#cell's ability is really cool and even he doesn't know how it works

[anonymous-dentist]

You’re writing is amazing! The post you made about the “Federation of Heros” application thing along with their “don’t forget to smile in the face of danger”

legitimately made my stomach turn a little, like these are just little kids! They shouldn’t be being put in danger-

It’s so clearly morally wrong, and the way it’s written to like show the Federation’s subtle propaganda use

Mwah 👌

But it’s made me curious, why does Forever ‘endorse’ it? Is he ignorant of what the reality of life is like for the children who enter the program? Did the Federation threaten him with losing custody of Richas? How do the reef of the Favela Five feel about Richas being in the program? Do they even know?

Oh and what happened with Richas! Like I saw the post about how Cellbit used his powers to help Richarlyson with nightmares-

Is Richarlyson an escapee from the program? Or is he still active in it?

Also does Cellbit’s power let him know what people are afraid of? Or does it just trigger the fear response based off their greatest fear without him knowing what it is?

Sorry for the long ask! These questions have been rattling around my brain. I am a huge fan of stories where the superhero society is corrupt with a side of child soldiers and your story is perfectly hitting that fix!

Okay so Forever the Mayor works a lot like canon Forever the President. He doesn't like the Federation, but he has to work with (read: for) them if he wants to stay mayor and do the good things he wants to do for the city. He's right up there with Cellbit and Bad and Max and everyone as Federation Haters, but he has to be more subtle about it, which has kinda put a big rift between him and all his friends except for Cellbit, who just gets it.

It isn't that Forever doesn't understand the dangers, but it's that he can actually monitor the program better if it's out of the FoH's hands and in his. The program won't be under their control if it's implemented in schools, it'll be under his because he's the mayor and, despite everything, the FoH can't get too involved in the public school system without running into a LOT of controversy, and he is going to use that to his advantage.

Richarlyson volunteered, too. He just wants to help :( He knows that he isn't that powerful and that he isn't that useful and that he's just a kid, but he wants to help :( If this lets him help his Pai Forever, then he'll do it no matter what!

(And his dads are all ready to pull him out and homeschool him if necessary, they are well prepared.)

And then as for Cellbit's ability, it's kinda like that! Yeah! He can find out what scares someone, but he doesn't always rely on his ability for that. He's smart, remember? He knows the general common fears of the general population, and he used to go through them one by one until one stuck and scared his victims to death- like 'the dark', 'public speaking', 'gun violence', stuff like that. Find the basic fear and amplify it by 100 until they're fucking dead, that's how he used to work. No need to use his ability to find their greatest deepest darkest fear, that'd take too long.

...But he doesn't do that anymore, of course! He's much better now!

[polliwoggers]

The design on that lore-dump is absolutely on-point, by the way. Cool and easily readable. :3 The deterioration of Dark and Heart Matters got me wondering about where Kirby fits into things...I'm assuming he's ah. Y'know. Not natural. :) (And for that matter, how's this affect Meta-Knight...?)

Thank you so much!! I did my best to keep it interesting and easy to read, so I'm super happy it came across that way! :D -- and, I'm glad you asked! i hope you don't mind me rambling for a minute here; i'm always very eager to jump at opportunities to talk about kirby lore lol. under the cut because it got kind of long.

I'll start with Meta knight because he's easier. Essentially, he is the very last of the original line of Puffballs within the primary dimension most kirby games take place in. He does not have enough Heart matter to be able to safely donate any to potential offspring -- if you yourself only have, say, an atom's worth of the stuff, you can't really donate half of it without blowing yourself up in the process. Splitting atoms and all that.

Dark Meta Knight is in a similar boat; as dimensional boundaries solidified over time, some early puffballs got caught in different dimensions and founded their own parallel lineages, of which DMK is now the final product of his own.

Galacta knight is a holdover from a previous generation of puffballs many centuries ago, and has a comparatively higher concentration of Heart matter in his body than either MK or DMK do. He is the only one who I could confidently say would be able to create an offspring without dying in the process, but that'd require freeing himself of the crystal first, which seems very unlikely.

GK is also, like, mega insane from being sealed away for an eternity outside of time, so I don't know that he'd be a great candidate for mentoring a young one, assuming the thought even crosses his mind. Regardless, GK, MK, and DMK are the only remaining true-blue puffballs out there in the galaxy.

I left it purposely vague in the post what I meant about Kirby's unnatural-ness, so that people could feel free to fill in that void with whatever origin story they prefer, whether that be an elder god's dying bid at happiness or a precocious experiment of Nightmare's gone rogue. In cases like these, the "unnatural-ness" just refers to how he doesn't have a lineage stretching back to the dawn of time like MK and the other knights, and is instead the product of something newer.

…buuuut, when it comes to what I personally like to think about Kirby's origins, that "unnatural-ness" has another aspect to it. I like to think of Kirby not as a continuation or reincarnation of Void, but moreso as a sibling to it. That is, if Void's creation of all matter is meant to represent the Big Bang, then Kirby is just that: another Big Bang, possessing infinite energy and potential. It happened spontaneously once, why shouldn't it spontaneously happen again?

The reason why this origin is extra "unnatural" is that, with infinite energy, it might be more accurate to say Kirby is made of Chaos than he is Heart matter. I have another lorepost about how Chaos works here (on the last slide), but suffice it to say that it's basically the "stem cells" of matter, and can twist itself into any matter type its wielder likes -- Dream, Dark, Heart, or Soul.

For Kirby, that has always meant embodying Heart matter, giving him the appearance and powerset of a natural puffball with a high Heart matter concentration. No outsider -- nor even Kirby himself -- would be able to recognize him as anything other than a particularly powerful puffball. Except Meta knight.

Being, effectively, the last of his kind, Meta's experience with other puffballs is quite limited; but he knows enough to suspect Kirby is more than meets the eye. There are little idiosyncrasies that just don't add up.

Kirby's demeanor, his abilities, the fact he doesn't visibly age, that he hasn't begun growing wings or horns after having been alive how long, now? -- his complete disinterest and irreverence toward puffball history, the fact he doesn't have parents, and his willingness to give everybody -- even Dark matter -- a chance. These things would be unthinkable to a "true" puffball. Everyone on the outside looking in assumes the friendly, bouncy Kirby is the "normal" one, and that Meta knight is the overly-stoic oddball, but it is very much the other way around.

When first encountering him, Meta also assumed that Kirby was just a "regular" but powerful puffball child that had somehow slipped through the cracks. However, over the years (and after Kirby's repeated victories against enemies that even MK couldn't ever hope to deal with), these small peculiarities became more and more apparent to MK, sometimes even verging on straight-up uncanny. Nowadays -- and especially after the fight with Void Termina -- Meta knight doesn't know what to think anymore.

Of course, that doesn't stop MK from respecting Kirby as a long-time friend and rival! Even as Meta slowly realized Kirby might be more than even Kirby himself thinks he is, they grew closer as friends and allies. Also, with how friendly and kind he is, Kirby's just hard to hate. They respect each other a lot, even if Kirby's "unnatural-ness" sometimes triggers an uncanny valley response in "true" puffballs.

[rootsofdread]

Autism be damned my brain can hyperfixate anyway wowowo requests >:D

Could i get reader who (before they were taken by the entity) was a professional tag player and can hide on the cellings and parkour really well? With Leon, Ghostface, Trickster romantic and platonic Legion (Any/All how you prefer)

ALSO look up professional tag on yt cuz MY LORD THEY'RE FAST AND GOOD

did actually watch a little bit and i was amazed, honestly love parkour sm and am sad it fell out of style. anyone who says parkour isn't cool is LYING

Leon S. Kennedy:

Leon feels confident having you by his side. Sure, he’s known for his cockiness, but he feels it’s warranted this time — a professional tagger could run a killer around for hours while he and the others work on generators. It’s perfect! And besides, if you end up getting caught, he always has a surplus of flashbangs ready to run and save you because you’ve bought him so much time to make them.

He gets a kick out of watching your loops from a distance, seeing you almost instantly lose a killer thanks to your prior experience. Seeing them confusedly look around for you until they decide to leave always makes his day, honestly. 

Until you decide to loop him, too, when the two of you are just running around. He laughs harder than you’ve ever heard him laugh when he realizes you’re now on top of something, or up in the ceiling.

You make trials much more tolerable for him by making him laugh with your antics, plus he appreciates your almost supernatural ability to buy him (and the other survivors) time. You aggravate the living hell out of the killers and he loves that, there's no one else he'd be more proud to call his.

Danny Johnson / The Ghostface:

Danny is endlessly amused by your shenanigans. He usually hates variables and unpredictability, but he's always been charmed by your variation and unpredictability. It makes things more exciting, more fun.

You always manage to run him around for a few generators, where he's usually aware enough to know when to leave someone alone. He just gets so caught up trying to catch you and having fun doing it, he almost forgets there's more survivors to go after. 

He tries to match your skills during chases, he's not too bad at parkouring himself. He can nearly keep up with you most of the time, narrowly missing you with his knife. It just motivates him more.

After he realizes a few generators have been completed, he then realizes he should leave you alone so he can get some work done. He'll stop and get your attention, leaving you with a cute little wave and his signature 'call me' gesture.

Ji-Woon Hak / The Trickster:

Ji-Woon is exhilarated having someone fun to chase around. Someone who he sees as a performer like himself — someone who takes pride in their talents. He loves that about you, your confidence and your talent.

You're wonderful target practice for him the way you bob and weave and jump and duck, you're nearly impossible to hit. But he tries, he's always trying to nail you and get better. When he manages to hit you, you'll hear his maniacal little giggle. You know he’s having fun.

Like Danny, Ji-Woon is pretty good at matching your movements, he’s quite acrobatic himself (probably even more so than Danny). He enjoys leaping and running around with you, chasing you all over trialgrounds, all while trying to land some knives in you.

He doesn't even particularly care if he loses matches to you, if it meant you were both having fun and honing your abilities. Practice makes perfect, after all, for him and for you, and he wouldn't want anything less than perfection.

Frank Morrison / The Legion:

Frank mostly finds it comical. He especially loves hearing you tell him about other killers you ran around and tricked into losing you, he’ll usually bring it up to them later to poke fun at them. You’re his best friend and even if you’re more modest about your talents, he’ll boast about them for you. Well, maybe boast isn’t quite the right word…Brag, more like.

He’s often astonished by your ability to completely lose him. He’ll spend a few seconds looking around for you, ducking around walls he was sure he last saw you between. Then he hears you laughing above him…High up on the dilapidated wall, curled over the edge like a cat. He cracks up.

You’re one of the few people who can outrun or simply outlast his Frenzy, and that amazes him. It’s a feat he feels he has to congratulate you on at least a few times when it happens, during a trial he’ll just give you a quick nod to acknowledge your accomplishment. But afterwards, he’ll give you a slap on the back and tell you that was great. He really has fun with you.

He loves seeing the reactions from other survivors when they witness your professional skills being put to use in the realm. Meg is the most athletic of any of them, but they’ve never seen her pull stunts like you do. Sometimes he’ll quietly watch their amazement, then when they finally realize he’s standing there, give kind of a nod in your direction, signifying he knows you and he’s proud of you.

Susie Lavoie / The Legion:

Susie finds it the most fun out of everyone, really getting a giggle (more than just one, actually) out of your antics. She loves seeing you dart and jump around like crazy to outrun her, you can hear her maniacally giggling the entire time she’s chasing you. At some points, she’s laughing too much and has to take a break. But she knows you’re hiding nearby, just out of her sight, waiting for her to kick back into gear.

Sometimes she’ll get you in a chase just to see what crazy tricks you have up your sleeve. She’ll even steer you to specific areas of realms to see what you’ll do there, how you’ll use the environment to your advantage. It’s amazing to her how you can use just about anything to dodge the swings of her knife.

She absolutely asks you to teach her some moves outside of trials. She wants to use them to impress and distract other survivors during chases, and use them to cut chase time and get to them faster. She knows you’ll be a great teacher for her, and she gets so excited to try doing some stunts of her own during trials.

If you hide up in the ceiling or on top of something tall when you’re getting chased by her, she’ll actually stop and offer you help down. She knows you can do it yourself, but you’re her friend. She holds her hand out to you and stands on her tiptoes so you can actually grab it and she can pull you down.

[thequeenofthenightgentlyweeps]

The Duwang Gang Meets The Bucci Gang 🐢🐢🐢

~ I'm taking a break from writing my fic for a while to write this idea that came up in my conversation with the sweet @mrsgiovanna yesterday. Thank you so much for giving me your blessing on this, friend 🥺🥺🥺❤❤❤

~ So, Bucci Gang meets Duwang Gang, what would happen? Let's find out! 😍😍😍❤❤❤🐢🐢🐢

~ WARNING: Vomiting and alcoholism would be mentioned. Also a bit of angst. Tread carefully.

***

The members of Bucci gang won't have to look for quality Italian food anywhere else in Morioh because we have Tonio Trussardi's! Not only would their illnesses be cured, they'd also experience the best cooked Italian food in the whole world! I can easily see Bruno Bucciarati being a regular in this restaurant. He'd definitely go back there even though he doesn't have any illnesses that needed curing. He's a huge foodie, and he'll definitely love it there! Mista and Abbacchio's first experience there wouldn't feel golden, though. Just think of all the dead skin cells that would come out of Mista's skin ( insert "eww" here ), and all the toxins that Abbacchio would barf up due to years of his alcoholism ( would the Pistols shed dry skin, too? No one knows ). Fugo and Narancia would both jump on the first signs of Pearl Jam's effects, but they'll warm up once Tonio explains his Stand's abilities, and would even "dare" to try the unique Tonio Trussardi experience. They might even enjoy it.

