#but its okay. my goal with them anyway is whenever i feel inspired to do a post of them i will do it

[flovoid]

thank you @autumnserenade for the tag!!!

I honestly rn have soo many favourite sims/series so I couldn’t decide choosing between them andddd I did them all kinda :p

MAIN OC SIMS

floyd is the face and the reason why I named this account after, and he is sooooooo special to me so ofc I did him alongside with draco! because yk they are the criminal-detective iconic duo hehe and because they going to have a strong bond ssksdj

MAJIMA LAND

one of my current series I JUST HAD TO DO THEM they literally so unique and have so much fun dynamics and are my pride and joy, they deserve all the attention of details mwahaha

FLAWTOWN

I love flawtown don’t get me wrong- BUT I LITERALLY CANT DO ALL THE CHARACTERS THEY ARE ALOT literally a story about a town sooooo I chose some main characters who will have more screentime in the future?? who knows…

also a shame how I couldn’t include the kiddos, the website was acting weird when I added the kids model :(

[driftingmoonmenace]

Hi, hi! I saw your vent post and I hope it's okay if I drop here for a sec!

I just wanted to say that it's ok! Imposter syndrome is one of the toughest things to battle with, especially when it comes and latches to something that is important to us and we care about a lot. Because we want it to be good, but the image in our heads doesn't tend to match what we make and it brings a lot of self-doubt. And there are a lot of wonderful artists and writers in this fandom (you included!) and getting inspired is as easy as getting self-conscious about not feeling like you are doing as much or even enough. It's a feeling that sucks and combating it is very hard, because it takes time and trying to push back against those feelings whenever you recognize them.

So I would like to say, don't feel bad for feeling like this! It's not gonna help at all if on top of the anxiety you beat yourself up for feeling it at all.

I would like to assure you that what you make is very appreciated! Your style is characteristic, your designs are fun and pretty, and the stories you make are great!

From one self-perceived slow artist to another (I never know if my next drawing or writing of anything will come out in a month or several from the last!), I also want to say that I completely undertand how all that feels. I had a period of several years where I just was so burnt out that I didn't feel motivated to create anything for that amount of time. It's one of the hardest things to find how to find joy in what you make without worrying about numbers and people's reactions, and also letting yourself work at the pace that works for you. Perfectionism rears its ugly head to make projects anxiety inducing to the point there is so much prep work that we exhaust ourselves with the idea that all of that will not come out how we want anyways so trying is futile.

But that's perfectionism lying to you. Because there are so many things you can be proud of that you've made! All that time that you have put into them has gotten your skills all the way to where they are, and while I know amount of engagement is something that will make the doubts come back up frequently, I think it's necessary to take a deep breath and know that not a single moment of the time you've spent creating and sharing stuff has been wasted or not good enough. You have so much you have done because you allowed yourself to enjoy what you were making. And the happiness from that might make it seem like you have to push yourself to make, make, and make, because otherwise it will all go away, but pushing yourself like that might just make it all seem too much and too exhausting and it becomes something to dread instead of something to look forward to.

I know you probably know all this already, but hearing from someone else  can be helpful sometimes if convincing yourself is difficult (which it is!)

I apologize if I overstepped a little and the vent post was meant to be just that, to express how you've been feeling. But just in case, I did want to leave this here. To let you know it's fine! It's fine to take your time and not push yourself if it means you can win against the anxiety, because going at your own pace is what allows you to create! It's also ok to not create for a while if it helps to detangle yourself from those feelings of inadequacy (in fact, maybe setting the objective of NOT thinking about creating at all could help, because then it's your goal to sit back and relax. Put a big pause button on everything and enjoy a small brain vacation!)

(Personally, I love your Club AU and I'm definitely looking forward to whatever you have planned with it! When AUs outside of the pizzaplex started coming out, yours was one of the first ones I came across and it has stayed in my mind since then! I'm 100% willing to wait, so there's no rush yeah? )

Your stuff is great! And if making and not sharing is what will help you right now, I say go for it! If you need a mental break from drawing, also go for it! Just make sure it's to help you take care of yourself and not beat yourself for it! You haven't "failed" in art, or in the fandom. Anxiety and expectations might have strained you a bit, and that's hurting right now, but it will heal and it will get better.

Aaaa sorry that this is so long and rambly! So I should probably end this here haha (also no pressure to respond to this!)

Take care, friend! <3

I can't thank you enough for all the such kind words and support, Chaotik!! And for the advice too!!!! I greatly appreciate all of it and wholeheartedly agree. 💕

Imposter Syndrome is such a difficult thing to deal with, it's true. And it's unfortunate that so many people suffer from it. (It's hard for me when anything I create that I deem 'good enough' feels like a fluke, then anything I deem otherwise feels like a failure.) Plus the added high expectations you tend put on yourself. I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone, especially something you feel is so ingrained in who you are. It's really exhausting when you feel like you gotta go, go, go all the time on top of all of that too!!

I def feel that with the whole 'idk when art/writing will happen' thing. Sometimes I'm on my A-game and can pump out a lot of stuff in a week. Then other times I'm barely managing to do anything for several months unless the stars magically align. It can get frustrating but I know there's no use in forcing myself since I've really burnt myself out over the years. Taking a step back to focus on myself is something I'm just now learning to get better at. And boy howdy have I improved on that front along with setting boundaries for myself since joining the DCA fandom with how wholesome and positive it is! It's still a work in progress, but progress is progress after all!

(btw you didn't over step or get rambly on me, so no worries on that, ok?) 👌💕

[rayadraws]

So october is the traditional month of doing art challenges, though there are also others throughout the years, such as fandom countdowns and such. I have partaken in quite a few, including doing month-long daily ones in october for the last 6 years in a row.

There are many reasons why challenges like these, whether long or short, can be daunting. Why they can be hard or impossible to finish. Life happens! And at the end of the day they should be fun, not a chore. You never HAVE to do them and you probably shouldn’t if they cause you stress. But having said that, if someone wants tips to make them a little more manageable, here are a few things I’ve learnt over the years that work for me:

1. Plan ahead and set defined goals. What are you trying to achieve here? Are you following a prompt list? If it’s a more open challenge, I recommend to choose 1-2 things that will be your main focus. And be realistic about it. ”I will draw 31 full colour detailed backgrounds in a month” is not realistic. But ”I will practice drawing one object I can use in a background/as part of a larger composition 31 days in a row” is something that is much more doable. So instead of drawing a fully furnished room every day, for instance, maybe you’re drawing a chair one day and a potted plant the next. Or you want to focus on learning to use an art tool and the subject isn’t important, you’re just testing out different brushes every day, etc. As another example, my personal goal during october this year is to practice drawing kisses. That’s it. Well, and they will all be digital because that’s faster/easier for me and they will all be of my OTP because that’s The Law (and I could probably draw them in my sleep, which also helps!).

2. Plan ahead part 2: okay, you’re going to draw every day for a month… when, exactly? ”Whenever I feel like it” is setting yourself up for failure. If you can, decide beforehand exactly when during the day you’re going to sit down to work on your challenge. Also, if you’re a perfectionist, consider limiting that daily time to fight burnout. Spending hours a day on a month-long challenge is not reasonable. But spending 20 minutes might be, depending on your schedule. Plan some more. What limits are you putting on yourself here? Are you going to create a drawing from scratch starting new every day? Ow, that’s rough. I usually start at least a few weeks before every challenge to look over the prompts and make at least rough sketches for every day, so I can go straight to inking/colouring the drawing every day without having to think up a new idea/composition every day. For countdowns, I might finish several/all drawings before the countdown actually starts, if possible. I also know I have the most energy in the morning so when possible I draw before heading to work. Sometimes even setting my alarm to give myself extra time if I know I’ll be home late.

3. Plan ahead part 3: Use every shortcut to save time/effort. Use references. Draw familiar things. Play with composition and angles and focus on what’s important and crop out all the rest. Sometimes a highly cropped view is the most striking, anyway. Pressed for time? Hide sections in dark shadows rather than stressing over small details. Do limited colour palettes, skip shading if you want to, etc. For instance, for me drawing chibis is faster/easier so I almost always draw them for multi-day challenges. I do black and white unless I have the time AND feel extra inspired. Last I do is usually to look at tomorrow’s prompt and make sure I have something to work with.

4. Validation is tough. Honestly, this one could be a whole post on its own. But needing outside validation to keep creating is something that is both natural and problematic. My advice would be to remind yourself that you are ideally doing this primarily for own own growth and to, if possible, find a smaller group of likeminded friends to cheer each other on, rather than relying on the nameless void of the internet. Algorithms are a bitch and vary between platforms, too. Additionally, a personal observation on my own art at least has been that I often get more feedback at the beginning of a challenge than the middle/end. Don’t lose hope.

5. Be kind to yourself. Remember, this should be fun and help you develop your skills further. If that’s not happening, you need to change some aspect of it. Imho, it should never go from ”challenging” to ”a chore”. Set yourself up for success, whatever that looks like for you.

Remember, you’re doing this for yourself.

[sunshineandcybertronians]

I Care - Starscream x reader (TFP)

Word count: 2,002 Warnings: Starscream being threatening A/N: I actually wrote this after watching Shrek and being somewhat inspired from the  quote, “I’m not the one a problem, okay? It’s the world that seems to have a problem with me!” It ended up straying away from my original idea and the quote, but it’s still good.

"What a fine mess you've got yourself into, (Y/n)" you sarcastically said to yourself as you climbed over a rotted log.

Since you had nothing go to do, you decided to take a hike with lovely Mother Nature. Life was getting hard to bear, so you took off without telling anyone. In hindsight, you should have brought someone with you, but the time you didn't particularly want to be around other humans. Well, you got what you wanted, because here you were: in the middle of nowhere, no one else around for miles, no cell phone reception, and utterly lost.

"It's okay," a whisper found its way out of your mouth, an attempt to calm you down. You undid the lid to your water bottle to take a sip. The water was slightly warm, however the wet liquid running down your throat and quenching your thirst was most welcome. To your dismay, when you screwed the lid back on, you noticed you were running low on water.

Grunting, you shook your head. "Everything will be alright in the end," you gasped. Yeah right. You will magically be fine, a negative voice in your head snapped.

Sighing, you pushed back the other voice. You needed to stay positive, being negative wouldn't do anything except put you in a bad mood. Staring up at the gap between leaves, you observed it was past lunch. The sun was beginning its descend through the sky after reaching its peak. Thankfully, the sky was clear and blue, save for occasional puffs sprinkled in the endless void of blue. It wouldn't rain. That was a good thing. But the trees stood tall above you make me feel small, insignificant, and hopeless. all you can do is pray for miracle to get you out...

 Grunting, Starscream held the scanner out and waved it around. "Why is it that there is so little energon on this wretched planet? And when I seem to need it the most?" he growled.

Scouting for Energon had become a regular activity. Fortunately he wasn't terribly low on Energon yet. That's why the seeker would constantly search for it, to prevent that event from ever occurring. The trees around him made it difficult to move around. Starscream didn't want to exhaust his energy knocking down trees in his way or cause any unnecessary attention. Humans were not typically in that area as far as he was concerned. Although he couldn't never tell with that planet.

Suddenly the device in his servo began beeping, signifying Energon was near. In his excitement, he turned a little too quickly. The Cybertronian's arm hit the a tree he was standing next to. A cracking sound ripped through the air as a branch was torn off and crashed to the ground. Starscream flinched at his mistake. Anyone in a two mile radius would have heard that. Then he relaxed when he remembered no humans were around even hear it.

...That's what he believed until click later when human girl came stumbling in.

The seeker was shocked to see you. Humans weren't supposed to be out that far in the forest. Could he ever get away from the species? Your eyes scanned around to find the source of the loud sound. He didn't have enough time to hide from you, nor did he have anywhere to hide.

“Whoa,” you let out, eyes shining with amazement when they landed on Starscream. It was a moment of silence and just staring at each other. You took a hesitant step out from behind the tree.

Starscream snapped out of it. Appearing startled could be considered a sign of weakness, and the last thing he wanted was to appear weak to one of your kind. He had to put on the act of being intimidating to scare you away, to gain respect and before you could take a picture of him and show him off like a freak like every other human did.

“Well,” he chuckled, “Look what I found here. Are you lost little girl?” He took a large step closer that shook the earth.

Temporarily, your face was filled with panic. Your mouth opened, but no words came out. After letting out a breath and licking your lips, you began again. “Yes. I wasn’t exactly expecting you either. What are you anyway?” Your inquisitive nature seemed to chase away any fear.

This answer surprised Starscream; that you so casually spoke as if this was normal. He tilted his head in confusion. It only lasted a nanoklick. Maybe the human was simply dumb, he concluded. Or brave, one of the two, however he suspected the first one.

“That doesn’t concern you,” he managed to answer. A thought came to him, if he tried to grab you, you were sure to run. He smirked sinisterly as he kneeled down and reached out “You shouldn’t have stuck your nose in others’ business.”

Instead of running like he anticipated, you simply moved out of the way and pushed his talons aside with the back of your hand. The feeling of a humans skin was foreign. It was soft and warm, nothing like metal, yet still firm.

“No thank you.”

His servo flinched back, taken aback by your behavior. “Strange,” he remained perplexed, “most fleshies run when I do that.”

“Well I’m not like ‘most fleshies’,” you replied with your hands on your hips.

A brief smile played on his lips, a sweet, happy one. Then he remembered that this was an inferior species he was speaking to. His grin turned into a scowl at the slip. Although you were… different, in a positive way.

“Well, that appears obvious,” he started marching away, following the temporarily forgotten trail of energon.

Overcome with curiosity, you began following him and asking questions. Moving your legs as fast as you could to stay beside him at the same pace. “Who are you? What’s that beeping thing?”

“The great Starscream.” He couldn’t resist answering the first question. Another tree was in his way that he had to swerve to avoid. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to whatever you humans do?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know how to get back, and I’m not in a hurry to either. So, are there others like you? Why are you here? Your wings look cool. Can you fly?”

Your fascination shocked him. No one ever wanted to know more about him or was genuinely impressed by him.

That definitely wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning of something that would last a long time, whether either of you wanted it or not.

 After you helped him collect energon from the cave in the forest, you decided to stay with him. He seemed to not be pleased when you asked, but let you come. Maybe it was because he enjoyed your praise and amazement. For that reason, you were more open with compliments whenever they came to mind.

When you heard the tree branch crack before, you were thinking that the sound could mean people, people that could rescue you. Although you didn’t feel like interacting with humans, it was better than being lost. Never in a million years would you except to find a giant robot, yet that’s exactly what you found. Strangely enough, you welcomed this more than you would if it was what you did expect. When you saw him, you were suddenly filled with curiosity and wanted to talk, which was a large comparison from your previous mood. In fact, you were a lot more talkative and cheerful around Starscream.

Now you were lived within the Harbinger, happy in the crashed ship with Starscream. It had been several months since you met him and everything was more than you could ever ask for. You should have made friends with a Cybertronian a long time ago. You learned more about the ex-Decepticon and grew closer to him every day.

Currently, Starscream was talking, leaning against a wall, sitting on a box with you on his shoulder. You managed to coax him out of working. He needed a break. It was fortunate you were there; otherwise he would have fried his processor several times by now. It was healthy and necessary for him to rest.

"I was simply so tired of being their punching bag, literally in Megatron's case. Airachnid betraying me was just the last straw," he recalled the reason he left the Decepticons. "That's when I found who I was, Starscream, servant to no one." His chassis puffed out slightly from pride.

"Yeah, I'm glad you left them. Forget about them," you waved your hand out to emphasize your point. "You don't need their approval and it's their lost that you left. You're amazing, cunning, and determined."

"Yes," he sighed, "But the others didn't seem to see that. I could never quite gain the same respect from the vehicons that Megatron had." Sadness filled his optics at the memories resurfacing.

"By not beating them up?” You sat up and leaned forward to stare him in the optics more effectively. “Judging by how it sounds, you were nicer. Megatron would throw someone out the airlock for failing, but you wouldn't. Megatron's mean. You're better. You'd make a much better leader."

