#then i looked at my track record and i was like damn. might be true

[sadnesshotline]

she a baddie w her baddie friend 👯❄️ @aharris00britney x @ayoshi angel now available for early access!

#making my return on austin's command as always #first edit of 2023 wowee #BTW IN GAME YES I KNOW THIS IS CRAZY FOR ME #no render... im ngl i saw that post abt renders making ppl quit #then i looked at my track record and i was like damn. might be true #so we trying stuff! also i wanted them in the snow so x #sadnesshotline #ts4 #ts4 edit #ts4 edits #the sims 4 #my edits #ether #mari #axa #aharris00britney #ayoshi #axa angel

[thankskenpenders]

IDW Sonic: Imposter Syndrome and #50

It’s finally here! IDW Sonic #50! I waited to talk about the Imposter Syndrome miniseries until after #50 dropped, and it turns out #50 has, uh... well, it’s made a big splash. I’m not sure I’ve seen this many people talking about (and/or arguing over) a single issue of Sonic in a long time.

As expected, in this post I’ll be talking about Surge, Kit, and Starline, but #50 has also given us a ton to chew on regarding Sonic and Eggman, Belle, and the overarching themes of the entire IDW series.

Let’s start out with the miniseries!

IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Surge rules

Can I just say that up front? That’s my main takeaway. Surge fucking rules

She was popular from the very second the first images of her dropped because Evan and Mauro came up with an extremely sick design, and the actual story does not disappoint. She borrows liberally from delinquent rival anime tropes (except, you know, she’s a girl, so it’s instantly even better), but that’s such a natural and fun addition to the Sonic cast that she instantly grabs you

And boy, if the writing and the strength of the design weren’t already enough, Thomas Rothlisberger’s art throughout the arc sure does. I’ve seen a lot of comparisons to Rise of the TMNT, which I can see. But Surge just makes so many good faces, constantly, and everything she does is cool. She’s angry teenage rebellion personified and she’s instantly become one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise, period. (Tangle and Whisper are also up there, so it’s safe to say the IDW comics have an extremely good track record when it comes to comic-original characters.)

Like seriously just look at her faces and tell me she isn’t the best

Kit, AKA “Aw Little Guy!!! Oh He's A Little Bit Fucked Up Actually”

There were always hints that Kit had a sinister side to him - he is a villain, after all - but Surge stole the show at the start of the miniseries. This left Kit mostly as her meager sidekick struggling to please both her and Starline. In this way, he’s a dark reflection of Tails. Where Tails has become more independent over time, becoming more of an equal to Sonic, Kit exists entirely to support Surge. Starline made him this way, because this is how Starline perceives Sonic and Tails’ relationship. Starline doesn’t really understand people despite thinking he does, and this is what ultimately damns all of them

Naturally, this has left Kit kind of fucked up. Over the course of the arc, it becomes clear that he’s probably the scarier of the two. Surge might be stronger, but like Sonic, she wears her emotions and her intentions on her sleeve. But Kit? Kit suppresses his violent urges, until they build to a point where he can’t anymore

(these panels from #50 but still)

Holy shit, Starline???

I touched on Starline’s very meta plan earlier. I would have honestly been happy if Ian and co. had just added these cool new rivals for Sonic and Tails and let them duke it out, because they are, in fact, cool as hell. But the actual plot of the arc is more intriguing than that

Starline has always been a very meta character, with his main trait as a character basically being that he can zoom out and notice patterns in the franchise that other characters either can’t or won’t. He’s the guy who watches a movie and says how he would make smarter decisions than the characters the whole time. Early on, he did this with Eggman. He tried to “fix” Eggman’s methods so that he could finally succeed in beating Sonic and taking over the world, but this didn’t work out, and Eggman kicked him to the curb. He then decided that he would simply go solo and take over the world for Eggman. He finally reveals his true plan for doing so here: create his own “heroes” who can replace Sonic and Tails, the main heroes who always stand in the way of “progress” (Eggman taking over the world). In theory, this will allow Starline to control the hero/villain dynamic from both sides, ending the cycle of Eggman trying to “change the world” and Sonic stopping him

And of course, Starline calls this cycle he intends to break...

“The Sonic Cycle.”

I love you Ian

It quickly becomes apparently, though, that Starline’s plan here is, uh. Extremely fucked up! Wow! Early on it’s revealed that Starline has repeatedly been “rebooting” Surge and Kit. Any time the cracks start to show in their conditioning and they question their life stories, Starline’s orders, or their innate desires to defeat Sonic and Tails, Starline edits their memories. They do start to put two and two together, though, and eventually they learn the truth: they’re just two random kids Starline kidnapped and experimented on. They don’t remember their actual pasts, and Starline didn’t bother to keep track of who they originally were because he doesn’t care. They’ve been modified with cyborg endoskeletons and even have some of the Metal Virus in them, making them nigh-unkillable. Which Starline tested by... well, killing them repeatedly to make sure they always bounced back.

This is... so much darker than I would have ever expected? But in a fantastic way. It makes Starline SO absolutely despicable, and it gives Surge and Kit this pathos that makes you want to root for them, even as they set out to go rogue and burn the whole world down. Surge is very much set up as her own antihero in the buildup to her showdown with Sonic, which is a choice that I think leads to some fascinating character juxtaposition when it finally happens in issue #50.

Really, my only complaint about the miniseries was that the marketing made it seem like Sonic and Tails would be dealing with these two sooner, when in reality this is all the setup. The extremely hype wrestling promos for the climactic Wrestlemania that is Sonic #50. (My other complaint, I suppose, is that IDW is still having multiple artists trade off in a single story, which can be a bit jarring. But that’s a publisher-wide issue.)

But MAN. When we finally do get that big showdown? It does not disappoint.

SONIC #50

As with Imposter Syndrome, I went in expecting Sonic and Tails to fight Surge and Kit. And we absolutely got that with this extra-long issue penciled by Adam Bryce Thomas. Adam’s always been an A-lister on the IDW series, especially when it comes to bombastic shounen manga-inspired battles, but this issue might just be his best Sonic work yet

But like I said at the start, the issue is more than just some cool fights.

Sonic vs. Surge

Surge’s entire life, or at least what little of her life she can remember thanks to Starline, has been building up to this moment. Whoever she was before is gone, replaced with one purpose. She’s been impatiently awaiting the day she's finally allowed to fight Sonic to the death. We’ve followed her through Starline’s inhumane training, the audience being equally antsy after months of buildup. At long last, she confronts him. She delivers an impassioned speech about what she stands for, how she curses the world that discarded her, how she’s going to tear Sonic and anyone else who stands in her way a new one...

And Sonic... doesn’t really give that much of a shit.

They do fight, of course. Boy, do they ever. But Sonic has never met this girl before and has no animosity towards her. He’s also done this too many times and would like to skip to the part where they’re friends, or at least frenemies. And this is just... tragic for Surge. For her, this is the most important day in her life. But for Sonic, it’s Tuesday. For Surge, this is a duel to the death. But Sonic, ever the unflappably positive shounen protagonist, is just having fun fighting someone who keeps him on his toes. He refuses to validate her on her terms.

(There are also a lot of interesting parallels with Tails’ simultaneous fight with Kit, where the kindhearted Tails is trying to be extremely nice and defuse the situation when he realizes that Kit is just some poor, fucked up kid. But instead of going on my own tangent I’ll link this very good TikTok analyzing Sonic’s social skills and the interesting ways his blunt, brash attitude can clash with the fact that he does genuinely care a lot.)

I even feel like Adam’s art is playing up the idea that Sonic’s attitude continues to make him the villain for Surge. His speech about his ideals places him above Surge, with a smug expression on his face and sunbeams shining down over him. Adam’s own (extremely sick) variant cover is framed very similarly, showing us the smug and above-it-all Sonic from Surge’s perspective.

Why does Surge think Sonic is so holier-than-thou? And why does she still care about fighting him if she just wants to defy Starline’s brainwashing? Well, she directly calls out his belief in the power of second chances, blaming Sonic for her very existence. Which ties back into what’s become one of the main recurring themes of the IDW series.

Sonic’s Characterization

As Ian’s explained, Sonic’s characterization in the IDW series has been informed by a number of factors. For one, more compassionate heroes are just landing better with audiences these days, including in shounen manga. Your Dekus, your Tanjiros, etc. But beyond that, Sega explicitly forbids Sonic and friends from proactively seeking out Eggman. Sonic is never looking for a fight. Eggman simply causes trouble, Sonic shows up to stop him, and he returns to being a free-spirited roamer.

Really, Sonic’s attitude in the current comics isn’t much different from how he acts in the games. Ian just decided to draw more attention to this behavior, and turn it into an explicit character trait that impacts the story.

I don’t really know what games people have been playing where Sonic DOESN’T act like this? Sure, there are a few games where a villain dies. There are always going to be counterexamples in a series as inconsistent as this. But look at how many characters Sonic has given second chances, and how lightly Sonic often takes threats to the world. Shadow was trying to blow up the damn planet and Sonic was still just having fun racing him on the ARK. Chaos destroyed a whole major metropolitan city and Sonic is like “hold on, Chaos is just hurt, we need to break this cycle of violence.” He’s ended up working with Eggman plenty of times to stop a greater threat. Even when this doesn’t happen, Eggman tends to just fly away at the end. Sonic never hunts him down. Again, Sega forbids him from doing this. It’s not in his character. The IDW comics just explore why.

At the same time, bad faith criticisms of Sonic’s willingness to give villains second chances tend to ignore the very important second part of this mantra, which this issue has Sonic spell out explicitly. Yes, he believes in giving people personal freedom. But the second they use that freedom to hurt people, Sonic is going to beat their asses again. He doesn’t have qualms about using violence in that way. He is, by no definition of the word, a pacifist. Sonic understands that Surge is traumatized, and tries to give her the chance to back down. She refuses, so he kicks her ass, because she’s a threat. Sonic sort of took mercy on the Zeti, in that he didn’t fucking execute them or whatever... but they also got banished back to the Lost Hex where they can’t hurt anyone. Tails disarmed Metal Sonic before they let him go. Sonic let Eggman go only because he had amnesia and Mr. Tinker was, by all accounts, a literal different person. The second he came back? Sonic gladly went right back to blowing his shit up. He is not out here handwringing about Eggman Empire property damage, he’s destroying his bases and smashing his mechs again.

Sonic also isn’t just any regular guy, and can’t always be judged as such. He’s a larger-than-life hero. He’s the embodiment of freedom, of endless adventure, of the power of friendship, of other idealized... well, ideals. This is the very core of his character. He’s the unshakably positive hero who never blinks in the face of danger, who the other, more realistically fallible characters can lean on. He’s a force of nature. He’s not perfect, and he doesn’t always handle things the right way, and other characters will bring up valid counterpoints to his way of life. Like other shounen heroes like Goku or Luffy, he might be a hero due to his actions, but he’s not concerned about being the world’s savior or its god. He doesn’t want to dictate how people live their lives. He leaves decisions about how to run society to other, smarter people, like the Restoration. He just wants to be free to go on adventures and to help his friends when they’re in need. His theme song spells out his whole deal, clear as day: It doesn’t matter who’s wrong and who’s right. He’s just living by his own feelings, and he won’t give in, won’t compromise. He only has a steadfast heart of gold.

Surge can’t stand this, though. The two just can’t see eye to eye. And so she zaps Sonic when he takes a time out in their fight to help her out of a chasm, getting the last laugh and seemingly falling to her doom. “That’s the real problem with giving people a choice,” Sonic solemnly says. “You can’t stop them from making the wrong ones.”

The Bigger Problem

Beyond any fandom bickering over how Sonic should or shouldn’t be characterized, though, this is part of a larger problem that I’ve seen way too frequently in recent years. Adults are engaging with genre fiction for children, and then getting upset when the child protagonists fail to model what they perceive as proper behavior for adults. Particularly, adults are seeing child protagonists learn to solve conflicts nonviolently, or even merely refusing to kill a villain, and interpreting this media as a political playbook for adults telling them that punching Nazis is bad.

That’s not to say that children’s media is never political, of course, or that you can never judge it through a political lens. (Back in the Archie days the direct political allegories were NOT subtle.) But just because some cartoon villains are obvious stand-ins for fascists doesn’t mean that every cartoon with a world-conquering villain is trying to tell you, an adult, how you should deal with fascists, or murderers, or whatever bad faith comparison critics on YouTube and Twitter want to make this time.

This will hopefully be insultingly obvious to most people reading this, but fiction isn’t always literally about the thing it’s depicting, or the closest real world equivalent. In genre fiction, and especially genre fiction for kids, reality is heightened. A fight for the fate of the city or the world or the universe isn’t necessarily about world-scale threats in real life like fascism, or even about real world violent conflicts in general. It’s often more about the emotions than what’s literally happening on screen. In a musical, when the emotions get too strong for words, they break out into song. In an action cartoon, when the emotions get too strong between conflicting characters, they fight. The fantastical violence is just the medium through which the story is conveyed. They trade blows and express their feelings.

Similarly, when the child hero in a series for children saves the day by hugging the right person, or when a villain is redeemed, or when Naruto espouses the power of friendship and uses Talk no Jutsu for the hundredth time, that isn’t telling you, a 30-year-old, that you can go out right now and save America by giving Mitch McConnell a hug. The morals of these stories aren’t necessarily supposed to apply to world-scale conflicts because children are not responsible for saving the world in real life. Instead, the lessons apply more to conflicts that children do deal with. Disputes with friends, or family members, or teachers. Things like that. It’s telling kids that hey, maybe you’ve been mean to people, maybe you’ve acted wrong, but you can learn from your mistakes and do better. That is what lessons about trying to resolve conflicts peacefully, talking about your feelings, empathizing with others, and giving people second chances are supposed to be about. They (usually) aren’t intended as political playbooks for adults telling you not to punch a Nazi, because the people telling these stories are probably hoping that adults aren’t modeling their political behavior after Cartoon Network and Shonen Jump.

But while I generally enjoy this compassionate take on the Sonic series, there is one part of the issue that felt weaker when it comes to the heroes showing compassion towards the villains.

Belle and Metal

If there’s one character from the games that I think Ian has always struggled with more than others, it’s probably Metal Sonic. Of course, not every writer is going to gel with every character, especially on a licensed series where you’re working with someone else’s cast. (Lord knows if I was to write a Sonic series I would play favorites lmao.) And Ian’s definitely put out some great Metal Sonic stories. But he’s also prone to boiling the character down to a simple killer robot for Sonic and co. to repeatedly defeat without any interiority.

Belle has also been a contentious character throughout this season. I’ll reiterate that I think Belle is great, and the big emotional beats with her have been strong. I would say the mixed response to Belle is primarily a matter of pacing, more than anything else. As Evan explained over on her blog, Belle's backstory was originally just going to be a short one-off. When the 2021 Annual was replaced with the Classic Sonic special, Belle’s story got turned into the main overarching subplot connecting the stories of the third season. I do like a lot of the storytelling this allowed for. The buildup to the reveals in the Test Run arc, and her ensuing tearful breakdown; her questioning of her very nature as a Badnik; her heroic moments in Trial by Fire where she’s finally able to prove herself. It’s good stuff! Character arcs like this are why original characters are added to the comics in the first place. But I can also see how the slow and somewhat repetitive rollout of information and emotional beats is a bit much over a year and a half of comics, and it was a little odd to have her stick around as the only consistent main character for every single arc of the season as soon as we met her. But I still enjoyed her arc this season as a whole.

