#my goal is black with green highlights but I ALWAYS FAIL

[chaosisdying]

using Soren to practice with the graphic tablet😎

(as you can see, I hate lineart)

[blacktobackmesa]

i think i remember you saying the science team would rewatch the videos together( like the cast commentaries,) and i was curious to see if you would talk a bit about that? like… how they reacted to certain things and scenes, if or how they talked it out, stuff like that… i’ve been wanting to ask this for sooooo long but just now got the confidence to, i love this verse sooooo much !!! its been living rent free in my head ever since i first read the series… its the only way i can think of post-canon i love it so much… ok thats all i hope you have a good day !!!

First I gotta say Thank You and I'm making my first official rent payment for the real estate in here. It has always been the goal to inspire people to think about the team like this and I am SO grateful for every ask sent and conversation had. But YES let's talk about watching

Gordon gave the team the option to watch the VODs and edits on their own, but was convinced to make it a group activity by his friends. This ended up being to precursor to their regular movie nights-- everybody met up in Tommy's basement to watch the edits together over a couple days. (Nobody wanted the emotional whiplash of going into Act 3 unprepared.)

One of the key things that everyone has a reaction to is what fonts and text colors Gordon chose for them.

Benrey likes his text color well enough, but would have preferred purple. He also thinks his font could have been something way cooler. He also thinks it's weird that he and Forzen have the same font, and accuses Gordon of being lazy.

Tommy tells Gordon that he likes his font and color, but it's hard to tell how he really feels. He does say that while his favorite color is actually red, he knows that can be a bit harder to read against a dark background.

Bubby is insulted that he was given Times New Roman, legendary as a default font, but changes his tune when told it's actually Sylfaen. Entirely different! With this, he and Coomer are both satisfied with their captions. In fact, their fonts are in their favorite colors... sort of. Coomer actually prefers cyan, while Bubby likes green.

Gordon actually got Darnold's favorite color dead on. He's started using his typeface, Terminal Grotesque, on most documents and correspondence. He hasn't verbally acknowledged this, but Gordon's noticed. It makes him smile.

G-Man thinks his font is very practical. That's all he's said on the matter.

Other Notable Reactions

Bubby had completely forgotten that Gordon didn't believe him about his name. Upon being reminded, he went "Wait, hang on, hang on. What the fuck, Gordon? Who DOES that?" (Darnold felt validated by this.)

Coomer laughs uproariously at his own jokes and slips of the tongue.

"So Tommy. Benrey said you like mean people, do you... do you have any idea what he meant by that?" "Oh! Well, you know." He failed to elaborate.

The screen going black during the ambush came as a surprise to the team. Everyone remembers actually seeing the events play out, though in hindsight, Coomer questions his own memory. There's a lot about that whole stretch of time that he has questions about, but he knows they can't be answered.

Bubby goes out of his way to point out situations where he was playing a trick or just straight-up lying to his friends. Part of it is for full disclosure, part is to brag about what a funny guy he is.

Gordon is uncomfortable with clips where he is condescending to or impatient with the science team. Benrey tries to diffuse his anxieties by pointing them out directly and highlighting all of his insecurities. He's a great friend. He tries his best.

[thatslikely]

we - g.w.

we - george weasley x fem!reader

warnings: mentions of food, tooth rotting fluff

word count: 1.3k

a/n: ok... this was meant to be 800 words ish but I guess I just can’t write blurbs?? i think my shortest work ever was 800 soooo

“Hey, Georgie,” you said hesitantly, tapping him on his broad shoulder, “we need to talk.”

The laugh that quirked his lips and crinkled the edges of his chocolate eyes you weren’t shy of adoring fell as flat as the icy Black Lake during the harsh winter months. The slightest wrinkle formed between his eyebrows, nonchalant concern seeping through his pores.

The phrase you just uttered never led to anything remotely good. Those four dreaded words are what ended his juvenile relationship with Katie Bell all the way back in fourth year. Bill had stated the four words as he sat down a ten-year-old George so many years ago, who loved his older brother dearly, and broke the news that he would be indefinitely moving to Egypt. 

It was safe to say he didn’t have a great history with the phrase.

With worry wincing his features, he agreed. “Sure, darling. Everything all right?” You nodded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him away from the group of Gryffindors that he had previously been enthralled with in conversation.

He sat on your curtained dorm bed with a creak uncomfortably, as if he were a guest visiting your house for the first time. “You look like you’re about to explode Georgie, relax,” you meekly smiled. “I just have something to tell you.”

The heel of his shoes lifted up and down, causing his knee to bounce every so slightly, a habit that was only expressed when fear truly racked his body. With a dry mouth and averted gaze, you said, “you see, after Hogwarts, there’s been a little change in plans.”

“I want to attend a Muggle college.”

“The Muggle world’s a lot bigger than I thought,” George said thoughtfully as his tongue licked vertical stripes up the scoop of ice cream in his palm. “No one ever told me there were so many places to go and see and do.”

“Yeah, they never did talk about its expansiveness back at school. Even Muggle Studies barely scratched the surface.” 

As your mind swam through the previous school year, which was packed full with laughs, pranks galore, romantic dates with your titian-haired boyfriend, and an awful case of senioritis, George swiftly lurched to steal a bite from your cone with a mischievous smirk.

However, you were too quick for him, you always had been, and your treat was safe from his stomach. “Not today, Weasley.”

“Bummer. I regret not getting that flavor, ‘looks delicious.”

“I guess I’ll let you have one bite.” You turned your cone in his direction, and unsurprisingly, he snatched it from your grasp, dashing away from you, laughs interspersed with joking taunts escaping his strawberry cream-coated lips.

“Get back here!” you shouted at the lanky, retreating figure, moving your legs swiftly after him.

The sun had risen tranquilly to the center of the dreamy, blue sky above, and its golden beams were trickling down from overhead. The weather fostered the perfect atmosphere to tour one of the college campuses you had been accepted into, accompanied by no one but the doting, red-haired boy you could call your’s.

The brilliant idea of attending Muggle college had stemmed from Hermione, who one day in the library, when stacks of yellowing books and dusty pages crammed with research enveloped the two of you in a world of strictly academia, mentioned in passing that it was on her list of possible things to do post-Hogwarts.

Before you had learned that the blood coursing through your brains contained traces of magic-harnessing abilities, university had seemed some distant end goal expected from you after graduating high school. That notion had been quickly swept aside when you learned of your wizard ancestry and you received a letter informing you that you would attend Hogwarts first thing the next fall.  

But now, observing the cliques of college students sauntering around the open-aired quad, you realized that this was the next step for you. The only next step for you.  

“Hey, Y/N, I have a question,” a sixth-year George asked as his thumb lovingly caressed your skin, leaving warm, tingly patches in its wake. “When me and Fred open the shop the moment we’re out of here, will you come live with us? Me?”

“There’ll be a homey flat above the shop, perfect for us. Fred’ll be there too, of course, but I reckon we’ll have plenty of time just the two of us.” George’s umber eyes scanned your face in an attempt to know what thoughts and opinions ran through your mind. He meant what he said: he couldn’t imagine not seeing you after the both of your educations concluded.

“I’ll live anywhere as long as you’re with me, Georgie,” you replied with a grin.

A small chip of guilt flaked off your heart when you knowingly broke the promise you had sworn by not even two years ago. You outright refused to attend any universities not within the UK, as part of your internal compromise for leaving George.

George was beyond happy for you, though, and he was not shy of showing it. He’d unabashedly boast around the Great Hall or common room practically every day, saying with a smirk oozing with pride and joy, “I’ve got the smartest girl ever. She’s going to college.”

You and George strolled along the brick-pathed sidewalks and trails, admiring the different buildings with elegant architecture. When you two walked past the dorm rooms, varicolored flags could be seen draped from the windows; in the patches of well-groomed green that dotted the landscape, students were tossing frisbees and eating sandwiches on picnic blankets.

It was like no school you had ever attended, and you were undeniably enamoured by it.

As the afternoon faded away, conquered with a sweeping tsunami of darkness, the silver moon encroached closer to the pinkened sky. You and George treated yourselves to a nice dinner on the river, at a restaurant that you wouldn’t dream of dining at again if you chose to enroll.

You and George had covered all the logistics of college: how it worked, where you would live, when he could visit. 

“Maybe Fred and I will open a shop down here someday,” he said, forking a bit of the food before him. “You think college students (or to-be college students in your case) would like pranks?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them, by the looks of campus so far.”

He gave you a genuine, innocent smile (his mouth still full of food, not unlike a squirrel’s), as if to say ‘it’s settled then.’ “You never were the neatest eater,” you giggled.

“I can be sophisticated if I want to!” he rebutted.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Definitely. One-hundred percent. No doubt about it. I’ll take you to another nice restaurant one of these days and watch me have the best manners ever!”

The string lights illuminating the patio looked great, the beads of contained golden light highlighting every detail about him that you love so much. It shone on the faint, near indistinguishable scar on his eyebrow from a failed prank when he was six. The glint of pure love in his eyes that he held ever since he laid eyes on you back in fifth year. The way one specific tessel of his soft ginger hair would never sit quite right, no matter how many gels and spells he’d apply.

The boy opposite you was so easily tempted to simper and tease you for so blatantly staring at him, every inch of him it seemed, as it was a trait him and his twin could never rid. But instead, a fuse in his brain finally clicked; the final piece of a undeniably complex and breathtaking puzzle fell into place, and he finally made up his mind.

He smiled warmly, his eyes prickling with joy. It wasn’t a grin of the same nature as one derived from one of his pranks, or a clever jab Fred would crack: it was an expression of ultimate contentment, resulted from the pure emotions that sputtered through his chest like a firecracker. 

“You think we should apply here?” He’d accepted the fact that he had been grappling with for so long: there was no way he’d live without you, and if that meant leaving Fred the shop for a while, or even delaying its construction, then so be it.

“We?” 

“We.”

general taglist:

@amourtentiaa @anchoeritic @accioweaslcy @theweasleytwinsgirl

twins/george taglist:

@horrorxweasley @hufflepuff5972

send me an ask or dm to be added!

[shadowsinger11]

Golden Snitches And Old Wounds

Pairing: James Potter x Insecure Reader

Word count: 2787

Request: Hi! I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. I wanted to ask you if your requests open. If so can i request a james potter imagine with a very self conscious reader? Thank you!

Warnings: Suggestive themes, references to anxiety and depression

A/N: I actually like how this one turned out. It's way sadder than intended but I hope you enjoy! If you want to be tagged, let me know! Requests are open!

Masterlist

Lily and you were sitting on a bench right on top of one of the twelve colorful towers around the massively wide pitch, waving your Gryffindor flags in excitement.

The scene before you represented a blur of scarlet and green and you struggled to spot your boyfriend of two years, James Potter, among the fourteen players. 

His leather-gloved hands gripped the handle of his broom tightly as he was swiftly avoiding bludgers and students, rushing to catch the quaffle.

"Potter, on your left!"

On instinct, James drifted to the right a mere second before his head managed to collide with a bludger. The boy kept soaring high up in the clear spring sky, eyes focused forward.

"Brilliant! Potter tossed the quaffle into the ring!" the speaker roared, "The score is 120:120. Will Gryffindor's Chaser be able to score another goal and give their Seeker an opportunity to catch the snitch?"

"Oh, I sure hope he does," you muttered, sitting on the edge of your seat, eyes focused on the Gryffindor Chaser.

The commentator excitedly shouted, "Robertson passes the quaffle to Smith, he passes it to Potter- no! It was stolen from Taylor, that Slytherin son of a-"

"Joshua!"

"Sorry, professor," the boy sheepishly smiled at McGonagall though he wasn't sorry at all, and returned to retelling the match. "Potter's caught the quaffle! He's swooping down, the three Slytherin Chasers on his tail…"

Over the noise you heard Lily exclaim, "What's he doing! He's getting further away from the ring."

"I don't know, I think he's trying to get rid of the Slytherins, distract them maybe?" you shrugged. You really hoped James was doing this for a reason but yet again, when has he ever thought things through?

Meanwhile you noticed Sirius, a Beater of the team, covering his buddy, making sure to guide the bludgers in the direction of team Slytherin. You had no idea if those two had planned this beforehand or if Padfoot was just improvising.

"A bludger knocked Taylor off his broom!" Joshua happily announced. "That's the moment for Potter to strike!"

And exactly then James swiftly turned around and sped up towards his aim. He threw the quaffle with all his might, the ball piercing the air and going right through the ring.

"Yes!! He did it! What a brilliant attack!" the commentator screamed. Lily and you squealed and clapped, cheering him on. "Now it's up to the Gryffindor Seeker to catch the Golden snitch and that'll be the end!"

James tried to spot you in the audience and when he did, his grin grew even wider. He threw a wink your way but he didn't have much time to celebrate because his task now was to make sure Slytherins didn't score another goal and maybe get another 10 points himself while he was at it. He drifted between teammates and opponents, the summer wind ruffling his hair. He prevented numerous attacks from the opposite team, winning a good couple of minutes where the score was even and Gryffindor had a chance to win.

"Where the hell is the Seeker!" Lily groaned, "It's a matter of time until Slytherin strikes a goal."

You understood her frustration but had faith. You always supported your boyfriend and his team during matches regardless of which house they were up against. You were aware of how much stamina James had, especially when it came to Quidditch, and even more so now that he could almost graze the win with his fingertips.

Suddenly, the Seeker emerged from the depths, a small ball shining in his grasp.

"He's caught the snitch! Williams got the Golden snitch, Gryffindor wins!" Joshua roared, rising to his feet.

The air shook with the screams and cheers of Gryffindors and Gryffindor supporters. Some students hugged each other, squealing in euphoria, others whined and screamed in frustration. The audience turned into a sea of scarlet flags, the iconic lion on display for everyone to see. Professor McGonagall smiled, something rare for a woman as stern and serious as her. The atmosphere buzzed with excitement.

Lily and you high-fived and rushed down the stairs, impatient to greet the boys. When you ran along the pitch, the team was already surrounded by fans and you saw Sirius carrying James on his shoulders, their other teammates doing the same with Williams. Slytherins were quick to exit the scene, muttering curses and complaints.

"Not trying to steal my boyfriend, I hope?" you asked Sirius and laughed.

"Boyfriend?" he feigned being shocked, "Why didn't you tell me there was someone else, James?"

James only rolled his eyes and his friend let him down. Potter walked up to you, standing tall in all his red leather glory. His chest heaved with every breath he took, his spiky hair was disheveled beyond recognition and his uniform was wrinkled and covered in dirt. He was a mess but still managed to look so perfect in your eyes, he was absolutely irresistible.

"Did you enjoy the show, babe?" he smirked as he placed his gloved hands around your waist, pulling you close. You giggled and pecked his nose, "Indeed I did. You're such a show-off."

"But you love me nonetheless," he mumbled, out of breath, and leaned in but you pulled away before he got to kiss you.

"I suggest you shower first, you're quite sweaty."

He frowned and pouted his lips but couldn't help but grin, caressing your cheek. You were staring into his hazel eyes and when they focused on yours, your cheeks turned the same color as his uniform. James was incredibly confident, charming and charismatic and he never failed to make your heart flutter every time you caught him glance at you.

He seemed perfect to you and your expression suddenly darkened when poisonous thoughts clouded your mind. He was perfect, but what about me?

Before James had the chance to ask what was wrong, his friends pulled him aside, "The coach wants to talk to us." He couldn't do anything except for giving you a sad smile and a wave as he left.

A tap on your shoulder snapped you out of your trance.

"Let's go to lunch, I'm starving."

You nodded and followed Lily out of the now empty pitch.

Prodding your salad with a fork, you were still processing your thoughts from earlier, replaying them over and over in your head. You couldn't get rid of the image of James. You were smitten by his messy hair, goofy smile, the way his uniform clung tightly to his body, highlighting his broad shoulders and strong biceps. His physique looked way more impressive and massive and the sight made you lick your lips.

Your daydreaming was interrupted when the doors of the Great Hall opened wide, the winning team walking through. The Quidditch players were greeted with loud cheers and clapping which some of the teachers joined too. Even in just his plain Gryffindor cloak James managed to look astonishingly handsome and he did it so effortlessly. His black robes were flailing freely behind him as he made his way over to you and sat down on your right.

"Clean and fresh just for you," he smirked and pressed his lips to yours, lingering for a bit more than you expected. After that, you proceeded to eat your meal while he placed a steak, some salad, sauce and other different kinds of food on his plate.

"You did an amazing job up there, really."

He smiled, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, "Did you ever doubt me?"

Ah, that cockiness. It might have sometimes gotten on your nerves but it was a part of what made your boyfriend unique and you adored it. You laughed, trying to cover up how flushed he had made you, "Absolutely never, Potter. You're one of a kind."

"So are you."

His compliment caught you somehow unprepared and you slightly froze. You looked at him only to find him already staring at you with such loving eyes, it made you shift in your seat.

"What?" you giggled, dumbfounded.

"Thank you for being there. It really matters to me," he gave your hand a light squeeze.

Seriously, what did you do to deserve this guy.

He's amazing in so many ways, I just can't compare.

You noticed students sending you dirty glances from across the hall and you wished you could shrink in your seat. You lowered your gaze and silently finished your meal.

"Seriously, what's the difference between Felix Felicis and liquid luck? The professor crossed off "liquid luck" and replaced it with Felix Felicis! That's not fucking fair," you groaned, checking your graded essay. You were pretty sure you'd get an Outstanding but you only got Exceeds Expectations which you were slightly pissed about.

Lying on your boyfriend's bed, you were rambling on and on about school work, earning occasional chuckles from James as he was getting changed.

"I mean, Remus always gets the best grades, how on earth does he do that! I swear, he's like a walking encyclop-"

Your words got stuck in your throat at the sight of a half-naked James. His shoulders, toned arms, back and abs were on display while he paced around the room, trying to find his sweater. His muscles flexed under his flesh with every move and you could feel your mouth begin to water.

Once James found the clothing, he turned around. He grinned when he saw your blushing face and didn't miss the opportunity to put on a show for you - he slowly put on his sweater, his jeans falling low around his waist when he raised his arms above his head.

James wasn't only caring, loving and talented. He was also extremely hot. A kind soul wrapped in a pretty package.

Your mind started to wander and you thought about all the girls and boys who would die to be in your place; to be able to date the infamous Marauder and see him shirtless all the time like you got to. You knew many people envied your relationship and you tried not to care that much but you still somehow did. You always did.

"Are you alright, love? You're doing that again."

"I-uh… what?" you stuttered, embarrassed.

James, now dressed, sat in front of you on the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, "You tend to space out from time to time, you stop listening to me. What's on your mind?"

You shook your head and started to rearrange your books, attempting to appear busy, "Yeah, I do that sometimes, sorry. It's nothing though, I just get lost in my thoughts."

James was eyeing up and down your stiff figure and his heart stung when you lied. One of the things he despised most was being lied to and it hurt him immensely when you did. He knew you meant well but he wanted you to trust him and talk to him like he did.

The boy abruptly but gently grabbed your trembling hands and you froze.

"Talk to me," he pleaded, looking into your eyes for a sign, any sign to reveal how you were feeling on the inside.

Your nervous smile faded and you dropped your gaze to where his hands held yours.

The room was ghostly quiet and you felt trapped, unable to run away or escape the situation.

You opened your mouth to speak but your lower lip quivered and no words came out. James simply stood there, patiently waiting for you to say something while soothingly rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles. After taking a deep breath, you choked out.

"Why do you like me?"

He seemed slightly confused but his expression remained calm, "What do you mean?"

You chewed on your lip, considering how to proceed. He deserved honesty and he was genuinely worried so it wasn't fair to keep secrets from him.

"It's just… I am…" you sighed, frustrated. "You're amazing, James. People love you. You're smart, athletic, outgoing and your personality lights up the room. You charisma is undeniable."

