#the world isn’t ready for real old man yaoi

[jazzums]

gotta be fans out there of usm jameson/ben parker

shocked and appalled

[aphspain-pure]

Back to de past, right to the future [Chap. I]

Category: Fanfic. 

Pair: EngSpa, UkSpa. 

Words: 2.611.

Genre(s): drama, historical, yaoi. 

Abstract: England feels some magical disturbance in the air that morning. How could he have imagined that it was caused by his own self, but some centuries ago. 

Pirate England suddendly appears in the Modern Era. 

________________

When he opened his eyes, England could not focus well. 

It was dark and cold, but the tremendous and familiar humidity of his cabin or any of the parts of his ship was not noticeable. Nor could he feel the typical rocking of the waves of the high seas, so he deduced that, God knows why, he was not in his boat.

He scrambled to his feet and took a quick look around him in dismay. He was in complete darkness but, thanks to the patch over his left eye, he was quickly able to get used to the lack of light. Only then he did recognize the place.

This was his magic room, where since Viking occupation times he had conjured his spells and his miracles. It was cloudy, dark and penetrating as always. There was nothing out of place except for him, who couldn't bring himself to remember how in the hell he had gotten there. He did not remember even having arrived at port, even having approached Great Britain. The last thing he remembered was being on his ship, somewhere between the Caribbean and the West Indies, and he couldn't figure out how or when he ended up there.

Grunting in disagreement, with a hangover of a thousand horrors, he decided to leave the questions unanswered for later and get up, dusting himself off, ready to go out and yell at the first servant who crossed his path. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't care, at least he wouldn't think about it until he'd had his first shot of whiskey or rum and kicked a couple of arse.

Or so he thought, unhinged, until he opened his special room’s door and took a look outside.

- What the bloody hell?

 ____________________________

In another part of London, England watched the energy in the air with a puzzled countenance, noticing slight arrhythmic disturbances in the wind while enjoying his famous breakfast tea. He was in a cozy old café from his Victorian era that still stood to this day and which England cherished with pure English love and courtesy. He had decided to have breakfast there, early, to arrive with plenty of time for the world conference that day. That was why he had left the house exceptionally early, even if he usually preferred to get up at a moderate hour and take it easy on homely mornings.

He sighed. He had once been a man of action.

Maybe America was right when he accused him of being a boring old curmudgeon.

He calmly finished his cup of tea, retrieved his coat from the courteous waiter who had stripped him of it earlier –a practice which, now almost extinct in modern times, England greatly appreciated-, thanked him and left. The day was cloudy and threateningly rainy in London, as usual.

Thus, once outside, he felt again that feeling of unease that had been attacking him for some time. A spiritual unrest, as if something bad was about to happen. Deciding not to become paranoid, he called his chauffeur to take him to the boardroom right in the center of Westminster.

 __________________________

He arrived early, and the only other nations besides himself already there were Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Japan. The rest would still be in their respective hotels or even, if they had decided to fly from their countries that morning, on the plane or the airport. As far as he knew, France used to prefer the latter option when meetings were held at his place, preferring to spend as little time as possible on British soil. And England could not say that it did not understand or disapprove of it; moreover, he would resort to the same when the situation was the opposite.

He walked over, respectfully greeted the three blonde nations, and calmly placed himself next to Japan. His transoceanic friend gave him a slight bow of the head. - Ohayo gosaimasu, Igirisu-san. How has the sun risen today? –he commented, in an appropriate and neutral tone.

England appreciated the chivalricism. – It isn’t being one of my best days, but I cannot complain. Anyway, good morning to you too, Japan. –And the Japanese gave him a small and short smile.

After that all went silent, and the only thing that was heard for a few minutes was the chalk of Germany hitting the blackboard as he wrote down the important points of the day. Everyone knew that the meeting would probably end as usual, with nothing clear, with the United States laughing and claiming to be a hero every few seconds, the odd country asleep, hysterical discussions between itself and France and Russia trying to make people become one with him, but Germany still insisted on trying to create a serious atmosphere. Internally, England admired and appreciated his dedication, even if it didn't get real results in the end.

Eventually the rest of the countries began to arrive one by one. The feeling of discomfort and that something was wrong did not leave the guts of the host country, anyway.

There was something strange, even dangerous, floating in the atmosphere. His sharp, mint green eyes scanned every corner trying to find the source of the discomfort, unable to find anything. He had a pleasant conversation with Luxembourg when he arrived and later he chatted with Portugal a bit, all automatically while he went over everything. Each time the air was tighter from a supernatural point of view, as if the Disaster itself was drawing closer and closer.

It wasn't until Norway appeared in his field of vision that England paid any real attention to something. 

Usually they would do nothing but greet each other from afar with a minimal movement of the head. But if Norway had stood there, in front of him, it definitely meant something.

Getting to the point, the Nordic inquired. - What the hell is happening here? –With his frankness and usual calm voice.

England, sighing, crossed his arms and furrowed his thick eyebrows.

- It's been bothering me since this morning. I don't know what the hell it can be, but it's downright disturbing. It is… like a powerful presence but at the same time cloudy. And the strangest thing of all is that it looks strangely familiar to me.

- Yeah… -the other man agreed-. It's ... certainly familiar in some way. –Then he looked around-. And every time it seems to increase that energy. You haven't used magic again while drunk, have you? –And for a moment, England looked offended. At least before recalling the hundreds of times it had actually happened, after which he quietly apologized.

Trying to hide that he was somewhat ashamed of himself, he cleared his throat and muttered that he didn't remember conjuring anything lately. That definitely upset the Norwegian's stern gesture a bit.

- So this doesn't make sense.

A moment later the Italian brothers entered and Germany called the session off. He and Norway were forced to separate, but not before sending each other glances of beware of anything and nodding in agreement.

But in these, just as Germany was about to start with the first point of the day, the main gate that led to the huge boardroom was thrown open. 

And the most incredible thing happened.

- What the hell is going on here by gad!? –The sordid growl of the new presence broke in. They all immediately turned to look there and, simply petrified, England stood up, shocked, knocking the chair over.

In front of them stood an astonishing 17th century pirate captain, dressed in his grandiose red coat, his worn flat boots, his jeweled saber, his open ruffled shirt, the typical gold ear rings, the eye patch in the eye and the so characteristic captain's hat. His voice had been sordid and commanding and his eyes exuded the amusement and danger of a true saltwater buccaneer. Someone who, at least the European countries and some former colonies, recognized immediately. He licked his lips leisurely as he began to draw his sword.

- You're already singing if you don't want to die, you louts! What does this all mean? –And pointed the sword towards the large table full of perplexed countries.

The attention fell entirely on him, in a frozen moment of time, until someone else claimed it.

- What the bloody hell are you doing here!?

Then the newcomer pirate's eyes lifted until, surprised and interested, they rested on the emitter. He looked directly at England, dressed and mature, with an uneasy and confused smile. - I should ask you the same. What is this all supposed to be? –taking great strides and dangerously dancing his saber with that deranged look of his-. You better start spitting it all out if you don't want to taste my steel, you fucking bastard.

And England, still not fully recovered from his shock, tried to articulate something to calm the hotheaded just as the door opened a second time. This time, timidly and slowly.

- Eh… Hello? I'm sorry I'm late again, I've fallen asleep again haha… -from a newcomer Spain who nervously rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed gesture.

This intrusion impressively attracted the pirate’s attention. 

- You... –he blurted out, lifting the eyepatch to see perfectly with both eyes, as a wolfish grin stretched the corners of his lips and he screamed in exaltation-. On guard, you bastard!

And before Spain could even react, the subject came forward like a veritable bloodthirsty beast towards him. The ancient empire, instinctively, placed his body on guard against the imminent attack, which he would have been about to receive if it had not been for the sudden cry that devastated the room:

- SLEEP!

And the body of the said pirate man fell inert to the ground. England had conjured something to make him abruptly fall asleep. The boardroom was suddenly silent.

England and Spain looked at each other in shock.

- ...What the hell?

_____________________

 When pirate England emerged from the dark abyss of unconsciousness again, it appeared to be back at its home outside London. He blinked a few times as he growled and groaned at the post-spell pain in his tormented mind. He cursed the other England, the one from the future who had had such a naughty face, and tried to regain control of his body.

It was then that he was known prisoned. His arms were tied with a thick, scratchy rope to the back of the chair he was sitting on. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, really not very impressed, and later turned his gaze straight ahead.

The familiar face of his presumed captor managed to get an idle, amused smile from his lips.

- Scared that I might bite you, darling?

Which was quickly answered by a. – Dare to even suggest such a thing and I will hang you before you can take a step. –Which brought an even bigger smile and a greater sparkle in the other's eye.

There, sitting on the sofa, Spain was holding a rare article of paper with many hyper-realistic letters and images that he seemed to be reading carefully. But England knew better. He knew as the best what face this handsome jerk made when he was really focused, and the one he made when he tried to fake it. Catching Spain in the middle of that picaresque action seemed as charming as it was amusing, and he could not but fall into the temptation to frustrate him in his attempt.

