calls Smythe on the fact that he intends to kill Spider-Man for his own revenge, instead of turning him over to the police. However, Spider-Man manages to defeat the robot by luring it to a spider exhibit where it's spider-detecting device overloads and causes the robot to explode. With yet another failure with one of his Spider-Slayer robots, Smythe is thrown out of Jameson's office.

Spider-Man returns to his apartment where he changes back to Peter Parker, on his way out to find out what happened to Aunt May in his absence. On his way out the door he bumps into Ka-Zar and Zabu, Ka-Zar tells the young man not to be afraid that they are only on an evening stroll.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_58)

Fan Art: J. Jonah Jameson by Hognatius

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swinging Through Spider-Man - episode 58

● Let's Read Spider-Man - episode 35

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Not surprised by the top three at all (I was torn between 1, 5, 8, and 9, and then went with 5, figuring 9 would be the more popular Norman cover that wouldn't need any help lol. Also the juxtaposition of Emma steadfastly standing tall as she ensures the children behind her can escape on the front cover, only to reveal the one left behind waving as bravely as he can and wishing them success on their journey similar to what Isabella does, oof, it gets me.)

Slightly surprised by how well volume 3 is doing, and more surprised that volume 4 is currently tied with it.

#UM ive never seen the inner 8 cover i think i might lose my mind over this (via @trainerbea)

Part of the reason I wanted to do this poll since the inner covers aren't included in the VIZ digital copies and aren't circulated around as much, and even when they are, some are more cited than others (e.g., volume 1's and 9's).

#AWW I DON'T HAVE VOL 8 I DIDN'T KNOW YUUGO AND LUCAS WERE IN THE INNER COVER- #this one's difficult #I really like Volume 1 showing the contrast between Isabella and Emma&co. #because though it's unclear whether she tried to escape when she was a kid (from what i remember at least) #the main difference between the two was the trust they put in their family #and how everything Isabella did she did alone #it's a better parallel to vol. 8's imo #because 90% of the reason Ray and Emma escaped GP while Yuugo's family was killed #was the fact there was already a resistance in GP #not because of any individual choice #vol 5 is also a good one. I like how Norman is waving goodbye as the ceiling collapses augh :') #but I'm gonna go ahead and vote vol. 1 because I like the multiple interpretations you can draw from it (via @darklight-owl)

The way I initially interpreted Isabella ascending the wall was her wanting to sneak out to find Leslie after he never sent any letters, though the second light novel also adds that it had been a goal of Leslie's before he left the house that he wasn't able to complete:

And then after Sarah explains the reality of their world, she comes up with plans, but ultimately never acts on them.

But this also further strengthens your point about how even though the series will highlight major players in the story that we become attached to and how individuals will often be elevated above group efforts and movements in narratives for convenience and a variety of other reasons, the feats they accomplish aren't possible without collective effort and solidarity.

#the main difference between the two was the trust they put in their family #and how everything Isabella did she did alone

Though Isabella didn't also have the advantage of infantile amnesia Ray had that led to him having years to prepare. When she finds out the truth a few months before she's shipped out to headquarters, even if she confided in her siblings and one of them happened to have noticed the Minerva book plates (which don't provide any surefire direction on how to escape, only serving as proof to convince the other children the orphanage isn't what it seems), they also didn't have the luck of being provided with a pen like the Grace Field and Glory Bell escapees (which was a crapshoot even for the kids who did escape Grace Field, Smee only giving Krone the pen because she was being sent to a farm and he was banking on the woman retaining the same kindness she held in the letter she sent up into the sky over a decade prior that he happened to find on the ground one day, and Krone giving the kids the pen partially out of spite), and there was no guarantee they'd run into Sonju and Mujika or some other kind demons even if they did break out, being left to wander about the forest potentially aimlessly until pursuer demons found them.

(I know this phrasing isn't inherently condemning Isabella since we're not meant to be as critical of this decision as we are of her later actions where she has more authority and control of the situation and actively chooses to be antagonistic toward the children in her charge but it feels slightly off if framed as like, a moral failing or weakness of character.)

Volumes 11 - 20 + Kaiu Shirai x Posuka Demizu: Beyond The Promised Neverland

Like in the previous poll, top five of each poll will advance to the final round.

Curious to see how much of people's reasoning will focus solely on the inner cover by itself and how much the outer cover factors in.

Outer covers below the cut for comparison and ease of convenience:

[words-writ-in-starlight]

(psst, all ur recent blogging abt temeraire has made me reread the first book (I p much know it by heart at this point lol) and... its wonderful. thanks for reminding me about this wonderful series!!)

I’m EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE that I am partway into Tongues of Serpents, having MORE THAN DOUBLED my previous success rate with these books, and plan to finish them in rather short order.  (My library DOES NOT HAVE CRUCIBLE OF GOLD as an audiobook, I may have to crack and buy it as well as the other two I own, I need to know what happens to my favorite idiot.)

(Laurence.  Laurence is the idiot.  He has two brain cells and one screams “HONOR” and the other screams “TEMERAIRE” and sometimes they merge into one bigger brain cell Steven Universe Fusion Style and scream “TREASON” in a voice of legions.)

