#so like yeah maybe the captain SHOULD have used that as motivation to be a little more careful knowing there was no Plan B

[hardylettuce]

Those same people will ALSO get upset if you don't prepare a backup and you mess something up, and they'll remember it forever to the point that you ask them to do something and they're like "hmm but you forgot your keys once in 1997, are you sure you can really be responsible enough to do that?"

Being an ADHD adult is fun when people seem to get... personally offended when you are aware that you've failed, forgotten, or neglected something before, and plan your life with that awareness in mind. Like how does that work, that being able to plan and prepare for things not working out as intended is mature and responsible, acknowledging your own faults and flaws is mature and responsible, but somehow it's childish and immature to acknowledge that you are the liability in every situation, and prepare accordingly?

Like they'll look at you like you just called their dog a slur and just go "don't just already assume that you're going to [have a symptom], just don't [have the symptom] in the first place!" Like oh shit right damn. Titanic only sank because of the lifeboats. If there had been zero lifeboats on the ship, the crew would have been more motivated to do their jobs perfectly and everything would have been fine. Failsafe plans are demons that summon failure, the only sensible thing is to only plan for perfection and naturally assume that everything can only go flawlessly.

Like bruh.

[pitchsidestories]

the law of attraction II Ingrid Engen x Mapi Leon x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1880

a/n: hi, it's based off this lovely request here. On a different note, how adorable are Ingrid and Mapi in that gif ?! ❤️

“Here comes our little genius, girls.”, Mapi told her teammates proudly while you walked towards the injured defender. Their curious glances made your face turn hot.

“Maria, we’re the same height, so stop calling me little!”, you playfully rolled her eyes at her.

“Sure.”, she shook her head in amusement.

“Girls.”, Ingrid intervened smiling.

“Ingrid, hi.”, you greeted her, happy to see the Norwegian again.

“Hi. Nice to see you.”, the dark-haired woman responded, wrapping her arms around you for a hug.

“Great to see you too. Also watching you two at training is something different than Uni.”, you mumbled thankfully into her embrace.

The weight of the library books in your rucksack reminded you of what you’ve been doing the whole day. Spending too much time in front of your laptop without successfully coming closer to solving the mathematical issue you’ve been working on.

“She’s getting some distraction from a math problem.”, Mapi explained to the fellow footballers with a smug grin on her lips.

“Yes, maybe the distraction helps me to solve it later.”, you replied in a hopeful tone.  

“Worth a try.”, Ingrid nodded.

“Exactly.”

“Such a smart ass.”, the tattooed Spaniard teased you.

“Maria.”, the Scandinavian scolded the older woman before she continued beaming at you, maybe we can all grab some food together after training?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”, you answered happily, you could really need a distraction and being in your friend’s apartment with Bagheera who loved to cuddle with you sounded delightful in your ears.

“Math nerd, it’s time for the beauties to get to work.”, Alexia reminded the three of you winking.

“I’m not keeping them from it.”, you pointed out laughing.

To her captain the defender said slightly annoyed:” Yeah, yeah, we’re coming.”

On their way to the training pitch, Marta remarked:” I mean you two have a personal supporter here so you should be motivated.”

“She's probably calculating some stuff in her head instead of watching.”, Mapi commented with a smirk.

Ingrid agreed: “As usual but she looks adorable while doing so.”

“Yeah, she does.”

Both of them watched on as you stared into space, too occupied with the equations in front of your inner eye.

Alexia shot her two teammates a suspicious look and teased: “One could almost think you two are in love with her.”

Mapi laughed nonchalantly: “Oh, please.”

“We're not.”, Ingrid protested, a pinkish hue appeared on her cheeks as she jogged off to warm up.

Alexia followed closely: “Just focus on training.”

“I am focused.”, Ingrid said.

The team captain looked over her shoulder at Mapi with a raised eyebrow: “I mean both of you.”

“Ale!”

She shrugged Mapis complaint away: “I just want to train.

Right after training, you found yourself at Mapis and Ingrids apartment. The takeaway you picked up on your way back filled the kitchen with a delicious smell of freshly cooked Thai food. You gathered around the kitchen table as Mapi started to set the table.

“You girls did so well.”, you remarked as you opened the styrofoam boxes, eyeing the food.

Mapi chuckled: “It was just a training session… or did you mean picking the food?”

“The food actually.”, you grinned, cheekily stealing a fork full.

“Of course, we're great at that.”, Mapi replied.

You started to spoon some food onto your plate and smiled: “Trainingwise, you both seemed a bit distracted.”

“Distracted?”, Ingrid echoed, almost dropping her fork in surprise.

“Yes.”

Her girlfriend swiftly changed the topic: “Tell us instead if there's someone distracting you from doing too much uni stuff.”

“No, no time for that. Besides you two do that already.”, you answered truthfully.

The norwegian blinked at you innocently: “We're not doing anything.”

“Right, we only invite you over for dinner or games.”, Mapi nodded.

“See?”, you only asked, the couple clearly already made the point for you.

Mapi gave you an unimpressed look and said around a mouthful of food: “You could just say no.”

“Yes, but I like going.”, you had to admit.

“And you can't work on your uni stuff all day round.”, Ingrid joined in.

“Exactly.”

You sighed. It was charming that they worried about you but in the end, you had chosen this career path and you loved what you did.

“It's kind of my job…”

“Yes, and we're so proud of you.”, Ingrid said, carefully reaching across the table to take your hand in hers.

You took a deep breath before confessing:” Thanks. It just gets lonely at times. Sometimes I want to have a relationship but then I again, I don’t think I would have time for that.”

“You know we’re always here for you, right?”, Mapi asked you in a cautiously tone.

You shot her a grateful glance: “I do, and I appreciate that.”

“You know, I think there might be a solution for this.”, the Spanish defender begun.

“You do?”, you lifted an eyebrow curiously at her.

Turning her head to face the Norwegian, Mapi continued:” I think Ingrid is thinking the same.”

“I am.”, her girlfriend nodded earnestly.

Confused you looked between the football players:” What are you talking about?”

“Tell her, Mapi.”, Ingrid urged the Spanish woman to keep talking.

“We could provide the relationship stuff for you while you focus on your studies.”, the defender suggested.

“Wait.. are you saying..? You must be joking.”, you responded, the surprise clearly written all over your face.

“No, we’re serios, y/n.”, Mapi reassured you.

“We both want to be with you.”, Ingrid emphasized the previous words of her girlfriend.

“I thought I was the only one with the crush.”, you replied still shocked by the offer of your friends.

“Oh dear, you might be very book smart, but..”, the defender smirked.

“But not when it comes to girls.”, the Norwegian ended the sentence of the older woman equally amused.

“The laws of attraction.”, Mapi hummed.

“That’s something they don’t teach in University.”, you answered, running one hand nervously through your open hair.

“No worries, we can teach you that like you taught me math at school all those years ago.”, the defender promised in a soothingly voice.

“I think I would like that.”, you declared smiling.

“So would be.”, Ingrid grinned satisfied.

“I can’t believe that.”, you giggled in disbelief.

“You better start believing.”, Mapi said.

“She’s a mathematician, she probably needs proof, Mapi.”, the dark-haired woman reminded the older player.

The Spanish defender mumbled:” Good point.” She was the first to kiss you, Ingrid followed swiftly. Both kisses tasted like the start of something new and exciting.

“What do you think? Enough proof?”, the Scandinavian midfielder gave you a challenging look.

“Yes, I think that was enough to make me believe that you were serious about this.”, you responded with a shy smile on your lips.

“That’s what we wanted to hear.”, Mapi commented beaming.

It took you some time to get used to a new relationship but a few weeks in, you could confirm that you felt happy and safe with your two girlfriends. So, of course you were a tiny bit sad when they left for the Champions League semifinal in London while you had to stay in Barcelona and work on your thesis… Or at least that was you told them.

Ingrid stood on the perfect green grass at Stamford Bridge right before warm-up. She watched the stadium slowly fill through a curtain of rain.

With a soft sigh, she said: “It's sad that y/n couldn't come with us to London, Mapi…”

“Maybe she can join us for the final if she isn't too busy.”, the injured defender shrugged.

“I mean it's in Spain which might make it easier for her.”

“That would be great.”, Mapi agreed.

A sudden grin appeared on Ingrids face as she pointed over towards the away fans. A red and blue flag had caught her attention. “Oh look, someone in the stands has the same flag as you, Mapi.”

As Mapi followed her gaze, Ingrids jaw dropped in shock: “Wait, is that y/n?”

From your place in the stands, you had no idea what your girlfriends said but the way their faces went from shock to lighting up with excitement told you everything you needed to know.

“There's no way!”, Mapi exclaimed.

“That little bi-…”, Ingrid started but was quickly interrupted by Marta who nodded in Vickys and Salmas direction. “Ingrid, not in front of the children!”

“Sorry.”, the Norwegian laughed before pulling Mapi with her towards the stands.

Laughing, you waved your Barcelona flag as they came to a stop in front of you: “Hi Ingrid, Mapi.”

“What are you doing here?!“, Mapi asked, leaning over to plant a kiss on your cheek.

You shrugged: “Surprising you girls.”

“You said you were too busy!”, Ingrid pouted.

“And I was busy but one of my fellow students reminded me that you only live once, so…” You gestured around the stadium with an innocent smile.

Mapi shook her head: “Why do you listen to them but not to us?”

“It's a scientific fact that we only have one life…”

She did not let you finish and instead rolled her eyes: “I can't with you nerd.”

“Me neither but I'm really glad you’re here.”, Ingrid smiled at you.

You grinned: “You're welcome.”

“You'll be our lucky charm.”, the defender winked and you could feel the blood rushing into your cheeks.

“Hope it works.”

Ingrid gave you a quick kiss: “See you after the match.”

“Have fun but win this.”, you called after her as she hurried away to warm up with the rest of the team.

Over her shoulder, she replied: “With Mapi and you we should be able to.”

“Ready, Mapi?”, you asked the Spanish defender smirking.

She took your hand in hers, replying confidently: ”Ready.”

“I can’t wait.”, you exclaimed as they started playing the hymn of the women’s champions league.

Despite the rain the team of your girlfriends were eager to win this and Mapi and you tried your best to support them from the stands. After the match ended in a 2:0 for Barcelona, your friend cheered:”Y/n, we won!”

“Ingrid was amazing, right?”, you wanted to know from her, your eyes lit up with excitement.

“Yes, she was.”, Mapi grinned at you. Both of you were too caught up in your bliss, so you didn’t saw the Norwegian coming.

“Hey!”, she greeted you, mirroring your bright smiles.

“You were so great, Ingrid.”, you told her proudly.

“Thanks.”, Ingrid responded.

“We’re so proud of you.”, Mapi mumbled while wrapping her arms around the taller woman who lifted her up easily in their hug.

“You were amazing support.”, the younger player declared.

The Spanish defender who was pulling you into the group huddle announced with a cheeky grin:” That means you’ve to come to the final too.”

“I do?”, you questioned amused.

“Yes, absolutely, you can’t say no.”, Ingrid tuned in.

“I’ll see if I can make it happen.”

“We’ll count that as a yes.”, Mapi winked at you before kissing first the Norwegians cheek than yours.

And indeed, you were able to come to the Champions League final much to the happiness of your girlfriends. The law of attraction didn’t allow anything else. Love has won before any of the teams graced the pitch.

[serialkilluh1996]

𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄™

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Bimboish-female-reader

Warnings; none. Just pure foolery.

Simon loved you. He wouldn't admit it, of course, but you were his favorite subordinate. You were kind and generous, like some princess who belonged in a castle, only to have wound up working as his assistant. He wondered how you even got hired at such a tough place. Maybe you'd sprinkled fairy dust on your application.

You made him weak, merely a facade of the stone cold man he used to be. It's like you had dug a hole in his heart, making a soft spot for yourself to burrow in. You made coming to work more bearable for Simon.

He was eager more willing to get up in the morning cause he knew he'd see you not once, not twice, but a plethora of times throughout the day. He'd see your defined smile and your lively eyes and your bubbly enthusiasm. Simon was convinced it was all just a facade you put on at work. There was no way someone could be this....happy all the time.

