#i wrote it all in one night but still

[royaltea000]

I’ve never felt so conflicted about a franchise in my life but at least this dude was hot

[evelynpr]

Might be a hot take as a bkdk and tgck truther here, but I find izuocha endlessly fascinating, beautiful, but also tearfully tragic.

I see their love for each other as something representative of their innocence and naivety when they only knew so little about who they were, and what was to come.

I think the main barrier of their relationship is that its rooted in how they see each other very idealistically, specifically that they're attached to the image of their Best Heroic Selves, and not the deeply selfish, destructive, freaky, and egotistical parts of them. To each other, they need to keep fulfilling that image or else that same person they looked up to would almost die in front of them, and that would be too cruel. Although that hero is still there, that same person they looked up to is not the same now because of...well...everything.

Izuku had barely even talked to girls when he first met her. She was Izuku's first ever real friend (Sorry Kats, everyone and him knows he was terrible), so he saved her in that entrance exam even if it was so dangerous. She gave a new meaning to his derogatory nickname just by being a friend that believed in him. After that, she saved him several more times (Blackwhip and Megaphone are the biggest samples iirc). It makes perfect sense that she is Deku's hero.

Ochako hardly knew what it meant to be a hero when she first got into UA. Just by reaching out to some kid tripping, she made a new friend who would then save her in that exam, then save him again in return. This boy then became someone who was always working so hard to save everyone in trouble, and she realized she wanted to be just like him too. "I want to save people"

But...Deku changes. The weight of One for All is on his shoulders and he needs someone to carry this burden with him. He continues to want to save other people at the expense of himself, still not letting his true selfishness and ego ever show- and it only grows more and more unbearable.

Then...Ochako fell in love with Himiko. Truly, relentlessly, selfishly and devotedly in love with a girl who then dies giving her blood to her- the greatest expression of love Himiko could ever give.

Not that they can't love each other because of this happening (and...so many other things oh god), I'm honestly not sure how to explain it- But them ending up together after losing that innocence and naivety? After Ochako will forever grieve the girl who showed her love in its most beautiful and ugly form? After Izuku changed so fundamentally as a person that the butterflies of a nice girl talking to you doesn't exist anymore? After that simple image of being a hero and being in love has completely changed for them both?

Even so, I believe they still love each other. There is no label I know of that can properly describe them though. They are each other's image of being a hero when it comes to saving people. Aside from Shoto, no one else can grasp the grief of the person you tried to save dying in your hands. They would no doubt try to cope with these losses together, and just try to get better together...but so much has changed. They've changed. The world changed. What are they now? Who are they now?

"What happened...to us?"

[koachdal]

Tissot Sprint, Aragon GP 2024

[bereft-of-frogs]

I really hate that I know exactly why episode 3 pushed me over from 'eh' to 'OH' and about half of that reason we're just going to file under 'path of deceit vibes' and pretend I liked path of deceit a normal amount, and I'm not projecting anything and that doesn't reveal anything about the extremely specific narrative or character types I'm drawn to (mortifying ordeal of being known etc etc)

but the other half of the reason is it has triggered Theory Brain and I CANNOT stop thinking about the possibilities for what really happened the night of the fire but I also don't want to post about them in case I'm totally off base (very possible)

but ARGH I have THEORIES

[xcziel]

has anybody else thought about how jk could easily manage sofia's parts of slow dance or is it just me?

[hazellvsq]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Hazel Levesque & Leo Valdez Characters: Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Gaea (Percy Jackson), Gleeson Hedge, Sammy Valdez Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 3: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus), Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Graphic Depiction of Burn Wounds, hazel and leo's cosmic connection takes a turn for the worse, Unhappy Ending, Ambiguous/Open Ending Summary:

“Does it normally take you five minutes to notice that you set someone on fire?” Percy asked.

 Hazel and Leo need to find out what connects them together, but Gaea arrives in the flashback they share, and nothing is the same.

[moonlitkilljoy]

so. the line of tape. it's existence makes me lose my marbles to no end, but probably not in the way you'd expect. it's the fact that even with this clear divide they STILL spill over into the others space. i've see a lot of people talk about it as if it's this clear divide in the lab that hermann and newt steer clear from but that just isnt the case!

if it was, you'd expect the lab to look something like this layout

but look at the actual movie

it looks like more akin to something like this

newt's samples, tables, and stands for his dissection tools spill over the line right into hermann's space. there's definitely room on his side of the lab for everything, he's just. spread out across the entire lab instead. AND it seems like this is what the lab usually looks like, hermann only makes to point out the entrails on his side and not the rest of newts things, it's a shared space— not a divided one. what i'm saying is that even though hermann makes a big deal out of his side of the lab versus newts side vis-à-vis the intestines, he definitely doesn't care that much about separating himself from newt OR his space from newts space in general. the way i see it, they argue and bicker a lot but ultimately they find comfort in the others presence, hermann just doesn't want to deal with potentially-hazardous kaiju intestines right by his things ^^;

[hungnitan]

HSR x Fate UBW coming in Q3 2025 !

(I write these in mind for anyone doesn't know Fate series at all)

For now it's unknown will it come with stories or just skin or full pack with playable UBW character

Not long ago HSR had interview with FGO team, the magazine only release their Q&A but considering both side love each other project, these collab shouldn't really suprising. If there's suprising fact is why only UBW not FGO directly ? Since there is no info about collab details, let's make some analysis for now :

FGO especially Fate series is really big world ! If you need comparasion, it's not only Honkai Impact world but all Hoyoverse become one and you need to know at least a bit of each title to make sense about Fate series !

Continuing point above, which is the reason they gave us years for this collab ! Their developer consider years should be enough for player to quick read most Fate series franchise (lol)

Fate as whole already into their 20 years old now so it's kinda impossible for anyone to learn that series from start (even I only know fifty percent of it). So to make it simple, they just pick their well known franchise but not making players too confused about their world building which is Fate Stay Night. UBW is decent choice considering what's happened with other two.

If anyone need comparasion, UBW kinda like GGZ in term of popularity and reminiscing (lol) while FGO kinda like former Genshin in term of popularity.

I kinda saw FGO pretty desperate nowdays or maybe they're already out of idea to promote Fate series onward. For anyone doesn't know, FGO was the king of mobile gacha games but after Genshin release their revenue drop sharply and with more Chinese gacha games out lately, you can say now it's their lowest situations so to be honest Fate series feels like gonna dying sooner or later which is this collab came.

I can say for sure that this collab came from HSR side since those otaku ops growth like now while watching/reading Fate series (lol) so I think there's no way HSR or even Fate team will slack off especially for storytelling since it's Fate main selling (if there's one for collab later lol)

Onto collab prediction since it's specifically UBW, means the main character is either Rin or/and Emiya. Maybe anyone still not read questionable leaks but there's info this collab need two version to finish means there's at least four and max six new character avaliable later. Considering UBW stories, I can think of Saber and Gilgamesh or maybe Kirei can join the roaster too.