You stopped to inhale again, your throat tightening as tears blurred your vision. Your voice was shaking and so were your hands. James only listened. "You're an exceptional person yet you're with me. I-I don't get it. You could choose someone more impressive, someone whose abilities can compare to yours… Someone who's not me."

A tear rolled down your cheek and it pierced through James' heart like a burning blade. He brought your hands up to his face and softly pressed his lips to your knuckles. James let you cry it out first before he dared to speak, knowing you needed this moment to simply let yourself feel before anything else. There was time for figuring things out, but it was not now.

You sobbed and he reached to brush a piece of hair behind your ear, "I've got issues, James. I'm hard to deal with. I struggle with many things and I'm afraid I'm just being a burden to you."

James immediately pulled you into his embrace, arms wrapping around you as you hugged your knees. He rested his chin on top of your head which was leaned on his chest. The boy could not believe a person as breathtaking as you would think so lowly of themselves. You both stood there for awhile, not talking at all. James needed time to take it all in just like you needed time to calm down.

"What makes you think like that?" he hesitantly whispered, voice trembling.

You stared off into the distance, tired eyes unseeing. 

"I don't know. I just do. I've always been looked at as if I'm a disease, as if I'm wrong to feel happy," you muttered, using your sleeve to wipe your nose. "Something's wrong with me and I have no idea what. I'm just scared... and exhausted."

You heard James sob.

"How long have you been feeling like this for?"

You swallowed and took a breath, "Years."

James' arms tightened around you, sheltering you from the cold world. You took peace in the vulnerability, you had no strength to hide or pretend, you were free to simply exist.

"At some point I gave up on happiness. That was until I met you," you explained. "You gave me hope and though it was painful and risky for me, I decided to trust you. You never let me down but I'll always be afraid you'll leave me for someone less troubled than me. Like most people did."

"Then I'll always be here to remind you that I'm not going anywhere. I'll be by your side to help you."

You held onto his sweater, scared to let him go, "Thank you."

James rubbed your back up and down and pressed a kiss to your head, "You wanted to know why I love you?"

You hummed, turning to him.

He took a look at your bloodshot eyes and tear-stained face and he fell in love even more.

"I love you because of your pure soul. No one has ever treated me with such sincerity. You always support me, guide me and ground me when my head's up in the clouds. I'm far from perfect, I'm flawed just like everyone else. But you don't only make me a better person, you make me want to be better. For you."

A few tears rolled down your cheeks, this time from gratitude and love.

"I'm amazed at how torn you are, but still willing to give a part of yourself to those who need it. Your kindness knows no limits and I admire that in you. You might hate the hurt, damaged side of yourself, but I find its rawness to be astonishing. Because I love you. All of you."

Warmth spread throughout your body and for the first time you felt truly safe.

James slowly kissed your chapped lips. He stood still, just letting the moment take place. You savoured the feeling of his lips on yours and were surprised to feel something wet drip on your cheek. When you pulled away, you saw his glossy eyes.

"I love you too," you replied softly and nestled back into his lap. James hugged you, relieved to finally know what was going on with you. He vowed to himself to help you in any way he could and to constantly remind you that you're not fighting your battle on your own. You, on the other hand, were way calmer as well. It was refreshing to be understood and accepted, to not be judged or blamed for a change. You didn't have to act a role or lie. You let down your defences and let the rotten wound inside you bleed. And you smiled.

Reblog if you enjoyed my work!

Tag list: @self-ship-love

Masterlist

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

The “Better Half”; A Poly KiriBaku x Reader Fanfic

As Izuku Midoryia’s twin sister, you face many issues. But as life throws you one after another, somehow there are two people who are always there for you.

Enjoy the series | one two three four five

It was September 13th, and you came into the world. Into the arms of your mother, she was able to look at you lovingly before handing you to your father. Big, bright green eyes and dark green hair with pale skin and few freckles. You were healthy if not on the skinny side, and surprisingly, not crying your eyes out like most children do. It would be something to be concerned about if you were not looking at your father’s face curiously, and then at the room around you. To your eyes which had seen nothing but darkness, the bright room looked like heaven.

Five minutes and two seconds after, your brother came to the world after you, crying and screaming louder than most children, but at least it was more normal than you. Your mother held him for a minute, before you both were taken by the nurses to be checked for health. Your brother, with dark green hair with lighter highlights and dark green eyes with more freckles than you, was smaller although he had been the one getting the most food. He wiggled around and cried, being the loudest one around.

You, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm except when a needle had been stuck into you to check for your health, causing you to cry for a minute before getting distracted by the nice nurse caring for you. You were washed, and put into the softest blanket-outfit thing with mittens, which you hated, and taken back to your parents with the nurses’ disappointment. Your brother’s caretaker was more than happy to give him back though. Your mother held your brother, loving looking at him with happiness in her eyes as he looked at his sleeping face.

“Look how sweet, he’s snoring.” Your dear mother, Inko Midoryia, looked up at her husband, Hizashi, who held you. “She’s looking around. She’s so calm, it’s almost worrying.” He smiled at you, who was now running your entire hand along one of his fingers, surprised by the rough texture. “They look different.” Inko smiled, now looking at you with lust in her eyes. “She’s prettier. Hands down. And better behaved.” He explained as Inko smiled back at her son, sighing. “They’re going to be equal, and be best friends.” She smiled happily.

“She’s going to protect him, and he’s going to do the same for her. If they’re not, then we’ve failed as parents.” Inko explained, thinking about how her own sister hadn't talked to her in years. “Yes, but I can tell she’s going to be the leader.” Hizashi explained to his wife, who shot him an annoyed side-eye that went un-noticed. “That’s okay though. As long as they’re both happy.” Inko smiled back at her son, hoping that she wouldn't have to worry about them. Little did she know...

Four years later from that day, you and your brother went to the theme park for your birthday with your two parents. Your brother, named Izuku by your dear mother, was holding onto your arm as you both entered the park. “Ichiko! Look!” He pointed up to the tall rollercoaster overlooking the rest of the park, using your name. You had been named Ichiko by your father, which meant “Alpha” or “First child”. It was known to everyone who observed his actions that your father not only favored you, but loved that you were the stronger, taller, and “best” compared to your brother.

“We should ride it! Come on Dad, let’s go!” You began to run before your father grabbed onto your arm and pulled you back forcefully, making him receive several glances from the parents around him for treating a young child with such force and strength. Yet, in his words “you could handle it”, and thanks to his forceful parenting, you had built up the strength to get used to it. “Not yet, we’re waiting on someone.” Just as he finished his sentence, he was met with yelling from nearby. “Is that Inko Midoryia?!” 

You all turned to see a spiky-haired blonde woman running towards you. “Inko babe! It’s been so long!! You haven’t changed a bit!!” She hugged your mother, before turning to your father. “Aye! ‘Zashi bro! How’s it going?! God, you two are such highschool sweetheart goals!” She yelled loudly and full of energy, before turning to the two of you. “Are these who I think they are?! Oh my gosh, you guys are adorable! God I wish I would have had a daughter, you’re such a dollface! And you, such a lady’s man! Goodness me!”

‘Mitsuki, it’s so good to see you. Where’s little Katsuki and-” Inko was interrupted by yelling from a small child walking up to you. “Mommmm. Where’s my water bottle, I can’t find it!” You turned to see a smaller, male version of Mitsuki with the same hairstyle and a black skull t-shirt with shorts. “Katsuki, be quiet. At least say hi to Inko and her children. We brought you to have a play date. It’s their birthday.” Mitsuki explained, before turning back to continue her conversation with the adults. 

“Hi! I’m Ichiko!” You waved at the boy, who looked quite shocked. “It’s your birthday?” Katsuki asked as you nodded, before pulling out a plastic water bottle from your tiny backpack. “It’s unopened. You look hot.” You grinned, tossing it to him as he caught it. He inspected the closed lid before opening it slowly and taking a long sip suspiciously. “I didn’t put anything in it silly. Now do you want to go on that flipping ship or the roller-coaster? I think the two of us meet the height requirement!” You asked as his eyes lit up. A girl who liked rollercoasters??!!

No way, he had to reveal you for the fake extra you really were. “Rollercoaster. I heard it does two 180s, and it’s really fast. I heard someone fell off and broke their leg.” He tried to make you nervous, but only was even more confused when you began smiling. “Well if it’s really fun and it was only the leg, we’ll be fine! Plus two 180s is better than one, so that’s great!!” Bakugo watched as you turned to Izuku who was behind you. “This is my brother Izuku.” You gestured to him, who waved shyly, receiving a confused glance from Katsuki.

So the girl was the outgoing one and the boy was the shy, short one? Strange, but also weirdly cool. Katsuki didn’t have any girl friends, and barely any friends to begin with, so many you could be cool. “Alright kiddies, let’s go.” Katsuki’s dad came up behind you three, smiling as you and the blond got excited, Izuku not so much. Without warning, you grabbed Katsuki’s hand and pulled him towards the nearest ride, a fast rollercoaster that allowed smaller children to ride, not the safest decision, but one that you were more than overjoyed with.

You and Katsuki must of gone on that rollercoaster over five times, loving each one more than the last. After the first one, Izuku choose to stay with the parents who watched the kids and talked about their recent lives. The habit of Izuku staying behind seemed to continue, when the ride was only 2 people per row, or you two wanted to ride something that was two scary. You and Katsuki shared a cotton candy, and Bakugo got you a balloon who he had “ borrowed” from another kid just for you.

You and Katsuki spent hours talking, laughing, and becoming friends. Mitsuki was beyond shocked, seeing her son socialize like never before with a child his age. Katsuki told you about the preschool his mom had looked at, and how his older cousin had gotten his quirk and he was beyond jealous. “I don’t know what mine is, but it’ll be awesome! I know it!” He told you as you nodded, content with just listening to his rant. Just as you two turned the corner to walk down the sidewalk towards the carousel, the kid who Bakugo had “borrowed” the balloon from ran towards him.

“You little brat! You’re going to pay for this!” He freaked out, grabbing a football from his friend’s hand and throwing it at Bakugo. “Hey!” You yelled, reaching out your hand in front of Bakugo. As if time was slowing down, you watched as the football separate into particles, almost like droplets of melted football, and stand mid-air before your face. You pushed your hand back, and as it moved, the droplets joined back together and fell to the dirt below your feet. “Dude, let’s go! These kids are crazy!”

You turned around to see Katsuki, his parents, your parents, and your dear twin brother all staring at you, stars in their eyes. “Mama! Daddy! Did you see what I did?!” You cheered, jumping up and down as your father picked you up happily. “That’s my girl! On your fourth birthday too! Your mom and I didn’t even get ours until we were at least five!” He hugged you proudly, before setting you down as Izuku gave you a high five. “Wow! You can move things with your mind, and separate them into liquids! That’s like mom and dad’s quirk together!” Izu cheered happily as you turned to Bakugo.

“Your... your quirk is SO COOL!” He exclaimed, running to you, grabbing your hands, and jumping excitingly. “God, imagine what you could do with that! You could kick a soccer ball and make it go forever! Or you could even make all the rain come off of you if you don’t have an umbrella!” He continued smiling, before engulfing you in a tight hug. Mitsuki almost cried, shaking a teary-eyed look with Inko, happy her son was socializing. She had become worried about his mental state, being such an angry human being from the beginning. She was worried he wouldn’t be able to function with other kids, and would be an outcast. But no...

“What are we waiting for?! Let’s go! I saw a water gun thing to win a stuffed pokemon! I want the Pikachu!” He yelled out, laughing playfully as he grabbed your hand and pulled you into the crowd and towards the fun. As Izuku trailed behind with the adults, he smiled at how happy you were. You and Bakugo were such good friends, he couldn’t help but be happy that you had another friend to keep you company and make you happy, exactly what you deserved. Little did Izuku know that when he had let you and Bakugo go ahead, he bought himself a life of being the third wheel on your friendship with Katsuki.

It was September 13th, a year later, and birthday decorations laid around the apartment of Inko Midoryia. “Happy birthday Ichiko and Izuku, happy birthday to you.” The children around you sang, crowded around a table. You sat next to your twin brother, smiling before you both turned and blew out the five candles on the cake in front of you. “Good job guys!” Your mom, Inko Midoryia, ran up to you, cutting a piece for each of you, giving one to you first. You looked around at the table, seeing fifteen children from your preschool who you were friends with.

Mitsuki Bakugo and her husband were taking the presents that you and Izuku had unwrapped to your room, and your own mother was making lively conversation with the rest of the parents at the party. Looking around, you were upset to find your father gone, braking his promise that he would come this time. On and off, your father’s visits seemed to grow farther from one another as time passed. After you had gotten your quirk, your parents had quickly begun arguing, eventually causing your father to storm out.

Throughout the divorce and your fifth birthday, your mom had moved to a smaller apartment while saving for a house, began getting interested in medication, forcing you and your twin brother to take certain pills and supplements to prevent any depression or abandonment issues from your father leaving, had gotten you, Izuku, and Katsuki together almost daily for play dates, and had put an offer on a townhouse near the Bakugo household.

“Finally you’re five years old! Now you can go on the slide at the playground by yourself! Lucky!” You turned to a spiky-haired blond boy next to you, smiling ear-to-ear as he talked/ yelled at you. “I know, but it’s okay. I won’t go on until you can too.” You smiled as he laughed, high-fiving you. “That’s awesome! But it’s okay, only two more months and then we both can go on it!” He grinned again, even wider than before as you nodded. “All three of us.” You smiled, grabbing the shirt of your twin brother who was listening in on the conversation. 

“Aww, look at you cuties!! Say birthday!!” Bakugo’s mother, a blonde lady with the exact hairstyle as her toddler son, jumped out from nowhere and held up her phone. “Mommmm.” Bakugo complained as the three kids turned to his mother, smiling as her phone flashed, partially blinding them. “Now let’s get out of here, these kids are getting on my nerves. Someone already asked me if they could touch my hair!” Bakugo complained, grabbing your hand and pulling you out as Izuku followed you guys to the doorway. 

“Izu! Ichi! Don’t you want to say goodbye to your guests?” Inko asked as you nodded, grinning as you ran back inside to the table quickly. “Aren’t you going to go?” Katsuki asked Izuku as he shook his head slowly, turning to watch you hug the kids goodbye. “I’m not friends with any of them really. I don’t even know half of them, they’re just Ichi’s friends.” Izuku explained sitting next to Katsuki on the step outside the doorway. “She’s always been the one to make a lot of friends. It’s okay though, I only need her... and you of course.” Izuku smiled at the blond.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, going un-noticed by the green-haired one as the two turned to see their friend and sister walk up behind them. “Bye Maria! I’ll see you tomorrow!” She turned to the boys who stood up quickly at her arrival, smiling at her from behind. “Come on boys, let’s go. The forest is waiting to explore, and the first one we have a year older must be awesome!” Bakugo grabbed the jar that he had brought next to him for bugs, and smiled, walking after her. “Heck ya! My mom uses candles, but we should totally use those lighting bulb bugs.”

You rolled your eyes, giggling as you entered the elevator with the two boys and clicking the elevator button. Bakugo was taller than you by 2.5 inches, and you were taller than Izuku by 4. Yet you and Bakugo had the agreement that when you took the elevator down, you pressed the button, and he would do the same when you all went back up. “Don’t you mean lightning bugs Kacchan?” You asked as he blushed at his own mistake, you and Izuku giggling. “It’s okay, lightbulb bugs sounds cooler, and it’s more accurate.” You hugged Bakugo, grabbing onto his arm. 

“They don’t even look like lightning.” You told him, making him feel only a bit better as the door opened to the first floor and you all walked out. Again, there was an unspoken rule that Izuku would walk behind you two, although you personally never had noticed, Bakugo and Izuku had made it clear with each other. Bakugo liked being by your side when you would grip his arm, and Izuku liked being in the back “to protect you” when really there was no room on the sidewalk for a third.

When you guys got to the forest behind Bakugo’s neighborhood, next to the apartment building that you lived in, you immediately jumped into the nearby tree and began to climb up. Bakugo laughed, knowing how much you loved tree-climbing to no-end. You swung your legs over the branch and hung upside down, fluffing the hair of the two boys who passed beneath you towards the river. “Ichi! Ichi! It’s a bug! Get it Kacchan!” Izuku yelled, receiving a glare from the blond boy as he looked at your brother annoyed.

“Why don’t you get it! I’m busy trying to find the spider my mom put out the other day. She put it under a cup and walked outside and I haven’t found seen him since! She’s a killer!” He yelled, returning to rummaging around the forest bushes with his bare hands. “Hey, be careful. Turns out all snakes aren’t nice like your snake. Look.” You lifted your pant leg and showed two bite marks to the blond as his eyes widened, looking at you, and then back at the bite. “Woah! You survived a whole snake?!” He asked as you nodded, feeling like a champion.

“Yep, here.” You handed him a stick you had taken off the tree before going to your brother, holding your own empty jar to collect the bug Izuku found. Bakugo watched you though, completely shocked at your strength. You were a girl, yet you were here collecting bugs and fighting snakes?! You were incredible!!! He turned. “So Ichiko, have you been training? I still haven’t gotten mine, but I’ve been working on it!” Bakugo flexed his muscles through his black t-shirt, a silver skull on it this time.

“Actually I have. I helped my mom clean the entire house, and I was able to put away all of the groceries in a few seconds. My mom says it’s very helpful, and she’s proud of me.” You grinned as he stared at you, his eyes shining at your talent. “Lemme see Ichi! Lemme see!” He cried out, jumping up and down happily. You smiled, realizing how he hadn’t changed since you met him. “Okay. Izuku, stand still!” You yelled at your brother as he turned to you, shaking in fear as you extended your hand out. 

Before he could respond, the dirt beneath him began to turn into small, liquid pieces and rose in the air, carrying him with it. “Woah! You can lift humans?! That’s amazing!” Katsuki exclaimed as you set your brother down, turning to the blonde boy. “You’re amazing Ichiko! You’re incredible, better than anyone I’ve ever met our age! You’re going to become the best pro hero in the world!” He exclaimed, staring at you as if you were God yourself. “That’s right Katsuki, but you’re going to do it with me!”

You put your hand on Bakugo’s shoulders as he looked at you, very confused as you both ignored your watching twin from the sidelines. “You’re going to be just as good as me, and we’ll become the Dream Team forever!” You smiled as he couldn’t help but feel emotional at you not only accepting him but promising him a future of hope. It was no secret that Bakugo had confidence issues, from where you would never understand, but you saying that made his day. His week. His entire life was altered that moment, where you recognized him as an equal.

Little did you know that you had begun the start of Bakugo’s confidence spree, bullying beginning, and his craving for the constant attention and compliments, not to mention the start to him seeing everyone else as extras. Because... you were perfect in every way, and you had said that he was an equal, so he had to be perfect! Everyone else was an extra, meaningless and weak compared to you both, the Dream Team. Watching from afar, Izuku couldn’t help but feel conflicted, feeling left out and desperate for attention more than ever.

As the years passed, Bakugo and your relationship began to evolve from friends to the best of friends, and to the point where you two were never seen apart from each other. With Izuku in the background, always the one to walk behind when the sidewalk could only fit two people, or the one to sit on the side and just watch as the other two continued a conversation. 

Your father visited you every other weekend, only paying attention to you these days. You and Katsuki played video games all weekend, trained your quirks after school daily, loved rock-climbing on Saturday nights, and even went on “dates” that were never confirmed dates. You’ll never forget the day that everything changed though, when you and Bakugo were playing hide and seek in his house while your mom and Izuku, your small seven-year-old self being able to fit under the table in the hallway. 

As you hid though, you remained undetected as the phone rang, Mitsuki walking and picking it up. From the other side, you could hear your mother’s voice, and the sound of her crying filling your ears. “Whaaaat? Oh Inko, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what to say!” Mitsuki exclaimed as you leaned closer, desperate to hear. “He’s quirkless Suki! I don’t know what to do! I can’t fix this with medicine or a doctors visit! His dream was becoming a hero, and proving himself to Ichiko and Katsuki... but now.” You listened to your mother, currently sobbing as she ranted.

