#oh shes a spunky kid? she Sticks it to the man?

[thatneoncrisis]

really cool of the show to throw a toddler in there whos job is to Be Cute And Sassy and resurrect vander as a stupid ass werewolf frankenstien just so they can have another thing to violently rip away from jinx and make her more unstable without actually having to sacrifice any real characters

[eskalations]

"I've always known that I was a big target for them - almost as big as Erwin himself - but I never thought they would go after my own daughter." Levi released a dark chuckle at this, closing his eyes in disbelief. 'I can't believe my stupidity. The Titans have cut down families before, I don't know what made me think that mine would be any different."

(Rivetra AU where Petra is a pediatric nurse and Levi is a single father)

Hello! Wow oh wow! I haven't written since August and this oneshot definitely made it more obvious. Originally it was only supposed to be about 5,000 words but it soon grew into the monster that it is now. Will it stay a oneshot forever? I don't know...but for now, it is what it is! Editing this was a nightmare, so I apologize for any missed mistakes, as well as my poor writing skills that have been underutilized for quite some time.

I hope regardless of that, you will still enjoy this! I just finished AOT and this couple's story absolutely gripped my heart. Here you go, Rivetra fandom!

As always, reviews are MUCH appreciated. So please be sure to tell me what you think!

-

Petra Ral was NOT having a good day.

While she had been a night nurse for several years now, her penchant for making rookie mistakes was almost as bad as it had been when she started. Upon crashing into bed at seven this morning, she had completely forgotten to set her alarm for later in the day. Hence, why she was running through the streets of Paradis like a madwoman.

Her co-workers were less than impressed with her dramatic entry onto the ward. Nanaba was glaring at her over the top of the counter, while Nifa bristled from beside the employee water tower.

"Really, Petra?" The spunky redhead commented in a low, disapproving tone - watching as the other ginger woman threw her bag down onto the floor beneath the desk and hurriedly began to punch in her time. "This oversleeping thing is getting pretty old, considering it's six in the afternoon, not six in the morning."

Petra held back a growl as she fumbled with her card, sticking it into the machine but not getting any response due to the shakiness of insertion. Finally, she heard a click and withdrew the parchment. With her heart still racing like mad after her dash up the stairs, she dropped in exhaustion into a vacant chair.

“You say that - “ Petra spoke for the first time since entering Paradis Hospital, her usual chipper voice hoarse from her ragged breathing. “ - but you’re not the one who worked a 12-hour shift yesterday. You were too busy working on that boyfriend of yours to even - "

“Shhhhhh!” Nifa’s face glowed scarlet as she shushed the young woman, her pale skin heating at the vulgar comment. Nanaba just laughed quietly at her friend’s embarrassment, turning her attention back to the file in front of her. All the nurses and doctors bustling about around the counter paid the girls no mind, used to the familiar banter between the three.

"Say what you want about Nifa's love life," Nanaba bristled, pulling out another form from the file in front of her for closer observation. The blonde's eyes cut towards Petra, disapproval evident in her tone. "But your the one who's late today. We had a pretty intense case come into the ward too from emergency."

“What?!” Petra yelped, her nurse’s instincts kicking in instantly at Nananba’s words. Despite her still heaving chest, the young woman sat up straighter to observe the report that was being handed over to her. “Is the child okay?”

"She's stable." Nanaba offered, turning back to the folder on her desk to grab a few more forms. "However, she's going to need to be watched closely throughout the night. The poor thing was stabbed and the blade had poison on it."

Petra wished she could act shocked, but she wasn’t. Paradis Hospital received several stab cases a day due to the gang violence in the area. The Titans certainly weren’t pulling any of their punches when it came to looting. Regardless of whether their victim was eight or eighty, they would steal from anyone with a bit of coin in their pocket.

Stabbings weren't super common on the pediatric ward, but common enough that all the staff who bustled about barely batted an eye at the thought of such an injury being treated on the floor.

"She's already been stitched up and the antidote for the poison has been administered - but, the emergency department sent her up here for monitoring, just in case she relapses," Nifa explained, now leaning over the counter to read the forms Nanaba still held in her hands. The blonde threw her an exasperated look.

“She’s not your patient, so stop being so damn nosy.”

"Well, I've never - " Nifa scoffed at the blonde's scathing tone, though Petra could hear the amusement behind it. "Sorry, for wanting to dedicate my life for the next 12-hours to a hot man with a nice - oh, I mean to a sweet little girl with a -"

"Nifa!" Petra exclaimed, catching on to what the young woman was implying. "Don't tell me you're trying to hit on a little girl's father while she's bedridden in the hospital! Have you no shame?"

“Not really!”

Even Nanaba laughed at Nifa's answer.

"Well, too bad for you, since you have a boyfriend." The blonde reminded her, to which the red-headed nurse simply stuck out her tongue. " - and  Petra has been assigned to be her nurse."

“Me?” Petra had the gall to act surprised, but her friends simply rolled their eyes at her modest response.

“Oh please!" Nifa sighed, crossing her arms over the counter to once again lean closer to the girls on the other side. One of the older doctors, a man with grey hair and spectacles, eyed her disapprovingly as he passed. Nifa didn't even spare him a glance. "While you may be a notorious flake when it comes to arriving on time, it's no secret that they entrust you with the higher priority cases on the ward."

Nifa was right - it wasn't a secret. Since graduating at the top of her class in nursing school, she had always been highly respected for not only her knowledge but bedside manner, as well. Just last year, she had received an award for having the highest satisfaction rate on her floor. Now, if only she could show up to work on time…

“- he’s really short, but his eyes - wow!" Petra was brought back from her thoughts by Nifa's words. Nanaba was shaking her head as she wrote a note down in one of her patient files, trying to tune out the girl's excessive praise. "He's got that rough around the edges look, yet is put together and clean and - "

"I hate to cut you off in the middle of your fantasy - " Petra commented before standing and collecting the patient papers from the desk. "- but I have patients to take care of."

Nifa's mouth popped open in shock, her expression quickly turning to one of disbelief at the sight of Petra's teasing look.

“Says the girl who was LATE!”

Petra chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as she rushed off to her first patient's room, ready to begin her shift with newfound energy. Despite her exhaustion from the night before and the soreness in her limbs, she couldn't approach the job she loved with anything less than excitement and positivity.

Maybe it would be a good day after all.

-

Upon entering Heidi Ackerman's room twenty minutes later though, Petra was once again lamenting the horrible luck that seemed to be plaguing her during the past twenty-four hours.

It wasn't the child who was causing her such discomfort, but her father.

After having checked on and familiarizing herself with the low-risk patients she had been assigned, Petra finally decided to introduce herself to the latest Titan's stab victim that was residing on her ward. Checking the young girl's forms before entering the room, the nurse noticed that the child was due for a round of medication soon anyways.

‘Perfect,' Petra thought to herself while turning the knob of the door. 'If I take care of her medications now, I won’t have to return for another hour and then I can go check on - ‘

Petra's thoughts were interrupted by the sight that met her upon entry to the room.

Nifa wasn’t kidding - the guy was short. Like, really short.

Petra rarely met a male anywhere close to her height - so, the short stature of the figure that stood by the lone window of the room, instantly caught her attention.

The second thing that caught her attention? His looks.

While the man was certainly not attractive by societal standards, his piercing gaze was enough to stop any woman in her path. His eyes were grey and heavily hooded by pale white lids and beneath his stare, lay two dark bags that spoke of a restless nature. Despite the blatant signs of exhaustion, his dark hair lay near perfect across his forehead, the shaved lower half of it buzzed in an undercut fashion.

He was captivating and terrifying all at once.

“Oi, are you just going to stand there?”

His gravelly, low voice broke her from her analysis, jolting her back to reality as he shifted his posture to a more casual stance. Whereas he once stood rigid, he now placed a hand on his hip and schooled his features to resemble something more akin to indifference.

Realizing she had never responded, Petra suddenly jumped into action.

"Oh!" She smiled awkwardly, not quite feeling like her usual self. Typically, talking to patients and their families wasn't so difficult for her, but this guy was unlike her usual clientele. He practically exuded indifference and didn't look very interested in receiving an answer to what she had to assume was a rhetorical question - but Petra did not care. "Hello, my name's Petra Ral, I'll be the night nurse for Miss Heidi."

As if saying her name had reminded her of exactly why she was standing there in the first place, Petra turned her smiling face towards the bed, trying not to show her concern as her gaze fell on the small child.

Heidi Ackerman at five years old had experienced more pain in the past several hours than some adults would face in their entire lifetime. While the child's sweet features could still be seen over the top of the crisp white blankets, the pained lines of her forehead spoke of a quiet distress that had taken a hold of her and refused to let go.

Petra ached to go towards her - however, a snide remark from the man on the other side of the room had her pausing.

“You’re going to attend my child looking like that?” Disgust was evident in the man’s tone as he gave her a once over from top to bottom. “Ever heard of an iron?”

The young woman could feel her face go red at his comment, her eyes glancing down at the outfit she typically wore during her shift - a white nurses uniform, tights, and white slip-ons. The front of her outfit was pristine white - however, the bottom of her skirt had a set of small wrinkles. Petra went redder as she realized that in her confusion to get dressed after having slept in, she had picked up her uniform from the previous night that had been lying atop of the hamper.

Most people wouldn't even have noticed her slightly used uniform, but somehow this man had called her out on it, despite it only having had a few wrinkles of use embedded in the fabric.

Petra was furious. Of course, she wasn't going to show it, since she was a professional - but she couldn’t help but bite back, even if it was just a little.

“Yeah - well you aren’t looking too good either, so I guess we're even.”

The man cocked an eyebrow at her comment, before looking down at himself to see what she was talking about.

In Petra's defense, she hadn't actually looked at the man's clothes. When she had entered the room, she had been so distracted by his face, that she hadn't even gotten the opportunity. But, as he looked down at himself in search of the reason for her comment, Petra was able to give him a once over too. After examining his outfit of choice, Petra had to bite back a groan from the error of her comment.

He was dressed immaculately, wearing a dark brown leather jacket with a white shirt underneath and a pair of slender black jeans on the bottom. On his feet, were a pair of shiny, black combat boots that looked as though they had been polished that very morning.

However, the state of his clothes was not the reason Petra wanted the Earth to swallow her whole. It was the substance on the front of his shirt.

Blood.

“Tch," The man clicked his tongue, having caught sight of the dried, red blood covering his otherwise pristine white shirt. "I guess my child's blood isn't the best accessory to wear, huh?"

Fully embarrassed by her comment, Petra immediately stuck out her hands in defense, forms and all.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I truly didn’t mean - “

“I’m sure.” The words were said with such a quiet finality, that the woman felt her tongue grow heavy in her mouth. Not knowing what else to say, the room fell into an awkward silence that even Petra’s vivacious personality couldn’t conquer.

Perhaps, she had officially met her match.

The man continued to stare at her with his slate-gray eyes as the silence drug on - however, they were both interrupted from their thoughts by a quiet cough coming from the bed.

‘That’s right!’ Petra thought, a newfound energy taking hold of her as she returned her attention to the small patient residing in the bed. ‘She’s the reason I’m here.’

"Sorry, Miss Heidi!" Petra adopted her usual, chipper tone as she approached the child, already glancing at the chart that had been left on the wall at her side. While the form should have match the one she had been given, she wasn't one to cut corners, so she began to read over it to check for any additional information that could have been missed. "Your father and I are rudely neglecting you. Are you in any pain at the moment?"

While most children instantly brightened at the ginger's easygoing bedside manner - Heidi, much like her father, was not acting like a typical patient. Instead of answering, the small, dark-haired girl remained silent, glancing over at the woman with the same hooded gray eyes as her father.

Petra found the whole thing incredibly unnerving. To keep herself busy, she began to check the young girl's vitals. As she glanced over the numbers, she snuck a peek at her charge who still lay silent in the hospital bed.

Despite her lack of response to Petra's earlier question, the woman could see from the lines of distress on the girl's forehead that something was bothering her. She knew from the child's file that she had been slashed with a knife across the stomach and had been on the receiving end of an incredibly deadly poison. There probably wasn't much on her body that didn't hurt at this point.

Although she knew that the young girl must be in pain, the silence continued to grow as the two females in the room kept their gazes locked on the other.

Finally, Heidi turned to her father, who had been watching the scene unfold from his designated spot by the window. The girl's eyes shone with nothing short of fear as she appeared to silently communicate with her father. While the look on the poor child's features caused Petra's heart to clench, the man by the window merely bristled at his daughter's behavior.

"Stop trying to be tough, brat." His voice was rough, the edge in his tone similar to what it had been a minute ago. However, Petra was relieved to note a slight gentleness to his words that hadn't been present in their earlier conversation. "There's no reason to hide your pain if you're feeling any."

While the young nurse imagined any normal child would flinch at such words being thrown at them after having experienced such trauma - Heidi just blinked at her father's comment, almost as if pondering the meaning behind it.

Petra was about to jump in, having seen quite enough of the man's crass attitude towards his daughter, when the little girl finally spoke. Feebly, but with conviction.

“My stomach burns.”

Unlike her father's voice, Heidi had a sweet, slightly high-pitched voice, that would have had Petra cooing, had it not been for the current predicament the child was in.

“That’s to be expected.” The ginger responded understandingly, wanting the girl to know that she was someone she could trust over the next twelve hours. “What if I told you that I have some medicine that could make it feel better? Would you like that, Miss Heidi?”

Heidi hesitated for a moment, pulling the crisp white blanket up to her chin, almost acting like she was ashamed for having to take medicine. However, only a few beats passed before she nodded in response to the young woman's question.

"Perfect!" Petra's smile grew, the genuine kindness that typically radiated from her, shining from the depths of her chestnut eyes. "You're going to need a drink to help you wash down your pills - and I know they may taste a little nasty - so, how about I get you a juice to make it just a little bit better?"

As though a switch had been flipped, Heidi’s pale hands dropped the sheet covering the lower half of her face, revealing a tiny, rosebud mouth opened in shock. The dull gray of her eyes that had been so flat just a few moments ago, sparkled at the prospect of such a treat.

It made Petra’s heart clench once again.

The nurse was about to ask what flavor the girl wanted when her attention was drawn back to the man standing on the other side of the room. He had made a disapproving noise with his tongue as his daughter's face lit up at the thought of the sweet drink.

"Now you've done it." The man chuckled, though there was no real humor behind it. "This girl's favorite thing in the world is sweets. Now she's going to say she's in pain, just so she can get some juice."

“Sir,” Petra responded firmly, her once shining brown eyes hardening at such a careless statement. “I’m sorry, but after what she’s been through today, I think the least we could do is allow her to have some juice.”

The man shrugged his shoulders, raising his brows as though to tell her ‘do what you want’.

Which she would - gladly, in fact.

Turning back towards Heidi, who was now watching her father with a concerned expression, Petra attempted to redirect the girl’s attention.

"What flavor do you want?" That got Heidi's head swiveling back towards her. "I have cherry, grape, apple, orange, or watermelon."

“Uhhhh - “ Heidi pondered over her choices, looking up at the ceiling as though the answer would be there. After a few moments of thinking it over, the girl finally glanced back at the nurse waiting anxiously by her bedside. “I guess...cherry?”

“Excellent choice!” Petra agreed, readying herself to leave the room, but stopping dead in her tracks when hearing Heidi’s little voice again.

“Is that okay, Daddy?”

Petra watched as the little girl turned to her father, gauging his reaction for some kind of approval. The nurse waited with bated breath as the man simply stared back at the child, giving no indication of his approval either way.

Just when he was opening his mouth to give Heidi an answer - Petra jumped in, tired of witnessing the power dynamic in front of her.

“Your Daddy’s not the one drinking the juice, Heidi - so, I’m sure your choice is of no real consequence to him. Isn’t that right, Mr. Ackerman?”

There was a challenge in her tone, the words laced with borderline rudeness as she stared down the man across the room from her. Never in her life had she been so sharp with a patient nor a patient's family - however, she guessed there was no day like today. If she was going to get fired due to bad conduct, at least let it be because she stood up for a child who seemed to be in want of an advocate.

What reaction she was expecting to get from the man, she did not know - but it certainly wasn't a smirk.

He was smirking at her.

The silence stretched on for a few more seconds, the man's thin lips holding that frustrating smirk in place. He watched her as though waiting for what she was going to do next, but instead of shrinking under his gaze, she simply crossed her arms over her chest, ready to stand her ground.

Once the older Ackerman noticed Heidi’s head swiveling from side to side, watching their reactions, he released another tired, breathy chuckle.

“That’s right, Miss Ral.”

Petra hated to admit it - but, even after exiting the room, her legs continued to shake as she made her way down the hall. The trembles soon transferred into her hands as she poured the little girl a glass of cherry juice.

Upon re-entering the room, the first thing Petra noticed was that Mr. Ackerman had moved from what she thought was going to be his permanent spot in the room. He now stood by his daughter where she lay in her hospital bed, speaking quietly to her about something that the nurse couldn’t hear.

The second he saw her walk through the door, he quickly quieted - his lips returning to the thin line of indifference that she had become acquainted with, not too long ago. Choosing to ignore the strange atmosphere that settled over the room at such a blatant display of secrecy, Petra smiled brightly towards the child lying in the bed.

She was her priority.

“Alright, Miss Heidi!” Petra chirped happily, trying her best to return to the usual persona that she emulated while within the walls of the hospital. “Time for your medicine! If you could just sit up for me - “

The girl began to shift higher up in the bed, struggling to prop herself up against the pillows that lay behind her. Petra rushed to find somewhere to set the glass of juice down so that she could help her patient - however, she was beaten to it.

The girl's father placed his hands underneath her armpits, slowly pulling her back towards the head of the bed. After she was situated a little bit higher, he released his grip on her before tugging at the pillows to arrange them in a fashion that was more comfortable for her. Though he moved with purpose, his actions held a tenderness that Petra was surprised to see. If this was an unusual occurrence for Heidi, she certainly didn't show it on her tired, yet grateful features.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

The man grunted in response, patting his hand on the pillow behind her head one more time before moving his hands back to his pockets.

Petra’s brow rose in response to the uncharacteristic helpfulness she had just witnessed, but she tried to school her features in a way that didn’t show her surprise.

“Well - “ The woman cleared her throat, before handing the glass of juice over to the girl, to give herself time to retrieve the pills she had placed in the pocket at the front of her dress. “Hopefully, your pain will lessen after you take these.”

Heidi gave a shy nod at the woman’s words, looking warily at the pills. Noticing the child’s hesitance, the older Ackerman reached for the cup of juice in her shaking hands. With the movement of his arm, Petra watched as the cuff of his jacket slid up and over the skin of his wrist.

She couldn’t hide her surprise at what she saw branded there.

It was a ‘Wings of Freedom’ tattoo.

This man was a part of the Survey Corps.

It wasn’t that Petra had never interacted with an SC member before, it was just that they normally didn’t frequent this side of the hospital. Most of them didn’t have children and, even if they did, most of them wouldn’t have the opportunity to care for them properly.

It was no secret that of all the cities in Marley, Paradis was the one that had the biggest gang violence problem. Paradis was deemed as the headquarters for the infamous Titans gang, a group of thugs who were well-versed in politics and typically well-educated. One could never know that someone was a Titan, since they blended in so well to society.

There were rumors floating around that several larger corporations had Titans at the helm, working their way through the ranks in an attempt to have a better chance at being elected into political office. Their end goal was unclear - however, their violent acts and shady business dealings had escalated over the recent years.

Suddenly, businessmen who were in perfectly good health one day were turning up dead in a river the next. The same went for major political figures. Several big-name military men had been cut down in the streets and in their homes, to the point where the implications couldn't be ignored.

This was an all-out war.

Though Petra had been busy in nursing school at the time, she still vividly remembered Commander Erwin Smith’s case - since it had eventually led to the creation of the Survey Corps.

Erwin Smith had walked into his home one day after a long day of work, only to be attacked by a group of four masked Titans brandishing knives. While the Commander had lost an arm as a result of the poison on the blades that had come in contact with his arm, he was able to fight off all four assailants and come through the accident with a clear vision of what needed to be done.

This incident prompted the formation of the Survey Corps.

The Survey Corps was a group of former criminals who would have otherwise faced jail time or execution if they chose not to serve their government. The Commander's idea was that when it came to the Titans - one had to fight fire with fire. For him, the Survey Corps was his fire.

The men would be given a meager compensation in exchange for their loyalty, as well as a full pardon for the crimes they had committed in the past. All they had to do was promise their hearts to the cause.

Petra had always thought the venture sounded like a risky one. How could someone trust a criminal? If someone was willing to commit a crime once, wouldn’t they be willing to do it again? From what she had seen of the SC members who had been wheeled into the Emergency Room over the past few years, they looked more like thugs than the actual Titans themselves.

However, it appeared that that was the whole point.

The Survey Corps were used to obtain information about the Titans from the inside. To learn about the Titans, it seemed you had to act like one. Once inside, their goal was to negotiate deals with the underlings, who would then pass on the information to the SC in exchange for compensation. No surprise, though - these exchanges could turn deadly pretty quickly.

The young nurse couldn’t imagine how anyone could trust a criminal to infiltrate the enemy without the fear of them turning themselves - but from what she had heard, Commander Erwin Smith was a very good leader who kept a tight hold on all the men who worked under him.

Petra guessed as much since a good majority of them had small government-issued tracking devices located somewhere on their person - somewhere that they were unaware of, of course.

The woman had only ever seen an actual 'Wings of Freedom' tattoo once, and it was on the wrist of a body that was being rolled to the morgue past her in the hallway one day. The symbol was a sign of rank. Much like how the military operated, the Survey Corps themselves had a set of ranks that signaled a separation of powers within the group.

Only captains and the Commander himself were given the ‘honor’ of bearing the SC tattoo. The placement was purposeful, too - right on the wrist, where an opponent’s eyes would be drawn as they wielded their signature blades.

Suddenly, the behavior of the man made a lot more sense. He was a former thug - now, turned Captain of the Survey Corps.

The nature of Heidi’s injury also made a lot more sense now. She wasn’t victim to a few Titan pick-pockets on the street of Paradis. She was a victim to her father’s line of work.

She had been caught up in the crossfire.

"Miss Ral?" At the sound of the man's deep, gravelly voice, Petra looked up only to be met by a steely gray gaze. He had noticed where her eyes had fallen and had also deduced where her train of thought was drifting. "Are you ready to hand over the medicine?"

His tone was polite enough, not to alert Heidi to the mounting tension that seemed to build with every interaction the two adults had - but there was certainly an edge to it. He was pretty much daring her to ask questions.

Petra certainly was not taking the bait.

“Yes,” The woman responded, slowly. The smile that had fallen from her face at the sight of the man’s tattoo, returned as she warmly regarded her waiting patient. “Let’s get this over with!”

Neither father nor daughter caught the double meaning behind her words.

This shift could not go by fast enough.

-

After what she could only describe as ‘the longest 12-hour shift ever,’ Petra was ready to hit the sack and enjoy the next two days off.

It seemed like fate, though - had other plans.

"What?" The woman groaned as she pulled her time card out of the slot, her whine catching the attention of a few doctors passing by. Petra couldn't care less what they thought of her right now, she was exhausted - and the news Nanaba had given her was definitely less than welcome "There expediting Krista's maternity leave? Isn't she still like - I don't know - four months away from giving birth?!"

Nifa shook her head from her usual spot by the water tower, looking just about ready to fall over herself.

“Two months,” She reminded the frazzled ginger, chuckling at the groan her answer received. “It was bound to happen sooner or later with how faint she’s been - it just so happens that they made the call during a hospital-wide nursing shortage.”

Petra didn’t want to seem inconsiderate, but this news had really put a wrench in her plans - plans which had included nothing but cleaning and sleeping - but plans nonetheless! There were about a million other things she'd rather do than continue to cross paths with her patient's reticent father.

She had really thought that as the hours passed, his mood would perhaps lift and become a bit more pleasant - but no, things had only seemed to get worse.

While Heidi had slept most of the night, it was almost as if the dark-haired man was reluctant to close his eyes. No matter how many times Petra had walked in there over the past twelve hours, he never moved from his spot near the window. Even when Petra offered to help move the chair over closer to the wall so that he could see, he had glared at her as though she had outright insulted him.

Never had Petra felt so uncomfortable while tending to a patient and she had been doing this for years!

The worst instance of this was when she had gone to change Heidi's bandages over where her injury was. While she had tended to many injured patients before, she could feel a cold sweat breaking out along her hairline as she gently removed the bandages from the young girl's pale skin.

Every movement she made was subject to his intimidating glare - almost as though he was waiting to snap at her the second she made a wrong move. Though he was trying to hide it behind a wall of indifference, Petra could tell that he was on edge as she began to work on Heidi’s wound.

If one thing could be said, it was that Petra had never met a five-year-old quite like Heidi before. Though she remained silent for most of the night, the young woman could tell that she was highly intelligent and aware. Never before had she had a patient who was able to grit their teeth and fight their pain so well. Not even when her bandage got stuck on a small area of irritated skin did Heidi release a whimper.

Petra knew the whole process must have caused her a great deal of pain - however, like her father said, she was hellbent on acting tough.

It wasn’t until she got to the part of the cut that appeared to be the most severe that the child even happened to make a sound.

“Is that tender?” She had asked, but it was more of a formality. The lines of distress on the girl’s forehead told her all she needed to know. “I’ll try to make it quick.”

Heidi said nothing in response, but at her obvious signs of discomfort, her father shifted forward - hands still in his pockets, but his rigid posture showing that he wasn't nearly as indifferent as he tried to act.

Petra was suddenly aware of the man's eyes following the movements of her hands and - though she had done this in front of an audience many times - his attention made her more nervous than she had ever been before. Not only were his eyes watching her like a hawk's - but his body was also tilting forward , closer to her, to see exactly what she was doing.

Under such pressure, she panicked - something that was highly unlike her on a normal day.

With the man's eyes boring holes into her hands, her sweaty palms lost their grip on the bandage she had been trying to pull gently from the skin.  Heidi's reaction was instantaneous.

While she had made little more than a whimper up to that point, when the bandage slipped from Petra's hand and the skin of her palm made contact with the stitches that lay over the girl's abdomen - a short, little whelp escaped from her lips at the pain.

If that didn’t have the nurse feeling bad enough, Heidi’s dad’s reaction almost had her crying.

While most parents would be understanding of such a small mistake - many not even realizing she had made one - because he had been watching her so closely, he had borne witness to her error. The shock on his face, expressed only by the raise of his brows and the slight opening of his mouth, soon morphed into something much more threatening - anger.

"Don't you know how to do your job?" The man seethed, glaring at her with the same eyes that had been watching her so closely moments before. While his voice was not loud, the quiet tone almost made it that much scarier. "Can't you see that your mistake has caused her pain?"

Petra didn’t know what else to do besides look at him like a gaping fish.

"Well - are you competent enough to continue your work, or should I request another nurse?"

“No sir,” The woman answered, quietly - in a sort of daze from the man’s unusual reaction. Though she thought he was going to argue some more with her - he instead leaned back against the wall next to Heidi’s bed and continued to watch her in silence, as though he hadn’t questioned her skill at all.

Petra rolled her shoulders back, steeling herself to do the same thing she had done a million times. She would not let this man get to her twice.

After apologizing to the small girl, who merely gave a meek nod in response, Petra finished removing the old bandage from her cut. Once the wound had been cleaned and rebandaged - the nurse hurriedly made herself scarce, barely giving the girl's father a second glance.