You walk into his office, a grin on your face so firm that it pulled the skin from your throat. "You called, Mr. Riley?" "It's lieutenant, sweetheart. But, yeah, I did." He didn't seem as chipper to see you today. He never expressed true happiness anyway. He was just more neutral when you were around. Not today, though. His brows were tense, his eyes were squinted, a tight and precise stare glaring you down like a sniper. "Have a seat." He demands, waving his hand in a come hither motion.

You comply, skipping over to the chair before plopping down and spinning in it. "Don't spend in the chair, please. I'm already on HR's ass about replacing these before they give out."

"Right, of course." You kick out your foot, stopping yourself on the desk, eyes landing directly on his. He looked pretty upset about something.

"I got a complaint about you being out with my men last night. Wanna explain what's going on?" He leans forward accusingly, elbows against the desk and hands under his chin. "Well, we were just out for drinks an–" "Oh, you were out for drinksss?" He says sarcastically, slightly more irritated. "And let me guess, you went home with them too?"

"Of course I did." "Oh, christ." He facepalms, leaning back in his chair, making it creak under his weight.

"Let me explain somethin'. You are MY assistant, you got that? That means your work here is exclusive to me and what I ask you to do. You don't take orders from anyone else here. Not even the captain. Therefore, you have no need or reason to be fraternizing with my men." He lectures you, now visibly angry.

You could tell that going home with them was what pushed him other the edge. "I couldn't let them go alone. They were too drunk to drive." You defended. "Sweetheart, these are grown men. They know their limit and they purposely exceeded it. It's not your responsibility to baby them. They can face the consequences of their actions. They are dangerous individuals that you should distance yourself from. You don't know my men."

"Of course I know them, we see eachother everyday." Simon sighs at your statement. "I'd like to believe that too. but at the end of the day, men always have ulterior motives."

"Ulterior motives?" You tilt your head in confusion. He huffs, muttering under his breath. "Alright, let's say Price, for example. You're this cute girl, smaller than most of the people here. And price is this huge caption, some hairy old weirdo pushing 40. And he invites you over his house. What do you think he wants from you?" His brow arches. "Well, I don't really know John enough to know what he wants."

".....god, why...." it took everything in his will power to hold back his emotions. How could you be so dense? He breathes, steadying himself for the next question.

"Well, would you go or not?" "Yes!" "Yes!?" His voice is strained with shock and distress. "Well, how else am I gonna find out what he wants?" You fold your arms, becoming upset yourself. "Did it not even cross your mind to just ask?!"

"Well, what if he lies?" "What if he lies...." Simon repeats, chuckling under the aggravation, holding back how much you were angering him. How could you be this...slow? "And that's your concern.....tell me, sweetheart...how old are you?" "21." You respond, a small pout in your tone.

"Twenty..one... just...take the week off. I want you to come by my office later on tonight..." "for what?" You ask. "Does it matter if I tell you? What if I lie?" He laughs with exhaustion, and you follow suite. You two were gonna have a looong talk.

You can support me by liking, commenting, reblogging, and/or cashapping me @fundsbrownie. Donations are optional, but much appreciated. Have fun! And remember, take care of yourself.

[therealjordan23]

the good girl/bad boy gwiles nobody asked for

ooo

"You shouldn't be smoking," came a pointed voice from behind him.

17 year old Miles Morales groaned, staring at the source of the curt voice: a pale, light skinned girl around his age, though much shorter, was giving him a glare. She had blonde hair split into two neat braids, ocean blue eyes, and sported a pair of gold-framed glasses. She wore the standard Visions Academy uniform: a well pressed plaid blue skirt that didn't have a single wrinkle on it, a navy knit sweater, collared shirt and tie, black leggings and black flats. She continued glaring at him, and folded her arms like a dissatisfied mother. 

He took another defiant puff. "I don't know, Gwen. You should try it. Maybe you'd loosen up for once." 

Miles on the other hand, couldn’t care less for the school’s uniform regulations. He hadn’t even wanted to attend the preppy boarding school to begin with, instead winning a lottery and passing an entry test that honestly, wasn’t that difficult. His blue blazer had several wrinkles on it, he wore a black hoodie, jeans, and his Jordans. The school should've been grateful he was even wearing their stupid blazer to begin with. 

It had been approximately one month since Gwen Stacy had transferred to Visions Academy. Her businessman father had to move to Brooklyn for work-related reasons, meaning his perfect daughter had to enrol at the best school in the city. Mr. Stacy had donated a hefty amount of money to the school, meaning their recently counsellor turned principal, Principal Weber, was going to make sure that Gwen was going to be treated like royalty. 

Miles had gotten into some trouble with Principal Weber right around the time Gwen had joined; apparently the old hag wasn't too keen on the brash teenager vandalizing her office. So naturally, Weber had put him in charge as Gwen's guide for six weeks, stating that her good energy would rub off on him. As if walking her to each class and giving her a tour of Visions wasn't enough on its own, Weber had gotten special permission from Miles’ parents to have Miles walk Gwen to school every morning and walk her home. Miles protested, obviously he did, stating that six weeks was way too extreme of a time frame to be hanging around the pristine porcelain doll that was Gwen Stacy. However, Weber had threatened it was either six weeks of being a guide or semester of after-school detention. Miles had chosen the latter. 

"No thank you," she replied, and he tensed up at the politeness oozing from her tone. "I would rather not be at risk for lung cancer." 

He rolled his eyes, dropping his finished smoke, and putting it out underneath his boot. "Yeah, whatever, princess. Are you ready?" 

"Yes," she nodded. 

Together, they quietly walked towards Visions. He didn't know why she chose to walk when Mr. Stacy had a line of vehicles parked on their driveway. Not that Miles minded. He could use the cardio.

In the short time Gwen Stacy had been a student at Visions, she had quickly made a name for herself. She was somehow on the Student Council, something Miles found himself avoiding, was in every honours class, became head captain of their roller derby team, and even Miles had to begrudgingly admit that she was a damn good leader. She was somehow terrifying and motivating at the same time. Gwen never falunted any of these traits, though, nor did she show off her money. She wasn’t like those other preppy, spoiled rich girls at Visions. Gwen did these things for her own happiness and benefit, and despite how annoying her goody-two-shoes preppiness was, he liked that about her.

Gwen broke the silence. "Have you done the physics homework?"

Miles rolled his eyes. Apparently one month wasn't enough for Gwen to get the memo: he didn't do ‘homework’. "I'm ditching." he said clearly, as if it were obvious. 

Gwen clicked her tongue. "Miles, you're already at risk for suspension for all your absences. If you ditch today too, then—"

"I don't have to come to school?" Miles intervened, placing another cigarette between his lips. "What a nightmare," he chuckled sarcastically, reaching into his back pocket for his lighter.  

She rolled her eyes, snatching the cancer stick from his mouth and throwing it into the bushes. 

“Hey!”

"Would you take this seriously?!" she snapped, though her tone hadn’t lost its perfect and pristine tone. “You could get in trouble or lose your spot in this school!”

Miles scoffed. "Damn, Stacy. Do you care about me or something?"

She smiled sweetly, though there wasn't a trace of mirth in it. "Absolutely not. Besides, I'd love for Weber to extend your punishment by another few weeks."

He froze at that. Could he truly endure six additional weeks of waking up an hour early, walking to the Stacy residence, and having to awkwardly stand outside their gate as Mr. Stacy gave him the evil if-you-hurt-my-daughter-I-hurt-you stink eye every morning before he left for work? Gwen took notice of his rigid shoulders and giggled at his reaction. Miles scowled. That damn angelic sounding laugh was going to drive him truly insane one of these days. Before Miles could think of his own snarky remark to shoot back at her, a shadowy figure emerged from behind them, snaking their arms around Gwen’s waist. Miles felt his hands ball up into fists, and he immediately turned around to find a guy about their age wearing a Midtown High School hoodie. 

Gwen’s nostrils flared, and she wriggled to get out of his grip. 

"Hey, sweetheart," the stranger said into Gwen's ear. "How's my favourite girl?" His eyes travelled up her body with a leer of entitlement.

Miles felt a flame of anger ignite somewhere deep inside of him, and it only burned more fiercely when he saw that Gwen was visibly repulsed. 

She can take care of herself, Miles had to remind himself. Don't lose your temper. 

She pushed him away, her arms flexing as she did so. "I was fine, Eddie," Gwen grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not so much now that you're here." 

Miles chuckled to himself lightly, happily reminded that Gwen was able to hold her own. It didn't last long, however, because the interloper gave him the evil eye. 

Eddie redirected his gaze to the source of the laughter. "Who's the peasant, Gwen?" 

He wrapped his arm around Gwen’s shoulders and waggled an insolent finger at Miles, and he felt the flame of anger return. 

Gwen glared at him, answering through clenched teeth. "This is Miles. My friend." She stomped her foot in anger. "But I don't talk about my friends to people like you." she huffed, letting her arms fall from her chest. "What are you doing here?" she asked, wrestling out of his grip and stepping away from Eddie and closer to Miles. 

Eddie barked out a laugh and stepped closer, attempting to snake his arm around her again, but she stepped back. His smile became more oily and insinuating. 

"Can't I visit my favourite girl?" he asked, reaching for her for yet another time. 

Miles yanked Gwen behind him. In one swift move, he grabbed Eddie’s arm and pulled it up and behind his back. Grabbing the moron by his stupid hoodie, Miles raised his first to sock him across the jaw, but he held back when he heard Gwen gasp behind him. Taking a deep breath, he decided to settle this with words, the way Gwen usually would; his tone was dangerously calm as he uttered out his next few words. 

"If you want to talk, then fucking talk. But keep your hands off of her," he hissed through clenched teeth. "She obviously doesn't want to be touched."

Miles had dealt with creeps like Eddie before, especially in his old neighbourhood before his father landed his policing job in Brooklyn. He would usually just grab them and drag them to the nearest authority figure.

“She’s mine, who are—”

“Gwen doesn’t belong to anyone,” Miles growled dangerously, putting an angry emphasis on his words. “Now get out of here before I break your arm," he huffed out.

For a brief moment, he turned around and caught Gwen gazing at him in pure awe, and Miles felt his raging anger morph into a much warmer, more pleasant, and less recognizable emotion. But it only lasted a second before she regained her composure and glared at Eddie as well. 

Eddie squirmed as he tried to break free from the grasp on his collar. "Fine! Just let go of me. Take the whore!" 

That’s when Miles saw red. He dropped Eddie, sending him crashing onto the pavement sidewalk. However, Miles hadn't expected the bastard to recover so quickly because he delivered a swift kick that swept Miles under his feet and he too landed hard on the asphalt. Eddie got up and roughly socked him across the jaw, before looking at Gwen. 

"Bitch," he hissed, and Miles’ emotions spiralled out of control. 

Gwen began to open her mouth, probably to diffuse the situation and settle this peacefully like she always liked to do, but Miles had different plans. He scrambled to his feet and tackled Eddie to the ground. He pinned him down, digging his knee into Eddie's chest, and delivered a hard punch across his jaw. He didn't intend to keep on going, until Gwen was pulling him off of him and screaming for him to stop. Eddie was once again lying down on the pavement, this time groaning as blood gushed out from his mouth and nose. There were several bruises beginning to form on his cheek and jaw, and Miles spotted a black eye starting to take effect. He delivered one last hard kick to his shin for good measure, and snarled as Gwen grabbed him, ushering him away. 

"Call her that one more time!" he challenged as Gwen hurriedly took him in the opposite direction. "If you do so much as look at her, you're dead!" Miles shouted as she practically dragged him back to Stacy residence. 

Miles's chest was still heaving with anger as Gwen jammed her keys into the keyhole and unlocked her door. She dragged him all the way upstairs to her bedroom and locked her door. 

"Are you crazy?!" she snapped. 

"Me?!" he sputtered in disbelief. "He was the one—"

"Miles!" she growled. "Every single guy at Midtown is like that!"

"So?!" he barked in disbelief. "Am I supposed to just stand there and let him touch you and call you names?" 

"You're already at risk of suspension! You really don't think Eddie isn't going to Principal Weber right now?!"

He shrugged. "Whatever! Let the idiot squeal. I don't care what happens to me. Nobody does." 

Gwen stared at him, before letting out a soft sigh. "I care." she whispered, before squeezing his hands and disappearing into her bathroom.