- I do not know anything about the future, but just by seeing those whore's clothes that you bring, I think I would not mind being in your humble care a little more.

A vein was marked in Spain’s forehead who, honestly, had been years, decades…! With no real dislike for England. An insincere and tight smile showed his vain attempt at impassiveness. –This I am wearing is a simple "shirt", the type of garment that is worn today for formal meetings.

- Well, what a scandal, how immoral! With that tight-fitting blouse, I could see your nipples from nautical miles away. –To which, with a new vein marked, Spain jumped just at the time that contemporary England entered the room.

He carried with him a small silver tray with two porcelain mugs of Earl Grey and a few small butter cakes. His entrance surprised the other two. Immediately, however, Spain pointed at the captive and yelled at the newcomer. – Tell this uneducated you that neither my shirt is obscene nor am I a whore, now!

That sudden demand caught England off guard, whose first thought was to look directly at the named shirt, seeing, therefore, how the white fabric hugged and made the tanned skin transparent. He swallowed hard for a moment, which his other self took advantage of to act funny.

- From the familiar treatment that you two maintain I deduce that, very and at the same time not so much to my regret, in the future the Spanish Empire and I have that kind of intimate relationship. –Whistling at the sudden sight of a red and indignant England and an angry Spain-. In the bull’s eye, isn't it?

Making that this time, yes, Spain was so frustrated that he ended up pouncing on him.

The action awakened the green in the captive's eyes, amused to the core that he had finally made the future version of his rival lose his temper. Spain fell on him, a pair of strong hands and –although not as calloused as he himself remembered- still rough from the work in the fields surrounding his neck with accumulated resentment. 

He held back a smile.

- Ahh... I see that you are both quite rusted …

And, shocking Spain (who had still been trying to hang him), he broke free from his moorings and abruptly swapped positions.

England, from outside, watched in shock and without being able to speak as, in front of his eyes, his former self turned the tables and placed himself with the force of a beast above his current EU partner. Spain had fallen backwards and his hands had been forcibly captured on his head; he writhed like a sardine as he looked badly and –almost- growled at the one who just two seconds ago had been tied to a chair. Immobilizing his body, the pirate had mounted on him, leaving him unable to actuate any movement.

Looking indiscreet and almost with little concealed grimace, England glanced in the direction of present-day Britain. - Even a bastard child who has not seen more boobs in his life than his mother's would have loosened a knot that simple. –He growled, nodding at the untied rope lying on the ground. Making disgust, this time he directed his words to Spain under his grip-. Are you grossly underestimating me or are you so old that you have forgotten what you were capable of in the past...?

The three pairs of green eyes maintained that tense look for a few long seconds in which, little by little, the pirate began to change that tension for a deeper emotion. 

Darker and more penetrating eyes as they went down through the other's tanned build.  – Although I have to admit that this body is not that of an old man, no sir ... –taking the liberty of passing a hand from Spain’s chin to his tanned chest-. It's been a while since I saw this sinful skin so closely, I presume since 1588 …

And Spain’s eyes expanded in shock, while modern England’s nearly shook in bewilderment.

The apparition of Pirate Era England had opened something that had been buried centuries ago.

[lilydescend]

Dear domeyashiro! ^_^

Hello!  :)

First of all I’d like to thank you for sharing  your thoughts with us – your interpretations are very in-depth and a great inspiration!

However I have doubts about something you wrote, it was in your reply to somebody’s question about Yashiro’s words from ch. 36: “What I gave up at that time is still here/in this world”. You wrote: “He only gave him up, because he wanted him to be safe”.

I must say I understood Yashiro’s decision to break up with Doumeki completely differently. To me his main motivation was an urge to run from the situation he felt he couldn’t handle. We can see this urge throughout their whole love scene, in fact from the moment Yashiro discovers that Doumeki may actually feel something for him. I had the impression that the mere thought that his feelings for Doumeki may be mutual brought him close to panic. As if being loved didn’t fit into his own concept of himself – a sex-crazed masochist who only gets satisfaction from being abused. He even says it in his thoughts later that if he were to accept this love it would mean the end of his current way of life, which he seems to consider the only way to cope with his trauma or rather to go around it. Having sex with Doumeki made him completely helpless, vulnerable like a child and must have touched him to the core since it brought back the most painful memories and reopened old wounds. And I think that’s what he’s really running away from – truly dealing with his trauma, because to be able to accept somebody’s love you have to believe that you deserve being loved, not just mistreated and abused. And for Yashiro that would mean accepting the fact the he IS a victim and that as a child he was hurt and betrayed by those closest to him in the most horrible way possible. I don’t think he’s ready for it, nor ready to give up the illusion that he’s got over his trauma and even has power over it - talking so lightly about it, and taking pleasure in rough sex which often looks just like replaying his childhood experiences.

I agree that during the conflict with Hirata Yashiro tried to do everything to put Doumeki out of danger and direct confrontation with that ruthless man, but  I think there’s more to his behavior. The way Yashiro treats Doumeki after their night together is so cruel that it’s hard to believe he does it only to protect him. In my opinion Yashiro really wants to hurt Doumeki, punish him for all that happened – for leading to a situation where he has to get rid of him, for letting him taste what love and real closeness may feel only to realize that he can’t take it without turning his whole life around, and most of all for falling in love with someone like him, who - as he says later - was broken from the start. This destructive drive can be heard in his words, when he says he wants to destroy all happiness and beauty and hurt those dear to him. And when he put a gun to Doumeki’s head, I think he was really considering pulling the trigger.

If Yashiro’s main concern was to protect Doumeki, then why didn’t they get together after Hirata was dealt with and the whole conflict was resolved? The main threat in their lives disappeared, they weren’t in any immediate danger anymore. Yashiro was supposed to distance himself from his group and seemed to be free to do whatever he wanted for the time being. So if he really wanted to be with Doumeki, he could engage himself in some less dangerous business, keeping them both safe.

Besides what guarantee Yashiro had that Doumeki would go back to the normal life? After all Doumeki showed a great devotion to him and complete disregard for his own safety, coming to his rescue even after he was told he’s unwanted,  when he could barely walk after Yashiro shot him twice (and could easily make him handicapped for the rest of his life) and put the gun to his head. The guy is obviously stubborn and sticks to his convictions. And Doushinkai isn’t the only yakuza group, it must have crossed Yashiro’s mind that Doumeki may just end up in another gang.

The bottom line is: if Yashiro wanted, he could keep Doumeki safe another way, he’s smart and resourceful enough for that. Instead he pretends he doesn’t remember him and effectively gets rid of him from his life, which to me was his main objective.

Anyway this is how I see it, thank you for reading (sorry this post is so long!). I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts about this matter!

PS I’m quite new to the fandom, but have been  a fan of Yoneda Kou for years. In fact I remember reading the first and the last chapter of the first volume years ago as one-shots (the story from Yashiro’s youth when he met Kageyama just blew my mind! It was so different, so bold, light years away from typical high school yaoi which run the same banal scenarios over and over). I’ve only recently started to read the series (we have 5 volumes released in my country already!) and it sucked me in completely! And later I discovered never let me go blog which made very happy! :)

[socallmelusopp]

I’ll Like You For Always

Pairing(s): None so far.

Genre(s)/ Warnings: Family, Angst, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy. Character Death. Yaoi in later chapters. More to come.

Words: 1668

Summary: “Can I be Max this time?” The small child asked, clutching the rubber man close to his chest. His father smiled down at the book and continued on. “And Usopp, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.”

Or the Usopp-centric Toy story AU we were all secretly waiting for.

(an): Inspired by a post from @filettillyoudrop, followed by a Godly idea from @usolu, which was then followed by a gushing art by @filettillyoudrop. And this is where I come in!! Hi! Also, see the end for a sneak peek of the next chapter to come.

Prologue

August 15, 2003

Mauritius, Southeast Africa

On the morning that Usopp’s mother was scheduled to die, a tall scrawny man with yellow hair waddled past his home. He always supposed that if all the gazillion people in the world wanted to hear about his small life, the first thing they’d want to know is where he was born. And what his lousy childhood was like, and how his parents were occupied before they had him, and all the boring things just to hear him talk. Talk. If they wanted to know the truth, he didn’t feel it.

“Usopp, you ready, bud?” But the child’s door is opened before he’s given free rein to answer. The man with the long yellow hair - daddy - stands in the doorway, his brown eyes staring down his son. Behind him, Usopp can see creatures cloaked in dark attire swanning what was once mama’s living room and not just the living room. Their skin varies, dark and light, pale and dead. They smell of human flesh and they stand at empowering heights, almost as tall as the m - daddy.

And despite this, the boy nods slowly. One, two, three times his chin rises and dips. He stands just as slow as well, his heart pounding with every inch he’s off the floor. There, with the swanning monsters. He has to go in there.

