#thank you for letting me know lmao.. what a shitshow they have going on over there

[electoons]

hey liartownusa (anti lighthouse matchbooks) is a right wing transphobe

ah hell 😔

[captainderyn]

I m sorry this will be a shitty idea :,] [ if reqs aren't accepted in here then just ignore me ]

JUDY/FEMALE V ft Mr silverhand cause how does choas not happened without the man who blew up arasaka

V stealing a kiss from ms alvarez while she's smoking ? Win for Johnny and a win for v ft Johnny encouraging v about it lmao > glitter anon

Hi nonny!! Thank you so much for the suggestion :D I wrote a little something something for this, hopefully this fits along the idea you were thinking!

--

V didn’t smoke. Never had, never wanted to. Enough second hand smoke clogged the sidewalks of Night City that she didn’t need to ever put a cigarette to her lips to know what it tasted like. 

There was something enchanting about the play of the lights around the thick haze swirling around Judy as they sat thigh-to-thigh on the rooftop edge of the building. Charter Street hummed with life below them, cars zipping back and forth in a synchronized drone of tired thumping through potholes and honking horns. Further out, the sprawl of Night City glimmered with neon, the echo of advertisements in the heart of the city reaching even here. 

Judy inhaled again, puffing out another cloud of smoke and turning her face up to the sky. According to her she hadn’t smoked until Evelyn…

Well, until all of this happened. 

  “If you don’t stop giving her lovesick puppy eyes I’m going to be sick.” 

Johnny’s voice grated through her mind, the engram himself shimmering into existence on the other side of Judy. He mimed an exaggerated, Shakespearean level look of longing, kicking his feet back and forth off the edge of the building. 

Tsch, V glared at him trying to beam the image of a middle finger in the link between their minds. From the shit eating, arrogant grin he flashed at her it worked. 

Then Judy sighed, lifting the cig to her lips again. V watched Johnny as his eyes followed the entire movement, genuine longing replacing his performance and matching the sudden craving that flashed through her. 

She had to bite her tongue from speaking aloud and to keep her mocking words inside her head, ‘Hey asshat, stop eye-fucking the cig or I’m going to be sick.’ 

Johnny, unlike V, could fip her off without being seen. And he did with both hands. 

“Hey V, where’d you go?” Judy’s bemused voice broke through her glaring contest with Johnny and she blinked to find Judy staring at her with a soft quirk of her lips. 

“Oh ya know, just thinking.” V’s eyes darted over to Johnny, who made a gagging gesture before glitching out of her vision. The neon lights of the city caught the last glimmer of his silver hand, giving her yet another middle finger with gusto. 

‘Dick.’ She thought. 

‘Bitch.’ He responded, unable to let her ever have the last word like an immature, bratty teenager. 

And perhaps she was equally immature given that she would’ve continued down this ongoing, middle-school level bicker-fest if she didn’t have the most beautiful women in Night City smiling at her like she was the sun on a rainy day. 

Man if there was one thing to come out of the shitshow of a job that Evelyn had set up for her and Jackie, it was meeting Judy. Even if tragedy was the glue that drew them together. 

Judy bobbed her hand, ashes from the waning cigarette floating down to land on her overalls, arching a brow, “Earth to V, you a little lost up there?” 

V grinned, sheepish and cheeks tinging with heat, “Sorry, lot going on up there." Understatement of the 2070s. "I’m here I promise.”

“There is absolutely not.” Johnny retorted in the recesses in her mind. The edges of her vision flickered like he was going to manifest again. “Nothing but goo and stupid synth-pop songs in here.” 

It took til a count of three to keep herself from telling him to stuff it out loud. She considered it a fantastic display of maturity. An idea blossomed in her mind and she gestured to the cigarette dangling between Judy’s fingers, “Can I?” 

She hated the idea of it, already cringing, but…

Judy held it out to her with an inquisitive look, “Thought you didn’t smoke?” 

V leaned forward, taking a long drag without taking it in her own hand. Johnny’s own rush of joy flooded through her brain, mixing her emotions and his in the uncomfortable, out-of-body way the Relic caused. 

Hopefully that would be the pacifying her overgrown brain toddler needed to fuck off for a while. 

And there it was: silence. Blissful, peaceful, if unsettling, silence. Johnny was there in the way he always was: twining around her consciousness, but his attention was elsewhere. 

“Judy, can I kiss you?” V’s voice was breathless, needy and wanting to have, to experience before she had to share brainspace again. 

Judy was already watching her with parted lips and at V's question she gave a small nod, closing the distance between them. The kiss was slow, a drinking each other in.

When they broke apart, Judy followed V as if for more before her eyes fluttered open. V's eyes flicked from hers to her lips, her heart hammering.

Johnny's thoughts bled into hers, melding together into one breathless request, "Again."

Then Judy was pulling V back close to her by the collar of her synth-leather jacket, fingers fisting into the black material of her tank top beneath, crushing their lips together in a deep kiss. V threaded her hands through Judy's multi-colored hair, losing herself entirely in Judy.

The telltale blue static filled the corner of her vision, telling her that Johnny was somewhere nearby.

"I meant the cigarette V!" Johnny complained, "Another cig!"

V paid him only enough mind to flip him off behind Judy's back, slipping her fingers from Judy's hair to wrap around her waist as Judy clambered into her lap, slipping V's jacket to her shoulders to trace the lines of tattoos along her skin.

She'd gave him a quiet mind when he'd gone on his failed movie date with Rogue. It was about time she called in the same favor from him.

[disneyanddisneyships]

I WAS IN CHURCH SO IM LATE BUT

I am sending in an ask

Hope getting her 1st period 😝

IVE BEEN WAITING FIR THIS DAY.

Ask me about my first period. It was a shitshow.

Also, the reason alistar know so much about it is because his friend group contains mostly girls and they have probably made him go out to buy them items, as well as ranted about it, and cried into his arms. Lmao.

Alistar knocked on his 10 year old daughters door.

"Sweetheart, can I come in?" Alistar asked as he waited for an answer.

There was nothing.

Worry filled his lungs as he gently opened the door only to find his daughter on the bathroom floor blood around who and crying.

"Hope?! What happened are you okay?!" Alistar asked before walking over to her.

"I started bleeding I don't know what happened I just saw it in my underwear and I- am I dying?!" she cried.

Alistar sighed in relief as he realized what had happened.

"Honey, you're not dying. You've come to the age where your body is going through changes. And one change that happens only for females, is that they get a period," Alistar explained.

"I heard mama telling me about those.... saying I'd get mine soon... what is it?" Hope asked.

"Well. When you reach a certain age, you start to bleed. You get pains in your stomach and lower back. Your mother could probably tell you more about it than I could," Alistar explained.

"How much blood? How much does it hurt? Am I gonna be bleeding forever non-stop?!" Hope asked, clearly scared.

"The amount of blood and the amount of pain you feel depends on your own body and genetics. And you only bleed for a week each month give or take, and then you have a break," Alistar stated.

"Oh...." Hope muttered.

"Vome on. Let's get you cleaned up," Alistar stated.

He took hope into he and Rosalyn's bathroom, abke to find pads. He explained to her how to put one in and then he left her to clean herself up.

Rosalyn then walked dinto the room.

"Oh thank hades you're here. Hope started her first period," Alistar le tout a breath.

"And you handled it?" Rosalyna asked.

Alistar nodded before Hope came out of the bathroom. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail as her blue eyes looked down in shame.

"I'm so proud of both of you," Rosalyn stated. "Now come on mi amor, we can call in all your aunties to help you out," Rosalyn explained as she and hope walked out of the room.

[cardistrymagic]

MI7 spoilers (my long rant)

extremely religious takes on the enemy lmao. i think because i'm a sucker for tech being used in spy movies that the airport scene was my favourite. 1. ethan not being found through the cctv- what a fun intro! 2. benji with the bomb- nice to see him do something...( i mean you made me think him running in the airport trailer scene was important 🙄)

IMF team: luther talked more than he has in other movies and i demand more. thanks. i kinda wish they'd use the team more ig. because they are literal field agents so they can fight? i hope? and the whole train scene benji was just gone like waiting thinking "wow he should be here by now" like LET HIM DO SOMETHING!!!

the fact that the entity has control over lots of techy stuff so benji n luther cant really do much??? makes me sad. like let them talk to each other :( i like the gadgets. i liked the little banter luther n benji had.

lastly- the scene where ethan jumps off the cliff- only women are in his flashbacks?? like i thought we'd established the IMF team as his. family lowkey y'know. it was just like okay...

in venice: white widow wasnt bad i guess. the benji dupe voice- love how it played on ethan's loyalty! i think it showed well how dangerous the enemy was- but for some reason i'm still more afraid of the past villain- lane, due to the many examples and horrors he's actually committed. ig im not into the blue ai enemy.

grace: my one thing is that i get that she might have had to be brought into the team to be safe BUT compared to ilsa, she is a pickpocket. a crime commiter at best. she is not at the level of a field agent (unless plot armour??) . not much fighting skills. to me she's kinda a liability. not to mention her constantly running away like. i was endeared to her at the airport because of her confidence. i get that maybe she becomes aware of the world-threatening shitshow she's been dragged into unwillingly but still. idk if she's cut out for the job. compared to ilsa a literal ex-agent with ties to MI6. even on the goddamn train she didnt really trust ethan YOU almost DIED?! if not for the plot armour of ethan parachuting into the carriage. girl literally almost killed him by handcuffing him to the car like very funny he just saved your life. literally not trusting ethan on the piano scene What? i dont care thats shes a orphan you've literallly been through so much. with ethan.

one second she's like not able to do much besides throwing a key around. on the other hand she can fight knife to knife with a super skilled killer (gabriel) like what? a citizen thrown into stuff out of her league-driving a car (she cant) playing a good white widow (id forgive her for never doing this ever) and the train (ok thats fine) like i just dont see the value of her being in the team besides being able to play. a woman? which im sure the og team could do to be honest. . can grace shoot a gun?

btw i feel like her relationship w/ ethan moves so fast?

grace: i dont trust you. i will let the police capture you. you saved my life but im still running!! i messed your plans up (sorry)

ethan:( holds her face) my life is worth less than yours.

What is this intimacy??affection idk closeness? i know ethan is a loyal guy but???

villain: dark messiah. death as a gift. ghost. ai. gabriel (angel wow) i love more religious imagery. the flashback was like a decent window into ethan lore BEFORE imf (oooo) but i just dont really get what gabriel wants? the entity is messing shit up already. and gabriel seems to already work with it (comms faked in venice) i assume that ethan is a variable the entity needs to eliminate but just kill him? hahaha? gabriel probably likes seeing ethan suffer but compared to lane's stuff i'm not really. amused. (ethan literally has nightmares about lane)

also paris i didnt even know if they ever said her name? she was angry and dressed up and had some rabid dog scenes (like go girl) but i hope she does more in the next part! like the part where she holds up ethan and grace with a stab wound (woah. strong)

other stuff: the dutch angles being used in like 50% of the shots like CALM DOWN i love the mi:1 references but were they always so disorieting maybe im just getting old

the scenes? ilsa dies and ethan looks a bit distressed. the scene where they're hugging was so like woah okay but felt really like. shoved in there like. Okay yeah something bad is gonna happen to her 😭😭

in the end, rogue nation + ghost protocol are still my #1s. characters like brandt and ilsa had really interesting backgrounds and fit into the IMF team easily- the films centering around their teamwork is why i got so into MI in the first place. grace doesn't offer any like addition i dont think she can even bicker with the team for funsies (like brandt/ilsa) . she's not cool shes a poor girl that didnt know what she was getting into 😭

things i did like:

action scenes. awesome((besides the lack of luther and benji there)) ilsa being awesome in the desert

the cinematography (beautiful. as always.)

everyone in suits ( lawyer ethan. benji. )

thanks for reading and feel free to yell at me about your thoughts!!!!!

[oddtripps]

Shitty mental health rambling under the cut lmao

CW mentions of depersonalised and 18+ art. Don’t click if it makes you uncomfortable my guy.

I’ll be honest with you my guy, I keep having this deep feeling of SOMETHING.

I have no clue what it could mean, let alone what it points towards, but it feels like eyes boaring themselves into the back of my skull again. Almost EXPECTING me to do SOMETHING.

I really wish I could navigate this feeling better, or at least communicate with it. It feels as if it’s another disembodied persona, but it could also be a new part of my system I haven’t really been too aware or conscious of.

My system has been yelling at me a lot too, since breakfast kinda has full range of The Activists. Lunch and Dinner know he’s being unreasonable again, but every time I go to change the channel breakfast is sure to throw the whole “if you stop doing This Actively, you’ll fade into oblivion again, teehee. Stay the same lmao”

Since he’s been around the longest, it feels almost impossible to really talk to him without there being a shitshow of tantrums and guilt tripping.

And to be bluntly honest, I hate drawing what I draw. I want to tell stories man, I want to have that communication between fictional characters and give them the life the source material can’t give us. I’m sick of drawing something that looks vaguely lewd for that interaction, but if Breakfast doesn’t get his LittleTreat (( any outside input )) he gets even more violent, and if he gets violent he slowly starts attacking others around him and not just characters on a screen.

I don’t HATE him, but he’s probably the hardest system member I’ve ever had to nagivate. He loves to make people uncomfortable. He loves to get in the way, but he’s not EVIL, he’s a child that doesn’t know any better.

I’ve been wanting to work with him to get him to move on, or at least grow in his own personality, but holy shit man is that little dude stubborn. Anything that doesn’t work with him and it Doesn’t Exist. He’s also the only system member who holds grudges for people in my past, while me, Lunch and Dinner are more so “live and let live. Forgive and forget, etc etc.”

For awhile in time I wanted to introduce a new system member, someone closer to Breakfasts age, but make them female so breakfast doesn’t immediately want to fight them on site. But I knew that if breakfast felt like he had “competition” he would get even more needy and would take the rains too often. Letting him run wild on twitter and being a little shit works for awhile, but I’m terrified he’s gonna start to slip out more over here or irl, and the last time that happened was something I’d never want to repeat again. Just from the shame and the copious amounts of people we ended up hurting, keeping him quiet is best for everyone in this situation.

I wish it wasn't like this.

Im not saying I wish I didn't have my conditions or my trauma, j just wish it was easier. Lunch and Dinner also need validation and love, but by forcing all my attention on a dead little kid who's sure to throw a punch if he's ignored, it leaves out the other two who are incredibly important to me.

Then again, I know I'll never be lonely. Even if the only friendship I had was with my own disorders. Breakfast will never leave. I need him despite how he acts and the way he navigates this world, I need him like an old keep sake, something to remind me of the better days. Something to remind me that despite everything that happens, maybe someday I can return to that same peace and love I had at the very start.

But for now, I'll let him kick pebbles and terrorize Lunch with crayon drawings. I'll let Dinner try her best to mother a zombie who's only want in this world is attention, no matter if that attention is coming from a kindhearted or loving source.