No, where I start to be more mixed on the direction of Belle as a character is this issue. Previously, Belle had made it her mission to try and save as many Badniks as she could. I understand her motivation, and I do think this has potential to be a fun premise. Badniks are EXTREMELY underutilized in the tie-in fiction, and anyone in this corner of the fandom who’s following artists like Hydro knows how fun it is to have Badnik characters around.

But the problem is, of course... if we start to recognize the Badniks that Sonic destroys casually as people, doesn’t that make it wrong for him to destroy them?

I guess it depends on the context, and how it’s executed in the future. Like, Motobud was fine because that’s not just A Motobug, but one that was specifically reprogrammed by Mr. Tinker to be friendly. But what’s Belle’s endgame here? Where is the line drawn between robots that need to be saved and simple obstacles for Sonic to pop in action sequences?

To me, we start to see the cracks in issue #50 with Belle’s attempts to save Metal Sonic. Metal is certainly no stranger to redemption arcs and characters trying to see the good in him - the OVA basically defined him as a character. But still. It’s admirable for Belle to see a robot who’s hurt and want to help, but the sympathy shown for Metal is laying it on a bit thick for me given Ian’s usual characterization of him as a missile with legs. Sonic already let him go once early in the series, but that was specifically because he thought Eggman was gonna remain Mr. Tinker forever at the time, and he and Tails also made sure not to restore his full fighting abilities. (”We’re compassionate, not stupid.”) But in this very different context, with a very different character, it’s just... eh, it didn’t sell me on this as a wise use of Belle’s compassion. If she wants to help the “abandoned” Eggman bots, Metal is very much not one of those. He just happened to have been hurt by Surge when they found him.

Not the end of the world, but it’s the weak part of what’s otherwise an amazing issue, and I worry that Belle showing complete and total sympathy towards every Eggman robot may get old fast. But, like I said, it will depend entirely on the execution. Maybe she’ll only single out the oddballs like herself and Motobud. It may not even be a huge element of the story moving forward, since I know Evan’s outright said Belle would be taking more of a backseat now that her initial arc is completed. (It also seems like Eggman wants to take advantage of the fact that she interfaced with Metal, so her kindness here may backfire...)

If anything, though, I do like the little awkward family reunion where Belle is telling Eggman that she’s done hoping he’ll go back to being Mr. Tinker and is gonna go live her own life and Metal is just kind of standing there because he won’t attack another Eggman creation.

Anyway! I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned the giant robot fight

Starline’s Final Comeuppance

Sonic’s ideals, as explained in his fight with Surge, are also directly contrasted with Starline as he fights Eggman. Sonic stands for personal freedom, for better or worse, but Starline stands for total control, even more so than Eggman. He tries to manipulate people and the very story he exists in to steer everyone in the totalitarian direction he thinks is best. Anything outside of his narrative doesn’t matter. Even as Eggman is fighting him in a giant mech, he’s still under the impression that his actions are justified, that Eggman will be okay with being a pawn in his scheme so long as they get their happy ending ruling the world.

Instead, he loses a sick-ass mech fight, he’s humiliated worse than ever before, and then he dies!

I actually didn’t read it as a death at first because being crushed by rubble is such an easy “death” to write around, and it’s, you know, a comic book. Nobody stays dead in comic books. (We already know Surge survives this issue, regardless of how it looked.) But Ian did, indeed, intend for this to be Starline’s death. He also admits that that’s not entirely up to him since he’s not the only person making story decisions, so I won’t be surprised if he comes back in a year or two. Regardless, as much as I like the character, this is probably the most fitting death Starline possibly could have had. He thought he could outsmart Eggman, and the very nature of the series he’s in. Some readers, too, have accused Ian of writing Eggman as too much of a bumbling oaf in the IDW comics, especially with Starline always pointing out his mistakes. Even the marketing for this arc seems to have played into this, asking if Eggman would “bumble his way to a victory”

All this for the ultimate slam dunk in this issue where Ian definitively reminds us that, even if he can never beat Sonic... no one else can definitively beat Eggman, either.

Because Eggman fucking rules

I said at the top that Starline is damned because he doesn’t understand people as well as he thinks he does. He creates Surge and Kit as dark and deeply broken reflections of Sonic and Tails because he so fundamentally misunderstands how their dynamic works. He thinks he understands Eggman, too, but he doesn’t. He may consider himself Eggman’s #1 fan, but he’s a toxic fanboy with faulty criticisms. He’s CinemaSins. He focuses on the details and the logic, he nitpicks, and he thinks he could do everything better if given the opportunity. He thinks he understands the nature of the series he’s in, but he fails to see the big pictures, the heart. He doesn’t understand why Sonic is really the hero beyond his strength and bravado. He doesn’t understand why Tails is a hero beyond his ability to support Sonic. And he doesn’t understand why, despite his many mistakes, Eggman will always endure as the true big bad of this world. And this leads to his downfall at the hands of his idol

I could say more about this issue and the ones that lead to it! I have obviously already said way too much. I’m gonna cut it off here!

Even with all the hype to live up to, this was an extremely satisfying issue of Sonic. One of the best in a long, long time. This one’s gonna stick with people. I have my quibbles, but it really has it all. Action, humor, drama, heart, stunning artwork, and a whole lot of character work to think about. Can’t really ask for more, can I?

#tkp post

[isaksbestpillow]

is japan a sexist country in general? because damn some questions that i read in japanese actors' interviews are crazyyyyy the cultural shock is harsh like wdym you don't want women to be "too independent"? lol

short answer: yes, very.

of course there is sexism in all countries. finland constantly comes on top in happiness and gender equality rankings, but when sanna marin became the prime minister in 2019 it highlighted so much sexism that had remained under the surface. a 30-something woman can become the prime minister in finland, but there will be people trying to undermine and attack her skills and character every step of the way. so i'm well aware sexism is a problem everywhere, but japan has a particularly poor track record in dismantling it.

if you look at rankings or statistics, in 2023 japan ranked 125h out of 146 countries in the global gender gap ranking, well behind south korea and china. what's even worse, they ranked 116th the previous year, meaning things have not been improving at all, or if they have, it's been too slow. i don't know if you're familiar with the parks and recreation episode where they create an all male panel to discuss gender equality, but that's how it is in japan. a bunch of grandpas in the room wondering why the population keeps declining, year after year. there are few women in positions of power, be it politics or business. foreigners say how safe they feel on the streets, which may be true, but sexual harassment at workplaces is rampant and really hard to report.

i don't mean that every japanese individual is sexist, but you're very much surrounded by sexist narratives and representations. if you look at talk shows on tv, it's older men talking and pretty young women reacting. a couple of weeks ago i saw a news clip of an annual award given to female celebrities with beautiful legs. the pressure to be pretty or act in a certain way can be quite consuming. it only stops once your children are grownup and you have proved yourself as a woman. 女子力 literally means girl power, but it doesn't mean what spice girls said it means. it means to be skilled in performing femininity.

i can't comment on that interview without knowing the context, but i'm not super surprised some actor might say that. japanese male celebs disappoint you all the time lol. i'm still gonna go not all men here, because not all men. my spouse is a lovely person who hopes i'll make more money than him one day so he can quit his job and focus on housekeeping. i remember one anecdote from his work when he was washing the tea cups and his older coworker said why are you doing that, leave that for the women. it isn't only women who suffer from this strict framework, it's everyone who doesn't meet the expectations of masculinity or femininity.

that was a lot of poorly constructed rambling, but i will leave you with this thought: as matters stand, a woman can never become the emperor of japan, the symbol of the nation.

#asks

[schro4444]

It's just hitting me again that Kaito's a superb actor- barely anyone's looking at him in half those panels yet he's still keeping the act, like damn.

The panel in which he gives Nakamori the bugged tie clip is giving me pause though - I know he winds up Aoko all the time by poking fun at her dad, but it's just hitting me that Kaito has never actually made fun of Nakamori about this to his face, and that like. In his job as magic consultant he's never ACTUALLY lied to Nakamori?? The speech about misdirection in the heist with Princess Anne was true, and if KID hadn't been aware it was coming I bet the lack of ppl to disguise into WOULD have given him trouble, AND the "as long as no one lifts the lid everything will be fine" in the Nightmare heist was ALSO true- he had to lift the lid in disguise to get to the earrings lmao. You were actually SO big brained to have him be involved in a case with magic that doesn't have anything to do with KID in Ditto, I bet Kaito's a great help when they're not consulting him about himself.

Aoko also accepting the bugged tie pin without a single shred of surprise is a bit odd though, Kaito always acts grouchy when someone claims to be better than Kid. Not that she isn't a clever enough girl to notice that Kaito only says stuff he KNOWS will get her revved up, but she has a track record of taking some of those things to heart.... where do you figure Aoko draws the line between "he's doesn't really mean that" (talking shit abt Inspector nakamori) and "he means it"?(refusing the date or crumpling when Kaito said she sucked at skiing. Like girl, he sucks at ice skating and you don't hesitate to tell him! Have some confidence!)

the kurobas are masters of Committing To The Bit!!! toichi committed to the bit for twelve years—

—anyway I think it just goes to show how the kind of acting he does is like… more than skin-deep, because it has to be. you gotta fully place yourself into the headspace of the person you’re “becoming” (even if that person is just an alt version of you) otherwise the disguise is incomplete, because it’s just a disguise >:D

AND YEAH!! honestly kaito is sorta funny about when he straight-up lies and when he doesn’t, probably because half-truths are Wayyyy easier to make convincing, but also bc he’s just Like That. off the top of my head (so take this w a grain of salt lol) I think he really only outright lies to aoko most of the time, because he Needs to. for hakuba and akako, and for nakamori, he can dance around topics, with the only blatant lie being “im not kid :/ “

thank you :D !! he’s totally helpful for Literally Anything Else. magic tricks are,,, surprisingly applicable!

ACTUALLY YEAH… where DOES she? I think it might be like,,, jokes that kaito has already proved to her that he doesn’t really mean. it’s not hard to see that he actually respects nakamori quite a bit, and aoko would be able to tell that, esp with how often kaito’s at their house. whereas with the skiing and the date, she doesn’t have any proof in his actions that he isn’t being serious, maybe? it might also be partly that during the timing of canon, aoko’s more reactive to things kaito does bc she can tell he’s pulled away from her a bit. if she’s thinking that way, it could make small joking comments into much bigger deals for her, since any of them could be jokes, but could also be a sign that something is Wrong here

#he deserves to be bullied and she deserves to bully him!! #dcmk #mk #schrasks

[norcumii]

Are you by any chance familiar with the Silmarillion? I read the tag "spirit of fire" at the bottom of the post about Killmonger and Zuko without reading the rest first, and couldn't help but think of Feanor (in case you don't know of him but are somewhat familiar with LotR, Galadriel's extremely spicy half-uncle who, among other things, invented divorce for Tolkien-Elves)

Short and probably most useful answer: Only in passing due to the fact that several Star Wars mutuals are also LotR fans. I watched a movie and gave some books a try, but it was never my bag, really. I wholeheartedly applaud anyone who gets into it and enjoys that level of Lore and worldbuilding; it just doesn't play well with my brain.

I recognize Feanor's name! :D That is a wildly delightful description, thank you!

long answer:

Look, back in high school, one summer The Hobbit was on the reading list. I hated everything else that was an option, and went for this.

The fact that I had to fake a book report was the only reason I got through it. The writing style was...not a good fit, and I had the damnedest time retaining information about names (which I'm admittedly not good at anyways). Some of that might have been for medical reasons, but regardless, I Did Not Get It.

Then one day the three guys I played D&D with were VERY EXCITED that there was now a MOVIE did I want to come with them to a midnight showing of The Fellowship of the Ring??? :D :D :D

I was genuinely just delighted to be included, so sure! I had a fun time in a full theater, still couldn't keep track of anyone's name, and the number of Dark Brooding Heroes + difficulties with facial recognition meant I still had difficulty with who was who.

But it WAS wildly pretty and my buds were excited, so I figured hey, if I tried reading the book I at least had something visual to compare to and maybe that would help!

For the record, Tumblr has been WILDLY helpful in explaining something I had no context for, that being WHY Tolkien was so fixated upon describing the green green trees, in the greenest forests to ever green, which at the time drove me halfway to despair. WITH said context, I think I'd have appreciated it more, but at the time I was just a cloud of questionmarks instead of going 'wow this is a fascinating trauma response to the Trenches.'

And I could not at ALL get my head around all the songs in the book. Like, my brain was dead-set 110% CERTAIN that if you are giving me song lyrics, it WILL be relevant by the end of the book but thanks to the movie I knew it WASN'T and I had three obsessed people who ABSOLUTELY WOULD have been frothing at the mouth if that plot line had been cut so WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING.

I asked one of them after I deathmarched my way through the book how on earth he dealt with all the songs and I'm pretty sure I hallucinated the 'someone sings a song about someone singing a song in which Some Historical Figure sang a song and here's the elvish lyrics' since that wasn't his kind of thing, and he had the temerity to give me a baffled look and go "oh, you just skip those. Skim until it gets back to plot again."

I didn't engage in bodily harm, but I don't think that's how it's supposed to go. Also, I would've liked to know that BEFORE reading the damn thing!!!!!

ANYway! So please, I cannot overstate how very, VERY much awe I have for folks who are willing and able to read and enjoy that times ten, which is what I understand the Silmarillion to be. That to me is a true Feat, which I shall admire from a long distance.

#conversation #everythinghappenssomewhere #lotr #people being awesome #sorry to disappoint #one of these days I ought to watch the other movies #>_>

[mittenwonders]

A Good Self Concept is a Good Life

I had a lot going on last year and honestly this year has been off to a rocky start too. It’s easy to get back into a funk sometimes, but that’s life right? You can’t appreciate the highs without the lows. But after a while when it seems like anything that could go wrong is happening around me, I know I’ve gotten off track in my mindset. So time to refocus and work on some improvement. We all can use some improvement right, so I thought I would share what works for me with others who might be interested.

I truly do believe in the law of assumption. Notice I said assumption, not attraction! Anyone who tries to sell you law or attraction garbage is after a quick cash grab. You do not need to be in some high vibration or happy all the time in order to get anything you want. Who the hell can be happy 24/7? We’re not robots! However it’s your mindset and how you view your world. If you haven’t, read up on Neville Goddard. He’s kinda the godfather of law of assumption though I’m sure it dates back further; he just happened to be the one who coined the term and really dug into it. Just like Newtons laws of motion: a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion, the law of assumption is anything you assume to be true is true.

So if you think you’re beautiful, then you are! And people will compliment you nonstop. If you truly believe you’re a great painter, you will be and people will scramble to buy your work. This concept can be applied to anything. Ever notice other coworkers will talk about that jerk Sarah, but you’ll say “oh I don’t know, Sarah has always been nice to me.” That’s the law. You assume Sarah is nice and she is….to you. Neville talks about a ladder technique. If you imagine climbing up and down a ladder, eventually at some point over the next hours to few days, you will start to see a ladder almost anywhere you look. If you think about a friend you haven’t spoken to a while and think of how great it’d be to hear from them, chances are they will call or text. It’s not coincidence but your subconscious manifesting these desires.