Daddy grabs hold of his hand and attempts to pull him out of the lonely room. It’s a tug that he wasn’t suspecting as he looks back at the four-year-old’s arm in mild disbelief. Arms aren’t supposed to fight back. He pulls again, gentle and cautiously. And yet, this one does. The boy can imagine how horrifying it must feel to his daddy. To be a big strong person and then to have it all knocked away by a skinny brown arm that had stitches from a ‘misguided’ rock jump. The arm keeps fighting back and Usopp thanks it graciously.

“Usopp. We’ll be late. Don’t you want to see mommy?”

The boy shakes his head. He can’t do it. He lied. He’s not ready at all. Those monsters will gobble him up. “I’m scared.”

“You’re scared of seeing mommy?” His daddy says nothing more after but continues to stare at him. He’s wearing a big question mark on his head, but the boy can’t find an answer.

“Don’t wanna go,” he tries again. “Scared. I-I-I want my mommy.”

A moment passes between them; father and son who have just met again under very bad circumstances; brown pouring into brown; the confused and afraid. And then the moment settles as Yasopp crouches down to his son’s height. He grabs the boy by the shoulders and Usopp cowers even more under the calloused grip. To him, daddy is a big strong man, clearly unafraid of these monsters. He wants to be like him...but...the boy’s lip trembles. He just can’t.

“Do you know that you are very strong?” He whispers it in kind, but he feels clumsy and awkward. He doesn’t know how to tell a four-year-old not to be afraid. He’s not good at being a father and he had hoped that throughout Usopp’s life, Banchina would be; so that he would never have to go through something like this. He’s just 21, holding the shoulders of an accident when they were stupid kids.

And despite this awkward and clumsy feeling, Usopp stares in confusion and wonder. No one’s ever said that to him. Mama did, but mama was a liar: she only said things to make him feel better. “I am?”

Yasopp blinks at him as if he wasn’t expecting the follow-up. He damn sure has an answer, though. This is easy, he thinks. “Of course you are. You helped mama all by yourself and made her happy. And even when she left, you stayed strong.”

Usopp looks down at the floor shyly, a blush dusting his cheeks like watercolor. “I did?” He whispers. And then he looks up in wonder, all those things coming back to him like a big wave. “I did!” Yasopp grimaces softly at the yell. Because fuck, he’s so loud and cute and determined. This little thing, this kid is half him. “Of course I did, I’m a good leader. I have to be strong.” Yup, half him.

“But Usopp…” at the call, the boy’s fist of determination lowers and he stares openly. “I need you to be even stronger. I need you to do something for me.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Like..like a mission?” Yasopp nods. And then Usopp gasps and covers his mouth. Discreetly, the boy looks around, his suspicion aroused. “Are we spies?” He whispers. The imagination on this kid is tremendous, no doubt stemmed from Banchina, the young adventurous girl that would dream of everything.

Again, he nods. “I need you to infiltrate-“

“What does influ-tate mean?”

Yasopp smiles awkwardly. Right, four. “I need you to enter the living room and remain as invisible as possible. If no one notices you, they can’t bother you. Only then will we be able to get to mommy.”

“Go into the living room?” Usopp asks, his nerves coming back tenfold. It’s the wave again, but this time he’s stranded in water with no boat or paddle. He looks behind his father again, out the door. The monsters ...they've been replaced. Their horns and sharp teeth went away and in their place stand humans. Humans of all colors; dark and light, chocolate and bright. They’re as tall as daddy, but that’s okay. Because adults are supposed to be tall. He stares back. “Okay.” He nods and says it again. This time stronger. “Okay.”

Yasopp goes to stand and is about to walk out of the room when he’s tugged. When he looks back, the boy has his hand raised. “You have to hold my hand though.”

Yasopp nods and firmly grabs hold of the small limb and together, hand in hand, they enter the swanning nest of monsters.

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

Yasopp can’t stop watching the way his son’s legs swing beneath his seat, light in the air despite the heavy atmosphere of sadness around them. The child is nervous, no doubt, confused about what’s real and what isn’t.

On their way to the funeral home, he had talked to his son about what it would mean when they put his mommy in the ‘dark scary hole in the ground.’ In the four years that she had him, Banchina never told the kid about death or loss, despite being a doctor. Even when she became terminally ill herself, she never explained to Usopp what never seeing someone again meant.

And in the week it had taken him to travel to southern Africa, none of the caretakers had explained to him either. In that week, he supposed his son had been lost; confused and betrayed. Why wasn’t mommy coming to see him? Why did he have to stay with the hospital’s home of orphaned children? Orphans were children without parents and Usopp could swear he wasn’t an orphan.

And then someone did come to get him, but it wasn’t his mother. It was a man that looked just like him. It was his other parent. One he hadn’t seen since he was three days old. Confused, betrayed, lost.

“What’dya mean we won’t see mommy ever again?” the boy laughed sheepishly. “She’s on a trip right. She does that sometimes. Sometimes, she has to cure an old person in a whole nother city. But she always comes back.”

Yasopp grimaces. He supposes it was karma that he would have to teach the boy about something so grim. It’s a way to get back at him for leaving her and thinking that she could handle a young boy all by herself.

“Dead? Why does everybody say that?”

And then he told him exactly what dead meant.

The child’s eyes grow watery and no matter how hard he rubs them, the tears keep coming. The wave keeps coming. “But she’s joking, right? Mommy does that a lot. She’s a liar...like me. She’ll stop, right? Right?”

“We meet here today to honor and pay tribute to the life of Banchina Kenway, and to express our love and admiration for her. It is only natural that we should be sad today because, in a practical sense, Dr. Banchina is no longer a part of our lives.” Usopp whimpers beside him. Soon, he’ll have to stand and kiss his mother’s head and then watch her get lowered and covered in dirt. And Yasopp knows that’s what he’s dreading; not the ceremony, but the goodbye. “However, today is also a day for memories. Today will be remembered for many reasons, but mainly, I hope, it will be remembered by you all; as a very special day, a special day in which you shared some time with others; in order to pay your last respects; and to say both mentally and physically a sad and fond farewell to a lovely woman…. A woman whom we were all so very privileged to have known. Born in Wales….”

When the time does come, Yasopp doesn’t think his son has it in him. When the boy stands, there’s snot beneath his nose and tears all over his face. His knees are shaking and his teeth are shattering. With a heavy frown, the man grabs the boy’s hand and leads him forward. Usopp doesn’t tug, pull, or protest. Despite being scared shitless, the boy has courage.

They stop by the casket and Yasopp bites at his lip. Banchina looks just like she did years ago when she’d come to Mauritius. Young and pretty and angelic. She was….gone. His stupor is broken when Usopp stands on the tip of his toes and kisses his mother’s cheek, wetting her dead face. He sniffs loudly and cowers back. “B-bye, mommy. I love you. A lot. A lot a lot.”

Yasopp wonders if it’s possible a human can shrink from existence entirely.

AN: So this is totally the AU I said I was going to write. And it’s definitely going to feature a few of our Strawhats as toys for Usopp (especially cowboy Luffy). However, all stories need a plot and I decided I should focus on Usopp as he grows, not only with the toys but what he’s going to face from here on. The kid just lost his mother and now he has to live with a father he barely knows. I hope you guys are excited as I am. I’m going to try my best to post weekly as I am currently working on other fics right now. I just love this AU

Next Chapter: The Sheriff and The Forgotten Samurai

Sneak Peek: At the harsh sound, Usopp lifts his shirt and stares at his brown tummy, and Yasopp notes that his son has an outie belly button that looks like an earplug. The boy looks up sheepishly, his cheeks dusty and flushed. “My tummy growls sometimes. It’s like a cloud... getting mad.” The men stare at the four-year-old in silence. And then Shanks bursts into a fit of laughter. To Usopp, it’s angrier than the cloud in his stomach can ever be, loud and gushing with wind and lightning. The boy blushes and decides that Shanks is cool.

[mismagireve]

WIPs/Drafts/Concepts

going under a cut because this fucker is long

like 60-stories-and-their-summaries long

Works In Progress

He Who Invites—Police Detective Ryotaro Dojima is pulled into the strange magical side of the Inaba Murder Case when he sees his nephew’s persona casually hovering above him one night.  Focuses largely on Dojima’s development and his interactions with the Investigation Team in the real world as they plan their next moves.  Five out of ??? Chapters published.

Everything Stays—The Fell Dragon Grima interacts with his fellow dragons in the kingdom of Askr.  A writing challenge to tell a story in 300-700 words each.  Somewhat on hold until more dragon units are added to the game.  Two out of Fourteen stories published.

Drafts

Words Spoken In Wormwood—Members of the Rose Cult have not overlooked Amadeus’s strange eccentricities.  They may not know what he is, but they know that he’s almost certainly not human.  Several cultists discuss Amadeus’s relationship with the Hero in a bar one night, leading to uncomfortable revelations.  Oneshot; draft has 1,751 words so far.