Now for everyone who doesn't know Fate series and need pointer for later collab, first please watch Fate Stay Night, it have three titles with same story premise but different PoV with different ending (Fate Stay Night 24 episode -> Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works 1 movie -> Fate Stay Night Heaven's Feel 3 parts movie). Next it's Fate Stay Night prologue, Fate Zero 24 episode and you're good to breakthrough the collab only.

Sounds simple right, which is the reason they choose Unlimited Blade Works for collab. If FGO, you could swarm yourself with 9 years FGO lore materials + other works with and without "Fate" titles on it (lol)

[imeriayapping]

Hi bestie, hope you are doing fine. <3 you are one of my favorites here btw, just wanted to let you know this before continuing. <3

About the last thing you posted, I wanted to write you something because you said you hope at least one person writes to you.

I, myself, usually write out of necessity, I have to write only because of my degree, and loscar being my favorites, are always the characters I use to work with words. The concept is usually similar. I have some kind of a fixation I can't get rid of. Maybe I'm not satisfied with something? I don't know.

For some reason, whenever I write about them, one of them is not present and sometimes it's vague whats the reason behind it. In addition, another frequently used symbol in my writings is usually some kind of a garden that comes with them. A kind of symbolism for their love or their absence. An overgrown garden is usually used to symbolize the absence of one of 'em, and a beautiful lush garden reflecting the light in a beautiful way is usually a symbol of their good, or better days when they were together, in love, and happy.

You can use all the above and some kind of a supernatural or paranormal thing. Make one of the characters into a ghost or maybe let it be realistic and make one of them solely an idea that the other one has in mind. A product of their imagination or madness.

I didn't have any idea, and I thought maybe writing this to you; gives you some kind of a picture? Even if at last you don't like it and forget about it, at least, I've tried. I'm not really good with giving ideas or words, so an imagery was all I could give. Hope it helps one way or another. :>

With love, a friend. <3

Omg first of all skndkskdkslskfk thank you soooo much for this ask!!!! I'm very honoured to be one of your favourites (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)♡

Second of all i really like your idea so here something that my brain generated when i read it, hope you like it :p it won't be finished or anything but still something

It always was there, as long as he could remember there was a door that lead to a garden. It wasn't magical itself (at leat it didn't show anything to logan) but it's just always appeared behind any door if he thought about it enough. Garden was beautiful but always only for him to see, logan could never find it when he wasn't alone. The incident when he was six and tried to show it to Dalton but without any luck for twenty minutes before giving up and being teased about "imaginary garden" was enough.

One of the first times Logan gone there he broken a few branches and stomped few flowers, it wasn't out of cruelty but more of childish need to destroy sometimes. But after that only thing he was answered with was quiet gust of wind that made plants sing. It shouldn't have gotten any reaction from him probably but still, Logan was momentarily flooded with shame because of his actions, a gentle voice in his head reminding him to treat everyone around with kindness while broken wood shined under the sun as to remind him of what he did. Logan flew out of the door right after and didn't try to summon garden back for a few weeks.

Afterwards he got into a habit of helping the garden any time he visited, maybe picking up few leafs or watering flowers with hose that always was somewhere around. Besides that he just hang out there as before, sometimes running wild or just napping under trees.

Time was moving the same for outside world and here so for most part Logan only had bit's and pieces of time to spend there before his family would start to worry.

As his life progressed there always were three constants - racing, garden and oscar.

After moving to Europe it was pretty nice mix to keep him grounded, a passion of his life, a place ha can feel at home that will always be there for him, and only person that would be his friend no matter what distance is between them.

Meeting oscar probably one of the best parts of moving, part of the reason not to give up. Their friendship wasn't one to fall apart from distance of being in different series (tested in Logan's first year in f3) and by the time they got to f1 the bond is stronger than ever.

It makes Logan wish sometimes to show his garden to oscar but at that point garden became his place of solitude, his always sunny runaway spot. Even if he knew he wasn't there alone, Logan saw that sometimes pots were moved around or leafs that he put off cleaning weren't there when he came back. Maybe it's garden being actually magical, maybe someone actually come there but they never bothered him so he figured thay couldn't be too bad.

So he continued opening closest door whenever things became too much and sticking close to oscar, two simple truths of his life.

Until one day after oscar being so sweet to him and logan wanting to repay to that he broke his promise of not breaking anything in the garden. Well technically he didn't break, just carefully cut off a few flowers that he doesn't remember planting, to make a small bouquet for oscar. But it was fine wasn't it? He always could just put some new there and it's not like there was someone to mind.

Or so logan thought before he saw frown settle onto Oscar's face just few minutes after he received flowers, his initial smile melting away longer he looked at bouquet. This reaction made Logan anxiously ask if everything was alright but he was quickly reassured that nothing is wrong and oscar even going as far as to kiss him on a cheek, leaving him dizzy while oscar retreated back to McLaren.

Logan tried not to think too much of this interaction because he's pretty sure it would just drive him mad. So he hides this memory in furthest corners of his mind till he gets back to garden hoping to water some greenery and maybe even plant a flower that he was eyeing for a while.

It all came to halt when he was walking past flower bed that contained flowers that he cut off before. There was a McLaren cap hanging on one of the strongest stems that were left there as a result of his bouquet preparations. When he picked it up there was a little note with "these were mine >:(" that in pairing with cap left no room to imagine who other person in the garden was

"Fuck"

[safyresky]

Scrimbly Jacqueline 44/52: Halloween scrimbly! Jack and Jacqueline are gonna kill it at the Legend-Legate Halloween Party because yes, Jacqueline did indeed get Jack on board...

All he had to do was dare her to cut her hair for it! It went a little like this...

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

It started, (as most things did for her, weirdly enough) with a sprite sleep.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary. Especially this close to Spring’s approach. Work ramped up for Jacqueline and like, nine out of ten times Dite would be startled by a large thump out in the atrium, only to see her girlfriend COVERED in snow laying face down by the pond.

“Long day?”

“SO long and I am SO tired. I can’t even make it to the bedroom. What EVER will a cute LIGHT AS A FEATHER sprite like me do~”

Apparently, roll over, throw the back of her hand over her forehead and pout with really big cute eyes right at Dite.

“Well it’s a GOOD THING your fluffy, tall, and VERY strong girlfriend is here to rescue you.” She knelt down, picked her up bridal style and flew the pair of them right to her rarely used bed.

“Boop!”

“Hehe. Boop.”

A finger came up, booped her nose, and in seconds Jacqueline was passed out, a welcome chilly presence against Dite’s side.

They stayed cuddled like that for a while. Dite amused herself in the meantime. Stole Jacqueline's phone and scrolled through the tag she had for stuff to show Dite later. Let her brother know where she was, threatening him under pain of death should he try to wake his sister up and bring her back out into the field (he promised he wouldn’t and said he, too, was in hiding and Winter was who they had to watch out for). Checked in with Elle, since, y’know, Jacqueline’s phone was RIGHT THERE and Dite knew her url. Napped for a bit.

But when it became apparent that Jacqueline’s sprite sleep was just that, and would last more than half a day, Dite wriggled her way out and shifted to watch mode.

It was quite fun, really. Keep up with her notifications, place sweets on the bedside tables to see if they’d rouse the sprite (and they did but Dite always missed it by THAT MUCH, only knowing Jacqueline had eaten the treats based on crumb distribution), re-tuck her in every so often, cuddle when Dite decided sure, why not, she could totally sleep for a bit! You know, that sort of thing.

