#this guy genuinely pisses me off so bad but I have no legitimate reason to kick him so HE REMAINS

[digo3d]

This one guy from my server fucked up the Top Cat wiki and I got so mad I actually managed to walk unaided down the hall do you know how upset you have to get someone in order for them to walk successfully down a hallway after hip surgery with LITTLE PAIN AND LITTLE EFFORT??

Tbf that was probably only possible because of a combination of adrenaline and narcotics but STILL

[hollowflight-propaganda]

Unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think that March of the Oni is one of the worst Ninjago seasons, (That is if you even count it as a season.) and it's all because of that last episode. The fact that the title is even "Endings" and yet is one of the worst season finales I've seen in this whole show just makes my blood boil.

Because when you think about it, this episode is supposed to act as the ending not only for itself and the two seasons before it, but the first ten seasons and the Wilfilm era as a whole. But, to me at least, it just feels like it dropped the ball. (If you wanna read my long ass rant, be my guest.)

The most egregious thing this episode does is what they did with Cole. Literally what was the reason for this fake out death if he's just gonna show up completely fine afterwards. And yes, I know that it sparked some of the most tear jerking moments in this show and furthered what Lloyd and Garmadon had going on, but doesn't that just make it worse that it feels like this whole thing went nowhere? And I don't want to hear anything like, "Well, bad and unexpected things happen in life all the time! It's just being realistic!" If this show was going for that type of realism everyone in the main cast should be dead by now. And I'm not saying that that's not a true statement about the world, but this is a lego ninja show aimed at eight year olds.

And then there's the second fake out death in this four episode season. And I'm also aware that the scene where Lloyd meets the FSM is cool. I also think that the scene is really cool! But my problem lies in the fact that Lloyd dying and then being fine minutes later doesn't serve anything. At least Cole falling caused some interesting scenes, but what happened to Lloyd doesn't cause anything! And yes, he met god, but then god told him that he won't remember any of this anyway. Oh well.

And then Garmadon just walks away??? Like, I get why HE would do that, but Wu just let's him leave????? Isn't this guy literally only the evil parts of who he was before? And not to mention that he forcibly became a dictator like three weeks ago.

And there's so many other things that piss me off, like how Kai has kind of a full circle moment with his smithing abilities, and as a longtime Kai fan I really like this idea! But then it was only a 20 second montage. Like, you aren't even going to give us a reason as to how he became so good at being a blacksmith that he can reforge the fucking GOLDEN WEAPONS? NO??? Ok then! *explodes with rage*

And my next complaint is moreso targeted at the whole season, but am I the only one who thinks that the Oni where really underwhelming? Like, these are supposed to be demons hellbent on the total destruction of the universe, but they're also the most forgettable villains in this entire show. The only reason why I even remember Omega's name is because that name in this context is kickass, but other than that he has nothing going for him. He's just here to destroy and kill everybody, that's it. What makes him and say, Kalmaar so different, is that Kalmaar has an actual personality. They have the same fundamental plan, but Kalmaar feels more like a classic disney villain while Omega is an extremely watered down version of the Christian take on Satan. This could've been the chance to make some absolutely epic lore about the Oni, where they've been, what they're like, or literally anything. But no, they're just here to kill.

And then they where defeated by the power of spinning really fast with your fam. The whole Tornado of Creation coming back just to serve as a callback and a convenient Oni killswitch has always bugged me. It just feels really cheap, especially with how everything faded to white and we didn't even get to see what actually happened.

But the real reason why I hate this final episode so damn much is that, I really liked the episodes before it! When it was coming out I thought that this would be really good, and I was legitimately excited to see how it ended! But then it crushed my dreams by having the worst ending possible and I haven't been able to trust since.

Okay, I think I'm done now, these aren't all of the reasons why I hate it so much, but I've rambled enough so I'm done.

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

free my girl keli, she ain't done nothing wrong

Genuinely though, I've stopped frequenting the Green Lantern subreddits because of how most people there absolutely hate Teen Lantern. And what pisses me off is that they haven’t even bothered to read anything she was in, so what they claim as “reasons she’s a bad character” are straight up based on secondhand information.

Thing is, I can't say I don't see where they're coming from. Keli's first appearance and origin story was in Bendis's Young Justice, which is probably one of the worst starts a comic book character can have. Created by an author who's basically reviled by DC fans, and introduced as part of an ensemble cast that was already packed with longtime fan favorites. It's honestly a miracle that she wasn't just quietly shelved. After that, Keli was shuffled onto Geoffrey Thorne's run on Green Lantern, and he quickly dropped her into a coma like early Guy Gardner. Poor girl never had a chance.

Compare that with Jo Mullein, who was introduced less than a year later. But unlike Keli, Jo starts her career in a solo run where she was the main character and the only superhero. Far Sector is legitimately one of the best Green Lantern stories we’ve gotten in the past decade, and it does so much for establishing who Jo is as a Green Lantern and as a person.

If I get back into writing fanfiction, it’ll be to give Keli the solo story that DC won’t because they’re too fucking busy shoving nine different batfucker books down our throats.

It's heartbreaking to see interesting and captivating characters trapped inside poorly written plots and underdeveloped stories, my heart goes for them, if not for our brave fanfiction writers they'd be forever bound and doomed by their own media. Free a character today, write a fanfic

[hexhomos]

top 5 jay/vik pet peeves? 👀

I let this ask simmer a bit in the back of my inbox because... oh man you guys really want to see me rant like that? Unbelievable. But I'll indulge anyway since I could on about this forever:

#1 the way people straight up delete everything about Jayce as a character, be it talis or giopara, just to turn around and act like he's "leeching off viktor's genius" or "a big stupid dumb idiot who cant grasp simple concepts XD" "brainless idiotic himbo" like… this is so tiring to me. Are you trying to call him braindead? Because that's what it sounds like. I don't find it funny or charming anymore thanks to the sheer density and frequent malice adjacent to this kind of content.

#2 Related to above, but also found on its own, SPECIALLY in arcane fandom bubbles: a fixation on Jayce's body as a sexual object or sexual accessory to other people as his "Only redeeming character trait". It's become so prevalent I don't like browsing content for him anymore. Fans will legitimately make up bullshit reasons as to why Jayce is lesser than other characters (the council, mel, heimerdinger, viktor, vi, whoever, you name it) and then hold up more brainless no personality idiotbad himboXD porn as the only thing his character could ever amount to. Way to go! You're treating this show's singular brown lead as actually subhuman. There truly are no words. And it's not like it's hard to give Jayce an ounce of interesting things to do: most of what people attribute to viktor as sciency and driven and passionate is something that he shares with jayce; sometimes, its straight up things jayce came up with and worked on all his life getting penned as "viktors thing". I just find fandom, for one reason or another, holds a severe disinterest in treating them as equals. And it makes their dynamic worse. (This last point is not exclusive to arcane, sadly.)

#3 Viktor woobification, and an insistence that he could neeeeever do anythiiiiing wroooooong, regardless of verse. It makes him into such an uninteresting non-character. Viktor was created to *BE* the mad scientist archetype; this was his initial concept and it persists to this day, you can't take away his responsibility for his mistakes, or pretend it was Jayce's fault, and still expect him to be a good character. I don't even know what you're stanning at that point. I've had ppl genuinely argue with me that viktor never hurt anyone in game canon and that JAYCE had stolen blitzcrank and its like ????? Do you even know who Stanwick is. Please just read their bios. Both of their bios. Viktor lies to clean up his own story and even before the lore rewrite he was the one who'd initiate violence by Invading Jayce's Lab And Blasting Him With Laserbeams. This guy's ingame kit requires you to kill 100 minions before evolving a weapon prototype. He has an ability called "death ray". You don't think that's funny? Your loss. (Related: a lot of able-bodied people treat viktor's arcane disability as something to patronize him over, and it can be really, really uncomfortable to see.)

#4 this is gonna seem minor compared to above but watching people try and vilify Jayce at every turn to make Viktor or other characters look better can be so unintentionally funny. They never pay attention to anything about his character, just spin a wheel of bad generic adjectives and go: "JAYCE is an out of touch gazillionaire SOCIAL CLIMBER queaking for STATUS who eats diamond dust, shits gold and hates lesbians; he also PISSED on my WIFE," whole time the guy is just minding his business, indentured for life thanks to vampiric 'patrons' making him swear fealty for project funding, canonically stated to have built a name making gadgets for the working class, doesn't even like socializing in Any Universe (and this is the exact thing him and viktor bond over), etc etc etc... this shit is embarrassing brother

#5 unironic googoo talk jaymel or melvik or anything that exists in the middle genuinely makes me roll my eyes. Sometimes I feel as though people watched the bomb scene and then immediately erased out how disrespectful and manipulative it was. I don't care for any of these pairings nor the implication that you have to 'make good with billionaires to reach ultimate peace uwu' that comes attached to most of their content. The TVshow being as centrist and corporate as it is explains why this exists, sure, but I feel so ?????? When I see people acting like viktor and mel would be best buddies, as if she isn't canonically the richest person in Piltover before we even have a timeskip and *Directly Responsible for enabling and profiting off much of the fuckshit going on in Zaun* lol. Where do you think that money came from? Seriously?? Come on. I cannot fathom how people can see Jayce's interactions with her as leading to any sort of positive outcome. They get 0 romantic buildup worth caring for and are boring as all hell. And the next one is less common but: whenever people try to fit her plotline into leagueverse I just, LOL. The ruling Medarda in league is a 70-something manlet white geezer. Jayce giopara is a fag and his entire bio was designed around viktor. The council plays no part in their story and they're far more interesting for it, thank fucking god.

[dai-nana-han-agenda]

One thing I don't like about SNS fans is that some of them feel the need to drag Sakura through the mud in every one of their posts. Calling her a gay beard, saying she is nothing more than a device to convey Naruto’s feelings, calling her catty and jealous of Naruto because Sasuke likes him more than her, etc...

Like, Sakura deserves criticism just like everyone else does, but there's a fine line between criticism and just making shit up like saying Sakura was willing to give Naruto over to the Akatsuki just because of that line where she said getting closer to the Akatsuki would get them closer to Sasuke. Yes, before you ask, I have seen every single one of these claims in SNS posts before.

Like, I'm not the biggest fan of her, but I honestly just feel bad at this point. I know you're a big fan of her so what do you think?

omg anon, I just got war flashbacks to 2014 send help HFKDHKSHSKS.

I honestly did not expect my answer to be as long as it is (that’s on me, I should’ve known that I’d be incapable of shutting up) so I’m putting the rest of the response under the cut!

I feel the need to clarify to anyone that reads this: I am also a SNS fan so please don’t come for me!! I know there are plenty of SNS fans that are also Sakura stans (or at the very least, don’t have any strong opinions abt her character, which I’ll always take over the overly-negative ones) but there is definitely no denying that there’s a small percentage of that fandom who actively hate Sakura for things that are literally out of her control.

You basically summed up how I feel about the whole thing. I think there are legitimate reasons to dislike Sakura as a character, but once people start twisting the narrative - that’s when I get defensive. It’s been proven time and time again that Sakura has nothing but love for both Naruto and Sasuke (once again, I am asking the fandom to stop holding her hostage for shit she said in the very beginning of the manga!!) so this argument that Sakura would be catty / jealous / homophobic because of SNS’s bond literally makes no sense to me.

(Like, seriously. If y’all have CANON evidence, please feel free to let me know and we can discuss it! But most of the time, it’s just people deliberately twisting canon to fit their own personal agenda.)

In terms of the jealousy aspect, I personally don’t mind the characterization that Sakura would be jealous on like, a human level. I understand that. When the people you’re close with enter romantic relationships - especially in this case, when it’s literally her teammates - I think there’s a very natural sense of loss and envy that comes with that. Even in a platonic sense, when you feel that two of your friends have a stronger bond, or that they can connect on a level you will never understand, I think it’s very natural to feel jealous or left out. However, in my opinion, that jealousy would never turn into resentment or bitterness. Sakura has always valued the happiness of team, so at the end of the day, I genuinely think she would be supportive and it pisses me off when SNS fics paint her as this jaded ex / the villain of their ship. Like, y’all are going out of your way to make her the bad guy, and for what? 

It’s funny, I’ve actually read SNS fics where authors are actively aware that Sakura wouldn’t be bitchy, but write her as a bitchy character anyway because they need a villain for their story. Like... maybe you should take a step back and examine why you feel the need to make her purposefully homophobic. 

As for the jokes about her being a beard for Sasuke - well. When done without any real malice, I think they can be funny. But as a casual SS fan, I do think they get old really fucking quickly. Sakura literally has no agency & it baffles my mind when people blame her for ending up with Sasuke (I’m not even pulling this out of my ass - I’ve literally seen these takes.) Like, take it up to Kishimoto!! Leave her alone!! It’s so funny to me when people come up with these wild conspiracy theories as to how Sakura “tricked” Sasuke into marrying & having a child with her as if these aren’t characters with no real agency at the mercy of a heteronormative author. I totally understand if y’all disagree with SS - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but I also take issue with how their canon relationship played out - but people who hate Sakura for ending up with Sasuke as if she had any real control over the matter... It honestly makes me laugh. It’s genuinely funny. Like damn, a fictional character who isn’t even the villain of the show really gets your blood boiling that badly - it’s very girlboss of her!

Also, I just need to throw this in here because it’s come up on my TL a few times and I want to vent: I honestly cannot fucking stand Boruto, none of that shit is canon to me, but SNS stans who deliberately make hateful jokes about how Sasuke purposefully abandoned Sakura and Sarada because he doesn’t actually love them... Like, that’s not the slay you think it is. Y’all are making fun of Sakura for having to be a single mother, but I think there’s something super fucking tragic about the fact that Sasuke, who has so much love for his family and his clan, basically abandons Sarada in her early childhood. I know he has his reasons, but in my opinion, it does a great disservice to his character. Idk, the Sasuke I know would never, but Kishimoto simply does not understand him like I do. Idk, I don’t watch Boruto, so I can’t really give a fully formed opinion about this, but this has been sitting on my mind for the past few days and I wanted to put it out there.