I love you. Thanks for keeping me company.

[makeste]

BnHA 326: What’s up Kids, It’s Me, Your Old Pal Stain

Previously on BnHA: Ochako shamed the U.A. Clown Mob into letting Deku go back inside his own fucking school by giving them an hour-long speech about how not to be humongous dickheads. Kouta and Gigantic Fox Lady saved the manga by being the only ones brave enough to give Deku a hug. Shouto was all “man, all this togetherness sure does remind me of that promise you made that we would handle Touya together which you immediately bailed on, doesn’t it, Dad.” Aizawa was all, “for the one and a half people out there who thought that my losing an eye and a leg might actually make me less sexy, I’m very happy to prove you wrong.” All Might was all, “[standing outside the U.A. fortress alone in the rain talking to someone or something??].” Like seriously, what was up with that though.

Today on BnHA: All Might is all “here I am in Kamino having a belated mid-life crisis because Deku abandoned me and I’m a terrible mentor and everything sucks and I hate myself.” Stain is all, “don’t make me come over there and give you a ten page speech about why you’re still the goat while menacingly holding you at swordpoint the entire time” because idk if you knew this guys, but Stain is pretty crazy actually. Anyway so he does that, and then All Might gets all emotional, and then the lady from chapter 92 shows up and gives All Might’s statue an encouraging pep talk, and then Horikoshi is all “and it even stopped raining lol can you believe this shit I’m not even a little bit subtle,” and he really isn’t. But I still got emotional anyway, because seeing people reassure All Might that everything he’s struggled for his entire life hasn’t been in vain just got to me okay. Horikoshi knows I am weak to the All Might feels and he just goes for the jugular every time, that bastard.

lmao. “in the neverending downpour, All Might is...” yeah, thank you, glad we’re getting right to that then

“All Might is driving 95 mph in his busted ass car in the pouring rain, is what he’s doing.” huh

so basically a day or two after his adopted child refused to accept the handmade bento that he packed with love, my man is out here acting like he’s got nothing to live for anymore. this sure bodes well for certain prophecies on which the clock is still ominously ticking down

his fucking face though omg. is it weird that I’m kind of hoping more people ambush him just because I think it’d be funny to see them get their asses kicked like the last bunch

(ETA: or maybe he will just stand there openly not giving a fuck and basically daring them to stab him!! get it together please All Might.)

side note, “anti-hero supporters” is such a strange way of saying “people who hate heroes”, which I’m assuming is what they actually wanted to say?? this makes it sound like it’s a group that really loves antiheroes. “these Hannibal stans have been a real menace lately. time to go deal with them”

ha ha ha, fucking ouch

are you really gonna do it Horikoshi you bastard. are you really going to let that be the final encounter between the two characters whose relationship you once described as the vertical axis of the entire fucking story. are you really gonna?? huh??

huh

you’re telling me you were driving 112 mph and you still didn’t get there in time. you’re losing your touch old man. lol Todo’s ice is almost fully melted already, how late were you

(ETA: so apparently this is taking place after the end of chapter 325, meaning he went to U.A., hung out for a bit, saw the kids come back with his bedraggled half-dead protégé in tow, watched as they shamed the civilians into some long-overdue character development, and then was all “welp, time to go argue with the hero-hating faction or something because I’m feeling useless.” and Edge just let him go, just like that. though to be fair I have to imagine it’s pretty hard to say no to All Fucking Might.)

also belated lol at the fact that the kids were all “yeahhhhhhh we are definitely not gonna touch that thing, let’s just leave it here, he doesn’t need it anyway.” probably the right call to make since they couldn’t get a hazmat team on such short notice

fuck. ha ha ha fucking ouch part two

All Might please put that thing down before you get gangrene. also yeah, you dropped the ball, good for you to acknowledge it. nobody’s perfect and you did your best. but yeah you could have handled a lot of things completely differently. but I still love you

is Horikoshi really putting this flashback here. are you serious. what kind of fucking sadist

look, I swear I’m not one of those people that runs up and down the street shouting “DEATH FLAG!!” at every third panel lol. but this shit screamed Death Flag when we originally got it, and it’s screaming DEATH FLAG!!! even more now. like with the capital letters and exclamation marks and all. and that’s just a fact. I don’t like it but that’s how it is

ffkdjslk

“DID YOU READ THE SIGN??!” Horikoshi asks while zooming in maniacally because he thinks we’re blind or something. lol what

-- though actually, it only just occurred to me that this sign is actually written in English. I never really paid attention up until now and had been assuming it was written in Japanese and translated by the scanlators, but the writing here is clearly part of the original image. anyway so maybe that’s why he’s zooming in?? just to make sure everybody pays attention lol

okay fuck this

see, this is the whole problem right here. once again All Might is all on his own. Deku’s self-destructive angst spiral was fortunately brought to a grinding halt because he actually has support from his friends and family and teachers and classmates. but All Might never had that same kind of support, and it’s made all the difference between the two of them, and not in a good way. Katsuki wasn’t wrong when he said All Might and Deku were both cut from the same cloth. but now when it’s All Might’s turn to go all “I WALK A LONELY ROAD~~” once again, there’s nobody in sight

just, after forty plus years of him carrying this torch, I just wish someone would finally come along to let him know he doesn’t have to. all those things that he wanted to say to Deku are also things that he needs and deserves to hear himself. Aizawa was making a little progress there, but now he’s got his sad zombie cloud boyfriend situation to deal with, and we can’t expect him and his perfect hair to solve all our problems. someone else has gotta step up

oh my god

“you rang?” never mind I take it all back sob

omg why am I laughing. shit

this man truly has the best PR game in the series. we were truly convinced he was gonna suddenly become a good guy and defend All Might against the other villains or some nonsense. as if this wasn’t the same man who decided on a whim that Iida Tensei deserved to be paralyzed, and that his fifteen-year-old brother deserved to die for daring to be upset about it

lol even All Might is all “I genuinely never saw this coming” lmao

just want to say, for the record, I have always harbored a very sensible hatred toward Stain. feeling very vindicated right now. good job Past Me

adsfklwkfsdwgkj

ffffwefjslkg. ghsdlkg. dsfkkkslkjldwkjrg

STAIN: heard you talking shit old man

ME: smh that’s what I thought you’d say you dumb fucking Stain

STAIN: how dare you talk about All Might that way

ME: gljfljgk

(ETA: in hindsight I have no idea how I didn’t clue in sooner that he didn’t recognize him -- or, well, ~didn’t recognize~ him, to be more accurate lol. I think it was the whole “is that a slight against the heroes?” thing that threw me. Viz’s translation makes it much clearer that he’s offended on behalf of All Might specifically, not heroes in general. anyways.)

sob. so All Might is all “yeah I don’t blame you for not recognizing me in this sweet leather jacket”

good thing he still knows how to do this party trick

A+ reflexes on Stain’s part presumably pulling the sword back a few inches to keep this dumbass from impaling himself with his whole pufferfish routine. can you imagine if that was the gruesome death Nighteye foresaw. and he was just too embarrassed to say anything

lol anyways guess I was wrong about Stain everyone

way to fucking go, Past Me. you really biffed this one

oh wait

Stain sure is one wacky rollercoaster ride

oh fuck me lol I forgot how much I did not miss this

(ETA: “this here is the sacred ground where All Might gave up the last of his power and turned into a shriveled old man!! please ignore the part where I admit to knowing all about that, and yet pretend not to recognize said man when he’s standing two feet in front of me.”)

Past Me, I know we’ve had our ups and downs these past ninety seconds, but I’m really starting to think you were on to something. this dude has always been kind of insufferable. always acting like his high horse is a fucking giraffe when it’s actually a Shetland pony

dammit now he’s got All Might going off on a depressed monologue

oh my god my heart

shit

why the fuck does that hit so hard. he became a hero because he couldn’t bear to just sit back and let bad things happen to people who didn’t deserve it. I mean that’s basically the same as every hero ever, right? so why does it still hit so fucking hard every single time though. what is it about seeing someone so determined to stand up for other people and fight on their behalf. it just never loses its impact no matter how many times I see that determination mirrored in so many of my favorite characters

“I wanted to make the world a better place.” omg. but you did, though. like seriously, I feel like people are always dogging on him for not being 100% perfect, and fandom really doesn’t give him enough credit for everything he still managed to accomplish. this man came of age at a time when Japan was by all accounts a total shitshow, and singlehandedly managed to bring about an era of peace that lasted for four fucking decades. can you imagine having peace for that long?? that’s longer than I’ve been alive. shit

and he gave people hope. he inspired them and protected them and made them feel safe. and no, he couldn’t save everyone, because he’s only one fucking dude (and also because the whole time AFO was also out there desperately working to undermine him so that he could keep preaching his narrative of “heroes are bad actually”). but you know what he did do, is inspire multiple new generations of heroes who, if they can all manage to work together, will finally be able to accomplish everything he never could

so yeah. forty years of peace, and inspired the “that’s how we all became the greatest heroes” generation -- that’s a fucking win in my book. talk about having a net positive impact on the world. lol anyways now I’m all fired up and ready to fight anyone who tries to talk any shit about you, All Might

“but what if I talk shit about myself” okay listen up All Might I’m gonna need you to try just a little bit harder to work with me here okay. please calm down and stop blaming yourself for every single bad thing that’s ever happened in the world. do you remember that time Bakugou was blaming himself for Kamino, and you gave him a hug and told him it wasn’t his fault, and that he was only a boy, and that even though he was strong, even strong people can struggle with the burdens they place on themselves, and that you were sorry for not seeing that earlier? do you remember all of that? that’s what I want someone to tell you too, dammit. anyway please stop breaking my heart please and thanks

wtf

are you dead All Might

um

I don’t even have the slightest idea what’s happening lol

oh snap did he grab him so they could hide??

hold the fucking phone. don’t tell me this person in the background with the umbrella is here to actually do something decent??

oh my godddd

and here come the feels. oh boy. okay don’t mind me, I’m just gonna sit here sobbing over this fictional lady and her simple act of kindness in this weekly shounen manga that I care about way too much

FUCKING DAMMIT AND HERE’S A SECOND HELPING

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST GETTING DISPROPORTIONATELY EMOTIONAL OVER THIS WOMAN’S DETERMINATION TO HONOR A MAN WHO SACRIFICED EVERYTHING TO SAVE HER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS. I’M JUST HAVING SOME FEELS OVER HERE ABOUT HER HEARTFELT, DOESN’T-EVEN-KNOW-ANYONE-ELSE-IS-WATCHING FEELINGS OF GRATITUDE THAT COMPELLED HER TO COME OUT HERE AND MAKE THIS SMALL BUT POWERFUL GESTURE. I’M JUST OUT HERE GETTING ALL PROFOUNDLY WORKED UP ABOUT STATUE MAINTENANCE AND THE HUMAN RACE. NEVER MIND. JUST IGNORE ME AND CARRY ON

holy shit. I was not even remotely prepared. you can’t just do that to me. you can’t just leave all these death flags on my lawn and then suddenly shift gears to show me the best of humanity in a chapter where I was expecting the worst. that fucks a person up lol

OH ARE WE STILL GOING

my heart. you see that, All Might. your legacy is so much more powerful and meaningful than you think

...has. has Stain actually been giving All Might a pep talk this entire time

I give up lol. this dude is a fucking enigma

YAYYY

it may just be a metaphor panel, but I’ll take it lol. I missed them. nice to see the traffic light trio front and off-center. I know the whole “this is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes” thing had left some questioning whether certain characters would continue to play a central role in the narrative, and hopefully this will help to ease those concerns just a bit

anyway, so idk if it’s getting a bit chilly down there in hell, but damned if Stain didn’t just give an actual decent fucking speech

I have to say, earlier when I was whining about All Might not having a support squad, I really was not expecting Stain to be the one to come over and pat his head and reassure him that he made the world a better place

-- okay LISTEN

YOU CAN’T JUST COME INTO MY HOUSE AND HIT ME WITH THOSE ALL MIGHT TEARS AGAIN GODDAMMIT THIS ISN’T FAIR. my god. first 317 and now this

holy fucking shit

“I’m just gonna pretend like I haven’t been stalking him for two days and didn’t see the entire Deku bentogate thing go down, and then I’ll give him the whole big speech that I rehearsed, and then I’ll turn around and be all ‘BUT IF YOU’RE A TRUE HERO’, and then I’ll toss him the super-secret AFO wifi password that I stole from Tartarus. god I’m such a badass. fucking give myself chills”

so basically what you’re telling me is that this whole time my “what’s up kids” characterization of Stain from this shitpost has actually been 100% accurate. just want to make sure I’m understanding this right. okay then

“and then I’ll dramatically spin around and be all NOW COME KILL ME BITCH”

it must be so much fun to write Stain. drawing this coked-out maniac who talks like a chatbot that was trained to speak by reading Alan Moore monologues. that must be a trip

anyway so All Might is still crying, the awesome lady from chapter 92 is admiring her handiwork totally oblivious to the batshit insanity going on fifty meters to her right, and it’s finally stopped raining lol

“THE RAIN WAS A METAPHOR YOU SEE” yes, yes, we got it lol. thanks for that Horikoshi. don’t think we needed any help putting the pieces together on that one but I appreciate the effort

so that’s the end! and as I mentioned in another post, I had the count off by one chapter, but next week should be cliffhanger week! so break out your U.A. Traitor bingo cards, friends and fiends. either that or something else happens that I’m completely not expecting at all. which, based on my success rate with Stain predictions, I’d say is more than likely lol

mmm but anyway, so now that the Hug Deku 2021 campaign has finally come to an end, what’s it gonna take to get a hug for my struggling bento-preparing jacket-rocking world-weary death-flag-waving husband who is the worthiest man to ever live and deserves the fucking world, goddammit

[bumblesimagines]

Green Thumb

Request: Yes or No

Ppl seemed to like the Imagine and nobody really said anything about it being a fic but I like that (Y/N) sooo. For anyone confused about the root things, (Y/N) has root bracelets on each wrist that he can control. He can't make roots come out of his hands or anything. (Y/N) isn't gender neutral ik I use second person for a gender neutral reader but I'm starting to rlly like second person view lmao. If people like this enough, I might keep this fic going to Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame.

~

You placed your hands on the sides of the pot, watching the dead flower slowly regain its color. You could hear the faint sound of chatting and music from the party Tony was holding. Parties were never your thing. Parties meant crowds of nosy people with nothing else better to do. You heard your bedroom door open, turning around and looking at Clint.

"Hey, why don't you come downstairs? The party's ending." Clint offered a small smile, holding his side. You looked back at the flower, standing and gently placing it back with the other flowers on your desk. You approached Clint, feeling him gently wrap an arm around your shoulder.

"How's Laura?" You asked softly. Clint grinned, licking his lips as he glanced at you. You liked Clint. He was like the father or older brother you never had.

