#so my couple bits of actual canon info may be off

[coldgoldlazarus]

I know the metroid timeline is purposely pretty vague, but do you have a headcanon for how long it's been since metroid 1? I figure it has to be at least a few years, even in the games themselves don't take place over a long period of time each

I think my initial off-the-cuff guesstimate would be somewhere in the vicinity of eight to ten years, with Samus in Zero Mission being in her mid twenties, and in her early-mid thirties as of Dread. Wanna double-check what little canon info there is later to make sure there aren't any glaring contradictions, and it's hard to say how Prime 4 may alter things or not, but here's my rough guesses about the timeskips between games.

Zero Mission to Prime - A couple years, enough time for the escaped frigate Orpheon to set up shop on Tallon IV before Samus comes calling. For simplicity, let's round to an even number; my instinct would be to say two years, but apparently one source says it is actually three. I'll split the difference and say 2 Years, 6 Months.

Prime to Hunters - A couple months at most, mainly because I'm pretty sure it was said explicitly somewhere that Prime and Echoes were six months apart. 2 Years, 8 Months

Hunters to Echoes - A few months, probably a slightly bigger space on this end of Hunters, but still not too long, in keeping with the aformentioned six-month gap. 3 Years.

Echoes to Corruption - Approximately a year, give or take, allowing for Urtraghus's near-complete seed conversion (unimpeded compared to Tallon IV) and creation of Urtraghan Pirate Phazon Cult, along with the other logistics groundwork laid for their massive attacks seen in the game. 4 Years.

Corruption to Federation Force - Merely a few months, as Samus would still have to have been recovering from her phazon corruption for the pirates to have feasibly captured her, and for the Federation to switch gears from their now-useless PED technology to Project Golem. (Meanwhile, I hold the headcanon that the Pirates are quite vast and decentralized compared to what the games claim/imply, thus the Urtraghan Phazon Cult was not representative of the entirety of the Pirates, and the Doomseye crew were a completely different branch who had been setting up seperately from the Urtraghans during the same time period, and were unaffected by their fall.) For rounding purposes, let's say that's four months, putting us at 4 Years, 4 Months.

Federation Force to Samus Returns - This space is the big unknown variable, especially given this is most likely where Prime 4 will fall, and we don't yet know whether it will ultimately be a one-off or start a brand new trilogy or what. But for now, assuming only Prime 4 goes in this space, I'll give it something like a round two years, with P4 happening closer to the back end of that, to lead fairly directly into Samus Returns with only a few months between them, with whatever incident occurs there finally spurring the Federation to order the Metroid extermination. But if they do wedge in even more games after Prime 4, I would stretch this section out to three or more years. But for now, 6 Years, 4 Months.

Samus Returns to Super - I detailed in another post that while I originally agreed with the general consensus that Super follows extremely closely off of SR, I have since changed my mind. Even though I have my issues with the forced inclusion of Proteus Ridley and the general tonal mishandling of Metroid II's ending, if we are to aknowledge that that event occurred, I feel like Super must make far more sense with some temporal distance between it and SR. Ergo, I posit that rather than them being a week apart at most as popular consenus goes, there must be a minimum of four months between them. Enough time for Ridley's attack to be written off as a fluke, and somewhere in that time Samus and the hatchling Metroid embarked on an adventure that convinced her it was unsafe at her side - either in too much danger, or too much of a danger to others, or both, thus prompting her to bring it to Ceres Station, kicking off the events of Super. So going with that conservative estimate of four months, that puts us at 6 Years, 8 Months.

Super to Fusion - (I am of course just not aknowledging Other M in this timeline. Fed Force is overhated IMO, but I don't have enough patience for OM.) Given that enough time must have passed between Samus Returns and Fusion for the Biologic Space Laboratories asteroid space station to have been set up around SR388 and brought into operation for the habitats to be filled, but the X parasite propogation on said planet only reached the station shortly before Fusion begins, I would guess about a year or so passed, with the bulk of that time being spent simply building the station before operations proper began only a month or two out from Fusion's opening. But that's relative to Samus Returns; relative to Super I would estimate that gap to be somewhere around eight months, bringing our total up to 7 Years, 4 Months.

Fusion to Dread - This is another kind of weird one given how Dread just has Samus working with the Federation again, even if presumably on rockier terms than before. There must have been at least a solid couple-month stretch of initially dealing with the fallout of Fusion, then things settle back into an uneasy status quo, before the transmission comes that sets off this newest adventure. At the same time, not too much of a long stretch, given Samus still has the Federation-loaned purple Gunship and her new/old AI friend. So another eight-month stretch there puts us at 8 Years.

If I say Samus is like, 24 in Zero Mission, (given it seems she was in her early 20s when she was with the Federation, and had already been a bounty hunter of good repute for a couple years as of ZM) then that puts her at roughly 32 (or 33 or 34 if I do stretch out the period between FF and SR) in Dread, which just feels right to me. These are of course all rounded to exact numbers, I imagine the actual stretches of time to be a bit more uneven, but still amounting to this overall length.

[neeeeeoposts]

sorry i did it again i made another fic... .. . ...

in short, its just a EEnE x Fosters Home AU (based off my Edd as an imaginary friend drawing from months ago)

there's more info under the cut or you can just read it idk👎👎👎

fic link here

anyways so if ur reading this, thanks!! i like this au and im glad ur reading more abt it :)

but anyways, ive stated before that this is an Ed Edd n Eddy x Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends AU.

The premise of the AU/Fic is mostly centered around Kevin and Edd, with Edd being Kevin's imaginary friend. Its just a compilation of mini stories where Kevin hates on Double D until he finally accepts Edd as his friend.

If you couldnt already tell from the drawings, i also have other characters included here too, heres a couple extra notes about each character in order:

If you havent seen my old post that inspired this piece, its right here so you can view it if youd like, but its just me fucking around with my powers of drawing. Its just Edd as a 'non-human' which i used for this work.

Each imaginary friend is supposed to teach their creator some sort of lesson in a way, for example; Edd (un)intentionaly shows Kevin how to be nicer to people? Or maybe some other moral im not sure

Adding onto that last fact, Ed is Rolf's imaginary friend who (actually unintentionally) teaches Rolf how to not overwork himself. Eddy, Nazz's imaginary friend, would show Nazz how to be herself and not a mask of what she thinks people think of her via Eddy's own actions. The Kanker sisters are just villains, but if I had to guess maybe its for Marie and Lee to appreciate the familial bonds between them and May? Finally, Sarah teaches Jimmy how to stand up for himself. Simple.

This fic is like a rewrite of the show, so characters are still 12 years old for the most part, and therefore will be no ships (because if you think about it in a FHFIF sense, a human character x imaginary friend is kinda weird....)

Plank is (still) Jonny's imaginary friend. And Plank is still a piece of wood.

I messed around with the creation of an imaginary friend for this fic, because I know that in FHFIF canon, if a child thinks of a friend it comes to life immediently based on their own thoughts alone, but for this fic i had to tweak it a bit, im sorry :(

Thats all for now, thank you for reading :)

[good-beans]

Concept that just popped into my head: Milgram characters doing "get ready with me" videos

Aw, this was so fun!! I always love your hc style of normal au/everyone's chilling, and tried to go the same route -- it was so cute to think about :D

Haruka: Puts on his outfit for the day and explains everything in great detail. He has lots of comfortable items and fun colors. At the very end he speaks off-camera and you realize Muu was standing there cheering him on the whole time. He gets a lot of encouraging comments, and Muu and Fuuta keep an eye on the account to delete any nasty ones that may come in.

Yuno: Shows her outfit, makeup, nails, and bag she’s taking with her. She tries out a variety of styles (not just sticking to the more feminine looks we see in canon). She gives a bit of a tutorial and tips as well as showing things off. Has a main account for her daytime outfits, and a more private one for her nighttime looks. Mahiru is the only one aware of the latter account.

Fuuta: Layers. Lots of layers. There will be three sweatshirts laid out in front of him and you wonder which he’s going to choose before realizing he’s putting them all on. He focuses most on his sneakers and sportswear. He plays loud music over the videos, not knowing what to say. Has gotten into comment-section arguments over those yellow socks.

Muu: Also does a full look at her appearance: nails, accessories, etc. She mentions where you can buy everything, and it’s unclear whether she was sponsored by these brands or is just excited to talk about them. (Whether they’re actually together or not,) she’ll have Haruka on as a guest a lot to show off couple’s outfit ideas. She definitely has the biggest following, and loves recommending Haruka and the others’ accounts.  

Shidou: He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but his account is getting tons of views so the others keep encouraging him to make videos. He’s just glad to be connecting with the other prisoners as they show him how to do it. He dresses in a mix of the sleek patterned shirts and dad fits, and both types of videos are equally popular. 

Mahiru: None of the serious-faced flirts or little pouty faces – it’s all smiles for her. Every video is basically a full tutorial – she has captions and a voiceover giving commentary on everything. She has the next biggest following, and interacts constantly. She loves getting questions “what should I wear on an x type date?” “How do I dress to impress x type of person?” because she always comes up with the perfect outfit to help. 

Kazui: A bit confused as well, though he does know a lot about style. His interro question makes it seem like he wanted kids – I think he’d really get into the account as one of those “Dad How Do I” types. He talks about matching things, clothes upkeep, shaving/hairstyling. 

Amane: Also wouldn’t have made the videos without prompting from the others, but enjoys it a lot. She usually talks about practical things instead of “vain” fashion: she’s excited to show off a new raincoat, sturdy shoes, useful pockets, etc. Over time, she leans into outfits that are more cute and colorful, gaining confidence in them. 

Mikoto: He started the account as something for one of his design classes, and got really into it. He likes to challenge himself with unique styles and clothing articles, making pretty much anything work. He keeps everything professional in case an employer/coworker sees, but isn’t afraid to add some flirting and flaunting in there. If he’s open about his plurality, he’ll have some special videos, “choosing an outfit for John today!”

Kotoko: Like Amane, she’s more excited about practical outfits. She’ll show off clothes that have good flexibility, places to store and conceal objects, and heavy duty materials. She’ll rate jackets, boots, and other “military-grade” things for what has worked best for her. She’s very attentive to the accounts that follow her – she does full background checks to make sure her info is being used for justice, not more crime. Mahiru convinces her to do a special where she puts all her piercings in and talks about why she chose them/what they mean.

Es: Experiments with a lot of new styles, trying to figure out what they like. They also just play music in the back, not having much to say about each outfit. They'd rather focus on their series of dressing-up-Jackalope videos, much to his dismay...

[apricityxoxo]

Uncertainty

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Din Djarin x fem!reader

about 1.4k words

Summary: He must hate you. That has to be why he has such a large aura of hesitance when he's around you. You know for a fact that he does not want to leave his child with you. That has to be why you always get this feeling of uncertainty whenever he's around.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Helloooooo! This is my first ever drabble so kinda nervous but I'm very excited.

Info/Warnings: A bit of fluff and angst. Takes place between seasons one and two but Mando still has loner season one vibes. Canon divergence. It may not be obvious in this drabble but I will always write with POC in mind, especially black women. There is a part with attempted sexual assault but not from Mando and it's very short and has no details. I think that's all but lmk if I missed anything.

Enjoy

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You can feel his hesitance, it’s basically oozing off of him. It’s like a dark, scary aura of uncertainty that’s exuding off of him. He does not want to leave his child with you. He’s a large man, tall with large shoulders, a wide back, huge arms and legs, whole body covered in beskar. He’s large in size and mass, you try to stop yourself from wondering what he looks like under the armor, try and stop yourself from thoughts that might disrespect his creed. He towers over everyone, including yourself. You feel like he’s always looking down on everyone, physically and mentally. 