All this to say, I can’t control how anyone thinks. I’m waaaaay past the point where I feel the need to fight with anyone whose opinions I disagree with - the block & mute buttons are my friends and I use them often. As long as no one comes into my space and starts talking shit, especially since y’all KNOW Sakura is my ride or die, then I’m just living my best life.

[hanazou]

Hi! Could I ask for Dazai, Ranpo, Kunikida/Atsushi with an s/o who frequently picks their skin/scabs/scalp. My psychologist, mom, and I are pretty confident that I have ASD, and it's a relatively common stim. This can also happen with ADHD, OCD, and anxiety disorders -- I'm not sure if this suggestion is too centered around a reader’s identity! (Also, it's not intentional self-harm; it relieves stress and boredom, but just happens to cause damage :/ If you're uncomfortable, I understand) Thx! <3

dazai, ranpo, and atsushi and a lover who constantly picks skin/scalp/scab.

📜 Books : Dazai | Ranpo | Atsushi

📜 Word count : 2.3k

📜 Shelf : Paperback

📜 Category : Headcanons

📜 Genre : Fluff, with a tiny hint of angst with Dazai and Atsushi

📜 Caution : Vague mentions of disorders and insecurities

📜 Note : Don't worry, @my-introvert-hideout! I'm not uncomfortable nor is this too specific. In fact, I had so much fun writing this! I chose Atsushi (because I kin him I resonate with him better), I hope this does your suggestion justice. I apologize if any of these is inaccurate.

Enjoy your books! 💛

Dazai Osamu

He's an ex Port Mafia executive and currently employed as a detective. Never doubt that he'll catch on your habit the first time you display it around him. But only when things are official between you two will he take an action about it.

With his background and quick wits, Dazai knows a lot about the quirks people can have, where they came from, and why they do it. By judging from your expression and slights of movements, he knows that it's caused by your certain conditions and nothing like deliberately inflicting pain on yourself. After all, he's well accustomed to self harm itself too, and he doesn't see it in you, not that way.

Dazai's understanding on your habit will be more personal rather than analytical--because of his self destructive tendencies. He can relate to you in this aspect, but whether this is a bad or good news is completely up to your personal interpretation.

Only after things become official between you both that he steps his feet into ‘that’ zone, deciding now he has the right to interfere. He's the type of guy that perceives intervening with issues like this requires a special established relation with you beforehand, if not, who is he to say anything?

Dazai doesn't mind that you never took the initiative to tell him first, what matters that is he knows and he has for long. He'll take his chance of intervention when you start picking yourself again, but only when it's just the two of you around. If you're with the other ADA members or within a crowd, he'll just figure out something to distract you and do it subtly.

The private moment will come sooner than you think. With a swift move that escaped your eyes, he has taken your hand hostage. "Nuh-uh," He cooed. "You're prone to injure your pretty skin."

His direct words will push you off guard. You'll notice that he knows about your quirk, maybe get a little shy from not realizing that he knows if you're the shy type of person.

Dazai is a clingy guy and even more so as a boyfriend, your habit will only give him a legitimate reason to hold your hand wherever you two go. Your hands will sweat from constantly holding his. He will definitely use it as an advantage to tease you too.

"I have to go to the bathroom, can I trust your hand or do I have to keep holding it?"

You will literally throw his hand away. "What th—Go by yourself."

Dazai has loads of tricks up his sleeve, and combined with his knowledge, he knows more than one or two or three methods to help you. Whether they are effective or not depends entirely on you and your condition. Sometimes his tricks are so subtle that you didn't even realize until you think back about it.

Assuming you're thinking of seeking help from experts, Dazai will be totally with the idea. "I can feel your earnest effort for this, I'm glad for you."

He'll take you to your appointments and wait for you, and sometimes walk you back home, which is also another trick to ditch work and piss Kunikida off. Two birds with one stone, right? :)

Expect him to shower you with loving words after every session. Maybe it will even make you feel corny. But truth be told, he'll deeply ponder about your condition, you, and himself. He's well aware of his nihilism and ponders whether the words he said are genuine or just part of the new personality he adopted when he left Port Mafia that sometimes run on autopilot.

(aka he suspects he's not being totally earnest with his sweetness)

If it's the latter, the corny lovey dovey words will double as an effort to help you and himself. Don't blame Dazai too much, he has trouble differentiating between what’s good and bad (as what was said by my man Oda), but at least he's trying hard for your sake.

When you show some progress, he will be so expressive in praising you. His self doubt or whatever it is, that can wait. His darling comes first.

Dazai will give a hug or two and other romantic stuffs like that even if you're in public. He's a tease and you know you love it. If you especially get embarrassed about it, he'll try to fluster you even more. Is it to distract you or himself? Nobody knows.

Edogawa Ranpo

This Yokohama's best detective is well versed in a lot of things, psychological conditions included. If you have any condition at all, it doesn't take him long at all to understand it. Nothing escapes his pretty green eyes.

Ranpo's approach will be the opposite of Dazai. His will be more analytical rather than emotional or personal.

In the scenario where you don't feel too confident about your condition, you might be constantly worrying Ranpo will make a blunt comment about it. But trust me, you don't have to worry anything about it with this guy. He’s straightforward, but he’s not rude.

Even if Ranpo hasn't had any personal experiences of feeling/witnessing this sort of thing firsthand, you can count on him to be knowledgeable about it, although his words won't be exactly delicate. He knows that some people have problems if it's addressed boldly and he knows where the line for him lays.

Ranpo is the type of guy to think that if you never told him about it, then that's your decision and it's nothing to make a fuss about/make complaints for, but he's not going to pretend he doesn't notice. He doesn’t hold back his tongue.

He will treat this situation slightly akin to a case for him to solve. Why? Because first of all, he’s your boyfriend. Who else is better fitted to take care of you and analyze the root cause? Second, because of that personal attachment with you, he will feel the obligation to step in.

When nobody is in the agency office since they don't slack off like him, he'll stretch back against his chair, hands behind his back, and call out your name who stayed behind to assist and babysit him.

"Won't you hurt yourself if you keep doing that?" He asks, his sharp eyes closed. Blunt questions are his signature. You will instantly freeze, only realizing that you were going off with your habit.

You won't feel the need to explain it, because you know that he knows, and he knows that you know he knows (do I make sense? this sounds like that one Dazai and Fyodor meme)

"If you want, I know some ways to help and I'm acquainted with some experts." He says easily, stuffing his mouth with chips. After he swallows, only then his green eyes opens. "You're hurting yourself, you know that?"

I'm not going to sugar-coat his personality. If you want heartfelt, supportive, and warm words, talk to Kenji or Yosano because you won't hear it from Ranpo. But the brighter side is that Ranpo is a very good listener and offers practical suggestions that you know are fool-proof. With each word you vent to him, the more methods spring up in his head to help. Lucky of you to have him!

If you agree to seek professional help or his own, he's a different kind of romantic than Dazai who knows how to swoon you off your feet. Ranpo’s praise won’t be like Dazai’s (since receiving conventional praises is his thing), but he'll say something rather indirect like "Good for you. Nobody knows what's best for you other than yourself, not even me."

After your sessions are over for the day, Ranpo will gift you his favourite snacks. Chips, cookies, ice creams, jellies, sodas. Do you know how lucky you are if Ranpo gives you his favourite snacks? Mostly it's because he's not confident in sweet talks so he's hoping that you'll get the gist of what he's trying to do.

Heck, he'll even wait for you (partially because he doesn't know how to go home by himself, but that's not the point) quietly without whining that it's taking too long. To occupy himself, sometimes he'll bring some papers of the cases Fukuzawa gave him and solve interesting cases. But when you emerge from the door, everything is forgotten and his attention is fully back to you.

"Oh, you're finally finished!" He springs back up to his feet, arms expanded.

I encourage you to tell him about your sessions. He'll compliment you in his own ways believe me.

"My super deduction concludes that you did well." He says as you pop out the popsicle he gave, a cheeky grin on his face. Oh, you one lucky fella.

On the way back to the agency, presumably on a train, if you're getting better, Ranpo will definitely smile cheekily to himself, prideful of you and him.

"I'm always right, after all." He says. "What do you think, aren't I such a great boyfriend and detective? You're lucky to have this combination all for yourself!"

Damn right you are.

Nakajima Atsushi

This will be slightly lengthy.

In terms of discovering this quirk of yours, Atsushi's approach will be different than Dazai and Ranpo's. If anyone is insecure about this one aspect in your relationship, it will be Atsushi.

Let's be frank, Atsushi's abused background didn't let him know much about the world, disorders/special needs included. We're talking about the boy whose first idea of survival was to jump on strangers. He was thrown into the real world without any experience and minimum social skills, it's almost impossible he immediately clicks on the reason behind your habit.

Despite so, Atsushi will notice it, weretiger senses used or not. Growing up abused, he was forced to notice the microexpression changes on people’s face and their quirks/habits as a defense mechanism in case he earns someone's ire (remember about the infiltration mission with Akutagawa on Rats of the House of the Dead when he said he can hear when someone’s mind snaps). Even though he believes you will never pose a harm to him ever, he couldn't help but to overthink every single little thing you do. He just can’t help it.

Constantly picking your scalp/scab/skin makes him free fall to the assumption that you're anxious around him since he knows that people sometimes fidget when they feel unsafe. At first, he thought that you're nervous around him. Is it because he's a weretiger? Because you don't trust him? Because you think of him as a hindrance?

This sweet boy thinks a lot about you. You basically live in his head rent free, and ever since he noticed your habit, you will quickly climb up the ranks of things-Atsushi-overthinks.

He will address you about his insecure thoughts after they're brewed aka rotted his brain long enough

When you're picking your skin, Atsushi will call your name softly as he fidgets. "Are you, maybe, uncomfortable around me?"

The confusion you will feel. "What?"

The conversation will spin around how and why that thought even popped out, and because of mutual confusion, it will take a while until you're like "OH. That's why."

You will have to explain it but he's not that dense as to he'll keep asking "Huh?" As I mentioned, anxiety is his old friend. He understands very well the constant need of having to pick to ground yourself and alleviate the intruding thoughts.

He will apologise for assuming things himself, maybe overreact a little, blaming himself for thinking things are about him when it’s actually about you, and he will be very tender about it. After all that, he will do everything in his power to help with your condition.

Atsushi will keep your hands busy by holding it before you start picking yourself, gently, but firmly. He will use his heightened senses to pick on the signs before you pick your skin/scalp/scab and try to distract you by doing anything.

Remember that one scene of his entrance test where he panics, not knowing what to say to Tanizaki? yeah he will be like that.

"AAH! Look! A cat!"

Then Atsushi will get more creative. He will not hesitate to spend the money from his cute wallet to buy lotion/moisturiser for your skin that smells so good (thank you for your help to guide him pick it, Kyouka), hoping it will help you. Maybe he'll get you gloves to match his own (matching couple things are never outdated). You won't pick on your fingers that way.

If you ever want to talk about your condition, please, share it with him. I insist. He insists. It's a win-win solution for both of you. His faith that you truly treasure and believe in him will harden (helps with his self esteem), and you get to throw off the load burdening you down.

He also feels it's his responsibility, part of that is because of his Headmaster's words, but mostly because he treasures you that much. If he caught you picking again, he'll become super worried and so guilt ridden.

If you decide to seek professional help, he will be 100% supportive. I won't sugar-coat again—Atsushi will detect his disappointment at himself for not being enough to help you on his own, but at the same time he's also realistic. He knows that he doesn't have what it takes by himself.

His Headmaster's words will echo again, again, and again. "You failed to help your own lover? Have this orphanage taught you nothing—have I not taught you anything? Will you ever amount to any good?"

He will fight it back harder than usual because now, it's about you. He can't afford to fail you, especially you. If you do talk about your condition to him, it will calm him down by a lot.

In short, your condition impacts Atsushi more that you ever thought. Please support each other.

📜; like what you read? visit my bookshop!

[redhawtriot]

Caught in The Act (Bakugou x Reader x Todoroki)

Tip Jar ☕- Not expected but always appreciated💞

This chapter is TAME compared to what’s coming next, but needed to be added (a calm before the storm, if you will).

Hope you like sexual tension.

Also a special thanks to @godtieruwu for giving helping me out with the chapter!

HnM💕

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5

Part 4:

Your crying had mostly subsided by the time you parked in front of Todoroki’s residence. With your now unblurred vision you immediately recognized his small, surprisingly normal sedan. It still shocked you to envision the unworldly man driving even though you’d witnessed it many times,

“Holy shit, he really did finish work up quickly,” you softly announced as you lightly shut the door of your vehicle.

You could feel your heart rambunctiously jump in your chest as you walked to his front door. God, just how long has it been since you had seen him? Almost an entire year?

You tried to remember yourself from this time last year, but she seemed to be a complete stranger to the woman you were today. You nervously wondered if Todoroki would even like the version of yourself that you had become—less composed, more pathetic, a fraction of the confident woman that you used to be. Overall, you had changed for the worse and was terrified of how one of your closest friends would react to the metamorphosis.

You pulled your hand up to give a few slight knocks onto the wood of the very large, very Japanese house.

Your heart dropped as the large door clicked and then slid open, “Y/N,” he warmly greeted you. You blinked a few times in surprise as your brain scrambled to take in his appearance. 

You tried to tame your fluttering heart as you forced eye contact with the soft smiling man, “Hey, Todo,” you lamely replied as your eyes flew away from his face.

