#fandom auntie rambling

[thebahwrites]

You know, after posting spoonful of sugar I think I've come to a couple conclusions and one of those is that I should invest in the silly and whimsy with no fear...

[adalance]

You know who would make a great duo? Dame Aylin and Wyll. I don't know why this isn't really present in the fandom or why I havent thought of it before, but something about these two characters feels like they would click and greatly enjoy each other's company.

You've got this great and powerful paladin, who's sole purpose is battling the dark forces of her wicked auntie, and this young man who has forever pledged himself to helping others. On that alone, I feel like aylin and wyll would connect greatly. I think that Aylin has that same self sacrificial attitude wyll has. Her relationship with isobel is probably the one time she has truly allowed herself to have something. I don't know if Aylin's devotion to the cause is due to Selune telling her that's all she's worth or a bit more self-inflicted. And there could be some similarities in the parenting of Ulder Ravenguard and Selune. Two people who managed to raise remarkable people but fucked up their self worth along the way.

I would also imagine that Dame Aylin and Wyll would have incredible stories to exchange about their heroic deeds and try to outdo the other. I think it ends up being a tie tho. As powerful as Aylin is, Wyll has the indomitable human spirit on his side and despite all that he's been through, he remains a hero and a good man no matter what.

This is some mega rambles but my goodness, I cannot help but feel like aylin and wyll would be great friends.

EDIT:

Then Aylin helps Wyll collect Mizora's head. The fact that she escapes the game without getting her comeuppance will forever not annoy me. If everyone else can stick it to their abusers then Wyll should get the chance as well.

[hellishdeer]

Live reactions and ramblings about the two final episodes of Hazbin Hotel

Warnings: SPOILERS!!! Same as the other two posts, Incoherent, unfiltered thoughts, I wrote them as I was watching. Most of them are in chronological order, but not all. It's also longer than the others, since It's the finale 💀

EPISODE 7:

Everybody already knows Vaggie is an angel?! I thought she would still try to keep it on the down low after coming back, but hey, good for her!

SIR PENTIOUS PETTING KEEKEE 😭❤️

Charlie has hooves :00

Alastor just kicking his feet please- 💀 why is he so babygirl coded

"Just because you see a smile, don't think you know what's going on underneath." This entire piece of dialogue might be on of my new favorite Alastor moments ngl

ALASTOR ONLY OFFERED HIS INFORMATION IN EXCHANGE FOR A DEAL WITH CHARLIE I FUCKING CALLED IT-

THE DEAL MAKING SCENE OOOOO

"What's that you said about smiles?" "Good girl :)" The head pat I can't- 😭

"Bank accounts are scam created by the shadow-goverment!" 💀

Alastor listening to Charlie vent :'D he seems so fucking done

"Come on now Alastor, she's much too young for you! Just kidding, I know you're an ace in the hole!" "A what now?" I ADORE ROSIE ALREADY

"Tell Auntie Rosie what she can do for you!" 🥹❤️

"Susan, who's a bit of a..." "Ornery old bitch?" Alastor has stopped holding back all together, huh? 💀

CARMILLA FIGHTING BY KICKING WITH HER ARMS BEHIND HER BACK YOOOOOO-

"You have an X over your eye, and you wield an angelic spear. It's not exactly rocket science." The entire Hazbin fandom:

CARMILLA'S SHOES ARE ANGELIC STEEL?!??! I mean duh but

The dance choreography in "Out of Love" is goddamn stellar!!

VAGGIE'S WINGS LET'S GOOOOOOOO-

The entire scene with Rosie talking to Charlie, she's such a fucking sweetheart and one of my new favorites!! ❤️

Alastor letting Charlie borrow his microphone!!!

"She's bound to pass the test as the princess of Hell!" There's a test??? Hopefully I'm taking this too literally, because otherwise there is a lot of new unanswered questions 💀

"She's filled with potential that I could guide!" ..Is anyone really surprised at this point?

THEY ALL STAYED AND FORTIFIED THE HOTEL I'M SOBBING-

EPISODE 8:

"Oh Alastor, I can't wait to see you get fucked!" Vox sweetie, do you even know who you're talking about?

GENERAL PENTIOUS!!!! HE LOOKS SO GOOD OH MY GOD 😭❤️

Even getting off a random ass pole, Angel has to do it in style :'D

Cherri Bomb is there too, hell yeah!!

Cherri ffs, can you at least pretend to care about Charlie's speech 💀

"An enjoyable collective to be around, I admit one could get accustomed.." OH MY GOD????

THE KING OF ROACHES 😭😭❤️ I need to draw it at some point

ANGEL WANTING TO SPEND HIS POSSIBLY FINAL NIGHT ALIVE WITH HUSK AT THE BAR I-

SIR PENTIOUS TRYING TO SAY "I LOVE YOU" TO CHERRI BOMB Cherri if you don't want him I'll take him!!

THEY MADE THE TWO DICKS THING CANON WHAT- 💀

Charlie being afraid of loosing all of her friends :(

"MORE THAN ANYTHING (REPRISE)" *quiet sobbing*

Even Adam thinks Lute should chill the fuck out :'D

EVERYBODY'S BATTLE OUTFITS, ESPECIALLY CHARLIE'S AND VAGGIE'S :OO

"Let the slaughter begin." CHILLS.

NIFTY STABBING THE CORPSES 😭😭

"I'm about to end your fucking life." FUCK 👏 HIM 👏 UP 👏 ALASTOR

THE ENTIRE FIGHT BETWEEN ALASTOR AND ADAM my 15 year old self is having a stroke

HE BROKE ALASTOR'S FUCKING MICROPHONE?!??!!?

"Radio is not dead, but it is ending this broadcast.." Even when retreating from the battlefield, he does so with class, I love him so much-

Charlie apologizing to the angles as she's fighting them, this girl-

THE KISS!!! THE SCREAM I SCREAMT.

On a more serious note I really hope that Cherrisnake won't develop further than this. They have clearly very different needs and wants, that I can't see mixing together very well. Cherri enjoys being free and doing as she pleases, with nothing tying her down, whereas Sir Pentious seems more traditional. It's also kind of shallow on both ends, Sir Pentious developing a crush seemingly out of no where, because "ooo hot lady!" and Cherri only being actually interested in sleeping with him after finding out he supposedly has two dicks.. :/

THEY FUCKING KILLED SIR PENTIOUS AND IN SUCH AN ANTI-CLIMATIC WAY FUCK YOU ADAM??!? I kinda saw this coming after it was said Angel wasn't the one to die but

RAZZLE AND DAZZLE TURNING INTO DRAGONS LET'S GOOO!! FUCK THEM UP GIRLS!!

THE FIGHT BETWEEN LUTE AND VAGGIE IS STRAIGHT UP BRUTAL OH GOD-

Charlie's devil tail :0

LUTE RIPPING HERSELF FREE FROM THE RUBBLE I'm just straight up terrified of her at this point

LUCIFER?!!? LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!!!!

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." YEAH ME TOO BECAUSE MY FAVORITE CHARACTER MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE IF YOU DID 🙃 But seriously where was he??? Surely he had heard about his daughter going to war against HEAVEN????

IT WAS A MASK??? I love how Adam just looks like.. a guy.

Lucifer not taking the fight at all seriously, I love him :'D

FATHER/DAUGHTER TAG TEAM WOOOO!! GET FUCKED ADAM.

NIFTY KILLED ADAM???!!? I'M SO PROUD OF YOU GIRL!!!! ❤️👏

BAXTER??? IS THAT YOU????

Nifty just zoning out during the TV interview, I love when jokes go full circle :D

THE "HAPPY FIRST WEEK SIR PENTIOUS" BANNER. I'M.. VIOLENTLY ILL. SOBBING. THROWING UP. CURLING UP INTO A BALL-

ALASTOR'S PART IN THE FINALE SONG. I got some serious chills. He looked actually frantic, only for him to pop up later, pretending like nothing is wrong, he's such a good character oh my god???

THE MEMORIAL FOR SIR PENTIOUS. I GET IT. STOP TWISTING THE KNIFE IN THE WOUND IM BEGGING YOU-

SIR PENTIOUS MADE IT TO HEAVEN I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY RIGHT NOW, HE LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL 😭❤️ VIV DON'T EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN OR I SWEAR- I also love Emily's and Sera's reactions to him pffft

LILITH HAS BEEN IN HEAVEN THIS ENTIRE TIME??? HUH????

I... feel like I'm going to combust. There was so much new information.. I need to go lay down and sleep for like a day.. or two 🙃

[cilil]

Fic recs & cool fandom stuff

So I've been thinking. Firstly, I've been wanting to make another fic/art/other fanworks rec thing on this blog* for my birthday, but was devastated to find out that I most likely won't be able to do that (at least not on the day or anything) because I will be going into my first exams around that time.

Secondly, as some of you may know, I try to do the FOTFics Friday fic recs as often as I can and sneakily stash away your fantastic fics to have something to present, but the issue is that - as I hinted at above and mentioned before in other posts - this year is very stressful, so I don't get to sniff and dig around as much as I'd like.

So here's an idea. If you find yourself floating around in the same spaces (aka the murky waters of Silm, Lost Tales and other Tolkien lore) and you have a fic/art piece/other fanwork that makes you think "hey auntie cílil might like this" or "bitch go check this out" - feel free to just tag me. Or send it to me, however you prefer. I mean this especially for stuff we talk about in DMs or threads like headcanons or ships and various blorbos (the dork lords, the bird men, the hot angels, the angry garden gnomes, my future wife Nerdanel, etc etc).

Please never think you're bothering me. In fact I sometimes get sad that I miss so much cool stuff. I love it if you send me things or perform the @ summoning ritual, it's like someone bringing you a treat right to your door, you know?

Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I just needed to get this off my chest and wanted to let you guys (gn) know that we love sharing things on this blog. And maybe I can manage to put together some rec lists for summer or something, we'll see :)

*No, I'm not big or anything, the reason why I keep doing recs is simply because I believe in community and want to support my fellow fandom dwellers. Or at least make someone smile a little💜

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

INTRO POST :] about time 

Hi hello I’m Lark/Laurie! I go by he/they and I’m an artist with too much time and not a lot of motivation! 

Fandoms/stuff you’ll see on this here:

Dndads/Dungeons And Daddies/The Peachyville Horror

Sweetooth (on Netflix)

Starkid (especially the Hatchetfield trilogy) 

Octonauts (sometimes just sometimes)

My ocs!! My silly little guys!!

Dndads au’s

Rambling and general nonsense :]

The Magnus Archives/The Magnus Protcol

The Train To Caleco Hill

[I’ll add more as they pop up!] 

(outdated artstyle persona ref btwww)

My common tags [i’ll add more as they pop up]

#thoughts in the void : practically a lot of things, anything to do with rambles/talking

#cryptid hunter blabs : my ocs!! my main ones at least which i am very normal about <-lying

#aasimars and aunties : a dndads au by me, @koymoa and @ike-mcswains-mortician-mortician!

Art requests are always open! I might take a while to get around to them though! 

[djpachipikachu]

hi i’m dj leon !

•💙•

i am a rise leonardo irl (post movie) /srs

if you want to ask anything about that or my art or just want to chat, go crazy go wild in my ask box baby !

reblog heavy account but i do art as well

my brothers :]

@blueigen - raph

@composedofturtles - donnie

•💙•

current pfp: by me !

current banner: by @losteclipse !

current bg on desktop: by me !

tags key:

#dj art - my drawings are all tagged with this

#dj ramblings - usually just me talking randomly idk

#asks 4 dj - self explanatory, me answering asks

currently into tmnt and the usagi franchise !

other fandoms i enjoy are splatoon, lego monkie kid, sonic, atla/lok, and dunmeshi !

my link tree for other accounts on diff platforms

leosagi fic:

my main focus and au is about my fic! its a leosagi au by the name of “but the grave’s gonna have to fight for me”, dubbed “graves” for short

it is a post-movie fic that takes place a few months after the kraang invasion and it follows leo as he tries to get back into the swing of missions and hangouts and trying to get things back to normal despite everything that’s changed :] however through an annoying series of coincidences, he always seems to run into the nexus’ newest up-and-coming champion, the “yokai slayer”

yuichi is just trying to get by, working a million and one part-time jobs to keep him and his auntie living comfortably while still training to become a graduated, real samurai

#graves au - the tag where all the art and rambles about this au can be found!

i’ve got a blog for it too if you have asks !

@thatoneleosagific

[ike-mcswains-mortician]

uh so i guess it's about time i make an intro post so!! here!!

✨about me!✨

call me lea or bee or leabee!

pronouns: she/her

i draw things!! mostly fanart but sometimes ocs!

i also write! sometimes!

but mostly i ramble about fandoms hehe

my inbox is wide open!! send me drawing reqs, fandom ramblings, oc ramblings, riddles, anything! i’ll do my best to respond in a timely manner hehe

(i won't answer nsfw requests cause i'm not into that. also don't put hateful/offensive shit in my inbox pls <3 )

✨creations!!✨

any art i make is tagged as #my art! if i didn’t make it? #other people’s art! same goes for ocs, campaigns, writing, anything like that!

✨AASIMARS AND AUNTIES!✨

aasimars and aunties is the dndads au created by me, @thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls, and @koymoa! that’ll be tagged as #aasimars and aunties or #anaunts

✨fandoms??? sure!✨

once upon a blue moon this was a multifandom blog but it is basically just a dndads blog atp. however! i do in fact have other interests!!

(i always tag fandom-related things as written below, unless i forget which is entirely possible)

dungeons and daddies/dndads

the crane wives

the young riders (hence my url!) i usually throw in the tag #save me broligen. broligen save me. iykyk

bigtop burger

monster high/mh (gen1 cause i fell off after that)

knives out

the nightmare before christmas/tnbc

markiplier

game grumps

wendigoon

five nights at freddy's/fnaf

undertale

ace attorney

grishaverse

the lunar chronicles/tlc

and other things that i'm probably forgetting! feel free to talk to me about any of these!! :D

thanks for reading this if ya did! <3

[teslacoils-and-hubris]

Oh on the topic of furries my auntie calls all animals in general furries (no knowledge of the anthropomorphic animal fandom I have to assume) so you should all picture me at the zoo trying desperately not to laugh while she rambles about how excited she is to see all the furries because that's how I spent my morning

[jemgirl86]

Okay, so not to be the ship police lol, but seeing folks start to ship Monica & Carol gets nothing but a bombastic side eye from me… absolutely not lol.

Look, I’m a just say it, though it didn’t really bother me at the time, and though I enjoy CM1 for what it was, and have defended it more than once (and will continue to do so), in hindsight I’m not a fan of the choices TPTB made with the introduction of Monica. After multiple discussions with my buddy, after seeing the way (some of) the fandom treats/reacts to adult Monica, I wish that they’d never brought her into the MCU as a child. I wish they’d never had her calling someone that should’ve been her peer Auntie. I wish that entire relationship dynamic didn’t exist. Fandom calling Carol her mom now leaves a bad taste in my mouth, when I used to think it was kinda funny.

And look, I’ve read fics where Maria/Carol are the background/side couple and it’s cute and I liked them - it totally worked. However, it kind of irritates my soul that people act like this character, who by all accounts should be her peer/co-worker, is her mother in canon and not fanon, and they are dead serious. That’s why people are mad about the ship online - not because of the age gap, or because Carol knew her when she was a kid, or anything else, but because they really seem to consider Carol to be as equal a parent to her as Maria. They really really do. And like, I’m gonna need some proof of that lol, because even in the movie she calls her Aunite not mom. It’s just not a good look, like it has negative connotations to me or something lol.

You know what, it’s like when people act like Steve was Sam’s kindly benefactor who plucked him from obscurity to work with him and taught him everything he knows. (It’s more rare maybe but I have seen people do that, especially people who just cannot seem to be able to admit that Sam was Steve’s partner and friend.) Well, no, Steve was his co-worker and buddy, they weren’t in the Big Brother Program. He didn’t teach Sam everything he knows - not in the MCU or the comics. Let’s not rewrite their relationship because you want to call Steve his mentor, because I wouldn’t even say that was accurate. Like don’t make this weird. Okay I’m rambling now lol, and I might delete this because it’s hard to exactly express what about this annoys me so much, but people are… weird about Monica (and Sam) and their connections (real or imagined) to these other heroes, and I don’t care for it.

Also, not for nothin’ but what is with the MCU fandom and trying to give people who already have parents or even parental figures, new parents. Like with Peter. Aunt May was right there. Not invisible, but very active in his life, but to hear everyone tell it Tony was his father figure? Ummm no he wasn’t 🙃

I don’t know, maybe when/if they explain why Monica & Carol fell out in the new movie, it will change my mind about the introducing her as a kid thing, but I can’t imagine how…

here @six2vii if you want to wade through my long winded rambling to my point that probably could’ve been summed up in 2 sentences 😂

[xoteajays]

in the center of recurrence is this: me catching you.

ship: wednesday addams x female!oc. fandom: wednesday (2022). word count: ~4400. ao3: link.

Nevermore had been growing boring. Niya already knew too much of their current student body, knew of the dull ‘secret society’ passed the Poe statue and down the stairs, any gossip that folks babbled on about was posted up on Enid’s little blog that Niya could only stand in short bursts.

Then Wednesday Addams showed up.

If nothing more, she was a pretty new treat to follow, sure to carry some fun secrets Niya could lock away. But Wednesday was proving to be more than simply that. She was dark and focused and serious with hints of dry wit spilling from her lips. She was pretty too. That dark kind of pretty. A monochrome in an otherwise colourful world.

She was a ‘special case’, her aunt had told her.

Aunty Anzhela had been rather close with Miss Weems as of late, no wonder she had a direct line to whatever newness was coming to Nevermore Academy. And Wednesday Addams was a most interesting case of ‘newness’.

The Havesting Festival is boring this year, a mere repeat of the year before and the year before that. Niya has more than enough cheap festival plushes, won from the familiar games of popping balloons and throwing beanbags into targets or rings over bottlenecks. So instead, she focuses in on her latest gothic interest.

She watches as Wednesday attempts an escape with some normie boy - it was a shame she was running away, she was the kind of outcast Nevermore hadn’t had in a while - but then she’s suddenly dashing towards the woods after that Rowan boy. Cautious of anyone else’s watching eyes, Niya strolls seemingly-casually towards the woods’ edge, quickly puffing up in smoke and leaving a butterfly in her wake.

The little holly blue flutters along, catching stray moonlight on her blue-and-black wings. It’s not hard to find Wednesday and Rowan. She can smell them even in this form. Though the woods had smelt distractingly of human blood recently. ‘Bear attacks’, the news had called them. Strange how Niya had seen no bears.

Flitting around a trunk, she lands on its front, her antennae twitching curiously. If she’d had brows, they would have furrowed now at the sight before her.

Telekinesis, it’s a nasty power.

Wednesday, she’s thrown up against a tree trunk, her feet dangling high above the ground. Rowan, he’s staring, raggedly breathing, rambling about something. Kill her? Some drawing on paper? Prophecy? She creeps closer, unnoticed as usual.

She catches the smell of something strange approaching before she sees it. Some monster - a real one, not like the students of the school - crashes into view. Huge and wild-eyed and ripping Rowan to shreds. Niya’s wings tremble. Then, it’s gone, running off, seemingly without a thought of killing Wednesday. It had just … looked at her.

