#sometimes it isn't a bad idea to stop and look which side of it we are on

[v-4-mp-slayer]

My favorite annoyance. Shikamaru x fem!reader

'Teasing a genius sometimes isn't the best idea even if he seems lazy'

@2-c4ndy

Warnings: mostly fluff, established relationship, some suggestive stuff but now nsfw.

Short trip to the Nara forest.

You were not supposed to be here.

It had started as a random comment from your side about how pretty deer were when you encountered one during a mission. And of course, your boyfriend heard, and your boyfriend was a Nara. So now he had smuggled you into the Nara forest against all clan rules.

“Stop making so much noise,” he grumbled as you two walked toward his favorite spot.

“Sure, I’ll just make my feet not step onto the dry leaves all across the floor. Maybe I should fly to prevent that,” you replied sarcastically, making him roll his eyes.

“Don’t be stupid,” he grumbled again.

“And stop being so paranoid. It’s not like you haven’t gotten grounded before, and it’s not gonna happen anyway,” you said, poking his side. He flinched for a moment and swatted your hand away.

“I’m not. You’re just being troublesome,” he said, giving you a small glare—without any actual annoyance behind it. Then he looked away again, like he was waiting for his dad to materialize out of thin air and scold him.

You rolled your eyes but decided to shut up for the moment. The forest was beautiful—more than any normal one. There was something… ancient about it, almost magical. You could almost feel the trees breathe with the wind, the clan’s ancient runes carved into the stones adding to the pull of the place.

“They like you,” he whispered softly, so quietly it was almost imperceptible but calm.

Your brow furrowed a bit. “What do—”

Your words were cut off by a startled yelp as you felt something press against your back, followed by a very distinctive snort behind you. And despite all your ninja training or experience, your body reacted before your mind did. A very loud yelp left your mouth before you could even think, and your hands flew to grip Shikamaru’s arms, nearly jumping into them.

Then you looked back. Of course, it was a deer. A very massive deer, staring straight into your soul.

“...Why is he so massive?” Your voice came out in a whisper, torn between the urge to run and the impulse to pet it. It was cute—just extremely terrifying.

“You asked me the same thing last night, and you didn’t seem so scared,” he snorted teasingly, earning a smack to the chest.

“They’re just big. They’re not gonna attack you. They know you’re with me,” he said with a sigh, taking your hand in his and guiding it slowly but firmly to the animal’s fur, helping you get used to it.

Your body gradually relaxed, a small smile forming on your lips—both from Shikamaru’s closeness and from the way the deer seemed to enjoy your touch. After a few moments, the deer bowed slightly to Shikamaru before running off into the trees.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” he said calmly, moving his hand to your waist and rubbing small, slow circles into your skin with his thumb, making you smile a bit more.

“Still… I wouldn’t have expected a chunin like you to get scared by some deer. A bit pathetic, don’t you think?” he whispered against your ear, making your smile fade into a smirk as you rolled your eyes.

“I will punch you,” you muttered.

“Troublesome woman… you’re the one who decided to come here, you know?” he snorted, his hand still on your waist, the other tucked in his pocket.

“I’m not the one causing such a scandal and breaking clan rules just to hang out with my girl,” you teased with a dramatic gasp.

“And I told you to keep quiet. Which we both know you don’t know how to do,” he replied, raising a brow.

“Yeah? And what are you gonna do tie me to a tree? Because Im not being loud. You're just too quiet,” you shot back.

“Don’t tempt me,” he smirked slightly, though you could swear you saw his eye twitch a little.

Then he leaned down, lips brushing the shell of your ear, his voice low and slow and entirely too effective.

“Yet I wonder what other sounds I could get out of you… out here, where no one’s around to hear.”

Your breath caught, and he chuckled, brushing a strand of hair away from your face like it meant nothing.

“But for now,” he murmured, stepping back with that lazy smirk, “you’re on deer watch.”

You blinked. “What?”

“Now behave,” he said, pulling away just far enough to smack your ass—not too hard, just enough to make you gasp while somehow making the gesture seem casual. Of course, he resumed walking like absolutely nothing had happened.

“I hate you,” you grumbled, walking beside him again, but any other complaints died on your tongue the moment you arrived at a small body of water.

There was a tiny cascade, with baby deer learning to walk near a big tree, others grazing nearby. It felt… safe.

“…It’s beautiful,” you whispered in awe.

“I know,” he said softly, barely audible, as he moved to lay on the grass, tugging you down with him to sit.

“The forest likes you,” he murmured again, pulling you to lay across his chest.

“Is that because I like you?” you chuckled softly.

“Don’t get sappy… but yeah, most likely,” he whispered, hugging you a bit closer, eyes closing for a moment.

You didn’t know how much time had passed, but the sun was already beginning to set when you opened your eyes again. He stirred a little, still holding you close.

At first, you thought the distant voice was your imagination.

“Shikamaru, are you there?”

That was Enshui’s voice—just a few feet away.

…Yeah, it was time to escape.

[angellily920]

Bonding Mission (John Walker x reader)

Warnings: None. Enjoy!

"Me and John?! You can't be serious..." You exclaimed as Bucky sighed.

"It's a simple mission, go in, go out...report back. Simple."

You racked your brain trying to find any possible solution. "What about Ava? Or Yelena?"

"They're in Colorado following some enhanced drug dealer."

"Alexei? Bob?"

"They're doing media promotional stuff."

"What about you?"

Bucky raised his brow and shot you a look. "I'm swamped in government paperwork...which has a deadline. Just do it. You guys will be fine..." He handed you a folder with information. In bold letters, the folder reads, "John and Y/n Bonding Mission." You glared at Bucky, and he shrugged before going back to his paperwork.

It isn't hard to find John, he's in the gym area of the tower. You wave at him, folder flying in the air. He sees you and stops his workout with a grunt.

"Hey, little bird. Whatcha got for me?" He's smirking, and you want nothing more than to slap it off his face.

"For us, actually. And I told you to stop calling me that." Hands him the folder. "Some weaponry he wants picked up from his old bunker in Indiana."

John hums and flips through the papers. "Shouldn't be too hard. No bad guys chasing us. Just looks like some sort of maze to get down there..." He squints at the picture Bucky had printed out with directions.

"Nothing we can't handle. Meet me in the garage in 15...Bucky said we're taking the Tacoma."

His face lights up. "Yes!" He glances at the paper. "And I'm driver? Sweet."

You roll your eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

You would never know why Bucky thought it was a good idea for you and John to be together in a car for 11 hours. You were only 5 hours in, and you felt like you would die from John's bad karaoke alone. John looked over at you with a smirk.

"Come on! Sing."

His blue eyes looked over you briefly as you shook your head and looked out the window. He hummed and tapped the steering wheel, his eyes now focused on the road. The car was silent except for the soft music playing in the background. After a while, your stomach growled, and you could see John's lips twitch up into a smile.

"Sounds like someone's hungry."

You glared at him and clutched your stomach involuntarily. "No."

John raised his eyebrow and glanced at you. "Mhm...riiight. I'm hungry too. It is a natural human thing. Besides," He glances at the side window. "There's a pizza place coming up."

He parks the truck and pockets his wallet before turning to you and motioning for you to follow him. You reluctantly get out of the truck, following behind him. John swings the door open and the aroma of pizza fills your nose. Pizza did sound really good right now. There were only a couple people there. It seemed nice and quiet. John turned to you and asked what kind of pizza you wanted. After looking for a while, you both decided half cheese and half pepperoni was a safe bet. John picked a table at corner window, and you sat across from him, tapping the table softly. He studied you a moment before speaking.

"So, did you know Bucky had a secret bunker in Indiana?" John relaxed in his chair a bit, his legs stretching beneath the table.

You shrugged. "Sounds like Bucky, honestly."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He looks over to where the people are making the pizza and then looks back to you. "So, little bird...hypnotic singing...that's quite the power. You're like a real life Jigglypuff."

The look you shot him was less than amused. "Don't get me started."

He laughed. "How'd you figure that power out? School talent show?"

"Ha ha. Very funny. But no. My parents were mutants so, they knew I'd probably have something...though singing was unexpected."