When she had left the room, her face had been flushed and she had felt as though she was going to cry - but after hearing the taunts from her friends at the desk, thinking she had had some kind of flirtation with her patient's father, she instead turned to the next room and prepared herself to tend to her other patients.

“Earth to Petra?” Nifa’s voice brought her back to the present, something she was grateful for. Though it had been a long shift, at least it was finally over. “So, are you going to cover Krista for the rest of the week?”

Petra groaned once again. She had forgotten why she had spaced out for so long in the first place - they wanted her to take on the night shift for an additional two days.

"Hey!" Nifa chirped, crossing the small distance that separated her from Petra, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "The good thing is you'll get almost a full week off if you finish all your hours now!"

"Yeah - " Petra agreed reluctantly, though her voice held little excitement. "But what good are hours off if I'm too exhausted to enjoy them?"

"All you do is clean, you neat freak! Don't act like it's going to spoil a hot date or something!"

Nanaba chuckled at Nifa's words, also reaching to pick up her card and clock out. "You know, she's not wrong."

Petra blushed at their goading. “How would you know?”

Both girls looked at her dubiously,  their reaction causing Petra to blush an even deeper shade of red. Nifa shook her head, clucking her tongue in disappointment.

“I rest my case.”

“Oh, shove it!” Petra grabbed her bag from the floor, ready to leave the past 12-hour shift behind. “I’ll cover Krista’s damn shifts if it means I’ll get some time away from you weirdos next week.”

Nanaba rolled her eyes at Petra's dramatics, while Nifa simply laughed in response, also retrieving her bag from under the counter. Though both busied themselves by getting their stuff together to take home, neither missed the shameless smirk Petra sent over her shoulder.

“I guess this is the price one has to pay when they’ve been named the most satisfactory nurse on the ward.”

Now, this comment had both Nifa and Nanaba groaning, the girls rushing to catch up with Petra as she made her way to the stairwell.

-

The second day Petra was assigned to the Ackerman’s was just as strange as the first.

After getting a good 8-hour rest, the nurse entered the hospital with a renewed bounce in her step. The reason? She had pressed her uniform to perfection and had even pushed back her shoulder-length hair with a headband with not a hair out of place.

‘Let’s see what that man can find wrong with me now,’ Petra thought to herself as she clocked in for the day, only to be shocked by what she saw going on at Room 325 - Heidi Ackerman's room.

She could recognize the dark blue suits of the Military Police from a mile away.

Two men, one with long blonde hair and the other with a dark, crew cut, stood outside the girl's room, talking with Heidi's father. The men were speaking quietly to each other, the blonde one jotting down some notes onto a form he held in his hand.

It looked like a statement.

Not wanting to intrude, Petra double-checked Heidi's folder to make sure that she wasn't due for another dose of medication for another half an hour still. The day nurse had left several notes for the night nurse, describing the girl's progress. While she was still in a considerable amount of pain, her vitals had remained stable throughout the day. Now, the only thing they needed to worry about was the possibility of infection setting in at the sight of her would.

Petra made a mental note to remain extremely vigilant when it came to caring for the girl’s wound. The faster she healed, the faster she would be out of the ward.

'...and the faster her father could get the hell off of my floor.'  Petra thought to herself, jotting down a few quick notes of her own, before closing the file and picking up the next.

By the time Petra arrived at Heidi's room, the MP's were long gone and the girl was sleeping peacefully in bed.

Upon entering the room with a glass of cherry juice already in hand, Petra braced herself for a rude comment or a deadly stare - but was surprised when she found that she was not on the receiving end of one.

Mr. Ackerman was still dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before, his hair styled still to perfection, yet a bit greasier from the lack of a good washing. While his gaze was cold as ever as it moved from his daughter's slumbering form to the nurse as she entered the room, it wasn't nearly as intimidating as it had been before.

The man just looked tired.

Still, he stood by the lone window in the room, leaning against the ledge as if it was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Petra spared a glance towards the only chair in the room by Heidi's bedside and noticed that the pillow and blanket that she had left for him last night were still neatly folded and waiting to be used.

He had never slept. He had never even sat.

Petra's mouth popped open in surprise as she stood in the doorway, glass in hand. She wanted to say something but found that every time she tried to get the words out, they got stuck in her throat.

"Don't wake her up." It was the first words she had heard out of his mouth since entering, his tone as deep as it had been the day before, but weaker from lack of rest. He almost didn't look so much annoyed, as he did exasperated. "She's had a long few hours and was just now able to fall asleep."

At his request, Petra felt conflicted.

"It's time for her medicine." The woman insisted, talking quietly as she approached the girl's bedside, placing the glass of cherry red liquid onto the side table. "I'm worried that if she doesn't take it soon, she may wake up in pain."

The man considered her words, staring at her for a few moments before letting his gaze drop to the sleeping five-year-old in the hospital bed. The fact that he was even chewing over her statement had Petra reeling. While the day before, he had been questioning her methods - now he was actually taking her seriously.

The man sighed, pushing himself off from the wall he was leaning against.

“Could you wait twenty minutes?”

The words were spoken quietly, yet for the first time, they held no underlying rudeness. He seemed genuine in his request, his gray eyes boring into her's as he waited for an answer.

Petra was beginning to feel as though she was experiencing whiplash on the receiving end of his mood swings.

It was only in that moment, when he was making such direct eye contact with her, that she began to notice the slight shake of his stature, almost as though a short burst of chills were beginning to overcome his body. The sight was so strange, that Petra felt herself nodding at the man's request before she had even had a chance to think it over.

"Uh - " The young woman stuttered, trying desperately to find her voice. "I guess that would be alright?"

The man gave her a short nod of appreciation, his lips pressed in a thin line as he seemed to consider whether to say something else. Instead of asking any more questions though, he breezed past the young nurse and began to make his way to the door - something that caught Petra's attention, considering he had not left his daughter's room the entire time during her shift before.

"Wait!" She called out in surprise, though the volume of her voice surprised her. The man gave her a sharp look as he glanced over at the still slumbering child. After watching the rise and fall of her chest for a few long moments - he switched his gaze back to her, annoyance evident in the twist of his features.

And just like that, the same man from the day before was back.

"What?" He asked, as though it wasn't unusual for him to leave his daughter's room. In most cases, it wouldn't be strange for her patient's parents to leave their child unattended while they went to find some food or refreshments in the hospital, but this man had never done that before.

‘Maybe that’s why he wants her to stay asleep…’ Petra thought to herself, as she tried to think of what else she could say without sounding too nosy.

“Where are you going?”

Nice one, Ral.

The man scoffed, as though he believed her question didn't deserve an answer. Without responding, he turned back to the door and placed his shaking hand on the knob.

But Petra was surprised when, before leaving the room, he quietly called back over his shoulder.

“Would you mind keeping an eye on her for me, real quick? There’s something I need to do.”

Not waiting for her answer, the man was out the door before Petra's brain could even catch up to what he had been asking. However, when she realized what he had done, she found herself seething.

What did she look like - a babysitter?! She had other patients to be taking care of!

Though she knew that she had no real obligation to stay in Heidi’s room, there was something that had her sitting in the chair beside the bed, scooting the pillow and blankets out of the way to make herself more comfortable. She didn’t know what it was that kept her rooted in that spot, but she truly felt like she couldn’t leave the little girl.

A vision of the MP's quickly flashed through her mind.

It was that feeling of guilt that had her planted in the chair for the next twenty minutes - even though she had other patients to check on.

‘Oh well,’ Petra picked a piece of lint off the top sheet of the bed, watching the steady rise and fall of Heidi’s small chest. ‘What are they gonna do? Fire me?’

Just as Petra was fantasizing about all the things she could do if her boss truly did fire her - Mr. Ackerman returned to the room.

The first thing the young ginger noticed about the man was that he held a large white bag in his hand - one that seemed to be from the hospital's gift shop. The second thing she noticed was that he held a mug of what looked like some kind of tea in his other hand.

The third thing she noticed was that he reeked of smoke. With this knowledge, Petra could feel her face heat up in annoyance.

Now the shaking of his body and hands made sense - he had been going through withdrawals.

“You left me in here to tend to your daughter while you went and had a smoke?” The nurse stood from her spot in the chair, quietly chastising the man as he walked through the door. “Don’t you know those things can kill you?”

After having gotten his fix of nicotine, the man was back to his usual pleasant self. Before Petra could even think of what else to say, his eyes flashed towards her in contempt.

"Don't you know how to mind your own business?"

At such a rude response, Petra threw caution to the wind, sick of the man's attitude. Not caring whether Heidi woke up at this point or not, she stormed over to the dark-haired man, pointing a single finger into his chest. At least the man had the nerve to look surprised.

“Listen here - “ Petra dug her finger further into his hard chest, the fabric of his white shirt wrinkling as she tapped him once more for good measure. “Your daughter is currently my patient, Mr. Ackerman. So yes, your health is a part of my business now. What I’d like to know is how you think you're going to take care of your child on nothing but cigarettes and tea? Did you even eat while you were gone?”

The man raised a brow at her tirade, still shocked at the fact that the small redhead had had the nerve to speak to him like that. He definitely wasn’t used to it.

"Well, did you?" She asked again, demanding an answer, sticking him in the chest with a finely manicured finger once more.

What the man did next, nearly floored the poor girl for what felt like the millionth time in the past twenty-four hours. He smirked.

That damn infuriating smirk again!

Before she could repeat her question, the Survey Corps member grabbed the finger that was currently poking his chest, pushing her hand down while the infuriating smirk on his face only grew bigger.

"No," He said simply, as though he had not a care in the world. Petra could tell by the challenge in his eyes that he was eagerly waiting to see how she would respond.

Almost as though it was a game to him. Well, Petra was perfectly ready to play.

Pulling her hand out of his hold, the woman crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him as he continued to smirk down at her. While he had shaken her the day before, she had become familiar enough with him to know that he only seemed to respond positively to her when she was actively challenging him.

What was he - a masochist?

“Lucky for you I have a wide array of crackers to offer you.” Petra smiled sweetly, watching as the man’s brows rose at the sound of her tone. “What would your flavor of choice be - cheese or peanut butter?”

“Neither, I - ,”

“Oh!” She cut him off, tapping him once again on the chest, knowing that this seemed to annoy him greatly just a few moments ago. “I’m sorry but ‘neither’ doesn’t seem to be a flavor - try again!”

The man's brows rose even higher at her continued teasing. "What if I'm allergic to peanut butter and cheese?"

Petra was anticipating such an answer, her arms once again crossing over her chest as she puffed it out with pride, knowing that this was an argument she had already won. "Then I guess I get to pick your poison."

They stared at each other in silence, neither intending to back down. Finally, the older Ackerman broke.

The man chuckled. Not a pity chuckle, either - but a real, amused chuckle. Though it may have been quiet, Petra couldn't conceal the pride that swelled up in her chest at having broken through at least one of the man's self-made barriers.

They didn't call her the best nurse for nothing!

"Alright, alright…" He finally conceded, no longer chuckling - but still keeping that mysterious smirk on his face. "I'll eat something, but no crackers."

Petra’s brow rose at this. “Why not? Isn’t that the most universal snack there is?”

“They’re too messy.”

The woman had to stop herself from giggling at the look of annoyance that passed over the man’s face. It seemed they at least had one thing in common - Petra absolutely hated a mess.

“An apple?”

The man shrugged noncommittally. Petra took this as confirmation that the fruit would do.

“Daddy?”

The feeble call from the bed had both of the adults turning, their eyes falling on the once slumbering girl who still lay propped up against the pillows. Though she had only said one word, Petra could tell from the look on her face that she had been woken from her sleep by some kind of pain.

The girl’s father hummed in response, acknowledging that he had heard her. Not wasting a moment and with a new pep in his step from his smoke break, the Survey Corps member approached his daughter’s bedside, placing his tea down by the glass of juice that still lay on the bedside table.

It was when the girl glanced over at the juice and then at the door, that she noticed the short nurse who was also now standing in her room. Petra liked to imagine that the girl’s face had lit up a bit at the sight of her, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think that it was anything other than the prospect of juice that had her glowing.

Heidi, much like her father though, surprised her.

"Hi, Miss Petra," The girl said in that sweet tone of her, her words still shy, but definitely more confident than from the night before. "Is it time for my medicine?"

Petra smiled in encouragement, joining the girl’s father at the side of her bed. “Yes, it is. Are you in any pain?”

Once again, the child looked up at her father - but, instead of waiting for some kind of input from him, she turned back to the nurse and answered for herself.

“Just a little.”

While her answer was not nearly as descriptive as Petra would have liked, the woman knew that this was probably the best she was going to get out of the child. With a tough-as-nails father by her side, the little girl was never going to give a true indication of how she was truly feeling. To do so would be to admit defeat in her eyes.

It was sad to an extent, but having grown up with a single dad herself - something she was assuming based on the fact that Petra had yet to see a mother stop by for a visit to Heidi's room - she knew how important it was to show them that their little girls were strong enough to handle themselves.

Petra’s respect for the precocious five-year-old just continued to grow as she spent more time with her.

After the nurse had given the girl her pills and had made sure that they went down easily, she reviewed Heidi’s vitals one more time before promising to return in the next hour.

Before she could make it out the door though, she turned to face the girl’s father one last time.

“I’ll be bringing you an apple, Mr. Ackerman,” She called back to him, watching as his gaze drifted upwards to meet her’s. “- and I’ll be expecting you to eat it.”

“Levi.”

The response was so quick and unexpected that it had Petra quieting immediately. Seeing the look of confusion written across her face, one side of the man's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. He sighed, shaking his head before closing his eyes in exasperation.

When he opened them again, there was a softer look there than there had been before.

“My name’s Levi. Stop it with that Mr. Ackerman stuff.”

Even Heidi chuckled from her place in the bed at the sound of such a formal name for her father. Once Petra had collected her wits, she gave a short nod in response.

"Levi, then."

Without wasting another second, the woman turned from the room - shutting the door close with more force than what she had intended to.

Her face was burning as she walked away from the room - and for the first time since she had been assigned to the patient in Room 325 - it wasn't from shame.

-

It was nearly an hour and a half later that she was finally able to return to Heidi’s room to check on the girl. With an apple in hand, the woman pushed open the door quietly, just in case the little girl had happened to fall back asleep.

The scene that lay before her, had her pausing in the open doorway in wonder.

Levi Ackerman was sitting. Not only was he sitting, but he was reading - and from a children’s book, nonetheless!

The white bag from earlier lay at his feet, the contents of it having been removed. While it had been puffed up quite large only an hour before, it now sat deflated on the cold tile of the hospital floor. Petra couldn't imagine that a few children's books from the gift shop would make a bag look that full, and she was right to assume that.

The reason the bag had looked so full was currently resting in the happy little hands of one Miss Heidi Ackerman in the form of a very large, stuffed teddy bear.

"Then Mr. Owl asked Mr. Bear if he could borrow a few - ," Petra listened to the smooth voice of the man who had nearly made her cry the day before, no rudeness left in his tone as he read to a very captive audience.

"Daddy, why would he ask to borrow something that he could never give back?' Heidi asked from her hospital bed, fully engaged in the story. Whether it was consciously or not, she hugged her bear a little tighter to herself as she turned onto her side to regard her father.

The man gave her a small, patient smile. "It's an expression, Heidi. Mr. Owl is going to eat the carrots, of course - so I'm sure hoping he's not planning on regurgitating them and giving them back to Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear is letting Mr. Owl have something without the guarantee of ever receiving it back or something in return."

“Then it’s not borrowing.”

Her father shrugged, his eyes turning back to the page in front of him. "Not really, I guess."

Before the man could pick up where he'd left off - Heidi cut him off once more.

“Daddy, I don’t think owls actually eat carrots.”

“Are you going to let me finish the story, brat?” The man gazed at her over the top of the book, annoyance creeping into his tone after having been interrupted for the second time. “Or do I need to read from the dictionary in order to please you?”

While Petra had been shocked when he had referred to his daughter as "brat" the night before, she would have to be deaf to not hear the endearment that lay hidden in his tone. He said it so gently - as though it was meant as an affectionate tease more than an insult.

Heidi certainly wasn’t offended by it if her sweet little laugh was any indication of how she was feeling.

“Daddy!” She whined, hugging her bear even tighter. “No dictionary! I want animal stories!”

“Then sit back and enjoy the damn book, instead of overanalyzing everything.”

Heidi’s eyes widened in shock, her small mouth forming an ‘o’ at her father’s choice of words. “Daddy, you swore.”

The man twisted his lips, trying his best to hide his face behind the children's book that he held in his hands.

“I heard you! You’re going to have to put change in the swear jar at home!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Heidi smiled brightly at her father. "Nuh-uh, it's a deal! I'm going to be rich!"

“Heidi,” Levi raised one dark brow towards the girl, his tone darkening with warning as she continued to get louder. “You need to be quiet.”

At her father’s admonishment, the child’s face fell, her bright smile falling swiftly off her features. Petra made a movement to jump in - anything to bring that sweet expression back to the darling girl’s face - but was stopped by the man’s voice chiming in once again.

“ - and besides, you only have two dollars. That’s barely enough to call yourself rich.”

While most children would have balked at Levi's use of blunt humor, Heidi - who must have been used to it by now -  began to giggle once more, the bright smile from just moments before, returning to her face. Petra was even surprised to find that the man was wearing one of his own now.

"It's almost enough to buy a chocolate bar." Heidi insisted as if the candy was the most precious thing in the world.

Petra had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing out loud. From her spot in the doorway, the nurse's shoulders trembled in quiet amusement. This little girl was something else - and, from what she had seen over the past few minutes, so was her father.

"Now you see, Miss Ral?" The question had her pausing mid-shake, her amusement slowly fading now that she had been caught. "I told you sweets would be her downfall."

Petra could feel her cheeks heating up. She had just been caught eavesdropping - how unprofessional could she be?

Opening the door all the way, the woman stepped fully into the room, apple still in hand. While Heidi certainly seemed to quiet as the woman entered the room, the smile on her face did not fade.

While she had thought the older Ackerman would look at her in contempt for having the gall to eavesdrop on him, during what she would call a very intimate family moment, he instead looked over at her with a slight quirk in his brow.

“ - and eavesdropping will be yours.”

Without saying another word, the man placed the children’s book on top of the bedside table, where Petra could now see an entire stack had been laid. Next to it, a small cat plush sat, almost as though watching over the mountain of books that now stood beside it. Before the nurse could make any comments in regards to his gift shop purchases, the man stuck out his hand.

Petra just stared at him in confusion.

Levi gave her a less than impressed look. “My apple, Miss Ral?”

If Petra had thought her face had been burning before, it was nothing compared to now.

-

A few hours passed uneventfully in the pediatric ward. That was one thing Petra had always enjoyed about the night shift - there was a certain calm in the air that seemed to hang over the 3rd floor of the hospital. A child would cry out in pain, only to be shushed a few moments later by comfort or medicine - or a buzzer would go off, signaling that someone needed assistance.

Other than that, the ward pretty much always stayed quiet in the late night to early morning hours of the day and Room 325 was no exception to this.

Heidi was snoozing peacefully as Petra made her rounds once again to check on the girl. After having received her last dose of medication until morning, the girl had lost her battle against sleep. She had fought valiantly - wanting to stay up and continue listening to the stories being told by her father - but after several hours and retellings of the same stories over and over, she was finally out for the night.

While Petra hated to disturb the girl's sleep, it was pertinent that she clean her wound every few hours to keep the infection from setting in. Though the girl was already taking oral antibiotics, the nurse knew that it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to wounds.

In an attempt to be as stealthy as possible, Petra quietly entered the dimly lit room of Heidi Ackerman, careful not to make any noise as she closed the door behind her.

Giving her eyes time to adjust to the lack of lighting in the room, Petra squinted while looking over at the chair.

There sat Levi, bloody clothes and all, by his daughter's bed and still wide awake despite his obvious exhaustion. Petra had given up hours ago on telling him to get some sleep, learning quickly that even without an injured child the man was a terrible insomniac.

However, she couldn't help but be concerned when it came to the man's state of mind. How on earth was he supposed to tend to his child when he wasn't willing to rest himself?

"Oi, stop lurking in the doorway." A ragged voice called from the chair, his eyes never drifting from Heidi's face. Even without looking, he seemed to just know she was there. it must have been a Survey Corps thing. “She’s out for the night, so there’s no need to sneak around as if the smallest noise is going to wake her up.”

Petra blushed at the call-out, stepping fully into the dim light of the room, her expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to change her bandages."

The man grunted in acknowledgment, shrugging his shoulders. "It can't be helped. Several more hours of reading from 'Mr. Owl's Adventures' sounds like a decent penance to me."

Though Petra found herself chuckling at the man's dry wit, she couldn't help but notice the strain in his voice that spoke of some underlying guilt she was not privy to. Trying to lighten the mood, she moved closer to Heidi's bedside, bandages already in hand and a soft smile on her features.

"Count yourself lucky," The woman bristled, reaching into her pocket for a disinfectant wipe. "You could be changing dirty bandages and bedpans for the rest of the night. I think I would choose Mr. Owl over that, any day."

While she hadn't expected the man to laugh at her remark, she wasn't expecting him to sober so quickly either.

He watched as she placed the packet of disinfectant wipes down on the table, her hands moving to the bandages to ready them for placement. The night before, she had found his gaze unnerving - now, however, he seemed to be pondering her actions more than looking for something that she was doing wrong.

“Could you show me how to change her bandages?”

Petra couldn't hide the shock that flooded her features at the quiet request. The words were spoken so softly that she questioned whether she had even heard them.

“Huh?” She heard herself ask, pausing mid-action.

Levi's face held its usual passive expression - but, when Petra looked closely, she could see the skin of his neck turning red underneath the hairs of his undercut.

The man was blushing.

Petra had little time to be amazed before he was speaking again.

"I tried watching you last night and when the nurse did it this morning," The man confessed, his voice tight as though he felt ashamed for admitting it. "But I want to make sure I know how to do it right since I'm the one who's going to be doing it at home."

Suddenly, his attentiveness to her actions during her prior shift made a lot more sense.

While she had thought he had been watching her closely to see if she made any mistakes while changing Heidi's bandages, he was really just trying to learn how to do it himself. So the reason he must have been so grouchy when she had made that one mistake, was because he was frustrated not only with her but with himself for having to seek out someone's help.

Man, she had misjudged him terribly in that moment.

Knowing that it was hard for the man to admit he needed guidance - Petra gave him a small but encouraging smile.

"I can show you," The woman gestured for him to come closer to the bed so that he could see better. "This is the perfect time, actually since I'm going to be doing it really slow, so that we don't wake her."

Petra tried to calm the furious beating of her heart as the man rose from his chair and made his way over to her side. This was the closest she had ever been to him, even closer than when she had gotten up in his face earlier. From this vantage point, she could see the dark stubble that now lined his cheeks and the puffy bags that seemed to permanently reside under his eyes.

The man was starting to look a bit ragged. However, no amount of exhaustion could dull the look of determination in his eyes.

Petra took her time, carefully peeling back the bandages that sat across Heidi's abdomen. Levi watched closely as she worked her finger under the sticky material at a particularly irritated patch of skin. While Heidi mumbled a few incoherent words in her sleep and turned her head to the side in agitation, she remained unconscious as Petra continued to work on her wound.

The nurse quietly explained proper wound care, as she cleaned around the stitches that lay on the girl's stomach. Levi nodded in acknowledgment to each of her points, his steely gaze never leaving her hands.

The whole process took about ten minutes, much longer than usual, but Petra felt like it had taken a hundred years.

The man was just so close and it was distracting.

Despite being flustered by his proximity and rapt attention, Petra was able to successfully clean and re-bandage the wound.

She ripped the end of the last piece of tape needed for the girl's skin, gently patting it down with soft pressing motions. "So, that's all there is to it."

Levi nodded, the wheels in his head turning as he tried to internalize everything he had just seen.

It struck Petra as odd that he needed such guidance from her when his line of work surely included some bumps and nicks over time. Almost as if he could guess her train of thought, the man answered her unspoken question.

"I've had to treat my own wounds before," He admitted quietly, eyes glued to the area of Heidi's stomach where her injury lay. " - but I've never had to treat a child's. I just want to make sure I do it right."

Petra gave him a sympathetic smile, placing the roll of tape back on the table. "It really isn't that much different from dressing your own wounds."

Levi's eyes darkened at her words, his tone shifting. "It is different."

The young woman watched as the man's eyes drifted back up to Heidi's peaceful face, her small pink lips opened in an 'o' as little breaths escaped between them. From a hardened gaze, the Survey Corps member's eyes softened at the sight of his slumbering daughter.

“What happened?”

Petra didn't know what had come over her, but at the man's words and expression, she couldn't help but speak out of curiosity. While the girl's file had said she had been cut by a blade that had been laced with poison, it hadn't said any more than that. She figured that Heidi had been caught up in a crossfire, but she couldn't be too sure.

She wanted to know what had caused her patient so much pain - and she also wanted to know what it was that was causing the girl's father so much guilt.

Petra had not expected much in ways of a response, figuring that the man would tell her to mind her own business. She was surprised when, instead of snapping at her in anger, Levi sighed and crossed his arms over his chest in defeat. She could see his reluctance to share in the rigid way he stood, but could also see in the way he rolled his lips inwards, that there was a part of him that wanted to tell someone what happened.

"They broke into my home when it wasn't there." The man admitted quietly, a quick rush of breath leaving him as he resigned himself to share with Petra the details behind the incident. "Heidi knows not to open the door to strangers, so when they came knocking, she hid - but they knew she was there. They had been watching."

"The Titans?" Petra asked in a whisper. Levi nodded.

"I've always known that I was a big target for them - almost as big as Erwin himself - but I never thought they would go after my own daughter." Levi released a dark chuckle at this, closing his eyes in disbelief. 'I can't believe my stupidity. The Titans have cut down families before, I don't know what made me think that mine would be any different."

The man sighed, his eyes cutting back to his daughter’s face. “One of my men had heard through our line of communication that The Titans were planning on laying siege to my house - however, it had been kept under wraps for as long as possible to keep the plan from getting back to me.”

Levi's face darkened, his thin lips pressing together as his eyes took on a faraway look - like he was being transported back in time.

"Unlucky for them," The man continued, his tone growing terser as time went on. "I found out and was able to intercept the attack."

Petra watched as the man’s focus drew back to the present, his steely gaze never leaving his daughter. “But not before Heidi could get hurt.”

Levi ran a single hand through his hair, the action causing the arm of his jacket to rise and the ‘Wings of Freedom’ tattoo to be exposed.

"There were six of them at the house," Levi admitted, not even pausing when this information called forth a gasp from Petra. "I cut down every single one of them."

At the dark look on his face, the nurse could feel herself gulp in fear. The same intimidating man whom she had encountered the night before during her first shift was suddenly making an appearance once again. His behavior - however, made more sense now. He had been reticent and ready to snap, not just because his daughter had been injured, but because he had just murdered six men.

Petra also realized that the blood that lay splattered across the man’s white shirt was, more than likely, not just Heidi's. While the news had Petra suppressing a shiver, she didn't interrupt him as he continued with his story.

"When I realized the blade had been laced with poison, I rushed Heidi here." He glanced over at her now, his gaze watching her carefully as he analyzed her reaction. "Then a few hours later, we met you."