Honestly it’s the easiest thing. Manifesting has turned into a lifestyle for me as it has for thousands of others. However it does take discipline and focus. It’s easy to manifest free food or a close parking spot but a lot of people struggle with other areas. I always say the fastest way to get anything you want is to focus on yourself first.

In order to become a master at the law, you need a great self concept. Self love is the key to unlocking almost anything in your life. I won’t sugar coat it but it is not easy at first. I fell off the bandwagon countless times yelling why isn’t this working?! I think we all have things we don’t like about ourselves or we wish were different. But you have to shift from the negative thinking to positive when it comes to you. If you pass by a mirror, give yourself some compliments. Tell yourself what you love about yourself: “Damn my hair is perfect today! My skin is flawless!” My personal favorite: “damn look at dat ass!” And I don’t mean just self appearance either. Compliment yourself throughout the day on other things. You’re such a nice person! Everyone loves you! You’re so talented at playing guitar. You’re a good cook!

Affirmations for me have been the key. I robotically affirm nonstop throughout the day when I’m doing tasks that don’t require much thought like taking a shower or washing dishes. Pick 1-3 affirmations of things you want to focus on and just loop it in your head. Your affirmations should also be in present tense like you already have it. So say you have acne prone skin you want to change. Your affirmation should be: I have perfect clear skin. Make sense? You say as if you have it already.

You’ll sound like a broken record to yourself but the key is doing enough repetitions that your brain creates new neural pathways. Your conscious mind that is saying these affirmations will ingrain into your subconscious where you will no longer have to focus or think if this is true or not. Your subconscious will automatically just know “wow you have a great skin!” And what happens with the law? Your skin starts to improve to what you affirmed for. You can do this with self love with just repeating “I love myself” over and over. I promise it works! It’s a bit like cognitive behavioral therapy in a way without all the medical terms. You just get to have fun creating the life you want like you’re in a Lego store.

I also promise whatever you affirm for will come to you without fail. If 1 million people need to move for you to get what you want, 1 million people will move. The universe is always following the law and working in your favor. The universe is perfect in that regard. It might not happen overnight but do not give up!! I have had things happen within 3 days before of affirming nonstop. You can decide how quickly things work for you! 😉

See when you love yourself and have a healthy concept of who you are, you believe in yourself more and know that you deserve everything you want. So when you say man I want free coffee, it’s easier to manifest it into your world. If you write down attributes that you want in a partner, that person will eventually show up unexpectedly. If you truly believe you’re the best at this, then you will be. And whatever you decide you want becomes yours.

I can’t begin to explain the importance of self love. It’s the root of who you are and will carry into every aspect of your life from career, relationships, finances and more. When you take the time to work on yourself and build that confidence, your surroundings change like magic.

And all of this is backed by scientific study as well for the ones who want some type of evidence or proof. You can find countless studies online but this one is my favorite.

Dr. Masaru Emoto's experiments on water molecules actually proved that our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and intentions could physically change the molecular structure of water. For example, the crystals formed with water introduced to words of “love and gratitude” were clear, big, and beautiful versus the crystals formed with words of “hate, sadness, violence” that were chaotic and sharp.

We are all energy made of atoms and these change depending on your very own thought pattern. I am part of a group on FB and I have even see people use the law for body appearance changes such as getting a slimmer nose without plastic surgery. You can literally alter your own DNA. Whatever you think, has to happen. But the key is repetition, self love and just knowing it is yours. That’s the truth!

Happy manifesting y’all!! 🥳 Go love yourselves and live your best life!!

#law of assumption #manifesting #manifesation #nevile goddard #masaru emoto #self love #self concept

[sendmyresignation]

what do you consider to be the best metal albums of all time? or your favs!

this ask has terrorized me all morning. thank you, and i mean this from the bottom of my heart, for sending it to me so i can talk about metal.

I am going to separate this into best, as in the classics i think hold up the best/are the most complete, and then my favorites (obv there is overlap but i'll ignore it).

Top 5 "Best" Metal Albums- the records you find on retrospectives and blog lists:

Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath. Not only a historic achievement of an album (the definitive point in which metal, for sure, existed) but also, i truly belive the best Sabbath record. The opening track itself is good enough everything else could be joke covers of the beach boys and I'd still put it here (they're also very good though. GOD. the wizard slaps)

Master of Puppets- Metallica. I know. I know. It's just solid all the way through, not a bad track, incredible opener and fantastic instrumental, everyone's said it all.

South of Heaven- Slayer. Again, undeniable. The Slayer record with the most literal heft and, well the closest thing to maturity the asshats of Slayer can achieve. The speed and ferocity of Reigh In Blood is still very good but over in a blink of an eye, while Heaven gives you more to be pummeled by. different kinds of anger.

Don't Break the Oath- Mercyful Fate. One of those true, blue perfect records, while also being beautifully cheesy. Like if a campy 80s movie about naked sacrifices to Satan was... really good with gorgeous cinematography. edges out Melissa by the narrowest margins (production is more suited for their style, giving the guitars an edge and putting the vocals front and center)

Live After Death- Iron Maiden. I love Maiden so much but their albums always have one or two duds. even if they didn't, though, live after death would probably smoke them anyway- it's that good. getting to hear phantom of the opera in dickenson's voice... i like di'anno but that song deserved Theatre

I love all of these records, many of them are what got me into metal so if you are looking for a high-qualiy place to start...

But I'll put my favorites under a read more lmao

These I would consider my top ten favorite albums at this given moment:

Stained Class- Judas Priest (the best priest. to me. i got my pentagram stomach tat on her 45th anniversary <3)

Thundersteel- Riot (rock city might edge this one out but that records barely metal at all. THIS is the pinnacle if power metal- in the old school uspm speedy way. incredible vocals, ripping speed, and its good from start to end)

Rock Goddess- Rock Goddess (something about this record....standard nwobhm fair but there's a surprising variety in the songs emotional center- it's all love and sex but it encapsulates a lot more humanity than most- different kinds of passion, heartbreak, desperation. and it ROCKS)

Operation: Mindcrime- Queensryche (greatest of all time. thee concept album. nothing else to say)

Black Metal- Venom (venom, if you catch me on the right day, is probably my favorite band. i love first wave black metal- it sounds like shit, it's lost all the edge in the intervening years, and yet. and fucking yet. they threw together something special.)

Behind the Realms of Madness- Sacrilege (crusty thrashy goodness. i love everything sacrilege has done, including their doomier late career, but the energy on this is wild. beat out detente on this list so if you like them, youll like sacrilege)

Feel the Fire- Overkill (overkill, by the band overkill, is the best thrash song of all time. well. maybe not but it's fucking undeniable. this overkill has the best energy of any of their albums, even if the others are more well-known)

Darkness Decends- Dark Angel (metal that sounds like shit eats punk that sounds like shit for breakfast)

The Blueprints for Madness- Deceased... (one of my favorite old school death metal records, mostly for the strange grind touches. it could be shorter but damn.)

All Creatures Great and Eaten- Nuclear Death (stands toe-to-toe with mindcrime at the top of my list. strange and depraved in the best possible way. lori bravo is the best to ever do it)

Dommedagsnatt- Thorr's Hammer (im just so enamored with this one- def the record here I've spent the most time on. death/doom done so right)

Sagrada Tierra Del Jaguar- Yaotl Mictlan (the black metal/folk thing usually sucks bc the people making it are white pagan nazis and shit. but, globally, there's been some very cool indigenous bands who have incorporated precolonial music traditions in their black metal as a result. yaotl mictlan, a band with prehispanic themes and instrumentation, is prob my favorite of these bands, easily.)

Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!- Vile Creature (idk why this made me cry but any doom/sludge capable of that deserves a spot on my favorites)

Some new bands that could grow onto this list: Smoulder, Messa, Blood Star, SONJA, Negative Plane, Dilly Dally (rip to the queens), and Melissa!

Anyway! Hopefully this ask gives you, anon, (or anyone for that matter) something new to enjoy :))

#thank you again sorry this is so much 😔 #i got excited!! #you can and should listen to any of the albums btw #igottheanswer #anon #music recs

[mollmom]

Hey! I’m fairly new to the fandom, and within the past couple of weeks saw my first J2 post and was reeled in haha. I had no idea about any of this (and am still learning a lot of course) but it felt so crazy that right away I was like damn okay I can actually see this being true lol. 

Your blog seemed like one of the most knowledgable and your answers are always very kind and you explain things really well, so I figured this might be a safe space to ask this because I don’t think I’ve seen much on it!

I’ve seen the timelines of things that happened in the past, and read the “speak the truth” blog that looks like it ended in 2013 or so. Of course a lot has gone down from then to now, but I guess I was wondering is there anything that points you to feel like they’re still together today? I’ll readily agree that their marriages don’t look happy (Jared’s wife’s post are big time cringe), but I feel like I don’t necessarily see a lot of those intimate touches or slips or anything from recent cons as I’ve seen scrolling through old ones. 

And if they are together, what do you think keeps them from coming out? And I’m not asking from a standpoint of just society’s perceptions impacting careers because I intimately understand how that can unfortunately change things (especially with how different the world was when they first met), but do you think that it’s just gone too far for them to get out? Or do you think they’re worried of how it might impact the perception of the Supernatural series? Or do you think they’re just waiting for the right time? 

Hey there! Welcome to the craziness that is Supernatural and J2! It’s a unique experience and it can be a roller coaster!

I’m glad you took the time to read “Speak the Truth”, it has a lot of tinhat history and is a good jumping off point for the J2 tinhat story.

To answer your questions, yes, I absolutely think they are together still. Last con’s main panel (Torcon) really had a lot of clues if you know what to look for, ie: why did Jensen’s shirt “fall off”? Protective Jensen was also out in full force as Jared was feeling emotional. Also, if you start following their patterns, there are blocks of time where neither of the boys are seen at all. These are times you can pretty much assume they are together. You may not know it then, but inevitably some fan posts a pic of of one or the other and you can sus out where they are. Of course most fans don’t pay much attention.

As for them coming out, I think there are many pieces to the puzzle of why they aren’t out. Some have to do with TPTB at CW way back when, when they couldn’t be together in the open bc they played brothers. SPN is also very popular in countries where LBGTQ + community is unfortunately illegal. This would definitely effect distribution, etc. Hollywood is also not the greatest for the LQTB+ community (although they think they are). Many people are still not out and HW has a bad track record in regards to bearding. Then you have the marriages and kids to consider, the lies they have to tell, etc. Also, a lot of fans just think they are hetero and have a visceral reaction to anyone saying they aren’t. Frankly, that’s a lot to face for anyone, and they may never come out. Only time will tell. I hope that someday they will be able to overcome all the obstacles and be free to show their true selves.

In the meantime all we can do is support them and their careers and if they do come out let them know we love them ❤️.

Thanks so much for liking my blog! I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, but I’m back! Thank you for your question!

#mollmom answers #j2tinhat

[incarnateirony]

Found 2po's super secret source.

She tweeted it out on twitter.

She's literally just another M&G con brat like 2po being sold shit as a consumer and they're all falling for it again, god bless.

Anyway I can't wait for all of 2po's super secret info drops of butchered information next week:

Will you guys PLEASE stop talking to 2po. Not even for me. Just he sucks so fucking hard we find you in like 2 minutes he's gonna fuck your whole world up jesus christ how are you all so lame

Imagine being so cringe you not only pay money to ask them that in a M&G, but expect them to answer honestly while you are in fact paying them for the J2 brand. My god. The stupidity is astounding. Literally just a fundamental lack of understanding of not just this show, or TV, but like, how the world in GENERAL works, holy CHRIST. How do these people not get disappeared in dark alleys being this gullible.

2po's source is SO VERY IN THE KNOW GUYS! He swears. She knows J2 so well she PAYS TO SEE THEM JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. But she's paid a LOT. And obviously, that couldn't be lack of intelligence. That just must mean she really knows them, right, right?

You wanna know why that lane sucks ass at intel? It's because they're this fucking dense. What an absolute clown show. And yet again, 2po's "sources" are revealed to be a circle jerk of nobody consumers in meet and greets, when it isn't a twitter thread, or reddit post, or clickbait article.

I genuinely don't understand how ANYBODY isn't embarrassed to follow him when time and time again he's just shown to be a fraud vaguing his way through shit to sound important. I don't care how much you hate me, or the Winchesters, there HAS to be a limit to how far you grovel at the feet of someone you KNOW is faking at every single turn being proven to be a vagueblogged crosspost from somewhere else he tries to sound special or connected for, and never pans out true, but they keep filing in to hear what they want. Jesus christ. Get some fucking dignity.

2po being this bad with info is also HOW Gayle and Suzanne got busted. I know hookerwitch is trying to delete history like this didn't go viral in front of a couple hundred people while confirmed by MULTIPLE M&G participants even publicly, and/or is letting all of tumblr know how gullible she is, one or the other, but like. Damn. Jesus. Why do you even use this guy. You guys are all dumb but he's like your crem-de-la-crem of incompetence and fucks you up every time. Like the perfect highlighter I get to use all the time to show how you guys are all smoke and mirrors. Big neon yellow lines through your shit.

You guys big mad that 2po fucked up your lies again and made it well recorded? Start taking it up with him. These are his shits he keeps leaving in the pool and the skittles trail only leads one way. If you want people to stop being able to track you straight down to your bullshit, maybe don't work through a braindead goblin that blows up all your lies, plans, twists, spins, rewrites, and everything else.

If you're gonna have a propaganda account in fandom, at least TRY to look competent. But it's too late to put that cat back in the bag, witchy. CE know. TPTB know. Everyone knows. It's just widened the list of people they're looking to expunge, and those people are starting to feel it, displayed by their own shifting attendance. It's over, you lost. Go home. And maybe you should do something about 2po before his incompetence burns down the few things you love that might be left after the transition.

[declanlikesmusic]

Today's Listens: Episode 002

August 6th, 2023

Welcome back to the series! I hope that as I write more of these and document my growing thoughts on music & albums, we all come to acknowledge that while you may disagree with me on some takes more than others, we would all best come together to civilly discuss our collective love for the music that we're passionate for.

That said, this is a content warning for graphic imagery, specifically on the cover art for this first album. If you're not a fan of gross bodily organs and stuff, don't worry, neither am I.

Nirvana – In Utero (1993)

I'm kicking off today with me accepting the fact that I'm not a big In Utero guy. I know this album has often seen reappraisal as considered by a great deal of music peeps to be Nirvana's best album, but I'm personally firmly in the Nevermind camp, even though my last revisit of that album wasn't as infatuated. That said, while I wasn't keen on the raw recordings of this album at first, I grew to be more based and accustomed to it in the years since, leading to some damn good enjoyment nonetheless. It's a very good album all the same and I respect the status that it has, especially today.

6.9 / 10

Highlights: Heart-Shaped Box, Very Ape, Milk It, All Apologies

t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 – アンドロメダ (2014)

I'm taking my sweet ass time with Telepath's massive discography of legendary vaporwave & slushwave music, but coming back to this one in particular was a shockingly pleasant surprise. I've always seen this as one of his most meditative albums, but I didn't recall it having actual music much on my first listen. So coming back to this, I can't believe I walked away with so many highlights. This thing is gorgeous; it gives you a ton of memorable short-term melodies and some beautiful deep cuts that run much longer and justifiably so. This might go down as one of my favourite Telepath albums, to be honest, but I still just can't wait to get the rest of his big heavy-hitters out of the way like this one.