Hey?  Hey folks?  A short selection of fics that I am going to need in my life and apparently Do Not Exist:

Laurence Takes Up Tharkay’s Suggestion Of Becoming A Dragon-Toting Privateer, The Fic

(Honestly why is this NOT, like, the most popular concept in the fandom.  Like.  Helloooo, friends.  What are we doing.  Is it that you’re afraid of fucking up the naval terms?  I feel you but like.  Allow me to preach overweening confidence and learning to elide necessary ship descriptions.)

The Chinese Entourage Manages To Trick Temeraire Onto A Ship And Laurence Returns Dazedly To The Navy, Temeraire Makes A Break For It At The First Port They Reach And Immediately Travels Straight Back To Britain, Funded By His Own Jewels And Also Labor Exchange

Jane Roland Has An Aviator’s Disregard For Decorum And Is Glad To Gossip With Any Aviator Who Will Listen About Laurence

The followup to the previous: Laurence Discovers That Aviators Gossip Worse Than Sailors, Including The Dragons

Tharkay, After That Conversation Ft “What Are You Doing, Laurence?”

(I need this, okay, Laurence cries in that conversation, it’s important to me that Tharkay sits on Arkady as they fly away and thinks, with a sort of calm panic rolling through him as steadily as a tide, about how far Laurence fell, and how narrowly Tharkay was able to catch him.)

Volly’s First Time Back At Dover After The Battle Of Dover, In Which Temeraire Frets And Laurence And James Get Exceedingly Drunk About Levitas

William Laurence Is Built Like A Goddamn Brick House And Tharkay Is Having A Time About It, Ft Granby For Sympathy

Social Fallout Fic: Laurence Vanished To Dover For A Year And Came Back A War Hero Edition

Social Fallout Fic: Laurence Vanished To China And Istanbul And Prussia For A Couple Years And Came Back A Prince And A War Hero With Nearly Thirty Dragons Edition

Social Fallout Fic: Laurence Committed Treason Edition

(I just want all of these to basically be media fic?  But based around period newspapers and salon gossip and, where appropriate, bar brawls.  You can’t tell me there weren’t some bar brawls about Laurence’s particular brand of treason.  Let!  Emily!  Punch!  Some!  Dudes!  Some ensign at some point made a cruel remark to her about how her old captain was a traitor and his dragon too stupid to stop him, and she broke his jaw.)

Emily Roland Discovers Why The Allendales Are Interested In Her

Emily Roland Makes A Small Career Out Of Beating Racist Baby Aviators To Kingdom Come

Emily Roland’s Father Makes An Unexpected Appearance, Laurence Tries Very Hard Not To Fight Him, Emily Mostly Fails To Notice And Is Caught Telling Demane That She’s Not Sure Why Laurence Thinks It Matters But Don’t Tell Temeraire She Said So Because She Still Has To Captain Excidium

(That’s Laurence’s kid, okay, 100%, as far as Emily and the crew and the good Lord above are concerned she’s Laurence’s daughter, Laurence is just a little late on coming to this realization.  Even Jane is on board.)

Perscitia’s Captain Tries To Get In Touch

Brooklyn 99 AU

My secret angsty fic desire: Temeraire Never Takes Another Captain (Companions And Friends And Comrades, But Never Another Captain), The Fic

[basicmyherowhore]

Stranger With Your Face [3]

Multiple Yandere! MHA x Reader

[[0] [1] [2] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Summary: Steps towards the future are being taken. Izuku and Katsuki spend time with you and we’ll as each other as they prepare for what’s coming next. The more time they spend with you, the farther they find themselves falling.

Pairings: Various Mha x Reader, Bakugou x Reader, Midoriya x Reader.

Warnings: mentions of amnesia, small traces of Yandere/obsessive behavior.

Notes: I ended up focusing on the Izuku x Reader x Katsuki aspect of this series for this part and I like how it came out. It’s very fluffy and i think it sets a good tone for the reader bc this is where she starts to begin trusting in these two (which will come back to haunt her later ;) ) This is also a bit longer than the other parts so I hope you enjoy the extended reading experience :)

When Izuku said he would have his bags packed by the next day he wasn’t kidding. He stayed with you until you fell asleep then left the hospital with vigor in his step. He returned to the small apartment that he lived in by himself to gather the things he thought he would need while staying with you at Kacchan’s.

He packed fairly light, just the essentials. Clean clothes, his hygiene products, his hero costume and support items. While he was digging through his closet to find his favorite hoodie he stumbled upon something he hadn’t seen in a long time. His high school year book.

Just the sight of it made his heart feel heavy. Because of the circumstances surrounding your disappearance the school included two pages dedicated solely to you. When class 3A originally discovered the page there wasn’t a single student without tears in their eyes. He could still feel the sting in his eyes even all these years later, even after knowing that you were back. Waves of despair washed over him.

Then suddenly the sadness he felt shifted to feelings of rage. He could only imagine all the things you had been through within the seven years you were gone. Though he wishes you remembered so that they could identify and punish the villains that harmed you, a part of him was thankful that you didn’t remember. He could only imagine the suffering you would go through living with the haunting memories.

He grabbed the book and tossed it into his duffel bag. Maybe he’d show it to you, but then again maybe he wouldn’t.

He finished packing the rest of his things then got into bed hoping to get a decent night’s sleep. He planned to head over to Kacchan’s early in the morning.