Petra didn't know what to say - half of her had expected the story to be something like that, but also half of her wishing it hadn't. She was outright conflicted.

"She had been alone?" She heard herself ask through the whooshing in her ears. Her head was spinning from all the new information.

Levi nodded. "I can't afford to send her anywhere. She's always alone."

Though Petra tried to hide her surprise, she couldn't conceal it quick enough for his all-seeing eyes.

"She has no mother." Levi admitted though Petra had deduced as much. "The woman dropped her off on my doorstep years ago without so much as a word - so I'm all she has."

"That's horrible." While it was an understatement, to be sure, it was all Petra could think of in response. At least it was able to draw a dry chuckle from the man.

“I guess you could say that.”

Not knowing how to dispel the tension that currently lay in the air, Petra turned to continue cleaning up the used bandages from the side table, disposing of them in the trash while she continued to think of what to say.

Noticing her unease, Levi sighed. "I didn't tell you all of this to make you feel awkward. You did ask, you know?"

"I don't feel awkward!" Petra insisted although she knew it was a fib. She rolled up the gauze that she had neglected to use while trying to choose her words carefully. "I'm just not sure what to say."

"You don't have to say anything,"  The man said, walking back around to the other side of the bed. His eyes drifted to the children's books that lay stacked on the side of the bed. "It's the ways things are and the way they will always be. All I can do is ensure that none of my decisions from here on out will infringe on her safety.'

Petra nodded. “I guess you're right.”

The room was quiet as Petra continued to bustle about. She fluffed Heidi's pillows a few more times, before reviewing the young girl's vitals. She didn't know what it was, but despite the tense atmosphere that lay heavy over the room, she really didn't want to leave.

No matter what she wanted though, she knew she had other patients to see.

Before she left, a thought came to her as she reached for the handle on the door. She remembered at the start of her shift that Levi had only taken leave of his daughter's room when Petra was guaranteed to be there and keep watch. The circumstance had Petra pausing.

Was that why he hadn’t bothered to go home and change yet?

Petra could see that the man needed a good shower and a fresh pair of clothes - but, after hearing about what happened, she highly doubted he was willing to leave the hospital while his daughter was still in such a vulnerable state.

She didn’t know what came over her, but suddenly she was speaking.

“I get off in a few hours. Do you want me to sit with Heidi while you go home and change?”

Her offer caused the man to turn his head, his eyes gazing at her warily. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know you probably need your rest.”

Petra shook her head. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t willing.”

"I couldn't -,"

"No offense," Petra finally said, her arms crossing over her chest in an act of defiance. " - but you are starting to look rough.”

This caused one side of the man’s mouth to quirk up. “I’m just now starting to? I thought surely when I walked in covered in blood yesterday that I looked about as rough as I could.”

“Well, then I guess you’ve been proven wrong.”

Levi shook his head. “I’m not leaving. Besides, I have nowhere to go. My home is a crime scene, remember?”

"You can use my apartment." The words had left Petra's mouth before she even had time to think. At the suggestion, she could feel her face heating up, but she continued speaking anyway. "Go at least take a shower - please."

This had the man's brows raising to his hairline.

"You would let a man who just murdered six people take a shower in your home?"

Petra shrugged. “Yeah, I mean as long as you promise not to mess with anything.”

“You’re damned crazy.”

"Yeah, maybe," Petra conceded, but her arms still crossed tightly over her chest. "But it's better than being stinky. I'm going to get a shirt from the lost and found for you to take. My shift is over in three hours, so try to at least get some rest before it's my turn to watch Heidi."

Without waiting for a response, Petra exited the room in a flurry of white fabric and frazzled nerves, missing the smirk that followed her actions as she hurriedly exited through the door.

- True to her word, Petra had returned to Heidi's room after clocking out. The woman handed the older Ackerman a piece of paper with her address, a key, and a plain white t-shirt - before practically pushing him out of the room.

Not allowing any chance of negotiation, Petra slammed the door behind him, fighting the urge to actually lock it.

Now fully awake, Heidi giggled at the sight of the young woman bossing her otherwise intimidating father around. The sound had Petra smiling, too. Though she was tired, she was looking forward to spending a bit of downtime with the girl.

During the hour and a half that Levi was gone, Petra learned many things about Miss Heidi Ackerman.

She was born in late September and couldn't wait for the Summer to be over so that she could finally be six. Her favorite thing to learn about was animals - hence, why her father always bought her stories with animal characters rather than humans. She had named the big teddy bear her father had gotten her, Felix, after a cat character with the same name that existed in one of the storybooks her dad had once read to her.

While it wasn’t new information, Petra was struck once again by how intelligent the little girl was.

Heidi shared with her the process of her daily routine - how she woke up in the morning to find a bowl of cereal already sitting ready for her at the table. Though her father was usually gone by this time, he always left a note telling her what time he would be home and reminded her to never open the door to strangers. After reading the note, she would do a few chores around the house - she loved sweeping - and even had her own little broom that matched her father's so that on the weekends they could clean the floors together.

While Petra imagined such an existence would be a sad one - being all alone in a house all day, especially, at such a young age - Heidi didn't seem particularly bothered by it.

"When Daddy gets home in the afternoon, he always cooks me something yummy for dinner," Heidi's voice held all the wonderment of a child, who was properly spoiled by her father. "Uncle Erwin even sometimes comes over and eats with us. He can toss me up in the air really high! Higher than Daddy!"

Petra found herself chuckling at this. “Oh, really?”

Heidi nodded excitedly, her cheeks flushed from the conversation and probably what was still a bit of residual pain. Despite this, she continued chatting as though she couldn't be bothered.

Petra felt her heart warm as the girl slowly began to open up more and more to her - remembering how quiet she had been during the first time she had attended to her.

It was as though the child that sat before her now was a completely different person from the one before. While she could probably blame some of that on the young girl's injury - a bigger portion of it was just that it probably took the girl time to warm up to people.

‘Much like her father,’ Petra supposed.

By the time Levi returned, both his daughter and the nurse were sat up in the hospital bed, the scene causing him to pause in the doorway.

Petra had sat herself behind Heidi, allowing the girl to lean back on her legs and chest in a reclining position. The nurse’s hands were working through the girl’s hair, her deft fingers twirling the long dark strands into a simple braid.

“I’ve always wanted a braid!” Heidi shared, squeezing her bear close to her chest. “I’m so excited! I hope it looks pretty.”

“Oh, it looks very pretty," Petra insisted, her light, chestnut eyes finally drifting towards the man that stood in the door. Her lips quirked up in a small smirk. "Doesn't it, Mr. Levi?"

Fighting the urge to groan at the use of mister before his name, the man closed the door to the hallway behind him before stepping fully into the room. "Oh yes - very pretty."

At his insistence, Heidi giggled - her little cheeks flushed now from the compliments.

Once the girl was situated back on her pillows - chatting with her bear about all the hairstyles she'd like to try to learn to do in the future - Petra turned to Heidi's dad, giving him a smile of appreciation.

Instead of wearing the t-shirt she had retrieved from him, he was wearing a dark blue one with the hospital logo that they sold in the gift shop. The woman had to smirk when she saw that.

"What are you -  a germaphobe?" She couldn't help but ask, remembering the wary look he had had on his face when she had handed the used t-shirt over. Though she couldn't blame him, being very particular about things like that herself, she couldn't hold back a laugh.

Levi shrugged. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

They stood there for a few silent beats, the only sound between them being that of Heidi's quiet voice as she chatted to Felix, the teddy bear. Finally, Levi pulled his hand out of his pocket, her key shining in his hand.

Petra held out her hand to receive it.

"Thank you for your hospitality." The man drawled, placing the object in the middle of her palm, a smirk teasing the corner of his lips. "Your lodgings were adequate enough, I guess."

After having heard from Heidi herself in the past hour of how her dad was a self-proclaimed 'clean freak' - the woman was not surprised at such a comment. In fact, knowing what she did now, it made her quietly chuckle.

“I’m glad.”

Petra called over her shoulder to Heidi that she would be back on the night shift in just a few hours, the girl happily waved at her as the woman made her way to the door. Knowing that she only had one more 12-hour shift for the week, the young nurse moved with a slight bounce in her step.

The realization that she probably only had one more night to spend with Heidi and her father had her pausing though.

Shaking her head, she attempted to rid her mind of the thought. She wasn't one to get attached to her patients and she definitely wouldn't start now.

Still, there was something in her heart that tugged every time she thought of Heidi’s sweet little face. Not only that, but the tug worsened every time she thought of Levi’s.

‘I need some sleep,’ She lamented to herself as she continued her way down the stairs.

Yes, sleep was all she needed.

-

Upon arriving on the 3rd floor for her fourth shift of the week, but third with Heidi, Petra was surprised to see the one and only, Erwin Smith exiting the room of her favorite patient.

She guessed she shouldn't be surprised by the appearance of the blonde man - given how much Heidi talked about him - however, what did surprise her was the grave expression present on his features. While not one to fear the worst, the furrow between his brows and the thin line of his lips had her heart sinking, just a bit.

After confirming with the day nurse that nothing had changed in Heidi's condition, Petra was able to breathe easier. Apparently, in the last hour, Dr. Shadis had even cleared the girl to return home whenever she pleased - however, both the Commander and Levi had convinced the doctor to extend her hospital stay by one day.

The day nurse said she had no idea what the reasoning was behind it but Petra had a good idea.

‘My home is a crime scene.’ Levi had said earlier in response to her pressures for him to go home and shower. The truth of the matter was, Petra feared that neither Levi nor Heidi had anywhere to go.

With that in mind, she entered the girl's room for her first round of medication with a slight hesitance in her gait.

Whatever nerves she had been feeling though dissipated at the sight of Heidi's joyful face.

"Miss Petra!" The girl exclaimed from her place in bed, arms wrapped around her teddy bear and now a large monkey plushie too. "Look what Uncle Erwin brought me!"

The woman was about to respond when a sort of grumbling coming from the direction of the chair caught her attention. Levi had his chin in his hand, his eyes glaring at the plush kitty that still sat on the bedside table untouched. Petra could see a hint of jealousy in his actions.

Dare she call it - adorable?

Though his mutterings weren't all that caught the woman's attention. The man had a whole new change of clothes on, the hospital t-shirt now stuffed away in the white bag that lay by his feet.

The commander must have brought him an extra pair of clothes.

Realizing that she hadn't ever answered Heidi's cheer, Petra smiled at the child who lay in the hospital bed. "Well isn't that a lovely surprise?"

Heidi nodded excitedly, hugging her plushies closer to her. “I think I’m going to name him Beast.”

"That's a lovely name," The nurse agreed, laughing quietly as she watched the girl's father roll his eyes. Despite the current levity in the atmosphere, the woman knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her mouth shut much longer.

Placing the cup of juice she had brought with her down on the bedside table, she busied herself preparing Heidi’s medication as she thought of how to brooch the topic.

“So, I heard Heidi’s been cleared to return home?”

Levi was silent for a moment, but she soon heard a grunt behind her. “It would appear that way.”

“I heard Dr. Shadis approved her for one more night in our care?”

Levi hummed in response, not saying anything more as the woman continued to arrange the pills. Her hands paused as she got to Heidi’s sleep medication.

“Will you be staying with Commander Erwin?”

At her question, the man remained silent - watching as Petra assisted Heidi with taking her pills. Always a brave patient, the girl barely grimaced as the nasty medication tumbled down her throat. When it was all over, the five-year-old simply laid back on her pillows, picking up right where she left off with her two stuffed animals.

It took Levi so long to respond that Petra figured he wouldn't say anything more on the subject - however, his quiet answer came soon enough, a sort of bitterness in his tone.

"No, we can't," He spat out, a rare show of his old reticence shining through. Petra could tell that it wasn't directed at her, though - it was more so in response to the situation. "Erwin thinks it's a bad idea for us to stay with anyone who's a part of the Survey Corps. If they had my address, who's to say they don't have any others?"

Petra had guessed this was the case by the way Commander Erwin had looked upon leaving the room. It was the look of a man who was used to solving problems, who just couldn't seem to solve this one.

Levi continued, missing the pensive look that settled across Petra's features. "He's trying to find somewhere cheap that we could stay, but at the end of the day, the Corps don't receive much funding. I barely make enough to pay for the place we have now and I'm still going to have to pay for it until my lease is up."

“You don’t think you’ll be able to go back after everything is cleaned up?” Petra asked, the wheels still turning in her head. Levi released a dry chuckle at the suggestion.

"I'm not going to make the brat stay in a home where she was almost killed. I may be a monster, but even I have more compassion than that." He spoke quietly, aware that Heidi was still very much awake and able to hear their conversation.

"There's no one you could reach out to and stay with?"

Levi laughed bitterly, once again. "The only people I know are either a part of the Survey Corps or thugs themselves, my options are pretty slim."

Petra nodded, quietly mulling over his words.

After a few moments, she made the offer she had entered the room willing to make.

“Why don’t you stay with me?”

Levi's brows rose, a look of mild shock commanding his features. Feeling uneasy from his reaction, Petra began to ramble in order to fill the awkward silence.

“I mean -,” She cleared her throat, hating how the words had come out as a mere squeak. “You said my lodgings were adequate, right?”

"Well, yes. But -,"

"I certainly wouldn't mind it - and you wouldn't have to pay me rent or anything! All I would need is maybe a little bit of money for groceries since I barely have any - and - uh - and I'm barely home anyway since I work so much, so it would probably be just like living alone!" The words left Petra in a rush, her brain working faster than her mouth as she tried to convince him that this option wouldn't be so bad. "I'm a pretty clean person, so you wouldn't have to worry about -,"

“Could you shut your damn mouth for a second?!”

The low growl of his voice had Petra pausing mid-ramble, her mouth hanging open as the man in the chair cleared his throat, in an attempt to get emotions back under control.

When he spoke again, his tone was even, incredulity evident in his words. "You really expect me to accept such charity?"

Petra closed her mouth, shrugging meekly. “I mean, do you have any other options?”

"Yeah, the street." The nurse found herself rolling her eyes at his words.

"What happened to not allowing any danger to fall upon your daughter again?" Petra asked, remembering their conversation from before. While the man's eyes flashed in anger at her implication, the woman didn't stop there. "Do you really think the safest place for your daughter currently is on the streets?”

The man was silent again.

“I can’t pay you.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“I hate charity.”

"This isn't charity." Petra insisted, meeting his steely gaze with one of her own. "I'm honestly being selfish. I don't think I could sleep at night knowing that the two of you ended up on the streets when I could have helped.'

“Why would you do that for people you barely know?”

"I don't know," Petra answered, honestly - her eyes drifting to where Heidi lay still unaware of the serious conversation taking place next to her. "But something inside of me is telling me that it's the right thing to do."

Levi stared at her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"So you would offer up your home to two strangers just because your heart is telling you to?”

While his comment was snide, Petra refused to back down. "And you would offer up your life to a cause that will most likely get you killed in the end? It seems like neither of us is very responsible when it comes to where our hearts lie."

The man couldn’t argue with that.

The room descended into a suffocating silence for a few moments, before Levi spoke again.

"What about Heidi?" He asked. "She stays home alone all day. Are you okay with a child residing by themselves in your apartment?"

"Not really," Petra admitted, though she had already thought about this. "But my friend who lives down the hall runs a daycare out of her home. I'm sure if I explained the circumstances, she would be willing to make an exception and let Heidi stay with her when you or I can't be at home."

Levi sighed, realizing she had thought this out a lot more than he had expected. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Nope.” Petra smiled brightly, knowing that he was close to admitting defeat.

The man looked once more towards his daughter, who was now rubbing her tired eyes as she tried to win the battle against sleep.

“Fine.” He begrudgingly agreed, refusing to make eye contact with the now ecstatic ginger.

"Perfect!" The woman nearly exclaimed with glee - however, she kept her reaction quiet, aware of the presence of Heidi who was almost in the throes of sleep. "Leave all the planning to me. Heidi was cleared to stay one more night - so, once I finish my shift, I'll go home and get everything prepared for her discharge tomorrow afternoon."

Levi nodded, still not exactly happy about the situation.

"Don't think you're going to be able to stand around and mope, either," Petra warned, pulling the blanket up higher on Heidi's chest, the girl finally losing the battle against her eyelids. "I'm doing this because I want to, so I won't have you feeling guilty.

Levi shook his head, a smirk appearing on his features. "You're crazy."

"Maybe," Petra shrugged.

After picking up the empty glass of juice from the girl's bedside, Petra decided to take her leave, ready to attend to her other patients.

Before leaving the room, she turned back towards Levi, still sat in the chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We're going to figure this out," Petra assured him as she exited the room, smiling as he turned his face towards her - a look of apprehension on his features. "You, me, and Heidi - it'll work, I promise."

Though his answering smirk was tired, Petra could see that maybe - just maybe - he was starting to believe her.

[loptyrs-moved]

Can you talk more abt ur fandoms ocs? I like your writing a lot and would like to know more abt em

Oh my goodness I’m 🥺🥺🥺🥺 you’re SO sweet thank you!

Well, I have quite a few and some have their own deeper lore stories that go with them. If you guys want more information on them, I can do separate posts on all of them. But Here they are! I’m so excited to share my babies with you!

More is under the cut. The Picrew I used is here.

Ikemen Revolution

Black Army Side

Corrin Fukui

Age: Appears to be in mid-early twenties

Hair: Brick white

Eyes: Blood Red

Height: 4′11

Any other Qualities:

Draconic features -- She’s literally a dragon but not by nature

Curved Opalescent Horns

Shimmery opalescent tail

Wings that also shimmer in the light

retractable?

Pointed ears

Easily frightened by loud noises and sudden movements

stunted growth

Hoards blankets and comfort items

writes in a journal every day 

its one luka got for her and she refuses to write in anything else. she pours her heart out on the pages, and all her memories

she had a brother! but he passed away because of the magic tower :(

turns into a gIANT DRAGON 

ICE ICE BREATH BABY

Was found by Luka while on a patrol near the forbidden forest, lost and afraid, so she was taken in

Had amnesia at first

She actually is an experiment of Amon and she managed to escape

Excellent at sewing and gardening

Sufficient with baking

She’s for Luka! The way they fell for each other was a slow, gradual trust, and mutual understanding. She saw him as a man, as he was, and nothing else.

Sometimes is called Corri

gentle hearted and innocent

but not as innocent as you’d think 

she’s a dragon, and she’s a greedy little one

Ophelia Dae

Age: 24

Hair: Crimson red

Eyes: Jade green

Height: 5′8

Any other Qualities:

A skilled swordsman, and one of the Chosen Thirteen

9 of Spades baybeee

While she is more accustomed to short swords and sabers, Phelia is a magic user! But she isn’t really in agreement with Ray with his stance on magic

BOMBASTIC AS HELL

BISEXUAL

“Is he bothering you Queen?”

Trans

Was friends with Ray and Fenrir while in school, and was just as much of a hellraiser as them

she was there when the day things went dark happened and was almost taken but that day is a blur for her

phelia REFUSES to talk about it

she still has nightmares

raised by a single mother

TRIVIA! She was an old fire emblem oc i had and she was the daughter of Arvis -- so if you squint when she uses magic you’ll see Valflame

joined the army probably because Fenrir was too, and she was inspired by him 

she joined for her own reasons but he made it easier for her to do it too

his passion was what made her fall for him in the first place

has a personal vendetta against the magic tower for what they did to her and her friends

AND CORRIN JEEZ

will sacrifice herself if necessary to the cause

PROBABLY HAS ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF IT

Bruh girl

Amira Nasiri

Age: 22

Hair: Chocolate brown

Eyes: Turquoise blue

Height: 5′3

Any other qualities:

My version of Alice! Difference is that she’s Persian

That’s it

She’s just as spunky as Alice 

however she responds with being called Alice a little different

she’s adamant about being called Amira

At some point she just accepts Seth does it to distance himself

also an avid baker like alice

pISTACIOS

BAKLAVA

Amira is just Alice except she’s just my take on her. 

She has the same vibrant spirit as Alice

and I personally consider Seth the canon route for REASONS

just ask me why fjgdfgjksd

Red Army Side

Azul Flores

Age: 25

Hair: Raven black

Eyes: Wisteria purple

Height: 5′0

Any Other Qualities:

An old friend of the Queen of Hearts

like she met him when she was 8 years old

fought his bullies when they would give him a hard time when he was a kid

they dated for a WHILE

did NOT work out

HARD CHILDHOOD

Ambitious, hard working young woman who was married into a high standing family on the Red side. Her mother was a teacher and gained the attention of one of the Chosen Thirteen on that side, and got married

Azul is NOT the officer’s daughter. She’s his step daughter

Has had extensive studies on the History of Cradle and of the Red Territory.

Wants to be a Cradle Historian

Works for the Red Army as a personal assistant to the queen

UNINTENTIONAL

THEY ACTUALLY CANT STAND EACH OTHER

Unless....

Look their story is very dramatic and it hurts me every day so please stay tuned with them. 

CUT THROAT BITCH

YOUR DEVIL

DEMON

Heckles Jonah like its her job — she knows him better than anyone elsd, if anyone knows his bs, its her

Bad resting bitch face

Actually really shy, and quiet when in different surroundings

A sweetheart and will cut a bitch for you once she knows u

She is perhaps one of the most transparent, honest, genuine person. there is no bullshit with her. she will tell you her honest thoughts with you

Cerise Nam

Age: 19

Hair: Berry Pink

Eyes: Petal Pink

Height: 5′2

Any other qualities:

Her mom came to Cradle from a far off place, and set up a food and pastry shop in the Central Quarter. Met her dad. Been there since

They live in Black Territory

She works for her parents and works with the pastries/desserts

loves making desserts from where her parents are from

She knows the Queen of Hearts VERY well since she makes the best mille feuille

Got a job from him actually, and works for the Red Army Headquarters kitchen

Loves to cook and bake!

a little naïve, but she’s a realist

youngest of FIVE kids!!

Morning girl

She may be petite but she can HEAFT heavy bags of flour/rice/dry goods

Met Zero by accident, and crashed into him while in town

love at first sight for her. how can you fault her?

she thinks he’s dreamy... and sweet...

does she flirt with him a little? Cerise can’t help it...

She and Zero have more of a hidden relationship because she fears her parents won’t approve

family stuff -- and she understands

RED ARMY OFFICER?? BLACK TERRITORY GIRL

look im cheesy

dont worry it works out

zero has to consider himself and his own personal stuff too so its a little difficult 

Non Army Suitor(s)

Lucile Lidell

Age: 20

Hair: Straw blonde

Eyes: Aqua blue

Height: 5'1

Any other qualities:

She and her twin, Noelle, are the actual descendants of the original Alice

Inherited unusual hairpins that were from cradle

More of the 'modern woman stuck in the wrong time' kind of gal

Rebellious

Noelle and Luci: partners in crime

Short skirts galore

Does not give a singular shit of what MEN think of her

Wants to be taken seriously

Sometimes acts like an airhead in order to get attention. She's actually pretty somber as a person and prefers to be in the background as her sister takes the stage

loves her sister more than anyone else in the world

When she and Noelle fall into Cradle, they kind of hightail it and live in the woods with Harr and Loki

Sticks with Harr since he's literally the least threatening man ever

First man to feel safe around

"Excuse me he said NO pickles!"

Will cut a bitch for him, or use magic -- luci will hurt someone if they even think a bout looking at him wrong

Loves to make clothes

'I mended the holes in your cloak for you...' 'Bye Harr, be safe and have a good day.'

'Welcome home, I missed you.'

Puts up a tough girl front but she's just a big softie just like him

Doesn't realize she has a crush on him until shit starts to hit the fan

Actually very vanilla tbh but wants to spoil her bf

Ikemen Sengoku

Ito Tsunade

Age: 26

Hair: Straw Blonde

Eyes: Molten Gold

Height: 5′5

Any Other Qualities:

Graduate student at the same university as Sasuke 

got stuck in the storm with him and Mai, and was tossed into the sengoku era

but she got separated from Mai

Met Shingen first much to her luck because uh.... lets say Tsunade is aint the sharpest tool in the shed

HEAD EMPTY

ZERO THOUGHTS

AIRHEAD

her aesthetic when she gets there?

TITS OUT

BIG HONKERS BIG TATA

HOT

her head might be empty but her tits are fat and they will protect you

Music nerd — loves traditional Japanese instruments, especially the difficult ones

Specializes in girl metal in modern day

eventually proves herself and plays some sick chords for the takeda/uesegi forces

she has entertained them for now

puts sake away like a monster

when she meets sasuke, she finds comfort in the fact he’s also lost with her, so she clings

asks him how to protect herself from shingen bc he’s horny lolol

genuinely thinks sasuke is hilarious

also does NOT realize she’s in love with him until the gravest of grave happens

her name was UNINTENTIONAL

Aibana Hinata

Age: Presents in his early-mid twenties

Hair: Black Midnight

Eyes: Haunting gold and vermillion

Height: 5'3

Any other qualities: 

The concubine of Nobunaga

Please know I made him a long while before the other guy was dropped so I’m just gonna offer this little gay boy

Nobunaga bought him from a brothel after being so intrigued by him. Hina entertained him so well that he was set for life

A RIGHT SNARKY BASTARD

HE KNOWS HE’S PRETTY AND CAN GET AWAY WITH MURDER

Likes to challenge Nobunaga in battles of wits

board games

debate as pillow talk

swordplay if the lords will entertain him enough

Bisexual as hell

Gender? Don’t know her

He uses all pronouns

True pronoun: princess

ONLY EXISTS IN A UNIVERSE WHERE THERE IS MAI

Nobunaga/Mai/Hinata........

Unless.......

Smart, and educated

former geisha

he can read! and write!

LOVE FUCKING WITH HIDEYOSHI

if there is mai, he would bond with her like no one else

he would be her best friend

her confidant

genuinely adores her

even if she is pursuing nobunaga, he doesn’t resent her ... he just wishes that she would find room in her heart for him too

puts up a tough exterior

a softie.....

[softest-cinnamon-roll]

4 with reddie?

4. Teacher/Single Parent AU

* * * * *

Richie had been an elementary school teacher for five years now and he had had his fair share of crazy kids and kids who were absolutely amazing. Yet, none of them quite stood out to him in the way that Lacey Kaspbrak did. She was a spunky, yet shy little girl who was also very smart and could learn something on the spot. She was always willing to learn new things, even if she didn’t understand at first, which Richie was in awe of. Lacey wouldn’t give up easily.

One of the things that Richie absolutely hated though, was the way Lacey was bullied. He had reported it many times, even spoken to the youngster privately about coming to him if she felt unsafe, but she never did. Richie knew it was because the girls who were tormenting her were threatening to make things worse if she ratted on them.

He had even tried to catch them out in the act, but was either too slow, too fast or there wasn’t enough evidence to report the incident. It was all very frustrating, as they were eight years old. No eight year old should be bullying, or getting bullied, it was as simple as that.

When the first parent/teacher conference rolled around, Richie was more than ready to discuss the incidents with Lacey’s parents, to ask if they had noticed anything at home or if Lacey had mentioned anything to them about troubles at school. He had all the paperwork sat out of his desk when the door knocked and a man, no older than him, walked in. He looked rather flushed in the face and the first thing that came to Richie’s mind when he got a proper look was; Fuck, that man is cute! Cute, cute, cute!

