#and on same day he mentioned he's got his character figured out and that he'll be ready to start rping... hrrrrm...

[gooperts-gunk]

currently vodwatching and i'd like to inform everyone that bbh has been collecting an abundance of cornflowers and keeping them in his inventory... Stare

[radishaur]

ꕤ helping hand ꕤ

Warnings: brief mention of Sabaody & Marineford in Luffy's part Genre: fluff Characters: Luffy, Zoro, & Law Summary: How they realize they have feelings for you (acts of service edition) Author's Note: We're back finally omg. Zoro's part of this stumped me so hard because I wanted to keep the idea I had for him for the next installment of this series so sorry if this one falls flat! I kind of hate it, but I promise all the Zoro fans out there will be well-fed in the next segment. ;_; I'm so glad you guys have been enjoying them so far. I hope you guys enjoy this one and as always happy reading! masterlist

Luffy always acts on instinct which makes it all the more pure when he does something nice.

If he sees something that reminds him of someone or wants to do something nice, he'll just do it. He's also surrounded by people who are constantly doing the same for him. However, I think someone really going the extra mile to do something meaningful for him would most likely make his heart flutter and cause him to re-evaluate how he feels about you.

~

Storms are a common occurrence out on the sea, especially while traveling in the Grand Line. They've had their fair share of wild storms, sometimes with weather phenomena beyond belief, but Luffy loved them all.

Caution to the wind, he was always sitting on the mast, right on the Sunny where he belonged. Nami hated it, always yelling at him about how one of these days he would fall in and something bad would happen, but he knew Zoro would always go and get him, so did it really matter?

So, when he was sitting on the Sunny as he always did and another storm began to start, he simply shoved his hat further onto his head and ignored at all of the crew's attempts to get him to come down and head inside.

"You're gonna get yourself killed, Luffy!" Nami scolded, yelling from her place on the upper deck as Luffy continued ignoring her.

He simply laughed, turning to look at her over his shoulder as the crew scrambled around trying to ready the ship for the winds and rain. "If I fall, Zoro will just come and get me!"

The man in question was still dozing on the deck, seemingly unbothered by the onslaught of rain pelting him. Nami glared, walking down the stairs and hitting him on the head hard enough to leave a welt and the two of them began to bicker. Luffy laughed again, always enjoying his crew's antics and trusting that they would figure everything out. They always did.

He catches your eyes as you're starting to run around the deck, grabbing furniture and rushing it inside with Sanji's help and you flash him a reassuring smile. He returns it, watching as you pick up the foldable table Robin was reading at not a few minutes ago before running inside. He feels warmth spread across his chest and he tells himself that it's his sign that everything will be fine. And it is for a while until a particularly harsh wave crashes against the side of the Sunny as he's watching you grab the last of the furniture. He loses his grip, his balance thrown off by being twisted around and looking the wrong way, and before he can catch himself he's splashing into the sea, sapping all his strength in an instant.

The cold water rushes around him, pulling him further and further down into the water and he can feel his vision blurring the longer he stays in the water. He vaguely sees someone jump into the water causing a splash above and then Zoro's familiar green hair is swimming towards him. All he can manage to do is give him a weak smile before Zoro grabs him and hauls him back up to the surface of the water. Eventually, he's laid out on the deck of the ship, the crew immediately crowding around him as he coughs out water from his mouth.

"You idiot, this is exactly what I said would happen!" Nami chides, hitting him on the head this time instead of Zoro.

He groans, complaining half-heartedly. "But Zoro got me just like I said!"

Nami bickers with him for a little longer until he has enough strength to sit up. He reaches behind him to grab his hat and pull it onto his head once again but is surprised when he's met only with the cold skin of his neck instead of the familiar well-worn straw. His hand goes to his head next, wondering if somehow he was already wearing it and it hadn't fallen off his head while he was in the water, but all he's met with is his wet messy hair.

"Where's my hat?" he asks, turning to Zoro.

Zoro cracks open his eye from where he settled in to resume his nap and looks like he's about to give some snarky reply before he stops. His mouth snaps shut and his eye widens slightly as he seems to remember something.

"I don't know," he says, causing a wave of anxiety to crash through Luffy immediately. "I just pulled you out of the water. I didn't see your hat. Isn't it around your neck?"

Luffy stands up then, running over to the side of the railing to look for it. The waves have picked up in intensity so despite his best efforts, he can't find any signs of his hat. He looks over his shoulder, the rest of the crew besides Zoro oblivious to his panic, too busy resuming their clearing of the ship's deck. He once again catches your eyes and you immediately sense that something is wrong, like you always seem to be able to do when it comes to him, and you run over as Zoro curses under his breath and gets up himself.

"What's wrong Luffy?" you ask, concern evident as you meet him.

He looks back out at the water, still desperately searching for any hint of yellow or red as he responds. "My hat."

It doesn't explain anything, but you know him well enough to fill in the blanks, immediately looking at him and noticing its absence and putting the rest together. By now, it seems that Zoro has informed the rest of the crew as the ship is coming to a halt and everybody has begun to look out to the sea for his hat.

He moves back toward the figurehead, thinking that maybe it caught on the Sunny's head before he fell but has no luck. He can feel a pit forming in his stomach at the thought of him losing his hat forever, of not being able to keep his promise to Shanks, but then he hears your shout.

"I can see it!"

He runs over to the stairs, eyes following your point out to sea and finally, he sees his hat. It's a little far out, but it's there, floating on the water's surface amongst the waves. He looks back just in time to see you hauling yourself up onto the railing, throwing your jacket onto the deck before jumping headfirst into the icy cold water. He hears some shouts of protest from the crew but you've already disappeared into the water, oblivious to their cries.

"What are they thinking?" Usopp calls as he begins climbing the ladder up to the crow's nest. "The waves are so powerful, will they be ok?"

A new kind of panic wells inside of him at Usopps words. He knows that you're strong and he's seen you swim before on the few rare beach days the crew gets, but he also knows that the ocean is a force to be reckoned with, waves and currents pushing and pulling with intense force. He runs over to the railing once more, keeping his eyes trained on his hat and waiting to see you pop up next to it. The rest of the crew joins him quickly, everyone waiting with bated breath as you swim under the water.

Eventually after what feels like minutes but was most likely only a few seconds, you do pop out of the water right next to his hat. You grab it in your hand and turn to face the ship, waving your hand with a smile. His relief is short-lived, however, when a giant wave comes crashing down right on you, pulling you under the water. He hears someone scream your name and it takes a few seconds before he realizes that it's him screaming. He wants to jump in and save you like his instincts are telling him but he feels so helpless, just like on Sabaody, just like at Marineford, because you're right there and he can't help you.

Thankfully, before his body can move and doom himself to drowning, Zoro is jumping in after you. Once again, he's left waiting, wondering if this is how the crew always feels when he's gone overboard and needed to get saved. Seconds tick by before the water breaks once more and there you two are. Zoro begins paddling over to the ship and you're coughing water out while clutching his hat to your chest.

When you're finally lifted onto the ship, all you can do is lean against the railing, still holding his hat to your chest. You finish catching your breath as Robin comes over holding your jacket. You smile up at everyone, first at Robin and then at him. You lift the hat up towards him. "I got it, safe and sound."

The crew breathes a giant sigh of relief, seeing you and your humor still intact. Robin leans you forward and lays your jacket over your shoulders while Nami begins to criticize you for jeopardizing your health. All he can do is stand in front of you, paralyzed as he watches you recovering from your swim. The breeze picks up again and a particularly strong one causes you to shiver, clothes still soaked with seawater.

"Come on, let's go inside. We don't want anyone catching a cold," Nami says, ushering everyone inside.

You stand up with Robin's help and before you go inside, you step towards him. You're holding the hat out to him, more firmly this time as your strength from fighting the water comes back.

"Here," you offer, "The string is broken, so you'll need to fix it but otherwise it's in good condition."

He picks it up, brushing his hand over the familiar three slashes in the top that Nami had carefully sown up all those years ago and he's filled with such gratitude for you. You risked your life to go and retrieve his hat after his carelessness, had held it so close to you as if it was something precious, knowing how important it was to him that you would throw caution to the wind, so it's with a smile that he finds himself placing the hat on your head instead of his own.

"You wear it for now. Consider it my thanks!" he says, his sunny smile radiating the warmth that's spreading across his own chest at the thought that you would risk so much for what most would consider just a hat.

As he heads inside and Sanji begins to serve dinner, he can't help the flutter in his heart every time you look at him in his hat. It suits you so well that he can't find it in himself to take it back from you until you settle it on his head before heading to bed. From now on, he finds more excuses to give his hat to you, and every time it makes his heart stop. He realizes quite quickly why he's feeling this way and it only encourages him to give you his hat even more. The person he loves deserves it, after all.

Zoro really values the actions of others. It's easy to say things without following through, so purposeful actions or a promise kept means everything.

Zoro never says anything he doesn't mean, but he certainly doesn't say anything he doesn't intend to follow through on. Actions prove everything to him and he values the fact he's on a crew that feels the same. I think someone sharing that same devotion to showing care and intent through your actions, especially if it's something for him, would be huge and make him realize his feelings for you.

~

Zoro isn't one to hold back, but especially not when he fights. He gives everything he has to give, plus a little bit more. In order to be the best, he'll push himself well past his limits. He doesn't see the issue with it, always willing to sacrifice himself for the team because the best should be able to take it. To handle the weight of the world.

Normally, this method works out, but it also leads to him getting wounded more often than he likes to admit.

He always lets Chopper treat his injuries but doesn't always strictly adhere to his recovery plans. Before his injuries truly have a chance to fully heal, he's already off to his next battle or training session. Over time, those injuries turn into something much worse and that was exactly what happened in the Straw Hat's most recent fight.

He'd gone into the battle with a strained muscle in his arm and all it took was for him to put a little too much power into a swing for it to turn into a full-on tear. Chopper had given him a long lecture after the fight and was still getting on him about properly resting this time around as he finished treating him.

"I put a wrapping on the affected area to keep it compressed. You need to rest and keep the area elevated as much as possible. Ice it for 15 minutes every few hours," Chopper instructed as he began rooting around in his medicinal cabinets for something, "I'm serious this time. If you keep pushing yourself you'll cause irreparable damage."

Zoro nodded, humming lowly in agreement as he twisted his arm, trying to get used to the bandages. After a few more seconds, Chopper found what he was looking for and grabbed a small metal tin. He got down from the desk and gave the container to Zoro, who opened it to find a green salve inside.

"That should help with the recovery process. If you apply it once a day it should speed up the healing. I would apply it myself, but it works best when you apply it with skin-to-skin contact which my hooves can't do. You'll have to ask someone else to help," Chopper explained.

"I'll just do it myself," Zoro said, getting up to leave.

"Zoro," Chopper said, the seriousness of Chopper's voice forcing him to stop. All it took was one look from Chopper for him to get the message. He sighed, relenting easily. "Fine. I'll ask someone."

The rest of the day was as close to normal as he could possibly get. He slept on the deck, argued with Sanji (sans swords), and ate dinner with everyone like any other day. He'd almost forgotten he was injured until he went to do his nightly training and received a nasty glare from Chopper that forced him to reconsider.

It was his own personal hell to not be able to train himself like he's used to, but what was even worse was knowing he'd need to suck up his own pride and ask someone to rub ointment all over his arm the next day.

There was only one person on the ship he'd even consider asking, so he wasted no time the next day ci coming to find you.

He knew the most likely place to find you was in the library with your nose in a book and he was pleased when he found you there, all by yourself. He made his presence known by clearing his throat and you smiled at him as you set your book down and gave him your full attention. "I don't suppose you're here to read a book?" you teased.

He rolled his eyes, not even deeming to give a response as he crossed his arms to prepare himself. "No, I'm here to... ask for a favor."

"A favor? Sure, what is it," you asked, any pretense of teasing gone.

Zoro took the chair next to you and placed the container of ointment in front of you. You frowned, not understanding.

"Chopper gave me some stuff to put on my arm, but he told me I needed someone to help me," he explained, a frown pulling at his lips as he continued. "I'd appreciate it if it could be you who does it."

At this, you smiled. Zoro felt his cheeks warm as you shifted your body to face him. "Alright, sure. I can help you."

You never failed to surprise him with how easily you came to his aid. He started to unwrap his arm as you grabbed some of the salve with your fingers. When he finished unwrapping his arm, he held it out to you in an offering. You took his arm in your free hand, your touch more gentle than it ever needed to be with him, and began to rub the mixture into his arm.

"So, why exactly do you need help with this?" you asked to break the silence.

"Something about skin-to-skin," he grumbled, enjoying the feeling of your fingers massaging his skin more than he liked to admit. "Chopper said it heats up or something. Speeds it up."

"Well, I'm happy to help," you hummed, grabbing some more of the mixture and moving to a new spot.

It was cold at first, but the skin of your palm against his arm made it bearable. The longer you rubbed, the more it heated up and the more aware of your touch he became. He couldn't help the way his heart picked up the pace and he only prayed you couldn't feel it.

What the hell was up with him?

When you finally finished, you wiped your palm off and closed the tin, handing it back to him. "How long do you have to do this for?" you asked, already getting back into your book.

"A week or something," he sighed, already missing his regular routine after only one day.

"Gotcha. Well, I'll be here tomorrow if you need me," you said, giving him one last smile before continuing to read your book.

Once again, here you were offering him an olive branch. He felt his stomach flip as he left the room, but he told himself it was his nerves. That being read by you so easily caught him off guard.

For the next week, he came down to have you apply his ointment for him and every day you did it without complaint. Sometimes, he'd stick around, content to enjoy your company over sleeping on the deck. Sometimes, you'd tell him about your research and any progress you'd made while other times he'd doze off while you read your next bit of literature.

Soon enough, his last day of rest comes along and while you're applying his rub, he knows he has to say something.

"Thank you," he mumbles, clearing his throat before continuing, "For helping me."

"Of course. I'm always here for you," you reply, your voice light with the smile that lights up your face.

"Why?"

The question slips out before he can think better of it. He flinches, his immediate reaction to pull away, but with your firm grasp on his arm, he can't get far. Your brows are furrowed and when you look up at him he can't help but get nervous, because the truth is that he does want to know. He can't understand why you always drop everything for him, with a devotion he's only given and rarely received, and why it makes his stomach flip and his heart clench.

"Why?" you repeat, the slightest laugh in your voice as you grin up at him. "Because we're a team. I'd do it for all of you."

He can't help but feel disappointed in your answer, but he doesn't know why. He's about to brush it off and continue when you beat him to it.

"But also... I guess I do it because I can't help but want to. There's just something about you that I can't say no to. When you ask for help, what else can I do but give it to you?"

Zoro is silent for a moment as he lets your words sink in. You continue on like you haven't just bared your soul to him, like sharing something so vulnerable with him wasn't difficult in the slightest. Something about those words made him feel like he was floating, his heart soaring amongst the clouds.

"I feel the same," he says, forcing himself to respond after a long minute of silence.

For a moment, he could swear you clench his arm a little tighter, but your touch is feather light before he has time to process, so he writes it off as his imagination.

After that, he parts ways with one last final thank you, but his thoughts linger on your answer to his question long past that. He mulls it over until he feels like he's lived the moment a million times. It's not until days later that he realizes why your devotion to him makes his heart skip a beat and the realization only makes his feelings worse.

Law is the king of acts of service. This is where his true feelings absolutely shine if you're willing to read between the lines.

I also think this is what means the most to him. Growing up in the circumstances he did, he holds actions in a much higher regard than words or empty promises. I think having someone go out of their way to do something nice or considerate for him, and him actually wanting to do something back in return, would speak volumes to him and would make him consider his feelings.

~

Law likes to think that he takes good care of himself, but as he struggles to read the same page of his latest reading of choice as the words blur together from exhaustion, he has to concede that the evidence is really stacked against him.

He sets the papers down on his desk, leaning back slightly in his chair and rubbing his hand down his face and against his eyes, trying to will them into focusing when he hears a knock on his office door. A quick glance at the clock indicates that it's a few hours past dinner time and that almost the entire crew should be asleep.

"Come in," he calls out, exhaustion evident in his voice as he straightens back up in the chair. "What is it?"

The door opens and he's immediately met with your warm smile.

"Captain," you greet, peeking into the room with one hand opening the door, "I thought you might still be up."

Your smile softens the edges of the headache that's quickly forming in his head and he knows that you don't interrupt him unless you have something important, so he sits up in his chair even straighter and you take that as your signal to come in. You push the door open and he smells the soft scent of food waft over to him as the door pulls in the air from the hallway. He can feel his stomach churn, realizing just how hungry he is.

The source of the smell becomes immediately apparent when he looks up at you from where he was absentmindedly straightening the papers he set down. In your free hand is a plate piled high with what he assumes is the dinner the crew ate no more than a few hours ago.

"I was on clean-up duty today after dinner, so I made you a plate before I go to bed," you explain, coming over to his desk and carefully placing it on the little space not occupied by books or papers. "You never came out to eat so I thought you'd be hungry."