\(•~•)/

Katsuki is already started to regret his decision. When shitty Deku was knocking on his door at 6 a.m. that was strike one. When useless Deku made himself comfortable in Katsuki’s apartment the second he entered, that was strike two. Now that fucking Deku was sorting through his pantry, searching for something to eat, he was dancing on the line of strike three.

The blonde rubs his temples hoping to alleviate some of the pain blooming in his head. He has stress headaches often, but none of them were ever this strong. He huffs as he looks up at the shit nerd munching on one of his protein bars. They make eye contact and Deku swallows quickly, getting ready to speak.

“This is a two bedroom condo right?” He asks before taking another bite.

“Yeah, what about it?” Katsuki crosses his arms, the idea of kicking this loser out becoming more appealing by the second.

“Well, when Y/N comes to stay it would make sense for her to take the other bedroom, so I guess that means I’m taking the couch.”

“I thought that was obvious.” He rolls his eyes, snatching a protein bar for himself. He opens the wrapper and is about to take a bite when a thought occurs to him. “Does she know?” Deku pauses too.

“Oh. I forgot to tell her.” The freckled face dunce rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “After you left some doctors came to check up on her and run more tests. It must’ve just slipped my mind with the busyness of things.”

“Fucking idiot.” Katsuki growls, growing more annoyed by his counterpart’s conducive nature to fuck things up. He takes a deep breath and considers the current state of things. “No, maybe this it better.”

“What do you mean?” A dark brow is quirked at the blonde.

“If she doesn’t know where she’s going then she won’t be able to tell anyone where she’ll be.” A smirk appears on Katsuki’s normally scowling face.

“I still don’t follow.” Izuku frowns at the odd look on Katsuki’s face.

“If you were a villain and someone that you captured managed to escape, what would you do?” Katsuki proposes the theoretical situation to explain it to Deku in a way he’d understand best.

“I would either go into hiding or look for the escapee to keep them silent and recapture them.” Deku answers after a moment of thought, hand holding his chin as if he was considering many things at once.

“Exactly. And if you know your escapee would most likely wind up in a hospital, wouldn’t you find a way to infiltrate the medical staff? Disguised and whatnot, getting your escapee to trust you enough to tell them where they’re going after they’re discharged. When they’ll be alone...and vulnerable-“ Katsuki can see the realization dawn on Deku’s dumb face.

“Oh! So in case one of her captors has infiltrated the hospital, she won’t tell them where she’ll actually be. That’s really smart Kacchan.” He beams at Katsuki who rolls his eyes again. “But what if she isn’t comfortable or gets upset once she figures out we lied to her?”

“We’ll just explain to her that it’s for her own good. She’ll get used to us and everything will be fine.” He quickly brushes Deku’s concerns away. “Enough dicking around, I have to go to my agency and you’re supposed to be back at the hospital with Y/N.”

Deku nods his head and cleans up whatever mess he made while looking for food. They both exit Katsuki’s condo at the same time, heading to the parking garage where Deku’s car was parked in the visitor’s spot.

“I’ll probably stop by the hospital after work, see you later.” Katsuki calls across the lot before climbing into his car and pulling off, not waiting for a response from the other man. He wants to get this work day done and over with.

\(•~•)/

Back at the hospital, you were sitting in the armchair that stood next to the window. With your legs drawn to your chest and your head resting on your knee you look so small. In a daze you stare out at the world just out of your reach, watching as cars drove in and out of the parking lot, pulling onto the busy road and going elsewhere. It felt like everyone had somewhere to go or something to do. And here you are, just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Waiting for anything to happen.

It seems like your silent prayer is answered when there’s a knock at the door. A moment later a familiar bush of green hair catches your eye as Izuku steps into the room. You can’t help the unconscious smile that graces your lips at the sight of someone to keep you company.

“Hi Y/N! How are you today?” He smiles a kind smile, making you feel warm on the inside.

“Mentally or physically?” You joke to mostly yourself, before sighing. “I don’t hurt anywhere. I feel perfectly fine so I don’t know why I have to sit around and wait two more days to leave.” If you could see yourself you would know that you looked like a small child pouting about being bored. Izuku couldn’t help but find it incredibly cute. He takes a seat on your empty bed that sits across from the window.

“The doctors just want to make sure that there is no residual or underlying damage.” He gives you a sympathetic look. “I know you’re getting a little stir crazy but we still have no idea what your body has gone through. We just want to be prepared.” You slump further into yourself at his words. You know he’s right but you don’t want to admit it.

Izuku watches as your mood continues to darken and he quickly feels his own attitude starting to slip too. He remembers something that causes him to perk up. “Wait right here.” He jumps up and is out the door before you can respond with ‘Where else can I go?’

You wait patiently for him to return, staring at the door until you heard footsteps nearing. You turn your head to make it seem as though you weren’t watching the door the entire time he was gone. You look over to see him with both arms behind his back. Your brow quirks at him.

“Here hold out your hand.” He instructs you and you listen, holding out your palm for him to place something in your outstretched hand. You look down to see a...candy bar? He sees the confusion written on your face. “During our time at U.A. you loved sweets. Every day at lunch you would eat some kind of cake and you had your own cabinet full of treats in the dorms.”

You open the wrapper, not noticing how Izuku watched your every move. With a bit of hesitation you take a bite of the bar and as it’s sugary taste coats your tongue, your eyes light up with joy.