“I’m so sorry I’m late Mr Tozier, I had to drop Lacey off and then there was traffic. I hope I didn’t hold you back too much?” The man stammered out and Richie’s eyes widened just a little bit more. Oh no, oh god no. This was Lacey’s dad? Fuck, this wasn’t good.

Regaining composure, Richie cleared his throat and shook his head, motioning to the seat across from his desk, “Not at all, please take a seat.” He waited until he was seated across from him and smiled, “Mr Kaspbrak…”

“Eddie, please.” Eddie interrupted, a smile on his own face. “I hate it when people call me my last name. Please just call me Eddie.” He rested his arms on the desk and took a breath. “How has Lacey been? I haven’t had any calls about her, so I’m assuming everything has been okay with her schooling?”

Richie tensed a little and he bit his lip, “I was hoping to be able to talk to you, not about Lacey’s schooling as she is the smartest girl in her class and is always willing to learn, but about some issues between her and her peers.” He watched as Eddie’s face fell a little and he quickly continued, “Have you noticed anything in Lacey’s behaviour since the beginning of the school year?”

“Not...not that I am aware of,” Eddie whispered, shaking his head, a pained look on his face. “What’s been going on? Please tell me, I need...I need to know what’s going on with my little girl.” Richie felt his heart ache at the sight of Lacey’s dad looking so...distraught at the thought of his daughter being tormented.

It took a few moments of composure before Richie began to explain the ins and outs of what had been happening in his classroom. He also explained that he had tried on many attempts to report it to higher management, but there simply was not enough proof. “She’s strong, Eddie,” Richie finally breathed. “I can see that she doesn’t want to let them bother her, but I can also see that it does. A teacher shouldn’t have favourites, but I have a soft spot for Lacey, and I want her to be happy in my class.”

Eddie was quiet for a moment before he ran his fingers through his hair, “Things haven’t exactly been easy for us...ever. I’m not sure if you were made aware of our situation when Lacey transferred here?” He asked and Richie shook his head in a negative. “Lacey’s mother didn’t want her when she was born, and I was with my ex husband at the time, we were young and naive and she was a friend of a friend. So we offered to adopt her. Everything went swimmingly and Lacey became a part of our family...of my family. My ex didn’t really want anything to do with her, and I soon found out it was because he was seeing someone else behind my back. It was tough, and ugly, but we got a divorce with me gaining full custody of Lacey.” Eddie took another breath. “She was young, but these things stay with you no matter what and I’m sure it couldn’t be difficult for the other children’s parents to find out Lacey was being raised by an openly gay man.”

That seemed to strike a chord with Richie, and he felt a little sick. Slowly, he placed his hands on the table and tried to force a smile onto his face. “Well, I certainly hope that isn’t the case, considering their children are being taught by an openly gay man.”

Eddie’s eyes widened a little and he leaned back on the chair, “I see.” He pursed his lips. “You’ll take care of her...right? When she’s in your class? You’ll look out for her.”

Richie nodded his head, “Of course I will.” This time his smile was genuine. “Put it like this, Eddie, if Lacey was to snap and actually hit one of those kids? I will just so happen to be looking the other way at that time, leaving no credible witnesses.”

That managed to get a laugh out of Eddie and Richie felt a sense of pride and he had managed to turn his frown upside down. “You know, Lacey talks about you all the time. I was honestly a little nervous about meeting the infamous Mr Tozier. She has never had a relationship with any of her previous teachers like she does with you.”

“Well then, it must be my amazing charm and my skill with sock puppets,” Richie winked and Eddie burst into laughter. “If you want...and feel free to say no, but we can always meet up occasionally. To talk about Lacey and her progress. Over coffee maybe?”

Eddie raised an eyebrow, “Sounds like you're asking me out on a date, Mr Tozier.”

Shaking his head, Richie leaned a tiny bit closer, “Not at all, this is highly professional. Anyway, I can't date the parents of my students.”

“Ahh,” Eddie nodded his head slowly before pushing the chair back. It was the end of the session and Richie had another three parent’s to see that night. “Well, I’ll think about it.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper, scribbling something down. His number. “It was nice to meet you, Mr Tozier.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Eddie. All mine.”

* * * * *

@3tothe1 @anellope @annxmatron @appojoos @are-you-reddie-for-it @beepbeeprichiellc @bi-bi-richie @billdenbrough @bitchbrak @callmechee @dadbodrichie @derrylosers @disneyfan567 @eds-trashmouth @eduardoandale @feldmancorey @girasol-eddie @gloire-celeste @halfway-happy353 @hawkinsbabe @inthebreadbinwrites @itfandomprompts @its-stranger-than-you-think @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @kaspzier @lifesucksheres20bucks @loserslibrary @losers-gotta-stick-together @madidraw @mars-14 @marsisaplanetyall @moonlightrichie @nancynwheeler @no-she-wasnt-reddie @oldguybones @pink-psychic @purplepoisonedgem @queen-sock @ransonelovebot @rebecca-the-queen @reddie-for-anything @reddie-to-cryy @reddieforlove @reddiesetandgo @richietoaster  @roobarrtrashmouth @rreddies @s-onora @s-s-georgie @sashadrowned @sedanleystanley @sloppybitchreddie @sparklingrainbowdragon @spirited-marvel @stellarbisexual @studpuffin @takeourpure @that-weird-girls-blog @thegoshdiddlydangdoor @thejadeazalea @thorn-harvester-ven @tinyarmedtrex @tozier-boy @tozierking @toziesque @trashmouthtozierr @twoidiotsinl0ve @violetreddie @virgo-luthie @wilding-throught-thehallways @xandertheundead @xcottoncandykatx 

[tinalbion]

Can you do a Mayor Buckman scenario or headcanons of what would happen if he were to meet his S/O after finding her locked in the trunk of a car of some soon to be victims driving through Pleasant Valley? He notices the car's tail lights have been kicked out and an arm is sticking out and weakly moving. She is dehydrated and on the brink of heat stroke from the Southern Georgia sun, but still alive. So Buckman saves her while the visitors are distracted?

This is honestly such a great idea, oh man, imagine how he would react to something as crazy as that?! Never in his day would he expect this. Let’s just right into it!

No Time To Die

The town had greeted their new guests for their ‘Guts ‘n Glory Jubilee’ this year in the sweltering Georgia heat, Buckman was already getting a good feeling about this year since not one car, but three cars filled with lost college kids stumble on their little town. Pleasant Valley would be eating great this year, the thought of their carcasses hung in the butcher window, being prepared for the barbeque. It brought a wicked smile to Buckman’s face as he stood there and thought of it. He was brought back when one of the male students had asked him about the facilities, to which he prattled off some excuse for them, then he beckoned to the girls of the town, who all gathered on the stairs and flaunted all that they had to the willing group, which once they had seen the look in their eyes. They knew the kids were sold on staying.

Everyone had gathered around and excited to have guests of honor for their yearly celebration, their mouths already watering at the thought of the taste. Granny Boone was already preparing refreshments and finger foods for their guests while the mayor was doing all the sweet-talking, making sure that they wouldn’t up and change their minds. A few other townsfolk gathered around their small group; a spunky short-haired blonde girl who went by Miss Peaches, two girls who could have been supermodels that were clinging to each other, and a young feisty child that went by Hucklebilly, had all gotten in closer to their mayor and stared up at the group of young adults. Then there had been a properly dressed young man who walked up to Buckman’s side, standing straight and gazing at all of the delicious options he had before him. 

“Harper, my boy,” Buckman placed his arm around the young man’s shoulder and patted him, “please show our guests the best accommodations and make sure they feel...welcomed,” Buckman gave him that knowing smirk and allowed the man to guide a few of the ladies inside while their other friends followed, though one hesitated before walking in. 

The town was anxious to get the festivities started now that they all agreed to stay, but Buckman knew that it was a process and it would take a bit of time to fully convince them all to let their guards down. He was walking around their cars and surveying the makes and models until he noticed that the bumper of one of them had been significantly damaged. The taillights had been busted out and one of the lights had actually been dangling from it, then his eye noticed the slight movement from the trunk door. There it was; a hand. Fingers wiggled slowly and weakly, but they were moving, they belonged to someone locked in the trunk. 

This was a new thing for Buckman to witness but he was also very curious about how this would play out, so he beckoned over his eldest son, Rufus, to assist him with opening the trunk. The taller man quickly grabbed a metal pipe and jammed it into the crevice of the trunk, away from the hand that popped out, and sprang the trunk open. 

That was when he saw you, a glorified hot mess, panting from the heat that was trapped in there with you. You couldn’t even move your hand from its spot, the bones and muscles so sore and in so much pain that it would hurt less to just remain still. Your tongue was so dry, your throat felt as if it were on fire, you couldn’t remember what happened or how you got to this point. You did your best to open up your eyes to see what was going on, but the heat was just too unbearable for you to even give a damn right now. 

Buckman looked down at you and you barely stirred as you were freed from the extreme heat that was contained in the trunk, that was a bad sign for sure. You looked so beautiful despite the absolute shit you had already obviously been through. Your skin was bruised and blood had been smeared on your face, he couldn’t even tell if it was yours or someone else’s, but it was so dried and stuck to your skin that it flaked off when he ran his thumb across it. 

“Damn,” he muttered and looked around, his eyes landing on Rufus. “Make sure those kids are occupied enough, don’t let ‘em leave,” he warned as he lowered the trunk to avoid suspicion. 

Rufus agreed obediently and took off toward the main guest house, where he greeted Granny Boone in the doorway and quietly explained the situation. Her face rose up and stared at him with a horrified expression, but Buckman waved his hand as a dismissal, so she took the sign and went inside with Rufus. Buckman would have to take care of this himself.

He peered down at you and shook his head, his mind reeling with what the hell kind of people he would be dealing with, though they were insignificant Yankees that he and his townfolk would pick off one by one. You, on the other hand, were a special case in this situation, and he never figured he would be the one saving a life instead of ending one. With ease, he scooped you into his arms despite how heavy you should have been with your body being dead weight, your head cradled against his chest as he quickly made his way toward the old chapel where he and his family would hold meetings. It would be the safest place for you to be while the college kids focused on everything else but their obvious lack of religion, so he figured he would store you in the loft where there would be privacy. 

Buckman carried you up the ladder and brought you ice-cold water, and once it hit your lips, your body came to life and you greedily sucked at the rim of the glass, sipping at the refreshing liquid. You had been so thirsty, you couldn’t remember when the last time you had a drink was. 

When you were pulled a bit out of your stupor, you looked up at the strange man with a confederate eye patch, but you didn’t scream or try to claw your way out of there. He was your savior, he wanted you to live. Why? When you tried to speak, you coughed and could barely breathe as you tried to regain yourself.

“Calm down,” Buckman warned and placed a hand on your shoulder, “just drink and relax. You’re safe right now, just stay here and those little Yank bastards won’t find you, you hear me?”

His southern accent was rather calming even though you had no idea who this stranger was, but he was saving you and you had no words to say to him as the tears easily flooded your eyes. You mouthed out a ‘thank you’ as you gulped more of the water down, finally content with the amount you had. Once you rested your head back down onto the plush pillow that was placed under you, you looked up at the man again and smiled weakly.

“Thank you,” you said in a breathy tone, “you saved me. He was gonna kill me, and-” You felt another coughing fit come up, but you stopped yourself in time and took a few deep breaths. “I’m Y/N,” you huffed out, “I just...thank you.”

Buckman smirked and placed a damp cloth onto your head, doing his best to keep your body as cool as he could without sending you into shock. “A pleasure it is, Y/N,” he replied and patted the cloth all around your face. “The name is Buckman, I’m the mayor of this pleasant little town, and it just so happens that your captors came to the right place.”

He left off on that thought as he got to his feet and looked down at you. “Now I need to make an appearance in town, make sure those kids are nice an’ occupied, just keep here and I’ll pop in ta make sure you’re well and taken care of. Granny Boone will fix ya somethin’ up nice and good, get some food in yer system.”

You wanted him to stay, your nerves eating away at you, scared to be left alone. Your hand immediately shot out and gripped at his pants leg, your hand was shaking. “Please, don’t leave me,” you begged quietly, “what if they find me?”

He chuckled and knelt down to meet your gaze. “Don’t worry you pretty little thing, they won’t. I got you nice and hidden, no way they’ll find ya. Only ones who know about you here are the people I trust the most. You can count on us to take care of ya, I give you my word as mayor of Pleasant Valley,” he assured you as he placed his hand over his heart. “Now don’t you worry, I’ll be back right quick with some good ol’ home-cookin’.”

He left it at that and left you alone with your thoughts, the adrenaline drained from your system as you lay there in an excruciating amount of pain. But you wouldn’t be feeling much of anything if this random stranger hadn’t intervened. He promised to keep you safe yet asked for nothing in return, but that didn’t matter right now. You were alive and allowed to live another day.

[italian-pastry]

Rambling about the Family Tree

Here’s the Family Tree!

And under the cut is all my rambling about designs or whatever! (this ended up not being about designs too much. Hm)

OK WE NEED TO BE ORGANIZED HERE I’ll be going generation by generation, from left to right. Everyone will be here, just for organization sake. Of course, some people are more important than others, so be warned for long rambles (in generation 2 especially) OK LET’S GO

Generation 1: Iida Parents: Idk man. They don’t even have designs. They’re probably cool Enji: He doesn’t deserve to be drawn well :) That and he doesn’t deserve to meet his grandkids :)) Rei: She deserves to be pretty and be a cool grandma. Her grandkids adore her. Hisashi: This mans is kinda wildin’ in my universe. Whatever he’s up to, it’s not being Inko’s husband. Inko: Soft grandma!!!!! We love her and she loves her grandkids and husband. Toshinori: He deserves to retire and settle down and be happy with his family and be adored by his gandkids. Emiko’s Father: He and Yukie got married (and Yukie got pregnant with Emiko) almost right out of highschool. He expected Yukie to give up her career to care for Emiko, but that didn’t gel with Yukie, so she divorced him when Emiko was little. Idk where he is now. Yukie: We love her. I love her. She’s super sweet and super cool and super short and that’s all you need to know. She also looks a lot like Eijirou (or, at least I tried to make them look similar) Crimson Riot: I subscribe to the Dad-Crimson theory, so here we are. After Emiko started elementary school, Yukie tried to get her career back together, but after meeting and having a thing with Crimson Riot and getting pregnant with Eijirou, she gave it up to be able to care for her kids. Nadie: An American journalist who moved to Japan for work! She and Yukie met and got married when Eijirou was 9-10. She has 3 kids from her previous marriage (that ended in disaster). Christopher Skyline: (Yes, THE Christopher “Captain Celebrity” Skyline. We’re just ignoring the Vigilantes canon over here.) Nadie’s ex-husband and the father of Hanae, Etsuko, and Suzume. He was a serial cheater, and the kids was a desperate attempt made by Nadie to try to make him stick around. Sperm Donor: Just a sperm donor. Mitsuki: Still looks SUPER young. She doesn’t like it when her grandkids call her “Grandma” or anything like that because it makes her feel old. Masaru: Loves being called “Grandpa” or whatever by his grandkids. He loves them, and likes to visit them a lot. Mika: Still quiet and chill. We love her. Kyotoku: Still loud and fun. He’s a cool dude, and he got them smile lines Beru: Her head is weird. I’m sorry queen, but it freaked me out. Ganma: He freaked me out even more. He was my least favorite to draw. Sorry bro. Uraraka’s Parents: Her dad reminds me of my dad (vaguely). They don’t have names, but they’re cool. Also, Ochako was able to get them a nice house, so good for them. Shouta: Just go look at @nartothelar‘s Silver Fox AU that was my main inspiration. He a grumpy old man who only likes his kids and grandkids and family. Hizashi: Same thing as Shouto. I like to think that all of his hair has grayed, so his hair is like Platinum Blond now.

Ok! Gen 1 done, and it was mostly me rambling about Eijirou’s parents. Maybe one day I’ll dedicate a post to them.

Generation 2: Tenya: I had him grow his hair out because 1.) I thought it was cute and 2.) it represents him loosening up a lil’ after school. He wears contacts during Hero Work, but wears his glasses casually. Tensei: Literally just the same dude. He’s Tensei and he’s chill and he’s cool. Dabi: I gave him an eyebrow piercing and a fun new cut. (Fun fact: That’s his Fantasy AU fairstyle) Fuyumi: I hope her hair looks very Teacher-y and Motherly. I think she looks super cute. Natsuo: A simple dude. He finds a cut that works and sticks with it. Although I did give him sideburns and a lil’ touch of beard. Shouta: Instead of shaving his red side, he combs the white side over it. Also, I hc that in his left eye, he’s half blind. Izuku: Yikes. He got the wound early in his hero career. He went blind in his right eye, so he and Shouta together are like 1 and 1/4 blind. Emiko: Eijirou’s older half sister. I would say she’s Girlboss and Natsuo is Malewife, and I think that’s accurate - even if only a little. She’s a social service worker, and met Natsuo in college. I had an old design before, but I like this one A LOT more Eijirou: I am a simp for long hair Eijirou, so here we are. ALSO freckles!!!! I love freckley eijirou. Also stubly beard and cool new scar. He is very dad. Hanae: The chill little sister. Probably a lawyer or professor or something smart like that. Etsuko: The crazy sister. She works in the hero field! If as hero support or as an actual pro, idk yet! Suzume: The ex-crybaby sister. She’s prolly doing something fun and artsy. Also, HUGE demigirl vibes Kane: The energetic little brother! He has most certainly gone pro, since he’s like very early 20s now. Fun Fact!: He was 6 when Mieko was born, so a lot of people thought they were siblings. It only got worse when Akio rolled around. Katsuki: hehe Undercut Bakugou. Also, hearing aids! I put his eyebrow scar there so he and his hubby are matchy matchy. Actually, both of their scars are pretty matchy matchy.... huh. Also, I’m totally not saying he was invloved in the fight that gave Izuku his scar, definitely not. Mashirao: STOP SAYING HE’S PLAIN AND ORDINARY. HE’S BEAUTIFUL DAMMIT. Every time I draw him I think about how darn pretty he is and that he could be like a KPop star or smth Tooru: It’s tooru! Super fun lil’ lady. What a queen. Mina: Look at that kick-ass scar I gave her. It’s what she deserves. Although, that eye may be a lil fucked up. Ah well, at least it looks cool. Yuuga: LOOK AT HIS HAIR. I am so happy with how it turned out! He so pretty. He and Mina are DEFINATELY Girlboss and Malewife. Hado: Also a simple lady. Prolly also needed to stick to her brand of long hair. She still super pretty tho. Lowkey disappointed I didn’t give her the stereotypical Anime-Protag’s-Mom hairstyle Haya: Completely shaved her head, and got more piercings! Like, 100% more Punk Rock. Itsuka: FRECKLES FRECKLES FRECKLES. And short hair!!!!!! Sigh, I love her. Tetsutetsu: I tried to make him look like Ejirou, even if just the face structure. I like how his hair and scar turned out tho. What a lad. Mezo: What a cool dude! Got a sick nasty scar, but covers it with his hair. I think, even with a majority of his face covered, he is still very handsome Miya: She has a name now!!!!!! What an icon. She’s a Hero Costume Designer, and she has a spider mutation. Wolf Spider, specifically (I think). She is so adorable and spunky I love her. Momo: Short hair!!!!!!1!1!1!11! God, what a goddess. We love her so so so much. Also, she gets to have a cool scar, too Kyouka: While she’s in UA, she straightens her hair, but after she graduates, she doesn’t care abt it. Momo rlly likes it curly. She also has that thing going on where you shave all of ur head except for ur bangs (and the side thingies). Oh! And eyebrow piercing! Satsuki: Pretty! Also, I made sure that all the girls who would’ve been 6-7 during the current time all had ponytails now (Satsuki, Etsuko, and Eri) Samidare: He’s super cool, and I decided to give him long hair to make him cooler. Also, Demiboy vibes, anyone? Tsuyu: A queen!!!!!! I love her so much!!!!!!! When her hair is down, it reaches to her shoulder blades. Ochako: SHE LOOKS SO BADASS I AM SO HAPPY. Look at her, with those cool scars, and that cool hair! What a queen! Mirio: Classic Mirio! Tbh, idk if I’ll give Mirio his quirk back. Like a lot of the stuff in the recent arc I’ve ignored, soooo......... Tamaki: He has SO MUCH HAIR. It ridiculous. Since growing it out, he uses it to hide behind if it’s left down. So Mirio likes to do stuff with his hair and make it look cute. Nikko helps, too! Eri: A queen!!!!!!!!!! Idk if she’ll be a Pro Hero or doctor that specializes with pro heroes, but I want her to be happy and help people! Hitoshi: Hanta and Denki weaves flowers into his hair a la Rapunzel all the time. The braid is really loose and shitty a lot of the time tho. Ah well. Denki: Because I moved his black stripe to down the center of his hair, my little sister keeps calling Denki and Race Car. And I agree. He got those scars because he was able to train himself to really not fry his brain anymore, but that means if he overloads, his electricity escapes some other way, so through his ears and into his face. Hanta: That scar was very strategically places because I am a firm believe that Sero will uncannily resemble Shouta when he gets older. I hadn’t done a really good job at that tho....... hm.

Gen 2 is done!!!!!! It was my fave generation to draw UwU. I’m not sure what to say with Gen 3, since I’ve already talked about them a lot. Jeez, idk. I’ll think about something to ramble about later.

@questionableholidayreally Tozen rlly said “I am literally just vibing ;)”

[yergink]

Bravery and a Bowline Ch. 2

Heavier on the fluff this time around! Also a bit longer than last chapter at 4.6k words.

First Chapter

Next Chapter

Crossposted to Ao3

Summary: Walter learns a bit about the other people on the island. Meanwhile, the kids decide to amuse themselves the best way kids know how.

They’re out gathering charcoal one day and Walter has a particular thought on his mind. 

By now, his stay on this island the others call “the Constant” has reached a whopping ten days, and in that time, he’s been doing his best to be of help around camp.

For instance, he’d been helping Webber tend to the farms. Walter didn’t mind the dirt and muck staining his clothes, and he’d gone on a field trip to a farm for school once, during which he’d been paying a lot of attention, so he was sure he could help. They’d packed seeds into the ground with manure and mud, and to Walter’s surprise, the crops grew alarmingly quickly. Webber seemed to enjoy the company as well, chatting away about the things he liked as they worked. Walter’s found out they both have a similar penchant for bugs. 

He’d been helping Wendy as well, and her biggest chore was tending to the rabbit traps spread amidst the plains. She showed him how to weave them and how to set them above the rabbits’ dens. That was where his help had ended, though. Walter tried to help her collect the traps at the end of the day, but he’d ended up feeling so bad for the rabbits that he’d ended up letting one go and Wendy said she’d handle it after that. 

Still, Walter wants to be as helpful as he can, which is why he’d volunteered to help Willow gather fuel without realizing what exactly that would entail until. And then, he was standing in front of a forest ablaze, eyes wide as he watched Willow clap excitedly until the burn died down. When he’d piped up about fire safety, she’d just waved him off and reassured that this was a “controlled burn.” Walter didn’t think that was true, but he bit back his objections.

Now, amidst the scorched trees, he watches Willow heft her axe over her shoulder and asks, “You said there were other people on the island, right?” She pauses, adjusting her angle. 

“Hm? Oh, yeah. There are. What about it?”

She swings the blade at the trunk of a freshly charred tree, and it crumbles under the force. Walter gets about, kneeling to gather the fallen pieces of charcoal and packing them away in his backpack. Woby, well-fed and in her large form, lies on her back in the sunlight just outside the forest.

Walter fidgets, rubbing his soot-stained fingers together. “Can I meet them?”

Willow snorts. She’s leaned down now, helping gather the pieces as well, and she stuffs the last charred branch away and straightens up. “When they decide to show up to our base, then sure. I’m not supposed to let any of the kids wander around.” She approaches the next tree, and before she can even regain the grip on her axe, Walter zips around it, clasping his hands together and putting on his best pout. His mom always told him he could convince the moon to fall with that face.

He’s not certain it’s going to be enough, but it does give Willow pause. “Stop using little kid powers on me, it isn’t gonna work.”

Walter pouts further, blinking a few times to make it really dramatic. His eyes water a little bit.

Willow makes a show of not looking at him, but after she cracks down the tree and sees him still waiting expectantly, her resolve seems to falter. She sighs. “Listen, I can’t really take a break to give you a whole tour of everyone’s camps, but I can tell you about the rest of them at least.”

“That works!” Walter chirps.

Her axe fells another tree. “So, I’ve mentioned Wilson before, right? He’s like, a scientist or whatever, which is just a codeword for ‘huge nerd’ if you ask me.”

Walter personally finds science rather enjoyable, so he just gives a small hum at that. “What kind of science?”

She makes a vague hand gesture. “He’s never really specific about it, to be honest. But he’s sort of a doctor. Or, he used to be, I think. Before we got here. And he used to be really stuck-up about it, too, thinking he was all smarter than the rest of us.”

“But not anymore?”

“I mean…” she trails off. “I think it was mostly just him being defensive. When it comes down to it, he’s really sweet, even if he is an idiot sometimes.” She turns, moving towards the next blackened trunk, but not before Walter catches the half-smile on her face, a look that seems uncharacteristically soft for Willow. She clears her throat. “Anyway. Ms. Wickerbottom also stays at the eastern camp with the kids. She can be a bit strict, but she’s pretty nice. She’s kind of like everyone’s grandma. You’ll probably get along with her pretty well, spouting off facts the way you do.”

They keep gathering, circling the edge of the forest line. In between felling trees, Willow’s counting off people on her fingers. “There’s Winona. She’s real spunky, and smart to boot. And there’s Mr. Wolfgang who comes off really intimidating, but he’s a sweetheart under all that muscle. He gives the best piggyback rides. And there’s Wigfrid--she can be a bit intense, but she isn't too bad. And--”

“Hey, Willow?” Walter interrupts. He feels like he’s back home trying to memorize plant names, and he wishes he had a notepad. “Maybe I’ll remember them better if I actually meet them.”

She laughs. “Sure.”

The sky grays out a bit by the time they finish hacking down trees and collecting the charcoal. The sight of incoming rain makes Willow anxious, and she gestures for them to begin the trek back to camp. The two of them walk side by side, Woby shuffling along quietly behind them. Walter shifts his hands up the backpack straps while they walk, getting a better hold on the heavy load. Despite intending to shelve the topic of the other people on the island, he can’t quite stop thinking about it.

Cautiously, he asks, “So, how many people are here in total?”  

Willow hums in thought. “I think with you we’re up to a whole seventeen.”

Seventeen people. It’s a bit difficult for Walter to comprehend. Not the number itself, mind you, but that so many people would have been lost here and had yet to find a way home. It’s worrying, although Walter doesn’t want to linger on it for too long. If he’s honest, the biggest concern he has is that this is going to make him get sick of camping.

...He just hopes his mom isn’t worrying too much.

-

After they return to camp and unpack the charcoal into the boxes by the fire, he notices Willow keep glancing fretfully at the clouded sky, and she juts her thumb towards the tent, saying that she’s going to take a nap before nightfall.

Walter nods, of course, fully intending to stay in camp as well, although as afternoon sets in and the promise of rain is still unfulfilled, he finds himself growing bored. He sits by the smoldering ashes of the firepit, tossing a stick across the length of camp for a now-small Woby to fetch, although it looks like even she is getting tired of doing so.

