#at least i think thats how her quirk works

[fixfoxnox]

I Know You Didn't Take Requests But Just Curiosity... What Would Happen If Makarov Was Obsessed With A Nervous Russian Woman?

Kissing you (with your permission) for asking about Makarov I've been wanting to write with him so much since the newest trailer dropped AHHHH also I'm gonna take this as an x reader Makarov headcanon request if thats alright

Makarov Obsessed with Nervous Russian Fem! Reader

Warnings: Dub-con, loosely implied non-con, kidnapping, stalking, obsession, knife kink and blood kink, jealousy, murder

Makarov and reader meet before his time as an ultranationalist, when he's still at least a little good.

He's Spetsnaz and you're just a secretary trying to stay under the radar and make a living for yourself. Being around hungry men, men constantly away from their respective families or partners, never quite allows you to settle into peace.

You're one of the only women working on the base, and the men laugh when you jump at their sudden arrivals or hands on your shoulder. You don't find it funny, but they assure you that you have no reason to be nervous. You don't believe them, you're nervous all the time in a place like that.

There's one man who doesn't laugh at you. He's a captain and any time he makes you jump, he apologizes. He's kind and charming and, honestly, the only man on base you're able to find any sort of comfort in.

Makarov isn't sure what it is that starts his obsession with you. Perhaps its the amusement he feels when you stutter over yourself as you speak. Maybe its just that he enjoys having someone kind around. Maybe he just latched on to someone and you happened to be the unlucky victim.

Either way, it didn't matter. After a week of knowing you, Makarov is enamored. He's interested.

When Makarov is interested it means research. Research means watching you even when you think you're alone. Sneaking into your home or desk and snooping to understand more about you. He watches and learns all of your little quirks, everything that makes you tick. And Makarov is good at his job, so it's not surprising that you never realize.

Then the papers are sent. Makarov is discharged and the rumor floating around base is that it was an order by the UN after his cruel and inhumane treatment during war.

You don't believe its true, you don't believe Makarov is capable. Still, you're only a woman on a base surrounded by men, you can't voice your thoughts to anyone.

To you, Makarov dissapears. In reality, he's still around.

He joins the ultranationalists and stops trying to hide who he really is. With them, he's appreciated. His bloodlust is praised. He thrives under the guiding hand of Imran Zhakaev.

As he thrives, he doesn't forget you. He watches from the shadows, keeping tabs on your every move as he works himself up the totem pole of Ultranationalists. He keeps you as close as he can without you ever knowing.

And, in the shadows, he pushes and prods reader exactly how he wants her. He keeps men away from you, many of them never showing for plans you made. He encourages activities and learning about certain topics with hidden items for you to find.

And, when Makarov is made Zhakaev's second (only behind his son) and given more control and power, he takes no time in claiming his obsession.

He wouldn't be gentle about it. You'd been out of his grasp for far too long and now he had you here? Well the idea of bruises or bleeding skin only lit him up with excitement.

Now he isn't violent when he kidnaps you. Only disciplinary, as he says. You struggle and he corrects that action. And, as he settles you in to the base he's been staying at, you understand this is your new future.

Makarov is obsessed with you, he wants to own you, he wants every piece of you to be his. And that desire involves you giving yourself to him, giving in to his own wicked desires and playing along.

Maybe you resist at first, but at the end of the day you're a nervous person and you can do nothing but cower behind him. You're in deep, a madman is obsessed with you, and you're trapped behind enemy lines. What choice do you have but to give in and become Makarov's play thing.

Now, once you do give in, Makarov treats you like a queen. You are his after all, and what belongs to him gets taken care of.

I think Makarov is the type to shower his partner in gifts. Jewelry and silk. Anything that he would be able to physically see on his partner like a mark of his ownership over them.

He's an overprotective and jealous man. God help any ultranationalist who tries to flirt with you or insult you. After Makarov is done dealing with them in the only way he knows how, his ire often falls to you.

He takes his anger out in the bedroom in those moments. Making you beg and declare his ownership over you repeatedly.

Now, this doesn't define your more intimate moments with him. As much as Makarov loves having control, he's more than willing to let you take over and do what you will to him until he orders you to stop. He likes to let his inhibitions go under your touch.

Makarov likes to play domesticity. He likes it when you make him breakfast and see him off for the day with a kiss to his lips. He likes to have you waiting in the room for him, ready to cater to his needs. He likes playing house, pretending to be the perfect husband of a normal family.

He doesn't succeed most of the time. Meetings upon meetings often bleed into the sanctuary he wants with you and, more often then not, you find Makarov entering the room speaking in a quiet and clipped voice with other men, future plans for the Ultranationalists being discussed between them.

And finally, I think Makarov enjoys showing you off, to an extent. He's obsessed with you and he has you, of course he wants everyone to know it. Of course he wants to show you off.

But, at the same time, Makarov hates the ideas of others looking at you, of anyone else even possibly thinking that they could hold you and have you like he did

This often results in meetings or casual sit downs where you're pulled onto his lap or tucked against his side. You keep your eyes down and Makarov watches like a shark, ready to attack anyone who would so much as look at you.

Also knives in the bedroom and you should probably get used to blood, because you'll be helping clean it off of him most days, whether that's running him a bath and scrubbing it from his skin, or joining him in a shower for a much more intimate approach to ridding him of the blood.

#thoughts with luke #you asked luke #vladimir makarov #vladimir makarov x reader #vladmir makarov #makarov cod #cod makarov #makarov x reader #call of duty fanfic #call of duty modern warfare 2 #call of duty

[thequietkid-moonie]

Moonie-chan , do still write for oshi no ko and nier automata?! If yes !!! Could you do ai hoshino, Ruby hoshino, 2b, with male reader ( if you don't mind) who's have cheerful,dedicated guy,very optimistic, with dreams and bright world views.experienced a great sense of freedom and tried to experience everything life had to offer with childlike optimism. Please.... You so lovely moonie-chan, love you 💋🫂❤️

Cheerful and optimistic S/O has a great view of live

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Ai, Ruby, 2B ]

[ Oshi no Ko ] [ NieR Automata ]

While I was writing it i just understood how much im bothered by this kind of people (the ones that are extremely optimistic), nothing personal I juts hate life so i despise the extreme optimism, or at least I don't tolerate it much from strangers (thats the reason why I hate Rengoku)

Anyway, please remember I only write for gender neutral, I want everyone to feel included while reading, u know?

Ai Hoshino

It could be easy to think that you two have a matching personality for how Ai always acts in public, but the reality is that you two are quite the opposite, Ai isn't really optimistic and cheerful, she just put a facade for everyone when deep down she is filled with insecurities and saddness

Ai actually like a lot your personality and is a little envy that all that cheerful attitude is natural for you, but at the end she likes it, and having a relationship with you give her the opportunity to stay with you all she can

Ai end up learning to imitate your own cheerful and optimistic personality, taking a few quirks of you and adding them to her facade, trying to play a even better role as an perfect idol for her fans, but deep down she feels a little flustered because this way she can feel you closer (specially since for her work you two can't be together much time or even just make public your relationship)

Honestly, Ai likes you more than she could understand or even admit, your cheerful attitude is the complete oposide from what she truly feels, you are what se doesn't have, what she doesn't feel, and thanks to your relationship she is slowly learning new pleseant feelings, feeling of happiness and love

You are kinda what Ai needed on her life, she is surrounded by pressure from her work, envy and mistery, but you are so natural and loving, your smiles are never fake and your optimism came from the botton of your heart, and she can't help but feel fascinated, is something completely refreshing to her usual enviroment, it makes her heart skip a beat sometimes because of how real you are with all of this, or whenever she remember that this person she admires and loves so much loves her in return, and loves her for real

Ai feels like the way you see the world is kinda childish, she knows a world too diferent from the one you seem to know, Ai's life is surrounded by pressure, insecurities, she is exposed to harsh coments and claims on her person, asking to be more and more, even herself is a lie, the Ai the world knows is a facade, while you see the world with brightness, your eyes sees beauty and hope in everything, always saying that even if today was a bad day tomorrow can be a better day. Ai can't help but think you are amusing and silly, but that doesn't stop from liking the way you see the world

Ruby Hoshino

Ruby tent to be more cheerful and optimistic, even a little childish, so your personalities normally just match with each other, understanding each other in their view of life

Since Ruby wants to be an idol is more probably that you two will have to keep your relationship as a secret, still with your personalities matching you two can easily be seen as best friends if you don't make too obvious your relationship. What, at the end of the day, isn't too wrong, you two can easily considere your relationship as best friends and lovers

Your cheerful attitude can either be loved or be hated for your friends, because whenever you two are together that attitude just multiplies, for example Kana gets easily annoyed (specially if you are being affectionate) while Mem-cho kinda like it, constantly just matching your own energy and end up be like a group of caotic teenagers ready to eat the world. In the other hand, Aqua isn't too bothered by it, he just likes seeing his sister happy, but will make sure you don't mean any harm to her or that your stupidity blindful optimism doesn't lead you two to troubles

As much Ruby is optimistic and childish she may not be as much as you are, and there are a lof of things she admires of you, your great view of life is something of that, she does tries to don't think the worst of people but for what happened to her mother and for being in the media she is exposed to criticism, hate and even people who tries to make her see bad on everyone, so having you is quite refreshing, your great view of life lead her to have one too, influenced by your own she tries to see things in a bright light too (much to Aqua's annoyance because he is trying really hard to protect her sister, and this just trigger his overprotectiveness since he is the literal opposite)

Even in moments that she is more calm and wants just to relax she likes talking with you and asking for your opinion, truly interested on hearing it and discovering more of your point of view of diferents things, is probably that at some point she will also ask you what you think about what happened to her mother (without telling you who is in reality)

2B

2B feels troubled by her relasionship with you just because it brings her so much joy but sometimes she feels like she doesn't deserve it

At the start it was dificult for you two to get together for 2B's insistance that feelings are forbidden for a YoRHa unit, but no matter how much she used to repeat it that would never stop her from falling in love with you, deep down she always knew that not feeling anything it was imposible, specially with you around. It took a while but at the end 2B accepted her feeling and finally accepted to be in a relationship with you

2B feels completely fascinated by your personality, even when most of the time she is serious and even just focused on her duty she just can not be infuenced by your cheerful attitude, she doesn't admit it much but she like having you around when she go out of the resistance camp because she likes the way you see the world, even when she seem like she isn't paying attention or that is too focus on her surroundings she is actually paying attention to what you say or your reactions, she loves just hearing you talks or see you whenever you find something new or something catched your attention (and if 9S is there with you two is even more fascinating! your personalities match really well, but sometimes is too much for 2B's heart)

Even when she doesn't look like it, 2B sees a lot of herself on you, your way to see the world one so hopeful and beautiful, you find the world fascinating and even with all the dangers you always thought it was a world worth of living on, and that is something that goes straight to 2B'S heart because, even when she doesn't feel exact the same, she also things that despite the danger and the reason why she was created, despite what YoRHa was doing to her, she also thought the life was worthy to living because she has you and 9S. She normally doesn't say much about your way of thinking, and if you ask she normally answer that she doesn't know or isn't sure because she doesn't want to tell you all that troubles her heart, but your way to see the world really brings her a lot of hope

2B grows really protective over you, she loves you with all her heart and, honestly, she thinks that you are more that she could even ask for, even sometimes feels like she doesn't deserve you (mainly for her truly purpose), so she tries to overcome her insecurities and determinated for her love she had promised to herself to protect you and your bright heart to all cost, no matter if you are a android or human, even if you are a machine she will protect you, always with the hope of having a peaceful life with you, someday somehow

#oshi no ko #oshi no ko x reader #ai hoshino #ai hoshino x reader #ai x reader #ruby hoshino #ruby hoshino x reader #ruby x reader #nier automata #nier automata x reader #nier 2b #2b #2b x reader #x reader #x gn reader #anime x reader #video game x reader

[grabowskibeepboop]

OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY

So when I was younger I made a bunch of ship children for my mha ships, they're not omegaverse, omegaverse can go fuck itself, no offense if you like it but its weird and not my thing, but this is a post post modern world where there are quirks so someone's gotta have a baby quirk and they gotta be rlly famous so if I'm wrong then fuck me idc

And my favourites were ofc the bkdk ones

Older one named Inko Midoriya-Bakugo and a younger one named Toshinori Midoriya-Bakugo

I'm not gonna put pictures of them because I only have gacha pictures which I am kind of embarrased about, and I could also just change how I want them to look whenever, but I think they both have (or gonna have now) curly hair and freckles (I think those are strong features but anygays), Inko has green hair and red eyes and is very Bakugo, she wants to be a hero and I will talk about her quirk later because thats the point of this post and Toshi has blonde hair and green eyes and telekinesis and wanted to be a detective since he could form a correct sentence he was like always playing with puzzles and watching crime solving shows as a toddler when people didn't pay attention to him and ofc both of them have osananajimis because that is unavoidable is you're a Midoriya-Bakugo but I'm not gonna talk about them rn

So umm Inko's quirk used to be just the same as Katsuki's, but one day I realized implosions exist so now I want her to have an implosion quirk but I kind of want some help to figure out how it works, understand I am pretty good at coming up with complex quirks at least I like to think so because I've made a bunch of ocs before and I still have ideas ai haven't done anything with, my mind is very messy anyways if you want to help feel free to either reblog or comment or dm me, amygays good day

#bkdk #bakudeku #katsudeku #ktdk #decchan #boom boom boom boom #iunno #shuddup

[piedpiperart]

Menagerie part 1

Izuku’s eyes widened at the tall building of UA. He almost wanted to cry. All his dreams were riding on this one day. If he doesn’t make it in, of course, he can always try for gen ed and transfer during the sports festival, but… He really, really wants this to work out. All his life people told him to give up, no one relieved he could be a hero. Not even his own mom. 

Izuku shook his head, no, don’t think about that. Mom tries her best with a worthless son like me, but she’ll see his worth when he gets into the hero course. He thinks. I trained for years, I can do this! Even if the exam is something ridiculous like robots, I’ll at least be prepared to do my best!

Taking a deep breath he takes a step forwards and- trips over a loose brick in the walkway. “Wah- huh?” Izuku opens his eyes to see the bricks a foot away from his face. He wasn’t falling anymore? He went to reach out to touch the brick when he heard a nervous giggle. 

“Sorry for using my quirk on you!” His eyes snap up to see a cute girl with brown hair and caramel eyes. She gently drifts him upright by her hand on his shoulder. “I just figured it would be bad luck to trip and fall on a day like this, you know?” 

“T-thank you!” Izuku smiled, in awe at the weightlessness disappearing when she pressed her hands together. 

“Anyways!” The girl smiled,”We better get going, it should start soon!”

“O-oh! Right!” Izuku stammered, following after her. “I’m Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you Midoriya! I’m Ochako Uraraka!” Ochako replied. They made their way into the building entrance without any problems, whispering quietly about how nervous they were. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the familiar blonde hair of his childhood friend and hoped they wouldn’t be near one another. “Ooh! Let’s sit over here-” Ochako exclaimed quietly, dragging him over to sit next to her. He was grateful for that, because it looked like the only other seats available were around Kacchan. 

They still had a few minutes before the written test started, so they continued to talk to ease eachother’s nerves. “Your quirk is Gravity manipulation, right?”

“Sort of! It’s called Zero Gravity, so I can negate something’s gravity if I touch it with all five fingers,” Ochako says. 

“Woah! That’s so cool, and you can use it on objects and people right? Can you negate your own gravity? What’s your weight limit?” Izuku asks, fingers itching for a notebook to write everything down. 

Ochako laughs lightly at the rapid-fire questions. “Yes, and I can use my quirk on myself but it makes me nauseous, and I think around two tons? I haven’t been able to test it all that much.” 

Up ahead, people start to quiet down so Ochako lowers her voice. “Is that your quirk? Analysis or something?”

“Uh,” Izuku stammers, suddenly finding the table really interesting. “No.. I’m um, quirkless.”

For a moment Izuku is afraid to look over at her. He doesn’t want to see the disgusted look everyone has when he mentions it. Ochako had been so kind to him, and he just ruined it. Izuku felt a familiar pressure from behind his eyes and wondered if it was too late to change seats. Surely she would be more comfortable wit-

“Woah! You must have trained a lot to take this test, huh?” Ochako smiles, and Izuku is so, so relieved she doesn’t hate him like everyone else. He ignores the thought that she could always change her mind later, and sends her a blinding smile of his own. 

“Yeah!” He nods determinedly. 

“Let’s do our best then!” Ochako exclaims quietly, and they both turn to the front where the pro Hero Midnight takes the stage. 

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

“No way! We’re in the same group!”

“Wha- really?” Izuku’s eyes widened, looking from his card to Ochako’s. “Youre right!” 

“Thats so cool, maybe we’ll see each other!” Ochako said. Izuku nodded, that would be nice.

Moments later, Present mic entered the stage, and a bright spotlight shone right on him. Izuku shook with nervousness and excitement. “Alright!! Let’s start the introduction, can I get a YEAHHHH?!” Present Mic announced, using a bit of his quirk to anticipate the last word. Silence permeated through the auditorium. Izuku and Ochako exchanged glances, and she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Izuku nudged her as Present Mic continued to explain everything on the pamphlet they were given. 

“S-sorry-” Ochako whisper- laughed. “I just feel so bad- n-no one responded,” She breathed. Izuku bit his lip, trying to hold in his own laughter. Ochako was making it contagious. “I was too nervous, but I didn’t think no one would respond!”

Izuku nudged her quiet again, they were starting to get looks. “We can cheer next time?” Izuku offered hesitantly. 

Ochako nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! We can cheer him on together and he won’t be sad!” She whispered back. 

Their plans were ruined not even a minute later when a teenager with blue hair stood up. ”Excuse me!” He shouted, gaining the attention of the entire audience and interrupting the pro hero. “It says here there are four villains, but only three were mentioned! If this is an error then UA should be ashamed of such a misprint!” Ochako covered her mouth again to prevent her laughter from escaping when the blue-haired teen chopped his hands like a robot. Izuku tried and failed to keep his smile down at their actions. 

“And you two! Green and Brown hair!” The boy called out, causing the two in question to exchange confused glances. “You two have been talking this whole time! If you are not here to take this exam seriously, then I must implore that you leave immediately!”

“You’re the one interrupting Present Mic!” Ochako exclaimed, her cheeks puffing out a bit at the boy’s rudeness. 

“He was just about to explain the fourth robot too,” Izuku added,”It’s just an obstacle!”

The blue haired boy spluttered, but didn’t get a chance to respond before the pro hero took the spotlight again. “That’s right kiddos! The fourth robot is a zero-pointer!” He exclaimed, pointing to the screen dramatically. “They aren’t worth any points, so it’s best to avoid them!”

“Anyways, enough with all the rules, amiright?” Present mic said, posing dramatically. Ochako nudged Izuku in anticipation, and they both prepared for the cheer. “Get ready and get on out there listeners! YEAHH!!”

“Yeahh!!” Ochako and Izuku cheered along, as loudly as they could muster. Izuku almost regretted it when all the eyes turned to them, but he spotted Present Mic perk up and look toward them. 

“That’s the spirit, listeners!” Present Mic gestured with his open palm to them,”I got my eye on you two, good luck!”

Ochako waved enthusiastically back at the hero. Izuku’s face reddened at the attention, but he was smiling softly. “That was fun!” She laughed, taking Izuku’s hand. He suddenly felt this warm feeling build up inside him as she pulled him out of the audience and towards their area sections. 

The feeling disappeared when she let go, and Izuku realized they had reached the lockers. “Well, I’ll see you at the start line! Good luck!” Ochako waved. 

“Y-you too!” Izuku waved, and she disappeared into the girls locker room. He looked down to the hand she was holding, rubbing it a little. What was that feeling? Am I getting sick? Noticing the time, he hurried to the locker room, shrugging it off as an effect of her quirk. 

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

At the start line, Izuku couldn’t see any signs of Uraraka. He frowned, cursing his short genes when he suddenly caught a glimpse of short brown hair. Izuku straightened up and started forward, only to be stopped by a giant hand chopping down next to his face. 

“If you're going to bother that girl before the exam I suggest you refrain!” The boy declared. “You shouldn’t bother other examinees!”

“I- I um, she’s my friend-” Izuku stammered, backing up. The boy only pressed further into Izuku’s personal space. He tried to step back further but bumped into another kid. 