Speaking of, Wednesday drops, drawing Niya’s attention back to her. Internally, she’s chewing her lip, she can’t reveal herself so quickly. She’d kept this secret for so long. So instead, she just watches as the other fumbles forward towards Rowan and pluck up that odd drawing of his. That same drawing is quickly tucked away into her pocket.

Wednesday is shaky on her feet when she stands. She turns, apparently heading back towards the festival. Niya turns-wing too.

She’s faster.

When she nears the festival, Niya passes behind a tree, a plume and then, Niya’s back to herself. Vampire but human-looking enough. She steps back towards the festival just in time to catch Wednesday rushing up the woods’ path.

“Wednesday?” she calls, her voice innocently concerned. Her nose twitches. She can smell Rowan’s blood on her. Wednesday stumbles up to her, dark gaze serious despite herself.

“Rowan’s dead. There’s a monster in the woods. We have to tell someone,” she says quickly. There’s a hint of concern that breaks through her classic monotonous tone.

“Dead?” Niya says, brows creasing. Wednesday’s mouth is a thin line, she nudges passed the vampire, towards the festival were students and faculty awaited. Niya follows after.

The first person they run into is Bianca, who can’t even get some snide comment out before Wednesday is trying to explain what had happened. She jams a finger in the direction of the woods with short quick commentary. Niya can play the ‘unknowing’ part. She’s attentive. Concerned. Nodding and brow creasing at all the right times.

Wednesday barely finishes her explanation before she’s swaying on her feet, mentally and physically worn thin. Bianca isn’t paying attention to that, but Niya is. And luckily so, since Wednesday quickly passes out, caught swiftly by Niya before she can hit the ground. She crouches her knees to the ground and steadies Wednesday’s head against her shoulder carefully.

“Go find a teacher,” she says quickly, turning her own inhuman eyes up to Bianca’s.

 —xx—

Thornhill’s greenhouse, it was one of Niya’s favourite places at the school. It shortly won out over the library, because at least there wasn’t students making out in the dark corners of the greenhouse. Likely because of the carnivorous plants.

Niya liked it though. She could parse out each and every flora by scent alone. She knew where the newest blooms were, which plants needed more sunlight or less water. Often, she was alone in the greenhouse, humming to herself or playing old records on a vintage gramophone. Her father had gifted her the records; Niya had, in turn, gifted them to Miss Thornhill to play in the greenhouse or during quiet time in class.

She’s sat up atop a desk, tending to a slightly-wilting bat orchid when the door opens, familiar footsteps follow. Wednesday has an interesting stride, Niya’s found, kind of like a marionette being carefully manipulated to walk along the ground in purposeful steps. An almost gliding gait. Niya sits up a little straighter and smiles, lifting a hand in a small wave of wiggling fingers.

“I was told I’d have a guest today,” she muses, looking back to the plant and reaching the same hand to thumb carefully at the orchid flower’s long tendrils.

“I’m told I have to join a ‘club’.”

Niya can’t hold back the smile. Wednesday says the word with such disdain, the lilt of it entering her tone. The vampire drops her legs over the side of the table, crossing her loafer-clad feet at the ankles. She focuses her gaze on Wednesday. Most would shift under her purple vampiric gaze. The monochrome girl doesn’t so much as flinch.

“Aren’t you going to give me the spiel?”

“You don’t want to join the gardening club,” Niya drawls back. Wednesday quirks a brow, a silent questioning. As she continues, Niya lifts a finger with each point, “Firstly, if you really wanted to join, you wouldn’t need the ‘spiel’. Secondly, you want the beekeeping club.”

The once-quirked brow now slightly furrows, the very smallest hint of confusion to break her expression.

“Why’s that?”

Niya smiles, teeth pointy: “It’s only got one member. Little dorky kid. Eugene, I think his name is. You want a club where you can actually disappear to do whatever little investigation you’re doing while the teachers - and Miss Weems especially - are being told you’re actually participating in a school club.” Niya drags a hand over the fabric of her skirt, plucks off a leaf that had gotten stuck to it, and tosses it aside. Then she re-sets her eyes on Wednesday. “I bet Eugene could be manipulated to lie to the faculty by such a pretty girl.”

Wednesday’s mouth is still flat, but she hums in consideration.

As she continues to consider, she strolls the greenhouse, seemingly favourable of the darker toned flowers and straying far from the more classically ‘floral’ ones unless they were of the poisonous variety. Niya watches her, swinging her legs from her perch.

Her eye catches sight of the approaching vine before Wednesday does. The other is looking at a blooming hellebore - onyx odyssey, Niya noted - when the vine reaches out and grasps her ankle. It yanks and Niya is there in a blink to catch Wednesday by the elbows, planting the toe of her shoe on the vine until it wriggles back off to it’s host plant. Wednesday stares at her. Her hands are cool against the skin of Niya’s forearms.

“Man-eating plant. It’s getting a bit too big for the greenhouse. Miss Thornhill says she’s going to have it transferred out, but it’s still here for another week so … watch your step,” Niya explains, babbling a little, her thumb gently - thoughtlessly - stroking Wednesday’s elbow. The girl pulls from Niya’s grip, straightening her blazer. Then she just hums quietly.

“Thank you,” she says curtly before turning to leave.

Niya watches her go, then, when she’s alone again, she traces her fingertips over the space on her arm where Wednesday’s hand had been. She smiles, swinging her arms out as she heads back to the waiting bat orchid.

 —xx—

She knows it’s bad. She knows she shouldn’t spy on people, but she couldn’t help herself. She was a ‘curious soul’, as her father would say, just like her mother. He’d always get a sad look in his eyes when he said stuff like that. He’d try to hide it from her, he’d pat her hair and distract her with something trivial. She’d allow it.

That was when she was young though. Now she was off at the academy and she didn’t have her father around to keep her company … or to stop her from sneaking around and following people to discover the things they hid from everyone.

Wednesday had been investigating this ‘monster’ for a little while now and Niya has been following along like she was reading a detective novel. Wednesday was far prettier than any of those detective men in the old novels and movies Niya had consumed in her even-younger youth. And this investigation was far more intriguing. It truly was something else to experience it in reality.

The holly blue butterfly stays out of view of Wednesday. Most people wouldn’t give the small creature a second glance, but Wednesday was smarter than ‘most people’. Plus, Niya wouldn’t put it passed Wednesday to have an expansive pinned insect collection and perhaps a holly blue butterfly was just what she was missing.

In short, she keeps her distance, flitting on the other side of the trees from Wednesday, a few steps behind.

The founder’s crypt. Crackstone’s. It’s a creepy place, it even sends a shiver down Niya’s spine despite herself. Wednesday appears completely unfazed though, stepping into the place and dropping her bag to the ground behind her. Out of it clambers a disembodied sewn-up hand. ‘Thing’, she had heard Wednesday call it. It was a kooky thing, though curiosity spiking. How exactly did it work? Some Frankenstein thing? Perhaps she’d ask one day.

Niya flies closer, through a crack in one of the walls. She lands, crawling across the wall. Thing quickly disperses of a homeless man before Niya can even jump in to snap at him for yelling at Wednesday.

It seemed they could communicate, through taps and finger-signing, and somehow the hand could hear Wednesday speaking to it. The girl snaps back at the hand, then starts pressing her own hand to different objects in the crumbling crypt. Each touch is accompanied by a repetition of ‘no’ until she reaches the door.

Her body jerks, head thrown back, eyes skyward. Her knees go out from under her. In a puff of smoke, Niya is at her back, catching her around the hips before she can hit the ground. The vampire slowly lowers her to the ground on her side, heaving out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d held.

Glancing to her side, she notices Thing there, who - somehow Niya can tell - is surprised.

“I’m a friend. Well, friendly. Promise,” she says, hoping to not get taken out like the homeless man. When she doesn’t end up throttled, she turns her attention back to Wednesday.

Carefully, she lifts the girl back into the crypt, lying her down on her back on the man’s blanket. It looked clean enough and was better than the half-damp ground. Thing plants itself down at Wednesday’s shoulder and Niya sits on her other side. Gently, she reaches a hand out to brush Wednesday’s fringe back into place, brushing the specks of dirt off her cheek.

The rain starts shortly after and it’s cold against her skin as she tries to keep Wednesday out of it as best she can.

She jerks awake just as violently as she’d gone into the vision. She snaps up and Niya holds her hands up in a hopefully calming gesture, ‘woah’ing her in caution to take it slowly. Wednesday’s eyes clear as she realises who’s she’s looking at.

“Khioniya,” she says, half confused, mostly accusing, “You’re following me.”

“No!” Niya says, then pauses, frowns, “Well, yes, but -“

“You’re the butterfly.”

Niya blinks in surprise, mouth opening and then closing, trying to pull up some excuse, that it’s an ‘unbelievable accusation’.

“How…”

“Celastrina argiolus are palearctic. It’s - you’re an unsubtle creature.” She’s breathing heavy, but her gaze is intensely focused despite the fact that she looked like a drowned cat from the rain. Niya drops her head, then her shoulders tremor with a laugh. She looks back up, jamming a hand to her disbelieving giggly mouth to settle herself. Rain droplets shake out of her hair with her motions.

“You’re the first one to figure that out. Eugene thought he was just seeing things or that they were being introduced to America. People don’t usually recognise butterflies by species.”

“I didn’t know vampires could do that. Turn into butterflies.”

“Most can’t. It depends on the type of vampire. None of the other vampires at school know, they assume I’m like them, that I’m whichever type they are. And I don’t correct them.”