Giorno, on the other hand, would very much prefer Tomoko's cooking. Yes, he finds Tonio's cooking as superb, but we must admit, nothing's better than a home cooked meal made by a loving mother. Passione's young Don is touch and love starved. He grew up not experiencing love from his mother and his step dad, and he would find Tomoko's tender motherly loving care as the best thing there is in Morioh. If Josuke wouldn't mind it, Giorno would definitely be a regular visitor in his house just for it. Of course, as a wealthy Don, he returns the favor and more.

Would Tomoko sense the "Joestar" in Giorno ( because Joseph )? Yiep. Just remember what happened when she first met Jotaro. And Giorno is supposed to look like Jotaro, as observed by Koichi.

You might even say that Giorno would feel a bit jealous ( only a tiny bit ) of Josuke for having such a loving family and a warm home. But, of course, he doesn't let anyone know about this.

Trish and Yukako would definitely bond over at Aya's. Aya would find a perfect model in Trish, and she'll absolutely offer her best services for the Italian pop star. The girls would also go out shopping and have coffee together, talking about, well, boys ( Koichi? And Mista, maybe? ) and how insensitive they are most of the time with their feelings and needs.

Narancia and Josuke would definitely bond over video games! ( A special thanks to @mrsgiovanna for this one, this is her lovely idea ) Tomoko would still kick Josuke for not doing his homework first, though. This is where Fugo comes in. He offers to help Josuke with his school work, and Josuke agrees. Although, Fugo would surely find it weird that he's now teaching not one, not two, but three students all at the same time.

Three, because, remember, Okuyasu is a regular at Josuke's house. Oi, Josuke, who is this foreign visitor you have? Is he your new tutor? Needless to say, we must hide all utensils within Fugo's eyesight and pray that he won't lose patience when he teaches Okuyasu.

Speaking of Okuyasu, he finds the Bucci gang really cool and fascinating. From the moment he finds out about the benefits of being a Passione member, he would immediately ask either Giorno or Bucciarati to let him on the gang.

Frankly, Josuke may also be tempted to join. However, he could never leave Tomoko behind.

Jotaro and Giorno would have lots of things to discuss. Jotaro would explain the endeavors of the Speedwagon foundation over the years, and Giorno would tell him all about Passione's philanthropic works. Imagine what Speedwagon Foundation and Passione would achieve together. They would also talk about their Joestar connections, of course.

I'm not sure whether Jotaro would open up to Giorno about the cause of DIO's death, though,...

Josuke would feel squeamish at the sight of Coco Jumbo, of course. But, the moment he finds out that it's Polnareff, a ghost trapped in the body of a Turtle with a very neat Stand, he might be tempted to check it out for himself. He then ends up using Mr. President's abilities very often just to escape Rohan's fury,...

And speaking of Polnareff, imagine what his reunion with Jotaro would be like. I think it's best for us to have some tissues ready,...

Josuke would find it so weird that Giorno is sort of his ancestor. His grandpa to be exact. But, Josuke would surely find Giorno's unique way of styling his hair as admirable and manly.

Bucciarati would lend his hand on taking care of Shizuka Joestar! Joseph is too old, and wouldn't be able to handle Shizuka's powers all by himself. Bucciarati's parental instincts would kick in and he'll definitely understand Shizuka's feelings and abilities almost immediately! Shizuka's tantrums would lessen, and oh boy, she'll be spoiled rotten. Think of having a Mafia dad. Yeah.

Bucciarati may already be planning a double birthday celebration for himself and for Joseph.

And where is Rohan in all this? Of course, he'll be in the shadows, carefully observing each member of the Bucci Gang. Would even illustrate them and their Stand abilities and include them in his manga. Would also consider reading them using Heaven's Door, but Gold Experience Requiem says no. It would take a whole lot of convincing on Koichi's part for Giorno to free Rohan from his endless loop of trying to read him in the first place. The misunderstanding would be solved, though, and Mista and Narancia would even consider being read by Rohan sensei. Abbacchio and Fugo would still refuse, however. Giorno is neutral in all this, and Bucciarati would try to avoid Rohan while still being decent about this. Trish would say no, of course.

Diavolo, meanwhile, may still be after our heroes if he's still alive in this AU. If that happens, Reimi Sugimoto would lend a hand! Literally. She would lead Diavolo there on that street, and let the hands of justice ( or hell ) do the job.

And that is another Diavolo death for all of you.

***

Honestly, I could think of many more scenarios for this one, but I'll have to cut this for now 😅😅😅😁😁😁

Thank you so much for reading! 😁😁😁❤❤❤

[hinderr]

Listen, I've read the last chapter and I want to say so much… First of all, it's insanely emotional. I really read with bated breath. I have so many emotions and thoughts about the ending right now, it's not what I expected, but it's insanely logical for this job. Gideon, as people in my country say, "what he fought for, he ran into."

It is interesting to watch how Grogu releases his attachment to him over the years - and at the same time how much he looks like him in places, it's creepy. This manipulativeness and the ability to make a naive, unhappy look in order to get your own - this is not from Din and not from birth. I'm really interested now to wait for the Nurture someday to understand how all this will reflect even more time later. And I still find it valuable that in past charter everyone - Din and the others - accepted Grogu's right to LOVE Gideon. Regardless of whether would he continued to feel it all his life or not, it was extremely important at that moment and, I think, it is important now. Because Grogu can now understand that even if he is not on the "right" road and feels "strange" feelings, he is still loved. Whether the situation changes or not is a matter of less importance. This is very important knowledge regardless of the present point.

By the way, Gideon's reaction to the meeting is interesting. He throws mockery at the fact that Grogu still cares, but he too does not behave like a person who does not care. It would seem - you never loved this child, five years have passed, what difference does it make that he is happy with another person? But no, Gideon behaves like… painfully attached, when it seems like he doesn't really need it himself, but you can't give it to another either. It’s hard to explain, but I really didn’t get the impression that he didn’t give a damn about all this long history.

Also, I don't think that's what you meant, but at some point I had a thought… what if Gideon purposely ran into a gunshot? It is clear that at first he was angry and really perplexed, but at some point … I thought so because it must be extremely difficult for a person of this kind to live in a prison cell. He has no power, no purpose, no Empire, for which he fought, in general, quite sincerely, regardless of methods. He is nobody and nothing. And he's smart enough to be fully aware of it. What if at some point he saw that Grogu was sufficiently angry with him and he had a weapon with him - and decided to take advantage of the situation. But that's just my thoughts.

I do not know what to say. This is probably one of the first works not in my native language that so captivated me and that I read in the process, looking forward to each chapter. Because the languages we speak are different, but the theme is international. The whole work is very … reliable, and sometimes the emotions from reading were such that I morally departed from the new chapter couple of days. This is something unique and beautiful, although it tells about terrible and sad events. I love each of the characters. Wren is not a canon character, usually I don’t perceive OC at all, but with you he is so alive and real that he looks … native. He doesn't stand out from others in a bad way. His character, personality, motives and feelings are all so believable, he's beautifully written.

Thank you. It was cool)

This is so so undeniably sweet and so so thoughtful and god I am so, so happy you enjoyed the finale (I'll be honest, your reactions was one of those I was anticipating the most!) And I'm glad you were willing to look past the language barrier to read my silly story! It means the world to me, and I can't possibly express just how much I've appreciated your support - every ask and reply and interaction makes me so so happy!!

There's a bit of Gideon in Grogu, but there's a bit of Grogu in Gideon as well. You're absolutely right that Gideon got just a tiny bit attached, in the most messed up way possible. He hated the fact that his Asset saw another person as his father, and that 'he was a better buir than (he'll) ever be', even though he hated it when Grogu called him father too. What you said about not needing something but not letting anyone else have it is exactly on point, and I'm so so happy you got that

And I'm so happy you liked Wren Farvo too! He was a plot device at first, but I've grown to genuinely love and adore him. He means the world to me and I'm so happy you liked meeting him (I probably won't be able to resist slipping him into some of my other works as a side character. Just to carry him along as we go)

Again thank you so so much! I'm happy you've enjoyed it, and I'm happy to have made you happy <33

[yeetspace]

Okay so let's actually get the Saiyans

Vegeta and sadala are nitrogen planets they're right atmosphere is almost entirely nitrogen, the amount of oxygen we have that's how much nitrogen they have

In the way that we are apes, as in tailless primates, they're monkeys, tailed primates, and they don't sweat. Or at least it is extremely hard for them to get to a point in which they start sweating.

Further kind of breaking down that idea earlier on I mentioned of S cells being oils, the way that the saying cool thing works, is that they also kind of produce that whole sweat-like material, but it's much more oily. This is what we would call S cells, being a fairly inert oil-like material that is used to cool their bodies in times in which their bodies are actively being ravaged by the given circumstances that have led them to even be sweating in the first place

The idea is that basically, they are hyper aggressive when they get to a point of being aggressive. Like with regular primates here, they're not going to go out of their way to be malicious most of the time, but once they've gotten to the point of wanting to do violence on something it's going to keep happening until the thing is completely gone. But basically, this oil also explains how it is they're able to make these blasts of fire, which are almost like separate from the ki blasts.

I have a theory, that the burning attack that trunks does which is like the flitting of the hands around, and Vegeta's burning shot, are both genetic features, they are pyrokinetic abilities, not key blasts. They are so far disconnected from the way that keep Western normally displayed and portrayed that it just doesn't really make sense for it to be anything other than some kind of innate feature, especially given that it's father and son doing two separate but similar things.

Further along these lines, I imagine that they're capable of doing this in this speculative evolution timeline, for trunks because, alongside being half Saiyan, meaning he has oxygen naturally in his body meaning he's more capable of actively using those oils like pyrokinetic abilities, though it's more like just a skunk spray that happens to be extremely potently flammable to most things except the creature is coming off of.

So basically imagine the sayings are oily skunk versions of the most recent depiction of apes and monkeys in planet of the apes most recent movie.

The idea also being with Super Saiyan Is that these forms are only achieved, in legend on other circumstances before being achieved on every planet other than planet Vegeta, as it is gone entirely. I believe the reason it became a legend is because the previous planet we know the Saiyans came from before Vegeta, was more oxygenated, similar to our planet where it's an oxygen nitrogen combination, an additional reason as to why the Saiyans would be safe to breed here, with the hiccup of Goku going off of the planet after being acclimated to strictly I a nitrogen oxygen combination when he went to Namek causing the heart virus in my mind.

So Super Saiyan is something that's achieved because the sayings are literally catching fire the same way potassium catches fire and water. Not the same chemical reaction literally but in terms of reactivity, that sweat that is only activated when their hormones go absolutely fucking buckwild in like life or death scenarios or extreme emotional distress, they literally light on fire. It just so happens that that fire doesn't hurt them, it's more of a plasma than anything actually, but still it is just this literal glowing plasma just wafting off of them essentially.

What if I just like make redesigns of characters from Dragon Ball but with more inherent mythological connections?

Like it'd be pretty cool to have an entire race of characters be effectively pyrokinetic battle boner bonobos ye?

I can just go absolutely fucking ham with the anthropology and the speculative genetics

Like the whole thing of S cells being a naturally occurring thing in the world, and humans and seemingly just "things on earth" specifically have the ability to transform, it's just they don't have the active prerequisite to do so.

It's like having an appendix. because like it's there, but you don't have the things anymore that make that thing do anything so it's effectively useless. At least until introduced to a completely foreign concept you would never consider being something that needed to be worked with, ie s cells.

We do have a concept that the S cells just weren't a thing until the saiyans showed up, possibly all the way back at Goku's pod. Like some "protozoa on meteor that crash landed on Earth back when there wasn't any conscious life" kind of adding to the gene pool

So these ants get S cells and can transform, just like we see humans becoming increasingly stronger hybrids the more they have kids with saiyans, more introduction to a material, whatever chemically makes up an S cell, then introduce it to a system that can actually properly utilize it that had, which through means that I'm researching now I think, cuz other people who have more information than anything, giant grade ape forms were a curse from the demon realm

Hence the pointy ears despite Saiyans having rounded ears and the uncontrollability. Saiyans are just that fucking stubborn they found a way to anyway.

[caffeine-and-melatonin]

✨Bad Batch E14 Spoilers✨

Sooooo I'm about to say a whole lot of not very polite words......

AHHHHHHHHHH HOLY SHIT Y'ALL AHHHHHHHHHH

Let's have a look at my brain melting during this episode (there's a lot oops):

- Commando armor? Slicked back hair? HOLY FUCK GREGOR OMG THE BOY!!!!! WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE THE BOY!!!!!! (wait hold up does this mean we might see Wolffe too? Not asking for a friend I'm asking for me)

- Eek this is giving me very much "Ahsoka being hunted by Trandoshans" vibes

- Hunter doing knife tricks....that's...well....AHHHHH

- Omg Omega trying to copy the little knife spins is so cute

- REX!!! HIM!!! MY FIRST LOVE!!! HE'S BACK AGAIN!!! YAY!!! Sweetheart that poncho is fantastic!

- Is he ok? IS REX OK??? WHY IS HE RUNNING???

- Here's the thing I love Gregor but like they were a bit too quick to go after him and they still haven't talked about Cross soooooo hmmm

- Ok I have a feeling we are gonna get some Echo character development in this episode. The way Echo looked at Hunter was what got him to cave in and agree to go rescue Gregor. He knows it's the right thing to do and it's so interesting to me that Echo seems to have the strongest sense of moral obligation (aside from Omega). I have a feeling like this might clash with Hunter being the leader and honestly I wanna see how they handle that as a team.

- Nothing would bring me more joy than to absolutely DECK Rampart on behalf of Cross, Howzer, and Eleni Syndulla

- speaking of cross....CROSS!!! YOU'RE HERE!!!

- Wait hold up are they leaving Kamino?