The meal is simple, but it makes his stomach growl loudly. You smile softly at him and he clicks his tongue against his teeth, the sound only serving to embarrass him and prove you right. He swallows, the fluttery, warm feeling in his chest making him stumble over what he should say. After a few moments of drawn out silence, you seem to take his lack of response as your sign to go.

"Don't stay up too late, ok?"

You're gone before he can say anything back and he finds himself internally kicking himself for just sitting there like an idiot. He sighs, diving into the plate of food after his stomach growls once more. When he's finally about to sleep hours later, he decides to be responsible and brings the plate into the kitchen for the morning crew to take care of. He places it on a counter in the kitchen just as another plate catches his eye.

Walking over, he sees 3 rice balls, carefully wrapped to preserve them, sitting on a plate next to a little note. He recognizes the handwriting as yours almost immediately and he picks it up to read it.

An early morning snack for our hardworking Captain <3

His fingers pinch the edge of the note hard enough to make a dent as he feels heat crawl up his neck and across his face. His eyes linger on the little heart you scribbled at the end of the note and the clenching he feels in his stomach is not at all related to his hunger. He eats the snack, grateful that there's no pickled plum filling, and pockets the note before leaving.

This little routine continues for a few weeks. You don't always appear at the same time, but you always do eventually, knocking on his office door and bringing him a plate of whatever the crew's eaten without him. He also finds himself looking forward to your little notes, the collection of them growing in one of the drawers of his desk. You write something different every night, but there's always that little heart at the end that sends the same warm feeling through him even though he knows it will be there every time.

Tonight, however, he finishes his reading a lot quicker. He's been noticing that happening more frequently, his eyes not blurring so much and allowing him to read everything at a steady pace instead of having to read the same lines over and over. He doesn't want to admit that it has anything to do with the fact that he's now eating at least twice a day consistently, but he is a doctor and he knows it does. With nothing else to read, he decides to bring his plate to the kitchen early and head to bed.

He's surprised when he finds the light on in the kitchen and even more surprised when he sees you still awake, back turned away from him as you hum to yourself. You're not wearing your boiler suit, instead wearing what looks like your pajamas as you mix something in a bowl, completely unaware of his presence. He sets the plate down and clears his throat, watching as you jump slightly before turning around, one hand on your chest as the other grips the counter. You let out a shaky breath of relief, the same honey-sweet smile you always give him melting onto your face as you look at him.

"Oh, it's just you. You scared me," you say, laughing slightly as you calm yourself down. You take a glance at the clock and then look back at him. "You're here early."

He frowns, not needing to look at the clock to know how late it is. He knows that he doesn't usually make it to the kitchen until much later, but he also knows that the crew ate dinner hours ago and that it's well past when you should be asleep, so he doesn't bother answering you, opting instead to answer with a statement of his own. "You're up late."

You smile at him again, always do, and begin mixing the contents of the bowl together once again. He crosses his arms, leaning against the counter as he waits for you to explain.

"Just making your snack," you explain, voice soft as you finally set the bowl down, satisfied with it.

He frowns, finally catching the mixture and recognizing it as the filling of his rice balls. He also sees the steam rising as you have some rice cooking and the sheets of seaweed paper laid out, ready to be molded around the rice.

"Why now? It's late," he continues, something in his gut telling him that he's still missing something here.

He knows he's right when he sees you bite your lip and catches the nervous way your gaze flicks over to him. You always meet him head-on, so to see you avoiding him even slightly makes his heart clench, and not in a good way. He narrows his gaze slightly and you open your mouth, about to say something when you're interrupted by the telltale beeping of the machine telling you the rice is done.

You shut your mouth, lips pressed into a line as you quickly start pouring the rice out and getting ready to mold it. He waits for a few moments, wanting to see if you'll say anything on your own, but quickly realizes you won't. If it was anyone else, he would have lost his patience long ago, but he can't seem to get mad at you like he does the others. You give him so much patience, much more than he's ever deserved, so he takes a different route.

He says your name firmly and watches as you sigh, placing the spoon with the filling in it back down into the bowl as you turn to look at him, guilt written across your face. You only stare at him for a few moments before you finally answer him, turning to resume making the rice balls as you do.

"I'm not on clean-up duty today so I had to wait until they were done. It wouldn't be fair to make them stay up late and clean up after my own personal mess, so whenever I'm not on clean-up duty I always just wait."

He doesn't know why it never occurred to him that you would be going so far out of your way to make his late-night/early-morning snack, but the realization smacks him across the face now. He feels more stupid than he's felt in a long time for not realizing that of course you wouldn't always be on the nightly kitchen duty and even angrier at himself that it took him coming into the kitchen early to realize that you prepared all the food by yourself and that it wasn't something you easily pieced together out of dinner's scraps.

But, along with his anger, he feels the familiar twitch of his heart as it thuds against his ribcage. The warm feeling blooms in his chest once more as the idea that you go out of your way to do something nice for him every night, losing precious sleep in the process, settles on him. He's grateful you aren't looking at him, too absorbed in shaping his rice balls to notice the way his ears flame up and the way his grip tightens on the counter behind him.

He swallows, forcing his mind to quiet down as he directs his attention to you once again.

"Here, all done," you say, picking up the plate and taking the few steps necessary to cross over and hand it to him.

He takes the plate and finds himself speechless again, much like he was the first time you brought him dinner in his office, and he hates that he can't just force the words thank you out of his mouth as you turn to begin cleaning the bowl you used out in the sink. He grips the plate and just stares at it for a little while longer before finally picking one up to eat. He takes his time this time, trying to savor what he now knows is something you make with extreme care and at the cost of your own schedule.

When he looks up, you're sitting on the counter just watching him with a satisfied smile on your face and he decides that he has to at least say something.

"What were you going to write?" he asks. He sees your face scrunch up and your head cock slightly to the side out of confusion and he realizes that he'll need to explain. He can feel his cheeks heat up as he forces himself to clarify. "On the note. What were you going to write?"

"Oh," you say, the nervous smile returning to your face as you look off to the side. You bite your lip again, seemingly debating something before coming to a decision and reaching behind you.

He doesn't know how he hadn't seen it earlier, but in your hand is a small piece of paper, the same one you always write your notes on. You push yourself off the counter and hold it out to him, motioning to the now-empty plate still in his hand. "I'll trade you."

He accepts, his fingers grazing yours as he takes the paper and you grab the plate, turning to wash it in the sink. He looks down at the paper and his heart almost explodes.

Tried a new filling today, let me know if you like it. Don't worry, they're still made with love <3

He stuffs the note into his pocket quickly, feeling his face set aflame. He makes the decision to leave, save himself the embarrassment of you seeing him all worked up, so he clears his throat and makes his way to the doorway. He can feel your eyes on him, burning a hole into his back, but he can't bring himself to face you, so he simply lifts his hand and grunts out a goodnight before walking off.

As he passes his office, he finds himself slowing down. There's a nagging feeling in his chest again that's telling him it's not enough. He wants to say thank you, to express how much it means to him that you would do something like this for him, to tell you that he's noticed it helping him, making his day a little easier and the nights not so long, but he knows the second he opens his mouth that none of that will come out and he's left feeling frustrated all over again. He almost gives up, shoving his hands into his pockets to head to bed, but the feeling of your note he stuffed inside earlier gives him an idea.

He heads inside his office, grabbing a piece of paper and quickly writing his own message down on it. It's short, with no cute little heart to accompany it, but he hopes it gets the message across. He stares at it, the simple thank you he'd managed to write staring back at him, and he shambles it into your room before he can think twice about it.

The next morning, you greet him with an especially large and heartwarming smile and he feels the urge to write you another one, if it means you'll look at him like that again. There's an itch in his chest, gnawing at him all day as his heart stutters every time he thinks about the smile on your face and the image of you in the kitchen making him food. At night, he finds himself unable to read his papers once again, but this time his eyes are focused and his mind isn't foggy. No, this time he just can't stop thinking about you and he knows exactly what that means, the innocent flutter in his chest just another piece of damming evidence to his own feelings.

ღ radishaur — i do not own any of these characters. do not plagiarize. please enjoy and remember to be respectful! 

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Fire & Ice 🔥🧊 | MCU!Johnny Storm Imagine

Link to my Marvel masterlist

Characters & Pairings: JosephQuinn!JohnnyStorm x enhanced!reader (romantic), the Fantastic Four (platonic), The Avengers (platonic).

Content Warnings: fluff, profanity, mentions of canon violence and death, canon divergence, light angst | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 7K

Requested 📨 yes/no

Premise: Earth-616 is no stranger to the multiverse. Since the defeat of Thanos in 2023, the Avengers have had their fair share of visitors from other worlds and know what to expect when they do. But when a man wearing the same face of their late comrade arrives, the Avengers are in for the shock of their lives when a group of heroes tailing the individual fall through the portal behind him. And for the flying, fire-wielding, and sometimes charming Johnny Storm, he meets his match in the form of a woman whose power and reputation matches that of her cold, steel, heart.

Note: Happy 2025 everyone! To kick off the year I am gifting y'all this damn idea that's been stuck in my head the past two weeks. Now if you've been following my work since I started, then you know I was pumping out Marvel fics back in the day. Phase 1-4 of Marvel have my heart, and unfortunately the disappointment of Phase 5 (with few exceptions) had me lose interest. BUT if there was one thing I absolutely loved when I was a kid, it was the OG Fantastic Four movies with Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, etc. I watched those literally every day and before the Avengers/MCU I rolled hard with the FF, Blade, & X-Men (I've got another idea involving Deadpool & Wolverine cooking). So I have a lot of expectations for FF: First Steps especially because the MCU has had so many misses the last two years. I love Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn, I haven't watched The Bear, but I've heard great things about Ebon Moss-Bachrach and I look forward to his and the rest of the cast's portrayal of the FF.

I've been a fan of JQ since 2022 because like majority of people I discovered him by his performance as Eddie in Stranger Things. I'll admit I haven't seen much of his filmography, but I did watch A Quiet Place: Day One and he was phenomenal. And don't get me started on Gladiator II. I was pleased to hear he'd be playing my first love Johnny Storm and I know he'll do amazing, not to mention he has said that he was a fan of the OG movies and Chris' version of the character. Whenever I hear an actor is a fan of the source material, I know they're going to deliver.

The movie hasn't come out, neither has the trailer, so I don't have much to work with. But we know that FF:FS is following the origin story of the FF and will feature the Silver Surfer. AND it's rumored to be where RDJ's Doctor Doom will debut, setting up Avengers: Doomsday and he will be the big villain of the MCU. This obviously is diverging from canon and pretty much an AU story, remember that please. SO here's my treat to my fellow Johnny Storm lovers to feed y'all since we still got months until FF:FS. Enjoy.

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The blinding light of the sun peaking through the curtains pulled Johnny from his sleep before the alarm was set to go off. Had it been any other day he’d be upset. Wishing nothing more than to curl into the comforter and get the extra minutes of sleep. But thankfully it was Sunday--the day reserved for rest. No agenda. No training. No missions. Completely free and dedicated to recoupling after a week filled with non-stop action. 

And if there was anyone who would be displeased at waking up earlier than needed, it was the woman lying beside him. Fast asleep on her back with one hand curled beneath the pillow and the other clasping his on her chest. Body cooler than the average person, which made the atmosphere of the room comfortable considering Johnny’s was hotter than the average citizen. Figuratively and literally. 

Johnny smiled, happily tucking himself further into her space, chin leaning on her shoulder as he snuggled against her side. Allowing his eyes to flutter close and accept the slumber his body itched to claim. The fresh scent of shea butter from her shampoo and body wash filled his nostrils, and he sighed in content. 

This was what life was worth living.

But just when Johnny welcomed the darkness, the annoying, blazing sound of their alarm clock echoed against the walls, disturbing the peaceful moment and making him flinch and groan. “Dammit,” he rolled onto his back, arm reaching to slap at the air until his fingers grasped the device. Snoozing it asleep with a press of a button. 

Now he was fully awake.

Flinging himself back onto the mattress, he felt her body shift before letting out a soft chuckle, “Had you turned it off when you first woke, you’d have spared yourself this torment.” Her voice was laced with tiredness, and Johnny turned his head to find her eyes still closed but clear amusement painting her visage by the smirk on her lips. 

Rolling his eyes, he moved to lay on his side and brought his arm around her waist, “Why didn’t you? Seeing as you were also awake.” 

“Too comfy.”

“Well, so was I,” he sassed, mouth hovering over her jaw before leaning down to kiss the skin, the coolness sending a chill along his spine. She hums, nuzzling into the touch, seeking it.

“The alarm is also on your side.”

Johnny smirks against her cheek, mischief coating his gaze, “you could’ve reached over me, you know. Saved us both the hassle.” His hand reached up to stoke her jaw, trailing to tangle his fingers in her hair. Soft and silky. He takes a moment to appreciate the beauty before him. From her thick eyelashes, to her lips. Her cheekbones and kissable lips. 

“Oh you would like that, wouldn’t you,” she challenged with no actual bite to her tone, one eye peeking open. “Me on top of you in the morning.” He didn’t even deny it, flashing a toothy smile

“Very much so.” 

Instead of replying, Y/n moved to push the man onto his back, throwing her leg over his waist to lay herself on top of him. Johnny’s hands immediately grabbed her, keeping her body pressed against his with one hand on her back and the other firmly on her hips. The heat radiating off his complexion clashed against the frostiness of hers. Two polar opposites coming together in an explosion of love and devotion. 

Johnny welcomed it with open arms, bringing her mouth to his in a tender kiss. Chuckling as she fought away while mumbling about morning breath to which he didn’t care. He kissed her like his life depended on it. Like they were the only two people in existence. For there was nothing sweeter on the planet than the taste of her lips on his. 

And thanks to the fire that consumed his veins, Johnny was spared from getting frostbite.

“Happy?” She asked while pulling away, but not getting far as Johnny cupped her jaw in his hand to keep her close. Kissing her once more after mumbling, “exceptionally.”

The tale of the Human Torch falling in love with the Ice Princess begins long ago, three years to be exact, when the Fantastic Four find themselves sitting across the table of Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers. 

Everything leading up to the moment was still a blur to the young Johnny Storm. One moment he and his team, the Fantastic Four as they called themselves, were fighting the formidable Doctor Doom in their 60s-style futuristic Earth. And the next they are pulled into another universe while tailing the bastard to prevent him from bringing utter destruction to the world. It hadn’t even been five minutes and the Four were surrounded by armored trucks and individuals donning costumes similar to their own. 

“Hands where we can see them!”

“State your name and purpose!”

“Who are you and where did you come from!”

Johnny’s heart pounded against his chest. The anxiety piling up like a volcano ready to explode as he took in the scene before him. There were guns pointed at him and his friends. A man in a blue tunic and red cape with his hands raised in defense next to a young girl wearing a brown tunic. Another man in a red, white, and blue tactical suit with wings who landed in front of them. His shield reflecting off the light. Next to him was a man in a similar attire with wings but in grey. Then there was a woman in all purple, bow and arrow trained on the Four. A man with five golden rings on either wrist. A masked individual in a bright red and blue suit with spider webbing detail crouched on top of a car. And finally, a woman in a striking gray tactical ensemble stood closest to Johnny with a cold look in her eyes. 

Upon making a flame with his hands, ready to defend himself and his friends, Johnny watched her face shift to amusement. Raising her brow as though unimpressed by the trick, “Don’t even try, hotshot.” And without taking her eyes off his, her palm raised up to form an icicle in the shape of a dagger. Her other arm extended to show her skin turning completely into ice. 

Yeah, Johnny wasn’t sure if it was fear or arousal that consumed him. He often confused them at times. All he knows is there was a pretty woman before him with ice powers with cold eyes ready to strike him down with God knows what laid in store for him should he dare tempt her. 

But now wasn’t the time to flirt. There were more important matters at stake. Like the fact they were surrounded by highly advanced, highly enhanced, people with an army of soldiers at their command. In a place that looked like New York but lacked the 60s style he was accustomed to. 

“Cuff them and begin transport to HQ!”

“Find me Banner and clear this area at once!” 

The Four were at a loss. Outnumbered and confused, none able to process what the fuck was going on. They lost Doom. He was God knows where and they were not a match against these strangers. So they took their loss and compiled as they were restrained by agents.

“What the fuck is happening, Reed?” Johnny demanded, struggling against the cuffs on his arms and ankles. His power seemingly unable to melt the damn things which both intrigued and terrified him. 

“I don’t know?”

“Where are we?” said Sue from beside the genius, expression full of confusion and slight fear. The last thing she remembered was falling through a glowing yellow-orange light in the shape of a ring and the feeling of nausea hitting her full force. Giving her whiplash. 