And while keeping vigil at her side, Dite booted up her PS4 and played her very favourite game possibly ever: Hades.

She lost count of how many runs she did. But she got a fair way along in the storyline by the time Jacqueline woke up. So much so that she didn’t even notice the sprite rouse and slowly make her way to the edge of the bed. And she must’ve been there for a hot minute because it wasn’t until Dite had dealt the final punch onto Learnie that she realized her girlfriend was awake and watching, and NOT because she had noticed calmly while button smashing. No.

It was because the moment Learnie exploded, Jacqueline made a noise that may have been a purr? And said, “Mm. That's hot.”

Right in Dite’s ear.

Needless to say, Dite was startled. So much so her flight and fight response kicked in and she shot into the air, longbow drawn, arrows ALREADY LAUNCHED before she realized what had happened.

“Oh! Oh no! Jacqueline! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Jacqueline pulled an arrow out of the bed, feathers flying about. “It’s fine! I scared you! My bad. I knew you were in the zone but didn’t realize how in the zone you really were—hhh.”

The breath escaped the sprite as Dite grabbed her in a very tight hug. Emphasis on the tight.

“Dite. Dite. I need to breath—” the top of her head was wet. Why was it wet? Was Dite—

“I’m s-s-sorry!”

“Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to cry about it!” Wiggling out of Dite’s grip (a challenge in itself), Jacqueline managed to throw her arms around the goddess’s neck and squish her nice and tight. “I’m okay! Really.”

She pulled back and held onto Dite’s face, wiping the wet off her cheeks and immediately booping noses.

“Boop!”

Dite laughed. “You’re so cute.” sniffling, she wiped the rest of the wet away, fanning her face. “Whew. Okay. Okay. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Positive! It’s just a couple arrows.” She pulled another one out of the bed. “And I’m slippy.”

Laughing, Dite pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Okay! If you insist.”

“Which I do. You’re playing Hades? That game you've been telling me about for like. GOD. Two years at this point?”

“Yep!” Chipper, Dite floated back down to the bottom of the bed, picking up the controller and popping Zagreus up to the next level. “It was a fun way to spend the time while you slept. How long have you been watching?”

“I woke up to a you died screen. Very disorienting. But then I got to watch you go through the underworld! Nyx is hot. So is Achilles. Like, everyone in that house was pretty hot.”

“If you think that, just wait! There’re a bunch of characters that weren’t in the house during that run! Wait until you see Thanatos. You’re gonna think he’s so hot”

Grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around herself like a cloak, Jacqueline picked up her phone, plopping down to sit beside Dite as she continued her run.

“It’s been a while since you played it.”

“It has! I got busy and I’d beaten the main plot. Now I’m doing the epilogue plot! And I’ve added some heat to make it harder, which is why I died so soon! One of the bosses was given a chariot and a MACHINE GUN. I think. And I was NOT ready for it.”

“Why did you pick it back up again? Had the urge?”

“All MONTH actually! They announced a sequel.”

“They did?”

“Yeah! It looks super cool! Here, let me show you the trailer.”

Pausing the game, she pried Jacqueline’s phone out of her hand, pulling up the Hades 2 sneak peek. Jacqueline watched with rapt interest, eyes going big.

“Woah. That looks dope.”

“Right? And it looks like it has a LOT more gameplay and I am SO EXCITED! I can’t wait until it goes into beta! I’m hoping I can play it during pre-release. I think you’ll really like it, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! The protagonist uses MAGIC! AND she’s trying to rescue her family! She’s Zagreus’s little sister.”

“Oh, cute! Maybe I’ll keep tabs on it then, if you think I’ll like it. And also, magical little sister. LOVE that.”

Dite giggled. “I thought you would. Wanna try playing the first one?”

“Maybe later. For now, I am perfectly content sitting right here and watching you play.” Pecking Dite’s cheek, she grabbed her phone back and opened it up, catching up on messages.

“What did you do to my recent emojis?”

“Don’t worry about it!”

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

It had also started small.

After their brief chat, Jacqueline didn’t really show any more interest in the game, though she was happy to start her own save and do a run or two or five. Which Dite had expected, of course! Jacqueline always liked up close combat and was a big fan of button smashing (you had to be when you played Super Smash Bros with her younger siblings. They were FAST—but Jacqueline was faster and Dite, even faster!) and Hades was full of button smashing.

And incredibly hot characters, according to Jacqueline. Dite took her word for it.

At any rate, Dite was not prepared for the ensuing love the sprite ended up having for the game’s sequel. Not until she got back from work to...WAY too many missed texts from Jacqueline.

DITE IT ENTERED EARLY ACCESS

I gotta pay for it? WHACK.

GUESS WHAT I JUST DID

OH GIRL IT’S DOWNLOADING

I can't find my ding dang controller

I STOLE YOUR BLUE ONE! SORRY BABE XOXO

Oh girl. GIRL. It’s so cool

Oh it’s so FUN

Okay. Just got my ass whooped.

OKAY WOW YEAH super different mechanics but like, really fun. She has this cool thing that I think replaces Zag’s cast basically? But it’s like a big sigil looking thing and it KEEPS THE LIL GUYS FROM MOVING ABOUT! I love it

NEW GODS

THEY’RE HOT

SOME OF THEM LITERALLY

I don't wanna give you too many spoilers but lmk if you’re free tonight? I’ll bring my laptop! And return your controller. Maybe. Idk it’s my favourite shade of blue, so...😈😈😈

There was a brief gap, according to the timestamps. Enough for a couple of runs, Dite guessed. The messages continued after, borderline unintelligible (Dite thanking the gods for small miracles like autocorrect as she read on).

Oh

Oh NO

DITE

DITE SHE NEVER GOT TO MEET HE R BROTHER

SJVHUHVUI

VUUEAKCJWNE

ASDFGHJKL

I’M SO SAD AND HEARTBROKEN OMG

SHE DIDNT GET TO MEET HER BROTHER? NOW SHE HAS TO GO SAVE HIM? SHE’S NEVER GOTTEN TO MEET ZAG?? I THOUGHT THEY HAD LIKE SOME TIME TOGETHER BEFORE CHRONOS BUT APPARENTLY NOT???

OH SHE’S SO CUTE WHEN SHE’S LITTLE I’M 🥺😭🤯

Another bout of silence before the final string of texts.

...girl I'm hooked.

I'm OBSESSED

I need the full game SO BAD

MELINOË 😭🥺😭🤩🤩🌨😭🧜🏻‍♂️

That seemed to be the end of it. Dite giggled to herself, quickly typing a few replies.

Well the good news is now, you own the full game! Yay💕💕💕! We should share Steam libraries if we haven’t already! 😘😘

So sorry for the late replies, blue eyes! 💙💙 It's high season for me! But I'm home now and yes, absolutely free.

What do you want for dinner? I can grab something or make something and we can hole up here for the night! Just you, me, and the sequel to critically acclaimed god-like, rogue-like dungeon crawler game Hades 2! 💙💖⚔

Also the controller is your favourite shade of blue because I got it for you, silly! 😘💕

The replies were instantaneous.