Can You Hear Your Heart Sing?—When you get close enough to your soulmate, your heart can’t help but sing in sheer joy at finding the person that is destined to love you forever; this causes problems when your soulmate is your also the person destined to be your enemy.  Slowburn Heropulchure Soulmate AU.  Multichapter story; draft has 722 words so far.

Somewhere Ages And Ages Hence—In exchange for being declared dead and saved from being imprisoned or executed for a crime they didn’t commit, the Reader puts their life in the hands of a strange man in a Rose uniform living out in the woods with his daughter.  Oblivious to his true identity (but not his true form), the Reader slowly falls in love with their new family.  Second-person Slowburn Reader/Sepulchure story, set during Book 3.  The Calamity Saga is unfortunately canon in this one.  Contains smut.  Twoshot; draft has 4,534 words so far.

Don’t You Dare Call Me Daddy—Though initially only taking the job for extra textbook money, Hero has to admit that it has some nice benefits.  Like getting pounded into a mattress until she can’t see straight by her old highschool history teacher.  Heropulchure Babysitter AU.  Contains smut.  Oneshot; draft has 508 words so far.

In Which The Lowblood Prince Saves A Dragon From A Princess—Prince Karkat of Prospit is sent to diffuse a situation between two princesses.  This would be fairly easy if not for the fact that one of said princesses was a dragon.  Old-ass Homestuck fic draft from 2015.  I think this was going to be fefkat.  Oneshot; draft has 1,481 words so far.

Fic Concepts

DC Comics

Not Quite Bat Son—When a new hero from Fawcett City is welcomed into the Justice League on a probationary membership, Billionaire Bruce Wayne feels a pang of nostalgia for the old city and decides to check in on how his godson Billy Batson is doing after so much time away—only to find that Billy’s guardian Ebeneezer Batson had thrown the boy to the streets nearly an entire year ago, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Tim And Dick Write A Yaoi—Sequel to The Bat And The Billionaire.  Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, the former and current Robins respectively, attempt to write their own “janky brucebat romance story” after the discovery that a market for such stories actually exists sends them into howling laughter.  The boys quickly grow bored of their story, but other players in the Batman mythos slowly find and add on to the document until it is completed.

Ain’t You Ever Hear Of A Harlequin Bat?—Harley Quinn’s dumped the Joker for good, and her new boytoy Bruce Wayne is keeping her safe in the public eye while her new partner Batman keeps an eye on the Joker’s activities in Gotham to make sure it stays that way.  Look out Gotham City, Harley Quinn maybe be fighting crime instead of causing it these days, but joining the Batclan hasn’t done a thing to reign her in.

The Adventures of Supergirl—Kara Zor-El finds a small drone with a voice coming out of it, claiming (reluctantly) to belong to a hero named Querl Dox from the 31st century.  Though initially not wanting assistance and not wanting to interfere with the past respectively, the two quickly become partners when a supervillain attack turns out to be more than Kara can handle by herself.  Querl’s history documents say she saved the world countless times; they never said she didn’t have help.

DC Comics: Black Dadam Initiative

The Prince of Kahndaq—Though not exactly planning on ever stepping down, Black Adam is still a practical enough man to plan for the possibility that he might have to anyways; that plan includes the task of choosing an heir for the throne of Kahndaq.  With no living descendants and no living mortals worthy of his kingdom, Black Adam comes to realize that the only being alive that could truly make a claim for his throne is current champion of Shazam: Billy Batson.  Not that Billy is going anywhere without his co-champions to back him up.

Welcome Home Uncle Teth!—After 5,000 years hurtling through space, the last thing that Black Adam had expected to see was not that the wizard Shazam had chosen a new Champion, but that said champion and his companions would welcome Black Adam with open arms as if he was some long lost relative instead of an enemy.  Perhaps—perhaps he might wait a bit to destroy them all.  It... has been an awful long time since anyone was happy to see him...

Ben-Adam—In accordance to ancient Egyptian belief, it takes, on average, 3,000 years for a soul to be able to reincarnate in human form once again.  But perhaps in certain special cases, a soul may choose to delay its return to human form.  When Black Adam returns to Earth after 5,000 years away, he finds one of his children waiting for him:  Billy Batson, a child living on the streets with the power of Shazam and no memory of his past life.

Fire Emblem Heroes

The Villain Of This Story—The Fell Dragon Grima is summoned to Askr, and the Order of Heroes finds that he can’t be sent away.  Not wanting to waste a perfectly good unit, the Summoner takes it upon themself to make an ally of the old god, show him that humanity has more to offer than pain and empty promises—and perhaps find love?  Grima/Summoner.

Love Like You—A series of cute oneshots of Grima and the Summoner in various situations.

We Are Ready (We Are Many)—Legion finds himselves smitten with the Summoner after they unwittingly become the first person to treat him and his brothers with unconditional kindness.  When Reese and Clarisse join the Order of Heroes, he can’t help but feel... jealous as his Summoner offers them the same treatment.  Contains smut.

Imposter—This masked swordsman, prior to what he says, cannot be Marth.  Camus has fought Marth, and while this stranger is close, he isn’t the real deal.  From what Camus can tell, he isn’t even a he at all...  Camus/Lucina crackshipping.

Penance—Titania finds the Black Knight in Askr long before any of her fellow mercenaries are summoned, and while she knows that his life is Ike’s to take, there is no way that she can bear to let the man live even a second more.  At least, no way until she realizes that the Black Knight wants her to kill him; there’s no valor in killing a man who wants to die.  Which, she supposes, leaves them at a bit of an impasse.  Titania/Zelgius crackshipping.

Google: How Do I Escape Another World?—A college student finds herself embroiled in a sudden inexplicable war as the Summoner of Askr; too bad she comes from a world without Fire Emblem so she doesn’t know who or what anything is.  At least she has her phone with her to look things up in the real world and keep in touch with her friends... Kiran/Bruno AU.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia

Creation Of The Brand—The brand of a Divine Dragon signifies a blood pact between dragons and the men that worship them.  In the early days of the nation that would become Rigel, a young tribal leader petitions her god to grant them someone worthy of becoming King.  Reader/Duma.  Contains smut.

All But Invincible—Zeke finds his memories returning much quicker after joining the Rigelian army under Jerome’s command; unlike in canon, this time he makes sure to tell Tatiana about what he’s discovered, leading to changes in the upcoming war with Zofia.  Tatizeke AU.

Sable Blood—Tatiana finds a coffin washed up on the beach, and the man isn’t human: he’s a vampire.  A young vampire, one with little power, and littler bloodlust still.  Instead of wanting to dominate the village, he’s indebted to it, and begins working to make their home an easier place to live... Something that catches the eye of the vampiress Nuibaba, whom holds this region under her iron grip.  Tatizeke AU.

Hello?  Hello?  Are You There?—In modern day Valm, long after all the gods have died and all the magic is considered little more than a myth, Tatiana moves into a house on the coast after returning to her old hometown—and finds an old ghost haunting it as she sleeps.  Tatizeke AU.

Fire Emblem Tellius Saga

Black Dawn—Sothe didn’t come in time and Micaiah was unable to escape enemy capture, leading the soldiers to bring her to a surprised General Zelgius visiting from mainland Begnion.  Not seeing any way to free her without revealing himself, Zelgius kills the soldiers and escapes with Micaiah, joining the Dawn Brigade and continuing his master’s plans at the cost of his life in Begnion.  Micaiah/Zelgius AU.

Absolution Of The Queen—Yune is able to heal the Black Knight before he perishes from his wounds, and Zelgius survives to see the end of the war.  Micaiah gives him a public pardon when she is crowned Queen in order to not deprive the struggling people of Daein of one of their few heroes, something Zelgius finds too forgiving to bear.  Then she requests that he marry her in order to strengthen the throne.  Micaiah/Zelgius AU.

The Branded King—Zelgius is normally able to smother his conscience without much issue, but one order from Ashnard suddenly strikes a chord.  The Mad King challenges his knight to a duel to the death for his ideals, and claims Zelgius as his heir upon losing.  Later, an attempt to reconcile his dual identities leads Zelgius to both cut off his ties with Begnion and reveal his true nature.  Thus begins the reign of the Branded King.  Micaiah/Zelgius AU.

What We Talked About—Ike did return from his journey one day, though he never again set foot in the nations of man.  Part of the reason he’d left was to find himself after living so much of his life fighting a war.  And part of it was to learn to become someone that could stand on equal footing with the woman he loved.  Ike/Lethe AU.

Happy Family—Lillia is able to hold on long enough for Greil and Elena to flee Daein.  Zelgius accidentally bears his brand to Greil, who offers him a chance to escape.  Lehran’s Medallion never changes hands with someone who could not withstand its power.  And the world is a happier place.  Everybody Lives AU.  Micaiah/Zelgius.