"She misses you. She mentioned wanting you to move in once training was complete." Clint revealed, looking at you. You blinked, brows raising as you stared at his face, wondering if he was joking.

"Think it over." Clint gave your shoulder a small squeeze as you joined the others, nodding to Maria. She gave a nod in return, a small tight smile on her face. You didn't blame them for not trusting you. You had attempted to kill them a few times out of fear. You took a seat on the couch, watching the Avengers laugh and chat. You stayed silent, fingers gently tracing the root bracelets.

"You thought of those yourself?" Maria asked softly, tilting her head. You looked at her, nodding.

"Having them on me makes me feel safer." You replied quietly, looking back at the roots. You continued to trace them, watching them shift slightly at your touch. Dr. Cho leaned over, humming in fascination.

"It's incredible how responsive they are to you." She whispered softly, meeting your gaze briefly for permission. You nodded, watching her reach out and touch them.

"How much can you feel? Or is it just a control thing?" She asked.

"Uhm, I know when they're dying or are in need of something but they don't feel pain so.. Hurting them doesn't hurt me." You explained. Dr. Cho nodded in understanding, leaning back.

"I'd love to ask you more questions later, if you don't mind." She gave a kind smile. You looked up upon hearing grunts, watching Clint attempt to pick up Mjollnir while Thor watched on in amusement. He gave up, chuckling. Tony went next, the smug look on his face disappearing when he couldn't lift it. You chuckled softly, watching James try to help Tony but the hammer didn't even budge.

"(Y/N), why don't you give it a try?" Clint asked after Bruce went. You licked your lips, glancing at the Avengers when their gazes went to you.

"Uhm-"

"Go on, give it a try." Thor encouraged with a a big smile. You stood up, walking up to the table where the hammer sat. You grabbed the handle, roots slithering down your hands and wrapping around the hammer. You pulled, suprised to find it was definitely harder than it looked.

"Don't pull a muscle, kid." Clint called, chuckling as you huffed, letting go of it and retracting the roots. You took a seat beside Clint, gently leaning against him as Steve went next. He went at it but wasn't able to lift it.

"It's rigged." Tony called with a shrug as Clint stood, a chuckle leaving him.

"You bet your ass."

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria pointed out in playful seriousness. You chuckled softly. Clint had told you all about Steve and the bad language joke. You stood up, about to call it a day before a ringing noise stopped you in your tracks. You looked up, noticing a half built robot limping into the room, mumbling stuff.

"Clint?" You called out, frowning. Clint looked at you before turning around, standing up as everyone's attention shifted to the robot. Clint slowly backed up until you were within arms reach. He knew you could protect yourself but he cared about you too much to let you get hurt.

"How could you be worthy? You're all killers." The robot said, motioning at them with its broken arm.

"Stark?" Steve's gaze stayed locked on the robot. The robot continued to speak, stumbling about. He replayed a clip of Stark saying something. Maria took out her gun, slowly standing up. Clint immediately grabbed you when the robots bursted into the room, pulling you along and hiding.

"Stay here." Clint whispered, standing up. You frowned, watching him go. Your looked over the room, noticing Dr. Cho attempting to hide behind the piano. You stood, quickly going over to her as a robot rose up. You raised your hand, making a root shoot out at it and wrap around its neck, throwing the robot to the side and watching it break.

"Thank you." Dr. Cho whispered as things began to calm down. You helped her stand, making eye contact with Clint as Thor threw his hammer at 'Ultron', breaking him into pieces.

"(Y/N), go to your room." Clint breathed out.

