#i hope you enjoyed heroic fives though

[queenvhagar]

It seems like a lot of House of the Dragon's writing issues in the first season stem from the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones, specifically the rushed implementation of Daenerys' Mad Queen arc. It feels like the writers and HBO are hyper aware of Daenerys' ending being fumbled and the negative audience reaction it garnered, and now they're trying to correct the mistakes of the main series through the prequel series and specifically its characterization of Rhaenyra. Both Rhaenyra and Daenerys are Targaryen dragon riding queens motivated by their perceived birthright, but the similarities between the two characters are surface-level. In reality, Daenerys and Rhaenyra are not the same character, and the story of the Dance of the Dragons is not the story of the War of the Five Kings.

Daenerys is the last Targaryen (as she knows it), a former slave who seeks to use the power of her dragons to reclaim the throne and in the process abolish the institution of slavery as it exists in the world, a true revolutionary who seeks to transform society through fire and blood if need be (and if a Mad Queen arc appears in the books, it will undoubtedly be because the existing Lords in Westeros would likely oppose a restructure of society - after all, they are the primary beneficiaries of the feudalist society - and this could lead to conflict with Daenerys, which would escalate).

Rhaenyra is the named heir to the throne. Her position is "quite comfortable" - she enjoys her privileges (which is very fair of her). However, her privileged position above others leads her to act according only to her own desires and not her duty as heir. She fights only for herself and her own (although the show added the prophecy to obscure this motivation), and despite having the power and influence as the most powerful woman in the realm to promote "a new order" as she once envisioned a child, she repeatedly reinforces existing structures to further her own power (like defending Lucerys' illegitimate claim so her own looks stronger with her son as Lord of Driftmark instead of advocating for Baela to inherit as Laena's eldest daughter, something that ironically could have really supported her own claim of "eldest child inherits" in the process - and she could have sidestepped the bastard issue). Rhaenyra wants to be the exception to the rules; she doesn't seek to rewrite them for anyone else. Rhaenyra is a "rebel" only in the sense that she's breaking the law and then using her privilege to avoid facing the consequences of her actions at all costs.

You can argue that both Rhaenyra and Daenerys are breaking ground when it comes to becoming queen of Westeros, and both are motivated by their beliefs in Targaryen supremacy and their perceived birthrights to the throne. They might both be known as a "Mad Queen" - Rhaenyra's arc will come, and when it does, I'm really hoping it will be because of the reasons it was in the books: her suspicion and distrust leading her to isolate herself from her allies, eventually turning on them, and her disregard for the commonfolk leading to her being driven out of the city and the death of dragons (though I won't be surprised if the writers shy away from this, in fear of repeating any aspect of Daenerys' portrayal). But fundamentally, trying to write Rhaenyra to be Daenerys 2.0 so that they can fix the mistake of the Game of Thrones ending kind of ruins the Dance.

The Dance wasn't written as just the tragedy of a heroic girl taken down by sexism and misunderstandings, which is the story the show seems to be trying to tell. It's the tragedy of a family tearing itself apart, of the cultural conflict between Westeros and their Valyrian conquerors, of the desire for power and the lengths one will go to in order to get it.

But the writers are more interested in trying to tell a largely black and white story where they can make up for what they did with Daenerys' arc. Unfortunately for everyone, Rhaenyra is not Daenerys, and the Dance is not the War of the Five Kings.

#hotd critical #anti hotd #hotd meta #anti rhaenyra targaryen

[dailydemonspotlight]

Day 15

Race: Oh god

Alignment: Oh fuck

April 9th, 2024

After a few hours of rigorous training, I think I’m ready. Day 15 is a special day, after all. Welcome to the all-for-one Jack Frost special! 

1. Lucifrost 

Race: Herald

Alignment: Light-Law 

Lucifrost is a very strange Frost with a surprisingly intricate design, a demon that only appears in the Demikids and Devil Survivor games, typically as a mid-late game boss. Unlike what one might expect, he isn’t a frostified version of Lucifer- no, his backstory is far more fun. 

Lucifrost once was a Jack Frost, but he was exiled from the Frost family due to betraying them, much like Lucifer did to the Angels. Jealous, he wandered down to hell, eventually finding himself in the final layer, wherein he saw the frozen Lucifer in a lake of tears. Rather than feel pity, though, Lucifrost saw an opportunity… for profit. Frozen Lucifer was a perfect idol for the ice-obsessed fiend, who began to try and impersonate the fallen angel, eventually returning to hell after achieving a perfectly angelic form… only to see that Lucifer had long since departed. Likely despondent, he wandered aimlessly to find the king of demons for all of eternity, ending up crossing paths with the DemiKids and Devil Survivors protagonists along the way. 

While his backstory is silly, his design is fantastic, an interpretation of an angelic Jack Frost that makes him far more adorable than the Morning Star could ever be.

2. Frost Ace

Race: Genma

Alignment: Light-Neutral

The legendary hero of the Frost Lineage, Frost Ace makes himself known as a mid-game demon who exists as a parody of superhero media and, more specifically, tokusatsu sentai shows like Super Sentai.

Frost Ace mostly works as a 'good side' equivalent to Black Frost, being a heroic transformation that any Jack Frost is implied to be able to take to grow in power. I personally like to see Frost Ace, on top of that, also serving as a general in King Frost's army, as it adds on a bit to the whole 'Frost Kingdom' theme.

You getting tired yet? I'm nowhere near done!

3. The Frost Five!

Race: Frost

Alignment: Five

These bozos are each based on separate frozen deserts, save one, which is a cocktail. In order, Blue Hawaii Frost is based on the Blue Hawaii cocktail, Lemon Frost is based on lemon-flavored shaved ice, Melon Frost is based on melon-flavored shaved ice, Strawberry Frost is based on strawberry-flavored shaved ice, and lastly, Milky Frost is just ice cream.

Ahem.

4. Hee-ho-Kun

Race: Student

Alignment: Broke due to Student Loans

Less of a specific demon and more of a recurring character, Hee-ho-Kun is a demon who originates from SMT if... serving a minor role as a friendly Jack Frost who can become an optional party member, apparently enjoying going to school.

Unfortunately, in order to pay his college bills, he had to open a shop! In SMT 3: Nocturne, Hee-ho-Kun makes his grand return as a shop owner in Shibuya, though later finds his calling as a Black Frost, becoming an optional boss of the Kabukicho Prison area after being cleared, then becoming a recruitable party member once defeated, appearing in the Labyrinth of Amala.

Lastly, Hee-ho-Kun manages to get a girlfriend! In Megami Ibunroku: Persona, aka Revelations Persona, he appears at St. Hermelin HS as a student after it is frozen over as a result of the Snow Queen quest. Let's hope he got the education he hoped for, especially given his acquisition of a girlfriend!

Finally. The Jack Protags.

Ah, they truly are great. Let us bask in their brilliance lest we forget the greatest frosts of them all. Raiho is a personal favorite of mine.

Also, Jack Frost somehow got a Demonica? Enter Demon-hee-ho, a recurring boss in the Strange Journey games. Admittedly, I don't know much about SJ, but I find his inclusion to be really silly, so he gets a special shoutout among his protag contemporaries.

...And that's that! I hope you enjoyed the Jack Frost miniseries. I'm missing a few Jack's, such as the Petite Frosts, but I'm honestly just tired of doing Jack Bros. stuff. Let me have this break. Either way, though, the Frost blockade has been cleared. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming once our snowplows come by.

#shin megami tensei #smt #megaten #persona #daily #smt nocturne

[sol-is-the-reason]

Criminal

Character Selected:- Midoriya Izuku

Anime:- My Hero Academia

Reader:- Dom!Male!Reader

Type:- NSFW/possessive/angst kinda?

Tw:- Psychological, lemon, Songfic,    manipulation, death, killing, blood, possessive, use of property (for izuku)

Read at your own risk.

[A/n:- (V/n) :- Villain name. BTW it will be my first lemon no matter how small so I hope you enjoy! Also this is set after bkdk's fight, so their friends again. Kinda. ]

He is a hustler, he's no good at all.

He is a loser, he's a bum, bum, bum.

He lies, he bluffs, he's unreliable

He is a sucker with a gun, gun,gun

The atmosphere was tense in the room. With two of the three glaring at each other from other side of the couches. The only adult woman, in the room, known as Midoriya Inko had an unreadable expression on her face with mixture of pain, panic, sadness and (mostly) shock  as she processed the news that had reached her in the last five minutes.

She looked at the young blonde boy beside her who was busy in the glaring contest with her son.

What may be the news you may ask that had her so spooked?

Izuku, her lovable, responsible- the biggest fanboy of the no. 1 hero- son had gone out and had started dating the current no.1 villain (V/n). And the way he was he was defending him as if he were some king, she couldn't understand just what happened to her bright son to turn to that path.

Never mind that she had to make him realise what he was getting himself into.

Yes and she was positive once he saw her point of view he would realise what the hell he was doing. And surely katsuki would help her. She turned to him and pleaded silently with her eyes and fortunately he seemed to get the message and slightly nodded his head.

I know you told me I should stay away

I know you said he's just a dog astray

He is a bad boy with a tainted heart

And even I know this ain't smart

Izuku knew this would happen one day. He predicted it would go this way. But never would he imagine that Bakugou would be the one to find out first. But he guessed it's not as surprising. After all he was the first one to find out about one for all.

Though he didn't expect him to just straight out go and tell his mother. He knew this was just his way of being worried about him? or so he thinks.., but he loved (M/n) damn it! Why couldn't they just understand that. So what if he was a villain? (M/n) loved him all the same.

But Mama I'm in love with a criminal

And this type of love isn't rational,

it's physical

Moans echoed around the room. The green-haired couldn't help but let out a sob as globs of tears run down his face. (M/n) thrusted widely into him. He had izuku in a mating press as he hugged him  and changed the angle of his thrust to aim at the greenettes prostate.

"ahh (M/n)~"

"s-slow down-n pl-ease~"

"Hmm?why should I baby~ you look so cute like this, all wet and hard for me~"

As he said that he thrusted slow and hard behind him, so that izuku was moving forward with each one.

He took his red cock in his hands and started jerking him off inlink with his thrusts.

"I- love you (nickname)"

You just snickered at the oblivious boy. Was he really so delusional to think that you loved him back. Haha he really was too trusting. So heroic of him to think that he could turn you on their side just because of his love. You wondered if thats why he did everything you asked? Hmm you'll just have to see how he'll go then~.

Mama please don't cry,

I will be alright

All reason aside I just can't deny,

I love the guy

No matter how much Inko tried, he was just not ready to listen...

Why can't he just understand that this is not only wrong but who knows what those villains could do to him...

"Izuku...please just listen." He could hear the desperation in her voice.

But he also couldn't get the tiny voice of (M/n) out of his head.

" Don't listen to her, I love you...you wouldn't want to lose what we have right... Do the right thing and I'll give you a reward~okay.."

Yes, he couldn't loose him, the only person who 'loves' the real him, not now..

He is a villain by the devil's law

He is a killer just for fun, fun, fun, fun

That man's a snitch and unpredictable

He's got no conscience, he got none, none, none, none

"(M/n)!! That's enough!! Your killing her!" Izuku yelled out trying to stop the ____ haired man from killing the poor girl who had tried to flirt with him.

"Hmm, how about...No. " He said with narrowed eyes directed at the greenette. He was holding the bloody beaten girl by the neck, hovering in the air so she was face to face with him.

"I don't like sharing my property you know" he said to the barely awake girl. It seemed she was trying to say something but (M/n) didn't gave her a chance to do so as he crushed her neck with his bare hand. The sickening cracked echoed in the alleyway accompanied by a horrified gasp.