"I bet." He tilted his chair back as the waiter brought their pizza out. "You'll have to sing for me sometime."

~~~~~

John studied the map and looked back at the house."Looks like the entrance is through the basement..." He began to walk into the house, and you followed suit. "Then once we get down there, it looks like there's some sort of maze before you actually get to the bunker."

Your eyes scanned the paper, and you sighed. "Bucky has some serious trust issues. We're gonna get lost."

"We're not gonna get lost, you have me. Former military hero...I can read a maze map."

"You can barely solve a maze on the back of a cereal box."

He gasped, feigning offense. "Not true. We're gonna be fine."

The beginning of the maze was fine. A few turns here and there. Though you didn't want to admit it, John was pretty good at mazes and reading maps. He was in full soldier mode as he instructed which way to go and marked off things on the map. It wasn't until the flashlight went out when things got messy.

"Not funny, little bird. Turn back on the light." John huffed. He was not in the mood.

"Can it Walker! The batteries died." You retorted as you fidgeted with the flashlight. "You got any other sources of light? It's eerily dark down here."

"Right, let me just grab my emergency glowsticks."

"You have some?"

"Of course not!" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugh...this is a disaster."

"Aren't you Mister Military Man? Shouldn't you be prepared for anything?"

He glares at you, but you can hardly see it because of how dark it is. He walks toward you and sighs. "I have an idea. You hold tight to me, I'll guide us through. I have the rest of the map memorized, and I think I can get us to the bunker using my echoes. I'm not the best at it...but I had some training while I was doing undercover tunnel stuff in Japan."

"So...like a bat?" You snicker.

"Exactly that. Now hold tight."

He gently guides your hands to grip his waist. The feeling sent shivers down your spine. His hands were warm and he was solid. The man had more muscles than you cared to admit. If he was fazed by your touch, he didn't show it. He moved like a man on a mission, expertly using his echoes to navigate the both of you to the bunker. Though you couldn't see him clearly, you heard his breaths slightly hitch as your grip tightened any time he moved too quickly. There were a couple times he'd brush his hands against yours to make sure you were still there. John was a man of many mistakes, but no one could say he didn't care about his teammates. Military brotherhood was practically injected into his blood. The bunker door was illuminated by a couple LED lights.

John input the code and the door opened with a hiss. He looked back at you with a small smile. His eyes seemed to light up. "You ever gonna let me go, little bird?" His voice was almost a whisper, and his blue eyes seemed to pierce your soul.

You quickly retract your hands with a nervous breath. "Good job leading us through." You tap his chest. "Next time you gotta bring your emergency glow sticks."

He laughed, a soft hearty echo bouncing off the bunker doors. "But then I wouldn't have an excuse for such a pretty thing to hold onto me so tightly."

Humming, you rolled your eyes and began to grab the weapons Bucky had requested. "Let's just get these weapons Johnny boy."

"Okay little bird." The way he said it this time sent warm tingles down your body, and maybe John wasn't as bad as you had thought...

~ "Barnes, you're insane." You said as you and John set down the weapons. "An underground bunker maze?! Never again."

Bucky just smiled and shrugged. "You two seem to be getting along though."

"Well yeah…but-"

Bucky held up his metal hand and stopped you. "Your flashlight went out, right?"

You narrowed your eyes. "How did-?"

He laughs. "I may have switched out the batteries before you left…"

John laughed in soft disbelief and you just blinked, as he ran down the hallway.

"You can't hide forever Barnes!" You called as you chased after him.

A/N: I'm thinking about writing more about Little Bird and John, but let me know what you guys think!

[aroaceleovaldez]

Wait, did Rick actually say that demigods can't have PTSD?

Because of what? Their godly side? Their ADHD?

There are so many people with ADHD who have PTSD. How much research did he do?

Rick implied at some point more recently (sometime during HoO or soon after, while discussing Percabeth post-Tartarus) that demigods either don't get PTSD (specifically that Percabeth and/or Nico wouldn't have PTSD from Tartarus - which was later retconned) or it's much more difficult for them to get PTSD. While he didn't entirely say that demigods fully can't get PTSD, moreso that Percy and Annabeth just didn't get PTSD specifically from Tartarus, most people took it as "demigods can't get PTSD at all for demigod reasons."

In actuality, this already conflicts with The Lightning Thief, because Percy literally starts the series with PTSD or cPTSD from Gabe. It's not even a subtle or small detail - it's a major detail that totally informs how Percy navigates the world, particularly his dynamic with a lot of authority figures; Mr. D in particular explicitly, entirely because Percy says that he reminds him of Gabe. It takes literally the entire first series for Percy to be able to move past his PTSD response to actually form a friendship with Mr. D, and even into SoN we get references to Percy's PTSD from Gabe.

And like you said - a ton of folks with ADHD (and autism and all across the neurodivergent spectrum) commonly have PTSD. cPTSD particularly relating to schooling systems is EXTREMELY common. Like, almost guaranteed common at least in America. There is actual research about how the current American school system is set up is inherently traumatizing to neurodivergent students.

I have no idea why Rick temporarily decided to try and claim that demigods didn't get PTSD? It is true that PTSD is kind of random - you can absolutely go through an extremely traumatizing event and not develop PTSD, and/or go through a "less" traumatizing event and get PTSD from that but not the other - so claiming just that Percy and Annabeth didn't get PTSD specifically from Tartarus for ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ reasons isn't unfair to say. But saying that they just can't full-stop, especially when the series already confirmed that's not true, is extremely bizarre. It kind of reminds me of how in Un Natale Mezzosangue, Rick says that demigods can't get covid for some reason? Even though demigods can get sick from other general illnesses? He just randomly decided covid was a "mortals-only illness" which has very bad undertones. Meanwhile in TOA and TSATS immortals can get hayfever. Go figure.

There is also an aspect, particularly relating to the retcons about this, with how the fandom interacts with it. The question asked to Rick to begin with implied that Percy did not already have PTSD in any form, or that Nico wasn't exhibiting PTSD from Tartarus at all. Neither of those things were true - Nico does appear to have some amount of trauma response from Tartarus in HoO and Percy VERY explicitly has PTSD in the first series and further references to it in SoN. But neither get acknowledged by readers much if at all because it doesn't look like stereotypical PTSD - it looks like real PTSD. It also never gets called PTSD by name (because it doesn't make sense to do that! You don't do that in writing most of the time). Their PTSD (and Annabeth's) only gets acknowledged by readers when it uses explicit exact terminology (like Nico in TOA) or stereotypical depictions (TSATS). Which is really a shame! Because Percy's first series PTSD is honestly a really fantastic depiction of PTSD in my opinion! It's subtle and consistent and it highlights a lot of aspects of PTSD that get overlooked beyond "actively having a full-blown panic attack" or the stereotypical "waking up screaming and crying." Particularly for a neurodiverse audience that's more likely to have cPTSD themselves, Percy having those subtler symptoms being highlighted is way more relatable because that's more likely to be the most common symptoms for those readers! And i do very much wish that was touched upon more!

[myddle]

Thinking About Kris & The Weird Route

(Spoilers for Deltarune, Take A Freaking Guess Which Part)

So... you know how Kris sometimes interrupts their own speech, or says it strangely, to circumvent our choices sometimes?

(source)

Yeah. How come they don't do that in the Weird Route?

(source)

As far as I can tell, Kris never actively tries to stop their speech like that in any of the Weird Route prompts, with the arguable exception of the Weird variant of "♥️ I'll never play again", which is notably after the dust has settled and does nothing to stop us.

They don't even seem to pull the tamer trick of saying it in a confused way that throws people off (This one's debateable though, with how much Noelle asks us to repeat ourself).

But why? Kris has little trouble opposing us when we say things they don't like. And Kris doesn't like the Weird Route. That's not even debatable after the bathroom scene.

So why? Why are they struggling to resist us on this, of all things?

I think I noticed this dissonance before the new chapters came out, but I didn't know what to think back then. Not until...

(source)

Eram accuses Kris of, at least partially, enjoying the Weird Route. And they actively acknowledge our control over Kris... and dismiss it as an excuse.

I've talked about Eram's relation to Kris, and how they seem to believe that Kris is, on some level, evil or sadistic. But this is the peak of that outlook, and a huge accusation to make. What behaviour could make someone believe this about Kris?

Well, if Eram was formed from, say, the Horned Headband (Which they definitely are, see my other post) They'd have a front row seat for just the thing.

The Ferris Wheel Incident.

(source)

As far as we can tell, from what Noelle says to and about Kris, when they were young, Kris was just... like this. Possibly just with Noelle, considering we never (to my memory) hear about pranking incidents involving anyone else. Just Noelle. Kris just... loved pranking her specifically. Scaring her. ...Exciting her? Toughening her up?

We don't know why. We don't know why Kris was like this to her. Hell, we don't even know how she feels about it (Although, thanks to Susie, we know that's a question worth asking), and it's possible she isn't sure either. All we know for sure... is that she likes scary things.

Kris & Noelle's dynamic is a captivating Pandora's Box. Good? Bad? Platonic? Romantic? A secret third thing?

Or in other words... something else?

Does Kris even know? Does Kris know why they were like this? I'm not sure they do.

But these feelings, this desire to get a reaction out of Noelle, if mixed with their own guilt, their desire to protect Noelle and their own personal hangups... could all make a very weird emotional cocktail.

Now, I want to be very clear. I do not think Kris is sadistic. I don't think this dynamic is inherently toxic, and I don't think Eram is correct about Kris.

But I think Kris might. Maybe that's why they stopped seeing her. To protect her. From them.

The Weird Route isn't Kris' secret desire, but it isn't completely out of left field for them, either. It's the shadow of the back side of their mind, a corruption of one of their most treasured relationships, an intrusive thought that they'd never act on. Instead, we act on it for them, building a toxic relationship on innocent foundations.

And under our influence, the nightmare becomes real. The entity inside Kris drags their darkest dreams to the surface, and Kris is rendered unable to stop it, powerless to look away, because some part of them, a part they've come to despise and fear, can't help but wonder...