- Also what happens to all the cadets? Like they're little kids...I'm scared

- Ok imma have to go on a whole rant/info dump about Kaminoan history and society later so y'all have that to look forward to in the morning

- Awwww Echo talking about Rex makes me want to cry. He looks up to his older brother so much and it's honestly so sweet

- Hunter using his special abilities? Hunter using his special abilities!

- Omg its just gonna be Hunter, Tech, and Echo?! TECH AND ECHO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT???

- Look at those boys go! Climbing up a whole ass mountain while I look at a flight of stairs and go "ewww why"

-Ok is it just me or does the whole bottomless pit style base with a lot of red accents gives off Empire but make it First Order Aesthetic...? Just me?

- Tech's eyes are just so ✨p r e t t y✨. That's all.

- STORMTROOPERS? ALREADY?

- OMG ECHO BRINGING UP SKAKO MINOR! AND THEN TALKING ABOUT HOW IF SOMEONE IS BEING HELD AGAINST THEIR WILL THEY HAVE TO GET THEM OUT! DID YOU SEE HUNTER'S REACTION???? EVEN WITHOUT SEEING HIS FACE YOU KNOW HE'S GOTTA BE THINKING ABOUT CROSS!!! LOOK AT HIS BODY LANGUAGE!!! AHHHHHHH

- "i'm thinkin'." whispers Wrecker mindfully.

- I don't know what it is, but i just love this shot:

- Concept: into the spiderverse but it's just clones jumping off elevators and somehow gracefully free climbing on the walls

- Commando armor is just soooooo cool!!!! Like seriously! Also the TK trooper armor is....interesting

- AHHHHHH GREGOR'S LITTLE VOICE CRACKS!!! HE'S ADORABLE!!!

- "That's CAPTAIN traitor."

- Gregor really do be out here holding up the standard that you have to be a special kind of pretty to be a Captain in the GAR

- Also can we talk about how absolutely jacked Gregor's arms are? Like sir no wonder you aren't wearing any armor on your arms! How would fit! Damn dude

- I miss 99 so much

- Boys using stun rounds. No (intentional) unalives. Good for them.

- Echo and Tech working together and having each other's backs makes me beyond happy

- SASSY TECH AND SASSY GREGOR

- Tech really does yell in all lower case doesn't he?

- NO GREGOR! DAMMIT DAVE STOP SHOOTING THE BOY!

-When I tell you I thought Tech was gonna get shot too.... my god I don't think I would be able to handle that in any capacity

- SPOILER WARNING FOR REBELS: Gregor talking about surviving getting shot hurts me. This hurts my feelings. It hurts my feelings a lot.

- Ok but Tech casually blowing up that air vent grate thing was hot. No I will not elaborate.

- also...ECHO FUCKING YEETED ALL THREE OF THEM AND THEN HIMSELF LIKE AT LEAST 10 FT IN THE AIR!

- Echo carrying Gregor through the air ducts reminds me so much of Rex carrying him on Sako Minor

- WAIT HOLY SHIT OMEGA IS FLYING THE SHIP BY HERSELF!!! LOOK AT HER GO!!! Tech has to be so proud of her. I just know he is.

- Gonky helping + increased theme music = ahhhhhhh yay!

- TECH BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE FUCKING SEXY FLIGHT MANEUVERS!!!!!!! My stars I love that man. I'm speechless. It's like almost 4am and I legitimately screeched

- Tech: *flying like a badass* Gregor: bitch what are you doing this is not the time nor place for this shit

- FUCK NOOOOOOO HUNTER!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

- GONKY!!! AHHHHH

- How tf is Hunter still alive??? Like I'm not complaining but still

- HOLY FUCKING SHIT NOOOOO THIS IS NOT OK!!!!! OMEGA'S VOICE AND SHEER PANIC BREAKS MY HEART!!! TECH'S LOOK OF HOPELESSNESS!!!! AND HUNTER SOUNDING ABSOLUTELY DEFEATED!!!! FUCK I CAN'T HANDLE THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!

- Yo on top of all that Lama Su just got straight up unalived

-hunter in a jail cell......................CROSSHAIR

- Ok but until the very last second, that was the least scrunched up face I have ever seen Cross make. Like you too have lovely eyes it's a shame you're so grouchy all the time. ANYWAY thoughts on that face because my brain is very full rn

FINAL THOUGHTS

- I just love clones more than life itself. Look at the boys go. I love them. I wanna give them all hugs (in regards to Tech…I will not kiss and tell).

- Gregor has and always will be so precious. Love that quirky boy so much.

- WTF IS GOING ON WITH REX??????? I NEED ANSWERS!!!!!!!

- Echo played such a major role in this episode and honestly I'm so glad. I still think there is so much more room to grow his character, but at least it's something.

- Gonky being that bitch this episode 👑

- Not sure if you've noticed, but my soul is no longer attached to my physical form. Tech has it. Tech owns my soul. I am more than ok with this.

- The last 5 minutes really just did that didn't it? Like jeez bro that was a lot

- Cross? Breaks? Hunter? Out? And? They? Both? Escape? After? Having? An? Emotional? Reconciling? PLEASE???????????

Overall, while I did really like the Ryloth episodes, I honestly think this might be my new favorite episode.

The episode itself was well paced

The stakes felt rather high

Fantastic action

Echo played a main part in the storyline

Contributed to not only the plot of the show but added context for how Gregor and Rex meet up

Tech flying and looking hot while doing it...that's very important to the overall ranking

It was engaging and intense with one hell of a cliffhanger at the end

So yeah I really liked this episode! I'm super excited to see what happens next (omg there's only two episodes left oh no scary)!

[winter-turtle]

House Of Wolves - Chapter 1 - Winterturtle - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

Peter Parker has been raised towards villainy by his parents for all his life. After a mission gone wrong, he is captured by the Avengers.

Tony Stark is a mechanic. He fixes things and now he's determined to fix this teenager that doesn't know any better.

The problem? Tony is a walking disaster when it comes to emotions. Another problem? He has only two weeks to succeed before Peter is taken away by Shield.

@multiverse-irondad-july

Chapter 1: Tipping The Scales

“Okay, how about this one – Elliot? No? Then… Lucas?”

Peter kept his face perfectly blank, the cool mask not giving anything away. He glanced at his hands shackled to the table, then around the dull grey interrogation room. Everything was grey – this room, his cell, even his clothes!

Why grey? It was just shitty black. He missed his black costume.

“Hmm, what about Thomas? You kinda look like you could be Tom.”

The name reading has been going on for days and it was slowly but steadily eating away at Peter’s nerves. When no one was interrogating him for information – which he would never willingly give away anyway – Barton sat down opposite of him and kept reading from various lists in an attempt to figure out his name. Of course, his name’s been already read several times, but as always, he didn’t react.

“Nathaniel?”

Oh God, if he wasn’t chained to that stupid table, he would’ve hit the man with something long time ago just to shut him up! Where the hell were his parents?

“Remember your training.”

That’s what they’d told him as they retreated and flew away to safety when it was clear there was no chance of winning. So Peter remembered his training – say nothing and stall for time until help arrives.

“We’ll come back for you.”

That was two weeks ago.

He was left to fend for himself against the Avengers. Seriously, Peter knew better than to question his parents’ decisions, but what were they thinking, attacking the Compound like that? Neither of his parents bothered to tell him why they were there in the first place.

“Just do as you’re told.”

It didn’t mean that he went down quietly. In the end, it took two super soldiers, two men in armor and one ex-assassin pressing on his pressure points to stop his trashing and hold him down.

“Kama- what the hell is this name? Kamakanaalohamailkalani?“

Peter couldn’t help himself but raise one eyebrow at that, giving the man his best are-you-stupid? look.

“Yeah, that probably is not it either,” the archer sighed. “But come on, boy, work with me here!”

Ah, yes. That’s what he’s been called ever since he got here. “Boy” or “kid” as Stark liked to call him. But what was he supposed to do? Say – yes, my name is Peter Parker, my parents are Richard and Mary Parker and we’re a family of villains. Would you like their phone number and an address where you can find them? Well, not like they had any permanent residence, but still. For all he knew, his parents could be anywhere.

Anywhere but here, busting him out of this place.

“You know, this would be a lot easier for all of us if you just told us your name.”

Peter kept staring. He was told he had very expressive face, hence why he wore full-face mask, so he took pride in managing to remain impassive for so long.

Barton rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, sighing. “I guess we’re not getting anywhere today too, huh?”

“This is the first smart thing you’ve said today.”

“Oh, so now you talk.”

Peter merely shrugged in response.

Don’t take him wrong, he did talk… occasionally. He just talked without saying anything important. Just empty words meant to get some form of reaction out of the group of heroes. And once they snapped… well, Peter could take it. He was trained.

The silence dragged on. It was Barton that broke it once again with another tired sigh. “Fine, let’s wrap this up.”

Besides slight rise of the corner of his lips, Peter didn’t show any other sign of satisfaction. They were getting tired, he knew. But on the other hand, the whole thing was wearing him down too. Even if not by much, there was more freedom back “home”. The thing he missed the most were-

Peter’s sense tingled.

The door opened and in walked Iron Man and Captain America. His entourage for today.

“You know the drill,” Stark said.

Peter knew the drill, he was good at following orders, but there was that look again. That stupid look on Stark’s face he couldn’t decipher even if his life depended on it.

He stood up. Three. Two. One. Stark pressed the button on his watch and the shackles fell from Peter’s wrists, granting him short-lived, though not complete relief. Invisible force pulled his arms behind his back, the ever-present bracelets on his wrists that he hated with his very being clicking together.

Yeah, the thing Peter missed the most were his powers. He’s had them since he could remember, so they were basically his second nature, yet these stupid bracelets somehow dampened them enough to reduce him to normal-powered teenager.

His stickiness was completely gone. His strength and physical abilities were rendered to that of any other regular fourteen-year-old. Well, at least his senses remained unchanged.

“Let’s go,” Rogers jerked his head towards the door. Peter moved and the three men got into the formation around him. Barton in front of him, Stark and Rogers behind him.

He didn’t really understand the necessity of three people escorting him to his cell. If he were to guess, he would say that they were trying to show him who’s in power here, which was pretty useless tactic in his opinion. It’s not like he could do anything with most of his strength gone.

Which was mostly his own fault anyway. He’d gotten impatient on his third day here and now he had to deal with consequences.

They just wrapped up another unsuccessful round of interrogation and were leading him to the cell, Rhodes and Wilson on the duty. Peter, confident in his memory of the place, decided to make a break for it.

He’d let them think that the handcuffs they slapped on him were strong enough to contain him. Peter glanced around, took a note of a position of the two men with him, as well as another two people that were in the room at the end of the long hallway.

It was now or never.

Out of his suit, Rhodes was definitely the weaker one because of his legs, which made him easier to deal with. Peter squashed down the feeling of guilt. He knew the man’s condition wasn’t his fault and honestly, it was impressive that he continued doing the hero work, but the young villain had to do what he had to do.

Explore any weakness. Show no mercy.

Exactly how he was taught.

Neither man had time to react as Peter spun to the left and hit Wilson strong enough to make him hit the wall, snapping the cuffs in the process. Rhodes had split second to react. It still wasn’t enough and Peter, though he would never admit it, hit him just enough to make him fall. Wasting no time, he took off running.

“Friday, sound alarm!” Peter heard Rhodes shout and sure enough, the alarm started to blare two seconds later.

He had to be fast.

The stairs leading to the exit came in view. So did another two people, blocking his path. Rogers and Romanov. It was easy to deduct by the body language that neither side would back down.

The fight was on.

Kicks and punches were traded and with the adrenaline coursing through Peter’s veins, he somehow managed to slip past the two. So close now-

“Out of the way, you two!”

Peter heard something click and the next thing he knew, he was curled on the ground at the base of the stairs, eyes squeezed shut and clutching his head in agony. He felt like he was submerged deep in the water and the only sound that reached him clearly was high-pitched ringing.

Someone was grunting and panting. Then he realized it was him.

Peter was vaguely aware of people approaching towards him as well as someone new running into the hallway. Then there were hands around his wrists, pulling them away from his head. Peter could’ve sworn that the next sound that left his mouth was a whimper. He curled into even tighter ball.

He really hoped he wasn’t crying too.

The hands let him go. “His ears are bleeding.” Even this up close, Peter could just barely make out Captain America’s voice.

There was more indistinguishable conversation around him and the last thing Peter remembered before passing out from pain – a blessing in disguise – was the sensation of cold bracelets clicking shut around his wrists.

And he’s worn those since.

Peter walked through the door of his cell. As much as he hated to admit it, all he could actually do now was to sit on his ass and wait for the rescue. Fighting them in his current state and with the stupid but amazing ceiling computer watching his every move would yield no results. The only time he fought them was when they didn’t respect his personal space and put their hands on his shoulders or back when they escorted him.

Thankfully, they’ve learned not to touch him quite quickly.

Peter stood in the middle of the cell, his back facing the trio of Avengers. His hands fell to his sides as the release button was pressed. Peter still didn’t turn around nor said anything. Two pairs of footsteps began to make the retreat. One stayed in place for five more seconds, then the door closed. That always happened only when Stark was with the group.

Interesting.

His eyes, more out of habit that anything else, roamed over the cell. Besides the cot built into the wall, the room consisted of a “bathroom” that was just a toilet, a shower and a sink hidden by a wall, a table with short bench bolted to the ground and a camera in top left corner.

His dinner, served on a paper plate as always, sat on the table, waiting for him. Peter sighed. There were only so many sandwiches one could eat before going crazy and Peter felt like he was reaching that point.

There was nothing for him to use. Perfect place to contain enhanced villain like him.

So, saving the food for later and with nothing better to do, Peter laid down on the cot, stared at the ceiling above him and waited.

For what?

He had no idea.

