#like— is he in jail now or did the heroes bully them into messing up the court case

[gg-ladybug]

I bet Parisian Police are FREAKING the FUCK OUT in universe

Roger, holding his notepad: …so he was murdered?

Bugnoire: …he sacrificed himself. You know. For Paris. Against Monarch. It was a valiant battle.

Roger: So he was murdered. Where’s his body?

Bugnoire: …gone?

Roger, waving towards Emilie: And his wife just…?

Bugnoire: …returned home. So Adrien wouldn’t be put in the system.

Roger: Ladybug, what the fuck, there were public enquiries—

Now the movie-verse is melting down too because

Roger: Ladybug, why did Gabriel Agreste give up? We need to know in case we pursue prosecution. It’ll decide how many years he gets.

Ladybug: The power of love <3

Roger: LADYBUG, HE STOPPED AFTER HUGGING CHAT NOIR

Ladybug: Yeah, bye now <3

[dreaming-of-lu]

Hello there! Can I get a compilation of Wild being💅 sassy💅to Legend and Legend responding with his own ✨Spicy remarks✨

Y'all can't sit there and tell me that they do not brotherly bully each other cause they do. They are the kings of sass. I did a tad bit of it, not much a compilation, but ya know, at least there's something adhfjasdf Word Count: 283

"Whaddya mean 'he's in jail'?!" Twilight blinked in disbelief as he stared down at what was supposed two people, but instead, it was only one, and that one was Wild. The champion sheepishly smiled under the firm gaze set on him, slowly shrinking in on himself when the ranch-hand's brow furrowed deep.

"We- uhm, didn't expect it to go south, to be honest," Wild scratches the back of his head with a shaky grin. Twilight throws his hands in the air, settling them back on his hips with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head.

"Ordona, give me patience," he muttered lowly.

"It could be…worse?" Wild offered meekly.

"IT SH-," A voice piped up from behind, cutting the older hero off,

"What is with all this yelling?"

"Not now, Legen-," Twilight halts in his words, blinking rapidly before reeling on his heel with a slack jaw. There stood the veteran, looking bored, unhurt, and in the flesh. He blinked in confusion at the confuddled stares that graced him; his brows creased when the shock silence dragged on. Their gaze made him shift on his feet, skin crawling the longer they stared at him, getting antsy even when none said a word.

"What?" He snapped.

"Yo-you're supposed to be in jail!" Wild points.

"Yeah, and you're supposed to be dumpster diving for ham scraps, you six-piece chicken mcnobody." Legend snips.

"Legend!"

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"Geeze, you looked like you personally fist-fought a Lynel," Wild eyed the mess that framed the veteran's head. "At least, I didn't roll out the bed looking like one, unlike you," he passed him and continued on his way to the bathroom downstairs in the inn. "Well, damn," Warriors whistled, "that was brutal."

[dgknightblue]

Note:

First off, I just want everyone to know the wolf ABO structure was a made up concept that spread before damage control could work affectively.

Secondly, Wolves actually work as an extended family with several generations making up the whole pack.

Thirdly, I don’t ship Deku with Angry Explosion; victim x BULLY THAT TOLD HIM TO KILLHIMSELF IS HORSE SHXT. But you can ship them all you want, I won’t give you grief over it.

Lastly, why do I have to play by everyone else’s ABO rules? I don’t. That’s why I have my own that makes humans stand differently from animals.

Under this line is a ZERO ship ABO Social Commentary BNHA fic idea. No smut. No ships. Just a regular, serious fic idea.

Brain came up with ABO social commentary BNHA fic. Not shipping or mindless smut but a play on how society is even more messed up due to ABO being a part of society. (I was coming out of sleep and I’m not even in the fandom only read a few rottmnt crossover fics and watch analysis videos)

(Wanted to write with the actual names but I can’t spell fxxxxxxxxck)

Deku is having an inner monologue about what’s happen so far (I don’t remember much) and how ABO isn’t a great thing and how hero - not even just hero society- but humanity is set back completely by it.

There is a visual for the audience with deku and kaa-Chan (?? Angry explosion guy??) in beds as a side by side. Deku starts out with out friends and gains them once he was declared Alph and he’s swarmed with people while Kaa -Chan starts out with a few but doesn’t have any until the last panel is a single child being petted on the head by kaa-Chan (likely a younger sibling).

Also to note is All Might was sent to jail or was seen captured and probably killed??? It looked like he was in some kind of suit with the helmet off as he smiled and made a speech (it’s a flashback as Deku is thinking).

Things don’t go 100% beat by beat in canon and are drastically changed. For one Deku is a full hero with a license and is working solo while everyone is in agencies that’s either first responders type or teams.

Hmmm the tags in my head showed no ship tags and this is a purely a story fic of a serious au. No missed characterization or bashing, just people acting like people in a messed up under the surface world of over powered individuals.

Deku… wants to get rid of the ABO gene. It’s hurt so many people in his life. Kaa-Chan was so angry and lonely that he just wanted an outlet. He had a good quirk but no one wanted to take him seriously anymore.

Because Deku had gained so many friends despite being Quirkless yet an Alph that none of them were genuine until JHA and he had All Might’s One for All.

…… note there was some bull of Kaa-Chan not participating in the past hero v villain arc because he wanted a pup with his “girlfriend” but that was a fxcking lie. He is on the villain side and didn’t want anyone to see him kill Sero (who got married and had a pup) to get an important item from him. Sero worked as a security at a highly guarded tech place.

Pup=baby

So Deku was shocked when he encountered him near an abandoned tunnel. He escaped.

Toga had already died as a sad teenager but it was a direct action by (gravity girl) and it fxcked her up. She killed a girl her own age. A crying girl that screamed with so much pain in her heart. They were both betas but one was seen as a monster and the other didn’t understand until after she was gone and she became the “monster”.

Whose died in the past arcs until now:

Grape boy

Laser boy

Midnight lady

Jet legs

Alien girl

Tail boy

Idk but this has affected everyone and changed them and how they see things. They all now see there is a problem. These quirks divide people and ABO dehumanizes them.

There was another thing to factor in. All Mutant type quirked individuals did not have the ABO genes.

This is kept quiet and they are told they are betas with weaker scent glands.

But also…. The heat cycle is not some all encompassing thing, it’s just a longer period with less blood more hormones that affect your mood swings. You’re angrier and more territorial that can drop into a deep depressive state if it’s really bad.

They are humans not animals. We are working with human bodies. Biology of the human shows how we reproduce.

That doesn’t change. Regular human reproduction including the alternatives if someone is infertile.

With how humans are, it’s up to the person if they want to say Heat or Rut, but there is a difference.

Ruts are bouts of hormonal imbalances that can be curbed with medication.

Heats are basically longer periods that last the entire week instead just a few days within the week. It can be debilitating.

Some fics have this Omega obey command thing but no thank you. That goes against the human will and dehumanizes them more. It’s now a fxcking lie in universe to justify mistreatment that was disproven long ago but people love having an excuse to blame their actions.

Humans have sentience. Free will to make decisions for our selves. We have social structures but we aren’t stuck in hierarchies. We have the ability to rebel against mistreatment. All lively beings can act for their own survival and the survival of others.

Is a cat going to let you kick it without fighting back? No. You will bleed if it’s the last thing the cat will do.

Crows are smart enough to REMEMBER grievances and will act accordingly.

Tigers and Elephants with kill you if you wrong them.

Monkeys are vicious in prolonging suffering as a retaliation.

Humans can stab each other out of revenge.

Anyways the fics progresses from senior year of middle school to JHA to Adult hood.

[sturchling]

Liars in Crime

So, this is based of a prompt from @chocolate1721

One day, Marinette is on a video call with Damian when she leaves to help with the bakery. He soon gets another call from Marinette, but instead he sees two girls destroying Marinette’s work. What will happen next?

Hope you guys like it!

Marinette didn’t know it yet, but this would be the day that the Lila problem was solved. And it would be all thanks to her friend Damian. Marinette and Damian were on FaceTime that afternoon. Marinette and Damian had been pen pals for a while by this time. They were originally paired up for a class project, but they had actually become very close friends. They eventually switched to email, which then became texting, and now they FaceTime almost every day. Sometimes, they don’t even talk while on FaceTime and instead work on individual projects and just enjoy the other’s company. This particular day, Damian was working on some homework, while Marinette worked on some new commissions. Jagged and Penny had asked for Marinette to make their outfits for the Wayne Gala that was in a few weeks. Damian and his family had also commissioned some new suits from the young designer, which she had completed and sent to them the day before. Marinette had just finished Jagged’s suit and just had to finish Penny’s dress.

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While the two worked, they chatted about their days. Well, Marinette was venting more than chatting. She had been dealing with the Lila Variety Show all day, and it had been a particularly rough day. Apparently, Lila had told Alya that Marinette had spent the night sending her nasty messages. This caused the whole class to glare at Marinette all day and call her a bunch of horrible names. A few had even tripped Marinette as she left the class that afternoon. The only ones who hadn’t been attacking her were Alix and Nathaniel. Adrien hadn’t attacked her, but he certainly didn’t have her back like he claimed to when this whole Lila mess started. Most days now, Damien heard all about Lila’s daily lying. He had grown to hate this girl without ever meeting her. The entire Wayne family hated this girl after hearing what she had been doing to Mari. They all wished there was something they could do, but Marinette refused their offer of legal assistance and it is not like Batman could deal with such a small problem that wasn’t even happening in Gotham. There was one good thing that came of all this, Batman had finally heard about what had been happening in Paris. He wasn’t sure how he hadn’t heard of Hawkmoth before this, but now he was working with the local heroes remotely, so as not to risk being akumatized himself. Somehow, during all this time, neither Marinette or Bruce had figured out the other’s identity.

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After they had been on FaceTime for about an hour, Marinette was called downstairs by Sabine. They needed help with a particularly busy rush. So, Marinette ended the call, saying that she would call back later. Little did the pair of friends knew, but trouble was brewing across the street, at the school. Alya and Lila were talking in the classroom. Lila was upset because Marinette had continued to send her mean texts, and had even started sending threatening texts. Alya was furious. How dare Marinette threaten her best friend!? Alya knew the young designer had changed a lot, but she never thought Marinette would sink so low. Alya wanted to teach Marinette a lesson. But Lila was too sweet. “No, Alya. I don’t want to hurt Marinette. Its fine, they are just words.” Alya didn’t understand how Lila could be so forgiving. “It is not fine Lila. She had been threatening you and needs to be stopped. What if we don’t hurt her, but just mess with her current designs a bit. She has been more obsessive about them than usual lately, so messing with them should teach her a lesson.” Lila hid her face so Alya wouldn’t see her smirking. “If you think that would work Alya. But won’t Marinette be upset?” Alya loved how thoughtful her friend was. “It may upset her, but she deserves it. She has been upsetting you.” With that, the two girls walked over to the bakery. They snuck in through the door to the apartment, right behind the Dupain-Cheng family who were all in the bakery. The girls entered Marinette’s room and began destroying everything they could find. But Lila made a major mistake. When she grabbed a sketchbook from Marinette’s desk, she knocked the mouse and accidently clicked on the call button on FaceTime. That one mistake put Lila’s downfall in motion.

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Damian continued with his homework, not expecting to hear back from Marinette for some time. But about 15 minutes later, Damian got a notification that Marinette was trying to call him. He just assumed that she had finished in the bakery quicker than expected. He accepted the call, but instead of his friend, he saw two girls destroying everything in the room. He quickly started screen recording, so he had evidence of what the two girls were doing. He didn’t know how these two were so dull, that they hadn’t noticed him on the screen. Damian recognized these two girls from Marinette’s descriptions of her class. This must be Alya and Lila, the liar making his friend miserable. Damian texted Marinette about the two girls in her room and how they were destroying her designs. The two had already ripped up the pages from Marinette’s sketchbook, and were now Lila trying to destroy the dress Marinette was working on for Penny while Alya cut up the suit meant for Jagged. Damian was furious and decided to try and get the girl’s attention before they did too much damage to the clothes. Damian cleared his throat and watched as the two girls froze.

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Alya and Lila had been cutting up the two outfits on the mannequins when they heard someone clear their throat. Both girls froze, wondering who could be in there. They had seen Marinette and her parents in the bakery. There shouldn’t be anyone else. They wildly looked all over the room trying to see the source of the noise. They almost thought they had imagined the noise when they heard “I’m on the computer you incompetent cretins!” Damian couldn’t believe how pathetically dull these two were. Alya and Lila whipped around to stare at the screen, and they saw a boy about their age with black hair and green eyes just glaring at them. Lila was terrified. If he said anything, everything Lila had built would be destroyed. They could go to jail, and Lila couldn’t become famous from jail. So, Lila put on her best pouty face while also trying to look flirty, and she sauntered up to the computer. “Oh, hello there. We are friends of Marinette’s from class. She told us we could borrow her notes from class, but she forgot to give them to us. She told us to come up and-” Before the liar could finish her newest tall tale, the door to the room burst open. Standing at the trap door was Marinette and Sabine, and they were furious! Marinette stared at Alya, who was holding a pair of scissors in one hand and the suit for Jagged in the other. “WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Marinette rushed to Alya and grabbed the suit from Alya. Thankfully, she hadn’t managed to do much damage to the suit yet, but Penny’s dress was a different story. The dress was nothing more than scraps now. Marinette saw red and began yelling at Alya, who started yelling right back.

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In all the chaos, Lila tried to slip out the door, but the way was blocked by Sabine. “Oh no you don’t young lady. You two are staying right here until the police arrive.” Lila was terrified, she wanted to get out, but Sabine was standing on the only door out of the room. Alya at this point, was concerned. Her parents would kill her if the police were called. Alya tried reasoning with Sabine, “Wait Mrs. Cheng! We only did this because Marinette has been bullying and threatening Lila-” Sabine only got more angry replying, “Be quiet young lady! Even if that were true, that is no reason to break in and destroy my daughter’s property. You two have committed some serious crimes today! Did you two know breaking and entering is a felony? You are in major trouble!” Alya and Lila kept trying to appeal to Sabine, but nothing worked to convince her not to call the police.

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While, Sabine called the police to report the break in, Damian watched in silence. He was furious. How dare these two break in and mess with Marinette’s hard work. After a few minutes of Sabine and Marinette yelling, the rest of Damian’s family filtered into the room having heard the commotion. At first, they thought something was wrong with Damian, but then they saw what was happening on the screen. A short explanation from Damian, and the rest of the Wayne family was just as furious as Damian. Bruce was almost shaking with rage. Jason was muttering about going to Paris and teaching these two a lesson. Even Alfred wasn’t calm anymore, he was glaring at the screen and roughly twisting the feather duster in his hands. The Wayne family watched as Marinette and her mom kept the two vandals in the room until the authorities arrived. The police arrived shortly after and took the two girls to the patrol car, so they could be taken to the station. The officers then returned to the bedroom and began gathering evidence. They took pictures of the damage and then took a statement from Damian. After Damian gave his statement, he sent the police the video he had recorded of the two girls destroying the clothes and designs.

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While the police gathered evidence, Alya and Lila waited in the car. Lila was furious. How did things go so wrong? She was supposed to be laughing with Alya about the revenge against Marinette. She wasn’t supposed to be in handcuffs in the back of a police car. Alya turned to her and said, “Don’t worry Lila, once we explain everything, they will let us go.” Lila could not believe how dumb this girl was. Even if she had been telling the truth, that wouldn’t get them out of a felony charge. “Alya, even if the police believe us about Marinette, we would still be in a lot of trouble. Our best bet is to lie. Stick to the story I was telling Damian, we just went up to get notes. The stuff was already destroyed when we got there.” Alya wasn’t sure about that. Lying didn’t sit well with her. “But what about Mrs. Cheng? We already told her the real reason.” Lila was quick to respond, “Well, it will be our word against hers. We will just hope the police believe us.” Alya was still worried, but agreed to Lila’s plan. They worked out the exact details for their story, and by the time the police came back, they felt confident they would get away with it.

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When they arrived to the station, the two girls were placed in separate interview rooms, to wait until their parents arrived. Once their families arrived, the police informed them of the serious charges placed against them, and that the Dupain-Cheng family was pressing charges. The two families were horrified! Their daughters had committed two crimes in one day, including a felony. They were looking at some serious trouble, they could even end up in a juvenile detention center. That was even more likely, since they had also committed destruction of property while they were there and had damaged Marinette’s custom designs, which were worth a fair bit of money. Mrs. Rossi knew that her daughter could be looking at up to 3 years in a detention center. She was shocked her daughter would do something like this. The officers asked for permission to speak with their daughters and the families agreed, so long as they could watch from the other side of the glass. The police agreed to the request, and the interview began.

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Both girls stuck to the story they agreed on. Now matter how many times the police asked, the girls continued to say they had been invited in and were only there to get notes, and they had no idea how the clothes had been damaged.  The officers interviewing the girls were shocked at the ease with which the girls lied. The officers realized they needed to stop, and try something else. They left the room and the families started asking if they were cleared. “They said they were only there for the notes.” “They wouldn’t have done this.” “They wouldn’t lie to the police.” The police realized they needed to show the parents the video, so they pulled out a tablet and played the video for the family. As the video went on, the families grew paler as they watched Alya and Lila destroy the sketchbook and outfits. At the moment, Lila and Alya were back in the little holding cell, sitting on the bench. They were just chatting and laughing. The two families couldn’t believe how relaxed the two were. They weren’t guilty at all! Nora became enraged. How could these two be so calm?! Didn’t they realize how much trouble they were in?! Nora grabbed the tablet and stormed over to the two girls. Nora pressed play and watched as Alya and Lila grew pale as the video went on.

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Lila didn’t think there was any video of what they had done. How was she to know they had been recorded? Then, she realized by the camera angle, this was recorded from the computer. That brat on FaceTime must have recorded everything. The video clearly showed her and Alya ripping up the sketchbook pages and cutting up the two outfits. Lila and Alya began to realize they were in major trouble. Their story they told the police was obviously false and there was video to prove they were guilty. Alya started freaking out and yelling, “Wait! The only reason we did that was because of Marinette. She has been bullying and threatening Lila for days now! We just wanted to teach her a little lesson, its not like we hurt anyone!” Alya’s family stared at her in disbelief. How could she believe that Marinette would do that? Lila knew that it was a long shot, but it was her only chance. So, she turned on the water works and spun her story about how Marinette was threatening her by text for days. One of the officers walked up and said, “OK, then we need to see your phone.” Lila stilled at that and replied, “What?! Why?” The officer looked at her dubiously, like he already knew she was lying, “Because, if what your saying is true, then it may help your case. But you need proof. Luckily, texts stay on the phone and we can track the number.” Lila hadn’t thought about that. The class never asked for proof, so she hadn’t bothered to fake any. Alya turned to her and said, “Go on girl, show them the texts.” Lila didn’t know what to do. She handed her phone to the officer, hopping he would go to the other room to look at it, but he stayed right there and looked through all her messages. Eventually, after a tense minute, he looked up and said, “There are no texts threatening texts here at all. Alya turned and stared at Lila. That couldn’t be right, that would mean that Lila had lied to her. Lila wouldn’t do that. They were friends, right?

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Eventually, the truth came out. Everyone found out that Lila had been lying the whole time and had tricked the whole class. Just because she had been tricked, did not get Alya completely out of trouble. It did help her case however. The judge let Alya off with 100 hours community service and telling her she had to pay restitution to Marinette for the damaged clothes and book. Alya wasn’t necessarily happy, but she was grateful not to be going to juvie. Lila was not so lucky. After it was revealed that she was the mastermind behind everything, and how she had harassed Marinette, she was sentenced to 12 months in a juvenile detention center 10 miles outside of Paris, to hopefully avoid her being akumatized. Lila would also be on probation when she was released. After everything that had happened, Marinette decided to switch schools to a nearby art school. She did end up repairing the outfits for Jagged and Penny in time for the gala. She was very thankful that Damian had been there that day, and had recorded everything. He had solved the liar problem for her, from all the way in Gotham. Time went by, and Marinette got over the events that had happened in Mrs. Bustier’s class. Marinette was excited for what the future would bring, now that the liar was gone from her life.

[stinkysidebitch]

Saving Shinso

You save Shinso from being subtly bullied imagine!

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  You sat in the back of the classroom while students slowly started to file in. It was first period, and as usual you got there before anyone else. Coming to class early meant you had plenty of time to read whatever you decided to bring with you uninterrupted. A particular student that tended to come in early caught your attention from your first day at U.A.

 Your interactions with Hitoshi Shinso were limited, but the few you had were short and polite. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was a loner for the most part but the people who did talk to him often honed in on his quirk, criticizing it.

 It clearly made him uncomfortable, but you figured he didn’t want to be too firm with anyone because he was worried about confirming their suspicions. It was so confusing though, who even said such degrading things to another person like it wasn’t meant to hurt their feelings. Of course your thoughts were interrupted by exactly that happening.

 Poor Shinso sat at his desk while a few boys surrounded him, interrupting both of your peaceful mornings. As the conversation slowly started to sour you couldn’t help but look up from your book and observe... and there it was. The famous “I’m very uncomfortable right now” neck rub.

“The sports festival thing was impressive, but think of what could happen if you went dark on us, Shin. We’d be in real trouble.”

The other boy suddenly decided it was time to grill him even further.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t seem to have limits either, right? You can control as many people as you want to. Can’t that power screw with someone’s head?”

You cleared your throat rather loudly, garnering their attention rather briefly as you felt eyes on you. It was super awkward but you willed yourself to stare them down. They got back to talking shortly after. At first they kept conversation light but as soon as you were sucked into your book a particular statement caught your attention.

“That poor kid had to break his finger to get out of your control. Did you ever apologize for that? It just doesn’t seem very heroic.”

They were going after the guy’s ambitions now, and you had enough. This happened at least once a week, and they did it in the mornings when they knew he’d be alone. It made you furious.

“Hey!” You slapped your book down on your desk to further get their attention, rising and walking around. You knew this confrontation would take awhile, but you didn’t want to look small either, so you sat on your desk, keeping your eyes level with them and sitting straight.

“You know what’s really not very heroic?”

They blinked, one trying not to laugh while you glared at them. In truth confrontation freaked you out, but you were at U.A.-the school of heroes- and they were acting like this! It was disgusting.

“Picking on someone about their quirk. Not cool. It has nothing to do with whether you’re a hero or villain. That’s up to you and how you use your ability-”

“You should stay out of things that have nothing to do with you, we’re friends with him.”

You snorted and an irritated expression crossed the bullies faces

Shinso watched silently, eyeing you with an unreadable expression.

“It sure doesn’t sound like it. If he were a villain he wouldn’t be at U.A. and he wouldn’t want to be a hero either, right?” It would feel wrong to keep talking about Hitoshi like he wasn’t here, so you glanced at him for confirmation and to your surprise he nodded.

The pair saw this and gave him a glare, very clearly embarrassed.

“Whatever, you’re so uptight.” They scoffed and waved you off, heading to their respective desks.

Shinso waited until they were engrossed in their phones and you sat back down to give you a small, but very genuine smile in appreciation. You returned it and waited for the bell while he turned forward and got back to doing whatever he had been before the harassment.

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 It had been a few days since the incident, and you hadn’t seen the boys messing with Shinso anymore. As you walked down the hallway to second period your were surprised by a presence beside you that you hadn’t noticed. Of course you had your earbuds in, so you pulled one out only to notice that it was Shinso walking beside you, his hands shoved into his pockets. The two of you shared a second and fourth period aswell, so seeing him going this way shouldn’t have been so surprising.

“Oh, hey!” You tried to sound as friendly as you could, he certainly needed some kindness.

He turned his face towards you, looking directly at you. There was an intensity to his tired stare that made you feel like time slowed down. It was like some stupid coming-of-age movie or something.

“Hey. Thank you for before. I didn’t meant to drag that in there while you were trying to read.” He lifted a hand to his neck and rubbed it, glancing up and angling his head to the side as he spoke.

“Pfft, don’t worry about it. I’ve wanted to give those two a piece of my mind for awhile now.”

That seemed to peak his interest as he lazily smirked at your words when you weren’t looking.

“They aren’t just making themselves look bad, but this is supposed to be a school for heroes, not bullies.”

“Wow, so you really don’t like them, huh?” You could’ve sworn he let out a very brief chuckle.

“No. Not at all. And I think your quirk is actually really impressive.”

Again, you caught his interest as he turned to look at you, waiting for what you would say next as he easily weaved through the crowd of students passing by.

“One verbal response, and a villain is going to walk right into a jail cell for you. Hell, they could even help you rescue civilians using their quirk with your control if need be. You could literally make them undo their own damage if you wanted to.”

You caught him staring and he quickly snapped his head back down to his shoes as the two of you walked. 

The subtle brush of your shoulders that he initiated as a sort of show of appreciation didn’t go unnoticed as the two of you continued to walk side by side. The tips of his ears looked a little warm and it became clear that he didn’t get a lot of comments like that.