White Dahlias—Faced for the first time in his life with someone whom not only understands him, but appreciates his company, the Black Knight falls quickly and completely for his maiden.  It was easy to shove his feelings aside at first for the sake of the mission—but then he started coughing up flower petals.  Micaiah/Zelgius Hanahaki Disease AU.

Diplomatic Relations—Micaiah was never spirited away to Daein, but declared a bastard child and thrown into the ranks of the servants with only the grace of Prime Minister Sephiran keeping her from being executed instead.  Years later, an envoy from the country of Daein arrives in Begnion, and Micaiah encounters the Black Knight while tending to her royal sister.  Micaiah/Zelgius No War AU.

I Can Read Minds, You Know—There are many things that the Black Knight does not tell her, and she is willing to allow him his secrets.  However... her knight is not nearly as guarded with his emotions as he thinks he is, and they’re becoming a bit distracting.  Micaiah/Zelgius.  Contains smut.

Dragonfable

Red Bloodied Armor—Formerly written for NaNoWriMo, in serious need of rewriting.  While on the voyage home from yet another failed attempt at finding out who she used to be, Serenity’s carriage is attacked by a dragon, forcing her to take cover in a nearby castle in the woods.  Though her monstrous host is all too happy to let her stay as long as she wants and keep his daughter company, without any means of contacting the outside world, there’s no way she can leave.  And on top of that, there seems to be something else going on in the castle that no one wants her to know about... Serepulchure Beauty And The Beast AU.

A Warm Heart(h)—Xan never did recover his spark after the Hero defeated his Magman and headed to Serenity’s Inn for a job as promised.  Though admittedly terrified at first, it didn’t take all that long for the innkeeper to warm up to him.  Everyone deserves a second chance, right?  Serenity/Xan AU.

Dragonfable Awakening—Serenity joins the army after a a small detachment saves her from bandits on her way to garner trade deals for her inn.  It works out well enough: the people are nice, and she’s quite useful as a cook and a healer.  On top of that... there is a certain wyvern lord who just keeps catching her eye.  Serepulchure Fire Emblem Awakening AU.

Fate/Doom Knight—Serenity tried out the summoning circle on a lark.  Magic wasn’t real, and surely summoning spirits wasn’t either.  So why is there suddenly a very tall man in red armor in her living room asking if she’s his master?  And what the heck is a Holy Grail War?  Serepulchure Fate/Stay Night AU.

Firefly—A Star Captain wakes up in a field shortly outside of Falconreach and finds himself a stranger in a strange land.  How did he get here?  How can he get home?  At least the locals seem friendly enough...  Based loosely on conversations with @tmae3114.  Serenity/Sys-Zero AU.

Basking In The Aftermath—There are few things more enjoyable after a successful hunt than going out to the nearest tavern, having a nice meal, and getting absolutely plastered with your brother-in-arms.  Throw in some casual sex on top of that?  Now you’ve got a dragonslayer’s idea of a good time.  Hero/Galanoth.  Contains smut.

Skyrim

Gods Of Dov—Two women wake up in a cart heading to Helgen, and hundreds of miles away, a man outside of time wakes in a field.  Together, they are not only Skyrim’s only hope of stopping Alduin, but the only hope of all of Mundus.  Skyrim AU where the protagonists are Galanoth, Kensington, and Daeris.  Based on a heavily modded instance of Skyrim and mine and @hnybnny’s AQW headcanons.

Ancient Alphabets—Miraak has a name on the inside of his wrist that no one can read.  His soulmate’s name.  It is faded and white; his soulmate hasn’t been born yet.  His fellow priests console him as the years go by and his soulmate has still not been born, but Miraak is a very patient man.  He can wait.  He can wait all that he needs to until the time comes that the Last Dragonborn finally meets him.  Miraak/LDB Soulmate AU.

To Steal A Champion—As Nightingale of Nocturnal, the Dovahkiin is far better at thievery than the average mortal.  Better enough, apparently, to steal the bonds tying Miraak to Hermaus Mora for her own use.  She was just trying to keep Mora from killing him so she could kill him herself; now what’s she supposed to do with a Champion?  Miraak/LDB AU.

Fate/Stay Night

The Holy Childcare War—Heroic Spirit EMIYA is summoned in the Archer class, but his Masters are both a young Rin Tohsaka and a young Sakura Matou before her family ever traded her away.  Still wanting to prevent his future from ever occurring, Archer decides to take his two small masters and run before their father can ruin their lives and set the catastrophic events of the Fifth Holy Grail War into motion.  Unsanctioned fan sequel/retelling of the Fate doujin “Childcare is War”.

Sakura Doraku—Kariya Matou wasn’t going to win the war, and he knew it.  But that doesn’t mean he can’t save Sakura.  Sacrificing his own soul and all of his command seals to power the required miracle, he was able to grant his servant Lancelot Independent Action A+, allowing him to linger in the material plane and protect Sakura indefinitely.  Seeking to obey his Master’s final orders and redeem himself for his crimes, Lancelot steals Sakura away from the Matou family and raises her as his own for the next ten years—when Sakura is chosen as a Master for the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Oleanders In June—As magus from an old but nondescript family, Pepper Malone never thought she would get to see a Holy Grail War, much less participate in one.  So when the war starts up in the middle of her hometown, she’s going to need all the help she can get just to survive it; especially with her monstrous knight of a servant jamming up the works.  OC/Berserkerlot.  Contains smut.

Pokemon

Seelonce Mayday—At the behest of her doctor, May finally sets out on her pokemon journey through the Hoenn region in hopes that the changing scenery, fresh air, and possibility of bonding with new friends and pokemon might help lessen her depression (in conjunction with regular medication of course).  Partly a retelling of ORAS with a splash of Emerald thrown in, partly an attempt to work out my own issues vicariously through helping May overcome hers.

So Now You’re The Very Best, What’s Next?—With his pokemon journey over, it’s time for Red to return to school like every other kid.  But, what other kid can relate to what he’s been through?  Blue might’ve become Champion just the same as Red did, but he didn’t take down a criminal organization while he was at it—and speaking of criminals, what’s Red’s mom going to say about Mewtwo...?

Raphael—Byron meets a new drinking buddy one night, a man with long white hair and bright blue eyes.  He meets the man again a few nights later, and a few nights after that.  It’s nice to have someone to talk to that gets him so well, but he can’t shake the feeling that maybe there’s a connection between his new friend and the sudden string of people being rushed to the hospital for nightmare-induced insomnia.

Transformers

Cadmus—Professor Sumdac is long dead from a lab accident, and his daughter Sari is tossed out from the company she apparently has no claim to.  Trying her best to survive on the streets, Sari finds a family in the old disembodied head her father used to keep in his lab.  An unsanctioned fan rewrite of My Big Sister The Spider.

Heterodyne—Soundwave escaped the Shadowzone much quicker than expected, though with no Megatron to serve and no war to fight, he’s left at a bit of a loss for what to do now... At least, until Knock Out vouches for him to the Autobots and reminds him that there are plenty of Decepticons who’ll be coming to Earth that don’t agree with Megatron’s order to disband.  Though his new life working with former enemies is less than ideal, at least Soundwave doesn’t have to put up with Starscream anymore; not that Miko isn’t a menace in her own right.  Junewave AU.

Black Noise—There is a temple hiding deep in the woods, and a monster hiding deeper still.  A monster bound in human form nearly thirty years ago from what June hears the locals say.  And now this monster is holding her son hostage in exchange for her help in returning it to its original form.  Reverse Beauty And The Beast Junewave AU.

Deep Cover—Vorns upon vorns after an incident in Autoboot Camp lead to him losing his memory, Longarm Prime begins to fear that he may secretly be a Decepticon spy after finding hints of an additional alternative mode.  Turning directly to Ultra Magnus for advice on how to deal with this potential information leak, Longarm learns that not only was he a spy—he’s Megatron’s right-hand man.

Miscellaneous

Feral—The Dark Warrior Project was not a complete failure, but it could hardly be called a success.  With most of his body changed and most of his mind locked away under a haze of dark eco and pain, a very different Jak is rescued from Baron Praxis’s prisons—leading to a very different revolution of Haven City, and a very different ending for many of the players involved. 

What’s In A Name?—No one actually calls themselves Guild Girl or High Elf Archer: Goblin Slayer is just terrible at remembering names.  Though oddly, he does still call himself Goblin Slayer rather than a conventional name.  Priestess, or Lucidia rather, wants to know why.

It’s Not About Goblins (But I Do Care)—Guild Girl and Cow Girl put up a good fight, but Priestess has won Goblin Slayer’s heart.  Unfortunately, Goblin Slayer’s backstory has left him with a few... issues regarding intimacy and displays of affection.  At least he’s trying?

Disarmament—What is there left for the Doom Slayer to do when all the legions of doom have been slain?  What is there left to live for now that he’s finally completed his goal?  There’s a brave new world out there in need of repairing after Hell invaded.  Maybe it’s time to help picking up the pieces.  A speculative ending to the 2016 Doom reboot series.