“Oh god, he’s going to get bullied so much Mitsuki! I just... I don’t know what to do! His father isn’t picking up any of my calls, but... he texted me. He says he wants to release any rights to Izuku. Just Izuku! His own father is abandoning him because he’s quirkless, but still wanting a relationship with his daughter?! He’s such a douche, the poor boy has been through enough! You should have seen the look on his face when the doctor told him he would never have a quirk.” You sighed, trying not to make a noise as Mitsuki and your mother continued.

You waited, getting lost in your own thoughts before Mitsuki hung up, sighing sadly before walking back to the living room to talk to her husband who waited by the door, having heard some of the conversation. Finally, you were able to walk back to Bakugo’s room to see him checking under the bed for the 100th time. “There you are!! I’ve been looking all over!” he complained, jumping up and walking over to you. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? You look sad.” He asked as you looked at him, a single tear sliding down your face.

“Katsuki!” You began sobbing, jumping into his arms and clinging to his chest. Unaware of what to do, he patted your back awkwardly, trying to figure out why you were crying. His mom got emotional sometimes and did this, but that was usually fixed by chocolate and that adult grape juice his mom loved. “It’s Izuku. My mom called your mom. She was crying. She said... she said...” You looked up at the blond, still crying. “He’s quirkless! Izuku is quirkless! Oh god, I can’t believe it!” You cried, seeing his eyes open wide as a shocked response.

“He is? But, you have one! Izuku can’t be... He was going to become a hero with us. We were going to be the Dream Team.” Bakugo thought out loud as you nodded, letting him wipe a tear from your cheek gently. “You know what? It’s okay...” You perked up, returning to a smiling state. “Izuku has always been quirkless, we’re just finding out. He’s still my brother, and we’re going to protect him from anyone who wants to make fun of him! Right?! The Dream Duo can do anything!” You smiled as Bakugo watched you, feeling warm inside.

Thanks to Izuku being quirkless, he was able to be even closer to you. He was now going to not just be your partner, but your other half. Izuku might have been your twin at birth, but as soon as Bakugo had met you, he knew he was meant to be the one who you would spend the rest of your life with. Now, with Izuku out of the way, Izuku didn’t have to come to when you guys went to train on the beach, and he didn’t have to come to when you guys fantasized about heroes! Now that he thought about it, Izuku didn’t have to come anywhere with you guys!

And that idea stayed with Bakugo throughout the rest of the years following. Throughout middle and high school, Katsuki began slowly slipping away from any friendship with Izuku. It all started at the beginning of middle school when Katsuki brought the name “Deku” out of nowhere. You said it was an insult, but Bakugo just said that it was an inside joke, turning Izuku’s quirklessness into something funny and not so sad. Izuku said he had no issue with it, and you said you didn’t either if he just didn’t say it around you.

Near the end of middle school, Katsuki began only hanging out with you. Izuku told you that he just didn’t want to come whenever you would invite him, but little did you know what Bakugo had made sure to give him hints that he didn’t want Izuku around. Whether it was an annoyed glance whenever Izuku would talk to him, or purposely tripping him whenever you weren’t around. Izuku just knew it was best if he just stayed behind, and let Bakugo get his way with having alone time with you.

At the beginning of high school, Katsuki gained “followers” who constantly worshipped him, did whatever he wanted, and would do anything for him. This included putting maple syrup in Izuku’s lockers, spamming any social media with hateful messages, and even taking his backpack and lighting it on fire in the parking lot. To you, this was all just unfortunate events due to everyone around the school being hateful. You never would have guessed that your best friend and life-time crush would have been the one torturing your dear twin brother.

Unlike your dear best friend with the spiky hair, you gained many friends during high school. Being the most powerful girl in school, and half of the iconic duo that the entire school worshipped, you constantly had people drooling over you literally and figuratively. You gladly took in as many friends as possible, and had built yourself quite a group of friends. You were friends with the mean girls, who always invited you to sleepovers, the athletes who wanted you at every single game to cheer for them and who you did volleyball with, and even the nerds who did your homework just because you were so nice and defended them.

But now it was the last year of high school for you, and a single month before the end of school no less. You sat in your leadership class, your final period before you could go to volleyball practice and enjoy the donuts they gave out every Thursday. “Now, as I’m sure you all know, the ones currently applying for UA are Ichiko…” The class erupted into claps and hollers in your direction, cheerful faces staring at you from every way. “Bakugo...” The teacher continued as Bakugo smiled widely, happy about the same applause towards him. You couldn’t help but blush as Bakugo winked at you, ignoring the high-fives his way.

“And Izuku...” The entire class grew silent as they looked at the empty desk in front of you. On purpose obviously, Izuku had left to go to the bathroom to avoid any side-eyes. “Oh gosh, he won’t stand a chance...” You heard a random voice murmur, along with many giggled and snickers as you turned to the teacher. “Go on Mr. Kiyoko, we don’t have all day.” You commanded as he nodded, following your orders. “He’ll get crushed by a robot the first chance he gets, am I right?” Bakugo asked you with a cocky tone, smirking as he looked your direction.

“I know... it’s so concerning. I’ll have to protect him at the entrance exam since he won’t have a chance on the physical aspect, but it’ll be so hard to compete against the other students if I’m protecting a helpless human being as well . Plus, even if he gets all of the academic side, so will some of the other students with quirks. I need to convince him not to go, I just have to.” You thought out loud, receiving a smirk from Bakugo and his followers that you didn’t notice. At the same time, Bakugo hated the way that Izuku affected you, and if Deku dared to ruin your high chances of going to your dream school, he would pay big-time.

“Anyways, I hope you all think about your future and complete the essay I gave you about your career choices past high school. I can only hope that you do have a plan after all, or else you wouldn’t bother with high school. Class dismissed.” The teacher lectured as the sound of chairs and desks moving filled the room. “H-hey, Ichiko?” You turned to see Bakugo, looking surprisingly nervous with his blush and the fact that he was avoiding eye contact with you. “Yea?” You smiled, confused by his sudden change in attitude.

“Before practice... could you walk with me for a minute?” He asked as your eyes widened, pretending to be shocked. “And risk missing the donuts at practice?! Of course...” You smirked as he sighed in relief, grabbing his backpack and pulling it onto one of his shoulders. “Lead the way ‘Suki.” You smiled sweetly, making his heart melt at his nickname as he passed you and walked out into the hallway. You followed, grabbing onto his arm, a habit you always did with him. 

Down one of the side hallways and into the main one, you saw how all of the classrooms had been cleared of people, leaving you alone. Bakugo stopped, causing you to stop abruptly. “Ichiko, I- I need to say something, and I need you to let me finish please.” You nodded at him, slightly nervous at what he could possibly be saying. You had been confessed to multiple times by both girls and guys, told that they had undying love for you and that you needed to “let them finish”.

Was Bakugo about to do the same, and fufill your dreams at the same time? You knew that you had strong feelings for him, constantly being unable to peel your eyes away from him while at the gym, and always clinging onto him whenever you would walk. You would blush when your friends would tease, and giggle nervously whenever Bakugo’s “friends” called you his girlfriend. It was no secret that almost the entire school shipped you itself, and that you two would be a perfect match. 

You were sweet, and he was salty. You were gorgeous, and he was handsome. You were the most heroic, and he was a villain but with morals. “I... I don’t know how to say this actually. I wrote this entire speech in my room at 2 am a few months ago, and I’ve been practicing for weeks...” He looked up at you, meeting eye contact with your gorgeous dark green eyes that he could get lost in if he wanted to, which he did most times. “God, please go easy on me. This isn’t-” Bakugo was interrupted by you cupping his face and kissing him suddenly.

As an instinct, he used his hand on your back to push you into him, and his other hand to hold the back of your head and intensify the kiss. He couldn’t describe how much he had wanted this, and you felt the same. Like a wave washing over you and releasing all the daydreams and urges, you felt at ease for once in months. “I feel the same way Katsuki.” You told him, using his full name because it felt right. “God, what are you doing to me?” Katsuki asked, feeling as if he was melting at your touch.

In an instant, he was single-handily able to push you into a classroom and lock the door behind him, pushing you up against the wall as he kissed you. “God, I’ve wanted to do this for so long.” He whispered, moving his lips to your neck and beginning to kiss it tenderly and hard. He couldn't count how many times he had stared at your neck and wanted to decorate it, to show that you were his. And now you were, finally after all this time. “M-me too.” You confessed, letting your hands roan his back freely.

You slipped off your shirt happily, him staring at you the entire time. “Oh god... ‘Chiko. I’m in love with you.” He confessed as you stood there, standing at him with open eyes. “I mean it... I promise, I wouldn't just say it to get what I want or make you like me more. I love you, and I have for awhile.” He leaned in to kiss you slowly and passionately. “I love you too Katsuki. I’ve always loved you, and I’ll never stop.” You smiled, grabbing your arms around his torso as you continued the slow and hot kiss.

In the rush and heat of the moment, mixed with the lust and sexual tension that filled the air, you began to strip yourself of your shirt as he stared at you, your pastel blue lacy bra and the tan lines from when you could go to the beach every afternoon when you weren’t playing video games. You really were Katsuki’s dream girl, and you had always been. Katsuki pressed himself against your bare skin before stripping off his own shirt, throwing it to the side without a care in the world. He was going to make you feel so good...

“Ichiko?! Where are you?!” You stared at Bakugo worryingly, recognizing Izuku’s voice immediately. You jumped from Bakugo's torso to your shirt, throwing it on and fixing the wrinkles. You grabbed the hair tie on the floor next to you and threw it into a messy bun. “Is my lip gloss okay?” You whispered, facing him as he looked at you up and down. Moving his thumb along the line of your lip to fix it, he smiled sadly before meeting your eyes. “Perfect as always.”

You smiled, a blush returning to your face as you recalled the actions that had just taken place. You moved and kissed his lips, holding him closely. “We can resume this tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.” You smiled, kissing his nose and pecking his lips again before racing out. “Yea?! Izuku? I’m here!” You called out before seeing your twin come out of another classroom. “Oh good. You weren’t in the gym when I went to look and the team is passing out donuts.”

You smiled, nodded, and fixed the tie on your uniform before walking to the gym with him, looking back from time to time. The feeling of Bakugo’s hands remained on your body, sending sensational chills and an addictive feeling that was better than any drugs. You were in love with Katsuki Bakugo, and he felt the same! On the other side of the school, Katsuki was walking home angrily, before stopping by the gym. He watched you walk in, nearly tackled by your friends.

He also saw Izuku, friend-less and lonely, walking in after you with a sad smile. “Deku...” Bakugo murmured angrily, upset that even after years of trying to stop him, Izuku couldn't get the hint. Bakugo knew that he would not be able to be with the love of his life until Deku learned his place, and stayed far away from you. It was quite simple actually, and if Deku had a brain, surely he would realize that you were better off. You were athletic, brilliant, popular, out-going, and powerful beyond anyone could ever imagine. 

Deku was weak as humanly possible, a nerd without the brains, disliked and avoided by close to everyone in the school, shy and nervous, and of course, quirkless. No, useless. There were quirkless people who did something productive with their lives, but here Izuku was wasting away, begging for a quirk that was suitable for a hero to magically drop out of the sky and turn him into the next All Might. It was laughable honestly, that Izuku was trying to be a hero when he could have done something good with his pathetic life instead of dreaming.

It was about time that Bakugo stopped Deku from ruining his life, and began forcing the poor boy to see the truth of his life, and to learn his place in the back of the line. He didn’t deserve his sister’s love like Bakugo did, and he had to make sure that he got it. Deku would ruin everything if he could, and he had to be stopped. As Bakugo watched Deku sit on the bleachers and scroll through his phone, Bakugo smirked, an idea popping into his head as he pulled out his phone.

That night, Bakugo texted you for hours upon hours, sweet nothings and simple conversation like usual. Above everything else, you loved the fact that over years of friendly flirting and sexual tension, nothing changed once your love for each other was out there in the open. You still talked about heroes, how annoying your classmates were, and how excited you were about the UA exams coming up. You both planned to have you spend the night with Bakugo the night before, and that morning you would go on a 3 mile run and chug protein shakes.

The night before, he even promised to allow you to give him a face mask, but only if you would go night swimming with him. You happily agreed, and began fantasizing about your futures together. You both wanted a luxury condo with a salt water pool and a home gym, and a single cat and dog. You would travel a lot, and have a Summer home in Hawaii, the single place both of you guys just dreamed about. Little did you know that in the room over, your brother was feeling the opposite of happiness.

When you sat at the dinner table, you were on your phone texting Bakugo and couldn’t see him playing with his food. When you were brushing your teeth next to him, you were on a call with Bakugo and didn’t see his red, puffy eyes. And when you said goodnight, you were laughing about a joke Bakugo had said and didn’t realize he didn’t say it back, which was beyond abnormal. It wasn’t until morning, when you arrived at the table for breakfast and found Izuku gone, was when you realized that something was up. He had even forgotten his lunch??

You rode your skateboard to school like normal, meeting up with Bakugo for the first class of the day, which you didn’t have with Izuku. You and Bakugo sat down next to each other, playing footsies under the table as you did your math. He then walked you to your social studies when he went to the science classroom next to it. You guys switched classes after, him going to social studies and you going to science, doing the signature high-five you guys had created from childhood while swapping.

Finally it was fourth period, the first class of the day that you had with Izuku and Bakugo. It was Hero Studies, your favorite class. But first, you had to give Izuku his lunch. You walked down the hallway, seeing the green-haired boy from afar. “Izu! You forgot this at home!” You called out, still skipping happily wth the memories from yesterday fresh in your mind. This time, you finally noticed Izuku’s weird behavior when he didn’t turn around. “Thank you Ichiko, you can leave.” You looked over to see he was staring at his phone intensely.

When you saw the single tear drip from his cheek to the phone screen, you snatched it out of his hand and held it up, staring back at your brother who was now facing you. A single black eye, a light scrape on his right cheek, and bright red, puffy eyes looked back at you. “Oh my god, what the hell happened?” You asked as he closed his eyes, trying not to cry. You hugged him while bringing the phone screen in front of you, looking at his recents. It was Bakugo’s number which you knew by heart, followed by all of his “friends”.

Kill yourself.                                      You fucking ruin everything.                

                    Worthless Deku.                                         Die you fucker.

Waste of space.                               Take a dive off the roof.              

                     You’re pathetic.                                          Your own dad hates you.

Freak.                                              Nobody likes you.  

                     Your sister hates you.                                You deserve to die.

Don’t come to school tomorrow.      Meet us behind the school early.

You looked up at your brother, unable to believe your own eyes. “I-I was going to tell you, but you just seemed so happy with him. I didn’t... I didn’t want to ruin anything else!” Izuku began sobbing into your chest as you held him close. “Bakugo sent you these?” You asked your brother, unable to believe it even though it was right in front of your eyes. How could you have not seen it sooner? Bakugo wasn’t a jerk to Izuku because it was funny or friendly, but because Izuku was quirkless, he was terrible to him. 

You couldn't help but feel tricked, practically lied to that that point. The same boy who would tell you that he loved you, and had always loved you, would beat up your dear brother and tell him to kill himself. You couldn't help but feel tears overwhelming up as you ran down the hall and to the Hero Studies class, seeing Bakugo. “Hey cutie, what’s u-” As he went to do the handshake, you punched him right in the face, sending him to the floor as a crowd surrounded you. “What was that for?!” Bakugo yelled as you grabbed his water bottle.

“You!” You kicked him in his stomach, seeing the students surround you in a circle. “You kiss me and tell me you love me, but then you beat up my brother and tell him to kill himself!” You threw Bakugo’s backpack at him, hitting him in the face. “You’re pathetic! You go threw all the trouble of calling me your best friend and then you do shit like this! You’re pathetic and heart-breaking and I hate you! I hate you so much Katsuki!” You screamed, tears pooling down your face as he stared back at you, unable to believe your words.

“I hate you so much! And I’m never speaking to you again!” You screamed before running out of the classroom, and out of the school towards downtown.

[saltbabypidge]

This fic was created as a pinch hit for the BKDK Katsuki Birthday Exchange 2020 as a gift to @kacchansass #bkdkbirthday

Happy Birthday, Kacchan

Summary: Izuku's trying to do something romantic for Katsukis birthday but Katsukis confused.

Fluff, reminiscing, BKDK, sexual situations.

A/N: Please bear with me, I had a small mishap where the cord to my laptop broke and I was unable to get my progress off of it before the battery died. I had to rewrite it from memory on my phone. The original will be posted when my new cord comes in.

*BKDK*

EDIT; I TOTALLY FORGOT. Minor movie spoilers. If you dont want to be spoilered, skip from Bakugou saying " That wasnt our first kiss..." and come back after the italics.

The sun filtered through the curtains, throwing highlights over dark green hair spilling across a black pillowcase. Bakugou Katsuki always made it his goal to wake up before his partner, claiming to like the peace and quiet, but in reality he liked watching the way Izukus nose wrinkled in his sleep. Today, his eyes were caught by his boyfriends freckles, he refused to admit it to anyone else, but to him they were like stars scattered across the sky.

His crimson eyes were soft as they glanced at the clock, growing wicked as he saw the time. The nerd had decided that they would start celebrating his birthday on the nineteenth, so they could have a whole day to themselves. He'd insisted that they be up no later than eight and it was now eight thirty. Katsuki leaned in, brushing a kiss over his boyfriends freckled cheek,, lips following his fingers as he brushed the wild fall of green behind Izukus ear.

" OI, DEKU!"

With a yelp and thud, the peaceful scene was ruined as Izuku flailed and fell in a tangled heap of blankets to the floor of their apartment. Some things never changed, and even after five years of being Pro-Heroes, and living together for four, he never failed to startled the shit out of his lover. Sometimes he wondered if Izuku had a blind spot where he was concerned, he was rarely taken by surprise by anyone else anymore. Blindspot or not, the ash blond would never get tired of the sight of his taller lover flailing like a fish. It served him right for having the audacity to be half a foot taller than him.

" What? Were we called? Kacchan why are you laughing..." Izuku was slowly trying to extricate himself from the blanket, sun warmed muscle dotted with freckles making an appearance as he untangled his arms. He would look like an oversized child as he stood, wrapped in their large quilt as he rubbed sleep crusted eyes, if it hadn't been for the scars that littered his body.

The birthday boy didn't bother answering, he just jerked his thumb at the clock, laughter dying out into a smirk as he watched bleary emerald eyes blink in confusion at the time then widen as coherent thought filtered in. He knew exactly when the light went on because those eyes widened in panic and his boyfriend launched himself towards the dresser, one foot trying to shake off the remainder of the blanket, like a puppy with a wet foot. Clothes launched themselves around the room as he dug through the drawers.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier? Get dressed, I hope we have enough time to do everything now, I tried to plan extra time in case we got distracted or called but..."

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm the birthday boy here, you better not forget that." With a cocky smirk, Katsuki tuned out his nerd as his words devolved into a mutter about time and plans, and the possibility of rain. The soon to be twenty-two year old had no idea what his boyfriend had planned for today, and of course he was fucking curious, but after the sheer disappointment on Dekus face the last time he'd ruined his own surprise, he hadn't even tried to dig. That didn't mean he wouldn't be an asshole. He made sure to stretch, loosening his muscles nice and slow before he started towards the closet to get dressed. He knew those deep green eyes were on him from the first crack of his neck, through the shoulder roll and into the lunge because the mumbled words had trailed into silence.