The boy continued to rant, and Izuku looked for any way out of that conversation when suddenly he heard a familiar voice shout ”GO!” and he was off running. He took a deep breath and let it out. He felt a lot better away from the other boy, and slipped into hs familiar mindset of fighting. 

Izuku had gone to one of the community gyms near his house for the past seven years, learning everything he could, from weapons and self defense to parkour. He even cleaned a whole beach full of trash over the summer.  Which was why during Present Mic’s warning to the other students to get going, Izuku had already climbed one of the buildings, jumping roof to roof.

Izuku was aiming to get a good vantage point where no one would bother him and there’d be plenty of robots. He didn’t see any zero pointers yet, but he had a feeling they were saved til the end. He panted, leaning over a roof to get a good view of the street below. There was a line of robots- perfect. He’d found where the robots waited to be sent out into the city. 

Pulling out a piece of pipe from the rooftop, he swung it a few times before nodding. Then he leaped off the roof, aiming for one of the robots in the middle of the pack. Just like that, three robots were down before any of them had registered what was going on. After the first three went down, many of the robots struck each other in their haste to get to him, and in close quarters they ended up falling a bit like dominos. Izuku laughed, turning back to make sure he got all the robots in his vicinity. He didn’t bother to count them, it would just waste time. 

Climbing back onto the rooftops, Izuku kept his sturdy roof-pipe with him as he leapt to find another area like the one he’d found. It was exhilarating, leaping from roof to roof on his own. It was nice to not worry about bullies and his mom, instead just flying across buildings with nothing but adrenaine. He hoped this would be what his life would be like when he became a hero. 

Grinning all the while, Izuku managed to take down four more spots full of robots before the ground started to shake. Turning, he could spot a giant robot with a big red zero painted onto it. He almost laughed. Of course the zero pointer would be a huge monster robot. Carefully, he made his way to where the robot was, just to make sure everyone could make it out okay. 

Izuku was about four buildings away from the zero-pointer when he heard a call for help. Without thinking, he ran towards it. Thankfully, he was closer to the voice than the robot was, so he didn’t have to worry about them being crushed by the robot. Yet. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur of blue and frowned. Izuku put the thought into the back of his mind as he slid off the last roof and flipped off one of the dead robots, landing safely to the ground with a controlled roll. “Ah! Izuku!” 

“Ochako?” Izuku’s eyes widened when he looked over to see his new fried trapped under some rubble. “I’m here to help, where are you hurt?”

“My hero!” Ochako laughed, then winced. “It’s just my ankle, I think.”

“Alright,”Izuku said, analyzing the situation. “I’m gonna try to move some of the debris, but yell if anything starts to hurt.”

“Okay!” Ochako called as he walked to the side, out of her eye-range. “I kinda over-used my quirk, sorry. I don’t think I can lift it just yet.”

“That’s okay,” Izuku said, shifting some pieces, and wedging his makeshift pipe staff into part of the heavier concrete piece. The ground under them started to shake, and Izuku made his way back to Uraraka. “Okay, I made a bit more room for you and stabilized it, so I’m gonna carefully slide you out if thats okay?”

“Yep!” Ochako grinned, holding up her hands for Izuku to take. He grasped her hands and the familiar warmth came back, tingling his skin. 

Izuku thought nothing of it at the time, only focusing on getting his friend out of the rubble quickly before the robot got too close. “Three, two, one!” Izuku called, and pulled her as quickly and carefully as he could. 

Just as suddenly as she was free, she was gone, and in the excitement, the two had fused together into a single person. “U-uraraka?” They asked hesitantly, looking around. 

“Wait-” They stopped,”Wait wait wait-” They looked down at themselves, noting they were several inches taller than normal, and was their hair longer? “I thought you didn’t have a quirk??”

“I thought so too??” They exclaimed, looking at their outfit. It was a mix of Ochako’s plain black tanktop now with a teal stripe, and Izuku’s teal pants with one now gray pant leg. “Is this- Is this my quirk??”

They suddenly burst into laughter. Half of it was in joy and the other half a little bit hysterical at the suddenness at having a quirk after fourteen years of absolutely nothing. “Well?!”

“Well what?” They tilted their head, still amazed at themself. A sly grin formed on their flushed face, turning towards the giant robot. “Why don’t we test out what your quirk can do!”

“W-” They started to object, but really, with all the excitement ant the oncoming robot towering over them, they found a want to try something new with this crazy opportunity. “Okay!”

“Okay!” They exclaimed again, rushing towards the robot. They felt a slight twinge in their ankle, but it was faint. They continued to run, not even slowing after jumping from pile of rubble to dead robot to atop the roofs and toward the giant robot. Laughing, they leaped tapped themself, activating zero gravity on themself and floating steadily towards the robot. They landed on its shoulder gracefully, and released their gravity. 

“Wait,” They started. “What?” They looked over to the robot’s head and out across the arena. “I have an idea,” They smiled, putting all five fingers onto the robot. After the robot was tapped, they jumped off the shoulder, slid down the arm and back to the rooftop, all in time to see gravity slowly increase on the robot.

“Oh my god,”They smiled, excitedly. “Oh my god, look! This is so cool! Can I do that by myself?? Can you??” They stood there and watched with awe as the robot crumpled to the ground like a soda can. They found themselves unable to stop smiling at the absolute chaos of what became of the day. “Something like zero gravity evolving under the other quirks influence- maybe call it fusion? Or think of a name later- into gravity manipulation, where we can increase or decrease gravity on something.” 

They paused, pressing their hands together to release the robot as Present mIc yelled for the exam end. “Did I get enough points? I think so.. I’m sure you did great! You too!” They laughed. Suddenly tired, they sat down on the roof ledge. “Do you.. Know how to turn it off?”

“It’s my first time- Oh wait how would you know- oh my gosh what if we’re stuck like thi-”They exclaimed, only to be cut off when suddenly they were thrust part, both teens now sprawled out on the rooftop. 

The two of them immediately got to their feet. “Oh my god!” They said in unison. 

“You got a quirk!” Ochako squealed. “You can merge with people?!!”

“I- I don’t even know how??” Izuku freaked out,”Did you- are you sure it wasn’t your quirk??”

“Nope!” Ochako giggled,” But oh!!” She exclaimed,”Maybe we can ask one of the staff to help- maybe they can figure out what your quirk is!”

“But- School isn’t even in yet and I- I’m sure they’re busy-” izuku stammered, very much freaking out. 

“Nonsense! Let’s go!”

“No- wait! We’re stopping by Recovery Girl first, you’re still hurt!”

“Fiine!”

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

“And you’re saying.. His quirk just manifested?” Eraserhead squinted at the two teens in front of him, one practically vibrating with excitement and the other on the verge of a dissociative episode. “During the exam?”

“Yep!” The girl responded. “He just sort of- we kind of formed a whole new person? With a new quirk and everything?”

“I-I thought I was quirkless…” The boy- Izuku Midoriya, Aizawa’s brain supplied- stammered. “I- I really didn’t know, I promise!”

Aizawa sighed. “I’m aware. I was watching the exam, kid.” 

That was also how Aizawa knew the boy had passed, it was just lucky for him the kid had come to the staff room after the test to ask for advice. The kid had gotten 45 villain points and assuming the rescue points for saving the girl only increased it, the kid was definitely getting in. It was only logical to start training him personally before the school year to catch him up on everything he needed to know about his quirk.

After telling the kid such, Midoriya thanked him profusely and vowed to do his best. Which was all Aizawa could ask for. Honestly, he was amazed to see such a late quirk manifest, and was a little more than worried about the kid suppressing a quirk for so long. 

“Now go home, get some rest, and tell your parents about it,” Aizawa reminded. “Meet me here tomorrow, both of you, and try not to use your quirk in the meantime.” He said. 

“Thank you!” Izuku bowed,” I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I really appreciate it!”

The girl nodded along, and thanked him for helping her friend. Minutes later, phone numbers exchanged and more thanks, the teenagers waved goodbye. “Thank you again Eraserhead!”

Shouta huffed in amusement before walking back to the staff room. 

“Problem child,” He grumbled fondly. He could already tell the kid was going to be a handful. 

Minutes later, Shouta realized he never gave the kid his hero name. 

PART TWO

#menagerie comic

[mha-quotes-and-such]

Y'know how some people in the MHA universe have different things about their bodies due to their quirks? Like Mina is pink from her acid, Iida has orange-juice powered engines in his legs?

Well, I was recently thinking about seizure activity & how it slowly damages the brain, & I considered Denki: what material is his brain made of so he doesn't have permanent brain damage? 'Cause he always snaps back from his overexhertion slumps, but no one knows how he does it-

Oh thats actually really interesting I hadnt thought of that. He’d definitely have to have more durable brain and nervous system to handle constant abnormal electrical charges. Maybe his brain has a better regulation system as opposed to a different material? Seizures (at least some, I dont think its all) are due to the brain failing to properly regulate electrical activity. Its possible that maybe his body acts as a sort of grounding for the electricity to move it away from his brain, in which case it would be his skin thats composed of a different material. It could also explain how his overexertion works: too much electricity is moved away from his brain in an attempt to compensate for high volumes of electricity, and he ends up with reduced electrical activity, similar to when a person is sleeping, but since hes awake it manifests as that sort of ‘slump’

#hopefully this is coherent its 2am while im writing this #not a quote #ask #theories and conspiracies

[doodlegirl1998]

Talk about how BK stans are wierd about Izu. But lets talk how Izu's abuse was deliberate on Hori's part (again, this is not "random guy pressing many buttoms" he sit down and wrote this shit) and how people, mostly BK's stans ignore in favor of fanon bkdk

Izu's dad is mia (In Japan some families use actors to pretend to be the kid dad's. Like wow ) and we dont even know his job.

Inko is a beglectful mom, thanks to how Hori wrote her. (For those reading, neglectful doesnt need to always be "she ignored how her kid is starving" Inko never bother to know her own son or do anything)

Why Izu accepts he is useless? Not victim blaming here but....this is smth I don't get why Izu nods and accept he is useless. "A lesson in hopeless" which could explain but...that would have to apply to others students who were abused by BK. And they seem fine.

(Also the lil shit Izu saved from Bk and turns against Izu later...why? I get kids can be assholes! But while the lil shit doesnt need to be Izu's bff...why try to please BK?)

Hi @mikeellee 👋

Both Bakugou stans and Hori (to a lesser extent) are horrible when it comes to Izuku, they both seem to treat Izuku as the cheerleader / supporting act to Bakugou.

Bakugou's /BkDk stans (mostly) tend to write what they wish to see - an asshole with a heart of gold who redeems himself and proves himself worthy of being Izuku's partner. While seemingly unknowingly writing him as abusive - screaming at his partner, still calling him a "Shitty Deku" but fondly or doing worse like causing Izuku to try and kill himself or dumping Izuku via text while Izuku is in hospital...

All the while Hori neglects Izuku and his family sidelining him for the Todoroki's (no hate to the Todofam) but...

Where's Midoriya Hisashi? If he's AFO you would think Hori would build up to this moment / give Izu deja vu when he sees AFO - anything? Or is Hisashi a random asshole civilian who upped and left his family or tragically died?

Why does Midoriya Inko act so neglectful yet worried? How Hori writes Inko is pretty poor honestly. In canon, she's not an evil, mean mum nor is she supermum like I've seen the most common fandom perceptions be - She's just there. A true background character. She's just stood there not doing anything while her quirkless son gets violently beaten up for ten years and does nothing. (She had to have had some idea what was going on, no four year old could hide being exploded.) Yet U.A post Kamino she threatens to pull Izu out - now Izu has a quirk, why this change in attitude now Izu has a quirk? Hori never shows her actively doing things for Izuku like a mother should; she cries and worries but thats all she does - while Izuku comforts her! At least other shonen parents have the excuse of being dead so therefore being unable to protect their kids...

Izuku seemingly accepting himself as useless... It began with the acceptance of the hero name 'Deku' to me it felt like someone, who had been bullied for their disability, making their hero name "Spaz" just because a new friend at UA called them once that - 'but in a nice way.' So that "makes it ok now!" When really it doesn't - certainly not like how MHA showed, in real life moments like reclaiming the insult (especially with a history attached like Izuku's does) has to take a lot of work. It felt like whiplash to have Izuku suddenly "be ok with it." And honestly... I don't think he is truly, he still thinks of himself as useless and thats reinforced by 1) everyone around him calling him "Deku" still - including Bakugou. Izuku's internal monologue even supports that he still thinks of himself as useless which is just SAD at this point. 2) Izuku rarely (if ever) getting any rightful praise. 3) Izuku getting shared blame for shit that is Bakugou's fault alone. House arrest should have been just Bakugou's punishment and Izu should have kicked his ass to the moon.

And for your final point, that is true that kid is a little asshole and you would think that in a school where most people are aspiring to be heroes there would be some (other than Izu) trying to stand up for people being bullied against Bakugou...

But at the same time it's realistic for a class to be afraid of the violent loud mouth bully who is strong and unafraid to throw a punch. Imagine that but throwing explosions, burns and explosive punches - yikes.

Either way, Bakugou's popularity should have tanked with his 'garbage personality' when he got into U.A but Hori wants to wank him off.

#mha critical #bnha critical #anti bakugou katsuki #anti bakudeku

[t-h-i-n-g]

Hi! I saw you are taking request. I like the idea of Max is mad at reader (for the most stupid shit like reader misplaced Max's comics) so r does everything to make up for it and it end up in fluff.

Don’t Say Stupid Things

a/n: hi!! i stuck with the comic thing but didn't fully go off of what you asked. i hope that's okay!!

word count: 1k

summary: max is passionate about very few things. but when someone disrespects them she'll let them know they are in the wrong. someone is you. you are someone.

warnings: not rlly proof read thats really it, but if there are any more let me know!!

st - masterlist m.masterlist

-----------

This was stupid.

She knew that. You knew that. She knew you knew that but Max is stubborn. So what did you expect? Really, I mean how else would you think she would react besides completely ghosting you?

You should never have called her comics dumb. You know that now. Owning almost a hundred dollars (from almost half the money that you gifted her for presents on holidays) worth of slimy paper.

Sure they were fine, but it felt like an obsession at this point. The shelves upon shelves that filled Max’s room and the fact one was always shoved in her backpack was just too much. Sure it was a lot, but you should have never called it dumb. Dumb wasn't the right word. Crazed maybe but you should never have called them dumb.

But also you knew you didn’t deserve this much torment. Max gets sensitive sometimes. It just comes in her list of warnings when you get her. Sensitivity is nothing to be ashamed of. Of course, it isn't. However when it’s mixed with the amount of stubbornness that girl holds in her body you better be ready for the wrath of Mayfield.

Such as now. You are currently facing the torture of being ignored. It has been a week since you last talked to her and she wasn’t letting up. Max has made it very evident she found your opinions invalid and has taken the belief that you were just the most uncultured being to ever walk this earth.

But if “the most uncultured being to ever walk this earth is what she wanted your name to be now, you sure as well were going to change it. Anything for her. I mean duh, she’s your girlfriend… You think she’s still your girlfriend at least. There hasn’t been an official break up so till then she is still the love of your life.

Flashing back to now. The present, where you currently stood in the comic store. Staring blankly at the many racks without a clue of what to do. The chocolates and giant stuff bear that you left on her porch because she refused to open the door even though you clearly saw her walk into her house before you arrived. The only reason you didn’t camp out there was that her step-brother threatened to stuff you into the bear if you didn’t quote-unquote ‘Can it and the hell off of his property.’” Jokes on him. He’s not the house owner and Max’s mom loved you which means nobody would be stuffing you in a bear either way but he still looked like he was honestly considering it from the look in his eye. So yeah, the gifts were abandoned.

Now, plan B was better but less effective. Following Max around like a lost puppy between periods and begging for forgiveness during school seemed like a reasonable choice. Even if in the end she just acted like you were nonexistent

Plan C of her mom letting you in and you barging into her room didn’t work

Plan D was just begging her and practically crying at her feet.

Maybe you did look absolutely stupid and look like such a dumb ass but the quirk of her lip from your whiny pleas showed it was worth it. All those steps lead you to plan E. Where you now were buying the most limited edition comic book in the store. That you could afford of course. 

Stepping out of the store without 50 dollars felt like you had sold your soul. It would be worth it in the end though. Right? Anything for Max.

Standing once more on her front steps you didn’t know if your judgment was right. Billy had answered the door and you gave him an uneasy smile when he didn’t say anything to you and instead just turned around to yell into the house to call Max.

She then met you at the door with an unreadable expression. Her pretty face relaxed but her eyes held all that fire you missed oh so much.

“I never should have said what I did,” you blurted out, pulling out the pages from your bag and handing it out to her. “Collecting and reading comics is a passion of yours and I shouldn’t have disrespected it.” Uneasily Max took the comic from your hands. Her eyes widened as she realized what was in her hold.

“Is this the CGC Wolverine series?” She asked. The first words she said to you that wasn’t non-verbal or yelling at you. Rubbing your neck you shrugged.

“If that’s what it says.” She snapped her eyes back up to you.

“This is like almost 60 bucks,” Max stated.

“Well looks like I got a bargain then. The store sold it for 50.” Somehow her eyes grew wider.

“What the hell, Y/N. Why would you spend that much? You have just come over and hand me a fricken Wonder Woman and I would’ve been happy.”

“Like I said I shouldn’t have said what I did. If comics are what makes you happy, then I’m happy with getting you that.” Silence filled the space between you as Max found the words to respond. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Unless if you don’t like it. Then I came to return it,” you teased. Frantically she shook her head.

“No, no. It’s great. Awesome, actually,” she laughed breathlessly. Bringing her arms up, she wrapped her arms around your shoulders. Instinctively you followed her actions, leaning into her embrace.

“Sorry again,” you hummed.

“I forgive you,” she responded, her voice muffled by your shirt. Sighing you rubbed her back gently. You missed her warmth.

“Just don’t add that to the dumpster like the bear, alright? That was one thing that was another.” 

Max physically winced against you. 

“How’d you know?” You let out a hearty laugh.

“Steve drove by and pointed it out. Not that it matters to me much anyway. He was the one that bought it and said it would work.”

#stranger things x reader #max mayfield x you #max mayfield x y/n #max mayfeild #max mayfield x reader

[alstroemerian-dragon]

the thing about. okay so when i first got into dr i was like ‘i think i prefer an outcome where they ultimately cant wake the other ten members of their class and its just the five survivors because then the deaths meant something yknow’ and while i still think that that kind of thing has. yknow. merit and value. i have actually come around to preferring them being able to do it. with one massive caveat.

it takes forever.

it takes at least a year and a half, two years maybe, before they (lets be real, hajime) even gain the knowledge of the system, work out its quirks, beef up its security and tech, connect it to enough power, and build the proper technology to manage something like this, and even then, each person is going to need a unique plan of action. its going to take ages. i think its best if they start from the first death through the last, which has the added benefit of waking the impostor first and gaining a good moral compass and grounding presence. but… i mean. its almost two years before they even manage the first dive into their brain. two years of living alone, just the five of them, of building each other up of building a dynamic, one that works, and of changing and growing because they have no other choice.

so when it comes down to them actually attempting to wake the first person… theres some anxiety. theres some worry. theres a lot of ‘this is going to radically alter how we relate to each other and everyone else’. theres a lot of ‘this is going to make things weird’. theres a lot of ‘theyre not going to understand a lot of things at first not only because its been two years since we all went under and everything has changed in that time but also because the five of us have a fundamentally different relationship now with each other than we will have with anyone else we wake up. thats going to cause conflict’.

and i dont even necessarily mean that in a romantic relationship sense (though if you know me you know im deeply unwell about kuzuhina and also an absolute sucker for polycule shit so yeah i do also kinda mean it in that way), but just that their bond is so strong. living alone on an island in the middle of nowhere for two years with just four other people will do that. they know each other in fundamental ways that the others may never manage. fuyuhiko may get peko back, but her relationship with him will never be the one he has with hajime, or akane, or kazuichi or sonia. sonia will get gundham back, but despite them definitely regaining their romantic relationship (after an adjustment period, of course), there will be an odd dissonance in how well hajime and akane know her in ways gundham doesnt. akane will get nekomaru back in her life. but he will never be the person she goes to with the things she goes to hajime with.

this isnt necessarily entirely negative, of course. relationships are always going to be different with different people because theyre. yknow. different people. but i think theres going to be a period of time, maybe even the rest of their lives, where the ten sleepers in the vault will understand, intrinsically, that the relationship the five survivors has is never going to be fully understood, and will always be special and different from what they all have as a group.

hajime, fuyuhiko, kazuichi, akane, and sonia all faced arguably the hardest parts of the healing process, the stumbling blindly with no hand to hold except the others with an equal lack of sight, together, and that. does things. to a relationship.

they will all manage the healing process, and they will all struggle through it. but never in the same way those five did.