Usually, he exudes confidence, power, and strength and he has every right to. He’s very well known on Nevarro, even before “the incident” with the “Empire”. He’s always had a reputation, you heard that he usually wouldn’t start fights, but he would always end them. Gaining a reputation for being merciless and brutal. 

You’ve heard the rumors but realized how true they were when you saw him fight a man, you’re actually the reason for the fight. Walking a student home because their parents were too high on spice to remember to pick her up. She showed you a “shortcut” that she takes with her low-life father, and because you were so concerned with getting her home before the sun went down you didn’t ask any questions. Oh, how foolish you were, she’s such a kind and sweet girl, and you still don’t think she realizes why her father takes her down that “shortcut”. 

There were many different types of people, spice-heads, dealers, and people dressed in questionable attire, but mainly many men trying to sell something special to you and some went as far as to ask for something special from you. 

You were almost out of the shortcut and onto the main road when someone grabbed your arm and pulled you by your waist to turn you toward him before slamming your back into the wall. You don’t think you’ve ever been that scared, not for yourself but for the young Rodian girl that you’ve come to know during your time teaching her. You’re quick to push the girl behind yourself so she can’t see the man. It's dark and you can’t make out his face and you don’t have time to get a closer look when he puts his face in your neck and his hands are rising up your midsection, uttering threats under his breath. 

Tears start to form in your eyes and you feel like you can’t breathe, “Stop…please” you say breathily and you think it’s the last thing you will be able to say. 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” you scream to yourself but your body does nothing. You begin to close your eyes, giving up against the large vile, and disgusting man, but before you do you see a flash of rusting silver out of your peripheral.

Before anything happens, to your relief, the man is quickly removed. Your eyes bulge open and in a matter of seconds, you see the man basically fighting for his life against the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian and the other man were fighting for no more than a couple seconds, punches being thrown left and right. Then the man is on the ground with the Mandalorian on top of him. The man stopped moving a while ago but the Mandalorian didn’t stop. 

Only did he stop when he heard the cries of the young Rodian girl and your sweet soft voice trying your best to comfort her and yourself. You can physically see him come back to reality, he stands and when he does you immediately push the girl behind you, trying your best to put on a brave face. 

You see that he looks you up and down to check for injuries, you hope. “Are you okay?” he asks out of breath and modulated, looking at both of you. You nod and wipe the tears off of your face before quietly saying a quiet “yes.” He takes a step forward looking down on you and it makes you so nervous that you begin to look down. 

“Look at me,” he says in a deep and stern voice, obediently you look up at him staring at the “T” shape of the visor. 

“Never… ever, take the back streets again, do you understand?” he says. “Yes” you reply immediately and he takes a step back. You take the girl's hand and quickly make your way out of the alley, but before you leave you make eye contact with the Mandalorian, your opinion of him starting to change.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You think back to that memory often, especially now as he is staring you down as you show him around the small school. Show him where the Kid will be spending time during the day, showing him the activities that the Child can do and what he can learn. You show him where he can eat lunch and play with the other children. You that he’s only here because somehow Karga convinced him to consider leaving the Child here with you. Karga told him it would be better than to take the Child with him on a hunt to a dangerous planet, for an even more dangerous bounty. 

You think Karga might’ve praised you too highly when you asked what he told the Mandalorian. He said that you were kind, good with children, and “extremely responsible, maybe the most responsible person on the planet.” You were absolutely dumbfounded, so dumbfounded that you put Karga in his place before ultimately agreeing to watch the Child if the Mandalorian agrees.

You try to show him how responsible you are with the kids, show him that you’re fully capable of taking care of one more. Now when it’s time to show him your home that’s on the second floor of the school, you get a bit more nervous. Your home was older and you show him every single room, feeling a bit embarrassed when he looks at all the collectibles and photos you have lying around, memories that you’ve collected.  

You show the room where the child can sleep and before the Mandalorian has the chance to ask about some form of supervision at night, you show him the old baby monitor you had lying around. Any question that he might’ve had regarding the safety of his child you answered, he had no rebuttal or excuse. 

Karga looked at him with a smug look “I told you! Who else to watch your child but this young woman? You have no excuse now Mando” Karga says with a chuckle at the end. Mando looked at Karga, then at the Child in the floating pram (who was only interested in the trinkets you had lying around), and then finally he looked at you. 

Even though you can’t see his face, you know he’s looking at you with a face full of uncertainty. He doesn’t trust you and with all the crazy things that happened to him and his child, you can completely understand why. 

“C’mon Mando, the hunt will be more dangerous if you bring the kid along. Make the hunt and your life easier.” Karga says with enthusiasm. 

“I don’t want to intrude, if this works out after the hunt, I can pay you…generously,” says the Mandalorian. 

“It’s the least I can do for you, after what you did for Nevarro.” You say quickly. “I don’t mind watching him either, I love taking care of children, especially one this cute” You walk over to your shelf of trinkets and pick up the one that you noticed caught the kid’s eye. You show the kid the blue, fuzzy, toy and begin to play with him while his father is thinking it over. 

“I’ll let you know tomorrow morning, and t-thank you for your …hospitality,” he says the last part with a bit of uncertainty, you assume it’s because it’s been a while since someone invited him into their home. 

You follow behind Karga and the Mandalorian down the stairs and out the front door. You’re walking down the old steep stoop to the main street when the Mandalorian turns around to hold your hand and help you down an especially steep step. He helps you to the street but he doesn’t let go. Instead, he looks you in the eyes and gives a quiet “thank you” before letting go, flexing the hand that held yours. He was off into the busy main street with Karga and the baby in the pram following behind. You watch him leave, staring at him with feelings of uncertainty and a tight feeling blooming in your chest.

(yall peep the pride and prejudiced reference lol)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

roma ✦

[glitterpensupremacy]

Alright, you all voted (in spite of my prediction) and so I am more than happy to deliver!

Adrien MTS

His character notes are organized into four categories:

1. General info

2. Personality

3. Key relationships

4. Planned character growth

(This post may be a bit long, so the rest is under the cut)

1. General Info

I‘ll start with the biggest overall changes:

Adrien now has an equal importance to the story as Marinette (they are both the main protags of the show). This is because MTS has certain relevant plot lines that wouldn’t work with Marinette as the POV character. For example, the Agreste family backstory heavily impacts him and his life, so making Marinette the focus doesn’t work. This change was also made because duality and balance are major thematic motifs in the show, and having two MCs was one of the best ways we could implement this idea. (Also he’s just a fun character to write plots around!) On average he and Marinette would get equal screen time, but it fluctuates depending on the particular story (ex: he has a slightly smaller role in season 2 since he has less of a connection to Lila, a major antagonist in that season).

We are also not using the SentiAdrien plotline. This is due to it not being confirmed as canon at the time we began conceptualizing MTS, so we didn’t include it. And now the story doesn’t have room for it and all all the other aspects of the series that are more integral.

2. Personality

Adrien, while still trying to be nice to most of the people he meets, is a lot less mild mannered than his OG counterpart. A bit like the OG show’s S1 Adrien, only slightly more chaotic. He’s generally cheerful, enjoys making jokes (mainly as CN) and trying new things, and affectionate with his loved ones. Freedom is very important to Adrien, and he’ll often go to great lengths to try to hold on to it. Sometimes Chat Noir tries to put on a bit of a “tough guy persona”, but often melts at the first compliment or gesture from his partner.

Adrien does have the tendency to be very assertive and a tad brash (especially in the first season) because he worries that any sign of weakness will cause others to want to make decisions for him to “protect him”. Similarly, he hates being put on a pedestal, especially when it causes others to dismiss any part of him that doesn’t fit the image they have in their head (basically him being a famous model has greatly impacted how he wants to be perceived with others). He also can’t stand it when people close to him (mainly his father and initially his brother) hide things from him and try to control his actions and behavior.

3. Key Relationships

This is actually only a couple of his relevant relationships, seeing as there are a lot of them in MTS. If you want to know about a specific relationship I didn’t mention (or want more detail on a one I did mention, feel free to send me an ask!)

Marinette: The two start off with a casual friendship, as Marinette doesn’t really care that he’s a model. This actually makes Adrien more interested in hanging out with her, as she’s someone who sees Adrien as a person rather than a celebrity. He doesn’t really see her in a romantic light (or at least realize he does) until toward the end of the show, but still values her a lot. He also won’t be as oblivious as the OG Adrien about Mari’s feelings, and even though he doesn’t reciprocate them (consciously anyway), he appreciates that she actually likes him for who he is.

Ladybug: These two sort of get off on the wrong foot. Partially because of their Kwami’s influence (we may have given them some issues for the plot) and partially because Chat initially thinks Ladybug is a lot like his brother, the two don’t really work together, and often quarrel. He gets very paranoid about her wanting him to go along with her plans (due to his fear of being controlled) and thinks she’s bossy. After the midpoint of the S1 though, they get to know each other better. He learns that she is very different from who he thought she was. Realizing that she’s actually a vulnerable girl trying her best to be a hero and do right by others, causes him to become more concerned about her wellbeing. The two will also start to confide in each other about their insecurities, and near the end of S1, he finally falls in love with her. (He’ll be a lot less outspoken about it than the OG though, due to an incident that happened prior to this.) He wants to be the hero partner she deserves first and foremost.

Felix: The twins were very close growing up, especially the death of their mother and their father becoming more distant, but over the years, Felix began to change. He started to treat Adrien more like their father does, which caused Adrien to feel betrayed by his brother. Initially their relationship is cordial, with a bit of resentment on Adrien’s side, which grows until it reaches a breaking point. The two end up getting into a (somewhat one-sided) fight, that Adrien comes to regret. Fortunately the two end up getting a bit closer after this, before finally resolving their issues in the season finale (Felix learns Chat Noir’s identity, which changes how he perceives his brother, and Adrien realized that there’s been more going on with Felix than he thought after he gets akumatized into Calamity). From there the two regain their lost relationship, and do anything for each other.

Gabriel: Adrien’s feelings about his father are… complicated. On the one hand, he understands how hard things have been for his dad after losing the love of his life. In the other hand, Adrien can’t stand the way he’s acted for the past several years: isolating himself from everyone else, constantly trying to keep Adrien locked away and micromanaged, never just being there for his son, which is all Adrien really wants. On the other other hand, Adrien has a much harder time speaking up to him than he did with Felix (because well, it’s much easier to rebel against your twin sibling than your controlling father), and still wants to see the best in his dad (both because he cares about him and because Felix showed Adrien that change is possible). Throughout the third season, Adrien is able to learn a bit more about Gabriel and even confront him for how he’s treated Adrien (and Felix, but that’s another post). His father even seems like he’s starting to change after this, but… let’s just say something goes wrong.

Nino: Adrien is instantly charmed by his new “best bro”, who tries to teach him a bit more about normal kids work. Adrien tries to inspire Nino to apply himself a little more, at least when it comes to things that are clearly important to him. The fact that Nino likes his jokes definitely boosts his spirits. Adrien does start to worry about Nino after the Bubbler, as Nino’s extreme reaction (seeing as people usually can’t be akumatized unless it relates to a core issue that’s been festering for years) suggests that there may be more to his “cool dude” best friend than he thought.

Other notable Adrien/Chat Noir dynamics (for better or worse) include Plagg, Alya, Kagami, Luka, Chloe, Mylene (it’s a long story), Emilie, and Hawk Moth (he is their nemesis after all).