Why were you so shocked by his appearance? He hadn’t changed at all-- save for the extreme growth of his hair, “it’s been a long time, huh?” you softly chuckled. 

“Yeah about a year,” he replied, ever so widening his slight smile. It greatly contrasted with the the look that suddenly enveloped his eyes-- his hard gaze igniting a blazing fire within your stomach. He looked as if he was examining you even harder than you were, him.

“Yeah,” you awkwardly retorted. Oh god, did you forget to wipe your face off before you came in? Were your eyes still red?? Were your cheeks still puffy? Were you still crying without even realizing it? These thoughts raced each other in your mind in a twisting swirl, and the heat in your stomach found itself running as well as you felt fire flee to your cheeks, “So- uh-- can I come in?” you awkwardly shifted your weight as the wind suddenly reminded you of the cold air.

“What happened?” Todoroki said very flatly as his eyebrows slightly scrunched to the center of his expression—his calm demeanor slightly fading, “You’re upset,” he instantly reached out to grab your face. His hand was extremely warm in contrast to the cold air, but the heat was fleeting as he suddenly pulled his hand away, as if it were a mistake. He looked down to the ground with a blush that you felt like probably matched your own before awkwardly escorting you into his home—his hand now warming the small of your back, sending hopefully unnoticed shivers up your spine.

“No I am fine! I mean—” you tried to move past the awkward exchange, “I was—upset that is, but I’m okay now I just… had a long night.” you breathed out heavily as the words finally slipped from your mouth.

“I am surprised that you came to see me,” he said before removing his hand from you, “I never thought Bakugou would allow for that,” his facial expression remained as calm as ever, but you could swear that you saw a hint of spite sprinkled into it.

“Well, I am my own woman,” you teased as you tilted your head to the side—slipping from yourself from your jacket.

“Of course,” he gave a slight chuckle as he grabbed the coat and hung it up on a nearby rack. You had accidentally followed him a bit too closely as he walked to the rack and as he turned back around, you found yourself dangerously close to the man.

You felt the heat of his breath on you for only a moment before you instinctively leaned yourself back, but not before your heart jolted in a quivering movement against your ribs.

Of course there was a legitimate reason that Bakugou didn’t necessarily like when you and Todoroki were close. No matter how fleeting your guys’ relationship was, there was no denying that there was a certain… tension.. in the atmosphere between the two of you.

Your eyebrows flew the top of your forehead as you immediately backed away from Todoroki, “Anyway,” you gave a slight cough to clear the nervousness from your voice, “Bakugou and I are…n’t on good terms.”

“I’m…” he obviously tried to hide the small smile that pulled at the corners of his lips, “so sorry to hear that,” he lied.

“Yeah, we just ended things not to long ago,” you shrugged your shoulders, unbeknownst to him also shrugging away the heavy feelings of sadness and guilt that weighed down your heart. You just ended things today.

You shouldn’t have even come here.

“Please, have a seat. We can talk about it if you want,” he sounded almost too eager to have you comfortable in his estate, “I’ll grab us some coffee—or tea for you, if I remember correctly,” Wow, not even Bakugou catered to your love of tea over coffee.

“Yeah, that would be fine,” you tried to pull your lips into a smile, but you were sure that it came off as more of a grimace. His eyes seemed to’ linger over your expression for a moment before he nodded and walked to the kitchen.

“So. I am assuming that you are not happy with your split?” he called out.

“I… uh- it was sudden to say the least,” you bounced your weight around uncomfortably on the couch, “He- uh- well I caught him with someone else.” C’mon. This was the entire reason that you came here, isn’t it? To talk to someone. To rant your sadness away. So why is it so fucking hard for you to strike up that burning passion that you have felt for the last fifteen hours?

Because you were an idiot and chose to talk to the one person who you could have very easily ended up on the opposite side of the situation with. It was hard to be so pissed at Bakugou when you were foolishly throwing yourself back into your ex’s life.

A twinge of guilt struck your heart strings.

“Caught him?” Todoroki questioned as he peeked back into the living room. His entire body followed before he calmly tilted his head to the side as if to say ‘go on.’

“Um.. I caught him—ahem—in the act,” there it is. The emotions that you had temporarily lost came back with a vengeance as your eyesight became blurry once more.

“Are you serious,” Todoroki was immediately by your side after he placed the tea down onto the coffee table, “That damned fool,” he said very lowly before taking your face in his hands and gently wiping the tears away, “I told him if he were to ever hurt you I would kill him.” You couldn’t tell if he was trying to be funny or not. You hardly ever could with him honestly.

Whatever the intent, you couldn’t focus on much else besides his lingering grasp on your face. You internally prayed for him to stop touching you like that. Was he always so bold? Was a new, special sense developed in your body now as a single woman. 

Single woman.

 Don’t kid yourself you only just ended things with your fiancé.

Guilt tugged at your heart, pulling you away from the man as you apologized, “I thought I had gotten most of the crying part out of the way already,” you gave a small laugh, “I actually came here to radiate some bad bitch energy and rant about how terrible he is.”

“We could still arrange for that. I have a list.” You laughed even though you knew that he was probably wholly serious.

“No. I don’t think I am ready for that. It’s too fresh.” Your voice burned you as the back of your throat constricted to capture a sob, “I can’t bad mouth him just yet,” Your throat was tight, but it completely closed up as Todoroki clumsily and stiffly pulled you into him for a hug.

Had you ever even hugged him before?

You tilted your head up to throw him a confused glance, but instantly regretted the decision to do so as you realized just how close your faces were.

You had never seen him so closely. As he turned his head down to look at you, you could take his beauty in fully. God, he was gorgeous. His soft features and strong eyes willed you to come closer as you flashed a quick glance at his lips-- he took notice.

At your gesture he gently cupped the back of your head to guide you into position as the heat of your breaths mixed in together, and the hot space between you became smaller and smaller. Your damp eyes slowly closed as you awaited the soft impact.

“Y/N,” Todoroki groaned as he frustratedly pressed his forehead against yours and regained distance between the two of you’s lips, “I think you’ve misread the situation,” he calmly implied.

Misread?

You would have to be pretty damned illiterate to misread that!

Todoroki slowly stretched himself away from you, “You see, I have—"

All of a sudden the front door opened and a small petite woman frolicked inside. She almost strode right past the living room before she caught a glimpse of the two of you on the couch, “Oh!” she sang, her melodious voice sounding like chimes, “I didn’t know you’d be home so early, Todo.”

Todo? Only you had ever called him that— or so you thought.

“I had to wrap things up quickly to host our visitor,” he coolly stood up and gestured for you to follow him and the two of you greeted the woman, “Fae, this is Y/N. Y/N this is Fae, my roommate.” For some reason your felt a wave of relief melt in your chest.

“Hello,” you genuinely smiled at the woman. As she greeted you back, you completely ingested her appearance. She seemed very tranquil, having soft features and smooth expressions. A very light cloud of happiness graced her aura, even when she wasn’t smiling. The cool undertones of her demeanor spread to you as she shook your hand, causing your smile to slightly falter.

She was the woman that you had so desperately tried to be—the persona that you had feigned for longer than you would care to admit.

So ‘Todo’ has a type after all? You felt the corners of your lips twitch in surprise at the amalgamation of ill feelings that bubbled within you.

“I was just about to tell Y/N that she would be more than welcome to stay in our spare bedroom for a while until she gets her living situation figured out,” as soon as the words fell out of Todoroki’s mouth your jaw flew open in shock.

“Oh really?” her smile beamed, but you noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes, “That would be just wonderful!” she finished as your open mouth continued to fumble over itself. 

“Would you like for that?” Todoroki questioned. 

God, way to put you on the spot, Todo. I guess it’s nice to see that some people stay pretty much true to their character traits throughout life. He was obviously oblivious to both yours and Fae’s discomfort about the situation.

“I- um,” you continued to struggle before your phone began loudly ringing. Your first thought was Bakugou, but that couldn't have been since you had blocked his contact during your long, emotional drive around the city,

 “Excuse me,” you nervously shrugged your shoulders before walking down the hall towards the kitchen to answer your phone. You instantly recognized his contact with the goofy image that you had taken back in high school and reluctantly answered the phone,

“Kiri...?”

“Y/N! hey!” His loud, excited voice blasted into your ears, causing you to pull the device away from your head a bit,  “You never answered my text are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I am fine,” You could hear familiar, loud explosions in the background. That man better not be ruining your favorite tapestries and scorching the good flooring you just bought. 

You punched those habitual thoughts out of your mind-- that obviously wasn’t your problem anymore.

“That’s good to hear,” Kirishima sighed into the phone, “‘Cause Bakugou is absolutely loosing his shit right now,” he nervously laughed and you could almost envision his scratching the back of his head like he tended to do,  “Anyway, where are you? And when are you coming home? If I have to Dr. Phil for you guys I will,” he joked, “I don’t like seeing mom and dad fighting.”

God, that is when you realized. Your family would also be breaking up. You and Bakugou obviously, but also Kiri, Kaminari, Mina, Sero-- everyone. The little loving family that you had spent years developing and loving was falling apart just as easily as your relationship had, “Kiri…” you choked, “I-I don’t think I am coming home.”

“Not tonight, huh? Sleep over at Jirou’s?”

Your heart fell at his utter optimism, “No I mean...I am really not coming back. not at all.”

“What? What do you mean?!” you had never heard his voice like this-- desperate and scared, “All of your stuff is here! You.. you have to come back,” he sadly protested.

“Obviously, I’’ll be back to get my things but I don’t think that I am coming back to live with you guys, sweetie. Bakugou and I..” you had yet to say this sentence out loud, “we broke up today,” It felt dirty coming off of your tongue.

“You guys… what? Are you serious? It was that bad?”

“He cheated on me, Kiri.” you explained as your voice danced on the fine line of cracking. You waited a few uncomfortable beats for him to answer, “Hello?”

“Y/N, sweetheart. I am so sorry. I had no idea. I just...” your heart broke even more for him in that moment than it did for yourself. You knew how sympathetic he was, and you never meant for him to carry your pain, “I can’t believe he would do that to you.”

“It’s okay,” you tried to calm him down.

“No, it’s not. You are everything that he could ask for and more. I don’t understand how he could do that to you. You’re beautiful. You’re kind. You’re determined, smart, caring, loyal. I am sorry he couldn't appreciate that. I really am,” Your eyes were well on their way to tearing up at his words until--

“IS THAT FUCKING Y/N?!” you heard a familiar raspy scream on Kiri’s end, “So you’ll answer the dammed phone for shitty hair, but not me?!” Bakugou screeched loudly. You could tell that he had snatched the phone from Kiri by that point, “You should never have been driving so upset, you idiot!” Oh, okay. So now he suddenly cares about your health. He didn't seem to care that much when he was fucking that slut unprotected,

“Y/N, you need to answer your phone when you are doing dumb shit like that!” But he didnt bother on calling you when he was being dumb, shit-faced drunk. He continued but you couldn’t care less, “I was thinking you could have died or-”

Click.

You ended the call, before walking out of the kitchen, down the hall and throwing a smile over to Todoroki on the other side of the room, “I’ll stay.”

Todoroki had been thrilled at your decision-- well at least as thrilled as his stoic demeanor would allow for-- and he had instantly taken to showing you around the large estate. Being a top ten hero paid very generously it seemed. 

By the end of the night you had ended up alone in the bare guest bedroom as Fae had stolen Todoroki to do some thing or another. Todoroki seemed to reluctantly follow, but only after your reassurance. You honestly didn't mind. 

You needed time to absorb the heavy events of the day.

You sat in your new room and let all of the events soak in your head as you replayed them and stared at the ceiling. You had cried so much that you were likely dehydrated at this point. Tears no longer fell down your temples as you gazed above you.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, “Y/N?” Todoroki questioned before peeking his head in your room. You had to stifle a small laugh at the fact that he didn't even wait for you to answer before inviting himself in. 

“We never got to finish our conversation on the couch,” he continued.

“No, it’s okay I get it,” you rolled over onto your side toward him and attempted to stretch the awkward feeling in your bones.

“You do?” he slightly raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about that almost kiss thing. It probably would be better to pretend it never happened at all,” you once again attempted a calm, passive demeanor. 

“It would be?” his eyebrows fell back down, “I don’t think we are on the same page, Y/N,” you opened your mouth to speak but he quickly cut you off, “I wanted to kiss you. I still—uh want to. I just don’t want to be your rebound. I want to wait with you and take things very slowly if it means that I get to be the one for you.” You threw yourself upright as a ticklish feeling erupted within your stomach. Your mouth still sat open as he finished speaking, 

“I don’t want you to think I am just preying on a heart broken girl after her breakup.”

Practically anything that this man has said you you all day set a fire in your heart that you had never felt before. It was slow and gentle—much different from the blazing inferno you had craved from Bakugou for the past many years.

The passion with Bakugou felt so natural, but was this slow burning love something that you needed?

As you stared at the Todoroki in the silence that had enveloped you, the feeling within your lower abdomen certainly screamed that that wasn’t the case.

Your legs started moving before you could think as you walked up to the handsome man. You knew that it was probably safer to move slowly, but that didn’t stop you from softly grasping him at the base of his neck.

Should you take things slow with Todoroki? Or move at a passionate pace?

YOU DECIDE

Follow this link to cast your vote!