#personal #meta #danganronpa #sdr2 #oh boy the first proper tagged original post from this blog and its SURVIVORS RELATIONSHIP META #i have. so many thoughts regarding the process of waking the others. the habits the five of them form in the meantime. #the methods they use. alter ego’s return and dynamic with them. who they wake first and how they all feel about it #i think they all know. even akane. that waking someone up is going to change things. maybe not even in a good way too #its going to make things COMPLICATED. #and they all feel a certain type of way about tjat #but its not like they can just. not do it. this is what theyve been working so hard for the entire time. #so theyre going to wake people up. but that doesnt mean they wont feel. a variety of different ways about it. #anxious. nervous. scared even. angry maybe. bitter? jealous in an odd sort of way? out of place. #anyway

[marunalu]

Theory on why people in-universe think that Izuku’s Quirk Analysis Muttering is creepy and annoying. While we all think that Quirk Analysis should be a thing in MHA, it could also be discouraged in Japan to prevent people from speaking up about the restrictive Japanese Quirk laws. If you think from their point of view, he is speaking about the Quirks in a more personal level and using Quirks in public, which is strictly regulated in their society unlike in other countries, since I doubt that many Japanese would read outside non-Japanese media.

The other equivalent IRL would be a person obsession with body parts and hair that is becomes disturbing when they talk about it. Quirks are like a body part and are innate to the user so they may freak out about it, especially in this dystopian Japan.

I think its the latter. Like you said, quirks are a part of peoples body and izuku, who is so openly obsessed with quirks, may give people the creeps (even bakugou said once that izuku was sometimes giving him the creeps as a child and he even stated once that there is a similarity between izuku and afo), because its like someone having a feet or hair fetich in real life. While its normal for that specific person, for everyone else its weird af and sus. If we consider the reactions of the people around izuku when he does one of his quirk monologes, I think we can conclude that this kind of quirk obsession is VERY rare in the mha universe. There are just three known people in the story who have this kind of obsession and observation about how a quirk works and two of these three are villains. Afo, dr. garaki and izuku.

Afos obsession for quirks is a side effect of his own quirk, similar how togas lust for blood is a side effect of hers. It makes him a kleptomanic (his own words) and he cant really do something against that urge: "If I see a good quirk, I want to have it for mysself! I just cant help it"

Garaki is a quirk scientist so his interest in quirks makes sense, but its different to afos. Garaki seems more interested to modify human bodys and the quirk singularity. He doesnt have the same kind of obsession to find out HOW a quirk works and WHAT you can do with it.

Then we have izuku who is supposed to be quirkless. Izuku shows a fascination for quirks since he was at least 4 years old and thats the common age for children to get their quirk. Izuku shows his love and interest for quirks the same way afo does: with monologes and analyses how the quirk works and how you can use it. No one but these two do that! So if afos quirk obsession is a confirmed side effect of his own quirk, that should make us question izukus quirklessness.

The thing is also that every time afo obsesses over quirks, we the readers think its wrong and scary, but if izuku does it, we think its cute and funny. But in-universe the people around izuku react to his quirk obsession the same way, we react to afos. By creeped out and feeling uncomfortable, as if something about izuku is wrong!

#bnha #bnha dad for one #bnha all for one #dr garaki #izuku midoriya #izuku isnt quirkless #izuku has the afo quirk

[aries-writings]

ayo mf, can i request something from your prompt list with sunghoon, the plot being number 10 and from the dialogue, the numbers 1 & 10~ fanks miss ching😻😻

drunk-dazed | p. sunghoon

plot prompt #10: and i try to refrain, but you’re stuck in my brain.

dialogue prompts #1 + #10: “i just wanna feel your lips against my skin.” + “could we pretend that we’re in love?”

pairing: sunghoon x fem!reader

genres: angst, fluff, second chance love

word count: 2.7k

warnings: alcohol use, light swearing, light violence, some blood, emo sunghoon, a heated makeout but nothing too bad, and i think thats it??

a/n: this is a repost from my main blog! if you’ve read this or seen it before, i had this posted on @dandelion-aj before revising and reposting it here!

see the full list of prompts here

It was a kind of routine at this point. An endless cycle Sunghoon had fallen into. It always started at home in his apartment. He’d be sitting on the couch watching a random show he’d found. Or in his bed trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Or in the kitchen attempting to cook. All things he had done plenty of times before. The only difference is that now you weren’t there with him.

You and Sunghoon had broken up nearly 10 months ago, but it felt like far longer than that to him.

The apartment the two of you shared was so much quieter after you left. The hallways that used to echo with your laugh were now filled with a deafening silence that served only as a reminder of your absence.

He’d tell himself it was fine. That everything was okay. After all, it was a mutual breakup. But the more Sunghoon thought about it, the more he’d second guess the decision.

And that would lead to phase two of this dreadful cycle: missing you.

Sunghoon missed you to no end. He realized that now. What exactly he missed about you, he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Maybe it was the way your hand felt in his. Or the sound of your raspy morning voice. Or the way his name rolled off your tongue. Or, maybe, he just missed you.

Right now, in this very moment, Sunghoon missed you, and that confused him. How can he miss someone that’s standing right in front of him?

“Hey,” you shouted. The sound of your voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He shook his head as he was now suddenly hyper-aware of his surroundings. The flashing lights. The booming music. The blur of people dancing around him. The cold cup in his hand. “Are you okay?”

Sunghoon sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Phase three of that damn cycle: drinking away any memory of you. He’d knock back shot after shot in hopes that he’ll forget who you are. But instead, he forgets who he is, and all he can think about is you. Funny how that works. No matter how hard he tried to force you out of his mind, you’d always come right back.

Everything he saw reminded him of you. He’d hear your voice in all the white noise. He’d see you in every face around him. As a matter of fact, he was 97% sure it wasn’t even you that he was talking to.

“You sure?” You quirked an eyebrow up. “You don’t look too good.”

“I’m okay.” He looked up at you, or some girl who looked a lot like you at least.

Alcohol has its downsides. Like how it filled him with this indescribable ache for you. But it also has its upsides, because god knows he wouldn’t have done this if he were sober.

Without a second’s hesitation, Sunghoon pulled your doppelgänger in and latched his lips to hers, dropping the half-full cup to the floor. His eyes fluttered shut as he let himself fully believe it was your lips he was tasting. His mouth began to move feverishly against yours, devouring every inch he could reach.

He pulled away and his eyes met yours as he caught his breath. He couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol, but for a fleeting moment, that ache was relieved. His hand gripped the back of your neck and pulled you in for another kiss.

His fingers tangled into your hair and tugged your head back, giving him better access to your lips. The kiss escalated with every passing second. The way your tongues danced. The way you were gripping each other’s clothes for dear life. It eased that burning in his chest.

That is until he felt a hand land on his shoulder. Before Sunghoon could comprehend what was happening, he was pushed back as a hard fist slammed into his face. The force of the punch sent him back into a group of people. People that were far too intrigued by the sudden violence to care about being shoved.

Sunghoon’s hand flew up to his nose as soon as he felt the blood begin to flow. He looked up to see a muscular man with his arm slung over a girl’s shoulder. The same girl who looked exactly like you seconds ago.

“You stay the fuck away from her! You hear me?!” the man screamed as he shoved Sunghoon once more.

He tried to catch himself, but lost his balance and stumbled to the ground. He glanced between the couple standing before him. It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together. “I’m sorry.” he muttered.

All eyes were on him. He could see a few people recording the scene and others whispering. Ah yes, phase four: getting too caught up thinking about you that he makes a fool of himself in public.

Sunghoon stood up, looking down at his bloodied palm then back at the couple. “I just- I thought you were- Fuck, I’m sorry.”

He snaked his way through the dense crowd, somehow managing to find the door. Slamming his body weight into it, he felt the cold night air hit his skin, almost tumbling onto the frigid concrete in the process. He threw himself to the ground beside the door and pulled out his phone as he wiped away the remaining blood from his nose.

Alas, the final stage of our cycle: wallowing in self-pity as Sunghoon tries to find a way home.

He scrolled through his contacts in hopes of finding someone who’d be willing to pick him up and give him a ride.

Jungwon.

Jake.

Heeseung.

Jay.

Ni-ki.

Sunoo.

Y/n.

He froze at the sight of your name. ‘Why do I even have your number still?’ he thought. His thumb hovered over your name for a second. 'No, she won’t answer anyway.’ He stared at the call button for a moment, and the next thing he heard was the calling tone of his phone.

His eyes widened, and he rushed to hit the 'end call’ button. His arm dropped down to his side and his head fell back against the shaking wall of the club. He sighed and let his heavy eyelids close. He would have fallen asleep like that if it weren’t for his phone vibrating in his hand. He opened his eyes just enough to read the name on the screen.

Y/n.

He had to read the name a few times, and even then he didn’t believe what he was seeing. He knew it wasn’t in his best interest, but he answered. He put the phone to his ear and waited.

“Sunghoon?”

He shivered at the sound of your voice. God, he hadn’t heard it in so long.

“Y/n?” His voice came out a lot shakier and weaker than he had intended.

“Did you call?”

“Uhh, yeah. Yeah, I did.” He looked down at his lap, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “On accident,” he added. “It was an accident. I meant to call Sunoo. My bad. Sorry for bothering you.”

“No no. It’s fine.” There was an awkward silence for a moment before you spoke again. “Okay, well, if you meant to call Sunoo, I’ll let you go now.”

'No.’ a voice pleaded from the back of his mind. 'Don’t hang up. I missed you. I missed your voice.’

“Wait!” Sunghoon called out, earning a few looks from people walking by. “Wait. I, uh,” He let out a shameful sigh. “I need a ride.”

“A ride?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to call the guys because they said if I ever got drunk again, they won’t be the ones to come get me. That if I ever put myself in this situation I need to find a way out-”

“Wait you’re drunk?!” you interrupted.

Sunghoon gulped. He must sound like an idiot. “Yeah.”

“Text me the address. I’m on my way.”

“Hey,” you whispered as you nudged the sleeping man’s shoulder. “Sunghoon.”

“Mmmm.” Sunghoon groaned.

You playfully rolled your eyes and stood. “Fine then. Guess I’ll just leave you here if you’re enjoying your nap that much-”

Before you could turn away, you felt Sunghoon grab your wrist. You looked at your arm, then back up to him. His eyes were still shut and his head was still pressed to the wall when he spoke in a hoarse voice. “Don’t go.” He opened his eyes, his bloodshot gaze catching yours. “You came.”

“You asked me to.” you responded.

“Yeah, but…” he trailed off. “I didn’t think you’d actually come.”

“Do you know what could happen to a handsome man like you at this time of night?” You pointed at the vibrating club. “Especially at a place like this?”

Sunghoon smirked. “You think I’m handsome?”

You rolled your eyes again. “Shut up and get in the car.”

“You’re not gonna help me?”

“Sunghoon, I can assure you I do not have the strength to carry a drunk, five-foot-ten man right now.”

“Come on, the car is like 7 feet away.”

“That’s far too many feet.”

“Pleeeease.” he pouted.

You huffed and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. You placed your arm around his waist and attempted to hoist him up, but to no avail.

“You know, this is going to require a little effort on your end, too.” you remarked.

“Oh, right, sorry. Okay, on three. One, two, three.”

With your joint effort, you managed to get Sunghoon off the ground. It took him some time to catch his balance, almost pulling you both back down a few times.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

Sunghoon put up a thumbs up in response while he wobbled on his feet.

“Okay, let’s get you to the car.”

It was a bit of a struggle, but you successfully got Sunghoon buckled into the passenger seat. “You better not puke in my car.” You walked over to the driver’s seat and started the car. “How did you end up here anyway.”

Sunghoon stared out the window at the club. “That’s a good question.”

'You. I’m here because of you.’

It was a mostly quiet drive to Sunghoon’s apartment complex. The only sounds heard were the hum of the car’s engine and the soft music playing through the speakers. It seemed like just a few minutes passed by the time you were parked in front of Sunghoon’s apartment building.

You shut off the car and turned to Sunghoon. “Are you going to be okay walking up there by yourself?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you asking because you want to come with me?”

“Well, I didn’t know if you wanted me to go with you.”

'I always want you with me.’

“I mean I wouldn’t be opposed to a little company.”

Your lips pulled into a weak smile. You climbed out of the car and met Sunghoon at the door of the apartment lobby. You both walked in hand in hand and he directed you to the elevator.

“Can’t remember the last time I was in this elevator” You thought out loud.

Sunghoon hit the button for floor number three and shoved his hands in his pockets. “This place did used to be your home”

The second Sunghoon got the door to his apartment open, he made a beeline for the couch and threw his body onto it.

You stood awkwardly at the door. “Well, if that’s all you need, I’ll get going now.”

'Don’t let her leave. Who knows when you’ll be able to see her after this. Don’t let her leave.’

“Y/n.”

You were just about to step out into the hallway when he called your name. You looked back at him and you swear you’ve never seen a man look so desperate.

“Stay.” His voice was shaky, almost inaudible. “Even if it’s just for a few minutes. I know I’ve already asked a lot of you but- Just- Please stay.”

“Okay.” You closed the door and made your way back to the couch, taking a seat next to Sunghoon.

You took in his appearance. Not what he was wearing, but his face. His eyes looked sunken in, his nose was swollen, and his cheeks had hollowed in a bit. You had never seen him like this. “Sunghoon, what’s wrong?”

Sunghoon was a bit taken aback by your question. “What?”

“You look terrible.” You hadn’t realized the harshness of your words until you noticed Sunghoon visibly wince.

He rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

“No, I mean, you look like you’ve been through something.”

“I’m fine.”

'Now, we both know that’s a fucking lie.’

You shook your head. “No, I know you’re not. Look, I know things got kinda weird between us, but I still care about you.”

'Just say it. Tell her.’

“I miss you.” Sunghoon whispered.

You froze, absolutely certain that your ears were playing tricks on you. “What?”

“I miss you.” he repeated. He looked up to meet your gaze. His eyes were brimming with tears. Damn, why did alcohol make him so emotional? “I miss you so much.”

You tilted your head. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. You have no idea.” With every word, it got harder to keep the tears in. “I miss the songs you’d hum every morning while you made breakfast. I miss your bedhead. I miss the way you’d squint when you were reading something. I miss you, y/n.”

You heard the desperation in his voice, but you told yourself it was just the alcohol. His words now weren’t lining up with what he had said then. “Do you remember why we broke up?”

Sunghoon scoffed, but it sounded more like a sob. “How could I forget? You said you 'lost feelings.’ That you had 'fallen out of love with me.’”

“We both said we had fallen out of love.” you corrected.

“I know, but things are different now.” He placed a hand on your cheek and pressed his forehead to yours. Your lips were mere centimeters apart, and you could feel his shallow breath on your face. “Please, y/n.”

“Sunghoon…” It hurt you to see him like this. “It must be the alcohol talking. You’re not thinking straight. We both said it ourselves. We’re not in love anymore.”

“Then let’s pretend. I don’t care how long it lasts. I just- I need you.” His voice was shaking. “Even if it’s just for tonight, could we pretend that we’re in love?”

You leaned into his palm. You hadn’t been this close to him in so long. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss this. Sunghoon’s touch had this warmth to it that you were never quite able to feel in anyone else. It was one of the many reasons you had fallen in love with him in the first place.

You were so deeply in love with him throughout the two years you had been together. That made things harder when you noticed that you two had grown distant. For some indescribable reason, the two of you had slowly begun to grow apart. And during this time, any small thing could spark an argument.

After two months, it just didn’t feel like a relationship anymore. Neither of you knew what you wanted and it seemed like there was always a wall between you, and it didn’t take long to decide that it’d be best for you to go your separate ways.

It’s just like that saying. If you love something, let it go. If it doesn’t come back, you never had it…

“I know what I want now.” Sunghoon stated, sure of himself this time.

“And what is that, Sunghoon?”

“Right now, I just want you here with me.” he answered. “I just want to hold you. I just want to feel your lips against my skin. I just want you.”

… If it comes back…

You place your hand over his and looked deep into his pleading eyes. “I want you too.”

… love it forever.

#aries’ writings #enhypen #sunghoon #park sunghoon #enhypen sunghoon #sunghoon angst #sunghoon fluff #park sunghoon angst #park sunghoon fluff #sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon x reader #enhypen angst #enhypen fluff #enhypen x reader #sunghoon oneshots #park sunghoon oneshots #enhypen oneshots #sunghoon imagines #park sunghoon imagines #enhypen imagines #sunghoon scenarios #park sunghoon scenarios #enhypen scenarios

[findmeabowlofundertale]

UUUUUGGGHHHHH OKAY! PART 8.... point one. 8.1. Tumblr says I have too many text blocks so this is gonna be in two parts. hhh. 8.2 will be up shortly. [Prev] [Next]

This begins immediately following the last part. Like, immediately following.

There's a lot to say about this whole part, actually...

Firstly, that Asteri's friends have characteristics taken from my two closest friends irl, BUT!! They are NOT them. So, uh, if my irl friends ever see this, hey, just letting you guys know that for all the similarities, Asteri isn't me and these guys aren't you, so this isn't like... truly reflective of our actual friendship. I needed some conflict, and this was how it worked you with these characters I made up that borrow some traits from you guys!

Second, Asteri's got a lot going on. Just... putting that out there.

Third, one of those irl friends really does say "nonetheless" almost every time she trails off so that's in here as a speech quirk bc I think it's funny

Fourth, uhhhhhhhh I continue to have bad pacing. But too bad. I worked really hard on this so even though I know it's not great, I'm not going to be ashamed.

Fifth...... get ready for some emotional discussion. Read this when you have a lot of time, because there's a LOT, and it gets h e a v y.

OKAY HAVE FUN

- - - -

She wanted him to stay.

Comforting soup and good laughs aside, at the end of the night she was still afraid of that darkness. There was no possible way it could “get” her— she couldn’t have reached that place-between-places even if she wanted to— but it was a deeper, primal terror:

She didn’t want to be alone.

But she wouldn’t ask that of him. There wasn’t even a place for him to sleep. She, at least, could shift her magic around to fit somewhere; he was stuck being that tall. No, she wouldn’t ask him to stay, and he wouldn’t offer, but they both wondered if the other would mention it or if they should say something after all. But at the end of the night, neither did. He checked that she was alright and promised to be over at a moment’s notice if she texted him. She thanked him again for everything, and stood on her toes to tap their heads together, and failed to notice that he didn’t move away when she did, and she told him to be safe and text her when he got home. She watched him leave and waved and smiled reassuringly at him before watching him disappear with an unexpectedly silly noise and a dark blur.

And then she curled up in bed with all the lights on, tail tucked tightly around her, and stared at her phone to wait for his text. When it came through she breathed a sigh of relief and wished him goodnight, but then kept staring at the screen hoping he would say something else so she had a reason to stay awake. He wouldn’t, though, and didn’t, and so she just laid there until exhaustion forced her eyes closed.

She dreamt of the blue ceiling stars in their black rock, never moving from their places, always guiding the way home.

⁂

The next morning, she felt a lot better, but she still wished somebody were there with her. Unfortunately, of all her friends, she was the only one who didn’t live in the capital; nobody was close enough to come visit her on a whim. Even so…

She sighed and rolled over, reaching for her phone with her tail and typing out a message with a materialized hand.

Hey, good morning. Do you work today? <

It wasn’t until several minutes later that she got an answer.

> Ohayo! =^.^= (Thats good morning) no work today, just class > why? Did u get more of the japanese figured out??

Asteri sighed.

No, sorry. Not much more beyond what we worked out last time. <

> oh np > What’s up then?

Just wondering if you were busy. No worries. Have a good day at school! <

> oh… ok! Thanks!

Maybe she should try…

Are you guys busy today? Wanna hang out? <

Within moments, there was a response.

> Omg, YESSS! > Asteri! Finally! > I have today off, so we can meetup whenever

Wanna come over now? < I’ll make breakfast <

> Ough, you live so far away, though. You don’t want to meet somewhere instead? I could just do with some company. Idk if I’m up for going anywhere. I had a day yesterday. < > Omg? Are you okay?