4. Character Growth

Ah yes, the bread and butter of storytelling. Adrien receives two major character arcs in the series. One principally taking place during season one, while the other is much longer. (He also gets minor, non-arc related growth, but I’m highlighting the most important details)

Arc #1: Adrien undergoes some pretty major changes in the first season. He starts off as the usual sweet, sophisticated, “perfect” Adrien who tries to smile through the loneliness and suffocating rules. When he meets Plagg, he gets a change to show how capable he can truly be, while getting the power to free himself from these confines. He especially loves using his Prime Ability, Wildcat (his equivalent to the Miraculous Ladybugs) to do so. It essentially turns him into an unbeatable fighting machine! Unfortunately, this power is more than a mortal being can handle, and slowly chips away at his sanity, amplifying his feelings of anger and determination to be free. Plagg also eggs him on, warning him that giving up on using Wildcats will make him “weak again”, which will cause him to go back to being helpless and submissive (MTS Plagg and Tikki are kinda jerks at first). He realizes that it’s too much for him to handle in the first midseason finale, and renounces the power. This causes his body to fall into a state of withdrawal and fatigue that takes multiple episodes to recover from. During this time, he learns the value of stability, responsibility, and that he can be empathetic while also not letting others control him. His arc culminates at the end of season 1, where he unlocks the power to purify akuma, understanding that destruction can be used for good when maintaining an inner balance.

Arc 2: The seeds of this arc are planted from the beginning, as using Wildcat caused him to unintentionally become destructive and dangerous, but the episode Copycat is what launches the arc. Facing someone who looks exactly like you, has all of your powers, who you (unintentionally) lead to get akumatized does a lot to a person’s self esteem. Even though he hasn’t fallen in love with Ladybug yet, he cares about their friendship, so fighting an imposter who completely obsessed with her causes him to fear becoming the same way. Naturally this causes him to panic when he does fall in love with her, making him take longer to even admit how he feels about her. (He also struggles after she rejects him, but is more worried about her potentially being afraid of him than the rejection itself.) The New York Special also deals with his insecurities, as he almost quits being a hero due to not wanting to hurt anyone else. Fortunately Felix (who he tried to give the ring to instead) talks him out of it. Finally he manages to overcome his fears in the final season, after he faces his nightmare in Sandboy (that being a Ladybug who believes he’s a monster), and acknowledges that he’ll never be that kind of person.

Conclusion:

Alright, that finishes a (general) overview of Adrien’s character in Miraculous: The Series. To anyone who actually had the patience to read all of this, thank you for listening to my ramble (believe it or not but there’s even more details I could have mentioned!)

Marinette is gonna be the next character I talk about (idk when I’ll actually write her notes out, but she is next) as a planned post. After that… I’ll probably either discuss the MTS love square, Tikki and Plagg’s changes, or one of the fabled Season One trio characters (Alya, Chloe, or Felix). As for now… stay miraculous!

[hopeofhouse]

i finally finished dos2.... thoughts ft. drawings + choice playthrough phone notes (spoilers obv)

my godwoken was an elf witch named allegory. he ended up as a necromancer/hydrosophist combo. blood damage + healing was a fun mix! odd contrasts <3

his backstory, 2 me, is that he was lost in a marshland as a little kid, and tir-cendelius saw the chance to keep him isolated (seeing off any potential rescuers, magically expanding the marshes every time he tried to trek out and leading him in circles) + raise the perfect tiny loyal godwoken for when The Time was Right. he let him out when he was an elf teen. t-c should have kept him longer because if anything it just made him weirder when he got reintegrated into society a couple decades later. F

what if your god grew you in a petri dish to [major game spoilers, redacted]. but you were a capricious little know it all with a jester's soul. what then

gorry took sebille, fane and ifan with him because i thought he would assemble a team of hot emos if given chance. this paid off + i love them all dearly

i wasn't expecting the origin characters i didn't take with me after act 1 to UP AND DIE. but it actually added a really good set of stakes. responsibility for ur actions. lohse yelled at me for leaving her to her fate and i felt SO bad. sorry miss thing

LOVED the worldbuilding....i was super familiar with 5e before i played bg3 so i sort of knew what was coming most of the time but for divinity i had to LEARN. super fun. 100% recommend

also i thought bg3 went in on the body horror but divinity was Something Else.

^ and then larian said okay that was fun what if we do it again. and made bg3. anyway

i was hideously bad at combat for ages until i listened to all the people on reddit chanting 'put points in warfare' and then it was much much much more doable lol

ngl i actually very much prefer dos2 to bg3. i loved loved loved bg3 but after like 4 playthroughs during various patch stages it was such a relief to play a game that's actually completed and won't eat my laptop for breakfast!!! first two bg3 files i had i couldn't make it to the lower city because the optimization on mac was so diabolical that it wouldn't actually play until after patch 5. dos2 lets me also have photoshop on my computer. and files that aren't bg related. miraculous

but even ignoring technical issues: from a story and world standpoint dos2 felt way more expansive and inventive. campy but also harrowing in a way that bg3 just didn't hit for me. i also genuinely enjoy being given a zillion pieces of almost overwhelming info and then sorting it out so i am biased. may expand on this at a later point and not under a mile long read more. moving on

romanced fane bc i loved his voice acting and i thought the culturally cannibalistic elf/the one guy with no flesh to eat bit was funny. jokes on me i fell in DEEP. u canonically have disappointing sex because hes simply made of bones without nerves and afterwards he takes notes. he calls u dear heart offhandedly in act 1 like it's nothing then goes right back to being aloof. how many more times does he have to tell you? he has business in the blackpits. he spends the whole game having an increasingly worse time. he's a loser. it's all his fault. he got me. he got me good. god damn

my game glitched (?) and even tho he rejected sebille (sorry baby) her and allegory still made out right before the big final choice. no option not to. then he had the expected epilogue with fane. poly ending canon enough for me!

also the music was bonkers good and the audio direction in that one battle in the final act? mwah. and dallis' va knocked it out of the entire park.

last thing here's a gorry i drew when i was still back in act 1. 180 hours ago. titled on my phone as 'praying at every altar so i always come out on top'

anyway if u made it this far: thank u. go get divinity: original sin 2 when it's next on sale. wise wise wise choice of £6.99 <3

[killerpixel]

What's left of you if you change the past?

Divider here! Pairing: OC x Josh Futturman (platonic) Word count: 1568 Summary: Mintypud is on lookout to make sure no threats are approaching. When she hears someone sneak around, she allows herself to approach them, realizing all they need is comfort and someone to ground them. Authors note/OC info!: this is my first time publishing something on tumblr, and my overall first time writing Canon with an OC. Sooo here's some info about her! Mintypud's a girl with cat ears and tail, overall wears rather bright colors and LOVE Kandi making! She actually made a couple bracelets for Josh. Her cat ears make it possible for her to hear incredibly well, and her tail gives her great balance. Other than that, she can see in the dark better than normal people, and is just as sneaky as a cat. Those are the key point needed for this oneshot! Have fun reading!

Read under cut!

Mintypud was sitting outside the camp to keep an eye out for threats. It was late at night, Wolf and Tiger had insisted on taking turns on looking out for threats. Both are currently asleep to rest up for their shifts, while Josh, well…

Minty sighs, her ears lowering just the tiniest bit.

Josh had not been doing well lately. Who can blame him though?

They blew up Kronish Labs, Josh ended up in prison, was kidnapped,... he went through hell and back, to be honest.

He hasn’t been the same since then.

He wasn’t the same Josh that would walk into that game shop to chat with her about video games, or start the regular light-hearted console war with her.

Mintypud threads up another bead.

This bracelet she’s making right now was nothing special, just something to pass the time. In the darkness people would call her insane for trying to make bracelets in the pitchblack of the night, but thanks to her night vision, she doesn’t have to worry about that.

Since she doesn’t see color at night though, this may just end up being either the weirdest or the best color combination she has put together so far.

She remains quiet and keeps looking around eventually, not seeming too bothered by her surroundings though. It’s a quiet night, just the wind whistling through the grass around her.

Minty grabs for a random pendant. A dinosaur. She smiles slightly.

Josh loves dinosaurs. Maybe this will cheer him up.

Just as she threads up the dinosaur pendant, she hears the crack of a branch breaking beneath some weight.

Instantly she’s on high alert, but stays low, her ears turning constantly in the hopes of hearing another sound that could betray who- or whatever is trespassing.

Mintypud holds her breath, slowly reaching for the knife Tiger lend her.

Her heart was beating against her chest, and she can’t help but flinch when she hears something heavy shift by the hill closeby.

She instantly turns around, her tail whipping left and right in anxiety. Her eyes need a couple seconds to adjust as she tries to keep herself as calm as she possibly could, her nervousness soon replaced by confusion.

The silhouette climbing up the hill… The weight of the footsteps… There was no doubt. But why would he…?

She looks around again, making sure there’s no actual threat anywhere close. Tiger and Wolf also seem asleep still, so she slowly gets up to follow the silhouette.

Her light footsteps are barely heard, even though she’s climbing the hill rather quickly, her tail keeping her balance steady at all times.

Once she reaches the top, she sits down beside the man, looking up into the cloudless sky while he can’t seem to look anywhere but his hands.

“....It’s kind of late, you know?”, Mintypud spoke up after a couple seconds, looking over at him. “You should be asleep…”

However, she was greeted with silence.

She tries again. “...You can see the stars really nicely tonight… wanna stargaze and find constellations? I already found-”

“It doesn’t matter”, he cut her off, not looking up at all. Dumbfounded, she looks over at him, ears perked up in confusion.

“...What do you mean?”

“Stars, constellations, nothing is real. Those aren’t our stars”

“Josh, what are you saying…?”

Mintypud looked at him, confused and beyond worried.

They used to climb the roof of his house at sleepovers, pointing at stars and constellations, making up new ones, and wishing on the occasional shooting star. Sure, some people would call it romantic, but for them it was just the usual. Sometimes they’d talk about shit going down at work, or other life struggles, or joke around and threaten to shove the other off the roof. All in good fun, obviously. It never happened.

But now…

Not even an answer.

Mintypud’s ears lower a little when she takes a closer look.

Josh was hunched over, knees pulled close to his chest, dirt and scratches still evident from his escape. It broke her heart to see him this sad.

“...Josh, what’s on your mind?”, she asks eventually.

Josh didn’t react for a couple seconds, but spoke just before Minty could try again.

“...Who am I?”

He sounded unsure, his voice thin and shaky.

The cat girl scooted a bit closer, worried about her friend.

“....You’re Josh Futturman… Did you lose your memory?”, she asks, fearing the absolute worst.

However, he shakes his head.

“No, I just… I don’t know who I am anymore…”

“Josh–”

“No, Minty, Listen.”

She blinks, taken aback by how serious, yet shaky he sounded all of a sudden.

“Sure, I’m Josh Futturman… but- I’m also the Savior, right? The one to save the future in the end. But, I’m also Joosh, a millionaire hated by his parents… Not that I blame them, I really was an asshole to them, but-”

“Josh….”

“But I had this really great life as this millionaire, developing games and all, with this mansion, but-”

“Josh.”

“but then I blew up the labs, which should have saved the future, right? I should’ve been the Savior, I should be Future Man, but we’re still here, and no matter how often we time travel, no matter how many times I lie, how many roles I take on, it doesn’t matter, nothing changes, nothing gets fucking fixed, I’m still just this fucking terrorist millionaire J-”

”Joshua Sasha Futturman.”

That stopped Josh in his tracks, staring at Mintypud in confusion. She had his face cupped with he hands, cat ears hanging low and her eyes full of worry. Minty had never seen her best friend this confused, especially about himself. His voice had gotten more shaky as he had sped up his ranting, tears had already formed in his eyes. It broke her heart when she realizes that, no, he wasn’t sad. He was broken.

“...Sasha?”, he asks, voice barely a whisper.

Minty gulps.

“Yeah, that’s your middle name, remember? It was y-”

“My grandma’s name, yeah…”

She nods slightly.

“...Josh, have you really forgotten who you are?”