[welllpthisishappening]

Hello there, I see you're back on blue-line drabbles! I love them, I am obsessed with this universe. I don't know if I ever came back to say hi after I read all your big fics, but somehow I liked each even better than the last! I don't know how that's possible! But anyway, I think one of the best signs of a good writer/good story is when you're not ready to leave the world once you've finished, and Blue Line is one of the few fanfics I've read where even well after I've finished it, (cont)

(cont) I want to keep living in it and I end up writing my own fic of it in my head (strange, I know). Anyway, for whatever reason, I got really invested in Roland and Lizzie's relationship. Like, how did they end up dating after knowing each other for literally Lizzie's entire life? How did the adults react? Do you have any Lizzie/Roland stories up your sleeve? They would not go unread :)

————

Hello, yes, listen, this ask has lived rent free™ in my head since I first got it and I cannot properly convey how absolutely, goddamn wonderful it is. I am a broken record of outdated references , but it continues and will always amaze me that people are not only interested in Blue Line (more than three years!!! after I originally started posting) but are also interested in other characters in the story who are, for all intents and purposes, original characters at this point. Like the overall size my heart becomes when reading something like that could potentially cause a serious medical condition.

But, like, in a nice way.

So thank you, thank you, thank you. It genuinely warms the cockles of my entire soul. And, like, if you wanna share those fic ideas of the fic, you’ll never hear me say no. Just like I will never turn down the opportunity to write more stuff. Which is what’s under the cut. This stuff includes:

Roland and Lizzie’s first kiss, what I hope is some legitimate banter, more kissing, obvious flirting, and Roland being something of a sap.

Also, uh, it’s entirely possible that I have also already written: Roland and Lizzie’s first “I love you,” their wedding and some other stuff where their kid is involved. Seriously, guys, I am always down to write other relationships in this ‘verse.

————

It was, she figured, something almost passably close to, sort of resembling, definitely inching somewhere nearer to—

Assured. 

Unavoidable. 

Inexorable

Inevitable. 

That was a bad word. That last word. The third one was pretty impressive, honestly. Vocabulary, wise. She’d have to remember that one later. The last one, though. Made teeth Lizzie wasn’t even aware she possessed ache as she ground them together, a pronounced tension in her jaw that was likely affecting her shoulders as well. That word. An awful word. Boasted less-than-positive connotations, letters practically dripping with lack of self-control and overtly aggressive infatuation, but if the world expected her not to be a little in love with Roland Locksley by the time she turned fourteen and noticed that slight indentation in his right cheek every time he smiled, well, then the world had another thing coming. 

Dimple, that was the appropriate description. Another word. More words. Too many words. All of them bouncing off the slope of her skull and scratching at the back of her brain, nearly distracting her from what should have been the very pleasant buzz lingering beneath whatever biological thing made up her top and bottom lips. 

Which were parted in an emotion very similar to overwhelming surprise. 

That was stupid. 

The whole thing was stupid. God, maybe she was stupid. No, that wasn’t true. She’d made Dean’s List last semester. Stupid was—

A stupid word, really. Despite the blush rising in her cheeks and the wide eyes practically boring into her soul, bated breath that didn’t make any noise because that was what bated entailed, and no one else glanced in their direction. Not once. No one else noticed. 

That the whole world had flipped upside down.

Or right-side-up, maybe. Depending on how the next five minutes or so went. 

Because the last two minutes and twelve seconds, give or take, had seen Roland Locksley tilt his head and let his eyes flutter closed before his mouth found hers for the very first time — at midnight for God’s sake. On New Year’s Eve. Or New Year’s Day, she supposed. His parents were standing on the other side of the room.

Suggesting that Lizzie had ever been just a little in love with Roland was a rather monumental lie. 

As far as those things went. 

“So, uh—” she started, only to find blood in her mouth. From her teeth. Wayward and unpredictable, as they were. Biting down on the side of her tongue and Lizzie hated going to the dentist. Doing irreparable damage to her teeth on what was now legitimately New Year’s Day, in the middle of an annual party, was not on her schedule. 

Metaphorical as it might have been. 

She liked schedules. Had plans. Focus, even. People always said that about her — how focused she was, liked to throw around the word drive with startling regularity, as if they were amazed she wasn’t simply willing to rest on her laurels or the pair of last names she proudly toted around with her. As if Lizzie expected doors to swing open on a glance. 

Rather than consistently preparing herself to knock them down. 

She liked the challenge of it all. Appreciated the way disbelief always spiked something in her blood, and that was likely equal parts genetic predisposition and a product of her childhood, but right now, Lizzie was simply prepared to fight for the schedule she’d never allowed herself to mention to anyone else before and it wasn’t like they weren’t friends. 

Talked outside the group chat, even. 

That meant something. Definitely meant something. Had to mean something. Her lips felt like they’d been doused in liquid nitrogen. 

She didn’t know all the scientific properties of liquid nitrogen, but it always made that rather impressive cloud of steam-type stuff on cooking shows. So, it seemed very likely that it did something similar to cause whatever was happening in the region directly surrounding her mouth. Buzzing and tingling, and whatnot. 

When had Roland last blinked? Lizzie couldn’t remember. That would have been impressive in any other situation. Right now, it was sort, kind of, totally— Pissing her off. 

Color dotted his cheeks, no sign of the goddamn dimple because he wasn’t smiling, presumably couldn’t do that when it was clear he was so intent on pulling his lips into his mouth, and that felt a little insulting. Her tongue had just been in that mouth. 

Lizzie was fairly confident in the abilities of her tongue, so she wasn’t all that pleased to be replaced by a pair of lips that could have been doing much better work against the side of her neck. 

“If you sit here right now and tell me that you are,” Lizzie lifted a finger, “one, sorry,” another finger, “two, anything even remotely resembling regretful,” another finger, wiggling close enough to Roland’s nose to make him just a bit cross-eyed, “or, three, too old for me, I will throw my heel at that bruise I know exists on the back of your left calf.”

His lips twitched. 

He really had impossible eyelashes. Seemingly made so he could glance up from underneath them, to meet Lizzie’s steely expression with what she refused to believe could be cautious hope. Passable optimism, maybe. She’d have to look up what liquid nitrogen did, later. 

“I’m standing.” “I hate you.”

“You wanna go in order, or how do you want to work this?” “Where else are you bruised?” Roland laughed softly, a shift of his shoulders and tiny burst of air between barely parted lips. Feeling that tiny burst meant they were standing very close to each other. How they were standing remained another mystery. 

One of those great ones, Lizzie figured. The kind referenced when people talked about the sweeping potential of life and love and— Ah, fuck. 

“Please don’t threaten to attack me anywhere else,” he muttered, before quickly adding, “you gotta know this was not my end game, Liza.” Narrowing her eyes did nothing to temper the…tempest. Swirling in her gut. Threatening the back of her throat. Eating away at vocal cords and vocal boxes and the structural integrity of her entire goddamn larynx. Possibly her tongue, too, just to be especially efficient. 

“Really? Might’a been mine, actually.”

She’d always liked his eyes. 

How they could widen, and it wasn’t like...a normal brown. Nothing about the way he looked was ever dull. Drifted toward regularly excited, and the sparkles were probably a figment of her over-active teenage imagination, but Lizzie liked to think sometimes the sparkle came from her. Because of her, even. When she’d call because he always wanted to hear about her latest lecture and he’d call because sometimes Western swings were exhausting and loneliness-inducing and—

She knew. 

He knew. 

They knew each other.   

Grand scheme, the sparkle-prone eyes still weren’t particularly close to the dimple. On the list of things Lizzie liked. What left butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her heart hammering against her chest. Sparkle was probably a solid fourth. Behind the precise way his curls fell toward his eyebrows when he didn’t have time to get his hair cut. Which rarely happened during the season. Right now, it was happening right now. Well-defined strands that Lizzie knew felt even smoother than she’d ever theorized between her fingers, and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with that information. 

Obsess over it, probably. 

For at least the next week, or so. 

Still. Eyes. Eyelashes. Too long and too bright, and that was the wrong description order and she was starting to teeter. On the edge of a rather dramatic free-fall. Into feelings and possibility, and this was way too dramatic. For both of them. 

“Don’t do that,” she mumbled, a scrunch of her nose that apparently demanded his thumb. Brushing against the bridge, and there wasn’t any caution there. No obvious fear or concern. For the way it left Lizzie’s lungs pinched, and there must have been a limit. 

To everything her internal organs could cope with in a limited span of time. 

“What was the last one on the list?” She swallowed. “Too old.” “Yuh-huh.” “Pretty flimsy as far as excuses go. You realize I’m not asking you to marry me right now, right?” He choked. On what, she wasn’t entirely sure. Only that it made her stomach heave and her teeth dig into her lower lip, and that was— “Because I know I said, end game,” Lizzie continued, giving in to the need to fill empty space with the sound of her own voice, “but that sounds like several pop culture references all at once, and you know how much I—”

“Hate to come across as disingenuous.” “Mattie’s the pop culture reference machine, anyway.” “Please don’t talk about Matt when I keep thinking about how much I want to kiss you again.” Her eyes, that time. Widened. Bugged. Did something unnatural. “Yeah?” “You’re kidding me, right?” “You’re not an old man.” Rolling his eyes, Roland’s tongue dragged across the front of his teeth. To torture her, apparently. “I was in college when you were a freshman in high school.” “Yuh-huh.” “Liza.” “Nah, nah,” Lizzie shook her head. Crossed her arms. Tried to stand up to her full height, but even the heels didn’t do much to add to the overall intimidation factor. Roland was doing an awful job of fighting off his smile. “Pulling out ancient nicknames is not—” “—It’s not a nickname; it’s literally letters in your name.” “Nick,” she leaned forward, “name. All personal-like.”

Making mistakes was not something she enjoyed very much. It was that Jones competitive streak. Plus, the Vankald stubborn streak. Created a monster of determination, who knew what she wanted, and feeling Roland’s fingers graze her cheek as a strand of hair hung limply in the minimal space between them was the result of Lizzie’s mistaken movement. 

Even as much as she might have wanted it. 

Goosebumps prickled her arms. Stole whatever oxygen she’d managed to get in the last forty-six seconds, or so. Her eyes fluttered. Head tilted. Towards the touch and the warmth, and for someone who spent so much time on the ice, he really was impossibly warm. 

“This is your fault.”

He didn’t move his fingers. Cupped her cheek, instead. “You were doing that eyebrow thing.” “Expand on that for me.” “Lifting ‘em. Happens sometimes. When you’re listening intently. Like you’re a little amazed by new information. They’re these stupid little arches on your face. Drives me nuts.” “The compliment was in there somewhere, I’m sure of it.” “I am so much older than you, Liza.” “Shouldn’t’a played out a bunch of teenage daydreams at once, then.” She was legitimately worried about the state of his tongue. Barely biting back her laugh, Lizzie let her eyes lift. To find Roland gaping at her, drooped shoulders and puppy-dog eyes. And that goddamn dimple. “C’mon, this isn’t...do you think I haven’t made out with people before?” “Wouldn’t classify what we just did as a makeout.” “No?” His eyes darkened. Shivering was probably not a good move, right? Right. Definitely. She wasn’t shivering. It was just...January. And inside. With dozens of people around them. “I would not, no,” Roland said, and the drop in overall volume was some sort of trick. Or, something. 

“How many people do you think you’ve made out with? Ballpark it for me.” “No.” “Is the issue a lack of appropriate numbers to tally that mark, or—” She bit her tongue, again. At the flash of amused frustration sweeping his face and polluting the molecules of whatever air was hovering between them. Permeating was a better word. Lizzie really needed to work on all of that. Words. Being slightly less jealous of potential make outs that didn’t have anything to do with her and definitely happened because there had to be other people out there in the world who simply could not cope with the existence of that dimple. 

“How many people have you made out with, then?” “Scores,” Lizzie snarled, only to get immediately scoffed at. “I’m really, incredibly popular.” “Oh, I’ve got no doubt.” “Boatloads of guys. Lining up to,” she pointed an imperious finger at her mouth, “make out with this.” “Your well-defined chin?” “I’m going to take my shoe off.” “Draw attention with a move like that.” Whatever fight she had didn’t immediately die. It just, sort of, fell. At her feet, threatening all the bones there and there were too many. All of them far too fragile. For whatever metaphor she was running with at the moment. “And we’re not trying to do that, huh? Draw attention.” “Shouldn’t you be out sowing wild oats?” “Really know how to charm a girl,” she grumbled, and that got her a smile. No scoff. Not even the hint of a smile. The whiplash was hurting her neck. “Trust me, the oats have appropriately sowed. If I was ever particularly inclined to farm work.” “I’m starting to be vaguely embarrassed by all of this.” “Good.” Wasn’t quite a scoff. Was more like a half-hearted laugh, and a tinge of desire and that was better than the other emotions, but the decreasing level of Roland’s eyebrows gave her pause. “What about the status of your oats?”

“Well sowed, rookie season,” Roland said. 

“You’re going to change the name on your jersey.” “Not sure that particular fact has a lot to do with anything else. Seven years, Liza.” “I’m perfectly capable of doing math, you know I took that stats class once.” “Because I double checked everything you turned in.” “Makes you slightly less of an idiot than the vibe you're giving off right now.” “A freeway or compliments.” Pulling in a deep inhale through her nose, Lizzie didn’t miss the way Roland’s gaze fell. To the neckline of her dress, lingering on the jut of her collarbones for a few seconds longer than a strictly platonic friendship should allow, and they were friends. Still. She knew that as well as she knew that he believed she thought he was simply being clever with nicknames. 

And not making vaguely incorrect My Fair Lady references. 

Because he’d always been a little annoyed that Eliza had gone back to Henry Higgins. Instead of Freddie.

It was really impossible not to be a little in love with him at all times. 

“You’re really going to hyphenate?” Roland nodded. “Think of all the new jerseys they’ll sell.” “By the box-load, and Gina’s gonna buy the entire stock. She’s—that’s really nice, you know.” “Just a fact. Little late, but—” He shrugged. Lizzie’s smile threatened to split her face. In that same nice way, she’d been talking about. Her lips were still buzzing. She might have been buzzing. With adrenaline. Happiness. The near-desperate desire to find some type of closet and get her fingers back in Roland’s questionably long hair. 