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And that was how you got to know Shinso and saved him from a bunch of jerks :)

[yamithediaperdork]

Crime and punishment (MHA)

Crime and Punishment

Out of all the duties that Katsuki thought was a waste of time for hero's in training and legends of awesomeness like himself, Touring experimental new prisons had to be up there near the top. Normally he'd be able to bully someone else in the class into taking the job off his hands but today no such luck as the teachers had taken notice and were watching him like a god damn hawk. Adding to his bucket of annoyance was who he was partnered up with for this little tour, Izuku Midoriya himself..or as Katsuki preferred to call the green haired cry baby: Deku. (though it did spoil some of his fun his cruel nickname for the weakling had been taken by the crybaby as his hero name. still...) Adding to the total bullshit that this assignment was, not only were they suppose to take notes and report back with their suggestions so the full trained heroes could make a judgment call (which rendered the whole fucking thing moot if you asked Katsuki his humble opinion) But they had to do it in costume. Being of the mindset he put on his uniform to fight and blow things up, not do paperwork, this just served to piss the already poorly tempered hero in training off even more. they were currently in the office of the warden for this new experiential jail and he'd gone off into his own little world while the balding man with the big nose rambled on and on. He knew Deku would be a good little suck up and soak in every word and he'd just copy the nerd's report when this was all done anyways. He only tuned back in when Deku nudged him with his elbow and Katsuki realized they had been talking to him and he'd just been staring off into space. "what?" He asked. "..As I was telling your collage here, we need you to both sign some waivers given the technology that will be on display here, as well as a wavier not to tell anyone other then the hero's your reporting too about what you saw here today." the warden said, frowning. "Yeah yeah, whatever. just give me the stupid paper work and lets get this over with." Katsuki said. "Ah, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite...I think you should read the paper work and make sure you know what your signing first. Since you kinda..zoned out there." Deku said. "whatever nerd." Katsuki said, though GOD he loved his hero name and leaned in as if he was going to humor the nerd..then just signed the paper work. The warden rolled his eyes but took out two badges that the heroes could wear around their necks and handed them over. "..what, you think SOMEHOW your guards are gonna mistake us for some of your inmates?" Katsuki asked and Deku face palmed. "I really wish you'd just pay attention.." the crybaby whined softly. "what?!" Katsuki huffed. "Maybe if you didn't have the attention span of a toddler Mr..and I can't believe I'm even going to say this.. 'Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite', You'd of heard how much of our system is automated and that badge will keep you from being seen as a prisoner by the computers." the Warden said dryly. "..Who you calling a tod-" Katsuki started, but Deku stepped in and broke it up.

Huffing and pouty, Katsuki trailed behind the warden and Deku as they talked on and on and pictured how easy it would be to just toss a little blast at their feet, for a jump scare. 'heh, better now. Deku will just wet himself and bawl like a baby, again. They should just get a pacifier for him to suck on like the big baby he is.' Katsuki mused, mentally picturing Deku in just a oversized diaper and in a playpen, oversized paci in his mouth and bawling. So vivid was the mental image for a second Katsuki thought he must of been imposing it as he looked into one of the cells. Because there on the floor, hugging a teddy bear was a bald tanned skinned man, maybe in his 30, and he was dressed like a fucking toddler. like, as in paw patrol socks on, and he was wearing a freaking diaper shirt with a dino print on it and uh, yeah.. Mother fucking diapers that showed due to their thickness! the guy didn't even seem to notice him, he was busy sucking on a paci and watching a tv in the room. "what the fuckkkkk?" Katsuki laughed out loud. "..and I see the toddler is back with us." the warden said. "I'ma let that slide because what the fuck? why's that guy in huggies?" Katsuki asked, jerks a thumb at the window and snickering. "We uh..we went over this in the office Great Explosion Murder Death God..This prison is utilizing a new form of regressive therapy.." Deku said, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, the fuck did this guy do to end up being put back in pampers?" Katsuki asked. "must of been a real terror in actual prison for them to make him partake in this!" "-sigh- for the benefit of toddlers who don't listen.." The warden said, coming over and taping a few button on the control panel by the prisoners door, and the wall became transparent for them to get a better view. "Call me a toddler one more time, I fucking dare you." Katsuki grumbled. "ANYWAYS! Every one of the inmates in this prison is a volunteer who is getting 10 years shaved off of their sentences to try this. If the program is approved and if they wish to keep being part of it, further time will be shaved off." The warden said. "Each cell  is equipped to look after and care for the inmates as if they were little boys or girls since it's a unisex prison, or if they just happen to be transgender. it's not OUR place to judge them." As the warden spoke, the prisoner who apparently didn't know he was being watched, suddenly got up on his knees and hugged a stuffie close to his chest as he started to make scrunchie faces. "..Is he.." Deku asked, turning and looking away to give the guy privacy. "Oh yeah, he's totally baking brownies." Katsuki snorted. As Katsuki and the warden watched, the back of the inmates diaper shirt and well, of course, diapers puffed out and expanded, to the point the crotch snaps burst open. "Sheesh, fucker must of been holding it in for ages." Katsuki observed. "actually it's part of the diet their on, we feel frequent and massive movements help with breaking down their ego's and let's them accelerate the reforming processes." The warden said proudly. "Righttt..ok fess up. you just like making tough guys shit they're brains out right?" Katsuki asked and chuckled. "..Your a very unpleasant person. I'm going to make a request you NOT be sent for the follow up review." "Oh nooo, I don't have to come here and listen to you drone on and on and watch adults crap themselves. I'm soooo heart broken about that." Katsuki said and rolled his eyes. walking away from the scene and leaving Deku trying to look over and make sure it was ok, Katsuki fiddled with his badge as he walked away from them and missed the sight of the metal arms coming out of the walls and attending to the stinky inmate, though Deku did take a interest in this part can came over to watch. "He doesn't um..seem that upset." Deku said. "oh this isn't his first dirty diaper, and there are speakers in there with a calming female voice praising him for making such a big present and telling him what a good boy he is. again, it could of been a male or female voice, we go with what works best for the inmate." Indeed, one of the metal arms with white gloved hands was coming down now and gently patted the inmates squishy bottom as his head, making the man blush but give a big toothy smile. "you wouldn't know it to look at him now, but he was a several bank robber and known for his brutal tactics. I figure with this treatment he'll be reformed in maybe 4 years..5 tops." The warden said with pride in his voice. "wow..I thought he looked familiar..Hey Ka- Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite, you gotta come and see-" Deku turned to call Katsuki over and the machines started to lift the inmate to a changing table, but the Blond was gone. "What a shock. the toddler wandered off." The warden said, and punched in a command on the control panel again, making the wall go back to normal. "we'd better go and find him.." Deku nodded and they headed up the hall towards where the the hall split into two paths, and it was there Deku looked down and found Katsuki's ID badge. "uhhh warden? what are the chances he'll be snagged without this on?" Deku asked, holding it up. "Between his attuide and wandering off into areas without at least someone else wearing a badge? 93 percent." The warden said, clearly amused. "...Weeeee better hurry...if they try and diaper him he's libel to blown this whole place up. "

Katsuki had at some point stopped playing with his badge and was just busy looking in at the different inmates, trying to see if he knew any of them from news reports and the like on tv. He made a point of knocking on the windows and getting the big babies attention and smirked as they would blush and hide (well some of them, others would just give a sheepish wave and others outright ignored him) Sadly there didn't seem to be any super villains locked up, though then again what villain would of volunteered for something like this? He was making his way to the next cell when suddenly a green light scanned over him, hurting his eyes for a second. "Ow! the fuck!?" he growled, rubbing at them. "Warning: inmate in hallway and not in proper attire. deploying prisoner recapture protocols." A robotic voice called out in the hallway, then was replaced with a sugary sweet male who started to scold him. "Now now, what are you doing out of your cell, and without your cute widdle outfit on little man? you don't wanna make a mess everywhere do you?" as it spoke, multiple holes in the walls opened up and more of the metal arms with the white gloved hands came out of them. "Uh..Hold up, I'm a superhero visiting. I've got a badge and-" Katsuki said, gulping a little and taking a step back, reaching for the badge and finding it gone. "...Well shit on a stick. guess we're doing this the hard way." Having only expected to be doing a little walk around, he hadn't stored any of his explosive sweat for use, though with a fair idea of what these things wanted to do with him, he was flop sweating enough to make up for it. "Such foul language! somebodies in for a mouth washing if he doesn't start behaving! you're already getting a spanking and corner time mister." the Voice announced. "Counter offer: fuck you." Katsuki said and went to work, blowing up two of the arms right off the bat and chagrining in, there was NO way he was gonna lose to a bunch of shitty robot arms! Or that was the going theory till as he got close one of the hands opened up and sprayed a green mist in his face. coughing and then seeing double, Katsuki pouted and got out a final statement before collapsing to the floor. "Knock out gas? No fairrrr!"

He woke up shortly after, and found himself in one of the nursery cells and almost totally naked.  the almost part came from the thick mitten that had been put on both of his hands rendering his powers useless and the booties on his feet. "Nggggh.. damn cheating bas-" "Foul language detected! Bad boy! somebodies getting a mouth washing!" came the male voice over the intercom and before Katsuki could even try and fight back he found himself forced to sit up on the changing change and his arms pinned at his sides by two of the arms.A third one came out of the wall wielding a wet and sudsy bar of soap and Katsuki glared. "Go fuck yourself if you thin-" he started to rant, not quite figuring out that he should of kept his mouth shut and as such the bar was forced into his mouth and he couldn't spit it out, eyes shutting tight and soapy drool trails leaking down his chin. "Maybe five minutes as a soap sucker will help you stop swearing Little guy..but daddy isn't going to hold his breath." the voice said. 'oh good, not only is it a crazy fucking AI that wants to make me a diaper baby..but one with a sense of humor.' Katsuki thought dryly.

Five minutes later and the bar was carefully removed but held close, clearly the machine was waiting to see if he'd learned his lesson. Katsuki for his part was PISSED and wiped at his touage with his mitten hands, trying to get rid of the icky taste. 'Ok Katsuki..you've seen what being a brat got you..let's tone down the attuide and try logic...' He thought, eyeing the walls warily. He hadn't been diapered YET but it was clear that was where he was heading if he didn't figure something out. "uh..What do I call you?" Katsuki said. "Daddy of course little man,m or would you prefer a mommy?" the voice said cheerfully. 'I'd prefer someone dumped a bucket of water on your CPU' Katsuki thought but with GREAT effort kept the comment to himself. "C-Can we talk logically for a second and hold off the diapers? ..Please?" Katsuki said, giving a smile to show he was trying to be good but said smile would of terrified young kids. "..heh I'll hear you out." "Ok so..Were you programed to accept any new inmates at all today? do you have a profile on me that tells you what crimes I supposedly did?" "Scanning..Nope." Daddy said. "Alright..then if I'm not in the system, then I must be telling the truth when I tell you I'm not a inmate right?" Katsuki said and smiled for real. "Hmmm.. well the programmers have been known to be lax when it comes to updates..and you've already earned a 2 month prison term regardless." Daddy said. "What!? what for!?!" Katsuki demanded. the tv clicked to life and footage of Katsuki destroying two of the arms was played. "Destruction of government property." "..ARE YOU SHITTING ME!? YOU STARTED THAT FIGHT!" "Hmmm mouth washing didn't work, let's try anther something else..." Daddy said and the arms moved in again and restrained Katsuki on his tummy and to his horror, a large enema bag was brought out and a rather large looking nozzle. "I bet your just so grumpy because your backed up little guy!" daddy said. "..I really..really..Hate these kind of missions..." Katsuki whimpered.

Deku and the warden did finally find Katsuki, but it was only after finding the scene of the fight, and the warden warning Deku that the machine was programed to automatically add a months sentence for every damaging attack on it. "I mean, I'm sure if we get the head programmer in here we can clear that up..but the machines AI automatically files the charges with the DA so we'll have to talk to them too." the warden explained. With that knowledge in mind Deku thought he'd been prepared to see Katsuki, having known by that point he'd likely been er well..dressed as a inmate. Getting to the cell the warden believed he was in, he punched in the code to make the wall transparent and well..they were greeted by the site of a enema nozzle JUST coming out of Katsuki's backside, and he was being rapidly taped up in a massive white diaper. the blond brat's tummy was bloated and Deku almost could swear he could hear it sloshing and a Pacifier gag had been strapped to his mouth. "He must of been using excessive swearing for it to paci gag him." the warden said, sounding amused. "Yeahhh I can see that.. Uh..Anyway you can try and get this to stop? Like.maybe it won't release him but is there a training potty or something at least?" Deku asked, rubbing the back of his head. truthfully while he wanted to bust a gut laughing he knew that wouldn't be fair to Katsuki, even if the brat had brought this on himself. "Nope. once one of the super poopers goes on, it doesn't come off till filled to the brim." The warden chuckled. "..Super poopers?" "the name of that massive diaper the toddler is wearing." "..you know your enjoying this a little too much." "Oh come on, and your not, even a little bit?" Before Deku could answer he's eyes were drawn to Katsuki as the blond hunched over and loudly whined though his gag, the warden had taken the extra step of making it so they could hear everything too. "Anddd I don't think he's gonna last long enough for a training potty to get in there anyways." taping on the control panel, Katsuki went from staring down at the floor, sweat dripping at his face to looking at them and his cheeks flushed red. he held up one mitten covered hand and waved it, trying to get them to look away but daddy spoke up. "oh look little guy! you have visitors! Hello warden, How are you today?" Daddy asked.

Katsuki whined and started to cry. between the cramps and the utter humiliation of being seen like this he lost any sense of bravo and turned away from the pair watching him, trying to find somewhere to hide before he well, disgraced himself. "I'm fine Daddy. You've made a mistake though daddy, This isn't a inmate of the prison." Katsuki whimpered, massive diaper butt wiggling as he tried to crawl under the crib in the nursery and hearing Deku snort and start to laugh before coughing. "Oh, I guess the little guy was right. It doesn't matter though, per regulation 3467 he's been sentenced to two months of baby rehabilitation warden. the DA has already approved and made it final." Daddy said. "Of course you can start a appeal but that will take 3-5 business days and my little guy here is about to make presents." "wait, how can it get approved if they don't even know who he is?" Deku asked. "I sent a picture of the big baby to be to the DA's office and they handled the rest." Daddy said cheerfully. "..Man I know he pissed off some of the DA last month when they tried to give him a lecture but.." Deku said and rubbed the back of his head. "oh so he's just a ray of sunshine for everyone huh?" any further conversation was drowned out as hearing how he might actually be stuck in baby land for two whole fucking months, Katsuki lost the battle of will's and the back of his massive diaper started to fill up. a little meter even appears as the mushy mess poured out of him, going from 'clean' to 'oppise poopise' in a matter of seconds and heading for 'whoa, stinky' at a alarming pace. "awwww see? I knew my little guy was backed up! Oh! Receiving data from the DA...Update file...There's my good little Katsuki! who's a good super pooper? and such a silly baby, trying to hide!" Daddy coo'ed and then two arms came out and dragged him out from his half way hidden spot under the crib. a rocking horse was moved over as Katsuki was picked up in the air and he shook his head no over and over, but was planted with a SQUISH anyways. "Ride'em cowboy!" Daddy encouraged and Katsuki lost it and was full on bawling, even as he was forced to rock back and forth.

One week later and Katsuki had semi gotten used to his new daily routine. it didn't mean he liked having to wear and use diapers or the stupid fucking baby food or formula..but after 3 days of being gagged except for when eating he'd learned to keep his opinions to himself. he was just a baby in daddy's eyes after all as he was reminded. He got used to the squishy warm wetness that came with a wet diaper though still bawled like..well a baby every time he pooped though he made a honest to god effort to load his diapers at least twice a day to avoid anther enema. Making things so much worse for poor Katsuki was the fact that somehow it'd gotten leaked where he was, though both the warden and Deku claimed it wasn't either of them, and as such other students from the school LOVED to come back and watch Katsuki in his baby punishment. Katsuki didn't even think they should of been able to get in but the bastard warden was handing out passes like candy on Halloween night. Still, Deku had promised he'd follow up on getting Katsuki's appeal put though and get him out, and he should be getting out either today or the next. Or so he thought till a sheepish and squirming Deku visited him. "Ummm.. Sooo I have some bad news." he said. "..Don't tell me they rejected the appeal!?!" Katsuki whimpered and whined. "Uh..yeah..see..It's a little bit worse then that. After reviewing the footage and all the facts..the judge decided that you not only deserve the two months in here..he..might a added 3 month on top." "WHAT!?! But..But..I..But.." Katsuki whimpered, plopping on his diapered behind and picking up a nearby stuffie, cuddling it. "T-That's..thats not fair!" "W-well he says as a hero in training..you need to be held to a higher standard..and thanked me for pushing so much on the appeal, he wouldn't of thought of it otherwise..soooo..uh..Sorry?" Deku squeaked out. "Your sorry? Your SORRY!? I'm the one who's gonna be crapping his pants for almost half a year and YOUR sorry!?!" Katsuki growled. "Little man.." Daddy warned. "uh..Katsuki..you might wan-" Deku started but Katsuki tossed the stuffie at the wall. "know what? FUCK IT! If I'm gonna be here and get a stupid diaper punishment I might as well fucking earn it. fuck YOU! fuck DADDY, and fu-" was as far as he got before the gag was popped back in. "I'm sorry Deku, somebody is cranky and need a little time out. please come back later." Daddy said. Not wanting to watch whatever punishment the blond was about to get, Deku nodded and walked away, wondering if he maybe should of mentioned that every time daddy was forced to punish Katsuki, the blond would get a week added. 'Nah..I'll just mention it to him tomorrow when I visit.'

the end?

[ladyanput]

Seeing Green Ch.12

The days leading up to the gala, Marinette shut herself up in her room, making the excuses of her wanting to put the finishing touches on her dress. But that was a lie, everyone could see it by the haunted look in her eyes, but what could they do? Every time they tried, she’d merely give them a bright smile and usher them away with reassuring words, and she’d shut the door right in their face.

But Damian wasn’t about to give up just yet. He opened the door and stepped into the room, holding a tray carrying a delicate tea set. He stared at Marinette, who had knelt beside a mannequin sporting a stunning pink gown, not turning towards the sound of the door opening or the footsteps approaching her.

“I thought you’d like to have a break and have some tea with me.” Damian smiled down at her, the girl who had stolen his heart, not that he’d tell her just yet. No, not after what she’s been through, she didn’t need another man declaring his love when she clearly wasn’t ready for it. But when he saw her smile, he felt his heart flutter and he found himself grinning back. “Your favourite too.”

“Thank you, Damian, I think I could use the tea.” Marinette beamed and got to her feet, the two of them heading to the small table by the large windows, both quick to settle in their chairs with a cup of steaming tea.

“You’ve really been shut in your room, Angel, for two days straight. That can’t be healthy.” He commented as he watched her add a fair bit of sugar to her tea before taking a long, greedy gulp. He smiled at the sight and let out a soft chuckle. “I can’t have you starving in there, afterall.”

“The Justice League was nice. I’m glad that they’re going to try and send people in to help us find Hawkmoth.” Marinette averted her gaze as she added even more sugar to her tea, her hands trembled ever so slightly as she did. “I mean, I’ve been after him for years, but I’m sure with experts on the case that we’ll find him in no time.”

“Angel-”

“I hope Lila won’t cause a scene tonight, it was really nice of your father to still let my class attend.”

“Angel, what-”

“Oh, have I shown you Evangeline’s dress? I kinda decided to add some features to make it more Red Hood inspired. It didn’t take long to do, since I had the dress done.”

“Marinette, please!” 

At Damian’s shout, Marinette’s mouth snapped shut and she lowered her gaze. Damian winced, feeling like the biggest asshole on earth.

“Marinette, something is bothering you.” He reached out and took her free hand, giving it a tender squeeze. He set down his cup and knelt before her, taking her hand in both of hers. “Angel, you can tell me.”

“Damian, I’m a failure.” Marinette’s voice was soft, shaky. She bowed her head, her face quickly being hidden by her veil of pitch black hair and her shoulders shook. “I don’t deserve to be the Guardian, I’m failing the world, I’m failing the Kwami, I’m just a failure.”

“Wait, where did this come from?”

“I couldn’t save him! I let my partner down, I let him get corrupted, I let him become like that and I did nothing to stop it! No he’s in jail and his life is ruined and I did nothing to stop it!”

Damian watched as Marinette put her head in her hands and began to let out loud, heart wrenching sobs. She had just screwed up everything; the boy she had loved had become corrupt and she had failed to save him, she had lost many of her friends to a liar and it took many of them three years for them to see the truth. And she was supposed to be Ladybug, the savior of Paris, yet for three years and she was still no closer to defeating Hawkmoth, no, she had to go as far as to burden other heroes to help her. And now with Fu gone, she was the Guardian of the Miraculous, she had to take care of the Kwami, make sure they were safe, make sure that she gave the Miraculous out to the right people. But she had certainly failed at that, with Alya, with Nino, and with Chloé. 

The stresses that had been piling on since she was fourteen finally felt as if they were crushing her and the dam broke. Damian held her close as she fell apart, soon being reduced to a whimpering, sobbing mess.

"Why couldn't I keep Alya with me? I couldn't protect Master Fu, I just kept screwing up and hurting my friends, I was such a stalker to Adrien, I just-" Whatever else she was going to say got lost in her sobs.

Damian wanted to say something. To go about assuring her and making sure she knew she was well loved, that she had done nothing wrong.

He let her cry, but kept silent. He wasn't the person to say those things to her; he had only known her for less than a week. 

Yet less than a week goes by and he is already in love with her.

…

Damian came downstairs a few hours later, seeing his family and Marinette's teammates seated around the living room, looking rather grim.

"She's fine. She's resting now." Damian spoke up, drawing all attention to him. He had no doubt they had all been talking about Marinette just moments ago. "She… She had herself a good long cry."

“I’m not surprised, with what Dupain-Cheng has had to put up with since we were still in middle school.” Chloé muttered darkly, snuggled in between her girlfriend and boyfriend, the three of them firmly gripping hands. Their Kwami were seated on the table, talking amongst themselves as they had done since after the talk with the League. Chloé gave a look to Kagami, then booped her lightly on the nose. "I told you this was gonna happen sooner than later."

"But Marinette is so strong, she certainly wouldn't crumble so suddenly." Kagami frowned as Damian took a seat as well, holding her girlfriend closer now. 

"Perhaps Chat Noir's betrayal was the straw that broke the camel's back." Luka suggested as he lazily ran his fingers through Kagami's short hair, making her smile, though it was a bit strained.

"Surely things weren't that bad. I mean, you guys had to deal with only one villain." Dick spoke up, and all the Parisian heroes stared at him.

Very poor choice of words, Dick.

"Excuse me, you've only known Marinette for what, five days or so? And miss 'I instantly got protective of Marinette as soon as I met her'" Chloé pointed toward Eva. "Has only known her for about six months, as creepy as that sounds. No offense."

"None taken." Eva held up a hand, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"But I've known her longer than anyone here. Before we were fourteen, she was a spineless little doormat. When we first met, she was this little goody two shoes who had a lot of friends. But once I started targeting her, because I was really jealous of her, I targeted her friends. Nino, Kim, all of her friends distanced themselves from her because they did not want to be bullied. So she was my personal punching bag until we got to middle school. She met Alya, she became Ladybug and she grew that much needed backbone. But she was still a doormat.

"She'd make cakes for everyone's birthday every year. She'd bring in treats just to be nice, she planned parties, she made decorations, she could make her friends dresses and other pieces of clothing for free. And Lila came and turned everyone against her again. Another bully and everyone's loyalty was as flimsy as tissue paper. She was a shiny new toy who promised tales of grand adventure and connections to powerful people. Surely you Waynes understand how a lot of people just want to be your friend just for your money and power."

The Waynes all exchanged glances. They certainly did know that feeling, and from what they saw of Miss Bustier's class, a lot of them seemed happy with the shiny, promising Lila until they suddenly learned the truth.

"Yeah, so Marinette stayed a doormat to everyone in the class. Even to this day, she organised this big, massive trip to Gotham for them and they haven't thanked her once, from what I can guess.

"When my Daddy was arrested last year and my Mother left us to get away from the scandal, Marinette didn't let the past stop her from helping me. She didn't hold a grudge. When I was kicked out of The Grand Paris, lost my money and my power, the class ganged up on me. Revenge for the years of hell I put them through, though I deserved every second of it…"

"No, you didn't. No one deserves to be doused in paint. No one deserves to have her entire wardrobe cut up, when she doesn't have money to buy any more." Luka cut in, hugging Chloé tight as he kissed her temple. Chloé wiped away a year and sniffled.

"A-anyway, Marinette and her family took me in. I hated her, I never stood up for her, I did nothing. I didn't care about her, I never did anything nice for her, yet here she was, offering me a place to stay when no one else would. I was a brat, but she and her family helped me to become better." 

Chloé was quiet for a few minutes after her rant, wiping away more tears that came.