“Mmm!” You can’t help but voice your enjoyment of the sweet, the airy moan making Izuku blush furiously. “-is delicious, ‘Zuku!” You cheer with a mouth full, causing your words to come out a bit slurred. It’s all too cute for Izuku to handle, he had to turn away from you to contain himself. He mumbles his ‘you're welcome’ facing the opposite direction.

You finish the candy bar in record time, licking the melted chocolate from your finger tips. Izuku staring at you in a daze goes unnoticed by you as you unknowingly suck your fingers in such an alluring way. You turn back to him once your satisfied with the cleanliness of your hands.

“That was really yummy, thanks again.” And you smile a smile so beautiful that Izuku is stunned. For a moment you looked like the girl he knew seven years ago...He shakes himself out of his stupor before he embarrasses himself.

“You’re welcome, I just wanted to cheer you up. I’ll get you something sweet whenever you want, all you have to do is ask.” Though it seems like a simple promise, you have no idea how serious this promise is to Izuku. He will never let you down.

You give a small smile and nod before moving on to something else. “So what do we do now to pass the time?” You ask, feeling boredom edging back into your system.

“What do you want to do?” Izuku answers your question with a question, wanting to do whatever would make you the happiest. You hesitate for a moment, having a request that you were unsure you wanted to voice.

“Can...can you tell me stories about what it was like in U.A.?” A huge grin blooms on his face at your request.

“Absolutely.”

\(•~•)/

By the time Katuski gets off of work that night he’s tired. He’s tired but the thought of seeing you gives him energy. He stops at his condo before going to the hospital. He takes a quick shower before changing into his civilian clothes, wanting to be fresh and draw little attention with his visit to you.

As he drives down the road leaving his condo he happens to notice a little flower shop on the corner. Though he’s never given flowers directly to a girl before he figured you would appreciate the gesture. He gets a bouquet and gently places them on his front seat, then continues on to the hospital.

It’s later in the day so visiting hours are almost over. Lucky for him that with his hero status he has more wiggle room in situations like this. And honestly who’s gonna kick out the number two pro hero?

Walking down the hall that leads to your room he can see the faint glow from underneath the door. With it he can also hear the sound of your melodious laughter. He smiles at the sound without even noticing.

Katsuki knocks once before opening the door to find you sitting next to a happy looking Deku. While he was a bit annoyed that the shitty bastard was able to have so much time with you, he was happy you had someone to keep you company.

“Katsuki.” You acknowledge him with a small smile, making his heart skip a beat or two. He quickly hides his warm face by pushing the bouquet of flowers towards you.

“Here.” Katsuki mutters. You take the flowers from his hands in awe, staring at the delicate blossoms in front of you.

“These are beautiful.” You coo, still swept up in the beauty of the flowers. The gentle smell that floated into your nose had you sighing in delight.

“They were your favorite.” Katsuki scratched the back of his head, embarrassed for admitting that remember such a small detail from so long ago. He awkwardly takes a seat in the chair by the window. You surprise him by grabbing his wrist gently and looking him in the eye.

“Thank you.” You give him a genuine, full on smile, and all at once it feels like the world is caving in on Katsuki.

How did he live seven years of his life without you in it?

“Tch, it was nothing.” He scoffs, ignoring the fact that his skin feels cold without your warmth. “What were you two talking about before I got here?” Katsuki changes the subject.

“Oh! Izuku was telling me stories about U.A.” You look over at Izuku as if you were looking for a conformation. The green haired man nods his head with a small smile.

“Yeah? Any about me?” Katsuki is able to fall back into his confident role without a struggle, smirking as you bob your head up and down.

“Yeah actually. Izuku tells me that you won the sports festival during our first year.” You start, inflating Katsuki’s ego without knowing. “But you had to be physically restrained?” Suddenly the growing bubble that was Katsuki’s ego popped.

“Physically restrained? That’s a goddamn overstatement if I ever heard one.” He growled, feeling embarrassed in front of you once more.

“Izuku even showed me the picture!” There’s a wicked glint in your eye that Katsuki catches onto. You’re teasing him on purpose.

“I still won, didn’t I?” He gloats, acting as if your words didn’t mess with him. “That loser broke like 6 of his bones and didn’t even place.”

“Kacchan!” Izuku gasps, feigning anger as he glares playfully at the other man. You can’t help but burst into a fit of giggles, finding the way that the two interacted hilarious. You laugh so hard that your cheeks flush and your smiling uncontrollably.

Once again you cause both men to freeze. Their hearts beating so loud that they think everyone else in the room can hear it. Both of them feel their faces heating up and turn away from you so that you can’t see. They feel like some love struck idiots.

How could you be so- so intoxicating?

[drabbles-mc]

Remind Me (9/?)

EZ Reyes x OFC (Aanya Reyes)

Request by @noz4a2: Ez & oc are married 2 years, Ez leaves on a run and while he’s gone oc gets into a bad car accident, she almost dies. Instead she is in a coma for 6 months. During that 6 month time Ez goes everyday or as much as he can, reads to her from her favorite book, etc. After 6 months she finally wakes up, but has retrograde amnesia & doesn’t know who Ez is or their life together. So he is determined to help her get her memory back and goes about wooing her again.

Warnings: some light angst but overall this is a little bit of an emotional reprieve from everything in the 8 chapters before this

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: I can’t explain myself for the gaps between updates lmao. But I think about these two all the damn time and I promise I have been plugging away at scenes for them. Bear with me. It’s a quiet chapter, the two of them grappling for some kind of normalcy, but I really like how this turned out.