Her friend remains quiet, avoiding her gaze.

“...Hey idiot, look at me”, she coos softly, teasing him just the tiniest bit.

He listens, even though he hesitates. A tear rolls down his cheek.

She smiles softly at him, trying her hardest not to cry herself when she sees his eyes drowning in sadness and anxiety, moreso than usual.

“You’re Josh Futturman, janitor at Kronish Labs. Remember?”

He nods simply, not pulling himself together enough to talk.

“You’re the nerd I got to know briefly whenever you walked into the Game store, mostly because you broke your Joystick again. Caught me off-guard once studying on my shift while no one was in the store, we ended up talking about games and consoles, you started calling me gamergirl and I’d call you bastard or idiot in return. We would always joke like that. I’m pretty sure I gave you one of my Kandi bracelets that day”

“...The blue one with the stars, and- and the >Game Over< letters…”, he mutters shakily, shoulders shaking as he tries not to cry.

Minty smiles and nods. “Exactly, that was the one!”

“Josh, you’re my best friend… You told me about Biotic Wars, you let me watch you game whenever I came over. Your parents always welcomed me too! I’d alway kick your ass in MarioKart!”

Josh sobs a laugh, quickly wiping his tears away.

Mintypud can't help it and pulls him into a tight hug, her tail wrapping around his back as well. She feels how he clings onto her, his face buried in her shoulder.

“But.. but we can’t go back to that time… we fucked with the timeline too much…”, he whimpers into her shoulder, another sob escaping him.

“Maybe… but you’re still you.”, she coos softly, rubbing calming circles on his back.

“We can’t go back, but we’re still us. I’m the same Mintypud from the game store, and you’re the same gamer who was obsessed over Biotic Wars for three years before you beat it.”

Mintypud gently kisses his head, something she’d always do to try and soothe him when days were particularly tough.

“You’re not Joosh, or JFutz, or whatever that asshole called himself. You’re not a millionaire, not a game developer, and not hated by your parents. Those are things of someone else. You are none of that. You merely had to jump into this role to blend in.”

“You’re still Josh Futturman, the idiot who ended up being my best friend despite all odds. The idiots who is loved by his parents beyond time and space. Yes, you are said to be the savior… And I believe that you can be that savior, if you just focus on being yourself, okay?”

Mintypud’s voice got shaky as well as she hugs him even tighter, as if she had to protect him from himself.

“And as long as we’re together, I’ll always remind you of who you are…”

It was late at night, the stars were shining brightly above them.

The wind was softly whistling through the grass surrounding them, and the only other sound that could be heard were Josh’s muffled sobbing into Mintypud’s shoulder, as well as her own sniffling.

The bracelet she had worked on earlier may still find it’s use after all.

After all, Josh loves Dinosaurs.

Divider here!

@joshfutturman | @saplesss-tree | @dotts-stuff | @leafletterr

I know y'all know it already from discord but sshhhhh

[matan4il]

One thing that fascinates me is that now we have confirmation that Eddie doesn't remember 90% of the shooting. For me personally, it actually fills in a lot of Eddie's journey from waking up to the S5 panic attacks. Whether they actually address any of this when they go, Canon honestly won't change my mind, though. Because now it makes total sense, Eddie was already having conflicted thoughts in treasure hunt the Carla follow your heart moment, and he had feelings after being shot we saw in real time. Reaching for Buck, worried for Buck. Also makes sense Buck probably down played alot of how it went down, because well that's Buck you know. And none of the 118 were there to witness and retell it to Eddie.

So yeah, he probably woke up with tinges of feelings and not understanding remotely exactly what they were. Tried to fake it to male it with his girlfriend, but his subconscious never let him. Explains the beginning of the panic attack with the Buck look alike also.

I don't know how they will go Canon but if we never get a Buck again episode I hope we get one really long ass conversation between the 2. They do intense conversations so well and Ryan and Oliver don't get to do it enough. Just like after an intense moment and feelings realization to have them be filling in each other's blanks would make me incredibly happy. I know we have got to see them through this journey but I would love some POV moments you know????

Hi Nonnie! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Regarding the possibility that Eddie doesn't remember the shooting, exactly as he said, I agree that it's a very real possibility, as I explained in this ask reply. I don't write off the possibility Eddie remembers but isn't admitting it, but yeah, I currently tend to think he doesn't.

As for Buddie having intense conversations, you know that I am here for every bit of Buddie crumbs we can get, let alone the small feasts that are their talks. I do know what you mean! I feel you! Though I think it's always good for us to be realistic. This show will always have them fill each other on some things off screen. It has always been like that, always will be. And as much as we may wish (if we're Buddie shippers) to have more of their talks, they probably have more regularly featured talks than any other non-romantic (canonically) pairing. I haven't checked this statistically, but that's the impression that 911 leaves me with, that both in quantity and quality, what Buck and Eddie have in terms of significant talks far surpasses any other (not canonically romantic) combo you can think of on the show.

That said, the filling each other in on significant things off screen actually makes Buddie more like the romantic couples. Because allowing us to simply assume they tell each other everything, even the stuff we don't see them talking about, and then hinting to us that they did, that's exactly how shows often treat their romantic couples. So any moment like that, where it's implied they share even the stuff we don't see them talking about (think Buck blurting out info about Eddie's love life with Ana during the call in 312) reminds us they're each other's life partners, not just work partners.

Thank you for the ask! I hope this helped. As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[verdantglow]

are you basing your au on any specific life season? in terms of grouping and such at least. Or is it all cobbled together with things from your favourite seasons? Or is it maybe like, making a new season? Whatever it is im super interested.

also since sburbs not involved im assuming there wont be classpects, but if there were what would you assign to who? (feel free to just pick a couple of your favourites so you do t have to do 18 classpects 💀💀)

So, the AU is based on all the seasons, kinda smashed together in various ways. The cast plays all season as separate VR LARP (VLARP???) campaigns, which in turn influence somewhat what’s going on interpersonally outside of VLARP in the meat space. I’m also pulling from other SMPs I’ve seen the cast in for certain details, as one of my fav things with AUs is working in little references to canon/fanon. Then there’s the aspect of which relationships I feel I want to explore in the Alternian meat space/what I think makes sense given everything else. Plus, you know, a little sprinkle of shipper brain rot.

I’ve got one or two group placements to work out, but I will make a post either today or tomorrow with that info!

As for classpects, boy howdy, I was avoiding this, but once I started, I have found it’s actually really fun & I want to do more! (Do I need an AU of this AU where they actually do play Sgrub…?)

Here’s the few I’ve figured out so far plus some art!

Smalsh Beans as the Heir of Rage

Given how unhinged Joel can (& does, regularly,) get, Rage felt like a good aspect for him, but I was really torn on class for a bit. I didn’t see him as a knowledge, destruction, or healer class. I landed on Heir going off a few fan theories. I saw that some people lost Heirs as being controlled by or representing their aspect, or as being consumed by or becoming their aspect. Idk, something about red life Joel just screams Heir of Rage with those definitions. Briefly considered making him a Witch, because that’s an active class vs heir being passive, but in the end, I think Heir fits better.

(Note: I’m playing with the idea of Smalsh Beans going by Joel for some silly reason, just ‘cause he’s the only one with a human name that isn’t present in his troll name/isn’t extremely close to his troll name, &, well, I’d rather call him Joel. **shrug** Maybe his matesprit gave it to him as a nickname?)

Scohtt Smajor as the Seer of Void

I may have listed Joel first, but Scohtt is the first I settled on. I knew I wanted him to be either a knowledge class, just based the fact that that man has a freaky high perception score. Like. Scott in canon always is one of the first to pick up on shit, so Scohtt is no different. I toyed around with making him the Seer of Mind, but then realized that a) he’s got higher perception that insight (granted his insight is also good) & b) I couldn’t bring myself to make Scohtt, already a teal blood, anymore like Terezi lol. But with Void, it can represent things that are unknown or hidden, so a Seer of Void might be one who can specifically see things that are secret, much like how Scott often figures out hidden from others before anyone else. (For instance, how he immediately knew Scar & Grian were soulmates in DL or how he eavesdropped on secret convos in SL.)

[ascendthisday]

You Really Really Love Me

gif by veilofmegiddo

Paring(s): Satchel/Michael Starr

Word Count: 860~

Info: Pure Fluff, Men In Love, So Impossibly Clean, Like They Don't Even Kiss Clean, Short and Sweet, Brunch Dates

Summary: "You know what I've never understood?" Michael mused from across the small table. It was date night! Or, more so, date day as Satchel had taken him out for brunch. "Mm, what?" He half-heartedly asked as he grazed over the laminated menu placed in front of him. 

Authors Note: okay so this one is like... steel panther canon? idk what else to call it but they are NOT ralph and russ in this!!! it is the characters michael and satchel, not the guys behind them! ralph and russ dont even exist in this universe (depsite what the tags may make u think) once again i am the worst poster EVER but we're getting there! this is the most pg13 fic ever literally just boys being boys and going out for brunch! i have 2 other sp fics ill eventually post probably so be prepared

"You know what I've never understood?" Michael mused from across the small table. It was date night! Or, more so, date day as Satchel had taken him out for brunch. "Mm, what?" He half-heartedly asked as he grazed over the laminated menu placed in front of him. 

"Your hands! They're so, like, not right. I don't know how to describe it but your fingers are too short for you to play guitar the way you do." Satchel raised an eyebrow above his sunglasses, suddenly much more interested in the singer's miniature rant. "Not to be an asshole or anything- you'd just never expect it! When I tried to learn guitar, I gave up because my fingers were too short to comfortably hold the damn thing! It's just cool, I guess." 

"Seems like you spend a lot of time staring at my hands, stalker." Satchel chortled as he placed his flimsy menu in a stack on top of Michael's. He leaned forward on the square patio table as he rested his chin in his hand. As much as he jokingly argued with the man, he absolutely adored the blond-haired vocalist that sat in front of him. "Oh yeah, hard to not take notice when they're wrapped around my dick every night!" Michael wittily retorted, gazing back at the guitarist. Unfortunately for him, their waiter had returned just as his snarky reply had left his lips. 

"So, um, what will you gentlemen have today?" The waiter, Stacy as assigned by her nametag, staggered as she stared down at her notepad, just as white as the ruled paper she gawked at. "Oh! I will have an earl grey with a breakfast burrito and he," Satchel pointed across the table "will have a cappuccino with the fruity pancakes. Thank you, Stacy!" 

When Stacy had left their table after droning out their order, the two men burst into giggles. "God, I will never know how you guess exactly what I want to order! Did you get me the fruity pancakes because you knew I wanted them or did you just want to subtly call me gay?" Michael questioned as he played a show of mock horror. "Maybe a little bit of both." Satchel grinned as he ran a hand through his mane of hair. 

"Aw, c'mon jackass! I'm not even, like, that gay. If I'm gay, I'm like point five percent gay, and I reserve that percent for you!" Michael quipped as he lightly kicked the other man in the shin from across the table. It was so calm to just be them, no overbearing drummers or absent bassists, just Michael and Satchel. When things got rough, it always dwindled down to that. Their peers joked that they were some sort of power couple and they'd just laugh it off and snort a line or two, because how could anyone know how close they actually were? Everyone assumed the casual ass grabbing and borderline homo remarks were just for public appearances, to keep up that vaguely homosexual aura of the 80's. Plus, any sane man or woman would want of piece of Satchel's ass. It's a nice ass! 