A happy smile lingered onto his faceplate, but the remorse hung in his optics. "Thank you. Still... they treat me as if I'm a fool, mocked me. What if that were because I’m a piece of scrap? I've made many mistakes, and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to succeed. Maybe that's the universe's way of telling me it wasn't meant to be. That I'm simply... a mistake. No one likes or appreciates me. I have no friends nor companion." In a normal situation, he would never tell this. He either trusted you, or held in the insecurities for so long that they now flowed out. "No one cares about me."

"Then what am I? A potato?" The seeker looked confused and lifted an optic ridge. Before he could question it, you continued, "Look, I know I'm only a stinky human. If I could become a Cybertronian, I would. But I would do anything to help you accomplish your goals or make you feel better. You’re my favorite person in the world.”

"Really? You think so?" Starscream perked up. "I'm not a failure?"

“You’re not a failure, you’re amazing. Sure, you’re not perfect, you have flaws. But I love you anyway. ” Before you could chicken out, you wrapped your arms around him in a loving hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.

The feeling of his cool metal against your lips was something you immediately decided that you loved. Why hadn’t you done this a long time ago? That thought made you remember why. That’s right; because he might get irritated and either avoid you or kick you out. With that returned memory, you pulled away to reduce the chances of him becoming disgusted. It was also to prevent Starscream from reacting and smacking you away while you were still in the action. What would he think if he assumed a human was attracted to him? Wait, were you attracted to him?

You sat straight with a smile on your face, pretending you weren’t at all embarrassed or afraid of what he thought. If he inquired, you’d claim it was just on the cheek. It didn’t count if it was on the cheek, right? It was obvious he was still in shock at this and hadn’t processed the show of affection. His grin grew, in happiness and awkwardness. Flustered, he heated up and you could feel the heat radiating off of him. He opened his mouth, yet it hung open as he were lost for words. You laughed at this. However, you believed he actually liked it.

“If I knew you were going to react like that, I would have done it more often,” you teased. It was now official; you were definitely going to kiss him more often.

[askaceattorney]

Turnabout Memories

Hello and hap’piraki, everyone!

(Whoa...  Déjà vu.)

Now that we’re finally nearing the end of this (*twitch, twitch*) year, and now that I’m preparing to step off this blog for a time, I’d like to take a moment to reminisce about all the ground we’ve covered since the day I first discovered the uniquely fun experience of Ask Ace Attorney.

It all began a few years ago when...

Oh, right -- this’ll probably be pretty lengthy, so I’ll continue below the cut.

It all began a few years ago when I discovered Ask Ace Attorney through a Google search.  I don’t remember most of the details, but when I first found out about a blog that attempts to bring video game characters to life through blog posts and the power of imagination, I thought the idea was both strange...and amazing.

I’d only recently started getting into Ace Attorney at the time (after seeing Matthew Taranto’s hilarious mashup between it and the Kirby series), so I decided to send in a few letters and see if they’d get an answer.  Sure enough, a few months later, I saw the first response to one of them!  It was a pretty exciting feeling, to say the least.

I’d share that letter response here, but unfortunately, it included my real name, so we’ll have to save it for later.  For now, here are a couple of the earliest ones from me: a deeply emotional one from Dahlia to Iris (a little far-fetched, maybe, but I CAN SEE IT HAPPENING, THE MOD), and a short, punny one from Moe to Phoenix.  Not surprisingly, I enjoyed seeing the characters react to them in ways I found believable as much as I enjoyed writing these and several other letters.  I knew the Mod (the only moderator here at the time) wasn’t affiliated with Capcom, but his character portrayals were spot-on each time, and my creative spark and love for Ace Attorney received some constant fuel for a while thanks to this blog.

And then...this happened.  For a brief moment, I thought about how fun it would be to see if I could do what the Mod had been doing for so long, but then I decided it’d probably be better to leave it in someone else’s hands.  Sure, I was a huge fan of Ace Attorney and its loveable characters, but did I really love them enough to pretend to be them on a hugely popular blog?  Naaah.

I went over the rest of that story once before, so I’ll just give a brief recap here: my friend the Modthorne won the audition to become the next de Modder, I asked her if I could join, and then it ended up just being me here, followed by Mods Paups, Kristoph, and Maya.  That’s the way we became the Ask Ace Attorney bunch.

So, when I first made my debut as the Commode Co-Mod, my only real strategy for answering letters was to emulate the Mod's style.  I honestly wondered if I could accurately portray so many different personalities in a believable way, but, with a few hiccups along the way, I somehow managed to pull it off to some degree.  I also started developing my own style and becoming less conscientious about how my portrayals looked (that definitely took some time, though), and worrying less about the blog’s popularity and overall performance review.  That, I believe, was a big part of what made both of those steadily rise over time, until we ended up reaching and surpassing 12,000 followers!  (I’m still geekin’ out about that one.)  Just relaxing and going with the flow made things a lot easier for me, and apparently helped Ask Ace Attorney reach its current level of popularity.  Something tells me that choice paid off in the end, and thank goodness.

I of course have to give credit to the popularity of Ace Attorney and its characters, as well as the Mod for giving me and the other moderators so much material to start off with, but I sure never expected my role in helping to build the Ace Attorney fandom’s strength and size to be quite this large.  Heck, just getting to create things for so many people is a huge honor, so...what can I say to that, except a huge thank you to Capcom and the Mod?

Don’t worry, I’ll get to thanking all of you in just a moment.  ; )

So, anyway, that’s all the general stuff.  Let’s talk about the highlights of the last three years, now, shall we?

My first holiday-related post was an April Fool’s Day one, so let’s start there.  We came close to hearing about Phoenix’s lawyer camp incident...

...gave a few of the characters a chance to ask some questions of their own...

...had a little run-in with some of the bad guys...

...and briefly opened the window into some characters’ minds.

We sure didn’t fool around when it came to fooling around, did we?

Then there was Halloween.  We dealt with a creeper in the darkness...

...let one of the lesser-known characters go on a brief venture beyond the fourth wall...

...let some characters switch outfits and personalities for a short while...

...and paid homage to a classic interactive cartoon by letting them give out candy.

We sure had our fill of sweets and spooks, didn’t we?

And then there was Christmas, which included some of my favorite content.  We enjoyed a musical performance by several members of the Ace Attorney cast...

...a less flattering musical performance by yours truly...

...a short play taking place in Pearls’s dreams...

...and a fan-made song parody about a non-canon (but believable) incident involving Phoenix and a reindeer.

(Sorry if that image cursed anyone for life, by the way.)

I don’t know about you, but I loved every bit of our holiday hijinks.

And of course, we can’t leave out some of the great moments that occurred on non-holidays, including Her Benevolence falling victim to a classic comedy gag...

...Pearls meeting herself from a different time period somehow...

...Apollo taking a trip to the Pokemon world in his dreams...

...Athena getting tricked into thinking she had passed on briefly...

...Trucy getting caught red-handed by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself...

...and, uh...this thing happening to Iris.

No idea what I was thinking back then.  Sometimes you just have to go with the moment.

Not to mention one letter response that received an unexpected explosion of popularity.  Edgeworth always did know how to drop a sass bomb, didn’t he?  And one moment I’ll likely never forget is the letter regarding Athena’s hair.  For the record, I thought the shorter hairstyle looked okay, but somehow I didn’t think she would feel the same way.  Make of that what you will.  X )

Of course, it wasn’t all fun times and laughter -- I ended up stepping on some toes by accident, making a few jokes in bad taste, struggling to keep a balance between blogging and the real world, and...well...

...that happened.  I don’t regret a moment of it, though, because if Ace Attorney (and life) have taught me anything, it’s that powering through the less enjoyable moments in life is what makes us stronger, and what makes the good times that much more enjoyable.

But out of all the fun, hilarious, thought-provoking, and deeply touching moments that stood out in the last three years of blogging, the one I would say I enjoyed the most is this one.  It was my first attempt at responding to a letter in character (with one of the biggest “characters” in the series, no less), but, as with many of my letter responses, it also included some of me in it -- specifically, the part where Athena tries to sound optimistic, but not too prideful.  That was the sort of attitude I wanted to have whenever I answered letters -- I wanted to keep the fun and creativity of Ace Attorney and its characters going without injecting too much of myself into it.  The series wasn’t mine, after all, and neither was the blog, so my main goal was simply to sound like the characters.

And with that in mind, let me just say this: If any of these letters (even one of them) have made you smile or laugh on an unpleasant day, made you think about things from a different perspective, or simply helped you suspend your disbelief for a moment and believe you’re actually talking to someone from a video game, then my goal has been reached.

Anyway, I didn’t mean for this to be my goodbye speech (I’m saving that for later).  What it is is a sincere thank you for the fun and creativity that I and the rest of the moderators were able to engage in with all of you, thanks to our shared love of Ace Attorney, its characters, and its unique humor and depth.  Every last piece of witty dialogue, every picture, every song, and every custom sprite (the last of which can be found here), was inspired by your creativity and willingness to participate in this imaginative collaboration work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed it at least half as much as I have.  You guys are awesome.

-The Co-Mod

[zodiyack]

Cautious

Requested by anon: Honestly just in need of more Richard content, he’s too underrated 😭 so ig if you could just do something angsty where he meets the reader for the first time but feels like need to push her away and treat her like he treated Jonas at first but eventually they are warming up to each other and he starts to tell her how he feels about her and honestly idk how to continue so its up to you 😭 im just in need for some Richard content whenever you have the time 💞 💞

Pairing: Richard x Female!Reader

Warnings: Slight angst, fluff

Words: 1,846

Note: Okay so like slight inspiration from Babydoll’s crying scene in Sucker Punch, and I listened to Asleep and Where Is My Mind (Sucker Punch OST Versions) while writing so those are some recommendations of mine 😅

Taglist: @matth1w​, @redspaceace​, @darling-i-read-it​, @fandom-puff​

Masterlist | Cody Fern Masterlist

Ever since Jonah was discharged, Richard had gone back to how he was before. No one was there to help him. With anything. So what was the point of trying? What was the point if it would be the same every time? He built his barrier back up, blocking out everyone. 

So when a new girl arrived, no one was surprised at the thought that he would shut her out as well. She didn’t even notice him until her second day. Walking over to the chairs and tv, Y/n stretched her arms up with a yawn. She looked around, studying the people who were up already.

It was odd, she could admit, but it was one of her favorite things to do. Just, observe people. See what their expressions said when their words were blocked out by the sound around her. However, this little activity of hers caused her to stumble upon the one and only, Richard.

She found that he interested her beyond anything or anyone ever had. Entranced with him, she made her way to the armchair he sat in. “Hi. I’m Y/n.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t respond. Didn’t even look at her. Something in her felt hurt by this. Y/n felt agitated with the fact that he was ignoring her.

Shifting on her feet, she tried again. “Uhm... What’s your name?”

“It’s no use.” A girl on the floor mumbled, eyes never leaving the tv. “He’s like a mute. Only, he can talk...just chooses not to. Ever since Jonah left, he kinda...”

“Who’s Jonah?” Y/n turned to face the girl, walking over and sitting beside her. Her interest in Richard became interest in Jonah, interest in Richard’s past.

They talked for a while, the girl explained how Jonah was the asshole of the place, how he had begun to grow kinder as he hung out with Richard, how they’d been caught in bed together. It took Y/n by surprise, her eyes immediately finding Richard, but the girl laughed and told her that her “dirty mind could ease up” as nothing happened.

Y/n made it her mission to warm up to Richard. She continued to watch him, allowing her eyes to see every detail about him, even the ones he probably never noticed. That was one of the many things about being a “people watcher”. She could notice the unnoticed.

One day, she finally broke through his barrier; just not in the way she wanted.

“What is wrong with you?!” He’d pushed past her in the hallway, ignoring the call of his name until she snapped. “You don’t talk, you don’t acknowledge, you don’t even blink! I try, like really try, to be your friend but you-”

“Maybe I don’t want friends.”

“Well- I- ...Jonah was your friend.”

By the fact that Richard stumbled, hesitating with his words for a moment, Y/n could tell that she’d caught him off guard. “Don’t talk about him.”

“He was a dick. He was a dick until he became your friend. So why do you just let a guy like that into your life but you won’t let a girl, who genuinely wants to be your friend, anywhere into your social life?”

Richard backed her into a wall, glaring at her as she bent her knees, cowering with wide eyes. “Don’t. Talk. About. Him.”

“I’m not scared of you.” To prove her words, she took a sharp inhale of air before standing up fully, furrowing her eyebrows and swallowing. “I want to be your friend. I get that you may not be used to that, but please. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance.”

He stopped. His eyes darted around the room, a tell that he was thinking. “Okay. I’ll give you a chance.” With his final words, he left the hall, leaving her alone under the flickering light.

His chance wasn’t as much of a chance as Y/n liked. All he really did was allow her to sit by him and exchange hellos or good mornings. It wasn’t much, but it was progress. And progress was what would lead to the goal.

But the progress was stuck at the same spot, proving that his chance really wasn’t a chance.

Richard walked past the bathrooms, headed for the men’s. That’s when he heard it. Distinct sobbing from the women’s. He knew he shouldn’t be in there, but he went anyways, brows scrunched with concern and confusion. Normally, he wouldn’t think twice; but it was late, he was too tired to shut out his emotions, and he couldn’t help but feel empathy for the mystery person.

Opening the door slowly, as to not scare the person, he walked in. Surprise met his features when his eyes came across Y/n, practically huddled up in a ball on the bathroom floor. One of her knees was up, in front of her chest, and the other was lying flat on the floor. One of her arms ran through her hair as the other laid limp by her side.

Richard didn’t talk. He just walked over, sat next to her, exchanged eye contact with the puffy eyed girl and pulled her in his chest as tight as he could. She cried into his shoulder, holding him to herself just as tight as he held her. They stayed like that for awhile, just holding each other as Y/n cried.

When the time came, she pulled away and wiped her eyes. “Thank you, Richard.”

“You’re welcome...”

They had a rendezvous every night, Richard sneaking into the women’s bathroom and holding her close to him as her shoulders heaved, tears streaming down her face and wetting his night-shirt.

Their relationship outside the bathroom was the pretty much the same as it had been prior to his late night discovery. The same greetings and silence. The same everything... but one thing had definitely changed. Richard allowed Y/n to get closer to him, as she wanted, and said goodbyes and goodnights, exchanging smiles and slight lingering eye contact.

Despite their public life being shy, their bathroom-meet ups had grown into something...beautiful.

There was a night where Y/n couldn’t sleep, as usual, but felt like a drained battery. So, Richard extended his legs and patted his thighs,

“You can sleep, I’ll keep watch.”

“But- ...For what?”

“Workers, other people...monsters.” He smiled teasingly, ignoring his own demons subconsciously.

And that night, as his hand rubbed the top of her head soothingly, he swore he felt his heart stop.

He looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows and inhaling shakily. There was just something about her. Something he was just now noticing as he scanned her sleeping face. She turned slightly, breathing strangely- rushed.

Richard recognized the breathing pattern as a nightmare, tears of his own rushing down his cheeks as he pulled her close to him. Staring at the wall, he smiled to himself.

Then there was the night she noticed something herself.

Eyes trained on the smallest divots of the floor, her head resting on Richard’s shoulder as his rested on hers- she knew it.

She leaned closer to him, tears flooding her face again. Only, this time, they were tears of joy. Content. Love. Thinking he was asleep, guessing by the calmed breathing leaving his lips and the stillness of his body, she laughed to herself softly.

“What have you done to me, you quiet bastard?”

Richard was conscious though. And it brought a smile to his lips that he tried to fight back. Luckily, with the redness of his cheeks, it also gave him a goal of his own. Flashbacks of the night he realized his feelings for her zipped in and out of his head.

“Y/n?”

“Yeah?”

This was the night he’d do it. The red in her eyes was slowly fading; Richard had shown up earlier tonight and calmed her down, hugging her until he told himself to stop being a chicken.

But he couldn’t do it. His eyes met hers, mouth opening to confess- but he couldn’t do it. They drifted back to the floor. He didn’t have the confidence nor the faith that she’d say yes. Richard, knowing he couldn’t chicken out, not after weeks of preparing himself, took a deep breath. Then he did it.

Eyes slowly meeting hers again,

“Richard? What were you going to-”

He lunged in and kissed her. His hand gripped the back of her head as their lips moved in synch. Surprise ran through him as she kissed back; her hands combing through his locks and holding him close to her.