Miles sat there, surprised. He knew he had his parents, but he had always been an outcast, along with his other troubled friends. He knew they cared, but to hear it from someone as high class as Gwen was an entirely different experience. Before he could process it any further, she returned with a First Aid kit. 

"Let me see your hands," she murmured, and he obliged. She sucked in a sharp gasp when she saw how scraped up and busted they were.

Wordlessly, Gwen began to bandage him up. 

"Why are you even helping?" he muttered. "I thought you hated me." 

"Maybe I've grown quite fond of you," she sighed. "Your brutish criminal behaviour can be charming… sometimes." she added pointedly. 

He didn't know what to say after that, so he stayed silent. 

“How’s your back?” Gwen asked, referring to his hard fall against the pavement. 

He wordlessly slid his shirt off, lightly hissing. He glanced at her to get a read of how bad it was, instead noticing a light blush dust her cheeks. 

"Nobody… nobody's ever fought for me like that," she breathed shakily as she dabbed his scrapes with some iodine. “Why did you?”

He hissed at the slight burn against the fresh wounds, and Gwen soothed him by blowing cool air on it. 

Miles closed his eyes as she wrapped some gauze around his torso. “I would’ve done it regardless of who it was. Those Midtown douchebags need to understand that this isn’t okay,” he shrugged. “And,” he added offhandedly. “M-maybe I’m fond of you too.”

She cupped his face tenderly. 

For the first time, Miles got a good look at her face. Had her eyes always been this beautiful? She smelled amazing, like lavender and vanilla, but something else too… something salty, like the gentle breeze at the beach. 

Before he knew it, he had pressed his lips against hers… or did she kiss him? Right now, he couldn’t be bothered. 

“Thank you.” she smiled. 

ooo

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 764: Dearest wish

Pag 1

1: The one thing the third year Onoda Sakamichi desires is....?

Pag 2

3: His dearest wish!!

4: Right!!

Pag 3

1: That's definitely Onoda's dearest wish

Pag 4

2: Do your beest

They're so fast!

They move the wind

The jerseys are so brightly colored

3: No no no no

4: That- that's not it

That's not-

Is Sohoku arguing over something!?

Pag 5

1: That- that was just the spur of the moment

I ended up just saying anything

2: That's not my dearest wish at all....

So- uhm

3: Please forget about it, everyone!!

4: No way!!

Yeah

Teh!!

Yep

Yeah

Pag 6

1: That must be our goal this year!! Our third victory in a row!!

Pag 7

1: Yessir!!

On!!

Yeah!!

2: The three day long stage is harsh and long, that's why everyone's strengths will be necessary!!

Yessir!!

3: If we can all unite our strengths and support each other as one...

4: The I'll be able to win brilliantly!! Yeah!!

Just like I did during the prefectural qualification!!

Ohhhh

Tch

Pag 8

1: I'll sprint desperately, Hotshot-san will accompany me, and I'll do a grand finishing dash, just like that day!!

Okay!! You've been saying it over and over again!!

2: You're really a guy who clings to the glory of the past

The prefectural qualification is connected to the Inter High, it's not in the past!!

You're the type of guy I hate the most when you get carried away

Naruko-san was amazing, teh!!

That day, yeah!!

Naruko-san!!

3: Sto-stop iit, you were both amazing that day

4: Come oon... we're in the middle of an important meeting

6: Now that I think about it

Onoda-san's....

7: This is all

Pag 9

1: Can I say one last thing?

2: I also think our goal must be a third consecutive victory

3: There's just one thing I'm curious about we still haven't asked

Onoda-san

5: What's your goal this year?

What are you running in the Inter High for?

6: When I asked you this last year during the first years' race

Pag 10

1: I want to report it

2: You said you wanted to report the victory to your senpai

3: And you

4: Accomplished that

5: Honestly, when I first heard that I thought “what is he talking about, that's such a small goal”

But that day, after the race, when I saw Onoda-san doing it

6: I was shaking

I thought from the bottom of my heart that it was amazing

Pag 11

1: I thought you were super cool

5: Wh- no no

That- I was just reporting, there's nothing cool about it at all, okay

Pag 12

1: So I want to know what your goal is this year

Please tell us what you're thinking about!!

2: Is it “I want to report to that senpai once again”!?

4: Crowning your third victory in a row as the captain!?

6: Is it the mountain's bib!? Is it winning a stage!?

Please tell us... your goal during the race...

7: or maybe for when the race is over!!

8: A.....

9: No no no

It's nothing- yes, it's nothing!!

Pag 13

1: Onoda's goal....

2: I see, what Onoda-kun wants to do....

3: Now that I think about it....

4: What is it!? You started saying it now, “a”!!

Is it “running as an assist”!?

5: Does it mean you don't want to bear the last heavy burden!?

No no no no, that's fine, if the situation calls for it I'll do my best

6: That's enough, Issa

7: There are things Onoda-san doesn't want to say too

No, if it can become motivation for the team then he should say it

Pag 14

1: Onoda-san's goal!!

2: But still, Issa!!

I'm telling you, anything is fine!!

Ah, uhm...

3: It's a really personal thing, so.... don't get your hopes up...

But.... that's... always been.... my dearest wish...

4: Dearest wish!!

5: If we run with all we have in this Inter High.... putting together all of our strengths and deliver our jersey to the finish line

6: If we get the best result....

Pag 15

1: No no, I really can't say more than this

3: Say it, everything's fine. I'm curious too

4: Ah.... if we get the best results.... I....

5: I want to reserve a room somewhere...

6: A room?

8: Prepare teacakes

9: Cakes!?

10: Ask for everyone's cooperation...

Pag 16

1: Gather five people

5: It's something I've been imagining.... since before... entering school in my first year.....

7: Even just for one day

8: Even just a few hours after school

Everyone will bring what they like

9: A.....

Oi.... don't tell me you mean.... you

Pag 17

1: I'm thinking of reviving the anime research club!!

Pag 18

5: No way!!

Pag 19

1: And then, there

2: I think I could call Makishima-san, who likes figures

I feel like you've misunderstood something here

3: And Midosuji-kun who likes anime

Would you be able to hold a conversation with him!?

4: Isn't that good!! The best goal!!

5: You'll gather five people in no time!!

6: Kakaka mine will be the first name you write down

7: Amazing

From England and Kyoto....!!

Pag 20

1: I don't really get it, but somehow that fired me up!!

2: That's Onoda-san's dearest wish!!

3: Ah

4: N-no, it's really nothing much, so I take it back...

Revive the anime club!!

Let's do it, for Onoda-san!!

I don't really know what an anime club does, but I'm in!!

Me too!!

5: Yeeah!!

Let's do it!!

Issa, calm down

Pag 21

2: Your goal is to “revive the anime research club even for just day”?

Oi oi, that's such a small

3: but splendid goal!!

4: You managed to unite the club's intentions as one with such bizarre words!!

5: You're really are an unpredictable guy!!

The plate will soon become green

“Real start”.... the real race will start!!

[savemeafruitjuice]

Tickletober Day 7- Fidget

First week down! Honestly, it's crazy to get so much writing done, but I really hope I can keep my motivation up and get enough time to do everything. Wish me luck I guess?

Also, this was an interesting idea I had, and wanted to explore it a bit. Enjoy!

Lee: Leonardo

Ler: Karai

TW!: MILD SWEARING! ANXIETY FINGER PICKING! (Like, pulling on the skin around your finger, just in case)

THIS HAS SPOILERS FOR LATE SEASON TWO! Just a heads up!

(This is not a ship. These two are SIBLINGS!! Please respect that.)

Why did he feel so.. awkward? Like he can't even have a normal conversation with his brothers, let alone Karai.

Their dynamic had been a bit different ever since.. Miwa?.. found out that she was a Hamato. Having a sister was weird, especially because she was older than them. There were so many things that were missing in their lives, and now they had a chance to make up for it.

Their family had taken a couple days to warm up to each other, but it was difficult for Karai to gain the trust of the younger brothers- especially Raph.

Even so, there weren't as many fights between them as there had been, and Leo had found himself peacefully enjoying their time spent together. More focused, more relaxed..

Except for today.

For some reason, Leo found himself stuttering over his words in front of everyone, using the the wrong moves for training, and even held his katana wrong, the blade facing him. Everyone would give him a weird look, but other than a disapproving comment from Mikey, no one really said anything.

And so he sat on the ground, hoping maybe television would make him feel better. One of the earlier seasons of Space Heroes was on, but even that made him feel weird. Captain Ryan's voice actor sounded so much younger than he would later on, that watching it made him seem incompetent, and inexperienced.

All of the things Leo couldn't be as a leader, and all of the things that no good leader should be. Especially his hero.

"Hey, Leo. I heard you were screwing up a lot today. Guess your 'perfect' act wore off, huh?"

The blue-themed turtle winced, turning around to greet his sister. His hands pulled apart, having been picking at the skin of his fingers, and he gave her a wave. "Uhm- Hey.." There was a slightly pause, but soon enough, she came and sat next to him on the ground. "Did- you want me to pause it?" He asked, head tilted to the tv.

"Nah, I wanna see what kind of nerd show you've been watching. What's it about?" That brought a smile to the younger's face.

"W-Well, it's about this hero, Captain Ryan, and he's the captain of a space ship." He explained, gesturing towards characters as they appeared on the screen. "He and his crew go through space and fight aliens, that- that kind of stuff. It's really cool. Captain Ryan has the best catchphrases like- ever."

Karai nodded, listening to his little spiel for a couple minutes. Eventually, the episode that was playing ended, and Leo started on a whole other rant, and the elder placed a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to real life.

"Hey, woah. Give me a minute, I'm losing track of it all now." Leo cut himself off, bringing his knees up to his chest. "Oh, sorry. I get carried away when it comes to Space Heroes."

The turtle wrapped his arms around his knees. Karai shook her head. "No, you're fine. Just gotta give me time to process what you're saying." She crossed her legs, slouching a bit now. "It's nice to hear about things like shows. Anything interesting, really."

Leo hummed, still feeling a bit embarrassed about going on a tangent. "Did you not watch any as a kid?" she shook her head. "The Shredder didn't want me exposed to things like that. I mainly just trained, or went to talk to friends, or.. was influenced into hatred."

The younger cringed slightly. The Shredder really was awful.. "Yeah.. That makes sense, I guess.." The heavier topic made him feel bad, and he went back to pulling at the skin on his finger. Karai watched for a second, then put her hand on his shoulder to get him to stop. "You shouldn't do that, it could get infected."

Leo huffed, but it.. didn't sound annoyed? More like he was about to laugh. She looked at him, and he quickly went to change the subject. "Uh- so! What.. did you want to do now?"

Her brows furrowed slightly. "I want to know what's so funny. Are you laughing at me for trying to help? That's really low."

By now, the kunoichi had already made the connection, having seen a couple of tickle fights between the brothers within the last couple days of her being here. Leo immediately shook his head, though a smile formed on his face when her hand moved a little, so that it was resting more on the base of his neck.

"No! No no, I'm not laughing at you, I just.. thought of something funny that happened." Karai didn't look impressed. "Oh, really? And what is it that's so funny?" Leo's face went pink as he tried to think of something, shoulders scrunching slightly at the anticipatory touch. Her hand curled into a claw form, fingers digging slightly into the side of his neck and shoulder. "..Or will I have to make you tell me?"

Leo's hand went to grab hers, to pull it away, or something, but he was slapped away. "No, you're going to tell me what you found so funny just now. I want to know." "It's nothing! Really, you won't even care!"

"Then why is it such a big deal to not tell me?" She maneuvered slightly, scooting behind him. One leg propped against his shell, and the other wrapped around his torso. Karai began gently dragging her nails up his neck, and Leo immediately squeaked, shoulders shooting up the rest of the way to protect the sensitive area.

"EEK! Noho- wahait! I cahahan't!" Karai only smirked, reaching her other hand over to carefully pull his head to the side, smushing his cheek into his shoulder so that she could keep tickling. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me. Unless.. maybe you like this?"

Leo frantically squirmed, legs now drumming out on the ground as he tried to arch away. She had him held in place; he couldn't even move his head! He weakly slapped at her leg, face burning brighter by the second. His voice kept breaking, but through his struggles he finally got an idea. He could just pull his head into his shell!