“Of naming conventions.” She couldn’t begin to guess what the record was for shoulder shifts in an emotionally charged conversation between two people who were simultaneously ignoring the point of the conversation, but Lizzie also knew her eyebrows had been halfway up her face as he’d detailed the reasons for making his jersey say Mills-Locksley. From here on out. 

Maybe that was the top of the list, actually. 

He was a good guy. 

Had always been a good guy. The best guy, really. 

Falling into that chasm wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Lizzie expected it to be. 

“Why’d you do it?” Roland’s lips disappeared. His tongue moved, again. She was staring at the area around his tongue. So, like, his mouth. Directly at his mouth. “Because, I uh—have wanted to?” “Oh, don’t phrase that like a question.” “Wanted to,” he repeated, a statement of fact with a certain amount of conviction. Enough to make Lizzie’s pulse sputter. “Which is kind of freaking me out.” “Come back with more compliments.” “Your dress nearly made me fall over.” “Better, actually,” she laughed. 

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Made sense at the time.” “Be more specific.” “Kissing you,” Roland said, enough emphasis that he leaned forward half an inch as well. It was a miracle their noses didn’t collide. Not the most impressive miracle, but—counted. “If I tell you that you might be my best friend does that make the lamest professional hockey player alive?” “Yes, absolutely.” “Matt might challenge you to a duel if he hears me talking like this, you know.” “God, Locksley, didn’t we just talk about the Mattie rules? Also, that made it sound like Mattie wants to kiss you too, so...”

He chuckled. Fingers still tugging on the back of his hair, like he was trying to ground himself in the pull and the self-inflicted tension, Roland looked up. Back at her. And Lizzie didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Held her position and prepared herself to defend the schedule she’d only ever allowed herself to hope for in the silence of that one corner in her brain. 

Filled, as it was, with memories. Of conversations that didn’t have anything to do with hockey. Others that did. Arguing over blue line placement in the brownstone and college rankings. Of movies watched on two different laptops in different corners of the country, bad jokes, and consistent updates, that deep-rooted understanding that came from a life full of expectations and the exact opposite. No overt pressure, but the need to prove yourself anyway, if only because of the name on the back of the jersey, and Lizzie was going to have to buy a new jersey. 

“You like me? Yes, or no?” Roland smiled. Wide and honest, the kind that ensured the dimple was on prominent display. “Yes.” “I am a grown adult? Yes, or no?” Crinkles appeared around his eyes. From the smile. 

“Yes.” “Meaning I get to make my own choices. Romantically, or otherwise. Yes, or no?” “Obviously.” “Wasn’t one of the options.” “Yes,” Roland corrected, fingers trailing over the bend of her elbow. Lizzie hadn’t uncrossed her arms. Or remembered when she’d crossed them in the first place. 

“Ok, good. Same page, then.” “Liza.” “Locksley.” Lifting her eyebrows wasn’t a challenge, per se. Was closer to instinct, really. Specifics didn’t matter, honestly. She did that thing with her eyebrows, and he did that thing with his mouth, the same one she was staring at and hoping would move closer to her, and then—

Well, it did. 

Hands found Lizzie’s hips, pulling her forward sharply enough that she let out a soft grunt. From the feel of hips bumping against hers, and she honestly wasn’t sure who hissed in their next inhale, only that it did something to the flutter-like state of her pulse and the erratic nature of her heart, and it was slow and fast and good and great and not a single person noticed. 

Miracles were arriving en masse, apparently. 

Pushing her fingers into Roland’s hair got Lizzie another hum of approval, the first brush of his tongue making her lips part and her head fall to the side, but then his hand was wrapped around the back of her neck, and she could not be expected to pay attention to anything except the semi-consistent swipe of his thumb against her skin. It left more goosebumps. Caused another chuckle, the kind that rumbled through her and resonated around her, a tiny bubble of that same cautious optimism from before. 

Like a spark. 

Fanning flames and threatening to burn everything because if this didn’t work, then Lizzie wasn’t sure what would, and that was scary and overwhelming and terrifying was a synonym, but she really was working with very limited word-based resources when Roland’s thumb kept moving. Tracing her. Committing the feel to memory, and she wasn’t sure when they’d established the rocking pattern they were moving in, but something deep in the center of her trusted it. 

Someone who regularly strapped knives to his feet and raced around at top speed knew how to stay balanced. And she was a stubborn idiot. Who got what she wanted. 

“Is part of liking me because I told you I didn’t think it was embarrassing that you still got a little emotional about Miracle on 34th Street?” Laughter pushed past her lips. Took root in the pit of her stomach and the spaces between her ribs. Laced through her heart. In the kind of way that cemented itself. Right in the middle of Lizzie. Right in the middle of this. Them. 

There was a them, now. 

“Was definitely a factor, yeah,” Roland said, not bothering to pull away. “You, uh—you snuck up on me a little, Liza.” “Peak romance.” “Want me to talk about your dress some more?” She shook her head. “Unnecessary. And you didn’t.” “That might be part of the problem.” “Nursing old crushes, you mean?” Her hair hit her cheek. And his hand. He couldn’t seem to let go of her. “Nah, this wasn’t like...there was no torch, not really. I—I wasn’t hanging posters of you on my wall if that’s the picture you’ve painted for yourself.” “Kinda disappointing, admittedly.” “Pick a lane, babe.” No sparkle, that time. Just flash and want and the very thin line Lizzie’s lips had become. “Be more specific,” Roland repeated softly. “You’re not standing on a pedestal. Just you, Rol, as is.” He waited. That was fair. There should have been more. Should have been a detailed list of all the reasons the grown-up version of her liked so many parts of the grown-up version of him, but that all felt a little extraneous when she was still thinking about closet-type possibilities and that stubborn streak was a mile wide, anyway. 

Roland nodded once. “Good.”

Both of them jumped. At the pop of another champagne bottle and Lizzie never understood how Regina managed to order so much champagne every year, but she felt a bit like she was floating on the bubbles, and they didn’t decide. Explicitly. To keep the whole thing—

Secret. 

Another bad word. With bad connotations and shadows that clung to the definition, but this was them and only them and, for right now, that was enough. And if no one noticed the way Roland’s hand drifted over the small of Lizzie’s back during David’s speech, then that was a miracle she was willing to accept. 

[hhhhhhhappycow]

Haikyuu!! Team Japan playing Among Us:

Okay, so first of all they eject Atsumu at the beginning of every game

Initially it was because he was acting sus or just spamming the chat with accusations

But then it kind of became a running joke

One time it got down to only three players (one imposter) left: Atsumu, Hinata and Sakusa. Sakusa was like, I know Hinata is the imposter but I'm just going to take the L on this one and eject Atsumu because it's funny. Atsumu was fuming

Only it stopped being as funny when he got pissed off and stopped doing his tasks after he died

They let him play again after that

Hinata as an imposter normally doesn't kill many people unless he's sure nobody else is around. He mostly gets caught because he likes venting

Although one time Hakuba convinced him to go on a huge murder spree with him and they won largely by separating the others and killing as many of them as possible before a body could be found

They were all traumatised after that round

As a crew member he takes doing all of his tasks very seriously but he doesn't have a pattern to doing them, he just runs about the place at random, starting one task and then coming back to it at the end

People tend to suspect him because he can't remember the names of the rooms at all and sometimes accidentally says the wrong one before correcting himself

Bokuto is actually very good at playing as a crew member: He knows the layout well and does all of his tasks as quickly as possible, then tries to get the others to stay in a group (although he himself tends to get sidetracked following people he suspects sometimes)

Surprisingly he's figured out a whole bunch of the imposters on the chat

But he really sucks at being an imposter himself

He always kills someone at the worst moment, just before somebody else walks in

And he could accuse the other person or say he'd found the body, but he always panics and comes up with ridiculous lies, stating he wasn't even there and doesn't know what they're talking about

Nobody believes him

He and Hinata also usually stick together while playing

Hinata killed him one time and the whole team immediately knew because they heard him yelling when he died

He legitimately did not speak to Hinata for two hours

Kageyama is not great at the game

He understands the basic functions, but he tends to accidentally implicate himself, even when he's not the imposter

He's always calling out the wrong person

Is the guy who's like 'If I'm wrong vote me next' and then is wrong

And also gets so absorbed in avoiding being murdered that he sometimes forgets to do his tasks

He goes afk a lot too and comes back to find he's been accused, hasn't defended himself, and has subsequently been ejected

When he's the imposter he always kills Hinata first, and it's gotten to the point that now certain others are starting to kill Hinata first to throw him into suspicion

(Hinata is scared for his life)

Sakusa and Komori are the best at playing as an imposter

Because they're both very sneaky and good at seeding doubt in the chat

When they're both imposters they're virtually unstoppable

Sakusa as a crew member is very good at finding imposter as well

He always remembers who accused who and often pulls out the receipts after they've ejected somebody innocent

So much so that occasionally he will make up that somebody said something and everyone just believes him without checking

Weirdly, he works well with Bokuto, who always seems to find things out and then Sakusa puts it all together

Komori usually constructs a whole narrative in the chat and for some reason people always trust him

He keeps peppering in little lies that are just believable but slowly turn them all against each other

(A lot of Sakusa and Komori's success has to do with both of these guys being very consistent in the way they're playing, both as an imposter and a crewman)

When they go head to head against each other, there's normally a massive split in the group over who to believe

Yaku is generally rational and tries to act as a leader

Constantly calling emergency meetings because he thinks he's figured it out

He's the one who, along with Bokuto and Hinata, wants everyone to just stick together after a certain point, and he gets frustrated when people keep splitting off

Has rage quit on more than one occasion

Everybody always knows when he's the imposter because he goes really quiet and tries to blend in to the background, agreeing with what others say and killing on the sly

He doesn't know that's how they know because nobody's told him he does it

A lot of the time, after a couple of deaths where he's been silent about finding the imposter, the group will unanimously vote to eject him because they just know, and it really pisses him off

Contrarily, Hoshiumi gets louder when he's the imposter, and he knows he does it but he can't help it

He just gets excited

Like Hinata, he enjoys venting and it often leads to him being caught out

He also self-reports a lot and then basically dares them to eject him when he gets accused of doing so, which only works about half the time

'Eject me and you'll see I'm one of you'

Hakuba is absolutely ruthless

His main strategy as imposter is just to kill as many crew members as possible before being found out

Never talks in the chat

Whoever plays imposter with him usually gets annoyed because he's so obvious with it most of the time

Now and then he likes to switch it up by only murdering anybody near Hoshiumi and then blaming him

It usually works

He either does really well and wins the game quickly, or loses it for them incredibly quickly

Ojiro doesn't like to accuse people without evidence because he's afraid of being accused himself

So he tends to follow people he suspects a lot of the time

Which leads to him being killed a fair amount

He doesn't really mind too much, he actually quite likes being able to just get on and finish his tasks and spy on what the others are doing

He's always chatting to anybody else who has died, making puns and jokes about what's happening in the game

Some of his and Atsumu's conversations after they've both died are pure comedy gold

Although he and Yaku had a genuine argument once because Yaku was so upset at having been killed (by Komori, who he trusted) and Ojiro made a joke about it

'Hey Yaku, don't you think Komori is looking a little sus now?'

He also self-reports sometimes, although he generally has more success than Hoshiumi

The 'believe me if you want but it's your loss if you don't' guy

Hyakuzawa is also kind of bad at the game

At the beginning he didn't realize you had to do tasks after you had died so everyone else had completed theirs and were all accusing each other as to who hadn't finished them, as it was the only thing stopping them from winning

They lost that round

In the chat he tends to agree with what everyone else is saying and tries not to stand out too much

His favorite thing about the game is the lobby before the game begins: For some reason the others all started copying whatever he did, putting on the same hats or running in the same direction as him

It makes him happy

Ushijima does not get this game

The first time he played he asked Sakusa to help him. Sakusa saw that he was the imposter but couldn't bring himself to turn Ushijima in, so helped him win instead

He's lost almost every game since then

He just seems to be incapable of winning, even though he tries and asks Sakusa and Kageyama for advice

The one who asks questions in the chat like 'How do I vent like Yaku just did?' (cue Yaku screaming)

One time while they were all playing online they noticed that Ushijima was actually contributing and winning a lot of games

Turns out some of the old Shiratorizawa guys were visiting and Ushijima had gotten bored and handed the controller over to Tendou

Like Hyakuzawa, he enjoys some of the pre/post-game antics

Actually has a good memory for all of the tasks and what rooms they are in so he's good at coming up with a cover story: It's just that it doesn't help much when he claims to have been in admin when there were three other people in admin who all know he wasn't there

Iwaizumi joins them when they play sometimes and he is quite good: He knows the layout well and methodically works through the map from left to right

Whenever anyone kills him the team seek vengeance

[mmamagoto]

are u guys prepared for this i put all five of the muses here on this one. so of course it’s under a cut for being long as hell

name: natoru

nicknames:

gender: female

age:

date of birth: april 30

origin of birth: listen they’re all from the human world on this blog so let me just save myself the trouble of typing that four more times

race/species: cat (scottish fold)

spoken languages:

romantic/sexual preference: middles toward aromantic

occupation: royal assistant and whatever else they can toss under the umbrella of ‘assistant duties’

hobbies: space, sports (or more specifically, competition), stereotypically Cool Boy things like dinosaurs and creepy crawlies, annoying natori

criminal record: 

disorders: none

eye color: kind of a hazel thinking emoji they’re pretty tbh

height: markedly shorter than every other cat in this dang film

scars: possibly a few very minor ones from some scrapes and clumsiness upon first coming to the cat kingdom, but they’re probably not very noticeable

birthmarks: none

overweight: i’m. not sure thinking emoji she’s definitely a solidly-built little thing but considering she’s a cat it literally could just be her body type lmao. even so, she doesn’t consider it an issue, and neither does anyone else tbh

underweight: no

favorite color: olive green, pink

favorite food: yakiimo

wants to get married / is married: n. no

gotten pregnant / had a child: no

wants a child: not really. she’s content with her cool big sister role

likes children: yes. she has kind of a natural rapport with them

can sing: i mean. she can probably carry a tune

play an instrument: probably not

can dance: ???