"What I'm trying to say is a lot of stuff has built up. A lot of responsibility on her shoulders. She was fourteen when she and Adrien became heroes. Still kids, we still are kids. She's not even twenty and she's the Guardian of the Miraculous." Chloé shook her head, meeting Dick's gaze. "So next time you decide to say shit like that, think twice."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Dick swallowed the lump in his throat and he looked down. "I shouldn't have said that."

"She needs a night of fun." Eva spoke up, drawing attention to herself, though she looked rather sullen. "She just needs a night where she can be the fairytale princess, alright? A lot of us have already let her down, myself included with that meltdown I had and my powers kinda going out of wack."

"Were you the reason people were reporting in a small area was being affected by Scarecrow's fear toxin?" Cass sat up sharply, eyes narrowed. 

"Yeah, sorry. I've gotten myself under control now, I promise. Anyway, do you think we can give her the best night of her life at the gala?"

"I don't see a problem with that." Bruce spoke up, giving his own smile as he watched everyone. "I mean, after everything that’s happened, I think one drama free night could be good for everyone.”

“There’s still an issue. We need a new Black Cat.” Tikki spoke up, flying up from the table and giving everyone there a stern look. “The Ladybug is active, she needs the Black Cat to maintain the balance. If not, there could be dire consequences.” 

“But who the heck could take the ring?” Luka sat up, frowning as he sat the Kwami on the table exchanging looks. “You’ve all said yourselves that it is a lot of power to handle. The power of destruction isn’t an easy one to control.” 

“I want him to take it.” Plagg pointed, drawing all eyes to where he was pointing; Damian Wayne. “I can see your soul, kid, I see you have more destruction and death in your life than most. I see you love and care for Tikki’s chosen better than Adrien ever could, so I choose you to be my Chosen.”

“What? Wait, no, shouldn’t we wait for Marinette’s say on this?” Damian frowned and crossed his arms as he glared down at the small cat Kwami. “I mean, she is the Guardian, isn’t she? And the Black Cat is supposed to be her partner, so she should certainly get a say in this. We can’t just go making decisions behind her back.”

He didn’t miss the wide grin on Plagg’s face.

“You, kid, are definitely a good choice. I like you already. Now, do you guys have any carembert around here?”

…

Marinette bit her lower lip as Chloé pinned up her hair, leaving a few stray curls to frame her pretty face.

“Thank you for doing my hair, Chloé. I’d be lost without you.” Mari whispered softly, blushing brilliantly as she stared at herself in the mirror. She felt so… Pretty. Almost like a princess. Her dark hair was pinned back and up, showing off her delicate face and neck, which would complement the pale pink dress she had made herself for this gala. It was a lovely dress, a strapless evening gown that hugged her body until the hips, then flowed out with the beautiful fabric. It was her finest work yet. “I was afraid I’d burn my hair with a curling iron or something.”

“Oh puh-lease, I would kill you if you tried to use a curling iron again, especially with what happened last time.” Chloé snorted and turned Marinette around, beginning with her friend’s make-up. She carefully coloured the lips pink, and got to work with the rest of the make-up. “You should be grateful I decided to stay in Gotham after our talk with the League, I could be at home with Luka and Kagami watching our favourite movie.”

“So sorry to inconvenience you, your highness.” Marinette playfully mocked, before the two burst into soft fits of giggles. She turned and hugged Chloé tightly, the two staying like that for a few minutes. "I wish you were coming tonight, it would be nice to have friends there."

"Well, I don't really want to run into Bustier and the others." Chloé made a face as she pulled back, then gently shrugged as she smiled. "Besides, you have Miss Evangeline, though she'll probably be glued to her hunk all evening. Is there something about Gotham that lets you guys find love?"

"It's not love. Just a fun fling while we're in Gotham." Evangeline stepped into the room and Marinette hummed in appreciation at the sight of her. 

The black halter style evening gown hugged the older woman's rather large curves, the keyhole on the neckline having been altered to be more bat shaped by a cheeky Marinette. And when the young designer included a short dark brown jacket and red pumps, Eva had looked ready to smack Marinette upside the head when she commented on how now Eva could go to the gala as a fancy Red Hood, since she was so smitten with him. 

"My work at its finest." Marinette stood and made her way over to her own dress, Chloé quickly helping her put it on. She felt a bit nervous how she had made her own neckline a bit daring, but she had quickly convinced herself that she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was almost an adult, she had no time for pigtails and childish things.

Adrien's face flashed in her mind and it took everything in Marinette not to flinch. Instead she slid on her pale pink kitty heels and brushed her hands to smooth the slim skirt with an overlay of pale pink sheer fabric, decorated with dark pink flowers.

"Do you think Damian will like it?" Marinette gave a small twirl, instantly seeking to distract herself. "I mean, it's really… Pink."

"The guy is obviously smitten, he'd be an idiot to not have his jaw on the floor when he sees you." Chloé rolled her eyes once again, crossing her arms. "Or is yours just a fling too?"

"Oh, um…" Marinette felt herself blush as she grabbed her pale pink wrap shawl, toying with it gently. "Well, it's not a fling. It's not love, but I think it's going to be. I just don't want to rush into things again."

"You haven't. Don't worry, sugar cookie." Eva went and hugged Marinette tightly, holding her close. "But let's not worry about that. For now, let's worry about having a fun night tonight, rubbing elbows with the upper crust of Gotham." 

With a smile, Chloé took them both by the arm and guided them downstairs to the main hall of the mansion, where their dates were waiting.

When Damian looked up and saw Marinette, he felt the breath leave his lungs. She was stunning, not surprising to him, but she seemed to glow, almost. She really was an angel…

"You certainly clean up good." Marinette smiled as she tucked her hand into his offered arm, then blushed when her mother began taking pictures. "Do you think I can do this? I don't want to embarrass anyone."

"You'll do just fine." Damian kissed her temple softly as he guided her out to the limo, his family and their dates following close behind.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight, Marinette. I am sure you will be the belle of the ball." Kor'i piped up happily once the limo got moving, snuggled into Dick's side. 

"I think that honour might go to Selena." Marinette put in quickly, no sure if her face could get any redder from embarrassment. "I mean, you look gorgeous."

Selena let out a laugh and the women in the vehicle began to praise each other on their outfits, all the while Marinette stared out the window, feeling a sense of uneasiness in her stomach.

…

"Wow…" Marinette whispered in awe as soon as they stepped into the main ballroom. It was certainly a scene of splendor and high society, all obviously ignoring the day to day lives they live in Gotham. A place where you can forget the murderous villains looming outside your door.

"Mari, look at you! You look awesome!" Nino parted from the crowd, looking so odd in a trim dark suit, with no ball cap in sight. Marinette had to admit, he made quite the handsome looking gentleman. "Far out, dudette."

"You look rather handsome, Nino. You almost look like a man of high society. Your slang gives you away though.” Mari smiled, though it was a bit tight at the corners. She then blinked in surprise when Nino held out a hand. 

“Can we dance?” Nino motioned his head over to the dance floor, where many couples already were. “I want to talk to you.”

“Of course, Nino..”

Marinette was guided to the dancefloor, not seeing the frowning faces of Eva and Damian. They could easily see the girl’s key trait in action; she forgave far too easily and quickly.

“What did you want to talk about?” Marinette gazed up at her friend as the two of them began to dance, though it was a bit more awkward than most due to their lack of experience. 

“I know I apologized already for Alya and everything… But I don’t think I properly apologized for myself. I deserted you, Mari, a girl who’s like a sister to me. I left you hanging and I never once looked back and that was wrong of me.”

“Listen, Nino, it’s okay, I forgi-” Marinette began, but was quickly cut off by Nino giving a firm shake of his head.

“No, I don’t deserve that. I haven’t done anything to redeem myself yet. I’m not following the herd anymore. From now on I’m gonna stick by your side.” Nino grinned down at her, then gave her a playful wink. “Should be easier since I broke up with Alya.”

“I beg your pardon, you did what?!”

…

Lila scowled as she glanced around the ballroom, her grip tightening on her flute of champagne. None of the cute rich guys were even looking her way and she was dressed to the nines. The tight bronze dress she wore hugged her body tightly, the neckline plunging low, almost to her navel, leaving her non existent cleavage on full display. She even had her signature hairstyle in that perfectly framed her pretty face.

It was all Marinette’s fault, Lila knew that for a fact. If that stupid bitch had stayed at the hotel the first day, then Lila would have had all attention on her and would have won the heart of Damian Wayne as soon as he had seen her. Marinette and now that creep Eva always ruined everything for Lila, but it was easy to turn the class against them. Even Mis Bustier, who could see through Lila’s lies, scolded the two on causing conflict.

She should be out amongst the rich and fabulous, being basked in glory and praise, but from her vantage point, she could see Marinette enter the room on the youngest Wayne’s arm and all attention being drawn to the young Parisian girl. Lila wanted to go over there and rip the girl’s tacky dress to shreds, because now Lila was stuck just standing with her class, who had no idea how to behave at a formal event. Everyone avoided them like the plague, and Alya having her phone out and trying to get interviews certainly wasn’t helping matters!

“Alya, put that away! You’re only embarrassing yourself!” Lila snapped, taking a long drink of her champagne as Alya once again stepped up to a famous person and sought out an interview. “”Besides, no one here will give you an interview thanks to Marinette. I heard she made the Waynes tell everyone to keep away from you because you are a tabloid journalist or something.”

“She did what?!” Alya spun around sharply, her mouth agape. “How could she do that?! I mean, first she stole Damian from you, she got Adrien locked up, and now this?!”

“I know, isn’t she horrible?” Lila teared up and wiped away her tears, her entourage instantly rushing to her side to try and soothe her. The rest of the class simply rolled their eyes and continued to enjoy themselves. This was a fancy party, afterall, and Miss Bustier was off flirting with some rich guy to even keep an eye on them.

Lila watched from the corner of her eye as Evangeline danced with one of the Waynes, Jason if she remembered correctly. They seemed enraptured with each other, bodies pressed tightly together as they slow danced and whispered into the other’s ear. It made Lila want to vomit. But then she watched as Jason excused himself and left the room. Nino excused himself from Marinette and left as well, probably to head to the bathroom. But green eyes narrowed as she watched Eva leave through the same door a few minutes later, a slowly grin spreading across Lila’s face.

Perhaps this evening wouldn’t be such a waste afterall. Even since Alya’s pathetic show of being dumped, she was even more easy to manipulate. So when Lila showed Alya a picture of Eva and Nino talking in the dining hall, Lila having made sure the angle and posture looked intimate, and she had tearfully told Alya that Eva was probably the reason Nino had dumped her.

It was never hard to get Alya worked up.

Around a few minutes later, when Jason entered the room,  disheveled, Eva close behind, Lila tapped Alya's shoulder and motioned over to Eva just as Nino exited the hallway after her.

"Look at her. Are those hickies on her neck?" Lila hissed in an infuriated tone, but smiled when she felt Alya's body tense under hers. "I mean, I know she's a creep, but to fuck him here of all places? She really does deserve to rot in a cell."

…

Marinette beamed as Damian dipped her backwards, feeling almost breathless from all of the dancing she had been doing with him. It was almost two hours into this thing and her feet were beginning to work.

"Can we get something to drink?" Marinette whispered into Damian's ear once he helped her straighten, then leaned into him as they made their way over to the refreshments table, where Eva and Jason were conversing with Selena and Bruce.

"You two kittens seem to be having fun." Selena smiled as she handed both of them a glass of champagne. "Marinette, everyone's been asking about your dress, they're trying to figure out who the designer is."

"It's an MDC original." Marinette smiled as she went to take a sip, but was stopped by Damian, who sent a glare to Selena.

"She's only eighteen, she can't drink alcohol. She's underaged." He said in such a stern tone, it took everything in Marinette not to snort. He sounded so adult for someone who was nineteen.

"Damian, how could you, seducing someone who's still a child, barely out of high school?" Selena gave a dramatic gasp as she pressed a hand to her chest, as if she were about to faint. "How could you? Why, I'm sure Satan himself would be ashamed."

"Enough out of you!" Damian felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment at Selena's theatrics. Though he did give Marinette a side glance as he watched her set down her flute of champagne and got herself one full of juice. Though she seemed unbothered by the whole conversation.

"Now, let's not get rowdy. Sugar cookie here has drunk alcohol before, the legal drinking age in France is eighteen afterall." Eva put in, wrapping a supportive arm around Marinette's shoulders. "As long as no one gets drunk and sloppy, we should be fine."

"Thank you, Eva, for helping Nino." Marinette murmured into the TA's ear, causing a look of surprise to cross the young woman's face. "Miss Bustier isn't the best person to go to for advice. She would have told him to try and fix things and stick with her."

"Where is that blundering idiot anyway?" Eva muttered as she saw the French class, but no Bustier in sight. She groaned and massaged her temples as she realized the idiot had left a group of rambunctious teenagers unsupervised. This would not go well.

"I might have to duck away for a bit. If those kids get drunk, this party might get rowdy." Eva patted Jason's arm gently, then broke away from the Waynes, beginning to head towards the class. But being splashed in the face with champagne stopped her in her tracks.

"Alya!" Marinette snapped as she instantly rushed to Eva's side, the entire room having gone silent. Eva stood there, dumbstruy, her make up running thanks to the champagne, while Alya sneered at the older woman.

"That's what ya get, you bitdch... Did you honestly fink you could get away wif it?" Alya's words were slurred, her cheeks rosy as she clumsily set her hands on her hips. "I have the proofs."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Eva hissed, her face flushed red from embarrassment as Marinette grabbed some napkins a waiter brought and began dabbing up the alcohol. Alya sneered and pointed a shaky finger at Eva, stumbling on her feet as she tried to take a threatening step forward.

"Lila shaw you two. Apparently you snuck.out the other day, to fuck. The day before Marinette trickeded Adrien, you were gone all afternoon." Alya slurred, then reached out, slapping the woman across the face before Marinette could stop her. "I know you were a fucking pedophile. Lila was right, you are a creep. Why else are you so close with Marinette? I bet you fuck her too."

Bruce motioned towards the nearby security guards, but Eva merely held up a hand, her purple eyes glaring deep into Alya's.

"I became her friend because I knew she needed one. Because I knew your loyalty was so fickle that you turned your back on her years ago. She barely knew me, but the first thing she did for me was make me a scarf with my favourite flowers on it because I was homesick. I was stuck with a class that took a liar's words at face value because she offered them pretty stories and fake opportunities. Marinette didn't make things easy for you, playing along with everything, so you decided to drop her. Yes, I'm her TA, but I am also her friend. A better friend than you, Ladybug certainly agrees."

"You shut your whore face, you don't even know Ladybug! Lila says she hated your guts!" Alya made another move for her, but Jason firmly gripped Alya's wrist, stopping the girl in her tracks. "Let me go, you creep! She's cheating on you with a high schooler!"

"Funny, the time you gave that scenario to her, Miss Rossi." Jason's hard eyes flickered to the girl in question, his look so deadly that it made her shiver. "Because it is impossible. You see, she was with me the entire time, tied to her hotel bed and calling me Daddy." 

 Marinette let out an embarrassment squeak while Eva turned crimson and softly cursed Jason's entire existence.

Lila scowled and strode right up to Jason, tears soon flooding her eyes as she began her theatrics.

"Did Marinette get to you too? Oh no, how many times has she spread her legs to ruin my life? First she steals Damian away from me, now she turns all of you into her personal attack dogs? And here I thought Eva was the whore!"

"Caline!" Eva turned and snapped at the woman across the room, who looked flabbergasted. "For gods' sake, get your class under control and stop humping Dick's leg. He's married, you twit!"

Caline went crimson and hurried over, setting a hand on Alya's and Lila's shoulders, trying to pull the girls away, but Alya shoved her teacher away and got right in Marinette's face.

"I've had enough of you! You ruin everything, Marinette! I tried, but you lost everything for a reason! You failed with Adrien because you are pathetic and spineless, so you decide to get him arrested. Lila was in a happy relationship with Damian, but you were jealous she won us this trip so you decided to steal him and take ownership of this entire thing! You're a pathetic leech, and an enabler. I bet you watched as your whore fucked Nino, I bet!"

"That's enough Alya!" Nino stormed forward, and more shouting began. 

There was such chaos; angry words being thrown around, hands reaching out to scratch and claw, security rushing in to assist. 

No one even noticed the little black butterfly that flew over their heads.

Marinette watched as security began to drag the drunken Alya away, while Miss Bustier tried to convince them to let her go, that it was all some misunderstanding. Lila began wailing, trying to put as much attention as she could on herself. Even Nino was shouting, but it was all lost in the noise. Marinette rushed to Damian's side and tightly gripped his band, until a shriek pierced the air.

"Jason!"

Everyone looked over, and every French person in the room let out a scream of terror.

For framing Jason's handsome face was the outline of a purple butterfly. Marinette instantly rushed over, kneeling next to Eva, who was screaming for Jason to fight it, to break whatever had been akumatized, anything!

And they both watched helplessly as Jason was engulfed in purple.

Taglist:  @realrandomposts @interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @2sunchild2 @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie @thepeacetea @miraculous786 @enchanted-nerd @zebrabaker

[chaniters]

Stroke of luck

Stumbling his way into the masked circles, Ash manages to piss off the first Hero he meets. 

Spoilers for Retribution as always. ________________________

You walk out of the station, face still bleeding under the mask.

It’s not that it hurts, but the bleeding is a mess. You were quick enough to snatch a few things on your way out, and that includes a box of tissues from one of the desks so now you can stuff your nose holes in an alley with them. 

Who in the hell does she think she is? 

You captured Red Spectre fair and square. Of course you didn’t know who Hollow Ground is, how could you? There was no bounty attached to that name, and no way  for you to know she had been sneaking around to spy on the Spectre, waiting for him to lead her to this alleged underboss…

Honestly, if after such a long stakeout she still has nothing to show for it, you can be hardly to blame. She’s just not going to ever catch the hollow muppet or whatever. That’s what you told her. 

That’s when she punched you, telling you how you’re are far too young to be meddling in the hero world. Told you to go run to your mother… 

Mother… The word brings you shivers. 

Another bully trying to put you in your place, that’s all she is. 

But not this time. You’ve moved as far away from that place as you could.

Your nose will heal, and you didn’t leave empty handed at all. On top of that, now you’ve got some money to spend, plus, you’ve proven that Los Diablos will allow anyone with a cheap mask to go claiming bounties. The police will even let you use some of their resources if you’re successful or so they claim. Something you can use to track where the hounds are. No more hiding in dirty holes. Now you can afford to…-

A trail of thoughts and a presence lurking on the far end. Had she come for round two?

No. Not her. 

Someone new.

“Hey you!” 

“Yes?” you say pulling the grappling hook from your belt.

“Couldn’t help but notice you getting beat earlier. Are you the kid that took down Overlord?”

“I’m not a kid, and you must be confusing me for someone else” Assholes can’t look past your height it seems. That never changes.

“I don’t think so. I saw your moves with the Red Spectre. Same style.”

“Oh, so you watched yesterdays news, am I supposed to be impressed? What do you want?” you ask, narrowing your gaze. 

“I’m Anathema, with the rangers, and I wanted to talk to you about… Wait Is that Owls Grappling hook you’re holding?”

“No” you lie, pulling the trigger, aimed at a rooftop. The hook flies upwards with a subdued hiss.

“IT IS! You stole it when she punched you? You know what she’s going to do when she finds out…?-” they ask, but you’re already being lifted up. “You’re nuts!” 

“You’re the crazy one, for thinking I would mix with you government types, ranger!” you wave them off as you elevate, coming up to the roof with a clean jump, landing on your knees. You look down, but they’re no longer there, probably trying to follow you up the building right now. 

Not going to stay to find out. 

You untie the hook, and jump to the roof of the next building, rolling with the fall before standing up for and sprinting forward. . 

You can feel the weight of your new toy with both hands as you run. 

Morgan did get to teach you a few tricks after all. You didn’t even have to use your powers to get it. You’re going to like this one… 

Anathema comes up the stairs of the police station rooftop, looking in all directions. 

You fire the hook again, out of sight and out of reach. 

You’re going to do great things with this . Totally worth  the sucker punch. 

Not that you’re going to let that go… not this time.

Far from it. 

You dug into Owl’s mind, and you know what other criminals she’s been trailing for her Hollow Ground hobby. Very good bounties on the lot too...

Let’s see how she likes it when they all turn up in jail by the end of the week…

That’ll show her. __________ 

 If you want to read more: My Fanfiction: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero    DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[teechew]

VESPINNA

- cw: mention or rape and underage rape (only the mention, not the description of the act itself) -

Name: Virginia Quispero Alias: Vespinna  Age: around 40 Quirk: gorgon – hair is made of think black snakes. Can transforms into a giant gorgon creature when all head (snakes + hers) think the exact same thing Passives: slow regeneration, super strength, super stamina, hyper vigilance (because around 100 pairs of eyes) Snake head poison: causes hallucination, paralysis and intestinal disorders Human head poison: deadly muscle stimulant, kills in 7 seconds Gorgon form: no legs, snake tail, giant size, feathers among the scales, all bites are mortals, barely human-looking

Born in an isolated valley in Peru, her family was part of a cult to Vespinno, a pagan god of destruction. When her quirk appeared, her father was persuaded she was Vespinno’s chosen and tried to raise her in the rank of the cult. The heads were charmed by his words and how he was certain she'd give birth to Vespinno himself! Her mother, realizing the madness of the cult, and her daughter safety was at risk, ran away with the child. She found refuge in the bigger city and went into hiding. She found work and kept the child hidden inside her home at all times. Virginia was really bored, always asking to get out and play with the other children, but the mother kept refusing. After a year of this life, the mother was tired. Money was short, the cult and even the government were trying to get their hands on Virginia. Without exit, the mother gave her up for adoption on the condition that Virginia was adopted out of the country.

Vi was sent to a wannabe celebrity japanese couple when she was 5. They intend on using Vi as a "pity" child, showing how "good and charitable" they were by adopting a 3rd country child with a difficult quirk. The brain was definitely the mother, spending most of her time recording vlogs and cleaning videos for her channel. The father was mostly uninterested, too busy working to feed his wife’s luxury taste. The plan was foiled by Virginia's queen intellect. She realized quickly that once the camera was off, her "mother" wasn't as caring and nice, often sending her to her room and not wanting to have anything to do with "a freak". The couple had another child; Ishimaru, barely a toddler then. He and Virginia were close. He was too young and hadn’t learn the biased view on her quirk. Virginia decided to "enlist" his help to expose her mother.

One day, when the mother was having a livestreamed Q&A session, Virginia came into view. "Mother, I'm hungry, can I get a snack?" The mother, under the camera at this moment, told her "not yet" and sent her to her room, saying that she was busy but remaining sweet and caring. Virginia shook her head, making her snakes wave around and asked again to have a snack. The mother became more and more tense. With each refusal the child insisted, getting on her mother nerves. At one point the woman excused herself to the audience and shut the livestream. As the mother was scolding Virginia, Ishimaru, paid in candy by his sister, came closer to the computer and "pushed the red button" on his mother screen. Virginia had taught him how to use a mouse... And the livestream started. Virginia was still in the middle of a scolding. The mother, already mad, was pointing and now screaming at the gorgon. Virginia, following her plan, was especially good at being a brat that day and was promptly, under the eyes of the watchers, sent "to the basement without diner!" No need to say, child services were called and took Virginia and Ishimaru away from the couple. Virginia never saw her little brother again.

She was send to foster families, but because of this awful experience and her quirk that, you have to admit, is scary, Virginia was never adopted nor stayed long in the families, changing households every now and then. Because of this she was also changing schools often and never made long lasting friends. She was a loner and often though of as a bully due to her tallness, superior strength, bad grades, and attitude. Truth was she had a huge social skill delay and never learned how to make friends. When she reached 16, she was old enough to work a part-time job and the government wasn't ready to pay for her studies, especially seeing her bad grades. She was cut from the foster program and left to fend for herself. She was lucky enough that the current foster family didn't throw her out, but offered her to stay in her current room as long as she participated in the grocery bill.

Virginia tried. She really did. No front work wanted her - "not customer friendly" they said. Back work never lasted long as her colleagues often complained about her and how "scary" she was. She finally landed an ungrateful job but it was something; gutting fish in the early hours of the day. She smelled awful, slept through most of the day, but was able to pay for her room. And life threw her on the ground again. 

At 17, one morning, after work, she was walking home when she was  suddenly abducted. A man approached her and, of course, she was wary; a young girl walking alone, on the docks, in the early hours of morning... A scenario straight out of a cliché horror movie. She kept walking, thinking she was overreacting, her snakes on high alert and hissing. Suddenly the man dropped a wet sheet on her; he must have prepared his plan, the sheet was doused in chloroform. If he were to simply put it on her nose her snakes would have bite him everywhere, but the sheet was neutralizing the snakes, and not only her face but each snake was breathing the chloroform. Virginia fainted.