But before anyone could answer, the blinding light of the sun hit them as the door whipped open and agents ushered them out of the vehicle. Clashes of voices, cameras flashing as news crews desperately tried to breach the barrier guards had formed and even a helicopter flying above. Johnny glanced up to take in the chaos, gaze falling onto the large building before him with a giant ‘A’ 

The Four are led to a large glass encased room, still cuffed, and ordered to sit and wait while armed guards post themselves outside. Expecting someone to come in and interrogate them, they take the moment to assess the area. Noting that the glass room sat perched above a large space, like a bullpen, where people were rushing to answer phones, type on computers, or stood watching the vast tv screens splayed on the wall. The news channels played footage of what transpired on the streets moments prior. The Four tense when they see an image of Doctor Doom, disappearing after falling from what appeared to be a portal in the sky. 

Just like they did. 

The sound of the glass door opening captured their attention, turning to find the man in the wingsuit and the woman in gray. Their body language showed they were on high alert, analyzing the Four for any potential threat, and they exchanged a look before the man set down his shield on a free chair while the woman placed a stack of files onto the table. 

“I’m Captain Sam Wilson, this is Agent Y/n L/n,” The man spoke first, cutting right to the chase, “You’re not from here, are you?”

“Here?” Reed repeated, perplexed.

“Earth-616,” Y/n answered, locking eyes with each of the Four, lingering on Johnny before falling onto Reed. “At first we suspected you’re with Hydra, or part of the team Fontaine has been cooking up. But ruled those possibilities out once we saw the footage of your friend who preceded you in the portal.”

The Four processed her words, unable to identify the names she spoke of. 

“Hydra?”

“We don’t know who this Fontaine person is, but we can assure you we’re not involved with them.”

“You saw Doom? We have to find him immediately!” 

“I’m sorry, did you say Earth-616?,’ Reed reeled back to her initial answer. Y/n crossed her arms over her chest with a nod.

“I did,” she then turned to Sam, lowering her voice but they were still able to hear everything, “This isn’t going to be easy, Cap. They obviously hadn’t discovered what we know and that makes them a liability.”

“We have no choice. Whoever traveled with them is still out there and they know what we’re up against. We need them.”

“And how exactly are we going to send them back to where they came from?”

“We’ll figure it out like we always do,” Sam’s tone grows stern, but Y/n holds her ground and doesn’t reveal any ounce of intimidation. “Strange and Banner can find something.”

Johnny, having had enough of them talking about them as though they weren’t right there, spoke up with annoyance, “Can you two please tell us what the fuck is going on? What do you mean “send us back where we came from,” and that we hadn’t discovered what you apparently know?”

Reed pitches in, “Sounds like you’re suggesting the theory of the multiverse is real and that we’ve somehow breached the gap between space, time, and reality and have fallen into a parallel universe,” the genius scoffs, gaze flicking between the two as though waiting for them to say, ‘Sike!’ only for his stomach to plummet in fear as he saw how serious they were. “Oh my God.”

Reed’s reaction to the implication was enough to cause the same in his friends. Sue’s face paled, Ben froze, and Johnny felt a sudden urge to throw up. They were in another universe.

 They watch as Y/n removes a device from her utility belt, stiffening as she points it at the man, a buzzing sound emitting from its speakers causing her brows to furrow and the man leaned over to read whatever it was on the screen. “You’re human, like us, and your DNA appears to be altered with enhanced biological traits.” Glancing up from the screen, her head tilts with suspicion, “but that’s not the interesting part…..your readings indicate you obtain multiversal particles.”

The revelation sent the Four into hysterics. All denying at first the inevitable truth, speaking over each other, struggling against their cuffs--which Sam removed once they calmed down. Reed was dealing with shock and excitement, for the scientific discovery was something he always theorized was true. Meanwhile the others were more fearful of what this meant for their world and the one they were in. 

For hours after the initial shock wore off, they stayed in that room until all information was exchanged between the groups. Sam infomed the Four they were at Avengers campus, headquarters for the Avengers. A team consisting of biologically or technologically enhanced individuals responsible for the safety and order of Earth-616 against domestic, international, and intergalactic threats.

“Well now we can add multiversal to the mix,” Y/n crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly annoyed with having to deal with another damn enemy after they’d finally defeated an adversary not long ago.

Part of Johnny wanted to laugh at her irritation, but that probably would’ve made things worse on his end. So he kept his mouth shut. 

Sam and Y/n were soon joined by the man in the tunic, who introduced himself as Doctor Stephen Strange. A Master of the Mystic Arts who had experience traveling the multiverse, and had even met a variant of Reed years prior. 

He didn’t go into detail obviously of how that ended.

Not long later he was followed by a large man who’s physique rivaled Ben’s and was green. “Dr. Reed Richards, meet Dr. Bruce Banner,” Y/n did not look up from her tablet, full focus on the screen. “You two will surely get on well with figuring out what the fuck it is this Doctor Doom wants with our world.”

While they didn’t join the group, Sam explained who the other team members were that helped attain the Fantastic Four. Stephen’s protegee, America Chavez, who had the power to travel the multiverse--which had Reed’s eyes bulging from his head. He definitely wanted to have a conversation with her. There was Kate Bishop, the purple archer who trained under former Avenger, Clint Barton. Sam’s wingman, Joaquin Torres, and Shang-Chi, who possessed the Ten Rings. Lastly there was Peter Parker, the boy donning the red and blue webbed suit. 

They mentioned the Thunderbolts, another team of enhanced individuals who were more anti-heroes and had once been adversaries of the Avengers but are now allies. Then there was the Guardians of the Galaxy. A team of intergalactic heroes traveling space and protecting the galaxy from threats not on Earth. The Norse Gods of Asgard, now living on Earth. Shuri, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, and the Marvels. Lastly, they touched on former Avengers. Ones who retired, like Barton, and the ones who perished. 

Finally, when things seemed to settle, Johnny decided to lift the mood by saying, “So do you guys have nicknames? Or like code for when you’re on missions?” Sue shot him a look that read, “For the love of God, Johnny.”

Y/n lifted her eyes from the tablet, giving him a once over, “Are you serious right now?”

“What?”

“Aye, take it easy, L/N,” Sam pitched in, waving a hand for emphasis. “Can’t blame the kid for being curious.” All he receives is a mock scoff. 

“Okay, Captain America.”

Johnny’s ears perked up as he looked at Sam with interest. Boyish grin plastered on his face, “You’re called Captain America? That’s really cool.” He motions toward the suit and shield, “Should’ve guessed as much though with the colors of your suit and stars.”  

“I used to be the Falcon, but Torres has taken on that mantle. Strange is just strange,” Y/n snickered under her breath, causing Johnny to bite back a smile. “We call America, Miss America.”

Ben nods his head in approval, “fitting.”

Sam continued listing off the aliases of the team, finally coming to Y/n who narrowed her eyes with a frown as he said, “And she’s the Ice Princess.” 

Honestly she should be grateful for the nickname and that it sounded quite regal in comparison to other ice related names. Hell, they could’ve dubbed her Frost. Or Snowflake. Or God forbid Icicle. At least with the Ice Princess it made her sound both menacing and dauntless. Still, it was too on the nose. And it didn’t help that before the accident that granted her the powers and the Avengers, she was a socialite in America. Before they died, her parents were wealthy investors and friends with the late Tony Stark.

Johnny didn’t try to hide his grin, “The Ice Princess,” earning a glare from the woman, obviously not amused by the nickname nor his delight from it. 

“And what do they call you, hotshot? Firestarter? Flame-man?” 

He shrugs sheepishly, cheeks a tint red, “Human Torch.” Now that has Y/n’s lips curl, fighting back the smile as she hums.

Setting the Four up at campus, they were given rooms and full access to the labs and training facilities. Reed and Ben immediately joined Banner, while Johnny and Sue decided to observe the Avengers and learn from them. Their dynamics. Their history. The way they train and how they come together to develop strategy. How they are able to make a team consisting of individuals with different levels of abilities, experience, and ethics work. 

Johnny would be lying if he said he wasn’t the most curious about Y/n. Not only was she the most beautiful, and quite terrifying, woman he’d ever met, but he was drawn to her aura. The power she held, both physically and on the team. She was extremely intelligent, a mentor to the young members, witty. Unafraid to go toe-to-toe with Sam or Strange. 

And her powers….they were exact opposites. Fire and ice. Hot and cold. Where he controlled flames, she manipulated glaciers. He turned himself into a human torch, she transformed to a human icicle. 

Talk about opposites attract. 

Days passed, and the two teams merged together with the goal of locating their common enemy. By keeping up with the news and reports of suspicious activity, they were able to narrow down the search for Doom. Suspecting him to be hiding somewhere in the New England area. 

The day before planning to scour the location, the teams trained with each other, none holding back. Showing off what they were made of. An enthralling experience considering the Fantastic Four had only been a team for a couple years in comparison to the fifteen plus of the Avengers. Banner being the only founding member there, Sam and Y/n not far behind. 

“I like her,” Sue whispered to her brother when Y/n sideswiped Joaquin and put him on his ass. The group made a circle around the matts in the gym and were taking turns going against each other. Sue caught the way the man’s gaze followed the Avenger. Mesmerized by her skill and ability. And Sue always knew when her brother had a crush. “You should go next when it’s her turn again.” 

Johnny didn’t respond, but the look on his sister's face, a cheeky smirk told him he wasn’t being conspicuous as he thought he was with his feelings. “Shut up.” 

The most tense, and nearly destructible moment, came when the Four discovered a photograph of Tony Stark on the wall of a different debrief room alongside the founding Avengers. Who bore a striking resemblance, well actually he was identical, to Dr. Victor von Doom. The man they were after. 

There was screaming. Accusations thrown at each other. Of course suspicion and confusion from the Four. Up until that point the Avengers only saw Doom with his cloak and mask from the footage, and the Four hadn’t described his appearance. And while the Avengers mentioned Tony Stark, they didn’t show any pictures. 

It calmed when Strange had to remind them about the existence of variants. He met Reed’s when traveling to Earth-838. Peter Parker met two of his. It was completely possible that their Victor von Doom was a variant of their Tony Stark. Were they the same man? Not really when one thinks about it. But they shared a face. The Reed Richards Strange met looked nothing like the one standing in front of him. While in Earth-838, Strange met a young lady who worked with Christine, that world’s version of the Ice Princess, who was not Y/n. Peggy Carter was their Captain America!

Oh, and there was the big detail in the fact that Tony Stark was dead. 

When the commotion settled and the two groups lost their steam, Johnny noted the deflated appearance of the Avengers. All falling quiet with unreadable expressions. Peter excused himself, “I-I don’t feel good. I’m gonna go lay down,” but the blonde saw the way his lip trembled and eyes watered. Rushing out of the debriefing room on a mission to get away from everyone before he burst into tears. A feeling of guilt suddenly consumed Johnny, glancing at his friends who shared the same concern. 

Banner was quiet, as was Strange. The others, who didn’t know Tony personally, shuffled on their feet and quietly excused themselves as well. Sam had his back to everyone, a distant look in his eyes as he gazed down at the bullpen below. 

And then there was Y/n. Sitting in silence with her hands clenching the arms of her chair, white knuckled and jaw so tight he swore he saw a vein protruding. Her breathing was shallow, eyes staring blankly at the wall. 

Johnny felt unease, unsure of what to do. Should he say something? Should they leave the room? Nothing felt right at that moment. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this new revelation changed everything. This was no longer just containing a multiversal threat, this was personal so to say. 

He was spared the ordeal when Sam finally spoke, only to be interrupted by Y/n, “You know you don’t have to--.”

“Do not finish that sentence, Sam.”

He turned away from the window to look at her, tone serious, “I’m trying to look out for you, Kid.”

“What’d I tell you about calling me that?” 

“And Peter,” Sam continues, not letting up, “No one will fault you two for wanting to pull out of this.” 

She scoffs, offended by the insinuation as she stands from her chair. The atmosphere in the room heated up again, and Johnny tensed, watching the woman step forward so she was nearly chest to chest with Sam. “There is a multiversal madman out there and you’re suggesting I stay grounded?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “What the fuck, Sam?”

“This is different, Y/n,” his voice was steady, willing her to understand. He wanted the best for his team. And their situation was unlike anything they’d ever dealt with. “You have to realize that. This Doom is--.”

“Not him, Sam! Y/n threw her hands up, yelling as the anger she had tried to contain began to unleash, “I’m not fucking stupid! For Christ’s sake, I know that’s not Tony and I’m not going to compromise this team because the man we’re up against has the same face as him!” 

“Y/n--,” Strange attempted to intervene but she shot him a look and he immediately backed down. 

“If you think Peter and I should back out, then so should Banner,” she pointed to the man who had yet to say something since the news of Tony’s variant was revealed. “Him and Tony founded this team. And let’s not forget your history with the damn Accords. Should I go call Rhodey and see what he thinks?” 

‘Accords? Rhodey?’ Johnny thought to himself, not familiar with the term as he thought back to the lessons on the Avengers. They must’ve omitted that detail, assuming it was a rather dark part of their history. A confirmation he got from the reactions of Banner and Strange, who’s expressions were complete shock and appalled. 

Sam’s demeanor shifted to that of hurt and exasperation, her words hitting him like a bullet from a gun. “That was low, even for you.” Yeah, whatever it was they were references, the Four gathered it wasn’t good. 

Y/n stepped back as though he struck her, a flash of regret in her eyes but she kept her head up, willing herself not to break. “I’m an Avenger. I took an oath, the same as you, and made a promise to Tony that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect this planet against any and all danger. I will not break that promise, and nothing you say or do will stop me.” Y/n backs away, moving toward the door, “I’ll see you on the quinjet tomorrow, Cap.”

An eerie silence remained as the door slammed shut behind Y/n. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. The air was thick, and full of tension. The Four glancing at each other with uncertainty. 

“Wings up at eight,” Sam announced, voice strong with authority as though the last five minutes never occurred. Or didn’t bother him, though Johnny noted the pinched look of his brows.

The Captain then departed the room, Strange and Banner following out with a nod to the Four. Left to their own devices, the Four spent the next hour in the debrief room watching footage of the Avengers. Particularly ones with Tony Stark, the Iron Man, and the several catastrophic missions he dealt with alongside the Avengers. Provided with the mountain of videos from news channels and social media of people who experienced it first hand. 

New York 2012. Ultron 2015. The Superhero Civil War of 2016. That’s where they learned of the Accords Y/n referenced and how she and Sam were involved. The two on opposite sides of the scale as Y/n pledged allegiance to Tony while Sam supported former Captain America, Steve Rogers. Witnesses flying a private plane around the airport captured the fight between the two teams. 

Johnny watched with a frown as Y/n battled against her colleagues and friends. He could tell she was holding back on using her power to the highest degree, not really wanting to hurt them, but enough to send a message. For example, when Steve and Bucky attempted to flee to the hangar, Y/n created a layer of ice on the pavement, causing them to tumble and fall. Then she made a wall of ice to contain Scott Lang in his giant form. But that was a failure, as the wall wasn’t thick enough allowing Scott to break free, sending chunks of ice toward the ground, knocking the hero unconscious when one collided with her head, blood spilling from her temple. To prevent her from being crushed, Tony flew in a record speed to gather in his arms and rush her to safety. 

Later that night when Johnny was wandering the building, he found Y/n on the balcony overlooking the main grounds. A hue of orange and pink painting the sky as the sun set on the horizon. The dark blue of nightfall taking over lurking in the background. She was out of her suit, dressed in casual clothes consisting of a hoodie and sweats. A faint expression on her visage as she stared out in the distance. 

Gathering courage, Johnny took a deep breath before gently sliding back the door, the cool breeze hitting him in the face as he closed it behind him and approached the woman. Her head tilted slightly, acknowledging that she heard him, but made no move to address. 

They stayed like that for a minute. In silence, basking in the peace they were afforded before the impending danger they were to face. 

“I’m sorry you all had to witness that,” Y/n eventually spoke, tone neutral as her expression. “That was unprofessional of me.”

Johnny shook his head with a shrug, “You don’t have to apologize. I can’t imagine what you and your friends are feeling. And I’m sorry we jumped to conclusions--accusing you guys of--.”

“Considering what you told us of Victor von Doom,” She sent a pointed look, her voice one of understanding, “you had every right to be cautious. Plus,” she sighs, gaze flickered down to the railing, “you four are still new to the Multiverse. We’ve known about it for five years, and I remember that feeling of confusion and uncertainty. America told us all about her experiences traveling through various realities.” Y/n’s frown deepened, shuffling on her feet with unease. “In one world, she met a version of me that hated the Avengers--and tried to destroy them.” Her body shudders, and not from the wind, “That stuck me for a while. I couldn’t imagine a world where I was the enemy. Whose goal was to hurt the people I cared about. Steve, Nat, Tony.” 

Johnny nodded, leaning his elbows on the railing as he pictured it. Surely there were versions of himself out there in the multiverse. He wondered what they were like. Did they have the same power? Did they get to live a normal life like he once thought he would? Was he a hero? Or was there a version of Johnny who went against all he stood for? 

He too, refused to imagine a scenario where he’d want to harm his sister and friends. It saddened him to even think about such a thing. And the way Y/n said Tony’s name, showed him she felt the same.