...Isn't it a good thing? She's getting stronger, she'll be able to protect herself. She's doing things by herself, she wants it too. She's smiling, she's having fun.

She's standing up to Berdly.

(honestly, I could probably write a whole other paragraph about Kris' mixed potential feelings about him, but whatever, you get the idea)

But ultimately, they don't want this. They hate it, they hate us for doing it, and they likely hate themselves for being enough of a freak to make it possible.

This, is the Weird Route. We're not just breaking down Noelle, and turning her into a weapon. We're turning Kris into the Sheath.

[aliceramblez]

BroZone Brothers With An Insecure S/O 😔💗

Tags: GN! Reader, Self-Deprecating Jokes, Low Self-Esteem, Abandonment Issues, Slight Body Insecurities. Fluff/Comfort.

A/N: Here we go with our first request! I really liked this idea as someone who has low self-esteem, and honestly it goes to all of y'all who think you're not good enough— cause you are! Also sorry it took a bit! I've been sick because the universe hates me 🙃

Feel free to leave a request & hope you enjoy! ^^

John Dory

At first, he doesn't really know what to make of it.

He finds it a bit strange, but doesn't question your odd sense of humor, and will sometimes even join in on the joke by saying stuff about himself, thinking it's some sort of inside thing between the two of you.

“Man, I can't believe I'm so clingy, sorry! Feel free to use me as a bad example, at least that way I won't be totally useless, haha!”

“Ha! You think that's bad? Babe, you haven't even seen me when I'm up at night just staring at the ceiling contemplating my life choices.”

It isn't until getting a good smack from Bruce and Floyd that he realizes you're actually being serious. And the prospect of that kinda puzzles him, not gonna lie.

“Look at you, tiger! Got yourself plenty of groupies already— Not surprising honestly. Don't have to worry about backups when you decide you're ready to move on, either!”

After a performance at the Pop Troll village, everyone is gushing over BroZone because of course they are. JD only barely manages to squeeze past the number of fans to get to you on the other side of the podium.

The oldest sibling looks at you in shock, and has to get closer to make sure he heard you right. “Babe, why would you say that?”

Caught off guard, you manage a nervous chuckle as you play with your hair. “I-I mean... Wow, would you look at the time! We gotta meet with Poppy and the others!”

John Dory stops you on your tracks and demands an explanation, which isn't really good for your poor heart. All you can do is kick the dirt and avoid his gaze, since that makes what you're about to say much easier to voice aloud.

“I mean... You're John Dory. You could date any troll you wanted and yet you're sticking with me. It honestly feels like a dream sometimes... And I'm scared of the day you realize you can do WAY better and decide to leave me.”

After processing this, he immediately holds your face in his hands and gives you the most serious expression you've ever seen on him. “I don't want just any random troll... I want you. You're my number one fan, and I'm yours, so don't even think about stuff like that, okay?”

After the exchange, he's always on the lookout for whenever your bad habit wants to kick in again and is ready to stop it ASAP

Spruce/Bruce

He notices it happens mostly when you're working at the cantina.

Whenever you get an order wrong, trip over your own feet or don't remember how to work one of the machines properly, you'll go into an awkward insecure flight response.

You'll say “Oops! Sorry! Clumsy Twinkle Toes, coming through!” while grinning and laughing along with the customers, but Bruce knows that it's affecting you more than you lead on.

It also happens whenever BroZone is getting ready to perform and you don't know what to do with yourself since you're “standing in the way”, despite being told multiple times that it's okay for you to be backstage with everyone else.

When he talks to you about it, you get really uncomfortable and just say that it's no big deal and that you can handle it.

“I've always been a clumsy person, so I guess that's always making me doubt myself over the smallest of things... Sorry if it's annoying.”

Bruce will then proceed to give you a huge warm hug and a kiss on the forehead as he whispers comforting words into your ear.

“Hey, I can be clumsy too! I've always been the worst out of everyone when it comes to choreography. Don't tell JD though, cause I know he'll throw a fit knowing I don't practice.”

He'll throw in other examples that may seem inconsequential to you, but you appreciate the effort nonetheless and smile and giggle through the embarrassing stories he shares.

He helps you get more confident by being there with you while taking orders at the cantina and praising you whenever you get something right— albeit in private as to not embarrass you.

Same goes with rehearsals, where he WILL drag you into the lounge area to hang with his brothers and/or Poppy and Viva when they decide to visit, too.

Overall he wants what's best for you and will try and push you out of your comfort zone, but only in a safe environment where he knows that if something does go wrong, it won't be as catastrophic as you make it out to be in your head.

You never stop thanking him for being your crutch during these times.

Clay

The moment he hears the words come out of your mouth he's completely flabbergasted.

First of all, who said those things to you? Because he swears he just wants to talk to them—

It's at a sleepover with his brothers and the gals at the Bergen Golf Course, and among the many games, snacks and movies watched, pictures are also taken.

As soon as you take a look at the array of selfies, you let out what sounds like a mix between a laugh and a sigh.

“I mean, at least it stays consistent— in photos, I look ugly. And in real life, I'm also ugly!”

As soon as those words leave your lips, Clay is at your side with an almost unreadable expression, only to snatch one of the photos from your hands. “How DARE you say that about the most attractive troll I've ever met? Shame on you!”

He then starts going around the room waving the picture around to his brothers, saying stuff like “Look how attractive my S/O is! I'm dating them!” while you're just blushing profusely and begging him to stop (even though deep down your kinda giddy about it).

After that day, Clay will do small gestures in which he reminds you how beautiful he thinks you are. Everything to outright saying it each morning, joking about it with his brothers, and even bragging about you to his friends in the Bergen Golf Course.

He's a simp and he's totally okay with that because it's you.

Clay feels like he's the luckiest troll in the world for being able to snatch someone like you since he's “the most boring and uninteresting of the bunch”, so he feels like he's hit the jackpot.

You immediately tell him that he's not boring to you and that he's the best boyfriend ever, which only causes him to smirk.

“Doesn't feel good to know the person you love feels so bad about themselves, does it?”

Finally realizing his reverse psychology, you give in with a laugh. “No, it doesn't. I guess... We can both work on that? Together?”

And so you do, and end up helping each other whenever one is feeling down in the dumps, as a sort of personal cheerleader. You truly couldn't have asked for someone better.

Floyd

You're the kind of person who's very vocal about your interests.

So it's no surprise that you have to catch yourself mid-ramble whenever you're talking about something you're either interested in or knowledgeable about. And with Floyd being such a good listener, it honestly slips your mind more times than you'd prefer.

After realizing you've been talking for too long, you turn pink in the face and start apologizing profusely.

“Sorry! You probably didn't need to hear all of that. They didn't call me ‘Chatter Box’ when I was younger for nothing! Haha...”

But Floyd could care less about any of that. He loves hearing you talk, not just because he's not much of a chatty person, but because he just finds it incredibly endearing.

He'll hold your hands in his own and give you the softest smile ever that just makes you think that it should be illegal to be THIS sweet.

“You're just so cute when you get lost in the moment like that. Besides, I love seeing you happy. By all means, I'm glad you get to do the talking for the both of us, otherwise we wouldn't get anywhere in this relationship.”

You laugh at his attempt to make you feel better and melt under the touch of his lips on your cheek.

After that, whenever you go out either just the two of you or with your group of friends, Floyd will encourage you to express yourself. He does this by either asking you a question directly or subtly incorporating you into the conversation by saying something like. “I think (y/n) knows about this kinda stuff. Don't you, love?”

Obviously this all happens with your consent beforehand, since he doesn't want to put you in a tight spot, either.

Either way, he always values whatever you have to say, since you always bring in new perspectives that maybe others didn't think about before.

He will also encourage you to be yourself and not try and match your topics of conversation with things you think other people will find interesting. You deserve to be happy by sharing what you love with the world.

Poppy and Viva are huge helps in the art of feeling confident by speaking your mind, and Floyd couldn't be happier for you.

You thank him by telling him about your day each night, in which sometimes he'll fall asleep to the soothing sound of your voice, which only warms your heart on so many levels.

“Goodnight, my prince.”

“Goodnight, my little chatter box.”

Branch

Just like Clay, this man is ready to throw hands.

Just give him a name and he'll get the job done before sunrise—

He notices that sometimes you struggle with finding outfits for different occasions, either something casual, dressy, classy, etc.

But it's not because you don't have anything in your wardrobe, on the contrary it's pretty much brimming. It's more the fact that you're not satisfied with any of them because you feel like you don't look good in them.

Branch tries to convince you otherwise, saying that you look great no matter what you wear, but you can't help but feel self-conscious in anything that isn't a good old sweatshirt.

He isn't knowledgeable in fashion (clearly) so he enlists the help of Poppy and The Snack Pack to try and cater outfits to your exact measurements, along with any other nitpicks you've had in the past with either texture or material.

I mean, Branch has backup plans to his backup plans, you think he wouldn't keep notes on what kind of stuff his S/O doesn't like— INCLUDING mundane stuff like their clothing?

He surprises you with these, and you can't help but feel attractive in them since he paid extra attending to the complaints you had from your own designs.

“I personally think you look great no matter what you wear. But if you feel so strongly about it, might as well get some stuff you'll actually enjoy wearing.” He'd said when you asked why he did it, and your heart just melted.

You vow to try and work on your self-imagine regardless, which he gets happy over and says he can't wait for you to see yourself the way he does.

[waywardwritesstuff]

Hello, could you create a headcanon for ROTTMNT where Leo and Donnie, separately, fall in love with a female reader who can transform into a giant white snake?

Donnie and Leo x F!Reader Head canons

Tags: romantic, female reader, feelings, confessions Word Count: 900+

Summary: Donnie/Leo fell in love with reader. They didn't plan on it happening but guess what? It did. But how did they act? How did this all go about?