" What? Did you think that just because you know your mistake I wouldn't kill you? That I would spare your pathetic life? Don't make me laugh..No one and I mean NO ONE touches what's mine." (M/n) said with a crazed chuckle and smirk as he talked to the now dead body of the girl.

Honestly it didn't matter to him if the girl would have asked the boy out or whatever she wanted, it was just an means to the end for him. He had to make sure Izuku stayed in love with him so he could get everything he wanted from him, and the other reason, well he was simply in the mood to kill. It was a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. And through his observation of the greenettes behaviour in the next few days, he knew he succeeded.

All I know, should've let go, but no

And he's got my name,

Tattooed on his arm his lucky charm

So I guess it's okay he's with me

And I hear people talk

Trying to make remarks keep us apart

But I don't even hear

I don't care

Izuku knew he shouldn't feel this way. But he couldn't help it. He didn't knew how in the pits of hell did he developed such feelings much less for a villain too.

But when he heard you talk like that, claiming him as yours, and calling him your property...he didn't knew what happened but something in him snapped. And suddenly he didn't mind that there was a dead body right next to his feet. That a pool of blood was forming around it, reaching dangerously close to his shoes. He didn't mind that it stained the boots of his UA uniform, as he approached you and kissed you deeply.

Since then you noticed how he turned into an obedient little puppy whenever you were even a little bit possessive of him.

And oh~ you can't wait to use it to your advantage.

'Cause Mama I'm in love with a criminal

And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical

Mama please don't cry, I will be alright

All reason aside I just can't deny, I love the guy......

[A/n:-I...uh...Part 2...anyone?😶😶‍🌫️]

#x reader #dom reader #top male reader #top reader #izuku midoria x reader #mha #bnha x reader #sub mha #sub bnha #male reader #izuku midoriya #deku x reader

[aliflower88]

Royai Fanfic Recommendations:

I've posted this in parts before but since it's royai week I thought I'd do a complete fic rec list, enjoy!!

Delicate:

Summary: Riza's upbringing leaves her with scars.

  Most have already read this one since it's so popular, but if not it's a character study of Riza that spans from her early childhood to post-canon. It honestly gives so much more depth and meaning to Riza's character as well as her relationship with Roy.

 Our embalmed hearts, our desolate kingdoms

Summary: "He leans back, palms connecting with the concrete, and looks up over their city, their desolate kingdom. In the rain, Central City might as well be the ruins of Xerxes, empty and grey, and he and she may as well be the last two people on earth."

Or, Love in the Time of Giant Robots

   This fic is an Evangelion au and it absolutely destroyed me. The way the relationships between the characters are written is so complex and interesting. It’s a fantastic slow burn and story overall. (And it’s still really great even if you've never watched Eva.)

Dismantle the Sun

Summary: Dairut is a crossroads. A settlement on the border of Amestris and the Great Desert, a hub of Ishvalan and Xerxian history, it is a place caught between past regret and future hope.

In Central City, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye prepare to return to Ishval for the first time. In Resembool, Edward Elric navigates the complicated minutia of his personal life, but remains unable to shake the feeling that his work in Amestris is not yet finished. In Dairut, Miles and the new Muhaddith break ground on Al’Arshif, the sacred Archive, in the hope of restoring a sense of continuity to their long-suffering people.

Then archeologist Winnie Stokes uncovers an ancient relic in the desert. Then a mysterious cult called the Risen strip Captain Hawkeye from the Flame Alchemist’s side. Then something monstrous begins to stir in the mind of Selim Bradley. Five years after the Promised Day, Ed, Roy, and Miles must face an evil of apocalyptic scale, before it destroys everything they’ve worked for, and everyone they hold dear.

Dairut is a crossroads. But Dairut is also the end of the line. Things are changing in Amestris, and not everyone will survive.

   My all-time favourite post-canon fic! It has stunning writing and a super well-thought-out plot. It's so much more than royai and even if that is all you're looking for I still urge you to read this incredible story.

The Amestrian Candidate:

Summary: General Roy Mustang—charming, intelligent, heroic—is predicted to be the next Fuhrer of Amestris. But a series of acts of terrorism drive the General into a ruthless race against a magnetic opponent. Mustang and his team scramble to salvage a campaign in the face of rising nationalism, scandal, and international tension. If they succeed, they can save an infant democracy from collapse. Mustang must consider what and whom he is willing to sacrifice, and he must ask himself the most difficult question of his life: can one be a good politician and a good man?

  This fic has an intriguing plot and painfully realistic post-canon politics. I always have preferred romance within a larger plot and this story executes that perfectly.

Homefront:

Summary: Miss Riza's arrival in Resembool has the potential to ruin everything.

  Riza becomes Ed and Al’s caretaker after their mother passes. This fic is wonderful, it feels historically accurate which is great and if you are a fan of parental Riza then you'll definitely enjoy this.

We That Are Young:

Summary: It's a well-known fact that innocents make poor soldiers. Fortunately, Riza Hawkeye's childhood was not entirely innocent. She had to grow up fast... though she wasn't the only one. The early years of the Colonel and his First Lieutenant.

  I believe this was written before Brotherhood so there are a few discrepancies between this and canon but it's definitely still worth the read. The fic details Roy and Riza’s life from ages 3 and 8 to 13 and 17. And is a wonderful coming-of-age story though upsetting at times. 

Beautiful People 

Summary: Soon after the conclusion of the Ishvalan Civil War, Captain Maes Hughes receives a phone call in the middle of the night. The message is short, concise... and perhaps the most terrifying thing Hughes has ever heard.

Hawkeye's apartment. Now. Come alone. Someone has been hurt.

A promise was once made amidst the sands of a distant desert land: oaths will be upheld, and secrets will be scorched away. The sinful had waited too long; Roy Mustang was indebted to his promise, and Riza Hawkeye had come to collect.

  This is probably my favourite depiction of Roy burning Riza's back that I've read. It's super intense and vivid, I really loved it!! 

Baby Your a Haunted House: 

Summary: Riza Hawkeye, aged 11, knows two things:

1. Roy Mustang is a useless city-kid

2. There's a haint in the woods

Roy Mustang, aged 15, knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there's no such thing as ghosts.

  This fic has excellent writing and a wonderfully creepy atmosphere. I've re-read it many, many times. (also I adore feral young Riza and this definitely delivers on that.)

When Thou Shalt Come To Judge the World By Fire

Summary: Roy was silent, unable to answer. Hughes was right. There hadn’t been any other girl for him, not really. Something about her. Something about Riza Hawkeye that made her so much more than a memory.

Hughes leaned against the bar, shadows lengthening on his face. “So, what was it? What ruined dating? A regret, or a promise?”

   Pre-canon royai with absolutely gorgeous writing! I adore the depiction of each period in their lives from the time they spent with Berthold to Ishval to before Ed and Al. It's all done perfectly. 

Order 3066

Summary: Everyone who returned from Ishval changed, and Riza Hawkeye was no different. She caused more deaths than any other person - not only with her own hands but also with the weapon she unleashed upon the world. No one could return from a massacre like that the way they were before.

  This fic is a really good exploration of Roy and Riza's time in Ishval. The characterization is great and their descent into war criminals is very well done.

Atlas

Summary: After six years apart, intelligence agent Roy Mustang attempts to rebuild his relationship with a former partner. But when past and present intertwine, their reunion triggers one of life's most difficult decisions: duty or family.

  The dual timeline of younger royai and older royal in this au is super interesting. This fic is exciting, heartwarming and a really well-crafted story.

Not All of Me Will End:

Summary: Nothing remains of her but what must be left behind.

  In this fic, Riza gets cancer and passes away. I rarely feel sad when reading or watching emotional things but this made me cry. It's beautifully written and made in a way that feels so personal, as though Riza was a real person. It’s a difficult read but ends on a relatively hopeful note.

The Lathe of Hell

Summary: 1908 • Ishval

An uneasy ceasefire grips the ruins of Ishval, but near the medical station at Daliha, Amestrian soldiers are dying. Desperate to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the 27th Infantry Division sends Riza Hawkeye and Solf J. Kimblee to smoke the assassin out.

But Roy Mustang suspects Kimblee's aim isn't the death of one rogue Ishvalan.

For Hawkeye has a secret, one the Crimson Alchemist hungers for... a power forged in fire.

This is one of the two great labyrinths into which human minds are drawn: the question of duty versus predestination...

There is an old story... perhaps you've heard of it. A man falls asleep and loses his way on the journey through life. He encounters a poet and the two begin a series of travels through Hell where they witness the many punishments for those who disobeyed God during their lives.

   I adore Kimblee in this fic. I know this list is about royai but seeing him interact with them is super interesting. 

Ex Tempore 

Summary: Riza Hawkeye comes into the possession of a family heirloom upon her grandfather's final words: "Keep him safe." Confused and grief-stricken, Riza finds herself pulled in time to Prohibition Era New York, recovering from a gang-related firefight under the care of Dr. Roy Mustang, a reluctant member of the Hughes-Mustang crime family and a self-proclaimed guardian to two boys by the names of Edward and Alphonse.

    This is a 1920s mafia/time travel au, it has such a fun premise that is executed really really well.

Here Dead We Lie

  Following a disastrous operation in Aerugo, Colonel Mustang wakes from a coma to discover his world has fallen apart. Under the shadow of the state, he tries to find impossible answers before it is too late.

   I don't have much to say about this one except that it's very good and has a brilliant story but is also very very dark so be warned before starting this fic. If angst is your thing though definitely check it out!

#royai #royaiweek23 #fanfic #fic rec #fmab #roy mustang #riza hawkeye

[ijustkindalikebooks]

I don't know if I can say February was disappointing reading, cos I did read alot, I completed 32 books and most were pretty good, half of them all being either 4 or 5 star, but I also read books I was highly hoping to be good and then they were not.

I also think classic titles can be truly hit right sometimes and even some that you feel are similar just don't (take for example how I feel about Deerbrook and Under The Greenwood Tree, similar themes and settings, one I loved, one I had to prop my eyes open to finish).

One thing I will say that though some of these books I do suffer (and that is my choice) don't do that to yourself, if you are reading, do not suffer the book, I read these books cos I bought these books and want to read my shelves, but I'd definitely recommending going with the vibe and selecting something that will bring you hoy, this is not the year for choosing to suffer.

These are my favourite books of February!

Where The Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire - If I really need to read a book that I know will be five stars, I go to a Wayward Children series novella. These books are tiny worlds full of incredible settings and brilliant characters delivered in under 200 pages. This book sees one of the girls from the school go to Whitethorn an alternative and stricter school that gets the kids to forget their doors and move on and become 'normal' again. Brilliantly finished and not over the top in melodrama, I liked how these characters got their stories.

British Landmarks And Legends by Jo Woolf - An ARC I asked for after going to an art course that revolved around local folklore and legends, this book has been a handy book when it comes to finding something a little unusual. Covering a range of places from mythologised castles to bleeding rocks in creepy forests, this book covers an incredible of different places, be that known like Stonehenge or The Bleeding Stone of Lynn. Highly recommend this and the 'Fantasy: Realms Of Imagination' exhibit at the British Library which I believe has events around the UK currently.

Other books I enjoyed this Month:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - In my post-project for awesome haze, I knew I finally had to read this book and I really now need to read the second. A fantastic book on the power of social media and how we as humans can be heroic and flawed and messy, this book certainly delivers fantastic characters and funny moments that give you a glimmer of insight into the world today. I think April May is my favourite least-likeable character ever made.