“Was he your father?” the question left his lips before he could stop it. Immediately regretting upon the distant look that encompassed her visage along with the glossiness of her eyes.

“He was the closest thing I had to one after my own died,” Y/n bit her lip, scoffing lightly, “actually even when mine was alive. Met the man when I was five--my father invested in Stark Industries and the two were good friends. I have fond memories of going to Stark Tower and watching Tony’s expos.” A small smile appeared, but it soon turned to a frown. “My parents profited off the sciences and technology, but didn’t really care to understand it.” There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she spoke, and Y/n was a bit surprised she was being so open with Johnny. A rare feeling, for she was hardly this vulnerable about her past with her teammates. And she’d known them for decades almost.

“I was always smart growing up but they never acknowledged or praised me for it. Told me college wasn’t necessary since we were wealthy and what good would higher education be when we were well set. Mind you,” she shoots a glance at Johnny, who was watching her intently. “My father went to business school in Chicago and my mother was a journalist before they got married.”

“The pot calling the kettle black,” he muses, tone laced with disappointment on her behalf.

“Exactly,” she sighed, shaking her head as she looked back toward the city. “My father laughed when I told them I wanted to pursue physics at MIT. Told me if I was going to go to college then I should do business where the money was at--as if I needed more fucking money,” Johnny heard the frustration and sadness in her voice, picturing a young Y/n with dreams who just wanted the support of her parents and was denied. Thinking about it made his heart strain.

“Anyways, Tony was the one who helped me get to MIT. It was my freshman year he got kidnapped and became Iron Man. Barely saw him after that because his partnership with my dad ended.” Fiddling with her rings, Y/n closes her eyes briefly while taking a breath, then shrugs nonchalantly, “My folks were among the casualties in New York, my accident happened not long after….” she straightens up with a sniff, “Tony Stark helped me find purpose. Told me there were greater things for me--and my powers could be a tool to help people. He took me under his wing when the government advised him not to. I owe everything to him.” Turning to lock their eyes, Y/n’s gaze is filled with determination. 

“As he died I promised him to continue his legacy. I intend to keep it, until my last breath.”

Defeating Doom proved itself to be the most defining moment for the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Lasting months on end, for each time Doom was in their grasps he managed to get two steps ahead of them. Thankfully the integrity of space, time, and reality didn’t seem to disintegrate with the Four in Earth-616. Something the geniuses of the team were concerned about. 

When it was finally over, Doom neutralized and the multiverse saved, the Avengers and the Four--bloodied, bruised, and covered in grime, dragged themselves to a nearby shawarma joint to pig out. Beer flowed, music sounded from the jukebox beside the round table they took claim to. 

And after months of tip-toeing around feelings, Johnny and Y/n finally said ‘fuck it,’ falling into step together as a unit they both craved. The Ice Princess seated firmly in his lap with her head tucked under his chin, eyes fluttering closed as the exhaustion kicked in. 

For Johnny, he’d been crushing on the woman since he first laid eyes on her. Keeping his affections hidden as he knew deep down it would be unwise to pursue anything with someone who 1) was from another world; and 2) he needed to focus on the task at hand. 

The same went for Y/n, who realized her fondness for the blonde about a month after he arrived. She’d be lying if she didn’t find him attractive during that first meeting. Anyone with eyes would agree. But she knew better than to be involved with him given their predicament. 

Yet, by a power greater than universe, the man of fire melted her frozen heart. He wasn’t put off by her cool attitude, unlike most people when they first meet Y/n. Yeah he got under her skin with his boyish charm and flirtations, but he never crossed any lines. Always respectful. Always mindful. 

Neither were sure when things changed between them. Maybe it was when Y/n pushed him out of the way of a line of fire from a Doombot causing her to take three bullets to her back and nearly bleed out right there in the middle of the street. Or when Johnny spent a week in a coma for exposing himself to a deadly dose of radiation to prevent Y/n from doing so. Whatever it was, the two could no longer beat around the bush. And the night before the final battle against Doom, they confessed their feelings on the balcony overlooking Avengers campus. Sealing their promise to stay alive with a kiss.

“You sleepy, darling?” Johnny murmured against her hair after finishing a conversation with Shang-Chi. Tightening his arms around the woman when she nuzzled his chest before laying a sweet kiss to her forehead. 

“Just resting my eyes.” His finger brushed her cheekbone, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, making Y/n sigh in content. 

“Rest,” he told her, not buying it at all, and by the tone of his voice she knew he was smiling. “I’ll wake you when we’re ready to leave.” All he received was a hum, the man beaming as he carded his fingers through her hair. And when Johnny lifted his gaze he met his sister’s, who’s expression was full of fondness, shooting him a wink as she gestured toward the sleeping Avenger in his lap. 

‘Told you so,’ Sue mouthed, grinning at his pink tinted cheeks. 

‘Shut up,’ he mouthed back, though he returned the smile. 

In the days following their victory, one question remained: Will the Fantastic Four return home? America was their ticket out. All she had to do was open a portal. It may take time, but eventually she’d shuffle through enough realities until she found theirs. Luckily in the months they’d been away, the fabric of reality remained intact. 

In all honesty, that fact alone is what made them contemplate leaving. 

The Fantastic Four didn’t belong in Earth-616 having landed there by mistake, but it had been almost a year. Integrating themselves into the Avengers and developing bonds. Besides the romantic feelings between Johnny and Y/n, the remaining Fantastic Four were not sure if they wanted to leave. Reed and Ben enjoyed working with Banner and Strange. Sue longed for female companionship, and found that with Y/n and the other women of the Avengers. And Johnny connected with the guys. They all became friends.

They became a team.

And since they weren’t leaving anyone behind in their world, what harm was there by staying? The Avengers could use more allies. And who knows another high level threat would appear. Threatening the existence of the universe. They needed a strong team, and defeating Doom proved they were one. 

Yeah, it was a no brainer. 

Now here they were two years later. The Ice Princess and Human Torch cuddled in their bed, in their apartment in Avengers campus, on their day off where they could enjoy the peace as no new threats had emerged in the last two months. 

Johnny groaned when Y/n pulled away from the kiss, moving to sit up so she was straddling his hips. The comforter falling behind her as she fought against his firm grip when he attempted to pull her back down. 

“Sorry, hotshot, no sleeping in for me today. I have to get ready.”

He tilted his head, partly confused, partly offended, “For what?”

“I promised your sister I’d have breakfast with her.”

“But it’s Sunday,” He sat up, hands gripping her waist as he moved to press kisses on her neck. “We don’t do anything on Sundays. Except sleep….” he trailed off, pulling away to give her a cheeky smile, “and give each other some lovin’.”

Y/n chuckled, tilting her head back as his plush lips captured her chin, trailing down her jaw until he found the place behind her ear. “Baby, I’ll give you all the loving this afternoon until the sun sets and the moon rises,” she feels him shudder against her, smirking in satisfaction. “But I’m a woman of my word.” 

Lifting herself off him, she leaned over to her side of the bed to grab her rings off the nightstand. Returning to his lap as she placed them on her fingers. Her college ring on her right hand, and the beautiful Cartier stack consisting of her engagement and wedding rings. Once all were placed on her finger, Johnny lifted her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles just below. His own wedding band shining against the sunlight peeking through the curtains. 

“Don’t keep me waiting too long now,” Johnny flirted, chocolate eyes sparkling while pressing her hand to his chest where his heart laid. Heat radiated off his body. “I might come looking for ya.” The words earned him a playful glare.

“Behave,” she scolded without any bite. “Or I’ll punish you.”

“I want you too,” Johnny challenged, winding his arm around her waist to hold her closer. 

All she did was shake her head, laughing at his behavior while he continued his assault on her neck, allowing him a few extra kisses before she really had to get up. “You are something else, Johnny Storm.” 

“And you love meeeee.”

“I do,” she breathed out, tilting her head down to meet his lips halfway, hand cupping his jaw. He sighed in victory, chasing her mouth each time she pulled away, causing her to giggle. “Johnny! The sooner you let me leave, the sooner you get to have me all to yourself.” 

He groaned again, loosening his hold but not completely letting Y/n go. “Fine,” he mumbled, pouting, but smiled when she kissed his cheek. “Bring me back a coffee, please?”

“Of course, my love.” 

With that he reluctantly let go of her waist, allowing his wife to get up from the bed. But before she could make her way to the bathroom, Johnny caught her hand, making her turn back to him with a raised brow.

“Some say the world will end in fire.” He begins to recite the famous poem by Robert Frost. What started as a joke between the two because of their abilities, transformed into something far more intimate. The poem itself was about human emotions, and their power to lead to self-destruction. Fire was fast, Ice was slow. Together they were each other's strength and weakness. And despite being complete opposites, they both played a role in dismantling humanity. 

But for Johnny and Y/n, they managed to do the impossible. They bridged the gap between fire and ice.  

Y/n smiles affectionately, lifting her free hand to the back of his neck to scratch at the nape of his hairline. “Some say in ice.”

“From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.”

“But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction ice.”

“Is also great,” They both recite, leaning in to capture each other's lips as they whisper the final line of the poem. 

“And would suffice.”

[superkooku]

Who did Asclepius resurrect ?

A couple days ago, I discussed the idea of mortals defeating gods with @kill-me-with-a-spoon on a comment section of my "thoughts on Epic" post.

We talked about Diomedes and Perseus briefly, but then a third example came in : Asclepius.

And I find this specific mention interesting because I didn't think about it but it kinda makes sense 😂

He didn't defeat any god like the two former heroes, that being physically overwhelming them. Instead, he simply "cures" death, thus Thanatos' doing. Not only his, but the Fates' too considering they cut the thread of life. And he meddled with Hades' realm, something that he hated and we know how that ended.

(Hades hating doctors will never not be funny)

I made some research on him for personal projects and so I want to use it right now for personal ramblings about who exactly Asclepius resurrected.

@kill-me-with-a-spoon was pointing out that if, by technicality, he didn't interfere with Hades' domain if souls he resurrected didn't cross the Styx. And I've got to say, I think he did.

Also, I completely agree with the fact that they're still killable. They won't die from the same cause since Asclepius heals their injuries but he doesn't deify anyone.

If we look up different sources, here's the list of people he resurrected.

Hippolytus (according to Pausanias and latin sources like Pseudo-Hyginus or Ovid)

What makes this particularly interesting is that Artemis is the one who has this idea. It shows that portraying her as a man hater is completely wrong since she asks her male nephew to resurrect her male friend/devotee. It shows her bond with Hippolytus (his death was very unfair, so I get it) and with Apollo too, since she trusted her brother's son completely.

Then, it's just funny but in-character that Theseus isn't the one who has the idea to resurrect his son, because of course he wouldn't think about it 😂. It's even funnier if we take late sources stating that Asclepius was among the Argonauts. Because Theseus was too, so they knew each other personally and yet Theseus couldn't think about it.

Another detail : Hippolytus seems to forgive Theseus in Euripides' play, but NOT after coming back to life in Pausanias' version. Different versions, I know, but if we mix the two, then we could interpret that maybe all this time in the Underworld gave him the opportunity to think about it, or maybe, with a new chance to live, he doesn't want to stay with his father.

I get you, Hippolytus. Go have fun.

Capaneus (according to Stesichorus)

What's interesting here is how Capaneus died : he participated in Polynice's siege against Thebes but was killed... by Zeus. He was struck by lightning because of hubris.

And then Asclepius comes and resurrects this guy. All the more reasons for Zeus to be angered. That means he came in and decided to undo divine punishment, the same one that will be his own doom in the future. It's pretty chilling for me.

Lycurgus

So, there are a lot of Lycurguses in mythology.

In the beginning, I thought it was Lycurgus of Thrace, which would've been hilarious because if this guy comes back to life, he'll come back traumatized and insane (also, any grapevine would be the source of PTSD flashbacks). And again, that would've mean undoing divine punishments.

BUT it seems to be a separate Lycurgus that was resurrected. Not the one who offended Dionysus.

It's also not Admetus' brother of the same name, though the logical link would've been easy to make (because of Apollo's servitude and Admetus also being an Argonaut according to some sources).

Honestly, Wikipedia is the only place where the Lycurgus that Asclepius resurrected is distinguished. Even then, the article speaks of a probable case and lists Apollodorus as a source. So not even researchers are completely sure of which Lycurgus it was.

Hymen/Hymenaios : yeah, according to the Orphics, he resurrected some guy named Hymen, even though the only figure with this name is a god... it would've been very interesting to analyze if I had more details about it. Unfortunately, there aren't really.

Tyndareus

Glaucus : It's funny how Asclepius resurrects both Theseus AND Minos' son. Though that exploit is more often attributed to the prophet and healer Polyidos. I wonder if there was some untold teacher-student relationship between the two, since Asclepius is one of the inventors of medicine (with Chiron)

And then there's this woman :

This cracks me up, because this little story alone states that Asclepius as a GOD still resurrects the dead even though he was punished for it. Tbf, he probably had to explain this to Zeus, that he had to compensate his partners' mistake. Still, that's hilarious that not even divine might stopped him.

Don't tell me he didn't know what he was doing. He's a smart guy and his father is literally mr. God of prophecy. I like his audacity.

So, coming back to the initial subject, with the sheer number of mentioned names, I do think they had the time to be buried and cross the Styx (except Capaneus, who was probably turned into ashes lol).

Asclepius definetly meddled with Hades' domain, thus angering the god of the dead and he 100% provoked Zeus.

But, not all the gods were agaisnt him. If we take the version where he resurrects people with gorgon blood, then Athena, who gave it to him, was in favor of his operations.

Then, there is Artemis who asked him to bring back Hippolytus and finally, quite obviously, his n°1 supporter is his own father Apollo (oh god, I could make a whole new post rambling just about Apollo and Asclepius).

So yeah, I really like this myth for many reasons and this is one of them : how it's tied to many other stories, how different figures behave and react to Asclepius' antics, how it puts the system of life and death into questions, etc...

Anyways, if you have anything to comment on about this myth, don't hesitate. I'd love to discuss it more !

My main source about all of this was Theoi.

[jackie-mae]

with your outfit drawings for the mystreet character. im so curious about with vylad having outfits for s2-s6, if you want can you expand upon on that?

I WOULD LOVE TOO >:3c

Long and Short of it is I've always hated how Vylad was there in Mystreet S1, PDH S1 and then he just... dropped off the face of the earth after that. It always irked me a bit when it would show Garroth and Zane having brotherly bonding moments (and trauma) and always having the thought of (Man wasn't there a third brother in all this?) there in the back of my mind.

I'm now going to do some little bullet points of my Vylads role in S2-6 but this is a great time to mention I've never seen past S4 so I'm running on Wiki Lore and the gospel of AO3 and @catzgam3rz; who collaborates (Read: Infodump and Ramble) on a hypothetical rewrite with me so it gets vague and murky for the later seasons.

S1:

Basically the same as canon (as in S1 is kinda just slice of life) but instead of Vylad just travelling around the world he is an off the grid hunter that wanders the wilderness all the time (The freak)

This is based on my very fuzzy memories of MCD Vylad always kinda just being in trees as he watched Lady Aphmau in the early seasons so I just put Mystreet Vylad in trees for fun this time

Has a vaguely similar relationship to his brothers as in MCD. in the sense it's better with Garroth and more strained with Zane

S2:

Goes to LLP with the rest of the main cast (which consists of the 11 big designs I made) because season 2 is not when you should be writing out characters Jessica

He wears little rainboots and unlike Laurance (Who FYI wears cowboy boots a majority of the time) the rest of the cast did not get him into flip flops before he went trudging into the ocean (again a freak)

I like to imagine that if any drama is going on in the story you could always see him floating around on an inner tube off in the distance

S3:

Again back to slice of life so he does a lot of shenanigans with the cast here

This is the season where the shadow knights feature but for the life of me, I cannot remember if Vylad was officially a part of them or not (And his Wikia is not even a paragraph~) But if it turns out he was there'll probably be more shenanigans around that.

He ends up leaving mid-season (Fall ish?) to go on a hunting expedition

S4:

Oh hey look Vylad is back because we don't believe in writing characters off with little rhyme or reason Jessica

Vylads hunting expedition ends up being in the same area as the lodge. and we all know nothing bad happens there!

there's now a little ski village downhill from the lodge which is where Vylad is staying at seasons start. He's good friends with a lot of the people there.

He's a werewolf now... Don't worry about it!

Oh, what's this? Is that relationship building between him and Zane on the horizon? Well, that won't hurt at all, will it?

AY:

A not-alone buddy comforts his not-alone buddy (I do not know much about Aphmau's Year but know it's short so that's all I got)

S5:

As he is a part of the Lodge crew he gets to go to Starlight!

Possibly is involved in a certain shenanigan with his brothers I'll be posting a comic about that in a few days

Get's lost constantly. Figures Starlight being an island means he can't really get lost since he'll hit ocean eventually and refuses to acknowledge how big said island is.