7.8 / 10

Highlights: 空に光、いつも、二、アトラクション、不思議、蒸気涙

Gupi – None (2020)

So after work was a non-starter due to the weather, I headed right back home after lunch and rolled upon this record that I had heard all the way back when it came out. Many were hooked onto this, not just because of what this producer was making, but also because of who he even was. Goes to show you the true, unbridled power of nepotism. Speaking of non-starters, the opening title track was a deeply unpleasant first impression to me, but I was pleasantly surprised (again) that the rest of the record picked right up from there and remained consistently decent throughout, even great in spots towards the end. Bubblegum bass (and subsequently hyperpop) were running completely wild during the days of 100 gecs, so it was only natural for this young talent to bust through with this debut and have me have a decent time with it as well. I just don't look forward to revisiting his duo project with Fraxiom, that one was rough when I heard it, even if his track here was good too. I also really liked the refrain on False Awakening as well.

6.5 / 10

Highlights: Driving Directly Into a Concrete Wall, Regression, Faking It, False Awakening

N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton (1988)

For my 1,312th rating on my second RateYourMusic account, I thought I'd finally tune into one of the most respected and critically acclaimed rap albums of all time, not to mention among the most controversial records of the 80s and good for it too. The first two cuts off this album are iconic, though I've always been more of a Fuck tha Police type of person myself, and after that, Parental Discretion iz Advised and Express Yourself are great listens too. God, this drops off hard though. The last four tracks of the main album were a slog, from their Compton's n the House remix to the closer Quiet on tha Set. Every beat was far too scant & repetitive for my liking, especially at the runtimes they were given and tracks like I Ain't tha 1 especially had some lyrical clunkers that read as childish. Still, this was a fine time with some prime cuts, but just way more underwhelming by the end of it.

6.4 / 10

Highlights: Straight Outta Compton, Fuck tha Police, If it Ain't Ruff, Parental Discretion iz Advised, Express Yourself

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

I remember some time last year when I was trying to pull myself out of the rut of music listening burnout, I tuned in to a pair of Arctic Monkeys records with a friend/carer of mine. This excessively long-titled album was one of the two, the other being the excessively short-titled AM. I ended up preferring and even loving AM by comparison, but that doesn't (nor should it) undermine this debut album's accomplishments, especially as it's still very good to this day and has some exceptional highlights coming out of it. I thought to return to it just to have a simple good fuck rock time and I got exactly that. God bless the Arctic Monkeys for giving me exactly what I expected.

7.1 / 10

Highlights: The View From the Afternoon, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Fake Tales of San Francisco, Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But…, A Certain Romance

Rollergirl! – I Love You, Rollergirl! (2014)

Keats Collective as a label was the birthplace of future funk as a genre, thanks to acts like Saint Pepsi, Macross 82-99, Flamingosis, Lancaster and yes, Rollergirl getting a spotlight all over their formative years. This is currently the last EP Rollergirl has put out after their popular Self-Titled got buzz in the scene, but I'm certainly not as thrilled about this one. Compared to that previous EP, this record lacks a lot of the energy and tempo that I would've hoped to carry over. It felt a lot more homogenised and sterile by comparison, but I still really appreciated bits and pieces, like the opener, the closer (especially) and the part in I Love You by the end where the sample was chopped to sing out the album title. It's good and if you're curious, I wouldn't stray away from it. Like with rollerskates.

7.0 / 10

Highlights: Boogie Down, I Love You, Last Night

Yes – Close to the Edge (1972)

I've been meaning to revisit this record for the longest time now and I finally put my foot down to retry it. I really loved this record when I first heard it, but I can't say that I adore it as much as I appreciate it now still. It remains a wonderfully crafted record, but I've never been able to fawn over the title track and its segments until the last one. It's the B-side of this record that almost completely sold me and while it didn't win me all the way over in the end, I was still very happy with what I heard. If you wanna get into progressive rock, this is still one of the greatest places to start.

7.4 / 10

Highlights: And You and I, Siberian Khatru

INTERNET CLUB – DELUXE (2011)

Finally, to conclude the night, I wanted to listen to something very obsure, almost dark while eerie, ominous and mysteriously short. Who better to turn to for that than the one who made ▣世界から解放され▣？This super short, almost 15-minute offering was the first of a strange trilogy of pioneering broken transmission mini-albums and while I strongly admired ▣世界から解放され▣ for what it contributed to the scene, I ended up falling out of that same appreciation for the finale NHK REMINDS YOU TO BOOST YOUR SIGNAL. Returning to this album though was a complete shock to me; despite the rough start, when it got to the title track, I was in complete love with the looping sample and as the rest of the record went on, Robin displays hit after hit with chopped up vaporwave tunes and mystifying glitches. It ended up being my favourite of the three by a very good margin! Obviously, I don't expect this one to click with everybody, but if this intrigues you and you've already dipped your toes into the broken transmission or signalwave subgenres, I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy this one! Except NO MORE MONO, that one was uncomfortable.

7.9 / 10

Highlights: NIGHT DRIVE, DELUXE, ONLY IN DREAMS, SHARPER DUB, HEARTS (NIGHT DRIVE, PART TWO)

So that was a lot that I listened to today, but I had a ton of fun with it! Let me know what you thought of any of these albums and what I should try in the near future! Thank you so much for reading and stay gay!

#today's listens #music #music community #music review #music recommendation #nirvana #grunge #alternative rock #noise rock #telepath #vaporwave #vaporwave music #slushwave #gupi #bubblegum bass #hyperpop #nwa #straight outta compton #gangsta rap #hip hop #west coast hip hop #rap music #rap #arctic monkeys #indie rock #garage rock revival #rollergirl #future funk #yes band #progressive rock

[pleasurebuttonwrites]