Yeah I’m fine. Just… idk <

> That’s okay, gurl. We all get that Funk.

I appreciate it. <

> I have to help my brother with something, then I’ll come over. Maybe more like brunch? > If that’s okay??

Yeah that’s fine! I’ll make pancakes <

Sembie, you’re also welcome to come, even if it’s later <

> Unfortunately I’m busy until after that, but I’d really like to see you guys.

You can come by whenever! <

Rather than wait for them to arrive before getting started, Asteri rolled out of bed and got ready for the day so that she could get cooking. Pancakes were always a solid choice. She made whipped cream, cut up some fruit, and then prepped everything else. Once Kelinn text her that she was leaving, Asteri meant to start on the pancakes, but she had gotten distracted looking over her and Alphys’ notes on Japanese and lost track of time. Before she knew it, Kelinn was at her door.

“Ah crap,” she muttered when she heard the knock. She almost tripped over the chair in her haste to get to her feet. When she answered the door, she knew she looked frazzled but smiled hospitably anyway. “Kelinn! Hey! You’re here.”

“Yeeeaaaah!” the other woman cheered. “It me!”

Asteri blew a laugh through her nose at the wording. Together, the three of them were much more casual in their speech than she was with anyone else. With Alphys, who was still in college and therefore barely out of stripes, she wanted to look like a composed, has-her-life-together adult monster. With Gaster, a lot of her formality of speech stemmed from the fact that many of their conversations were spent on academic topics, so naturally she more easily defaulted to more formal grammar. Not that the way she behaved around either Alphys or Gaster was an act, or fake somehow. It was just different aspects of her personality.

“Come on in. I got distracted, so breakfast isn’t ready.” Asteri gave a grumbling sigh as she led her friend inside. “I had everything all prepped! And then got distracted.”

“Pfft, that’s fine.” Kelinn tossed her things on the living room couch and followed the shapeshifter to the kitchen. “It gives Sembie more time to get here.”

“That’s true,” Asteri conceded as she poured ingredients into a large bowl of flour. “There’s not much to do except mix everything and cook it, so you’re welcome just sit and do whatever.”

“Awesome.” The draconic monster had already made herself comfortable at the table anyway. “So, what’s up? You said you had a day yesterday. Or, do you not wanna talk about it until Sembie gets here? Not sure if you saw the group chat, but she said she was leaving about 10 minutes ago.”

Asteri shrugged. “We can talk more after Sembie gets here, I guess.” Sembie tended not to jump to conclusions as quickly, and helped balance Kelinn’s excitability. “Anyway, what’s been up with you? Is your brother alright? You said you had to help him with some stuff.”

Kelinn heaved a heavy, dramatic sigh. “UGGGH! Don’t even get me started.” She got started anyway. “Okay so here’s the low-down…”

Asteri listened as her friend told her about the mishaps of her brother and his kids, and that ongoing saga. The conversation eventually turned to lighter things, and by the time Asteri was finished cooking, they were busy talking about her friend’s novel that she was writing. Considering the distance from the capital and how long cooking had taken, they opted to wait a little longer to eat, until Sembie arrived.

They didn’t have to wait much longer, fortunately. When their ferret friend got there, they greeted her and ushered her to her seat so that they could eat already. It was almost noon, and all of them were hungry.

They made pleasant conversation and caught Sembie up with the goings-ons of Kelinn’s life, until eventually the conversation came back around to Asteri.

“So, see any more of the Royal Scientist?” teased Kelinn around a mouthful of pancake.

Their disbelief was getting annoying. Asteri looked her dead in the eye. “He was here last night.”

Her friend choked.

Asteri quickly clarified. “He walked me home after we got donuts.”

“Aw, that was sweet of him,” said Sembie.

“Wait, you actually believe that?” guffawed Kelinn.

“There isn’t any reason for her to lie. But nonetheless…”

Kelinn made a face. “I guess so.” She leaned her chin in her hand. “At least tell me he’s been treating you right.”

Asteri rolled her eyes. “We aren’t dating. We’re friends. But yes, he’s very kind, very considerate. Just a little absent-minded.”

“I still cannot believe you accidentally ran into him and then somehow started to just. Hang out.”

“Honestly, neither can I,” admitted Asteri around a bite of food.

Sembie spoke next. “So like, what kind of stuff do you guys do? Just talk, or do you have, you know, hobbies in common…?”

Kelinn gestured wildly until she had chewed enough to talk. “You think the Royal Scientist has time for hobbies???”

Sembie shrugged. “He’s got time to walk Asteri home on a weekday. Nonetheless…”

Kelinn narrowed her eyes and leaned her head back. “This is true…” she conceded, stroking at her chin and looking back and forth between them like she was a noir detective.

Asteri blew a laugh out her nose. “We usually go for a walk around Hotland and talk about linguistics or science, then go our separate ways home. Occasionally, we’ll go somewhere else. I’ve had him and another mutual friend, a lizard monster named Alphys, over here a few times. Yesterday, I agreed we could get donuts because he’s actually been eating real meals all week, for once. Like I've been telling him to.”

Her two friends looked at each other, then her, and giggled. “Wow, you’re really close, huh?”

She made a face. “What? No, we’re not... that close. I just…” Know that he doesn’t eat well so I make him sandwiches sometimes, and we meet up almost every week, and I told him about my insecurities growing up, and I probably know more about skeletons than almost anyone alive at this point, and he’s been to my house and destroyed my kitchen, and he showed me his SOUL, and I’ve told him about my parents, and he’s told me about his magic, and we can talk for hours and hours, and he knows I like lemon donuts best, and I know he likes the ones with sprinkles, and he saw me at my worst last night and took care of me, and…

“You take care of me too.”

She swallowed. “W-Well… I guess we have gotten a little close.”

Kelinn looked at Sembie. “We gotta meet this guy.”

“We’re not dating!! I’ve known him like, six months!”

“No,” said Sembie, more gently. “But you care about him. I’m not saying like that! But nonetheless, you do care.”

“Well… yeah. He’s my friend,” Asteri muttered into her glass of water.

“And that’s great!” Sembie encouraged. “It sounds like you guys must get along if you keep meeting up.”

“But AS your BEST friends!” Kelinn declared, “We gotta give him the what’s what!”

“The… what’s what?”

“Yeah!” She slammed her fist into her other hand with a big grin. “Gotta make sure he’s up to snuff!”

Asteri giggled. “Who even says that?”

“Us!”

“You,” corrected Sembie.

“Me! I say it!”

They all laughed.

“Well, alright. He doesn’t really like big groups, and you’re… a lot, Kelinn,” Asteri pointed out, “but I’ll ask him when he’s free to meet you. And you guys have got to update me on your schedules.”

They did so, and Asteri put a note of it in her calendar. The conversation settled, a little, and they went on to ask about other things she and Gaster had done. She didn’t mention the thing with green magic, or the teleporting, but she did tell them about some of her thoughts about speech and text magic, which they didn’t fully grasp but listened anyway because they loved her. They were always good about that.

⁂

“So why did you want company?” Kelinn asked from where she sat still at the table.

Sembie looked up from putting a plate away. “Yeah, you said you had a day yesterday, but then said you went out with Dr. Gaster yesterday…”

“Oh.” Asteri turned her head, a little farther than looked normal, to look at them while she did the dishes. “Oh, no. He- He didn’t do anything.”

Not on purpose, anyway. They wouldn’t understand, and his being able to teleport wasn’t her secret to share, so she couldn’t explain.

“Okay," Kelinn yielded, still a bit dubious. "But if he ever makes you uncomfortable—!!”

“He hasn’t,” Asteri reassured them both quickly. The SOUL thing was more that she wasn’t used to seeing someone else’s, and his ribs naturally had gaps. Yesterday it was just misunderstandings in the donut shop, she wasn’t uncomfortable uncomfortable.

“We trust you," Sembie said placatingly. "But we still want to meet him.”

“That’s fair,” Asteri conceded.

Kelinn shoved her last forkful of pancakes and whipped cream into her mouth before rising and handing the plate off to Asteri, and squinted in thought. After she finished chewing, she asked, “Hey what’s his name, anyway?”

Asteri made a face at the soap bubbles. “What? What do you mean? You know what his name is.”

“No, his first name.” Asteri looked at her, blank. She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, everyone knows he’s “Dr. W.D. Gaster.” But what’s the W.D. for??”

“I… I don’t actually know,” admitted the shapeshifter with a half shrug. “I just call him Gaster. That’s what he asked to be called.”

Sembie raised an eyebrow from where she was helping rinse and dry the dishes. “You’ve been friends with him for how long now, and you don’t know his first name?”

“A few months… and no, but listen!” Asteri frowned a little and stood straighter to explain. “Skeletons’ given names are their fonts; Whatever font they speak in naturally, that’s what their name is. And he—”

“Wait doesn’t he like, not talk?” Kelinn interrupted.

“He signs,” Asteri confirmed. “That’s what I was about to say.”

“So does he just not have a first name?? Or what??”

She huffed at her friend. “Kelinn! It’s not my business. If that was something he wanted to share, then he would.”

“But aren’t you curious?”

“Of course I’m curious,” she huffed. Her frown deepened as she looked to the dragon monster again. “But if he can’t talk, don’t you think it’d be pretty rude to ask him what he’s “supposed” to sound like??” Kelinn was silent, so she continued. “It’s a lot more than just his name. It’s an identifier, a description. I mean, no, it’s not like there was a class system based on fonts—” Besides that one exception he had never elaborated on— “and your font didn’t define your personality or anything, but…” Ugh, how to explain this! Asteri blew a frustrated breath through her nose. “Something that personal isn’t my business. If he wanted to share that, then he would! But he hasn’t, so I’m certainly not going to ask. Who, if anyone, he entrusts that piece of himself to is up to him. So for the love of God, when you meet him, please do not ask him about it.”

Both of the other women were silent at first. A few moments passed with only the sounds of silverware and plates and the splash of water. Alright, maybe she was being a little defensive on his behalf. But Kelinn was asking invasive questions! Why didn’t she ever ask normal questions??

“He can’t talk, then?” Sembie finally asked, hesitant.

Asteri shook her head. “I’m not... actually sure. He can hum, and he makes sound when he laughs, or if you startle him. Sometimes he’ll say “Ah!” or something. But he never speaks aloud, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Huh…”

More silence. This was getting ridiculous. Asteri finally gave in; she needed to lighten the mood again.

“He likes sprinkles on his donuts.”

Kelinn immediately lit up and slammed her hands on the counter as she leaned forward. “OH MY GOD, YES!! A man who knows what’s GOOD!”

“Sprinkles are great,” chuckled Sembie as she wiped off a plate and set it aside.

“I made another friend, too, you know.”

“Oh, yeah! You said you met a lizard?”

“Yeah, her name is Alphys. She’s an intern, technically, but Gaster insists she’s his “brilliant and valued assistant.”” Asteri grinned. “It’s cute. They’re really close. She’s a pretty nervous person, but the three of us get along really well because we’re all prone to going off on long tangents. But we all like to listen to each other, for the most part, so it works out. Oh! And Alphys introduced me to a… a surface language, called Japanese. We’ve been working on trying to translate it and figure out how it works. It has a completely different alphabet! It’s definitely exciting.”

“Aww, that so nice,” Sembie cooed. “But, you said she was an intern? Isn’t Dr. Gaster sort of… really old?”

Asteri shrugged and sighed in resignation. This was something she had wondered, but never had the courage to ask him directly. “I don’t even know anymore. I think skeletons must just live a long time, because he doesn’t act like an old guy. Well. For the most part.”

“Well," acquiesced the ferret, "I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“Omg, what if he’s secretly in love with his assistant?? Forbidden romance!!” Kelinn dramatically threw her arm up and bent backwards in a pose, hand on her forehead. “Kept apart by societal norms! Languishing in mutual yearning but unable to act!!”

Asteri snorted so loudly she startled herself, and swatted a wing at her friend. “Absolutely not. They don’t have that kind of relationship at all.”

“Maybe they’re hiding it!”

Sembie and Asteri shared a look and rolled their eyes. “You just like age gaps in romance stories.”

“It’s hot!!” Asteri gave her a look. “…In like an ace way.”

“You just have a thing for older men,” Sembie needled.

“I do because they’re HOT!”

""In an ace way?””

Kelinn crossed her arms and nodded sagely. “In an ace way.”

Amused by their antics, Asteri chuckled and shook her head. “Alphys sees Gaster as more of a father-figure than a peer. They’re still friends, but it’s not the dynamic you’re thinking. Which reminds me—”

She pulled her phone out with her tail and materialized a drippy green hand to type with. She needed to ask Alphys and Gaster about meeting her friends. Frankly, the three of them were overdue to simply have a group chat, so she made them one.

Hey, hoping this goes through. I figured we might as well have a group chat. I was talking to my friends, and they would really like to meet you both. I know big groups aren’t your guys’ favorite thing, so if you’d prefer, it could just be one of them at a time? Otherwise, you we could all meet here at my place (or wherever) sometime, when it’s convenient. I’ll send you the days they said they’re free, then just let me know what works for you guys and I’ll pass it along. <

She looked back up to Kelinn and Sembie after she sent their schedules. “I asked Alphys and Gaster when they want to meet you guys and how they want to do it. I’ll let you know what they say.”

“Sure, that sounds good,” Sembie agreed. “We would just meet here?”

“Yeah. Or, I guess, if there’s someplace in the capital. Then I would be the only one who has to travel. That might be better. I’ll ask.”

“I can do whatever, just let me know!” Kelinn affirmed. “I’m closer to Hotland.”

“Cool. And Sembie, normally I would say your husband is welcome, but…”

She shook her head, entirely nonplussed. “No. No. I get it. Lots of people.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Sure.”

⁂

They stayed a while longer and chatted about other things, shared funny things they had seen. Kelinn insisted, at one point, that they FIGHT. They hadn’t had a friendly FIGHT in a while, after all. No major damage was dealt, and afterwards they healed each other. It took maybe a half hour, just a few turns. Kelinn’s magic reminded Asteri a little of her own, with a few key differences that were, somehow, difficult to put into words. Sembie’s patterns were more thought-out, but less flexible, and occasionally utilized orange magic. That led to Asteri excitedly informing them of what Gaster had told her about colors and personality traits, which they found interesting, but not quite on the same level as she had, she could tell.

That was reasonable, she reminded herself. They had very different jobs and interests. Their lives had all led them in very different directions since they were in school together. Perhaps if they had only met at this point in their lives, they would not have become friends, but the many years they had known each other kept them close despite their sometimes drastic differences.

When they left, it was after 4pm. Asteri bid them safe travels and promised to text more, as well as to let them know about the plans for meeting Gaster and Alphys. Just like she usually did after spending time with them, she felt simultaneously exhausted and refreshed. It could be a little frustrating, how they didn’t quite understand her work (or, in Kelinn’s case, frequently offered unprompted suggestions to show that she was interested and listening, when in reality the suggestions just threw Asteri off more often than not), but they were supportive even though they didn’t always understand, and they had always been there for her when things were difficult. Differences in interests and hobbies and jobs and personality aside, her friends would take an attack for her without a second thought, would always be up front about things, and had pulled her out of the darkest depths of her mind more than once over the years. Those things were far more important to her than any petty squabble or disagreement could be. Their friendship was formed of things beyond similar interests or opinions.

They were good friends, Asteri thought. And she… well. She could be a better friend. They were patient with her; The least she could do is be patient with them whenever they didn’t understand something or disagreed with her. But that hadn’t happened today, fortunately. They all had a nice time together.

She should work on those Japanese notes, she thought then, and turned to go back inside. She had a lot to catch up on.

⁂

> GOOD EVENING. ASTERI > I WANTED TO CHECK ON YOU. AFTER LAST NIGHT. HOW ARE YOU?

She was climbing into bed when her phone went off. When she saw who it was, she smiled.

I’m doing much better, thank you for checking in on me ^w^ <

Alphys had taught her some emoticons recently. She wondered how Gaster would react.

> AH! A “CAT MOUTH.” ALPHYS. HAS TOLD ME ABOUT THESE.

She giggled to herself.

I think it looks like my mouth when I smile, because it’s pointy like my fangs. What do you think? Does it capture it, or should I use a regular smiley? <

> I THINK IT LOOKS. JUST LIKE YOU

The typing message came up again, so she waited, but then it went away. This repeated a few times until at last he said:

> UNFORTUNATELY. THERE ARE NO SYMBOLS. ON THIS KEYBOARD. THAT RESEMBLE A SKULL. > TRULY. A TRAGEDY.

She snickered.

A tragedy indeed. How am I supposed to imagine your face? With my imagination?? < > YES. YOU MUST USE IT TO IMAGINE. ME ROLLING MY EYES. AT THAT. Oh well that’s easy enough. XD <

He didn’t respond right away, so she added:

Turn your head to the left. <

That got an almost immediate response.

> OH! > I SEE. YOU ARE LAUGHING

She shook her head, thoroughly amused.

At you, specifically. Which I am now doing even more so. <

> OH NO. MY DEAR FRIEND! LAUGHING AT MY EXPENSE? HOW EVER. COULD YOU WOUND ME SO? > I SEE. HOW IT IS.

Asteri snorted a giggle and rolled onto her stomach. Her tail swayed in amusement, legs slowly kicking in the air.

XD < Truly, your drama knows no bounds. I can just envision you packing up your things in a red cloth and tying them to the end of a stick and then slowly walking away. <

> YES. PRECISELY. IMAGINE ME. DOING JUST THAT. Darn, Gaster's gone. I guess I’ll just have to eat all this soup myself :/ < > YOU MADE MORE??

That got a real laugh out of her. She had never seen him double up punctuation before.

Ah, sorry, no. But I’ll make it again sometime. < I should have you try grape leaves. < > IF WE GO. TO SNOWDIN. WOULD YOU MAKE IT AGAIN? You remembered that, huh? You know what? Sure. If you liked it that much. < > YOUR COOKING. IS DELIGHTFUL > IT IS NICE. TO EAT FOOD COOKED BY A FRIEND. AGAIN. Aww, I’m so glad you liked it so much. ^w^ < Again?" < > I HAVE NOT HAD THAT. EXCEPT. ON RARE OCCASIONS. SINCE THE QUEEN

Asteri’s eyes practically bulged.

You knew the queen??? < > YES. I KNEW BOTH. HER AND ASGORE BEFORE. THEY WERE. THE KING AND QUEEN. > WE. WERE FRIENDS.

She rolled over and got more comfortable. This seemed like a conversation that warranted a better position.

You must have been sad when she disappeared. < > VERY MUCH SO.

Yikes, what did she even say to this?

I’m sorry, Gaster… Do you want to talk about it? < > THANK YOU. BUT. IT IS ALRIGHT. > ON. TO HAPPIER THINGS Okay… but let me know if you ever want to talk. <

It took a bit longer for him to reply this time.

> TECHNICALLY. > I NEVER TALK > DO I?

It seemed like a joke, just like the ‘technically my stomach is always empty’ one, but somehow this one felt… different.

I mean, it’s not like I mind. You know that right? <

> YES.

> I KNOW. YOU ARE KIND. LIKE THAT.

> JUST. A LITTLE JOKE

She smacked her forehead with her tail. Of course it was just a joke!! Stupid! You made it weird by calling attention to it!! She was probably just reading into it because her friends had asked about his name, and therefore his font, so the issue of him talking was on her mind. He was probably joking about never mentioning much about his past, rather than commenting on whether or not he spoke aloud.

Right. Sorry. I’m a little tired. My friends came over today. < > AH. YES. I SAW. THE MESSAGE YOU SENT TO ALPHYS. AND ME. > I WOULD LIKE. TO MEET THEM SOON Whenever you guys are free < > THE END OF NEXT MONTH. WORKS FOR ME. Perfect! I’ll let them know. Can you send that to the group chat so Alphys can see too? < > YES Great! Thanks. < Well, I’m whipped, so I’m going to sleep soon. You should too! < > VERY WELL. I WILL SEE YOU. ON FRIDAY. GOODNIGHT ASTERI. Goodnight, Gaster. See you then! <

⁂

Friday came and went, Alphys joining them that time. Then another week, and they actually met up twice: once with Alphys, once without. The fact that a mostly weekly schedule had remained over the past however six or seven months, despite everything, was impressive in Asteri’s opinion. Every week, she met up with at least Gaster (and gave him a Sandwich of Passive-Aggressive Care or two for his lunches), if not both of them, and they talked, or she made dinner (and sometimes they watched anime with Alphys), or they went somewhere else. Like occasionally they went to get donuts, and the heavyset man who always used exclamation points would greet them all enthusiastically by name. His name was Carlope, she had learned this past month, and he did in fact own the place. Alphys came over sometimes, other days, to work on Japanese with her.