Chapter Index

EZ Reyes/Remind Me Taglist: @ly--canthrope @queenbeered @sincerelyasomebody @sadeyesgf @thesandbeneathmytoes @appropriate-writers-name @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @kelpies-shed @louisianalady @gemini0410 @paintballkid711 @chibsytelford @yourwonkywriter @sesamepancakes @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @plentyoffandoms @georgiaaintnopeach @twistnet @themoonandthewicked @garbinge @bucky-iss-bae @enjoy-the-destruction @encounterthepast @rosieposie0624 @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo @mijop @xladymacbethx @blessedboo @holl2712 @lakamaa12 @masterlistforimagines @toni9 @shadow-of-wonder @crowfootwrites @redpoodlern @punkgoddess-98​ @black-repunzel99​ @lexondeck​ @mrsstevenbuchananstark​ @lovebishoplosamiguelgalindos​ @amorestevens​ @angelreyesisdaddy04​ @mijagif​ @frattsparty​ @winchestershiresauce​ @bellisperennis0​ @beardburnsupersoldiers​ @mveggieburger​ @thanossexual​ @xeniarocks​ @choochoo284​ @littlekittymeow​ @beardsanddetectives​ @bruxasolta​ @i-love-scott-mccall​ @doritosandjellybeans​ @samcrobae​ @langiinspirations​ @bigcreatorwombatdreamer​ (If you want to be added to the taglist let me know!)

The house was silent the next morning when Aanya woke up, but she did immediately pick up on the smell of breakfast being made downstairs. It took her a few moments to reorient herself to her current situation. Everything still felt foreign when she woke up and for a small stretch of time, she forgot the events of the previous day.

It all came rushing back, though, as she looked around the room. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she peeled the blanket off herself and swung her legs so that her feet landed on the floor. She braced herself against the edge of the bed for a second as she contemplated how she was supposed to navigate the rest of the morning, and by extension the foreseeable future.

“Just breakfast,” she thought to herself as she stood up and made her way into the hall, “Just get through breakfast first before you worry about the rest of it.”

As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear the muffled noise of the television in the living room. There was a warm sense of familiarity in it combined with the scent of breakfast coming from the kitchen. Not a memory, per se, but a comfortable feeling. And she was more than willing to settle for that for the time being.

EZ hadn’t heard her come downstairs, so when she cleared her throat upon entering the kitchen, he spun around quickly. Aanya flinched slightly at his reaction, not expecting him to react that way. An embarrassed smile spread across his face as he looked over at her.

“Sorry about that—didn’t hear you come downstairs,” he stepped to the side and gestured to the stove, “I made breakfast, though.”

She chuckled, “I see that,” she surveyed everything that he was doing, “Anything I can do to help?”

He shook his head, “It’s almost done. If you wanna maybe grab a couple plates?” he paused, realizing that there needed to be more to that request, “They’re in that cabinet there,” he pointed with the spatula in his hand.

EZ watched as Aanya walked over and opened up the cabinet. Glancing up, she saw that the plates were on the top shelf. In that moment, despite the fact that she had years missing from her memory, she knew that it must’ve been EZ who organized the cabinets and cupboards because she never would’ve put items that she uses so frequently so high up. Standing on her tip-toes for a moment, she tried to reach them, but she knew that it was going to end badly. So, with hardly any hesitation at all, she lifted her leg up onto the counter, proceeding to push herself completely up onto it so she could kneel and grab a couple of plates off the top shelf and safely set them down on the counter beside her before climbing off.

While she was doing that, EZ looked on with a smile on his face. A scene that he’d watched play out so many times over the years and it took him until that moment to realize just how much he’d missed it. He remembered the exact conversation the two of them had had the first time Aanya realized that he had put the plates just up out of her reach. She’d chastised him and said that she was going to move them down, but for whatever reason she never got around to it. Instead, the two of them spent the last few years with EZ always being the one to get the plates while Aanya got the glasses and silverware, or she would simply just hoist herself up onto the counter the way that she just had.

When she got down and turned around, she saw the slightly dazed look on EZ’s face and suddenly felt very self-conscious. Pushing her hair back out of her face, she tilted her head to the side, “Everything alright?”

He snapped back to attention, realizing how he must’ve looked. Clearing his throat, he nodded, “Yea, all good. Sorry—forgot that those are a little tough to reach.”

“Not impossible, though. My legs still work just fine,” she picked up the plates and brought them over to the table.

The silence between them throughout breakfast was only a little uncomfortable, which was expected. They each had so many questions and neither of them knew where to begin. Aanya asked EZ what his plans were for the next few days, and he gave her the honest answer that he had no idea. She appreciated the candor, but she couldn’t help but to feel a little bad that she’d thrown one wrench after another into all of his plans without even meaning to or realizing it.

“One thing, though,” EZ said as he leaned back in his chair, “I do need to do some grocery shopping today,” he paused as he tried to read her expression, “Would you wanna go? You don’t have to. Just…didn’t know if you’d wanna get out of the house.”

She paused, really thinking about her answer before giving it, “That might be good, right?”

“Yea,” he nodded slowly, “and if you’re uncomfortable I can always just bring you back here. No big deal,” he didn’t want to make it seem like some huge excursion and turn it into something unbearable.