The kid – God, he was just a kid – looked at him with curiosity sparking behind those big brown eyes as Tony was making himself as comfortable as he could in the uncomfortable chair.

Time to commerce the plan.

As expected, the kid said nothing. And according to the plan, neither did Tony. Instead, he pulled out his Starkpad and directed all of his attention to the screen.

At least that was what it seemed like.

“Let me go to him next,” Tony had said on that morning. At his teammates’ inquiries about the reason, Tony merely shrugged. “We’ll never know until we try.”

Tony half-heartedly scrolled through various documents and the kid looked around the room every so often before returning his gaze to Tony. It felt like the teen was studying him.

The time he’s spent in the interrogation room hit fifteen-minute mark when Tony noticed the kid slightly shift in his seat. Twenty minutes and the kid shifted again. This was new development. Sure, when Tony’s watched older footage, the kid shifted every so often, but not in such a short span of time.

Twenty-five minutes and the kid released long, soft exhale through his nose. Tony was slowly getting where he wanted. Still, he kept scrolling.

Thirty minutes passed and this time the exhale was a bit louder. The shift was bigger too. Tony glanced up at the kid from underneath his lashes, then he returned his gaze to the device.

Throughout another thirty minutes, the kid grew more and more agitated, shifting in his seat almost every minute. He played with his fingers, soundlessly bounced his right leg, his jaw began to move as if he wanted to speak.

Which he will. Eventually.

“Aren’t you gonna say something?”

Bingo.

One hour and fifteen minutes. Huh. Not great, not terrible. “Why should I? Do you feel talkative? I’ve heard you didn’t say much in the past three weeks,” he said without looking up.

The kid pressed his mouth into thin line, clenched his jaw and scowled.

Baby steps but hey! It was progress.

“This is annoying,” the kid muttered.

“How so?” He knew very well why. Contrary to popular belief, he knew exactly what he was doing. Well… this time, at least.

“Why are you here?”

The pauses between speaking shortened. Tony shrugged. The kid scoffed.

“I can imagine someone like you surely has something more important to do than to sit here with me and waste time.”

“And you are correct,” Tony replied. He looked up, smiling, “but hanging out with you in this lovely room gives me perfect excuse to not do any actual work. So, thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”

The kid’s frown grew.

“Oh my God, just get on with it!” the kid shouted, the movement of his shoulders and the clang of the chains indicating that he wanted to throw his arms up in frustration.

Tony ignored him, which fueled the kid’s frustration more. Good. Frustration led to anger, and angry person is more likely to spill something without thinking.

“Why don’t you just get Black Widow down here if you’re not going to ask anything? You clearly have no idea what to do. She will know, she was an assassin after all. Still doesn’t mean her methods will work though.”

Now this got Tony’s attention. “What do you mean?” he asked as he set the Starkpad down on the table.

And there was the kid, scoffing again. He sure did that a lot. It was… actually kinda nice to see that there was a normal teenage attitude underneath that villain layer. “Come on, do you think I don’t know how this works? You’ll keep trying to make me talk, nicely first, but you’ll get tired of it eventually,” the kid leaned forward, his voice lowering with the next words. “And that’s when you go for different approach to get what you want.”

Tony’s brain screeched to halt. There was no time to school his expression back into neutral one fast enough; the kid already noticed, pleased smile spreading across his face. Like he just got it confirmed that he was right.

“What?” Tony managed to somehow say out loud, the task of forcing out the single word around the lump in his throat nearly impossible.

The kid rolled his eyes and leaned back into the chair. “Don’t play dumb.”

“No, seriously, I think I just misheard you.” This time, it was Tony’s turn to lean forward as he tapped his ear. “Because that sounded like an implication that we’re about to torture you for information.”

“And you won’t?” the kid asked, obviously not believing him.

“No! Geez, we’re heroes. We don’t do shit like that!”

“Everyone gets tired of the nice act over time. It’s practically human nature. You might as well get on with it,” he said matter-of-factly, waving his hand as much as the chain would allow. “It won’t work anyway. I’m trained.”

The way the kid seemed to treat it like some everyday annoyance made Tony sick to his stomach. Just what kind of environment did he grew up in? Tony could imagine only one way how one could be taught how to resist physical torture.

“Okay, hold on. Let me get this straight – you’re saying that you’re trained to resist torture.”

“Yes.”

“I assume your parents trained you?”

The boy in front of him smirked. Nobody should look that proud about something like that. “Kid… that’s called abuse,” Tony said carefully.

“Jesus Christ, Tones, what the hell did you hit him with?”

“I- just a sonic blast. I had no idea he would react like this. It was supposed to daze him, not make him bleed.”

Now it all made sense. The kid was clearly in incredible pain from the sonic blast, and yet he barely made a sound. No screaming in agony, just choked grunting and panting.

Tony’s had his fair share of torture. First in Afghanistan, then when he returned and his arc reactor was ripped from his chest and then several times he’s been captured since the beginning of his hero career. That didn’t mean he was used to it. And this kid had it done to him by his own parents.

The thought of Obadiah, someone he trusted, torturing him directly while saying it was for his own good was enough to cause his anxiety rise.

Dread began to seep into his body with a sudden yet simple realization; Tony’s been hurt so much, been through so much, it was a wonder he didn’t turn to villainy. He had the perfect set up. It would have been so simple to choose to do harm with his tech instead of good.

For a moment, he saw himself sitting in the kid’s place.

The two of them were so similar, yet so different.

“Abuse?” The kid snorted. “Yeah, right. Me. Abused.”

Tony sighed. “Kid, I don’t know what kind of life you’ve been living, but hurting their own children is not something normal parents do. At least the loving ones.”

That statement set off an unforeseen reaction. The kid puffed out his chest, anger dusting his cheeks with red. “They care about me,” he hissed, “and they’ll come for me any day now.”

“Same as they came for you in the past three weeks?” Tony snapped without meaning to.

The kid didn’t have an answer to that. Instead, he glared down at the table. The sight sent a painful pang into Tony’s heart.

“I believe it’s been enough for today,” he said, the softness in his voice surprising him. “Come on.”

Surprises kept on coming because the kid went without any resistance. Tony half hoped that since he didn’t call anybody to help escort the young villain, but there was none. The kid kept his head down, unreadable expression on his face all the way until they got to the cell. Then he just stood in the middle of the room without doing anything.

Tony turned to leave.

“Peter.”

The word – spoken so silently Tony would have thought he had imagined it – made him stop just before he could fully close the door. “Come again?”

“Peter,” the kid said louder, still not facing him.

“Peter…” Tony repeated, drawling the word in clear way that he was waiting for more. For a moment, he expected the kid to remain silent, that he already said enough, but then-

“Parker.”

Tony smiled softly at the kid’s back. “Nice to meet you, Peter Parker.” This time the kid, Peter, didn’t reply. Tony took it as a cue to leave. “See you later, kid,” he said and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

Tony, sprawled across the couch with his hands behind his head, grinned at his shocked teammates. “Yep,” he said, popping the p and doing his best to shove the other horrific revelation to the back of his mind. That can of worms could be opened later. “You heard that correctly. I got the kid’s name.”

“Well?” Sam gestured with his hand for him to spill already.

“His name is Peter.”

“What?!” Clint called out.

Natasha sighed. “Clint—”

“No, don’t take me wrong, but really? Peter?” the archer threw up his arms. “I read that name in five different lists. Five!Nameberry was my best friend for the past three weeks. I already started with lists of names from different countries. So far I went through German names, all Scandinavian names and I was about to move to Slavic—” Clint suddenly cut himself off, sat down and buried his face in his hands. “How did you managed to get a name out of him in only one session?”

The question came out more like a whine.

Tony shrugged. “Maybe I just know how to talk to him better.” And maybe he said nothing at all, but nobody had to know that. “But hey, if it makes you feel any better, I think you already cracked him. Like that technique where CIA plays the same song over and over again and then you start skipping the parts, kicking the brain into overdrive.”

“All right, but did you get his last name too?” Steve asked.

“Oh yeah!” Tony said, snapping his fingers. “Parker.”

“I read that one too.”

“Oh, hush.”

Rhodey nodded to himself. “So, Peter Parker, huh?” he hummed to himself.

Bucky stiffened.

Sam’s brow furrowed. “What’s up?”

Bucky remained silent, staring at the wall with wide eyes, but seeing right through it.

Steve leaned closer, gently nudging his friend. “Buck?” he asked softly. “You know something, don’t you?”

“He was supposed to be dead,” Bucky replied as if he was in dream-like state. “All three of them were all supposed to be dead.”

“Okay, Barnes, that’s freaky,” Tony said. “You clearly know him.”

Bucky nodded. He swallowed thickly, then again when the lump in his throat refused to go away.

“Take it easy. Deep breaths,” Steve coaxed.

It took a minute, but eventually the man pulled himself together with one last inhale, his features set in determination. “About ten years ago, Hydra was working on one project. They were trying to recreate supersoldier serum, but with countless failures before, they decided to try something different.”

The room was completely silent, everyone listening to the story in interest.

“Cross-species genetics.”

“What species?” Steve asked.

Bucky looked Steve in the eye. “Spiders.”

“That would explain the powers,” Natasha muttered under her breath.

“Anyway,” Barnes continued, “Parkers, Richard and Mary, they showed up at the base one day to help with the research. But they didn’t come alone.”

The atmosphere in the room thickened.

“They had this little kid with them. A little boy with brown eyes and brown curly hair. He couldn’t be older than three.”

Even if it was expected, it didn’t make the revelation any easier. They all saw how Barnes started to behave when his time as the Winter Soldier came to haunt him.

Clint‘s face twisted into horrified grimace. Sam looked on the floor with somber look. Natasha, though her face betrayed nothing, slightly shifted on her feet. Steve’s chest rose with soundless inhale, his eyes closing.

Tony’s jaw set, anger burning in his chest. Another horror the kid went through.

Bucky let out pained chuckle, shaking his head in almost manic way. “I guess they wanted to start young since the previous test subjects, adults, all failed. They succeeded. And then… Parkers just disappeared a few days later, along with Hydra’s biggest success since me. They sent me after them.”

“I remember all of them.”

Those words spoken in Siberia echoed in Tony’s mind. In the end, the whole situation got resolved with words before anyone could get seriously hurt, but the bunker was completely trashed. To say that Tony had been angry would be an understatement. He’d been downright livid. It’d been a long couple of days, and with Ross breathing down his neck, that damn airport fight, Rhodey… it was a miracle he’d stopped himself before killing either Barnes or Rogers.

The relationship between him and Barnes was still strained though. The same went for his relationship with Steve. Luckily, both of them knew to give Tony space and not to push him.

“No survivors. That were the orders.” Bucky let out humorless laugh. “I tracked them down to this airport and… I brought the plane down. The wreckage wasn’t a pretty sight. Literal chunks of that plane were never found, same with the bodies. Hydra found traces of human blood, their blood, where the wing used to be, so they were satisfied.”

“They didn’t want Peter back alive? As much as I hate to say it, he was what they wanted,” Steve said.

“I agree with Spangles,” Tony nodded. “Seems pretty counterproductive.” Jeez, there was already a lot to unpack, but Tony would rather throw the whole suitcase away at this point.

“Hydra thought that since they were successful with Peter, the process could be easily recreated. Little did they know that the kid’s parents destroyed every single file that had anything to do with the experiment.”

“I can imagine they were pretty pissed.”

Bucky smiled at the memory. “They were furious. Several search parties were sent out in an attempt to find Peter’s body. Obviously, the search proved to be fruitless.”

“The question is,” Rhodey said, “what do we do now?”

Tony was expecting more heavy silence. He didn’t expect Steve to speak.

��Fury called and asked about our progress. He said he will take Peter into Shield’s custody. I think it will be for the best.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Tony stood up abruptly, “you want to send him away?”

“Tony,” Steve sighed like he was expecting the protest. “He’s a villain.”

“He’s a child!”

“He’s also product of Hydra,” Steve countered.

Clint frowned. “Steve, he’s—"

“Stark—” Sam joined in as well and all of a sudden the whole room was buzzing with words, everyone talking over everyone.

“Do you know what he said to me during our session?” Tony raised his voice and gestured to the vague direction of the kid’s cell. The room fell silent. “He downright admitted to being trained to withstand torture. You can make a pretty good fucking guess on who trainedhim. I told him that it was not okay, but he saw nothing wrong with it!”

Tony chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. “So yeah, he might be a villain and a product of Hydra, but he is also a kid who doesn’t know any better!”

Steve looked at him with genuine pity. “Tony, I still think Fury—”

“Two weeks,” Tony rushed out. “Give me two weeks to try and show the kid how normal is supposed to look like. If he doesn’t show any redeeming quality, then… then Fury can come and take him.”

Tony knew two weeks weren’t nearly enough to make someone have a change of heart, but he’ll be damned if he didn’t try. He was a mechanic. He fixed things. And he will try to fix this kid that probably knew nothing but pain his whole life. There was no space for mess-ups. Not this time.

And… he might be a mess when it came to emotion, but maybe that’s exactly what the situation called for.

“I say let’s give him a chance.”

Despite how softly the words were spoken, they felt almost deafening in the quiet room. Tony was surprised by his unlikely ally, but assumed it made sense.

“Buck?” Steve asked carefully.

“I was a product of Hydra too and I was there way longer that Peter. You gave me a chance. I say he deserves the same,” Bucky said, determined.

“I second this,” Clint stood up. “No kid deserves to live like that.”

“If Barnes and I could change, then so can he,” Natasha said.

“They’re right,” Sam said and soon everyone was on Tony’s side.

Steve’s eyes roamed over the group, each person determined to spark the change in Peter. To help him.

“Fine,” Steve relented. “Two weeks.”

“Thank you,” Tony said gratefully.