Is for me? YAY! 😁😁😁

I’ll be right over!

Can we do Za from that place by the tower of Pisa? 🥺🥺🥺

🍕🍕🍕🍕

Dite laughed.

Sure! I’ll grab it and meet you back here?

😎🆒

And that was Jacqueline for yes.

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

It was obvious once she’d returned with the pizza that Jacqueline was absolutely ENAMOURED with the game. The love radiated off of her in waves as she talked about it!

And talk about it she did. The pair of them spent the entire evening and well into the morning taking turns doing runs, guessing story beats, and trying to see who could make it farther out in the runs each in-game night.

By the time the sun rose down below them, Jacqueline had unlocked the path up to Olympus, and BOTH girls had squealed in excitement (enough to upset several cherubs as they flew away angrily. One even hissed).

They’d called it there, then. Angry cherubs made for a bad time.

But that certainly didn’t stop Jacqueline.

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

Whether with Dite or on her own, Jacqueline could not get enough of the game. It was like Dite said; she was enamoured with it. She loved it on its own, and she loved how much fun she had when playing it alongside Dite.

And maybe, just maybe, she felt a bit for Melinoë.

Whatever the case, it fast became one of her favourite games and was very much on the mind when talk of the Legend-Legate Halloween party came up once more.

For the last almost fifteen years running, Santa had been joining the festivities given that he now had a Legate of his own.

And for the last near fifteen years running, Santa and Charlie had won the costume contest every. Single. Time.

So when July came around and Halloween hit the shelves, talk of the costume party came up once more amongst Jacqueline and her Legend, the Big Bother himself.

It’d become a regular lament around this time of year.

See, she and Jack had won the contest since their first year both attending post reunion. They had held onto the trophy for a couple of sweet, sweet years when Charlie got his Legate status and he and Santa swooped in and managed to steal the trophy every goddess damned year.

“And I am tired of it, Jacqueline! I mean, the only reason they’re winning is because they have  SEVERAL departments FILLED with costume experts, I mean, come on. It simply isn’t fair!”

And sure, maybe Jack had a point. But like, they were using the resources they had at their disposal so like. You know. Why not.

Jacqueline had said as much, only for Jack to grumble and glower and tell her to stop defending the enemy.

“In fact, you should stop fraternizing with the enemy, too! No Charlie hangouts until after Halloween.”

Jacqueline had bit her tongue. Swallowing her laughter, she cleared her throat.

“Okay, but like, if I do that…how will we know our enemy? We can’t defeat them if we don’t know them, you know?”

“No, I don’t know! Good point! Okay, fine. Keep fraternizing. We’ll see who fraternizes last.”

Jacqueline snorted. “What the frost does that mean?!”

“I’m having a moment, Jacqueline! You think I know what the things I say mean when I’m having a moment?!?! Honestly. Where’s the support!”

He’d gone on for another good twenty minutes, much to Jacqueline’s amusement. Finally, though, he had eased off, and chit chat returned to the regular gossiping and bitching as they made sure to keep the snowcapped mountains…well. Capped with snow.

Of course, before finishing for the night Jack had once again reminded her to start thinking of a costume that would beat the Calvin-Claus duo once and for all.

It was distracting her something fierce that evening. She’d already lost two death defies to Chronos! TWO! And that hadn’t happened in like, the last ten Underworld runs. Goddess above, the costume thing shouldn’t be bothering her that much.

Finally getting the last hit in on Chronos, Jacqueline sighed. She piloted Melinoë around the decrepit House of Hades, really wishing the game was fully out. She was dying to see how gameplay would work re: saving the rest of Melinoë’s family. She also really, really wanted to reunite her with Zag! She couldn’t WAIT to see the plotlines and the arcs and the—

Oh. Now there’s a thought.

Sending Melinoë back to the Crossroads, Jacqueline sat up straight.

She knew exactly what costumes would give them the trophy this year.

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

“DITE!”

“JACQUELINE!”

“I JUST HAD A BRILLIANT IDEA.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah! I can trust you, right?”

Dite laughed. “We are literally dating, Jacqueline. Of course you can trust me! Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“Because this isn’t your run of the mill Jacquie brand idea. This is serious stuff, Dite. This is...Halloween related.”

“Oh! You’ve thought of a costume for you and Jack? For the Legend-Legate party?”

“YES! And I think it’ll have a really good chance at winning the whole thing.”

Dite’s wings fluttered. “That’s wonderful! What’s the catch?”

“For this to work, there are two big things I have to do. The first one: use what I have at my disposal which is a literal goddess of a girlfriend.”

Dite flicked her ponytail. “Hedone is at your service!”

“I like that you added the sparkles.”

“You don’t think that was too much?”

“No! Not at all! I loved it!”

Dite grinned, hovering. “Yay! So what do you need from me?”

“Access to godly forages and godly resources.”

“Done! We’ll check in with Mom’s side of the family, they’ll probably let us do more nonsense than Dad’s side. So what’s number two?”

“I need to convince Jack to do it.”

“Why is that?”

“I think we should go as Mel and Zag.”

Dite brightened. “Oh! Oh, I love that idea! That’s so cute! We can make the weapons HERE and we’ve got TONS of reference material to get the fits JUST RIGHT and I can find some laurels for you both that’ll REALLY make the look proper godly, ou, it’s going to be SO FUN. I bet Jack’ll go for it!”

“I know if worse comes to worse I can guilt him about it but that’s not really how I want to go about doing it, you know? At least, not seriously.”

“Well, how about a PowerPoint?”

Jacqueline blinked. “Oh, shit! That is a great idea! I fucking love PowerPoints!”

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

And that’s how, months later, Jack found himself at Jacqueline’s recently-restored-forgotten-about-house, seated on the huge sofa and watching as Jacqueline set up a PowerPoint presentation on the TV, Dite grinning like a maniac beside him.

“And…there we go! Open up!”

The PowerPoint loaded.

“Why Jack and Jacqueline Should Attend the Legend-Legate Party as Zagreus and Melinoë from critically acclaimed, god-like, rogue-like game Hades and its sequel, Hades 2. That’s a bit of a mouthful, don’t you think?”

“But it gets the point across, right?”

“Jacqueline, I don’t even know who these characters are.”

“Well good news for you: The first half of this PowerPoint will make sure you know just that. We’ll start with the first game, because that’s where your character comes from: Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld!”

By some miracle, Jack actually sat through the entire slideshow, paying rapt attention and interrupting a minimal amount and learning quite a bit. Dite was more than happy to compare the game to both sides of her family in real life, much to Jack’s amusement. By the time Jacqueline made her way through the Hades 2 portion, Jack had a pretty good working knowledge of the characters and the game. Games, that is.

“So! In conclusion! Here’s why we should go as these two. One: they’re siblings, so are we! Two: they’re MAGICAL siblings. So are we! Three. They are INSANELY hot. Four: LOOK at how BADASS their fits are! Five: the big ass weapons are DOPE and WILL get us bunny votes. Six: I’ve gone ahead and pulled a Santa and Charlie and used the resources I have at my disposal.”