Original Concepts

Inside The City Walls—One hundred years ago, a man named Mackeroy Neren protected the country around the Walled City from vampires.  When he left for a hunt and never returned, the City ceased almost all trade, and rarely ever opens the Walls.  But—something’s gotten into the City.  Something’s lurking in the shadows.  And one Patrice “Patty” Argall finds herself wrapped up in the middle of it all.

God’s Stone Crown—For unknown reasons, several players of the popular VRMMO God’s Stone Crown Online find themselves trapped as their characters within the game world, where things are much different than actually playing the game would lead one to believe.  There are many unfinished dungeons within the game that turn out to merely be unmapped within the world: maybe one of them could hold the key to escaping the game? Co-created with @nostalgiamascot.

The Miracles of Saint Maylis—302 years ago, Saint Maylis converted a demon to the light of the church, training him in the faith as she would any other.  300 years ago Saint Maylis lead an army against the encroach of a great evil, and never returned.  Now, the evil is returning, and the only one who can truly stop it is the only one left who was there: Sir Penetratus Iseley, the First Miracle of Saint Maylis.

Another Day In Kingfisher Bay—Welcome to idyllic Kingfisher Bay, home to a thriving superhero/supervillain population.  Would you like to spend your days cleaning up blood because one of the heroes took shelter in the wrong apartment again?  Get abducted by an alien overlord?  Or perhaps have a supervillain for a neighbor?  Try anything and everything here in Kingfisher Bay!

Journey To The Demon King—Yuliya is a simple cleric, tasked with guiding the Chosen Hero on his journey to slay the Demon King when they rise again.  So why is everyone so convinced she’s the Demon King’s next coming?  Do you see any horns under this habit???

[italicwatches]

My Hero Academia, season 2 - Episode 14

And finally home. Let’s get this party started. It’s My Hero Academia, episode 14! Here we GO!

-We begin with…A quick recap of the whole Quirk phenomenon and the modern superhero. You know all this, we just went over it in 13.5. But we also get more tiny Izuku, which is always worth the time. And it sets the stage well for the next step, so I’ll allow it.

-Opening! I’m not sure it’s quite as good an opening as the first one, but this is still a really solid tune and there’s something to seeing everyone trying to center themselves for just a moment before shit gets real.

-So it’s the day after the attacks, with police having successfully arrested 72 known villains…But the ringleaders are still out there.

-To the abandoned wreckage of an old hotel, by the looks of it. Where we have a letter from All Might, discussing the day he met Izuku, and chose that boy to be a truly great symbol…And all of this has been sent to his old mentor, by All Might…By Toshinori Yagi.

-Episode 14: That’s the Idea, Ochaco

-Cut to that night, to a meeting of top heroes about the whole situation with Tomura, and the shadow man Kurogiri. They’re not on the records at all…Which means they’re working from square one. But No Might also has some doubts. He doesn’t think that Shigaraki Tomura is entirely what things look like…He didn’t act like a grown man with darkness in his heart. He acted like a child, lashing out. Visibly confused and upset when things didn’t just work the way they were Supposed To.

-And then there’s all the other villains they arrested…They were smalltime. Glorified purse snatchers and convenience store robbers. And yet they threw in with a plan like kill All Might without hesitation, and followed a man-child to the end…All of which suggests some bad things coming…And the principal, Nezu, is the one who tags onto the idea that Tomura might have someone building him up, building him into a truly deadly villain. It’s a worrying thought. Bad enough if they have a raw and untempered malice still out there…If it’s got someone to hone it and give it an edge? That suggests some truly terrifying possibilities.

-To Deku’s place. he’s back in his room, watching the All Might video and lost deep in thought. And for good reason…He only survived, all of them only survived, because they got lucky. Because they were dealing with villains who didn’t bother to consider them an actual threat. And even with that, they still mostly slowed down the actual adults. And Deku knows all too well, that he’s looking at a timer. His hero, the legend himself, the man who acts as a capstone to hold normalcy together, grows weaker by the day. His body struggles more and more to keep going with that injury. If Deku isn’t ready to be the next All Might when the time comes, then…

-…His mother knocks on the door to announce dinner. And for just a moment, he’s able to put those thoughts away, and just be a normal young man again.

-Next morning. The invisible girl is excited that they all got on the news, but sad that she didn’t stand out at all. …I mean…

-So, yeah. Some of the kids are excited, some are nervous, and everyone’s still hype about watching All Might kick aaaasssss. …And then Tenya tries to rally everyone but mostly he just ends up looking like a dork.

-Now, who’s going to be their homeroom teacher? Since Shota is still out on injuries. The door opens, and…!

-…Get the fuck back in bed, Shota.

-No. They have work to do. Because…The sports festival is coming up!

-And there’s actually a lot of reasons for that. Chiefly, it’s about putting on a strong face. They need to look like the villain attack didn’t even make them flinch. And also, the UA Sports Festival has overtaken the Olympics within Japan…And it’s also a huge scouting chance. Major agencies and independent heroes will be watching the event. It’s simply too important.

-But still, seriously, you need to be back in a fucking hospital bed.

-By lunchtime, everyone’s all super hype…And the invisible girl is trying to figure out how to stand out again. It’s…Difficult. While Deku is mostly just nervous and freaking out, and Tenya’s trying to hype him up in his own way. And Ochaco…

-…Um…

-How do I put this…

-I want to be gentle in how I phrase this…

-She’s going to make a skull throne out of the enemy team.

-Thankfully she’s calmed down by the time they actually go get grub, which gives Deku a chance to ask why she wants to go pro-hero.

-…It’s the money. She needs stable income god dammit. Her family works in construction…But they can’t get any work right now. And her folks wouldn’t let her just go to a trade school to get licensed to use her powers to carve down their labor costs. Because they wanted her to chase her dreams…

-And so here she is. Intending to make enough money to not just support herself, but to let her folks retire and live the life they’ve earned. It’s not a big shiny motivation, but it’s got a lot of honor and nobility in its own way…

-Aaaand then that’s when All Might finds them and invites Deku to join him for lunch. Which, I must note, sends the yaoi-fangirl part of Ochaco’s mind into overdrive and guys I think she’s dead. Which leaves Tenya and Ochaco with questions between themselves as they get in line for lunch…But not knowing anything of All Might’s power, they can only run on the idea that the legendary hero has taken a liking to their friend with a similar brute-strength Quirk and swift response to trouble. But all of that gets heard by Shoto…

-Of course the real reason is they need to talk. No Might’s power limits are down from three hours…To half that. And that’s if he’s just standing around. If he’s actually out there doing shit, he’s down to about fifty minutes.

-And then there’s the problem of the problem of the sports festival, and Deku maintaining One For All…But that reminds him of what happened during the attack. He managed to hold it back…When he was aiming at an actual person.

-A subconscious response. But it’s progress…Now drink your tea. No Might admits, his time as a symbol is coming to an end. And fast. Faster now than before after everything that happened. Deku, you need to be ready. And you need to show yourself at this event as a rising star. It’s time to get eyes on you. It’s time to show the whole world just who you are!

-Credits! Which show a peek into the lives of the girls of 1-A.

Alright, that put some interesting pieces into the equation! We’ve got some good character beats, some solid plot nuggets, and of course the sports festival…Which could be really good or really bad. Some of the shonen genre’s best content has been inside tournament arcs…But so has a lot of its absolute worst. I guess we’ll see how it goes next time, in episode FIFTEEN of My Hero Academia! Wait for it!

[crosbysmumps]

I would be interested in knowing what you think about Dream Daddy.

I think that for representation purposes, the “Dream Daddy” game is a good thing. There’s an image of gay men in media that portrays us as sex fiends who just date and never marry or have children. We don’t settle down in houses in little towns with fences, we get apartments in Manhattan where we drink in an empty apartment. It’s a palatable thing for heterosexual audiences. They don’t have to imagine a gay man living next door. It removes the intolerable thought of gay people existing in the same way they do.

While suburban life is very white and heterosexual, because of that, it lends an image of “normalcy.” In almost any media, the suburbs are portrayed as the oasis of sanity, in an uncontrollable and chaotic world. Usually, it’s used for comedic effect, with overly robotic neighbors giving funny looks to the sole gay family in the neighborhood. We believe in it’s normalcy, despite the painful consequences of believing that white and heterosexual is the norm.

It feels good for me, as a closeted trans guy, to imagine living in a house with a white picket fence, having a husband, having children. It feels more normal than sneaking around in binders and pretending to be heterosexual, because I’m not allowed to be a gay guy. And it hurts that this white and straight version of life has to be normal. We need more of an ability to make that real for gay teens. It needs to be normal to be married to your partner, raising your children, living your life as out.