She drops the stick at his feet and whines, headbutting his arm when Walter reaches to throw it again. He lets the stick fall and scratches behind her ears. “You’re bored too, aren’t you,” he mumbles, and Woby barks in agreement. She darts away from him abruptly, pointing her nose towards the gate and running back and forth between it and where Walter is sitting.

He perks up a bit. “You wanna go on a walk?”

She barks. Walter stands, glancing back towards the tent, listening to Willow’s snores gently emanating from it, and then to the sky, weighing the risks. Then, he carefully unlatches the gate and slips out without looking back.

Together, he and Woby meander through the plains a bit. The air here doesn’t smell like the air back home; it’s got a sense of danger on it, not to mention the heavy smell of monster blood that Walter hasn’t entirely grown accustomed to. Still, there is still the thrill of taking it all in. Nature is nature, and Walter has learned to appreciate that. He even has a badge for it.

The tall straw-like grass begins to give way into forest, and he’s wandered back into the midst of the deciduous trees, where he first met Wendy. As autumn has gone on, more and more of the trees have gone bare, and with the clouded sky the forest has a much eerier atmosphere than usual. Woby sniffs out mushrooms for him to pick, particularly the spongy green ones that tend to sprout in the evening.

He’s just crouched down behind a few bushes to dig up another one when he pauses, the sound of voices brushing by on the wind.

There are several. One of them is high, an echoey sort of trill that he recognizes as Wendy immediately. There’s also that haunting wispy sort of noise that Wendy’s sister Abigail always makes. She doesn’t speak with words the way Wendy does, and Wendy’s the only one who can understand her, but she’s a good translator. Walter thinks he and Abigail have become pretty good friends, even if he was a bit creeped out by her at first.

Then, he hears a third voice, one that’s unfamiliar. Woby starts growling, a low, threatening rumble that doesn’t sound right coming from her small body. Walter shushes her, going still to try and hear what was going on.

The unfamiliar voice is talking. It’s a deep, smooth cadence, and it makes Walter think of that old ragtime tune that had played on the radio that brought him here.

“--struck with a bout of insomnia and was coming by for some assistance,” the voice says.

“Out of nowhere?” Wendy asks.

“I believe it has to do with that ridiculous robot screeching up a storm every night just over the river.”

Walter pushes aside the lower branches of the bush to get a better view. He sees Wendy, standing by a nearby pond with an older looking man in a sharp suit. Immediately, he’s a bit suspicious. The man is tall, and he all but towers over Wendy, leaning slightly down towards her as they talk. Walter feels Woby, still rumbling with a quiet growl beside him as he looks on.

He watches Wendy shake her head. “I’m afraid Ms. Wickerbottom is currently absent from camp. Both she and Mr. Higgsbury embarked to the underground nearly a fortnight ago. Only Ms. Willow is there right now.”

The man scoffs. “They left you in the care of the firestarter? I wouldn’t trust that woman to look after a goldfish, much less a child.”

“To be fair, uncle, it would be extremely difficult to burn a goldfish.”

Walter looks to Woby, who cocks her head in what seems like an equal amount of confusion. “Uncle” ?

The two conversing fall into a lull of silence. The man clears his throat.

“...And you’re sure you won’t reconsider staying at my camp?” he asks. There’s a hesitation behind his words, an uncertainty that marrs his otherwise smooth, charismatic tone, roughening it around the edges.

“I do not feel comfortable leaving the camp at this time,” Wendy says after a moment’s thought. “And, in fairness, I believe Ms. Willow to be a good caretaker. You needn’t worry.”

The man coughs. “Right.” He glances backwards. “I’ll be on my way, then.”

A peal of thunder rumbles across the sky, and Wendy murmurs, “May you stay well,” as the man leaves. She watches him leave with that odd sort of stillness of hers, like a statue in the forest. A few leaves fall, sticking in her hair, though she does not move until the man has entirely vanished from view. It’s only then that Walter makes a move.

“Wendy!” he calls, shaking himself out of the bushes. “Who was that?”

Wendy pauses, glancing to Abigail, then back at him. “You were eavesdropping,” she frowns.

“Kinda,” Walter admits. “So who was that?”

With some trepidation, she says, “That was our”--she indicates to herself and Abigail with a nod--”Uncle Maxwell. He camps by the rock fields.”

Woby barks, and Walter looks down to see that she’s glaring in the direction the man left, her hackles raised and tail angled in alert. He frowns. “Woby stop, that’s not nice.”

Usually, a command like that would be enough to calm her, but she growls again, low and threatening, pawing at the ground like she’s about to run off after him.

“Woby, what’s wrong with you?” Walter exclaims, swooping to pick her up before she has a chance to take off. The dog squirms in his arms, and he struggles to keep his hold on her, her back paws digging into his stomach as he tries to get her to still.

“She probably senses Their presence in him” Wendy suggests, her head tilted sideways as she watches him grapple.

He rests a hand on Woby’s head, scratching in the space between the bumps of her horns as her growls begin to taper off. “What do you mean?”

One of her hands reaches for the flower clipped in her hair--a nervous habit. “I forgot that you don’t know.” Upon seeing her sister hesitate, Abigail floats closer, whispering in that airy, incomprehensible tone. It seems to help, because even as Wendy looks away, she keeps talking.

“My uncle was the one who brought many of us here,” she explains. “And even while he has lost his crown of shadows, there are many who have continued to forego forgiveness.”

“Oh,” Walter says. He doesn’t know how to respond.

“Not all of us were condemned by his hand,” she says hurriedly. “You, for example. But my uncle has a hard time finding good favor with others. His time as king has tainted him with a terrible arrogance.”

“He did seem kind of rude. Uh, no offense.”

“None taken.”

They keep walking. It’s awkward. Walter breaks the silence. “So, do you talk to him a lot?”

Wendy hums. “As often as I must. Despite everything, he is still family. And he has been earnestly attempting to better himself, which I believe we all appreciate.”

Abigail makes a sound like steam rising off a lake, and Wendy nods in agreement. “Abigail makes a good point. We know that he cares about us.”

It’s an offhand comment, but it sends a pang of jealousy through him. Wistfully and without thinking, Walter says, “It seems kind of nice. To have family with you.” It’s a more emotionally revealing statement than he wanted to make, and he’s a bit alarmed with himself for having said something like that. Wendy seems to take it in stride though, making a sort of sympathetic sound.

“It is difficult,” she says, “to be forced to face a cruel world without a caring presence beside you.” Walter gets the feeling she isn’t talking about Maxwell anymore. Abigail murmurs sadly, hovering over Wendy’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he agrees. Quickly glancing around to verify that they’re alone, he puts a hand over his mouth and steps closer to her. “Don’t tell anyone, but… I think I’m getting a bit homesick.”

Solemnly, Wendy nods. “I shan’t speak a word of it to anyone.”

-

According to the strange thermometer set up in the camp, winter is approaching, and Walter is sure starting to feel it. The forest has started going bare, the coating of leaves along the ground growing denser by the day. There’s a chill pervading the air, one that sends him shivering on early morning fishing trips and late-night firefly hunting. He, along with the other members of the camp, huddle closer to the fire at night.

Wendy’s been making hats from the silk and fur they have, decorating them with different patterns and toppers. She’s steady with a needle, and Walter watches her thread the fabrics together in awe as they sit together.

“Who’s that one for?” he points at the completed hat she has sitting atop the spool of silk beside her.

“It’s for Webber.” She lifts it into the air, showing off the ear flaps. “So his extra legs don’t get cold.”

“It’s pretty.” The hat has been colored orange and red with boiled eggshells and berry juice. It’s an impressive feat of craftsmanship, and he wonders if Wendy will teach him how to sew like that, too.

She turns it over. “Thank you. But I think I made it a bit too big.”

“Let me try,” Walter says, reaching for it. The hat is soft, and he takes a moment to admire the texture before going to put it on. Before he gets a chance, however, Wendy interrupts.

“That’s backwards.”

Walter stops, looking at the hat. “It is?” He turns it over. The other side looks exactly the same. “It’s kind of hard to tell,” he admits.

Wendy shrugs. An idea suddenly dawns on him.

“You know,” he starts, and Wendy must hear the mischief in his tone because she immediately frowns at him. “It would be kinda funny if he wore it backwards.”

Unconvinced, Wendy asks, “Would it?”

“Yeah! My older cousins once convinced me that you can wear a skirt like a shirt, and they thought it was pretty funny, so I guess it must be funny to wear clothes wrong.”

“Maybe.” She still sounds dubious.

Walter stands up, gesturing for Webber to join them. “Here, give it to him,” he whispers to Wendy, shoving the hat back into her hands as Webber approaches.

“What is it?” the boy asks, glancing back and forth from Walter to Wendy. His smaller eyes don’t quite synchronize with the movements of his larger ones, and Walter finds himself momentarily distracted by this. Luckily, Wendy takes charge, standing as well. She holds the hat out to him.

“Here. Try this on,” she says.

“Oh, you finished our hat!” Webber exclaims. He grins as he takes it, taking a moment just as Walter did to marvel at the softness, before placing it over his head. Wendy’s initial assessment that the hat was too big was immediately obvious, and coupled with having put it on the wrong way, the hat leaves Webber with just a bit of his furry head showing. The front lip falls all the way down past where his nose would be, and his mouth is just barely visible underneath, open in alarm.

“It covers our eyes!” Webber says loudly, as if to make up for his lack of sight.

Walter giggles, trying vainly to stifle it with a hand, and Wendy shushes him. “It’s the intended design, Webber. And you have to wear it because I made it for you.”

They both know Webber will be too polite to object to that. His mouth abruptly shuts, hiding his fangs, and Walter thinks he sees the boy swallow, as if steeling his nerves. His stance straightens, like he’s fully committing to spending the entire winter blinded. “We will wear it then!” he declares, turning and almost immediately running headfirst into the camp’s outer stone wall. With a startled cry, he backs up, and Walter just barely manages to grab hold of his shoulder before he trips and falls backwards.

“Thank you,” Webber says as he regains his balance. “This hat is scary!”

Wendy laughs. It escapes her like a puff of smoke, a small, flightless thing that could be mistaken as nothing more than a breath come too fast. But Walter can tell what it is, and he looks to her in surprise for a moment before a grin spreads across his face.

He thinks Webber can tell what it is too, because Walter sees him lift the hem of the hat, and even though he’s not very good at discerning spider expressions, to him, Webber looks incredibly pleased.

“That was amusing,” Wendy says after they’ve gotten the hat off Webber and tucked away in Wendy’s bag for further tailoring. “I will admit that despite your naivety, you have good ideas, Walter.”

It’s a bit of a backhanded compliment, but Walter doesn’t take it personally. “Thanks. You’re a lot better at holding it together when it comes to pranks, though.”

She nods. “That is true. Does that mean you would be opposed to orchestrating a second one?”

He grins. “Not at all.”

-

They get Webber to help with their next one. Willow’s used to him spending nights by the spider dens along the forest, so it’s not suspicious if he doesn’t show up by nightfall.

Woby whines, shaking her shaggy head as Webber gets close, and Walter does his best to hold onto her collar and keep her from bucking him away and scampering off. “It’s okay girl, he’s nice, trust me,” Walter soothes, petting her big floppy ears as Webber struggles to mount her.

He gets it eventually, holding on tight to the fur on the back of Woby’s neck, and Walter takes her head between his hands and speaks very sternly. “Be nice to Webber, and listen to him, okay? We’re doing a prank on Willow, and you’ve gotta be good for it.” Woby woofs, which doesn’t really sound like agreement, but she seems to quickly give in, licking his face affectionately when Walter pouts at her. He grins. “There’s a good girl.”

He rejoins Wendy by the outer camp wall, where she’d been watching.

“It is impressive how well you have tamed such a great beast,” she says.

He shrugs. “Woby’s not much of a beast. She’s scared of butterflies.”

“I see.”

Nightfall finds both of them back in camp with Willow, watching as she rummages through the fridge for something to put together into a half-decent meal. Wendy looks over to him and gives him a nudge, indicating that they should start.

“I have a story!” Walter announces loudly, planting himself cross-legged by the fire. That does enough to gather attention. Willow likes to pretend she isn’t all that interested in his stories, but oftentimes she’s the one sitting most on edge, her chin resting on her hands as she listens with wide eyes and held breath for him to finish.

Now is no exception. She lingers at the crockpot for a moment while Wendy joins him by the fire, although sky quickly abandons the meatballs she’d been preparing in favor of listening to the story. Walter clears his throat, glancing out beyond the walls. There’s a small gleam of light out there, a torch, where Webber and Woby are waiting for their cue.

“So there’s this monster out in the woods,” he begins, putting his hands up. He’d practiced for this one, no messing up or scrambling his words. It has to be good. He takes a breath to steady himself.

“They say it’s huge, almost three meters tall, with long shaggy fur that drags behind it, getting all dirty with mud and leaves, and long scary claws. The people who see it say it looks like a piece of the forest itself.” He thinks that was pretty good, but Willow doesn’t look impressed yet. He goes off script, amping it up. “A-And it’s super venomous too, with acid breath and big sharp teeth!” He claws his hands in front of his face, imitating fangs. “It goes around hunting people who wander too far into the woods. Sometimes, people’ll see lights shining through the trees without knowing that they’re just the monster’s shiny eyes.”

The fire pops, sparks flying as if to emphasize his words. Willow seems pretty enraptured now, head tilted slightly as her eyes flick between the flames and Walter’s gestures.

“What else?” Wendy prompts, just as they’d planned.

For the briefest moment, the script slips from his mind, and Walter stumbles. “Huh? Oh, yeah, so--” he clears his throat again. “It uh…”

“They say…” Wendy whispers.

“Right! They say it roams out there, stalking unsuspecting campers...” he turns and finds that speck of light with his eyes again, raising his voice for the final line. “...Waiting for a chance to strike!”

With a resonant howl, Woby leaps over the southern wall of the camp. Webber, with his hands wrapped around her neck, holds on for dear life. She doesn’t quite nail the landing, scrambling to slow down on the dirt and slamming sideways into the alchemy engine, nearly knocking it over.

Walter giddily looks to see Willow's expression, but quickly finds himself pushed backwards, scraping his knees in the dirt, with Wendy toppled over and looking equally confused beside him. He winces, assessing the rough scratches of grit on his skin. Once he’s confirmed he’s not bleeding, he glances forward.

There is a towering dark shape before him, backlit by the glow of the fire, and it takes him a moment to realize it’s Willow, her spear readied and sharp in her grasp. She’d shoved them behind her almost immediately, widening her stance and placing herself firmly between them and Woby.

Walter uprights himself, reaching out hesitantly for her sleeve. “Willow--”

Her head snaps down to him, and he flinches backwards. There’s nothing but ferocity and aggression in her eyes, although it slowly fades as she takes note of Woby skittering away from her spearpoint nervously, and Webber sliding clumsily off her back, landing with an ‘oof’.

After another few moments of taking in the scene, her stance drops. “Okay,” she says finally, sinking her spearpoint into the dirt and turning to glower at each of the children in turn. “I don’t know what you all were thinking, but that was really dumb. Like, actually really dumb.”

“It was my idea,” Wendy pipes up, brushing dirt off her skirt as she stands up. “I asked Walter--”

“No, you just said you wanted to do a prank,” he argues. It doesn’t feel fair for her to try and take blame. He faces Willow, hands folded behind his back. “It was my idea.”

“...We just thought it would be fun, Ms. Willow,” Webber says sheepishly, wringing his hands as he edges forward.

“Yeah? Well I could’ve stabbed you. Bet that would’ve been real fun,” she snaps.

Webber’s eyes start welling. Seeing this, Water steps forward. “I asked him to do it. It’s my fault.”

Her sharp gaze turns to him and Walter stiffens, looking down and feeling very much in trouble. Still, he can’t let his friends take the heat for him. He’s got honor, after all.

“I know you don’t know yet, but things bursting into our camp and attacking us isn’t really something we can joke about,” Willow lectures, her tone like an edge of broken glass. “Putting one of you in the position of some monster? That’s really, really dumb.”

Walter keeps examining his shoes, his hands tightening around each other behind his back. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

Something in Willow seems to soften at that. She sighs, patting him on the shoulder. “Just. Don’t pull that sh-- stuff again.” She grimaces. “I have a headache. See you in the morning.” With that, she disappears into the tent.

Webber still looks on the verge of tears, and Walter murmurs an apology to him as well. Through it all, Wendy still looks nothing more than apathetic. She glances to the tent, then nods, as if to herself.

“To be fair,” she says. “Conceptually, it was very amusing.”

Walter sniffs, brightening at that. “Yeah?”

The tiniest of smiles graces her lips. “Yeah.”

[nevrgoinoutastyle2876]

Hey so I don’t normally posy other fandom stuff on here but this is my most followed account and I need some advice on a fic. It’s destiel, please tell me if it’s any good and if you like it I’ll post the link to the rest of the story

——————

"Very well. Have it your way," Crowley turned to Azazel and Alistair, "boys, shall we?" I saw a smirk cross all their features, and before I knew it, Crowley and the others were shoving me and my friends into the water.

My name is Castiel Novak, and I'm a mess.

One big giant mess. Let me tell you about my day, how it went from good to bad, and how I ended up getting pushed into a lake.

Today, it was summer. Well... months into summer. School would be starting in just about six days. I woke up to quickly find out that it was one of the hottest days of the year. The sun was beating down like thick blanket and never left the clear sky. If I had to guess I'd say the kids in my neighborhood were all playing in sprinklers and having fun, trying to make the most out of what little they had left of summer. Since school was starting very soon, I thought that I should possibly do the same thing, and make the most of what I had left of the season.

I woke up early in the morning. I traveled down the stairs to see an all to familiar view. My Dad was no where in sight, probably in his room writing. My mom was sitting at the kitchen counter reading a magazine, completely ignoring the chaos in the living room.

To tell the truth, what was happening in the living room wasn't all that bad, but, still disturbing. Even though I've seen a lot worse go down in that room. The tv was on and Gabriel, my little brother was sitting on the floor in front of it, constantly changing channels. Anna, my sister, sat on the couch. She was pressed all the way to the end of the couch, trying to still sit there while being as far away from the other end of the couch as she could.

Why was she trying to stay away from the other end of the couch you might ask? Well... Luci, my oldest brother, was there, and so was his boyfriend, Michael. Michael and Luci have been dating for about a year or so. I was shocked they'd made it this long, seeing at they were polor opposites. Michael graduated highschool with a perfect GPA and taking a all advanced courses, while being a star football player as well. Now, he's going to college and spends his free time either with Luci or shadowing the doctors at the hospital so that it'll be easier for him to get a job there. Probably as a heart surgeon or something. Also he had a spotless criminal record.

Meanwhile, Luci had probably all E's in his classes before he dropped out. Never once touched a football and spent most of his time smoking weed with the other bleacher-creatures during the games. He was not attending any colleges and was job-less. His free time was spent either with Michael or at the police station, and it sure as hell wasn't for volunteering. I remember a couple times mom and dad refused to bail him out, so Michael had to go do it.

So yeah, I'm shocked they made it a year. But anyways, right now Michael was over and sitting on the couch with Luci. Well, it was more like Michael was sitting on the couch and Luci was sitting on top of him. They were making out. It was disgusting.

They were making weird moaning noises as Michael's hands practically groped Lucifers torso and chest. I wanted to gag.

I soon decided very quickly that I didn't want to be here, so slipped out the front door before anyone would stop me. Mom and Dad never cared if we went anywhere so I figured they'd be fine if I just left for a little while.

I opened the door and quickly went outside. I closed the door behind me and took a step out into the morning air. If I had to guess I'd say it was about 9:00am, the sun was blazing across the sky as I sat down. I let the warm air and occasional cool breeze wash over me. It was one of those, buy ice cream, go to the beach, summer days. I wasn't much of an outside person, but I enjoyed them none-the-less.

I stood up in my short sleeve, buttoned, baby blue shirt, and jeans before I began to walk down the street. My friend Charlie lived a few blocks down from me, and a few blocks down from there lived Dorothy. See, I had friends, but, there was only two of them. I have known Charlie forever, so we were always close. We met when we were probably five. I remember being at the park with Luci when I saw a small red-headed girl fall from the jungle gym. She looked hurt so I ran from Luci to see if she was alright. She was bleeding, but shockingly, not crying. I went to the bench where Mom was. I rummaged in her purse for the Band-Aids I always made her keep in there for reasons such as this.

I helped the girl bandage her arm to stop the small amount of blood. When I finished she turned to me with an incredibly bright grin and said, "are we best friends now?" And ever since then, we've never left each other's side.

Then Charlie met this girl named Dorothy when we first started middle School in sixth grade. She was pretty badass for a twelve year old and she shockingly decided to sit with us. So she became part of our group too. Now sixteen and we were all inseparable.

Charlie was the fun nerd in our group, she always had the best and craziest ideas out of all of us. Her bright and spunky personality made her instantly loveable. Dorothy was a bit more grounded but was always up for adventure, so when Charlie got an idea, Dorothy was the one to make it happen.

I was the downer of the group I assumed, mainly because I always tried to talk them out of their crazy ideas. But they were both stubborn and I bet if they had the chance to go to Oz they would take it in a heartbeat. They never listened to me, and of course, dragged me along with them every time they were up to some shenanigan. Like the day Charlie said we should go downtown and take edgy pictures of the train tracks, so we could be douchy hipster wannabes. The next day Dorothy grabbed her camera and yanked us downtown to the train tracks. That day we almost got hit by said train on the tracks.

See what I mean? Bad Ideas. But I will admit, there has been some good ones. Like two summers ago we were all sitting at Dorothy's house, bored with nothing to do, so Charlie randomly said we should go into town and take some weird class. We spent the whole afternoon learning pottery and making clay. That was fun.

So, in conclusion, I love my friends and their idiotic selves. That's why I was on my way down there now, to go do something interesting. I approached Charlie's house very quickly. Her house was small, probably the smallest out of all our houses. She was an only child and therefore really didn't need that much space. Her house was painted a red-ish orange color, it was like a burnt faded orange kind of. I don't know how to describe it, but it was pretty. Her grass was bright green lined with pink flowers around the house. Cute little white shutters to match with the windows.

The door was a plain brown and I smiled at it before I knocked. I always liked her house. I waited only mer seconds before the door burst open. Charlie looked like she had just been running. She grinned at me when she saw me standing in the doorway.

"I saw you coming from my room and came running." So I was right. She waited a bit before turning to stick her head into the house, "MOM IM GOING OUT WITH CAS!" She called, slamming the door shut immediately after.

I smiled at her again as she linked her arm with mine and started off down the porch steps. Today Charlie was wearing baggy jean shorts that went down to her knees, as well as a Star Wars t-shirt. Her head phones were wrapped around her neck and the cord trailed down her back into her pocket, where her phone probably was.

"Anyways, hi best friend!" She finally greeted once we made it to the sidewalk. I couldn't help but smile, even if it was faint.

"Hello Charlie." I greeted back, watching her long red hair bounce with each step.

"I was hoping you would come by today." She told me, seeming determined. I tilted my head a bit.

"Oh? Why's that?" I asked curiously, taking notice we were on our way to Dorothy's.

"Cant I just wannna see my friend!?... Alsooo when you were sick last week, me and Dorothy went out and discovered something really cool. We gotta show it to you." She sounded excited and picked up her walking pace subconsciously.

We made it to Dorothy's shortly after leaving Charlie's. Dorothy come out almost as fast as Charlie had, giving us her signature smirk before heading out. She was wearing skinny jeans and a brown shirt with her brown hair in a side bun. She was gorgeous I always thought, but not that I was into that kinda stuff.

We started walking down the road together, I started to sweat.

"Man it's hot out." Dorothy complained, sighing and wiping her forehead. Charlie smirked,

"Well duh, that's cuz I'm out here bitches," she grinned as Dorothy gave her a playful shove. I smiled shyly.

"Shut up," she told Charlie, still grinning, then laughing.

"So can anyone tell me where we are going." I asked curiously, changing the topic. I noticed Dorothy smirking.

"You'll have to wait." She told me, causing Charlie to suppress a smirk. I frowned.

"Guys, we are getting far away from town and-" I was quickly cut off by Charlie.

"Oh my gosh Cas, don't be such a stick in the mud. We'll be fineee." She urged, but I wasn't convinced.

"It's just that, you guys don't always have the best ideas..." I mumbled. Charlie looked fakely offended.

"How?!" She questioned while I just looked down sheepishly.

"Well, like... The train incident... that time you almost got us stuck on a flight to India, or when you and Dorothy got me to join your prank fight and we got covered in quick drying paint. Or when we went to the movies and that guy-"

"Okay, okay! You've made your point!" She informed quickly, a flustered blush forming on her face. I couldn't help my grin just a little bit.

After walking for what felt like forever, we were at what I thought was the edge if town. We lived in Michigan, smack dab in the center of the glove, in a town that, if you walked far enough, it turned into all wilderness. I think that's where we were now because on our very long walk we passed a bunch of trees and ponds. Now we were at the end of the dirt road, the very end before it faded into trees.

I would say I was scared, I would say being in the woods made me uncomfortable, I would say we should head back, but, I love nature. Nature is calming and beautiful, how could I say to turn back when we are in the best part of our town?

Charlie turned to me and grinned, Dorothy walked ahead of her. While Dorothy cleared the path, Charlie grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the opening Dorothy made by moving tree branches.

"Close your eyes." Charlie told me, and started guiding me through the forest.

"Please don't run me into anything." I pleaded, not fully trusting my red-headed friend. I could practically feel her eye roll.

"I won't," she grumbled, even thought she probably had been planning too before I stopped her.

"We're here!" Dorothy said, excitement filling her voice. Charlie smiled brightly and let go of my hand.

"Open!" She commanded cheerfully. I let my eyes flutter open and widen at the sight in front of me.

It was an absolutely beautiful lake.  It seemed almost deserted. No one was here and it appeared to be a place where no one ever went. The sun was shining bright and created a sparkling reflection in the crystal water. Trees surrounded the entire lake, lillypads and cat tails laid where the water meets the grass. Flowers, exotic ones that were bright orange and neon pink were also by the trees. I was shocked.

I took a step forward and grinned wide. I turned my head back to my two friends who stood behind me.

"How did you-" I started to ask how they found it, but Dorothy was already answering.

"Find it? Easy. We were going for a walk in the woods when, poof! Here it was! No one was here, and we knew we had to show you." She told me, smirking proudly as her and Charlie came closer to stand next to me.

"Well... I love it..." I stutter, speechless. I heard Charlie laugh next to me but I couldn't drag my eyes away from the beautiful sight to look at her.

I wasn't sure how long we had been there. It was a while that's for sure. We sat on the edge of the grass, our feet hanging in the water. We were just chatting about school and such when we heard something. It was yelling and laughing in the distance. The noises we're coming closer and I tensed. I recognized the noises all to well.

It sounded like Crowley and his friends. Fergus Crowley MacLeoud was his full name, but he had everyone call him Crowley. He was basically the head jock at school, despite him not being particularly that athletic. He somehow still made the football team and managed to be the most popular boy in school. He hung out with Azazel, Alistair, Lilith, Abbadon, and a few other of the popular kids. He didn't even like Abbadon, hated her to be exact, but still hung out with her because she was popular and head cheerleader. Lilith was another cheerleader, and incredibly beautiful at that, but very rude, she also had a little sister four years younger in Gabriel's grade. Her name was Ruby. Azazel and Alistair were just super creepy and rude. I hated them both, they always wanted to pick on someone. That someone usually being me.