the privateer & me

Chapter 3 sturmhond x ofc | 1.7k | rating: teen Masterlist

Rumors fly after Saskia's dinner with Captain Sturmhond

author's note: this is set prior to the events of shadow & bone. later chapters will contain smut. content: no warnings

~~~

A few days had gone by without me seeing him. And it was agonizing. I did everything but march up to his quarters and knock on the door. Which would have really gotten people talking — and I didn’t need that. The morning after our dinner, the gossiper of the Volkvolny, Anya, cornered me as I arrived for my shift in the galley. She asked about my night and I could swear everyone leaned in about an inch to hear better. I told her I would tell her later, but I didn’t plan on telling her anything. If rumors were going to spread, they wouldn’t be seeded by the truth. 

Unfortunately, it only served to make it all the more mysterious — and therefore interesting — to everyone. I was nearly tempted to set the record straight, but I didn’t want it getting back to the captain that I had said anything. By then the message would more than likely get warped and then he’d think I’d said something I definitely hadn’t.

I wanted to talk to him myself. I needed to understand what happened. What if my turning away, well, turned him away? Was that it? I hadn’t kissed him when he wanted and he just dropped me without a word? Even though we’d had such a wonderful time together? I tried to put him out of my mind, but I had really felt something. I didn’t want to believe that he’d be this way.

I would find excuses to be above deck. I practically haunted the spot that he first asked me to dinner, but then I would feel pathetic and I would go back to my bunk. But all that was waiting for me there was this damn book that I still was not able to read. I had been so excited about it, but every time I picked it up, my thoughts were consumed with him, and I was trying expressly not to think of him. So it sat there unread, while I paced trying desperately to distract myself.

By the fourth day, the rumors changed. As we hadn’t been seen together again, people were saying we had become more secretive, but I also heard that we “fizzled” out. I was afraid the latter might actually be true.

Finally, I felt like I had a normal day again. I was not consumed with thoughts about him. Oh it came and went, but I was able to enjoy things here and there and my focus was back. I even entertained the idea of starting the book when I was finished with work for the day.

So of course, that was exactly the day that when I left the galley to return to my bunk, the captain was waiting for me in the corridor. I was so stunned I stopped in my tracks and just stared at him. 

“Miss Zimová,” he said with a head nod.

A few others emerged from the galley and when they saw us, they gave us looks and started excitedly whispering as they walked away. It made me so angry, I walked right past him. I realized that as the captain, I was supposed to show him more respect than that. There was a part of me that wondered if I would be censured for that but my pride wouldn’t let me backtrack, so I just kept on going.

I wasn’t sure if he was following me at first. Was that disappointment I felt? But then I heard his footsteps and I could swear I could feel the exact spot on my back that he was staring at. I got to the part of the ship where I could go left and go back to my bunk or go right to the storage area — where no one would be. As I approached, I told myself to go left. That nothing good could come of going right. Left, and my life went back to the way it was. Eventually the talk would die down and everyone would forget about that one time I dined with the captain. 

But then I was at the end of the corridor and, without stopping, my feet took me to the right. I strained to pick up any telltale sounds from his footsteps. Did he falter when I turned? Was he walking faster now? Or was that me?

We were far enough into the storage section that we were completely alone, but I didn’t want to turn and face him yet. I came to a stop and it was so quiet that for a heart-stopping moment I wondered if he had even followed me at all. Did I just turn down this way for nothing?

I turned slowly to find him patiently waiting and watching me intently. It also seemed he was doing his damnedest not to look amused. He did not succeed.

“Trying to get me alone, Zimová?” he asked.

I instantly blushed. This was not where I was intending this to go, but I had to admit the thought gave me a thrill. I mean, I was trying to get him alone, but not for what he was suggesting. Just to get away from prying eyes so that we could talk.

“I... no...,” I stammered out.

“My apologies,” he said. “I was only trying to break the tension.”

“I don’t suppose I need to tell you that you failed.” I was definitely snippier than I meant to be. “What can I do for you, captain?”

“Would you like to join me for dinner again?”

I had to stop myself from blurting out ‘yes.’ “Can I say no?” I asked instead.

I don’t think I’d ever seen his confidence crack like it did when I asked this. He recovered quickly, but the disappointment was unmistakable. “Yes, of course,” he answered. “Good evening, Miss Zimová.”

He turned to go, and I realized what that had sounded like. “Wait!” I called out. He politely turned to listen. “I just wanted to know if I could. Not that I was going to.”

Hope bloomed on his face, and I was intoxicated by the fact that I put it there. “Is that a yes?”

—

“Why does it bother you so much?” he asked, and there was laughter in his eyes. He didn’t seem to take any stories or rumors seriously. I guess if you were a mysterious captain of a smuggling ship, you’d have heard it all. But I had been mostly unnoticed until he noticed me, and I hated the looks and the whispers that followed me around.

“I just hate what they’re saying.”

We were comfortably arranged in the seating area after dinner, myself on the same couch from the night of the party, and the captain in the armchair next to it.

“What would you rather they say about you?”

“Nothing! I miss being a nobody.”

“That’s a shame,” he told me, and the way he looked at me made it feel as intimate as if we were seated next to each other.

I shook my head, partially to refute him, but also to dissipate the tension we kept creating. “Have you not been hearing what they’re saying?”

“I have,” he said simply.

“And?”

“And what? Are you suggesting we really do the things people think we’ve done? Because that could be interesting...”

His lips were positively glistening when he said this. I caught myself staring and got up from my  spot on the couch and began to pace. When I turned back around to say something, his eyes were drinking me in. It stopped me in my tracks and my mind went blank.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have warned you when I first invited you to dinner. I’m so used to it by now, I didn’t even think about it. If I could do anything to stop it, I would.”

“Can’t you just set the record straight? I mean, you’re the captain, they have to listen to you.”

“What exactly is the record?” he asked as he studied me.

“That we’re...” I faltered. While ‘friends’ was the right answer it didn’t feel like that totally captured it. But that was all I wanted others to know.

“Friends?” he finished for me. I nodded. “They may have to listen to me when I give orders, Miss Zimová, but they can still think whatever they like. Can you imagine what they would think if I gathered everyone round and announced that you and I were friends?”

“I guess it would be pretty strange,” I mumbled.

“They would just believe what they’ve been saying even more. They talk more to amuse themselves anyway. Hopefully something exciting will happen soon, and then they’ll forget all about us.”

“Yeah, but...”

“But what?”

“But they’ll still think the wrong thing about me.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not how they see me! I wish they could get it right.”

He pondered that for a rare moment of seriousness. “Do you think that’s even possible? How do you know they didn’t have the wrong idea before they started talking about you? They don’t know you now. They didn’t know you then either.”

Damn, that makes a lot of sense. “I suppose the difference is that I didn’t know what they thought before.”

“Then stop listening. That’s what I do.”

“Yeah, but you get to retreat to your quarters, and no one would dare say anything to your face.”

“Then I shall give you your own quarters. And take you off kitchen duty. I’ll fill your room with books and you can fill your days with reading, and having dinner with me, of course.”

“I don’t even want to imagine what the talk would be then,” I said wryly.

“The point is that you won’t have to hear it anyway.”

I shook my head.

“It’s a one time offer,” he warned, but from the light in his eyes I could tell he wasn’t serious. 

I shook my head again.

“As you like it, Miss Zimová.”

“Captain?”

“Hmm?”

“Since we’re friends and all, maybe you can call me Saskia.”

#nikolai lanstov #nikolai lantsov fic #nikolai lantsov masterlist #masterlist #fic masterlist #shadow & bone fic #the grishaverse trilogy fic #sturmhond #sturmhond fic #nikolai lantsov x ofc #sturmhond x ofc

[nicetrynicetry]

168

Wednesday, 3 and a half hours of sleep because of surprise insomnia mixed with a neighbour’s home security system blaring late into the night. I wake with my alarm, remembering A called me at 3am when I told him I couldn’t sleep. He shared his screen on FaceTime, and serenaded me with Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day”, rapping the few lyrics he remembers from its original release. “Remember when my car blew up?”, he asked

I would like to stay in bed til 1pm but I get up and leave the house for Pilates, fuelled by the vain promise of defined abs. The class is mercifully small, just me and a woman who makes orgasm sounds when she exerts herself even slightly and the instructor. The instructor has a new doorbell that links to her phone, so every time a fox or a delivery man passes her door in north London the phone makes the sound of wind chimes. I tell her not to let me lie down during the class or I’ll fall asleep, so she sets me up with a panoply of punishing arm exercises using bungee ropes. I take great pride in her saying she’s pleased with my progress, and can’t believe I’ve been coming less than a year. She had told one of her substitute instructors a few weeks ago that I’m “stronger than I’ve ever been”. I actually think this might be true in every sense. I have been making good choices, no matter how much my therapist negs me

I bike to the studio and call the gallery I bought A’s birthday gift from looking for answers about the package’s whereabouts. The liaison with no boundaries tries to ask me whether I want kids and I deflect like a champion. I paint and paint, answer emails, paint some more. I book plane tickets to Switzerland for G’s wedding in June and remember A’s lifelong dream of going hang gliding in Switzerland so I book hang gliding for the two of us, unsure whether we will still be in touch by the time the appointment rolls around. Maybe I’ll go hang gliding alone if we aren’t, soar over the Niederhorn with a Swiss man strapped to me in order to feel better. I make a note to book Athens, too. I read about some breath mints that fill your mouth with saliva and I buy those. I return a pair of shoes that are too lesbian-coded, and practice playing my small synth. I am still anxious about the length of my set for the NY show, perhaps the way some men are anxious about their penis size, except I can do something about my set. An idea for my opening song hits me suddenly. I figure I can loop the first two lines of backing vocals as many times as I damn well please. Something about the laziness of this solution satisfies me immensely. I paint even more, go home, daring myself to work on music for the first time in ages just to ruin my own day. Not to brag, but I have been absolutely crushing my career in painting lately, from the granular dedication present in my daily studio practice to the quality of the professional emails I send to other galleries politely asking them to lose my number. No money panics, but no hubris either. In music I am bleeding funds and hope, insecurity colouring every collaborative interaction and every vocal track I record. It’s a ghastly neurotic mess, and I’m a ghastly neurotic mess. I feel I am failing at both quantity and quality, and it’s all self-imposed so there is nobody to blame. Do NOT quit your day job

Thursday I wake with a headache but a strange sense of peace. I cold plunge, letting leaves and bugs move around my body. I empty the tub and let it fill with fresh water while I drink two cups of coffee. I paint three new paintings that will be done by the weekend. My arms throb from Pilates and I enjoy it. One of J’s two girlfriends is in the hospital with appendicitis and J asks to borrow my ice cream maker for when she is home. I gift it to him, and am relieved to do so, it’s a hefty thing that is used once a year when a fleeting desire for frozen yoghurt arises, and isn’t worth the space it takes up. J’s other girlfriend posts a picture of the first girlfriend lying on a hospital bed with IV fluids and captions it “all my hoes should shed vestigial organs”. Instagram shows me a video with a man biting into a burger. He explains that whenever he orders a burger he orders a double so that “a vegan out there in the world isn’t actually making a difference”. I see that the account is for the conservative American dating app The Right Stuff. I suppose it was about time the Meta algorithm understood me to be both unlucky in love AND harbouring a shameful desire for right wing content. The man’s right, of course: for every puréed cashew or puddle of aquafaba consumed in the name of saving the planet, there is Some Guy eating more meat than he needs

I round off the day with a podcast accompanying me around the house while I do laundry. It’s rare that I let a podcast follow me home, since usually I have burned through everything worth listening to at the studio. But I realise I’ve been inadvertently searching for the female equivalent of Katt Williams’ imagine on Rogan, and I think I have found it in Megan Fox’s appearance on Call Her Daddy. “It’s crazy that people think it’s gross when I drink blood”, Fox says, “while women everywhere are letting men they don’t know cum in their mouths. He didn’t even buy you a nice drink! The thought of that makes my back hurt”. I like Call Her Daddy because it teaches me that famous women are smarter than I think, and makes me feel bad for assuming otherwise. I have yet to find an episode that isn’t at least briefly thought-provoking, and Megan Fox’s is exactly the same. I think the key difference between her and a Katt Williams is that she is the first to state that she is unwell, while Katt Williams simply believes he’s a genius. This seems to be a matter of gender. Conspiracy theories and lying about how many books you’ve read is to men what the zodiac and past life regression therapy is to women. Katt Williams won’t take the vaccine because of The Smurfs and how it relates to religious texts, while Megan Fox is asking the surgeon performing her third boob job if he saw a crow or an owl or had a dark thought, and if he did, is telling him not to operate. But most painfully obvious of all is that fame is its own mental illness, no matter who you are. If I had the authority, I would put fame and jet lag in the DSM-5

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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[myheroacademiaspiderverse]

Issue 3: The Birth Of Spider-Man

Izuku sighed as he saw the familiar blond-haired red-eyed standing there, glaring at him. "Oh, hey Bakugo. I'd say it's good to see you, but I try not to li-"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE, DEKU?!"

Smirking, Izuku tapped the patch on his shoulder and nonchalantly replied "I go to school here. Duh."

The moment the words left his mouth Bakugo had closed the distance between them in record time and grabbed him by the front of his uniform and brought them face to face. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOUR USELESS ASS NOT TO EVEN TRY AND APPLY HERE, YOU QUIRKLESS FREAK!"

"First off, you said not to apply for the Hero Course," Izuku replied, seemingly not bothered by anything Bakugo was doing. "I'm here in the Support Course. Second, I must've been absent the day you were made the boss of me. Third, thanks for blurting out my Quirk status for everyone to hear, you prick."

Bakugo growled before raising his hand, a few POPS! being heard as he started charging up his Quirk. "DAMN DEKU! SOUNDS LIKE YOU NEED-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a hand grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing Bakugo to cry out in pain and cutting off his attempted Quirk use.

That hand belonging to none other than Kaina Tsutsumi, their homeroom teacher.

Who was currently glaring at Bakugo to the point that Izuku was surprised that his face wasn't melting.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, boy," she asked, in a cold tone that belied the true fury she felt.

While in a bit of pain, Bakugo still managed to reply "Reminding this Quirkless freak where his place is."

There was a large amount of gasps and looks of shock from Class 1-A and 1-H, and though Power Loader's face was covered, even he clearly was shocked.

Kaina however, simply deepened her glare and said "Principal's office."

Disbelief flashed across his face. "What?!"

"You heard me. I don't know what kind of bullshit your old school let you get away with, but UA has a strict No Bullying Policy. REGARDLESS of what your victim's Quirk Status is. So, get your ass down to the Principal's office. NOW."

Bakugo growled, but he could see that she was serious. So he simply pushed Izuku into his work table and grumbled "Fine." as he walked out of the studio.

Kaina then looked at All Might and asked "Think you can handle escorting him to the Principal's office?"

All Might nodded, his own face formed into a scowl at what had happened. "Absolutely."

"Then go."

Once he had left, Ochako walked forward to check on Izuku and asked "Are you okay?"

Izuku seemed to be honestly shocked by that question, but nodded and replied "Yeah. I honestly kind of expected him to act like that."

"He's done that before," a red-eyed and red-haired boy from Class 1-A asked in disbelief.

He scoffed at that. "You could say that."

Kaina sighed. "Of course he did." She then looked at Izuku and said "I meant what I said about the No Bullying Policy. He ever does something like that again-"

"-one of the teachers will be the first to know," he promised. He then looked at Class 1-A and said "BTW, contrary to what he seems to believe, my name is Izuku Midoriya. Not Deku."

Seeing them all nod in understanding, Power Loader decided to get the class back on track and said "Now, how about you kids talk to some of my students and see about getting your costumes made."

Kaina nodded. "I should probably go with the big guy to make sure Nezu gets the full story. Can you handle this, Maijima?"

"I got this."

"Good. Don't destroy the lab, kids," she said as she walked out.

Once she was gone, Izuku looked at Class 1-A and asked "So, who's up first for costumes?"

Kaina sighed once she was finished explaining to Nezu what had happened in the Support Studio, all while All Might have his input at times (and to his credit, he didn't try to make excuses for him or downplay what happened. Seems even he wasn't impressed with what Bakugo had done.)

Bakugo, on the other hand?

He simply sat there with a mildly annoyed expression on his face, seemingly not caring about the potential consequences he could face.

Nezu, for his part, listened intently and didn't say a word until they were finished.

Once they were done, he said "Well, I'd daresay this is a new record. A student given detention on the first official day of school."

Bakugo looked at him like he'd just grown a second head. "Detention?! What the fuck for?!"

The glare Nezu gave him a look that shut him up real quick, along with a suffocating aura of malice as he spoke with an even yet biting tone "First of all Young Bakugo, while other teachers may be more lenient on the subject, I find profanity to be overused and unnecessary. Do not use any whilst you are in my presence.

'Second, I am the principal of this school. You will not raise your voice at me, nor will you speak out of turn or question me unless I allow you to do so. Along with that, you are to address me as Principal Nezu, or Sir. Are we clear?"

He grit his teeth but eventually muttered "Fine."

"Ahem."

"Fine, Principal Nezu."

"Better. And as for why you're getting detention, let's see: you threatened violence against a fellow student, started using your Quirk outside of class and without authorization with clear intent of causing Young Midoriya physical harm... oh, and then there were your incredibly Quirkist statements- You interrupt me and it'll be a whole week of detention, Bakugo!" He exclaimed, seeing Bakugo about to open his mouth, which he promptly closed. Nezu huffed before finishing with "-which clearly violates UA's stringent anti-bullying policies AND the standards and examples we expect our students to set. ESPECIALLY those who are in the Hero Course. Frankly getting your Warning and a detention, in my eyes, is being FAR too lenient. But sadly, since this is your first (and strangely only offense) on your record, my paws are tied."