The idea that a gay family in the suburbs is just absolutely hilarious, it’s not okay. It develops this fear of wanting any shred of normalcy. We believe that we can only be the sexually driven Manhattanite that is presented to us. We believe that we can never want children, only a man for the night. It’s foreign to think that we can live the lives we were always told were normal. We have to feel alienated and isolated from the dream of a white picket fence and a family. It’s not a life everyone wants, but the people who do want it are made to feel like it’s unachievable for them.

What “Dream Daddy” does is change that. It makes it a concept where a gay man living with his family, and loving his life, and feeling normal, and feeling good isn’t funny. It portrays gay love in a light that isn’t just “hot yaoi” or a punchline. It’s not for the consumption of straight women, it’s for gay men who want to feel like they can achieve the life they’ve always wanted to live. The game was produced by a largely LGBT team, who has nothing but the best of intentions for it and the representation it’ll bring.

ALL that being said, there’s downfalls. One of them being straight women, even those that label themselves allies. There’s a bizarre trend amongst them to take all gay media for themselves, and to parade their tolerance of it as allyship. As I said before, there’s a prevalence of turning gay love into nothing more than “hot yaoi.” Gay men are reduced to nothing more than their sexuality. It’s an unfair takeover of gay representation, where the normalcy of our love is turned into a fuckfest.

In addition, there was a Twitter thread discussing the fear of “dadsonas.” Being able to create your own character, and to give them traits you identify with is always good. But this will be hijacked by straight women, and I know it. I’m ready for the assault of their picture of a gay man, and all the jokes it’ll entail, with flamboyant posing and speech. Forgive me for sounding paranoid, but after years of surviving Internet culture, I have the art of analyzing heterosexuals down to a science. I can predict with 99.9% accuracy that any media featuring gay men will promptly be turned into a series of jokes, porn, and “thoughtful” analysis from heterosexuals. Similarly, I can predict the same accuracy, that if this game was about lesbians, it would not have this level of attention.

Now, let’s talk about the Game Grumps. I have a tendency to refuse to support media which features bigots at the center. The fact that “Dream Daddy” has a cast of racists voicing, producing, and developing this makes me want to close my wallet. It’s sad that I pine for representation so badly that I’m almost willing to throw money at a bunch of thirty-year-old men who still think mocking Asian accents is funny. I don’t condone it, whatsoever. Absolutely, I think they deserve to starve in a cardboard box. They deserve none of my money and none of my attention. But at the same time, this game as a talented group of developers at it’s heart, who are all LGBT, and who have put their hearts and souls into producing a game that promotes normal gay love.

It hurts to get representation for both non-white and LGBT people that is produced by people who have an hour-long supercut of their racism. It hurts a lot. And the fact that I’m willing to give them money for that craved representation hurts a whole lot more. That’s how dry the desert is for representation, and why I can’t blame people who would buy the game. I can’t, and I know it looks bad to say that, but it’s so scarce to find that normal view of gay families and gay love, that I’m willing to take it from people like that.

Anyways. Rant. Thoughts. Take your pick.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Homestuck Liveblog #153

UPDATE 153: All the Pieces are Here

Last time Gamzee had completely fooled Terezi, and by extension, me. Yeah, he’s right now beating her with no remorse at all, and it’s awful to see. Yikes. Also, Jane is now asleep but her body, still under control of the tiara, has latched on Aranea like a tick. So let’s continue from there!

Writing this paragraph before starting. I’m predicting there’ll be a minimum of dialogue, the next fifty pages should have lots and lots of images. It’s bound to pass through real fast, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll go for 100 pages.

All these glitches make everything more ominous, in my opinion. It’s as if the world is going to shatter into pieces in any moment. Chances are that won’t happen, but who knows, maybe the end of Homestuck is the glitches making the universe explode. Thanks for nothing, Lord English, destroyer of paradox space.

Because Jake’s death wasn’t heroic or just, he revives, this time without hope powers. He is also right beside Terezi and Gamzee, just...watching. Gamzee continues hitting as hard as he can, dang. I’m kind of glad the glitches are obscuring the situation a bit. Rose, horrified, shouts for Gamzee to stop.

ROSE: Or, wait.  ROSE: Is this some sort of blackrom thing?  ROSE: I certainly hope not.

What the—Rose! This isn’t the time to be wondering if this is an obscure and weird alien romantic ritual! Stop standing there, go help Terezi! Even if it were a black romance thing, I think no one wouldn’t blame Rose for intervening. Terezi is getting her face smashed against the pavement. Anyone would intervene.

ROSE: I am the actual worst auspistice who ever lived.  ROSE: THE ACTUAL WORST!!!

Damn right you are; you’re just standing there! And Jake isn’t really doing much better, he’s just standing there and watching Terezi being suplexed. I know in real life a lot of people stand around and do nothing when they see someone being attacked or anything, so it isn’t something that came out of left field, but this is still rather frustrating to see. Gamzee slams Terezi so hard against the concrete it breaks, and she’s now hanging over the lava. Augh.

Kanaya and Karkaroni arrive right in that moment, finding Terezi in danger. There’s a rather cool sequence of lava seeping into the Skaia in Jane’s fork, and Jake and Rose finally intervene. Jake does it meekly, just asking Gamzee to kindly stop killing Terezi -- ...fine, Jake, you do that – and Rose takes a more hands-on approach, getting her wand ready. About time, Rose! Tge blast misses and impacts near Jake, making him fly away. Karkaroni had enough, he brandishes the sickle and swears to make a fight. Up on the building, Aranea struggles to pick up Brain Dirk’s katana with her psychic powers – no idea how that didn’t vanish away as well -- and then she arrives.

The Condesce is pissed. Oh, gee, who’d have thought that derailing the session like this would make her angry? Haha! Do you have a plan to counter the Condesce, Aranea? Did you expect her to arrive so soon? Everyone who is in the session seems to have converged in one place, this is getting good!

Aaaaaand because Hussie is like that, right when it gets good, it’s time for the so-called main act of Act 6 Act 6.

Oh, jolly. Well to his credit I’m happy it was now and not in middle of the intense events that are likely to happen. Now that’d have been annoying. Better get this Caliborn thing out of the way before things happen here in Jade’s planet! Besides, I admit I’m a bit curious how much Caliborn has progressed now.

Looks like he’s confident enough to mess with the manga book. Why do I have this strange sense of foreboding...again? I have it all the time when it’s about Caliborn, haha...okay, let’s get done with this. What artistic work do you have to show now, bud? As usual, here’s the warning: there’s a chance I won’t have much to comment about Caliborn’s antics. By now, dear readers, you may be aware I’m not a diehard fan of him. By now I tolerate him, but I’m not exactly reading his sections with excitement. Once again, I’m sorry for that.

Looks like Homosuck is getting into its equivalent of Act 5. There are the trolls. Krabkrab, Honk Friend – ‘friend’?! Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Caliborn? – Cape Douche, Smelly Horse Man, Other Guy, and Bull Horn Wimp. Oh, and all the female trolls, too, with no pejorative name other than ‘tha bitches’. Hah! Saw it coming.

The Beforus trolls are just everyone flipped and with a negative color scheme. Yeah, that’ll do...for the five seconds the trolls mattered. All these pictures go to the trash, because Caliborn has something better to show.

Hah! Okay, you got my attention, Hussie. Man Gaka Extraordinare! I’m amused, this may be worth a read, after all!

IT'S GOD'S GIFT. TO "THE YAOIS". MY RESEARCH TELLS ME.

Do you know that feeling of morbid curiosity one feels when one hears about something awful having happened in a video, and one wants to see how bad is it? Yeah, that’s what I’m feeling. I really like the giant watermark, though. That’s a good one, Hussie.

Well, to Caliborn’s credit, he has improved a lot from his first drawings, and he followed all the instructions about how to draw manga. Never let it be said Caliborn doesn’t motivate himself to improve himself!

This is truly “the yaois”. Manga Dave and Manga Karkat are here. What they do, hm, well, let’s say they’d both be upset to know how they’re depicted here.

IF YOU'RE CONFUSED, BASICALLY THE IDEA IS. YOU PRETEND THEM TO LOOK MORE LIKE GIRLS. TO MAKE IT LESS WEIRD FOR EVERYBODY WHEN THEY DECIDE TO TOUCH EACH OTHER. 

So that’s the key to draw manga. Haha! I know a handful of people from my school that’d have taken serious offense by that! Always with the finger on the pulse, Caliborn, eh?

Oh god, it’s American Comic Book Superheroine anatomy! We’re doomed. But yeah, other than the improved drawings, it doesn’t seem like this section of Caliborn’s intermission won’t differ much from the rest. Same old, same old, in terms of theme. The gals are dying in bloody ways. Yeah.

“Registered by the government as my legal artistic possession” Caliborn, you liar, there’s not even a government anymore.

SHE ACTUALLY THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO BE RELEVANT. KEEP DREAMING BITCH!

Right. So Caliborn may still have access to the radio tower? He knows what happened in the ghost bubbles. Well, not that it matters that much right now.

Oh my god, Caliborn has an OC.