It was nice. And Asteri wouldn’t trade the pleasant routine they had for anything.

- [ APPROX. 3 WEEKS AFTER THE TELEPORTATION INCIDENT ] -

> hey sorry for not responding!! ive been swamped w finals coming up x.x No worries! I completely understand. I remember how college is. I’m not THAT old haha < Well not yet anyway < > LOL > at least you aren’t as old as Dr G

Asteri rolled her eyes. He was technically old, yeah, but he sure didn’t act like it a lot of the time.

How long do skeletons even live? Maybe he’s only old from our perspective. <

Alphys started typing, then stopped. Then started again, but a minute or so later, she stopped again. Asteri watched to see if she would continue, but she didn’t. It really wasn’t her business how old he was anyway. Old, if he had fought in the war. There were a number of types of monsters who naturally lived a very long time without being functionally immortal like Boss Monsters. Shapeshifters, like herself, were one. Even if she had been born the year the war ended, she would likely still be alive today anyway, if she took care of herself. Her parents had known the surface as adolescents, after all. As it was, though, she was born around 10 years after the death of the royal children, but was still a child when her parents were killed almost 20 years later. And it had been… what? 40? Almost 50 more years since then? And she was still fairly young. Not young like Alphys, of course… but aging slowed down considerably after childhood. Gah, had it really been so long since she had lost her parents? It really had, hadn’t it?

It made her wonder just how old Asriel and Chara had been. Something like early adolescence, right? Yes, she was about that age when her parents were killed, maybe a little older. It was difficult not to think about them, after having listened to Gaster reminisce during one of their last meetings. Yes, he spoke fondly of the royal children. He had helped tutor them in areas of science and mathematics, while the queen taught them everything else. He had been, of course, wary of Chara initially, he said, but they had grown on him over the years. They were, after all, just a child, albeit a troubled one.

She was still convinced that they were the only good human.

Her phone went off. Alphys finally replied.

> yknow im pretty sure ur right

What had they been talking about again? Oh yeah, Gaster being old.

I know every type of monster ages differently. TBH he doesn’t seem that much older than me < > Oh yeah? > 🕈︎ I told you those don’t show up on my phone. < > omg right sorry > PLS let me upgrade your phone to understand unicode I don’t know what that is but sure. < What did you mean to send? < > well it was better than this emoticon but thisll have to do > >;P

Asteri’s cheeks warmed.

Oh my god Alphys. < Stop trying to set me up with Gaster, it’s not like that. <

In the many months since their ill-fated meeting at the dump (she couldn’t believe it had been almost a year), she and Gaster, and often Alphys, met up more or less once a week. These last few weeks, though, Alphys had been busy studying for finals. So it had mostly been Asteri and Gaster, which was fine. But having more time just the two of them apparently fueled the rumor mill at the lab.

> if u say so~ I’m not dignifying that with a proper response. < > lmao ok ill stop > but itd be so cute

Asteri rolled her eyes and ignored the way that the sentiment actually pleased her just a little, even if Alphys was just messing with her. It wasn’t like that! It was just because they were good friends. Hmph. She had an idea of how to put a stop to this.

If you see him as a father figure, wouldn’t pursuing him make me your step-mother-figure? < > ……… > shit.

Asteri barked out a laugh.

Aww don’t back out now. Don't worry Alphys I’d be a good mommy to you < > AJKFSMXLSASDJDKDLSJHD;SKX??!?,?!1!??!!! > ATSERI > OMFG > u CANT jsut SAY THAT > I ALMSOT CHOKED ON MY RAMEN

She grimaced, shame swelling in her gut. Too far, given the relationship Alphys had with her mother. She should apologize.

Crap. That was too far, wasn’t it? I wasn’t thinking about your situation. I’m sorry. < That was in bad taste < > wait what

I shouldn’t have made a joke about being a good mother since you don’t have a good relationship with yours. That was thoughtless of me, and I’m sorry. <

Asteri rubbed the magic of her wings together anxiously while she waited for the reply. Stupid, stupid! She should have just let the joke go and let Alphys tease her! It was all lighthearted anyway! Obviously Alphys didn’t actually think she and Gaster would be a couple… It was all in good fun. But rather than let it go, she had gotten weirdly personal about Alphys’ relationship with both Gaster and her parents. Yikes, Asteri!! Have some forethought!

> OH > omg Asteri. Don’t Even Worry About It. > That’s not. Uh. What I was screaming about

Asteri’s eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

You’re not upset? What was that reaction about then? < > uhh > nothing don’t worry about it > i um. > thought you were making a different joke What? What joke? < > omg please just pretend i didn’t say anything > ANYWAY HOW ARE YOU

Asteri rolled her eyes and let it go. She caught up with Alphys about what she had texted her about to begin with, then let her finish studying. It was awfully ambitious of her to take on finals and then agree to meet Asteri’s other friends the following week. But good for her.

Speaking of her other friends, she had another conversation to reply to.

As was frequently the case, the three of them ended up talking for an hour.

…and so the IDEA is that other monsters might be able to detect differences in the text magic of a person’s speech, even if they aren’t a skeleton! < > That’s really interesting > How would you test it, though? See, that’s where I’m stuck. <

You guys know what I’m talking about, with Temmies and stuff, right? < > I mean, sort of? > I guess I don't really pay attention to that type of stuff?? > It might be just you…? But like only bc you’re so used to looking for that sort of thing? I mean I know what you mean, but nonetheless

Asteri deflated a little. She had been trying to work out this theory for a year now. These months of knowing Gaster had given her a lot of information, but it was like she always got derailed when she meant to ask him more about this… Well, actually, it was more that she wanted to have more to show before she presented the whole theory to him. Plus, she was sidetracked working on translating Japanese as a side project with Alphys.

It wasn’t like she had much to go off of, and really Kelinn and Sembie had just given her more information by providing their perspectives. So why did it feel like such a failure that they didn’t notice it like her? Did she just want to be right that badly?

I. Guess it might be… < > I thought you asked Dr. Gaster about this kind of stuff? Skeletons naturally see text as a person speaks. He can’t give me an outside opinion < > Okay but. If nobody else has ever seen people’s words, in all the history of monsters… I’m not saying other monsters can see speech text! Just that maybe we can sense it. Or intentionally change how our speech looks < Like! He said I use interrobangs < Y’know, like this: <

[ASTERI sent a picture] <

> Like in your speech? Out loud?

Yeah. When I ask something intensely. Like if someone kicked my door down and I was like, “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Apparently. < Anyway! What I’m saying is that the concept that a monster might be able to deliberately alter the subconscious parts of their speech, like unusual punctuation— as if it were written on paper, or a computer— has such INCREDIBLE potential for language! < > You said that HE said… that everyone’s speech has magic? Yeah. < > Well. Not everyone can manipulate their magic like you… Maybe it’d be easier for shapeshifters? You can change your bullets after all > Do you see what I’m saying?

Asteri wilted, the disappointment weighing on her like a stone. How had she never considered…?

Yeah. Yeah, no, that’s… never occurred to me. < I gotta give that some thought… < But that still leaves no reason for me to be able to pick up on how it sounds different. < > Maybe you’ve got a skeleton in your family!!

For some reason, the suggestion made her want to immediately end this conversation. There’s absolutely no reason for that, calm down Asteri.

No, my entire family is shapeshifters. My parents never mentioned any other kinds of monsters in our family < > Okay but like maybe there was a forbidden romance! That your parents kept secret! > The family shame!

> Two star-crossed lovers, kept apart by their families!!

Asteri’s tail flicked in further irritation against the floor. She did not like the implications of this.

Kept apart? < How would I exist, then? < > Well I’m not saying they STAYED apart There aren’t any skeletons in my family, Kelinn. <

This isn’t a romance novel < > ok but what IF There aren’t. That’s not it <

> But you can’t know for 100% > Tell me that's not cool to think about!! > Alright you two. I’m NOT saying there was some secret love child. But I mean none of us know for sure everyone who was related to us before the war… > I’m not saying that’s what the reason is. But technically you COULD have a skeleton ancestor.

Asteri clenched her jaw.

> I’m not saying you do! > But you’ve got to admit! It would explain a lot about your idea!! Okay you know what I am DONE with this conversation < Shut up shut up shut UP < Im turning my phone off just SHUT UP!! <

She needed to go for a walk. Before she threw her phone across the room or broke something.

What her friends had suggested frustrated her. She had lashed out mostly because they had made valid points, but she berated herself for being so immature about her response. That was not how a scholar reacted when confronted with evidence that contradicted their ideas. She was bitter. Ugh, but why?

Gaster had once said that bitterness was a means of coping with hurt, and in turn a sign of perseverance. Well, he hadn’t worded it quite like that. But what in the underground was she HURT about? Being wrong? No, potentially being wrong? Very mature, Asteri, wow. Fantastic.

She grumbled and kicked a rock into the river. Now she was mad at herself for being mad. Great. What a useful goddamn cycle of emotions!! She picked up another rock with her tail and threw it as hard as she could into the water with an angry shout.

“UGH!!” It wasn’t enough. She needed to burn energy, and throwing stuff wasn’t going to cut it. She glanced behind her to make sure she was alone, then summoned a flurry of bullets and let them fly at the cave wall. She did it again. And then again. Again. …She was out of patterns.

Stupid patterns, stupid bullets, stupid DAMN ASTERI! “Perseverance.” She scoffed bitterly. “Some perseverance I have!” She squeezed her eyes shut, body shaking with barely contained frustration. Subconsciously she wondered if she would shift in anger, something she hadn’t done since becoming an adult, but this felt different. For every word, she smacked her tail against whatever was closest.

“I! Can’t! Even! "Persevere!" Through! Being! WRONG!!” With every word she felt her SOUL grow tighter, her magic shuddering, coiling back like an antagonized snake, until the very end it released in what felt like a shockwave. Her eyes flew open with a gasp and she stumbled back. At first she didn’t see anything. Then, like gossamer threads, cords of violet magic caught the light. She turned. Circles, spaced haphazardly but concentrically around her, went straight outward for a few yards, then stopped. Purple magic. It was just like Gaster had told her. Magic in lines. There was no target though, no SOUL to be affected, so it looked like she had just…. cast the trap part? Now temporarily distracted from her anger by surprise, confusion, and curiosity, she leaned down and tried to touch one with her tail. It vibrated slightly, like a string on an instrument, and gave a strange, incredibly uncomfortable feeling of feedback in her SOUL. It was unpleasant in a way she couldn’t explain. So, touching them didn’t dissipate them like bullets… Oh right, bullets. She summoned a few and tried to send them somewhere above and between the cords. They flew to the lines instead like a magnet had pulled them, and careened along the circles for about the length of a turn, then fizzled out like usual. What did this even mean…? And how did she get it to go away? She was not familiar with casting anything much more advanced than fire magic; bullets were all she ever even considered attempting in FIGHTs, and she had never been particularly interested in FIGHTing. Actually, no, that was a lie. She had a time, following her parents’ murder, where she wanted nothing more than real battle training, and she put a lot of thought into bullet patterns as a means of protection. But that anger had soon enough given way to sadness— depression— and the other stages of grief. And she had moved on, at least as well as she could. Her HP had taken a major hit for a long time after, but as she had learned to cope, it had returned to a normal range for a shapeshifter, and then continued to increase as she got older and life got better. Last time she CHECKed, it was actually at an all-time high. But none of this explained her use of purple magic. And the cords were still there. She did not like how it felt to touch them, and she didn’t know what would happen if she tried to squeeze under them or move overtop of them…

She pulled out her phone and took a deep breath, then dialed a familiar number.

Surprisingly, it picked up. Instantly, she launched into rambling. “Gaster I know calling doesn’t work well for you I’m really sorry but can you come to Waterfall? Please?? I’m not by my house, I went for a walk to let some steam off, b-but I accidentally cast weird magic and I-I don’t know how to make it go away and you’re the only one I know who knows a lot about colored magic—” There was a startled noise at the other end. “Y-Yeah, um, I cast purple magic? I-I think? And I don’t know what to do, c-can you… can you help me?” She took a deep breath, knowing that babbling wasn’t going to help. Her eyes squeezed shut. “I’m really, really sorry to ask you away from work, I… I just, um.” She swallowed. “Can you, um, hum, I guess? If you can come? If not, I-I’ll figure it out…”

He hummed the same tune as when he’d calmed her down after the teleport.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, so much. Here, let me tell you where I’m at from my house…” Less than ten minutes later, he came running around the corner. “I apologize for taking so long, I had to finish what I was working on,” he explained as soon as he caught sight of her. “What—” “Wait stop!” He froze, almost falling over mid-step. Asteri rubbed the magic of her wings together anxiously. “I don’t know what will happen if you step inside the lines. Can you see them?” She gestured to one with her tail. “They feel really weird when I touch them. I don’t know how to make them go away…” Gaster looked to where she pointed, then nodded offered a reassuring smile. “Do not worry. It should not affect me, and even if it does, the trap will do no damage on its own.” She swallowed, but nodded, and he came closer. When he reached the edge of one of the circles, he carefully stepped over it, lifting his foot high and then continuing toward her. She extended her tail toward him, which he held onto for balance once he was close enough, and with that she guided him towards her. Once he reached her, she inched backward to give him room to stand inside the innermost circle. There wasn’t much space to begin with. He put his hands on his hips and turned, surveying the surrounding magic, then nodded to himself and turned to her. “You are alright?” She nodded. “Good. Admittedly, I have not encountered purple magic since the war, so I am not completely sure how to deal with it. But!” He gave an encouraging smile. “It is very impressive that you cast this!” Looking around at the skewed, uneven lines, Asteri made a face. She still felt miserable. “Well. Thank you. It doesn’t feel very impressive.” Gaster managed to make a tutting sound and gave her an admonishing look. “Asteri, you must be kinder to yourself.” His expression softened. “What led up to this? You said that you went for a walk to “let off steam.”” At this, she turned away, embarrassed. “I had been talking to my friends, and they… said something. I don’t even know why it made me so upset. But I got angry, so I went for a walk. And then got angry at myself for being angry. Nothing was helping, though, so I just…” Her face warmed. This sounded so juvenile. “I… shot a couple bullet patterns into the wall. But... I… ran out of patterns, because I never practice. And then I got even angrier at myself. And then… this happened.” It was hard to look at him, but she had to in order to see what he said. She sighed quietly and turned her eyes back to him. “You are ashamed for feeling angry.” Yeah, nope. She wasn’t ready to look at him if he was going to psychoanalyze her. She swiveled her head away again, a persistent heat in her cheeks. The defensiveness clattered against the inside of her mouth like a rubber ball in a metal box, but she wouldn’t snap at Gaster, she wouldn’t. He had been nice enough to leave his job in the middle of the afternoon to come rescue her from her own problem.

The shame grew in her chest like a cancer. She heard him sigh, and the feeling doubled in size. This was a mistake, she just panicked, she should never have called him, even his patience had to have a limit, and this was it. This was all— “I cannot help you,” he signed with blue hands within her line of sight, “if you do not let me.” “I shouldn’t have called you, I should have just. Figured it out on my own,” she answered, too fast, too harshly, and immediately regretted that it came out like she had spat it. It felt like poison on her tongue, but her feelings were too sharp and cut into the tone of everything she tried to say. “It isn’t your problem.” (I’m sorry for pulling you away from your work.) “It’s my mess.” (I feel like I’m taking advantage of your kindness and desire for a friend.) “And I don’t need a damn therapy session.” (I’m too ashamed to tell you how I acted because if you judged me I don’t think I could bear it.) She glanced up at him, knowing that her anger at herself shot through her eyes like ice at him. He looked startled, then hurt (and god she wanted to wither away right then), then angry, and she jolted, shrinking a little. She felt herself slowly begin to melt, and it wasn’t voluntary but she didn’t try to stop it. That was it. Nobody in their right mind would put up with what she just pulled. He was mad at her. And oh, she absolutely deserved it, but it made her feel like the scum of the earth. Whatever he said next, she had coming, but knowing it was going to be the end of everything made her eyes sting. Stupid. Weak. You brought this on yourself by acting so childish, and now you have the audacity to cry? She tried to blink the feeling away and brace herself. “You,” Gaster began, and him just pointing at her almost brought her the rest of the way to tears, “are pushing me away to try to protect yourself.” ...What? “Whatever it is that happened has you so ashamed that merely mentioning the feeling immediately made you defensive.” He frowned even more. She looked away again, the sight of him angry enough to look at her like that making her melt even faster. He sighed, and she could practically hear the annoyance. Tears welled up in her eyes despite her angrily shouting at them in her head to not do that.

“Asteri.” She ignored him. “Asteri.” She turned her head away. He frowned even more and moved blue hands into her line of sight. “Asteri.” It was finger-spelled that time, he didn't even use her name sign. She squeezed her eyes shut. He couldn’t talk to her if she wasn’t looking, and that that HAD to be rude enough to make him leave. Silence, for a few seconds, then an almost-silent sigh, a strange, cartoonish sound, and a microsecond of heaviness. She opened one eye. He was gone. He was gone.

She dropped to her knees and let the tears well up as a truly pitiful little cry escaped her mouth. That started off a chain of hiccuping sobs as she held her head in her wings, and melted together like the pathetic excuse of a friend she was. This was truly ugly crying, the undignified sounds she made. “Asteri you i-i-idiot!” she bawled, “Now he’s never coming back!” She dissolved into tears, almost literally, and wept until she could finally think straighter. It felt like forever, but once she had calmed down a little, she opened her eyes and looked around. After all, she still needed to figure out what to do about the purple magic. She sniffled as she scanned the surrounding area numbly. Maybe, somehow, she could repair things with Gaster. Oh who was she kidding!? She ruined it. She would still apologize, somehow, but there was no way he would forg— “O-OH MY GOD YOU’RE STILL HERE!!!” The skeleton was standing against a far wall, on the other side of the river, but certainly still close enough to have heard and seen everything that just happened. She flattened all the way against the floor, now all but a blob, and in a brilliant move of pure, instinctual self-preservation, changed to the exact color of the ground and held perfectly still. There was that strange, objectively silly noise again, and suddenly he was standing over her. She squeaked in alarm, but then clamped her mouth shut and pretended he wasn’t there. He sighed and crouched down. His eyelights were tinged cyan blue. At least he couldn’t see where her eyes were. “Asteri, please talk to me.” When she did not, he continued. “I am not angry. I am frustrated, yes. But I am not stupid. You called me in a panic; When I got here, you were relieved. As soon as I mentioned shame, you immediately got defensive and told me to leave. I can piece together that you spoke in anger. I did not truly leave the area, because I wanted to ensure you were alright. I had a feeling that you needed to get some things out considering that me frowning at you almost brought you to tears.” Thank god she was already on the ground, because this was humiliating. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his expression was softer. “Seeing you break into tears and berate yourself because you thought you had driven me off for good was more than enough confirmation that you did not mean anything.” He offered a tiny, awkward smile. “Frankly, though, nothing you said to me was especially cruel. I think you may be being hard on yourself because most of your anger was directed internally anyway. Even if I had not witnessed that, I would only have given you space, not abandoned your friendship.” His smile turned a little more genuine, eyes softening. “I am admittedly difficult to get rid of, unless you tell me directly. I am not good with subtext, you see.”

Suddenly he brightened, straightening, with a huge grin on his face.