“Okay,” she drummed her fingers on the tabletop, “Alright. I guess I’ll…go get ready then?”

He chuckled, nodding, “Sounds good.”

They were riding in Felipe’s truck on the way to the store, and EZ fought to keep his gaze on the road rather than looking over at Aanya the entire time. She watched the buildings pass by and he’d see the way her brows would knit, like she was trying to will the memories back into existence.

“I’ve been really bad at shopping lately,” EZ admitted as they walked into the store, “so anything that you see that you want, get it, because I probably don’t have it at home.”

Aanya laughed quietly as she gave him a nod, “That’s fair,” she walked over, grabbing a shopping cart as she began to make her way deeper into the store. She got a few strides ahead of EZ when she paused, turning around with an embarrassed half-smile on her face, “I shouldn’t be the one leading the way, huh?”

His chuckle was soft, not wanting her to think that he was laughing at her, “I was gonna let you—you seemed pretty certain.”

Aanya followed him through the store, occasionally taking something off the shelf and tossing it into the cart. EZ kept an eye on it, not for any other reason than to see if some things were still the same despite everything else changing. A smirk pulled at the edge of his mouth as he watched her stand up on her tip-toes and pull a box of cereal down off the top shelf.

When she turned back around, she saw him watching her, and nerves instantly came over her, “What? It’s breakfast and dessert.”

He laughed, nodding, “You’re…you’re completely right.”

The only conversation that passed between them as they made their way up and down the aisles was about what foods to get and what meals to make with it. Pragmatic discussions were easy, they didn’t require either of them to put any work into remembering anything in particular. It was comfortable, a conversation that could’ve happened between roommates not romantic partners. And EZ could see it on Aanya’s face that it was the break that she had been needing after how much her brain had been straining to recall everything that was gone.

As the two of them were loading groceries into the back seat of the truck, EZ mentioned the fact that he wanted to stop by the carnicería. Aanya gave a shrug as she swung the door shut, “Okay.”

He saw how unbothered she seemed by it, and he took a deep breath before making his next point, “Pop’s shop,” he fumbled over the words, “My…my dad’s.”

“Your father owns a butcher shop?” she sounded impressed.

“Yea,” EZ chuckled as he said his father’s famous line, “Only butcher in town,” he paused, his face sobering up a bit, “You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to.”

She saw the look on his face and realized why he was so hesitant, “Does he know?” despite the levity that had been in her voice all morning, she sounded serious.

“I, uh,” he shook his head, “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him. Angel said he was gonna call.”

There was a long stretch of silence as she thought over the options. She gave him the simple answer of, “Okay,” before turning and hopping back into the passenger seat.

As he walked to the driver’s door, he wondered if he was being too protective or not enough. He couldn’t just shut her up and lock her away from everything in fear of overwhelming her, but he also didn’t want to toss her out without a life raft, leaving her to sink or swim.

When he parked outside the butcher shop, he immediately turned and looked over at Aanya. She was studying the outside of the building, the was so unassuming for people who didn’t already know what was inside, or rather, who was inside. EZ waited for her to speak up, give him some kind of inclination as to what she was thinking, but she remained silent.

“I’ll be quick,” he finally offered up, “Really.”

Pressing her lips together for a moment, she considered her answer. Finally, she shook her head, “I’ll have to do everything eventually, right? So I might as well…”

“It’s your first real day out of the hospital, Aanya,” he tried to sound soft but not patronizing, “If you want a day to yourself I get it.”

She nodded slowly, “This was part of my life, right?” she gestured to the storefront.

“Yea,” there was a warmth building in his chest at the thought of it.

“Then it can’t hurt to go in.”

EZ had always known that she was brave, even if it wasn’t in the loud, reckless way that people tended to think of bravery. But he always knew that there was a quiet courage inside of her, and it shone through in moments just like that. She’d woken up with everything ripped out from underneath her, and yet she still managed to get herself out of bed. EZ didn’t know if he would’ve been able to do the same if he were in her shoes.

The door chimed as the two of them walked in. Felipe called out from the back that he’d be there in a minute. EZ chuckled, “No rush, Pop.”

Aanya quickly skimmed over the meat counter, but was quickly drawn away by the bookshelves on the opposite wall. EZ stood back and watched her, smiling to himself as she hovered over certain titles, ones that he knew she’d given to him in the past and he had subsequently passed on to his dad to read next. The pages were rattier than they’d been when the books were in her care, but they looked at home on the rickety old shelves.

“How is—” Felipe stopped himself short as he saw Aanya standing and flipping through a book. He cleared his throat, trying to look less emotional than he felt, “Aanya.”

She looked up from the book, offering him a shy smile, “Hi. Mr. Reyes, right?”

Felipe nodded, wanting to come around and hug her, but knowing that it wasn’t the time for that. Taking a breath, he tried to focus on why they showed up, “What can I get you two?”

Aanya stood back and watched the two men interact. EZ told him about what they’d bought at the store before showing up, and before he even finished talking, Felipe was grabbing things to wrap for the two of them to take home. It was such an easy conversation. Aanya could see past the gruff manner that Felipe used to talk to his son that there was a lot of love there. The grumpy old man act only went a few layers deep.