Ask A Historian by Greg Jenner - Jenner was one of the authors who worked on Horrible Histories (the TV show, you know the one that gave you a thing on Dick Turpin, right? *leaves quietly*) and this book makes clear why. Informative, witty and smart, this book is a learning circle, never mind a curve. A range of fantastic questions, that does take in international figures (I find history books tend to be quite western focused) this book is a fun read.

What have you been reading in February? I'd love your recommendation and reviews!

Thanks again for reading!

Vee xo

#booklr #books #bookblr #fiction #book #reading #book review #book reviews #favourites books #february 2024 #books and reading #books & libraries

[iamashippinggod]

I Don't Say What's On My Mind Quite As Much As You'd Like Me To

Part five of my mini-fic series is here! @julybreakbingo

Bingo Prompt: “You should be with someone that respects you.” Fandom: My Hero Academia Ships: Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Content Warning: Explicit Language Tags: Shinsou Hitoshi is an Insomniac, Adopted Shinsou Hitoshi, Adopted Eri, Married Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi, Class 1-A, Established Relationships, Shinsou Hitoshi replaces Mineta Minoru, Shinsou Hitoshi has Social Anxiety, Kaminari Denki has ADHD, Pansexual Kaminari Denki, Bisexual Jirou Kyouka, Gay Shinsou Hitoshi, Late Night Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Stargazing, Latino Sero Hanta, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is a good friend. Side Note: This is cross-platformed on AO3. What? Two posts within a few days of each other? Shocker. Anyway, welcome (or welcome back), here's part five! I hope you all enjoy <3 P.S: Also, translation for Sero: "Aye, date un respiro, hombre." = "Aye, take a break, man." "Ok, guapo." = "Ok, handsome." I apologize if those aren't the correct translations, I used Google Translate for Sero's spanish.

Masterlist

Summary: “... You should be with someone that respects you, Kaminari, not someone who’s gonna make you question if what you said or did was wrong or make you feel like shit for something you can’t help.”

“Like who?”

Me.

Hitoshi has officially been in Class 1-A for a full month now. 

         For the most part, everything was just about the same as before he was transferred into the Hero Course, with the addition of training and his new acquaintances (not friends, not yet). He still had his normal classes like English and Mathematics, but now he also has the addition of Heroics with All Might and afternoon training in Gym Gemma. He’s gotten better at changing the pitch of his voice changer at a faster speed mid fight. He’s even succeeded in capturing Bakugou mid-fight, and that in itself is a win considering how tough of an opponent he can be.

         And he no longer stays in his room, sure there are days where he separates himself from his class to recharge his social battery, but he finds himself joining everyone downstairs more often than not, especially if Kaminari is around. 

         Speaking of, he supposed that he has him to thank for that little change.

         He still finds being around his classmates for longer than a few hours after classes have ended to be a pain, but he finds it more bearable when Kaminari is around. Maybe it’s because the blond knows how to steer a conversation, forcing the attention onto him rather than the insomniac. Either way, it helps him feel more comfortable when there’s more than just the two of them in the room.

         He still wouldn’t admit it out loud if you confronted him, but he actually enjoys Kaminari’s company. More than he thought he would. Ever since that one Sunday night a few weeks back, he finds himself wanting to be around Kaminari more. 

         A part of him doesn’t like it, mostly because it’s weird to have a friend who doesn’t make comments about his Quirk and doesn’t imply all of the villainous acts he could do with it, it’s new. But that’s also why he does like it. Kaminari isn’t like everyone else. 

         And he likes to think that because they’ve been hanging out so much, and that Hitoshi actually enjoys his company, that he has gotten to know the blond well enough to know when something is wrong.

         Like now, for instance.

         Everyone in the class could sense that something was off with Kaminari and Jirou’s dynamic. Though the dark-haired girl wasn’t affectionate like her counterpart, she did joke around with Kaminari, even though some of the jokes she made something in Hitoshi’s stomach churn. And Kaminari knows she doesn’t like public displays of affection, so he finds other ways to swoon her during class; little gifts like snacks would find their way onto the corner of her desk at random hours of the day, an extra pen in case she forgot hers, offering to carry her bag when going to their next class, stuff like that.

         But for the past couple of days, there has been none of that. They wouldn’t even look at each other for more than a few seconds.

         Everyone knows something happened, they were all at the ramen shop last Friday, they all saw her storm out with Momo trailing after her, eventually watching Kaminari follow after them both. Hitoshi saw the concern and worry on Kaminari’s face that night, but mostly an expression of pure confusion.

         But it was Sunday morning that he knew something went wrong between them.

         Hitoshi had spent Saturday night at the family apartment on campus for diner, he and Eri had stayed up until it was close to midnight watching movies before Shouta had shooed them off to bed for the night, Hitoshi found it a bit hypocritical how he shooed them off to bed only to stay up to grade papers until Hizashi had come down to collect him.

         The next morning, Hitoshi had made his way to the kitchen, following the smell of freshly cooked bacon. He knew his Dad wouldn’t be there, he hosted tutoring sessions in the mornings on the weekends, and knew that if he wasn’t in the kitchen, that he was at the school for one of his tutoring sessions. 

         Half way through breakfast, his Pops spoke up. 

         “Are you heading back to the dorms soon?” Hizashi asked, making Hitoshi look up from his plate. 

         The purple-haired teen nodded, “Yeah, probably once we’re done eating. I left my homework at my dorm, and I need to see if Midoriya will let me borrow his notes again.”

         “Can you do me a favor and take your father his lunch, please?” 

         “Won’t he be done by lunch?” Hitoshi asked. 

         Hizashi reaches over to pick up his glass, “Yeah, he’ll be done tutoring by then, but he has a meeting with a detective for a case. You know he won’t take care of himself if I don’t send him something to eat.”

         So that’s how he found himself wandering the halls of the main school building until he reached his father’s classroom, a bento box in one hand, and his phone in the other while he looked at the news.                

        “Another sighting of the villain known at Dabi has been spotted down at the port last night, our sources tell us that he as well as the League of Villains are connected to the recent explosion in downtown Tokyo. Police are still refusing to make any statements, but are continuing their investigation–” 

         Hitoshi had shut off his screen, deciding that it was best to not read any more of that article. 

         For all of his hopes to follow in his parents’ footsteps, there were days where he wished that they weren’t in the Hero business, especially when he reads news like that. What the hell would they be in Tokyo for anyway?

         Hitoshi had stopped outside his father’s classroom, raising a hand to knock when he heard two voices from the otherside. 

         “It’s B.”

         “It’s A.” He hears his father correct.

         There is a grumble from the otherside. “This is hopeless…”

         A pause, followed by the sound of footsteps. “It may not seem like much, but you have improved since last weekend.” Hitoshi hears a scoff. “... Are you alright?”

         “What do you mean?”

         “To put it lightly? You look like shit, kid.” Hitoshi smirked at that. 

         He hears a laugh. He recognizes that laugh, and he smiles at the sound without realizing it. “It’s nothing to worry about.” A pause, followed by a sigh. “Really, Sensei, I’m fine. I just…” He hears him trail off. He sounded tired. “Why numbers? I understand letters like the back of my hand, but numbers? What maniac came to the conclusion that math was a necessity? Who?”

         Hitoshi knocks, “Dad?” he calls out, sliding the door open. He’s met with the sight of Kaminari hunched over his desk, and his father leaning back against the podium. He stops and examines Kaminari.

         Kaminari did look like shit. 

         Normally, the blond greets him with a smile, a grin, a fucking smirk, his lips would be turned upwards no matter what. But he was met with a frown instead. 

         Hitoshi clears his throat, tearing his eyes away and holds up the bento. “Pops asked me to bring you lunch. And to remind you to take your meds.”

         “Of course he did.” Shouta pushes off from the podium, hiding the small smile creeping its way onto his face with his scarf. “Thank you.”

         Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kaminari looking at him, but when he goes to return the look, the blond looks away.

         Weird.

        That night, Hitoshi texts Kaminari first. 

         I’m hopping on mc, you joining? 

         He was met with the thumbs-down emoji, followed by; can’t. homework.

         This makes Hitoshi frown. Kaminari normally sends him a paragraph for a reply. Are you okay?

         Three dots. i’m fine. He didn’t even capitalize the I. Before Hitoshi could think of a response, Kaminari adds, i’ll text you later. The purple-haired teen stared at his phone for a moment, reading over Kaminari’s responses before he eventually shuts off his screen and goes to log onto Minecraft, expecting that follow up he was promised.

But that follow up never came. And it doesn’t for a few days. 

         From an outside perspective, Kaminari probably seems like his normal self. Cracking jokes, poking fun with his classmates, holding conversations with Sero and Mina over the most random of subjects that have zero context or meaning. Kaminari did seem fine.

         Hitoshi knew he wasn’t. From his perspective, Kaminari was mimicking him and his sleep schedule, as the blond seemed exhausted, quieter in the past week alone. And he wondered if the rest of his friend’s squad had noticed too (he says “his friend’s” as he doesn’t see himself as a part of their group yet), and just hasn’t said anything.

         Hitoshi sees the way he’s sluggish during training, how his response time is off by a few seconds. And he’s definitely noticed the way he avoids Jirou at all costs, and the looks Jirou gives him in return. Speaking of the earjack hero in training, he noticed how she has simmered down in the past week, the daggers in her eyes were more like dull blades used for show now. 

         It all comes to a head Thursday morning. 

         Hitoshi had walked into class, rubbing away the remaining sleep from his eyes. As usual, he walks into the endless chatter of his classmates, some still waking themselves to pay attention to today’s lesson plan, others engaging in conversations that either have zero meaning behind it or are discussing homework or something along those lines.

         As he sits down, he looks to his right and sees the hyperactive blond being not so hyperactive. Kaminari had his arms folded across his desk and was currently resting his forehead on top of his folded arms, he looked as though he was half-way to being asleep.

         Hitoshi thought about reaching over, giving him a shake and asking to see if he was okay. But he already knows that he’s not okay, he hasn’t been okay for the past week, ever since that night in the ramen shop. What good would asking him do if he already knew the answer?

         “Hey, Ji. How are you holding up?” 

         Behind him, he hears Hagakure. Casting Kaminari a subtle but concerned look, he peaks over his shoulder to see the invisible girl talking to Jirou. 

         Now that he’s giving her a good look over, she was almost as bad as Kaminari, but her eyes weren’t as puffy as his. The girl shrugs, “I’m fine.” 

         Hitoshi almost scoffs. Why does everyone keep saying that when they clearly aren’t fine?

         If he could see the invisible girl’s face, he would probably see a frown. “Have you spoken to him since the break up?”

         Hitoshi snaps his head forward, eyes wide in shock. “No… We decided to give each other some space for a bit.” He hears Jirou say. He looks over to his right, seeing Kaminari peeking over his arms, eyes trained on the back of Ojiro’s chair. Did he hear them too? 

         Apparently the whole class heard. 

         “Wait what?” Uraraka spoke up, Hitoshi looked and saw her looking directly at the girls. “You and Kaminari broke up?” Looking past the three of them, he could see Momo staring at them blankly, like she was already expecting this reaction. She already knew.

         But Uraraka’s question stirred up the entire class. 

         “What? Kami, why didn’t you say anything?” Mina frowned at the electric blond, who only shrugged in response and buried his head further into his arms. 

         Bakugou’s frown (one that is practically tattooed on his face) deepened, and reached back and across to poke at Kaminari. “Oi,” He was quiet. “Pikachu?” 

         “I’m fine.” They hear him mutter. Behind them, most of the class was asking Jirou the questions. Only those from their group (minus Jirou, obviously) were checking in on Kaminari. 

         The commotion hadn’t died down when Shouta had walked into the classroom. Even Iida hadn’t bothered telling everyone to get to their seats when he noticed the teacher walking in. 