All Might seemed to find that acceptable, but then asked "Perhaps we should inform his parents about this as well? After all-"

"I already took the liberty of calling them," Nezu said smugly. "They should be here by the end of the period.."

To his credit (and the teachers'/principal's surprise) Bakugo didn't yell out or start cussing.

Rather, he just seethed in silent rage at what was happening. Almost as if he thought the whole situation was absolute bullshit (which in all honesty, Kaina wouldn't be surprised if he DID think that.)

Which honestly confused them to no end. Does Bakugo seriously not care about what his parents say or think? Or has he seriously never been punished by ANYONE before Kaina asked herself.

Seeing "The Look" from Nezu, it pretty much told her that they were about to find out.

She mentally grumbled Why do I have a feeling I'm gonna need to find my other suit again?

Izuku had spent the last twenty or so minutes going over several students costume designs, listening to their ideas and giving a few of his own. Some of them were rejected for obvious reasons ("For the last time, you're getting a body armor vest, Kirishima. Not a thin muscle shirt or a tank top. And no, I don't care if it doesn't look 'manly,' it's going to help keep you alive! Or would you rather some guy gut you like a fish if your Quirk happens to fail?") but the majority were good to go.

Ochako's costume redesign was the first one he took care of (with a small note written in it that read Caffeine Lover's Cafe on the corner of 5th Street and Main. We'll talk there.) and really the only thing they changed was her visor, with him suggesting that he integrates state of the art scanning tech into it. This way when she became a Rescue Hero like she planned, she'd be able to check for trapped civilians and environmental hazards (listing things like gas mains, live wires, structural issues, et cetera) and she was all too happy to let him make the change.

Up next was Toru Hagakure, which he admitted her suit would be a bit more difficult but not impossible. And it went like that for a few of the other students (the ones who didn't go to Hatsume or the other Support students) until he came to the remaining few.

Handing the notebook back to the bird-headed Fumikage Tokoyami, he nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I can make the alterations to the cloak like you asked. The feather designs shouldn't be too hard for the Super-Fabricator to implement."

"Thank you," Tokoyami replied. "We appreciate it."

The "we" became apparent as his sentient Quirk, a shadowy bird monster named Dark Shadow, appeared out of Tokoyami's chest and smiled while giving him a thumbs up. "Yeah, you're pretty awesome," he/she/they (he wasn't aware of their pronouns) said happily.

Izuku blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wouldn't go that far. I'm just... trying to do the best I can with what I've been given."

Both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow looked at each other, seeming to have a conversation of sorts between them, before Tokoyami asked "Just how often was Bakugo cruel to you?"

He couldn't help but give a mirthless laugh at that. "Would you like the list in chronological, alphabetical, or by degree of severity? Either way, it's a LONG list." Seeing him not laugh at that, Izuku sighed. "Look, I really try my best not to think about it anymore. I've already clocked in a lot of therapy visits and gotten a lot of support from my family. Plus, UA clearly enforces the No-Bullying Policy, so if Bakugo tries to do anything to me again, he's screwed."

They seemed to accept that answer, but Dark Shadow motioned with his head to Tokoyami to say something. So the bird-headed boy sighed and said (quietly so that he and Izuku were the only ones who heard it) "Well, just so you know, you're not the only one who was bullied for things that were beyond your control. So, if you ever need someone to talk to, Dark Shadow and I will happily lend an ear."

Izuku honestly wasn't surprised by that news. Despite how widespread mutant quirks were, many people who bore them were discriminated against because of them. Add on the stigma against darkness/shadow Quirks and how they were "villainous" (which he personally felt was bullshit) and both of them together would probably make Tokoyami a prime target for it. Guess I shouldn't be surprised by that, he mused. People with mutant quirks rarely get it easy in life, not unless their mutations are so small scale that they still look human or really attractive.

Returning to reality, he smiled and said "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Tokoyami nodded and left, before Momo Yaoyorozu walked up as the last student of the day and handed him her notebook. "This is pretty much the same as my original design, though I did make a few alterations on Tsutsumi-sensei's advice," she said happily.

Izuku looked at what she'd drawn and written down, and honestly found himself feeling impressed. The original design he had seen before lunch had been a simple one piece bodysuit, with a utility belt that held a first aid kit and some high calorie energy bars to help with her Quirk, which transformed her fat cells into whatever object she knew the molecular structure of (which he'd love to analyze sometime) but that wasn't what impressed him.

Yaoyorozu hadn't just written down what kind of computer and visor she wanted, but had even sketched out the design and what materials she felt would be best for the job. She had also taken her sensei's advice to heart, integrating lightweight body armor into her costume, but how she did it was actually pretty impressive. She divided it into two colors; crimson red and black. The crimson red parts, rather than being Unstable Molecular Fabric, would instead be made of thick and reinforced Nanofiber Mesh Weave interwoven with kevlar to provide better protection. The black parts were made purely out of the UMF, as it was much more flexible and would allow for the materials her quirk made to phase through. Might have to think about adding that kind of material functionality into a future suit. Though without the interwoven kevlar, since I'm pretty good at dodging bullets. And keeping it all Nanofiber mesh, since there's nothing gonna be coming out of my- Oh, she's staring.

"Is something wrong with it," Momo asked, confused.

"Oh, no! It's all good," he quickly replied. "I was just impressed by all of this. With brains like yours, I'm surprised you're not in the Support Course."

To his surprise, Momo blushed. "Oh, thank you. But, I prefer to be out helping people, not stuck in a lab all day. No offense."

"None taken. You've got your ways to help people, I've got mine." Taking one last look over the notebook, he handed it back to her and said "The visor and computer might take a little longer, but the rest of the costume shouldn't take too long to fabricate." Looking at the students grouped there, he gathered up all the notes he took and pulled out his phone. "DECA, you ready for some data?"

The students looked at him confused, before DECA replied "Hit me, Izuku."

"Uh, who's on the phone with you," Kirishima asked, a bit concerned.

Izuku smirked, before showing the phone screen which read [DECA ACTIVE.] "Allow me to introduce you all to the Digital Electronic Computer Assistant, DECA for short. She's an Artificial Intelligence I designed, which helped rocket me to the top of the Support Course Entrance Exam."

"Hello everyone," she said cheerfully. "I'd shake your hands but sadly I don't have any."

Everyone's jaws dropped at this revelation. Finding her voice first, Momo asked "You created her?"

Izuku nodded. "Yep. I started working on her ever since I decided I wanted to enter the Support Course. I started the initial coding at the start of my final year of Junior High, spent the year programming and getting her data ready, and the Entrance Exam was when I finally brought her to life."

"What all can she do," Ochako asked.

"I designed her with the intent of basically becoming a personal assistant for people. She's capable of computing terabytes of complex data in nanoseconds, and depending on the data you give her she can do just about anything. Especially if you give her internet access. She can set up your schedule, find you the best route and best train lines to get you to your appointments, find local events that you might like based on your personal preferences-"

"Let's not forget that I also remind you when you should take a break from what you're doing and eat something or get some sleep," she snidely remarked.

"I pulled an all-nighter and slept through a day of school ONE TIME," Izuku groaned. "Will you let that go?"

"It was three all-nighters, and no."

Sighing, Izuku looked back at the group (some of them bearing smirks at that little exchange) and continued "I'm planning on feeding her data that can help the police and heroes in the field in the future: first aid instructions, facial recognition scanners, forensic analyzers, calling for back up or emergency services." He smiled and said "The possibilities for DECA are endless."

Everyone was impressed (save for Todoroki since most of the technical stuff just flew over his head) but Momo seemed especially impressed. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to copy her code and sell it as an app."

"Eh, she's not ready yet," he replied. "DECA as she is now is pretty much Version 1. She's good, but there's still a few things I need to work on and patch before we get to that stage. I want to get her to at least Version 2 or 3 before I release her into the wild."

That was the official reason he would give.

The unofficial reason was that honestly, DECA as she was now was not only able to do all that he just listed, but was also able to hack into other computer systems and servers with relative ease (unless they actually had good cyber-security) as well as the fact that her memory banks were full of his life and Spider-Man stuff. If he copied her codes as she was now and set her loose as an app, he'd probably end up getting exposed or one of her "siblings" would end up being used for terrible things, even with the safeguards in place (since he knew he wasn't the only genius hacker in Musutafu, having heard stories in the Cyber-Underground about someone with the online handle of La Brava.)

He'd already had a copy of her original code and was working on it to get "Version 2" that wouldn't have all those problems, and he could potentially release as an app to help people with their daily lives. But between his schooling and his nighttime vigilante work, it would probably be a while.

Holding his phone with the camera pointing down at the notes which had been spread out over his work bench. "Alright DECA, let's show them what you can do. Please scan these and give me a rough estimate of how long it'll take me to fabricate and put all these together."

The screen on his phone showed a progress bar under the word SCANNING... which rapidly filled up before changing to CALCULATING.

There was a loud DING! before DECA stated "Given all the data, and what I know about your personal life and habits-" (that being his vigilante activities, mostly) "-and discounting any serious setbacks, I'd estimate that your best case scenario would be you finishing these costumes in three weeks."

"Oh, just in time for the first trip to the USJ," Ochako said happily.

Izuku nodded, just as the bell rang. Majima-sensei called for everyone's attention and said "Okay, 1-H, it's a free period today, which in this studio means clean up. Be sure you shut down everything that needs shutting down and lock everything up that needs locking up. 1-A, I just texted your sensei. She says she's talking with the parents of Bakugo Katsuki and it's probably gonna take the whole period, so you're going to report to room 1-B with Vlad King for the period. She also says 'Try and play nice with 1-B. You may end up working with them in the future.'"

As 1-A moved to leave, Ochako slipped Izuku another note before she joined her classmates at the door. Looking at it, he realized it was her cell phone number.

Huh. Can't believe I actually got a girl's number. Eat that, BakuBitch.

All Might had left before the Bakugo's had arrived, his phone having rung and him needing to take the call in the Teacher's Lounge (something personal, she didn't feel like asking.)

And when they arrived, Kaina's first impressions of Katsuki's parents... weren't what she expected, for the most part.

She'd honestly expected that either one or both of them had the same loud and constantly angry personality as their son (given how these things usually go, probably the father. Not that women couldn't be angry or loud, but from her experience 7 out of 10 times it was usually the guy who was constantly angry.)

What she got was a man who honestly seemed to quiet and gentle to ever raise his voice (a double-edged sword when it came to their son, in her opinion) and profusely apologized for whatever it was his son had done.

His wife, Bakugo's mother Mitsuki, was a bit closer to what she had expected, but at the same time not. While she did have a temper (the first thing she did when she walked in was slap Bakugo over the back of the head and yelled "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO, KATSUKI?!") the moment they actually got to talking she had calmed down considerably and now looked worried for her son's future.

And when they mentioned the almost-victim that was Izuku Midoriya, they were both concerned for the boy. Mitsuki even said that she and Inko Midoriya, Izuku's mother, had been old friends, and that their families used to be close. To the point that Mitsuki and Masaru considered Izuku their honorary nephew (a statement which Kaina and Nezu noticed made Bakugo clench his fists and grit his teeth in anger.)

And when they heard about what he did and the things he said, they were beyond furious, with Mitsuki asking Katsuki what the hell was wrong with him and making it very clear they didn't raise him to be like this.

All in all it was clear that while Katsuki Bakugo got his looks and SOME of his personality from his mother; his Quirkism, sense of entitlement, and unyielding anger were from a source outside of the family and their home.

As for Katsuki, he didn't say anything, really. Aside from calling his mother an old hag after she slapped him, he mostly just sat and listened to everything that was said.

Nezu eventually put his paws together and said "I'm sure you can understand why it is that we were suspicious, given the massive contrast between his abnormally spotless record compared to his hyper aggression and temperament during the Entrance Exam. Quite frankly, his record was suspicious enough on its own."

"I can confirm that he did miss a week of school following the Sludge Villain incident, since he ended up getting a slight case of pneumonia from the sludge getting into his lungs," Masaru stated. "But as far as we were aware, our son hadn't been causing any problems at his old schools to our knowledge."

"Yeah, we didn't get one complaint from the school and none of the Midoriyas ever said anything," Mistuki added.

"Honestly, we've seen these kinds of things before," Kaina replied. "Some schools will embellish or straight up fabricate records for the students that have powerful Quirks, usually because they feel they might be able to mooch off of their potential success in the future, often covering things up and forcing everyone else to keep their mouths shut. Given the fact that your son tried to assault a fellow student, WITH his Quirk no less, in plain view of me while shouting a derogatory nicknames (I looked up the meaning of 'DEKU' and belive me, it is VERY derogatory) then it stands to reason that he's used to teachers turning the other cheek to his behavior. As for why the Midoriyas have never said anything, I can't say. Though considering Izuku Midoriya's Quirk Status and Bakugo's clear Quirkist mindset, it wouldn't surprise me if the teachers at that school had it out for him and threatened him into silence."

"A potential lack of evidence would also make pressing charges difficult," Nezu added. "However, it still doesn't change the fact that Katsuki is still fully responsible for his own behavior."

Both Masaru and Mitsuki looked at each other and sighed. "I'm not gonna argue with that," Mitsuku said. "So spare me the drama, and just hit me."

Kaina sighed. "Well, as Nezu explained to me, our hands are tied when it comes to the three strikes policy. Since this is Bakugo's first and only offense on his record, we can't really do anything except give him a warning."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that, Kaina," Nezu said with an insidious grin that sent chills down everyone's spines. "I only said that we have to give him the same warning and three strikes before we can consider demoting him out of the Hero Course. There are plenty of punishments we can give him." Seeing the fearful looks on Mitsuki and Masaru's faces he quickly dropped his grin and said "Sorry about that, I got caught up in the moment.

'Anyway, for starters, Bakugo will be serving after school detention for the rest of the week."

A low, barely audible growl emanated from Bakugo, though only Nezu seemed to hear it.

"We will also be keeping a much closer eye on your behavior, Katsuki. Since you used your warning today, any more acts like today and you will be getting strikes. And let me reiterate, three strikes and you'll be demoted to General Studies and put on Academic Probation. Anything beyond that and you will be expelled. And an expulsion from UA will pretty much guarantee that all but the most desperate or naive Hero Schools will ever enroll you."

"Not that that'll happen," Mitsuki said.

Katsuki's jaw dropped. "What the hell do you mean?"

To everyone's shock, Masaru glared at him and said "Katsuki Bakugo, the behavior you've shown today is unacceptable. Not just as a Hero, but as a decent human being. If anything, you should count yourself damn lucky we don't just fill out the paperwork to have you pulled out of school and sent to a rehabilitation center."

His eyes widened. "Y-you wouldn't-"

"Would, can, and will, Katsuki," his mother replied sternly. "You wanna be a hero, then you better learn to start acting like one. And no, I don't mean like Endeavor. How that flaming bastard kept his license for so long with his flaming garbage personality is beyond me."

"Preach it, sister," Kaina said with a smile, which Mistuki returned.

"Point is, even if you don't end up going to rehab, you get expelled from UA? We will bar you from EVER going to a Hero School." Seeing his son's face to white as a sheet, Masaru finished with "And that's not a threat, Katsuki. That's a promise."

"I should also mention that we can skip the three strikes altogether if the perpetrator in question does something that violates not only the school rules but also violates the law itself," Nezu stated. "Or if, say, Katsuki refuses to show up for any of the mandatory therapy sessions with Hound Dog we're assigning him."

"WHAT?!" Regaining his senses, Bakugo now growled and yelled "That's fu-"

"Finish that profanity and you'll earn your first strike," Nezu said calmly, but with a hint of malice, causing Bakugo to clam up. "You've clearly shown that Aldera Junior High has instilled a very unhealthy mindset within you. The only way to break that mindset is to have you talking to a professional who will hopefully get you to realize that your current mindset is not only unhealthy, but very very wrong. So for the foreseeable future, you will be having therapy sessions with Hound Dog three times a week. Possibly more if he or I feel it's necessary. And if you miss or refuse to go to a single one without a valid reason..."

He then fixed Katsuki with his greatest Try Me Bitch, I Dare You! Smiling Death Glare (patent pending) and said with all the coldness of the winds of Antarctica "I will expel you and end your hero career before it even starts. Are we clear?"

To his credit, Katsuki did his best to stay firm, but they could all see the cold sweats breaking out on his face.

Finally he growled "Fine."

Nezu smiled. "Good. Then report to Hound Dog's office for your first session. After that, he'll escort you to where your detention shall be."

Growling, Katsuki left Nezu's office, slamming the door behind him on the way out.

Once he was gone, Mitsuki sighed before looking at her husband, the smallest trace of tears in her eyes. "Where did we go wrong with our boy?"

"Don't be too hard on yourselves," Kaina answered, doing her best to reassure them. "I'd say that the staff at Aldera Junior High are responsible for putting that mindset in his head, and like Nezu said, he's responsible for his own behavior."

"We get that," Masaru admitted. "But every day we tried to steer him on the right path while supporting his dream. We tried to teach and instill in him strong moral and ethical values. But what he did today, especially to someone we consider our nephew? That pretty much goes against everything we taught him."

"Well, hopefully Hound Dog will get to the bottom of that and be able to help him change his mindset," Nezu said reassuringly. "Though in the meantime, I have another question for you two."

"Shoot," Mitsuki said.

"I've looked through Izuku Midoriya's files and I've found that neither his mother nor his father are listed in our contacts. Can't believe we missed that. Would you happen to have their contact information?"

Immediately he realized he said something wrong, because Mitsuki and Masaru looked at each other uncertainly, before turning back to him and Kaina. "You mean you don't know?"