Leonardo

Leo at first was very embarrassed about it, he had known you just as long as he had known April, and you were very important to him. Not to mention the two of you were quite close compared to his brothers.

But despite his feelings, he wasn't a coward, and he wasn't afraid, so he decided to take you out to a sewer pipe he had found perfect for skateboarding and decided to tell you there.

As the two of you were skating around, you in your human form so you could have two legs to stand on the board in the first place, you noticed Leo started to act strange.

"So...you have a boyfriend?" he says out of no where

A bit confused but seeing nothing wrong with his question you answer

"No. Why? Are you interested haha?" You decide to say cheekily, but if you were being honest, you had a small crush on Leo but figured that it was only one-sided, so you never said anything, but that didn't stop you from making "jokes" about it.

"Maybe, what would you say if it did" Leo responded

You are a little unsure now, you are not used to Leo giving a response that wasn't a joke.

"Leo what are you doing" you stop skating now and turn to look at him fully

"What? I'm not doing anything?"

"Your being weird and you know it"

"Can't I ask my friend about their dating life?"

"You can't, not so seriously at least. What is going on"

He hesitates and his green skin starts to darken on his cheeks. Is he blushing? You didn't even know turtles could blush

"Maybe for once I'm not joking, Y/N I have feelings for you" And there it is, he said it. Finally putting his feelings out into the open.

"Leo that's not funny" you say getting a little bit frustraed. This isn't a funny joke and you don't want him messing around with your feelings. Is he doing this because he knows how you feel about him or is he doing it because he genuinely feels the same

"I promise you for once this is not a joke"

"You're being serious"

"I swear on Hueso's Pepperoni Pizza"

Oh shit, he's being serious

"Well, I feel the same. How come it took you so long to tell me?"

"How come it you so long to tell me"

"Touche" You concede

"So are we going to make this official or are we just gonna sit here with these confessions" He asks

With the adrenaline that is now rushing through your body, you step forward and wrap him in a tight hug, giving him a small kiss on his plastron as he wraps his arms around you and plants his own kiss on your forehead.

Donatello

Donnie didn't understand his feelings at first. He ignored the feeling in his stomach whenever the two of you talked, blamed it on bad pizza. He just went about his day like normal and tried not to think about how you made him feel.

But he couldn't deny how important you were to him. He liked listening to you talk, though sometimes he thought you might be a little bit silly he still found whatever you spoke about interesting, simply because you were the one talking. And he cherished the moments when you would sit and listen to him ramble on and on. He knew people got bored of his ranting easily, but you never seemed to lose interest. It was comforting.

Eventually, he figured out what his feelings were and he had no idea what to do about it. He had never had romantic feelings before and he had never been in a relationship. What was he supposed to do?

One day when the two of you were just chatting with him in his room/lab he went quite, which was highly unusual for him. Even when you were talking he was either working on something or simply muttering along to your train of thought.

"Y/N, have you ever fallen in love with anyone?" he asks bluntly

You look at him quizzically waiting for him to go on

"You know...like those feelings when you like someone a lot more than a friend" he explains

"Yes I know what 'falling in love' is, but why do you ask?"

"Well I think that I might have fallen in love with someone, but I do not know what I am supposed to do with those feelings"

"You could tell them how you feel" I say simply

Donnie has a blank look on his face like this was the most insane answer I could have given.

"Ok, well I love you"

You blink once, twice. Before what he says sinks in

"Wait, me? I am the person you fell in love with? But...I'm a mutant" you say hesitantly, why would Donnie fall in love with a mutant snake such as yourself, even other mutants found you frightening.

"So? So am I? What difference does it make?"

You stop "It doesn't but...you really feel that way about me"

"Yes" he says but their is a hesitant note to his voice "Do you not share these feelings"

You were taken aback, you thought after all this time your feelings would have been more obvious to Donnie but apparently not

"Yes of course! I just never said anything because I thought you only saw me as a friend"

"Well I did-" he says truthfully "-but something changed"

Feeling so overcome with emotions you slither up to Donnie and wrap your arms around him before remember how he feels about hugs. But before you can pull away fully he wraps his own arms around you in return.

You couldn't have been more happy in this moment. And you hope to share more moments like this with Donnie in the future.

[drtwit]

Miraculous Critical: Secret Ingredient - Power of Love

It's been a few years since I attempted one of these pretentious, patronizing mini-essays. If only you knew how close I was to being a 'Get drunk and laugh at the terrible Batwoman show' blog.

The inconsistent heat is distracting me trying to write my latest fic chapter (I keep accidentally writing Carapace telling Argos to just pick a temperature and go the fuck to sleep), so I feel the need to write something off-the-cuff.

Now, a hot button issue in the Miraculous fandom is the discussion of redemption/forgiveness of the many characters that people are giving the permanent side-eye, and why some of the more baffling choices get the thumbs up whilst little shit Chloe is on the fast track to become God Empress of the Evil if she ever gets brought back. I don't even care about whether or not Chloe gets a redemption arc (you don't like Chloe's development post S3 because you think she deserved more, I don't like it because she stopped being entertaining; we are not the same), but the narrative's vendetta against her is so hilariously weird at times.

Like, I guarantee that if Colt Fathom still lived past just being a footnote in Felix's trauma recital, we'd get an episode where he and Felix bury the hatchet post-akumatization when they discover that they both like painting or something.

Which I know is ironic to say when my fic has OC!Colt framed more sympathetically.

The funniest part about this issue is seeing people through around different buzzwords to explain the reasoning; both misogyny and misandry - and somehow ableism and racism are stuffed in there too because the discussion just isn't righteous enough.

My conclusion is that these story beats come about from a simple belief: Nothing done out of love can be that bad.

There's an idea that goes around sometimes that love is some pure, sacred, incorruptible state that only the good feel. It is something that evil people don't take part in, and any instance of them loving another is a façade. It's something many wounded and abused people use to convince themselves that someone they trusted can't be in the wrong because 'they love me'. Someone couldn't love you and still hurt you, right?

Love inspires us, love empowers us, and love redeems us. Hate scars us, hate corrupts us, and hate damns us.

To quote Bo Burnham "And your parents will always come along, because their little girl is in love. And how could love be wrong? How could love be wrong?"

Now, there's more I can delve into on that topic, that love and hate are not so black and white and have the same potential for being harmful and helpful; but I just want to present the general idea here.

I think this is a prevalent theme of Miraculous over all. The premise of the show's formula is someone being akumatizatized, usually triggered by something unfair getting in the way of something they love or doing something for those they love, and Ladybug saves the day by shattering the source of their troubles and telling them how to move past it because she recognises that they're just misguided with their hearts in the right place. The power of love is brought up constantly up to when Marinette pleads with Gabriel. The parallel between Gabriel and Marinette is partly in the crazy things they'll do for the one they love the most.

It doesn't matter how much destruction and harm Gabriel has caused, he did it out of love for his wife. Even his nastiest actions towards Adrien with the modelling and the cube jail and arranging Adrien's life is considered as out of love, as Gabriel's vision of what security and paradise for his son looks like. I've had people legitimately argue that Gabriel shenanigans with turning Adrien into an avatar for Alliance was him being very generous to Adrien.

It doesn't matter that Nathalie worked with, enabled and sometimes even encouraged Gabriel's crimes during periods where he started to doubt his mission; she did it out of her love for him... and later love for Adrien and Emilie. Her loyalty to Gabriel wilts when she explicitly stops believing that he's doing it out of love anymore.

Side note for Nathalie's odd development: Wasn't there a leak around season 2 or 3 that revealed there was originally plans for Nathalie to usurp Hawkmoth as the main villain with the goal of wishing for Gabriel's love?

It doesn't matter that Felix betrayed Ladybug, allowed Gabriel to enslave all these innocent kwami, handed over Adrien's amok and performed a fun dance routine while he snapped innocent people out of existence; he (retroactively) did it out of love for Adrien and that girl he was going to snap away before he learned that she was also a sentimonster.

It doesn't matter that Andre spoiled his daughter rotten, rewarded bad behaviour, ruins lives on the word of said daughter, enabled her every bad deed and is generally a corrupt politician; he did it out of love... and a non-existent spine.

Werepapa's opens on Emilie being afraid that her parents don't really love her, and I... I think the episode ends with that being false and that's why we don't care that Emil slapped his wife's hand like it was an olympic sport? I don't know, the episode is weird. The message is that being in the closet about liking french fries is a big issue that's never talked about or something.

Nate's mom just wanted what was best for her son (and didn't want him to catch the gay), Jagged abandoned his children because he loved them so much that he didn't want his lousy parenting skills to hurt them, Sublime's mom loved Sublime and just wanted to help her shine, even Ivan's father have implications of physical abuse is him wanting to toughen his son up because he loves him.

This even extends to the running gag of Marinette's controlling and creepy tendencies around Adrien. She only does it because she loves him, because she wants to protect him; that's why she's not like the other fan girls that bother him, they don't actually love him.

The likes of Chloe, Lila, or Bob Roth are the real bad guys because their crimes are out of hate, of greed, and they can never recover from that no matter the context of how they came to be like this. That's why Lila will be a worse villain than Gabriel, barring future revelations about her character, because her actions, even her attraction to Adrien, come from spite or greed. The moment she gets a 'Oh, this is actually just how I show love' retcon, the redemption arc train will be splattering her across the narrative station.

But you know what the say, it's a curious thing. Love can make a one man weep, and another man sing. It could even change a hawk to a little white dove. More than a feeling; that's the power of love