When she awoke, groggy, feeling dirty, and tied up, she knew; they didn't just watch her. She struggled to get in a better position, realizing the same sheet had been used to wrap her snakes and keep them enclosed. Her hands and feet were tightly tied together, but it was nothing her strength couldn't handle. She quickly broke them, freed her snakes, and inspected herself; bruised, raped, drugged, but alive. She picked herself up and went to the closest door. She could hear voices... and cries. She found kids, boys and girls, dirty and scared, some with bruised on their faces and limbs, most barely clothed, if clothed. All way younger than her, too young for whatever these men have done to them... to her. When she came in, some kids cried louder and Vi heard a booming voice behind her 

"WHAT ARE YOU WHINNING FOR AGAIN YOU FUCKIN BRATS?!"

She turned around and faced a man coming from an other room. Easily in his late 50, ugly, and fat. He looked at her, surprised "hey, you're the new one. How did you get free?" He walked toward her, clenching his fists. "Not important, you're too old for my taste but we still got work for you." The children started crying even more, Vi could hear more men voices approaching, she was in danger, the kids were in danger. Something in Virginia's head snapped. Her snakes started screaming to kill, she wanted to protect the kids, but that'd mean killing the men. Kill them. KILL!

From there, her memory is hazy. She remembered feeling powerful and unstoppable. She remembered the taste of blood in her mouth, the screams of men, and the sounds of children’s feet running away. She also remembered the police sirens, the hero's orders to surrender, but she didn't listen. She wanted to go away. Away from everyone, from everything! But then the dream ended. She got punched. Hard. And she fell.

When she awoke again she was in an isolated cell, with a muzzle on her face. She tried moving but her entire body was held in a straightjacket. She tried moving her snakes and realized each of their heads were inside little locks, rendering them useless. In jail. Her trial came quickly. She was declared a Villain on an account of intentionally killing 10+ adults, and destroying a government-owned building as well as resisting hero arrest. She never heard about the children, about the fact she was kidnapped, drugged, and raped... The sentenced was 8 years in prison. She did the first one in a juvenile prison and then transferred into a high security prison for Class-S villains. Virginia often jokes that these years were like school; she never made friends, kept to herself, and waited for time to pass. She was left alone, mainly because people knew what she was capable of. The muzzle was never removed except for lunch time, were she was under strict surveillance. The rare time she wasn't left alone she knew quickly how to assert her dominance. She was strong and ruthless and at one point was asked what was her villain name. "Vespinna." Slowly the other inmates learned to not mess with her.

8 years later she was finally let out. Her foster family had gone silent, no family, no friends... She was truly alone and without a place to go home to. So she walked. After a full day of walking she reached the other side of the city. She was tired, hungry, and night was coming. Frustrated, she slipped in an alleyway, away from the public eyes, and sat down against a wall. Bringing her knees against her torso, she wrapped her snakes around her and closed her eyes. She was alone...

Later that night she was awoken by a repeated poking on her leg. She unwrapped her snakes, ready to fend of anything that was responsible for the poking, and was faced with a homeless man. He was dirty, with at least 3 layers of clothes. Looking tired, with huge bags under his eyes, he looked to be in his fifties, his hair and beard greying under the dirt and dust. He smelled horrible and Virginia had a hard time not frowning her nose. "Hey kid, you're new here?" Virginia frowned, wary. "So what?" The man shrugged "Just wondering if it's a one night situation or if you gon' be there for longer." Virginia stood up, towering over the man "And what about it?" The man didn't seem impressed. "Listen, honey, I'm the one usually sleepin' here. Just wanna know if I'm in danger or if you're chill." Virginia relaxed a little. "it's... your alley?" The man turned away and walked toward a panel a wood, pushing it to reveal a cardboard box fort of some sort. In it was a dirty old mattress and several garbage bags of junk. "It's not *mine*, but it's where I'm left alone." Virginia watched him dig into one of the bags, pull out an old blanket and throw it to her. "Nights are fresh kiddo, bundle up." Virginia looked at the blanket, several stains of food were scattered on it and it had some holes here and there. "You're... not scared I’ll rob you?" "Rob me of what? I have nothing to my name except my life. And even that ain't much," said the man, sounding tired and crawling in his little hideout. "Plus you're the one with questions so far. I don't think I'm in danger," He chuckled while taking off his shoes. Virginia stepped closer "You... don't have any? I mean, questions? About me?" The man sighted as he got ready to sleep "Girl, I bet you're not here because you chose to. And neither am I. That's all we need to know about each other." On this he turned away and laid down. Virginia returned to her little corner and bundled in the blanket. It was smelly. "But again, so will I... soon," she though while looking at the man one last time before falling asleep.

From then one this alley was her "home". The man's name was Akira, he had lost his own home after a villain and a hero fought a little too roughly and destroyed it. He taught Virginia all she needed while homeless: the soup kitchen days, the shops that were chill about homeless digging in their trash, the shops that weren't... Strangely, Virginia felt more and more comfortable next to Akira. He shared food and fabrics with her without asking questions. He also presented her to the homeless community; the most strange but tight-knit community. Everyone was helping you, all that was asked of you was to help in return for those who couldn't get by as easily as you could. 

It's been 15 years, and she's the happiest she ever was. But not fully happy yet...

[c-optimistic]

brave

They met as wide-eyed, sticky fingered, mess inclined, and chatty third graders. And Kara had known it was a love story from the start.

Well, all right. No, she didn’t know at eight years old, per se. She certainly had figured it out by the time they were seniors in high school, but in third grade, watching some short, grubby, sniffling boy attempt to shove Lena off the swing set made Kara see red, not hearts, ending up with a fistful of the boy’s shirt, making threats there was no way she could’ve backed up. (That bully hadn’t seemed to realize that; she found out he’d transferred schools not a week later, teachers citing he had ‘irreconcilable issues’ with the other students—namely, Kara.)

The point, of course, was that it wasn’t exactly the beginning of some romantic love story. Rather, it turned into Lena’s favorite thing to talk about when they met new people, an icebreaker of sorts when she met with investors and board members and random strangers on the street, the lot of them chuckling over Lena Luthor’s childhood best friend.

(“She was barely three feet tall, I swear. But she scared him with nothing but narrowed eyes and a gritted voice and honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more impressive. My best friend was, and I guess still is, a badass.”

Not that she’d admit it, but Kara always blushed at the story and at Lena’s added comment at the end.)

And the thing was, she knew she screwed up. Because Lena was more than just a best friend to her—most times, Lena felt a little bit like everything. Lena was her rock, her anchor, her grounding point. When everything was going wrong in her life, it had been Lena that she turned to, Lena who held her hand, Lena who allowed her to sob on her shoulder.

Falling in love with her best friend wasn’t a part of their story. Until, well, it was. And once it happened, it felt pretty damn inevitable. (Like the sun rising. Like the stars shining. Like the rising and falling tides. Like the changing of seasons and the blooming of flowers and the fresh scent of an afternoon breeze.)

Yet, when Kara shared these thoughts with the others in her life, she wasn’t exactly met with a response that inspired much confidence. Alex just laughed at the use of the word inevitable, Winn questioned her sanity more than once, and James had pulled her into a silent hug. And yes, their support would’ve been nice, but it’d gotten to the point that Kara didn’t care what they thought, because they hadn’t been there the day she met Lena. Her sister and friends weren’t there when Kara turned to Lena, her chest heaving in anger, horrified that anyone would dare hurt someone over a swing set, and Lena had smiled at her, stuck out her hand (already practicing her future career, already charming and clever and confident), and leaned forward.

“Hi,” she’d said, “I’m Lena. Thanks for helping me.”

And Kara (clumsy, cheerful, and carefree) promptly fell in love.

It just took her ten more years recognize it for what it was, then another ten before she did anything about it.

x

Lena was her best friend.

She didn’t come to such a conclusion lightly. No, at nine years old and precocious to boot, Kara took great care in the way she labeled the people in her life. Alex was her sister in all but blood—their families close, spending most free evenings and weekends with Alex, Eliza, and Jeremiah—and Clark, her actual blood relative, was a continual disappointment, making promises he seemed never able to keep.

And Lena, Lena was her best friend.

“Is that why you talk about her so much?” her mother asked one afternoon, home early from work, an exhausted but pleased expression on her face. “Because she’s your best friend?” Kara didn’t understand the wry smile, the funny expression. It didn’t seem to matter at the time.

“Yes!” she answered cheerfully, bounding over to her mother and ignoring her aunt’s snort from where she sat in the kitchen, head buried in a book, hands preoccupied with a mug of hot chocolate (the one she made for Kara long finished, burnt tongue forgotten in the repeated—and rejected—requests for more). “Like you and father! Or Aunt Astra and Uncle Non!”

Astra looked up at the sound of her name, brows furrowed in the way that Kara worked so hard to mimic, and she put her mug aside, lips quirking into something resembling a smile.

“Oh little one,” she began slowly, shaking her head as she clearly steeled herself to say something, her eyes soft in the way she only ever looked at Kara. “That’s not—”

“—it’s fine, Astra,” Kara’s mother interrupted, her own smile still in place. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually without our help. Kara’s a smart girl.”

Astra laughed and agreed, neither her nor Kara’s mother deigning to answer Kara’s repeated questions as to what was so funny.

(Later, Kara will find solace in the fact that though she was too young and too naïve to put her feelings into words, her aunt and mother had understood anyway. Even years later, it felt important that her family had known about what she felt for Lena—it was a big thing in her life, and she was glad she somehow shared it with her family.)

x

Lena did not get along with her adoptive mother.

Kara wasn’t sure why, Lena never quite explained or even acknowledged it except with soft sighs and resigned expressions. Alex told Kara that the Luthors were an old family—Kara didn’t really understand what that meant and Alex assured her once she was a teenager it’d make sense—and that Lillian Luthor was a stickler for tradition.

(The truth was that Eliza and Jeremiah had worriedly discussed a bruise Kara had mentioned to her parents offhandedly when telling them every detail about her day with Lena, and Alex had merely repeated phrases she’d heard her parents utter.

The truth was that ‘did not get along’ was an understatement, not at all an accurate description of what Lena dealt with everyday, and yet those in any position to offer help were rendered powerless against a name like Luthor and everything that entailed.)

Kara wasn’t a teenager like Alex, she wasn’t wise like Lena, but the same protective instinct she’d felt in elementary school made a raging comeback in middle school when Lena confided to her that she was afraid to go home, afraid to disappoint her mother somehow. And it was so different from Kara’s own experiences—her own desire to spend as much time as she could with her busy mother, looking forward to the days she wasn’t buried in cases, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt as she finally walked through the door late at night, forcing the exhaustion from her face and smiling wide at Kara—that she took Lena by the hand and told her quite firmly that she didn’t have to go home at all.

When Lionel Luthor himself came by their home several hours later, he frowned at the protective way Kara stood in front of Lena, listened carefully to what Kara’s mother had to say, then knelt down and placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder.

“I’m very glad Lena has a friend like you, Kara,” he said, using his free hand to rub his bald head unconsciously, weariness tingeing his actions and words. “Do you mind if she spends more of her time here?”

“Of course not,” Kara answered, almost offended that he even felt the need to ask. Lena was her best friend. She didn’t think there was anything she wasn’t willing to do for Lena.

“I’ll take care of it,” Lionel Luthor said as he got back to his feet, looked over to Kara’s parents now. “Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Thank you for your daughter.” He grinned over at Kara, holding out a hand for Lena, seemingly unsurprised that Lena took great care to first squeeze Kara’s hand in thanks before reaching out for her father.

(When she was tucked in that night, Kara’s mother told her she was proud of her, that she did the right thing bringing Lena home with her.

And many years later, Lena will squeeze her hand much like she had that day, smiling as she said, “You saved me from the day I met you. But it wasn’t till that afternoon that I realized you were my hero.”)

x

She was thirteen when her parents died in that fire and her aunt and uncle were jailed for it.

Clark and the Danvers called it an explosion, the papers called it an attack by those who disagreed with her parents’ work, but Kara always referred to it as ‘that fire’ both in her head and out loud. It was ‘that fire that killed her parents,’ ‘that fire that ruined her life,’ ‘that fire that took everything from her.’ She didn’t want to give that fire legitimacy by giving it a proper name, a proper description. It was cruel and senseless and quick, and Kara could do nothing but hate that fire in the only way she knew how: by never dwelling on it, by never giving it a name.

(Calling it that fire rather than ‘murder’ or ‘crime’ or ‘loss of everything she once held sacred’ made her feel better, made her think that maybe one day she would hear the name Astra and not want to throw up, that she could think of her parents and not imagine the horror they must have felt when their own family stabbed them in the back.

Calling it that fire gave Kara distance and separation, two things she desperately needed unless she wanted images of a bright red flame tearing everything she held dear apart seared into the back of her eyelids, visible every time she closed her eyes.)

Only Lena had ever seemed to understand. Only Lena had never once brought it up, merely following Kara’s lead and referring to the explosion, the attack, the death of her parents, as nothing more than that fire.

And Kara was thirteen, she was heartbroken and alone, and Clark—the one her parents had named as her guardian in the event anything went wrong—packed his things and disappeared, leaving her with the Danvers.

(“I’m too young to be a parent,” he’d said, hugging her tightly. “I’m not good for you, Kara, please understand that.”

She didn’t, of course.)

And Kara was thirteen and she had Alex’s warm hugs at night, promising her that they were officially sisters and she’d always be there, and she had Lena’s tight grip on her hand at school, silently swearing she’d always lend her strength, the two of them spending every free moment together.

But Kara was thirteen, and she mistook the love she felt for Lena with the sort of love she felt for Alex, and that seemed enough at the time.

x

“What’re you doing?” Alex asked, chin on Kara’s shoulder, eye on the sketchbook placed on the desk in front of her. She grimaced a little when she noticed the graphite coating Kara’s fingers, and she reached out, plucking each individual digit, prying them from the pencil in Kara’s hand, rolling her eyes when Kara merely huffed and hunched her shoulders, attempting to ward off Alex’s lanky limbs.

“None of your business.”

“You’re in the middle of the living room, it’s my business when you’re in my line of sight.”

“How about I use that argument when you’re chatting with whatever her name is on the phone until three in the morning?”

As if the words were a jolt of electricity, Alex’s arms pulled away from Kara, her entire body floundering as she stumbled backwards, managing nothing more coherent than a series of half-hearted monosyllabic protests.

“That was a low blow, Kara,” Alex hissed once she got her head on straight, looking decidedly annoyed. “You promised not to bring it up if I bought you ice cream after school.”

“You got me a Popsicle, it wasn’t the same and the deal is off.”

“What’re you hiding?” Alex asked, eyes suddenly narrowing, much more interested in the sketchbook than Kara felt comfortable with. “You’re always more snarky when you’re hiding something.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, now if you don’t mind, I’ve got a lot of homework and I promised Eliza I’d help with dinner so—” She attempted to pick up the sketchbook and get up from her seat at the table, but Alex pushed her back down, tugging the sketchbook towards herself with only one finger, her movements exaggeratedly slow, as if daring Kara to stop her.

“Rambling and attempting to hide away?” She whistled, flipping the cover of the sketchbook open agonizingly slowly, one finger thumbing the bottom of the first page, drawing out the moment she’d finally turn it over. “It must be a big deal if you’re acting like this.”

“It’s really just a sketch, it’s nothing—”

Alex turned the page, and there, in graceful pencil strokes, was a sketch of their neighbor’s dog.

“Are you kidding? You were hiding this?” Alex demanded, sounding more disappointed than she had any right to.

“I told you it’s nothing, you didn’t believe me.” Kara held her breath, not daring to look away from Alex’s gaze, hoping that her adoptive sister saw nothing but sincerity and honesty. Unfortunately, Alex knew her better than Kara had imagined, because a moment later a wicked grin appeared on her face, and she flipped through the sketchbook, pausing when she reached the pages about halfway through, her eyes widening as she took in the drawings.

“This is so gross,” Alex finally commented, shutting the book and pushing it towards Kara. “You’re gross.”

“It’s not gross.”

“It is. It’s sappy and sickly sweet and it’s just gross.”

“Stop saying that, it’s not gross—”

“—you drew pictures of your best friend like a sap, Kara. Puppies and Lena. That’s what you spend your time drawing.”

“I like puppies and I like Lena. Maybe if you were nicer, I’d draw you too.”

“And be subjected to that cavity inducing mess? No way.” She huffed, collapsing over Kara, arms and legs splayed wide and their position terribly uncomfortable—both because Kara felt crushed and because she was sure the way Alex had thrown herself over Kara couldn’t have been good for her back. “When are you going to do things I can hold over your head for years to come? I mean, besides the getting caught on the roof thing.”

“I do things!” Kara insisted, shoving Alex to the floor when her adoptive sister’s only response was to laugh uproariously at the lie. It proved to be less of a fib much later in the week, after she tossed her paints at Alex, learning through a call from Lena that Alex had torn out one of the drawings and gifted it to the Luthor.

Alex fondly dubbed it the ‘Paint Incident’ and she brought it up every chance she got.

x

“Wait. Wait,” Kara said, holding up a hand and staring at Lena in confusion. “You want to…break into the art room…why exactly?”

“Look, taking art was your fault in the first place, Kara,” Lena said, wringing her hands together and staring determinedly at the floor as she paced feverishly up and down the length of Kara’s bedroom. “You said things like ‘oh take it it’ll be fun, we’ll be in class together’ fat load of fun it’s been to fail—”

“—you’re failing art? I didn’t realize that was even a thing—”

“—so the very least you can do is help me break in to steal back my final piece so that I can fix it before Mrs. Grendson grades it,” Lena continued, ignoring Kara entirely and looking terribly pleased about that fact. She ceased her pacing and turned to Kara desperately, hands now clenched at her sides. “Please, Kara. I can’t fail. Especially not in art.”

Kara stared at her best friend, open-mouthed, trying to think of a response other than flat out laughing at the distress on Lena’s face, the certainty that Mrs. Grendson was capable of failing anyone, let alone a Luthor.

(Lex was long gone, making a name for himself in every corner of the scientific community, but their high school still thought fondly of him—and all the trophies and awards he brought for them.

Sometimes, Kara wondered if it was hard for Lena to grow up with Lex towering over her as he did, casting a rather large shadow.)

“How do you know if your redone work will be better? Apparently you’re terrible at art.”

At this, Lena smirked.

(It did funny things to Kara’s chest.)

“Because you’re going to do it for me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you owe me,” Lena murmured, stepping over to where Kara sat on her bed, advancing rather slowly.

(It made Kara feel like her heart was attempting to pound straight out of her chest.)

“I don’t know if that’s true…” Kara said weakly, trailing off when Lena’s smirk just widened and she was standing so close to Kara that her legs brushed Kara’s knees, the heat of her skin practically burning Kara.

“Please, Kara?”

(She wasn’t sure if it was the please, the proximity, the heavy pulse, or even the pathetic groan she hoped that Lena hadn’t heard, but it didn’t matter. One minute Lena was looking down at her, asking her to break nearly a dozen school rules—and Kara was rather generally fond of rules—and the next Kara was nodding dumbly, unable to say no.

Later she’ll think about this moment, the look in Lena’s eyes as she stared down at Kara, and it’ll give her hope.)

x

For the most part, Kara was remarkably good at pretending she was fine. It’d been a little over three years since she lost her entire family in one fell swoop, and it was easy to fake a smile, to push away the sadness that threatened to creep up and envelop her whole, to take each day as it came and never allow anything to bog her down for long. There was something…easy…about the way she lost her family. It was clean and quick, a surgical cut, and while the pain and emptiness remained, she knew she’d manage to heal somewhat—hobble on despite the scars, keep moving despite the ache that shadowed her every movement.

(She had Alex and Eliza and Jeremiah to lean on too, analgesics during a time she felt overwhelmed by pain, soothing her and calming her, turning the angry, red wound into a neat scar that served as a constant reminder, with a twinge of pain she came to expect on rainy days.

Lena only had her.)

Lionel Luthor’s death was slow and cruel. Lena’s cuts were jagged and deep, never quite given the chance to heal, left festering and infected, scar tissue never forming. There was nothing to soothe her, nothing to do to take away the pain, because each time she even drifted close to the process of beginning to heal, her father’s health began to deteriorate—or even worse, would improve, giving her hope only to have that hope come crashing down.

Lex disappeared on her, unable to witness the slow pace with which the illness took his father, and Lillian…Lillian was never much of a mother anyway, and hoping she’d offer comfort to a teenage girl was too much to ask.

Kara, who’d experienced loss and everything that entailed (the memories that kept her awake at night, the lingering anger at the unfairness of the universe, the regret that she’d never share her artwork with her parents, never excitedly tell them about her day or her passions or her love), wasn’t quite sure how to stitch Lena together. After all, when Kara lost everything, she found herself still loved and still cared for, sure that at the end of the day she could get a hug and a chance to forget her pain. But Lena? Lena had shattered and putting her back together was too big a task for Kara alone. She shied away from hugs, refused to accept comfort, and it took weeks before Kara realized the best she could do was merely offer her presence, the silent promise that she would stay—something solid and real and permanent amongst everything that had changed in Lena’s life.

Because after Lionel Luthor died, Kara learned that sometimes love just wasn’t enough to help people heal.

x

It was two weeks before graduation that Kara…figured it out.

(It being her feelings for Lena, the very feelings her mother and aunt understood before her, feelings she was rather sure Lionel understood before her, feelings Alex understood before Kara even bothered to put a name to them.)

Then again, ‘figuring it out’ was putting it simply, as if she woke up one morning and the knots tangled in her chest somehow unwound and realization came crashing down. It wasn’t like that at all, though. It was slow and arduous, a long time coming and yet somehow mysteriously shocking and life-changing.

She figured that the unraveling of that knot in her chest began with Lionel’s death, when her heart would hammer away in her chest just at the sight of Lena’s smile, which came rarely and disappeared quickly. Or maybe it was when they went to their senior prom together, neither quite willing to put up with boys wearing too much of their father’s cologne and ill-fitting suits. Maybe even it was when Lena held her hand as they laid together in her bed watching a movie Kara had picked out and Lena quietly confided that she didn’t think she was very much into boys at all.

(Most likely, however, it was on a playground in third grade, after threatening a boy she didn’t know and getting the most dazzling smile in reward, a smile Kara would swear shone brighter than any star she spent hours gazing at with Alex.)

It was two weeks before graduation and she felt so stupid for not seeing it before, for not paying more attention, for mistaking the flutter and the swoop and the sense of rightness with the same sort of love she felt for Alex or the boy in her chemistry class who always managed to make her laugh with his antics. She’d allowed herself to pretend, to overlook, to be blissfully ignorant, and all the while her heart had been busy breaking apart piece by piece and reforming somewhere in the palm of Lena’s hands.

She was in love with Lena Luthor. It was such a relief to think, like her lungs had finally managed to fill with air for the first time in her life—as if a weight she hadn’t even been aware of finally was lifted off her shoulders, giving her a chance to stand up straight and tall.

(Every smile that took her breath away, every touch that made her heart race, every comment that had her feeling warm suddenly made sense. And she felt so…blind. How could she have looked Lena in the eye and thought anything other than god I love you and mistaken the promises to always be there and always protect her for anything other than proud declarations of her feelings?

How had she spent ten years around Lena and not realized that she’d fallen head over heels for her best friend?)

It was two weeks before graduation and Lena was lounging on the couch, arguing with Alex over advances in biomedical engineering, the movie Alex had put on long forgotten. At first, Kara had been content to follow along silently, not adding to the debate even when Alex scoffed at Lena’s mentions of Lex’s work, but then her focus had shifted from the words to the way Lena waved her hands around as she tried to get her point across, the way her eyes lit up, the way she impatiently tossed her hair over one shoulder. It was the animation in her voice and the grin on her lips and goddid Kara love her.

As soon as she thought it, she panicked, jumping a little and sending popcorn toppling over the edge of her bowl and onto the ground.

(The thought came so easily, as if it’d always been there in the back of her mind, biding its time until Kara was too distracted or too tired to tack on the just a friend as she tended to do mechanically.

Because of course Kara knew she loved Lena—she just hadn’t been brave enough or smart enough or just old enough to realize all loves weren’t the same.)

“Kara?” Alex asked, staring at her oddly, one eyebrow raised, her argument with Lena forgotten for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“Kara?” Lena prodded when Kara was silent a beat too long.

(And she was so beautiful. Kara wondered how she hadn’t noticed before—the smooth skin and dark hair and vivid eyes that seemed to change color—how she’d never been struck dumb when faced with Lena when she was least expecting it.)

“I—I’m fine. For a second I thought I forgot to do homework but then I realized hey! It’s graduation soon! What does it matter, right? Ignore me, honestly, I think it’s just that I haven’t been sleeping—”

“Up talking all night with Daniel again?” Alex asked with raised eyebrows, looking like she was about to approach Kara, about to attempt to needle information out of her, but Kara could only stare at Lena, watching as her best friend turned to look at the ground.  