"Hmm, yeah. Okay," Satchel sassed "anyways, your hair looks really pretty today. Dare I even say, it looks bitchin'." He motioned to the way the singer had pushed his bleach-blond hair back with the sunglasses resting on his head. He had pulled out the little waves by his ears, too. It made Satchel's heart ache. How could such a playboy be so fucking cute? "Aw, you love me! Thank you." Michael teased as he ran his fingers through the ends of his hair. "You look good, by the way. Thanks for shaving off your stubble because it irritates my face when we make out. That was sweet of you." The singer smiled at the gentle pink that flushed the guitarist's face. Satchel had never quite gotten used to the compliments despite how many he received. 

The guitarist simply replied with a little 'hmmph' sound and let a little smile peck at the corners of his mouth. Eventually, Stacy found her way back with armfuls of overpriced nutriments. For the money they had dropped on the food, it honestly didn't look half bad! Steam rose off of the two mugs that rested on separate saucers that clinked together when placed on the table. It was a chilly day, so the hot beverages fit their frozen states just perfectly. Despite the lack of warmth, the two men stayed local to their torn fishnet and spandex pants. 

"Fuck, I'm cold as shit!" Michael exclaimed, dramatically shivering. Since he hadn't brought a jacket with him to pull the stereotypical boyfriend move, Satchel stood up, scooted over his chair, and moved his belongings to the other side of the table. "It's not even that cold out, wuss." He mumbled as he placed his head on Michael's shoulder and snuggled up to the singer. "If anyone recognizes us, tell them I'm dead so we look less gay." Satchel talked to himself, unaware of the loving gaze the singer had focused on him. 

"I could get used to this, y'know?" Michael cooed as he sipped at his cappuccino.  

"Yeah. This is nice." 

[flydotnet]

Répondez, s'il-vous-plaît (it's a fanfic in English don't flee)

WHUMPTOBER 2023 DAY 10: “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?” Broken Phone | Stranded | “You said you'd never leave.”

Up until yesterday, I had no idea what I'd write for this day. We're a third in and some days do have prompts that boggle my mind.

Fortunately, I got out of there by going to Paris on Friday, seeing good ol' Prism, and wow actually I know what characters I'm gonna use for this oneshot! Thanks Prismou!

Don't look into the actual context around this scene too hard. Like for "Egg Basket" from June, it's in reference to a yet-unpublished piece of fanfiction I've been working on with friends. We still can't release any concrete info about it, so for now, you'll have to do with Vague Setting That's Clearly French.

I'm a bit cheeky about it, though, I'll admit, since I purposefully gave this fic a French title to allude to the fact this is set in France with mostly French characters who speak French among themselves. What's funny is that I've never seen "RSVP" in anything ever in my daily life, only "je vous prie de bien vouloir répondre". Maybe it's one of those Parisian sayings I don't get. I just thought it really fit the fic.

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

Répondez, s'il-vous-plaît

Summary: répondez s'il-vous-plaît (RSVP): French for please reply. Though francophones may use more usually "prière de répondre" or "je vous prie de bien vouloir répondre", it is common enough.

Everyone has their issues, and sometimes, it's bound to bubble up to the surface. JB and Maxine just… didn't plan on finding out their friend's the way they did.

Fandom: Captain Tsubasa (with a good dose of universe mixing and OC/Canon!)

Word Count: 1K words

AO3 version available here.

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

Today was supposed to be one of those innocuous days where her best friends aren’t playing soccer for a living for a couple weeks, where they just spend the day together talking about whatever and doing what friends do: hang out, drink, eat, walk, pet a dog, pet a horse. Whatever Maxine was meaning for it to be, it wasn’t playing nursemaid.

Instead, it’s turned into a shitshow and she doesn’t know where to direct the anger that’s swelled inside of her. Maybe it isn’t even anger, who knows. It could be frustration, it could be disappointment – all she knows is that, whatever it is, it’s drowning in slimy concern.

She should’ve known something was afoul when Yuzo wasn’t responding to her text messages. He’s usually so uptight about responding to her in time, he’d have had apologized for responding as little as half an hour later, to some of the most useless stuff possible. This man would apologize for not giving his seat in the subway to a barely-showing pregnant woman because he couldn’t actually stand on his right foot, courtesy of a practice mishap.

All in all, Maxine was expecting something iffy by the time JB and she concluded they both didn’t have news from their pal – and she wishes it was just him oversleeping on his day off, or having forgotten to respond by misplacing his phone somewhere, or some other stupid explanation that wasn’t… that.

When JB and she arrived here, they were greeted by a door left open, if just barely, and a passed-out Yuzo hanging on the floor of his own kitchenette. Most odd was that he was dressed to go outside and had in fact not even taken off his coat nor his scarf, not even his beanie, which was still on his head. On the counter, barely put there, was what clearly was a doctor’s notice with a medicine list.

Unfortunately, doctors speak a language only pharmacists can decode, and neither JB nor Maxine is one. She only knows the names of horse medicine and ketamine isn’t going to help Yuzo – at least, not to rise back to his feet, because God knows it can help with other issues.

“Max, what’s happening to him?” JB asks, downright panicked.

This happens to be how she realizes she’s never explained shit to him and instead just sent him on a wild goose chase for the nearest pharmacy.

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest, but I think it’s, uh…” She sighs. “How did you even make yourself so sick to begin with, you idiot…?”

“It’s my fault, I’m sure of it.”

“Why would it be?”

JB is the kindest man alive on Earth, but this is stupid.

“I was the one who had the flu first! I must’ve given it to Yuzo and now he’s…” he points at the man on the sofa, “like that!””

“JB, you’re not the sole cause why Yuzo’s like this, I’m certain of that. You were nowhere near as bad as that.” She slowly inserts a thermometer inside his mouth as she speaks, cradling his head with her other hand. “Maybe he’s not used to our European bugs yet. He’s not been here for that long, after all.”

“Maybe I should’ve been more cautious?” There he is, freaking out again. “Maybe if I had worn a mask, or told him not to come inside, he’d be—”

“JB, he was going to catch something eventually. We all have caught something on the subway or the RER. Stop worrying about how he got it, it’s not going to serve much use.” She takes the thermometer out and cusses as soon as the number comes into view. “Shit.”

“It’s bad?”

Maxine glances back at Yuzo. He’s frowning in a fitful sleep, everything about him soaking in sweat and what may be tears, his skin white as his blanket and yet so bright where it’s concerning.

“It’s bad-bad. His fever’s over forty.”

She puts the thermometer back where it came from: the mess of things JB found at the foot of the sofa when they came in.

“What?! That’s…”

“I’m gonna get a bucket and some water, he—”

As Maxine gets up, she feels a grip on her forearm that makes her stop dead in her tracks. The grip isn’t very strong, far from it, but it’s vicious: now staring at her, or trying his hardest to at least, is Yuzo, whose half-open eyes with unfocused irises are freezing her blood in place.

He’s trying to tell her something, as far as she can tell, but it’s gibberish to her. She can’t even tell if it’s her Japanese that’s not good enough to understand it (and it wouldn’t surprise her) or if Yuzo really is incoherent in his speech. All she can tell is that he’s calling out to… someone. First it was his mother, but then, it sounded like names Maxine had never heard about.

“JB, can you get the bucket of water and a washcloth, please?” She asks as she lowers back to her boyfriend’s level. “I’m afraid of what would happen if I left him.”

“I’m on it!”

“Thanks a lot,” she tells her best friend before focusing back on their shared companion. “What were you trying to tell me, honey…?”

Unfortunately, she gets no response from him as he slips back into his fitful sleep.

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

It takes around thirty minutes before, at long last, Yuzo reemerges from whatever hell of the mind he was stuck in. It’s clear as soon as she can actually see something in his eyes, not just haze and a sort of desperate plea.

“Ah, you’re awake!” JB says as he rushes to the sofa, the bag of medicine in hand.

Yuzo flinches at the noise, gritting his teeth.

“I think you’re too loud, his head must hurt.”

“Ah, crap! Sorry, pal!”

Maxine can’t help but sigh with fondness, then focus back on their patient.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hurts,” he replies in Japanese, and that’s how Maxine can interpret it.

“What’s he saying?”

She lifts her eyes to JB, who looks discernibly worried out of his skin, rubbing his arms for warmth.

“He isn’t feeling too good, from what I can tell. It’d be more obvious if he spoke French, but it’s not a surprise he’s fallen back to Japanese.”

“Yeah, true…”

It seems as if even hearing this conversation has awaken something in their friend, whose arms barely manage to lift him up.

“Maxine…?” His voice is hoarse, his barking cough sounds wet. “What’re you doing here…?”

Both JB and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, good, you can actually speak coherent French! That means you’re doing better.”

“What happened, I’m… confused?”

JB runs to her side, smiling a little – no doubt from relief.

“Sorry for that, pal! We found you passed out on your floor earlier. You really worried us, you know?”

Yuzo looks like he’s trying to solve an equation with two unknowns on the fly to very mixed results.

“I don’t know what the doctor diagnosed you with, Yuzo, but it must be terrible. Do you mind if I take your temperature?”

“N-no, go for it.”

They all stand in silence as she does. It takes longer than the first time, and despite how heavy it makes the air as a result, it’s somewhat reassuring. Eventually, it beeps again, and this time, Maxine’s eyes don’t bulge out of their sockets.

“Thirty-eight point nine,” she announces. “It’s not good by any means, but it’s better than before, that’s for sure.”

Yuzo stares at her with

“Hang on, Max! We’ve still got all that stuff!”

As she stares at the bag in JB’s hands, she feels utterly stupid.

“Oh, snap, you’re right.”

It only takes them a couple minutes to get a couple of pills inside Yuzo, who doesn’t even protest – his throat does, but he doesn’t. In the meantime, she observes him, watches the colour on his face slowly come back even if he remains ashen pale compared to usual anyway.

She has questions swirling through her mind, some dating from before today and some so fresh they still feel crispy. She waits to ask them, sits through JB making sure his friend isn’t going to lose consciousness again. For a second, she wonders if he knows, so less puzzled yet just as heartbroken as she was earlier.

“Hey, Yuzo… Can I ask you something?” She eventually says.

He looks back at her

“Earlier, when your fever spiked, you said some things out loud.” Her eyes harden. “I doubt you remember much from it, but I still wanted to ask: do you know what you could’ve said? I think you were talking in Japanese.”

He takes time to process. Jesus, Maxine, you know he’s already struggling with French and a fever, don’t make both harder on him.

“It… depends. I was deep in a dream, I think.”

“You clutched Max’s arm and told her stuff as you cried,” JB adds.

Yuzo changes faces immediately, losing all confidence.

“Oh… I know what I must’ve said.” He takes a pause, gets a coughing fit out (she hands him a glass of water as soon as it’s done). “You said… You said you’d never leave me.” He gulps. “At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.”

“Do you know who you were saying that?”

“My mother… presumably.”

He doesn’t sound sure, but it doesn’t prevent JB from wanting confirmation, even if his face is hesitant.

“You said that to your… mom?”

“I don’t see anyone else I could’ve asked in my sleep…”

“Not even one of your friends or teammates?”

Maxine prefers to make sure because, come to think of it, she’s been dating this man for months and he’s never told her about his family. Every time she asked, he recoiled and she dropped the topic entirely. Which means…

“No, I’ve never been ill in front of them.”

“It’s normal to call out to your mom when you’re sick, though, I do it all the time,” JB continues. “So why do you look so… uneasy?”

In front of them, Yuzo rolls back inside himself, shoulders rounded like a hedgehog protecting himself. It’s bizarre to witness.

“It’s… I’ve never gotten along with my parents.” Despite his hoarse voice, he sounds clear as day, suddenly. “They’ve always held more interest within my brothers.”

“You have siblings?”

This is the first time Maxine hears about potential in-laws.

“Two brothers. One older, one younger. Engineer, doctor.” He shivers. “I wanted to be a soccer player. It didn’t make them happy.”

She doesn’t like where it’s going. Don’t tell her they…

“So when any of us would get sick, it was first them, and then me. I think they didn’t really want me to be born, but they still raised me.”