Felipe looked over at her, seeing the way she was watching them with the book still open in her hand. He shook his head at her, “No matter what he says, don’t suffer through that book,” he gestured to the one she was holding.

Her and EZ both laughed, and he tried to come to his own defense, “It wasn’t that bad, Pop. It’s a good book.”

He shook his head once more before focusing his eyes on Aanya, “Don’t do it.”

She smiled, nodding as she closed the book and slid it back onto the shelf, “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Felipe looked back to his son, “That everything, then?”

He paused, giving it some thought before nodding, “Yea, I think we’re all set. Thanks, Pop.”

“Love you, son.”

“Love you too.”

Felipe looked over to Aanya, a small smile coming across his face for a moment, “If you ever want some real book recommendations, feel free to come back.”

She laughed, nodding, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

As the two of them sat back down in the truck, she looked over at EZ and asked him, “Does he always pretend to be that bristly with you?”

He chuckled, shaking his head, “He’s not pretending—trust me,” he threw the truck into reverse, “He’s always been nice to you though.”

Her quiet chuckle dissolved into a hum of sorts, “Always at your expense?”

“Always,” one end of his mouth quirked up into a smirk as he thought about it all.

The drive back to their house was quiet. Aanya toyed with the handles of the grocery bag on the seat next to her. She helped EZ carry everything into the house, and she watched carefully as he started to put everything away. She set a pot of coffee to brew as he finished unpacking everything, trying to keep herself busy, make herself useful.

“Thank you,” she said as she handed him a mug.

He shook his head, “Don’t need to thank me—putting groceries away isn’t that hard.”

“No,” she chuckled for a moment before her expression sobered again, bracing herself against the edge of the counter, “Thank you for…pretending that any of this is at all normal. I know it’s not. But I also, you know, don’t really know what else…”

“Hey,” he reached and rested his hand on hers for a brief moment before pulling back, “You don’t need to thank me for that either,” he waited a few seconds before shifting gears in the conversation, “You think you’ll be alright here if I step out real quick to go with Angel to pick up a car?”

She raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised by the question, “Um, yea. Okay.”

“You sure? I can, I can stay—have them drop it off.”

The word them made her more nervous than she cared to admit. So she insisted, “No, really. It’s alright. I’ll be fine here.”

He watched her expression for another couple seconds before giving in, “Alright. Angel’s gonna pick me up in an hour or so. Then, hopefully, when I come back it’ll be with a brand new ride for you.”

She laughed, “Sounds fancy.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Shaking her head, she told him, “Four wheels and a working engine, EZ. That’s all I need.”

His eyes grew a little wider at the statement, “What?”

Looking a little confused, she repeated herself, “Said all I need is a car with four wheels and a working engine. You know. The basics.”

It was the same thing she’d said to him a few times over the years when she needed to get a new car. She never did get herself anything fancy, always buying something used which contributed to the shorter lifespan. But she insisted that buying new just wasn’t her thing.

“I might be able to get the guys to fix it up a little bit. Add some extra stuff for you.”

“Turn it into a street-racing car?” she laughed.

“Let’s not get carried away,” he chuckled and shook his head. Taking a breath, he continued, “But yea, once we get your car squared away, I can give my dad his truck back.”

“What’ll you have?”

He shrugged, “The bike.”

“That’s…that’s all you drive?”

He smiled, nodding, “Yea, pretty much.”

She chuckled, “What if you need to go shopping? Or do…anything, really?”

He laughed, “Well usually, I’d just, um, well, we’d use your car.”

“So that’s why I can’t have a racing car?”

He nodded, unable to not feel emotional and a little choked up at the fact that he was standing in the middle of his kitchen, able to listen to her talk and joke with her. Even if things were different now, she was still his wife, and he still loved her, and he still thought that she was one of the greatest people on the planet. And she still made him happier and laugh more than anyone else in the world.

“Yes,” he forced himself not to get too lost in his own feelings, “that’s the real reason why.”

With a shake of her head, Aanya picked up her own coffee cup and quietly made her way out of the kitchen. She walked through the living room, making her way towards the stairs. She hadn’t really looked around the house too much, still not quite feeling like she had the right to despite the fact that this was where she lived now. But as she got closer to the stairs, the framed photos hanging on the wall caught her eye when they hadn’t before.

She stopped, looking closely at them. The warmth seeping through the ceramic mug was the only thing grounding her as she studied the photos, knowing the woman in them was her but not having any recollection of them being taken. She looked so happy, though, and so did EZ. That’s the way people should be, she supposed, especially in their wedding photos. But the longer she looked at them, the more she wished that she could remember it all. EZ looked so handsome in his suit, his brother, too. Although it was hard for her to reconcile the man from the previous night who was sitting in her kitchen in a leather kutte and dingy jeans, with the man who had a suit on and his arm thrown around EZ in the photo on the wall. But it was him, and they all looked so happy.

EZ stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen to the living room and watched her as she stared at the photos. His heart ached, and he wanted to say something, tell her how happy they were that day, and all the days after that too. But the words got caught in his throat as the memories of the day all came rushing back. The way she looked in her dress, the way she swore that she wasn’t going to cry during her vows but ended up a teary mess anyway, just like him. He thought about their first dance, and the way that she let his brother twirl her around the dancefloor too. He wanted to talk to her about all of it, but he couldn’t get the words out. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath, and before he could stop her she made her way up the stairs.