(It’s not what it sounds like, Kara wanted to yell. She didn’t like Daniel—not like that. But he was helping her with Lena’s surprise for graduation, something that had taken longer than Kara had expected.

But Lena wasn’t meeting her eyes and Alex was waggling her eyebrows suggestively and oh this was bad time for a life-altering realization.)

“Daniel’s helping me with something,” Kara said quickly, getting to her feet and crossing her arms, not at all amused by the way Alex kept grinning. “Besides you know I don’t like him.”

Alex laughed, shaking her head.

“Um no,” she said, turning to Lena as if to ask for support, eyebrows furrowing just slightly when she noticed Lena’s pinched expression and downcast eyes, “you’ve been super secretive these past few weeks. What’re you up to?”

“Can we just watch the movie please?” Kara begged, and something must’ve shown on her face because Alex’s eyes shifted from Lena (who was still staring rather determinedly at the floor) to Kara and then back, her mouth falling open in shock or excitement or confusion—or maybe a little of all three.

“You know what, the movie sounds nice,” Alex murmured, shooting Kara a look that screamed they’d be spending that night talking on the roof like they did when Kara was first taken in by the Danvers and everything was still so raw.

(Kara thought to just tell Lena right after graduation, blurt out the truth just like ripping off a Band-Aid. But when the day finally arrived, Kara could barely breathe when she looked out into the sea of parents and suddenly found herself longing for her family, an ache that wasn’t made easier even though Alex was screaming in the stands and Eliza and Jeremiah were clapping as loudly as they could.

And if Kara was struggling, how did Lena feel when no one showed up for her at all?

So instead Kara shoved her feelings down and gave Lena the bracelet she’d gone to Daniel and his family for help to make, deciding then and there she could wait.

She just ended up waiting a little longer than she expected.)

x

She always found an excuse to remain silent, utterly convinced by the lies she told herself, the I’ll tell her tomorrow and the it’s not a good time and the she looks so busy right now.

She stayed silent the entire summer before they went off to college (“Come on, Alex,” she’d defended when Alex gave her knowing looks and made pointed comments, “she’s not even here, she’s on vacation in France with Lex”) and then bit her tongue during the first several months of their first semester, nodding and forcing a smile whenever Lena spoke of her first real girlfriend (“She’s beautiful, Kara, and so smart, god I could listen to her talk all day”), shamefully relieved the day she learned that long-distance had been too much to handle for the other girl. In fact, the first time Kara came even close to admitting the truth was their first Christmas away from home, the two of them deciding to spend it with Alex and a girl she’d only introduce as ‘Sawyer’ with a strange expression on her face.

She came close to admitting the truth when Lena brushed by her and whispered that it was so easy to tell when someone was in love, grinning over at Alex and winking playfully, and Kara wanted to ask, if it truly was so easy, why Lena still hadn’t been able to tell Kara was in love.

She didn’t of course.

Lena looked terribly busy as she chatted away with Maggie, a smile gracing her lips.

x

It took Alex and Maggie another month to get their shit together and admit their feelings.

A month after that they went on their first date.

Near the end of Kara’s freshman year Alex had rushed over to Kara’s dorm, gushing about how she just admitted she loved Maggie and how great it felt and how Kara had to tell Lena now, she just had to.

And Kara…well, she tried.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Kara said with a grin, just finishing off her story about Alex for Lena, the two of them laying out on the grass outside the building where they had their last exam. She leaned back, staring up at the blue sky, hands pillowed behind her head. “It’s romantic and sweet and just…new love. How beautiful.” She was about to say more, wax poetic about how happy Alex was, maybe segue into her own feelings if she felt an opening, but Lena snorted slightly and Kara found herself turning to her best friend, shocked to see the distaste coloring Lena’s expression. “What?” Kara asked, rolling her eyes a little. “Is this too saccharine for you?”

“No, I’m happy for Alex.” When Kara just raised an eyebrow in response, Lena sighed and elaborated. “I am happy for Alex. It’s just…come on, Kara. Let’s be real. Love doesn’t exist.”

(If there was anything that could break Kara’s heart, it was that.

And god it was said so easily, so terribly sure and matter of fact, and Kara didn’t know why it was so hard to breathe suddenly.)

“W-what do you mean? Love is real. You’re my best friend and I love you.” (This was the closest she’d ever get to admitting the depth of her feelings for another nine years.)

“That’s not the same,” Lena answered, pink dusting her cheeks suddenly, looking awfully interested in the grass. “Love is…it’s a series of chemical reactions. And it’s temporary and fleeting and finicky.”

(Temporary? Fleeting? That wasn’t Kara’s experience. She’d been in love since she was eight, before she could recognize it for what it was, before she knew the feeling had a name.

But if Lena was right, which she often was, did that mean what Kara felt wasn’t love, was something different, something stronger and more lasting?)

“Lena, you can’t mean that. Love is, you know, love. It’s why we’re here. It’s why anyone does anything. Even if you don’t feel romantic love—”

“I don’t mean I don’t feel it, Kara. I mean it doesn’t last.” She swallowed hard, clenched and unclenched her hands, turning to Kara warily. “Look, can we just talk about something else?”

“Well no, now we can’t, now I want to know why you’re so anti-love.”

Lena stared at her, expression hard and lips pressed into a thin and angry line, then she turned away. Kara didn’t think she’d answer until she did, Lena seeming more surprised by her honesty than Kara felt.

“Because I asked my mother if she loved my father,” Lena admitted in a soft voice. “And she said love had nothing to do with it.”

“Your mom isn’t exactly the picture of—”

“I really don’t want to talk about it, Kara. Okay? I’m happy for Alex. I hope things work out for her.”

Kara wanted to argue, but Lena’s shoulders were tense and she knew if she said one more word on the topic, Lena would up and leave. So she just sighed.

“So. About the writing class I want to take…when do you think you can fit it into your schedule?”

(She didn’t need Lena’s relieved smile to know she’d made the right choice.)

x

She met Mike through Winn at the end of her junior year, and she cursed him everyday for it.

“For the tenth time, no Mike, I don’t want to go out with you,” Kara hissed the moment Mike stepped into her space, his eyes widening slightly behind his glasses. He looked surprised by her anger, which only served to piss her off more.

She came out to drink with her sister and friends, not spend an hour trying to shrug off Mike.

“Whoa, I wasn’t going to ask you out,” he defended, holding up his hands. He smiled at her and she hated—hated—that he seemed vaguely charming in that moment. Then he opened his mouth. “Look, I’m a prick. I know it. You know it. But I’m a prick that knows a lost cause when I see one. I give up.”

“It took you ten tries to realize it was a lost cause?” she huffed out sarcastically.

“Nope,” he told her, drawing out the pop. “It took meeting Lena Luthor once. So?”

“So what?”

“Ah, avoidance strategies. I know them well.” He grinned and motioned at the seat next to her, actually waiting until she made a vague sign that he could sit. “I know all about unrequited love Kara Danvers, and if that’s what’s holding you back, you shouldn’t worry.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kara bit out, not at all in the mood to carry on a conversation anymore. Mike didn’t seem at all bothered by her annoyance. If anything, he seemed strangely…fond? Endeared at the very least, something that made Kara’s stomach churn uncomfortably.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you what you already know,” he began, giving her a look and a wink when Kara couldn’t help but briefly glance at where she knew Lena was standing, deep in conversation with Winn about one of their classes. “But I do want to offer my help.”

“Your help? Why would I need your help?”

“I know a few things about love,” Mike said, wiggling his eyebrows and making Kara want to gag. “And I know for a fact that nothing makes you more attractive than when people think you’re…forbidden fruit, shall I say.”

“That sounds stupid,” Kara said flatly, rolling her eyes and refocusing on her drink. Mike, however, didn’t seem to recognize her body language as the dismissal it was.

“Trust me, Kara. Make her jealous, make her think she can’t have you, and she’ll be running right into the palm of your hands.”

“And let me guess, you volunteer to pretend to date me.”

Mike missed her deadpan.

“It would be my honor, Kara,” he said, aiming for gallant and charming but coming off as more than a little creepy.

Kara sighed, shifting in her seat to face Mike and motioning for him to lean closer.

“Mike,” she began slowly, watching as the beginnings of a smile formed on Mike’s lips, “that is absolutely, undeniably the worst idea I’ve ever heard. It also sounds predatory.” Her hands clenched and she knew her eyes had hardened because Mike’s smile was gone, replaced by a wide-eyed look, as if he couldn’t understand her anger. “Lena’s my best friend, not some prey to be baited into dating me. So if you don’t mind, keep yourself and your lousy ideas away from me and Lena.” She gave him a harsh smile, watching in satisfaction as he nearly stumbled in his rush to get away.

It was only a minute later when Alex took the seat Mike had abandoned, a questioning look on her face.

“You look like you’re ready to punch someone,” Alex said cheerfully, attempting to defuse the tension, make Kara smile. It worked.

“He says he’s given up, that’s something.”

“Oh? Finally realized it was a lost cause?”

“Apparently Lena is too much competition for him.” It was the first time Kara ever tacitly admitted her feelings for Lena, the first time she acknowledged it aloud, and admitting it now to her sister felt a little like a rush of fresh air, clean and crisp and carefree. Alex smiled, thankfully not making a big deal of it, reaching out to squeeze Kara’s shoulder gently.

“Come on,” she said. “Maggie beat me once at pool and she’s become insufferable. You have to beat her, deflate a bit of that ego.”

“You can’t beat your own girlfriend?”

“Honestly? I think the competitiveness is cute. And she looks so happy.”

“But you want me to beat her?”

“If you do it, she won’t be upset with me.”

Kara stared at her sister for a moment, grateful and a little jealous all at once, then laughed, not for the first time, ridiculously glad for Alex Danvers.

x

Amongst their friends it was a well-known fact that Kara and Lena did not fight.

This was strange for several reasons. For one, not fighting did not mean there was any shortage of disagreements. In fact, Kara and Lena disagreed on a great deal (“No, Lena, you can’t just write off someone because of something he’s done in the past. People can change, they can choose to be better”) and were often seen in the middle of quiet, measured, and passionate debates (“I understand your position, Kara, but I can’t just ask my brother to give someone a job, it’s unethical and she’s not even in a STEM field”). For another, as their majors and hobbies and interests drew them further apart, it was always assumed that distance would crop up in their relationship, adding pressure to an already precarious situation (“Come on, Kara, how long are you just going to pine after Lena before you realize something’s got to give?”).

And yet they did not fight.

Their disagreements were just that: disagreements. More than once, Maggie commented on how easy it was for Lena and Kara to resolve their conflicts, talking through their issues within the hour it cropped up, nipping it in the bud expertly and efficiently.

(When Winn asked for their secret, Kara had laughed. “It’s simple,” she’d said, patting Winn on the shoulder. “There’s two rules: never lie and never allow issues to fester.”

“Kara, you make it sound like that’s easy,” he’d said, rolling his eyes. Lena, who was arguing with Maggie over the choice in wine—not quite willing to go another night with the cheap brand Maggie bought from the supermarket, ignoring Maggie’s protests that they all tasted the same anyway—took the time to grin over at Winn and Kara, shaking her head fondly.

“It’s not easy,” she’d informed Winn. “But it’s worth it.”

“Totally worth it,” Kara had echoed, not hearing Maggie’s mumbled get a room.)

Thus, no one was more surprised by their fight the week before Christmas than Kara and Lena.

“What do you mean you go home for Christmas?” Kara demanded, arms crossed over her chest, unable to help the hitch in her voice.

(She was angry. Never lie, she’d told Winn, turning out to be a joke.

Except no, she was hurt, and she wasn’t used to that when it came to Lena, had never looked at her and thought, ouch.)

“Come on, Kara. It’s not that big of a deal—”

“—you’ve been going home these past two years, to your mom, and you’ve been telling me you spend Christmas with Lex. Why would you lie?” Kara’s interruption didn’t go over well. Rather than respond, Lena’s lips twisted, her eyes narrowed. Kara hadn’t seen her this displeased since she’d made a B in an inorganic chemistry class.

“I don’t have to discuss every single little thing I do with you, Kara,” she finally said, and by the way her eyes widened—the way she immediately stepped forward, as if to take what she said back—she regretted her words as soon as they came out of her mouth.

(Later, Kara will wonder why the comment felt like something piercing her between the ribs, why it felt like a blow to the middle, leaving her breathless and heaving for air. She’ll wonder why it hurt so much when logically she understood that Lena didn’t need to share every detail of her life—Kara certainly didn’t, hadn’t told Lena about that balloon of emotion in her chest every time she even looked at Lena.

Later, Kara will wonder if this was what being heartbroken felt like.)

“I see,” she muttered, raising her chin and stepping back when Lena looked like she was about to reach out. “You’re right.” (She was. After all, Kara hadn’t told Lena about her feelings, feelings she shoved away, torn between it never being the right time to confess and the certainty that a confession would only serve to break them apart.) “I shouldn’t have pried.”

“Kara—”

But for the first time, Kara didn’t listen.

They didn’t talk again until they both returned to campus, at which point they both pretended the argument never happened.

(Never allow issues to fester, she’d told Winn.

Well that turned out to be a joke too.)

x

“As far as electives go, it’s not the worst,” Lena graciously conceded, attempting and failing to wink over at Kara from across the table. Alex—visiting for the weekend—snickered before pretending to choke on a potsticker when Kara glared at her. “I’ve actually learned a lot.”

“The humanities are boring, Luthor, admit it. You crave labs and the thrill of discovery and late nights with nothing but coffee, microscopes, and Jack’s suffocating cologne.”

(Kara turned her head, suddenly overly interested in the baseball game on the television, not wanting Lena—or worse, Alex—seeing her grimace.

Pfft Jack. He was…annoyingly decent and frustratingly kind. Jack was Jack and Kara didn’t question it when Lena said he’d asked her out on a date after long months spent working in the same lab, didn’t mention her late night confession back in high school, didn’t ask Lena if she was sure when she said she wanted to give him a chance.

Because Jack…he made Lena smile.)

“Go back to your formaldehyde soaked apartment, Alex,” Kara scoffed when she realized she’d been silent too long—long enough that Alex was looking at her knowingly and Lena seemed a little bit concerned. “Don’t you have slides to study?”

“I take a break from studying for you and this is how I’m treated?” Alex said in mock offense, leaning back exaggeratedly and placing a hand over her heart. “I’ll have you know, medical school is no joke.”

“Then go back, I’m sure all your professors are missing you,” Kara muttered, dragging her finger through the condensation that had gathered on her glass. She flicked the water over at Alex, narrowing her eyes when it just made her sister grin.

“You could’ve stuck with physics, you know. No one forced you to change your major.” Except, judging from Alex’s eyes and the uptick of her right eyebrow, that wasn’t what she was saying at all. It was more like you could tell Lena and put yourself out of your misery or maybe something like stop moping already and eat the last potsticker.

“I like my major,” Kara said, leaning back in her chair. And judging from Alex’s resigned expression, she’d read that to mean stop meddling in my life.

“I hate it when the two of you have your silent conversations,” Lena said suddenly, pulling Kara and Alex out of their stare off. “You’re not as sneaky as you like to think. There’s too much eyebrow wiggling and sighing.”

“You sound jealous, Luthor,” Alex said cheerfully. “Don’t worry, Kara likes you too.”

“That wasn’t what I—”

“—speaking of electives,” Kara interrupted, already tired of Lena and Alex’s faux arguing, a habit they’d formed since Alex went off to medical school and Lena asked Lex to push LuthorCorp towards investing more in biomedical engineering. “I have to go rewrite my story.”

“Yeah, I still don’t get that. Why are you rewriting your assignment?”

“Kara decided our professor was wrong in assigning the prompt in the first place. But with the threat of a failing grade looming over her head, she’s finally willing to see reason,” Lena explained, smiling over at Kara fondly, apparently terribly amused by Kara’s show of protest.

Alex, clearly deciding that today was the day she wanted to settle once and for all who knew Kara best, just raised an eyebrow and looked steadily at Kara.

“What was the prompt?” she asked softly, like she knew, without having any of the details, exactly what was twisting in Kara’s chest and why she was willing to nearly fail—why she’d rather fail.

“We’re supposed to write something that ends tragically. It’s supposed to be a homage to naturalism.”

“That’s not quite the prompt, Kara, you’re—”

“—so we weren’t supposed to have a unhappy ending for our characters?” Kara said, cutting Lena off more harshly than she intended. She turned away from Lena’s hurt expression and focused on Alex, unable to meet her sister’s eyes.

“Oh, Kara,” she said after a moment. “It’s just a story.”

“That’s not the point, Alex,” Kara said, arms crossed over her chest. She knew Alex was getting so much more from that one comment, reading in-between the lines and understanding just how deep it went.

“I know,” Alex said, and it broke Kara’s heart because Lena just seemed confused—when normally, she was the first to notice something was wrong.

x

James Olsen was…gosh, he was James Olsen.

He was kind and generous and brave and he dragged Clark right back into her life, and when he spoke Kara thought her knees would give way because gosh he was James Olsen.

He was sweet and passionate and could make her laugh with ease, and he was late for work the day they met because apparently she made the bestcoffee he’d ever had and he couldn’t believe his best friend’s cousin worked at the café down the street for nearly a month without his knowing.

“It’s fate,” he said, grinning as he tossed several twenties into the tip jar, much to the glee of Kara’s coworkers. “I’ll see you later, Kara,” he added and made it sound charming and not creepy like Kara was used to (because it was a question, a request, made confidently and kindly, with all the promise of respecting her wishes and boundaries).

(And Clark was grinning next to him, his eyes sad as he looked at her but the hint of a promise on his lips, a whisper of things changing as he murmured a quick and awkward goodbye.

Clark, who left her. Clark, who was back again thanks to James Olsen.)

James Olsen…James Olsen made her heart flutter, made her stomach fill with butterflies, made her feel heard and respected and important. He took her around Metropolis, on his daily attempts to snap a quick picture of whatever caught his interest, telling her all about what it was like working with Clark and Lois and Perry White—telling her about the Daily Planet and finding a home behind the lens of his camera. He spoke of his father, of his admiration for all those who gave everything to help others, his hope that one day he could do the same.

And Kara…she told him about Alex, about missing Clark sometimes even if she was still furious that he left her behind, she told him about her parents and the lab her father worked in, the cases her mother poured over at nights pausing long enough only to make sure to tuck her in. She told him about how she’d wanted to follow her parents’ footsteps, wanted to help people, wanted to do something important with her life.

She told him about her Aunt Astra—how she wanted to see her again, wanted to find out why she did what she did, if she regretted her actions, if she felt guilty that she ruined Kara’s life.

She told him about Eliza and Jeremiah and how much she loved them.

She told him about moving to Metropolis and how she’d imagined it would be the next big adventure, that coming here would change everything—help her find her place.

She did not tell him about Lena.

She couldn’t. She couldn’t admit that Lena had a permanent place next to Alex in her heart, couldn’t tell James that Lena was a constant before and after her parents—a grounding point, an anchor. She couldn’t confess that Lena held her hand throughout all her anger at Clark, all her mixed feelings over her Aunt Astra, didn’t even know how to say that Lena was her family as much as Eliza and Jeremiah.

She didn’t even say that the move to Metropolis was for Lena, for them to remain together in some way even while she was off rising in the ranks in her brother’s company. She…she couldn’t even begin to verbalize what it felt like to watch Lena slip away, for their daily lunches and texts to dwindle down to nothing in weeks, for Kara to hear Lena apologetically say she just didn’t have the time to come to game night, even if Alex had gone out of her way to visit.

Kara told James about every big thing in her life, but she couldn’t talk about the biggest, and when she kissed him for the first time—the night he brought her Chinese and ice cream to cheer her up after she’d texted him to say that she hadn’t gotten the job at the Daily Planet like she wanted—she couldn’t help but think that it wouldn’t be right if she fell for him because she was rather sure Lena’s shadow would always hang over her.

But James was James, and when he kissed her back, she fell anyway.

x

It took months before Lena met James.

(It wasn’t weird that her best friend didn’t seem all that interested in meeting her boyfriend. It wasn’t strange that Winn took more interest in her love life than Lena, her best friend. It didn’t bother Kara at all that Alex flew in and spent a day with Kara and James before Lena even acknowledged that Kara had a boyfriend.

She was busy. Kara understood.)

Her tiny apartment—that she was barely able to afford with her meager salary from the café and the few random freelance articles she’d written—was full to the brim with only a handful of people. James was busy grabbing plates and glasses from the cupboard, chatting with Winn as he did so, discussing an article Clark had written with Lois. Lena and Alex were on the couch, arguing over bioethics concerns coupled with the rapid advancement in medicine. Kara leaned against the doorway, watching them for a moment, smiling at Alex’s impassioned speech for more regulation as well as Lena’s counterpoints that innovation could never be curbed.

It was nice, this moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten to witness Lena and Alex’s arguing, both of them throwing around words that eventually went over Kara’s head—even if she’d studied the sciences in college. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten to see Lena’s wide smile.

Kara stiffened at the thought, at the longing she felt, and with a guilty glance back at James, she shuffled over to the window, opening it as far as it would go, and climbing through it, dropping down onto the metal fire escape. The cool night air calmed her somewhat, but not as much as the sounds of honking cars and indecipherable voices, the rattle of a train somewhere in the distance, the sound of music coming from one of the lower apartments.

“Oh, there you are,” James said, sticking his head out of the window and smiling. It was charming and cute and he was so perfect for her. She loved him so much. “I was wondering where you went off to, and there aren’t a lot of hiding placing in your apartment.” He smiled wider at his little joke, joining her on the fire escape, looking down at her like he always did: like she was the most important thing he’d ever seen. And Kara wondered if she was somehow broken, because she deserved this, she did. She deserved someone who would always be with her and always take her needs and wants into account. And yet…yet all she could think about was how James deserved better than her—that he offered more than she ever could, and she’d dragged him far enough behind her for it to be cruel and wrong.

“James, I—” She stopped when he shook his head, still smiling and still looking at her like she was the most important thing he’d ever seen, even as his eyes filled with understanding and his shoulders slumped with resignation.

“It’s Lena, isn’t it?” he asked, no real bitterness in his tone, just quiet acceptance. “I guessed, you know? From the start,” he explained, chuckling mirthlessly at her look of shock, leaning against the railing and turning to look up at the sky. “You avoided talking about her so much I knew you either hated her or loved her, and I don’t think you’re capable of hate. But I was sure when I saw you look at her tonight.”

“She’s my best friend,” Kara said haltingly, wanting to hug James or lean into his warmth or use his shoulder to steady herself, knowing that none of those things were appropriate anymore. “I thought I just needed—I thought if I…I don’t know what I thought.” She was quiet for a moment, choosing to look through the window and watch Winn join Alex and Lena’s debate, Winn saying something that made them all laugh. “Is it really so obvious?”

“For someone who’s looking for it? Yeah, it’s pretty obvious,” James told her, knocking his shoulder lightly with hers, prompting her to look at him. “You know, she feels the same way.”

No, Kara didn’t know, barely considered the possibility. But her heart thumped at the very thought.

“Even if she did, she’s…I don’t think she has the time for a relationship.”

“She’s your best friend, Kara,” James said, accepting her point easily. “If anyone knows her it’s you.”

She nodded, but boy, Kara didn’t think that was true anymore.

“Do you think that job in National City is still open?” she asked suddenly, avoiding his eyes when she noticed concern begin to flood his features.

“Kara,” he began, “I don’t know if running away is the answer.”

“It’s not running away. I’m—I thought I’d find something here. I thought being closer to Clark, being in Metropolis would help me find what I’m looking for. But it wasn’t. And Alex is in National City,” she tacked on at the end, as if it would settle the issue. In many ways it did though, and James knew it.

“It’s still running away,” he told her softly, not really arguing but just pointing out a truth. “If she’s your best friend, what are you so afraid of?”

(And oh leave it to James to get to the heart of the issue, to look at her and understand and not let her get away with deflections and excuses like Alex tended to. She was afraid. Of what, Kara wasn’t quite sure. Maybe that Lena wouldn’t feel the same way. Maybe that it would change something between them. Maybe that it would be the straw that broke the camel’s back and Lena’s flimsy presence in her life would disappear entirely.

Maybe it was just that every time Kara wanted to confess, she thought about how Lena didn’t believe in love at all and it broke her heart.)

“Are you upset with me?” Kara asked weakly instead of answering James, and though he gave her a look that clearly said he knew what she was doing, he indulged her anyway.

“No,” he answered, having paused long enough that Kara knew he’d put real thought into it, had searched his feelings for any hint of anger or bitterness, a slight tinge of surprise in his voice when he found none. “No, I knew what I was getting into, even if I hoped I was wrong. So it’s not like you led me on or anything.”

“I’m so sorry, James.”

“Don’t be,” he said, waving her off, his voice slightly gruff—like he was holding back some sort of emotion. “Can I just—would it be weird to ask one thing?” When she shook her head, James cleared his throat and averted his eyes. “If you met me before her, if you’d never met her at all—” He stopped, crossed his arms over his chest, and gave a firm shake of his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he said after a moment. “What ifs don’t matter.”