They pulled away, chest heaving as their lungs roped oxygen back into their bodies.

Y/n touched her lips, her eyes flicking back up to his as her mouth formed a smile and a giggle escaped it. Richard chuckled along, a slight nervousness coursing through the adrenaline rush, which he could thank their kiss for.

They stopped laughing and avoided eye contact with each other. An awkward tension, new to the two, formed between them. Richard felt responsible for it, as he was the one who initiated the kiss. “I’m sor-”

All of his worries were shot down when she pushed her lips back into his.

Richard may not have been great with words, but his feelings were known by Y/n. Soon enough, their bathroom progress turned into public progress.

Sometimes Y/n in front of his chair, by his feet, or on his lap as they watched tv. Sometimes Y/n would be found in Richard’s room, either cuddling or giggling as he tickled her, or drew her, or as he or she drew on the other while they listened to music- just whatever “cute couple” kind of things they could do.

Their nightly meetups were ongoing. Most of the time it was in the bathroom, but there were times when Richard snuck Y/n into his room. He often was the big spoon, but when the nightmares came despite her presence, she turned and got him to turn as well, promoting herself from small spoon.

But the time they feared came.

She was talked to by one of the staff members, told she was able to leave now. Her heart told her to make a choice, and when she was pulled into a hug, arms wrapped around her torso as the person pulled her onto their lap and allowing her to see her boyfriend’s face, she decided to do it.

Just as everyone thought the clinic was about to discharge her, Richard sitting in his chair and looking around with confusion, she walked back into the room and plopped into her boyfriends lap.

“Where were you? They- they said you were le-”

She pecked his lips before snatching the remote and clicking through the channels. “Nah. They’re not gonna get rid of me that easily.” Y/n smiled, feeling Richard, lips formed in a smile of his own, kiss the back of her head. A silent thank you, I love you, and response all at the same time.

Once again, someone had finally broken the barrier of the quiet, cautious boy. And he was grateful.

[nonstoplover]

best part of me ~ Tyler Joseph (song drabble)

my masterlist │ my song drabbles

song used as inspiration: jeremy renner ~ best part of me

words: 1.7K

approximate reading time: about 10-15 mins

a/n: hola, babies, here we go with the second song drabble!! i actually have to admit that it's much harder than i originally thought it would be, writing a oneshot using song lyric. but it improves your writing, your imagination and i'm more than ready for it. oh and also it's fun. i hope you enjoy reading them just as much as i do writing them. please leave feedback, i'd appreciate it more than anything. and feel free to request!!

"Stop smiling at me, I keep on messing up my sentences when you look at me like that," (y/n) giggled, hiding her blushed cheeks in her palm that wasn't holding her phone.

Tyler didn't seem bothered by her request and continued staring at his own screen with a delighted and dreamy, beaming smile splitting his face.

"Please," the girl pleaded when she glanced back at him from inbetween her fingers and saw that he hadn't changed his expression.

"I can't help it, my face looks like this whenever I look at you." Tyler shrugged.

"I'm gonna end this call if you don't stop." (y/n) threatened, knowing that there wasn't any other way to achieve her goal.

"No, don't!" The young man exclaimed immediately before pressing his hand against his mouth, eyes widening, speaking the rest of his speech much quieter. "I keep on forgetting that it's the middle of the night here. The sunlight behind your back confuses my mind."

"I still don't understand how you manage to stay awake. You should be hella exhausted."

"I'm fine, I'll sleep on the tour bus. We only travelling ahead of us all day so I'll have all the time I need," he waved his hand nonchalantly. "I wanted to catch you as soon as you get back to your hotel room."

"Well, you succeeded. I actually didn't even have the time to go and pee before my phone rang." (y/n) chuckled, shaking her head in loving disbelief.

"You can go now, if you wanna." Tyler offered. "I'll wait for you."

"It's okay, I can keep it in until the end of this call."

"Yeah? And what if we don't end it for like five hours?"

Tyler watched delightedly as the girl started laughing once more. It had always been one of the most amazing feelings when the reason behind the bubbling, angelic laughter erupting from her throat was him.

"We will," (y/n) said as soon as she calmed her breathing back down. "I won't let you stay up all night because of a stupid FaceTime call."

"It's not stupid, it's with you." Tyler argued, making the girl groan from his cheesiness. "Anyway, what are your plans for tonight?"

"Nothing special, probably watching TV in this very room, maybe I'll get a bottle of wine or something," she shrugged.

The boy felt his heart ache hearing her words. It wasn't how she should spend her birthday. It's a once in a year occasion, it should be something more special. But still, there wasn't anything they (or simply just him) could do. Tyler was on tour in London, (y/n) was in Los Angeles for some work stuff that couldn't be postponed.

Both of them stayed in hotel rooms, but two different ones, 8 hours from each other. The only way he could help her feel less alone was through this video call and he was determined to keep her company for as long as he could or as long as she wanted him to.

"I'm sorry for missing your birthday," he whispered into the silence.

Slight anger bubbled in (y/n)'s chest once more as she reminded of the fact yet again that it indeed was her birthday that she had to spend all alone in a hotel room.

"Stop apologising, Tyler."

"But I have to. You gotta know how sorry I am."

"You saying that a million times doesn't make anything any better," she said, voice cold and emotionless as she tried hard to fight back the sudden urge to cry, her lip only slightly quivering but it was visible enough for Tyler to notice.

What are you doing?, he scolded himself in his head. All you wanted was to keep her happy and now you're making her cry.

"You don't understand, you never do!" (y/n) spoke up again. "I try to tell you this every time when you're missing out on a special day but you never seem to realise that I'm right. If you keep saying sorry, it'll only remind me over and over again, and it's just making things worse. If I don't remember it, then it's fine and I can stay happy but when you keep mentioning it, I can't shut it out and instead of being happy I'm back at being upset."

It felt good finally letting all of it out, though when she saw Tyler's eyes and the sadness and self-hate in them, all she wanted to do was to turn back time and take back everything she said. She knew he didn't want to hurt her and he was truly upset for all the anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine's days he had to miss because of touring. But he had to know that not mentioning would make everything so much better. They could just pretend it was an ordinary day they had to spend apart.

"Do you want me to leave now?" Tyler asked quietly.

"What? No!" The girl called out with widening eyes. "Why would I want that?"

"I don't know. Maybe to get rid of my constant apologising," he shrugged.

"There's a better way for that. You promising that you'll stop it." (y/n) smiled at the screen to calm him down.

Oh, how stupid she was. She really should've thought it through in her head before letting it all out on Tyler. He took things like this so much more serious than other people. He would blame himself now for making her angry and sad. He would think she deserved someone better and distance himself.

She knew it perfectly. It already happened twice, and both times it was her fault. She had to be more careful with what she said around the boy.

"Are you sad?" Tyler whispered after a few minutes of silence. "And answer honestly, please."

"A little bit," (y/n) whispered back.

They stared at each other intensely, the eye contact only breaking when the girl's (y/e/c) orbs got blurry with tears. She tried to blink it away but one drop escaped and rolled down her cheek, Tyler following its route with his gaze.

"Please stop crying," he spoke up. "You know how much I hate it when I can't be with you and calm you down."

(y/n) let out a faint chuckle, nodding. "I know." She reached up and with the edge of her hand, dried the skin of her face.

"I promise we'll never spend another special day apart."

"Don't promise things you can't keep," the girl shook her head.

"I'll keep this. I swear."

"It's not up to you to decide when can you be home or not when it comes to touring."

"If there's a tour in our way, you'll simply come with us," Tyler stated as if it was that simple.

"Yeah?" (y/n) chuckled again. "What about my work?"

"I'll figure it out," the boy smiled, feeling more sure now that he saw his technique to cheer the girl started to work. "Maybe you can quit it."

"Quit it? Are you crazy?" And there it was, a loud, honest laugh escaping her lips. Tyler mentally fistbumped in the air, feeling proud.

"It may sound crazy, but I mean it," he continued. "You could come with us, travel the world and be by my side all the time."

"Sounds amazing, but I have to work," the girl sighed.

"Why do you have to?" Tyler frowned.

"I don't know," another giggle. "I think it'd gone mad if I didn't have to work. I'd be restless."

"Okay, we'll find a solution another time. Do you wanna watch a movie?"

"Well, yeah, that was my plan, but it can wait if you still wanna talk."

"No, do you wanna watch a movie together?"

"Together?" It was her time to frown. "How?"

"We can start it at the same time and keep the call going so we could still talk," Tyler explained, making (y/n)'s eyes light up joyously.

"That's a great idea!" She exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it."

Tyler never felt more glad that he chose to check a website listing things couples could do through FaceTime as a some kind of 'date'.  

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

"You can't keep doing this," Tyler groaned when he saw (y/n) slowly stroll around, obviously keeping him waiting on purpose.

They just arrived back home and he felt he couldn't take not hugging her anymore, it was torturous enough to controll himself at the airport where he wanted to quit anything that would catch the fan's eyes and would be posted all across the internet. He wanted to keep his relationship as private as he could manage.

But now they were in the safety of their house where no one could see them, and (y/n) seemingly played the game she often did in similar situations.

"This is all your fault! You made me do this in the first place!" She exclaimed back giddily, sidetracking from his reaching arms.

"It was only one time !" Tyler protested, throwing his hands up in the air. "And you're doing it for the hundredth time."

"I know, but I enjoy it too much. That pouting look on your face is worth everything," she giggled.

"I really need a hug right now, (y/n)."

"You're scaring me," the mentioned girl widened her eyes in fake worry.

"Don't argue. Just do it," he opened his arms wider, standing in one place waiting.

They played this cat-and-mouse game for a minute or two before (y/n) finally gave in and leisurely strolled over.

"You're so weird," he shook his head in disbelief, finally being able to wrap his arms around his love.

"You have no idea," she grinned at him before burying her face in his chest and deeply inhaling his oh so loved scent.

They slightly swayed side to side, clinging into the other as they were finally able to feel the other in real life again after so many days and weeks of distance.

"I love you so much," Tyler whispered in her hair. "You're the best part of me."

.::the end::.

my masterlist

[imacrowcawcaw]

Banner and idea from @ao3commentoftheday 's post. I figured why fucking not post something? Maybe I'll get inspired. Plus, cool banner for my rockin fan fiction!!!

So, here are the tags and some piecemealed exerpts from a GvF high school fic I'm working on. Don't know when it will be done but I'm quite happy with it so far!

Title: Pink Rubber Bands

Pairing: Sam Kiszka/Danny Wagner (Sanny)

Characters: Sam Kiszka, Danny Wagner, Jake Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Kiszka and Wagner clan, Original Characters (including a snarky narrator, a punk ass bully, the stereotypical awful high school teacher, and some other students)

Fandom: Greta Van Fleet (band)

Length so far: 2.6k

Goal length: 10k

Tags/warnings: fluff, humor, minor angst, Alternate Universe - High School, Greta Van Teens, tw for homophobia, tw for violence (homophobes getting their asses beat), smart ass Sam Kiszka, drama geek Josh, softie bad boy Jake, boyfriend of the year Danny, coming out, high school cliches, happy ending (as always), music, me being a music nerd through the characters in general, strong friendships, sp*rts, high school drama

Summary: Sam and Danny are best friends, closer than your usual pair. How close? Kissing close, as discovered by a cheerleader with a phone, and then the whole school in a frenzy of small-town gossip. Whoops. Adding being "the" gay couple to their list of extracurriculars wasn't exactly on their class request list, but were they going to do? Taking the newly gained attention in stride - mostly - Sam and Danny continue to navigate through their year as highschoolers and as budding rcok stars. All from the perspective of a casual class friend who suddenly gets thrown into the chaotic world of Greta Van Fleet in their teens, whether she wants new friends or not.

-----

I snickered quietly behind my hand, looking back and forth between the teacher and Sam from my seat in the back, like the rest of the class. Danny Wagner, right next to him, sunk back in his seat and practically disappeared among the tension between his best friend and the teacher -- something he seemed to be good at. Kiszka was in kind of a mood today, I could tell, and he never got along well with Mr. Rond anyways.

My personal theory was that Sam was way smarter, and he refused to bow down when Mr. Rond pulled out the teacher voice, which 40-something-with-a-mortage-and-a-half-assed-Bachelor's thought was just not okay.

Oh, and those two - Sam and Danny - seemed to be connected at the hip, like they were the twins and not Sam's older brothers. Where there was one, you could almost always find the other right next to him; and, if not together, then they always knew where the other was. Maybe they took offence at it being called out? But it was certainly handy whenever I needed to copy a few homework questions before class began. With Danny's height and Sam's laugh, I could always find the boy I needed. 

Mr. Rond continued lecturing after the door banged shut behind Sam, droning on about one of the fifty million trading tariffs the U.S. had made during its history. Now, don't get me wrong, I love history and find it very fascinating as well as knowing it's importance... "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it" or something like that. But, this class had a way of sucking all the enthusiasm right out of otherwise interesting subjects that I haven't seen in any other classroom before. Maybe Mr. Rond was a vortex of boring or something (it sounded about right).

Walking to the next hall over after class, I swung my backpack to the front and rooted around in the small front pocket, looking for my ear buds. Damn! I must have forgotten them at home. So, I guess now I get to listen to the riveting discussions of my classmates talking about sneaking out, losing highlighters, and the new season of whatever Netflix thing. 

Oh, the joy. 

I then found Wagner - and Sam with him, of course - backed up against the row of army green lockers on the right side of the hall by the group of guys, scowling fiercely. The unamed-douchebag-supreme was on a homophobic tirade at the front, berating this attribute and spitting at that person and it was all a mess, especially Sam's face. No, he wasn't beat up or anything, but the rapid slideshow of expressions projecting on it was enough to give me emotional whiplash just looking at him for a second.

It sounded like someone may have had some repressed homoerotic tendencies and was feeling insecure in the face of the glorious Kiszka/Wagner hair (I am seriously jealous of both of their manes, by the way. Like, how did they get it that luscious?)

And then, as one collective, our heads all swung around to face the whistle that undoubtedly belonged to some school faculty member. 

Mr. Rond.

It was motherfucking Mr. Rond, with a finger still in his mouth like he was a dog who had eaten the homework he had passed out yesterday. 

At least five of us mumbled "Shit!" 

We all trooped into the office. The secretary waved back at me, albeit confusedly, when I smiled politely at her; I was in here every now and then for one thing or another, so most of the staff knew my face. Though, it was usually more for late slips and the copy machine, so I guess her confusion as to why I was being marched to the principal's office was understandable. 

Sam and Danny were practically cuddling on the bench next to me, by the way. Kiszka got up to get a cup of water then sat back down on thw vreaking leather. His best friend leaned his forehead against Sam's, closing his eyes and smiling a little when Sam pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his hand and whispered, "My hero." 

A door opened.

"This is the third time you've been in here today, Sam. I am NOT happy to see you.”

[bubonickitten]

Okay so that last post I reblogged made me want to finally move this out of my drafts. These are some of my favorite excerpts from Marie Kondo’s Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.

I just have to reiterate again that this is literally the first organizational guide I’ve ever come across that doesn’t make me feel like a failure. I have ADHD, OCD, and hoarding tendencies, and most organizational guides feel like they just aren’t made for people like me. In the past, whenever I try to go through my things, it feels like an insurmountable task, and I just feel guilty whether I decide to keep things or get rid of them, and then I never end up actually finishing what I start.

But Marie Kondo acknowledges that people can have intense personal and emotional connections to their belongings and the guilt that can come along with getting rid of things, and how that can be a roadblock. So instead of making it about what to get rid of, she makes it about what to keep. She emphasizes the importance of thanking your things, and saying goodbye to them if you decide that you can’t see yourself taking them with you into your future, or if they no longer bring you joy. That’s huge for someone like me who could get sentimentally attached to, like... a paperclip.  

And the things you keep, she talks about how it’s not just about organizing them a certain uniform one-size-fits-all way, but about storing or displaying them in a way that (a) brings you joy and (b) shows appreciation and respect for your objects and the role they have in your life, whatever it may be. She trusts people to curate their habitat in a way that personally speaks to them. The end goal isn’t minimalism or having your living space look like a show room at all times--which is good for me, because I collect a lot of things, and I like having a lot of knick-knacks displayed and having my walls covered in posters and pictures. It might look cluttered to some people, but it fits my aesthetic and it’s what makes my living space feel like a place I want to be. I like some clutter. But I also like the idea of my clutter having its own home or place to belong, because then I can maybe feel less scattered. 