“Which are?”

“Ta-da!” Jacqueline grinned, presenting Dite. “Celestial girlfriend!”

“That’s me! AND I’ve gone ahead and gotten everything we need to get this going!”

“You know, Dite, technically you’re the enemy here too.”

“Hey! Jack! Be nice!”

“No, it’s okay babe! He’s right. But here's the thing. I love Jacqueline very very much and,” she leaned closer to Jack, her cheery disposition falling, determination taking its place, “I want to see Santa and Charlie go down just as bad as you two do.”

Jack looked surprised. Pleasantly so. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Alright then.”

“So? What do you say?! Please? Please Jack? Pretty please?”

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, rubbing his chin and hemming and hawing.

“Need I remind you about the time you accidentally stabbed me and then left for fourteen hundred years?”

“You do not, thanks.”

“Okay, good. Just checking. So? What’s the answer?”

“Tell you what, little flurry. I’ll do this costume with you. But! If and only if you cut your hair as short as Melinoë’s for the thing. You know, authenticity’s sake and such.”

Jacqueline patted her hair which was, presently, very, very, very long. “My hair?”

Jack nodded. “Yep! Off it goes. Right up past your shoulders.”

“...done.”

Jack sat up in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah! I’ll cut my hair for this. But you HAVE to go as Zagreus. No take-back-sies, especially after my hair cut.”

Jack smirked. “Done.”

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

About a week before Halloween, Jack popped by to visit the fam only to find Jacqueline with very, very, very short hair.

“Wow,” he said, pulling out his seat and helping himself to the coffee time spread. “You really went and did it.”

“Yep! I told you I would! And also, you dared me to."

"Ah yes! Right. I did, didn't I?"

"Yep. And Jacqueline Frost does NOT go back on a dare."

"Evidently."

Dite brought the costumes by earlier, by the way. They’re done and just about ready to go! We’ll need to try them on and make sure they fit well and all that jazz but then we’re good to go!”

“Weapons, too?”

Jacqueline grinned. “Yep! Actual, FUNCTIONING weapons! I was playing with Lim and Oros earlier, holy heck. If that’d been my loadout during the piracy? I’d have conquered the piratical world, Jack.”

“Well it’s a good thing it wasn’t! There’s be no living with you then, King of the Pirates.”

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

Halloween week rolled around and with it, the Legend-Legate Costume party.

Jacqueline stood in her room, all dressed up, admiring the freeze job on her left arm. The ice was thick enough to give her arm an almost ghostly look about it underneath; close enough to Melinoë’s ghostly prosthetic of sorts to work for her.

Grabbing Lim and Oros and taking a few practise swipes, she tumbled out of her room,

“JACK! You ready? We gotta GO!”

“Chill out, would you?”

Across the hall, Jack’s door opened. Out he walked, in his Zagreus costume—huge sword and all.

“AH! You actually DID IT!”

“Of course! You actually cut your hair, and I am a man of my word.”

“Woo! Yes Jack!” In her excitement, the sprite was hovering a bit, the north winds filling the halls. “We’re gonna kill it today! That trophy is as good as ours.” Landing, she swiped through the air with Oros.

“Yes, just one little detail we need to fix.”

“What?” Jacqueline landed. “What detail?”

“Eyes. Quite literally. I have a little spell that may work, but it won’t do eye colours we don’t have in our genes.”

“So instead of one red, one green, it’ll be one blue, one gold-ish?”

“Bingo. I thought we may be able to do the red what with our favourite uncle and all,” (Jacqueline snorted), “But wen I asked Dad, he told me that the only reason his eyes were that dark was because of all the negative magic and whatnot that he used. Something like that.”

“Really? I always thought they were identical except for the eyes and hair.”

“Nope! Same eye colour too!”

“Damn. I do NOT envy Gran.”

“Nor do I. Anyway, hold still, would you?”

“You remember which side is which, right?”

“How could I not? With how informative your presentation was and how you haven’t stopped talking about the game?” He sniffed. “Please.”

There was a pull of magic in the air. Jacqueline looked down at the ice on her arm—yep! Two-toned eyes.

“Ou, that’s banging.”

“Banging?”

“You know darn well what I meant to say. Let’s bounce so I can go swear.”

“And so we can win that trophy! The look on Santa’s face when we take it from him will make my Christmas. I won't even ask for anything else! Except for maybe a framed picture of the exact moment we're announced as the winners.”

“And if we don’t get it, we have WEAPONS. We can take it,” Jacqueline smirked rather devilishly, stabbing the air with the dagger. She spun on her bare foot and ran down the stairs, weapons trailing magically behind her.

🎃👻🍷🥳✨

It was Cupid and Dite who were hosting this year.

Their villa was done up, lights flashing, the smell of good food wafting down their way. Decorations were put up, and it looked like some of the other gods were hanging around as well.

They made their way into the atrium, the party in full swing as they looked for this year’s hosts.

“Jacqueline!”

“Dite!”

“Ou it looks so GOOD ON YOU!!”

“And look at YOU!?!?!? Are you NEMISIS?!”

Dite giggled, flaunting the armour and standing very tall. “Sure am, Princess.”

“Oh, I love it! Why Nem, though? She’s so rough and tough with Meli and you for SURE can’t do that with me, your cute and lovable girlfriend!” Tilting her head and smiling sweetly, she folded her hands under her chin, Lim and Oros in her grasp.

“Dad was inspired by you two and had this great idea—”

“I sure was! I'll take it from here, kiddo." Cupid finally appeared, floating towards them. "Hey! Jack! Ya made it! And Jacqueline, look at you two! Lookin’ good.”

“You have got to be joking me. Really Cupid? Really? THESEUS?”

Cupid laughed, doing a loop-de-loop on the way over. “Yeah! Did it with you in mind! I’ve played my fair share of Hades, so when Hedone told me you and Jacqueline were doing Zag and Mel, I thought, hey! You know who annoys the shit out of Zag? THESEUS! And so, ta-da!”

He floated back, arms outstretched, lights catching onto the costume.

“I can’t even be mad anymore, Cupes. I’m simply impressed.”

“Ha! That’s the spirit, Jack. Anyway, c’mon in! Mind the crowd. Some of the more laid back family members are here—and some of our Greek cousins, too. Dionysus and Bacchus are in the house. It’s gonna be a PARTY TONIGHT! HAHA!”

“I saved you some treats! C’mon!”

Dite pulled Jacqueline away, the sprite grinning up at her as they disappeared in the direction of the food. Jack smiled, watching them go, content.

“I gotta say, Jack. I’m surprised you agreed to this.”

Jack quirked an eyebrow as Cupid floated closer to him, at eye level with his fellow Legendary Figure.

“Oh?”

“Yeah! I never thought you’d go for something like this,” he gestured to Jack’s Zag outfit, “for a costume.”

“Jacqueline was very excited about. She insists it’ll knock Santa and Charlie right off their pedestal.”

“Oh, I think it will. You’ll never guess who they’re here as.”

“Mario and Luigi?”

“Nope.”

“Scooby and Shaggy?”

“Ha! That’d be funny to see. Nope! Wanna guess again?”