         For that half an hour, the classroom was tense. If Hitoshi was paying attention to his dad, he would have seen him casting a questioning look in his direction. But Hitoshi didn’t pay attention, he kept his attention on Kaminari instead.

Throughout the entire day, Hitoshi noticed how Kaminari seemed distant from everyone. The blond kept his head down during classes, and he hadn’t even shown up for lunch, Bakugou had to go and drag him into the cafeteria just to make sure he ate.

         In between classes, Kaminari would walk with a notebook and pen in his hand, scribbling things down. Hitoshi had peaked over his shoulder out of curiosity and saw that it was one of his extra assignments. He’s worse than Midoriya. And the green-haired boy would be switching between three assignments while maintaining a conversation with Todoroki in between his unnatural muttering.

         “Aye, date un respiro, hombre.” Sero clasps a hand on the blond’s shoulder, slightly shaking him from his thoughts before switching back to Japanese. “Seriously, don’t stress yourself. We’re doing a study group at Bakugou’s tonight so just join us.” 

         Kaminari looked as though he was giving it some thought before shaking his head. “No, it’s fine. I kind of want to get it done before Ectoplasm’s class.” 

         I don’t want to be around people, right now. Was what Hitoshi heard. He’s well rehearsed in avoiding people, and that was the oldest line in the book. And judging by the look Sero was giving him, he didn’t believe him either. 

         Sero gives him a small smile, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “Ok, guapo. If you change your mind, we’ll be in Bakugou’s room until seven.” 

         Kaminari nods before speeding away from the black-haired teen. Sero frowned as he watched him walk away, and so did Hitoshi.

         When afternoon training came, Kaminari had been excused from the class and was given a permission slip to head back to the dorms early. He knew his father noticed Kaminari’s exhaustion, he was practically mimicking Hitoshi even if he didn’t mean to.

         So during practice, Hitoshi was paired with Bakugou, who he quickly learned was hard of hearing due to his Quirk. About halfway through the round, Hitoshi had to switch to sign-language (something he had picked up for his Pops, who also was hard of hearing as a result of his Quirk), which took the angry teen by surprise. 

         Hiding around the corner to avoid Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, the two of them had a silent conversation. 

         “Which should we go after first?” Hitoshi signed, ignoring the wide-eyed look on Bakugou’s face. 

         “Since when can you fucking sign?” Bakugou asked. 

         Hitoshi shrugged. “Does it matter?” 

         Bakugou didn't reply right away, instead, he grabbed Hitoshi by the wrist and moved them until they were higher up with an advantage. Hitoshi felt a tap on his shoulder, he looked over in time to make out Bakugou’s question. “Have you spoken to Pikachu today?”

         With furrowed brows, Hitoshi looked between Bakugou and Tokoyami below them. “No. Have you?” He was met with a shake of the head. “How long were they together?” 

         “A couple of months. Not sure what happened though.” Bakugou pauses. “... Don’t say anything, but I’m glad they broke up.”

         “Why?”

         Bakugou scoffs. “Because they don’t work well as a couple.” He replies. “You should talk to him.”

         Before Hitoshi could question him further, acid was sprayed in their direction. 

         Unfortunately for Tokoyami and Mina, they had fallen for Hitoshi’s voice changer, and were deemed subdued, leaving him and Bakugou as the winner of this training match. 

         Mina was pouting all the way back to the entrance of Ground Beta. “No fair, how we’re we supposed to tell if that was you or one of us?” She questioned.

         But Hitoshi hadn’t been paying attention to the pink-haired girl, so Bakugou responded for him, “That was the point, Racoon Eyes.” The angry teen rolled his eyes. “You guys aren’t meant to know if it’s him or not. That’s what makes him fucking better.”

         Mina stopped, mouth gaping at Bakugou. “Did… Did you just compliment someone that wasn’t you or Kiri?”

         “Go to hell!” Bakugou sped up, but not before the rush of red colored his cheeks. Mina kept up her teasing while they made their way back.

         Hitoshi didn’t speak up again until they were in the locker room. Their match was the last one for the day, and as a result, they were the last ones in the locker room. Tokoyami left first, Dark Shadow peeking out to say goodbye before leaving them alone. 

         As Hitoshi pulled his shirt down over his head, he looked in Bakugou’s direction, watching as he reached for a pair of hearing aids. Once his shirt was one, he started signing again. 

         “I thought you got your hearing back when you were talking to Mina?”

         Bakugou shook his head. “I can read lips, as long as they’re not moving too fast.” 

         Hitoshi nods, and waits for Bakugou to put in his hearing aids before he speaks. “What did you mean earlier?” Bakugou gives him a questioning look. “About Kaminari and Jirou not working as a couple.”

         “Tsk.” The blond reaches for his bag, pulling the strap onto his shoulder. “Ears had a tendency to take her shitty jokes too far. Pikachu may seem laid back and doesn’t fucking care about what people say about him, but he does.”

         “Why didn’t-”

         “-He fucking say anything?” 

         “Or any of you?”

         Bakugou shrugs, “We’ve tried. She came into our group not too long after they started dating, so we had a little more time to know what was okay to joke about and what he didn’t want us to talk about. But whenever one of us would try to fucking correct her, Pikachu would shrug it off, saying that it was a shitty joke.” He explained.

         “Why me?” Confused, Hitoshi asked, “You said that I should talk to him, but shouldn’t one of you do that? You’ve known him longer.”

         “That’s why it should be you.” Still clearly confused, Bakugou sighed and continued. “He has a tendency to fucking brush shit off, if one of us tried to talk to him, he’d fucking plaster a smile on his face and throw a joke or two. He won’t fucking talk.”

         “That doesn’t explain why I should be the one to talk to him. What good could I do if the people he’s known longer can’t get him to open up.”

         “Damn, you really are dense.” Bakugou mutters, shaking his head. “It’s different with you. ‘No clue why, but he’s taken a fucking liking to you. He’ll talk to you. I know it.”

When they had gotten back to the dorms, there was no sign of the electric blond. When Bakugou had asked (to know how much to cook for dinner), Kirishima had told them that he was still in his room. Hitoshi confirms this when walking into his room, hearing the sound of music coming through the door across the hall. 

         The music stays on until it gets closer to midnight, 11:43 shining in red LED tells him the time. Hitoshi had finished his homework a while ago, and he was back on his Switch playing Mario Kart, trying to beat his best speed when he heard the music cut off abruptly. 

         The teen looks up from the device and looks toward his door. He waits, expecting the music to come back on with a change in song, but the noise never comes. 

        “What good could I do if the people he’s known longer can’t get him to open up.”         “He’ll talk to you. I know it.” Just what the hell did he mean by that?

         Out of curiosity, Hitoshi disregards his Switch and reaches for his phone, unlocking it and opening his chat with the blond.

         What are we listening to tonight?

         Instead of seeing the three dots dancing at the bottom of the screen, he sees the grayed-out check mark underneath his message turn green, indicating that it had been seen. But he receives no response. 

         Hitoshi frowns, laying on his back as he stares at the screen, still expecting those three dots to appear at any moment.

         So Hitoshi starts typing again. Any chance I can make a request? We could be the dorm’s personal radio show. He jokes. But the only indication that Kaminari has seen his text is that green checkmark underneath his message.

         He sighs, shutting off his screen. Clearly Kaminari didn’t want to talk. Then again, he could have not even been looking at his phone, he could just have their chat open and that’s why they were being marked as read.

         No, that’s a stupid explanation. Besides, if their messages were open, that would mean Kaminari was planning on texting him back, so why hasn’t he?         “What good could I do if the people he’s known longer can’t get him to open up.”         “He’ll talk to you. I know it.” 

         He opens his eyes to the sound of his phone ringing. When did he even close them?

         Hitoshi raises his phone, eyes widening slightly when he sees Kaminari’s name on his screen. Without thinking, he immediately swipes his thumb right to answer. “Hey-”

         “Step into the hallway.” Hitoshi almost drops his phone from how rough Kaminari sounded. 

         Curiously (and more so out of concern), he does as told. Swinging open his door and stepping out, frowning at the sight of an empty hallway. “Where are you?”

         “Across from Iida’s room.” Kaminari tells him, Hitoshi walks until he’s standing in front of Iida’s room, and across from his door is an open window. 

         The purple-haired teen hangs up and immediately climbs through it, leading him to the roof that connects both wings of Height Alliance. His feet (thankfully covered by the fluffy socks that Eri had picked out for him at the mall) hit the asphalt, and ahead of him, Kaminari is lowering his phone from his ear. 

         The blond was laying on his back, his knees drawn up as he looked up at the sky. Tonight, the skies were clear, the school was high enough away from the rest of the city that looking up from here, they could see stars shining brightly. 

         Hitoshi is hesitant to move at first, unsure as to why Kaminari was out here, let alone inviting him out here with him. But he finds himself moving toward him anyway, eventually sitting down next to the other teen, drawing up his knees to rest his arms on.

         Neither of them say anything at first. But neither of them seemed to mind the silence, it was a comfortable silence that greeted them, aside from the sound of crickets that echoed in the grass below, and the familiar commotion of their classmates getting ready for bed (unless you were Bakugou, then you were already asleep). 

         “Did you know that electricity has a sound?” Hitoshi looks behind him, looking down at Kaminari, who hadn’t looked to meet his gaze. “Most people don’t even notice that there’s a sound until it’s been cut off. It’s quiet, barely noticeable in general. But when the power cuts off, you can hear the silence. It’s kind of nerve racking.” Kaminari explains. 

         “Is that why you’re out here?”

         The question makes Kaminari bend his head to look at Hitoshi. But he nods. “It’s too loud. Most of the time, I can ignore it. But with my Quirk… it’s hard to sometimes.”         “Can’t you still hear it out here though?”

         Kaminari shrugs. “Yeah, it's not as bad though.”

         Another round of silence falls over them for a minute. Kaminari looks back up at the sky, and Hitoshi lies down next to him to do the same. 

         “What did you mean earlier? About Kaminari and Jirou not working as a couple.”

         His conversation with Bakugou rang in his ears again, nagging at him. He finds himself turning his head to look at the blond laying next to him, Bakugou talking in his ear again.

         “Tsk. Ears had a tendency to take her shitty jokes too far. Pikachu may seem laid back and doesn’t fucking care about what people say about him, but he does.”

         He couldn’t help but to think that there was some truth in Bakugou’s words.         “She came into our group not too long after they started dating, so we had a little more time to know what was okay to joke about and what he didn’t want us to talk about. But whenever one of us would try to fucking correct her, Pikachu would shrug it off, saying that it was a shitty joke.” 

         He bites back a sigh. Just how many times had you shrugged shit off, Kaminari? He wanted to ask him. But he knows better. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t want to explain it either. Besides, for the most part, he and Jirou seemed to really have liked each other.

         “... I’m sorry to hear about the break up.” He thought that was a good way to start. “How are you holding up?”

         “I’m fine.” 

         It sounded forced. So Hitoshi pressed. “Okay, now the truth this time.” He found himself repeating the same words his Pops’ used on him a while back, keeping his voice soft in hopes of making Kaminari comfortable enough to talk. 

         The blond didn’t say anything at first, Hitoshi thinks he wasn’t going to say anything at all. He doesn’t blame him though. 

         But then Kaminari sighs, his eyes squeezing shut as he brings his hands up to cover his face. “Not fine.” He groans, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

         “What happened with you two, anyway?” Hitoshi presses, hearing him sigh again. “I’m not going to force you to talk about it but… it’s not good to bottle things up-”

         “What would you know?” There was a snap in the blond’s voice, who dropped his hands from his face in favor of sending him a glare. “You’ve never been in a relationship before, remember?”