It’s a personal journey for each person and she seems to genuinely love guiding people on that journey with their consent--and that last part is so important and refreshing to me. She doesn’t force her method on others or claim that it will work for everyone or that everyone should strive to live the way she does. She reiterates constantly that the end goal isn’t decluttering, minimalism, or discarding. Her number one rule that she emphasizes over and over again is, “If it sparks joy, keep it.” Even if it doesn’t serve a “purpose” in other people’s eyes. If it makes you happy, or brings you comfort, you keep it, and you store/display it in a way that feels right to you personally.

All of that, along with some of the more concrete advice on how to fold things/store clothes (I love it) or how you should go by category instead of by location--which, that was such helpful advice for me, as someone with ADHD, because in the past when I try to tackle a general task like “clean my room,” I’m more likely to not know where to start and finish, what order to go in, etc., and I get distracted and end up just reading a book I found on the floor or whatever, OR I just shift things around to other rooms so the room I was working on looks clean(ish) but now a different (already messy) room is even worse than it was before. 

 Marie Kondo’s stuff actually inspired me to try her method. The fact that she never claims that her way is the only way, that there’s some one-size-fits-all way you have to organize, or that everyone should follow her method... that actually made me feel less pressured and more willing to give it a try, because I didn’t have the feeling of “if I can’t do this, I’m a failure” going into it, and the fact that it ultimately keeps coming back to “discover what sparks joy for you” makes it seem so much more flexible and approachable. It has loose structure, a general order you should do things in, but it’s also customizable, lets people define their own subcategories, and gives people permission to curate their environment in whatever way pleases them. It’s more about mindfulness than having to fit a specific mold. 

After working on the first step (clothes) for two weekends in a row, I’ve finally gone through most of my clothes. I couldn’t have even imagined finding the motivation to do this before. I’m trying to dedicate at least one or two days a week to working on it, and sometimes I sputter out, but I feel like I can go at my own pace, and I’m allowed to spend time with stuff and process items individually if I want to, and I don’t feel rushed, which will make me less likely to regret getting rid of stuff, or going through stuff I put in a “maybe” or “discard” pile all over again because I’m not 100% sure about something. 

I’m rambling at this point. But as a final note, I really, truly appreciate that she emphasizes the importance of not forcing someone to undergo her process (or any tidying process) unless they want to, that you shouldn’t take it upon yourself to discard people’s things without their knowledge or consent, and that there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to tidy. This was my favorite excerpt on that topic:

Anyway, Marie Kondo is great. Even if her method isn’t your cup of tea, she’s such a kind and empathetic person and she really doesn’t deserve the shit some people give her.

[ssa25]

Miss You - NaruHina

Rating: T

Inspired by Ed Sheeran's 'I don't need your money'. 

It was just a call. 

And now he was here. 

At a small rest stop, more than halfway to Konoha from Suna. His beanie pulled over his ears to keep out the cold, as he sipped on a cup of latte. He wasn't fond of caffeine in general, but he needed it right now. To wake all his senses after the short nap he took inside his car. And to prepare him for the awfully monotonous ride to his hometown.

It was almost the end of December, and he had put on his thick down jacket and fleece gloves to keep warm. A small backpack carrying a spare t-shirt and one pair of undergarments lay in the passenger seat. He had planned to clean his laundry that weekend. But then he made a sudden change of plan less than 12 hours back. After that last call with his girlfriend. His beautiful and adorable Hinata.

As soon as he felt recharged, he dropped the paper cup into the recycle bin and headed for his car. He still had 6 hours worth of distance to cover. 

When he turned on the radio, it was playing a depressing love song. It made him frown and he switched the station abruptly. 

--

"F*ck!!" 

When he felt all eyes on him, inside the crowded elevator, he realised he had said it out loud. He just muttered a half hearted apology, and continued looking at his phone.

18 missed calls, 2 voicemails and 1 message. 

He opened the message first. It was from Hinata. 

'I have been trying to talk to you all week. I know you're busy. But I wish you would atleast call me back. Even if for just a little bit.' 

He quickly opened the call log to see that Hinata had tried to call him 16 times in the past 8 or so hours. And left him a voicemail.

As soon as he reached his floor, he quickly dashed out to get some signal on his phone and check her voice message first. 

'Naruto, it's me… Hinata… Umm… Call me when you get this message.. Bye.'

She sounded a little off. After being in a relationship for almost an year, he knew her well enough.

It had been three months since he had to temporarily move base to Suna. His former tennis coach had recommended him to the famous multiple Grand slam winner of the yesteryears, by the name of Hatake Kakashi, who cherry picked his pupils and lived in the bustling city of Suna. And now he was training his ass off to make his debut at the first pro-tournament of next year. 

He was well on his way to achieve his goals, but his personal life seemed to involuntarily suffer. 

It was already dark outside, he looked at the time. Hinata was probably already asleep, she wasn't much of a night owl. Especially considering how early she woke up in the mornings. But he had to try. 

So he quickly got to his car, and turned on the heating, before dialing her number. 

She picked up on the fourth ring. 

"Naruto?", her voice sounded a little nasally and tired. Did she cry? 

"Hey Hinata… Uh, were you sleeping?" 

"Not really.", he knew she probably said it to not make him feel guilty about waking her up. "How are you?" 

He pushed his head back into the seat and felt like a prick for missing her calls. Anyone else would be shouting and screaming at him right now, but no, not her. That sweet girlfriend of his was still worried about him. 

"I'm fine Hinata. I just… I'm so so sorry for not talking to you these past few days. My schedule's been crazy. That lunatic Kakashi is having me run from home to the gym to the court without a break." 

"Hmm…. I.. I guess you are too busy.." 

She sounded a little melancholic and he had to ask. 

"Baby, are you alright?... What's the matter?" 

There line was silent for a few seconds, before he heard her sniff. 

"I just… I just missed you." 

"I know babe. I miss you too. So much, I can't even begin to tell you. But we agreed to do this, right? You pushed me to take up this opportunity and told me that we can weather the long distance.", he reminded her gently.

"I know… But…", she had started weeping softly. "Sometimes, its just a little hard. Sometimes, when my day goes a little wrong, I just miss your presence." 

"What happened? What went wrong?", now he was worried. 

"Nothing serious… There was a surprise assessment today and I just didn't do very well on it…. Then, at the canteen, I saw Shikamaru and Sai with Temari and Ino… They were inviting me to go to a karaoke place with them… But I just didn't want to… Last time, I hung out with them, I just felt so awkward and silly by myself��. And then, on my way back home today, Hidan was-"

Naruto was livid hearing the jerk's name. "What? What did that asshole do?" 

"........ Just his usual lewd comments. ", she replied hesitantly. 

He sighed heavily and brushed his hand through his hair. "I told you to get someone to walk back home with you. Why didn't you listen? Shall I call Kiba and ask him-" 

"No.", she said firmly. "Kiba already has his hands full with Tamaki and helping out his parents' at the store. And anyway, I had the situation under control. My pepper spray is always in my bag." 

"Hinata… Pepper spray is not enough. If Kiba is busy, maybe Shino could do it." 

"You're being unreasonable."

"I'm being unreasonable?", he was not having it. Hidan was a nuisance even when he was around in Konoha. But now, without him there, he had every reason to be worried. "Is it unreasonable for me to worry about my girlfriend?"

"No, but asking other people to fill in for your absence is also not right."

Okay, she probably didn't say it to make him feel bad. But he still did. 

"My absence was a mutual decision Hinata… Why are you making it seem as if I'm the bad guy?" 

She gasped at his insinuation. "I-.. I never said you were the bad guy. I just said that I missed you. Isn't that normal for me to feel, when we haven't spoken in almost a week??" 

"I know that we haven't… But atleast I text you as often as I can… You have to understand that I'm almost half dead at the end of each day… And by the time I make it back home, I know you would be sleeping… And anyway, I am doing all of this for us Hinata… For both of us…. I need to be financially secure before I can ask you to marry me…"

"You know I don't care about money." 

"You don't. But your father does. And he is not wrong. It never hurts to live comfortably. I just need your support for the next few months, and then we will be together, I promise."

"Ofcourse, I will always support your dreams.", she replied solemnly. "I should sleep now. Take care Naruto."

And the line went dead. 

--

He wanted to hit his head somewhere whenever he recollected her let down voice. He knew she supported his passion for tennis and his goal of becoming a Grand slam champion. But the distance was just too hard for both of them. Her father was too strict and did not allow her to travel further than a 10 mile radius from home by herself. And he wasn't exactly swimming in cash to take frequent trips to Konoha. His godfather Jiraiya, who had adopted him after his parents' early demise, only made enough to get by, as an erotic novelist. 

It wasn't the best case scenario for them, but he knew they had to make it work. He could not lose her, even the thought of it was paralysing. She was an angel, a literal angel, who blessed him with her affections. When he told her apologetically, a month back, that he might not be able to make it to Konoha for Christmas or her birthday or the new year, she did not get angry or sulky. Especially, since it would be her first birthday since they got together. Instead, she forgave him and later, agreed to his lewd request for phone sex. And he was beyond grateful for that. 

He could see the sun rising on the horizon of  the green winding hills as he drove. He had to make it to her before she went out that day. It was her birthday. He had to beg his coach to let him off for that weekend. And he was going to make it up to her. 

When he finally turned the corner to her father's more than modest four bedroom house, it was just past 7 am. He parked his car outside and got off while dialing Hinata from his phone. It took her a while to pick up. 

"Hello?... Naruto?"

She had definitely slept in for longer than usual.

"Hey sleepyhead… Happy birthday!" 

She hummed lazily, and he could imagine her smiling. "Thank you Naruto."

He shivered at the way she said his name, so soft yet sensual, in her sleepy tired voice. Soon, soon enough, he will have her in his arms. 

"I love you babe." 

"I love you too…. Naruto, I'm sorry I was being whiny yesterday…" 

"Don't say that Hinata… I'm sorry for missing your calls… And for being a jackass… I'm really really sorry." 

She laughed and replied. "Apology accepted… Oh, it's 7.20… How are you not at the gym?" 

"Hey Hina…", he decided to break the surprise to her. 

"Hmm?" 

"There should be something for you at your door. Can you get to the window and check on it?"

He kept his eyes fixed on the large glass window to the left. 

"For me?", she asked. "Naruto, you shouldn't have… You know-" 

She came in view, and gasped in surprise upon seeing him leaning casually on his car and smiling up at her. Hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes, she dropped the phone and sprinted down. 

Seconds later, the front door opened, and she ran and leapt up into his open arms, her legs crisscrossing behind his back. Their lips and tongues met in feverish rush, that conveyed their longing without the need for any words. His hands tightened around her waist to stick her chest close to his and just feel her curves through her satiny pajamas. She moaned in response and continued to accept his hungry onslaught while grazing her fingers through his overgrown hair above the neck.

He desperately wished to feel more of her. So, without further thoughts, his right hand moved down to cup and squeeze her fleshy ass. 

"Ahem!!"

They both broke off their very public display of affection to turn to the grim figure at the door. Hiashi Hyuuga glared daggers at Naruto, as Hinata slipped down his body to gain her footing on the pavement. She even noticed some of the morning joggers rooted in their place nearby with their mouth agape, and the ever nosy neighbour Mrs. Terumi peeping through her window. Feelings of mortification at their uninhibited show, sank in making her turned-on blush become even more intense. 

"I see you are finally back. Did you give up your sport?", Hiashi bit the passive-aggresive comment at him. 

"Never Sir.", Naruto gave him a triumphant smile while he wound his arm around Hinata's waist pulling her at his side. "Just here for the weekend. For Hinata's birthday." 

He saw from his side of his eyes, Hinata looking up at him with a mixture of awe and adoration. Then she turned to his car and asked him worriedly. 

"Did you drive all the way Naruto?"

"Yep. For you baby.", he said winking at her. 

"Get inside both of you.", Hiashi ordered them. "People have already got an eyeful. No need to give them an earful."

Naruto grinned shamelessly at the old man, before heeding his advice and following his girlfriend inside. He had not made any particular plans, but he was sure they would have a wonderful reunion and birthday celebration. Maybe, after breakfast, over at his godfather's apartment. Who was conveniently out of town for the whole week. He looked down at their clasped hands and then at the gorgeous long hair swishing just above the equally gorgeous backside of his girlfriend, and sighed contently. It felt good to be back home. 

-----x-----

[strangeflyboy]

 an unlikely romance

summary: poe dameron and a first order!female! pilot are enemies-turned-lovers, but with how committed he is to the resistance, he’d never think twice about dating the enemy, right?

a/n: i’d say that i’m back but i’ve already done that before. i just got inspired to write again, but it’s less than a week before school starts, which is unfortunate because i’ll probably end up busy with school and stop writing. anyways! here’s this for the time being!

a pilot of the first order and a pilot of the resistance???

never in a million years, right??

fIRST OF ALL

y/n’s story is very similar to finn’s

she was taken from her family at a young age, was trained her whole life, and taught the first order’s goals

they twisted their words and convinced her, as well as everyone else,  that the resistance were the “bad” guys

she was taught hand-to-hand combat, as most were, but then was selected, along with a few others, to be a pilot

she, of course, was taught how to fly a tie fighter

and man, it took a fucking eternity of training

because the first order expects nothing but absolute perfection. they want their pilots to be exceptional, which is why very few end up being chosen as a pilot

the trainees were put through many tasks and challenges to prove their skills, and y/n was one of very few to pass. she was actually one of the best of her group, if not the best

sO this was y/n’s first real mission

she was gonna face the resistance pilots for the first time. all of her training led to this moment

she followed the rest of the squadron out into the black void of space, and it was nothing she ever imagined. it was terrifying

being the outstanding pilot she is, she managed to avoid all the attempts of being taken out, which whenever she was fired at it freaked her out

this is not what she wanted

she didn’t want to die, and she sure as hell couldn’t fire at the others because she didn’t want to kill anyone else, but she needed to in order to survive. that’s when y/n flew after the first x-wing in sight

guess what?

it was poe’s! ha

she fired her blasters at him a few times, and she would’ve succeeded in taking him out if he wasn’t already like the best pilot there is ok

basically two can play at that game and poe followed after y/n

she was like oH sHIT and flew away cause she’s a chicken, but poe was not gonna give up so easily because she’s part of the first order and needs to go, ya know?

he is ruthless

kidding he’s just very loyal to the resistance

they end up on some nearby planet with y/n still being chased by poe and somehow managing to dodge all of his blasts?? though there were some close calls

he was just like wtf why isn’t this person fighting back???

but y/n manages to pull an old switcheroo on him and hits him with a couple blasts, sending his x-wing plummeting to the deserted planet’s ground

she watched the whole thing and couldn’t believe what just happened

did she kill whoever was flying that x-wing?

she slowly landed on the ground near the crash and stepped outside of her tie fighter to observe the crash and see if that person was dead or not

she really hoped they weren’t

after taking her helmet off, there was no body among the rubble, she noticed, and just thought??? what??? where are they????

a droid popped out of nowhere, and before she could say anything, everything went black

oh my gOD this is so long and i’ve barely gotten anywhere

me from the future: just you wait :)

okay so y/n woke up in a chair with her black suit still on and was tied up, of course. she was in an small, empty room with someone standing at the doorway, who she assumed was like her guard. they were and informed everyone through his com that the “enemy” was awake

the room then filled with a few people:  leia, rey, finn, bb-8, poe

the whole gang

leia was mainly the one asking questions, such as her name, backstory, affiliation with the first order, all of that

basically what i mentioned at the very beginning

y/n noticed that poe was bruised and had a patch of dried up blood near one of his temples

“so i’m assuming you’re the pilot of the x-wing i crashed. sorry about that but nice flying skills”

hahahaha i don’t even know

he kinda rolled his eyes and decided against responding

y/n begged them not to kill her, though they never planned on it, and explained how she never wanted to hurt/kill anyone even if they are the “bad” guys and that she wanted out of the first order anyways

they were all like whoa whoa whoa hold up we’re actually the good guys and explained the first order’s real shenanigans, not the false stuff y/n was told as a trainee

she was just baffled, but she reiterated that she didn’t want to be a part of the whole thing and that she was forced into this and that violence wasn’t her thing and never wanted to hurt anyone