Doesn't float around like in S2 but you can still find him wading on the shore in his boots

being a hyperattentive freak, he get's some bad vibes from the island sooner than most

S6

Gonna be honest, me and Catz have not watched all of When angels fall but are planning to soon so I'll just leave you with the fun fact that all of my season 6 designs are supposed echo my MCD's designs for the characters (Since S6 is when it was decided hey maybe Diaries is really important here now)

TLDR: Vylad was shafted in Mystreet so I'm fix it

[chaosister]

𓏲⋆ ִֶָ ๋𓂃 ⋆ RUNNING UP THAT HILL, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

shadow never truly knew what he would do without you, he could never bare to lose another dear one ever again.

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ�� ࣪ ⭒ 𝓼ummary. gn!reader, angst, possible ooc character, mentions of death, abandonment issues, trust issues.

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒ 𝓷ote. oh em gee.. THIS MAN IS SUCH AN ANGST CHARACTER MATERIAL. (he's so silly you guys i love him) I write like a turtle that's why this took so long 🐢 (I usually don't write stories like this but I needed to get this out) also, my writing commissions are open!!

Shadow never experienced warmth, he was always surrounded by the feeling of coldness that came with his existence.

when he met you, his world was suddenly full of colors– his monochromatic world suddenly boomed into a colourful world when his eyes met yours.

he could remember the electric shock that wrecked through his body when his gaze landed upon your form and once he finally got to know you and be with you, shadow never felt that coldness anymore.

But sometimes, Shadow can feel how fast his heart was beating whenever he was in your presence– shadow was scared, he was scared that one day you'll vanish and he'll never be able to see you again, that's why shadow always held himself back from fully loving you because deep down he knows that all good things must come to an end and he doesn't want the same situation with Maria to happen all over again.

Shadow's heart was bruised and battered up from the shattering experiences he'd gone through but despite how flawed he was– how broken his heart was– you held him as if he was made of glass, your touches were so gentle that shadow didn't know how to react to such gestures that were filled with unfamiliar emotions.

Shadow always hoped that each day would go by faster because of how tiring it was but that reason changed when you came to his life, everyday he hoped that each day would go by faster so he could come home to your awaiting figure that always greeted him with a warm hug.

He never wants this to end, he'll fight against god if it means that you'll forever always be there for him.

———

“Shadow?” the sound of your soft voice interrupted the comforting silence that wrapped around the two of you as his ears perked up at your voice, his face that was buried in your shoulder raised a little to let you know that he was fully paying attention and a muffled hum escaped him.

“..are you happy being with me?” there was doubt hidden beneath your voice that shadow sensed and made him look up at you, your eyes that were filled with gentleness stared back at him and shadow knew at that point that something was wrong.

“why are you asking such questions? did something happen while I was gone?” the hand that was running through his quills stopped as shadow sat up to observe your face

he noticed the way you bit your lip and your gaze was suddenly full of sadness, “nothing happened, I was just curious..” Shadow's hands twitched and soon his hands found themselves wrapped around yours and the coldness that emitted from his own calloused hands contradicted the warmth that came from your soft ones.

“I apologise if I'm not as open as you'd like... I'm not used to these kinds of things but do know that my heart beats rapidly for you and only you, my world would blast with colors whenever I'm with you, and you fill me with hope that makes me wish that the day would go slower when I'm with you.”

Shadow said those words with such sincerity that it made your heart beat faster and your face to feel warmer, his gaze was filled with such intensity that it made you feel naked in front of him.

“...I love you, shadow.”

——

The two of you embraced each other at the end of it all, that was one of his memories that he cherished.

...But why was the world so against him? why was the world so cruel to him? those thoughts rampaged inside his mind as he blankly stares at your bleeding form on the floor, you were one of the few good things that happened to him and yet he failed to protect you.

sometimes, the world can be cruel to some unlucky souls and shadow was unfortunate to be one of those said souls.

Shadow didn't know how to react to your bleeding figure and so, he turned away his head as his trembling hands covered your form with a white blanket that blood seeped through.

he hopes that the ambulance would hurry up and help you despite the fact that you were already dead.

shadow doesn't believe that you're dead, you couldn't be, you were resting just like how you were when he left you.. all alone in this house that was filled with warmth and now it felt cold and empty house.

pleas left his mouth as he begged whoever was out there that could save your life– that could bring you back.

his cold hand tightly held your bloody hand that has the unfamiliar feeling of coldness and the realization that you were missing your usual warmth made him break down into tears as he desperately held your bloody figure in his arms.

the medics that rushed inside the house tried to pry off shadow from your corpse yet he refused to let go, no, he won't leave your side again.

but despite the sound of his pleas and crying the medics had no choice but to whisk you away to the hospital.

“please-! don't take them away-!”

he was left all alone again but this time, his heart was fully shattered and closed off. He was now just a broken man walking around hoping that today will be his final day.

[steddieas-shegoes]

frankie

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'freak'

rated t | 930 words | cw: temporary character death | tags: canon-adjacent events, frankie pov, eddie munson lives

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

Frankie doesn't think he's a freak. He knows he's not the typical teenager, but he definitely knows there's weirder dudes out there.

Take Eddie Munson, for example. He's fuckin' weird.

He knows people call him a freak for a lot of reasons: he's got long hair, likes heavy metal, plays DnD, and is allegedly queer.

Frankie stays under the radar as much as possible, but he ends up at Eddie's table, sitting next to his one and only friend, Jeff. Eddie's starting a DnD club, needs people who are serious about playing long campaigns. He's a senior and "wants to leave a legacy."

Jeff convinces him to try it out.

He tries it out.

He has fun.

He becomes a freak, too.

And, actually, Eddie isn't really a freak. He's eccentric, sure, but he's definitely not what everyone implies when they call him that.

He's kind in his own way, inviting to people where most other kids at school have their cliques and don't let anyone else in. He's funny, too, sometimes completely unintentionally.

His Uncle is nice enough to let them use their trailer for campaigns, at least until Eddie is able to convince the school to let them use the storage room in the auditorium. They have to fight for space, especially when it comes time for the end of year drama club performance.

Frankie doesn't think much about what will happen when Eddie graduates. He assumed Jeff will run the club since he's Eddie's right hand man.

But Eddie doesn't graduate.

Frankie starts to get into the same music as him, no longer worried about wearing his Black Sabbath shirt to school. It's just music.

He doesn't worry about shaving his head, letting his natural curls grow out a little.

Maybe he's more of a freak than he thought, but it doesn't bother him when he hears others whisper it under their breath. Eddie wears it like a badge of honor, and now he does too.

****

When the news reports that Eddie is the suspect in the murder of Chrissy Cunningham, Frankie knows they've got it wrong.

Eddie is a lot of things, he's a freak, he's different. But he's not a murderer.

He's also gay as fuck, and while very few people know that, Frankie knows he had no intentions with that girl other than to sell to her. Maybe he should have been more careful, but he's gotten away with it this long. Eddie never pushes anything on anyone, only sells to those who seek him out, so there's no way she wasn't the one who wanted drugs.

It seemed to Frankie like a wrong place, wrong time situation for all involved.

Eddie was missing, which means he got scared and ran, and Frankie isn't sure what that means for any of them.

Everything is hanging in a weird balance for days.

Gareth swears he saw him in an RV when his parents dragged him to The War Zone, but no one believed him. Frankie didn't not believe him, he just figured Eddie was probably already out of the state.

Guilty people may run, but so do innocent people with a bounty on their head.

***

Frankie doesn't think Eddie is coming back.

He sees Dustin crying and handing Wayne something. He sees Steve Harrington of all people in Eddie's vest, a vest that now has some suspicious stains on it.

No one mentions him for a while.

Gareth is a mess, and Jeff keeps saying that he'll come back, but the news spreads that he's dead and Frankie feels like he's the only one who is taking that seriously. He doesn't realize how much he's hurting until they're standing in Jeff's garage with no idea how to fill the space Eddie left in the band.

"I think we should have auditions," Jeff says quietly.

"I think you should fuck yourself," Gareth bites back.

Jeff sighs. Gareth crosses his arms.

"I think you guys should come with me," Lucas interrupts from the driveway.

They go with him because Frankie is sure he wouldn't have even spoken to them if it wasn't important. They barely talked since everything happened over Spring Break, but now that school's starting up again, they'll need to figure out Hellfire Club.

He leads them out of the neighborhood and towards the neighborhood at the bottom of the hill: Loch Nora. The nice neighborhood.

It's hot and Frankie and Gareth are both sweating by the time they make it to their destination: Steve Harrington's house.

"You guys can't say shit to anyone, got it? You'll put us all at risk." Lucas is glaring at all of them as he knocks in a very specific pattern on the front door.

"Are you leading us to our deaths?" Frankie asks, only half-joking.

"Despite what Mayfield thinks, I'm not gonna kill anyone."

"Eddie!" Gareth yells as he runs past Frankie and Jeff into the house.

"Alright, keep it down." Steve says from the couch. "Neighbors don't need to know he's hiding out here."

"Holy shit, it's good to see you," Jeff finally says as it registers that Eddie is actually in front of them.

"You know, I was prepared to take on the role of freak," Frankie said quietly. "Just to protect all your sheepies."

Eddie smiled at him. "Yeah?"

Frankie nodded.

"Well, you still can. I'm not gonna go back to school anyway."

"So what will you do?" Frankie asked.

"Not sure," Eddie shrugged. "Teach you my ways, I guess."

Frankie smiled at him. "First lesson: how'd you come back from the dead, dude?"

[casuallyobssessed]

Tied Up (Loose Ends pt. 2) - Donnie Barksdale x Fem!Reader ❥ 600 Words

A/N: This is the follow up to THIS fic. Similar warnings apply. :)

Warnings: alcoholic tendencies, P in V sex mention, possible unsettling brief mentions of a corpse, major character death/su!cide mention, no use of y/n, no beta, no happy ending

In the days following your death, Donnie fucks any woman that gives him the time of day, and there's no shortage of them. People have started getting suspicious, but these women have been dying to test out the rumors about Donnie for so long, they simply don't care where you might be.

It's too bad that the new rumor floating around is that Donnie can't keep it up. He blames it on whiskey dick in the moment, but he knows he's not fooling anyone.

The first time it happens, he's got some chick (whose name he didn't bother asking for) folded up in your bed, balls deep and face to face with her. He can feel himself getting close, so he shuts his eyes and pretends it's you.

When he cums, he groans your name under his breath, not really caring if she hears. Donnie rides the feeling for a moment before opening his eyes, only to be met with your one dead, cold ones staring up at him. He freezes and his chest tightens, heart rate skyrocketing. Your purple lips start to move but it's not your voice that comes out.

“You can get off me now,” The voice says with a twinge of disgust.

Donnie blinks hard and suddenly it's the same woman from the bar again. He throws himself off the bed and practically charges into the bathroom. Standing over the sink, he looks at himself in the mirror, only the dim glow from the moon shining through the bathroom window to illuminate him. He looks down at his hands, stretching them and balling them into fists over and over. He definitely still feels real.

Turning the sink on, he splashes some water onto his face and then looks at himself in the mirror. It's hard to make out with the low light, but he knows he looks rough. He's got dark circles under his eyes and his hair is a mess. Donnie runs a hand through his unruly hair and then he notices your unusually pale figure standing beside him in the mirror and he screams. He swears his heart stops, but he somehow has enough sense to turn on the bathroom lights.

When he blinks, you're gone. Deep breaths seem to help ground him, though he's feeling painfully sober now (even if it's just the adrenaline talking). By the time he found his way back into the bedroom, the woman was gone and he was left alone again.

Since then, he’s tried doing only doggy style, and it works… until it doesn't. He sees your face in everyone he brings home and it instantly ruins his mood. Drinking more doesn't work, but he tries anyway. Getting blackout drunk only helps him forget when it happens, helps him forget you for a bit.

Since no one else seems to question your whereabouts, you make sure that every waking moment of the rest of Donnie’s life is haunted by you.

When he drinks himself into a stupor and makes his way back to that big tree where it all happened, you're along for the ride, staying in his peripheral the whole time. He'll sit down, lean against the trunk of the tree, and cry until his face is so swollen he can't feel it.

One night, after a particularly rough day, Donnie takes his place at the base of the tree, pocket knife in hand and tears in his eyes. You know exactly what he intends to do with it and you won't stop him. You smile and wonder if this was how he felt watching you bleed out.

[littlecorpselady]

How the Sinclair brothers would react to a stereotypically nerdy SO

<3

Bo Sinclair :

•He finds it bizarre at first before becoming intrigued by your dedication to films and tv shows.

•Bo might occasionally settle down with a arm draped around your shoulders to watch along besides that he doesn't get it.

•He's never been too massive on movies besides a few classics like Alien and Jaws.

•When he does watch TV, it's typically a random channel or niche film to act as background noise, so your nerdy fascination catches his interest.

•Bo will tease or make a good few snark remarks but besides that he's not too bothered by it.

•When he's out on a rare supply run, he'll make sure to bring back a couple of dvds or a few comics to keep you preoccupied whilst he's out the house busy 'working'

•Somewhere in your bedroom, there's a pile of his old t-shirts with mainstream movies on them, he handed off to you the moment you got comfortable enough.

Vincent Sinclair :

•When you let him know of your stereotypically 'nerdy' interests, he shrugs it off.

•He's watched a couple of films and taken a interest in other general forms of media so he makes the assumption your interests are much like his. Reading the occasional book, comic or film. He's far off.

•Your upstairs often and whenever he checks up on you, he finds your always watching a film or a show he's heard of but never given much thought.

•He's tried a couple of times to settle down and watch a film with you but after a while he gets restless.

•Most of his attempts to join is out of jealousy though, bo would often slump down besides you on a late night, uncaring about what's on the TV as long as it's something to drown out time.

•He gets it but doesn't at the same time. Honestly though in the end he admires you for it, finding it respectable the dedication you pay to your interests.

•Out of this admiration, he'll make you your own figures or paint your favourite characters from a place of loving attention to detail. He'll always listen and pay attention to your rants, taking note of your favourite movies and characters for later.

Lester sinclair :

•You love movies, comics and TV shows with a passion? So does he!

•Lester gets excited and immediately begins to share his recommendations with you, the majority of his recommendations being horror since hes unbothered by gore.

•He'll drive you out to thrift shops to pick out cheap dvds on days he has little chores or roadkill to find.

•Bo used to tease him all the time growing up for the amount of posters plastered all over his walls and figures shelf to shelf. It's a relief to have somebody else to relate to.

•Lesters interests stem from being basically forgotten as a child and a severe lack of friends so the moment you mention anything remotely 'nerdy', he launches into his repressed rants.

•Around the house, he'll lean over into your ear and make a reference or quote a phrase. For example, one time you burnt dinner and he was there right by your ear whispering "ruh-oh y/n".

[paikothecateater]

hello!! What do you think what would the Nordics do if they broke a bone? Like idk, one of them brokes a bone, what does he do and what does the other do? I'm probably not making sense, I hope you understand and if you don't understand, don't worry.

No worries, I think I get it. This is actually my favourite headcanon format.

So, I'm going to say how each of them would break a bone, where or which bone they're each more likely to break, their own reactions plus the others' reactions.

For simplicity's sake, the others' reactions take place at the hospital or back at home. They do not react to the incident itself because that will get complicated.

In Denmark's case, I would imagine the accident is probably related to biking. Either he gets into a crash, breaks his leg or the bike itself gets caught and he goes flying over the handlebars, breaking a wrist.

His own reaction is to try and stay as calm as possible. This is for several reasons. 1) if he got into a crash with someone else, the last thing he wants is for them to be worrying about him while worrying about themself. Especially if they got hurt too. 2) he always goes biking the exact same time everyday on the exact same trail. Everyone who takes that trail knows him, and he doesn't want them to worry either. 3) if the other Nordics see him panicking, they'll panic too. Another reason is that focusing on staying calm in of itself helps distract from the pain.

As for Sweden, he used to make fun of Denmark for getting hurt, but he stopped that because even though Denmark may have broken a wrist, he has another one he can punch him in the face with. If both are broken, he has legs, and if both legs just happen to also be broken, Iceland doesn't take too kindly to having Sweden make fun of Denmark when he's hurt, so he'll probably be willing to uh... Relay the message.

Finland is very prone to freaking out. He's pretty squeamish when it comes to injuries like this. Sprains and breaks are the hardest for him to handle, so he's nowhere to be found until that bone has been popped back into place and put in a cast.

Norway is about as useful in this situation as a towel dipped in tepid soup. He just stands there pretending to help out because he sucks at comforting people and doesn't want literally anyone addressing him.

Iceland is by far the most helpful. He assures Denmark that his beloved bike has been taken back to be fixed. Iceland brings him some comfort items and pretty much spends the rest of the day chilling with him and helping out if he needs anything.

In Sweden's case, I can imagine any broken bone would come from transporting heavy furniture. When I first started headcanon Sweden, I didn't want to make the IKEA thing a big deal because it's more of a meme than a character trait, but I headcanon that Sweden needs everything organised a specific way, and he finds reorganising his house very therapeutic. I'd imagine he'd get injured accidentally dropping heavy pieces of furniture on his feet, maybe something falls while he's installing it and breaks a rib.