It took a couple seconds of fighting with her hand, but his head successfully retreated inside his shell. Karai looked puzzled for a second, holding onto his shoulders to peer into the hole of his shell. "Wait.. you guys can just.. hide in there? What the hell, that's really useful."

The leader was having trouble stopping his giggles, and shrieked when she dug into his underarms instead. For a second, he flailed, then pulled his arms into the safe space as well, then his legs. "Pfft- Ihi- hehe I cahan't Karahai!"

The elder turner his shell around, grunting with effort because of his weight. "Don't think you've won just yet.." She laid his shell down on the ground, plastron up, and started scratching at his belly. "Are your shells ticklish too?"

As it seemed, they were. Very much so, in fact. Leo screeched, squeaky laughter filling the room as soon as her hands made contact. "BAHAHAHAH! KAHARAI! NOHOHOO! SNRT-"

"Noho way! Did you just snort? You guys are so funny." Leo let out a whine at the tease, unable to do much more than rock slightly, as he was basically immobile.

They were in a stalemate, Karai using her nails to scribble along his plastron, demanding to be told what he found funny, as all the turtle did was laugh and laugh. Well, until she decided to explore more of his shell, and raked her fingers down his sides.

"GHKAHAHAHAH! NAHAH- OKAHAHAY WAIHIT! SNRT- I GIHIHIVE UHUP! PLEHEASE!"

"No, you wait. I told you what you need to do."

"PLEHEASE- I LIHIHIED, IHIHI LIHIED! THEHERE WASN'T AHAHANYTHING FUNNY!"

Karai gasped in mock-offense. "You lied to me? I thought we were supposed to be family, but you lied! You don't deserve to be let go!"

Leo snorted again, spewing out pleas and 'sorry's. She scratched harder at his shell, sending overwhelming tickly sensations through him. On bare skin, it would've been painful, but on the hard exterior of the bridge of his shell, all it did was force the blue-themed turtle into uncontrollable laughter.

"IHI DIHIDN'T MEHEAN TO! IHI'M- SNRT- SAHAHARRY! PLEHEASE!"

Unbeknownst to him, Karai was smiling fondly at his crazed state, though her nails attacked him like he'd just committed an unforgivable crime.

"Sorry Leo, but this is your punishment. I'm going to make sure you never lie to me again."

-----

I thought this would be harder to write, if I'm being honest, but I actually really like it! All of my years of watching 2012 helped me write her dialogue better, I guess. Anyways, happy first week of October! 🎃🌕🪦

[i-like-rocks22]

I watched the Squid Game reality series so you don't have to.

1. It is just as grim and psychologically intense as the show. I went into it not knowing anything about the set up and expecting the format to have been changed to be less nightmarish; maybe the games would be fun versions, maybe smaller prizes would be available for individuals or teams, or different stages of the game would have different casts. Nope.

2. It isn't funny. It's overly dramatised (it's produced in the style of US reality shows so it really focuses on the worst in people). Something I didn't expect and was absolutely astounded to see is that the contestants have to fake being shot as a black inkpack on their chest explodes when they're eliminated. Some of them have a bit of fun doing an over dramatic fall to the ground. Most just sit down looking completely destroyed which, when you consider the format and the reasons people are there (severely in debt, can't retire, disabled children that need care) it's just absolutely vile.

(Honourable mention to the only funny bit of editing in the show: when the remaining 20 contestants get together in a circle to discuss the next task, the very American team captain gives a motivational pep talk consisting entirely of buzz words, then goes 'let's pray' and it immediately swaps to focus on the remaining Brits who look absolutely horrified (for those outside of the UK most Brits are either non-religious or very quietly religious and find overt showings of religion like group prayer really weird)).

3. Deeply uncomfortable by the editing and voiceover choices that repeatedly portrayed black people, particularly black women, as the 'villains'. It was very very noticeable. There was a particular interaction where a black woman was shown in a very negative light, and I am still unclear on what happened during the show (due to the choppy and unclear editing) and cagey responses from contestants in interviews after. VERY very strange, and has led to that black contestant receiving a lot of hate.

4. The amount of contestants breaking down emotionally through the show makes so much sense not only when you consider the conditions they were being kept in, but the sheer amount of bonus psychological fuckery that was included. Not just the main tasks but additional challenges, individual tasks, and public votes for eliminations. A lot of these happened at random in the dorm rooms meaning they had no true safe space in which to relax. The filming was evidently over at least a week and I can't imagine how emotionally exhausted they must have been. I hope the contestants would have been offered some therapy on leaving but I don't think that's likely.

5. The one shining light in the whole show was how, very differently to the original series, individuals started to work together much earlier and more thoroughly through the tasks. Lots of people offered support and words of kindness to those struggling and appeared to really bond. In the end, while a grim and unsatisfying watch, that was the one thing I took away.

I am perfectly happy to watch some trashy TV from time to time and I don't believe every thing you watch should necessarily be dissected for it's greater meaning. But, not surprisingly when considering the source material, this was so far beyond trashy; it was exploitative and depressing and I can't believe it actually got (excuse the pun) green lit.

TL:DR; the black mirror episode that would be based off of squid game? Yeah that was it.

[brokenwhiteboylover]

I think I’ve been needing some shifting motivation lately because the past few days I’ve waking up and for some reason the first thought that comes to my mind when I wake up is “I should try shift now… wait… this is my reality, there’s no way other realities exist”, and that makes me so sad because I do believe, and even when I feel like I don’t I convince myself that it does. So maybe no one is going to read this, but I feel like sharing some of my script with you :)

I’m tryin to shift to a Marvel DR (I’ve been trying since 2020). In my DR I’m a black widow, but also a super soldier. It’s weird, I know, but since 2021 and after watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier I thought “it would be so cool to also have super strength” so I scripted it. In my DR it’s also 2016, but I changed a lot of the canon events, so things like the Sokovia Accords or Bucky killing Tony’s parents never happened. Also, Bucky is the main reason I want to shift there, obviously (he’s the love of my life fr), but of course being an Avenger has been “my dream” since I was like seven. Of course I never thought that would be possible though, so now that I know it is, well… yeah.

I’m not going to share a lot about my personal life there, but what I will say is that I moved heaven and earth so that I would be Mexican in my DR (I’m Mexican in my CR) HAHAHA. I spent WEEKS finishing my script. I know that that might be a problem because apparently I view more like a fanfic I wrote than I life that actually exists, BUT I DONT CARE 👹 I love my script so much.

So in my main Marvel DR I’m like part of the avengers and we all live (at least most of us) in the Avengers Compound, and we’re besties and have movie nights together 😌 But I have another DR that takes place in Captain America: the Winter Soldier. It’s a very long story but to resume it, Bucky and I both escaped Hydra and we’re kind of “on the run” together and we fall in love 😃 (that’s it, that’s the story) because of course I would love to meet all of my favorite Marvel characters, but sometimes I get this feeling of “No, I just want to be with him and be happy, nothing else”, but it might just be my hyperfixation with Bucky Barnes, idk.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll share for now, if you got this far then… thank you? I guess? Ily 🫶

P.S.: English is not my first language so sorry for any error :b

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Snowflame

(WARNING! This analysis contains C-C-C-COCAINE!)

Imagine this absurd concept: A supervillain cartel boss whose powers are fueled by him getting high off his own supply. Imagine too that this man wears a ridiculous outfit, and exists to be an anti-drug PSA that fails epically because he makes doing drugs look awesome. Now also imagine that everything about him is played completely straight without a single bit of acknowledgment of how absurd and campy the whole thing is.

That, my friends, is Snowflame.

The New Guardians is a comic series that would have been long forgotten as a crusty relic of the late 80s if not for giving the world the absolute coolest villain ever conceived. Snowflame has amassed a cult following the likes of which would make Jim Jones envious, due to the sheer absurdity of his existence and the pure unadulterated action movie villain charm of his dialogue. He’s perhaps one of the most minor villains out there with only a handful of appearances to his name, but he’s loved more than villains who’ve appeared twenty times as much as him.

I’m here to show you why.

Motivation/Goals: Snowflame is a cartel leader, and so he really wants to peddle drugs. Guess which drug is his forte. Go on, guess. And that’s really all there is to him! I need to reiterate that his threat as a cartel leader is played completely and utterly straight even as he spouts off the hammiest dialogue you’ve ever seen and literally gets a power up by snorting coke. This is the very core of his appeal, in that he is something genuinely terrifying and threatening but presented in a way only a comic book can pull off.

Of course, his true motivation is far, far simpler.

Look at this man. That is the face of a man who exists solely to snort illicit substances up his nose. He lives to be high. That is the extent of his desires, and all else is second to that simple goal. As long as he can ignite and continue to be the instrument of cocaine's will, he is satisfied.

Final Fate: Every single time Snowflame shows up, he dies. In his initial appearance, he apparently blows up, but three decades later, he makes his coke-fueled return to do battle with Catwoman, and despite inhaling enough cocaine to kill an elephant, a feat that should theoretically make him nigh invincible, he fucking dies.

...Or does he? Snowflame returns yet again in Peacemaker Tries Hard! Here he does battle with, you guessed it,

...who puts a poison dart frog in his cocaine and kills him.

Maybe. My theory is that Snowflame is the Kenny of the DC universe, and whenever some bastard kills him his coke-fueled powers just respawn him the next day.

Best Scene: While his fight against Catwoman is unfortunately lackluster as ordained by the writers (Selina is not lasting two seconds against Snowflame and his coke-fueled powers under realistic circumstances), it gave us one of the most gorgeous and badass panels ever made:

Really brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

Best Quote: Yeah, there’s no fucking contest here, it’s this:

Final Thoughts & Score: I think I speak for all of us when I say Snowflame is one of the greatest fucking characters ever conceived.

Everything about him is a towering testament to what makes the medium of comic books great. The best villains tend to be the wildest and most out-there concepts, like a giant alien starfish that mind controls people, or a gay gorilla in love with a brain in a jar, or a giant racist communist egg. And don’t even get me started on the villains the Doom Patrol fights! Snowflame is the epitome of that; he is what would happen if Tony Montana was a DC supervillain by way of Captain Planet. He is absurd, over-the-top, and so goddamn cool.

It’s very obvious they were trying to do an anti-drug PSA here given the time the comic was released, but it absolutely falls flat on its face when the strawman constructed to be defeated so that the lesson might be dispersed is an absolute lunatic who dresses in colorful spandex and spouts off the most epic lines to ever come out of a villain’s mouth. Everything about him is absurd, but unlike something like Egg Fu he’s absurd in a tasteful and cool way rather than a shockingly racist way. Snowflame is just a dude who snorts cocaine to gain superpowers, it’s as simple as that and yet it’s also completely bonkers.

It’s genuinely unsurprising that this guy managed to get such a massive cult following that he spawned a fanmade webcomic and then got to pop up in the comics again over three decades after his supposed death. And it’s said cult following that has allowed him to pop up time and time again, even getting an appearance in the fourth season of Harley Quinn. I’m sure you can guess that I’m part of that massive cult fanbase, and I can only dream of writing a villain as incredible and grandiose as this drug-addled madman. Infinity/10 isn’t a real score, so he’ll have to settle for a 10/10 instead.

...Oh yeah, remember in the Egg Fu review when I said I wasn’t going to review Hemo-Goblin?

Psycho Analysis: Hemo-Goblin

This is gonna be really short, because there is so little to this guy. He is a one-shot, but boy what a fucking shot he is. Hemo-Goblin is a racist vampire created by South African white supremacists to give members of the New Guardians AIDS. You read that right. This is a racist AIDS vampire.

Now, unlike Egg Fu, who was a horrible racist caricature created from topical anti-communist sentiments of the time, Hemo-Goblin was seemingly created with better intentions. But you know what they say about intentions; the road to Hell is paved with good ones. I get wanting to do a commentary on the AIDS crisis, and I don’t think it’s out of the question for a superhero book to handle such a thing, but maybe having an AIDS-powered vampire give HIV to a Jamaican woman and a gay man isn’t the most tasteful and nuanced way to do this.

Oh, and by the end of his only appearance, he dies of AIDS in jail.

I’m not gonna lie, guys: I kinda love this stupid fucking creature. His weird design, the absurdity of his concept, and the awful execution of his premise makes him memorable for all the wrong reasons, but he’s memorable nonetheless. I think if Snowflame didn’t exist and wasn’t the coolest villain ever, more people would talk about the insanity that is Hemo-Goblin, though having a single appearance before dying and never appearing again doesn’t help his case much. Still, he’s just cazy enough to earn himself a 3.5/10, so he’s got that going for him.