“So, do you have anything specific in mind? When do we start?” Rhodey asked.

Tony smiled. “Right now.”

[bookwyrminspiration]

your marelliana post has me thinking about fintan and marella again so...........here goes.

i absolutely adore that fintan is teaching marella. bc 1) THEYRE FINALLY USING FINTAN FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT! 2) he's 100% the best person to teach her about pyrokinesis (from a "how much knowledge would he be able to pass on" perspective) and 3) imo it is....such a good way to show fintan's character? and wonderful set-up for more use of him in future books? because fintan teaching marella (and teaching brant to an extent but v much marella) showcases that what he wants more than anything is the reacceptance of pyrokinetics and in general just....good things happening for the elves? and it helps humanize him in the way that it gives us something he cares about, something he really, truly believes in (because iirc he was the one asking to train her) and will put effort into, even if that doesn't work well for him! like, marella's an enemy combatant, the smart thing to do (from an evil mastermind persepctive) is to just. not teach her anything? or purposefully mislead her? and yet it seems like everything he's teaching her is genuine. marella's just better with her pyrokinesis in general and that's such a cool thing? and it really really sets up the continuing idea in keeper that good and bad aren't clear-cut- i mean, we've got the former main antagonist being a mentor figure to a character while still being an antagonist. that's just! that's so good! and of course i want him and marella to bond. i think it would be really interesting to see, especially since they're, y'know, both pyrokinetics and therefor would probably manage to understand each other in a way many other people couldn't. they share a ton of the same struggles that no one else can ever really get and that's so important for both of their characters. and i think it would be....very, very interesting if marella picked up some habits from fintan. honestly i just want more marella and fintan content. separately or not. i just....i wants it! give me the marella and fintan content!

- pyro

oh yes! i kind of neglected to talk about Marella in one of my recent posts about Fintan, so thank you for bringing it up again!

i think it would've felt strange to just completely shut off Fintan from the story because he's been so integral for so long, working at the head of things and constantly affecting Sophie's life. So he's now involved second-hand through Marella because i'm like 87% positive he's the oldest/most experienced pyrokinetic in the series.

but! it also does something more! it humanizes him and gives him real, consistent goals. he's been attacking the elven world and killing people for a hot minute throughout the books, so we naturally come to associate him with oh, he's the bad guy and he wants to do bad things. But he doesn't! he's told us himself that his goal is to create a society where no one has to be forced to hide an essential part of who they are (this is a general summary, but the way i've phrased it kinda sounds like he'd also fight for queer rights so, i count that as a win). He'd not all death and desctruciton, he does that to try and regain his status as someone with an ability as that was taken from him. and training marella is consistent with that! it may have been like a shocking "wait what?" moment for some of us because we've come to associate him so heavily with bad things, but it makes so much sense.

he wants pyrokinesis back in their society. theres a young pyrokinetic who has no idea how to control her ability (aside from whatever Forkle taught her, who as far as we know is not a pyrokinetic) just out there, confused and alone. Not only does it make such much sense for him to train her, he's done it before. He took in Brant and trained him. Now he's working with Marella. I'm sure he'd love to escape that little prison cell of his and get back to doing some of the big work, but until then he can help Marella and that's still making progress in his mind, just on a much smaller scale than we're used to. But it could lead to a helluva lot more, I mean the council are aware of her ability and are allowing her to train. that's significant progress! that's what Fintan wants!

you're absolutely right: it just further shows that the "good" guys aren't good and the "bad" guys aren't bad. they're each a complicated mixture when you look closer. Fintan, one of our big "bad" guys, is doing something we'd consider to a be a beneficial and moral action, completely changing how we've seen him so far. Yes, he's talked about his true motives before that, but I don't remember him acting on it before. Also the way you phrased it--him being a mentor while still being an antagonist--was an insightful way to put it and I love it so much. like yes!! he's helping a main character! but he's not helping them, if that makes sense. he's not trying to get them any closer to their goals or achieve anything they want, him helping Marella is something that personally benefits him at the same time as her.

also I do think it would be fascinating if Fintan was framed as more of a nurturing character, caring intensely for the people he chooses to take under his wing, which now includes Marella. I can imagine him trying to get through to her, to connect with her, reminding her that just because the council is letting her train doesn't mean they're open and accepting. To step back and analyze everything they say and don't fall for their tricks and give in like he did. Just...him trying to protect her and keep her safe the way he wasn't. he has experiences and fears and hopes that Marella can connect to! They share something no one else in the entire fucking world does. Brant is dead. They're the only pyrokinetics left right now. That is such an intense bond--real quick, it does remind me of Sophie's situation with Bronte. They're the only two inflictors and Bronte was kind of like a minor antagonist until they started training together and got a whole lot closer. What if the same happens with Fintan and Marella? (except there wouldn't be the unnecessary cruelty sophie experiences because Fintan genuinely wants to help Marella). Just a thought. I think it would be neat.

also: just having a main character, Marella, starting to form these connections with an influence that has been portrayed as wrong and bad? she has the potential to bring a whole new approach to the way everyone does things. and i really hope she does!! i think it would be so cool. i desperately want to see her form a bond with Fintan, someone obviously outside of the realm of "good" and take that and apply it to her own morals and figure out what she personally believes and wants to do.

pyro you're absolutely right. Fintan and Marella content please and thank you, shannon!

[story-circle]

Jujutsu Kaisen Review

Warning: Spoilers!

So, I finished Jujutsu Kaisen and lemme tell you, this is one of the best shonen I’ve ever watched. It redefines the limits of what can be expected from this genre and I hold both the manga and the anime adaption in high regard.

I loved the world building, characters, and plot! And I find it amusing that the author gave the characters a legitimate reason to tell enemies their abilities because -instead of it coming off as a stupid stragical decision- it feels more like an advantage all with the added benefit of telling the audience about how a certain character’s power works.

I also like how they use simple metaphors to explain some of the more complex concepts to the audience without being condescending.

And speaking of the characters! My personal favorite is hands down Nobara Kugisaki.

I find that in the majority of shonen, the female supporting character is written lazily, reduced to either the ditzy love interest, the angry love interest or the comedic relief. Like, I’m cool if the girl is the only one with a brain cell and yells at the dumbass boys, but it’s a bit difficult to balance ‘bamf energy’ with 'no one takes her seriously’ and it comes off as extremely awkward if done wrong.

And even the ‘badass’ female characters come off as forced because they only defend themselves when the protagonist isn’t available or their attitude/power level isn’t consistent.

Nobara single-handedly obliterated all of my expectations by being effortlessly and convincingly amazing. She’s a confident badass and sure as shit has the stuff to back it up, which was like a breath of fresh air compared to the other females I was used to seeing in shonen. She’s a consistent character with actual depth and relatable motivations and I could tell that the author actually put effort into developing her personality.

My favorite villain (because there’s so much to like about JJK’s antagonists) is Eso. He gives me heavy Eddie Gluskin (Outlast videogame) vibes which is an absolute plus in my opinion, and I find it engaging when villains are not inherently evil. I like a little gray area in my antagonists since that makes them a more difficult enemy and is more realistic overall and Eso is an awesome example of this. Not only was he willing to make a peaceful retreat (before Itadori decided to be Itadori) but he also was attacking in self defense.

We get to see his emotions when he releases his only trump card in an attempt to save his weaker brother and he grieve’s his sibling's death. It makes Eso undoubtedly interesting and I found myself disappointed that he wasn’t on screen for longer.

Now for Itadori.

I have mixed feelings about his character to be honest. I do love how his relationships with the other characters develop and evolve, the gradual attachment feeling genuine and natural. His personality is easy to love and the self-awareness he has is quite amusing and -being the happy guy that he is- Itadori’s airheaded behavior is believable, especially considering that he’s getting practically tossed into the deep end and told to swim.

However with that being said, he does learn and adapt too quickly, developing new abilities and power levels at an almost insane rate for knowing next to nothing, which I find difficult to swallow. But okay, I can ignore it for the things that are fantastic about him.

He has the effortless and unnatural brute strength one would expect from a main protagonist and I’ve always felt that was a weak plot device to make shonen main characters ‘special’. However, since it’s basically mandatory at this point, I can let something like that slide.

The thing I struggle with most about Itadori’s character is Sukuna. Especially in the beginning, Sukuna has absolutely no reason to care about his host since Itadori only has consumed two fingers. And yet, Sukuna doesn't really do anything. I can hear you saying “But, Story? Itadori has insane will power and control.”

And yeah, unfortunately he does.

I would’ve loved to see Itadori be more human. I wanted to see him struggle with control over his body and the repercussions of repressing something as powerful as Sukuna. I wanted to see him and the King of Curses to have dangerous conversations dripping with thinly veiled threats. I wanted to see Itadori being antagonized, and tested and constantly forced to be aware of exactly what he was harboring. Because that makes us invested in his battle for control, making moments even more tense and when he’s successful feel even more rewarding.

I wanted to see just how powerful and petty Sukuna is, even despite having one or two fingers. I wanted to feel just how little Sukuna valued Itadori and his friends.

Because of how Sukuna was handled, he feels more like a dog on a leash rather than the intense threat that JJK is trying to convince me he is.

On the other hand, I’d also would’ve liked to see Sukuna’s mentality slowly shift as Itadori eats more fingers because -the more that Itadori collects- the more invaluable he makes himself, forcing Sukuna to protect him lest the curse lose his chance at gaining his own body. But we don’t see that shift in dynamic, making the whole uproar about Sukuna being reincarnated feel weak.

We never see his want for a body reflected in any of his decisions and it becomes a bit frustrating when your bitching at the screen about how stupid it is for Sukuna to let Itadori make dumb, potentially fatal decisions with so much banking on him staying alive.

And those are really my only complaints.

Don’t get me wrong. Anything I brought up does not -in any way- take away from the complex story-telling and gripping plot of ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’! This review is not meant to come off as hate for JJK or the shonen genre in general. In fact, I sincerely encourage you to go give this a watch and feel free to let me know your own personal thoughts! It is definitely worth every second!

I'll most likely do more reviews as the story develops and information comes to light, so keep an eye on my blog if you'd like to see my thoughts on future events!

If this interested you to read I highly recommend watching this video by Mother's Basement on YouTube. They have some awesome points that I totally agree with -and even touched on in my own review- and I enjoyed the deep dive into the anime/manga.

[morgana-ren]

Noncon shigaraki makes brain go brrr. If you felt like it would be cool to hear what he did to the hero who offered herself up to save the kids

Saaaame baby same.

So, there's another author working on the final bit to that one (I will post when I get it) but here's my interpretation of what might have transpired. I know this probably isn’t what you were asking for in regards to noncon but this Shigaraki is a little more reserved and a little less shitty, as per the request. He’s actually kinda shy and nervous when it comes to sexy stuff, no matter how ballsy he feels when he commits murder. 

So like I said, Shigaraki in that one isn't as bold and brash as I usually write him. He's actually relatively innocent in that regard aside from the general gross licentiousness of men, which really is a level of its own in general anyway. That's why he gets all flustered instead of just immediately stripping and taking ya behind a tree and then again and again and.. ah you get the point. You know what you agreed to.

Sure, he'll insinuate things, but the thought of actually doing them turns him redder than a tomato. In his mind, he thought the hero would have caught his gist and immediately been disgusted and repulsed by him, leading to him just instantly killing her and moving on with his day. He totally didn't expect what went down at all.

You didn't immediately reject him, and it turned him into a blushing little school boy. She would do that? With him? Just to save these little brats? He's aware of the impact sex can have on someone and the fact you're willing to take that hit and with him of all people floors him. He knows it makes him a different breed of disgusting human but he can't bring himself to pass it up, so sure, he'll spare the kids. What comes after though? Even he doesn't really know.

His inner turmoil over this one is massive. He doesn't even really know what to do aside from the generic ol' in-and-out, and let alone with someone like you, even if you are a hero. What if he busts after like .3 seconds and she laughs? Sure, he'd kill her, but the hit to the ego? Huge. He's got this mental conflict of "You can take whatever you want" versus "Is this really the type of evil you are?" going on, because he knows rape is a whole new level of horrible, and to be honest, he doesn't feel confident enough in his abilities even if he was full fledged into it.

This Tomura isn't gentle by any means, but he's got some reservations about forcing himself onto someone. He'd probably keep you locked in a cell for a while and completely avoid you until he had to deal with it. Truth be told, he's so insecure about the whole ordeal he'd probably try and disgust you and goad you into making him want to kill you just so he doesn't have to face up to it. Letting you go isn't an option, but going where he's got you prisoner, holding you down and just fucking you while you cry? It doesn't seem right either.

Maybe it's because he actually wants to feel wanted in this particular scenario, but he's starting to regret the whole thing. It would been easier if he had just said no and gotten it over with, but he didn't, and now he's got to face up to the consequences of that.

Your best bet here is to endear yourself to him. Make him comfortable and don't make him feel pressured. Don't rise to his prodding and all his childish bullshit. Don't preach to him either. Just listen and read his bodily cues. You're going to be stuck in a stasis until he works up some confidence, basically living in this little cell he's got you in, so all you've got is time.

He'll probably start slow, and by slow, I mean he'll probably go for something like a hand job and have it slowly escalate. Sure, he's got you locked in a box, but you're the closest thing he's got to a girlfriend now. In his fucked up mind, that's how he sees it. How you mold the situation is up to you.

Being one of his first, well, anything is going to make him a little soft for you. When he finally works up the courage to crawl on top of you, as long as you weren't totally deceptive, chances are it's sliiiiightly mutual. He'd appreciate it if you'd take the lead a little and show him what feels good and how to do it. He's not a total bastard, you know. He knows how to use your body to get himself off but since you're stuck with him, you might as well get something as well.