“Why are you fol-“ Wednesday cuts herself off, staring beyond Niya to a gap in the wall. A large eye stares back at her. At them. There’s a snarl, then the scrambling of beastly feet as it hurries away. Wednesday is quick to her feet, rushing off out the crypt door after the monster.

“Wednesday, wait!” Niya calls after her, gathering to her own feet and scooping up Thing and Wednesday’s bag in the process of chasing after her classmate.

 —xx—

The Rave’n. Niya didn’t mind it really. She did like to show off the pretty dresses and jewellery her father would get her from his travels, nearly always the best dressed at school dances like these. Besides, her Aunt Anzhela was usually the chaperone, but this year, it was Miss Thornhill. How could she not attend Miss Thornhill’s first Rave’n when she’d been so kind to Niya?

Well, she would’ve skipped it if Wednesday had asked. Then Wednesday asks Xavier to the Rave’n, even if only to not get caught snooping around his shed. The way Xavier smiles about it though makes Niya’s stomach twist. He hadn’t been deserving of Bianca’s attention and neither should he have Wednesday’s beyond the beastly mystery. She prickles about it for the rest of the day, quiet and only half-attentive as Wednesday continues searching around Jericho.

When Thing calls for her aid in getting Wednesday to go with Tyler, it takes a lot of convincing until she relents. At the very least, perhaps Wednesday could have some fun at the Rave’n. Maybe Niya could even steal her away from the normie for at least one dance.

It’s all worth it to see her in the dress. It’s so completely Wednesday. She’s dead lovely and stands out in such dark lacing between the ice whites of everyone else’s outfits.

Tyler had brought some corsage for her, but he discards it as Wednesday heads into the party. It’s a dull thing, boring, and Niya curls her nose at it. It belonged on the trash where it lay. The flowers were even fake.

She manages to catch Wednesday alone when Tyler goes off to grab the ‘couple’ some drinks.

“You look beautiful,” she says. Wednesday fixes her with a pointed, knowing look.

“You helped Thing. With this obnoxious plan.”

“Hey, he asked me. It wasn’t my idea. I bet he would’ve done it without my help anyway.”

Wednesday breathes out, something between understanding and annoyance. Niya smiles lightly, then reaches for her own wrist. She tugs her corsage off. She’d brought it - made it - for Wednesday anyway. A stretchy decorative faux lace around the wrist and a pretty black-purple flower in the center with a few smaller ones around it; it matched the dress perfectly. She takes Wednesday’s hand, lifting it, and sliding the corsage on.

“There. Now you’re perfect,” she says, still holding the girl’s hand. Wednesday looks at it, her brows draw together in recognition, then looking back up to meet Niya’s gaze.

“It’s the -“

“The hellebore. From the greenhouse. Yes.”

Wednesday opens her mouth to say something more, but Niya cuts her off.

“You’re date is back. Do try and enjoy yourself, even just a little,” she says, though her smile is tighter now. Tyler steps up to Wednesday’s side and Niya turns heel, disappearing into the crowd of white-donning students. She can feel Wednesday’s eyes on her back, but she doesn’t turn back around.

The dress is not the only thing that stands out about her. Wednesday had such a way of dancing. There’s an open space on the dance floor and Wednesday comes alive on it. Shortly after, other students join her, Niya finds herself following suit. Tyler can’t keep up with Wednesday, but Niya can.

Wednesday doesn’t even smile as she dances, but Niya can see a kind of light on her eyes as she moves.

The song slows and Wednesday walks off the dance floor, excusing herself from Tyler. Niya is giggly, dance-exhausted as she walks along beside her. They step into a small hall between the main room and the smaller, quieter ones.

“You’re a riot, Wednesday,” Niya says.

“My feet are killing me, and not on the fun way,” Wednesday says, monotone.

Niya laughs, the back of her hand comes up to her mouth, stifling the noise. Wednesday glances sideways at her. The very slightest ghost of a smile twists on her lips, but it disappears just as quick when Niya glances at her, lavender gaze warm.

“You’re really quite funny, you know?“

Wednesday just hums, steadying her hand on the wall as she walks along, careful steps to try and stop the ache from her heels. It’s obvious she doesn’t wear them often, at least not as often as Niya, who walks astride her with ease.

One misstep turns her ankle and almost sends her crashing into Niya’s side, but the vampire’s reflexes kick in quickly to catch her. One arm around Wednesday’s back, the other holding her arm to keep her upright. They’re very close together now. Wednesday can even see the slight ring of red in Niya’s eyes around her purple irises, a clue beyond her fangs of vampiric heritage. Niya can see the pinkish healing scar of the cut on Wednesday’s forehead behind her bangs.

“Do you need me to carry you, Miss Addams?” Niya teases, her hand a cool weight on the side of Wednesday’s ribs. She huffs lightly, rolling her eye as she pulled from Niya’s grip. Niya keeps her hand on Wednesday’s arm, steadying her back to her feet.

“Suit yourself,” she continues, slipping her arm through Wednesday’s to link them at the elbows as they continued down the hall. At it’s end, Niya releases her to sit her down beside Bianca.

 —xx—

Niya would say she likes the woods. Any other night, this would be a fun time, walking through a blue-hued wonderland. Not tonight. Not while Wednesday is missing and very likely in danger if not dead already. Definitely not when the moon above is full and blood red and casting it’s eerie red glow around that bounces off branches and puddles.

She’s walking fast, Thing in her slightly shaking hands. Enid is at her side, smelling like candy perfume and hound. She’s sure she doesn’t smell all that nice to Enid either, maybe like harsh florals and the underlying copper of blood, but they didn’t have time for arguing right now. Wednesday needed them. Enid falls behind. Literally.

Niya turns back towards her, half glowering, lavender eyes glinting in the scarlet light.

“Are you okay?” She forces out, trying to be calm, nice even. Enid shakes all over, attempting to push up onto her hands. Her body seizes, pastel claws spiking out. “Enid?”

The blonde’s head jerks up, her face more wolfy. Niya tenses, swallowing thickly.

“You’re …”

“I’m wolfing out,” Enid finishes for her.

Well, this was happening now. Fuck. Niya turns, puts Thing down and crouches in front of it.

“Go find Xavier. Get him out and back to Nevermore to help the Nightshades get people out of there. Enid and I will find Wednesday,” Niya says, focusing more on the hand than the jerky cracking of Enid’s shift. She hears the tear of fabric. That’s not good.

Thing hurries off and Niya takes a breath, standing up. The perky blonde human Enid is gone, replaced by a pink-crowned yellow-furred gangly werewolf with glinting inhuman eyes.

“Wednesday, Enid. Find Wednesday,” she says, voice steady despite standing face to face with the creature. Vampires and werewolves had been enemies once upon a time after all, who’s to say what a newly turned werewolf’s mind would make them do. She watches the wolf huff and sniff, head turning this way and that before her body twisted to turn and rush off through the woods.

Niya shakes her limbs out, preparing to run after her. She gathers Enid’s thick pink jacket under her arm and runs, vampire-quick. Luckily, it’s easier to track the smell of wolf than it is to pick out the most recent Wednesday scent.

The beast - the hyde, Tyler, whatever - is as gangly and disconcerting as the first time Niya saw it. Unlike the first time though, it’s trying to kill Wednesday instead of running away from her. It’s claws are getting closer and closer to the girl’s throat when Enid slams into it’s side, full force. While it was distracted with Enid, Niya rushed to Wednesday, dumping the jacket on the ground as she does.

Wednesday slumps down off the broken tree trunk, right into Niya’s waiting arms that steady her. Her nose twitches at the smell of the blood. It’s all over Wednesday. The side of her head, her gut and the torn fabric of her shirt, her hand. She wants to ask if Wednesday’s okay, what happened, but they don’t have the time.

So she steels herself, squeezes Wednesday’s arms.

“You have to go. We’ll deal with Tyler.”

Wednesday nods, squeezes Niya’s forearms back, a silent kind of ‘be careful’ though neither would say it out loud or even use the words at all; then the pair parts.

Wednesday heads in the direction of the academy.

Niya turns towards the beast fight.

Niya with her claws curled and fangs out, Enid wolfed out and anger-spurned, Tyler stands no chance against the both of them. Or the gun of his own father.

Niya leaves the sheriff to his mourning, heading instead to Enid’s side as she comes down from her shift. She’s covered in blood. Niya is too. Luckily, most of it was Tyler’s and not their own. She plucks the jacket up of the ground, shaking the dead leaves off it, and wraps it around Enid’s bare shoulders.

“I guess your mother will get off your back now,” Niya drawls, surprisingly lax despite the situation. She stand, holding a hand out to the other. “Come on, we have to get back. They might still need our help.”

Enid takes her hand, a little shaky on her feet. There’s blood in her hair and on her face. It’s the most Niya and Enid have ever matched. Niya takes the lead, lets Enid steady herself on her arm. They walk as quick as Enid can manage. They don’t talk, but not in the way they usually didn’t talk. There’s a difference in the air. A difference that smells like Tyler’s blood. Evil as he might’ve been, it doesn’t make the smell any sweeter.

The woods eventually part and give way to a small opening close to the school. The moon isn’t red anymore and the woods look more familiar. Across the way, Niya can smell the familiarity of her fellow students. Enid looks up just as Ajax rushes over to them.

Niya releases her arm to let Ajax take over as she instead takes the lead, parting the sea of students. Her eyes keep flickering around, worried even as she tries to keep her composure. She can’t see Wednesday. Enid asks it before Niya can.

“Where’s Wednesday?”

There’s a sinking feeling in her stomach, her growing worry flickering more noticeably in her eyes. She keeps walking forward through the crowd. If she had to go to the school to find a body and an undead pilgrim, so be it.

Instead, she finds her steps stuttering to a stop. In the distance, through the blue night fog, figures appear. One walks with a familiar gait can’t be anybody else.