         “No, but I have experience with heartbreak.” He kept his voice even. He watches Kaminari deflate a little. “And I know first hand the consequences of bottling things up. Eventually, that bottle cracks, and it keeps cracking until you’re saying all the things you didn’t want to say anyway. So, let it out.”

         Kaminari goes quiet, just like he has been over the past week. But Hitoshi doesn’t push anymore, he wants him to open up on his own. 

         It’s kind of funny when you look at this, he’s using the same tactics Hizashi and Shouta had used on him when he came to live with them a little over a year ago. Even though the situations are different, it feels like the right move. It’s hard to describe.

         “... I fucked up.” Hitoshi looks toward the blond again, finding a look of guilt on his face. “And I didn’t even realize how much I had fucked up until it was over.”

         “What do you mean?”

         “She was jealous-” He cuts himself off, closing his eyes to think. “I um, I talked to Momo after homeroom, and I asked her how Ky- Jirou was doing,” Hitoshi could tell that it was hard to call her by her family name after getting so used to using her given name. “And I know she’s just looking out for her, I do. But she called me out for not being there when I should’ve been.”

         He knew it wasn’t the full story. And he knew that he probably wouldn’t get it, at least, not anytime soon. So Hitoshi nods, processing what he was told, Bakugou’s words from earlier ringing in his ears. “You know… she wasn’t…” He trails off, unsure how to word this. “I noticed how she treated you,” He starts, which as a reward, Kaminari turns to look at him. “I noticed the comments she makes, how you just laugh them off when no one else does-”

         “She was only joking when she called me dumb.”

        “Bullshit.” Kaminari’s eyes lock with his. “You don’t call someone you care about an idiot or make fun of them for how their Quirk affects them, especially when they have no control over it.”

         “I wasn’t exactly the perfect boyfriend-”

         “Well maybe she wasn’t the perfect girlfriend, either.” Disbelief crosses the blond’s face. “Jirou is a nice girl, and she’s a good friend. That I don’t doubt… But-”

         “But what?”

         “I think you two were a bit toxic with each other, not on purpose, but you brought out different sides to each other that weren’t healthy.” 

         Kaminari is quiet again. Hitoshi sighs, looking up at the sky. Above them, he can see the blinking lights of an airplane in the darkness. 

         “... You should be with someone that respects you, Kaminari, not someone who’s gonna make you question if what you said or did was wrong or make you feel like shit for something you can’t help.”

         “Like who?”

         Me. Hitoshi freezes, but says nothing in response to Kaminari’s question. Nope. No. I’m not doing this. “Someone…” Me. “Someone like Sero, or Mina?”

         Kaminari blinks at him before a laugh leaves his lips. And if that laugh did not make something in his chest flip… “Oh please. First of all, they’re into each other and are in denial.”

         Hitoshi huffs out a laugh of his own. “And secondly?”

         Kaminari holds his breath, wetting his lips. “... I- They’re practically family.” 

         “Maybe you can ask Mina to set you up with Aoyama.”

         “Dude, that’s mean.” He turns his head in time to watch Kaminari laugh at the sky above them. He swallows, but doesn’t say anything. “Hey,” The blond looks toward him again, a grin on his face. “Denki.”

         “Uh?”

         “Call me Denki.”

         Hitoshi looks confused. “Why?”

         “You tell everyone to call you by your given name, it’s only fair that someone lets you call them by theirs, right?” He looks more relaxed now, genuinely carefree. I like it. 

         Hitoshi breathes out, “Nice to meet you, Denki.” 

         A gentle breeze cuts through them, reminding them both that it was autumn, almost winter. Hitoshi watches Kami- Denki, shiver, making him notice that he was only wearing sweats and a t-shirt. 

         “We should go inside.” He tells him, sitting up on his elbows. 

         Denki sits up, shaking his head. “No,” He drags out.

         “We’re not even supposed to be out here. And just because I’m the teacher’s kid, doesn’t mean I get special privileges.”

         Then he pouts. Denki Kaminari was pouting, it made Hitoshi crack a smile as he stood up. “Boo.” Denki huffs, moving to stand up. He wobbles, and out of reflex, Hitoshi moves to steady him, his hands on his waist. 

         How he manages to bite down the blush that threatened to show itself, he doesn’t know. But Denki wasn’t as lucky. The blond looks up at him, a grin on his lips and a taunt in his eyes. “Damn, I just got out of a relationship, ‘Toshi. Patience.” He laughs. 

         Hitoshi doesn’t respond, his grip on Denki’s hips were loose, he could easily slip away from him but he didn’t. Now, it was no longer Bakugou’s voice echoing in his ear, but Denki’s. 

         “Like who?” Me.

         “Hitoshi?” Denki looks up at him, brows furrowed. He brings Hitoshi out of his thoughts long enough for him to notice Denki’s hands hovering over his chest. Fucking hell… 

         Hitoshi drops his hands and steps back, biting down the gulp. “Right, sorry. Come on,” He nods toward the window they crawled out of. “If we don’t freeze, my dad will definitely give us detention.”

         Denki stares at him for a moment, before rolling his eyes and begins making his way toward the window. “I’m pretty sure your dad would stick us in a freezer for detention just to make a point.”

         “If only you knew how much of a softy he actually is.”

         Once they made their way back inside, and Hitoshi had closed the window behind them, they made their way back to their rooms. Both stopped in front of their doors, and Hitoshi finally had a clearer look now that they were in the light, he frowned at the sight of the growing eyebags under his eyes. 

         Yeah, nope. 

         As Denki opened his door, Hitoshi slid past him, and the purple-haired boy immediately went to the mess of papers that lay scattered around his bed. Denki watched as he picked up his papers, confused.

         “What are you doing?”

         “Making sure you don’t pass out in class tomorrow.” Hitoshi told him, grabbing an empty folding (which he assumed was where these papers were from) to store his homework. “This is coming with me and-” He adds as Denki opens his mouth to argue. “- I will help you finish it or fix it before class tomorrow. Okay?”

         “Hypocrite.” Hitoshi raises a brow at him. “I know damn well that you don’t sleep either.” 

         “I’m better than I used to be.” He admits, a bit shyly at that. “But just because I do it, doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you do the same shit. Now go to bed.”

         Denki scoffs, playfully rolling his eyes to add to the dramatics. “Fine, dad. I’m going to sleep.”

         And just to play along, Hitoshi pats Denki on the head, telling him “goodnight” before heading back to his room across the hall. 

         As the door shuts, he leans back against the wood and looks down at the folder in his hands.          “... You should be with someone that respects you, Kaminari, not someone who’s gonna make you question if what you said or did was wrong or make you feel like shit for something you can’t help.”

         “Like who?”

         Me.

         A sigh leaves him. Hitoshi sets the folder down on the corner of his desk before jumping into bed. I’m not dealing with this.

#aizawa shouta #denki kaminari #eraserhead #erasermic #eri #present mic #yamada hizashi #denki x shinsou #adopted shinsou hitoshi #shinsou hitoshi #hitoshi shinsou #shinkami #kaminari denki #bakugou katsuki #kirishima ejirou #iida tenya #mina ashido #momo yaoyorozu #jirou kyouka #izuku midoriya #todoroki shouto #bakusquad #july break bingo 2023 #july break bingo

[danceswithsporks]

On the 8th day of Batchmas I gave to all of yooouuuu!!

Bad pick up liiiinneees! (And a good one)

I’ve decided to post little snippets up until our boys finish cleaning their guns…errr season 2

Now this will take place in the universe I’ve built for my fic A Star Above the Rest! Some may be sneak peaks at future events, little glimpses into past events, or things I wanted to do but couldn’t work into the story! I hope you all enjoy them and Happy Holidays!

Day 8 of the 12 days of Bad Batchmas- Bad pickup lines!(and a good one)

“You call that a pick up line? As if.” A sultry Twi’lek in a red glitter dress scoffed and walked away from Kix. Unimpressed by his lines. Just because she was in a clone bar didn’t mean she’d hook up with any clone.

A group “oh!” Came from his fellow vod in the corner booth. They’d all seen the failure that was his pick up attempt.

Dejectedly, the medic made his way back to the table. Accepting a shot glass that was passed to him. “Not another word.”

“What exactly did you say?” Echo smirked as he leaned back in the booth. Glad to finally be spending time with his brothers. It had been quite some time.

Kix sighed as he repeated the pickup line. “ I asked her if she could take me to a medic because I broke my leg falling for her.”

The group of clones all broke out in loud laughter. Some visibly cringing at the horrible line.

“It’s amazing that it didn't work.” A beautiful voice made the group go silent. Zirena stood behind Kix on the arm of Rex. A short black dress stopped just below her ass and her five oh first blue stilettos clicked across the floor as she playfully waited for all of them to stop staring at her. “Boys” she snapped at all of them to draw their attention. “My eyes are up here.” She knew the cut of her dress was distracting, it made her breasts look massive. Which was why Rex picked it for her. He loved showing her off and she loved being shown off.

While it was true she belonged to Rex, she was also the jewel of the GAR. All the men at the booth took her in slowly, enjoying every delicious curve on her. Zirena chuckled once more before walking over to Kix and running a painted nail under his chin. Bending over slowly, Rex watched as she teased the poor medic.

“A woman doesn’t want a cheesy pick-up line. They want to be swept off their feet by heroic soldiers.” Standing back up she watched as Kix picked his jaw up off the floor. “100 credits to the first clone to pick up a date.”

All the men suddenly stared at her in surprise. Was she being serious? Rex chuckled as he motioned for Echo and Fives to move so they could sit down. “Rules, Kar’ta.”

“Ah, right. You get one shot each. Once you get struck down, return to the table and buy a round.” Smiling as Echo offered his hand to assist her in sliding in, she watched as the others slowly filed out.

“What if none of us succeed?” Jesse crossed his arms already loving this bet. He’d easily win it.

Zirena smirked as she sipped at her drink. “Then I’ll show you boys how to truly pick someone up.” Winking, she motioned for Kix to slide next to her other side. “Good luck.”

-*-

One by one each of her boys made their way back to the table, no number or date in hand.

Jesse was the first to strike out. Failing with “do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by you again?” A line that had earned him a laugh, but nothing more.

Next would be Fives, a splash of alcohol to the face over “If I make a spice joke will you let me cumin you?” Even Zirena had slapped him on that one.

Sweet Tup was next and though his line was cute, the woman was already seeing someone. When he returned, Zirena had sweetly asked him what he’d said. “I’m confused. Someone said happiness starts with an ‘h’ , but mine seems to start with ‘u’.”

Rex watched as Zirena swooned at that and he had to admit, it was good. He watched as more shots were placed on their table by the bartender. A woman that even Zirena had stated was gorgeous. “Only two left. Wrecker and Echo.”

Zirena hummed as the warmth of her whiskey shot went down her throat. “I wager Echo will win.” Her best friend was sweet and funny. Women loved that, if they could get past the metal.

The Captain chuckled as his fingers traced little circles against her deliciously thick thighs. “I believe Wrecker will be our surprise victor.”

“Are you thinking of a wager, my love?” Zirenas fingers walked up her fiancés chest slowly.

“Indeed. If I’m right, then you do that thing I like later tonight.” He watched as she smirked slyly.

“Mmm, and if I win. You do that thing I adore.” With a giggle she felt Rex kiss her cheek. Their bet was set.

It didn’t take long for Echo to return to the table. A defeat under his belt. He’d actually been having a great conversation with a beautiful Twi’lek when another, buffer clone had interrupted them. He didn’t stand a chance then. Kix sweetly moved so Echo could sit next to Zirena where she placed a loving pat on his hand. When asked what had gotten him that far, he happily proclaimed. “ I was wondering if you had an extra heart? Because you stole mine.”