Kara studied him sadly, from the stiffness of his shoulders to the fixed smile on his lips, and she felt something in her break.

“Can we—can we just stay out here for a while?” she asked in a low voice, knowing that returning inside would make this all real, all permanent, would mean that there would never be any going back. And James—soft, kind, generous, and gentle—gave her a real smile before wrapping and arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer to him, his warmth shielding her from the nip of the night air, his presence as sturdy and strong as ever.

“However long you need, Kara,” he whispered into her hair.

And they stayed out there for what felt like ages before Alex came to collect them, brows furrowed and expression concerned.

x

She was still on her phone as she sat down across from Kara at the café she’d chosen—a fancy place Kara normally would never have stepped in under her own volition—but before Kara had the chance to feel annoyed, she shoved the phone away and smiled brilliantly at her, and things were fine again.

Until she spoke, at least.

“Kara! It’s been so long, I am so sorry, things at work just got—”

“I know, Lena. Lex put you in charge of R&D, that’s huge.”

(She tried not to sound bitter, but she was rather sure she mostly failed because Lena was looking at her oddly, hurt at Kara’s tone. But the thing was, Kara was furious. She only found out about Lena’s promotion through Clark and an article he’d written about LuthorCorp. Even worse, when he’d asked if she could get into contact with Lena and see if she would be willing to sit down for an interview—something that might’ve made Perry White see reason and give her another chance for an entry-level job at the Daily Planet—she’d gotten nothing in reply. Not even a text back.

She remembered a time when they couldn’t go two days without talking. Now they were going months without a single word between them.)

“Kara, are you—”

“I have news of my own,” Kara interrupted, smiling wide and knowing it likely seemed forced, knowing because it felt forced. “It’s why I was so insistent we get coffee.”

“Oh?” Lena asked, giving Kara that smirk she loved so much. “Did you get that job at the Tribune you wanted?”

Kara blinked.

“No. No, they turned me down nearly a year ago.” It had been one of the first jobs she’d applied to upon arriving at Metropolis. And though she’d thought Lena had been the one to bring her potstickers to cheer her up, she now realized that had been Clark and Lois, the two of them cheerfully tearing down everyone at the Tribune just to make her laugh.

(Had she just inserted Lena into her memory? Imagined her there to offer comfort because Lena had always been there before? Was she sick? She was rather sure there was an entire season of Grey’s Anatomy devoted to Izzie seeing things.)

“Oh,” Lena muttered, looking as shocked as Kara felt.

“It’s not a big deal,” Kara hastened to say, both not liking the look on Lena’s face or the dark path her thoughts were winding down.

“Isn’t it though? The next thing you’ll tell me is you married James.”

She was going for a joke, Kara knew that. But boy, did the comment hit her like a truck. For a moment, she could barely breathe.

“Actually,” she struggled to say, “we broke up a few months ago.”

“Kara,” Lena said, eyes now so wide that it was comical. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kara let out a loud and undignified laugh, but it was better than letting out the sob that threatened to break free.

“Alex said she thought you weren’t listening to your voicemails. Guess she was right.”

“I-I’ve been in the lab,” Lena stuttered through her shock. “I didn’t realize—I’ve been—Kara, I’m so—”

“It’s fine,” Kara stressed, waving off Lena’s pleas and smiling at her. “That’s not why I asked you to coffee either. You see, I did get a better job—”

“—that’s amazing, Kara, I had every confidence you would, you’ll make a wonderful reporter—”

“—as Cat Grant’s personal assistant,” Kara finished, speaking over Lena.

“Sorry, what?”

“Apparently Ms. Grant has gone through four assistants in four months. Clark and James think that if I can hold the job for a few years, I could move up. Get a job as a writer for Ms. Grant’s magazine.”

“That’s hardly hard-hitting journalism, Kara, it’s not what you wanted—”

“—no, but I have to be realistic. Perry White was never going to give me a job. CatCo might.”

“It’s in National City,” Lena pointed out suddenly, as if this would put an end to whatever argument they were having.

“I know. That was my second bit of news, actually.” She paused for effect. “I’m moving!”

Lena didn’t look as thrilled as Kara hoped she’d be.

“You’re what? When?”

“I’m moving,” Kara repeated, checking her watch surreptitiously. “Alex and I are making a road trip out of it. She flew in last night and we’re leaving in a few hours. She likes to drive at night.”

“You’re leaving? Tonight?” She looked hurt by that and Kara felt guilty for only a moment before her anger and frustration returned. (Never lie, never let issues fester—that was how they managed to never fight, for their arguments to get settled quickly and efficiently, without much hurt on either side. But Lena was lying and Kara was allowing issues to fester and she was rather sure the resulting implosion was inevitable. Needed, even.) “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Why don’t you ever call me back?” Kara returned flatly, getting to her feet. “You’re my best friend, Lena. You always will be. But I’m unhappy here, moving to National City is a good choice for me.”

(It felt like they were breaking up. But that was ridiculous. They hadn’t been dating in the first place.

She idly wondered why no one had ever mentioned that losing your best friend hurt worse than losing a boyfriend.

She idly wondered if her position was unique because she was losing Lena.)

Lena got to her feet as well, and for a glorious moment Kara imagined a scenario in which Lena kissed her senseless, in which she grabbed Kara’s hands and fought to make her stay, in which she swore she’d stop being so distant, so faraway even in the moments they were together. But the moment passed quickly and Kara crashed down to reality when Lena only offered her a weak smile.

“Don’t lose touch, okay?” Lena said, playing with her watch and staring at the table. She made an awkward movement, almost like she wanted to pull Kara into a hug, but stopped halfway and just remained motionless. It would almost be funny if it wasn’t just so sad.

Kara ignored the question, gathered all her courage, and placed a soft and brief kiss on Lena’s cheek.

“Bye, Lena.”

(Lena didn’t chase her down as she left the coffee shop, didn’t find her huddled in an alleyway, wiping her cheeks furiously, didn’t even come by hours later, as Kara found every excuse to delay their trip National City and Alex continued to give her pitying looks.

And by the time they were on the highway, Kara staring out her window without speaking, that goodbye felt rather permanent.)

x

She rather thought that National City was good for the soul.

It was sunny in National City, the people seemed livelier, kinder, warmer. And even if Cat Grant was in one of her terrible moods—which she was in at least once a day, usually because someone from photography and layout had messed something up—Kara could always count on sticky buns from Noonan’s to cheer her right up. (Not Cat, obviously. Cat wouldn’t touch one of those buns with a ten-foot pole. No, the sweet was for Kara.)

She had Sister Night in National City, a job she usually adored and a goal she was determined to reach, an apartment she loved, and wonderful new friends.

Kara was happy.

Really.

“Kara, I’m watching that. Stop changing the channel.”

“Why do you need to watch the news, don’t you get enough of it from Maggie?”

(Another thing National City had? A chance for Kara to witness her sister’s happiness. She’d broken things off with Maggie sometime during medical school, but had run into the newly minted detective and things had apparently just…worked out. Alex was smiling all the time, and it was beautiful.)

“Just because you avoid everything that has to do with Lena—”

“—I don’t do that,” Kara denied, shaking her head quickly and vehemently.

“—doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do my research so that I can destroy her when she visits. She’s got to know her brother’s company does more harm than good.”

“Do you talk to her?” Kara found herself asking despite herself. It was stupid. She knew it would just hurt if Alex said yes and bum her out if Alex said no. It was a no-win situation and she hated herself for it.

“Only when she visits. And you know she always wants to see you too, but you keep acting surly.”

“Sorry if I expect my best friend to care about me more often than only when she’s in National City to oversee something at a branch of LuthorCorp.”

“You’re both ridiculous, I hope you know that,” Alex said happily, turning the television off once she noticed Kara’s grimace. “She’s your best friend.”

��She didn’t come after me.”

“You know she can’t run in heels,” Alex joked, and Kara struggled to keep her impassive expression, “that’s not her fault.”

“She hasn’t tried reaching out.”

“Because you’ve shut her out,” Alex countered, referring to the almost weekly trips Lena made to National City the first month after Kara moved. Each time, Kara had said she was busy with work and couldn’t get away, and Lena would leave with only a text goodbye.

And then those had stopped too, the visits. The calls and the texts became rare enough that it was almost as if they had stopped.

At times, Kara thought if it weren’t for the occasional press conferences Lena gave in her brother’s place, she wouldn’t have even known Lena was healthy and happy.

“Come on, Kara,” Alex continued, “you’re older than her, you’ve got to be the mature one.”

“I’m only older by three months!” Kara huffed, throwing herself onto the couch and staring hard at the ceiling. “Besides, distance is good. Great, even. More than necessary. We were too dependent on each other.”

“Right, and my hair is green,” Alex deadpanned, leaning over Kara and shaking her hair in Kara’s face, as if to show off her auburn locks. “For two smart people, you’re both being really stupid.”

“You’re being really mean. Like Ms. Grant mean, and that’s just sad, Alex.”

“Shut up and move over, if you’re not going to let me watch the news, you might as well put on a movie.”

Kara did as she was told, only half-heartedly listening to Alex’s running commentary on the film she’d put on, finally breaking after half an hour—much to Alex’s very obvious amusement.

“I miss her,” Kara admitted in a soft voice.

Alex’s expression fell, and she pulled Kara into a hug.

“Yeah, I know,” she said, voice full of something Kara couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Have you tried drawing her and puppies to feel better?”

“No ice cream for you,” Kara muttered while Alex apologized for her joke, but she was hiding a smile in Alex’s shoulder, so she supposed her sister wasn’t very sorry at all.  

x

She’d begun to think something might be wrong when the name ‘Luthor’ appeared in the news more often than normal.

The family was always in some way making news. Whether it was funding research for a cure to a rare disease or a shady business deal with a foreign company, LuthorCorp and by extension the three Luthors in charge, was consistently in the public eye. It wasn’t always good, but it was never obviously bad, either.

Until, however, Lex seemed to go off the rails entirely.

It started slow, slow enough that at first Kara didn’t even notice in between watching news clips while waiting for Ms. Grant’s coffee. There was an odd article about abnormal contracts with weapon manufacturers. Then, there was a report or two about odd—if not outright strange—transactions with certain individuals that any wise businessman wouldn’t touch.

About a year after Kara moved to National City, the Daily Planet published an explosive article that LuthorCorp was secretly funding a weapon production program and selling said weapons to various third parties.

Six months after that, Lex was arrested on a vast array of charges, Lillian Luthor stepped away from the company, and Lena was named CEO and took on the brunt of the backlash as LuthorCorp basically went up in flames.

And for the first time in about eight months, Kara heard from Lena:

Clark did all the legwork for the article.

And well, Kara was quite familiar with the sensation of her family members destroying things she loved, and it didn’t come as a shock at all.

x

Kara eyed her new office apprehensively, leaning against the far wall and staring at her empty desk with her arms crossed tightly against her chest. She was thrilled, she was, she’d been eyeing a job like this since she arrived in National City, but now that she had it….

It was a little anticlimactic. She’d called Alex and her sister had been appropriately overjoyed for her, as were Eliza and Jeremiah, and yet something felt missing. Something felt wrong.

(She stared at her phone, at the news notifications about LuthorCorp’s move to National City and their planned rebranding, and she tried to pretend that had nothing to do with how she felt at this moment.

She tried and she failed.)

“Ready for lunch?” Alex asked from behind her, eyes kindly averted, choosing to stare at her nails instead of the look of panic that quickly took over Kara’s expression when she continued scrolling through the articles and stopped at what must have been the most recent photo of Lena, looked ragged and annoyed as she shoved her way past reporters to get into her building here in National City.

The caption below the photo wasn’t flattering.

“Have you seen her yet?” Kara asked, knowing Maggie was waiting for them at some vegan restaurant, wanting to celebrate Kara’s promotion. Alex continued to stare at her nails and Kara continued to think that was rather kind of her.

“Why? Will my answer change what you plan on doing?”

“What do you think I’m planning on doing?”

“Honestly?” Alex asked, finally looking up and eyeing Kara critically. “I think you’re going to keep pretending you’re not missing her.” She hooked her arm through Kara’s and dragged her out of the empty office, pulling her towards the elevators. “When you wanted to leave Metropolis, I was glad. I hated seeing you waste your life away in a coffee shop just because you wanted to be near Lena.” As the elevator doors slid shut, Alex leaned heavily into Kara’s side, head resting on her shoulder. “You were right. You did need to learn to live your own separate life from Lena, but now that you have, just go see your best friend. She needs you.”

“What about the vegan restaurant? Maggie is waiting,” Kara protested, resisting weakly when Alex tugged her into CatCo’s lobby and then out into the street. “We were going to celebrate.”

“Don’t act like you’re not excited to miss out on this restaurant,” Alex said with a laugh, pressing a quick kiss to Kara’s cheek, a halfhearted attempt to make sure there were no hard feelings between them. “Go home, Kara. Think about what you’re planning. Then go see Lena.” Then, without giving Kara a chance to argue, Alex shoved her lightly in the direction of her apartment and then turned on her heel, walking briskly away in the opposite direction.

And Kara went home, fully intending to drown all her doubts and sorrows in a pint (or two) of ice cream.

Or at least, what was what she intended. She never really got the chance; by the time she’d changed into her comfort pajamas, a thick blanket thrown over her shoulders, and was digging through her freezer for that ‘rainy day’ ice cream, there was a knock on her door. Grumbling and annoyed, because of course Alex wouldn’t trust her enough to believe she would actually listen to her sister’s advice (for good reason, she supposed, considering her current state), Kara practically stalked towards her door, throwing it open with more force than necessary, eyes pressed tightly shut.

“Alex, you need to let me have my night to mope, can’t your lecture wait until tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry,” said someone with a voice that decidedly didn’t belong to Alex. “It’s a bad time, this was a bad idea, I shouldn’t have come.”

Kara’s eyes flew open, and before her visitor had the chance to step back, Kara had reached out for a hug—it was instinct, it was habit, it was just what she did. And when she got her hug back, mismatched edges seemed to finally slot into place, and Kara felt like she could breathe again.

“It’s always a good time for you,” Kara said into Lena’s ear, unable to help her wide grin.

x

“Come on, Lena. Feel the burn! Enjoy the burn! If it hurts, that’s how you know it’s working!” Kara called over to Lena, watching her struggle with mild amusement. She’d suggested morning jogs as a joke initially, but Lena had taken to the idea with surprising eagerness, something Kara was rather sure she regretted now, in between all the heaving breaths and the sweaty hair. She wondered if Lena still thought it was a good way for them to rebuild their friendship.

“I…can’t…believe…” Lena managed to say between gasps, bending over with her hands on her knees and head practically in her chest. “…people…do this for…fun.”

“I could carry you on the way back if you like.”

“This isn’t a joke, Kara,” Lena said, looking over at her with narrowed eyes. “You killed me. I’m dead. Say goodbye to the last sane Luthor, please don’t let my obituary be too embarrassing.” She straightened as she spoke, stretching out her back and arms and Kara was a little bit distracted to immediately respond.

“Don’t say that,” she finally found the voice to admonish. “Of course your obituary will be embarrassing. I’ll write about the time we snuck into the art room to fix an assignment you’d already made a perfect on.”

“I didn’t know it’d already been graded, Kara,” Lena said, not looking particularly glad that this had been brought up. Kara wondered if she remembered the way they’d giggled as they escaped the school building, tangling pinkies and swearing they’d never bring it up again. “It was ugly, what sort of person gives perfect marks on something so ugly?”

“Well, I thought you were adorable,” Kara said without thinking, grimacing as she registered her own words, “I mean—not adorable, but um, adorably criminal.”

“It was my Luthor genes shining through,” Lena joked, winking when Kara rolled her eyes. “I’m ready to go now, you don’t have to go so slow because of me,” she added when Kara jogged in place, staring out into the park—looking at the couple walking their dog and the old woman sitting on a bench reading the newspaper. Kara laughed, listening to Lena’s heavy breathing, and shook her head.

“Oh shucks, look at that, my shoes are untied,” Kara said in mock surprise, leaning down and untying her shoelaces before taking her time to tie them up again. She took extra care in making sure everything was tight, going as far as to untie and retie her right shoe—just in case. And when she looked back up, Lena was staring at her with a mix of fondness and confusion.

“Back in Metropolis,” she began.

“Lena, I don’t—”

“—I avoided you. I wasn’t working all the time, I could’ve seen you more often but I…” she trailed off, frowning. “And I didn’t realize how much that could hurt until you avoided me. When you left. And I’m sorry.”

“Why were you avoiding me?”

Lena blinked, looking like she hadn’t expected the question, but surely she should have. She’d brought it up, she made it a point to apologize. Of course Kara would want more explanation.

“How about a race?” Lena suggested, ignoring Kara’s question completely. “First one to the gate gets to choose breakfast?”

Kara’s grin was her only reply.

(Needless to say, she won the race. They ended up with sticky buns and coffee from Noonan’s, Kara regaling Lena with horror stories about needing pick-me-ups at all hours, depending on Cat Grant’s mood.

And the entire time her thoughts were a million miles away, wondering what would make Lena avoid her in the first place.)

x

“You know,” Lena said in between mouthfuls of pizza, “I never thought I’d say this, but reporters aren’t so bad.” She took a sip of her wine—the charm and sophistication of the action lost on Kara as Lena was drinking her wine out of a plastic cup—and smiled benignly. “There’s even one reporter I’d go as far as to say I like.”

“Oh really? Let me guess. She’s a dazzling cub reporter at CatCo. Golden hair, dazzling blue eyes, impeccable fashion taste?” Kara asked, grinning and pointing at herself exaggeratedly, not quite appreciating Alex’s snort or Maggie’s not-so-subtle shake of her head. She opened her mouth to tell off her sister and her sister’s girlfriend, but before she could, Lena smiled softly and derailed all of Kara’s thought processes.

“Well, I was going to say Lois Lane, but yes, you’re a close second.”

“A—a close second? To Lois?” Kara spluttered indignantly, mouth falling open in offense. “Was she the one to write stories about the phoenix-like rebirth of L-Corp and the CEO that spearheaded its rise? No. That was me. All me.”

“But that corruption article—” Lena said, not even bothering to hide her laughter as Kara stared at her in betrayal. “I’m joking,” she said when Kara went as far as to push her plate of pizza away, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Alex snorted again. “Your articles are wonderful, I’m so grateful for them, Kara.”

“I didn’t write them as a favor,” Kara mumbled, turning her head and glaring at Alex, daring her to let out another snort. “I wrote them because it’s the truth. You rebuilt LuthorCorp from the ground up. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Ugh,” Alex cried, throwing her hands up in the air. “Come on, Maggie, that’s our cue to leave. They’re going to be gross again. Compliments thrown back and forth, no you hang up first,” she tacked on in an affected voice.

“You don’t give me any compliments,” Maggie said, almost petulantly, while Kara found herself unable to do much more than open and close her mouth repeatedly, no response ready on her lips.

“Shh, Maggie, it’s okay. It’s their foreplay.” Alex grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and dragged her out of the apartment, leaving Kara and Lena alone at the table.

“So,” Lena said, sipping calmly from her plastic cup of wine, “when do you think Alex will remember this is her apartment?”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m going to steal all her vinyls.” She paused her plotting and stared at Lena thoughtfully. “Is Lois really your favorite reporter?”

“Of course not,” Lena scoffed, waving a hand, as charming, clever, and confident at twenty-eight as she’d been at eight years old, merely amplified by the years that had passed, still managing to leave Kara in awe with nothing but a smile. “You’re always my favorite, Kara. In everything.” The words brought her heart to a thudding stop. Her eyes were fixed on Lena’s lips.

(She was going to do it. She was going to stand and lean in, she was going to settle that voice in her head and that thrumming in her chest once and for all. She would know, know for sure how Lena felt, all she had to do was be brave in this single moment—gather all her courage and ask onesimple question, hope to whatever was out there that Lena would nod, would say yes, would dispel of words entirely and close the distance between them.

She was going to do it, she was going to do it.)

The door swung back open and Kara was rooted to her seat.

“Can you believe Alex forgot this was her apartment?” Maggie laughed as she approached the table, frowning as she took in Kara’s face and then Lena’s. “Are you two okay? You both look like you saw a ghost.”

“F-fine,” Kara stammered, tearing her eyes away from Lena’s lips and forcing a smile. “I just said I was going to steal all of Alex’s vinyls.”

“I heard that!” Alex called from the door, letting it swing shut behind her. “But you know, if you do manage to pull it off, it might even outdo the roof thing. But nothing can top the Paint Incident,” she tacked on dreamily.

Maggie and Lena laughed, familiar with both stories, and Kara sighed, unable to help it when her gaze flicked briefly over to Lena.

She felt her courage fade, felt the moment slip past her fingertips, and she couldn’t help but sigh. But when she did, it wasn’t Alex who looked at her quizzically and in worry. She was too busy rolling her eyes at something Maggie was saying. Instead, it was Lena who looked at her in concern, eyes wide and pleading—wordlessly asking if she was okay, back in sync for the first time in years.

(At the very thought, Kara felt much of that courage race right back.)

x

It was very late or very early, Kara wasn’t quite sure which, and she and Lena were lounging on the couch in Lena’s office, leaning heavily on each other, Lena’s work long forgotten. It’d been quite some time that they’d had nights (mornings?) like this, Lena calling her because she felt her world spiraling, and Kara the only one who could stop the spinning for even a moment. Sometimes there were tears, more often there was total silence, Lena tightly grasping her hand until Kara couldn’t feel her fingers anymore.

This morning (last night?), Lena had just buried her face in Kara’s shoulder, not saying a word for hours as Kara rubbed her back and muttered nonsense under her breath just hoping to ease whatever Lena was dealing with this time.

“Do you remember Jack?” Lena asked suddenly, bringing up her ill-fated whirlwind romance from their last year in college without prompting. Kara nodded hesitantly, wincing a little internally as she thought about all the anger she’d directed towards such a perfectly decent guy, wondering if she should call him up one day and apologize—admit she’d been jealous and she’d really had nothing against him. Then again, to admit that to Jack would mean she’d first have to admit those feelings to Lena, and she wasn’t quite sure if that would ever happen—at least, if her track record was any indication. “I really wanted things to work out with him. Thought if I could focus on him and my studies, I could forget about everything else.”

Kara’s breath hitched and she swallowed hard. Admittedly, it hurt to hear Lena say something like that. Because around that same time, Kara was feeling lost, had needed her best friend, and had been left unmoored and aimlessly floating away from shore in Lena’s absence. It hurt to hear that Lena’s distance had been intentional.

“Okay.”

“Are you going to ask why?”

“Would you answer?”

“I don’t know,” Lena admitted softly, tucking her head more comfortably under Kara’s chin.

“Why did you lie about where you were going for Christmas?” Kara asked instead, voice barely a whisper, unsure even now if she should bring it up. Lena stiffened slightly, then inhaled deeply, relaxing just as suddenly.

“My mother told me she wanted to make up, start over. She told me she knew she strained our relationship and wanted to fix it.”

“Did she?”

“No. As it turned out, she just wanted me to spy on Lex for her.” Lena cleared her throat and pulled away from Kara, shifting so that she was sitting on the very edge of the couch. “Besides, after working at LuthorCorp for a few months after graduation, it was obvious Lex was up to something, and it was obvious she was trying to hide his mess for him. She was just trying to use me as a pawn—I was disposable, you see.”

“You’re not disposable,” Kara immediately argued, not sure if she liked the way Lena laughed in response—like she found the comment inherently flawed, but couldn’t bring herself to explain just how wrong Kara was.

“I’m not sad, Kara,” Lena explained gently, shrugging when Kara looked at her in disbelief. “I’m not.” She shrugged again, seemingly not caring that Kara had been rendered speechless. “I’ve known what my mother is my whole life.” Her head tilted to the side, and she studied Kara so intently for a moment that Kara was sure she was reading every single secret Kara had buried away deep in her heart for safekeeping. “But then you just waltzed in one afternoon and forced my dad to take a stand.” She reached out and took Kara’s hand, squeezing tightly, eyes showing no hint of melancholy. And it was a beautiful sight. “I’m not sad, because whatever my mom has done, I’ve always known I had you.” She smiled then, something changing in her expression, something Kara sometimes saw in her own reflection. “You saved me from the day I met you. But it wasn’t till that afternoon that I realized you were my hero.”

“I’m not a hero. I’m just…me.”

“You’re my hero,” Lena said, grinning when Kara gave her another disbelieving look, finding it difficult to ignore the pounding of her heart, though she was giving it a valiant attempt. “Can I ask a question now?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you leave Metropolis?”

(And oh Kara felt her courage fail her at this critical moment. She felt it escape her in a flood, a mass exodus of bravery in the face of such overwhelmingly terrifying prospects. Because an admission could lead to reciprocation. It could lead to a moment she’d imagined again and again and again. Or it could lead to horrifying and awkward rejection, a friendship she treasured and missed dearly when it was out of reach—when it felt shattered beyond repair—becoming lost forever.