Her blood is boiling. Who are those people? How can you be so cruel? How could they’ve given the world such a sweet man…?

JB and Maxine are staring at each other, speechless.

“It’s fine, it’s just… How I was raised,” Yuzo continues to try and justify. “

“Actually, uhm… That’s just…”

JB is struggling to find his wording, fretting again (and who can blame him, that’s quite the unexpected package to drop onto their lap); so Maxine, like the good ol’ pal she is, takes the helm once more.

“Can I be very blunt about that?”

“Yes…?”

She’s sorry, she really is, especially since he looks so troubled, trembling from head to toes and hair risen on his arms; but it must be said. It must be done.

“Fuck your parents and fuck your brothers while I’m at it. They should’ve taken care of you before it got this bad.” She gets JB closer to her. “And neither of us is gonna let you down like they gave up on you.”

“It’s…” Tears prickle at his eyes. “Thank you…”

“It’s no big deal!”

“Just tell us when you’re ill, though. I’d rather not have that scare again!”

“I promise.”

She cups his face again, relief finally coming back to her.

“Now, you should get some rest. JB and I will stay here, don’t worry.”

“Actually, I need to get my sleepover stuff…”

“Well, at least one of us will be here at all times,” Maxine chuckles. “Unless you want us both?”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he replies with a bit of a cough stuck in his throat. “It’s already a lot. Thank you very much.”

[feathersnek]

First on the catch-up agenda is Tempest! Back before my hiatus on my own characters, I was working on his introduction sketches. Tempest is from what was previously a novel of mine, Sacred Names. He may be a side character, but he decided to bug me with quite the backstory of his own. In a dangerous world teeming with myths, Tempest is part of a certain race of bird-people. A little more info about him relating to these sketches under the cut!

The first sketch isn't in-story canon, as it's a less-developed world that hasn't really established words, symbology, or protections for things like bisexuality yet. It's up to the towns/races how people like that are treated unfortunately. Tempest is indeed Bi, but due to immense guilt over his actions until recently and feeling a need to be punished, he convinced the entire village he was gay to get them to judge him for it, as he thought it would be even more potent.

Why? Because his and his village's race is loosely based off of greek sirens in the sense that they lure the opposite gender with their song. However, this naturally doesn't work on the same gender. Furthermore, this race is a bit enslaved to this ability. They are obsessed with affection while also using extreme caution against falling prey to it themselves. All of this is a very big melting pot for judging someone who likes the same gender.

And seeking self-punishment, Tempest uses this to spread rumors about himself. He believes he doesn't deserve happiness. Well, when a couple of outsiders visit the village, he's shaken from this toxicity.

Bringing us to the second sketch. Aniela. She is very open minded and doesn't take anyone's crap. Between this, and having grown up around someone who was actually gay, she's not one to tolerate the village picking on Tempest or Tempest beating himself up either. She starts to knock some sense into both the villagers and Tempest while she's there.

This only has so much of an initial affect, and Tempest is left mostly confused, (third sketch) but it does leave an impression. After she and the other two main characters leave for main story plot, the affect of their actions while in the village will set Tempest on a path to true recovery, and eventually cause a shift in the village's attitude as well.

[heroesrolli]

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The D780 image quality at 12,800 is outstanding, and is definitely usable at 25,600. The image quality seems similar to or better than the Nikon Z 6, which is noticeably better than the D750 I’ve been using for several years. Have you used the D780? - J.M.Ī: The short answer: I’ll definitely be buying one.

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Q: My Canon 6D has been pushed to its limits and I’m seeing too much ISO noise, so I’m looking into changing over to Nikon. So you will not have the metadata in Lightroom that identifies the lens or which aperture was used for the photographs. There is one major downside, however, which may or may not matter to you: It does not have electronic contacts. And I have an extra stop of light when I need it. It beat my Zeiss Distagon (gasp!) in regard to coma. The chromatic aberrations can be easily removed, but I chose not to remove them for what were just test images.) (Note: These are totally unedited photos. The gray zoom boxes are exaggerated zooms at 800-plus percent to show the actual shapes of stars. The star-field boxes are 100 percent crops.

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To see a technical test I did, download and open these files in Photoshop and zoom to 100 percent. It’s an incredibly small, light, fast and sharp lens.Īt f/2.8, the coma almost disappears, and at f/4 it’s totally gone. What do you know about this lens/company? Quality? Performance? Any info? - Terry K. I saw this lens on the B&H Photo website: Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D for Nikon Z. Q: I have the Nikon Z 6 and am looking for a wide-angle lens that I can use for night photography. When it is high in the sky, you are viewing it through a single layer of atmosphere, which is why it is almost always white. When the moon is just rising, you are viewing it through hundreds of miles of atmosphere. The color in the moon is completely dependent on atmospheric conditions––the amount of dust, moisture or pollution in the air. By about 20 minutes after sunset, the exposure difference between the moon and the landscape is too great to capture in a single image. But I generally prefer a moonrise about 10 to 15 minutes after sunset, when the exposure balances nicely between the moon and the soft light on the land. If you want a warm glow on the landscape, look for a moonrise that’s just before sunset. The “best” time for moon photography depends on the effect you are looking for, and the landscape where you are photographing.

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You can use PhotoPills or a website like to find out the date of the full moon each month, and then check the sunset and sunrise times within a couple of days of the full moon. The moon rises about 45 to 55 minutes later each day during its 28-day cycle, but the sunset time varies by only a minute or two. In some months, the best timing may be one day before or after the full moon. The exact times vary quite a bit-by up to as much as an hour, depending on the exact timing of the full moon. (The opposite, for both cases, is true of the new moon.) Either way is a good way to shoot the moon near the horizon during soft light. The full moon does, however, set at sunrise. How can I plan this easier? And when will the moon still have a pinkish glow-when it beats the sun in rising, or when the sun beats it in setting? - A.B.Ī: The full moon always rises near sunset, never at sunrise.

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Unfortunately I did not see how to get an easy answer to when there would be another full moon rising while the sun is setting, so I reverted to tedious data lookup. I tried to find out when this may happen again. Q: Last year when driving home I passed a small lake that had a huge red/pink full moon rising over it.

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you think canon Zuko has any understanding of the idea of duty? That he, especially given that he aspires to political power, should act like his status as Prince gives him certain responsibilities? That doing what's best for the for Fire Nation or the world might require him to do things which make him unhappy or uncomfortable or require him to make grave personal sacrifices? Does he even understand duty as a concept?

Oof. Complicated questions, thus, this sat in my inbox for a veeeery long time.

I honestly, seriously, genuinely... don't think Zuko truly understood, at any point in canon, what it really meant to be a leader. I know many of us (and I think you, too?) don't particularly like the comics, but in my opinion, The Promise did a surprisingly decent job at highlighting several problems left in the wake of the end of the war, and perhaps unintentionally, this is one of the problems: upon becoming Fire Lord, Zuko is remarkably erratic, unsure of his choices, even seeking advice from his FATHER, of all people, because he has no idea what he's doing.

In the most favorable possible view of Iroh, he taught Zuko to be a better person. I don't entirely adscribe to this belief, but fine, let's concede that he did, or else this answer would never end: not just because you're a good person, however, are you guaranteed to be a good leader. Zuko, as we both know, is far from the best person in the world, and he is prone to making impulsive, emotional mistakes that can cause harm and trouble, and typically, Zuko doesn't face the consequences of most his actions, or the narrative just pins the blame on someone else. When we see this sort of behavior in a real-life politician, the immediate reaction we would have is "this guy is awful at his job", and sadly, I find myself thinking that quite often when it comes to Zuko's canon tenure as Fire Lord.

So... what is Zuko's concept of duty? Going by his pursuit of Aang in the first two seasons, duty is a task given to him by someone whose approval he seeks (in this case, Ozai) and he must pull it off, no matter what, to gain said approval. By Book 3, this logic still applies fairly easily to how Zuko acts over Iroh: I've highlighted in the past that the main motivation for Zuko's redemption is Iroh, doing right by Iroh, making amends to Iroh, regretting how he treated Iroh. He points that out explicitly in Ember Island Players, he does it as well indirectly by bringing up Iroh first of all, when confronting Ozai: this is his main priority. Ergo... I'd honestly say it's safe to judge that this is what Zuko regards as duty, as what he has to do. Iroh wants him to be Fire Lord? That's exactly what he becomes. The difficulties and complications in this particular line of work are taken for granted, and so, we have an outcome that was remarkably well depicted in The Promise, despite that comic's many glaring flaws: Zuko gets swept back and forth, twisted left and right by all the pressures and responsibilities, because he has no idea what he's doing as Fire Lord, and no idea/experience in how to be a real leader.

As far as I can tell, the core of the matter is that nobody really seems to have taken Zuko all that seriously as future Fire Lord. Ozai, evidently, wasn't training Zuko to be his personal heir. Ozai himself is a questionable source of information regarding learning what it means to be Fire Lord, considering he, as well, wasn't raised to take that role, just as he didn't raise Zuko for it. Yet Iroh didn't exactly teach Zuko how to lead anyone either, as far as I can tell: his lessons were meant to be of a more personal nature, and even then, Zuko had lots of trouble accepting most of them. Iroh's firebending lessons to Zuko were typically stunted in the basics because he was hot-headed and rash about getting to the intense and interesting stuff...

So: neither Ozai nor Iroh gave Zuko actual responsibilities. Ozai gave him a punishment Zuko was trying to endure however possible, a punishment he wanted to prove himself unworthy of by finding the Avatar and "regaining his honor". Then, Iroh punished Zuko as well by giving him the cold shoulder in Book 3, then he escaped and Zuko did everything he did, after betraying Ozai, to prove himself worthy of Iroh's kindness once again. It's not actual duty, the way it is in Azula's case: no doubt, Azula wants Ozai's approval too, but she has the madman's trust when it comes to finding her brother and uncle, to taking down the Avatar, and to conquering Ba Sing Se, as far as anyone can tell. I do doubt Ozai gave her all these missions at once, but he gave her the resources through which she pulled off ALL of them: she had the firebending procession, she had a ship, she had a train-tank, she had mounts... Zuko had a rundown ship that looked like a 1:10 scale version of every other ship in the harbor back in the very third episode: he was being punished. In contrast, Azula is entrusted with a mission, with LEADERSHIP, while Zuko has no visible, tangible, objective experience with the latter (consider how Azula steals the Dai Li's loyalty from under Long Feng: when did we see Zuko pulling off something like this? Even with Jet, Zuko was more of an associate to the Freedom Fighters, and Jet was still the leader).

I've always thought Zuko wasn't prepared to be Fire Lord, and the main reasons are the ones you indirectly point out through this ask: Zuko doesn't seem to treat the throne as a responsibility, but as his right. I won't get tired of pointing out that this was NOT Zuko's birthright, he was NOT born thinking he'd be Fire Lord: he was born to the second branch in the Fire Nation family. We literally SEE the day in which Lu Ten's death is revealed to him. According to somewhat official sources? He's ELEVEN in Zuko Alone's flashbacks. I, personally, think he looks a little younger than that, but I think that's the official wikia age, no idea where they got that info but that's what it says. Meaning...

Zuko, objectively, only had been crown prince for FIVE YEARS.

Zuko was NOT raised, not by his mother, not by his father, with the belief that the throne would one day be his (Ursa is gone before Ozai is crowned and Ozai clearly wanted Azula for the job rather than Zuko).

And yet, when you backtrack to the show? It seriously looks like that was the case. He clings to the throne in Books 1 and 2 as though he had no other purpose in life, as though this was everything that was promised to him (in contrast, Azula only ever indicates wanting the throne in Sozin's Comet: Part One). Even when he's an outlaw, discarded and cast out, he STILL talks about the throne, as though most his identity were built upon the notion that he must become Fire Lord: why? How come? Within five years, he's crafted his entire existence around being the heir to the throne? That's... a bit weird.