Thing is, he's gunna lose his head a bit. He'll take his hate and rage out on you at first, but without your hero uniform or a continuous reminder of just why it is he's able to mount you, he's going to get kind of attached. Whether or not you feel the same is up to you. He’s going to beam like the sun the first time he makes you moan and walk around like the fuckin’ bees knees when he makes you cum for the first time. Sure, sure, you’re technically a captive, but your body responds to him and he likes that. 

Where it would go from there would depends on the attitude of the story. Since I haven’t written it, it’s hard to say. Tomura is a little nervous and finnicky and the RI didn’t really have a set personality other than heroic. Usually that’s where I’d take feedback or let my own kinks lead the way, but since this was a relatively short request with another person, it’s difficult to say. I’d imagine there’d be some mutual and very confusing feelings. He’s an evil shitlord, but you’re also the girl that lets him touch you and isn’t completely repulsed. Lines get blurred, even if you are technically there against your will. 

I guess if I was to really say, I would have to develop more of a backstory and personality here. I basically picture him being very nervous and almost feather light at first. Like, murder is murder but sex is embarrassing. That’s why his cables get all crossed before long. Sex is naturally endearing for a lot of people, especially a lot of very closed off people like him. As long as you’re not a total bitch to him, he’d probably warm up relatively fast. 

Keep in mind, I’m also in love with the guy, so this doesn’t sound horrible to me. If I was actually a hero that was fucking him to stay alive, I might feel a bit different. It’d be really easy for me to write him as a nefarious prick who sticks his cock in and uses you like a fucktoy because you knew what you were gettinig into, you little harlot lmao. BUT the ask itself seemed a tidbit more gentle lmaooo. 

[roguemonsterfucker]

How many OCs do you have in total? Please tell me a bit about them

In total???? 😨

Probably hundreds. I've been 'writing' my entire life. I still have OCs living in my head from when I was five years old (good ol' Mr. Lion).

The ones I've talked about here are my main ones at this time. So I guess maybe I have ten current OCs I'm actively thinking about/writing about.

Hmm I never know what to tell about my characters when not asked specific questions. I guess maybe just a short overview of each of my main active characters...

Damian: He/him pronouns for him. He's a pansexual trans vampire that's a thousand years old (more depending on which part of his story I'm writing lol). He's also polyamorous, so even though he's married to Vikram, he often has other relationships. And also just enjoys casual sex. He LOVES to cook for people he cares about. Actually, he just loves doing anything to benefit the people he loves. Giving gifts, cooking, doing anything he can to help them or make them happy. Sometimes he goes overboard with this and it actually isn't good. 😬 Like the one time he gifted someone a cat, not realizing they were allergic, because they had talked about how much they wanted a cat. Don't worry, he ended up keeping the cat so it all worked out! But still, he needs to give more thought to the things he does for people sometimes. He also can get really annoyingly pouty when someone refuses to accept his gifts. He's working on that, though.

Vikram: He/him pronouns. Also pansexual and polyamorous. He's over 15,000 years old and a werewolf. Vikram has a very calm and warm presence. You will rarely hear him raise his voice and when he smiles, you can't help but feel like everything's gonna be okay. Despite his imposing size (6'6 and a pretty big guy overall), he just puts people at ease. One of the reasons he is so chill is because he worked to become that way due to being a werewolf. During full moons when he loses control, the werewolf reflects his mood and behavior as a human: so if he were to be very angry all the time, the werewolf would be very aggressive. And so Vikram spent a lot of time and effort to become a very calm person so that he isn't dangerous to anyone on full moons. He can shift purposefully outside of full moons, but when he does that, he retains control of himself.

Kadan: He/him and She/Her pronouns. He's a hundred year old werewolf with a rough past. I won't go into detail here (I think I did in another post, but if anyone's interested feel free to ask). Kadan can shift his body to pass as a cis woman or cis man, depending on her mood. He discovered this ability accidentally and changed at first as a way to keep safe, as people assigned his gender at birth in his community are NOT treated well. But he gradually realized he liked being able to be whatever gender he wanted and so started IDing as bigender. Kadan can be hotheaded sometimes, a stark contrast to his twin brother, Kaegan, who always seems to keep his cool in stressful situations. But to be fair, Kadan hasn't had much time to actually be a person, due to being locked up in a cell for a hundred years in her werewolf form...

Orion: He/him but he isn't picky. He's an incubus that feeds on the energy released when a person experiences an orgasm. He's a new character, so I'm still working on him. He uh... has issues understanding boundaries.

Alex: He/him. Alex is a centaur, but not from a fantasy world. He was created Jurassic Park style. He comes from a facility where many fantasy creatures are brought to life. Since the human body wasn't actually meant to be attached to a horse body, he has a lot of chronic health issues and pain. I'm still working on his personality.

Tharzaroth: I use he/him for him but his kind doesn't define gender as humans do. He is species that lives in a dimension just next to ours. His kind often are summoned by humans to make deals/grant wishes and are called demons due to that and their appearance. They have seemingly magic powers in our world, but no such abilities in their own world. Tharzaroth is very calm and gentle, but still learning about humans so he sometimes says or does things that may upset or offend a human.

B.D: Any pronouns, but I use he/him for the character. He is a dragon with the ability to take on a more humanoid form. His family, for a while, ruled a human kingdom. Still working on his personality.

Rh'ex: He/him. My beloved nerd boy. 🥺 He is a yautja (the species from Predator). He's a scientist who specializes in the study of humans. He's very curious and loves learning about anything, but humans are his special interest. This can drive him to be a bit invasive with questions and other things sometimes. 😅 When he cares about someone, he can be a bit... overly protective. He tries to prevent any amount of stress or distress, even when maybe he shouldn't.

Talia: She/her. Talia's a bisexual human in her 20's. The star of my story The Strange Life of Talia MacDonald. Her main personality trait is that she's a doer. She's not gonna sit at home and wait for the story to come to her. She goes out and does whatever needs to be done, even if... she probably should let other folks take the reins.

Azalea: They/them. They are a nonbinary immortal witch, and they make an appearance in The Demon Possession. It's hard to pin down anything about them, but the characters that meet Azalea would say they're a trouble maker. It seems like they like to do things just for their amusement, like turning Damian into a vampire and Vikram into a werewolf. Yep, that was them! It makes you wonder, what is their true motivation?

Wow that's a lot. I don't know that that's everyone but my fingers hurt now lol

[tarantulas4davey]

okay hi??? thank u for appreciating the space nerds????? i just love em a lot ok me al and rai worked really hard on the nasa au (we did not. we talked about it for like an hour and half of it was specs committing race slander but it's honest work)

feel free to ✨share ur thoughts with the class✨ about it anytime you want cause i am absolutely Useless when it comes to this au, i am clueless to anything that doesn't revolve around theatre or greek mythology (you can imagine how hyped i was about hadestowm lmao) so nasa is,,,,,,, a little out of my limits,,, but i did it for ralbert cause they deserve it

interesting thought tho. i should make a greek mythology au.

yea that's all thank u for being cool :)

omg hi !! i absolutely adore it !! i write kind of a lot for them, obviously, but i just get like,,,,, SO hype about aus and well done stories and things. i’m a simple being with simple needs and the space nerds au fit thats beautifully 👏

im like,,,,,, a very lowkey space nerd?? i’m a HIGHKEY theater and greek myth nerd (that au IS a thought you should act on cause that’s ✨✨) but most of the thoughts my brain thunk up is just,,,, cute ralbert things cause i get REALLY hyper focused on them tbh

ofc ! ik people saying nice things about my work and stuff when thats genuinely what they’re thinking is always encouraging for me to keep writing (even if i wouldn’t stop writing if everyone hated it cause ✨i cannot stop talking✨) but yee. you’re always so sweet about my writing so i though i’d share the appreciation :)

if you haven’t yet, go read the original post here cause i love it,,,, like a lot :)) so yeah <3

alright to it’s time to ✨share the thoughts with the class✨ cause there’s a lot of them

- so,,,, nasa hasn’t exactly figured out intergalactic cell phones yet, obviously, but because they both work at the same place (in almost the same job, albert just goes into the field and race works from the office, so to speak) albert can send little video diaries for race and race can send little home updates for al so they’re not COMPLETELY out of the loop when they see eachother again

- the same way that albert seemingly doesn’t understand basic geography, race shows al a picture of him and the night when he finally comes home like “babe i think you blinked” and albert’s brain full of constellation knowledge just short circuits like “i- that’s the big dipper wha- wrong side of the planet hon 🤚” like he didn’t JUST send picture of him and africa like ‘your hair looks weird in this one’ dhshdhd

- as we’ve mentioned, they’re disgustingly cute. every person not in a relationship of some kind vaguely avoids them for at least a week after al gets home cause they’re just SO mushy. luckily most of their friend group is either ace/aro or in a relationship so it’s not too bad, but even they can’t always handle the ridiculousness that IS ralbert right after al gets back

- albert was interviewed by some fancy magazine because,,,, hes an astronaut, hello??? and the whole thing was basically just him rambling about race. he mentions him no less than 12 times, goes on a tangent about how they both work at nasa but have been together since way before that, and generally just how in love with him he is. the headline is something super gross and annoying about al being the first openly gay astronaut and al acts like he didn’t know what happened but specs was in the room and he’s like “👁👄👁 you talked about actually BEING an astronaut for 5 minutes before you got sidetracked by the idea of race’s face.”

- race still gets his work done, but specs is honestly impressed by race’s ability to just,,,,, miss his boyfriend for 6 months every year. for the first month or so he’s nearly inconsolable but throws himself into his work, even if it’s not as well done as when al is home. and then he’s just vaguely sulky for the next 4 months, and only gets super race-like and energetic when he gets video diaries from albert. and for the last month he straight up doesn’t sleep for most of it cause he’s too excited for al to be home but also so DONE with waiting to see him again. he’s an extrovert and has been around albert almost his entire life, he genuinely isn’t the same when he’s not around.

- race is in albert’s phone as ‘my home’ and albert is in race phone as ‘my star’ and i hate them both in the most loving way possible. also as much shit as they gave the other for those pictures, al’s lockscreen is still race and the big dipper, and race’s is still albert and africa.

i think that’s all i got for them for now, but i’ll probably think up some other things about these guys at some point cause i just,,,,,, adore them. thank you so much for like,,,, creating this and asking me to share my thoughts cause i love them and have many thoughts about stuff like this all the time ✨

[caranfindel]

Recap/review 14.19: “Jack in the Box”

THEN: Eh, you know all this. Oh, wait, here's something interesting - a reminder that Naomi was overcome by the Empty slime. Which reminds me of my theory that Naomi and/or Duma might actually be the Empty Entity. Hmmm. Oh, and also, all the Jack stuff.

NOW: There's a bunch of hunters in the bunker, drining beer and looking at pictures of Mary and her stuff on the map table. Including the picture Sam burned. Well, I'm glad it wasn't the only copy. And whatever these rings and calipers are that are always on the map table, apparently they're permanent, because they weren't removed for this little memorial display. Also, John's journal is part of the display, and I know they gave it to Mary to read, but still, it's John's. This bothers me.

So, are these surviving AU hunters? If not, that means the Winchesters have opened the bunker up to every hunter they know (and revealed its location to everyone they know), which is... not what I would have done. TFW makes an entrance (why were they not in there with their guests) and Dean thanks them for coming and makes a little speech but I'm finding it real hard to concentrate on Dean right now because LOOK AT SAM'S SHIRT. LOOK AT IT. It's CLOSE-FITTING and it's NOT PLAID and whatever awful things this episode does (and my completely unspoiled prediction is that IT WILL DO AWFUL THINGS), we at least got this.

I strongly suspect this is actually Jared's shirt.

Dean informs the gathered that they missed the pyre, sorry. And he mentions that some of them fought Michael with her in the other world so they ARE AU hunters! Or at least some of them! Well, that's good to know. Sam doesn't have to feel personally responsible for killing everyone who came over, just a handful. Including the only one who had a name, and probably that guy who called him Chief (sob), but some of them remain. Anyway. Dean gives his eulogy (and Sam's not the only worth a second look in this scene, because Dean looks pretty amazing as well) and they drink beer and then an AXE FLIES IN OUT OF NOWHERE, SLOWLY AND AWKWARDLY SPIRALING INTO A HUNTER'S HEAD. People seem surprised, but it's the mild kind of surprise you'd get if he threw his beer at somebody, not if an axe suddenly appeared embedded in his head. The thrower of the axe walks in - it's New Bobby. WELL.

Title card! Bobby informs me that it was a hatchet, not an axe, and he wants it back. (Sidebar: It literally never occurred to me to think about the difference between a hatchet and an axe until earlier this week when I was listening to a murder podcast that specified someone was killed with one, not the other.) He also tell us that the "hunter" was actually a wraith "from a nest your mom and I busted up" and SEE, GUYS? This is why you don't invite people to the bunker. Now a bunch of wraiths probably know where it is. And we know the warding is a joke. Cas thinks Mary would have appreciated a monster at her memorial. I don't think Cas knows Mary very well but whatever.

Bobby asks Sam how he and "the other one" are doing, and we watch Dean pack up Mary's belongings (including John's journal? that's going away?) and Sam says he "seems to be doing okay" which is, of course, how they operate. No one asks how Bobby's doing, even though he had a relationship with Mary too (and over the course of her life probably spent as much time with her as Sam did, when you come right down to it), but Bobby says he's not into public displays of grief anyway, and Dean is probably the same (which is true, except for when it's very very not true).

Sam suggests they drink the scotch Ketch left (and I wonder if this means Ketch came for the memorial, and left some scotch, or if he's referring to a bottle from a previous season that somehow remained through all those events that really would have called for some serious scotch-drinking) and talk about Mom. Dean points out that they have been talking about Mom and stalks out and leaves Sam sad.