They all seemed to follow Crowley blindly, except Abbadon, but she cooperated. I could hear their annoying screams and laughs getting closer, so I decided to stand. Charlie saw and stood too. Dorothy looked up at us both.

"Guys, it's okay, nothing's is gonna-" I knew Dorothy was gonna say nothing was gonna happen, and that we'd be fine, but she couldn't. That was because guess who came through the trees.

Crowley and his friends. I'm not typically one for swearing, but I really wanted then to f-off. Dorothy saw them and finally stood as well, glaring a bit as she watched the tree branches move, revealing them all.

"Well, well, well..." Crowley announced in a British accent. Today he was wearing black jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt. Lilith wore a white sun dress and Abbadon wore a t-shirt saying, "the devil made me do it," and jeans. Everyone else wore very similar clothes to Crowley.

"Why are you here?" Dorothy asked bravely. Crowley grimaced.

"This is our spot so I'll have to ask you the same question." He growled, clearly very annoyed. Charlie jumped next to me.

"Anyone can come here, it's not just your spot." Dorothy spat, taking a step closer. No no Dorothy stop. Why do you have to be so brave?

"I suggest you leave before someone gets hurt." Abbadon threatened, pointing a pale, flawless, slender finger at Dorothy. Her nail was long and painted a bright shade of red that matched her lips perfectly.

But obviously, Dorothy wasn't going to back down. "Excuse you, but who the hell do you think you are. You don't own us." She snarled in return. Abbadon looked offended at her words, almost recoiling. A scowl formed on her sharp features. Then before I knew it, Crowley, Azazel, and Alistair were walking over.

I gulped, wishing that Dorothy just kept her mouth shut. Crowley stood right by us with his minions behind him.

"Leave." His one word filled the whole forest with venom and left a sting right in my throat because suddenly I couldn't speak. And even though Crowley was shorter then me, chubbier then me, and probably less strong, the way he carried himself made him so much more intimidating then I ever could be.

"We aren't leaving." Dorothy stated harshly. Crowleys stern facial features quickly changed and he back away from me and grinned.

"Very well. Have it your way," Crowley turned to Azazel and Alistair, "boys, shall we?" I saw a smirk cross all their faces, and before I knew it, Crowley and the others were shoving me and my friends into the water.

If someone reads this and likes it, please let me know and I'll post more chapters

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Uchitama 7 - 8 | Eizouken 8 - 9 | ID: INVADED 8 - 11 | Iruma-kun 22 - 23 (FINAL) | BnHA 82 - 83

Uchitama 7

Lemme guess…this is the ve-Yep.

The name of this segment is Ottamake. The ke means fur/hair, but it does seem like it’s referring to Tama otherwise.

For some reason, Bull’s really into cats…

LOL, you can see the cat food right there is a real brand. I dunno how they got away with that.

Hmm, this show has something to say about idol business…and it does it better than some of the human idol shows! That says something.

It even comments on the “graduation” system. Whaddaya know.

Welp, I never thought an anime could pull off this with a commentary on gender presentation, to boot. (It’s not as pervasive as Stars Align’s, but it’s still one of the better ones. I guess I shouldn’t expect it as a norm though.) I thought Kai was a dude though and so Bull’s interactions came off to me as massively gay. I’ve been thinking, maybe he’s pan? Can dogs be pansexual???

Why do I get the feeling Kai is going to be introduced into 3-chome? Update: Doesn’t happen.

This song sounds very idol-like.

Uchitama 8

Aww…I feel like we’re going to learn Nora’s backstory soon. I think it’s going to be real sad.

…Yup, there goes my kokoro. Smol Nora is cute~!

Genki can mean “healthy” as well as “energetic” – the latter is why it’s translated as “spunky”.

Why do I get the feeling Nora’s owner died…?

Oh, smol Nora has a bandaid on his leg.

Let me ask the essential furry question – they hav human ears and animal ears. Which of those sets of ears do they hear with?

Yuuki Kaji does a good job as Nora.

This song’s so sad, it almost got me crying…  

Eizouken 8

This anime is like something from Studio Trigger!

The magic of Eizouken is that you get sucked into the anime they make and never look back.

Tomodachi vs. nakama, I think it is.

Id: Invaded 8

Lately, I’ve been thinking about practical cosplay (everyday wear that also doubles as a cosplay outfit). So basically, I’ve been thinking about Sakaido and El-Melloi II’s outfits a lot, since they’re rather practical while still looking cool. All I’m missing for El-Melloi’s outfit with the red jacket is a black button-up shirt, for El-Melloi’s outfit with the black jacket I’m missing a red scarf and I’m missing a brown button-up shirt for Sakaido’s (although the yellow scarf I got today to get one step closer to two of those isn’t the right mustard colour, it’s more of a lighter yellow).

Also, I noticed it’s (according to the katakana) meant to be “Id: Invaded”, but heck, it’s been ID: Invaded for so long for me, I don’t care either way.

Kiki was born in Fukui.

I always thought Mister Fixer sounded sad and now I think I know why…the bit I remember the most (the line that goes “Mister Fixer” and the bit around it) sounds like the singer is lamenting their life. Now that I see the visuals again after a few weeks (I’d get fatigued if I watched all that Fate/ and still managed to keep up with simulcasts, so I’ve been taking the simulcasts in a few eps at one time), Mister Fixer does quite sound like a crime drama song, but not as much as Thought I Knew (from Stand My Heroes).

I’ve seen images of Anaido and Sakaido in the same well for a few weeks now, so this cooperation bit is no surprise at all.

I believe Fukuda is asking why Narihisago is a –san to her even though they’ve worked together a while.

The words “data profile” are in one corner of the titlecard.

Does Anaido remember who he is in the ID Well? I presume not, but it’s hard to tell since we haven’t had as much time with him as we have Sakaido (not to mention I’ve been regularly filling my head with Fate/ and other things as well lately…so it’s hard to remember).

It’s interesting. Fukuda has the same piercings as Anaido (and even a ring on one pointer finger that matches them!), so he must’ve tried experimenting with…more legal holes, to put it one way…before getting his most iconic one.

Kaeru’s nails are chipped. Hmm.

In #Brake-Broken, which I read the first chapter of earlier (there’s a sample on the Young Ace website), Sakaido notices he doesn’t have a phone with him to call anyone or a licence (because in that manga, he wakes up in a car). It’s likely this will work the same way and Anaido won’t have any possessions on him, aside from the clothes on his back, accessories and the item that was stolen from his wrist/s.

Rings on both fingers…so I should be talking about them in plural. Update: I like how Anaido’s off-the-wall thought processes break up the inherent seriousness of Sakaido’s deductions and utilitarian way of doing things.

Anaido, you grimdark f***er. Update: For trying to eat a dead girl.

Okay, so for the sake of my practical cosplay, I knew I’d need this episode. Sakaido wears a long-sleeve brown shirt with some kind of shirt under that (either brown or black), plus a mustard-coloured scarf. (Note El-Melloi II wears a black shirt under his black button-up shirt, so I went with black as well.) In Brake Broken, I also noticed he wears dark socks (or that could be the leggings) and runners with a lightning bolt on them (I had to make do with generic black runners with a white stripe on the bottom), plus the iconic brown shorts over those (with a triangle pattern)…Why does Sakaido have a scarf anyway, versus Anaido and Miyo who don’t? As much as I like scarves, especially where colder weather is involved, getting a specific colour scarf was a bit of a headache to be honest, since I took 3 trips before deciding on the one I was going to buy (and even then, someone got it before me! The scarf I have now was my 2nd choice). Update: The shorts, leggings and undershirt are black, but I don’t know if Sakaido is wearing any socks or if they’re black too.

Just to note what Anaido has as well (although a coat like that, with the red detailing and flaps, would be hard to find…), he has a blue coat, suspenders, a white button-up top, a string tie (had to google what that was called, although its name is pretty obvious now that I know), black pants (which kinda look like leggings, but they’re not) and leather boots.

Now Sakaido can go into the loony bin…he’s talking to Kaeru.

Is Anaido going in circles? Sakaido caught up real fast…

Um, hey, protip: When stuck in quicksand, try to “float” on it. If you move, you’ll sink into it more. I don’t know how I know that, but I did stick it into my mind for times like this.

Notably, Anaido is about a head taller than Sakaido. Either Sakaido is unnaturally short and Anaido is average…or Anaido is just tall in that way some men are.

Did the bird get to this dude…?

There appears to be a man with a bun facing Hondomachi in the ED, although you can’t tell who it is from silhouette alone…Maybe he hasn’t appeared in the show yet. (Can’t be Matsuoka though. Might be the old guy who’s the head of Kura, actually.)

Update: Is the dead guy Momoki…?

Id: Invaded 9

It’s the familiar ceiling scene from Evangelion! (Okay, I’m kidding, but it’s a similar deal.)

I think the rules of Fate/ are “do it all, until you can no longer do it” (i.e. Everything is the same, until it’s different). It seems it’s the same here too.

Huh? Momoki?

“It doesn’t seem friendly.” – Yeah, and people die whe they are killed…in murder mysteries like this, usually speaking.

I noticed Narihisago’s tie is the same colour as his Sakaido jacket, if not the shirt under that.

Where did the Challenger’s clothes go after he took them off??? Hyperspace??? He wasn’t shown tossing them.

So Kaeru was Asukai all along, huh?

“Look at this.”

“It makes me think about him.” Subbers, that’s two mistakes in less than 1 minute…

I saw a fanart where Narihisago had his arm broken. I didn’t know why, but now I do. Also, TV Tropes is bad if you want to avoid spoilers…I know that already, but I go there anyway sometimes...

“It makes me wanna puke.”

Iruma-kun 22

The anime’s final episode is next week…but there’s already a season 2 in store for next year, so hopefully I survive the coronavirus and sort out all my issues this year in time for it.

Dat OP though. I’ve grown used to it and it’s actually endeared itself to me…which is odd, since I didn’t think I’d like it at first.

Demdol = akudol. Obviously, from “demon”.

Was that…Clara’s mother???  Kuromu’s older bro doesn’t look too bad, either.

Ohmygosh, this is fabulousssssssssss (and hilarious)! I’ve been waiting for this moment for many episodes, as you can tell if you’ve been following along, and I finally got the payoff!

Clara ends her sentence with –akuma (devil), hence the translation is matching it the same way.

Oh my gosh, Ryouhei Kimura (Azz-kun) sucks at being feminine, but that’s exactly what the role requires for this!

If you just pretend Azz-kun isn’t dressed in such an outlandish outfit, he looks really good…! Ayumu Murase does a pretty good falsetto, although you can tell there’s one point where Kimura’s voice gets really manly-sounding for a lady.

“Little imp” – Koakuma.  

Oh! The Keroli family is all cute.

Ooh, Kuromu’s nails are blue. Never noticed that before.

Eizouken 9

Chojugiga are ancient pictures normally depicting animals. As for sepak takraw…

I wonder if Eizouken will tackle the Manabi Line one day…?

That’s a parallel for Comiket, LOL.

“A colossus that no one can see!” – Gridman, is that you?

When did Kanamori meet Asakusa again…?

Kanamori with a bun is cool.

“There is nothing fun about social media!” – Well, social media is fun for me because it’s where I escape reality, but sometimes you gotta be like Kanamori and use it for publicity’s sake.

LOL, the username for the Eizouken is @eizoukenn.

I just realised Mizusaki’s hairstyle is irregular…it’s much longer on on side than the other.

“Mizusaki bump” – I think this references the Colbert bump. (TV Tropes link)

Kanamori – she with the word “gold”…or “money”…in her name – struggles with maths? Wow, that was something to hear. (I guess it’s kinda like me and IT (cybersecurity) – I suck at it because I suck at modulos…or division in short…and even though I can be found on my computer a lot, that’s why I don’t pursue it any longer. I was decent at accounting, but man, I’d be bored out of my brain if you made me do business IT and I have zero skills in games and multimedia.)

“Was it thuggery?” – What’s thuggery? That word sounds funny.

Did you see how Asakusa fell off the tank?

I did CR’s Eizouken quiz sometime in the past and it gave me Asakusa. That’s true, basically. I like thinking up ideas and how cool they are, but because I can’t stop from elaborating on them, they get out of hand and that’s why I have a tonne of dropped projects. (Then again, with how freely I can imagine motion, I could’ve gotten Mizusaki too.) Update: Tried again and I actually did get Mizusaki…whaddaya know.

Id: Invaded 10

People have been comparing this to Minority Report…now I see why.

I almost feel like this is a discussion of euthanasia and suicide as much as it is memory and the consciousness.

Ohh…she remembers! Hondomachi!

You can’t see Muku’s face! Ohh, scary!

Aww, the music really sold this montage. By the way, that sign didn’t say “entrance ceremony”, it said nyuugaku omedetou, “Congratulations on your entry [into school]”.

It…this singer almost sounds like Bruno Mars, but that would be basically impossible, no?

Oh my gosh…when the song swelled, I absolutely cried. That’s rare, man – that’s rare.

BnHA 82

I think the leftmost figure might be Miruko, the rabbit lady. I’ve never read anything about her outside of wiki pages ad other small spoilers, but I roughly know what she looks like.

What does Gentle mean by “Anglaise”? Surely it wouldn’t refer to cream…(crème anglaise)

LOL, Disneyland parades…

Whew…that was dangerous. I almost agreed with Mineta there (to get the festival over and done with).

I swear Midoriya gets together with All Might, just like this, at the end or start of a climactic arc. He did it in the last season of BnHA, remember?

BnHA 83

Hmm…It’s interesting that the author likes to point out who has and hasn’t met Eri. Then again, it’s good for consistency.

LOL, Amajiki my boy…you’re so relatable.

Hmm…amidst the coronavirus concerns…this cancellation business seems quite timely.

Oh! It’s a drone.

For some reason, I thought Sero was drinking vegetable juice…? Eh, no matter. They have vegetable juice in Japan – I remember seeing some on my trip.

Hmm? Gentle is like a phantom thief, I just realised. Mostly harmless, but bound to cause a big stir if he gets his way.

What is Gentle’s Quirk, anyway…?

Work Son…LOL(…?)

Who bets their moustache on this stuff, anyway…? (LOL)

Iruma 23 (FINAL)

I don’t get to see Iruma become evil this season…but he will next season! That visual I’ve been seeing by the original mangaka confirms it!

Marathon - the demon puns are back.

Demonicon =Oricon chart.

Demon Star Platinum…was that…a Jojo’s reference?! *scare chord*

Oh! Maguro (tuna).

Azz-kun being afraid of fish? That’s news to me.

Okay, subbers. Whose idea was it to translate Iruma’s words as “My feels…”…?

There’s a post-credits segment. Keep watching.

Yay! Evil Iruma-kun!...In spring 2021. (I’ve never once been so excited for a character to turn evil than this! I also like how evil Iruma said it’s the “buttcrack” of dawn…but that’s just my immature side showing.)

Id: Invaded 11

“…being taken for a ride!” – Well, you’re in a car, so you’re getting a ride nonetheless. (LOL) I hadn’t heard of the term “being taken for a ride” until…what? 2016, I think? When I was still doing language anaylsis.

Sakaido used Headbutt! It’s…kind of effective? (Writing up these pseudo-Pokémon battles is fun. I should write more.)

“…put a drill to your head…”

“The victims of John Walker’s serial killers…”

I noticed Hondomachi is touching the side of her head which had the hole in it…if I remembered it right.

Is it “the Kura”? Or just Kura?

August 15th is a popular date for anime, huh? It’s in the middle of summer. (Refers to Kagerou Project.)

That ‘who knew you needed to lose something to be complete’ thing…I think I get it, but for some reason I only ever seem to get that feeling when it’s me trying to read asexuality into things (since that’s how I learnt to interpret asexuality), so…yeah, way to go, me.

Wait…Togo visited Momoki’s bedroom?!

Yep, so I was right about that being the side with Hondomachi’s hole.

[princesse-de-ravenclaw]

Text Me

Word count: 2,277

***************************************************************************************

It all started on a mountainside in the United States. 15 year old Remus met a spunky muggle while he was hiking on a family vacation, and he took a liking to her. His parents liked the location, so they decided to make annual trips there, and every time they visited, Remus got to spend time with his friend. The summer before 7th year, Remus invited Sirius along with him. The Potters weren’t doing anything special, and Remus thought Sirius would enjoy getting away from everything in the wizarding world for six whole weeks. Remus has been texting Y/N leading up to the trip, informing her that he was bringing a friend along, and warning that his friend was a massive flirt and to just ignore any crude comments he made. It wasn’t until four days into the trip was when Remus and Sirius we’re finally able to get out of the cabin and meet Y/N in the nearest town.

Y/N spotted Remus’s lanky body walking through the door just before her phone went off with another text message.

“Gee, thanks, Rem,” Y/N rolled her eyes as Remus and his friend sat down across from her in the booth. “I couldn’t tell.” “Just making sure you knew,” Remus gave her a sarcastic smile, but it quickly transformed into a genuine one. “It’s good to see you, Y/N/N,” he told her. “It’s good to see you, too,” Y/N smiled. “Who’s your friend?” She nodded in Sirius’s direction. “Oh, right. This is my best friend Sirius. We share a dorm at school,” Remus started. “Sirius, this is Y/N-“ “I’m his vacation bestie,” Y/N interrupted him with a smirk. “If you’re his best friend on holiday, but I’m his best friend that he brought on holiday, what does that mean?” Sirius tilted his head slightly. “That means you take the back seat, buddy. You’re in my territory now,” Y/N declared playfully. “Well alright, that’s fair,” Sirius chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you,” he grinned. “You too,” Y/N smiled back. “So what do you guys want to eat? I’m starving,” Y/N exaggeratedly groaned, eyes going wide as she began to scan the menu.

“I swear, every time I eat here it gets better,” Y/N sighed contentedly as she covered her empty plate with her napkin. “I definitely agree,” Remus nodded and he finished up his meal as well. “I’m sold on American food, we’re never going back,” Sirius leaned back, eyes blissfully closed. “Maybe we’ll move here when we finish school,” Remus offered jokingly. “Deal. Yes. Let’s start looking for flats now,” Sirius sat up as he nodded enthusiastically, earning a laugh from Y/N. “Do you guys have plans for the rest of the day, or do you want to come over?” Y/N offered. “I wouldn’t mind coming over,” Remus shrugged. He turned to Sirius. “How about you, mate?” “Yeah, I’m game,” Sirius nodded.

Remus reached for his wallet but Y/N stopped him. “I was kidding, I’ve got it,” she laughed as she reached in her bag. “No way. I brought a guest. I’ll pay,” Remus insisted. “You’re on vacation. Let me get it,” Y/N told him with a smile. “Not happening,” Remus shook his head. It was then that the two bickering teens noticed the waitress leaving the table and the check missing. Both of their eyes shot up to Sirius. “You snooze, you lose,” he shrugged with a smirk. “I’m covering the tip!” Y/N declared, quickly slamming a bill on the table. “Oops,” she muttered as people turned their heads to see the commotion. “Ready to go?” She asked.

“We’re home!” Y/N shouted as she closed the front door behind Remus and Sirius. “Remus brought a friend!” She added. “Remus, it’s good to see you, son! How have you been?” Y/N’s dad asked as the teens entered the living room. “I’ve been good, sir. Looking forward to being finished with school,” Remus grinned as he shook Y/N’s dad’s hand. “My, you’re so tall!” Y/N’s mother exclaimed as she squeezed the lanky boy into a hug. Remus just smiled as he hugged her back. “Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N, this is Sirius, my best friend and flatmate at school,” Remus announced. “Sirius, this is my mom, Y/M/N and my dad, Y/F/N,” Y/N told Sirius. He shook Y/F/N’s hand and leaned into to shake Y/M/N’s, but she pulled him into a hug. “It’s nice to meet you both,” Sirius smiled. “Yeah, so we’re gonna go to my room,” Y/N announced. “Door open,” Y/N’s mom instructed with a serious tone. “Mom!” Y/N groaned, embarrassed at what her mother was insinuating. “Don’t talk back to your mother,” her father snapped. Sirius noticed Y/N’s smile fade, but she quickly replaced it as if nothing happened. “Let’s go,” she mumbled as she started towards her bedroom.

“Uh, yeah. So this is my room,” Y/N shrugged as she plopped onto her bed. “Make yourself comfortable.” Sirius tried not to be in awe at how many things she had that he’d never seen before. He occupied his mind by looking at pictures and trinkets she had on her desk. “How did you two meet, anyway?” Sirius asked, picking up a pen from Y/N’s desk and examining it closely. “We were hiking up the same trail and I saved him from a mountain lion,” Y/N replied nonchalantly. “You did what?” Sirius’ eyes went wide and he dropped the pen. “It was a rabbit, actually,” Remus spoke up. “You thought it was a mountain lion,” Y/N smirked. “Moony, how the hell did you mistake a rabbit for a mountain lion?” Sirius asked incredulously. “Well, I couldn’t exactly see it,” Remus sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “We were on the trail and a bush rustled, and our good ol’ friend Remus panicked, thinking we were about to be attacked by a mountain lion. I however, knew that there are in fact, no mountain lions here, so I threw a stick next to the bush and out came a frightened little bunny,” Y/N laughed and nudged Remus. “I decided to let him stick around because he seemed like he needed the help,” she laughed.

“In my defense, I’m not exactly from here,” Remus smiled brightly at her. “Whatever you say, Moony,” Y/N teased, repeating the nickname Sirius had previously used. Remus’s eyes went wide. “What’s the deal with that, anyway?” She asked. “Well, at our school, our group of friends are known for our pranks and-“ Sirius began, but Y/N cut him off. “Actually, never mind. I just thought about it and I really don’t want to know,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Are you sure? We’ve got some stories,” Sirius waggled his eyebrows. “Ew no! Oh my god! I’m sure,” Y/N waved her hands as she laughed and shook her head. “I’m good, trust me.” “Suit yourself,” Remus shrugged playfully.

“Hey, what’s this?” Sirius asked, picking up Y/N’s U Speaker and examining it. Remus’s eyes went wide. “Oh, it’s a Bluetooth speaker,” Y/N told him. “Hold down the button on the bottom.” Sirius had no idea what Bluetooth meant, but he did as Y/N said and pressed the button, jumping with the little round thing jingled. He nearly dropped it when it started blasting out music, he couldn’t hide the shock from his face. Remus grimaced to himself. “I know, it’s little but it’s loud,” Y/N laughed, interpreting his surprise as being at the volume. “Yeah, really loud,” Sirius nodded. “Sorry, I’ll turn it off,” Y/N laughed. “You don’t have to turn it off,” Remus told her. “Maybe just turn it down a little?” He suggested. “I can do that, too,” Y/N shrugged. “I’m gonna go get a bottle of water. Do you guys want one?” She offered as she stood up from her bed. The boys gave her a nod and a “yes please” and Y/N left the room.

“Alright man, listen. Do not ask her about anything else. If you have any questions, wait and ask me later,” Remus sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Do all muggles have that little speaking thing?” Sirius grimaced. “Not that exact one, but yes. Most of them have something similar and would be able to spot that it was a Bluetooth speaker,” Remus nodded. “What is blue tooth? Why is it blue? That thing was gold?” Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and Remus groaned. “Merlin, I should have tutored you in muggle before I brought you here. Haven’t you ever taken a muggle studies class? Bluetooth isn’t actually blue. And before you ask, it has nothing to do with teeth. It’s a kind of wireless connection between two devices,” Remus explained. “I always thought muggle studies was a waste of time but I’m quickly realizing that not taking that class was a mistake,” Sirius frowned. “Clearly. I’ll teach you the basics when we get home, just don’t ask any more questions,” Remus pinched the bridge of his nose.

The rest of the evening went smoothly, other than the accidental odd question from Sirius. The teens put on a series of movies, made themselves comfortable on Y/N’s bed and in her desk chair, and chatted amongst themselves throughout them. 10:50 rolled around and Y/N spoke up. “Alright, not that I’m not having fun, but Remus knows the rule. You guys have to be out of the house and off of the property by 11,” she told them. “Wait, seriously?” Sirius laughed as Y/N logged out of Netflix and turned off her television. “Yeah, Y/N’s dad usually doesn’t let boys stay over past nine, but Y/N and I are only friends, and her dad likes me so we get a little extra time,” Remus shrugged. “And I thought my parents were the only ones with weird rules,” Sirius joked. “Nope, we’ve all got them. Now get out before you aren’t allowed over anymore,” Y/N smiled, playfully pushing the boys toward her bedroom door. “Yeah, Yeah, we’re going,” Remus rolled his eyes as Y/N began walking the two boys through her living room and to the front door.

“It was good to see you, Mr. Y/L/N,” Remus called to Y/N’s dad who was sitting on the couch, waiting for the boys to leave before he went to bed. “You, too, son,” Y/N’s father called back. Remus nudged Sirius before Y/N closed the door. “It was nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for letting us spend the day in your home,” Sirius called. “Anytime-“ Y/N’s dad started, but Y/N shut the door. “Thanks for hanging out and letting me show you my poor taste in movies,” Y/N grinned. “I actually liked them,” Sirius shrugged. “Figures you’d have rotten taste in movies,” Remus muttered. “I heard that, you prick,” Y/N playfully elbowed him in the side. “It’s two against one, the movies were good,” she stuck her tongue out. “I’ll see you soon?” She asked, pulling Remus into a hug. “Yeah, we’ll be in touch. Maybe you can come hang out with my folks tomorrow,” Remus agreed as he picked her up and swung her around as he hugged her. “Sirius, it was nice meeting you. I’m glad you came with Remus,” Y/N smiled, opening her arms to offer Sirius a hug as well. “Yeah,” Sirius nodded with a smile. “Me too,” he stepped forward to hug her and gave her a tight, but meaningful squeeze.

As the boys stepped off the porch and made their way to the end of the yard, Y/N called after them, “See you soon!” “See you!” Sirius grinned back, turning to face her and walking backwards to keep up with Remus. “Hey, text me,” Y/N called with a grin. “We’ll see,” Sirius shot her a wink and one more famous Sirius Black grin before turning back and walking with Remus. Sirius took a breath to say something but Remus cut him off, “I know that look in your eye and I’m going to stop you right there,” he told Sirius. “The answer is no. No, I will not help you get her. No, you cannot date her. No. No,” Remus shook his head. “But Moony! She’s so pretty and funny and different from anyone I’ve ever met!” Sirius sighed dreamily. “She’s different because she’s a muggle, Sirius. She’s my friend and I love her, but we have to keep her a safe distance from our world,” Remus said with finality. Sirius sighed in defeat.

“Anyway, do you still have questions?” Remus asked. “So many!” Sirius exclaimed. “First and foremost... what is a text and how do I do it to her?” He asked. “It isn’t something you do to someone.. well you kind of do but.. don’t say it like that. It’s weird. A text is a message you send between phones,” Remus explained. “Oh, is that the little thing you use to talk to her?” Sirius slightly cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, we’ll have to get you one,” Remus nodded. “Why don’t you just send her an owl?” Sirius raised a brow. “Because muggles don’t do that. Plus, it’s faster,” Remus shrugged. “Faster than sending an owl?” Sirius gasped. “Oh Padfoot,” Remus sighed. “You have so much to learn,” he swung his arm around Sirius’s shoulder as they walked down the dark street to the Lupin’s place.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I’ve been talking about/thinking about/working on this fic for over a year, and the first part it finally here!! I’m so exited to keep working on it and keep sharing it with all of you!! Let me know what you think! ♡♡♡

Also, I know the times are out of order ,, i’ll get around to fixing it ,,, someday lmao 

Masterlist

♡Buy me a cup of coffee♡

tags: @argentinemango @kbaille92 @allertonn @espressoo-patronum @themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy @evyione

If you want to be tagged in future parts, let me know!