Enid rushes passed her, excitably quick off the starting line. Niya follows quickly after her, just a step behind, too tired to force that vampiric speed. Enid flings herself at Wednesday. For a moment, it seems like Wednesday would push her away, until she doesn’t and pulls Enid in tighter.

Everyone sighs, breathing relief. Enid and Wednesday part, the blonde sniffles wetly but Niya can see the smile on her face in the corner of her eye. Wednesday turns her gaze to Niya now, and Niya just smiles lightly, toying with the bloody edge of her sleeve.

Wednesday steps towards her, grabbing her by the shoulders, staring her in the face and then dragging her into a crushingly tight hug. Niya blinks, surprised, before wrapping her own arms around Wednesday, who relaxes when she does.

[bkdk-art]

Too far away

Summary: Katsuki isn’t happy about how things went down in Otheon, feeling left out by Izuku. But he has a hard time admitting it and especially confronting the nerd with it to sort things out.

Fandom: My Hero Academia / Boku no hero academia

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko, Bakugou Masaru, Bakugou Mitsuki, mention of Rody Soul

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Word Count: 4,000

Rating: General / Teen

AO3-Link

Notes: Takes place right after the World Heroes mission movie / Mild spoilers for the third bnha movie / I absolutely adore Rody as a character! My bkdk-shipper-heart was just really sad about how little screen time Izuku and Katsuki got together and I figured Katsuki would be too :P

_______________________________

Katsuki entered his parents’ house and slipped out of his shoes when he heard a soft voice saying: “No need to thank me, Mitsuki-san, I didn’t even miss it!”

Katsuki walked into the living room that was connected to the kitchen, saying: “I’m home”, and then directed at the small, green haired person next to his mother, “Hi, Auntie.”

He ignored his mother scolding him for not coming sooner and not texting them once while they were abroad.

Instead, he took in Inko’s smile and nodded when she said: “Congratulations on your successful mission, we are so proud of you! It’s nice to have you back home though.”

Too nice, he thought, Always way too nice.

They were so much alike, the nerd and his mother.

“Thanks”, he mumbled, nodding towards the rice cooker underneath her arm, “Did the old hag borrow that one from you again?”

“Who are you calling an old hag?!”, his mother started to ramble, while Inko chuckled into her hand.

His mother had the talent of leaving the rice cooker on, causing a blackout in almost the whole neighborhood, frying the device in the process every time.

“Come, come”, his father appeared from upstairs, raising his hands in a calming manner. He then looked at Katsuki, welcoming him with his eyes and Katsuki mustered a small smile in response.

“Well, I better get going”, Inko said, turning to leave, “Izuku should be home soon too”.

“I think he already is, actually”, Katsuki said, “We took the same train here.”

“Oh!”, she hustled towards the door, “Then I’ll better hurry. Thanks for having me, Mitsuki-san, Masaru-san”, she smiled at them, getting into her shoes, “Good to see you, Katsuki-kun. Have a nice evening!”

The three of them said their goodbyes and as soon as the door was closed his mother had him underneath her armpit, rubbing her fist over his skull, yelling at him for worrying her while his father tried to calm them both down.

Well. The usual shitshow.

~~~

Something was different, though. He was different.

Since defeating that mass murderer, who was trying to rid the planet off quirk owners, Katsuki had been zoning out a lot.

And his parents noticed too.

“Something is bothering you, isn’t it?”

Katsuki looked at his father, who was smiling at him. Patience on his face like always.

Where does he take that from anyway? Or the nerd? Or Inko? Was there some kind of secret fountain Katsuki hadn’t been told about?

Katsuki shook the thought off, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He didn’t want to tell them. He didn’t want to acknowledge it as a problem but it bothered the hell out of him!

“Katsuki?”, his mother asked when he didn’t respond for a while.

Katsuki sighed. “I’m mad at the nerd”, he admitted.

A moment of silence went by.

“So?”, his mother asked, frowing, “You and Izuku-chan are bickering all the time.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Not like that. Like… mad.”

He couldn’t put the feeling into words and he couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with his parents. But his bothersome friends wouldn’t let him see the end of it if he would tell them. They were already making fun of him, saying he was focusing on Izuku way too much. Which he wasn’t!

“Well”, his father cleared his throat, “What did he do?”

Katsuki started to play with his fork.

That was even harder to spell out. Because it made him feel like a sulking brat.

“He just”, he shrugged, “He kind of ignored me, alright? When he was on the run with that bird dude, he reached out to Half’n’Half every time – calling him after being chased, even sending him some kind of riddle I would have solved in a split-second! He was also super invested in that bird guy who got him into that mess in the first place. Pisses me off.”

Silence. Again.

As if he was missing something.

“What?!”, he barked at his parents.

His father was still smiling at him but now he could register a different shade of fondness in his features.“Sounds like you’re hurt, not just mad.”

Katsuki’s face twisted as a response to that. “As if”, he scoffed.

He heard his mother sigh under her breath. “What’s wrong with that?”, she shrugged, starting to clean the table, “You want him to reach out to you, not just his other friends.”

Katsuki pressed his lips together.

The nerd hugging that bird brain came to his mind. A long, heartfelt embrace. The sight had made Katsuki’s blood boil. Izuku staying behind to say a cheesy goodbye, making them late for the flight had been bad enough but then hugging the damn trouble maker?!

Hurt.

Just to think the word made him feel uneasy.

Before he could think about it too hard, his mother shoved a few plates into his arms, telling him to help her.

He growled at her, but deep down he was glad for the distraction.

~~~

Later Katsuki was sitting on his old bed at his parents’ house, looking at his phone.

Izuku had sent him a message, telling him that he would like to stay the night at his mother’s, wondering what Katsuki was up to.

Katsuki sighed, rubbing his eyes. He had promised Kaminari to help him study tomorrow morning before he would meet up with his parents.

Gotta get back to UA, he wrote back, Dunce face needs some extra lessons.

After a few seconds Izuku answered: I see! Nice of you to help him out.

Katsuki’s grip around his phone tightened.

He didn’t need the nerd to tell him that. He already knew he was doing the Pikachu wannabe a favor. Him pointing it out and even praising him for it was so… so… belittling.

Breathe, he told himself, Breathe.

Izuku had sworn on all of his All Might-Merch that he had never looked down on Katsuki and Katsuki constantly reminded himself of that. It just needed a little more practice.

Them misunderstanding each other was nothing new. But they were working on it. Well, kind of. Maybe not really. Sometimes they started a conversation about it but it never got them anywhere. Mostly because one of them was too flustered or too stiff or too whatever and they would end up changing the topic or starting a training fight.

Katsuki stood up, pushing his thoughts aside. He needed to catch the last train.

As soon as he went downstairs, he saw that his parents were both sitting on the couch, chuckling about something.

“What’re you doing?”

“Oh look”, his mother said, smiling brightly, “Because we talked about Izuku-chan earlier we decided to look at your childhood pictures and they’re too adorable.”

“Tch”, Katsuki frowned but looked at the album nonetheless.

When he saw the way he had slung his arms around Izuku’s neck back then, both of them grinning into the camera, he felt his face drop.

“Gotta go”, Katsuki instantly turned around, heading for the door, “Thanks for the meal. See ya.”

He heard his parents follow him to the entrance area. They stood by the door as he left – something he hated because they made an unnecessary fuss about him leaving when he wasn’t that far away anyway.

Katsuki gave them a half-assed wave as a goodbye and walked out of the door. While walking down the front yard his father shouted: “Talk to him!”

Katsuki swirled around, sending him a death glare. His mother burst out laughing at that and Katsuki just clicked his tongue, making his way to the train station, ignoring the blush on his face.

~~~

Katsuki stepped into the train and sat down, looking out of the window and waiting for the train to take off.

He was thinking about the pictures his parents were looking at. And thinking of them he remembered something else that pissed him off about that mission in Otheon: The four of them – Izuku, Todoroki, Rody and Katsuki – had taken a picture together or better said, Katsuki had been forced to. And as if that hadn’t been annoying enough, the bird dude had pressed himself against Izuku with Half’n’Half leaning onto the nerd, leaving Katsuki looking like the third wheel.

Just as the sound of the doors closing appeared, Katsuki registered green lightnings in the corner of his eyes and before he knew it Izuku was standing next to him, panting.

“Did you just”, Katsuki said, leaning his chin onto his fist, feeling himself smirk “use OFA to catch a damn train?”

Izuku slummed down next to him. “Don’t judge me”, he said, “It’s the last one until 4 am.”

Katsuki scoffed at that.

After a few moments of silence, he added: “Thought you would stay the night.”

“Well”, Izuku breathed out, “My mom has to get up really early for work tomorrow so we wouldn’t have quality time anyway. And”, he grinned at Katsuki, “I like spending the ride home with you.”

Katsuki blinked at the nerd, kind of stunned. Eventually he just nodded, looking out of the window again.

How some people could just easily blurt out how they felt would never cease to amaze and frustrate him at the same time. Again, something he lacked even if he hated to admit it.

His parents were the same, especially his father, with that soft tone and reassuring words.

Katsuki thought about what he had said earlier.

Hurt.

Was that really the feeling that was making Katsuki’s stomach heavy right now? All he knew was that he didn’t like it, whether he was mad or hurt or whatever else.

~~~

They stayed silent for most of the ride. Izuku made a comment now and then and Katsuki responded mostly with agreeing or disagreeing sounds.

Eventually they got off the train and started walking towards UA. While they were walking through the forest, Katsuki’s mind wandered to their fight at Ground Beta a few months ago and how their walk now resembled the one back then, just that instead of walking behind him, Izuku was right next to him.