gotten tattoos: 

gotten piercings: nah

smoked/drank/done drugs: has probably definitely had Drinks. also like probably catnip/matatabi, which all things considered i’m not sure if it counts lmao

had a broken heart: not really

been in love: not really

a cuddler: Probably bc i’m still very amused by her and natori having to share a room during a trip to another kingdom and natori Suffering the entire time

a kisser:

scared easily: she’s skittish which is Unfortunate bc she is the ‘reacts to jump scares by punching them’ type

jealous easily: it. depends on what it is. she tends to be more the envious type, where she covets Unique and Cool objects over companionship

hot/cool tempered: generally very cool. she’s a tolerant creature, and i feel like that tends to get overlooked thinking emoji

trustworthy: mostly, particularly when compared with her two coworkers lmao

single: yes

extroverted/introverted: she’s adaptable

considered mean: this one is so funny to me bc i think, when compared with natori who is kind of in a similar position to her in the hierarchy, she’s often seen as the more approachable one which is ironic bc between the two of them she’s the uhhhh. less Understanding one. she will sell you for a corn chip

fears: sugoroku space, dogs (just slightly), stick bugs but every other kinda bug is Fine By Her, natori with a ruler in his paw

siblings: marsh (older brother)

parents: unknown

pet(s): none

name: claudius

nicknames: mostly (even now) referred to by titles by everyone except lune

gender: male

age:

date of birth: august 2

origin of birth: see above

race/species: cat (probably a persian)

spoken languages: 

romantic/sexual preference: i kinda lean toward bi or panromantic tbh

occupation: retired king so. mostly just a NEET at this point

hobbies: traveling (mostly to show off but stILL). other than that, now that he’s retired, he’s struggled with finding hobbies that aren’t just napping or following natori around. he’s not a patient or committed creature, so when he tries something new and it’s Too Hard, he tends to lose interest very quickly. that said, he definitely relies very heavily on other people, natori, natoru, and entertainers, etc. to provide him with things to pass the time

criminal record: he’s offended at this very notion

disorders: does. does strabismus count

eye color: has marked heterochromia, with one blue eye and one red eye

height: Tall for a cat jjfkdeia

scars: none

birthmarks: none

overweight: actually, no

underweight: no, tho without all the fur, he definitely has a scrawnier, less conventionally cute look to him jfjfie;a

favorite color: gold

favorite food: oden

wants to get married / is married: he maybe kinda sorta misses being married (or, more specifically, having a significant other)

gotten pregnant / had a child: yes, so long as adoption counts

wants a child: a grandkid sounds kinda nice

likes children: yes, but to absolutely no one’s surprise he’s a bad influence on them and has No Clue how to interact with them when they’re upset. he also is 100% the type to throw hands with a preschooler

can sing: OF COURSE

play an instrument: no, tho he certainly likes the idea of being able to. he’s badgered natori into trying to teach him before inevitably getting bored with the practice when he’s not instantly a genius at it (see above in the hobbies section, aha)

can dance: definitely. unless it’s not a ballroom dance. then no one wants to see that

gotten tattoos: 

gotten piercings: mm, probably not

smoked/drank/done drugs: absolutely

had a broken heart: yes

been in love: twice

a cuddler: It Depends. he was once someone’s Ultra Pampered house cat, so he’s of the five of them probably the most amenable to being pet and held, but he’s also temperamental and finicky so uh. Pet At Your Own Risk ig

a kisser:

scared easily: not really. he’s too impulsive to be scared psh

jealous easily: 100%

hot/cool tempered: HE CLIMBED HIS WAY UP A TOWER WITH NOTHING BUT HIS CLAWS AND SHEER OFFENDED WILLPOWER.............. and all with two swords strapped to him..............

trustworthy: not too much

single: it’s. Complicated

extroverted/introverted: extroverted, mostly, but he has his random introspective moments when he generally wants to be alone

considered mean: I MEAN. it really depends jfjfei;a i will go to the grave with this headcanon that he’s honestly well-liked as a ruler but has a definite reputation of being difficult-to-please and mercurial

fears: being genuinely or legitimately Disliked, pissing off lune to the point he turns his back on him, squeamish with squirmy things

siblings: none

parents: unknown. the previous queen is his mother-in-law

pet(s): none

name: lune

nicknames: an endless cavalcade of affectionate nicknames from his father and no one can convince me otherwise

gender: male

age:

date of birth: october 27

origin of birth: see above

race/species: cat (the fandom seems to have him pegged as a russian blue and i’m not gonna disagree sO)

spoken languages: 

romantic/sexual preference: probably heteroromantic

occupation: king of cat kingdom :v

hobbies: butterflies and moths, idk does urban exploration count for a cat lmao

criminal record: no

disorders: none

eye color: shares his father’s heterochromia-- one blue eye, one red eye

height: notably smaller than his father but still taller than natoru like everyone else jfkfd;a

scars: none

birthmarks: none

overweight: no

underweight: no

favorite color: aquamarine

favorite food: lots of different street foods, tbh, but his favorites are probably takoyaki and taiyaki (particularly when filled with cheese laughs)

wants to get married / is married: is married! and very happy with that marriage

gotten pregnant / had a child: no

wants a child: it’s crossed his mind, but not with any real intent

likes children: probably. he’s never really interacted with them

can sing: i mean. again, he can probably carry a tune

play an instrument: i feel like he probably can. at least one thinking emoji

can dance: yes

gotten tattoos:

gotten piercings: ........i should give him his manga earring. it’s cute

smoked/drank/done drugs: has definitely had some alcohol in his life. also the catnip thing again

had a broken heart: not yet

been in love: yES

a cuddler: i’m. not sure

a kisser:

scared easily: not in the least, but it’s mostly bc he’s a gaddang pollyanna

jealous easily: not particularly. he’s a gregarious creature

hot/cool tempered: cool-tempered, but without natori’s aloofness so he most likely comes across more reasonably or genuinely

trustworthy: Absolutely

single: no

extroverted/introverted: like natoru, he’s adaptable. and like natori, i feel that he’s become quite practiced at playing the part of an extrovert, but perhaps with more genuineness

considered mean: ABSOLUTELY NOT

fears: saying goodbye to any of the familiar cats in his life, Abrupt Change, vehicles are a little iffy nowadays

siblings: none

parents: cat king (father). the previous cat queen was his grandmother (uh, not persephone)

pet(s): none atm, but probably had numerous ones throughout his childhood, including a rabbit which ‘ran away to the mountains (aka the ninth kingdom)’ at some point. according to natori, that is

name: natori

nicknames: poppet, a long time ago

gender: male

age:

date of birth: unknown. tends to use the cat kingdom’s new year celebrations as an excuse to celebrate

origin of birth: see above

race/species: cat (oriental longhair)

spoken languages: 

romantic/sexual preference: generally idles between homoromantic and  demiromantic

occupation: royal advisor/assistant. on paper, he’s retired, but it’s never stopped him before

hobbies: keeping goldfish, music, cooking

criminal record:

disorders: none

eye color: coppery brown

height: close to the king’s height. i keep waffling back and forth on just which of them is taller

scars: none

birthmarks: it’s not necessarily a birthmark, but he does have some kind of marking on him Somewhere (x-files theme) it’s well-hidden by his clothing

overweight: no

underweight: no

favorite color: lavender

favorite food: fish

wants to get married / is married: He Doesn’t Know

gotten pregnant / had a child: no

wants a child: like natoru, he’s mostly content with his role as uncle/mentor

likes children: yes, tho he’s easily stressed by them lmao

can sing: y e s

play an instrument: i’m not really sure yet thinking emoji

can dance: yes

gotten tattoos: 

gotten piercings: he would never

smoked/drank/done drugs: like the others, has definitely had a taste of alcohol fjfjkd;a

had a broken heart: yes

been in love: he’s not sure

a cuddler: generally Not

a kisser:

scared easily: his composure drops pretty quick lbr

jealous easily: a little. a teensy bit. okay it’s much more than a teensy bit

hot/cool tempered: cool-tempered, but, as mentioned above, with a very distinct aloof edge that probably often leads to him being perceived as unapproachable

trustworthy: .............it depends

single: yyyyyyye-- no? yes. no. nobody knows

extroverted/introverted: introverted, mostly, but he plays a very convincing extrovert

considered mean: not especially, but again. probably perceived by many as being difficult to approach

fears: they are Many and Varied and most of them connect either to the collapse of the cat kingdom or the human world in its entirety

siblings: manami, sachiko (younger sisters)

parents: EXTREMELY UNKNOWN......

pet(s): three goldfish

name: yuki

nicknames: lune calls her sweetie in the manga and it kills me every time i remember it

gender: female

age:

date of birth: march

origin of birth: see above

race/species: cat (...not sure what breed she might be thinking emoji)

spoken languages:

romantic/sexual preference: biromantic

occupation: queen of cat kingdom

hobbies: she hasn’t really spent the time trying out hobbies just yet. has gotten a little into butterflies and moths bc lune likes them. has her eye on a number of more artistic pastimes 

criminal record:

disorders: none

eye color: a very pretty blue jfjf;a

height: pretty much the same exact height as lune tbh

scars: none

birthmarks: none

overweight: no

underweight: no

favorite color: plum/wine

favorite food: nikuman, pastries

wants to get married / is married: is married! and like lune, is also very happy with the setup laughs

gotten pregnant / had a child: no

wants a child: atm, not particularly

likes children: also like lune, she has very little experience interacting with them. at least, recently. but i can not see her Disliking children so. u know

can sing: probably

play an instrument: no

can dance: some dances, yes. i like the idea that lune is casually teaching her behind the scenes lmao

gotten tattoos:

gotten piercings: no

smoked/drank/done drugs: a. again, like all of these cats have probably had some alcohol lmao

had a broken heart: s. sort of

been in love: yes

a cuddler: next to the king, she’s probably second most amenable to being pet and held, but she’s not really the type to actively seek it out

a kisser:

scared easily: not particularly, but she’s definitely more wary than lune is

jealous easily: not too much

hot/cool tempered: definitely cool

trustworthy: generally

single: no

extroverted/introverted: definitely introverted, but she’s not awkward in most social interactions. she’s more awkward now than she used to be simply bc she’s still not entirely certain what to expect with her new position and clout

considered mean: definitely not, to the point that i headcanon those who don’t know her terribly well are sometimes surprised by how remote she can come across laughs

fears: somewhat insecure in her new position, a lot of her current fears come back to being ridiculed or making a fool of herself, damaging her reputation right off the bat so that no one will ever take her seriously, or that it will bleed into lune’s reputation, too rip

siblings: none

parents: unknown, however for this blog’s canon, she did spend some time as haru’s pet in the human world

pet(s): none. she’s still kinda baffled by the idea of cats having pets in the first place lmao

natori very hesitantly but cheerily introduces her to his goldfish and she isn’t sure what to say fjfjk;ea

yuki, to lune: i didn’t know cats could have pets lune: sure! i had a pet rabbit once yuki: yuki: what

[gothgirlmahi]

All That’s Best Chapter Five

Dark!Steve x Reader

Masterlist

Warnings: non con, dub con

Steve woke with a start, searching his surroundings. He was laid on his back, tied down to a metal examination table. Something was lodged in the side of his neck but he couldn’t maneuver to see what it was. A dim light flickered above him and from what he could see there wasn’t anything or anyone else in the room but him. The room was a little box, probably not bigger than fifteen feet in either direction with a door in front of him.

HYDRA. It had to be HYDRA. He had enemies but no one else had incentive or means to actually kidnap him from his home. The fact that he was living in the middle of nowhere surely didn’t help. He had to wonder how they bypassed his security system. There were sensors nearby the house to let him know when people approached and as far as he knew, none of them had gone off. Whatever they were doing, he was sure they were up to no good.

His thoughts immediately jumped to you. You had been in the house with him, looking terrified as he left you in the bathroom. That was all he remembered before he was out. He hoped you were okay. His entire intent had been to protect you and now you were possibly in danger because he was reckless. Because he got too comfortable. It had been stupid to think he could get his happily ever after. Wishful thinking on his part.

A clicking noise came from beyond the door. Mechanical shifting and grinding of metal. The door was opening. He was prepared for any number of scenarios. For a HYDRA agent to come in and demand information from him, torture, someone attempting to murder him...but he couldn’t have been prepared for what he saw.

In walked his girl, looking healthier than ever, holding his shield and a little remote in your hand with a black bag hanging off your shoulder. You had a bounce in your step and a happy little smile on your face. You struck a pose with his shield and laughed.

“This thing is sturdy, but it’s kind of weird how bad guys never aim at your legs.”

“Where am I?” he demanded.

“Disney World. Now say ‘ah.’” You set down his shield dug through your bag until you pulled out a thermometer. He wouldn’t open his mouth when you came close so you put it away.

“I just needed to check something.”

“Who are you?”

“I don’t know how I can make it more clear without tattooing HYDRA on my forehead. Welcome to the organization.”

Steve had shadowed you for weeks. Knew your schedule, what you liked, where you went and who you talked to. This didn’t make sense. You couldn’t have been a HYDRA agent because, for all intents and purposes, there was no HYDRA. At least not one cohesive group anymore. The Avengers made sure of that.