An “awww” came from Zirena as she passed him a drink. “With this adorable face, how could she say no?”

“Easy when that size man comes sweeping in.” Fives pointed towards the clone in question. Though he couldn’t see what was so great.

Everyone watched the final contestant as he patiently waited at the bar. It took a while, during which the table received more rounds. Some they hadn’t even ordered but were courtesy of some shinys trying to hit on Zirena. She made sure to thank them before kissing Rex. Finally, after almost thirty minutes of waiting, Wrecker returned.

“Strike out too?” Fives watched as the large clone sat down with a satisfied thud.

“Nope.” Rex held up his communicator to show the bartender's number. Looking over his shoulder to her, he winked and she smiled.

“How?!?” Jesse was flabbergasted that Wrecker out of all of them won.

“She asked what I wanted. I simply told her that the only thing that would quench my thirst was her sitting on my face.” Wrecker shrugged happily as he took his own shot.

Zirena loudly choked on her own drink at his words. She didn’t know Wrecker had that side to him. Rexs hand slapped her back a few times trying to help clear her throat. “Fuck.” Reaching into her bag she pulled out a hundred credits and passed them to the clone. “You defensively deserve those.”

Wrecker smiled victoriously as he pocketed the winnings. He’d have to tell Crosshair that it actually worked once he went back to the ship. Which from the way the bartender had smiled and looked at him? Wouldn’t be until the next evening.

#clone wars fic #captain rex x oc #clone wars oc #captain rex fic #captain rex #fic update #clone wars fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #clone wars #star wars oc #bad batch #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #tup clone wars #clone wars jesse #tcw kix #tcw jesse #tcw fives

[maehem-1]

Worldbuilding rule to live by: If you like something, put it into your world. I wanna ramble about how I've lived by that rule in the current world I use for my DND games. This is also the flagship post of my personal DND tag! It's a long one, enjoy my ramblings!

I've created many homebrew items based off of Guilty Gear. My favorite is my adaptation of Ky's Thunderseal. I also managed a decent adaptation of Sol Badguy as a PC (I think PSI Warrior is a good subclass for him… actually, that gives me an idea. What if Psionics isn't a natural thing, like becoming a gear? Like if you have psionics it counts as a different creature type. That'd be so much more dramatic/impactful than “magic but different”)

Speaking of Ky's Thunderseal, it was wielded by someone important in my world's history: my Jetstream Sam stand-in, because I love MGR:R. I also have his murasama, mechanical arm, and chin guard thing as items discoverable in his tomb. The arm? I was reading Beowulf at the time, so you can use it to rip someone's arm off. It's dope.

Dwarves. I love me a good Dwarven mountain home. Dwarves are a really well developed part of my world, though it's not very unique because I LOVE the classic dwarf archetype. Grudges, ale, and forging, baby!

On that note, Hobgoblins. I love a wandering hobgoblin legion, remnant of a Hobgoblin Empire. This stems from Jort of the Order Undivided by The Bard Ilthari. Unfortunately, for all my love of the bright nosed folk, in my current game I've devolved them to lowly slavers of Goblins, without much hope of increased complexity like Jort gave them, since, well, I feel like I leaned too hard into the cruel slavery thing too fast and it's hard to come back from that. If they lean into the

A lot of my favorite DND things stem from Order Undivided, I also have a Senket analogue npc, and my dwarves are mostly modeled after Kazador. I've been working on an arcane Oath for Julian. I also love Gnolls quite a bit, and learned up on Yeenoghu to possibly use as a villain. Hell, my love of tactical heroic play stems from the paladins being able to defeat much greater numbers by gathering allies and taking tactical positions. I long for the day I play a game where I command armies like the Warmaster himself.

I'm a big fan of Mathew Colville, and NOT a fan of dealing with worldbuilding other Planes, so I stole his concept of the cities of Hell and slapped it on my material plane! Also makes it easier to port the Illrigger class into my world's normal rotation. Ditto for my interest in the Underdark, though I think I'm closer to forgotten realms than he is. I also stole Count Nekodemus of Castle Rend, though only in name. Mine is Baron Orwell Nicodemus, and he's a Tortle (and a little bit of an asshole, in the bureaucratic sense). I think I just like the name :3

I've loved smash bros for a really long time, since I was twelve playing Smash 4. I recently got into it again, both through videos about the history of the competitive scene and by playing Ultimate again after so long. This, of course, led me to the Five Gods of Melee. Suddenly, I had an idea for the pantheon I've been putting off structuring. Five Gods, chosen by competition between all lesser deities called Representatives. (I thought it sounded cool). Each representative also gets two associated damage types, and I'm considering adding some bonus related to them (maybe the cleric can replace their spell's damage type with one of those types instead? Incompatible with channel divinity to avoid tempest cleric shenanigans?). If this turns into a slay the gods campaign, I'm definitely going to lose my mind because none of my players would understand Leffen jokes

One of the only Representatives I've come up with, an idea I've had since the beginning, is basically a god of bloodsport/gladiatorial competitions. I decided to model them off of Technoblade, as a memorial to the Blood God himself.

I love the old traditions of DND. All that dungeon crawly, noodly bullshit. Love it. I make sure to have a lot of dungeons in my world, and am always prepping more my players will probs never see. I've also way expanded my world so that it's much more of a points of light setting, though my players are in the most densely populated area (due to being the only place that existed before geographical expansion) I also need room to improvise new locations. I love my current “canon,” but that just hurts my ability to say “there's a mountain way over there that has a ___, ___ and ___, because… that mountain should've been on our map, no? When you map the whole world, it gets so very small, doesn't it?

Legend of Zelda. My old world had a bit more of it, but I try to incorporate Zelda dungeon design into my dungeons when I can.

When I develop my Underdark better, I want to include a lot of Hollow Knight inspo. The Drow wearing masks, stuff like that.

Really this has just become a ramble about my DND campaign world and I love it

I frequently give creatures multiple creature types. Oozes are also aberrations, many Gnolls are also Fiends, etc. As I just came up with a half hour ago, Psionics characters would get a second creature type, what to call it yet I don't know.

Elves. Hooo boy. I'm not a fan. They live so long, it's too hard to create ancient history with them around. Which is, honestly, the entire appeal of elves. The reincarnation/ embodiment of living history aspect is the only interesting angle I can find personally. Whenever someone wants to play an elf, they never want to lean into the Elrond of it all. They just want to play a taller human, usually with a bow and arrow. So I don't have Elves. Simple as. Of course, they do exist, they're just incredibly rare. They were driven off the mainland for ~reasons~ and hang out on this island made entirely out of trees. Mostly old ass elves and really young ones (born on the island) are still alive, with very few survivors of the between generations. Lead by a Baelnorn, ‘cause they're cool. Drow are the exception, because they're also cool, but they're rare on the surface for different, more obvious reasons. If someone ever tells me they want to play an elf, I'll publicly decline the offer, then catch them alone and give them the lowdown. Half Elves know nothing of their elven heritage, since it's been so watered down by now, though they still get mechanical benefits.

#maevi dm #maevi posting #long post

[cilibi]

New Years Eve is another lively holiday for Mondstadt, a gathering of loved ones to reminisce over the important moments of the last year before welcoming in a new one. If Kaeya’s being honest with himself, it’s never been one of his favorites. He can’t help but see the passage of time as an omen; a ticking clock as he marches towards an inevitable fate he doesn’t want to be a part of and doesn’t fully understand. Not that he’s ever expressed these thoughts to anyone. No, these sentiments stay safely tucked away in his mind - so when Jean gives him the night off and invites him to join her and Lisa for drinks at Angel’s Share, of course he accepts.

It’s a nice night, all things considered. He enjoys his time spent with his closest friends, and any excuse to get Jean to take some time off is one he’s willing to take. They spend much of the night gossiping and nursing their drinks until, too early in the night for Kaeya, Jean has to leave to bring in the new year with Barbara at the Cathedral.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us Kaeya? The choir performance is quite beautiful.” Jean offers, the same as she’s done the last five years since he was thrown out of the Ragnivindr family home. And his answer is the same as it’s been every year.

“Oh I’m sure it is, our Deaconess never disappoints. But I’m content where I am, I’m just going finish my drink before I head home and bring in the New Year with a good book.” Kaeya smiles pleasantly even as Jean sighs. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate her offer, he just knows that trying to fill the emptiness in his heart with the warmth of a family that isn’t his will only bring more pain. So he waves goodbye as Lisa slips her hand through Jean’s arm and winks his way, and he lets them walk out the door without him. He doesn’t let himself sigh, instead he swallows the last few mouthfuls of his Death after Noon - only the second one of the night, he’s been pacing himself - and heads to the bar to pay for all of their drinks.

Diluc is closing tonight, as Kaeya knew he would. He always gives Charles holidays off since he relies so heavily on the man. Master Crepus hired Charles over eleven years ago; the bar’s basically just as much his as it is Diluc’s. As Kaeya approaches the bar to pay, Diluc places another glass of Death after Noon in front of him. Kaeya blinks.

“I was actually just going to pay for our drinks before heading out. Trying to squeeze more money out of your best customer?” Kaeya teases as he places the mora on the bar. Diluc takes it without counting it.

“On the house then, if you don’t drink it it’ll just go to waste.” Diluc states, as if that’s a normal thing for him to do. Kaeya tries not to let the surprise show on his face, though he can feel his smile tilt in a fond way he can’t quite squash as he sits at the bar and takes a sip. Perhaps the New Year has even Diluc in high spirits.

“Well, Master Diluc must be in a good mood to bestow upon me such a thoughtful gift.” Kaeya grins as Diluc rolls his eyes. “Exciting plans tonight?”

He’s not sure whether he’s referring to Diluc’s vigilanteism or not. Kaeya hopes the man would take a break for the holiday; half of the Favonious Captains are still on duty so the city isn’t completely unprotected. Diluc holds little trust in the Knights, but the two of them have been keeping a close eye on any Abyssal activity and they’ve found nothing out of the ordinary. Kaeya’s unsure if that’s enough to keep the other man from his nightly heroics. Diluc says nothing for a moment as he finishes wiping down the bar.

“Adeline insisted on making a special dinner for New Years.” Diluc says eventually, and Kaeya can’t help but feel a little stunned by the simple honestly. Something is different tonight - he had fully expected to be shut down, or at least brushed off - but Diluc was being downright indulgent in a way Kaeya feels ill equipped for. He took another long sip of his drink to give himself a second to school his expression before speaking.

“How wonderful. Would you give Adeline my regards? Wish her a Happy New Year for me?” Kaeya can’t help but push a little. He’s not sure where they stand in this new territory Diluc put them in, but he knows what buttons to push to steer them back into more familiar waters. Alluding to their shared childhood is usually a quick way to do that.

“Tell her yourself.” Diluc responds immediately, and Kaeya sighs quietly to himself. That’s more like it, he knows what he is to this Diluc. He finishes the rest of his drink in one go, standing up.

“How unfriendly, Master Diluc. I won’t get to tell her until after the year’s end, you can at least pass along my well wishes.” Before he can take even a step towards the door, Diluc’s hand is gripped firmly around his wrist. It gives Kaeya pause. Diluc doesn’t touch him anymore. They rarely have physical contact at all, but when they do it’s Kaeya initiating knowing full well he’ll be quickly brushed off. His chest starts to tighten with dread over Diluc’s strange behavior this night. Whatever the other man wants, Kaeya can’t help but want to run from it. The little peace they have feels too fragile to push, he doesn’t think he’s ready to answer Diluc’s questions and risk loosing him again. Not yet. But with the feeling of Diluc’s well worn glove pressed against his pulse point, Kaeya’s effectively caught. He reluctantly meets the other man’s intense red gaze.