[intheticklecloset]

Motivational Squeaker (Black Clover)

Summary: Finral unintentionally finds himself without an assigned chore during a work day, so Magna takes it upon himself to give him a way to be useful.

A/N: Finral is undoubtedly one of my favorite Black Clover characters! He's such a sweetheart, and watching his character development has been amazing. Poor boy tends to get brushed off a lot, though, hence the desire to write a Finral appreciation fic! Short but sweet - enjoy!

Word Count: 1018

~~~

Winter had come to the Clover Kingdom, and with it came all of the chores associated with winter. Insulating the headquarters, gathering firewood, pulling out the heavier blankets for everyone’s rooms, and so on. Today was the day designated to getting it all done, and everyone was on the move.

Asta had been sent out to chop the firewood with his sword, giving him the opportunity to train and get work done at the same time. Magna and Luck were making trips back and forth from him to the storage space inside the Bulls’ headquarters where they kept it all once it was chopped, Noelle and Vanessa were swapping the sheets and blankets on everyone’s beds, and even Gray and Charmy had found things to do to help.

Finral, meanwhile, found himself without an assigned chore, through some miracle (or curse) or other.

Honestly, he was surprised he hadn’t been assigned to firewood duty with the others; Yami almost always had him taxi the firewood from the forest to the base itself to save everyone the extra hassle, but not this time, for reasons unknown. He wanted to help somehow, but with everyone seeming so efficient already, he also didn’t want to get in the way.

He was just beginning to wonder if maybe he should try to do some general cleaning when Magna burst through the door with an armful of logs just a minute after Luck had departed to get another round himself.

“Yo, Finral,” Magna grunted as he lay his stack in the storage area and stretched his back. “What are you doing to help, lazy bones? Just standing there watching us all work?”

Finral wilted a little, but he tried to shrug it off. “Captain Yami didn’t assign me anywhere, so I was just about to start dusting or mopping or…or something.”

Magna gave him a disbelieving look. “Captain Yami didn’t assign you anywhere. Are you sure he didn’t want you to be our taxi like usual and you’re just trying to get out of it?”

“No!” Finral snapped, then realized how it sounded. “I mean, yes, I’m sure! He didn’t, so I’m…I’m trying to find a way to make myself useful. I swear I’m not…lazy.” The brunette let out a huff and dropped his eyes. “Just forgotten.”

“Ouch, dude.” Magna’s voice had softened, and he brushed off his hands as he walked over to his teammate. “I’m sure you’re not forgotten. Listen, I didn’t mean to come off so harsh, okay?”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“Hey.” The fire mage put a hand on his shoulder and shook him once, looking over the rims of his sunglasses to make eye contact. “I’m sorry. You’re not lazy. Well, you are, but I know you’re not trying to be now.”

Finral hated how his insides felt like they were being crushed the more Magna showed pity on him. The delinquent never showed pity on him; he must really be showing off how pathetic he was to get this kind of attention from his teammate.

“It’s fine,” he said again, shrugging him off. “I’ll just go get the cleaning supplies and get to work.”

Magna caught his arm as he turned to leave. “I have a better way you can be useful.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Like this,” Magna said before shoving his hands up into the brunette’s underarms and wiggling.

“Ah! Ahahahaha, wahahahahahait!” Finral squealed, clamping his arms to his sides futilely, squirming and twisting. “Nohohohohoho, whahahahahat are you dohohohohoing?!”

“Messing with you is giving me motivation to keep working hard. It’s like a reward for doing so well out there.” Magna’s grin was wicked, but his voice was playful. He caught Finral by his shirt when he tried to twist away and wrapped an arm around his waist, hugging him close and digging his fingers into his side. “Ah-ah-ah, where do you think you’re going?”

“Plehehehehehehease!” Finral cackled, hands gripping Magna’s arm weakly.

The fire mage chuckled and wormed his fingers underneath his teammate’s hoodie to squeeze his hip. Finral shrieked and arched so hard Magna nearly lost his grip on him.

“GAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAP!! YOUR FIHIHIHINGERS ARE COHOHOHOLD!!”

Magna held him tighter and growled playfully, “Never tell me my fingers are cold, you little pipsqueak. Fire is my specialty.”

“THEHEHEHEHEN WAHAHAHAHARM THEM UP!! GAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEASE!!”

“Nah. If it makes you laugh like this, I think I’ll let them stay a little chilly.”

Finral screeched with laughter and squirmed helplessly in Magna’s arms, trying and failing to shove him away from his hips and waist. He didn’t know how he’d found himself in this situation, but he was losing his mind from the ticklish sensations and was more than ready to get out.

“MAHAHAHAHAHAGNA, PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!! PLEASE, STAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

Thankfully his friend seemed to understand he meant it, and he ceased his tickling but didn’t loosen his grip on Finral until he knew he would be able to stay upright on his own. Then Magna chuckled and punched his shoulder lightly.

“There, see? Don’t you feel better now? I’ll make sure to tell Luck that you’re our motivational squeaker for today, and to make sure and see you when he comes back in.” With that, Magna offered a smile and a salute and turned to head back out into the cold.

“M-Motivational…don’t you mean speaker?” Finral stammered, confused.

“No, I mean squeaker. Because when we tickle you, you squeak like a mouse. But today, it’s motivational!”

Then he was gone.

Finral felt his heart race in nervous anticipation. His immediate instinct was to hide, but then he knew Luck would just come hunting him down, and that would be even more terrifying than simply standing there waiting for him to come tickle him; Luck was even more ruthless than Magna when it came to tickle fights.

He really should go find those cleaning supplies and get to work. Then again, if he was in the middle of something and Luck – or anyone, really – started tickling him by surprise…

Finral shivered, a hesitant smile playing at his lips.

This was going to be a very interesting winter work day.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Miraculous Gaang

So, General rambling.

1.) So like. My general idea for the Peacock was just that Sozin grabbed a Miraculous to use to sort of “prove his point”, but made a giant senti that went nuts, and he and Roku had to fight it. But, of course, Sozin leaves Roku to die, and runs off after the other miraculous (or tries to). The Peacock Miraculous breaks during this, so Sozin can’t use it without harming himself. He still keeps it, trying to figure out how to fix it, and warning his kids about it. Ozai eventually gives it to his “Mayura” conveniently leaving out that detail, cause what does he care? (This is where the initial “Azula as Mayura” idea came from, but like. I feel like Azula would be smart enough to go “Ok, you haven’t been using it this whole time for a REASON, I am sceptical of your motivations for handing me this.”)

Zhao absolutely works, though who’s your “Avatar!Ty Lee” OC?

-

Ozai getting the Butterfly, was like (broad strokes). So, Gyatso has spent YEARS hiding the Miraculous, but he’s beginning to feel like maybe hiding away isn’t the BEST idea? And he meets someone who really wants to help people, so he convinces himself to lend out the Butterfly. This results in a chain of events that end with this person dying, the Butterfly getting “lost”, and 3-year-old Aang being orphaned. Gyatso ends up adopting Aang, cause he doesn’t have anyone else, and tries to keep a low profile, while also keeping a vague eye out for the Butterfly. I’m not sure if the Butterfly gets “lost” because it was stolen, like either Azulon caused all the drama to steal it, or if it ACTUALLY got lost, and Azulon found it later. Then, like, part of Ozai scheming to kill his dad is because he finds out the old man has the Butterfly, and Ozai wants it. Iroh would be unaware of all of this, focusing on his family, and trying to leave the whole “Hunting Reality Warping Objects Of Power” behind.

2.) Not sure how well this works, but when I tried to envision the Gaang as Heroes, only Zuko was actually wearing a mask, the rest had face paint. Cause I was cross-referencing with the show, and besides Zuko, most of the time, when these kids want to hide their identities, they wear face paint. So, I thought, like. A combo of eye-coverings, masks, face paint? Like.

Zuko’s mask apes the “Blue Spirit” one he wore in the show, but red and gold. His hero outfit is a bit “Fire Nation”-y.

Sokka has a mask, but it covers most of his head, but more “hood” style? His lower face is visible.

Katara has the “Painted Lady” make-up.

Suki has the Kyoshi Warrior face-paint, but snake influenced. Stuff like that.

Oddly attached to Tiger!Toph having eye coverings that are basically a fancy blindfold.

Also names! Names have been knocking around my head, but I only have a few! 

Also also! I’m just going to REALLY lean into my headcanon that the Miraculous weapons are magic and so (within reason) are a bit malleable, and can change a bit to suit the wielder. This is variable, and you may feel free to disregard this portion! Also, as always, open to suggestions!

Ladybug!Sokka - honestly, I feel like “Captain” should be in there somewhere, but not sure. So far, I’ve got “Captain Harmonia” based on Harmonia axyridis, which is a large variety of ladybeetle, also commonly called a harlequin beetle. “Captain Harlequin” could also work, I guess? Costume, Lord Beetle crossed with Water Tribe armor? Oh, and an on running joke that his “Lucky Charms” are either Macgyvre-esque nonsense, or a boomerang. He gets boomerang a LOT. Eventually, he just starts carrying one with him everywhere. Tikki shows him how to make a magic one.

Black Cat!Katara - name, again, got very little. “Panther” something feels appropriate, but also, enh? Are there cats that LIKE swimming? Like. All I really got was “Painted Panther”. Costume … yeah, I got nothing. Also, on weapons, Katara’s water bending manifested a lot as whips, so I feel her staff should have a “cat-o-nine-tails” mode.

Turtle!Aang - Lion Turtle. His hero name should be Lion Turtle. Mostly cause I have zero other ideas. I’m thinking his season 3 monk look, but with sleeves, for his costume, with a hood, maybe some goggles? Weapon … So like. He HAS to have a shield, but I’m really attached to Aang’s glider, so. Is there a way to combine those, you think?

Snake!Suki - um. First thing I thought of was Diamondback? Not sure how well that works … Teal Mamba? Ok, Black Mamba’s are super poisonous, but Teal Mamba sounds silly. Kyoshi Warrior, but like. A bit more form-fitting. Face-paint, and Snake eyes. Weapon is her fans, or if makes a bit more sense, the harp can have a chakram mode.

Tiger!Toph - honestly, first thing that popped into my head was “the Blind Tiger”. Costume a take on her in-show outfit, but with a tail, Kitty ears, and a fancy blindfold. Only one who I don’t see the weapon changing, maybe just giving her some awesome boots, but would she have Clout, Invisibility, or eventually both? Is that her arc, learning to both be seen, but also to hide?

Dragon!Zuko - Name, uncertain? Like, “Blue Spirit” is an actual alias he had in the show, but “Blue Dragon” sounds odd. “Druk” is what he names his ACTUAL dragon, but I see that as his pet iguana. He DOES have a version of the Blue Spirit mask, though, as part of his costume. The sword can easily be the two dao swords he actually uses.

Fox!Azula - uh. Yeah, for Azula I have. Basically nothing. My girl, I am failing you, I am so sorry.

Rabbit!Yue - “Chang'e” is apparently the name of the moon spirit in Chinese folklore, that gets equated with the Moon Rabbit, but I’m not sure how that feels as a name? Got basically nothing for you either, Yue, my darling, forgive me.

Pig!Jin - also nothing here.

Bee!Ty Lee - or for you.

Mouse!Mai - or you, really, my brain is failing all of you.

Other people! Figured out who could be drafted into this if we needed other Miraculous users!

Ox!Haru - Haru, the earthbending guy the Gaang saved from that prison on the water? Katara gave a big speech, but everyone was apathetic, and then later they gave him a dumb moustache.

Monkey!Kuzon - Aang’s friend from the Fire Nation before it all went to hell! Here, he’s Aang’s only real friend before Aang starts going to school! 

Horse!Teo - the kid in the wheelchair, who’s dad made him the glider, so his kid could fly? I like the idea of the wheelchair transforming with Teo, so he’s got some kind of insane ride.

-

1.) Okay so my one note is that I think Ozai getting the Butterfly should be more recent. I don’t think he would’ve waited

Also the OC! She’s uh. Actually her name is funny because I chose Noriko completely forgetting that got used in the comics for Ursa’s new identity and I thought about renaming her but the name’s stuck.

I made her initially for the Avatar!Ty Lee AU because since Azula joined the Gaang, I needed someone to fill the roles she had in Canon re: the major antagonist for Book 2 and a side-threat in Book 3.

But she’s. I say ‘Nathalie but more unhinged and evil’ but she’s literally the Harley to Ozai’s Joker(yes that’s a joke on his VA). She matches his freak in being a power hungry asshole down to murder. Like her introduction is saying ‘wow I can’t wait to kick off my honeymoon with the execution of my traitorous step-children!’.