"No, he deserves to know what happened here." Steve said, giving you a nod.

~~~~~~~~~

You licked your lips, glancing at Clint when he silently drew an arrow. You unclenched your fists, watching the root bracelets around your wrists grow and wrap around your fingers. You were surprised you had even been asked to tag along considering you were still new and young. You watched the Maximoff twins, stare at Tony with pure hatred. Not long ago, you were also an enemy of the Avengers. Clint had taken you under his wing, practically adopting you after everything. You assumed you were only allowed to tag along because of your powers. You had gained better control of them over time.

"Stay alert and stay close." Clint told you, shooting the arrow once the fight began. You watched the robots, nodding. You leaned forward, slightly over the railing, fingers moving. The roots wrapped around them shot out, wrapping around one of the robots that had lunged for Steve. You moved your arms back and apart, watching the robot be ripped apart. Steve looked up towards you, giving a greatful nod. Clint grinned, drawing another arrow. You noticed a flash of blue and white running below, keeping an eye on it. Another root shot out, successfully making the male Maximoff trip and stumble. You retracted the root, shifting your attention onto the men with guns.

"What a shitshow." You muttered, sighing softly. Clint glanced at you in amusement.

"Language." He called playfully, chuckling when he heard Steve groan. You let a small smile slip, roots wrapping around the necks of two of the gunmen. You slowly clenched your fists, making the roots strangle them. You heard Thor mention something about the Maximoff girl trying to mind control him.

"Drop 'em." Clint said, giving you a pointed look. "Only make them pass out, don't kill them."

"Fine." You huffed, dropping the men with a small scowl. Clint shot an arrow that knocked out a whole floor, giving a satisfied hum. You heard soft footsteps, spinning around and grabbing the girl Maximoff by the throat, grip tightening with each passing second. Her eyes were wide, caught off guard. Fear flashed in them briefly. Clint quickly planted an electrical arrow on her forehead. You removed your hands, glancing at Clint.

"You seriously need some freshing up on those people skills." Clint said, shaking his head. You scoffed, head tilting slightly.

"She's the enemy!"

"No killing-" You were suddenly shoved forward, bumping into Clint and crashing into what seemed like a control room. You grunted as pain struck up your back, turning your head and watching Pietro pick up his sister bridal style. You shot out your hand but he dodged the roots, using his superspeed to run off.

"Yeah, you better run." You heard Clint breath out. You turned towards him, roots retracting completely.

"Are you okay?" You asked softly, feeling glass digging into your hands as you slowly stood up, grunting softly. There was definitely gonna be a big bruise on your back when you checked later. You helped Clint stand, watching him attempt to contact the others. You leaned over the railing, seeing Steve laying on some stairs. You raised your hand, having the roots grab onto something sturdy before jumping over the railing and heading down to the floor he was at. You approached him, crouching down, cupping his face and seeing his red eyes and dazed look.

"The girl got to Steve." You said, sighing softly.

"Natasha as well." Clint replied. "Seems like the whole team is out of commission."

"Wonder what they're seeing." You muttered, standing and having the roots gently wrap around Steve's arms and waist. They were thin so dragging him along was the only choice.

"Having fun on your first mission yet?"

"Oh, fuck off, Clint." You called with a huff, trying to drag America's sweetheart across a ship, avoiding bodies and trying to keep his head from bumping into stuff.

"Sorry, buddy." You winced, watching Steve's head bump against some steps. Once outside, you were able to drag him along with more ease, getting him inside the step as Clint went to get Thor. Natasha had slowly come out of her daze, groaning softly and holding her head. You looked at him, gently slapping him. Steve gasped, panting softly as his blue eyes met your (E/C) ones.

"Welcome back." You muttered, standing up.

"What happened?" Natasha asked, looking at you with furrowed brows. She looked around the ship, standing.

"Where's Banner?" She asked with a frown. You rubbed the back of your neck, stepping aside so Steve could get up.

"He.. He and Stark are in the city. He hulked out." You told her, concern appearing on her features. Natasha cursed under her breath, though her mind seemed to be somewhere else. You turned towards the entrance, seeing Tony with Bruce. Clint returned with Thor, silence filling the air as Clint got the aircraft in the air. Clint motioned for you to get closer, a smile appearing on his face.

"You did amazing today." The praise made you smile, nodding as you glanced down at the ground. It had been your first real fight.

"Does that mean-"

"Not yet, we still need to work on some things. Soon enough, you'll be officially part of the team." Clint assured. You nodded, taking a seat nearby and sighing. Clint steered the ship to his home, landing it. The Avengers seemed confused at the unknown location but you happily got out of the aircraft. Clint chuckled, watching you head up to the house and enter.

"Honey? We've got company!" Clint called. Laura appeared from one of the rooms, smile widening.

"Hey, sweetie." Laura cooed, arms extending and wrapping around you. Both of you chuckled when the baby kicked.

"Someone's happy to see you too." Laura smiled, placing a hand on her belly before greeting Clint with a kiss.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura." Clint introduced her to the team. You enjoyed Laura's company. Her warmness was welcoming and she had been more than happy to take you in. Footsteps echoed lightly, preparing Clint to greet his kids. You smiled, watching them greet him. Natasha had been the only other one who knew about Clint's family. Lila gasped softly upon seeing you, quickly running towards you. You bent down, picking her up and chuckling.

"Miss me?" You asked, giving her a gentle hug. Laura looked over, smiling softly.

"Of course she missed they missed their cool big brother." Laura said, giggling softly when Lila noticed Natasha and happily went over to hug her. Cooper took Lila's spot, giving you a big grin. Thor suddenly left the house, Steve following.

"What have you been up to?" You asked, watching Coppers eyes light up. He grabbed your hand, pulling you along to his room. Laura and Clint hadn't officially adopted you but they were more than happy to do it. Once you were done with training, they were gonna get the papers and make you a Barton.

[singingcroissants]

Patch Me Up

Hello, I’m back friends!! Things have been so busy lately, but I couldn’t stay away for too long! Of course I wrote this at 11 pm instead of translating Homer like I was supposed to be lmao. This is probably terrible but I figured I’d post it bc why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy!

Warnings: language, blood/injury, cheesy a$$ fluff

Note: This fic is aged up, as always!

Eyes heavy and muscles aching, you turn your key in the door.

The routine after a big fight was always the same: kick your shoes off, fumble through your dark apartment, and try not to think about whatever shitshow you just survived. But tonight, your side stung a little too much, and the blood seeping through your white t-shirt sent a shiver down your spine. Once you locked your door, you shuffled over to the bathroom sink to take inventory of your wounds. Lifting your shirt with a wince, your suspicions were confirmed. It was a shallow cut, you wouldn’t need stitches...but it was a pretty long gash, and it was definitely aggravated from rubbing against your shirt. In addition to the knife wound, you had a large bruise on your cheek, and your arms were peppered with little bruises from where the attacker grabbed you. Suddenly you froze, bile rising in your throat at the reminder of his pockmarked face and sadistic grin. Refusing to linger on the memory for too long, you splashed some water on your face, but grimaced when the action sent a searing pain into the laceration across your rib. Your vision turned white for a moment as you swayed, briefly losing your balance. Leaning your back against the bathroom wall for stability, you slid down to sit on the cold linoleum floor, head back, as you rubbed your knees in an effort to busy your shaking hands. Suddenly aware of hushed breathing coming from the doorway, you looked up, startled. To your surprise, Five Hargreeves stood in the doorway, watching you coolly. You two had a complicated relationship, constantly competing to be savior of the city. Over the 5 years you had known each other, you had never seen him smile; he was all business, all the time. What he was doing in your house on a Tuesday night, however, you couldn’t say. You were pulled from your thoughts as you felt his eyes on you.

“What happened?” He asks after a pause.

“On my way home from work I saw the Baxter Street gang following a young woman down 5th avenue, and I tried to take them on my own.” You hesitated, your pride wounded. “...It didn’t go so well.”

Five rolled his eyes, and muttered, “Yeah, I can see that.”

His jaw clenched and unclenched as his gaze slid over you. You watched him back intensely, surprised to catch a momentary glimpse of alarm in his eyes as he took in your bloody shirt and bruised cheek.

“Stand up,” he commanded.

Confused but too tired to argue, you began to rise to your feet, but not without muttering an indignant “What are you even doing here?”

To your embarrassment, the moment you stepped away from the wall you faltered, and he blinked across the room to catch you before you hit the ground. With his left hand resting on your back, and his right gripping your hip beneath your shirt, he guided you to an upright position wordlessly.

Through your haze of pain, you noted deliriously that he was making a suspiciously low number of snide remarks about your current position.

He lifted you up effortlessly and sat you on the countertop.

“Can I take this off?” he motioned to your shirt. Trying very hard to ignore the blush spreading to his ears, you whispered a faint, “Yes.”

The electricity skyrocketed when your eyes met, the tension of the moment visible in the slope of your shoulders, and Five’s bobbing adam's apple.

In a swift motion, he lifted the shirt up and stoically began cleaning your wound. You searched for any sign of concern in his face, but he showed none. Silently he worked, your heavy breathing and the buzzing electric lights the only sounds in the bathroom. Once he had disinfected the gash and carefully wrapped bandages around your waist, he quickly straightened and removed his sweater. Clearing his throat, he looked away and said casually, “Put this on.”

However grateful you were for his first aid skills, you began to grow shy at Five’s unceremonious kindness towards you. Fidgeting with the hem of your bloodstained shirt, you stubbornly said, “Oh thanks, but I’m actually perfectly comfortable in this. It’s actually designer-”

“Put it on,” he interrupted, his tone rising. A voice crack betrayed his attempt at austerity as he reigned himself in once more: “I’m not going to ask again.”

He left you staring, sweater in hand, as he turned to face away from you.

“Fine, fine... Thank you,” you conceded. You slipped off your soiled shirt with a wince, and put on Five’s sweater. It was soft -really soft- and smelled like leather and pine. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

Echoing off the wall came a muffled and surprisingly gentle “You’re welcome.”

“You can turn around now, Robin Hood,” you called, in a half-hearted attempt at sarcasm. You had hoped that in using your usual nickname for him it would ease the tension in the room, but it did the opposite if anything. But maybe, you thought to yourself, the tension wasn’t necessarily unpleasant.

The two of you made your way to the couch in your living room, and within minutes Five had helped himself to your kitchen and returned with steaming mugs of tea.

Now you sat, side by side, staring into the swirling vapor rising from your cups.

Five broke the awkward silence: “You shouldn’t have tried to take on that gang by yourself, especially when you’re not prepared. That stab wound was worse than it looked, y/n. You could have been seriously hurt.” He hesitated,” Or worse.”

“Since when do you tell me what to do, Five?” you responded, heat rising to your cheeks. “You’re not my partner, you’re my competition. And what do you care, anyway? If I died, you’d have everything you ever wanted! They’d hand you the fucking key to the city!” Your emotions overtook you, exhaustion having decimated any boundaries you might have clung to otherwise. “So why the hell are you on my couch, and why am I wearing your sweater, and why does it smell so good?”

Shit.

To your surprise, Five Hargreeves laughed. He sat in front of you, mug of peppermint tea in hand, laughing. Miracles do happen, you joked to yourself, awestruck.

His laughter slowed, and your face burned bright red in the soft glow of your table lamp.

“Do you really not know why I’m here?” he asked in a low voice, suddenly more serious.

You shivered.

Closing the distance of the couch, he reached out and caressed the bruise on your cheek after a brief moment of hesitation. The uncharacteristic warmth in his eyes made yours shimmer with tears, and you weren’t quite sure why. It had been a long time since anyone looked at you like that.

“I’m here because not only would I care if you fell into harm’s way, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. It’s impossible not to notice you when we’re both out there, trying to keep everyone safe. You’re brave, and strong, and kind. To be honest, you’re the reason I keep fighting for this city, your selfless desire to protect and care for others...I just never knew how to tell you. It didn’t seem right. But when I heard you had gotten hurt, I imagined the worst, and I just... well, I just had to tell you.”

Your heart swelled, and suddenly he was kissing your lips, his eyelashes fluttering against your cheek. One hand rested on your thigh, and his other was combing through your hair. The moment was tender and new and so very fragile, the opposite of everything you had known about Five Hargreeves. He shifted his position and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the bruise on your cheek. You leaned into him, finally allowing yourself to give in to your fatigue from the evening’s events. Five quietly took you into his arms and began rubbing your back, calming you even further.

Normally physical touch made you shrink up, but somehow the man beside you was learning how to break down your barriers at lightning speed. Perhaps you had been closer to each other than you realized for quite some time.

In all the excitement, you felt your eyelids begin to flutter closed as you fought to stay awake.

“Darling,” Five whispered, “You can fall asleep, it’s okay. Let’s just rest.”

That was all that you needed to hear. You drifted off in his arms, his chest rising and falling slowly beneath you. The stinging in your side drifted to a dull ache, and your tight muscles began to slowly unwind themselves as you slept. And it felt good.

Now that you know what it’s like to be taken care of by someone, you don’t think you can ever go back to your old “post-fight” routine.

Five knows you won’t have to.

[yee-fxcking-haw]

•Save Me Again•

Summary: Ouchies :/ some hurt+comfort with Kiri. Its a rough mission for Red Riot, his anxiety gets to him, you pick up the pieces.

Pairing: Pro Hero Kirishima x NBreader (both 18+)

Warnings: Angst, panic attacks, mentions of blood, death, grounding tactics (five senses method)

Word Count: 1,605

A/N: Wrote this with a big achey heart at five in the morning. It hurts. Sorry y'all lmao.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The images flashing on the television are nothing short of horrendous, they're devastating and gorey. It leaves you feeling painfully sick and hopeless. You cling to Eiji's shirt, crying into the fabric every time a life is lost. The anchorman is talking, but his words are lost somewhere between the speakers and your ringing ears.

A particularly gruesome death is shown, you feel your body sob, but again can't process any sound. Where is he? Where the hell is he?

The screen cuts to blue, some well worded message about sparing the audience of graphic content flashes on it.

You have to breathe, you have to keep moving, you have to focus. You can't though, your lungs won't fill, your body won't budge, and your brain won't settle.

He's ok. He's built for this.

-But, he's cities away, and you haven't heard from him or seen evidence of him on the news… so, what if he isn't ok?

Those villains weren't anything he hasn't faced before, but there were so many of them. More bloodthirsty than usual, more reckless. Now, with the stupid news cut off, you have to just wait and hope to whoever the hell is running this shitshow that Eiji is holding his own.

The secret feed. Fucking hell the secret news feed.

Being a loved one of a Pro, you're connected to a secret news feed that covers events like this uncensored. It's something his commission came up with, not long after you had your first severe panic attack from not knowing if he was alive or dead on a similar mission.

Your phone is torn from your pocket, thumbs flying with urgency as you pull up the feed.

With nearly supernatural timing, the camera pans to Eijirou, who's covered head to toe in ash, debris, and blood.

"Oh, baby…" You choke out, hand reaching for him subconsciously.

In his strong arms, wrapped in rock hard safety, is the limp body of a little boy. Blood seeps from an open gash on his head, it looks deep, it looks serious.

Eiji's face is hard to read, it always is when he's in mission mode. He looks focused, but shaken, resolute, but disturbed.

You watch as he brings the boy to a medic who promptly has him laid out on a stretcher. His pulse is checked, followed by a slow, mournful shake of the medics head.

Then Eijirou's face falls, you can see his heart shredding as if it's his own child laying there.

You cry for him, your heart cracks and falls apart as you watch him realize he was too late. You know what he's thinking, you know he doesn't think he's helping, or that he should even be there.

You know he doesn't think he's a Hero.

You watch helplessly as they stabilize the situation, capture the villains, and clean up the mess. Every time the camera is on Red, your heart breaks all over again. He's not doing well, the rock has been shaken.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

When the front door finally opens, you freeze completely. You should run to him, you should say something, but what would you do? What would you say?

So, you wait. You take in his battered form, the blood, the falling hair, the broken eyes. He shucks off as much of his hero gear as he can.

His eyes stay on the ground as he walks over to you with heavy feet. He slumps down on the couch, elbows on his knees as he buries his face in his filthy hands. He smells like battle, an almost offensive smell, but something you're used to.

After a tense moment of heavy silence, a trembling sob rattles through his exhausted body.

You want to throw yourself on him, wrap around him and coddle him, but you know you have to wait.

"Can I touch you?" You question softly, trying to remember all the steps you need to take to ground somebody when they're shaken up like this.

His only reply is grabbing you by the waist so he can pull you into his lap. His arms lock around your body, his face buried into your chest, and he just cries.

The cries turn to sobs that turn to screams. All sent somewhere deep inside you, somewhere dark and hopeless. Your fingers are in his hair, as soothing as they can be when you're shaking this much.