. " Aren't you getting dressed, De~Ku? We don't have much time right?" Katsuki said with a smirk before dropping his sleep pants and tugging on a pair of black jeans. He wasn't sure what was planned today, but with enough incentive he knew Deku would agree that birthday sex was in order today, as well as tomorrow. Their relationship may have evolved over the years, but they were both very physical people. They tested each other, got stronger and tested each other again, whether in their hero career or in the bedroom.

The blondes mind started to wander as he pulled his shirt over his head, only to have his thoughts interrupted by strong arms sliding around him, pulling him against his boyfriends hard chest. He tilted his head back, one pierced eyebrow raising at the taller male, the smile on Dekus scarred face was stupidly endearing.

" I never gave you your good morning kiss, Kacchan."

He was ready to roll his eyes- he didn't NEED a good morning kiss- when a large warm hand cupped his chin, tilting his head back into position for the taller man to press their lips together. He didn't need a good morning kiss, but he always wanted one. Stupid Deku always knew how to read him, even when he didn't want him to. The kiss should have been awkward, but they'd had years of practice, and their lips slotted together easily, the awkward position non withstanding. Even here, Katsuki was competitive, reaching up to fist a strong hand in his lovers green curls, taking control of the kiss. It was HIS birthday kiss after all, and he'd be the one in charge.

When they finally parted he licked his lips and pulled himself out of Dekus arms. He could feel himself going soft, warmth for his lover welling in his chest, and a smile tugging at his lips.

Bakugou Katsuki did not get soft when the sun was high in the sky. That was reserved solely for late nights and early mornings damnit.

" You're the one in the fucking hurry, get a shirt on and lets go." He knew Izuku was used to his swift mood changes, and the nerd was on some imaginary time crunch, so they should get going before he got even more time obsessed..

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

The sun was even brighter outside, warming the otherwise chilly spring morning. It flickered through Izukus curls as Katsuki watched him from the passengers seat of their rarely used car. He had no idea where they were headed, so he spent the time watching his boyfriend take turns like a madman. From their personalities, most people would think Bakugou was the reckless driver, anyone who had ever been in a car with the heir of One for All could attest to the opposite. Deku drove his car the way he drove through life, with sheer controlled chaos... Katsuki wouldn't want him any other way

Bakugou Katsuki was in love with Izuku Midoriya. He had finally admitted it to himself after they had been dating for three years. He was just bad at showing it in any normal fashion. Thankfully, the nerd knew him well enough to realize that he wouldn't get many " I love yous" from the explosive ash blond. His contemplation of his boyfriends faults were interrupted by a question.

" Kacchan, what do you want for your birthday?"

Broad shouders shrugged as Katsuki tilted his head to the side. " It's a little late to be asking me that, don't you think Deku~" He smirked. " My birthdays tomorrow. Anyway, I think I told you what I wanted last time you asked,or did you forget, loser" The green haired man flushed crimson as he stopped the car in a parking lot. Katsuki knew he was thinking back to last week when he'd asked that question for the hundredth time while they had been in bed. The crimson eyed pro-heroes smirk widened as he remembered the event himself.

----

" What do you want for your birthday, Kacchan?" Izuku had been sprawled on top of his boyfriend, knowing the other loved using him as a human blanket. Katsuki had become sick of the question. He didn't need anything for his birthday, so he hadn't even bothered to open his eyes as he moved, smirking as he answered.

"I have everything I want here in my hands"

Izuku Midoriya, six foot seven of broad muscle, and bearer of One for All had let out a surprised, and very unmanly squeak when he felt strong hands grip his ass roughly.

------

" Yeah, you remember. so stop asking." the blush had said it all. He watched as Izukus brow wrinkled thoughtfully, smoothing out as he turned the car off. " We're at our first stop. Katsuki looked around unimpressed, the lot overlooked the river, but he didn't see anything special about it. There had to be something, or Izuku wouldn't have the excited look in his eye. He wouldn't be grabbing Katsukis hand and dragging him towards the water, wouldn't be fucking LEAPING OVER THE SIDE and dragging the other with him. When they landed- they were pro's and taking a fall like that was nothing-the irritable blond smacked his boyfriend in the back of the head. " Warn me next time! Now what the fuck is to special about this pla...." He paused as he looked around, red eyes narrowing as the broken shoreline brought up whisps of memory.

---

"...You are a fucking idiot."

A soaked form in green was slammed against the ground with a muffled thud, wet curls sticking to a pale, freckled face as lips pressed hungrily together, relief mixing with adrenaline- ,

The newly minted Ground Zero felt like he couldn't get enough air. He had felt his stomach drop when he had seen his rivals limp body tossed over the barrier toward the water below. They had been chasing this villain for hours, and Deku had been taken by surprise. Katsuki had incapacitated the man with an aggressive AP shot and dove after his partner. The rescue had led to...

------

"....You're a fucking sap." Katsuki could feel his face heat a little at the memory. It hadn't exactly been their most shining moment.

" Come on Kacchan, it was where we had our first kiss..." Izuku was smiling as he slid an arm around his waist. Katsuki shoved at his chest. " Because you almost died, and I was a dumb teenager... and it wasn't our first kiss." He looked up at his boyfriend with a shit eating grin. Izuku crossed his arms, flustered again.

"I don't remember that one, Kacchan...."

Katsuki did. Visions of a different shoreline flickered through his mind.

----

Bakugou had landed hard, both of his arms were broken, so his attempts to get up resulted in him flopping like a useless fish. The pain was making his vision fade in and out, hyperfocusing on a mop of green hair. He could feel the thrum of Izukus quirk under his skin as he dragged himself painfully towards his rival. Bakugo Katsuki had dreamed of being like All Might as a child... The man who always won to save everyone, but not like this. Not with a quirk that was not his own...Not when Izuku wouldn't stand beside him. Having his rival as a foil had become important at some point. He rolled to his side, trying to lift his arm, he knew he needed dna to give the quirk back, but he couldn't. He was too weak. " FUCK this shit. take your quirk back you shitty nerd." the explosive blonde could taste blood on his lips and before he could think through what his exhausted brain had suggested, he was suiting though to action and lifting himself with his abdominal s to awkwardly press his lips against Izukus, cracked bleeding lips meeting cracked and bleeding lips as he thought hard about how much he didn't want this god damn quirk. He would make it to the top with his own power, or it wouldn't mean a damn thing....He hoped it was enough, he couldn't keep conscious anymore and slid off of his rival, darkness taking him.

----

"Yeah, you were out like a light. Fine. he'rs the first kiss we BOTH remember. Why are we here"

Izuku looked sheepish. " I was hoping maybe we could kiss here again, without the near death experience?" The shorter male leaned into his boyfriends reach. " Kiss me, and lets get out of here..." He hated seeing the shuttered look in Izuku's eyes, but he had had nightmares about the incident that had gotten them together for years. He cursed internally, nails digging into his palms as Izuku kissed him softly and they made their way back up to the car. Katsuki punched the car, causing startled green eyes to fly up to his face. " Look...It's cute, but I don't like thinking about you dying." His nerd nodded, shoulders still tense and unsure as he spoke. "The next place we can walk to...so lets get some fresh air."

Katsuki preferred walking if he could,so he nodded and fell in next to his lover, shoulders growing tenser, and teeth gritting in anger as the silence continued. He finally reached out to grab Izukus hand, squeezing it tightly, though he wasn't looking at him. Deku better understand. Katsuki hated PDA with a passion, a kiss or two was fine but he didn't hold hands...unless he thought Izuku needed it. Even after four years of dating, he did it so rarely the public sometimes forgot that the Wonder Duo were a couple at all, something he knew weighed on Izukus mind. Katsuki didn't think that they needed to shout it from the mountaintops, but he was almost ready to, to keep his nerd happy.

The landscape was becoming more familiar as they walked, and Katsuki sighed as they moved past their childhood homes, and Izuku headed towards the school. He moved so he was walking slightly in front of Izuku and crossed his arms

" What is this, a trip down memory lane?" The chaotic being that was his boyfriend and hero partner just gave him a sweet, disarming smile, pulling out two passes into the school as he answered. " Something like that." The explosion user was a little surprised at how well planned this was...whatever it was. At this point he was along for the ride, so he followed his boyfriend out past the school proper, past the dorms where a new class was training to be heroes. They walked, following a path he hadn't seen in years to the mock up of a city, it didn't look any different than he remembered, the place having been repaired time after time. So much had happened here for them...

"I got permission from the school to rent it..."

"Ground Beta..." Ruby eyes met emeralds as they were assaulted by memories.

----

"Fight me Deku" His emotions were in turmoil. He wasn't strong enough, Izuku had been the one All Might had chosen, not him...and Katsuki had been the one to cause All Might to lose his quirk forever.

Izuku was the only one who could accept and receive those feelings, the only one who could come near him in a fight, and Izuku had still lost to him.

Why? Izuku was weak, but he had been chosen by All Might...Katsuki was weak because he had been taken, but Izuku was weaker than him. The fight had been charged with emotion on both sides, it had been a crux of them overcoming the past and becoming true rivals...and eventually friends and lovers.

----

Katsuki could see the light of challenge blooming in his boyfriends eyes, and he could feel adrenaline pumping up his spine. They moved like two predators, Pro-heros in their own right as they squared up a few feet apart. It felt familiar, the surrounding, the energy between them, but this time it was without the weight of confusion and sorrow. And the dialogue was different.

"Fight me, Kacchan" Izuku stood, feet apart, hand out in a come-at-me gesture as he waited for Katsuki to make a move.The explosive hero could feel small crackling explosions lighting his palm, as the excitement got the better of him. If this was what Izuku had planned for his birthday present then he fucking accepted. It had been far too long since they'd had a decent spar.

" Come at me, Deku"

Those were the last words spoken until the end of the bout, knowing each other as well as they did, fighting as partners for so long, they knew what the other would be doing intuitively. It was more like a deadly dance than a spar...or, if you were them, foreplay.

Moving on some unknown signal, Katsuki shot himself forward with barehanded explosions, pivoting midair to launch a kick at Deku's head. He felt air whoosh by under him as the taller man ducked and rolled under him, bringing his arm back around to block the retaliating blow. Each blow was met with a counter. The ash blond smirked as an air shot scored a line of blood across his cheek, exes glowing with excitement as he launched himself back to avoid his incredibly fast lover. Narrowed, alert eyes flickered over the battlefield looking for any weakness in his opponent. He saw it before Izuku. Something small tumbled out of Izukus pocket and the idiot dived for it instead of blocking. Katsuki took advantage of his mistake and pinned him face down against the asphalt. He leaned over his boyfriends prone body to whisper in his ear huskily. " I win...again."

He wouldn't have seen the small shiver that ran through the larger mans frame if he hadn't been looking for it. Katsuki was definitely ready for some birthday sex, and from the soft noise that escaped his partner when he ran his tongue over the selfsame ear he had just whispered into, so was Izuku.

So he was floored when his lover pulled away and whipped around, hand out, as if to keep a beast at bay.

Katsuki wanted to growl at getting denied, but the situation was so...stupid he snorted.

"What's wrong, Deku? We've done it in more public spaces and never gotten caught...and I know you wish I'd fucked you here back then..." He moved towards Izuku, gravelly voice seductive. Izuku took another step back.

"Kacchan this isn't what I came here for...I mean it is...but...not..." He was fiddling with the small box that had caused his loss in the first place, then stopped, back straightning. " You...said what you wanted for your birthday...was me right?" His eyes were pleading and Katsuki realized he wasn't just talking about for sex. He growled and looked away, shoulders tense and emotions riding high.

"Yeah....I mean. I already have you, you stupid Deku. You're mine." He reached out and took Izukus free hand, fingers lacing with his. He wanted to know what had the other so nervous. " What is that stupid box."

Katsuki Bakugou had never felt more like an idiot in his life when his boyfriend slid to one knee in front of him and opened the box that he'd been fiddling with.

The box that had plainly been a ring box the whole time.

"So...Yeah. I'm already yours, Kacc....Katsuki." The green haired giant stumbled over the words and shook his head. " Kacchan...So I can't give you anything but more of me...for the rest of our lives." The world seemed to hold it's breath as terrified green eyes met his and it hit him like a tidal wave what this whole day had been about. Izuku was proposing.

Well...Fuck.

The ring sitting in the casing was actually two rings. Two halves of a whole. -Just like them- They were about as manly as engagement rings got, tungstun steel bands with a single gem set in each band, one emerald, one ruby.

The blond didn't know how to process this. Of course he was going to marry the nerd, he'd just assumed he'd be the one asking. He could see his hesitation feeding that stupid insecurity his lover still carried and reached out his hand to snatch the box. He pried the rings apart and handed the one with the green gem out to Izuku with a slightly shaking hand.

"Youre supposed to put this ring on my goddamn finger right? Now give me your left hand Deku." He slid the ring onto his boyfriends left ring finger with a gentleness that belied his rough actions, and felt the slim band slide over his knuckle as Izuku followed suit. He pressed his forehead against Izukus, eyes meeting as a smile flickered across Katsukis lips, before eyes closed and their lips met.

"Happy Birthday, Kacchan"

Katsuki pulled away from the kiss with a snort.

" Shitty nerd getting yourself the better present for MY birthday" Katsuki crossed his arms cockily, the ring on his finger glinting in the afternoon sunlight. " I know I'm just that awesome." He ran his tongue over his lips. " But you did get me one thing I wanted..." The explosive heros arms moved to pull Izuku to his chest. " So I guess it's not too bad..." His hands slid down to squeeze his boyfr...fiances plump ass. " What do you say we celebrate this by giving me the other thing I wanted..." His smirk grew as he felt a twitch against his thigh, even as his boyfriends voice raised an octave. " HERE?"

[davidmann95]

OK, as a lifelong Spidey fan who is just...*tragically* bored by the MCU take, what exactly is the appeal there? Because from where I'm standing, he's about as faithful an adaptation as the CW's angsty Batman knock-off version of Green Arrow.

mousebrass said: The gaping, Ben Parker-shaped hole in his foundations; the omnipresence of Tony Stark; a militarized suit with an instant-kill mode and glasses that let him invade your privacy and order drone strikes at will? And that's before getting into how they basically stole Miles' best friend and slapped Ned's name on him.

It’s taken me awhile to get around to this one, since to answer it you basically have to answer what makes a faithful adaptation period, which is a whole thing. For me, there’s a solid amount of wiggle room in particular for superheroes from a shared universe: most of these characters are at the end of the day loosely-defined, reinvented as suits the needs of the moment from creator to creator, and there’s a whole extra layer of distance when being translated to an entirely different medium building a new world for a new audience from the ground up.

With the MCU, odd as it is to say, I barely even think of those characters as the same folks from the comics? Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa does not speak or act quite like comics Black Panther. The comics haven’t hard as they’ve tried manage to capture Robert Downey Jr.’s particular vibe. And I don’t think it can be understated how profoundly separate the Captain America of these movies that’s been embraced by the world - a hero who still fundamentally comes across as simply an incredibly decent normal guy - is from the Captain America of the comics, who is charming as heck but is flat-out a walking monument the overwhelming majority of his pagetime. But regardless of those differences, they still play off of the themes and ideals that drive those stories and the broad strokes of their personalities - Ruffalo Banner is clearly a different dude from comics Banner, but he’s recognizably a riff on him dealing with the same struggles and having enough of the cleverness and awkwardness and weariness to be recognizable as a different version of him rather than a different figure altogether - so I easily recognize them as spiritually fitting adaptations. Same with Nolan’s Batman, different as its goals are: that guy is different from comics Batman, shaped by different forces, but his persona and ideals are such that I never question that this is Batman.

To get into the Goofus vs. Gallant stuff, we of course shift over to DC. Briefly delving into Snyder’s Superman and Batman: obviously it ends up departing from the general unifying ideals and themes of their world in major ways, which could be interesting as an alternative take in isolation or even ongoing assumed it was treated as entirely its own thing. Not my thing, but something objectively workable in its own right as riffs on the archetypes. But conceptually a great deal of Man of Steel and Batman V Superman are rooted in at least feinting at deconstructing them as characters specifically, and they bank on doing so in light of the general cultural understanding of them and their history, when they’ve been so profoundly shifted from that to stack the deck in favor of the argument that the argument in fact falls apart in the light of being meant for Superman and Batman as they’re generally understood rather than these ultimately divorced-from-the-source archetypes. So as adaptations rather than whole-cloth invention I’d claim those fail in their goals, particularly given MOS is critically flawed and BvS is regular old bad. On the CW, their Green Arrow maintains virtually none of the demeanor and obvious recurring ideas that define the source material, whereas while Flash is a far cry from the traditional Barry Allen, it’s enough of an extrapolation on existing ideas (and the Barry of the comics is loosely-drawn enough) that I’d say it works. You can work within the architecture of what’s gone before, and you can alter or even defy the original plans for it to a certain extent when building yours, but you can’t punch a big fuckin’ hole in it or tear it down entirely and build an entirely new thing and claim you’re sticking to the original plan.

For Spider-Man, obviously this isn’t 1:1 thing; a lot of him is warped by the fact that he’s entering a universe that the Avengers are the center of rather than...well, him. Of course the differences are going to be highlighted in ways that’ll take him outside his usual territory, and of course when he DOES do big superhero stuff that’s going to be different too because this universe already has its own take on what that looks like. The relationship with Tony Stark makes all the sense in the world in that context (even if I’d say the glasses push things way too far, but that’s more about how that universe has been constructed around Stark than Peter in particular) because he’s a young fan in that world instead one of its first heroes, and with Uncle Ben unmentioned because everyone and their mother already knows all they need to about him and his role* so he can simply function as implied background radiation, Stark and the Avengers in general take that role of absent father figure, changing him further. End of the day though, while the smol softboy uwu vibe he gives off is an invention of this take, he’s fundamentally still pretty much Peter Parker. He’s a nervous well-meaning smartass brilliant kid (who somehow has access to advanced tech in spite of being poor as shit, just like he make no mistake always has in the comics) who makes bad, BAD mistakes because of his fears and short-sightedness but fights like hell to set things right because he’s driven by guilt and an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. He’s a different take, but he’s a Spider-Man type guy who does Spider-Man type things for Spider-Man reasons.

‘Ned’ is indeed shameless as hell though, and I’m not wild about the cavalierness with which Peter kills in the last couple Avengers flicks even if I don’t find it gamebreaking. On the whole though it works for me, even if your mileage naturally varies.

* Hilarious that everyone talks about being burned out on origin stories and Uncle Ben dying in particular and now folks are furious that these movies are skirting over him because they completely correctly assume we already get it.

[thattennisgirl]

Loki x Fem! Reader - Little Bird

Summary: The reader finds common ground with Loki during a chance meeting in the small library within the Avengers compound. Loki becomes fond of the reader.

Set in an AU where Infinity War/End Game does not occur, but is post Thor Ragnarok where Loki joins the Avengers as part of a contract for the Asgardians to settle in Norway.

Word Count:  1,581

Warnings: None

Soft footsteps echoed quietly through the dark halls of the Avengers compound as you headed towards the one place that was always a constant source of consolation when you couldn’t sleep, the library. Reading always seemed to help take your minds off things, relax your mind, especially when dark nightmares of your past plagued you.

This was how you found yourself slowly making your way towards the library, a large blanket wrapped around your shoulders as you made a right at the end of a hallway. You wore your pajama bottoms and a t-shirt as you were not concerned about running into anyone in the middle of the night, most of the Avengers who stayed at the compound were asleep at this time. Although you knew that some of them had sleep struggles of their own, as you had caught Steve going on midnight jogs before. Not that you ever had the energy to join him, you were much more inclined to be comforted by books and their intriguing stories.

You pulled your blanket tighter around your shoulders as you finally found the entrance to the library, and stepped inside. You paused the moment you set foot in the library however, as you noticed a small light emitting from the furthermost corner in the library. It looked like the lamp was on. 