When Angel got to the house, EZ made sure that he went upstairs to say goodbye to Aanya before he left. Knocking on the bedroom door, he listened, waiting for his cue to enter. When he opened the door, he stepped in to see Aanya rifling through the top shelves of the closet, clearly trying to come across anything that she recognized.

“I’m heading out. You need anything before I go?”

She shook her head, “No, I don’t think so. When I’m done making a mess in here, I can get started on dinner,” she laughed quietly.

He smiled, “I can do that when I get back.”

“It’s okay. Really. I…I need things to do.”

“Okay,” he nodded, “I’ll keep you updated on any car modifications.”

She laughed, “At least make sure it’s a car I can drift in.”

“You can drift in any car if you try hard enough,” there was a boyish grin on his face.

Aanya couldn’t help but to give him a smile in return, “Drive safe, EZ.”

“Always,” he fought the urge to follow it up with an I love you, but he stopped himself, the opportunity passing him by as she turned back around and went back to opening old boxes that had been collecting dust in their closet.

[squigglysquidd]

Tagged by @ashacadence so thanks!!

What are some difficulties you had/have when coming up with designs and lore for your character vs now that you find yourself may or may not be struggling on? Could be personality to design traits/style to progression in story. Anything.

For me, it used to be design and I guess it still kinda is. Especially when I'm dealing with non-human characters. I just get so uncertain of what I want that I go through multiple iterations. That and I guess I'm a little uncertain of where I'd like to take a secondary character in terms of development simply because I don't want to focus too much on them and stall the main character's storyline. These are something I've been working on with Pieces of Eden.

2. Favorite junk food oc of yours you like to indulge in. Why?

I think I like Kinkaid best for this. He's just so interesting to dive into. He's got a past I can't wait to share but it's a difficult one. With Eden, I can make up as a go along because of her amnesia but Kinkaid has a set backstory that I can play with a little, but he's mostly set. And he's just plain fun to write for!

3. Least favorite/most difficult?

I find Olgi von Everec my most difficult simply because I want her to be a sort of Aria T'Loak character without her being an exact copy. She needs to be a badass bitch without being a real bitch. If that makes sense. I can't make her over the top and gotta keep her likeable because she makes a bigger appearance in the third book.

4. What gets your creativity juices bubbling?

Music geared toward my work gets me excited to write so I have quite a few, very different playlists. I also like to look at the artwork I've gotten of characters and whatnot to help encourage me. Also, reading, watching, or listening to something similar in genre helps too.

5. Introduce an oc. How and when were they created?

Okay, so this might be opening a can of worms but I feel like Kal'isha has a lot of negative energy going on around her because of how I portrayed her so I think I should explain her some. For starters, I wanted a character that resembles Morinth from Mass Effect. Most readers don't know of her so Kal'isha's actions seem very negative and well, they should be. Another thing about her that raises eyebrows is her description and, honestly, I came up with her appearance based off of a model I'm absolutely in love with, Nyakim Gatwech. Look her up. She's gorgeous. But more importantly, Kal'isha is to show that Paradiso isn't all just white people but yet, isn't necessarily the paradise it tries to appear as. There's evil and darkness hidden behind the pristine and people aren't as they appear. You may find characters more dangerous here than in any alley of Utopia.

6. If said oc above was given a difficult situation how do they handle it?

Kal'isha likes to bulldoze through situations with her well-constructed charm and intelligence. She's a predator in disguise and will pounce on any opportunity to get on top, whether that means getting in bed with and bonding with the head of Utopia to digging up the dirtiest dirt on others. I haven't said it before in the books yet, but she's a journalist so she knows how to dig in deep with her words.

7. What’s the most notable feature about your oc?

Most notable is her attitude. She's holier than thou and she likes everyone to know it. It's something she has in common with her occasional lover, von Everec.

8. How would you like your oc to be perceived?

I want her to be seen as a queen of darkness despite her colorful attire, flamboyant attitude, and wealth. It's her hidden personality that makes her more dangerous than someone like von Everec. Von Everec shows her cards but Kal'isha holds them close.

9. What’s a flaw of theirs?

Her biggest flaw is her hunger. She doesn't always figure that out because it doesn't always turn out bad for her but when it backfired with Eden and Kinkaid, it seriously hit her ego. She won't take kindly to that kind of treatment.

10. What would be your oc’s favorite ice cream?

Hmm. Tough one. I think it'd be like one of those with gold flakes in it. She's extravagant like that.

Custom 10. What is your OC's favorite place to be?

Definitely the shopping boulevard. She's most in her element strutting and showing off her beauty.

Tagging @wafflesrock16 @bronzeagelove @shretl and @cousinslavellan-archive

Thought I’d try a little something but also just answer or reblog and/or store and such. Thought I’d start a oc questionnaire and world building train.

What are some difficulties you had/have when coming up with designs and lore for your character vs now that you find yourself may or may not be struggling on? Could be personality to design traits/style to progression in story. Anything.

Favorite junk food oc of yours you like to indulge in. Why?

Least favorite/most difficult?

What gets your creativity juices bubbling?

Introduce an oc. How and when were they created?

If said oc above was given a difficult situation how do they handle it?

What’s the most notable feature about your oc?

How would you like your oc to be perceived?

What’s a flaw of theirs?

And finally…just tag people. And come up with a random number ten question.

That’s the skeleton above.