And a bit wishful, too. Which is why I commend that the comics show him struggling as Fire Lord, if anything they should've had him struggling MORE than that, because Zuko is simply NOT prepared for these responsibilities. He never gave any indication, any sign, of seeing it as such. He sees it as his right, his birthRIGHT. Why? Why more people don't ponder how utterly strange this behavior is, beats me. But it really does bother me that Zuko built his entire existence around being Fire Lord in a very similar way to how Korra built her own about being the Avatar. I have very little praise to give LOK in general, but the premise of Korra learning she was a person, a human, and not just the Avatar felt like the perfect parallel to Aang's story, where he was very much anchored in his humility and belief that he was just "one kid", and his rejection of his duties as the Avatar was meant to change gradually as he learned to accept himself as he was. Korra, however, never fully hit the mark with this subject, in my personal opinion... much as Zuko doesn't hit the mark either, since the show's only direct attempt to "deconstrue" Zuko's clinging to the throne happens in one dialogue, and his attachment to the idea is built up again, right afterwards:

Zuko: And then ... then you would come and take your rightful place on the throne? Iroh: No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko. Zuko: Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes. Iroh: Yes, you have. You've struggled; you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation. Zuko: I'll try, Uncle.

And there we have it. The only point in the show (that I can remember) where Zuko seemed to not feel worthy of the throne and questioned he should be the one sitting on it (RIGHTFULLY!), buuuuuuuut he goes right back to wanting it, right afterwards, based on how this single exchange was enough for him to be 100% determined to take down his sister, merely a few lines later.

As for his willingness to make personal sacrifices... some might say he was outright willing to die for Katara in the finale -- though I'll point out he was trying to redirect the lightning anyway, didn't do it as well as he should have, but he wasn't exactly, consciously, trying to DIE for her... --, some might say that he left Mai behind in the FIre Nation, and that as well was a sacrifice... but was it? We don't see him missing her, or suffering about her fate, at any point in time after SHE sacrifices herself for him in the Boiling Rock (my biggest gripe over this particular canon couple is this, tbh). I feel like the show generally presents Zuko's situation as somewhat... self-sacrificial? Especially in Books 1 and 2, and yet that's really not the case: it isn't Zuko himself who makes the choice of traveling to find Aang, it's a punishment inflicted upon him.

This particular view upon his circumstances makes it so Zuko is never responsible for... well, any of his choices? It's always someone else's fault, therefore, whatever he suffers through, there's always someone he can (and usually does) resent for it. Therefore... I can't genuinely think of anything Zuko sacrificed in order to come as far as he did. He was forced to let go of things by his father, typically, by Zhao as well, maybe, but even then, it's not like we saw that he has a super healthy and happy relationship with, I don't know, Earth Kingdom people (his only meaningful positive EK bond was with Jin, which went nowhere and goes forgotten after a single mini episode)? The Palace staff? The commoners of the Fire Nation (they just treat him like a hero and he seems awkward and distant about it anyway, like he can really just do without their worship)? He doesn't have other friends beyond Azula's own friends... thus, he doesn't sacrifice anything that really matters. And in a sense, some people might say he doesn't have to sacrifice anything at all: he already went through so much strife and struggle that why would he need to sacrifice anything else? But the thing is... you DO have to learn to make such sacrifices if you're going to be a good king.

So often, people who devote themselves to their jobs have to consciously neglect their families, to name one thing: Zuko neglects Mai and she explodes at him for it in The Promise, then he just tries to get her back at all costs in Smoke & Shadow, with no thoughts given to the fact that maybe he isn't ready to juggle both a relationship and the throne, that maybe Mai could be happier with someone other than him, someone who can give her the attention and relationship she's looking for... THOSE are the sacrifices I'd be referring to, personally, sacrifices where his happiness and peace of mind have to be set aside for the sake of something much more important than himself, and I expect that's the kind of sacrifices you're referring to, too. I seriously don't think he's ready to make them, and with the comics as reference, there's seriously no evidence to suggest he's prepared to accept these burdens that come with the heavy mantle of leadership and ruling. I've never seen any signs of him being ready for it, myself. Maybe I need to reexamine the show and see if maybe I'm missing something... but I don't really think I am.

The worst part, for me, is that Zuko isn't even doing the bulk of the things he's doing in pursuit of genuine happiness: he's doing it over a sense of destiny. He never stops to reason with that destiny, to wonder if maybe he doesn't need to be Fire Lord, if maybe he could have a life beyond that role. Book 2 veeeery briefly suggests he MIGHT be on his way to questioning that destiny, but as I've said before, I don't see the sense in Zuko's big change of heart after the Appa incident considering we don't really understand what he's learned, other than how to be the perfect nephew for Iroh, apparently. Zuko never really is happy, as he says in the show: his happiest moments are with Mai and they're only like a 25% of his relationship with her, everything else is a mess (and his relationship with her isn't exactly the core of his character, either). So, the way I see it... Zuko is even worse off than it looks at first glance. He's out to fulfill a destiny he has never stopped to reason with, a destiny he's 100% sure is his, despite he has only been on that path, objectively, for five years? Despite he wasn't raised all along under the belief that this was what he was supposed to be? If given a chance to be genuinely happy, what on earth would he even do? A lot of the growth I gave him in Gladiator was based on that particular question: is the throne really what Zuko needs to be happy? It doesn't look like it, even in canon. If it's not... then it's not happiness he seeks, it's some sort of sense of assurance that he's doing the right thing, according to the figure of authority he follows at a set point in time: by Book 3, said authority is Iroh, and Iroh wants him on the throne. His motivation, as far as I can see it, is as simple as that.

Long story short... I don't think Zuko really has a strong grasp on many concepts that he absolutely should have reasoned with and worked out in order to become Fire Lord. In a sense, he's way too young for the role he's given, for the heavy burdens he has to deal with, and I'll NEVER see the sense in not having Iroh taking the throne (beyond how "poetic" the creators and writers found it to crown Zuko to finish his story, of course), at least for a short time, before Zuko can be ready. This is exactly why I wrote things that way in my oneshot where Azula takes Zuko's role, more or less: Iroh serves as regent while Azula prepares for taking the full role of Fire Lord when she's ready. I love her, she's awesome, I absolutely adore her character... but I don't think an Azula who was sidelined and sent on a long voyage with her uncle for YEARS could possibly be ready for the responsibilities of being Fire Lord right away.

Meanwhile? Iroh was given leadership of military missions enough times that he became a general in the Fire Nation forces. By all evidence, he was Fire Lord Azulon's pampered and spoiled son, whom he DID prepare for the duties of a Fire Lord for as long as Iroh was born: Iroh literally had fifty-ish years of preparation, as far as I can tell? How is he NOT the better suited person to take the throne, if just temporarily, while his nephew learns what it really means to rule by watching him, or by maybe learning leadership by managing smaller duties first, a specific town or city, and then putting his knowledge to good use by becoming Fire Lord properly?

Eh... because it wouldn't be an epic enough finale for the show, I suppose. That's the only answer I can find for this particular question.

So... yeah. That got long :'D but in short... I don't think Zuko has a strong grasp on responsibility and duty, let alone on the burdens inherent to these concepts. Yet more reasons why his character's arc can't hit all the marks it should, imo, to make it as great as the whole fandom is already convinced it is.

[notepadsandtealeaves]

Jason Todd x GN!Reader in: Mall Madness, Pt. 3

12 Days of Batmas || Day 3—Getting Lost at the Mall

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT || 18+ ONLY ||

↞ previous: it’s always the little things… || cuddling by the fire

|| ao3 version | 12 days m.list | batboys tag | main blog ||

|| dames day 3 | dick day 3 | tim day 3 ||

Out of all the Bats, Jay’s probably the got the most chill when it comes to shopping. Who saw that one coming?

This man’s the best shopping buddy a person could ever ask for��well, providing you don’t get separated, that is…

↠ Requested By: Not a soul lol ↠ Reader Gender: Neutral ↠ Content Type: SFW with a dash of angst b/c I’m terrible like that ((but my blog’s 18+; if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3)) ↠ CWs/TWs: Some PTSD vibes on Jay’s part, as well as a described panic attack. See the note before the HC for more info. ↠ Betas? Nah, we don’t do that here. ↠ Total WC: ~1k

So this isn’t exactly new content—sorry to anyone whose hopes I got up.

In my efforts to make my posts a more, ahem, ✨~aesthetic reading experience~✨, I’ve been going through and editing my old posts. My original post for day three has always bugged me, so I’ve decided to break it up so that all the boys get their own posts. Also, I’m leaving Damian’s as the original post, so that’s something.

Other than the look of things and a few light edits, there aren’t any major changes. It should make for better, more streamline reading tho. ((thinking about it now, this is more like a quality of life patch than anything lol…))

Headcanon || WC: ~1k

This… got a lil bit sad. Again. I’m so sorry lol. I love Jay, I truly do! He’s actually my favorite out of all the boys, which leads to me delving deeper into who he is as a character and given all he’s been through… Well dude’s a walking angst factory if I’ve ever seen one. That being said…

TW for mentions of a panic attack, though I don’t go into great detail about said attack. I more so touch on helping him to work through it and the aftermath, and even that’s not super detailed. If you want to skip it, keep scrolling until you get past all of the ‼’s (6 in total).

🌟 Out of all the Bats, Jay’s probably the got the most chill when it comes to shopping. Who saw that one coming?

He’s got his list—which is p. short as he’s already bought most of his gifts months ago—so everything’s well in order.

🌟 He’s also v. flexible, able to adapt to any shopping style.

You more of a mission based shopper that likes to get in and out? Give him half of your list and send him off to hunt that shit down for you. Also keep your phone handy in case he needs to hit you up for some clarification.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, do you like to go in and just wing it? He’ll use his detective prowess to help you analyze any recipients you may be having trouble with picking something out for.

If you’re one of those people who gets easily distracted he’ll either help you stay on task or go off on a tangent with you depending on what you want to do.

You wanna touch all the things? He’ll only stop you if it looks like you’re gonna break something lol. And if you do he’ll pay for it with minimum grumblings on his part, though he will tell you that you need to be more careful in the future.

🌟 Doesn’t tend to get bored too quickly as he enjoys people watching.

He’s so damn tall that he can easily see over most displays, and thanks to his dip in the Pit his hearing’s enhanced*. If he focuses he can listen to the argument that a couple is having three aisles over or the total meltdown that somebody’s brat’s having over not getting whatever toy it is that they want lol.

If you want he’ll gladly narrate the goings-on for you.

*((I have no idea if that’s canon or not, btw. Regardless, I personally give anyone who has been inside of a Lazarus Pit freaky good reflexes and sensory intake. But anyways…))

🌟 More than okay with being a pack mule if you need him to be—after all, all those muscles gotta be good for something.

🌟 Also okay with being left on a bench somewhere with your haul. Again, people watching’s his jam and this gives him ample opportunity to indulge.

🌟 But that’s all only tangentially related to the prompt so let’s move on…

🌟 As far as getting lost in the mall… That shit would freak him out big time. He’s a former Bat, thee fucking Red Hood. He does not get lost–

🌟 –well until he does, clearly.

🌟 Depending on the headspace he’s in this can go one or two ways.

‼ If he’s already feeling stressed for whatever reason getting lost will freak him out as I’ve already said, though to a much greater degree. His anxiety will spike, potentially throwing him into a full blown panic attack.