“Not particularly.”

“Buzz Lightyear and Woody. From Toy Story.”

Jack laughed. Out loud. “Really? THAT’S the costume they went with?!”

“Oh yeah! So ah, between you and me, Jack…” the god floated closer. “I think you and your sister got this.”

“You and Dite have a good shot too.”

“Ha! Are you kidding? We don’t enter that shit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hedone gets a little too competitive so I ah, try to avoid competitions as much as possible. Seriously, it’s terrifying. You should see her playing board games. Risk? Monopoly? Yikes. She brings even the greatest strategists to tears. Minerva hasn’t been the same since the last board game night. It’s bad, Jack.”

“It’s funny you mention that. When Jacqueline gave me her presentation on the world of Hades—or at least, this iteration of it—” he gestured to himself. “She got very…intense when I asked why she was helping.”

“Yeah. You’d think love was enough, right? Nah. That coupled with beating someone at a competition? Yeesh. You’re lucky you made it out alive, let me tell ya.”

Jack snorted. “The night is still young and this sword is very, very real. Or so I’ve been told. It’s lighter than I expected.”

“I think Heph did that on purpose.”

“I’m not sure whether to be thankful or offended.”

“Eh, when it comes to these guys, it's usually a bit of column A, column B. Regardless, I think you guys have a good chance at winning tonight! Helps that I’m hosting too. We gods are a vain bunch. And I don’t think I could stop them from voting even if I tried.”

“Ou. Then I can tell Scott that I got the godly vote.”

“Ha! You’re gonna be insufferable all year! More so than usual.”

“Only if you’re Scott.”

“Is that why you agreed to the costume?”

“Cupid, please. You know damn well why I agreed to it.”

Cupid smiled. “I do, yeah. I just wanna hear you say it.”

Jack tried very hard to look annoyed but it did not work. He bit back his smile.

“Well, you know how it is. You do very silly things for the people you love.”

“Ha! There it is! You betchya!”

“And you know…there’s no big, huge, grand gesture I can do to make up for everything I did to her,” Jack continued, finding himself watching their Legates in the distance.

Jacqueline already had chocolate on her face, Dite fawning beside her as they helped themselves to some drinks, talking animatedly with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan—ah. Roy’s kids, Jack realized. Olivia and Myles. The pair of Legates were admiring Jacqueline's weapons while she shoved an entire cupcake into her mouth, Dite showing them how to wield the set.

Jack smiled softly. “And while there may not be some grand gesture I can make, there’s all sorts of little things I can do to make up for it all. And this is one of them.”

Cupid chuckled, clapping Jack’s back. “Attaboy! C’mon, let’s get you a drink.”

[lost-in-fandoms]

Logan and Max have another talk, or 'does kissing count as free therapy?' Part 2 of whatever this was. I couldn't fall asleep last night because of how hard I kept thinking about these two. I blame @girlsdads for giving me the brainrot in the first place.

cw: the tiniest bit of implied sexual content

It's another bad race. Fucking 16th, only ahead of the two Saubers, and of the Haas and Alpine that had crashed each other out. There was no reason why his pit stop had to be 4.3 seconds, when Alex's had been 2.7, no reason why he had been fucked over by not one but two undercuts because of shitty strategy, no reason why Alex's side of the garage had to be celebrating 8th place while his was sullen and quiet.

Logan fears he's going to throw up when he steps in and James claps him on the shoulder, saying sorry, next time, as if Logan doesn't know his contract is on the line. Fucking. Next time?!

Logan feels like he's trying to swim with his hands tied behind his back, desperately trying to make it to shore. Nobody cares he's drowning.

He can barely look up during the debrief, feels like he's choking the whole time on the words nobody is saying. As soon as he's free, he escapes, fumbling for his phone as usual. Only this time, he doesn't call his mom.

Are you free?

Max has his motorhome this weekend, and Logan doesn't wait for an answer before heading over. If he doesn't answer, he'll just take a walk.

Yes come over

He's knocking on Max's door before he can rethink it, before all these feelings catch up on him and he decides he's going to break down alone instead. When Max opens his door, Logan immediately regrets it. He's wearing a black t-shirt, hair styled, looking ready to go out. Of course he's heading out, he has a win to celebrate. Unlike Logan. Who should have just gone home.

He opens his mouth, ready to apologize and turn around, when Max's hand closes on his shoulder, his mouth downturned with what would be worry, if it wasn't absurd for Max Verstappen to be worried about him.

"Come in," Max says, doesn't leave space for arguments when he pulls Logan inside, closing the door behind him.

For a long moment they just look at each other, as Logan's waves lap at his neck. He doesn't know why he's here anymore.

"Are you okay?" Max's hand is still on his shoulder. Logan feels like he'll keel over if he takes it back.

"I might be out of a seat."

It's not an answer to Max's question, it's not even what Logan meant to say, it's not something he should be telling to the competition, but really. Logan is barely Max's competition at all, and who wouldn't know that after this season's disaster? Nobody is counting on him to race next year.

He waits for Max to say something, even if it's just empty platitudes, but the other just squeezes his shoulder and nods, and suddenly it's much harder to hold back his tears.

"I just..." he breathes in, willing his voice to not crack, "I don't know what I am doing wrong."

It comes out more desperate than he meant it to, but he's just so tired and upset, and nobody is seeing him drown. Why is nobody paying attention?

"You have a shit car, get bad strategy calls, and have a teammate with years more of experience. You are not the one doing it wrong."

Max says it so matter of fact, as if he's the one driving the shit car, the one with the better teammate, the one having to fight through the back of the field with no success, and suddenly Logan is angry. He shrugs Max's hand away, fists clenching. What does Max know about being the second driver in a bad team? How dares he say he knows Logan's hunger?

"Fuck off," he spits, wrapping his arms around himself to hide the way his hands are trembling. He shouldn't have come.

"You have potential, you are not doing it wrong," Max says again, stubborn and bull-headed as always, jaw set and eyes clear. Logan's anger spikes again. Max Verstappen, the prodigy child, talking to him about wasted potential? This must be a joke. He scoffs, ready to turn around and leave, but Max grabs him again, gets a hold on his elbow and keeps him where he is.

"Why are you angry?" he asks. And yeah, this must be a joke, for sure. Why is Logan angry? Why is he angry?!

"You don't get to..." he starts, but Max interrupts him, squeezing his elbow.

"No. Why are you angry?"

"The team..."

Max takes a step closer, narrowing his eyes.

"Not the team, I do not care about the team. Why are you angry?"

As if there was a right answer to the question that Logan isn't getting! It's his own anger! And Max doesn't care about the team? Of course he doesn't, it's not his team fucking up! Why can't Logan be angry about the team?!

"Alex gets..."

"No. Why are you angry?" Max interrupts again, steadfast in a way that grates on Logan's nerves.

They're too close now, and for a second Logan entertains the idea of punching three times world Champion Max Verstappen. Anger burns in his chest, and suddenly, without knowing who closed the gap, they're kissing. It's not a nice kiss, all teeth and spit, and it almost feels the same as the punch he hasn't thrown, until Max moves his hand from his elbow to his waist, the other one coming up to cup the back of his neck, turning his head slightly. Gentling him.