"I know, baby… I know." You whisper, tears covering your cheeks as you break with him.

"No." He chokes, he says it like he's fighting something, like he doesn't want it to happen.

"You don't know, nobody knows." It isn't accusatory, it isn't angry, it's just painful.

You wait for a moment, unsure of your footing, trying to calculate what to do next.

You have to diffuse somehow, you have to bring him back down. He's nearly hyperventilating, and you don't want him to go through a panic attack. You know you can handle him, but when Eiji panics, it does a real number on him.

"Honey, can you feel me?" You ask cautiously, digging your fingers into his matted hair, squeezing your body around his.

He nods as another gut wrenching sob rips from his throat.

"Ok, good, baby, that's good." You coax.

"You can hear my voice, right? Can I hear yours, please?"

He takes a moment to pull breath into the bottom of his lungs, pressing the side of his face against your sternum.

"I'm here. I'm right here." He answers, just like you practiced.

"Thank you, thank you for being here." You lean back slightly, a bit difficult with how tightly he's holding you. When he feels you shift away, his breathing picks up again, his hands hold on painfully and he shakes his head frantically.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I'm not leaving." You reassure him, reaching for the water bottle on the table beside the couch.

You guide his face towards yours with a gentle hand on his jaw. He's a mess of tears and snot and blood. His eyes are more bloodshot than you've ever seen them, lips quivering, eyebrows drawn tight with anxiety.

It makes you want to cry as hard as he is, but you can't. If you cry, he'll want to save you, and he's done enough saving for today.

You bring the bottle to his lips, tipping it up and making him drink. He closes his eyes as he takes in the cold water, undoubtedly dehydrated.

"You can taste that, right?" You ask as you pull it away after a few long drinks.

He'll want to chug it, but he can't, it'll make his stomach hurt.

"I can." He answers, almost like a robot, but it's better than nothing.

"Thank you, Eiji, you're ok. I'm here." You remind him.

"Can I take your shirt off?" You ask.

He nods slowly, following the lead you've taken on the situation.

Your shirts are both discarded, as soon as you're rid of the fabric you grab the blanket off the back of the couch and throw it around your back before pressing your bare torsos together.

You've learned that skin to skin is the best way to ground him. As you expect, he melts into your warmth, bringing you back down against him so he can hide his face in your neck.

"You smell nice." He whispers, picking up the senses where you left off, it makes you swell with pride.

"Good, thank you baby, what else is there?" You prompt, willing him to keep going.

"I see our home." He sniffles.

"That's right. You're home. You have me. You're safe." You repeat it a few more times.

Between gentle touches, soft kisses, and extensive reassurance, his breathing settles and his tears stop falling.

"I don't think I should be out there." He finally whispers after several moments of slowly breathing together.

You don't answer, you don't combat it. You both know he should be out there, but you know he needs to get this out, so you let him.

"I couldn't even save one k-kid." The heartbreak in his eyes is immeasurable, inconsolable, it makes you fall apart in a thousand different ways.

You don't speak, you don't fabricate comfort with sweet words. You just let him cry again, full bodied into your neck. He'll do this a few times, settle then fall apart again. You'll be patient, sit there with your glue and tape and piece him back together.

"You saved me." You remind him quietly, recalling how you met.

He truly did, you were almost collateral damage, just another tally mark on the wall counting lives lost to villains. However, one Hero, one brilliant Hero, saved your poor civilian ass.

He pulls away to blink up at you, eyes swollen and wet, broken and searching.

"You saved me." He breathes.

Your forehead falls against his.

"We save each other. That's enough. You're doing enough." You assure him, knowing he needs to hear it.

The push and pull goes on for a little while, you let him break, you stitch him back up. You wipe the dirt and blood from his body, kissing the bruises, reminding him you're real. You clean him up and talk him down, until his body is wrapped around yours in bed.

He cries himself to sleep in your arms, tears falling more slowly, the result of a dull ache that will linger for days. It'll stay this way for a bit, an unstable back and forth, but you'll be here. You'll reach down and pull him up, you'll save him like he saved you.

[mentallydatingahotcelebrity]

LOKI SHOW AU:

Sylvie is a 16/17 year old character called “Nokka” (which is Norse feminine for No One). Loki reluctantly takes her under his wing when he meets her. After some time running from the TVA, and dealing with issues where Nokka “wants revenge” but struggles with hurting people when it comes down to it (esp from the TVA because she knows they’re all mind-controlled variants) Loki sits her down and demands to know the truth “because for a Loki you’re a terrible liar”.

Nokka admits/reveals that she’s NOT a Loki at all, just an Asgardian orphan who messed with the time-stream by accident (overhearing Loki tell a guard to inform Odin Thor was going to Jotunheim and running ahead to tell the Allfather when the soldier sneered at Loki’s back or smth else trivial). Loki asks her why she never chose a name for herself aside from what others gave her, and she says she didn’t really have time while being on the run to think of anything but Loki.

Loki is semi touched by this (but says nothing). (Nokka wistfully mentions in passing that while hiding on Midgard she heard the name Sylvie and thought it was nice too). Loki comforts her with a bit of awkwardness, then announces he’s going to help her with her powers and how to fight “less like an alley cat and more like a warrior from Asgard”. He also tells her that if she truly wants vengeance, she’s going to have to kill people. Nokka rebuts this with the declaration that she’s already killed people—citing those she’s had to kill to survive. Loki acknowledges that, but states that those killings are different from what she’s going to have to do if they want to win and get out with their lives.

(Aside: Kang wants Loki captured because OG Loki is different from the rest of his variant selves because he ADAPTS and grows his personality and character—whereas other Lokis do not. Kang feels OG Loki and Nokka are a threat to his rule, and he wants to permanently erase them to keep his rule over the Timeline secure)

Loki and Nokka make their way through the worlds and pull off a heist and crash the TVA with Mobius’s help. Ravonna prunes Mobius and Nokka out of rage and bitterness for destroying the order/TVA she loves—Loki, though he could escape, prunes himself too (showing how he can change his character from the other variants of himself).

In The Void, Loki stumbles among other loki variants, and finds Nokka moping by herself in one corner of Kid Loki’s underground palace. At the same time, Mobius arrives and busts them out of “Loony Loki Jail”. Impressed and amused, once they’re safe Loki asks how Mobius found them. The TVA agent declares that he found a trail of “complete and utter chaos, and followed that”. The trio share a laugh over this before growing solemn and trying to figure out what to do. Loki discusses Alioth and the strange energy the monster gives off, as well as the malevolent eternal purple mist. Mobius makes the offhand remark about going into it, or Nokka using her “wacky mind-controlling powers” on Alioth to get passed the giant to explore the mist.

Nokka hedges, nervous because she’s never controlled anything that big before. She walks away to sit by herself, staring out at the undulating violet mist. Loki likes the plan and irons out some details with Mobius before wandering down to Nokka. He sits beside her silently. Nokka announces “you can’t manipulate me like Thor—no Jotunheim trip 2: This Time Alioth.” Loki agrees that he can’t. Nokka smiles but hugs her knees to her chest with a shiver, rocking slowly. Loki asks what’s wrong—if she’s scared. Nokka shakes her head “just cold”. Loki magicks a blanket and gives it to her kindly, petting her hair (in a dad way lmao). They sit in silence staring at the mist. Loki quietly messes around beside her, magicking knives and bracers and other small pieces of armor for himself (we’ll give him an Asgardian tunic somewhere along the line because BURN the fugly TVA clothes). Nokka glances at him as he does this. Loki catches her and they share Looks.

Nokka shrugs and turns away. Carefully, as he cleans a dagger with a cloth, Loki wonders about two people controlling Alioth. Nokka eyes him warily. Loki briefly demonstrates/elaborates on how he can reveal or illuminate thoughts and parts of the mind, but can’t control it like she can. He quietly declares that if she shows him how, perhaps they can do it together. Nokka hesitates, but agrees.

So Mobius goes to distract Alioth. Classic Loki sees this (and as the only one actually paying attention to Nokka and OG Loki, runs in to help, doing the same thing he did in the show, allowing Mobius to escape). Nokka falters with the mind control, but Loki takes her hand and encourages her (insert some witty line about “only learning that day himself, after all”) and Nokka presses on. They succeed, and stare at a pathway through the mist.

Loki glances at Nokka, and tells her to “lead the way”. Grinning, but quickly sobering, Nokka heads toward the path. Mobius catches up to Loki then, and informs Loki he’s going back to the TVA to “raise more hell”. Loki grins, and Mobius “thanks him for the spark” like in the show. They embrace (to Loki’s surprise) before Loki follows Nokka. Mobius watches them until they disappear into the mist and then summons an orange portal and vanishes himself.

Walking through the mist, Nokka declares something “off”, and Loki agrees “like being laid in ambush”. Unsettled, they continue—but draw blades. At last they reach a half-burned and dilapidated castle at the edge of a cosmos. They come up to the black doors but nothing happens. Nokka blasts the doors off their hinges, increasingly paranoid. Loki criticizes the action but they proceed anyway. (Everything basically happens as in the show, but Kang is Not Friendly—menacing and ominous (think horror movie character—something off but not obvious) due to him wanting to destroy both Loki and Nokka). Loki catches on before Nokka to Kang’s intentions, and stands, lashing out at Kang. Nokka is confused and feels lied to (let’s say there’s some truth twisted into lies Kang said about Loki “and his lust for power” so she feels uncertain). A fight ensues between Kang and Loki but Kang uses Loki’s Frost Giant heritage against him. Kang says he’d accept Nokka as a protégé “because I’ve watched you—you’re teachable” but wants her to kill Loki “to prove she’s not as worthless as he is”.

Loki looks at her as she walks up to him, and he tells her “you only grow as far as you allow people to cage you” (or some other philosophical elegant line). Making the realization that Nokka will truly be just an imitation of all the other Loki variants if she kills Loki for her own self-succession, she drops the knife and instead frees Loki from whatever magical/enchanted snare Kang got him into. Kang lashes out, but Loki jumps up in front of Nokka, and takes whatever blow it was (maybe permanent obliviation, maybe transport to another timeline idk yet). Looking triumphant at the empty room, Kang turns around and wanders back to his desk “another mess all cleared up” he hums to himself.

Nokka appears out of the shadows and grabs his arm as he moves to sit, whirling Kang around. Angrily, tears in her eyes, she stabs him twice in the chest with one of Loki’s daggers he’d dropped. Kang collapses back into his chair, and laughs at her. He says some things about his alternate selves being even more cruel than him, that he’s “a kitten” in comparison, and she’ll never defeat them—“just a little nobody. Doomed to fail because you don’t have a name to be remembered by. A No One.” Nokka stoops over him, wielding Loki’s knife.

“I’m not no one—I’m Sylvie. Lokidottir.” She stabs Kang. After he dies, she wanders to the window, staring out at the splintering multiverse. She collapses, crying, because she’s alone. “You promised we’d win together,” she whispers to herself, a little broken.

(Opening to Consider for a potential Part II: a large flash of green out in the multiverse. Sylvie jerks her head up and stares—before grinning.)

Some notes:

The whole “love yourself” angle in this AU of the show is Loki learns to care for Sylvie even when she lashes out—and treats her as he would have wanted to be treated when he lashed out.

Kang is Not Nice. He’s not as bad as other versions of himself, but he is absolutely the bad guy in this AU.

Loki isn’t an idiot. Full stop. And he uses magic A LOT.

Loki takes a mentor role in this. HE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, and Sylvie is a secondary role that morphs into an MC. He doesn’t get run over by Sylvie’s girl!pain backstory.

Sylvie isn’t a shitty annoying asshole kween. She’s a scared teenager. She’s not capable of huge fights or dumb shit like the canon shitshow.

This is Very Much a sibling or father/daughter relationship between Loki and Sylvie. No romance. PLATONIC ONLY!!!!

The TVA is EVIL. Not “a necessary evil” but completely, absolutely, reprehensibly evil. Autocratic and fascist, if you will. The interrogation Loki endures in the first episode (and then with Sif in episode ???) will be framed as torture.

Can’t really think of a faceclaim to the Nokka/Sylvie character (cuz DiMartino would be WAAAY too old for this one). But I’m thinking like a young Maia Mitchell or Mackenzie Foy type teenager. Gotta be brunette—cuz the blonde is stupid as shit and makes no sense. We want a Lady Loki lookalike here, folks (even if she’s NOT Loki; Nokka made herself APPEAR like him after taking his name so she could to be called one of his variants).

This makes room for a Loki “replacement” so Hiddleston could bow out, AND makes it “feministy” for the ladies; but ALSO allows for GOOD WRITING and Loki to keep his dignity/agency as a main character/antihero.

This whole thing was fully and completely inspired by this song while I drove home from work:

@fast-and-the-curious what say u to this AU?

[jeyneofpoole]

Thank you for indulging me!!  

“Please lets talk about how the rose is an awesome symbol! the Tyrells are one of the most wholesome westerosi families. What did you think about the symbolism?” - @timelesscoffeepuffin

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

I have Many Thoughts so lets get started. As we know the icon Olenna Tyrell is literally known as the Queen of Thorns, which introduces us to the contrast of the pretty, petite rose and the thorns beneath it. So Olenna is a total badass and uses her thorns to carve out her own corner, and get an edge over the competition in a world that is actively working against her, in her place as a woman. So here we have a Tyrell woman using her sharpness (thorns) to obtain a place of power.

Now lets take a look at the other prominent Tyrell woman of power in the story. Margaery Tyrell is the rose, as opposed to the thorns. Now this is not insinuating that Margaery is delicate or weak, in fact she is the opposite (we’ll get to that later), but she uses this perception of her to her advantage. She presents herself as anything but a threat, which allows her to work her way into one of the top seats of power in Westeros. 

When her first husband dies, she doesn’t give up. She forms a new plan and climbs even higher, again using the shallow opinions of the men around her to her own advantage. Remember what I said about thorns lying beneath the rose? When you grab a rose because it’s pretty, you get pricked. When you try to get a leg over Margaery FUCKIN Tyrell, you get what you DESERVE!

But she’s also unfailingly kind. When Sansa is being kept at Kings Landing against her will, suffering abuse and torment, she reaches out to her (and falls in love with her), being one of the only people since her father died to genuinely care about HER, for herself. Not as the key to the North or Winterfell, not as a pawn or a puppet, but as a scared girl who needs a friend. She schemes with her grandmother to take Sansa to Highgarden, and marry her to her brother Willas, who as far as we know is a kind and intelligent man, who wouldn’t abuse or harm Sansa. She wants the best for Sansa, because she cares for her.

Moving on to my MAIN MAN LORAS! Making Loras a stereotype would have been a very easy route to go down (that the show definitely DID go down a lot a little bit). Him being one of the only confirmed (word of god or otherwise explicit) queer characters in the books, his characterization could’ve been borderline offensive. But the thing is he’s NOT! He’s a very athletically inclined, literal knight. He was only beaten in a tourney by Brienne of FUCKING TARTH, which is quite an accomplishment. He’s brave and competent and also gay, and in love with Renly. He IS the rose embodied, he’s attractive and pretty and nice, but he’s also a kickass knight, fighter, cunning and all around awesome!

But the Tyrells also care about each other in very intimate ways (not like Cersei and Jaime lmao like an actual family hbkjrvwnvqoien). When they have Sansa to themselves, the one thing Olenna asks her is if her granddaughter will be marrying a monster. When they find out that Joffrey is a literal psychopath, Sansa tells Margaery that she can’t marry Joffrey, that she’s afraid he’ll hurt her. Margaery tells Sansa that she can’t possibly be hurt, when her older brother is with her. I don’t know why that gets me so much, but it totally does. Margaery has been told in explicit detail all of the fucked up shit Joff has done, but Loras is there, and she KNOWS he’ll always protect her. They just all love and protect each other, just like their house words.

Growing Strong. Like a literal plant (OR ROSE BUSH!!), they all grow together and support each other and pull each other up and it’s honestly beautiful! This family, compared with most other families in the absolute shitshow that is Westerosi politics, is SO FUNCTIONAL. They aren’t divided or literally murdering each other or slandering each other or sabotaging or ANYTHING. They just.

GROW.

STRONG.

So yes, I am a huge Tyrell stan, but that’s besides the point. The golden rose as a sigil for house Tyrell makes a huge amount of symbolic sense! their words make a huge amount of symbolic sense! I love it AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to scream for so long I Just Love Them

[thefledglingdm]

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

-for the world will follow after!

hello, thank you so much for the ask!!!!

ok, unlike for the flashover ask, i automatically have an answer to this, because my favorite line i wrote in 2021 is in the first chapter of this fic:

I Have Made A Huge Mistake, And Here's How You Can Make It Your Problem, Too

i just. it's so perfectly my brand of humor. it's the entire fic in a sentence: hey, reader, i completely fucked up, and here's your ticket to the shitshow.

because this is a 100k+-word fic, i also wanted to include some honorable mentions. i put them under the cut! if i missed your favorite feel free to comment it lmao

“You think I drink ten-dollar drinks?” “I thought a muffin might do you some good, too."

“I think you really don’t want to lose this single room.”

“He’s a hell of a guy, Specs. Where'd you find him?" "Craigslist."

“You care so much about this you put a classified on Craigslist.” “That was a dark time in my life.” “It was literally a week ago.” “And I stand by it.”

"King." "Jester."

“You’re as evil as they are." “Glad you’re finally picking up on that. Aren’t you glad I’m on your side?”