Sam and Bobby and Cas settle for beer instead, and Dean walks in just as Bobby asks "what exactly happened to her, cause I'm hearing, the kid." Oh, that's interesting that they wouldn't have given him the whole story. Or maybe it's not. Maybe it makes sense that they'd keep things vague, tell everyone she "died on a hunt." Dean needs a drink, but not in the bunker. Sam tells him they need to talk about Jack, and he says "we will" and quickly makes his escape. Bobby and Cas have this funny exchange.

I liked the kid. We fought together. But there's only way this ends.

Bobby's right. We have to find Jack and help him.

What?

Hee! Cas feels Jack might not realize what he did was wrong, and Bobby astutely points out that if he didn't realize it was wrong, that's kind of a big problem, because if Kelly's influence has been burned away, that means Lucifer is all that's left. Bobby means to hunt him down. "An unstoppable monster who don't know right from wrong gets put down." Um, Bobby, let's consider the unstoppable part of that declaration. (Also, should someone point out to Bobby that Jack accidentally killed someone even back when he did have a soul? Probably not.)

Cut to Jack, who is still? again? at an abandoned warehouse or factory or something. He's remembering what he did, and wishing his mother was there to tell him what to do. Oh, she's not here, but Hallucidad is. He tells Jack that the Winchesters don't care about him, he was just a pet and a weapon, and again, it hurts knowing that this is Jack's subconscious saying these things. Jack thinks he can explain and apologize, and if that's so, Jack, then why didn't you do that when they caught you raising Mary's not-corpse? No, says Hallucifer, they hate you.

Cut to Dean, sitting outside somewhere in the dark, crying.

This is not okay. I mean, it is, but it's not.

Heaven. (yawn.) Cas again tells Duma that he wants to see Naomi, and again she denies him. It turns out Naomi is in "a very small cell" because Heaven was invaded under her watch. I didn't think they had enough spare angels around to lock one up just because they don't think she's a good leader. She might be a great follower. (Yeah, probably not.) Cas tells her he needs help looking for Jack, who has burned through his soul and is no longer being protected by the Winchesters. Hmmm, she says, this is very useful information to have. Internally. Out loud, she tells Cas she'll see what she can do, which he of course takes as an offer to help. Oh, Cas.

Bunker. Sam's working at his computer when Dean comes back. Sam's wearing a different shirt. I don't know if that means it's the next day, or just that he changed out of his nice funeral shirt. He asks Dean how he's doing, but Dean ignores that and asks what Sam's doing.

Trying to find Jack. We've gotta find him before Bobby and his crew, because if they find him first -

He's gonna kill them all.

... I don't know.

Oh, Sam, you DO know. You are obviously concerned about Bobby et al killing Jack, not the other way around. And it breaks my heart. Sam also wants to talk about Mary and the fact that they don't have to rely on faith to know Mary's in Heaven, because they personally know Heaven and angels are real. Dicks, but real. He says Mary's in a great place, with John, because again we're forgetting or denying what we know about Heaven. Dean, the eternal ray of sunshine, points out that there wasn't enough of Mary left to bring back to life even if they wanted to.

Back to Jack, who has a surprise visitor. It's Duma! Oh, cool, she's helping Cas find him, just like she said she would! Ha ha ha nope. (Sidebar: How did Duma find him, and why doesn't Cas have the same ability? Discuss.) He remembers her from his trip to Heaven that one time he died. She tells him Mary's death wasn't his fault, and he deserves redemption after his mistake, because he has "a glorious destiny." She tells him Heaven has fallen apart since God left, and no one gives them the respect they deserve, but Jack, YOU can save Heaven and make the world better and wouldn't that make Sam and Dean happy? Their first stop on the Make The World Better Tour is to turn a famous God denier into a pillar of salt. Oh, irony. (Also, he's safe from ghosts now, so. Bonus?)

Bunker. Cas is telling the Winchesters that Heaven promised to "make every effort" to find Jack. Which 1) isn't exactly what we saw happening, unless you're naive enough to think "I'll see what I can do" means "I'll make every effort", and b) even if that is what Duma said, as Dean points out, "Oh, Heaven promised? Great, well we should take that to the bank." But Cas thinks Heaven has as much reason to want to find Jack as they do. Which is true. But doesn't mean they're going to turn him over to you, Cassie.

Coincidentally, Sam has just read about Professor Pillar of Salt. "Why does that sound familiar?" Dean asks. You know, I don't know the Bible very well. If a particular event didn't show up in "Jesus Christ Superstar" or "The Ten Commandments," I'm not likely to be familiar with it. And yet I know about Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt. And I've never been to Heaven or met an angel. So.

Cas explains the story and says no ordinary angel could turn a human into salt. Sam reads another story about a dishonest televangelist (yeah, I know, that's redundant) who had a crevice open in the ground under her and swallow her up, and again Dean's not familiar with the story, but this time I'm not either. But Cas knows it's from the book of Numbers. Allegedly, only Jack or Chuck himself could perform these acts.

Heaven. Duma tells Jack he's doing excellent work, and he can help bring Heaven back to its previous glory.

Sam and Dean will like that?

Words can't begin to express how Sam and Dean will feel.

Hee!

So let's talk about what's going on here. I appreciate that they're framing this as Jack trying to get back into Sam and Dean's good graces. In fact, I'm a little hopeful at this point. If Jack-who-is-being-used-by-Heaven is the Big Bad, doesn't that mean stopping the Big Bad could just mean they rescue him from Duma's manipulation? Maybe? (Yeah, I know. But a girl can dream.)

Anyway. Duma's next task for Jack is to create more angels. She tells him he can't make them out of thin air, but if a human is "predisposed" to it, he might be able to forge them into an angel. Oooooh, this opens up some chilling possibilities about who could be turned into an angel. But it turns out he's not going after anybody named Winchester. He's just sitting on the throne "where your grandfather received prayers" (and where your father sat) and listening to prayers. (Sidebar: Why hasn't Sam tried to communicate with Jack by praying to him? Discuss.)

For whatever reason, he hones in on one particular group of worshippers who are about to discuss the book of Samuel (hee!) with Pastor Ames. Jack zaps into the room, asks if they meant it when they said they wanted to go to Heaven, and shows them his wings. Sold! Pastor Ames missing that demonstration, so when he comes in and calls Jack a liar, Jack hits him with another Biblical curse: "he was eaten by worms and breathed his last." Pastor Ames falls to the ground with worms popping out of him everywhere, and Jack and his future angels disappear.

Hospital. Guys, look at the suits! Have they ever worn such narrow pants? What is going on here? Someone new in the wardrobe department?

Mama like.

Agents Kilmister, Clark, and Taylor (hee) are visiting bandaged-up Pastor Ames, who identifies a photo of Jack. They leave, and Cas recites the relevant verse and Sam says, surprised, "so you think this is another Bible thing?" AS IF THAT WASN'T WHY THEY'RE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, and as they leave, we see that Pastor Ames is not over his worm infestation after all.

Back at the bunker, Dean tells Sam that he didn't want it to come to this, but they have no choice. Come to what? What's behind the door in room 5B? It's the thing we all knew was coming - the box! (And if you didn't see it coming, the title of this episode clearly gave it away, which is why I consider titles of unaired episodes to be spoilers.) Sam, who is clearly not behind this plan in any way shape or form, points out that they don't have the ability to force Jack into the box, and he won't go in there of his own free will.

But he might. He might if he only has to stay in there long enough for us to finish the spell to fix his soul.

Spell? What spell? There is no spell.

*We* know that.

Oh, no, this is not good, and Sam already hates it.

... So, you want to lie to him.

No, I mean, I *want* Zeppelin to get back together. But what I *need*, what *we* need, is to stop Jack. Big difference. But here's the deal; we both gotta sign off on it. This might be our only shot, and if he even catches a whiff that this is a scam, he's off into the wind.

Exactly. Now, how do you think he's not gonna know something's up?

Because you're gonna be so damn sincere -

Me? Why me?

Because you've always been in his corner. You're his go-to guy. Sam, if you reach out, he'll come. If I do it, after what happened to Mom, I could lose him. I *will* lose him.

Oh no, no, no, Sam is SO not on board with this plan. Because the worst thing that could happen is that it doesn't work, and the second worst thing is that it does work. Dean is so calmly insistent, and Sam is so unhappy, and his FACE when Dean tells him HE will be sincere is just killing me, and no matter what I think about this episode or or this entire story arc, I love what the guys are doing with this scene.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm finding a silver lining here.

Sam sits down at the library table and begins praying to Jack, which doesn't answer my question of why they haven't already tried communicating with him that way. In fact, it makes me ask it harder. He tells him that they're family, and bad things happen in families but they want to get through it, they want to be like they were before. Jack hears Sam's prayer as he assembles his future angels. Meanwhile, Cas has barged his way into Heaven to rescue Jack, having figured out that Heaven has no mercy and angels do bad things, and Cas? How is this POSSIBLY news to you? Duma threatens to end Mary and John's happy little afterlife together (Is this confirmation that they really are sharing a Heaven, even though his name isn't on the door? Maybe. Do I accept it? Not necessarily) so Cas stabs her. Well. We're down to, what, ten angels now? He calls for Jack, but Jack's already gone, having just appeared in the bunker.

Jack tells Sam and Dean he's been working with Heaven, and "if it helps, I regret it... the accident."

Again, the guys do a beautiful job with this scene. Even if it's an awful, awful scene, they're acting the hell out of it. Sam is as anxious as he was when he was trapped in a cell with Jack the day he was born, the way his hands twitch when he gets up from the table and circles behind Dean, and then carefully places himself between Dean and Jack, and how he physically reacts when Jack steps closer, and they're both keeping their distance and moving so carefully, and then there's the way Dean is practically unblinking and is very obviously working SO HARD not to spontaneously combust, staying practically motionless and keeping his voice even, although anyone could tell he's absolutely BOILING under the surface from the look on his face and his tone of voice every time he says the accident. All of this is amazing.

But yeah, it is also an awful scene. Because Jack isn't guilty or apologetic at all. He's actually kind of smug about working with Heaven and making angels, and very condescending about regretting "the accident," and I just don't think he would be there. I think he would tell them how sorry he was, and that he tried to fix it, and basically everything he said to Hallucifer. He wouldn't say "I knew you'd understand" when they tell him they forgive him. His blind self-assurance would make sense if it came at the end of a 2- or 3-episode arc, where Duma had spent more than a day telling him how awesome he was. So while I love Sam and Dean in this scene, love them to pieces, Jack is just... ugh. Beyond OOC. Moving on. Dean tells Jack they're working on a way to fix his soul, and they want to keep him safe (from having another ACCIDENT) in the meanwhile. Sam oh-so-tentatively puts a hand on Jack's shoulder and dear GOD he is so afraid and I LOVE IT.

Again, quite a silver lining to this dark little raincloud.

They take him to the room with the magic box, which Dean claims is "actually pretty comfortable." Dean stays still and Sam fidgets and Jack says "okay" and climbs into the box. "How long before I can come out?" he asks. Sam is more and more fidgety as he says "not too long," and Dean is like stretched rubber band about to snap as he holds himself back from slamming the lid down. "Jack, we got this," Sam lies. "Okay," Jack says again, and he lies down and they didn't even put a pillow in the damn box, why does he think this is okay, why does he think they're working in his best interest if they didn't even give him a damn pillow? Dean shuts the lid and rushes to close the locks and Sam hates this, hates it so much.

Shhh. Don't even listen. Just turn the sound down and enjoy the pretty, pretty angst.

Alone in the box, Jack calls to the Winchesters, but they're already shutting the door to room 5B. They move to the kitchen to finish off Ketch's scotch and talk about the future.

So what do we do now? Just go on, with Jack locked up in there forever?

We have to.

I don't know if I can do that.

Dean ignores Sam's shaky voice and decides to talk about the scotch and sure, we all recognize this is Dean's way of coping. Pretend it's not happening, pretend it doesn't bother him. Because I have to think that, no matter how much he wants revenge against Jack, he understands that being locked in that box forever is still a horrible fate. (A fate Dean was willing to accept, but still.) Sam, meanwhile, needs to talk, just like he needed to talk about Mary.

You know, I never thought it would end like this, with Jack.

Sammy, we knew from the beginning it was a long shot with him.

Yeah. Yeah. But, long shots are kind of our thing.

So let's talk about Sam's guilt. His beautiful, beautiful guilt. Not only over tricking someone he loves into being locked up in a box forever, but for bringing Jack into their lives in the first place. And yet. Jack has always been unstoppable, hasn't he? So if Sam hadn't opened his humongous heart and taken him in, he would have been out there alone. No one teaching him how to use and control his powers, no one keeping him away from Lucifer. He would have been an unstoppable enemy instead of an unpredictable ally. Sam did the right thing, even though it ended bad. Because it was always going to end bad.

Have I mentioned that I could watch an entire episode that was just Dean drinking?

Back in room 5B, Jack's starting to panic, and still calling for Sam and Dean. They don't show up, but Hallucifer does (oh god, I want to see Sam find out he basically locked Jack in that box with Lucifer) and informs Jack he's been played.

In the kitchen, Cas arrives with the news that Duma has been manipulating Jack, and they really need to find him. The guys are all, oh, whoops, forgot to call you, he's here, locked in the box.

Jack gets glowy eyes and tries to break out of the box, but nothing happens.

Cas is horrified that the guys still plan to keep Jack in the box, even knowing his latest acts were due to being manipulated. Sam says "That's the problem. If he's that easily manipulated, he's too dangerous to be out of the box." Oh, no he doesn't. Instead, Dean says "He agreed to it." Yes, in much the same way Sam agreed to be Gadreel's vessel. You keep telling yourself that, Dean. In fact, Dean is trying to claim that deep down, Jack knows it's best. Oh, no, no you don't. Cas points out that Dean manipulated Jack as much as Duma did.