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Epilogue

Song for Dad, Keith Urban

Lately I've been noticing I say the same things he used to say. And I even find myself acting the very same way. I tap my fingers on the table to the rhythm in my soul, and I jingle the car keys when I'm ready to go. When I look in the mirror he's right there in my eyes starin' back at me and I realize the older I get, the more I can see how much he loved my mother and my [sister] and me. And he did the best that he could and I only hope when I have my own family that everyday I see a little more of my father in me.

Link stretched his arms over his head in an attempt to crack his back. When did he start to feel so damn old? A few years ago, trimming hooves was the easiest part of his day. But, then again, he didn’t have to deal with a spunky little filly, either. He patted the young horse’s neck and she snorted. He felt the air snap as a presence appeared, but he didn’t turn to his visitor.

“Hey, D,” Link said casually. He glanced at Dorian over his shoulder.

Dorian narrowed his gaze on him. “You don’t get to call me that,” he sneered.

Link ignored his comment. “What are you doing here?”

Dorian put his hands in his pockets. “Looking for Cottla and Koko.”

“You know they’re grown ass Sheikah women, right?” Link said with a grin. “And they have phones. You could have called them.”

Dorian glared at him. “Are they here?”

Link rolled his eyes. “Yes. They’re with Aryll.”

“Uncle D!”

Dorian turned to the little boy that ran up to him. He smiled and picked up the child. “What’s going on, Dude?”

“Are you here to play Sheikah?”

“I don’t think so,” Dorian said. He put the child back on the ground. “I gotta get going.”

The boy whined. “You always say that!”

“Sorry, Rus. You know how it is.”

Rusl cocked his head to the side. “Okay,” he said simply before running off again.

“You don’t have to check up on us, you know,” Link said. He turned back over his shoulder, but Dorian had his back to him. He met Link’s gaze briefly, a smile tugging at his lips, and in a snap, he disappeared.

He turned back to the horse and smiled. He pulled a carrot out of his pocket to treat the filly, then set back to work at trimming her hooves. When he finished, he gave her one last pat, then set at putting his things away. He turned to greet his sister when she appeared in the doorway.

“You’d think they were like, sixteen years old,” Aryll practically whined. “Jeez, Dorian is a tight ass, sometimes.”

“Are you really surprised?” Link asked.

Aryll sighed. “I guess not.” She shrugged. “I suppose it’s for the best. Cottla only wanted to feed Rusl sugar before everyone got here.”

Link stepped around her, moving back to the horse. He scratched at her ears and cooed to her. “Dorian thinks he’s a big, scary Sheikah, doesn’t he? But he’s not, no he’s not. You’re such a cute little thing, yes you are.”

“You're sickening.” Aryll rolled her eyes and sighed. “What happened to you, man?”

Link grinned and scratched the mare's neck. “Kids make you soft.”

At that moment, Rusl came running back towards them from around the corner, this time with a stick in hand. He jumped at Link and roared as threateningly as he could.

“Shit, Ary, look at that thing!” Link picked up his son and threw him over his shoulder. “Now that's scary!”

“Down, Daddy!” Rusl giggled, waving the stick in the air as Link placed him back on his feet. “You're the scary monster!” He swung the stick at him, his brows knit together. “I'm gonna beat you.”

“Not with that footwork you're not,” Link said.

“He doesn't care about footwork,” Aryll said.

“Hey! Impa pounded that shit into my brain. If this kid's gonna do anything right, least he can do is learn how to fight.”

“Because sword fighting is such an important skill.”

“You don't know!” He took the stick sword from his son. “Look.”

Rusl laughed and ran off to collect another stick, returning and doing his best to mock his father.

“What did I say!” Mipha shouted from the house. “You're not teaching our son to fight with swords!”

“I'm not doing anything!”

“Yes, you are!”

Aryll giggled and picked up her nephew. “Come on, Mr. Hero. You need a nap before everyone gets here.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Link said with a yawn.

“Wasn't talking to you,” Aryll said over her shoulder as she carried the child back to the house.

Link followed behind her, only to be met by the angry glare coming from his very pregnant wife. His shoulders dropped and he offered her an apologetic smile.

Mipha sighed and shook her head. “Honestly,” she said. “Can’t you teach him something more useful?”

“Like how to use Hylian powers?” Aryll asked excitedly.

“I’m gonna be a Sheikah!” Rusl proclaimed.

“No!” Mipha barked. “For the love of - teach him the damn alphabet or something. That’s what kids should be learning.”

Link frowned. “Oh. No. That doesn’t sound right.”

“How the hell are you a father?” Aryll said with a grin. “Honestly, Mipha. Why did you think that was a good idea?”

Mipha sighed, defeated. “I really don’t know.”

Link took the child from Aryll and placed him on his shoulders. Rusl giggled and waved the stick in the air.

“I’m gonna be the hero, Daddy,” he announced. “Just you wait!”

“You got it, Kid,” Link said. He looked up at the child over his head and smiled. “You already are a hero.”

[amazildoessomethingstupid]

Character Re-imagined: Sandy

Well kids, we’re still doing our time for artist hiatus crimes so let’s move on to the next chapter! Chapter 100: High Expectatio-

OH FUCK RIGHT, I’M SO SORRY I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT YOU SANDY!  I SWEAR!

Okay, for those who haven’t dug too into this rant series.  A while back, I did a half-rant on the chapter Model Girlfriend, which of course was the chapter where Sandy came back to Roseville for a day.  I ended up not really finishing it because I found most of the talking points that I’d use, and the complaints I had with the chapter, weren’t necessarily with the chapter itself as much as it was with the characterization of Sandy.  And my problem with the characterization was more to do with how I wrote Sandy in comparison to how the canon wrote her.  And simply saying that my problem with a character was that she wasn’t how I wrote her just isn’t a fair critique by any measure.  And no matter what people may think about the rants, the one thing I don’t want the rants to be perceived as, is unfair.  

So I decided that I would do something similar to what I had done before, which was a Character Revisited which was for Paulo.  Where I talked about Paulo’s characterization before Boy Toy and how much of a difference was done to his personality, and demeanor in the recent chapters specifically Table for One (Actually, is it still technically ��recent” if these chapters are 3 years old? Man this shit is long).  Anyway, I wanted to something similar for Sandy but be more of a Character Reimagined, talking about what I ended up having to do with the character and how I wrote them for January and False Idol.  It was SUPPOSED to be after the Pit Stop but I kind of forgot about it, and uhh…

I got distracted.  But nonetheless, we’re here now so let’s dive right into it.  This is Sandy Re-imagined.

So if we’re going to talk about my Sandy, and her development as a character we of course have to start with January, and January’s take on Just Beautiful.  And if you don’t know what January is, I’m not going to get too into it but it’s essentially my fancomic which is a faithful (as possible…) alternate take of the whole January arc, following the timeline from December to Happy Hour. And at its rough and rebellious beginnings, it was very run and gun in terms of writing.  I didn’t care as much about building characters outside of setting scenes, and focusing on Lucy and Susan…until…

I had to do Just Beautiful. A chapter that I hated, featuring a character that I hated, that was centered around a ship I didn’t care about, and had little effect on what was happening in the story aside from just making Mike remorseful, because of…

Yeeeah back then, I figured out that Sandy is more of a plot device, than an actual character (an opinion that still holds water today, and I swear to god I will get to that chapter). So I really did not care about her, or give her character any thought until I had to do this segment for January. Because, I cornered myself to do the chapter and realized something… “Hey, fuckface!  You’re a writer!  You don’t think this is interesting or fun?  Then just make it interesting and fun for you!” Sandy is such a blank slate of a character that I could kind of do anything I wanted for her outside of what’s established, and since there wasn’t much established it meant I had to…

Get creative! The first part of writing Sandy was tackling the issues I had with her character in comic, specifically how little we know of her personality, how she interacts not only with Mike, but with people outside of her relationship.  How does she take to adversity, how does she tackles problems, what problems does she face, how do they conflict with her relationship, and how does her relationship clash with that? And in January I couldn’t really dive too deep into that, especially because the story isn’t about her; it’s about Lucy.  But I wanted to at least give something, or hint at that with her little scene just to show that there is at least something there.  But more importantly, I wanted to establish one very key feature about Sandy. Something that I felt the comic left out, and it seems will never come true.

Sandy feels the distance too.  If you look at the scene in January, this is the one bit of dialogue (except on bit at the end) between Mike and Sandy that isn’t directly from the canon to stick to the canon.  And It is the main part of Sandy that I keep at her core because it is one of the one things we knew about Sandy which is that she loves Mike (aaaaand then Model Girlfriend came along and threw a wrench into that…) but at least for me this is what makes up Sandy.  And since we’re talking about Sandy as a character I am going to spoil False Idol quite a bit, because False Idol is essentially a story about finding out about Sandy.  Who she is, what her life is like, and how Mike plays into that.  But one of the main things about Sandy, that I changed about her is brought up in this one bit in January.

Sandy doesn’t tell anyone about Mike.  The more I thought about how little we know about Sandy as a person, the more I thought about how little Mike knows about Sandy as a person.  Which helped to expand her character more as a person.  Looking at Model Girlfriend the whole idea of “Mike really doesn’t know Sandy as a person” was realized…but taken to a more bitter end. Whereas I still held onto the idea of Sandy really loving Mike, but she doesn’t share that with anyone.  She keeps her romantic life separated from her co-workers and classmates, which is also touched on in False Idol.

And more importantly, it goes both ways.  In this way, there’s a lot more intrigue and options in Sandy’s character.  Why is she keeping Mike a secret?  Why did Sam have to steal Sandy’s phone to find this out? Is she ashamed of people knowing Mike’s her boyfriend or is there something more?  And Why haven’t we heard anything about these guys?  And the answer is something I won’t tell you, because that’d be too much of a spoiler, but what I will say is, that at her core the main statement I want to define Sandy is this: Sandy loves Mike.  She loves him as much as Mike loves her. BUT when creating a character, and understanding a character there is one big factor to consider which I found the most fun in writing Sandy and what elevated her into a character that I found myself very engrossed in as a writer.  To the point where even after 3 years I am still dedicated to writing her story in False Idol!  And the one thing to always remember is that no matter what as strong, complex, or emotional your character is.  They are only as interesting as the environment you put them in.  That’s why if you look at the Just Beautiful scene in January, the first time we see Sandy say anything, before she sees Mike; the first interaction we see to give us an idea of how she is outside of Mike is her talking to her best friend.

Sam!  Who has grown on me like an aggressive tumor, and will probably be the death of me.  The big part about writing Sandy and trying to make this character more interesting was building the environment around her.  Brainstorming ideas, and thinking about what her life is like outside of Mike. There is a joke song I wish to make someday parodying Avenue Q and BCB, called There is Life Outside of Your Plot Line, and that’s basically what I wanted to explore with Sandy.  Specifically her and the models.  It’d be easy to assume that the modeling business is cutthroat, and her coworkers are bitchy people, and it’s so taxing, and she hates it, and all that jazz.  But I wanted to take it in a different direction where her work environment isn’t actually that bad.  Her co-workers are nice and down to earth people, with their own personalities and viewpoints.  The first model to get expanded on like this of course being Sam, and her dynamic with Sandy.  This is where of course False Idol comes in and brings out that world more. To give us a better understanding of the kind of people that Sandy hangs around with. But in order to flesh that out I’d need more than Sam which is why in False Idol!

We get a slew of new characters!  In order: Charlie Hartman, Daniel “Dan” Mercado, Samantha “Sam” Cartwright, Ashley “Ash” Clements, Alice McCarthy, and Jason “Jay” Cartwright.  Oh and sadly I couldn’t fit him in here, but I would be doing my man a disservice by not mentioning him,

Tyrone the lovable meathead beefcake!  The only one who I didn’t make a last name for.  Because he doesn’t need it.  He’s just Tyrone.  Although I can only take half-credit for him, because he’s more of a shared joke between me and a friend that we both had a lot of fun working on.  All of these characters help to build the setting and world that Sandy lives in, with their own different personalities.  Sam being a spunky, rebellious, and surprisingly mature scamp; Alice being a very prideful, conceited, yet down to earth, and caring person; Ash being a grounded soft, cute, but hardened and smart girl.  All of the characters help to give us an idea of not only Sandy, but an idea of what she deals with and the people she associates with.  And one important thing about these characters, is the fact that I deliberately wrote it to where not one of these characters were assholes.  I didn’t want to fall into the trapping of having Sandy’s life outside of Mike be some like horrible mean world and Mike’s her only escape, or make it where “Oh little did we know that Sandy’s suffering from this one HORRIBLE MESSED UP THING! SO NOW YOU HAVE TO FEEL BAD FOR HER AND SYMPATHIZE WITH HER OR ELSE YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE!” No, I wanted Sandy to have a fairly average life.  So if you were thinking False Idol was gonna do some fucked up heel-turn like “OH BOY, LITTLE DID YOU KNOW THAT SANDY IS ACTUALLY A DRUG ADDICT AND WHORED HERSELF OUT TO GET THE JOB!” I’m sorry that’s not happening…Actually, fuck you I’m not sorry because that’s fucked up I’m not going there.  AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF TAESHI DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE IT TURNS OUT OH NO, SANDY HAD SOME FUCKED UP SHIT GOING ON WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT AND NOW WE ARE FORCED TO FEEL SAD!  I am going to be fucking fuming mad.

The main thing I wanted to do when writing Sandy, given how little we know about her and the setting she is in.  Is to show this setting she’s in and give us an idea of what her life was like.  I wrote Sandy and False Idol, in a way where you can look at her and the characters that surround her and feel like there was another comic going on at the same time.  And we’re just coming in after they’ve gone through their own different mini story arcs and this is some big moment in their story too.  I mean imagine if Mike suddenly went missing, running away from home and then Sandy comes to Roseville to get answers.  And then she learns more about everyone, and all the stuff Mike’s been through…

Actually that’d be pretty damn cool honestly.  Damn. Taeshi should steal that.  That would be fucking awesome and turn this ship around quick…sigh…if only.  Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is this.

Sandy is a character that I hated.  She was a character that I did not care about at all, and didn’t think anything of.  I saw her in the comic as a plot device and nothing more.  But with creative thinking, care, and love for the comic I reinvented her to be more than that.  To be a good character in her own right.  With her own message, with her own story to tell.  And I believe she has the potential to be just that.  To be more than what she is.  I didn’t want her to be a lie, or a complete fake of what Mike thought she was.  I wanted her to be nice, caring, wholesome, naïve, mature, a little selfish, sneaky, clever, but full of love and surrounded by love and support.   She loves her friends, she loves Mike, she loves her job.

And to see her in canon I just…

I feel disappointed to see her as nothing but a plot device to stab the reader in the gut with and make them feel bad.  I wish she was more.  More than an enigma, more than a bitch, more than another person to make Mike feel bad. Sandy could’ve been better.  She could’ve been so much better.  And I just wish Taeshi did better.  

As someone I looked up to, as someone who inspired me… I wish she’d be better than me.  

[im-no-jedi]

I filled out some Guardian questions for my boys the other day, and they’re all in character! hopefully this will give you guys a better feel for what each of them act like c:

For Matt:

Where were you rezzed? My Ghost found me in the Cosmodrome, lying amongst a bunch of rusty old cars. I’m still wondering what I was doing there…

How long ago was it? About 5 years ago! A lot has happened since then too.

Did you have anything in your pockets? No, but I found a locket with a picture of a woman in it near where I was rezzed. I only just recently found it too. I don’t even know if it was mine or not. I wish I knew who the woman in the picture was…

What was your first week alive like? Very busy! I was excited to explore new worlds, but my ship lacked a warp drive, so I had to go searching in the Cosmodrome for one. That was… fun. And then once I got it, I ended up spending a little more time in the City to get more acquainted with the place.

How did you react to your new role as a Guardian? I was unsure I could do it at first, but when the Speaker told me about the Darkness, I knew that I had to do something to protect everyone in the City. The Traveler chose me for a reason. I feel like this is what I was always meant to be, you know? Is that weird?

Do you have any regrets? I… wish things didn’t go the way they did when we were going after Oryx. I feel like what happened to Isaac was my fault. Maybe if I had been smarter or stronger or whatever… I don’t know. I just feel responsible for it somehow.

How did you get your name? I don’t like to talk about it… but when I first tried out the Crucible, several of the other Guardians made fun of me after they saw how klutzy I was. They came and bullied me several times after that, calling me all sort of awful names. “Mat” was their favorite because of how often I fall on my face, I guess. Rocky stood up for me, which is how we first became friends, and he would always call me “Mat” too because he thought that’s what my name actually was. He didn’t know it was used to bully me. I finally gave up and just embraced the name because one, Matt is an actual name, and two, because I didn’t want to let those bullies be the ones to define who I was. If Rocky, my first real friend, wanted to know me as Matt, then that’s all that mattered. Also, I really do fall on my face a lot. And get stepped on. It’s fine.

Does your ghost have a name? Yes! His name is Willy. And I’m not going to dare talk about how he got that name; my own story is traumatizing enough.

What is your ghost like? He’s very friendly, very loud, and very charismatic. He reminds me a lot of Rocky, actually.

How do you feel about the last city and the vanguard? I love the City! Ever since I first came to it, it really felt like home. And the Vanguard are like family to me. Cayde welcomed me in like he’d known me his whole life when I first came to the City. Ikora inspires me to learn more about our world every day. And Zavala makes me want to be the best leader for my fireteam that I can be.

What’s your favorite place to go? Wherever my friends are!

Do you participate in strikes or the crucible? Yes, but only with my fireteam. I don’t think Rocky would let me even attempt either of those things without him, honestly.

How do you celebrate the holidays? For Crimson Days, Rocky and I pretty much spend all our time in the Crucible. For Festival of the Lost, I like dressing up and roleplaying as different people and creatures (last year, I was the Fanatic, and everyone said I mimicked his voice perfectly!). My favorite holiday is the Dawning; I love the beautiful snow and just spending time with my friends.

Who is your favorite NPC and who is your least favorite? Well uhh, my favorite is definitely Hawthorne because she… well she’s amazing in every way possible honestly, she’s smart and resilient and funny and dependable and really really pretty and she has a cool bird and oh geez am I rambling? Ehehe… And as for my least favorite, I don’t think I have one? I’m not really sure what to think of the Drifter; he comes across really friendly, but I don’t know how genuine he is. He didn’t seem too pleased when I got the Last Word either. But I’m not gonna worry about it.

Where do you sleep/call home? I stay in one of the rooms near the Hunter quarters. My old room was destroyed in the Red War, but I was able to recover most of my stuff. I like to collect artifacts and weapons from other species, as well as some stuff from the Golden Age. Cayde appreciates my collection, probably due to the fact that he has his own collection, but I organize my stuff waaaaaaaay better than he does.

Do you have any pets or companions? Rocky can behave like a pet sometimes… otherwise it’s just my Ghost. I spend a lot of time with Rocky’s kids, they seem to like me a lot. Especially Poofy. She and I get along the best. She likes it when I style her hair and clean her claws.

Does anyone live with you? Just my Ghost, although Rocky used to spend the night with me sometimes before he met Silfy.

How do you unwind or comfort yourself? I mostly like to spend time with my friends, but if I’m by myself? I’ll usually end up singing to pass the time. I like to dance too. I seem to do better on my feet when I’m dancing than if I’m doing… well anything else really.

What would truly break you? I have nightmares sometimes of my friends turning to the Darkness… I don’t ever want to think about something like that actually happening…

Most embarrassing moment? Probably the first time I met Hawthorne… I was a complete babbling mess and then tripped on a rock and smashed my face to boot. Willy couldn’t even heal me at the time either. I had a black eye for a week. I honestly don’t know why she even bothered talking to me anymore after that. She probably just felt sorry for me…

Any cherished memories? Meeting Rocky for the first time. And Isaac. And Hannah. And all my other friends. I’ve lived a really good life so far.

What was your highest and/or lowest point? My highest point would probably be when Rocky and I defeated Oryx. Which ironically came after my lowest point… when Isaac sacrificed himself for the rest of us. I secluded myself from everyone after that happened, even Rocky. I felt terrible. I told myself I would never do anything like that again, no matter what.

Views on the enemy races? I find them fascinating, but also acknowledge them as enemies. I respect the Fallen the most, and I wish more of them were like Silfy and her kids. I think we could live in peace with them if they wanted.

Which enemy race is your most/least favorite? I guess the Fallen would be my most favorite, and my least favorite is definitely the Taken. The idea that something could become totally consumed by Darkness like that… it’s terrifying.

For Rocky:

Where were you rezzed? uhh I don’t remember, I think it was on some moon? I’ll ask Mo later

How long ago was it? like 6 or 7 years ago

Did you have anything in your pockets? LOL I didn’t even have pockets!

What was your first week alive like? I had no idea what the frick I was doing

How did you react to your new role as a Guardian? I thought it was pretty sweet that I had all these powers and was super strong and stuff like that. not dying anymore was pretty cool too

Do you have any regrets? NO REGRETS MUTHAFRICKER

How did you get your name? people just started calling me Rocky cause it sounds like my real name, Roq, which you say like “rock”, so yeah it was a no brainer

Does your ghost have a name? her name is Mo! I don’t remember why I called her Mo, she just looks like a Mo

What is your ghost like? she’s super spunky and doesn’t take any crap. she likes to tell me what to do all the time. she’s great.

How do you feel about the last city and the vanguard? the city’s pretty cool, I guess. same with the vanguard. some people think I don’t like Ikora cause she’s boring, but dude, she’s still got the highest win streak in the Crucible, so I respect the heck outta her

What’s your favorite place to go? the crucible, duh! don’t care what map, just stick me in there, baby! (hehe)

Do you participate in strikes or the crucible? uhh YEAH!!!! I basically live in the crucible, and I go on strikes with my fireteam all the time. I’m a man of many talents~

How do you celebrate the holidays? crimson days is the best holiday EVER, I get to spend all day in the crucible with my best friend, what’s better than that? festival of the lost and the dawning are pretty cool too. I like putting on creepy masks for festival and throwing snowballs at people during the dawning. oh and eating Eva’s cookies!! oh man, now I’m hungry…

Who is your favorite NPC and who is your least favorite? what’s an NPC? is that a person? cause other than Matt and Silfy, my favorite person is Shaxx, duh. Saladin’s cool too. and my least favorite, uhh… I don’t like the way Asher talks to me, he makes me feel stupid

Where do you sleep/call home? got a nice little place near the Titan quarters. I had to get a new one after the Red War and then another one after Silfy and the kids moved in

Do you have any pets or companions? the kids are more like pets than actual kids right now. probably cause of the claws

Does anyone live with you? Mo, Silfy, and the three kids: Kiki, Kip, and Poofy

How do you unwind or comfort yourself? if I’m not duking it out in the Crucible, I go to the bar and get drinks with Shaxx and Cayde

What would truly break you? nothing can ever break me, wtf?? I got muscles for days, chump! or is this some kinda mental bullcrap, in which case, I still can’t be broken! nope! not even if all my friends were gone and I was the only person left alive! nnnnnope! just don’t… just don’t look at me ok DON’T LOOK AT ME

Most embarrassing moment? pfffft I don’t get embarrassed, I have NO shame, I literally went into the Crucible nude once, my dudes

Any cherished memories? the first time I won a Crucible match… oh man that was so sweet… and, you know, I guess meeting Matt was pretty cool too, since he was my first friend and everything

What was your highest and/or lowest point? highest point was helping Saladin take care of siva and him making me a friggin Iron Lord, baby!! and I don’t get low points ok, I’m always high (hehe). I mean yeah, I was pretty bummed when I found out Saint-14 was dead, just like stupid Isaac when he got himself killed trying to protect me and Matt, like seriously, isn’t the whole point of being a guardian is that you never die?? so why did they die?? it’s just dumb is what it is, it’s just dumb…

Views on the enemy races? I LOVE THE HIVE THEY’RE FRIGGIN SWEET. and of course, the Fallen are really cool, and the Taken are cool, and the Scorn are just AWESOME, man why do the bad guys have to be so cool?? yeah I’m not gonna hesitate to kill em whenever I get the chance but… can’t a guy appreciate a sweet lookin alien without being judged??

Which enemy race is your most/least favorite? I like Hive the best, but I gotta give props to the Fallen too cause you know, the whole I got a family of Fallen now thing. the ones I like the least are the Vex cause they’re just stupid robots, like it’s an insult to the rest of us robots who have brains and stuff. Vex have zappy milk goo in their bellies and think they’re all that cause they can time travel or whatever, well you know what I can do?? benchpress a cabal tank, that’s what I can do!! get on my level, Vex LOSERS!!!

For Isaac:

Where were you rezzed? The Dreaming City, in the former location of my father’s library of Awoken history.

How long ago was it? Over 200 years ago.

Did you have anything in your pockets? No.

What was your first week alive like? Nothing worth repeating.

How did you react to your new role as a Guardian? I thought it was pointless. I didn’t care about “saving the world” or whatever.

Do you have any regrets? No.

How did you get your name? The Speaker thought he was being clever by giving me a name that related to laughter since he had never heard me laugh before. He never actually did hear me laugh before he died.

Does your ghost have a name? His name is GG. Don’t ask what it stands for.

What is your ghost like? He’s very kind and dependable. He does what he’s told. He also can’t speak, all his communications are through beeps and other robotic noises. I don’t know why he has no voice. But I understand him perfectly. And he understands me. That’s all that matters.

How do you feel about the last city and the vanguard? I didn’t think much of the City when I first came to it. I still don’t, but I’m used to it now, and I call it my home, so… As for the Vanguard, Ikora and Zavala are the only ones I respect. Cayde is an idiot. I’m surprised it took him as long as it did to finally get himself killed.

What’s your favorite place to go? My personal secret library that only a few people are allowed into.

Do you participate in strikes or the crucible? I don’t care for the Crucible, nor am I allowed in it normally. Shaxx thinks that my methods are “unfair” to the other participants. I only participate during Crimson Days, and only with a select few. And by select few, I mean only Hannah and Fon. Don’t. Ask.

How do you celebrate the holidays? I don’t. But my friends force me into doing stuff with them anyway.

Who is your favorite NPC and who is your least favorite? Ikora is the one I trust the most. Toland is an absolute fool, and I’m going to physically drag him through the nine different layers of hell until he’s nothing but a bad memory to the rest of humanity.

Where do you sleep/call home? I live in my library.

Do you have any pets or companions? Only my Ghost.

Does anyone live with you? Again, only my Ghost.

How do you unwind or comfort yourself? I stay in my library. Alone. I also like to play the violin. Don’t even think about asking.

What would truly break you? If I had come back to life and found my library in shambles, I would’ve killed myself again.

Most embarrassing moment? Non-existent.

Any cherished memories? I… admit, it was… nice seeing that certain people were happy to see me alive again. And that Ikora hadn’t let anybody into my library after I was gone.

What was your highest and/or lowest point? I don’t like putting labels on things like that. My life has been playing out as intended.