“well, clearly”

everyone turned to poe and couldn’t believe this man’s attitude

he had a point because y/n stated how she never wanted to hurt anyone yet she almost killed poe? so it didn’t really add up in his mind

finn definitely believed her because her story was similar to his, and he explained that to poe but he was like bUt YoU nEvEr TrIeD kilLiNg Me

even after she gave them some top secret info about the first order, poe’s mind wasn’t changed. 

though everyone else was cautious, they understood her situation, but he still couldn’t trust her

they agreed upon freeing her (poe was against it, obviously) but they would not allow her to leave their base because they didn’t entirely trust her. plus, she had pretty recent insight into the first order’s plans/strategies/technology/etc. and she wanted to help the actual good guys, but without having to kill anyone. 

leia assured her that killing the bad guys isn’t really their thing but do it if absolutely necessary

y/n helped out around the base with small tasks and provided important details about the first order that they could use to try and stop them and slowly gained everyone else’s trust

except for poe’s

he is stubborn as HELL

he never really made snide remarks, just normally glared at y/n and gave her nasty looks

she definitely noticed and tried her best to ignore them. they didn’t anger her as much as they saddened her, but others told her that poe is just like that and he’ll warm up eventually

she believed they only said that to make her feel better because she noticed how happy and lively he was around basically everyone else, but one look at her and his whole demeanor changed. that broke her heart

y/n faked her way through it and would flash a small smile his way, which generally earned an eye roll from him

she tried to be friendly but he wasn’t buying any of it

attempts at convincing poe that y/n really wasn’t a bad person were made but unsuccessful 

seufz / sigh

after about a month or two, y/n was still residing at the base, and she really liked it there. the atmosphere was a lot less... uptight and serious compared to the first order

minus poe’s bad attitude

one particular night, y/n was mindlessly wandering around the base for something to do. she never really explored the base before

she stumbled upon a huge room that held all of their starfighters. mainly x-wings, she noticed

this room particularly interested her because she was trained to be a pilot (duh) and during that time, she learned to really enjoy flying

very few people were in here. a couple mechanics, each working on an x-wing, and a familiar-looking, curly-haired fellow working on his x-wing with the droid she saw before being knocked out and “kidnapped” at his side

for some reason, she decided to walk up to this man, whose named she learned earlier on, and strike up a conversation

ugh i really wanna write this as a fic now and show the progression of their relationship a lot better but i always wanna turn my hcs into fics

her voice startled him slightly, but then he let out a groan of disgust when he realized the voice belonged to y/n

poe listened to every word that came from her lips while working on his x-wing, never once looking at her, but didn’t bother responding. he didn’t want to speak with her

y/n tried not to speak too much. she talked about flying, as that was a thing they had in common, and inquired about what he was working on

at that point, the frustration built up inside of him, and he turned around to face y/n for the first time

“why don’t you just leave? i bet you came out here to sabotage my x-wing so i crash again and actually die this time. hell, i wouldn’t be surprised if you planned on destroying all the x-wings just for the first fucking order!”

his voice grew louder and his face red from a mix of anger and frustration, and honestly, most of that wasn’t even due to y/n being there; it just seemed impossible to fix one part on his starfighter. he kept trying and trying with no positive results

y/n stood there, shocked. she couldn’t believe he thought that way about her and thought she would do something of the sort

“did it ever occur to you that i never attempted firing back at first? hm? i didn’t want to harm you in any way! but we both know that the chase never would’ve stopped until one of us was taken out, and i didn’t want to die just as much as you.”

i love writing tension/arguments wow

she raised her voice as much as poe did. she was sick and tired of him treating her like shit because of something she had no control over

after releasing her anger, sadness took its place, and that’s when the girl walked off to her quarters and called it a night

what she said was food for thought, and poe just kinda realized that oh shit she had a point and was filled with an immense amount of guilt especially because a lot of the frustration wasn’t even directed at her; he just happened to take it out on her

bb-8 beeped a few times, advising that he go after her and talk to her because the droid knew poe wasn’t that disgusted with the girl and didn’t mean to lash out at her, and assured him that it would try to fix his x-wing

so poe dropped his tools and followed y/n to her room, and to his surprise (or not), it was locked. he knocked and called her name but she just yelled for him to go away. he said he wanted to talk but that it needed to be face-to-face

the door opened and y/n’s eyes were red and her face was tear-stained 

they sat on the edge of her bed, and y/n looked at her lap while poe looked at her. it pained him

he explained how he wasn’t upset with her but rather his x-wing, but that still wasn’t enough to her because he’s acted snotty to her ever since she arrived there a couple months ago

looking up at him, she told her story about how she really didn’t want to be a part of the first order yada yada yada we’ve already heard this

she finds out from him that he really is stubborn and has a bad habit of only thinking of himself, which is why he has acted so bitchy and spiteful towards her

they kinda just discussed the whole situation for awhile and ended up talking for about an hour or two and made up

poe thought that she seemed like a genuine person

“you know, you’re a really good pilot, and from the sounds of everyone around here, they practically worship you. i guess i just imagined we could be friends and we could fly together sometime...”

y/n softly chuckled, then sniffled. poe followed along with a chuckle and thought that flying together might be fun, as long as she promises to try not to kill him

they had a good laugh, and poe thought it was best to leave her alone for the night because he did enough damage already

with that, the new friendship began

god damn we’re only at the FRIENDSHIP????

i promise that there shouldn’t be much left cause i wanted to insert that one scene

me from the future: :))))

so this friendship

everyone was surprised to see poe and y/n talking the next day that rumors were spread about what happened

y/n was timid about talking to poe at the beginning of their friendship. poe noticed this, and because of that, most of their conversations were initiated by him

they didn’t speak to each other a whole lot at first. normally just when they bumped into each other while walking around the base

but because she was fascinated with flying and starfighters, y/n hung out in the hangar quite often and learned about x-wings, whether from poe or someone else. he happily talked to her about them, and that led to her repairing a few here and there, or at least helping someone else out

then came the “date”

poe invited y/n out flying one night

she never flew an x-wing before but figured it out quite easily

they flew away from the base to an isolated section of the planet 

aka poe’s favorite spot

he was quite impressed with her skills, especially because from what she told him, it seemed that it was all fairly new to her still

once they landed at his spot, they sat on the grass and stared at the night sky. the stars shined brightly in the black sky, and the few moons that circled the planet added to it

the two talked for quite a bit before silence filled the space between them. they didn’t mind because they enjoyed each other’s company

y/n stared at the beautiful sky, and little did she know, poe stared at her with admiration in his eyes, though he didn’t even know he was looking at her like that

they both flew back to the base after quite a bit of time had passed and decided to sleep

but they did have a few more “dates” like this, and it really brought them closer. their relationship grew, that’s for sure

others noticed this and could sense something going on between them. both were asked about each other but didn’t admit their feelings

in fact, they never acknowledged their feelings for each other until......

this part is so fucking cliche but i literally can’t see any other way for this 

the pilots were sent out on a mission that lasted like a day or two

y/n didn’t partake, though some encouraged, because it was said to be dangerous and she learned four months ago that fighting wasn’t her thing

there were other missions since y/n first arrived but those weren’t necessarily dangerous

something went wrong and y/n was freaking out because of poe. granted, she was friends with most of the pilots, but that particular boy meant a lot to her

some pilots were severely injured that death was a possibility, and others were just lightly injured

when things went south, poe couldn’t stop thinking about y/n. the thought of never getting to see her beautiful face or spend nights talking to her broke his heart. that alone motivated him to fight through it all

once the pilots made it back to base, the severely injured were taken care of immediately, and y/n was anxious to find poe, and he was anxious to find her

their eyes landed on each other at the same moment, and she ran into his arms. her arms wrapped around him and her face landed in his chest. his head rested on top of hers, and they were happy to see each other. thankfully, he wasn’t injured too horribly. 

the amount of relief that washed over both of them is unimaginable. everything was now okay since they were in each other’s arms

their silent hug lasted for a few minutes before poe was pulled away to be checked out for any serious injuries and then needed to be cleaned up

later that night, poe found y/n in her room pacing back and forth, something clearly on her mind. but when she saw that he was back, the worry painted on her face washed away, and she gave him another hug, though this one didn’t last so long

they sat on the edge of her bed, similarly to the conversation they first had, but they both looked at their laps, not saying a word. they both had something to say but didn’t quite know how to express themselves

“poe, the thought of losing you terrifies me. i hurt so much earlier because of the possibility of losing you forever, and i just-” she looked from her lap to him, tears welling in her eyes, and was cut off when he leaned forward to connect his lips with hers

they slowly pulled away and stared into each other’s eyes with their faces only inches apart

“this mission made me realize how reckless i normally am. how much i don’t think about my actions. i would die for the resistance without thinking twice. i live for the resistance.. but also you. i can’t leave you. i just can’t. i want to come back from every mission alive so i can be with you. so i can spend every moment with you before going off on another possibly life-threatening mission.”

y/n was crying at this point. he pulled her into his chest and held her while she quietly sobbed.  

after what felt like an eternity of crying, she wiped her tears and sniffled. still leaning into his chest, she asked with a shaky voice, “would you mind staying the night with me? please?”

of course he didn’t mind one bit. they shut the lights off and laid down on her bed under the covers. the room was lit from the moons shining outside. they faced each other and shared one more kiss, this one lasting longer than the first. she snuggled into his chest with his arms wrapped around her, holding her closely.

and that was the beginning of y/n and poe’s relationship

[hellyeahheroes]

Building Kara Zor-El in D&D 5e

What? I haven’t done one of these in a while and I had a few done (check out the Masterpost). So why not, it’s Halloween (I was working on this whole night), let’s build someone many kids want to be and quite a few likely dressed up as for Halloween. Admittingly this might be a bit standing the boundaries of “more obscure characters than Tulok the Barbarian does”, buuut seeing how he hasn’t yet got around building her more popular cousin, I’m not exactly expecting her build from him soon. Anyway, why not surprise your DM on Halloween game or later and come with a sheet for Girl of Steel?

First, let us state our goals for this build. First, we need to be able to fly, use heat vision, cold breath, super hearing, and sight. Second, we need to be able to punch and take a hit as well. Finally, we need to ensure Kara is an inspiring hero other can look up to.

For Ability Scores, I’ll be sticking to standard point array - 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, if your DM would you rather use a point-buy or roll, consider these to be the guidelines.

Strength: 15, Kryptonians are known for their physical might

Dexterity: 12, Kara usually isn’t wearing armor and is known for her speed and reflexes.

Constitution: 13, you’re Girl of Steel, not Woman of Kleenex (watch no one gt or care for this outdated reference and make me feel older than dirt -.-)

Intelligence: 8, Kara is pretty bright but her education was Kryptonian, meaning she had some trouble catching on what humanity knows and what it doesn’t, in some continuities at least

Wisdom: 10, Kara is often shown as more reckless and impulsive than her cousin, but her heightened Kryptonian senses mitigate it a bit.

Charisma: 14, the second-highest stat. Kara is beloved by people, has a reputation of a sweetheart, is inspiring to many and you kinda need this to pull off that whole “secret identity” thing.

There is no Kryptonian Race in 5e. There are two races I’ve been thinking off for this. Aasimar has more thematic sense but since Half-Elf makes it easier to mitigate the inherent MADness (MAD - Multiple Ability Dependent) of playing a Supergirl, it will work better for our purposes. You get +2 to Charisma and +1 to two other Ability Scores of your choice, round up Strength and Constitution to start with 2 16s and a 14. You have an advantage for saving throws against being Charmed, helping us mitigate a bit that poor WIS save. You get Darkvision, allowing you to see in the dim light up to 60 feet as if it was a bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You learn Common, Elvish and one language of your choice, pick something Campaign relevant and whatever instrument you want to play when fighting Music Meister. You also get proficiency with two skills of your choice. Pick Persuasion and Perception

For Background we will be picking outlander - you are not from around wherever the campaign is taking place, a wild-eyed idealist in a world that needs more smiles. You gain proficiency with Athletics and Survival, one type of musical instrument and one language of your choice. You also get a Wanderer Feature, which makes you more adept at traveling, better at using maps and gives you an excellent memory.

Now, with this out of the way, let’s go to the bread and butter of D&D, the Classes.

We will kick off with a level in Warlock. Yes, you heard me right. Warlock. The edgelord of all classes. Where are you going, hear me out! I swear I didn’t lose my mind. There is logic to this choice and I will be explaining it in a moment, but first, we need to get a number of Warlock features out of the way. Warlock gets proficiency in Light Armor, Simple Weapons, as well as Charisma and Wisdom saving throws, further helping mitigate that poor WIS score. Add proficiency in two more skills, Investigation to scoop villain plots and Deception for your secret identity.

Warlock gets to have spells. Warlock spells work in that you get a small number of spell slots that go back after every short rest and you can use them to cast any spell you know. As you learn higher level spells to know, your spells are treated as cast from the highest level possible. Cantrips you can cast any number of times you want and they scale up with your level. Your saving throw for spells is 8 + Your Proficiency Bonus + Your Charisma Modifier and if you make a spell attack roll it’s just the last two of those.

You get to learn two Cantrips and two First Level Spells

Let us get the Cold Breath first. Frostbite is a cantrip that forces a target to make a Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 cold damage and get a disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll if it makes one during its next turn. Damage increases by 1d6 on your 5th, 11th and 17th level

Eldritch Blast is the Warlock Cantrip. It sends a beam that requires a ranged spell attack and on hit it deals 1d10 Force Damage to the target. On get to send one more blast at the same or different target as a single casting on 5th, 11th and 17th level. Play it as part of your heat vision or Kara blowing her enemies away with a regular super breath.

Armor of Aghatys lets Kara surround herself with some of her cold breath, giving her 5 extra health points. Additionally, if a creature hits you with a melee attack while you have these hit points, it takes 5 points of cold damage. And for each spell slot level above the first both these numbers increase by 5.

Hellish Rebuke is cast as a reaction when a creature damaged you and lets you burn them with heat vision, taking 2d10 fire damage or half on successful Dexterity saving throw. At higher levels the damage increases by 1d10 each.

Okay, now let us talk about the Otherworldly Patron. And here is why I decided to go with the Warlock. Because there is one that fits perfectly. Celestial Patron means you draw your powers from some sort of celestial being or entity and these are divine in nature. It would fit Kara perfectly if only there was some sort of fitting thing. I mean, t’s not like Kryptonians gain their powers from some sort of body on the celestial pantheon, something great and powerful in the sky, source of their powers is...

OH MY GOD IT’S THE SUN!!!!1!!!!

You’re Sun Warlock, you made a pact with the Sun. Sun had enough of BBEG’s bullshit. If a goldilocks guy with a pair of wings can count as Celestial Patron then I assure you SO CAN AN ACTUAL STAR! Also, I now recall in 4th Edition Stara were actually sentient so who knows, you can work something out of that, maybe such a star survived to a new edition. We even know Stars are sentient and have personifications from one Sandman story.

Celestial Warlock lets you add two spells for each level of your spell list and you learn two extra cantrips:

Light lets you make one object not larger than 10-feet shine a bright light in a 20-foot radius and an additional 20 of dim light. If you cast it on an object held by someone they need to succeed a Dexterity saving throw or drop it. You can always use it to make yourself shine or make something shine as an effect of your heat vision.

Speaking of which, Sacred Flame deals a 1d8 radiant damage to a target, with an additional 1d8 once you reach 5th, 11th and 17th level each, half on a successful Dexterity saving throw.

You also get Healing Light, granting you a pool of 1d6 dice equal 1 + your Warlock Level. You can spend them as a bonus action to heal a creature within 60 feet that you can see. Roll a number of dice, not larger than your Charisma modifier, that’s your upper limit for single use of this feature, then add that many to the creature’s hit points. Once you spend all the die out, you get them back on short rest. Remember, hit points aren’t meat points, they can symbolize also how many chances at avoiding a certain death a hero has or their determination to keep going against overwhelming odds. Play Kara as so heroic and inspirit she reinvigorates her friends for further fight.