“Only regular text!” He broke into laughter at his own terrible joke— it was barely even a joke, good grief— and Asteri couldn’t muffle a little huff of humor in time. He somehow brightened even more. “A laugh! Good!” She still didn’t want to say anything, though, or un-camouflage. Gaster’s excitement died down and his expressions changed to a more thoughtful one as he looked over the arrangement of purple magic. “Purple magic is trap magic,” he reminded her, though his attention was still turned to the surrounding rings. “It is also associated with perseverance. If you are angry, but feel that you should not be, the desire to persevere through something is there. It is not an ideal form of perseverance, but it is perseverance nonetheless. However…” He looked back down at her, silently noting that she was slowly returning to her normal lavender hue. “…Trap magic with no target can only do one thing.” She peered up at him through still-hidden eyes. “Purple magic, like perseverance, works best with others close to you as support. It seems that purple magic allows you to entrap what is causing you difficulty and analyze it, observe its behavior. But a good analysis needs multiple perspectives. And if your focus is internal when you use purple magic, then the only thing that will be trapped...” Asteri swallowed and found her voice. “…Is me.” Gaster smiled gently at her. “You cannot persevere through your own emotions. You will only sever yourself from others. In order to deal with them, you must ready yourself, then deal with them head-on—“ He summoned a green bone-shaped bullet and grinned hopefully— “with kindness.” She sighed, long and tired, and let her color come back, slowly reforming into something vaguely solid, though not quite her usual form. Most of her was still in a puddle on the ground. The last thing she wanted to do was look Gaster in the eye when he would look right back (because that would mean being seen, and in that moment nothing felt scarier), but she mustered the courage and met his eyes. Immediately, they lit up with a faint green, and he smiled at her with nothing short of pride. Green is absolutely the color of kindness, she thought, if someone can see me after everything and look at me like that. “There you are.” As if she were ever truly hidden, she scoffed inwardly. But just like always, he wore nothing but sincerity on his face. “It’s me,” she agreed ruefully. The worst friend ever. Making him come here, snapping at him, and then being so pathetic that she didn’t even allow him his rightful frustration, she made him put it aside to comfort her. “You do not seem particularly happy about that fact,” he observed. “I just think… you should be mad at me,” she muttered, eyes on the ground. “I think,” he began, forcing her to look up, “that you want me to be angry with you so that you can be angry at yourself.” “I’m already angry at myself!” she huffed. “Yes, because you think you deserve it,” he replied patiently. “Why should I add to it?” “Because I do! And because you didn’t- you didn’t even get to be upset, you had to come over here and coddle me!” Gaster raised a curious brow. “I had to?” Her face flushed, but she held her ground. “Y-Yeah!” He tilted his head and looked down his metaphorical nose. “I did not. I wanted to,” he corrected. “That’s… dumb,” Asteri grumbled. “I know you do not mean that you truly believe that my feelings or desires are motivated by stupidity,” Gaster signed seriously, though not harshly, “but consider what your self-hatred implies when you discredit others’ genuine desire to help you.”

Oh, his words cut deep. Deeper than any possible insult could have. It would have been so, so much easier if he had been angry. But instead, he was forcing her to confront herself.

“Why do you even want to?” she asked, the leftover defensiveness giving her words the effect of hardness but none of the impact. Like tinfoil on a cardboard box.

“Because you are my friend,” Gaster answered simply. “I care about you.”

“You shouldn’t…”

And there it was. ‘You shouldn’t.’ That was what it boiled down to, wasn’t it? That she believed, deep down, that nobody should care about her; that she did not deserve it-- not when she was like this. She should be better than this.

“Asteri.” She looked up. Gaster looked stern. She almost looked away again, but then he signed. “You are important to me. But you do not get to decide who I am allowed to care about.” Her eyes widened. “That is something no other monster decides. Only me. And no other monster can decide who you care about.”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “If anybody alive does not deserve to be cared about, it is me. Do you know the things I have done? I am the biggest hypocrite of all. What are kindness and patience when you have slaughtered hundreds?” He looked down. “What is integrity worth when it has been broken?”

A long moment of silence passed before he sighed and looked back to her. “I do not like to think about this, but I do not hide these facts. You knew I fought in the war, and I have not failed to mention the ways I killed. But you care about me regardless of whether I feel I deserve it, don’t you?” “I… do.” She nodded, voice growing stronger. “Y-Yes, I do.” A small smile pulled at his face. “After the things I have lived through, and the things I have done, it will take much more than a few words spoken in shame to truly upset me. You must forgive yourself. Forgiveness is not the same as saying that a course of action was right. It is merely the decision to not let it poison your relationship. I do not think that the things I have done were right. Necessary, perhaps. But not right. Despite this, I make an active effort to forgive myself.” Her eyebrows furrowed together. “An active effort?” He nodded. “It is not easy. Forgiving yourself for something must be a continuous choice, or guilt will paralyze you.” They sat there in contemplative silence once more. Gradually, Asteri returned to her form, filling back into the clothes she had melted out of, until she was all the way there once again, knees pulled up to her chest and wings and tail curled tightly around them.

“That’s a lot to think about,” she said at last, quietly. Gaster saw one of the violet circles at the edge of the magic field fizzle away. “Yes. But it is necessary.” A sigh, and a small hum, and her eyelights flitted over to him for a moment before she allowed herself to lean over and rest her head against his shoulder. “You’re a good friend, you know. Way better than I deserve.” “You are better than I deserve, but we are both here, aren’t we?” Asteri smiled, just a little. “Yeah, I guess we are.” He shifted just enough to look down at her. “Do you want to tell me what upset you enough to cause this? I think it would help.” The way she immediately tensed did not go unnoticed, so he gestured to the edge of the rings. “Look. A few have already disappeared. Talking this through is helping.” “It could just be me getting distracted…” she tried, weakly, but knew even without the look she got in return that it wouldn’t work. She heaved a heavy sigh and let her head drop back against his shoulder. “It’s so stupid. I don’t even know why I was so upset about it. And that’s part of what made me more upset.” She paused, hesitant. “I… feel really childish. It was so immature. I don’t…” Another deep breath, and she confessed: “I don’t want to tell you, because I’m afraid you’ll judge me. Even though you say you won’t. You might not act any differently but your opinion of me could still change. I don’t…” It felt like her throat was shrinking, like her voice couldn’t get any smaller. She turned her head to hide her face against his shoulder. Like a child, she berated herself. “…want you to think less of me.” Rather than answer right away, Gaster tilted his head down and tapped the side of it against the top of hers. “It is possible to disagree with a person’s choices without thinking less of them,” he signed when she turned her head again. “Yeah…” “Is it truly worse than having killed people?” Her cheeks warmed. Well when he put it like that…

She sighed in acquiescence. “My friends and I were talking about my work. They didn’t understand what I meant about being able to sense the difference in speech beyond pronunciation. It… It was a whole thing, but basically they said that maybe…” She groaned a little. This was going to sound far worse than it already was. “…Maybe I have a skeleton ancestor or something.”

She didn’t need to be looking at him to feel the eyebrow raise.

“NOT that that’s what I was upset about!” she clarified hastily. “I told them that I didn’t; all my family was other shapeshifters. Then one of them suggested that maybe, a long time ago, there was some secret… tryst or something, I don’t know. Basically that someone had been unfaithful, or there was some secret child with a skeleton or something, and I was unknowingly descended from them. Just because they didn’t understand! And- And obviously I don’t have any issues with having a skeleton family member!! But if I'm part skeleton, it would mean that… that my theory that other types of monsters can sense text magic is false.”

She faltered, for a moment, then launched back into it with the same frustration as before.

“How immature can I get‽‽ Lashing out at my friends just because they brought up a potential explanation that I didn’t like! Getting so angry that I trapped myself with purple magic— which I have never used before! Forcing you to leave whatever you were doing to come rescue me! Lashing out at you, having a literal meltdown, and then this! I’m a full-grown monster! And a scholar! What kind of scholar punches the wall when they’re disagreed with‽” Once she was finished, she slumped against Gaster again and grumbled to herself. “…You punched a wall?” “Metaphorically! With… with the bullets.” Gaster nodded. “Ah.” “To start with…” the skeleton began again after a beat, “it does seem reasonable to be upset over having your family’s integrity insulted.” “But—“ “Hold on,” he halted her. “I know you want to be angry at yourself, not be validated. But wait.” “Fine…” “From my understanding, you were irritated not only with your friends, but also the implications of what they said: that you did not discover this much about text magic on your own merits, rather that it is simply innate due to some hypothetical ancestor. Am I correct?” Asteri raised her head a little. “Yeah… I guess that is it.” A frown took hold of her expression. “But that still isn’t an excuse for getting that upset.” “The validity of emotions and their intensity is another discussion. I am not finished.” “Alright, alright.” “Your family— which is surely a sensitive topic— was casually insulted, then your accomplishments as an academic, which you have worked very hard toward, were dismissed and excused as being a mere coincidence of ancestry. Then, your feelings were brushed aside, either by your friends or your own mind, as being invalid because your friends “only” brought a new possibility to your attention. Instead of acknowledging your right to be upset, you instantly shamed yourself for having such a reaction, which only made you feel worse for being upset to begin with. Every attempt to brush off your feelings and simply push through them-- because you believe them to be a personal failing-- added to the shame you already felt. I imagine that taking a walk did not immediately remove these feelings as you had hoped, because you were not allowing them their place to be felt and then move on, rather you were feeding them to each other until they grew explosive.” Well. That would certainly explain why her magic had felt like that. But that didn’t mean she liked the fact that he was right. “It’s annoying how smart you are,” she grumbled. “Why can’t I just be angry at myself in peace?” “Because your anger was not peaceful.”

Asteri raised her head. He looked at her and continued.

“Your anger was violent toward yourself. It served no purpose, motivated no change. It was no longer anger; it was hatred.” That echoed in her like a shout off the edge of the pier. The words just kept repeating in her mind, in her SOUL. ‘Your anger was not peaceful.’ ‘Violent toward yourself.’ ‘It was hatred.’

Her eyes stung.

“I didn’t think I hated myself,” she whispered, at a loss. “I… I love myself. I love a lot of things about myself.”

“That is good,” Gaster commended her. “But I do not think that self-hatred needs to be all-encompassing to exist in a person.” “How do I stop feeling like this?” she asked the universe more than her friend. Fortunately, the universe had given her a friend to answer. “Practice.”

She turned to him with watery eyes. “Practice?” He nodded. “When you feel upset, remember that anger is not bad. Emotions are simply emotions. They are not moral indicators. The way one reacts to one’s emotions is what matters. But feeling something is not wrong, nor is it stupid.”

“I don’t know if I’m going to remember all of that when I’m upset,” she admitted.

Gaster smiled softly. “That is why it takes practice.” His attention turned to the space around them. “The circles are gone.”

So they were. She hadn’t even noticed. “Thank god,” she sighed in relief. “I’m exhausted.”

He stood and offered her a hand, which she took with her tail. “I am sure.”

Once on her feet, Asteri checked her phone to see the time. “At least I didn’t keep you too long…”

“Even if you had, the lab would not burn down without me. My followers frequently ask me to take more time off.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your “followers”?” Gaster looked a little sheepish. “It is a joke between us. When my most trusted assistants were new, they followed me from room to room. They are always nearby, thank the stars. I would lose my head without them.”

He paused.

“Literally, come to think of it.”

That earned a chuckle from Asteri. “Oh, is one of them the guy you scared the SOUL out of?”

Gaster giggled guiltily and rubbed the back of his head. “Yes. He retrieved my head for me once I told him what room it was in, rather than try to lead my body there. He claims that carrying my skull is ‘the worst memory he has ever made in Hotland.’ I do confess that it was likely very uncomfortable to pick up a completely inert skull.”

Asteri snickered. “Did your jaw fall off?”

He perked up and pointed at her. “Surprisingly, no! Some active magic must have remained to hold it together.”

“That’s fascinating. I’m morbidly curious, but also terrified.”

Both hands braced on the sides of his head and lifted it off his neck while a blue pair of hands signed for him. “Are you sure you do not want to see?” he teased.

“Absolutely not!” she laughed, somewhat incredulous. “Put that back before you forget it somewhere.”

“I would certainly hate to teleport without it.” He set it back in place, then rolled it around on his neck to make sure it attached properly.

“Right, teleporting…”

She had given it a lot of thought since her bad experience with it. It seemed too useful and convenient to be afraid of. If he was willing, she wanted to try again.

“You teleported the short distance from here to the other side of the river in an instant.”

“Ah. That is because it is so close. However, teleporting any distance here in the underground appears almost instantaneous, although it feels like more time passes during travel.”

“How long is it in… travel… from here to my house?”

Gaster inclined his head and rubbed his chin, eye sockets squinted in thought. “30 seconds, maybe?”

Asteri rubbed her wings together, tail swaying nervously behind her. “You’ve already done so much for me today, but you mentioning teleportation reminded me: I decided... I don’t want to be afraid of it. So if you would be willing, could I come with you again, sometime? But just a short distance?”

His eyes widened slightly. “Of course! It is no trouble, really. I can take you home, if you are agreeable to trying it now.”

She nodded. “I think knowing what to expect will help.”

He held his arms out, and she fused herself into one mostly solid form, then stepped into his embrace and curled her tail and wings around him as he wrapped his arms around her. It felt good to be held, after everything, even if just like this.

“Ready?”

She swallowed and took a deep breath. It would be dark. She knew that. But he wouldn’t let go, and she would be safe.

“Ready.”

Blue, and then black, and then darkness. She shuddered, but didn’t panic this time. Gaster squeezed a hand on her back, then pulled her toward a speck of light just like before. But this time, it came towards them much, much faster, and it wasn’t even the 30 seconds he had predicted before they were stepping out of the darkness and into the tall grass.

Instantly he was facing her, hands on her shoulders while he checked her over with deep blue eyes that flashed with yellow.

“I’m okay,” she told him with a small smile, her tail coiling lightly around his forearm. He sighed in relief and visibly relaxed, eyelights fading back to their usual white. “Good.” “It isn’t so bad, I think, now that I know how dark it is.” Even the first time hadn’t actually been very long, only a few minutes, but the panic had made it feel like it lasted an eternity. “I am relieved to hear that. It is very convenient, no?” “Extremely. That was a 15 minute walk, otherwise.”

“I am never late to work, either.”

Asteri giggled. “Don’t you basically live at work?” Gaster made an indignant sound, though he wasn’t truly offended whatsoever. “I have been going home at least twice a week lately.”

She gave him a look.

“…I have extra clothes at the lab.”

“Go home tonight,” she urged. “Sleep in a real bed.” She lifted a wing to cup his head and bring him closer so that she could get a better look at him. “You’ve got bags under your eyes again, Gaster,” she admonished gently. He smiled guiltily and looked away. “I will, then, only so as not to upset you.” “I only get upset because I care,” she informed him, doing her best approximation of crossing her wings. “If you neglect your health even though other people want you to take care of yourself, isn’t that the same as me saying it’s stupid for someone to care about me?” That earned her an impressed but unhappy glare. “You are too clever for your own good.” She laughed, and he smiled at the sound, any mild annoyance that she had pinned him with his own lesson evaporating instantly.

“Thank you for cheering me up after everything.” She looked up at him and sighed softly before looking away. “I am bummed out about my theory being potentially invalid, but it wasn’t like there was any way to test it anyway. Not really.”

Gaster looked like he was going to say something, but hesitated.

She frowned slightly, eyebrows pinching together. “What?” “Your theory… is that monsters other than skeletons can sense text magic to some degree?” “Yeah,” she sighed once more, “But like I said, there’s no way to test it.”

“I have more to say on that,” he signed hesitantly, “but you are exhausted and I should return to work. May I come by later? No. Tomorrow. That would be better. Or whenever is convenient.”

Asteri blinked, a little confused, but nodded. “Of course. Tomorrow is fine. You’re welcome anytime, just so you know. That goes for Alphys as well. You can always come by, you don’t need an invitation.” “Thank you. I will see you tomorrow evening, then.” “Sure. And, uh, hey.” She smiled sideways and stood on her toes. “Thank you again, Gaster.” His smile loosened from being so uneasy, and he bent to meet her, letting their foreheads tap together. “It was no trouble. I am glad you called me.”

Nobody else she knew was familiar with colored magic like him (or could analyze it so quickly, come to think of it— he had said he didn’t know much about purple magic, and yet??) so of course she had called him. Still, she understood the sentiment behind his words: when she was in distress, she trusted him enough to turn to him for help. Indeed, how quickly they had moved on from that initial reluctance to reach out to each other. In less than a year they had grown close enough to speak so frankly with each other, to share awful things from their pasts, to see less-than-ideal sides of each other, and to have this, such casual touch.

Asteri’s eyes crinkled. “I’m glad I called you too.”

“Get some rest, my friend.”

“You too! And be safe.”

He nodded, there was a split second of blue, a microsecond of heaviness, a sound she could only think to describe as ‘doodly doodly’, and he was gone. Just like that. She blinked. That was still bizarre to witness.

She turned and went inside. That entire experience was exhausting, so she felt justified in having a bowl of ice cream instead of a meal. She needed to text her friends an apology, one that she was now more confident they would accept, but first she needed a nap.

_ _ _ _

OKAY SO UH. Tumblr said all of part 8 was too long, so this is 8.1, and 8.2 is getting edited next. So have this, and in an hour or two the next part will be up!! This also saves me from writing out the apology to her friends that I forgot to add. But listen. They have been through so much crap together. Kelinn and Sembie are gonna be a little upset, yeah, definitely, but this isn't the first time Asteri one of them has blown up at the other two. It's never fun, but none of them are the type to hold grudges, really, and they all have their own things that set them off. They're really good about communicating. What will happen here is that Asteri will text them and apologize (they probably tried to apologize after she blew up, actually, but she muted the conversation), and they'll talk about why she got upset, and she will tell them that what they said made her feel like they were discrediting her work. And then they'll discuss how to avoid this sort of thing in the future. That's how it's always gone for them. She won't bring up Gaster, or the purple magic, because she isn't about to admit she called the royal scientist and then had a meltdown in front of him. (also it would probably require explaining teleporting, which she isn't going to do.)

ANYWAY. Yeah so. Asteri's got some very internalized issues. BUT TECHNICALLY THIS CHAPTER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT GASTER WHOOPS. More of him in 8.2. So in the meantime I hope you enjoyed Asteri's emotional trainwreck and Gaster's incredible damage control.

Oh also, he wasn't actually angry at her, when she was being difficult. He was a little frustrated, obviously, but not genuinely angry. That was just what Asteri assumed because she was having A Whole Thing.

Ah, one last thing. Kelinn’s repeatedly calling certain things “hot” and then clarifying “in an ace way,” is indeed a reference to the irl friend I borrowed parts of her personality from.

OK IM OFF TO WORK ON FORMATTING PART 8.2 I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT ANYONE HAS ON THIS!! (seriously you could give me a play by play of your thoughts while reading this and I would be freaking over the moon about it)

#THIS TOOK ME FIVE BILLION YEARS #AND SEVERAL HOURS JUST TO FORMAT TO TUMBLR #UGGHHH #ENJOY THIS I WORKED SUPER HARD DESPITE ITS SHORTCOMINGS #gonna eat and then do 8.2 #more Emotions are coming your way #seeker writes #⁂ fic #⁂ gaster #⁂ #asteri #seeker oc #hope you enjoyed asteri accidentally and completely obliviously contributing to Alphys’s bisexual awakening #(jk im sure alphys already knows she’s bisexual)

[problemswithbooks]

God can hori be any more heavy handed with the "DONT YOU WANT TO BE NORMAL NORMAL NORMAL" bestie, shes drinking other kids blood, thats not just "not normal". This weird retcon thing is annoying, Idk why hed bother putting her backstory in when he didnt give much of a shit about it 😭

The thing is, I actually don't think trying to say Toga's blood drinking is normal is necessarily bad or something that can't be done well. Quirks are a major part of the world and the story overall--it's not that far fetched that blood drinking might be a normal thing a person with a Quirk would want to do. If people can accept people that can make explosions which could also be dangerous to kids and people (and very much was for Izuku) then it's not a huge stretch to accept that blood drinking for Toga is normal and she should be accepted as such.

The issue is that Hori didn't really make that the issue. I don't think he really sees it himself given how he wrote Mineta, but Toga's main problem and why shes not accepted is a matter of consent not because she's seen as a creep.

This is why her backstory doesn't work very well, besides the fact it's way to late and very short. Yes, her parents freak out about her Quirk and obsession with blood. The problem is that they don't freak out for zero reason and are the only ones who reject her.

No child should be drinking the blood of birds. Whether she killed it or not, birds carry many diseases and parasites harmful to people. Her father shouldn't have hit her (because, I guess he did even though it's poorly conveyed), but the shock given what she's doing is understandable. Especially if they think she killed it (which is weird, and suggests she might have done something they found disturbing before this or were bad parents regardless of her Quirk).

Then they yell at her because she's biting her finger bloody. That's self harm and something you would want to send a child to therapy for. Sure, the counselor didn't help, but it's not like they can give Toga what she wants.