Anyway, that's enough hot air from me; I'll try to get the next WOF chapter done this weekend. Wish me luck.

[goodnightmemes]

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON ONE SENTENCE STARTERS

❛ Sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all. ❜

❛ Make sure you got a round in the chamber and your safety off. ❜

❛ Son of a bitch shot me. You believe that? ❜

❛ Look, I ask and you answer. It's common courtesy, right? ❜

❛ Get away from the windows. ❜

❛ Conserve your ammo. Goes faster than you think. Especially at target practice. ❜

❛ There are others. It's not just us. ❜

❛ Folks got no idea what they're getting into. ❜

❛ We are surviving here. We are day to day. ❜

❛ Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here. ❜

❛ Have you been listening? You're running out of time. ❜

❛ Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still a dumbass. ❜

❛ You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral. ❜

❛ You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens. ❜

❛ Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Only common sense. ❜

❛ We survive this by pulling together, not apart. ❜

❛ If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold. ❜

❛ You can't leave me. You can't leave me here. Not like this. ❜

❛ At least somebody's having a good day. ❜

❛ Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short. ❜

❛ Nothing bit you? Nothing scratched you? ❜

❛ So that's it, huh? You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else? ❜

❛ You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that. ❜

❛ The world ended. Didn't you get the memo? ❜

❛ Toughest asshole I ever met. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails. ❜

❛ They're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. ❜

❛ Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much. ❜

❛ There ain't nothing gonna stop him from getting back here to you, I promise you that. ❜

❛ One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know. ❜

❛ You come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood. ❜

❛ Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. ❜

❛ What life I have I owe to him. ❜

❛ I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. ❜

❛ You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you. ❜

❛ The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind… plunderers, the kind that take by force. ❜

❛ Guess the world changed. ❜

❛ The people here, they all look to me now. I don't even know why. ❜

❛ Hell with them people. Wouldn't piss on them if their heads were on fire. ❜

❛ Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while. ❜

❛ Time…it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think? ❜

❛ Do not enter the city. It belongs to the dead now. ❜

❛ I know how the safety works. ❜

❛ We start down that road, where do we draw the line? ❜

❛ Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem! ❜

❛ We don't kill the living. ❜

❛ I'm sorry for not ever being there. I always thought there'd be more time. I'm here now. ❜

❛ These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are. ❜

❛ There are no rules. ❜

❛ We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do. ❜

❛ I won't leave again. I promise you that. Not for anything. ❜

❛ You save a grave for me? ❜

❛ It's not about what you want. That sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans. ❜

❛ We can't stay here. We both know that. ❜

❛ The most important thing here is we need to stay together. ❜

❛ You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back. ❜

❛ Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. ❜

❛ The fever… You've been delirious more often than not. ❜

❛ We can't be here, this close to the city after dark. ❜

❛ You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed. ❜

❛ You know, it's over. There's nothing left. ❜

❛ You don't know what it's like out there. You may think you do, but you don't. ❜

❛ We don't have to be afraid anymore. We're safe here. ❜

❛ I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is. ❜

❛ What's wrong with him? Seriously, is he nuts, medicated, what? ❜

❛ I did the best I could in the time that I had. I hope you'd be proud of that. ❜

❛ We always think there's gonna be more time. ❜

❛ You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier. ❜

❛ I had to keep hope alive, didn't I? ❜

❛ There is no hope. There never was. ❜

❛ What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand? ❜

❛ There's your chance. Take it. ❜

[wayfayrr]

Read how the Links would not be ok if you liked a villain. Hm…I don’t like a villain, don’t worry lol. But I have thought about Ganon (totk) and how I feel bad for him. My ex told me (as he’s way more familiar w the games than me) that Ganon is evil bc he’s corrupted by gloom from Demise or something. Therefore it’s not completely his fault, because also I mean, no one is just born evil like that. So I’ve sometimes looked at him in the cut scenes (haven’t finished the game yet so idk the ending) and thought “y do we have to hurt him? If he’s just corrupted by the gloom from demise, then y can’t we find a way to save him? Bc then the three parts of the triangle could work together! So how would Tears feel about that idea floating around my head? Bc I’m not romantically interested in Ganon or anything, just wanna save him.

Also from my last ask, me killing the npcs by accident and laughing like a maniac. Yeah so an example of that would be when you have to save the dude w the horn or whatever (from the band) in the big hole he fell into, and get his wagon out too. So I still only had one battery, so when I attached the hot air balloon and flame emitter, it ate my battery too fast to get out. So the first time I didn’t know that’d happen, so we went up then immediately dropped down and it froze the screen on the dude’s face and his speech bubble said something like “omg I’m gonna die! Put me down!!” And then went black. And that’s where I laughed and my roommate looked at me very concerned 😂

On another side note: yeah no, totally don’t change the camera angle to look at Link’s face, or take pictures, or put him in the Gerudo vai outfit bc I think it’s the cutest thing ever lol. What does Wild think of that outfit? What does he think of me liking that outfit?🙈😂

as for the first bit I think he'd respect the thought behind it - it'd be making his life easier if that would be possible after all, which means more time to fawn over you instead! he also respects how hopeful it is, because honestly ganon is as much a pawn to the games code as he used to be too - he isn't even aware of it either, just a soulless husk for the code to puppet for it's tasks. but don't put too much thought into ganon, else he's going to get jealous. Why are you thinking about him so much when he isn't alive, when he's right here!! if you say too much about ganon without stopping to think about him then it's going to really start getting on his nerves.

sfdgvaesvgadvgga that quest becomes so much easier when you realise you can just recall something back up to the top after pushing it into the hole lmao (definitely not how I solved the quest nuh uh) (also I'm guessing by other ask you mean the one where you used link to calculate hp?) but I can see why your roommate was concerned after the fade to black when you were laughing sdfsdfvdsv

also no never zooming in on his face never ever nuh uh

(only the last one is mine, the others are from pintrest)

I think wild would love the vai outfit - like how tears adores the frostbite one, and it's less the outfit itself and more your reaction to them. even if right now they're just your dressup dolls soon enough they'll be able to show off the outfits for you as more than just pixels on a screen <33

[differenteagletragedy]

Cove isn't the stepdad, he's the dad who stepped up

Takes place after Step 3 -- you'd had the summer fling with Baxter and got a little more than you bargained for.

Cove noticed everything about you. He knew all your secrets, all the little quirks of your personality, and as much as he tried not to think about it, he knew all the curves and lines of your body, too.

So that fall when you started college together, sharing a humble two bedroom apartment and gaining your footing in the adult world side by side, he could definitely tell that something was off.

You were sad, for one, and when he tried to console you you'd shrug off his concerns, telling him that everything was fine. He might have chalked up your demeanor to the big life changes you were both going through, but then the sickness started.

At least a few times a week, he saw you dart to the bathroom, hand over your mouth. Sometimes he woke up to the sound of you in there, retching. More and more, he'd come home to find you laid out on the couch, looking more tired than he'd ever seen you.

But it was in November, when he accidentally walked in on you getting dressed in your bedroom, that Cove put everything together.

You were standing in front of your mirror in your bra and a pair of jeans low on your hips, still unbuttoned. The reason, he surmised, was because of the swell of your belly.

"Um ..." was all he managed to get out. You turned to look at him, surprise on your face, then pulled on a baggy sweater before meeting his eyes again.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, looking down at your stomach. "You're not ... are you?"

Tears sprang to your eyes, and your hands instinctively went to your stomach.

"You are."

You started crying in earnest then, and Cove wasn't sure what to do. He took a few steps towards you then stopped, at a total loss.

When your tears kept flowing, he finally made the final few steps to stand in front of you and took you in his arms. You held onto him tightly, burying your face into his chest.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to hate me."

Your voice was muffled, your face still pressed against him, but he heard you.

"I could never hate you," he said. "Not ever. Not for anything."

The "I love you" stayed inside his lungs, but the words were clearly implied.

"It's just ..." you leaned back a little, wiping your face before shifting to place your cheek back against his body. "It's just that I know I'm really young and this isn't what I planned on. You've always been so supportive and ... so proud of me, and I didn't want you to know that I let you down. And I know you never liked Baxter ..."

"You're not letting me down," Cove began, ready to launch into a speech about how highly he thought of you before his brain caught up with the rest of what you'd said. "Wait, Baxter?"

"It was just a couple of times, and I thought we were being careful, but obviously not," you laughed sadly. "I didn't find out until he left, and he won't answer my calls."

You were right, he never liked Baxter -- he thought it was an astoundingly bad idea when you'd told him you were dating him for the summer -- but now that disklike very quickly and easily morphed to hate.

Sensing that now wasn't the time to go off the handle, Cove took a deep breath and rubbed your back, still holding you close.

"No one else knows," you offered. "I've seen a doctor on campus a few times, but moms don't know, or Liz."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Yeah, I just ... I don't think it's going to go well, the 'hey, family, I'm going to be a single teen mom, surprise!' talk," you said. "Not really looking forward to it."

He paused, then carefully said, "I can do it with you. The talk and ... this."

You pulled back again to look up at his face, which was smiling down at you.

"What do you mean, 'this'?"

"This," he repeated, glancing down towards your stomach. "You don't have to do it alone."

"And you don't have to do it with me."

"I want to," Cove insisted. "If you want me to."