Confused, Nezu asked "Know about what?"

Mitsuki sighed, before replying "Inko and Hisashi Midoriya died about six months ago, killed during a gang shootout in the Eisley District."

There was heavy silence in the room, before Nezu finally found his voice. "Oh."

Once school let out, Izuku asked DECA to find him where exactly Caffeine Lover's Cafe was, before asking if they were ready to go for tonight.

Her reply was a resounding yes, though he'd be better off waiting until 6:00, since that's when the staff save for the night shift custodians would be gone.

After asking her to see where the Spider-Tracer he put on Stone was while he talked with Uraraka, he walked into the Cafe to see her sitting at a booth in the back with some mochi and a drink. So he quickly ordered a drink and some danishes and joined her.

There was a tense moment of silence between the two of them before Izuku finally said "So, I assume you have some questions."

"Just a couple hundred," she admitted. "But, I guess my big one is how you're Quirkless when you can do all the things you can do."

Izuku nodded. "Figured you'd start off with that." He took a bite out of his danish and replied "Well, truthfully, I was diagnosed as Quirkless at four years old. And I spent the last 10 years getting horrendously bullied because of it."

"Yeah, kinda figured that out when Bakugo called you Deku and was about to set off his explosions on you."

"Wouldn't be the first time," he grumbled.

Deciding not to touch on that part, she instead asked "What exactly does Deku mean?"

"You rearrange the kanji for my name and it spells 'dekunobu,' a useless wooden doll. After I got diagnosed, everyone except my parents thought I was useless and never failed to tell me that everyday. Then one day he called me Deku for short and it just stuck."

"Huh. I thought it meant something different. Something along the lines of 'You can do it!'"

"You're thinking dekiru. That's pretty much the exact opposite of Deku."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"Meh, I'm over it. Like I told Tokoyami, UA doesn't allow bullies to be in their school. He tries anything like that again-"

"-he's fucked," she finished, smiling when she saw his surprised face at her swearing. "My parents own a construction company."

"Ah," he replied, understanding.

"So, were you misdiagnosed or something? I've heard of False Negatives and Late Bloomers-"

"None of the above," Izuku said, pulling out his phone and pulling up a picture to show her. "This is how I got my powers."

The picture was of a spider, about the size of a Wolf Spider, but colored emerald green with red legs and having a large yellow number 9 on its abdomen.

Her one eyebrow raised skeptically. "Really? You seriously expect me to believe that you got bit by a spider and suddenly you stuck to walls and shoot webs?"

"Right hand up to God, it's the truth. A little over six months ago, my father and I went to the yearly YaoyorozuCorp Expo. They had an exhibit on Cross-Species Genetics, trying to find genetic therapies and cures for people with genetic disorders or terminal illnesses. There were about twenty of these spiders on display, all of whom had been genetically modified to have Quirks. I'm not kidding, one of them could turn invisible, one could spit out venom, there was even one that could regrow its legs if it lost one."

"Okay," she replied, seeming to accept this. "So, how-"

"I'm still not sure how, but somehow this little guy managed to escape its cage and get into my backpack. That night when I got home, I reached in to pull out my notebook and it crawled up and bit the back of my hand. I go to bed slightly feverish, then I wake up the next morning and I'm sticking to the ceiling."

Ochako giggled at that. "Sorry. It's just, I've heard of sleep walking but I've never heard of sleep crawling."

Izuku chuckled at that as well. "Yeah, I guess that is a bit funny. But that wasn't the only change." He scrolled through his pictures before pulling up a picture of himself. "This is me, pre-spider bite."

She looked at it, then looked at him, then looked back at the picture. "Yeesh. You look like you need a sandwich."

"Yeah, I was kinda scrawny back then. And a bit on the short side," Izuku admitted before scrolling to the next picture. "This is me after I got bitten."

Ochako looked at the picture, and her jaw dropped.

In the first picture, Izuku looked to be roughly five foot nothing, looking pretty scrawny and with no noticeable muscles. In all honesty, he looked like a strong wind would probably knock him on his butt. The t-shirt he was wearing even looked like it was a hand-me-down, looking to be one or two sizes too big on him.

But the second picture?

Izuku had not only grown about a foot taller, but he was now sporting muscles that made him look like he'd spent years exercising and working out. This was emphasized by the same t-shirt from earlier now looking like it was hugging his body (though the bottom of his shirt came up enough to give a peek at his abs.)

She blushed a little before asking "So, did the spider's venom have some sort of steroid in it? Because-"

"-most spider bites don't give you abs," Izuku finished, putting away his phone. "I'm not entirely sure. The spider died between when I went to bed and when I found it the next day. It's fangs were all dried up and the rest of its body didn't have anything I could work with.

'But as you can guess, the changes didn't end with the sticky powers or my new muscles. My strength was off the charts; I could crush a steel pipe with my bare hands and I was able to lift up a junked car and I barely strained myself. My reflexes and reaction time left me able to dodge bullets (which I didn't figure out until later.) And then there was the Spider-Sense, kind of a sixth-sense that warns me about incoming danger."

"That sounds handy," Ochako stated. "So, why go for the Support Course when you can do all this? You'd probably be at the top of the class if you went into the Hero Course."

Izuku rolled his eyes and replied "Well, for starters, knowing how my Midoriya luck goes, I'd end up in your class. With Bakugo Katsuki. And while I'm sure me being there would accelerate him getting kicked out, I don't think my ears could handle his constant yelling."

"Burn."

"But the main thing is that frankly, I don't like the HPSC's wonderful system of laws that stop heroes from trying to help the people who really need it. You ever notice how the Eisley District has pretty much no heroes at all and a minuscule police presence? And because of that the crime in the area is nearly out of control?"

Ochako rolled her eyes and replied "Duh. Pretty much everyone's parents have told them to stay out of that district. And given what happened to Himiko, I can't blame them for saying that."

"Well, DECA and I are working on that. We've already got a possible lead." That statement sparked some hope in her eyes, which definitely made him feel better about this.

"But anyway, that's because the geniuses at the HPSC declared that place a Black Zone; a no-fly zone for any heroes unless they end up chasing a villain into it. Any Pro Hero who goes in there to try and clean the place up will be subject to a serious fine with the possibility to lose their Hero License. Permanently."

Her eyes widened at that. "Really? But there's not even really any villains in there. They're just small time crooks, drug dealers, and human traffickers. The kind of creeps that All Might could clear out-"

"-in a week, two tops," Izuku finished. "I know. It doesn't make sense to me either. But the fact of the matter is if I joined the Hero Course and managed to graduate, I wouldn't be able to help/save anyone in that district. And considering your bestie disappeared from there-" He let the sentence hang there and continued "Part of why I wanted to be a hero when I was younger, and why I'm doing what I do now, is because I want to help people. To save lives. So if I graduate and have to put up with all of the HPSC's obstructive bureaucratic madness-"

"-you'd lose your license and probably go vigilante in...," she rolled her eyes and jokingly guessed "A month?"

"A week at best," he replied with a smile on his face. "And frankly, from what I've seen in the Eisley District, those people arguably need help more than anyone else in Musutafu. And yet for some reason, the HPSC doesn't wanna send any heroes in to help, and instead pour their money and effort into keeping them out."

"Okay, that makes sense. But you said there were other reasons?"

Izuku sighed, honestly dreading this part of the conversation.

Finally, he asked "You know how when we're young we're always being told that there'll always be a Pro Hero around to save the day?"

She nodded solemnly, possibly predicting where he was going with his story. "Who'd you lose?"

Looking out the window, he muttered "My parents."

Ochako's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know," Izuku replied. "But... yeah. Six months ago, my parents and I were visiting some of their old friends who live in the Eisley District (we used to live there before we moved into the Dagobah District thanks to Mom and Dad's new jobs.) When we were leaving, I ran back inside quick because I forgot my notebook. Next thing I know my Spider-Sense is going into overdrive, and then I'm hearing gunshots. Lots of 'em. Everyone in the apartment and I hit the dirt while the shooting was going on outside, just in case any of the shots came inside."

She could see tears starting to appear at the corners of his eyes as he continued "When it was over, I ran outside to see if they were okay..."

-Six Months Ago-

Izuku kept himself low as he made his way down the stairs, moving as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. Fear coursed through him, but his legs kept moving him forward towards the front door of the apartment building, all the time pleading "Please let them be alright. Please let them be alright. Please let them be alright."

He quietly peeked out from the doorway, scarcely daring to breathe lest whoever had done the shooting would get jumpy and try to shoot him.

He didn't see anyone with a gun, only two vans driving away from the scene.

Once they were gone the street was deathly quiet; as if the whole world had suddenly lost all sound.

When he was finally sure it was safe to go out, he stepped out, turning his head to where the car was parked...

...and his heart stopped beating as his lungs refused to take in any oxygen.

The small car they owned had been shot to hell and back, the windshield shattered by multiple, multiple bullet holes. The front of the car looked like it had been turned into Swiss cheese, the tires were all popped, and it was leaking about seven different fluids out of the engine.

But none of that mattered to Izuku as he sprinted to the car, tearing off the passenger side door while desperately praying that his parents were alive, hoping for the miracle of all miracles.

His father was unresponsive, his whole chest stained red from the blood oozing out of multiple gunshot wounds.

His mother, however, was still keeping a feeble grip on life.

He quickly tried to help her stay alive, ripping off his sleeves to try and stop the bleeding.

All the time, yelling out for help, begging to the heavens for a hero, for anyone to help.

But it never came...

"I literally held my mom's hand as the light left her eyes," Izuku finished, tears slowly starting to fall out of the corners of his eyes.

Seeing this, Ochako handed him a napkin while she dabbed at her own eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry, I can't even imagine-"

"Well, I can. And believe me, it's one of the worst kinds of pain you could ever imagine," he sighed, before his eyes shone with determination. "But that's the biggest reason why I'm doing this. Because I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have. So if the other Pro Heroes won't step up and do it, then I will. And yes-" he said, holding up a hand to stop what Ochako was about to say "I know that Musutafu's a big city. And that I can't stop everyone from getting hurt or dying. I can't be everywhere, I get that. But the other Pros? They don't even try. They're too worried about trying to be famous, about trying to win that stupid popularity contest that is the Hero Rankings, when they should be trying to keep people safe. They're not trying to be heroes, because they're too busy trying to be celebrities. And the few that aren't in it for fame or glory, the ones that are Pro Heroes purely because they want to help people and make Musutafu a better place? They rarely if ever last long because the HPSC won't support them and instead try to sabotage them or try their best to corrupt them. But either way, the status quo is kept and no change ever happens."

Ochako nodded in understanding. "So you're hoping the example you set as Spider-Man will help shake up the status quo and get them to realize-"

"-they need to be better," Izuku finished. "Bingo."

"You know there's gonna be people who lambaste you and try and smear you, right," she asked.

"Yeah. I've got a plan for that. Though that's going to have to wait until later. For now, I've got some more important things to do. One of which is rescuing your long lost friend."

She smiled at that. "Thank you. And don't worry; when it comes to our 'mutual friend' my lips are sealed."

He smiled back before shooting her a text. "That's my number. If anything happens and you need help, let me know. Either I'll be there, or our 'mutual friend' will be, depending on what's going on."

Ochako giggled at that and asked "So, does that mean we're friends?"

That question definitely surprised Izuku, but he smirked and replied "I don't really know. Honestly, I never really had friends." Seeing the shocked look on her face, he said "Nobody in the Aldera School District where chomping at the bit to be friends with the Quirkless kid that the teachers pretty much said had no future except for being a chalk outline on the street."

He could see the fire burning in her eyes before she said "Well, you're not there anymore, and you have a friend now. And if anyone from Aldera has a problem with that? I'll float their ass to the sun."

"Okay, I'm honored you'd want to throw hands with anyone who wants to screw with me, but please don't get yourself thrown in prison for me."

They both laughed at that and said their good byes before leaving the cafe and going their separate ways.

As Izuku headed back towards UA, he honestly felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of his soul.

"She seems nice," DECA said from his phone.

"Yeah. Honestly, it still feels kinda weird that someone actually wants to be friends with me."

"Stow that talk, Izu. Stop with the self-deprecating and just let yourself be happy for once."

Deciding to change the subject, he asked "Did you get a lock on the Spider-Tracer?"

"Yes and no," DECA replied. "I had a lock on it, but when it started moving into the Yavin district, I lost the signal. If those Fixers are still there we won't get an exact lock until we link up to the towers there."

Izuku sighed. "Figures. How much you wanna bet that they probably found the tracer and are setting a trap for me somewhere?"

"I'd give the actual odds, but your Midoriya luck would pretty much make it a sucker's bet," DECA snarked.

He rolled his eyes at that. "Remind me again why I gave you the ability to be snarky."

"Because you felt me just being your standard monotone robot voice would be too boring, so you gave me a personality."

"Right. Are the rest of the teachers out of the building?"

There was a few seconds of silence as DECA started looking through the cameras. "Mostly. Looks like Tsutsumi-sensei and Principal Nezu are still in his office talking. But other than that the only ones in there are the security guards and the custodians."

After ducking into an alley and pulling his Spider-Man backpack out from behind a dumpster, he changed into a pair of black sweatpants, a black hoodie, and his spare mask (which was really just a black ski-mask with a set of goggles with white lenses this time) and slipped on his spare web shooters.

Looking over the school, he said "Okay then. Time for what will hopefully be the ONLY time I break into UA."

With that, he fired two Web-Lines at the edges of the roof and pulled back until they were taut. Okay, if I planned this right, this little web-slingshot should send me high enough to get to the West Wing, right near the air vent that leads down to the Support Department. The mental image of him not planning it right and slingshotting himself right into the near-unbreakable windows of the building ran through his head, and he gulped. Please let me have planned this right.

Deciding to stop wasting time, he hopped up and the web-slingshot did its job, shooting him like a bullet of the roof and over the UA Barrier, him being high enough that he didn't trigger the defenses.

Counting down the seconds in his head, he aimed his web shooter down at the building, aiming for the right spot he was looking for.

Once he got to five Mississippi (blame his father for that one) he fire the web-line, which stuck to the roof. He immediately zipped himself down, managing to score a near perfect landing that didn't hurt his knees (too much.) "And he sticks the landing," he chuckled to himself.

"Eh, I give it a 9," DECA said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Izuku ignored her, instead making his way over the vent cover. The screws were loose enough that he didn't even really need to pull out his emergency mini-screwdriver to undo them. All he really had to do was jimmy the cover a bit and the screws came loose. That didn't stop him from being careful with it, since once he was inside and sticking to the walls of the vent, he carefully and gently placed the cover back down, doing his best not to dislodge any of the screws.

Once he was inside, he pulled out his phone and whispered "Alright, I'm gonna need you to guide me here."

"Already got the instructions ready, Spidey. Head down while I get ready to loop the cameras."

"What would I do without you," he chuckled before crawling down the vent.

Kaina sighed as she slumped in the seat in Nezu's office. "Well, today was a day."

"Agreed," Nezu replied, sipping his tea. "But now we need to discuss how we move going forward."

She sighed. "Let me guess, you want me to look into Aldera Junior High and see just what kind of a shitshow they're running, right?"

Nezu nodded. "Yes. While I understand that Bakugo is purely responsible for his own actions and decisions, I can't help but feel that Aldera played a significant part in instilling that particular mindset. And if he's one of the many who were taught that mindset-"

"I get the picture, Nezu," she said. "If these bozo's are teaching these kids to be Quirkist a-holes, then they need to be shut down. And considering there's no chance they'll just tell me outright if I walk in and ask, and me and the cops showing up with warrants will probably push them to start destroying evidence, I'm gonna need to fish out my other suit."

Nezu grinned. "Ah, yes. That special costume you still keep even though you say you're done with that lifestyle."

She couldn't help but smile wistfully as she remembered when she said that. "Eh, I knew deep down I'd never be done with that lifestyle.

'Besides, I look good in those purples and greens."[1]

Once DECA had the cameras looping their feeds, and having DECA do a quick scan for any additional security they might've missed, Izuku lowered himself from the ceiling on a web-line and quietly landed on the floor.

After he and DECA got through the security protocols on the Super Fabricator, they got to work.

And in about twenty minutes, everything was completed and ready.

Izuku smirked as he folded his new suit up and put it and the Mark II Web Shooters into his backpack. Once he wiped the record of what he did from the Super Fabricator and shut it down, he web-zipped up to the ceiling and crawled into the vent. "Can't wait to show those Fixers the new and improved Spider-Man," he said to himself.

Tremor sighed as he looked at the spot from where he was hiding, hidden behind a large pile of construction girders.

The place they had chosen to ambush Spider-Man at was a construction site in the Coruscant District, one that had been shut down when it had been discovered that the workers had been part of a money laundering operation by a gang called the Tombstones. Once the police and heroes cleaned house, the place was left until someone eventually bought the site and cleaned it up. So for now it just stood there, gathering dust.

Looking up at the darkening sky, he grumbled before flipping on his radio. "Check in."

"Stone here. Nothing here yet. Just like the last couple of hours," came the deep yet annoyed reply from the large man. "We sure he's gonna show up?"

"I'm positive," Crosshairs replied. "He placed that tracker on us to try and find us. He'll be here, even if only to find his little-ACK!"

Both of them whipped around to look at the billboard where Crosshairs had been stationed-

-and felt their jaws dropped and eyes widen when they saw him, unconscious and webbed to the billboard.

Well, more like plastered to it with the amount of thick and heavy webbing covering every part of him except for his head.

Stone found his voice and asked "Where the fu-"

He was cut off by a loud Thwip! and a glob of webbing hitting him on the mouth, silencing him.

"Language, buddy."