“Tell her yourself…tonight. At dinner.”

#kaeluc #luckae #diluc ragnivindr #kaeya alberich #just a little wip I started around New Years and never got back to #I still really like it though #I might finish it #Kaeya and Diluc WILL reconcile #and Diluc will be the one to reach out toKaeya if I have anything to say about it

[that-thing-that-feeling]

So Shawn really said he related to Steve the most. Interesting.

What I find funny is that there’s still certain subsets of stans that genuinely act like Jonathan is nothing but a self-insert and is therefore just SO privileged as a character… when he’s literally one of the most sidelined and underwritten mains of the show. While Steve gets like so much screentime in comparison and a lion’s share of the marketing and content and recognition.

Like you’re telling me that Jonathan “gets antagonized every season and not listed on the Netflix tudum” Byers is the obvious Creator’s Pet and not Steve “gets his own Wikipedia page and a massive ‘protect Steve’ billboard” Harrington isn’t. I wasnt even a stan of anyone, let alone a Jonathan stan, starting the series five years ago but I still noticed this disparity in treatment. Lol

I have loved and enjoyed Steve as a character where he fits in the show, but the cognitive dissonance from his fans is so annoying. Even if he’s as prone to poor and shallow writing as much as the rest of the mains (and I feel for him just as much as the others in that sense), he still has it easier than half the main characters, maybe more, and he likely always will.

Which is fine and dandy, but makes it all the more obnoxious when I see people who would throw other characters under the bus to always put him in the better light no matter what, or people who act like Steve is just SO hated by the writers—at least the writers remember him as a character. Jonathan is what, hanging on by the skin of his teeth? Considering his most lauded moment of the season was apparently only conjured as a lucky afterthought of the writers in the middle of filming.

If you ask me, Steve seems like he’s one of the most traditionally heroic-protagonist type of characters and treated as such outside the show. He is set up perfectly for escapism, he’s given all these fanservicey and heroic moments, and for that I can understand why people are led to root for Steve (the writers even admitted writing S2 Nancy this way, to boot) and hell, I would go so far as to say they want to be Steve.

But then you have the Byers, who especially in S1, feel rooted in the kinds of realistic and depressing situations people would want to escape from, even if you take away all the supernatural elements. And you’d think they’re just as subject to the same “underdog” treatment that Steve gets, but then you get people—in 2023, mind you—who are antagonizing them (which reeks of classism btw; “Joyce is a bad mom compared to Karen”, “Jonathan is selfish for worrying about his college issues and just wants a sympathy card lying to Nancy”, “Will is too much of a crybaby who hasnt been through as much as X person”) coupled with the way they are sidelined in the show. Just annoying treatment all around. I do hope S5 fares better compared to the past two seasons, but most of my expectations are on the wrapping up of the supernatural plot at this point.

Yeah the whole Jonathan as a self insert thing makes little sense when they’ve totally underwritten and sidelined him; it’s always a way people try to hate on Jonathan as a character for shipping reasons usually.

And agreed there’s a clear disparity in how Steve is treated and given heroic moments and a lot of screentime. But I still think his writing isn’t as good as it should have been bc once they landed on the popular thing with him, they backed away from all other layers (note this interview from between s2 and s3):

Also a lot of their sympathy/empathy in s2 is all around him and they clearly see him as a victim (of Nancy smh, of “circumstance”???) and have tried to erase his privilege:

Here’s the original thing on Shawn being like Steve and the Duffers relating to Mike (from July 2016, and idk why there’s weird formatting):

The irony though that Shawn talks about Jonathan and Steve co-existing and collaborating (like Shawn and the Duffers?) and then Jonathan and Steve basically never spoke again SMH

I also agree with you w the Byers and classicism; you def see that with fans in how they view them and I wonder w the sidelining on the show. Anyhow it’s baffling to have so sidelined the Byers. I think it’s as they moved away from more realism into what was just funny and popular and memeable.

[regallibellbright]

Hirogaru Sky thoughts:

1) Shoutouts to the bird rider who drops Sora off but is like “I am not paid enough to stick around while the castle’s under attack, you’re on your own there lady.” That’s reasonable and we respect this.

2) Sora. She’s great. She fights even as a civilian. SHE’S BLUE. But aside from that fact, like that they made it clear even from the first episode that yeah, despite the fearless going forward stuff she is SCARED, and her notebook is clearly aspirational.

3) I also like the clear implication that her mom (or someone she looks up to at least) was the inspiration for her to be a hero per the OP, and then she’s clearly inspiring Mashiro to be heroic herself.

4) Speaking of the OP, the homage shots are a nice touch, and continue separating the team into the Sky + Prism, Wing + Butterfly duos. It definitely seems like we’ll be getting Wing and Butterfly later on, and honestly I’m cool with that it’ll be nice to have a duo for a bit. (Dare I hope for a shared transformation, or at least them sharing a bit in the opening there? Let them make a heart with their hands during the transformation, Toei. Let them hold hands. It’s been too long.)

5) I’m pretty sure we already knew Mashiro’s civilian look but seriously she just does not stop looking like a Sylveon gijinka, and I love this as a design aesthetic.

6) You know for another baby season... especially when IMO they didn’t really do anything particularly interesting with Kome-Kome’s transformations because she’d change them so quickly, cough cough... Ellee is pretty unintrusive despite spending the whole episode as a macguffin. Do appreciate that Sora straight-up does not seem to fully realize or care that this small child is a princess with magical powers. She is a hero, heroes rescue babies from being kidnapped.

7) “Oh, this is a dream. Nice to meet you dream girl!” is just cute. Surprised in a neutral way they didn’t go for the mutual crash into each other-head bonk, but I suppose that does seem more dangerous when the bonkees are all human. Not encouraging kids to headbutt each other and all that. Fair enough.

8) The transformation sequence. It’s so GOOD. The cape pull bit is particularly cool-looking, and I’m hoping that final bit with all the parts of the costume side-by-side is going to eventually be filled with each Cure the way Tropical Rouge did for the makeup calls. (Including the midseason Cure, since there are five of those.) In general too just the kinetic nature of it’s a delight. I always enjoy that.

9) And she seems to power down very quickly after the threat’s done, interesting. Wonder if it’s something about the power being exhausted or what.

10) The end sequence. Touched on it in the tags last post but that bit with them in the pages of the notebook in particular is really nice, and I’m admittedly more than a little disappointed that we change backdrops so often. It’s fun, though, the rainbow flying in from different angles at the end is nice, and seeing them in motion really does make details like Butterfly’s back bows pop a bit more.

OH ONE MORE THING I FORGOT: Kaboton’s genre-savviness is fun. I enjoy the “what kind of idiot stops because the people chasing him ask him to?” and calling Mashiro a side character... though of course, we know she’s not... and immediately deciding that yeah, if Sora’s a hero, that makes him her nemesis and so he will swear to come back and kill her even after he gets Ellee. If he leaves her around she’s a threat. In general the tone of this episode - and the fights in particular - seems a bit different from the last few seasons. They’re clearly mixing things up for the anniversary (BLUE LEAD! BOY CURE! YOUNG ADULT CURE!) so I wouldn’t be surprised if this IS a deliberate choice as well, but I admit I’ve also only seen a handful of seasons and most of them are recent, so it could easily just be me thinking this because I’ve only seen the last three in full. (Still need to finish a la Mode, I’ll get through it eventually.)

#hirogaru sky precure #hirogaru sky spoilers #precure blogging

[scarletpath]

Harbinger Bard BG3 Fic

So when I was making my Tav, Zyn. I came up with the name Harbinger Bard as his title but I never used it in any of my stories. So I was really inspired to write this fun story about it. I might even write a part 2 to continue it.

It's all about how he got the name. And he HATES the name.

The day was a truly wonderful day. The weather was perfect, warm and comfortable. The sun was high, and the breeze was welcoming. It was peaceful. A perfect day for everyone to have their own time off to wonder and enjoy the city. Zyn was seated at a table by the wall of the tavern, enjoying the live music on the stage. It was rather relaxing. A welcoming environment indeed. His one hand was reached over on the table beside him, gently holding onto Astarion’s. The Vampire was sitting down next to him, idly people watching. They were worlds apart but connected by a gentle touch. Moments like these seemed to come so rarely in the past few weeks.  

Their peaceful respite then soon came to an end. A cheery Wyll came into the tavern with a book held tightly to his chest. He spotted the relaxing elves and happily walked over to them, taking a seat in front of them. 

“Sorry if I’m interrupting. I hope you don’t mind if I join you two.” 

“Not at all Wyll. Watching strangers could only be so entertaining after a while.” Mused Astarion. Zyn nodded his head in agreement. 

“Marvelous! I’m just so excited right now.” Wyll exclaimed, raising the book he had with him for a moment before placing it down on the table.  

“I met Volo down by the square. He finally got his next book out. I’ve been waiting for months for this.” He said, lovingly caressing the book’s cover before happily saying out the title of the book. 

“The Harbinger Bard. Volume five, The Dagger Named Kindness.”  

There was a sudden coughing fit from Zyn as he leaned forward. He quickly took a few quick breaths to calm his chest, clearing his throat slightly to clear his airways. 

“What? Why would you... I mean, I never pegged you as someone who liked Volo’s works.” Zyn honestly looked rather thrown off and obviously failing at looking calm. 

“He’s such a foolhardy man. He makes up words when he can’t rhyme. I can hardly see his books as any better. He likes to make things up.” An awkward chuckle left Zyn as he waved his hand a bit to emphasize how preposterous the silly Bard was. Astarion on the other hand looked rather curious and reached over to the book. As if he was a bit suspicious about the contents of the pages. Wyll allowed him to take a look. 

“Yes, he can be rather eccentric, but he’s a really good writer. The Harbinger Bard series is anything but fiction though. It’s about a real Bard that has been roaming around all across Faerûn. Helping villages and towns by cutting down every Bandit, Goblin and ne'er-do-well that he comes across. But no one knows who he is. They say he always goes around in different disguises so that no one can find him. Volo’s stories are based on witness accounts and investigating sites where he had fought.” Wyll looked starstruck as he talked about this heroic vigilante.  

“Of course, our chivalrous Wyll would be so passionate about a wondering defender of the people.” Astarion didn’t look up from the book as he flipped through the pages. 

Zyn reached over with a pleading look, trying to move the book away from Astarion’s eyes.  

“Astarion. Put that silly book down, ple-” 

He was then cut off when Astarion froze for a moment when he found something in the pages. His shoulders started to shake before he erupted in laughter. He tried to calm down and even did a mock ‘Ahem’ before he started to read what he found. Placing his hand on his chest as he played into the theatrics. 

“The imposing Bard stood over the cowering knave.  His brow was occulted shadow, black hair framed his pate.  His eyes were as crimson as the Hells.  He pulled out his bodkin, a sharp blade with an inscription towards the side that truly quoth 'kindness'” 

Astarion barely made it through his performance without laughing. Zyn gave Astarion a pleading look not to say more. 

Wyll seemed to be more amused at how Astarion seemed to like the book. 

“Well, if you want. I can get you the first book to start you off. You really seem interested in the man.” 

A puckish smirk crossed his face. 

“Oh, I’m already am.” He said playfully, reaching out to take Zyn’s hand. Zyn gritted his teeth, whispering out a harsh ‘Don’t...’. 

“I.. Don’t quite follow.” 

Astarion literally looked like the cat that ate the canary. Without warning he pulled out a dagger and placed it down in front of Wyll. Only it wasn’t his. It was Zyn’s. And engraved on the side was ‘Kindness’.  