‼ If you’re with him, try to pull him off to somewhere less crowded. A bathroom is one of the better options, though if the men’s room isn’t a viable option for you a dressing room will do as well. Walk him through some breathing exercises as those are the most effective method for calming him, and just stay with him until he levels out.

‼ Once he’s a bit more stable get him home asap. Plot out the fastest route to the nearest exit and find your way back to your car from there; he’ll be better off walking outside in the open air than trying to fight the crowds.

‼ He’s gonna be feeling p. fragile for a bit afterwards, so be sure to love on him as much as he’ll let you. He’s probably not gonna want to talk about it, not that there’s much to say. You both already know about his anxiety and the potential for crowds to set it off. Stuff like that’s easier to deal with when he’s in vigilante mode, but when he’s just Jason he finds that he’s not always as strong as he wants to be.

‼ And if you’ve managed to get separated… that’s just not gonna end well. Like at all. He’ll focus all of his anxiety into finding you, and getting in his way is not at all advisable. Once he finally locates you, you’re going home. Full stop, that’s it, drop whatever it is you’re holding unless you plan on stealing that shit because you’re leaving right the fuck now.

‼ He’s not trying to be controlling or anything like that, he’s just freaked the fuck out. He needs to get back to a space where he can feel comfortable and in control of his emotions again, and ofc he needs the one person that he trusts most in this world (i.e. you) to be there with him.

🌟 If he’s in a better headspace he’s gonna be annoyed more than anything.

How tf did he let himself get lost? And in a mall of all fucking places. Disgraceful, truly.

If there’s one available he’s gonna pull up a map on his phone to help orient himself, and barring that he’s gonna look for one of those directories that most malls have on a wall or stand somewhere—or at least they used to have them. I haven’t been to a mall in ages (the one in my city is p. empty so I do my shopping online) so idk if this is still a thing.

Anyways!

He is not above asking a guard or store employee for help, esp. if you’ve somehow gotten separated from each other. Your safety (and his sanity) comes well before any pride he may have.

Expect him to bitch about the whole ordeal for the next several minutes. He’s also gonna want to hit up the food court as he feels like he’s earned a snack after all that fuckery lol.

🌟 So overall he’s an excellent shopping buddy—10/10 would bring along again.

Up Next:

🌟 Day 4: ‘Martha Stewart’ Who? || Wrapping Presents

You wait with bated breath as your man inspects the parcel before him.

With its sharp creases, smooth sides, and expertly tied bow your offering would be considered immaculate, flawless even, to anyone else—but Jason Peter Todd isn’t just ‘anyone’.

It’s on sight, Ms. Stewart.

© notepadsandtealeaves, 2020 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol…

[funnyincorrectmcu]

Saw you were doing an ask spree so I have a question! What are your ultimate favourite Marvel fanfics? (Ao3 answers preferable!)

OOOH!!! 

I ALWAYS LOVE THIS QUESTION!! But it’s also always SOO hard, because I have SO many fics that I ADORE! <3 <3 <3 

Okay okay. Since you’re asking for ultimate favorites, but since you’re also in a sense kind of asking for recommendations, I’ll do you a solid and give you a list of fifteen (which is really doing myself a solid because it means there are fewer that I have to narrow down). 

That said, if you really want my full list, go to my AO3 account and check out my bookmarks (and some of my works, if you’re interested!). Because there truly are a LOT of AMAZING writers out there. <3 <3 

Alright. Here goes nothing. 

Also, I am SO sorry this took me so long, but it took me forever to narrow down to fifteen, and even with THAT, I cheated. XD

Also also, fair warning, 95% of these are Tony and Peter centric. <3 

Also also also (lots of also’s, oops XD), I’m gonna give a little bit of info on each one for anyone interested, but PLEASE, read all tags and warnings before you actually start reading, because some of these are a little rougher than others. (Btw, when I say “major warnings”, I’m referring to AO3′s “major archive warnings” list.)

1. More Ancient Than Magic by @ironfamjam 

This is a mini Hogwarts AU that I absolutely ADORE and think about at least once a week. The way the author melds the two universes is incredible and so well done, and I quote it all the time.  One-shot, IronFam centric, featuring Ned and MJ, with special guest appearances from the other Avengers and Peter’s classmates. No major warnings. 

2. Everybody Loves Skip by @baloobird

Okay, Kris is my favorite MCU fanfic author of all time, so you’ll see her on here a couple of times. This is by far my favorite story of hers, and it’s what made me fall in love with Interwebs. <3 <3  Multichapter, Peter centric, featuring Ace!Peter and Interwebs, with special guest appearances from Tony, May, and Tracy Leeds. Minor sexual harassment/non-con, but it doesn’t get too graphic. 

3. Ohana by @jen27ny

I read this story as a part of last year’s Irondad Big Bang, and let me tell you, I was SOOO invested. I got to the point where I had to send in play by play reactions because I was so emotionally invested. The story is so well told. <3 Multichapter, Tony and Peter centric, featuring Pepperony, Spideychelle, and minor Stucky, with special guest appearances from the rest of the Avengers, HYDRA, and my fast beating heart. No major warnings. 

4. Come, My Darling, Homeward Bound by @i-am-irondad

ANOTHER Irondad Big Bang 2020 story that I became OVERLY invested in to the point that I had to send play by plays in to the author. It’s a Room AU, and she NAILS each and every one of the character dynamics. I never even saw Room, and I loved it. <3  Multichapter, Tony, Peter, and Morgan centric, featuring the rest of IronFam, Spideychelle, and adorable sibling moments, with special guest appearances from Quentin Beck and my tears. Minor implied sexual harassment/non-con. (She also has a prequel and a sequel, just so you know.) 

5. The Lightning Strike by @booksxtvxsupernatural

Yet ANOTHER Irondad Big Bang 2020 story that hit me right in the feels. This is a canon-divergent post-Infinity War fic, and the way the author shows how events could’ve transpired is so realistic and beautiful. <3  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric, featuring Harley Keener and Nebula, with special guest appearances from IronFam, May Parker, and several other Avengers. 

6. Family Doesn’t End with Blood by @baloobird

This is a series of one-shots by my girl Kris based off of the Irondad Bingo prompts, so there are a lot of different prompts and themes, but they ALL rock.  Multichapter, Tony and Peter centric, featuring Ace!Peter, IronFam, and Interwebs, with special guest appearances from several other MCU characters. Warnings vary, so pay attention to the tags and read the notes. 

7. I love you more than anything (bio dad AU) by @iron--spider

Okay, so maybe this is cheating, because it’s technically a series, but every fic in it is so good that I couldn’t possibly pick just one. I just love the whole series, because I love how the author builds their relationship. It’s so cute. <3  Series of one shots, Tony and Peter centric, featuring the rest of the Stark and Parker family and baby Peter, with special guest appearances from Obadiah Stane, James Rhodes, and Happy Hogan. No major warnings.

8. sometimes, people just die (and sometimes, they don’t) by @snarky-drabbles

This one was for the 2019 Irondad Secret Santa (huh. No wonder so many of them are Tony and Peter centric. XD), and it’s an amazing time loop story that takes place during Endgame and has an ending you might not expect, but it ROCKS.  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric from Peter’s POV, featuring Pepper Potts and Stephen Strange, with special guest appearances from a whole lot of fighting. XD 

9. A Rite of Passage by @baloobird

Another ADORABLE Interwebs from my favorite person, because she made me obsessed with this ship and now I can’t stop. XD  One-shot, Interwebs centric (wait, did I actually find one that isn’t Tony and Peter??), featuring Ace!Peter and Bi!Ned, with special guest appearances from Brad Davis, Flash Thompson, and Betty Brant. Minor sexual harassment/non-con, but nothing graphic at all. 

10. Where Dreams are Nightmares in Disguise by @baloobird

This one was actually written for me, by Kris, so obviously, it made this list. I seriously cannot thank her enough for writing this amazing fic for me based on my prompt, and for writing it so well! I LOVED IT! <3  One-shot, Tony, Peter, and Morgan centric, featuring Pepper Potts and lots of LEGOS, with a special guest appearance from a really bad dude. No major warnings. 

11. harm and foul by @iron--spider

You know, there’s a lot of Tony protecting Peter out there, but sometimes, I just really wanna see Peter protecting Tony, and this is a GREAT example of that.  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric, featuring IronFam, Ned Leeds, and bada** mofo Peter Parker, with special guest appearances from Justin Hammer and a few Avengers. No major warnings.

12. Sugar, Butter, Flour by @doctornineandthreequarters

Another one written for me, this time by the incredible Jaime for the 2019 Irondad Secret Santa, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. She took my prompts to heart and created some BEAUTIFUL sibling bonding and I LOVE it!! <3 <3  One-shot, Peter, Harley, and Morgan centric (whoa. Another one without Tony. See? I have variety! ...kind of. XD), featuring Pepperony and adorable sibling love, with a special guest appearance from a Karen. No major warnings. 

13. Bite the Bullet by @baloobird

In case you haven’t figured it out, yet, I love you, Kris. XD <3 Another amazing ace story that gets me feeling all kinds of validated and loved. <3  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric, featuring Spideychelle, Ace!Peter, and Ace!Tony, with a special guest appearance from BFF Ned and lots of lovely ace acceptance. No major warnings. 

14. what is stronger than the human heart which shatters over and over and still lives by @lyssismagical

So, I started reading her works solely through Tumblr, and when I finally realized that she had an AO3, I went on there and bookmarked a TON of her stories immediately. This is one of her more recent ones, but it’s one of my faves, even with all the whump (being Whumptober and all). It has a positive ending, I promise.  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric, featuring amazing BFF Michelle Jones, protective Peter Parker, and adorable little sister Morgan Stark, with special guest appearances from Pepper Potts, May Parker, and a lot of family love and support. Rape/non-con, but it isn’t super graphic. 

15. Peaches by @peterparkrr

This was yet another Irondad Secret Santa 2019 fic, and while this one wasn’t written specifically for me, I freaking loved it. There’s so much tension and mystery in this, and I seriously thought I was gonna pass out reading it from all of my worry. But, luckily, it has a happy ending.  One-shot, Tony and Peter centric, featuring canon divergence and lots of references to other Avengers, with a special guest appearance from a terrible government. No major warnings.

And there’s my top 15! But, because I said I was cheating, here are two bonus fics that cannot be found on AO3. I know you prefer AO3, but trust me when I say you cannot pass these up. 

1. This fic by @loubuttons

This was posted directly to Tumblr, but I have it saved in screenshots on my phone and I re-blog it all the time because I absolutely ADORE it. I will always be down for Peter and Morgan fics, especially when Tony is involved, and this one touches my heart like no other.  One-shot, Tony, Peter, and Morgan centric, featuring protective big bro Peter Parker and Tony being an amazing parent, with special guest appearances from equally awesome Pepper Potts and May Parker. No major warnings. 

2. He’s My Intern? by losingmymindtonight (if they have a Tumblr, I don’t know it, so if anyone knows it, please find them and tell them they’re awesome)

This one was posted on FF.net, and it was actually one of the first Tony and Peter stories I ever read, and it BLEW me away. This one is another series of one-shots, but each one is filled with soft Tony and Peter moments and I love it.  Multichapter, Tony and Peter centric, featuring Happy Hogan, Bruce Banner, F.R.I.D.A.Y., and all the hurt/comfort you could possibly want, with special guest appearances from Pepper Potts, May Parker, Ned Leeds, and several other Avengers. No major warnings.  

Okaaaaay. I think that’s it?? 

Wow. That took me FOREVER. 

And I’m not even sorry, because all of these authors deserve ALL of the credit I gave them. 

Thank you so much for asking this! I hope I didn’t bore you or babble too much. XD 

All of you should definitely check out these amazing fics! They 100% deserve the praise! <3 <3 

Thanks again for asking! <3