He told you about how he he could take on extra hours at work to help with any baby-related purchases you needed to make, and how he would help you take care of the baby after it was born. He promised you that your family would be ok with it all, even if it took them a while to come around. He even got on his phone during the conversation and bought an e-book about pregnancy, just to show you he was serious.

"What did I ever do to deserve such a sweet best friend?" you asked when he was done, finally smiling.

He wanted to kiss you then, so badly. But instead, he just smiled back.

Several months passed until he finally worked up the nerve.

You'd had a smooth pregnancy, and like he'd told you, he was there every step of the way. He attended doctor's appointments and researched all he could, and when the time came to actually have the baby, he was camped out in the waiting room, ready to do whatever was needed -- you'd wanted your moms in the delivery room with you for the actual event.

He installed the car seat in the back of his car, then uninstalled it and reinstalled it a few times before finally feeling good about it. He assembled the crib, the bassinet, the changing table, and he made it all fit in your little two-bedroom apartment.

When you and the baby, a little boy you'd given your last name, were ready to come home, he carefully escorted you to his car that was waiting in front of the hospital and secured the both of you before embarking on the most cautious car ride the world may have ever seen.

From there, you settled into a new normal. You'd protested at first, telling Cove that he didn't have to do so much for your baby, but he insisted enough that you finally let it go and let him help. Your heart warmed seeing him hold your son, seeing so much love in his eyes, and Cove melted watching how sweet you were as a mother.

One night, when the baby was a few months old and sleeping for longer stretches in the night, Cove came home from work to see you in the kitchen, hair tied up in a sloppy ponytail and wearing one of his shirts. You felt like a mess, but he always thought you were so beautiful like this.

"Hey," you said, smiling back at him as you washed bottles in the sink. "How was work?"

"Good. How was baby time?"

"Good."

He gave you a grin, then walked up to the sink and gave you a bump with his hip, moving to take over the dishes.

Not giving up so easily, you bumped him back. He laughed, then flicked some water at you.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Holden," you said, moving to put a hand on the sprayer.

"You wouldn't dare."

But you did dare, and a water fight commenced. Careful not to wake the baby, you sprayed water at him as he splashed his hand towards you from under the faucet.

In the dim light of the kitchen, with you finally laughing like your old self after a year of heartbreak and monumental changes, he threw all of his normal hesitation out the window and before he could calculate all the ways it could go wrong, he crashed his lips into yours.

A truce in the water fight was immediately formed as you kissed him back with just as much passion. Like Cove, you'd always been scared of your romantic feelings for him, scared they'd damage the friendship you had -- one of the most important things in your life.

After you found out you were pregnant, you'd let the dream of being with him go entirely, positive that he could never see you that way after having Baxter's baby.

But here you were, and here he was, and there was your baby in the other room, and somehow, things were perfect.

[cherriegyuu]

midnight regrets | bsk

pairing: seungkwan x f!reader genre: angsty kinda? but also fluff maybe? (drunk confession) word count: 848

this is part of my series, seventeen as songs from lover (ts)

Seungkwan ➝ Death By a Thousand Cuts I get drunk, but it's not enough ’Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby ↳ in which Seungkwan drunk calls you, his ex, and finally tells you all the feelings he kept to himself for months.

The clock on your phone told you it was just past four in the morning. Your insomnia had gotten to you yet again and this time it seemed like it had decided to stay. You did everything you were supposed to, ate better, avoided certain smells and foods that could trigger a migraine that could cause insomnia, but none of it seemed to matter. 

In the last couple of days, you only managed to get a total of 5 hours of sleep. It was a wonder in itself that your brain still functioned, poorly of course. 

With a groan, you turned on your side. You just wanted to sleep, like a normal person, for a few hours. Was that really too much to ask? 

Your phone started to vibrate on your bedside, the blue light suddenly pulling the room out of its complete darkness. No one in their right mind would call you in the middle of the night. Not because you would get angry at them but because no one calls anyone at four in the morning. 

Even if the number calling you wasn't saved a contact, it was one you remembered all too well. It was impossible to make your heart stay calm, to keep quiet. But your brain was telling you that there was something wrong. 

It had been almost six months since you and Seungkwan broke up. After the final words had been said, you never saw him again. You returned his things to Vernon and he had left yours with your doorman. You stopped following him on social media and deleted his number. 

The breakup hadn't been bad, per se. When you finally got down to it, you simply realized that you wanted things that Seungkwan didn't seem willing to give to you. 

When you told him that you wanted to break up his only words were "If that's what you really want, I won't do anything to stop you from leaving"

It hurt so much because you felt like he didn't care at all about you and it was clear that your relationship had come to an end way before you finally decided it was time to. 

Truthfully, you were still healing and you knew that taking that call was probably a bad idea. But what if something was wrong? What if he was in some kind of trouble?

After taking a deep breath, you accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"You weren't supposed to take the call," he said with a whine, words slurred.

You settled back against the pillows, relief flooding your body. Nothing was wrong, Seungkwan was just drunk. 

"Was I not? But you called" 

"But you shouldn't have" 

You could see him pout, eyes closed, and furrowed eyebrows. You couldn't hold back the smile that spread on your lips. 

"Why did you call, Seungkwan?"

There was a pause and a sigh. 

Seungkwan always looked cute when drunk, though all of his friends would disagree with you. It was easy to hear to distinguish Vernon's voice saying he called yn and Chan's oh he's drunk drunk.

"I miss you so much" he cried "Did you know that? Every single day I wake up and you're the first person I think about. Sometimes something happens and it's so trivial but I want to call you and tell you about it. And sometimes I wonder where we went wrong and I know isn't an us problem, it was a me problem. It wasn't you because you weren’t perfect for me but I wasn't perfect for you. And I…"

You covered your mouth as if it would be enough to suppress the sound of your small sobs.

"I didn't want perfection, Seungkwan. All I wanted was you"

He whined again, a cry left his mouth and you swear that he fell because the next you heard was Chan's exasperated dude, be careful. 

"I should have said something that day but your words hurt me, so I let my pride take over. I should have asked you why, at least. I do know why but maybe if I asked I would have come up with some sort of argument. And then you returned my things to Vernon because you didn't even want to see me. And you unfollowed me everywhere and I bet you deleted my number. Because you always said hi baby, when I called or Seungkwan? if you were worried. I miss you so much and I love you so much. I want to try again, can you give me another chance? Hm?"

Seungkwan wasn't the kind of drunk who couldn't talk, who was hard to understand. His words got a little slurred and he talked a little bit slower but you could understand every single one of them. His desperation was obvious.

"You're all I ever wanted. I'm sorry I can't say it sober"

You closed your eyes. Maybe you would regret your words but you still wanted to try, even if you and Seungkwan were destined to fail.

“If when you wake up you still feel the same way, we can”

taglist: @wonwooz1, @ryuwonieebae, @sobun1est, @mirtaspace, @feat-sun, @wonvsmile, @belladaises, @mhlsymlysn, @immabecreepin, @miriamxsworld, @aaniag , @sofix-hc7, @scarlet789, @moonlightgrleric, @r6njunlv, @mixling-blog, @k-drama-adict

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[airas-story]

your writing is really good, do you have an advice for beginning?

First off, thank you! And oooh. What a question.

I am sure there are so many people better qualified in the art of writing to answer this, but I'll share a few thoughts, because qualified or not, I love writing and I love talking about what I love... so... just remember, you asked for this!

And, because this got a little on the long side... Under a read more.

First, there's this desire/expectation that seems to permeate a lot of hobbies, crafts, and art forms that insists you be your VERY BEST EVER if you create something, and that nothing less than perfection will ever do. Well, let me break it to you, you will NEVER start writing at your very best. In fact, 'your very best' may never seem to happen at all. (Now, to clarify, because I don't want this to come out wrong, I am not saying that your writing isn't your best, because I have no doubt you're giving your best, I'm saying your writing will very rarely match 'the best' that you have pictured in your head.)

Writing, from the first word you write until the day you stop, includes progress and improvement and growth. You may always be looking at your writing and seeing where it can be better and that's fine. That's good! That doesn't mean what you're writing now is bad or that you should give up or that what you're creating is not worth it.

(Spoiler: It is always worth it.)

(Just going to say, in the least creepy way I can, that I love you for investing yourself in the act of creation, you are making this world into a place worth living in.)

Having said that, once you've been writing for a while, sometimes you might stare at your writing and feel discouraged, wondering if you've improved or grown at all, wondering if you should just call it quits and let 'the more worthy' write. First, stop that. You (and your writing) is so worth it. Second, I will tell you now. YES. You have. And you will continue to.

...but that's not the beginning, that comes later, so let me return to the beginning.

There are probably a lot of different ideas about how and where to start. For me it starts in one or two places, but really in one place. I will explain.

For me, it 100 percent starts with the desire to write, because, frankly, sometimes writing is hard (but worth it!) and I need that desire to push me through. Since you're asking this question, I presume you have that desire already, so this is me telling you to lean into that desire. It can be the general desire to create, it can be the desire to write a specific story, it can be the desire to put a thought or emotion into story format that you don't know how to express elsewhere. Sometimes one story has all three, sometimes it has only one. (I will note, from my personal experience, that writing solely for 'other people' is rarely going to get you through the hard part of writing. (Having said that, yeah, a lot of time a part of writing IS for other people; it's one reason we share it! But it should probably not be the sole motivating desire.))