Wyll stared at it with wide eyes. 

“Goddammit Astarion!” 

“Wait... does this mean...” Wyll paused as he thought back to everything he knew about Zyn. A wonderer, looking for himself. Held no mercy for the wicked. Used both his skills as both a Bard and an Assassin to dispatch the enemy and support the group. 

“Oh... my gods...” Wyll stared up at Zyn, who looked none too pleased and quite aggravated at the very amused Vampire. His expression brightened as a wide smile formed on his lips. 

“You’re him! You’re really him! You’re the Harbinger Bard!” 

Zyn grimaced as he leaned over, trying to shush Wyll. 

“Don’t say that stupid name out loud!” He hissed, quickly glancing around to make sure that no one heard. Wyll was unfazed at how unpleased Zyn was. He was just so excited that he was face to face with one of his idols. 

“Fine...” Zyn grumbled out. “I’m that guy in those stupid books Volo wrote. Though, he was clearly overzealous with his ‘creativity’.” He said gingerly.  

“I’m not some hero on some stupid quest, nor am I the “Harbinger Bard” “He said as he used air quotes. “Gods I hate that name.” He muttered.  

“These books are just over hyped ramblings of a stupid Bard about my encounters.” 

“I don’t know darling. It’s quite the page turner.” Astarion chimed as he read a little more. “Especially now that we know the ‘mysterious’ identity of the famed Harbinger Bard.” 

Zyn glowered at Astarion with a tight-lipped frown.  

“Oooh, we should have a book club of the series!” 

“Oh my god, yes! I’ll bring my copies!” 

“How about not!” 

Wyll just laughed. It was obvious that today was amazing for him. 

“But I just must ask. Why have ‘Kindness’ etched on your dagger?” 

Both Astarion and Zyn stared at Wyll and in unison said: 

“Kill them with Kindness.” 

“Ah, I should’ve known.” 

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tav #astarion #wyll ravengard #bg3 drow #my tav #bg3 fanfiction #astarion/tav

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: July 2022

And so continues the year. Seven months down, five to go. And then I guess we just start over again?

……….FILM……….

The Last of Sheila (1973) Can’t recommend enough. Did you like Knives Out? See this. Did you like Clue? See this. It’s so good and multiple times I wondered how there was still so much movie left, only to go “oh of course!” Really great stuff.

Nope (2022) Something about the trailer gave me Signs vibes but turns out it was more like E.T. and Jaws; big Spielberg energy with the music and adventure vibes. Not a tidy package the same was that Get Out was but in reading other perspectives I realize I was being too literal. This movie has visual metaphors for days and big fan overall.   

The Heroic Trio (1993) One of the rare times where I will sincerely say something goes hard. This movie goes HARD. In one scene a character drives an out-of-control motorcycle up a wall then kicks it at her enemy. That enemy then defends himself by splitting the spinning motorcycle in half! And that’s in the span of like...2 minutes. I was consistently surprised by what I was seeing on screen and wholeheartedly recommend. Probably not for everyone but if you like the first 15 minutes then you’re in for a ride. If you ARE going to watch it, don’t watch the trailer as it spoils so many fun surprises.

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) This hit all the right buttons for me. Plot moves at a breezy pace, the songs are all incredible, the visuals felt just one notch beyond reality, and Beef can do no wrong. Big fan.

The Sparks Brothers (2021) I remember being overwhelmed when I first saw Sparks’ catalog but this documentary would’ve been so helpful in knowing where to start. Appropriately playful and I hope it continues to help introduce new people to their music.

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) Really stunning and there were moments/choices that really clicked for me, but I found myself bored during a lot of it. Maybe it’s the pacing or general structure but I feel like I would’ve enjoyed it more if it was under 2 hours.

Bo Burnham: Inside (2021) My limited exposure to the special (mostly a few songs on TikTok) didn’t prepare me for how sad this was going to be. I think I’m glad I didn’t see this during the peak of lockdowns. A really vulnerable meditation on the creative process.

……….TELEVISION……….

The Bachelorettes (Episode 19.01 to 19.04) This new format is really working for me: lots of good moments of friendship, a nice balance of highs and lows for the leads, and just the shake up I think the franchise needs. Now to try it out with the bachelors.

The Deuce (Episode 1.01 to 1.08) The Franco twins were a little distracting (though well done) and overall, a good season of television. It didn’t completely hook me (I’d go long stretches between episodes and didn’t really feel compelled to continue) but it tells a satisfying story in a visually interesting setting. Not bad at all.

Fleabag (Episode 2.01 to 2.06) Ugh I’m so sad this is over, though I adore a piece of media that knows what it wants to say and wraps up after it’s said it. The Priest’s character, and how the meta elements of the show play in, are just so great. Ugh I love this show!

……….READING……….

Getting It: A Guide to Hot, Healthy Hookups and Shame-Free Sex by Allison Moon (Complete) Just a really healthy breakdown and summary, you know? The topics and lessons covered in here are as applicable to platonic relationships as they are to intimate ones: understanding boundaries, effective communication, etc.

The Michael Moorcock Library: The Chronicles of Corum Vol. 1: The Knight of Swords by Mike Baron and MIke Mignola (Complete) These visual recreations of classic sword & sworcery books are such a good idea. My gut tells me I wouldn’t click with the original books so It’s a great way to connect with older stories in an accessible way. Also interesting to see the components that influenced early D&D adventures.

……….AUDIO……….

Stankonia by Outkast (2000) Going back to a classic.

Love to See It with Emma and Claire (Podcast) With the return of the Bachelorette comes the return of this podcast. Perfectly compliment.

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) One group is currently pursuing a player character’s ties to the Fairy realm, while another group just made a deal with a Fairy (and got a gold hand in exchange) so lots of Fairy-related shenanigans this month! If you want to read any of my recaps, they’re over here.

And that’s it! As always, feel free to share recommendations and happy Monday!

#Monthly Media #Kolbisneat #andrew kolb

[pilvimarja]

Cobra Kai episodes 8 and 9

I still have the final episode left, but I figured I'd write some thoughts about episodes 8 and 9 before they all blur together in my mind.

Soooo there's now a super duper mega tournament that's so much bigger and more badass than the All Valley. Lol of course there is. I totally understand that all shows have to raise the stakes as the story grows bigger or they risk becoming stale. Cobra Kai has done an exceptionally good job with this in its five seasons and I'm honestly a little surprised that they still manage to make this karate war feel as engaging and fresh as it does! But at the same time, bigger isn't always better and the All Valley will always feel much more special and important than some global tournament.

Oh, Tory, how I love her. Peyton is getting so much good stuff to work with and she's become such a deep, complex, tragic and heroic character that I think she's surpassed a lot of the original favorites (not naming any names). My heart broke when she went to Sam to tell the truth and Sam reacted with anger, but then my heart absolutely soared when Sam went to Tory and now my girls are joining forces!

I've also loved Sam this season. She's had a great little journey and I'm so happy that she's found peace within herself and a proper reason to fight. Not really a fan of the way they still keep forcing her into those romance plots, though. The whole thing with Miguel and her is getting really old.

It feels incredibly good to see Johnny and Daniel finally working together for real. This season is feeding the Lawrusso fandom well, even if it's dampened by the shadow of Johnny's partial character assassination. I think this is what a lot of people expected and wanted to see in season 4, but we only got a taste of it back then. And I honestly don't think Johnny and Daniel were ready for this kind of a relationship until now. And there's still some hesitation, like did you notice the look on Johnny's face when Miyagi-Do made it to the big tournament? It was such an obvious "gimme a hug" moment, but he and Daniel just fist-bumped even though Johnny hugged Chozen a second later. I think a hug between him and Daniel is still too intimate unless they're drunk lol.

I also think that if Johnny had had even half of the rushed character development they've given him this season back in season 4, a lot of his character arc would feel more earned and organic. Now they're basically just speeding through his journey from emotionally stunted manbaby to a somewhat functioning adult in the span of ten episodes and it's giving me serious whiplash. Well, actually it's more like six episodes because those first four episodes were just a rehash of what we've already seen in previous seasons. I suspect they were written to appease the dudebro fans, but I don't know if even the dudebros enjoyed that shit. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

The adults going clubbing was so CRINGE!!!! But I also kind of loved it haha. I dig how episode 9 has now become the Lawrusso Date Episode in each season. Also, Chozen's crane shirt was gorgeous and he's so freaking funny and endearing when he's drunk! And as much as I hate the overflowing heterosexuality (seriously, what the fuck is up with the overflowing heterosexuality and traditional family values this season??? Who is responsible for this odd shift?), I think it's sweet that Chozen loves Kumiko and I hope the two of them can make it work.

Oh! I almost blocked it out of my mind, but the scene where Master Kim made Tory break her hand on the training dummy was HORRIFYING! I felt sick to my stomach watching it. And you know, Tory could now basically shut down the entire Cobra Kai enterprise just by going to the police and telling them what their senseis do to minors! Though I guess Terry would just buy his way out of any legal trouble...

#cobra kai #cobra kai season 5 spoilers

[dragonsbone]

Hello I just saw your LOTR oc and I immediately fell in love!

Feel free to infodump about her!

-@heresthefanfiction

ahhhhh thank u so much !!! im so glad you like her bc i had her for like a week and i would die for her fghnjmnbhg !! and i appreciate this ask sm i will gladly info dump my bb (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

rínien, my darling, is the youngest of the three. she is ten years younger than boromir and five years younger than faramir. she is a formidable warrior with a courageous heart and an extremely stubborn mind. she cares very little of lore, unlike faramir and their father, and craves the feeling of a sword in her hand or a bow on her back. she loves a good fight, no matter the odds. though, it is still rare and highly looked down upon for a women to be in battle. it’s one of the many reasons their father detests her. but boromir encouraged that side of her and taught her how to properly fight, just as he’d done with faramir when he was of age. he believed in her and never shamed or belittled her of wanting to fight for their family.

but more of rínien as a character, she is quite complicated. with her brothers and fellow gondorians, she can remain her true self. a bit boastful at times, especially after a few cups of ale, but she is known to be brave, unyielding, and dedicated to the people of gondor. however, when rínien is around strangers or potential threats, a wall is built within her. she can be cold, cynical, and often unpleasant to be around. it’s very difficult for her to place her trust in others. rínien remains guarded, both emotionally and physically, until there comes a definite moment where she can confidently call someone a companion or a friend. it definitely takes a long time for her to trust aragorn, but that’s a whole other discussion.

she is paired with another main oc of mine named arion. they are the embodiment of “he was sunshine, i was midnight rain”. he is first, and foremost, a true himbo. listen, i got a thing for himbos and it’s my fic so i do what i want lol. he was one of the free folk of eriador and became a ranger of the north when he was old enough. arion is as open and honest as they come. he is true to himself and shows everyone the kind of man he is. he is compassionate, selfless, heroic, humble, and so much more. definitely drinks the respect women juice as he should and bc i said so. while i still plotting to have all my ideas connect cohesively with each other, i do plan on having him and aragorn as a duo prior to the fellowship and having their friendship become a big part of their characters.

what i do have figured out is rínien and arion’s relationship. as aforementioned, rínien doesn’t trust people easily, meanwhile arion does. most of the time, it works in his favor. they balance each other out and compliment their different personalities. rínien can be distant, arion can be welcoming. and so on. they help each other through so much, especially after the loss of boromir and rínien, eventually, revenge arc. but they are so wholesome to me and i very much enjoy them!!

well, that’s all i’ll info dump rn before this post becomes too long !! but i hope u like what’s to come of this idea <3

send me an ask

#asks #oc asks #rínien asks #arion asks #bi-ologistofthehills #thank u sm for asking again i rlly do appreciate it :)