That's hammered home when they yell at her again when she drinks another kids blood. Hori messes up and doesn't show us what happens so we don't know if she hurt this other kid, or if they were scared of her or if they were fine with it.

Just giving us a look at her parents reaction doesn't give us any idea how she was seen by her peers. Because of that it's hard to make the case that she was only rejected for her Quirk alone, rather then her actions. In fact the only time we see other students they say she was popular and well liked until she attacked a boy in the class.

Given how young she looks when her parents yell at her for sucking another kids blood, and the fact she fled school after she attacked her crush, it appears these were separate events. If that was the case people in her school might have already heard about her sucking a kids blood earlier, and clearly not cared. In the very least we have to assume they knew her Quirk involved blood because Hori doesn't make any suggestion that it was hidden.

And that's why the theme of acceptance and Toga being normal because blood drinking is a part of her falls flat. No one ever said shit about her Quirk ever, except for her parents in sparse flashbacks. Ochako never thinks her blood drinking is gross nor do any of the the other Heroes or class 1A students. Hell, Tenya doesn't even bad mouth Stain for drinking blood even though he hated the guy so much he wanted him dead. This doesn't make it seem like the world rejected her for her Quirk.

No, the entire problem is that Toga doesn't understand consent or boundaries. We never see her ever ask anyone, even as a kid if she can drink their blood (that would have been a better scene then her drinking birds blood imho) and get rejected and told off and bullied/ostracized for her desire. Which if that did happen would explain why she never asks again and feels no one will accept her.

And, you could blame her parents and the therapist for this, but I'd just wager Hori doesn't really grasp that consent is the issue here. Mainly because Ochako never addresses it in anyway, even though she does bring up Toga's crimes. She offers her blood to Toga for life, but does not say that difference between Toga drinking her blood as opposed to anyone else's is because she is giving permission.

In the end Toga doesn't learn anything and just gets what she wanted given to her. Maybe Hori will address this next chapter but it really should have been brought up sooner. That or he should have had Toga actually not be accepted what-so-ever and shunned by all her peers for her Quirk even before she attacked her crush.

And this is part of the reason I really don't like the queer reading of the chapter is because by doing so it is suggesting that queer people are dangerous. If we read Toga's blood drinking as the same as kissing--which she seems to say (though her expression while drinking blood suggests something more...problematic) then she has been going around kissing people against their will to fulfill her own needs. If we read this as queer, is the story not saying that repressed gay people will sexually harass people because they can't understand consent when they inevitably snap?

I'm not saying this was or is Hori's intent. I think it's pretty clear he just didn't see how big an issue of consent there was with Toga and her Quirk. He wanted it to be all about how she wasn't accepted as normal, but didn't put in the work of showcasing that well. He has a lousy track record with female characters getting way less attention and with his rush to finish on top of that, Ochako and Toga got screwed with a half baked climax. Unfortunately that's also left it with less then great implications if you think about it for a coupe of minutes.

#ask #thanks for the ask! #sorry for the wait #and the back log of the other ones in my inbox #but i have a hard time focusing on one thing to talk about with Toga #since her character has so many problems #and the last chapter just pissed me off #cuz i'm sorry but neither of these two people know each other at all #Ochako doesn't know Toga's past #shes not seeing the flashbacks #and Toga knows even less about ochako #she just likes ochako because it gives Hori an excuse to draw girl on girl touching #like i'm sorry but I really doubt it's much deeper then that #I mean if he does make Toga/Ochako canon it's nice that wlw relationships get some exposure #but I wouldn't say it was good representation and I don't think that's means Hori is 100% behind gay rights #like at best I'd think he's like that fresh price meme “he's confused but he's got the spirit” #which is better then you generally get from a shonen jump title #so I wouldn't say it's worthless or unimportant #but that doesn't mean it doesn't have alot of flaws #and this isn't me saying all queer ships have to be wholesome/perfect #it's just that i think if it canon it will be treated as wholesome when it's really not #like way more issues then Catadora from She-ra #anti togachako #anti toga #anti himiko #mha #bnha spoilers #bnha #bnha critical #bnha 393

[for-gilded-cups-are-empty]

Katalepsis after live-read thoughts collection

So, now that im caught up about in time for book 1 to end, i am just regurgitating half-thoughts ive had along the ride, doing some retrospection and working my way through all the stuff i still want to draw.

I think thats one of the big things i really noticed and appreciated about katalepsis. Theres just drawability to it. I havent decided yet if its Hungrys writing style in general, the genre, or most likely, a characteristic of Heathers that got me to figure out i can use my laptop as a drawing tablet. Heather in her internal monologue just has a real appreciation for spaces.

A space is rarely a backdrop to do a scene in, the places and buildings and dimensions are characters to heather in a way that just makest a lot of sense for someone who grew up seeing the personified spirits of the everyday world as well as the varied wilds of Outside.

When the Stairwell trap is sprung, theres a very real feeling of betrayal, the willow house has forsaken raine and heather, who previously thought it a sanctuary.

We later learn that the space was bound, artificial, forced to act against its inhabitants in a way a house usually would not, which fits some themes that come up waaaaayy later.

I originally thought this would just be a quirk of heathers, some flavor to her thought processes, but it really did get picked up as an actual story beat, not just an aesthetic, with the soul of edward lilburnes house.

The Outside places are a bit more metaphorical about this, but strangely more clearly alive as well. The Library is an extension of the catalogue, wonderland is dominated by the eye. Ooran Juhs Projected space is his own physical gullet. Carcosa is the stage of a living play. The very first outside space we get to properly see is on the back of some giant creature, hairs and all.

Theres just Personality to every place that keeps them all so very, very vivid.

Ive been planning to draw wonderland ever since the mirror incident at the very beginning of the story, and in a very funny way, as ive drawn other stuff along the way ive been training for wonderland and the eye along with the cast. I really want to do it justice.

Staying on said cast for a bit, ive already talked about raine for a good bit, but theyre all amazing. I was always happy to see that an arc or a few chapters would become a cast members designated backstory time, because i really do want to know more about them and how they work as people. After about the middle point of the story though, those moments and how they connected became pretty hard for me to keep track off

For a reader who was along for the ride since the start, having to wait between chapters as they come out, the pacing probably works way better than it did for me.

I found myself really wishing for more time with the spookycule in each stage of development it had. Early katalepsis with just raine evee and heather is probably where it was the closest to ideal for me, in terms of just vibes i enjoy and things to keep track of.

I dont want to be too analytical, im bad at that, but for example we only see the fractal used to banish a sharrowford cult servitor once.

There could have been way more time spent in the twilight of magic, the street level zone, where every accidental slip outside is a moment of grand terror, and heather learns to live with the idea that the spirits are real.

For someone who gets called “Shaman” a lot later on, we only really see her asking a spirit for directions once (the wrecking ball hands gorilla), where i was expecting that to become a very integral bit of her kit as a character. I love the cephalopod changeling we got instead, but i do feel there could have been a heather who learned to work with her non brain pain vomit inducing abilities for practical reasons, at least for a little while.

After that comes the Messenger demon and maisies message. Knowing the rest of the story, i love that the primary motivation set up here has jack and shit to do with Ed or Alex. This isnt a story about killing the bad guy, its in a very serious way a story about love and that is what should motivate the characters.

Ed and Alex really are just invaders to the story, who grasp at threads that should not concern them at all, with their meddling eventually causing the collapse of Alexs portion of the cult under the Eyes gaze.

I dont quite know how much actual space is in between Kimberly and Zheng joining the household, but this is really the part of the story where just a lot happened at once. We get both badger and sarika, the entire abyss transformation and zheng so very close together.

During the time of the dead hands there is actually some breathing room though. Mostly because set dead hands keep us consigned to a breathable atmosphere for a bit.

The other big stretch of story that i wish lasted longer is the post proposal journey with sevens and saldis through carcosa. Given how time works outside, that whole stretch of time could have really stretched for a while without threatening the maisie limit, and i do wish that some of sevens later character development had happened in here, since i didnt quite know what to think of her after they left the palace, whereas right now in the end she is one of my favourites. I still dont know what i think of the king in yellow being in this story at all, but thats a me issue.

Yeah, so given that most of the smaller thoughts ive already posted in the liveread chat, i guess ive now covered my two big thoughts. I love how katalepsis treats spaces, and the only thing i had any problems with was the pacing, which tbh might just be because i didnt take my time when reading at all.

Time for even less structured thoughts now, just a rapid fire of things that come to mind after reading:

I hope we eventually get a perspective on the worlds cosmology from a mage fully unconnected to the vaguely interconnected british underworld of mages, im very curious how deeply different interpretations of outside, the abyss, demons and beyonders a person might have if they never interacted with the humunculus wars environment. The abyss beeing wet and aquatic seemed to be a general truth, to edward, zheng and even lozzie, until we met taika for example. I want to see more of that.

I said earlier that sevens has become one of my favourites, which is kinda stupid since most characters are my favourite at something by some measure, but Raine and Evee are still the two that are the most meaningful or connected to me. Ive already gone into maybe too much detail on how Raine just works in a way that ive never seen portrayed in anything for some reason. What i havent really realized until about now is how similar evees struggle is. There is that same need to feel useful. They both define their fundamental self via a skill that is in some way repulsive to them for whatever reason, and must cling to another to point them in a direction where they feel they can use it to do good. Evee has to feel useful, has to justify her presence and her dangerous knowledge to herself to some degree, and helping heather is how she does it for now.

The fundamental difference i think is that Raine chose to define herself that way, as knight errant, as supporter, while evee feels any other option to act on the world was taken from her by her mother. This mostly takes the form of her physical disability often stopping her from acting in time, reaching places, but also stopping her anorgasmia seemingly stopping her from loving in the way she thinks is correct (at that point of the story at least. Both of those are changing of course, mostly thanks to Praem).

It kind of lines up with Kimberly in a funky way, since she essentially decided not to use sorcery to justify her presence, both in the house and the story, but still remained around and appreciated, as a sort of in universe counterpoint to evees negative view of herself.

Thats all i can think of for now, i dont actually now how to end this, this isnt a sotry analysis, i have no conclusion except that im glad i caught up so close to the end, because im excited to see all of us react to whatever crazy shit is going down live!

#katalepsis

[class-1b-bull]

How would the other 1B students react if Itsuka Kendo's Quirk started to cause problems with her heart? (Loosely inspired by some headcanons I came up with.)

Not proofread we die like men

If kendous quirk were to mess with her heart I would think it would be due to how much blood it would have to pump to her hands to keep them working when she makes them big which would obviously take a toll on her heart (especially after extensive usage)

Awase - he tries to stay nonchalant about the whole thing but its painfully obvious that hes worried about kendo.

Sen - he knows that kendo doesn't want to be treated differently because of her hearts health but he cant help but do little things for her every now and then.

Kamakiri - I think he would be the only person to fully treat kendo the way he always has ykyk. It may sound a little bitchy but sometimes the best thing you can do for someone whos health is declining is pretend they are fine.

Kuroiro - by far one of the most worried but he shows it the least. He just kinda hangs around whenever someone is talking about kendos condition and he spends the rest of the day thinking about ways to help her.

Kendo - when kendou initially found out that her chest pains were due to her quirk she hid it from her classmates for a long time. She didnt want them to treat her differently or view her as weak for her condition.

Kodai - she stays silent about the whole ordeal but she does a bunch of little thing for her to remind her she cares and is worried (like getting her snacks and writing notes for her and such)

Komori - she knows that theres not much she can do to help so she instead makes sure kendo stays in the loop for all of the latest drama. (Specifically when kendo is on hospital leave for a few days)

Shiozaki - prays everyday for the health of her friend but she also does a lot of research and tries to find things that would help her out. (Like making her specific foods that help with pain and blood flow and whatnat)

Shishida - if she ever needs to miss class for a hospital visit or whatever he will bring her any class work she missed and help her through it. He also makes tea for them to drink during their little study sessions (if thats what they would be called idk)

Shoda - he does his best to take on all (or almost all) of kendos usual class representative duties just to make her life easier. Hes really concerned about her health too but hes one of the students that just kinda stands to the side.

Pony - shes very worried about kendos health and she does her best to make sure kendo isnt over working herself. She makes sure to spend time with kendo and helps her with lots of little things <3

Tsubaraba - bro took 'laughter is the best medicine' to heart. He spends all day making sure kendo is happy and laughing to the point where someone needs to drag him away so she can catch her breath. <3

Tetsutetsu - dude starts walking on glass when kendos around after he found out. Hes so scared that mentioning it would upset her (and that wouldent be manly) but at the same time he want to know the details!

Tokage - she helps kendo with training without letting her overwork her quirk, she tries her best to find ways for kendo to continue training without hurting herself <3

Manga - any time she has to get hospitalized due to her heart issues manga will draw a picture for her everyday until shes up and running again.

Honenuki - he spends a lot of time researching different foods that help with pains and blood flow so he can start making her herbal lunches and such :>

Bondo - hes another one of the students that stays to the side and just silently worries. He does little things that makes her day a little easier and has even made her some snacks every now and then

Monoma - he tries to not let it show but he cares about everyone in the hero course (including class A) a lot. So when he found out about kendos heart problems he intentionally put up a front to make it seem like he didnt care but he does everything for her to make her life easier ykyk

Reiko - kendos health and safety is her priority from here on out. She tries to support kendo and understand her struggles. Most of all she just listens to kendo when shes ranting <3

Rin - he tries to help her as much as he can. He helps with both small, insignificant thing and some bigger things. He tries his best to help ease her own worries without letting his worry for her show (since he doesn't wanna stress her out)

Idk why but I always get a mini heart attack when I open my notifications and I see one person went through and liked over half of my posts. (Like a good mini heart attack lol) <3 ilyily

#bnha headcannons #bnha headcanons #class 1b #mha headcanons #awase yousetsu #sen kaibara #togaru kamakiri #shihai kuroiro #itsuka kendou #yui kodai #kinoko komori #ibara shiozaki #jurota shishida #nirengeki shoda #pony tsunotori #kosei tsuburaba #tetsutetsu tetsutetsu #setsuna tokage #manga fukidashi #juzo honenuki #kojiro bondo #neito monoma #reiko yanagi #rin hiryu

[junpei-iori-ace-defective]

what's your opinion on the whole akihiko characterization discourse going on. also get well soon man!!

Ty homie! Also I have a lot of opinions on Akihiko!

Let me preface this with, I don’t think it’s Alejandro’s fault. I’ve met him before, he’s super chill! He’s a great voice actor! I think with better voice directing/writing this issue could have been completely avoided.

Spoilers/Full Opinion under the cut bc, oh boy do I have a l o t to say.

So. First things first I do agree that Aki’s new voice is waaaaay too deep. Like. I understand wanting him to sound a little more mature but he did not need to be THAT deep. Bro should not be lower than Shinji. However, I don’t think that is Alejandro’s fault.

In stressful scenes, when Aki’s voice gets a little higher, I was literally screaming in my brain. “THATS IT THATS HOW HE SHOULD SOUND!”. I think the voice director was so focused on trying to make Aki sound more mature that they were pushing Saab too far in the deep direction.

Also I don’t know how they broke up the recording sessions, but I could tell a BIG difference in the voice acting for the whole cast when the Yakushima trip happened. Like they all sounded so much better. Especially Aki and Yukari. I can’t tell if it was just me getting used to the new cast, or if it was a new session, but they did sound better. While still being deep, Aki did sound more like himself and Yukari had some of her bite back.

Aki also improved writing and voice acting wise for his second awakening and after. To quote from the live blog I did on discord “no more damnit shinji. But goddamn Alejandro put his whole soul into that.”

I think with better voice directing Alejandro could have really made Aki shine. Idk if it was just. Miscommunication or smth bc the rest of them sounded fine. But I still don’t think it’s on Saab. I know he has the range. It seems like a direction issue to me.

Now on to the writing/characterization. Whooo boy it is r o u g h.

Every. Single. Fucking. Word. Out. Of. This. Mans. Mouth. Was. Protein. They flanderized my boy sooooooo bad.

I’ve been told they wanted to make him closer to the japanese version and the arena games but like. I don’t think it was this bad????

I honestly think it was Atlus’ attempt to add more comic relief to the game. Which I understand, but I don’t think it was needed.

Part of the charm, for me at least, is how depressing Persona 3 is. Like. Of course the game is depressing as shit! It’s about death, destruction, doom, gloom, despair, ect. It’s supposed to feel so hopeless because that’s how it really hammers home it’s main point. In the last act, you, S.E.E.S., and other characters realize even though life is depressing and cruel, that there’s hope in the end. That the bonds you have forged will save you AND the world. Like you gotta hit rock bottom to get back up!

So trying to add more comedy just feels. Off. Especially choosing Aki of all people to be comic relief. Junpei has always been the comic relief TM but his character is done so fucking good that even though he’s the comic relief TM, the moments where he does get serious hit so much fucking harder.

Unfortunately with Aki, it does not work the same way. Aki is such a serious character that it’s hard to make him comic relief without ruining his character, which is exactly what fucking happened. All the serious scenes, especially with Shinji, just felt so weird bc the game sets up Aki as mr protein workout man. That when he is serious, it feels like a completely different character.

Like with his video recording that you can watch in the meeting room. What makes that funny is Aki is such a serious character that seeing him be an absolute idiot and fumble IS the humor.

I think Aki is just like. The worst choice to make comic relief. Like everyone else has funny bits and quirks, which makes them so realistic and likable! And Aki does too! But turning his whole character into work out protein work out is just a massive disservice to his character.

It did seem to taper off towards the back half of the game. Especially after Shinji’s death, and progressing through his link episodes. But all of the flanderization did hurt his character really bad. I hope Atlus stops trying to add humor where there doesn’t need to be any. Because honestly it doesn’t make shit funny, it just makes things not make sense.

(Side note, I think thats also what the other persona games suffer from too. Is Atlus being worried about the games being too dark that they add humor where there doesn’t need to be any. Which leads to weird plot things/mischaracterization)

Long story short, Do better Atlus lmao. I still love Reload. It’s literally the best remake I’ve ever seen/played. And I think all game studios should look at Reload and take notes. But it has its issues. And so does this version of Aki.

#asks #persona 3 #reload #sorry about the essay lmao #ive been thinking about this for a while #tbh #also feel free to discuss in the notes #i like seeing other people’s thoughts

[thatonegeekygirl]

He Fought the Law (And the Law Lost): IZ Fanfic

this oneshot takes place in my strange but true au, so its zadf with good but still chaotic zim and teen dib! i started out writing this as crack, and it kind of stayed crackish, but also segued into fluff and a bit of angst. i possess 2.7% understanding of the american justice system so sorry if thats all nonsense, i am so, so welcome to suggestions. crossposted on wattpad. idk what else to say here?? have fun reading ya'll!

Dib woke up to a cheery Saturday morning, nowhere to be, and the smell of bacon drifting up from the kitchen downstairs. He stretched and yawned, his too-big UFO pattern blue pajamas hanging from his reaching arms. Gaz repeatedly claimed that too-big UFO pattern blue pajamas were an embarrassingly childish thing for a 17-year-old to own. Dib repeatedly ignored her. He’d gone his whole life tuning out the people telling him he was a weirdo, and he wasn’t about to stop now. He grabbed his glasses from the side table, kicked his feet loosely over the side of the bed, and stood. 

“Dib! Breakfast!” His sister's insistent voice yelled from downstairs.

“Coming!” Dib called back, picking his third pillow off the ground where it had fallen in the middle of the night, and throwing it back on the bed. He grinned as it landed perfectly in position between the two larger pillows. Well, if the whole paranormal thing doesn’t work out, at least I have competitive bed making as a fallback plan. He snickered to himself and padded to the door. He turned the knob and walked through the threshold, sniffing scents of bacon and egg hanging in the air, and–

I am an alien I am an alien I am an alien I am an alien–

The ringtone was a single lyric from the song Alien–surprise, surprise– repeated over and over again, and Zim despised it. Whenever he was reminded of its existence in Dib’s Short Angry Space Man phone contact he flew into a paranoid rage, ranting about how the humans may ‘grow suspicious’ or ‘connect the dots’ and snatch him up for experimentation. Dib replied to this with ‘they won’t connect shit’, and Zim neither appreciated the sentiment nor understood the reference. Dib crouched and fumbled about in his jeans’ pocket for a long moment before lifting the jeans off the floor and shaking them until the stubborn phone fell out of them. He picked it up and accepted the call, quirking a smile at the profile picture displayed on the screen–a blurred Zim with an enraged expression which Dib had taken after calling the Irken ‘shorter than the dwarfs’ in the Lord of the Rings movie they’d been watching.