Now, the second place, that is also the first place, is an idea. It can be really hard to write something if you don't have an idea. Just saying. I have definitely stared at the computer screen being all "I want to write something new, but I have an absolute total of NOTHING in my brain right now" and needing to close the computer and leave it for another day.

But, at the same time, ideas come and go, and while there are definitely idea deserts (and when those happen, there are things you can do to jumpstart idea creation, different people have different brainstorming methods), there are also sometimes times when there are too many ideas, and you are overwhelmed by the possibilities. In which case, go back to the first start. I need to have that genuine desire for a specific idea. (And sometimes you'll have desire for multiple, and there are other questions you can ask yourself to edit the list down.)

I've started plenty of stories that haven't gone anywhere because the desire dies. Sometimes I'll push through for a bit to see if the desire will come back. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it'll come back a year later and I'm right back in that story. In the end, desire is everything for me.

Now this is all 'before you even start' advice. If you've decided you want to write, you have that desire, you have that idea, and you're staring at the computer screen wondering how in the world you get the first words on that writing document, the first thing you should figure out is what sort of writing process is right for you. Do you need to plot out a story before you can write it? Do you need to take an idea and a vibe and go from there? Do you need to find a balance between the two? (These different style of writers are often called plotters, pantsers, and plantsers respectively.)

The advice you'll want to consider for how to start writing is going to change depending on what writing process works for you. I have definitely looked at writing advice and been forced to acknowledge that that is probably fantastic advice and that, simultaneously, it will never work for me.

And you know what? At the beginning, you may not know! You may need (and want) to try all these different processes out to see what sparks your brain. I've been writing for a while and I still play around with my process to try to fine-tune and figure it out, even now different stories have used different processes.

I'm willing to share thoughts on any or all of those processes from my own personal experience and from the research I've done (you would not believe the number of writing resources I've read/watched... it's a problem). But I will say right now that I am not an expert, just someone noodling around in the writing pool and having fun. But this feels like it has gotten way too long for me to go into those right here and now.

But, in a general sense, you will never write anything if you don't start by putting a word on that page. The empty page with its blinking cursor can sometimes be one of the most overwhelming parts of writing. Start by putting something on the page. You can delete it later, you can revise it later, you can end up going a completely different direction than you expected, you can come back to those first words later and wonder what in the world you were thinking when you put those words down. But put something on the page and destroy the blank document's hold on you.

And as a final note (I'm sorry, this got way too long!!!), writing is so often a lonely process, something between you and your story alone. (And hey, sometimes loneliness isn't bad, it can help you figure out you, your story, and, honestly, sometimes even bits and pieces of your own life.) But sometimes it really, really helps to have someone in your corner encouraging you. So, let me offer you some encouragement now. If you want to write, you CAN. I am cheering you on.

[angelshizuka]

I think I might have figured out why the ending of Sinsmas ticked so many people off, other than the bad faith assumptions I’m used to seeing people jump to.

I do creative writing as well and something I have learned over the years is to get out of your writer’s brain and into your audience brain to see if the way you’re trying to present something is actually conveying the intended message.

And sometimes, no it does not and then I have to rework some scenes. Like for me personally I’m writing a fanfic and there’s a part where I was trying to portray an argument between Blitz and Via as intense and emotional but I ended up making her both of them look like WAY crueler than intended so I had to rework that scene.

So when it comes to Sinsmas, because I’m a writer I completely understand the angle Viv was going for with Via and Stolas’s fight and the actual scene is fantastic.

Here’s the problem though: the context they chose to show for why Via disowns Stolas doesn’t track logically to her decision to cut him out of her life.

She thinks Stolas abandoned her and is choosing to stay away from her, but in the same episode, they SHOWED Via seeing a call from Stolas coming in and they SHOWED Via witnessing her mother rip the phone out of her hands and laugh about her father’s situation.

In a show, while there does need to be work done on the viewers to put the pieces to together, it is still up to the creator to provide the proper context for why a character is acting a certain way.

Like I said, I completely understand what they were going for and the actual confrontation is great, but the context they chose to provide doesn’t track so it accidentally makes Via’s actions look wildly illogical at best and cruel at worst.

Because in the show, she SAW her dad try to reach out to her, she SAW her mother deliberately stop him, and she SAW her mom be cruel about it. So to then have her get mad ONLY at Stolas accidentally makes it look like she is siding with her mom’s cruelty, which I know was NOT intentional.

And I’ll be honest, I still believe that there would be people who would wildly misinterpret their fight scene and intentions even if they did provide better context for it, because the internet loves to hate Vivziepop no matter what.

But bad faith critics or not, clarity and proper context in storytelling is still important, and while I think Viv does it well sometimes, other times I think she still needs practice.

But also, Via is still my baby girl and I WILL defend her from bad faith critics (same for Stolas, because being a fan of both of them is exhausting lately).

I still remember the few weeks between Mastermind and Sinsmas when we were speculating what Stella would do to manipulate Via against Stolas and I definitely didn't see anyone theorize it the way it ended up playing out in Sinsmas.

I mean, that scene isn't at all a dealbreaker for me and I prefer not to talk too much about my problems with it, because I don't wanna give "critics" even a single grain to work with, but I do have to admit it's definitely not how I would've written the scene. And you can still have Stella and Andrealphus laughing at Stolas' attempt to reach out without Via being there.

This is a rough idea, but the way I'd do it is Stella (or Andrealphus) already having stolen Via's phone during the night. Then you have that scene in the morning of them laughing at Stolas calling, they could even make it hurt extra bad by hanging up on Stolas or even blocking the number. Like, Stolas won't magically know it's actually Stella (or Andrealphus) doing that. Eventually followed by Via walking in asking if they've seen her phone, then Stella (or Andrealphus) would put on her manipulative behaviour how she's keeping the phone for Via's own sake, because she doesn't want her "poor precious daughter" to have a moment of weakness and try to reach out to Stolas herself (Blitz's contact is in her phone, so she could've).

Again, just a rough idea and like I said, it's personally not a dealbreaker for me, more like a nitpick. The ending scene still hits extremely hard for me, because you don't tend to think logically anyway when emotions take over.

So, while I do agree Sinsmas' writing isn't perfect and could be improved in some areas, I also think "critics" are just incapable of actually thinking about what's being shown to them on screen, partly because modern media has become obsessed with spoonfeeding their viewers literally everything.

And honestly, if I only liked shows with perfect writing, there wouldn't be a single show in existence I'd like.

[film-in-my-soul]

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(see more recommendations below!)

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[thelunarfairy]

The lonely prince of the moon 🌙

Have you made your wish to him today? Did not you know? The Moon Prince can grant wishes, but he asks for one thing in return.

If your desire is to find out more about him, then you will have to give him your patience, because this little boy will not fulfill your wish so easily, how long have you been waiting for this?

Amane and Hanako, two names of the same person. Two versions, same story. It's incredibly contradictory how at the same time he can be such a charismatic boy and so isolated.

But, if we are going to talk about our little dreamer, let's separate him into periods.

Amane, the shy and introverted boy. He had no friends and didn't seem interested in finding any. He lived alone with his own thoughts. Could this boy be more mysterious? The marks on his skin left a trail of violence without us knowing who was to blame, and even if he was, for Amane there was no guilt.

The marked boy, the way he looked at the marks, as something he had to bear alone. People shouldn't meddle, that's what he decided.

Loneliness…

A word that is apparently part of his life, despite being born alongside the person he loved most in life. He was lonely, and didn't seem to feel loved. He wanted to leave Earth, such a bad place for him.

Amane wanted to conquer the Moon, she was so brilliant, the feeling of welcome she gave him, as if she said that if he could reach her, he would be free, he would be happy.

The way he found to get to heaven…

He went, but didn't reach the Moon, the Earth pulled him back.

Amane dies and Hanako is born.

Equally lonely and with a big weight on his back. He had two sins now, that of having killed his own brother and of having taken his own life, at least, that's all we know.

The so fragile and defenseless Amane was suffocated into his chest. And he was trapped for so long that when he resurfaces, Hanako doesn't know how to act.

When does Amane return?

When a little mermaid decides to show him her charms.

Mermaid?

Who was the girl who called him the first time?

He likes to call her Yashiro. I think you know

The first person who saw him. He wasn't an evil apparition, nor a ghost, nor a strange, perverted boy, he was her friend. Isn't that what she said?

She was the only one who little by little helped Hanako to show a little of Amane, because even though now he is the great 7 of the 7 mysteries, the great powerful ghost… He is still Amane.

There is a big difference between them. Hanako is extremely charismatic, fun, likes to joke and make stupid jokes. He has good intentions and protects those he loves. And above all, he is not a coward. Even if he made a mistake, he admits his mistake and regrets it.

But, it doesn't end up that way. He is also the person who killed his own brother, he is the person who has good intentions in some cases but solves problems in the wrong way, he uses people to achieve his own goal without thinking about what they will feel.

There is a dark side to him.

And he hates him.

This dark side that we gradually get to know, even if it hides it. And he does it so well it scares me.

People always find justifications for what he does.

He wanted to lock the girl he loves in a fake world without giving her the chance to choose, because he knew she wouldn't want to, and he decided on his own that she would live happily without him.