Katsuki thought about how he had challenged Izuku back then, how All Might and Izuku had told him the whole truth about OFA. How Izuku had told him that he admired him.

A lot had changed since then. Not enough, Katsuki was aware of that. But he was doing his best. He really was.

“Are you”, Izuku suddenly spoke up, “mad?”

Mad.

Katsuki let out an annoyed sigh. He’d like to know the answer to that question too.

He stopped in his way and Izuku did the same.

When Katsuki looked at him, those ridiculous green eyes were filled with worry and the nerd was even fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

Talk to him, he heard his father calling out to him.

Breathe, he repeating in his head, Breathe. Breathe, just breathe.

“I”, he started to say, “I didn’t like how you acted in Otheon.”

Izuku gasped. “Because I got into trouble?”, he rushed to ask.

“No”, Katsuki shook his head, twisting his mouth, “Well, yes, that too. But what got on my nerves was the fact that…”, he shrugged. This was hard. He felt his stomach tremble. “It was because”, he said again, narrowing his eyes, “you only reached out to Half’n’Half. Calling him, sending him texts!”

Katsuki felt his voice growing louder and louder without being able to stop it.

“Leaving it to him to inform me like I’m just some fucking extra!”

“No, Kacchan, I-“

“I mean, what if we would have been separated too?“, Katsuki clenched his fists in frustration.

“But-“

“I wouldn’t have known anything about your shitty adventure! And also-“

“Stop!”, Izuku’s voice echoed through the trees.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, crossing his arms and looking away from the nerd.

They were standing underneath a street light and for a few moments its humming was the only sound around them.

“Can I say something?”, Izuku asked eventually.

Katsuki growled and signed him to go on.

“I’m sorry”, he said, sounding way too sincere, “I didn’t mean to… leave you out. I just didn’t think you would like me to contact you.”

Katsuki cropped up his lips.

“I will text and call you in the future. I promise.”

Katsuki felt himself tense. He realized that he wasn’t satisfied.

He wanted the nerd to only text him. But he knew that would be a bold demand, revealing a selfish and weirdly possessive side of him. A side that surprised even Katsuki.

“You better”, he finally said, looking at Izuku, “What made you think I wouldn’t want you to contact me in that kind of situation?”

Katsuki knew he probably wouldn’t like the answer. But he needed to hear it anyway, otherwise they would never make any progress.

Izuku started to shift uncomfortable, avoiding his gaze.

Katsuki sighed. “Spit it out”, he told him, “I can take it.”

Emerald eyes were shifting towards him, studying his face.

“I”, Izuku started to say, “I was worried you might not care. And that I was making it bigger than it was.”

Katsuki couldn’t hold in a snort. “Bigger than it was?”, he rolled his eyes, “You were accused of mass murder, Deku! Like what the actual fuck, I obviously cared.”

I always do, he thought but was too much of a coward to say it out loud.

Katsuki cleared his throat, once again looking away from a stunned Izuku.

“I was worried, for fuck’s sake”, he added, just in case, the nerd couldn’t read between the lines.

He heard Izuku exhaling a shaky breath. Katsuki still avoided looking at him.

“And”, he went on, just to get it over with, “The next time you want to take a picture either include me properly or leave me the fuck out of it!”

“Oh... I didn’t realize”, Izuku said in a low voice, more to himself and then louder: “Sure, Kacchan! I’ll take that as a promise we’ll be taking more pictures in the future!”

Katsuki huffed at that.

And because Katsuki didn’t want to get too emotional, he abruptly turned around, starting to run.

“First one at the dorm gets to decide our next training routine”, he called over his shoulder, challenging Izuku.

“Not fair!”, Izuku called out, starting to race Katsuki, “False start!”

Katsuki just barked out a laugh in response.

If he was being honest, he still felt the need to get off some steam. About Izuku cuddling that bird brain, still texting him every other day. About him being better at words and all that.

But that had been enough opening up for one day. Or week.

~~~

The days went by and instead of completely focusing on class and on the training that damn hug was constantly coming up in Katsuki’s mind.

Hugging was suddenly something he registered.

The girls were clinging onto each other every other minute. That girl with the horn was hugging Izuku and that Permeation-senpai every time they saw each other and even his friends did sometimes wrap their arms around each other.

But not around Katsuki and he didn’t even want them to, but that made him realize something else: He hadn’t allowed hugs for a while now.

He had shrugged his parents off for years already, every time as soon as they reached out to him. Even after being kidnapped, when they had approached him, tears in their eyes, he had shaken them off, not letting himself be pulled into their arms.

It wasn’t like he missed being held or anything – or was he? He wasn’t even sure.

Although starting to self-reflect and looking back at his former behaviors he sometimes struggled to distinguish between his real preferences and those walls he had just build up as a defense-mechanism.

So he didn’t know whether or not he liked being hugged – probably not? – but what he definitely knew was that Izuku hugging that bird guy was living rent free in his head and it nearly made him go crazy!

~~~

It was Saturday, two weeks had passed since their visit to their parents, and almost everyone had gone out.

Katsuki was leaning against the oven, waiting for his meal to get ready.

He was glad his friends weren’t around. They had been all over him for the last couple of days because some tests were coming up and now, he finally needed some damn space!

No one else was in the common room and although that place being quiet felt strange, he welcomed the silence.

Katsuki closed his eyes, counting the seconds until his timer would start ringing, when he heard steps coming down the stairs.

He took in a deep breath.

He would recognize those steps anywhere.

“You here too?”, he asked, without opening his eyes.

“Yeah”, Izuku answered, “All Might ordered me some rest and gave me some new notes on the former holders of OFA.”

Katsuki opened his eyes.

Izuku was standing a few steps away, his eyes shining with excitement.

Nerd, Katsuki thought, Through and through.

“Something interesting?”

Izuku pulled his shoulders all the way up to his ears, looking like a kid. “Haven’t started reading it yet.”

Katsuki pressed his lips together. He wanted to read those notes too. He wanted to discuss them with Izuku. He wanted to compare his own quirks with them, telling the nerd how he could easily outdo him anyway.

He wanted to but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Why was this so damn hard?!

“Maybe I’ll join”, he said after all, making it sound more like a statement than a question. It made him feel more in control.

“Sure!”, Izuku beamed at him and it made Katsuki’s eye wander to the floor.

Even if Katsuki would have asked, the nerd would have never denied him. So why was Katsuki not able to take that risk for once?!

While frowning at the ground and being angry at himself, Izuku stepped closer. When Katsuki lifted his head, he saw that Izuku was right in front of him and had opened up his arms and without thinking, without even hesitating he wrapped his arms around the nerd.

Katsuki was somehow overcome with a weird mixture of nostalgia and embarrassment and relief.

But then…

Izuku let out a surprised sound and when Katsuki leaned away from him, looking at him, he realized it: Izuku had been reaching behind Katsuki to grab a glass from the shelve.

Embarrassment – that was the only feeling left.

That’s why Katsuki yanked Izuku to the side, ignoring his blabbering and stomped away as fast as he could.

Shit, shit, shit, he thought while walking away, feeling his face head up, Shit, shit, shit.

He felt like dying right then and there.

What a cringe ass move, he couldn’t believe it.

“Kacchan!”

“Tch”, Katsuki clicked his tongue.

Of course the nerd wouldn’t let it go.

“Fuck off”, Katsuki said over his shoulder, knowing that he was being an asshole. But he couldn’t help himself, hearing his heart beating loudly in his chest.

“No, wait, Kacchan, please”, Izuku grabbed his arms, making him stop, “Sorry if I-“

“Don’t apologize!”, Katsuki swirled around, almost spitting the words out, “You didn’t do anything! Stop with the hollow apologies!”

Oh no. Katsuki was making this about something else, he realized it himself. But he couldn’t be talking about what happened a minute ago. He would pass out from it.

“They’re not hollow!”, Izuku defended himself.

Well, never mind. He could always count on Izuku to get caught up in whatever Katsuki was throwing at him and he knew he was a prick for using this but he just really could not talk about the… hug-fail.

Gosh, he thought, Someone shoot me.

He seriously considered knocking Izuku out, hoping that would make him forget the last few minutes.

“I always mean my apologies!”, Izuku started to ramble, still hung up on what Katsuki had said, “I really am sorry that I made you uncomfortable just now!”

No, no, no, don’t go there, Katsuki thought.

“I invaded your space. And I am sorry.”

Katsuki felt himself frown.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”, he snapped at the nerd, “I got closer to you!”

“And then you clearly didn’t like it!”, Izuku barked back, starting to get irritated too.

Katsuki shook his head briefly.

What was happening? Their conversation wasn’t making any sense!

A few moments went by and none of them said a word.

Katsuki wanted to tell him.

He wanted to tell Izuku that he didn’t want him to hug that bird dude ever again, especially when they had stopped hugging each other. He wanted to tell him that he was yet to figure out if he liked hugs, but that he wanted to hug Izuku. He wanted to tell him that he might be jealous of that Rody.

Well, that wasn’t exactly right.

He did not want to spell all of that out. He wanted Izuku to just get it.

But he wouldn’t because how could he? OFA didn’t contain a fucking mind reading quirk after all and thank God for that but right now – it would be fucking helpful and all these useless thoughts pushed Katsuki an inch closer to bursting out.

It was Izuku who snapped Katsuki out of his rampaging thoughts, eventually filling the silence with his words.

“Sometimes”, Izuku said, his voice unsarcastically husky, “you randomly make physical contact, like leaning your arm on my shoulder or ruffling through my hair or things like that. And… I enjoy it. Because it feels like we’re slowing getting back to how we were, you know?”

Izuku looked at him, tears welling up in his eyes and Katsuki felt like he had been slapped.

The nerd was right.