And oh Kara stared at Lena and she found she’d brave any enemy, any storm, any short, grubby, sniffling bully if only it meant she’d have a chance to keep Lena in her life.)

“It’s hard to get over someone when they’re in the same city as you,” she found herself saying, a non-answer that she thought said entirely too much. (Be brave, she thought. Be brave.)

“You and James were really good for each other,” Lena nodded, and it was the way she looked at the ground, the way she released Kara’s hand, the way she swallowed, the way her eyes grew sad that Kara finally, finally, saw what Alex had seen, what James had seen, what even gross Mike had seen. “It makes sense that he’s hard to get over,” Lena added, a pinched expression on her face, one that Kara caught even if most of Lena head was turned away.

(Be brave, she thought. Be brave.)

“Actually, Lena,” Kara began slowly, heart racing, “I wasn’t talking about James.” Lena turned to her in shock, eyes wide, and of course Kara began to ramble, stomach swooping up and down and feeling as if the blood rushing through her veins was on fire. “He was wonderful. He is wonderful, I mean. But he’s not wonderful for me. Does that make sense? I mean, he’s perfect. But it’s really hard to love someone the right way when you’re in love with someone else and I—”

“I was jealous of James!” Lena blurted, apparently quite surprised by her own interruption. “I couldn’t—I didn’t want to hear about him. I’d be jealous of anyone you were with. So I avoided you, because I didn’t know what else to do, I didn’t know if I could hide how I felt—”

“—I hated Jack,” Kara confessed. “And that girl from France, the one you met before we started college, I hated her on principle, and James told me I’m not capable of hate, but they had you and I hated them and—”

Lena interrupted her again, this time by grabbing her face and pulling her forward, her lips on Kara’s making it quite difficult to talk at all. It was awkward and needy and full of a pent-up sort of want and it made Kara’s head spin, it fried all her nerves, it left her permanently incapable of any sort of rational thought. Because Lena—her best friend, Lena—was kissing her.

“Wait, wait,” Kara said suddenly, pulling away from Lena’s kisses, unable to help her smile at Lena’s groan, “so are you anti-love?” Lena’s eyes, which had been closed, opened lazily, and she blinked at Kara in confusion, seemingly unsure what they were talking about. “You said you didn’t believe in love,” Kara elaborated, feeling her ears heat up because as far as she knew, she’d admitted she loved Lena, but Lena had just admitted feelings, and what if she was making a fool of herself, reading too much into one kiss—even if said kiss was as singularly mind-blowing as Lena’s?

“I was nineteen,” Lena admitted softly, and she reached out with a hesitant hand, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Kara’s face and then cupping her cheek, thumb rubbing idle patterns into her skin. Kara felt rather than directed her eyes to flutter shut, felt rather than directed her head to lean into Lena’s hand. “I was bitter because I’d fallen for my best friend and I didn’t think she’d ever feel the same way.”

“So not temporary and finicky?”

“Not in my experience, no.”

“You know, if you hadn’t said that, if you’d just waited ten seconds, I was going to tell you how I felt that day.”

Lena didn’t answer for so long that Kara opened her eyes, only to be met with impossibly soft eyes.

“That’s okay,” Lena said finally, leaning forward to press her forehead against Kara’s. “I sort of like how our story ended up anyway.” And when Lena closed the last of the distance between them, pulling Kara into another kiss (being brave never felt so good), Kara couldn’t help but agree.

x

The next time they all got together, Kara and Lena were holding hands and sneaking not-so-sneaky kisses and gazing adoringly at each other, and upon seeing it, Alex first pretended to gag before she laughed uproariously, demanded champagne in celebration, and told anyone who’d listen that she’d called it from the day she found out that Kara alternated her time between drawing puppies and Lena.

[mccarricks]

( brittany o’grady / demi woman ) WESLEY McCARRICK is 23 years old and is a SENIOR at thales university. SHE is majoring in FILM and is known for being THE MAVERICK as THEY can be HUMOROUS and OPEN-MINDED as well as DITZY and IMPULSIVE. every time i see HER/THEM, THEY remind me of PURPLE SKY IN THE DESERT, SKATING AS FAST AS YOU CAN TO FEEL THE WIND ON YOU, A JOKE TOLD WITH A TOOTHY GRIN.

hero’s back w character no. 2 and yet......

full name: wesley ‘wes’ elaine mccarrick

birthdate: february 2, 1997

age: 23

gender: demi woman

pronouns: she/her/they/them

zodiac: aquarius

nationality: american

ethnicity: black (louisiana creole) and white (irish)

hometown: santa fe, nm

languages: english, intermediate spanish

family:

theodore mccarrick, father

elaine barlow, mother

ruby mccarrick, older brother

delphine mccarrick, older sister

sherri barlow, maternal grandmother

many cousins

orientation: bisexual biromantic, pref. towards women/nb people but will date men

religion: agnostic

height: 5 ft 4 in

distinguishing features: eyebrows, hair, lips

character inspo: ilana wexler (broad city), harley quinn (dc comics), phoebe buffay (friends), prob more

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

TRIGGERS: divorce, mentions of crime, drug and alcohol use

the youngest child of ted and elaine mccarrick, wes was a kid who is full of life. she’s the kind of kid who did things to make you smile, and it usually worked. she was warm and inviting, a little naive, but she had a strong support system.

her parents divorce when she’s six, she doesn’t quite understand it but her dad moves out, and her grandma and multiple cousins move in. it’s a lively household, between her mom, who works as a nurse, and her siblings, and her cousins, it was never really quiet and there was never a lot of room.

despite the split, her parents maintain that their children have a relationship with both of them, and truthfully, wes is a daddy’s girl. she and her dad were cut from the same cloth, happy go lucky, fun loving, a bit silly, he’s the one who introduces her to movies. it’s their thing, watching and critiquing them together, and it’s not whatever is in theatres either. they went for all times of filmmaking, new wave, surrealist, and more.

it really stuck with wes, who herself had begun making movies, mostly horror/fantasy/scifi stuff with her friends-- she writes and directs and occasionally, she’ll don a costume and star in them. they’re silly little things, but her family always sat down for her “premieres.”

her formative years are marked with plenty of things, sports, deaths of distant family members, a cousin or two who gets caught in the wrong crowd and ends up in jail, and throughout this, wes remains a rock for her family.

she’s in high school, and she gets into the eclectic crowd, the outcasts, the weirdos, the ones who smoked under the bridge, and partied out in an abandoned trailer near the desert. these freaks were her freaks. they accepted her with open arms, as she them.  

she chooses thales because she always wants to see the east coast, and frankly, as much as she loves her family, she wants to be free of them. and they have a fantastic film program. so!

she meets steven in their first film class together, and they’re fast friends, despite her usual weariness of YET another film bro, steven proves to be a good egg. so she thinks. she finds out through him talking that he might not be the most faithful to his girlfriend, and as much as she doesn’t like meddling, she thinks it’s only right to let clarissa, who she doesn’t really know well, know. however, before there’s a chance, everything happens-- now she’s stuck wondering if she should reveal the truth, or let sleeping dogs lie.

nana is different, nana and her dated her sophomore year, nana’s freshman year. it wasn’t serious. but they were fond of each other. they eventually break up, but they stay friendly, waving to each other in the halls, chatting at parties.

both the disappearance and the murder is weird for wes, who by all accounts, isn’t great at dealing with bad shit. she prefers to laugh about things. laugh about everything. because if she doesn’t laugh, she’ll cry.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

wes is a mess, a free-spirit, a walking contradiction. she’s very independent minded, the kind of person who does things without thinking so much about the consequences, this leads her into trouble sometimes. like nicking something from a convenience store, or stealing a stop sign as a prank. she’s definitely the kind to goof off and not exactly dedicate her full attention to something. and while she’s in genuinely good spirits on most occasions, she has a staunch ‘no asshole’ policy. the type to defend the underdogs, and go after bullies. she’ll punch you with a smile on her face, and yet it ends up being more unnerving than you realize. she’s a bit of a ditz, as well, never the best at school, but can talk your ear off about the going ons of the world. she’s a lovable dumbass, for sure, and loyal to a tee once you get her as a friend.

𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒

horror movie fan! her favorites are some of the oldies, like dracula and  the bride of frankenstein! and some new ones! big fan of jordan peele’s work, as well as ari aster’s! but mostly really advocates for women directors and directors of color!

also does roller derby! she picked this up her first year at thales and fell in love with it, i can’t think of a name for her yet, but she’s a blocker, won’t hesitate to elbow some dick at the bar

kinda a tomboy? she’s always been! she’s rough and tumble and not afraid to get down and dirty with someone, i.e. will join those football games on the quad or crawl through the mud for a scene to shoot

doesn’t know if she wants to be a director/writer or a cinematographer honestly.... she loves the technical aspects of film as much as the making the stories

definition of a bruh girl, says it a whole lot, but also just if you tell her you love her, she’ll just roll her eyes and be like you’re an idiot (which means she loves you too) she’ll be affectionate if she’s close to you

kinda a wh*re oops....... texts multiple girls at a time and doesn’t want to hurt any of their feelings she doesn’t know how she keeps ending up in these situations... also a bisexual disaster

a stoner as well..... always has a massive jar of weed

unclear whether she lives on campus or off campus but if she does live off campus she has a pet turtle named elsa lanchester after the bride of frankenstein actress

a drummer! she’s in a band (name tbd) she started drumming at a young age and found it was a good way to manage her aggression

doesn’t really do well with emotions, so she’ll either be like there, there, or try to make jokes.... she really said kids can you lighten up

walking meme... such a walking meme... doesn’t know so many things she’s like a cute puppy with no thoughts head empty but she’s so fun to be around

life of the party.... nana she came fr ur spot and she took it and she’s not sorry but she does miss u a lot

doesn’t rly feel like she’s allowed to be upset anyways bc some people have it...... way worse.... can u say Imposter syndrome

kind of an enabler...... will be that person to push u to try things but not in a peer pressurey way, more like if u are unsure abt sending a text she says do it

wears fun earrings and socks! think lollipops or gummy bears or found objects like she collects that shit it’s her lifeline

boxes! she’s been boxing since she was abt 12, courtesy of her older brother (who is now a doctor thx ruby) and it’s a good way to exercise and release stress

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

best friend -- two of a feather, cut from the same cloth, or complete opposites it doesnt matter to her (the abbi to her ilana)

roller derby friends -- she’s p close to the team, margs on her

makeup artist pal -- i think it would be neat fr someone to try and teach her makeup whether its normal or sfx bc she wants to look like a monster or smthn

she’s gullible, u take advantage of that -- u just tell her lies p much and she’s like yeah ok that sounds right

party friends

classmates

fwbs (f/m/nb) -- tbh she might have one or two of these but they literally are the def of pals who bone sometimes... like v good abt being like you good? u dont want more? cool me too

exes (f/m/nb) -- mostly dated women or nb people but def cld have had a guy

she smokes you out -- p much the only reason u hang out w her is bc she has good weed

someone she’s fought -- like fully decked in the face, prob said something that rubbed her the wrong way and it just devolved from there

people who dislike her -- she could definitely be seen as annoying bc shes loud and dorky and funny so ??

breaks someone out of their shell -- p self explanatory, pushes them to have fun, w everything happening shes rly like lifes too short to not take the opportunities around u

cousins! probably on her dad’s side! i figure she has some east coast fam 

anything? truly?

[chimote1]

Hello guys long time no see I am here with some Kacchako fanfic.

One shot.

It was the 25th once again...

As usual Bakugo would have preferred to be with All for one his teacher.

Since last year where he was in jail a lit happened.

AFO helped the hero to capture other minds master.

Like Hellish the one and only that could defeat AFO if he didn’t pay enough attention.

Or we can name Shigaraki… and plenty other.

But to do so he wanted only one thing to be the sensei of Bakugo.

At first he declined… I mean we can understand it.

He was the one who ordered to capture him, and by doing so he got PTSD.

He couldn’t be alone at night the first crisis made Uraraka wake up.

She was worried about him, she was the one who knew better than all 1A students how he would have feel if everyone, rescued him.

And she was the 1st girl of UA to get his respect.

It was naturally that she was the first one to be on his room.

The dorm was a mess she could figure out that Bakugo had blown everything up because of his nightmare.

And she was the one who made him stop.

Since the first crisis, he had grown closer to her… too much if you asked Midoriya.

One night at noon Deku start a dual between him and Bakugo.

But because of PTSD Bakugo looses this fight, he was triggered by the punch that looked like AFO.

When the match was finished, Uraraka came to interfere, she had a frown on her face.

Deku knew that she was pissed off.

And she start to talk when she made sure that Bakugo was asleep.

“What is on your, FUCKING, mind Deku?”

She didn’t yell at all but she made sure to emphasize the word Fucking to made him feel guilty.

“He was growing closer to you, remember that you are MY girlfriend?”

With only one phrase she was not pissed, she was angry, mad even.

“Deku. I Am Not an object! I am Uraraka Ochaco, a sweat girl, badass, tough, and most importantly independent! I don’t want to be in your shadow, yes you are my boyfriend, but if I want to help a friend in need then you must learn to let me do my job.” She was furious against him because he was to protective about her, she couldn’t blame him because she was the 1st girl he liked, but with him being possessive she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Bakugo is my friend too, he cares about me and hella supportive he even told me to stay with you when you tried to broke an arm from a boy that looked in my way. He supports you because I told him so.

He start calling you by your name, just because, I wanted both of you to be friend. I saw the match between you two he was winning… you know why you win instead??? Because he has PTSD!!!!! He didn’t want anyone to know about it because he would have been seen as a weakling.”

She paused to let Deku talk.

“What?! Bakugo has PTSD????? I-I didn’t know about it. I thought that he wanted to stole you from me! And why do you feel like an object with me? Why didn’t you talked about it?”

Uraraka take some breath to steady her mood.

“Deku I didn’t tell you because at first, it was cute, it was innocent, then you grew more possessive but I didn’t mind… but you fight Bakugo other me like a FUCKING PRICE!!! No regard of my feelings, you told me what he did to you and even after you told me that… I knew that the ancient Bakugo isn’t the new one… the bully that he was once don’t determine his future. It’s an hero duty to know that. And you should be the last one to bad mouth him about it because now you have a way to fight back. You can realize your dream.”

She was overwhelmed by the situation and her feelings.

“Uraraka … I didn’t wanted to make you feel like that and I know that he changed but he is stil my bully… and by what you are saying I wonder… do you have feelings for him?”

He said the last part with despair like if she told him yes he would break down… he would think that he stole her from him.

“I don’t have any feelings for him yet… because I am…” She correct herself “was with you, I blinded myself for you, I put my worth on second plan taking breaks from my training to be with you… and when I was the one asking you said no. I am done with your bullshit I blinded myself because I was sure you was the one for me. But I am done with it.” She start crying with the bad memories that Deku left on her.

Deku him on the other hand start thinking about all his wrongs, behavior, answers and he realized that in his relationship he was the selfish one.

He apologize with all the work that exist.

He didn’t cry, he wasn’t pissed, he was guilty, he felt like it and he knew that he was wrong, so he left the two of them on the beta grounds.

When Aizawa tried to punish him and Bakugo he had taken all the responsibility upon him.

If he wanted to build a new friendship with Uraraka, not a relationship but a real friendship he will have to upgrade a lot of things inside him.

He will have to do a lot.

And during the time he left Uraraka stay with Bakugo for as long as she could stay awake, before she falls asleep Aizawa came and explained the situation with Deku and repeat the rule of the school. Bakugo him was still asleep when I was carried by Aizawa, he start to have nightmares.

So it was Uraraka responsibility to take him to his room.

It felt weird for her because he didn’t react to her touch he felt at ease, like he knew that it was her, that was carrying to his dorm. When she put him in his bed she start yawning, and before she could react she faint on Bakugo arms due to all the work Aizawa gave them and the stress that she got from this evening.

And just like that they started to be even more close, it was embarrassing at first because she fall asleep on him, and little by little they have built a real relation, true friendship, and one day at the end of they’re second internship he told Uraraka about AFO.

“Uraraka I don’t know if I should become a student of AFO to make those villain go to jail. I mean he was the one who put me in an PTSD state.”

Uraraka knew that it was a sensible subject for him to talk about and even more in public.

“Bakugo, I will support any decision you made… but you should do it, the first step to cure your illness is to face the one who get you sick. An old saying is “fight fire with fire” isn’t it?”

Bakugo was impressed she memorized his teachings.

“Well if my student say I should learn from a master, the I should.”

And he laughed, the first sincere laugh that he could gave at the time… it felt good for him and Uraraka felt… happy, it was the only thing that she thought, after the fiasco of Deku x Uraraka it was the first time she felt like that thanks to one laugh.

“Yeah sure but beware the student will surpass the teacher!”

And just like that they grew even closer until the first 25th December, they didn’t get the chance to celebrate because Ochaco grandma died.

They grew distant, Bakugo was learning with AFO and Uraraka was training with everyone to succeed and to make her grandmother the best gift even if she was dead, becoming a pro.

And just like this one year flew by.

And the 24th Bakugo master start to deepen their relation.

“My boy what is the matter you are more than distracted, you didn’t even scratch me when by usual you make me eat grass.”

Bakugo knew that, he couldn’t escape his master.

“You remember Uraraka, I told you what happened, tomorrow will be the anniversary if her grandma death. And I … I don’t know if I should talk to her or not.”

AFO was stupid, he was the most intelligent being, at least he was before he met Bakugo his fighting was in another realm, and he was smart really smart.

“Bakugo I know that you will not admit it but… you have feelings for this girl and I would advise you to ask her on a date tomorrow, and make sure that tomorrow is a Happy day for her.”

Without anything more he left.

He didn’t what his students to make excuses.

And here we go the 25th on Yaomomo house she invited everybody to celebrate Christmas.

He took his courage and start walking where Uraraka was standing.

“Uraraka I wanted to… uhh if it was good for you… to go on uhhh date… like right now?”

Bakugo grow less intimidating and more shy because of his illness, but he was still the strongest in his class.

“Sure Bakugo where do you want to go”

Uraraka did grow, she wasn’t flustered by thing so intimate, she get through a lot during this year, will she was distancing herse from everyone.

She accepted the apology of Deku and they became friends once more but she was still growing apart from the class and especially Bakugo.

She didn’t wanted to be in his shadow, just like with deku.

“Well we could go to this shop where the sell mochi, the one you like.”

She nods and they began to walk toward the location of the shop.

“You know Uraraka it’s been a long time we didn’t get alone time like that… I know that it must have been hard on you since… last year but I really enjoy your company.”

Uraraka was a little shocked Bakugo katsuki the one who had the greatest pride of all the student, and the supposed selfish one was caring about her. It was different from the other time, it felt like he was vulnerable.

“Bakugo I enjoy your company too, but I really don’t want you to say that you love me … I know your feelings towards me since a long time… but I don’t want to be in your sha…” she couldn’t say anything when she saw Bakugo hug her from her back and saying “I am the one who fear to be in your shadow… you are the only student in UA to have broken on the top 10 hero you are the hope of our nation… and still the only thing I want is you to get all the times you want even if I have to throw my feelings away. I don’t want to absorb you, because you will absorb me.” He said all of these thing behind her, he didn’t want her to watch his face… he was crying for sure and in a blink of an eye she felt an awful feeling “love” it’s been a year and half since her first real relationship with deku and she was still shock of what happened with him. But she had felt this way with Bakugo since she was with deku but she just closed her eyes on these feelings.

And now by all time he confessed his love and he killed it just because he wanted her to be at the top.

“Bakugo I really like you too but for now I can’t, I have to honored my grandma but …” she felt nervous “in 3 year come again and confesse to me again… and let’s see if we love each other even after all this time.”

And just like that Bakugo and Uraraka have made a promise.

2 years and half later after this beautiful day Bakugo was caught in a fight with hellish who broke free from jail, he struggled a lit against his lightning and lava quirk (aka Azula) and when he was about to win he saw Uraraka who blown the last punch.

But before Helllish could be knock out he used is lightning one last time and pierce Bakugo on his chest, Uraraka run over him she hold him tight and he declared his love before he faint.

Bakugo saw a light.

He was in hospital, an Uraraka by his side, he was alive she punched him because he made her feel bad, stressed and desperate.

He was alive and Uraraka had returns his feelings, she didn’t want to waste more time, she was on top 2 hero behind Deku at the time of her confession.

After 3 more year a fusion between their agency and a marriage they became top 1 leaving Deku and Icy hot on 2nd place.

And on this day they announced that they was waiting for a child a girl.

The end.

[shingekicornwrites]

Agricultural Werewolves, pt 2

Fandom/Tags: Hero Academia, alternate universe/werewolves, mentions of past bullying, Counseling, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, modern fantasy, unreliable narrator, Katsuki is kind of an asshole please don’t take his commentary as my opinion or truth

Pairings: Bakugou Katsuki/Anger Management Counseling, future Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, future Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

pt 1

It’s not that Izuku doesn’t remember Kacchan. He does. He remembers Kacchan really well, because Kacchan was his first friend and was super cool and everything he did was so much better than anything Izuku ever did no matter how hard he tried. It’s hard to forget someone like that. Especially since when he first moved, he talked about Kacchan all the time.

It’s just. He hasn’t so much as seen Kacchan since first grade. No letters. No texts after he finally got his own phone. He knows his mom still talks to Auntie, because Auntie was the one that told them about Kiyashi and got them in contact with the people here, got them their first home set up before Mom was given the hostel, but Kacchan has been…well, a non-entity in all the years since they packed up and left the city behind. He may as well have not existed outside faint memories.

He’s not even sure how to talk to him now.

Kacchan grew up pretty well. He’s bigger, still taller than Izuku is by a few inches. He still screams every word like no one will hear him otherwise. He’s still strong, and he’s got some muscle packed into his arms that shows he’s put in some serious work to stay in shape. Mom also told him some stuff, like how Kacchan has been at the top of his class for years and got accepted into a really nice school. Which matches up to all the memories just fine, Kacchan is still just as amazing as he was when they were little…

It only takes a few days for Izuku to kind of...want to wring his neck.

Like really bad.

Really bad.

“Kacchan, can you check on the chickens?” Izuku asks one morning, only a few days after Kacchan’s arrival. School doesn’t start until Monday and he’s spending most of his spare days at work with Gran, getting extra money. The return to after school hours is always a hit to his paycheck and he’s trying to savor every spare yen he can.

“No,” Kacchan replies. He stays seated at the table, nursing a cup of coffee and scowling.

Izuku sighs. That’s been the response he’s gotten every morning. He hasn’t told Mom yet, because she’s already so busy getting ready for the heavier tourist season and he doesn’t want to be some kid tattling, but Kacchan isn’t a customer so he really needs to help around the house. “Kacchan—“

“Stop calling me that, Deku.” Katsuki growls. “I’m not your errand boy and I’m not touching your chicken shit-covered eggs!”

He growls even more than Izuku remembers him doing.

When they were little, it meant it was time to bare his neck and stop talking. He remembers that much. He still has the urge to do it, to cower and make him stand down, but it’s...less than it was, before. It’s not a command. He doesn’t flinch like he used to.

If anything, there’s a flare of something in the back of his head telling him to growl back that he has to forcibly tamp down. That’s not normal for him.

“Okay then, no breakfast,” a new voice chimes in, right before Kacchan’s coffee vanishes out of his hand.

“Hitoshi, don’t—“ Izuku tries.

It’s too late. The coffee cup reappears across the room, in the hands of the other permanent boarder. Hitoshi comes into focus like smoke before he drains the cup all at once, which really is impressive since Izuku knows Kacchan takes his coffee blacker than tar, and slams it back down on the table with a wry grin.

“No. If he doesn’t do his chores he doesn’t get to eat,” Hitoshi taunts, before spinning to head for the back door. “I’ll get the eggs, and he can suck my dick if he wants an omelet.”

Izuku blanches. “Hitoshi!”

“Oi, you wanna die!?” Kacchan screams, knocking his chair over when he shoots up to possibly vault the table. Izuku hopes he isn’t going to. The table is an antique, he’s not sure it can take the strain.

“No, I want lazy assholes to do their share, “ Hitoshi sing-songs as he escapes the kitchen to the safety of the chicken houses out back. They can hear the clucking as the hens notice he’s coming.

Any day now the peace will break and they’ll fight. Izuku knows Hitoshi too well to think he’ll give up. He wishes he’d stop, but no matter how many times he tries to tell his kind-of-brother that Kacchan’s just rough around the edges and needs time to get used to things the more Hitoshi has to push his buttons.

Maybe he’d let it go if he wasn’t worried Kacchan would bring the hostel down on top of them just to get Hitoshi’s neck in his jaws.

________________________________________________________________

He’s filling grocery delivery boxes when he breaks. He has to ask somebody.

“Did you have trouble getting along with Yagi, after he grew up?”