Views on the enemy races? I don’t know why they insist on attacking humanity and the Traveler. It’s proven time and time again that it’s the most powerful force in the universe, so trying to kill or overtake it is a lost cause. Anyone who thinks the Darkness is more powerful than the Light is a fool.

Which enemy race is your most/least favorite? The Vex interest me the most. Osiris and I studied them a lot before he left the City. He’s been filling me in on what he’s learned in the Infinite Forest after I was brought back to this time period. All of the other races are pretty dumb. Especially the Cabal. They’re like an entire race of wrinkly, noseless Titans. It’s ridiculous.

[hey-hey-chan]

Click Pause - Seungmin

Inspired by this gfx set by @realstraykids !! Em is so talented and I immediately got this idea when I looked at her art, so please check it out and give it lots of love (not like you haven’t seen it already pssh)

Ok now with no further ado, here it is idk why im so dramatic wtf

*click* *click* 

*click* *click*

The pink cherry blossoms that were fading were always the most beautiful to me. Yeah, the bright pink they get in the beginning is pretty, almost a hopeful feeling, but the fading of the color reminds me how sometimes even the most gorgeous things can try to cling onto life for a bit longer. 

*click* I looked down to my camera and checked the pictures I had taken. I sighed and shook my head, my bangs sticking to my forehead in this warm spring air. 

“No feeling my ass, these pictures are beautiful.” I muttered to myself. I had just come out of my principal’s office. After winning an award, doing photoshoots, and bringing so much recognition to my school, you think the man would be thankful. Wrong. He’s always trying to bring down my reputation and make me fail high school, I don’t know what’s his deal honestly. 

I leaned against a tree and winced in frustration after remembering the conversation I had with him earlier. 

“What?! That’t not fair! You can’t do that!” I yelled at the older man in front of me, he leaned back in his chair, a smirk emblazed on his lips despite trying to hide it with a glare. 

“Young man, you do not speak to me like that. You have to do this to graduate and to get this big scholarship, and if you don’t, then oh well, your whole career is down the drain.” He mocked me by mimicking a toilet flushing which made my whole face turn red in disgust at his behavior. 

“Mr. Kim, it’s just, I-I don’t get it. I’ve been apart of numerous photoshoots, won awards for my work, I’ve gotten interviews with really good colleges, why would you try to hold me back from this?” I questioned. 

Despite being an award winning photographer, I was still a senior in high school trying to make my way on by. The senioritis was really kicking me in the shins right now, but nothing could ever stop me from taking pictures. It was the only thing keeping me sane from this hell hole, yet my principal always had to try and hold me back from achieving my dreams. 

The old guy always gave me weird looks in the hallways and glared at me every time I gave a speech. I don’t know what I did to upset him so much. 

“Oh Seungmin, if you think you’re the best photographer out there, you’re so wrong. I’m sorry to say that but it’s true-”

“That’s a lie, I am good! I just won the 2018 SK Rising Photograph Award, I don’t want to brag or anything, but it’s an award some people only dream of, and I got it at 17. How is that not being good?” I felt my heart beating a million times per second as I felt rage and fear stir inside of me. I felt like I was walking on a flower road to my dreams, and now a huge roadblock was in my way. 

“Yeah, the rising photographer award, which means you’re not there yet. And I’ve been talking with numerous colleges, lots have been asking for you, but also I’ve heard some critique about your photos.” I sat up in my chair, my ears sticking up in curiosity. 

“Critique about what? I mean, I know I have flaws, but they’re fixable. I’m only 17.” I mentioned again. The man laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“They mentioned how that yes, your photos are good, but they don’t really have any feeling behind them. You don’t take pictures of things that mean something to you, just what you have to take pictures of, you see the difference? They want something raw and emotional or loving, anything like that! And you, being the star of the school, I won’t allow you to fail. So, that’s your next assignment.” He shoved the document in front of me that literally just explained what he told me. “Good luck my boy.” 

I shook my head, trying to erase the memory, although I needed to do this project to finish high school. I guess I could drop out and just go get a real job, but I want to graduate. I mean, I’ve dedicated 4 years to this hell hole, I’m leaving with a certificate and my legacy. 

I raised my camera to get some good shots of the sun hitting the flowers perfectly. 

“You like cherry blossoms too?” My concentration fell to the ground as the girl practically screamed in my ear. I closed my eyes, trying to not lash out at her as I almost had the most perfect shot. “I love them too! They’re so pretty! I love the color pink, it makes me so happy! And pink and white? That’s golden! Also I love cherries because red is my favorite color, but cherry blossoms are pinky, isn’t that weird? I’ve always-” 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I asked abruptly, hoping she would get the point and scurry away. Unfortunately, the girl smiled and held out a hand. 

“Oh my bad, I always forget to introduce myself. I’m y/n, and you’re the photographer boy.” I scoffed at her words. Photographer boy, is that what I’m known by? 

I shrugged and tried not to roll my eyes, “Kim Seungmin.” I replied quickly, not dragging this conversation out longer. 

“Ah yes, you’re very popular. I know you. You go to my school you know? We’re in the same grade.” I tried to raise my camera to snap some more pics, but I knew my concentration was already lost. 

“Oh really?” I blandly noted. I saw her nod in the corner of my eye and then did something that made me want to punch her face through the roof. The girl deadass jumped right in front of my camera and kept spitting out nonsense.

“Yeah yeah! Everybody knows you! Although, you don’t seem like the type to just like go to a park and take some pictures. Everyone knows you’re the type of like, high motion picture kinda guy? Wait that didn’t make sense, but do you know what I mean? You’re like always on the move, not the type of nature picture-taker, ya know-”

“Ok I really don’t mean to be rude, but I am trying to complete a project, so can you please leave me alone?” I expected the girl to stop talking, but instead she just laughed and patted me on the arm, messing up my denim jacket. 

“Ahhh, sure of course! Why didn’t you say that earlier!? Oh wells, I guess I’ll be on my way now, see you later!” With those words, she ran into the far distance. 

I shook my head and took off my jacket to get more freedom in my arms. 

That girl was kinda weird, hopefully I never see her again. But then again, what the hell was she going on about? What do people think of me?

I brushed away the thought and returned to snapping pics of the flowers who I knew couldn’t talk.

*click*

---

"So what am I going to do about this?” I was on the phone with my best friend, complaining about the project my principal assigned.

“I don’t know dude, just get the picture done? The man has no idea what he’s talking about, your pictures are pretty cool dude. All high quality and shit.” I groaned and rolled over on my bed which made all my clothes tumble over in the process. 

Everyone thinks photographers have these aesthetically pleasing rooms; my room had a trash bag filled to the top and a spiderman mat on the ground.

“I guess I have to, but I don’t know how to make my pictures different?” Felix laughed harshly in my ear which made me pull my phone away from my face. 

“Just take a normal picture and submit it, 10/10 guranteed the man doesn’t know the different between a picture with ‘passion’ and a picture that’s just good.” 

-----

“This picture has no passion.” The old man threw my picture aside and shrugged his shoulders. 

“C’mon Mr. Kim, I love those flowers, they’re my favorite. I felt so happy taking them.” I lied. I mean, they are my favorite I guess, and I guess I felt happy, but I feel happy taking all my pictures. Because I’m a photographer.

The man winced and pursed his lips together, “hm I don’t doubt that boy. But you’re missing one thing.” I paused, waiting for him to continue. 

“Missing wha-”

“Love.” He interrupted me abruptly to say one daunting word. Love. 

“And I love taking pictures.” The guy had the audacity to sit up on his desk and hum like he didn’t know what I was talking about. “I’m serious.” Mr. Kim got off his desk and sighed. 

“Seungmin, I think at one point you loved to. You had an interest in it as a kid, you pursued it as a real life goal not just a hobby, but now? You see it as just work.” I stood in silence at his words and took a step back, the words hitting me like a blow to my face.

“Just work? There’s no way. I love what I do.” I argued, though even I felt like my words had no bite to them. Mr. Kim stared at me for a few moments, letting my anger seep quickly into my veins. Finally, the man just shrugged and turned to the door. 

“Seungmin, we both know that you’re lying, but maybe you just don’t know that yet. So here’s what I’m telling you, go out, not just to take pictures, but go out and have fun. And then take pictures when you’re actually having fun, not just taking pictures to make it look like you’re having fun. Then maybe, like, meet a girl or someone or something, or whoever you like, whatever. Just meet someone spunky and full of life, that’s my advice to you.” He rambled on and started to shove me out of his office.

“Wait, I-”

“I have work to do! Now go, meet someone who might drive you a lil crazy but does some good to you.” 

I was shoved into the hallways and the door clicked in front of my face. 

“Meet a girl? Why-” 

“SEUNGMIN!” I heard a familiar high pitched shriek come from the end of the hallway. Then, a girl with light pinks came running at me from far away. Oh hell no- “Seungmin, that’s so funny. I feel like I’ve never seen you around here, but now, after we talked yesterday, I see you everywhere!” 

“I mean, not everywhere. Just this once.” I hope. She barked out laughed while hitting my arm like we were friends.

“Yeah true, so, how’s that project coming along?” The words brought anger to my lips and I spat it at the innocent girl.

“You know what? It’s going great, so excuse me, I have to leave again.” I stomped away like a child, holding my head high and left the girl in the dust. I didn’t know what her expression was, but I assumed it was confused. 

I just hoped I never saw this girl again.

“Ugh I can’t sleep,” I spoke to myself. It was a 11:49 on a Friday night, yet I felt jittery and upset. I shook off the sweat on my head and pulled on some real clothes. “Nothing like a good slice of cake can’t heal.” I muttered to myself. 

I guess I might as well get some good pics of the night sky while I’m at it. 

I pulled on a black hoodie paired with dark jeans and left the house. Thank god my parents were on a business trip.

It took me about 10 minutes to walk to my favorite cafe, which was nice since it made me feel calm and sweet in the nice crispy air. I slowly took out my camera to snap a pic, then I remembered Mr. Kim’s words. 

“You just see it as work.” 

I shook my head, no I didn’t. I let my camera hang by my side and walked into the brightly lit cafe. 

“Hi what can I get for you- oh my gosh, hey Seungmin!” 

No no no, how is this girl everywhere Jesus Christ? 

I looked up and saw the familiar cheerful girl with light pink hair. She was even as excited looking at night. 

“Hey y/n,” I greeted respectfully, trying not to be a jackass this late at night. The cafe was dead, I mean I’m not surprised since it’s so late.

“So, really, what can I get for you tonight?” I sighed, peering down at the glass. 

“I guess I’ll get a coffee and a slice of tiramisu.” 

“Ooh! Tiramisu! My favorite! And coffee? At this hour?” I scoffed at his accusatory tone. 

“Yeah I guess I’m already awake, might as well take some pictures of this beautiful night sky Korea is blessed with.” For the first time ever, she paused to think about her words. Then, she shrugged her shoulders and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. 

“I guess, but you should really be getting some rest. Or like not thinking about work all the time.” 

She really didn’t just- I sighed internally and looked away from her face so she wouldn’t see the glare I had. 

“It’s not just work. I like to take pictures,” I said with attitude in my voice. The girl gave a small laugh, not like the ones she had earlier.

“So it is true.” I chuckled at her words.

“What’s true?”

“That you’re so obsessed with doing well that you’re started to take your work too seriously? I mean c’mon Seungmin, you’re 17. Go out a live a little.” 

“Live a little? I live A LOT. I live more than any high schooler actually; I travel abroad, I work with people I’ve only seen in magazines, isn’t that living?” I mocked her words, giving her a piece of my own brain. But, all the girl did was chuckle

“Fine, if you live a lot, then once I get off on my shift, we’re going somewhere fun. No work involved.” I stared at her face for a bit, wondering if she was crazy or something. 

“Go out? With you? No way.” She just laughed at my words. 

“Not as a date silly, all you’re doing is just proving a point. Plus, this tiramisu and coffee was on me so you owe me one.” I scoffed at her words and took the drink out from my mouth.

“That’s crazy, I never asked you to do that-” She shook her head and smiled.

“Nope, you didn’t ask me nor did I tell you I would be doing so. That was fun. You should try it.” I felt heat rise to my cheeks as she just sauntered away and set down her apron. “You coming or not? Either way I’m going alone.” 

“You like your ramen?” I slurped up the noodles and glared at the girl beside me. I said nothing and continued to take another bite. “Oh c’mon Seungmin, I didn’t force you to come out here, you did so yourself.” 

“You made me feel guilty.” I mentioned. She shrugged at my accusation. 

“Oops?” She took a bite of her ramen and groaned happily. “I love ramen, more than cherry blossoms probably. But I think I prefer morning to night, what about you?” I shrugged. 

“I guess I’ve never thought about that...” I trailed off, but not setting down my chopsticks to think.

“Wow you really are how everyone said you were.” At those words, I set down my chopsticks and stared at her, trying to ignore the way her lips were now bright red and her hair was ruffled in her hoodie. 

“Whatever. I’m having fun.” I said, picking my chop sticks up again and taking a big slurp. I heard her giggle next to me. 

“Fine. I’m having fun too.” I heard her take an even bigger gulp next to me, making me cringe. 

“I’m having more fun.” I picked up my bowl to slurp it up, hoping none would spill on me. 

“I’m having the most fun!” She picked up her bowl and chugged the thing, setting it down so only a little was left. She licked her lips and smiled at me. “And that’s how it’s done.” She chuckled. Impulsively, my eyes flickered to her lips. She cocked a brow cheekily. “What are you looking at, pretty boy?” My cheeks turn a bright red, but I grew confused when she stood up. 

“Where’re you going?” I asked out of impulse. Once her expression turned cheeky, I felt my cheeks blush. 

“Just to the river silly, follow me when you’re done.” I watched as me carefully tried to keep her sweater on and body on land while dipping her toes in the water. The street lights lit our surroundings just barely and the rest of the world just seemed so big in comparison to us. 

I set down my chopsticks and picked up my camera. I slowly stood from the table, careful not to make any noise and aimed my camera at her. The camera made a loud clicking noise, so I took a few just in case I would never get this moment again. 

“Hey! What are you doing?” She had a demanding tone in her voice and was slowly stopping over to me. 

I held my hands up in surrender, yet she pouted since I was laughing. “Hey now, I can’t help but take pictures of pretty things.” I heard her lightly gasp which made me laugh, until I felt cold water hit my leg.

“Maybe instead of taking pictures of everything, you just need to enjoy these memories instead.” 

She ran back into the river, her light laugh filling the loud silence of the night sky. I saw her twirl underneath the stars, right where the lighting was perfect. I raised to take a picture of the romantic and brightly lit picture.

I shook my head and set the camera down on my chest. 

No, sometimes we all just have to 

Click Pause.

[peacock-and-squad]

Never take a adopted sister from Avery

Ok so a mini story that popped into my head and one I had to do. So you see I was thinking and sadly this ain’t cannon XD but Since @ask-these-weird-kiddos ‘s Avery has a tight bond with his world’s Leduc I decided since we are doing a rp it seems Avery is feeling that bond with My Leduc also called Lidia! XD so this is kinda like a gift to them.

———

Leduc mummers As she awoke, now usual she woke up from Patrick’s shenanigans and or some sort of lab accident. And she wished that was the case now but it wasn’t, sadly she awoke to find herself completely tied to a large cement pillar. Her arms where tied behind her back, her torso, hips and knees where tied as well. And two thick pieces of rope tied to different poles beside her kept her head in place. The pretty blonde female looked around her best she could and figured out she was in a large storage facility.

Leduc furrows her brows in confusion as she thought back to when she got here. The blonde female was working on writing in her journal, then she felt a burning and itching pain on the back of her head. Before her world went dark but not before shivering as a arm wrapped around her chest. She gagged as she remembered how the arm squeezed her breasts and Leduc scowled “Ugh you have to be kidding me...” she spoke before a much lower voice spoke out. “Now now don’t go throwing a fuss, have to keep you looking good for buyers.” Leduc immediately turned her head to the voice.

There stood a rather large but some what fit man, he was a pale white with black dreadlocks with the usual mobster attire you’d generally see. He had a ring piecing in the middle of his nose and black eyes that looked over their captive in a way that made Leduc shiver in disgust. “Buyers? The hell you talking about you prick!?” She snapped trying to make a electric surge but her now realized her arms and legs where bound in rubber insulation gloves. Not only canceling her powers but dulling the sharp nails and feet she had.

This was NOT looking good for her, she then stared at the man who walked to her shoes tapping on the cement floor. He spoke as he approached her “The one’s who your gonna serve of course! The buyers your gonna protect from the next Skullgirl!” Leduc stared as if he had grown three heads before hissing out furious. “ARE YOU INSANE JACKASS!?, Obviously you forget I don’t damn well have to do anything these buyers tell me to do! I fight with a team you sick fuck!” Now Leduc wouldn’t usually be so fluent in cursing but this guy was pushing his limits. Especially after taking her from her Lab 8 family this made her blood boil.

“Ah But that’s where your wrong sugar lips~” he replied to her outburst as he snapped his fingers “Boys bring in her medicine would ya? She’s getting a fever from being so pissed.” The apparent boss spoke and a goon came up to the boss handing him a syringe with clear liquid but a small blue chip floating inside. He waved it in front of her face putting the needle dangerously close to her slightly plump lips. “See this gorgeous? You see that small blue chip? Well that’s a mutated Theonite control chip. Meant to stimulate nerves with a altered Theonite that slowly takes your mind making you an obedient slave.” Leduc’s pupils dilated in fear at this realization, the boss grinned knowing her had her scared.

“Hey the buyers ain’t coming for a bit, so maybe you and me can go to a isolated room and spend some time together~ cause I know it ain’t just me who thinks your chest would make awesome pillows~” the boss rambled licking his lips as he gripped her chin to forcefully turn her head to try and inject her with the chip. She wasn’t having any of that as she yanked her head back and chomped down on the boss’s finger. The said male yelled in pain before growling as the syringe was dropped and shattered on the floor in favor of punching Leduc in the stomach.

This made the blonde gasp as all the air was forced from her as she felt her stomach immediately forming a bruise. She coughed violently, before glaring at the man who was clutching his bleeding finger. “Damn you little bitch, have fight in ya still huh? Well I’ll be sure to break your little spirit. Boys get the back up from the car but take your time, I wanna have some fun breaking her down.” The three men behind the boss left the storage warehouse supposedly to the car. The female was glaring daggers at him and the boss leaned down and said “I’ll say this, you ASG Agents are gonna bring a good profit to me~”

Leduc was about to speak but cries of agony and fear came from outside. And the two looked to the door and one man fell halfway in and he looked like hell, a gash bleeding across his face and he clawed to crawl in. But he screamed as he was dragged by something back out and his screams where cut off. The boss yelled “The fuck is going on!?” He was answered as a small figure came into the area glaring at the boss. The small person’s gaze showing only hate and rage at this man. “You have the damn audacity to come into my foster home...take Leduc away, try to sell her as if she was not a person with their own will...try to make her a slave...AND THEN YOU HURT HER!? WELL FUCK YOU PAL YOU AIN’T LEAVING ALIVE!”

Leduc recognized that voice she immediately grew worried and a little panicked as she thrashed in her bonds. “Avery!? Why are you here?!” The teen exclaimed worry leaking into her voice and the boss laughed “Awwww how cute kid, trying to be all tough for the pretty lady here?” That’s when both of them noticed the fireman’s axe the kid was holding the 13 year old had blood splattered on his body and face but most was on the axe which dripped the liquid. The boss then grew a bit more cautious but still a cocky bastard.

“So you a ASG Unit to? Great! I’ll have two to sell, heck I’m feeling generous from how much spunk you have. Give up now and I’ll let you be sold with your friend here.” The boss mocked but this made the axe near cut his head clean off as the axe was thrown with force that it embedded into the cement pillar cutting the ropes that held Leduc. “THE SHIT?!” The man yelled as Leduc was able to get free to free her arms she used the sharp part of the axe still sticking out to get those ropes off and the dreaded latex.

Avery had used the distraction to leap at the man’s back and bite into the guy’s neck tearing at it and when the man tried to grab the spunky teen. Avery would slip out of reach each time and immediately going back to biting at the man’s head, neck and basically everywhere he could reach. This gave Leduc the opportunity to lunge forward her now freed Taranis Generators she charged then and made the two Generator rods go on ether side of the man and the electric she produced surged through the boss causing him to yell in pain.

And as Leduc predicted Avery jumped off in time to run and grab his axe. The boss growled as he stared at the two and knew he couldn’t keep risking it. So he took and remote out a pressed a button turning to run. “GET BACK HERE-!?” Avery was cut off as smoke poured from above covering the area blinding them. The boss got away and Leduc took Avery’s hand and ran with him out of the place to catch their breath. Avery and Leduc cough and pant as the smoke had invaded their bodies for the short period of time. “Ugh That creep is so gonna pay for that bullshit he pulled..” Avery said as he hugged Leduc and she couldn’t have been more grateful for his help. “Oh Avery thank you for coming to my aid.”

That’s when Avery looked at her with concern as he looked to her stomach “A-Are you ok?! He seemed like he got you pretty good in the gut!” He yelled lightly Leduc was touched by this “I’ll be bruised but nothing serious now...let’s go home but first how about some ice cream on the way?” She coos lightly as she looked to her adoptive brother who smiled and nodded. Both seeming to have forgotten that one of them was covered in enemy blood or walking through the corpses of the three men.

———

Ah I’m very happy with this little story XD and I even made a reference to A Raid on the tower story done by @shadowofimpendingdoom XD hope you all enjoyed this!

[thekumama]

"Please, Belle," Belle could not help but stop though Gaston had no firm hold on her, his calloused hands were hardly touching her at all. No, it was his voice and his eyes, both of them were quiet and soft and there was a silent pleading. "Some of us have changed." His voice was low as if he dare not raise his voice in the quiet corner of the village for fear she would pull away comepletely. Belle did not know what to say, words dying on her lips as she stared up at Gaston's worried expression. Was it possible for someone to change so much? Something I probably won't finish. I used another photo (not of Emma or Luke, though there were lots of references used) as a base to start this, judge me all you will. Oh GEEZE. Disney! C'mon. Don't do this to me, UGH! 2017 Beauty and the Beast: I didn't have high hopes for this film, and while I don't hate it or love it, I am just SADDENED by it for 2 reasons. 1. The costumes for Belle. 2. The script/director. The movie itself had so much potential, oh my word, this could have been REALLY good. Like, good, ya know? But this movie suffers from one big flaw- they sat in the middle. They could have done the movie as a complete frame by frame recreation of the 1991 movie and okay, that would have been alright. Or they could have made their own story, added new elements and turns, and that would have been memorable. The biggest problem? They took both ideas and mushed it together and it tears this movie to pieces. I look at this and I just feel SAD for all that could have been! There was a lot of effort put into this and it's always sad to see that someones vision was hindered. The main cast (I feel) was casted correctly, the reason some of their performances seem awkward of bland seems to be due to the checklist of things that this movie was trying to check off. Belle needs to stand out- make her look like a cosplay character. Which, okay, fine! Do that, BUT DO THAT WITH ALL THE CHARACTERS- Emma would have seemed even more spunky and brave if they had MADE HER LOOK like she actually BELONGED in the world, not the VILLAGE, THE WORLD, I get that she is an outcast but not even giving her some sort of head covering when EVERY OTHER WOMAN/CHILD has something is just...dumb! Like, if you hate it so much she could have lost it halfway through with that wolf scuffle or something, which by losing that it would have also removed another barrier between her and Beast like he can finally -see- her differently instead of a peasant girl, and that it is also showing her "shedding" her connection to the village and being more herself. BAM! And okay, fine, don't give her a hat at all but AT THE END OF THE MOVIE she is now ROYALTY and EVERYONE is wearing a WIG- Adam too! But her? OH, NOPE. GAAAAAAAH! The Beast was meh, like...there isn't to much you can do with him? I feel like they should have had more moments of connections with him and Belle- And I don't mean that whole 'Paris' 'Magic Book' stuff or whatnot, I mean like SHOW them having actual dialog that FITS with that era. His character checklist consisted of two things; 1. He's mean 2. He's well animated! ...Whoopdee do. I like Maurice. I like Belle's interactions with him. I don't get why the mom thing was a big deal, my sister and I were just like...but why? Why have this? What does this further? Belle and her dad already have a really good relationship, we see that probably better than any other in the movie. This isn't something the Beast and Belle even need to bond over, they like each other because they realize they underestimated the other and yadda yadda. And how do they show that Belle is SMART? She makes a washing machine? Like? What? Why? That's not...she could have made small things like her dad. She is NEVER seen MAKING anything other then that ONE TIME with that HUGE INVENTION because how else will kids know that she's SMART? Ugh. Make her make small things, and do it consistently, you don't have to spotlight one BIG thing to make your point. How do they show Belle is independant? She argues with the Beast! The arguing is fine but the fact that she has NO fear? Like...girl are you human? I don't feel like this was Emma's acting (maybe?) I feel like it was because, you know how all these re-do Disney movies are, girl power and yadda yadda. Being able to stand up to someone WHILE YOU ARE PETRIFIED is BRAVERY, being un-afraid in a situation that would scare everyone out of there wits is just stupid! It teaches people that if you are afraid when confronting people that you're weak. Gaston, GASTON! Nobody makes me SAD like Gaston~! WHY?! Why Disney, oh WHY?! Why would you develope this man into an ACTUAL PERSON that I feel deserves all the help he can get and then KILL him in the same way like I'm supposed to be HAPPY that he died? NO. N-O. This is HANS ALL OVER AGAIN, why does their HAVE to be a villian? You could have had him scramble away from Beast and just...live. Why does he have to die? I get that he's stubborn but that stupid gun could have very well fell into an abyss and he'd have no choice but to give up. URGH!!! This is due to that whole issue where this movie feels like two scripts torn up and thrown together. They wanted to do new things but because they're Disney they have to make Belle's choice in a guy easier by making one over the top evil! AND HE'S NOT EVEN EVIL! Gosh DANGIT. This man has PTSD! He was TRYING so HARD to keep that part of himself away but he was pushed (Maurice and Belle) and pushed (the sudden introduction of MAGIC into his world and a scary monster who could probably kill all of the villagers and probably enchanted Belle as well, heck, MAGIC EXISTS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE NOW) so he snapped back into War Gaston mode and there was nothing there to snap him back- he saw inanimate objects come alive and beat the crap out of people! He probably thought he was back IN the war. So, obviously, who gets the short end of the stick through this whole movie? Gaston. Look. He was no angel, I'm not saying he was. All I'm saying is, if you want to have a character that has mental scars like this...let that effect your others characters as well. If you want me to treat him like a villian then why did you turn him into this? You spent more time building up Gaston's character that BEAST'S! Like, UGH! DISNEY! C'MON! What if Gaston's mom or sibling worked at the castle or something and they have NO ONE to greet when the villagers finally remember them? Everyone else has a happy ending, seriously. Everyone else may have suffered for a little bit but in the end? Gaston. Gaston gets nothing just because there was not proper care for him. ANYWAYS! TL;DR, I LIKED movie Gaston, I feel like given time Belle would have seen that he (JUST LIKE BEAST IN THE MOVIE) had another side to him and that they probably could have got along just fine. Heck, this Gaston would probably READ to her if asked, look at him in the movie, he's smitten with the woman! *sigh* This is just me, you have your own opinions. Maybe I have Boromir glasses on, or even just sweet Bard glasses, I can't help it. Sorry for the huge rant.