Katsuki had already started doing stuff like that. Stuff he did with no one else. At least not on his behalf.

The truth was that Katsuki was obviously seeking Izuku out for comfort gestures like that.

But then, seeing Izuku fully embracing that shithead… it had made Katsuki feel a thousand miles behind. Even after pushing himself to get closer to Izuku again, he was way behind some dude the nerd had just met a couple of days ago.

It had made him feel like they hadn’t made any progress after all. It had made him realize once again what he had wrecked in the past.

Katsuki pressed his lips together, feeling completely defeated.

“So I thought, maybe”, Izuku went on, “I could also step closer but I guess I don’t. I’m sorry, Kacchan, sometimes it’s just hard for me to follow the… the rules? I don’t know”, Izuku shrugged, brushing the tears away and Katsuki closed his eyes.

Katsuki couldn’t follow those fucked up rules either. He realized he made Izuku being on the tip of his toes around him.

He exhaled a long deep breath.

“Listen”, Katsuki finally said, rubbing his eyes, “The thing just now… I thought you wanted to hug me. I wanted to hug you back. Realizing you didn’t even mean it as a hug, I snapped. Okay?”

Listing the course of events was okay. Talking about feelings like jealousy or embarrassment wasn’t in the cards. Katsuki wasn’t ready for that.

Izuku stepped closer. “I didn’t realize I was allowed to hug you.”

The way Izuku talked made Katsuki feel like a shitty tyrant. Making up some unpredictable rules, touching Izuku but not allowing it the other way around. Like a tyrant or… or just a shitty bully.

Although his guts were churning from the fear of getting rejected Katsuki closed the gap between them, pulling the confused looking nerd into his arms.

“Course you are.”

That statement surprised himself. What was even more surprising was that he discovered that he actually meant it.

The seconds went by and Katsuki had intended this to be short hug, like some of their classmates did for a greeting. But it somehow ended up to be a long, tight embrace and although he knew he was being childish Katsuki thought: Suck it, bird brain!

“I’m bad with words”, he mumbled after a while, “Sorry.”

Izuku shook his head lightly, his locks brushing against Katsuki’s cheek.

“I disagree”, Izuku said, “But even more important – does everybody need to be good with words?”

Katsuki made a surprised sound at that thought.

“Well, it sure makes shit easier”, he said.

Izuku thought about it for a while and finally said: “I think clarifying one’s needs and desires do. Make shit easier, that is.”

Katsuki chuckled at that.

“But being good with words, wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve – it’s like being good at sports rather than drawing or having a nice voice instead of being a passionate dancer. People just differ in that kind of things”, Katsuki could hear the smile in Izuku’s voice, “At least that’s what I think.”

Katsuki couldn’t respond to that.

He didn’t trust his voice.

He had never seen it that way. He had always feared he was missing something, lacking a fundamental skill. But Izuku didn’t. He thought of it as simply one of many characteristics.

And even if Katsuki knew that he needed to work on his communication nonetheless, he was kind of moved. Maybe – with that point of view – he wasn’t that far behind after all.

For the first time since their mission in Otheon Katsuki could feel himself fully relax.

He wasn’t sure how long they would have stayed like that, leaning against each other. But they jumped away from each other when a howling sound filled the dorm.

“The fire alarms!”, Izuku screamed over the siren, blocking his ears.

Katsuki starting cursing when he realized he had forgotten his food in the oven. It must have turned into ashes by now.

He just hoped his mother would never find out about it or she would never let go of the fact that he was taking after her.

[ao3feed-dadzawa]

The Limit Does Not Exist

The Limit Does Not Exist by Darkyrie

After he was safe he'd let that nerd ramble on as much as he wanted and finally see what that night was all about. How did Deku use his quirk and what did that man want with him? Katsuki needed to know and no one was giving him any fucking answers because he was child and no one cared about what happened to the kid who was still out there waiting for a hero! A hero that Katsuki promised himself to be as he laid on the cold floor in his mother's arms as he watched his auntie lose her life and that man drag Izuku away. As he watched that shitty nerd…bastard...maybe even his friend who had the audacity to smile at them before being taken away.

Words: 4080, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen, M/M, Other

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Sensei | All For One

Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead Adopts Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, Kidnapped Midoriya Izuku, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, Dead Midoriya Inko, Sensei | All For One's Bad Parenting, Possible Bakudeku, Canon Related, Tags Contain Spoilers, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Protective Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead | Dadzawa, Slow To Update, Shinsou Hitoshi Replaces Mineta Minoru, Shinsou Hitoshi is in Class 1-A, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46357351

[maple-the-awesome]

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 5

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 1,699

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

Series Masterlist 🤎 Marvel Masterlist 🤎 Fandom Masterlist

CHAPTER FIVE: FORGOTTEN PROMISE

"Miss Stark," you raise an acknowledging eyebrow to your maid who stands patiently in the doorway. She lowers her voice upon seeing you're still on the phone and sets a pair of keys on the counter," the car has been pulled upfront."

Mouthing a 'thank you' to her, you return your full attention back to your nephew's rambling on the other end. You had just been preparing to depart before receiving a call from Jarvis under the request of the youngest Stark. Moments later, the boy's delighted voice filled the line as he began gleefully telling you about his week and his excitement for this coming Wednesday.  

"Anthony..." his words halt when you breath his name with a chuckle," you know I'll be at the party in two days, right? Shouldn't you be saving some stuff to tell me for then?"

"I'll still have stuff to tell you then!" He promises and you don't doubt it. Your nephew always manages to talk your ear off, not that you could ever mind. God knows Howard never gives him the time of day," but two days is sooo far away. Why can't you just come over now? We could have a sleepover!"

"I really wish I could, lil’ wiz, but I'm backed up with work right now," you lie with a smirk. Little does Tony know, you've already made plans to arrive this evening and surprise him. You've even prepared his present which sits on the counter beside you, wrapped in deep red with a silver bow on top. You know it's something he'll light up upon seeing, after all, he's been talking about wanting one for months now and you doubt anyone else has paid enough attention to realize (well, other than Jarvis maybe).

Tony huffs and you're sure he's currently wearing a pout,"...are you at least going to show me how to finish the circuit board when you get here?"

"Of course, that way we can rub it in your dad's face that his son's already smarter than he is," you smile at Tony's laughter while glancing at the clock to check the time," alright, lil' wiz. I have to go now, but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Not soon enough..."

"Hey who knows? Maybe if you're lucky, these next two days will go by quickly, yeah?"

"Yeah," he repeats," I love you, Auntie Hollie."

"Love you too, Anthony. See you soon," you wait for him to end the call before hanging the phone back up and grabbing the keys your maid had set down earlier. 

She's standing at the front door by that time, politely helping you with your coat as you balance Tony's present in your arms. Wishing her a good evening after grabbing your purse, you finally make your way out to the black Cadillac parked in the driveway of the mansion. Setting the box in the passenger's seat, you twirl the keys around your finger while making your way to the driver's side which is when it happens.

You feel it before you actually hear the sound; a piercing pain that shoots through your shoulder and causes you to instantly fall to your knees with a shout of agony. You drop your purse and keys to clench the wound while turning your back against the car door for support. Sucking in a breath, you then reach towards the purse where you always keep your pistol per Peggy's advice, however, it's not like you ever had much of a chance with this situation. 

Even with the weapon in hand, you don't know where the shot had come from, your only hint being the flash of light reflecting on some shiny surface hidden within the tree line. By the time you move your arms to point the pistol that way, another shot rings out not of your own, making your world go dark...

You're sure you look crazy by the way you've been squeezing your eyes shut, trying to remember as much as you can about the incident, but alas, you can only recall the vague details.

You had always figured such details to be ultimately unimportant, especially the flash which could've been explained as the sun hitting a gun's barrel at a certain angle. Hollie was rich and famous (one could argue for the wrong reasons), thus you've never ruled out the possibility of it being an assassination. Even so, you figured it to be some poor yet simple soul with differing political views than yourself. Never once did you consider it to be a hit from an old enemy.

That day you were killed by HYDRA- no, not just HYDRA. You were likely killed by the Winter Soldier, you're sure of it. Steve and Natasha said the Winter Soldier killed Fury, and Zola implied he’s used to change history. If Hollie posed a risk of discovering HYDRA within SHIELD, it's reasonable that they'd send their best weapon after her. First it was her, then Howard, now Fury...all this time, it's always been them-

"-Hey..." You flinch away from the touch on your shoulder, whipping around with wild eyes that only meet Steve's concerned ones. 

Knowing that look on his face, you shamefully lower your head while sneaking a glance of the room. Natasha's not here anymore, however, you hear the sink running in the bathroom which means she must be cleaning up.

You haven't spoken much since Zola and having been almost blown up, but then again, you had been unconscious for part of that time. Steve was the one who carried you and Natasha away from the rubble, waiting for you to awake before leading you both somewhere he claimed to be a safehouse of sorts. Said safehouse turned out to be the home of a fellow soldier he had met during a jog a few days back; a kind man named Sam Wilson who didn't hesitate to open his door to three dirty fugitives. 

"You doing alright?" Steve takes a seat on the bed next to you, his weight dipping the mattress as he holds a damp towel out.

You should've expected his question. Since arriving, it must've been clear to him that you haven't been yourself. While he's gotten Natasha to voice her own inner demons, you've remained with your back towards them in solemn silence; something completely contrast to your typical personality where you'd normally be poking jokes to make everyone else feel better. If Steve were to be honest, it's a little unnerving seeing such a sudden difference.