“I hate you both for putting that image in my head. That’s it. We’re done. I’m not coming to your wedding anymore. Yamaguchi, we’re leaving.” “Can I finish my scone first?”

“Because with them, you play like you love volleyball again.”

“Wow, Tobio, I’m glad I didn’t see this until now. Might never have let you put a ring on it if I learned you were so bad at wrestling.”

“I have a secret for you, Tsukki. Something I learned growing up. You can’t make anyone believe anything, or act in any particular way towards you. The way to get people to believe a story isn’t to act so they’ll believe you. It’s to act like you do... So, Tsukki, kiss my like you believe it."

“Rolling Thunder, T-M, I’ll have you know –" “Did you just verbalize the trademark logo?” “You haven’t trademarked shit." “– I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW, saved no fewer than eighteen points over the course of the Olympics and got me extremely laid, thank you –”

“– What the fuck is a ‘Rolling Thunder?’”

"I’m not going to pass up a chance to spend the day in bed with Asahi. Have you seen him? Hot damn.”

“This is Ennoshita erasure."

“He just doesn’t want you to know how many of his looks are him telling me to take my pants off.”

“Is volleyball why you two are getting married? [...] Then I bet that’s not why Hinata’s marrying you, either. You say he’s your best friend? You’re Hinata’s, too, dumbass."

“I remember my first year, you were acting like some kind of period drama hero, saying ‘Lev, we can’t be together, I’m too old for you, you are too young and innocent and pure, and I cannot corrupt you with my tempting, wild ways–”

“I used to look up at the stars when I was at my loneliest. Is that silly?” "It's not. I looked at the moon."

“I’m going to talk to the other Best Man now. Call me if you need me. Please do not need me.”

“You’re funny. I’ll absolutely wreck you.” "Won't you try?"

"I will exact a setter dump at your feet that will leave you a shell of a man.”"

“I liked Kenma for a really long time before I fell in love with him. I think Hinata and Kageyama did, too. And it’s obvious that, wherever this thing with you and Yamaguchi is heading, you like him. So maybe you don’t need to know about love, exactly. Maybe it’s enough to know about like.”

“Three ankles, two wrists, and a black eye.” “And a partridge in a pear tree.”

“This is just the fucking League of Legends map.”

“They’re horny and distracted! Get the tower!”

“Is this how it ends, Omi-Omi? With yer gun at my chest?” "Yes... Finally, an answer to what I would do if I was trapped in a room with three people and two bullets. I would shoot Miya twice.”

“Isn’t that what a relationship is supposed to be? Working together to make the best version of ourselves? To create the best version of our lives we can have?”

“We discussed our preferred lube flavors and debated the nuances of ribbed versus non-ribbed condoms. He’s not a ribbed guy, if you were wondering.” "I wasn't."

“Hinata is his husband. You are his friend. One is not better than the other. But they are different relationships with different dynamics. I’m sure you know what that’s like now that you are seeing Yamaguchi.”

“When I was a kid, my grandfather promised me that if I got really good at volleyball, someone even better would come along and find me. And when we met, I did not think it was you at all. You were short, and loud, and bad–” “I’m so glad I’m marrying you.”

"The first game we played together, you pointed to your chest and told me that with you, I was invincible. It remains the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen.”

“That sign that I told you not to make me for Nationals, the one you’re definitely painting right now? Make one for Kageyama, too.”

“He just… it was an act, okay? I asked him to act like my boyfriend, and he did. That’s all there was to it.” “Yeah, you were really ‘acting’ that night at the club."

"...You can take some time to be afraid of the future. Being vulnerable is scary, and I think it’s especially scary considering how you two started this whole thing. But don’t wait for too long, okay? I think there’s something even better waiting for you if you reach for it.”

“You made it." “Yeah.” “I’m glad.” “You’re peeling.”

“Look, I’m really happy for you two, but the entire party is currently on the other side of this door watching you two, so maybe take it home, guys?”

"Daichi, do some squats."

“Yamaguchi, this is an ice cream shop.” “It is.” “It is negative five degrees Celsius.” “That is also true."

[eldritchsquared]

Okay so I heard that disney is thinking abt an agent venom disney+ show with eddie as the main antagonist in the form of anti-venom, and after going through every stage of grief, I thought of the singular way this could at least be pro-symbiote, and be entertaining without killing Eddie’s character

The series would start off with Eddie having Venom. It’d be pretty chill, until maybe a third of the way through the episode, he starts getting really sick, throwing up, and Venom has no clue whats going on. It’s stated that this has been going on for a while, but it seems like its getting worse.

Since Venom can’t figure out whats going on, the duo go to Dan Lewis, who through the magic of medicinal bullshit, diagnoses Eddie with some severe cancer. Eddie’s like, “oh shit, that would explain a lot,” and immediately decides that, since the cancer is hurting Venom too, Venom has to leave his body, and go stay with Anne.

Venom is obviously very distraught, Eddie is in tears, Dan is watching from the side awkwardly, its a shitshow. Eddie, after a lot of arguing, blasts Venom out of him using an MRI or similar, and they do the window hand of love thing. It’s very sad, and very much portrayed like a breakup scene. Or maybe that one scene from Deadpool.

Anne is out of town for the day for some reason, so Eddie tells Dan to take care of Venom, and storms out the door. Dan looks back at wherever Venom was being held, and sees that Venom’s gone.

Next scene is of Eddie running to a church. As true to comics canon, shit always goes down in a church. Eddie starts praying, asks for V to find a really nice host, blah blah blah. A man walks up to him, lays his arm on Eddie’s shoulder, asks if he’s alright. Eddie is like, “no, ive got cancer,” and the guy goes “lmao rip, i’m martin lee,” his hand goes black, eddie’s eyes go white, and thats that. Scene ends.

Cut to Flash Thompson, one floor below the MRI (or wherever Dan is/was) room. He’s sitting beside some relative, reading a book or something. Venom plops down from the air vent onto the bed, startling Flash for a sec, before he starts being like “man thats cool” and poking at V, causing them to bond. Blah blah blah exposition stuff happens, Venom makes it very clear that they wont hurt Flash and that they need his help, Flash is like “okay lets so find your boyfriend,” Venom is confused by the word, scene ends.

A few episodes go by of Flash and Venom looking around for Eddie but always just barely missing him. One episode Flash walks by the church, thinking they can ask the priest if he’d seen Eddie, but Eddie’s kneeling at the altar, white goo pooling around him. He’s chanting something, idk maybe either the our father prayer or some really metal bible verse, Venom’s like Hey! Thats my boy! and flash is like Oh? That? Thats the guy you’re looking for? and all of a sudden eddie stops, the white goo flows upwards over him, and bam, antivenom.

Venom is obviously very upset in a very “youre cheating on me” way, antivenom’s just like “the world must be cleansed” and goes out and starts killing over the smallest offenses. shit like littering and parking outside the lines. you’ll be murdered. Venom’s like “okay, thats not eddie doing that, i know eddie,” and so they work together as agent venom to stop antivenom

they eventually take him down by giving antivenom something huge to cleanse, and it destroys it. eddie’s back, cancer cured, outstanding. venom goes back to eddie, feelings are had, stuff is great. bonus points for love confessions. flash is like “alright that was weird ill see you around i guess” and thats that.

Exposition includes:

eddie and v being cute

them going on vacations/working/etc

date night

and the third movie follows the events of the The Nativity comic. thats all, thank you.

[lyssismagical]

3 for the halloween prompts? <3 Love your writing btw

3 - Came to the wrong Halloween party I’m so sorry this took so long lmao

 *

Going to Flash’s Halloween party was going to be a shitshow, of course.

Peter knew this the moment he saw the posters on the walls in the school hallways. But Ned had pleaded, apparently already having picked out a new Halloween-Good-Luck-Party Hat. So he agreed.

Apparently, it’d be even more of a shitshow than he could’ve imagined considering when he walks into the party, the first thing he notices is the intoxicating smell of booze and sweat, immediately followed by the sheer amount of college sweatshirts he sees.

“Hey, sweetheart,” somebody says, grabbing his elbow. He pulls away quickly, eyes wide.  

He feels young and small in comparison to everyone else at the party, stumbling through the thick crowds of people, unable to turn back. He can’t see the door anymore, swarmed by sweaty people and the stench of alcohol.

He trips over someone’s foot and falls into a girl.

“Sorry, I- I’m sorry- I didn’t- I-”

She smiles, blue eyes staring into him. “You’re a real cutie, don’t you worry about it.”

“Sorry, I-” He tries to pull back but her fingers are still wrapped around his biceps, fake red nails digging into his skin.

She’s dressed as a nurse, a stereotypical sexy nurse costume, grinning almost like a lion would to a gazelle. “Don’t apologize, sweetheart, I’m glad you ran into me.”

Suddenly, there’s a hand pulling his shoulder backwards. He stumbles again, unsteady on his feet as the girl lets go of his arms finally.

“Come on, Becca, don’t be a dick. Go find your boyfriend.”

Becca frowns, rolling her eyes, and disappears into the crowd.

The hands on Peter’s arms are gentle and easy, leading him through the crowd towards a door near the back of the building. Through the door brings quietness and near emptiness.

Peter turns quickly, having to tilt his head up to meet the eyes of the boy who had saved him from the party scene.

“Sorry, I’m- I-”

“Hey,” the boy says, shrugging with so much ease. “Take a breath. I’ll grab you some water.”

His southern drawl, paired with the cowboy costume he’s dressed in, and the beautiful intensity of his blue eyes, helps to calm Peter’s nerves.

As soon as he’s got the glass of water in his hands, Peter finds the strength to properly explain himself. “I must’ve got the address wrong. I’m supposed to be at Flash Thompson’s party, not… not here. I wasn’t expecting- I’m so sorry. Thank you for saving me.”

“It’s not a problem, hon. Flash’s party is a few blocks down, this is his brother’s girlfriend’s party. Take a breather and then I’ll walk you over, yeah?”

“You would do that for me?”

His saviour shrugs, smiling sweetly. “I wouldn’t let you walk that far alone in the dark, on Halloween.”

“Wow, um, thank you so much.”

“No worries, darlin’. And either way, when you’re dressed like you are… I’m just saying, I kind of want to wrap you up and keep you safe and sound forever.”

Peter immediately blushes from the tips of his ears all the way down to his chest. He’s dressed like a bear, a baby bear. His hair is poofier than he normally keeps it, curls wild, with a soft fluffy brown bear onesie, a pair of little ears on his head, and a little nose drawn on.

Compared to his saviour’s tight jeans, flannel loose and tucked into his waistband, the first few buttons open and showing off the top of his tan chest, cowboy hat lopsided on his head, and boots clicking on the ground, Peter feels insanely childish.

“It’s silly, I know, but-”

“Not silly, it’s really adorable.” He steps closer, into Peter’s space, and gently brushes his thumb over his cheek. “Like unbelievably adorable, honey. I just want to eat you up.”

Peter flushes darker, eyes going wide. “Peter. My name’s Peter Parker.”

“Harley Keener, angel.”

Peter can’t help himself from resting his palm flat against Harley’s chest, fingers dipping between the buttons. “You were going to walk me to my friends?”

He grins, pulling back just far enough to lift off his cowboy hat and tip his head. “I did, didn’t I? At your service, my king.”

“Thank you, my knight,” Peter says, giggling. He tucks his shoulders into himself a little more, feeling so small in comparison. “I really owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything, bear.”

Harley grins at Peter’s blush, gently swiping his thumb over Peter’s cheekbone. Peter’s never felt this way before, so intensely and suddenly.

“You want a drink before we go?” Harley asks. “Alcoholic or otherwise?”

“Not to sound any younger than I probably already do, I’d really love some pop or juice or something.”

Harley grins a little wider, fingers sliding up Peter’s face to gently brush some of his curls out of his face.

He pulls away suddenly, pulling open the fridge and grabbing a caprisun for Peter and a beer for himself. He loops an arm around Peter’s shoulders, steering him towards the second door in the kitchen, leading into a backyard.

“Come on, I’ll take you to Flash’s. Best not keep your friends waiting.”

Peter can’t help but laugh. “Believe it or not but I don’t think anyone would’ve noticed my absence. I’m not really popular. I’m not even close to popular.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No? I’ve got one and a half friends, and otherwise, people steer clear unless they wanna copy my homework. I’m lucky if I can make it through a week without getting tossed in at least one dumpster.”

Harley stops in his steps, turning dramatically to face Peter. “You’re not kidding.”

“I’m not kidding.”

Harley’s blue eyes so wide and earnest. “I’ve known you for, what, an hour? And I’m already absolutely fascinated by you, you know that? I have no idea how anybody who could treat you as anything less than royalty.”

“I don’t think Flash is capable of being nice.”

Harley shrugs, stepping into Peter’s space again. He’s so tall, crowded up against him under the shining moonlight in the damp grass. “What if I went to your party with you? This one isn’t really my scene anyway. How would they feel with you on my arm?”

“You’d come to a high school party with me?”

“You say that like you’re really that surprised? What can I say, you’re just that interesting.”

Peter flushes, smiling shyly up at Harley. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely sure.”

They walk, Harley’s arm around Peter’s shoulders, through the backyard to the road, getting to know little bits and pieces about each other, laughing into the darkness of the night.

When they make it to Flash’s party, Peter doesn’t think he’s ever seen people’s eyes go as wide as his classmates when they see him with Harley.

Harley presses a kiss to Peter’s temple, having to bend down to reach him, and he squeezes Peter’s side. “You wanna dance?”

“I’d love to.”

Before they can make it to the dance floor, Flash stops them. “What’s this? Did you really hire somebody to pretend to be your friend? That’s low, even for you, Penis Parker.”

“I’m not an actor. And I’d suggest you don’t go there, Eugene. Not only am I taller and undoubtedly stronger than you, I also have connections with your brother. What do you think he’d do if he found out you were bullying a perfectly sweet friend of mine?”

Flash pales, eyes going even wider. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I absolutely would,” Harley practically snarls, arm curled protectively around Peter. “So back the fuck off or there will be consequences.”

For a moment, it seems like Flash will fight back, anger flaring in his eyes and hands clenching into fists, and then he nods once and ducks off into the crowd.

“Thank you,” Peter murmurs, tugging Harley into him.

“No worries, baby bear. I told you I’d treat you like royalty, didn’t I?”

Peter, in a moment of confidence and hope, grabs Harley by the collar of his flannel and tugs him down, simultaneously lifting himself onto his toes, and presses his mouth to Harley’s.

When Harley pulls away, eyes sparkling and smiling. “Well then, baby bear.”

“Would you wanna go on a date with me? Like a real date. Because I’ve never felt this way before with anyone and I- I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

“I’d love to, angel.”

Taglist: @littlemissagrafina  @spidey-reids-2003  @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @misskirkstark @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10  @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 @loveliestdisappointment @joyful-soul-collector @genderfluid-and-confuzled @fallenstar07 {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

[flying-nightwing]

Dark Fox (7/7)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read Dark Fox! It was my first longer serie ever since my writing hiatus, and the first one I actually finished ever lmao. It was quite an adventure and I really enjoyed writing this persona. This is the last chapter to close the story. I hope you like it gang!

Previous

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word Count: 6821

Warnings: usual

You hadn’t had a lazy morning in years, and you had all but forgotten how good it felt. 

A single sun ray warmed the bed, making the temperature under the thin sheet just ideal. The slow, steady rise and fall of Jason’s chest under your head was soothing, as well as the random pattern his hand was drawing on your back. Usually, you’d have already trained and eaten by that time. Today, you had no intention of leaving the bed anytime soon. The last night had been spent fucking so many times in so many different ways, you were both exhausted and happier than before. Jason was even wilder than you remembered (or he got even better?), so much you were still riding the absolute high you had reached. 

You traced his scars with your fingers; some old ones he had told you about, some you had put there yourself, and some others your had yet to know how he got them. You had a lot to catch up about.

“The last time we found ourselves like this,” You began, trailing your soft touch up and down the browned mark on his shoulder. It was as large as your sword, and a witness of the rocky beginning of your relationship. “I begged you to come back to the League with me”

He angled his head toward you. You could feel his eyes on you, half closed and relaxed as he’s even been. “But I begged you to follow me back here first” 

It had been a heartbreaking moment. The build up of the unanswered question for a whole year had lead to there. None of you had wanted to talk about the time his training would be done, you had rather wanted to keep doing your stuff and ignore the impending separation. That morning hadn’t been unlike this one, with the sun coming through the hut and with you both on the hammock, naked and intertwined under the fur cover. He had broken the silence, asking you to forget the League and stay with him. Back then, you were so sure you could only reach Luthor through it. So you asked Jason to instead join the League at your side. 

He had dressed up and left the hut, and you hadn’t heard from him from then until you crossed paths in Ukraine.

“I guess this is the fight you won” You smiled, flicking up your gaze to his. “Seeing as I’m here”

“The fight I won?” He raised his eyebrows. “Implying I didn’t win any other fight?”

“You did, but…” You teased, gently tapping your fingers up his collarbone. “Let’s face it, I still won most of them”

He gasped. “Excuse me?”

You smirked. 

Before you could see him move, he rolled on top of you and caged you underneath him between his arms. His eyes were narrowed in indignation as he channeled his mean face on. It once might have worried you, but it had lost most of its purpose now. Especially since you were both naked.

“I’ve won plenty of fights against you” He sneered. 

“Mhmm” You hummed, knowing all too well how he didn’t like to be challenged. You hadn’t poked at his pride in too long, so you couldn’t pass the occasion. “Sure you did”

“Have you forgotten what happens when the fighting range gets too small?” 