Furthermore, if you were a HYDRA agent at the time he met you, why were you lying half dead in one of their bases, tied to a chair? Maybe they had broken into the house and convinced you to do this. Convinced you to turn against him. He supposed you would have been easy to turn against him, considering recent events. But did you hate him enough to pledge allegiance to HYDRA? There were a million questions swirling in his mind.

“I’m not joining you.” You had welcomed him to the organization. Whether it was a petty jab or a genuine offer, he didn’t care.

You didn’t say anything, just dug around in your bag again. He heard the noise of metal sliding against something and saw you pulling out a knife. You made no move to use it and set it on the table next to him. You hardly looked at him as you spoke.

“You like rules, right? When I’m talking, that means you’re not. Rule 2, you try to escape, you get punished and I really don’t think you want me to be the one to punish you. Rule 3, you do what I tell you when I tell you. Do you understand?”

Steve didn’t say anything. His only response was a defiant glare in your direction. You nodded, taking his silence as an answer.

“Try again.” You hit a button on a remote and it sent Steve’s body into uncontrollable spasms. He was crying out in pain as the piece lodged in his neck made him seize. You hit it again and it stopped.

“Either you understand or I’m electrocuting you until you piss yourself or pass out. Your choice.”

“When I get out of here, you cunt—“

You hit the button again and this time let it go until he screamed and begged for you to stop. At least a minute or so. He swore he would follow the rules. You let it go a bit longer just to indulge yourself. The tears of pain welling in his eyes were all you needed and you stopped with a big smile.

“I’ll follow the rules.” His voice was low and hoarse from screaming and you smiled, very content with your work.

“Neat,” was all you said before picking up your knife, leaving and closing the door behind you. Steve heard some mechanical locking and some lights flashing on the other side.

He was beyond angry with you. After all he had done to protect you and care for you, here you were working for the enemy. He couldn’t even guess at what your intent was. Left alone with his thoughts, he toyed with the idea that this all could have been an elaborate set up. Did HYDRA know he would get attached to you? No, they couldn’t have possibly planned such a thing out.

Even if it was a set up to get to him, wouldn’t you have been more receptive to him? Though, he supposed he didn’t give you much of a chance before taking you from your home. He was suddenly reminded of the look on your face when you said you thought he was a better person than you.

He didn’t know why he did that to you. Any of it. Hindsight is 20/20 but he had to have known it would have blown up in his face. Life didn’t usually work out in his favor. Now he was here tied down at your mercy and you were the one with rules, wielding a knife and with very legitimate grievances against him.

No amount of analysis was making this make sense. He couldn’t reconcile you being tied up and nearly dead in a HYDRA base with you actually being a member. He also couldn’t figure out how, if you were a member, how you had correspondence with them without him noticing or, the alternative, why you weren’t having correspondence with them at all. How did they even know where to find you? Had they been specifically looking for you, or where they looking for him?

You came back later. Steve could assume an hour or so had passed. You walked through the door and it slid closed behind you.

Frustration was plain on your face.

“Contrary to what you may believe, I gather no schadenfreude from this, but I’m starting to think things happened like this for a reason,” you explained, pacing in front of the door.

“And that reason was?”

“You tell me, Steve. Why did you kidnap me?” 

“I wanted to protect you.”

You smiled at that, holding back a laugh like an inside joke with yourself. In the dim light of the room, your eyes met.

“And so you will.”

You approached the table he was on, staring him over once. You climbed on the table and straddled him, settling yourself directly on his crotch.

Steve jerked against the heat of your core against him. Your hips slid against his, slowly grinding. The two of you never broke eye contact.

Steve wished he could have his hands on your hips, guiding you against him. You were gorgeous, even in the dim lights of this awful room. Eyes still sparkling and filling him with hope. Your bodies were in sync. His hard length caressed your soaking core through the layers of clothing you all wore. Soft breaths left both of you as you ground against him. A perfect and natural rhythm until you pulled away suddenly.

Before Steve could utter any complaint, you were pulling off your pants and your underwear before sliding his own down to reveal his cock. Your hand wrapped around it, squeezing lightly and jerking him off. He threw his hand back on the table, pushing himself up into your hand as best as he could with the restraints holding him down. Your eyes were hazy and lust filled as you stared down at him.

You stopped again and adjusted so you could slide down onto him. The moan that left your throat had him wild for you. Once he was completely sheathed in you, you both cried out. He bucked his hips up and you whimpered before taking up your own rhythm against him.

The look of you on top of him was something else. A great view he couldn’t have expected in this situation. Although the whole thing was less than ideal, this had to be a perk. Another odd behavior of yours that didn’t fit in with the rest of the information he knew. But he couldn’t focus on your motives right now. He could only focus on how tight you were around him. Memorizing the look of delight on your face while you rode him.

“Oh, fuck, Steve.”

“You’re so beautiful.”

“Shut up—fuck!”

He was jerking his hips up into you at a violent pace. One of your hands slid down to your clit, rubbing against yourself fiercely.

“I hate you, I hate you so fucking much,” you whined. Steve smirked.

“You look like you’re enjoying riding my dick.”

You slapped him as hard as you could with your free hand. His head jerked back against the table but it seemed to make him all the more determined to fuck you harder. After all, that was the extent of what he could do in his current position. It was sad. He was so starved for your touch that even that felt good. Any time you chose to touch him just set his body alight.

You were close to orgasm, legs shaking and your body losing its rhythm above him. It was no matter because he was steadily pushing into from below. Slamming into that spot you needed him most while your clit was stimulated from your own touch.

He was panting, eyes rolling back as you bounced on top of him. He was close, too. A giggle left your throat.

“Are you gonna come for me? You wanna come in my pussy?”

Just your words were enough to send him over the edge. He groaned, releasing inside you and trying to pump himself deeper. You rubbed your clit quickly, getting off on how good he looked below you. Powerless. Submissive. Completely yours to control.

You came, squeezing around his oversensitive cock and moaning his name. By the time you climbed off of him, Steve’s eyes were closed and his body was relaxed. You stood near his face and caressed his cheek.

“Good boy.”

.....

Taglist: @princessdancingonthesunshine @sllooney @americasass81 @shippers-heart @villanellevi @boinkybornes @imrachellester @xoxabs88xox @momc95

Masterlist // Chapter Six

[gnarrk-the-gnome]

came from ur op sideblog to ty u for bein able to articulate my thoughts about oda's treatment of women (tashigi & kuina parallels) into actual words,, it means a lot that u took the time to write !. ik this is probably stupid but i brought up the topic of sexism in op once with friends nd they were like damn u guys always find smnth to complain abt there is literally nothin wrong go find other content and it just,, makes me sad ig BUT ANYWYAS i just am rlly glad that u made tht post tysm ILY

idk how old this ask is, sorry, but I hope you see this, anon.

Yeah; honestly I'm lucky because my younger sibling watches op with me and I have someone to complain about things with me when it gets like. Really bad.

Honestly, I had that post in my mind for a couple days before I actually wrote it a couple years back. I think I saw some comment that pissed me off enough that I sat down and wrote an entire essay in my free hour before my college class lmao. I think one piece's one of those fandoms where it kind of sucks to consume if you don't have someone to complain with because there's so many moments where there are blatant problems that make it difficult to watch/read to the point where it takes you out of the story, even. One of things I hate most about Dressrosa is that I can't take any scene with Rebecca in it seriously because of her armor; and she's in quite a lot of serious things.

Like I said in the second half of the post later, I enjoy one piece but can and should still criticize it because it's not just "finding something to complain about", it's full of problems that can make viewers genuinely uncomfortable for legitimate reasons, and I think that there are story arcs that could have been so much better if oda didn't hobble himself with insisting on being sexist tbh, including Tashigi's rivalry with Zoro. Yeah, anyway, this is a hill I'll die on, too.

[princekirijo]

You still doing headcannons? How bout Makoto or Haru?

Yeah absolutely I love doing headcanons! And I’ll happily do both.

Haru: 

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual or Lesbian.

Gender Headcanon: Cis.

A ship I have with said character: Oh I like most Haru ships but Okujima (Makoto/Haru) is definitely my favorite. I love the dynamic these two have as the senpai of the group and are kinda by default the most responsible in the group (then again that is questionable). Also I adore their showtime attack in Royal (wrestler girlfriends!).

A BROTP I have with said character: I really like the idea of  Ann/Haru! Haru is very elegant and Ann adores fashion so I feel like the two would really bond over that. Like Ann probably gives her make-up and hair tips and Haru takes her shopping to all the high end fashion places and helps her get modelling contracts.  

A NOTP I have with said character: Goro/Haru. I just don’t like the dynamic. Plus Goro is mega gay.

A random headcanon: She loves heavy metal and rock music in general. It’s her way of venting about the frustrations she has with her dad and the company (and fuckface whatever the hell her fiance’s name is).

General Opinion over said character: OK I know I’ve said this about like half the characters I’ve been asked about but I genuinely don’t talk about how much I adore her. Haru is so underrated when it comes to the Phantom Thieves. I know we all love making memes about Haru and her lack of screen-time but they are 100% justified!!! Persona 5′s writing treated her horribly, Morgana basically high jacked her arc and she was just kinda shoved to the side? And not to mention she wasn’t really given much time to grieve for her dad. Her dad was obviously an asshole and she has every reason to hate him but I still wish they had at least handled her grieveing better. She’s actually my third favorite Phantom Thief (behind Ann and Yusuke) and she’s an Empress girl which as we all know I’m a huge sucker for. And her fluffy hair is everything.

Makoto (I’m gonna assume you mean Persona 5 Makoto as opposed to Persona 3 Male Protag):

Sexuality Headcanon: Like Haru I see her as bisexual or lesbian. 

Gender Headcanon: Cis but I could get behind a non-binary!Makoto.

A ship I have with said character: OK so I spoke about Okujima in Haru’s bit so I’ll go with Makoann! I love the biker chick/model lesbian dynamic those two have going on. 

A BROTP I have with said character: I think she’d get on very well with Hifumi actually. They both have very strategic minds and I feel like Hifumi could teach her shogi and Makoto could teach her aikido.  

A NOTP I have with said character: I know I am going to get shot for this, but Shumako is the blandest thing in the history of persona ships. I’m sorry it’s just so eh. That’s the only way I can describe it.

A random headcanon: I remember in Makoto’s social link she says something about never going to the arcade or something but I feel like she’s really into fighting games. Like she plays Smash Bros and Street Fighter and stuff like that and she’s really good at them too. Not that she’d tell the others that.

General Opinion over said character: OK I have very mixed feelings about her. I will make one thing clear though: I don’t completely hate her. She is my least favorite of the Thieves but I don’t hate her as a character. I hate her writing though just because of how forced and inconsistent it is. Like one minute she’s this super strong badass kicking the crap out of bad guys and then the next she’s like this typical cute girl clinging to your leg cause uwu waifu time. And actually something else that really pisses me off is the way she’s compared to Mitsuru. Like yeah I get it they’re both student council presidents but in a way Makoto is kind of the opposite to Mitsuru. Student council presidents in general have a lot of power in anime (for some reason) but Makoto is shown to be the complete opposite to that in a way. The majority of the student body hate her (because of the whole Kamoshida thing) and they expect her to take down the mafia which she legitimately cannot do. Also while I do agree that there are aspects of their characters as similar, I just think that they are actually quite different (I dunno maybe it’s just me being petty or some shit about people comparing my favorite to one of my least favorite characters). All that being said I do like how she is caring and I adore her persona. Johanna is so cool and her awakening scene was very badass as well.

[jyndor]

more word vomit on avatar and how it frames marginalized peoples’ desire for revenge from an american, just what the world needed right now

so I have a lot of thoughts about how avatar frames vengeance and forgiveness, in particular for people who are the victims of imperial destruction. I do understand why people think that wanting revenge can make people bitter and disallow healing, and there is some validity to this. and resentment definitely can be an obstacle to healing emotional pain.

hama is a woman traumatized by the genocide of her people, by the unending cruelty of fire nation imperialism. when she develops her bloodbending skills, she feels like she is taking back some control from those who wronged not just her but her culture and civilization. but by becoming the titular puppetmaster, she is victimizing fire nation civilians who have done nothing to her.

she serves as an important foil to katara. in her conversation with zuko in crossroads of destiny, she tells him that he represents the fire nation in her mind, and she even says she is wrong to do that (which is kind of funny given that he did fuck with the gaang a LOT. she would have good reason to think of zuko’s face as being the face of an empire she hates when during a big chunk of the journey, he was the one coming after them) since her pain stems from her mother’s murder. and zuko is not the man who murdered kya.

when the gaang travels through the fire nation, katara is the first to really recognize the impact that imperialism has had on the fire nation’s own citizens. she risks sokka’s timeline and lies to the group about appa being sick just to become the painted lady and save some fire nation citizens. when these people realize that a waterbender has appropriated their sacred spirit, they are furious until sokka tells them that they can fuck off with their shit, and that they are alive to be pissed at her because katara saved them. still katara feels guilty about potentially desecrating such a culturally and spiritually important figure for these people.

when she and zuko go on their glorious ninjas of love and revenge journey to fuck up the southern raiders, katara decides to spare the life of her mother’s killer because she realizes that avenging kya is not going to bring her back or make katara feel better. she would just be killing a shitty old man who doesn’t even care about what he did.