"Yeah...Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's just...It's crazy to think HYDRA managed to go under our noses like this, ya' know?" You gently take the towel, using it to wipe some of the dirt which coats your face," it really makes you rethink a lot of stuff. I mean, who knows how much control they've had and for how long. Going by what Zola said, every thought SHIELD has ever had must've been placed there by HYDRA or at the very least approved by them which means this entire time we've been helping the enemy get to the place they are now. If we went off track and they didn't approve of something, they made changes to erase the negative, just like what they did to...Like what they did to Hollie..." 

You pray your voice doesn't crack at least to any notable extent. As extra precaution, you use the towel as an excuse to keep your gaze turned away from Steve in fear that meeting his eyes might make yours begin to water. 

Internally, you curse yourself for being so caught up on Hollie of all the revelations provided by Zola. What does it matter anyways? She died and now she's you. If anything, you should just be grateful for that. At least you get to find out the truth of your own death; a 'luxury' most may never be granted. Regardless, knowledge doesn't equal justice and perhaps that's what you're really caught up on.

You don't see Steve tense at your words, although, you do notice the quietness to his voice," exactly which is why we need to make sure they don't win."

Like Hell they will. HYDRA didn't just kill you. They twisted everything you and your friends worked hard for, defeating the entire purpose of said work while successfully using all of the good people within SHIELD as puppets. They used you, Natasha, and God knows who else...Now they're all cocky thinking they've got away with it, but you refuse to let them; not anymore. 

A part of you wonders if this might be why you've retained your past memories from Hollie. Maybe just maybe, whether it's some higher being or simple fate, some section of the universe wanted to give you another chance after HYDRA ruined your first go at life. That would be fair, wouldn't it? They took away the man you love, murdered you, then took over your organization, so letting you live again to go kick their asses if rightful revenge, isn't it?

"So what's your plan then, Rogers? Because at this point I'm fixing to knock the teeth out of the first Nazi I set eyes on," you give a hollow smile, but it's something which is enough for now. Steve shrugs his shoulders before swaying off the bed to his feet.

"As much as I'm wanting to do the same, I think Sam's made breakfast first. Then we can make a proper plan of attack."

This actually makes you smile more genuinely, recognizing the rumbling in your stomach," oh thank God! All this running for our lives has me starved!"

Steve chuckles, feeling better himself by seeing even the smallest crack of your usual personality. Together you make your way to the kitchen with a few jokes before tossed around, however, your mind still remains locked on your past even if you mask it with a smile. Even as the four of you enjoy a much needed breakfast or as you devise a plan with new help from Sam, if anyone were to pay enough attention to notice it, they'd see the poison of determination set within your eyes; the kind that turns dangerous when being paired with the stubbornness of a Stark. 

You're going to get your revenge one way or another and that’s a promise.

NEXT CHAPTER➡️

⬅️PREVIOUS CHAPTER

[goodbyenorthernlights]

for the choose violence askmeme: do these for slayers so that if i watch i can keep an eye out. 13. worst blorboficiation, 17. there should be more of this type of fic/art, and 10. worst part of fanon

worst part of fanon

There's a tendency to portray the mazoku lords as being like. One Big Quirky Happy Family, which I think is mostly just fans deliberately bein' goofs but does get portrayed seriously or semi-seriously enough for me to go "Hm."

Quick info dump explanation: There's the dark lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, the most powerful of mazoku, basically our equivalent of Satan and wants to destroy the world. He made five subordinates named (iirc) Chaos Dragon Gaav, Hellmaster Phibrizzo, Dynast Grausherra, Beastmaster Zelas Metallium, and Deep Sea Dolphin. Each of those five mazoku lords has made various subordinates of their own, referred to as the mazoku generals and mazoku priests. Xellos, general-priest of Zelas and her only subordinate, is also the only one who appears in the anime.

Anyway, there's a tendency to have it like "Shabranigdu is the grandpa, the five mazoku lords are his kids, and the generals and priests are the grandkids :)" with things like Xellos referring to the mazoku lords aside from Zelas as aunt or uncle. Again, this seems to be mostly a joke but you know how it is with fandom jokes that kind of start getting treated as actually how things are.

I don't particularly care for this because I straight up think it's OOC for them to relate to one another in a familial way or even have much affection for one another. The most I can see is the priests/generals having a sense of fealty towards and a desire to be valued by the specific lords that created them, as well as all mazoku-kind being like. Shabranigdu is the most powerful and the most important of us, his goal is our goal. But I don't see them hanging out or calling each other auntie or nephew or anything.

-I just wrote out this whole ramble and then I remembered that there's "Rezo is a sexual predator who probably molested his grandson" content out there. Actually that is the worst fanon. The Mazoku Bunch is fine, actually.

worst blorboficiation

tbh I'm not sure what blorboficiation means. The character the fandom most obsesses over??? Probably Xellos and/or Zelgadis, but I feel bad calling them the "worst" because I like them and think they're interesting. Good blorboficiation.

there should be more of this type of fic/art

[sweats desperately as i try to think of an answer that isn't the obvious]

Uhhhh I think I'd like to see more stuff of the various minor characters, from one-offs like Ashford and Miwan, to more secondary characters like Zangulus, Martina, or the Overworlders from TRY. Slayers in general I think does have an interesting world and I kind of wish it was explored more in fic, which tends to be very centered on shipping tbh and doesn't really prioritize other stuff.

-Related, this may be part of why I am not as bothered as other people by the main party becoming more supporting protagonist-ish in the later seasons.

[meadowlarkx]

'Are you quite certain' yes i am certain i want to know what this WIP is 👀

I have to disappoint you since it's for another fandom but since you gave me the excuse to ramble about it I very gladly shall! This is a fic for Potop/The Deluge (the 2nd book in Sienkiewicz's Trilogy, so Polish historical fiction!) and the basic premise of the fic is that the love interest/deuteragonist Oleńka swaps plots with her boyfriend/the protagonist Kmicic. So in this she's the one who betrays the all-important country (temporarily) as the figurehead and executioner for the Radziwiłł cause.

I'm willing to admit this is probably incredibly unlikely as an ostensibly 17th century premise, but I'm always obsessed with how this character is so incredibly self-possessed and such a leader in her own right. Major ideologue potential imo (in the original, she's the feminine voice of morality the whole way through, but in a really compelling & torn way). And I really do think that given her background she could be swayed by a version of Janusz Radziwiłł's speech to Kmicic. After all, she knows about real responsibility (unlike her boyfriend.) She values human life (...also unlike her boyfriend)

An adherent is of absolute necessity. Someone bold, brave, of noble reputation and untarnished name—someone ready for anything, with the pure and perfect faith that youth gives.  Someone who could be the apostle of a cause.

(...)

“’Die!’” Radziwiłł quotes. “How easy it is for those of us who can die. A soldier can die, Billewiczówna. But you and I are not soldiers, are we? We are leaders of the men and women who look to us for aid. To solve the problems they cannot.”

The girl is quiet. His words have struck a chord.

Janusz shakes his head sorrowfully. “What a weighty thing that is.” He paces circles around her, hands behind his back. “Can you imagine the destruction that invasion would wreak on our country, Billewiczówna? On all those people? If you think your lot is hard, my dear, imagine mine: I, who manage not a handful of villages, but the Duchy itself. Our Lithuania—long abused, and now destroyed. Can’t you picture the charred ruins of our homes and castles, the fleeing mobs trampled under the Swedes’ hooves? First the Swedish cannon, then the Russian sabre. It all goes up in smoke, and the survivors curse the life that remains to them, that they see themselves so debased.”

Oleńka’s Jędruś had burned Woltmontowicze. Ash had rained from the sky like snow.

so yeah a good part of this WIP is me enjoying repurposing canon quotes and scenarios:

“There’s nothing like a journey for griefs,” her aunt dares to put forward when she sees her niece’s drawn expression.

Oleńka bows her head and doesn’t respond.

Auntie, a little scared, perhaps, of this new Oleńka and her silence, waits a moment. “Put out the first campfire yourself. Or toss a red ribbon behind you as you go. The girls say it’s the best cure for thwarted love.”

One day I'll write some more of this one, I really wanna let this premise fly freely from the nest into the tiny world of Potop fic even if it's not all written out :D

Thank you for the ask! ❤️

[birklurks]

Hi there <3 I went looking to reread and found you had removed and deleted anything. As sad as that makes me because I love reading your work and you’re very talented, I wanted to offer to take down the recording I started of Neighborly? If ever you choose to share your work again please do let me know, it gave me incredible joy to read, but I know as an author (although I’m not much of one lol) it’s the sharing there that’s important. It’s *your* work, your effort, yours to share or not share. Anyway I loved reading when you wanted to share and am very much here for anything else you want to share in the future!! But yeah, let me know if you want me to take down that podfic and I’ll get that done for you. Sorry for the rambling and thanks for listening (and for your contributions to fandom!)

Hi there @jennity-blogs,

Hope you're having a great start to the weekend.

First: thank you for having the courage to send your message OFF anon, I really appreciate it and genuinely respect you all the more for it. No joke, I sincerely mean that. That's not me being snarky, or trying to give you some backhanded compliment. I really mean it, because 99.99999999% of people on tumblr are abysmally unprincipled cowards who are incapable of being accountable for the things they ask or say. So, much respect to you for sending your message as an identified user.

Second: I am not the author of Neighborly. The author used to be known as "auntie thelma".

Third: You seem to really adore this au (as I did). Just wondering: did you ever leave the author reviews/comments expressing your love and appreciation for her work when this story was still publicly available?

Fourth: "But yeah, let me know if you want me to take down that podfic and I’ll get that done for you."

I don't know what auntie thelma's feelings were on how her transformative work products were shared/used, so maybe the following doesn't matter - but methinks it might have made more sense to ask the author whether she was comfortable with you recording a pod fic of her story and publicly posting it before doing it... instead of offering to take it down after the fact. Just a little food for thought.

Have a great rest of the weekend,

Birk