His anger is back in his lungs, but it's no longer anger, it's back to salt water, and Logan is drowning again. He breaks the kiss, gasping, but Max doesn't let him go.

Logan doesn't remember the last time someone held him like this, like being here matters.

"Why are you angry?" Max asks again, breath soft against Logan's bitten lips. He smells vaguely like minty toothpaste.

"Because..." he hesitates, but at this point he might as feel say fuck it, and give it all. All his fleshy insides in Max's hands, bleeding on the floor between them. "Because I could do better, but I can't do it like this."

This time Max nods. "You could do better."

And Logan knows his parents and friends have said it before, have kept saying it for years. Knows his time in Formula 2 speaks for itself. But it's different, to have Max say it like that, so surely. It's a different kind of validation, and a different kind of heartbreak, because they both know his time to prove it is running out. It's hard to breathe again.

"It is good to be angry. It makes you want to take it," Max says, maybe mistaking the way his breathing has gone funny. But Logan doesn't feel angry anymore. He's tired, and scared, and lonely. He drops his head on Max's shoulder, who moves to card his fingers in his hair, bearing his weight with ease. Logan wishes anything would come easy to him instead.

"I don't know how to be angry," Logan confesses. He doesn't want to say it, doesn't want to disappoint Max, but he disappoints better than he lies anyway. What's one more person.

"That is of course still okay," Max says, instead of some sort of rebuke Logan is expecting. For a second, he thinks about the stories of Max's childhood, of angry men and steel hands. Max's fingers are gentle in his hair.

"What do you want right now?"

It's too big of a question. Logan wants his seat to be safe, he wants to end in the points, he wants a good car, he wants to not feel so distant from everyone else, he wants to go home. He wants someone to tell him it will be alright and mean it.

He shakes his head, forehead dragging against Max's t-shirt. Disappointing again.

Max holds his hair a little tighter, uses the grip to pull Logan up, to make him open his eyes.

"What do you need?"

And it's the same, but it is different, and Logan needs...he needs...

"You can take it. What you need." Max sounds so sure of it, Logan can almost believe it. Maybe Logan doesn't know how to take, doesn't know how to fix it, but here, now, he at least knows what he needs.

"I need to be better," he says, words bleeding out from his split-open chest. "I need to be good."

They both know what Logan means, because the thing with Max is, that it's always about racing, even when it isn't, and it is also always both at the same time.

Max nods, letting go of his hair, and Logan pushes him around, back against the door. Gentle, because he needs to be, but firm, because he wants this.

He eases himself to his knees, and feels Max's hand cup his cheek. His raspy voice isn't disappointed, or pitying, or even sad when he speaks, only fond. A little proud.

"Good boy."

[faithfromanewperspective]

the further I get in life away from it the more I think my somewhat cultish high school needs to be studied for the way it selects for neurodivergence

[flockrest]

unprompted / always accepting / @gloryseized ( Link )

     So it's a pretty slow-going night for collecting star fragments, as it turns out.

     Which is totally fine! Really! They can't all be winners — and it gives Tulin all the more time to get Link caught up on everything that's happened to the flock while he was away!

     But. Well.

     Even in knowing this, the disappointment that ruffles his feathers is a hard thing to ignore. It's been too long since they'd last hung out like this, both ( mostly Link ) too busy with their own dedications and responsibilities ( mostly Link ) to find the chance to have fun just for the sake of having fun, and now the fun's not even gonna have the decency to start when they're all prepped for it to?

     Go figure.

     He chatters on some more 'bout the ( thankfully harmless but very hilarious all the same ) explosion Molli accidentally ignited on Master Revali's Landing the other day, continuing to try pacing his restlessness out along the deck of the Stormwind Ark near where Link's seated himself, before eventually flumping down beside him with a sigh he can't quite keep locked behind his beak. He lolls back 'til his head's on the hero's shoulder, semiplumes squished up 'gainst Link's ear and cheek.

     "Sorry it's so boring up here," he says, feeling ridiculous for it a second later 'cause it's not like Tulin has any sorta control over when and where stars fall. It still feels like it's kinda his fault for how things are going, though — they were s'pposed to be in Necluda's skies tonight ( they were s'pposed to be there two moon phasings ago, actually, but who's counting ) as per their routine, but his brother had arrived at their peaks real tired and Tulin hadn't wanted to push him into being, like, dead-tired. Even if Link insisted otherwise.

     The shoulder beneath his head rises and dips in what he's fairly sure is probably a snicker. Tulin turns then, playfully offended squawk already building up in his chest, 'cept Link isn't actually laughing at him.

<< I'm glad you're here. >>

     Oh.

     Feathers puffing with a delighted, tickling warmth, Tulin feels the joy that always sweeps over him when Link's being real nice like this all the way down to the tips of his talons. To all the tiniest spaces between his bones! They're flock and nest, 'course, so this isn't the first time he's been told something along these lines, but the love that radiates from that quiet smile and those assured signs just seems— heavier. Fuller. Link's-talking-'bout-more-than-right-here-and-now-er. It's seriously hard to resist bowling him over with a hug in the face of it.

     Tulin's getting better at not immediately ruining a peaceful moment when he sees one though, and that tends to require a more delicate touch. ( Or, uh, as delicate a touch as he can manage. )

     "That makes two of us!" he laughs, beaming with barely contained giddiness and nudging at Link with a wing. Then, y'know what, he gives the night sky around them one last look, scoots closer, and plops the back of his head right down onto his brother's lap. If the stars remained still for whatever time they have left before they gotta go, Tulin decides he wouldn't mind it if it meant being together like this just a while longer. "I'm glad you're here, too!"

[daddyplasmius]

hand on my stupid heart flashbacks

this is a No One Knows AU & Full Hazmat AU where Danny ended up in the Ghost Zone & didn't go back into the human world initially because he thought he was dead. by the time he realized he is, in fact, at least half alive, he'd already been missing for at least 2 weeks. will probs never finish homsh sorry. i wrote this a couple years ago in a haze & just haven't been able to finish it because i can't replicate the style, which i find is what i love about this fic the most. it wouldn't be the same without it. posting the flashback introsーwhich are meant to be read between chapters/the actual plot, starting after chapter 1ーcuz fuck it. excuse typos & shit, i never properly edited it, as i forgot it existed immediately after i wrote it original description of homsh: Danny Fenton has officially been missing for over a year. Maddie & Jack Fenton refuse to give up on their son. Sick and tired of the police running them in circles, and the case getting colder by the day, the Fentons turn to their last resortーPhantom. 800~ words (full unfinished fic is 20k~)

-

When Danny woke up surrounded by thick, green fog, and couldn’t breathe without swallowing heavy air that was more like water than anything, he was sure he was dead. The portal glowed behind him, illuminating the pitch darkness around him in soft, yellow, warm light.

He almost went back.

Almost.

He was dead. His parents were ghost hunters. They had drilled into his head from the moment he was born that he could never, ever panic in death. That he would accept it. That he would not be scared. So he would be prepared to be brave in the face of death and would not become a ghost.