Regardless of how he got injured, Sweden has been blessed with the ability to hide his pain pretty well. He uses this to direct his energy into figuring out his next steps. He makes exactly two phone calls. One to Denmark and one to England. England is responsible for taking Sealand and Ladonia and taking care of them until further notice. Sealand is essentially his kid, and Ladonia isn't much trouble + free tech support. Denmark is in charge of taking him to the hospital.

Just because Sweden is a grown ass man, that doesn't mean he can get out of Denmark lectures. Denmark always gets on his case about safety and generally not being a dumbass when he's installing heavy pieces of furniture.

Finland is again, very terrified in general, but he still tries to be helpful. I forgot to mention this in Denmark's, but he's usually on flower and greeting card duty.

Norway is still very uncomfortable, but he's a lot more involved because Sweden to Norway is like Denmark to Iceland. He'll just sit there with him and wait until Sweden needs anything.

Iceland is less worried and more irritated. Not at Sweden, but at the nurses who are convinced that Sweden's lack of response is an indication of a higher pain threshold which is not the case. They keep insisting that the over the counter pain meds they gave him are enough when it doesn't take a lot of braincells to tell that they most certainly are not enough.

If Finland were to break a bone, it would be as a result of his habit of not ensuring he's well out of the danger zone when cutting down a tree. See, Finland likes absolutely wailing on trees with an axe for the same reason Sweden likes arranging furniture. It's therapeutic plus he gets firewood out of it. However, he's not exactly the most careful and while one could argue that diving out of the way of a falling tree is very fun, the fun only lasts up until you miscalculated, one thing leads to another, and suddenly, you've got a broken leg, and it's stuck under it.

Finland's response is definitely a lot more frantic than Denmark or Sweden's, but that's understandable considering his situation is a lot more dire. He also does the whole tree cutting thing at a good distance from the house to avoid accidents. Thankfully, he has his phone very close by at all times, so he can usually pull it out and call Norway. Why Norway? Well, his troll is the best at removing a giant tree from on top of someone pretty quickly.

Denmark always worries a lot about Finland because of how accident prone he is. Finland is also treated to a Denmark lecture.

Sweden takes over flower and greeting card duty for this one. He's also a bit more concerned because Finland doesn't really learn from these mistakes, and he just knows it might happen again.

Norway will make fun of Finland ruthlessly, but he gets a pass because 1) he's Finland's best friend and 2) he's the one who had to deal with him.

Iceland is a lot calmer, and he takes his role as the braincell haver very seriously. Yeah, he'll let Denmark, Sweden and Norway lecture him, but the second he starts feeling like they're being a little too mean for his liking, they will get shit from him.

Norway is a whole other case. I feel like Norway is most likely to get hurt skiing or hiking. Maybe he takes a nasty fall and ends up falling on his arm or leg weird, ultimately breaking them.

Norway is prone to fainting in these situations because the sight of his own blood/an injury on his body is very panic inducing. He curses enough to make a sailor blush.

Denmark also pretty much explodes. Norway getting hurt is on his top ten list of not good things to happen. He's pretty great at comforting him though. 'don't worry about it, buddy.'

Sweden is losing his collective shit because that's his actual baby child. What do you mean he's hurt? You'd think he was the one who broke a bone. Norway's the one who has to tell him to calm down.

Finland complains with him about whatever Norway managed to blame the issue on. They both eventually end up complaining about anything and everything. At least it keeps Norway distracted.

Iceland is pretty useful as usual, but his true moment to shine is when it comes to the recovery process. Iceland is the most guilt-trippable human being to ever exist. He ends up doing literally everything for Norway for at least a month afterwards. Norway even manages to keep it going after he heals.

Iceland is where all hell breaks loose. Considering Iceland's obsession with extreme sports. He's pretty safe doing those usually though, so I can also imagine that he gets injured doing his regular sports. Iceland does figure skating, soccer (it's more a hobby than anything really), and he does swimming. I can see him breaking his leg doing one of those.

Iceland has an insanely high pain tolerance, but he is not superhuman. He can compose himself enough to call Norway and let him know that he probably should go to the hospital mayhaps. He doesn't give a ton of details because he doesn't want Norway to freak out. When in the hospital and after his leg's in a cast, he makes it very clear that he doesn't want anyone panicking.

Denmark is inconsolable. He hates the idea of Iceland being hurt in anyway at all. He knows that him crying is probably the worst thing he can do in front of Iceland, so he tries to calm down. He immediately fails and sobs into Iceland's chest while sitting next to him.

Sweden pretty much drops everything and spends the entire time in the hospital with Iceland. He tries to comfort him, but it ends up with Iceland having to tell two grown ass men to stop freaking out because he's perfectly fine already.

Finland has severe age blindness as discussed earlier and is convinced that Iceland is like 5, so he's trying way too hard to be really comforting, but like... That's not how you handle an Iceland. Iceland is extremely chill, and he doesn't really need someone to be all gushy, but he appreciates it nonetheless. At least Finland has the self control to not also cry.

Norway feels like the worst brother on Earth. Iceland will be relentlessly spoiled for the next decade or so. He has to pry either Sweden or Denmark away so he can actually sit next to Iceland and just hold his hand with both of his until the initial chaos is over.

Thank you so much for the ask, Anon! I really appreciate it.

[road-hauler]

Tell us about Breakdown jehehehehhee

ok if you say soooo (Oh goodness this took me forever to make oops lololol) Yapping below the cut, this is going to be a long one:

Alright I'm just going to use this as an opportunity to dump all my thoughts in one place.

I’ll talk about his design character design first:

For references, I used his g1 cartoon design, original toy, Earthspark, and legacy figure. Then I stuck them all into my character design food processor and tada! I must say I'm quite pleased.

Starting with the colours, I decided to make his red more orange-y & lighter to really squeeze as much contrast juice out of the blue as possible. Then I added in some yellow, made his ‘white’ a very light desaturated blue, plus the purple for his insignia, and voila! I really like this colour scheme, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to use coral in a design for awhile now lololol.

I absolutely adored ES Breakdown’s coloured tires from the moment I first laid eyes on them, so I decided to include that design element here as well. The white decals are just a pattern of squiggly lines alternated with straight lines and dots just to keep things simple.

For Breakdown’s altmode, I went with the Lamborghini Countach LP500 S, which is the same (or close to) as his g1 if I’m not mistaken. I did consider picking a more modern Lamborghini, but I really did fall in love with this car’s vibe. When I close my eyes and envision Breakdown’s alt, this is the car I see, so I decided to just stick with it.

Moving on to his face, I wanted to give Breakdown a really wide eyed expression to get across how on edge he is. His eyes also have little orange rings in them to accentuate this look, but sometimes I’ll just draw it in with the blue instead if he’s far away. Googly eyes hehehe.

I base the majority of my designs off of some kind of animal/creature. For Breakdown that was initially a gummy bear, but I changed my mind! His wide eyes that look like they've seen untold horrors combined with his helm shape really does remind me of a hare. I mean, he also occasionally has prophetic dreams, so I think it really fits him! Also he'll book it rabbit style if someone he doesn't like enters the hes in room lololol.

As I’ve mentioned previously, the little yellow reflective rectangle on Breakdown’s head acts as a headlight that he can turn on whenever. It’s pretty handy for when he needs to navigate dark spaces since his altmode headlights are in his pedes. He’ll also use it if he’s working on something up close that way he can see what he’s doing better.

Moving on, let’s talk one of my favourite aspects of this design: his spoiler! I got the idea of him having a detachable spoiler from his legacy figure , and I love the idea of it just being able to pop it off. The lore here is that one day it just sort of slid out from the connectors because they forgot to weld it in place when they were building him lololol.

He doesn’t get it fixed though, because it’s actually pretty handy to be able to just take it off whenever. For example if he wants to lay down comfortably on his back, or throw it at his brothers, or use it as a makeshift blunt weapon in battle, it has a variety of uses. I just hope he doesn’t lose track of it or it something, that would be very inconvenient.

I’ll also mention that Breakdown’s major subspace compartment is behind his back underneath the spoiler, just like the actual trunk on the Countach. I think it’s pretty funny for him to be able to reach behind his head and pull out whatever random objects hes got in there. This is also the main compartment he keeps his gun in!

Now for some ideas that didn’t make it into his final design:

I really wanted to try giving him purple eyes like his g1 design, but it just doesn’t work with the other colours I chose. Breakdown's eyes need to contrast against the rest of his face for that wide eyed look, and the lavender just doesn’t do that. It’s unfortunate because I really him with purple eyes, but it just doesn’t work here. So sad.

Another idea I had was to give him door wings (I live for kibble, it’s my favorite part). Again, it just didn’t really end up working with the design I had in mind with him, and I think a spoiler does a much better job at enhancing his silhouette anyway (That and I might be giving them to Dead End instead (what who said that). Plus Breakdown already suffers enough with the sensory organs he has, I don’t think we need to give him more lololol.

I also had the idea to give him decals of the number 3 on his doors and tires (this will make sense later when the other Stunticons are done. Or it will be a vestigial concept that doesn't make it into any of their final designs. Who knows!).

In the end I felt this was over complicating things, and that I wouldn’t be able to draw it consistently. I also thought about having his tires have his name as the white decals, but this has the same problem. That and I couldn’t think of a good reason for him to have English writing on his tires, which is too bad since I think they look absolutely adorable!

I'll mention that if you feel inspired by any of the concepts I've show here, feel free to use them! Hell tag me if your feeling up to it, I'd love to see.

Alright now its background info time:

First lets start with how the Stunticons came into existence in this continuity.

The Decepticons are stranded on Earth. Like super stranded. The Nemesis has been critically damaged, and it's currently sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Energon supplies are low, and while there is plenty of it to be refined on the planet, the location they crashed in has really poor quality ore. That and the fact that they have to compete with the Autobots for it has made the situation quite rough.

Anyways, these are obviously the best circumstances to make a brand new gestalt combiner team in yes?

The last time around, the Decepticons made a combiner from a preexisting team (who will go unnamed lest I active The Curse). This time around they want to take a crack at making constructed mechs who are a gestalt from the get go. They take some random sparks they brought with them, some earth vehicles and mechanical parts they stole, the horrifying spark tethering machine, and then they let Starscream go at it for a while.

Next thing you know, tada! Stunticons. You know the rest from here.

Breakdown feels like he is constantly being watched. By what? Depends. Sometimes it's everyone in the room is staring at him, other times it's inanimate objects are able to perceive him, and occasionally its just a feeling. The one thing that's consistent is that it never ever goes away, which is as exhausting as it sounds. His paranoia isn’t completely unfounded at times though… sometimes he really is being watched! By what? That’s for me to know and for you to find out...

Another thing that causes Breakdown a lot of stress is when he has to leave the Nemesis on a mission. I mean, you take a very anxious mech who has only known the confines of an underwater spaceship for his entire short existence... and then show him the widest most open space imaginable. Let’s just say Breakdown is not a fan of the sky!

He finds the sheer vastness of it to be absolutely terrifying, and it doesn’t help that that’s where the Aerialbots attack them from. He’s constantly hyper vigilant of his surroundings when the Stunticons go surface side, and by the time they get back to the ship, he’s completely drained. He can usually handle the stress of it all if he’s with his brothers, but if he’s left alone on the surface he’ll totally freak out. He's gotten himself into a few predicaments trying to find any form of cover, even if it doesn't exactly match his size class.

The inverse is also true: Breakdown generally likes confined spaces because there are less places where something could be watching him from. Put him in a crevice and he actually slightly calms down. Miraculous!

The Stunticons have other duties assigned on the Nemesis, and Breakdown ends up in the communications department. This means he has to deal with Soundwave (scary!) and his cassettes (AAAAA) on a regular basis (and Bitstream, but that's for a different post).

He does actually end up enjoying his job in comms though. Monitor duties can be a good outlet if he doesn't over do it, and he really enjoys learning about how the all the comm machinery functions. He gets kinda freaked out about the fact someone can observe him through comm channels or cameras, so gaining insight into how the stuff works does lessen his anxiety around using them a bit.

Lets see what else... uh his engine still does The Thing and is generally kinda messed up. The medics can't figure out why it's able do that or how to solve the issue with their current resources (which is not a lot considering what happened to the medbay in the crash), so he just sort of has to live with it. Stress of course only serves to worsen the problem, and Breakdown's default state is being stressed out. Unfortunately for him, it's only going to get worse over time.

There's probably more that I forgot to mention, but this post is already massive so I'll leave it here for now.

I have a lot in store for this poor little car… heheheheheHAHAHAHA-Oh shit, the capybara! No wait give him back noooooooooo

Woah you made it all the way to the bottom, thank you for reading!

[chimaerakirin]

Blue Pink White

In honor of Pride Month, I present an MDNI exploration of gender.

A Quirk Did It. Tomura is now stuck in a girl's body, and he's not happy about it. Mostly because of course he wouldn't be, but also because he's slowly realizing he doesn't always hate it. Genderfluid Tomura, genderfluid/nonbinary OC. Slightly more angsty in places than I usually get. I did my best on the research, y'all, but I don't know anyone to ask for personal experiences. If I've misrepresented something, it's entirely by accident and please let me know.

TW: More dysphoria, mentions of panic attacks

CW: References to anal (including pegging), gender euphoria

MDNI MDNI MDNI

<- Ch1 - CH2 - Ch3 ->

Realization

Giran knows who Tiresias is, because that is the asshole's name, but not where at the moment, and Compress, Twice, and Toga return to the mission area too late to find them. All the League can do for now is keep an eye out and wait.

Wait, because the Quirks effects don't wear off. Giran could tell Dabi that much.

Tomura is not happy, and lives in his hoodie, even with the highly effective sports bra that Shiran retrieves a three-pack of for him. He hates that he has to wear the latter, but only takes it off to shower and to put a different one on. He bounces if he moves at more than a fast walk, and it feels so goddamn awkward.

A week passes, then two. Shiran snuggles up to him at night as usual, but the idea of doing more than exchanging kisses makes him flinch, so sleeping is all they do in bed, and while he accepts her usual offer to help wash his hair, he spends the entire time hugging his knees to his chest. He catches her researching ways to mitigate dysphoria and how to treat people who are suffering from it.

And he dreams.

He's seven years old, playing Metroid, and he's awed at the reveal that Samus is a girl. He's eleven, and every once in a while, he feels inexplicably awkward when he looks in the mirror. Kurogiri hands him a ridiculously embarrassing booklet and tells him to read it, then answers the few questions he can work up the nerve to ask in a monotone, but even in the list of questions he doesn't ask he's got the feeling he's missing one. He's fourteen, and usually he feels fine, but sometimes there's just something off about the way his clothes fit. He plays Breath of the Wild, and his favorite part is Gerudo Town. He's sixteen, and he prefers to make female characters in the RPGs he plays. It's practical — they have smaller hitboxes, but it's also easier to design a decent-looking one. He doesn't give them ridiculous figures though. That's just uncomfortable to look at (he doesn't think about why that is, when the stack of eroges on his shelf has plenty of hourglass busts). He's seventeen, and while most of the time he's satisfied with the results of the stat-grinding he does, occasionally he'll catch his reflection after a shower and wonder if he's not overdoing it. He focuses on putting points into SPD, and on one of those days he tells Kurogiri it doesn't feel right to bulk up so much. He says it in the bar, and Sensei overhears. Sensei tells him not to be ridiculous, and he twitches awkwardly at the weirdly uncomfortable address of 'my boy.'

He wakes up one morning and almost has a panic attack when the sight of himself in the mirror doesn't feel wrong. By dinner, he's almost relieved to find that the curves of his torso have gone back to being unsettling.

He's twenty, and Magne is explaining the difference between sex and gender to him, to Toga, to Mustard. To everyone in the bar, really, but them in particular. She explains how the two don't always match, and the problems it often causes, how the latter can sometimes change from day to day in the same person, and how it can complicate things even further. Shiran chimes in, and says that sometimes she feels like 'she' is the wrong word for her, that sometimes 'they' feels better, and that once in a blue moon she might prefer 'he.'

Three weeks pass, and he feels absolutely godawful. His head hurts, his chest hurts, his lower back hurts, his skin is even more of a wreck than usual, his gut feels squishy, and he's snapping over everything in a way he hasn't since they ditched Sensei. Shiran gives him a crash course in surviving the Red Tide, and Toga slips him a bottle of Midol under the table. He fucking hates it.