...that is not what I expected. Dear reader, imagine that this here is what’s destroying paradox space. Imagine the big bad, Lord English, looks like that. Good thing he doesn’t, eh? Yeah, the skull, the hulking figure, and the billiard eyes does wonders when it’s about making someone threatening.

John arrives in middle of Caliborn’s games with his OC, and isn’t happy at all to see Caliborn. Thought so, what after seeing the kind of playing Caliborn does with those bad drawings of his friends.

HEY ASSHOLE, I'M TALKING TO YOU!

Oh, wow, he’s furious! I admit I underestimated how angry John would be. But yeah, another intense staredown. I’ll just...skip to the end of that sequence of images, thank you.

you're the one who vriska and her pirate pals are all trying to stop! it was you who put all this into motion in some way i don't really understand! which means you're responsible for like a trillion people dying, and universes blowing up, and all my friends getting scattered around and acting like idiots, and my dad being dead!

...huh. Well, that’s certainly...a bold accusation, John, and without anything to back it up, too. If what John said partly influences Caliborn to start doing everything he did once he was Lord English, hah, I wonder how John would react to that. It isn’t too farfetched to have that possibility in mind, I’d say, but if that were true, it’s possible there’ll be a second John to tackle the first one soon.

Turns out Caliborn is saying his monologue loud enough for anyone around to listen! I thought the narration was just text, not that Caliborn was actually saying it. Hah! It’d be kinda endearing if it didn’t come from Caliborn.

And then comes ‘game over. A flash file in Caliborn’s intermission. Um, well, that sounds a tad promising! Flash files are almost always great, I don’t see why this would be any different, Caliborn or not.

I’ll stop for now.

Next update: five updates

[astereaes]

The Moonlight Thief chapter five!

It’s here! I know it’s been a while, but I have a lot on my plate :P Thanks to @hipsterunicorn20 and @kanarael for beta reading! … I don’t have a lot to say about this chapter… Pichit makes an appearance for like, a couple lines. I feel like I’m skipping over all my favorite characters just for the victuuri… *cries* Also I have an Ao3 account but I haven’t posted yet… I’ll let y'all know when it goes up! Chapter five: Victor takes Yuutopia

When Yakov called for Victor, he did not let down his hair. He tore at the stone walls until his fingers were bloodied and he opened the entrance which had been blocked up as soon as Vitya’s hair was long enough to climb. The tower room was dark. Victor’s winter coat and boots, only there in case of emergency, were gone. A chair was toppled in the middle of the room, and Victor was nowhere in sight. “Vitya! Vitya, where are you?” Yakov shouted as he turned over tables and cabinets. There was a leather satchel under the chair. Inside there was naught but a piece of old paper, a wanted sign- a thief named Katsuki. Yakov had heard of him in his travels, dangerous, a cutthroat-double crosser, all in all, one with low respect for other humans and famous for his most daring caper yet- stealing the prince’s crown right from its pedestal. Yakov glanced about again. There- under the staircase. A shining piece of metal. Yakov retrieved it. It had been so long since he had seen it last. He hadn’t even been gone for a day. There’s no way he could’ve gotten far.

“So are your friends in charge of this restaurant?” Victor asked. “They’re almost family.” “Is the food there good?” “The best!” “What kind?” “Pork cutlet bowls.” “What are those?” “Well, you’ll have to find. out. Won’t you?” Katsuki said in exasperation. “Do you have to be so grumpy?” “Do you have to ask so many questions? We’re here.” Victor threw open the door before Katsuki could mutter a single word of warning.

There had been a ruckus going on inside the pub, there always was. The second Katsuki walked in, though, it stopped, a scene played out in magnificent detail- Minako with her hands around a customer’s throat, Mama with a pan raised over her head and papa with a blood stained menu. Regulars that Katsuki could almost recognize were distributed in the small space, participating in various undergroundly activities that included gambling, deviating degrees of physical assault, and something bubbling on a pot. Victor clutched Katsuki’s arm and his knuckles turned white on the handle of the frying pan. “Hi there… fellas…” Katsuki began. A particular young man- Minami Keijiro, Katsuki believed, held a knife to Katsuki’s throat. “You’re showing you’re face here again? That’s pretty cocky, even for you.” Victor leaned close to his ear. “Why is that?” “I thought you were gonna retire after our job on that one lord or whatever. But you blew it, huh?” “Look, Minami, as I appreciate your concern for my welfare, but as you can see, I’m transporting this very valuable cargo so if you could?” Carefully, Katsuki pushed the knife away and grabbed Victor’s hand. “See?” He said quietly Victor. “This is what it’s like in the real world. So we could just take you back to your tower, you can give me my satchel,” “Hey!” Another person said. Suddenly he was in Katsuki’s face instead of Minami. Before he could judge his face though, a paper was shoved up against his glasses. “Is this you?” Katsuki peeled the paper off. He winced as he saw the drawing there and his name. “Please.” He placed the poster back in their hands. “With a nose like that… please.” “There’s a pretty high price on your head, isn’t there?” Maybe two men slipped out the door. Katsuki couldn’t tell. “I’m just here to get some meals, alright? No confrontation.” “Two specials?” Mama asked. Katsuki nodded wearily. “Thanks Ma.” “She’s your mother?” Victor asked “Everyone calls her that.” “And what does everyone call you?” A man called from the pub bristling with whispers. “Hair boy?” “I’m Victor.” He said confidently. And then no one spoke, whispered, breathed. The only sound was the bubbling of the pot and rats scuttling on the floor. “Is there something wrong with that?” Katsuki was made aware of shining iron in every corner. Axes and knives and spears were at the ready. Victor grabbed his arm tighter. “Please, I just want to live my dream.” Victor said. “Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?” “I have a dream.” Someone spoke up from the corner. “I want to head an ice show. All choreographed by me, and performed with all my friends.” “Pichit.” Katsuki whispered. “Can’t you see us all skating about in the cutest costumes? Rainbows and hamsters everywhere?” “I can sew the costumes, designing is my dream.” “All my friends would be there it’s the most amazing thing you see? What’s better than finally living your dream?” “I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream. I’m not so angry and frightening as I seem!” “Victor, hide!” Katsuki said, grabbing him by a handful of silver hair. “Why?” “That’s Georgi. He… well, let’s say he isn’t the type to ask questions before sheathing a knife in you.” “Why do you have so many enemies?” “I guess you could say I’m not a nice person.” Katsuki said, then ducked under the bar as Georgi leaned closed to Victor. “Despite my scary countenance and my relationships haven’t been the best, I’ve always wanted to find my truest love. I’d cherish her without a thought, there would be nothing she’d have to want, I’d be the best boyfriend in the world! I’ve got a dream! And I know one day romance will reign supreme! Though my face leaves people screaming, there’s a child behind it, dreaming. Like everybody else I’ve got a dream” Victor patted him on the head, and then turned him and pushed him gently back into the crowd. “And you ‘Victor’? You got a dream?” “I have a dream!” Victor said loudly. “He has a dream!” The bar echoed. “I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam! And every passing hour I’m so glad I left my tower. Like all you lovely folks I’ve got a dream.” Suddenly, the door busted open. Christophe stood there with a smile. “I’ve got the guards!” The rowdy bar again fell silent. “Come on.” Mama said, pulling Victor over the bar. Katsuki jumped over on his own accord. They looped up Victor’s still somewhat soggy hair and ma pulled one of the beer levers which- instead of causing one of the spouts to gush beer as it ought, opened up a trap door. “You can’t run an establishment like this without a backdoor. You’re a handsome young man. I’d like to see you live your dream.” “I’ll try my best.” Katsuki said. “You didn’t even share. I was talking to Victor.” “Thank you, ma.” Victor said, and they began down the tunnel, the trapdoor shutting them in the darkness.

Yuri busted into the pub. It was underworldly, and the yeasty smell of alcohol mixed with the tang of urine was thick in the air. It was exactly the sort of place he’d expect to see that thief. He sniffed around until he caught the trail- it led straight into the floor. He stomped on it angrily until the boards gave way to a tunnel. “They went this way?” A guard asked. His tone was too close to patronizing. Yuri shot him a droll look, but nodded. Carefully, he led the pursuit into the tunnel.

Outside Yuutopia, Yakov ran into Christophe scolding Georgi. “You’re telling me Katsuki was two feet away from you and you let him get away cause you were talking about your love life? I’m disappointed.” “What do you know about love?” “More than you, I’d reckon.” “Boys!” Yakov called. “I have your crown. You could have it now if you like.” This was effective at shutting them up. “Is there a catch?” Christophe snarled. “Only a job if you want to take it.“ “And why would we?” Georgi asked. “It comes with revenge on a certain man named Katsuki.”

@yaoi-on-skates, @tea-and-a-gay-detective, @ostranenien y'all asked. If anyone else does, please message me, ask me or write it in the comments, anything works! Also if you asked and I forgot to tag you sorrryyyyyy I might have forgotten, send an ask about it!