You furrowed a brow, had you left the lamp on from earlier? You wondered, it had been a rainy day without much natural light, and you had used the lamp earlier in the day while reading on the window bench. You couldn’t quite be certain if you remembered turning off the lamp or not. 

Frowning, you moved towards the corner, but not before grabbing a few of your favorite books. Perhaps you would read near the lamp again tonight rather than go back to your room. However, when you came around the corner of one of the bookshelves you halted in your steps. 

Loki looked bored as he gently flipped a page from where he sat in a leather armchair, his tall and lithe body looking more relaxed than you had ever seen the Asgardian, now Avenger and reformed villain. He was dressed casually compared to his usual standards. Instead of his typical leather outfit, he wore a hunter green long-sleeve shirt that hugged his shoulders nicely and black pants, along with dark boots underneath.

His dark raven shoulder-length hair was slightly mussed, likely from him running his hand through it numerous times. Even though you couldn’t see his eyes well from your position, you were certain those emerald eyes were as sharp as ever. It was a gaze that unnerved even you, made you feel as if he could see through all of your secrets. Perhaps he could, he was a God after all.

However, if your goal was to avoid the Asgardian, you failed miserably. 

Loki could sense someone was staring at him, and he looked up in irritation to see who had disturbed his reading. He paused at the sight of you there in the library standing next to the bookshelf. His green eyes narrowed to examine your appearance, his view of your clothes impaired by the large blanket you draped over your body. Socks with a printed pattern on them peeked out from underneath the blanket. Yes, it was indeed his new and somewhat odd, partner. 

“What do you want?” The words came out with more venom and annoyance than Loki had intended. 

You blinked, surprised that the handsome God had even bothered to acknowledge your presence. And he was still staring at you. You felt a small flush on your face at being caught. “I’m here for the same reasons as you.” You waved one of the books you held in your hand, slightly irritated at his bad mood. 

Loki paused, then noticing the tiredness in your eyes, hair messed up from what he could only assume to be constant tossing and turning. And yet, you were still as beautiful and stunning as the first time he had met you. But this time, you were much less guarded and Loki felt an odd urge to run a hand through your hair. Loki frowned, for a moment he was concerned why you were not sleeping at this ungodly hour. He quickly admonished himself as soon as the thought occurred, who was he to be concerned about a mortal? And yet, he still worried for you.

He watched as you stepped into the room, and eyed the bookshelf before him, searching for something. It wasn’t long before you found it, and grabbed the book a small delighted smile on your lips. 

“I’ll leave you be then.” You stated, turning to leave, deciding that reading in your room was not a bad option either, especially since your favorite area was occupied and you weren’t quite up to being that close to an Asgardian who you were not very familiar with just yet.

"Wait.” Loki’s smooth baritone called out, and you paused and looked at him. Loki quickly schooled his features from interest back to cool and composed. Did he dare to ask a favor of you?

“I’m afraid I am unfamiliar with the texts of Midgard.” Loki paused, hating to admit weakness. But he knew you were familiar with the books probably more than anyone else in the Avengers compound, as he had found you in the library multiple times since he had moved here. Each time he would leave before you could realize he was there. “I am having difficulty finding novels worthy of my interest.”

You felt a small smile appear on your lips as the God requested recommendations for books, from you of all people. Loki’s green eyes watched you warily, as if concerned you might humiliate him for the smallest admittance of weakness.

“It can be a troublesome task at times.” You agreed, watching as slight relief flashed through his eyes before he pretended to act nonchalant.

“Yes, well, Midgardian authors can hardly compare to the works of Asgard,” Loki replied as he examined the text in his hand.

You felt your lips twitch at that, it appeared the God did not like asking for help and was doing his best to mask his interest with boredom and insults. Perhaps the two of you were not so different at all.

“I think I know just the thing.” You grinned at the dark-haired Asgardian whose eyes watched you with barely-concealed interest.

Turning back towards the shelf, you set down the books you had came here for, and grabbed a few classics off of the shelves, a mixture of poetry, novels, and plays. Even going a little further back in the library to grab some of your favorites.

Loki sat up straighter as you returned to him holding a rather large pile of books. The way your eyes sparkled in slight enjoyment should have set him on edge, but instead, he found himself admiring how beautiful you looked when you smiled. You laid the books rather unceremoniously on the table next to him, and Loki couldn’t help but grab the first book off the top of the table and scanned the title as you watched, your heart fluttering slightly in his presence. The last time the two of you had been this close, you had been sparring.

“I think you will quite like Shakespeare, he was by far one of the best playwrights in history.” You paused as the God’s dark green eyes met yours, “Thor tells me that you have quite the flair for dramatics and a preference for plays.”

The corner of Loki’s lips twitched upwards in a smirk at the memory of Thor stumbling upon his well-orchestrated play in Asgard. “I do.”

“Good.” You grinned, “I’ll be leaving then.” You nodded as you went to pick up your books to leave. 

Loki let out a small cough and you looked back at him to see him glance away. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” You left before any more awkward words could be exchanged. Your heart suddenly felt much lighter and happier after your interaction with the Asgardian. Loki watched your shapely figure go before turning back to one of the plays in interest. After a while, he paused as he came across an interesting piece of Shakespeare’s play which had a small pink note on it as if to highlight the importance of the words. 

“The eagle suffers little birds to sing,

And is not careful what they mean thereby,  

Knowing that with the shadow of his wings

He can at pleasure stint their melody”

Loki wasn’t entirely familiar with all of the bird species on Earth but he understood the main concept, an eagle will allow birds to sing but with little care of what they say due to an eagle’s ability to scare off or kill any prey weaker than itself. Loki realized that like an eagle, he had little care or interest in the words of mortals due to his ability to easily snuff out their existence as he had done in the past.

“My little bird,” Loki said fondly, his words a mere whisper in the silence of the library. It was a fitting nickname, for your mortality was as fragile as a small bird amidst predators. But a bird is able to sing a song so sweet that it can endear even the coldest of hearts. Perhaps there was still hope for him when it came to you.

----------

The quote is from Shakespeare’s play “Titus Andronicus.” You can find the quote here, on line 90 spoken by Tamora. 

[lianneoelke]

Yukon Gold, Part 2: An Involuntary Dismount From the Canoe

Good morning from Fort Selkirk!

With bellies full of hearty chilli and a sky full of smoke, JJ and Falcon Heavy were ready to hit the river for our fourth day of canoeing down the Yukon River.

We were only five minutes past Fort Selkirk when JJ realized we forgot a radio and both cans of bear spray. We couldn’t just turn around and paddle upstream, so we had to land so Brian could run up the beach and grab everything (which was left on the above picnic table). After that, we were well on our way to an 80km day.

We spotted a black bear munching berries on an island.

We weren’t the only group on the river making a pilgrimage to Dawson City for the music festival. We’d play leapfrog with the same groups so often we came up with nicknames:

Spanish Armada: the group of nine Spaniards that made giant Spanish omelettes for breakfast and tied two canoes together because they had an odd number of people.

Walmart: the family that travelled with camping chairs, big tarps, and coolers. JJ disliked Walmart. JJ thought Walmart was American. Those are two separate sentences. Walmart was actually from Whitehorse. 

Gold Diggers: a husband and wife that would set up on islands and pan for gold. Or so it seemed. 

Reckless Youth: a handful of twenty-somethings from UBC with an aversion to life jackets.

Father & Son: they had little to say, to us or each other.

Frenchies: two French guys. That’s it. 

Christmas Trees: a red and green boat of women having a jolly old time.

We learned the Spanish Armada planned to camp at the site we were aiming for that night. We could have joined them, but I, for one, did not travel all that way to the middle of nowhere to make new friends. So we had to find somewhere else. We came across another good campsite early in the day, but the weather was beautiful and we wanted to get more kilometers in, so we kept pushing. This moment would be remembered as the time we “got greedy”.

Storm clouds blew in fast. When thunder started booming, Brian told us all to get off the river. So we did. And we waited. Then the rain started. And we waited some more. 

Brian (very reasonably) didn’t want to get back on the water until thirty minutes after the last thunder, but the thunder wouldn’t let up. Things were looking grim. Then we remembered we had snacks. We survived on gummy bears, chips, tea, toasted pita and hummus, and craft hot chocolate from Portland, for the two and a half hours it took for the storm to pass.

Spirits wavered but never failed. 

By the time the storm passed, we still had another ten kilometers to paddle before we reached our goal of Brittania creek, and we found ourselves in the curious position of chasing the storm we had just weathered. When we finally arrived, the site was full of bugs, but at least there weren’t any new friends buzzing around.

For dinner I made a bastardized version of Pad Thai, using the canoe as a table while being swarmed by mosquitoes. I quickly realized why this particular packet of curry paste was left untouched in our cupboard for years.

By this point JJ had given up on the trappings of individuality and had matured into a fully realized single entity. So when JJ cast a line and caught their first decently sized fish at 11.36 pm, the three of us celebrated the incredible testament to JJ’s speed, momentum, and finesse. Considering all the rain we endured, we figured it was safe to build a small beach fire to cook the fish. 

We all came to regret this decision, as the fish remains and fish-smoked clothes had to be dealt with before we could finally go to bed, in order to minimize bear attraction. However, since I cooked that night, I was able to dodge clean up. I went to bed without a care in the world.

Day five dawned sunny and misty. We knew this would also be a big day, but for a very different reason. This was the day we’d reach the bakery. Yes, somehow there was a bakery in the middle of nowhere on the Yukon River. 

Power strokes would get us there quicker. 

Of course we had to stop whenever we came across moose trampling through the bushes, beavers smacking their tails, and bears ambling down the beach.

The bakery turned out to be less of a bakery and more of a family home that sold $18 omelettes and saran-wrapped cookies (we bought them all). We payed $8 each to stay the night. Camping in someone else’s backyard to listen to their kids blast music and play in their pool felt strange after the solitude of the river, but we knew the daily thunderstorm would hit us soon and the last thing we needed was to “get greedy” again. So we settled in, washed up, and tackled laundry.

JJ waiting out the 6 o’clock thundershowers. 

Of course, no camping trip with JJ (formerly Rob) would be complete without curry. JJ made us a heaping pot, just in time for more rain showers. 

The next day we found ourselves fresh out of fresh ingredients, so we climbed aboard the COUS COUS train and headed for dehydration station.

Rafting up for snacks and map checks.

We had lunch at the island right before the White River, which poured all its glacial silt into the Yukon. The two rivers blended like miso soup. JJ made ramen while Brian flew his drone for a better view.

After lunch, we found a short but steep trail to hike. 

After the merge we could no longer filter our water from the river, which was so thick we couldn’t even see our own feet when we dipped them in. All the silt brushing against our canoes made a constant fizzing noise, like a never-ending glass of coke being poured. 

Just a couple bros enjoying happy hour with river-chilled beer.

After the relative business of the “bakery”, we decided to camp on an undesignated island covered in moose tracks. While the views and privacy were top notch, all the silt made for very muddy shores.

Brian made delicious minestrone soup for dinner, then treated us to freeze-dried ice cream sandos in honour of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

You can only get dishes so clean in the silty water, but on day six, cleanliness was no longer a priority. Brian had bought a last minute gold pan in Whitehorse, and while it didn’t find us any gold, it did make an excellent vessel for washing dishes and laundry.

The sky was still light at 1 am, because the sky was always light. We went to bed when it was light. We woke up when it was light. Time had no meaning on the river. It created (for me, at least) a sense of security. Openness. Like the Yukon had nothing to hide. But the truth was, we were in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town, on a muddy river where every island was covered with bear, wolf, and moose tracks.

We woke to the sound of splashing outside our tent. I immediately thought the moose had come to do us in, but instead of moose on the loose, we saw a gaggle of goose. 

These banks were home to countless cliff swallows that zipped along the river, eating bugs. Yum. 

“JJ first.”

There’s gold in them there hills. But not really.

Our last night on the river was spent at the Mechem Creek site. We set up camp as Brian howled in the cold cold creek, washing off the heat of the day.

Fire bans don’t count on the last day of the trip. Not if it’s been raining every day and you’re careful. JJ struggled to get the fire going (which Brian and I found slightly concerning, considering how dry the sticks were), but all’s well that ends well. 

I made a pesto surprise COUS COUS dinner with brownie bear poo for dessert. Everyone saved some sort of fun surprise for their last meal.

“Very good food on this trip. Every meal has been at least a solid 7.5 out of 10.” - JJ

The site at Mechem creek turned out to be my favourite camp site, not least because we saved a bag of wine for that night. 

We woke up at 6am up to a brilliant, clear sky.

JJ treated us to one last meal on the river.

There’s nothing better than a well packed canoe! 

River travel is tiring work.

We rafted up for one last ceremonial flip of the map, which brought us to our final page. Spirits were high. Jokes were shared. We were finally on the home stretch of our 8 day, 400 km paddle through the Yukon wilderness.

Minutes away from Dawson City, disaster struck.

Brian wanted to stop for a drone shot of Dawson before we paddled in, so we radioed JJ to let them know to land at the tip of the next island. Unable to reach the point in time, JJ decided to land mid island, where the strong current had eroded the bank, causing several trees to topple. It was a bad place to land, and they came in hot hot hot.

Official statement from JJ:

“JJ experienced an involuntary dismount resulting in minor losses from the deck and a minor intake of water. However, the landing was successful.”

JJ thought the word “capsize” was too passionate for the encounter, but Falcon Heavy disagreed. When JJ’s canoe met land, the current hit from underneath, tipping the canoe and its contents upstream. Brian turned to me and said “They capsized. They did exactly what I told them not to do.” No one was injured, although Jordan’s solar panel and Rob’s hat and beloved binoculars were lost to the water. Falcon Heavy found a safe eddy to pull in, then Brian brought out the drone while we waited for JJ to get their shit together.

The paddle of shame.

We had just got back in the water when we heard the unmistakable rumble of thunder. We were faced with a dilemma: get off the water, like all Brian’s experience suggested we do, or “get greedy” and paddle hard to race the storm.

We paddled hard...

... but not so hard we didn’t have time to admire the first and only fox we saw on the river.

That’s Dawson City at the top.

This time our gamble paid off, and we made it to the docks with nae drama (except for the paddleboat that honked at us to get out of its spot).

Safe and sound in Dawson City, it was time to look back at our favourite and not so favourite moments of the canoe trip.

JJ (Jordan)

Highlight: Fort Selkirk. Just the whole fort. So cool.

Lowlight: Involuntary canoe dismount and loss of solar panel. 

Gold Star: Gold Pan/Brian Shaw for getting the gold pan.

JJ (Rob)

Highlight: The River (as a tangible entity and metaphysical being) The colours, the current, the curves...the feeling.

Lowlight: Involuntary canoe dismount and loss of binoculars. 

Gold Star: JJ. The physical embodiment of speed, momentum and finesse.*

*In all my years of highlight/ lowlight/ gold star, I have never seen someone award the gold star to themselves. 

Brian

Highlight: All the Yukon cabins. The history of the Yukon Crossing, the trees growing out of Thom’s Location cabin roof, the historically intact cabins of Fort Selkirk (inside and out), and all the private cabins we saw in between.

Lowlight: Cleaning up the fish & fire at Britannia Creek between midnight and 1am, exhausted from the long day, swarmed by bugs, still stinking of fish, right into the tent.

Gold Star: Jordan, for making the trip (and JJ) happen by stepping in at the last minute and filling the spot, prepared and enthusiastic, and a strong paddler.

Lianne

Highlight: The beautiful site and tasty food at Mechem Creek. Also the fact that none of the canoeists that stopped by the creek for water decided to stay the night, because sharing the site would have really killed the vibe.

Lowlight: Spending hours waiting out the day four thunderstorm under a tarp.

Gold Star: The map. Following along and “staying found”, as Brian would say, was easy and delightful.

Bonus Gold Star: Brian Shaw. The unofficial leader of our canoe trip, Brian looked after us all with his experience, well-muscled arms, moon landing trivia, sexy beard, and positive attitude. 

As always, most of the good pics were taken by Brian. He put together an album of the 2019 Yukon River greatest hits: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22674099@N08/albums/72157710102335767/page1

Stay tuned for the third and final part of Yukon Gold. Dawson City will bring a music festival, rowdy casino, epic hike, and a real life Yukon character known as “the Ghost”. 

[letswritefuriously]

ETR Character Intro - Ember Miller

Name: Ember Miller

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Description: Medium height, half Aboriginal Australian, moderately dark skin, short chocolate brown hair that’s shorter on one side from an undercut she’s growing out, red and blue highlights, brown eyes

Personality: Mostly calm and collected but quick to anger, laid back rebel, extremely shy in a way that comes off as mysterious, stubborn, thoughtful

Clothes: Chrysalis High Senior Girl’s Uniform (white shirt, blue tie, green jumper, blue skirt, black shoes) or singlets, ripped jeans or denim shorts, sometimes leather jacket, choker necklace.

Powers: Can breathe fire

Alignment: Chaotic Good

The light from my old iPhone - a 4, yes, it’s that old - that Veda and Rei have begun to call The Fossil in capitals and italics flashes before my eyes. My Netflix account is open on the Umbrella Academy, and I’m stationary, letting the stories of Vanya, Klaus and all their siblings fill my mind and take away any other thought.

I roll over and check the time on my watch – The Fossil’s clock seems to think I’m in France – to find a glowing green ‘0142’. I sigh and turn my attention back to my phone. 18 minutes to go.

See, contrary to Veda and Rei’s beliefs, I don’t actually like staying up that much. Well, I used to. But then I started staying up a lot, and now all I want to do is sleep. But I have a goal, a purpose. And so, I can’t sleep. No matter how early I have to get up, without a care to the important things I might have to do the next day that a lack of sleep could make me fail. But I’ve failed at worse things before, and I can’t do it again, and that’s why I stay up.

The episode finishes, and, despite the cliff-hanger it ended on, I don’t click the next one. 12 minutes to go now; no time to watch a whole episode. Instead, I drop onto Instagram. I, personally, think that social media is the lowliest form of human interaction – or at least, this particular form of social media - and should go back to the hellhole it came from. Instagram is always full of hate and people tearing each other down for no better reason that the fun of it - that’s why I prefer to do my socialisation on Netflix. In other words; I don’t do my socialisation.

My eyes are bleeding form tiredness. 0152. I’m starting to drift off... I shake myself awake. 0157. I click onto the search. Is anyone on? No. Either I don’t have enough friends, or I’m the only insomniac. I’m nearly certain that I don’t have enough friends, but I suppose it could be both.

0159. I turn the phone off, and readjust my sheets. I turn it on again, and me screensaver of Peter Parker lights up my face. Still 0159.

I gotta admit, superheroes sort of became an obsession of mine after that fateful day that I discovered I could breathe fire. Peter Parker is definitely the best, though; cinnamon roll incarnate. The cinnamon rolls are always the best characters, and usually also the first to die, in a show of bad writing for shock purposes. To be honest with you, if anyone tried to kill Peter for shock purposes, I’d send them a very angry letter in the mail – just like I did the last time they tried. I’ll assume it worked, because he’s back now.

I check my phone sleepily. 0200. The light of The Fossil dims and throws me into hellish darkness.

Hell must be my home, I think as I slide into sleep, because I like this much better than the light.

Thanks for reading! Follow me/ask to be tagged for more content!

Tagging: @tabbykatwrites, @ofinkblotsandscript, @farradays, @awilliamswrites, @thewriteblrarchives

[benmic98-blog]

LAST MINUTE INSPO FROM A SNEAK PEEK INTO CELEBRITY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES 2019

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat! Soon there will Halloween parties in full swing, pumpkins lining the streets and masses of trick or treaters on a serious scrape to secure as many sweets as possible at midnight. It’s that time of the year when you fancy channeling your inner Rihanna or Halsey or any fictional a character like Shrek or Lego Batman or any celebrity to create a spotlight-stealing look. Many choose to pay homage to their idols this spooktacular season and as the season has already kicked started with a bang, you might be at the hunt for a last-minute Halloween costume inspiration from the A-list set, spending hours to create the iconic looks this Halloween, all hail to the early festivities that have begun with our stars flaunting their Halloween looks setting the bar high again this year leaving behind costume inspiration for many. If you are a die-hard Halsey fan like me, plenty of choices to channel your Halsey are open; from Met Gala, Victoria Secret’s fashion show to American Music Awards and New York Fashion week Halsey could be your go-to Halsey costume for the Halloween party.