He's twenty, and Toga insists on doing the nails of anyone who will sit still long enough. Shiran, even with the sun-shaped hairpin that signals a 'he' day (moon or nothing for 'she', a taijitu for 'they'), grins and presents both hands for painting. He asks why, and he's told that there's nothing inherently feminine about makeup. He waits until Toga's done everyone else's nails — Mister just gets a clear coat to go under his gloves, Magne gets bright red, Twice gets orange, Spinner gets lilac to match his hair, and even Dabi gets bright azure blue to match his fire — then quietly asks for black. The polish is still there, in varying states of chipping, and Dabi invites everyone to a needle parlor. Not everyone gets something, but Shiran gets a barbell in their tongue. He looks at Dabi, with three nose studs and a whole row of piercings along each ear, and asks Magne for advice. He walks out with a pair of plain black studs in his ears, and asks Kurogiri not to tell Sensei.

He's twenty, and Shiran tells him that on days with the sun in his hair, he doesn't mind PIV but would kind of like to try taking it in the ass. He does his research, spends way too much money in illegal shops in the red-light district, and does his best to please his girlfriend when she's his boyfriend. He succeeds, and a month later she shyly asks if he'd be at all interested in doing it the other way around. He's hesitant, but he looks at the polish on his nails and the piercings in his ears, and he agrees to try it. He enjoys it more than he thought he would, and the next time she's ready to switch her hairpin to the sun, he finds himself whimpering into their sheets, several inches of slim silicone buried in him while Shiran tells him how pretty he looks, how well he's taking this dick, what a good boy he's being. He wonders if this is anything like getting fucked PIV.

He wishes it was Shiran who'd gotten hit by this Quirk, and then hates himself for thinking that.

He's seven, eleven, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, twenty, twenty-one, and every once in a while, he thinks that something is wrong with him, with his body. Every once in a while, he feels weird when someone calls him a boy, a man. He wonders if, on those days, he would feel better if someone said 'she.' If, on those days, he'd like Shiran to fuck him and tell him he's a good girl.

~BPW~

Tomura's first period is hell. Everyone suffers for it, but no one more than him. He especially doesn't like having to wear panties, but there's no way to secure a pad in boxer shorts, and he looked at the box of tampons like it might bite him. But it does end, and a couple of days later, he leaves the door open when he goes to take a shower. She watches from the desk as he finishes toweling dry, then stands there naked and stares at his reflection for several minutes.

When he shows no signs of moving, she pads over and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Tomura?"

"Shiran." He turns to look at her, something unreadable in his eyes. After a minute, he reaches out and pulls the crescent moon pin from her hair. Slowly, clumsily, he clips it into the gray tangles above his forehead, then turns back to the mirror.

Her eyes widen. The pins were Magne's idea, so that the people who know her would know how to respect her identity when it changed, but it was Tomura that suggested the designs. He was the one that explained the Yin and Yang associations of the moon with femininity and the sun with masculinity, something he apparently learned from video games. "Tomura, are you…?"

He shuts his eyes. "Say it. Please. Don't ask, just… say something. Something… relevant."

Something relevant? Like, assume the meaning? She thinks for a moment, then picks up one of his hands and holds it in both of hers. "You're such a sweet girl, Tomura."

A line of tension in his shoulders loosens. "Again," he whispers.

"Sweet girl. Beautiful girl. I really love Tomura, I hope she would like to be my girlfriend."

The tension dissipates almost completely. "Yes," Tomura says, opening her eyes. "I would." Atashi. Not ore.

Shiran smiles. "Touch?"

Tomura nods and wraps her arms around her. The Quirk didn't change her height, so she's still the taller of the two. "Thank you."

"Anything you need," Shiran promises.

"I… I don't think I want to wear the minimizer today."

"Then you don't have to."

"But…" Her cheeks turn red, all the way up to the dry skin around her eyes. "I still wanna try wearing something."

Shiran kisses her softly on the lips. "We'll see what we can do. Might need to go to the store. Anything else?"

The loop of hair that the moon pin is shoved through collapses, and Tomura winces. "…Help?"

"All right, go pick out your underwear for the day, and I'll deal with the rest."

Tomura goes to the box of clothes that has so far been kept separate from the rest, mostly out of refusal to acknowledge ownership. The minimizer bras are in there, the two that are clean, and the panties. Shiran got two different cuts when they realized the problem with boxers, but so far only the boyshorts have been touched. Now, Tomura opens the other pack, and nervously slips a pair of hipsters up her legs, shuffling awkwardly, experimentally in place before turning deliberately away from the box and going to sit down on the bed. She doesn't collect a pair of boxers from the dresser to layer over them.

Shiran does go to the dresser, and sorts through her drawer until she finds a camisole, which Tomura puts on without complaint. Then she sits down with the brush and starts working through Tomura's gray tangles. Her hair goes just a little past her collarbones when it hangs properly loose, consequences of not having a real haircut since before the Kamino Incident. With a little input and a lot of trust, it now ends up in a partial tail, most of the mass above ear level tied at the back of her head with just a little fringe to frame her face and the moon pin clipping the central forelock to the side.

Shiran sets the brush down. "All right, can you look in the mirror and tell me what you think?"

Tomura stands up, and spends a minute looking at herself silently in the dresser mirror. Then she opens their tiny jewelry box and switches out the flesh-tone retainers in her ears for the black disk studs that she usually prefers. "I think… I look like me. Maybe I won't tomorrow, but I do right now."

Shiran smiles and tilts her head. "Good. You ready to go out, or do you want me to run and grab you something to wear under your shirt first?"

Tomura opens the dresser drawer and digs through the pile of fabric until she comes up with two separate designs. She holds each of them in front of her, then drops one back into the drawer and turns around to hold out the other. "One like this?" she asks shyly.

Shiran eyes it for a minute, then nods. "Let me double-check your measurements, then I'll be right back."

FIfteen minutes later, because Kurogiri is an invaluable lifehack, Tomura is trying on a new dark purple balconette bra. She struggles with the clasps until Shiran tells her the trick of wrapping it backward to do the hooks then turning it around and hitching it into place. Shiran helps her adjust the shoulder straps, then at her nod, takes off the tags.

When Tomura walks into the bar area without a hoodie or a minimizer, hair properly styled and the visible earrings that haven't been worn in nearly a month, everyone goes silent. Dabi's the one that spots the hairpin and speaks first.

"Feeling better, boss?"

Tomura sits down at the bar and nods.

"Pronouns?"

"She/her, today."

Kurogiri sets a bowl of chazuke and a plate of tamagoyaki in front of her, and some tamago kake gohan next to her for Sharin. "Would you prefer a different name?" the bartender asks.

"Nah. Funerals are kinda a unisex concept," Tomura deadpans.

Dabi barks a laugh, Toga breaks down giggling, and Compress tips his hat with an "indeed."

"If it works for you, boss," Twice says. "Awful name either way, what were your parents thinking?"

Spinner's the last to react. "Does that make you Kindred?"

Tomura scratches at her neck, then picks up her spoon. "Guess it does."

"…Maybe you should use Wolf and Lamb symbols if you need something like Shiran's hairpins."

"Ooh, do you?" Toga asks.

"Do I what."

"Do you need symbols? Oh, are you ever 'they'?" The shapeshifter jumps onto the barstool next on Tomura's other side, then picks up the pomegranate soda that Kurogiri gives her and slurps cheerfully at it.

Tomura eats a few bites of rice-and-tea soup. "Maybe. I don't really… switch often. Kinda like Shiran's sun days, give or take a week between? And no, don't think so."

"Would I be correct in assuming you only recently became aware of this, my dear?" Mister asks.

Shiran sees Tomura's cheeks flush pink in the way they do when he she feels flattered, sakura-light and swiped along the bone. Mister addresses every 'lady' that way, he never calls Shiran that when he can see the sun pin and never called Magne anything else. Form has no bearing on a lady's status, he always says.

"Like… three hours ago? That's when I consciously put it together, anyway. But I've been sort of… processing for the last couple of weeks, in the background."

"Do you want us to change how we deal with Tiresias?" Dabi asks.

Tomura shakes her head quickly. "No. Keep searching, drag them back alive." She rubs a thumb across her palm.

All the League knows what that means. The copy of All For One that was designed for the mercenary Nine is much weaker than the original, only able to hold nine Quirks total, and it lacks the stigmata that marks the full version, but it can still steal Quirks just as easily. On top of that, it synergizes extremely well with Shiran's Pirate Copy Quirk, which allows her to copy a single Emitter Quirk at a time, along with certain Transformation types, and hold it indefinitely or 'paste' it to another person, where it will fade after an hour or less. Unlike most copy Quirks, including her cousin Neito's, the copies she makes are each considered a full Quirk that All For One can take, and her Quirk Factor is appropriately huge. Which meant that she could copy Nine's discount version of All For One and give it to Tomura, allowing him to steal the permanent one from Nine. The mercenary died before Tomura could take more than one of his other Quirks, but that was the only one he had that they really wanted anyway.

Tomura still has several open slots in her arsenal. Once Tiresias is standing in front of her, they won't walk away with the only iteration of their power, if they walk away with it at all.

~BPW~

The morning is spent indulging Toga in another fit of Nail Polish For Everyone. Once again, Tomura gets black polish, although this time Toga convinces her to do accents. She gets a single sparkle shape in silver on the middle nails. Shiran promptly takes a picture of her holding up both hands and flipping the bird with one, and saves the photo with the label ✨🖕✨. Toga then drags Shiran and Tomura out to shop, judicious use of the hemophage's Quirk ensuring the girls won't be recognized. Tomura prefers a Quirk she picked up from an old Korean called Fidelius, which prevents anyone who doesn't know her personally from identifying her.

She's well past wanting to be the center of attention, and is pretty sure she never would have wanted it in the first place if All For One hadn't told her she was entitled to it.

After two hours, Tomura is equipped with clear satin-finish lip gloss and smudgy eyeliner, a tube of nearly black matte lipstick, and a container of eczema facial lotion. She refuses to go any deeper down that particular rabbit hole, the sheer variety of cosmetics on display and Toga's chattering about what they're all for is dizzying. To her surprise, Toga dismisses the idea of eyebrow pencils entirely, because 'that wouldn't suit you at all, no way,' but does insist on putting the clear gloss and eyeliner on her before leaving the store.

Of course, that isn't the end of the death march adventure. An hour after that, Tomura has two complete feminine outfits in what Toga calls Mall Goth Style, and isn't allowed out of the store without wearing one. She chooses the leggings with the double-belted skirt and the black and red striped long-sleeved shirt. The plaid pants (she's not sure why they aren't classified as pajamas) and the compression top with thumb-hole sleeves and unisex band shirts (Sleep Token, Soundgarden, and Bring Me The Horizon) go into the bag with the extra bras and the clothes she put on this morning.

At this point, Tomura is starting to burn out, so Shiran leashes Toga and lets the focus of the trip pick the next stop. Tomura immediately heads for a store that does custom non-Hero merch with same-day pick-up on simpler orders. Inside, she requests a double-sided band choker with a Kindred theme, Lamb-white with a wolf mask on one side and Wolf-black with a lamb mask on the reverse. As soon as the digital mock-up is finalized and a price is agreed on, the artist tells them to come back in an hour and a half, and they head out for lunch, stopping off in a blind alley to send the shopping bags through Kurogiri's gate to the bar.

They're eating cheap yakisoba on a rooftop when they're interrupted by the Designated Archnemesis.

"Izukun!" Toga squeals happily, almost dropping her takeout box when the green jumpsuit vaults over the railing with black tendrils.

Student Hero Deku blinks in surprise at the address. "T-Toga?"

Toga's disguise melts off, thankfully not into her noodles, and she pouts. "Hi-mi-koooo," she enunciates.

Deku's attention skips off her to Shiran, who he takes a moment to identify since she's not dropping her disguise. Then he looks at Tomura, and does a double-take. "Shi-Shi-Shigaraki?!"

Tomura glares at him. "Speak up why don't you, I don't think they heard you in Hokkaido," she hisses.

"Sorry?" he squeaks. "I um, I didn't, what… What happened? No one's seen you in over a month, and you're… Um…"

"You don't see anything worth telling anyone, got it?"

Deku hastily mutes his earpiece. "B-but I— Are, are you okay?"

"I. Am. Fine." Her eyes flick to the air over his shoulder. "Doing a hell of a lot better than I would be if either of the abusive fuckwads was still around."

Shiran knows who she's talking to, and it's not Deku. It's still Deku that answers though.

"Were they both that bad? I mean, bad that way?"

"All For One never once called Magne 'she'," Tomura says flatly. "And the Family Man belonged in the nineteen fifties in every other way, why not this one too?"

Deku flinches. "I. Um. Sorry…"

Deku's relationship with the League, with Tomura in particular, is weird. If they're openly making a mess, he'll fight them to a draw, but every time, he'll go all in on the First Rule of Heroics, and turn his attention to rescue as soon as he can get away with, thereby letting them get away. Uravity will more or less do the same if Toga is involved, and Todoroki Shouto may or may not be trolling the shit out of Dabi with fake obliviousness every time those two have a showdown, but in the end, they're more frenemies than actual nemeses. Spinner swears up and down that Toga and Uravity are playing Katarina and Garen, complete with Too Many Knives and Spin2Win, and personally Shiran isn't convinced that Kurogiri isn't DMing Eraserhead on the sly using that Cataholics Anonymous social app. Maybe Midnight. Or both.

And on little occasions like this, when they encounter each other with one side off duty, Deku at least has no problem having a civil conversation. Personally, Shiran thinks it's because as abrasive as Tomura can be, Deku is used to way worse. She once spent two whole days around Dynamight and wanted to shove him into a woodchipper after twenty minutes. Deku apparently grew up with the little bastard.

"Whatever. What do you want, Midoriya?"

"Oh, uh, someone called in about people on the roof. I think they were worried about, about jumpers… And this is my patrol area, so… yeah." The Heroling scratches awkwardly at the back of his head. "Are you… I mean, is this permanent? Are you adjusting okay?"

Tomura doesn't answer for a few minutes, focusing on shoveling fried noodles into her mouth. Finally, she puts the chopsticks down. "I have good days and bad days," she mutters. "This is a good day. No dysphoria."

"Oh. Is, um, is that a common problem for you? You never really seemed…"

"Common, no. Long history of, yes, not that I realized." Tomura snorts. "As for permanent… Not once I get my hands on the asshole that did it, it won't be."

Deku gives her a reproachful look. "You can't just steal Quirks, Shigaraki." Deku is one of the few people outside the League who knows she has a form of All For One, but since people aren't turning up Quirkless in droves and the few he knows she's taken are still seemingly in their original owners' possession, he doesn't spread it around.

"Don't fucking start, Midoriya. This one has a list of sex crimes the size of Bakugou's ego, and some of them were committed on a Hero's payroll."

"Wait, what?!"

"Starbrite? She had them on retainer under the table. Bitch didn't have any problem talking to them in her office on-duty either. That's how I got hit."

"Oh right, the Heartstar Agency thing last month. That was… Oh, that was the last time you were seen in public. We'd been wondering where you went…" Deku nods to himself. "Do you want me to tell them you got hurt in some crossfire? The theories have been getting pretty wild."

Tomura thinks for another few bites. "…Broken ribs or something. Spinner swiped Starbrite's black books and he's done going through them if you want them. The usual place?"

"Eheheh, yes please?" It's almost routine at this point, ever since they dropped All For One's Doctor, hogtied in duct tape with his filing cabinets and hard drives, in front of UA's gates with the folder on Kurogiri's creation process stapled to his lab coat and I INVENTED NOUMU scrawled across his forehead in permanent marker. If the League does the Heroes' job for them, proof winds up on Nezu's doorstep. Deku was almost as disgusted as Eraserhead, apparently the old man was his pediatrician.

(Occasionally they do the opposite, like three months ago when they basically kidnapped Eraserhead and shoved him into the basement of the Terumoto house, where a half-starved seven year old with his mouth stitched shut was chained to a water pipe. Kurogiri told the Hero in no uncertain terms that if the boy wasn't saved and his family punished, the house and its occupants would disappear overnight and Tomura would be getting a little brother. The Terumotos were very publicly crucified on the evening news, and Yagi Toshinori made himself useful for once by speaking out against Quirk-motivated child abuse.)

"Mister will bring a box around in a couple of days." Tomura fixes Deku with a glare. "I give you the dirt on a corrupt Hero, you tip me off if you find the C-ranker called Tiresias. Before you shove them in a Styx Wagon, got it? You'll know them if you see them. Looks like a walking transgender flag."

Deku nods vigorously. "G-got it!"

"I mean it. Do not fuck me over on this."

The Heroling's expression tightens. "I won't, I promise."

"Good."

"I have to get back to my patrol. Don't stay up here too much longer, okay? Technically it's off-limits, someone else might come to check."

"Say hi to Ocha-chan for me!" Toga chirps.

Deku turns red. "R-right." He runs for the edge of the roof and hops over the railing, turning his earpiece back on as he goes. "Crust? I'm back, sorry. Situation resolved, everyone's fine…"

The three villains watch him go.

"...It's been about an hour, right?" Shiran asks.

Tomura looks at his phone. "Yeah, just about."

"Let's head back to the merch shop then."

Hero gone and lunch finished, they return to collect Tomura's order. As soon as she has it, she ties it around her throat, Lamb side out, and gives Shiran her hairpin back.