You simply blinked.

“Or when I truly got angry? Or…”

You cocked your head to the side as he halted his words. Then, understanding flashed through his expression. 

“You’re still riling me on purpose” He sighed.

“What did I like to say again?” You asked rhetorically, pausing for emphasis. “Ah, yes. When you’ll stop falling for it”

“I hate you” 

“Don’t blame me for being such an easy target” You rolled your eyes. “Now come here”

“Bossy” He finally grinned. “I love it”

He lowered himself so his lips touched yours and kissed you softly. However, the moment didn’t last long, as his cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. You could feel the shift toward annoyance in his mood, and it only grew when the phone vibrated one more time, and another one after that. With a long sigh, he rolled off of you and to the side of his bed. He frowned, then all trace of displeasure at the interruption wiped off of his face.

“What is it?” You asked, peeking over his shoulder. He shut off the screen immediately.

“You’ll see” He chuckled. “Get dressed”

“Ooookay” You nodded slowly, watching him throw his legs on the side of the bed and reach for his shirt on the floor. You put on your clothes from the day before and went for the guest bedroom you had, changing into something clean. When you got out, Jason was waiting for you leaning on the doorframe. 

“First though, breakfast”

You followed Jason, as you were still unfamiliar with the place. Sure, you had mapped the way from your room to the cave, and from the cave to every close escape around. But for the rest, you had barely the time or desire to explore. All this space was pointless to you, as you couldn’t figure out who would need all of this. However, it did provide a good way to avoid any Wayne during your stay, you’d give the manor this point.

But it didn’t allow you to avoid Bruce this time.

He caught you around a corner, and you three remained in a stare off for a few seconds. You knew it probably wouldn’t result in a fight, but your hand still hovered above the blade hidden at the back of your waistband. 

“I think you have overstayed your welcome here”

Jason gritted his teeth, but you remained calm. You had expected this.

“I will be gone by tonight” You replied on a neutral tone, then pulled Jason with you to side step him.

“One more thing” 

You halted your steps in the doorframe to the next room, turning your head to look at him. He hadn’t moved.

“I don’t want to see you in my city again”

“You must be fucking kidding me” Jason yelled, but you held up your arm to stop him from marching back to Bruce. 

“Absolutely not” He turned to face you. “Ever since she’s came, she has conveniently disclosed very precise information on the weapon’s whereabouts, except when it mattered. And hid her family ties to Luthor”

“You think she’s working with him?” He scoffed.

“I don’t know, is she?”

Jason glanced at you, about to reply something, but you just shook your head at him. It was pointless to try and convince Bruce Wayne, especially since you knew your word could never overturn your suspicious behaviour. He rolled his eyes and walked away, and you were about to follow him before you paused.

“I’m not” You spoke up, and you could feel Bruce’s eyes on your back. “If you must know, I’ve come here to kill him, and I don’t need your permission for that” 

With that, you walked away, not waiting for an answer from Bruce. You joined Jason in the kitchen, who was already working on cooking oatmeal. His jaw was still clenched, and his posture tense. 

“I can’t believe the fucking audacity” He grumbled. 

“He is entitled to his opinion of me” You shrugged and leaned on the counter next to him. “I don’t really care what he thinks about my intentions”

“Still” He sighed. “Are you still planning on finishing your mission?”

You crossed your arms against your torso and furrowed your eyebrows. You could just leave Batman and the others take care of it, and leave them to deal with Luthor. But again, you hadn’t came all this way to just give up. 

“Bruce was very clear on his stance about me remaining involved in this shitshow” You hummed, before glancing up at Jason. “But we do have a bio weapon to stop, and I’m far from done with Luthor”

His disappointment morphed into a grin at your words. “Attagirl, that’s what I like to hear”

“I most certainly don’t like to leave things unfinished” The corner of your lips lifted. “You okay with going against Batman’s orders?”

“Oh my dear” He chuckled as he poured the oatmeal in two bowls. He glanced at you with an excited glint in his eyes. “Nobody has a better record of disobeying him than I do”

“Good”

He put a spoon in each bowl and handed you one. “Now we need to have a game plan for what’s next”

“Any idea?”

“I sure have” His grin widened. “I want to show you something”

He motioned you to follow him as he ate his oatmeal mid walk. He got down to the cave and led you to a small side room, where he grabbed the tablet on the table. You slowly ate your breakfast as you watched him press buttons and mumble to himself. Then, he turned to you.

“You ready?”

You nodded, unsure of what he was talking about. He dramatically pressed one more button, making the wall in front of you turn on itself with a woosh. Your eyes widened as you took in the content of the compartment.

“So?”

You blinked at glanced at Jason. Your grin slowly stretched to match his. 

“Oh yeah” You nodded again, this time, with way more assurance. “This will definitely do”

----

Jason heard Bruce coming from miles away.

Even if he technically didn’t, his course of action was so predictable that the Bat’s dramatic landing on the rooftop behind him was no surprise at all. 

“I thought I had made myself clear”

Jason stood up from his crouched position and turned to face him, arms crossed against his chest. “You did”

“Then what are you doing here?” He sighed in annoyance. 

“Well obviously you’re blaming your wrong intel and failures on someone who has nothing to do with it, which is a classic you” He taunted. “So we’re here to finish the job. Her and I really do work well together, thanks for noticing”

“Red Hood” He warned.

“Batman” He mimicked.

Someone landing next to them grabbed their attention.

“Red Robin” Tim announced himself under Bruce’s hard glance and Jason’s amused one.

“What are you doing here?” 

“Well, I knew something was up when I didn’t see Foxy in the cage all day” He explained. “So I followed you here. By the way, where is she?”

As if on cue, a shadow dropped behind them. The movement did no go unnoticed, and as if on instinct, Tim spun around and threw a shuriken. His expression quickly changed as he realized who was in front of him.

There you were, still crouched from your landing and holding his shuriken mid air inches away from your face. You were smirking under your mask as Tim stared at you in disbelief. 

“Twice” You spoke as you stood up fully. His eyes quickly scanned you from head to toes, almost overseeing you handing him back his shuriken. “Twice you have thrown one of these at me”

“Where’s the League suit?” He asked, slowly taking back his small weapon. “And you’re stupid bow?”

You shrugged, sharing a knowing glance with Jason. “I thought it was time for a change”

Then, understanding washed across his face. “Oh, oh my. You’ve dropped the League” 

He did another once over. You had ditched the heavy coat for a lightweight suit made of silk and leather, with armored plastic on the stomach, the upper arms and the back. The arm bracers had smaller spikes than the previous ones, and you no longer wore a heavy mask. Instead, you had only kept your half mask and wore a hooded robe crossing on your torso. Your grappling hook was now in your utility belt, and your arrows were replaced with sharper, more volatile darts kept in a sheath on your thigh. You now had 25 regular darts, five explosive and your two classic sedatives. Only your sword remained on your back, so it would “unclog your aesthetic”, as Jason had put it. 

You did like it better like that, the bow wasn’t your style anyway.

The new gear was still all black, for the exception of a silver kitsune draw into the back of the armor that would show if you took off the robe. It was comfortable and flexible, and resistant to bullets and stabbing. Jason had hit the target right on with the design. 

“Do you keep your wrist shooter?” He asked, squinting his eyes.

You raised your arm and shot over his shoulder to prove your point. He caught the small arrow mid air, nodding impressively. 

“Still the best part of the suit” He muttered to himself. 

“I thought you said you’d be gone” Bruce cut in. Your eyes went to him. 

“I still have a couple of hours” You replied without missing a beat.

“Talking about” Jason said. “Your time window just opened”

“You can either help us or stay out of the way” You told Bruce as you adjusted you comm. “But this is happening regardless”

He didn’t speak right away, taking a moment to ponder your words. Then, he voiced his thoughts. “Are you going to kill him?”

You held eye contact for a few seconds more before taking off. You ran along the ledge and jumped on the next building, then letting yourself slide down the fire escape. You chose not no reply to him, as you didn’t need to give him another reason to come after you. Granted, not replying was practically the equivalent of giving a positive answer, but at least it could give you the benefit of the doubt for what it was worth.

Using the shadows of the city, you quickly made your way through the blocks by the back alleys until you reached the imposing tower in the middle of the Diamond district, the same building you and Tim had sacked for show barely a week before. Whatever damage you had done, it didn’t show anymore. It was like nothing had happened. 

This time, you came in by the front door. The second you walked through the glass doors, all activity stopped. You took a few step forward, and four guards met you halfway in the lobby. Without a word, they escorted you past the front desk and through the metal detector going off like crazy. Anytime you could have easily gotten rid of them, but you held back for now. You waited a short time for the elevator, then got in and up to Luthor’s floor. He was waiting for you by the window, and turned around with a smirk once you got in his office. You pulled back your hood and unclasped your mask.

“I see you’ve got a new look” He pointed out. “Changed your mind about the league?”

“Something like that” 

“Well, I’m most certainly pleased to see you’ve decide to do the right thing” He took a step forward. “This is where you belong”

Slowly, you reached for your sword and took it out. A shadow passed across his face, and nodded to something behind you. Or rather, someone. You dropped to a crouch to avoid the tazer being stuck in your back--once was enough--and thrusted your sword in the legs of the guys around you. You rolled forward and shot the four guards coming your way, before jumping on the desk and holding them in your aim. Luthor now had four new guards around, letting you know more would come if he needed. You reloaded your crossbow.

“I’m disappointed” He revealed with a sigh. “Those were good men”

“Let it be a reminder I can and will take them all out if they're in my way” You twirled your sword. “Step forward and none of them die with you tonight”

“How noble” He chuckled, not concerned at all. His hand rested in his pocket and his stance was relaxed. “Did your boyfriend with the red helmet tell you to do that?”

You shot an arrow to his knee, but he easily side stepped it like he had predicted that move. He raised an eyebrow.

“I see” He hummed. “But I had expected you would deny your destiny. So I decided to help you make a choice”

Four more men came in the room and ran at you. You vaulted over them and landed behind them, taking them by surprise. Before the could fully turn around, they were on the ground. You wiped your sword in the crook of your elbow and faced Luthor again. He was watching, unwavering, almost out of the door. He was stalling, that was clear, but you didn’t know for what yet. He smirked again, and you knew he’d finally reveal his thoughts.

“Now I know you won’t back down like last time” He taunted, and your jaw clenched. “So I guess you can come at me now, tear through my guards and get to me…”

You narrowed your eyes, knowing there was something more coming. He wouldn’t make it that easy for you to get to him.

“But like I said, I had expected trouble from you, like your mother before you” He sighed sarcastically. “So I prepared a backup plan. I decided to launch my weapon sooner and instead use it elsewhere, since you forced my hand. In twenty minutes, it will discharge quite literally the plague in the city aqueduct”

You tensed, your hand going to your ear to your comm and turning it on.

“Ah, I don’t think telling your friends will work” He tsked. “The only way to stop it is through my genetic code”

“Therefore mine” You concluded.

“Smart” He mocked. “Yes. So you can either kill me here and get it over with, or you can run around and save a bunch of people, and miss your shot. Again. But you don’t have the time to do both, I’m afraid”

You calculated his ultimatum, and he was right. If he kept the men coming, it would be enough to stall you too long for you to go from the diamond district to the aqueduct. He had planned this move carefully, knowing he’d get a win in either case.  

“Don’t worry, the cure is ready to go, there won’t be much casualties” He brushed off. “You came here to kill me, didn’t you?”

You flexed your fingers on the hilt of your sword.

“Do it” He challenged. “That’s what you are. You were made to finish what you started, to stop at nothing to get what you want. This is how I made you, even if I disapprove what you’ve done with my gifts. So go ahead, kill me and prove me right”

He was almost in your face now, staring right at you. You straightened your back and levelled up with him, feeling something strange, yet not unwelcomed, swelling in your chest. You thought about Jason and what he said, about those civilians you saved from a certain death, and about the man in front of you. Seeing him from so close, you realized every ounce of anger you held toward Luthor was… Gone. You thought with him so close you would be tempted to fight him, but all you could feel was indifference. He didn’t matter to you anymore, he never should have. He represented your insecurities, and tried to drag you down with him to excuse his own failure in making you a copy of himself. You became aware he was a pointless chase, and you had better things to do than indulge in it. 

“I’m the Dark Fox” You jutted your chin up, squaring up your shoulders. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do”

You turned around and jumped over the desk, grabbing an explosive arrow and throwing it in the window. You jumped through as it exploded, plunging down the building. You pulled out your grappling line and hooked it on your shooter, then aimed for the roof. It slowed your fall midway, and you used your glove to slow yourself down. 

As your feet touched the ground, you saw Jason’s motorcycle pull in in front of the building. You put back your sword in its sheath and your mask on your face, then your hood up. 

“Aqueduct, we’ve got fifteen minutes” You spoke as you climbed on the bike.

“Yep, I heard everything” He had a grin in his voice. Yet, he didn’t go yet.

“What?”

“I am so fucking proud of you”

You felt your neck heat up as you looked down, even if he couldn’t see you, in fact, you were glad he couldn’t. You never knew his praise would make you react that way, or that you would be so important for you to hear it.

“And for the record” He added. “It was very hot, too”

“Fucking hell, Jay, go!”

“Fine” He sighed and sped away from there.

“Okay so what is your thing with jumping out of windows?” Tim said through your comm. You had no idea he had stayed.

“It makes me feel less dead” You replied, and Jason audibly laughed. 

“You madwoman”

“Since you’re here, I have a task for you” You said. “Could you pull out the files on the weapon and figure out how the failsafe works?”

“I’m already on it”

Then, a bullet barely grazed your shoulder. The sound followed closely after, but it was like in slow motion. You raised your arm to protect Jason's shoulder, letting the bullet hit your arm brace instead. Reacting quickly, you turned around facing backwards and shot an arrow through the gun aimed at you. You then noticed five motorcycles following you, probably tasked with taking you down.

“What’s going on? How many?”

“Keep driving” You ordered. “I’ll take care of this”

You shot another arrow, but it bounced on the body of the motorcycles, and from your position you couldn’t aim elsewhere. You emptied your arrows to get one good shot, and it was enough to take one down. But looking at your recharges, you only had ten darts left, and potentially more people to take down around the bomb. You looked down, then up again to the guns aimed at you.

“Fuck it”

You reached for one of Jason’s gun on his thigh and clicked the safety off. Then, you shot.

“Holy shit” Jason yelled, and you could only imagine his expression. “HOLY SHIT”

“Did… Did Foxy just use a gun?”

“I wish I could have seen that” He whined. “I am so turned on right now”

“Too much information Jaybird”

You clicked the safety back on and turned around again, then slipped the gun back in his holster. 

“I thought you thought guns were disgraceful” 

“I kind of still do” You smirked under your mask. “So don’t get used to it”

“You’ll at least do it once when I look, right?”

“Hmm, maybe” You hummed.

“Aww, aren’t you two the cutest”

“Shut up Tim” Jason warned.

“Alright then, I won’t tell you what I found on turning off the weapon”

“Speak, Tim” You contradicted Jason’s order.

“First you have to apologize for throwing me out of a window”

You thought for a moment before answering. “No”

“Then no intel”

You sighed. 

“Let’s compromise then” You suggested. “I will not apologize because I am not sorry, but for the intel and not telling on me after you found out who I was, I will consider not pushing you out of a window again”

There was silence radio, then he spoke again. “Good enough for me. There should be a code pad, I decrypted it and the code is 0000. Yes I know, but then you’ll see a slit, and you gotta put your left hand in it. It’ll read pulse, heat, fingerprints, and more. Since you should share all of this with Luthor, it’ll stop. Or it’ll explode, that was unclear”

“Well that’s reassuring” Jason grumbled. 

“Alright, we’re almost there” You rolled your eyes. “Thanks”

“See ya later”

You turned off your comm and reloaded your shooter minutes before Jason pulled in the aqueduct yard. He parked his bike and you both easily climbed the barbed wire fence, and even though the place looked deserted, you remained careful. Luthor wouldn’t have left his device without surveillance. You grabbed your sword and fell in step behind Jason, who had his guns up. Then, he halted his steps and held a hand for you to do the same. You had this feeling you were being watched, and you could only imagine he had it too. 

“Get ready” Just as he said that, bullets began raining over you. “Go find the weapon, I’ll cover you!”

You held an arm up to protect your face and disappeared into the darkness. You kept running along the walls of the building, allowing you to get in undetected. You reached the main water room, where you could see from the upper platform about eight guards surrounding the very device you had been hunting. The countdown indicated 2:37, so you had no time to lose.

You jumped over the ramp and landed quietly on your feet behind the men. You approached the first one and swung your sword around to let it rest on his neck. You used him as a shield as the other guards noticed you, blocking their bullets. You raised your arm and shot your five darts at them. You pushed the dead man off of you and faced the two remaining guards, taking a fighting stance and swirling your sword at them. Before they could start shooting again, you lunged and knocked their guns out of their hands. They kept fighting around you, trying to get to you with punches and kicks. But they were sloppy and predictable, and even after one fetched a small blade from his belt, they were no match for you. You glanced at the countdown, and it almost reached the one minute mark. Your eyes then trailed on the two guards around you, still trying to get the upper hand. They both extended their arms at the same time for a hit, so you dropped to a crouch.