From Cruella de Vil to the tooth fairy you might have experimented with all kinds of looks from spooky to sweet all your life and this year what will be your spin this year is giving you serious trouble. Just Eat, Drink & Be Scary.

2018 didn’t fail to disappoint the celebrity high bar for Halloween costumes with some of the most outrageous, funny and confusing costumes, from the barely recognizable (Rita Ora as Post Malone, anyone?) to the downright uncanny, one can recreate the previous year’s head-turners as this Halloween's spooky and glamorous ensemble with DIY. From the most hyped costumes from the last year Halloween that took Instagram and twitters with amaze and gaze was the Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake, and Silas Randall Timberlake as Lego Batman characters, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, the great Kardashians always making up to the highlights with fancy yet controversial stories, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian as Victoria's Secret Angels, Heidi Klum as Princess Fiona from Shrek, the millionaire whose Insta stories are always extravagant and stays at the top of social media hype, Kylie Jenner as Barbie and Beyoncé as Toni Braxton. When we talk about the most spine-chilling Halloween outfits we can’t just get over Heidi Klum's remarkable Jessica Rabbit in 2015 (which took nine hours of groundwork to complete the prosthetics), or Lady Gaga as a terrifying Edward Scissorhands in 2017 and the list goes on and on, for Halloween is the most sought social event in the celebrity calendar where their costume ideas are mandatory to prove as the crowd-pleasers.

Among the early Halloween feels, Dance with the Stars take the lead in giving us those creepy looks by going full zombie during Halloween night on Monday with a spooky opening number set to Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. With the insane moves and crazy costumes donned with dreadful makeup to turn the ballroom floor into a creepier zombie world, the stars and the professional dancers are giving me chills down the spine.

https://youtu.be/h8ZYLlNZEMw

Some creepy costume inspirations are ready to be added to the Halloween mood board from the early Halloween festivity in Los Angeles hosted by Rande Gerber and George  Clooney, the annual Casamigos the party had the starry guest list who donned their crazy costumes as the homage to classical idols or recreated the looks from their past events. All of this flooded twitter and their Instagram before the arrival of the big day. The social-media worthy clobber for the annual Casamigos party is listed below.

HALSEY: MARILYN MANSON

Halsey deserves all the applaud and the limelight, biased? Probably yes but the fandom of Halsey provokes such instinct in me and if I were to hand over the best celebrity costume award, Its Halsey and Halsey every time, every year and every event. Halsey this year didn't fail to disappoint and channeled inner goth rocker Marilyn Manson while she announces her relationship with actor Evan Peters on the Halloween bash in Los Angeles. Fiery redhead and a latex leotard was Halsey in the complete Halloween Spirit, spooktacularly-sexy.

Halsey and Evan Peter are giving us some real relationship goals or they chose to confirm their love by costume coordination, Polka dots giving nostalgia of the '70s. They donned the look at starry American Horror Story 100th Episode Celebration kicked off in California.

KYLIE JENNER – FLAUNTS HALLOWEEN LOOK AS MADONNA

Black is always a killer and Kylie Jenner totally slayed the look with blood-stained red lipstick and blondes to create the Madonna look in a now-iconic kiss at the 2003 VMAs. The makeup-mogul paid homage to the pop culture by pairing with her friend Stassie Karanikolaou to recreate Britney Spear. How cool is that?

Like mother is the daughter, all glammed up in the Jenner’s met gala ensemble look. Stormi Webster was a miniature version of Kylie at the Met Gala, with the same lavender dress and purple hair. She totally was a little cute fella.

HEIDI KLUM – TOOK THE RED CARPET WITH GLITZ AND GLLITTERZ

Her spectacular look made me utter “All that Glitters is just Gold!” The model dipped in glitter dazzled like a neon firework with green and other neon-colored glitters sprayed generously. That would be an understatement though as both husband and wife took the theme of fireworks to take Instagram like always to satiate the fandom every Halloween. But this is not the finale to the Halloween spook; a lot of creative prosthetics has been put to pull off this year’s costume for her iconic party.

DEMI LOVATO - MARIE ANTOINETTE

In round 1, Demi was shining in the ensemble by her glam team, Etienne Ortega and Paul Norton. She is the crown-winner just in round 1, the slayer has dressed like French aristocrat Marie Antoinette with a low-cleavage corseted frock, taking us back to the 18th century. The star-studded eyes with heavily-powered makeup and a high-bun is worth the applaud.

The second round brought forward the clown look of the singer, red-nosed and ginger head with complementing fierce red lens and pom-pom frock is another slayer and winner.

JESSICA BIEL - SARTORIAL TRIBUTE TO THE JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE NYSNC DAYS

When Jessica Biel dared to confess on air that she knows nothing about NSYNC songs, this is what it turned out as Jessica's costume for Halloween. In a metallic boiler suit with a curly wig and '90s sunglasses, Jessica paid homage to his husband's boy-band days.

UK celebs have been hitting hard to get into the game and giving tough competition to their US counterparts with hilarious costumes for the big day. The KISS Haunted House Party was another peak-into a place for getting costume inspo. Many of the stars that were performing in the KISS Haunted House Party took the stage with some incredible costumes; Four of diamonds rocked the recreation look of Bratz dolls with their infamous big eyes and face paint to complete the look. The Joker look was much expected after the acclaimed success of the movie, Cetinay was all Joker ready in red suit and clown painted face. Latex seemed more of a trend this Halloween in the celebs, after Hasley, Henderson was seen in black and orange latex with devil horns and blood dripping from the eyes, orange glitter blood to be specific.

Get your Halloween party shoes on and get running with the last minute DIY costume ideas. Slay the look completely. Happy Haunting!

 Author’s Bio:

A well-versed business-writer with an immense passion for innovation and technology. I am a trend enthusiast and like to explore trending practices in various industries. I have written a detailed review of the Exede rural high-speed internet for its major overhaul in the satellite.  

I like to write and talk about fun & entertainment and how technology is evolving our lives in the most amazing ways. Mainly, little things such as the internet and smartphones are the center of my attention.

[bllover4lif]

About Me Tag

Special thanks to @chiefofpigs​ for tagging me!!

The rules are:

1. Tag the person who tagged you

2. Answer the questions

3. Tag 10 people

• How tall are you?

Last time I checked, 5′5 or 5′6. 

And yet, I haven’t grown an inch. 😭😭😭😭😭

• What color and style is your hair?

My hair is a very very VERY dark brown hair, to the point where it looks completely black. For almost a year my hair has been in comb curls but now it’s in 2 stranded twists. Also when my hair is twisted, like it is now, if you look real close, you can see my natural brown highlights.

• What color are your eyes?

My eyes are the same color as my hair, brown but almost black looking.

• Do you wear glasses?

Yes. I’ve had cataracts since I was young, but was never confirmed until the 9th and 10th grade. I had the surgery done on the left one last year in February. And the other one will be done this summer!! Yes, that still means I need glasses.

• Do you wear braces?

No, and thank god I don’t. I don’t want to.

• What’s your fashion sense?

Um... (Laughs shyly) believe it or not, I’m not really sure. I have no real style.

It used to be matching colors. Now it’s more of a dark color scheme, with the few light colored clothes. I almost always wear shorts, pants, or capris. Also, I always wear tennis shoes. I never wear skirts, dresses or anything fancy unless its a special occasion (i.e. dresses for church or a wedding). I hate open-toed shoes, with the exception of wedges and gladiator sandals. And don’t even get me started on makeup. Mainly because I don’t know how to put it on. Also with my eyes, I’d be afraid of making it worse. I do have purses and cute bags though.

(Also, if you were to ask my mom, she would say I’m from ‘Grannyville’ due to not wanting to dress like how most other black girls my age I’ve seen walking around. LMFAO 😂😂😂😂😂)

• Full name?

Jude Asia Morgan

• When were you born?

December 23rd, 1999

And yet, I still feel so old. I wonder why?

• Where are you from and where do you live now?

I was born in Kenner, Louisiana. However, the majority of my family was born in New Orleans, LA. Currently, I live in Baton Rouge, LA. 

• What school do you go to?

I am a freshman (about to be sophomore) at LSU (Louisiana State University), 

• What kind of student are you?

I am a very quiet student who keeps to herself but warms up over time. For some reason, I fear people think I always look angry. I’m also the biggest procrastinator I know. And my mom always tells me not to do that. I stay up until 3 am or even later, even though 3 is my limit. And I always study for tests at the last minute (and for some reason, don’t always fail).

• Do you like school?

Yes. Especially college. I’ve never enjoyed it so much. With more freedom, why not?

• Favorite subject?

Mathematics, but I also love computer and technology subjects as well. I also love reading and writing classes (although my reading comprehension is horrible)

• Favorite TV show?

Don’t really have one. I rarely watch TV much nowadays. I do watch anime though if you count that. Some of my favorites is Cute High Earth Defense Club,  Cute High Earth Defense Club Happy Kiss, Yuri on Ice, and Yona of the Dawn. But ultimately it depends on the genres. I love male sports, male idols, BL, reverse harems, adventure, action, comedy, and supernatural. They also need males leads and not many girls.

• Favorite Movie?

None really. I always fall asleep during a movie, except for a good few. My favorite maybe... Hidden Figures? And maybe The Martian?

• Favorite books?

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (currently reading)

Micheal Vey series by Richard Paul Evans

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson

Any book by John Green

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (#1 best book in the world, IMO)

*All in all, I am a huge bookworm. I love tons of books. I may start reading Harry Potter soon.

• Favorite pastime?

Well, let’s see. Naps, sleeping, cooking, naps, writing (recently), reading, naps,  playing otomes, drawing 3d cubes (and sucking at it) and more naps!! 

* Yes, I really love naps. 😂😂😂😂😂

•  Do you have any regrets? 

Not really. Maybe I wish I could have worked harder in middle and high school and then maybe I wouldn’t have gone through so much stress and depression at that time.

• Dream Job?

Something with math, like a teacher or an actuary. My ultimate goal is to have a masters or a doctorate in math so I can become a mathematician. Maybe something with computers and technology, like robotics or engineering. I also always wanted to be a chef. So at the moment, who knows?

• Would you ever like to be married?

Of course!! I have my whole future planned out.

• Would you like to have kids?

Yes.

• How many?

I want 5-6 boys and 1 girl.

• Do you like shopping?

Yes and no. It depends on what I’m shopping for. Books, yes. Food, yes (especially at Sam’s and Cosco due to the free samples). Clothes and shoes, I would if my mom wasn’t always complaining about what I choose there.

• What countries have you visited?

None. I have been to other states, such as Tennessee, Texas, Virginia (Washington DC) and a few other southern states. I do wish to travel to Japan, North and South Korea, Nordic countries, and Canada.

• Scariest nightmare you have ever had?

I would say either:

1. One where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton visited my house and threw a party and wouldn’t leave nor let me leave (LMFAO)

2. One where I rode a bike holding a pillow and after waving to 2 of my older brothers, the bike went out of control and started falling and screaming to my death into this deep prison looking ravine (which caused me to fall out of bed)

3. One where I was inside Call of Duty: Black Ops and I was in this area overlooking another one filled with Nova 6. My head is very fuzzy about it, but someone drove a big truck and crashed causing Nova 6 to spread everywhere. Everyone started dying (I blame my brother for this dream). and I woke up crying.

* For those who’ve never played, Nova 6 is a deadly gas that kills anyone within 20 seconds of exposure. You have to have a special suit to walk around in, but if you took too much damage, your suit would crack and you would be exposed. Don’t worry. I don’t think it’s real. 

Now that I’m looking, I would say most likely number 3. I can and l NEVER will forget such horror. 😭😭😭😭😭

• Any enemies?

No. Not that I know of. Maybe my older sister's cat?

• Any significant other?

Not at the moment. I did fall in love with my crush in my senior year of high school. We knew each other since 10th grade. He went to a different school run by the same principal as mine, and he would come over for certain classes. We met on a field trip through a friend, and we confessed on the last day for seniors to be at school. But we broke up days before my graduation, so not even 2 weeks. (Don’t worry. It was just because we didn’t know how to have a long-distance relationship while we were at different colleges and we didn’t want so much stress on us. I’m not upset at all. A little lonely, but not upset.) 

We still talk though. I’m sure he still loves me and after college, we may get back together. Our families accepted us almost immediately, even though they never met us until our graduations. So to answer, yes and no. And currently, my friend from middle school and her family are trying to get me and my crush together. We both love each other so much, but it’s hard to confess our true feelings as we are both very shy. But they already know we are the perfect match.

• Do you believe in miracles?

No, not really. Things just happen.

• How are you?

Very very tired, and very very stressed. I’m going through my last 3 of 8 finals this week and I have to pack and move everything out the dorm by this Saturday. Being a college freshman (a sophomore in August) is a lot of work. But I feel pretty positive that my grades this semester will be much better than last semester.

Not to mention, now that it’s summer, I plan to post my very first Ikerev fanfiction!! Please look forward to it!! 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

Also, I get to write more (Yay!!) and get more routes to play (Yay!!). I can take as many naps as I want. And I’ll be stress-free!! ... Until next semester when I move into my apartment and start school again. So honestly... I feel really chill. I love my life!! 😍😍😍😍😍😭😭😭😭😭

Tagging: @incorrectikerevquotes, @alloveroliver. @edgarbright, @alloveroliver-ash, @ikemenfics, @ikemensengokufandom, @ikemenrevolution, and whoever else wishes to do this. See you soon!! Bye bye!!

[flowersbound]

Sinnerman: Part 1

Don’t you see me prayin’?

But the Lord said, “Go to the devil”

He had been waiting at the bar for what seemed like hours. He had come to Los Angeles to speak with his old friend. He thought it too much on the nose for the King of Hell, to make his home in the city of angels. Angels and demons existed and it was a well-hidden secret that he took delight in keeping from the rest of the world aside from his siblings. It did no good to tell the world, especially the supernatural world, that there were beings more powerful than he. There was only one other supernatural he ever knew that knew about angels and demons and that was a Sarah Bennett. She never shared how she knew about them.

 However, his goal here tonight was not to be made to feel insignificant but to make a deal with another king to save the life of his daughter. That hollow was coming to devour his daughter’s soul and he needed a way to defeat her. Hayley had done her job by waking him and his siblings up and saving their lives. And Marcel well that was not something he would discuss.

Then the lights dimmed and a piano began to play. Then Lucifer was there and singing.

“Baby you understand me now

If sometimes you see that I’m mad

Doncha know no one alive can always be an angel?

But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good

Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Then a bright light appeared on the stage and a woman’s body appeared. The entire audience in Lux turned their bodies toward the stage. The band on the stage took up the harmony and then she began to sing. Then as the woman bathed in light sang, his mind swirled with memories.

Ya know sometimes baby I’m so carefree

With a joy that’s hard to hide

And then sometimes again it seems that all I have is worry

And then you’re bound to see my other side

But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good.

Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.

 Then the light faded and he was able to see her. Her hair was a light brown with coppery highlights that glinted like fire as she swayed to the music. Her amber skin glowed against the black silk dress that fell down her body like black waves of a midnight ocean and ended in crests of white. Then she opened her eyes and he knew they were green cat’s eyes with flicks of gold. He knew this girl. He knew this Bennett Witch. Her name was Bonnie. And she was supposed to be dead.

 If I seem edgy

I want you to know

I never mean to take it out on you

Life has its problems

And I get more than my share

But that’s one thing I never mean to do

 Cause I love you

Oh baby

I’m just human

Don’t you know I have faults like anyone?

 Sometimes I find myself alone regretting

Some little foolish thing

Some simple thing that I’ve done

 I’m just a soul whose intentions are good

Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Don’t let me be misunderstood

 I try so hard

So please don’t let me be misunderstood

 The music faded as she faded back into darkness. Lux erupted in applause and wolf whistles. Then Lucifer stood with the mic and said, “Thank you, everyone. If I can ask the songstress back on stage?” And then again there she was bathed in light, sparkling like a gem.

“Everyone, I would like to present to you, Bonnie.” He walked to the stage and held out his hand to her. She took it and stepped into his arms. “She is my greatest treasure and I am extremely proud of her.” He looked down at her with eyes filled with love. “I love you sweetheart.” Then he kissed her forehead. Then she whispered into the mic for all to hear. “I love you too, Daddy.” Then he recognized the emotion that swirled in the devil’s eyes because he had felt it whenever he looked at his daughter.

The audience awed and clapped at the private moment between father and daughter but neither one to worry about the others because it was just a father and his little girl. They separated when a dark-skinned man walked up to her and bear hugged her. He heard over the clapping. “I am so proud of you baby girl.” And she replied, “Thank you, uncle Amenadiel.” Then at that moment, the crowd’s attention was diverted back to the stage where a DJ began his mix.

The crowd parted like the ocean for the three of them as they walked towards the bar. A spark of recognition filtered through Lucifer’s eyes when he spotted him but Bonnie merely passed him over as her head turned from side to side. He whispered something to Bonnie and she nodded. Then she was escorted to the other side of the bar by her uncle and up the ladder never once looking back at him. He felt himself frown as she had failed to recognize him.

Then he was in front of him smiling a smile that was sharp and promised to cut him to shreds. He caught him staring at his daughter.

“Klaus Mikaelson,” he said. “Lucifer Morningstar,” Klaus replied back. Neither one seemed inclined to stop their standoff.

“What brings you here, old friend?” Lucifer finally said.

“I heard you were on earth again and I felt it was due time to reconnect with you.” Klaus said. It would not do to ask for a favor so soon. Lucifer widen his smile and nodded. “Yes, it was the 1500s correct?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Well it seems you are doing well,” he paused. “And it seems you managed to break your curse, so Katerina proved helpful?”

“Eventually,” he growled out with a bit of anger. Katerina’s deception still rankled him from time to time but she was dead and in hell where she was supposed to be.

“Oh don’t be like that old friend. I told your brother that the doppelganger was there and that she would prove to be helpful. I never said when she would be,” He said laughingly. “That is true,” Klaus conceded. Elijah had made the deal for the information and all of the three of them paid the price.

Lucifer laughed and then said, “Come old friend let’s go up to my penthouse to catch up.” The words were friendly enough but the darkness clung to the syllables with claws that promised to rake him bloody. Klaus had never shied away from a challenge so he followed the devil up to his castle in the sky.  

They rode in silence with no music but the faint sounds of piano strings tinkling. As they got closer, the voice that accompanied that music became strong like a siren’s song. She had always been beautiful to him but she was firm in her conviction to oppose him at every term. She had been the first one to put him in a coffin and he hated her for that because it had given hope to his enemies. That spark of hope had bloomed into a raging forest fire that eventually put him into a coffin for years.

As soon as the doors opened he saw her back. She had taken off the dress and exchanged it for a tank top and shorts. Lucifer clapped his hands and she stopped and turned to them with a brilliant smile. He had never known her to smile. He was sure she did but the only face he ever saw was one full of anger and hatred. He found that she had a lightness to her as she smiled. It reminded him of Caroline and he could see the two girls laughing in the sunlight together without a care in the world.

The last time he had seen Caroline, the sunlight had dimmed considerably. The last time he had heard from the witch was when he had called her to consult about the fate of the supernatural purgatory. She never said anything but he read between the lines. She would not survive. He blurted out, “Does Caroline know you are alive, Love?”

Father and daughter looked at him then. “I’m sorry, do I know you,” she asked squinting her eyes as if to get a better look at him. Lucifer’s eyes burned with blood and gold behind her. His daughter only seemed confused. He took the warning.