Gran doesn’t move, when Izuku asks him this. He remains behind the counter of the store, perched on his stool and flipping through a booklet of tractor parts to fill out some customer’s mail order. He barely gives a signal that he heard Izuku at all. The only hint that he’s about to get an answer is Gran carefully putting his finger down on a row of information before his eyes grow unfocused from the page.  

“What’s this about?” Gran asks, in a tone of voice that anyone else might think means he barely cares. Izuku knows different. Gran cares a lot.

He’s just also kind of a dick about caring, so he makes sure no one can tell he does. That’s why he works Izuku to the bone every shift instead of admitting he’s the old man’s favorite employee. The crotchety bastard barely lets anyone work at his general store but Izuku’s been allowed to drive his truck for two years now. That in itself is a miracle.

“Um. We have a new long term boarder. He’s my old friend—have I told you about Kacchan?” Izuku pauses while throwing carrots into one of the boxes.

“Not me, but you told Toshi plenty.” Gran rolls his wrist, motioning for him to get on with it. “I’ve heard some secondhand bits.”

“Right. Uh,” Izuku flushes and gets back to filling. “He’s staying with us now. It...it’s been kind of bad? I don’t know how to talk to him. He just yells at me.”

It’s an understatement, because Kacchan can barely even stay in the same room as him. It hurts, because Izuku has been trying to be as nonthreatening as he can be to make him feel comfortable, but Kacchan just tells him to get the fuck out every time Mom isn’t around.

“Why’s he here?” Gran asks.

Izuku blinks. “Uh…”

Gran heaves a sigh and reaches for the tea he’s left cooling near the register. “Well he’s gotta be here for a reason, boy.”

He knows that. Kacchan has made it clear he doesn’t want to be there, so it’s not really his choice. His mom hasn’t talked much about it but she seems stressed; she’s had a pinched look when she hears Kacchan’s screaming. She’s been making phone calls to the therapist, too...it all comes together to form a picture, but he can’t be certain of what it is without asking questions he’s pretty sure no one wants him to ask.

“I’m not sure,” Izuku admits slowly. “It’s not my place to pry. Mom said it’s pretty serious, and he had to turn down a really nice school to come here, and he’s been so angry that I can’t even really ask—“

“That so?” Gran interrupts. His tone has shifted. He’s serious, now. He watches Izuku like a hawk from the counter and it takes a lot not to hunch his shoulders in shame as he nods.

“...is he growling a lot? Baring his teeth?” Gran asks.

Kacchan growls more than he speaks. He always makes sure his teeth are showing so that Izuku shuts up, so that Izuku leaves, so that he’s left alone to scream and kick things.

“...yeah. Every day,” he admits.

Gran rolls that over in his head, wiping his face with one hand and looking so much older than he already is.

“Shit,” he sighs. “Sounds like he’s a bite risk.”

Izuku’s hand twitches, at that. The scar tissue aches with an old memory he’s mostly forgotten.

“He can’t be,” Izuku mutters, more to himself than to Gran. “He’s always been so in control.”

Kacchan was the first wolf he ever knew. Kacchan taught him so much; how to eat, how to smell, how to deal with the weird way his brain had started to work; he owes a lot to Kacchan’s help when they were little. Kacchan had always had such perfect control of himself. Not like the mess Izuku was. Kacchan never made his family have to move.

Kacchan never had to uproot all their lives so that he could function. If anything, it proved Kacchan was a better wolf as a kid than Izuku was at fifteen.

“You and I both know that isn’t all there is to it.” Gran cuts off his thoughts, bringing him forcibly back to the present. Izuku rubs at his hand and frowns, anxiety bubbling in his stomach.

“It’s just—he already learned once, right?” he tries. “He should know better. He knows what happens. He knows how serious it is. He saw what happened to me, so—”

Gran silences him with a glare. “You can’t speak for him, kid.”

Izuku’s mouth snaps shut, and he slouches. He knows that. He can’t put words in anyone’s mouth.

He just...he really doesn’t want Kacchan to be a bite risk. That’s the kind of thing he could go to jail for. That’s not the kind of person Kacchan is.

Gran watches him, losing some of the sternness in his face, and beckons him forward. Izuku comes with only a mild hesitation toward the cane hanging from the countertop. Gran makes sure their eyes are level and he’s got all of Izuku’s attention before he speaks again, low and serious.

“Toshinori and I had some issues, but that’s because our personalities aren’t that great to each other. At the root of it, he’s afraid of me and I see him as a little snot and not a grown man. But we manage because at the very least, we respect each other,” Gran explains with a patience Izuku hasn’t seen in years. Not since he was a lot younger and deathly afraid of the man. “You’ve got a little snot of your own who’s gotta learn to respect other people. That’s not something you can fix.”

“I—I know he can do better, though—“ Izuku tries, an old admiration at the tip of his tongue that he wishes he could make people understand.

“Maybe he can. But it ain’t your job to get him there. Just stand your ground and don’t let him bulldoze you.”

Izuku breaks and looks at his feet. He doesn’t think he can do nothing. He can’t stand the thought of doing nothing.

“He was my friend. I want to help.”

Gran pats his shoulder with a gentleness that doesn’t match him at all, becoming the anchor keeping Izuku tethered to the present.

“Kid, if you really wanna help him then do exactly what I said. He’s not gonna get any better until he’s told ‘no’.”

Maybe so.

But Izuku, somewhere deep inside, is afraid to be the one who has to tell him.

[megrimlocke]

60 Minutes

In 60 minutes Donald Trump will no longer be the president of this nation. His ability to aggrieve the left will be so diminished as to be gone, and his legal worries will begin. Those things no doubt weigh heavily on the mind of a man who mady bullying the center of his cult of personality for five years.

I’m now fairly confident that the mob he stirred up earlier this month are getting no pardons from him. Even if he tried to rush them out right now, there’s no time to do the work, and he’s already reclining in Florida. I think this has to be it, surely. This has to be what breaks at last this bizarre spell of mindless loyalty he has over the right.

I was surprised when it wasn’t bringing back jobs he promised to bring back and I had settled into a depressed acceptance that the right wouldn’t see him for what he was as the coronavirus climbed to 10,000 dead Americans, and then 20,000 and 80,000 and 350,000. I assumed somehow that they’d continue to believe in him long after he left office.

Buy hey it’s a new presidency and maybe miracles happen. Maybe they noticed that after he whipped them into a frenzy besotted with entitlement and set them upon lawmakers, when he told them that he would be with them as they marched on the Capitol, that he was not in fact with them.

Or, maybe, they just took it to be “with them in spirit” and then further interpreted it to mean that he was fully behind them. And he was, until they failed to deliver his coup. He asked them to fall on a grenade for him and they did it, and failed because it turns out that a bunch of stupid old fat guys and gunbros aren’t really equipped to overthrow a government on a whim.

They assumed perhaps that loyalty was happening, that being Americans together was happening, but it was entirely transactional.

I’m probably ascribing too much introspection and awareness. But maybe, as some of them sit in a federal prison while he sits on a beach, it’ll finally come home to them. They were the “sheeple” all along, and they voted for the wolf. Why is it they and not we the left who are the stupid losers who got owned? Because we’re not in a prison for trying to overthrow the government. By the Trump doctrine there are winners and losers, and they lost about as big as you can lose.

Transactional. That’s the right. “I don’t care about your rights if it means I can get a tax cut.” That’s the right.

For what? Jobs? Can’t get employment as a felon under the legal system they voted for, doesn’t matter how many overqualified Indians you exclude from the market. Women? Sorry boys, it’s prison, get used to anal. Riches? Nah, with a federal conviction you’ll be lucky to pump gas.

Everything he promised them he put out of their reach with his pathetic policies and they followed him down into criminal ruin so he could vainly try to avoid his own prosecution with a second term.

If he were a car salesman this presidency would be a lemon. Sure, he and his rich friends made out okay, but they always make out of every administration okay. His mob is ruined. The ones not already in jail are getting ready to fall under the eye of an FBI that for the first time in 4 years can work without interference from the top. They are also going to be rolled up and jailed.

The ones not criminal are going to have to watch that happen. It won’t be like Mueller trying to catch Trump Jr. sucking russian cock, they won’t have powerful lawyers and presidential privilege protecting them. The right is going to watch it’s grass roots “heroes” tried, sentenced, and jailed. And in all likelihood they will then watch the same thing happen to Trump himself.

The profits of following republicans are ruin. It was that way in 2001, in 2007, and it has been over the past 4 years. I think the Trump cult is going to fold under these pressures, and I think it will take the republican party with it. I’m inclined to call them the Dying Old Party moving forward.

I really hope there’s enough salvageable American government and society and global influence to let us survive as a dominant superpower because that is very much in question after Trump’s disaster of a presidency. Our energies should be focused on that. There’s simply no time to spend soothing the egos of the right, our leaders must instead allow the legal process to attend and appropriately incarcerate them in the prison state they voted for, and focus on cleaning up the mess they have made of our global influence and economy.

[grizzlie70]

Rebellion of the Royals

Chapter 2/2

Trigger Warning- none (at the moment)

Starts here 

Continued here

As they walk through the bustling streets of Jiàoshǐ. With the early afternoon sky being clear, and breeze. They walk towards a wooded area in the middle of the city. A sign on the entrance reads “Mortrig Park.” Akira is visibly ecstatic, the two enter the park. The atmosphere here is entirely different, the serene quiet kicks in almost instantly. Now surrounded by lush green trees, the two continue down a path until they reach an ice cream stand. Akira snaps his head to Tetsu, who just winks before Akira dashes down the path. Tetsu does his best to keep up, but Akria’s sweet tooth is in full effect.

“Why is this kid never that fast when I make dinner?” He continues to run after him. “Akira!” He takes a breath. “Wait up!”

“No, why don’t you get faster!” 

Tetsu stares at Akira. “This kid I swear.” Once Tetsu catches up to Akira he places his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Akira laughs. “Don’t you-” he takes a breath. “Make fun of me.” Tetsu sighs. “Aright, you get one cone.”

“Two.”

“One, you know how your mother feels about you eating sweets before lunch.”

“Then why am I having ice cream now?” 

“Because I'm trying to be a little fair to you, so go ahead and pick one.”

“Well...one is better than none. I want a vanilla cone.” Akira looks at Tetsu, flashing his eyes. “With sprinkles, please?”

“Don't push your luck.” Tetsu rubs Akira’s head. “Nice try, kid.”

“Dang, it works with Mom. Alright, vanilla cone.”

The ice cream woman scoops up the ice cream into the cone. She winks at Akira as she grabs a pinch of sprinkles and puts them on top of his ice cream. Akira winks and runs off with his ice cream. “The total is $5.25.”

“That much? Prices go up or something?”

“Unfortunately, taxes are going up like crazy so I have no choice but to raise my prices.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You gotta do what you gotta do.” Tetsu grabs money from his wallet. “Aw man, I'm short twenty-five cents.”

“It’s alright. Hope your kid enjoys the ice cream.” She smiles.

Tetsu blushes. “Oh uh, sorry but he's my nephew, not my kid.”

“Oh, my apologies. Hope your nephew enjoys the ice cream.” She waves at Tetsu. He waves at the lady and walks away. Tetsu looks at Akira, whose mouth is covered with ice cream and sprinkles. 

“Is there any chance you can eat ice cream without making a mess?” Akira shakes his head. “Well you should start, you've already got one on your shirt.” Akira looks down. “No, come on kid, work with me.”

“Mom, said I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full.” 

“Well at least try to not make a mess.” Tetsu grabs Akira’s shoulder. “Come on, let's get you cleaned up.”

“But I still want to play.”

“Clean first, then play.” Akira hands Tetsu his ice cream cone. “Alright, let's get you a napkin.”

“You can have a bite. I’ll go and grab the napkins.” he gives him a smile. 

“Alright, thanks, Akira.” Akira runs to the ice cream stand and grabs napkins and wipes his face. He goes back to Tetsu, taking his cone. “I just realized something.”

“What?”

“I thought I told you no sprinkles.”

“Uhhhhhh-”  Akira runs away. Tetsu runs after. Akira looks back at Tetsu, laughing. Along the path are two uniformed officers.

“Akira look out!”

“Nice tr-” 

Akira smacks into one of them and falls onto the ground. Tetsu runs up to Akira, helping him up, dusting off the dirt. They look at the officer, his uniform is stained with Akira’s ice cream. He stares at Akira with annoyance. Akira nervously chuckles and hides behind Tetsu. 

“Uhm, I-I’m sorry about him. He didn’t mean to ruin your outfit...uhhh, let me see if there’s-” Tetsu slowly reaches to wipe the ice cream off but it only makes it worse. He laughs nervously. “Oh, my gosh…I-I'm so sorry. I-Is there anything I can-” Pain shoots through his stomach, and he groans as he falls to the ground. Akira looks at Tetsu, with worry.

“Do you have any idea what your kid just did? He-” Tetsu looks up, ready to speak only for the second officer to cut him off. 

“Do not speak when he’s speaking!” Tetsu quiets down. The officer looks back at Tetsu.

“Do you have any idea what your kid just did? He assaulted an officer, damaged an officer's uniform. Not to mention you interrupted an officer while he was speaking. You’re racking up quite the fine.” Tetsu stays quiet. “Oh, and now you’re ignoring me, that’s another fine.” Tetsu suppresses his rage, he knows what will happen if he stood up to the tyranny of the law enforcement. Akira looks at them with anger, he stands up.

“He’s doing nothing wrong!” Tetsu looks at Akira, shaking his head, whispering at him to stay quiet. “We did nothing wrong!” The officer looked at Akira with curiosity. No one has ever stood up to him. 

“What’s the matter? If you have something to say, then say it!” The officer walks towards Akira only for Tetsu to walk between them.

“I’m sorry officer, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better, I swear his mother will give him a stern talking.” The officer looks at the two and laughs.

“I’ll let you guys off with a warning...since his ‘heroics’ amused me but the next time you give us trouble...then I hope you guys don’t mind going to jail with a few broken bones.” The officers walk away, laughing and mocking Akira. He gets angry.

“Oh yeah! Well, wait until I tell my mom!” 

They look back.

“Ooooh, a momma’s boy.”

“Akira, that’s enough. We’re heading back home.” Tetsu grabs Akira by the arm and the two start walking. “Next time you feel like you need to speak up to the authorities, don't.”

“But-”

Tetsu takes Akira by the shoulders. “Akira, there are times when being a hero isn't the answer, this is one of them.”

“They were being bullies and mom always said to stand up to bullies.” Tetsu stands up, taking Akira home. “Someone gonna teach them a lesson.”

“Well unfortunately, we can't exactly teach a corrupted government a lesson, not without suffering by their injustices.”

“It’s stupid. I can kick like ten of those guy’s butts at the same time.” Akira starts punching the air and making noises. Tetsu starts chuckling. “I can show them the moves my mom taught me.”

“I don't know Akira, maybe when you're older.”

“Yeah, I’ll be known as Akira the Strong, with my sidekick, Tetsu the Scaredy Cat.” Akira laughs at Tetsu. 

“Why am I the Scaredy Cat?”

“I don’t know...because you are.”

“I have no doubt you'll be strong, but I think I'll stay in the background. That's how I prefer it.”

“And this is why you’ll always be a scaredy cat.” Akira looks at Tetsu, flexing his nonexistent muscles. Tetsu rubs Akira’s head. You keep telling yourself that.

Taglist- @lilix-love

[soul-heart-and-beyond]

Megavolt Headcanons!

This one’s for good ol’ Elmo Sputterspark, that one kid that didn’t forget what an electrically charged noogie could do to a person and now he’s out for payback! Along with the emancipation of electronics but mainly revenge. Most of this will be to streamline the canon from the show, the comics, and then original headcanons. I’ll also say this, the show takes priority for these but sometimes I may give way to the comics or personal headcanons due to the fact of how the show explains it can be wrong or just the situation in of itself being wrong.

Voltaic Whirl, the move is that Megavolt would spin his hands in a motion that makes a circle of electricity in front of him, then reel it back like a skeeball to charge and aim before releasing it towards whatever he's planning to hit. He can do an enhanced version of this that becomes Volatile Voltaic Whirl. 

Then there’s Lightning Lance, a move where Megs can call down a large bolt of lightning from the sky or ionic clouds that he disperses. He can delay when they strike for the right timing or for double the pain if he wishes to make two or more strike down at the same time.

Thunder Torrent, a radial wave of electrical energy that mainly works on the ground. Pretty much not a real dangerous move, but it can stun opponents and cause some damage if slightly charged. 

Exo Electric Black would be his final resort, a move that takes a long time to charge, but it results in a blast that could wipe out a few buildings. Once he uses this, he has to recharge as the recoil does pull a number on his body.

(I’ll come up with more later but these are just the named ones. They aren’t all going to be named.)

Anyway, Elmo’s pretty much had a bit of a rough time after his incident that got him his powers and basically got sent to real jail even though he was a minor at the time (It all took place during high school years). He could see that prison was about as every bit of messed up as the people joked about it outside of the place, and the inmates were not very good to try and socialize with. Not that he got raped, though there were some moments where he thought that was going to happen. Yet he would get a trial to see if he was guilty and deserved the full punishment allowed for attempting mass genocide or it would be minimized. Eventually after some months of having his trial, he was let off of the hook easy with the rest of his education be closely watched as he would be put on probation, but allowed to continue his life, for his second chance.

Seeing that as an opportunity, the rat was able to get back into school, get his education, but lose even more than he barely had to begin with when he was normal. No one would want to talk with someone that was about to kill them all at their prom party, or was it graduation? Ah, he can’t really remember, but he does know it wasn’t homecoming. Around this time, he still had to take classes with other students so he could get the somewhat feeling of being normalized, but he had to do it under the constant pressure of not using his new powers. This led to him being unable to express himself to his full potential, both in a constructive or negative way. As he had to essentially be just what he was like before, it made new bullies a lot more difficult to fend off, but at least the old ones knew not to trifle with him anymore.

That all pretty much stayed a constant until it seemed like a certain Drake Mallard was willing to still talk to him, still be a friend. Even after he had declared to roast everyone at the party, and yet somehow he hadn’t seen Mallard there. Did he even go? Oh, wait! He did go, just that he forgot about it. It was something he learned about so much later into his life, and stayed as one of the few things he would keep to himself. He didn’t want anyone else knowing that drake’s little secret but him, and he especially didn’t want to snitch. Negaduck should have known who Darkwing was all along, but now we’re just getting ahead of ourselves. The avian would eventually become his friend, something that Elmo would take great delight to, and even decided to stay in touch after high school was over. Entering their college days, he would go off to the same college as Drake so they could pay for the room and board together along with tuition and whatever else they needed. It was around this time too that the rodent have begun to develop feelings for the duck, and he wasn’t one to let it hide either. He knew to tone it down in public, but when in private he definitely was more expressive with it. He adored the cute little duck, and just was happy to have someone to be around with. His family weren’t exactly proud of him for what he did and once he was off to college they wanted no association with him anymore. He didn’t particularly like that it happened that way, but as long as they wouldn’t interfere with him, he didn’t mind it much.

It didn’t take long for old wants and desires to resurface around the middle years of his bachelor’s degree and tempt him to do bad things again. Whether he had known it or not, the same person that was his roommate also just happened to be who would eventually become his greatest adversary. During an attempt to basically detonate the campus and everyone on it one day because they had given him too much stress through finals and deadlines, Darkwing would foil that plan and again he would go to court for his crimes against the people which would land him in the electric chair. Since that was the standard way of how the government could legally kill someone, he was put through the process to no avail as it only gave him more power than he had before. With that, he escaped the prison and began his life as a criminal, seeing that all of the people he had known were nothing but hypocrites and terrible at best. Instead, he’d align himself with the appliances and electric empowered objects as he could now listen to them and they seemed to be much more better than the flesh sacks that despised and rejected him. 

Eventually, everything would somewhat play out the same like it does throughout the series, but there are a few more encounters Megavolt’s had with Darkwing and other various heroes, but that’s to be expected. And this portrayal of Megavolt does have him regain his memory of who Darkwing is after Clash Reunion (Darkwing Duck episode). That way he’ll be able to remember all that he needs to know.

Now, for his DuckTales 2017 Universe/Version, Dan Mousetellaneta, and Elmer Sputterspark in the Darkwing Duck television show universe within DT17. So Dan wasn’t exactly what one would consider a total geek, but just didn’t manage to quite make the cut from being unpopular during his high school life. All that he really wanted was to just find something that could stick with him and keep on that path. While he did have his eyes on a couple of the more visually pleasing girls around that time, he couldn’t dare mess with them or by proxy he’d be messing with their boyfriends, and that definitely was not something he wanted to do. Being unpopular was fine, but badly injured and unpopular was just not a way to live. 

Fortunately enough while he was going through one of those little club activity day events, he found himself taking an interest to the drama club and the science club. They both had their virtues as well as their downsides, but at least he gave himself something to do to take his mind off of his regular studies. Exploring more of the drama club got him into do doing small plays where he was best playing side characters and perhaps the occasional henchmen or villain’s pupil. He was fine with those performances as he was able to try and be someone else, get wrapped up into their world, and act them out as if they were real. Of course, the story did still have to take priority, but he was allowed to give the roles he played a little flavor, and he enjoyed it. Eventually the audience really liked the roles that he played because of how he played them, and wanted to see more of him which in turn gave the leader of the club an opportunity to offer him. Would he like to play a main role this time around? He accepted it with the idea of having a good time trying out something he wasn’t used to and began doing some basic research on the role he was given. It was a villain role of course, but he didn’t mind too much. After all, there were probably other people who were good at only playing the villain too?

Once the shows for the play started to go by, he would give the audience all that he had and it led to some good feedback, praise, and overall reception. Though out in the crowd, there was a person in the acting business that was surprised by well the talent the high school had and went behind the stage to see if any of them had interest in advancing their knowledge of the field. By this time Dan was almost don with high school anyway, and decided to accept it since he was really feeling like this was something he wanted to do, and felt great about doing it. As he would later on graduate from the high school, he attended an acting college to learn even more about the hobby that was starting to become a career choice for him. It didn’t take long until he realized that he had very tough competition, but that would only enhance the performances if everyone respected each other well enough. There were some he got along with, and some he didn’t, but over time he would find himself once again getting a lot of recognition for the villain roles that he played. He was afraid to play the hero since he wasn’t really sure if he was capable of it, so he stuck with the side of the villains and neutral characters.

With a few more years passing, he would leave the school with his bachelor’s degree in theatrics and drama before having some appearances on television. He got on the TV by taking a lot of auditions and seeing how this would differ from when he was on a regular stage. Some of the parts he really wanted weren’t accepted for him and others were. It gave him a chance to see that out on television, you just do the best with what you can get. Yet after doing a couple of family sitcoms and spooky horror series shows, there would be one that he couldn’t forget after he worked with the crew on, and that was the superhero show aimed for children on Saturday mornings, Darkwing Duck. He had no idea what it was, as one of his friends in the business came to him about this, and he was intrigued. He’d get to be a villain, but also have some freedom to work with his character he was being given? At that point, he was willing to give it a shot since it had been a while since he could actually invent something more unique for others to see, or maybe for how personal it was.

Arriving on the set the first day all of the actors for the season were supposed to, he got familiar with his fellow actors and it was this day that would begin a little bit of a downward slope with him and Jim Starling, the actor who had the role of Darkwing Duck, and Jim Sterling within the show. He didn’t really seem too bad at first, being pretty safe with what he did, and how the banter used to always have a witty but also snappy feeling to it. The dialogue, character arcs, and the overall nature of the episodes did lend itself greatly to Dan as he enjoyed the variety the writers and producers along with the rest of the team could come up with. Gradually though, Jim would begin to start getting a bit more harsher with his dramatic moments, actually injure some of the actors, and eventually began to make up some uninteresting variations to catchphrases and lines. The ratings for it were very high, even from the transition from season 1 to 2, but the people behind the show felt that Jim was getting his head stuck too far in the clouds, and eventually with the damages and expenses there was too much money going into the show to keep it ongoing for another season. 

Normally, Dan wasn’t the best guy Jim got along with on the set, but he seemed to fare better than some of the others. It did stink that he could see how Jim was slowly beginning to get more violent with the rest of the crew just to keep the show going, to keep the franchise that he “built up” going. Everyone in the product contributed, even Jim, but that did not mean that he had to put himself up above others like he was the only well known person out of the end of the series. With how selfish the duck seemed to him, he only continued working until the show’s cancellation so that way the children wouldn’t have to worry about his role getting replaced out of nowhere.

Some time after that he moved onto other shows and movies, allowing for his fans to see even more of him than what they had to work with before he was cast as the role of Megavolt on the Darkwing Duck show. He did enjoy that one greatly, but until someone was interested in doing a revival of the franchise and Jim learned that he was not everything that was Darkwing Duck, he wouldn’t do it. With the news of there being a new Darkwing Duck movie to revitalize the brand, he did contact the director, but ultimately turned down returning to the role of Megavolt as the version that Alistair Boorswan was going for sounded a bit too “out of focus” with what the original show was meant to be.