(Sidebar: I'm convinced that Sam would be able to forgive Jack. Because of his endless capacity for forgiveness, and because he sees himself as being in Jack's shoes at a different point in his life. Dean, on the other hand, would not. Because Dean is a normal human being when it comes to forgiveness, and because Dean puts loyalty to family above everything else.)

Box. Jack tries harder. Lucifer laughs. The box glows.

Kitchen. The arguing is interrupted by an earth-shattering kaboom. Things fall off shelves. The red emergency lights and klaxon come on. TFW leaps up and runs to room 5B. The room is a smoke-filled wreck and a figure with glowing gold eyes is walking out of the red-tinged smoke. "Jack," Sam gasps.

Duh duh duuuuuhhhh! Next week, Cas makes Dean write I knew a nephilim was more powerful than its angel parent but I assumed the box would be stronger than Jack anyway 100 times on the blackboard.

Okay, the bad happened, as we all figured it would. But let's talk about the good. Jack's not locked in the box forever. That's a relief - it would have been a very unsatisfactory conclusion. And the guys looked extraordinary. And there was so much emotion, both the tightly-controlled type, and the worn-on-his-sleeve type, and I love them both. Honestly, considering what happened in this one, and who wrote it, it was a lot better than I expected. A lot better than it could have been. (Will I go read your reactions now and see that every single one of you disagrees with me? Quite possibly.)

Next week is the next-to-last "Carry On Wayward Son."

Please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!

[marvelreaderinserts]

Hi! Can I request a Matt Murdock fic with a female mutant!reader who has healing powers? And she's mad at him for not telling her he's daredevil and doesn't want to see him hurt. She tells him that she loves him and they make up in the end?❤

LET ME TELL YOU that Matt Murdock has literally kicked the door to my heart down, and he’s planted his firm ass firmly in a seat there and r e f u s e s to budge. So you, my dear anon, who has been waiting for this for so long, please take some Matt Murdock.

ps. please send me more Matt Murdock requests

Edit: this hasn’t been proofread yet, but it’s like 3 in the morning so I’ll do it after I sleep–

– Ryan

He gets banged up a lot. ‘It comes with the territory,’ he claims, implicating his disability, but you can recognize a bit of the deeper bruises and more severe cuts to be more than just a little ‘tumble’. You gripe about his carelessness and place your fingers over the minor injuries.

Having known Murdock for a while now, it was well known between everyone that you were a mutant. Less flashy than those that are sometimes mentioned in the news– you’re not made of iron, nor can you conjure a storm at will, but in cases like this, you were most useful.

Removing your hand from his forearm, the bruise having disappeared completely. The reason Matt hadn’t flinched nor questioned your actions was that he knew you were healing him. You stretch out your fingers, letting the knuckles crack – a sound to which Matt was acutely aware of – before placing your fingers just under his temple, where a cut sat.

“You gotta stop doing this to yourself. Maybe you really do need a dog.” The worry in your tone causes a certain vein in his head to throb. Its a sound akin to that of failure to him, and he wants to assure you that you don’t have to worry about him. He can take care of himself.

“I already have a dog.” He says, gesturing across his desk to Foggy with a mischevious smirk on his face. Foggy chokes over words to his own defense as laughter uproars from the group, you included. It’s a witty joke, but he’s evaded the suggestion of help once more.

“Just.. Please. Promise me you won’t get hurt.” Knowing he can’t keep that promise, you reword it for him. “Promise me you’ll come straight to me if you’re hurt too bad.” Your fingers slipped from his temple, revealing perfectly healed skin, not a scar to be seen. 

Though you’re no longer holding his head, he remains looking up, where he knows you’re looking down at him, and he offers a nod. His hand catches yours before it returns to your side, and your heart flutters. He rubs out the kinks in your hand, feeling the energy you’d used built up, and you wonder just how long a second is supposed to take to pass. Does it usually feel like it takes forever?

“I promise.”

~•~•~

You don’t remember the forecast saying anything about rain, but the thunder from the storm was rattling your windows and making it difficult to sleep. You sigh, standing at your stove as you place the kettle on. Maybe some tea would help to ease you to sleep.

As you set the stove heat up, it was then you noticed that the rattling at your window had turned into banging. Strange, since there wasn’t any known tree to be close enough to a fifth-story window. But turning around, you were met with a surprise that would catch you so off guard, you thought you were seeing a ghost.

“Matt?!” You rush to the window and lift it immediately, not caring about the rainwater that pours inside in consequence. He lets out a groan as he moves, slipping through the window and stepping into your living room.

A million questions swarm in your head to the point it almost felt like the room was spinning. “That promise..” His voice was hoarse, strained. “That promise you offered..” Your eyes search his body, taking in his hunched stature, and the way his arm cradled his chest. “You don’t happen to have working hours? Or can I cash in for a little help now…” It was meant to be a question, but his breath ran out.

To your horror, what was dripping down his body wasn’t just rainwater, but also blood. His blood. But you don’t know what was more of a shock to you. Seeing the size of the gash across his chest, or recognizing the mask in his hand to belong to that of Daredevil.

“Matt..?” All that can coherently pass your lips is his name, and you stand there, dumbfounded for a split second before you rush to his wobbling frame. You lead him to your couch, laying out a blanket for him to lay on. It doesn’t even cross your mind that it might stain. 

The kettle goes off, and the loud whistle overstimulates not just you, but him. “[y/n]..” He sounded pained, and tears pricked your eyes threateningly, and you took the kettle as a means to excuse yourself for a moment.

It’s all telltale, though– your frantic heartbeat, the choked breaths you take, and your subtle sniffle. He could feel guilt begin to sink its nasty claws in his heart, but he couldn’t keep this secret from you any longer. Not when you need to know what you’re getting yourself into– and to remind himself of what he should never have.

You’d taken the time to pour the water into a bowl, cooling it off with some ice. You place it beside the couch before rushing to your linen closet for a hand towel. Arriving at the couch once more, you immediately fall beside him. Matt shifts, trying to lean up, but you force him still. 

“Don’t move, you’ll aggravate your wound.” Your voice shakes, and you curse yourself for sounding so weak, “it’s a large cut, spanning the width of your chest. It’s a lot more than healing those scratches and bruises.” You explain, and even with eyes unfocused, you can tell Matt was listening intently to what you were saying. “It might take a bit longer for me to close the wound, but I can do it.”

“I trust you, [y/n]. Even before this promise, I.. There’s no one else I would have gone to.” His words strike you, but you just begin on your work. His suit’s top is soaked in blood and water, and you lift it to reveal the cut. Something that would normally need stitching, and constant attention, you can bring it down to nothing more than scar tissue. You’d used some of your own energy earlier for his lighter wounds, but this would take much more.

Your hands come into contact with his warm, slick skin, and it takes all your willpower not to break down at the thought of his pain, and that if that knife went in just an inch deeper, you would have lost him.

In a rush of emotion, you thrust all your energy into your palms, and you can feel the shift of it, from your body into his, as his cells work at a rapid pace to seal his wound. A sharp cry falls from your lips as it takes its toll on you, but a groan from Matt reveals it’s just as agonizing for him.

“It will.. pass. The discomfort will pass.” You promise him, looking over his face, and into his eyes, which you know can’t see you in return. Instead, his hand comes up to your wrist, holding it tight, securely. It’s a firm and steady grip, and the complete opposite of what you’d expect in this situation. It was comforting, to say the least, and it inspires you to give your all.

It takes a half an hour to heal him completely, and even then, there’s a scar that’s left behind. You’re lightheaded, and it’s hard to keep your sight straight. “Matt?” You call out to him, but he doesn’t respond. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is even. “Matt?” You project your voice a bit more, and it must have come across as urgent, because his eyes are now open, and his head is tilted in your direction.

“[y/n], I…” He seemed to be at a loss for words. You’d spent a half hour healing his chest wound, but that didn’t account for the swelling on his face or the scrapes across his shoulder, and who-knows-what-else he wasn’t telling you. And it seemed this was your breaking point. Your tears spill over, and you grip his soaked suit, tugging at where the hole is.

“Do you know how this looks to me??” Your voice carried more concern than anger, but Matt could still detect it there. “What are you thinking?! How do you think you’re..” Footage of Daredevil had shown he was exceptional at martial arts. It was irrefutable and undeniable. But to link the two of them? Matt Murdock, and.. Daredevil?

“The danger you put yourself into, every night?? What if one day you take a beating like this, and you don’t wake up? If I’m not there to save you? If I’m unable to save you?” Your voice breaks, and you hiccup through a sob. “What this would do to Foggy?” Your heart broke for him, for the day he hears, God forbid, that Matt passes.

“What this would do to me?” You sound defeated, and you take one more look over his body. All those scars, all those cuts, those bruises. Everything you’d ever healed for him, had been from this? 

“Matt, I..” 

Another sob. 

“I love.. you.”

And that seemed to be his breaking point. He’d silently sat there, taking in all you had to say, as he was expecting it.

“This city is unsafe. As long as men like– like this exist, the city cannot be safe.” He starts. “I couldn’t just sit by any longer as I heard all of this happening around me– I had to do something.” He says, bringing his hand to yours. He’s gentle with them, caressing them, treating them like glass. They’ve been creaking since twenty minutes ago. It must have been a limitation of your abilities since it sounds painful.

“And it’s because I love you, [y/n] I need to make sure this city is safe– for you to live. For us.” There’s nothing but numb pressure on his chest now, and he’s regained his strength to lift himself up. His opposite hand easily finds your neck, and he guides you in slowly. “Trust in me, [y/n], I want nothing more than your safety, and your happiness. I love you, too.”

He closes the distance with a kiss; soft, sweet, and tender. You’re already shaking due to the loss of energy from the transfer. But Matthew Murdock was on your couch, kissing you.

Sure, he was bloody, and you just found out that he’s the notorious Daredevil, but looking past that, he’s a man you can be proud of and a man you’d give anything to protect.

And he’d give anything for you, as well.

[gaast]

Good DBZ fights are like...

Goku vs Frieza: Goku is at a clear power disadvantage and has to use every tool at his disposal to try to even harm Frieza. He succeeds and fails and eventually pulls off a super dramatic Large Spirit Bomb and manages to actually enrage the villain. Really good, really fun. SS Goku vs Frieza pales in comparison just because the series set up "Super Saiyans" as being terrifying enough that Frieza believes he'd lose to one so the drama sorta fades away.

Imperfect Cell vs Piccolo: A brief fight in a town Cell just destroyed, with Piccolo letting Cell kill a man begging for his life just to get more info on the opponent. Cell reveals who he is and what he's capable of and through Piccolo we see he's a threat. The Android Saga changes from here, with Vegeta in particular excited to square off with Perfect Cell. Real showstopper confrontation.

Imperfect Cell and Semiperfect Cell vs Trunks and Vegeta (including Vegeta and Cell vs Androids 17 and 18): The father-son dynamic rules these fights, with the conflicting motivations of all the characters perfectly congealing into a really brutal sequence. The personalities of Cell, Trunks, and Vegeta are on full display, and we once again see Saiyan pride go before the fall. We'll also see this turn on Perfect Cell later--so we get an echo of this sequence later. Perfect Cell knocking out Vegeta in a blink of an eye is a nice bonus.

Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta vs The Ginyu Force: Through all of Namek we've followed and supported the weakest two fighters vying for the Dragon Balls and now they have an uneasy alliance with their former competitor (hell, they agree to make Vegeta immortal as their only hope of beating Frieza) and they are STILL the underdogs. And they manage to hold off long enough for Goku to show up. The Recoome fight really stands out here.

Gotenks vs Super Buu: This is all anxiety. You know Gotenks can win. You know he can win easily. But will he? Will he actually get over his own arrogance long enough to stop showing off the coolest moves in the series against an increasingly exasperated killer?

Vegito vs Super Buu: Usually I prefer underdog fights but it's so cathartic to see the strongest version of Buu just get annihilated by the fused Saiyan pair. The fact that he lets himself get absorbed so he can rescue everyone Buu ate while weakening Buu makes it all the cooler.

Goku, Vegeta, Hercule, and Mr Buu vs Kid Buu: We know Kid Buu is the weakest Buu but his endless energy and sole drive to fight and kill (plus his continued childishness) make him feel far more threatening than any other Buu. Between their desire to protect the weaker fighters, increasing exhaustion, NEED to stop Buu, and inability to finish him, Vegeta and Goku's increasing desperation, pleas to the people of Earth for help, and, simply, Hercule make this a really splid fight.

You can tell I like underdog fights and split-attention fights. DBZ is really bad at underdog fights usually because it's fairly established that strong defeats weak, and technique rarely saves you. As such it has to make its characters love fighting too much to want the fighting to end (or something similar) until it needs to. That works MAYBE up until Perfect Cell but Gohan should have known better, and I don't care what the transformation has to say about it.

So like, Ultra Instinct is cool but it doesn't really sell well in a series where typically if you're bigger you're better imo. Baby is way more effective as an antagonist before he becomes Baby Vegeta; every Shenron is more interesting than Omega Shenron; Buu works because his motivations are completely bizarre; Cell stops being interesting beyond his fighting abilities once he becomes Perfect Cell and doesn't have a motivation.

Underdog fights rule because they force the heroes to think outside the box and play to their strengths. Goku almost beats Frieza because Frieza never trained and was so always so strong he never really learned How To Fight. Goku's experience makes up for the power difference. The Android Saga works because people who aren't strong enough to stop the world's deadliest roadtrip aren't strong enough to do it but they keep trying.

It's more interesting when you're not certain that someone will get a new transformation or fusion and win at the end. It's more interesting when Super Buu absorbs Gohan almost in a panic and still loses.