The voice came from above them, and standing there on an I-Beam was the wall-crawling vigilante, now in his new costume: a green and dark red design with black webs over the green parts, two white lenses over his eyes, and a dark red spider over his chest.[2]

He glared at them, the lenses narrowing to match, and he said "Now it's time for the Fixers to get fixed!"

After he got out of the school and changed into his new suit, Spider-Man had spent the last couple of hours linking DECA to the rest of the Hero Network Towers in Musutafu, before finally deciding to take care of the Fixers. Rather than just go straight to the Spider-Tracer, he instead scoped out the area around it, using the new Advanced Reconnaissance Mode he put in his mask's lenses. This wonderful mode used next gen scanning tech to not only see through walls but could also see body heat, toxins/chemicals, and could detect/analyze forensic evidence.

As such, he was quickly able to find the three mercs/villains, and formulated a plan.

The first thing he did was activate the new gadget he made, a modification from his Mark II Web Shooters: the Impact Web, which fired a condensed ball of webbing that exploded on impact, hence the name. The downside was that it pretty much ran through a whole cartridge of Web Fluid, so he had to be selective of when he used it.

Admittedly the Mark II Web Shooters had better storage capacity compared to his Mark I's, but that didn't really give him an excuse to be careless.

Once he got it ready, he fired a web-line and yanked Crosshairs' sniper rifle out of his surprised hands. Before he could react to that Spider-Man fired the Impact Web, which nailed him in the chest. The force of it and the subsequent explosion of web fluid sent him flying back against the billboard, splattering around and plastering him to it.

A fist to the face then knocked him unconscious.

He then dropped down in front of the other two Fixers, which led to their current situation.

Tremor recovered first, launching a double shockwave from both of his hands at the wall crawler. It never touched him, as he immediately jumped and front-flipped over it. He then shot out a web-line and swung forward with his feet forward, performing a Swing Kick that nailed Tremor in the chest and sent him flying away. Stone then tried to leap up and grab him, but Spider-Man easily vaulted over him and kicked him away in the ribs...

...and immediately winced and rubbed his sore foot. "Yowch. I guess they don't call you Stone for nothing."

Ripping the web off of his mouth, the rock man growled "No shit, Sherlock!"

His Spider-Sense went off, and he jumped out of the way as another large shockwave demolished the ground where he had been standing, narrowly missing a large pile of cement mix. Seeing where Tremor was positioned, Spider-Man used his webs to yank up two of the bags. He then whipped around and launched them at the vibration Quirk user, who on instinct sent out shockwaves to destroy them.

But this had been what Spider-Man had been counting on, as the bags exploded and scattered their contents, forming an improvised smokescreen that hid him from view.

Tremor growled. "You think that'll save you?! A little bit of dust!"

He fired another shockwave at the smokescreen and blew it away, fully expecting to either hit Spider-Man or reveal him-

-only to see absolutely nothing, as if he'd seemingly vanished.

"What the-?! Where'd he go?!"

Thwip!Thwip!

Two web-lines struck and attached to his shoulders, and he was suddenly yanked up into the air and turned around...

...just in time to see Spider-Man perched on one of the I-Beams, who then jumped up to meet him and grabbed his head. "Sweet dreams, shithead."

And that was the last thing Tremor heard before Spider-Man very forcefully slammed his head down onto the I-Beam with a loud CLONG! and the inky black of unconsciousness took him.

Spider-Man sprayed some more webs over him to cocoon him, before zipping down to where Stone was. "And then there was one."

Stone growled in irritation, before cracking his knuckles and pulling out a set of heavy knuckledusters that looked like they were made out of heavy steel instead of brass (and had large spikes on them.) "I'm gonna enjoy crushing you, insect."

He rolled his eyes at that. "Common misconception. Spiders are arachnids. Though honestly-"

He was cut off as Stone roared and lunged at him, throwing a punch that he just narrowly dodged. Spider-Man retaliated by throwing a few punches into his side, but each one didn't do anything except give him sore knuckles. He dodged a few more punches before firing an Impact Web in an attempt to bind his arms, but to his surprise Stone ripped right through it. Note to self: strengthen my web fluid in case I have to fight guys like this.

Realizing he didn't have much options, Spider-Man put some distance between him and Stone and closed his eyes, looking inside himself to find that power he used last night: the Venom Blast.

He found it, but immediately noticed that it wasn't nearly as strong.

But what he could feel would hopefully be more than enough.

Red sparks danced across his body, before he opened his eyes and began to focus them into his right arm, converging around his fist and making it glow like a red star.

Stone glared at him and got ready to charge. "You think those sparks are gonna take me down?"

Getting ready to spring forward and pulling his fist back, Spider-Man replied "Let's find out, Gravel-boy!"

Apparently that was enough to set him off, because the Rock Mutant Quirk user charge at him like a rampaging rhinoceros.

Spider-Man waited until he was closer before he finally sprang forward, dodging Stone's punch before delivering his glowing red fist into Stone's face.

The result?

The red electricity burst out in a powerful wave with the sound of heavy artillery being fired, with Stone being sent flying across the construction site and slamming into one of the I-Beams with enough force to bend it. He then fell forward, not getting back up (with the scanners in his lenses saying the man was unconscious. And probably had a concussion.)

Spider-Man landed and waited for a few seconds, before finally exhaling a sigh of relief when nobody got back up. "Well, how do you like that?"

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi could hardly believe what he was seeing in front of him.

About ten minutes ago, a pair of officers had called dispatch and said that someone had left an anonymous tip that a vigilante known as Spider-Man had defeated and apprehended three villains at an abandoned construction site and that the police should get there and bring them in.

Initially he would've ignored it and dismissed it as a prank, if said officers hadn't told him that last night there had been three incidents where said vigilante had been involved. So he decided to humor them and investigate-

-and now he was at an abandoned construction site that looked like a warzone, staring at three villains who had been cocooned in webs (with the biggest guy additionally wrapped up in heavy steel cables) and were hanging upside down from an I-Beam.

Stuck to the middle cocoon was a note, obviously homemade, that read: Courtesy, your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

PS: Hope you enjoy my artwork. Look down. :)

He did, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what he was looking at.

Just in front of his feet was a can of emerald green spray paint.

And in front of THAT was a large freshly painted spider.

Underneath that was kanji that read: More to come soon.

On the one hand, part of Naomasa couldn't help but find the act kind of ballsy. Plus he recognized at least two of these guys; being D-Rank villains that they'd been searching for to bring in. And he could definitely appreciate what this Spider-Man had done.

But at the same time, he knew that what this person had done was vigilantism plain and simple, and it was bound to open a can of worms that would lead to lots and LOTS of headaches for him and his fellow officers.

"Hope this guy's ready for what he's about to unleash," he muttered, before heading back to his car to radio for backup and transport.

Because the Hero Comission ain't gonna be happy about this.

Unknown to Tsukauchi, Spider-Man had been watching him the whole time from a nearby rooftop, both to recover from his fight but also to make sure the Fixers ended up in custody and didn't try to escape.

Once the transport vans had arrived and loaded them up (and also clamped Quirk Suppressing Cuffs on them) he said "Well, I'd consider that my first major win."

Through the earpiece in his mask, DECA replied "I guess. You feeling okay after nailing that guy with your Venom Punch?"

He nodded. "Didn't take too much out of me. Still- Wait, Venom Punch?" He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Very funny, DECA."

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, I do need to do a bit more training with it. See just what else I can do with my new Venom Blast abilities. But for now..."

He stood up, before bringing up the MAP on his HUD that he and DECA made while he was connected her to the Hero Network Towers.

And he immediately saw several red triangles, which he knew were cries in progress.

Seeing one that was close to him, he replied "We got work to do."

And with that, Musutafu's Spectacular Spider-Man swung off into the night...

-End Arc 1: Rise Of The Spider-

[1]: Care to guess which Marvel character she also is?

[2]: Ladies and gentleman and others, BEHOLD! Spider-Izuku's CLASSIC SPIDER-MAN SUIT!

#crossover au #izuku midoriya #spiderman #lady nagant #new suit

[the-firebird69]

Believe commenting on we were commenting on Monaco in there some girls and he said a couple things my car is Aston Martin and it's the fastest car on Earth and they agreed and she tries to find one and then she wants to race our car because it is going to be faster and she wants to beat her and start a thing with the men and they're at these race tracks everyday with every car they can find and they can't get into the Aston Martin the woman are keeping them out. It's a huge show and it shows what women can do and it's increasing in size and amplitude tons of people are trying to make their cars faster and you see the supercars come in and it just don't do it and then they're trying to get their fly tires in all the time. And usually my husband is making fun of the girls cuz they look like kids and he was and then when women are actually one girl looks like a woman and he said that I'll do and she started saying he's his mom so he says oh never mind Mom and she says damn it out loud and walks around and people heard what it was and start laughing and she says I got it back then they start laughing loudly and she said what if she said you're the idiot is trying to hook him at least and she said oh yeah he doesn't care about that and he she had to go away mom cuz you start talking in space she did well we have to but and she started to say I don't care and stuff and looks around people laughing and she said we're in a lot of trouble and she left and said I'm not going back there and it's true I've been thinking about it you act like a little kid and they are little kids it's a win-win she got on the line saying I don't want to help you anymore I said so don't you're going out anyways and that's what happens some people are like old people farts. She started laughing and said I might not be able to find me for my mom but she said it already I understand that the group is getting small that's a lot smaller than people think but it's because of the empire and she left a little and said it's actually real we're getting mean and nasty and it's this empire and they don't like him because he's a rebel and she started to cook up some plants for them

I like how it turned out because he's usually just angry but you know nothing to do he doesn't want to drive those cars are too fast for him

Hera

We have a plan for our car and it's about this place Monaco in Spain and they have all these hot cars that going in are there we're getting ready to show it and produce it and people are saying it doesn't have a damn name the car maker who said yeah it's an off brand it's supposed to be and he said you're supposed to put it out there is an off-brand everyone said yeah so he and she are suggesting the Phoenix auto company or Phoenix motors and we started to think about it they need one of their places Olympus and other companies are coming out with our names and places like that so you say this I think we're going to do that it sounds like we make fly cycles and fly cars and fly cycles and people come to us and ask for it and we can make them some and make our people some and it'll be like normal it's this really cool way of doing things I'm going to try and do it it's still an assignment and very dangerous but it is intriguing and he wants to do that this way Its a nice thing to do and we'll have people who are fronting for us. And she wanted to drive the car up there and back out and it was attract tons of trumpsters so they're like trying to go in there and they're getting in fights and the other one is the same clan. And Trump has a knock off he wants to try and pass off as the car it is still very fast but we don't think it's going to be the Aston Martin the track record they don't have it and we can't let him do it it's not us and they're going to try and show up and say they are and they're going to have two cars so figure that out

Thor Freya

Olympus

I noticed something we're really not good at it and his people make the best stuff and other companies make a little better but with them it's really awesome we have to try it

Trump

[minyboy]

Bloody Pirates (Halloween Monster “Roleplay” 3) Part 9

My my little nerd, who strangely looks like Johnny Depp, what should I do to you? I could enter your body and make you end yourself. But with my track record of body snatching, let's hold off on that, it might even affect me if I was inside him... ew... sorry. Well, he knows of Freddy, the whole town knows of Freddy. It sure is not Elm Street, it's some generic town. Plastic almost. And this attic reeks of dog. Maybe those werewolf rumors were true. I've been sitting here all day just thinking and waiting for this weirdly handsome nerd to fall asleep. My mind is wandering and I'm losing my damn marbles. Nothing coherent. That's it, time to make him piss his pants at the sight of me. I can't just lay here and wait like a call girl. *poof* Oh yeah, I'm back home baby! And I'm already feeling the strain take place, let's do this quick handsome. Come on demon magic... there he is, reading a damn comic book like a child. A pirate tale, strangely on point for some reason. I'll just give him a little scare. Put the fear of Freddy in his emasculated heart "Yaar" very scary Miny Boy, and he noticed "Nobody likes ye nerd. Yer so-called hearties jus' pity ye. Ye be weird 'n all alone in this world. I'll end yer misery fer both o' u 'n send ye t' Davy Jones' locker." Oh, oh my, look at him run! I've never seen a nerd run before. That'll teach you to daydream while reading a comic! Oh yeah , I'm getting the hang of this, Fredy's coming fer ya!

-Miny Freddy Krueger

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

can't stop thinking of this op danny/guardian spirit/young justice crossover that I can't write because I don't have the DC universe background knowledge for it so I'm gonna just dump the concept here

be prepared for a lot of rambling

so the JL consider Amity Park a Safe Zone in case of dire emergencies

but nobody is told why, only the top members of the Justice League know anything about the place, Robin probably breaks into Batsy's computer and finds something about some hero there named Phantom but he can't find any other info about him or the town other than that he's trustworthy

and maybe the Young Justice crew get fucked up and the JL are indisposed or being distracted or something and the safe houses are compromised so Robin has to be like 'alright team I know this One Place that's supposed to be like a last resort safe space' so they all end up in Amity Park, and their pursuers are right on their tail until they hit the edge of town and then some fucking force of nature comes down on the bad guys following them out of nowhere and fucks them up

they would just be like 'holy shit who is this guy how come we never heard of him??'

and Robin is like 'oh hey so you're Phantom? Batman said this was a safe place to go when we're in trouble'

and he's expecting Danny to know some shit or have a plan or a safehouse to take them to

but Danny's just all 'uhhh this place gets attacked by inter-dimensional monsters every other day why would he send you here for safety? also Batman knows who I am???'

Robin is just confused as all hell because apparently Batman has this town listed as the Ultimate Safehouse and its hero is listed as Trusted but he's never even spoken to the guy?

real sus

but Danny takes them in and finds some abandoned house for them to stay in, and promises that whoever is chasing them will not set foot in this town, like they might have to deal with some ghosts popping up but human threats are no problem

and they're in this empty house that's, okay well it isn't dilapidated or anything but it has no power or water or even security, Phantom just tells them he's got their backs while they recover and don't worry about it

but Robin wants answers so he's quizzing Danny on who he is and why Batman trusts him

but Danny's got no idea, he's surprised the JL even know who he is because nobody has ever come to see him, nobody has ever given him any indication that they even know he's here, which he was kinda peeved about because he had to tackle every ghost attack by himself

but the Justice League not only knew he was here but apparently volunteered him to look after them?

he's a little bit pissy about that, Robin cannot entirely blame him, Robin thinks this whole thing is weird, like there has to be a reason, the JL don't just ignore kids fighting crime on their own, they would have invited him into their team, offered him help and training, not left him to figure it all out alone

although the kid was pretty powerful, he took out a whole crew of bad guys in one breath, literally

true to Danny's word, nobody finds them, the guys who had been hunting them down and chasing them everywhere can't seem to track them here, either that or Phantom just keeps getting in their way when they try, they feel so safe here, safer than they've ever felt before

Megan picks up that there's something unusual about the place, it's like the town itself is telling them that they're safe here, the air is full of love and warmth and comfort, somebody here wants them to feel at ease, somebody here wants them to feel safe

Robin still thinks it's sus

he starts to wonder if Batman was coerced by this psychic force to mark the town as a safe space, but he's pretty sure Batman's too savvy for that, besides, Megan was certain that there was no coercion or ill intent plaguing their minds, it's just a general atmosphere of safety

and she's pretty sure it's coming from Phantom

they witness a ghost fight or two and are amazed that the JL have been ignoring these pretty significant threats and just let some kid handle it alone, sure he has the same powerset as the enemies plus some, but he's still a kid and he's alone

none of them would ever have been allowed this much freedom or this little assistance

super super sus

after the JL finally get out of whatever issue they've been stuck with, they come pick up the kids and Danny is there like 'oh hey I think I need an explanation because what the fuck guys'

and Batman in all his blunt glory just tells him 'we were advised not to interfere unless absolutely necessary'

Danny obviously Does Not Like this answer and wants to know who this guy is that's ordering Batman around, then low and behold, Constantine shows up, immediately balling out Batman because 'why the fuck are you in Amity Park rn I made it VERY CLEAR that this place is a delicate fucking ecosystem if Superman gets god damn overshadowed we are all gonna have problems'

aaaaaand suddenly it all makes sense

Danny realises that any hero who's powerful enough to take on a ghost literally cannot risk that power in the hands of creatures that can just take over their bodies at any time, especially when this is a standard ability in all of Danny's enemies

but he's still shitty because like 'y'all could still have called me or something it would be nice to know I wasn't totally alone out here ya know'

and Constantine is all 'kiddo I literally had the god of time show up in my bedroom at 3am to tell me to make sure none of these fucks tried to adopt you as a side kick, one of them has a track record with this kinda thing it's a legit problem, I couldn't give these fuckers an inch, this town was off limits. so WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE RN'

aaaand Batman has to explain them a thing, basically Phantom is considered so fucking OP and has such an omniscient connection to the town itself that it makes for the perfect hiding place and defence for anyone in dire straights, and it really is only supposed to be a last resort, the side kicks had absolutely nowhere else to go with all of their safe houses compromised

aaaand that's how Danny learns that he is kind of more powerful than most of the god damn Justice League

hope you enjoyed this because I am never gonna be able to actually write it, have a nice day ✨

#lula's aus #danny phantom #overpowered danny #op danny dc edition #guardian spirit au #young justice #justice league #dc

[ecoamerica]

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