“Hey, Zi–” “DIB!” 

Dib winced and pulled the phone away from his ear. “C’mon, man!”

“The angry blue humans have taken me hostage!”

Having gotten good at reading between the lines with Zim, Dib replied, “You’ve been arrested?”

“If that's what you Earthlings call shoved in a flashing vehicle, handcuffed to an infuriatingly dull adult human, dragged into a crumbling concrete building, and forced to stand in front of a striped wall while being assaulted by blinding lights before being tossed into a crowded, disgusting, primitive holding cell, yes,” Zim spat. Dib rolled his eyes at the sneer in the alien’s voice and said, “Settle down. What’d you do to get in trouble with the police? Wait, don’t answer that, I don’t even want to know.”

“Cease your worrying, human, there were no casualties! Not today, anyhow,” Zim said. “GIR and I were out purchasing the new flavor of Suck-Monkey–the reason for his love of those things is beyond me–and as we were exiting the establishment these two security drones appeared, took GIR away, and Irken-handled me into their whining car!” 

“That's weird…I’m pretty sure it's illegal to arrest minors like that…you were wearing your disguise, weren’t you?” Dib asked, suddenly worried. 

“Of course I was wearing my disguise, Dib,” Zim answered snidely. “What do you think I am? A human?”

“Nothing like some extraterrestrial racism to start off the day…” Dib muttered to himself. “Okay, Zim, I’m coming down to the station. I’ll be there in about 20 minutes. Do you know where they took GIR?”

“Do I look like a floogaschmog to you!? No I don't know where GIR is! If it weren’t for these confounded witnesses everywhere I’d–SHUT UP!”

“Jeez, Zim, I didn’t even say anything–”

“You and the other pitiful policing man informed me I had one phone call, you never specified the length of time it had to encompass!” Zim’s voice screeched, slightly muffled, as if he had pulled the receiver away from his mouth. “Well ya shoulda thought of that before you gave me the phone, moron!” A pause. “I don’t care if you're going to ‘be in deep shit’ with your superior! DON’T TOUCH THE PHONE OR ZIM WILL BITE YOUR POINTING DIGIT OFF!” 

Another pause, and then an annoyed huff blew from the line. “Insolent human. Anyway, GIR is in no danger, no matter where they took him. He’s nearly indestructible and equipped with top of the line Irken laser cannons and numerous knock-out drugs. Whether or not he possesses the presence of mind to employ them, however, is an entirely different problem...” 

“Alright,” Dib sighed. “I just have to get dressed and I’ll head over. You really have no idea what you’ve been taken in for?”

“Not a flu.”

“The phrase is ‘not a clue’, idiot.”

“ZIM IS NEVER WRONG! Goodbye, Dib.”

The line went dead. 

Dib pinched himself once to make sure he wasn’t just experiencing a particularly vivid nightmare, groaned when nothing happened, and shuffled to his closet to pull on some clothes.

__________________________________________

“Dib! If you don’t get your ass down here I’m eating your bacon!” Gaz yelled.

Dib half dashed, half jumped down the stairs, tugging on a red plaid sock. “You can have some of it,” he said, slipping into the kitchen. “I don’t have a lot of time to eat. Zim’s gotten himself arrested.”

“Took them long enough.” Gaz smirked, grabbing a piece of Dibs bacon out of the pan on the table. “What was he doing up so early on a Saturday morning?”

“It's 10:30,” Dib mumbled around his toast. 

“And a Saturday.”

“...I concede to your point. GIR wanted the new Suck-Monkey flavor, y’know, pineapple rosemary or something along those revolting lines. He probably saw it in an ad during his early morning cartoons. You know how he can get with that sort of thing…”

Dib and Gaz shared a knowing look.

“That was a dark day.” Gaz nodded solemnly. 

“Well, Zim did something at the wrong time and place and now he’s locked in a holding cell. Hopefully this is all just some big misunderstanding, like they thought Zim was a lost kid, or he’s reading the situation wrong,” Dib rambled, “but whatever it is, I don’t have much faith in Zim’s ability to get himself out of it in a way that doesn’t involve bribery or murder, so instead of watching the latest Mysterious Mysteries, I’m dealing with a deranged alien and a couple of irritated government employees.”

“How do you know they’re irritated?” Gaz asked.

“I’d assume that if someone called you a moron and threatened to amputate your finger, you’d be irritated too,” Dib huffed, grabbing his blue zip-up hoodie off a chair and his car key from the key rack. “Dad! I’m going out!”

“Don’t drink and drive, son!” Membrane called from the depths of his downstairs lab.

“It’s a sunny Saturday morning and the only friend I have to peer pressure me into drinking alcohol is an insane 170 year old alien,” Dib grumbled under his breath. “But thanks for the advice, Dad.” He swallowed the last of his toast and grabbed a second piece of bacon. “See ya later, Gazlene.”

“Good luck!” she yelled after him as he tromped out the door. “And don’t call me that!”

Dib shoved the second piece of bacon in his mouth. Technically, the handsome blue truck parked in their driveway did not belong to him. Technically, it belonged to his dad, but his dad never drove it–he preferred to take the massive white van containing a full-blown lab in the back and bearing the Membrane Labs logo on the side–so Dib had largely free-reign over it. Exempting the times Gaz demanded he loan it to her to practice her driving. It was a small truck, nothing like the behemoths that Dib occasionally saw dragging trailers or boats through town, and a well-loved one. Candy wrappers and empty cans were scattered about the backseat, numerous paranormal stickers dotted the outside, and various and assorted stains of unknown origin–cough cough GIR cough cough–coloured the interior. The cover for the hazard button had fallen off, claw marks left by an anxious Zim lined the bottom of the passenger seat, and the center console was filled with wads of cash and odds and bobs picked up from his past adventures. In the covered trunk Dib stored a plethora of investigating equipment, everything from wildlife cameras to satellite dishes, just in case he caught a big break and didn’t have time to grab his main gear from the house.

Dib pressed the unlock button on the key and the truck honked and flashed once. He yanked open the driver door, slid into the seat, and started the engine in one smooth motion. He then proceeded to spend a solid 20 seconds fumbling about with the seatbelt. Once he’d finally got it clicked in properly, he backed out of the driveway with all the care of someone who’d accidentally knocked over multiple lawn ornaments and mailboxes. Really, once he was on an actual road, he was a great driver. Honestly. 

Fortunately, it seemed to be one of those Saturdays when no one wanted to leave the house and the roads were mostly empty. A few stray bicyclists wound their lazy way down the main street, and Dib had an awkward confrontation with a silver Soobaroo at a four-way stop, but either than that the trip was uneventful, if a little rushed. Four minutes over the allotted time he’d given Zim, Dib pulled into the parking lot of the police department. Patting himself down just to make sure he hadn’t accidentally put a bomb in his pocket when he wasn’t paying attention, he took a breath and exited the car. He nervously swallowed once, before opening the glass door and heading into the bowels of government agency. He’d spent plenty of time trying to get into the station to expose Zim, but that seemed an easy task compared to that of getting the alien out without doing so.

The inside of the building was friendly enough. The wall to his left was lined with pamphlets advertising various help centers and safe drinking habits, and the glass window was covered in flyers for local businesses and performances. Past another set of glass doors lay a receptionist’s desk. After a moment's consideration, he pushed past them and walked up to it.

“Hi,” he said.

“Good morning, sir, what can I help you with?” The receptionist, a young man with blond hair, asked.

“I’m here to see my friend? He was arrested earlier this morning? His name is Zim,” Dib explained uncertainly.

“Ah, you must be Dib,” the man said, “come with me.”

He stood and motioned for Dib to follow him. He led him down a long corridor, down a set of stairs, and up to a locked door. He unlocked it with one of the keys hanging from his belt and gestured for Dib to enter.

Inside was a desk, two police officers, a man in a suit, three chairs, and a very angry Zim. He was sitting in one of the uncomfortable looking chairs and was also handcuffed, a thing he didn’t seem at all happy about. As he said he had been, Zim wore his disguise. However, he was not just wearing his wig, contacts, and pink uniform, but also a pair of those cheap, slapstick glasses with bushy black eyebrows, a tiny square mustache, and an obnoxious large plastic nose.

Dib, tired and utterly confused, had just enough brain power to deduce that the glasses may have had something to do with Zim’s current arrested state.

“Sit down,” the man in the suit said.

Dib complied, wincing as the hard plastic of the third chair dug into his spine.

“My name is Constable Buckley. You may call me Constable,” the man in the suit said. “You and Mister Zim are friends, correct?”

“Yes…” Dib replied, still staring at Zim.

“Then perhaps you can shed some light on why, exactly, he was recently charged with kidnapping?”

This startled Dib out of his stupor. “He’s been what!?”

“I take it you were not aware of this until now.” Constable eyed him.

“No!” Dib shrieked. He whipped his head back around to boggle at Zim. “We really need to get your information sharing priorities straight!”

“How was I supposed to know!?” Zim hissed back.

“Quiet, please!” Constable boomed. “Listen up. Unless it is quickly proved that Mister Zim is not guilty of these allegations, he will go to court.”

That was not good. Zim in court was the last thing they needed. He’d probably piss off the judge and jury so much with all his insults and overbearing attitude it wouldn’t matter if he was guilty or not. Best case scenario, he went to prison for a long time. Worst case scenario, he outed himself as an alien and Dib never saw him again.

“Okay. Okay…deep breath, Dib,” he muttered to himself. “Why exactly is he being charged with kidnapping?”

“Mister Zim was seen leaving the gas station on 4rd Street with a young child wearing a green dog onesie, looking aggressive and generally shady,” Constable explained. “Officers Carp and Chinook intercepted him and asked the child if the man he was with was his parent or guardian. The child, we now know his name to be Gyr, replied, quote, ‘Naw!’. Carp and Chinook, just to be certain–kidnapping is a serious charge, you know–asked Mister Zim if he was Gyr’s parent or guardian. Mister Zim replied, quote, ‘Ugh, of course not! Leave Zim be!’. This prompted my officers to arrest him and take Gyr into their custody.”

“You two have GIR!?” Zim cried, twisting around to glare daggers at the officers standing behind him. “Why, you–”

“MISTER ZIM!” Constable roared. “If you do not behave I will be forced to return you to your cell!”

Zim settled back in his seat and attempted to cross his arms haughtily, a task made difficult by the handcuffs. Eventually he gave up and settled for clenching his hands in fists by his sides.

“Thank you,” Constable said. “Now, is there anything you can think of, Dib, that may prove Mister Zim’s innocence?”

“Oh, just one thing…” Dib reached out and ripped the glasses off of Zim.

A collective gasp filled the room. Surprised and horrified ones from the police, and a pained and furious one from Zim as the tape holding the glasses on his face was mercilessly torn off. 

“Good God…” Constable muttered, mouth hanging open.

“Zim is not a forty year old man!” Dib cried. “He’s a kid with a horrible skin condition and a mean streak! I mean really, he's like four feet tall.”

“But…Gyr?” One of the officers asked timidly.

“My brother!” Zim shrieked as Dib eyed him meaningfully. “GIR is my little brother. He wears the green dog suit in, eh, a gesture of solidarity to my own green affliction. Being a foolish little worm baby I did not realize I should respond to your inquiry with ‘he is my brother’!”

“Do you have any way to prove these statements?” Constable asked, eyes wide.

“Er…” Dib picked at a nail worriedly.

“Yes!” Zim jabbed a finger in the air and growled when the handcuffs inadvertently pulled his other hand up with it. A whirring noise emanated from his PAK for a moment, followed by a cheerful ding. Zim handed Constable a short stack of neat papers. For once Dib was beyond relieved that no one else noticed the robotic appendage folding back into Zim’s PAK. “Here’s your proof, officer man.” Zim grinned smugly. “Mine and GIR’s passports and certificates of bornth!”

Dib was struck with the nearly uncontrollable urge to hit him. Fortunately, the police didn’t seem to notice the slip up.

“Everything seems to be in order…” Constable murmured, with the air of someone utterly bewildered, flipping through the forms.

“Thank you,” Zim said, pleased.

“...well, I suppose you’re free to go,” the man continued. “I’ll have Kyle bring Gyr around front to meet you. Apologies for the bother, Membranes.”

Dib’s brain took a long moment to turn over this piece of information as Constable unlocked the handcuffs from a smirking Zim’s hands and opened the door for them.

“Onward, Dib-thing!” Zim grabbed Dib’s arm and grinned. “I believe there is still enough Saturday left to make some floppy sugar disks!” Dib found himself being tugged out of the stuffy room, back down the blank hallway, and out the glass doors into the sunlight.

“Zim…” Dib started uncertainly.

“GIR!” Zim cried, upon seeing the robot. GIR, decked out in his green dog disguise, was being led out of the station towards them by two ruffled officers, both covered in crayon and some mystery liquid, looking like they’d just seen war.

“Mister!” GIR shrieked back, rushing forward and into Zim’s waiting arms. Dib had managed to convince GIR to call Zim Mister instead of Master, after having had a long and tedious discussion with Zim about the various reasons why this was a messed up thing to have happening.

“GIR, did they do anything to you?” Zim asked, looking the robot up and down with scrutiny.

“Nope!” GIR replied cheerfully. “We played with the colors and they gave me a new Suck-Monkey and then I threw it up on em!”

“That’s my GIR!” Zim grinned. “Now let’s go, Dib has come to take us home. We’re going to make floppy sugar disks!”

“They’re called pancakes,” Dib corrected slowly, train of thought finally arriving at the station. “And Zim, what last name, exactly, did you put on those documents?”

“Membrane,” Zim answered blithely. “That is your last name, yes?”

“Yes…” Dib nodded. “But why did you use it?” “You’re always telling me not to use The Human for my middle and final names, so I used yours instead,” Zim explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You do realize that makes us legally brothers, right?” Dib asked weakly, unlocking the car with an absentminded movement.

“Of course I realize that, Dib-thing.” Zim waved a hand in the air. “According to my studies in Urth customs, people living together and/or spending long periods of time in each other's company often become honorary members of their respective family units. Since we fill both of these fields to different extents, I deemed it reasonable to claim the Membrane name for ease of forging documents and simplicity when explaining our relationship.”

“...true,” Dib admitted. Zim tossed GIR into the backseat of the car and clambered in after him, feet not even close to touching the floor as he settled in the passenger seat.

“Won’t people be suspicious that my Dad suddenly has two more children than before?” Dib questioned, still not quite comprehending the implications of this recent turn of events.

“I doubt the masses will take any notice to GIR and I. As of now I don’t plan on making any public announcement or anything so they likely won’t even know we’re carriers of the Membrane name at all. And if they do grow suspicious, I’ll just show them the adoption papers and no one will be the wiser,” Zim explained smugly. “Do you think your father will mind?”

“No,” Dib replied, turning on the truck. “GIR, buckle up.” GIR wrestled with the seatbelt for a moment until Zim huffed loudly and scrambled into the back to help him. “He seems to have taken a liking to you,” Dib continued, as Zim forced the clip into the lock. “And he knows you’re an Irken, so we can just tell him it’ll help keep your cover from being blown and he’ll be all for it.”

“Good,” Zim said, leaping back into his seat and putting on his own seatbelt. “I’d hate to damage my relationship with the Professor in a battle for his name.”

“...adoption papers?” Dib muttered as an afterthought.

“Forging signatures is one of my specialties,” Zim gloated. 

Dib stared out the windshield. The car was running and the road was clear, but he remained in the same spot. Zim raised an eyebrow, or rather the space where an eyebrow would have been, and gave Dib an incredulous look. 

“Zim…” Dib said after an uncomfortably long pause. “You and GIR are my brothers now.”

“An accurate statement,” Zim nodded.

“You’re sure about this?” Dib prompted, turning to look at Zim.

“Sure I’m sure,” Zim answered proudly, then hesitated, a worried expression crossing his face. “...have I misstepped in some way? I can always null the documents…”

“No, no! It’s fine!” Dib laughed, breaking out in a grin. “I'm happy to have you two as adopted brothers.”

Zim grinned back. “Surprisingly, I’m happy to have you and Gaz as adopted siblings.”

“Surprisingly?” Now Dib raised an eyebrow.

“Irkens are not typically able to form emotional bonds,” Zim explained, “the ability to experience things like love and fondness are programmed out of our PAKs as smeets. It seems likely that my PAK’s…defective, nature,” he squirmed at the word, “has allowed me more freedom in this and other regards. You have that to thank for our friendship.”

“Well, I know what is seen as ‘defective’ on Irk is normal on Earth,” Dib said softly. “So I’m glad we got the Irken different from the rest. And I’m glad I can call myself your friend.”

“You humans and your glarking emotions,” Zim muttered, running a hand under his eye and wiping the suspiciously wet smear on his uniform. “Drive, Dib! We must get home in time to make the disks!”

“Alright, alright!” Dib laughed. “I’m going!” He pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the street. It was just as quiet on the roads as before, so Dib relaxed his vigil a bit and admired the beautiful day outside.

“Oh, and Zim,” he said. “It's birth, not bornth.”

“Wrong!” Zim declared. “It's definitely bornth.”

“Dude, if you’re going to be a Membrane we’re going to have to work on your grammar. You can’t just be a tech genius, you’ve got to fit the whole part!” Dib gestured grandly with one hand, keeping the other on the wheel and ignoring his Dad’s voice telling him to always keep both securely holding it.

“It is not my fault your cursed Urthen language holds up against next to zero laws of logic,” Zim complained. “Irken is twice as complex but a schmillion times more sensical!”

“If it’s easier to understand than English, maybe you can teach me,” Dib suggested. “Y’know, as compensation for stealing my name.”

“Nuh uh, you said you were pleased that I have your name, Dib!” Zim pointed out gleefully. “My company is all the compensation you need.”

“Compensation, my ass!” Dib squawked, amused.

“Although,” Zim continued, ignoring Dib’s outburst. “Perhaps I will teach you anyway. It has been some time since I’ve conversed with someone in my own tongue. GIR does not count. And, if all else fails, it shall be entertaining to observe your attempts at pronunciation.”

“Glad I have your confidence, Zim.”

A comfortable quiet filled the car.

“Why the heck were you wearing those crazy glasses?” Dib asked, the thought striking him. “That was weird, even for you.”

Zim’s silence prompted Dib to glance at him. Zim was twiddling his thumbs and avoiding Dib’s eyes. “No reason,” the Invader said.

“Sure, sure. No reason at all. You were wearing ugly, wackadoo prop glasses with a gross fake nose and eyebrows for no reason,” Dib said casually, pursing his lips and nodding. 

There was a long silence.

“...I lost a bet with Minimoose,” Zim grumbled, slouching in his seat.

Dib suppressed a cackle. “Mmm. No shame in that,” he said seriously.

Zim glared darkly at him. “Silence your voice box. You are obviously holding in a pitiless laugh.”

A giggle escaped from his Dib’s sealed lips. “Okay, yes, but you have to admit it's pretty funny. Your purple stuffed-moose-robot somehow got you into a bet that ended with you walking around–in public–with the most embarrassing bad disguise mankind has ever known! You can at least admire his creativity.”

“Minimoose is a master manipulator! If only he weren’t so lovable I’d have scrapped him long ago!” Zim shook a tiny fist. “Damn that moose…”

Dib chuckled and turned his face back to the open road. Spring flowers dotted the sidewalk and sunlight tickled the colors into warmth, a breeze rustled the trees leaves. Zim reached forward and turned on the stereo, and Dib’s driving playlist bounced through the speakers with a laidback grace. With any luck, they’d be able to make pancakes with any great incident, and they could go to the library for a bit. There was a new paranormal guidebook Dib wanted to check out. 

Actually, it was early enough in the day still they might even make it out to the haunted house the guidebook had talked about, if he could scrounge up the ghost monitoring equipment from his storage area in the basement and get it set up in time. Zim would be thrilled. Any chance to explore the many oddities excited him almost as much as it excited Dib, something he was surprised and pleased to learn when they’d finally enacted a truce. The little alien was quite the curious thing. 

“Hey Zim?” Dib said.

“Yes, Dib-thing?” Zim looked up at him.

“It really is clue.”

“It’s not!”

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