I’ve already talked a bit about why I feel like aang’s forgiveness shit in that episode is fucking stupid and out of character, so I am not going there right now. katara explicitly didn’t forgive yon rha, but she was able to forgive zuko, and this is where I’m gonna bring hama back into this. katara forgiving zuko for the wrongs he did (specifically betraying her in the catacombs of love) makes sense because zuko worked to redeem himself and to make up for his actions. 

we don’t know a lot about what hama’s experience was like in the village or while running her inn. aang’s assumption upon hearing that people are going missing in the woods is that the villagers are doing something to make a spirit angry. and that’s interesting, because in the end we are to assume that they didn’t do anything except live as fire nation citizens in a fire nation village unlucky enough to be near hama’s inn.

her desire for justice warping into bitterness and insanity is kind of the crux of the episode. hama ends up imprisoned by the fire nation once again, and this time it’s not because she’s a waterbender standing up to fire nation imperial might, it’s because she hurt innocent people with her waterbending.

and here is where I get conflicted. those fire nation people never did anything to hama in the same way that I personally never did anything to peoples who have been harmed by american imperialism, but because I am an american citizen, and in particular a white american citizen, I have benefited from the violence done to those peoples and their cultures. and I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that those villagers probably are not against fire nation imperialism.

it doesn’t even matter since the point the writers are trying to make is that when your need for justice turns into a need for indiscriminate vengeance, you end up re-victimizing yourself above all else. I think that is an interesting message.

but that brings me to jet.

so jet is way more sympathetic than hama, and it’s not just because he’s a cutie. he is literally the leader of a guerilla group called the freedom fighters, which lol I see you and your social commentary, atla. being "freedom fighters” is how western powers have historically framed the “good” rebels in any given conflict. jet isn’t deliberately targeting innocent civilians, but he isn’t going to stop his attacks just because they might become collateral damage.

jet blurring the lines between fighting for liberation and being a terrorist is a nuanced take on the issue, especially considering when the show aired. jet is characterized by his justifiable anger at the fire nation. he has legitimate grievances, personal grievances.. the irony is that he is willing to put his own people at risk just to get back at the fire nation.

in the second season, despite genuinely wanting to change his ways, jet’s hatred of anyone who is fire nation is what gets him imprisoned and later killed... by his own people, no less. he isn’t smart about how he fights against fire nation imperialism. he loses the moral high ground when he loses sympathy for two refugees just because he thinks he sees iroh heat up his tea with firebending. forget for a moment that zuko and iroh are in fact firebenders and that iroh in particular is quite responsible for damage done to the earth kingdom. when jet decides to go after them, he still thinks of them as refugees. and despite knowing this, jet can’t accept that the fire nation has also hurt its own people in its fight for supremacy.

the story about jet isn’t necessarily dealing with forgiveness, in the same way that hama is never asked to forgive the fire nation for its crimes against her and her people. the narrative suggests that both jet and hama would have been better served if they hadn’t associated fire nation randos with the fire nation military and government. if they had just aimed their anger at the fire nation government.

which... okay, come on. like, I appreciate that I personally have not dropped bombs on weddings in iraq (which of course is itself an invention of the west), but my government is still my government, my tax dollars are my tax dollars. I’m not gonna be offended by some guy in iraq hating americans indiscriminately even though I personally object to my government’s foreign policy. my personal objections didn’t save that guy’s family. murdering american civilians to avenge murdered innocent civilians would be a bad thing, and legitimate grievances wouldn’t stop the us from probably nuking everyone at this point so like I really don’t recommend it.

but the feelings? well, I can’t argue against them because I’ll never, ever understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of american empire.

context is ALWAYS important. avatar ran in the mid 2000s, during the height of the wars in afghanistan and iraq. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a story about how imperialism harms children took off during a time when these illegal wars of aggression were becoming less and less popular in the states. it is also an american show, written by americans for an american audience. it appropriates several cultures to which the creators do not belong, and it does so lovingly and respectfully... sometimes.

centering conversations about imperialism on the forgiveness of the marginalized peoples is... kinda weird. given that a lot of the peoples that inspired different aspects of the show have been oppressed by western imperialism - the inuit people obviously inspired the southern water tribe, the sun warriors are an amalgamation of different mesoamerican civilizations, the swamp water tribe is influenced by cajun people, not to mention the massive influence drawn from chinese cultures - I think we should have seen some post-war stories in the show (fuck the comics, if you care about things enough to write extra materials, put them in the main medium of your fucking story since otherwise most people will not see them).

stories about reparations from the fire nation. stories about the ethics of removing the descendants of fire nation colonists from the earth kingdom. stories about zuko and katara searching for ursa lol I’m sorry. I think an american audience could have really benefited from those stories.

idk guys, what do you think?

[therealtsk]

TSK’s thoughts on Detective Comics#1027

alright you heccers let’s review this very mixed bag.  My general thoughts before I get into the individual stories: it’s really depressing. you’d think that the people who have been working on comics for years and writing for even longer would understand that the short-story format requires genuine emotion or ingenuity to be compelling, but only 4 people got the memo. now, the individual stories themselves:  Blowback, by Peter.J Tomasi and Brad Walker. Literally just a dramatized summary of batman’s rogues gallery. No actual story, no new insights into the characters, I would have more fun reading the wiki. 1/10.  The Master Class, by Brian Micheal Bendis and David Marquez. Art was great, dialogue was not. My girl Steph was there but not my children Duke and Cass (gee i wonder why it’s not like those two are the only ones who aren’t whitewashed.) 3/10 for the occasional good line and good art.  Many Happy Returns, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. Is this...an actually good Joker story with an ending that actually has impact? My god, I’d thought I’d never see the day. 7/10, good shit.  Rookie, by Greg Rucka and Eduado Risso. Greg Rucka reminds me why i loved Gotham Central so much, highlighting the nature of Gotham and police corruption but ending on a hopeful not that we can change the broken system. 9/10, i stan Rucka Ghost Story, by James Tynion IV and Riley Rossmo. My eyes, they bled reading this. Riley can draw well but this was not one of those times, and Tynion. Enough said. The Dick Grayson disrespect was real, too. 1/10  Fore, by Kelly Sue Deconnik and John Romita. Jr. Art was terrible, writing was awesome. Maybe my favorite one. 8/10, if only the art was better this would be the clear winner. Odyssey, by Marv Wolfman and Emanuel Luppachino. Art was great, story was meh. Only noteworthy thing it says is that nazis are bad, and it’s fucking depressing that I have to list that as a positive instead of as a given. 4/10.  Detective #26, by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham. Ugly art, ugly writing. There is legitimately no point to reading this. This story has nothing to say, no reason to exist, and it has Batman kill since Morrison still thinks that’s cool. Piss off. 0/10 Legacy, by Tom King and Walter Simonson. Fuck. This. Short. Story. Using cancer as a trapping to make the audience feel sad instead of actually earning my emotions through your writing is one of the most concieted things I’ve ever seen, and bringing Dennis O'Neil into it? Fuck you. 0/10.  As Always, by Scott Synder and Ivan Reis. IDK about you guys but I’ve always wanted to read a comic where Synder basically shouts “ISNT MY BRUCE THE BEST. ISN’T COOL HOW HE ALWAYS DEUS EX MACHINA’S OUT OF THINGS BY BUILDING COOL GADGETS. DONT YOU LOVE MY COMICS.” No? In that case, 3/10, and only for the art. I don’t like public masturbation.  Generations: Fractured, by Dan Jurgens and Kevin Nowlan. I really liked the art style shift but that was the most unsatisfying ending. 5/10. A Gift, by Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora, and Tamra Bonvillian. Oh my god, Dan Mora’s art and Tamra Bonvillian’s coloring alone makes this worth reading. Markio’s writing is solid as well- the story itself leaves a little to be desired, but all things consider it’s more well-constructed then half of the stories here. 7/10.  In Summation: Mariko, Kelly, Rucka, and Matt wrote the only stories worth a damn. The rest aren’t worth your time.   

[boy2reality]

Fine, I guess I'll just write out what I CAN remember about shapeshifting. >:( [Warning for violence, self-harm, and suicide. Pretty fucked up stuff in this one.]

The first thing I remember about 'shapeshifting' was when I was first getting used to existing in general in the pocket dimension. It was at the stage where I was getting pretty good at copying objects. I cannot for the life of me remember what even happened, but I had gotten really pissed off. I was just... Destroying one of my creations (literally just a wooden ball), when my fucking hand just turns into a fleshy, spiky mace, and I slammed the mace into the ball. My hand felt like it'd fallen asleep completely when this happened. I remember looking at my hand and freaking the hell out, waving it around, like 'get it off get it off!!!' When I stopped shaking, it was back to being a normal hand. I was real fuckin unnerved, stopped being angry real quick.

I'm trying to go sequentially, so I'll talk about the fucked up one next. I had been watching this family for a while. It was a family of three; a dad, a mom, and their son who was fairly young. The mom had some really, really bad depressive episodes, one of which involved her hurting herself in an attempt to end her life. I'm almost positive I hung around just because it was an easy meal involving no effort from me.

Thinking back on this... I don't even know why I did it. Some kind of sick boredom? But I ended up shoving the dad into the pocket dimension. I trapped him in a pit of something sticky (unsure what), and shapeshifted myself into his wife. I revealed I was holding a knife to him, and he went ape shit trying to get out of the goop. But all he could really do is look on as I raised the blade to my own throat. He howled and shrieked his wife's name as I slowly drug it across my throat, cold steel sensitive against my skin. His fear and anguish was probably the most potent I'd ever fed off of.

After I sent him back, I hung around for a little while. The poor guy was losing his mind looking for his wife (who was at work still, I think). His son approached him and he just... Embraced him for a long time. Eventually, the mom came home, and he ran up to her bawling his eyes out. I was already lethargic from being full, but just... Damn. I actually, legitimately feel bad for doing that. That guy didn't deserve that at all.

Now onto brighter things. One of the favorite things I remember doing in this life. Something that really changed how I looked at things back then.

I had one rule when it came to manipulating people for their energy: don't target kids. My morals fluctuated pretty wildly in that life, but I always had that baseline. Don't directly ruin a kid's life.

I remember I was walking around near the eveningtime on a pier. The city I was born in was a place on the ocean, and there was this nice little area with storefronts and restaurants facing it. I think I went there when I really wanted some fresh air.

There was this kid I'd see every time I was down there. Dirty clothes, messy hair, looked like he hadn't showered in weeks. I'd always see him at a pizzeria, where the chef would give him cooked pizza dough. He'd sit on a bench and eat it while watching the waves crash in.

He also happened to have one of the most... Simple, pure-sounding Compositions I'd ever heard. (The closest song I can find to it is Cat, from Minecraft). Listening to it seemed to calm me down no matter how I was feeling. I gathered all the information I needed to know from listening to it. He was an orphan. His mom died when he was young. He lived at a shitty foster home that hardly fed and bathed him.

I'd gotten pretty good at manipulating the pocket dimension at that point. I was to the point where I was able to make small towns out of things, and still keep them looking realistic. I ended up stealing a laptop at some point, and I looked at probably hundreds of images of circuses and amusement parks. I was going to give this kid a day of fun. It was my evil plan.

So, one day while he was snoozing on the park bench, I shove him in. I had a vague impression of what his mother looked like from the time I'd spent listening to him, so I shapeshifted into her, or at least something like her. As soon as he raised his head after landing in, he looked right at me, and his face went white. He just asked... "Mom?" and I extended my hand to him. I told him that the park was reserved for just us today, and that we were going to have a fun day together. He came running up to me, grabbing my hand.

I leaned a little too hard into the 'loving mother' role. I let him ride whatever rides he wanted to. Whenever he said that he wished the park had a certain ride, I smiled, and said 'well, maybe they do, and we haven't run into it yet!', and there it would be after we turned a corner. Me and that kid spent hours running around the theme park that never ended. And during those hours, I realized something.

During that time, that kid was radiating so much happiness, joy, excitement... And it made me feel the same way. I hadn't had that much fun in years. I was still focusing on siphoning energy (mostly because I HAD to, keeping the illusion of an entire theme park is hard work), and I felt so energetic. I didn't feel hungry, I didn't feel lethargic, I just... Felt great. I'd gotten so used to, so ADDICTED to making people feel fear towards me, that I'd forgotten what actually having fun felt like.

So, at the end of the day, I told the kid that it was time to go home, but I had one more place that I wanted to show him. While I was figuring out placements for rides and such, I placed the Space Needle (that huge 200 ft thing that lifts you up and drops you) on the edge of the park... So when you were at the top, you could see the whole park. I told the kid to close his eyes, and I teleported us to the very top of it. We sat down and admired the view for a little while. I was pretty proud of all the work I'd put into crafting all the stuff.

After a moment, he looked at me, and told me that he knew that I wasn't his mom. I let out a sigh, and just said, 'welp, I tried, at least.' The kid laughed at me, and we stared out over the park for a few more moments. Then he asked me if he could see what I really looked like.

I was very, very tempted to shapeshift into something terrifying... But the kid's Composition was so pure, that I knew he wasn't going to have any foul intent with what I looked like. He genuinely just wanted to know. So... I dropped the act. Let the kid see me in all my stupid pink-haired glory. He got a little wide eyed, and told me that I was the 'guy he saw on all the posters'. I kind of chuckled at him, asking if I was that famous.

He told me that he'd heard a lot of bad things about me. I could tell he was getting nervous, but I also sensed confusion. He asked me a lot of questions, mostly of why I didn't hurt him. Why I didn't scare him. There'd been a lot of reports about how I abducted people and traumatized them. I ended up breaking down pretty badly in front of this poor kid, explaining that I didn't necessarily WANT to hurt people, I was just operating off my survival instincts, and it got to my head... I don't think he understood. But he taught me a pretty valuable lesson.

After it was all said and done, I warped him back to the pier. I never contacted or went around him again. The whole encounter kept me fed for a way longer than any fear ever did. It really made me shift out of 'primal instincts hunter' mode, and helped me feel like a person again. Food wasn't the only reason to stay alive. I didn't WANT to just live day to day, wondering how I'd get my next meal. So... I changed my approach. But that's a story for another day.