ALTERNATIVE: Weird, I wasn’t planning for an alternative here. We’re *zzzzzzzzzzt*-ing to the Celestial, it is only *shhhhh* fitting option. Weird, it seems we have some ---LET ME IN--- problems with the broadcast but don’t worry, I’m sure we fi *scratching noises* it in no time. Why do I suddenly feels like if I someone was standing right behin...DEA--

Well, well, well, what do we have here. You really thought I’m going to let you have something fun and wholesome on Halloween and do not...spice it up a bit. HAHAHAHA! Aren’t you funny? As if I could keep myself from seeing something related to my new...pet projects, and not want to corrupt it.

Forget the Celestial Patron, I have a much better one right here, to truly make your Supergirl a little bit more...Infected. My good old friend Barbatos, a horror trapped in the darkness below all of us. In this game, they call that Great Old One. Instead of some meek Cantrips, I will be freeing Supergirl’s mind from all these pesky limitations and allow her to spread this Infection. She will gain Awakened Mind, allowing her to telepathically communicate with any creature she can see within 30 feet. You may call it super hearing and I will call it the influence of her new master.

But maybe that’s not up to your taste? Maybe you want something more...crispy. Well, you can always ask my new best friend who has his own interest in Supergirl one time. Am I right, buddy?

WHO THE FUCKING JAR OF COCKROACHES STUFFED INTO A FLYING SQUIRREL’S ASS ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET MY NUMBER?! ONCE I FIND OUT I WILL BURN ALL THAT LEATHER AND FLESH UNDERNEATH IT TO A GODDAMN CRIPS! THAT WILL TEACH YOU CALLING 3RD IN THE FUCKING MORNING! FUCKING TRICK OR TREATERS!

ANYWAY, IF YOU WANT TO TURN YOUR SUPERGIRL INTO RED DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON, PICK UP FIEND PATRON, THAT WILL BE ME OF COURSE. OR THE BUTCHER, SAME THING AT THE END OF THE FUCKING DAY!

YOU GET DARK ONES’ BLESSING, IT MEANS THAT WHENEVER YOU REDUCE AN OPPONENT TO 0 HEALTH POINTS, YOU GET BACK HEALTH POINTS EQUAL YOUR CHARISMA MODIFIER PLUS YOUR WARLOCK LEVEL! PUNISH THE GUILTY TO KEEP ON FIGHTING!

Ah that Atrocitus. A crude man, but gotta give him that, he sure is excited about his craft. We will be sticking around to make this thing a bit more...fun. Do not tell the fool hosting this. It will be our little secret.

I’m sorry, I must have dozed off, I must been just very tired, but I’m better now. So, where did we left off...

2nd Level Warlock gains Eldritch Invocations. Armor of Shadows maybe is not properly named but you can always refluff something. It allows you to cast Mage Armor on yourself without expending a spell slot. It lets you change AC of yourself or one willing creature to 13+Dexterity modifier, this should help with your poor AC. As you probably use Eldritch Blast a lot as part of your Heat Vision, let's make it a bit hotter - Agonizing Blast lets you add your Charisma modifier to any damage dealt by it.

You also get to learn a new spell. 

Guiding Bolt from Celestial Patron lets you make a ranged Spell Attack against the target. Not only you deal 1d6 radiant damage on a successful hit (+1d6 for each spell slot level above 1st that it was cast from) but also before the end of your next turn next attack against the target gets an advantage since you basically lit the target on fire. Party Rogue is gonna love you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but where is fun in that? How about you instead pick something more...entertaining? Tasha’s Hideous Laughter from Great Old One Patron lets you pick one target and let them show how fun the world really is, make them appreciate how everything doesn’t really matter! Make them laugh so hard they fall prone and cannot stand up! It’s like you sprayed them with some good old Joker Serum, except you need to concentrate to keep it going for up to 1 minute and once you cast it, at the end of each their turn and whenever they’re damaged they make a Wisdom saving throw to break free, that last one with an advantage. So, you know, don’t punch... A Man Who Laughs. YAHAHAHAHA!

WHO THE FUCKS FIGHTS PEOPLE WITH LAUGHTER?! FUCK THAT SHIT! YOU WANNA SPELL? FIRST OF ALL, FUCK YOU AND SECOND, PICK BURNING HANDS FROM FIEND PATRON LIST. DON’T LET THE NAME FOOL YOU, WHAT YOU DO IS SPEW FIRE FROM YOUR MOUTH IN A 15-FOOT CONE AND  DEAL 3D6 FIRE DAMAGE TO EVERYONE IN IT,  HALF ON A FAILED SAVE! YOU CAST IT FROM HIGHER LEVELS, 1D6 EXTRA DAMAGE PER EACH! YOU’RE WELCOME! EVERYTHING FLAMMABLE NOT WORN OR CARRIED IS SET ON FIRE AS WELL! GOOD! BURN IT! BURN IT ALL DOWN!

3rd Level Warlock gets a Pact Boon Feature. Pact of the Chain lets us cast Find Familiar. We can use it to summon a pet to aid Kara in combat. Familiars are very useful if you know what you’re doing (seriously, Party Rogue is gonna love you even more just for using it to flank), once it dies you can summon it again, it can deliver your touch spells and you can sacrifice one of your attacks to let it attack. Sadly, you cannot get Krypto out of it, as dogs aren’t allowed for summon. But a cat is fine. Or in Warlock’s case a flying creature like Imp or Pseudodragon, Sprite or Quasit. First 3 can fly, all but Sprite have an advantage against Spells and Other Magical effects they share with you as long as you’re within 10 feet of them. Your DM shouldn’t probably be mad if you use statistics of one and refluff it as Streaky the Supercat

You also get to learn your first 2nd level Spell.

Celestial Warlock’s Flaming Sphere is a concentration spell you can keep up to 1 minute, it basically makes you cause huge ass fire in an unoccupied area 5-foot in diameter, dealing 2d6 (+1d6 for each higher spell slot level used) of fire damage, half on a successful Dexterity Saving Throw. You can even move it as a bonus action, up to 30 feet, and rise it up to 5 feet above barriers and 10 feet above pits, igniting all not worn or carried flammable objects, causing its damage effects on any creature you ram it into. More of your heat vision, really.

WHY DIDN’T I GOT THIS THING?! WHO THE FUCK WROTE THAT?! NEVERMIND, I HAVE SOMETHING AS GOOD! SCORCHING RAY LETS YOU MAKE 3 RAYS OF FIRE YOU CAN HURL AT A SINGLE OR MULTIPLE TARGETS, EACH DEALING 3D6 POINTS OF DAMAGE ON A SUCCESSFUL SPELL ATTACK ROLL! CAST IT FROM HIGHER LEVELS, YOU GET MORE RAYS, ONE PER SPELL SLOT LEVEL!

Personally, I just couldn’t resist picking  Crown of Madness. It lets you force a Wisdom Saving Throw on a target and if they fail they get Charmed and go mad. They even get a crown of jagged iron on their heads. You can keep it up for up to 1 minute with concentration and on each of its turns, you choose a target your victim must attack. Sadly it has few downsides - you must waste your actions on your turns to maintain the effects, the target makes another WIS save on end of each of its turns and they must hit someone before they move and if you do not choose a target or cannot, they can do whatever they want. Still, how can you say no to...spreading the joy?

4th Level Warlock gets an Ability Score Improvement, but we will take a feat. Tavern Brawler increases your unarmed damage die to 1d4, makes you proficient with improvised weapons, when you strike a creature with an unarmed attack or improvised weapon, you can use your bonus action to attempt to grapple the target. You also get to increase Strength or Constitution, I’ll go with the latter.

You also get a new spell AND a new Cantrip

Chill Touch lets you make a ranged spell attack, on a hit it deals 1d8 necrotic damage (plus extra d8s at level 5th, 11th and 17th) and makes the target unable to regain hit points until the start of your next turn and if the target is undead they have a disadvantage on attack rolls against you. More of your freeze breath.

 Shatter lets you make a super noise, I assume a super scream, dealing each creature within 10-foot radius sphere around the target you choose 3d8 thunder damage (+1d8 for each higher level of spell slot), half on a Constitution saving throw, on which all creatures made of inorganic material have a disadvantage on, and also dealing these damage to all nonmagical objects not worn or carried in the area

Now let’s take a move to Paladin and add some strength to all that magic. Kryptonians worshipped Rao, their star, which is close enough to your Patron, THE SUN you should probably not have much of a conflict. Maybe. Combining Patron and an Oath on a single character means that even with similar entities there might be a need to carefully balance the needs of your two masters. GM will either love you for providing such great opportunities for torturing you or hate you for having to come up with what kind of beef Rao and the fucking Sun could have.

Paladin gets you proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor and shields if you want to have your Kara in Lena’s power armor. You also get Divine Sense, allowing you to open awareness to your surroundings and detect any celestial, fiend or undead within 60 feet, as well as the type of that undead and also all areas that have been consecrated or desecrated. You can do it a number of times equal 1+ your CHA modifier and you egin uses after long rest.

You also get Lay on Hands, that allows you to, as a bonus action, restore hit points of you or a creature you touch up to amount equal your Paladin level x5 or you can spend 5 points from the pool to cure one poison or disease affecting the target. Again, treat this as Kara using her warm words and attitude to restore the fighting spirit of your comrades.

2nd Level Paladin gets to pick a fighting style. Mariner adds you +1 to AC and makes your swimming and climbing speed equal your walking speed as long as you’re not wearing armor.

You also get a Divine Smite, letting you burn a spell slot to deal extra radiant damage, 2d8 for 1st level spell slot and 1d8 extra for each higher level of the slot.

You also get Paladin Spells. Your save DC and Spell Attack Bonus are as for Warlock. However, Paladin just knows their spells and after every long rest, when they regain hit points, prepares a number of them equal to Charisma modifier + half your Paladin Level. To cast a spell paladin needs to burn a spell slot of an appropriate or higher level.  Also, you multiclass Warlock and another caster and that’s very simple - you keep an eye on each of their spell slot numbers separately but can use one’s to cast the other’s spells or for other’s features. Meaning you can burn Warlock spell slots to smite. You get 2 Spell slots but you should have at least 3 spell prepared per day so I’ll list 3 spells

Shield of Faith is a concentration spell for up to 10 minutes, providing the target with +2 bonus to AC. It stacks with Mariner and Mage Armor, meaning your AC can be up to 17 now.

Thunderous Smite is another concentration spell, it lets you on your next attack while you maintain the spell to punch someone so hard you cause huge sound wave, deal extra 2d6 damage to the target and forces them to succeed a Constitution saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away or be knocked prone.

Heroism lets you make yourself or other creature immune to being frightened and gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier. Casting from higher levels lets you pick up multiple targets for one spell.

Thunderous Smite in action.

On 3rd Level Paladin gets the Divine Health, making Kara immune to Earth diseases. You also get to choose the Divine Oath. Every Oath has rules you must follow and gains bonuses and extra spells known you can prepare.

Oath of Heroism from Unearthed Arcana is about embracing your heroic call. It’s basically built for He-Man types but it will work for Kara as well. 

You get a new spell to know - Expeditious Retreat is a Concentration spell, letting you Dash as a bonus action on each of your turns as long as you maintain it. Adds a bit of super speed to the mix.

You also get Channel Divinity,  which you can use once every long or short rest. You gain two options, both activated as a bonus action. Pearless Athlete lets you gain advantage on Athletics and Acrobatics checks, while Legendary Strike makes you crit on 19 or 20 instead of just 20 for 1 minute.

Bah, who would want that boring, tied, goody-two-shoes crap. Choose the Oath of Conquest instead. I’m not much a guy for the rules myself, but you may like the stuff Oath of Conquest has to offer 

For your new spell, choose Wrathful Smite. it works similar to Thunderous Smite, but deals psychic damage and the target hit must make Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you.

Channel Divinity options are also better. Conquering Presence as an action forces each creature of your choice within 30 feet, as long as you can see them, to make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for 1 minute or until they succeed a save at the end of their turn. It’s like the Smite I just gave you...but you don’t need to get your hands dirty. Meanwhile Guided Strike lets you add +10 to an attack roll, you can choose to do it after you’ve rolled but before DM declares if it’s a hit or a miss.

UNSURPRISINGLY, I SEE ONLY ONE OATH WORTH MY TIME! OATH OF VENGEANCE! CHOOSE HUNTER’S MARK FOR A SPELL! REQUIRES CONCENTRATION BUT ONCE YOU MARK A TARGET, YOU DEAL EXTRA 1D6 DAMAGE TO IT WHENEVER YOU HIT THEM AND HAVE AN ADVANTAGE ON PERCEPTION AND SURVIVAL CHECKS TO TRACK THEM DOWN! AND WHEN THEY DROP TO ZERO HIT POINTS, YOU CAN PUT IT ON ANOTHER TARGET AS A BONUS ACTION! 

OW FOR THAT CHANNEL DIVINITY! AS A BONUS ACTION YOU CAN ACTIVATE VOW OF ENMITY, SWEARING YOUR VENGEANCE UPON A TARGET AND GAINING ADVANTAGE ON ATTACK ROLLS AGAINST IT FOR 1 MINUTE, UNTIL IT DROPS TO ZERO OR FALLS UNCONSCIOUS! FOR AN ACTION YOU CAN ABJURE ENEMY, FORCING A WISDOM SAVING THROW ON ONE TARGET! IF FAILED, THEY’RE FRIGHTENED FOR 1 MINUTE OR UNTIL IT TAKES DAMAGE AND IT’S SPEED IS REDUCED TO 0 AND CANNOT BE INCREASED! ON A SUCCESS ITS SPEED IS HALVED FOR THE SAME DURATION!

4th Level Paladin gains an Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. Resilient lets us round up Constitution and makes us proficient with Constitution saving throws.

5th Level Paladin gains an Extra Attack, letting you attack twice as an attack action and can now use 2nd level spells and one 1st level spell

Our 1st Level Spell will be Protection from Evil and Good. Up to 10 minutes on Concentration it grants all creatures of a chosen type - Celestial, Fiend, Fey, Undead, Elemental or Aberration - get a disadvantage on attacks against you, or another person you used it on, and are unable to charm, frighten or possess you. If the target already was under one of these effects,  it gains advantage on saving throws to break free.

Enhance Ability is a concentration spell from Oath of Heroism list, up to 1 hour of duration, giving an advantage on checks for one ability score and some extra bonuses depending on your choice.

Find Steed lets you summon a steed you can ride on. Sadly you’re too big to ride Krypto but, well, Comet the Superhorse exists. While riding him you can make any spell affecting you also affect him, you can communicate with him telepathically and if he dies he is sent back to whichever dimension you called him from and you can summon a new one. So that is a thing.

Yeah, ignore any of that. A horse, that guy is crazier than I am. Hold Person from Oath of Conquest lets you paralyze a target for up to 1 minute on concentration or if they succeed a saving throw. Immobilize them and then finish them off, while they watch hopelessly. That’s true fun!

WHILE THIS IS INDEED A GOOD SPELL, SINCE IT IS ON MY LIST TOO, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA! MISTY STEP LETS YOU TELEPORT UP TO 30 FEET IN AN UNOCCUPIED SPACE YOU CAN SEE! YOU WANTED SUPER SPEED?! HERE!

Back to Warlock. 5th Level Warlock gains a new Eldritch Invocation - Eldritch Spear increases the range of your Eldritch Blast to 300 feet. We will swap it for something more climactic next time we take the Invocations. You get access to 3rd Level Spells. Fly. Grab Fly. You are Supergirl and Supergirls just fly. It's a concentration spell and lasts up to 10 minutes, gives you a flying speed of 60 feet.

Weird, I was expecting to have this strange interruption here. Maybe they’re gone? I hope so.

6th Level Warlock gets otherworld Patron Feature and a new Spell. 

Celestial Warlock gains Radiant Soul - resistance to radiant damage and adds their Charisma modifier to spells that deal flame and radiant damage, which we have a lot. For a spell pick Counterspell, which lets you as a reaction interrupt one spell of level 3rd or less and if you want to stop a higher-level spell you need to pass a Charisma check at DC 10+Spell Level

Great Old One Warlock meanwhile gets Entropic Ward, which once per long or short rest lets you impose a disadvantage on an attack against you and until the end of your next turn grants you an advantage on the next attack against them if they miss. For bonus points be a meanie and say “look what you made me do” when you use it. For a spell, Fear is a Concentation one, that forces a Wisdom saving throw on each creature in a 30-foot cone. On failed save, they’re frightened and up for 1 minute or until you break concentration must take Dash action to get away from you and can only make another save once they no longer see you.