"Where to next?" Toga asks.

"You are going home," Tomura says flatly. "That's enough Girls Day Out. Shiran and I are going on a date."

Toga switches from disappointed to cheerful faster than she can throw a knife. "Oooh, okay! I'll tell Kurogiri you'll be home later! Have fuuuun~!"

The hemovore hugs both of them, then spins on her heel and skips off down the street.

"A date, huh? What kind?" Shiran asks with a smile.

"Well, we can go to an arcade if you want," Tomura answers, flushing red. "But I kinda wanted to go to another store…"

"Which store?"

"Um… This way." She takes Shiran's hand and starts in the opposite direction from Toga.

[platonic-qpr-selfshipping]

hii! could i maybe get found family headcanons for zhongli as a father figure or xiao as a brother figure? (s/i is like the travelers companion/sidekick, if it matters)

thank you, you’re doing the gods work as an aro selfship writer <33

omgg I'm happy to write this! I also see Zhongli as a father figure and Xiao is one of my fav characters so this will be comforting to write about. and yes, the details about the s/i help a lot, actually! thank you so much for this request!

Zhongli as your father figure + Xiao as your brother figure

¡! s/i is Traveler's sidekick

Zhongli

He was thankful of how both Traveler and you were helping in Liyue, defeating enemies and helping citizens in daily life stuff, so he got used to the sight of your little group wandering around. If you agreed to accompany him when he asked, he'd smile and thank you for your asistence.

So be prepared. He's gonna drag you through several shops, infodump about history of cuisine and architecture and maybe even buy some toys made for kids that caught his attention because he "had never seen anything like that before". It usually gets to a point where Traveler leaves you alone with him and he ends up handing said toys to you as a gift.

Somehow, when he's walking around with you he feels the peace of having a young person beside him that will listen to his words and continue living with them in their heart. So he becomes even more interested in commenting random facts with you, as well as asking about your opinion and smile when his stories bring you memories of your own experiences.

That would make him a great listener. Even though Paimon would find it hard to believe that Zhongli would so attentively listen to someone talk about trivial matters, you found yourself going to him for advice over time. It just happened, and he prioritizes your wellbeing over anything else when putting his thoughts into words in his answers.

Taken how your friend seems to have had their life influenced by the war thousands of years ago, he may feel like he could have done better for you, that the person he was in the past doesn't deserve the admiration you seem to feel towards him in the present.

Therefore he would try his best to help you on your adventure with anything he can. The Traveler and Paimon will easily notice it: how he sometimes appears out of nowhere when you get yourselves into trouble, the invitations to dinner after some days out of the city, receiving some gifts and advice from him from time to time... Paimon will joke that they have your father's protection in this quest.

But Traveler needs to go to another nation no matter how nice your stay in Liyue could have been, and seeing you go leaves him with a bittersweet feeling. He's proud to see you'll visit new places as you wish to, but at the same time it's like an important presence in his days is going away. In any case, he'll say goodbye with a smile and a hug if you'd let him.

He would secretly give you some food for your trip to the next nation. Food from Liyue, of course, incluiding some of the new favorite meals you found while visiting restaurants with him. And if you need to ever write to him to continue receiving his advice and support, he'll be more than happy to answer.

Xiao

Your first meeting was probably sort of awkward. If you had told him back then that he would end up wanting to protect you as if you were family to him, he wouldn't had believed you. How fool of him.

You start to appear in his life rather often because of missions, requests and any other necessary affairs the Traveler lends you. At first it was because of the convenience to split up the work, but they slowly start to realise that Xiao's easier to convince when you are the one who goes to him for help.

Maybe it was in the way you talked, in the anecdotes you tried to mention during your silences together or the way you always waved goodbye only to make, once again, the effort to go up the mountain the day after. He started to seriously wonder and even worry about about your days, so he once offered to walk you to Liyue himself.

In the way back, your curiosity about the unknown nation got the best of you and Xiao started to answer some of your many questions. Teaching you the uses of some flowers and giving you instructions to get to specific mountains, especially the ones with the most snow during winter. When he realised what he was doing, he had already spoken much more than he had expected to. Not that it was a lot, but enough to surprise him.

So when you got busier with the Traveler and Paimon, he started to wonder when you'd go see him again. Just as if he expected your human presence and enjoyment to accompany him at least for part of the day, to show you his favorite tofu and hear about what you had been up to.

He decides to stay a bit closer to Liyue for some time, and one of those nights he finds you wandering around. The situation you were dealing with at the city could have started to feel overwhelming because of how importantant it was, and he doesn't think it twice before approaching you after seeing you in this state.

Were you hurt? Had something happened? Was what he last gave you not enough for the request you had to fulfill? He may sound a bit harsh when trying to know what he has to deal with, but it's just that he hates to see you hurting when he's right there and willing to stop it.

Would quietly listen to you if you ask him to do so. He'll feel fulfilled knowing that he is helping somehow. Because he feels as if you were part of him now, and your wellbeing is a new motivation for him to continue fighting for every day. If your adventure continues, then his must too as you are like siblings sharing this path in life.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi pt. 2

Despite opening the way it did, we still have our pre-horror sillies.

Keiichi can't cook! OH NOOOOOOOOOooooo.

Truly the average high-school guy's experience knows no border.

Satoko and Rika save the day, and educate Keiichi on the proper ways of committing arson.

Again, playing with the mod is great because of the voice acted Meeps.

Satoko is working on her stand-up routine. Also I'm just tickled by the idea that Keiichi got completely physically overpowered by the small child. How old are Rika and Satoko anyway? I don't know if they ever bothered mentioning it before, I just assume they're ages 10 and 11 respectively. Or the same age probably. I know that when the second chapter did the summation it said Mion was 1X, and I figure she's probably around 18.

So Satoshi is going to play a much bigger role than he has in the previous chapters eh? Wonder if he'll be an alive participant or a posthumous one?

A lot of the time whenever I pronounce the word vigor I usually pronounce it vi-gor, instead of the usual pronunciation. A guy I used to work with decided to convey his annoyance with "purity culture" and start nit-picking people pronouncing words, "can't say vinegar because it sounds too close to the n-word" and on and on he went. Basically every word that ends with a grr sound. Also he latched on to "not being able to" pronounce the Guilty Gear character Nagoryuki's name correctly. Then again this is the same guy who got mad when I pointed out he seemed oddly incensed when the various companies did the least bit to pretend to care about pride month. He pulled out the usual argument of "I'm not homophobic/transphobic but" and he tried arguing that I was implying he was. I just thought it was kind of funny how bent out of shape he got over, of all things, gray Skittles.

Speaking of people who decided they can't handle today (seven years ago) "pansy-ass handling of culture" I once had a boss who sang the praises of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. "They say the n-word in it!" Nothing about the gameplay or anything, just "they say the n-word!" Then he got fired because a customer called him out on the fact he routinely acted like a baby. A forty-year old baby. Please forgive these digressions.

It's only just now occurred to me, they've never really confirmed one way or the other that Satoshi is actually dead. In chapter two they mention that he disappeared after Watanagashi in 1982, but it's never explicitly said point blank that Satoshi died. Even in chapter one it's only Keiichi's mania and paranoia that says Satoshi died. With this information in hand I would like to put forward my predictions about what this could mean. One: nothing. Kind of a boring option, and the least likely in my opinion. Two: Satoshi is indeed dead. The revelation that he died will be the inciting incident that pushes Satoko over the edge and causes her to start killing. Three: Satoshi's alive, but he's a prick. Not just any prick, but a violent abusive prick that will make this chapter extremely uncomfortable to read. This will push Rika over the edge, and start killing. Of course there's also the fourth option that Satoshi will be alive and just be a swell guy. Then after several hours of Keiichi being an extremely jealous individual Satoshi will die in a Watanagashi-based murder that gets pinned on Keiichi.

Of the four theories I have put forward I think that Prediction Three: Prick Satoshi will wind up being the one that's correct.

Also, I wonder what other baggage Rika's carrying? Is it the stuff about being the last of the Furude shrine maidens? The weight of being one of the people in control of Hinamizawa? Or just the mental strain of having to be the adult at such a young age? I wonder if Satoko is going to get violently protective of Keiichi? Since Rika has suggested using Keiichi as a replacement brother for Satoshi I mean.

[iminyourbookshelf]

Songs I think fit Frubbo because yes

Of course this is my own opinion, you don't have to agree. If you want to add anything just feel free to do so! And as always this is the character, not the content creator.

I'll add the song, artist, the meaning of the song when you search it up, and the lyrics that made me think of them.

Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms

The waning days of a mutually self-destructive relationship

"But you're a killer

And I'm your best friend

Thinks it's unfair, your situation"

I feel like this might soon reflect on what's to come. Fred keeps repeating to Tubbo about how he's not someone he should be trusted because there are things he's done that aren't good.

"Well I try to write you poems, but the words, they don't make sense

My hand tries to grip the pencil, but the fingers are too tense"

Sometimes when Tubbo is writing letters to Fred, the message he's trying to convey can come off wrong. Such as the first instance of him inviting Fred on a picnic and Fred interpreting it as him asking him on a date instead of just a hangout. Not to mention the two aren't that good at voicing their emotions to eachother.

"And I try to show emotions, but my eyes won't seem to wet"

This reflects Fred's struggle with dealing with emotions. Though he's trying to learn human emotions, technically he's still not allowed to because of the Federation.

Favorite Poison by Fuller

Bad choices in dating

"You get high on breaking rules

Cutting lies and blurring truth

I got lost after finding you

Can't cut, cut, cut you loose"

Tubbo often liked to mess with Cucurucho by explicitly breaking rules because of his dislike of the Federation. Fred as he grew closer to Tubbo also started to loose trust for the Federation, and as stated in one of his letters "For the first time after living on the island I can't make firm decisions." Hence the "I got lost after finding you" lyric. He's grown to close to Tubbo to want to stop being his friend as well

"Your a bad habit and I'm a bad boyfriend"

Fred has been reprimanded for keeping a connection with Tubbo, though despite that he still keeps exchanging letters with him. Possibly being a bad habit. Yes Fred and Tubbo aren't dating but the "I'm a bad boyfriend" reminds me of when Fred called himself a bad penpal

"I don't know if I'll ever change

You never asked so I didn't say

Maybe it's love because I feel okay"

This could be Fred wondering if he'll ever learn human emotions fully, and questioning whether or not what he feels for Tubbo is love.

No Time To Explain by good kid

The change that comes with getting close to someone and how it can be scary, yet uplifting at the same time.

"I said I don't like change but I'm not afraid

I can't keep it together ever anyway

When every page is in disarray

I think we'll be okay"

Fred feeling human emotions for the first time is quite a big change for him. Despite that, Tubbo is there and willing to support him through it. This reminds me epecially since the lyric is "We'll be okay", not just "I'll be okay".

Oh No! by Kevin Walkman

Letting your walls down and allowing yourself to fall for someone.

"I know we could be more than friendly-

What does that even mean?"

At first Tubbo intended to just be friends with Fred, obviously that didn't work. I view this part as like one of his awkward attempts at telling Fred he likes him while also trying not to make him uncomfortable

"And oh my God!

We could admit that this is odd!

Love at first sight is bullshit now

But look at your face"

Tubbo and Fred's situation-ship/friendship/whatever Fred is calling it I think is probably best described as odd. Though they weren't 'love at first sight' I do feel like Tubbo figured it out earlier on.

"Oh no no shit really hit the fan"

In context it doesn't really work, but the mess of 'Is Fred a 50 year old man'? Or Fred telling Bagi that he never wanted something romantic reminded me of how I felt trying to catch up on everything lol.

"I can't tell my girlfriend I'm gay

Cause she spent eight months thinking I'm straight, oh no!"

Once again in context it doesn't fit but it reminded me of that one dono Tubbo got that said Fred mightve been straight, so basically kind of the opposite of this lyric

[pyro-madder]

Do you have any ideas of Djura's relationships with other characters? Or maybe what was his vision of them? (Especially Ludwig, since, you know, *neigh neigh* in Old Yharnam)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) thank you Faree for enabling me as usual

Funnily enough, Katy asked me the same a while ago ! My brainrot contaminates you sdfghj

Powder Kegs and associates || basically what I covered in my previous essay already !

Oto : made a person by french localization, the Kegs' founder ; naturally, looked up to as both a craftsman and a hunter by all its members, the then-apprentice Djura included.

Izzy : a friend to Oto, Djura also respected them despite not interacting with them much. It came with a sense of kinship after the burning, since Izzy explored the connection between man and beast and was branded a heretic for it.

Jozef, Brandr (ally) and Ysle (disciple) : Jozef is slightly older and a tutor in Izzy's teachings, Ysle is a younger Keg apprentice, and Brandr... it's a blood pact they got at this point, since I headcanon the guy as a survivor of the burning. Beyond these subtle variants, all four have a strong "it's us against the world" companionship, and because Brandr's the only one remaining today, he and Djura are fiercely protective of one another. of course, there may have been some benefits between the four of them ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

2. Fellow Old Hunters || my favorite one, for which I'll approximatively paste what I wrote to Katy !

Gascoigne, Henryk & Eileen : because they were, with Djura, my favorites when I started playing, I am greatly attached to two ideas : them being mentor figures to the Hunter, and them having been friends with each other. But I understand this theoretical friendship would be cut short - all 4 of them were present for the burning, Eileen would start putting distance between herself and those she could very well have to hunt down one day, while Djura would exile himself, possibly even fight with the others who don't seem to follow his reasoning. Still, my soft little heart says they "saw him off" before he went back down to Old Yharnam. And that was it. Djura still thinks about them, but even when the Hunter is with him he judges he has no right to ask about their whereabouts, that if he wants to know, he has to go back to the surface and see for himself. Of course, by the time the Hunter has pacified him, we know said whereabouts, so... bittersweetness all around :')

I also think he and Gascoigne fooled around back then. I mean there's the poetry of their opposed narratives, and also i've seen fanart of them that has rewired my brain. dilf4dilf

Here's a wip i'm hoping to finish of their wild wild youth :')

Valtr : I don't actually have anything for now but I need to think about it, since the bozo uses a Keg weapon. They could have met through Henryk 🤔

3. The Beasts ||

Albina (Blood-Starved Beast) : I haven't decided whether they did have a relationship, or if it was just Djura being smitten like the fool he is 😔 but either way they were good friends, and Djura tried to protect her all the way until her transformation. He still would be, but between the poison AOE and him looking suddenly very edible to her, he's somewhat limited.

Old Yharnam Beasts : implied just above - it's a hard-on headcanon that he is NOT safe from them either, something that I've briefly mentionned here. In fact, I think a beast is behind his missing eye, because i love irony :^) So, he protects them, but doesn't approach them.

4. The Church ||

The beasts down Old Y are no threat because there are no civils left to harm in their vicinity, unlike in the rest of Yharnam ; so Djura hates the Hunt, not necessarily the hunters, as long as they keep out of his turf. He's aware of the blood of his own hands, and is retired in name and quarry only. However, he knows who is reponsible for the Hunt and is twice as less patient with Church hunters - if they don't listen to his very first callout, he'll open fire without further ado.

Before the burning, he hunted like anyone else, with enthusiasm even, but the moment he realized that there were still human civils in the fray that had not been evacuated beforehand, and then that it had been intentional because ALL beasts were actually civils, hoo boy. At first he was too shocked processing that + the deaths of most Kegs, including Oto, but when sometimes later Laurence publicly announced the heresy of Kegs and Izzy... bro was ready to fistfight him LOL

i like to imagine that Laurence granted him audience, even showing him his own signs of transformation, only for Dju to tell him "I hope they burn you" SDFGHJKL somehow he was allowed to walk out alive, because getting blacklisted functionally made him unable to do anything - he was (almost) alone, had no proof to work with, everyone would call him crazy if he tried anything AND he was still monitored by the Church if he did try anything.

Regarding Ludwig, no specific feelings beyond overall disdain for carrying out Laurence's every order (when he's not listening to the so-called guidance of his magic sword... but Djura doesn't know that), which included leading the burning. There's definitely things to be said about Ludwig's "heroism" in such a corrupted institution, but again Djura doesn't know him enough to make a proper in-depth judgement (and that's not me saying I don't have a proper analysis yet either)

5. And last but not least... ||

The Good Hunter : well. On the one hand, there's canon and what I said about it already (pacifying him is not befriending him, and his general distrust towards us is part of the overall narrative, etc.). On the other hand, I crave those positive interactions and him being an unofficial tutor for our hunter, quiet conversations on the tower and less quiet ones in bed, perhaps with Brandr too because yes. To think he's one of the sanest characters and WILL make it to the ending if you don't go out of your way to kill him yourself... well, it wouldn't last anyway, even on good terms with the Hunter on a Sunrise ending - he'd refuse to leave Old Yharnam.

Those are all I can think about for now ! Which is already a lot sdfgh thank you for reading to the end, and again for asking :') Your tags are right, on our own damned blogs these posts should be spontaneous and not have to wait for an ask :'')