2.) Actually I really like this idea of everyone having various facepaint for masks. And Zuko having a proper mask makes sense because he still has his scar, so he’d feel like face paint wouldn’t really hide his identity as well.

The rest of the notes on outfits are great!

Haru can work, as can Teo. Kuzon is debatable in the sense of like. We don’t ever really get to see him in canon so idk how to handle him.

[kaihuntrr]

part twelve: watched.

Welcome to Crescent Bay! ...Why is everyone so silent...?

god unrelated to the fic but somehow grian, gem, and pearl are fish/fishing/ocean themed in season ten what the HELL am i just good at predicting things or-- (pls will i be getting the motivation to draw them. it would be SO funny. i still need to draw pirates scott and sp scott im so silly)

Dark, heavy clouds loomed over the island as harsh winds blew against Martyn. The island was unlike any island he’d ever seen before. The bright, bustling, and sunny port he and the Canaries called home felt like a distant memory. The streets here were sparse with both light and people. Windows were either shut or boarded up, and there were barely any ships in the port. The people who were outside were staring at the hunters as if they were ghosts.

Joel, Scar, and Bdubs left the ship first. Martyn, Lizzie, and Cleo joined them a moment afterwards.

Martyn leaned close to Joel, whispering, “Are you sure this was the best place to dock?” He glanced around the port. “It doesn’t look too inviting.”

The people continued to stare at them. Martyn couldn’t help but stare back at them. The peoples’ faces looked worn and tired, as if they hadn’t slept for weeks. Their vacant, hollow expressions felt like staring into the abyss. 

Martyn couldn’t help but wonder if that was how he looked after he saw that sea prince. Maybe that was why he felt so unnerved.

“It was the only nearby island based on the map,” Joel crossed his arms. “It was either this, or we’re stuck with annoying hunters while finding a better place to dock.”

“I think I would’ve preferred the wait,” Martyn mumbled. He shook his head, “What are the plans?”

Grian and Mumbo exited the ship. Grian looked around, “We should find a place for the Kites and ourselves to stay at. Then, we’ll look for a place to eat.” Martyn hadn’t noticed his approach so his sudden voice caused Martyn to flinch. Grian hummed, “I wouldn’t mind exploring a bit.”

Seeing Grian made Martyn’s heart twist. “Yeah, me too,” He smiled. He walked up to his captain and nudged him gently, “Grian, can we talk?”

Grian narrowed his eyes and looked away. “Not now. We have to get them settled,” He shook his head. He turned to some of the Canaries, “Joel, Lizzie, Mumbo, and Bdubs. Could you four go with Kites and arrange things for an inn? The rest of us can check out the island.”

Martyn furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms, his gaze dropping to the ground as the wind passed by. Joel glanced between Martyn and Grian before approaching his brother.

Joel tilted his head. “Sounds good, but,” he put a hand on Grian’s shoulder, “I can do all the leading stuff if you’re upset.”

Grian forced a grin. “Upset? Me? No, I’m not,” he said and laughed unconvincingly. Grian looked away from Joel, “Let’s just get everything sorted.”

Martyn turned his head as he heard groans coming from a couple of Kites. Bek stomped down the gangplank. Tubbo’s eyes were wide, examining the new port while Katherine’s were narrowed. The rest of the Kites followed with either annoyed or curious reactions. It doesn’t look like they were too familiar with this place either.

“There’s no point in arguing, Bek,” Martyn overheard one of the Kites speak. “The sooner we cooperate, the sooner we can leave.”

“We can walk around on our own!” Bek rolled her eyes and shoved his hands down his pockets. 

“Not here, not when you don’t have all your gear. Come on.” Cleo jerked their head, indicating for the others to follow. The small dock wouldn’t fit all of them, so it’d be best to enter the town proper. 

Joel and Grian led the walk, the Kites trailing behind the Canaries as the hunters eagerly looked around. Martyn wished he didn’t feel so many eyes on him.

Joel stood on the left side while Grian stood on the right. Lizzie, Mumbo, and Bdubs followed Joel as Martyn, Scar, and Cleo stood next to Grian. Martyn looked at Grian, but the captain stared outward. Cleo and Scar gave Martyn warm smiles, and he smiled back weakly.

“Fiiine,” Bek groaned. She stopped next to Joel, her expression sour. She blinked as she saw Katherine walk over to stand by Martyn. “Katherine? You’re not coming with us?”

Martyn was just as surprised as Bek was.

Katherine shook her head. “I may have been on the ship with you, but I’m not a Kite. You’ll be fine,” she shrugged. “I want to see the island for myself, too.”

“Tell us if there’s something cool!”

“Will do!” Katherine smiled. She looked at Grian and gave him a sheepish grin, “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along.”

“Oh, of course not,” Grian shook his head and smiled. “It’s good to have more company around.”

“We’ll catch you in a few hours, when it gets dark,” Joel called out to Grian. Thunder rumbled overhead, sending a shiver up the captain’s spine. He forced a smile, “Er, darker. See you soon.”

Grian nodded, looking up at the sky before staring back at his brother, “Stay safe.”

Of course, there had to be a storm.

Rain was dangerous, Martyn knew that, and it’d be best to find a covered area soon. For some reason, it felt safer to be on a ship than on land when it rained. At least then, their weapons were closer.

The hunters walked through the nearly desolate streets, searching for anything anyone could deem as interesting. Martyn wanted to get his mind off of the stares. There was nothing too interesting to point out, the buildings were all boarded up and closed. An eerie howl filled his ears. 

The group was also fairly silent. Everyone was too preoccupied to really talk, it seemed, until Scar cleared his throat. 

“So,” Scar hummed as he looked at Katherine, “What brought you aboard the Kites’ ship?”

Katherine chuckled. “I was hired by them. Unlike you guys, I don’t hunt with just one crew,” she shook her head and puffed out her chest. “I like flying solo.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely without a crew?” Scar raised an eyebrow.

Katherine shook her head. “The opposite, actually,” she grinned. “You get to meet so many people! It’s never a dull moment when you’re moving all the time. What’s it like to have one?”

“They’re like siblings you never wished you had,” Cleo laughed. “They’re the worst.” Cleo rolled their eyes with a smile as Scar nudged them. 

Martyn laughed along with them, but his eyes flickered to Grian, who seemed to prefer staying quiet for the moment. 

I hope we can find some time alone later, I need to talk to him.

Martyn bit his lip, unable to say anything as he looked away from the others. He tuned out their conversation, but occasionally looked back to see them smiling and laughing, then looking over to see Grian with his arms crossed and his head down. It wasn’t wise to talk about Grian’s outburst in public, unless Martyn wanted to bring more attention to them.

Katherine, Scar, and Cleo walked ahead of Martyn and Grian. Grian didn’t seem aware of it. Martyn sighed but put on a smile as he gently tapped Grian’s shoulder.

“A storm sure is brewing,” Martyn looked up at the dark sky above. Thunder rumbled as he narrowed his eyes, “How’s the sightseeing?”

Grian shrugged, “Not much going on, by the sounds of things,” he crossed his arms. “I can’t hear much either. The whole town’s practically a dead zone.”

“You could say that again,” Martyn looked around, a shiver crawling up his spine. “What are we hoping to find here?”

“I was hoping to find some carpenters and ammunition stores for the ship and our weapons,” Grian sighed. “But these townsfolk don’t appear to be selling any of those.”

“I’m sure there’s at least one, we just need to keep walking,” Martyn forced a small smile. If he were honest, he wasn’t sure if there were any naval stores around here. If there weren’t any gates protecting the people from the sea, there might not be any stores with weapons to protect themselves from danger– even on the island. Martyn shook his head, “I hope the others find a place to stay soon.”

Grian nodded. “Me too, I’m pretty exhausted,” he looked around before staring at Martyn. He kept his voice in a whisper, “Are you still hurt from the fall?”

Martyn blinked. “I’m… I’m fine,” he placed a hand on Grian’s shoulder “But I’m worried about you, Grian.”

“Don’t be. I’ll be good,” Grian moved Martyn’s hand off of his shoulder. His stomach grumbled as he placed his hand on top of it, “I’m getting a bit hungry, though.”

Right. They haven’t eaten much yet. Martyn remembered eating a few snacks, but they wouldn’t fill him as much as a warm plate of food would. Martyn’s own stomach grumbled as he closed his eyes and briefly saw himself with Scott, the ginger playfully giggling while having Martyn to eat his fill in The Golden Apple.

Martyn sighed. Remember your promise.

Martyn smelled the air. It smelled of ash and rain, but there was something else. Something… good. There was food nearby, and likely, a tavern.

Martyn nudged the captain, “It smells like something’s cooking nearby. I think there’s a tavern,” he turned towards Grian and smiled, then he looked forward to see Katherine, Scar, and Cleo still entrenched in their conversation. “Hey guys!” Martyn called out, the three turned their heads towards him, “Do you want to get some food and drink?”

Katherine shook her head. “I’m good. I want to search the stalls up ahead for anything interesting to bring home,” she turned to Scar and Cleo. “What about you two?”

“I think it’d be safer to travel in groups for a while, so I’ll stay with Katherine.” Cleo smiled.

Best to travel in groups in an unfamiliar place.

“I’ll stay with Katherine too!” Scar grinned. An amused chuckle came out of Katherine as Scar placed his hands on his waist. “Besides, I’m not hungry at all.”

It’ll just be me and Grian, then.

“I’m sure you two can handle yourselves,” Katherine crossed her arms and nodded at Martyn and Grian. She turned around, “Don’t get killed in there!” She, Cleo, and Scar left for the stalls ahead, leaving Grian and Martyn to follow the smell.

This tavern wasn’t as fancy as Scott’s. It was an ordinary, square building with stones as a foundation and wooden beams to hold it up. It didn’t look well kept with the chips on the beams and the dirt that stained the dark green wooden walls. Still, a tavern was a tavern, Martyn just needed to suck it up.

Spending all of his time in Scott’s tavern had really spoiled Martyn. 

“After you.” Martyn opened the door and tilted his head at Grian. Grian nodded and walked inside, Martyn following behind as he shut the door behind them. Another crackle of thunder rang through the sky.

The tavern was small, with a sparse number of tables and chairs scattered around the room in an almost disorganized state. Barrels lined the back of the room and a modest bar was set up with one bartender cleaning a shot glass. To Martyn, there was nothing too noteworthy about this place, all of his thoughts remained back at that tavern with Scott. There were barely any people around, yet the moment Martyn closed the door behind him everyone’s heads shot up to stare at the two hunters.

Their murmurs did not go unheard.

“Hunters…” “What are they doing here?” “They’ll be dead for sure.”

Dead?

“What’s with all the whispers?” Martyn tried to avoid the stares in the room as he leaned over to Grian.

“Why would I know?” Grian whispered, a small hiss in his voice.

The bartender looked up at them and gave them a weary smile. “Ah. New faces, I see,” he sighed as Grian and Martyn took a seat on the stools. “I’m sorry that you’re here.”

“Why’s that?” Martyn raised an eyebrow. “The place is freaky, but there’s no need to apologize.”

“Oh, sir, you misunderstand,” the bartender shook his head. He leaned his head from side to side to get a better look at both of them, “You’re both hunters, are you not?”

“We are,” Grian nodded his head. He narrowed his eyes, “What’s the problem?”

“You see, sir, that is the problem,” the bartender turned around to pick up a bottle, then glanced back over his shoulder at the two of them. “Hunters who enter this isle may never leave.”

What?

Martyn let out a chuckle. “That’s ridiculous,” he rolled his eyes. “There wasn’t anything preventing us from entering.”

Apart from the weird tall rocks and dark storm clouds, there wasn’t any obstacle preventing the hunters from coming in. Martyn felt the hairs on his skin rise, but he tried to shake it off. What was he so worried about?

“Crescent Bay welcomes all, but the hunters who enter cannot escape,” The bartender poured a shot of alcohol and moved the small glass in front of Martyn. “Please, take a drink. You’re on edge. On the house.”

“Martyn, don’t.” Grian narrowed his eyes.

One wouldn’t hurt, right?

Martyn was a lightweight. If he got drunk on an island he was unfamiliar with, it could lead to some trouble, yet, when he looked into the intoxicating liquid, all he could see was Scott’s warm smile and his pretty eyes staring back.

“It’s just one shot, don’t worry about me.”

“It hasn’t been poisoned, if that’s what you were wondering,” the bartender poured the liquid into a different shot glass and downed it in one gulp. “See? Everything is just fine.”

Martyn took a small sip out of the glass. He heard Grian’s resigned sigh. “It’s not that….” 