FIEND WARLOCK GAINS DARK ONE’S OWN LUCK! ONCE EVERY LONG OR SHORT REST YOU CAN CHOOSE TO ROLL A 1D10 AND ADD THE RESULT TO AN ABILITY CHECK OR A SAVING THROW. AND FOR THE SPELL CHOOSE FIREBALL. IT LETS YOU HURL A FIREBALL AT ANY POINT YOU CAN SEE AND THEN EVERYTHING WITHIN 20-FEET RADIUS GETS HIT BY AN EXPLOSION OF FIRE THAT DEALS 8D6 FIRE DAMAGE, HALF ON A SUCCESSFUL DEXTERITY SAVE! HIGHER LEVELS FROM WHICH YOU CAST? MORE D6S, 1 PER EACH! GREATEST SPELL IN THIS STUPID GAME! DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE FOOLS! THEY’LL TRY TO TELL YOU THERE IS MORE TO MAGIC THAN A FIREBALL! TO WHICH I SAY, BRAVE WORDS FOR SOMEONE WITHIN THE FIREBALL RANGE!

7th Level Warlock gets to pick another Eldritch Invocation and we can change our Eldritch Spear to another one, since there are two 7th level ones we want. Ghostly Gaze lets you once per short or long rest see through solid objects, it is a concentration effect. Trickster's Escape allows you to cast Freedom of Movement on yourself without expending a spell slot once per long rest. For 1 hour, no concentration, you or another creature ignores different terrain, no magical effects can reduce your speed, you cannot be paralyzed or restrained by magic and you can escape nonmagical restraints by spending 5 feet of movement and underwater you are not impaired when moving or fighting underwater.

ALTERNATIVE: New Warlock Eldritch Invocation from Unearthed Arcana, Investment of the Chain Master, allows you to sacrifice some of your own power and instead have Streaky the Supercat be an actual cat - when you cast Find Familiar you can grant the familiar flying or swimming speed of 40 feet, removes its need to breathe, makes their attack be treated as magical weapons and lets you substitute your Spell Save Difficulty instead of theirs whenever they force a creature to make a saving throw.

8th level Warlock gets Ability Score Improvement, increase your Charisma.

On both 7th and 8th levels you gain two new Spells and access to 4th level spells.

Elemental Bane forces a Constitution saving throw on a target and if they fail up to 1 minute they lose resistance they had to a chosen type of damage, say fire, and take an extra 2d6 of damage whenever they’re taking that type of damage. Sadly it is concentration.

Wall of Fire is also Concentration, it creates a 60 feet long, 20 feet high ad1 feet thick wall or a 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, 1 feet thick ring of fire, dealing 5d8 fire damage to all creatures within the area, half on a successful Dexterity saving throw, and any creature that ends its turn within 10 feet on the side of the wall you choose takes 5d8 fire damage, with no save. It’s a bonus spell from Celestial...

..AND FIEND WARLOCK! THESE ARE GOOD SPELLS, I SHALL STICK TO THEM!

Well, I will not. Forget these two, let’s make something more...creative.

Blight kills the moisture within the target, dealing 8d8 necrotic damage, half on a succesfull Constitution save.

Evard’s Black Tentacles turn a 20-foot square you can see into a difficult terrain and any creature that starts or finishes its turn on it must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 bludgeoning damage and be restrained. If it already is restrained it doesn’t get the save, just the damage. On concentration, spell lasts up to 1 minute. How do you explain this one? Your Supergirl is just so twisted, of course! It doesn’t make sense but...does it need to?

How Supergirl probably looks casting Wall of Fire...or any fire-based spell we gave her

Back to Paladin for the rest of the build. 6th level Paladin gets Aura of Protection - as long as you’re conscious you and your allies within 10 feet add your Charisma modifier to their saving throws.

At 7th level you get a new Spell, Aid lets you choose 3 friendly creatures within 30 feet and strengthen their resolve, granting them 5 extra hit points for the next 8 hours + 5 more per each higher level of the spell you cast this from. No concentration and hit points can get over their maximum number, meaning you can cast this before combat.

You also gain Sacred Oath Feature

Mighty Deed is Oath of Heroism feature that you can use once per turn whenever you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to a 0 hit points, you can choose a number of creatures you can see up to your Charisma modifier. You can either decide to restore 1d6+your Charisma modifier of their health points or force them to succeed a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the start of your next turn.

I can do it better. Oath of Conquest’s Aura of Conquest that extends 10 feet from you and makes it that every creature that is frightened of you within the aura, their speed is reduced to 0 and every time they start their turn within the aura, they take psychic damage equal to half your Paladin level.

OATH OF VENGEANCE MAKES YOU THE RELENTLESS AVENGER! YOU CAN NOW MOVE TO INTERCEPT THE GUILTY’S ESCAPE! WHEN YOU HIT A CREATURE WITH OPPORTUNITY ATTACK, YOU CAN MOVE UP TO HALF OF YOUR SPEED AS A PART OF THE SAME REACTION AND WITHOUT PROVOKING OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS YOURSELF!

9th Level Paladin gains access to 3rd level spells. Oath of Heroism AND OATH OF VENGEANCE gains you two following spells

Haste lets you choose yourself or a creature you can see within the range. Up to 1 minute, requiring Concentration to maintain, the spell doubles the target’s speed, grants +2 to AC, advantage on Dexterity saving throws and a bonus action that can be used to make an extra attack action, dash, disengage, hide or use object. When the spell ends, the target cannot take any actions for a turn.

Protection from Energy is a Concentration spell up to 1 hour of duration, granting resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage.

Yeah, Oath of Conquest doesn’t get these two. We’ll pick Bestow Curse, another of the Concentration spells lasting up to 1 minuter or until a Remove Curse is cast. The target must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or have to suffer one of the effects: disadvantages on all saving throws or ability checks of chosen ability score, disadvantage on attack rolls against you, being dealt extra 1d8 necrotic damage from all your attacks and spells or having to succeed a Wisdom saving throw at the beginning of its every turn or be forced to waste it doing nothing.

Blinding Smite is another Smite on Concentration spell that you cast and it works with your next attack within 1 minute, dealing extra 2d8 radiant damage and forcing a Constitution Saving Throw or be blinded until the rest of that 1 minute duration.

10th Level Paladin gets Aura of Courage, making you and friendly creatures with 10 feet of you immune to being frightened as long as you’re conscious.

11th Level Paladin gets improved Divine Smite, dealing extra 1d8 radiant Damage on using a Smite. You also get one more spell slot so grab an additional Spell - Crusader’s Mantle. Another Concentration, up to 1 minute, it makes you radiate an aura that boosters the courage of your allies, making them and you deal 1d4 additional radiant damage on all weapon attacks.

Our Capstone is 12th Level Paladin and an Ability Score improvement. You should have maxed your Charisma by now, so boost Strength.

So here we are at the end, with a Celestial Pact Warlock 8/Oath of Heroism Paladin 12. Let’s see how valid this build is. First of all, you have multiple ways to deal with additional damage and it is damage of various types, so you are always prepared and Warlock Spell Slots can be burn for Smiting and be regained on short rest. Warlock Cantrips work well with a large number of Concentration-requiring spells, meaning you aren’t reduced to just punching things while maintaining effects of your spell. You’re also very mobile, having multiple abilities to ensure you will not be impaired on the battlefield. Finally, you have multiple means to revigorate your allies in combat, meaning you can be the inspiring hero whose heroism and smile often let your friends gain the second wind in time of need.

On the downsides, your base damage is 1d4, we didn’t max Strength, meaning you kinda relly on your Smiting and extra damage. While you should have a decent amount of Hit Points, you didn’t max your Constitution and many of your spells require concentration, meaning you often may have it broken and that you have to choose which of Supergirl powers you need at the time. Your number of spell slots is also limited and even with Warlock Slots, there will be the times you will just burn out of them with your reliance on Smite. Finally, while you have a variety of damage types to deal, the majority of them is Fire and Radiant, meaning you will run into enemies that have resistance or outright immunity. And sadly our ability to use Cold Breath is limited and mostly relies on low-level spells.

THIS IS AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM WITH MY BUILD! TOO MANY FOOLS THINK THEY CAN HIDE FROM EVERBURNING FIRE!

My build meanwhile is more...controlling. You can multiple abilities to mess with your enemies’ minds, threaten or incapacitate them. You will control the battlefield and sow fear and terror among your enemies...or should I say, victims? Sadly, these abilities grant Wisdom saving throws. So stay away from antagonizing Druids and Monks, they’re no fun anyway.

Overall Supergirl is a strong and surprisingly versatile ally that will make a great addition to many teams. Just remember you cannot save the world alone and get yourself some good allies before you go to save the day.

For example. D&D can make that team actually come true.

ALTERNATIVE:  Since a new Unearthed Arcana came up with an option for Paladin to pick Unarmed Fighting Combat Style, here is a quick guide how to run Kara using it:

When you take your first level of Paladin, Pick Unarmed Fighting. it makes your fists deal 1d6+ your Strength modifier in damage and if you use both hands to fight it changes to 1d8+STR modifier. In addition, whenever you successfully grapple a creature you can deal it 1d4 damage and later whenever you deal damage to a grappled creature, you can add a 1d4 to the roll.

On 4th level replace Tavern Brawler with War Caster, which lets you make Concentration rolls with an advantage and allows to cast spells even when you’re holding something in both hands, like a weapon.  

Spend the rest of your Ability Score improvements increasing Strength and Charisma so that you round them up.

As a result, Kara will be squishier and have worse Concentration checks but she should mitigate the latter with an advantage on those checks and what she loses in defense she gains in the offense.

You have any criticism or advice? Share it and be sure to check the masterpost for my other Builds.

- Admin

[didimentionthatimawriter]

The Book So Far... Now vs. NaNoWriMo

It’s been a few months since I’ve announced that I’m writing a novel. A lot has happened since then. I finished up school and took two weeks off before I started work at a theatre internship several hours away from my hometown. So far I am a little more than 30,000 words in, and I’ve been making good progress. It’s not always daily, but so far I’ve been doing a good job with meeting my monthly goals. This month I want to hit 50,000.

Like I’ve said before, this isn’t my first time trying to write a novel. There have been many attempts before, but this is the second one where I have made this much progress. The first time was when I was writing for NaNoWriMo, and I successfully wrote 50,000 words within the 30 days. Lately, I’ve been comparing this experience with that one. At this point in the novel during NaNoWriMo, I was starting to get exasperated and writing every day felt like a chore that most days I was too tired to do. This time around, I still get days like that but it isn’t every day like it was last time. For the most part, I’ve been kept motivated to work on my book. I was thinking about this earlier, and I decided to make a list of differences and reasons why it seems easier this time. I thought by posting it, maybe other people who are struggling with their writing might look at this and be motivated to try something new. There’s no guarantee that these things will work for everyone because every writer has a different writing process.

1. I have more time. This may be the biggest thing. It’s a lot easier for me to write 1,000 words a day, five days a week instead of 2,000 words every day. There’s a lot more flexibility in that schedule, and having a steady weekly goal of 5,000 words means that when life happens (exam I forgot to study for, friends wanting to go out for the night, or just feeling burnt out or stuck) then I have some space to catch up later. Whereas with NaNoWriMo I pretty much had to stick with my schedule and if I fell behind it was a huge pain to catch up.

That being said, this has also reminded me that established, professional writers with much tighter schedules have to write a lot more in a shorter amount of time, especially when they have a contract for a series. But I’ve also reminded myself that I’m not a professional writer yet. I’m a full-time student and part-time worker, so I don’t have six or more hours to spend writing, and at this point in my life, that’s okay.

2. More time means it is spread out more, so I’m not just writing during the busiest time of the semester. 

3. I have beta readers. I asked three of my close friends to be my first readers for this book and told them specifically, “You will have this book in your hands by December 31st.” Originally, I was thinking I would have to throw together the 100,000 words before the deadline and shove them a mess of raw, unedited prose in all of its typoed and misspelled glory, but since I’ve been making good progress I’m thinking that I’ll have more time to edit the book and I can spare them the cringe so that they can actually tell me if it’s a good story or not. I like to talk to them sometimes and tell them about the progress I’m making, and they all have been really supportive and great at holding me accountable. Plus, one of them has asked me to beta read her story in return, and I am really excited to return the favor.

4. I’ve taken the time in the past few months to read up on writing advice from my favorite writers; namely @neil-gaiman. I just finished his Master Class and his words of advice were relatable and inspiring, and it taught me a lot. I wish I could share everything I learned, but that would take too much time and it would be so much better if you heard his advice from him. I will say the biggest thing I took from the class was trying to establish what your story is about. The example he used was that Coraline was about bravery. Establishing that my story is about growing up and keeping that in the back of my mind has helped me lay out a path for my novel that I can try to follow, (even if I do fall down a few rabbit holes or wander into fields of daisies along the way. But hey, isn’t that what the rough draft is for?) 

With this, I found a new way to motivate myself. Reading advice from other writers has helped me realize that all of my struggles are part of the process that everyone faces. It really boosts your self-esteem when you know that your favorite writer also suffers from writer’s block from time to time. The best part, though, is that they have enough experience that they can give you suggestions on how to get out of it and help yourself. Most writers won’t say that their way is the only way to do it because they know that every writer works differently. 

5. Motivation. Some free time over the summer has given me the chance to play with different ways to motivate myself to keep writing. So far the best things I have found revolve around rewarding myself for work. 

I tend to be a visual person, and something that I did was from a suggestion I found online that said to get a calendar and some stickers to mark every day that you write. This has helped me a lot because it is really satisfying to see all of the stickers line up and remind yourself of all the work you’ve done when you feel bogged down. 

I’ve also started keeping a bag of mini Reeses’ Cups on my desk and give myself one whenever I finish a writing session. Yes, treats. Just like a dog. They work. 

So I guess the point of all of this is to try and find ways to motivate and reward yourself based on your process. Set a goal for yourself, establish how you will treat yourself when you reach that goal, and you will find that your reward plus the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made some progress will motivate you to keep going. 

Edit: Hahahaha I meant to post this a year ago.... I’m posting it anyway because I think I’ve got some solid things to say. 

Also, in case you were wondering, I finished my book in September and sent my rough draft to my beta readers in December. They are currently reading it and leaving helpful comments for me, and I’m working on the editing process and my new goal is to have a solid draft by the end of June so I can maybe start sending it out in July. 

[mental-health-advice]

I definitely was depressed several years ago in my teens (under a NOS category, because it was too acute to wait for a major depressive diagnosis). Now, I'm not sure if I still am, or am not and simply never learnt how to function as anything other than depressed. And I'm terrified to find out, since that would kick away an emotional crutch of knowing it's beyond my control that I've relied on to keep stable. How would I go about exploring functioning beyond a self-image of being depressed?

Hello!

I’m glad you reached out to us. I think you’ve put the question in such a lovely way, because I think when you say self-image, this includes both the possibilities of you still living with your depression, and then also you perhaps coming to a point where you’re recovering but not sure what this really means. So in asking this, I think you’ve kind of acknowledged that maybe this isn’t something you’ll get a definitive answer on, but you want to try this out anyway. I’m proud and inspired!

So, one thing I would recommend is getting back in touch with your healthcare service. I’m not sure if there is medication you are on, or resources you’re using, but reassessing where you’re at with your depression might mean some changes to your treatment which could really benefit you, or at least give you a more suitable support system to allow you to try and become more self-supporting. Scary - yes - but no big changes need to be made straight away, it’s at your pace and there is always that help there should you need it. 

I think a good start in personal development could be to sit and get really honest with yourself. Write a list of what in your life you’ve said or thought your depression has stopped you from doing well, or even entirely. What assumptions do you have about yourself because of this. Also, what assumptions do you think people might have about you because of your depression?