“No, I am sorry. You look like someone I once knew.” He said meekly. Bonnie looked back at her father but he had reigned in darkness but the hard stare was still there as he gazed at him. Then she smiled again and lift her hand. “Bonnie Morgenstern and you are?”

He gripped her hand and turned it over to kiss it. Her hands wiggled as he stared deeply into her eyes. He was willing her to remember him but she only smiled shyly as a shiver of heat ran up her spine.

Lucifer cleared his throat. “Sweetheart you do not want to be late.” She snatched her hand from him and turned to her father. “Yeah let me get my purse.” And she walked away from him for the second time without a glance backward.

Lucifer stepped into his line of vision and his face was lined with shadows from the moonlight and candles placed along the penthouse. Klaus smiled to ease the tension but the King of Hell was not amused. Then she walked back, the moonlight following her steps. She rose on her feet and kissed the devil on the cheek. “I’ll call to let you know if I need help.” He only nodded but never took his burning gaze from him.

Then she looked at him and smiled again. “It was a pleasure to meet you….”

“Klaus Mikaelson.” He said smiling at her. She shook his hand once more and walked around him to the elevator. He turned his body around and she glanced back at him shyly. When she was settled in the metal box she turned but could not meet his gaze. He watched her hungrily till the doors closed and beyond.

The clinking of crystal against crystal caused him to move his head to the side and he watched Lucifer approach with two glasses of scotch. He extended one glass to him. “Just so you know, Niklaus, it would not be wise to steal from the devil.”

“The last time I spoke to her, she was on the verge of death,” he said accepting the glass and brushing off the threat.

“So, you knew my little bird in her previous life,” Lucifer said leading him to the sunken living room in a pool of moonlight and shadows. “A sad little life it was,” Klaus said. Lucifer paused then continued to walk. “Yes, unfortunately, it was.” Lucifer lounged on the sofa like a cat but his eyes watched his every move like a wolf.

“Does she know what kind of a monster you are?” The fallen king asked the fallen angel.

“Does your daughter know about you?” He asked and then took a sip of the drink. Surprise filled him but he quickly smacked it down and replaced it with anger.

“I am sure others have told her about me.” It ate at his insides to not have been able to be there. To not be able to show her that even though he was a monster, he was one for her sake.

“Daughters pretend to be blind to their fathers,” Lucifer said in a still voice that meant to sooth the offense. “But they see us.” Klaus finished for him. The King of Hell nodded to him.

“So, I assume you are here to ask for a favor,” he asked after a moment of silence. “Yes, I need something powerful to defeat a rather aggravating foe that wants to harm my daughter.”

“I can send Maze to help as soon as she is available,” Lucifer said. “And I assume you would want payment for your assistance,” Klaus stated.

“My daughter is not for you,” he said. Klaus did not need him to elaborate. A soul was usually the payment for a deal with the devil and if he satiated his curiosity, he would lose the little bit he had left and there was no supernatural purgatory to stop him from reaping his soul. He was the villain and he was selfish. He would leave the princess in her tower with the red dragon.

He finished his drink and made his way out of the penthouse.

Three days later, Marcel came in to tell him he had a visitor. He made his way to the garden. She was standing beneath the magnolia tree smelling the white flowers. She wore a light green dress; whose lace pattern were leaves. She was standing in a pool of sunlight.

“Maze was supposed to be the one here,” he said to the girl.

“I remembered your eyes,” she said without turning. She plucked a flower. Then she turned to him and he heard his brother gasp when he recognized the resurrected witch. “After that night in my home, I remembered their fire. I asked Maze about you but she had nothing except that she was supposed to come to help you.” She ripped petals off the white flower and watched them float down to her feet. Then she looked at him.

“If I help you, will you tell me how I know your eyes?” Her eyes glinted like emeralds in the sunlight.

He smiled at her.

 She smiled at him.

 All on that day

I cried, power

Power to da Lord

A/N I have wanted to share this for a while now. In case it is not clear that is Lucifer Morningstar from the tv show Lucifer. 

[awed-frog]

tl;dr: nope

I got a couple of anon asks about this, and I’m also tagging @twist-shout-and-shells because they asked me to, but I have to say - I don’t know anything about comics, I don’t know Marvel at all, so this review is just a meaningless rant. Like, I know so little about this universe that the first superhero movie I ever saw in my life was Thor, and the only reason they got me was because my mythology-loving ass assumed this would be about the actual god, you know?, so that was a very confusing two hours. Anyway - after this, I’m done with them. The ridiculous hype campaign they created around Infinity War actually activated my crow brain, which means I rushed to the theater because I was sort of expecting this would be a shocking masterpiece and any spoiler would ruin it for me, and - yeah. Never doing that again. Because, whatever - they do manage to come up with some good writing from time to time, and Black Panther’s success had made me hope they’d finally recognize that a solid, coherent and meaningful story is really the first thing you need, but apparently not? 

Ugh.

Anyway, here are main reasons why I didn’t like Infinity War.

1) No, we don’t need a new plague

Problem number one with this movie is that it fails to take into account that our IQ as a people has dropped about twenty points over the last thirty years (and I’m not even joking) and that means even a guy nicknamed ‘Mad Titan’ is actually given the benefit of the doubt (I don’t remember anyone thinking Hela might have had a point, but then again, women are known to be emotionally compromised at all times, right, so all that rage was probably PMS and crazy bitches, amirite?, can’t live with them, can’t live without them). And here, predictably, is the result:

I even checked Breitbart so you wouldn’t have to and while they seem confused as to whether they should support this movie or not (don’t watch because Captain America is played by ‘Comrade Communism’, do watch because Chris Pratt is a Good Christian Man), it’s still clear to everybody over there that Thanos, “an environmentalist wacko obsessed with salvaging the natural resources of the universe” is “espousing liberal jibberish”.

So, I’m going to keep it short and mostly sourceless because I saw a lot of people discussing this, but just to be clear: yeah, it is worrying that human population has basically tripled in thirty years, but the correlation ‘more people = more damage & fewer resources’ isn’t as clear-cut as some like to think. Also, research shows that women being recognized as human beings - that’s the actual way to solve this problem (see also x, x), which means that if Thanos had meant business, he could have used those frwaking stones to build schools and family planning centres. 

2) Your plan against evil can’t be just saying no

This is probably what bugs me the most both in fiction and IRL: saying ‘Trump is a moron’, ‘capitalism is bad’ or ‘genocide is wrong’ is not a political program. It’s a moral stance, and kudos to you, but if you want to make the world a better place, you need a lot more than that. But, nope - IW fell into this trap with such relish I can actually believe no one saw this as a problem - at all. When Thanos pointed out, rather smugly, that decimating Gamora’s planet had led to a new era of happiness and prosperity, she didn’t react in any way. We never saw Tony or Shuri mentioning the outlandish, extravagant idea that better and greener technology could actually save us all. We never saw anyone point out that when the richest 1% own half the world’s wealth, wiping out half of a Nairobi slum isn’t likely to do much for the environment. I guess it wasn’t relevant to the plot?

3) Turning your audience against the good guys = dick move

That said, our planet is objectively in bad shape, and writers and artists who are (or like to think of themselves as) engagés are more than welcome to discuss this - for all her faults, JK Rowling did that to perfection in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, focusing on the importance of conservation and taking a clear stance against animal trafficking. Other movies, of course, went a lot farther than that: my movie rec of the day is Okja, a masterful and soulwrenching look at how capitalism manages food production. But IW, on top of everything else, manages to be an anti-green movement movie? As if that was needed in any way? Apparently comic!Thanos’ goal was to impress Lady Death or something, and maybe they should have gone with that, because to me, movie!Thanos’ plan sounds like an ill-conceived and unfortunate parody of the green movement. In fact, eminent biologist E. O. Wilson’s Half-Earth explores this exact possibility - which is not about killing off 50% of the population, thank you very much, but about improving agriculture and urban structures so we can leave 50% of the world to the rest of the ecosystem. And maybe it’s just me, but isn’t it a bit weird the book came out at about the same time when IW’s script was being written? I try not to be a paranoid nutcase, but come on. Because what the movie does is that it turns Thanos into a sort of green Hitler whose only focus is the environment (“But he was a vegetarian!”), cue the creepy final shot of him going all ‘Schwarzy in the forest’ surrounded by clean-water creeks and happy animals while we are left counting our dead. The metaphor couldn’t be more obvious, and to be honest it is most unwelcome. Time and place, guys? I really haven’t seen something so revolting since I got to the end of the Da Vinci Code and realized atheists were the true monsters all along.

4) Being a hero doesn’t mean saving your friends

So this is starting to become a trend, and seriously, enough. If you’re a hero, then you need to think of something greater than yourself, and this is why your life will suck and suck and suck until your untimely death. Deal with it? And I can understand Loki giving up the Tesseract for his brother, because he’s always been more of an anti-hero than a hero, and his morals are shot to hell in any case, and I’ll forgive Dr Strange because he clearly saw something we didn’t, but what the hell was Steve thinking? Seriously, I keep seeing posts about how Pure and Noble Steve is, and guys, did we even see the same movie? Bringing Vision to Wakanda meant endangering an entire nation, and thousands of people there paid for that choice with their lives. It’s because Steve insisted in not seeing the big picture - or accepting Vision’s own wishes - that Thanos even succeeded in the first place. If they’d destroyed the stone, Thanos would never have gotten his hands on it, and Wakanda would not have been attacked by a horde of alien demons. Sacrificing hundreds or thousands of nameless (black, African) warriors to keep one (white) man safe is not heroism - it’s cowardice. It’s assuming your own feelings and your friends’ lives count more than the lives of strangers, and this is the exact opposite of how a hero should think. Not that I’m surprised, since Steve already condoned the destruction of half of Bucharest to save Bucky, but whatever. Compare and contrast with Tony, by the way, who first tried to destroy the Time stone, then chose to sacrifice himself to save someone he didn’t even like? Yeah, that’s more like it. #TeamStark

5) Every single woman is defined by her relationship to a man

With the caveat that no emotion, connection or motivation is throroughly explored in IW because it’s an action-packed movie during which people never speak an honest word to each other (relying instead on posturing, movie quotes and sarcastic remarks), here is basically what happens: men have things, and women have men. Tony’s journey is mostly about saving Peter and also sacrificing himself for the world. Steve is all about his friends and various heroics. Dr Strange is a sort of ascetic monk playing the long game. Thanos wants to save the universe or something. And Vision is on a quest towards humanity? Maybe? But the women - Gamora is important because she’s Thanos’ daughter. Scarlet Witch is important because she loves Vision. Natasha (I think she’s in the movie? I don’t actually remember if we hear her speak) is on Cap’s side because Cap. Pepper only appears to remind us of what Tony has to lose. Exceptions to this rule include Shuri, whom IW didn’t quite manage to destroy; Loki, who was always female- and queer-coded, so I’m not surprised he ends up dying for the handsome and suitably Aryan hero; and arguably Starlord, who mostly fights for Gamora (what is a virtue in a woman, however, is a weakness in a man, because Starlord ends up fucking up the plan because of his love for her). And I know they probably tried to compensate for the complete lack of women in the movie by highlighting how powerful Scarlet Witch is and focusing so much on Gamora, but I’m an annoying person, so that didn’t work for me. Because, again, Scarlet Witch is a 2D character plucked directly from a Victorian dictionary’s definition of ‘woman’ (while the menfolk around her worry about the possible demise of the Entire Earth, there she is, channelling all her energy in being a good and loyal companion to her robot husband) and Gamora has no more control over her life in this movie than she had as a child? Her main narrative purpose in IW is to make us feel bad for her boyfriend and father, who’re both driven to kill her (for very different reasons) and suffer for her death (and don’t get me started on Thanos suddenly loving someone and what a stroke of luck, the one person in the universe he gives a damn about just happens to be standing next to him on top of a cliff when he needs to kill her). Seriously, why is it that female characters’ concerns still begin and end with romantic love? This trope that romance is the most important thing for every single woman needed to die, like, yesterday.

6) None of that actually means anything

Look, I’m a sucker of time-travel of any description, but I also think time-travel must be done honestly or not at all. Movies like Back to the Future or Arrival both use time bending to great effect, because the stakes are real and painful and there are all sort of complex decisions facing our heroes. But IW doesn’t care about any of that. The existence of the Time stone is not about ethical dilemmas or even turning up the drama to eleven - the one purpose of that thing is to make us hope that our personal fave is not dead after all, so we’ll keep watching this stupid franchise until the end of times. That finale could have been innovative and heartwrenching, and instead we already know it wasn’t. Samuel L. Jackson is apparently confirmed in Captain Marvel, which will be released next year, and we also know they’re working on Spider-Man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2. Capitalism has very nearly killed the possibility of creating a well-written and gutting story, because the rule is, If it makes money, it goes the fuck on. Hence TV shows which no longer make any kind of sense but we all keep watching out of nostalgia, affection for the characters or dissatisfaction with our own lives, and also franchises which stretch the plot to new and boring limits (for instance, it beggars belief that Tony and Steve didn’t even meet in IW, and their fight never came up at all: I guess we’ll have to wait for IW 2, or Avengers 37: The One with The Talk). And here, again, studios are so greedy that they willingly disregard the fact audiences will reward ‘complete’ stories: for instance, Logan was critically acclaimed and made tons of money, but the risk of ‘permanently’ killing off a beloved character is still considered too high. And playing it safe actually works: IW costed $320 million, which is about 5% of the studio’s budget, and that investment has already been repaid in full (the movie made double that in the first two weeks).  

(Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox gained more than one billion dollars from Trump’s TAX REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN - probably a disappointing amount of money for owner Richard Murdoch, who has a net worth of 15 billion and is known to use some of that hard-earned cash to support laudable & important causes such as the privatization of public education, but hey, we all need to make do and move on, right? Right.)

So this is mostly it. To be fair, IW was mildly entertaining, and I thought they sort of did a good job in juggling twenty leads - we got no character development at all and no meaningful dialogue, but we saw everybody at least once and their lines were funny? Some moments were genuinely good despite a couple of bizarre plot points (I’m still unclear on why Strange didn’t create a circle of fire around Thanos’ arm, and very tired of the overused ‘Yeah, let’s save the most powerful weapons for last’ trope), so I wouldn’t say this was the worst movie ever made, but as I said, I’m done. I’ve given more than enough money to this franchise, so when IW 2 comes out, I think I’ll be a boring adult and watch it on TV as I’m doing my ironing or something. Good times.

[paigeacrossthepond]

Week 9: Halloween and Edinburgh

Halloween was the beginning of this week, on Monday night, the night before we left for Edinburgh, Scotland. I celebrated like I usually do, by carving a pumpkin and watching the ever-essential Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I foisted upon my housemates Allison and Bridgette. In class Monday we discussed Scotland’s reach for independence in the Scottish Independence Referendum (2014), in preparation for the days to come. 

Pumpkin carving was also my way of preparing to leave London again, a normal activity before being uprooted for the time being (we would be in Scotland from Tuesday to Saturday, effectively the rest of the week). Celebrating an American holiday confused my host mom a little bit, because she didn’t know what kind of traditions we were used to for Halloween. The same goes for me, in terms of understanding how kids in England see Halloween. We had a few trick-or-treaters knock on our door, proving that it does exist somewhat over here; it is not, however, as widely celebrated in comparison to how it’s celebrated in the U.S. My host mom was familiar with the practice of handing out candy, so the kids who did show up were rewarded. It felt weird to be leaving so soon, with midterm break still feeling like it just happened, and feeling like I just re-settled into London and a school schedule. 

The finished pumpkins outside of our homestay

My Mr. Robot-inspired pumpkin :) 

Edinburgh, Scotland

Tuesday: 

I was running on very little sleep when we gathered near a Pret a Manger in King’s Cross, waiting until around 8:30 a.m. to board the train to Edinburgh. It was a four hour journey from London, and I slept for about an hour right up until we arrived. The scene outside the window had turned from a drab grey to the bright blues and greens that characterize Scotland, a creeping excitement filling my chest. This trip would definitely be one of the highlights of my semester, and I could tell that as we approached Waverley station. 

Getting off the train was jarring. It was a much different “vibe” from London; even as London’s crowds aren’t overwhelming, Edinburgh’s crowds huddle and weave in the cold, nimbly-hatted heads bobbing in the distance. And it was notably colder than London, if London could even qualify as cold. That was another misconception about London: it may be grey, but it doesn’t feel anything like the cold I’ve felt in the U.S. London is humid, and I have managed to sweat every day since being here. I count the passing of seasons partially by how the weather changes. It hasn’t felt truly like autumn in London due to the humidity, so living here has been a sort of limbo, existing outside of the rules of the midwestern American weather I’m accustomed to. Is it spring? Is it still summer? Because it doesn’t feel like autumn. 

This was a great thing about Scotland -- it was cold! And I think I thrive in cold weather. I am no good melting onto the slabs of hot concrete in a city. Let me have the comfort of a bundled up neck, a winter coat that hugs me just right. Let me have the cold, I asked, and Scotland answered. It is simple to feel this fulfilled, but I digress. 

We walked to our hostel, in the modernized section of Edinburgh. After dropping our bags off, we headed back out, guided by Mary, the assistant director of the London GEO centre. Our destination now was Edinburgh Castle, located on a large hill. I was prepared in my understanding of why Scotland lost their independence referendum, but I was not prepared for the steps up to the castle. If I was enjoying the cold, it was then necessary to wick away the sweat I accumulated on the trip up the stairs. The stairs are in a park near the train station, accentuating how Edinburgh occupies two different levels -- modern Edinburgh below, and old town Edinburgh above. 

Once we made it to the castle, I stripped my winter coat off to greet the wind that whipped around us at the higher altitude. I took a guided tour, getting accompanied with the castle’s illustrious history as a fortress and now home of multiple museums and Scottish regalia. After staying at the castle for an hour and a half, we rounded up to go to the Scottish National Gallery back down the stairs. 

I was tuckered out after rushing around the gallery, so I called it a night along with my hostel roommates. After dinner, we went straight to bed to gear up for another long day. 

Wednesday:

We had a proper Scottish breakfast at the hostel before walking to old town, involving bacon, sausage, black pudding, runny eggs, baked beans, and toast. The walk to old town is quite the trek, because it’s all uphill (my calves got their fair share of exercise...). First on the agenda was the National Museum of Scotland, showcasing a wide array of history/artifacts, as well as some of Scotland’s premiere scientific discoveries, which includes Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal. 

The café where J.K. Rowling wrote the beginnings of what would become Harry Potter was kitty corner from the museum, so I went there for lunch. Tea time has become a favored ritual of mine (following in the footsteps of the British), and was made more special in a cute café with an acquired, famous past and real Scottish shortbread. 

We walked the Royal Mile to St. Giles’ Cathedral and then to the Writers’ Museum as recommended by my writing professor Susie. The big event for the afternoon, however, was Arthur’s Seat. 

As with most things this semester, I had no idea what to expect. I can say with certainty this time that I was NOT prepared for the climb that was required of me to make it to the top of Arthur’s seat. And to be honest, I had never hiked before, not that I’m even sure that what I did was hiking. More like taking to the inconsistent stairs feebly, stopping every five minutes to catch my breath, or try to breathe at all. Like I said, I have been doing a lot of walking this semester, but this climb takes the cake as the hardest walk (er, I guess, climb) I have ever done. Arthur’s Seat is an inactive volcano, now the popular hiking grounds for tourists and locals alike. I think it took me almost an hour to climb to the top, but what awaited me was worth the initial pain. 