Like you did during training with Bruce and Damian, you sweeped your sword in a quick motion. Unlike them, however, your current opponent weren’t quick nor skilled. The blade of your katana sliced their knees, making them collapse on the ground. You quickly reloaded your last round of arrows and sheathed your sword, then made your way to the device. You easily found the locked pad and entered the code, then pulled off your glove and stuck your hand in the slit. You pressed the button and watched as the biometrical scan began. 

You heard noise behind you as backup reached the room, and without taking your hand out, you turned your body and aimed. The first five men fell, but there were still five coming your way, so you reached for your shurikens in your belt. But you didn’t get to take them out as other, all too familiar shaped shurikens reached the goons first. You sent a deadpan look at where you noticed none other than Red Robin standing there smugly.

“Oof, I hope you didn’t have dibs on them”

“I had it handled” You replied. 

“I’m sure you did” He smirked as he walked past you and took a look at the countdown, then at the weapon. His expression turned grim. “Twenty seconds”

The scanner was still working. 

“If it doesn’t work, you’ll have to slice the pipe off” You said, analysing the situation. Cutting the water and flooding the building would bring less casualties than letting the virus flow in the water system.

“What!?”

The system unlocked. You quickly entered the command to stop, and the countdown halted. You pulled your hand back and put on your glove again, then grabbed an explosive arrow. You planted the dart in the slit and backed up, pushing Tim with you. Soon enough, it went off and the weapon went up in smoke. 

“Phew, that was close” He blinked. “Well played”

“Motherfucking Dark Fox!” Jason dropped from the platform at his turn. His helmet was off and he had a wide grin on his face. “That’s what I call making a difference! The League could never”

“That was really cool” He nodded in approval. “By the way, what happened to, you know..?”

“Did you do it?” Jason’s eyes were now on you, his grin not so intense now.

“He’s gone” You said, but it didn’t help ease the questions in their eyes. “As in, I don’t know where he is. I let him flee to come here instead”

Jason’s eyes widened. “And you’re fine with this?”

You shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me anymore. His time will come, like everyone else. I just won’t be involved when it does”

“That was unexpected” He whistled. “But hey, what goes for you goes for me. Love the new mentality”

“Killing him was what the League would have wanted” 

“That’s nice. Good choice” Tim nodded. “So you’ll stay here then?”

“Well, not here, since bats and foxes apparently don’t get along” You snorted as you unclasped your mask and pulled back your hood. “But I’ll be around”

“About that, how does Blüdhaven sounds?” Jason chimed in again, sliding a hand around your shoulder. You raised your eyebrows at him “I’ve got a pretty nice place there, and it’s technically not Gotham”

“That won’t be necessary” A deep voice came from behind you. You glanced over your shoulder where the massive shadow of Batman stood. “I’ve seen you work tonight. You acted good, I can allow you to stay in Gotham as the Dark Fox”

Jason coughed in surprise as you blinked, then turned around. 

“Thank you” You began, nodding respectfully. Jason’s wide glance was now directed to you. “But no thanks. Besides, I still don’t need your blessing to stay, or to be me”

Bruce stared at you blankly, not moving or commenting. Your guess was that he wasn’t expecting this answer, or at least not delivered this way.

“Oh, B” Jason mocked as he put back his helmet. “Nice try. Anyway, we should get out of here before the cops show up”

You put back up your mask and hood and followed Jason out, waving at Tim on your way out. You left the aqueduct and waited until you were further into the city before ditching the bike and finding a rooftop to station yourself on, just in case you were being followed. The masks and helmets came off once again, and you took a moment to breathe the air from up there. It was a clear night, with a good wind chasing the clouds away. Jason observed the city lights with you, crouched on the ledge. Then, you heard quiet shuffling behind you. You spun around, then held Jason back when he was about to lunge. You kept your eyes on the outline of the figure in the shadows, knowing all too well who it belonged to. You took a few steps forward.

“You look different” Talia smiled. “A good different. I’m glad you finally found yourself” 

“Thank you” You lowered your head. “For allowing me”

“I only want the best for you” She stepped closer to you, her smile never wavering. “Has he taken good care of you?”

You both glanced at Jason for a moment, and you chuckled. “He has. He was gentler than I’ve been to him”

“I figured he would” She winked. “You two were meant to be”

Your smile dropped as you looked down. Surely, she would know what it meant. Her sympathetic eyes fell on you and her hand rested on your shoulder. You had chosen to part with the League, therefore, with her. It would be the hardest part for you. 

“You don’t have to explain” She reassured. “I knew this would come to this, and I am here to free you”

Your eyes shot up.

“I talked with my father” She explained. “Seeing your unwavering service for all these years, he has agreed to relieve you from your duties to the League. All he asks in exchange is for you to remain out of the League’s affairs, and he gave his word he will not come against you or your family”

“Really?” Your voice was barely above a whisper. 

Her smile was encouraging as she nodded at you. Slowly, you took off the black robe, exposing the silver fox on your back. Then you took out your sword from the sheath in your hands, kneeled and offered it to her. She took it and held it upright in front of you, just like the day you had been initiated in the League.

“In the name of Ra’s al Ghul, I release Thaelib fi alzalam from her servitude to the League of Assassins” She spoke. “Your debt has been paid and your bounds are no more. Rise”

You got back on your feet, your breathing hitching in your throat. You reached for your sword in her extended arm, looked down at it and putting it away again.

“Thank you” 

“You’re very welcome” Her hand went to your cheek. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I will be there for you”

“And I for you” You gave her a genuine smile. She offered her arm, and you took it at the elbow like she did. Your foreheads touched for a few seconds before you pulled away with a step back. 

“It was nice to see you again, Jason” 

“You too, Talia” He nodded with a small curve on the corner of his lips. 

“Take care, children” She said before disappearing in the darkness again. 

Jason approached you and took your hand, gently pulling your around to face him. He had this glint in his eyes, it was full of relief and happiness like you had never seen on him. To be honest, you were feeling the same way. It was like a burden had been lifted off of your shoulders, and you had never felt lighter. Sure, it brought you uncertainty to navigate without the League’s guiding hand, one you had relied on for most of your life, but it felt right. You knew Jason would help you like you had helped him, and things would start to look up from now. 

“So, what now?”

“I don’t know” You chuckled. “It’s the first time I don’t need to follow any agenda. I’m kind of lost” 

“Ah, this calls for the return of Teacher Todd” He grinned. “Lesson number two, you get to learn what fun and freedom taste like”

----

The grass was high as your mid thigh and small bugs swarmed up with every step forward you took. You didn’t mind though, you prefered it ten folds to the smog of Gotham.

For Jason, however, it was a different story.

He was sweating and grunting, and even if he was behind you, you knew he was getting annoyed by the flies and mosquitoes around. He was swatting his hand wildly and you could tell he was slightly regretting sharing his suggestion to you. The sun was high, and even for the end of the summer it was surprisingly hot. 

“Ugghhh” 

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t stop.

“Are we there soon?” He asked. “Jeez I had forgotten how far was that thing”

“Come on, stop lying to yourself” You teased as you spotted a familiar path up a small hill. “You like this”

He scoffed. “It reminds me of my ass being kicked”

“As I said” You smirked over your shoulder, and he raised his eyebrows at you. 

You climbed up the small hill and came face to face with a small, half decaying structure with the roof caved in by the elements. Moss and grass was growing on the outside of the round walls, but the feeling of home you had subconsciously associated with it was very much intact. Jason stopped behind you, his annoyance completely gone and replaced by fondness over the sight in front of him. There were so many memories tied to the small hut, some bad but mostly good, and it was like you could feel them all at once. You dropped your bag on the ground and took a deep breath.

“So, was the trek up here worth it?”

“Fuck yes” He sighed in amazement, his eyes never leaving the hut. “I missed this place so much”

“Even if we had to work hard for survival?” 

“Being here alone with you far outweighed any inconvenience this place brings” He stepped closer to you, his arm wrapping around your waist. Who would have ever thought? His nose nuzzled on your neck and your relaxed in his arms. “We’ll still have to do a bit of renovation around though”

“I hope you’ll help me this time” You looked up at him innocently. Last time you had built the hut alone before Talia had brought Jason, and even if he had been there, you would have absolutely not trusted him to help you with anything

“But you’re so hot when you work” He pouted. “I wanna watch and enjoy the view”

“And how would you make up all that work to me?” You asked, then you felt him smile on your skin. A smile full of mischief and promises. 

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas” 

“Oh me too” You grinned, stepping out of his arms, then you winked at him and disappeared in the hut. Only one hammock was still up, the other had fallen on the ground due to broken ropes. Stones of the small fireplaces were kicked in and weeds were growing around. The kitchen supplies were scattered around the makeshift shelf, but otherwise the place seemed to have been left untouched by human activity. Jason followed suit and took in the damages. 

“Do you think we can still both get onto this hammock without the ropes breaking?” He asked, side glancing at you. You rubbed your chin in wonder, then hummed.

“There is only one way to know for sure” You tilted your head to the side. You nodded at each other and he walked around you, with you in tow. He carefully lowered himself first, then opened his arms for you. You joined him, and waited for a few second to test the resistance of the ropes. You heard them creaking and straining, but you were still hanging. You relaxed, and barely a second after, the ropes snapped.

In a blink, you were on the ground, and both of your weights made the wood give in. You ended up in the dirt, directly on the forest floor. yOu remained in silence for a moment blinking at each other.

“Well” You sighed. “The hammock could not support us both”

“Alright, there is a lot to do” He conceded. “How about you fix this baby, and I’ll gather the wood for the fire, hunt dinner and get the herbs for tea?”

“That’s more like it” You said as you stood up and dusted off your pants. You offered a hand to Jason and you pulled him up with you. “Do you remember where are the bows and arrows?”

“In the bark of the oak facing the boulder, yeah” 

“Good” You chuckled. “I wasn’t sure you’d get it right”

“Come on” He groaned playfully. “I was quite a good student”

“Oh not at all” You laughed, taking a step in his personal space and looking up at him. “The worst, actually. You’re lucky you learned fast, or we’d still be there”

“Then I should have dragged my training on purpose” His lips hovered above yours. “You’d still be my incredibly unforgiving yet very hot teacher, and I your wild, stubborn and irresistible student”

“Hmm, does another sword in your shoulder sound good?”

“Only if I get to face you hand to hand”

“You’ve got yourself a deal” You whispered, before backing away abruptly. He blinked in confusion. “But it’ll have to wait. It’s almost sundown and we need to be installed by then. So get your sweet ass out there and stop distracting me here”

He sighed. “Why do I like it so much when you order me around?”

“I have no idea” You tapped his chest. “But the quicker we prepare everything, the sooner we can go to the lake for a swim under the stars”

He perked up at that, and with wide, excited eyes, he shot out of the hut faster than you could register. You chuckled and leaned on the threshold, lazily crossing your arms against your chest and taking a deep breath. You stared outside for a moment, enjoying the breeze and the sound of nature surrounding you. It was peaceful and beautiful, taking it in fully. 

Then, you got to work. 

[dazais-guardian-angel]

I finished Curious Village again the other day, so here are some random thoughts. This is my first time replaying the main series since my... mid-to-late teen years? (though I guess it was later than I thought, if AL didn’t come out till 2014... I’m 25 now) so my memory of the fine details of them is a little hazy.

Flora really is wasted in the next two games, isn’t she... She’s introduced as part of the crew by the end of the game, especially with the additional epilogue cutscene in the hd version, but she literally gets the Kairi treatment, being left behind or used as a damsel for no discernable reason, when she could easily be just as capable as Luke... I mean she’s older than him, there’s no reason she couldn’t handle herself on their adventures if he can. -___- And like Kairi, I want to be more invested in her, but she barely has any focus and development, and it’s just ugh. I kind of like that it makes sense why Hershel would be so distant with her/not know how to parent properly, but I wish that was actually explored, and it’s not, so everyone ignoring her is just annoying and unnecessary-feeling instead. Tbh I’d rather her have just stayed behind altogether in the next two games instead of showing up just to be kidnapped or impersonated, if she wasn’t going to be made a main party member permanently.

People have said this before, but the main trilogy is honestly made so much better with knowledge of the prequels, in both emotional and absolutely buckwild ways, and it’s the funniest with CV - going from Azran Legacy straight into the mundane Curious Village is absolutely fucking HILARIOUS, as completely unintentional as it was by Level-5 lmaoooo

Hershel, after the shitshow that was Azran Legacy: “oh thank god, just an inheritance dispute.” Luke, who is easily impressed and apparently gets selective amnesia after every game: “THIS IS THE BIGGEST MYSTERY WE’LL EVER SOLVE-” Hershel, this close to murdering Luke a second time:

Can we make some connection between Bruno’s robot-making abilities and the Azran technology. And does the whole robot thing seriously trigger the boys as soon as it’s revealed because DEAR GOD NO NOT THIS AGAIN-

And related to that, I’m sure that was why Hershel could easily guess the robot thing early on; like seriously, nothing should faze this man anymore after what he’s been through (and yet, hilariously, the most ridiculous has yet to come, depending on how you look at it)

But he doesn’t have the faintest idea why Don Paolo would want revenge on him, which, like, even if he can’t think of anything specific... my dude, your family history is fucked up a;lsdlf;fd, there’s PLENTY OF OPTIONS (even if the actual reason is much less severe lol)

I’m sure we also all headcanon Descole to be slinking around in the background of the three main games somehow just because it’s more fun that way, so now that he’s no longer the rival, he’s the rival-turned-secret helper who makes sure everything goes right for Hershel (but he doesn’t do everything obviously cause he knows he can handle things himself), and probably bitchfights with Don Paolo some because that mental image is hilarious to me lmao

Post-UF scenario where Desmond helps Bruno with the robots with his technical prowess

and while we’re on that idea, Uncle Randall nerds out over everything robot in St. Mystere because let’s be real he would (Azran 2.0: Electric Boogaloo, But Without The Danger Or Trauma)

That scene when the tower is collapsing and Flora almost falls and Hershel catches her. Level-5 how could you completely accidentally and unintentionally create something so utterly painful out of such a small moment; I lie awake at night thinking about this!! :)))

Also Hershel yelling to Luke in that scene “I HAVE AN IDEYAHHH!” with his accent going off the rails on “idea” is an underrated iconic moment

Am I the only one who got the quiz question about Chelmey’s favorite food wrong because the answer was cakes something, and whatever the newspaper said it was was definitely not what I’d consider a cake

I love the implication that Pavel(?) is the only person in St Mystere besides Hershel, Luke, Don Paolo, Flora and Bruno who’s not a robot, and he just somehow ended up there by unknown means while trying to get to America??? and then somehow ends up on a high floor of the LOCKED tower, and still has no idea where tf he is. what a madlad

I never liked Luke’s squeaky UK voice, but I’m realizing his US one isn’t much better... and Flora’s voice in the new epilogue cutscene with the same voice actress years later is oof. why do the PL games just. reuse the same vas constantly for different characters. It’s obviously a thing in anime and games, but it’s especially noticeable in this series imo

fuck those puzzles with troll-y answers. also fuck that one with the chocolate bar and the coded letters with the bite marks

Matthew is probably one of my favorite npcs now; he’s just adorable <333 his little arms waggin’

Gordon needs to get a life

Pauly why are you the way that you are

“I’m not a detective”, Hershel continually says, as he unveils ridiculous plots that no one could have thought up in their wildest dreams, while gathering everyone together and pointing out the culprits dramatically, Agatha Christie style

I was tapping around for the exact pixel on painting Flora’s neck because it was ridiculously precise on the mobile version, and I never knew that if you tap her chest area, Hershel scolds Luke for not being a gentleman I-

Luke’s chubby head in the anime cutscenes sure is something... so glad it didn’t last. along with the front-facing Hershel sprite.

The ferris wheel attack is so great, I never really appreciated it before. The music, and the rain at the end with the rainbow 👌

We needed more of Hershel constructing things from random objects he finds lying around; iirc the only other time he does it is in Eternal Diva, though I guess the slot machine gun in UF counts too

I solved every slider puzzle in this game without a walkthrough, even the bonus ones. I do not expect this to last in the next games.

Overall I like Curious Village, though it remains one of my least favorites; there’s nothing wrong with it, and it was the very first so I’m not surprised it’s not very complex, with the mechanics and style still not fleshed out yet, but it doesn’t really hit me with The Feels™ as the best ones do, so it’s just okay. it started this wild ride of complete emotional devastation off, so I can appreciate it for that at least.