I think then you should go go back down the list and for each write the reason why that assumption is there. For example, you think don’t think that you can commit to making healthier, home-made dinners because your depression at the end of the day totally exhausts you. I would then go back down the list and look at the assumption you have and write a challenge for it. So with the home-made dinners you could say when you feel able to make good food, you’ll make 3 portions and save the rest in the fridge/freezer for another time when maybe you can’t be bothered and would rather eat a take out or nothing at all. Help future you when present you feel able enough, future you will love that. 

After addressing the ways you think you’re limited and how you can challenge them, there comes the actual doing it. This can be tricky. This can be full of doubt and setbacks, and that’s okay. It might feel dis-encouraging at first, but its going to happen - it happens to the best of us. I think here having ‘flexible goals’ could be good: whenever I set a rigid plan for my week or month, with in days I fall off of it. Giving myself the flexibility to realise Monday’s make me extra stressed and not want to do anything, and that Saturday mornings are surprisingly a prime time to work means I can work better around how I feel at the time. 

There’s nothing worse than setting yourself a goal, having a bad day, not reaching it and feeling a ‘failure’. Having some vague goals, longer time frames could help you out here in this initial exploration period. I think also having a journal could be helpful: finding out that you actually really enjoy something you thought you couldn’t do before, or realising that regardless of your crutch of depression, you’ll just never find enough motivation to do the washing - its good to just get it all out. And reading back later can be really motivational when you’re having some down days. 

I think that initially, functioning beyond a self-image of being depressed might not mean enjoying everything you do, or that things become easier all of a sudden. I think exploring functioning beyond this means coming to terms with the fact there will be a lot of mental work, re-adjustment and doubt - and being ready to take that on. I think having some support in place to help cheer you on through successes and commiserate with you when you tried your best but you just weren’t quite there yet could be great in this journey. 

I’m honestly really proud, and I hope that some of this proves useful to you. Take care. 

Hollie x

[bettertodayblog-blog]

What do I want?

“Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.”

Figuring out what you’re passionate about is a popular topic that finds its way in conversations with friends, at work, and in blog posts: like this one.

And it’s a clear reminder that many of us will reach a point in our lives, if you haven’t already, where the desire to leave behind the mundane to live a life you love is too strong to ignore.

But trying to figure out exactly what you love to do can be challenging.

We feel this intense urge to just “figure it out”. But when we look around, that passion is nowhere to be found, and we aren’t where we truly want to be.

It frustrates us.

It keeps us up at night.

It makes us anxious as we notice more and more time is slipping away while we sit around feeling confused.

We see others who have seemingly identified their ‘thing’, their passion, their calling, and we hope one day that we will get there too.

While I don’t feel like I’m remotely qualified to tell others how to live their lives by a long shot, I am the most qualified person to speak on my own life and share the things that I’ve found helpful in pushing me along my journey to figuring out what I’m most passionate about.

With that said, here are 7 ways to find your passion:

1.Do many things.

I really can’t stress the importance of this one enough. Having lots of interests may feel overwhelming, but it’s actually a great problem to have despite how much you feel you’re “all over the place.”

When you’re on the journey to figuring out what you love most, this is one of the most crucial steps and it’s actually quite simple.

Do things.

Do a lot of things.

It’s better to have lots of options and interests than none at all. So, kudos to you for not being boring!

Make a list of all the things you’re interested in, pick two to focus on first and then get busy. Find some classes to see if these things are something you really want to pursue further.

If you realize it’s not what you thought it would be, scratch it off of your list and move on.

If you end up loving it and find yourself consistently wanting to do more of it, well then you’re on to something.

2. Always stay true to yourself.

Just because your degree says you have fulfilled the requirements to go out and get a job in a certain industry doesn’t mean you’ll always love doing that.

You’re entitled to change your mind whenever you want, and you can and should always follow the path where your heart leads.

Where does that path lead?

I believe it leads to true joy.

We often try to place limits on ourselves after we’ve invested so much money in school and move into the working world: feeling stuck at jobs with horrible bosses, low pay and in cities that just aren’t what we expected.

The secret to getting unstuck isn’t hard at all. Stop doing what you hate and begin taking the steps to doing what you love.

You don’t have to feel confined to a box and you shouldn’t worry about being defined by one thing.

As much as I love traveling, writing and inspiring others through my own journey, I am also passionate about my yoga practice, healthy living. And I love sharing my wellness journey with others just as much as my travel plans.

I embrace having multiple interests even if I’m not quite sure how I can combine them all into one perfect identity — and right now, I don’t feel the need to.

3. Focus on you.

However you go about finding your passion, you definitely won’t find it by watching and comparing where you are in life to others.

If it seems as if your friends are further along in their career or like they have it all figured out, nine times out of ten I can assure you they don’t have it all figured out: no matter how many filters they use on those pictures.

But, maybe they did take a big leap of faith, move across the country, or sacrifice relationships to get to where they are.

Whatever it is, you can’t compare your journey to theirs.

4. Let go of fear.

Fear is the ultimate buzz kill.

It can convince you to pass up some of the most amazing opportunities all because you can’t see past taking that first step.

I don’t know about you but I don’t like walking around in the dark. You don’t know if you’ve got a clear path or if you’re going to bang your knee on the coffee table.

But in order to get to the other side of the room so you can turn on the light, you just have to get through the hard part and the uncertainty.

In order to find your passion, big leaps of faith are mandatory.

5. Be still.

As counterproductive as this one seems, we tend to get so confused at times with all of the thoughts, ideas and emotions swarming through our minds that we get frustrated because we just can’t seem to figure it out.

Time is passing by fast and according to our checklist, we were supposed to be knee deep in our passion by age 25.

The reality is, for some of us, this takes a bit longer than our expectations want to accept.

Sometimes giving ourselves a moment of stillness to simply do nothing is just what we need to realize that what we are passionate about has been right in front of us the entire time.

6. Forget about the money.

A dollar amount should never be the determining factor of what you do in life and if it is, more than likely you will always end up in positions doing things you’re not passionate about just to make a coin.

When you are truly passionate about something, you do it because you genuinely love doing it first, and then you figure out how to make a living from it.

7. Know that everyone won’t “get” you.

If I’ve learned one thing throughout the past few years of my twenties, it’s to limit the amount of advice I solicit from people who are not qualified to offer their counsel on what I’m doing with my life.

Some people will never “get” you or your visions and that’s okay.

It’s not for them to understand anyway.

Spend less time explaining or rationalizing your goals and dreams, and surround yourself with people who can propel you further while you’re busy working toward discovering your passion.

[redskull-fanatic]

Reasons to Love the Red Skull

Now, I know what you're thinking. I know all of it. All the reasons you hate him, all the justifications, all the go to sayings that make you say "Fuck the Red Skull." However, I'm here to celebrate this character.

I am a woman who loves villains. Villains are my passion and pride, and honestly Red Skull is just the best villain I've ever had the pleasure to stumble across. Many call him a Nazi, an asshole, and such. I, however, am here to put a different prospective on the character. Why those who love the Red Skull do, and why in such a horrible, nasty man, we find joy in him.

Feel free to disagree, to scream and call me names. I honestly don't mind. I'm just trying to tell others why I adore the Red Skull, and why he's my favorite marvel character in history. Bring him in a light that many won't consider.

Btw, I also love Steve Rogers so that should give me some credit, right?

Appearance. Now, I don't remember how exactly I saw The Red Skull, but when I did, I fell in love with his appearance. I really like skulls and skeletons, so his face was already beautiful to me. His whole dictator look is also very nice, and skeletons mixed in with the army is my favorite aesthetic. Red and dark greys also look nice together(I'm an artist so I love color schemes), and I love how he and the captain reflect history! I'm a big history nerd and World War Two is fascinating to learn about. Skull just makes it a lot more fun, just to see him with something from the 40s. Plus, he does bring awareness to the holocaust. Keeps it fresh in people's minds so we don't forget.

Obsession with Power. Skull is basically the definition of "Dictator." He strikes fear into his Hydra army, has a fucking cool symbol for his empire(don't know why it's a fucking octopus if its for an empire called Hydra, but okay Skull), got a salute and everything. However, a big trait about this character is power hungry. We all know he joins the Nazi army, but why? Well, I'm new to Marvel and going off a fandom wiki so cut me slack He met Hitler and talked about his theories of myths being science. Adolf was intrigued, wanted to learn more, and Heinrich Himmler recruited him into the SS. He had his fun there, until eventually.. His views started to change. He believed he was rightfully the superior race, he used any means necessary to obtain a central position in the army. That was, until the serum in his veins made him believe he was greater than Hitler and started to plan to overthrow him. Schmidt doesn't believe Germans are the master race, but rather the superior man has yet to be made. He never personally cared to follow the slaughter of Jews, he was too busy hell bent on overthrowing the entire Nazi party and reforming them into hydra. He used the Nazis from the very beginning, he used them for their resources and getting his name out there. That sir, is top tier villainy.

Attitude. His attitude is the best, to be completely honest. He's determined to get what he wants, he's resourceful, and doesn't take no for an answer. This man takes risks, when he first got the tesseract, he ignored safety, shoved Zola out of the way, and went straight for the controls. And the transfer succeeded. He easily kills off his enemies and adapts quickly to situations. As soon as the Americans out matched Hydra's forces, he simply blew up the fucking place without a care in the world. How much he doesn't care is hilarious. He always looks disappointed and unamused, so whenever he smiles it's the best thing ever. Skull speaks super matter-of-factly, and has the best lines: "I am surrounded by incompetents!" "I would curb that sharp tongue of yours, Taskmaster. Lest it cuts your throat." "And here I wanted to watch Captain America's will bend like a weed beneath my boot... No matter." "You are failing! We are close to an offensive network that will shake the planet. And yet, we are continually delayed, because you cannot outwit a simpleton with a shield!" I mean, these lines are hilarious and great, don't lie. Also, the scene where Zola and him talk about the finding out of Erskine's whereabouts is hilariously awkward. "Shall I give the order?" "... It has been given." "... Good-" I mean, that scene cracks me up. Mix that with the fact Skull was standing there for a portrait and was blasting Opera just makes it more hilariously amusing.

Obsessive in Nature. This guy.. is obsessive. Very obsessive. In my most favorite Marvel movie of all time, he's borderline obsessed with Captain America. He has a need to control him, make him Captain Hydra and be his second in command. I love obsessive villains, and Schmidt honestly fits the criteria. He's been obsessed with the tesseract for awhile, is currently crazy over taking over the world, what's not to say he gets obsessed with the captain? The two are similar enough(one parent dies when they're at a young age, both being an in orphanage, both getting bullied, beat up, and yelled at, both becoming super soldiers, and both becoming icons and symbols in the eyes of the public) so what's not to say Skull gets a little possessive over his enemy? Researches in such depth to learn how to control him, own him, kill him, which ever you prefer. All I know is, Skull is one big control freak, and I love him. He has such a need to be in control that he goes to extreme lengths to make sure all the power belongs to him. What a determined little man.

His Name. Johann Schmidt legit translates to John Smith. That is hilarious to me. It's so generic, like Steve Rogers.

Intelligence. This man is fucking smart, and I love it. He has plan after plan after plan. He has such detailed plans that it's ridiculous. Whenever he is about to act on the plan, he has the pause and explain the whole damn thing. He's so proud of him accomplishments, he has to fucking rant about them to further show off his superior intelligence. He goes to such lengths to accomplish his goals, that I'm surprised he doesn't get a headache with all that over planning. He even has to plan on unpredictable actions to surprise Steve. This man is plan crazy. He's so smart that he sets everyone up as pawns, and lets people do the mundane stuff so he has more time to plan. Anyway, this man.. He's so smart. He immediately knew the tesseract decoy was fake, he's able to see beyond appearances and managed to see the truth behind myths. He created a fucking ray that disintegrated people. He easily cut ties with the Nazi army, and always managed to stay a few steps ahead of the Americans. This man is a genius, you can't deny it.

Subtle Weaknesses. His main two weaknesses are: his temper and his slight insecurity of his face. He gets livid if you use "Red Skull" as an insult, and point out the deformity of his face. Expressing dislike over it is simply a death wish, and honestly I find it endearing he's insecure about it. Another thing is, his temper. He gets so mad, so mad over nothing. The slightest thing can make him go from his usual, calm and unimpressed nature to a fucking angry monster who smashes the window in. It's hilarious how mad he can get, and watching him try to control his anger is the cutest thing to me. He's trying so hard! ;w;

View on Magic. His belief magic is a science is super interesting to me! He even makes his belief a reality, and that's so satisfying!! He even researches mythology, and I love mythology! He proves people idiotic by showing them how real his theory is, and it's perfect. Johann blasting those fuckers calling him mad was one of the most satisfying scenes in the Captain America: The First Avenger.

His Personal Tastes. He likes the finer things in life. He listens to Opera, has a sweet fucking car, did you see how nice the Valkyrie was? Plus, he was getting a portrait done! Pretty sure he was drinking some sort of wine in the movie too. This man has wonderful tastes, and honestly makes his character even better to me.

Subtle Actions. He has some subtle acts of kindness, to me at least. In Captain America: The First Avenger, he was very calm with Zola and didn't really raise his voice with him. Schmidt is honestly very polite at times!! He even tried to be friendly with his first meetings with Captain America, expressing a liking towards his films and trying to understand what "made the captain special." Sounded like he just wanted a genuine conversation, or something of that nature.

Dialogue. Did I forget to mention how great is dialogue is? His taunts with Captain America are so funny and cute at times, like legit they go back and forth: "Don't be a fool, Skull. You can't control that thing! It'll bring the whole mountain down!" "Yes... On you." "You just don't give up, do you?" "Nope!" "It's time to stop playing army, Skull." "You have yet to see my army! Or should I say.. Our army." Like, these two dorks. Their taunts are the best.

He's an asshole. I know he's a dick, but it's funny as hell. He's like an ex, arrogant and bitter. Such a show off too. He's a wonderful villain.

His past doesn't affect him. So far, his past never seems to pull any strings at his heart. That's interesting. He went through such a traumatic series of events(his mom died during birth, his dad tried to kill him, his dad abusing him, trying to kill him again, then eventually committing suicide. Schmidt then was sent off to an orphanage where he was abused and beaten, he ran away at the age of 7, resorted to stealing, was taken in by the same doctor who delivered him, and ended up killing a woman.) He seems to have moved on from his past, or at least bottles it up. It's interesting..

He was inspired by a cherry. I'm not making this up, Joe Simon saw a cherry on his sundae and was like: "... That looks like a skull-" and the rest is history.

Vormir sort of mellows him out. He's very calm, distant, and legit doesn't give a shit on Vormir. I hope his old spirit comes back, but this stone keeper Skull is pretty funny and sort of tragic. I like him lots. ♡

He was created alongside Captain America. These two have been together for years. Fighting each other time and time again, and I only wish to see it continue. Sure, I prefer the more goofy side of heroes and villains. The two having stupid taunts, yet entertaining adventures.

Now, I doubt that is all the reasons I love Johann Schmidt. However, I only summarized all I can think of. I hope my fellow Red Skull fans would come out of hiding and express their love for this character. He's one of the best villains I've ever seen. I can go on and on about how much I adore this character, but I'll stop here. If anyone wants to see my favorite adaptation of Schmidt, and my favorite Marvel movie, feel free to check out Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United. Its on Netflix. All you Red Skull × Captain America fans will get a big kick out of it, and it's a universe I like. It's more goofy, it's animated in a beautiful style, and so much love was put into it. Came out in 2014!!

Anyway, hope I opened your eyes to a few reasons why this character is great. He's determined, hard working, intelligent, spiteful, and overall so much fun to watch on the big screen! His lines are funny, his personality is interestingly layered, and he's such a great character! A part of me wants to see him succeed, since he's done so much! I'm a loyal villain fan, I'm sorry xD

In villains, we get guilty pleasures from them. I love how powerful Skull is, and his determination is admirable. He's doing a bad thing, but he's doing to super well! If you love villains, I hope you get my point! I also like the subtle things in Skull that make him human, his love for Opera, his fascination with Mythology, his politeness, it's all so charming for a villain fan!!

I don't see many Red Skull fans speak out, so I'm glad to do it! Just a friendly Red Skull fan who wants to appreciate my boy. I'm acting like a proud mom, but I do hope he gets further attention, it's been far too long.

Thanks for reading, Hail the Red Skull. ♡