This was one of the most breathtaking things I had done so far, and I know I say I have a lot of favorite moments from my semester but this was something else. I finally understand what people mean when they say they felt “on top of the world.” I wasn’t quite “on top” of the world, because Arthur’s seat is only about 900 feet above ground, but the sentiment still stands. I was high on an adrenaline rush, too, which added to the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and awe. I spent almost an hour at the peak, trying and failing to capture photos that did the moment justice. The walk back down was just as magical, with dusk falling on Edinburgh’s skyline, seen perfectly from the descent. 

Thursday:

Thursday was technically the last day in Edinburgh with the entire program, and we were free to stay more nights into the weekend. I had planned to stay until Saturday, and I’m so glad I did. If my trip had ended with the rest of the program, it would have felt like a premature ending, a trip cut too short. Those of us who were staying left our bags in the hostel, the rest of the people having to drag their bags around until they left in the afternoon. We had to go to the Quaker Meeting House in old town to talk to esteemed journalist Ian Macwhirter, who was to lecture us on Scottish independence, a topic he is well-acquainted with.

After lunch we had a tour of the Scottish Parliament, which was unexpectedly one of my favorite parts of the trip. This was due to the extreme eco-friendliness, people-friendliness, and sustainability of the building that houses parliament -- and here are some amazing facets about the building: 

The parliament building has beehives (save the bees!!!!)

It has gardens and apple trees they collect from to make food

There is no air conditioning in the main part of the building, just skylights that filter in sunlight and air along with solar panels

There is air conditioning where people work long hours of manual labor, i.e., the kitchen

Apparatuses attached to the roof collect rainwater which is then sanitized and used for labor and washing

The entire building is designed in the shape of a tree

Government workers have their own window seats where they can sit, rest, and think

This was bookended by a visit with the Scottish Minister of Education, Shirley-Anne Somerville. She briefly explained the kinds of goals she has for her position, including continuing Scotland’s exceptional University programs. 

With that, the day was mostly over, and Laura and me had planned to stay at an Airbnb the rest of the weekend. We went back to the hostel to grab our bags and took a bus to the far end of Edinburgh where the apartment was. Dinner was purchased at a Sainsbury’s, a rather uneventful end to a great day. 

Friday:  

This is the kind of thing I missed, I thought. I had left the Airbnb later than I had planned, weaving through what was called ‘The Meadows,’ a hauntingly flat stretch of land in otherwise hilly Edinburgh, with a giant bottle of Lucozade and the ability to blend in to what I would soon approach. I had left the apartment in a rush, worried that I would miss out on who knows what – was it the landscape? I had already had my fill in the days before, climbing incessantly up and down the streets, but there was more, always more to see. This just meant I hit the crowd at the perfect time, the way a minnow works its way into a stream at a seemingly fateful moment, when all collides in a song of normalcy, crowds passing into classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories.

I felt a bit like a fish out of water at first, close enough to the edge of the dock to peer airlessly back into the wet abyss – until I felt like a fish in water, nonetheless with a constant stream of other fish passing by in indifference. Stepping onto this campus, or what looked like a campus, felt like this. A particular heartstring was plucked, one note rang out within me that surged with home, home like an objective correlative. The practicality of the daywear, the sensible water bottles hung from hands, the earbuds plugged into devices no doubt playing the music I liked. Shoes and backpacks in various colors and shapes moved throughout the space, rending one complete and unblemished image of collegiate grace.

I thought of my own campus – how different it was in size and feel, Alma’s squat 70s brick being interchanged for buildings that had both the modern and ancient touches of Edinburgh. Alma reeked of the 70s, no matter how hard the administration tried to patch over the decaying brown carpets or add fancy flat screen TVs to every lobby in a bid to distract from it. It was endearing and nostalgic of a mid-20th century that I had not lived through. All the previously graduated students haunted like ghosts, sitting in armchairs by the fireplace in the Van Dusen building, noticeably replaced fixtures forever harking back to a past history. My campus could never compare to this one, idiosyncratic in its own right. But it was the campuses I would never be a student at which enticed me for that reason.

In sudden flashes I longed for familiar professors, office doors permanently cracked open, kids I didn’t know but probably saw five times a day walking the same paths, assignments done hurriedly while talking to close friends, dorm rooms bedecked with string lights and personal window decorations. This is the hum of the campus: a nucleus of he said she said, translated to a font and scribe that is easily discerned and carefully located.

There were the noticeable tawny heads tipped back in laughter, gaggles of friends walking side by side in comradery, places of interest including a café table covered in research, two girls conferencing over the drama of the past day, and good haircuts blown in the wind on their way to the back seat of a class they loathed. I was waiting for someone to look at me and smile in recognition, then remembering I was in a different, surprisingly foreign, country. I blended in well enough, happy to pretend I was a student here, sure they would welcome me with open arms on the off chance that I did move to Edinburgh and decide to enroll in their post-graduate program. It was a lovely thought. I pictured myself studying in a library I hadn’t yet seen, dauntingly filled with all the books I’d never get to finish and research I’d never do. 

Then it was on to another street; in Alma, you know where the streets end and the college begins. There is a meridian valor, a notoriety to the sidewalks that pave the very edge of campus. Further out is unknown territory, but here you are safe inside. An impervious little bubble of floating ideas, cramped connections, gathering in their own strange light, a forced light not unlike that of the University ad campaigns – jovial students on their way to class, and thus, a career, endless sidewalk and greenery created just for lounging in the quad on a spring day, lovers’ quarrels, or somber walks home after noisy fraternity parties. On this campus, though, I thought I was sure where it ended, a brief pause in the flow of traffic for businesspeople and the like to flow as well. The romance ended just as the street did. I passed into another zone, not connected fully to the campus, a phantom limb of fast buses and impatient elders. I walked on, letting the fantasy carry me to my next location. This campus could have been anywhere – though it was here. I let the feeling take its course, but it elapsed and my emotions slipped away.

That next location was the National Library of Scotland, where I would meet my housemate Bridgette, a fellow English major who, I assumed, was also into that kind of stuff. Unfortunately, you had to be a member of the library to really get inside, but we had a nice time perusing the gift shop before heading to the Scottish Poetry Library.

The poetry library is one of my favorite places in Edinburgh; one visit was not enough, could never be enough. There is an abundant collection of poetry books, cozy chairs, and an upstairs lounge worth a few good hours that I didn’t have. Nonetheless, I made the best out of the hour that I did have, taking time to appropriately read some poetry. Bridgette and me ate our lunch on a bench on the Royal Mile, until pigeons attacked us viciously and we were forced to leave. 

We went to meet up with Julia and Laura by the Scot Monument, heading to the bay at the other side of Edinburgh via bus. We had wanted to get a peek at the Royal Yacht, and upon arrival, we did, except it was behind a fence. At this point in the trip, by the bay, I had encompassed a nearly full view of Edinburgh -- its peaks, its valleys, its water, its city, its ancient town. And I felt invariably satisfied, as we rode the bus back to the Airbnb, city lights floating by in a haze.

Saturday: 

Saturday morning’s activities included walking around Holyrood Park (right next to Arthur’s seat), backpacks on and bags in hand because we had to leave the Airbnb bright and early, then working our way to the Royal Mile for shopping. We gathered all of the gifts we had to stuff in our backpacks, climbing Calton Hill, a hill filled with various Scottish monuments, most of which were closed as we soon realized. It was just Laura and me with all of our baggage, and we made it through the cold and the physical strain, fueled by Starbucks’ holiday-themed drinks and a tourist’s sense of duty. Our exit was nicely soundtracked by bagpipes, and we went to the Waverley train station to catch our train after the hill. 

I was sad to leave Edinburgh. It had encapsulated a lot for me -- my own Scottish heritage, my college’s mascot (we are the Scots), the sound of bagpipes transporting me back to campus, the sheer beauty of Edinburgh, its energy different from London -- and I left with a full, grateful heart. I was especially grateful for the itinerary GEO had planned for us, and the opportunities that came with it. I am not sure I would have had such an exceptional trip to Scotland had it not been for the help and guidance of Mary and GEO for planning it. This undoubtedly bolstered my personal experience of Scotland, and my understanding of it (and its aims for independence) too. I can definitely say cheers to that.

[megamanxfanfics]

Season V - Afterthoughts on the 2nd Arc

This is more about Ep. 11, 12 & 13, but I gave the 1st Arc the same amount of attention. I might as well do the same for the 2nd Arc.

-----------------------------Episode 7-----------------------------------------------

I’ve said pretty much everything I wanted to say about these first few episodes in the arc, so I’ll just leave a true afterthought:

I was really surprised how quickly we got back into the action again, and that X & Zero got all the way about to their boss fights before the episode came to a close.  Moreover, I was really happy that I was able to further develop things from Dynamo’s perspective, who was still recovering from his fight with Zero.

------------------------------Episode 8----------------------------------------------

These were rock solid fights against Spiral Pegasus & Dark Necrobat.  With the way things worked out, I like how Zero barely survived his fight, and actually needed to learn how to work with Alia in order to win.  [In hind-sight, X being able to teleport his weapon chip to Zero is sort of a cop-out, but.. that’s Mega Science, baby.  Alia’s a genius!!]

The rest of the episode was sort of a strange moving of the chess-pieces.  X getting his Gaea Armor part, Zero flying home and everything in between.

But I still love how it ended, with Dynamo surprise attacking the base, once again and this time it was X’s turn to defend their home.

-------------------------------Episode 9---------------------------------------------

This one was pretty climactic.  I really enjoyed X’s fight with Dynamo and exploring more of Dynamo’s sociopathic motivations.

After the fight, I feel like it suffered from some necessary moving of the chess-pieces, but in a way it gave me a chance to do something interesting with Lifesaver’s character.  He doesn’t really trust X or Zero, seeing as they aren’t affected by the Virus in one way or another.  And X’s lashing out against Zero was an unexpected addition, which added tension to their straining relationship. I both liked and disliked this, considering what I was setting up for later.

This one just sort of ended while X & Zero just started their next missions, but Zero got a really good Repliforce flashback out of the deal.  It explained why he was so adamant about finishing them off, I hope.  I wanted to make him seem like less of a loose cannon and more of a focussed warrior with a long-goal in mind.

------------------------------Episode 10----------------------------------------------

I was really happy once this one was over!  Zero’s stage was way more exciting than X’s, but with his new ability of flight, I had to let X spread his wings.  [I also, wanted to get to his fight with Rosered as soon as possible.]

Once the Rosered fight was over and X got to coalesce with Zero, things felt right again.

-------------------------------Episode 11-----------------------------------------------

This episode wrote itself, man!  I had so much fun working on it.

The very first thing I did was take the all the Canon Dialogue to see what I was working with.  I had everything laid out.  The shuttle take-off set-up, and then every possible outcome.  This is where things got very creative.  I had to use colors.

I colored all of the good sequence dialogue in green. Then I colored all the bad sequence dialogue in red. Then I went even further and looked at the failed, time ran-out sequence and saw very usable dialogue that I wanted to take from there.  I colored that in crimson.

As I wrote all of those conflicting sequences out, I added one transition moment in the stage directions which took us from the Good Scenario to the Bad Scenario.  This stage direction was colored in amber.  [That being a piece of debris knocking into Zero’s ship and throwing him off-course at the last minute.]

After playing with colors, I took a look at the Pre-mission set up, and saw what needed expanding in a 2nd session.

X, Zero & Signas reacting to Douglas’ bad news about Auto-pilot not working was very organic and easy to write. This continued into a hallway scene, where X practically begs Zero not to go, but I made sure for X not to volunteer himself either, because the canon dialogue already does that for us, once Zero is strapped in and ready for take-off.

The only other thing I had to set up was Zero going over to the Shuttle to settle in.  I really liked this, because it’s the last time I get to write Zero acting heroic, before everything changes.  More-over, I threw in some interesting continuity regarding all those Technicians he saved from Spiral Pegasus’ base.  One of the new recruits introduces himself as Tack and thanks him for everything he’s done.  {If you’re wondering where I pulled that name from, look no further than the X6 Rescued Reploid list.  Yes... I am setting things up for X6.  But I will not overload us with OCs, because that is not the point of that story.}

With that done, I looked everything over in my 3rd session and expanded upon the worst scenario stuff, in crimson.  Life imitated Art here in an awesome way.  I was writing this segment on my laptop late at night, before bed and my battery was almost dying.  I shit you not, literally after writing the news segment, the computer shut down.  Like, I hit period, Dropbox Autosaved, and then bam.  It was toast!  I could NOT get over that.  I wasn’t very worried about losing stuff, because Dropbox Word Online is pretty good like that.  I double-checked how the file looked on my phone, and sure as shit, everything I just wrote was there.

That was a great way to end Session 3.

In the next days I tackled a Session 4, where I think I opened up The Battle of Two Fates and compared notes.  It was definitely in this awesome place, where I could work on both at once.  One Chapter was showing things from X’s perspective and the other was showing things from Zero’s perspective.  I truly loved what was happening.  My original fan script was finally, truly connecting to the series.  I was finally catching up to my Long-Goal.

--------------------------------Episode 12----------------------------------------------

Then, came the Flashback Sequence from Hell.  [I might’ve used that term before, but this time it was real.]

The Battle of Two Fates, being my first fan script ever had a lot of exposition in it within the stage directions...

Since writing Season I, I always knew I’d come back to this and change that exposition into a cool flashback sequence.  I even started with a long Vile flashback once Season I was done, but I got rid of it almost immediately since it didn’t flow with the rest of the one-shot at all. 

By the time Season II was done, I had done so many different things with Zero that I probably thought it best to just tackle that Exposition/Flashback Sequence once everything was done.

This was a good move, but also very frustrating.

I didn’t know it yet, but this Flashback Sequence was easily going to become it’s own episode.

At first, I followed The Battle of Two Fates exposition to a T.  I gave us the two moments where X & Zero fight Vile from X1.

Then, I was supposed to go where Zero saved X from the Black Clone Zero in X2, but guess what?  Zero’s Maverickism in that Season was a cluster-fuck and rehashing all of that was it’s own chore of a task.

Already, the sequence was messed up.  After that was supposed to be quick shots of their teamwork in X3 & X4, but due to Mega Missions & Xtreme 2...  That Teamwork was now very layered, and complicated.  Not so cut and dry, ‘lets stop the bad guys buddy’, like I had originally depicted from the one-shot.

So...  I picked and chose the highlights of the entire series...  I had to! [How I thought this would cram into the tail end of Ep. 11 is beyond me.]

To go into further detail about how I edited, re-edited, and even further condensed and compromised all of those flashbacks is a fool’s errand.  But I will tell you that I had more fun with colors, opting for X’s narrations to be Blue and his Flashback dialogue to be normal black.  It was also smart to throw his entire narration into it’s own file and see if the monologue made sense, by itself.

[This is definitely mostly the case.]

Once I had all the moments and scenes that I wanted, Episode 11 was like, 42 pages!!!  Easily, split in half, but I didn’t want to do that. I tried cutting down the flashbacks as much as possible, and managed to make it 36 pages, maybe?  Still no good.

So as stated before, I decided that two 18-pages chapters were way more digestible than one, 36 page chapter.

And there we had it, episode 12 was a giant flashback, aftershock chapter where X and we the audience come to terms with the fact that Zero, as we know and love him.. is no more...

--------------------------------Episode 13----------------------------------------------

This one was less about writing, and more about editing than anything else.  It’s also the true beginning of the 3rd Arc, so technically it doesn’t belong in this entry.  But since they pair so well together, here we go.

The Battle of Two Fates was written as a Christmas Gift in 2010.

The editing to this chapter took place technically as early as Season I, 2011. I had already stated putting in both full Vile fights, but that didn’t flow at all so it was taken out.

But the next technical edit was when I created this blog in 2015.  I made a script formatted version, and it was really hard to keep all the dialogue and over-expositional stage directions in.  But I did.

Flash forward to now, 2019 when I was really working on this.  At the beginning of the 2nd Arc, I fiddled with the battle itself.  I noticed that X used a lot of X3 weapons and the Storm Tornado from X1.  All of that was edited to X5 & X4 weapons.  I definitely beefed up the dialogue to this before truly tackling S.V - Ep 7.  I added the Serges continuity from X2 into their hate-talk.  X was way less of a pansy... :p  [I still can’t believe I wrote that. I generally shocked myself from my past writing.]

So from the battle on, I was mostly covered.

I may have opened it, while working on Ep. 8 or 9, just because.  The only thing that was done there was inserting slashes to some of the opening moments of the chapter.  I didn’t want to delete anything yet, but I was sure that certain things weren’t gonna work, or needed big changes if they were going to be included.

This takes us back to the flashback sequence.  Once I was unknowingly working on Episode 12, I slashed out all of that exposition stage direction nonsense, and deleted it.

The familiar Episode 11 sequences were thrown into the beginning to show Zero’s perspective on everything. Adding a “Moments Ago” caption was the perfect solution to my giant flashback episode.  This unfortunately makes Chapter 12 very skippable for folks who just wanna get to the action, but I also don’t blame them.

So even before getting to Episode 13, all of this was kind of pre-done for me.

What really needed working on, mostly was cleaning up the stage directions at first.  The tiny goal from session 1 was to just get to X teleporting to the area.

Once X was teleported and we were in the now, I really had to fix almost all of their interactions.  This took a session or 3 in itself, but eventually everything that I liked, new and old was reworked, nicely.  There was this giant build for one of them to finally throw the first punch, and I really liked how I handled that within their dialogue.

We get a dropkick with a block.  Then a fist-clash, and finally the first charge shot.

The ensuing battle after that was mostly unchanged.  The only thing left to work on was Alia & Signas’ random dialogue before they duke it out.  It wasn’t fully necessary, but I wanted to give a small break in the action, and also keep with the continuity that Alia was going to give X his new armor.  [Only this time, it was going to be the Gaea Armor, rather than the Falcon Armor.]

Those battle changes were already worked on from before, so once I got to this section, is was more logistical clean up than anything else.

My last challenge was to get X home once he gets the Gaea Armor. Originally, he got the Falcon Armor and was majorly overpowered by it.  It’s what gave him the win against Zero (and ultimately kill him.)  [That could not keep for 2 reasons.  1, X already had it.  And 2...  The Falcon Armor is actually pretty.. weak.]  X5′s Armors were designed with checks and balances.  The Falcon Armor was light-weight and new with that special flight ability and sweet charge shot, but you could forget charging weapons.  X4′s Armor was standard, but you had the Plasma Shot and could charge weapons.  And of course, the Gaea Armor was a specialty, meant for spikes and strong defense against enemies.  And a sick Giga Attack.  But other than that, you could forget about speed, air-dashing or using ANY special weapons.  You can’t even equip parts to make him faster or anything.

[Because believe me, that was a plan I had in mind.]

So with that...  This chapter didn’t fall as flat as I thought it would.

X gets his Gaea Armor/2nd chance at life.  But Zero is long-gone.

Rather than have X pursue a 2nd battle, as he did in the original chapter, this was the perfect break in action to come home.  It wasn’t too hard to shift what he and Alia say, in order for her to convince him to come home.

Remember that he hasn’t recovered from any of the fights against Rosered, Dino-Rex and now a fully Awakened Zero who wasn’t holding back.

So this was believable for me to have X get like.. a jump to his system in receiving the Gaea Armor, but that being it.  Not a full power-up.  Not a 2nd lease on life.  Just... being alive at all, and needing to come home and sleep it off, finally.

The last line became Zero’s line.  “It’s time to finish the mission...”

Which means that there is more on Zero’s agenda than just X, after all.

Is there hope for their friendship yet?

You’ll just have to wait and see.

As for right now, the 2nd Arc is over, and the 3rd Arc has opened up to a climactic start. I’m looking forward to figuring out these next steps, but for now, I’ve enjoyed reflecting on all of this.

What about you guys?  What do you think?  Was there a favorite moment you had from the 2nd Arc, or even the 1st?  How about the start of the 3rd Arc??  Was it everything you were hoping for, or were you hoping things would go differently?  Please feel free to leave feedback, and leave comments below.

Until then, later guys.