Grian leaned closer to the bartender, resting his arms on the counter. “So,” he tilted his head, “are you saying the island’s cursed?”

The bartender nodded. “That it is.” he sighed. “It’s a nasty enchantment from the Scarlet Witch herself.”

Martyn laughed. “Witches? You’ve got to be kidding me,” he shook his head and waved his hand dismissively before taking another sip. “Witches aren’t real.”

The bartender shook his head. “She’s real. She cursed the island to kill any hunter that tries to leave,” he looked at the hunters with widened eyes. “I've seen bits of the monster myself.” Grian raised an eyebrow, encouraging the man to speak more. “Any time a hunting ship leaves, there’s this mist that just appears, the sky erupts into a storm, and–,” his voice shook as his eyes stared at the floor, “No hunter has ever left alive.”

Martyn took another sip of his drink. A sudden mist and rainstorm, then monsters. He hummed. He swirled the alcohol in the shot glass before downing the rest of it, a sickening feeling formed in his gut almost immediately. The bartender refilled the shot for Martyn without him needing to ask, but he eyed it with an odd look on his face. Focus.

A sudden rainstorm didn’t sound like a problem. It was something hunters needed to be ready for at all times, but the mist stumped him. As far as he knew, the only place that had thick mist would be the world border, or moments in the sea prince stories–

Sea prince stories.

Something about this story made Martyn think. He sipped his shot. His brain was getting fuzzy, but maybe the alcohol could clear it and get him to understand the situation.

Grian shrugged, “A swarm of sea monsters ambushed a nearby hunting ship, I can see why that’s a problem.”

“No, sir, you’ve got that part wrong.” the bartender leaned in, his voice continuing to quiver. His eyes widened, “There’s only one beast that destroys the ships....”

Martyn took a sip from his shot and his eyes locked onto the now overtly nervous bartender. Grian glanced between Martyn and the bartender and nodded, allowing the man time to find his words.

“We here on the island have reason to believe it’s a sea prince.”

The sea prince’s haunting eyes burned in the back of Martyn’s mind, causing him to flinch. He took in deep breaths. 

It was a sea prince, what he’d seen. Somehow, Martyn had found himself staring at one face to face, and now he was on an island that was possibly- likely guarded by a sea prince. It was all lining up, maybe too well. 

“Tell us more,” Grian pressed. Martyn looked at him and at the bartender. Grian’s gaze was locked on the bartender as his hands began to shake.

“Y-You see–,” the bartender crossed his arms and rested against the counter. He took in a deep breath, “It storms so hard during the siege, no one can catch a proper look of the monster. But believe me, it’s much, much larger than any other ship– and its roar sounds like the unholy call of death itself.”

“How does this relate to the Scarlet Witch?”

“The… the Scarlet Witch… she….” The bartender lowered his head, his voice getting softer and softer.

“She made a deal with the sea princes.” A different voice spoke up, causing Martyn and Grian to turn to an elderly man. There was a bottle next to him and a big tankard. He didn’t look drunk- at least Martyn didn’t think so.

“She saw their treasure, and made a contract with them,” he looked at them and sat up from his slouch. “She was promised magic beyond anyone’s comprehension, and in return, she would follow their every command.”

“I’ve never heard that story before,” Martyn said, keeping his voice low.

“That’s because no one is able to tell it, hunter,” a different voice spoke, this time it came from a young woman. “Those who try to leave die. They can’t even spot the sea prince, either. Despite it being so close to the area, no one can discern the features the devil has.”

“The demon can’t even be spotted by normal ships! It’s like a ghost!” One of the other patrons stood from their seat, their voice loud and frantic. 

“A terrifying ghost monster!” Another patron shouted. “It’ll come for us all if we ever leave!” The sudden surge of noise startled Martyn- riled up over a ghostly sea prince that doomed hunting ships and scared others. 

“Oh, quiet down!” The young woman glared at the other patrons and leaned back on her chair. “That’s how no one can tell this story. People would think we’re making it up, but there comes the risk in escaping this island,” she motioned with her hands before shaking her head and crossing her arms. “So most of us resigned our fates here.”

No one is able to tell this story, huh?

“Then we’ll be the first,” Martyn grinned confidently. “Because we’re the Canaries; we’re the king’s hunters, and we’ll take down a sea prince!”

Usually- that was followed by a roar of applause after Martyn would say such a statement, but there was only silence. Martyn felt heat rise to his cheeks. Embarrassed, he downed the last of his shot and shuddered.

Grian patted Martyn’s shoulder. “I apologize for my friend’s behavior, he’s a lightweight,” he looked at Martyn, then back at the woman. “We’ll heed all of your warnings, though. Is there anything we need to look out for?”

The woman nodded. “A red hood, and she carries around twin blades that look like the moon.”

“We’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” Grian smiled and held Martyn’s shoulder, pulling him to his feet and carefully leading him out of the tavern as it grew silent and dreary once more. The patrons stared after them as Grian shut the door behind him.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Grian muttered quietly. He looked at Martyn and crossed his arms, “And you shouldn’t have drank. We should meet up with Scar and the others.”

Was Grian not going to talk about what they just learned? It was groundbreaking! Someone made a contract with the sea princes– and even saw their treasure! Maybe Martyn was a little freaked out, but that meant he wasn’t the only one spared from a sea prince’s hunger.

Someone else had seen one, and lived.

Maybe the Scarlet Witch could even answer why the sea prince hadn’t eaten him. She could know so much more about the sea princes, and their power, and their treasure that the world had never heard of before. 

He needed to find her.

“Don’t you want to seek out the Scarlet Witch?” Martyn’s eyes widened as he placed his hands on Grian’s shoulder, visibly excited. “She might be our key to everything!”

Grian forced a grin and pushed Martyn off. “Can we talk about that when you aren’t drunk?” he shook his head. “Come on, I see Cleo. Let’s go join them.” Grian motioned for Martyn to follow him, sending one last glance at him before walking forward. They weren’t too far away, so Martyn didn’t feel the need to hurry after Grian. He could catch up.

Martyn was left alone on the desolate street before he heard the sound of scraping gravel behind him.

He turned his head.

Nothing.

It was nothing more than an empty street, barrels and boxes littered around carelessly. 

Martyn shuddered as the breeze kicked up a chill around him and he shook his head. Nothing was there. “...Alright alright, I’m coming.” He raised his shoulders and walked forward with a slight wobble in his step. He really shouldn’t have been drinking.

Martyn could have sworn he saw something down the empty street. 

And he’d be right.

[cloudinterlude]

There's a certain tone that bleeds into a lot of MCU fanfiction when talking about Steve's defrosting into the new century and it's bothersome. It's like people don't fully understand why he didn't have to be grateful for being in modern times. There's a serious lack of empathy and it always ends up with some other character ranting to Steve about how he needs to suck it up and move on if he wants to get anywhere in life and somehow that motivates Steve to...realize he was the only one being an asshole and learning to love the current world?

Yeah no.

I've read one (1) - and isn't to say other stories I like got it wrong bc I've certainly read others that are also great - but I've read ONE fanfiction that describes Steve's situation perfectly (in such a meaningful way) and it literally blew my mind when I read it because it was so good to ME.

"Ain't no Grave" by spitandvinegar was amazing. Mind you, I'm not a really Stucky shipper in any capacity (like I see the vision but don't feel it yknow?), but I'm a sucker for satisfying Steve characterization so I inhaled this fic. And y'all...this author did his character justice. It's not even a Steve-centric story! Which made me even more amazed (that the author got him so right) and even more annoyed (that so many people get him so wrong and end up bashing him). I quote the paragraph below but I urge you to read the fic if you're interested!

Like listen, listen. Imagine you live in this country, right? And there's a brutal war, and you witness and maybe participate in a horrific amount of violence, and you lose absolutely everyone you care about. Then you end up in this other country, where the culture and ways of doing things are completely foreign to you, and random assholes make fun of you for how you dress and act and talk while you're still coming to grips with the fact that everyone you love is gone and you can never go home again. Meanwhile, everyone around you is like "smile, motherfucker, you're in the Land of Plenty now, where there's a Starbucks on every corner and 500 channels on TV. You should be grateful! Why aren't you acting more grateful?" So you have to pretend to be grateful while you're dying inside. Sound like an traumatized, orphaned refugee? Also sounds like Steve fucking Rogers, Captain Goddamn America. Except that most refugees were part of a community of other people who were going through the same thing. Steve is all alone, the last damn unicorn, if the last unicorn had horrible screaming nightmares about the time when it helped to liberate Buchenwald.

AMAZING RIGHT? It was very satisfying to read the first time around. Even more satisfying that this was coming from Sam's POV which was just a lovely decision.

Anyways!

This little rant isn't even coming from a place of superiority. I know characterization can be difficult, and it's not so much about the quality rather than the fundamental misunderstanding of Steve's character that makes it obvious that either the author doesn't care enough to try to empathize with him, 2) They're using Steve to prop up some other character or 3) They watched his trilogy with their eyes closed and called it a day.

This post has gotten too long so thats all I'll say for now!

[leegemma]

Hey!

Loved your marvel fic and was wondering if we could get more of that.

Maybe steve/nat x teen ticklish reader?

Something really fluffy, like she's been on the phone for a long time talking to Peter, her boyfriend (I had to 😂) and they make her by tickling her?

I completely understand if not, thanks anyways 💕🙏

Hi! Thank you for the request. It took me a while but here it is:) just a warning- I started out super inspired and motivated but was just super exhausted towards the end.

Hope you enjoy it anyways and please keep sending requests in! Got three that I'm working on already ✨️

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

You laughed when your boyfriend made a joke, staring into the screen and listening to him telling you about his day. "And then there was this huge explosion- like, y/n I thought I was going to die. Like, really. And then I looked up and there was this guy and he was all like big and strong and-"

You heard a knock on your door, and paused peter. "One sec Pete. Come innnn!"

"Hey." Steve smiled at you as he walked over o where you were on your bed.

You raised on eyebrow and watched him sit down on the edge of the bed. "What?"

Steve frowned. "A bit of an attitude there, huh?"

You rolled your eyes. "Whatever Steve. Do you need anything? I'm on face time."

Steve shook his head in disapproval. "Yeah, I can see that. You've been on it for hours now. Who are you talking to?"

"Just peter." You turned the front of your phone towards Steve so he can see peter.

"Y/n, who is- oh, hi mister Rogers!"

You smiled as you heard your boyfriend's voice go up a notch when he noticed he was now talking to captain America.

Even Steve couldn't help but smile a little. "Hello peter, do you think you and this grumpy creature are going to hang up anytime soon?"

You groaned while peter only seemed distressed. "Um- yeah! Yeah, we could do that. We'll just talk later. Or not, you decide. Or- No you don't... but I mean- you know what I mean, right? You know everything beca-"

"Peter shush, we're not hanging up." You turned the screen back to face you.

"It's okay y/n, I really don't mind." Peter tried to reassure you, but you weren't having any of it.

"No! He doesn't get to tell us what to do! We're old enough to decide for ourselves."

You glared at Steve.

"What is happening here? I heard someone raising their voice." Nat walked in, leaning against the doorway.

"Oh great." You mumbled.

"Well you see, y/n has been on face time with Peter for the last 5 hours. And I really don't think it's healthy to be on screen for that long. So I asked her to get off and she just got all sassy." Steve explained, looking at you the whole time. Not even glancing at nat.

"I see..." she smirked, seeing your feet popping out from under your blanket.

She came closer and sat down right next to them.

"Well y/n, I think you should listen to Steve."

You huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, as if..."

"Okay, well. Don't say I didn't warn you." Nat shrugged and started spidering all over your feet.