Good intention, bad execution.

Hanako's dark side became justifiable because people fell in love with him. Because of his dangerous charisma. Because of Amane's fragility, which sometimes reflects on Hanako.

Make no mistake, Hanako didn't stay social after he stopped being Amane Yugi, he likes Yashiro, she was the only person he had any real interest in.

Kou joined the group by force, if you remember how it all started.

Where are Hanako's other friends?

The other supernaturals either respect him or hate him. There is no middle ground.

Why don't Amane and Hanako like the idea of having friends? If there is this charisma if he has this personality that is so easily captivating, then why did he choose that?

To hide the secrets? Because he is afraid of doing something to his own friends and is afraid of losing them?

Because in the PP arc, where the ideal world of the "protagonists" was reflected, did he have friends? Did he want this?

What was stopping him?

Hanako has reflected the waning Moon in his own eyes, a well-lit and beautiful part that draws everyone's attention… And another dark part, that no one can see what it hides….

That sums it up well. The lonely prince of the Moon who wanted to be loved, but was afraid to love too much…. Why?

The boy who only had a short time to live, the one who wasn't going anywhere, the one who pushed his younger brother away just because he wanted to be healthy like him. The boy who cried at night while waiting for his brother to return, who perhaps asked the moon to bring him back. He was alone, but he didn't want to be.

So when Brother came back, he didn't feel like he was enough. Because of him Amane couldn't help but fear that one day he would leave again, because of him Amane endured things he didn't know he could, because of him Amane committed his greatest sin, or what affects him most, because of him the Amane didn't allow himself to love again.

He didn't deserve to love and be loved. That's what he thought. He didn't deserve to be alive, nor to go to the moon to fulfill his own dreams. He deserved to be alone and suffer for eternity, because nothing he does will take away the guilt.

But he got a new chance.

He is being loved again, or for the first time.

Even though he's running away, he wants this… He wants to be loved, to be forgiven, he wants to make things right.

All Hanako, or rather Amane, wants is to have a normal life, like everyone else. ���

[stonegearstudios]

Flash Gordon & the Sci-Fi of Almost a Century Ago!

I've got a interest in old scifi. That's not strange, plenty of people do, though what interests me most might be slightly more unusual.

I'm interested in the good ideas and the bad, at the same time. Now, it's no surprise that old scifi has it's issues, literally everything does, but the common treatment of women, race, politics... well we'll see soon.

Despite all that I like looking back at old stuff to try and pic the good out of the bad, to see what were genuinely the revolutionary ideas while not ignoring the real issues.

I also happen to run a weekly watch party in the RPPR discord and this week were starting the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, so I thought, why not go back and read the original comic strip, starting at the beginning way back in the 30's?

And on a Sunday no less

So, Flash Gordon. Without doing a whole biography, here are some basic details

The first strip came out on January 7, 1934, though given it was in the big Sunday papers, strip is less appropriate, more of a comic block really, full colour to

It was explicitly made as a... should I say knock off? of Buck Rogers, made more than 5 years earlier (Will probably read Buck Rogers sometime to)

According to Wikipedia, they tried to get the license to make their comic a John Carter adaptation, but when negotiations fell through, Flash was born (hey, just like Star Wars 50 years later)

Apparently early Flash was also inspired by the 1933 novel When Worlds Collide, which I have some experience with, will be interesting to see how

Ok, let's get started. I have no idea if these comics are in the public domain yet so I won't be posting the whole things, just individual panels here and there

Polo, really? Polo?! Can you get more poncy?

Starting off, we hit the ground running. In only 7 panels we learn a rogue planet is flying toward Earth (and this World will Collide with it), apparently there is a lone scientist is driving himself mad working on a solution, and our two main characters are introduced and swiftly put in peril as a meteor from the approaching planet just so happens to destroy their planet.

There's not much SciFi yet, besides the approaching planet. I feel like rogue planets are a trope that used to be more common, though I can't be sure. Apparently the first exoplanet evidence was found in 1917 but one wasn't confirmed until 1992, so it makes sense that writers would be theorizing about them.

On the less good side, the second and third panels are used to show how "primitive" peoples are helpless before the approach of the planet, and can do nothing besides turn to superstition. It will be interesting to see how non-white characters are portrayed as the comic goes on, though I'll be surprised if it can, well surprise me before we get to a more modern take.

I mean, Flash isn't wrong, but good lord what's wrong with your legs man?!

In the second half, we get a look at Flash's abilities. A meteor knocks a wing of the plane he was in clean off and somehow he manages to both put on a parachute, grab Dale (was Dale a common woman's name back then? I don't know) and jump clear of the tailspin. Effortless for a Capable Man™, the pilot and any other crew are just out of luck I guess though.

Quite economical storytelling that a meteor from the approaching planet (Which somehow got way, way out in front of it) would knock them down right in time to land in front of the lab of the only scientist would could stop the planet... who then holds them at gunpoint and forces them into his rocket in what he thinks is a suicide mission. I guess that stress really is getting to him.

A couple of things here, yeah, the story is going a bit to fast, but this is a Sunday comic after all, you get one a week then have to wait a week for the next one so I imagine there was quite a bit of pressure to make each instalment feel worth it.

It's also such a classic scifi thing to have a lone scientist working on a vast machine. Like, did he do the metallurgy himself? How did he move the parts? Is he an Omnidisciplinary genius? Old scifi has no time for these rational questions, we need to get into space by comic 2!

Speaking of

Strip 2 (presumably published on Jan 14th)

Oh yeah, this is the good stuff

Dr Hans Zarkov (Zarkov doesn't seem to be a real name but Hans implies something Germanic, given this is the early 30's I wonder if that implies anything?) continues his manic break, suddenly becoming a coward who doesn't want to die while Flash is now committed to ramming himself into this planet.

It's nice that Dale's first instinct is to grab a wrench to wallop the doctor, that will serve her well. And then we see the panel above. This is the kind of simple yet evocative scifi art I would have rotated in my mind for hours if I had read this as a kid. A submarine like rocket, a glittering city set against a pitch black sky (implying no atmosphere?) I love it.

And then we are reminded that planets have gravity and you really should have someone at the controls of your rocket. BANG, CRASH, and the rocket crumples into a mountain. Despite what must have been a impact at thousands of km/h, Flash is just fine (even if his polo gear is a bit torn up) while Dale is just unconscious. Leaving the rocket (without Hans) Flash walks to the city in the distance.

Gotta have a cliffhanger each week, wonder if one will have a literal cliff?

Other than the rogue planet, the first strip didn't have much to draw me in if I was reading Flash on release, but this? This would catch my attention. Alien worlds, alien monsters, mysterious cities! This would get me coming back next week, good thing I don't have to wait that long.

One thing to note I suppose is the interior of the rocket, with all it's pipes, pressure gauges and such, reminds me more of a Jules Verne creation than a rocket, but we aren't that far from Verne's age in the 30's, now were we?

Strip 3

Slowly, slowly eating him. How considerate

Well, Mongo (I'm assuming that's where we are) certainly doesn't waste any time. You crash and giant lizard-cat monsters are trying to eat you inside five minutes. Better get more than a pen knife Flash old buddy.

We also see the classic trope of "Oh no, a giant monster is about to eat me! Oh no a second one! Oh, they're fighting each other, better get away". But then, rockets!

That's one heck of a worrying trajectory for someone with only rear mounted rockets

Aliens! Who look just like rubber foreheaded people, guess Star Trek had to get it somewhere.

Now, there's no getting around this, the very human-like aliens are literally coloured yellow, their leader (called the Emperor of the Universe here) is named Ming (though not named yet, wonder when that will happen). It's been a while since I did a deep dive into Yellow Peril, but lets just say, despite how stereotyped he was, I was surprised the African man in the first comic wasn't drawn with big pink lips. Racism is an intrinsic part of almost all media from this era, one of the reasons I still haven't gotten into John Carter yet is the opening blurb where his backstory is discussed. There were exceptions to this, even at the time though, and I think it's important to remember this wasn't a hard rule, it was laziness and pandering to a lowest common denominator audience.

Anyway, in terms of scifi tropes... well, we quickly have a Emperor on his thrown, he grabs up all the pretty ladies, sends our hero to the arena to die, archetypal bad guy.

Strip 4

Flash is a great dancer

Straight into the arena and the appearance of another pulp staple, Man-Apes. I wonder what the first property to use them was, The Island of Dr. Moreau?

Anyway, as a certified Capable Man™ Flash has no trouble dispatching them, despite the fact that other primapes have muscles that work a bit differently than us humans, so a single blow could have de-gloved him (don't google that).

While the fight panels are more than a bit disjointed, the actual poses aren't bad. You see how powerfully Flash is built (and several of them would make George Takei go "Oh My") and using your opponents as a weapon is always fun.

By the standards of the day, the ladies haven't been that bad so far

Ming, being an evil Emperor of course, can't have this, so Flash must be shot down. Good thing that like all imperial goons, his men are terrible shots. And lucky for Flash he leapt into the viewing box of the Emperor's daughter, who calls for his mercy.

The evil emperor has got to have a inexplicably pure and good daughter to, it's just the law. What's really funny is how in the very next panel, Flash falls down a trap door. Really lets you know what kinda guy Ming is. Has a trap door to the Hole of Horrors™ installed in his own daughters booth. I shudder to think what he put in her bedroom, swinging blades?

Now, I can recognize that this is the old love at first sight for a man you don't know trope, but I prefer to believe our Princess is just so fed up with her dad she would have jumped after anyone. Anything to get out of another state dinner :V

And that's 4 comics. Let's see if I can make this a regular thing. 4 comics a week, on Sundays since Flash was a Sunday comic.

If this was interesting at all, why not drop me a comic on your own thoughts, especially if you decide to join me in a readthrough.

Until next week, set your Rockets to Maximum!