He panicked. He did not accept it. He was terrified. And so he woke up in the Ghost Zone.

-

Danny went back through the portal when he saw some ectopuses acting… strange. Like they had an idea in their heads. Like they had a plan.

Which was weird, with animal ghosts. He had only been in the Ghost Zoneーmom and dad called it that, he rememberedーfor a couple weeks. Or, he had already been there for two weeks. Or maybe time worked differently and he was there five minutes, or four years orー

The ectopuses went through the portal and, despite everything, Danny went after them.

While he was busy reeling at being home, the ectopuses immediately attacked dad. Danny was horrified. Jack was overwhelmed. Danny stepped in, in a moment fueled by sheer adrenaline and stupidity, snatching a Fenton Thermos™ off a shelf and releasing his shaky invisibility. The ectopuses didn’t stand a chance. And when they were safely in the Thermos, he slowly turned around to dad, ready for the confrontation. Ready for the “what happened to you?” and the “where have you been?” and the “we’ve missed you”.

Dad scrambled to shoot at him.

Danny fled.

His parents didn’t recognize him.

-

The Lunch Lady attacked when Danny was mourning Halloween.

He’d waited all year. He made a costume that summer. He wouldn’t get to go trick or treating with Sam and Tucker this year. Or any year. For the rest of his lifeーor existence. Whatever.

The Lunch Lady appeared in the school and demanded in straight fury, “Who changed the menu?”

Everyone pointed at Sam.

Danny hadn’t known just how powerful ghosts could be. His parents never told him the specifics. Just that they were dangerous.

This ghost grew and her aura hit him like a hurricane, almost physically pushing him back. It was so strong that the students in the Casper High cafeteria seemed to feel it too.

The Lunch Lady was a much harder opponent than the ectopuses. She levitated meat. She used it as a weapon, and seemed to bring it back to life. She created weird meat creatures that grew sharp teeth and claws out of bones. They were mindless, attacking everything that got too close to the ghost. Danny would have run away without hesitation, if Sam hadn’t been in the crossfire.

Danny fought the Lunch Lady. It was a long struggle, but he caught her in the thermos after over an hour. When he turned to Sam and Tuckerーboth of whom he had to save due to Tucker trying to jump into the fightーall three of them bloody and bruised, he cringed. But a part of him hoped. Desperately.

Surely they would know him on sight.

“Wh-what are you?” Sam gasped at him finally.

Danny flinched as if she had struck him. “J-just… your friendly neighbourhood phantom.”

-

Danny didn’t know what possessed him. Oh. Pun not intended.

He just barely caught the Fentons leaving in the GAV, dragging suitcases behind them. He couldn’t help himself. What on Earth were they doing?

They were going to Vlad Master’s mansion for their college reunion.

It was a whole thing. But something was off. Besides all the adults reminiscing about the 80’s.

Danny sensed ghosts immediately but he couldn’t see anything. Unfortunately for him, Vlad could also sense him. It was two days of Danny staying invisible, and Vladーthe halfa? Is that what Danny is?ーtrying to kill Jack. Somehow, Danny managed to fight off Vlad, not turn back, and without the Fentons getting hurt. His secret intact.

VladーPlasmius, also learned about Phantom. And Vlad hated him. The manーghostーwhatever, seemed to only care about one thingーpossession. Of money. Of things. Of people. He was more ghost than Danny had ever seen. Vlad’s obsession was overwhelming.

Danny couldn’t believe someone so much like himself could be so disturbing.

[meownotgood]

Can I ask what your ✨Aki journey✨ was like? I’m a Aki girlie but you clearly love Aki more than any blog I’ve ever seen (purrr) When did you start becoming interested in him? Was it an aHA moment or did it develop over time? I’m really curious!!! What inspired you to start this blog? I live, laugh, love backstories 🫶🏾❤️‍🔥

YES I would be so happy to answer this!!!!!!!

so before I read chainsaw man, I knew next to nothing about it, I wasn't really a manga reader in general to be honest but I started getting into it because I wanted to get caught up with jujutsu kaisen after finishing the anime. when I did, I really enjoyed jjk, I wanted to read more manga and a friend suggested I read chainsaw man because it's similar. I was like okay... a lot of people are into it... it looks cool... why not.

and when I started reading and I got to that third chapter and I saw aki... I literally said to myself: yeah, he is going to be my favorite. because he's exactly my type — the suit, the hair tied up so it's long and pretty when he takes it down, the SMOKING??? THE PIERCINGS????? I thought his hair was silly but adorable, his personality was stern but quirky and likable, his kon power was so cool. he was just so cute and hot and definitely my type of character.

but really, even though aki was always my favorite character from the start, my obsession truly began when I finished the manga. aki's arc is just so good... I fell in love with him the whole way through but especially after the manga was over... I loved watching him grow as a character, he just feels so real and relatable personality wise and story wise. he's immensely flawed but kindhearted to his core. he's so human. I love how he's emotional and soft and the conclusion to his arc is genuinely my favorite thing in any piece of media ever, it's so bittersweet and compelling. (and I'm a mess for that bittersweet shit okay)

anyway after I read chainsaw man for the first time I was feeling a mix of emotions between "wow that was the greatest thing ever" and "what the fuck did I just read" but more than anything I yearned for more aki, and so I read it a second time almost immediately after, and then the aki brain infection just grew worse and worse.... was screenshotting every panel of him... I read it a third time... a fourth time in the colored version to collect more panels......... I started my blog over a year ago to post fanfic and rant about aki and the rest is history

[littleplantfreak]

OH ALSO!!! what does it look like when umemiya is drunk? is he a lightweight? is he that one bf who gets clingy and needs you by his side constantly? can he usually walk home with you or do you need to support him or does he need to be carried by the other guys? so many questions that the world needs to know

I will tell the world of all I know... Oh! I'll put it under a read more just cause yea

CW: alcohol

He doesn't drink often, but when he does, he can really throw them back (beers at least). It's partially science really, since he's a big guy and a big eater. When he goes shot for shot with you though, he'll get tipsy faster depending on what you're having.

You think he's shameless with affection normally? Oh boy are you in for it. He's grabbing your face and saying the grossest, sweetest, romantic things to you in front of anyone in the room because at that point, the only thing he's really seeing is you anyways. Everything else is background noise.

The next step of drunk after that though, if he keeps drinking, is when he starts getting teary and crying about how much he loves you, and anyone around you. He's trying to text and call Kotoha, Sakura, Hiragi, whoever he remembers he can call to tell him how much he loves them. Once he gets to that point you're gonna need a car because he'll be accidentally leaning his whole weight on you leaving the bar. If it's before he gets teary, he can walk as long as you're keeping him a bit steady.

If you're walking home and he hasn't hit the crying stage of drunkenness, he tends to get a little closer and kinda bolder, being extra generous with how many smooches he gives, or whispering how pretty and hot and perfect you are in your ears. Never pushes though, just goes along with whatever you're telling him to do. "Yea baby you're sooo right!" he's hiccuping, because well, his lovey is always right aren't you? He does need to drink some water and lay down. His baby is the smartest in the whole wide world and he's sooo snuggly once you get him in bed.