"Warn me? What do you me- MEehehean!" You squealed and tried to pull your feet away, but Nat was holding them tight.

Steve grinned. "This is more like it.."

"Wahahait! Nohohoho!!" You tried to twist away, your phone still in your hand.

"What is happening there?" Peter asked, confused.

"Oh just tickling y/n." Nat smiled as your laughter went up an octave when she moved up to squeeze your knee with one hand, and kept going on one foot with the other.

"Noho way! Y/n is ticklish?" Peter chuckled in surprise.

"Gohod bye peheter!" You giggled out and quickly hung up the phone.

"Oh so now you hang up?" Steve shook his head again and started kneading your sides.

"NOHOHO STOHOP!" You were already pretty much out of breathe, flopping around on the bed.

"You didn't stop the call when steve asked you to!" Nat exclaimed, now tickling both your thighs.

"What happened y/n, why are you laughing?" Steve smirked down at you as he wiggled his way under your arms.

"PLEASHAHAHASE!" You shook your head violently and tried to hit Steve with your arms.

"So aggressive." Steve chuckled, looking at nat and sharing a quick laugh with her before turning back to you and holding  both your wrists above your head with only one of his hands.

"Tickletickletickle y/n/n!" Nat wiggled her fingers above your face teasingly.

You closed your eyes, unable to take the teasing and have to look into her eyes.

"Hey Nat, do you think y/n has all her ribs?" Steve asked, putting on his best 'thinking' face.

"I'm not sure Steve, she has been on that phone for an awful long time... better check..." she said, digging into your hips at that moment.

Steve nodded. "Absolutely." He then started counting your ribs, for what felt like hours but really just lasted 2 minutes before you went into silent laughter.

"Alright, you gonna apologise for being rude to me and not getting off that thing when I asked you to?" Steve asked.

You nodded, still unable to talk as nat was pretty much killing your hips.

"Go on then." She smirked.

"IM SORRY!" You managed to spit out.

"Well, i forgive you. Now, do you want to do something together?" Steve pulled you in for a hug.

"I want sleep." You replied, yawning right afterwards.

"Aww... poor baby." Nat chuckled and grabbed you from steve, pushing you to lay down on your bed and laying down next to you, grabbing your remote and putting your favorite movie on.

You fell asleep between the two of them, and when you woke up. You had a couple of messages waiting to you from your boyfriend. Yeah... you forgot he knew now...

[m1ckeyb3rry]

NO FR like he could be your dad please sit tf down….like do whatever you want ig but if you’re gonna do this I don’t think you have the right to shit on other people…

Oh definitely…truly dominating that tag you should honestly file a request to tumblr to claim it or something LMAOO

LMFAOOOO SO REAL literally me like we can’t BOTH be lazy like umm we can’t both be passenger princess move over

PRAYER CIRCLE RN Karasu u20 wc captain karasu u20 wc captain….kurona or Niko would be really funny because you just imagine everyone on the field is like “this 16 year old pipsqueak is the captain..?”

Otoya…what a loser he did not think it through HAHA He stole that money from Seiko’s stack of cash fr LMAOO

OO honestly that’s such a smart tactic…truly a Karasu type of activity analyzing and studying the way real people behave hehe I agree I quite enjoy oblivious/dumb but only when done right and when it’s not like their only redeeming quality LOL

LMAO wattpad truly is like the preschool of writing everyone eventually graduates and learns LOL (you should reveal one of your old fics after you hit a certain milestone LMAOO)

DUBBED VOICEOVER LMAOOO that’s so funny honestly I think it’s really funny when that happens like yeah you better not talk shit to my face :))))

Wait I didn’t even go back to reference the Bible bro how many sisters is he pulling?? This is the reverse of BFB this is BFS??? I’m wondering if they kinda just forgot about the egoist Bible and changed the facts uhhh I’ll check if the authors note in the back mentions it at all….that Bible needs some updating though please add more characters profiles shshshshs I ALSO THOUGHT THAT like a sisterly aww this little child is so cute here’s a forehead kiss but uh???? I was literally reading it outloud for dictation and stopped mid sentence to laugh when I read that moment flustered yuki was so cute and funny like bro really ran to his room flipped on his bed giggling kicking his feet and shit like…tabieitaken supremacy truly….

No because why didn’t they tell us who yuki plays as??? Ok whatever at this point I think we both know it’s basically canon that it’s Mario or peach there’s literally no other option

STOPPP THE KARASU ANON TRANSLATIONS TAG LMFAOOOOOO guys I got my own tag on Mira’s blog…we made it big guys….

Anyways I’m chipping away at the translations gonna finish up Yukis and then do barous and maybe Aryu if I’m motivated enough but maybe I’ll just skim that one and write an actual summary (me saying I’ll write summaries is like you saying you’ll write only 5k words LMAO)

-Karasu anon

FACTS like i’m not judging them for their choices i’m judging them for judging other people 😭 because in what world do they have the high ground

nah because atp we need to hunt down kaneshiro and ask for custody of karasu i think the two of us have done more for him than the actual author himself 😩

LMAOAOA i cannot be driving someone around everywhere fr i need to be the passenger princess 😓 that’s why it’s good to have multiple favs 😈

TO BE FAIR rin was 16 and captain of the bllk eleven fsr so ego does have a track record w it 😫 he’s just tall so he gets additional aura for that ig

seiko jumps people on the side so she has a shit ton of cash stowed away 🤫 it was simple for him to use his ninja skills and sneak into her room to take some KDJDSJSK he truly is not the brightest but it’s okay we still love him

HELP me and karasu are soulmates…tabimira dates are just us analyzing people for “writing purposes” and whatever random ass reason he has for doing it 😭

omg the most embarrassing thing is like i only just removed the first fics i ever posted (back in 2021) literally this month HAHAHA they were literally out and abt for the public to read until that point 😰 i shudder thinking abt it even now 😳 but yeah wattpad truly is where everyone starts out…i’d go through war w the mutuals i met/escaped from wattpad with we’ve gone through too much fr

guys do you watch mira sub or dub 🤔 LMAO it’s funnier because the area in india where i’m from has a lot of islamic influence so we speak hindi mixed with a lot of urdu which means i sound very polite and formal as well as poetic…the typical accent in the city i’m from is also considered to be very rich/elegant sounding i’ve heard?? so basically people talk shit abt me because they think i don’t understand and then i respond to them w literal bars 😭 straight up sounding like the hindi version of hollyhock y/n on an average tuesday

FLUSTERED YUKI IS SO CUTE HAHAHA i love how tabieitaken are all confirmed losers now it’s truly what they deserve (affectionately)…omg no because why IS he consistently going for the sisters?? is that his type in women?? “they have to be my best friend’s older sister”…do NOT let my man near the otoya or karasu households he will combust 😭 no but lowkey i was surprised that she was being fr too 😰 calling him “my beloved kenyu” is crazy work icl…but ok queen invest early ig…😟🤨

they didn’t need to add who yuki plays as because they know we’ve got it covered 🙏🏻 apparently i am also the number one yukimiya kenyu blog now btw HAHAHA i feel like i never even post abt him too?? the queen of tabieitaken right here fr no one can compare

YESSS LMAO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO FIND THEM QUICKLY 😭 especially if i’m writing for yuki hehe gotta have my references on lock 🤩 honestly i probably should make tags for when my mutuals/established anons send me asks but like…i don’t feel like starting now…HAHAHA i think my tag system is a little bit above the bare minimum but some people have such neatly organized tagged blogs and personalized tags and whatnot but me personally i have never been that person and probably never will be 😓 if it annoys people they can just unfollow ig idk

PLSSS omg idk if you saw my recent post but currently i’m feeling really dumb for that whole “6-9k words ballpark 😄” NDKDJSJSK i shall continue to work on it though 🫡 take your time w translating i’m sure it’s tough!! i’ll be here 😈💖

[sick-ada]

OKAY SECOND PART (I HIT THE CHARACTER LIMIT I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A LIMIT ON TUMBLR

again, big long text under the readmore

we were on proto werent we yeah

proto gets along with CB and Bubbles a lot better than with Flora, since cb and bubbles actually follow their orders and plans, even before theyre promoted to captain. flora obeys them even less after theyre promoted, for the record

this is very obviously because theyre traumatised child soldiers who were conditioned by both the octarian military and the metro where you explode if you dont follow instructions, but proto manages to delude themselves into thinking it's bc the twins respect their leadership

the twins completely stop obeying them after splatoon 3. granted, they leave the NSS after splat3, but by that point flora and bola have managed to get them out of the "you gotta obey authority figures Or Else" mentality

also because uh. the twins got the rest of their mem cakes back LMAO they remember what proto and the squid sisters set in motion and are NOT happy. theyd be willing to forgive if they had apologised rather than hiding it and hoping the twins wouldnt find out but they didnt sooooo

bola HATES proto so goddamn much. theyve met in person maybe thrice. the first time was when octo expansion had just finished and the way proto was talking to these kids bola's age like they were soldiers rubbed them the wrong way. the second time, proto came across bola while they were stealing something and called the cops on them. the third time was when they came back from alterna and visited flora in the hospital. bola had to be physically restrained to stop them trying to bite out protos jugular. they got one good sucker-punch in at least

NEXT IS PLUTO (THEY/THEM, NEO 3) BUT I'M NOT SUPER CERTAIN ABOUT THESE HEADCANONS SO THEYRE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Pluto's "Lil' Buddy" is a Horrorboros called Leviathan's Flight over Verdant Pastures (she/her), or levi for short

(idk if that salmonid name makes sense, salmonid naming and rainworld iterator naming have blended together in my mind and i cannot separate them)

theyre actually older than proto! proto is 24 in splat3 and pluto is 27. proto doesnt know this because i think it should be a recurring character flaw that proto just randomly assumes people's ages and doesnt ask ever.

pluto straight up doesn't care about the NSS or proto's commands. they came down into the crater to scavenge, attacked octavio cause they wanted to tear apart and sell his mech, and is basically motivated by the same "i want the treasure" mindset as Deep Cut

unlike deep cut, they have a horrorboros as a partner. they dont fight deep cut so much as they launch booyah bombs until they yield

it's splatlands culture to fight people, shows that you respect them enough to consider them a threat, but also asserts that you're stronger than them and could kick their ass

they are Very offended when the NSS just start USING the treasure that THEY earned, especially when it gets so damaged by the fuzzy ooze that it's basically unsaleable. theres a dramatic moment of proto being like "why the hell are you mad we literally got this to save gramps" and pluto being like "WE??? kid you didnt do shit and i dont care about your grandpa. fuck off and let me do my thing"

the fight with grizz is VERY fast. if smallfry gets that big, what do you think happens to a horrorboros? the moon is permanently coated in salmonid-ink in a suspiciously booyah bomb shaped pattern. they take all the most valuable bits of the rocket to sell and dont even go back down to alterna

as far as they're concerned, they were never a member of the NSS, never wanted to be, and owe nothing to these presumptious assholes. theyve got better things to do than argue with some spoiled inkopolis kids

in this version of canon, deep cut respect pluto and levi (the ones who showed respect by fighting them for the treasure) over the NSS (the ones who stole the treasure for their own purposes without fighting or even issuing a challenge), so they decide that pluto and levi are their bosses instead

pluto groans when they find out. levi thinks it's hilarious

oh yeah i need actual context for pluto and levi not just redescribing the splat3 campaign

theyre both rogues, deliberately unaffiliated with any groups (shoals? schools?) of salmonids or any particular inkfish city. they were raised together with salmonids but levi didnt see any particular honour or value in getting killed and eaten so pluto suggested running away together

they make a living by scavenging in the splatlands and selling to people on the outskirts of splatsville which, in this canon, is a hell of a lot more chaotic than in-game

deep cut also have a lot more actual authority than "the idol group who announces the map changes" in this canon, which pluto is not above using to get them and levi unrestricted access in and out of the city. having minions has some benefits, they guess

idk if theyre ever gonna meet the leftovers squad. i honestly dont know if pluto would care about a random group of inkopolis teens unless i made some plot reason for them to. idk

ANYWAY THATS ALL OF THEM. FOR NOW